Organisational behaviour is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organisations. It explores individual emotions and behaviour, team dynamics and the systems and structures of organisations. Much of Organisational behaviour seeks to provide an understanding of the factors necessary for managers to create an organisation that is more "effective" or "successful" than its competitors. There are also more critical approaches to organisations that seek a more holistic view. This would include the work of Braverman, various feminist writers and those who apply post-structuralist ideas to organisations. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Post-structuralism is a term used to describe mostly French language scholarship that emerged in the mid- to late 1960s to challenge the primacy of structuralism in the human sciences: anthropology, psychoanalysis, history, literary criticism, and philosophy. ...

History

The Greek philosopher Plato wrote about the essence of leadership. Aristotle addressed the topic of persuasive communication. The writings of 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli laid the foundation for contemporary work on organisational power and politics. In 1776, Adam Smith advocated a new form of organisational structure based on the division of labour. One hundred years later, German sociologist Max Weber wrote about rational organisations and initiated discussion of charismatic leadership. Soon after, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced the systematic use of goal setting and rewards to motivate employees. In the 1920's, Australian-born Harvard professor Elton Mayo and his colleagues conducted productivity studies at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant in the United States. Plato (Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn) (ca. ... Aristotle, marble copy of bronze by Lysippos. ... Detail of the portrait of Machiavelli, ca 1500, in the robes of a Florentine public official Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469—June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher during the Renaissance. ... Maximilian Weber (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern, antipositivistic study of sociology and public administration. ... Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 - March 21, 1915) was an American engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency. ... George Elton Mayo (1880-1949) was born on December 26, 1880 in Adelaide, Australia. ...

Organisational behaviour has existed for a long time, however it wasn't organised into a unified discipline until after World War II. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ...

According to Stephen robbins "Organizational Behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and structure have on behaviour within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness".

Why Do We Study OB? To learn about yourself and how to deal with others You are part of an organization now, and will continue to be a part of various organizations Organizations are increasingly expecting individuals to be able to work in teams, at least some of the time Some of you may want to be managers or entrepreneurs

== The Rigour of OB ==OB looks at consistencies What is common about behaviour, and helps predictability? OB is more than common sense Systematic study, based on scientific evidence OB has few absolutes OB takes a contingency approach Considers behaviour in context