Organizational studies, organizational behavior¹, and organizational theory are related terms for the academic study of organizations, examining them using the methods of economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, and psychology. Related practical disciplines include human resources (HR) and industrial and organizational psychology. An organization or organisation (read more about -ize vs -ise) is a formal group of people with one or more shared goals. ... Buyers bargain for good prices while sellers put forth their best front in Chichicastenango Market, Guatemala. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Political science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... Psychology (Gk: psyche, soul or mind + logos, speech) is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain, and behavior. ... Human resources has at least two meanings depending on context. ... Industrial and organizational psychology (or I/O psychology) is also known as occupational psychology (in the United Kingdom) and work psychology (from the German, Arbeitspsychologie). ...

Overview of the field

Organizational studies is the study of individual and group dynamics in an organizational setting, as well as the nature of the organizations themselves. Whenever people interact in organizations, many factors come into play. Organizational studies attempts to understand and model these factors. The term group dynamics implies that individual behaviours may differ depending on individuals current or prospective connections to a sociological group. ...

Like all social sciences, organizational behavior seeks to control, predict, and explain. But there is some controversy over the ethical ramifications of focusing on controlling workers' behavior. As such, organizational behavior or OB (and its cousin, Industrial psychology) have at times been accused of being the scientific tool of the powerful. Those accusations notwithstanding, OB can play a major role in organizational development and success. Look up Control in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Prediction of future events is an ancient human wish. ... An explanation is a statement which points to causes, context and consequences of some object (or process, state of affairs etc. ... Industrial psychology is the psychology that deals with the workplace, focusing on both the workers and the organizations that employ them. ... The field of organization development (OD) has had several definitions. ...

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, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... Media:Example. ... 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. ... Adam Smith, FRSE, (baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... Maximilian Weber (IPA: []) (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern 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. ...

Though it traces its roots back to Max Weber and earlier, organizational studies is generally considered to have begun as an academic discipline with the advent of scientific management in the 1890s, with Taylorism representing the peak of this movement. Proponents of scientific management held that rationalizing the organization with precise sets of instructions and time-motion studies would lead to increased productivity. Studies of different compensation systems were carried out. Maximilian Weber (IPA: []) (April 21, 1864 – June 14, 1920) was a German political economist and sociologist who is considered one of the founders of the modern study of sociology and public administration. ... Scientific management or Taylorism is the name of the approach to management and industrial and organizational psychology initiated by Frederick Winslow Taylor in his 1911 monograph The Principles of Scientific Management. ... Taylorism or Scientific management is the name of the approach to management and Industrial/Organizational Psychology initiated by Frederick Winslow Taylor in his 1911 monograph The Principles of Scientific Management. ... Compensation has several different meanings as indicated below. ...

After the First World War, the focus of organizational studies shifted to analysis of how human factors and psychology affected organizations, a transformation propelled by the discovery of the Hawthorne Effect. This Human Relations Movement focused more on teams, motivation, and the actualization of the goals of individuals within organizations. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In the history of the field of organizational development, the Human Relations Movement is the name given to the period following the Hawthorne Studies, where the OD movement found its focus on topics such as social relations, motivation, and employee satisfaction. ... A team is any group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Prominent early scholars included:

• Chester Barnard
• Henri Fayol
• Mary Parker Follett
• Frederick Herzberg
• Abraham Maslow
• David McClelland
• Victor Vroom

The Second World War further shifted the field, as the invention of large-scale logistics and operations research led to a renewed interest in systems and rationalistic approaches to the study of organizations: Chester Irving Barnard (1886–1961) was a telecommunications executive and author of Functions of the Executive, an influential 20th century management book, in which Barnard presented a theory of organization and the functions of executives in organizations. ... Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was a French management theorist whose theories concerning scientific organisation of labour were widely influential in the beginning of 20th century. ... Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933) was a social worker, consultant, and author of books on democracy, human relations, and management. ... // Background Frederick Herzberg (1923 - 2000) an academic who concluded that certain factors in the workplace cause job satisfaction, while others lead to dissatisfaction. ... Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist. ... David McClelland (1917-1998). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Operations research, operational research, or simply OR, is the use of mathematical models, statistics, and algorithms to aid in decision-making. ...

• Herbert Alexander Simon
• James G. March

In the 1960s and 1970s, the field was strongly influenced by social psychology and the emphasis in academic study was on quantitative research. Herbert Alexander Simon (June 15, 1916 – February 9, 2001) was a researcher in the fields of cognitive psychology, computer science, public administration, economics and philosophy (sometimes described as a polymath). ... James G. March is Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. ... Social psychology is often conceived to be the study of how individuals perceive, influence, and relate to others. ... Quantitative research is based on the numerical representation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena. ...

Starting in the 1980s, cultural explanations of organizations and change became an important part of study. Qualitative methods of study became more acceptable, informed by anthropology, psychology and sociology. Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human or person) consists of the study of humanity (see genus Homo). ... Psychology (Gk: psyche, soul or mind + logos, speech) is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind, brain, and behavior. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ...

Current state of the field

Organizational behavior is currently a growing field. Organizational studies departments are generally within business schools, although many universities also have industrial pyschology and industrial economics programs as well.

The field is highly influential in the business world with practitioners like Peter Drucker and Peter Senge turning the academic research into business practices. Organization behavior is becoming more important in the global economy as people with diverse backgrounds and cultural values have to work together effectively and efficiently. It is also under increasing criticism as a field for its ethnocentric and pro-capitalist assumptions (see Critical Management Studies). Peter Ferdinand Drucker (November 19, 1909–November 11, 2005) was an Austrian author of numerous economics-related literature. ... Peter M. Senge was the Director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management and presently (2005) is on the faculty at MIT and is the founding chair of * SoL, the Society for Organizational Learning. ... Critical management studies (CMS) is a loose but rapidly growing grouping of politically left wing and theoretically innovative approaches to management, business and organisation. ...

Notes

Note 1: Organizational behavior is used in the United States, while organizational behaviour is preferred in Canada and various places such as English academic circles. Within the Commonwealth of Nations, organisational behaviour is more common. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ...

References

• Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational Behaviour - Concepts, Controversies, Applications. 4th Ed. Prentice Hall (2004) ISBN 0131709011.
• Weick, Karl E. The Social Psychology of Organizing 2nd Ed. McGraw Hill (1979) ISBN 0-07-554808-9.
• Simon, Herbert A. Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organizations 4th Ed. The Free Press (1997) ISBN 0-684-83582-7.
• An overview of the field, including readings and outlines of major theories
• History of I/O
• Intro to Organizational Behavior
• Barley, S., & Kunda, G. (1992) "Design and devotion: Surges of rational and normative ideologies of control in managerial discourse", Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 37, pp. 363-399.
• Research on Organizations: Bibliography Database and Maps

See also

• Organization development
• Critical management studies
• Culture
• Emotions
• Leadership
• List of human resource management topics
• Formal organization
• McDonaldization
• Motivation
• Organizational commitment
• Persuasion and attitude change
• Power (sociology)
• Relationships
• Social networks
• Teams
• Theory X and theory Y
• Triarchy
• Unorganisation