Introduction. Organisational Behaviour (OB) is not an isolated or independent subject. It is a multidisciplinary field which has developed by drawing ideas, concepts, theories and methods from a number of behavioural and social sciences. Human behaviour in organisations is complex, and no single discipline can explain it completely. Therefore, Organisational Behaviour uses an integrated approach and borrows knowledge from psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, economics, political science and related areas. A manager who understands these disciplinary contributions is better equipped to analyse and manage behaviour in the workplace.
Meaning of Multidisciplinary Nature of OB
When we say that OB is multidisciplinary, it means that:
- It does not have a single, unique theoretical base of its own.
- It draws systematically from various parent disciplines that have studied human behaviour in different settings.
- It adapts and applies the knowledge of these disciplines to organisational situations with the objective of improving organisational effectiveness and quality of work life.
Important disciplines contributing to Organisational Behaviour are discussed below.
1. Psychology
Psychology is the science of behaviour and mental processes of individuals. It studies how people think, feel and behave as individuals. Its contribution to OB is very deep and direct.
(a) Areas of Contribution
- Personality: Psychology explains the development and structure of personality, personality traits and their impact on behaviour at work (e.g., extroversion, introversion, locus of control, self-esteem).
- Perception: It studies how individuals select, organise and interpret information, and why perception may differ from person to person, leading to misunderstanding and perceptual errors.
- Learning: Concepts such as conditioning, reinforcement, modelling and learning curves help managers in designing training and modifying behaviour.
- Motivation: Psychological theories of motivation explain why people work, what needs drive them and how incentives can be designed.
- Attitudes and Emotions: It throws light on formation and change of attitudes, job satisfaction and the role of emotions in behaviour.
- Individual differences: It explains how and why individuals differ in intelligence, aptitude, interest and other abilities.
(b) Managerial Use
Through psychological concepts, managers can better understand individual behaviour, design effective training programmes, improve selection and placement, and handle problems like stress, frustration and low performance.
2. Sociology
Sociology is the study of social behaviour, social relationships and social institutions. While psychology focuses on the individual, sociology mainly focuses on groups and social systems. Its contribution to OB is concerned with understanding group behaviour and organisational structure.
(a) Areas of Contribution
- Group dynamics: Sociology explains how groups are formed, how they function, how norms develop, how status and roles are assigned and how group decisions are made.
- Formal and informal organisations: It distinguishes between formal structure and informal organisation, and explains the impact of informal relationships on behaviour.
- Organisational structure: Concepts like authority, hierarchy, division of labour, bureaucracy and organisational design come from sociology.
- Social systems and institutions: It throws light on the influence of family, social class, religion and community on behaviour of individuals at work.
- Culture: Sociology contributes to understanding national culture, social values and norms that shape behaviour of employees.
(b) Managerial Use
With the help of sociological insights, managers can design suitable organisational structures, understand group behaviour, manage informal groups, and develop effective team work and coordination.
3. Social Psychology
Social Psychology is a branch of psychology that lies between psychology and sociology. It studies how individuals behave in social situations, i.e., how the presence of others influences an individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour. Its contribution to OB is especially important in the area of interpersonal relations and group processes.
(a) Areas of Contribution
- Interpersonal behaviour: Social psychology explains how people influence one another in face-to-face interactions.
- Communication: It helps in understanding communication patterns, feedback, persuasion and barriers in communication.
- Attitude formation and change: Social psychology has contributed significantly in understanding how attitudes are formed, sustained and changed.
- Group behaviour: It studies conformity, cooperation, competition, social facilitation and social loafing within groups.
- Leadership and power: Theories of leadership, power, influence and authority have a strong social-psychological base.
- Conflict and negotiation: It offers insights into causes of conflict, perception of conflict and ways of resolving it through negotiation.
(b) Managerial Use
Managers use social psychological concepts to build effective teams, improve communication, resolve conflicts, develop leadership, and manage organisational change by influencing attitudes and behaviour of employees.
4. Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of human beings, their cultures and development across time and space. It focuses on comparative study of societies and cultures. Its contribution to OB is seen mainly in understanding organisational culture, organisational climate and cross-cultural issues.
(a) Areas of Contribution
- Culture: Anthropology explains the concept of culture—shared values, beliefs, customs and traditions that differentiate one group from another.
- Organisational culture: OB uses anthropological concepts to understand how organisational culture is created, maintained and changed, and how it affects behaviour and performance.
- Comparative behaviour: It provides knowledge about how people from different countries and societies behave differently due to cultural differences.
- Adaptation to environment: Anthropology studies how groups adapt to different environments, which helps organisations in dealing with environmental changes.
(b) Managerial Use
In a globalised world, managers have to deal with a diverse workforce and international operations. Anthropological understanding helps them to manage diversity, design culture-compatible policies, and avoid cultural conflicts in multinational and multicultural organisations.
5. Political Science
Political Science studies the behaviour of individuals and groups within a political framework. It concentrates on concepts like power, authority, conflict and the distribution of advantages. In OB, political science contributes to the understanding of power dynamics and organisational politics.
(a) Areas of Contribution
- Power and authority: Political science explains different bases of power (legitimate, reward, coercive, expert and referent), and distinction between power and authority.
- Organisational politics: It throws light on political behaviour such as lobbying, coalition formation, bargaining, manipulation and use of influence tactics.
- Conflict of interest: It helps in understanding conflicts arising from competing interests of individuals, groups and departments.
- Policy making: Political processes in decision-making and formulation of policies are also derived from political science.
(b) Managerial Use
Managers have to operate in an environment where power and politics are unavoidable. Knowledge of political science enables them to use power judiciously, understand political behaviour, and manage it constructively rather than allowing it to become destructive.
6. Economics
Economics is the science of choice that studies how scarce resources are allocated among competing uses. Although economics mainly deals with markets and resource allocation, it also contributes to OB in understanding decision-making, incentives and efficiency.
(a) Areas of Contribution
- Rational decision-making: Economic theory assumes that individuals are rational and attempt to maximise utility. OB borrows this model while studying decision-making behaviour.
- Cost–benefit analysis: Economic thinking helps in analysing costs and benefits of alternative actions in organisational decisions.
- Incentive systems: Economics contributes to the design of wage structures, bonus plans and financial incentives to improve performance.
- Productivity and efficiency: Concepts like marginal productivity, economies of scale and efficiency are relevant for improving organisational performance.
(b) Managerial Use
Managers use economic reasoning to make sound decisions regarding resource allocation, compensation systems and productivity improvement programmes, while OB supplements economic assumptions with realistic behavioural insights.
7. Other Supporting Disciplines
In addition to the above major disciplines, several other areas support the development of OB:
- Statistics and Research Methodology: Used for data collection, analysis, hypothesis testing and developing empirical support for OB theories.
- Management Science and Operations Research: Provide quantitative techniques for decision-making, which are used along with behavioural insights.
- Medicine (Occupational Health and Psychiatry): Contribute to understanding stress, fatigue, mental health and their impact on performance.
Integrated Contribution to Organisational Behaviour
Although each discipline has its own focus and method, their combined contribution forms the foundation of Organisational Behaviour:
- Psychology explains individual behaviour.
- Sociology and social psychology explain group behaviour and social processes.
- Anthropology explains culture and comparative behaviour.
- Political science explains power relationships and politics.
- Economics explains rational choice and incentives.
OB integrates these contributions and applies them specifically to the context of organisations in order to solve practical problems of managing people.
Conclusion: To conclude, Organisational Behaviour is truly a multidisciplinary subject which draws heavily from psychology, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, political science, economics and other related fields. Each discipline contributes a different angle to understanding human behaviour—individual, group, structural, cultural and political. By integrating these diverse contributions, OB provides managers with a rich and comprehensive framework to understand, predict and influence behaviour in organisations. This multidisciplinary foundation makes OB both theoretically sound and practically useful for improving organisational effectiveness and enhancing the quality of work life of employees.