Organizational Behavior - Determinants

There are three major factors that affect OB. The working environment being the base for all three factors, they are also known as the determinants of OB. The three determinants are −

• People
• Structure
• Technology

People

An organization consists of people with different traits, personality, skills, qualities, interests, background, beliefs, values and intelligence. In order to maintain a healthy environment, all the employees should be treated equally and be judged according to their work and other aspects that affects the firm.

Example − A company offers campus placement to trainees from different states like Orissa, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh and many more. However, during and after training, all trainees are examined only on the basis of their performance in the tasks assigned.

Organizational Structure

Structure is the layout design of an organization. It is the construction and arrangement of relationships, strategies according to the organizational goal.

Example − Organizational structure defines the relation of a manager with employees and co-workers.

Technology

Technology can be defined as the implementation of scientific knowledge for practical usage. It also provides the resources required by the people that affect their work and task performance in the right direction.

Example − Introduction of SAP, big data and other software in the market determines individual and organizational performance.

Environment

All companies function within a given internal and external environment. Internal environment can be defined as the conditions, factors, and elements within an enterprise that influences the activities, choices made by the firm, and especially the behavior of the employees. While external environment can be defined as outside factors that affect the company's ability to operate. Some of them can be manipulated by the company’s marketing, while others require the company to make adjustments.

Some examples of internal environment include employee morale, culture changes, financial changes or issues, and some examples of external environment include political factors, changes to the economy and the company itself.