The True Nature of Organizational Behavior as a Discipline
On a 1 to 10 scale measuring sophistication of the scientific discipline in predicting phenomena, mathematical physics would probably lie on 10. Where do you think Organizational Behavior would fall on the scale? Why?
Students are taught this subject when they pursue an MBA program. It is important for students to understand the very nature of this subject.
In this article we will:
- Understand what is organizational Behavior
- What do scholars say about OB?
- Where does OB stand as a scientific discipline on a scale of 1 to 10?
POINT 1:
There are laws in physical sciences that are consistent & apply to a wide range of similar situations.
These laws allow scientists to predict phenomena such as
- date & time of solar & lunar eclipses,
- time of salaat (Obligatory prayers for Muslims),
- time of sehr (break of dawn) and iftar (sunset) in the month of Ramadan.
POINT 2:
Human Behavior, however, is complex and often changes with behavior of the employees. People, even identical twins, often act differently in one situation and totally different in another.
This takes OB away from 10.
Deduction:
After analyzing the above points, we deduce that
Organizational Behavior (OB) would fall on 3 on the scale measuring sophistication of the scientific deplane in predicting phenomena.
Human Behavior is varying but this does not mean that it is random. We can give reasonably accurate explanations for our actions. This behavior will take mark a little away from 0 to, say, 3.
Human behavior is not as predictable as mathematics but we cannot totally deny the possibility of it being unsurprising
