Organizational Behavior, 17e

Management and Organizational Behavior

1. 2 Define organizational behavior (OB).

Let’s begin by briefly defining the terms manager and organization. First, the defining characteristic of managers is that they get things done through other people. They make decisions, allocate resources, and direct the activities of others to attain goals. Managers are sometimes called administrators, especially in not-for-profit organizations. They do their work in an organization, which is a consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals. By this definition, manufacturing and service firms are organizations, and so are schools, hospitals, churches, military ...