Blackwell Reference Online

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This interdisciplinary study focuses on the human and social aspects of management in formal organizations as a ‘technical’ problem. It draws primarily on sociology and psychology, but also on economics, M anagement science and production engineering to study the structure and functioning of organizations and the behaviour of groups and individuals within them. The application of this subject to practical problems of managing change in organizations is referred to as organizational development. In the twentieth century the impact of social science on management thinking has built up to become the major force. From the point of view of organizational behaviour the task of management may be considered as the organization of individuals' behaviour in relation to the physical means and resources to achieve desired goals. A basic problem then becomes: how much organization and control of behaviour is necessary for efficient functioning, and what form should it take? It is in the implied answer to this question that two sides of a continuing debate can be distinguished – characterized by Pugh (1990) as the ‘organizers’ and the ‘behaviouralists’. The organizers stem from the work of Henri Fayol, Frederick W. Taylor and Max Weber. They maintain that more precisely determined structures, plans and programmes, with improved specification, monitoring and control of the behaviour required ... log in or subscribe to read full text