Chapter 1

Human Behavior in Business Organization

Overview of Science and the Study of Human Behavior

Man at present lives in a world where changes take place. Human Affairs are so complex
that they adhere to many sciences for their existence. Oftentimes man has the wrong concept of
what science is, that he holds it responsible for the miseries of the world.

NATURE OF SCIENCE

 Science is popularly defined as an accumulation of systematic knowledge based on facts. It is a

method of approach to the empirical world. Basic to modern science I an intricate relation
between theory and facts.
 Fact is regarded as an empirically verifiable observation.
 Theory refers either to the relationships between facts or to the ordering of terms in some
meaningful way.
 Facts of science are the product of observations which are meaningful are theoretically relevant.
Thus without theory, science cannot predict or control the material world.
 The development of science can be considered as a constant interplay between theory and
facts.

Theory as a Tool of Science

 It offers conceptual scheme by which the relevant phenomena are systematized, classified
and interrelated, and summarizes facts into:
a. empirical generalization
b. systems of gaps in our knowledge
 Facts are also productive of theory
a. Facts help initiate theories
b. They lead to the reformation of existing theory
c. They change the forms and orientation of theory and they clarify and redefine the
theory.

WHY THE STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

 Business organizations are made up of people interested in other people.

 There is hardly a phase in the daily life of the man or woman associated with business and
industry that is not in some way related to human behavior.

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 Concern for the people who sell insurance, man machines, take down notes and type
correspondence, keep records, supervise people who manage the activities of corporations,
big and small, always involve a study of human behavior.
 Management is constantly trying to understand and influence the mental processes of
others and the only access we have on the mental process of others is through a study of
human behavior.
 Many people are continually adjusting to and depending on other people. Many people fail
to adjust to the work environment because they do not know the nature of the work and
the climate they are getting into.
 Some people like the place they work in, sometimes for the same reason that leads to
others to express dislike:
 There is no better way to find out about the behavioral climate of a work situation that to
study the behavior of people who work in this climate.
 More and more leaders of business and industry are coming from the ranks of college
graduates. Leadership in business is becoming more demanding and the person without a
college degree may be handicapped in his efforts to rise to higher positions of responsibility.
 Knowledge of the principles of the human behavior will help one acquire understanding,
skills and desires which will prepare him to work with others with increasing cooperation,
understanding and effectiveness.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

19th Century Development

 Until the later part of the 19th century philosophy was the only approach to the study of
human behavior. The direct forerunner or psychology is psychophysics, a science developed
by Fechner.
 Psychophysics was a science that studied the functional relations of dependency between
mind and body but which actually determined the physical characteristics of stimuli and the
sensations they produce.
 The development of psychology as a science, separate and distinct from philosophy and
physiology, is often traced to the year 1879 when Prof. Wilhem Wundt founded the first
psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany. However many argue that
it was actually William James who established the first psychological laboratory at Harvard
University in the United States. In any event, Wundt’s laboratory, which was dedicated to
the experimental study of conscious experience, attracted eager students among them
Titchener and Cattell from America. They, in turn, brought the new psychological doctrine
and methods to the United States where psychology became fairly established by the end of
the 19th century. (Ruch 1963)

Understanding Human Behavior

The majority of theories and models of human behavior fall into one of two basic categories:

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 1. Internal Perspective –considers the factors inside a person to understand behavior.
People who subscribe to this view understand human behavior. This view is
psychodynamically oriented. Behavior is explained in terms of thoughts, feelings,
past experiences and needs of the individual. The internal processes of thinking,
feeling, perceiving and judging lead people to act in specific way. This internal
perspective implies that people are best understood from the inside and that
people’s behavior is best interpreted after understanding their thoughts and
feelings.
2. External Perspective- This focuses on factors outside the person to understand
behavior. External events, consequences of behavior, environmental forces to which
a person is subject, are emphasized by this external perspective. A person’s history,
value system, feelings and thoughts are not very important in interpreting actions
and behavior. Kurt Lewin considered both perspectives in saying that behavior is a
function of both the person and the environment.

DEVELOPMENT OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

 Behavioral Science came into use only in the 1950’s when the Ford Foundation coined
it to describe its program on Individual Behavior and Human Relations. For six years,
the Foundation operated and financially supported the Behavioral Science program.
Since then, behavioral science has emerged as a new and integrated discipline that is
primarily concerned with developing valid generalizations about human behavior in
group situations from the viewpoints of psychology, sociology and cultural
anthropology. (Berelson 1962)
 To qualify as a behavioral science, a field of study must satisfy two basic criteria:
- It must have human behavior as its subject matter.
- It must study human behavior in a scientific manner.

The second criterion must be very clearly understood because the study of
human behavior is by no means the exclusive monopoly of the behavioral
sciences. Other fields of study are also concerned with the analysis and
understanding of human behavior. Moreover, there are people who believe that
through common sense of observation, or logic and philosophical expression, as
well as artistic expression and intuition, people’s behavior can be explained and
generalizations established.

Some Basic Definitions

 The two words from which the term “behavioral science” is derived are behavior and
science.
 Science may be defined from two viewpoints (Kerlinger 1964:10). The static view
defines science as a body of knowledge. Its emphasis is on the poduct of scientific

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 activity ( i.e. research) rather than on activity itself. The dynamic view, however,
defines science as an activity as such, it is more concerned with what scientists do.
 In general, human behavior may be defined as any activity of an individual or group,
whether such activity can be observed by another person or detected by scientific
instruments. Thus it includes not only man’s directly observable behavior but aslso the
less directly observe feelings, thoughts, motives, attitudes, values, etc. that influence
such behavior.
 A more specific definitions of human behavior is this: it is the response of an individual
to stimulus situation. It refers to both the types of responses and the manner in which
it was made. Hence, it refers not only to what the person does but also how he does it.
 A stimulus situation refers to a factor, condition, situation or a combination of factors
which provide the occasion for a response.
 Organizational behavior is individual behavior and group dynamics in organization. The
study of organizational behavior is primarily concerned with the psychosocial,
interpersonal, and behavioral dynamics in organizations.
 Behavioral sciences recognize human behavior as having three characteristics: (Kerch
1962) First, that is it is caused; second, it is motivated or goal-directed; and third, it is
integrated- that the individual’s motives, emotions, cognitions and self-concepts, his
attitudes, value systems, etc. as well as the social and cultural pressures, all these
operate in concert to influence his thoughts and actions.

Quiz No. 1

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 RESEARCH IN BEHAVIOR SCIENCE

The immense success of science is traced to the way it seeks, finds and tests knowledge.
More valuable than any of its discoveries are its effective methods, this will make still greater
achievements possible.
The true scientific investigator never jumps at conclusions, never takes anything for
granted, never considers his judgment better than his information, and never substitute opinion
or long established belief for facts.

BASIC STEPS IN RESEARCH

The understanding of what systematic character or scientific knowledge requires a

background of what research is and the methods of research used in obtaining facts and
information about human behavior.
The word search mean to find, to discover or to investigate, while the prefix re means
again. Research, therefore, would simply mean to find again.

Statement of the Problem

Research begins with defining and searching the problem, expressing it in explicit and
concrete terms. This will also include the limitation of the scope of the problem and formulation
of a hypothesis.
Hypothesis is important
since it serves as a guide to collection, organization and interpretation of data. Where
exact observation is impossible, a tentative explanation adopted temporarily as a working
hypothesis, has often proved of great service.

The Research Design

This generally involves the following steps:

1) Determining the type of data needed: whether primary or secondary

2) Identifying the source of data
3) Selecting the methods generally used in the study of human behavior are: analytic or
documentary, experimental, survey and case
4) Choosing the subject of formulating the sampling plan.

If secondary data are used this is not necessary. The researcher can precede recording the
secondary data, processing and analyzing the data gathered. If primary data are needed, a
sampling design as in the survey is important. The procedure of choosing subjects for the
experimental and case methods must also be considered.

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Obtaining Information and Gathering the Data

Four Methods

1. Direct Observation- this involves making direct, critical and systematic observation of
actual behavior pattern in a given situation. A researcher can make direct observation
of observation as a participant or non-participant observer. As a participant he
becomes a part of the event he is observing or the community he is studying. As a non-
participant the investigator carefully observes, records and describes the behavioral
patterns of his subjects with the aid of some instruments and mechanical devices as
films, tapes, one-way mirror and others.
2. Verbal Reports- These are used to measure convert behavior such as attitudes,
feelings, opinions and beliefs. This may be in the form of oral interviews or written
questionnaires.
3. Tests and Inventories- Psychologists sometimes use standardized batteries of
psychological tests and inventories to evaluate some problems in hiring, training and
promoting of personnel.
4. Secondary Data or Library Materials- The investigator makes use of written records
such as data provided by the Bureau of Census and Statistics, Life Insurance records,
school records, court proceedings, published materials such as magazines, periodicals
and newspaper

Processing the Data

This will involve grouping or classifying data into meaningful categories w/c may be done
quantitatively or qualitatively. Some of the steps involve are processing, editing, classifying,
coding and tabulating.

Coding- is a technical process by w/c raw data are transformed into symbolic or numbers that
may be tabulated.

Tabulation- is a systematic method of counting similar replies and adding them in an accurate
and orderly manner. This may be done manually or by machine such as electronic calculators or
computerized instruments and devices.

Analysis and Interpretation

Two Basic Methods of Analyzing Data

1. Statistical- it uses statistical formula or quantitative procedures to establish some

significance among different variables.

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 2. Interferential Analysis- is the process of determining the meaning of evidence by
reflective thinking. It is in this method where one uses logical syllogism or
inferences based on data obtained.

Writing the Final Report

1. Statement of the Problem
2. The research design
3. Analysis and Interpretation of findings
4. Summary, conclusions and recommendations

Perspective in Behavioral Science

- The vast business and industrial challenges brought about by the revelation
in human behavior have broadened the spectrum of human observation.
- An integrated field of investigation into the insights, feelings and reactions
of workers and employees has enabled behavioral scientists to discover
meaningful reasons or causes of man’s actions.
- In the past few years there has been a genuine desire to find an empirical
approach to the understanding of the individual in his organizational
context. Emphasis is focused on the need for proper balance between the
security one finds in traditional ways and the challenge to changes in a new
society.
- The study of the individual behavior is usually an exclusive right of the
psychologists. Their studies have become interdisciplinary but they remain
their own separate identity.
- The behavioral scientists have integrated these three disciplines and
revealed how people behave and why, and the relationship between human
behavior and the total environment.

Behavioral Science in Management

- Management has spent millions of pesos to find new perspectives to change

conventional thinking and practices in dealing with human behavior.
- The rate of technological changes, the growing complexity of modern
businesses, and the increase of scientific researchers have affected the basic
character of human organization.
- The need of our modern business requires that they examine present
organizational theory and practice. The behavioral sciences have found
influences that cause certain behavior in the organization.
- New horizons for techniques were opened when the behavioral sciences
were applied to organizations.
- The industrial humanists appeared with a revolution in organizational
values, but more importantly they brought with them a new set of

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 behavioral techniques which they feel are improved means for achieving
change. Such behavioral technologies as sensitivity training, planned
changed, and organization development are certainly powerful devices.
- The areas in management where the behavioral sciences have contributed
are: personality theory, motivation, interpersonal dynamics, group behavior,
leadership, inter-group behavior, and organizational behavior.
- According to Andrew Dubrin (1974) _later concepts and techniques of the
behavioral approach to management include sensitivity training,
organization development, and role playing.
- The human relations movement in industry thus moved up the scale in
sophistication from human relations training to attempts at increasing the
ability of managers to understand people at a deeper level.” The behavioral
scientists have become deeply involved in the application of their
knowledge to the organizational climate.

Behavioral Science in Marketing

- Business depends much on advertising to effectively help the salesman

convince the customer to buy a product. Advertising first informs the
customers about the quality of a product before the salesman sees his
customer. The process of selling becomes easier and less difficult because of
advertising.
- Salesmanship has much to do with influencing or motivating human
behavior.
- Marketing have made use of this information gathered by the behavioral
scientists in improving their approach to selling and in training programs for
salesman.

Behavioral Science in Accounting

- The increasing interest in the behavioral science is centered not only on the
areas of management, marketing and economics but also on the broader
field of accounting.
- More and more, accounting is integrating the knowledge of the behavioral
sciences in accounting. The growth of interest in the behavioral sciences
may be seen in behavioral researches in managerial accounting.
- Many researches in accounting have felt the need to integrate the findings
from the behavioral sciences especially in the development of better
managerial accounting techniques.
- Behavioral researches in management accounting can be divided into three
categories:
1. Attempts to specify a model for all or part of the human sub-system.

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 2. Investigations into the behavioral dimensions of the management
control process.
3. Studies from the behavioral point of view of the effect of a firm’s
characteristics on the form and function of the management
information system.
- The most significant development to accounting in the behavioral science
field appears to be in the area of communication and in the development of
a few general principles of behavior.
- An article entitled, “ Behavioral Science Content of the Accounting
Curriculum,” has shown several behavioral science areas which are relevant
to accounting education. Such areas are the problem of communication by
the way of transmitting information in various areas of business; budgeting
and employee behavior, a behavioral study of tax allocation, behavioral
study of supervisors and their relation to budget-induced pressure, and
many others.
- The committee that made this study recommends highly the inclusion of
findings in the behavioral science relevant to accounting curriculum and
even the possibility of including questions related to behavioral accounting
in future C.P.A. examinations.

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Chapter 2
PERSONALITY AND CULTURE
Society in General

A society represents geographical aggregate and has boundaries, similar

government or a group of persons engaged in social relationships for a meaningful interaction.
A key concept in the study of society is that of folkways.

Folkways- simply describes the way in which folks- modern or primitive people act and react as
they go about the everyday business of living. They try to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
Experience teaches every individual that some ways of doing things are less painful than others;
therefore, the pleasanter way – in the long run – becomes the habitual way. Eventually the
individual believes (often falsely) that it is the only way.

After people (or tribe) have been practicing folkways for a long time, they became
convinced that these particular ways of doing things are indispensable to the welfare of the
group as a whole. If things are done differently, they fear calamity will result. When this fear for
the welfare of society has cast its spell over folkways, these become mores- fixed customs- that
have the force of law. Violation of mores becomes a crime against society.

The foundation of every society is a group of individual with a set of common

ideas, attitude, interests and styles of living united by common goals. As individuals interact in
0society, they develop individual personalities; thus personality can be defined as the
organization of biological, psychological, socio-cultural and educational factors which underlie a
person’s behavior. It is a product of multifarious factors which include innate biological
heritage, his environmental experiences and cultural linkages. As human beings interacting with
one another they exchange the meanings of their environmental and experiences which partly
become the basis of culture. Thus, culture reflects one’s personality.

CULTURE

What Is Culture?

There are various definitions of culture- descriptive with emphasis on social

heritage; normative with emphasis on rules or ways; psychological with emphasis on
adjustment; structural with emphasis on the patterning or organization of culture and generic
with emphasis on culture as a product or artifact.

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Culture- A complex whole which include knowledge, belief, art, laws, morals, customs and any
other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. It tells man what to do,
what not to do and how to do it.

-Man’s culture is unique to man; but culture varies in different societies. Man’s personality
may differ as he is exposed to different cultures.

Personality –the total psychological and social reactions of an individual, the synthesis of his
subjective, emotional and mental life, his behavior and his reaction to the environment, the
unique or individual traits of a person.

Determinants of Personality

Biological Heritage

Heredity includes all that a person possesses as transmitted from parents to

offspring by means of the germ plasm. The human infant comes into the world equipped with
biological structure, physiological processes, and capacities and urges which may directly or
indirectly influence human behavior.

Musculature

Muscles do play an important role in the whole set-up of human behavior and they
maintain their stability when relaxed. When there is tension because of fear or anxiety, there is
an increased muscle activity. Physical growth during childhood and adolescence also bring
about changes in personality.

Nervous System

It is the system which gives a man his every contact with his experiences with
others. It furnishes every satisfaction and dissatisfaction, every pain and delight, and every
association made to his group around him. The nervous system is divided into two portions: the
cerebrospinal or central nervous system and the autonomic or sympathetic nervous system.

The Glands

The glands yield an influence on the mental and emotional, and physical traits of
men. They produce certain chemical substances that influence changes in personality. There
are two classes of glands. The first, and more easily understood, are those that have tubes or
ducts connected to some other surface of the body like tear glands, and the gall bladder. The

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other kind of glands is that which pours its products directly into the blood stream without the
aid of ducts. It is called ductless glands or endocrine glands.

Hormones control the rates of certain bodily processes associated with

maturation. They speed up and slow down, start and stop various physiological activities.

EQ Factor

New brain research suggests that emotions, not I.Q. may be the true measure of
human intelligence. The phrase “ emotional intelligence” (EQ) was coined by Yale psychologist
Peter Salovey and University of New Hampshire John Mayer Five years ago to describe qualities
like understanding one’s feelings, empathy for the feelings of others, and the “regulation of
emotion in a way that enhances living.”

Emotional Intelligence

Findings of several studies reveal that while I.Q. gets applicant a job, it is E.Q that
propels their career. It is because E.Q. includes a wide range of dimensions of intelligence such
as intra-personal and inter-personal intelligence.

Human beings are endowed with eight different intelligence: linguistic, musical,
body-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intra-personal, naturalist, logical-mathematical and spatial.

Environmental Factors

The Cultural Environment - refers to the learned ways of living and norms of behavior w/c are
transmitted to the child through social groups.

The Social Environment- refers to the various groups and social interactions going on in the
groups of w/c the individual is a member.

Home and Family- In many ways the family is the most important of all human groups, because
it is the basic unit w/c transmits the biological traits of its member, mental abilities and
emotional dispositions, and social heritage or culture of the group through the process of
socialization.

Culture- is man’s social heritage w/c has been transmitted from one generation to another
through language. It represents the interrelated network of norms and roles. Norms are the
standards of behavior prescribed by society of its members.

Status and Roles – An individual is born into a group and occupies a certain position on rank. It
could be his ascribed or achieved status. Ascribed status is that w/c is assigned to the individual

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from birth, such as age, sex. One learns the corresponding roles, behavior patterns and
expectations according to his/her sex status.

Social Agents- The school, the church, and other social institutions are also instrumental in
molding the individual into a wholesome, dynamic and assertive personality.

- Schools are channels in the realization of the goals of society. The

school surroundings and the teachers play vital role in the teaching
and experiencing of values in children. The teacher is considered
important because he/she “ stands between the immature learner
and the vast culture of the race as guide and interpreter. Thus, it
becomes the responsibility of the teacher to be sensitive to the needs
and innate potentialities of the school children and to fill the gap left
by the home.
- The church is a social unit of society which influences the
development of right values.

Situation- the situation influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality. An
individual’s personality, which is generally stable and consistent, does change in different
situations. The demands of different situations call for changes in different aspect of one’s
personality traits are “event” as used by sociologist Robert Nisbet, refers to random,
unpredictable happenings that can affect the cause of social change of demanding some
personality changes.

- Corruption and deceit in government, business and politics may affect

attitudes and employee-employer behavior. Incidence of kidnapping,
uncontrolled system of possession of firearms, sexual harassment,
discrimination and illness are other situations which can bring about
changes in the personality of those people exposed to it.

Philippine Cultural Values

1. Non-rationalism – Rationalism
- The philosophy of life implied in non-rationalism revolves around the
idea that man has to adopt himself to nature and to forces outside of
himself. Non-rationalism involves an uncritical acceptance, reverence
and protection of tradition or rituals. There is a resistance to scientific
methods, an unswerving loyalty to the group and unquestioning
obedience to authority.

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 - Rationalism involves a belief that by systematic planning, studying,
and training, man can actively control and manipulate his destiny and
that he is greatly responsible for his own success or failure.
- Bahala na, palabas, pakitang tao, pagyayabang
2. Authoritarianism
- Filipinos are also inclined to status oriented behavior, feminine
responsibility, shame, debt of gratitude, amor propio and SIR smooth
interpersonal relations
3. Personalism- Impersonalism
- Personalism attaches major importance to the personal factor which
guarantees intimacy, warmth and security or kinship and friendship in
getting things done.
- Impersonalism refers to the tendency to eliminate the influence of
friendship or kinship in working situations.
4. Particularism-Universalism
- When a man’s concern is centered on sub-groups comprising his
relatives, friends, colleagues, associates, religious affiliates or
members of his ethnic or regional group in the larger society to which
he belongs, he is particularistic. When his main concern is the
advancement of the collective or national good, he is universalistic.

Basic Buying and Selling Habits

1. Suki
2. Tumpok-tumpok
3. Hulugan or Paiyakan
4. Lako
5. Tawad
6. Bulungan

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 Chapter 3
FRUSTRATION, STRESS AND BURNOUT; MENTAL HEALTH AND
MENTAL HYGIENE

Frustration- is a stirred-up state of hopelessness that results when a person is prevented

from reaching a particular value-goal to which he has aspired or is prevented from satisfying
his physiological needs. It is the condition of being thwarted in the satisfaction of a motive.

The 3 Main Problems in Life that Bring out Frustration

1. Physiological Problems- basic needs such as food, water, shelter, sex. These needs of
man may seem easy to cope with but when there is so much deprivation of such needs
because of economic dislocation, the frustration may be irreversible and will affect the
psychological condition of the individual.
2. Environmental Problems- Man is born in a social environment surrounded by cultural
norms and values. He is faced with cultural taboos and acceptable social behavior.
Numerous environmental factors come to fore which may or may not be easily
overcome. One of the most difficult problems in this area is one’s cultural do’s and
don’ts. Environmental frustrations cannot be avoided, for there are always certain
factors in a person’s situation which keep him from achieving a degree of personal
growth and achievement.
3. Psychological Problems- Psychological or internal problems are the most difficult to
resolve as they are within the inner feelings of a person. You may not be able to detect
his frustration through his overt behavior

STRESS, BURNOUT: THEIR EFFECTS ON ONE’S BEHAVIOR

Signs of Stress
- Difficulty in sleeping or other changes in sleep habits
- Chronic irritability or anxiety
- Changes in eating habits
- Increased use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs
- Frequent illness including headaches and stomach aches
- Cold hands, rapid breathing and heartbeat, achenes, muscle tension
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According to Schwartz (1980):

Stress – is the nonspecific physiological response of the body to any demand upon it.

Stressor- anything pleasant or unpleasant- that interferes with the body’s equilibrium

Unstress- positive stress

Distress – negative stress when we think of stress

Stress Without Distress – Selye defined this stress syndrome as the General
Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

- First your body goes into the “alarm reaction” to fight the demand---
the well- known “ fight or flight” response.
- Next there is the “resistance stage” which the body adapts to the
demand. The stress response raises the level or resistance to the
stressor that provoked it and to other stressors that tend to decline.
For a while, you feel more capable, resistant and energized.
- Finally, the “exhaustion stage” sets in, when over adaptation to
continued stress may cause the body to fall prey to stress-linked
illnesses.

Another way of thinking about all this is to look at Jeff Bisch’s cartoon. ( Stress Mobile)

At the top of the Stress-mobile is

(1)The input valve for all life’s stressors---- job, family, customers, inflation,
the environment, taxes etc. How you respond to these stressors depends
on(2) your “awareness and choice valve.” You’ll notice that the cutaway view
of the interior of the Stress-mobile reveals that you need a certain amount of
stress to help you reach your goal. When that level is exceeded, however,
you obtain some (3) stress relief by taking a vacation, relaxing following
proper guidelines for exercise and nutrition and having varied interests. If
you don’t get relief from excessive stress, you’ll reach (4) the overflow level,
which will affect whatever is your weakest point. This tension and anxiety
may show up as a headache, ulcer, or coronary attack, which you may try to
avoid or ignore with drugs or alcohol.

Basically you have three choices in dealing with stress:

1. You remove the stressor from your environment.
2. You can get out of the stressful environment

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 3. You can learn to use relaxation techniques to counter toxic
effects directly of a stressful environment

Major Causes of Stress in Organizations

1. Occupational Demand – Some jobs are more stressful that others

Role Ambiguity – Stress from uncertainty. This occurs when individuals are
uncertain about several matters relating to the jobs, the scope of responsibilities, how
to divide their time between various duties, etc.
Overload and under load - Doing too much or too little. Employees are asked to
do more work than they can handle in a given period of time or employees believe that
they lack the required skills to perform a given job. Under load leads to boredom, and
monotony. “The hardest job in the world is doing nothing – you can’t take a break.”
Responsibility for others- a heavy burden. In any organization some persons are
primarily concern with, is the physical side of the business other financial and still others
with people like supervisors or managers. Research finding reports that in general,
individuals who are responsible for other people, who must motivate, reward, punish,
communicate etc. – experience higher levels of stress than persons who handle other
organizational functions.
Lack of social support – The cost of isolation. Social support helps individuals deal
with stress. One study shows that persons who felt they had the support of their
immediate supervisors reported fewer physical symptoms associated with stress that
managers who did not enjoy friendship and support from others at work.

2. Nonwork Demands- creates stress for people w/c may carry over into the work
environment
- Family demands related to child rearing, parental care, etc. create
conflicts or overloads that are difficult to manage.
- Personal demands such as religious activities, public service
involvements, traumatic events such as death of a loved one,
examination failures, job loss, attachments w/c may lead to distress if
not properly handled and resolved.

3. Physical Demands – extreme environments, strenuous activities and hazardous

substances create physical demands for people at work.
- Work environments w/c are very hot or very cold may lead to
dehydration and frostbite.
- Hazards associated with work like bomb disposal, police raids,
underground mine war, may also lead to stress.

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 Emotional and stress reaction – emotions are aroused by external stimuli w/c can
instigate aggressive behavior. Emotion associated with pleasure (joy, love) or displeasure
(anger, fear, pressure, heart rate, dilation of pupils etc.) Emotions may be adaptive or disruptive
depending on its intensity.

- A long term emotional stress can impair a person’s physical health as

well as his mental efficiency. Thus when an individual is emotionally
upset because of frustration, he should control his emotions (fear,
love, anger- our primary emotions); otherwise its disruptive effects
can result to psychosomatic illness.
- For an individual to maintain a certain level of respect and satisfaction
in himself as he faces the day-to-day anxieties of life, he reverts to the
elimination, reduction or avoidance of tension by a kind of
psychological denial of them.

Burnout

- Is accumulative process of gradual wearing down of your reserve,

with little recharging of your energies.
- It is mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. It strikes all ages,
sexes and job levels, yet the most frequent victims are those who
seemingly are the most productive years of their life.

Burnout in Organizations

- The “hurried executive” or the kind of person who is burnout prone is

often drawn to fast moving organizations that would hasten his/her
burning out.
- The fast moving achiever who competently handles all tasks that are
given to him/her is rewarded by having the number of tasks
increased. “No” is a word hardly used by the perfectionist; therefore
he/she continues to handle a greater than average amount of work.
- Work overload is a major contributor to burnout.

Mental Health

A normal, healthy person

- According to Sigmund Freud it is “ love and work”

- According to Karl Menninger mental health is the adjustment of
human beings to the world and each other with a maximum of

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 effectiveness and happiness. Not just efficiency, or just contentment,
or the grace of obeying the rules of the game cheerfully. It is all
together. It is the ability to maintain an even temper and happy
disposition.
- According to Sydney Jourad he states that “ healthy personality is
manifested by the individual who has been able to gratify his basic
needs through acceptable behavior such that his own personality is no
longer a problem to him. He can take himself more or less for granted
and devote his energies and thoughts to socially meaningful interests
and problems beyond security, or even ability or status.”
- Many of man’s personal activities affect his health both physical and
mental. The life-style of the individual has a great impact on his
mental health- nutritional habits, patterns of physical exercise, his
social life and the environment in which he resides. Mental health is
the adjustment process which an individual brings into force when he
is faced with a problem situation.
- Adjustment is an individual’s manner of reacting or responding
adequately to a perceived problem. From the standpoint of mental
health, adjustment refers to a happy and socially acceptable response
to life situations. Mental health, therefore, is the ability of the
individual to function effectively and happily as a person in one’s
expected role in a group and in the society in general. It is a condition
of the whole personality and is not merely a condition of the “mind”
as is often supposed. It is an out-growth of one’s total life and is
promoted or hindered by day to day experience, not only by major
crises as some assume.
- Mental health is the capacity to live harmoniously in a changing
environment; to face and solve one’s problems in a realistic manner;
to accept the inevitable, and to understand and accept one’s own
shortcomings as well as the shortcomings of others.
- Mental health is a matter of degree. There is no hard and fast line that
separate health from illness. It is not a simple matter to divide the
population into two distinct groups- those who should be
institutionalized and those who should not be. Many of us at one time
or another exhibit traits and pattern of behavior which, if accentuated
and continuous, would necessitate psychiatric care.

Characteristics of Mentally Healthy People

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 1. Self-acceptance
2. Acceptance of others
3. Ability to meet the demand of life

Mental Health Problems in Business and Industry

1. Cliques in the work force
2. Wage increase
3. Evaluation of workers
4. Work and assignments
5. Changes

Mental Hygiene

- A branch of psychology w/c ideas with the mental, behavioral and

emotional adjustment through the application of principles and
practices which have some scientific foundations or truth.
- It consists of those patterns of living which promotes the
development of wholesome and socially adequate personality and
helps an individual get along with himself and with his fellowmen.
Through it, the goal of mental health is achieved, so that mental
hygiene may be considered as the means to an end.

Three ways to which principles and practices of mental hygiene is done

1. The preventive approach – This is based on the principle that the best
way to insure a well-adjusted individual is to surround him w/
environmental influences that will enable him to develop his
potentialities, to obtain emotional stability, and achieve personal and
social adequacy.
2. The therapeutic approach – is concerned with the attempt to correct
minor behavioral adjustments through the various counseling and
techniques of psychotherapy, or adjust to the social/or physical
environment of the person in order to help him obtain the amount of
emotional security and self-confidence necessary.
3. The curative approach- sometimes called “preventive psychiatry.” It is
concerned with the detection and correction of serious but curative
behavioral maladjustments. Although this is the work of a trained
clinician od psychiatrist, it is helpful for the layman to have at least a
fundamental knowledge of the major types of behavioral
maladjustments in order that he may have a basis in determining

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 behavioral maladjustments that need the attention of competent
specialists.

Role and Practice of Mental Hygiene in Business and Industry

- The role and practices of mental hygiene in business and industry are
concerned with the adjustments of human behavior necessary to
bring about a better harmonious relationship between employee-
employer, employee-employee and their relations with the public.
Another role deals with the dynamics of personality formation,
human motivation, and emotional adjustments.
- Also, it deals with the factor which causes or induces conflicts and
interferes with the smooth flow of development, promotion and
maintenance of good human relations between employees and
employers and others.
- Mental hygiene is concerned primarily with prevention so that mental
hygiene may be preserved. Here, prevention consists of the
establishment of those conditions that will further normal emotional
life and the treatment of minor behavioral disorders in order that
serious mental illness may be avoided.
- What are these conditions that must exist and prevail? Industrial and
business concerns should consider such important aspects. Pleasant
working conditions may warrant such situation. Disgusting working
conditions cause boredom among the working personnel. Sound
management policies, however, encourage the workers to exert more
efforts and spur their works.
- Management must clear away any stumbling block to the
maintenance of mental health of their working force. At any rate,
proper counseling, mental hygiene clinics, psychiatric services and
other mental hygiene program should be accorded to any employee
or personnel concerned.
- Management should see to it that any newly accepted employee in
the company must not suffer from anxiety or feeling of inferiority.
Instead, mental hygiene’s point of view in business and industry
emphasized the importance of building rather than tearing down
another’s ego. It stresses tolerance. It emphasizes praise as opposed
to blame. It holds to the positive rather than the negative approach. It
respects the dignity of the personnel as an individual.

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 - Mental hygiene is also concerned with the human behavior of the
personnel principally while in the job, i.e., his motivated behavior. It
seeks to know for example why Miss Remedios Cira, a bank teller
behaves differently and strangely from her fellow teller, for Miss
Cira’s behavior patterns like her fingerprints are unique; they are not
duplicated in any other individual employees. A few instances of
behavioral anomalies will serve as examples of the importance of
behavior especially when that behavior is somewhat bizarre.
- The stimuli which determine a businessman’s industrialist’s, an
employee’s or a worker’s present mental health are both internal and
external stimuli. The internal stimuli come from the psychological
state of the person, from memories of the past experiences which he
still retains, from attitudes which he has developed through the years,
and from the goals toward which he is working. The external stimuli
come from his immediate environment.

Employer-Employee Relationship and Mental Hygiene

- It is common fact that in every business concerns, the employees and

employers therein know one another. To some extent, familiarity
exists between them. To maintain unity among them, there should be
continuous harmony and mutual cooperation. No matter what
condition is obtained, they enjoy contact as normal individuals.
- If the groups of personnel are in conflict, the management should put
measures appropriate to prevent contradictory actions, duties,
thoughts and convictions.
- Employers and employees may well attain sound mental hygiene if
they will consider the following salient points of view of mental
hygiene:
1. Respect for one’s own personality and for the personalities of
others.
2. Recognition of limitations in self and in others.
3. An appreciation of the importance of the cause sequence in
behavior.
4. A realization that behavior is a function of the whole
individual.
5. An understanding of the basic need that motivates behavior.

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Chapter 4
Individual in the Organization
Introduction

One of the essential features of an industrial society is that most of its productive work is
carried out in organizations. The society in which we live today is a complicated one- we find
discontinuity between the place where we work for a living and the places where we find our
recreation, social activities and family life. Our productive work or labor is almost always carried
out in some kind of organization as owner, manager or employee. This is very different from
the primitive societies where work, play and general social life are continuously intermingled.

Can you imagine what the world will be without organizations? There would be no schools
to get formal education or to while away time, no clubs or associations, no corporations, no
labor unions, no philanthropic foundations and many other groups. Since we are part of a
community turning out of thousands of business entrepreneurs let’s look at the diversity of
organizations right in our own society. There are not only many categories, but there are
innumerable subcategories within each organizational class. For example in business there are
manufacturing firms and trading companies, others are banking firms, insurance groups, food
retailing, advertising agencies, etc. Still, the manufacturing firms are classified into several
industrial categories like steel producing firms, chemical and drug firms, electronics, etc. There
are indeed a great variety and density of organizations.

This organization operates in a complex system of values and relationship w/c may be
conceptualized as a social system.

Social System

The word system can be traced back to Aristotle who suggested that the whole is greater
that the source of its parts. The concept of general systems theory founded by biologist, Von
Vetalanfy in 1920, assumes that general laws and concepts for the foundation of such disease
fields as biology and physiology, the physical sciences, the basic concepts of economics and
psychology in the social sciences, are that things that do not just happen, but rather that they
evolve from multiple causes and multiple effects. A system may be defined as a series of

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interrelated and interdependent parts, such that the interaction or interplay of any subsystems
(parts) affects the whole in an organization. The human being, for example, is a system. It
consists of a number of organs and limbs, and only when these are functioning in a coordinated
way is the human effective. This is the same as in a business firm. The accounting section does
not work independently from manufacturing, marketing, legal sections and others. All areas or
sections within the organization function in a coordinate way to be effectively productive for
progress.

Human Organization

Human organization as a system can be likened to a human model using the biological
approach which considers the nervous, circulatory, digestive, reproductive, etc. system as a
separate system. Each of these individual systems is a subsystem of the total system which is
interrelated and interdependent.

In addition to this model the psychological perspective of human system will also be
considered. The important variables- feelings, values, and norms of behavior all interact with
other variables. These are influenced by other variables. As we discuss human behavior in the
organization, we use the psychological-biological perspective to study human being as a
complete system and also a sub-system of the social organization and of society as a whole.
From this context human organization may be considered as a system of roles.

In the system of roles each individual has a specific role to play with each of the roles
coordinated with a more integrated pattern. Role as applied here is the sum total of behavior
patterns expected of a person in his activities which involve other roles. The positions people
occupy in society are established with reference to the needs and values of that society.

A status is a position that has been accorded to an individual in a social system which
implies a collection of rights and duties. Status is important in the interpersonal relationships of
the particular group where the status is accorded. Status ranks people on different levels. A
bank manager at the Urban Bank has a status of an executive and when he attends the Board of
Directors meeting, he is a mere member of the board. When he goes to his Rotary Club, he is
the treasurer of the club.

Individuals not only have multiple statuses but they may change, sometimes rapidly, with
changing positions, situations and circumstances. An individual, because of several statuses he
occupies, performs several roles accompanying the different statuses. The more complex a
society and the more active and capable an individual is, the more positions there are likely to
be occupied. Status may be fixed and beyond the control of the individual (sex, skin color or
ancestry) this is ascribed status. Positions subject to control by individuals are achieved

24
status.The more open a society, the more important achieved status there will be. As
individuals have multiple statuses so they have many roles appropriate to each status.

Multiple roles may cause problems, in that an individual may not recognize what is called
for in a new and different status. A new trainee in the bank may have some uneasy moments in
the organization until he/she learns what is that he/she must be on or off the job. Multiple
roles can cause further problems arising from the inability of the individual to make a complete
shift in behavior as a change in status occurs.

Role conflict is the condition when the changes in status and roles are disruptive. A shop
foreman who is promoted to an executive position may have some difficulties when his former
ways as foreman are no longer appropriate to his new position.

The coordination and control of the activities of the member of a society are achieved
through systems of positions and roles. While the organization may be viewed as a subsystem,
it is noteworthy to include other concepts about different aspects of organization to give a
broader perspective of the individual’s interaction within the organization.

The following are some views and concepts about organization.

Organization

Organization means the social units (human groupings) deliberately constructed and
reconstructed to seek specific goals.

An organization is a mechanism or structure that enables living things to work effectively

together. It is the process of identifying and grouping the work to be performed, of defining and
delegating responsibility and authority, and of establishing relationships to enable people to
work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives.

These definitions point to the dual aspects of organization, as both function and framework
or a process and structure. It is a human activity and, at the same time, it is a group of people.
Its existence is by deliberate design and not by accidents. It exists because of an objective which
it seeks to attain effectively and efficiently.

Concepts of Organization

An organization is a structural process in w/c persons interact for objectives. This view of
organization contains several important points. First, the organization is always made up of
people. Second, the people in the organizations interact; that is, the people in the organization
are related to one another in some way. Third, the interactions of people are ordered by
structure that can be described. Fourth, the structured interactions are designed to achieve the

25
personal objectives of the people interacting. In other words people join and/or participate in
organizations in order to achieve their own objectives. Finally, the interactions which result in
the achievement or personal objective that may not be the same with the personal objective of
any member. This rather simple concept of an organization chart leads us to another important
assumption that an organization is a tool for service.

The Organization Context

A complete understanding of organizational behavior requires both an understanding of

human behavior and the understanding of the organization context within which human
behavior is acted out. The organizational context is the specific setting within which the
organizational behavior is enacted.

Organizational as Social Systems

For better understanding and appreciation of organization as a means to productivity we

have to look at the organization as an all-powerful molder of its member and we have to view
the individual member as being wholly free to pursue private goals at the same time holding to
his membership. The individual freedom and the discipline of the organization are two opposite
ends. How they can best go together is partly determined by the characteristics of an
organization as a social system.

As a social system, the organization comprises many interrelated subsystems or groups

which include: the administrative/structural subsystem; the informational decision-making
subsystem, the economic/technological subsystem; and the human/social subsystem.

The focus of the administrative/structural subsystem is on authority, structure and

responsibility within the organization “ who does that for whom” and “who tells them to do
what, when and why.” The information/decision-making subsystem emphasizes key decisions
and the informational needs to keep the system going. The main concern of the
economics/technological subsystem is on the work to be done and the cost effectiveness of
that work within the specific goals of the organization.

Although the focus of the human/social subsystem is on the motivation and needs of the
members of the organization and the leadership, provided for or requires, it must be
understood that within a system approach there is a clear thinking that changes in one
subsystem affect changes in other parts of the total system.

If the total system is healthy and functioning well, each of its parts is effectively interacting
with one another.

Human Resources in Organizations: It’s Importance

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 The most important elements or organizations are the human resources. Economists have
long recognized that human knowledge, skills and abilities are significant determinants of
organizational productivity. Human resource is important from three related but different
points of view:

1. As managerial resource
2. As non-managerial resource
3. As determinants of technology

Features of Organization Affecting Behavior

1. Hierarchy of Authority – This is the vertical differentiation of authority. In every

organization some individual carry out the orders of other individuals, and the latter in
turn carry out the orders of their superiors. Organizations are hierarchically organized
because this hierarchy helps in supervising employees and in coordinating in making
decisions. In corporation, this could be very well elaborated as having ten or more levels
of authority while in partnerships or single proprietorship, there may be less.
2. Rule, procedures, controls and techniques – rules are the answer to the problems of
governing large-scale organizations. Rules have their most obvious form in shop rules
governing personal conduct and in the union agreement which sets forth the mutual
rights and obligations of the contracting parties.

A standard operating procedure is a standardized way of responding to recurring

problem situations. Controls are summary measures of behavior, whether of machines
or of human. Techniques are oftentimes referred to as the “ little method within a
method.” They are also the standardized means by which given ends can be achieved.

3. Formality of communication – It is a necessity to use a standardized, work-related

technical vocabulary. This facilitates communication and rules out ambiguity and
misunderstanding.
4. Specialization of functions and division of labor – In division of labor, work is divided so
that no one is saddled with a great burden, while in specialization, individuals are asked
to perform only a narrow range of functions so that they develop a great deal of
performance.
5. Employment of skilled personnel – a guiding principle for organization is to hire
competent workers or persons. To force the work on the incompetent would be a waste
of time.
6. Specificity of purpose – Organizations has highly specific purposes. Specificity of
purpose varies between and among organizations.

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Informal Groups in the Organization

Informal groups arise and persist because they perform desired functions for their
members. One function of informal organization is to perpetuate cultural values which the
group holds dear. It also provides social satisfactions; it gives man recognition, status and
further opportunity to relate to others.

Benefits of Informal Organization

1. They blend with formal systems to make a workable system for getting work done.
2. It gives satisfaction and stability to work groups

Organizational Culture – refers to a system of shared meaning held by the members that
distinguishes the organization from other organizations. A dominant culture expresses the core
values that are shared by a majority of organization members. When we talk about
organizational culture, we are referring to its dominant culture.

Ten Characteristics that Capture the Essence of Organizational Culture

1. Member Identify
2. Group emphasis
3. People focus
4. Unit integration
5. Control
6. Risk tolerance
7. Reward criteria
8. Conflict tolerance
9. Means-ends orientation
10. Open System focus

Culture Functions

1. Boundary-defining role
2. Conveys a sense of identity for organization members
3. Facilitates the generation of commitment to something larger than one’s individual
interest
4. Enhances social system stability

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