Students are expected to read Chapter 1, Section 1 of ORGB6called Human Behavior in Organizationsand utilize two external sources to write a 250 to 300 word essay to clearly and concisely describe organizational behavior so that a person with no prior knowledge can develop a basic understanding of the subject matter.

Human Behavior in Organizations

Human behavior in organizations is complex and often difficult to understand. Organizations have been described as clockworks in which human behavior is logical and rational, but they often seem like snake pits to those who work in them.The clockwork metaphor reflects an orderly, idealized view of organizational behavior devoid of conflict or dilemma because all the working parts (the people) mesh smoothly. The snake pit metaphor, on the other hand, conveys the daily conflict, distress, and struggle in organizations. Each metaphor reflects reality from a different perspectivethe organization's versus the individual's. The snake pit metaphor expresses the dark side of human behavior, which is seen at its extreme in cases of road rage and workplace violence. Workplace incivility has become commonplace in many organizations,with an estimated 50 percent of workers saying that they experience uncivil behavior weekly. Incivility has negative affective, cognitive, and behavioral consequences for instigators, targets, and witnesses of such negative behaviors.In contrast, the clockwork metaphor expresses the view of organizations as healthy and productive systems in which individuals have a clear sense of the shared vision and values, are personally invested in outcomes, feel that their contributions are significant, and receive support and respect from the organization's leadership.

Organizations have been described as clockworks, but they often seem like snake pits.

This chapter serves as an introduction to the complex subject of organizational behavior. The first section provides an overview of human behavior in organizations, its interdisciplinary origins, and its responses to change. The second section presents an organizational context within which behavior occurs. The third sectionhighlights theopportunitiesthat exist in times ofchangeandchallengefor people at work.The fourth section addresses the ways people learn about organizational behavior and explains how the text's pedagogical features relate to the various learning styles. The final section presents the plan for the book.

We can defineorganizational behavioras the study of individual behavior and group dynamics in organizations. The study of organizational behavior is primarily concerned with the psychosocial, interpersonal, and behavioral dynamics in organizations. However, organizational variables that affect human behavior at work are also relevant to the study of organizational behavior. These organizational variables include jobs, the design of work, communication, performance appraisal, organizational design, and organizational structure.

1-1aUnderstanding Human Behavior

The vast majority of theories and models of human behavior fall into two basic categories: that of an internal perspective and that of an external perspective. The internal perspective looks at workers' minds to understand their behavior. It is psychodynamically oriented, and its proponents understand human behavior in terms of the thoughts, feelings, past experiences, and needs of the individual. The internal perspective explains people's actions and behavior in terms of their histories and personal value systems. The idea of this perspective is that internal processes of thinking, feeling, perceiving, and judging lead people to act in specific ways; therefore, people are best understood from the inside, and their behavior is best interpreted alongside their thoughts and feelings. The internal perspective has given rise to a wide range of motivational and leadership theories.

The external perspective, on the other hand, focuses on factors outside the person to understand behavior, that is, external events, consequences, and environmental forces. This perspective excludes consideration of a person's history, feelings, thoughts, and personal value system in interpreting actions and behavior. Thus, it has given rise to an alternative set of motivational and leadership theories, which are covered in Chapters 5 and 12. The internal and external perspectives offer alternative explanations for human behavior. For example, the internal perspective might say Mary is an outstanding employee because she has a high need for achievement, whereas the external perspective might say it is because she is extremely well paid for her work. Kurt Lewin combined both perspectives with his claim that behavior is a function of both the person and the environment.

(Example) - Written Assignments
Criteria	Ratings	Pts
Content view longer description	10 pts Highly satisfactory Essay includes a good balance of personal input supported by content from the textbook. 8 pts Satisfactory Essay consists of valuable content from the textbooks, but little to no personal input. 6 pts Unsatisfactory Essay consists of valuable personal input, but little to no content from the textbooks. 4 pts Highly unsatisfactory Essay is off topic neglecting to address the primary focus of the assignment.	/ 10 pts
Organization view longer description	5 pts Highly satisfactory Essay follows the guidelines provided in the template. 4 pts Satisfactory Essay is well organized, but does not follow the guidelines provided in the template. 3 pts Unsatisfactory Essay includes good sentence structure, but lacks a proper paragraph format making it difficult to identify when transitions are taking place. 2 pts Highly unsatisfactory Lacks a clear organizational plan. Reader is confused.	/ 5 pts
Word Count view longer description	5 pts Highly satisfactory Essay complies with the 250 to 300-word requirement. 4 pts Satisfactory Essay is more than 300-words. 3 pts Unsatisfactory Essay is less than 250-words. 2 pts Highly unsatisfactory Essay is less than 150-words or more than 400-words.	/ 5 pts
Grammar & Spelling view longer description	5 pts Highly satisfactory No major grammatical or spelling errors. 4 pts Satisfactory Accurate word choice. No more than 2 major errors and a few minor errors. 3 pts Unsatisfactory Some serious errors, but they don't impair communication. 2 pts Highly unsatisfactory Limited vocabulary; errors impair communication.	/ 5 pts
Total Points: 0