Social Sciences Relate to Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior is basically studying the way people behave in organizations.  These organizations exist in many different fields of social science.  What are those fields?  1) Psychology, 2) Sociology, 3) Anthropology, 4) Economics, 5) Education, 6) Human Geography, and 7) Political Science. 

Edgar Schein created a model for organizational behavior.  By using this model, leaders can understand the three elements of an organization, artifacts, values, and assumptions.  For example, a leader may try to change the underlying assumptions of an organization.
  
Artifacts are the tangible items that people can observe.  "Artifacts can be dress codes, furniture, art, work climate, stories, work processes, organizational structures etc. (Schein, 1992). 

Values are those that are expressed by the leadership of the organization.  The values of the organization can be the mission, the goals, and the philosophies of the company (Schein, 1992). 

"Assumptions reflect the shared values within the specific culture. These values are often ill-defined, and will oftentimes not be especially visible to the members of the culture. Assumptions and espoused values are possibly not correlated, and the espoused values may not at all be rooted in the actual values of the culture" (Schein, 1992).

He also published a third edition of the book called Organizational Culture and Leadership. "Edgar Schein shows how to transform the abstract concept of culture into a practical tool that managers and students can use to understand the dynamics of organizations and change." (Amazon.com Review)

Author: Dr. Andree Swanson 

Reference

Schein, E. H. (1992). Organizational culture and leadership. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.