Organizational behavior is: “the study of human behaviour in organizational environments, the interaction between individuals and organizations, and most importantly the internal mechanisms that support behavior”. It is often used as a description of psychological counselling. The idea behind it is that all people are unique and that we all act and react differently to situations whether we know it or not.

This is why we try different approaches and techniques in an attempt to find out what triggers specific reactions and emotions. We all react differently to our environment and individual experiences. These reactions are then translated into behavior that is seen as normal or abnormal by others. This is known as the theory of key forces. Key forces theory postulates that we are not able to change our reactions to environmental factors because these events were pre-programmed into our brains from birth. However we can change how we react to these key forces.

Organizationally, this is often referred to as the social system and organizational behavior is influenced by the social system. A successful organisation is determined by a strong social system and effective interpersonal communication. In the business setting, effective communication refers to an atmosphere where people at all levels are able to communicate honestly and interact with each other in an honest and respectful manner. This atmosphere fosters and encourages cooperation and productivity. The key forces behind cooperation and productivity is a strong sense of social order and a positive view of others. In a highly organised work environment, this cohesiveness and positive view of others are fostered through the shared vision of organizational goals and aspirations.

This is why it is so important for an organisation to hire a person who has undergone rigorous training in interpersonal communication skills and understands the whole person as well as the environment in which they function. This is why behaviour analysis is so important. An effective behaviour analysis will identify the patterns of behavior that are causing problems within your team and not just isolated incidents. It will help you to understand the motivation and thinking behind the individual reactions or behaviours.

The best way to solve problems is to pinpoint their source and then find ways of addressing those issues. By identifying and addressing the source of the problem you are in fact solving the underlying cause of the behavior. A comprehensive behaviour analysis will look at your entire organizational structure and your people. It will enable you to see where your weaknesses lie and provide you with strategies to strengthen these areas.

Organizational behavior and social structure have been studied extensively by social scientists over the past half century. Many of the theories and findings have been replicated many times over. For example, children do indeed differ from one another when it comes to how they behave with other children. This has been shown using a variety of methods including; lab tests, field studies, observation and interviews. Most of these studies have produced the same general conclusions, namely that; groups act according to functional goals and not individualistic goals.

In contrast, the whole-person perspective is based on the assumption that; the whole person is part of a social system which determines their behavior. Groups act according to their individualistic or functional needs and not as a group of individuals with shared psychological needs. Although this may seem like an absolutes truth it has been consistently proven that; groups do not act collectively as a whole but rather as a group of individuals with common psychological needs. Groups also work together but rarely work independently.

In this context it is evident that the social system approach is more accurate in terms of describing the human behavior of most groups. Organizational psychologists support the whole person model as the most accurate description of human behavior. As such, it is widely used in organizational studies, with the exception of situations where some evidence that individual differences could explain the group dynamics is overwhelming. When this is the case, the factor that usually drives group behavior is individualism/functionality rather than the existence of a group system.