1.1.2 A Brief History of Organizational Behavior, or O.B.
Although organizational behavior is a relatively new field, people have been studying it for thousands of years across cultures. From The Art of War by Sun Tzu approximately 2400 years ago to The Prince by Machiavilli in the 15th century, humans have been seeking advice on the best way to manage others. Since we are still seeking advice, it is apparent that no one person has yet provided the magic pill for managers. The problem is that we are all seeking the "one secret" to effective management. We can learn technical skills, we can measure quantity and quality, we can create products, and we can develop strategies, but few can predict and/or control human behavior. This is why books like The One Minute Manager, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and Winning sell so well. How wonderful it would be if a magic management formula could be delivered in a quick read! The bad news is that human behavior is too complex to explain easily.
The understanding of human behavior began with philosophy and religion--both subjects are also devoted to predicting how humans will behave and religion also uses threats of punishment and predictions of rewards to control humans. Economics and Psychology evolved from philosophy. Social psychology became a specialization within psychology. Anthropology developed as a field where first-hand observations of human behavior are used to understand humans in group settings across cultures. Economics continues to study incentives to behavior. Management has now emerged from all of these fields. In the past hundred years, several ideas evolved which still drive the behavior of managers.