An Introduction to the Dark Side of Organizations

Abstract

Organizational behavior is the study of human behavior in organizational settings. It is also a relatively young field of study, one that is still seeking to define its boundaries and determine its fundamental concepts and processes. In some ways, organizational behavior emerged as a counterpoint to the widespread popularity of Frederick Taylor’s scientific management, an industrial engineering-based approach to management that emerged in the early 1900s (cf., Taylor, 1911). Scientific management was primarily focused on how managers could boost the productivity of workers through efficiency and standardization techniques such as time-and-motion study and piecerate pay systems. In Taylor’s view, the roles of individuals and groups in organizations were either ignored altogether or given only minimal attention.