Organizational Behavior Chapter 1
Input
Variables that lead to processes.
Planning
A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activates.
Processes
Actions that individuals, groups and organizations engage in as a result of inputs and that lead to certain outcomes.
Model
An abstraction of reality. A simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon.
Positive Organizational Scholarship
An area of OB research that concerns how organizations develop human strength, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
Social Psychology
An area of psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another.
Manager
An individual who achieves goals through other people.
Organizing
Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to who, and where decisions are to be made.
Citizenship Behavior
Discretionary behavior that contributes to the psychological and social environment of the workplace.
Workforce Diversity
The concept that organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and inclusion of other diverse groups.
Efficiency
The degree to which an organization can achieve its ends at a low cost.
Organizational Survival
The degree to which an organization is able to exist and grow over the long-term.
Effectiveness
The degree to which an organization meets the needs of its clientele or customers.
Group Cohesion
The extent to which members of a group support and validate one another while at work.
Conceptual Skills
The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations.
Group Functioning
The quantity and quality of a work group's output.
Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals.
Withdrawal Behavior
The set of actions employees take to separate themselves from the organization.
Sociology
The study of people in relation to their social environment or culture.
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
Ethical Dilemmas and Ethical Choices
Situations in which individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct.
Technical Skills
The ability to apply specialized knowledge or experience.
Human Skills
The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups.
Evidence-Based Management (EBM)
The basing of managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence.
Task Performance
The combination of effectiveness and efficiency at doing your core job tasks.
Productivity
The combo of the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization.
Leading
A function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts.
Intuition
A gut feeling not necessarily supported by research.
Contingency Variables
Situational factors: variables that moderate the relationship between two or more variables.
Organizational Behavior
A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness.
Organization
A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.
Outcomes
Key factors that are affected by some other variables.
Systematic Study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence.
Controlling
Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations.