Organizational Behavior Exam 1 Study Guide
intuition
"gut feelings" not necessarily supported by research
3 components of attitudes
(ABC's of attitudes): affective (feelings and emotions), behavioral (intention to behave a certain way), cognitive (factual evaluation): these components are interdependent
Trait Activation Theory
(TAT) Predicts that some situations, events, or interventions "activate" a trait more than others
moderating variable
(contingency variable) changes the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
What is an example of a qualitative study?
-Case study: researcher explores a bounded system(s) (cases) over time through detailed, in-depth data collection primarily through observation, occasionally backed up by interviews, records and documents
What four elements determine the strength of a situation?
-Clarity: degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are available and clear -Consistency: extent to which cues regarding work duties and responsibilities are compatible with one another -Constraints: extent to which individual's freedom to decide or act is limited by forces outside their control -Consequences: degree to which decisions or actions have important implications for the organization and its members, clients, suppliers and so on
GLOBE Framework vs Hofstede's Framework
-Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness: nine dimensions on which national cultures differ (more dimensions than Hofstede)
What two types of PE fit that are important in the workplace?
-PJ (Person-Job) fit theory: identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover -PO (Person-Organization) fit theory:people are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values, and leave when there is no compatibility
How can we measure personality?
-Self report surveys: individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors (may not be as accurate) -Observer rating surveys: coworker or another observer does the rating (predict job success more than self-ratings alone) Combination of Self report and observer surveys
What are the two ways in which job satisfaction is measured?
-Single global rating: response to one question such as "all things considered how satisfied are you with your job" and scale of 1-5 (less time consuming) -Summation of job facets: identifies key elements in a job (work itself, pay, promotion, supervision, coworkers, overall) and respondents rate these on a standardized scale and researchers add the ratings to create an overall job satisfaction score (helps managers zero in on problems & respond faster)
What are the different types of values?
-Terminal values: desirable end-states of existence (goals a person would like to achieve) ex. economic success -Instrumental values: preferred modes of behavior or means of achieving terminal values (modes of behavior) ex. personal discipline -Cultural values: Hofstede (power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs short-term orientation)
Situation Strength Theory
-The way personality translates into behavior depends on the 'strength of the situation' (The degree to which norms, cues, or standards dictate appropriate behavior) -Personality traits drive behaviors in 'weak situations'
What are values and value systems?
-Values are basic convictions about what is right, good, or desirable and they influence attitudes and behaviors -A value system ranks values in terms of intensity
Responses to Job Dissatisfaction
-exit: leaving the organization (active, destructive) -voice: actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions through suggestions, discussions, etc. -loyalty: passively waiting for conditions to improve (constructive) -neglect: passively allowing conditions to worsen through chronic absenteeism, reduced effort and increased error rate (destructive)
Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
-higher job performance -more organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) -higher customer satisfaction -higher life satisfaction
What are some of the causes of job satisfaction?
-job conditions: (work itself, social interactions and supervision) interesting jobs that provide training, variety, independence and control are more satisfying. Quality of exchange btwn leaders and employees more strongly related to job satisfaction in individualistic countries -Personality: Ppl with positive core self-evaluation (CSE: believe in inner worth and basic competence) are more satisfied with job -Telecommuting: positively correlated to job satisfaction up to 15 hours then negatively correlated (upside down U-shaped curve) -Pay: less correlated with job satisfaction once comfortable living standard is reached -Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): self-regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law. When personal values fit with CSR, more satisfied. Ppl want CSR to be genuine and authentic
What are the quantitative studies?
-lab experiment: artificial environment created in which the researcher manipulates one or more independent variables under controlled conditions -field experiment: similar to a lab experiment but conducted in a real organization -field survey: info collected by asking a sample of the population questions -meta-analysis: aggregate quantitative reviews: allows a researcher to quantitatively synthesize the studies on a certain topic and determines if they consistently produce similar results
Advantages and disadvantages of each research design
-lab experiment: control over variables (able to imply causation), difficult to generalize -field experiment: selection bias, real organization, enhanced validity but less control than in lab -field survey: easily quantified, reaching out to large population with limited cost, responses affected by social desirability, no in-depth info about context -meta-analysis: summarizing and organizing existing research findings, evidence only from published sources -Case study: in-depth, not generalizable
Disciplines that contribute to OB
-psychology: science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals -social psychology: area of psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology to focus on the influence of people on one another -sociology: study of people in relation to their social environment or culture -anthropology: study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities
Management Skills
-technical: ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise -human/interpersonal: ability to understand, communicate with, motivate, and sup- port other people, both individually and in groups -conceptual: mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations
Managerial Activities
-traditional management: decision making, planning, and controlling -communication: exchanging routine information and processing paperwork -human resource management: motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing, and training -networking: socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders
What are the criteria for evaluating research?
-validity: is the study measuring what it claims to be measuring? -reliability: are study methods producing stable and consistent results? -generalizability: Can the results be extended to individuals other than those who participated in the study?
What is Person-Environment (PE) fit and what is it associated with?
-viewed as the match between an individual's personality/values and their environment -PE fit is associated to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and performance
What are 3 popular personality frameworks and surveys?
1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): very common in organizations, Individuals classified in 4 either-or dichotomies (extravert vs introvert-outgoing vs shy, sensing vs intuitive- routine and order vs unconscious processes and big picture, thinking vs feeling- reason and logic vs values and emotions, judging vs perceiving-control vs flexibility), no scientific support 2. Big Five Personality Model: Significant body of research, Five basic dimensions underlie all other personality dimensions (OCEAN: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) 3. Dark Triad: Focuses on three negative personality traits (Machiavellianism: person is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance and believes ends justify the means, win in the short term, not well liked; Narcissism: person with grandiose sense of self-importance and arrogance, one of the largest predictors of CWB; psychopathy: lack of concern for others and lack of guilt or remorse when actions cause harm)
What are the 5 traits of the Big Five Personality Model in detail?
1. Openness to experience: how much a person is characterized by imagination, sensitivity, curiosity (more creative and innovative) 2. Conscientiousness: how much a person is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized (strongest predictor of job success) 3. Extraversion: how much a person is sociable, gregarious, and assertive (often arise as leaders) 4. Agreeableness: how much a person is cooperative, trusting, and good natured (better liked but lower levels of career success) 5. Emotional stability (Neuroticism): How much a person is calm, self-confident, and secure, as opposed to nervous, depressed, and insecure (strongly related to life and job satisfaction and reduced burnout)
Organizational Behavior (OB)
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
Counterproductive behaviors
Actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, or being late or absent (generally predicted by job dissatisfaction)
model
An abstraction of reality, a simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon
Relationship between attitudes and behavior
Attitudes can shape our behavior and vice versa
evidence-based management (EBM)
Basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific, organizational and experiential evidence, as well as organizational values and stakeholder concerns
Why do only few absolutes apply to organizational behavior?
Because we are not alike, our ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations about ourselves is limited. Two people often act very differently in the same situation, and the same person's behavior changes in different situations
Main activities of effective managers
Communication (44%), HRM (26%), networking least
Power distance
Degree to which people accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. If power distance is lower, POS is more important
Steady State Theory
Each worker has a typical level of job satisfaction called "steady state" or equilibrium and different situational factors at work can temporarily move a worker from this state
Why is it important to complement intuition with systematic study in our attempts to understand behavior within organizations?
If we make all decisions with only our intuition, we're likely working with incomplete information and by relying on intuition alone is made worse because we tend to overestimate the accuracy of what we think we know. It is important to understand all of the potential benefits and risks associated with our decisions.
Discuss the growing importance of interpersonal skills in the workplace
It is important to have interpersonal skills because "good places to work" tend to have better financial performance, lower turnover of quality employees, higher quality applications and there is a strong association between high quality workplace relationships and job satisfaction, lower stress and decreased turnover.
systematic study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence.
Main activities of successful managers
Networking (48%) and communication (28%), least amount of HRM
What are the parts and levels of the OB model?
Parts: inputs (variables like personality, group structure, and organizational culture that lead to processes), processes (Actions that individuals, groups, and organizations engage in as a result of inputs and that lead to certain outcomes) and outcomes (Key factors that are affected by other variables) Levels: individual, group, organizational
What are the main disciplines that contribute to OB research and how do they contribute to our understanding of OB?
Psychology: learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance appraisal, attitude measurement, employee-selection techniques, work design, and job stress Social Psychology: how to implement change and best reduce barriers to its acceptance, also important contributions to the study of group behavior, power, and conflict Sociology: study of group behaviors, organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, communications, power, and conflict Anthropology: understanding differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior among people in different countries and within different organizations
contingency variables
Situational factors or variables that moderate the relationship between two or more variables.
ethical dilemmas and ethical choices
Situations in which individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct
Surface level vs deep level diversity
Surface level: age, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, physical and mental abilities Deep level: attitudes, personality and values
task performance
The combination of effectiveness and efficiency at doing core job tasks
productivity
The combination of the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization
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
group functioning
The quantity and quality of a group's work output
withdrawal behavior
The set of actions employees take to separate themselves from the organization
Personality
The sum of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others OR Regularities in feeling, thought, and action that are characteristic of an individual and influence his/her behaviors (more stable in adults and more changeable in adolescents)
What are some changes in organizations right now?
The typical employee is getting older, the workforce is becoming increasingly diverse, and global competition requires employees to become more flexible and cope with rapid change.
Discrepancy Model of Job Satisfaction
To determine how satisfied they are with their jobs, employees compare their job to some "ideal job" (this can be used in combination with the job facets model)
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.
job satisfaction
a positive feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics
hypothesis
a tentative explanation of the relationship between 2 or more variables
variable
any general characteristic that can be measured and changes in value
cognitive dissonance
any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes
Moderating variables between attitudes (independent variable) and behaviors (dependent variable)
attitude's importance, correspondence to behavior, accessibility, social pressures, direct experience with the attitude
Core self-evaluations
bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competence, and worth as a person, people with high CSE's may thrive in organizations with high CSR
How do people try to resolve dissonance?
change their behavior, change their attitude, rationalize or trivialize (say it's unimportant) the inconsistency
efficiency
degree to which an organization can achieve its ends at a low cost
organizational survival
degree to which an organization is able to exist and grow over the long term
causality
direction of cause and effect
organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)
discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee's formal job requirements, but which promotes the effective functioning of the organization
employee engagement
employee's involvement in, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for their work
psychological empowerment
employees' belief in the degree to which they affect their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and their perceived autonomy in their work
Personality traits
enduring characteristics that describe an individual's behavior
attitudes
evaluative statements, either favorable or unfavorable, about objects, people, or events
research question
gap in the literature or in managerial practice that deserves further exploration
manager
get things done through other people in an organization
What 3 factors influence our desire to resolve dissonance?
importance of the elements creating dissonance, degree of influence we believe we have over the elements, and the rewards of dissonance
How are Effective Managers defined?
in terms of quantity and quality of their performance and the satisfaction and commitment of employees
self-monitoring
individual's ability to adjust behavior to external, situational factors, pay close attention to behavior of others and more capable of conforming
theory
model or framework that describes a set of related concepts or hypotheses to explain a certain phenomenon
Management functions
planning (process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities), organizing (Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made), leading (function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts), controlling (Monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations)
independent variable
presumed cause of some change in the dependent variable
stress
psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures
Heredity
refers to those factors that were determined at conception, The Heredity Approach argues that the explanation of personality lies in the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.
Proactive personality
someone who identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres until meaningful change occurs (does not need much oversight)
How are Successful Managers defined?
speed of promotion within their organization
positive organizational scholarship
studies how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential
Purpose of research
systematic gathering of info to help in the search of the "truth"
What does the study by Vukasovic and Bratko (2015) on personality and heredity show?
that 40% of personality is attributable to heredity and 60% to the environment
Job involvement
the degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth
organizational commitment
the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
the degree to which employees believe an organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being
correlation coefficient
used to indicate the strength of the relationship between 2 or more variables -1 is perfect negative, 1 is perfect positive -a high value does not imply causality
dependent variable
variable the researcher is interested in explaining
Hawthorn Studies (Mayo, 1933)
wanted to study the effects of the physical environment on productivity and found that no matter the conditions, productivity increased bcz the workers reacted to the increased attention they received
