MGMT 300 A - Chapter 1 "What Is Organizational Behavior?"

History (pg. 11)

A collective pool of experience, wisdom, and knowledge that benefits the organization. History cannot be bought.

Correlation (pg. 17)

A correlation, abbreviated as "r", describes the statistical relationship between two variables. Can be negative or positive.

Organizational Behavior (pg. 6)

A field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations.

Evidence-based management (pg. 21)

A perspective that argues that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education, much as they do for medical education.

Theory (pg. 16)

Defined as a collection of assertions - both verbal and symbolic - that specify how and why variables are related, as well as the conditions in which they should (and should not) be related.

Socially Complex Resources (pg. 12)

Examples: culture, teamwork, trust, and reputation. These resources are termed "socially complex" because it's not always clear how they came to develop, though it is clear which organizations do (and do not) possess them.

Strategic Management (pg. 7)

Focuses on the product choices and industry characteristics that affect an organization's profitability. A strategic management study might examine the relationship between firm diversification (when a firm expands into a new product segment) and firm profitability.

Meta-analysis (pg. 21)

It takes all the correlations found in studies of a particular relationship and calculates a weighted average.

Rule of One-Eighth (pg. 14)

One must bear in mind that one-half of organizations won't believe the connection between how they manage their people and the profits they earn. One-half of those who do see the connection will do what many organizations have done - try to make a single change to solve their problems, not realizing that the effective management of people requires a more comprehensive and systematic approach. Of the firms that make comprehensive changes, probably only about one-half will persist with their practices long enough to actually derive economic benefits, since one-half times one half equals one-eighth,at least 12% of organizations will do what is required to build profits by putting people first.

Method of Science (pg. 16)

People accept some belief because scientific studies have tended to replicate that result using a series of samples, settings, and methods.

Method of Intuition (pg. 16)

People hold firmly to some belief because it "just stands to reason" - it seems obvious or self-evident.

Method of Experience (pg. 16)

People hold firmly to some belief because it is consistent with their own experience and observations.

Method of Authority (pg. 16)

People hold firmly to some beliefs because some respected official agency, or source has had said it so.

Human Resource Management (pg. 7)

Takes the theories and principles studied in organizational behavior and explores the "nuts-and-bolts" applications of those principles in organizations.

Numerous Small Decisions (pg. 12)

The concept of numerous small decisions captures the idea that people make many small decisions day in and day out, week in and week out.

Inimitable (pg. 11)

The resource-based view suggests that a resource is more valuable when it is inimitable, meaning that it cannot be imitated.

Resource-based View (pg. 10)

This perspective describes what exactly makes resources valuable - that is, what makes them capable of creating long-term profits for the firm. A firm's resources include financial (revenue, equity, etc.) and physical (building, machines, technology) resources, but they also include resources related to organizational behavior, such as the knowledge, ability, and wisdom of the workforce, as well as the image, culture, and goodwill of the organization.