Exam 2 - psy 3333 (I-O)
Describe Fiedler's contingency theory
where leaders are classified as primarily person-oriented or task-oriented. The type of leader who will be the more effective depends on the leader's degree of control over the situation
Identify the characteristics of successful first-line supervisors
person-centered supportive of their workers democratic flexible coaches rather than directors
contingency theory
A leadership theory in which a leader's effectiveness is determined by interactions between the leader's personal characteristics and the characteristics of the leadership situation
path-goal theory
A leadership theory that focuses on the kinds of behaviors leaders should exercise to allow their subordinates to achieve personal and organizational goals
scientific management
A management philosophy concerned with increasing productivity that regraded workers as extensions of the machines they operated
Hardiness
A personality variable that may explain individual differences in vulnerability to stress. So-called hardly person believe they can control events in their lives and thus may be more resistant to stress
Pygmalion effect
A self-fulfilling prophecy in which managers' expectations about the level of their employees' job performance can influence that performance
role ambiguity
A situation that arises when job responsibilities are unstructured or poorly defined
Role conflict
A situation that arises when there is a disparity in job requirements or between a job's demands and the employee's personal standards
Relaxation training
A stress-reduction technique that concentrates on relaxing one part of the body after another
Biofeedback
A stress-reduction technique that involves electronic monitoring of physiological processes, so that people can learn to control muscle tension, blood pressure, and brain waves
merit pay
A wage system in which pay is based on level of performance
Describe the four content theories of motivation.
Achievement theory of motivation emphasizes the need to accomplish something, to do a good job, and to be the best. Need hierarchy theory encompasses physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs. Motivator-hygiene (two-factor) theory of motivation explains work motivation and job satisfaction in terms of job tasks and workplace features. Job-Characteristic theory states that specific job characteristics can lead to psychological conditions that can increase motivation.
Describe the effects of alcoholism and drugs in the workplace.
Drug users affect the workplace because they can potentially attempt to sell drugs to other workers to finance their own habit. They also have been found to have more numbers of accidents, absences, and health benefit claims. Alcoholism affects the workplace by employees taking longer lunch breaks, lying, excessive absences, and low productivity.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a bureaucratic style of organization
Advantages of a bureaucratic style of an organization are that workers would have more opportunities to rise from an organizational level to the next one based on their ability. Bureaucracy can be criticized not only for their smothering effects on workers but also for their smothering effects on themselves. Disadvantages of a bureaucratic style of an organization are that the management tends to ignore human needs and values. Employees in a bureaucracy have no individual identity and no control over their work or over the organizational policies that influence the quality of their working life.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a bureaucratic style of organization.
Advantages of a bureaucratic style of organization is that workers would have the opportunity to rise from an organizational level to the next on the basis of their ability and bureaucracy can be criticized. Disadvantages of a bureaucratic style of an organization are that the management tends to ignore human needs and values. Employees in a bureaucracy have no individual identity and no control over their work or over the organizational policies that influence the quality of their working life.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of landscaped offices.
Advantages of landscaped offices are that it's inexpensive to construct and maintain. Employees also reported that the offices are pleasant and conducive to socializing. Disadvantages are that there is a lack of privacy, it can be difficult to concentrate due to noise, and can lack personal touches (photos or decorations) in the offices
Describe three types of organizational commitment.
Affective commitment - employee identifies with the organization Behavioral commitment - employee is bound to the organization by pension plan, insurance program, seniority Normative commitment - a sense of obligation to remain with the employer (a feeling that develops when employees receive benefits such as tuition reimbursement or specific training)
Do you think the widespread use of computers, cell phones, and other personal electronic devices at work and in everyday life make our lives more stressful or less stressful? Why?
Although the widespread use of computers, cell phones, and other personal electronic devices at work and in everyday life has many pros when it comes to making our lives easier it can also do the opposite. Technology, in general, does make things in our lives easier to an extent. I agree that these technology usages and access can make our lives more stressful because they can be distracting, make the workload more demanding, it lacks personal connection, and can provide information overload.
Compare and contrast authoritarian and democratic styles of leadership.
An authoritarian leader makes all decisions and tells the followers what to do. A democratic leader and his/her followers discuss problems and jointly make all decisions that affect their work. Both styles are enforced in the work field and can exist at the same time in a workplace.
Compare and contrast authoritarian and democratic styles of leadership. Under what conditions is authoritarian style most effective? Under what conditions is the democratic style most effective?
Authoritarian leadership style is where a leader makes all the decisions and tells their followers what to do and gives little to no room for followers to have their own input. The authoritarian style is most effective in stressful work situations that require highly efficient job performance and satisfaction. The democratic leadership style is where the leader and followers discuss problems and make decisions jointly. The democratic style is most effective when the decision-making process requires more participation
Identify and briefly describe the styles of leadership discussed in the text
Authoritarian: A leader makes all the decisions and tells followers what to do. Democratic: Leader and followers discuss problems and make decisions jointly. Transactional leaders: Focuses on the social interactions between leaders and followers, based on followers' perceptions of and expectations about the leader's abilities. Transformational leaders: Leaders are not constrained by their followers' perceptions but are free to act to change or transform their followers' views. Charismatic leaders: A leadership style characterized by a self-promoting personality, a high energy level, and a willingness to take risks. charismatic leaders stimulate their followers to think independently.
prosocial behavior
Behaviors directed toward supervisors, co-workers, and clients that are helpful to an organization
What problems do female managers face on the job that are not likely to confront male managers?
Compared to male managers, female managers face is that some developmental activities are not accessible to them. Female managers appear to receive considerably less encouragement from superiors than male managers at the same level
Explain the differences between content theories and process theories. What do these theories have in common
Content theories deal with specific needs that motivate and direct human behavior while process theories focus more on the cognitive processes that are part of decision making. Both theories put emphasis on enriching jobs to provide greater employee responsibility and help to increase motivation.
Identify and describe the four major leadership theories described in the text.
Contingency Theory: Leadership effectiveness is determined by the interaction between the leader's personal characteristics and aspects of the situation. Path-Goal Theory: Focuses on the kinds of behaviors a leader exercises to allow subordinates to achieve their goals. Leader-Member Exchange: this model deals with the ways in which the leader-follower relationship (the leader-member exchange, or LMX) affects the leadership process. Implicit Leadership Theory: Defines leadership from the standpoint of the persons who are being led.
employee assistance programs (EAP)
Counseling and rehabilitative services for various employee problems, notably alcohol and drug abuse
How can you tell when you are experiencing stress?
Describe some of the mental and physical problems that can be caused by stress. A person can tell they are experiencing stress by the physiological changes occurring in their body such as an increase in heart rate and becoming more alert (adrenaline). High blood pressure, allergies, and skin diseases are physical problems associated with stress. Some of the mental and physical problems that can be caused by stress are the workplace environment (poorly designed chairs) and emotional factors of the job (heavy workload or being on the clock 24/7).
Distinguish between ethnic harassment, sexual harassment, and gender harassment.
Ethnic harassment is an obvious source of stress that can be manifested at works as slurs or derogatory comments about a person's racial or ethnic group. This could result in the exclusion of the person from workgroups or social activities. Sexual harassment involves unwanted sexual attention an coercion. Gender harassment refers to behavior that reflects an insulting, hostile, and degrading attitude toward women.
Explain Herzberg?s two-factor theory
Explains work motivation and job satisfaction in terms of job tasks and workplace features. According to Herzberg, there are two sets of needs: motivator and hygiene needs.
Describe three components of group cohesiveness.
Group norms and standards are important for group cohesiveness. People with similar interests and personality is a component of group cohesiveness. Lastly, smaller groups also increase group cohesiveness.
Describe the pros and cons of telecommuting.
Having a flexible schedule, increase productivity, and employees being able to focus more are pros of telecommuting. The cons of telecommuting are the lack real human interaction, some telecommuters feel pressured to work harder than they did in a traditional office, employees are on the job 24/7.
What physiological changes occur in the body in reaction to stress?
Heart rate increase, blood circulation increase, and becoming more alert are the physiological changes that occur in the body in reaction to stress.
Describe House's path-goal theory
House's path-goal theory focuses on the kinds of behaviors a leader exercises to allow subordinates to achieve their goals.
telecommuting
Is a virtual workplace at home. Telecommuting is particularly attractive to employees with day-care or dependent-care problems and to disabled workers
Describe the human relations approach to leadership
It is a more modern approach. This approach to leadership focuses the attention on workers instead of on the needs of the production equipment
Why is it difficult to do research on absenteeism?
It is difficult to do research on absenteeism because self-report data can be inaccurate and many companies do not compile attendance data in any systematic fashion.
consideration leadership
Leadership behaviors that involve awareness of and sensitivity to the feelings of subordinates
change agent
Organization development facilitators who work with business groups to implement change and develop group?confidence and effectiveness.
Explain Maslow's need hierarchy theory
Maslow's Hierarchy, it implies that the lower level needs must be met before they can move up to the next level. All of the levels must be met to achieve self-actualization
Explain McClelland?s achievement motivation theory
McClelland's achievement motivation theory emphasizes the need to accomplish something, to do a good job, and to be the best. Achievement motivation is a characteristic of successful executives. People who have a high degree of the need for achievement derive great satisfaction from working to accomplish some goal, and they are motivated to excel in whatever task they undertake.
What is Motivation?
Motivation is derived from the Latin word movere, which means "to move." Motivation is the desire to do something and continue to work toward its accomplishment.
Describe the nature of violence in the workplace.
Murder, physical assault, and bullying are the types of violence seen in the workplace. There are different levels of violence in the workplace such as incivility and unruliness.
OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets and enforces protective workplace safety and health standards. They also provide health information, promote safety in the workplace, and help with training employees and employers
In what ways can an organization facilitate the socialization of its new employees?
Offering employees opportunities/tasks where they can be challenged and have healthy interactions with their supervisors are ways an organization can facilitate the socialization of its new employees.
Describe how each of the following can be a source of stress: organizational change, role ambiguity, role conflict.
Organizational change can be a source of stress because frequent change can cause an employee to feel uncertain which can turn into job dissatisfaction or reduce the employee's self-efficacy. Role ambiguity is a source of stress because the employee is not sure what is expected or what they are needed to do. Role conflict can be a source of stress because when a job requires behaviors that contradict an employee's moral code it can cause them worries, guilt, or push them to quit.
Define organizational culture and give an example of how it can affect job satisfaction and performance.
Organizational culture is a major organizational factor to which new employees must be socialized is the culture of the group they are joining. It is defined as a general pattern of beliefs, expectations, and values, some conscious and some unconscious, that are expected to guide the behavior of all members of an organization. An employee who is following the custom behavior or not executing the behaviors?correctly in their company an example of how it can affect job satisfaction and performance.
Define organizational culture and give an example of how it can affect job satisfaction and performance.
Organizational culture is defined as a general pattern of beliefs, expectations, and values, some conscious and some unconscious, that are expected to guide the behavior of all members of an organization. An example of this could be if an employee does not follow the custom behavior or struggles to adapt to the behaviors needed to perform a task at their job it can affect job satisfaction and performance.
How can organizations reduce problems associated with work-family conflicts?
Organizations can reduce problems associated with work-family conflicts by providing day-care facilities at the workplace, maternity/paternity leave, reducing work hours or allowing the employee to have a flexible schedule, and opportunities for telecommuting.
How can organizations reduce problems associated with work-family conflicts?
Organizations can reduce problems associated with work-family conflicts by providing day-care facilities at the workplace, more flexible schedules, and opportunities for telecommuting
job satisfaction
Our positive and negative feelings and attitudes about our jobs.
Describe the characteristics of people who have a high need of achievement
People who have a high need for achievement favor a work environment that allows them to problem solve. They tend to set moderate and attainable goals. A characteristic of people who have a high need for achievement is that they need continuing recognition and feedback about their progress.
Stress
Physiological and psychological response to excessive and usually unpleasant stimulation and to threatening events in the environment
List the needs in Maslow's need hierarchy. How are these needs satisfied on the job?
Physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs are the needs in Maslow's need hierarchy from lowest to highest. These needs can be satisfied on the job by having safe work environment, developing a social support network at work, receiving rewards or praise from the boss, and opportunities for employees to grow and gain responsibility.
Compare and contrast process and content theories of work motivation
Process theories focus on the cognitive processes that are part of decision making and content theories share a common core or central concept. They focus on enlarging, enriching, or redefining jobs to provide greater employee responsibility. Process and content theories help to increase motivation.
Explain how lighting, noise, color, music, and temperature affect employees in the workplace.
Productivity may suffer if physical working conditions are not comfortable. This is especially true for lighting and noise in the workplace. Research indicates no significant differences in productivity in relation to color, music (or not), and temperature (lower accident rates when temperature lower)
List the pros and cons of flextime.
Pros of flextime: Rush-hour traffic is reduced, personal freedom (choice of when to arrive or leave work), and can improve work productivity in employees. Cons of flextime: Flextime is difficult to implement because of the interdependence of the work teams and could create difficulty when it comes to scheduling work meeting or events
What are the advantages to employees and employers of permanent part-time employment Disadvantages?
Reduced costs of keeping full-time staffs and increases employees scheduling flexibility are the advantages to employees and employers of permanent part-time employment. The disadvantages of it are that the pay is lower compared to full-time and employees may have fewer benefits compared to full-time employees
Define role ambiguity and role conflict. How do they relate to socialization?
Role ambiguity is a situation that arises when job responsibilities are unstructured or poorly defined and role conflict is a situation that arises when there is a disparity between job demands and the employee's personal standards. They relate to socialization because these situations occur when there is a greater interaction between new and established employees.
Identify three approaches to leadership that were developed in the first half of the 20th century.
Scientific Management - is when leaders behave in specific actions by which they play out their leadership roles are based on certain assumptions about human nature. Theory X approach - is where management assumes the most people are innately lazy and dislike work. They must be coerced, watched, and scolded on the job to make them work enough to meet the organization's goals. Theory Y approach - proposes that most people seek inner satisfaction and fulfillment from their work. Control and punishment are not necessary to bring about good performance.
What is self-efficacy? How can it affect our reactions to stress and our ability to cope with stressful situations at work?
Self-efficacy is the person's belief in his or her ability to complete a future task or solve a future problem. If our self-efficacy is low and negative It can affect our reactions to stress in a negative way and our ability to cope with stressful situations at work. A person with less confidence?in their ability to perform a task at work would struggle?to cope with stress and could possibly react irrationally.
How can self-managing work teams function when group members work in different locations instead of together in one facility?
Self-managing work teams can function when group members work in different locations instead of together in one facility through telecommuting such as emails or chat rooms. Visual contact such as DVCS or video chats allows for face-to-face communication.
Describe the procedures involved in organizational development. In what ways can an organization facilitate the socialization of its new employees?
Sensitivity training, role-playing, group discussion, job enrichment, survey feedback, and team building are the procedures involved in organizational development (OD). An organization can facilitate the socialization of its new employees by providing them with survey feedback and giving them opportunities to be involved in team building exercises at the workplace.
Describe the procedures involved in organizational development (OD).
Sensitivity training, role-playing, group discussion, job enrichment, survey feedback, and team building is the procedures involved in organizational development (OD). For example in the survey feedback technique, surveys are conducted periodically to asses employee feelings and attitudes.
Compare and contrast sexual harassment and gender harassment.
Sexual harassment involves unwanted sexual attention an coercion while gender harassment refers to behavior that reflects an insulting, hostile, and degrading attitude toward women. Both harassments are similar because they both involve verbal actions and can create tension in the workplace.
What is social loafing?
Social loafing is the idea that people do not work as hard in a group as they do when working alone.
Describe some effects of job loss. How does job loss affect the company employees who were not laid off?
Stress, resentment, and anxiety about the future are some effects of job loss. job loss affects the company employees who were not laid off because they worry that they will be laid off as well. This decreases their organizational commitment and increases their stress and health problems.
Describe the effects of losing one's job
Stress, resentment, and anxiety about the future are some effects of losing one's job
Describe the characteristics of a successful first line supervisor.
Successful first-line supervisors are flexible, they are more helpful to employees, and they allow the employees to accomplish their goals in their own way whenever possible
What is meant by the concept of job enrichment?
The concept of job enrichment is the effort to expand the scope of a job to give employees a greater role in planning, performing, and evaluating their work.
person-organization fit
The congruence between an employee's values and the organization's values
group cohesiveness
The focus closeness, and commonality of interests of small a work group.
Name four characteristics of Adam's equity theory
The four characteristics of Adam's equity theory is in any work environment we asses our inputs, we calculate the ratio of outcomes, the feeling of inequality motivates us to take action, and if we perceive that others are receiving the same ratio of reward-to-effort that others are receiving, then a state of equality exists
social loafing
The idea that people do not work as hard in a group as they do when working alone
What are the major causes of burnout? What personality characteristics are related to burnout
The major causes of burnout are high job stress, some types of workaholics, and demanding workload. Emotionally exhausted, irritable, apathetic, depressed, and boredom are personality characteristics that are related to burnout.
job congruence
The match between a person's abilities and the requirements for a job
nominal working hours
The prescribed number of hours employees are supposed to spend on the job; not all of these hours are actually spent performing job tasks.
What are the requirements and advantages of total quality management (TQM) programs? Why do some fail?
The requirements for total quality management (TQM) programs are that they adhere to Theory Y approach to leadership and the goal is to improve the quality of the employees' working life. Advantages are that it improves employee motivation, job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment. Some fail because some employees have no desire to participate in decision making or to assume responsibility for determining the best war to perform their jobs. Diversity and the growing number of contingent workers are two characteristics in the work field today that may dampen the positive effects of QWL programs
environmental psychology
The study of the effect of workplace design on behavior and attitudes
Job characteristic theory
The theory of motivation that states that specific job characteristics lead to psychological conditions that can increase motivation
What are three characteristics of Locke's goal-setting theory?
The three characteristics of Locke's goal-setting theory is setting specific and challenging performance goals can motivate and guild behavior, the goal represents what we intend to do at a given time in the future, and individual goal commitment is an important aspect of goal-setting
Explain the unique risks to health presented by computers in the workplace.
The unique risks to health presented by computers in the workplace are that employees experience information overload can increase stress in the workers as well as staring at a computer screen for too long can also strain the eyesight of the employees.
Describe the validity of the concept of accident proneness.
The validity of the concept of accident proneness is that a work environment and any form of harassment affect the employees in the workspace or make them prone to accidents. The older an employee is the more safety they need in the workspace and in the workspace design because they are more prone to accidents. Lastly, employees with health issues and fatigue require more safety as well.
What assumptions about people in general are proposed by Theory X and Theory Y? What kinds of leaders do these theories call for?
Theory Y assumes that people find satisfaction in their work and function best under a leader who allows them to participate in working toward both personal and organizational goals. This theory calls for democratic leadership. Theory X assumes that most people are innately lazy and dislike work. This theory calls for an authoritarian leadership
Describe the nature of work-related health problems.
These illnesses are more insidious than a sudden, traumatic accident because they develop slowly over years before the worker experience physical symptoms. For example, miners ore mill workers are exposed to asbestos on the job face the danger of lung cancer at seven times the national rate.
Distinguish between transactional leaders and transformational leaders. Which leadership style is best for creating change in an organization?
Transactional leaders - conduct their business by identifying the needs of their followers and bestowing rewards to satisfy those needs in exchange for a certain level of performance.? Transformational leaders have more latitude in their behavior. They are not limited by their followers' perceptions Transformational leadership style - is best for creating change in an organization because these leaders create a vision of what the corporate culture can be and communicate it to their employees
Describe transactional leaders
Transactional leaders identify the needs of their followers and reward those needs in exchange for a certain level of performance.
Describe transformational leaders
Transformational leaders have more latitude in their behavior. These leaders challenge and inspire subordinates with a sense of purpose and excitement about what can be accomplished.
Describe the three process theories of motivation
Valence-instrumentality-expectancy (VIE) theory of motivation states that the people make choices that are based on their perceived expectations that certain rewards will follow if they behave in a particular way. Equity theory states that people's motivation on the job is influenced by their perception of how fairly they are treated. Goal-setting theory of motivation is based on the idea that a person's primary motivation on the job is defined in terms of the desire to achieve a particular goal.
Why are work-family conflicts generally greater for women than for men?
Work-family conflicts are generally greater for women than men primarily because women come home from work to their second job by caring for their children and spouse and managing their household. The primary responsibility for family life remains with women.
Describe workers under McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y types of organizations
Workers under Theory X types of organizations are micro-managed and have less room to work independently. Workers under Theory y types of organizations are industrious, creative, and seek challenge and responsibility on the job.
Identify the characteristics of successful managers and executives.
more work-oriented than person oriented initiating structure strategy college experience personality - conscientiousness emotional stability agreeableness openness to experience power as a motivator
Compare and contrast job involvement and organizational commitment.
job involvement includes age, growth needs, and belief in the traditional work ethic. Unlike organizational commitment, job involvement only involves personal factors. Older workers are usually more involved. Organizational commitment is related to both personal and organizational factors. Older workers who have been with the company more than two years and have a high need to achievement are more likely to rate high in organizational commitment.
Describe implicit leadership theory
leadership theory suggests that anyone can be classified as a good leader if that person is perceived by subordinates as fitting their mental image of a good leader's personality.
