MAN 336 EXAM 1
What are the Big 5 Factors of Personality? Describe them. Be able to assign a personality characteristic based upon a description of behavior.
"OCEAN" - Openness to experience: The extent to which someone seeks new experiences and is tolerant of change - Conscientiousness (Highest predictor of overall job performance): How an individual approaches goals -- and the drive and motivation to achieving them - Extraversion (Predictor of performance in people-oriented roles): Degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoys socializing - Agreeableness (Predictor of organizational citizenship behaviors): Interest in social harmony; degree to which we take other's opinions into account - Neuroticism/ Need for stability: Degree to which person seeks to avoid negative experiences and anxiety and responds well to stress
What are the potential downsides of using goals? Be able to provide an example.
- "Tunnel Vision" - Single-mindedness - Adaptability declines - Ethical Problems increase
What did the Minnesota Twins studies reveal about the determinants of personality? Do these studies support the notion that personality can change?
- 40-60% of personality explained by genetics - 70% of IQ explained by genetics - 40% of work attitudes are explained by genetics
What factors predict organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)? How do these factors differ from the factors that are most predictive of job performance?
- Altruism - Courtesy - Sportsmanship - Conscientiousness - Civic virtue
Be able to describe the decision biases discussed in class (e.g., availability bias, anchoring bias, overconfidence bias, hindsight bias, status quo bias, framing bias, confirmation bias, escalation of commitment).
- Availability Bias: Overwighing information that is readily available, most recent, or most easily comes to mind - Overconfidence Bias: When one believes too much in his or her ability to make good decisions - Anchoring Bias: When making an estimate, fixate on initial information that may or may not be relevant -- and over-weighting that information. - Confirmation Bias: Seeking out information that reaffirms our past choices ad discounting information that contradicts past judgments (conspiracy theories) - Status Quo: Preferring tried and true solutions/options over an unknown option - Hindsight Bias: Believing falsely that we could have predicted the outcome of an event after that outcome is already known - Framing Bias: Bias introduced by how information is presented or framed - Escalation of Commitment: Staying with a decision even when there is clear evidence that it is wrong.
What is the appeal of the "Big 5" personality instrument to organizations?
- Based on hundreds of research studies - Comprehensive description of personality - Reliable (scores are relatively stable over time) - Valid (Correlates with observations of behavior) - Generalizes across cultures and languages - Has "predictive validity" (useful for predicting on-the-job performance and other outcomes
What is the big idea of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? What are some of its limitations?
- Based on needs satisfaction Limitations: - 1. The rank order has been criticized (ex: human beings who are hungry and afraid might still retain strong bonds with others) - 2. Researchers failed to support the argument that once a need is satisfied it no longer serves as a motivator
What is Lincoln Electric's strategy for motivating its team members? What are the key elements of its strategy for incentivizing high performance and innovative ideas? Why might it be difficult for other companies to use LE's motivational approach?
- Do more work = get more pay
What are job attitudes and what is their impact on individuals?
- Evaluative judgments concerning objects, people, events, or issues at work. - More flexible and subject to change than personality, values, self-concepts
What are the appropriate uses for the MBTI?
- Examining your style/ behavior preferences (NOT SKILLS) - Understanding team dynamics - Improving communications - Identifying and leveraging differences between people
What are some commonly encountered perceptual biases that influence how we evaluate other people?
- Fundamental Attribution Error - Self-Serving Bias - Stereotyping: Judging someone on the basis of the perception of the group to which they belong - Selective Perception: A perceptual filtering process based on interests, background, and attitude ("seeing what we want to see") - Contrast effects: Our reaction is influenced by others we have recently encountered (the context of the observation) - Halo/ Horn Effect: Allowing impression of one trait, either good (halo) or bad (horn) to overshadow perception of other traits, behaviors, etc.
What are some characteristics of values (how they are influenced, etc.)?
- Heavily influenced by the environment - Usually stable and enduring - Influences attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors
What is Herzberg's two-factor (or Motivator-Hygiene) model of motivation and how did it advance our understanding of motivation? What is one limitation of this model?
- Hygiene factors avoid job satisfaction - Motivator factors lead to job satisfaction limitation: - only considers characteristics & intrinsic motivation factors
When does it make better sense to make a decision in a group versus just by yourself?
- If there is time - If additional info would increase the quality of the decision - If others have knowledge/ experience in the topic - If acceptance of the decision is important - If people can be developed through their participation
What are the three levels of analysis of Organizational Behavior? Be able to provide examples of concepts covered in each layer.
- Individual (ie. motivation) - Group or Team (ie. Decision Making) - Organization (ie. Culture)
How are job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment similar or different from one another?
- Job Rotation: ???? - Job Enlargement: More variety, horizontal loading (quantity) - Job Enrichment: More responsibility, vertical loading (quality) - Both enlargement and enrichment lead to job empowerment (Providing more autonomy, discretion in decisions & how work gets done)
What are a few flaws with the MBTI as a personality assessment? Why do you think its use is so widespread?
- Low validity - Low Reliability - No predictive Power It may be widespread because of how quick and easy it is to take
Be able to define the concept of "motivation" and its relationship to behavior intensity, direction and persistence.
- Motivation: The desire to achieve a goal or. certain performance level, leading to a goal-directed behavior. - Direction: Where the effort is channeled - Intensity: Amount of effort exerted - Persistence: How long effort is maintained
What is McClelland's needs theory of motivation? How is each need related to managerial effectiveness? What is one implication of this theory for how organizations should manage employees?
- Need for Power (Best Managers, when emotionally mature): Need to make others behave in ways they otherwise wouldn't - Need for Achievement (Difficult Managers, put their achievement first): Need to accomplish goals, overcome barriers, and excel - Need for Affiliation (Poor Managers, need to be liked more than getting things done): Need to be liked, have close relationships, avoid isolation
Why is the topic of motivation important to companies and the employees that work for them?
- One of the most important, and most challenging, aspects of management - 69% of workers report wasting time at work everyday - One of the most frequent researched topics in OB - Managers/leaders who can successfully motivate employees are much more likely to produce high functioning teams and reach organizational goals
What are some influences on the attitudes that people have in the workplace?
- Personality - Person-Job Fit - Person-Organizational Fit - Characteristics of the job - Psychological Contract - Organizational Justice - Stress - Relationships at work - Work-life balance
Define personality. Why is personality studied in an OB class?
- Personality is the sum of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others ("Who we are"). - Personality is studied because it influences our "choices" of attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors we display and gives us clues to how others will act in different situations.
What are the advantages of using a scheme like Management by Objectives or OKR in cascading organizational goals?
- Provides focus and direction - Energizes and challenges - Promotes thinking outside the box - Makes it easier to get support of others
What can you do to help prevent the errors common to group decision-making?
- Silence the leader - Bring different perspectives - Break group into subgroups from time to time - Use the Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
What are the 5 job design elements of the Job Characteristics Model?
- Skill Variety: Do tasks vary, and are they challenging? Or are they monotonous, repetitive, and too easy? - Task Identity: Do tasks have a defined beginning, middle, and end? - Task Significance: Does the employee feel that his/her role has meaning? - Task Autonomy: Can individuals have a say in how they carry out their work? - Job Feedback: Are employees receiving feedback on their performance?
What are SMART goals?
- Specific - Measurable - Aggressive - Realistic - Time-bound
What is the locus of control and what is its relationship to behavior in organizations? How does it impact ethical behavior?
- The extent to which people feel accountable for their own behaviors and outcomes
From lecture, what two actions you could take to reduce the chances of heuristic biases impacting your decisions (e.g., training, devil's advocate, etc.)?
- Training and awareness - Dont react on first impulse - Try different perspectives Expand data/ options considered - Outsider views and diversity of teams
What are values and why do organizations care about them?
- Values are basic conditions about what is good, right, or desirable that may differ in intensity. - Organizations should care about values because they may clarify how people are expected to behave in their company.
At a high level, be able to describe a few of the relationship difficulties of Wolfgang Keller and Dmitri Brodsky. What did Keller learn from his experiences with Brodsky and Dr. Haussler? Be able to apply and describe each in terms of Big 5 dimensions, with supporting examples.
- Wolfgang Keller and Dmitri Brodsky has different managerial styles. Brodsky had more of a formal, delegator managing style while Keller was more action-oriented. In addition, Keller believed Brodsky had a low level of leadership and no personality which inhibited customer and distributor relations that Keller had just improved. - Keller learned how to manage a difficult situation pertaining to personality in the work environment, and do the best he can with the resources and options he is given. - In terms of the Big 5, Brodsky was more introverted while Keller was a more extroverted individual. Keller believed someone in this position needs to be more extroverted in order to maintain relations with other suppliers and distributors.
What are the two major determinants of individual behavior?
1) The Person (Personality) 2) The Situation
What are some of the advantages of group decision-making and the potential downsides?
Advantages: - More experience and knowledge may improve decision quality - May make it easier to implement (group buy-in) - Greater the diversity of the group, the better the outcome - More Enjoyable Disadvantages: - Takes longer, more effort - Possibility of groupthink (avoid dissent from the group's position to maintain group consensus, tends to occur when stakes are high in a stressful situation)
What are the advantages and disadvantages of "System 1" thinking? What are heuristics?
Advantages: Effortless, fast, etc. Disadvantages: Biases, bad decision making Heuristics: Mental "rules of thumb" that can lead to biases in our thinking
What is the bounded rationality model?
Bounded Rationality Model: Simpler than rational decision making, acknowledges the limitation on making optimal decisions (e.g. cognitive limitations, imperfect information, time constraints)
Describe the Rational Decision-Making Model by outlining the steps using an example (e.g., deciding which car to buy). What are some advantages and limitations in using this model?
Can't get to work -> decide to buy a car -> look for different cars based on criteria -> look for alternatives -> evaluate and compare alternatives -> make a decision/ choice -> buy the car -> reflect/ follow up on decision Advantages: - All relevant information present - Clear, constant preferences - No time constraints - Unlimited information processing Disadvantages: - Decisions are time-constrained - Decisions contain elements of chance and "chaos" - Decision makers are sensitive to political pressure, culture and norms - Decisions are not completely rational
What is the Creative decision-making model?
Creative Decision-Making Model: - Creativity: the generation of new, imaginative ideas - Innovation: the application of creative ideas to solve real-world problems
What are organizational values (and be able to provide an example)?
Degree to which person's values, personality, goals, and other personal preferences match those of the organizational culture and environment. Examples: - Customer - Working Together - Results - Integrity - Learning - Discovery - Freedom - Responsibility
According to the job characteristics model, what are the psychological and behavioral outcomes of a job designed with the 5 characteristics? Does a job designed using the model always motivate higher performance?
Does not work unless employee wants to be motivated
What is the "nature vs. nurture" debate with regard to personality?
Does personality stem from genetics or from the environment people are brought up in
What is equity theory and the process of comparisons that, according to the theory, people make to determine positive or negative inequity? Be able to prescribe antidotes to inequity (i.e., how can people alter their equity perception?)
Equity Theory: founded on the idea that people are motivated by perceptions of fairness In order to restore equity: • Alter your I's / O's • Alter others' I's / O's • Change comparison other • Rationalize the inequity • Leave the situation
According to Daniel Pink, what is the impact of external rewards on job performance? Be able to describe the kinds of intrinsic rewards (e.g., mastery, purpose, autonomy) that are most likely to stimulate performance on cognitive tasks.
External rewards only work in a narrow band of circumstances Intrinsic rewards: - Autonomy: Freedom to explore interests - Mastery: Growth and improvement - Purpose: Connection of work to something meaningful
Be able to define the attitudes of job satisfaction, organization commitment, and employee engagement. Why is each important to organizations?
FINISH
What are some challenges in using personality testing as part of a new hire selection process? (textbook Chapter 2)
FINISH
Why are organizations most interested in job satisfaction? According to research, what are the key influences on whether an employee feels satisfied? What organizational outcomes does job satisfaction predict?
FINISH
How are our attributions of behavior origin (situation or person) influenced by the fundamental attribution error and our own self-serving bias?
Fundamental Attribution Error: Underestimating external factors while overestimating internal factors (ex: Someone is speeding. We assume they are a reckless person (internal) rather than noticing they may be in an emergency (external)) Self-Serving Bias: Overestimating external factors during failures (while undermining internal) and overestimating internal factors on successes (while undermining external) (ex: fail a test... blame environment, pass a test... give yourself all the credit)
What is the intuitive decision-making model?
Intuitive Decision-Making Model: Non-conscious process based on past experiences and accumulated judgment.
Why should organizations be interested in such work attitudes as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, employee engagement or intention to leave?
It reflects how one feels or what one believes about something -- which impacts behavioral choices.
Why is it called the Bounded Rationality model?
Its "bounded" because there is limited search and limited review and it is not as extensive.
What is extrinsic motivation?
Motivation in response to something apart from the work itself. - deadlines - social status - money - prizes - winning - perks
What are organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) and how are they different from job performance?
OCB: A person's voluntary commitment within an organization or company that is not part of his or her contractual tasks.
What is self esteem?
Perception of our own self-worth or value
What is perception? How does perception influence the quality of our decision-making?
Perception: A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Influences decision making by: - Awareness that a problem exists - The interpretation and evaluation of information - Perceptual errors often surface that can bias the analysis and conclusions
What is the potential impact of personality on individual behavior and organizational outcomes?
Personality has an influence on: 1. How people behave in organizations 2. The type of careers people choose 3. How satisfied people are with their jobs and company 4. How well people handle stress 5. How effective people are as leaders
What is the difference between a programmed and a non-programmed decision? Be able to provide an example of each.
Programmed ("System 1"): routine decisions that rely on predetermined courses of action. - frequent and unimportant - automatic, unconscious Non-programmed ("System 2"): decisions for which there are no ready-made solutions. - unique and important - conscious, deliberate
How do the limitations on decision-making lead to "satisficing"?
Selecting the first alternative that is satisfactory and sufficient ("good enough")
How are the goals of Rational Decision Models and Descriptive Decision Models similar or different?
Similar - Both attempt to make a decision lmao Different - Rational: Show how managers "ought" to make decisions in order to maximize decision outcomes - Descriptive: show how managers actually make decisions, often under imperfect conditions
What is Mischel's theory of "situational strength" and the conditions under which, according to the theory, the situation versus the person has a more powerful influence on behavior?
Situational Strength: The Degree to which dues in the environment signal the "correct" behavior High Situational Strength: Situation has a stronger influence (Ex: red light when driving, people stopping regardless of personality) Low Situational Strength: A person has a stronger influence (Ex: A yellow light, depending on the person, they may either speed up or slow down)
Under what conditions are goals likely to motivate higher performance (e.g., commitment, feedback, etc.)?
Skill variety, task identity, task significance
What work outcomes are satisfaction and commitment related to?
Team Member: Satisfaction and commitment Customer: Satisfaction and Loyalty Company Results: Revenues and Increased profits
What is self-efficacy?
The belief that one can perform a task successfully
What is intrinsic motivation?
The motivation to engage in work primarily for its own sake. - self worth - knowledge - growth - passion - fun - dedication
Which type of decisions are more likely to be made at the top, middle or bottom layers of an organization?
Top: Strategic Decisions (Typically non-programmed decisions) Middle: Tactical Decisions (Transform nonprogrammed to programmed decisions) Bottom: Operational Decisions (typically programmed)
What is the relationship between org values, personal values, and person-organization fit?
When people's values match the organization's culture, there is higher job satisfaction higher commitment to the organization and lower turnover.
What are the three components of expectancy theory? Be able to describe how this theory can be applied in organizations. Be able to provide an example of how you might improve an employee's motivation through expectancy theory perceptions.
expectancy theory: suggests motivation is derived from 3 considerations Expectancy: Perceived effort -> success probability ("If I work hard, will I get the job done?") - Provide training and development - Remove obstacles - Encourage and support Instrumentality: Perceived performance-reward probability ("If I perform well, will I be rewarded?") - Reward performance - Communicate rewards - Remove non-performance-related factors Valence: Perceived value of reward ("Do I value these rewards?") - Give rewards people want - Ensure rewards are fair - Provide employee choice
