MGMT Exam 2

Describe the characteristics of a proactive personality

-Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres until meaningful change occurs. -Creates positive change in the environment, regardless or even in spite of constraints or obstacles

Which stressors lead to lower job satisfaction and organizational commitment

Having role ambiguity and experiencing conflicting role demands are related to lower performance

explain Herzberg's Two-factor theory

Hygiene factors include company policies, supervision, working conditions, salary, safety, and security on the job, these factors were part of the context in which the job was performed, as opposed to the job itself. In contrast, motivators are factors that are intrinsic to the job, such as achievement, recognition, interesting work, increased responsibilities, advancement, and growth opportunities. According to Herzberg's research, motivators, and not hygiene factors, are the conditions that truly motivate employees.

explain what a 360-degree feedback system is and know its purpose

In this system, feedback is gathered from all these sources (supervisors, peers, subordinates, and sometimes even customers), and shared with the employee for developmental purposes. It is important to note that 360-degree appraisals are not often used in determining pay or promotion decisions and instead are treated as feedback tools. Using 360-degree feedback in reward decisions may be problematic, because individuals may avoid giving objective feedback if it means causing a peer to lose a bonus. Since not all feedback will necessarily be positive, if competition or jealousy exists among peers, some feedback may be retaliatory and too negative

Describe the characteristics of internal and external locus of control individuals

Internal- belief that YOU are in control of your successes and failures -More successful managers -Higher job satisfaction -Higher job performance (increased effort and persistence) External- belief that EXTERNAL FORCES control your successes and failures -Women & minorities -"Learned Helplessness"

Definition of Karoshi and contributing factors

It is working yourself to death in Japan due to job exhaustion and working themselves for too long and too hard.

explain Procedural Justice and understand its implications for managers

The degree to which fair decisions making procedures are used to arrive at a decision

Interactional Justice

The degree to which people are treated respect, kindness, and dignity in interpersonal interactions

explain the Job Characteristics Model and explain each of the five job characteristics involved

The job characteristics model is one of the most influential attempts to design jobs with increased motivational properties. The model describes five core job dimensions leading to three critical psychological states, resulting in work-related outcomes. 1. Skill variety- refers to the extent to which the job requires a person to utilize multiple high-level skills. 2. Task identity- refers to the degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish. 3. Task significance- refers to whether a person's job substantially affects other people's work, health, or well-being. 4. Autonomy- is the degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his or her tasks. 5. Feedback- refers to the degree to which people learn how effective they are being at work.

esteem needs

the desire to be respected by one's peers, feeling important, and being appreciated.

Importance of Values

-Provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and behaviors of individuals and cultures. -Influence our perception of the world around us. -Represent interpretations of "right" and "wrong." -Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others.

list and explain the three factors beyond pay that were identified as instrumental in motivating employees, based on the Daniel Pink video we watched in class

1. Autonomy: desire to be self driven 2. Mastery: itch to keep improving something that is important to us 3. Purpose: there is a meaning and purpose for what you are doing

Know each of the factors in Expectancy theory and be able to recognize an example of each

1. Expectancy: Will my effort lead to high performance? Make sure employees have proper skills, abilities, and knowledge. Ensure that the environment facilitates performance. Encourage employees so they believe their effort makes a difference 2. Instrumentality: Will performance lead to outcomes? Reward employee performance Inform people in advance about the rewards. Try to eliminate non-performance influence over rewards 3. Valence: Are the outcomes desirable? Find rewards that are desirable to employees. Make sure that rewards are viewed as fair. Give employees choice over rewards

list and explain each of the three individual needs in McClelland's Needs Theory and provide examples of each (both high and low levels)

1. Need for Achievement: The desire to accomplish a goal or task more effectively than in the past. 2. Need for Affiliation: The desire for human companionship and acceptance. 3. Need for Power: The desire to be influential in a group and to control one's environment.

Describe the two types of fit (P-J and P-O) and explain why they are important for managers to understand.

1. Person-Job: The degree to which a persons skill, knowledge, and abilities match the job demands. 2. Person-Organization: The degree to which a persons values, personality, and goals match that of the organization's. -Important because during interviews you want to find the right for not only the job, but for the company as well.

Explain the difference between traditional and practical intelligence, and how each is typically measured

1. Traditional intelligence (cognitive; "book smarts")- measured with IQ score. 2. Practical intelligence ("street smarts")- encompasses the abilities one needs to be successful in everyday life; involves adapting to the environment, shaping or changing it, or selecting a new environment. Measured using interviews.

explain the steps in an MBO approach

A systematic approach to ensure that individual and organizational goals are aligned is Management by Objectives (MBO). 1. Setting companywide goals derived from corporate strategy 2. Determining team-and department-level goals 3. Collaboratively setting individual-level goals that are aligned with corporate strategy 4. Developing an action plan 5. Periodically reviewing performance and revising goals

Self-monitoring

Ability to adapt behavior to the external cues or social norms of a given situation -Positive: Socially adept, More influential

absolute rating and relative ranking appraisals, and the drawbacks

Absolute: Rating based on a standard that is applied to everyone equally, based on individual performance. For example, you could get an A if you correctly answer 90% of the questions in the exam, but would get a B if you answered only 80%. Relative: Rating is based on rank within all ratings, final performance is measured by individual performance against other individual performances. You would get an A if you are one of the top 10% of the students in class, but you would get a B if you are between 10% and 20%. these systems carry the danger of a potential lawsuit. Organizations such as Ford Motor Company and Microsoft faced lawsuits involving relative rankings, because employees who were older, female, or minority members were systematically being ranked in the lowest category with little justification. Second, relative rankings are also not consistent with creating a team spirit and may create a competitive, cutthroat environment.

explain equity theory; be able to discuss an example of how the theory works

According to this theory, individuals are motivated by a sense of fairness in their interactions. Moreover, our sense of fairness is a result of the social comparisons we make. Specifically, we compare our inputs and outcomes with other people's inputs and outcomes. We perceive fairness if we believe that the input-to-outcome ratio we are bringing into the situation is similar to the input-to-outcome ratio of a comparison person, or a referent. Perceptions of inequity create tension within us and drive us to action that will reduce perceived inequity Person Referent Other Outcomes/Inputs=Outcomes/Inputs

Psychological contract

An unwritten agreement or understanding. It's what you expect from employer in return for your effort and vice versa. A psychological contract is an unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment and what the company will provide in exchange.

What is meant by consensus, distinctness, and consistency with regard to attributions?

Attribution: When we observe behavior and then attribute a cause to it. 1. Consensus- Extent to which others in same situation, behave the same. 2. Consistency- Extent to which person similarly behaves in the same situation. 3. Distinctiveness- Extent to which person behaves the same in other situations.

Which of the Big Five factors is the best predictor of job performance?

Conscientiousness

Empowerment

Empowerment may be defined as the removal of conditions that make a person powerless. The idea behind empowerment is that employees have the ability to make decisions and perform their jobs effectively if management removes certain barriers. Structural empowerment refers to the aspects of the work environment that give employees discretion, autonomy, and the ability to do their jobs effectively. Felt empowerment is feeling like your work is meaningful and you are confident about your work.

Extinction

Extinction is used to decrease the frequency of negative behaviors. Extinction is the removal of rewards following negative behavior.

define and contrast job enlargement and job enrichment, and explain some of the advantages/disadvantages of each

Job enlargement: refers to expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety. By giving employees several different tasks to be performed, as opposed to limiting their activities to a small number of tasks, organizations hope to reduce boredom and monotony as well as utilize human resources more effectively. Job enlargement may have similar benefits to job rotation, because it may also involve teaching employees multiple tasks. Research indicates that when jobs are enlarged, employees view themselves as being capable of performing a broader set of tasks. Job enrichment: is a job redesign technique that allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks. This approach allows employees to take on more responsibility over their jobs. As an alternative to job specialization, companies using job enrichment may experience positive outcomes, such as reduced turnover, increased productivity, and reduced absences. Not all employees desire to have control over how they work, and if they do not have this desire, they may become frustrated with an enriched job.

job rotation and its advantages

Job rotation involves moving employees from job to job at regular intervals. When employees periodically move to different jobs, the monotonous aspects of job specialization can be relieved. Job rotation has many advantages for organizations. It is an effective way for employees to acquire new skills and in turn for organizations to increase the overall skill level of their employees. When workers move to different positions, they are cross-trained to perform different tasks, thereby increasing the flexibility of managers to assign employees to different parts of the organization when needed. In addition, job rotation is a way to transfer knowledge between departments

Job specialization and its advantages

Job specialization entails breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees so that each person would perform a select number of tasks in a repetitive manner. There are a number of advantages to job specialization. Breaking tasks into simple components and making them repetitive reduces the skill requirements of the jobs and decreases the effort and cost of staffing. Training times for simple, repetitive jobs tend to be shorter as well.

Know how motivation is related to performance

Motivation is defined as the desire to achieve a goal or a certain performance level, leading to goal-directed behavior. When we refer to someone as being motivated, we mean that the person is trying hard to accomplish a certain task. Motivation is clearly important if someone is to perform well

criticisms of Maslow's theory

One criticism relates to the order in which the needs are ranked. It is possible to imagine that individuals who go hungry and are in fear of their lives might retain strong bonds to others, suggesting a different order of needs. Moreover, researchers failed to support the arguments that once a need is satisfied it no longer serves as a motivator and that only one need is dominant at a given time

explain goal-setting theory and the characteristics of effective goals (SMART goals)

One of the most influential and practical theories of motivation. Rated as the most important. Accumulating research evidence indicates that effective goals are SMART. These goals are specific, measurable, aggressive, realistic, and time-bound

Big 5 Personality Traits

Openness: curious, intellectual, original, open, and creative Conscientiousness: organized, systematic, punctual, and dependable Extraversion: outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoys being in social situations Agreeableness: Nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm. Neuroticism: Anxious, irritable, aggressive, temperamental, and moody.

Explain how personality can be used to create teams and enhance team functioning

Personality can be used as a selection criterion when assembling teams only if personality factor is correlated with successful performance on the team only with the appropriate type of test (risk of discrimination claims exists. Much less risky and much more common to measure and assess personality of existing team members using tools such as MBTI. Purpose is to foster a better understanding of each others' communication styles and preferences for relating to each other, thereby reducing conflict

List the factors that contribute to job satisfaction

Personality- people who have a positive affective disposition (those who have a tendency to experience positive moods more often than negative moods) tend to be more satisfied with their jobs Person-Environment Fit- When the abilities of individuals match those of the job demands and company values, they tend to be more satisfied with the job and more committed to the company. Job Characteristics- Using a variety of skills, having empowerment at work, receiving feedback on the job, and performing a significant task are some job characteristics that are related to satisfaction and commitment Psychological Contract- When people do not get what they expect, they experience a psychological contract breach, which leads to low job satisfaction and commitment Organizational Justice- People pay attention to the fairness of company policies and procedures, treatment from supervisors, and pay and other rewards they receive from the company Work Relationships- The people we interact with, their degree of compassion, our level of social acceptance in our work group, and whether we are treated with respect are all important factors surrounding our happiness at work Stress- experiencing role ambiguity (vagueness in relation to what our responsibilities are), role conflict, and organizational politics, and worrying about the security of our job are all stressors that make people dissatisfied. Work-Life Balance- Research shows that family-supportive workplace policies that help employees achieve a balance between their work and personal lives, such as allowing telecommuting, are related to higher job satisfaction because they reduce work-family conflict.

explain and contrast positive and negative reinforcement and provide an example of each

Positive reinforcement: is a method of increasing the desired behavior. Positive reinforcement involves making sure that behavior is met with positive consequences. Negative reinforcement: is also used to increase the desired behavior. Negative reinforcement involves removal of unpleasant outcomes once desired behavior is demonstrated. Nagging an employee to complete a report is an example of negative reinforcement.

The strongest predictor of job performance

The most powerful influence over our job performance is our general mental ability, or cognitive abilities-reasoning abilities, verbal and numerical skills, analytical skills, and overall intelligence level seems to be important across most situations.

Describe some of the characteristics of committed employees

They have highly reliable habits plan a longer tenure with the organization exert more effort in performance. It strengthens with age, years with the organization, job security, participation in decision making

Organizational citizenship definition and predictors

Voluntary behaviors employees perform to help others and benefit the organization. Helping a new coworker understand how things work in your company and volunteering to organize company picnics are examples of citizenship behaviors. Perhaps the most important factor is organizational justice and interpersonal relationships. When individuals have a good relationship with their manager and are supported, treated fairly, attached to peers, and trust the people at work, they are more likely to engage in citizenship behaviors. In a high-quality relationship, individuals feel the obligation to reciprocate and go the extra mile to help out coworkers. People who are conscientious and agreeable tend to perform citizenship behaviors more often than others

The primary reason for employee turnover

Work attitudes are often the primary culprit in why people leave. When workers are unhappy at work, and when they are not attached to their companies, they are more likely to leave. Loving the things they do, being happy with the opportunities for advancement within the company, and being happy about pay are all aspects of work attitudes relating to turnover.