MGMT20001 OB Micro Topics

What is the conflict process and its five steps?

Stage One: Potential Opposition - one or more causes present - usually, something has to trigger the conflict Stage Two: Cognition and Personalisation - conditions in stage one threaten the interests of one or more parties, conflict becomes a reality - if someone becomes aware of the conflict or experiences it Stage Three: Intentions - situation is perceived and felt to be conflict, parties to the conflict may form intentions to do something about it Stage Four: Behaviour - parties in a conflict engage in behaviours to manage the conflict Stage Five: Outcomes - can be functional and dysfunctional

Free-Riding

Taking advantage of your teammates to reduce your effort without paying a financially penalty

What are the three different types of conflict?

Task conflict - differences arise over the legitimacy of a task itself - low to moderate levels can be productive - can result in diversity Process conflict - differences arise over how to achieve a task - low levels can be productive Relationship conflict - conflict based solely on character and not task - mostly destructive - takes a lot of maturity to work through inter-personal conflict

What are the four team processes?

Team development Norms Cohesion Trust

Availability

Tendency for people to base judgments on information that is readily available to them

Attitudes

The cluster of beliefs, assessed feelings and behavioural intentions towards a person, object or event (called an attitude object)

Team Cohesion

The degree of attraction people feel towards the team and their motivation to remain members

Emotional Labour

The effort, planning and control needed to express organisationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions.

Five-Factor Model (FFM)

The five broad dimensions representing most personality traits: conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience, agreeableness and extraversion

Norms

The informal rules and shared expectations that groups establish to regulate the behaviour of their members

Attribution Process/Theory

The perceptual process of deciding whether an observed behaviour or event is caused largely by internal or external factors.

Social Loafing

The problem that occurs when people exert less effort (and usually perform at a lower level) when working in teams than when working alone

Conflict

The process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party

Groupthink

The tendency of highly cohesive groups to value consensus at the price of decision quality

Fundamental Attribution Error

The tendency to see the person rather than the situation as the main cause of that person's behaviour

Anchoring

The tendency to use the first piece of information we come across as the yardstick for subsequent experiences

Rational Choice Paradigm

The view in decision making that people should-and typically do-use logic and all of the available information to choose the alternative with the highest value

What is the theory of mind?

Theory of Mind"— i.e. we have our own conception of how other people think - not independent of our culture and experience - will people be self-interested, or will they be altruistic? - do they always say what they mean and mean what they say? Beyond the physiological limits to perception, we must consider the psychological and social limits too

Group Dynamics

Two or more people acting interdependently to achieve a common objective

How are values, attitudes and behaviour related?

Values -> Attitudes -> Behaviour - values provide the normative basis for attitudes - the criteria you use to judge things - attitudes are evaluative statements based on our values - attitudes and values are reflected in out behaviour, what we show to the world

Halo Effect

We assume that, if someone is good (bad) at one thing, they are good (bad) at everything

Theory of Mind

We have our own conception of how other people think

What are design elements of teams?

characteristics, size, composition

What are the four behaviours that stimulate relationship conflict?

criticism - when it is presented personally defensiveness - protecting one's own self-concept contempt - disrespect or discrimination stonewalling - non-communication and not addressing the problem

What are the four types of leadership?

four types of leadership that must be exercised for a team to be successful Envisioning - Creating a strong vision of the purpose of the team that can easily be translated into a set of values Organising - Providing structure through a focus on details, deadlines, and structures Spanning - Networking, gathering information, championing the team in the rest of the organisation, dealing with outsiders, preventing the team from becoming isolated Social - Negotiation, conflict resolution, "surfacing" problems, confronting anti-social behaviour

What are the six types of biases and the impact they have in organisations?

- Confirmation Bias - The Halo Effect - Anchoring - Availability - Escalation of Commitment - Non-Decision Making Recruitment & Selection - interviews (when used alone) are a poor predictor of performance but we still heavily rely on them. Performance Management - overestimate the performance of above average performers and underestimate the performance of below average performers.

What is the Human Relations School of organisational behaviour?

- Elton May - improve employee happiness - make work more involving - emphasis on social nature of work - informal groups are very important - importance of norms, values and social aspects - rise of corporate culture - value of teamwork

What are some limits of perception?

- Humans are very good at recognising patterns from very limited data -those patterns very quickly become fixed and we have difficulty seeing anything else - we are not very good a dealing with complexity and ambiguity - our background, education, and social upbringing also influence our perception of ourselves and others

What is bounded rationality?

- Individuals can never make decisions on a truly rational basis as they have limited information processing capabilities. - Simon suggests that decisions are made on the basis of satisficing - Importantly, decision-making is always a social process - All decisions are arrived at using a combination of "facts" and values that have social origins - We are thus acting on the basis of incomplete information that exists in a social context and our biases then further shape the conclusions we draw

What is the self-serving nature of attribution errors?

- We tend to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors - Conversely, we tend to attribute the successes of others to external factors and their failures to internal factors

Why do people stereotype/use hueristics?

- categorisation - homogenisation - differentiation - We must remember, however, that in trusting our "gut instinct" we are actually combining formal, experiential, and cultural rules. - There are limits to perception, which can introduce bias into our judgements and decisions - Decisions are never made in a completely rational manner - BUT, by being aware of limitations, biases, etc. we can reduce their negative impact and make better decisions

Why do people join informal groups?

- employees bond - groups are important for self-concept - individuals are comforted - some personal goals are accomplished better in groups

What are the four principles of scientific management?

1. Job design - as efficient as possible - each aspect of work should be specified by manager 2. Human resource management - select, train, teach and develop employees 3. Performance management - managers responsible for workers - paid based on output 4. Development of management profession - rewards should be based on expertise Modern implementation: - separation between managers and workers - management based on impartiality - financial rewards as motivator - machine view of organsiation - dismiss psychological and social aspects

Self-Efficacy

A person's belief that he or she has the ability, motivation, correct role perceptions and favourable situation to complete a task successfully

Locus of Control

A person's general belief about the amount of control he or she has over personal life events

Self-Verification

A person's inherent motivation to confirm and maintain his or her existing self-concept

Self-Enhancement

A person's inherent motivation to have a positive self-concept (and to have others perceive him or her favourably), such as being competent, attractive, lucky, ethical and important

Relationship Conflict

A type of conflict in which people focus on characteristics of other individuals, rather than on the issues, as the source of conflict

Task Conflict

A type of conflict in which people focus their discussion around the issue while showing respect for people who have other points of view

Task

Activities where the team focusses its efforts on the job at hand

Maintenance

Activities where the team is working on its own internal processes

Cognitive Dissonance

An emotional experience caused by a perception that our beliefs, feelings and behaviour are incongruent

Self-Concept

An individual's self-beliefs and self-evaluations

What is the difference between overt or covert conflict?

Can be overt (i.e. parties are aware of conflict) or covert (i.e., parties are unaware of conflict) but our interest is primarily in overt conflict

How do groups influence behaviour?

Conduct + Values + Identity + Influence = Discipline - Conduct: self-control and control over others - Values: common consistency in behaviour - Identity: created and moulded by groups - Influence: influence over and from groups - Discipline: a self-discipline and way of doing things

What are the three components of attitudes?

Emotional Component - positive or negative feeling - e.g. good/bad, like/dislike Behavioural Component - when we hold an attitude, we tend to act consistently in a certain way Informational Component - judgments about the object, person, event based on our values and beliefs

Values

Enduring personal beliefs about what is important or valuable

What are key aspects of the formal and informal organisation?

Formal - organisation chats - spans of control - policies and procedures - mission statements - job description and definitions - production efficiency and effectiveness measures Informal - personal animosities and friendships - grapevines - group norms and sentiments - informal leaders - prestige and power structures - emotional feelings, needs and desires - effective relationships between managers and subordinates - personal and group goals and perceptions

What are the five stages of Tuckman's Model

Forming - members meet and familiarise Storming - conflict Norming - working together and developing relationship Performing - get work done Adjourning - seperate and reflect

What are three potential functional and dysfunctional outcomes to conflict?

Functional - brings into the open problems that have been ignored previously - challenges 'groupthink' - encourages new ideas, facilitating innovation and change - may improve decision quality by forcing people to challenge their assumptions Dysfunctional - negative emotions and stress - reduces communication required for coordination, i.e., Leads to inefficiency - destroys group cohesion

What is the difference between distributive and integrative negotiation?

Goals - shared goals Motivation - zero sum game vs not Focus - interest's vs position Interests - opposed vs congruent Information Sharing - withholding information because low trust Duration of Relationship - short term vs long term

What are three negatives/downsides to groups?

Group think Social loafing Free riding

What are the four types of decision rules?

Heuristics = "rules of thumb" or institutionalised decision rules - e.g. crossing the road Formal decision-making rules - e.g. "first look left, then look right" Experiential decision-making rules - e.g. how fast traffic travels Culturally-based decision-making rules - e.g. Do other road users obey the rules? "jay-walking"

What are the five dimensions of culture?

High vs. Low Power Distance: - Extent to which people accept the unequal distribution of power Individualist vs. Collectivist - Degree to which people prefer to work individually or in groups Masculinity vs. Femininity - Tendency towards achievement, status vs. care for others, quality of life - masculine values vs feminine values such as power vs benevolence High vs. Low Uncertainty Avoidance - Preference for structured situations, low ambiguity vs. unstructured situations with high ambiguity Long vs. short termism - Tendency for thrift, perseverance vs. respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'

Attribution Theory

Humans are "intentional"—they do things for a reason or a purpose

Escalation of Commitment

Increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information

How can values be characterised?

Intensity - e.g. level of significance/importance Content - e.g. terminal or instrumental values

What are the five types of intentions for conflict?

Intentions can be either high or low in assertiveness and cooperativeness Competing - I will pursue my own interests regardless of the costs to the other party Collaborating - we will seek mutually acceptable outcomes Avoiding - I can't deal with this Accommodating - I will sacrifice some of my own interests for the sake of the other party Compromising - we will both sacrifice some of our interests

What are sources of conflict?

Interests - all individuals and groups have interests, although they may not be the same interests! - i.e. not necessarily a "zero-sum" game; importance of values & culture Perceptions - when there is a perceived clash of interests this creates conflict The immediate causes of conflict can be grouped into three categories ("flashpoints") - communication - interpersonal - structure Five structural sources of conflict - incompatible goals - differentiation (different values and beliefs) - interdependence - scarce resources - ambiguous rules - communication problems

What is job dissatisfaction?

Job Satisfaction: A positive emotional response resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experience Represents several related attitudes towards: - Job content - Pay - Promotion - Supervision - Co-workers Influenced by personal values - e.g. autonomy, money, competence, social interaction, etc Job satisfaction is also correlated with management practices, notably: - 'Human Relations' approaches to work organisation - Training - Greater input to decisions (discretion, autonomy) This illustrates the fact that attitudes influence behaviour AND management can influence attitudes

The Double-Curse

Our lack of skill not only deprives us of the ability to improve on poor performance, but also deprives us of the ability to recognise our performance is poor in the first place

What is Gersick's Punctuated Equilibrium Model?

Phase 1, midpoint then Phase 2 Phase 1 - slow, not much work, getting to know each other Midpoint - exactly at middle of project/task Phase 2 - very effective and productive teamwork

Perception

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory data to make sense of your position vis-à vis the environment

What are the four different views of conflict?

Radical View - conflict is an inevitable part of organisational life due to structural reasons - structural reasons such as misalignment of goals "Unitarist" View - Conflict is dysfunctional and avoidable - e.g. Elton Mayo - managers might fail to take into account employees view - best to ensure clear communication and all views are acknowledged Interactionist View - Conflict can be functional OR dysfunctional - functional conflict should be encouraged Focused or Managed Conflict View - There are some specific cases where conflict can be beneficial

What are the different ways to resolve or escalate conflict?

Resolution - Problem solving - Superordinate goals - Expansion of resources - Avoidance - Smoothing - Compromise Escalation - Communication - Bringing in outsiders - Appointing a devil's advocate

What is culture?

Shared Values, Attitudes and Behaviours - If a sufficient number of people hold the same values over a long enough time then it can be called a "culture"