Organizational Behavior Exam II
Functional conflict
medium level of conflict leads to high performance
Tuckman's 5 stages of group development
Forming → Storming → Norming → Performing → Adjourning
tasks versus process
Groups typically over-focus on task, to the neglect of process. But then the group never improves the way it works! You are ALWAYS engaging in both task and process, and need to manage them both successfully. Think of them as a fraction: you need both parts for it to work
What to look for in groups
Participation, Influence, Leadership, Autocratic, Peacemaker, Laissez-faire, Democratic, Decision-Making Procedures, Maintenance Functions, Group Atmosphere, Membership, Feelings, Norms, Decision-Making Biases and Pitfalls
Collaborating
a conflict-handling style that is high on both assertiveness and cooperation, strengths/weaknesses: win/win
Competing
a conflict-handling style that is highly assertive but low on cooperation, strengths/weaknesses: more interested in self
Accommodating
a cooperative and unassertive conflict-handling style, strengths/weaknesses: giving in to what other people want
Consensus
a decision-making rule that groups may use when the goal is to gain support for an idea or plan of action, it is inclusive, participatory, cooperative, and democratic
Coalition tactics
a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others
Delphi Technique
a group process that utilizes written responses to a series of questionnaires instead of physically bringing individuals together to make a decisions
Collective efficacy
a group's perception of its ability to successfully perform well
Compromising
a middle-ground conflict-handling style, in which a person has some desire to express their own concerns and get their way but still respects the other person's goals as well, strengths/weaknesses: even ground
Mediation
a process in which an outside third party (the mediator) enters the situation with the goal of assisting the parties to reach an agreement
Arbitration
a process that involves bringing in a third party, the arbitrator, who has the authority to act as a judge and make a binding decision to which both parties must adhere
Conflict
a process that involves people disagreeing
Negotiation
a process whereby two or more parties work toward an agreement
Idea quotas
a set number of ideas a group must reach before they are done with brainstorming
Nominal Group Technique (NGT)
a technique designed to help with group decision making by ensuring that all members participate fully
Wildstorming
a variation of brainstorming in which the group focuses on ideas that are impossible and then imagines what would need to happen to make them possible
Impression management
actively shaping the way you are perceived by others
Integrative approach
an approach to negotiation in which both parties look for ways to integrate their goals under a larger umbrella
Avoidance
an uncooperative and unassertive conflict-handling style, strengths/weaknesses: postponing decisions
Intuitive decision-making model
arriving at decisions without conscious reasoning, argues that in a given situation, experts making decisions can scan the environment for cues to recognize patterns
Communicator
behaviors that are targeted at collaboration such as practicing good listening skills and appropriately using humor to diffuse tense situations
Contributor
brings information and expertise to the team
Satisfaction
cohesion is correlated with how pleased group members are with each other's performance, behavior, and conformity to group norms
Other-focused impression management
complimenting or praising the other person, doing favors, or conforming to their opinions to make oneself more likeable to them
The Milgram Studies
conformity to authority, Participants were willing to allow the teachers to shock learners for incorrect answers
The Zimbardo Studies
conformity, Participants take on the prison and guard roles super quickly
The Asch Studies
conformity, Two lines that were clearly different sizes, they would say they were the same like everyone else
Verification & Application
consciously verifying the feasibility of the solution and implementing the decision
Creator
deals with changes in the team's task process structure
Social Loafing
decrease in individual effort as group size increases; diffusion of responsibility, Example: Tug of War, Red Flags: Task is unimportant, simple, uninteresting, Individual output is unidentifiable, Other co-workers also loaf, Prevention: Make tasks/goals challenging and interesting to all, Make clear who will do what assignments, Make individual output identifiable, Hold individuals accountable for their portion of the work, Don't let individuals get lost in a large group
Critic
devil's advocate behaviors that go against the assumptions being made by the team
Ingratiation
different forms of making others feel good about themselves
Win-lose
distributive approach
Pressure
exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want, or else something undesirable will occur
Cooperator
supporting those with expertise toward the teams goals
Anchoring and adjustment bias
the tendency for individuals to rely too heavily on a single piece of information
Framing bias
the tendency of decision makers to be influenced by the way that problems are framed
Punctuated equilibrium
the theory that change within groups occurs in rapid radical spurts rather than gradually over time, Created by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould, This model includes the possibility that distractions may arise within different stages of group development
Presentation
the third phase of negotiation in which information is assembled in a way that supports one's position
Distributive view
the traditional fixe-pie approach in which negotiators see the situation as pie that the have to divide between them
Importance
the value of the resource
Immersion
thinking about the problem consciously and gathering information
Legitimating tactics
those that occur when the appeal is based on legitimate or position power
Inspirational appeals
those that seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action
Satisfice
to accept the first alternative that meets minimum criteria
Optimizing
to get high performance, you need a medium balance of conflict
Dimensions of Creativity
fluency, flexibility, originality
Consul
gathering information from the larger organization and informing those within the organization about team activities, goals, and successes
Exchange
give-and-take in which someone does something for you and you do something for them in return
Asch Effect
giving in to a wrong but popular opinion, Red Flags: You feel uncertainty about how others may judge you so you just follow along, Feeling "peer pressure", Prevention: Create an environment of truth and trust, Foster open communication, Increase work and non-work communication and interaction opportunities
Concessions
giving up one thing to get something else in return
Boundary-spanning roles
goals related to activities outside the team that help to connect the team to the larger organization
Abilene Paradox
group members all go along with an idea that no-one actually supports, Red Flags: Pervasive "don't rock the boat" mentality, Fear of being ostracized or labeled a "loner"/"misfit", Deference to others without openly communicating one's ideas and expectations, Consistent negative results without people speaking up, Prevention: Don't be paranoid about group reaction to your ideas/concerns, Encourage and exemplify debate, discussion, clarifying questions, assumption-checking (e.g. "what would happen if we don't do this plan?"), Solicit non-redundant ideas from each person, Estimate probabilities of risks and benefits
Compensatory
group performance combines individual contributions into a better group product, Examples: Cross-functional teams (e.g., product development, hospital E.R), Decision-making groups (e.g., juries), Best Design: True team, "Just right" size, Reward individual input and/or group output
Conjunctive
group performance depends on the strongest individual, Examples: Troubleshooting, Group problem solving, Best Design: Single leader group Larger capable team, Reward individual input (e.g., skill level) to attract capable people
Disjunctive
group performance depends on the weakest individual or hardest task, Examples: Pit crew, Shared code, Music group, Best Design: Single leader group, Small capable team, Reward individual input (e.g., skill level) to attract capable people
Additive
group performance is a sum of individual performance, Examples: shoveling snow, call center, stuffing envelopes, Best Design: Lone individuals or single leader group, Reward individual input (e.g., time) or group or individual output (BUT if group level rewards, highlight individual contribution)
Personal appeal
helping another person because you like them and they asked for your help
Dysfunctional conflict
low and high levels of conflict lead to low performance
Overconfidence bias
when individuals overestimate their ability to predict future events
Satisficing
when individuals settle for the first acceptable alternative instead of seeking the best possible (optimal) solution
Illumination
when the solution to the problem becomes apparent
Ground rules
written rules for a group
Power is discretionary
you can choose whether to use it or not when you have it
5 phases of negotiation
Investigation → BATNA → Presentation → Bargaining → Closure
Flexibility
how different the ideas are from each other, if individuals are able to generate several unique solutions to a problem, they are on high
Originality
how unique a person's ideas are
Scarcity
in the context of dependency, refers to the uniqueness of a resource
Contractor
includes behaviors that serve to organize the teams work, including creating team timelines production schedules, and task sequencing
Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
includes mediation, arbitration, and other ways of resolving conflicts with the help of a specially trained, neutral third party without the need for a formal trial or hearing
Non-verbal impression management
includes the clothes you choose to wear, body language, and demeanor
Rational persuasion
includes using facts, data, and logical arguments to try to convince others that your point of view is the best alternative
Bounded rationality model
individuals knowingly limit their options to a manageable set and choose the first acceptable alternative without conducting an exhaustive search for alternatives
Peer influence
influencing those on the same level you are at
Rational model
information on alternatives can be gathered and quantified, the decision is important, and you are trying to maximize your outcome
Win-win
integrative approach
Coordinator
interfacing with others within the organization so that the team's efforts are in line with other individuals and teams within the organization
Incubation
not thinking about the problem for a while
Resistance
occurs when the influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt
Compliance
occurs when the target does not necessarily want to obey, but they do
Commitment
occurs when the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it as well
Sustainability
one's ability to find another option that works as well as the one offered
Crowdsourcing
outsourcing a problem to a larger group
Information power
power that comes from access to information, Example: a senior executive mentors someone on the "ins and outs" of the organization
Expert power
power that comes from knowledge and skill, Example: a senior executive mentors someone on the "ins and outs" of the organization
Legitimate power
power that comes from one's organizational role or position, Example: a police officer pulls you over for speeding
Referent power
power that stems from personal characteristics of a person such as the degree to which we like, respect, and want to be like them, Example: an employee's enthusiasm attracts customers
Self-focused impression management
promoting and enhancing one's qualities to create a specific image in the eyes of the other person
Task roles
roles for typology
Social roles
roles serve to keep the team operating effectively
Calibrator
serves to keep the team on track in terms of suggesting any needed changes to the team's process
Norms
shared expectations about how things operate within a group or team
Size
smaller groups tend to have higher levels of cohesion
Performing
stage when participants are not only getting work done, but they also pay greater attention to how they are doing it
Norming
stage when participants find it easy to establish their own ground rules and define their operating procedures and goals
Storming
stage when participants focus less on keeping their guard up as they shed social facades, becoming more authentic and more argumentative
Forming
stage when the group comes together for the first time
BATNA
stands for "best alternative to negotiated agreement", important part of the investigation and planning phase in negotiation
Escalation of commitment
sticking to an ineffective course of action when it is unlikely the situation can be reversed, Red Flags: People fail to ignore "sunk" costs (especially on long-term projects) because of: Peer pressure, Saving face, Personal/political interests/passions, Organizational inertia, Delayed returns on investment, Incorrectly attributing setbacks to temporary causes, Prevention: Publicize limits/ minimum performance targets before starting, Reduce the penalty to fail, Regularly highlight performance status and the costs of persisting, Have different people manage/evaluate the project (reduce egos and stimulate opposing positions)
Reward power
the ability to grant a reward, such as an increase in pay, a perk, or an attractive job assignment, Example: a manager decides who gets promoted
Power
the ability to influence the behavior of others to get what you want
Downward influence
the ability to influence those in positions lower than yours
Upward influence
the ability to influence your boss and others in positions higher than yours
Coercive power
the ability to take something away or punish someone for noncompliance, Example: a police officer pulls you over for speeding
Cohesion
the degree of camaraderie within the group
Adjourning
the fifth and final stage later added to the Tuckman model
investigation
the first step in negotiation in which information is gathered
Bargaining
the fourth phase of negotiation in which parties discuss their goals and seek agreement
Creative model
the generation of new ideas that are original, fluent, and flexible, Identification → Immersion → Incubation → Illumination → Application
Consultation
the influence agent's asking other for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group
Closure
the last part of negotiation in which you and the other party have come to an agreement on the terms, or one part has decided that the final offer in unacceptable and therefore must be walked away from
Stability
the longer a group stays together, the more cohesive it will become
Similarity
the more similar group members are in terms of age, sex, education, skills, attitude, values, and beliefs, the more likely the group will bond
Dependency
the more that a person or unit is dependent on you, the more power you have
Identification
the need for problem solving becomes apparent
Fluency
the number of ideas a person is able to generate
Hindsight bias
the opposite of overconfidence bias as it occurs when a person, looking at the past, judges that a mistake that was made should have been recognized as a mistake at the time
Completer
transforms ideas into action
Lose-lose
unresolved dysfunctional
Support
when group members receive coaching and are encouraged to support their fellow team members, group identity strengthens
Groupthink
when highly cohesive group members override realistic and moral appraisals to keep unanimity, it's as if the group is thinking like it's one person instead of many unique individuals, dissenting views and alternative paths don't get fully explored, Red Flags: Illusion of group superiority/invulnerability, Rationalizing unwanted information, Stereotyped view of outsiders, Pressure to conform to the group, Illusion of unanimity in the group, Self-censorship, "Mindguards" reject contrary information, Prevention: Assign a rotating role of devil's advocate, Every group member a critical evaluator, Multiple groups (e.g., subgroups) explore the same problem or debate, Use outside experts, Search for flaws in apparent consensus, Encourage heterogeneous group composition
