Organizational Behavior Study Guide
Core Self-Evaluation
Bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competence, and worth as a person
Displayed Emotions
Emotions that are organizationally required and considered appropriate in a given job
Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchal level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task
Psychological Empowerment
Employees' belief in the degree to which they affect their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their hob, and their perceived autonomy in their work
Personality
Enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior
Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior
Attitudes
Evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, or events
Outcomes
Key factors that are affected by some other variables
Heredity
Factors determined at conception; one's biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup
Hygiene Factors
Factors- such as company policy and administration, supervision, and salary- that, when adequate in a job, placate workers. When these factors are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied
Moods
Feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus
Flextime
Flexible work hours
Self-Managed Work Teams
Groups of 10 to 15 people who take on responsibilities of their former supervisors
Problem-Solving Teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment
Surface Acting
Hiding one's inner feelings and forgoing emotional expression in response to display rules
Emotional Dissonance
Inconsistencies between the emotions people feel and the emotions they project
Affect Intensity
Individual differences in the strength with which individuals experience their emotions
Emotions
Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something
McClelland's Theory of Needs
A Theory that states achievement, power, and affiliation are three important needs that help explain motivation
Flexible Benefits
A benefits plan that allows each employee to put together a benefits package individually tailored to his or her own needs and situation
Affect
A broad range of feelings that people experience
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
A company-established benefits plan in which employees acquire stock, often at below-market prices, as part of their benefits
Organization
A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals
Organizational Behavior
A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness
Gainsharing
A formula-based group incentive plan
Leading
A function that included motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts
Work Group
A group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility
Work Team
A group whose individual efforts result in performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs
Intuition
A gut feeling not necessarily supported by research
Value System
A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual's values in terms of their intensity
Job Characteristics Model (JCM)
A model that proposes that any job can be described in terms of five core job dimensions: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback
Affective Events Theory
A model that suggests that workplace events cause emotional reactions on the part of employees, which then influence workplace attitudes and behaviors
Negative Affect
A mood dimension that consists of emotions such as nervousness, stress, and anxiety at the high end and relaxation, tranquility, and poise at the low end
Positive Affect
A mood dimension that consists of specific positive emotions such as excitement, self-assurance, and cheerfulness at the high end and boredom, sluggishness, and tiredness at the low end
Collectivism
A national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them
Individualism
A national culture attribute that describes the degree to which people prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups
Power Distance
A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unevenly
Uncertainty Avoidance
A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them
Masculinity
A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which the culture favors traditional masculine work roles of achievement, power, and control. Societal values are characterized by assertiveness and materialism
Short-Term Orientation
A national culture attribute that emphasizes that past and present, respect for tradition, and fulfillment of societal obligations
Long-Term Orientation
A national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift, and persistence
Femininity
A national culture attribute that indicates little differentiation between male and female roles; a high rating indicates that women are treated as equals of men in all aspects of society
Employee Involvement
A participative process that uses the input of employees and is intended to increase employee commitment to an organization's success
Merit-Based Pay Plan
A pay plan based on performance appraisal ratings
Piece-Rate Pay Plan
A pay plan in which workers are payed a ficed sum for each unit of production completed
Variable-Pay Program
A pay plan that bases a portion of an employee's pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance
Bonus
A pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than historical performance
Skill-Based Pay
A pay plan that sets pay level on the basis of how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do
Big Five Model
A personality assessment model that taps five basic dimensions
Extraversion
A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive
Emotional Stability
A personality dimension that characterizes someone as calm, self-confident, secure (positive) versus nervous, depressed, and insecure (negative)
Openness to Experience
A personality dimension that characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity, and curiosity
Agreeableness
A personality dimension that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, and trusting
Conscientiousness
A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types
Self-monitoring
A personality trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors
Job Satisfaction
A positive feeling about one's job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics
Motivating Potential Score (MPS)
A predictive index that suggests the motivation potential in a job
Participative Management
A process in which subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors
Planning
A process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities
Management by Objectives (MBO)
A program that encompasses specific goals, participatively set, for an explicit time period, with feedback on goal progress
Punctual-Equilibrium Model
A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity
Emotional Labor
A situation in which an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work
Representative Participation
A system in which workers participate in organizational decision making through a small group of representative employees
Reflectivity
A team characteristic of reflecting on and adjusting the master plan when necessary
Self-Determination Theory
A theory of motivation that is concerned with the beneficial effects of intrinsic motivation and the harmful effects of extrinsic motivation
Behaviorism
A theory that argues that behavior follows a stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner
Personality-Job Fit Theory
A theory that identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover
Two-Factor Theory
A theory that relates intrinsic factors to job satisfaction and associates extrinsic factors with dissatisfaction. Also called motivation-hygiene theory
Reinforcement Theory
A theory that says that behavior is a function of its consequences
Equity Theory
A theory that says that individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate inequities
Goal-Setting Theory
A theory that says that specific and difficult goals, with feedback, lead to higher performance
Expectancy Theory
A theory that says that the strengths of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
A version of self-determination theory which holds that allocating extrinsic rewards for behavior that had been previously intrinsically rewarding tends to decrease the overall level of motivation if the rewards are seen as controlling
Profit-Sharing Plan
An organization-wide program that distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around a company's profitability
General Mental Ability
An overall factor of intelligence, as suggested by the positive correlations among specific intellectual ability dimensions
Organizational Justice
An overall perception of what is fair in the workplace, composed of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice
Cognitive Dissonance
Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes
Values
Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence in personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct of end-state of existence
Deep Acting
Trying to modify one's true inner feelings based on display rules
Telecommuting
Working from home at least two days a week on a computer that is linked to the employer's office
Systematic Study
Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence
Mental Models
Team members' knowledge and beliefs about how the work gets done by the team
Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal
Job Involvement
The degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self worth
Organizational Commitment
The degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization
Machiavellianism
The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means
Efficiency
The degree to which an organization can achieve its ends at a low cost
Organizational Survival
The degree to which an organization is able to exist and grow over the long term
Effectiveness
The degree to which an organization meets the needs of its clientele or customers
Feedback
The degree to which carrying out the work activities required by a job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her job performance
Perceived Organizational Support
The degree to which employees believe an organization values their contribution and cares about their well being
Organizational Demography
The degree to which members of a work unit share a common demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in an organization, and the impact of this attribute on turnover
Self-Concordance
The degree to which peoples' reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values
Need for Affiliation (nAff)
The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships
Self-Actualization
The drive to become what a person is capable of becoming
Need for Achievement (nAch)
The drive to excel, to achieve in relationship to a set of standards, and to strive to succeed
Affective Component
The emotional or feeling segment or an attitude
Group Cohesion
The extent to which members of a group support and validate one another while at work
Adjourning Stage
The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance
Forming Stage
The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty
Five-Stage Group-Development Model
The five distinct stages groups go through: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
Psychology
The science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals
Storming Stage
The second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict
Withdrawal Behavior
The set of actions employees take to separate themselves from the organization
Proactive Personality
People who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs
Distributive Justice
Perceived fairness of the amount and allocation of rewards among individuals
Sociology
The study of people in relation to their social environment or culture
Anthropology
The study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities
Positivity Affect
The tendency of most individuals to experience a mildly positive mood at zero input (when nothing in particular is going on)
Illusory Correlation
The tendency of people to associate two events when in reality there is no connection
Narcissism
The tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of self-importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement
Norming Stage
The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationship and cohesiveness
Job Enrichment
The vertical expansion of jobs, which increases the degree to which the worker controls the planning, executing, and evaluation of the work
Social-Learning Theory
The view that we can learn through both observation and direct experience
Job Design
The way the elements in a job are organized
Multiteam Systems
Systems in which different teams need to coordinate their efforts to produce a desired result
Skill Variety
The degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities
Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of five needs- physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization- in which, as each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant
Processes
Actions that individuals, groups, and organizations engage in as a result of inputs that lead to certain outcomes
Model
An abstraction of reality. A simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon
Positive Organizational Scholarship
An area of OB research that concerns how organizations develop human strength, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential
Social Psychology
An area of psychology that blends concepts from psychology and sociology and that focuses on the influence of people on one another
Job Sharing
An arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job
Manager
An individual who achieves goals through other people
Self-Efficacy
An individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task
Ability
An individual's capacity to perform the various tasks in a job
Employee Engagement
An individual's involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work he or she does
Felt Emotions
An individuals actual emotions
Behavioral Component
An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something
Terminal Values
Desirable end-states of existence; the goals a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime
Organizing
Determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made
Citizenship Behavior
Discretionary behavior that contributes to the psychological and social environment of the workplace
Loyalty
Dissatisfaction expressed by passively waiting for conditions to improve
Voice
Dissatisfaction expressed through active and constructive attempts to improve conditions
Neglect
Dissatisfaction expressed through allowing conditions to worsen
Exit
Dissatisfaction expressed through behavior directed toward leaving the organization
Controlling
Monitoring activities to ensure they are being accomplished as planned and correcting any significant deviations
Lower-Order Needs
Needs that are satisfied externally, such as physiological and safety needs
Higher-Order Needs
Needs that are satisfied internally, such as social, esteem, and self-actualization needs
Instrumental Values
Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one's terminal values
Task Identity
The degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work
Contingency Variables
Situational factors: variables that moderate the relationship between two or more variables
Ethical Dilemmas and Ethical Choices
Situations in which individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct
Technical Skills
The ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to detect and to mange emotional cues and information
Human Skills
The ability to work with, understand, and motivate other people, both individually and in groups
Theory X
The assumption that employees dislike work, are lazy, dislike responsibility, and must be coerced to perform
Theory Y
The assumption that employees like work, are creative, seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction
Evidence-Based Management
The basing of managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence
Intellectual Abilities
The capacity to do mental activities- thinking, reasoning, and problem solving
Physical Abilities
The capacity to do tasks that demand stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics
Task Performance
The combination of effectiveness and efficiency at doing your core job tasks
Productivity
The combination of the effectiveness and efficiency of an organization
Workforce Diversity
The concept that organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and inclusion of other diverse groups
Task Significance
The degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people
Autonomy
The degree to which a job provided substantial freedom and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out
Performing Stage
The fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional
Job Engagement
The investment of an employee's physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance
Conceptual Skills
The mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations
Need for Power (nPow)
The need to make others behave in a way in which they would not have behaved otherwise
Cognitive Component
The opinion or belief segment of an attitude
Interactional Justice
The perceived degree to which an individual is treated with dignity, concern and respect
Procedural Justice
The perceived fairness of the process used to determine the distribution of rewards
Job Rotation
The periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another
Diversity Management
The process and programs by which managers make everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others
Emotional Contagion
The process by which peoples emotions are caused by the emotions of others
Motivation
The processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal
Group Functioning
The quantity and quality of a work group's output