Business 107 : Organizational Behavior Flashcards
Upward Communication
A method of formal communication that allows subordinate employees to communication with their superiors.
External Communication
A form of organizational communication that takes involves members of an organization communicating with individuals who are not part of the organization.
Barriers to Communication
Different variables that can make it difficult for people to communicate effectively with one another, leading to conversational blocks.
Advising
Individuals using this effective listening technique are able to provide good advice.
Drawbacks to texting in business communication
This form of communication can be too informal, misunderstood and inappropriate.
Probing
Using this effective listening technique allows you to use questions to obtain additional information about the individual you’re speaking to.
Reflecting
This effective listening technique is used to ensure the person you’re speaking with knows that you are paying attention to what they’re saying. This can involve repeating what they’ve said.
Informal Conversation
A type of business communication that isn’t regulated. Sometimes referred to as the grapevine, this can include gossip and rumors.
Problems with social media in business communication
Individuals using this method of communication may find it hard to interact in an appropriate way with the company they work for.
Factual Accuracy in Communication
A factor in effective communication that involves providing information that is true and that can be supported by facts.
Clarity and Concision in Communication
An important facet of communicating effectively. Individuals must ensure their communication can be easily understood.
Horizontal Communication
Individuals use this method of formal communication when they are sharing information with people of the same managerial rank.
Effective Listening Barriers
Competitiveness
Focusing on impressing people
Acting like a know-it-all
Overreacting
Persuasiveness in Communication
The final part of effective communication, this involves holding the attention of the individual you’re speaking to and encouraging them to do what you want.
Status Differences Communication Barrier
This communication barrier occurs when individuals can’t communicate well with people in either supervisory or subordinate roles.
Elements of Effective Communication
(4 Things)
Practicality
Factuality
Concision and clarity
Persuasiveness
Physical Separation Communication Barrier
A type of communication problem created by distance. Individuals may have difficulty finishing their thoughts and working well together.
Internal Communication
This type of organization communication involves the sharing of information between members of the same organization.
Gender-Specific Communication Barrier
Differences in the way that men and women communicate with one another lead to this kind of communication barrier.
Deflecting
An effective listening technique that involves switching conversational topics to allow communication to continue.
Diversity / Sensitivity Employee Training
Working on this type of employee training will improve how employees deal with people from a wide range of backgrounds and circumstances.
Career Withdrawal
The final career stage. Individuals at this stage work to consider how they will end their career.
Career Establishment
This is the 1st stage of an individual’s career. It typically occurs from the ages of 21-26 and involves mastering basic job skills and elements.
Problem Solving Employee Training
You can use this kind of employee training to improve problem solving and decision making skills.
Career Plateau
The point in an individual’s career when they are no longer likely to earn further promotions or move up in the company.
Job Training Methods
Job rotation
Job mentoring
On-the-job training
Interpersonal Skills Employee Training
Employees receiving this type of training will work on their abilities to communicate, solve conflicts, develop relationships and build trust.
Job Mentoring
Using this type of training involves placing an individual with someone who has more experience. It offers one-on-one interaction, but might not work if the pairing doesn’t get along.
Career Advancement
The 2nd stage in the career stage model. Individuals at this stage typically features achievements.
Literacy Employee Training
A type of employee training that focuses on helping individuals develop skills in reading and writing. May be used with other forms of training.
Career Management and Development Systems
Systems that include workshops and counselors for employees. These systems can improve employee morale and lead to business success.
On-the-Job Training
This type of training involves learning as you work. It allows for fast feedback and corrections, but it can impact the trainer and effect the company’s workflow.
Job Rotation
A form of training that involves training employees in different jobs over a period of time. It can decrease boredom and increase employee skills, but may negatively impact employees.
Career Maintenance
Individuals in this stage of their career typically maintain their productivity and reach a career plateau where they work at the same level without advancing.
Technology Employee Training
This form of employee training involves helping employees build skills with computers and other electronic devices.
Phased Retirement
A type of retirement that involves gradually phasing out hours.
Loyalty Response
Employees experiencing this response to job dissatisfaction will stay in their career hoping things will improve.
Attributional Bias
Individuals display this bias when they form assumptions without considering all the necessary information.
Self-Serving Bias Error
A type of bias error that involves people crediting positive outcomes to their own actions while believing negative outcomes are caused by external events
Low Context Culture
Individuals in this type of culture provide lots of specific information when they’re communicating and focus on clearly detailing the issues they’re discussing.
Affective Workplace Attitude
Individuals using this component of attitude focus on their feelings about a particular person or circumstance, such as hate or fear
Aggressive Behavior
A type of deviant workplace behavior that involves hostility or intimidation. This behavior can also include sexual harassment.
Factors that influence perception
Individual experiences // The setting itself // The individual or object being perceived
The Contrast Effect
Individuals use this shortcut when they contrast items or people while trying to work on a comparison decision.
Monochronic Time Culture
These cultures view time as very precise and tend to value staying on task. Germany is one example of this type of culture.
Neglect Response
A job dissatisfaction response that occurs when employees no longer care about their job or the company
Methods for measuring job satisfaction
Surveys // Interviews // Performance monitoring
Job Satisfaction
A term used to describe an individual’s relative contentment in his or her current career; this factor can be tied to job performance, though the exact linkage is not certain
External Attributes
These attributes are related to behaviors influenced by situational causes.
Distinctiveness
An aspect of attribution theory that involves considering the ways people act in various situations
Selective Perception
This shortcut is characterized by only perceiving what you want to see or hear and ignoring the information that doesn’t support what you want to believe.
Unproductive Behavior
This form of deviant workplace behavior occurs when employees behave in ways that waste time, such as spending time away from their work.
Perceiver
This term refers to the individual who notes a situation with his or her senses.
Polychronic Time Culture
Cultures with this view of time typically mix personal time into work time and see them as interconnected.
Stereotyping
A perceptual shortcut in which individuals, based on an aggregrate belief, develop ideas about certain groups of people as a whole
Consistency
This aspect of attribution theory looks at assessing the behavior of individuals when they are faced with the exact same situation multiple times.
Cognitive Workplace Attitude
A component of attitude that encompasses an individual’s thoughts, ideas or beliefs. Generalities can be a form of this kind of attitude.
Internal Attributes
Attributes related to behaviors caused by a person’s thoughts or actions
High Context Culture
A type of culture where people use assumptions while communicating, and count on others to understand what they’re discussing
Attribution Theory
This theory deals with the ways that individuals view events happening around them. This theory has three aspects: consistency, distinctiveness and consensus.
Workplace Attitudes
Cognitive // Affective // Conative or Behavioral
The Halo Effect
A shortcut that involves applying an initial impression of an individual or a situation to other circumstances where it might not actually apply
The Central Tendency
This shortcut occurs when people only consider the average results of a group, instead of looking at individual results.
Perceived
A term used to describe the object, person or situation that is being considered during perception
Fundamental Attribution Error
This form of error occurs when someone determines blame without considering all external factors that impacted the event.
Attitudes
This term is used to describe how people think and relate to the world around them.
Voice Response
A way of responding to job dissatisfaction that involves speaking about changes and trying to bring them about
Exit Response
This response to job dissatisfaction occurs when employees quit to look for different employment.
Behavioral/Conative Workplace Attitude
This component of attitude deals with how individuals want to act toward someone or something.
Abuse of Property
Employees demonstrating this kind of deviant workplace behavior are likely to take advantage of company property in some way. Taking workplace materials is an example of this kind of behavior.
Groups / Teams
An element of human relations that improves employee productivity by increasing socialization.
Technical Skills in Management
Managerial skills that are used when trying to complete a task.
The Hawthorne Experiment
Occurring in 1927, this experiment tested the connection between worker psychology and their production output. It led to the Hawthorne Effect and fueled the human relations movement.
Evidence-Based Management Study
This is the most precise method of organizational behavioral study. It requires controlled observations.
Planning in Management
This managerial function involves coming up with a plan that may need to be specialized to fit the requirements of the company. Typically this function is ongoing.
Human Skills in Management
These skills allow managers to successfully work and communicate with their employees.
The Western Electric (Hawthorne Works) Studies
Conducted from 1923-1933, these studies developed into the factors that affected worker accomplishment and worker support in the face of poor management.
Informational Roles
This role in management deals with finding and sharing information. Monitors, disseminators and spokespeople are examples of this role.
Staffing in Management
This function of management is not always agreed upon. It involves finding the right employees for necessary jobs.
Systematic Study
A form of employee observation that looks at behaviors and tries to find specific evidence.
Advantages of positive organizational scholarship
Increased focus on employee strengths
Creation of an ethical work environment
Positive impact on a company’s organizational structure
Disciplines that shaped organizational behavior
Psychology
Anthropology
Sociology
Medicine
Management
Internal Perspective
This perspective of organizational behavior focuses on considering the feelings and thoughts of employees in order to understand behavior.
Controlling in Management
This is the final managerial function and occurs when managers evaluate the outcome of their plan.
Top-Level Management
This level of management includes senior executives and other individuals who hold a lot of power in the company.
Low-Level Management
Management at this level involves dealing with individual employees and is characterized by interpersonal requirements.
Leading in Management
Managers carry out this function when they communicate, motivate and otherwise positively interact with their subordinates.
Conceptual Skills in Management
Analytical abilities and problem-solving capabilities are involved in this type of managerial skill.
Henry Mintzberg
A man who spent a lot of time studying the behavior of managers. He concluded that managers can act in 10 clear roles that can be sorted into three categories.
Upward Communication
A type of communication that enables employees to contact members of management.
Decisional Roles
Managers in this role will act to make decisions and try to find ways to improve the company. Entrepreneurs, negotiators and resource allocators provide examples of this role.
Good Leadership
Involving good communication and sound decision making, this is an important element of organizational behavior.
The Industrial Revolution
This event greatly increased the number of people working in factories and increased the importance of understanding organizational behavior.
Skills needed by managers
Technical
Human
Conceptual
Intuition Study
This method for studying the behavior of employees relies on gut feelings and common sense and can lead to incorrect observations.
Organizing in Management
A managerial function that requires individuals to delegate work and create a structure to carry out a plan.
External Perspective
An organizational behavior perspective that believes outside events and factors impact employee performance.
Middle-Level Management
Managers at this level can lead departments but still serve under higher level management.
Brainstorming
Groups can use this decision making option to come up with lots of possible solutions. Ideas cannot initially be criticized in this method.
Nominal Group Technique
A form of group decision making where individual come up with ideas using a written process and vote for the eventual solution.
Types of Work Teams
Functional
Cross-Functional
Self-Directed
Work Group
A single leader controls and conducts the activities during this kind of project.
KPI
An acronym that stands for Key Performance Indicators, also referred to as metrics. These indicators can be used when performing qualitative performance assessment.
Delphi Technique
This method of group decision making uses surveys and can be used to come up with several alternative choices.
Tuckman’s Five Stages of Group Development
Forming // Storming // Norming // Performing // Adjourning
Work Teams
All members take part in these projects and sort out work assignments. Leaders are expected to serve as facilitators in this kind of project.
Quantitative Performance Measurement
This method for measuring performance uses data that is focused on known quantities, such as statistics.
Sharing of Information
This benefit of working as a group can lead to informed decisions based on multiple people sharing information.
Groupthink
A disadvantage to group work. This occurs when members of the group all share an opinion or try not to create friction by making new suggestions.
Expectations
Used to describe what an individual believes will occur in a situation.
Maintenance Roles
This group role involves preserving the group’s direction. Examples include gate-keepers, compromisers and standards-setters.
Blocking Roles
These roles focus on stopping group progress if they don’t agree with it. Individuals who are as aggressors or dominators fulfill these roles.
Synergy
A benefit of working in a group. This allows people to come up with many creative ideas quickly,
Qualitative Performance Measurement
A way to measure performance that considers different qualities or descriptive terms.
Group Role
This term refers to the action or part an individual carries out in a given situation.
Task Roles
Individuals in these roles must carry out some kind of action, though this may be intangible. Opinion-seekers, opinion-givers, recorders and procedural technicians are examples of this role.
High Machs
Individuals are highly manipulative, difficult to persuade, excel in face-to-face settings and exhibit a high degree of Machiavellianism. This type of individual would likely do well in commission-based sales.
Anchoring bias
A form of information-type bias in decision making. It involves relying too heavily on a single piece of information when making a decision.
Type B personality
A person with this personality type exhibits relaxed, laid back, unstressed, and flexible tendencies.
Emotional contagion
A way that emotions in one employee are transferred to another employee nonverbally
The Vroom-Yetton Leader Model
A model which posits five forms of leadership decision making. These include autocratic decision I (decide), autocratic decision II (consult individually), consult group, facilitate, and delegate styles.
Self-monitoring
The ability to shift one’s behavior based on the actions or cues of others
Emotional dissonance
A negative feeling a person gets when he or she views an emotion as potentially conflicting with his or her identity
Four styles of decision making
These include conceptual, directive, behavioral, and analytical styles.
Scales of the MBTI
Include the following four areas: extraversion/introversion, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving
Conceptual decision making
A decision-making style that emphasizes long-term results. An individual with this style likes to address problems creatively and brainstorm options and is also open to taking risks.
Steps of the rational decision-making model
In order, these include defining a problem, identifying decision criteria, allocating weights to the criteria, developing alternatives, evaluating alternatives, and choosing the best alternative.
The Big Five Personality Model
Five sectors of observable personality traits, represented by the acronym ‘O.C.E.A.N.’ They include openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
Type A personality
A person with this personality type exhibits aggressive, ambitious, work-intensive, controlling, highly competitive, and impatient tendencies.
Conscientiousness
A trait in the Big Five Personality Model, characterized by work ethic, organization, and dependability
Autocratic decision II
A leadership model that involves consulting with group members separately prior to making a decision by oneself. It is also referred to as consult individually.
The rational decision-making model
Six steps that determine the best path in finding a solution to a given problem. It relies on facts, analysis, and a step-by-step process.
Intellectual abilities
Mental capacities that organizations view as highly desirable among employees. These include excellent memory, reasoning, analyzing, verbal comprehension, and problem solving.
Intuitive decision making
A decision reached through one’s gut instinct rather than through facts
Rational decision making
A decision reached through facts and analysis rather than through one’s intuition
Surface acting
A type of emotional labor involving the faking of emotions in order to meet certain work or social expectations
Machiavellianism
A personality trait characterized by the use of manipulation in order to achieve power. It is sometimes simply referred to as ‘Mach’.
Self-esteem
A personality trait that affects employee behavior and workplace success. It refers to an individual’s positive or negative attitudes and views about himself or herself.
Narcissism
An overestimation of one’s own abilities and accomplishments, coupled with an underestimation of the abilities and accomplishments of others. Narcissists tend to act in a self-serving manner.
Sensory skills
Skills involving an individual’s five senses, utilized in jobs such as speech pathology and music composition. This is one of many skill sets associated with physical abilities.
Moderate risk stance
A risk-taking strategy involving compromise and flexibility. In risk-takers this generally entails being cautious with risk, while in risk averse individuals, it involves taking smart, well-researched risk.
Components of self-concept theory
These include traits, values, and competencies.
Realistic personality type
Individuals who fall into this category are shy, inner-directed, and prefer physical activities requiring coordination. It is one of six employee personality types.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instrument (MBTI)
A tool used in the business world for career counseling, conflict management, team building, and developing ideal management styles. It assesses employees in four scales.
Self-concept
A personality trait that affects employee behavior and workplace success. It refers to the manner in which a person views himself or herself based on personal skills, habits, and temperament.
Physical abilities
Qualities such as strength, stamina, coordination, flexibility, psychomotor skills, and sensory skills. Organizations deem such qualities as highly valuable among employees.
Emotional intelligence
A characteristic involving the ability to understand, adjust, and facilitate emotion in the workplace, in both oneself and others
Directive leadership
A leadership style involving specific instruction or advice, clarifying expectations, and assigning duties to group members.
Supportive leadership
A sensitive leadership style from managers towards employees, which generally involves heightened concern for health and well-being. It is one of four Path-Goal leadership styles.
Illegitimate politics
Tactics for obtaining a desired end that are generally unprofessional, unfair, or unacceptable. They are contrary to legitimate politics.
Consultation
A method used to obtain power, which usually involves consulting an individual for advice or assistance, while offering said individual some incentive.
Four duties of organizational leaders
These include setting a clear vision for the organization, motivating employees, guiding employees through a work process, and building morale among employees.
Laissez-faire leadership
A leadership style which offers a high level of autonomy and flexibility to subordinates, due to a great amount of top-down trust.
Achievement-oriented leadership
A leadership style which involves challenging goals and high performance expectations.
Transactional leadership
A form of leadership that weighs heavily the factors of actions and reactions. Such leaders are likely to monitor performance closely, rewarding those who perform, and punishing those who do not.
Personal appeal
A power tactic that involves appeal to an individual’s loyalty or friendship.
Authoritarian leadership
A leadership style in which a leader makes decisions without consulting their subordinates.
Positional power
An authority that stems from one’s position within an organization. It includes three principle components: legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power.
Reward power
Refers to the ability a manager has to influence subordinates through rewards, such as promotions, bonuses, raises, and related incentives.
Participative leadership
A leadership style which involves communication between leaders and group members in order to better determine goals and expectations.
Ingratiation
Involves complimenting, praising, and evoking positive emotion in an individual, prior to requesting something of them. It is a power tactic used for obtaining a desired end.
Exchange
A power acquisition strategy of reciprocity, or simple giving and receiving.
Legitimate power
An element derived directly from one’s position in an organization, and the authority associated with said position.
Rational persuasion
A power which stems from one’s exceptional knowledge and expertise in a given field.
Innovative leadership
A leadership style which encourages participation and expression of ideas among subordinates. It overlaps significantly with laissez-faire leadership.
Inspirational appeal
A power which involves striking inspiration or enthusiasm in an individual.
Transformational leadership
A leadership style that advocates laissez-faire philosophy. Such leaders look for team members to put tremendous effort into their work, in order to create significant change.
Servant leadership
A leadership style which prioritizes services to others, and generally falls under the umbrella of democratic leadership.
Legitimate politics
Tactics used for obtaining a desired end that are, generally speaking, fair and acceptable in the business environment. They are contrary to illegitimate politics.
Influence in an organizational setting
Refers to the impact one individual has on another’s character, development, manner of thinking, or behavior in the workplace.
Emotional intelligence
The manner in which an individual handles their emotions when dealing with others. It includes five aspects: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.
Business managers
Individuals responsible for carrying out planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in a business environment. Not all such individuals live up to the expectations of leaders, however.
Business leaders
Individuals in the field of business who exhibit exemplary personal qualities that others strive to follow. Such individuals need not hold any formal titles.
Coercive power
A form of positional power involving a manager’s use of punishment on subordinates for failing to meet performance expectations, or to prevent them from making costly organizational decisions.
Democratic leadership
A leadership style which involves input from subordinates. Such leaders believe that organizational goals should be met through a collaborative, full team effort.
Bureaucratic leadership
A form of leadership characterized by close following of rules, procedures, and policies. It is useful in high-risk employment fields such as nuclear energy, banking, and law enforcement.
Continuous improvement leadership
A leadership style that emphasizes the improvement of outcomes in all situations. It may involve reliance other leadership styles, including democratic, laissez-faire, or authoritarian.
Charismatic leadership
A leadership style which generally involves high degrees of authority and personality. It is similar in many regards to authoritarian leadership.
Effect of resource scarcity on power
Greater scarcity of a given resource is positively correlated with greater power in its owner.
Situational leadership
A leadership style characterized by an ever-changing environment. It involves reliance on multiple leadership styles, as the situation requires.
Path-Goal theory
A theory which posits that good leaders must be able to provide clear instruction, set tangible goals, and support group members in goal achievement. It is associated with four leadership styles.
Formalization in Business
This refers to the amount of standardization a job has. Companies with a high amount of this element offer employees little flexibility and typically have strict procedures.
Cost Minimization Organizational Strategy
This organizational strategy focuses on controlling costs and reducing innovation. It works well with the formalization of a mechanistic business structure.
Impact of organizational structure on employees
This aspect of a business affects the freedom employees possess concerning their jobs, which can impact job performance and motivation.
Innovation Organizational Strategy
Businesses that use this strategy work to develop products or services that are on the cutting edge. An organic business structure works best for organizations using this strategy.
Disadvantages to Work Specialization
Employee isolation and low communication // Smaller job opportunities for employees // Difficulties filling in for an absent employee // Inability to multi-task // Can lead to burn-out
Work Specialization
This term is used to describe the way an organization sorts tasks into various jobs. It is also sometimes referred to as division of labor.
Motivational Approach to Job Design
This job design approach focuses on the parts of a job that lead to psychological benefits and employee motivation. It requires lots of training and can cause stress.
Horizontal Boundaries in an Organization
These boundaries can exist between functional departments in the same organization.
Characteristics of Small Organizations
Businesses at this size tend to have low work specialization and little departmentalization. They are typically not very formal.
Mass Technology
Businesses use this kind of technology when they need to produce large amounts of standardized goods with a high amount of routineness. This is characterized by complexity that is moderate.
External Boundaries in an Organization
Organizations with these boundaries experience a separation between the company and other individuals, such as suppliers. This can occur if businesses lose touch with their customers.
Specialization in an Organization
This is determined by the degree to which job are divided into smaller tasks. Large amounts of this can lead to increased productivity for a business as well as boredom for employees.
Boundaryless Organization
A type of organization that tries to take away external, vertical and horizontal boundaries, allowing all employees, suppliers and customers to easily interact
Survivors of Downsizing
Employees who retain their jobs after a company downsizes. These individuals may require additional appreciation from management due to the fact that their workload will likely increase.
Divisional Organizational Design
This organizational design can be adopted by large companies who want to use self-managed divisions that possess a large amount of autonomy in the company.
Quality Work Circles in Employee Empowerment
A type of employee empowerment that’s characterized by meeting together to communicate and share feedback. This can improve employee motivation, as workers feel they’re being listened to.
Behavioral Approach to Job Design
An approach for designing a job that puts the focus on increasing employee autonomy, feedback and task variety in order to raise productivity and workplace motivation
Job Design Approaches
Mechanistic
Motivational (Industrial Psychology)
Biological
Perceptual-Motor (Experimental Psychology)
Job Enrichment Redesign
Using this type of job redesign allows companies to offer additional tasks, authority and more responsibility to keep high-potential employees motivated on the job.
Vertical Boundaries in an Organization
Boundaries based on status or rank that limit communication or connections between management levels inside an organization. This can result in low team cohesion.
Types of Job Redesign
Job enrichment
Job rotation
Job enlargement
Team Organizational Design
Using this type of organizational design allows businesses to group employees together in both horizontal and vertical groups to work autonomously to solve problems.
Imitation Organizational Strategy
Organizations using this strategy copy new and innovative products then inexpensively mass-produce them. These companies typically use a blended mechanistic and organic business structure.
Geographic Boundaries in an Organization
Physical separation causes this kind of a boundary in a business. Advances in communication, such as virtual conferencing, can limit the impact of this boundary.
Job Rotation Redesign / Cross-training
This form of job redesign occurs when a company moves employees to different specialized jobs in an effort to challenge employees and diminish boredom.
Mechanistic / Bureaucratic Business Structure
Businesses structured in this way feature a stable environment and a centralized formal network. Easily maintained processes and well-trained employees characterize these businesses.
Biological Approach to Job Design
The physical requirements of a job are the main focus of this approach to job design, with time spent trying to limit injuries and physical problems.
Organic Business Structure
This structure appears in dynamic organizations that have to quickly adapt to changes. Power is decentralized between management levels, and teamwork is greatly valued.
Advantages to Work Specialization
Increased productivity and profits // Efficient completion of work // Lower cost of quality control // Employees become job experts // Increased employee pride
Teams in Employee Empowerment
Implementing this option for employee empowerment can lead to increased support from coworkers as well as varying up the tasks that employees must complete.
Characteristics of Large Organizations
These organizations generally feature a high level of work specialization and a large degree of departmentalization. Most of these businesses have a large amount of formalization.
Job Enlargement Redesign
A type of job redesign that focuses on giving an employee more tasks to accomplish in order to vary job responsibilities and decrease boredom.
Social Information Processing Job Design Model
This model of job design focuses on the impact of interpersonal views and what employees are told about their jobs.
Centralization in an Organization
Connected to organizational structure, this aspect of a business can be measured by who in the company has the authority to make decisions.
Downsizing in Business
This occurs when a business attempts to improve by reducing its size and operating costs, often by lowering its number of employees.
Value Stream
This term refers to the set actions that are necessary to design and create a particular good or service.
Victims of Downsizing
These individuals lose their jobs when their organization downsizes. Businesses can offer outplacement strategies to these employees in order to help them locate new jobs.
Mechanistic Approach to Job Design
An approach to job design based on mechanical engineering and simplifying work. It features low training time as well as dips in job satisfaction and productivity
Network Organizational Design
An organization design also referred to as a lean structure. This design focuses on maintaining core business functions internally and subcontracting other functions.
Functional Organizational Design
A type of traditional organizational design that includes different departments and a strong hierarchy
Unit Technology
A type of technology used when producing small amounts of items, such as for custom creations. Businesses using this technology have low levels of routineness.
Job (Re)Design in Employee Empowerment
This aspect of employee empowerment occurs when an employee works with the company to determine the responsibilities and tasks that should be associated with his or her job position.
Simple Structure Organizational Design
Businesses can use this form of traditional organizational design if they want low departmentalization, few rules, central authority, a wide span of control and low amounts of specialization.
Matrix Organizational Design
A form of organizational design that sorts employees into groups based on their functions and projects. This design can rely on cross-functional teams.
Lean Organizational Structure
A business structure that attempts to efficiently use few resources. Companies with shifting services, broadly skilled employees and customers who want value at a low cost use this structure.
Process Technology
Businesses that use a continuous process are using this kind of technology, which is largely automated and very routine.
Decentralized Decision Making in Business
Businesses that use this kind of decision making allow managers and employees at low levels to have high involvement in decision making.
Steps for creating employee empowerment
Completing job (re)design
Creating teams at work
Setting up quality work circles
4th Stage of Action Research
This stage of action research focuses on the evaluation of action results. This is important because it determines what the overall impact of these results will be.
Organizational Climate
This term refers to the mood of a company. It’s generally affected by the beliefs and attitudes of an organization’s employees.
Organizational Culture
You use this term when talking about employees’ values, behaviors or norms.
Dialectical Critique
Occurs when there are two different sides to an issue and each side is allowed to state their beliefs or reasoning
Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model of Management
This model of organizational change features eight steps, which include focusing on short-term goals, producing more changes with gains and using organizational culture as an anchor for change.
1st Stage of Action Research
Working on this stage of action research involves working on discovering what the organizational issue, or problem, actually is.
Establishing a sense of urgency in Kotter’s 8-step change model of management
This step is important because it inspires employees to work together as a team and encourages their willingness to sacrifice for the change.
Action Research
This type of research is implemented on the job and involves five steps used to identify and solve a problem. It’s also called participatory research.
2nd Stage of Action Research
Action planning takes place at this stage of action research. It involves the consideration of various courses of action.
Collaborative Research
A principle of action research that states that everyone participating in the research has an important viewpoint
Creating and communicating a vision for change in Kotter’s 8-step change model of management
Working on this step involves ensuring employees understand the changes that are occurring in the business.
Reflexive Critique
This term refers to the process of considering evidence-based information as well as observations and reflective comments.
Creating a guiding coalition in Kotter’s 8-step change model of management
Managers take this step when they set up a team, consisting of employees who might be chosen for their knowledge or skills, to help carry out the organizational change.
Disenchantment
This reaction to change is the most difficult for businesses to handle. Employees who are angry about changes may become destructive and try to impact the productivity of other employees.
5th Stage of Action Research
This is the final step in action research and it focuses on specifying learning in order to handle future organizational issues.
Internal Forces of Change in Business
The causes of these forces are internal to a company. Internal crisis, shifts in the expectations of employees or disappointing financial performance are examples of these forces.
Plural Structure
This principle of action research ensures that participants understand that various views may develop because of collaboration and each of these views needs to be considered.
Types of change in organizations
Unplanned
Planned
Organizational Strategy
These are the actions a company can take when trying to create change. They can include action planning, diagnosis, intervention and evaluation.
External Forces of Change in Business
These forces act on businesses from the outside. They can include ethical behavior, technology, globalization and workforce diversity.
Psychological Contract
This term refers to an employee’s internal commitment to the success of the business where he or she works.
Disengagement
This occurs when employees withdraw from an organization’s change. Management can attempt to get these employees to re-engage in order to return the employee to productivity.
Disidentification
A behavioral reaction that can occur if an employee feels that his or her job security is threatened by organizational change
Organizational Development
This process focuses on allowing organizations to work on self-improvement by making changes in their policies or leadership. It can also involve job redesign.
Strategies to encourage the acceptance of change in organizations
Providing good communication and timing the change well
Involving employees in decisions
Offering good leadership
Giving opportunities for negotiation
Using manipulation and coercion
Disorientation
Employees who become confused when faced with organizational changes are experiencing this behavioral reaction and might require extra direction.
Dysfunctional Conflict
This kind of interactionalist conflict occurs when only one individual in the conflict benefits. An example is when two people argue over one job and only one gets it.
Arbitrator
Individuals acting in this third-party role take notes about the disagreement, spend time considering the issues and come to a binding decision about how the conflict should end.
Compromise Conflict Management Style
Individuals use this style of conflict management when they try to find middle ground with one another. Neither party gets exactly what they want.
Accommodation Conflict Management Style
If one party involved in a conflict steps down and allows the other party to get what they want, they are using this type of conflict management.
Bargaining in an Organization
The goal of this process is to allow individuals on different sides of a conflict to come to a solution that they both find acceptable.
Clarification and justification in the organizational negotiation process
This represents the third step in the process of negotiation and allows each side to state and support its position.
Collaborative Conflict Management Style
This type of conflict management can only occur if both sides are willing to work together to find a solution where everyone is happy and all ideas are implemented.
Definition of ground rules in the organizational negotiation process
The second stage in negotiation, it involves asking questions about details in order to set up rules that will guide the negotiation process. The rules can prevent negotiations from derailing.
Mediator
This third party can play a very active role in facilitating discussions and helping resolve a dispute. This kind of third party will not offer a decision about the disagreement.
Consultant
A third party who attempts to help disagreeing parties understand why they are in conflict with one another
Interactionalist Perspective on Conflict
This perspective states that conflict can be either empowering and functional or destructive and dysfunctional.
Traditional Perspective on Conflict
Individuals with this perspective, view conflict as negative and destructive.
Task Conflict
This form of conflict is characterized by disagreements about the goals or details of work. Good communication between disagreeing parties generally solves this conflict.
Bottom Line
This term refers to the lowest price that a negotiating party will accept in return for their services. This figure is set during the definition-of-ground-rules stage.
Integrative Bargaining Approach
Individuals who use this approach to bargaining are trying to create a situation where both parties win. It involves respectful discussion and a sharing of rationales.
Managed Conflict Perspective
A perspective asserting that conflict is inevitable and that it can be either positive or negative. Based on this viewpoint, conflict should be accepted and controlled, not embraced.
Competition Conflict Management Style
A type of conflict management that can be damaging to relationships. This occurs if an individual attempts to win no matter what, and the conflict can grow hostile.
Process Conflict
A type of conflict that occurs when employees are not told how they should complete their jobs or how an organizational process will occur. It can lead to huge amounts of confusion.
Functional Conflict
A type of interactionalist conflict that leads to a positive end result where all parties involved benefit
Closure and implementation in the organizational negotiation process
The acknowledgement of an agreement or a contract characterizes this final stage of the negotiation process
Cognition and personalization stage of the conflict process
A stage of conflict that occurs when individuals notice a disagreement. This stage includes some kind of emotional involvement, typically due to anger or stress.
Relationship Conflict
Disagreements over personal issues between groups or individuals in an organization can lead to these kinds of conflicts.
Avoidance Conflict Management Style
This style of conflict management is characterized by attempts to ignore the problem, such as if an employee attempts to stay away from a coworker he or she disagrees with.
Preparation and planning in the organizational negotiation process
The first step in the negotiation process. This includes gathering information in preparation for the negotiations.
Facilitator
Disagreeing parties can use this kind of third party intervention to organize meetings, guide and monitor discussions and create agendas.
Cultural Alignment
Businesses with core values that are similar to one another tend to experience this, which reduces friction.
Attention to Detail in Organizational Culture (Precision Orientation)
Businesses that focus on this aspect of organizational culture tend to value precision workmanship and great accuracy from employees.
Positive Organizational Culture
With this kind of culture, employees within a business can receive assistance growing in their careers.
Innovation in Organizational Culture (Risk Orientation)
A type of organizational culture that encourages taking risks and trying to improve job performance
Institutionalization
A development that takes place when organizations establish their culture so thoroughly that individuals within the business, and even those outside of it, understand the culture
Steps for Sustaining Organization Culture
Implementing a selection process in hiring to pick individuals who fit the company // Using socialization methods on newly hired employees to familiarize them with company values
Advantages of a Diverse Workforce
The different backgrounds and experiences employees have in this kind of workforce can help companies adapt well to change and stay competitive in changing business situations.
Stability in Organizational Culture (Rule Orientation)
Companies that are rule-oriented and bureaucratic are focusing on this characteristic of organizational culture.
Organizational Culture
Represents the beliefs, values and assumptions that influence how members of a certain organization behave. It encourages commitment, sets up unwritten rules and gives people a sense of identity.
Teamwork in Organizational Culture (Collaborative Orientation)
Employees tend to work together on teams, instead of individually, in businesses that value this aspect of organizational culture.
Workplace Spirituality
This reflects the concern businesses have on helping their employees find purpose in their work. Employees experience this when they feel a sense of community and get along with others.
Cultural Gap
This problem occurs if two companies have different core values and attempt a merger.
Characteristics of positive organizations cultures that focus on ethics
Businesses with this kind of culture tend to have high risk tolerance and low aggression. They tend to consider how they meet their goals.
Organizational Subculture
These form when a group of employees share unique circumstances that band them together. This can occur in specific departments or areas that adopt unique values that shape their group identity.
Emphasis on People in Organizational Culture (Fairness Orientation)
A focus on organizational culture that is concerned with how employees are treated and impacted by business decisions
Emphasis on Outcome in Organizational Culture (Achievement Orientation)
Companies with this characteristic of organizational culture focus on achieving their goals by whatever means necessary.
Ethical Organizational Culture
This type of organizational culture focuses on ensuring that employees of the business carry out their jobs in ethical and respectable ways.
Aggressiveness in Organizational Culture (Competitive Orientation)
Organizations with a high amount of this cultural characteristic are very concerned with outdoing their competition.
Age Diversity
A term that relates to the acceptance of individuals at all different ages, including young adults, those at middle age and older individuals, in a work environment
Glass Ceiling
A term that refers to an unseen barrier that can prevent many women from advancing to the level they want to reach in their careers
Steps for integrating individuals at different ages in the workforce
Develop communication between generations through team building
Address differences in salaries
Set up mentoring
Consider different work philosophies
Aspects of managing a successful diverse workforce
Working to allow individuals from various backgrounds to grow their talents
Removal of language and communication barriers
Managing diverse viewpoints of age, gender and more
Cultural Diversity / Multiculturalism
This overarching consideration of diversity covers differences in religion, race, gender, age, sexual orientation, language and ethnicity and works to appreciate these differences.
Gender Diversity
An aspect of diversity that focuses on developing equality between men and women in the workforce, in terms of pay, available jobs and opportunities for promotion
1992 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
A documented act that requires employers to adjust their requirements so that individuals with short- or long-term disabilities can work
Topics considered during sensitivity or diversity training
This form of training can focus on communication skills, use of appropriate terminology, proper etiquette, the elimination of sexual harassment and anti-bullying management practices.
Ability and Disability Diversity
This refers to organizational acceptance of individuals with different talents, levels of education, skills and disabilities in the workforce.
Baby Boomers
Individuals born from 1946-1964. By 2030, it’s estimated they’ll make up 20% of the population and have the most impact on the U.S. labor market. They typically earn more than younger workers.
Sensitivity Training
A form of training to improve work relations by providing education to non-disabled employees in order to help them understand individuals with disabilities
Behavioral Management Theory
In this theory of management, managers try to increase productivity by ensuring that employees are satisfied and have good working conditions. It replaced the classical leadership theory.
Alderfer’s ERG Theory
This theory can serve as a simplified version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It theorizes that individuals must fulfill needs related to existence, relatedness and growth.
The order of importance in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
This theory states that people have to meet lower levels of needs before they can fulfill higher levels. For example, an employee must satisfy the need to eat before working on other needs.
Autonomy in Self-Determination Theory
Individuals achieve this need when they feel they have control over what they do. This occurs when a manager gives employees the chance to determine how they will complete a job.
Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory
States that employees who are given challenging goals, tools to achieve them, and positive feedback, will experience satisfaction and want to meet harder goals if rewards also increase
John Stacey Adams’s Equity Theory
This workplace motivation theory asserts that employees put in an amount of effort that corresponds directly to potential rewards. If effort and rewards balance, employee satisfaction increases.
Secondary Needs in Needs-Based Motivation Theory
Needs that reflect and employee’s internal state. Employees need achievement, a sense of belonging and some degree of power over their work.
Intrinsic Rewards
These rewards are internal and don’t depend on other people. Examples include a sense of accomplishment or professional growth.
Results of employee empowerment
This leads to intrinsic rewards for an employee, which can motivate individuals to improve their productivity levels.
Extinction in Thorndike’s Reinforcement Theory
This occurs when an individual chooses to ignore behavior they find unacceptable in an attempt to halt the behavior.
Acquired Needs Theory
Crafted by David McClelland, this theory proposes that individuals can be motivated by the need for achievement, the need for power or the need for affiliation.
Extrinsic Rewards
A type of reward that includes tangible benefits. In the workplace, these rewards usually come from supervisors and can include bonuses or time off early from work.
Primary Needs in Needs-Based Motivation Theory
These are physiological needs and include the need for food, sleep, shelter and water, as well as the need to feel safe and free from threats.
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
This theory states that employees will work harder if they think they’ll receive better rewards for higher performance. However, if employees don’t value the reward this will not work.
Classical Leadership Theory
A management theory that focused on ensuring efficiency and high production for businesses. This theory fell out of favor as worker satisfaction and improved working conditions became important.
