ch 1: introduction to the field of organization behavior

Question 1

organizational behavior

Answer 1

the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organizations

Question 2

what does organizational behavior look at

Answer 2

employee behaviours, decisions, perceptions and emotional responses
o How individuals and teams in organizations relate to one another and to their counterparts in other organizations
o How organizations interact with their external environments

Question 3

levels of analysis

Answer 3

the individual, team, organization

Question 4

organizations

Answer 4

groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose

Question 5

first organizations

Answer 5

o Have existed for as long as people have worked together – 3500BC
- More than 1000 years ago Chinese factories were producing 125 000 tons of iron each year

Question 6

characteristics of an organization

Answer 6

o Interdependence + organised relationship – structured communication, task coordination, collaboration
o Collective purpose

Question 7

when has Harvard changed the name of its MBA human relations course to organizational behavior

Answer 7

1940s

Question 8

organizational effectiveness

Answer 8

an ideal state in which an organization has a good fit with its external environment, effectively transforms inputs to outputs through human capital, and satisfies the need of key stakeholders

Question 9

what is organizational effectiveness not

Answer 9

just fulfilling the goals set by organizations – goal level may be set too low, measurement difficulties (public organisations), goals (must) change

Question 10

open systems

Answer 10

the view that organizations depend on the external environment for resources, affect their environment through their output and consist of internal subsystems that transform inputs to outputs

Question 11

input and output open systems

Answer 11

o Input – raw materials, HR, information, financial resources, equipment
o Output – products, services, shareholder dividents, community support, waste, pollution

Question 12

closed systems

Answer 12

operate without dependence on or interaction with an external environment

Question 13

fit

Answer 13

input, processes and output align with resources, needs and expectations of external environment

Question 14

human capital

Answer 14

the knowledge, skills, abilities, creative thinking and other valued resources that employees bring to the organization

Question 15

how can improving human capital enhance organization’s effectiveness

Answer 15

o Developing employee skills and knowledge directly improve individual behaviour and performance
o Companies with superior human capital tend to adapt better to rapidly changing environments – employees can perform diverse tasks
o Developing human capital means the company is investing in the workforce – increases motivatoin

Question 16

what does effectiveness of the human capital depend on

Answer 16

acquiring (recognising) knowledge, sharing knowledge, using knowledge, storing knowledge, unlearning knowledge

Question 17

stakeholders

Answer 17

individuals, groups, and other entities that affect, or are affected by, the organization’s objectives and actions

Question 18

factors that influence the prioritization of stakeholders

Answer 18

stakeholder power, how executives perceive the organization’s environment, the organization’s culture, and the personal values of the corporate board and executive team

Question 19

values

Answer 19

relatively stable, evaluative beliefs that guide a person’s preferences for outcomes or courses of action in a variety of situations

Question 20

corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Answer 20

organizational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond the firm’s immediate financial interests or legal obligations

Question 21

triple-bottom line philosophy

Answer 21

companies have a contact with society beyond stockholders and consumers

Question 22

companies with positive CSR

Answer 22

better financial performance, more loyal employees, better relations with customers, job applicants and other stakeholders

Question 23

anchors of organizational behavior

Answer 23

systematic research anchor, practical orientation anchor, multidisciplinary anchor, contingency anchor, multiple levels of analysis anchor

Question 24

systematic research anchor

Answer 24

study organizations using systematic research methods
- Evidence-based management – the practice of making decisions and taking actions based on research evidence
- Corporate decision makers overlook evidence-based knowledge – difficult task of figuring out which theories are relevant to their unique situation, good OB research is necessarily generic (rarely described in the context of a specific problem in a specific organization), popular management fads easily gain popularity
o Most management ideas are adaptations, evolutionary and never proven + companies should embrace collective expertise + stories provide useful illustrations and preliminary evidence but

Question 25

practical orientation anchor

Answer 25

ensure that OB theories are useful in organizations
- Most OB theories need to be useful in practice – debates because the high degree of methodological rigor demanded might conflict with this
- Impact – how well a theory finds its way into organizational life and becomes a valuable asset for improving the organization’s effectiveness

Question 26

multidisciplinary anchor

Answer 26

import knowledge from other disciplines, not just create its own knowledge

Question 27

contingency anchor

Answer 27

recognize that the effectiveness of an action may depend on the situation
- People and their work environments are complex – the effect of a variable depends on the characteristics of the situation or people involved
- Single outcome or solution rarely exists – particular actions may have different consequences under different conditions

Question 28

multiple levels of analysis anchor

Answer 28

understand OB events from three levels of analysis: individual, team, organization

Question 29

inclusive workplace + levels

Answer 29

a workplace that values people of all identities and allows them to be fully themselves while contributing to the organization
o Individual level – enables people to feel psychologically safe, engaged, valued, authentic, listened to, and respected
o Collective level – gives diverse groups voice through formal structures (diversity councils) and everyday processes (representation in teams and casual gatherings)

Question 30

two types of diversity

Answer 30

o Surface-level diversity – the observable demographic or psychological difference in people such as race, ethnicity, gender, age and physical disabilities
o Deep-level diversity – differences in the psychological characteristics of employees (personalities, beliefs, values, attitudes)

Question 31

when’s deep-level diversity revealed

Answer 31

when employees have conflicting perceptions and attitudes about the same situation and when they form like-minded informal social groups

Question 32

does generational deep-level diversity exist

Answer 32

to some extent – also some differences are due to age and not cohort (similar attitudes at the same age)

Question 33

how does diversity improve performance in the work place

Answer 33

o High informational diversity – tend to be more creative and make better decisions in complex situations
o Better decisions, employee attitudes, team performance
o These outcomes do depend on leadership, team structure, psychological safety perceptions, employee’s personal values

Question 34

challenge of diversity

Answer 34

take longer to perform effectively together (communication problems and fault lines in informal group dynamics)
o Ex: teams in Formula 1 performed better as their diversity increased up to a point, but after they couldn’t coordinate as well

Question 35

work life integration

Answer 35

the degree that people are effectively engaged in their various work and nonwork roles and have a low degree of role conflict across these domains

Question 36

how do companies work-life integration

Answer 36

bringing kids or dogs to work
o Others: flexible working scheduling
o Ensuring that your various work and nonwork roles are aligned with personal characteristics

Question 37

what % of workers in the US work at home at least some of the time

Answer 37

43%

Question 38

advantages of remote work

Answer 38

better work-life integration (doesn’t improve when remote workers lack sufficient workspace and privacy at home), higher productivity (less stress, transferring some former commute time), reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Question 39

disadvantages of remote work

Answer 39

higher levels of social isolation, weaker relationships with co-workers, less word-of-mouth information (promotions), lower team cohesion, weaker organizational culture

Question 40

what does success of working remotely depend on

Answer 40

o Employees who work effectively from home – higher self-motivation, self-organization, need for autonomy, information technology skills + fulfil their social needs more from sources outside the workplace
o Jobs better suited to remote work – tasks don’t require resources at the workplace, the work is preformed independently from co-workers, task performance
o Effective companies also help remote workers maintain sufficient cohesion with their team and psychological connectedness with the organization – limiting the number of days they work from home, having special meetings or events where all of them assemble at the workplace, regularly using video communication and other technology that improves relatedness

Question 41

indirect work

Answer 41

people hold positions in an agency and are temporarily assigned or indefinitely leased to client firms

Question 42

contract work

Answer 42

the worker represents one organization that directly or indirectly provides services to a client organization

Question 43

job satisfaction across different types of jobs

Answer 43

o Contract workers have the same job satisfaction as direct employers, agency workers have lower job satisfaction

Question 44

models before MARS

Answer 44

o Performance = person X situation
o Performance = ability X motivation – skill-and-will model
o The ability-motivation-opportunity (AMO)

Question 45

what’s the MARS model

Answer 45

a model depicting the four variables: motivation, ability, role perceptions and situational factors that directly influence an individual’s voluntary behaviour and performance
o Direct predictors of employee performance, customer service, co-worker collegiality, ethical behaviour

Question 46

motivation in mars

Answer 46

the forces within a person that affect their direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behaviour
o Direction – the path along which people steer their effort – What is my goal?
o Intensity – the amount of effort allocated to the goal
o Persistence – the length of time that the individual continues to exert effort toward an objective

Question 47

ability in mars

Answer 47

the natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task
o Aptitudes – the natural talents that help employees learn specific tasks more quickly and perform them better – higher finger dexterity, IQ
o Learned capabilities – the physical and mental skills they have acquired
o Competencies – broad, characteristics of a person that result in superior performance

Question 48

what can organizations do based on ability

Answer 48

o Select those who already demonstrate the required competencies
o Match with job demands – redesign the job so that employees are given tasks only within their current abilities
o Train if possible

Question 49

predictive values for job performance

Answer 49

o Yes: general mental ability/IQ tests – conscientiousness, interview (structured), integrity tests
o No: unstructured interview, reference checks, job experience in years, years of education, interests, age
o IQ matters even for unskilled work, but especially important when requires cognitive abilities

Question 50

role perception in mars

Answer 50

the degree to which a person understands the job duties assigned to or expected of them (no ambiguity)
o Understand the specific duties or consequences for which they’re accountable
o Understand the priority of their various tasks and performance expectations – quality vs quantity
o Understanding the preferred behaviours or procedures for accomplishing tasks
o Employees with role clarity perform work more accurately and efficiently

Question 51

situational factors in mars

Answer 51

o The work context constrains or facilities behaviour and performance
o Provide information that directs and motivates people

Question 52

categories of individual behavior

Answer 52

task performance, organizational citizenship, counterproductive work behaviours, joining and staying with the organization, maintaining work attendance

Question 53

task performance

Answer 53

the individual’s voluntary goal-directed behaviours that contribute to organizational objectives
o Proficient task performance – performing the work efficiently and accurately (accomplishing the assigned work at or above the expected standard)
o Adaptive task performance – how well employees modify their thoughts and behaviour to align with and support a new or changing environment
o Productive task performance – how well employees take the initiative to anticipate and introduce new work patterns that benefit the organization – can bring about change in oneself, coworkers and the workplace to achieve a better future

Question 54

organizational citizenship behaviors

Answer 54

various forms of cooperation and helpfulness to others that support the organization’s social and psychological context
o Can be directed towards individuals (assisting others with their work, sharing work resources), cooperation toward the organization (supporting the company’s public image)
o OCBs also increase team performance where members depend on one another
o Negative consequences – taking away from performing tasks

Question 55

counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs)

Answer 55

voluntary behaviours that have the potential to directly or indirectly harm the organization
o Harassing coworkers, creating unnecessary conflict, deviating from preferred work methods, being untruthful, stealing, sabotaging work, wasting resources