Chapter 1

Question 1

What is organizational behavior?

Answer 1

The study of individuals and groups within an organizational context, and the study of internal processes and practices as they influence the effectiveness of individuals, teams and organizations.

Question 2

What does it mean to take it systems approach?

Answer 2

Organizational behavior takes the systems approach to understanding and improve people-organization relationships.

Question 3

What is a system?

Answer 3

Very simply, a system is a collection of parts or subsystems integrated to accomplish in overall goal. A system of people is an organization. Systems have input, processes, outputs and outcomes, with ongoing feedback along these various parts. One part of the system is removed, the nature of the system is changed.

Question 4

Why is a cow a system?

Answer 4

The cow is a system because if you remove his brain, heart, spleen, long, etc you no longer have a working cow. This is interdependency.

Question 5

Is a pile of sand the system?

Answer 5

A pile of sand is not a system. If one removes a sand particle, you still got a pile of sand. No interdependency.

Question 6

What system are we talking about for organizational behavior?

Answer 6

Leadership vs management. A system of competencies

Question 7

What is a competency?

Answer 7

And interrelated cluster of knowledge, skills and abilities needed by an individual, team or organization for effective performance.

Question 8

Ethics competency

Answer 8

The knowledge, skills and abilities to corporate values and principles and distinguish right from wrong when making decisions and choosing behaviors.

Question 9

Self competency

Answer 9

Knowledge, skills and abilities to assess personal strengths and weaknesses, set and pursue professional and personal goals, balance work and personal life, and engage in new learning.

Question 10

Diversity competency

Answer 10

The knowledge, skills and abilities to value unique individual, group and organizational characteristics, embrace such characteristics as potential sources of strength, and appreciate uniqueness of each.

Question 11

Across cultures competency

Answer 11

The knowledge, skills and abilities to recognize it in brace similarities and differences among nations and cultures.

Question 12

Culture

Answer 12

The dominant pattern of living, thinking, feeling and believing that is developed and transmitted by people, consciously or unconsciously, to subsequent generations.

Question 13

Cultural values

Answer 13

Deeply held beliefs that lead to general preferences and behaviors and views of what is right and wrong

Question 14

Communication competency

Answer 14

The knowledge, skills and abilities to use all the modes of transmitting, understanding, and receiving ideas, thoughts and feelings for accurately transferring and exchanging info.

Question 15

Teams competency

Answer 15

Knowledge, skills and abilities to develop, support groups to achieve goals.

Question 16

Change competency

Answer 16

Knowledge, skills and abilities to recognize and implement needed adaptions or entirely new transformations and the people, tasks, strategies, structures or technologies.