Chapter 1: Introduction to OB Flashcards
manager
someone who accomplishes goals through other people
organization
a consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a continuous basis to achieve a common goal (hospitals, police departments, sports teams, military units, churches)
planning
process that includes defining goals, establishing strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities
organizing
determining which 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
designing the work unit’s structure
leading
a function that includes motivating employees, directing others, selecting the most effective communication channels, and resolving conflicts
controlling
monitoring activities to ensure that they are being accomplished as planned ad correcting any serious deviations
Mintzberg defined these three highly interrelated roles of managers:
interpersonal, informational, and decisional
interpersonal roles
contains three roles: the figurehead, the leader, and the liaison
figurehead role (interpersonal)
symbolic head, required to perform a number of routine duties of a legal or social nature (hands out diplomas, touring a plant)
leader role (interpersonal)
responsible for the motivation and direction of employees
liaison role (interpersonal)
maintains a network of outside contacts who provide favors and information
informational roles
three roles: monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson
monitor (informational)
receives a wide variety of information; serves as nerve center of internal and external information of the organization
disseminator (informational)
transmits information received from outsiders or from other employees to members of the organization
spokesperson (informational)
transmits information to outsiders on organization’s plans, policies, actions, and results; serves as expert on organization’s industry
decisional roles
four roles: entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator
entrepreneur (decisional)
searches organization and its environment for opportunities and initiates projects to bring about change
disturbance handler (decisional)
responsible for corrective action when organization faces important, unexpected disturbances
resource allocator (decisional)
makes or approves significant organizational decisions
negotiator (decisional)
responsible for representing the organization at major negotiations
What three skills to managers have to have to be effective?
human, technical, and conceptual skills
human skills
the ability to work with, understand, motivate other people, both individually and in groups
technical skills
ability to apply specialized knowledge or expertise
conceptual skills
the mental ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations
managers all engage in the following four activities:
traditional management (decision making, planning, and controlling), communication (exchanging routine information and processing paperwork), HR management (motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, and staffing/training), and networking (socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders
Luthans and his associates showed the following about the difference between effective and successful management:
successful managers (ones who climb the ladder fastest) spend most of their time networking and a small portion communication with their people. Effective managers (quantity and quality of their performance/satisfaction of their people) communication was the biggest factor
What was the ultimate takeaway from Luthans?
successful managers give almost the opposite emphases to traditional management, communication, HR management, and networking as do effective managers
organizational behavior
field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying that knowledge toward improving the organization’s effectiveness
What three areas of expertise does OB focus on?
individuals, groups, and structure
systematic study
looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence
evidence-based management (EBM)
basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence
intuition
an instinctive feeling not necessarily supported by research
Big Data: background
enables companies to make more targeted marketing strategies. Didn’t always used to be this way. When it was introduced, managers began to track and act on information about customer’s preferences, which was available through the internet shopping experience
Big Data: current usage
big data is currently used to predict any event they can, detecting how much risk is incurred at any time, and preventing catastrophes
Big Data: new trends
organizations are beginning to focus more on fast data, emphasizing a consistent influx of actionable data that can be used to guide business decisions in real time
Big Data: limitations
privacy is becoming an issue, that when people know they are being surveyed constantly at work, they don’t appreciate it. Providing meaningful work to employees has surpassed the effectiveness of surveillance analytics
What four disciplines contribute to OB outcomes?
psychology, sociology, anthropology, and social psychology
contingency variables
situational factors or variables that moderate the relationship between two or more variables
economic pressures (mgnt challenge)
the difference between good and bad management can be the difference between profit and loss, or ultimately between business survival and failure
continuing globalization (mgnt challenge)
the world has become a global village, so managers have to anticipate and adapt their approaches to the global issues that are present at that time
what are some continuing globalization issues?
increased foreign assignments, working with people from different cultures, overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor, and adapting to different cultural and regulatory norms
workforce demographics (mgnt challenge)
longevity and birth rates, socioeconomic conditions, and economies are create a need for OB students to investigate what factors lead employees to make various choices and how their experiences effect their perception of the workplace
workforce diversity (mgnt challenge)
a trend where orgs are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of employees’ gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics (CAN BE A HUGE CHALLENGE)
customer service (mgnt challenge)
OB can help managers increase the success of customer interactions by showing how employee attitudes/behaviors influence customer satisfaction
people skills (mgnt challenge)
must have people skills
networked organizations (mgnt challenge)
they allow people to work together even though they are thousands of miles apart (this changes the manager’s job, as motivating and leading online requires a different set of skills than in person management)
social media (mgnt challenge)
regulating policies in companies regarding their employee’s social media presence is a nuanced challenge
employee well-being at work (mgnt challenge)
a challenge is that most people cant escape the virtual workplace, many of whom seem all alone in the cyberland. Orgs are also asking employees to put in longer hours. Because of increased responsibilities, employees want greater flexibility to deal with outside conflicts
positive work environment (mgnt challenge)
aimed at increasing vitality, unlocking potential, and increasing resilience. Positive OB is pushing orgs to unlock employee strengths rather than dwell on their limitations
ethical behavior (mgnt challenge)
situations where individuals are required to define right and wrong conduct are difficult to handle
a basic OB model
inputs -> processes -> outcomes on three different levels: individual, group, and organizational
inputs
personality, group structure, and org culture
processes
actions that individuals, groups, and orgs engage in as a result of inputs and that lead to outcomes
outcomes
key variables that you want to explain or predict and that are affected by other variables (task performance, attitudes and stress, citizenship behavior, and withdrawal behavior)
withdrawal behavior
actions that employees take to separate themselves from the org
org citizenship behavior
discretionary behavior that contributes to the psychological and social environment of the workplace
group cohesion
the extent to which members of a group support and validate one another at work
group funcitoning
the quantity/quality of group work output
productivity
combination of effectiveness and efficiency in an org
effectiveness
the degree to which an org meets the needs of the clientele and customer
efficiency
the degree to which an org can achieve goals at a low cost
org survival
the degree to which an org is able to exist and grow over the long term
