final exam study guide 2

Question 1

Know the following pay structures: profit sharing, gain sharing, merit pay, merit bonus, stock options

Answer 1

profit sharing: payments are based on a measure of organization performance, not a part of base pay
gain sharing: group or plant wide profits, based on organization performance
merit pay: annual base pay increases usually linked to PA’s
merit bonus: merit pay paid in the form of a bonus
stock options: plan that allows employees to buy company stock at a previously fixed price

Question 2

values

Answer 2

Abstract ideals that guide one’s thinking and behaviors across situations

Question 3

Define the concept of attitudes and list/describe the three main components of an attitude

Answer 3

Attitude: evaluation of an object in a positive or negative fashion
- Affect: “I feel”
- Cognition: “I believe”
- Behavior: “I intend”

Question 4

Describe the following key job attitudes: organizational commitment, employee engagement, perceived organizational support, and job satisfaction

Answer 4

Organizational commitment: extent to which an employee identifies with an organization
Employee engagement: extent to which employee gives it their all
Perceived organizational support: extent to which employees believe their org cares about them
Job satisfaction: extent to which someone likes their job

Question 5

Describe the concept of cognitive dissonance and how it can be reduced

Answer 5

The psychological discomfort a person experiences when having two attitudes about one behavior, reduced by changing attitude, reducing significance, or find elements that outweigh them

Question 6

List and define the Big 5 personality dimensions.

Answer 6

Extroversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional stability
Openness to experience

Question 7

Define the concept of motivation and distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Answer 7

The psychological processes that underlie the direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior or thought
Intrinsic: individuals inspired by positive internal feelings
Extrinsic: individuals inspired by recognition or money

Question 8

List and explain the three main needs according to McClelland’s Learned Needs theory.

Answer 8

Achievement: desire to excel and overcome obstacles and surpass others
Affirmation: desire to maintain social relationships
Power: desire to influence, coach, or encourage others

Question 9

Summarize the basic principles of Equity theory

Answer 9

Equity theory is a model of motivation that explains how people strive for fairness and justice in social exchanges or give-and-take relationships

Question 10

Define the concepts of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice and explain how each relates to work motivation.

Answer 10

Distributive justice: perceived fairness of resource distribution
Procedural justice: perceived fairness of process and procedures used to make allocation decisions
Interactional justice: quality of interpersonal treatment

Question 11

Label the job characteristics model.

Answer 11

Job characteristic model: promotes high intrinsic motivation by designing jobs that possess the five core job characteristics

Question 12

Define the concept of a work group and distinguish between formal and informal groups.

Answer 12

COMMON FATE
Formal: assigned by org to complete goal
Informal: main purpose is to get together

Question 13

Explain the concepts of group roles and norms

Answer 13

ROLES: behaviors that help contribute to the group accomplishing goals
NORMS: shared behavior

Question 14

Differentiate between task roles and maintenance roles in work teams.

Answer 14

TASK ROLES: enable group to define, clarify, and pursue a common fate, ex: evaluator
MAINTENANCE ROLES: foster supportive and constructive interpersonal relationships

Question 15

Label and describe the five stages of group development in Tuckman’s model

Answer 15

Forming: ice-breaking stage
Storming: time of testing
Norming: group more cohesive
Performing: problem solving
Adjourning: group moves on

Question 16

List eight common decision-making biases and explain how each affects decision-making

Answer 16

Confirmation: selectively gather information
Overconfidence: overestimating skills
Availability heuristic: readily available information
Representativeness heuristic: estimate probability of an event occurring
Anchoring bias: first information
Hindsight bias: thinking you would know it after it happens
Framing bias: how question is posed
Escalation of commitment bias: sticking with something even when its not working

Question 17

Define decision making

Answer 17

Process for identifying and choosing alternative solutions that lead to a desired state of affairs

Question 18

Define power and list and describe the different bases of power that leaders can use to affect followers’ behavior

Answer 18

Power: discretion and means to enforce your will over others
Legitimate: formal authority
Reward: promised or actual rewards
Coercive: threatened or actual punishment
Expert: through valued knowledge
Referent: personal characteristics and social relationships

Question 19

Define the concept of leadership and explain the difference between leading and managing

Answer 19

The process by which an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal
Leading: says what to do an inspires
Managing: says how to do it and directs

Question 20

Explain which influence tactics are most effective at building commitment

Answer 20

Positive legitimate power, expert power, and referent power tend to foster commitment

Question 21

Summarize the evolution of leadership theories, from trait theories to modern approaches to leadership

Answer 21

a. Trait: identifies personality characteristics or interpersonal attributes that can be used to differ leaders from followers
b. Behavior: Uses four categorizes of unique behaviors displayed by effective leaders
c. Contingency: Based on the premise that a leader is effective to the extent to which leaders styles fits the situation on hand

Question 22

Define transformational leadership and explain the key ways transformational leaders change their subordinates

Answer 22

Motivate followers to pursue organizational goals over self-interests by using leader behaviors that appeal to followers’ self-concepts such as values, motives, and personal identity
Inspirational motivation: attractive vision for the future
Idealized influence: instilling pride, respect, and trust within employees
Individual consideration: behaviors associated with encouragement, empowerment, and coaching employees
Intellectual stimulation: question the status quo

Question 23

Label and explain the components of the Competing Values Framework of organizational culture.

Answer 23

look at picture

Question 24

Label the stages of the organizational socialization process and describe what occurs at stage of the process

Answer 24

Process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required to assume a work role
Phase 1: Anticipatory socialization: occurs before an individual actually joins an organization.
Phase 2: Encounter phase: employees come to learn what the organization is really like
Phase 3: Change and acquisition phase: requires employees to master important tasks and roles and to adjust to work group values and norms