I/O Flashcards
Downsizing
A reduction in the size of the work force (e.g., middle management) and/or elimination of divisions or businesses in an attempt to reduce organizational costs.
Career Anchor
Refers to a person’s self-perceived talents and abilities, basic values, motives and needs as they pertain to motivation and perception of their career. Schein states people are primarily motivated by one of eight anchors - technical/functional competence; general managerial competence; autonomy/independence; security/stability; entrepreneurial creativity; service/dedication to a cause; pure challenge; and lifestyle.
Unstructured Interview
In job selection, an interview that has no fixed format, set of questions or procedure for scoring responses.
Change Agent
An individual responsible for directing change within an organization. An existing member of the organization, who has a personal interest in the change effort is referred to as an internal change agent. An example of an external change agent would be an independent consultant.
Realistic Job Preview
An accurate, unbiased description of a job and organization given to prospective employees by the organization. Designed to reduce turnover by decreasing disappointment and disillusionment.
Consideration Structure and Initiating Structure
Using a style approach, the Ohio State leadership studies identified two independent behavioral dimensions of leaders: initiating structure (task-oriented) and consideration (relations-oriented). Previous studies of leader behavior had placed related dimensions along a single continuum of leadership ranging from employee to production-centered.
Identical Elements
Refers to creating similarity between learning and performance environments to improve the transfer of training.
Adverse Impact
A standard defined by the EEOC’s Uniform Guidelines, which is used to determine when a selection process might be discriminatory. An adverse impact against a minority group occurs when the hiring rate for that group is less than 80% of the hiring rate for the majority group.
Interest Tests
As a selection tool, generally not good predictors of job performance but accurate in predicting job choice, satisfaction, and persistence.
Satisficer
A decision-maker who relies upon the minimal amount of information necessary to choose one or more “good enough” solutions.
Survivor Syndrome
May be experienced by employees who are not “downsized” and is characterized by guilt, anxiety, stress-related illnesses, depression, decreased organizational commitment and job satisfaction.
Theory X versus Theory Y
Contrasting theories of management behavior and beliefs. Theory X managers assume that employees are lazy, must be motivated by external incentives, and must be closely controlled. Theory Y managers assume that, under proper circumstances, people are capable of self-motivation and autonomy.
Maximizer
A decision-maker who uses all the time and resources necessary to consider all relevant information before making a decision.
Work-Family Conflict
Conflict resulting from contradictory role demands and expectations. Can result in lower job and life satisfaction, psychological distress, and poor job performance.
Human Relations Approach
A management philosophy that emphasizes the importance of social factors on job performance, satisfaction, and motivation.
Turn
Goal-Setting theory
A theory of motivation that states that people are motivated to work toward goals they have consciously accepted and are committed to.
Criterion Contamination
Occurs when a rater’s knowledge of an employee’s performance on a predictor biases how the employee is rated on a criterion. Criterion contamination produces an artificially high correlation between the predictor and criterion.
Big Five
Core personality traits which have been identified by factor analysis. They are: extroversion, agreeableness, openness, emotional stability (sometimes referred to as it’s opposite “neuroticism”) and conscientiousness. Conscientiousness, being the only trait found to predict job performance and training success.
Super’s Life-Career Rainbow
Model used in Super’s life-span, life-space theory to communicate the personal (values, interests, etc.) and situational (e.g., community, school, and social policies) determinants that influence when and how people play particular life roles and the degree of importance any life role holds within the five life stages. In career counseling, it helps a counselee discern the impact of current and future stages and roles on career development.
Combining Predictors
In organizations, multiple predictors are often used because they provide more comprehensive information about an applicant. Methods for combining predictors include multiple regression, multiple cutoff, and multiple hurdles.
Critical Incidents
Statements that describe specific work behaviors that distinguish between very good and very poor job performance. Rater biases can be reduced when incorporated into rating scales.
Achievement Test
A measure of how well an examinee has mastered a content domain.
Scientific Management
Early theory of management that emphasized the need to use scientific methods (e.g., a scientific analysis of jobs to break them down into elementary components) as a way to improve productivity. The theory assumed that workers are motivated primarily by economic incentives.
Aptitude Test
A measure of an examinee’s potential for learning or performance.
Cognitive Ability Tests
Generally considered the most accurate predictor of job performance across different jobs and settings.
Hofstede’s Theory of Culture
Described five cultural dimensions of nations: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, and long-term orientation. Research indicates the United States scores high on individualism, low on power distance, moderate to high on masculinity and moderate scores on uncertainty avoidance.
Person-Organization (P-O) Fit
Refers to the degree to which an individual’s beliefs and values match the organization’s culture
Holland’s Personality Typology
Theory of career choice that distinguishes between six personality types (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional) and proposes that congruence between personality type and the work environment results in job satisfaction and persistence. Job-related outcomes are predicted with the greatest accuracy when a person has a high level of differentiation (high score on one interest and low on others).
Job Enlargement
Increasing the amount and types of tasks included in a job although not increasing the responsibility or autonomy.
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
Theory of leadership, which proposes that a low LPC leader (one who describes a least preferred co-worker in negative terms) will be most effective in situations that permit either a very high or very low degree of leader influence, while a high LPC leader (one who describes a least preferred co-worker in positive terms) will be most effective in situations which permit the leader a moderate level of influence.
Path-Goal Theory
Proposes that the best leadership style (directive, supportive, participative, or achievement-oriented) depends on the attributes of the situation including characteristics of subordinates (e.g., ability level, need for affiliation, locus of control) and the work environment (e.g., task structure, formal authority system) as well as how to show achieving organizational goals will help in individual goal attainment.
Organizational Development (OD)
A term referring to a set of techniques (e.g., quality circles, process consultation) designed to foster individual development and overall organizational effectiveness. Focus is on planned change.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Theory of motivation and satisfaction, which proposes that factors that cause dissatisfaction when they are inadequate (hygiene factors, e.g., pay) are different than those that cause satisfaction and motivation when they are present (motivator factors, e.g., autonomy)
Transformational Leadership versus Transactional Leadership
Transformational and transactional are contrasting leadership styles. Transformational leaders facilitate organizational change; transactional leaders prefer to maintain the status quo.
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Theory that emphasizes a “flattening” of the traditional managerial hierarchy, cooperation and fairness in the treatment of employees, increased employee involvement (e.g., teamwork, cross-training, autonomy, feedback) and ongoing improvement.
Leader Member Exchange Theory (LMX)
Explains how relationships with various members can develop, emphasizing that the nature of the relationship between a leader and member is the determining factor as to whether a member belongs to the “in-group” or the “out-group,” that not all members of the organization achieve the same quality relationship and that improved organizational effectiveness and achieving leader/employee needs satisfaction is the general objective.
Job Analysis
A procedure in which information about a job’s tasks, skills and requirements is obtained through formal methods of data collection and analysis. It is also used to develop a job description, identify training needs and/or causes of accidents and as the first step in the development of a predictor or criterion.
Biodata
Information about a job applicant’s work history, education, etc. Biodata is a valid predictor of job performance, especially when items included in the biodata form were empirically found to correlate with job performance. An example of an empirically-derived biodata form is the Biographical Information Blank (BIB), which presents items in a multiple-choice format.
