I/O Psychology

Question 1

Job Analysis

Answer 1

Used to obtain info about the nature & requirements of a job; KSAO’s (Knowledge, skills, attitudes, & other characteristics) used to devel. criterion measures & predictors.

Conducted to ID the essential characteristics of a job, & may be 1st step in a job evaluation.

Provides info. to:

• facilitates workforce training & planning programs
• Assist w/decisions about job redesign
• Help ID causes of accidents & other safety related probs.

Question 2

Methods for Conducting a Job Analysis

Answer 2

Info. about a job can be obtaineda few ways including:

• Observing EE’s perform the job
• Review company records
• Interview EE’s. sups. & others familiar w/the job
• Having EE’s keep a job diary

Methods include:

• Job-oriented techniques: Focus on work activities/tasks & conditions of work.
• Worker-oriented techniques: Focus on KSAO’s reqired for the job.
  
  • ​Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

​A systematic process of determining how a job differs from other jobs in terms of required responsibilities, activities, & skills.

Question 3

The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

Answer 3

A frequently used structured job analysis questionnaire w/194 questions that provides info on 6 dimensions of worker activity divided into:

• info. input
• mental processes,
• work output,
• relationships with other persons,
• job context,
• Interpersonal activities

​A quantitative worker-oriented method of collectin data for purposes of job analysis.

More helpful for desining training prog. & deriving criterion measures that provide useful EE feedback.

Question 4

Job Evaluation

Answer 4

Job evaluation may begin with a job analysis but is conducted for the purpose of setting wages and salaries.

Primary purpose of a(n) Job Evaluation is to obtain detailed info. about job requirements in order to facilitate decisions related to compensation.

ID compensable factors & assigning a dollar values to them, such as:

• Skill & ED req.
• Consequences of error
• Degree of autonomy & responsibility
• Establish Comparable Worth

Determine the relative worth of jobs in order to set wages & salaries.

Question 5

Comparable Worth

Answer 5

(aka pay equity) Refers to the principle that jobs that require the same education, experience, skills, & other qualifications should pay the same wage/salary regardless of the employee’s age, gender, race/ethnicity, etc.

Question 6

Criterion Measures

Answer 6

Measure of job performance used to provide EE’s w/performance feedback & help make decisions about salary increases & bonuses, training needs, promotions & termination.

Types:

• Objective (direct) Measures: Include quantitative measures of production & certain types of personnel data (Not avalible for many jobs & may not provide a complete pict. of an EE’s perf.)
• Subjective Measures: Rely on judgement of the rater. More useful for eval. complex contributors to job perf. such as motivation, leadership skills & decision making ability.
  
  • Absolute measures
    
    • ​Critical Incidents
    • Forced Choice
    • Graphic Rating Scale
    • BARS
  • Relative measures
    
    • Paired comparison
    • Forced distribution

Question 7

Ultimate (Conceptual) Criterion

Answer 7

In devel. of job perf. measure it is a measure of perf. that is theoretical & can not actually be measured.

• A construct that can not be measured directly but instead is measured indirectly.
  
  • Ex: Ultimate Criterion = “Effective EE”
  • Actual Criterion = Dollar amt. of sales in a 3 mo. period

Question 8

Subjective Criterion Measures

Answer 8

Rely on judgement of the rater. More useful for eval. complex contributors to job perf. such as motivation, leadership skills & decision making ability.

• Absolute measures: Subjective perf. assess that indicates a ratee’s perf. in absolute terms. Involve rating an EE w/out considering the perf. of other EE’s & often takes the form of a graphic, likert type scale.
  
  • Critical Incident Technique (CIT)
  • BARS
• Relative measures (techniques): Involve comparing EE’s to each other on various aspects of job perf., & help reduce rater biases; less useful than absolute measures for EE feedback. Includes:
  
  • ​Paired comparison
  • Forced distribution

Question 9

Relative Techniques; Types of Criterion Measures

Answer 9

Relative measures (techniques): Involve comparing EE’s to each other on various aspects of job perf., & help reduce rater biases; less useful than absolute measures for EE feedback. Includes:

• ​Paired comparison: The rater compares each EE to every other EE performing the same job. →Disadvantage is that it is time consuming as the number of EE’s increases.
• ​Forced distribution: The rater categorizes EE’s in terms of pre-defined normal distribution. →Disadvantage is that it produces misleading info when perf. is not actually normally distributed.

Question 10

Rater Bias

Answer 10

4 Types of rater bias that limit validity & relaiability of rating scales:

1. Leniency Bias: Occurs when a rater consistently assigns high ratings to all ee’s, regardless of how they actually do on the job.
2. Strictness BIas: Occurs when a rater consistently assigns low ratings to all ee’s, even when they are good workers.
3. Central Tendency Bias: Occurs when a rater consistently assigns average ratings to all ee’s.
4. Halo Bias: Occurs when the rater judges all aspects of an ee’s perf. on the basis of a single aspect of perf.

Question 11

Leniency Bias

Answer 11

Type of rater bias that occurs when a rater consistently assigns high ratings on each dimension of performance to all employees, regardless of how they actually do on the job.

Can be alleviated by using relative rating scales such as the forced distribution scale that categorizes ee’s in terms of a predefined normal distribution.

Question 12

Central Tendency Bias

Answer 12

Occurs when a rater consistently assigns average ratings to all ee’s.

Question 13

Halo Bias

Answer 13

Occurs when the rater judges all aspects of an ee’s perf. on the basis of a single aspect of perf.

Question 14

Methods for Reducing Rater Bias

Answer 14

Best way is to provide raters w/adequate training, especially training that helps them observe & distinguish btwn levels of performance such as:

• Critical Incident Technique (CIT)
• Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)
• Frame-of-reference Training

Question 15

Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

Answer 15

Involves using a checklist of critical incidents (descriptions of successful & unsuccessful job behaviors) to rate each employee’s job performance.

The Supervisor observes EE’s & records behaviors. Then used to provide EE’s w/feedback about perf. or complied into a checklist.

When incorportated into rating scales, can help reduce rater biases.

Question 16

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

Answer 16

A graphic rating scale that requires the rater to choose the one behavior for each dimension of job performance that best describes the employee.

Incorporates critical incidents which improves graphic rating scales by using anchor points on the scale w/descriptions of specific behaviors representing poor to excellent perf.

Distinguishing charateristic is that it is devel. as a multi-step process that involves a team of sups, managers & other ppl familiar w/the job.

• Advantage*: Involvement of managers/sups. may increase motivation & accuracy when they use the scales
• Disadvantage*: Requires substantial time & effort to develop.

Question 17

Frame-of-Reference Training

Answer 17

A type of rater training that emphasizes the multidimensional nature of job performance & focuses on the ability to distinguish between good & poor work-related behaviors. (Training focues on helping raters become good observers of behavior)

Helps ensure that the raters have the same idea about what constitutes succesful & unsuccesful job perf.

It is useful for eliminating rater biases.

Question 18

Criterion Deficiency

Answer 18

The degree to which an actual criterion does NOT measure all aspects of the ultimate (conceptual) criterion & is one of the factors that limits criterion relevance.

A criterion measure can have high relaiability, but low validity (It can give consistent results but measures only some aspects of the ultimate criterion).

Criterion Deficiency = Low Validity

Question 19

Criterion Contamination:

Answer 19

A bias that occurs when a rater’s knowledge of an Indivs. perf. on a predictor affects how the rater rates him/her on the criterion; criterion measure assesses factors other than those it was designed to measure.

Ex: contamination is occurring when a rater’s knowledge of a ratee‘s performance on a predictor affects how the rater rates the ratee on the criterion. It can artificially inflate the criterion-related validity coefficient.

Question 20

Identifying & Validating Predictors

Answer 20

1. Conduct a Job Analysis: Determine what knowledge, skills, attitudes & other characterisitics (KSO’s) the job requires. This info. indicates the type of predictors that would be useful & best criterion measures to eval. job perf.
2. Select/Devel. the Predictor & Criterion Measures
3. Obtain & correlate Scores on the Predictor & Criterion: Admin. to a similar sample of ppl & correlate the 2 sets of scores on the test w/scores on the criterion to determine a criterion related coefficient.
4. Check for Adverse Impact: Determine if the predictor unfairly discriminates against members of a legally protected grp.
5. Evaluate Incremental Validity: Determine if use of the predictor increases decision-making accuracy.
6. Cross-Validate: Admin. the predictor & criterion to a new sample.

Question 21

Adverse Impact

Answer 21

Occurs when use of a selection test or other employment procedure results in substantially higher rejection rates for members of a legally protected (minority) group than for the majority group; adverse impact is said to exist.

The result of dicrimination against indiv. protected by Title VII & related legislation due to the use of an employment practice.

Methods to ID adverse impact:

• 80% Rule
• Differential Validity
• Unfairness

Question 22

80% Rule

Answer 22

The 80% rule can be used to determine if adverse impact is occurring.

EEOC methods define when using this rule, the hiring rate for the majority group is multiplied by 80% to determine the min. hiring rate for the minority group.

Ex: If the hiring rate is 70% for men & 40% for women, then .70 x .80 = .56

• This means the min. hiring rate for women is 56% which is less than the actual rate of 40% & indicates the selection test is having an adverse impact on women.

Question 23

Differential Validity

Answer 23

Differential validity exists when the validity coefficient of a predictor is significantly different for one subgroup than for another subgroup (e.g.. lower for African American job applicants than for White applicants) & results in a larger proportion of 1 grp being hired.

Potential cause of Adverse Impact

Method for responding to adverse impact: When it’s due to differential validity, use a diff. predictor that’s equally valid for both grps

Question 24

Unfairness

Answer 24

Refers to unfair hiring, placement, or related discrimination against a minority grp that occurs when members of the minority group consistently score lower on a predictor but perform approximately the same on the criterion as members of the majority group. (EEOC)

Potential cause of Adverse Impact bc members of the grp obtaining lower predictor scores will be hired less often.

Method for responding to adverse impact: When it’s due to unfairness, use a different predictors cutoff scores for members of different grps.

Question 25

Incremental Validity (Selection Ratio, Base Rate)

Answer 25

Incremental validity refers to the increase in decision-making accuracy resulting from the use of a new predictor.

Selection ratio: the ratio of number of jobs to job applicants.

Base rate: the percent of EE’s who are performing satisfactorilly w/out the new predictor.

It is maximized when the predictor‘s validity coefficient is high, the selection ratio is low, and the base rate is moderate.

Question 26

In terms of incremental validity, which situation supports the use of a new predictor?

Answer 26

Moderated base rate w/many applicants & few job openings.

Moderated base rate suggests that there’s room for improvment & a new predictor will likely increase decision making accuracy.

The situation is optimal when there are many applicants to choose from (a low selection ratio).

The degree to which a new selection technique will increase decision-making accuracy depends on several factors including:

• Base rate* - proportion of correct decisions w/out the new technique &
• Selection Ratio* - ratio of applicants to job openings.

Question 27

Taylor-Russell Tables

Answer 27

Can be used to estimate the percent of new hires that will be successful as EE’s given various combos of validity coefficients, selection ratios & base rates are known.

When the selection ratio is low (.10), the base rate moderate (near .50) & a predictor w/a low validity coefficient can improve decision making accuracy.

Question 28

Combining Predictors
What are the three types?

Answer 28

Multiple Regression: A compensatory method in which good perf. on one predictor can offset poor perf. on another predictor; areas of weakness.

Multiple Cutoff: A non-compensatory method that requires that a min. score on each predictor be obtained before an applicant is considered for selection.

Multiple Hurdles: A non-compensatory method that involves adminstering predictors one at a time in a pre-determined order, w/each predictor being admin. only if the applicant has passed the previous one.

Question 29

Predictors Used in Organizations

Answer 29

Include:

• Cognitive Ability Tests/Gen. Mental Ability Tests
• Biographical Information/Biodata
  
  • Biographical Information Banks
• Interviews
• Work Samples
  
  • Trainability Tests
• Assessment Centers
  
  • In-basket Test
  • Leaderless Group Discussion
• Interest Tests
• Personality Tests
  
  • Big 5 Traits

Question 30

Cognitive Ability Tests
(Gen. Mental Ability Tests)

Answer 30

Considered to be the best predictor of job perf. across different jobs & job settings.

These tests consistently produce the highest validity coefficents increase as the objectivity of the criterion measure increases

Question 31

Biographical Information (Biodata)

Answer 31

Another good predictor of performance, training sucess & especially turnover when Items are empirically derived.

Validity is greatest when items have been found to correlate highly w/job perf.

• Biographical Information Banks: Contains multiple choice questions that ask for info. on work Hx, family background, economic Hx & health found to correlate w/job perf. but may not seem relevant to the applicant; lack “face validity”.

Question 32

Interviews

Answer 32

The most common predictor in an organization but generally have low levels of reliability & validity (.14 to .23).

Validity coefficents are largest when interviews are empirically derived & structured & includes questions that accuratley predict job perf. & same questions asked of all applicants.

More useful when used in conjunction w/a gen. cog. abilities test & other selection techniques.

Question 33

Work (Job) Samples

Answer 33

Require the indiv. (job applicant) to perform a task or operation actually required by the job.

Have good validity but are not avalible for all jobs & can be costly to develop & use

Can be included as part of a realistic job preview.

• Trainability Tests: incorporate a structured period of learning & eval. to determine if applicants are likely to benefit from training or prevent unrealistic job expectations & reduce turnover

Question 34

Assessment Centers

Answer 34

Used to select, promote, eval. & train applicants & current EE’s at the management or administrative level & incorporate a variety of techniques such as:

• Interviews
• Tests
• Situational exercises:
  
  • In-basket Test: Requires candidates to respond to memos, reports, & phone calls they are likely to encounter on the job.
  • Leaderless Group Discussion: Involves assigning a group of candidates a problem or issue to discuss & eval grp training & decision making skills.

Question 35

Leaderless Group Discussion

Answer 35

A type of management development training that presents 4-8 participants w/probs. they must solve in a specified period of time.

No indiv. is designated as the leader, instead participants are given the opportunity to demonstrate leadership, communication, decision making & interpersonal skills in a relatively unstructured setting.

Question 36

Interest Tests

Answer 36

Use is based on the premise that applicants whose interest profiles resemble those successful EE’s will perform best on the job

they are susceptible to faking & are better predictors of job choice, satisfaction & persistence than of job success

Question 37

Personality Tests

Answer 37

Useful as a predictor when they measure traits that have been found to predict job performance

• Big 5 Personality Traits

Question 38

Big Five Personality Traits

Answer 38

Factor analyses have identified 5 basic personality traits:

1. Neurotlcism,
2. Extraversion,
3. Openness to experience,
4. Agreeableness, and
5. Conscientiousness.

Conscientiousness has been found to be the best predictor of job performance across different jobs, job settings, and criterion measures.

Question 39

Realistic Job Preview

Answer 39

Method of providing accurate info. about the job & the org. to job applicants

Primary goal is to reduce turnover by reducing disillusionment & increasing satisfaction.

Question 40

Needs Assessment

Answer 40

Systematic process of determining job perf. requirements & EE’s perf. deficits to ID objectives, content & training needs & the format of training programs. Includes 4 components:

1. Organization analysis - Used to clarify organizational goals & determine if training is needed to meet those goals.
2. Job Analysis - Conducted to ID what knowledge & skills are needed to perform the job successfully.
3. Person Analysis - Conducted to determine which EE’s would benefit from training & what kind of training they would need.
4. Demographic Analyses - ID train needs of diff. grps of workers (Ex: young vs. old)

Question 41

Overlearning

Answer 41

Practicing or studying beyond the point of mastery; associated w/enhanced recall.

Question 42

Overtraining

Answer 42

(sport psychology) Refers to physical & psychological stress resulting from excessive athletic training.

Question 43

Methods of Training

Answer 43

Training in organizations can be:

On-the-Job Training: Has obvious job relevance & max. transfer-of training.

• Cross Training
• Job Rotation

Off-the-Job Training: Provides opportunities for supplemental training to practice specific aspects of the job & can tolerate traininf errors & accidents.

• Behavioral Modeling
• Vestibule Training

Question 44

Cross Training

Answer 44

(On-the-job Training Technique) Involves training workers to perform different tasks & activities.

Associated w/several benefits such as enchancing morale of EE’s by adding variety to their jobs, increased value to org., helps org. save costs by improving flexibiility, & increasing EE interests & motivation.

Eliminate the need to hire temporary workers.

Question 45

Job Rotation

Answer 45

(On-the-job Training Technique) Used to train managers by having them learn the jobs of all EE’s they will be supervising.

This method requires the trainee to perform each job for an extended period of time & assumes all the roles & responsibilities required by the jobs.

Question 46

Behavioral Modeling

Answer 46

(Off-the-Job Training Technique) Involves having trainees observe a skilled worker perform the job & practice what they have observed.

Question 47

Vestibule Training

Answer 47

(Off-the-Job Training Technique) Makes use of a physical replication or simulation & is useful when on-the-job training would be too costly or dangerous.

Ex: Pilot Training

Question 48

Utility Analysis

Answer 48

(York)USed in orgs. to eval. the cost effectivness of training prog. & procedures involved using a mathmatical equation to get and est. of the programs financial return on investment (ROI).

Equation to calc. utility of train prog:

$U = T x N x d x SD - N x C

^{$U = Utility measured in terms of dollar value}

^{T = # of yrs. duration of training progs. effects on perf.}

^{N = # of ppl. trained}

^{d = Effect size of the training prog.}

^{SD = Standard Deviation of job perf. in dollars}

^{C = Per person cost of training}

(T x d x C = Part of formula used to calc. utility)

Question 49

Formative & Summative Evaluation

Answer 49

*Formative evaluations* are conducted while a training program is being “formed” (developed), & their results are used to make necessary modifications to the program to meet goals.

*Summative evaluations* is conducted after a program has been implemented in order to assess its impact (outcomes).

Question 50

Kirkpatrick’s Model of Summative Evaluation

Answer 50

Distinguishes btwn 4 levels of criteria to eval./assess. the impact of a training program:

1. Reaction Criteria: Eval. trainee’s satisfaction w/the prog. & contain post-training survey/interview.
2. Learning Criteria: Assess how much trainees learned from the prog. & contain written exams & compare test scores from before & after the prog.
3. Behavioral Criteria: The extent to which training improved the trainees on the job perf. (eval. trans-of-training). Obtain info. by watching the trainee perform the job after the prog. for extended periods of time.
4. Results Criteria: Provides info on the extent to which the prog. contributes to achievement of the orgs. goals. Quality ratings of productivity & services measure cost & turnover reductions, increase in overall productivity & increase profits. →Most important, difficult & time consuming to devel. & analyze; rarely used to eval a train prog.

Question 51

Super’s Life-Space, Life-Span Theory

Answer 51

(Devel. Approach) Proposes the ideal situation is for an indiv. to choose a job that has a good match btwn an indivs. self-concept (indiv. values, beliefs, interests & personality charateristics) & characteristics of the job this leads to greater job satisfaction, stability & success.

Career devel. occurs over the life-span during 5 stages:

1. Growth (0-14 yrs)
2. Exploration (14-25 yrs) ^{→<em>Primary Task</em>: Specify, crystalize & implement career choice}
3. Establishment (25-45 yrs) ^{→Primary Task: Stabilization & advancement}
4. Maintenance (45-65 yrs) ^{→Primary Task: Secure occupational position & remain competitive by obtaining training}
5. Disengagement (65+ yrs)

​Career Maturity: The extent to which a person successfully completes the devel. tasks of his/her current life stage.

Question 52

Super’s Life Career Rainbow

Answer 52

An indiv. adopts 9 life roles at differemt times during his/her life - e.g. student, spouse & worker that impact self-concept.

The Life Career Rainbow helps the CT think about the impact of thier current & future 5 life stages & 9 roles on career planning

Question 53

Holland (RIASEC, Differentiation)

Answer 53

Holland’s career theory emphasizes the importance of matching the person’s charateristics to the charateristics of the job.

Focuses on the personality/work environment match & distinguishes between 6 personality/environment types that describe the person & job charateristics (“RlASEC”-position of 6 themes depicted by a hexagon & rel. btwn them):

1. Realistic ^{(machines, comp. network, athletic, work outdoors)}
2. Investigative ^{(science, medicine, math, research)}
3. Artistic ^{(art, self-expression, communication, culture)}
4. Social ^{(ppl, team work, helping, community service)}
5. Enterprising ^{(business, politics, leadership, entreprenuership)}
6. Conventional ^{(organization, data manage, accounting, investing, info.systems)}

^{→ The farther apart the more dissimilar}

Differentiation: A personality-environment match is most accurate as a predictor of job outcomes when the indiv. exhibits a high degree of differentiation — i.e., has clear interests as evidenced by a high score on one of Holland’s 6 types & low scores on all others.

→An indiv. that obtains the highest score on the realistic & investigative themes will more easily find a satisfying job than a person w/high scores on social & Realistic themes

Question 54

Tiedeman & O’Hara Career-Decision-Making Model

(Ego Identity Development)

Answer 54

(Influenced by the work of Erikson/Piaget/Bruner/Allport)

Views career ID devel. as an aspect of ego ID devel. & involves the repetative process of differentiation & integration.

Process can occur simultaneously & movement thru the stages may be reversible but the primary focus of career counseling is to help ppl become consciously aware of factors that lead to decision at each stage & are better able to make choices based on full knowledge of themselves & relevant external factors.

2 Phases:

Anticipation Phase has 4 Stages:

1. Exploration
2. Crystalization
3. Choice
4. Specification

The Indiv. explores different career possibilities & eventually makes a career choice.

Implementation & Adjustment Phase has 3 Stages:

1. Induction
2. Reformation
3. Integration

The indiv. enters the work situation & eventually becomes an established member of the work force & achieves a balance btwn demands of work & his/her own needs.

Question 55

Krumboltz Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making (SLTCMD)

Answer 55

Proposes that career decisions are based on what the indiv. has learned from interactions w/other ppl & places an emphasis on social learning (i.e. Modeling & other aspects of the social env.) An indiv. career decisions are influenced by 4 factors:

• Genetic endowment & special abilities
• Env. conditions & events
• Learning Experiences including both instrumental (learn from reward & punishment) & associative (learn from classical conditioning)
• Task Approach Skills that are the result of an interaction w/other 3 factors.

Approach does NOT focus on matching and indivs. charateristics to job charateristics but on promoting continual learning & self-devel. that helps the indiv. to respond to changes in work requirements.

→Career belief inventory used to ID irrational illogical beliefss that affect and indiv. career related decisions.

Question 56

Brousseau & Driver Decision Dynamics Career Model

Answer 56

Emphasizes a person’s career concept, which refers to how the person envisions his/her ideal career path.

Distinguishes btwn 4 career concepts that vary on 3 dimensions:

1. Linear Career Concept: Indiv. views their career as involving a progressive upward movement in terms of authority & responsibility.
2. Expert Career Concept: Indiv. views their career as involving a lifelong committment to an occupational specialtiy & focuses on devel. knowledge & skills in that specialty.
3. Spiral Career Concept: Indiv. envisions their career as involving periodic moves across occupational specialties or disciplines.
4. Transitory Career Concept: Indiv. considers the ideal career as involving frequent job changes often to unrelated fields.

3 Dimensions:

1. Frequency of job change
2. Direction of job change
3. Type of change in job content

Question 57

Dawis & Lofquist’s Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA)

Answer 57

Describes satisfaction, tenure, & other job outcomes as the result of the correspondence btwn the worker & his/her work env. on 2 dimensions:

1. Worker Satisfaction: w/the job depends on the degree to which the characteristics of the job correspond to his/her needs & values
2. Worker Satisfactoriness: depends on the extent to which the worker’s skills correspond to the skill demands of the job.

Predicts there is an interaction btwn a worker & their job so over time the job affects the charateristics of the worker & worker affects the demands of the job.

Question 58

Downsizing (Survivor Syndrome)

Answer 58

Downsizing occurs when an org. attempts to reduce its costs by reducing the size of the work force &/or by eliminating entire divisions or businesses.

Workers who are not “downsized” may exhibit:

Survivor syndrome, which is characterized by depression, anxiety, guilt. stress-related illnesses, & decreased job satisfaction & organizational commitment.

Question 59

Taylor’s Scientific Management

Answer 59

Applied the scientific method to the study of job productivity.

Based on the assumption that workers are motivated primarily by economic self-interest (pay). Pay that is directly liknked to performance is most useful for maximizing EE’s motivation.

Involves:

1. Scientifically analyzing jobs into their component parts & then standardizing those parts
2. Scientifically selecting, training & placing workers in jobs for which they are mentally & physically suited
3. Fostering cooperation btwn supervisors & workers to min. deviation from scientific methods of work
4. Having managers & workers assume responsibility for thier own share of their work

Question 60

Human Relations Model

Answer 60

Emphasizes the impact of worker needs, attitudes & relationships on satisfaction, motivation & productivity.

Based on research at the Western Electric Company (1920-1930), which found that psychological & social factors were important contributors to job perf.

• Interviews w/workers revealed that improvements in perf. were due to the attention they recieved as research participants, which became known as the Hawthorne Effect.
• Also found that level of perf. was affected by informal work grp norms that determined what levels of perf. were acceptable & found that workers who produced too little or too much were snubbed by co-workers.

Question 61

Hawthorne Effect

Answer 61

The Hawthorne effect refers to an improvement in job performance resulting from participation in a research study (i.e., due to the novelty of the situation, increased attention, etc.).

Question 62

McGregor Theory X & Theory Y Managers

Answer 62

According to this theory manager’s assumptions affect how EE’s actually behave.

• Theory X Managers: Believe EE’s dislike work & avoid it whenever possible, & as a result must be directed & controlled thru persuasion, rewards & punishments to ensure they exert the effort needed to meet org. goals.
• Theory Y Managers: (Most Effective) View work as being “as natural as play” & assume that EE’s are capable of self-control & self-direction. They work collaboratively w/EE’s to align EE & org. goals & help EE’s achieve thier potential.

Am managers belief about an EE has a self-fulfilling prophecy effect.

Question 63

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

Answer 63

Theory of motivation, which proposes that ppl have 5 basic needs that act as the primary source of motivation & are arranged in a hierarchical order; such that higher order needs don’t serve as a source of motivation until all lower needs have been fulfilled.

Lower order needs (Physiological & Saftey needs) always take precedence over higher order needs (Social/love/belonging, Esteem & Self-Actualization); the lowest unfulfilled need is the primary source of motivation untill satisfied.

Self-Actualization (Highest Need) unlike the other 4 is never completely satisfied.

Not well supported by the research & has mixed results:

• Evidence that unfulfilled needs are usually more powerful sorces of motivation than needs that have already been satisfied
• Little support for prediction of 5 distinct needs, that these needs are activated in the proposed order, or that only one need at a time serves as the primary source of motivation.

Question 64

Alderfer ERG Theory

Answer 64

Alderfer’s modification of Maslow’s theory, which distinguishes btwn 3 basic needs:

1. Existence
2. Relatedness
3. Growth

Proposed ppl may be motivated by more than 1 need at a time & that the activation of needs does not always progress from lower to higher; ppl may regress to a lower level when a need is frustrated.

• More than 1 need can act as a motivator at any point in time.

Opportunities for increased compensation may help satidfy and indivs. needs & lead to increased satisfaction/motivation.

Question 65

Need Theory

Answer 65

(McClelland) Used the TAT to Id needs that underlie job motivation. Res. results showed that basic needs are culturally determined & that 3 needs often act as motivators in work settings:

1. Need for Achievement: Refers to the need to surpass standards of excellence & to advance & grow (indiv. are goal/task oriented).
2. Need for Power: Refers to the need to control or influence others:
   
   • Socialized Power: Used to benefit others
   • Personalized Power: Used to benefit oneself
3. Need for Affiliation: Refers to the need to est. warm & close rel. w/other ppl (These indiv. work best in teams & jobs that req. them to relate well to others).

Also devel. theory nACH

Question 66

Need for Achievement (nACH)

Answer 66

(David McClelland) is one of the primary needs underlying human motivation. He contrasted ppl that are:

• High nACH These EE’s usually choose tasks of moderate difficulty & risk, bc success on these tasks depends more on effort than on uncontrollable factors.
  
  • Prefer frequent concrete feedback, & althought their motivation does not depend on money; view monetary rewards as a source of feedback & recognition.
  • Ex: Workers w/high nACH prefer moderately difficult perf. goals w/50% chance of success.
  • Assoc.w/Gamblers bc are high risk takers
• Moderate nACH = Achievement motivated ppl prefer moderate levels of risk.

Question 67

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Answer 67

A theory of both satisfaction & motivation & pay does not act as a source of motivation.

• Predicts that satisfaction & dissatisfaction are independent charateristics. Implies that ppl can be both satisfied & dissatisfied at the same time & diff. factors contribute to one or the other.
  
  • Hygiene Factors/Lower-level Needs: Factors that prod. dissatisfaction when absent & include pay, a safe work-env. & plesant relations w/co-workers. ^{→When adequate the indiv. no longer feels dissatisfied but is neutral, yet when unfulfilled is dissatisfied.}
  • Motivator Factors/Higher-order Needs: Factors that prod. satisfaction & motivation when present & include increased autonomy, opportunities for decision making, responsibility, control, recognition & advancement. ^{→ Have little effect on satisfaction/motivation when unfulfilled but increase both when fulfilled.}

Question 68

Job Enrichment

Answer 68

A method of job redesign in which the job is made more challenging & rewarding in order to increase job motivation & satisfaction. Includes giving each EE more:

• Decision-making responsibility
• Autonomy
• Have each EE/work grp complete and entire unit of work.

This is usually welcomed by younger & well-educated EE’s, who have the skills needed to perf. the enriched job (EE’s w/high nACH); It can elicit anxiety & frustration in EE’s w/low nACH

Not just for higher level jobs but can be applied to ay job. To increase motivation/satisfaction motivtor factors must be provided by the job.

Increasing the variety of tasks worker alienation & boredom are likely reduced.

(Based on Herzberg’s two-factor Theory)

Question 69

Job Enlargement

Answer 69

Involves increaasing the number & variety of tasks included in a job w/out increasing the worker’s motivator factors such as autonomy, responsibility, etc.

Increasing the variety of tasks can reduce worker boredome & alienation but does not produce satisfied/motivated workers.

Question 70

Goal-Setting Theory

Answer 70

A theory of job motivation, predicts that EE’s will be more motivated to achieve goals & are most effective when they are:

• Specific & moderately difficult
• When EE’s are committed to them
• When they have explicitly accepted those goals
• When EE’s are provided w/feedback about their progress toward achieving goals

These factors will increases productivity.

Participation in goal setting in not critical but but can increase goal acceptance & commitment especially w/ppl high in nACH.

• when EE’s participate they tend to ID goals that are more difficult than those ID by sups alone

​Interdependent tasks (req. grp members to collaborate to prod. an effective outcome) grp goals lead to greater productivity than indiv. goals.

Question 71

Equity Theory

Answer 71

(Theory of motivation) Proposes that an EE’s motivation is related to the EE’s perception/comparison of his/her input/outcome ratio to the input/outcome ratios of others perf. the same or similar jobs.

When EE’s percieve the ratios to be unequal, this affects their motivation & behavior (when percieved as equal maintain status quo).

2 types of inequitable situations:

1. Overpayment: Occurs when an EE thinks they put in less & get out more than others.
2. Underpayment: Occurs when an EE thinks they put in more & get out less than others.
   
   • Has the most negative/long-lasting consequences & can lead to lower, productivity, sabotage, absenteeism & turnover.

A perception of inequity leads to attempts to restore equity, w/the perception of underpayment inequity leading to more adverse outcomes than overpayment inequity does.

Question 72

Expectancy Theory

Answer 72

(Motivation Theory) That regards job motivation as the result of 3 elements:

1. Expectancy: Refers to the EE’s beliefs about the rel. btwn effort & perf. (Increased effort will lead to increased job perf.)
2. Instrumentality: Refers to EE’s beliefs about the rel. btwn perf. & outcomes (effective job perf. will be rewarded)
3. Valence: Refers to the value the EE places on the avalible outcvomes.

The highest levels of motivation occur when an EE percieves that high job effort results in high task success (high expectancy), that high success leads to the attainment of certain outcomes/goals (high instrumentality), and that the outcomes are desirable (positive valence).

Question 73

Social Cognitive Theory

Answer 73

Bandura’s theory of motivation that emphasizes the self-regualtion of behavior & proposes that self-regulation involves 4 processes:

1. Goal Setting: Indiv. est. personal goals that represent a desired behavioral state, w/the nature of these goals being influenced by the indiv. past exp. & self-efficacy beliefs.
2. Self-Observation: After setting goals the indiv. monitors his/her goal related behaviors.
3. Self-Evaluation: Indiv. uses info obtained during self-observation to compare current behaviors to behavioral goals.
4. Self-Reaction: Self-eval. results in both positive & negative reactions:
   
   • Positive: Occurs when current behaviors are consistent w/behavioral goals & leads to satisfaction, increased self-efficacy & the setting of higher standards & goals in the future.
   • Negative: Occur when current behavior falls short of behavioral goals & causes dissatisfaction & motivates the indiv. to increase his/her effort, alter perf. strategies, modify goals, or abandon the activity.

Question 74

Job Satisfaction

Answer 74

An EE’s cognitive, affective & evaluative reactions to his/her job. High levels of satisfaction are assoc. w/certain workers & job charateristics:

• Older EE’s
• Higher-level EE’s
• EE’s whose jobs allow them to use their skills & abilities

Tend to be more satisfied.

Straw & Ross’s research found satisfaction levels of over 5,000 men remained stable over a 5 yr. period despite changes in occupation & employers. Job satisfaction is related to stable affect over time.

• Negative Affect = Dissatisfied w/work
• Positive Affect = Satisfied

Question 75

Relationship Between Pay & Job Satisfaction

Answer 75

The rel. is complex & seems to be rlated more to the perception that one is being paid fairly than to the actual amount of pay.

Question 76

Job Satisfaction & Performance & Turnover

Answer 76

The correlation btwn satisfaction & performance is generally considered to be positive but low (meta-analysis rpts a correlation of .30)

The strongest relationship is btwn satisfaction and turnover (r=-.40)

Question 77

Organizational Commitment

Answer 77

Refers to the strength of an EE’s identification w/the organization (psych. attachement).

3 types of org. committment:

1. Affective: Refers to EE’s ID w/emotional attachement & involvement in the org. (least predictive of productivity & most predicitive of outcomes)
2. Continuance: Refers to EE’s perception regarding social & monetary cost of leaving the org.
3. Normative: Refers to EE’s sense of obligation to remaining w/the org. bc s/he believes it’s the right thing to do.

Committment seems to have minimal effects on productivity, a high degree of affective committment is related to higher levels of motivation & satisfaction, loer rates of absenteeism & turnover, & greater willingness to make sacrifices for the org.

Question 78

Consideration & Initiating Structure

Answer 78

Research at the Ohio State University found that the behavior of leaders can be described in terms of 2 independent dimensions:

1. Consideration (person-centered style): Refer to the degree to which the leader is person-oriented. Concerned about subordinates needs, give priority to est. a good rel. w/subordinates & include in decision making.
2. Initiating structure (task-oriented style): Refers to the degree to which the leader is task-oriented. Concerned primarily w/getting the job done & emphasize goal setting, adhering to rules & standards & making leader & subordinate roles explicit.

The res. found that the 2 dimensions are independent & that a combo of high levels of both dimensions is assoc. w/the best outcomes (can be high/low on both or a combo)

Question 79

Gender Differences in Leadership

Answer 79

Eagly and Johnson’s (1990) meta-analysis of the research found that:

• Male & female leaders do not consistently differ in terms of consideration or initiating structure.
• Female leaders are more likely to rely on a democratic (participative) decision-making style, while
• Men tend to be more autocratic & directive.

Question 80

Leader Characteristics & Intelligence

Answer 80

Studies have found relatively low correlations btwn leader perf. & measures of intellectual ability (Correlations of .20-.30).

• 1st explanation is that it is due to a restriction in range of scores on intelligence measures which reduce the size of the correlation coefficent.
• 2nd explanation is that it’s due to the effects of moderator variables such as the leaders exp., stress level & leadership style & by the size of the discrepancy btwn the leaders level of inteligence & the EE’s.
  
  • Leaders are more effective when they are only slightly more intelligent than thier subordinates.

Question 81

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory - Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC)

Answer 81

(LPC) refers to the way the leadership style was measured; by having leaders rate their least preferred co-worker (LPC) on several dimensions such as freindly/unfreindly, supportive/hostile & open/guarded.

Some leaders were able to say something nice about a (LPC) bc they were able to separate competence at work from other charateristics & these ppl were refered to as high LPC leaders.

Used to distingush btwn 2 leadership styles:

1. Low LPC Leader: describe their least preferred coworker in negative terms
2. High LPC Leader: describe their least preferred coworker in positive terms

Assumes that a leader cannot change his/her leadership style, can only be High or Low LPC leaders. They must be chosen so their leadership style fits the characteristics of the job situation or modified to fit the style of the leader.

Question 82

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory of Leadership

Answer 82

Proposes the most effective leadership style depends on the favorableness of the situation.

• Favorableness is determined by the nature of the leader’s relationship w/subordinates, the degree of task structure & leaders power (control of subordinates), affected by the ability to dist rewards & punishments.
  
  • Low LPC leaders (Task-oriented) most effective in very favorable & unfavorable situations.
  • High LPC leaders (Person-oriented) do best in moderately favorable situations.

Question 83

House’s Path-Goal Theory

Answer 83

Proposes that motivation, satisfaction & perf. are maxed when EE’s believe that the primary task of the leader (best leadership style) is to help subordiantes find the best path for attaining personal goals. Primary Fx’s are:

• Clarify goals & paths that will lead to thier achievement
• Providing rewardsto subordinates thru support & attention to thier needs

The best style of the 4 depends on certain charateristics of the worker (traits/abilities) & the work (task; level of ambiguity/structure) helps EE’s see how achieving org. goals will help them attain indiv. goals.

Leaders accomplish this by adopting 1 of 4 leadership styles:

1. Instrumental (Directive): Provide specific guidelines & est. clear rules & procedures.

2. Supportive: Focus on est. good rel. w/workers & staisfying their needs.

3. Participative: Include subordinated in decision-making.

4. Achievment-Oriented: Set challenging goals for workers & encourage high levels of perf.

Best leadership style depends on certain charateristics of the EE’s, the work env., EE’s ability level, locus of control & structure of task.

Question 84

Hersey & Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model

Answer 84

Proposes that the best leadership style depends on the job maturity of the workers, which is a Fx of ability & willingness to assume responsibility.

4 leader styles that each represent a different task & relationship style:

1. Telling: Leaders have high task, low rel. orientation = EE’s low willingness & ability
2. Selling: Leaders have high task, high rel. orientation.
3. Participating: Leaders have low task, high rel. orientation = EE’s low willingness & high ability
4. Delegating: Leaders have low task, low relationship oritnetation.

Most effective style depends on the “EE’s maturity” level, which is determined by his/her willingness to assume responsibility & ability level; 2 aspects:

• Job Maturity - Refers to EE’s knowledge & skills
• Psychological Maturity - Refers to EE’s self-confidence & willingness to assume responsibility.

Question 85

Vroom-Yetton-Jago Normative (Decision-Making) Model

Answer 85

(Vroom-Yetton-Jago) Theory of leadership that focuses on 5 decision making style/strategies & proposes that the best strategy depends on the nature of the situation. Provides a decision tree to help leaders choose the best strategy.

5 basic decision strategies that vary in terms of degree to which EE’s participate in decision making (autocratic, consultative & group):

• AI (Autocratic) - The leader makes decisions alone
• AII (Autocratic) - The leader seeks input from EE’s but then makes the final decision themself
• CI (Consultative) - The leader explains the probs. to each EE one-on-one, but decision may/may not reflect EE input
• CII (Consultative) - The leader explains the probs. to EE’s as a grp, but decision may/may not reflect EE input.
• G (Group) - The leader explains the probs. to EE’s as a grp & grp makes final decision

Question 86

Transformational Leader

Answer 86

Influential leaders who are characterized by their ability to:

• Recognize the need for change,
• Communicate a vision for change (including defining the need for change in a way that is meaningful to followers)&
• Effectively execute/accomplish change.

They rely on a variety of strategies to motivate EE’s by:

• Being sensitive to EE’s needs
• Devel. close relationships
• Empowering EE’s by including them in prob. solving & decision-making
• Giving goals added meaning & value/purpose by placing them in a larger context (e.g., the “good of society”) aka “framing.”

Question 87

Transactional Leaders

Answer 87

Focus on maintaining the status quo & use rewards & punishments to motivate subordinates behavior.

• Some also rely on “management by exception,” which reflects the assumption that it’s not ncessary tp take action unless there is a problem
• These managers may closely monitor the work of EE’s &
• Provide corrective feedback or criticism when something goes wrong or
• Not talk to EE’s when probs. occur but give poor perf. evals later

Question 88

Charismatic Leader

Answer 88

Exert influence primarily thru their own personal qualities (self-confidence/charisma). They empower followers & activate their higher-order needs.

Have a “dark side” & may expect unquestioning loyalty, devotion & obidience from followers.

Question 89

Group Norms

Answer 89

(Hollander) Are the standard rules of conduct that maintain uniformity of behavior among group members.

Several Conditions contribute to a members conformity to grp norms:

• Task Demands: When grp members work together to achieve a common goal; greater in ambiguous situations.
• Grp Charaterisitcs: Conformity increases as the consensus of the grp members increases & members are percieved as being highly credible & trustworthy.
• Participation in Defining Norms: Members more likely to conform when helped define norms.

Question 90

Idiosyncrasy Credits

Answer 90

(Hollander) Are positive sentiments w/in a grp toward a member that allow that member to occasionally deviate from grp norms.

A person accumulates idiosyncrasy credits when:

• he/she has a history of conforming to norms,
• has contributed in some special way to the group, or
• has served as the group leader.

Question 91

Group Productivity & Cohesiveness

Answer 91

In Grps, high cohesivness is assoc. w/greater consistency in productivity, but whether this results in high or low perf. depends on the nature of the norms.

In contrast, when cohesivness is low, grp norms have less impact so that regardless of the norms, grp productivity is usually in the moderate range.

Question 92

Types of Group Tasks

Answer 92

(Steiner) Tasks perf. by grps can be classified into 4 types:

1. Additive Tasks: The indiv. contiributions of grp members are added together to form the grp product.
2. Compensatory Tasks: The inputs of grp members are averaged together to create a single product.
3. Disjunctive Tasks: Grp members must select the solution or decision offered by one of the grp members (ideally best memeber)
4. _**Conjunctive Task_: The grps overall perf. is limited by that of the worst performing member.

Question 93

Group Goals & Rewards

Answer 93

For teams working on interdependent tasks, grp goals are more effective than indiv. goals & a combo of the 2 may be more effective than grp goal alone.

Grp rewards are categorized as either:

• Cooperative: Most effective when interdependence is high.
• Competitive: Most effective when interdependence is low, & leads to greater motivation & productivity.

Question 94

Social Loafing

Answer 94

Tendency of an indiv. to work less when acting as a member of a team than when working alone.

Can be reduced when the indivs. contribution is ID & rewarded & when grp members consider the task important/meaningful.

Most likely to occur on additive tasks where the contribution of each member is added to form the grp product.

Question 95

Social Facilitation & Social Inhibition

Answer 95

Early explaination was that this occrs bc the mere presence of others increases arousal which in turn increases the likelihood that the person will perform the dominant/habitual response. 2 Types:

1. Social Facilitation: Refers to the increase in learning & perf. that occurs in the presence of others; most likely to occur when the task is easy/simple, routine or well-learned/rehersed.
2. Social Inhibition: Refers to the decrease in learning & perf. that occurs in the presence of others; most likely to occur when the task is difficult, new or complex.

Modified explanation attributes this to evaluation apprehensio/Perf. eval. than to just the presence of others.

Question 96

Social Facilitation

Answer 96

Occurs when the mere presence of others increases task perf. & is most likely to occur when the task is simple or well-learned.

Question 97

Social Inhibition

Answer 97

Occurs when the presence of others decreases perf. & is morelikely when the task is complex or new (unlearned).

Question 98

5 Stages of Group Development

Answer 98

(Tuckman & Jensen) Distinguishes btwn 5 Stages:

1. Forming: Members become acquainted & attempt to est. “ground rules.”
2. Storming: Characterized by conflict as grp members resist the control of grp leaders.
3. Norming: Begins when grp members accept the grp., established ground rules, & indiv. roles w/in the grp., devel. close rel. w/each other & begin to work together to achieve grp goals.
4. Performing: Grp members have accepted each others strengths & weaknesses, are clear about own roles & focus on getting the job done.
5. Adjourning: Grp disbands bc the grps. goals have been met or bc grp. members have left.

Question 99

Centralized & Decentralized Networks

Answer 99

Communication networks are patterns of communicaion btwn grp members or btwn positions/departments in an org. & are categorized as:

• Centralized: (Best for simple tasks)
  
  • All communication passes thru a central person.
  • Ex: Wheel, chain, Y
• Decentralized: (Better for complex, unstructured tasks w/a # of diff. solutions)
  
  • Are associated with greater overall satisfaction.
  • Info. can flow freely from 1 indiv. to another w/out having to go thru a central person.
  • Ex: Circle

Question 100

Rational-Economic Decision Making Model

Answer 100

Assumes decisions (decision-makers) are made on a rational process:

• Having complete info.,
• Considering all alternatives & consequences
• Before making a decision in an unbiased way.

Model assumes that decision-makers will consider all possible alternatives & choose the optimal one

Criticism: Does not take into account that a decision-maker’s knowledge about alt. is often incomplete.

Question 101

Simon’s Individual Decision-Making Model

Answer 101

Distinguishes btwn:

• The Rational-Economic Model: Decision makers attempt to maximize benefits by systematically searching for the best solution.
• Bounded Rationality (Admin.) Model: Proposes that rational decison making is limited by internal & external constraints so that decision makers often stratisfice rather than optimize (i.e., consider solutions until a fairly good one is encountered & then stop searching due to limited time & resources).

Question 102

Groupthink

Answer 102

(Janis) Refers to the suspension of critical thinking that may occur when the grp is highly cohessive & grp leader is ver directive.

Occurs when the desire of group members for unanimity & cohesiveness overrides their ability to realistically appraise or determine alternative courses of action.

Sx’s include a sense of invulnerability, unquestioned acceptance of the grps inherent morality, & presence of self-appointed mind-guard who discourages members of considering or opposing grp decision.

It can be alleviated when the group leader encourages dissent, has someone play devil’s advocate, & refrains from stating his/her decision or solution too quickly.

Question 103

Group Polarization

Answer 103

The tendency of groups to make more extreme decisions (either more conservative or more risky) than indiv. members would have made alone.

The research has generally provided more support for grp polarization than for the risky shift

Question 104

Risky Shift Phenomenon

Answer 104

(Osborn) The tendency for the grp to make decisions in the risky direction only than each member would have alone

Question 105

Brainstorming

Answer 105

A method of generating creative ideas that requires indivs. or grp members to freely suggest any idea or thought w/out criticism, evaluation, or censorship.

Research suggests that individuals brainstorming alone do better than the same number brainstorming together.

Question 106

Compressed Workweek

Answer 106

An an alt. work schedule that involves decreasing the number of work days by increasing the number of hours worked each day. (consists of 4 9-10hr days or 3 12hr days)

It has a positive association with:

• Better supervisor ratings of EE performance,
• EE overall job satisfaction
• EE satisfaction w/the work schedule, w/the effects being strongest for employee attitudes.
• No consistent effects on absenteeism or objective measures of job perf.

Disadvantage: Increases the risk for fatigue, which can have a negative impact on productivity & safety

Question 107

Flextime

Answer 107

(Baltes et. al.) An alt. work schedule that allows workers to choose the times they will begin & end work.

Requires workers to be at work during core hours but allows EE’s to pick own start & stop point.

It has a positive association with:

• Increased EE productivity,
• Overall job satisfaction
• Satisfaction w/the work schedule
• Decreased absenteeism; geatest impact w/effect size of .93.
• Benefits may decrease over time

Disadvantages: Porblems it can cause in communication, work scheduling & work flow

Question 108

Work Shifts

Answer 108

Of the 3 fixed shifts:

• Day/Fixed:
• Swing/Rotating: Assoc. w/more probs. such as:
  
  • Poorest work quality,
  • Higher accident/injury rates &
  • Lower productivity than day/fixed shifts; due to disruption in normal circadian rhythym.
  • Has most detrimental effects on social relationships.
  • Negative effects are reduced when the rotation is forward day, swing, night vs. backward.
• Night/Graveyard: Assoc. w/most problems such as accidents, poor perf., rpt more health probs.; however this may be alleviated if the worker voluntarily chooses this shift.

Question 109

Formal Methods for Resolving Conflict

(Bargaining, Mediation & Arbitration)

Answer 109

3 Types:

1. Bargaining (Negotiationg): Most common technique that involves opposing sides in the dispute exchange offers, counteroffers & consessions directly or thru a representative. If barganing deadlocks then…
2. Mediation: Neutral 3rd party intervention that uses various tactics to facilitate voluntary agreement btwn disputants. The mediator cannot dictate an agreement btwn disputants but helps clarify the issues, facilitates communication, & offers alternatives and recommendations.
3. Arbitration: An arbitrator has more authority than a mediator & controls both the process & outcomes of conflict resolution. There are a few types:
   
   • Binding: 2 sides agree in advance to accept the settlement recommendations by the arbitrator.
   • Voluntary: Parties agree only to the arbitration process.
   • Conventional: Arbitrator is free to choose any settlement solution.
   • Final Offer: Arbitrator must select one of the final offers made by the disputants.

Question 110

Organizational Development

Answer 110

Refers to a variety of techniques & strategies aimed at the planned change of an org. using behavioral science principlles & theories.

Question 111

Lewin’s Force Field Analysis

Answer 111

According to this model of planned change, when driving forces (which promote change) become stronger than restraining forces (which resist change), change is likely to occur.

Org. change involves 3 stages:

1. Unfreezing: Occurs when the need for change is recognized & steps are taken to make members receptive to change.
2. Changing: Involves moving the org. in the new direction by helping EE’s acquire new behaviors, values & attitudes.
3. Refreezing: Entails supporting the changes that have been made by reinforcing efforts to change, promote norms & values that maintain change & ID deviations from desired change & taking corrective action.

Question 112

Process Consultation

Answer 112

An org. devel. technique in which a consultant helps members of the org. help themselves by improving their ability to percieve, understand & alter behaviors that are adversely affecting interactions at work & the orgs. effectivness.

• External consultant observes EE’s while they engage in interactions that are a normal part of their jobs.
• The consultant then meets w/EE’s to discuss the interpersonal probs. s/he observed & to help them ID methods for resolving those probs.
  
  • A process consultant observes grp members in action & helps them ID & rectify probs. related to communication patterns, decision-making, conflict resolution, etc…
    
    • Consultant focuses on process (interactions) btwn ppl & how these processes interfere w/the achievement of their goals.

Question 113

Survey Feedback

Answer 113

(OD intervention) That focuses on ID EE’s attitudes & perceptions rather than on interactions & other overt behaviors.

3 Phases:

1. Data Collection Phase: During this phase the consultant devels. an attitude survey & distributes it to EE’s & interviews them to ID major issues of concern to devel. surveys; then consultant summarizes results of survey.
2. Feedback Meeting Phase: During this pahse the consultant meets w/the grp of EE’s to present survey results & ID probs. that need to be addressed (Focus on issues that are viewed diff. by diff. EE’s)
3. Action Plan Phase: During this phase EE’s meet in teams to devel. specific plans for each prob. (Identified in phase 2).

The purpose of the feedback is to provide EE’s w/info about the orgs. strengths & weaknesses in order for the org. to be effective.

Question 114

Quality-of-Worklife (QWL) Programs

Answer 114

Primary goal is to humanize work & the work env.

• Emphasize EE empowerment by having EE’s participate in decision-making that affects their jobs
• Often includes the use of Quality cirlces, which are voluntary grps of EE’s who generate possible solutions to probs. & present their recommendations to management (only make recommendations).
• Less popular now & being replaced by self-managed work teams

Question 115

Quality circles

Answer 115

Which are small voluntary grps of EE’s who work together on a oarticular job & meet regularly to generate possible solutions to probs. & present their recommendations to management (only make recommendations).

Reps from the quality circles then present their solutions to management.

Question 116

Self-Managed Work Teams

Answer 116

Autonomous work grps whose members are trained in the skills needed to effectively perform grp task. The Fx of these indiv. is to make hiring, budget, & other org. functions that were previously made by managers.

• Leadership usually rotates from one team member to another & the leader acts as a facilitator who is responsible for removing obstacles & obtaining necessary resources.

Question 117

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Answer 117

(Management theory) Primary focus is on the continuous improvment of the quality of the orgs. goods & services & the EE’s quality-of-work life.

Achieved by:

• Top-level commitment to quality
• Making the elimination of defects top priority
• Emphasis on customer service,
• Training EE’s
• EE involvement (especially teamwork)
• Continuing imporvment/change
• Empowering EE’s by having teams perform Fx’s traditionally performed by a manager or supervisor.

Studies found TQM failures despite the goal of commitment to EE involvement; EE’s often did not participate fully in prob. solving & decision making.

Question 118

Internal & External Change Agents

Answer 118

A change agent is an indiv. who is responsible for guiding the change effort.

• Internal Change Agent: A member of the org., is already familiar w/company’s culture, norms & power structure & has a personal interest in the change effort.
• External Change Agent (Consultant): Often able to see the situation more objectively & to bring in a new perspective, to be better recieved by the members of the org. bc of his/her impartiality, is likely to have greater influence & status & is more willing to take risks.

Question 119

Strategies for Overcoming Resistance to Change

Answer 119

(Chin & Benne) Pressure to change is often met w/resistance at both indiv. & org. levels & strategies for overcoming resistance is classified in terms of 3 basic types:

1. Rational-Empirical: Based on assumption that ppl are basically rational & will act in accordance w/their self-interests once they have been provided w/necessary info.; will not resist change once they recognize they will benefit from it.
2. Normative-Educative: Based on premise that peer pressure & sociocultural norms are more potent forces of change. (Ex: Grp discussions).
3. Power-Coercive: Involves using power & legitamate authority to coerce EE’s to comply w/plan for change & coercion can take form of rewards &/or punishment.

Question 120

3 Types of Organizational Justice

Answer 120

Workers evals. of org. policies & procedures are often based on their percieved fairness (justice).

There are 3 Types of justice:

1. Distributive: Refers to perceptions about fairness of decision outcomes of org. policies & procedures. (Ex: EE’s recieve the pay/benefits they believe they deserve)
2. Procedural: Refers to perception about fairness in the way procedures & policies are implemented & used to make decisions.
3. Interactional: Refers to perceptions about how EE’s feel the quality & content of interactions w/managers & other EE’s.

Primary goal is to imporve the orgs. effectivness & efficiency by enhancing the functioning of the individuals, teams & org. as a whole.

EE’s assumptions about org. justices are assoc. w/a # of outcomes such as job perf., job satisfaction, org. committment & turnover.

Question 121

Hofstede’s National Culture

Answer 121

Org. culture is embedded w/in national culture & influenced by it.

The culture of nations can be described in terms of 5 dimensions:

1. Power Distance: Refers to the extent to which ppl accept an unequal distribution of power.
2. Uncertainty Avoidance: Refers to the willingness /ability of ppl to tolerate ambiguity & uncertainty.
3. Individualism: The extent to which indiv. or closely-knit social structures (families) are the basis of the social system.
4. Masculinity: Refers to the value placed on assertivness, indpendence & competitiveness.
5. Long-Term Orientation: The extent to which ppl focus on the future vs. the past & present.

Question 122

Schein’s 3 Levels of Organizational Culture

Answer 122

Org. culture can be described in terms of 3 basic levels:

1. Observable Artifacts: Includes the companies dress code, stories, rituals & annual rpts.
2. Espoused Values & Beliefs: Includes the orgs. norms, goals & ideiologies.
3. Basic Underlying Assumptions: Unconscious taken for granted perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, thoughts & emotions underlying an orgs. culture can act as cognitive defense mechanism for indiv. & grps that can impede the ability to make changes in the org.

One Fx of the culture is to provide stability, meaning & thereby reduce anxiety among org. members that would otherwise be caused by uncertainty about current & future events.

Question 123

Person-Organization (P-O) Fit

Answer 123

Refers to the match btwn the EE’s values, needs, preferences, etc. & the culture of the org.

A good P-O fit has been linked to several benefits including enhanced satisfaction, motivation & org. commitment & reduced stress & turnover.

Selection & socialization have been ID as the primary opportunities for ensuring a good P-O fit.

• Selection helps Id indiv. whose charateristics match the charteristics of the org.
• Socialization helps EE’s acquire the skills, knowledge & attitudes that are compatible w/the orgs. culture.

Question 124

Yerkes-Dodson Law -

Inverted U Theory

Answer 124

Predicts that the highest level of learning & perf. are asoc. w/moderate levels of arousal, especially when moderate arousal is coupled w/moderate task difficulty.

Inverted U Theory: Predicts that for every activity there is an optimum level of arousal & that arousal above or below that level has a negative impact on performance.

Question 125

Demand-Control Model (Karasek)

Answer 125

(Karasek’s) Predicts that job demand & job control are the primary contributors to job stress.

Jobs associated w/the highest levels of stress are characterized by a combination of high job demand and low job control and include machine-paced jobs & service jobs.

Question 126

Job Burnout

Answer 126

Caused by accumulated stress associated with overwork.

Its primary Sx’s are:

• A feeling of low personal accomplishment,
• Depersonalization, and
• Emotional exhaustion.

An early sign of burnout is a sudden increase in work effort w/out an increase in productivity.

Question 127

Stress Machine Paced Tasks

Answer 127

The jobs most likely to lead to stress-related probs. are those that cive workers very little control over their tasks or work conditions (e.g., machine paced tasks).

Question 128

Work-Family Conflict

Answer 128

Conflict caused by incompatible work & family role demands.

Question 129

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Answer 129

The ADA requires companies with 15 or more EE’s to avoid using procedures that discriminate against people w/physical or mental disabilities.

It also requires that, when a disabled person is able to perform the essential functions of a job, an employer consider the person qualified & make “reasonable accommodations” that help the person perform the job as long as the accommodations do not result in undue hardship for the employer.

Question 130

Lawler’s Model of Facet Satisfaction

Answer 130

(Lawler, 1973) Assumes that job satisfaction is affected by comparisons of one’s own inputs & outcomes to the inputs & outcomes of others (similar to equity theory).

Workers compare their own input/outcome ratios to the input/outcome ratios of comprable others.

When the ratios are the same = worker satisfied

When the worker’s own ratio is larger than that of comprable others, the worker may feel guilt/discomfort

When the worker’s ratio is less than that of comprable others, they are dissatisfied.

Question 131

Identical Elements

Answer 131

(Thorndike & Woodworth) Method used to increase transfer of training; involves maximizing the similarity btwn the learning & perf. environemtns/settings.

Providing identical elements — i.e., ensuring that training and performance environments are similar in terms of materials, conditions, etc. — maximizes transfer of training.

Question 132

Organizational Analysis

Answer 132

Often part of a needs assessment & is conducted to ID the organization’s goals.

Question 133

Bandura’s Social Learning/Cognitive Theory

Answer 133

(1997) Emphasizes the impact of self-regulation on behavior. Distinguishes btwn 4 processes that contribute to self-regulation:

1. Goal-Setting
2. Self-Observation
3. Self-Evaluation
4. Self-Reaction

Self-regulation (exercising influence over own behavior) is a primary determinant of Motivation.

To max. worker motivation a job should be designed so that the job maximizes opportunities for self-regulation.

Question 134

Artifical Intelligence

Answer 134

(Herbert Simon) Pioneer in field of artificial intelligence & there are 2 main goals in using & studying computers:

1. To augment human intelligence
2. To help understand how humans think

Question 135

Job Charateristic Model

Answer 135

Describes a job in terms of 5 core dimensions that have an impact on 3 “critical psychological states” (meaningfulness, autonomy & performance feedback) thet, in turn, affect motivation, quality of work perf., satisfaction, absenteeism & turnover.

Question 136

Multiple Regression & Multiple Cutoff

Answer 136

Methods for combining predictor scores:

• Multiple Regression is compensatory
• Multiple Cutoff is noncompensatory

Question 137

Bazerman, Tenbrunsel & Wade-Benzoni’s

Ethical Decision Making (“Should-Want Self”)

Answer 137

Distinguishes btwn 2 competing selves which has been applied to ethical business & other types of decision making:

1. The “Should Self”: (Rational & Cool Headed) Refers to our ethical intentions & beliefs we should act in ways that are consistent w/our ethical prinicples.
2. The “Want Self”: (Emotional & Hot-Headed) Applies to our actual behavior & reflects self-interest & a relative disregard for ethical concerns.

Question 138

Paired Comparison

Answer 138

Method of job performance appraisal used to eval. an EE’s job perf.

An EE is compared to every other EE on dimensions of job perf.

Question 139

Training Program Development

Answer 139

Training program devel begins with:

Needs Analysis: (Needs Assess) that consists of 3 components:

1. Org. Analysis: To ID org. goals & determine if training is needed to achieve goals.
2. Job Analysis: To ID what must be done to perf. job successfully.
3. Person Analysis: To determine which EE’s req. training & what knowledge, skills & abilites (KSA’s) they need to acquire.

Question 140

Genetic Contributions to job satisfaction (Arvey & Associates)

Answer 140

Their research assessed the genetic contribution to job satisfaction by correlating the scores obtained by 34 pairs of identical twins reared apart on job satisfaction questionnaire.

The results of the study produces statistically significant heritability estimates w/about 30% of variance in job satisfaction scores being due to genetic factors.

Question 141

Engineering Psychologist is most likely to be hired by a company to?

Answer 141

Identify ways to reduce EE accidents (worker safety)

Engineering psychologists (aka Human Factor Psychologists) are interested in the interactions btwn humans & machines (env.)

• They design tasks, products, & other elements in the env. so they best match human abilities & limitations.