Introduction To OB

Question 1

Organizations

Answer 1

Social inventions for accomplishing common goals through group effort
Organizations are social inventions (e.g. google, UW, red cross, etc.)
Essential characteristic is the coordinated presence of people (not things)

Question 2

Goal Accomplishment

Answer 2

Organizations all have a goal
Requires motivation, carry out work reliability, willing to learn/upgrade knowledge, be flexible/innovative

Question 3

Group Effort

Answer 3

Organizations are based on group effort
Depend on interaction and coordination among people to accomplish their goals
Informal grouping occurs in all organizations and can have strong impact on achievement

Question 4

Organizational Behaviour

Answer 4

The attitudes and behaviours of individuals and groups in organizations - PEOPLE MATTER
Study of individual and group dynamics in an organization setting, as well as nature of the organizations themselves
Draws on principles, theory, and methods from the social science disciplines of psychology and sociology, as well as economics, political science, anthropology, and management

Question 5

Human resource management

Answer 5

Programs, practices, and systems to acquire, develop, motivate, and retain employees in organizations
Related to organizational behaviour
Knowledge of organizational behaviour helps improve HR

Question 6

Human Capital

Answer 6

Knowledge skills, and abilities embodied in an organization’s employees
Human capital strongly related to organizational performance

Question 7

Social Capital

Answer 7

Social resources that individuals obtain from participation in a social structure
Interpersonal relationships, social ties, network of relationships with others who can assist in careers
Internal: relationships developed in one’s own organization
External: relationships developed with external constituents outside of one’s organization
Positively related to performance

Question 8

Resource Theory

Answer 8

The more rare a resource the more valuable it is
Less easily a resource is copied, the more valuable it is (people can’t be copied because they have history, make decisions, socially complex resources)
People are valuable resources
Treating people as if they are rare increases good OB behaviours

Question 9

Goal of OB

Answer 9

Effectively predicting, explaining, and managing behaviour that occurs in organization
Creating meaningful work

Question 10

Management

Answer 10

Art of getting things accomplished in organizations through others

Question 11

Classical Viewpoint

Answer 11

A very high degree of specialization of labour and a very high degree of coordination
Each department tended its own affairs
Centralized decision making from upper management providing coordination
To maintain control, have few workers (except for low level jobs)

Question 12

Scientific Management

Answer 12

Fredrick Taylor - part of classical school
Concerned with job design and structure of work on shop floor
Advocate for careful research to determine optimum degree of specialization and standardization
Support written instructions for work procedures
Encouraged standardizing movements and breaks

Question 13

Bureaucracy

Answer 13

Max Weber
Rationally managing complex organizations
Strict chain of command in which each member reports to a single superior
Criteria for selection and promotion based on impersonal technical skills rather than nepotism or favouritism
Set of detailed rules, regulations, and procedures ensuring that the job gets done regardless of who the specific worker is
Use of strict specialization to match duties with technical competence
Centralization of power at the top of the organization
Conformity of workers leads to fair chance of being promoted and rising in power structures

Question 14

Hawthorne Studies

Answer 14

1920-1930
Concerned with the impact of fatigue, rest pauses, and lighting on productivity
Resistance to management through strong informal group mechanisms (e.g. norms that limited productivity to less than what management wanted)
Called attention to dysfunctional aspects of classical management and bureaucracy
Advocated for more people-oriented styles of management to cater to social and psychological needs of employees

Question 15

Bureaucracy Criticism

Answer 15

Strict specialization incompatible with need for growth/achievement (lead to employee alienation from organization/clients)
Strong centralization/reliance on formal authority fails to take advantage of creativity and knowledge of lower level members who are often closer to the customer
Strict, impersonal rules leads members to adopt min acceptable level of performance
Strong specialization causes employees to lose sight of overall goal of the organization

Question 16

Contingency Approach

Answer 16

Contemporary management
Management needs to be tailored to fit the situation
Contingency approach: recognizes that there is no one best way to manage; an appropriate style depends on the demands of the situation (leadership style effectiveness depends on situation)

Question 17

Henry Mintzberg

Answer 17

Studied behaviour of managers
Informational roles
Interpersonal roles
Decisional roles

Question 18

Informational Role Types

Answer 18

Monitor role: managers scan internal and external environments of the firm to follow current performance and keep informed of new ideas/trends (attending conference)
Disseminator role: managers send information on both facts and preferences to others (summarize what learned at conference in email to employees)
Spokesperson role: sending messages into the organization’s external environment (drafting annual report, interview with press)

Question 19

Interpersonal Roles Types

Answer 19

Figurehead role: managers serve as symbols of their organization rather than active decision makers (speech to trade group, entertaining clients)
Leadership role: managers select, mentor, reward, and discipline employees
Liaison role: managers maintain horizontal contacts inside and outside the organization (discuss project with colleague in other department)

Question 20

Decisional Roles Types

Answer 20

Entrepreneur role: managers turn problems and opportunities into plans for improved changes (suggesting new product or service to please clients)
Disturbance handler role: managers deal with problems stemming from employee conflicts and address threats to resources and turf
Resource allocation role: managers decide how to deploy time, money, personnel, and other critical resources
Negotiator role: managers conduct major negotiations with other organizations or individuals

Question 21

Informational Role

Answer 21

Ways managers receive and transmit information

Question 22

Interpersonal Role

Answer 22

Expected behaviours that have to do with establishing and maintaining interpersonal relations

Question 23

Decisional Role

Answer 23

Deals with decision making

Question 24

Four Managerial Activities

Answer 24

Routine communication: formal sending and receiving of information (as in meetings) and handling paperwork
Traditional management: planning, decision making, and controlling are the primary types of traditional management
Networking: interacting with people outside of the organization and informal socializing and politicking with insiders
Human resource management: motivating and reinforcing, disciplining and punishing, managing conflict, staffing, and training and developing employees

Question 25

Managerial Agendas

Answer 25

Agenda setting
Networking
Agenda implementation

Question 26

Agenda Setting

Answer 26

Managers gradually develop agendas of what they want to accomplish for the organization
May begin even before they assure their position
Almost always informal and unwritten
More concerned with people issues

Question 27

Networking

Answer 27

Managers establish wide formal and informal network of key people both inside and outside of their organization
Insiders: peers, employees, bosses, extends to those people’s employees and bosses
Outsiders: customers, suppliers, competitors, government officials, the press

Question 28

Agenda Implementation

Answer 28

Use networks to implement their agendas
Can go anywhere (up or down, in or out of the organization) in the network to seek help

Question 29

Workplace Spirituality

Answer 29

Workplace that provides employees with meaning, purpose, sense of community, and connection to others (not about religion)

Question 30

Organizational Care

Answer 30

Values and principles centered on fulfilling employees’ needs, promoting employees’ best interests, and valuing employees’ contributions

Question 31

Positive Organizational Behaviour

Answer 31

Study and application of positively oriented human resource strengths and psychological capacities that can be measured, developed, and effectively managed for performance improvement in today’s workplace

Question 32

Psychological Capital

Answer 32

Individual’s positive psychological state of development characterized by self efficacy, optimism, hope, resilience
Psychological capital is positively related to employee well being, positive job attitudes/behaviours, job performance
Psychological capital negatively related to undesirable attitude/behaviours
Thriving at work: positive psychological state characterized by joint sense of vitality and learning

Question 33

Self Efficacy

Answer 33

Confidence to take on and put in necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks

Question 34

Optimism

Answer 34

Attributional style involving explaining positive events in terms of personal and permanent causes and negative events in terms of external and situation specific causes

Question 35

Hope

Answer 35

Persevering to one’s goals and making changes/using multiple pathways to get there

Question 36

Resilience

Answer 36

Ability to bounce back from adversity and setbacks to attain success

Question 37

Talent Management

Answer 37

Organization’s processes and practices for attracting, developing, retaining, and deploying people with required skills to meet current and future business needs
Especially critical to attract and retain

Question 38

Work Engagement

Answer 38

Positive work related state of mind characterized by vigour, dedication, absorption
Only ⅓ of workers are engaged
Engaged workers have more positive work attitudes and higher job performance

Question 39

Precarious Work

Answer 39

Work that is risky, uncertain, unpredictable for workers
Unstable or short term
Pay is low or unreliable, no benefits
Uncertain and inconsistent hours
Few rights and protections for workers
This type of employment is on the rise

Question 40

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Answer 40

Organization takes responsibility for impact of decisions and actions on stakeholders
Organizations overall impact on society
Extends beyond interests of shareholders to needs of employees and the community
External CSR: practices aimed at local community, the environment, and consumers
Internal CSR: practices focused on the internal workforce
CSR includes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues

Question 41

Great Divergence

Answer 41

Wages rising for college graduates and falling for high school graduate or lower (as technology becomes more important, knowledge work becomes more important)