Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior (Chapter 1) Flashcards
What are the four anchors of OB?
Systematic research, multidisciplinary, contingency, multiple levels of analysis.
What is systematic research the basis for? Why isn’t that basis consistently applied? How can that basis be more entrenched?
Evidence-based management, the practice of making decisions and taking actions based on research evidence. Not applied often because of bombardment of ideas, OB research is generic and it is hard to figure out what theories fit your situation, and leaders tend to follow fads that are awarded. People want to validate own personal beliefs and ignore evidence that doesn’t line up. To entrench more evidence-based management, be skeptical of hype, embrace collective expertise, never use stories as the foundation for management action, take a neutral stance toward popular trends and ideologies.
What does the multidisciplinary anchor say?
OB imports knowledge from other disciplines, does not solely create its own knowledge. Organizations have central roles in society and are consisted of people who interact, so there is an intersection between OB and disciplines that study human beings.
What does the contingency anchor say?
An action has different consequences in different situations; no solution is best all of the time. When facing a particular problem or opportunity, we need to understand and diagnose the situation and select the strategy most appropriate under those conditions.
What does the multiple levels of analysis anchor say?
What goes on in organizations can be placed into three levels of analysis: individual, team and organization. Most variables of OB are understood best by thinking about them from all three levels.
What is organizational effectiveness? What are its four perspectives?
A broad concept represented by several perspectives, including the organization’s fit with the external environment, internal subsystems configuration of high performance, emphasis on organization learning, and ability to satisfy the needs of key stakeholders. Open systems, organizational learning, high-performance work practices and stakeholder perspectives.
Open Systems
Effectiveness depends on the close fit the company has with environmental conditions (external focus) and its ability to transform inputs into outputs efficiently and flexibly.
High Performance Work Practices
Effectiveness depends on company having high quality employees. HPWPs that develop high quality employees include: employee involvement, job autonomy, competence and ongoing development, appropriate performance and competency-based rewards.
Organizational Learning
Effectiveness depends on organization’s capacity to acquire, share, use and store valuable knowledge. Intellectual capital includes human, structural and relational capital.
Stakeholder perspective
Effectiveness defined in terms of how well organization satisfies interests of stakeholders. Includes corporate social responsibility (CSR) - goes beyond minimal legal requirements. Organization’s contract with society. Meets triple bottom line (economy, society, environment).
Contemporary challenges for organizations?
Globalization, diversity, emerging employment relationships.
Recommendations for managing a diverse workforce
Provide effective mentoring and development opportunities for employees, train managers in group process skills, coach and develop diverse teams, evaluate impact of diversity on attitudes, behaviors and performance indicators.
