Midterm 1 Flashcards
Organizational behavior
Systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organization
-draws from other disciplines
Levels of Analysis (in OB)
the individual, the group, the organization
Diversity
compositional differences among people in a work unit
-Age Discrimination Act, Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act
-most goes undetected, only extremes get reported
-w/o inclusion, groups that are diverse lower levels of cohesiveness, higher levels of conflict, lower levels of team performance, higher levels of turnover
Inclusion
allowing individuals to bring aspects of themselves that make them unique in a group, while also being treated as organizational insiders
-participate fully, remove barriers, to the fair treatment
-turns diversity into an advantage
similarity-attraction phenomenon
the tendency to be more attracted to individuals that are similar to us
-different people receive different treatment or just don’t get hired
-formal mentoring program helps diversity
surface-level diversity
includes traits that are highly visible to us and those around us, race, gender, age
-people pay attention to this because they believe it is related to deep-level diversity
-affects relationships early on
deep-level diversity
includes values, beliefs, and attitudes
-replaces surface-level perception eventually
faultline
a group is split into subgroups, ex. men & women
-more conflict, less cohesive, less satisfaction and performance
-need to establish certain norms to work together successfully
unconscious biases
stereotypes that are held outside of conscious awareness
-may rely on stereotypes when making decisions
affirmative action
policies designed to recruit, promote, train, and retain employees belonging to a protected class
-controversial due to specifics not being defined
-simple elimination of discrimination, targeted recruitment, tie-breaker, preferential treatment
terminal and instrumental values
end states people desire in life;
-leading a prosperous life, world at peace
views on acceptable modes of conduct
-honest, ethical, being ambitious
-values are formed early in life, especially from early family experiences that form dominant values
-values of a generation also change and evolve in response to the historical context that they grow up in
personality
encompasses the relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns a person has
-changes over long periods of time, but relatively stable
-when people have a lot of freedom at work, their personality will become a stronger influence over their behavior
big 5 personality traits
openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism
openness
the degree to which a person is curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas
-thrive with flexibility and learning new things
-in work, seek feedback on how they are doing and build relationships, highly adaptable to change
Conscientiousness
degree to which a person is organized, systematic, punctual, achievement, oriented, and dependable
extraversion
the degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoys socializing
agreeableness
the degree to which a person is affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm
-likable and get along with others
neuroticism
the degree to which a person is anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody
-perfectionist tendencies
self-monitoring
the extent to which a person is capable of altering his or her actions and appearance in social situations
-less committed to company
higher levels of stress
self-efficacy
a belief that one can perform a specific task successfully
-related to job performance bc they set higher goals
internal and external locus of control
locus of control deals with the degree to which people feel accountable for their own behaviors
internal-> believe that they can control their own destiny and what happens to them is their own doing
external->feel that things happen to them because of other people, luck, or a powerful being
stereotypes
generalizations based on perceived group characteristics
-when we see examples that go against our stereotypes, we tend to come up with subcategories
-also may simply discount the information
selective perception
we pay selective attention to parts of the environment while ignoring other parts
-we see what we want to see and ignore information that may seem out of place
organizational commitment
emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for
-connected to job satisfaction
job engagement
investment of one’s mental, emotional, and physical energies into work
-enthusiasm, involvement, satisfaction
psychological contract
unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment, and what the company will provide in exchange
psychological contract breach
when people do not get what they expect
-leads to low job satisfaction and commitment
organizational citizenship behavior
voluntary behaviors employees perform to help others and benefit the organization
-explained by organization justice and interpersonal relationships, personality, job attitudes, and age
organizational culture
system of share assumptions, values, and beliefs that indicate what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior within a given organization
-strongest assets and biggest liability
-might differ by industry
-effective control mechanism for dictating employee behavior
- consists of three levels: assumptions, values, and artifacts
assumptions
reflect beliefs about human nature and reality
values
shared principles, standards, and goals
artifacts
visible, tangible aspects of organizational culture
-physical environment, employee interactions, company policies, reward systems, other observable characteristics
culture creation and maintenance
founder values and industry demands make up the early values, goals, and assumption.
From there, attraction selection attrition, new employee onboarding, leadership, and reward systems make organizational culture
Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA)
People are attracted to the cultures that they fit into. The company will. Companies will select employees that fit their culture. Attrition refers to the natural process in which candidate who do not fit in will leave the company
