Midterm 1 Flashcards
What are organizations
Social inventions for accomplishing common goals through group effort
What do members of an organization need to do to survive
Be motivated to join and remain
Carry out their work reliably (productivity, quality and service)
Be willing to learn and improve knowledge and skills
Be flexible and innovative
What is organization behaviour
The attitudes and behaviours of individuals in an organizational context
studies these attitudes and behaviours so they can provide advice about how organizations can manage them effectively
What are the goals of OB
Predicting OB
Explaining OB
Managing OB
What is management
The art of getting things accomplished through others in organizations
Managers acquire, allocate and utilize physical and human resources to accomplish goals
What is evidence based management
translating principles based on the best scientific evidence into organizational practices
separates OB from opinion and common sense
How do you conduct OB research
Research question Form hypothesis Design a study Collect data Analyze data and report findings =evidence based management
What are operationalizations
ways to measure the variables in the concept
What is reliability of measure
an index of consistency of a research subjects responses
the subject should respond roughly the same way for similar questions
What is validity of measure
an index of the extent to which a measure truly reflects what it is supposed to measure
(make sure your questions are measuring the right thing)
what are the 2 forms of validity of measure
convergent validity: when there is a strong relationship between different measures of the same variables
discriminant validity: when there is a weak relationship between measures of different variables
What are the 3 types of research going from least scientifically rigorous to most
observational research
correlational research
experimental research
what is observational research and its 2 types
research that examines the natural activities of people in an organizational setting by listening to what they say and watching what they do
1) participation observation- becomes a member
2) direct observation-observes without partaking
What is correlational research
research that examines the naturally occurring relationship among 2 variables
What is a negative and positive correlation and range of strength
negative- as x goes up, y goes down
positive- as x goes up, y goes up
strength- -1 to 1
What is reverse directionality in correlational research
when you don’t know which variable caused which
What is a third variable in correlational research
a variable that is causing a change that could be highly related to the variable that we came up with- the true cause of change
What is experimental research
to overcome the shortcomings of correlational designs because we can infer causation with experiments
2 essential features: manipulation of the independent variable and random assignment to the condition
What is manipulation in experimental research
in an experiment, a variable IV is manipulated or changed under controlled conditions, and the consequence DV of this manipulation for some other variable is measured
-also overcomes the reverse directionality problem
what is random assignment in experimental research
distributes all other variables equally among experimental groups (on avg.)
- overcomes the 3rd variable problem
what is internal validity
extent to which research yields clear casual information (confidence that changes int he DV are due to the IV)
Higher in experimental research
what is external validity
extent to which results generalize beyond current sample, setting, etc
higher in correlational research
what is a moderating variable
a variable that affects the nature of the relationship between the IV and the DV
this relationship depends on this variable
what is a mediating variable
a variable that EXPLAINS the relationship between the IV and the DV
What is personality
the relatively stable set of psychological characteristics that influences the way an individual interacts with their environment and how they think, feel and behave
What is the the big 5 dimensions
O- Openness to experience C- conscientiousness E- Extraversion A- Agreeableness N- Neuroticism/ emotional stability
what are the characteristics of openness to experience
they think creatively, receptive to new ideas, open minded
high- albert einstien
low- donald trump
what are the characteristics
of conscientiousness
responsible, achievement oriented, orderly
low- mariah
what are the characteristics of extraversion
the extent to which a person is outgoing or shy
low- elon musk
high- oprah
what are the characteristics of agreeableness
the extent to which a person is friendly, compassionate, warm, outgoing
high- ellen
low- donald
what are the characteristics of emotional stability/ neuroticism
degree of emotional control
stable, confident,
low- depressed, anxious
what is the strongest predictor of overall job performance
conscientiousness
what is the dispositional approach to personality
people are predisposed to behave in certain ways, individuals possess stable traits or characteristics that influence their attitudes and behaviours
what is the situational approach
characteristics of the organization cause people to behave in certain ways
focuses on the situation, not the person
what the interactionist approach to personality
OB is a function of both dispositions and the situation
- to predict and understand organizational behaviour, we need to know something about an individuals personality and the work setting
what is the locus of control
a set of beliefs about whether ones behaviour is controlled mainly by internal or external factors
“i control my destiny” vs. others control my destiny
what is self- esteem
the degree to which a person has a positive self- evaluation
what is the behavioural plasticity theory in self- esteem
people with low self- esteem tend to be more susceptible to external and social influences
more impacted by events and people
what is general self- efficacy
refers to an individuals belief in his or her ability to perform successfully in a variety of challenging situations
-motivational rather than affective
what is learning
learning occurs when practice or experience leads to relatively permanent change in behaviour potential
what are the 2 learning theories
operant learning theory
social cognitive theory
what is operant learning theory
learning to operate on the environment to achieve certain consequences
what are the 2 reinforcements that increase behaviour in operant learning theory
positive reinforcement: adding something pleasant (ex. praise)
negative reinforcement: removing something unpleasant (ex. nagging)
what is extinction and punishment in operant learning theory
extinction: removing the reinforcer (something pleaseant, ex. no praise)
punishment: adding something unpleasant (ex. fines)
what are some points about using punishment effectively
- it elicits strong negative emotional reactions
- should only be warranted if unwanted behaviour is something they can not control
- tell them what they should do
- can reduce innovation, etc if was honest mistake
what is social cognitive theory
learning can take place without reinforcement from the environment, as a result of individual cognitive processes
what are the 3 groups in social cognitive theory
observational learning: observing and imitating the behaviour of others
self- efficacy: belief about ones ability to perform a specific task
self- regulation: people regulate their own behaviour by setting goals and working towards them
steps in self regulation
- set a goal: discrepancy production
- monitor behaviour
- compare current state to desired end state (goal)
- modify behaviour to meet goal: discrepancy reduction
3 ways to effectively train using social cognitive theory
provide a role model displaying the effective behaviours
provide opportunities for trainees to practice using those behaviours
provide feedback to trainees
what is perception
the process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and meaning to the environment
- our actions are based on our interpretation of reality from our perceptual system, rather than on reality itself
what is the better than average effect in perception
the idea that most people think that they are better than avergage
where do first impressions come from
what people say about themselves
what people dont say
what can you judge at above change levels accurately
narcissism
extraversion
sexual orientation
the success of a CEOs company
what is Bruner’s model about perception about and the steps
how first impressions turn into more permanent beliefs
unfamiliar target- openness to target cues- familiar cues encountered- target categorized- cue selectivity- categorization strengthened
what are the 6 biases in person perception that can lead to inaccurate perceptions of another person
primacy recency reliance on central traits implicit personality theories projection stereotyping
what is the primacy effect
tendency to rely on early cues/ first impressions
what is the recency effect
tendency to rely on recent cues/ last impressions
what is reliance on central traits
to rely on personal characteristics of a target person that are of particular interest to a perceiver
ex. physical appearance
what is implicit personality theories
personal theories people have about which personality characteristics go together
what is projection
tendency to attribute ones own thought and feelings to others
what is stereotyping
to generalize about people in a social category and ignore variations among them
what is the fundamental attribution error
the tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations for behaviour at the expense of situational explanations
what are the 3 cues to determine whether we should attribute the behaviour to dispositional or situational causes
consistency: does this person consistently act this way
consensus: is this behaviour similar to other people in this situation
distinctiveness: does this person act this way across situations
if the behaviour is because of a situational attribution then what is the inference about the person
inconclusive
what are the 4 employee behaviours
task performance
organizational citizenship behaviour
counterproductive work behaviour
withdrawal
what is task performance
are people doing the job they were hired to do
what is organizational citizenship behaviour
voluntary behaviour that contributes to organizational effectiveness
what is counterproductive work behaviour and its 4 points
behaviour that intentionally hinders organizational goal accomplishment production deviance: purposeful failure sabotage: destroying abuse against others theft
what is withdrawal and its 3 points
escaping from the workplace
- lateness
- absenteeism
- turnover
what are values
a broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others
what we consider good and bad
value differences are generational and cultural
what are the 2 types of cultures
independent cultures
collectivist cultures
what was hofstedes study about
questioned about work related values discovered 4 basic dimensions along which work related values differed across cultures: -power distance -uncertainty avoidance -masculinity/ femininity -individualism/ collectivism
what is power distance
the extent to which an unequal distribution of power is accepted by society members
-in large power distance cultures, this is natural and superiors are inaccessible
what are attitudes
fairly stable evaluative tendency to respond consistently to some specific object, situation, person, or category of people
(job satisfaction, organizational commitment)
what is job satisfaction
a collection of attitudes people have about their job
what are the 4 determinants of job satsifaction
- discrepancy- outcomes wanted vs. perceived current outcomes
- fairness- 3 types
- disposition
- mood and emotion
what are the 3 types of fairness
distributive fairness
procedural fairness
interaction fairness
what is distributive fairness
when people receive the outcomes they think they deserve
what is equity theory in distributive fairness
job satisfaction stems from a comparison of the inputs one invests in a job and the outcomes one receives, compared to another person/ group
perceived when my outcomes/ inputs=others outcomes/ inputs
what is procedural fairness
when people perceive the process used to determine outcomes as fair
arent biased, used same procedure, etc
what is interaction fairness
when people feel they have received respectful and informative communication about an outcome
the procedures were explained thoroughly, truthfully, etc
what is organizational commitment in attitude
an attitude that reflects the strength of the linkage between an employee and an organization
what are the 3 types of commitment
affective commitment: emotional attachment and identification
continuance commitment: the costs incurred if left and lack of other employment
normative commitment: a feeling of obligation
what causes behaviour
personality, values, and fairness perceptions influence attitudes which then affects behaviour at work
