Midterm 1 Preperation

Question 1

What is organizational behaviour

Answer 1

It is the field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviours of individuals and groups in organizations

Question 2

2 Related topics to OB

Answer 2

Human resource management- which takes theories and principles studied in OB and explores the “Nuts and bolts” applications of those principles in organizations

Strategic management- focuses on the product choices and industry characteristics that affect an organization’s profitability

Question 3

What is scientific management

Answer 3

Using scientific method to design optimal and efficient work processes and tasks e.g, Fredrick Taylor
He was an engineer and focuses on designing optimal work processes

Question 4

What is bureaucracy

Answer 4

Bureaucracy is a prescribed organizational form that emphasizes the control and coordination of its members through a strict chain of command, formal rules and procedures, high specialization, and centralized decision making

Question 5

What is the classical approach

Answer 5

The two classical approaches consist of scientific management and the bureaucracy, classical approaches focus was on improving the work processes, structure and conditions. There was little emphasis on the actual humans not working in the system

Question 6

What is the Human Relations Approach

Answer 6

It is a field of study that recognizes that the psychological attributes of individual workers (needs, attitudes) and the social forces within work groups have important effects on OB

Question 7

What does contemporary management theory recognize

Answer 7

The contemporary management theory recognizes the dependencies between the classical and human relation approach

Question 8

Organizational disciplinary roots

Answer 8

Classical, human resource approach

Question 9

Academic disciplines

Answer 9

Sociology, anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, statistics, linguistics

Question 10

OB topics:

Answer 10

Motivation, teams and communication, organizational structure, job performance

Question 11

In the integrated model of OB what are the two individual outcomes

Answer 11

Job performance and organizational commitment are the two primary outcomes of interest to OB researchers, and to employees and managers

Question 12

What are the individual characteristics and mechanisms

Answer 12

Personality, cultural values and ability- what type of person are you? And what informs that, what sort of things can u do?, job satisfaction- how satisfied are employees when they think about their jobs and their work?, stress- how done, employees respond when their capacity to perform their job is pushed to the limit?, motivation- what forces drive employees work effort, trust, just and ethics- do employers feel their company conducts itself with fairness, honesty and integrity , learning and decision making- how do employees gain knowledge about their work, and how do they make accurate judgments on the job?. Things that are related to the individual that directly impacts job performance and original commitment

Question 13

What are the relational mechanisms

Answer 13

Communication- how do we exchange information in the workplace? What processes and factors help or hinder this exchange ? Team characteristics and processes- how are affective work groups structured? What are their norms in roles? How do we cooperate the managing conflict, effectively ? And how do we manage diversity? power, influence and negotiation – how do we acquire power and how do we use power and influence to work through conflict in organizations? Leadership styles and behaviours – why are some leaders more effective than others

Question 14

What are the organizational mechanisms

Answer 14

Organizational structure (Which we don’t cover)
Organizational culture and change: what are the rules, norms and attitudes that influence employees, and how do they change?

Question 15

Why is the integrated model all connect

Answer 15

It’s all connected because OB is about trying to understand the interrelationships among these mechanisms, characteristics and outcomes

Question 16

What is resource-based view

Answer 16

Resources that are rare and that are hard to imitate help firms maintain competitive advantage

Question 17

What was some research evidence

Answer 17

Researchers found that OB practices were associated with better firm performance and firms that value OB had a 19% higher survival rate than firms that did not value OB

Question 18

What factors affect the two primary OB outcomes (job performance and organizational commitment)

Answer 18

Factors that can affect the two primary OB outcomes are factors like motivation, stress, job satisfaction. All characteristics of the individual mechanisms, individual characteristics and group mechanism, and organizational mechanisms

Question 19

If good OB practices lead to better performance, why isn’t everyone doing it?

Answer 19

Because some people don’t believe in the connection between how people are managed and profit, and so,e people implement only one or few changes when comprehensive change is needed as well as some don’t persist in their efforts long enough to realize the economic benefit

Question 20

How do we know what we know about anything

Answer 20

Because of our own observations, because it “Just makes sense” and because someone we respect says so

Question 21

What is the method of science

Answer 21

Scientific studied have tended to replicate that result using a series of samples, settings, and methods, we know something because data can support it

Question 22

What are the 4 steps of the scientific method

Answer 22

1. Theory- a collection of assertions (verbal and symbolic) that specifies how and why variables are related (theories are not always true)
2. Hypotheses - a written, educated guess, based on the theory, that specifies the relationships between variables
3. Data
4. Verification

Question 23

What is correlation

Answer 23

It describes the statistical relationship between two variables and it can be positive or negative and range from 0( no statistical relationship) to +- 1 (Which is a perfect statistical relationship)

Question 24

How do u establish causation

Answer 24

Must establish: correlation, presumed cause precedes presumed effect and there if no alternative exists

Question 25

What is meta analysis

Answer 25

It takes all of the correlations found in studies of a particular relationship and calculates a weighted average

Question 26

What is considered a strong, moderate or weak correlation

Answer 26

Strong- 0.50
Moderate- 0.30
Weak- 0.10

Question 27

What is job performance

Answer 27

Job performance is the value of a set of employee behaviours that contribute, either positively or negatively, to organizational goal accomplishment

Question 28

What is task performance

Answer 28

Task performance includes employee behaviours that are directly involved in the transformation of organizational resources into the goods or services that the organization produces

Question 29

What are the three different types of task performance

Answer 29

Routine: which involves well-known responses to demands that occur in a normal, routine, or otherwise predictable way
Adaptive: Involves employee responses to task demands that are novel, unusual, or at the very least unpredictable
Creative: the degree to which individuals develop ideas or physical outcomes that are both novel and useful

Question 30

What is citizenship behaviour

Answer 30

It’s voluntary employee activities that may or may not be rewarded but that contribute to the organization by improving the overall quality of the setting in which work takes place

Organizational- voice, civic virtue, boosterism
Interpersonal- helping, courtesy, sportsmanship

Question 31

What is counterproductive Behaviour

Answer 31

Is when employee behaviours that are intentionally hinder organizational goal accomplishments
Organizational: property deviance, production deviance
Interpersonal: political deviance, personal aggression

Counterproductive behaviour is relevant to any job , there are going to be things to steal, resources to waste, and people to be uncivil forward

Question 32

What are resources you can use to prepare for job descriptions

Answer 32

Many organizations identify task performance behaviours by conducting a job analysis

Question 33

How to evaluate job performance (performance management)

Answer 33

1. Management by objectives (MBO) is a management philosophy that bases an employee’s evaluations on wether the employee achieves specific performance goals
2. Behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS) access performance by directly assessing job performance behaviours
3. 360 degree feedback- approach involves collecting performance information mot just from the supervisor but from anyone else who might have firsthand knowledge about the employees performance behaviours
4. Forced rankings- forces managers to rank all of their people into three categories top 20% (A players) vital 70% (B players) and bottom 10% ( C players)

Question 34

What is organizational commitment

Answer 34

It refers to the level of engagement and dedication team members feel towards their individual jobs and the organization

Question 35

What is withdrawal behaviour

Answer 35

It may look like turning down invitation and avoiding social interactions and situations

Question 36

When looking at organizational commitment and withdrawal behaviour are they negatively or positively related

Answer 36

Negatively, the more committed an employee is, the less likely he or she is to engage in withdrawal

Question 37

What are the forms of organizational commitment

Answer 37

Affective commitment, continuance commitment, and normative commitment

Question 38

What is affective commitment (A form of organizational commitment)

Answer 38

It occurs when an employee wants to stay and us influenced by the emoticons bonds between employees

Question 39

What is continuance commitment ( a form of organizational commitment)

Answer 39

It occurs when an employee needs to stay and is influenced by salary and benefits and the degree to which he or she is embedded in the community

Question 40

What is the normative commitment ( a form of organizational commitment)

Answer 40

It occurs when an employee feels that he or she ought to stay and is influenced by an organization investing in its employees or engaging in charitable efforts

Question 41

What are the 4 primary responses to negative work events

Answer 41

Constructive:
Voice- is an active and constructive response by which employees attempt to improve the situation
Loyalty- is passive and constructive: employees remain supportive while hoping the situation improves on its own

Destructive:
Neglect- is a form, of psychological withdraw in which interests and effort in the job decreases
Exit- this is a form of physical withdraw in which the employee either ends or restricts organizational membership

Question 42

Difference in types of models

Answer 42

Independent forms model - withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviours are uncorrelated with one another, occur for different reasons and fulfill different needs on the part of employees
Compensatory forms model- withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviours negatively correlate with one another-that doing so means your less likely to do another
Progression model- withdrawal argues that the various withdrawal behaviours are positively correlated: the tendency to daydream or socialize leads to the tendency to come in late or take long breaks, which leads to the tendency being absent or quit

Question 43

What are trends that affect organizational commitment

Answer 43

Workplace diversity
-visible minority
-aging workplace
-foreign-born employees
As groups become more diverse, there is a danger that minorities or older employees will find themselves on the fringe of such networks, which potentially reduces their affective commitment

Changing employee - employer relationships
-which is brought about by a generation of downsizing makes it more challenging to retain valued employees www

Psychological contacts
- reflects employees beliefs about what they owe the organization and what the organization owes them
-shaped by recruitment and social events
-2 forms: Transactional and Relational

Question 44

What is perceived organizational support

Answer 44

It reflects the degree to which employees believe that an organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being

Question 45

How can you improve perceived organizational support?

Answer 45

Affective commitment: increase the bonds that link employees together
Continuance commitment: create a salary and benefits package that creates a financial need to stay
Normative commitment: provide various training and development opportunities for employees

Question 46

What is job satisfaction

Answer 46

Is a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences
- it represents how you feel about your job and what you think about your job

Question 47

What percentage of people are satisfied with there job and like the people they work with in Canada

Answer 47

81% are satisfied with their job and 88% like the people they work with

Question 48

What are the value perception: for theory of job satisfaction

Answer 48

Pay satisfaction, promotion satisfaction, supervision satisfaction, Co-worker satisfaction, satisfaction with the work itself

Question 49

How does job satisfaction affect job performance and organizational commitment?

Answer 49

-Job satisfaction has a moderately positive relationship with job performance and a strong positive relationship with organizational commitment. It also has a strong positive relationship with life satisfaction.
-Organizations can assess and manage job satisfaction using attitude surveys such as the Job Descriptive Index (JDI), which assesses pay satisfaction, promotion satisfaction, supervisor satisfaction, coworker satisfaction, and satisfaction with the work itself.
-It can be used to assess the levels of job satisfaction experienced by employees, and its specific facet scores can identify interventions that could be helpful.

Question 50

What are the different types of moods

Answer 50

Unpleasant: grouchy, sad, blue
Disengaged: Quiet, still, inactive
Pleasant : happy, cheerful, pleased
Engaged: Surprised, Astonished, Aroused

Question 51

How is work affected by how we feel day-to-day?

Answer 51

Job satisfaction reflects what you think and feel about your job

Question 52

What are moods

Answer 52

-often mild in intensity
-last for an extended period of time
-not explicitly directed at or caused by anything
Ex: pleasant, activated and “I’m feeling grouchy”

Question 53

What are emotions

Answer 53

-often intense
-last for only a few minutes
- clearly directed at (and cause by) someone or some circumstances
-positive: joy, pride, and relief
-negative: anger, fear
-emotions are always about something

Question 54

What is Job Enlargement

Answer 54

Increasing the number of tasks a worker performs but keeping all of the tasks at the same level of difficulty and responsibility: also called horizontal job loading
-more tasks, equal level of responsibility
-intended to increase intrinsic motivation

Question 55

What is job enrichment

Answer 55

It is the process of using the five items in the job characteristics model to create more satisfaction
-Duties and responsibilities associated with a job are expanded to provide more variety, identity, autonomy, and so forth
-Enrichment efforts can indeed boost job satisfaction levels, and heighten work accuracy and customer satisfaction, though training and labor costs tend to rise as a result of such changes.

Question 56

What is scientific management in practice

Answer 56

-Focuses exclusively on extrinsic motivation: Pay is the principal outcome used to motivate workers to contribute their inputs.
-Specific disadvantages:
-Workers may feel that they have lost control over their work behaviors
-Workers may feel as if they are part of a machine and are treated as such.
-Workers have no opportunity to develop and acquire new skills.

Question 57

What is Scientific Management

Answer 57

-A set of principles and practices designed to increase the performance of individual workers by stressing job simplification and job specialization.
-There is one best way to perform any job (big assumption)

-Management’s responsibility is to determine what that way is

-Job simplification: The breaking up of the work that needs to be performed in an organization into the smallest identifiable tasks.
-Job specialization: The assignment of workers to perform small, simple tasks.
-Time and motion studies: Studies that reveal exactly how long it takes to perform a task and the best way to perform it.

Question 58

How can we (managers and employees) alter work to make it more satisfying?

Answer 58

Job Design: the process of linking specific tasks to specific jobs and deciding what techniques, equipment, and procedures should be used to perform those tasks.

-Early Approaches: Scientific management, job enlargement, job enrichment.
-More recent approach: Job characteristic model.

Question 59

What is stress

Answer 59

Stress is defined as a psychological response to demands that
-possess certain stakes
-tax or exceed a person’s capacity or resources

Question 60

What results in stain

Answer 60

Stressors cause stress which can result in strain

Question 61

What are the 4 types of stressors

Answer 61

1. Work hindrance: role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, daily hassles
2. Work challenge: time pressure, work complexity, work responsibility
3. Non work hindrance: work-family life, negative life conflicts, financial uncertainty
4. Non work challenge: family time demands, personal developments, positive life events