OB Final Exam Flashcards
What’s OB?
Structural dimensions (jobs, org. Structure) Group processes (interpersonal, interactional) Individual behavior (psychosocial)
Cognitive dissonance?
Original beliefs- dissonance introduced: change behavior, justify behavior, change attitude, ignore/deny.
Definition of ethical behavior?
Acting in ways consistent with personal, organizational, and societal values
What is motivation?
Forces that influence direction, intensity, and presence of effort.
McClelland’s need theory? (3 needs theory )
nAch (need for achievement) motivated by competition and goal achievement.
nPow (need of power) motivated by the desire to influence others or events
nAff (need for affiliation) motivated to establish and maintain close relationships
Techniques for group decision making
brainstorming, nominal group technique, devil’s advocacy, dialectical inquiry, quality circles & quality teams, self-managed teams.
Define defensive communication
An attempt to avoid the process of communication. individual perceives a threat and behaves to protect themselves.
Threat physical: criticism, rejection of a person. Non-physical: ideas can threaten their sense of self and behave defensively. Passive/ withdraw (threat) aggressive/ hostile
2 things that define group behavior:
- Norms of behavior: members should or should not do, social or productive, implicit/ informal, explicit/ formal.
- Group cohesion: “interpersonal glue”, control over members, enforce norms of behavior.
Approaches to Conflict:
Zero-sum: win-lose situations, whatever is won by one side is lost by the other.
Win-win: resolved with both sides improving their position.
Conflict management style:
Competing (fighting), Avoiding (withdrawing), Collaborating (mutual problem solving), Accommodating (self-sacrificing), Compromising (negotiating).
Competing?
(fighting) [unreasonable and confrontive]
Avoiding?
(withdrawing) [unreasonable and avoidant]
Collaborating?
(mutual problem solving) [resonable and confrontive]
Accommodating?
(self-sacrificing), [resonable and avoidant]
Compromising?
(negotiating)
what is Power?
Power
(the ability to direct or influence the behavior of other people, or the course of events)
Dependence (Degree of reliance on someone else to achieve goals)
Context (Situational- the circumstances that form the relationship or the event in which power is being exercised)
Bases of Power
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Informational
Organizational politics
The use of power and influence in organizations. Used to reach organizational goals.
Political Behavior
Actions not sanctioned by an organization that are taken to influence others in order to meet personal goals. Undertaken for personal gain, and its objective is to displace or manipulate the legitimate power that may be exercised in an organizational setting.
Reduce Political Behavior
- Open communication
- Participative management
- encourage cooperation
- manage resources
- supportive climate
Empowerment?
sharing power within an organization by giving employees the authority or power to make their own decisions with respect to their work role or task
Leadership
Process of motivating, influencing, and enabling others to contribute towards the achievement of organizational goals
(change)
1) Setting the direction for the organization
2) Aligning people with that direction
3) Motivating people to action
Management
controlling resources to accomplish tasks (stability) 1) Planning and budgeting 2) Organizing and staffing 3) Controlling and problem solving
Situation leadership model
Telling (give specific instructions and supervise closely)
Selling (clarify and explain decisions as needed)
Participating (share ideas with followers and facilitate decision making)
Delegating (empower followers to make the decisions)
Transformational Leaders ?
theories of leadership
appeal to ideals and moral values, rely on their personal attributes instead of their official position.
Charismatic Leaders
theories of leadership
use the force of personal abilities and talents to inspire profound commitment in followers, inspire major changes in attitude, assumptions, and commitment.
Servant Leaders
theories of leadership:
serve employees, customers, and the community
Organizational Culture
is the consistent, shared, observable patterns of behaviour in organizations. It describes the expectations and perceptions that affect decisions and behaviours within an organization, and defines what behaviours are appropriate and expected (and what behaviours are not) for members.
levels of culture
artifacts
values
assumptions
Maintaining Culture
- What leaders pay attention to
- How leaders react to change
- How leaders behave
- how leaders hire and fire individuals
- how leaders allocate rewards
What leaders pay attention to (mainting culture)
Leaders communicate their priorities, expectations, values, and beliefs in what they notice, comment on, measure, and control. If leaders are consistent in their focus, employees receive clear signals about what is important in the organization. If, however, leaders are inconsistent, employees spend a lot of time trying to decipher and find meaning in the inconsistent signals.
How leaders react to change
The way that a leader deals with big issues communicates a powerful message about culture because crisis situations highlight the underlying assumptions of culture that are normally impossible to see
How leaders behave
Employees observe the behaviour of leaders to find out what the organization values. Through role modelling, teaching, and coaching, leaders teach and reinforce the values of the organizational culture.
How Leaders Hire and Fire Individuals
A powerful way that leaders shape and reinforce culture is through the selection of newcomers to the organization, as well as the way a company fires an employee and the rationale behind the firing.
How Leaders Allocate Rewards
Organizations must ensure that reward systems establish and reinforce consistent cultural values.
Organizational Socialization
how an individual comes to understand and appreciate the abilities, values, expected behaviours and social knowledge required to assume a role and to participate as an organizational member
Classical Conditioning
process of modifying behaviour by pairing a conditioned stimulus (bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (meat) to elicit an unconditioned (i.e. unlearned) response (salivating).
performance feedback
1- Refer to specific verbatim statements and observable behaviours.
2- Focus on changeable behaviours, not personality.
3- Plan ahead and give notice.
Traditional approaches to job design?
- Work Simplification
- Job Enlargement
- Job rotation
- Job enrichment
Work Simplification?
is the standardization and the narrow, explicit specification of task activities for workers
Job Enlargement?
increases the number of tasks in a job, thus enlarging the work functions associated with a particular job.
Job rotation?
exposes a worker to a variety of job tasks over time, by rotating the worker through various jobs.
Job enrichment?
incorporating motivational factors into the design of the job by increasing the recognition, responsibility, and opportunity for achievement.
Job Characteristics Model (JCM)
(core job dimensions- critical psychological states - personal and work outcomes) skill Variety task identity task significance autonomy feedback
variety (JCM)
Opportunity to use different skills or perform different activities
task identity (JCM)
Feeling of responsibility or pride from doing an entire piece of work
Task Significance (JCM)
Knowing that one’s work is important
autonomy (JCM)
Having control over one’s work and response to work environment
feedback (JCM)
Information that helps evaluate success or failure
Organizational design
- the process of constructing and adjusting an organization’s structure to achieve its goals. The design process begins with the organization’s goals. These goals are broken into tasks as the basis for jobs, jobs are grouped into departments, and departments are linked to form the organizational structure. The most visible representation of an organization’s structure is the organizational chart
Organizational Structures
- Mechanistic: emphasizes structured activites, specialized tasks and centralized decision making
- Organic: emphasizes teamwork, open communication and decentralized decision making
contextual variables
size, technology, environment, strategy and goals
Overcoming resistance to change
communication
participation
empathy and support
Communication
resistance to change
-about impending change and rationale is essential if employees are to adjust effectively
Participation
-helps employees become involved in the change and establishes a feeling of ownership in the process
Empathy and Support
-through active listening, supportive leadership and encouragement.
lewin’s change model
unfreezing: reducing forces fro status quo
moving (change): developing new attitudes, values, and behaviors.
refreezing: reinforcing new attitudes, values and behaviors
