organisational behaviour Flashcards
what is an organisation
consciously coordinated social unit that functions on a relatively continuous basis and is composed of two or more people to achieve a common goal or set of goals
who is manger
individual who obtains goals through other people, via directing the activities of others, allocating resources, making key decisions.
manager performs 10 roles, which ones of them are Interpersonal roles
- figurehead (performing symbolic and ceremonial tasks of social nature)
- leadership (coordinating, directing, motivating employees)
- liaison (contacting outsiders to gain information and favours)
manager performs 10 roles, which ones are Informational roles
- monitor (need to study both internal and external information to know market trends and see what competitors may be planning)
- disseminator (acting like a channel to transmit information from outsiders to organisational members)
- spokesperson ( when they convey the ideas and policies of company to outsiders)
manager performs 10 roles, which ones are Decisional roles(making choices)
1.enrepreneur ( initiating and directing new projects which bring upon substantial change to improve organisation’s performance)
2.negotiator ( discuss issues and bargain with other companies to improve organisation’s performance)
3.disturbance handler (making action when organisation faces some unpredictable challenge)
4. Resource allocations (responsible for the allocation of a human, physical and monetary resources)
what are 3 skills that a manager needs
1.Technical skills (ability to apply specialised knowledge)
2.Human skills (ability to understand, work with and motivate other people)
3.Conceptual skills ( solving complex problems)
what are 4 types of managerial activities
1.Traditional management - decision making, planning, controlling.
2. Exchanging of information and proceeding of paperwork - communication.
3. Human resource management - motivating, disciplining, conflict management, training.
4. Networking - socialising and interacting with outsiders.
what is OB and what does it study
Organisational behaviour - field of study that researches the impact of individuals, groups and structure of employees behaviour within the organisations.
OB studies three important factors of behaviour and organisations: individuals, groups, structure.
what is systematic study
process of looking at the relationships, attempting to understand causes and effects, making basing conclusions on scientific evidence
what is evidence-based management
managerial decisions are made on the basis of systemic study
what are 4 OB disciplines, and what do they mean
1.Psychology - measurement and explanation of human behaviour.
2.Social psychology - combines elements of both psychology and sociology to investigate the influence of people on one another.
3.Sociology - the relation between people and the environment.
4.Anthropology - study that focuses on societies and humans in relation to other activities.
what are challenges of OB1.
1.Contingency variables
2.Globalisation
3.Workplace diversity
4.Quality and production
5.Customer service
6. Innovation and change
7. Temporariness
8. Employed and networked organisations
9. Work-life balance
10. Ethical behaviour
what are contingency variables
factors that moderate the relationship between two or more variables. X leads to Y but only under the condition Z, which is the contingency variable.
what is the challenge of globalisation
Since managers sometimes cooperate with workers from abroad, they have to understand the background of culture, religion of these individuals to shape their personalities and adopt their management style to be effective.
what is the challenge of workplace diversity
Firms should embrace diversity ( age, culture, sexual orientation, work and life style)
what is the challenge of quality and production
Managers have to reduce costs and at the same time increase productivity and quality of products and services.
what is the challenge of Customer service
Managers need to develop a customer-responsive culture in order to teach employees how to please customers.
what is the challenge of Innovation and change
Mastering the art of innovation and change is essential for a business to bit its competitors.
challenge of Temporariness
Nowadays companies mostly rely on temporary workers.
challenge of employed and networking organisations
Managing employees online.
what is the challenge of work-life balance
Managers should design workspaces which will help to balance work and personal life.
what is the challenge of ethical behaviour
Managers should set the appropriate ethical behaviour for their organisation.
what does Positive organisational scholarship mean
area about developing human strength , boost vitality and unlock potential.
what are 6 dependent variables in OB
- Productivity
- Absenteeism
- Turnover
- Job satisfaction
- Deviant workplace behaviour
- Organisational citizenship behaviour
what is Productivity variable
performance measure, that includes effectiveness (achievement of goals) and efficiency (ratio of the effective output to the input required to achieve it).
what is Absenteeism variable
failure to report work.
what is Turnover variable
voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from the organisation.
what is Job satisfaction variable
positive feeling about a job
what is deviant workplace behaviour variable
behaviour that violates organisation’s norms, threatens well-being of a business and its workers.
what is organisational citizenship variable
behaviour that is not a part of formal employee’s behaviour, but still promotes the effective functioning of an organisation.
what is the Independent variable
cause of some change in dependent variable.
what are Attitudes
evaluations an employee makes
what is stress
unpleasant psychological experience
what is task performance
effectiveness and efficiency
what is citizenship behaviour
behaviour that is not a part of formal employee’s behaviour, but still promotes the effective functioning of an organisation.
what is Withdrawal behaviour
actions taken by employees which separate them from organisation.
what is Group cohesion
extent to which members of a group can work together without conflict.
what is Group functioning
measured by quantity and quality a group does.
what is Productivity
task performance, measures effectiveness, efficiency of an organisation.
what is Survival
achieved when an organisation is able to grow and achieve for a long term.
what are 2 major forms of workplace diversity
- Surface level diversity
- Deep level diversity
what is surface level diversity
is about gender, race, ethnicity, age
what is deep level diversity
is about differences in values and personalities of each employee
what are 6 forms of discrimination
- Discriminatory policies and practices
- Sexual harassment
- Intimidation
- Mockery and insults
- Exclusion
6.Incivility
what are Discriminatory policies and practices
actions taken by an employee which deny equal opportunity to perform
what is Sexual harassment
unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or any verbal, physical, or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature that creates an offensive work environment for an individual.
what is Intimidation
bullying at specific members of employees
what are Mockery and insults
jokes and negative stereotypes.
what is Exclusion
exclusion of certain people from job opportunities, social events and informational mentoring.
what is Incivility
disrespectful treatment, including behaving aggressively
what are Biographical characteristics
personal characteristics such as age, gender, disability, race, length of tenure.
does age impact work productivity?
Age doesn’t impact productivity, and in fact, there’s a positive link between age and job satisfaction. Older workers often bring valuable traits like experience, commitment, and good judgement.
why women prefer more flexible schedule
women prefer more flexible schedule in order to fulfil their family responsibilities
who has higher absenteeism: males or females
absenteeism is higher for women
why the role of race is important in some selective decisions
People tend to favour colleges of their own race during performances.
what is employment tenure
It’s the length of the time that an employee managed to work with the same employer. Seniority and productivity are positively connected. Tenure is negatively related to turnovers and absenteeism.
what is ability
Individual’s capacity to perform various job tasks. Managers should identify the differences, strengths and weaknesses of their employees to increase the likelihood that this employee will perform his own job well.
what are 7 intellectual abilities
- Number aptitude (understand and work with numerical concepts and calculations)
- Verbal comprehension (understanding and interpreting written or spoken language)
- Perceptual speed (quickly and accurately interpret and respond to visual information)
- Inductive reasoning
- Deductive reasoning
- Spatial visualisation (ability to mentally visualize and manipulate objects in three-dimensional space)
- Memory (retain and recall information, experiences, or learned mate)
what is General Mental Ability (GMA)
test provided by numerous companies to employees, to estimate their general factor of intelligence.
what is Physical ability
capacity to do the tasks related to stamina and strength.
what are 3 strategies for diversity management
1.Attracting and developing diverse employees.
2.Making employees perform tasks in diverse groups with various traits.
3.Workshops and trainings which can teach managers to understand a divorce workforce.
what are attitudes
evaluative statements about objects, people or events
what are 3 components of attitudes and what do they mean
1.Cognition - feeling about what the things are and opinions, beliefs.
2.Affect - the emotional segment.
3.Behaviour - intention for a behaviour towards someone or something.
what is cognitive dissonance
uncomfortable feeling when you hold two conflicting beliefs or attitudes at the same time.
People like consistency in their attitudes and behaviour, so they try to fight dissonance.
what are 3 factors on which willingness to fight dissonance depends:
1.Importance of attitudes and behaviour.
2.Ability to control the causes of dissonance.
3.Rewards of dissonance.
what are 5 moderating variables of attitudes-behaviour relationship
1.Importance of attitude.
2.Correspondence of behaviour.
3.Accessibility.
4.Social pressures.
5.Direct experience.
what is job satisfaction
positive feeling about a job, due an evaluation of its characteristics
what is Job involvement
the degree to which people identify psychologically with their job and their performance level, important for self-worth.
what is Psychological empowerment
degree to which people believe they can influence their work environment, meaningfulness of their job, perceived autonomy.
what is Organisational commitment
the extent to which an employee identifies with the organisation in relation to its goal and vision and expresses a desire to maintain membership.
what 3 components does Organisational commitment include and what each of these mean
1.Affective commitment (the most important) - emotional commitment and belief in the values of an organisation.
2.Continuance commitment - refers to the way in which the economic value of staying with company is compared to leaving it
3.Normative commitment - if someone stays with the company due to moral or ethical reasons
what is Perceived organisational support (POS)
the way people believe the organisation is valuing their contribution and cares for them
what is Employee engagement
individual’s involvement with satisfaction for the work he does. High levels of engagement are strongly related to other positive outcomes.
what are two methods used to measure job satisfaction
1.Single global rating method: method which asks employees to answer a question about the degree of his job satisfaction
2.Summation of job facets: method which asks employees to complete a questionnaire and express their thoughts on different job elements.
how does core-self evaluation influence job satisfaction
When people feel confident in their abilities and have a positive self-view, they are more likely to find satisfaction in their job roles and overall work experience.
what are other factors that may influence job satisfaction
job security, job autonomy, work-life balance, employee participation
tell about Exit-voice-loyalty-neglect-framework (useful model to determine the effects of dissatisfaction)
1.exit: leaving the company (active, destructive)
2.Voice: attempts to improve conditions (active, constructive)
3.Loyalty: passively waiting for conditions to improve (passive, constructive)
4.Neglect: passively allowing for conditions to worsen (passive, destructive)
what is motivation
process which accounts for individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal
what are 3 key elements of motivation
- Intensity - degree of effort to achieve something.
- Direction - effort should have direction to achieve organisational goals.
- Persistence - the period during which a person can concentrate his efforts to achieve a goal.
what are 4 theories of motivation
- The hierarchy of needs theory (Abraham Maslow)
- Theory x and theory y (douglas McGregor)
- Two factor theory (Frederick Herzberg)
- Theory of needs (David McClelland )
tell about The hierarchy of needs theory (Abraham Maslow)
Every human has hierarchy of 5 different needs (self-satisfaction, esteem, social, safety, psychological)
Psychological, safety - lower-order needs.
social, esteem, self-satisfaction - higher-order needs.
tell about Theory x and theory y (douglas McGregor)
Suggests that there are two viewpoints on human beings: negative (x) and positive (y).
Theory x - employees dislike their work and must be forced to perform their tusks.
Theory y - employees accept their work as natural procedure, seek responsibility.
tell about Two factor theory (Frederick Herzberg)
Suggests that achievement increases job satisfaction, but salary decreases job satisfaction.
tell about Theory of needs (David McClelland )
Need for achievement
Need for power
Need for affiliation (desire to be friendly)
what are 5 contemporary theories of motivation
- Cognitive evaluation theory
- Job engagement
- Goal setting theory
- Implementing goal setting
- Self-efficacy theory
tell about Cognitive evaluation theory of motivation
work that has been intrinsically rewarded at start, but was then rewarded extrinsically decreases the motivation level of employees. Verbal rewards increase intrinsic motivation, tangible rewards decrease it.
what in Self-concordance
degree to which an individual’s reasons to pursue goals are consistent with their interests
tell about Job engagement theory of motivation
investment of the employee’s physical, cognitive, emotional energies into job performance. It’s a degree to which an employee feels it’s meaningful to work.
tell about Goal setting theory of motivation
specific and difficult goals, that are accompanied by feedback, lead to higher performance.
tell about Implementing goal-setting (Management by objectives) theory of motivation
employees collaborate to decide on goals, and then everyone works together to achieve them
tell about Self-efficacy theory of motivation
person’s believe that he can perform a task.
what are 4 ways to boost self-efficacy
1.Enactive mastery: obtaining relevant experience with a task.
2.Vicarious modelling: feeling more confident, when you see someone else performing the task.
3.Verbal persuasion - being more confident, when another person tells that you are capable of achieving success.
4.Arousal - people feel more energised and ready to complete the task.
tell about Pygmalion effect (confidence spell)
self-efficacy boosts (you start believe more in your success and capabilities) when your teacher tells you that you are capable of it. (is about external expectations influencing someone, often in a mentoring or teaching contex)
tell about Galatea effect
If a person believes in their own abilities, their performance might improve. It is about a person’s own belief in themselves driving their performance.
tell about Reinforcement theory
our actions are connected to what follows, making us more likely to repeat actions that lead to positive outcomes. It’s a bit like learning from the results of our actions! So, BEHAVIOUR IS A FUNCTION OF ITS CONSEQUENCES
tell about Equity theory
people compare the result of their job with results of others, and then do all posible to make it equal.
in which 6 ways employees that feel inequity may act
Change their inputs
Change their outcomes
Distort perceptions of self
Distort perceptions of others
Choose different referent
leave the field
tell what is Organisational justice
perception of what is fair in the workplace.
what are 4 factors of organisational justice
1.Distributive justice - fairness of amount and allocation of rewards for employees.
2.Procedural justice - fairness of the process for determining the distribution of rewards.
3.Informational justice - degree to which employees are provided with truthful explanations and decisions.
4.Interpersonal justice - degree to which employees are treated with dignity and respect.
tell about Expectancy theory
the strength of a tendency of a person to act a certain way depends on the strength of his expectation that act will be followed by a given outcome and the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.
what is Effort-performance relationship
Imagine you’re about to start a task, like studying for a test. The question here is, “If I put in a lot of effort, will I perform well in the test?”
It’s about your belief or expectation that your hard work will lead to success.
Example: If you think, “If I study really hard, I’ll get a good grade,” you’re considering the Effort-Performance Relationship.
what is Performance-effort relationship
Now, consider you’ve completed the task, let’s say you took the test. The question becomes, “How much did my effort contribute to my actual performance?”
It’s about looking at the outcome and understanding how your effort influenced the results.
Example: If you studied for hours and indeed got a good grade, you’re looking at the Performance-Effort Relationship.
what is Rewards-personal relationship
degree to which organisational rewards satisfy an employee’s goals.
which 5 dimensions does the job characteristic model include
1.Skill variety - degree to which a job repeats various activities. (purpose - having a mix of tasks, not just the same thing over and over.)
2.Task identity - degree to which a job requires completion as a whole.(Jobs with high task identity are like puzzles – you get to see the whole picture when you’re done.)
3.Autonomy - degree to which a job provides freedom and independence. (Jobs with high autonomy let you do things your way, independently.)
4.Feedback - degree to which clear information about effectiveness of performance is delivered to performers.
5.Task significance - degree to which a job affects people around. (If what you do matters to others, your job has high task significance.)
9 ideas on how jobs can be redesigned
- Job rotation
- Job enrichment
- Alternative work arrangements
4.Flextime
5.Job sharing
6.Teleworking
7.Employee involvement - Connection between employee involvement and motivation theories
9.Rewards to motivate employees
what is job rotation
periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another
what is job enrichment
ncreasing the degree to which an employee is responsible for the planning, execution and evaluation during work
what are alternative work arrangements
way to increase the level of motivation of employees.
what is Flextime
employees can personally develop flexible work hours depending on their preference. But have to work for specified amount of hours per week.
what is Job sharing
arrangement that allows 2 or more people to split the traditional amount of working hours between each other.
what is teleworking
mainly working from home or different places
what is employee involvement
within the concept of participative management: employees being part of decisions. Representative presentation: employees are represented by a small group of employees during decision making procedure.
what is connection between employee involvement and motivation theories
increase the amount of intrinsic motivation in work tasks.
what is Rewards to motivate employees
realising the significant pay
what are 4 strategies of payment
- What to pay?
- How to pay?
- Bonus systems (Bonus - pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance, rather than historical performance)
- Flexible benefits
5.Intrinsic rewards - evaluation of variable pay
what to pay?
pay structure established based on significance of job completed by employee+ competitiveness of it in comparison to competitors
how to pay?
Piece rate plan - getting paid for each thing you complete. Merit-based plan - earning based on how well you do
what are bonus systems
Bonus - pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance, rather than historical performance
what is Skill-based pay plan
pays employees on the basis of their total number of skills and quantity of jobs they can perform
what are Profit sharing plans (most preferred by employees)
pays employees a share in company’s profits based on its quarterly or annual earnings
what is Gainsharing
Team effort gets rewarded. It’s a system where employees receive bonuses or additional benefits based on the collective performance and success of the team or the entire organization.
what is employee stock ownership plan
Own a piece of the company. ESOP is a program where employees become partial owners of the company by acquiring shares.
what are flexible benefits
a) Modular (just following predestined set of bonuses)
b)Core-plus (menu selection of choices that employees can choose from)
c)Flexible spending (permits employees to save pre-tax pay up to the amount offered in the plan to spend on particular benefits)
what are intrinsic rewards
Recognition is one of the most motivating factors within the workplace Non-financial incentives might be more motivating for a long-term.
what is personality
sum of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others. Managers use personality tests to choose the right person for a specific job.
Personality is the result of…
environmental factors and hereditary( traits we get from our parents).
what are 2 main modules that define personality
1.Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
2.Big Five Model
what is MBTI and how are people identified after taking this quiz
quiz that helps to understand your personality, which has 100 questions
a) Extraverted/Introverted
b) Sensing(facts)/Intuitive
c)Thinking/Feeling
d) Judging(structure, planning)/Perceiving(flexibility, spontaneity)
what is big 5 personality model and what are 5 factors in it
Method to measure personality traits revolving around 5 factors:
1 Factor. Extraversion - measures a comfort level of one regarding relationships.
2 Factor. Agreeableness - flexibility in conversation.
3 Factor. Conscientiousness - captures the reliability of a person.
4 Factor. Emotional stability.
5 Factor. Openness to experience - degree of imagination and sensitivity.
what is core self-evaluation
the degree to which people like or dislike themselves.
what is Machiavellianism
a way of thinking and behaving that involves being strategic, cunning, and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve personal goals
what is narcissism
narcissists believe that they are the best leaders, but their employees think the opposite.
what is self-monitoring
the ability to adjust behaviour to external factors
tell about a/b personality types
Type A personality - always willing to achieve more and more in less time. They are always in the mood, very impatient, are trying to do multiple things at once.
Type B personality - the one who can relax without feeling guilt and isn’t hurried by the sense of time urgency.
Type A performs better than type B at job-interviews.
who are proactive personalities
identify opportunities, show initiative, take action and persevere until meaningful change occurs.
what is situation strength theory
suggests that the influence of personality on behavior depends on the strength of the situation. In strong situations with clear rules, the situation has a greater impact on behavior, overriding personal tendencies. In contrast, in weak situations, personality plays a more significant role in shaping behavior.
what is trait-activation theory
Specific situations can activate certain traits in individuals.For example, a challenging task might activate traits like confidence and determination, affecting how you approach your work.
what are values
stable principles and beliefs that are important to individuals within a workplace
values consist of a)… attributes and b)… attributes
a)Content-attribute - says that an end-state of existence is important.
b)Intensity attribute - how important the end state of existence is.
what are 2 sets of values by Rokeach Value Survey
1.Terminal values - ultimate goals or desired end states that individuals strive to achieve in their lives and work. These are the long-term objectives that people find personally meaningful (happiness, success, or a sense of accomplishment).
2.Instrumental values - methods that individuals believe will help them achieve their terminal values.These are the characteristics that people consider important in the process of pursuing their ultimate goals (honesty, hard work, or creativity).
what is group
two or more individuals that are interacting and show independence to achieve particular objectives.
what are two types of groups
- Formal
2.Informal
what is Social identity theory
perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups
what is Schadenfreude
joy in someone else’s misfortune.
what is In-group favouritism
when the members of the group feel they are better than people outside the group
what is Similarity
when the person shares common values and ideals with an organisation
what is Distinctiveness
when specific group stands out in comparison to other groups
what is Status
elevation in the identity the person would expect after joining the group
what is Uncertainty reduction
when people realise who they are and how they fit in the world after joining the group
what are stages of group development in 5-stage model
1.forming: a lot of uncertainty, stage is completed when members feel that they are part of the group.
2.Storming: intragroup conflict and attempts of the group members to control the group
3.Norming: group sets a common set of rules and expectations; characterised by cohesiveness
4.Performing: group is fully functional and accepted during this stage
5.Adjourning: group is preparing disbandment
Temporary groups usually follow Punctuated-equilibrium model and ignore 5 stage model. What are the steps there?
- First meeting - setting up a plan and goals
- First stage of internia (doing nothing)
- Transition - happens in the middle of working term, very active and intensive
- second phase of internia
- completion - markedly accelerated activity
what are roles
set of expected behaviour patterns attributed to a person occupying a given position in a social unit
what forms role identity
Certain attitudes and actual behaviour
what is role perception
The way we think we are supposed to act under specific circumstances
what is Role expectation
the way others expect an individual to act under specific circumstances
what is Role conflict
phenomenon under which an individual is confronted with divergent role expectations
what are norms
acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the members of the group.
what are main categories of norms within workplace
- performance norms (level of output, time constraints)
- appearance norms (dress code)
3.social arrangement norms (ability to form friendship within the workplace)
4.resource allocation norms (assignment of challenging jobs)
what did Hawthorne Studies conclude
performance of individuals within the workplace is strongly influenced by work norms
what is status
socially defined position assigned to groups of group members by others.It’s an important motivator and has major behavioural consequences.
from which 3 sources is it derived
- The power of a person wields over others
- A person’s ability to contribute to the goals of a group
- The personal characteristics of an individual
when should corrective behaviour take place
if there is perceived inequity regarding status
what is “stigma by association” effect
if you’re connected to a group that others look down upon, people might treat you badly even if you personally don’t deserve it.
what is social loafing
tendency of individuals to extend less effort when they work collectively than when they work individually.
how can Social loafing be prevented by:
common group purpose, increasing intergroup competition, adding group rewards
what is cohesiveness
degree to which group members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in one group.
what should managers do to encourage cohesiveness
managers should create smaller groups, encourage agreement with group goals, increase the time group members spend together, stimulate competition with other groups, give rewards to the group as whole and physically isolate the group.
what are Fault-lines
perceived divisions that split groups based on sex, race, age, education, work experience
what Is group decision-making strength
1.Groups usually generate more complete information and knowledge than individuals.
2.Working in groups increases the diversity of views and the acceptance of a certain solution.
what are group decision-making weaknesses
- consumes big amount of time
- conformity pressures within the group
- phenomenon of the domination by one or a couple of group members
4.lack of allocation of responsibilities between the group members.
