Organisational behaviour Flashcards
What i an organisation?
a social arrangement for accounting controlled performance in pursuit of collective goals (Buchanan and Huzczynski 2010)
What is organisational behaviour?
the study of human behaviour in organisational settings, the interface between human behaviour and the organisation and the organisation itself (Moorhead and Griffin 1993)
What is meant by organisational setting?
usually the workplace
what ways organisational behaviour (OB) be used?
understanding how people function in general
understand how people function at work
predict how people will react
enhance job performance and profitability
empower people and also influence and motivate them
create good fit between a person and job carear
improve self awareness of own personality
What topics are covered in OB
Which methods and research designs can be used in OB?
Data from surveys, experimental designs, observations,
interviews, psychometric tests, recording of behaviour,
experience sampling studies, archives
what type of research methods are there?
Correlational research
Longitudinal studies
Experimental studies
What is Correlational research?
investigates the relationship between two variables which the researcher does not control
What is a Longitudinal study?
mostly observational and are a study done over a period of time
What are Experimental studies?
manipulates one variable, the independent variable, eg leadership training
* measures effects on the dependent variable, eg leader effectiveness
* and (tries to) holds all other variables constant (lab vs field)
→ A change in the dependent variable is caused by the independent variable.
Provide examples of practical application of OB?
what is a hypothesis?
what you expect to happen from your research
What is a theory?
An explanation for how and why
variables are related to each other
What is the cycle of theory and research?
Theories lead to hypothesesthat are then tested
This involves empirical data collection & analysis
The outcomes of these tests influence views and revisions
of the theory
How would u describe theory in OB
An organised collection of concepts
which serves to explain human behaviour at work
What does organised mean in OB?
Links between variables, relative importance of variables,
their timing, causality
What does theory include?
description, but goes beyond it: explains and predicts
thoughts, emotions and behaviours
why is a good theory useful in practise?
allows or helpful predictions eg what to look for when recruiting in terms of skills knowledge and motivation