Organizational Behavior Flashcards
studies the influence that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations.
Organizational Behavior
three determinants of behavior in organizations
individuals, group, structure
OB applies the knowledge gained from this study to make organizations work more effectively.
True
People develop intuitive understandings of the behaviors of other people through ____________
experience
You can improve your predictive ability by taking the ______________________ to the study of human behavior.
systematic approach
examining relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and basing our conclusions on scientific evidence – that is, on data gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner.
systematic study of behavior
a complementary approach to systematic study involves basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence.
Evidence-based management
Managers must become more _______ of how they think about managerial problems and not rely on instinct.
scientific
_________ natural ability to guess how people will react is most accurate when coupled with systematic thinking and evidence-based management.
Intuition
Managers use ______ to define objectives, develop theories of causality, and test the theories to determine which employee activities are relevant to the objectives.
big data
Organizational behavior is an _________ behavioral science built on contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines
applied
disciplines that contribute to the OB field
psychology
social psychology
sociology
anthropology
Psychology’s contributions have been mainly at the individual or_______________ while the other disciplines have contributed to our understanding of ________ such as group processes and organization.
micro-level of analysis,
macro concepts
_____________ seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change behavior of humans and other animals.
Psychology
- Those who have contributed and continue to add to the knowledge of OB are:
a. learning theorists
b. personality theorists
c. counseling psychologists
d. industrial and organizational psychologists.
____________generally considered a branch of psychology; blends concepts from both psychology and sociology to focus on peoples’ influence on one another.
social psychology
_____________ studies people in relation to their social environment or culture.
Sociology
____________ the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
Anthropology
Anthropologists’ work on ________________ has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.
cultures and environments
Two people often act very differently in the same situation, and the same person’s behavior changes in different situations.
True
OB concepts must reflect situational, or contingency, conditions.
- We can say x leads to y, but only under conditions specified in z—the contingency variables.
Understanding organizational behavior has never been more important for managers
True
_________ requires employees to become more flexible and cope with rapid change.
Global competition
The ___________________ has brought to the forefront (leading) the challenges of working with and managing people during uncertain times.
global recession
_________ are on the front lines with employees who must be fired, who are asked to make do with less, and who worry about their futures.
managers
Managing employees well when times are good can be just as hard, if not harder, than when times are bad.
True
Managers increasingly find themselves working overseas dealing with a workforce that may hold different needs, aspirations, and attitudes.
Increased foreign assignments
Even if the manager stays in the domestic environment, the workers that the manager deals with may come from different cultures and backgrounds.
Working with people from different cultures
_________ may have to be modified to remain effective.
Motivational techniques and managerial styles
Outsourcing tasks and jobs to low-labor-cost countries may make economic sense, but such decisions are not without local ramifications
Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low-cost labor
One of the most important challenges for organizations is adapting to people who are different. We describe this challenge as _____________
workforce diversity
globalization focuses on differences among people from different countries, workforce diversity addresses differences among people within given countries.
true
Managing this diversity is a _________________
global concern
The majority of the workforce in developed nations works in service jobs.
Improving customer services
poor service experiences can lead to ___________________
organizational failure
Managers must create customer-responsive cultures whose members are:
a. Friendly and courteous
b. Accessible
c. Knowledgeable
d. Prompt in responding to customer needs
e. Willing to do what is necessary to please the customer
allow people to communicate and work together even though they may be thousands of miles apart.
Networked Organizations
The manager’s job is different in a networked organization.
True
employees want jobs that give them flexibility in their work schedules so they can better
manage work-life conflicts
A real growth area in OB research is ___________________
positive organizational scholarship (also called positive organizational behavior),
studies how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
Positive organizational scholarship
key independent variables in positive OB research are _______, _____, _______,_______ in the face of strain
engagement, hope, optimism, and resilience
OB can be examined at three levels, each with its own unique perspective.
3 Levels of Analysis
Examines foundations of individual behavior: personality, values, perception, decision making, motivation, emotions, and moods
Individuals
Examines foundations of individual behavior: personality, values, perception, decision making, motivation, emotions, and moods
Individual Level
Group behavior is more than the sum of the behaviors of the individuals within it; additionally, individuals act differently when in groups.
Group Level
Organizational behavior, while composed of both individual and group behaviors, is more than the sum of its parts. It
describe how an organization’s structure and culture affects individual behavior.
Managers need to develop their _______________________ to be effective in their jobs.
interpersonal skills
- Resist the inclination to rely on generalizations; some provide valid insights into human behavior, but many are erroneous.
- Use metrics and situational variables rather than hunches to explain cause-and-effect relationships.
- Work on your interpersonal skills to increase your leadership potential.
- Improve your technical and conceptual skills through training and staying current with organizational trends like big data.
- Organizational behavior can improve your employees’ work quality and productivity by showing you how to empower your employees, design and implement change programs, improve customer service, and address the work-life balance conflict.
few specific implications for managers
OB’s goal is to _______________________
understand and predict human behavior in organizations
There are several social science disciplines that contribute to OB, but none are more important than ____________
psychology
what do you think is the major OB challenge facing businesses today?
(1) managing diversity or
(2) responding to globalization. Other acceptable answers are:
(3) improving customer service,
(4) improving people skills,
(5) stimulating innovation and change,
(6) coping with “temporariness,”
(7) working in networked organizations,
(8) helping employees balance work-life conflicts, or
(9) improving ethical behavior.
