Test #1

Question 1

What is Organizational Behavior & What Disciplines comprise it?

Answer 1

A field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within organizations. The human side of mgmt.

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Anthropology

Question 2

Psychology

Answer 2

the study of the mind and behavior

Attitudes, Personality, motivation, decision making, inter group behavior, conflict

Question 3

Sociology

Answer 3

study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior
(Inter group behavior, conflict, organizational structure, organizational change)

Question 4

Anthropology

Answer 4

The study of humans, past and present, with a focus on understanding the human conditions culturally (Organizational culture, power)

Question 5

Different kinds of research methods

Answer 5

• Theory
• model
• Variable
• Experiment
• Survey
• Observation
• Case Study

Question 6

Different Kinds of Variables

Answer 6

• Independent Variable
• Mediating Variable
• Dependent Variable
• Moderating Variable

Question 7

Independent Variable

Answer 7

(Input/Cause) factors that exist in advance of employment relationships.
o	Exist within the individual
o	Assigned immediately 
o	Already in organization
o	Lead to processes

Question 8

Mediating Variable

Answer 8

(Process) explains the mechanism that underlies the relationship b/t IV and DV
o Thoughts, feeling, and behaviors that individuals, groups, and organizations engage in as a result of IV
o Leads to a certain outcome (DV)
o Answers the question “WHY?”

Question 9

Dependent Variable

Answer 9

(Outcomes) key variables that you want to explain or predict.
o Variables that are affected by some other variables
o What are you interested in explaining or accounting for in the first place?

Question 10

Moderating variables

Answer 10

situational factors that moderate the relationship b/t independent and dependent variables. (contingency variables)
o These variables make the main relationship b/t 2 variable change
o The relationship may hold for one condition, but not for another

Question 11

What factors determine job satisfaction

Answer 11

Pay, Personality, Social support (supervisor, coworker), the work itself, autonomy, working conditions, stress, task significance, promotional opportunity, skill identity, skill variety, workload, feedback

Question 12

Different theories that explain the link between attitudes and behavior

Answer 12

• Cognitive Dissonance

- Self-Perception Theory

Question 13

Cognitive Dissonance

Answer 13

any incompatibility b/t two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes
o CD Theory – when there is an inconsistency b/t attitudes and/or behavior, it causes discomfort
o Can be reduced by: changing your attitudes or behavior, belittling the importance of the inconsistent attitude or behavior, finding consonant elements that outweigh dissonant ones.

Question 14

Self-Perception Theory

Answer 14

people come to know their own attitudes by looking at their behavior and the context in which it occurred and inferring what their attitudes must be
o Looking “outward” rather than “inward”

Question 15

The nature of the relationship between personality and behavior

Answer 15

• Personality doesn’t always predict behavior
  -Is personality or situation most important in determining a person’s behavior?
  o Interactionist Approach – OB is a function of both situations and dispositions. To predict and understand OB, we need to know something about an individual’s personality and the work setting

Question 16

Different personality characteristics

Answer 16

• Conscientiousness – dependable, organized, reliable, ambitious, hardworking, persevering
• Agreeableness – kind, cooperative, sympathetic, helpful, courteous, warm
• Neuroticism – nervous, moody, emotional, insecure, jealous, unstable
• Openness – curious, imaginative, creative, complex, refined, sophisticated
• Extraversion – talkative, sociable, passionate, assertive, bold, dominant

Question 17

Conscientiousness

Answer 17

dependable, organized, reliable, ambitious, hardworking, persevering

Question 18

Agreeableness

Answer 18

kind, cooperative, sympathetic, helpful, courteous, warm

Question 19

Neuroticism

Answer 19

nervous, moody, emotional, insecure, jealous, unstable

Question 20

Openness

Answer 20

curious, imaginative, creative, complex, refined, sophisticated

Question 21

Extraversion

Answer 21

talkative, sociable, passionate, assertive, bold, dominant

Question 22

Emotional intelligence

Answer 22

o Perceive emotions in the self and others
o Understand the meanings of emotions
o Regulate one’s emotions accordingly

Question 23

Attribution theory and associated errors

Answer 23

o Fundamental Attribution Error

o Self-Serving Bias

Question 24

Self-Serving Bias

Answer 24

individuals tend to attribute their successes to internal factors and failures to external factors

Question 25

Fundamental Attribution Error

Answer 25

the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors

Question 26

Different perceptual biases

Answer 26

Selective perception Halo (And Horns) Effect Contrast Effect Stereotypes

Question 27

Selective perception

Answer 27

the tendency to selectively interpret things on the basis of one’s interests, background, experience, and attitudes

Question 28

Halo (And Horns) Effect

Answer 28

the tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic

Question 29

Contrast Effect

Answer 29

we do not evaluate a person in isolation; our reaction to one person is influenced by other persons we have recently encountered

Question 30

Stereotypes

Answer 30

judging someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he or she belongs

Question 31

Rational Model of Decision-Making:

Answer 31

``` o Define the problem o Identify the criteria o Weight the criteria o Generate alternatives o Rate each alternative on each criterion o Compute the optimal decision ```

Question 32

Different heuristics that lead to bias

Answer 32

Anchoring heuristic Availability heuristic Escalation of Commitment

Question 33

Anchoring heuristic

Answer 33

a tendency to fixate on initial info and to fail to adjust for subsequent info

Question 34

Availability heuristic

Answer 34

the tendency to base judgments on information that is readily available; our thinking is strongly influenced by what is most personally relevant, recent, or dramatic

Question 35

Escalation of Commitment

Answer 35

staying with a decision even when there is clear evidence that it’s wrong. “Sunk Cost Fallacy”

Question 36

Representative bureaucracy

Answer 36

-Public orgs should be representative of the people they serve; if the representativeness of the public workforce is increased, bureaucracies will more effectively serve the interests of the people; a public workforce that has the same pattern of gender, race, and other characteristics as the population.

Question 37

Explanations for underrepresentation of groups in public and nonprofit sector leadership. Why is this a problem?

Answer 37

``` Stereotyping and Discrimination Similarity-based explanations Social categorization theory Ingroup favoritism Individual Difference Explanations Interpersonal Explanations Institutional Explanations ```

Question 38

How organizations can leverage and manage diversity

Answer 38

-Leveraging – proper leadership, emphasizing common, superordinate goals, intergroup contact theory -Managing - creating organizational changes that enable all people to perform up to their maximum potential; the process through which managers make everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others o Addressing the representation of the workforce  Diversity programs  Creating an environment that values diversity

Question 39

Managing

Answer 39

creating organizational changes that enable all people to perform up to their maximum potential; the process through which managers make everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others

Question 40

Leveraging

Answer 40

proper leadership, emphasizing common, superordinate goals, intergroup contact theory

Question 41

Descriptive Stereotypes

Answer 41

sterotypes that describe what men and women are like

Question 42

Prescriptive Sterotypes

Answer 42

stereotypes that describe what women and men should be like