The Nature of Organisational Behaviour

Question 1

Define an ORGANISATION

Answer 1

An organisation is a collection of people who work together and coordinate their actions to achieve a wide variety of goals over some extended period of time.
They may be public, private large, small, family owned, international etc.

Question 2

What types of workers exist inside the organisation?

Answer 2

1. Managerial - these have the responsibility of directing others within the organisation and allocating jobs/roles.
2. Non-managerial - these must follow the instructions given to them by managerial staff to help the organisation achieve its goals.

Question 3

Define ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Answer 3

Organisational behaviour is the study and understanding of individual and group behaviour and patterns of structure in order to help improve organisational performance and effectiveness.

Question 4

How can managers succeed?

Answer 4

Managers must have good people and social skills in order to interact positively with workers and encourage them to work hard, as well as technical skills to make sure the jobs are completed correctly.

Question 5

What are the three types of organisational behaviour?

Answer 5

1. The individual level - studied by psychologists who focus on what motivates individuals.
2. Group level - studied by sociologists who focus on group/social behaviour and what motivates groups to work together.
3. Organisational system level - studied by anthropologists who focus on organisational culture and structure and why contrasting behaviours exist in different cultures.

Question 6

Define ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

Answer 6

Organisational culture describes the values, norms and attitudes of people in an organisation that effects decision making and behaviour towards each other, as well as other stakeholders.

Question 7

What are the forms of employee behaviour?

Answer 7

Performance behaviours, organisational citizenship and counter productive behaviours

Question 8

Describe performance behaviours

Answer 8

These employees only do what is expected of them; nothing more and nothing less. Often it is the bare minimum.

Question 9

Describe organisational citizenship

Answer 9

These employees are creative, show initiative, are committed to their work and loyal to the organisation. They are the people who ‘go the extra mile’ and even help others with their work.

Question 10

Describe counter productive behaviours

Answer 10

These employees use company facilities for their own gain, are often late, gossip instead of working and blame others for their mistakes. They hinder other employees from completing work and achieving their goals.

Question 11

Describe the 5 Factor Model

Answer 11

This is a commonly used psychology model developed by Costa and McCrae in 1992. It is used to measure and develop an understanding of individual differences in personality. The traits are:

1. Openness - curious, independent, lots of interests
2. Conscientiousness - hardworking, dependable, reliable, organised
3. Extroversion - outgoing, warm, seeks adventure
4. Agreeableness - helpful, trusting, empathetic
5. Neuroticism - anxious, unhappy, negative emotions

Question 12

What does the 5 Factor Model affect?

Answer 12

Openness - training performance, leadership, more adaptable to change
Conscientiousness - higher performance, enhanced leadership, greater longetivity
Extroversion - higher job/life satisfaction
Agreeableness - lower levels of deviant behaviour
Neuroticism - stress levels, life/job satisfaction