Chapter 1: Intro to Organizational Behavior – Flashcards

People

Relationships among co-workers and supervisors

Managers with good interpersonal skills-->Work place is more pleasant-->Easier to higher and keep quality people-->Good reputation built at company-->generation of superior financial performance

Organization behavior: field of study that investigates the impact individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness.

3 determinants of behavior: 1. Individuals 2. Group 3. Structure

OB applies the knowledge gained about individuals, groups, and the effect of the structure on behavior in order to make organizations work more effectively

The study of what people do in an organization and how their behavior affects the organizations performance, with an emphasis on behavior as related to concerns such as jobs, work, absenteeism, employment turnover, productivity, human performance, and management.

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1. Motivation 2. Leader behavior and power 3. Interpersonal communication 4. Group structure and processes 5. Attitude development and perception 6. Change processes 7. Conflict and Negotiation 8. Work Design

Behavior is not random

Fundamental consistencies allow predictability

Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and basing conclusions on scientific evidence (data gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner).

Complements systematic study by basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence

"On the fly"

"Gut feelings" about what makes others (and ourselves) "tick"

True

True

Psychology's

Seeks to measure, explain, sometimes change the behavior or humans and other animals

False. None are more important than PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology

Social psychology, Sociology, Anthropology

Sociology and Anthropology

Branch of psychology that blends concepts from both psychology and sociology to focus on people's influence on one another

Change

Studied to see how to implement change and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance

True

False, social psychologists have made many important contributions to our study of group behavior, power, and conflict.

Studies people in relation to their social environment or culture

Research on formal and complex organizations. Sociologists have studied organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, communications, power, and conflict.

Study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities

It has helped us to understand the fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.

True

Situational/contingency conditions

True

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1. Responding to economic pressures 2. Responding to globalization 3. Increased foreign assignments 4. Working with people from different cultures 5. Overseeing movement of jobs to countries with low cost labor 6. Managing work force diversity 7. Improving customer service 8. Improving People Skills 9. Stimulating Innovation and change 10. Coping with temporariness 11. Working in networked organizations 12. Helping employees balance work-life conflicts 13. Improving ethical behavior

Acknowledges a workforce of women and men; many racial and ethnic groups; individuals with a variety of physical or psychological abilities, and people who differ in age and sexual orientation Workforce diversity addresses differences among people within the same country

Situation in which someone is required to identify right and wrong

Managers need to develop their interpersonal, or people, skills to be effective in their jobs. Organizational behavior investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within an organization, and it applies that knowledge to make organizations work more effectively. Specifically, OB focuses on how to improve productivity, reduce absenteeism, turnover, and deviant workplace behavior, and increase organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction. Here are a few specific implications for managers: 1. Some generalizations provide valid insights into human behavior, but many are erroneous. Organizational behavior uses systematic study to improve predictions of behavior over intuition alone. 2. Because people are different, we need to look at OB in a contingency framework, using situational variables to explain cause and effect relationships. 3. Organizational behavior offers specific insights to improve a manager's people skills 4. It helps managers to see the value of workforce diversity and practices that may need to be changed in different countries. 5. It can improve quality and employee productivity by showing managers how to empower their people, design and implement change programs, improve customer service, and help employees balance work-life conflicts. 6. It can help managers cope in a world of temporariness and learn how to stimulate innovation 7. OB can guide managers in creating an ethically healthy work climate.