managment
...mal authority relationships, and chain of command. Focus of Organizational Behavior: OB focuses on two majors areas: First, OB looks at individual behavior includes such topics as attitudes, personality, perception, learning and motivation. Second, OB is concerned with group behavior, which includes norms, roles, team building, leadership and conflict. Goals of organizational behavior: The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence behavior. What are the three components of an attitude? Attitudes are made up of three components: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. What is organizational citizenship behavior? Organizational citizenship behavior is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but promotes the effective functioning of the organization. Examples of OCB include helping others on one’s work team, volunteering for extended job activities, avoiding unnecessary conflicts, and making constructive statements about one’s work group and organizations. Explain how individuals reconcile inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviors. When there is inconsistency between attitudes and behaviors, individuals will take steps to correct it by altering either the attitudes or the behavior, or by developing a rationalization for the inconsistency. Describe the relationship between job satisfaction and productivity. If job satisfaction does have a positive effect on productivity, it is quite small. The relationship is stronger when the employee’s behavior isn’t constrained or controlled by outside factors and for employees in higher-level jobs. Contrast the MBTI and the big-five models in terms of understanding personality. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) consists of 100-plus questions that ask people how they usually act or feel in different situations and places them in one category in each of four dimensions (extrovert or introvert in social interaction, sensing or intuitive in data gathering, feeling or thinking in decision making, and perceptive or judgmental in decision making). The MBTI is very popular but lacks evidence to support its validity. The big-five model is supported by research showing that important relationships exist between job performance and five personality dimensions (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). Describe the five personality traits that have proved to be the most powerful in explaining individual behavior in organizations. Five specific personality traits that are the most powerful in explaining behavior are locus of control (the belief that we control our own destiny), Machiavellian’s (pragmatism, emotional distance, and the belief that ends justify means), self-esteem (the degree to which we like or dislike ourselves), self-monitoring (an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to situational factors), and risk taking (our willingness to take chances). What role does attribution theory play in perception? Attribution theory has been developed to explain how we judge or perceive people differently depending on what meaning we attribute to a given behavior we observe. One area of emotions research that’s offered new insights into personality is emotional intelligence (EI), which is an assortment of noncognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influence a person’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. It’s composed of 5 dimensions: Self-awareness: the ability to be aware of what you’re feeling. Self-management: the ability to manage one’s own emotions and impulses. Self-motivation: the ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures. Empathy: the ability to sense how others are feeling. Social skills: the ability to handle the emotions of others. EI has been shown to be positively related to job performance at all levels. EI appears to be especially relevant to success in jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction. CHAPTER 15 - Understanding Groups and Teams A group is defined as two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve particular objectives. Formal groups are work groups established by the organization and who have designated work assignments and specific tasks. Examples of Formal Groups Command groups Basic, traditional work groups by formal authority. Ex: Manager and those employees who report directly to him/her. Cross-functional teams Groups whose members have been trained to do each other’s jobs. Self-managed teams Take on traditional management responsibilities such as hiring, planning, scheduling, and performance evaluation. Task forces Temporary groups created to accomplish a specific task. Once task is complete, the group is disbanded. The five stages of group development I Forming people join the group and then define the group’s purpose, structure, and leadership. II Storming intragroup conflict occurs around resistance to the group and over who will control the group. III Norming the group structure solidifies and accepts a common set of expectations about member behavior. IV Performing the group performs the task at hand and fully functional. V Adjourning the group prepares to disband. Informal groups are natural social formations that appear in the work environment as a response to the need for social contact. Alignment of Group and Organizational Goals Cohesiveness Low High High Low Strong Increase in Productivity Moderate Increase in Productivity Decrease in Productivity No significant Effect on Productivity BASIC GROUP CONCEPTS A role is a set of behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a given position in a social unit. Role conflict can occur when an individual is confronted with different role expectations. Norms are acceptable standards or expectations shared by a group’s members. Status is a prestige grading, position, or rank within a group. Small groups complete tasks faster than larger groups. Large gr...