MGMT 340 Exam #1

Organizational behavior

a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structures have on the behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness

organizational behavior is based on

psychology, social psychology, sociology, anthropology

Attitudes

evaluative statements – either favorable or unfavorable — about objects, people, or events

Cognitive dissonance

the mental discomfort that happens when your attitude conflicts with your behavior

three components of an attitude

cognitive, affective, behavioral

cognitive

= evaluation (My supervisor gave a promotion to a coworkers who deserved it less than I did. my supervisor is unfair)

affective

= feeling (i dislike my supervisor)

behavioral

= action (I’m looking for other work; i’ve complained about my supervisor to anyone who would listen)

early studies on attitudes and behavior

attitudes → behavior

Festinger’s study on attitudes and behavior

behavior → attitudes

behavior =/ attitudes → cognitive dissonance

major job attitudes

job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support (POS), employee engagement

job satisfaction

a positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics

job involvement

the degree of psychological identification with the job where perceived performance is important to self-worth

organizational commitment

identifying with a particular organization and its goals and wishing to maintain membership in the organization

perceived organizational support (POS)

the degree to which the employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being

employee engagement

the degree of involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the job

three dimensions of organizational commitment

affective commitment, continuance commitment, normative commitment

affective commitment

staying because I WANT to; a desire to remain a member of an organization due to an emotional attachment to, and involvement with, that organization

continuance commitment

staying because I NEED to; a desire to remain a member of an organizational because of awareness of the costs associated with leaving it

normative commitment

staying because I OUGHT to; a desire to remain a member of an organization due to a feeling of obligation

main causes of job satisfaction

job conditions, personality, corporate social responsibility

outcomes of job satisfaction

job performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), customer satisfaction, life satisfaction

voice

constructive active response

exit

destructive active response

loyalty

constructive passive response

neglect

destructive passive response

counterproductive work behavior (CWB)

actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing or behaving aggressively

affect

a broad range of feelings that people experience; can be experienced in the form of emotions or moods

emotions

-caused by specific event

-very brief in duration

-specific and numerous in nature

-accomplished by distinct facial expressions

-action-oriented in nature

moods

-cause is often general and unclear

-last longer than emotions

-more general

-not indicated by distinct expressions

-cognitive in nature

six main emotions

anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise

high negative affect moods

upset, stressed, nervous, tense

high positive affect moods

alert, excited, elated, happy

low negative affect moods

content, serene, relaxed, calm

low positive affect moods

fatigued, bored, depressed, sad

moral emotions

emotions that have moral implications because of our instant judgment of the situation that evokes them

positive offset

the tendency of most individuals to experience a mildly positive mood at zero output (when nothing in particular is going on)

emotion & decision making

thinking & feeling → good decision making

emotion & ethical behavior

people who are behaving ethically are at least partially making decisions based on their emotions and feelings, and this emotional reaction will often be a good thing

sources of emotions and moods

personality, time of day, week days, weather, stress, social activities, sleep, exercise, age, gender

emotional labor

employee’s expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transaction at work

felt

the individual’s actual emotions

displayed

required or appropriate emotions

surface acting

hiding one’s inner feelings and foregoing emotional expressions in response to display rules

deep acting

trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on display rules

emotional contagion

the unconscious tendency to mimic and synchronize with the moods, facial expressions, postures, and vocal tones of the people around us

affective events theory (AET)

employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work and this influences job performance and satisfaction

AET prescriptions

-emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace hassles and uplifting events influence employee performance and satisfaction

-emotions, and the events that cause them, should not be ignored at work because they accumulate

emotional intelligence

a person’s ability to: perceive emotions in the self and others, understand the meaning of these emotions, regulate one’s emotions

self awareness

the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives as well as their effect on others

social awareness

the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people, skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions (empathy)

self management

the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods, the propensity to suspend judgement - to think before acting

social skills

proficiency in managing relationships and building networks, an ability to find common ground and build rapport

emotional regulation

identifying and modifying the emotions you feel

strategies for emotional regulation

surface acting, deep acting, emotional suppression, cognitive reappraisal, social sharing

surface acting

“putting on a face” of appropriate response to a given situation; regulation effect is minimal and leads to exhaustion and fewer OCBs if done daily

deep acting

employee is actually trying to experience the emotion; less psychologically costly than surface acting, thus positively impact work outcome

emotional suppression

suppressing initial emotional responses to situations; unless in crisis situations, acknowledging rather than suppressing emotional responses to situations, and re-evaluating events after they occur yields the best outcomes

cognitive reappraisal

reframing our outlook on an emotional situation; allow people to change their emotional responses, even when the subject matter is highly emotionally charged

social sharing

venting; reduce anger reactions when people can talk about the facts of a bad situation, their feelings about the situation, or any positive aspects of the situation

personality

a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system; the sum of all ways in which an individual thinks, behaves, reacts to and interacts with others

Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)

E: talkative, externally focused ←getting energy→ I: quiet, internally focused, abstract

Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)

S: concrete, realistic, practical ←perceiving information→ N: imaginative, future-focused, abstract

Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)

T: logical, objective, impersonal ←making decisions→ F: empathetic, caring, emotion-focused

Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

J: organized, schedule-oriented, closure-focused ←orienting to the external world→ P: spontaneous, adaptable, opportunity-focused

Big 5 factors

openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

openness

imagination, feelings, actions, ideas; low score: practical, conventional, prefers routine ←→ high score: curious, wide range of interests, independent

conscientiousness

competence, self-discipline, thoughtfulness, goal-driven; low score: impulsive, careless, disorganized ←→ high score: hardworking, dependable, organized

extroversion

sociability, assertiveness, emotional expression; low score: quiet, reserved, withdrawn ←→ high score: outgoing, warm, seeks adventure

agreeableness

cooperative, trustworthy, good-natured; low score: critical, uncooperative, suspicious ←→ helpful, trusting, empathetic

neuroticism

tendency towards unstable emotions; low score: calm, even-tempered, secure ←→ high score: anxious, unhappy, prone to negative emotions

Machiavellianism

the degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means

Narcissism

the tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose send of self-importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement. they “think” they are better leaders. often they are selfish and exploitive

psychopathy

the tendency for a lack of concern for others and a lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm

core self-evaluation

bottom line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competence, and worth as a person

self-monitoring

individual’s ability to adjust their behavior to external, situational factors

proactive personality

people who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs

values

basic convictions about what is right, good, or desirable

value system

ranks values in terms of intensity

terminal values

desirable end-states of existence

instrumental values

preferred modes of behavior or mean of achieving terminal values

person-job fit

the match between a worker’s skills, knowledge, abilities, and personal traits and the specific tasks and demands of a role; demands-abilities fit & needs-supplies fit

person-organization fit

argues that people are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values, and they leave organizations that are not compatible with their personalities

hofstede’s five value dimensions

1) individualism-collectivism 2) power distance 3) uncertainty avoidance 4) masculinity-femininity 5) short-term vs long-term orientation

perception

a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions to give meaning to their environment

attribution theory

when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused

external attribution

resulting from outside causes

internal attribution

those that are believed to be under the personal control of the individual

fundamental attribution error

we have a tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors when we analyze another individual’s behavior

self-serving bias

people attribute their own failures to external factors, and their own successes to internal factors

common shortcuts in judging others

selective perception, halo effect contrast effects, stereotyping

selective perception

any characteristic that makes a person, object, or event stand out will increase the probability that it will be perceived

halo effect

occurs when we draw a general impression on the basis of a single characteristic

contrast effects

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

stereotyping

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

self-fulfilling prophecy (pygmalion effect)

people’s expectations determine their behavior

rational decision making steps

1) define the problem → 2) identify the decision criteria → 3) allocate weights to the criteria → 4) develop the alternatives → 5) evaluate the alternatives → 6) select the best alternatives

bounded rationality

decision makers do not have the ability or resources to process all available information and alternatives to make an optimal decision

most people respond to a complex problem by reducing it to a level at which it can be readily understood

satisfice

people seek the first acceptable alternative they encounter, rather than evaluating all alternatives to see which one is best

intuition

occurs outside conscious thought; fast and usually engages the emotions; isn’t rational, but isn’t necessarily wrong