MNGT 3460: Organizational Behavior Notes (Ch 1-4)

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Chapters 1–4 of the notes.

Organizational Behavior

Field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and improving the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations.

Human Resource Management

Field focused on applying organizational behavior theories and principles within organizations.

Strategic Management

Field dedicated to exploring product choices and industry characteristics that affect an organization’s profitability.

Job Performance

Primary behavior a firm aims to improve; the overall effectiveness of an employee’s work toward organizational goals.

Resource-Based View of Organizations

Model arguing that rare and inimitable resources help firms maintain a competitive advantage.

Inimitable

Incabable of being imitated or copied.

History (as a resource-based concept)

A collective pool of experience, wisdom, and knowledge created by people that benefits the organization.

Numerous Small Decisions

Everyday decisions by people that are often invisible to competitors but contribute to competitive advantage.

Socially Complex Resources

Resources created by people (e.g., culture, teamwork, trust, reputation) where replication is unclear.

Rule of 1/8

Approximately 1/8 of organizational leaders engage in comprehensive organizational behavior efforts; about half believe in the profit-management link, half of those persist with extensive changes, yielding roughly 1/8 who implement comprehensive OB initiatives.

Method of Experience

Belief formed because it aligns with a person’s own experiences and observations.

Method of Intuition

Belief that seems obvious or self-evident, based on intuition.

Method Authority

Belief grounded in statements from a respected official source or authority.

Method of Science

Belief supported by evidence from scientific studies that replicate results across samples and settings.

The Scientific Method

Systematic collection of assertions and hypotheses about how variables relate, along with conditions for those relations.

Hypothesis

Written prediction specifying a relationship between variables.

Correlation (r)

Statistical relationship between two variables; ranges from 0 to |1|; does not imply causation.

Meta-analysis

Method that combines results from multiple studies to produce a weighted average correlation.

Evidence-based Management

Perspective advocating that scientific findings should form the foundation for management education and practice.

Task Performance

Employee behaviors directly involved in producing goods or services.

Routine Task Performance

Well-known, habitual responses to predictable task demands.

Adaptive Task Performance

Thoughtful responses by employees to unique or unusual task demands.

Creative Task Performance

Development of outputs that are novel and useful.

Job Analysis

Process by which an organization determines the requirements of specific jobs.

Occupational Information Network (O*NET)

Online database that provides job summaries and details.

O*NET

The Occupational Information Network; a resource for job information and summaries.

Citizenship Behavior

Voluntary employee behaviors that contribute to organizational goals by improving the organizational context.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)

Going beyond normal expectations to help and defend the organization and stay loyal to it.

Voice

Speaking up with constructive suggestions for change in response to negative events.

Civic Virtue

Active participation in company operations at a deeper level, such as voluntary meetings and staying informed.

Boosterism

Positively representing the organization in public settings.

Interpersonal Citizenship Behavior

Helping, courtesy, and sportsmanship that support coworkers and the work environment.

Helping

Assisting coworkers with heavy workloads or personal matters and guiding new employees.

Courtesy

Sharing important information with coworkers to facilitate work.

Sportsmanship

Maintaining a positive attitude toward coworkers during good and bad times.

Counterproductive Behavior

Employee behaviors that intentionally hinder organizational goals.

Property Deviance

Harm to an organization’s assets or possessions.

Theft

Stealing company products or equipment.

Production Deviance

Intentionally reducing organizational efficiency or performance.

Political Deviance

Actions that intentionally disadvantage other individuals.

Personal Aggression

Hostile verbal or physical actions directed toward coworkers.

Knowledge Work

Jobs that primarily involve cognitive activity rather than physical activity.

Service Work

Work that involves providing a service and often requires physical activity.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Management philosophy that bases evaluations on whether specific goals have been met.

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

Performance assessment method using examples of critical incidents to anchor ratings.

360 Degree Feedback

Performance evaluation system gathering ratings from supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers, and self.

Forced Ranking

System where managers rank subordinates relative to one another.

Organizational Commitment

Employee’s desire to remain a member of the organization.

Withdrawal Behavior

Employee actions aimed at avoiding or reducing participation in work.

Affective Commitment

Emotion-based desire to stay with an organization due to emotional attachment.

Continuance Commitment

Desire to stay due to perceived costs of leaving and embeddedness.

Embeddedness

An employee’s connection and fit within the organization and community.

Normative Commitment

Obligation-based desire to stay with an organization.

Exit

Active withdrawal that publicly supports changing the situation while privately hoping for improvement.

Loyalty

Positive withdrawal response: publicly supports the situation while privately hoping for improvement.

Neglect

Passive, destructive withdrawal with reduced work effort and interest.

Psychological Withdrawal

Mental escape from the work environment (daydreaming, socializing, cyberslacking).

Physical Withdrawal

Physical escape from the work environment (tardiness, absenteeism, quitting).

Independent Forms Model

Withdrawal behaviors are uncorrelated; engaging in one does not imply others.

Compensatory Forms Model

Withdrawal behaviors are negatively correlated; engaging in one type reduces others.

Progression Model

Withdrawal behaviors are positively correlated; one type increases likelihood of others.

Stars

Employees with high commitment and high task performance.

Citizens

Employees with high commitment but low task performance, yet high citizenship behavior.

Lone Wolves

Low commitment and high task performance, motivated for personal goals.

Apathetics

Low commitment and low task performance; minimal effort to maintain employment.

Diversity of the Workplace

Growing diversity in demographics, foreign-born employees, and age.

Psychological Contracts

Beliefs about what employees owe the organization and what the organization owes them.

Transactional Contracts

Psychological contracts focusing on specific monetary obligations.

Relational Contracts

Psychological contracts addressing broad, open-ended obligations.

Perceived Organizational Support

The degree to which employees believe the organization values their contributions and well-being.

Job Satisfaction

A pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job.

Value-Percept Theory

Theory that job satisfaction depends on whether a job supplies things that employees value.

Dissatisfaction Formula

Dissatisfaction = (Vwant − Vhave) × (VImportance).

Pay Satisfaction

Employees’ feelings about compensation for their jobs.

Promotion Satisfaction

Employees’ feelings about how promotions are handled.

Meaningfulness of Work

Perceived significance of work tasks and their impact on society.

Responsibility for Outcomes

Feeling of being a key driver of work quality and results.

Knowledge of Results

Awareness of how well one is performing.

Work Itself as a Predictor

The job itself often has the strongest correlation with overall job satisfaction.

Job Characteristics Theory

Theory that five (or six in some presentations) core job characteristics influence satisfaction.

Variety

Degree to which a job requires different activities and skills.

Identity

Degree to which a job offers a complete piece of work.

Significance

Degree to which a job matters and impacts society.

Autonomy

Degree of freedom and discretion in how work is done.

Feedback

Degree to which the job provides information about performance.

Knowledge and Skill

The level of aptitude and competence required to perform the job.

Job Enrichment

Redesign that expands core job characteristics to increase motivation.

Job Crafting

Proactively shaping and molding one’s job to fit preferences and strengths.

Affective Events Theory

Theory that workplace events trigger emotions, which influence behavior.

Moods

Mild, long-lasting emotional states not directed at a specific target.

Emotions

Intense, short-lived feelings directed at someone or something.

Emotional Labor

Managing emotions to meet job requirements.

Emotional Contagion

Idea that emotions can transfer from one person to another.

Life Satisfaction

Overall sense of happiness with life; changes in job satisfaction can affect life satisfaction.

Correlations Between Job Satisfaction and Job Performance

Job satisfaction has a moderately positive effect on job performance.

Correlations Between Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

Job satisfaction has a strong positive effect on organizational commitment.