Organizational Behavior – Chapters 1-5

Question-and-answer flashcards covering major concepts, theories, and definitions from Organizational Behavior Chapters 1-5.

What is Organizational Behavior (OB)?

The study of human behavior in organizational settings and how individuals, groups, and structures affect behavior within organizations.

Define Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Organizational actions intended to benefit society and the environment beyond immediate financial interests or legal obligations.

In OB, what are ethics?

Moral principles that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad.

What does evidence-based management involve?

Using the best available scientific evidence to guide managerial decisions and practices.

How is organizational efficiency defined?

The amount of outputs achieved relative to the inputs used—doing things in a way that maximizes resource utilization.

What is organizational effectiveness?

How well an organization achieves its goals, including adaptability, survival, and stakeholder satisfaction.

What does the organizational learning perspective emphasize?

Effectiveness depends on the capacity to acquire, share, use, and store knowledge for continuous adaptation and improvement.

Explain the open systems perspective.

Organizations are systems that take inputs from the external environment, transform them, and release outputs while continuously adapting to environmental changes.

What are High Performance Work Practices (HPWP)?

HR practices—such as extensive training, employee involvement, and performance-based rewards—that enhance employee skills, commitment, and performance.

According to the stakeholder perspective, when are organizations effective?

When they consider and balance the interests of all stakeholders—employees, customers, suppliers, community—not just shareholders.

What is a main criticism of the Goal Attainment Perspective?

It ignores adaptability and changes in the external environment by focusing only on stated goals.

What is globalization and one of its benefits?

The integration and interdependence of global economies; a benefit is access to larger markets and knowledge sharing.

Name one challenge of globalization.

Increased competition, cultural differences, or varying ethical standards.

What is workforce diversity and one of its benefits?

Variation in gender, age, ethnicity, etc.; a benefit is greater creativity and better decision-making.

Give a challenge associated with workforce diversity.

Potential for conflict, communication barriers, or biases.

What does the multidisciplinary anchor state?

OB draws knowledge from multiple disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and economics.

Describe the systematic research anchor.

OB knowledge should be built on rigorous scientific research rather than personal opinion.

Explain the contingency anchor.

There is no single best way to manage; appropriate actions depend on the situation.

What is meant by the multiple levels of analysis anchor?

Behavior is examined at individual, team, and organizational levels.

How does collectivism differ from individualism?

Collectivism values group goals and harmony; individualism values personal goals and independence.

Define power distance.

The extent to which people accept unequal power distribution in organizations or society.

What is uncertainty avoidance?

The degree to which people tolerate ambiguity; high UA cultures prefer rules and structure.

List the five factors in the Big Five personality model.

Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism (emotional stability), Openness to Experience, Extraversion.

Which Big Five trait is the strongest predictor of job performance?

Conscientiousness.

What are Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB)?

Voluntary behaviors that harm the organization or its members, such as theft or sabotage.

Define motivation.

Internal forces that direct, energize, and sustain behavior.

What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) measure?

Preferences on four dimensions: Extraversion–Introversion, Sensing–Intuiting, Thinking–Feeling, Judging–Perceiving.

How is personality defined in OB?

An enduring pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize a person.

What does the MARS model state?

Behavior and performance are functions of Motivation, Ability, Role perceptions, and Situational factors.

Name the five key types of individual behavior in organizations.

Task performance, Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCB), Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWB), Joining and staying, Maintaining attendance.

How do values differ from personality traits?

Values are stable beliefs about what is important; personality traits describe behavioral tendencies.

What is Schwartz’s value model?

Ten broad values arranged around dimensions like openness-to-change vs. conservation and self-enhancement vs. self-transcendence.

Under which three conditions do values influence behavior?

When the values are relevant to the situation, we are aware of them, and they are consistent with our actions.

Name the three major ethics principles.

Utilitarianism, Individual Rights, and Distributive Justice.

List two factors that influence ethical behavior.

Moral intensity, ethical sensitivity, situational forces, or mindfulness.

Identify five key work-related values highlighted by cross-cultural research.

Individualism, Collectivism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Achievement-Nurturing Orientation.

What is the attribution process?

Deciding whether someone’s behavior is caused by internal or external factors.

Define confirmation bias.

The tendency to seek and interpret information that confirms existing beliefs.

What is the contact hypothesis?

Frequent interaction between groups reduces stereotyping and prejudice.

Define empathy.

Understanding and sharing another person’s feelings and perspectives.

Explain the false-consensus effect.

Overestimating the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

What is fundamental attribution error?

Overemphasizing internal causes and underestimating external causes for others’ behavior.

Describe the halo effect.

One positive trait colors the overall perception of a person.

What is locus of control?

The degree to which people believe they control events (internal) or events control them (external).

Define perception in OB.

The process of receiving, selecting, organizing, and interpreting information about the environment.

What is positive organizational behavior?

An approach focusing on building psychological strengths and resilience among employees.

Explain the primacy effect.

First impressions dominate later perceptions.

Explain the recency effect.

Most recent information dominates perceptions.

What is selective attention?

Focusing on certain stimuli while ignoring others.

Define self-concept.

A person’s identity and beliefs about who they are.

What is self-efficacy?

Belief in one’s capability to perform a specific task.

Explain self-enhancement.

The motivation to maintain and increase a positive self-image.

What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Expectations about another person lead to behavior that causes the expectations to become true.

Define self-serving bias.

Attributing successes to oneself while blaming failures on external factors.

Describe self-verification.

Seeking feedback that confirms one’s self-concept.

Summarize social identity theory.

We define ourselves by group memberships, often leading to in-group favoritism.

What is stereotyping?

Assigning traits to people based on their group membership.

List the three structural dimensions of self-concept.

Complexity, Consistency, and Clarity.

Outline the basic stages of the perceptual process.

Selective attention → Organization → Interpretation.

Name one way to improve perceptions in the workplace.

Increase self-awareness, engage in meaningful interaction, practice empathy, or use the Johari Window for feedback.

Define global mindset.

The ability to perceive and interpret information from multiple cultural perspectives and act appropriately.

What are attitudes?

Clusters of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral intentions toward objects, people, or events.

What is cognitive dissonance?

Emotional discomfort caused by inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors.

Define emotional dissonance.

The stress of displaying required emotions that differ from true feelings (surface acting).

What is emotional intelligence (EI)?

Ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions in oneself and others.

Define emotional labor.

Effort to display organizationally desired emotions during interactions.

What is job satisfaction?

An appraisal of one’s job and work context as fulfilling.

What is organizational (affective) commitment?

Emotional attachment to and involvement with the organization.

What constitutes sexual and psychological harassment?

Unwelcome conduct that humiliates, intimidates, or demeans another person.

Define stress in OB terms.

A psychological response to demands perceived as threatening or exceeding one’s resources.

How do emotion and cognition differ?

Emotions are short-lived experiences; cognition involves logical, deliberate thought—both influence behavior.

List the four components of emotional intelligence.

Self-awareness, Self-management, Social awareness, Relationship management.

What are the EVLN consequences of job dissatisfaction?

Exit, Voice, Loyalty, Neglect.

Give two practices that increase organizational commitment.

Fair treatment (justice), shared values, trust, comprehension of change, or employee involvement.

Describe the stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome.

Alarm → Resistance → Exhaustion.

Name two strategies for managing workplace stress.

Remove the stressor, provide breaks (withdrawal), change perceptions, control consequences, or offer social support.

What is the balanced scorecard approach?

Assessing organizational performance using financial and multiple non-financial measures.

Define distributive justice.

Perceived fairness of the outcomes received relative to inputs.

What is employee engagement?

A state of emotional and cognitive motivation resulting in involvement and commitment to the job.

Explain equity sensitivity.

Individual differences in preference for equity and tolerance for inequity.

State the core idea of equity theory.

People compare their input-output ratios with others and are motivated to reduce perceived inequity.

Summarize the three components of expectancy theory.

Expectancy (effort → performance), Instrumentality (performance → outcomes), Valence (value of outcomes).

List the four drives in Four-Drive Theory.

Drive to Acquire, Bond, Learn, and Defend.

How does goal setting improve performance?

Specific, challenging goals focus effort, increase persistence, and foster strategy development.

Define need for achievement.

A desire to accomplish challenging goals and excel.

Define need for affiliation.

A desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.

Define need for power.

A desire to influence or control others.

What is procedural justice?

Perceived fairness of the processes used to decide outcomes.

Describe social cognitive theory.

People learn by observing others, modeling behaviors, and regulating their own actions through self-reinforcement.

Differentiate needs-based and behavior-based motivation theories.

Needs-based focus on internal drives (e.g., Maslow, McClelland); behavior-based focus on cognitive calculations and reinforcement (e.g., Expectancy, OB Mod, Social Cognitive).

List the key elements of equity theory.

Outcome/input ratio, Comparison other, Equity evaluation, Behavioral/psychological reactions to inequity.

What makes a goal SMART?

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

How do distributive and procedural justice differ?

Distributive justice concerns fairness of outcomes; procedural justice concerns fairness of the decision-making process.