Organization Behavior Test 2

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering individual workspace attitudes, behaviors, motivation theories, job design, performance appraisal, incentives, stress, and emotions as outlined in the course transcript.

Attitude

Refers to our opinions, beliefs, and feelings about aspects of our environment.

Job satisfaction

The feelings people have toward their job; often considered the most important job attitude.

Organizational commitment

The emotional attachment people have toward the company they work for.

Affective disposition

A tendency to experience positive moods more often than negative moods.

Psychological contract

An unwritten understanding about what the employee will bring to the work environment and what the company will provide in exchange.

Psychological contract breach

Occurs when an employee does not receive what they expected from the company based on their unwritten understanding, leading to low satisfaction.

Organizational justice

The perception of how fairly an employee is treated regarding company policies, treatment from supervisors, and rewards.

Role ambiguity

A stressor involving vagueness in relation to what an employee's responsibilities are.

Role conflict

Facing contradictory demands at work where satisfying one demand makes it unlikely to satisfy the other.

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB)

Voluntary behaviors employees perform to help others and benefit the organization that are not part of their formal job description.

General mental ability

Also known as cognitive abilities, it includes reasoning abilities, verbal and numerical skills, analytical skills, and overall intelligence.

Referent power

The ability to earn the respect of people who work with and for you, as well as your customers and investors.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

A theory proposing that human beings have needs hierarchically ranked as physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization.

Self-actualization

The highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy, defined as becoming all you are capable of becoming.

ERG theory

A modification of Maslow's theory that groups needs into existence, relatedness, and growth.

Frustration-regression hypothesis

A part of ERG theory suggesting that individuals who are frustrated in their attempts to satisfy one need may regress to another.

Hygiene factors

Factors in the two-factor theory that are part of the context of the job, such as company policies, supervision, and salary; their absence causes dissatisfaction.

Motivators

Factors intrinsic to the job that encourage employees to try harder, such as achievement, recognition, and growth opportunities.

Need for achievement

The acquired need to be successful and improve performance, particularly suited for positions like sales or entrepreneurship.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

A method used to assess an individual’s dominant needs by having them write a story based on an ambiguous picture.

Need for power

A desire to influence others and control one’s environment.

Equity theory

A process-based theory stating that individuals are motivated by a sense of fairness based on comparing their input-to-outcome ratio to a referent.

Distributive justice

The degree to which the outcomes received from the organization are perceived to be fair.

Procedural justice

The degree to which fair decision-making procedures are used to arrive at an organizational decision.

Interactional justice

The degree to which people are treated with respect, kindness, and dignity in interpersonal interactions.

Expectancy theory

Proposes that individual motivation is determined by a rational calculation of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.

Instrumentality

The degree to which a person believes that performance is related to subsequent outcomes, such as rewards.

Valence

The anticipated satisfaction that will result from an outcome or reward.

Positive reinforcement

Increasing desired behavior by ensuring the behavior is met with positive consequences.

Negative reinforcement

Increasing desired behavior by the removal of unpleasant outcomes once the behavior is demonstrated.

Extinction

Decreasing the frequency of negative behaviors by removing rewards following the behavior.

Punishment

Reducing the frequency of undesirable behaviors by presenting negative consequences following them.

Organizational Behavior Modification (OB Mod)

A systematic application of reinforcement theory to modify employee behaviors in the workplace through five stages.

Scientific management

A philosophy based on identifying the most efficient method to perform a job to minimize waste.

Job specialization

Breaking down jobs into their simplest components and assigning them to employees for repetitive performance.

Job rotation

Moving employees from job to job at regular intervals to acquire new skills and reduce boredom.

Job enlargement

Expanding the tasks performed by employees to add more variety.

Job enrichment

A redesign technique that allows workers more control over how they perform their own tasks and adds responsibility.

Skill variety

The extent to which a job requires a person to utilize multiple high-level skills.

Task identity

The degree to which a person is in charge of completing an identifiable piece of work from start to finish.

Autonomy

The degree to which a person has the freedom to decide how to perform his or her tasks.

Motivating potential score (MPS)

A formula used to calculate a job's motivational properties: $( (\text{Skill Variety} + \text{Task Identity} + \text{Task Significance}) \div 3 ) \times \text{Autonomy} \times \text{Feedback}$.

Empowerment

The removal of conditions that make a person powerless, enabling employees to make decisions and feel their work is meaningful.

SMART goal

A goal that is specific, measurable, aggressive, realistic, and time-bound.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

A systematic approach to align individual and organizational goals through corporate strategy.

360-degree feedback

A system where performance feedback is gathered from supervisors, peers, subordinates, and sometimes customers.

Piece rate systems

Incentive systems where employees are paid on the basis of individual output they produce.

Gainsharing

A companywide program where employees are rewarded for performance gains, such as reducing labor costs, compared to past performance.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A model describing the body's reaction to stress in three steps: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Information overload

Occurs when information processing demands on an individual's time exceed their capacity to process the information.

Flow

A state of consciousness in which a person is totally absorbed in an activity, feeling alert and in effortless control.

Telecommuting

The practice of working remotely, such as from home or a satellite office, for some portion of the workweek.

Affective Events Theory (AET)

Argues that specific events on the job cause people to feel different emotions, which then inspire actions affecting others at work.

Emotional labor

The regulation of feelings and expressions for organizational purposes, common in service industries.

Surface acting

Exhibiting physical signs, such as smiling, that reflect emotions customers want to experience, regardless of true feelings.

Deep acting

Actively trying to experience the emotion one is displaying to the customer.

Cognitive dissonance

A mismatch among emotions, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior.

Emotional intelligence

Developing increased awareness of your own and others' emotions, consisting of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.