Key Concepts in Organizational Behavior and Leadership

Organization

coordinated social unit composed of multiple people trying to achieve a common goal

Organizational Structure

division of job tasks, grouping, and coordination in an organization

Elements of structure

work specialization, departmentalization, boundary spanning, and centralization

Work specialization

degree of division of activities among jobs

Departmentalization

grouping of jobs together to coordinate common tasks

Boundary spanning

forming relationships outside of assigned groupings

Centralization

concentration of decision making within an organization

Mechanistic model

highly structured, specialized, departmentalized, formal, and centralized

Organic model

lower specialization, more boundary spanning, informal, and decentralized

Culture

set of beliefs and behaviors widely shared by members of a group

Organizational culture

beliefs relatively widely shared within an organization

Strong culture

widely shared, intensely held beliefs

Subcultures

mini cultures with distinctive set of beliefs both similar and dissimilar from the wider organization

Artifacts

tangible, visible manifestations of culture

Assumptions

deeply ingrained ideas or beliefs shaping behavior

Selection

representing culture based on those chosen to join an organization

Socialization

molding newcomers to a culture using behaviors or rituals

Leader-driven change

top-down; changing practices or leaders

Mobilization

bottom-up; influential members mobilize using their informal power to persuade others

Social network

set of actors and how they're connected

Strong ties

frequent interactions or closeness

Weak ties

infrequent interactions and mutual sense of distance

Sparse network

relatively few nodes tied together with many weak ties

Brokers

actors who connect separate areas of a network

Dense network

many nodes are tied to one another

Self similarity

people are inclined to form friendships with similar people

Proximity principle

people tend to densify networks geographically

Shared activities principle

engaging in activities that connect you with diverse others

Power

capacity to influence others by controlling resources others value or depend on

Personal power

power from experience and skills

Expert power

power from knowledge or skills

Referent power

power from charisma

Formal power

power from an organizational role

Reward power

gaining compliance through your ability to reward others

Coercive power

gaining compliance through fear

Legitimate power

gaining compliance through position or status

Liking

people are more likely to comply with someone they like or share similarities with

Reciprocity

people feel obligated to repay others

Social proof

following the lead of similar others

Consistency

people prefer to do things that align with previous actions, particularly those that are concrete or on the record

Authority

deference to perceived experts

Scarcity

people value things when they are less available

Negotiation

process of two or more people deciding on exchange for resources; is a social interaction with an ongoing relationship with the person

Distributive bargaining

dividing a fixed amount; win-lose situation

Integrative bargaining

expands total value through trade-offs

Congruent negotiations

all parties want the same outcome

Optimize joint value

maximize in congruent, compromise in distributive, make trade-offs in integrative

Stages of negotiation

prepare, increase the pie, and claim share

Leadership

ability to influence a group to a shared vision

Trait theories

personal qualities matter most

Behavioral theories

behaviors matter the most

Leadership emergence

extent to which one is viewed as a leader by others

Leadership effectiveness

degree of influence on others towards goals

Follower satisfaction

relationship with leader

Initiating structure

extent of clearly defining roles, goals and tasks

Consideration

building relationships characterized by trust and respect with others

Contingency theories

effectiveness depends on match between approach and situation

Directive leadership

more support and hands-on guidance

Supportive leadership

more autonomy given to subordinates

Forces of disruption

technological changes, economic shocks, environmental changes, social changes, or political changes

Sources of resistance to change

perceptions and decision-making, motivation, group behavior, culture, and power

Designing planned change

intentional, goal-oriented change effort