Chapter 1: Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental terminology, OB anchors, and organizational effectiveness perspectives from Chapter 1.

Organizational Behavior (OB)

The study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations.

Organizations

Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose, operating as collective entities with a collective sense of purpose.

Work-Life Balance

The degree of conflict between an individual's work and nonwork demands.

Telecommuting

An employment arrangement (also known as teleworking or remote work) where employees work from home one or more workdays.

Surface-Level Diversity

Observable demographic or physiological differences in people, such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, and physical capabilities.

Deep-Level Diversity

Differences in the psychological characteristics of employees, including personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes.

Systematic Research Anchor

The OB anchor stating that organizational behavior knowledge should be built on scientific research involving research questions, data collection, and hypothesis testing.

Evidence-Based Management

The practice of making decisions and taking actions based on research evidence rather than personal beliefs or untested fads.

Multidisciplinary Anchor

The OB anchor establishing that concepts are imported from other fields, such as psychology, sociology, and communications, while OB develops its own unique theories.

Contingency Anchor

The OB anchor recognizing that a particular action may have different consequences in different situations, meaning no single solution is universally best.

Multiple Levels of Analysis Anchor

The OB anchor asserting that topics should be understood across individual, team, and organizational levels of analysis.

Organizational Effectiveness

The ultimate dependent variable in OB, best described as a composite of open systems, organizational learning, high-performance work practices, and stakeholder perspectives.

Open Systems Perspective

A perspective viewing organizations as complex systems that depend on the external environment to transform inputs into outputs through efficient and adaptable internal subsystems.

Organizational Learning Perspective

A perspective that views organizational effectiveness as the company's capacity to acquire, share, use, and store valuable knowledge.

Intellectual Capital

An organization's stock of knowledge, consisting of human capital, structural capital, and relationship capital.

Human Capital

The knowledge, skills, and abilities that people possess and generate.

Structural Capital

Knowledge captured and retained within organizational systems and structures.

Relationship Capital

The value derived from satisfied customers, reliable suppliers, and other positive external relationships.

High-Performance Work Practices (HPWPs)

Workplace practices that enhance human capital, consisting primarily of employee involvement, job autonomy, competence development, and performance- and skill-based rewards.

Stakeholders

Any entities who affect or are affected by the organization's objectives and actions, such as employees, shareholders, suppliers, unions, and the community.

Values

Relatively stable, evaluative beliefs that guide preferences for outcomes or courses of action in various situations.

Ethics

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

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Organizational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond the firm's immediate financial interests or legal obligations.

Integrative Model of OB

A comprehensive framework depicting how organizational, individual, and team inputs and processes drive individual, team, and organizational outcomes.