BU288 Final

What are the 7 main causes of conflict?

1. Group Identification + Intergroup Bias

2. Interdependence -> Creates a power structure

3. Power (oneway, unjust hierarchies)

4. Status (think marketing hating sales)

5. Culture: different cultures (e.g. administrators vs doctors)

6. Ambiguity: of goals, jurisdictions and performance criteria

7. Scarce resources

What are the 3 main kinds of conflict

1. Relationship conflict (interpersonal tension related to relationship not a task)

2. Task Conflict (disagreements about nature of task to be done)

3. Process Conflict (disagreement about how work should be organized and accomplished)

What two kinds of conflict are the most detrimental to team performance and membership satisfaction

Relationship and process conflict

Michelle works at a horse breeding farm. She's finding that her and her colleagues Imaad and Arthur are having numerous disagreements about whether or not they should consider implementing a new breeding system and what the overall farms' goals are. This plan has never been done before at the company, and the decision to go with this is non-routine. What kind of conflict are they experiencing, and is it a bad thing?

They are experiencing task conflict.

It's not a bad thing because for non-routine tasks that require a diversity of perspectives, some level of task conflict is beneficial.

Arthur's cat acrobatics stadium is looking to merge with a smaller stadium to use as a training facility. Arthur's negotiation team includes a number of employees, including James, Michelle and Imaad. Since Imaad is a debate lord, he often enjoys playing devil's advocate and is quite aggressive about it. Should conflict arise within the negotiation, what are the 6 steps it will go through?

1. Arthur's team will start to look at "winning" than trying to come up with a good solution

2. Both teams will start to conceal information from each other or pass on distorted information

3. Both teams will become more cohesive, punishing deviants like Imaad and expecting strict conformity

4. Arthur will not want to contact the other party except in formal conditions

5. The opposing party will be negatively stereotyped, the image of one's own position is boosted.

6. Imaad might become the leader in the negotiation as he is more aggressive.

James is not happy with the work allocation at Michelle's horse breeding farm, and brings it up to his boss (Michelle). He's currently also gunning for a promotion at the company and Michelle's the one to do that. What kind of conflict is he experiencing vis-a-vis Michelle, and what would be the best conflict managing strategy to manage it?

Process conflict -> because it is related to work allocation

the best strategy in this case is to be accommodating as James is looking to build good will with Michelle

When should you use each of the 5 ways of managing conflict?

1. Competing: you have power, you're sure of facts, situation is such that you won't have to work with the other party later

2. Avoiding: issue is trivial, you lack information, the opposition is powerful+hostile

3. Compromise: Scarce resources and if it's a last resort

4. Collaborating: best when not intense conflict, each party has useful information

5. Accommodating: when you're wrong, more important to build good will

What role does personality play between (Stressors and stress) and (stress and stress reactions)

personality plays the role of the moderating variable

Walk through the differences between Stressors, Stress, and Stress Reactions

Stressor: environmental conditions that could induce stress

Stress: psychological reactions to demands by the stressor that have the potential to make a person feel tense or anxious

Stress Reactions: Consequences of those reactions

What are the 3 different ways that personality affects stress

1. Internal Locus of Control -> Able to confront stress directly

2. Type A personalities -> more stress, workaholism

3. Negative Affectivity: more work stressors

Jimmy is facing a lot of stress. He works as the public relations officer at Michelle's horse breeding farm. He's always juggling the demands of Michelle and of the public with what information he should be disseminating. What kind of role does Jimmy have? What kind of conflict is he experiencing that is leading to stress? What's the other source of stress someone in his role might experience?

Role: boundary role

Conflict: Intersender role conflict between the public and Michelle

Other source: burnout

What are 2 sources of conflict expreicned by executives and managers?

1. Role overload: too many tasks, too little time

2. heavy responsibility having big consequences

What 2 sources of conflict are experienced by labourers (or operatives)

1. Poor physical working conditions

2. Poor job design: simple jobs for complex people

What's the opposite of burnout?

engagement

What are the 3 components burnout?

1. emotional exhaustion

2. cynicism

3. low self-efficacy

How does the job-demands resources model relate to the burnout-engagement continuum

the JDR model specifies how demands cause burnout and how resources cause engagement

What are the 4 main methods that organizations can reduce conflict & stress?

1. Job redesign: reduce stressful characteristics, giving more autonomy in service jobs

2. Family-friendly HR policies

3. Stress Management programs

4. WLB, Fitness + Wellness Programs

What are the components of work engagement and why do we want them?

1. Vigor

2. Dedication

3. Absorption

We want them because we end up with better performers and more organizational citizenship behaviour

Discuss some behavioural reactions to stress

1. Problem Solving, mitigating the stressor

2. Social support seeking

3. Change performance

4. Withdrawal

5. Presenteeism: attending work when sick

6. Substance Abuse

Discuss some psychological reactions to stress

Defense mechanisms:

1. Rationalization

2. Projection

3. Displacement

4. Reaction Formation (when u say ur fine but ur rly not lmao stop lying to urself Imaad)

5. Compensation

What are some common job demands vs some common resources according to the JDR model

Demands:

1. Overload

2. Time pressure

3. Role Ambiguity

4. Role Conflict

Resources:

1. Organization

2. Social Relations

3. organization of work

4. Task itself

How do we define leadership in OB?

Influence that particular individual have on the goal achievement of others in an organizational context

how do strategic and formal leadership differ?

strategic leadership involves flexibility, anticipation and envisioning the future

formal leadership is when certain roles exist such that the leader is expected to influence. These leaders are given authority but don't always actually lead

what does the trait theory of leadership posit? What are some of its major pros and cons?

Trait theory of leadership: leadership depends on personal characteristics qualities or traits of the leader

Pros: suport in some research relating the big 5 traits with leadership

cons:

1. causal arrow is unclear

2. mediating variables unknown

3. leads to bias and discrimination

What theory does the trait theory of leadership relate to with respect to how people see leaders?

leadership categorization theory: people are more likely to view somebody as a leader and to evaluate them as an effective leader if they possess prototypical characteristics

James' horse beating farm is undergoing some major changes to the organization. In particular, James is looking down to step down as CAO (Chief Abuse Officer) and hire a new person in the position. In the situational interview for the CAO position, James found that Jimmy performed the best and led the group to victory in a volleyball game. James concludes that Jimmy is going to be the best leader for the farm. What limitation of the trait theory of leadership is James ignoring?

Limitation: trait theory doesn't consider the situation.

Jimmy would excel as a leader in a volleyball scenario because he plays a lot of volleyball. This may not translate into the workplace.

What are the 4 key behaviours that leaders exhibit? Identify and describe them.

Carl Immediately Slides into Role Playing

1. Consideration (approachability, personal concern/respect)

2. Initiating Structure (concentration on group goal attainment)

3. Leadership Reward Behaviour (use of compliments, benefits, deserved special treatment)

4. Leadership Punishment Behaviour (use of reprimands, unfavourable task assignments, withholding of rewards)

What are the major consequences of the 4 key leadership behaviours

Consideration -> Follower Motivation

Initiating Structure -> Group Performance

LRB -> works best if tied to performance (reinforcement)

LPB -> works best if tied to a behaviour

both LRB and LPB lead to lowered role ambiguity

Contrast the situational theories with the trait theory of leadership

Whereas the trait theory neglected the situation, the situational theories make the situation paramount.

They say that the setting influences the employee's characteristics and the organization's characteristics determines leader effectiveness

What are the 2 theories under the situational theories of leadership category?

1. Contingency theory -> leadership effectiveness is contingent on how favourable the situation is for exerting influence (this is that crazy octant graph)

2. Path-goal theory -> concerned w/ situations under which different leadership behaviours are effective. It says that the outcomes are moderated by situational factors alongside the leadership behaviour

Under contingency theory of leadership, what characteristics create high favourableness for exerting influence.

1. Leader-Member relations are good

2. Task is structured

3. Position Power is strong

4. The leader is task oriented

At James' horse beating farm, his employees find themselves quite frustrated as the horses often get out of their grasp to escape their beatings. This leads many of his employees dissatisfied as they feel that they haven't accomplished anything for the day. According to path-goal theory of leadership, what leadership behaviour would be most effective for James in this circumstance, why?

Most effective: Supportive

Why:

- The task is both frustrating and dissastisfying which means that employees will need encouragement to persevere

According to the path-goal theory of leadership, how might employee characteristics impact the effectiveness of certain leadership behaviours? List two characteristics, an associated leadership behaviour and its outcome.

Sample answer:

Characteristics 1: high n achievement

Leadership Behaviour: Achievement-oriented

Outcome: Acceptance of leader will be higher as a result

Imaad recently sold all of his businesses and started a worker co-op dedicated to making horse glue. The co-op makes decisions completely democratically, including how much to sell, how to make it etc. What kind of leadership does Imaad exhibit and what are some pros and cons to this?

Leadership style: Participatory leadership

Pros:

1. Imaad's employees will be more motivated

2. Increased quality of glue

3. His workers will accept him more

Cons:

1. Time + energy making decisions

2. Imaad is inherently giving up power

3. Lack of receptivity or knowledge

What is the vroom-jago model and what is it used for? What are its two extremes?

The vroom-jago model gives a decision tree to figure out how a decision should be made. IT looks at the situational characteristics to determine what decision strategy is best.

AI: decision completely yourself

GII: Sharing problem as a group, decision made as a group, the leader only serves as the chair person

What two distinct forms of leadership does leadership exchange theory define?

1. Transactional leadership: based on straightforward exchange between leaders and followers

2. Transformational leadership: leadership providing followers with new vision that instills true commitment from their followers

What are the 4 components of transformational leadership according to leadership exchange theory

1. Intellectual Stimulation

2. Individualized Consideration

3. Inspirational Motivation

4. Charisma: ability to command loyalty and devotion

What are the new/emerging theories of leadership? Give a short description of each

1. Empowering leadership: enabling power to be shared with employees

2. Ethical leadership: demonstration of normatively appropriate conduct through personal relationships

3. Authentic leadership: involving being true to yourself

4. Servant leadership: going beyond self interest and having genuine concern to serve others

Imaad's decision to sell off all his private businesses, rehire his employees into his new worker glue manufacturing co-op is an example of which kind of new leadership style? What are the components of this style?

Empowering leadership

- > providing autonomy, removing bureaucratic constraints,

-> giving meaning, competence, self-determination, impact

What are the 6 global leadership dimensions?

1. Charisma vs Value-based

2. Team Oriented

3. Participative

4. Human Orientation

5. Autonomy

6. Self Protective

what is leadership-member exchange theory

focuses on relationship quality that develops between leader and employee

What does LMX (leader-member exchange) rely on?

social exchange theory and the norm of reciprocity: if the leader is nice to the employee, it goes both ways

What are the 3 components of effective communication?

1. right people

2. right information

3. timely manner

What are 3 reasons for a strict chain of command being ineffective?

1. Fails to consider informal communication

2. Painfully slow

3. Filtering (both ways)

At James' horse beating farm, there is a very structured communication system. At the lowest level are the horse beaters themselves such as Imaad and Arthur. Those two then report to Michelle as the beating analyst who then reports to James as CAO. Recently, Imaad and Arthur haven't been hitting their targets as the horses have started unionizing. They tell Michelle that there is simply a temporary issue holding them back, and Michelle tells James that everything is okay. What kind of communication is exhibited here and why is it ineffective in this circumstance

Communication: strict chain of command.

Why ineffective here: Filtering, those lower in the hierarchy keep sugercoating the truth as it moves up so they don't lose their jobs (or worse O_O)

What is voice? What is silence? What are the contributors to each?

Voice; constructive expression of disagreement or concern about organizational practices

Contributors: job satisfaction, conscientiousness + extraversion, good management

Silence: withholding relevant information

Contributors: self-censorship, mum-effect

At Michelle's horse breeding farm, each of the workers always get plenty of time for interaction. They often exchange office gossip, tell each other personal stories and relay news about the organization. What is this called? What are its main features? And when is it a bad thing?

This is the organizational grapevine

Features:

1. Emails + Social media included

2. Several systems, loosely coordinated

3. Ability to transmit gossip

4. Only 75% of information is correct

5. Based on location, personality

6. Very timely

7. Inexpensive.

It is not a good thing when rumours pile up and more incorrect information Is disseminated

James just got a new job at Imaad's asset management firm. On his first day, he is constantly googling terms such as EBITDAR, ULFCF, ROFRs and ROFOs to keep up with his job. He notices that Arthur, a senior at the firm has no issues keeping up. What is this an example of? What downsides and upsides of it are being demonstrated here?

This is an example of jargon

Pro: aids communication between experienced co-workers

Con: actively confuses new organizational members like James

according to OB, what are the key differences between men and women in communication?

Women are more inclined to ask questions, make apologies and give compliemtns

men are more likely to take credit, act confident and express opposition

List the 4 challenges to cross-cultural communication? Collectively, what are these called?

1. Language differences

2. Non-verbal communication

3. Differences in definitions of politeness

4. Social conventions

These all make up the cultural context (either high or low)

At James' horse beating farm, he's found that many of his employees aren't participating in group discussions. Given that he's a CS kid, what form of communication might you recommend? What are its pros and cons?

Computer-mediated communication

Strengths:

1. More likely participation

2. Helps in knowledge sharing

3. Collaboration

4. Innovation

Weaknesses:

1. More time

2. Less effective

3. Less satisfied

How do we define an organizational culture?

its the shared beliefs, values and assumptions that exist in an organization

Why do organizational cultures matter? (4 reasons)

1. They determine the norms that develop

2. represent a "way of life"

3 fairly stable

4. strong impact on organizational performance and member satisfaction

Imaad's Pizzaria business was facing a major disruption from the techno-pizza industry. Everyone at the pizzeria was unwilling to pivot and adopt a new business model, including Imaad himself. What kind of culture did Imaad's Pizzeria have and what liability of it is being demonstrated here? What are the other two?

Culture: Strong culture; a set of beliefs and values that are both intensive and pervasive across the organization

Liability: resistance to change

Other liabilities:

1. Culture clash (mergers and acquisitions moments)

2. Pathology

What are the 3 key assets of strong cultures?

1. Coordination

2. Easier for conflict resolution

3. Financial success

List the two main contributors to an organization's culture

1. Founder's Role

2. Socialization

What are the 7 steps to socialization to an organization's culture?

1. Selection of employees

2. Debasement and Hazing

3. Training in the trenches

4. Reward and promotion

5. Exposure to core culture

6. Organizational folklore

7. Role models

At Imaad's first co-op at Skyline Clean Energy Asset Management, he was invited to a talk by the CEO/founder of the organization. In this talk, the CEO gave a presentation on the yellow pale (a literal yellow pale that was used as a pee bucket in the organization's early days). What step in socialization was this an example of?

Organizational folklore

At Imaad's first co-op at Skyline Clean Energy Asset Management, he was invited to a talk by the CEO/founder of the organization. In this talk, the CEO gave a presentation on the yellow pail (a literal yellow pail that was used as a pee bucket in the organization's early days). What component of culture diagnoses was the yellow pail? What component was the presentation? Employees are often told to touch the yellow pail, what component is that?

Yellow pail: Symbol

Presentation: Story

Touching the yellow pale: ritual

What are the 7 factors that an organization can change?

1. Goals and Strategies

2. Technology

3. Job Design

4. Organizational Structure

5. Processes

6. Culture

7. People

At Michelle's horse breeding farm, she's noticing that her employees aren't a big fan of the way they teams have been setup. Currently, teams are split up into Accounting, Finance, Marketing and HR. What aspect of the organization should Michelle change, and does she have the ability to do so?

Michelle can change the organizational structure. Maybe instead of doing it based on function, she can split up teams based on the different kinds of horses she breeds. She does have the ability to do so as this is one of the factors that an organization can change,

What two prerequisites result in organizational inertia ?

1. a lack of investment of resources (both time and money)

2. no modifications of routines and processes

What are the 3 steps in organizational change? What problems happen at each step?

1. Unfreezing -> Diagnosis

-> Resistance

2. Change

3. Refreezing

-> Evaluation, Institutionalization

What is a learning organization? What are its 4 components?

Learning organization: organization that has systems and processes for creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge to reflect new knowledge and insights

Components:

1. Vision/Support

2. Culture

3. Learning Systems/Dynamics

4. Knowledge Management /Infrastructure

Imaad's asset management firm has been doing really well, and Imaad wants to take them to the next level and make it a learning organization. He's communicated this to all of his employees, they often have knowledge shares amongst employees and have a spreadsheet that keeps track of it all. Is his organization a learning one? If not, what is he missing?

It isn't just yet,

He's still missing explicit learning systems and does not actually facilitate the learning that is happening

There are many different causes of resistance to change. List as many as you can (there's like 7)

1. Politics and self interest

2. Low individual tolerance for change

3. Lack of trust

4. Different assessments of the situation

5. Strong emotions

6. Strong organizational identification

7. A resistant organizational culture

What are the 7 themes that define manager's moral standards for decision making?

1. Honest communication

2. Fair treatment

3. Special consideration

4. Fair competition

5. Responsibility to an organization

6. CSR

7. Respect for the law

Despite his belief in democratizing the workplace, Imaad's asset management firm has quite the authoritarian hierarchy. Those who work the longest hours move quickly to the top and have the ability to exploit those at the bottom. Since the firm succeeds and Imaad doesn't seem to get any information from the lower level workers, he believes that all is okay. What cause of unethical behaviour is present here? What is causing Imaad to not hear anything about it?

Bounded ethicality: a process by which people engage in behaviour that violates ethical standards.

Filtering and the mum effect is what is causing Imaad to not hear from his lower level workers as the middle managers want them to continue being exploited

When ethical screening decisions, what are the 6 main guidelines?

1. Identify all stakeholders affected

2. Identify costs and benefits of various alternatives to the stakeholders

3. Consider relevant moral expectations (laws, norms, codes etc.)

4. Be familiar with the common ethical dilemmas

5. Discuss ethical matters with the stakeholders and others

6. Converting ethical judgements into appropriate action

How can organization's effectively deal with allegations of sexual harassment?

1. Examine characteristics of deaf ear organizations

2. Foster management support and education

3. Stay vigilant.

4. Take immediate action

5. Create a state-of-the-art policy (clearly define things)

6. Establish clear reporting procedures

What are the main causes of unethical behaviour?

1. Bounded ethicality

2. Personality

3. Gain

4. Extreme Performance Pressure

5. Role Conflict

6. Strong Organizational Identificaiton

7. Competition

8. Organizational and Industry Culture

Match the following roles to a type of power that this individual or this role holds

1. Prime Minister

2. CEO

3. Policeman

4. Celebrity

5. Bill Nye the Science Guy

1. Legitimate

2. Reward

3. Coercive

4. Referent

5. Referent (idc he's just a popularizer bruh he's barely a scientist)

According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, what are the 2 things you need to do to get power?

1. Do the right things

2. Cultivate the right people

What kinds of activities are needed to be able to get power?

1. Extraordinary

2. Visible

3. Relevant

What are the 4 different kinds of people that you have to cultivate good relationships with to gain power?

1. Outsiders

2. Subordinates

3. Peers

4. Superiors

What is empowerment? Why do we like it?

Empowerment: giving people the authority, opportunity, and motivation to take initiative and solve organizational problems.

Why do we like it:

1. More self-efficacy

2. Higher job satisfaction

3. Organizational commitment

4. OCB

5. High performance

How is power converted into influence? What are the 7 different kinds of these?

Influence Tactics:

1. Assertiveness

2. Ingratiation: using flattery, acting friendly

3. Self-Promotion: touting one's accomplishments

4. Rationality

5. Exchange

6. Upward Appeal

7. Coalition Formation

According to McLelland's theory of needs, what are the 4 attributes of effective managers?

1. High n pow

2. Use power to achieve org goals

3. Adopt a participative or "coaching" leadership style

4. Are relatively unconcerned with how much others like them

How do subunits gain power? What are the 4 main kinds?

Strategic Contingencies

1. Scarcity

2. Uncertainty

3. Centrality

4. Subtitutability

What are the 2 main axis of organizational politics

1. Influence Means and whether that's org sanctioned or not

2. Influence ends and whether that's org sanctioned or not

What is the impact of highly political climates? (5 impacts)

1. Lowered job satisfaction

2. lowered commitmentn

3. lowered OCB

4. more stress

5. turnover intentions

What do you need to have to engage in organizational politics to the next level? What are the four facets of this?

Political skill:

- comprehending others and translating the comprehension into influence

Components:

1. Social Astuteness

2. Interpersonal Influence

3. Apparent Sincerity

4. Networking ability

What is machiavellianism? What are high mach people more likely to do?

it is a set of cynical beliefs about human nature, morality etc. and essentially posits how manipulative people will achieve social influence.

High Machs are more likely to use lying or deceit to achieve desired goals and generally believe that you can sacrifice absolute morals for the situation in question

Also more likely to assume people are excessively gullible and don't know what is best for themselves

What are the 2 main ways you can use defensive/reactive politics? What are the tactics within each category

Take no action at all:

1. Stalling

2. Overconforming: stick to your job description to avoid action

3. Buck Passing: let someone else deal with it

If you can't avoid action, avoid blame for its consequences:

1. Buffing: Getting sign-offs to make something look legit

2. Scapegoating