Organizational Behavior Concepts

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts in Organizational Behavior and related theories.

Organizational Behavior (OB)

A field of study devoted to understanding and explaining the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations.

Primary Outcomes of OB

The two ultimate variables that OB seeks to predict and explain.

Resource-Based View

A theory that a firm's unique resources and capabilities provide a sustained competitive advantage.

Rule of One-Eighth

The belief that at best, 1/8 (or 12.5%) of organizations will actually do what is required to build profits by putting people first.

Job Performance

The set of employee behaviors that contribute to organizational goal accomplishment.

Task Performance

Employee behaviors that are directly involved in the transformation of organizational resources into the goods or services.

Citizenship Behavior

Voluntary employee activities that may or may not be rewarded but that contribute to the organization by improving the quality of the setting where work occurs.

Counterproductive Behavior

Employee behaviors that intentionally hinder organizational goal accomplishment.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

A performance management technique based on employee and manager jointly agreeing to a set of measurable, specific goals.

Organizational Commitment

An employee's desire to remain a member of the organization.

Affective Commitment

Commitment due to an emotional attachment to the organization; you stay because you want to.

Continuance Commitment

Commitment due to the high cost of leaving the organization; you stay because you need to.

Embeddedness

Summarizes an employee's links to the organization and the community, their sense of fit, and what they would have to sacrifice for a job change.

Psychological Withdrawal

Actions that provide a mental escape from the work environment.

Erosion Model

Suggests that employees with fewer linkages to coworkers are more likely to quit.

Job Satisfaction

The feelings employees have about their jobs.

Value-Percept Theory

States that satisfaction depends on whether you perceive that your job supplies the things that you value.

Core Job Characteristics

The five characteristics that create intrinsic work satisfaction (VISAF).

Job Crafting

When employees shape, mold, and redefine their jobs in a proactive way.

Affective Events Theory

Specific events trigger discrete emotions and moods which then influence job satisfaction.

The Big Five Taxonomy

The most common and accepted framework for personality traits.

Conscientiousness

A personality trait reflecting a person's diligence, organization, and tendency to be dependable and responsible.

Neuroticism

A personality trait reflecting the tendency to be nervous, moody, emotional, and insecure.

Cultural Values

Shared beliefs about desirable end states or modes of conduct in a given culture.

Power Distance

The degree to which people accept that power is unequally distributed in a society.

Teams

Two or more people who work interdependently to accomplish some task-related purpose.

Task Interdependence

The degree to which team members rely on other members for the resources and information needed to accomplish work.

Punctuated Equilibrium

A pattern of team development where teams alternate between periods of stable functioning and bursts of energy/change.

Deep-Level Diversity

Differences in attitudes, values, and personality, which become more apparent and important as team members get to know each other.

Teamwork Processes

The behaviors that coordinate the activities and goals of team members to accomplish taskwork.

Team States

Specific types of feelings and thoughts that result from working together.

Transactive Memory

The specialized knowledge shared among team members, essentially 'who knows what' in the team.

Groupthink

A desire for harmony or consensus in a group, resulting in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

Power

The ability to influence the behavior of others and resist unwanted influence in return.

Referent Power

Derived from the affection, admiration, or loyalty a follower has for a leader.

Coercive Power

Derived from the ability to punish or withhold desired resources/rewards.

Ingratiation

An influence tactic using favors, compliments, or friendly behavior to make the target feel better about the influencer.

Conflict Resolution: Collaborating

A style that is high in both assertiveness and cooperation; seeks a win-win scenario.

Autocratic Style

A leader decision-making style where the leader makes the decision alone without asking for employee opinions.

Transformational Leadership

A pattern of behaviors that inspires followers to commit to a shared vision that maximizes their full potential.

Transactional Leadership

A style where the leader rewards or punishes the follower depending on the adequacy of the follower’s performance.

Life Cycle Theory of Leadership

States that the optimal combination of initiating structure and consideration depends on the readiness (skills/motivation) of the followers.

Organizational Structure

The formal framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated.

Span of Control

Represents how many employees a manager is responsible for.

Mechanistic Organization

An efficient, rigid structure that thrives in stable environments, characterized by high formalization and centralization.

Organic Organization

A flexible, adaptive structure that thrives in dynamic environments, characterized by low formalization and decentralized decision making.

Matrix Structure

A complex structure that combines functional and product structures, where employees report to two managers.

Organizational Culture

The shared social knowledge that shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees.

Observable Artifacts

The readily apparent manifestations of an organization's culture.

Culture Types (Sociability/Solidarity)

A framework classifying cultures based on the degree of sociability and solidarity.

Strong Culture

A culture where employees agree on the way things are supposed to happen and their behaviors are consistent with those expectations.

Socialization

The process by which employees learn the social knowledge that enables them to understand and adapt to the organization's culture.

ASA Framework

Attraction, Selection, Attrition; states that employees are attracted to, selected by, and stay (or leave) organizations whose cultures fit their values.