Study Guide: Organizational Behavior & Management Class 1: Intro to Organizational Behavior & Management Key Concepts: Organizational Behavior (OB):

Study Guide: Organizational Behavior & Management

Class 1: Intro to Organizational Behavior & Management

• Key Concepts:

  • Organizational Behavior (OB): The study of how people think, feel, and act in organizations. It examines employee behavior, decision-making, and team dynamics.

  • Management: The process of achieving organizational goals by using resources effectively and efficiently.

  • Lewin’s Formula: Behavior (B) is a function of the Individual (I) and the Environment (E). Managers can influence the environment but not the individual’s inherent traits.

  • Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model:

    1. Concrete Experience: Engage in activities.

    2. Reflective Observation: Think about what happened.

    3. Abstract Conceptualization: Develop theories.

    4. Active Experimentation: Test theories in new situations.

• Your Scores:

  • Big Five: Your high Openness (4.4) means you’ll enjoy exploring new ideas and approaches in OB.

  • GMS: Your high Intrinsic Motivation (5.83) means you’ll be motivated to learn and grow in this course, especially driven by IM-Accomplishment (6.5).

Class 2: Emotional Intelligence & Self-Awareness

• Key Concepts:

  • Emotional Intelligence (EI): The ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions in yourself and others.

  • Self-Awareness: Recognizing your emotions and how they affect others. It’s a rare but critical skill for managers.

  • DANVA (Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy): Measures your ability to read emotions from facial expressions.

  • Four Domains of EI:

    1. Self-Awareness: Recognize your emotions and their impact.

    2. Self-Regulation: Control impulses and adapt to change.

    3. Social Awareness: Understand others’ emotions and perspectives.

    4. Relationship Management: Build trust, manage conflict, and lead teams.

• Your Scores:

  • DANVA (15): You’re moderately good at reading emotions but may miss subtle cues. This means you’ll need to actively listen and ask questions to fully understand others.

  • Big Five: Your low Neuroticism (2.88) means you’re emotionally stable and calm under pressure, which helps with self-awareness and self-regulation.

Class 3: Strengths, Weaknesses, & Bias

• Key Concepts:

  • Strengths-Based Approach: Focus on leveraging strengths rather than fixing weaknesses. Overusing strengths can lead to weaknesses (e.g., overconfidence).

  • Implicit Bias: Unconscious biases that affect judgments and behaviors. These biases can be unlearned through awareness and practice.

  • Name-Pronunciation Effect: People with easier-to-pronounce names are judged more positively.

  • Mitigating Bias:

    1. Visualize: Imagine interactions differently.

    2. Examine: Analyze your behavior for bias.

    3. Normalize: Expose yourself to diverse perspectives.

• Your Scores:

  • Big Five: Your high Openness (4.4) means you’re open to diverse perspectives, which can help you mitigate bias.

  • GMS: Your high Intrinsic Motivation (5.83) means you’re motivated to learn and grow, which can help you address your biases.

Class 4: Understanding Personality

• Key Concepts:

  • Big Five Personality Traits (CANOE):

    • Conscientiousness: Organized, dependable, goal-oriented.

    • Agreeableness: Cooperative, trusting, good-natured.

    • Neuroticism: Emotionally reactive, anxious (low score = emotionally stable).

    • Openness to Experience: Curious, creative, open to change.

    • Extraversion: Outgoing, energetic, sociable.

  • Implications for Teams:

    • High Conscientiousness: Reliable but may conflict with spontaneous teammates.

    • High Agreeableness: Cooperative but may avoid conflict.

    • High Neuroticism: May struggle with stress.

    • High Openness: Creative but may overlook practical details.

    • High Extraversion: Social but may dominate discussions.

• Your Scores:

  • Conscientiousness (3.22): You’re moderately organized but may need to double-check details.

  • Agreeableness (3.78): You’re cooperative but can be assertive when needed.

  • Neuroticism (2.88): You’re emotionally stable and calm under pressure.

  • Openness (4.4): You’re creative and open to new ideas.

  • Extraversion (4): You’re moderately outgoing but not overly dominant.

Class 6: Motivation

• Key Concepts:

  • Motivation: The force that affects the direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior.

  • Self-Determination Theory (SDT):

    • Intrinsic Motivation: Driven by internal rewards (e.g., learning, growth).

    • Extrinsic Motivation: Driven by external rewards (e.g., money, praise).

  • McGregor’s Theory X & Theory Y:

    • Theory X: Managers believe employees are lazy and need control.

    • Theory Y: Managers believe employees are self-motivated and seek responsibility.

• Your Scores:

  • GMS: Your high Intrinsic Motivation (5.83) means you’re driven by internal rewards like learning and accomplishment. Your moderate Extrinsic Motivation (4.58) means you’re somewhat motivated by external rewards like praise or money.

Class 7: Motivation Theory & Practice

• Key Concepts:

  • Pink’s Motivation Theory: People are motivated by Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

  • Vroom’s Expectancy Theory: Motivation = Expectancy × Instrumentality × Valence.

  • Adams’ Equity Theory: Employees are motivated when they perceive fairness in treatment compared to others.

• Your Scores:

  • GMS: Your high Intrinsic Motivation (5.83) aligns with Pink’s focus on autonomy and mastery. Your moderate Extrinsic Motivation (4.58) means you’ll also respond to external rewards.

Class 8: Team & Project Management

• Key Concepts:

  • Team Definition: A small group with complementary skills, committed to a common purpose and goals.

  • SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely.

  • Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development:

    1. Forming: Team members get to know each other.

    2. Storming: Conflicts arise as roles are established.

    3. Norming: Team develops norms and cohesion.

    4. Performing: Team works effectively toward goals.

    5. Adjourning: Team disbands after completing tasks.

• Your Scores:

  • Big Five: Your moderate Extraversion (4) means you’ll engage with the team but not dominate discussions. Your high Openness (4.4) means you’ll welcome creative ideas.

Class 9: Building Teams, Pt. 1

• Key Concepts:

  • Team Design:

    1. Size: Smaller teams are better (less coordination, more engagement).

    2. Diversity: Heterogeneous teams are more creative but may have more conflict.

  • Task Interdependence:

    1. Pooled: Low interdependence (independent contributions).

    2. Sequential: Medium interdependence (tasks in a specific order).

    3. Reciprocal: High interdependence (constant collaboration).

• Your Scores:

  • Big Five: Your high Openness (4.4) means you’ll appreciate diverse perspectives. Your moderate Agreeableness (3.78) means you’ll try to keep the peace.

Class 10: Building Teams, Pt. 2

• Key Concepts:

  • Team Norms: Informal rules that regulate behavior (e.g., meeting etiquette, decision-making).

  • Process Losses vs. Gains:

    • Process Losses: Teams perform worse than expected.

    • Process Gains: Teams perform better than expected.

  • Social Capital: Trust and interdependence that build effective teams.

• Your Scores:

  • Big Five: Your moderate Conscientiousness (3.22) means you’ll notice when norms are violated but may not always address them.

Class 11: Building Effective Teams, Pt. 1

• Key Concepts:

  • Team Effectiveness:

    1. Sustained Performance: Consistent results over time.

    2. Resilience: Ability to overcome challenges.

    3. Vitality: Energy and resources for future success.

  • Five Dysfunctions of Teams:

    1. Absence of Trust.

    2. Fear of Conflict.

    3. Lack of Commitment.

    4. Avoidance of Accountability.

    5. Inattention to Results.

• Your Scores:

  • Big Five: Your low Neuroticism (2.88) means you’ll stay calm under pressure, which helps build trust and resilience.

Key Takeaways for You:

1. Strengths:

   • Your high Openness and Intrinsic Motivation make you a creative and goal-oriented team member.

   • Your low Neuroticism keeps you calm under pressure.

   • Your moderate Agreeableness helps you maintain harmony in the team.

2. Areas for Growth:

   • Improve your DANVA score to better read emotional cues in team settings.

   • Work on balancing your Intrinsic Motivation with the team’s need for collaboration.

   • Be mindful of your moderate Conscientiousness and ensure you stay on top of details.