Organizational Psychology Exam Notes

  • 1.1 - Motivation at Work

    • 1.1.1 - Need Theories

    • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

      • Proposes that individuals must satisfy basic human needs before moving to higher-level needs.

      • Levels of Needs:

      1. Physiological Needs: Food, water, shelter.

      2. Safety Needs: Employment, health, property.

      3. Social Needs: Friendship, intimacy, connections.

      4. Esteem Needs: Confidence, respect, achievement.

      5. Self-Actualization: Achieving full potential, creative activities.

      • Application in workplace:

      • Ensure breaks and exercise opportunities to meet physiological needs.

      • Provide protective equipment to meet safety needs.

      • Organize social events for building relationships.

      • Use incentives for recognition to meet esteem needs.

      • Foster growth opportunities to aid self-actualization needs.

    • McClelland’s Theory of Motivation:

      • Three Main Needs:

      1. Need for Achievement: Desire to excel.

      2. Need for Affiliation: Desire for relationships.

      3. Need for Power: Desire to influence others.

    • 1.1.2 - Cognitive Theories of Motivation

    • Locke and Latham's Goal-Setting Theory:

      • Specific and challenging goals improve performance.

      • Guidelines:

      • Assign Specific Goals

      • Assign Difficult but Acceptable Goals

      • Provide Effective Feedback

      • SMART Criteria:

      • Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

      • Strengths: Supported by empirical research, aids in setting realistic workplace goals.

      • Weaknesses: Not universal; some goals may not motivate all workers.

    • Vroom’s Expectancy Theory:

      • Motivation derived from the expectation that effort will lead to performance, performance to rewards, and the value of those rewards.

      • Components:

      1. Expectancy: Effort leads to performance.

      2. Instrumentality: Performance leads to reward.

      3. Valence: Value of the reward.

      • Formula: extMotivation=extValenceimesextInstrumentalityimesextExpectancyext{Motivation} = ext{Valence} imes ext{Instrumentality} imes ext{Expectancy}

    • 1.1.3 - Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

    • Extrinsic Motivation:

      • Driven by external rewards (e.g., pay, bonuses).

      • Can lead to burnout if overused.

    • Intrinsic Motivation:

      • Driven by internal satisfaction (e.g., a sense of achievement).

      • Examples: Recognition, empowerment, respect.

  • 1.2 - Leadership and Management

    • 1.2.1 - Leadership and Management Theories

    • Universalist Theories:

      • Leaders possess inherent traits that make them effective (Great Person Theory).

      • Charismatic Leaders:

      • Have strong interpersonal skills and inspire others.

    • Behavioral Theories:

      • Leadership skills can be learned.

      • Ohio University Findings:

      • Initiating structure (task-oriented) vs consideration (relationship-oriented).

    • 1.2.2 - Leadership Styles

    • Muczyck and Reinman identified 4 leader behaviors:

      1. Permissive Autocrat

      2. Permissive Democrat

      3. Directive Autocrat

      4. Directive Democrat

    • 1.2.3 - Leaders and Followers

    • Kouzner and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory measures practices of effective leadership.

      • Key practices include modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, encouraging the heart.

  • 1.3 - Group Behavior in Organizations

    • 1.3.1 - Group Development Stages

    • Tuckman’s Stages:

      1. Forming: Group members get acquainted.

      2. Storming: Conflict arises over tasks and leadership.

      3. Norming: Members agree on group roles and strategies.

      4. Performing: Group works effectively towards goals.

      5. Adjourning: Group disbands after task completion.

    • 1.3.2 - Individual and Group Performance

    • Social Facilitation: Enhanced performance in the presence of others.

    • Social Loafing: Decreased performance due to diffusion of responsibility in groups.

    • 1.3.3 - Conflict at Work

    • Types of Conflict: Intra-group, Inter-group, Intra-individual.

    • Strategies for Conflict Management:

      • Competition, Compromise, Avoidance, Accommodating, Collaboration.

  • 1.4 - Organizational Work Conditions

    • 1.4.1 - Physical Work Conditions

    • Hawthorne Effect: Productivity changes when workers believe they are being observed.

    • 1.4.2 - Temporal Conditions

    • Shift Work: Can negatively affect health (e.g., gastrointestinal issues, cardiovascular diseases).

    • 1.4.3 - Health and Safety

    • Importance of safe working conditions to prevent accidents and injuries.

  • 1.5 - Satisfaction at Work

    • 1.5.1 - Theories of Job Satisfaction

    • Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg): Distinguishes between hygiene factors (prevent dissatisfaction) and motivators (increase satisfaction).

    • 1.5.2 - Measuring Job Satisfaction

    • Job Descriptive Index (Smith et al., 1969): Assesses job satisfaction across dimensions like supervision, salary, and promotion opportunities.

    • 1.5.3 - Attitudes to Work

    • Factors impacting absenteeism; varies from medical reasons to career advancement.