MGT 291

Study guide.

Module 1

Organizational Behavior is a field of study of human behavior for improving an organizations effectiveness.

Four basic management functions:

1. Planning: setting goals, establishing strategy to pursue goals, forecasting future threats/opportunities
2. Organizing: designing organization’s structure, identifying tasks that need to be done, hiring, delegating tasks, creating a chain of command, rules of communication
3. Leading: directing/coordinating the work of others, influencing, motivating, maintaining morale, resolving individual group conflicts
4. Controlling: monitoring performance, taking appropriate actions to get back on track

Three management skills:

• Effective at work
• Helps you become a more effective employee/manager
• Organizations benefit as a whole

Define “independent variable” and “dependent variable”.

Moderator → “when to work” dependent situation

Mediator → “why it works” explanatory mechanism

Common dependent variables: productivity, creativity, dysfunctional behaviors, work attitudes

Common independent variables: individual level (personality, motivation), group level (leadership, work team), organization level (HR policies)

Scientific Management → management to principles of efficiency derived from experiments in methods of work and production, especially from time-and-motion studies to find the “one best way”

Four Principles of Scientific Management:

1. Science, Not Rule of Thumb
2. Harmony, Not Discord
3. Cooperation, Not Individualism
4. Development of Each and Every Person to His / Her Greatest Efficiency and Prosperity

Hawthorn effect → we preform better when people are watching

Human Relations Movement → workers are not essentially interchangeable parts motivated solely by money

The System Perspective: Organization is a system of elements and environment functioning as a whole

• Shows importance of workplace environment
• Focuses on flow and interaction of workplace elements

Contingency/Situational Perspective: Situations and outcomes are based on many variables

Universal Perspective: presumes a direct cause-and-effect linkage between variables

Organizational citizenship: behavior positive to contribution outside strict requirements of the job

Dysfunctional behaviors: organizational performance detracting behaviors

“Scientific Method” steps:

1. Theory
2. Hypothesis
3. Data
4. Verification

The Reading- “Theory X and Y” and Relevant Class-Concept Videos/Presentations:

Theory X Workers → Controlling Management:

• Dislike work
• Must be supervised and pushed to perform
• Avoid responsibility
• Prefer to be directed
• Lower-levels needs

Theory Y Workers → Empowering Management:

• Like work
• Self-direct
• Seek responsibility if motivated
• Creative if motivated
• Higher-level needs

Module 2

Current diversity trends and major benefits of diversity for business:

• Better decisions
• Better creativity, innovation, and competitive advantage
• Better hiring and engagement
• It’s legally required

Diversity → observable and unobservable things among people

Surface-level diversity: demographics (education, nationality, religion, and ethnicity)

Deep-level diversity: psychographics (personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles)

Six barriers to diversity inclusion:

1. Stereotype (pattern completing)
2. Prejudice (preconceived notions)
3. Perceived threat of loss
4. “Like me” bias (tribal, we like those who are like us)
5. Unequal access to organization networks
6. Ethnocentrism (my culture is better than others)

Reciprocal mentoring → pair senior with junior employees

Discrimination → employment decisions are not job related

Affirmative Action → reactively correct past injustice

Misconceptions: people don’t know the criteria

Equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation → proactively prevent discrimination

• Civil Rights Act (Title VII) → employment race, color, sex, religion, and origin
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act → 40+ age, no retirement required
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• American with Disabilities Act → essentially qualified
  • What is reasonable accommodation?

Diversity Management Program →

1. Education
2. Enforcement
3. Exposure

Three diversity paradigms:

1. Discrimination and Fairness Paradigm
   • Demographic based, denies difference
   • “All the same. Differences don‘t matter.”
2. Access and Legitimacy Paradigm
   • Demographic based, isolated differences
3. Learning and Effectiveness Paradigm
   • Demographics and psychographics
   • “With our differences”

IBM four pillars of change:

1. Leadership support
2. Employee engagement
3. Integral management practices
4. Linked to business goals

“Why Most Diversity Programs Fail”

Main reason for failure of diversity programs: Efforts can make things worse. Most focus on controlling manager’s behaviors that approach tends to activate bias

Three tools for Effective Diversity Programs:

1. Engagement: prompt them to act in ways that support a particular view, their opinions can shift toward that view
2. Contact: ex: whites fighting alongside blacks came to see them as soldiers first and foremost
3. Social Accountability: plays on need to look good in the eyes around us; ex: discuss grades with peers can lead to judging work based on quality

Module 3

Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions:

1. Individualism/collectivism
2. Power distance — Authoritarian ←→ Egalitarian
3. Uncertainty avoidance — High (Risk-adverse) ←→ Low (Entrepreneur)
4. Masculinity/Femininity
5. Long-term/Short-term values

The Big Five:

• Openness
• Consciouncessness
• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Neuroticism

Self-efficacy: confidence in specific task

Self-esteem: confidence in overall self

Emotional intelligence:

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Self-motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social skills

Person-job fit

Person-group fit

Person-organization fit

Person-vocation fit (profession)

— Exam 1 Content End —

— Exam 2 Content Start —

Module 4

Perceived reality: Objective reality

• Selective Perception
• Stereotyping
• Halo/horn effect
• Contrast Effect
• Fundamental Attribution Error
• Self-serving bias
• Overconfidence Bias
• First impression bias
• Escalation of commitment

Define “Attribution” and outline three rules to determine an internal or external attribution.

Programmed Decision vs. Nonprogrammed Decision

Self-fulfilling prophecy:

• Pygmalion effect: positive expectations of another
• Golem effect: negative expectations of another

Rational decision making model:

• primary assumption: complete rationality, optimizing/best solution
• rational, step-by-step process
• Prescriptive model—how we should make decisions

Administrative decision making model: “Simon’s Normative Model”

• primary assumption: bounded rationality, suboptimizing/satisficing solution
• both logic and personal biases involved
• descriptive model—how we make decisions.

Suboptimizing:

Optimizing:

Satisficing

Bounded rationality

Evidence-based decision-making model:

• making decision by identifying best available evidences that are trustworthy and from multiple sources
• Prescriptive decision making model—how we should make decisions.

Outline six steps in evidenced-based decision-making process:

1. Ask
2. Acquire
3. Appraise
4. Aggregate
5. Apply
6. Assess

Creativity: the ability to generate new ideas or to conceive of new perspectives on existing ideas.

Outline four steps in creative process and list them in right sequence.

1. Preparation
2. Incubation
3. Insight
4. Verification

Outline and understand the componential theory of creativity and its four components.

1. Domain-relevant skills
2. Creativity-relevant processes
3. Intrinsic task motivation
4. Environment

Module 5

The three components of Attitudes:

1. Cognition: the knowledge someone presumes to have
2. Affect: the feelings someone has
3. Intention: the intention that guides someone’s behavior

Cognitive dissonance: conflict between behavior and attitude

Three common approaches to reduce discomfort:

1. Change conflicting attitude or behavior
2. Belittle the importance of inconsistency
3. Rationalize the discrepancy

The four primary factors that influence individuals’ job satisfaction:

1. The work itself (most strongly correlated with job satisfaction)
2. Others job attitudes
3. Value attainment
4. Personality and genetic factors

Understand job satisfaction is a function of both situational and dispositional factors.

The correlation is positive but moderate between job satisfaction and job performance.

Organizational commitment: an employees identification with the organization and intention to stay

• Affective commitment: Positive emotional attachment and identification (has strongest impact)
• Normative commitment: Moral obligation to organization
• Continuance commitment: Loss aversion

Employee engagement: heightened connection to the job to apply discretionary effort to the work.

The three means to improve employee engagement: meaningfulness, safety, availability

Module 6

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

1. Self-actualization
2. Esteem
3. Belongingness
4. Security/safety
5. Physiological

Alderfer’s ERG theory:

1. Growth (Esteem & SA)
2. Relatedness (Belongingness)
3. Existence (Security & Physiological)

Hertzberg’s Two-factor theory:

1. Motivation factors = + Satisfaction
2. Hygiene factors = + Dissatisfaction

Examples of motivation factors:

• achievement
• recognition
• responsibility
• work itself
• advancement

Examples of hygiene factors:

• working conditions
• supervision
• coworker relations
• policies and rules
• pay and job security

McClelland’s Acquired (Learned) Needs Theory:

1. Need for Achievement (SA)
2. Need for Affiliation (Esteem)

3. Need for Power (Belongingness

   relatedness)

Equity Theory: people compare their perceived inputs and outcomes against others inputs and outcomes.

Examples of inputs: effort, time, education, training, experience, performance

Examples of outcomes: pay, benefits, promotion, recognitio

Negative inequity: you < others

• increase self outcomes (request more money)
• reduce self input (lower effort)
• change perceptions
• change comparison
• leave

Positive inequity: you > others

• reduce self outcome (take less money)
• increase self input (work more hours)
• change perceptions
• Change comparision

Six methods to reduce perceived inequity:

• Change inputs
• Change outputs
• Change perceptions of self inputs or outcomes
• change perception of other inputs or outcomes
• Change comparisons
• Leave

Expectancy Theory:

1. Effort to performance expectancy: “I believe that if I work hard, I can definitely meet the performance goal.“
2. Performance to outcome instrumentality: “If I sell X widgets, I will get paid Y.”
3. Valence: (How badly do you want that outcome) “I really want to get paid Y.“

Under Expectancy theory, people are motivated when they see perceive all three elements: Effort → Performance → Outcome.

Motivation = (effort to performance expectancy) * (performance to outcome expectancy) * (valence)

Module 7

Reinforcement theory:

1. Outline the four types of reinforcement types.

Intrinsic Rewards: internal satisfaction

Extrinsic Rewards: financial, material, or social rewards from environment.

Goal-setting Theory:

• properly designed goals enhance motivation
• Effective goals are specific, difficult but attainable goals
• Ineffective goals include “do your best“ goals, unspecified goals, easy goals, or difficult and unrealistic goals.
• Individual attitudes toward the goals (acceptance/commitment) matter

Goal attributes → Goal-directed effort → Performance:

• Goal difficulty
• Goal specificity
• Goal acceptance
• Goal commitment

SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Result-oriented, Time-bounded

• Specific: ❌ “Do your best to reduce the cost“
• Measurable: ❌ “Increase company efficiency next year“
• Attainable: ❌ “Reduce the cost by 1000% next year“
• Result-oriented: ❌ “Be more efficient next year“
• Time-bounded: ❌ “Reduce the cost by 15%“

Management by Objectives (MBO): a management system for a collaborative goal-setting process

1. Employees work with managers to determine goals and resources to meet them
2. Managers periodically meet with employees to check progress
3. Managers evaluate the final degree of goal attainment and set goals for next stage
4. MBO increases goal commitment and acceptance and ensures the goals are specific, difficult and attainable to employees.

Job Design: how organizations define and structure jobs

Job specialization: early job design approach of breaking jobs into standardized tasks. (Scientific Management)

Scientific Management: “one best way“ of working, managers plan work and workers follow, time-and-motion studies find the best way. Highly specialized jobs increase productivity but monotony demotivates employees.

Motivational approaches of job design: designing the job to increase intrinsic motivation

1. Job rotation
2. Job enlargement (horizontal job loading)
3. Job enrichment (vertical job loading)
4. Job characteristics model

• Job rotation: moving workers from one job to another
• Job enlargement (horizontal job loading): giving workers more tasks to perform

↑ Both fail to reduce boredom and monotony as workers do more specialized work and lose control over their jobs.

• Job enrichment (vertical job loading): ignores individual difference and assumes same reaction to an enriched job
• Job characteristic model: recognizes individual differences and assumes different relations to an enriched job.

↑ Both approaches seek to increase motivation factors of the job (e.g. control over work)

Theoretical foundation for both approaches: Hertzberg’s two-factor theory

• Motivation factors increase satisfaction and motivation
• Hygiene factors decrease dissatisfaction but cannot increase satisfaction and motivation.

Recent developments:

• Employee participation and empowerment
• Flexible work arrangement

Compare job enrichment & job characteristic model versus job rotation & job enlargement in terms of how they intend to increase motivation through job design (Note. variety vs. responsibility).

Job Characteristic Model: Core job characteristics → critical psychological state → outcomes

Core job characteristics:

1. Skill variety
2. Task identity
3. Task significance
4. Autonomy
5. Feedback

Critical psychological state (caused by X job characteristic):

1. (1–3) Experienced meaningfulness of work
2. (4) Experienced responsibility for work outcomes
3. (5) Knowledge of results

Outcomes:

1. High intrinsic work motivation
2. High job performance
3. High job satisfaction
4. Low absenteeism and turnover

Three steps in the performance management cycle (the continuous cycle of improving job performance) :

1. Goal setting: Management by Objectives, SMART,
2. Feedback and coaching: specific and timely performance feedback linked to set goals. Goal-setting theory.
3. Rewards and positive reinforcement: distribute rewards to reinforce positive behaviors. Two-factor theory, job characteristic model, need based, equity theory, expectancy theory, reinforcement theory.

Flexible Reward System: Allows employees to choose the combination of benefits that best suits their needs

— Exam 2 Content End —

— Exam 3 Content Start —

Module 8

Group: People who interact such that each influences each.

Team: People who share common goal and accountability for the team outcomes. (Complementary skills and resources, commitment to common goals, mutual accountability)

A teams performance = individual results + collective work products

All teams are groups, but not every group is a team.

Group Composition: diversity of group members

Heterogeneous (varied) groups:

• Better at complex tasks
• Slow, more conflicts

Homogeneous (unvaried) groups:

• Better at cooperation and speed
• Fewer different ideas

Group Size: 5–7

Smaller groups better at taking action.

Larger groups better at generating ideas (subject to mess like social loafing)

Social loafing: individuals do less effort in group people other people pick up the slack.

Social loafing is more likely as group size increasing.

5 ways to reduce social loafing:

1. Form smaller group
2. Specialize tasks
3. Measure individual performance
4. Structure group discussion for everyone to participate
5. Select or develop intrinsically motivated employees

Stepladder technique: invite discussion one-by-one

Sucker effect: decide to loaf because they believe others are loafing.

Norm: a standard which appropriateness of behavior is judged

Norms are best set right after group is formed.

Define group norm; Outline the best timing to set desirable group norms.

Cohesiveness:

Group cohesiveness: the extent a group is committed to stay together.

• Increases productivity when aligned on goals
• Decreases productivity when not aligned on goals

Cohesive groups are more likely to victimize by groupthink.

5 ways to increase group cohesiveness:

1. Frequent member interaction
2. Decrease group size
3. Increase perceived member similarity
4. Set difficult entry to group
5. Communicate and celebrate group success

Group Development Stages:

1. Forming (ice-breaking)
2. Storming (why should I perform this role?)
3. Norming (standards begin to establish)
4. Performing

Roles: a set of behaviors and tasks expected to perform

Task roles: facilitate accomplishment of group task

Maintenance roles: foster support and constructive social climate.

Parker’s four team player styles:

1. Collaborator: goal-oriented, big picture
2. Contributor: task-oriented, data
3. Challenger: questions
4. Communicator: support, facilitate, resolve

(1 and 2) are task roles

(3 and 4) are maintenance roles

Groupthink: group norm of consensus overrides realistic approach

Eight symptoms of groupthink:

1. Illusion of invulnerability
2. Belief in inherent morality of group
3. Collective rationalization
4. Stereotyped out-group
5. Pressure on dissent
6. Self-appointed mind guards
7. Illusion of unanimity
8. Self-censorship

To prevent groupthink:

1. Promote open inquiry
2. Make subgroups to work simultaneously on the same problem
3. Help admit shortcomings

Process gain: produced more than would be expected base on capabilities of individual members

Process loss: produced less than would be expected base on capabilities of individual members

Virtual teams: teams that work together from remote locations using digital technologies

Self-directed teams: teams that work together from remote locations using digital technologies

Cross-functional teams: different skill sets, but are all working towards a common goal

Functional teams: common functional expertise working toward shared objectives

Social facilitation: the tendency for the presence of others to improve a person’s performance on a task

Group Polarization

Outline three techniques to promote the quality of group problem solving.

Module 9

Trait theory (1930s):

• Assumptions (traits)
• Problems

Behavior theory (1940s):

• Assumptions (behavior)
• Problems
• research contradictions

Three types of behavior approaches:

1. Michigan studies
   • Job centered leader
   • Employee centered leader
2. Ohio State Studies
   • Initiating-structure leader
   • Consideration leader
3. Leadership grid

LPC theory:

Behavior approaches to leadership:

Three types of Situational Theory (1970s):

1. LPC Theory
   • Leaders have unchanging traits
   • Two leadership styles (cannot be both)
   1. Task-motived (work and procedure)
   2. Relationship-motivated (feelings and ideas)

Three situations that determine favorableness in LPC:

1. Leader-member relationship (extent of trust)
2. Task structure (extent of procedure)
3. Position power (extent of punishment)

1. Path-goal Theory (situational behavior)
   • Two situation factors
2. Environment
3. Coworkers

Four leadership styles: directive, supportive, participative, achievement-oriented.

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory (1970s):

• Contingency perspective; social interaction

In-group

Out-group

• Charismatic Leadership (Hero)
• Transactional Leadership (Management): routine and performance
• Transformational Leadership (Develop)

Four components of Transformational leadership:

• Inspirational motivation (compelling vision)
• Idealized influence (lead by example)
• Individualized consideration (coaching)
• Intellectual Stimulation (think different)

Leadership substitutes:

Leadership neutralizers:

Outline coach Dale’s leadership style and whether it is effective in the following movie segments

1. his first day to meet players
   • LPC: {style: Task-motived, effective: no, type: 7, favorableness: unfavorable, factors:
     • Leader-membership relationship: poor
     • Task-structure: low
     • Position power: high
   • Path-goal {style: directed, effective: yes
     • Environment: unstructured
     • Subordinates: inexperienced
2. measuring the size of playing field in the stadium
   • Path-goal: {style: supportive, effective: yes, factors:
     • Environment: structured
     • Subordinates: inexperienced
3. his assistant coach
   • Path-goal: {style: achievement, effective: yes, factors:
     • Environment: lack of challenge
     • Subordinates: experienced
4. communicating game plan in the final game
   • Path-goal: {style: participative, effective: yes, factors:
     • Environment: complex
     • Subordinates: experienced

Module 10

Organizational structure: formal task, power, and reporting relationships

Organizational chart: diagram illustrating chain of command and reporting relationships

The five basic characteristics of organizational structure:

1. Hierarchy: chain of command, formal authority over others
2. Division of labor: functional, departmental differentiation of duties.
3. Centralization: concentrate power and decision making at higher levels
4. Formalization: written rules, procedures, and communications
5. Span of control: number reporting directly to manager
   • Can be wide or narrow:
   • Wide is defining of flat organization
   • Narrow is defining of tall organization

Tall organization: many levels of hierarchy, narrow span of control

Flat organization: few levels in the hierarchy and wide span of control

Mechanistic organization: expected hierarchy, rigid, centralized teams

Organic organization: flexible, decentralized teams

Bureaucratic structure: formalized rules and regulations, functional departments, centralization, tall organization (+hierarchy, -span of control)

• Pro: efficient for standardized/routine task
• Con: difficult to see big picture

Matrix structure: employee reports to two managers, a functional and project/product

• Pros: flexibility
• Cons: two bosses can give conflicting instructions

Team-based structure: self-managed, cross-functional teams

• Pros: creativity
• Cons: stress from ambiguous roles

Network organization/structure: temp autonomous units

• Pros: specialization
• Cons: lose control over other key parts

Organizational culture: a system of shared values, norms, and assumptions that guide attitudes and behaviors.

Artifact: physical

manifestations of culture

• Miami University keeping Western architecture style in place.

Assumptions: underlying values taken for granted

Espoused values: explicitly stated values

Enacted values: norms and values displayed

Strong vs. weak culture: How wide and strong are the values, norms, and assumptions shared among members?

Positive vs. negative culture: Where to guide attitudes and behaviors? How consistent are they with overall goals and strategy?

The four types of organizational culture:

1. Hierarchy culture: structures environment, values stability and control over flexibility
2. Clan culture: employee-focused, family-type, value collaboration and cohesion
3. Adhocracy culture: value creativity and adaptation to marketpalce
4. Market culture: value competition, customer and profits over employee development and satisfaction.

The relationships between organizational structure and organizational culture when they are coherent or discrepant.

• Organization culture → legitimize if coherent
• Organizational structure → institutionalize if coherent