Ch 1 - OB Intro and History Flashcards
(46 cards)
Organizations definition (3)
Organizations are social inventions for accomplishing common goals through group effort
Social inventions - who, the people
Common goals - what, goals, purpose
Group effort - how, methods to achieve goals
3 levels of OB (and def)
Micro OB: Individuals in pursuit of goals, individual psyche of the worker
Mezzo OB: Interacting dynamics of teams, groups, and departments
Macro OB: Whole organization
(T/F) A happy worker is a productive worker
True, to some extent due to moderating variables
(T/F) Decision makers tend to continue supporting a course of action even though information suggests that the decision is ineffective
True, related to escalation of commitment theory
(T/F) Organizations are more effective when they prevent conflict amongst employees
False, avoiding conflict prevents finding solutions
(T/F) It is better to negotiate alone than as a team
False, depends on the situation
(T/F) Companies are most effective when they have a strong corporate culture
False, the culture is then hard to change
(T/F) Employees perform better when they don’t experience stress
False, healthy balance => think S+T=R
S+T=R (definition, 3 things)
Situation + Thinking = Response
- Given a situation, how I think determines how I behave
- How employees function under stress depends on perception
- The basis of stress is perception
D^p > R^p = S^d
When demands are perceived to be greater than resources, stress occurs
3 stress symptom categories
Psychological
Physiological
Behavioural
(T/F) The best way to change an organization is to get employees to identify and focus on its current problems
False, these problems are often the symptoms of deeper issues (slow down to speed up)
(T/F) Female leaders involve employees in decisions to a greater extent than male leaders
True
(T/F) Male business students today have mostly overcome the negative stereotypes of female managers that existed 20 years ago
False
(T/F, with a condition) Top-level executives tend to exhibit Type-A behaviours
True, up until the rise of the Type-B CEO 10 years ago (Type B for balance)
(T/F) Employees usually feel over-reward inequity when they are paid more than co-workers who perform the same work
True
Do they do anything about over-reward inequity though? No
Under-reward inequity results in a definite behaviour/action (people may do unfortunate things like leaving a company)
(T/F) Nearly all workers prefer stimulating, challenging jobs
False (consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)
(T/F) Managers have a very accurate idea about how much their peers and supervisors are paid
False, overestimates occur
(T/F) Workers have a very accurate idea about how often they are absent from work
False, they underestimate
(T/F) Pay is the best way to motivate employees and improve job performance
False, they are one of many ways to provide motivation, and the effectiveness of each depends on the situation
(T/F) People who graduate in the upper third of their university class tend to make more money during their careers than do average students
False, notion of balance
(T/F) People are definitely either introverted or extroverted
False, propensity or tendency towards one may occur (personality)
(T/F) Smokers take more sick days than non-smokers
True
(T/F) If you have to reprimand someone, it is best to do so immediately after the misdeed occurs
True (Pavlov, Skinner)
