lecture 1

Question 1

what factors might affect human behaviour at work?

Answer 1

external perspective: explain behaviour by examining surrounding external events and environmental forces

internal perspective: understand behaviour in terms of thoughts, feelings, past experiences, and needs

Question 2

what is organizational behaviour (OB)?

Answer 2

A field of study devoted to understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving the attitudes and behaviours of individuals and groups in organizations

Question 3

what is Taylorism, and what are the major limitations?

Answer 3

emphasizes work simplification

aimed at increasing efficiency, profit, and productivity

limitations:
ignores employee attitudes
repetitive strain injuries
absenteeism
turnover
dissatisfaction

Question 4

a one-unit increase in the proportion of the workforce involved in these practices was associated with what?

Answer 4

probably just note this- doubt i need to remember exact

7% lower turnover
$27 000 more in sales per employee
$18 000 more in market value per employee
$3 800 more in profits per employee

Question 5

Welbourne & Andrews study found what?

Answer 5

firms that obviously valued OB had a 19% higher survival rate after 5 years

Question 6

what is the rule of 1/8 ?

Answer 6

only about 12% of organizations will fully commit to practices that prioritize employee well-being and believe that doing so will significantly contribute to their profits

1/2 wont believe there is a link between people management and profits
x
1/2 will only make a single change, expecting to see full results
x
1/2 will persist with their practices long enough to yield economic benefits

Question 7

what is the scientific method?

Answer 7

theory
to hypotheses
to data
to verification
to back to theory (loop)

Question 8

what does the correlation describe?

Answer 8

describes the linear relationship between 2 variables

a perfect + relationship = 1.0
a perfect – relationship = -1.0

the strength of a correlation can be inferred from judging the compactness of the X-Y values on a scatterplot

Question 9

what is a spurious correlation?

Answer 9

misleading relations

ex; a third variable causing the correlation of 2 other variables (ice cream = drowning but 3rd V = hot weather)

Question 10

what does proving causation require?

Answer 10

-correlation
-temporal precedence
-elimination of alternative explanations

(as we know- correlation alone does not prove causation)

Question 11

what is meta-analysis?

Answer 11

a technique averaging together the correlations from multiple studies

meta-analysis can then form the foundation for evidence-based management- the use of scientific findings to inform management education and practice