Lecture 1, Intro & Attitudes
Organizational behaviour (OB) = interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding people at
work.
Human resource management (HRM) = the policies, practices and systems that influence
employees’ attitudes, behaviours and performance.
Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, events or
ideas. Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond in a consistently favourable or
unfavourable manner with respect to an attitude object. Attitudes are an important
predictor of organizational behaviour.
Attitudes consist of a cognitive component, an affective component and a behavioural
component.
Cognitive dissonance = unbalance between cognition, affect, and behaviour.
Lecture 2, Personality & Diversity
Personality is a combination of enduring physical, behavioural and mental characteristics
that makes us individuals unique.
Key aspects of personality:
- Relatively stable; temporal stability and cultural stability.
- Psychological dispositions towards certain behaviours.
- Highly visible in weak vs. strong situations.
- Determined by genetics and environment = interactionist perspective.
Personality as a relatively stable individual difference that predicts work related outcomes.
The big 5 theory breaks down personality into 5 factors:
- Openness: openness to beliefs and range of interest.
- Conscientiousness: desire for order and precision.
- Extraversion: comfort with relationships.
- Agreeableness: ability to get along with others.
- Emotional stability: tendency to maintain a balanced emotional state.
Proactive personality is:
- A stable disposition to take personal initiative in a broad range of activities and
situations.
- Related to conscientiousness; extraversion.
- Related to internal locus of control.
- Highly valued in today’s work and career.
- Generalizable to different cultures.
, Dark triad consists of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.
Affirmative action = intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct past
imbalance, injustice or discrimination.
Managing diversity = entails enacting a host of organizational changes that enable all people
to perform to the maximum of their potential.
Challenges of diversity management:
- Stereotypes and societal expectations.
- Ethnocentrism.
- Lacking formality / objectivity in employment practices.
- Exclusive (rather than inclusive) or even hostile climate.
- Ignorance and backlash.
Lecture 3, Motivation
Part 1
Motivation describes the psychological processes that underlie direction, intensity, and
persistence of behaviour.
- What do you do?
- How hard do you do it?
- How long do you do it?
Furthermore, motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate within and outside an
employee that initiates work-related effort and determines its direction, intensity, and
persistence.
Early/content theories of motivation:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that humans are motivated by basic needs, that
differentiate in order of hierarchy.
Alderfer’s ERG theory is an extension of Maslow’s theory. Multiple needs can be activated
simultaneously and change in prominence.
Mcclelland’s need theory states that people strive for achievement, affiliation, and power.
Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory states that hygiene factors determine dissatisfaction;
motivation factors determine satisfaction -> beginning of understanding intrinsic motivation.
The conclusion of these early theories is that people have basic needs that motivate their
behaviour. However, these needs may vary per person.
Organizational behaviour (OB) = interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding people at
work.
Human resource management (HRM) = the policies, practices and systems that influence
employees’ attitudes, behaviours and performance.
Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, events or
ideas. Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond in a consistently favourable or
unfavourable manner with respect to an attitude object. Attitudes are an important
predictor of organizational behaviour.
Attitudes consist of a cognitive component, an affective component and a behavioural
component.
Cognitive dissonance = unbalance between cognition, affect, and behaviour.
Lecture 2, Personality & Diversity
Personality is a combination of enduring physical, behavioural and mental characteristics
that makes us individuals unique.
Key aspects of personality:
- Relatively stable; temporal stability and cultural stability.
- Psychological dispositions towards certain behaviours.
- Highly visible in weak vs. strong situations.
- Determined by genetics and environment = interactionist perspective.
Personality as a relatively stable individual difference that predicts work related outcomes.
The big 5 theory breaks down personality into 5 factors:
- Openness: openness to beliefs and range of interest.
- Conscientiousness: desire for order and precision.
- Extraversion: comfort with relationships.
- Agreeableness: ability to get along with others.
- Emotional stability: tendency to maintain a balanced emotional state.
Proactive personality is:
- A stable disposition to take personal initiative in a broad range of activities and
situations.
- Related to conscientiousness; extraversion.
- Related to internal locus of control.
- Highly valued in today’s work and career.
- Generalizable to different cultures.
, Dark triad consists of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.
Affirmative action = intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct past
imbalance, injustice or discrimination.
Managing diversity = entails enacting a host of organizational changes that enable all people
to perform to the maximum of their potential.
Challenges of diversity management:
- Stereotypes and societal expectations.
- Ethnocentrism.
- Lacking formality / objectivity in employment practices.
- Exclusive (rather than inclusive) or even hostile climate.
- Ignorance and backlash.
Lecture 3, Motivation
Part 1
Motivation describes the psychological processes that underlie direction, intensity, and
persistence of behaviour.
- What do you do?
- How hard do you do it?
- How long do you do it?
Furthermore, motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate within and outside an
employee that initiates work-related effort and determines its direction, intensity, and
persistence.
Early/content theories of motivation:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that humans are motivated by basic needs, that
differentiate in order of hierarchy.
Alderfer’s ERG theory is an extension of Maslow’s theory. Multiple needs can be activated
simultaneously and change in prominence.
Mcclelland’s need theory states that people strive for achievement, affiliation, and power.
Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory states that hygiene factors determine dissatisfaction;
motivation factors determine satisfaction -> beginning of understanding intrinsic motivation.
The conclusion of these early theories is that people have basic needs that motivate their
behaviour. However, these needs may vary per person.
