BU 288 - Midterm 1 (Ch. 1-4, Appendix)
Exam Questions and Answers47
4.5 Commitment Profiles - ANSWERS -Combinations of commitment types that suggest
overarching motives for attachment
(1) fully committed (high on all three types)
(2) weakly committed (low on all three types)
(3) affective dominant
(4) affective/normative dominant.
(less common)
(5) continuance dominant
(6) affective/continuance dominant
1.1 Organizations - ANSWERS -A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of a group of
people, which functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of
goals (ex. Blue Jays, university programs, group projects, church)
1.2 Organizational Behaviour - ANSWERS -A field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations, for the purpose of
applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness
1.2 Human Resource Management - ANSWERS -Programs, practices, and systems to acquire,
develop, motivate, and retain employees in organizations.
,1.2 Why study organizational behaviour? - ANSWERS -- (1) It helps us understand why
employees become committed to an organization and what motivates them to work hard
- (2) It is important to managers, employees, and consumers, and understanding it can make us
more effective managers, employees, or consumers
- (3) It makes a difference (The main factor that differentiates organizations is their workforce
and human capital
1.2 Human Capital - ANSWERS -- The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) embodied in an
organization's employees
- Strongly, positively related to organizational performance
- A key determinant of an organization's competitiveness and success
1.2 Social Capital - ANSWERS -- Social resources that individuals obtain from participation in a
social structure
- Creates value for individuals and organizations
- Positively related to job performance
1.2 Internal Social Capital - ANSWERS -Relationships developed in one's own organization
1.2 External Social Capital - ANSWERS -Relationships developed with external constituents
outside of one's organization
,1.3 Goals of Organizational Behaviour - ANSWERS -- Predicting: The very regularity of behaviour
in organizations permits the prediction of its future occurrence
- Explaining: We must determine why people are more or less engaged, motivated, satisfied, or
prone to resign; More complicated than prediciting b/c their could be multiple causes and
underlying causes can change overtime
- Managing: If behaviour can be predicted and explained, it can often be managed
1.3 Management - ANSWERS -The art of getting things accomplished in organizations through
others
1.3 Evidence-Based Management - ANSWERS -- Translating principles based on the best
scientific evidence into organizational practices
- Managers can make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence from social
science and organizational research rather than personal preference and unsystematic
experience
- More likely to result in the attainment of organizational goals affecting employees,
shareholders, and the public
1.4 Classical Viewpoint - ANSWERS -- An early prescription on management that advocated a
high specialization of labour, intensive coordination, and centralized decision making.
- Each department was to tend to its own affairs, with centralized decision making from upper
management providing coordination
- Suggested that, to maintain control, managers have fairly few workers, except for lower-level
jobs, where machine pacing might substitute for close supervision
, 1.4 Scientific Management - ANSWERS -- A system for using research to determine the optimum
degree of specialization and standardization of work tasks
- Supported the development of written instructions that clearly defined work procedures, and
encouraged supervisors to standardize workers' movements and breaks for maximum efficiency
1.4 Bureaucracy - ANSWERS -- A type of organization that would standardize behaviour in
organizations and provide workers with security and a sense of purpose
- included:
(1) a strict chain of command in which each member reports to only a single superior
(2) detailed rules, regulations, and procedures ensuring that the job gets done regardless of
who the specific worker is
(3) high specialization to match duties with technical competence
(4) centralized power at the top of the organization
(5) selection and promotion based on impersonal technical skills rather than nepotism or
favouritism
1.4 Hawthorne Studies - ANSWERS -Research that suggested that there could be dysfunctional
aspects to how bureaucracy and the classical viewpoint was organized (ex. resistance to
management through strong informal group mechanisms)
1.4 Human Relations Movement - ANSWERS -- A critique of classical management and
bureaucracy that advocated management styles that were more participative and oriented
toward employee needs
(1) Strict specialization is incompatible with human needs for growth and achievement (can lead
to employee alienation from the organization and its clients)
Exam Questions and Answers47
4.5 Commitment Profiles - ANSWERS -Combinations of commitment types that suggest
overarching motives for attachment
(1) fully committed (high on all three types)
(2) weakly committed (low on all three types)
(3) affective dominant
(4) affective/normative dominant.
(less common)
(5) continuance dominant
(6) affective/continuance dominant
1.1 Organizations - ANSWERS -A consciously coordinated social unit, composed of a group of
people, which functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of
goals (ex. Blue Jays, university programs, group projects, church)
1.2 Organizational Behaviour - ANSWERS -A field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organizations, for the purpose of
applying such knowledge toward improving an organization's effectiveness
1.2 Human Resource Management - ANSWERS -Programs, practices, and systems to acquire,
develop, motivate, and retain employees in organizations.
,1.2 Why study organizational behaviour? - ANSWERS -- (1) It helps us understand why
employees become committed to an organization and what motivates them to work hard
- (2) It is important to managers, employees, and consumers, and understanding it can make us
more effective managers, employees, or consumers
- (3) It makes a difference (The main factor that differentiates organizations is their workforce
and human capital
1.2 Human Capital - ANSWERS -- The knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) embodied in an
organization's employees
- Strongly, positively related to organizational performance
- A key determinant of an organization's competitiveness and success
1.2 Social Capital - ANSWERS -- Social resources that individuals obtain from participation in a
social structure
- Creates value for individuals and organizations
- Positively related to job performance
1.2 Internal Social Capital - ANSWERS -Relationships developed in one's own organization
1.2 External Social Capital - ANSWERS -Relationships developed with external constituents
outside of one's organization
,1.3 Goals of Organizational Behaviour - ANSWERS -- Predicting: The very regularity of behaviour
in organizations permits the prediction of its future occurrence
- Explaining: We must determine why people are more or less engaged, motivated, satisfied, or
prone to resign; More complicated than prediciting b/c their could be multiple causes and
underlying causes can change overtime
- Managing: If behaviour can be predicted and explained, it can often be managed
1.3 Management - ANSWERS -The art of getting things accomplished in organizations through
others
1.3 Evidence-Based Management - ANSWERS -- Translating principles based on the best
scientific evidence into organizational practices
- Managers can make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence from social
science and organizational research rather than personal preference and unsystematic
experience
- More likely to result in the attainment of organizational goals affecting employees,
shareholders, and the public
1.4 Classical Viewpoint - ANSWERS -- An early prescription on management that advocated a
high specialization of labour, intensive coordination, and centralized decision making.
- Each department was to tend to its own affairs, with centralized decision making from upper
management providing coordination
- Suggested that, to maintain control, managers have fairly few workers, except for lower-level
jobs, where machine pacing might substitute for close supervision
, 1.4 Scientific Management - ANSWERS -- A system for using research to determine the optimum
degree of specialization and standardization of work tasks
- Supported the development of written instructions that clearly defined work procedures, and
encouraged supervisors to standardize workers' movements and breaks for maximum efficiency
1.4 Bureaucracy - ANSWERS -- A type of organization that would standardize behaviour in
organizations and provide workers with security and a sense of purpose
- included:
(1) a strict chain of command in which each member reports to only a single superior
(2) detailed rules, regulations, and procedures ensuring that the job gets done regardless of
who the specific worker is
(3) high specialization to match duties with technical competence
(4) centralized power at the top of the organization
(5) selection and promotion based on impersonal technical skills rather than nepotism or
favouritism
1.4 Hawthorne Studies - ANSWERS -Research that suggested that there could be dysfunctional
aspects to how bureaucracy and the classical viewpoint was organized (ex. resistance to
management through strong informal group mechanisms)
1.4 Human Relations Movement - ANSWERS -- A critique of classical management and
bureaucracy that advocated management styles that were more participative and oriented
toward employee needs
(1) Strict specialization is incompatible with human needs for growth and achievement (can lead
to employee alienation from the organization and its clients)
