MGMT 310A EXAM 1 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What is the definition of organizational behavior (OB)? - Answers -A field of study
devoted to understanding, explaining, and improving the attitude and behaviors of
individuals in group and organizations
Learning and decision making
Understanding WHY something happens as it does
- evidence-based management
- observe negative and positive outcomes
How is OB distinct from other areas of business-related research? - Answers -distinct
from HR and strategic management
What topics and concepts has OB borrowed from other research domains (e.g.,
industrial and organizational psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics)? -
Answers -We borrow from:
- industrial organization
- social psychology
- sociology
- anthropology
- economics
What are the two primary outcomes in studies of OB? - Answers -- organization
mechanisms
- group mechanisms
- individual characteristics
Why might firms that are good at OB tend to be more profitable? - Answers -making
rare products= hard to replicate
What are the types of resources that firms that are good at OB have? - Answers -
Money
What makes it difficult to mimic OB? - Answers -resources are valuable when they are
RARE
What are the components of the scientific method? - Answers -theory, hypothesis,
data, verification
Theory DEF - Answers -a collection of assertions that specify how/why variables are
related
, Hypothesis DEF - Answers -written predictions that specify the relationships between
variables that have been theorized
Data DEF - Answers -collect actual data that explicitly allows you to test the hypothesis
- questionnaire
- interviews
- observation
Verification DEF - Answers -we use the correlation to test to verify our hypothesis and
conclude whether our theory was supported or not
How are correlations interpreted? - Answers -how two things are related
- the direction of the relationship
- positive correlation= two variables that move in the same direction
- negative correlation= two variables that move in the opposite direction
How to measure correlations? - Answers -0.1 is a small correlation
0.3 is a moderate correlation
0.5> is a large correlation
True or False? Correlation=causation - Answers -FALSE
How to prove causation? - Answers -correlation, temporal precedence (inv.
variable/dep. variable), elimination of alternative explanations
What is meta-analysis, and how is it more advantageous than a single correlation? -
Answers -Forms the foundation for evidence-based management
- little can be learned from just one study
- the correlation from multiple studies
- more compelling than just one correlation
What does it mean when we utilize 'evidence-based management?' - Answers -- helps
use ask questions and scientifically test questions to help improve the workplace
- allows us to think organizational functioning and create a better experience for
employees
What is the definition of job performance? - Answers -the value of the set of employee
behaviors that contribute, pos or neg, to organizational goal accomplishment
- focuses on behavior employee can control
- places a 'boundary condition' on what constitutes successful job performance (on
call/break)
- behaviors that make a 'good performer' (task performance, citizenship behavior,
counterproductive work behavior)
What is the definition of organizational behavior (OB)? - Answers -A field of study
devoted to understanding, explaining, and improving the attitude and behaviors of
individuals in group and organizations
Learning and decision making
Understanding WHY something happens as it does
- evidence-based management
- observe negative and positive outcomes
How is OB distinct from other areas of business-related research? - Answers -distinct
from HR and strategic management
What topics and concepts has OB borrowed from other research domains (e.g.,
industrial and organizational psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics)? -
Answers -We borrow from:
- industrial organization
- social psychology
- sociology
- anthropology
- economics
What are the two primary outcomes in studies of OB? - Answers -- organization
mechanisms
- group mechanisms
- individual characteristics
Why might firms that are good at OB tend to be more profitable? - Answers -making
rare products= hard to replicate
What are the types of resources that firms that are good at OB have? - Answers -
Money
What makes it difficult to mimic OB? - Answers -resources are valuable when they are
RARE
What are the components of the scientific method? - Answers -theory, hypothesis,
data, verification
Theory DEF - Answers -a collection of assertions that specify how/why variables are
related
, Hypothesis DEF - Answers -written predictions that specify the relationships between
variables that have been theorized
Data DEF - Answers -collect actual data that explicitly allows you to test the hypothesis
- questionnaire
- interviews
- observation
Verification DEF - Answers -we use the correlation to test to verify our hypothesis and
conclude whether our theory was supported or not
How are correlations interpreted? - Answers -how two things are related
- the direction of the relationship
- positive correlation= two variables that move in the same direction
- negative correlation= two variables that move in the opposite direction
How to measure correlations? - Answers -0.1 is a small correlation
0.3 is a moderate correlation
0.5> is a large correlation
True or False? Correlation=causation - Answers -FALSE
How to prove causation? - Answers -correlation, temporal precedence (inv.
variable/dep. variable), elimination of alternative explanations
What is meta-analysis, and how is it more advantageous than a single correlation? -
Answers -Forms the foundation for evidence-based management
- little can be learned from just one study
- the correlation from multiple studies
- more compelling than just one correlation
What does it mean when we utilize 'evidence-based management?' - Answers -- helps
use ask questions and scientifically test questions to help improve the workplace
- allows us to think organizational functioning and create a better experience for
employees
What is the definition of job performance? - Answers -the value of the set of employee
behaviors that contribute, pos or neg, to organizational goal accomplishment
- focuses on behavior employee can control
- places a 'boundary condition' on what constitutes successful job performance (on
call/break)
- behaviors that make a 'good performer' (task performance, citizenship behavior,
counterproductive work behavior)
