Organizational Behavior Mid Term
Chapter 1: Introduction
Organizational Behavior: Field of study that investigates the impact individuals, groups and
structure have on behavior within organizations, applying such knowledge toward improving
an organization’s effectiveness.
Four managerial activities (Luthans):
1. Traditional management: decision making, planning, and controlling
2. Communication: Exchanging routine information and processing paperwork
3. Human resources (HR) management: Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict,
staffing, and training.
4. Networking: Socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders.
Findings: communication made the largest contribution and networking the least.
Systematic study: Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and
drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence.
Evidence-based management (EBM): Basing of managerial decisions on the scientific
evidence.
Intuition: Instinctive feeling not necessarily supported by research.
Use data to predict event, determine the risk and prevent.
Behavioral disciplines:
- Psychology: Seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior
- Social psychology: Blends concepts of psychology and sociology to focus on the
influence on people on one another.
- Sociology: study of people in relation to their social environment or culture
- Anthropology: Study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
Contingency variables: Situational factors or variables that moderate the relationship
between two or more variables. (x leads to y, under circumstances of z)
Positive organizational scholarship (POS): Concerns how organizations develop human
strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
Task performance: Combination of effectiveness and efficiently at doing core job tasks.
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): Behavior that contributes to the psychological
and social environment of the workplace.
Withdrawal behavior: Set of actions of employees take to separate themselves from the
organization. (Showing up late, not attending meetings etc.)
Group cohesion: Members of a group support/validate one another while at work.
Group functioning: Quantity and quality of a group’s work output.
Productivity: Combination of effectiveness (meets the need of customers) and efficiency
(achieve it ends at low cost).
Organizational survival: ability to exist and grow over long term.
, Organizational behaviour studies the influence that individuals, groups and structure have
on behaviour within organizations
Goal = to apply that knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness
Conceptual models simplifying models
- Moderation model (The relationship between an independent and dependent
variable is influenced by another variable when?)
- Mediation model ( The relationship between an independent and dependent variable
is explained by another variable why?)
Research methods
- Case study
- Survey
- Experiment
- Meta-analysis
Chapter 1: Introduction
Organizational Behavior: Field of study that investigates the impact individuals, groups and
structure have on behavior within organizations, applying such knowledge toward improving
an organization’s effectiveness.
Four managerial activities (Luthans):
1. Traditional management: decision making, planning, and controlling
2. Communication: Exchanging routine information and processing paperwork
3. Human resources (HR) management: Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict,
staffing, and training.
4. Networking: Socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders.
Findings: communication made the largest contribution and networking the least.
Systematic study: Looking at relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and
drawing conclusions based on scientific evidence.
Evidence-based management (EBM): Basing of managerial decisions on the scientific
evidence.
Intuition: Instinctive feeling not necessarily supported by research.
Use data to predict event, determine the risk and prevent.
Behavioral disciplines:
- Psychology: Seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior
- Social psychology: Blends concepts of psychology and sociology to focus on the
influence on people on one another.
- Sociology: study of people in relation to their social environment or culture
- Anthropology: Study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.
Contingency variables: Situational factors or variables that moderate the relationship
between two or more variables. (x leads to y, under circumstances of z)
Positive organizational scholarship (POS): Concerns how organizations develop human
strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.
Task performance: Combination of effectiveness and efficiently at doing core job tasks.
Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): Behavior that contributes to the psychological
and social environment of the workplace.
Withdrawal behavior: Set of actions of employees take to separate themselves from the
organization. (Showing up late, not attending meetings etc.)
Group cohesion: Members of a group support/validate one another while at work.
Group functioning: Quantity and quality of a group’s work output.
Productivity: Combination of effectiveness (meets the need of customers) and efficiency
(achieve it ends at low cost).
Organizational survival: ability to exist and grow over long term.
, Organizational behaviour studies the influence that individuals, groups and structure have
on behaviour within organizations
Goal = to apply that knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness
Conceptual models simplifying models
- Moderation model (The relationship between an independent and dependent
variable is influenced by another variable when?)
- Mediation model ( The relationship between an independent and dependent variable
is explained by another variable why?)
Research methods
- Case study
- Survey
- Experiment
- Meta-analysis
