Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Over the past two decades, business schools have added required courses on
people skills to many curricula. Why have they done this?
A
B
C
D
REASONS :
A University
A church
C
D
A Military Unit
All adults in a given community
A
B
C
D
Party
Unit
Team
Organization
REASONS :
-
A
B
C
D
Controlling
Planning
Staffing
Coordinating
REASONS :
A
B
C
D
Planning
Leading
Controlling
Organizing
REASONS :
-
A
B
C
D
Interpersonal
Institutional
Decisional
Affective
ANSWER : C
Role
Interpersonal
Figurehead
Leader
Liaison
8. An OB study would be least likely to be used to focus on which of the following
problems?
Informational
Monitor
A. an increase in absenteeism
Disseminatorat a certain company
B. a fall in productivity
in one shift of a manufacturing plant
Spokesperson
C. a decrease in sales due to growing foreign competition
D. an increase in theft by employees at a retail store
Decisional
Entrepreneur
Disturbance Handler
Resource Allocator
REASONS : The study of OB
Negotiator
is related to individuals, group of
people working together in teams.
The study becomes more challenging when situational factors interact. The
study of organizational behavior relates to the expected behavior of an
individual in the organization. Meanwhile the sales problem and the market
competition is in the study of marketing.
9. _______ is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and
structure have on behaviour within organizations for the purposes of applying such
knowledge towards improving an organization's effectiveness.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Organizational Development
Human Resources Management
Organizational Behaviour
People Management
REASONS :
-
10.
Which of the following is a reason that the study of organizational behaviour is useful?
A.
C.
D.
REASONS :
11. A manager wishes to know how members of her team will react to layoffs in other
departments. Which of the following is least useful in predicting her team's
behaviour?
12. Organizational behaviour is constructed from all of the following disciplines except
__________.
A.
B.
C.
physics
psychology
anthropology
15. The study of group processes in the organizational behaviour has largely been derived from
what field of study?
A.
B.
C.
Psychology
Sociology
Anthropology
D.
Social Studies
REASONS :Psychology is the study of individual behavior and how to improve
individual personality, personal skill and individual attitude. Sociology is the study of
culture impact in group behavior. Anthropology is the study that relate to human activities
in various cultural and environmental frameworks. Social study is the study which blend
psychology and sociology concept to achieve better human behavior in organization.
16. In order to predict human behaviour with any degree of accuracy, what sort of variables must
be taken into account?
A.
B.
C.
D.
global
general
dependent
contingency
REASONS :Global variable is is a variable that is accessible in every scope. Interaction
mechanisms with global variables are called global environment (see also global state)
mechanisms.Dependent variable is in an experimental setting, any variable whose values
are the results of changes in one or more independent variables.Contingency variables are
variables that moderate the relationship between two or morevariables. Because humans
are somewhat unpredictable, all organizational behavior studies must have contingency
variables.
17. Given the climate of "temporariness" in modern organizations, employees must _______.
Archaeologists
Sociologist
Anthropologists
D.
Social Psychologists
REASONS : Archeologists is an anthropologist who studies prehistoric people and their
culture. Sociologist is the study of the culture impact on group behaviorand has
contributed to a large extent to the field of group dynamics. Anthropologist is the study
that related to human activities in certain environmental frameworks. Social psychologist
is the study that contributed to manage change, group decision making, communication
and ability of people in the organization, and to maintain social norms.
19.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Motivation
Capacity
Experience
Intellect
REASONS : Ability means an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job.
Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired
goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. Experience is the
knowledge or skill acquired by experience over a period of time, esp. that gained in a
particular profession by someone at work. Intellect is the understanding or mental powers
of a particular person.
22. Research has found tests that measure specific dimensions of intelligence are strong
predictors of which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Job Satisfaction
Turnover
Job Performance
Ability to work with others
REASONS : Intellectual Abilities are those that are needed to perform mental activities.
Mental activities can be measured by intelligent quotient (IQ) tests, that are designed to
ascertain one's general mental abilities. Generally speaking, the more information
processing is required in a job, the more general intelligence and verbal abilities will be
necessary to perform the job successfully. Of course, a high IQ is not a prerequisite for
all. In Fact, for many jobs in which employee behavior is highly routine and there are
little or no opportunities to exercise discretion, a high IQ may be unrelated to
performance. Therefore, tests measure specific dimensions of intelligence have been
found to be strong predictors of future job performance.
23. Which of the following statements is true about the term "ability", as it is used in the field of
organizational behaviour?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Cognitive
Social
Emotional
Physical
REASONS : The four parts of intelligence are cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.
Cognitive intelligence encompasses the aptitudes that have long been tapped by
traditional intelligence tests. Social intelligence is a persons ability to relate effectively
to others. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage
emotions. And cultural intelligence is awareness of cross-cultural differences and the
ability to successfully function in cross-cultural situations.
25. Which type of intelligence encompasses the aptitudes that have long been tapped by
traditional intelligence tests?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Cognitive Intelligence
Social Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence
Cultural Intelligence
REASONS : Cognitive intelligence encompasses the aptitudes that have long been tapped
by traditional intelligence tests. Social intelligence is a persons ability to relate
effectively to others. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and
manage emotions. And cultural intelligence is awareness of cross-cultural differences
and the ability to successfully function in cross-cultural situations.
26. A company is looking for a manager to liaise between its home office in the United States, its
manufacturing plants in Poland and Germany, and its suppliers in the Middle East and South
Asia. A good candidate would likely score highly in what subpart of intelligence?
A. Cognitive
B. Social
C. Emotional
D. Cultural
Reason:
27. What will be the largest demographic change in the U.S. workforce in the next decade?
A. Increasing Ethnic Diversity
B. A fall in Married Workers
C. Increasing Age of Workers
D. Decreasing Tenure
Reason:
With the aging of the baby-boom generation, the older age cohorts are expected to
make up a larger proportion of the labor force in the next two decades. The 55 and
older age group, which made up 13 percent of the labor force in 2000, is projected to
increase to 20 percent by 2020. It is anticipated that, by 2050, the group will make up
19 percent of the labor force.
A. Recent evidence demonstrates a positive relationship between seniority and job productive.
B. Tenure does not appear to be a good predictor of employee productivity.
C. Tenure is a potent variable in explaining turnover
D. Tenure and satisfaction are positively related.
Reason:
TENURE
If we define seniority as time on a particular job, we can say that the most recent
evidence demonstrates a positive relationship between seniority and job
productivity. So tenure, expressed as work experience, appears to be a good
predictor of employee productivity.
The research relating tenure to absence is quite straightforward. Studies
consistently demonstrate seniority to be negatively related to absenteeism.
Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively related to turnover and has
been suggested as one of the single best predictors of turnover.
The evidence indicates that tenure and satisfaction are positively related. In fact,
when age and tenure are treated separately, tenure appears to be a more consistent
and stable predictor of job satisfaction than is chronological age.
30. Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the higher absentee rate of women in
the workplace?
A. Women tend to have more illnesses that keep them from work than do men.
B. Traditionally, women have had the responsibility of caring for home and family.
C. Women tend to be less satisfied with their jobs than men.
D. Women generally have jobs for which temporary replacement can be hired
Reason:
31. Studies indicate that which of the following tends to decrease with increased tenure?
A. Job Satisfaction
B. Productivity
C. Absenteeism
If we define seniority as time on a particular job, we can say that the most recent
evidence demonstrates a positive relationship between seniority and job productivity.
So tenure, expressed as work experience, appears to be a good predictor of employee
productivity.
32. All of the following are true about learning except that it _________.
A. Involves change.
B. Can have a very short duration.
C. Requires a change in behaviour.
D. Affects Aptitude.
Reason:
33. Classical conditioning would view which of the following as most likely to be a conditioned
response?
A. Winching when you stub your toe.
B. Driving on the right side of the road.
C. Flinching when startled by a loud noise.
D. Looking for shelter when the sky turns grey.
Reason:
First Pavlov showed a piece of meat which elicited salivation in the dog.
Secondly he rang a bell which did not elicit salivation in the dog.
Thirdly he linked the meat and ring of bell before giving the meat for number of
times.
Lastly he rang the bell, but didnt provide any meat, now the dog began to salivate
to the sound of the bell.
Now, the dog has responded to salivate to the ringing of the bell.
Operant conditioning was developed by B.F. Skinner who focused that the
behavior is the function of its consequences. I.e. Behavior=f (consequences),
Behavior= f (to get something individual want OR to avoid something they dont
People are most likely to engage in desired behavior if they are positively
reinforced or rewarded
People are less likely to repeat the behavior which are not rewarded or
punished.
36. What do we call the view that we can learn both through observation and direct experience?
A.
B.
Classical Learning
C.
D.
38. Which of the following statements about positive and negative reinforcement is not true?
Reinforcement
(behavior increases)
Punishment
(behavior decreases)
Positive
(something added)
Positive Reinforcement:
Something added increases behavior,
reward
Negative Reinforcement
Something removed increases behavior,
unfavorable situation
Negative
(something removed)
Positive Punishment
Something added
decreases behavior
Negative
Punishment (extinction)
Something removed
decreases behavior
39.
An employee is frequently late for work. Every time he is not tardy the
manager compliments him for being on time. What form of reinforcement is the
manager using?
A.
Continuous schedule
B.
Negative
C.
Intermittent Schedule
D.
Repetitious
REASONS :
Continuous schedule the desired behavior is reinforced every single time it occurs.
Generally, this schedule is best used during the initial stages of learning in order to
create a strong association between the behavior and the response. Negative
tend
to
lead
to
higher
REASONS :
Ratio schedules involve reinforcement after a certain number of responses have
been emitted. The fixed ratio schedule involves using a constant number of
responses. Ratio schedules involve reinforcement after an average number of
responses have occurred. And of course the variable reinforcement tends to lead to
higher performance. Therefore, the answer is A.
41.
Which of the following answer choices is the best definition of attitude?
A.
Attitudes indicate how one will react to a given event.
B.
Attitudes are the yardstick by which one measure's one's actions.
C.
Attitudes are the emotional part of an evaluation of some person, object or
event
D.
Attitudes are evaluative statements of what one believes about something or
someone.
REASONS :
Attitudes are evaluative statementseither favorable or unfavorableabout
objects, people, or events. They reflect how we feel about something. Therefore, the
answer is D.
42.
The ______ component of an attitude is the emotional feeling component of
that attitude.
A.
Affective
B.
Cognitive
C.
Behavioural
D.
Evaluative
REASONS :
Cognitive is the opinion or belief segment of an attitude. Affective is the emotional
or feeling segment of an attitude.
Behavioral is an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.
While evaluative is not mentioned as one of the component in attitude. Therefore,
the answer is A.
43.
The belief that "violence is wrong" is a evaluative statement. Such an opinion
constitutes the ______ component of an attitude.
A.
Cognitive
B.
Affective
C.
D.
Reflective
Behavioral
REASONS :
Cognitive is the opinion or belief segment of an attitude. Affective is the emotional
or feeling segment of an attitude.
Behavioral is an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.
While reflective is not mentioned as one of the component in attitude. Therefore,
the answer is A.
44.
A.
B.
C.
D.
REASONS :
Attitudes are evaluative statementseither favorable or unfavorableabout
objects, people, or events. They reflect how we feel about something. And D choice
is the best to describe an example of attitude.
45.
Which of the following is explained by self-perception theory?
A.
"I think it's wrong to steal, so I never have taken as much as a paper clip from
my office"
B.
"I wouldn't want an office job, all my life Ive worked outdoors, even as a child
growing up on a farm."
C.
"I may have cut a few corners when I wrote that new contract, but it was
more important to get it on time than worry about a few typos."
D.
"I am deeply religious person, so I do not want to work on any of the holy
days my faith holds dear"
REASONS :
Self Perception theory is an account of an attitude formation that was developed by
the psychiatrist Daryl Bem. It reasons that people develop their own behaviors be
observing their own, and developing towards them. And here the suitable statement
which describes the self perception is statement B. Therefore, B is the correct
answer.
46.
Which of the following is not true concerning diversity programs?
A.
They almost always include a self-evaluation phase.
B.
They seek to change attitudes in response to shifts in perspective on diversity
issues
C.
Participants often take part in group discussions with representatives from
diverse groups.
D.
They avoid making participants openly confront the stereotypes that they
hold.
REASONS :
The final property of groups we consider is diversity in the groups membership, the
degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another.
And if we expand this definition, the D statement seems not suitable and does not
give any responsive feedback regarding the diversity programs. The answer is D.
47.
The degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively
participates in it, and considers his or her performance as being important to selfworth is ___________.
A.
job satisfaction
B.
job involvement
C.
job stability
D.
organizational commitment
REASONS :
Job satisfactiona positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its
characteristicsis clearly broad. Job involvement is the degree to which a person
identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important
to self-worth. Organizational commitment is the degree to which an employee
identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain
membership in the organization. So, the suitable answer is B.
48.
A.
B.
C.
D.
REASONS :
Job satisfactiona positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its
characteristicsis clearly broad. Job involvement is the degree to which a person
identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important
to self-worth. Organizational commitment is the degree to which an employee
identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain
membership in the organization. So, the suitable answer is A.
49.
A.
B.
C.
D.
REASONS :
In organizational commitment, an employee identifies with a particular organization
and its goals and wishes to remain a member. Most research has focused on
emotional attachment to an organization and belief in its values as the gold
standard for employee commitment. So, the best answer is C. While cognitive
dissonance means any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between
behavior and attitudes.
50.
A.
B.
C.
D.
REASONS :
The generally not true statement is satisfied workers are productive workers
because mostly the productive works are satisfied workers. And satisfaction has the
relation with organizational citizenship behavior and comes down to fairness of
outcomes, and treatments or procedures. The suitable answer is A.
Essay!
1.
What are some of the new challenges confronting managers in today's business
environment?
The global, one-world economy is changing the nature of competition. The second generation of
the Information Age, marked by advances in decision support and telecommunications
technology, is changing the nature of work in all organizations.
2.
What are the three dimensions of management and how arethey important. ?
The three dimension of management are technical, conceptual, and human. It is absolutely
essential for managers to develop meaningful solutions to today's complex management
problems by using innovative technological solutions that provide answers to problems people
and organizations are having. Furthermore, it is critical to management's success that they be
able to meaningfully understand human resource needs and be able to successfully deploy these
resources.
3.
What are the differences between organizational behavior,organization theory (OT),
personnel/human resources P/HR), and organization development?
Organizational behavior is theoretical and micro-oriented. OT is theoretical and macro-oriented.
P/HR is applied and micro-oriented. OD is applied and macro-oriented.
4.
Henri Fayol has been called the father of management. Henri Fayol was a successful French
industrialist. He also created the first school of management. He was responsible for developing
the major classical management concepts of planning, organizing, developing, staffing,
coordinating, and budgeting (PODSCORB). He also was the first to develop the importance of
lateral communications with his gang plank theory of communications in organization.
Henri Fayol belongs to the administrative management branch of the classical school. His entire
working career was spent with a mining company, Commentary-Fourchambault Company, where
he rose from an apprentice to General Manager in 1888 remaining there until his retirement in
1918. He is credited with turning the company around from a threatened bankruptcy into a strong
financial position by the time of his retirement at age 77.
As a result of his management experience, Fayol strongly believed management theories could
be developed and taught to others. His first writing on administration, Administration
IndustrielleetGenerale, was published in 1916 in the Bulletin of the Society of Mineral Industries
and later appeared as a book. The book became prominent in the United States after a second
English translation appeared in 1949 under the title General and Industrial Management.
Henri Fayol's Fourteen Management Principles
a. Division of Work. Division of work, specialization, produces more and better work with the
same effort. It focuses effort while maximizing employee efforts. It is applicable to all work
including technical applications. There are limitations to specialization which are determined by
its application.
b. Authority and responsibility. Authority is the right to give orders and the power to exact
obedience. Distinction must be made between a manager's official authority deriving from office
and personal authority created through individual personality, intelligence and experience.
Authority creates responsibility.
c. Discipline. Obedience and respect between a firm and its employees based on clear and fair
agreements is absolutely essential to the functioning of any organization. Good discipline
requires managers to apply sanctions whenever violations become apparent.
d. Unity of command. An employee should receive orders from only one superior. Employees
cannot adapt to dual command.
e. Unity of direction. Organizational activities must have one central authority and one plan of
action.
f. Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest. The interests of one employee or
group of employees are subordinate to the interests and goals of the organization and cannot
prevail over it.
g. Remuneration of Personnel. Salaries are the price of services rendered by employees. It should
be fair and provide satisfaction both to the employee and employer. The rate of remuneration is
dependent on the value of the services rendered as determined by the employment market.
h. Centralization. The optimum degree of centralization varies according to the dynamics of each
organization. The objective of centralization is the best utilization of personnel.
i. Scalar chain. A chain of authority exists from the highest organizational authority to the lowest
ranks. While needless departure from the chain of command should be discouraged, using the
"gang plank" principle of direct communication between employees can be extremely
expeditious and increase the effectiveness of organizational communication.
j. Order. Organizational order for materials and personnel is essential. The right materials and the
right employees are necessary for each organizational function and activity.
l. Equity. In organizations equity is a combination of kindliness and justice. The desire for equity
and equality of treatment are aspirations to be taken into account in dealing with employees.
m. Stability of Tenure of Personnel. In order to attain the maximum productivity of personnel, it
is essential to maintain a stable work force. Management insecurity produces undesirable
consequences. Generally the managerial personnel of prosperous concerns is stable, that of
unsuccessful ones is unstable.
n. Initiative. Thinking out a plan and ensuring its success is an extremely strong motivator. At all
levels of the organizational ladder zeal and energy on t he part of employees are augmented by
initiative.
o Esprit de Corps. Teamwork is fundamentally important to an organization. This is encouraged
by creating work teams and using extensive face-to-face verbal communication.
5.
Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of
environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. Through the perceptual process,
we gain information about properties and elements of the environment that are critical to our
survival. Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us to act
within our environment.
Perception includes the five senses; touch, sight, taste smell and taste. It also includes what is
known as proprioception, a set of senses involving the ability to detect changes in body positions
and movements. It also involves the cognitive processes required to process information, such as
recognizing the face of a friend or detecting a familiar scent.
Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can
include evaluations of people, issues, objects or events. Such evaluations are often positive or
negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have mixed feelings
about a particular person or issue.
Researchers also suggest that there are several different components that make up attitudes.
An Emotional Component: How the object, person, issue or event makes you feel.
Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously
aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious,
but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors.
6.
explain the motivation theory according to (a) Abraham A Maslow, (b) Frederick
Herzberg, (c ) David McClelland,and (d) Douglas McGregor
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs
Psychologist Abraham Maslow assumed that people are motivated by unmet needs. When a
persons need for something is not met, the person feels driven, or motivated, to meet that need.
To give a basic example, a person who needs food feels hungry and therefore eats something.
According to Maslows theory, the needs that motivate people fall into five basic categories:
1. Physiological needs are required for survival: food, water, sex, and shelter.
2. Security needs keep you free from harm. In modern society, these might include insurance,
medical checkups, and a home in a safe neighborhood.
3. Social needs include the desire for love, friendship, and companionship. People seek to satisfy
these needs through the time they spend with family, friends, and co-workers.
4. Esteem needs are the needs for self-esteem and the respect of others. Acceptance and praise
are two ways these needs are met.
5. Self-actualization needs describe the desire to live up to your full potential. People on the path
to meeting these needs will not only be doing their best at work and at home but also be
developing mentally, spiritually, and physically.
Maslow argues that these needs are organized into a hierarchy (see Figure 11.2). The most basic
needs are at the bottom of the hierarchy. People try to satisfy these needs first. At the top of the
hierarchy are the needs people try to satisfy only when they have met most of their other needs.
However, people may be seeking to meet more than one category of needs at a time.
According to this view, people tend to rely on their jobs to meet most of their physiological and
security needs through paychecks and benefits such as health insurance. Needs higher on the
hierarchy can be satisfied in many places. For example, people satisfy some of their social needs
through their relationships with family and friends outside work, and they may seek to meet their
selfactualization needs through volunteer work or membership in a religious organization.
Nevertheless, people can also satisfy higher-level needs in the workplace. An employee who is
applauded for solving a difficult problem or who takes pride in skillfully performing a craft such
as carpentry is meeting some higher-level needs at work.
Greater interest in Corporate Social Responsibility at many organizations, coupled with many
employees enthusiasm for serving the community, has led some firms to meet employees
higher-level needs with organized opportunities to do good. For instance, Boston Consulting
Group lets employees spend up to a year working for a nonprofit organization, with their pay
subsidized by BCG. Todays young workers have a reputation for being especially motivated to
serve. Applications to AmeriCorps, which arranges for young people to serve nonprofits around
the United States, have been soaring over the past few years. Of course, meaningful work can
also take place within businesses, and companies also see young employees desire to make a
difference. Marriott International motivates by offering a management training program in which
employees tackle assignments in all facets of hotel operations. When Claire Pignataro graduated
from college, she was delighted to take a job with Marriott, not so much for the pay, but because
the company would let her do something she loves: planning social and corporate events at one
of its hotels.
Maslows hierarchy is a widely cited view of motivation, but it has shortcomings. Critics
(including Maslow himself) have noted that the theory is based on clinical work with neurotic
patients and was not tested much for Relevance to the work setting. Are the needs identified by
Maslow really all-inclusive? Do they describe people of many cultures, or just the majority of
U.S. workers? The lack of studies investigating the hierarchy of needs makes it impossible to
answer such questions with certainty. However, the popularity of Maslows theory implies that it
can be helpful in offering suggestions about what motivates people.
Applied to a work situation, Maslows theory means the supervisor must be aware of the current
needs of particular employees. During a serious recession, a factory supervisor may find that
many employees are highly motivated just to keep their jobs so they can pay their bills. In
contrast, employees who are less worried about keeping a job may respond well to efforts to
meet social needs. At Wyndham International, when David Mussa became vice president,
employees rarely stayed long, so he took the time to discuss work with small groups of
employees. Mussa had thought that the problem would be money to meet physiological needs.
Instead, he learned that the problem was esteem needs. Many of the employees felt the company
did not value them, mainly because they rarely received feedback or coaching to help them do
their job better. They wanted their supervisors to be more involved and show that they cared. So
Mussa hired more supervisors, giving each one more time to spend coaching employeesin fact,
supervisors were required to do so.
In this era of increasing numbers of single parents and two-income families in the workforce, a
practical concern of many employees is their need for flexibility in their work hours to balance
the demands of home and work. Some organizations have responded with family-friendly
policies, which typically include flexible work arrangements such as the following:
FlextimeThis policy grants employees some leeway in choosing which 8 hours a day or
which 40 hours a week to work.
Part-time workFor employees who can afford to work less than full time, this option frees
them to spend more time meeting other needs. It is economically appealing to organizations
because few offer a full range of benefits to parttime employees.
Job sharingTo create part-time jobs, two employees share the duties of a single position.
TelecommutingSome employees can and want to work from home, keeping in touch by
means of computer and telephone lines.
McClellands Achievement-Power-Affiliation Theory
In the 1960s, David McClelland developed a theory of motivation based on the assumption that
through their life experiences, people develop various needs. His theory focuses on three such
needs:
1. The need for achievementthe desire to do something better than it has been done before.
2. The need for powerthe desire to control, influence, or be responsible for other people.
3. The need for affiliationthe desire to maintain close and friendly personal relationships.
According to McClelland, people have all these needs to some extent. However, the intensity of
the needs varies from one individual to the next. The nature of a persons early life experiences
may cause one of these needs to be particularly strong.
The relative strength of the needs influences what will motivate a person. A person with a strong
need for achievement is more motivated by success than by money. This person tends to set
challenging but achievable goals and to assess risk carefully. Someone with a strong need for
power tries to influence others and seeks out advancement and responsibility. A person with a
strong need for affiliation gives ambition a back seat in exchange for approval and acceptance.
At IBS, which distributes tools, supplies, and components for manufacturers, managers believe
the companys small size allows them to be flexible in meeting employees needs. Michelle St.
John, IBSs operations manager, says, We allow employees to take time for what they need and
make it up later. St. John, like many human resources experts, sees family-friendly policies as
an important way to get and keep the best workers. Recent surveys have found flexible work
arrangements at almost three-fourths of companies, with flextime available at more than half.
(See Figure 11.3.) Other family-friendly benefits include referral services to help workers find
day care for their children or elder care for aging parents. However, some employees have seen
these policies as benefiting certain employees at the expense of others. To learn how some firms
are responding to this concern, see the Supervision and Ethics box. McClellands
Achievement-Power-Affiliation Theory In the 1960s, David McClelland developed a theory of
motivation based on the assumption that through their life experiences, people develop various
needs. His theory focuses on three such needs: 1. The need for achievementthe desire to do
something better than it has been done before. 2. The need for powerthe desire to control,
influence, or be responsible for other people. 3. The need for affiliationthe desire to maintain
close and friendly personal relationships. According to McClelland, people have all these needs
to some extent. However, the intensity of the needs varies from one individual to the next. The
nature of a persons early life experiences may cause one of these needs to be particularly strong.
The relative strength of the needs influences what will motivate a person. A person with a strong
need for achievement is more motivated by success than by money. This person tends to set
challenging but achievable goals and to assess risk carefully. Someone with a strong need for
power tries to influence others and seeks out advancement and responsibility. A person with a
strong need for affiliation gives ambition a back seat in exchange for approval and acceptance.
This theory offers a way to understand the behavior of the salespeople at a Westinghouse sales
office. The manager in charge of that office told his 16 employees that he would buy and cook
lunch for them if they met their sales goals. In the following 19 months, they exceeded their
quotas 18 times. That exceptional performance made such an impression on headquarters that the
company offered to pay for the meals. The manager declined reimbursement, however. Despite
the widespread assumption that salespeople are motivated by money, the manager saw a need for
affiliation: The staff members enjoyed their bosss personal attention as he bought and grilled
steaks for them to share. Changing this interaction into a corporate reward program would
remove its motivational power. Similarly, Pfizer inspired its older, more experienced sales reps
by bringing them together into peer groups that competed with one another and coached the
pharmaceutical companys younger representatives. The veteran salespeople, whose performance
had declined as they increasingly felt isolated, improved when they began to enjoy stronger
relationships with one another and a clearer role with respect to their younger colleagues.
McClellands theory differs from Maslows in that it assumes different people have different
patterns of needs, whereas Maslows theory assumes the same pattern of needs for all people.
Thus, McClelland considers individual differences.
Both theories, however, imply that supervisors must remember that employees are motivated by
a variety of possibilities.
Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory
Frederick Herzbergs research led to the conclusion that employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction
stem from different sources. According to this Two-factor theory, dissatisfaction results from the
absence of what Herzberg calls hygiene factors, which include salary and relationships with
others. For example, someone whose pay is poor (e.g., a physical therapist earning $5,000 less
than the average pay for the position) is going to be dissatisfied with the job. In contrast,
satisfaction results from the presence of what Herzberg calls motivating factors, which include
opportunities offered by the job. Thus, an employee who sees a chance for promotion is likely to
be more satisfied with the current job than one who does not. Table 11.1 lists the items that make
up hygiene and motivating factors.
Herzberg found that employees are most productive when the organization provides a
combination of desirable hygiene factors and motivating factors. According to this theory, an
organization cannot ensure that its employees will be satisfied and productive simply by giving
them a big pay raise every year. Employees also need motivating factors such as the ability to
learn new skills and assume responsibility. Like the other content theories, Herzbergs theory
tells supervisors that they need to consider a variety of ways to motivate employees.
THEORY Z - Douglas McGregor
In observing the behavior of managers, Douglas McGregor noted that many tend to have a group
of attitudes that reflect their beliefs about workers and the workplace. He termed this set of
attitudes Theory X. To summarize, a Theory X manager assumes that people dislike work and try
to avoid it, that they therefore must be coerced to perform, that they wish to avoid responsibility
and would prefer to be directed, and that their primary need is for security. Not surprisingly,
these beliefs influence how supervisors and other managers behave. Theory X supervisor would
adopt an autocratic leadership role, keeping a close eye on employees and looking for occasions
when they need to be disciplined to keep them performing adequately.
McGregor advises that managers can benefit from adopting a much different set of attitudes,
which he terms Theory Y. According to Theory Y, working is as natural an activity as resting or
playing, and people will work hard to achieve objectives to which they are committed. They can
learn to seek responsibility and to be creative in solving organizational problems. Supervisors
and other managers who adhere to Theory Y focus on developing the potential of their
employees. Their style of leadership tends to be democratic. Table 11.2 summarizes these two
sets of assumptions.
Today, a common view among people studying management is that Theory Y is appropriate for
many situations. To see what a Theory Y manager looks like, consider Don T. Davis, who
manages the Beverly Hills, California, branch of Smith Barney, a brokerage division of
Citigroup. Davis focuses on providing the offices 85 financial consultants with the resources
they need to serve their clients. Explains Davis, Ive been around here a long time. Im able to
call someone [at Citigroup] and say, I need you to help me out here. Every day, Davis takes
several walks around the brokerage offices, making himself available to the financial consultants
in case they have problems or need encouragement. He often accompanies them on calls to
prospects so he can better coach them in sales and teamwork. He also identifies situations in
which he can help employees by pairing them with those who have expertise in products the
client needs. In one situation, a financial consultant was having difficulty getting a new client set
up, so Davis arranged for this major prospect to travel to New York and meet experts at Citicorp.
The trip smoothed the process for the financial consultant, who has since been able to set up
services for that client.
In the 1980s, management experts extended their view of managing and leading to include
Theory Z. Theory Z supervisors seek to involve employees in making decisions, consider longterm goals when making plans, and give employees relatively great freedom in carrying out their
duties. This theory is based on comparisons of management styles in the United States and Japan.
It assumes that whereas Japanese workers are more productive than their U.S. counterparts, the
difference stems in part from different management styles. Thus, Theory Z was developed in an
attempt to adapt some Japanese management practices to the U.S. workplace. The Japanese
practices include employee Involvement and lifetime employment.
Journal:
Title
By
a. Literature Review
The field of organizational behavior (OB) has emerged from the disciplines
of psychology, sociology, political science, and economics, although it is
primarily identified with psychology (Schneider, 1985). It has often been
defined as studying behavior of individuals and groups within organizations
(e.g. see annual review articles such as Mitchell, 1979; Schneider, 1985; or
introductory texts such as Duncan, 1978; Organ and Bateman, 1986; Wagner
and Hollenbeck, 1995). Thus, the field has historically focused on the
behavior and attributes of individuals and groups, while focusing less
attention on the organizational aspects of OB. Because of this focus, GB has
come to be synonymous with what is referred to as micro-OB (e.g. Staw,
1984). GReilly (1990) pointed out that, among general management
journals, the market share of micro-OB research has dropped dramatically
over time. This drop may have happened because management researchers
have expressed less interest in research that fits a traditional narrow
definition of OB. Yet, as a field, we have rarely examined the implications of
how OB has come to be defined, or what the alternatives might be.
There are many potential reasons for the decline observed by OReilly, but
at least two have been noted by multiple reviews of the field. First, reviewers
have noted that GB research tends to focus more on empirical studies rather
than theory, and they called for more careful attention to theory (Mitchell,
1979; Staw, 1984; Ilgen and Klein, 1989; OReilly, 1990). In addition,
reviewers have noted that our field tends to borrow heavily from related
fields without necessarily contributing new insights (Ilgen and Klein, 1989;
OReilly, 1990).
The authors defined research topics in terms of common key words that
appear in a key word field in the PSYCHINFO database. These key words are
chosen by authors at the time their article is accepted for publication, so
they represent the authors view of the most important general topics that
are addressed by their research. For example, when Hinds and Kiesler (1995)
published their analysis of telephone, e-mail, and voice mail communication
in seven departments of a large telecommunication firm, they chose the
following keywords: boundary spanning, communication technology,
electronic communication, hierarchy, and structure.
The following definition of organizational behavior from Benjamin
Schneiders (1985) review of the field in the Annual Review of Psychology:
OB is the confluence of individual, group, and organizational studies flowing
from industrialorganizational psychology and organization and
management theory with headwaters in psychology (social, psychometrics),
sociology (organizational, work, occupational), and management (scientific,
human relations) (Schneider, 1985, p. 574).
Although we would prefer to believe our research is central and cutting
edge, we have to agree with our respondents that these topics, although
interesting B, are probably over-researched in the field of GB.
For example within the topic of decision-making, consider the specific case of
research on escalation of commitment (Heath, 1995). This topic is very
interesting B, and it has along pedigree in journals of management and
organizational behavior (e.g. Staw, 1976; Whyte, 1986; Brockner, 1992).
given that the cognitive revolution in psychology had been in full swing since
the early 1970s (e.g. see Anderson, 1995).
In her study, Zucker extends the basic study of Sherif (1935) and
Jacobs and Campbell(1961) on the autokinetic effect. The autokinetic effect
is based on a visual illusion when people sit in a darkroom and stare at a
small stationary point of light, they will believe that the point of light is
moving because their own eyes engage in small, involuntary saccadic
movements. Sherif showed that if you ask individuals to gauge how much
the light is moving, they will guess quite different amounts. However,
Jacobs and Campbell showed that if you put groups of individuals in a room
at the same time, they eventually converage to a single guess that
represents an (arbitrary) social norm.
topics which rank positive are ones that respondents feel deserve greater
emphasis than they are currently getting. Of the 49 key words on the survey,
the respondents thought that significantly more emphasis should be placed
on 16, and significantly less emphasis should be placed on only one! While
this survey suggests that there are many directions for interesting future
research, it also suggests that journal editors will need to make some tough
choices. Given a limited number of journal pages, it may be difficult to create
room for 16 new topics while decreasing coverage of only one.
A second set of patterns to notice is the locus of specialization and
competition across topics and journals. Some topics are a special focus for
particular journals (e.g. learning and OS (Organization Science), decision
making and OBHDP (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes), or networks and ASQ (Administrative Science Quarterly)), Where
as other topics are more generally popular across all journals (e.g.
performance) or are ignored by all of them (e.g. cross cultural, legitimacy,
socialization). In addition, some topics seem to be avoided by some journals
(e.g. JOB publishes less about teams! groups than the other journals), while
other topics seem to be points of competition (e.g. strategy for AMJ
(Academy of Management Journal) and OS; structure for ASQ and OS).
Third, some journals also seem to have not only captured some topics, but to
be branded by them. For example, OBHDP publishes 30 per cent of its
articles under the key word decision making. Furthermore, when the
decision-related themes of negotiation and risk are also included, these three
themes alone account for approximately 45 per cent of all OBHDP articles
(this figure is approximate because it does not account for overlapping key
words on the same article). JOBs top four themes (stress, commitment, job
satisfaction, and conflict) account for about 40 per cent of its published
articles.
c. Knowledge I can get