ORGB 364 Ch 1 Exam Questions With 100%
Correct Answers
Define organizational behaviour
OB is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organizations.
Define organizations
Organizations are groups of people who work interdependently toward some purposed
Why is OB important? (3)
o Comprehend and predict work events
o Adopt more accurate personal theories
o Influence organizational events
List opportunities and challenges of technological change
- improved efficiency, interactivity and well-being
-altered the communication patterns and power dynamics at work, and has affected our non-work
time, attention span, and techno-stress.
what has caused globalization to become more intense over time?
Information technology and transportation systems
what is the emerging employment relationship trend?
The blurring of work and non-work time and the associated call for more work-life balance
what are some advantages and disadvantages of telework?
advantages: employees experience better work-life balance, higher productivity due to reduced
stress, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and office expenses
disadvantages: more social isolation, weaker relationships with co-workers, less word-of-mouth info
which impacts relationships and promotional opportunities
Diversity advantages and challenges
improve creativity and decision making, and provide better awareness and response to diverse
communities.
Challenges include dysfunctional conflict and slower team development.
what are the 4 anchors which OB knowledge is based? Briefly describe each
- Multidisciplinary anchor: knowledge should come from other disciplines and not just from its own
isolated research base
- Systematic research anchor: OB knowledge should be developed using sound research methods
consistent with evidence-based management
- Contingency anchor: states that OB theories need to consider that there will be different
consequences in different situations
- Multiple levels of analysis anchor: states that OB topics may be viewed from the individual, team
and organization levels of analysis
list the 3 ways organizations maintain a good "fit" within an environment
-adapting to the environment
,-influencing the environment
-moving to a more favourable environment
what does intellectual capital consist of? (3) Briefly describe each
-human capital (knowledge, skills and abilities that employees carry around in their heads=
competitive advantage)
-structural capital (knowledge captured and retained in an organizations systems and structures)
-relationship capital (value derived from an organizations relationship with customers, suppliers and
others who add mutual value)
what are the 4 Most widely identified HPWP's?
employee involvement, job autonomy, developing employee competencies, and performance/ skill-
based rewards
how does HPWP improve organizational effectiveness? 3
HPWPs improve organizational effectiveness by building human capital, increasing adaptability and
strengthening employee motivation and attitudes
What are the 4 perspectives of organizational effectiveness?
-open systems perspective
-organizational learning perspective
-high-performance work practices perspective
-stakeholders perspective
what is open systems perspective?
views organizations as complex organisms that live within an external environment. Depend on
external environment for resources, then use organizational subsystems to transport the resources
into outputs
what is the organizational learning perspective?
states that organizations are effective when they find ways to acquire, share, use and store
knowledge (intellectual capital)
what is the high-performance work practices perspective?
identifies a bundle of systems and structures to leverage workforce potential. Most widely identified
HPWP's are employee involvement, job autonomy, developing employee competencies, and
performance/ skill-based rewards
what is the stakeholders perspective?
states that organizations are more effective when they understand, manage and satisfy stakeholder
needs and expectations. Leaders manage interests of diverse stakeholders by relaying on their
personal and organizational values for guidance
what is globalization?
the economic, social and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world
what is surface-level diversity?
,observable demographic and overt differences in people
what is deep level diversity?
differences in values, personality, and work preferences
4 steps of the knowledge management process (organizational learning)
-acquiring knowledge
-sharing knowledge
-using knowledge
-storing knowledge
what is corporate social responsibility?
organizational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond immediate financial
interests/ legal obligations of the firm
define ethics
the study of moral principles or values- determine the right thing to do
what is learning orientation?
beliefs and norms that strongly support organizational learning
what is organizational effectiveness?
the ultimate dependent variable in organization behaviour. effectiveness is the outcome that more
OB theories are implicitly or explicitly trying to achieve
what are relationship capital stakeholders?
value derived from an organizations relationship with customers, suppliers, and others who add
mutual value
define work-life balance
an idealized state whereby a person optimizes time and psychological resources between their work
and non-work roles
what are the 4 major social developments facing organizations?
technological change, globalization, emerging employment relationships, and increasing workforce
diversity
what are the 2 key features of organizations?
1) they are collective entities
2) members have a collective sense of purpose
difference between remote work vs. telework
remote work is when employees work away from the organizations traditional common worksite vs.
telework is when employees work form home or other non-work settings one or more days per
month
, 4 reasons why corporate leaders embrace fads instead of researched OB methods
1. due to being bombarded with several ideas from many resources (hard to decipher which has good
evidence)
2. OB research is generic
3. sources of fads may be rewarded for marketing their ideas
4. perceptual errors and decision-making biases
best way to measure organizational effectiveness is based off of what 4 perspectives?
open systems, organizational learning, high performance work practices, stakeholders
what are the 3 indicators of effective transformation?
- efficiency
- adaptability
- innovativeness
4 most discussed HPWP
- employee involvement
- job autonomy
- competency development
-rewards for performance and competency development
what is the triple bottom line philosophy?
try to support or earn positive returns in the economic, social, and environmental spheres of
sustainability
examples of inputs and outputs in the open systems perspective
inputs: raw materials, human resources, information, financial resources, equipment
outputs: product/services, shareholders dividends, community support, waste/ pollution
what are the 4 factors that directly influence individual behaviour and performance?
MARS
motivation
ability
role perception
situational factors
briefly define motivation (MARS)
the forces within a person that affect his or her direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary
behavior. It is a force, not their actual behaviour
briefly define ability (MARS)
the natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task
briefly define role perceptions (MARS)
the extent to which people understand the job duties (roles) assigned to them or expected of them
Correct Answers
Define organizational behaviour
OB is the study of what people think, feel and do in and around organizations.
Define organizations
Organizations are groups of people who work interdependently toward some purposed
Why is OB important? (3)
o Comprehend and predict work events
o Adopt more accurate personal theories
o Influence organizational events
List opportunities and challenges of technological change
- improved efficiency, interactivity and well-being
-altered the communication patterns and power dynamics at work, and has affected our non-work
time, attention span, and techno-stress.
what has caused globalization to become more intense over time?
Information technology and transportation systems
what is the emerging employment relationship trend?
The blurring of work and non-work time and the associated call for more work-life balance
what are some advantages and disadvantages of telework?
advantages: employees experience better work-life balance, higher productivity due to reduced
stress, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and office expenses
disadvantages: more social isolation, weaker relationships with co-workers, less word-of-mouth info
which impacts relationships and promotional opportunities
Diversity advantages and challenges
improve creativity and decision making, and provide better awareness and response to diverse
communities.
Challenges include dysfunctional conflict and slower team development.
what are the 4 anchors which OB knowledge is based? Briefly describe each
- Multidisciplinary anchor: knowledge should come from other disciplines and not just from its own
isolated research base
- Systematic research anchor: OB knowledge should be developed using sound research methods
consistent with evidence-based management
- Contingency anchor: states that OB theories need to consider that there will be different
consequences in different situations
- Multiple levels of analysis anchor: states that OB topics may be viewed from the individual, team
and organization levels of analysis
list the 3 ways organizations maintain a good "fit" within an environment
-adapting to the environment
,-influencing the environment
-moving to a more favourable environment
what does intellectual capital consist of? (3) Briefly describe each
-human capital (knowledge, skills and abilities that employees carry around in their heads=
competitive advantage)
-structural capital (knowledge captured and retained in an organizations systems and structures)
-relationship capital (value derived from an organizations relationship with customers, suppliers and
others who add mutual value)
what are the 4 Most widely identified HPWP's?
employee involvement, job autonomy, developing employee competencies, and performance/ skill-
based rewards
how does HPWP improve organizational effectiveness? 3
HPWPs improve organizational effectiveness by building human capital, increasing adaptability and
strengthening employee motivation and attitudes
What are the 4 perspectives of organizational effectiveness?
-open systems perspective
-organizational learning perspective
-high-performance work practices perspective
-stakeholders perspective
what is open systems perspective?
views organizations as complex organisms that live within an external environment. Depend on
external environment for resources, then use organizational subsystems to transport the resources
into outputs
what is the organizational learning perspective?
states that organizations are effective when they find ways to acquire, share, use and store
knowledge (intellectual capital)
what is the high-performance work practices perspective?
identifies a bundle of systems and structures to leverage workforce potential. Most widely identified
HPWP's are employee involvement, job autonomy, developing employee competencies, and
performance/ skill-based rewards
what is the stakeholders perspective?
states that organizations are more effective when they understand, manage and satisfy stakeholder
needs and expectations. Leaders manage interests of diverse stakeholders by relaying on their
personal and organizational values for guidance
what is globalization?
the economic, social and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world
what is surface-level diversity?
,observable demographic and overt differences in people
what is deep level diversity?
differences in values, personality, and work preferences
4 steps of the knowledge management process (organizational learning)
-acquiring knowledge
-sharing knowledge
-using knowledge
-storing knowledge
what is corporate social responsibility?
organizational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond immediate financial
interests/ legal obligations of the firm
define ethics
the study of moral principles or values- determine the right thing to do
what is learning orientation?
beliefs and norms that strongly support organizational learning
what is organizational effectiveness?
the ultimate dependent variable in organization behaviour. effectiveness is the outcome that more
OB theories are implicitly or explicitly trying to achieve
what are relationship capital stakeholders?
value derived from an organizations relationship with customers, suppliers, and others who add
mutual value
define work-life balance
an idealized state whereby a person optimizes time and psychological resources between their work
and non-work roles
what are the 4 major social developments facing organizations?
technological change, globalization, emerging employment relationships, and increasing workforce
diversity
what are the 2 key features of organizations?
1) they are collective entities
2) members have a collective sense of purpose
difference between remote work vs. telework
remote work is when employees work away from the organizations traditional common worksite vs.
telework is when employees work form home or other non-work settings one or more days per
month
, 4 reasons why corporate leaders embrace fads instead of researched OB methods
1. due to being bombarded with several ideas from many resources (hard to decipher which has good
evidence)
2. OB research is generic
3. sources of fads may be rewarded for marketing their ideas
4. perceptual errors and decision-making biases
best way to measure organizational effectiveness is based off of what 4 perspectives?
open systems, organizational learning, high performance work practices, stakeholders
what are the 3 indicators of effective transformation?
- efficiency
- adaptability
- innovativeness
4 most discussed HPWP
- employee involvement
- job autonomy
- competency development
-rewards for performance and competency development
what is the triple bottom line philosophy?
try to support or earn positive returns in the economic, social, and environmental spheres of
sustainability
examples of inputs and outputs in the open systems perspective
inputs: raw materials, human resources, information, financial resources, equipment
outputs: product/services, shareholders dividends, community support, waste/ pollution
what are the 4 factors that directly influence individual behaviour and performance?
MARS
motivation
ability
role perception
situational factors
briefly define motivation (MARS)
the forces within a person that affect his or her direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary
behavior. It is a force, not their actual behaviour
briefly define ability (MARS)
the natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task
briefly define role perceptions (MARS)
the extent to which people understand the job duties (roles) assigned to them or expected of them
