BA 302 Midterm Exam Questions And Answers

BA 302 Midterm Exam Questions And Answers What is organizational behavior? - answerThe systematic study and application of knowledge about how individuals and groups act within the organizations where they work. why does OB matter - answer-It matters because it is all about things you care about. OB can help you become a more engaged organizational member. -Getting along with others, getting a great job, lowering your stress level, making more effective decisions, and working effectively within a team...these are all great things, and OB addresses them! Finally, it matters because organizations care about OB. The best companies in the world understand that the people make the place -we know that organizations that value their employees are more profitable than those that do not. - answerResearch shows that successful organizations have a number of things in common, such as providing employment security, engaging in selective hiring, utilizing self- managed teams, being decentralized, paying well, training employees, reducing status differences, and sharing Research methods used to study OB - answerResearchers have working hypotheses based on their own observations, readings on the subject, and information from individuals within organizations. Based on these ideas, they set out to understand the relationships among different variables. surveys - answerProvides a methodology for asking people to tell about themselves, other people, or their environment•To study relationships between/among variables -To study how attitudes and behaviors change over time field studies - answerData collected in real organizations with real workers•Data collection methods include:-Surveys-Behavioral observation-Interviews-Experiments fs cont - answerNon-experimental vs. experimental field studies-Non- experimental:correlational, no manipulation-Experimental:manipulation of a variable (e.g., treatment vs. control group)•Treatment group: group of workers who receive treatment/intervention•Control group: group of workers who do not receive treatment/intervention What is a Hypothesis? - answerTestableexpectations or guesses regarding observations, phenomenon, or a scientific problem Laboratory studies - answerdata collected in typically artificial settings with controlled conditions•Data collection methods include:-Surveys-Behavioral observation-Interviews- Experiments case studies - answerIn-depth investigation of a single person, group, organization, industry, or setting•Valuable for providing information about conditions, situations, people, or groups that are rare or unusual meta analysis - answerMethod for integrating and synthesizing quantitative findings across studies-Recognizes that there is no perfect study reliability - answerconsistency or stability of a measure •A reliable measure is one that yields the same results each time it is used—or, has little variation in scores each time it is used•Measures that are unreliable have little value in science Surface-Level Diversity - answerObservable differences such as gender, ethnicity, age, etc.- Also called Demographic Diversity Deep-Level Diversity - answerDifferences in underlying attributes such as values, knowledge, abilities, skills, interests, experiences, and attitudes-Also called Psychological Diversity creative benefit - answerBenefit #1: CreativityDuring decision making, diverse opinions and perspectives can lead to:•higher quality decisions•more creative solutions customer service benefit - answerDiverse organizations can improve customer service:•target the needs of groups that traditionally had not been targeted•customers more comfortable with organizations that understand their needs satisfaction benefit - answerinclusive work environments that contribute to a sense of fairness are related to higher satisfaction. Conversely, employees who feel discriminated against will be less satisfied and more likely to turnover. higher stock benefit - answerOrganizations that receive awards from the U.S. Department of Labor for diversity efforts have higher stock prices in the days following the announcement of the award reduced litigation benefit - answercostly litigation can be tied to:-violation of EEOC laws- disparate treatment-disparate impact-general lack of fairness performance benefit - answerDiversity can lead to higher organizational performance when employees attitudes toward diversity are positive