1. Over the past two decades, business schools have added
required courses on people skills to many curricula. Why have they
done this?Amanagers no longer need technical skills in subjects
such as economics behaviour in the workplace
Bthere is an increased emphasis in controlling employee
behaviour the the workplace
Cmanagers need to understand human behaviour if they are to be
effective
Dthese skills enable managers to effectively lead human
resources departments
REASONS : The study of organizational behavior relates to the
expected behavior of an individual in the organization. No two
individuals are likely to behave in the same manner in a particular
work situation. It is the predictability of a manager about the
expected behavior of an individual. There are no absolutes in human
behavior. It is the human factor that is contributory to the
productivity hence thestudy of human behavior is important.
2. Which of the following is most likely to be a belief held by
a successful manager ?ATechnical knowledge is all that is needed
for success
BIt is not essential to have sound interpersonal skills
CTechnical skills are necessary, but insufficient alone for
success
DEffectiveness is not impacted by human behaviour
REASONS : Technical skill involves the ability ofemployees to
know the technical aspect and operation and maintenance of machine,
toolsand allied fixture they work with, so it is clearly not enough
to utilized this type of skill. In order to be a successful
manager, we need to know all the human skill, technical skill,
conceptual skill, and leadership all in one package. 3.Which of the
following would not be considered an organization?
AA University
BA church
CA Military Unit
DAll adults in a given community
REASONS : Organization is hierarchical in nature, with people at
each level having their own objectives, which contributes towards
fulfillment of overall organizational objectives. All adults in a
given community are not considered as an organization because they
might have different goals and structure.4. Which of the following
is best defined as a consciously coordinated social unit, composed
of two or more people, which functions on a relatively continuous
basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals?
AParty
BUnit
CTeam
DOrganization
REASONS : A party is a gathering of people who have been invited
by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, or
recreation. Unit is an individual thing or person regarded as
single and complete but which can also form an individual component
of a larger or more complex whole. A team comprises a group of
people or animals linked in a common purpose.5. Which of a
manager's primary roles requires the manager to define an
organization's goals, establish an overall strategy for achieveing
these goals and develop a comprehensive hierarchy of plans to
integrate and coordinate activities?
AControlling
BPlanning
CStaffing
DCoordinating
REASONS : Controlling is the part of management that helps to
check the errors and to take the corrective action so that
deviation from standards are minimized and stated goals of the
organization are achieved in a desired manner. Staffing is the
process of acquiring, deploying, and retaining a workforce of
sufficient quantity and quality to create positive impacts on the
organizations effectiveness. Coordinating is is the act of
organizing, making different people or things work together for a
goal or effect to fulfill desired goals in an organization.6.
Determining how tasks are to be grouped is part of which management
function?
APlanning
BLeading
CControlling
DOrganizing
REASONS : Planning is the process of thinking about and
organizing the activities required to achieve a desired goal.
Leading is a continuous process of setting objectives and trying to
achieve them through the efforts of other people. Controlling is
the part of management that helps to check the errors and to take
the corrective action so that deviation from standards are
minimized and stated goals of the organization are achieved in a
desired manner.7. Mitzberg concluded that managers perform 10
different, highly interrelated roles. Which of the following is one
of the broad categories into which these roles could be
grouped?
AInterpersonal
BInstitutional
CDecisional
DAffective
ANSWER : CCategoryRole
InterpersonalFigureheadLeaderLiaison
InformationalMonitorDisseminatorSpokesperson
DecisionalEntrepreneurDisturbance HandlerResource
AllocatorNegotiator
REASONS : The 10 roles are then divided up into three
categories, as follows:
8.An OB study would be least likely to be used to focus on which
of the following problems?
A.an increase in absenteeism at a certain company
B.a fall in productivity in one shift of a manufacturing
plant
C.a decrease in sales due to growing foreign competition
D.an increase in theft by employees at a retail store
REASONS : The study of OB 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.Organizational Development
B.Human Resources Management
C.Organizational Behaviour
D.People Management
REASONS : Organization development (OD) is a deliberately
planned, organization-wide effort to increase an organization's
effectiveness and/or efficiency. Human Resource (HR) management
deals withthe design of formal systems in an organization to ensure
the effective and efficientuse of human talent to accomplish
organizational goals. People management study is not exist.
10.Which of the following is a reason that the study of
organizational behaviour is useful?
A.Human behaviour does not vary a great deal between individuals
and situations
B.Human behaviour is not random
C.Human behaviour is not consistent
D.Human behaviour is rarely predictable
REASONS : Firstorganizational behaviour is an investigative
study of individuals and groups, second, theimpact of
organizational structure on human behaviour and thethird, the
application ofknowledge to achieve organizational effectiveness.
These factors are interactive in natureand the impact of such
behaviour is applied to various systems so that the goals
areachieved. The nature of study of organizational behaviour is
investigative to establishcause and effect relationship which means
that it is not a random study.
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?
A.Knowing what are the organizational goals of her team
B.Knowing what is important to each member of the team
C.Knowing how the team perceives layoffs
D.Knowing how the team has reacted to similar situations in the
past
REASONS : The organizational goals are not represent the
feelings, behavior, and thoughts of the employees. The goals are
originally set out by the top management without having any
discussion and paying attention of the employees thoughts.
12.Organizational behaviour is constructed from all of the
following disciplines except __________.
A.physics
B.psychology
C.anthropology
REASONS : Physics is the natural science that involves the study
of matter and its motion through space and time, along with related
concepts such as energy and force.13.How is the science of
organizational behaviour different from sciences such as physics
and chemistry?
A.OB accepts intuitive explanations of phenomena it studies
B.Much of the data used in OB is collected by scientists working
in different, but related, fields
C.OB does not seek unifying underlying principles for the
phenomena it studies.
D.Most people have preconceived notions about the phenomena
studied by OB.
REASONS : The differentiation of science of organizational
behavior from science (physics and chemistry) is science of OB is
applied in nature, it is the study and application of knowledge
about human behavior, it also can use our logic to explain it.
Conversely, science like physics and chemistry is discussed about
the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic
study of the structure through the experiment, to explain it we
should base on the theory, we cannot explain it with our logic.
14.Psychology' major contributions to the field of
organizational behaviour have been primarily at what level of
analysis.
A.The level of the group
B.The level of the individual
C.The level of the organization
D.The level of the culture
REASONS : Psychology is one of field that contributed in
organizational behavior. Psychology is an applied science, which
attempts to explain human behavior in particular situation and
predicts individual actions. Studies of this theory can improve
personal skills, bring change in attitude and develop positive
approach to organizational systems. This theory can also use to
select the employee, measure the personality and aptitude of an
individual.
15.The study of group processes in the organizational behaviour
has largely been derived from what field of study?
A.Psychology
B.Sociology
C.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.global
B.general
C.dependent
D.contingency
REASONS :Global variable is is a variable that is accessible in
everyscope. Interaction mechanisms with global variables are
calledglobal environment(see alsoglobal state) mechanisms.Dependent
variable isin 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 _______.
A.Continually update their knowledge and skills
B.Be prepared to stay in the same position for longer periods of
time
C.Make closer connections to their peers
D.Foster friendship within the work environment
REASONS :Nowadays, the organization keep change their structure,
rule, policy and programs that conducted by the organization
because of the strict competition. This condition can be said as
temporariness climate which influence the employee and the employee
should improve their knowledge and skill continuously so they able
to compete with the others employee and can perform as what
organization expect them to do.
18.Group behaviour, power, and conflict are central areas of
study for _________.
A.Archaeologists
B.Sociologist
C.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.At its root, productivity involves concern for both
________.
A.Dependance and Independence
B.Motivation and Distraction
C.Absenteeism and Motivation
D.Effectiveness and Efficiency
REASONS :: An organization is productive if it achieves its
goals by transforming inputs into outputs at the lowest
cost.Transforming inputs into outputs with the lowest cost is the
part of effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness means do the
right things and efficiency means do things right.So, productivity
requires both effectiveness and efficiency.
20.Which of the following is an example of being an efficient
company?
A.Operating at the lowest possible cost while yielding a higher
output.
B.Creating the highest customer satisfaction ratings.
C.Meeting production schedules
D.Obtaining the highest market share
REASONS : Efficiency describes the ratio of effective output to
the input required to achieve it. Therefore, a company operating at
the lowest possible cost while still making a high profit, is
considered efficient.
21.Which of the following statements is true about the term
"ability", as the term is used in organizational behaviour?
A.Motivation
B.Capacity
C.Experience
D.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.Job Satisfaction
B.Turnover
C.Job Performance
D.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.It refers to an individual's willingness to perform various
tasks
B.It is a current assessment of what an individual can do
C.It refers exclusively to intellectual skills
D.It refers exclusively to physical skills
REASONS : Ability refers to an individuals capacity to perform
the various tasks in a job. It is a current assessment of what one
can do. An individuals overall abilities are essentially made up of
two sets of factors: intellectual and physical abilities.
Intellectual abilities are those needed to perform mental
activities. Physical abilities are important for successfully
performing less-skilled and more-standardized jobs.
24.Recent evidence suggests that intelligence can be better
understood by breaking it down into four sub-parts. Which one of
the following is not one of those subparts?
A.Cognitive
B.Social
C.Emotional
D.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.Cognitive Intelligence
B.Social Intelligence
C.Emotional Intelligence
D.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. CognitiveB. SocialC.
EmotionalD. CulturalReason: In today's increasingly global and
diverse contexts (work and non-work), it is importance to be aware
of Cultural Intelligence. This includes awareness of your own
Cultural Intelligence and awareness of the Cultural Intelligence of
others. Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is a person's capability to
function effectively in situations characterized by cultural
diversity. CQ is a critical capability that enhances employee,
manager, and organizational effectiveness. It also enhances
interpersonal interactions in a wide range of social contexts.27.
What will be the largest demographic change in the U.S. workforce
in the next decade?A. Increasing Ethnic DiversityB. A fall in
Married WorkersC. Increasing Age of WorkersD. Decreasing
TenureReason: 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.28. Which of
the following is not a biographical character?A. Political
AffiliationB. AgeC. SexD. TenureReason: Biographical
characteristics are; 1. Age: there are two distinct age group
younger and older,2. Gender: male and female.3. Race: individual
favor race which affect employment decision.4. Social Groups: focus
for scheduled cast , tribes and backward classes( Reservation
benefits)5. Tenure: duration of time in the job.6. Religion: people
of different religion faith conflict, so manger need to be
sensitive.7. Sexual orientation: inter-sexual, gay, lesbians8.
Gender identity: focus on employees who change gender, i.e.
transgender.29. Which of the following statements concerning tenure
is not true?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 turnoverD. Tenure and satisfaction are
positively related.Reason: TENURE1. 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.1. The research
relating tenure to absence is quite straightforward. Studies
consistently demonstrate seniority to be negatively related to
absenteeism.1. Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively
related to turnover and has been suggested as one of the single
best predictors of turnover.1. 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 hiredReason: The
evidence consistently indicates that women have higher rates of
absenteeism that men do. The most logical explanation for this
finding is that the research was conducted in North America, and
North American culture has historically placed home and family
responsibilities on the woman.31. Studies indicate that which of
the following tends to decrease with increased tenure? A. Job
Satisfaction B. Productivity C. Absenteeism D. Raises and Promotion
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.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: Learning is any relatively
permanent change in behavior that occurs in individual a result of
experience, besides that learning must focus on changing the
behavior, the change must be permanent and individual should
experience change. So, learning cannot be done in short time.
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: Classical Conditioning: A type of conditioning
in which an individual responds to some stimulus that would not
ordinarily produce such a response. Classical conditioning is
passive. Something happens and we react in a specific way. It is
elicited in response to a specific, identifiable event. As such, it
can explain simple reflexive behaviors. But most behavior
particularly the complex behavior of individuals in organizations
is emitted rather than elicited. It is voluntary rather than
reflexive. 34. In Pavlov's experiment, the bell was a _________. A.
Unconditioned Stimulus B. Unconditioned Response C. Conditioned
Stimulus D. Conditioned Response Reason: Classical conditioning:
This theory of learning is developed by Ivan Pavlov (1900). He
tried to prove it through an experiment: Teach dog to salivate in
response to the ringing of bell.In this experiment: 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.Result: Conditioned or artificial stimulus (CS): (bell) which
resulted in conditioned response (CR) (salivation in the dog),
after the bell was paired with meat.35. According to operant
conditioning, when a behavior is not reinforced, what happens to
the probability of that behavior occurring again? A. It increases
B. It declines C. It remains the unchanged D. It becomes zero
Reason: 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 want). His theory is based on
boar concept of behaviorism, which states: Behaviorism is primarily
concerned with observable behavior, as opposed to internal events
like thinking and emotion. Skinner believed that reinforcement or
lack of reinforcement will determine the tendency to repeat such
behavior. Thus continuation of behavior is dependent upon the
reinforcement factor.1. People are most likely to engage in desired
behavior if they are positively reinforced or rewarded1. 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.Situational Learning
Theory B.Classical Learning C.Social Learning Theory D.Hands-on
Learning Experience Reason: Characteristics of social learning
are:1. Focus on change in behavior through observation and direct
experience1. It is extension of operant conditioning. I.e.
behavior= f(consequences+ observational learning and importance of
perception (ability to analyze and understand)in learning.
37. Social Learning Theory is an extension of A. Classical
Conditioning B. Operant Conditioning C. Shaping D. Pavlovian Theory
Reason: Characteristics of social learning are:1. Focus on change
in behavior through observation and direct experience.1. It is
extension of operant conditioning. I.e. behavior= f(consequences+
observational learning and importance of perception (ability to
analyze and understand)in learning.
38. Which of the following statements about positive and
negative reinforcement is not true? A. They both result in learning
B. They both strengthen a response and increase the probability of
repetition. C. They tend to weaken behaviour and decrease its
subsequent frequency. D. They are effective shaping tools Reason:
Positive reinforcement is providing a reward for a desired
behavior. Negative reinforcement is removing an unpleasant
consequence when the desired behavior occurs.Reinforcement(behavior
increases)Punishment(behavior decreases)
Positive(something added)Positive Reinforcement:Something added
increases behavior, rewardPositive PunishmentSomething added
decreases behavior
Negative(something removed)Negative ReinforcementSomething
removed increases behavior, unfavorable situationNegative
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
scheduleB.NegativeC.Intermittent ScheduleD.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
reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by stopping,
removing or avoiding a negative outcome or aversive stimulus. The
intermittent schedule is reinforced only part of the time. Learned
behaviors are acquired more slowly with partial reinforcement, but
the response is more resistant to extinction. Therefore, the
suitable answer is A.
40. In general, ______ reinforcement schedules tend to lead to
higher performance than ______ reinforcement schedules.A.Variable;
FixedB.Fixed; IntermittentC.Fixed; VariableD.Variable; RatioREASONS
: 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 eventD.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.AffectiveB.CognitiveC.BehaviouralD.EvaluativeREASONS :
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.CognitiveB.AffectiveC.ReflectiveD.BehavioralREASONS :
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. Which of the following is an example of an
attitude?A.Satisfaction with a job well done.B.The observation that
most dogs have four legs.C.The opinion that it is never acceptable
to steal.D.Anger at being unfairly accused of a wrongdoing.
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 issuesC.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 self-worth is ___________.A.job
satisfactionB.job involvementC.job stabilityD.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. _________ refers to an individual's general attitude towards
his or her job.A.Job SatisfactionB.Job InvolvementC.Job
StabilityD.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 A.
49. Of the following the best predictor of turnover is
__________.A.Job SatisfactionB.Job InvolvementC.Organizational
CommitmentD.Cognitive Dissonance
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. Which of the following is not generally true?A.Satisfied
workers are productive workersB.Productive workers are satisfied
workersC.Satisfaction is the major determinate of a worker's
OCB.D.Satisfaction comes down to fairness of outcomes, treatments
or procedures
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.Discuss Henri Fayol's contributions.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 Principlesa. 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.please explain something about perception and
attitudePerception 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.A Cognitive
Component: Your thoughts and beliefs about the subject.A Behavioral
Component: How the attitude influences your behavior.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 McGregorMaslows Hierarchy of
NeedsPsychologist 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 TheoryIn 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 TheoryFrederick 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 McGregorIn 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 long-term 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:
Big-B versus Big-O: What is organizational about organizational
behavior?By: Chip Heath* and Sim B. Sitkina. Literature ReviewThe
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).This is perhaps the most common way of
defining the field of OB it is certainly the most typical
definition we advertise to the students who read our introductory
textbooks on organizational behavior:Organizational behavior, as a
field of study, concerns all aspects of human action in an
organizational or group context (Duncan, 1978, p. 6).GB, as an area
of study, can be described as the application of concepts,
theories, methods, and empirical generalizations from the
behavioral sciences to the analysis of behavior in
organizations(Organ and Bateman, 1986, p.5).Organizational behavior
differs from related fields [psychology, sociology, political
science, anthropology] in its focus not just on individual or group
behavior, but specifically on individual and group behavior in
organizations (Northcraft and Neale, 1990, p. 26).Organizational
behavior is a field of study that endeavors to understand, explain,
predict, and change human behavior as it occurs in the
organizational context (Wagner and Hollenbeck, 1995, p.4).When
researchers study behavior in context, their research may be richer
because they may be forced to integrate concepts from multiple
fields or to consider multiple levels of analysis (House etc 1.,
1995).Reviewers have noted that OB tends to lag the disciplines
noting that developments in the basic disciplines tend to take
several years to emerge in OB (G Reilly, 1990; Ilgen and Klein,
1989). Ilgen and Klein (1989) argue that when researchers borrow or
incorporate perspectives from other disciplines, they need to
demonstrate that constructs and concepts from the one discipline
are indeed appropriate to the other. They say that this kind of
~demonstrativeresearch, which simply demonstrates that concepts
from one discipline can be used in another, often does not advance
knowledge in either discipline much (p. 345). After reviewing the
field of GB from a cognitive perspective, they concluded that by
1989 the cognitive literature in GB was almost exclusively
demonstrative (p. 346), a sobering statement 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.
b. Output of research ReviewThe output is presented clearly in
the Result section. The authors enclosed the table of their output
research. Table 1 reports the data from the survey and the key word
frequency search. The table lists key words in descending order
based on the gap between how the respondents rated the ideal
importance of a topic and how they rated the actual importance of
the topic in the current literature. Because we displayThe key
words in order based on the size of the gap, the key words at the
top of the table are topics that respondents saw as
under-represented in the literature. Those key words appearing
lower in the table were seen as adequately represented or, in a few
cases, as over-represented.The authors want to draw attention to
some patterns in Table 1. First, it is noteworthy that their
respondents, on average, wanted to see more research on almost all
the topics. If the authors focus on the idealactual gap, then
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 getIt is a
very good journal that here they discuss what background of
Organizational Behavior study. They are comparing the emerging of
The Big-O and the Big-B definitions which sometimes lead confusion
of the Organizational behavior studies. They also give the
definitions from many sources, for instances:Big-B. Emphasizes
interesting behavior that may be relevant for organizations.
Disadvantage: Doesnt satisfy Core Competence Test: is this a topic
on which OB researches have unique insights that are not likely to
be slurred by researcher in related social science disciplines like
psychology, sociology, political science or economics.Big-O.
Emphasizes behavior that is central to the task of
organizing.Advantages: Points out centrality of organizing;
eliminates peripheral behaviors; calls attention to process;
requires cross level research.And certainly by presenting the
results of the survey and by proposing a definition to identify
promising new research topics, the authors have tried to do the
best and focus on more outstanding opportunities. By proposing the
Big-O definition of OB, the authors hope to summarize and clarify
what kinds of topics are likely to address important and
under-addressed questions. If in Table 2, I contrast the top 10
topics and the bottom 10, the Contextualized-B or Big-B definitions
of OB seems to capture less of the distinction between top and
bottom 10 topics than does Big-O. Historically, I also think that
the majority of OB research has been focused on relatively less
Big-B or Big-O. The results of the survey suggest that a shift
toward Big-O topics might be welcome. Researchers should understand
that Big-O topics would be well-received by peers who are likely to
be reviewing our work. Journal editors should see their role as
fostering Big-O research and seizing opportunities to solicit and
publish Big-O topics. And after reading this journal, at least now,
I have known a part of Organizational Behavior study and what do
they focus either it is Big-B or Big-O which will lead to the
different results.