Organizational Behavior - Class 6 - 10

Front 1

What is the difference between a working group and a team?

Back 1

A working group is a collection of interacting individuals with a pattern of relationships between them, who share common goals and perceive themselves as forming a group ;;;; A team is a working group where synergies and coordination result in a larger outcome than the sum of individual outcomes

Front 2

What are the implication of a working group versus a team?

Back 2

A working group meets to achieve a common goal, not necessarily through coordinating to work together ;;;; a team Implies efforts to co-operate

Front 3

What are the different kinds of teams?

Back 3

problem-solving teams ;; self-managed teams ;; cross-functional teams ;; virtual teams

Front 4

Why do groups usually form in organizations (5 reasons)

Back 4

• Security: Protection against a common enemy
• Status: Signal of distinction
• Self-esteem: Opportunities to feel good about their accomplishment • Affiliation: Basic need to be with others
• Power: Joining efforts allows higher influence

Front 5

_____ is important to predict group behavior.

Back 5

Group Structure

Front 6

What are the elements of group structure?

Back 6

Formal leadership ;; Set of roles ;; Unspoken rules ;; Pressures to conformity ;; Status ;; Composition and cohesion

Front 7

What does each mean?
Formal leadership ;; Set of roles ;; Unspoken rules ;; Pressures to conformity ;; Status ;; Composition and cohesion

Back 7

Formal Leadership:
Set of Roles: attitudes and behaviors consistent with one’s group position, are determined by role expectations (how others believe you should act in a given situation). Individuals confronted with multiple divergent role expectations experience role conflict, which is where compliance with one role requirement makes it difficult to fulfill another.;;
Unspoken Rules:
Pressures to Conformity / Status: High status individuals are better able to resist conformity than low status individuals and are more likely to be assertive in a group setting.;;
Composition and Cohesion: the degree to which members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group. Cohesiveness is important because it has been found to be related to the group’s productivity. Studies consistently show that the relationship of cohesiveness and productivity depends on the performance-related norms established by the group.

Front 8

The effectiveness of a team is also dependent upon matching _________ with team role demands.

Back 8

individual preferences

Front 9

What are the pros of a decision made by a group versus the individual?

Back 9

More complete information and knowledge
 Higher diversity in points of view
 Higher quality of decision
 Favors acceptation of decision

Front 10

What are the pros of a decision made by the individual versus the group

Back 10

 Very time-consuming
 Pressures to uniformity reduce value
of diversity
 Discussions are typically dominated by a few individuals
 Ambiguity in responsibility about the decision

Front 11

When there is a higher complexity task, there are higher profits from ______. Similarly, when there is a higher interdependence among a task's different steps, there is a higher need for ________.

Back 11

discussion ;; effective communication

Front 12

Group size favors information gathering for better decision-making on complex tasks, but may hinder _________.

Back 12

effective implementation.

Front 13

With respect to group work in general, team work generates a
positive synergy through _________.

Back 13

coordinated efforts

Front 14

Coordinated efforts of a team include _____ abilities of team members, _____ and ______ responsibility, _______ confidence (honesty, skills, loyalty, etc)

Back 14

complementary ;; mutual and collective ;; mutual confidence

Front 15

How to obtain good team players in a society that praises individual success?:

Back 15

 Leadership roles: Are the firm’s “winner” individual players
 Selection of people with enough interpersonal skills
 Training: Most people can be trained to be team players
 Rewards: An accurate balance of rewards to individual and team contributions

Front 16

What are the bad habits that mature teams can develop?

Back 16

• Inertia or success may lead to self-indulgence or conservativeness
• Mutual knowledge may lead to low levels of communication
• Deeply rooted processes, effective for simple tasks, may not be accurate for
more complex tasks

Front 17

What are the typical solutions to the bad habits mature teams can develop? (inertia/success, mutual knowledge, deeply rooted processes)

Back 17

 Train workers to keep high standards after initial achievements
 Offer new training after team consolidation
 State team development as a permanent task for the group

Front 18

What is leadership?

Back 18

The ability to exert influence on the members of a group to
help the group to achieve its goals

Front 19

Why is managing an organization not equivalent to leading it?

Back 19

Managing an organization is implementing decisions, coordinating, solving problems whereas leading an organization is creating a vision, communicating, inspiring...)

Front 20

Early approaches to leadership sought to identify treats that
distinguished effective leaders. What did these studies find?

Back 20

 Neither necessary nor sufficient characteristics were found
associated to effective leadership HOWEVER
 Some characteristics are correlated with leadership: ambition, intelligence, dominance, honesty, self-confidence, task- knowledge... extraversion?

BUT WE NEED TO WORRY ABOUT CAUSALITY HERE

Front 21

The behavioral approach to leadership focuses __________.

Back 21

on what leaders actually do.

Front 22

What are the 2 types of behavioral patterns identified in the behavioral approach to leadership?

Back 22

Initiating structure (task orientation) and consideration (people orientation)

Front 23

What is the initiating structure behavior approach to leadership and what is the consideration one?

Back 23

Initiating Structure: Extent to which a leader engages in actions to make sure that work gets done at an acceptable level. ;;; Consideration: Extent to which a leader shows trusts and concern about the well-being of subordinates

Front 24

What does Blake and Moulton's approach to understanding leadership show?

Back 24

It's a grid that maps leaders on the concern for people against their concern for results

Front 25

What are the 5 options on the Blake and Moulton grid?

Back 25

(1) High people, low results is country club ;; (2) Low people, low results is impoverished management ;; (3) Middle people, middle results is middle of the road management ;; (4) Low people, high results is authority-compliance management ;; (5) High people, high results is team management

Front 26

What does Fiedler's model of situational leadership show?

Back 26

Suggests that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leaders' style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. Fiedler assumes that leadership style is fixed, so either the manager or the situation must be changed if there is a mismatch between the situation and the manager's preferred style.

It shows that when conditions are favorable, task-oriented managers perform better than relational leaders, when conditions are moderate, relational leaders perform better, and when conditions are unfavorable, task-oriented leaders again perform better than relational

Front 27

What does Hersey and Blanchard's situational leadership model show?

Back 27

Hersey and Blanchard proposed that appropriate leadership style will depend on follower’s maturity, in terms of both ability and predisposition. This is judged on a graph pf willingness to perform a task against ability to perform a task.

Front 28

What are the four options in the Hersey and Blanchard situational leadership model?

Back 28

High Willingness, Low Ability = Sell (orient and persuade);;;
Low Willingness, Low Ability = Command (specific instructions);;;
Low Willingness, High Ability = Participate (support and monitor)
High Willingness, High Ability = Delegate (not interfere too much)

Front 29

What does Path-Goal intervention model of situational leadership show?

Back 29

Environmental factors and subordinate factors together determine leadership behavior and their behavior determined the results (performance, satisfaction)

Front 30

With respect to path-goal intervention situation leadership, what are environmental factors? subordinate factors?

Back 30

Environmental = Task Structure
• Formal Authority • Team Work ;;;;
Subordinate = Locus of control • Experience
• Perceived ability

Front 31

What are the different kinds of leadership behavior in the path-goal intervention model of situational leadership?

Back 31

• Directive: Give specific guidance to subordinates • Supportive: Shows concern for them
• Participative: Consults before taking decisions
• Achievement-Oriented: Set ambitious goals and expects them to be achieved

Front 32

What are some of the consequences for leadership styles?
Ambiguous tasks, well structured tasks, highly skilled workers, conflictive groups, high internal locus of control

Back 32

• Ambiguous tasks directive leadership reduces uncertainty
• Well-structured tasks supportive leadership increases performance • Highly skilled workers directive leadership may result redundant • Conflictive Groups directive leadership increases satisfaction
• If locus of control of subordinates is highly internal directive leadership decreases satisfacation and participative leadership increases satisfaction

Front 33

What are transformational leaders?

Back 33

Leaders who are able to carry on changes by getting their
subordinates to share their own view and vision

Front 34

What are 3 important characteristics of transformational leaders?

Back 34

(1) They are charismatic ;; (2) They act a a source of inspiration and intellectual stimulus for followers ;; (3) They make an individualized consideration of followers

Front 35

What is charismatic leadership?

Back 35

It involves a gift that few individuals possess that gives them the capacity to do extraordinary things (due to their charismatic effect on followers)

Front 36

What are the behaviors of charismatic leaders (4)

Back 36

(1) Articulates vision & goals ;;
(2) Expresses confidence & takes personal risks ;;
(3) Sensitive to followers’ needs ;; (4) Non-conventional behavior

Front 37

What are the effects on followers of the following charismatic leader behaviors:

(1) Articulates vision & goals ;;
(2) Expresses confidence & takes personal risks ;;
(3) Sensitive to followers’ needs ;; (4) Non-conventional behavior

Back 37

(1) See their future linked to their present ;;
(2) Personal identification with the leader ;;
(3) Trust in leader’s ideology ;;
(4) Affection toward leader Emotional involvement

Front 38

What are the particular situations where a charismatic leader is particularly important?

Back 38

Uncertain /ambiguous situations Upper management levels
Low self-esteem followers

Front 39

What is the "dark" side of charismatic leaders?

Back 39

1. They tend to be narcissistic (intolerant to criticisms, tendency to identify what is their property, too much concern for personal reputation)
2. They can feel above all ethical limits
3. Excessive dependence on one person: succession difficulties

Front 40

What are the differences between men and women leadership styles?

Back 40

Men’s style is typically more direct and more based in hierarchical authority
Women tend to be more participative, share power and information and perform mentoring activities. Women fit better the transformational paradigm.

Front 41

What does communication imply?

Back 41

sharing and understanding

Front 42

What are the things communication is key for?

Back 42

Controlling (rule establishment/enforcement), motivating (goal-setting, feedback), expressing emotions (by employees), transmitting (knowledge, information, decisions)

Front 43

What is the communication process (chart)?

Back 43

Sender has a message he wants to send. He codes it, sends it through a channel, the receiver receives the messages, decodes it, and receives the meaning. Then there can be feedback between receiver and sender.

Front 44

What are the factors that affect decoding and coding?

Back 44

Ability, attitude, knowledge and culture

Front 45

Where are the areas where noise affects the communication process?

Back 45

Between coding and channel and channel and decoding. There can also be noise during feedback.

Front 46

What are the relevant dimensions of communication at organizations?

Back 46

Direction, Network Type, Type of language

Front 47

What are the different pieces in each relevant dimension of communication:

Direction
Network Type
Type of Language

Back 47

Direction: ascending, descending, lateral
Network Type: Formal or Informal
Type of Language: Verbal (oral or written) or non-verbal

Front 48

What is the difference between formal and informal network types for communication?

Back 48

Information communicated by organizationally sanctioned mechanisms is classified as formal communication; grapevine and conversations between employees are examples of informal communication.

Front 49

What are the advantages and disadvantages of oral language?

Back 49

Advantages: Speed and Feedback;;;; Disadvantages: Possible Distortions

Front 50

What are the advantages and disadvantages of written language?

Back 50

Advantages: Storage, verifiable, more accurate ;;; Disadvantages: Time-consuming and lack of feedback

Front 51

What do non-verbal communication methods do?

Back 51

Add to or complement a verbal message

Front 52

When should a manager choose a rich channel versus a poorer channel?

Back 52

 Ambiguous and complicated messages require rich channels  Routine messages can be detailed in “poorer” channels

Front 53

The grapevine cannot be _______ or ________ by management. It spreads _______ and is often more ______ than formal memos

Back 53

suppressed ;; controlled ;; faster ;; credible

Front 54

In what type of situations does the grapevine grow?

Back 54

 Ambiguous situations in which organization doesn’t provide a credible message
 Situations that affect importantly employees, creating considerable stress

Front 55

How can managers limit spreading of rumors?

Back 55

 Set an specific agenda for important decisions to be taken
 Explain why some issues are arranged secretly
 Explain in advance the possible alternatives that are being considered, including the worst possible scenario

Front 56

What are some of the barriers to effective communication? (just the terms - 4)

Back 56

Distortion ;; selective perception ;; overload of information ;; stress caused by oral communication

Front 57

What is the meaning of each of these barriers to effective communication?
Distortion, selection perception, overload of information, stress caused by oral communication

Back 57

• Distortion: The sender may intentionally manipulate information to make it appear as more favorable for the receiver
• Selective perception: Receiver may also project hopes or fears when decoding messages
• Overload of information: An excess of information may induce errors when setting priorities
• Stress caused by oral communication (specially to bosses) may induce excessive use of poorer channels.

Front 58

What are the steps to overcome effective communication?

Back 58

• Obtain involvement of general managers
• Establish regular channels of face to face communication
• Be more careful in the management of bad news
• Adapt message models and channels to characteristics of receiver • Treat communication as a continuous process

Front 59

What are the differences between men and women's barriers to communication?

Back 59

Men tend to use oral communication to emphasize their status:
 By offering solutions when a problem is explained, they may feel in a “higher” position
 Use more direct language
 Use language to remark independence and singularities ;;;;;;;;Women tend to use oral communication to establish bonds:
 Simple understanding of each other’s problems allows to set up such bonds
 They are more indirect in remarking errors
 They are less ostentatious

Front 60

What is ethnocentrism?

Back 60

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s native country, culture
language and models of behavior are superior to all others.

Front 61

Ethnocentric managers prefer having their home-country people in _______ and reward them ______

Back 61

key positions ; better

Front 62

What are the pros and cons of ethnocentrism in management?

Back 62

Better communication and cooperation is a pro BUT Recruiting difficulties
High turnover rates
Legal problems (more lawsuits)

Front 63

What are Hofstede's 5 dimensions AND what are they about?

Back 63

1. Power distance ;;; 2. Individualism ;;; 3. Masculinity ;;; 4. Uncertainty aversion ;;; 5. long/short-term orientation

They are meant to show how values vary across nations.

Front 64

What does each of these Hofstede dimensions mean?

Back 64

(1) Power Distance: Extent to which people in a country accept an unequal distribution of power in institutions and organizations.;;; (2) Individualism: Degree to which people to act as individuals rather than as members of groups.;;; (3) Masculinity: Degree to which competition and success is the main driver of behavior, or caring for others and quality of life are also important.;;; (4) Uncertainty aversion: Extent to which a country’s citizens prefer structured versus unstructured situations;;; (5) Long term / short term orientation: Extent to which people values
future, saving and persistence, instead of “the here and now"

Front 65

Asiatic cultures (collectivists in general) suffer less for ______bias in internal vs. external attributions.

Back 65

self-serving

Front 66

The importance of ______ in decision-making is lower in non-western societies (vs. intuition or consensus)

Back 66

rationality

Front 67

When it comes to motivation, _____’s order fits best US individuals. in Latin countries ____ needs are specially important as well as _____ needs in uncertainty-avoidance oriented countries.

Back 67

Maslow's; social ; safety

Front 68

_____ theory is more applicable to individualistic societies (like U.S.) than collectivistic ones.

Back 68

equity

Front 69

When it comes to cultural differences with motivation, there are strong similarities with respect to the effect of incentives and the importance of _______

Back 69

"interesting work"

Front 70

When it comes to cultural differences with group relationships and leadership, there are strong differences in importance of _____ (and its sources): think US compared to France and Japan

Back 70

status

Front 71

Free-ride problem is more relevant in _______ societies than collectivistic ones.

Back 71

individualistic

Front 72

Cultural differences can serve as a barrier to effective communication via _____, ______, and _____.

Back 72

meaning, gestures and tones, and perception of reality

Front 73

What are high context cultures versus low context cultures when it comes to differences in communication?

Back 73

High context cultures are ones where • Social trust first
• Personal Relations
• Read between the lines

Low context cultures are ones where
• Down to business first
• Expertise and performance
• Explicit details and fine print

Front 74

Hoes does one prepare for foreign assignments?

Back 74

 Explicit cross-cultural training
 Stick to English until native language is mastered
 Double check all important communications
 Prepare for re-entry shock