102. What were the early influences on the study of organizational behavior.

Answer - One of the first influences was scientific management. The earliest work
came from efficiency experts seeking to improve worker productivity. Frederick W.
Taylor, who worked primarily in steel mills, developed the scientific method. The
objective of management is to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer,
coupled with the maximum prosperity of each employee. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
built on Taylors ideas and developed time-and-motion studies which classified and
streamlined work. The human relations movement built on the work of Elton Mayo
and the Hawthorne Studies. Scientific management made people feel like cogs in a
machine. This new emphasis respecting the individual emerged and at its forefront
was Elton Mayo. Human relations rejected the economic perspective of work and
focused on social factors. The Hawthorne studies began in 1927 at Western Electrics
Hawthorne Works near Chicago. A third school, classical organizational theory grew


up emphasizing efficient overall structure. Henri Fayol developed a number of
management principles. Max Weber developed the idea of the ideal bureaucracy,
where consistency and fairness were the key factors.

103. Discuss organizational behaviors development in the modern era, noting
key current trends.
Answer - OB emerged as a field in the 1940s with the first doctorate awarded in 1941.
OB was established as a field of study by the late 1950s, early 1960s. Gordon and
Howell reported on business education in 1959 and recommended, among other
things, increased attention to the social sciences. OB has grown rapidly, borrowing
from other business disciplines. Specifically, three prominent trends: 1) the rise of
global businesses with culturally diverse workforces, 2)rapid advances in technology,
and 3) the rising expectations of people in general.


106. What is the underlying philosophy of work and people to scientific
management?
Answer - The basic philosophy is there is one best way to do something. The
objective of management is to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer,
coupled with the maximum prosperity of each employee. Taylors scientific
management focused on employees as individuals through careful selection and
training and increasing wages to motivate workers.

107. Why were researchers confused over their initial findings in the Hawthorne
Studies? What conclusions did they ultimately come to?
Answer - The Hawthorne studies began in 1927 at Western Electrics Hawthorne
Works near Chicago. Starting with scientific management, they tried to discover ways
to improve employee performance. Puzzling results caused them to call in Elton
Mayo to repeat the studies. Mayo discovered the concept of social systems and argued


that social factors, not physical factors, are most important in improving productivity.
While the studies werent perfect, they opened the door to considering the importance
of human needs, attitudes, and motives in regards to worker motivation and
productivity.

108. What are the major characteristics of classical organizational theory as
proposed by Fayol?
Answer - Henri Fayol developed a number of management principles, including;
division of labor, managerial authority over workers, scalar chain of authority, unity
of command, and subordinate initiative.

97. Identify and explain the sources of work-related stress.

Answer - Work settings often are highly stressful environments. 1) Occupational

demands--some jobs, such as firefighters, senior executive, surgeon, expose workers
to high levels of stress. 2) Conflict between work and nonwork--competing
demands--the constant juggling of work and family responsibilities, which in turn
exposes those involved to another widely recognized cause of stress: role conflict, or
the incompatibility between the expectations of parties or the aspects of a single role.
3) Role ambiguity--occurs when individuals experience uncertainty about what
actions they should take to meet the requirements of a job. 4) Overload and
underload--overload, can take two different forms. Quantitative overload occurs when
individuals are asked to do more work than they can complete in a specific period of
time. In contrast, qualitative overload refers to employees' beliefs that they lack the
required skills or abilities to perform a given job. Being asked to do too little can be
stressful. Here again, there are two types of underload. Quantitative underload refers
to the boredom that results from having too little to do. Qualitative underload refers to
the lack of mental stimulation that accompanies many routine, repetitive jobs. 5) Lack


of social support--managers often feel alone, especially when making undesirable
decisions. 6) Sexual harassment--is far from rare in today's workplace. Indeed, in one
recent poll, fully 31 percent of employed women indicated they had encountered such
harassment at least once. In contrast, only 7 percent of male respondents to the same
survey indicated they had been the victim of such actions. 7) Responsibility for
others-- people who are responsible for others--people who must motivate them,
reward or punish them, and communicate with them--experience higher levels of
stress and the physical symptoms accompanying it (e.g., hypertension) than those who
handle other organizational areas.

102. Discuss Herzbergs two-factor theory of job satisfaction.
Answer - Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory was built out of research using Critical
Incident Technique. The two factors are hygiene and motivator factors. Hygiene
(maintenance) factors are associated with job dissatisfaction: quality of supervision,

pay, company, policies, physical working conditions, relations with others, job
security. Motivators are associated with job satisfaction: promotion opportunities,
opportunities for personal growth, recognition, responsibility, achievement. It is
important to see that most managers spend the majority of their time dealing with
hygiene factors rather than motivators.

103. Name the three ways to measure job satisfaction and how each is used.
Answer - 1) Rating scales and questionnaires are the most common way. They are
quick and efficient but the data is only as good as the questionnaires. The J ob
Description, Index, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Pay Satisfaction
Questionnaire are three of the most common. 2) Critical incident technique has
individuals describe, orally or in writing, events relating to their job that were either
especially satisfying or dissatisfying. 3) Interviews and confrontation meetings are
actually two different techniques that the text groups. Interviews have the advantage


of immediate follow-up and explanation of any questions that arent clear.
Confrontation meetings permit the dealing with important and or sensitive issues
directly.

105. What are the basic dimensions of organizational commitment?
Answer - Organizational commitment is the extent to which an individual identifies
and is involved with his/her organization and/or is unwilling to leave it. Employees
may be committed to their co-workers, subordinates, supervisors, customers, union, or
top management. These commitments break into two groups: ones immediate work
group and supervisor and to top management and the organization as a whole. There
are four commitment profiles to these groups. Uncommitted - low commitment to
both groups. Committed - high commitment to both groups. Locally committed - high
commitment to immediate work group and supervisor. Globally committed - high
commitment to top management and/or the organization. There are two approaches to

understanding the bases or motives for commitment. Side-bets orientation focuses on
accumulated investments individuals will lose if they leave. Goal-congruence
orientation focuses on the extent to which people identifying with an organization
have personal goals that are in keeping with those of the organization. Recent research
points to three bases of organizational commitment. 1) Continuance - related to
side-bets. Refers to strength of peoples tendency to continue to work for an
organization because they cant afford not to. 2) Affective - related to
goal-congruence. Refers to strength of peoples tendency to continue to work for an
organization because they agree with it. 3) Normative - related to the obligations one
feels, the pressures from others to stay.

107. What are the two main types of diversity training that a company can offer
its employees?



Answer - Diversity management programs are efforts to celebrate diversity by
creating supportive working environments. Diversity training programs are positive
efforts to enhance the working environment. There are two main types of diversity
training: awareness, designed to raise peoples awareness of diversity issues in the
workplace and skills, designed to develop peoples skills with respect to managing
diversity.

102. Explain Maslows needs hierarchy, identifying and explaining the needs in
proper order, and offering a critique of his theory.

Answer - Maslows hierarchy has five sequential levels. Needs are met at the lowest
level first, progressing to the highest level. The first three needs are deficiency needs,
people need these things because they are lacking them. Physiological needs are the
most basic needs--fundamental biological drives. Safety needs relate to the need for a

secure environment, safe from threats of physical or psychological harm. Social needs
are belonging, or affiliation needs, to have friends, be loved, etc. The last two needs
are growth needs. People need or want these in order to develop more fully. Esteem
needs relate to self-respect and the need for approval by others. Self-actualization
needs are the highest level of need and refer to self-fulfillment, development to the
fullest of ones potential. Research support the two broad categories, deficiency and
growth needs but little else. Higher order needs are often not satisfied on the job.
Needs are necessarily sequential and the specific five needs are supported as research
doesnt show only five basic needs categories.

105. Discuss equity theory and how managers may use it to motivate employee
performance.
Answer - This is an individual-based theory that adds a social component-- the social
comparisons people make, comparing themselves to others. Adams' Equity Theory


proposes that people focus on two variables, outcomes and inputs. Outcomes - what
people get out of their jobs; pay, fringe benefits, prestige, etc. Inputs - the
contributions that people make to their jobs; time worked, effort expended, units
produced, and qualifications brought. Based on these variables, individuals compare
themselves to others, checking for equity. They see one of three states; overpayment
inequity, underpayment inequity, or equitable payment. Managers can try a number of
techniques for using it to motivate employees. 1) Avoid underpayment. A classic
example of this is the two-tier wage system. 2) Avoid overpayment. The benefits are
temporary. People begin to think they deserve it. Other employees resent it. 3) Present
information about outcomes and inputs thoroughly and with social sensitivity.

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