Here is the study guide for exam 1 (July 20):
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MGT. 328, Exam 1
Summer 2015; Study Guide
Chapter 1:
– identify the fields that OB draws from: Anthropology, Economics, Ethics, Management,
Organizational Theory, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Statistics, Vocational
Counseling
– define the contingency approach: The contingency approach calls for using OB concepts
and tools as situationally appropriate rather than relying on “one best way”
– list “soft skills” that managers should master: — ability to manage people. —Need strong
team skills — ability to build and manage relationships.
– identify top four skills that managers look for in new hires: 1. Competitiveness 2. Technical
skills (nuts and bolts of doing the job) 3. Ability to get the job done 4. Strong team skills
– describe the importance of technical vs. interpersonal skills across a person’s career:
Technical skills (knowledge of and ability to complete the job) helps you obtain the job
originally where as your interpersonal skills may be hard to judge before you are a part of the
team. After you are hired, your ability to build and maintain relationships with your interpersonal
skills may help you to become promoted into management positions (or higher management
positions).
– define human capital, social capital: Human Capital = the productive potential of an
individual’s knowledge, skills, and experiences. Potential is an important part of the definition
as an individual with the right combination of knowledge, skills, experience, and motivation
represents human capital with the potential to give an organization competitive advantage.
Social Capital = the productive potential resulting from relationships, goodwill, trust, and
cooperative effort. Social capital differs from human capital as the focus shifts from the
individual to social units. Potential is also key in social capital with the potential lying in in
relationships with other people.
– list elements of human capital, social capital: Human Capital – knowledge, skills,
experiences. Social Capital – Relationship, Goodwill, Trust, Cooperative Effort.
Chapter 2:
– list and describe the components of attitudes: Attitudes represent our feelings or opinions
about people, places, and objects, and range from positive to negative. They are important
because they impact our behavior. In a work setting, workplace attitudes are positively related to
performance and negatively to indicators of withdrawal – lateness, absenteeism, and turnover.
– define cognitive dissonance and explain how to resolve it: Cognitive dissonance represents
the psychological discomfort a person experiences when simultaneously holding two or more
conflicting cognitions (ideas, beliefs, values, or emotions). From observation, Festinger theorized
that if you are experiencing cognitive dissonance, or psychological tension, you can reduce it in
one of three ways: 1. Change your attitude or behavior or both. 2. Belittle the importance of the
inconsistent behavior. 3. Find consonant elements that outweigh dissonant ones.
– define organizational commitment, job satisfaction, employee engagement:
Organizational commitment = The extent to which an individual identifies with an organization
and commits to its goals.
Job Satisfaction = Job satisfaction essentially reflects the extent to which an individual likes his
or her job. Formally defined, job satisfaction is an affective or emotional response toward
various facets of one’s job.
Employee Engagement = the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in
engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally
during role performance
– list different possible causes of job satisfaction: Meeting the employee’s needs, meeting
expectations the employee has about what they will receive from the job, a job structure that
aligns with the employee’s values, monitoring the equity of the job so that the employee feels
that their compensation is fair, employees have appropriate disposition
Chapter 3:
– define intelligence, self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control:
Intelligence = An individual’s capacity for: Constructive thinking, Reasoning, Problem solving
Self-esteem = your general belief about your own self-worth.
Self-Efficacy = a person’s belief about his or her chances of successfully accomplishing a
specific task.
Locus of Control = a relatively stable personality characteristic that describes how much
personal responsibility you take for your behavior and its consequences.
