Organizational Behavior: Theories and Models

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1. Define organizational behavior and discuss some of the other disciplines from which it draws to create its theories and models.

2. Horace completed a locus of control survey in his organizational behavior class. The results indicate he has a high internal locus of control. What might he read about the trait in the profile of high locus of control individuals?

3. Differentiate between self-enhancement bias and self-effacement bias.

4. Define the concept of stereotypes and give an example.

5. What is a self-fulfilling prophecy?

6. What is meant by person-job fit?

7. Give an example of how a psychological contract between an employee and a firm could be breached.

8. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Alderfer’s ERG theory are need-based theories of motivation. What are some key criticisms of Maslow’s theory and how does Alderfer’s theory modify that of Maslow?

9. Herzberg has been strongly criticized for his research finding that salary is a hygiene factor. Describe the nature of hygiene factors and how salary fits this category. What are the implications of this finding for managers in the workplace?

10. Give an example of how motivation is culturally bound.

11. McClelland’s acquired needs theory has been assessed in various cultures. Choose a country with whose culture you have some familiarity. Describe some key aspects of the culture and which of the three needs might be most prevalent among residents of the country. Provide a rationale for your suggestions.

12. You are the new dean of the college of business administration at a major university. One of the first tasks you have undertaken is a review of the salaries of your non-tenured faculty members. You note that the OB instructor has similar credentials to the marketing instructor but is paid $5,000 less per year for similar teaching duties. You are also aware that faculty members recently found out salaries of all instructors when the payroll office erroneously sent an email with that information attached. Based on your knowledge of equity theory, what reactions to the inequity might you expect, and how would you address them?

14.  What does SMART mean? Write a SMART goal.

15. Explain why goals can be motivating.

16. How does 360-degree feedback differ from the more traditional feedback systems?

17. Define and provide an example of paralanguage.

18. Define proxemics and provide an example of it.

19. Define a crucial conversation and give an example of it.

20. Briefly indicate the manner in which organizational behavior can help you deal with the fact that, on average, you are likely to change jobs12 times in your career.

22. Renaldo is choosing his classes for next term at State University. His advisor suggests he take Organizational Behavior. Renaldo says, “Why would I take that class? It’s all common sense anyway.” Take the role of his advisor and sell Renaldo on the value of the course.

23. You are an instructor in an organizational behavior course. Discuss how you would prepare a lesson on motivation that would be equally effective for all students in the class whether they are auditory, kinesthetic or visual learners.

24. You are an organizational behavior consultant who has been brought into a firm to present some best practices with regard to managing demographic diversity. What are some best practices you could present to the firm’s executives?

25. You are an advisor for international business students. You are meeting with freshmen business students this afternoon. What are some recommendations you could make to these students to prepare them for global careers?

26. You are an organizational behavior consultant who has been hired to present a training seminar to managers in a Fortune 500 firm about suggestions for managing cultural diversity in the firm. What are some of the topics you will consider presenting during the seminar?

27. What are some of the key trends that produce challenges and opportunities for organizational behavior?

28. You are a counselor in the career placement office at your university. Jackie, a business student, recently completed a personality survey. You are reviewing the results and find she has low self-esteem and low- to mid-range self-efficacy. Sketch out some possible steps Jackie can begin to undertake to improve both of these personality dimensions.

29. Is a happy worker always a productive worker? Explain your answer.

30. Discuss some of the research findings on goal setting and ethical behavior.

31. Jerome has been working in an accounting department for nine months and has not received much feedback from his supervisor. What steps could he undertake to increase the feedback he is receiving?