WGU C715 Organizational Behavior

wgu C715 Organizational Behavior 119 studiers today 4.8 (137 reviews) Students also studied Terms in this set (267) Western Governors UniversityD 072 Save wgu C715 Organizational Behavior 270 terms rwdixon1993Preview WGU C715 - Organizational Behavio...42 terms trand1wguPreview WGU - Organizational Behavior - C7...96 terms C_BondePreview WGU C 55 terms cer personalitycharacteristics that describe an individual's behavior.personality traitscharacteristics that describe an individual's behavior in a large number of situations Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies Behavior Big Five ModelA personality assessment model that taps five basic dimensions. extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.extraversionA personality describing someone who is sociable and assertive (confident and forceful ) agreeablenessA personality that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, and trusting.conscientiousnessA personality that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.emotional stabilityA personality that characterizes someone as calm, self-confident, and insecure.openness to experienceA personality that characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity, and curiosity.core self-evaluationBottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competence, and worth as a person.

MachiavellianismThe degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means.narcissismThe tendency to be arrogant, self-importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement.self-monitoringwhere an individual's has ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors.proactive personalityPeople who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs.valuesBasic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.value systemA hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual's values in terms of their intensity.terminal valuesDesirable end-states of existence; the goals a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime.instrumental valuesPreferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one's terminal values.personality Job-fit theoryA theory that identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover.power distancewhere society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.individualismwhere people prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups.collectivismA national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them.masculinitywhere culture favors traditional masculine work roles of achievement, power, and control.femininityindicates little differentiation between male and female roles; where women are treated as the equals of men in all aspects of the society.uncertainty avoidanceA national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them.long-term orientationA national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift, and persistence.

short-term orientationA national culture attribute that emphasizes the past and present, respect for tradition, and fulfillment of social obligations. people value the here and now; they accept change more readily and don't see commitments as impediments to change.heredityfactors determined at conception; one's biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup.PerceptionA process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.attribution theoryAn attempt to determine whether an individual's behavior is internally or externally caused.fundamental attribution errorThe tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behavior of others.self-serving biasThe tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors and put the blame for failures on external factors.selective perceptionThe tendency to selectively interpret what one sees on the basis of one's interests, background, experience, and attitudes.halo effectThe tendency to draw a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic.contrast effectEvaluation of a person's characteristics that is affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics.stereotypingJudging someone on the basis of one's perception of the group to which that person belongs.self-fulfilling prophecyA situation in which a person inaccurately perceives a second person, and the resulting expectations cause the second person to behave in ways consistent with the original perception.decisionsChoices made from among two or more alternatives.problemA discrepancy between the current state of affairs and some desired state.rationalCharacterized by making consistent, value-maximizing choices within specified constraints.rational decision-making modelA decision-making model that describes how individuals should behave in order to maximize some outcome.

Steps in the rational decision-making model1. Define the problem. 2. Identify the decision criteria. 3. Allocate weights to the criteria. 4. Develop the alternatives. 5. Evaluate the alternatives. 6. Select the best alternative.bounded rationalityA process of making decisions by constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity.intuitive decision makingAn unconscious process created out of distilled experience.anchoring biasA tendency to fixate on initial information, from which one then fails to adequately adjust for subsequent information.confirmation biasThe tendency to seek out information that reaffirms past choices and to discount information that contradicts past judgments.availability biasThe tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them.escalation of commitmentAn increased commitment to a previous decision in spite of negative information.randomness errorThe tendency of individuals to believe that they can predict the outcome of random events.risk aversionThe tendency to prefer a sure gain of a moderate amount over a riskier outcome, even if the riskier outcome might have a higher expected payoff.hindsight biasThe tendency to believe falsely, after an outcome of an event is actually known, that one would have accurately predicted that outcome.utilitarianismA system in which decisions are made to provide the greatest good for the greatest number.whistle blowersIndividuals who report unethical practices by their employer to outsiders.creativityThe ability to produce novel and useful ideas.three-component model of creativityThe proposition that individual creativity requires expertise, creative thinking skills, and intrinsic task motivation.MotivationThe processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.Maslow's hierarchy of needs.1. Physiological 2.Safety 3. Social 4. Esteem 5. Self-actualization hierarchy of needsAbraham Maslow's hierarchy of five needs—physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization—in which, as each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant.lower-order needsNeeds that are satisfied externally, such as physiological and safety needs.