Chapter 1

5) What has occurred historically to warrant referring to the management of organizational behavior
as a blending of art and science?

Globalization and the rise of the international corporation has changed the way an organization should
be managed. In addition to this, technology has changed many aspects of business. This combination of
dealing with people from various backgrounds, and the addition of technology have caused organization
behavior to evolve into a mixture of art and science. Managers must have the ability to analyze in a
scientific manner, but also deal with issues on an interpersonal level. And although there is framework
available for interpersonal interaction, the argument can be made that it is an art form.

8) The study and application of OB has been described as a multidisciplinary in nature. Why is it
multidisciplinary?

OB is multidisciplinary because its framework consists of contributions from many fields of study
including psychology, sociology, political science, anthropology, and social psychology. All of these
behavioral sciences contribute to the framework of what is the field of organizational behavior. Without
the combination, we would not have the breath and depth that the field has today.

10) One writer on management theory states that management is aptly defined as “getting work done
through other people”. Compare this concept of management with the one purposed in this chapter.

This theory coincides with the chapter. Through the application of organizational behavior, management
can utilize employees and interpersonal influence to achieve goals through other people. For an
organization to be successful, understanding the individual employee is critical, and so is managing the
group dynamic.

Chapter 4

#2) Are emotions and moods rational? What functions do they serve?

Emotions are rational to some degree. Although emotions can lead someone to behave irrationally from
time to time, when looking at the big picture it becomes clear that emotions are rational, and lead to
rational thinking and behavior. Emotions can help lead us in the directional of rational thoughts and
ideas that lead to rational behavior. If we ignore our emotions completely, it will eventually lead us to
act out irrational behavior, much like the example given in the book of dealing with employees when
you are in a supervisory role, it would be irrational to terminate an employee without considering their
emotions, as well as your own.

5) What is effective events theory, what insights does it contribute to understanding emotions?

Effective events theory is outlines how environmental inputs flow through to eventually dictate
emotional outputs. It provides important insights to understanding how people, and employees develop
their emotions, and consequently their job satisfaction and performance. Both management and
employees can utilize AET to understand better how their work environment impacts their daily
behavior and emotions.
7) what effects do emotions and moods have on different OB issues? As a manager, what steps would
you take to improve your employees moods?

Emotions impact many areas that are part of the organizational behavior. Emotions of employees give
insight into how that person will behave under stress, how they will work with others and deal with
confrontation and difference of opinion, as well as there general job satisfaction and customer service
skills. Someone who has the ability to harness and use their emotions effectively can be a major asset to
an organization. As a manager I would use humor and accountability to improve moods of employees. I
believe humor is always a way to lift someone’s mood, and holding people accountable for there work,
either good or bad, leads people to improve their behavior and mood.

8) Does the degree to which people experience emotions vary across cultures? Do peoples
interpretations of emotions vary across cultures, and do different norms across cultures govern the
expression of emotion?

Culture absolutely impacts emotions, and their expression. Cultural norms may hinder or promote the
display of emotion, while an emotion may be commonplace in one country, that same emotion may be
considered inappropriate in another country. When dealing with international business representatives
it is important to understand the differences associated with each culture. For instance, smiling and
direct eye contact may be considered appropriate in America, which can mean something totally
different in other countries.

Chapter 5

2) As a future manager, which of the theories presented in this chapter will be of most use to you in
motivating employees?

I believe the equity theory of motivation would be the theory I would be most likely to use to motivate
employees. Anyone who has found himself or herself in an inequitable situation in the work place
knows that it drains you of motivation and your drive to succeed and improve. If employees are not
recognized and compensated appropriately they are very likely to do the very minimum required of
them to get by.

6) How would Herzberg’s motivation theory help to explain why most people feel a good salary is not
enough to motivate someone over the long term in a job?

Extrinsic conditions are only half of the factors that will motivate someone over a period of time.
Eventually salary alone will not be enough to keep someone going strong as an employee. Salary may be
a large part of job satisfaction, but it alone will not be enough to keep someone interested and
motivated within their organization. The intrinsic factors of employment are just as important when
considering job satisfaction, and the longer you work at a company the less the extrinsic conditions do
to satisfy you.

7) Based on equity theory, why is it important that decisions about pay be perceived as fair?

The basis of the theory is that you will be fairly, or equitable compensated. If someone does a poor job
and receives the same compensation as someone going above and beyond what is expected, the over
achiever will eventually feel that it is just not worth it to go the extra mile.
10) Why is expectancy theory described as the most complex and difficult to measure theory of work
motivation?

It is the most difficult because it has the most complicated measurement system. There are many
factors involved, so in order to properly apply the theory you have to collect a lot of data, and allocate
va
Chapter 6

2) As a Manager, which type of reinforcement would you most likely use with your employees: positive
or negative reinforcement? Discuss pros and cons of both.

As a manager I would utilize both types of reinforcement. I don’t think using only one is a balanced or
fair approach to management. Positive reinforcement works well when trying to get people to do things
that they don’t currently do, and negative reinforcement works best for getting employees to stop some
thing they already are doing.

3) Why is it exceptionally difficult to distribute rewards based on merit?

Rewarding employees based on merit is difficult if every employee in a specific unit is performing
equally well. When everyone is doing their job to the best of their abilities, rewarding any one employee
over another can be difficult, and can be viewed as inequitable to other employees.

6) Goal setting is a powerful tool that managers can use to direct employee behavior. However, under
what conditions can goal setting lead to undesirable employee outcomes?

When goals are set to high for the average employee to achieve, the problem of behaving unethically or
unprofessionally may arise. The more complex a job is, the harder it is to set real attainable goals, that
can easily be outlined and achieved. When dealing with employees that hold highly technical or involved
positions, goals should be precise and quantitative. If the goals are mainly qualitative and broad,
employees are less likely to feel like they can attain those goals.

8) Which nontraditional rewards system would be the most challenging and difficult to implement and
maintain?

Intrinsic rewards are the most challenging to implement and maintain, because to be successful the
employee has to be satisfied with their position within the organization. This for of reward is difficult to
maintain because a large part of its success relies on the feeling of the employee and not the actions of
management. Some employees may set goals for themselves internally that are a bit unreasonable, and
if these goals are not met, the employee is likely to be unsatisfied.

Chapter 7

1) Research suggests that stress affects people differently. What are three reason why this is true?

The three factors that cause stress to effect individuals differently are importance, uncertainty, and
duration. Importance refers to the individual’s perception of the importance of an event or task that is
causing stress. Uncertainty changes how stress effects people because everyone does not have the same
though patterns when it comes to unforeseeable events, and the probability of those event occurring.
Duration of a stress causing event, or project, causes people to react differently. Some individuals are
more capable of dealing with longer work hours or more demanding time frames.

4) What type of jobs are a better fit for type a individuals, for type b?

Type a personality types would do well with customer-oriented positions that deal with face-to-face
interactions. Type a’s are more likely to feel comfortable and get more satisfaction from interpersonal
roles. Type B’s will likely be more satisfied with limited interaction between themselves and customers.
While some interaction with others is good, they are more inclined to do the majority of their work
alone.

6) What type of social support can a manger initiate in a work setting to help moderate the stress
among employees?

Managers can provide emotional support to employees, by simply discussing whit the employees what
concerns or problems they have that are causing stress in heir lives, whether it is work related or
not. Managers can also give appraisal support by identifying when the employee does their job well. A
third form of social support managers can give is information support, this is done by providing guidance
on issues the employee s having with their work load.

8) What is the relationship between stress and personality? What aspects of personality might tend to
increase stress? Decrease it?

Some personalities are more prone to stress, and some are more capable of dealing with it. People who
are naturally more high strung and critical of themselves are likely to operate at higher stress levels than
someone who takes a more carefree attitude
lues to the data objectively, and subjectively