Organizational Behaviour

1. Chapter 4: theories of motivation Different motivating factors for people (external and internal) People are motivated by the desire to satisfy various needs (Maslow’s, McClelland, Herzberg’s theories of needs Different types of motivation can prompt behaviour and responses

2. Chapter 5: Motivation in Action How to spur employees to action (incentives) Different types of reward structures for different individuals/groups Aligning jobs with need for higher purpose and meaning to make employees happier

3. Chapter 6: Groups and teamwork Difference between groups and teams Different types of teams (cross-functional, virtual) Norms and norm enforcement structure how teams’ function and succeed/fail Diverse teams breed success

4. Chapter 8: power and politics Different types of power (coercive, legitimate, reward, expert and referent power). Effective leaders rely on expert/referent power Managers tend to rely on coercive, legitimate, and reward power. They are the easiest to implement, and the least effective

5. Chapter 10: organizational culture Different organizations are characterized by different values, goals, leadership styles Cultures are built up over years and tell a story about an organization’s history and worldview Culture is something that can be strong or weak, widely accepted and internalized, or rejected

6. Chapter 12: decision-making, creativity and ethics Decision-making is something that is influenced by a wide range of external and internal forces including perceptions, biases, confidence Many judgement shortcuts affect the accuracy and ethicality of our decision-making Creativity and ethicality should be inculcated throughout the organization as a main priority

7. Chapter 2: perception, personality and emotions Perception is subjective There are errors in our perception (not flawless) Different personality traits determine how we act and are perceived

8. Chapter 3: Values, Attitudes, and Diversity in the Workplace Values determine what motivates an individual Wide range of cultural attitudes that determine values Canadian workplace is defined by diverse cultures and values working alongside

9. Chapter 7: communication Formal and information communication channels exist in most organizations Effective communication is key to team and organizational success (communicate values, goals etc.) Numerous barriers to communication include filtering, selective perception, information overload, emotions, language, silence

10. Chapter 9: conflict and negotiation Different loci on conflict require different responses to in effectively address Wide range of conflict management strategies (forcing, problem solving, avoiding, yielding, compromising) Negotiation and conflict resolution tend to play out differently across cultures

11. Chapter 11: leadership Leadership styles vary among individuals Contemporary issues in leadership include those regarding leading without imposing authority, leading cross-culturally Companies must spend considerable time identifying what kind of leaders and leadership traits they need

12. Chapter 14: organizational change Change can take place wholesale, or target specific facets (technology, culture, business model etc.) Change is often resisted and must be managed so that people are on board with changes People must be committed to an attitude of learning and updating knowledge and skills to make change easier