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MGMT 599 – Seminar in Organizational Behavior
Department of Management
Washington State University
Time and location: Wednesdays 1:10 to 4, Todd 339
Instructor: Kristine M. Kuhn, Assoc. Professor, Todd 337k
Email: kmkuhn@wsu.edu
Office hours: Tues 9-10am or by appointment
This seminar is designed to give you an overview of theory and research in the major topics of interest in
contemporary organizational behavior. Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of individual,
interpersonal, and group behavior, generally within the context of the workplace. OB draws primarily
on social and organizational psychology, and to a lesser extent micro-economics, sociology, and
cognitive psychology.
Each week we will focus on a specific topic, reading seminal pieces or review articles as well as relevant
empirical papers. These are selected to expose you to major theories and also the variety of research
methodologies used in the study of OB. This course is intended to provide the fundamental
understanding of OB necessary to any management scholar and teacher, as well to improve your theorybuilding and critiquing skills. A supplemental reading list will be posted on the course website.
Course Requirements
Discussion participation. You are expected to have read and reflected on all assigned readings prior to
each class, and to actively participate. In order for discussions to be constructive, you will need to make
linkages across articles, ask new questions, and challenge assumptions.
Commentaries: By 10pm each Tuesday, you are responsible for emailing me a short (one-paragraph)
commentary. This could be a specific methodological criticism of a paper, a question the readings have
evoked for you, or a more general opinion about research and theory on that week’s topic.
Discussion leader. Each student will also need to serve as discussion leader for one meeting. The
discussion leader will need to provide structure and guidance for discussion, including constructively
evaluating and critiquing the assigned readings, integrating across them, and generating provocative
discussion questions. S/he should also discuss research needs and field development for that area. To do
a good job, you should consider additional readings beyond those assigned, and also assume
responsibility for managing the discussion.
Research paper. The research paper can be on any topic relevant to organizational behavior and should
make a novel contribution. Ideally it could be submitted to a journal or conference with further
development. If you choose to write a conceptual paper, Academy of Management Review will provide
a good style guide. If you write an empirical paper, use APA style (such as JAP or OBHDP); include
introduction and methods sections, and how you would analyze the results (it is not required that you
have actual data, but your paper should be feasible). Turn in a physical copy of the paper by 4pm
December 13.
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In order to encourage you to begin thinking about your paper early, and to receive feedback from me
and the rest of the class, you will also be expected to present a draft of your paper about halfway
through the semester.
Course components will be weighted as follows:
General in-class participation: 20%
Discussion leader: 20%
Weekly commentaries: 10%
Research paper: 50%
Aug 25
Sept 1
Sept 8
Sept 15
Sept 22
Sept 29
Oct 6
Oct 13
Oct 20
Oct 27
Nov 3
Nov 10
Nov 17
Dec 1
Dec 8
Introduction
*Overview & theory
*Methodological issues
*Individual differences and attitudes
*Motivation
*Motivation 2
*Power & influence
Conflict & negotiation + rough draft presentations
Identity & self-construal + rough draft presentations
Judgments about other people + rough draft presentations
Justice – guest speaker
*Judgment & decision making
*Leadership
*Teams
Cross-cultural OB, affect, & change
*Will need a discussion leader
Students with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented
disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please
visit the Access Center (Washington Building, Room 217) to schedule an appointment with an Access
Advisor. All accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center.
Academic Integrity Policy: You are expected to be aware of and to abide by the University’s policy on
academic dishonesty as set out in the WSU Student Handbook. Cheating and plagiarism will not be
tolerated. See www.conduct.wsu.edu/default.asp?PageID=343 and
www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/plagiarism/main.html
Campus Safety: Information on WSU safety policies and procedures is available at safetyplan.wsu.edu
and oem.wsu.edu/emergencies.
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Overview and theory
Mowday, R. T., & Sutton, R. I. (1993). Organizational behavior: Linking individuals and groups to
organizational contexts. Annual Review of Psychology, 44, 195-229.
Johns, G. (2006). The essential impact of context in organizational behavior. Academy of
Management Review, 31, 386-408.
Grant, A. M., & Parker, S. K. (2009). Redesigning work design theories: The rise of relational and
proactive perspectives. Academy of Management Annals, 3
Sutton, R. I., & Staw, B. M. (1995). What theory is not. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 371-384.
Hambrick, D. C. (2007). The field of management’s devotion to theory: Too much of a good thing?
Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1346-1352.
Pfeffer, J. (2007). A modest proposal: How we might change the process and product of managerial
research. Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1334-1345.
McGrath, R. G. (2007). No longer a stepchild: How the management field can come into its own.
Academy of Management Journal, 50, 1365-1378.
Methodological issues
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social
psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.*
*(for further reading: Muller, D., Judd, C. M., & Yzerbyt, V. Y. (2005) When moderation is mediated and mediation is
moderated. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 852-863.
LeBreton et al (2009). The truth(s) on testing for mediation in the social and organizational sciences. In Statistical
and Methodological Myths and Urban Legends.
MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediation analysis. Annual Review of Psychology)
Oldham, G. et al (1995). Listen while you work? Quasi-experimental relations between personal
stereo-headset use and employee work responses. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 547-564.
Spector, P.E., Zapf, D., Chen, P.Y., & Frese, M. (2000). Why negative affectivity should not be
controlled in job stress research: don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 21: 79-95.
Judge, T.A., Eriz, A., & Thoresen, C.J. (2000). Why negative affectivity (and self-deception) should be
included in job stress research: bathing the baby with the bath water. Journal of Organizational
Behavior, 21: 101-111.
Highhouse, S. (2009). Designing experiments that generalize. Organizational Research Methods, 12,
554-566.
Chronicle of Higher Education (2010). Academe hath no fury like a fellow professor deceived. May
9, 2010 http://chronicle.com/article/Academe-Hath-No-Fury-Like-a/65446
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Individual differences & attitudes
Davis-Blake, A. & Pfeffer, J. (1989). Just a mirage: The search for dispositional effects in
organizational research. Academy of Management Review, 14, 385-400.
House et al. (1996). Rumors of the death of dispositional research are vastly exaggerated. Academy
of Management Review, 21, 203-224.
LePine, J.A. & Van Dyne, L. (2001). Voice and cooperative behavior as contrasting forms of
contextual performance: Evidence of differential relationships with Big 5 personality
characteristics and cognitive ability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 326-336.
Judge, T. Heller & Mount (2002). Five-factor model of personality and job satisfaction: A metaanalysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 530-541.
Colbert, A.E. et al. (2004). Interactive effects of personality and perceptions of the work situation on
workplace deviance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 599-609.
Judge, T.A., Thoresen, C.J., Bono, J.E., & Patton, G.K. (2001). The job satisfaction-job performance
relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127: 376-407.
Motivation
Locke & Latham (2004). What should we do about motivation theory? Six recommendations for the
21st century. Academy of Management Review, 29, 388-403.
Lord, R.G., Diefendorff, J. M., Schmidt, A. M., & Hall, R. J. (2010) Self-regulation at work. Annual
Review of Psychology
Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal,
18, 769-783
Harder, J. (1992). Equity theory versus expectancy theory: The case of major league free agents.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 458-464.
Stajkovic, A. D., & Luthans, F. (2001). Differential effects of incentive motivators on work
performance. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 580
Griffin (1991). Effects of work design on employee perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors: A longterm investigation. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 425-435.
Klein, H.J., Wesson, M.J., Hollenbeck, J.R., & Alge, B.J. (1999). Goal commitment and the goal-setting
process: Conceptual clarification and empirical synthesis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 885896.
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Motivation 2
Ariely, D., Gneezy, U., Loewenstein, G., & Mazar, N. (2009). Large stakes and big mistakes. Review of
Economic Studies, 76, 451-469.
Ordóñez, L.D., Schweitzer, M. E., Galinsky, A. D., & Bazerman, M. H. (2009). Goals gone wild:
The systematic side effects of overprescribing goal setting. Academy of Management
Perspectives, 23, 17-23.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2009). Has goal setting gone wild, or have its attackers
abandoned good scholarship? Academy of Management Perspectives, 23
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Paine, J. B., Bachrach, D.G. (2000). Organizational citizenship
behaviors: A critical review of the theoretical and empirical literature and suggestions for future
research. Journal of Management, 26, 513-564.
Grant, A. M. (2008). Does intrinsic motivation fuel the prosocial fire? Motivational synergy in
predicting persistence, performance, and productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 48-58.
Meyer, J., Pauonen, S., Gellatly, I., Goffin, R. & Jackson, D. (1989). Organizational commitment and job
performance: It’s the nature of the commitment that counts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 152156.
Wade, J., O’Reilly, C.A., & Pollock, T. (2006). Overpaid CEO’s and underpaid managers: Fairness and
executive compensation. Organization Science, 17, 527-544.
Power & influence
Pfeffer, J., & Fong, C. T. (2005). Building organizational theory from first principles: The selfenhancement motive and understanding power and influence. Organization Science, 16, 372-388.
Witt, L.A. (1998). Enhancing organizational goal congruence: A solution to organizational politics.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 666-674.
Overbeck, J.R. & Park, (2006). Powerful perceivers, powerless objects: Flexibility of powerholders.
Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 99, 227-243.
Cialdini & Goldstein (2003). Social influence: compliance and conformity. Annual Review of
Psychology, 55, 591-621.
Curhan, J. R., Pentland, A. (2007). Thin slices of negotiation: Predicting outcomes from
conversational dynamics within the first five minutes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 802-811
Magee, J., & Galinsky, A. (2008). Social hierarchy: The self-reinforcing nature of power and status.
Academy of Management Annals, 2,
Ferguson, A., Ormiston, M., & Moon, H. (2010). From approach to inhibition: The influence of power
on responses to poor performers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 305-320.
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Conflict & negotiation
Thompson, L. L., Wang, J., & Gunia, B. C. (2010). Negotiation. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 491515.
Wall & Callister (1995). Conflict and its management. Journal of Management, 21, 515-558.
Morris, M.W., Larrick, R. & Su, S. (1999). Misperceiving negotiation counterparts: Ascribing
personality traits for situationally determined bargaining behaviors. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 77
Tripp, T., Bies, R., & Aquino (2002). Poetic justice or petty jealousy? The aesthetics of revenge.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 89, 966-984.
Aquino, K. (2000). Structural and individual determinants of workplace victimization: The effects of
hierarchical status and conflict management style. Journal of Management, 26
Identity & self-construal
Dunning, D., Heath, C., & Suls, J. M. (2004). Flawed self-assessment: Implications for health,
education, and the workplace. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 69-106.
Ibarra, H. (1999). Provisional selves: Experimenting with image and identity in professional
adaptation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 4, 764-792.
Pratt, M., & Rafaeli, A. (1997). Organizational dress as a symbol of multilayered professional
identities. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 862-898.
Hogg, M.A., & Terry, D.J. (2000). Social identity and self-categorization processes in organizational
contexts. Academy of Management Review, 25, 121-140.
Lewis, A.C. & Sherman, S.J. (2003). Hiring you makes me look bad: Social-identity based reversals of
the ingroup favoritism effect. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 90, 262-276.
Judgments about other people
McNatt, D. B. (2010). Negative reputation and biased student evaluations of teaching: Longitudinal
results from a naturally occurring experiment. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9,
225-242.
Bowles, H. R., Babcock, L., Lai, L. (2007). Social incentives for gender differences in the propensity to
initiate negotiations: Sometimes it does hurt to ask. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision
Processes, 103, 84-103.
Ambady, N., & Rosenthal, R. (1993). Half a minute: Predicting teacher evaluations from thin slices of
nonverbal behavior and physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(3),
431-441.
Weber, R. et al. (2001). The illusion of leadership: Misattribution of cause in coordination games.
Organization Science, 12, 582-598.
Galinsky, A., Mussweiler, T., & Kray, L. (2001). First offers as anchors: The role of perspective taking
and negotiator focus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
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Justice
Hirsh, E & Kmec, J. (2009). Human resource structures: Reducing discrimination or raising rights
awareness? Industrial Relations 48, 512-532
Brockner, J. & Wiesenfeld, B. (1996). An integrative framework for explaining reactions to a
decision: The interactive effects of outcomes and procedures. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 189-208.
Goldin, C., & Rouse, C. (2000). Orchestrating impartiality: The effect of ‘blind’ auditions on female
musicians. American Economic Review, 90, 715-741
Brockner, Siegel, Daly, Tyler, & Martin (1997). When trust matters: The moderating effects of
outcome favorability. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 558-583.
Simons, T., & Roberson, Q. (2003). Why managers should care about fairness: The effects of
aggregate justice perceptions on organizational outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 432443.
Greenberg, J. (2009). Everybody talks about organizational justice, but nobody does anything about
it. Industrial & Organizational Psychology, 2, 181-195.
- Also required, read the several short response pieces to this article that immediately follow it
Judgment & Decision Making
Kahneman, D., & Lovallo, D. (1993). Timid choices and bold forecasts: A cognitive perspective on
risk taking. Management Science, 39, 17-31.
Brockner, J. (1992). The escalation of commitment to a falling course of action: Toward theoretical
progress Academy of Management Review, 17, 39-61.
Weber. E. U., & Johnson, E. J. (2009). Mindful judgment and decision making. Annual Review of
Psychology, 60, 53-85.
Gino, F. & Bazerman, M. (2010). Nameless + harmless blameless: When seemingly irrelevant
factors influence judgments of (un)ethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes, 111, 93-101.
Moore, D. A., Tetlock, P. E., Tanlu, L., & Bazerman, M. H. (2006). Conflicts of interest and the case of
auditor independence: Moral seduction and strategic issue cycling. Academy of Management
Review, 31, 10-29.
Thaler, R., & Sunstein, C. R. (2004). Market efficiency and rationality: The peculiar case of baseball.
Michigan Law Review, 102, 1390-1403.
Posavac, S. S., Kardes, F., & Brakus, J. (in press). Focus induced tunnel vision in managerial judgment
and decision making: The peril and the antidote. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision
Processes.
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Leadership
Avolio, B. J., Walumba, F. O., & Weber, T. J. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research, and
future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 421-449.
Meindl, Ehrlich, & Dukerich. (1985). The romance of leadership. Administrative Science Quarterly,
30: 78-102.
Schriesheim, C. A., Castro, S. L., & Cogliser, C. C. (1999). Leader-member exchange (LMX) research: A
comprehensive review of theory, measurement, and data-analytic practices. Leadership Quarterly
Shin, S., & Zhou, J. (2003). Transformational leadership, conservation, and creativity: Evidence from
Korea. Academy of Management Journal, 46, 703-714.
Howell, J. M., & Frost, P. (1989). A laboratory study of charismatic leadership. Organizational
Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 43, 243-269.
Avolio, B.J., Howell, J.M. & Sosik, J.J. (1999). A funny thing happened on the way to the bottom line:
Humor as a moderator of leadership style effects. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 2, 219-227.
Waldman, D.A., Ramirez, G., House, R., & Puranam, P. (2001). Does leadership matter? CEO
leadership attributes and profitability under conditions of perceived environmental uncertainty.
Academy of Management Journal, 44, 134-143.
Howell, J. M., & Shamir, B. (2005). The role of followers in the charismatic leadership process:
Relationships and their consequences. Academy of Management Review, 30, 96-112.
Teams
Erez, M. & Somech, A. (1996). Is group productivity loss the rule or the exception? Effects of
culture and group-based motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 827-847.
Ilgen, D.R., Hollenbeck, J.R., Johnson, M. & Jundt, D. (2005). Teams in organizations: From I-P-O
Models to IMOI models. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 517-543.
Bunderson, J. S. (2003). Recognizing and utilizing expertise in work groups: A status characteristics
perspective. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48, 557-591.
DeDreu, C. (2004). When too little or too much hurts: Evidence for a curvilinear relationship
between task conflict and innovation in teams. Journal of Management
Larson, J.R., Christensen, C., Abbott, A.S., & Franz, R.M. (1996). Diagnosing groups: Charting the flow
of information in medical decision-making teams. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71,
315-330.
Jehn, K.A., Northcraft, G.B., & Neale, M.A. (1999). Why differences make a difference: A field study
of diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 741763.
Nemeth, C. et al. (2004). The liberating role of conflict in group creativity: A study in two countries.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 365-374.
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Culture, change, & affect
Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. (2007). Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annual Review of
Psychology, 58, 479-514.
Lam, S.S.K., & Schaubroeck, J. (2000). A field experiment testing frontline opinion leaders as change
agents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 987-995.
Brief, A. P., & Weiss, H. M. (2003). Affect in the workplace. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 279-307.
Ashkanasy, N., Hartel, C., & Daus, C. (2002). Diversity and emotion: The new frontiers in
organizational behavior research. Journal of Management, 28, 307-338.
Gawande, A (2004). Annals of Medicine: The Bell Curve. The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/12/06/041206fa_fact?currentPage=1
This American Life (2010). Episode 403: NUMMI. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radioarchives/episode/403/nummi (click “stream episode”)