Organizational Behavior Comp Guideline
I.
Organization Theory
a. What are some of alternatives to traditional machine bureaucracies
b. What are the strengths and limitations of bureaucratic designs
c. What are the strengths and limitations of more organic
organizational designs
II.
Culture –
a. What is org culture and how does if influence organizational
behavior
b. Why is culture change so difficult and what are some tools
managers have available to help shape culture?
III.
Power and politics
a. It is important as a manager to be able to get a handle on the
political landscape of an organization – how would you go about
profiling power dynamics within an organization? How about
external to the organization?
b. What are some of the factors that increase politicking in
organizations?
IV.
Motivation
a. What are some of the different perspectives on what motivates
people? How can these perspectives be used as a tool for
addressing problems or enhancing staff performance?
b. Human needs perspectives:
i. Maslow’s hierarchy
ii. McGreggor’s X & Y
iii. Herztberg 2 factor
iv. Job Design Theory
v. McClelland’s need theory
c. Cognitive Behavioral perspectives
i. Goal setting
ii. Reinforcement theory
iii. Expectancy theory (3 conditions for motivation)
d. Normative and Identity perspectives
i. Social Information processing
ii. Equity Theory
iii. Public Service Motivation
Prepared 2/17/2016
V.
Leadership
a. What is the role of a leader? What should a leader be concerned
about?
b. In what ways might different situations require different types of
leadership?
i. Task v. Relationship
ii. Transactional v. Transformational
iii. Contingency perspectives (Blanchard & Hersey Situational
leadership; House’s Path Goal theory)
VI.
Decision Making
a. What does a rational decision making process look like – what are
the factors that limit our ability to make rational decisions?
b. What are some of the cognitive biases that hinder our decision
making?
c. Rational decision making processes account for only a small
portion of the decision that get made in organizations – What are
some alternative explanations for how decisions get made in
organizations?
VII.
Communication & Conflict
a. In what ways can interpersonal communication go awry & what can
be done to mitigate these risks
b. What are some of the principals of supportive communication?
c. When is conflict functional versus dysfunctional in an organization?
VIII.
Groups & Teams
a. When are teams advantageous to use in organizations?
b. What are some of the risks to decision making in teams?
c. What does a manager need to know about teams in order to
manage them effectively?
Prepared 2/17/2016