Suddenly S.

Babaran, AC09301 Human Behavior

June 25,2012 HW#2

1. Debate the organizational opportunities and challenges of globalization, workforce diversity, and emerging employment relationships. Globalization, which refers to various forms of connectivity with people in other parts of the world, has several economic and social benefits, but it may also be responsible for work intensification and reduced job security and worklife balance. Workforce diversity is apparent at both the surface level (observable demographic and other overt differences in people) and the deep level (differences in personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes). There is some evidence of deep-level diversity across generational cohorts. Diversity may offer a competitive advantage by improving decision making and team performance on complex tasks, yet it also brings numerous challenges such as team fault lines, slower team performance, and interpersonal conflict. One emerging employment relationship trend is the call for more worklife balance (minimizing conflict between work and nonwork demands). Another employment trend is virtual work, particularly working from home. Working from home potentially increases employee productivity and reduces employee stress, but it may also lead to social isolation, reduced promotion opportunities, and tension in family relations.

2. Discuss the anchors on which organizational behavior knowledge is based. The multidisciplinary anchor states that the field should develop from knowledge in other disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology, and economics), not just from its own isolated research base. The systematic research anchor states that OB knowledge should be based on systematic research, which is consistent with evidence-based management. The contingency anchor states that OB theories generally need to consider that there will be different consequences in different situations. The multiple levels of analysis anchor states that OB topics may be viewed from the individual, team, and organization levels of analysis.

KEY TERMS
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Absorptive capacity The ability to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it, and use it for value-added activities. An important prerequisite for acquiring, sharing, and using new knowledge is the amount and quality of knowledge already held within the organization. Just as students need to learn knowledge in core courses before they can understand content in more advanced courses, companies need to have employees with a sufficient foundation of expertise to receive and apply new knowledge. This knowledge prerequisite is known as the organizations absorptive capacity. Corporate social responsibility -Organizational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond the firms immediate financial interests or legal obligations. Consists of organizational activities intended to benefit society and the environment beyond the firms immediate financial interests or legal obligations. It is the view that companies have a contract with society, in which they must serve stakeholders beyond stockholders and customers.

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In some situations, the interests of the firms stockholders should be secondary to those of other stakeholders.
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Deep-level diversity- Differences in the psychological characteristics of employees, including personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes. Diversity also includes differences in the psychological characteristics of employees, including personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes. 73 We cant directly see this deep-level diversity, but it is evident in a persons decisions, statements, and actions. Ethics-refers to the study of moral principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad. We rely on our ethical values to determine the right thing to do. Evidence-based management- Systematic research investigation produces evidence based management, which involves making decisions and taking actions based on this research evidence. Globalization-refers to economic, social, and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world. Organizations globalize when they actively participate in other countries and cultures High-performance work practices (HPWP)- A perspective which holds that effective organizations incorporate several workplace practices that leverage the potential of human capital. Identifies a bundle of systems and structures to leverage workforce potential. The most widely identified HPWP are employee involvement, job autonomy, developing employee competencies, and performance-skill-based rewards. HPWP improve organizational effectiveness by building human capital, increasing adaptability, and strengthening employee motivation and attitudes. Human capital-The stock of knowledge, skills, and abilities among employees that provide economic value to the organization. Intellectual capital-A companys stock of knowledge, including human capital, structural capital, and relationship capital. relationship capital-The value derived from an organizations relationships with customers, suppliers, and other. Open systems -A perspective which holds that organizations depend on the external environment for resources, affect that environment through their output, and consist of internal subsystems that transform inputs to outputs. Organizational behavior (OB)- is the study of what people think, feel, and do in and around organizations. It looks at employee behavior, decisions, perceptions, and emotional responses. It examines how individuals and teams in organizations relate to one another and to their counterparts in other organizations. OB also encompasses the study of how organizations interact with their external environments, particularly in the context of employee behavior and decisions. OB researchers systematically study these topics at multiple levels of analysis, namely, the individual, team (including interpersonal), and organization

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Organizational effectiveness - considered the ultimate dependent variable in organizational behavior. 18 This means that organizational effectiveness is the outcome that most OB theories are ultimately trying to achieve. Organizational efficiency -The amount of outputs relative to inputs in the organizations transformation process. Organizational learning ,- A perspective which holds that organizational effectiveness depends on the organizations capacity to acquire, share, use, and store valuable knowledge. Organizations -Groups of people who work interdependently toward some purpose. Relationship capital-The value derived from an organizations relationships with customers, suppliers, and other. Stakeholders, - Individuals, organizations, or other entities that affect, or are affected by, the organizations objectives and actions. Structural capital -Knowledge embedded in an organizations systems and structures. Surface-level diversity-The observable demographic or physiological differences in people, such as their race, ethnicity, gender, age, and physical disabilities. Values- Relatively stable, evaluative beliefs that guide a persons preferences for outcomes or courses of action in a variety of situations.

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Virtual work -Work performed away from the traditional physical workplace by using information technology Worklife balance-The degree to which a person minimizes conflict between work and non-work demands.

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