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Organizational Behavior

Key Terms

Organizational BehaviorKey Terms

Key Terms

Assessment center
Consists of a series of standardized evaluations of behavior based on multiple inputs.
Behavioral observation scale
Identifies observable behaviors as they relate to performance and is less demanding of the evaluator.
Behaviorally anchored rating scale
A system that requires considerable work prior to evaluation but, if the work is carefully done, can lead to highly accurate ratings with high inter-rater reliability.
Central tendency error
The failure to recognize either very good or very poor performers.
Critical incident technique
A technique where supervisors record incidents, or examples, of each subordinate’s behavior that led to either unusual success or unusual failure on some aspect of the job.
Distributive justice
Where employees receive (at least a portion of) their rewards as a function of their level of contribution to the organization.
Extrinsic rewards
Rewards that are external to the work itself.
Flexible benefits system
A rewards program where employees are allowed some discretion in the determination of their own packages and can make trade-offs, within certain limits.
Gain sharing
An incentive plan in which employees or customers receive benefits directly as a result of cost-saving measures that they initiate or participate in.
Graphic rating scale
A performance appraisal technique where the supervisor or rater is typically presented with a printed or online form that contains both the employee’s name and several evaluation dimensions (quantity of work, quality of work, knowledge of job, attendance). The rater is then asked to rate the employee by assigning a number or rating on each of the dimensions.
Halo effect
Results in a supervisor assigning the same rating to each factor being evaluated for an individual.
Intrinsic motivation
The desire to do a task because you enjoy it.
Intrinsic rewards
Rewards that are external to the work itself.
Lump-sum pay increase
A technique that allows employees to decide how (that is, in what amounts) they wish to receive their pay raises for the coming year.
Management by objectives
Closely related to the goal-setting theory of motivation.
Participative pay decisions
Involving employees in pay raise decisions.
Performance appraisals
A system that provides a means of systematically evaluating employees across various performance dimensions to ensure that organizations are getting what they pay for.
Recency error
Occurs when, in an evaluation, a supervisor may give undue emphasis to performance during the past months—or even weeks—and ignore performance levels prior to this.
Reliability
The extent to which the instrument consistently yields the same results each time it is used.
Skills-based incentives
Rewards employees on the basis of the skills they possess and not just the skills they are allowed to use at work.
Strictness or Leniency error
Fails to distinguish adequately between good and bad performers and instead relegates almost everyone to the same or related categories.
Validity
The extent to which an instrument actually measures what it intends to measure.
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