Key Terms

Americans with Disabilities Act

employers cannot discriminate against any individual based on a disability

bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)

requirement of certain occupations for which denying an individual employment would otherwise violate the law, such as requirements concerning religion or sex

checklist

method used to reduce workplace accidents

diversity training

training employees about cultural differences with the goal of improving teamwork

downsizing

process in which an organization tries to achieve greater overall efficiency by reducing the number of employees

Hawthorne effect

increase in performance of individuals who are noticed, watched, and paid attention to by researchers or supervisors

human factors psychology

branch of psychology that studies how workers interact with the tools of work and how to design those tools to optimize workers’ productivity, safety, and health

immutable characteristic

traits that employers cannot use to discriminate in hiring, benefits, promotions, or termination; these traits are fundamental to one’s personal identity (e.g. skin color and hair texture)

industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology

field in psychology that applies scientific principles to the study of work and the workplace

industrial psychology

branch of psychology that studies job characteristics, applicant characteristics, and how to match them; also studies employee training and performance appraisal

job analysis

determining and listing tasks associated with a particular job

job satisfaction

degree of pleasure that employees derive from their job

organizational culture

values, visions, hierarchies, norms and interactions between its employees; how an organization is run, how it operates, and how it makes decisions

organizational psychology

branch of psychology that studies the interactions between people working in organizations and the effects of those interactions on productivity

performance appraisal

evaluation of an employee’s success or lack of success at performing the duties of the job

procedural justice

fairness by which means are used to achieve results in an organization

scientific management

theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows with the main objective of improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity

sexual harassment

sexually-based behavior that is knowingly unwanted and has an adverse effect of a person’s employment status, interferes with a person’s job performance, or creates a hostile or intimidating work environment

telecommuting

employees’ ability to set their own hours allowing them to work from home at different parts of the day

Theory X

assumes workers are inherently lazy and unproductive; managers must have control and use punishments

Theory Y

assumes workers are people who seek to work hard and productively; managers and workers can find creative solutions to problems; workers do not need to be controlled and punished

transactional leadership style

characteristic of leaders who focus on supervision and organizational goals achieved through a system of rewards and punishments; maintenance of the organizational status quo

transformational leadership style

characteristic of leaders who are charismatic role models, inspirational, intellectually stimulating, and individually considerate and who seek to change the organization

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information

work team

group of people within an organization or company given a specific task to achieve together

work–family balance

occurs when people juggle the demands of work life with the demands of family life

workplace violence

violence or the threat of violence against workers; can occur inside or outside the workplace