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OB & HRM Book Summary - IBA VU
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Book summary C1 to 19 of the course Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior (OB & HRM), given in the second year of IBA at the VU.
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Chapter 1, making OB work for me§1.1 The value of OB to my job and my career
The term organizational behavior (OB) describes an interdisciplinary field dedicated to
understanding and managing people at work.
A contingency approach calls for using the OB concepts and tools that best suit the
situation, instead of trying to rely on “one best way”.
Hard skills are the technical expertise and knowledge required to do a particular task or job
function. Soft skills relate to human interactions and include both interpersonal skills and
personal attributes. Soft skills are not job specific, they are portable skills, more or less
relevant in every job.
§1.2 Right vs. wrong – ethics and my performance
Ethics guides behavior by identifying right, wrong, and the many shades of gray in between.
Ethical dilemmas are situations with two choices, neither of which resolves the situation in
an ethically acceptable manner.
§1.3 Applying OB to solving problems
A problem is a difference or gap between an actual and a desired state or outcome. Problem
solving is a systematic process to close these gaps.
The 3-step problem solving method:
1. Define the problem.
2. Identify potential causes using OB concepts and theories.
3. Make recommendations and (if appropriate) take action.
§1.4 Structure and rigor in solving problems
OB concepts and theories can be classified into two categories: person factors and
situational factors:
- Person factors are the infinite characteristics that give individuals their unique
identities.
- Situation factors are all the elements outside ourselves that influence what we do,
the way we do it, and the ultimate results of our actions.
The interactional perspective states that behavior is a function of interdependent person
and situation factors.
,§1.5 The organizing framework for understanding and applying OB
The organizing framework is a systems model wherein inputs influence outcomes through
processes. The person and situation factors are inputs. The processes are divided into three
levels of OB: individual level, group/team level, and organizational level.
Chapter 2, Individual differences and emotions
§2.1 The differences matter
Individual differences (IDs) are the many attributes, such as traits and behaviors, that
describe each of us as a person.
§2.2 Intelligences: there is more to the story than IQ
Intelligence represents an individual’s capacity for constructive thinking, reasoning, and
problem solving.
Howerd Gardner came up with 8 different intelligences: linguistic intelligence, logical-
mathematical intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, spatial
intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence.
Practical intelligence is the ability to solve everyday problems by utilizing knowledge gained
from experience to purposefully adapt to, shape, and select environments. It involves
changing oneself to suit the environment (adaption), changing the environment to suit
oneself (shaping), or finding a new environment within which to work (selection).
§2.3 Personality, OB, and my effectiveness
Personality is the combination of stable physical, behavioral, ant mental characteristics that
gives individuals their unique identities.
The big 5 personality dimensions are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
emotional stability, and openness to experience.
,A proactive personality is an attribute of someone “relatively unconstrained by situational
forces and who effects environmental change. Proactive people identify opportunities and
act on them, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs.”
§2.4 Core self-evaluations: how my efficacy, esteem, locus, and stability affect
my performance
Core self-evaluations (CSEs) represent a broad personality trait made up of four narrow and
positive individual traits: (1) generalized self-efficacy, (2) self-esteem, (3) locus of control,
and (4) emotional stability.
Self-efficacy is a person’s belief about his or her chances of successfully accomplishing a
specific task.
Self-esteem is your general belief about your own self-worth.
Locus of control is a relatively stable personality characteristic that describes how much
personal responsibility we take for our behavior and its consequences.
People who believe they control the events and consequences that affect their lives are said
to possess an internal locus of control.
Those who believe their performance is the product of circumstances beyond their
immediate control possess an external locus of control ant tend to attribute outcomes to
environmental causes.
Individuals with high levels of emotional stability tend to be relaxed, secure, unworried, and
less likely to experience negative emotions under pressure.
§2.5 The value of being emotionally intelligent
Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor your own emotions and those of others, to
discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions.
Emotional intelligence has 4 key components: self-awareness, self-management, social
awareness, and relationship management.
§2.6 Understand emotions to influence performance
Emotions are complex, brief responses aimed at a particular target, such as a person,
information, experience, or event. They also change psychological and/or physiological
states.
, Chapter 3, Social perception and managing diversity
§3.1 Person perception
Perception is a cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our
surroundings. Perception is influenced by 3 key components: the characteristics of the
perceiver, of the target, and the situation.
There are 6 key perceiver characteristics that affect our perception of others:
- Direction of gaze.
- Needs and goals.
- Experience with target.
- Category-based knowledge.
- Gender and emotional status.
- Cognitive load.
There are 5 key target characteristics that affect our person perception:
- Direction of gaze.
- Facial features and body shape.
- Nonverbal cues.
- Appearance or dress.
- Physical attractiveness.
There are 2 key situational characteristics that affect perception:
- Context of interaction.
- Culture and race consistency.
Implicit cognition represents any thoughts or beliefs that are automatically activated from
memory without our conscious awareness. Implicit cognition leads people to make biased
decisions without realizing they are doing so.
§3.2 Stereotypes
A stereotype is an individual’s set of beliefs about the characteristics or attributes of a
group. We build stereotypes through a 4-step process:
1. Categorization.
2. Inferences.
3. Expectations.
4. Maintenance.
Managerial suggestions to reduce the extent trough which stereotypes influence decision
making and interpersonal processes throughout the organization:
1. Managers should educate people about stereotypes and how they can influence our
behavior and decision making.
2. Managers should create opportunities for diverse employees to meet and work
together in cooperative groups of equal status.
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