Examen final - Comportement humain et organisation

Examen final - Comportement humain et organisation (Université Laval)

• Examen final (35%): Covers material from weeks 6-10, duration 2h50mn
• Part 1: Online questionnaire (20 true/false, 30 multiple choice), 65 minutes
• Part 2: Case study (4 questions), 1h45mn
• Week 6: Power and Political Gameplay (Chapter 9)

Power in Organizations

• Power: The ability to influence others or affect the course of events
• Social Power: Influencing others in a social relationship.
• Force: Operative power used against another's will.
• Dependency: A person or group relying on another for needs.
• Control: Having dominance or constraint over someone or something.
• Powerlessness: Lack of autonomy or control.
• Negative Effects: Distress, alienation, absenteeism, tardiness, sloppy work, etc.

Sources of Power / Influence

• Positional Power: Derived from hierarchy or official authority of a position
  • Legitimate Power: Influencing subordinates based on hierarchical authority.
  • Zone of Indifference: The range of requests a subordinate accepts without challenge.
    • Inner Zone: Routine commands are followed.
    • Outer Zone: Rewarding considerations are required.
• Personal Power: Power inherent to the individual
  • Expert Power: Influencing due to knowledge, experience, or judgment.
  • Referent Power: Influencing due to identification with or attraction to the individual.
• Informational Power: Influence derived from access to or control over information.
• Relational Power: Leveraging networks or relationships to achieve objectives.
  • Association Power: Using influential contacts for support.
  • Reciprocal Alliances: Exchange of favors or power for mutual benefit.

Reactions to Power/Influence

• Compliance: Responding to demands for a perceived reward or to avoid punishment
  • Submission: Complying out of fear or self-interest.
  • Identification: Complying due to personal connection to the requester.
  • Internalization: Complying due to personal values.
• Resistance: Actively opposing or delaying demands.
  • Constructive Resistance: Purposeful opposition to guide the discussion.
  • Dysfunctional Resistance: Passive avoidance or rejection of demands.
• Corruption: Individuals exploiting power for personal gain, e.g. the Bethsabée Syndrome.

Political Gameplay in Organizations

• Political Gameplay: Actions by organizational members striving for resources through informal means, exceeding formal descriptions.
• Formal System: The defined organizational structure outlining roles and processes.
• Informal System: The dynamic patterns of relationships and interactions arising from daily practices.
• Positive Political Play: Actions furthering organizational interests.
• Negative Political Play: Actions prioritizing individual or group self-interest.
• Political Gameplay Manifestations: activities like strategic alliances, manipulations, favoritism in promotions.

Ethics in Political Play

• Ethical Criteria:
  • Utilitarian: Maximizing the greatest good for the greatest number.
  • Moralistic: Respecting the rights of all parties.
  • Social Justice: Treating everyone equitably and fairly.
• Ethical Conflict: When several ethical criteria are in conflict or appear incompatible.
• Political Climate: Perceptions of the organizational political process.
• Avoidance: Addressing a problem rather than engaging with its causes.

Leadership and Management

• Leadership: Influence emerges when leadership and subordinate behaviors are intertwined, which facilitates the achievement of common goals through individual and collective actions; formally elected or appointed individuals or informal individuals.
• Leadership styles: Formal vs. Informal, ascending or descending. (expert, charismatic, etc.)
• Relationship Qualities: Between leaders and followers.
• Implicit theories of leadership: Preconceived ideas about attributes and characteristics that define the leaders.
• Leadership Forms: Distributed or Collective.

Communication (Chapter 13)

• Communication: The process of transmitting meaning through words, actions, and symbols.
• Components: Sender, encoding, channel, decoding, receiver, feedback, noise.
• Types: Formal, Informal (e.g., grapevine).
• Obstacles: Interference and noise, cultural differences, hierarchies.

Conflict Management (Chapter 14)

• Conflict: disagreements stemming from issues of substance or relationships.

• Types: intra-personal (internal conflict), interpersonal (between people), intergroup, and interorganizational.

• Managing Conflicts: Use of strategies for handling conflicts (direct and indirect)

• Resolution of Conflict: Addressing the underlying issues to resolve the conflict.

• Conflict Styles (direct strategies): Accommodating (Yielding), Avoiding (Avoiding), Compromising, Collaborating, Competing (Aggressiveness)

Organizational Structure and Culture (Chapter 15)

• Organizational Structure: Formal arrangement of departments, roles, and responsibilities in an organization.
• Types: functional, divisional, matrix, simple, and adhocracy
• Formalization (control): The degree to which an organization is documented and clearly defined in terms of structures and processes.
• Standardization (formal): The degree to which procedures and protocols are standardized.

Organizational Innovation (Chapter 16)

• Innovation: The active process of introducing new ideas, products, or practices.
• Types: Product, process, administrative & cultural.
• Innovation Process: Stages of innovation (imagination, experimentation, feasibility study, and application /implementation).

Organizational Change (Chapter 17)

• Change: Significant alterations in organizational characteristics (mission, values, strategies, and structure).
• Types: Gradual (incremental) vs. Transformative (radical)
• Change Agents: Individuals or groups driving organizational change.
• Resistance to Change: Responses to proposed organizational changes.