Organizational Behavior Final Exam

Final Exam

• 3-hour exam, worth 35% (out of 60)
• 30 multiple-choice questions (1 point each)
• 3 short answer questions (5 points each)
• 1 essay question (15 points, 600 words)

Possible Essay/Short Answer Questions

1. Equity Theory and Organizational Justice

• DJ, PJ, IJ: Why is this relative in a creative environment?
• High DJ and PJ may not be possible in real life
• Some people get a rise out of certain actions while others don't
• Empathize high PJ and IJ to compensate.
• Clear procedure to explain decision-making process
• Fair process where people can ask questions and challenge outcomes

2. Expectancy Theory

• Expectancy (E): Effort to performance
• Instrumentality (I): Performance to reward
• Valence (V): Value of the reward
• Expectancy theory in compensation: Line of sight between performance and reward (instrumentality). Rewards have to have value (valence).

3. Training Strategic to Organizations

• First steps in training: Importance and impact.

Week 7 Learning Outcomes

• Strategic importance of recruitment function
• Identifying recruiting methods for different jobs
• Creating effective recruitment advertisements
• Choosing recruitment sources
• Evaluating recruitment function.
• Significance of selection function
• Selection process steps (tests, interviews)
• Role of employment tests in selection
• Interview types and issues
• Evaluating the selection process

Recruitment

• Finding and attracting applicable candidates
• Often problematic for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
• Unclear boundaries/ responsibilities, ad hoc processes
• Purposeful and unintentional actions

Choosing Recruitment Sources/ Methods

• Number of recruits needed, and when
• Skill level required in the position
• Past experience to gauge current success

Recruitment Methods

• Director inquiries
• Employee referrals
• Offline and online job boards
• Social media ads
• Digital recruiting (LinkedIn, Indeed)
• Temporary/ private help agencies
• Educational institutions
• Professional/ labor organizations
• Job fairs
• Recruitment abroad
• Headhunting

Internal Recruiting Advantages/Weaknesses

• Familiar with the organization

• Shows past success as an indicator of future

• Improves employee morale and motivation

• Internal competition may reduce cooperation.

• Avoids “new” ideas/ people

• Can prevent creative solutions.

• Poor morale if not promoted

External Recruiting Advantages/Weaknesses

• Acquires skills and knowledge that may not exist within.

• Brings new ideas and approaches to problem-solving.

• Newcomers may not fit in.

• Longer time for newcomers to understand the organization.

• Usually more expensive.

• Can reduce morale of current employees.

Important Recruitment Considerations

• Legal Issues/ Requirements
• Bona Fide Occupational Requirements (BFORs) and workplace laws
• Ensuring employers avoid discriminatory hiring practices

Evaluating Recruitment

• Cost per hire
• Quality of applications and candidates
• Ratio of offers/ applications
• Time taken to fill a position

Selection Process

• Series of actions for hiring decision
• Matching organizational needs with applicants
• Matching employment needs of the organization with applicants

Strategic Significance of Selection

• Execution of strategy depends on the employees/workforce
• Decisions must reflect job requirements
• Must recognize organizational constraints
• Recognize labor market realities
• Ethical and accessible practices

Steps 1+2: Preliminary Reception & Screening

• Initial contact with applicants (walk-ins, written applications)
• Preliminary interview for walk-ins
• Written acknowledgment for applications
• Screening out unsuitable candidates

Steps 3-7

• Employment tests (personality, knowledge, etc.)
• Employment interviews
• Realistic Job Previews
• Reference checks
• Contingent assessments (health, medical)

Step 8: Hiring Decision

• Marks the end of selection process
• Balancing trade-offs among predictors
• Considerations of subjective, multiple-cutoff, and compensatory approaches
• Supervisor input into the final decision
• Timely notification to candidates.

Evaluation of Selection Process

• Quality/ productivity of workforce
• Satisfaction of supervisors and peers
• Training costs
• Grievances, absenteeism, and turnover.
• Identifying factors that cause difficulties in getting suitable workers.

Strategic Importance of Recruitment Function

• Challenges related to aging population, competition in talent and rising compensation
• virtual recruitment and the pandemic.

Organizational Policies

• Promoting from within
• Compensation policies (pay ranges, bonuses)
• Employment status policies (part-time, temporary)
• International hiring policies

Chapter 5/ Week 8

Learning Outcomes:

• Defining and describing onboarding, training, and development
• Systems approach to training and development
• Strategic HR development approaches
• Evaluating training/development programs

Onboarding, Training, and Development

• Helping new hires adjust to their jobs
• Includes orientation, socialisation, training, & development
• Outcomes: increase in retention, reduce anxiety, quick time to productivity

Organizational Issues/HR related Topics/Role Expectations

• History, names, titles, and overviews
• Policies, employee handbook, pay, vacations, benefits, services/programs, etc
• Job location, job overview, safety, job tasks, objectives, relationships

Socialization

• Continuing process of accepting values, norms, and beliefs
• Turning outsiders into insiders, celebrating differences, facilitating connections
• Set up meetings

Training Techniques

• Evaluation and assessments of training requirements
• Techniques for training (cost-effectiveness, appropriate facilities, trainee preferences)
• On-the-job/off-the-job training activities (job rotation, apprenticeships, coaching, lectures, videos, case studies, etc.)

Employee Development

• Devising internal paths for employees to advance through greater responsibility/authority
• Talent management: preparing employees to meet future company challenges

Development Strategies

• Cognitive: increase knowledge/expertise (lectures, seminars, courses, etc)
• Behavioural: change in management style (role-playing, behaviour modelling, etc).
• Environmental: provide development settings (mentoring, coaching, company/network communication)

Chapter 7/Week 9

• Importance of managing employee performance
• Purpose of performance appraisals
• Common methods (comparative/non-comparative)
• Guidelines for communicating performance feedback
• Legal considerations for performance management

Total Compensation

• Includes everything an employee receives in return for their work (salary, wages, variable pay, perks, amenities, benefits, etc.)
• Importance of internal and external equity
• Pay is rarely a motivator (hygiene factor)

Compensation Theory

• Vroom's Expectancy Theory (Motivation) : Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence.
• Equity Theory (Organizational Justice): Distributive justice (DJ), Procedural Justice (PJ), and Interactional Justice (IJ)

Direct vs. Indirect Compensation

• Direct: Fixed reward (salary, overtime, bonuses).
• Indirect: Non-monetary value (health/dental/vision insurance, etc)

Pay Secrecy vs Transparency

• Advantages and disadvantages of secrecy vs transparency
• Importance of full knowledge.

Objectives of Benefits

• Societal benefits (security for workers)
• Employee cost deduction of benefits
• Tax-free benefits for workers.

Employee Benefits

• Financial security (illness, disability, retirement)
• Recruiting & retaining staff
• Reduce fatigue and improve productivity
• Cost-effective (overtime, injuries)
• Lower cost, availability, lower income taxes, etc.

Workplace Injuries and Health Hazards/Causes/HR actions

• Workplace injuries (frequency, categories)
• Stressors unique to the job, role in organization, career development, relations at work, and organizational climate
• HR actions to reduce workplace stress and provide support

Compensation Challenges for HRM

• Effective communication of benefits and compensation policies
• Increasingly complex benefit packages
• Complying with all legal requirements
• Control ballooning compensation (pension crisis, sick leave, rising cost of labor)