Organizational Dynamics & Behavior Flashcards

A visitor describes a situation where their team celebrates activity over results and avoids accountability for outcomes. This is a symptom of:

Answer: Activity trap and goal displacement

The activity trap occurs when organizations confuse being busy with being productive, losing sight of actual outcomes and goals.

Which theory proposes that employees are motivated by the belief that effort will lead to performance, and performance will lead to valued rewards?

Answer: Vroom's Expectancy Theory

Vroom's Expectancy Theory links motivation to the chain: effort → performance → reward, requiring belief in all three links.

An ombuds is mapping a recurring conflict pattern across multiple departments. Which systems-thinking concept is most applicable?

Answer: Feedback loops and systemic interdependencies

Systems thinking reveals that recurring conflicts often stem from feedback loops and interdependencies rather than isolated individual actions.

Which organizational structure is most appropriate for complex, fast-changing environments requiring cross-functional collaboration?

Answer: Matrix organization

Matrix organizations enable cross-functional collaboration by assigning employees to both functional and project reporting lines simultaneously.

A manager consistently makes decisions without consulting team members who hold relevant expertise. This violates which principle?

Answer: Participative management and leveraging distributed expertise

Bypassing subject-matter experts in decisions not only wastes expertise but reduces buy-in and often leads to poorer outcomes.

The concept of 'organizational resilience' refers to an organization's ability to:

Answer: Absorb disturbances and adapt while maintaining core functions

Organizational resilience is the capacity to absorb shocks, adapt to disruption, and continue delivering on core purpose.

When an ombuds identifies that a conflict stems from differing mental models about how work 'should' be done, this reflects:

Answer: Deep cultural assumptions shaping different interpretations of reality

Mental models are deeply held assumptions about how the world works; when they differ, people interpret identical events in opposing ways.