Organizational Behavior & Workplace Culture Flashcards

A manager notices that team members avoid disagreeing with the most senior person in the room, even when they have valid concerns. This pattern is best described as:

Answer: Authority bias

Authority bias occurs when people defer to those with perceived power or status, suppressing their own judgment.

Which organizational culture type, per Cameron and Quinn's Competing Values Framework, prioritizes flexibility and external focus, emphasizing innovation and growth?

Answer: Adhocracy culture

Adhocracy culture values creativity, risk-taking, and adaptability, with an external orientation toward growth and change.

An employee who performs well when working alone but contributes less in group projects may be experiencing:

Answer: Social loafing

Social loafing is the tendency to exert less effort when working in a group than when working individually.

A company's unwritten rules about how employees should behave — often more influential than official policies — are known as:

Answer: Informal norms

Informal norms are unspoken behavioral expectations that shape day-to-day conduct, often more powerfully than written rules.

When a manager uses punishment to decrease an undesirable behavior, this is an application of which reinforcement concept?

Answer: Punishment

Punishment involves applying an unpleasant consequence to reduce the frequency of an undesired behavior.

A team that has developed strong cohesion but consistently avoids critical evaluation of ideas is at risk of:

Answer: Groupthink

Groupthink occurs in highly cohesive groups where the desire for harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives.

Which concept explains why individuals in large organizations may feel that their personal actions have little impact on overall outcomes?

Answer: Diffusion of responsibility

Diffusion of responsibility occurs when individuals feel less personally accountable because responsibility is shared across many people.