Glossary

Anchoring

In negotiation, a strategy of setting an initial offer that serves as a reference point for the rest of the discussion.

Anchoring bias

The tendency to make estimates based on an earlier initial value.

Appraisal theories

Evaluations that relate what is happening in the environment to people’s values, goals, and beliefs. Appraisal theories of emotion contend that emotions are caused by patterns of appraisals, such as whether an event furthers or hinders a goal and whether an event can be coped with.

Attitude

A predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable way to objects or persons in one’s environment.

Attribution theory

The cognitive process by which people interpret the reasons or causes for their behavior.

Autocratic leadership

Boss-centered, directive leadership. Leaders who use this style prefer to make decisions and solve problems on their own, allowing for very little input from subordinates.

Availability heuristic

The tendency to evaluate new information based on the most recent or most easily recalled examples.

Avoidance learning

Learning to behave in a certain way to avoid encountering an undesired or unpleasant consequence.

BATNA

Best alternative to a negotiated agreement.

Bounded rationality

Model of human behavior that suggests that humans try to make rational decisions but are bounded due to cognitive limitations.

Coalition

An influence tactic that involves a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others.

Coercive power

The power a person has because people believe that the person can punish them by inflicting pain or by withholding or taking away something that they value.

Cohesion

The degree of camaraderie within a team.

Commitment

A response to an influence attempt in which the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it.

Compliance

A response to an influence attempt in which the target does not necessarily want to obey, but they do.

Concessions

In negotiation, something that is given up to get something else in return.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to pay more attention to information that confirms our existing beliefs and less attention to information that is contrary to our beliefs.

Consultation

An influence tactic in which an influence agent asks others for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group.

Dependency

Power that a person or unit gains from their ability to handle actual or potential problems facing an organization.

Designated, or assigned, leaders

Leaders who are put into positions of leadership by formal processes; designated leaders also known as formal leaders.

Distributive bargaining

“Win-lose” bargaining, in which the goals of one party are in fundamental and direct conflict with those of the other party.

Distributive justice

One type of organizational justice, which refers to the perceived fairness of outcomes.

Diversity

Identity-based differences among and between people that affect their lives as applicants, employees, and customers.

Emergent leaders

Leaders who emerge from the dynamics and processes that unfold within and among a group of individuals as they endeavor to achieve a collective goal.

Emotion

A subjective state of being often described as feelings.

Emotional contagion

The transfer or spread of emotions between or among individuals.

Emotional intelligence

The capability of individuals to recognize and manage their own emotions and others’ emotions.

Emotional labor

The regulation of feelings and expressions for organizational purposes.

Empowerment

In individuals, autonomy and discretion to make their own decisions, as well as control over the resources needed to implement those decisions.

Escalation of commitment

The tendency of decision makers to remain committed to poor decision, even when doing so leads to increasingly negative outcomes.

Ethics

Principles or standards of behavior to which we hold ourselves.

Exchange

An influence tactic in which someone does something for you, and you do something for them in return.

Expectancy

In expectancy theory, the link between effort and performance, which refers to the strength of the individual’s expectation that a certain amount of effort will lead to a certain level of performance.

Expert power

The power a person has because others believe that the person has and is willing to share expert knowledge that they need.

Extinction

The principle that suggests that undesired behavior will decline as a result of a lack of positive reinforcement.

Extrinsic

Motivation that arises from external factors such as compensation, punishment, and tangible rewards.

Extrinsic rewards

Rewards that come from outside the individual—things like pay raises, promotions, bonuses, and prestigious assignments.

Formal leadership

A leadership role that is officially recognized.

Forming stage

The first stage of team development—the positive and polite stage.

Framing bias

The tendency to be influenced by the way that a situation or problem is presented.

Fraud

The act of intentionally deceiving a person or organization or misrepresenting a relationship in order to secure some type of benefit, either financial or nonfinancial.

Fraud triangle

The three factors that increase the likelihood of an individual committing fraud, as well as other forms of ethical violations; these factors are pressure, opportunity, and rationalization.

Free-rein leadership

Subordinate-centered, hands-off leadership. Also called laissez-faire leadership. Leaders who use this style typically turn over all authority and control to subordinates.

Functionalist theories of emotion

Theories of emotion that emphasize the adaptive role of an emotion in handling common problems throughout evolutionary history.

Fundamental attribution error

The tendency to underestimate the effects of external or situational causes of behavior and to overestimate the effects of internal or personal causes.

Gambler’s fallacy

The reasoning that holds that if a chance event has happened less frequently in the recent past, it is more likely to happen in the near future (or vice versa).

Giving Voice to Values (GVV)

An approach to values-driven leadership development that helps you learn how to effectively act on your values and ethical principles in the context of your professional responsibilities.

Ground rules

Basic rules or principles of conduct that govern a situation or endeavor.

Groupthink

The tendency to conform to team pressure in making decisions, while failing to think critically or to consider outside influences.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that allow a decision maker to reach a decision quickly. They are strategies that develop based on prior experience.

Importance

The value of a resource.

In-group

A group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.

Influence

The capacity to impact or affect a person's emotions, opinions, or behaviors.

Informal leadership

Leadership that is exhibited without an official position.

Informational power

The power a person has because they have access to or control over valuable information.

Ingratiation

An influence tactic that involves making others feel good about themselves.

Inspirational appeals

An influence tactic that involves tapping into values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action.

Instrumental values

Values concerning the way we approach end-states.

Instrumentality

In expectancy theory, the link between performance and outcome, which refers to the strength of the expectation that a certain level of performance will lead to a particular outcome.

Integrative bargaining

“Win-win” bargaining, in which both parties try to reach a settlement that benefits both parties.

Interactional justice

One type of organizational justice, which refers to the manner in which an employee is treated.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation that arises from internal factors such as autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Intrinsic rewards

Rewards that come from within the individual—things like satisfaction, contentment, sense of accomplishment, confidence, and pride.

Job satisfaction

A pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.

Leadership

The process of establishing a direction and guiding and motivating others toward the achievement of goals.

Legal compliance

The extent to which a company conducts its business operations in accordance with applicable regulations, statutes, and laws.

Legitimate power

The power a person has because others believe that the person possesses the “right” to influence them and that they ought to obey.

Legitimating

An influence tactic in which an appeal is based on legitimate or position power.

Maintenance needs

Needs related to interpersonal interactions and relationships. For instance, a leader attending to maintenance needs may help manage conflict or decision-making by reducing tension and encouraging full participation.

Management

The process of guiding the development, maintenance, and allocation of resources to attain organizational goals.

Motivation

The set of forces that prompt a person to release energy, or exert effort, in a certain direction.

Need

The gap between what is and what is required.

Negative reinforcement

Removing an undesirable consequence to encourage desired behavior.

Negotiation

The process by which individuals or groups attempt to realize their goals by bargaining with another party who has at least some control over goal attainment.

Neuroplasticity

The capacity of the nervous system to modify its organization.

Nonprogrammed decisions

Decisions that are novel and not based on well-defined or known criteria.

Norming stage

The third stage of team development—when team resolves its differences and begins making progress.

Organizational commitment

The relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in an organization.

Organizational culture

A system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that shapes how employees perceive, think, and act within an organization.

Organizational justice

Employee perceptions of fairness in the workplace, encompassing three distinct forms of justice: distributive (fair outcomes), procedural (fair process), and interactional (the manner in which a person is treated).

Out-group

A group that we don’t belong to and that we view as fundamentally different from us.

Overjustification effect

A phenomenon in which intrinsic motivation is diminished when extrinsic motivation is given.

Participative leadership

Leaders who use this style share decision-making with group members and encourage discussion of issues and alternatives.

Performing stage

The fourth stage of team development—when hard work leads to the achievement of the team’s goal.

Personal appeals

An influence tactic that involves asking someone to do something for you, such as a favor.

Personality
Pooled interdependence

When team members work independently and simply combine their efforts to create the team’s output.

Positive reinforcement

A desirable consequence that satisfies an active need or that removes a barrier to need satisfaction.

Power

The ability to influence others.

Pressure

An influence tactic that involves exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur.

Procedural justice

One type of organizational justice, which refers to the fairness of the process used to determine outcomes.

Programmed decisions

Decisions that are repeated over time and for which an existing set of rules can be developed.

Punishment

Anything that decreases a specific behavior.

Rational persuasion

An influence tactic that involves using facts, data, and logical arguments.

Reactive system

System of decision-making in the brain that is quick and intuitive.

Reciprocal interdependence

Occurs when two or more team members depend on one another for inputs.

Referent

Another person, used for comparison purposes.

Referent power

The power a person has because others want to associate with or be accepted by them.

Reflective system

System of decision-making in the brain that is logical, analytical, and methodical.

Reinforcement theory

A theory of motivation that holds that people do things because they know that certain consequences will follow.

Resistance

A response to an influence attempt in which the influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt.

Resistance price

In negotiation, the point beyond which the opponent will not go to reach a settlement.

Reward

Anything that increases a specific behavior.

Reward power

The power a person has because people believe that they can bestow rewards or outcomes, such as money or recognition that others desire.

Scapegoating

The act of blaming an out-group when the in-group experiences frustration or is blocked from obtaining a goal.

Scarcity

The uniqueness of a resource.

Self-fulfilling prophecy

An expectation held by a person that alters their behavior in a way that tends to make it true.

Self-serving bias

The tendency for individuals to attribute their successes to their own actions while attributing their failures to others.

Sequential interdependence

Exists when the outputs of one team member becomes the inputs for another.

Similar-to-me bias

The tendency to prefer the familiar, specifically people that look and think like us.

Situational leaders

A theory of leadership in which effective leaders select a leadership style that matches the competency (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities) and commitment (i.e., motivation and confidence) levels of followers.

Social loafing

The tendency of individuals to put in less effort when working in a group context.

Stereotype

A widely held generalization about a group of people. Stereotyping is a process in which attributes are assigned to people solely on the basis of their class or category. It is particularly likely to occur when one meets new people, since very little is known about them at that time.

Storming stage

The second stage of team development—when people are pushing against the boundaries.

Substitutability

One’s ability to find another option that works as well as the one offered.

Sunk costs

Time, energy, money, or other costs that have been expended in the past.

Sunk-cost fallacy

The fallacy of attaching a greater value to something than is warranted because a person has already invested time, resources, and/or emotion in that thing (or person).

Task interdependence

In teams, the degree that team members are dependent on one another to get information, support, or materials from other team members to be effective.

Task needs

Needs related to task completion or goal achievement. For instance, a leader attending to task needs may help analyze problems, distribute assignments, gather information, make sure everyone is heard from, keep the group focused, and facilitate the group reaching a consensus or final recommendations.

Terminal values

End-state goals that we prize.

Valence

In expectancy theory, the outcome, which refers to the degree to which the individual expects the anticipated outcome to satisfy personal needs or wants. Some outcomes have more valence, or value, for individuals than others do.

Value

An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.

Want

The gap between what is and what is desired.

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Management and Organizational Behavior Copyright © by Charlotte Hoopes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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