LEADERSHIP GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Source: The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial Applications (Bernard M. Bass and Ruth Bass)
These definitions cover topics common to the study and research of leadership and leadership theory. This includes related topics in organizational theory, organizational behavior, etc.
A
Accountability
Members of an organization who are given responsibility and authority are held answerable for the results.
Achievement motive (nAch)
Motivation to seek high performance and success.
Acquiescent response set
Agreement with statements, regardless of their content.
Action research
Research whose objective includes the implemented solution of the research problem using the diagnosis of the problem, the collection of data, and the analysis and feedback of data.
Adaptation level
An individual’s expectations and experience set a standard against which events or objects are perceived.
Ad hoc group
A temporary group established to deal with a problem or problems (also Task force).
Affect (noun)
Feeling; emotional reaction.
Affiliation motive (nAff)
The motivation to belong and to be with other people.
Affirmative action
Positive programs to increase opportunities for the employment and promotion of members of disadvantaged groups.
Algorithm
A procedure used to solve a set of problems by an explicit formula.
Alienation
A generalized sense of meaninglessness, helplessness, and social isolation that contributes to the disinhibition of personal controls against engaging in deviant behavior.
Altruism
Helping others with no obvious benefit to oneself and with few expectations for personal gain.
Analog
A physical, mechanical, or electrical model of an object or concept about which measurements and calculations can be made.
Anomie
The reduced social control against deviant behavior that is due to a disregard of norms and standards.
Anxiety
Generalized, diffuse apprehension.
A posteriori
Explanations are offered after the facts are known.
A priori
Hypotheses are formulated before the facts are known.
Arbitration
A situation in which a third party renders a decision for two parties who are in conflict.
Artifact
The results of an arbitrary method, rather than the true state of affairs.
Artificial intelligence
The emulation of the problem-solving, linguistic, and other capabilities of human beings by means of a computer.
Assumed similarity
We assume that we are like other people in values, interests, beliefs, and personality (see Projection).
Attenuation
Reduction from a theoretically true correlation because of the unreliability of one or both measures correlated.
Attitude
An affective, evaluative, relatively enduring reaction, positive or negative, toward an object or proposition.
Attribution theory
A theory of the way people impute intentions to other persons or situations.
Auditing
Verification of the validity of data, statements, and records.
Autokinetic effect
A stationary light that, when viewed in a dark room, appears to move.
Autonomy
The degree of freedom in carrying out an assignment.
Aversive reinforcement
Reinforcing conditions that inhibit the reinforced behavior; also Negative reinforcement.
B
Batch production
The production of quantities of similar items, rather than mixes of items.
Behavior modification
Changing behavior by changing the consequences of that behavior. Desired new behavior is rewarded (positively reinforced); undesired old behavior is punished or positive consequences are removed (negatively reinforced).
Behavior shaping
Behavior modification in which small increments of behavior are reinforced in the direction of the desired behavior until a final desired result is achieved.
Biased sample
A sample that is unrepresentative because of one or more sources of systematic error.
Binary
Involving two digits or states.
Boundary-spanning roles
Liaison roles that connect departments or organizations with each other and with the environment.
Bounded rationality
Managers make the best decisions they can within the constraints of limited information about possible alternatives and the consequences of the alternatives.
Brainstorming
The generation of ideas without evaluating them; a maximum number of ideas can be generated in a limited time.
Buffering
Actions or events to seal off processes from external variations.
Bureaucracy
An organization that is operated on the basis of rules, regulations, and orderliness and that focuses on legitimacy, the duties of jobs, and the rights of office. It is characterized by standardization, hierarchical control, specified authority, and responsibilities.
Bureaucratic personality
The preference for rules, regulations, and order in running organizations.
Burnout
Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion resulting from continuing exposure to stress.
Business game
A simulation of a business operated by two or more players competing with other businesses in a common market.
C
Career plateau
A prolonged halt in promotion up the corporate ladder.
Centralization
The degree of concentration of authority in a central location at the top of the organization.
Chain of command
The hierarchy of authority in an organization from top to bottom. Members are supposed to know to whom they should report and who reports to them.
Change agent
An individual who guides the process of group or organizational change.
Channel
The communication path along which information flows.
Classical organization theory
Early efforts to identify the principles of effective management.
Code
A system for representing information and rules.
Coefficient alpha
The internal consistency or reliability of a test or measure based on the average intercorrelation among its items.
Cognition
A mental event in which perceptions, memories, beliefs, and thoughts are processed; the sensing of many narrow segmented categories in behavior or events, rather than a few broad classifications.
Cognitive dissonance
The holding of incompatible beliefs and cognitions.
Cognitive dissonance theory
The theory that it is unpleasant to maintain strongly held beliefs that clash with facts, and that people are motivated to resolve the incompatibility by maintaining the beliefs and denying the facts.
Cognitive framework
The categories and their connections into which individuals place events, behaviors, objects, attributes, and concepts.
Cohesiveness
The forces that hold a group together; the attractiveness of a group for its members and the members for one another.
Collective bargaining
The negotiation and administration of agreements between labor and management about wages, working conditions, benefits, and other labor-management issues.
Commitment
Strong, positive involvement; continuing concern.
Common factor
The statistical representation of a factor underlying two or more variables.
Communality
The sum of squares of factor loadings for a designated variable; the total variance that is due to the factors that this variable shares with all other variables in an intercorrelated set.
Communication overload
The receipt of excessive amounts of information such that the information cannot be processed satisfactorily.
Complexity leadership
Leaders go beyond ordinary management to coordinate the complexities of the organization.
Compliance
Acting that is consistent with rules, norms, or influence by others.
Compression of salaries
Because of changes in labor market conditions, newly hired employees may begin employment at salaries that are near to or the same as those with seniority, more experience, but similar other credentials.
Compulsory arbitration
A negotiation in which the arbiter’s decision is binding on the parties in conflict.
Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
Instruction by computers that substitutes for human instruction.
Concept
A mental image formed from a set of observations; a definition that labels and provides meaning to the observed reality.
Conflict management
Intervening as needed to avoid, reduce, or resolve conflicts.
Confrontation
A situation in which parties in conflict directly face, oppose, and resist each other on the issues.
Connective leadership
Achieving styles (behavioral strategies) to deal with a changing environment.
Consensus
An emotionally and intellectually acceptable group decision.
Construct
See Concept.
Content analysis
An objective, systematic, and usually quantitative description of communications as observed, recorded, or documented.
Contingency table
A display of the frequency of individuals or cases, classified according to two or more attributes.
Continuous processing
Inputs of energy and materials are transformed into products in a flow for a period of time, such as occurs in a petrochemical refinery.
Controlling
The process of monitoring and correcting organizational activities to see that they conform to plans.
Co-optation
A situation in which authorities choose their successors, colleagues, and assistants.
Coordination
Integration of the activities of the separate parts of a group or organization.
Correlation coefficient
The relationship between two variables obtained from the same set of cases. It can range from 11.00 through 0.00 to 21.00. It is the ratio of how much one (standardized) variable’s changes coincide with the changes in the other (standardized) variable.
Counterculture
A culture that is radically divergent from the mainstream culture of the society of which it is a part.
Covariance
The mean of the products of the deviations of each of two variables from its own mean.
Criterion
A standard of performance; the measure against which other measures are calibrated.
Critical incidents method
A performance appraisal in which the supervisor keeps a record over a period of time of the behaviors of each subordinate that are critical to the performance of the job. Also, a survey method for collecting desired and undesired critical behaviors from a sample of employees.
Cross-lag
The correlation of earlier data on one variable with later data from another variable and vice versa.
Cross-lagged correlational analysis
Correlations between variables X and Y are obtained at time 1 and time 2. The correlations between X1 and Y2 and X2 and Y1 are contrasted with the correlations between X1 and Y1 and X2 and Y2. Cross-validation Scoring keys developed using a first sample are validated using a second sample.
D
Damage control
Explanations to offset the effects of a leader’s failures and mistakes.
Decentralization
The delegation of power and authority from a central, higher authority to lower levels of the organization, which often results in smaller, self-contained organizational units.
Decision making
Identifying and selecting a course of action to solve a problem.
Decode
To convert coded data into readable and meaningful information.
Deep change
The process of radical alteration or transformation that occurs infrequently and with profound effects on the individual or group.
Deindividuation
A state of being in which an individual in a collection of people does not feel personally identifiable by others.
Dejobbing
An individual worker is assigned to complete a variety of tasks at different times rather than a bundle of the same tasks.
Delphi method
A method by which expert opinion is surveyed and compiled, and then each expert evaluates the compilation.
Demand characteristics
Explicit and implicit perceptual cues of what behavior is expected in a situation.
Departmentalization
The grouping into departments of similar, logically connected work activities.
Dependent variable
A variable whose changes are the consequences of changes in other variables.
Dialectical inquiry method
A method in which decision makers first examine their assumptions, then negate their assumptions, and then create countersolutions that are based on the negated assumptions.
Differentiation
Separating and focusing on the differences between individuals, groups, and the activities in an organization.
Discriminant function
An optimal weighting of a set of variables to show the maximum statistical discrimination between two groups.
Division of labor
The breakdown of a complex task into components so that different individuals are responsible for a limited set of more closely connected or similar activities, instead of the task as a whole.
Dogmatism
A close-minded rigid style with beliefs that are authoritarian in content.
Double-loop learning
Errors are corrected, resulting in a change of values about what is important to change; actions are then taken accordingly. In single-loop learning, values remain unchanged and no actions are taken.
Downsizing
Making smaller.
Dramaturgy
Managing impressions by controlling information or cues to be imparted to others.
Dyad
A two-person group.
Dynamic correlation
A correlation of a predictor with successive criteria that change as the criteria change in time.
Dyzygotic
Fraternal twins from two eggs. Less common inheritance than identical twins but more than ordinary siblings.
E
Efficiency
The use of minimum costs and resources in achieving organizational objectives.
Ego
The part of one’s personality that is oriented toward acting reasonably and realistically (see Id and Superego).
Ego ideal
A partly conscious image of oneself at one’s future best.
Empathy
The internalization of the feelings of another person.
Empirically-oriented leadership
Relies on data and information.
Encoding
The translation of information into a series of symbols for communication.
Equity
The fairness of rewards and punishments; a situation in which the ratio of outcomes to inputs for a person is equal to the same ratio for comparison persons.
Ethicality
Implied standards of morally acceptable conduct with emphasis on moral principles.
Ethnocentrism
The rejection of foreigners, aliens, and outgroups; the extreme favoring of one’s own group. Also belief that the home country is superior to other countries and that methods that work at home can be exported elsewhere (see Geocentrism and Polycentrism).
Expectancy
An estimate or judgment of the likelihood that some outcome or event will occur.
Expectancy theory
The theory that an effort to achieve high performance is a function of the perceived likelihood that high performance can be achieved and will be rewarded if achieved and that the reward will be worth the effort that is expended.
Experiment
The manipulation of one or more independent variables and the control of other related variables to observe one or more dependent variables.
Experimental control
The elimination or holding of some variables constant, to examine the effects of other variables that are allowed to vary.
External environment
The environment outside the organization or the independent group.
External validity
The conclusiveness with which findings can be generalized to other populations and settings.
Extrinsic rewards
Pay, promotion, and fringe benefits, apart from the satisfaction that is derived from the work itself.
F
F test
A test that determines whether the greater variance in the means among groups compared to the variance within the groups cannot be accounted for by chance.
Factor analysis
A statistical technique to extract the smallest number of underlying factors accounting for a larger set of variables.
Factor loading
The correlation of any particular variable with an extracted factor.
Factor matrix
A matrix whose entries are the factor loadings obtained from a factor analysis.
Factor validation
The validity of scores derived from a factor analysis.
Fear of success
The fear that envy and dislike by others will accompany one’s success.
Feedback
The receiver’s expression of her or his reaction to the sender’s message or actions. Also, information about the results of one’s behavior, efforts, or performance that can result in correction and control.
Field experiment
The use of the controlled laboratory method in a real-life setting.
Field study
The examination of the relations and interactions among variables in real-life settings, without the manipulation of variables as in a field experiment.
Field theory
The theory that social behavior is a function of one’s environment, as well as of one’s attitudes and personality.
First impression
One’s impression of others that is formed early in a relationship, that often has a lasting impact.
First-line managers
Managers who are at the lowest level in the management hierarchy and who are responsible only for the work of operating employees, not for the work of other managers.
First-order factors
Factors that are extracted from an original set of variables.
Flexible organization
An organization in which the policies, structure, relationships, and jobs are loosely defined and open to alteration.
Forecasting
The prediction of outcomes and future trends.
Formal authority
Legitimate or position power; the right to exert influence because of one’s hierarchical position in the organization.
Formal group
A group that is created by a formal authority and is directed toward achieving specific objectives.
Formalization
A situation in which rules, policies, and procedures in organizations are written and institutionalized (see Bureaucracy).
Functional organization
An organization that is departmentalized so that those engaged in the same functional activity, such as marketing, are grouped into one department.
G
Game theory
The explanation of the behavior of rational people in competitive and conflict situations.
Gender
Grammatical categories, male, female, and neuter, such as he, she, and it. Commonly misapplied to the two biologically distinct sexes, male and female.
General factor
The factor present in every variable of the set.
General manager
An individual who is responsible for all departments within a larger division, such as a manufacturing plant.
Geocentrism
A world view of management, operations, and opportunities rather than one limited to a single nation or nationality (Ethnocentrism) or an independent collection of countries (Polycentrism).
Grapevine
The paths through which informal communications are passed in an organization.
Group decision support system (GDSS)
A computerized information system in a group meeting to make better use of information for group decisions.
Groupthink
Faulty processes resulting in group decisions that are poorer than those of the individual members working alone.
H
Habituated followers
Blindly trusting followers of the charismatic or pseudotransformational leader.
Halo effect
The influence of overall impressions on the rating of a specific characteristic.
Hawthorne effect
The performance of employees who receive special attention will be better simply because the employees received that attention.
Hedonism
Motivation that is attained by gaining pleasure and avoiding pain.
Heuristics
“Rule of thumb” solutions to problems that are based on past experience rather than explicit formulas.
Hierarchical factor analysis
The systematic organization of a factor solution from the simplest two-factor solution to a complex of many factors.
Hierarchical organization
In a hierarchical organization, except for the member at the top, each member has a superior; and except for those at the bottom, each member has one or more subordinates.
Higher-order factors
Factors that are extracted from a set of first-order factors (also called second-order factors).
Higher-order interactions
The analysis of the interacting effects of three or more independent variables.
Hollistic hunch
Intuition.
Human resource information system
A computerized collection, storage, maintenance, and retrieval system for an organization’s information about its personnel.
Hygiene factors
Benefits that cause dissatisfaction with the job if they are not present but that do not add to satisfaction if they are present.
Hypothesis
A conditional prediction about the relationship among concepts or among variables, often generated from a theory, that is subjected to empirical verification.
I
Id
The part of the personality that is the repository of basic drives and unsocialized impulses, including sex and aggression.
Idealistic leadership
Relies on intuition and a minimum of data and information. Ideologue A convinced advocate of a specific set of doctrines, attitudes, and beliefs.
Ideology
A strongly held set of values, attitudes, and beliefs that explain the world.
Implicit theories
The tendencies of individuals to weave characteristics of others or characteristics of events into explanatory patterns.
In-basket test
A test in which an examinee is given a booklet that contains a sample of memos, bulletins, notes, letters, and reports representing a manager’s in-basket; the test is scored on the way the individual prepares to deal with various issues contained in the material.
Incremental adjustments
Problem solving in which each successive action represents a small change.
Independent variable
A variable that is manipulated in an experiment whose changes are considered to be the cause of changes in other variables (the dependent variables); variables selected in a survey for the same purpose.
Inflection point
Major change in technology, business, or performance evidenced in a changing trend in a graph.
Informal communication
Communication that is not officially sanctioned (see Grapevine).
Informal group
A group that voluntarily arises from the needs of individuals and the attraction of people to one another because of common values and interests; an unofficial group that is created without the sanction of a higher organizational authority.
Informal organization
The relationships between members of an organization that are based on friendship, propinquity, and personal and social needs.
Ingratiation
An attempt to influence other persons by flattering them.
Insider trading
Trading of stocks and bonds on knowledge from inside the firm that is not available to the public.
Integration
The joining of elements to work together in a unified way. Internal environment Workers, managers, technology, working conditions, and the culture in the organization.
Internalized
Behavior, compliance, and conformity are consistent with one’s beliefs and values.
Internal locus of control
The belief that the rewards one receives result from one’s own efforts, rather than because of chance or the effects of others.
Internal validity
The conclusiveness with which the effects of the experimental treatments are established in an experiment.
Interpretive strategy
Attention placed on perceptions, feelings, values, symbols, and nuances rather than simple realities.
Intrapsychic tension
Conflicts within an individual. Intrinsic rewards Satisfaction from doing the work itself apart from the pay, promotion, and benefits; feelings of growth, esteem, and achievement from doing a job well.
Introjection
The unconscious or subconscious attribution of others’ motives to oneself.
Ipsative scores
A set of scores generated for the same person, rather than a single score per person generated for a set of persons.
J, K
Job
A collection of tasks grouped together similarly in a number of similar positions in a given organization.
Job enlargement
The combining of various operations at a similar level into one job to provide more variety for workers.
Job enrichment
Providing a job with more challenge, meaning, autonomy, and responsibility.
Job satisfaction
Attitudes and feelings about one’s job. Job scope The number of separate operations a particular job requires before a cycle is repeated. Job specialization The division of work into standardized, simplified tasks.
L
Laboratory study
Research in which the effects of extraneous factors that are irrelevant to the problem are minimized by isolating the research in an artificial setting; elements thought to be important in real life are reproduced and manipulated under controlled conditions.
Lame duck
A leader whose power has declined because his or her tenure in the leadership position is near its end.
Lateral (or horizontal) communication
Communication between departments of an organization that generally follows the work flow, thus providing a direct channel for coordination and problem solving.
Lateral (or horizontal) relationship
Direct contact between members of different departments at the same hierarchical level that bypasses the chain of command in their own department.
Leader-member exchange (LMX)
Interaction of a leader with an individual member of the group or the average member of the group in contrast to the interaction of a leader with the group of members.
Learned helplessness
A condition in which persons become passive, depressed, and unable to learn to cope with the situation.
Leniency bias
The tendency to be more favorable and positive than is justified by evidence.
Libido
Psychic energy that is expended in satisfying different needs.
Likert scale
A scale in which respondents are asked to indicate how much they agree or disagree with an attitudinal statement.
Linear programming
A method for the optimal allocation of limited resources to attain a goal.
Line personnel
Those managers and workers who are directly responsible for achieving organizational goals (in contrast to staff personnel, who provide support services for the line personnel).
Linguistics
The scientific study of language.
LMX
See Leader-member exchange.
Locus of control
The degree to which individuals are controlled by their internal motives, habits, and values, rather than by external forces.
Logic
Principles and criteria of validity in thought and demonstration; the application of truth tables, the relations of propositions, and the consistency of deductions and assumptions.
Long-linked technology
Serial interdependence between work activities; one task can be performed only after another task has been completed.
M
Management by objectives (MBO)
A formal set of procedures to review the progress toward common goals of organizational superiors and their immediate subordinates.
Management information system (MIS)
A formal, usually computerized, system to provide management with information.
Manipulation
An attempt to influence others in which the manipulator tries to conceal the effort from the target of the influence.
Marginality
The position of people at the boundary between two societies, who are often uncertain about their identity and status.
Markov model
The mathematical transformation of one set of states and events into another.
Mathematical model
A facsimile of reality in mathematical terms; a description of a process and parameters and their relationships to one another and to environments.
Matriarchal
A female-dominated family or society in which the woman (wife or mother) is most influential.
Matrix organization
An organization in which each subordinate reports to both a functional (or divisional) manager and to a project (or group) manager.
MBA
Master of Business Administration.
Mechanistic organization
An organization in which the operations are rule based.
Mediating variable
Its correlation with the criterion in a multiple regression serves to add to the multiple effect by its linkage to the other predictor variables.
Mediation
A situation in which a third party assists two parties in conflict to reach agreement.
Mentors
Individuals who pass on the benefits of their knowledge and experience to younger and less experienced individuals.
Message
Encoded information sent by a sender to a receiver.
Meta-analysis
Statistical method for estimating the true correlation between two variables from the distribution of sample correlations corrected for the different size of samples, restrictions in range, and its limits from the results obtained from several individual samples or studies.
Middle managers
Managers at the middle levels of the organizational hierarchy, who are responsible for the direction of the lower level supervisors reporting to them.
Mission
The stated purposes of the organization.
Model
A facsimile that captures the important essentials of reality; may be conceptual, mathematical, or physical.
Modeling
Learning by imitation; behaving in the same way as observed in another person to make a certain response.
Moderated regression analysis
An optimal prediction equation that includes the effects of moderator variables.
Moderator variable
Unrelated by itself to the criterion variable in a multiple regression, its correlation with predictor variables adds to the multiple prediction of the criterion.
Monotonic
Numbers arranged so that each is larger (or smaller) than the one preceding it in the sequence.
Monozygotic
Identical twins from one egg. The closest in heritability of the same traits.
Moral identity
Awareness of one’s own moral beliefs and ethical behavior, and of their imortance to oneself.
Morality
Set of social beliefs and values of right conduct.
Multinational corporation (MNC)
A corporation with operations and divisions in numerous countries, but that is controlled by headquarters in one country.
Multinational firm
An organization that locates, trades, or produces products or offers services in several countries.
Multiple regression
The optimal weighting of a set of predictor variables to minimize the error of prediction of a criterion.
Myth
A dramatic narrative of imagined events and fantasies, usually to explain origins and developments.
N
Negative reinforcement
See Aversive reinforcement.
Network
A pattern of interconnections among individuals, groups, or organizations.
Nominal group technique
The pooling of the ideas of individuals without their meeting to generate or accumulate the pool of ideas.
Nomological network
The web of logical connections among constructs.
Nomothetical network
See Nomological network.
Nonprogrammed decisions
Specific solutions that emerge from unstructured processes to deal with nonroutine problems.
Normative model
A model that prescribes a solution to a problem.
Normative scores
Raw scores scaled in relation to those of the rest of the population, for example percentiles and standard scores.
Norms
Shared group expectations about behavior; socially defined and enforced standards about how the world should be interpreted and how one should behave in it.
NROTC
Naval Research Officers Training Corps, for the U.S. Navy.
O
Objectives
The targeted goals of individuals, groups, or organizations toward which resources and efforts are channeled.
Oblique dimensions
Dimensions inclined toward each other at some angle other than 90°, representing their correlation; not orthogonal.
Occupation
A collection of similar jobs existing in different firms.
One-way communication
Any communication from the sender without a reply from the receiver.
Open system
A system that transforms inputs from its environment to outputs to its environment; its general principles may explain organizational behavior.
Operant conditioning
A behavioral modification technique in which cued responses are strengthened (more likely to be repeated) as a result of reinforcements (consequences of the behavior).
Operational definition
A specification of the procedures or operations by which a concept is sensed and measured.
Operations research
Mathematical techniques for modeling, analysis, and solution of management problems.
Organic organization
An organization in which operations are subject to modification through learning from feedback.
Organizational climate
Employees’ attitudes toward the organization and their satisfaction with it.
Organizational conflict
Disagreement between organizational members and groups over the allocation of scarce resources, or how to engage in interdependent work activities; disagreements arising from different assumptions, goals, identifications, or statuses.
Organizational culture
The norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs, evidenced in myths, stories, jargon, and rituals that are shared by organizational members.
Organizational design
The creation of the organizational structure that is most appropriate for the strategy, people, technology, and tasks of the organization.
Organizational development
A long-range effort to improve an organization’s problem solving and renewal process.
Organizational goals
An organization’s purpose, mission, and objectives that form the bases of its strategy.
Organizational structure
The arrangement and interrelationship of the various components and positions in an organization.
Organization chart
A diagram displaying the functions, departments, and positions in an organization.
Orthogonal dimensions
Dimensions that are at right angles to each other; uncorrelated, independent dimensions.
Overload
The lack of capacity to meet performance expectations.
P
Parsimonious
The simple but accurate explanation of a phenomenon that avoids more complicated explanations because the simplified one is adequate.
Partial reinforcement
A schedule of reinforcement in which rewards are given intermittently.
Path-goal analysis
The means and ways that describe what objectives can be reached.
Patriarchal
A male-dominated family or society in which the men are much more in power and control than are the women.
Perception
An immediately sensed experience of other persons or objects, modified and organized by the perceiver’s personal characteristics and by social influences.
Perceptual defense
A selective perception in which a person substitutes innocuous perceptions for unpleasant stimuli.
Performance appraisal
The evaluation of an individual’s performance by comparing it to standards or objectives.
Peripheral routing
Persuading people unable or unmotivated to accept the idea.
Personal construct
A concept that is used by a particular individual to categorize events and other persons’ behaviors.
Personality
The dynamic organization of the abilities, attitudes, beliefs, and motives of a particular individual that contribute to the individual’s reaction to his or her environment.
Phenomenological
Of or related to comprehending the environment above and beyond the objective environment.
Placebo
A substance or a condition used as an experimental control, which should have no effects relevant to the experiment.
Policy
General guidelines for decision making.
Policy capturing
A multiple regression procedure in which the regression weights underlying the policies that influenced the decision makers are determined.
Polycentrism
The view that because countries are different, local control is best for organizing operations.
Population
The total collection of people or cases from which a sample is drawn.
Position power
Power that is inherent in the formal position occupied by the incumbent.
Positive reinforcer
The consequence of behavior that is desirable, pleasant, or needed. When linked to the behavior, the positive reinforcer increases the probability that the behavior will be repeated in the same or similar situations.
Post hoc analysis
A statistical analysis that is chosen after the experimental data have been collected, not as a part of the original design of the experiment.
Power structure
A set of relationships among different members or units of an organization that is based on the differences in power among them.
Prejudice
A negative evaluation of a person because of the person’s sex, age, race, ethnicity, or membership in another group or organization.
Primary effect
The predominant effect of the first information received about persons, objects, or issues upon learning, retention, judgment, or opinion about them.
Principled moral reasoning
Application of general rules to decide on a just solution.
Prisoner’s dilemma
The choice when a better outcome for one player is incompatible with the choice resulting in a better outcome for a competing player. This dilemma leads to both players making choices that have unfavorable results for both of them.
Probability estimate - Probability of success.
Probability sample
A sample chosen in such a way that every member of the population has a known, usually equal, probability of being included.
Process consultation
Consultation in which members of an organization are helped to understand and change the ways in which they work together.
Productivity
Performance relative to resources; output divided by input; quantity and quality of output in a given period.
Programmed decisions
Solutions to routine problems determined by rules, procedures, or habits.
Projection
The attribution of one’s own motives to others, usually unconsciously or subconsciously (see Assumed similarity).
Propinquity
Physical proximity.
Prototype
An idealized image or the first of its kind on which copies are based.
Prospectors
Strategists who search for new opportunities.
Pseudotransformational leadership
A false messiah who appears to act like a transformational leader but is actually inauthentic and self-interested and leads the group, organization, or society astray.
Psychological contract
Mutual expectations between an individual and an organization or between subordinates and superiors of how work is to be performed and how they will relate to each other; the rights, privileges, and obligations of each to each other.
Psychosocial
Psychological elements combine with social aspects to affect relationships.
Purpose
The primary role of an organization in society in producing goods or services. p value The probability of a given outcome or event, on a scale from 0.00 (not possible) to 1.00 (certain).
Q
Q-technique
A technique in which a set of paired scores is correlated across different variables for two persons or cases.
Quality circles
Periodic meetings of employees and management personnel to solve quality, production, and related problems.
Quality control
The process that ensures that goods and services meet predetermined standards.
Quality of work life
The value of work that takes into account the well-being of the employee as well as that of the organization.
R
R & D
Research and development.
Random sample
A probability sample in which members are drawn in a random manner from a list of prospects that enumerates the population.
Rational approach
An approach in which conclusions are arrived at by reasoning.
Rational-economic man
A theory that fully informed people are motivated primarily by money and self-interest.
Rationally-oriented leadership
Relies on logical and methodical reasoning.
Real-time operation
An operation in which an event is controlled by information generated by the event.
Recency effect
The predominant effect of the most recent information received on learning, retention, judgment, or opinion about persons, objects, or issues.
Reference group
A group with whom a person identifies and compares him or herself.
Reflect
The sign of a variable is changed so the variable is now opposite in meaning.
Refreezing
A process in which new behavior becomes the norm through support and reinforcement.
Reinforcement
The consequence of behavior that influences whether the behavior will be evoked again under the same or similar stimulus conditions.
Reinforcement schedule
The pattern of reinforcement that can affect how quickly behavior is modified, shaped, and learned, and how resistant it is to change or extinction.
Relative deprivation
The tendency to be dissatisfied with one’s own status and compensation relative to that of those with whom one compares oneself, to expectations, and to comparable conditions.
Reliability
The consistency of measurement, as seen in the stability of scores over time or in the equivalence of scores on two forms of a test of the same attributes (see Coefficient alpha).
Representative sample
A sample that is composed of different members proportionate to their types in the population.
Reputational capital
Intangible corporate value enhanced by executive leadership, quality of products, publicized awards, and rankings. Resilience Ability to deal with adversity.
Response sets
A systematic way of answering a question that is not directly related to the content of the question but to the form of the question and the alternative answers.
Risk ratio
Maximum risk compared with probability of success.
Risky shift
The tendency for groups to make a decision that is less conservative than one that would be made alone by each of its individual members.
Rite
An elaborate, dramatic, ceremonial activity that consolidates cultural expressions into a social event.
Rites of passage
Rites in which a person passes from an organizational outsider to an organizational insider. They convey the organization’s norms and values symbolically. In society, they include confirmation, graduation, and marriage.
Ritual
A fixed way of enacting a set of rites within an organizational culture.
Role
A socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of an individual in a designated function in a particular position within a group, organization, or society.
Role ambiguity
A condition of uncertainty about what is expected and what role behavior will be accepted and rewarded.
Role boundaries
Limits of the role behavior that are expected.
Role conflict
A situation in which persons are faced with meeting conflicting demands. Conflict can arise between values within a role, between competing roles, or from the demands of others.
Role overload
A situation in which role requirements exceed the limits of time, resources, and capabilities.
Role perception
What an individual sees are the behaviors needed to enact a role. Rotation Moving factor axes and their hyper-planes around the 0,0 coordinate to allow more points representing factor loadings to fall in these hyper-planes.
ROTC
Reserve Officers Training Corps for the U.S. Army or U.S. Air Force. R-technique A technique in which the paired scores on two variables are correlated for a number of persons or cases.
S
Sample
A portion of a population that is selected for study in lieu of the complete population.
Sampling error
Deviation of any sample statistic from the population value. Satisfice The choice of a suboptimal alternative that meets some minimal criteria of acceptance, when making a decision.
Scapegoating
The displacement of hostility toward a weaker available target when the source of frustration is too powerful or not available for attack.
Scientific method
The systematic use of deduction, induction, and verification of predictions by the collection of relevant data.
Selective perception
Sensing some aspects.
Self-actualization
Using one’s capacities fully in meaningful, personally satisfying endeavors.
Self-concept
The way people perceive and evaluate themselves.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
The expectation of a reality influences the fulfillment of that reality.
Self-serving bias
Bias to judge oneself favorably, crediting oneself for successes but blaming others and external factors for failures.
Semantic differential rating
Graphic scale with defined extremes, such as a term at one end and its antonym at the other, but undefined anchors in between. Sense making Attributing meaning to experience.
Significance
See Statistical significance.
Simple structure
A structure in which a rotation solution is achieved so that each variable is maximally correlated with as few factors as possible; the variance of the factor loadings is maximized in the VARIMAX solution.
Simulation
The representation of the necessary elements of some object, phenomenon, system, or environment to facilitate control and study. The representation mirrors or maps the effects of various changes in the original, enabling the researcher or trainee to study, analyze, and understand the original by means of the behavior of the model.
Single-loop learning
See Double-loop learning.
Single-source bias
An inflated value that occurs when the same rater supplies the information for the pairs of variables to be correlated.
Smallest-space analysis and mapping
The mathematical procedure to locate and display optimally in two dimensions, a sample of individuals or cases according to their respective distances in measurements from each other.
Social desirability
A response set to answer questions about oneself in the socially approved manner.
Social determinism
The view that the course of history emerges only as an expression, instrument, or consequence of historical laws.
Social distance
The acceptable degree of closeness (physical, social, or psychological) between leaders and subordinates and between members of particular ethnic groups.
Socialization
Learning the norms of one’s group, organization, or society and acquiring its distinctive values, beliefs, and characteristics.
Social loafing
A condition in which workers reduce or withhold effort on a group task.
Socioemotional
Interpersonal; dealing with the social and emotional aspects of the relations between people.
Sociometric measure
A measure based on the nominations of peers; who chooses whom can provide a display of the informal structure of relations in a group.
Specialization
The performance of only some specific part of a whole collection of tasks by an individual worker.
Specification equation
An equation that indicates a designated individual’s performance on a test in terms of factor sub-scores weighted by factor loadings.
Specific factor
The statistical representation of some variable based on only one variable in contrast to common factors which are based on two or more variables.
Staff
Individuals or groups who provide line personnel with advice and services.
Stakeholders
Individuals and groups who gain from the organization’s successes and lose from its failures.
Standard deviation
A measure of how much variability is present in a set of scores. It is the square root of the variance.
Statistical prediction
Objective judgments about people based on data combined by means of formulas or mechanical methods.
Statistical significance
The probability that a given mean statistic could not have occurred by chance alone.
Statistical test
A mathematical procedure for determining the probability that obtained results are due to chance.
Stepwise multiple regression analyses
Analyses in which one predictor variable at a time is added to the regression equation. The process is halted when the next step adds more error than predictive value to the optimal combination of predictors.
Stereotype
A standard image applied to all members of the same group that ignores the variations among them.
Strategic planning
The formulation of an organization’s objectives and how to achieve them.
Stratified random sample
A probability sample whose members are selected by dividing the population into several categories, then selecting respondents randomly from each category (see Representative sample).
Structure
A pattern of prescribed or observed consistencies in relations among members of a group or organization. Sunk costs Money spent or resources already used.
Superego
The part of the personality that is oriented toward doing what is regarded as morally right and proper: one’s conscience, ego ideal, and ideal self-image.
Superordinate goals
Goals around which divergent parties can rally to collaborate to achieve the goals.
Switch hitter
Ambidextrous; one who can respond in alternative ways.
Symbols
Emblems, tokens, and signs representing ideas, terms, and objects.
Synergy
Cooperative efforts among people or units that generate more motivation than would the isolated operation of the units or people.
System boundary
The boundary between the system and its environment. It is rigid in a closed system (not interactive with its environment) and flexible in an open system (interactive with its environment).
T
Task force
A temporary group established to address a specific problem (also Ad hoc group).
Tautology
Circular reasoning; for example, arguing that A caused B because B caused A.
Team building
Improving relationships among members and the accomplishment of the task by diagnosing problems in team processes affecting the team’s performance.
Territoriality
An innate drive in many species of animals to defend their own habitat.
Theory
A system of concepts, rules about the interconnections of the concepts, and ways of linking the concepts to observed facts.
Theory X
A theory that assumes that the average worker dislikes work, is lazy, has little ambition, and must be directed or threatened with punishment to perform adequately.
Theory Y
A theory that assumes the average worker can enjoy work and be committed, involved, and responsible.
Transformational leadership
The leader elevates the follower morally about what is important, valued, and goes beyond the simpler transactional relationship of providing reward or avoidance of punishment for compliance.
Triad
A three-person group.
t-test
A test that determines whether the average statistics for two samples of subjects cannot be accounted for by chance.
U
Unfreezing
Making old ways unacceptable so that changes are readily accepted and can occur.
Unobtrusive measures
Measures obtained without the knowledge of the persons studied.
V
Valence
The values or motivating strength of a reward to an individual.
Validity
The accuracy or correctness of a method or measurement according to expert opinion, its predictive ability, or its correlation with a construct representing its true meaning.
Values
What people consider right, good, and important.
Variable
Any quantity that may take on several points on a dimension.
Variance
The mean of the sum of squares of the deviations of each of a set of scores from its mean; the square of the standard deviation.
Varimax
A solution in factor analysis in which the rotation achieves a maximum variation among the factor loadings so that variables correlate as highly as possible with as few factors as possible and as low as possible with as many other factors as possible.
Verification
The collection of facts to support or refute hypotheses.
Vertical communication
Communication up or down the chain of command.
Visionary Leadership
Planning and forming policy that is farsighted and future-oriented, and provides direction for future actions.
W, X, Y
Walk-around management
Top managers visit with employees at their workplace.
Whistle blower
Employee who voluntarily reports infractions of the rules, violations of ethics, or illegal actions by other members of the organization.
Z
Zero loading
A loading in a factor analysis, a correlation between a variable and a factor so small that it can be attributed to a chance difference from zero.
These definitions cover topics common to the study and research of leadership and leadership theory. This includes related topics in organizational theory, organizational behavior, etc.
A
Accountability
Members of an organization who are given responsibility and authority are held answerable for the results.
Achievement motive (nAch)
Motivation to seek high performance and success.
Acquiescent response set
Agreement with statements, regardless of their content.
Action research
Research whose objective includes the implemented solution of the research problem using the diagnosis of the problem, the collection of data, and the analysis and feedback of data.
Adaptation level
An individual’s expectations and experience set a standard against which events or objects are perceived.
Ad hoc group
A temporary group established to deal with a problem or problems (also Task force).
Affect (noun)
Feeling; emotional reaction.
Affiliation motive (nAff)
The motivation to belong and to be with other people.
Affirmative action
Positive programs to increase opportunities for the employment and promotion of members of disadvantaged groups.
Algorithm
A procedure used to solve a set of problems by an explicit formula.
Alienation
A generalized sense of meaninglessness, helplessness, and social isolation that contributes to the disinhibition of personal controls against engaging in deviant behavior.
Altruism
Helping others with no obvious benefit to oneself and with few expectations for personal gain.
Analog
A physical, mechanical, or electrical model of an object or concept about which measurements and calculations can be made.
Anomie
The reduced social control against deviant behavior that is due to a disregard of norms and standards.
Anxiety
Generalized, diffuse apprehension.
A posteriori
Explanations are offered after the facts are known.
A priori
Hypotheses are formulated before the facts are known.
Arbitration
A situation in which a third party renders a decision for two parties who are in conflict.
Artifact
The results of an arbitrary method, rather than the true state of affairs.
Artificial intelligence
The emulation of the problem-solving, linguistic, and other capabilities of human beings by means of a computer.
Assumed similarity
We assume that we are like other people in values, interests, beliefs, and personality (see Projection).
Attenuation
Reduction from a theoretically true correlation because of the unreliability of one or both measures correlated.
Attitude
An affective, evaluative, relatively enduring reaction, positive or negative, toward an object or proposition.
Attribution theory
A theory of the way people impute intentions to other persons or situations.
Auditing
Verification of the validity of data, statements, and records.
Autokinetic effect
A stationary light that, when viewed in a dark room, appears to move.
Autonomy
The degree of freedom in carrying out an assignment.
Aversive reinforcement
Reinforcing conditions that inhibit the reinforced behavior; also Negative reinforcement.
B
Batch production
The production of quantities of similar items, rather than mixes of items.
Behavior modification
Changing behavior by changing the consequences of that behavior. Desired new behavior is rewarded (positively reinforced); undesired old behavior is punished or positive consequences are removed (negatively reinforced).
Behavior shaping
Behavior modification in which small increments of behavior are reinforced in the direction of the desired behavior until a final desired result is achieved.
Biased sample
A sample that is unrepresentative because of one or more sources of systematic error.
Binary
Involving two digits or states.
Boundary-spanning roles
Liaison roles that connect departments or organizations with each other and with the environment.
Bounded rationality
Managers make the best decisions they can within the constraints of limited information about possible alternatives and the consequences of the alternatives.
Brainstorming
The generation of ideas without evaluating them; a maximum number of ideas can be generated in a limited time.
Buffering
Actions or events to seal off processes from external variations.
Bureaucracy
An organization that is operated on the basis of rules, regulations, and orderliness and that focuses on legitimacy, the duties of jobs, and the rights of office. It is characterized by standardization, hierarchical control, specified authority, and responsibilities.
Bureaucratic personality
The preference for rules, regulations, and order in running organizations.
Burnout
Emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion resulting from continuing exposure to stress.
Business game
A simulation of a business operated by two or more players competing with other businesses in a common market.
C
Career plateau
A prolonged halt in promotion up the corporate ladder.
Centralization
The degree of concentration of authority in a central location at the top of the organization.
Chain of command
The hierarchy of authority in an organization from top to bottom. Members are supposed to know to whom they should report and who reports to them.
Change agent
An individual who guides the process of group or organizational change.
Channel
The communication path along which information flows.
Classical organization theory
Early efforts to identify the principles of effective management.
Code
A system for representing information and rules.
Coefficient alpha
The internal consistency or reliability of a test or measure based on the average intercorrelation among its items.
Cognition
A mental event in which perceptions, memories, beliefs, and thoughts are processed; the sensing of many narrow segmented categories in behavior or events, rather than a few broad classifications.
Cognitive dissonance
The holding of incompatible beliefs and cognitions.
Cognitive dissonance theory
The theory that it is unpleasant to maintain strongly held beliefs that clash with facts, and that people are motivated to resolve the incompatibility by maintaining the beliefs and denying the facts.
Cognitive framework
The categories and their connections into which individuals place events, behaviors, objects, attributes, and concepts.
Cohesiveness
The forces that hold a group together; the attractiveness of a group for its members and the members for one another.
Collective bargaining
The negotiation and administration of agreements between labor and management about wages, working conditions, benefits, and other labor-management issues.
Commitment
Strong, positive involvement; continuing concern.
Common factor
The statistical representation of a factor underlying two or more variables.
Communality
The sum of squares of factor loadings for a designated variable; the total variance that is due to the factors that this variable shares with all other variables in an intercorrelated set.
Communication overload
The receipt of excessive amounts of information such that the information cannot be processed satisfactorily.
Complexity leadership
Leaders go beyond ordinary management to coordinate the complexities of the organization.
Compliance
Acting that is consistent with rules, norms, or influence by others.
Compression of salaries
Because of changes in labor market conditions, newly hired employees may begin employment at salaries that are near to or the same as those with seniority, more experience, but similar other credentials.
Compulsory arbitration
A negotiation in which the arbiter’s decision is binding on the parties in conflict.
Computer-assisted instruction (CAI)
Instruction by computers that substitutes for human instruction.
Concept
A mental image formed from a set of observations; a definition that labels and provides meaning to the observed reality.
Conflict management
Intervening as needed to avoid, reduce, or resolve conflicts.
Confrontation
A situation in which parties in conflict directly face, oppose, and resist each other on the issues.
Connective leadership
Achieving styles (behavioral strategies) to deal with a changing environment.
Consensus
An emotionally and intellectually acceptable group decision.
Construct
See Concept.
Content analysis
An objective, systematic, and usually quantitative description of communications as observed, recorded, or documented.
Contingency table
A display of the frequency of individuals or cases, classified according to two or more attributes.
Continuous processing
Inputs of energy and materials are transformed into products in a flow for a period of time, such as occurs in a petrochemical refinery.
Controlling
The process of monitoring and correcting organizational activities to see that they conform to plans.
Co-optation
A situation in which authorities choose their successors, colleagues, and assistants.
Coordination
Integration of the activities of the separate parts of a group or organization.
Correlation coefficient
The relationship between two variables obtained from the same set of cases. It can range from 11.00 through 0.00 to 21.00. It is the ratio of how much one (standardized) variable’s changes coincide with the changes in the other (standardized) variable.
Counterculture
A culture that is radically divergent from the mainstream culture of the society of which it is a part.
Covariance
The mean of the products of the deviations of each of two variables from its own mean.
Criterion
A standard of performance; the measure against which other measures are calibrated.
Critical incidents method
A performance appraisal in which the supervisor keeps a record over a period of time of the behaviors of each subordinate that are critical to the performance of the job. Also, a survey method for collecting desired and undesired critical behaviors from a sample of employees.
Cross-lag
The correlation of earlier data on one variable with later data from another variable and vice versa.
Cross-lagged correlational analysis
Correlations between variables X and Y are obtained at time 1 and time 2. The correlations between X1 and Y2 and X2 and Y1 are contrasted with the correlations between X1 and Y1 and X2 and Y2. Cross-validation Scoring keys developed using a first sample are validated using a second sample.
D
Damage control
Explanations to offset the effects of a leader’s failures and mistakes.
Decentralization
The delegation of power and authority from a central, higher authority to lower levels of the organization, which often results in smaller, self-contained organizational units.
Decision making
Identifying and selecting a course of action to solve a problem.
Decode
To convert coded data into readable and meaningful information.
Deep change
The process of radical alteration or transformation that occurs infrequently and with profound effects on the individual or group.
Deindividuation
A state of being in which an individual in a collection of people does not feel personally identifiable by others.
Dejobbing
An individual worker is assigned to complete a variety of tasks at different times rather than a bundle of the same tasks.
Delphi method
A method by which expert opinion is surveyed and compiled, and then each expert evaluates the compilation.
Demand characteristics
Explicit and implicit perceptual cues of what behavior is expected in a situation.
Departmentalization
The grouping into departments of similar, logically connected work activities.
Dependent variable
A variable whose changes are the consequences of changes in other variables.
Dialectical inquiry method
A method in which decision makers first examine their assumptions, then negate their assumptions, and then create countersolutions that are based on the negated assumptions.
Differentiation
Separating and focusing on the differences between individuals, groups, and the activities in an organization.
Discriminant function
An optimal weighting of a set of variables to show the maximum statistical discrimination between two groups.
Division of labor
The breakdown of a complex task into components so that different individuals are responsible for a limited set of more closely connected or similar activities, instead of the task as a whole.
Dogmatism
A close-minded rigid style with beliefs that are authoritarian in content.
Double-loop learning
Errors are corrected, resulting in a change of values about what is important to change; actions are then taken accordingly. In single-loop learning, values remain unchanged and no actions are taken.
Downsizing
Making smaller.
Dramaturgy
Managing impressions by controlling information or cues to be imparted to others.
Dyad
A two-person group.
Dynamic correlation
A correlation of a predictor with successive criteria that change as the criteria change in time.
Dyzygotic
Fraternal twins from two eggs. Less common inheritance than identical twins but more than ordinary siblings.
E
Efficiency
The use of minimum costs and resources in achieving organizational objectives.
Ego
The part of one’s personality that is oriented toward acting reasonably and realistically (see Id and Superego).
Ego ideal
A partly conscious image of oneself at one’s future best.
Empathy
The internalization of the feelings of another person.
Empirically-oriented leadership
Relies on data and information.
Encoding
The translation of information into a series of symbols for communication.
Equity
The fairness of rewards and punishments; a situation in which the ratio of outcomes to inputs for a person is equal to the same ratio for comparison persons.
Ethicality
Implied standards of morally acceptable conduct with emphasis on moral principles.
Ethnocentrism
The rejection of foreigners, aliens, and outgroups; the extreme favoring of one’s own group. Also belief that the home country is superior to other countries and that methods that work at home can be exported elsewhere (see Geocentrism and Polycentrism).
Expectancy
An estimate or judgment of the likelihood that some outcome or event will occur.
Expectancy theory
The theory that an effort to achieve high performance is a function of the perceived likelihood that high performance can be achieved and will be rewarded if achieved and that the reward will be worth the effort that is expended.
Experiment
The manipulation of one or more independent variables and the control of other related variables to observe one or more dependent variables.
Experimental control
The elimination or holding of some variables constant, to examine the effects of other variables that are allowed to vary.
External environment
The environment outside the organization or the independent group.
External validity
The conclusiveness with which findings can be generalized to other populations and settings.
Extrinsic rewards
Pay, promotion, and fringe benefits, apart from the satisfaction that is derived from the work itself.
F
F test
A test that determines whether the greater variance in the means among groups compared to the variance within the groups cannot be accounted for by chance.
Factor analysis
A statistical technique to extract the smallest number of underlying factors accounting for a larger set of variables.
Factor loading
The correlation of any particular variable with an extracted factor.
Factor matrix
A matrix whose entries are the factor loadings obtained from a factor analysis.
Factor validation
The validity of scores derived from a factor analysis.
Fear of success
The fear that envy and dislike by others will accompany one’s success.
Feedback
The receiver’s expression of her or his reaction to the sender’s message or actions. Also, information about the results of one’s behavior, efforts, or performance that can result in correction and control.
Field experiment
The use of the controlled laboratory method in a real-life setting.
Field study
The examination of the relations and interactions among variables in real-life settings, without the manipulation of variables as in a field experiment.
Field theory
The theory that social behavior is a function of one’s environment, as well as of one’s attitudes and personality.
First impression
One’s impression of others that is formed early in a relationship, that often has a lasting impact.
First-line managers
Managers who are at the lowest level in the management hierarchy and who are responsible only for the work of operating employees, not for the work of other managers.
First-order factors
Factors that are extracted from an original set of variables.
Flexible organization
An organization in which the policies, structure, relationships, and jobs are loosely defined and open to alteration.
Forecasting
The prediction of outcomes and future trends.
Formal authority
Legitimate or position power; the right to exert influence because of one’s hierarchical position in the organization.
Formal group
A group that is created by a formal authority and is directed toward achieving specific objectives.
Formalization
A situation in which rules, policies, and procedures in organizations are written and institutionalized (see Bureaucracy).
Functional organization
An organization that is departmentalized so that those engaged in the same functional activity, such as marketing, are grouped into one department.
G
Game theory
The explanation of the behavior of rational people in competitive and conflict situations.
Gender
Grammatical categories, male, female, and neuter, such as he, she, and it. Commonly misapplied to the two biologically distinct sexes, male and female.
General factor
The factor present in every variable of the set.
General manager
An individual who is responsible for all departments within a larger division, such as a manufacturing plant.
Geocentrism
A world view of management, operations, and opportunities rather than one limited to a single nation or nationality (Ethnocentrism) or an independent collection of countries (Polycentrism).
Grapevine
The paths through which informal communications are passed in an organization.
Group decision support system (GDSS)
A computerized information system in a group meeting to make better use of information for group decisions.
Groupthink
Faulty processes resulting in group decisions that are poorer than those of the individual members working alone.
H
Habituated followers
Blindly trusting followers of the charismatic or pseudotransformational leader.
Halo effect
The influence of overall impressions on the rating of a specific characteristic.
Hawthorne effect
The performance of employees who receive special attention will be better simply because the employees received that attention.
Hedonism
Motivation that is attained by gaining pleasure and avoiding pain.
Heuristics
“Rule of thumb” solutions to problems that are based on past experience rather than explicit formulas.
Hierarchical factor analysis
The systematic organization of a factor solution from the simplest two-factor solution to a complex of many factors.
Hierarchical organization
In a hierarchical organization, except for the member at the top, each member has a superior; and except for those at the bottom, each member has one or more subordinates.
Higher-order factors
Factors that are extracted from a set of first-order factors (also called second-order factors).
Higher-order interactions
The analysis of the interacting effects of three or more independent variables.
Hollistic hunch
Intuition.
Human resource information system
A computerized collection, storage, maintenance, and retrieval system for an organization’s information about its personnel.
Hygiene factors
Benefits that cause dissatisfaction with the job if they are not present but that do not add to satisfaction if they are present.
Hypothesis
A conditional prediction about the relationship among concepts or among variables, often generated from a theory, that is subjected to empirical verification.
I
Id
The part of the personality that is the repository of basic drives and unsocialized impulses, including sex and aggression.
Idealistic leadership
Relies on intuition and a minimum of data and information. Ideologue A convinced advocate of a specific set of doctrines, attitudes, and beliefs.
Ideology
A strongly held set of values, attitudes, and beliefs that explain the world.
Implicit theories
The tendencies of individuals to weave characteristics of others or characteristics of events into explanatory patterns.
In-basket test
A test in which an examinee is given a booklet that contains a sample of memos, bulletins, notes, letters, and reports representing a manager’s in-basket; the test is scored on the way the individual prepares to deal with various issues contained in the material.
Incremental adjustments
Problem solving in which each successive action represents a small change.
Independent variable
A variable that is manipulated in an experiment whose changes are considered to be the cause of changes in other variables (the dependent variables); variables selected in a survey for the same purpose.
Inflection point
Major change in technology, business, or performance evidenced in a changing trend in a graph.
Informal communication
Communication that is not officially sanctioned (see Grapevine).
Informal group
A group that voluntarily arises from the needs of individuals and the attraction of people to one another because of common values and interests; an unofficial group that is created without the sanction of a higher organizational authority.
Informal organization
The relationships between members of an organization that are based on friendship, propinquity, and personal and social needs.
Ingratiation
An attempt to influence other persons by flattering them.
Insider trading
Trading of stocks and bonds on knowledge from inside the firm that is not available to the public.
Integration
The joining of elements to work together in a unified way. Internal environment Workers, managers, technology, working conditions, and the culture in the organization.
Internalized
Behavior, compliance, and conformity are consistent with one’s beliefs and values.
Internal locus of control
The belief that the rewards one receives result from one’s own efforts, rather than because of chance or the effects of others.
Internal validity
The conclusiveness with which the effects of the experimental treatments are established in an experiment.
Interpretive strategy
Attention placed on perceptions, feelings, values, symbols, and nuances rather than simple realities.
Intrapsychic tension
Conflicts within an individual. Intrinsic rewards Satisfaction from doing the work itself apart from the pay, promotion, and benefits; feelings of growth, esteem, and achievement from doing a job well.
Introjection
The unconscious or subconscious attribution of others’ motives to oneself.
Ipsative scores
A set of scores generated for the same person, rather than a single score per person generated for a set of persons.
J, K
Job
A collection of tasks grouped together similarly in a number of similar positions in a given organization.
Job enlargement
The combining of various operations at a similar level into one job to provide more variety for workers.
Job enrichment
Providing a job with more challenge, meaning, autonomy, and responsibility.
Job satisfaction
Attitudes and feelings about one’s job. Job scope The number of separate operations a particular job requires before a cycle is repeated. Job specialization The division of work into standardized, simplified tasks.
L
Laboratory study
Research in which the effects of extraneous factors that are irrelevant to the problem are minimized by isolating the research in an artificial setting; elements thought to be important in real life are reproduced and manipulated under controlled conditions.
Lame duck
A leader whose power has declined because his or her tenure in the leadership position is near its end.
Lateral (or horizontal) communication
Communication between departments of an organization that generally follows the work flow, thus providing a direct channel for coordination and problem solving.
Lateral (or horizontal) relationship
Direct contact between members of different departments at the same hierarchical level that bypasses the chain of command in their own department.
Leader-member exchange (LMX)
Interaction of a leader with an individual member of the group or the average member of the group in contrast to the interaction of a leader with the group of members.
Learned helplessness
A condition in which persons become passive, depressed, and unable to learn to cope with the situation.
Leniency bias
The tendency to be more favorable and positive than is justified by evidence.
Libido
Psychic energy that is expended in satisfying different needs.
Likert scale
A scale in which respondents are asked to indicate how much they agree or disagree with an attitudinal statement.
Linear programming
A method for the optimal allocation of limited resources to attain a goal.
Line personnel
Those managers and workers who are directly responsible for achieving organizational goals (in contrast to staff personnel, who provide support services for the line personnel).
Linguistics
The scientific study of language.
LMX
See Leader-member exchange.
Locus of control
The degree to which individuals are controlled by their internal motives, habits, and values, rather than by external forces.
Logic
Principles and criteria of validity in thought and demonstration; the application of truth tables, the relations of propositions, and the consistency of deductions and assumptions.
Long-linked technology
Serial interdependence between work activities; one task can be performed only after another task has been completed.
M
Management by objectives (MBO)
A formal set of procedures to review the progress toward common goals of organizational superiors and their immediate subordinates.
Management information system (MIS)
A formal, usually computerized, system to provide management with information.
Manipulation
An attempt to influence others in which the manipulator tries to conceal the effort from the target of the influence.
Marginality
The position of people at the boundary between two societies, who are often uncertain about their identity and status.
Markov model
The mathematical transformation of one set of states and events into another.
Mathematical model
A facsimile of reality in mathematical terms; a description of a process and parameters and their relationships to one another and to environments.
Matriarchal
A female-dominated family or society in which the woman (wife or mother) is most influential.
Matrix organization
An organization in which each subordinate reports to both a functional (or divisional) manager and to a project (or group) manager.
MBA
Master of Business Administration.
Mechanistic organization
An organization in which the operations are rule based.
Mediating variable
Its correlation with the criterion in a multiple regression serves to add to the multiple effect by its linkage to the other predictor variables.
Mediation
A situation in which a third party assists two parties in conflict to reach agreement.
Mentors
Individuals who pass on the benefits of their knowledge and experience to younger and less experienced individuals.
Message
Encoded information sent by a sender to a receiver.
Meta-analysis
Statistical method for estimating the true correlation between two variables from the distribution of sample correlations corrected for the different size of samples, restrictions in range, and its limits from the results obtained from several individual samples or studies.
Middle managers
Managers at the middle levels of the organizational hierarchy, who are responsible for the direction of the lower level supervisors reporting to them.
Mission
The stated purposes of the organization.
Model
A facsimile that captures the important essentials of reality; may be conceptual, mathematical, or physical.
Modeling
Learning by imitation; behaving in the same way as observed in another person to make a certain response.
Moderated regression analysis
An optimal prediction equation that includes the effects of moderator variables.
Moderator variable
Unrelated by itself to the criterion variable in a multiple regression, its correlation with predictor variables adds to the multiple prediction of the criterion.
Monotonic
Numbers arranged so that each is larger (or smaller) than the one preceding it in the sequence.
Monozygotic
Identical twins from one egg. The closest in heritability of the same traits.
Moral identity
Awareness of one’s own moral beliefs and ethical behavior, and of their imortance to oneself.
Morality
Set of social beliefs and values of right conduct.
Multinational corporation (MNC)
A corporation with operations and divisions in numerous countries, but that is controlled by headquarters in one country.
Multinational firm
An organization that locates, trades, or produces products or offers services in several countries.
Multiple regression
The optimal weighting of a set of predictor variables to minimize the error of prediction of a criterion.
Myth
A dramatic narrative of imagined events and fantasies, usually to explain origins and developments.
N
Negative reinforcement
See Aversive reinforcement.
Network
A pattern of interconnections among individuals, groups, or organizations.
Nominal group technique
The pooling of the ideas of individuals without their meeting to generate or accumulate the pool of ideas.
Nomological network
The web of logical connections among constructs.
Nomothetical network
See Nomological network.
Nonprogrammed decisions
Specific solutions that emerge from unstructured processes to deal with nonroutine problems.
Normative model
A model that prescribes a solution to a problem.
Normative scores
Raw scores scaled in relation to those of the rest of the population, for example percentiles and standard scores.
Norms
Shared group expectations about behavior; socially defined and enforced standards about how the world should be interpreted and how one should behave in it.
NROTC
Naval Research Officers Training Corps, for the U.S. Navy.
O
Objectives
The targeted goals of individuals, groups, or organizations toward which resources and efforts are channeled.
Oblique dimensions
Dimensions inclined toward each other at some angle other than 90°, representing their correlation; not orthogonal.
Occupation
A collection of similar jobs existing in different firms.
One-way communication
Any communication from the sender without a reply from the receiver.
Open system
A system that transforms inputs from its environment to outputs to its environment; its general principles may explain organizational behavior.
Operant conditioning
A behavioral modification technique in which cued responses are strengthened (more likely to be repeated) as a result of reinforcements (consequences of the behavior).
Operational definition
A specification of the procedures or operations by which a concept is sensed and measured.
Operations research
Mathematical techniques for modeling, analysis, and solution of management problems.
Organic organization
An organization in which operations are subject to modification through learning from feedback.
Organizational climate
Employees’ attitudes toward the organization and their satisfaction with it.
Organizational conflict
Disagreement between organizational members and groups over the allocation of scarce resources, or how to engage in interdependent work activities; disagreements arising from different assumptions, goals, identifications, or statuses.
Organizational culture
The norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs, evidenced in myths, stories, jargon, and rituals that are shared by organizational members.
Organizational design
The creation of the organizational structure that is most appropriate for the strategy, people, technology, and tasks of the organization.
Organizational development
A long-range effort to improve an organization’s problem solving and renewal process.
Organizational goals
An organization’s purpose, mission, and objectives that form the bases of its strategy.
Organizational structure
The arrangement and interrelationship of the various components and positions in an organization.
Organization chart
A diagram displaying the functions, departments, and positions in an organization.
Orthogonal dimensions
Dimensions that are at right angles to each other; uncorrelated, independent dimensions.
Overload
The lack of capacity to meet performance expectations.
P
Parsimonious
The simple but accurate explanation of a phenomenon that avoids more complicated explanations because the simplified one is adequate.
Partial reinforcement
A schedule of reinforcement in which rewards are given intermittently.
Path-goal analysis
The means and ways that describe what objectives can be reached.
Patriarchal
A male-dominated family or society in which the men are much more in power and control than are the women.
Perception
An immediately sensed experience of other persons or objects, modified and organized by the perceiver’s personal characteristics and by social influences.
Perceptual defense
A selective perception in which a person substitutes innocuous perceptions for unpleasant stimuli.
Performance appraisal
The evaluation of an individual’s performance by comparing it to standards or objectives.
Peripheral routing
Persuading people unable or unmotivated to accept the idea.
Personal construct
A concept that is used by a particular individual to categorize events and other persons’ behaviors.
Personality
The dynamic organization of the abilities, attitudes, beliefs, and motives of a particular individual that contribute to the individual’s reaction to his or her environment.
Phenomenological
Of or related to comprehending the environment above and beyond the objective environment.
Placebo
A substance or a condition used as an experimental control, which should have no effects relevant to the experiment.
Policy
General guidelines for decision making.
Policy capturing
A multiple regression procedure in which the regression weights underlying the policies that influenced the decision makers are determined.
Polycentrism
The view that because countries are different, local control is best for organizing operations.
Population
The total collection of people or cases from which a sample is drawn.
Position power
Power that is inherent in the formal position occupied by the incumbent.
Positive reinforcer
The consequence of behavior that is desirable, pleasant, or needed. When linked to the behavior, the positive reinforcer increases the probability that the behavior will be repeated in the same or similar situations.
Post hoc analysis
A statistical analysis that is chosen after the experimental data have been collected, not as a part of the original design of the experiment.
Power structure
A set of relationships among different members or units of an organization that is based on the differences in power among them.
Prejudice
A negative evaluation of a person because of the person’s sex, age, race, ethnicity, or membership in another group or organization.
Primary effect
The predominant effect of the first information received about persons, objects, or issues upon learning, retention, judgment, or opinion about them.
Principled moral reasoning
Application of general rules to decide on a just solution.
Prisoner’s dilemma
The choice when a better outcome for one player is incompatible with the choice resulting in a better outcome for a competing player. This dilemma leads to both players making choices that have unfavorable results for both of them.
Probability estimate - Probability of success.
Probability sample
A sample chosen in such a way that every member of the population has a known, usually equal, probability of being included.
Process consultation
Consultation in which members of an organization are helped to understand and change the ways in which they work together.
Productivity
Performance relative to resources; output divided by input; quantity and quality of output in a given period.
Programmed decisions
Solutions to routine problems determined by rules, procedures, or habits.
Projection
The attribution of one’s own motives to others, usually unconsciously or subconsciously (see Assumed similarity).
Propinquity
Physical proximity.
Prototype
An idealized image or the first of its kind on which copies are based.
Prospectors
Strategists who search for new opportunities.
Pseudotransformational leadership
A false messiah who appears to act like a transformational leader but is actually inauthentic and self-interested and leads the group, organization, or society astray.
Psychological contract
Mutual expectations between an individual and an organization or between subordinates and superiors of how work is to be performed and how they will relate to each other; the rights, privileges, and obligations of each to each other.
Psychosocial
Psychological elements combine with social aspects to affect relationships.
Purpose
The primary role of an organization in society in producing goods or services. p value The probability of a given outcome or event, on a scale from 0.00 (not possible) to 1.00 (certain).
Q
Q-technique
A technique in which a set of paired scores is correlated across different variables for two persons or cases.
Quality circles
Periodic meetings of employees and management personnel to solve quality, production, and related problems.
Quality control
The process that ensures that goods and services meet predetermined standards.
Quality of work life
The value of work that takes into account the well-being of the employee as well as that of the organization.
R
R & D
Research and development.
Random sample
A probability sample in which members are drawn in a random manner from a list of prospects that enumerates the population.
Rational approach
An approach in which conclusions are arrived at by reasoning.
Rational-economic man
A theory that fully informed people are motivated primarily by money and self-interest.
Rationally-oriented leadership
Relies on logical and methodical reasoning.
Real-time operation
An operation in which an event is controlled by information generated by the event.
Recency effect
The predominant effect of the most recent information received on learning, retention, judgment, or opinion about persons, objects, or issues.
Reference group
A group with whom a person identifies and compares him or herself.
Reflect
The sign of a variable is changed so the variable is now opposite in meaning.
Refreezing
A process in which new behavior becomes the norm through support and reinforcement.
Reinforcement
The consequence of behavior that influences whether the behavior will be evoked again under the same or similar stimulus conditions.
Reinforcement schedule
The pattern of reinforcement that can affect how quickly behavior is modified, shaped, and learned, and how resistant it is to change or extinction.
Relative deprivation
The tendency to be dissatisfied with one’s own status and compensation relative to that of those with whom one compares oneself, to expectations, and to comparable conditions.
Reliability
The consistency of measurement, as seen in the stability of scores over time or in the equivalence of scores on two forms of a test of the same attributes (see Coefficient alpha).
Representative sample
A sample that is composed of different members proportionate to their types in the population.
Reputational capital
Intangible corporate value enhanced by executive leadership, quality of products, publicized awards, and rankings. Resilience Ability to deal with adversity.
Response sets
A systematic way of answering a question that is not directly related to the content of the question but to the form of the question and the alternative answers.
Risk ratio
Maximum risk compared with probability of success.
Risky shift
The tendency for groups to make a decision that is less conservative than one that would be made alone by each of its individual members.
Rite
An elaborate, dramatic, ceremonial activity that consolidates cultural expressions into a social event.
Rites of passage
Rites in which a person passes from an organizational outsider to an organizational insider. They convey the organization’s norms and values symbolically. In society, they include confirmation, graduation, and marriage.
Ritual
A fixed way of enacting a set of rites within an organizational culture.
Role
A socially defined pattern of behavior that is expected of an individual in a designated function in a particular position within a group, organization, or society.
Role ambiguity
A condition of uncertainty about what is expected and what role behavior will be accepted and rewarded.
Role boundaries
Limits of the role behavior that are expected.
Role conflict
A situation in which persons are faced with meeting conflicting demands. Conflict can arise between values within a role, between competing roles, or from the demands of others.
Role overload
A situation in which role requirements exceed the limits of time, resources, and capabilities.
Role perception
What an individual sees are the behaviors needed to enact a role. Rotation Moving factor axes and their hyper-planes around the 0,0 coordinate to allow more points representing factor loadings to fall in these hyper-planes.
ROTC
Reserve Officers Training Corps for the U.S. Army or U.S. Air Force. R-technique A technique in which the paired scores on two variables are correlated for a number of persons or cases.
S
Sample
A portion of a population that is selected for study in lieu of the complete population.
Sampling error
Deviation of any sample statistic from the population value. Satisfice The choice of a suboptimal alternative that meets some minimal criteria of acceptance, when making a decision.
Scapegoating
The displacement of hostility toward a weaker available target when the source of frustration is too powerful or not available for attack.
Scientific method
The systematic use of deduction, induction, and verification of predictions by the collection of relevant data.
Selective perception
Sensing some aspects.
Self-actualization
Using one’s capacities fully in meaningful, personally satisfying endeavors.
Self-concept
The way people perceive and evaluate themselves.
Self-fulfilling prophecy
The expectation of a reality influences the fulfillment of that reality.
Self-serving bias
Bias to judge oneself favorably, crediting oneself for successes but blaming others and external factors for failures.
Semantic differential rating
Graphic scale with defined extremes, such as a term at one end and its antonym at the other, but undefined anchors in between. Sense making Attributing meaning to experience.
Significance
See Statistical significance.
Simple structure
A structure in which a rotation solution is achieved so that each variable is maximally correlated with as few factors as possible; the variance of the factor loadings is maximized in the VARIMAX solution.
Simulation
The representation of the necessary elements of some object, phenomenon, system, or environment to facilitate control and study. The representation mirrors or maps the effects of various changes in the original, enabling the researcher or trainee to study, analyze, and understand the original by means of the behavior of the model.
Single-loop learning
See Double-loop learning.
Single-source bias
An inflated value that occurs when the same rater supplies the information for the pairs of variables to be correlated.
Smallest-space analysis and mapping
The mathematical procedure to locate and display optimally in two dimensions, a sample of individuals or cases according to their respective distances in measurements from each other.
Social desirability
A response set to answer questions about oneself in the socially approved manner.
Social determinism
The view that the course of history emerges only as an expression, instrument, or consequence of historical laws.
Social distance
The acceptable degree of closeness (physical, social, or psychological) between leaders and subordinates and between members of particular ethnic groups.
Socialization
Learning the norms of one’s group, organization, or society and acquiring its distinctive values, beliefs, and characteristics.
Social loafing
A condition in which workers reduce or withhold effort on a group task.
Socioemotional
Interpersonal; dealing with the social and emotional aspects of the relations between people.
Sociometric measure
A measure based on the nominations of peers; who chooses whom can provide a display of the informal structure of relations in a group.
Specialization
The performance of only some specific part of a whole collection of tasks by an individual worker.
Specification equation
An equation that indicates a designated individual’s performance on a test in terms of factor sub-scores weighted by factor loadings.
Specific factor
The statistical representation of some variable based on only one variable in contrast to common factors which are based on two or more variables.
Staff
Individuals or groups who provide line personnel with advice and services.
Stakeholders
Individuals and groups who gain from the organization’s successes and lose from its failures.
Standard deviation
A measure of how much variability is present in a set of scores. It is the square root of the variance.
Statistical prediction
Objective judgments about people based on data combined by means of formulas or mechanical methods.
Statistical significance
The probability that a given mean statistic could not have occurred by chance alone.
Statistical test
A mathematical procedure for determining the probability that obtained results are due to chance.
Stepwise multiple regression analyses
Analyses in which one predictor variable at a time is added to the regression equation. The process is halted when the next step adds more error than predictive value to the optimal combination of predictors.
Stereotype
A standard image applied to all members of the same group that ignores the variations among them.
Strategic planning
The formulation of an organization’s objectives and how to achieve them.
Stratified random sample
A probability sample whose members are selected by dividing the population into several categories, then selecting respondents randomly from each category (see Representative sample).
Structure
A pattern of prescribed or observed consistencies in relations among members of a group or organization. Sunk costs Money spent or resources already used.
Superego
The part of the personality that is oriented toward doing what is regarded as morally right and proper: one’s conscience, ego ideal, and ideal self-image.
Superordinate goals
Goals around which divergent parties can rally to collaborate to achieve the goals.
Switch hitter
Ambidextrous; one who can respond in alternative ways.
Symbols
Emblems, tokens, and signs representing ideas, terms, and objects.
Synergy
Cooperative efforts among people or units that generate more motivation than would the isolated operation of the units or people.
System boundary
The boundary between the system and its environment. It is rigid in a closed system (not interactive with its environment) and flexible in an open system (interactive with its environment).
T
Task force
A temporary group established to address a specific problem (also Ad hoc group).
Tautology
Circular reasoning; for example, arguing that A caused B because B caused A.
Team building
Improving relationships among members and the accomplishment of the task by diagnosing problems in team processes affecting the team’s performance.
Territoriality
An innate drive in many species of animals to defend their own habitat.
Theory
A system of concepts, rules about the interconnections of the concepts, and ways of linking the concepts to observed facts.
Theory X
A theory that assumes that the average worker dislikes work, is lazy, has little ambition, and must be directed or threatened with punishment to perform adequately.
Theory Y
A theory that assumes the average worker can enjoy work and be committed, involved, and responsible.
Transformational leadership
The leader elevates the follower morally about what is important, valued, and goes beyond the simpler transactional relationship of providing reward or avoidance of punishment for compliance.
Triad
A three-person group.
t-test
A test that determines whether the average statistics for two samples of subjects cannot be accounted for by chance.
U
Unfreezing
Making old ways unacceptable so that changes are readily accepted and can occur.
Unobtrusive measures
Measures obtained without the knowledge of the persons studied.
V
Valence
The values or motivating strength of a reward to an individual.
Validity
The accuracy or correctness of a method or measurement according to expert opinion, its predictive ability, or its correlation with a construct representing its true meaning.
Values
What people consider right, good, and important.
Variable
Any quantity that may take on several points on a dimension.
Variance
The mean of the sum of squares of the deviations of each of a set of scores from its mean; the square of the standard deviation.
Varimax
A solution in factor analysis in which the rotation achieves a maximum variation among the factor loadings so that variables correlate as highly as possible with as few factors as possible and as low as possible with as many other factors as possible.
Verification
The collection of facts to support or refute hypotheses.
Vertical communication
Communication up or down the chain of command.
Visionary Leadership
Planning and forming policy that is farsighted and future-oriented, and provides direction for future actions.
W, X, Y
Walk-around management
Top managers visit with employees at their workplace.
Whistle blower
Employee who voluntarily reports infractions of the rules, violations of ethics, or illegal actions by other members of the organization.
Z
Zero loading
A loading in a factor analysis, a correlation between a variable and a factor so small that it can be attributed to a chance difference from zero.