Organizational Behavior (Stephen Robbins)

OB AT WORK

For Review

1. Describe the GLOBE project’s dimensions of national culture.

2. Compare Aboriginal and nonAboriginal values.


3. How might differences in generational values affect the workplace?


4. What might explain low levels of employee job satisfaction in recent years?


5. Are satisfied employees productive employees? Explain your answer.


6. What is the relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism? Job satisfaction and turnover? Which is the
   stronger relationship?


7. Contrast exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect as employee responses to job satisfaction.

For Critical Thinking

1. “Thirty-five years ago, young employees we hired were ambitious, conscientious, hard-working, and honest. Today’s

young employees don’t have the same values.” Do you agree or disagree with this manager’s comments? Support

your position.

2. Do you think there might be any positive and significant relationship between the possession of certain personal val-
   ues and successful career progression in organizations such as Merrill Lynch, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers
   (CUPW), and the City of Regina’s police department? Discuss.


3. “Managers should do everything they can to enhance the job satisfaction of their employees.” Do you agree or dis-
   agree? Support your position.


4. When employees are asked whether they would again choose the same work or whether they would want their chil-
   dren to follow in their footsteps, fewer than half typically answer “yes.” What, if anything, do you think this implies
   about employee job satisfaction?

OB for You

■ You will encounter many people who have values different from yours in the classroom, in various kinds of activities in
which you participate, as well as in the workplace. You should try to understand value differences, and to figure out
ways to work positively with people who are different from you.

■ Though we often try to generalize about people’s values based on either their generation or their culture, not all peo-
ple in a group hold the same values. Be prepared to look beyond the group characteristics to understand the person.

■ The variety of possible responses to dissatisfaction (exit, voice, loyalty, neglect) gives you alternatives to consider when
you are feeling dissatisfied with a situation. Neglect may be an easy way to respond, but consider whether voice might
be more effective.