The Flattened World
The systematic study of how people think, feel, and behave at work.
Organizational Behaviour (OB)
The tendency for individuals to hire, mentor, and communicate with people exactly like themselves.
Attraction Phenomenon
The perspective that behavior is a function of the person and the situation interacting.
Interactionist Perspective
The emotional attachment and loyalty an employee has toward the company itself.
Organizational Commitment
Less than 4%
The turnover rate at SAS Institute (less than 4%), compared to the industry norm of 20%.
The three critical levels of analysis used to diagnose workplace dynamics.
Individual, Group, and Organization
Attribute-based splits (like age and gender combined) that divide a group into hidden subgroups.
Faultlines
The Big Five trait that is the universal predictor of high job performance across all occupations.
Conscientiousness
The unwritten understanding of what the employee will bring to the work environment and what the company will provide in return.
Psychological Contract
Elements such as redundant rules, bureaucratic policies, and unnecessary meetings that SAS eliminates to keep developers productive.
Obstacles
Evaluating a firm based on its Economic, Social, and Environmental viability (People, Planet, Profit).
Triple Bottom Line
Cultures where people define themselves through group membership and maintain strong bonds to their group.
Collectivism
A person's job-specific belief that they can perform a particular task successfully.
Self-Efficacy
Voluntary actions employees perform to help others and benefit the organization that are not in their job description.
Organizational Citizenship Behaviours (OCB)
The completion of the SAS motto: “If you are working for more than 8 hours, you are just adding ____”.
Bugs
The belief that computing power doubles every two years, driving rapid change and connectivity.
Moore’s Law
A society that views an unequal distribution of power as relatively unacceptable and favors egalitarianism.
Low Power Distance
The process with which individuals detect and interpret environmental stimuli.
Perception
The primary influencer of in-role performance, especially in complex professional jobs.
General Mental Ability (GMA) or Cognitive Ability
The moderate correlation number research shows between being happy (job satisfaction) and being productive.
0.3
An organization comprised of 1/3 regular staff, 1/3 temporary employees, and 1/3 consultants/contractors.
Shamrock Organization
The market value representing women and minority consumers that companies like IBM aim to capture.
$1.3 Trillion
The bias of overemphasizing personality while underestimating situational causes when judging others.
Fundamental Attribution Error
The total annual financial drain on companies caused by unscheduled absences (absenteeism).
$74 Billion
The reality that mediocre employees hire less-talented employees in order to feel better about themselves.
The Kawasaki Paradox