组织行为学：自变量与因变量.doc

组织行为学：自变量与因变量A model is an abstraction of reality; a simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon.因变量Dependent variablesDependent variables are the key factors you want to explain or predict. What are the primary dependent variables in OB? Scholars tend to emphasize productivity, absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction.1. ProductivityAn organization is productive if it achieves its goals, and does so by transferring inputs into outputs at the lowest cost. As such, productivity implies a concern for both effectiveness and efficiency.A business firm is effective when it attains its sales or market share goals, but its productivity also depends on achieving these goals efficiently. Measures of such efficiency may include return on investment, profit per dollar of sales, and output per hour of labor.In summary, one of OBs major concerns is productivity. We want to know what factors will influence the effectiveness and efficiency of individuals, of groups, and of the overall organization.2. AbsenteeismKeeping absenteeism low is very important to an organization. Levels of absenteeism beyond the normal range in any organization have a direct impact on that organizations effectiveness and efficiency.Not all absences are bad. While most absences impact negatively on the organization, we can conceive of situations where the organization may benefit by an employee voluntarily choosing not come to work.For instance, fatigue or excess stress can significantly decrease an employees productivity. In jobs where an employee needs to be alertsurgeons and airline pilots are obvious examplesit may well be better for the organization if the employee does not report to work rather than show up and perform poorly. The cost of an accident in such jobs could be prohibitive. 3. TurnoverVoluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from the organizationA high rate of turnover in an organization means increased recruiting, selection, and training costs. It can also mean a disruption in the efficient running of an organization when knowledgeable and experienced personnel leave and replacements must be found and prepared to assume positions of responsibility.Turnover often means the loss of people the organization does not want to lose. When turnover is excessive, or when it involves valuable performers, it can be disruptive factor, hindering the organizations effectiveness.4. Job satisfactionJob satisfaction refers to a general attitude toward ones job. The difference between the amount of rewards workers receive and the amount they believe they should receive.Job satisfaction represents an attitude rather than a behavior. The belief that satisfied employees are more productive than employees dissatisfied has been a basic tenet among managers for years.自变量Independent variablesWhat are the major determinants of productivity, absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction? Our answer to that question brings us to the independent variables. Consistent with our belief that organizational behavior can best be understood when viewed essentially as a set of increasingly complex building blocks, the base or first level of our model lies in understanding individual behavior.1. Individual-level variablesPersonal or biographical characteristics such as age, gender, and marital status; personality characteristics; value and attitudes; basic ability level; Perception, individual decision making, learning, motivationThese characteristics are essentially intact when an individual enters the work force, and, for the most part, management can do little to alter them.2. Group-level variablesThe behavior of people in groups is more than the sum total of each individuals acting in their own way. The complexity of our model is increased when we acknowledge that peoples behavior when they are in groups is different from their behavior when they are alone. Therefore, the next step in the development of an understanding of OB is the study of group behavior.3. Organizational system-level variablesJust as groups are more than the sum of their individual members, so are organizations more than the sum of their member groups.The design of the formal organization, technology and work processes, and jobs; the organizat