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Chapter III · § ii

The theory guide — A to Z.

Every theory across the three levels of analysis — Individual, Group, and Organisational — indexed alphabetically, with its author and its core idea.

Level I · IndividualLevel II · GroupLevel III · Organisational49 entries
A04 entries
Adams' Equity Theory
J. Stacy Adams
People compare their input-to-outcome ratio with others' and act to restore fairness.
Individual
ADKAR Model
Prosci
Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement — organisational change only happens when individuals change.
Organisational
Alderfer's ERG Theory
Clayton Alderfer
Existence, Relatedness, and Growth — needs that can operate simultaneously, with frustration causing regression.
Individual
Attribution Theory
Fritz Heider
Internal vs. external causes of behaviour — and the fundamental attribution error.
Individual
B03 entries
Behavioural Theories
Ohio State · Michigan · Blake & Mouton
Initiating structure vs. consideration — and the Managerial Grid of concern for people against concern for production.
Group
Belbin's Team Roles
Meredith Belbin
Nine team roles across action-, people-, and thought-oriented clusters.
Group
Big Five Model (OCEAN)
Openness · Conscientiousness · Extraversion · Agreeableness · Neuroticism
Five stable trait dimensions predicting work behaviour.
Individual
C05 entries
Classical Conditioning
Ivan Pavlov
A neutral stimulus, repeatedly paired with an event, comes to trigger the same response.
Individual
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Leon Festinger
The discomfort of attitudes and behaviours in conflict — and how people resolve it.
Individual
Communication Theories
Shannon-Weaver model
Sender, channel, receiver — and the noise that can distort meaning at every stage.
Group
Contemporary Leadership Theories
Transformational · Transactional · LMX · Servant
Leadership as vision, exchange, relationship quality, and service to followers.
Group
Contingency Theories
Fiedler · House (Path-Goal) · Hersey-Blanchard
Leadership effectiveness depends on matching style to the situation and the follower.
Group
D01 entry
Deontological Ethics
Immanuel Kant
Actions are intrinsically right or wrong — treat people as ends, not means.
Individual
E01 entry
Ethical Climate Theory
Victor & Cullen
Shared organisational perceptions of ethical norms shape individual moral behaviour.
Individual
F01 entry
French & Raven's Five Bases of Power
John French & Bertram Raven
Legitimate, Reward, Coercive, Expert, Referent.
Group
G01 entry
General Systems Theory
Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Holism, interdependence, equifinality, and synergy — the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Organisational
H03 entries
Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory
Frederick Herzberg
Hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction; motivators create satisfaction.
Individual
Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions
Geert Hofstede
Six cross-national cultural dimensions affecting management practice.
Organisational
Holland's Typology of Personality–Job Fit
John Holland
Six personality types (RIASEC) — person–environment congruence predicts satisfaction and lower turnover.
Individual
J01 entry
Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) Model
Arnold Bakker & Evangelia Demerouti
Demands impair health; resources fuel engagement and buffer demands.
Organisational
K04 entries
Karasek's Demand–Control Model
Robert Karasek
Job stress comes from high demands combined with low control — autonomy is a protective factor.
Organisational
Kelley's Covariation Model
Harold Kelley
Consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency decide whether we attribute behaviour internally or externally.
Individual
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Three levels of moral reasoning — Pre-conventional → Conventional → Post-conventional.
Individual
Kotter's 8-Step Process
John Kotter
Eight-stage roadmap for leading large-scale organisational transformation.
Organisational
L02 entries
Lewin's Three-Step Model
Lewin
Unfreeze – Change – Refreeze — managing transitions systematically.
Organisational
Locke's Goal-Setting Theory
Edwin Locke
Specific, challenging goals lead to higher performance than vague or easy ones.
Individual
M05 entries
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow
Five-level pyramid of needs — lower needs must be met first.
Individual
McClelland's Achievement Motivation
David McClelland
Three dominant needs — achievement, affiliation, and power.
Individual
Mintzberg's Organisational Configurations
Henry Mintzberg
Five structural configurations, each suited to specific environments and strategies.
Organisational
Moral Disengagement
Albert Bandura · Tenbrunsel & Messick
Why good people do bad things — and how the ethical dimension of a decision fades from view.
Individual
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Based on Carl Jung's typology
Four dichotomies producing 16 types — best used as a self-reflection tool rather than a predictor.
Individual
O02 entries
Open Systems Theory
Daniel Katz & Robert Kahn
Organisations take in inputs, transform them, and adapt through feedback from their environment.
Organisational
Operant Conditioning
B.F. Skinner
Voluntary behaviours are shaped by their consequences.
Individual
P01 entry
Principled Negotiation
Fisher & Ury
Separate people from the problem, focus on interests not positions — and know your BATNA.
Group
R02 entries
Rest's Four-Component Model
James Rest
Moral Sensitivity → Judgement → Motivation → Character — four steps to ethical action.
Individual
Rokeach Value Survey
Milton Rokeach
Terminal values (desirable end-states) vs. instrumental values (desirable modes of behaviour).
Individual
S06 entries
Schein's Three Levels of Culture
Edgar Schein
Artifacts → Espoused Values → Basic Assumptions — deep culture is invisible.
Organisational
Skinner's Reinforcement Theory
B.F. Skinner
Behaviour is a function of its consequences.
Individual
Social Identity Theory
Tajfel & Turner
People derive part of their self-concept from the groups they belong to.
Group
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura
People learn by observing and modelling others.
Individual
Social Perception Theory
Stereotyping · Halo effect · Selective perception · Projection
How we form impressions of other people — and the biases that distort them.
Individual
Stakeholder Theory
R. Edward Freeman
Organisations owe ethical obligations to all affected parties, not just shareholders.
Individual
T04 entries
Taylor's Scientific Management
Frederick Winslow Taylor
Scientifically study each task to find the one best method.
Organisational
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Kenneth Thomas & Ralph Kilmann
Five conflict styles mapped on assertiveness and cooperativeness.
Group
Trait Theories
The "Great Man" theory and later trait research
Leaders as born, not made — though traits alone don't account for situational variation.
Group
Tuckman's Stages
Tuckman
Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing – Adjourning.
Group
U01 entry
Utilitarianism
Bentham & Mill
The greatest good for the greatest number — outcomes-based moral reasoning.
Individual
V01 entry
Vroom's Expectancy Theory
Victor Vroom
Motivation = Expectancy × Instrumentality × Valence.
Individual
W01 entry
Weber's Bureaucracy Theory
Max Weber
Rational, rule-governed hierarchy as the most technically efficient organisational form.
Organisational

Study tip: the most powerful exam answers don't just define a theory — they show it in action. Practise explaining each theory using a personal example first (family, friends, school), then translate it to an organisational context.