Convert object literal notation to array

Your method is fine, clear and readable. To do it without jQuery, use the for (..in..) syntax:

var arr = [];
for (prop in objectLiteral) {
  arr.push(objectLiteral[prop]);
}

I think there is nothing wrong with your solution.

This is a shorter one:

var arr = $.map(objectLiteral, function (value) { return value; });