CHAPTER 15 Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in

Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: – Explain the nature of the individual-organization relationship. – Define personality and describe personality attributes that affect behavior in organizations. – Discuss individual attitudes and how they affect behavior. – Describe basic perceptual processes and the role of attributions in organizations. – Discuss the causes and consequences of stress and describe how it can be managed. – Describe creativity and its role in organizations. – Explain how workplace behaviors can directly or indirectly influence organizational effectiveness. www. Assignment. Point. com

Chapter Outline • Understanding Individuals in Organizations – The Psychological Contract – The Person-Job Fit – The Nature of Individual Differences • Personality and Individual Behavior – The “Big Five” Personality Traits – Other Personality Traits at Work • Attitudes and Individual Behavior – Work-related Attitudes – Affect and Mood in Organizations • Perceptions and Individual Behavior – Basic Perceptual Processes – Perception and Attribution • Stress and Individual Behavior – Causes and Consequences – Managing Stress • Creativity in Organizations – The Creative Individual – The Creative Process – Enhancing Creativity in Organizations • Types of Workplace Behavior – Performance Behaviors – Withdrawal Behaviors – Organizational Citizenship www. Assignment. Point. com

Understanding Individuals in Organizations • The Psychological Contract – The overall set of expectations held by an individual with respect to what he or she will contribute to the organization and what the organization will provide in return. Contributions from the Individual • Effort • Ability • Loyalty • Skills • Time • Competencies Inducements from the Organization • Pay • Job security • Benefits • Career opportunities • Status • Promotion opportunities Figure 15. 1 www. Assignment. Point. com

Understanding Individuals in Organizations (cont’d) • The Person-Job Fit – The extent to which the contributions made by the individual match the inducement offered by the organization. • Each employee has a specific set of needs to be fulfilled and a set of job-related behaviors to contribute. • The degree to which the organization can take advantage of those behaviors and, in turn, fulfill an employee’s needs will determine the level of person-job fit. – Reasons for poor person-job fit: • Organizational selection procedures are imperfect. • Both people and organizations change over time. • Adopting new technologies changes the skills needed by employees. • Each individual is unique and each job is unique. www. Assignment. Point. com

Personality and Individual Behavior • Personality – The relatively stable set of psychological and behavioral attributes that distinguish one person from another. • The “Big Five” personality Traits – Agreeableness—a person’s ability to get along with others. – Conscientiousness—the number of goals on which a person focuses. – Negative emotionality—the extent to which a person is calm, resilient, and secure. – Extraversion—a person’s comfort level with relationships. – Openness—a person’s rigidity of beliefs and range of interests. www. Assignment. Point. com

The “Big Five” Model of Personality Agreeableness High agreeableness Low agreeableness Conscientiousness High conscientiousness Low conscientiousness Negative Emotionality Less negative emotionality More negative emotionality Extraversion More extraversion More introversion Openness More openness Less openness Figure 15. 2 www. Assignment. Point. com

Other Personality Traits at Work • Locus of Control – The extent to which people believe that their behavior has a real effect on what happens to them. • Internal locus of control—individuals who believe they are in control of their lives. • External locus of control—individuals believe that external forces dictate what happen to them. • Self-Efficacy – A person’s belief about his or her capabilities to perform a task. High self-efficacy individuals believe they can perform well while low self-efficacy individuals doubt their ability to perform. www. Assignment. Point. com

Other Personality Traits at Work (cont’d) • Authoritarianism – The extent to which an individual believes that power and status differences are appropriate within hierarchical social organizations. • Machiavellianism – Behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others. • Self-Esteem – The extent to which a person believes she/he is a worthwhile individual. • Risk Propensity – The degree to which an individual is willing to take chances and make risky decisions. www. Assignment. Point. com

Attitudes and Individual Behavior • Attitudes – Complexes of beliefs and feelings that people have about specific ideas, situations, or other people. • The Three Components of Attitudes: – Affective component reflects the feelings and emotions an individual has toward a situation (i. e. , how we feel). – Cognitive component is derived from perceived knowledge (i. e. , why we feel the way we feel). – Intentional component is how a person expects to behave in a given situation (i. e. , what we intend do about the situation). • Cognitive Dissonance – The conflict individuals experience among their own attitudes. www. Assignment. Point. com

Work-Related Attitudes • Job Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction – An attitude that reflects the extent to which an individual is gratified or fulfilled by his or her work. • Job Satisfaction and Work Behaviors – Job satisfaction is influenced by personal, group, and organizational factors. – Satisfied employees are absent from work less often, make positive contributions, and stay with the organization. – Dissatisfied employees are absent from work more often, may experience stress which disrupts coworkers, and may be continually looking for another job. – High levels of job satisfaction do not necessarily lead to high job performance. www. Assignment. Point. com

Work-Related Attitudes (cont’d) • Organizational Commitment – An attitude that reflects an individual’s identification with and attachment to an organization. • Organizational Commitment and Work Behaviors – Employee commitment strengthens with an individual’s age, years with the organization, sense of job security, and participation in decision making. – Committed employees have highly reliable habits, plan a longer tenure with the organization, and muster more effort in performance. www. Assignment. Point. com

Affect and Mood in Organizations • Positive Affectivity – A tendency to be relatively upbeat and optimistic, have an overall sense of well-being, see things in a positive light, and seem to be in a good mood. • Negative Affectivity – A tendency to be generally downbeat and pessimistic, tend to see things in a negative way, and seem to be in a bad mood. www. Assignment. Point. com

Perception and Individual Behavior • Perception – The set of processes by which an individual becomes aware of and interprets information. • Selective Perception – The process of screening out information that we are uncomfortable with or that contradicts our beliefs. – If selective perception causes someone to ignore important information it can become quite detrimental. • Stereotyping – The process of categorizing or labeling people on the basis of a single attribute (e. g. , gender and race). – Stereotyping may cost the organization valuable talent, violate federal anti-bias laws, and is likely unethical. www. Assignment. Point. com

Perceptual Processes + + + – + + Selective Perception + + – Screening out information that causes discomfort or that contradicts our beliefs + + + + Stereotyping Categorizing or labeling on the basis of a single attribute Figure 15. 3 www. Assignment. Point. com

Perception and Perceptual Processes • Attribution – A mechanism through which we observe behavior and attribute a cause to it. • Ways in Which Attributions Are Formed: – Consensus • The extent to which other people in the same situation behave the same way. – Consistency • The extent to which the same person behaves the same way at different times. – Distinctiveness • The extent to which the same person behaves the same way in other situations. www. Assignment. Point. com

Stress and Individual Behavior • Stress – A person’s response to a strong stimulus (i. e. , a stressor). • General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – The general cycle of the stress process. – Stage 1 Alarm • Panic, wondering how to cope, and a feeling of helplessness. – Stage 2 Resistance • Individual is actively resisting the effects of the stressor. – Stage 3 Exhaustion • Prolonged exposure to stress causes an individual to give up. www. Assignment. Point. com

The General Adaptation Syndrome Stage 1 Alarm Stage 2 Resistance Stage 3 Exhaustion Response to stressful event Normal level of resistance Figure 15. 4 www. Assignment. Point. com

Stress and Individual Behavior (cont’d) • Personality Types – Type A personality • Extremely competitive (aggressive), devoted to work, have a strong sense of time urgency (impatient). • Have a lot of drive and want to accomplish as much as possible as quickly as possible. – Type B personality • Less competitive, less devoted to work, have a weaker sense of time urgency. • Less likely to experience personal stress or to come into conflict with other people. • More likely to have a balanced, relaxed approach to life. www. Assignment. Point. com

Causes and Consequences of Stress • Causes of Work Stress Organizational Stressors Task Demands Physical Demands Role Demands • Quick decisions • Temperature extremes • Role ambiguity Interpersonal Demands • Critical decisions • Poorly designed office • Role conflict • Group pressures • Incomplete informa- • Threats to health tion for decisions • Leadership styles • Conflicting personalities Figure 15. 5 www. Assignment. Point. com

Causes and Consequences of Stress (cont’d) • Consequences of Stress – Negative personal consequences • Behavioral—smoking, alcoholism, overeating, drug abuse. • Psychological—sleep disturbances, depression, family problems. • Medical—heart disease, stroke, backaches, ulcers, skin conditions. – Negative work-related consequences • Poor quality work output and lower productivity. • Job dissatisfaction, low morale, and a lack of commitment. • Withdrawal through indifference and absenteeism. – Burnout • A feeling of exhaustion that may develop when someone experiences too much stress for an extended period of time. www. Assignment. Point. com

Managing Stress • Stress Management Strategies for Individuals – Regular exercise • reduces tension and stress, and improves self-confidence and feelings of optimism. – Relaxation • allows individuals to adapt and better deal with their stress. – Time management • reduces stress by prioritizing activities to accomplish them in their order of importance. – Support Groups • away from work reduces stress. www. Assignment. Point. com

Managing Stress (cont’d) • Stress Management Strategies for Organizations – Organizations are partly responsible for stress. – Organizations also bear the costs of stress-related claims. – Organizational wellness/stress management programs can be used to promote healthful employee activities and derive the benefits of increased organizational productivity. www. Assignment. Point. com

Creativity in Organizations • Creativity – The ability of an individual to generate new ideas or to conceive of new perspectives in existing ideas. • The Creative Individual – Background experiences and creativity • Many creative individuals were reared in creative environments. – Personal traits and creativity • Creative persons have personal traits of openness, an attraction to complexity, high levels of energy, independence, autonomy, strong self-confidence, and a strong belief in their own creativity. – Cognitive abilities and creativity • Most creative people are highly intelligent. • They are both divergent and convergent thinkers, a skill they use to see differences and similarities in situations, phenomena, and events. www. Assignment. Point. com

The Creative Process • Preparation – Formal education and training is used to “get up to speed. ” – Experiences on the job provide additional knowledge and ideas. • Incubation – A period of less intense conscious concentration during which knowledge and ideas acquired, during preparation, mature and develop. – Incubation can be helped by pauses in rational thought. www. Assignment. Point. com

The Creative Process (cont’d) • Insight – A spontaneous breakthrough in which the creative person achieves a new understanding of some problem or situation. – Patterns of thought coalesce into a new understanding. • Verification – Determines the validity or truthfulness of the insight. – Tests are conducted and prototypes are built to see if the insight leads to the expected results. • Enhancing Creativity in Organizations – Make creativity part of the organization’s culture. • Set goals for revenues from creative products and services. – Reward creativity; refrain from punishing creative failures. • Some ideas work out as expected, others don’t work out as intended. www. Assignment. Point. com

Types of Workplace Behavior • Workplace Behavior – A pattern of action by the members of an organization that directly or indirectly influences organizational effectiveness. • Performance Behaviors – The total set of work-related behaviors an organization expects an individual to display. • Withdrawal Behaviors – Absenteeism occurs when an individual does not show up for work when expected for legitimate or feigned reasons. – Absenteeism may be a symptom of other work-related problems. – Turnover occurs when individuals quit their jobs for workrelated or personal reasons. www. Assignment. Point. com

Types of Workplace Behavior (cont’d) • Organizational Citizenship – The behavior of individuals that makes a positive overall contribution to the organization. – The determinants of organizational citizenship is a complex mosaic of individual, social, and organizational variables. • The personality, attitudes, and needs of the individual. • The social context, or work group, in which the individual works. • An organization (and its culture) capable of rewarding citizenship behaviors. www. Assignment. Point. com