Mgmt 371 Chapter Fifteen Basic Elements of Individual

Mgmt 371 Chapter Fifteen Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations 1

Understanding Individuals in Organizations n The Psychological Contract n 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. n The unwritten expectations that employees and employers have about the nature of their work relationships n n n Quid pro quo Loosely defines what actions are “fair” in the workplace. Both tangible items and intangible items can affect the psychological contract. 2

Psychological Contracts (Employee Expectations) n Generally, employees expect employers to provide: Competitive wages n Competitive benefits n Job security n Career development opportunities n Flexibility to balance family and work n n If the psychological contract is not altered, the employer may expect greater employee commitment (loyalty). 3

Psychological Contracts (Employer Expectations) n Generally, employers expect employees to provide: n Effort. n Ability. n Loyalty. n Skills. n Time. n Competencies. 4

Factors Adversely Affecting Individual & Organizational Relations n Mergers and acquisitions n Self-employment and contingent work n Less management job tenure n Job insecurity (economic anxiety) n Downsizing n Global competition n Job obsolescence n Executive pay v. the plight of the workers. 5

Understanding Individuals in Organizations (Person-Job Fit) n The Person-Job Fit n Reasons for poor person-job fit: n Organizational selection procedures are imperfect. n Both people and organizations change over time. n Adopting new technologies changes the skills needed by employees. n Each individual is unique and each job is unique. 6

Understanding Individuals in Organizations (Individual Differences) n Individual Differences n Personal attributes that vary from one person to another. n Physical n Psychological n Emotional. 7

Personality and Individual Behavior n Personality n The relatively stable set of psychological and behavioral attributes that distinguish one person from another. 8

The “Big Five” Personality Traits n n n 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. 9

The “Big Five” Model of Personality 10

The Myers-Briggs Framework n The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) n A popular questionnaire that some organizations use to assess personality types. n Is a useful method for determining communication styles and interaction preferences. Has questionable validity and reliability. n Personality Types n Extraversion (E) versus Introversion (I) n Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N) n Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F) n Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P) n 11

Other Personality Traits at Work n Locus of Control (J. B. Rotter) n The extent to which people believe that their behavior has a real effect on what happens to them. n Internal locus of control—individuals who believe they are in control of their lives. n External locus of control—individuals believe that external forces dictate what happen to them. 12

Other Personality Traits at Work n Self-Efficacy (Albert Bandura) n A person’s belief about his or her capabilities to perform a task. High self-efficacy individuals believe they can perform well while low selfefficacy individuals doubt their ability to perform. 13

Other Personality Traits at Work n Authoritarianism n The extent to which an individual believes that power and status differences are appropriate within hierarchical social organizations. n Machiavellianism n Behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others. 14

Other Personality Traits at Work n Self-Esteem n The extent to which a person believes she/he is a worthwhile individual. n Risk Propensity n The degree to which an individual is willing to take chances and make risky decisions. 15

Emotional Intelligence n Emotional intelligence, or EQ n n The extent to which people are self-aware, can manage their emotions, can motivate themselves, express empathy for others, and possess social skills. Dimensions of EQ n Self-awareness n Managing emotion n Motivating oneself n Empathy n Social skill 16

Attitudes and Individual Behavior n Attitudes - Complexes of beliefs and feelings that people have about specific ideas, situations, or other people. Attitudinal components: n Affective component n Feelings and emotions toward a situation (i. e. , how we feel). n Cognitive component n Perceived knowledge (i. e. , why we feel the way we feel). n Intentional component n Expected behavior in a given situation (i. e. , what we intend do about the situation). 17

Attitudes and Individual Behavior n Cognitive Dissonance (Leon Festinger) n The conflict individuals experience among their own attitudes caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. n n The affective and cognitive components of the individual’s attitude are in conflict with intended behavior. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this dissonance by modifying an existing belief, or rejecting one of the contradictory ideas. 18

Work-Related Attitudes n Job Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction n An attitude that reflects the extent to which an individual is gratified or fulfilled by his or her work. n Job Satisfaction and Work Behaviors n Job satisfaction is influenced by personal, group, and organizational factors. n Satisfied employees are absent less often, make positive contributions, and stay with the organization. n Dissatisfied employees are absent more often, may experience stress which disrupts coworkers, and may be continually looking for another job. n High levels of job satisfaction do not necessarily lead to high job performance. 19

Work-Related Attitudes n Organizational Commitment - An attitude that reflects an individual’s identification with and attachment to an organization. n Organizational Commitment and Work Behaviors n Employee commitment strengthens with an individual’s age, years with the organization, sense of job security, and participation in decision making. n Committed employees have highly reliable habits, plan a longer tenure with the organization, and muster more effort in performance. 20

Affect and Mood in Organizations n Positive Affectivity n 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. n Negative Affectivity n A tendency to be generally downbeat and pessimistic, tend to see things in a negative way, and seem to be in a bad mood. 21

Perception and Individual Behavior n Perception The set of processes by which an individual becomes aware of and interprets information. n Selective Perception n The process of screening out information that we are uncomfortable with or that contradicts our beliefs. n If selective perception causes someone to ignore important information it can become quite detrimental. n 22

Perceptual Processes 23

Perception and Individual Behavior n Stereotyping n The process of categorizing or labeling people on the basis of a single attribute (gender, race, profession, school, e. g. ). n Stereotyping may cost the organization valuable talent, violate federal anti-bias laws, and is likely unethical. 24

Perception and Attribution n A mechanism through which we observe behavior and attribute a cause to it. n Ways in Which Attributions Are Formed: n Consensus n Consistency n Distinctiveness 25

Stress and Individual Behavior n Stress n A person’s response to a strong stimulus (i. e. , a stressor). n General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) n The general cycle of the stress process. n Stage 1 Alarm n Stage 2 Resistance n Stage 3 Exhaustion 26

The General Adaptation Syndrome 27

Causes of Work Stress 28

Causes and Consequences of Stress n Negative personal consequences n Behavioral n Psychological n Medical n Negative work-related consequences n Poor quality work output and lower productivity. n Job dissatisfaction, low morale, and a lack of commitment. n Withdrawal through indifference and absenteeism. n Burnout n A feeling of exhaustion that may develop when someone experiences too much stress for an extended period of time. 29

Stress and Individual Behavior (Type A Personality) n Personality Types n Type A personality Extremely competitive (aggressive), devoted to work, have a strong sense of time urgency (impatient). n Have a lot of drive and want to accomplish as much as possible as quickly as possible. n Prone to stress. n 30

Stress and Individual Behavior (Type B Personality) n Personality Types n Type B Personality n Less competitive, less devoted to work, have a weaker sense of time urgency. n Less likely to experience personal stress or to come into conflict with other people. n More likely to have a balanced, relaxed approach to life. 31

Managing Stress n Stress Management Strategies for Individuals n Regular exercise n reduces tension and stress, and improves selfconfidence and feelings of optimism. n Relaxation n allows individuals to adapt and better deal with their stress. n Time management n reduces stress by prioritizing activities to accomplish them in their order of importance. n Support groups n socializing away from work reduces stress. 32

Managing Stress n Stress Management Strategies for Organizations n Organizations are partly responsible for stress. n Organizations also bear the costs of stress-related claims. n Organizational wellness/stress management programs can be used to promote healthful employee activities and derive the benefits of increased organizational productivity. 33

Creativity in Organizations n Creativity The ability of an individual to generate new ideas or to conceive of new perspectives in existing ideas. n The Creative Individual n Background experiences and creativity n n n Many creative individuals were reared in creative environments. Personal traits and creativity n 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. 34

Creativity in Organizations n The Creative Individual n Cognitive n n 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. 35

The Creative Process n Preparation n n Formal education and training is used to “get up to speed. ” Experiences on the job provide additional knowledge and ideas. n Incubation n n A period of less intense conscious concentration during which knowledge and ideas acquired, during reparation, mature and develop. Incubation can be helped by pauses in rational thought. 36

The Creative Process n Insight n n 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. n Verification n n 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. 37

The Creative Process n Enhancing Creativity in Organizations n Make creativity part of the organization’s culture. n n Set goals for revenues from creative products and services. Reward creativity; refrain from punishing creative failures. n Some ideas work out as expected, others don’t work out as intended. 38

Types of Workplace Behavior n A pattern of action by the members of an organization that directly or indirectly influences organizational effectiveness. n Performance Behaviors n The total set of work-related behaviors an organization expects an individual to display. 39

Types of Workplace Behavior n Withdrawal Behaviors n Absenteeism occurs when an individual does not show up for work when expected for legitimate or feigned reasons. n Absenteeism may be a symptom of other work -related problems. n Turnover occurs when individuals quit their jobs for work-related or personal reasons. 40

Types of Workplace Behavior n Organizational Citizenship n The behavior of individuals that makes a positive overall contribution to the organization. n The determinants of organizational citizenship is a complex mosaic of individual, social, and organizational variables. n n n 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. 41