Basic Elements of Individual Behavior in Organizations

Chapter 9

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain the nature of the individual-organization relationship.

2. Define personality and describe personality attributes that affect behavior in organizations.

3. Discuss individual attitudes in organizations and how they affect behavior.

4. Describe basic perceptual processes and the role of attributions in organizations.

5. Discuss the causes and consequences of stress and describe how it can be managed.

Learning Objectives (cont’d)

6. Describe creativity and its role in organizations.

7. Explain how workplace behaviors can directly or indirectly influence organizational effectiveness.

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 The Myers-Briggs Framework Other Personality Traits at Work Emotional Intelligence

Attitudes and Individual Behavior Work-related Attitudes Affect and Mood in Organizations

Outline (cont’d) 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 Dysfunctional Behaviors

Understanding Individualsin Organizations

The Psychological Contract The overall set of expectations held by an individual

with respect to what he or she will provide (contributions) to the organization and what the organization will provide in return (inducements).

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.

Understanding Individuals in Organizations (cont’d)

The Person-Job Fit (cont’d) 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.

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 poised, calm,

resilient, and secure. Extraversion

A person’s comfort level with relationships. Openness

A person’s rigidity of beliefs and range of interests.

The “Big Five”Model of Personality

The Myers-Briggs Framework

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) A questionnaire used to differentiate personalities

on the dimensions of the MB framework:1. Extroversion (E) versus Introversion (I)

sociable versus solitary

2. Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N) concrete versus conceptual

3. Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F) logic and reason versus emotion and feelings

4. Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P) completion versus continuing participation

Useful to determine communication styles and interaction preferences; has questionable reliability and validity.

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 happens 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.

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 systems like organizations.

Machiavellianism Individual 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.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) The extent to which people are self-aware,

can manage their emotions, can motivate themselves, express empathy, and possess social skills

Persons with high EQs may perform better on jobs that require interaction and directing others.

EQ can be developed and is not biologically based.

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).

Attitudes and Individual Behavior (cont’d)

Cognitive Dissonance The mental discomfort that

individuals experience when their own attitudes are in conflict with their intended behavior.

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 are continually looking for another job.

Work-Related Attitudes (cont’d)

Job Satisfaction and Work Behaviors High levels of job satisfaction do not

necessarily lead to high job performance.

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.

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.

Perception andIndividual 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.

Perception andIndividual Behavior (cont’d)

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 unethical.

Perceptual Processes

Perception and Perceptual Processes

Attribution A mechanism through which we observe

behavior and attribute a cause to it. How Behavioral Attributions Are Formed:

Consensus Do other people in the same situation

behave the same way? Consistency

Does this person behave the same way at different times?

Distinctiveness Does this person behave the same way in

other situations?

Stress andIndividual 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 howto cope, and a feelingof helplessness.

Stress andIndividual Behavior (cont’d)

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) (cont’d) Stage 2 Resistance

Individual is actively resisting the effects ofthe stressor.

Stage 3 Exhaustion Prolonged exposure to

stress causes anindividual to give up.

The GeneralAdaptation Syndrome

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 toaccomplish as much as possible asquickly as possible.

Stress and Individual Behavior (cont’d)

Personality Types 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.

Causes of Work Stress

Causes and Consequencesof Stress (cont’d)

Negative personal consequences Behavioral—

smoking, alcoholism, overeating, drug abuse.

Psychological—sleep disturbances, depression.

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.

Consequences of Stress

Burnout A feeling of exhaustion that

may develop when someone experiences too much stress for an extended period of time.

Stress ManagementStrategies for Individuals

Regular Exercise Reduces tension and stress, and improves

self-confidence and feelings of optimism. Relaxation

Allows individuals to adapt and deal with their stress.

Time Management Reduces stress by prioritizing activities to

accomplish them in their order of importance. Support Groups

Socializing away from work reduces stress.

Stress Management and Organizations

Arguments for helping employees cope with stress: Organizations are partly responsible for

employee stress. Organizations bear the costs of stress-

related insurance claims. Employees are more productive when

organizational wellness/stress management programs are used to promote healthy employee activities that reduce stress.

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.

Creativity in Organizations (cont’d)

The Creative Individual 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.

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 conscious concentration during which knowledge and ideas acquired during preparation mature and develop.

Incubation can be helped by pauses in rational thought.

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.

The Creative Process (cont’d)

Enhancing Creativity in Organizations Make creativity part of the

organization’s culture. Set goals for revenues

from creative productsand services.

Reward creative success; refrain from punishing creative failures—some ideas work out as expected, others don’t.

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.

Types of Workplace Behavior (cont’d)

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 work-related or personal reasons.

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.

Types of Workplace Behavior (cont’d)

Dysfunctional Behaviors Behaviors that detract from, rather than

contribute to, organizational performance.

Absenteeism and turnover Theft and sabotage Sexual and racial harassment Politicized behavior Intentionally misleading others Spreading malicious rumors Workplace violence