11 - Individual Differences.docx

Chapter 11: Managing Individual Differences & Behavior: Supervising Ppl as People Leading: motivating, directing, & o/w influencing ppl to work hard to achieve the organization?s goals Organization Formal: Goals, Policies, Hierarchy, Structure Informal: Values, Attitudes, Personalities, Perceptions, Conflicts, Culture Organizational Behavior: Trying to Explain & Predict Workplace Behavior Organizational Behavior (OB): dedicated to better understanding & mgt of ppl at work Individual Behavior Group Behavior Values: Are Your Consistent Beliefs & Feelings about ALL things? Values: abstract ideals that guide one?s thinking & behavior across all situations Attitudes: What are your Consistent Beliefs & Feelings About Specific Things? Attitude: learned predisposition toward a given object 3 Components of Attitudes Affective: ?I feel,? feelings or emotions one has about a situation Cognitive: ?I believe,? beliefs & knowledge one has about a situation Behavioral: ?I intend,? how one intends or expects to behave toward a situation When Attitudes & Reality Collide: Consistency & Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive Dissonance: psychological discomfort a person experiences b/t his/her cognitive attitude & incompatible behavior Importance: how important are the elements creating dissonance? Control: how much control does one have over the matters that create dissonance? Rewards: what rewards are at stake in the dissonance? Main Ways to Reduce Cognitive Dissonance: Change your attitude and/or behavior. Belittle the importance of the inconsistent behavior. Find constant elements that outweigh the dissonant ones. Behavior: Values & Attitudes Affect Ppl?s Actions & Judgments Behavior: actions/judgments Attitudes affect behavior. Work-Related Attitudes Job Satisfaction: extent to which you feel positively/negatively about various aspects of your work. Job Involvement: extent to which you identify or are personally involved w/ your job. Organizational Commitment: extent to which an employee identifies w/ an organization & is committed to its goals. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: employee behaviors that are not directly part of employees? job descriptions ? that exceed their work-role requirements. Important Workplace Behaviors Evaluating Behavior when Employees are Working: performance & productivity Evaluating Behavior when Employees are NOT Working Absenteeism: when an employee doesn?t show up for work Turnover: when employees leave their jobs Personality: stable psychological traits & behavioral attributes that give a person his/her identity Big Five Personality Dimensions Openness to Experience: How intellectual, imaginative, curious, & broad-minded one is Conscientiousness: How dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, & persistent one is Extroversion: How outgoing, talkative, sociable, & assertive one is Agreeableness: How trusting, good-natured, cooperative & soft-hearted one is Neuroticism (Emotional Stability): How relaxed , secure, & unworried one is Do personality tests work for the workplace? Extroversion (outgoing): associated w/ success for managers & salesppl; stronger predictor of job performance than agreeableness Conscientiousness (dependable): strongest positive correlation w/ job performance Use professionals. Don?t hire on the basis of personality test results alone. Be alert for gender, racial, & ethnic bias. Graphology tests do NOT work, but integrity tests do. Proactive Personality: someone who?s more apt to take initiative & persevere to influence environment Five Traits Important in Organizations Locus of Control: ?I Am/Am not the Captain of my Fate? Locus of Control: indicates how much ppl believe they can control their fate through their own efforts Different degrees of structure & compliance for each type Different reward systems for each type. Self-Efficacy: ?I can/can?t do this task? Self-Efficacy: belief in one?s personal ability to do a task Learned helplessness: debilitating lack of faith in one?s ability to control one?s environment Job assignments: complex, challenging, & autonomous jobs enhance self-efficacy Developing self-efficacy Self-Esteem: ?I like/dislike myself? Self-Esteem: extent to which ppl like/dislike themselves, their overall self-evaluation Ppl w/ HIGH self-esteem: handle failure better, emphasize positive, take more risks, choose unconventional, but egotistical & boastful Ppl w/ LOW self-esteem: focus on weakness, negative thoughts, dependent on others How to Boost Self-Esteem: Reinforce employee?s positive attributes/skills. Provide positive feedback whenever possible. Break larger projects into smaller tasks & projects. Express confidence in employees? abilities to complete their tasks. Provide coaching whenever employees are seen to be struggling to complete tasks. Self-Monitoring: ?I?m fairly able/unable to adapt my behavior to others? Self-Monitoring: extent to which ppl are able to observe their own behavior & adapt it to external situations Emotional Intelligence: ?I?m pretty good/not good at empathizing w/ others & being self-motivated? Emotional Intelligence: ability to cope, empathize w/ others & be self-motivated Traits: Self-Awareness: essential; ability to read your own emotions & gauge moods accurately Self-Management: ability to control emotions & act w/ honesty/integrity in reliable/adaptive ways Social Awareness: empathy, showing others that you care, & organizational intuition to understand Relationship Management: ability to communicate clearly & convincingly, disarm conflicts, & build strong personal bonds Perception & Individual Behavior Perception: process of interpreting & understanding one?s environment Four Steps in Perceptual Process Selective Attention: Did I notice something? Interpretation & Evaluation: What was it I noticed & what does it mean? Storing in Memory: Remember it as an event, concept, person, or all 3? Retrieving from Memory to Make Judgments & Decisions: What do I recall about that? Four Distortions in Perception Selective Perception: tendency to filter out info that?s discomforting, seems irrelevant, or contradicts one?s beliefs Stereotyping: tendency to attribute to an individual characteristics one believes are typical of group Sex-Role Stereotypes: belief that differing traits/abilities make males/females particularly well suited to different roles Age Stereotypes: depict older workers as less involved in work, less satisfied, less motivated, & less committed than younger workers (opposite in fact) Race/Ethnicity Stereotype Halo Effect: form an impression of an individual based on a single trait Causal Attribution: activity of inferring causes for observed behavior Fundamental Attribution Bias: ppl attribute another person?s behavior to his/her personal characteristics rather than to situational factors Self-Serving Bias: ppl tend to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, or Pygmalion Effect Self-fulfilling Prophecy: phenomenon in which ppl?s expectations of themselves or others lead them to behave in ways that make those expectations come true What?s Stress? Stress: tension ppl feel when they?re facing or enduring extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities & are uncertain about their ability to handle them effectively Stressor: source of stress Sources of Job-Related Stress Demands created by individual differences: stress created by PERSONALITY Type A Behavior Pattern: involved in chronic, determined struggle to accomplish more in less time Individual Task Demands: stress created by JOB Individual Role Demands: stress created by OTHERS? EXPECTATIONS OF YOU Role: set of behaviors that ppl expect of occupants of a position Role Overload: expectations exceed one?s ability Role Conflict: one feels torn by different expectations of important ppl in life Role Ambiguity: others? expectations are unknown Group Demands: stress created by CO-WORKERS & MANAGERS Organizational Demands: stress created by the ENVIRONMENT & CULTURE Nonwork Demands: stress created by FORCES OUTSIDE the organization Consequences of Stress Symptoms of Stress Physiological: aches, sweat? Psychological: boredom, irritable, nervous, depressed? Behavioral: sleepless, eating habits, smoke/drug abuse Burnout: state of emotional, mental, & even physical exhaustion Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse Reducing Stress in Organization Buffer: administrative change that managers can make to reduce stressors that lead to employee burnout Create a supportive organizational climate. Make jobs interesting. Make career counseling available.