MGT 201: Principles of Management

Chapter 13
Foundations of Behavior

Farzana Chowdhury SPRING 2012

Objectives
Why look at Individual Behavior?
Focus of Organizational Behavior (OB) Goals of OB Five important employee behaviors

Attitudes
Components of attitude Job satisfaction What affect does job satisfaction have on employee behavior? Satisfaction and productivity Satisfaction and absenteeism Satisfaction and turn-over Job satisfaction and customer satisfaction Job involvement Organizational commitment

Objectives
Attitudes (Contd)
Perceived organizational support Attitudes and consistency Attitude surveys Implication for managers

Personality
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) The Big Five Model Additional Personality Insights Emotional Intelligence Personality types in different cultures Implication for Managers

Objectives
Perception
Factors that influence perception Shortcuts used in judging others Implication for managers

Learning
Shaping Implication for Managers

Why look at Individual Behavior?

Organizational Behavior (OB)
Actions of people at work OB addresses issues that arent obvious OB is like an iceberg. It has visible dimensions and much larger hidden portions OB provides managers with considerable insights into these important but hidden aspects of organization

Focus of OB
Individual behavior attitudes, personality, perception, learning and motivation Group behavior norms, roles, team-building, leadership and conflict Individuals in a group setting behave differently from individuals acting alone

Why look at Individual Behavior?

Organization as an iceberg

Why look at Individual Behavior?

Goals of OB
To explain, predict and influence behavior Managers need to do this to manage their employees behavior Managers success depends on getting things done through people To do this, managers need to be able to Explain why employees engage in some behavior Predict how employees will respond to various actions taken Influence how employee behave

Why look at Individual Behavior?

Five important employee behaviors
Managers are specifically concerned about five important employee behaviors Employee productivity a performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness. Managers want to know what will influence efficiency and effectiveness Absenteeism the failure to report to work Difficult to get things done if employees do not show up Can never be eliminated but excessive level will have direct impact on organizations functioning Turn-over the voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an organization Can become a problem with increased recruiting, selection, training cost and work disruption Can never be eliminated but something managers want to minimize Organization wants to keep high performing employees

Why look at Individual Behavior?

Five important employee behaviors (Contd)
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) discretionary behavior that is not part of an employees formal job requirement but which promotes the effective functioning of the organization Eg. Helping others in the team, volunteering in the extended job activities, avoid unnecessary conflicts, make constructive suggestions about work-group Organizations need employees who will do more than their job duties Organizations with such employees will outperform Job Satisfaction an employees general attitude toward his/her job It is an attitude rather than a behavior It is an outcome that concerns managers because satisfied employees are more likely to show up for work and stay with the organization

Why look at Individual Behavior?

Psychological factors affecting employee behavior

Attitudes Personality Perception Learning

Employee Productivity Absenteeism Turnover Organizational Citizenship Job Satisfaction

Attitudes
Attitudes
Evaluative statements either favorable or unfavorable concerning objects, people or events Reflects how an individual feels about something Components of Attitude Cognitive component the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a person Affective component the emotional or feeling part of an attitude Behavioral component the intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something Managers are especially interested job-related attitudes an employee have. Three most widely known Job satisfaction Job involvement Organizational commitment

Attitudes
Job Satisfaction
A persons general attitude towards his/her job A person with high level of job satisfaction have positive attitude toward his/her job

What affect does job satisfaction have on employee behavior?

Satisfaction and Productivity As a result of the Hawthorne Studies, managers generalized employees satisfied with their jobs would translate to working hard this belief is false Individual level research suggests reverse productivity more likely lead to satisfaction Organizational level research shows more support for the satisfactionproductivity relationship Organizations with more satisfied employees tend to be more effective We may not be able to say a happy worker is more productive but it might be true happy organizations are more productive

Attitudes
What affect does job satisfaction have on employee behavior? (Contd)
Satisfaction and Absenteeism Although research shows satisfied employees have lower level of absenteeism than dissatisfied employees however, the core relation isnt that strong. Other factors have an impact on the relationship Organizations that provide liberal sick-leave benefits are encouraging their employees (including highly satisfied ones) to take sick days Satisfaction and Turn-over Research shows relationship between satisfaction and turn-over is much stronger Satisfied employees have low level of turn-over Employees decision to leave also depends on labor market conditions, expectations about alternative job opportunities, length of employment etc.. For superior performers the level of satisfaction is less important in predicting turn-over. Because, organizations typically does everything it can to keep high performers pay raise, recognition, promotion, etc.

Attitudes
Job satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction
For front-line employees who have regular contact with customers satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction Satisfied employees are more likely to be friendly, up-beat, responsive and less likely to leave their job as such, customers are more likely to encounter familiar faces and receive experienced service this helps build customer satisfaction and loyalty

Job involvement
The degree to which an employee identifies with his/her job, actively participates in it and considers his/her job to be important to self-worth Employees with high level of job involvement strongly identify with and really care about the kind of work they do Influence of job involvement on employee behavior high levels have been found to be related to fewer absences and lower resignation rates

Attitudes
Organizational Commitment
An employees orientation towards the organization in terms of his/her loyalty to, identification with, and involvement in the organization Job involvement identifies with your job, organizational commitment is identifying with your employing organization Organizational commitment leads to lower level of absenteeism and turnover Better indicator of turn-over than job-satisfaction Employee-employer relationship has changed considerably the notion of an employee staying with a single organization for most of his/her career has become increasingly obsolete

Perceived Organizational Support

Employees general belief that their organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being shows that the commitment of the organization to the employee can be beneficial how? high level of perceived organizational support have been shown to lead to increased job satisfaction and lowered turn-over

Attitudes
Attitude and Consistency
People seek consistency in two ways Consistency among their attitudes Consistency between their attitudes and behaviors If there is inconsistency, in order to achieve consistency, individuals Alter their attitudes Alter their behavior Develop a rational for the inconsistency

Attitude Surveys
A instrument/document that presents employees with a set of statements or questions eliciting how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, or their organization. Provide management with feedback on employee perceptions of the organization and their jobs.

Sample Attitude Survey

Source: Based on T. Lammers, The Essential Employee Survey, Inc., December 1992, pp. 159161.

Attitudes
Implication for Managers
Attitudes warn of potential behavioral problems: Managers should do things that generate the positive attitudes that reduce absenteeism and turnover. Attitudes influence behaviors of employees: Managers should focus on helping employees become more productive to increase job satisfaction. Employees will try to reduce dissonance unless: Managers identify the external sources of dissonance. Managers provide rewards compensating for the dissonance.

Personality
Personality
The unique combination of psychological characteristics that affect how a person reacts and interacts with others We are interested in personality because, just like attitudes, it too affects how and why people behave the way they do Two approaches to classify personality traits have received most attention Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) The Big Five Model

MBTI
A general personality assessment tool that measures the personality of an individual using four dimensions: Social interaction: Extrovert or Introvert (E or I) Preference for gathering data: Sensing or Intuitive (S or N) Preference for decision making: Feeling or Thinking (F or T) Style of decision making: Perceptive or Judgmental (P or J) Combining these preferences provides a description of 16 personality types

Example of MBTI Personality Types

Type
INFJ (introvert, intuitive, feeling, judgmental)

Description
Quietly forceful, conscientious, and concerned for others. Such people succeed by perseverance, originality, and the desire to do whatever is needed or wanted. They are often highly respected for their uncompromising principles. Blunt and sometimes insensitive. Such people are matter-of-fact and matter-ofdo not worry or hurry. They enjoy whatever comes along. They work best with real things that can be assembled or disassembled. Sensitive, kind, modest, shy, and quietly friendly. Such people strongly dislike disagreements and will avoid them. They are loyal followers and quite often are relaxed about getting things done. Warm, friendly, candid, and decisive; also usually skilled in anything that requires reasoning and intelligent talk, but may sometimes overestimate what they are capable of doing.

ESTP (extrovert, sensing, thinking, perceptive)

ISFP (introvert, sensing, feeling, perceptive)

ENTJ (extrovert, intuitive, thinking, judgmental)

Source: Based on I. Briggs-Myers, Introduction to Type (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1980), pp. 78.

Personality
MBTI (Contd)
Organizations using MBTI include Apple, AT&T, Citigroup, GE, 3M and many hospitals and educational institutions, the US Armed Force However, there is no hard evidence to support the validity of MBTI How could MBTI help managers? Proponents of the assessment believe it is important to know these personality types because they influence the way people interact and solve problems MBTI has been used to help managers select employees who are well matched to certain types of jobs

Personality
The Big Five Model
A five-factor model that encompass most of the significant variations in human personality The five personality traits in the Big Five Model are: Extraversion: Sociable, talkative, and assertive Agreeableness: Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting Conscientiousness: Responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented predicts job performance in a number of jobs Emotional Stability: Calm, enthusiastic, and secure or tense, nervous, and insecure Openness to Experience: Imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual More than just a personality framework research has shown important relationship exist between these personality dimensions and job performance

Personality
Additional Personality Insights
Researchers have identified five other personality traits that have proved to be powerful in explaining individual behavior in organizations Locus of Control Internal locus: persons who believe that they control their own destiny. External locus: persons who believe that what happens to them is due to luck or chance (the uncontrollable effects of outside forces). less satisfied and involved with their jobs More alienated from the work setting Machiavellianism (Mach) The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and seeks to gain and manipulate power ends can justify means. Are productive in jobs that require bargaining and have high rewards for success

Personality
Additional Personality Insights (Contd)
Self Esteem (SE) The degree to which people like or dislike themselves High SEs Believe in themselves and expect success. Take more risks and use unconventional approaches. Are more satisfied with their jobs than Low SEs. Low SEs Are more susceptible to external influences. Depend on positive evaluations from others. Are more prone to conform than high SEs.

Personality
Additional Personality Insights (Contd)
Self Monitoring An individuals ability to adjust behavior to external, situational factors. High self-monitors: Are sensitive to external cues and behave differently in different situations. Can present contradictory public persona and private selves impression management. Low self-monitors Do not adjust their behavior to the situation. Are behaviorally consistent in public and private. Risk Taking The propensity (or willingness) to take risks - High risk-takers take less time and require less information than low risk-takers when making a decision. Organizational effectiveness is maximized when the risk-taking propensity of a manager is aligned with the specific demands of the job assigned to the manager.

Personality
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
One area of emotions research that has offered new insights into personality is EI. Assortment of noncognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influence a persons ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures Five dimensions of EI self-awareness - aware of what youre feeling self-management - ability to manage ones emotions self-motivation - persistence in the face of setbacks empathy - ability to sense how others are feeling social skills - ability to handle the emotions of others EI related to performance at all organizational levels especially relevant to performance in jobs requiring social interaction

Personality
Personality Types in Different Cultures
a countrys culture can influence dominant personality characteristics of its people e.g., national cultures differ in the strength of locus of control

Implication for Managers

Understanding personality difference is needed in employee selection Managers will have high-performing and more satisfied employees if consideration is given to matching personalities with job Best documented Personality-Jobfit Theory was developed by psychologists John Holland An employees job satisfaction and likelihood of turn-over depends on the compatibility of the employees personality and occupation Key points of the theory: There are differences in personalities There are different types of jobs Job satisfaction and turn-over are related to the match between personality and job for an individual

Hollands Typology of Personality and Sample Occupations

Source: Based on J. L. Holland, Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments (Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, 1997).

Perception
Perception
A process by which individuals give meaning (reality) to their environment by organizing and interpreting their sensory impressions We interpret what we see and call it reality We behave according to our perception

Perception
Factors that influence Perception
The perceiver: individuals personal characteristics will heavily influence the interpretation attitudes, personality, interest, motives, biases, etc. The target: characteristics of the target distinctiveness, contrast, similarity The situation: the context in which the object is seen time, location, light, color, other situational factors draw attention or distract from the target

Shortcuts used in judging others

Assumed similarity: Assuming that others are more like us than they actually are. Stereotyping: Judging someone on the basis of our perception of a group he or she is a part of. Halo effect: Forming a general impression of a person on the basis of a single characteristic of that person

Implication for managers

Employees react to perceptions (not to reality) Pay close attention to how employees perceive their jobs and mgt actions

Learning
Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience. Almost all complex behavior is learned. Learning is a continuous, life-long process. The principles of learning can be used to shape behavior

Shaping Behavior
Attempting to mold individuals by guiding their learning in graduated steps such that they learn to behave in ways that most benefit the organization. Shaping methods Positive reinforcement desired response is followed by something pleasant Negative reinforcement desired response followed by eliminating or withdrawing something unpleasant Punishment undesirable behavior followed by something unpleasant Extinction no rewards for undesired response

Learning
Implication for Managers
Manage employee learning by means of rewards A positive or negative reinforcement strengthen a desired behavior tend to increase its frequency punishment and extinction weaken an undesired behavior tend to decrease its frequency managers should serve as models set examples of the desired behavior