MANA EXAM 2 Review Guide

E-Stress

"E-Stress" typically refers to the electronic or digital stress associated with the rapid pace of technological advancements. It encompasses the challenges and pressures employees face due to constant connectivity, information overload, and the need to adapt to new digital tools and platforms. E-Stress can impact productivity, work-life balance, and overall well-being. In business management, addressing E-Stress involves strategies like digital detox programs, time management training, and fostering a culture of work-life balance to ensure that employees can effectively harness technology's benefits without being overwhelmed by its demands.

Zoom Fatigue

"Zoom fatigue" refers to the mental and physical exhaustion resulting from prolonged use of video conferencing tools like Zoom for virtual meetings and collaboration. It stems from factors such as constant screen engagement, reduced non-verbal cues, and the cognitive effort required to process information in a virtual setting. In business management, addressing Zoom fatigue is essential, as it can impact employee engagement, attention, and overall well-being. Strategies may include scheduling shorter and more focused virtual meetings, encouraging breaks between sessions, and promoting alternative communication methods when appropriate, like phone calls or asynchronous collaboration tools.

Tuckman's 5-Stage Model of Team Development

1. Forming - little agreement, Unclear purpose, Guidance and direction. 2. Storming - Conflict, Increased clarity of purpose, Power struggles, Coaching. 3. Norming - Agreement and consensus, Clear roles and responsibilities, Facilitation. 4. Performing - Clear vison and purpose, Focus on goal achievement, Delegation. 5. Adjourning - Task Completion goof feelings about achievements recognition.

Groups versus Teams

1. Group Teams Emphasize Individual leadership, Personal Accountability, and exclusive work products. 2. Work Teams Emphasize shared leadership, mutual accountability and collective work products.

Task Functions

1. Initiating activities 2. Seeking information 3. Giving information 4. Elaborating concepts 5. Coordinating activities 6. Summarizing ideas 7. Testing ideas 8. Evaluating effectiveness 9. Diagnosing problems Task functions are those activities directly related to the effective completion of the team's work. For example, the task of initiating activity involves suggesting ideas, defining problems, and proposing approaches and/or solutions to problems.

Organizational Stress Prevention

1. Job redesign 2. Goal setting 3. Role negotiation 4. Social support systems

Aspects of Group Behavior

1. Norms of Behavior 2. Group Cohesion 3. Social Loafing 4. Loss of individuality

Psychological Intimacy, Integrated Involvement (and their difference)

1. Psychological intimacy is the emotional and psychological closeness to other team or group members. Failure to attain psychological intimacy may result in feelings of emotional isolation and loneliness. Psychological intimacy is important for emotional health and well-being, but it does not have to be obtained in the workplace. 2. Integrated involvement is closeness achieved through tasks and activities. It results in the enjoyment of work, social identity, and self-definition, being valued for one's skills and abilities, opportunities for power and influence, conditional positive regard, and support for one's beliefs and values. Failure to achieve integrated involvement may result in social isolation. 3. (The difference) Psychological intimacy is based more on emotion, while integrated involvement is based on behavior and activity. Integrated involvement contributes to social and psychological health and well-being.

1. Norms of Behavior 2. Group Cohesion

1. The standards that a workgroup uses to evaluate the behavior of its members are its norms of behavior. The norms may be written or unwritten, verbalized or not verbalized, implicit or explicit. As long as everyone understands it norms can be effective. 2. The Interpersonal glue that makes the members of a group stick together is Group Cohesion. Group Cohesion can enhance job satisfaction for members and improve organizational productivity. Highly Cohesive groups are able to manage their membership better than work groups low in cohesion. In addition to improved performance, highly cohesive groups can lead to the maintenance of close relationships among the members.

3. Social Loafing 4. Loss of individuality

3. Social Loafing occurs when one group member comes to rely on the efforts of other group members and fails to contribute her own time, effort, thoughts, or other resources to a group. Some scholars argue that social loafing also known as free riding is a rational response to feelings of inequality or situations in which individuals' efforts are hard to observe. One method for countering social loafing is a member self-evaluation system. If members must formally review their contributions to the group, they are less likely to loaf. 4. Loss of individuality is a social process through which group members lose self-awareness and its accompanying sense of accountability, inhibition, and responsibility for individual behavior. People may engage in morally reprehensible acts and even violent behavior as committed members of their group or organizations when their individuality is lost. Loss of individuality is not always negative or destructive. the loosening of normal ego control mechanisms in the individual sometimes leads to prosocial behavior and even heroic acts in dangerous situations

Group Formation and Development

A group addresses three issues, Interpersonal issues, task issues, and authority issues. 1. The interpersonal issues include matters of trust, personal comfort, and security. Trust in particular is a key issue for any company in its working relationships. 2. The Task issues induce the mission or purpose of the group the methods the group employs, and the outcomes expected of the group. 3. The authority issues include decisions about who is in charge, how power and influence are managed, and who has the right to tell whom to do what.

Team Functions

An effective group or team carries out various task functions to perform its work successfully and various maintenance functions to ensure member satisfaction and a sense of team spirit.

Individual Distress

An extreme preoccupation with work may result in acute individual distress. In its most extreme form, individual distress can lead to a phenomenon described by the Japanese word karoshi, or death by overwork. The most common symptoms of psychological distress are depression, burnout, and psychosomatic disorders—physical ailments with psychological origins. These psychological distresses usually lead to emotional exhaustion, a form of psychological fatigue caused by energy depletion

behavioral problems

Behavioral problems are another form of individual distress. These problems include workplace aggression, insomnia, substance abuse, and accidents. Workplace aggression may be triggered by perceptions of injustice in the workplace. interpersonal conflicts can be a form of nonphysical aggression. Insomnia is a nonaggressive behavioral problem that does have harmful effects on work outcomes such as job satisfaction, interpersonal deviance, and self-control.

Burnout

Burnout is a psychological response to job stress that Christina Maslach characterizes along three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced perceptions of personal accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion is at the heart of the burnout experience. The conventional belief is that emotional drain leads to reduced job performance, creating a direct link between burnout and performance.

rust-out

Burnout is not the same as rust-out, which is a form of psychological distress caused by a lack of challenge, inspiration, and/or opportunity on the job. For example, a fast-food line cook who has flipped burgers at minimum wage for three years may experience rust-out for all the previously mentioned reasons, resulting in apathy, resentment, and diminished performance.

physical demands

Business management involves various physical demands that can vary based on roles and industries. Managers often face long hours, extensive desk work, and the need to travel, which can lead to fatigue and stress-related physical issues. Meetings, presentations, and networking events require sustained focus and socializing, sometimes causing physical strain. Some managers may also deal with manual labor or emergency responses. To thrive in this role, managers should prioritize health and wellness, maintain physical stamina, and implement stress management techniques while considering ergonomic workspace solutions.

Chapter 7: Stress and Well-Being at Work

Chapter 7

Counterdependence

Counterdependence is an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior that leads to separation in relationships with other people. When faced with stressful and threatening situations, counterdependent people withdraw. Counterdependence may be characterized as a rigid, dismissing denial of the need for other people in difficult and stressful times.

Creativity

Creativity is often thought of in an individual context rather than a team context. However, there is such a thing as team creativity. thinks differently and suggests that team creativity and divergent thinking can be enhanced through greater diversity in teams, electronic brainstorming, training facilitators, membership change in teams, and building a playground. Human capital diversity in teams can be a source of team social capital, which has the potential to enhance the level of team creativity through increased access to a variety of individuals with varying knowledge and experiences.

Remote Teams

Definition: Remote teams are similar to virtual teams but specifically refer to teams where all members work from remote locations, such as home offices, rather than a central office. Example: A remote customer support team provides assistance to customers from their respective home offices, using online helpdesk software and communication tools to coordinate their work.

Self-Managed Teams

Definition: Self-managed teams are groups of employees who have the autonomy to make decisions about their work processes and are collectively responsible for achieving their goals. Example: A self-managed manufacturing team in an automotive plant is responsible for scheduling, quality control, and problem-solving within their production line

Team Cohesiveness

Definition: Team cohesiveness is the extent to which team members feel connected, committed to team goals, and work well together. Example: A highly cohesive sales team consistently meets or exceeds sales targets due to strong collaboration and mutual support among team members.

Team Roles

Definition: Team roles refer to the specific responsibilities and functions that individuals within a team are assigned to ensure the successful completion of tasks and achievement of team goals. Example: In a marketing team, team roles might include a content creator, a social media manager, a data analyst, and a project manager. Each member has a distinct role in the marketing campaign.

Team Size

Definition: Team size refers to the number of individuals in a team. The ideal team size can vary depending on the nature of the project or task. Example: A software development team might consist of 5-7 members for a small project, but for a complex project, it could expand to 15-20 members to cover various aspects.

Team Status and Power

Definition: Team status relates to a team member's position or importance within the team. Power refers to the ability to influence decisions or outcomes within the team. Example: In a cross-functional project team, the team leader may hold a higher status due to their leadership role, while a subject matter expert might have power based on their expertise and influence over specific decisions.

Team Types

Definition: Team types refer to different forms of teams within an organization, each with its unique characteristics and purposes. Example: In a large corporation, you might have different team types, such as project teams focused on short-term objectives, self-managed teams responsible for specific departmental tasks, and cross-functional teams formed to tackle complex, company-wide initiatives.

Virtual Teams

Definition: Virtual teams consist of members who work from different locations and rely on digital communication tools to collaborate and achieve common objectives. Example: A virtual project team might include developers from India, designers from Europe, and project managers from the United States, working together on a software development project using online collaboration tools.

Depersonalization

Depersonalization, refers to a psychological state where individuals detach themselves emotionally from their work or the people they interact with in a professional setting. It often accompanies burnout and is characterized by a sense of cynicism, indifference, and reduced empathy toward colleagues, clients, or tasks. In business management, depersonalization can lead to strained relationships, decreased customer satisfaction, and lower team cohesion. Addressing depersonalization involves recognizing its signs, implementing stress-reduction strategies, and fostering a supportive work environment to promote employee well-being and maintain positive interpersonal dynamics within the organization.

Models of Team Development

Different models of team development but on we will focus on is Tuckman's 5- stage model.

Diversity in Teams

Diversity also plays a large role in how effective work groups and teams are. Diversity in a group is healthy, and members may contribute to the collective effort through one of four basic styles: the contributor, the collaborator, the communicator, or the challenger.

Emotional Exhaustion

Emotional exhaustion, a key concept refers to a state of mental and physical fatigue resulting from prolonged exposure to high levels of stress and emotional demands in the workplace. It's a core component of burnout syndrome and can severely impact employee well-being and job performance. In business management, recognizing and addressing emotional exhaustion is vital. Strategies may include promoting work-life balance, providing emotional support, and fostering a positive workplace culture to prevent burnout, enhance employee engagement, and ensure sustainable organizational success. This understanding is crucial for effective leadership and talent management within modern businesses.

Empowerment Skills

Empowerment through employee self-management is an alternative to empowerment through teamwork. Whether through self-management or teamwork, empowerment requires the development of certain skills if it is to be enacted effectively. Competence skills are the first set of skills required for empowerment. Mastery and experience in one's chosen discipline and profession provide an essential foundation for empowerment. Empowerment also requires certain process skills. The most critical process skills include negotiating skills, especially with allies, opponents, and adversaries. Allies are the easiest people to negotiate with because they agree with you about the team's mission and you can trust their actions and behavior. Communication skills are a final set of essential empowerment skills. These skills include self-expression skills and skills in reflective listening. Empowerment cannot occur in a team unless members are able to express themselves in emotionally intelligent ways as well as listen carefully to one another.

Types of stress; Eustress vs. Distress

Eustress and distress are two types of stress in business management. Eustress is positive stress that motivates and energizes employees, enhancing performance and creativity. It arises from challenging tasks, opportunities for growth, and a supportive work environment. In contrast, distress is negative stress that can harm employee well-being and productivity. It results from factors like excessive workload, poor management, or job insecurity. Effective business leaders strive to create an environment that fosters eustress while minimizing distress to ensure a healthy and productive workforce.

positive stress

Hence, world-class athletes and managers get high marks on any stress test because they use stress-induced energy in positive, healthy, and productive ways. An organization striving for high-quality products and services needs a healthy workforce to support the effort. Eustress is a characteristic of healthy people; distress is not.

NONWORK DEMANDS

Home Demands - Family expectations Child-rearing/daycare arrangements Parental care Personal Demands - Civic and volunteer work Traumatic events

Approaches to stress

Homeostatic, Cognitive Appraisal. Person-Environment Fit, Psychoanalytic.

Homeostatic, Cognitive Appraisal.

In Cannon's homeostatic/medical approach, stress occurs when deep emotions or environmental demands upset an individual's natural SteadyState balance, what he calls homeostasis. Cannon believed the body was designed with natural defense mechanisms to keep it in homeostasis. He was especially interested in the role of the sympathetic nervous system in activating a person under stressful conditions. Richard Lazarus was more concerned with the psychology of stress, emphasizing the psychological and cognitive aspects of the stress response in his cognitive appraisal approach. he emphasized the individual's cognitive appraisal in classifying persons or events as stressful or not. When appraising stressful workplace events, an important distinction can be made between "hindrance" and "threat" stressors. Whereas hindrance stressors tend to block goal achievement, threat stressors pose immediate personal harm or loss.

Soical Support

In a college-level business management course, social support refers to the network of relationships and resources that individuals within an organization can access for emotional, informational, or instrumental assistance. Social support is essential as it can enhance employee well-being, job satisfaction, and overall performance. It includes elements like mentorship programs, peer networks, and a positive workplace culture that encourages collaboration and mutual assistance. Business managers recognize the significance of fostering social support systems to promote teamwork, reduce stress, and improve employee engagement, ultimately contributing to the success and resilience of the organization in a competitive business environment.

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary

In a college-level business management course, the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary sectors are fundamental concepts in understanding the structure of an economy and its impact on business operations. 1. Primary Sector: This sector involves activities related to natural resource extraction, such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining. Businesses in this sector deal directly with raw materials or natural resources. 2. Secondary Sector: The secondary sector comprises manufacturing and industrial activities. It involves transforming raw materials from the primary sector into finished products. Examples include manufacturing plants, factories, and construction companies. 3. Tertiary Sector: The tertiary sector, also known as the service sector, encompasses businesses that provide services rather than physical products. This sector includes industries such as retail, healthcare, education, finance, hospitality, and technology services. Understanding these sectors is crucial for business managers as it informs market analysis, strategic planning, and decision-making processes within various industries.

Types of Well-Being

In a college-level business management course, well-being is often categorized into various dimensions: 1. **Physical Well-Being:** This dimension focuses on employees' physical health and fitness. It includes initiatives related to exercise, nutrition, and workplace safety to ensure employees are healthy and free from work-related injuries. 2. **Mental and Emotional Well-Being:** Mental health initiatives, stress management programs, and emotional support systems are essential components. Promoting emotional intelligence and resilience helps employees cope with workplace stressors. 3. **Social Well-Being:** This dimension emphasizes creating a positive work environment where employees can build strong relationships and collaborate effectively. Team-building activities and a supportive workplace culture contribute to social well-being. 4. **Financial Well-Being:** Financial literacy programs and benefits like retirement plans and financial counseling support employees' financial stability, reducing financial stress. 5. **Career Well-Being:** Employee growth, development, and job satisfaction are central to career well-being. Providing opportunities for skill development and career advancement enhances this dimension. 6. **Community Well-Being:** Encouraging community involvement and corporate social responsibility initiatives align with this dimension, fostering a sense of purpose and community among employees. Understanding and addressing these dimensions of well-being is crucial for business managers in creating a holistic approach to employee health and satisfaction, ultimately benefiting both individuals and the organization.

Intra vs. Inter Role Conflict

In business management, role conflict can be categorized into intra-role conflict and inter-role conflict. Intra-role conflict arises when an individual encounters conflicting demands within a single role or position, often due to conflicting tasks or expectations. For example, a sales manager may struggle with conflicting demands from different clients. Inter-role conflict, on the other hand, occurs when demands from multiple roles or positions conflict with each other. For instance, an employee may find it challenging to balance the demands of their professional role with their responsibilities as a parent. Both types of role conflict can lead to stress and reduced effectiveness, requiring effective role management and clear communication to address.

Threat/Challenge vs. Hindrance Stressors

In the context of business management and organizational psychology, the concepts of Threat/Challenge Stressors and Hindrance Stressors relate to how various stressors impact employees and their performance. These concepts help managers and leaders understand and manage workplace stress. Here's a brief definition and example of each: 1. **Threat/Challenge Stressors**: - **Definition**: Threat and Challenge stressors both fall under the category of "Hindrance Stressors," but they have distinct impacts. Threat stressors are perceived as potentially harmful to one's well-being, while Challenge stressors are seen as opportunities for personal growth and achievement. - **Example of Threat Stressors**: An employee is assigned a high-stakes project with a tight deadline and inadequate resources. This is perceived as a threat stressor because the employee feels overwhelmed and believes the project might negatively impact their job security or well-being. - **Example of Challenge Stressors**: An employee is offered the opportunity to lead a challenging and important project. While the project is demanding, the employee perceives it as a chance to showcase their skills and advance in their career, which makes it a challenge stressor. 2. **Hindrance Stressors**: - **Definition**: Hindrance stressors are work-related stressors that hinder personal growth, goal attainment, and overall well-being. They are typically seen as obstacles that need to be overcome rather than opportunities. - **Example**: A common hindrance stressor in business is excessive administrative paperwork and bureaucratic procedures. Employees may find that the time spent on paperwork hinders their ability to focus on important tasks and achieve their goals. This stressor does not offer opportunities for growth or advancement. In business management, it's important to recognize the impact of stressors on employees and take steps to mitigate hindrance stressors and, where possible, reframe them as challenge stressors. This can help improve employee motivation, well-being, and overall performance.

Individual Differences in the Stress-Strain Relationship

Individual differences play a central role in the stress-strain relationship. The weak organ hypothesis in medicine, also known as the Achilles' heel phenomenon, suggests that a person breaks down at her weakest point. Individual differences, such as gender and Type A behavior pattern, enhance vulnerability to strain under stressful conditions. One study of personality and emotional performance found that individuals high on extraversion experienced elevated heart rates when asked to express personality-incongruent emotions such as anger and that neuroticism was more generally associated with increased heart rate and poor performance. Extraversion and neuroticism thus seem to affect the stress-strain relationship.

Interpersonal Demands

Interpersonal demands in business management refer to the stressors created by coworkers. They are one of the major categories of organizational stressors, along with physical demands, task demands, and role demands. Interpersonal demands can arise from a variety of situations, such as: Ongoing conflict with a co-worker with whom close collaboration is expected. Lack of social support in their roles. The need to work creatively with others, communicate clearly, collaborate, adapt to change, be flexible, interact effectively with diverse teams, guide and lead others, and be responsible. The amount of stress attributable to interpersonal demands may vary markedly by job and individual1. It's important for managers to balance two networks in their brains: the analytic network (AN) and the empathic network (EN). Managers need to understand their employees and their specific challenges and they need to relate to their feelings. Effective management of interpersonal demands can contribute to a healthier work environment and better organizational outcomes. It's crucial for businesses to ensure that work demands do not exceed workers' ability to cope.

Job Insecurity

Job insecurity refers to the perception or reality of employees feeling uncertain about the stability and continuity of their employment. This concern can stem from various factors such as economic downturns, organizational restructuring, or technological advancements that may render jobs obsolete. Job insecurity can significantly impact employee morale, productivity, and engagement, potentially leading to decreased organizational performance. It's a critical topic in business management as it requires effective leadership strategies like transparent communication, skill development, and creating a supportive work environment to mitigate its negative effects and maintain a motivated and committed workforce.

Maintenance functions

Maintenance functions are those activities essential to the effective, satisfying interpersonal relationships within a group or team. Following another group member's lead may be as important as being a leader. Communication gatekeepers within a group ensure balanced contributions from all members. Because task activities build tension within teams or groups, tension-reduction activities are important to drain off negative or destructive feelings. 1. Supporting others 2. Seeking information 3. Giving information 4. Elaborating concepts 5. Coordinating activities 6. Summarizing ideas 7. Testing ideas 8. Evaluating effectiveness 9. Diagnosing problems Maintenance functions enhance togetherness, cooperation, and teamwork, enabling members to achieve psychological intimacy while furthering the success of the team. Emotional competencies such as empathy and self-control are beneficial for maintaining group relationships.

Diversity at Upper Levels of Organizations

Most organizations report benefits from increased diversity. Leaders must develop communication strategies to bring together team members who are functionally, intellectually, demographically, and temperamentally diverse so that they can act in ways that complement one another. It is out of dissimilarity that strength is developed, and it is out of similarity that connections are built. Therefore, top management should strive for a balance of dissimilarity and similarity within work teams.

Benefits of teams

No one person in an organization can do everything by themselves. not only because of the limitations of arms, legs, and time but also expertise knowledge, and other resources. However, individual limitations can be overcome through teamwork and collaboration. 1. Teams with experience working together may produce valuable innovations. 2. Teams make the most significant contributions to organizations when members can put aside individual interests in favor of unity. 3. A well-matched team of individuals working on a common project or managing a particular aspect of a business can improve work quality, efficiency, and growth

Nonwork Demands

Nonwork demands are stressful, too, and can carry over into the work environment. Nonwork demands may broadly be identified as impositions from an individual's personal life environment (home) and self-imposed restrictions.

Personality Hardiness

People who have hardy personalities resist strain reactions when subjected to stressful events more effectively than do people who are not hardy. The components of personality hardiness are commitment, control, and challenge. Commitment is an engagement with one's environment that leads to the experience of activities as interesting and enjoyable. The hardy personality appears to use these three components actively to engage in transformational coping when faced with stressful events. Transformational coping is the active process of modifying one's perception of an event in order to reduce stress. This is accomplished by viewing the event in broader terms, by altering the course and outcome through action, and/or by achieving a greater understanding of the process. Hardy Commitment Control Challenge Not Hardy Alienation Powerlessness Threat

Preventing Stress

Preventing stress is paramount in college-level business management as it safeguards employee well-being and organizational performance. Strategies involve: 1. Workload Management: Distributing tasks efficiently and setting realistic goals to avoid overwhelming employees. 2. Communication: Open and transparent communication channels to address concerns and maintain clarity on expectations. 3. Work-Life Balance: Encouraging boundaries and promoting time off to support a healthy work-life equilibrium. 4. Skill Development: Providing training and resources to enhance employees' coping and problem-solving abilities. 5. Support Systems: Establishing a strong support network, including mentors and counseling services, to help employees navigate challenges. By implementing these measures, businesses can cultivate a less stressful, more productive, and sustainable work environment.

Goal Setting

Preventive stress management can also be achieved through goal-setting activities. These activities are designed to increase task motivation while reducing role conflict and ambiguity. Goal setting focuses a person's attention while directing energy into a productive channel. Implicit in much of the goal-setting literature is the assumption that people participate in determining their work goals.

Primary prevention

Primary prevention is intended to reduce, modify, or eliminate the stress-causing demand or stressor. The idea behind primary prevention is to eliminate or alleviate the source of a problem. True organizational stress prevention is largely primary in nature because it reduces the demands the organization places on the employee

Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is a critical concept for teams and the people that lead them. It's the belief that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. It's a shared expectation held by members of a team that teammates will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for sharing ideas, taking risks, or soliciting feedback. Especially in tumultuous times, managers and their teams increasingly depend on candor, speed, and creativity to make progress. Creating psychological safety — the confidence that candor and vulnerability are welcome — in a workplace is truly challenging and takes an unusual degree of commitment and skill. To create psychological safety in the workplace, one can: 1. Make clear why employees' voices matter. 2. Admit your own fallibility. 3. Actively invite participation. 4. Respond productively. 5. Embrace messengers of bad news. 6. Set boundaries. 7. Foster social connections. 8. Encourage self-care.

Dissimilarity

Recent research in diversity has focused on the effect of dissimilarity within a team. This issue is often studied in relation to social identity theory and self-categorization theory. Since creativity concerns new ideas, some amount of dissimilarity is necessary within a team in order for creativity, novelty, and innovation to blossom. dissimilarity may have positive or negative effects in teams and on team members. Racial dissimilarity may also impact the extent to which team members communicate with each other and develop a sense of group identity. While value dissimilarity may be positively related to task and relationship conflict, it is negatively related to team involvement.

Reduced Personal Accomplishment

Reduced Personal Accomplishment is a key concept in college-level business management, particularly within the context of burnout. It reflects a sense of inadequacy and diminished competence in one's work role. Individuals experiencing this component of burnout may feel that their efforts are unproductive or meaningless. In business management, recognizing reduced personal accomplishment is crucial as it can lead to decreased job satisfaction, lower motivation, and higher turnover rates among employees. Strategies to address this issue include providing opportunities for skill development, acknowledging and rewarding achievements, and promoting a positive work environment that fosters a sense of value and accomplishment among team members.

Person-Environment Fit, Psychoanalytic.

Robert Kahn was concerned with the social psychology of stress, so his person-environment fit approach emphasized the idea that confusing and conflicting expectations of a person in a social role create stress for that person. A good person-environment fit occurs when one's skills and abilities match a clearly defined, consistent set of role expectations. Stress occurs when the role expectations are confusing and/or conflict with one's skills and abilities. After a period of this type of stress, one can expect to experience symptoms of strain such as depression. Applying this psychoanalytic approach, Harry Levinson argued that two elements of the personality interact to cause stress. The first element is the ego ideal—the embodiment of a person's perfect self. The second element is the self-image—how the person really sees herself, both positively and negatively Stress results from the discrepancy between the idealized self (ego-ideal) and the real self-image; the greater the discrepancy, the more stress a person experiences.

Role Conflict

Role conflict in business management occurs when individuals experience conflicting expectations or demands from their various roles within an organization. This can happen when responsibilities, goals, or priorities of one role clash with those of another. It can lead to stress, reduced performance, and job dissatisfaction. For example, a manager may face conflict between their responsibilities to their team and their obligations to higher-level management. To mitigate role conflict, clear communication, role clarification, and proper delegation of responsibilities are essential. Effective management should aim to align roles and expectations to minimize conflicts and ensure employees can perform their duties effectively.

Role demands

Role demands in business refer to the expectations and responsibilities associated with a particular position or job within an organization. They are a dominant and pervasive source of stress for many individuals working in organizations. Role demands can be categorized into several types: Role Ambiguity: This occurs when employees are uncertain about their responsibilities, objectives, or expectations. Role Conflict: This happens when there are incompatible demands placed upon an employee, such that compliance with one would result in the failure to comply with the other. If employees perceive the demands of their roles as something they have little or no autonomy over, it can negatively impact the firm's well-being. Therefore, it's important for businesses to manage role demands effectively to maintain employee well-being and performance. In addition to role demands, there are also task and interpersonal demands that can vary markedly by job and individual1. For example, some roles may require high mental demands, physical demands, and emotional demands3. It's crucial for businesses to ensure that work demands do not exceed workers' ability to cope. Workers can usually cope with demanding work if it is not excessive if they are supported by supervisors and colleagues, and if they are given the right amount of autonomy.

Secondary prevention

Secondary prevention is intended to modify the individual's or the organization's response to a demand or stressor. Employees must learn to manage the inevitable, unalterable work stressors and demands to avert distress and strain while improving health and well-being

Personal Demands

Self-imposed personal demands are the second major category of nonwork demands. workaholism a form of addiction, may be the most notable of these stress-inducing demands. Some of the early warning signs of workaholism include over-commitment to work, inability to enjoy vacations and respites from work, preoccupation with work problems when away from the workplace, and insistence on working at home over weekends. Another type of personal demand comes from civic activities, volunteer work, and organizational commitments to religious or public service organizations. Not all traumatic events are as catastrophic as natural disasters, of course, but job loss, failed exams, and romantic break-ups are all traumatic and may lead to distress if not addressed and resolved.

Upper echelons

Self-managed teams at the top of the organization—top-level executive teams—are referred to as upper echelons. Organizations are often a reflection of these upper echelons. Upper echelon theory argues that the background characteristics of the top management team can predict organizational characteristics and set standards for values, competence, ethics, and unique characteristics throughout the organization.

Situational vs. Dispositional

Situational factors and dispositional factors play significant roles. Situational factors refer to external circumstances or environmental conditions that impact decision-making and behavior within an organization. These may include market conditions, industry trends, or competitive pressures. Dispositional factors, on the other hand, relate to individual traits, attitudes, and personality characteristics that influence how managers and employees respond to situations. Understanding the interplay between situational and dispositional factors is crucial for effective leadership and decision-making, as it helps identify when to adapt to changing circumstances and when to leverage individual strengths or address weaknesses in the pursuit of organizational goals.

Characteristics of Stress

Stress in business management is characterized by several key features. Firstly, it often stems from factors like tight deadlines, high workloads, and pressure to meet targets or goals. Secondly, it can manifest as physical symptoms like headaches or insomnia and may lead to emotional responses such as anxiety or irritability. Additionally, stress can affect decision-making, leading to errors or poor judgment. It tends to be contagious within teams, spreading if not managed effectively. Moreover, chronic stress can result in employee burnout, decreased morale, and increased absenteeism. Successful business management involves recognizing and addressing these stressors to maintain a healthy and productive workplace.

Why do we care about Stress?

Stress is a critical concern in business management because it significantly impacts both individuals and organizations. Excessive stress can lead to decreased employee morale, productivity, and engagement, resulting in higher turnover rates and reduced profitability. Moreover, it can lead to health problems, absenteeism, and decreased job satisfaction among employees, which can have legal and ethical implications for businesses. Therefore, effective stress management is essential to create a healthy work environment, maintain a motivated workforce, and ensure long-term business success. Addressing stress through strategies like employee support programs and work-life balance initiatives is an integral part of responsible and sustainable business management.

Preventive Stress Management

Stress is an inevitable part of work and personal life. Preventive stress management is an organizational philosophy according to which people and organizations should take joint responsibility for promoting health and preventing distress and strain.

The Consequences of Stress

Stress may be positive or negative. Positive stress can create a healthy, thriving work environment, while negative stress, or distress, can erode morale and performance.

Stress response (Strain)

Stress response, or strain, in business management involves how individuals and organizations react to stressful situations. Individuals may exhibit fight-or-flight responses and employ coping mechanisms. Prolonged stress can lead to burnout. Organizations need resilience, adaptive strategies, and crisis management plans. Leadership plays a vital role in fostering a supportive culture and making critical decisions. Strategic planning includes risk and contingency management, and measurement through key performance indicators (KPIs). Effectively managing stress ensures both individual well-being and organizational success.

Stress

Stress, or the stress response, can be described as the unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when faced with any demand. A stressor, or demand, is a person or event that triggers the stress response. stress is a great asset in managing legitimate emergencies and achieving peak performance. four different approaches to define stress: the homeostatic/medical, cognitive appraisal, person-environment fit, and psychoanalytic approaches.

Structural Diversity

Structural diversity concerns the number of structural holes, or disconnections between members, within a work team. However, age diversity significantly improved structural integrity. Hence, greater variance in age within a team leads to more member-to-member connections and fewer member-to-member disconnections. These observations led the researchers to conclude that there is a curvilinear relationship between structural diversity, or structural integrity, and team performance. The teams with moderate structural diversity achieve the best performance.

Organizational Distress

Studies performed at the University of Michigan on organizational stress identified a variety of indirect costs of mismanaged stress for an organization, such as low morale, dissatisfaction, breakdowns in communication, and disruption of working relationships. Three major costs of organizational distress are participation problems, performance decrements, and compensation awards.

Work Demands

Task Demands - Change, Lack of control, Career progress, new technologies, Temporal pressure Role Demands - Role conflict: Interrole Intrarole Person-role Role ambiguity Interpersonal Demands - Emotional toxins Sexual harassment Poor leadership Physical Demands - Extreme environments Strenuous activities Hazardous substances Global travel

Task vs. Maintenance

Task Function: activity directly related to the effective completion of a team's work (doing the job at hand) Maintenace functions: activity essential to effective satisfying interpersonal relationships within a team group.

Tertiary prevention

Tertiary prevention is intended to heal individual or organizational symptoms of distress and strain. The symptoms may range from early warning signs (such as headaches or absenteeism) to more severe forms of distress (such as hypertension, work stoppages, and strikes). An innovative approach used by the data recovery company DriveSavers bolsters treatment and prevention with a full-time grief counselor.

Preventative Stress Model

The Preventative Stress Model, a critical concept in college-level business management, focuses on proactively identifying and addressing stressors before they escalate. It involves: 1. Risk Assessment: Identifying potential stressors within the organization, such as excessive workloads or poor communication. 2. Intervention: Implementing preventive measures like workload distribution, stress management programs, and conflict resolution strategies. 3. Employee Support: Providing resources, counseling, and training to enhance resilience and coping mechanisms. 4. Monitoring: Continuously evaluating stress levels and the effectiveness of interventions to make necessary adjustments. By adopting this model, businesses aim to create a healthier and more productive workplace, reduce employee burnout, and ensure long-term organizational success.

Relationship between Stress and Performance (Yerkes-Dodson Law)

The Yerkes-Dodson Law is a crucial concept in business management, illustrating the relationship between stress and performance. It suggests that performance initially improves with stress, reaching an optimal point where individuals are most productive. Beyond this point, as stress continues to increase, performance starts to decline. In a college-level business management course, this principle emphasizes the importance of carefully managing stress levels within organizations. Moderate stress can motivate employees to achieve peak performance, but excessive stress can lead to burnout, errors, and decreased productivity. Thus, effective stress management strategies are essential to maintain a balanced and high-performing workforce, aligning with organizational goals.

The Yerkes-Dodson law

The Yerkes-Dodson law is an empirical relationship between pressure and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 19081. The law dictates that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. When levels of arousal become too high, performance decreases The process is often illustrated graphically as a bell-shaped curve which increases and then decreases with higher levels of arousal. Researchers have found that different tasks require different levels of arousal for optimal performance.

Work Demands categories.

The four major categories of on-the-job work demands that trigger stress for employees in organizations are task demands, role demands, interpersonal demands, and physical demands.

Role Negotiation

The organizational development technique of role negotiation has value as a stress-management method because it allows individuals to modify their work roles. Role negotiation begins with the definition of a focal role within the organizational context. The person in the focal role identifies the expectations understood for the role, and organizational supervisors specify their own expectations of the person in the focal role. A negotiation of integrated role expectation follows. In the process of such negotiation, points of confusion and conflict become opportunities for clarification and resolution. The final result of the role negotiation process should be a clear, well-defined focal role with which the incumbent and organizational members are all comfortable.

Punctuated Equilibrium

The punctuated equilibrium model is a model of organizational change that sees organizations as evolving through relatively long periods of stability in their basic patterns of activity that are punctuated by relatively short bursts of fundamental change Though it is still highly cited in team and group research, Tuckman's model may be unrealistic from an organizational perspective. Research has shown that many teams experience relational conflicts at different times and in different contexts. Connie Gersick proposes that groups do not necessarily progress linearly from one step to another in a predetermined sequence but alternate between periods of inertia with little visible progress toward goal achievement.

The Stress Response

The stress response begins with the release of chemical messengers, primarily adrenaline, into the bloodstream. These messengers activate the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine (hormone) system. These two systems work together to trigger four mind-body changes that prepare the person for fight or flight. As the body responds, the person shifts from a neutral posture to an offensive posture. The stress response can be very effective in preparing a person to handle legitimate emergencies through peak performance.

Stress Trajectory

The stress trajectory in business management typically follows a path from early career stress focused on proving oneself, to operational stress dealing with daily challenges, and then evolves into strategic stress as managers handle long-term decisions and external pressures. As managers gain experience, they tend to adapt, develop resilience, and focus on their health and well-being to mitigate the impact of stress. Delegation, burnout awareness, and seeking mentorship become key strategies for managing stress and maintaining long-term success in their roles.

Home Demands

The wide array of home and family arrangements in contemporary American society has created great diversity in the arena of home demands. Moreover, as a result of the maturing of the American population, an increasing number of people face the added demand of parental care. Even when a person dedicates herself to reducing stress by integrating opposing social and work-related roles into a balanced, "whole" identity, the process is not an easy one.

Self-Reliance

There is increasing evidence that social relationships have an important impact on health and life expectancy. Self-reliance, a healthy, secure interdependent pattern of behavior, is a personality attribute strongly related to social relationships.

Empowerment

To be successful, teams require a culture of empowerment in the organization in which they are implemented. This is especially true of self-managed teams, discussed shortly, which are designed to take on responsibilities and address issues traditionally reserved for management. As an individual attribute, empowering leadership positively affects employee psychological empowerment, thus reducing employee cynicism and time theft, when the quality of the relationship with the boss is a good one. Empowerment may give employees the power of a lightning strike, but empowered employees must be properly focused through careful planning and preparation before they strike. To be successful, teams require a culture of empowerment in the organization in which they are implemented.

Type A Behavior Pattern

Type A behavior pattern is a combination of personality and behavioral characteristics that include competitiveness, time urgency, social status insecurity, aggression, hostility, and a quest for achievements. People with Type B personalities are relatively free of Type A behaviors and characteristics. Type B people are less coronary prone, but if they do have a heart attack, they do not appear to recover as well as those with Type A personalities.

Sources of work stress

Work stress is caused by factors in the work environment as well as by nonwork (external) pressures that spill over into the workplace.

Sources of Work Stress

Work stress is caused by factors in the work environment as well as by nonwork (external) pressures that spill over into the workplace.An example of an external pressure is when a working mother or father is called at work to come pick up a sick child from day care. Job insecurity can be a pervasive source of work stress. Job insecurity can trigger employee responses that are very costly for organizations, such as workplace deviance and developing intentions to leave.

Other Team Characteristics

Work team effectiveness in the new team environment requires management's attention to both work team structure and work team process. In addition to how the team is structured and what the team does, diversity and creativity are emerging as two areas with significant impact on team performance.

Work Team Process

Work team process is the second important dimension of effectiveness. Two of the important process issues in work teams are the managing of cooperative behaviors and the managing of competitive behaviors. Both sets of behaviors are helpful in task accomplishment, and they should be viewed as complementary. Cooperative teamwork skills include open communication, trust, personal integrity, positive interdependence, and mutual support. On the other hand, positive competitive teamwork skills include the ability to enjoy competition, play fair, and be a good winner or loser; to have access to information for monitoring where the team and members are in the competition; and not to overgeneralize or exaggerate the results of any specific competition.

Work Team Structure

Work team structure issues include goals and objectives, operating guidelines, performance measures, and role specification. A work team's goals and objectives specify what must be achieved, while the operating guidelines set the organizational boundaries and decision-making limits within which the team must function. These role specifications should include information about required role behaviors, such as decision-making and task performance, as well as restrictions or limits on role behaviors, such as the limitations on managerial interventions in work team activities and decision-making.

Work Family Conflict and Spillover

Work-family conflict in business management refers to the struggle individuals face when balancing the demands of their work life with their family or personal life. This conflict can be bidirectional: work-to-family (when work demands affect family life) or family-to-work (when family demands impact work performance). Spillover occurs when experiences in one domain, such as stress at work, spill over into the other domain, affecting overall well-being. Businesses can mitigate work-family conflict by offering flexible work arrangements, supportive policies, and promoting a healthy work-life balance. Addressing these issues can lead to higher job satisfaction, employee retention, and overall organizational success.

Performance decrements

are the costs resulting from poor quality or low quantity of production, grievances, and unscheduled machine downtime and repair. As in the case of medical illness, stress is not the only causal agent in these performance decrements. Stress does play a role, however, whether the poor quality or low quantity of production is motivated by distressed employees or by an unconscious response to stress on the job. Some employees in California have the option of taking a "stress leave" rather than filing a grievance against the boss.

Compensation awards

are the organizational costs resulting from court awards for job distress. Employers need not panic because fair procedures go a long way toward avoiding legal liability, and legal rulings are setting realistic limits on employers' obligations

Chapter 9: Work Teams and Groups

chapter 9

Participation problems

include absenteeism, tardiness, strikes and work stoppages, and turnover. In the case of absenteeism, the organization may compensate by hiring temporary personnel who take the place of the absentee, possibly elevating personnel costs. When considering turnover, a distinction should be made between dysfunctional and functional turnover. Dysfunctional turnover occurs when an organization loses a valuable employee. Replacement costs, including recruiting and retraining, range from five to seven months of the individual monthly salary. Functional turnover, in contrast, benefits the organization by creating opportunities for new members, new ideas, and fresh approaches. Functional turnover occurs when an organization loses an employee who has little or no value to the organization; thus the loss of that employee is considered a positive result.

Overdependence

is also an unhealthy, insecure pattern of behavior. Overdependent people respond to stressful and threatening situations by clinging to other people in any way possible. Overdependence may be characterized as a desperate, preoccupied attempt to achieve a sense of security through relationships.

Distress or strain

refers to the adverse psychological, physical, behavioral, and organizational consequences that may occur as a result of stressful events.

Task Demands

task demands refer to the pressures, challenges, and requirements associated with the tasks that employees must perform in their roles. An example of a task demand that triggers stress for employees in organizations is technological innovation. This can create change and uncertainty for many employees, requiring additional training, education, and skill development. Task demands can vary widely depending on the nature of the job and the specific responsibilities associated with it. They can include everything from meeting deadlines and achieving performance targets to learning new skills or adapting to changes in the work environment.