Test 2 OB

employee involvement

(also called participative management) refers to the degree to which employees influence how their work is organized and carried out. A low level of involvement occurs where employees are individually asked for specific information but the problem is not described to them. Somewhat higher involvement occurs where the problem is described and employees are asked individually or collectively for information relating to that problem. Moving further up the involvement scale, the problem is described to employees, who are collectively given responsibility for developing recommendations. However, the decision maker is not bound to accept those recommendations. At the highest level of involvement, the entire decision-making process is handed over to employees. They identify the problem, discover alternative solutions, choose the best alternative, and implement that choice. The original decision maker serves only as a facilitator to guide the team's decision process and keep everyone on track.

pros and cons of membership- and seniority- based rewards

(sometimes called "pay for pulse") represent the largest part of most paychecks. Some employee benefits are provided equally to everyone, such as the end-of-year $1,000 shopping bonus, free meals, and twice- monthly housekeeping services that Shopify employees receive. Other rewards increase with seniority. pros: • May attract applicants • Minimizes stress of insecurity • Reduces turnover cons: • Doesn't directly motivate performance • May discourage poor performers from leaving• "Golden handcuffs" may undermine performance

8 types of influence tactics

* silent authority * assertiveness * information control * coalition formation * upward appeal * persuasion * ingratiation / impression management * exchange

How we can improve constraints on decision making

-Brainstorming is a team event in which participants try to think up as many ideas as possible. The process was introduced by advertising executive Alex Osborn in 1939 and has four simple rules to maximize the number and quality of ideas presented: (1) Speak freely—describe even the craziest ideas; (2) don't criticize others or their ideas; (3) provide as many ideas as possible—the quality of ideas increases with the quantity of ideas; and (4) build on the ideas that others have presented. -electronic brainstorming:Electronic brainstorming is similar to brainwriting but uses computer technology rather than handwritten cards to document and share ideas. After receiving the question or issue, participants enter their ideas using special computer software. The ideas are distributed anonymously to other participants, who are encouraged to piggyback on those ideas. Team members eventually vote electronically on the ideas presented. Face-to-face discussion usually follows -Brainwriting is a variation of brainstorming that minimizes the problem of production blocking by removing conversation during idea generation.110 There are many forms of brainwriting, but they all have the common feature that individuals write down their ideas rather than verbally describe them -Nominal group technique is another variation of brainwriting that adds a verbal element to the process.112 The activity is called "nominal" because participants are a group in name only during two of the three steps. After the problem is described, team members silently and independently write down as many solutions as they can. In the second stage, participants describe their solutions to the other team members, usually in a round-robin format. As with brainstorming, there is no criticism or debate, although members are encouraged to ask for clarification of the ideas presented. In the third stage, participants silently and independently rank-order or vote on each proposed solution

Choosing the best communication channel

-synchronicity: The channel requires or allows the sender and receiver to communicate with each other at the same time (synchronous) or at different times (asynchronous). depends on Time urgency (immediacy) The complexity of the topic Cost of both parties communicating at the same time Whether receiver should have time to reflect before responding -Social presence The channel creates psychological closeness to others, awareness of their humanness, and appreciation of the interpersonal relationship. depends on the Need to empathize with others, Need to influence others -Social acceptance The channel is approved and supported by others (receiver, team, organization, or society) depends on Organizational, team, and cultural norms Each party's preferences and skills with the channel The symbolic meaning of the channel -Media richness The channel has high data-carrying capacity—the volume and variety of information that can be transmitted during a specific time. depends on Situation is nonroutine, Situation is ambiguous

contingencies of influence tactics

1) Which sources of power are strongest 2) Whether the person being influenced is higher, lower, or at the same level in the organization as the person doing the influencing 3) Personal, organizational, and cultural values

4 contingencies of power

1) substitutability: Power is strongest when the individual or work unit has a monopoly over a valued resource. In other words, they are non substitutable 2) centrality: refers to the power holder's importance based on the degree and nature of interdependence with others.Centrality increases with the number of people dependent on you as well as how quickly and severely they are affected by that dependence 3) visibility: power does not flow to unknown people in the organization. Instead, employees gain power when their talents remain in the forefront of the minds of their boss, coworkers, and others. In other words, power increases with your visibility. This visibility can occur, for example, by taking on people-oriented jobs and projects that require frequent interaction with senior executives. 4) discretion: The freedom to exercise judgment—to make decisions without referring to a specific rule or receiving permission from someone else—is another important contingency of power in organizations

Elements of Self-Leadership

1. Personal goal setting (set goals for own work effort, apply effective goal setting, requires high degree of self awareness) 2. Constructive thought patterns (positive self-talk and mental imagery, increases self-efficacy) 3. Designing natural rewards (finding ways to make jobs more motivating) 4. Self-monitoring(keeping track of one's progress toward a self-imposed goal, using naturally occurring feedback, designing feedback systems) 5. Self-reinforcement(taking a reinforcer only after completing a goal)

success factors of self-directed teams

1. Responsible for entire work process 2. High interdependence within the team 3. Low interdependence with other teams 4. Autonomy to organize and coordinate work 5. Work site/technology support team communication/coordination

the 5 ways to improve reward effectiveness

1. link rewards to performance: Inconsistencies and bias can be minimized through gainsharing, ESOPs, and other plans that use objective performance measures. Where subjective measures of performance are necessary, companies should rely on multiple sources of information. Companies also need to apply rewards soon after the performance occurs, and in a large-enough dose (such as a bonus rather than a pay increase), so employees experience positive emotions when they receive the reward, 2. ensure rewards are relevant: Companies need to align rewards with performance within the employee's control. The more employees see a "line of sight" between their daily actions and the reward, the more they are motivated to improve performance 3.use team rewards for interdependent jobs: Team rewards are better than individual rewards when employees work in highly interdependent jobs, because it is difficult to measure individual performance in these situations 4.ensure rewards are valued: ask employees what they value. 5. beware of unintended consequences: Avoiding unintended consequences of rewards isn't easy, but they can often be averted by carefully thinking through what the rewards actually motivate people to do and, where possible, test the incentives in a pilot project before apply- ing them across the organization

how trust influences effectiveness

3 levels of trust: Calculus-based trust represents a logical calculation that other team members will act appropriately because they face sanctions if their actions violate reasonable expectations. It offers the lowest potential trust and is easily broken by a violation of expectations. Some scholars suggest that calculus-based trust is not trust at all. Instead, it might be trust in the system rather than in the other person. In any event, calculus- based trust alone cannot sustain a team's relationship because it relies on deterrence. Knowledge-based trust is based on the predictability of another team member's behavior. This predictability refers only to "positive expectations" as the definition of trust states because you would not trust someone who tends to engage in harmful or dysfunctional behavior. Knowledge-based trust includes our confidence in the other person's abilities, such as the confidence that exists when we trust a physician.81 Knowledge-based trust offers a higher potential level of trust and is more stable because it develops over time. Identification-based trust is based on mutual understanding and an emotional bond among team members. It occurs when team members think, feel, and act like each other. High-performance teams exhibit this level of trust because they share the same values and mental models. Identification-based trust is potentially the strongest and most robust of all three types of trust. The individual's self-concept is based partly on membership in the team, and he or she believes the members' values highly overlap, so any transgressions by other team members are quickly forgiven. People are more reluctant to acknowledge a violation of this high-level trust because it strikes at the heart of their self-concept. Employees typically join a team with a moderate or high level—not a low level—of trust in their new coworkers

consequences of influencing others

3 responses: resistance, compliance, and commitment Resistance occurs when people or work units oppose the behavior desired by the influencer. At the extreme, they refuse to engage in the behavior. However, there are degrees of resistance, such as when people perform the required duties yet maintain their opposition by performing the tasks poorly or continuing to complain about the imposed work. Compliance occurs when people are motivated to implement the influencer's request for purely instrumental reasons. Without external sources to motivate the desired behavior, compliance would not occur. Furthermore, compliance usually involves engaging in the behavior with no more effort than is required. Commitment is the strongest outcome of influence, whereby people identify with the influencer's request and are highly motivated to implement it even when extrinsic sources of motivation are not present. Generally, people react more favorably to soft tactics than to hard tactics. Soft influ- ence tactics rely on personal sources of power (expert and referent power), which tend to build commitment to the influencer's request. In contrast, hard tactics rely on position power (legitimate, reward, and coercion), so they tend to produce compliance or, worse, resistance. Hard tactics also tend to undermine trust, which can hurt future relationships.

performance based rewards

3 types: individual, team, organizational individual: bonuses, piece rates, commissions team: bonuses and gain sharing plans organizational: bonuses, ESOPs, stock options, profit-sharing

Advantages and disadvantages of job specialization

Advantages: improves work efficiency because employees less variety of tasks to juggle, so less time lost changing over to a different type of activity, jobs are mastered more quickly since fewer skills to learn, shorter work cycles give employees more frequent practice with the task, so jobs are mastered more quickly, employees with specific aptitudes or skills to be matched more precisely to the jobs Disadvantages: Some jobs—such as scanning grocery items—can be so specialized that they soon become tedious, trivial, and socially isolating. Employee turnover and absenteeism tend to be higher in specialized jobs with very short cycle times. Companies sometimes have to pay higher wages to attract job applicants to this dissatisfying, narrowly defined work.56 Job specialization affects output quality but in two opposing ways. Job incumbents of specialized jobs potentially produce higher-quality results because, as we mentioned earlier, they master their work faster than do employees in jobs with many and varied tasks. This higher proficiency explains why specialist lawyers tend to provide better quality service than do generalist lawyers.57 But many jobs (such as supermarket cashiers) are specialized to the point that they are highly repetitive and tedious. In these repetitive jobs, the positive effect of higher proficiency is easily offset by the negative effect of lower attentiveness and motivation caused by the tedious work patterns. Job specialization also undermines work quality by disassociating job incumbents from the overall product or service. By performing a small part of the overall work, employees have difficulty striving for better quality or even noticing flaws with that overall other supplies from specially designed warehouses to the completed vessels.

pros and cons of Job Status-Based Rewards

Almost every organization rewards employees to some extent on the basis of the status or worth of the jobs they occupy. Example is job evaluation and status perks. Pros:• Tries to maintain internal equity • Minimizes pay discrimination• Motivates employees to compete for promotions cons: • Encourages hierarchy, which may increase costs and reduce responsiveness • Reinforces status differences • Motivates job competition and exaggerated job worth

escalation of commitment

Another reason why decision makers don't evaluate their decisions very well is due to this. the tendency to repeat an apparently bad decision or allocate more resources to a failing course of action. can be explained by self justification effect, self-enhancement effect, prospect theory effect, and sunk cost effect

strategies that support empowerment

At the individual level, employees must possess the necessary competencies to be able to perform the work, as well as handle the additional decision-making requirements. Job characteristics clearly influence the degree to which people feel empowered. Employees are much more likely to experience self-determination when working in jobs with a high degree of autonomy and minimal bureaucratic control. They experience more meaningfulness when working in jobs with high levels of task identity and task significance. They experience more self-confidence when working in jobs that allow them to receive feedback about their performance and accomplishments. Several organizational and work-context factors also influence empowerment. Employees experience more empowerment in organizations in which information and other resources are easily accessible. Empowerment is also higher in organizations that demonstrate a commitment to employee learning by providing formal training programs and nurturing a learning orientation culture (which encourages informal learning and discovery). Furthermore, empowerment requires corporate leaders to trust employees and be willing to take the risks that empowerment creates

Characteristics of creative people

Cognitive and Practical Intelligence Persistence Knowledge and Experience Independent Imagination

the four team processes

Development, norms, cohesion, trust

Intuitions role in decision making

Do you rely on your "gut instinct" to help make decisions? These emotional experiences potentially (but not necessarily) indicate your intuition—the ability to know when a problem or opportunity exists and to select the best course of action without conscious reasoning.Some people rely more on intuition whereas others rely more on logical analysis when making decisions (see Chapter 2 on the MBTI thinking versus feeling orientation). However, emotions are always present in human decision making, so intuition and logical analysis are not opposites and never completely replace each other. Some people pay more attention to emotional signals, whereas others pay more attention to logic, but emotions are always involved. Intuition is both an emotional experience and a rapid non-conscious analytic process. The gut feelings we experience are emotional signals that have enough intensity to make us consciously aware of them. These signals warn us of impending danger or motivate us to take advantage of an opportunity. Some intuition also directs us to preferred choices relative to other alternatives in the situation. All gut feelings are emotional signals, but not all emotional signals are intuition. The main distinction is that intuition involves rapidly comparing our observations with deeply held patterns learned through experience.46 These "templates of the mind" rep- resent tacit knowledge that has been implicitly acquired over time. They are mental models that help us understand whether the current situation is good or bad, depending on how well that situation fits our mental model. When a template fits or doesn't fit the current situation, emotions are produced that motivate us to act. Studies have found that when chess masters quickly scan a chessboard, they experience emotional signals that the chess configuration poses an opportunity or threat. These emotional signals motivate closer observation to logically confirm the situation and to act on it. Thus, intuition signals that a problem or opportunity exists long before conscious rational analysis has occurred. A key message here is that some emotional signals are not intuition, so gut feelings shouldn't always guide our decisions. The problem is that emotional responses are not always based on well-grounded mental models. Instead, we sometimes compare the cur- rent situation to more remote templates, which may or may not be relevant. A new employee might feel confident about relations with a supplier, whereas an experienced employee senses potential problems. The difference is that the new employee relies on templates from other experiences or industries that might not work well in this situation. Thus, the extent to which our gut feelings in a situation represent intuition depends on our level of experience in that situation. So far, we have described intuition as an emotional experience (gut feeling) and a process in which we compare the current situation with well-established templates of the mind. Intuition also relies on action scripts—programmed decision routines that speed up our response to pattern matches or mismatches.47 Action scripts effectively shorten the decision-making process by jumping from problem identification to selection of a solution. In other words, action scripting is a form of programmed deci- sion making. Action scripts are generic, so we need to consciously adapt them to the specific situation.

pros and cons of email

Email is the preferred medium for sending well-defined information for decision making. It is also the first choice for coordinating work, although text messages may soon overtake email for this objective. The introduction of email has substantially altered the directional flow of information as well as increased the volume and speed of those messages throughout the organization pros: increased communication with people further up the hierarchy. Email potentially improves employee-manager relations, except where these messages are used by the manager to control employee behavior. Several studies suggest that email reduces social and organizational status differences between sender and receiver, mainly because there are fewer cues to indicate these differences than in face-to-face interactions, Email and other forms of written digital communication potentially reduce stereotyping and prejudice because age, race, and other features of the participants are unknown or less noticeable Cons: Poor Communication of Emotions, Less Politeness and Respectfulness, can be cumbersome and dysfunctional in ambiguous, complex, and novel situations, Contributes to Information Overload

Emotions Role in Decision Making

Emotions Form Early Preferences The emotional marker process described in previous chapters (Chapters 3, 4, and 5) shapes our preference for each alternative before we consciously evaluate those alternatives. Our brain very quickly attaches specific emotions to information about each alternative, and our preferred alternative is strongly influenced by those initial emotional markers. Of course, logical analysis also influences which alternative we choose, but it requires strong logical evidence to change our initial preferences (initial emotional markers). Yet even logical analysis de- pends on emotions to sway our decision. Specifically, neuroscientific evidence says that information produced from logical analysis is tagged with emotional markers that then motivate us to choose or avoid a particular alternative. Ultimately, emotions, not rational logic, energize us to make the preferred choice. In fact, people with damaged emotional brain centers have difficulty making choices. Emotions Change the Decision Evaluation Process Moods and specific emotions influence the process of evaluating alternatives.40 For instance, we pay more attention to details when in a negative mood, possibly because a negative mood signals that there is something wrong that requires attention. When in a positive mood, on the other hand, we pay less attention to details and rely on a more programmed decision routine. This phenomenon explains why executive teams in successful companies are often less vigilant about competitors and other environmental threats.41 Research also suggests that decision makers rely on stereotypes and other shortcuts to speed up the choice process when they experience anger. Anger also makes them more optimistic about the success of risky alternatives, whereas the emotion of fear tends to make them less optimistic. Overall, emotions shape how we evaluate information, not just which choice we select. Emotions Serve as Information When We Evaluate Alternatives The third way that emotions influence the evaluation of alternatives is through a process called "emotions as information." Marketing experts have found that we listen in on our emotions to gain guidance when making choices.42 This process is similar to having a temporary improvement in emotional intelligence. Most emotional experiences remain below the level of conscious awareness, but people actively try to be more sensitive to these subtle emotions when making a decision.

how media richness influences preferred communication channel

Face-to-face communication has very high media richness because it allows us to communicate both verbally and nonverbally at the same time, to get feedback almost immediately from the receiver, to quickly adjust our message and style, and to use complex language such as metaphors and idioms (e.g., "spilling the beans"). For example, hospitals in many countries are encouraging employees to have brief daily huddles during which team members share information and expectations about the day's work.47 Rich media tend to be synchronous and have high social presence, but not always. According to media richness theory, rich media are better than lean media when the communication situation is nonroutine and ambiguous. In nonroutine situations (such as an unexpected and unusual emergency), the sender and receiver have little common experience, so they need to transmit a large volume of information with immediate feed- back. Lean media work well in routine situations because the sender and receiver have common expectations through shared mental models. Ambiguous situations also require rich media because the parties must share large amounts of information with immediate feedback to resolve multiple and conflicting interpretations of their observations and experiences. Choosing the wrong medium reduces communication effectiveness. When the situation is routine or clear, using a rich medium—such as holding a special meeting—would be a waste of time. On the other hand, if a unique and ambiguous issue is handled through email or another lean medium, then issues take longer to resolve and misunderstandings are more likely to occur.

success factors of virtual teams

Good membership characteristics. They also require good communication technology skills, strong self-leadership skills to motivate and guide their behavior without peers or bosses nearby, and higher emotional intelligence so that they can decipher the feelings of other team members from email and other limited communication media. Second, virtual teams should have a toolkit of communication channels (email, virtual whiteboards, videoconferencing, etc.) as well as the freedom to choose the channels that work best for them. This may sound obvious, but unfortunately senior management tends to impose technology on virtual teams, often based on advice from external consultants, and expects team members to use the same communication technology through- out their work. In contrast, research suggests that communication channels gain and lose importance over time, depending on the task and level of trust. Third, virtual teams need plenty of structure. In one review of effective virtual teams, many of the principles for successful virtual teams related mostly to creating these structures, such as clear operational objectives, documented work processes, and agreed-on roles and responsibilities. The final recommendation is that virtual team members should meet face-to-face fairly early in the team development process.

Predictors of Self-Leadership

Individual Factors - Higher levels of conscientiousness and extroversion - positive self-evaluation (self-esteem, self-efficacy, internal locus) Organizational Factors - Job autonomy - Participative and trustworthy leadership - Measurement-oriented culture

job enlargement

Job enlargement adds tasks to an existing job. This might involve combining two or more complete jobs into one or just adding one or two more tasks to an existing job. Either way, skill variety increases because there are more tasks to perform. A video journalist is an example of an enlarged job. As Exhibit 6.3 illustrates, a traditional news team consists of a camera operator, a sound and lighting specialist, and the journalist who writes and presents or narrates the story. One video journalist performs all of these tasks. Job enlargement significantly improves work efficiency and flexibility. However, re- search suggests that simply giving employees more tasks won't affect motivation, performance, or job satisfaction. These benefits result only when skill variety is combined with more autonomy and job knowledge. In other words, employees are motivated when they perform a variety of tasks and have the freedom and knowledge to structure their work to achieve the highest satisfaction and performance. These job characteristics are at the heart of job enrichment.

organizational conditions that support creativity

Learning oriented Intrinsically motivating work open communication creative setting with sufficient resources Leaders and coworkers support

differences between verbal and nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication includes facial gestures, voice intonation, physical distance, and even silence. This communication channel is necessary where noise or physical distance prevents effective verbal exchanges and the need for immediate feedback precludes written communication. But even in quiet face-to-face meetings, most information is communicated nonverbally. Rather like a parallel conversation, nonverbal cues signal subtle information to both parties, such as reinforcing their interest in the verbal conversation or demonstrating their relative status in the relationship Nonverbal communication differs from verbal (i.e., written and spoken) communication in a couple of ways. First, it is less rule-bound than verbal communication. We receive considerable formal training on how to understand spoken words, but very little on how to understand the nonverbal signals that accompany those words. Consequently, nonverbal cues are generally more ambiguous and susceptible to misinterpretation. At the same time, many facial expressions (such as smiling) are hardwired and universal, thereby providing the only reliable means of communicating across cultures. The other difference between verbal and nonverbal communication is that the former is typically conscious, whereas most nonverbal communication is automatic and non-conscious. We normally plan the words we say or write, but we rarely plan every blink, smile, or other gesture during a conversation. emotional contagion is a form of non-verbal communication

how norms influence effectiveness

Norms develop during team formation because people need to anticipate or predict how others will act. Even subtle events during the team's initial interactions, such as where team members sit in the first few meetings, can plant norms that are later difficult to change. Norms also form as team members discover behaviors that help them function more effectively, such as the need to respond quickly to text messages. Norms establish culture of the team. Goal is to prevent and change dysfunctional team norms.

Team-based rewards

Organizations have shifted their focus from individuals to teams, and accompanying this transition has been the introduction of more team-based rewards. Nucor Inc. relies heavily on team-based rewards. The steelmaker's employees earn bonuses that can exceed half their total pay, determined by how much steel is produced by the team. This team-based bonus system also includes penalties. If employees catch a bad batch of steel before it leaves the mini-mill, they lose their bonus for that shipment. But if a bad batch makes its way to the customer, the team loses three times its usual bonus. Another form of team-based performance reward, called a gainsharing plan, calculates bonuses from the work unit's cost savings and productivity improvement. Whole Foods Market uses gainsharing to motivate cost savings in its grocery stores. The food retailer assigns a monthly payroll budget to teams operating various departments within a store.

How to minimize organizational politics with organizational conditions

Researchers have identified several conditions that encourage organizational politics, so we can identify corresponding strategies to keep political activities to a minimum.83 First, organizational politics is triggered by scarce resources in the workplace. When budgets are slashed, people rely on political tactics to safeguard their resources and maintain the status quo. Although it is not easy to maintain or add resources, sometimes this action is less costly than the consequences of organizational politics. Second, political tactics are fueled by ambiguous or complex rules, or the absence of formal rules, because those tactics help people get what they want when decisions lack structural guidelines. Consequently, organizational politics is suppressed when resource allocation decisions are clear and simplified. Third, organizational change tends to bring out more organizational politics, mainly because change creates ambiguity and threatens the employee's power and other valued resources.84 Consequently, leaders need to apply the organizational change strategies that we describe in Chapter 15, particularly through communication, learning, and involvement. Research has found that employees who are kept informed of what is going on in the organization and who are involved in organizational decisions are less likely to engage in organizational politics. Fourth, political behavior is more common in work units and organizations where it is tol- erated and reinforced. Some companies seem to nurture self-serving behavior through re- ward systems and the role modeling of organizational leaders. To minimize political norms, the organization needs to diagnose and alter systems and role modeling that support self- serving behavior. They should support organizational values that oppose political tactics, such as altruism and focusing on the customer. One of the most important strategies is for leaders to become role models of organizational citizenship rather than symbols of successful organizational politicians.

the role of money as a motivational tool at work

Rewarding people with money is one of the oldest and most pervasive applied performance practices. At the most basic level, money and other financial rewards represent a form of exchange; employees provide their labor, skill, and knowledge in return for money and benefits from the organization. From this perspective, money and related rewards align employee goals with organizational goals. This concept of economic exchange can be found across cultures.However, money is much more than an object of compensation for an employee's contribution to organizational objectives. Money relates to our needs and our self-concept. It generates a variety of emotions, many of which are negative, such as anxiety, depression, anger, and helplessness. Money is a symbol of achievement and status, a motivator, a source of enhanced or reduced anxiety, and an influence on our propensity to make ethical or risky decisions. To some extent, the influence of money on human thoughts and behavior occurs non-consciously. The meaning of money varies considerably from one person to the next. Studies report that money is viewed as a symbol of status and prestige, as a source of security, as a source of evil, or as a source of anxiety or feelings of inadequacy. It is considered a taboo topic in many social settings. Recent studies depict money as both a "tool" (i.e., money is valued because it is an instrument for acquiring other things of value) and a "drug" (i.e., money is an object of addictive value in itself). A widely studied model of money attitudes suggests that people have a strong "money ethic" or "monetary intelligence" when they believe that money is not evil; that it is a symbol of achievement, respect, and power; and that it should be budgeted carefully. These attitudes toward money influence an individual's ethical conduct, organizational citizenship, and many other behaviors and attitudes. The meaning and effects of money differ between men and women. One study revealed that in almost all societies men attach more importance or value to money than do women. Men are more likely than women to view money as a symbol of power and status as well as the means to autonomy. Women are more likely to view money in terms of things for which it can be exchanged and particularly as a symbol of generosity and caring by using money to buy things for others. The meaning of money also seems to vary across cultures. People in countries with high power distance (such as China and Japan) tend to have a high respect and priority for money, whereas people in countries with a strong egalitarian culture (such as Den- mark, Austria, and Israel) are discouraged from openly talking about money or display- ing their personal wealth. One study suggests that Swiss culture values saving money, whereas Italian culture places more value on spending it. The motivational effect of money is much greater than was previously believed, and this effect is due more to its symbolic value than to what it can buy. people who earn higher pay tend to have higher job performance because the higher paycheck enhances their self-concept evaluation. Others have noted that the symbolic value of money depends on how it is distributed in the organization and how many people receive that financial reward. Overall, current organizational behavior knowledge indicates that money is much more than a means of exchange between employer and employee. It fulfills a variety of needs, influences emotions, and shapes or represents a person's self-concept

Self-Leadership

Self-leadership refers to specific cognitive and behavioral strategies to achieve personal goals and standards. These activities support the individual's self-motivation and self-direction without direct assistance from managers or others.85 Some self-leadership strategies are derived from social cognitive theory and goal setting (see Chapter 5). Other activities, such as constructive thought processes, have been extensively studied in sports psychology.

personal characteristics of organizational politics

Several personal characteristics affect an individual's motivation to engage in self-serving behavior. This includes a strong need for personal as opposed to socialized power. Those with a need for personal power seek power for its own sake and try to acquire more power. Some individuals have strong Machiavellian values. Machiavellianism is named after Niccolò Machiavelli, the 16th-century Italian philosopher who wrote The Prince, a famous treatise about political behavior. People with high Machiavellian values are comfortable with getting more than they deserve, and they believe that deceit is a natural and acceptable way to achieve this goal. They seldom trust coworkers and tend to use cruder influence tactics to get their own way, such as bypassing their boss or being assertive.

social acceptance influence on correct media channel

Social acceptance refers to how well the communication medium is approved and supported by the organization, teams, and individuals involved in the exchange.One social acceptance factor is the set of norms held by the organizational, team, and culture. Norms explain why face-to-face meetings are daily events among staff in some firms, whereas computer-based videoconferencing (such as Skype) and Twitter tweets are the media of choice in other organizations. Studies report that national culture plays an important role in preferences for specific communication channels. For instance, Koreans are much less likely than Americans to email corporate executives because in Korea email is considered insufficiently respectful of the superior's status. Other research has found that the preference for email depends on the culture's emphasis on context, time, and space in social relationships. A second social acceptance factor is the sender's and receiver's preferences for specific communication channels. You may have noticed that some coworkers ignore (or rarely check) voice mail, yet they quickly respond to text messages or Twitter tweets. These preferences are due to personality traits as well as previous experience and reinforcement with particular channels. A third social acceptance factor is the symbolic meaning of a channel. Some communication channels are viewed as impersonal whereas others are more personal; some are considered professional whereas others are casual; some are "cool" whereas others are old-fashioned. For instance, phone calls and other synchronous communication channels convey a greater sense of urgency than do text messages and other asynchronous channels. The importance of a channel's symbolic meaning is perhaps most apparent in stories about managers who use emails or text messages to inform employees that they are fired or laid off. These communication events make headlines because email and text messages are considered inappropriate (too impersonal) for transmission of that particular information.

how team development influence effectiveness

Team members must resolve several issues and pass through several stages of development before emerging as an effective work unit. They need to get to know and trust each other, understand and agree on their respective roles, discover appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, and learn how to coordinate with each other. The longer team members work together, the better they develop common or complementary mental models, mutual understanding, and effective performance routines to complete the work. 5 stages of team development: forming(learn about each other), storming (conflict, members compete for roles), norming (consensus around team objectives and team mental model), performing (high cooperation, high trust, efficient coordination, strong team identity), adjourning (shift from task to relationship focus)

how cohesion influences effectiveness

Teams with higher cohesion tend to per- form better than those with low cohesion. In fact, the team's existence depends on a minimal level of cohesion because it motivates team members to remain members and to help the team achieve its objectives. Members of high-cohesion teams spend more time together, share information more frequently, and are more satisfied with each other. They provide each other with better social support in stressful situations and work to minimize dysfunctional conflict. When conflict does arise, high-cohesion team members tend to resolve their differences swiftly and effectively. However, the relationship between team cohesion and team performance depends on two conditions. First, team cohesion has less effect on team performance when the team has low task interdependence.74 High cohesion motivates employees to coordinate and cooperate with other team members. But people don't need to cooperate or coordinate as much when their work doesn't depend on other team members (low task interdependence), so the motivational effect of high cohesion is less relevant in teams with low interdependence. Second, the effect of cohesion on team performance depends on whether the team's norms are compatible with or opposed to the organizational objectives. As Exhibit 8.7 illustrates, teams with high cohesion perform better when their norms are aligned with the organization's objectives, whereas higher cohesion can potentially reduce team performance when norms are counterproductive. This effect occurs because cohesion motivates employees to perform at a level more consistent with team norms. If a team's norm tolerates or encourages absenteeism, employees will be more motivated to take unjustified sick leave. If the team's norm discourages absenteeism, employees are more motivated to avoid taking sick leave. Teams with higher cohesion perform better, and teams with better performance become more cohesive. A major review of past studies indicated that both effects are about the same. However, most teams in those studies likely had fairly low cohesion because they involved short-lived student teams, whereas cohesion takes considerable time to fully develop. When studying teams with a much longer life span, team cohesion has a much stronger effect on team performance than the effect of team performance on team cohesion

the effectiveness of persuasion as an influence tactic

The effectiveness of persuasion as an influence tactic depends on characteristics of the persuader, message content, communication channel, and the audience being persuaded

why are people members of informal groups?

The friends you meet for lunch are an informal group, but they wouldn't be called a team because they have little or no interdependence (each person could just as easily eat lunch alone) and no organizationally mandated purpose. Instead, they exist primarily for the benefit of their members People join informal groups because innate drive to bond, social identity theory- we define ourselves by our group affiliations, they accomplish personal objectives that cannot be achieved by individuals working alone and emotional support Potentially informal groups benefit organizations through decreasing employee stress and are the backbones of social networks

subjective expected utility

The probability (expectation) of satisfaction (utility) resulting from choosing a specific alternative in a decision. The goal of the rational choice model is to select the alternative with the highest.

how people gain power through social networks

The volume of information, favors, and other social capital that people receive from networks usually increases with the number of people connected to them. Some people have an amazing capacity to maintain their connectivity with many people. Emerging social network technologies (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) have further amplified this capacity to maintain numerous connections.48 However, the more people you know, the less time and energy you have to form "strong ties." Strong ties are close-knit relationships, which are evident from how often we inter- act with people, how intensely we share resources with them, how much we experience psychological closeness to them, and whether we have multiple- or single-purpose relationships with them (e.g., friend, coworker, sports partner). Strong ties are valuable be- cause they offer resources more quickly and usually more plentifully than are available from weak ties (i.e., acquaintances). Strong ties also offer greater social support and greater cooperation for favors and assistance.49 Some minimal connection strength is necessary to remain in any social network, but strong connections aren't necessarily the most valuable ties. Instead, having weak ties (i.e., being merely acquaintances) with people from diverse networks can be more valuable than having strong ties (i.e., having close friendships) with people in similar net- works. Why is this so? Strong ties—our close-knit circle of friends—tend to be similar to us and to each other, and similar people tend to have the same information and connections that we already have. Weak ties, on the other hand, are acquaintances who are usually different from us and therefore offer resources we do not possess. Furthermore, by serving as a "bridge" across several unrelated networks, we receive unique resources from each network rather than more of the same resources. The importance of weak ties is revealed in job hunting and career development. People with diverse networks tend to be more successful job seekers because they have a wider net to catch new job opportunities. In contrast, people who belong to similar over- lapping networks tend to receive fewer leads, many of which they already knew about. As careers require more movement across many organizations and industries, you need to establish connections with people across a diverse range of industries, professions, and other spheres of life. Social Network Centrality Earlier in this chapter, we explained that centrality is an important contingency of power. This contingency also applies to social net- works.53 The more central a person (or team or organization) is located in the network, the more social capital and therefore more power he or she acquires. Centrality is your importance in that network. Three factors determine your centrality in a social network. One factor is your "betweenness," which literally refers to how much you are located between others in the network. In Exhibit 10.3, Person A has high betweenness centrality because he or she is a gatekeeper who controls the flow of information to and from many other people in the network. Person H has less betweenness, whereas Person F and several other net- work members in the diagram have no betweenness. The more betweenness you have, the more you control the distribution of information and other resources to people on either side of you. A second factor in centrality is the number or percentage of connections you have to others in the network (called degree centrality). Recall that the more people are con- nected to you, the more resources (information, favors, etc.) will be available. The num- ber of connections also increases centrality because you are more visible to other members of the network. Although being a member of a network gives you access to resources in that network, having a direct connection to more people within the network makes that resource sharing more fluid. A third factor in centrality is the "closeness" of the relationship with others in the network. High closeness refers to strong ties. It is depicted by shorter, more direct, and efficient paths or connections with others in the network. For example, Person A has fairly high closeness centrality because he or she has direct paths to most of the network, and many of these paths are short (implying stronger, more intense, efficient, and high- quality communication links). Your centrality increases with your closeness to others in the network because they are affected more quickly and significantly by you. One last observation is that Exhibit 10.3 illustrates two clusters of people in the net- work. The gap between these two clusters is called a structural hole.54 Notice that Person A provides the main bridge across this structural hole (connecting to H and K in the other cluster). This bridging role gives Person A additional power in the network. By bridging this gap, Person A becomes a broker—someone who connects two inde- pendent networks and controls information flow between them. Research shows that the more brokering relationships you have, the more likely you are to get early promotions and higher pay.

Why people refrain from using the rational choice paradigm

Think Goals are clear, compatible, and agreed upon. In reality, Goals are ambiguous, are in conflict, and lack full support. Think Decision makers can calculate all alternatives and their outcomes. In reality, Decision makers have limited information-processing abilities. Think Decision-makers evaluate all alternatives simultaneously. In reality, Decision makers evaluate alternatives sequentially. Think Decision makers use absolute standards to evaluate alternatives. In reality, Decision makers evaluate alternatives against an implicit favorite. Think Decision makers use factual information to choose alternatives. In reality, Decision makers process perceptually distorted information.

anchoring and adjustment heuristic

This heuristic states that we are influenced by an initial anchor point and do not sufficiently move away from that point as new information is provided.29 The anchor point might be an initial offer price, initial opinion of someone, or initial estimated probability that something will occur. One explanation for this effect is that human beings tend to compare alternatives rather than evaluate them purely against objective criteria

representativeness heuristic

This heuristic states that we pay more attention to whether something resembles (is representative of) something else than to more precise statistics about its probability.31 Suppose that one-fifth of the students in your class are in engineering and the others are business majors. There is only a 20 percent chance that any classmate is from engineering, yet we don't hesitate to assume a student is from engineering if he or she looks and acts like our stereotype of an engineering student. Another form of the representativeness heuristic, known as the clustering illusion, is the tendency to see patterns from a small sample of events when those events are, in fact, random. For example, most sports players and coaches believe that players are more likely to have a successful shot on the net when their previous two or three shots have been successful. This heuristic is at work here because players and coaches believe these sequences are causally connected (representative) when, in reality, they are more likely random events.

three ways to improve employee motivation through job design

Three main strategies can increase the motivational potential of jobs: job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment. JOB ROTATION Bang & Olufsen has always had fairly complex jobs at its manufacturing plants. When the Danish government established guidelines for employers to reduce monotonous and repetitive work, however, the Danish audio and multimedia company took further steps by training employees on all assembly stations and rotating them through different jobs every three or four hours.69 Bang & Olufsen executives have introduced the practice of moving employees from one job to another for the purpose of improving the motivational and physiological conditions of the work. There are three potential benefits of job rotation. First, it increases skill variety throughout the workday, which seems to improve employee motivation and satisfaction to some extent. The second benefit of job rotation is that it minimizes health risks from repetitive strain and heavy lifting be- cause employees use different muscles and physical positions in the various jobs. A third benefit is that job rotation supports multiskilling (employees learn several jobs), which increases workforce flexibility in staffing the production process and in finding replacements for employees on vacation. JOB ENLARGEMENT Job enlargement adds tasks to an existing job. This might involve combining two or more complete jobs into one or just adding one or two more tasks to an existing job. Either way, skill variety increases because there are more tasks to perform. A video journalist is an example of an enlarged job. As Exhibit 6.3 illustrates, a traditional news team consists of a camera operator, a sound and lighting specialist, and a journalist who writes and presents or narrates the story. One video journalist per- forms all of these tasks. Job enlargement significantly improves work efficiency and flexibility. However, research suggests that simply giving employees more tasks won't affect motivation, performance, or job satisfaction. These benefits result only when skill variety is combined with more autonomy and job knowledge.71 In other words, employees are motivated when they perform a variety of tasks and have the freedom and knowledge to structure their work to achieve the highest satisfaction and performance. These job characteristics are at the heart of job enrichment. JOB ENRICHMENT Job enrichment occurs when employees are given more responsibility for scheduling, coordinating, and planning their own work.72 For example, customer service employees at American Express go "off-script," meaning that they use their own discretion regarding how long they should spend with a client and what to say to them.73 Previously, employees had to follow strict statements and take a fixed time for specific types of customer issues. People who perform enriched jobs potentially have higher job satisfaction and work motivation, along with lower absenteeism and turnover. Productivity is also higher when task identity and job feedback are improved. Product and service quality tends to improve because job enrichment increases the jobholder's felt responsibility and sense of ownership over the product or service.74 One way to increase job enrichment is by combining highly interdependent tasks into one job. This natural grouping approach is reflected in the video journalist job. Along with being an enlarged job, video journalism is an example of job enrichment because it naturally groups tasks together to complete an entire product (i.e., a news story). By forming natural work units, jobholders have stronger feelings of responsibility for an identifiable body of work. They feel a sense of ownership and, therefore, tend to increase job quality. Forming natural work units increases task identity and task significance because employees perform a complete product or service and can more readily see how their work affects others. A second job enrichment strategy, called establishing client relationships, involves putting employees in direct contact with their clients rather than using another job group or the supervisor as the liaison between the employee and the customer. Telus recently adopted this job enrichment strategy by redesigning service technician jobs so they communicate directly with customers as well as perform the technical work. Previously, service technicians at the Canadian telecommunications company performed only the technical tasks whereas customer service staff communicated with clients. "I'm able to pick up my work and go directly to the customers," says Telus service technician Sukh Toor. "It's great for me personally, because I have a lot more ownership of the customer relationship." Establishing client relationships increases task significance because employees see a line-of-sight connection between their work and consequences for customers. By being directly responsible for specific clients, employees also have more information and can make better decisions affecting those clients.75 Forming natural task groups and establishing client relationships are common ways to enrich jobs, but the heart of the job enrichment philosophy is to give employees more autonomy over their work. This basic idea is at the core of one of the most widely mentioned—and often misunderstood—practices known as empowerment.

differences in cross-cultural communication

Voice intonation is one form of cross-cultural communication barrier. How loudly, deeply, and quickly people speak varies across cultures, and these voice intonations send secondary messages that have different meanings in different societies. Language is an obvious cross-cultural communication challenge. Words are easily misunderstood in verbal communication, either because the receiver has a limited vocabulary or the sender's accent distorts the usual sound of some words. In one cross-cultural seminar, for example, participants at German electronics company Siemens were reminded that a French coworker might call an event a "catastrophe" as a casual exaggeration, whereas someone in Germany usually interprets this word literally as an earth-shaking event. Communication includes silence, but its use and meaning vary from one culture to another. One reason is that interpersonal harmony and saving face are more important in Japanese culture, and silence is a way of disagreeing without upsetting that harmony or offending the other person. In addition, silence symbolizes re-spect and indicates that the listener is thoughtfully contemplating what has just been said. Empathy is very important in Japan, and this shared understanding is demonstrated without using words. Conversational overlaps also send different messages in different cultures. Japanese people usually stop talking when they are interrupted, whereas talking over the other person's speech is more common in Brazil, France, and some other countries Nonverbal differences: Nonverbal communication represents another potential area for misunderstanding across cultures. Many nonconscious or involuntary nonverbal cues (such as smiling) have the same meaning around the world, but deliberate gestures often have different interpretations. For example, most of us shake our head from side to side to say "No," but a variation of head-shaking means "I understand" to many people in India

gender based differences in communication

WHEN MEN COMMUNICATE Report talk—give advice, assert power Give advice directly Dominant conversation style Apologize less often Less sensitive to nonverbal cues WHEN WOMEN COMMUNICATE Rapport talk—relationship building Give advice indirectly Flexible conversation style Apologize more often More sensitive to nonverbal cues

coalition

When people lack sufficient power alone to influence others in the organization, they might form one of these. influential in three ways. First, it pools the power and resources of many people, so the coalition potentially has more influence than its members have if they operated alone. Second, the coalition's mere existence can be a source of power by symbolizing the legitimacy of the issue. In other words, a coalition creates a sense that the issue deserves attention because it has broad support. Third, coalitions tap into the power of the social identity process introduced in Chapter 3. A coalition is an informal group that advocates a new set of norms and behaviors. If the coalition has a broad-based membership (i.e., its members come from various parts of the organization), then other employees are more likely to identify with that group and, consequently, accept the ideas the coalition is proposing.

Management by walking around (MBWA)

a communication practice in which executives get out of their offices and learn from others in the organization through face-to-face dialogue These direct communication strategies potentially minimize filtering because executives listen directly to employees. They also help executives acquire a deeper meaning and quicker understanding of internal organizational problems. The third benefit of direct communication is that employees might have more empathy for decisions made further up the corporate hierarchy.

norm of reciprocity

a feeling of obligation to help some- one who has helped you. If a coworker previously helped you handle a difficult client, that coworker has power because you feel an obligation to help the coworker on something of similar value in the future. The norm of reciprocity is a form of legitimate power because it is an informal rule of conduct that we are expected to follow.

media richness

a medium's data-carrying capacity—that is, the volume and variety of information that can be transmitted during a specific time

charisma

a personal characteristic or special "gift" that serves as a form of interpersonal attraction and referent power over others. produces a high degree of trust, respect, and devotion toward the charismatic individual

active listening

a process of mindfully sensing the sender's signals, evaluating them accurately, and responding appropriately. Sensing. Sensing is the process of receiving signals from the sender and paying attention to them. Active listeners improve sensing in three ways. First, they post- pone evaluation by not forming an opinion until the speaker has finished. Second, they avoid interrupting the speaker's conversation. Third, they remain motivated to listen to the speaker. Evaluating. This component of listening includes understanding the message meaning, evaluating the message, and remembering the message. To improve their evaluation of the conversation, active listeners empathize with the speaker— they try to understand and be sensitive to the speaker's feelings, thoughts, and situation. Evaluation also improves by organizing the speaker's ideas during the communication episode. Responding. This third component of listening involves providing feedback to the sender, which motivates and directs the speaker's communication. Active listen- ers accomplish this by maintaining sufficient eye contact and sending back channel signals (e.g., "I see"), both of which show interest. They also respond by clarifying the message—rephrasing the speaker's ideas at appropriate breaks ("So you're saying that . . . ?").

Empowerment

a psychological experience represented by four dimensions: self-determination, meaning, competence, and the impact of the individual's role in the organization. Self-determination. Empowered employees feel that they have freedom, independence, and discretion over their work activities. Meaning. Employees who feel empowered care about their work and believe that what they do is important. Competence. Empowered people are confident about their ability to perform the work well and have a capacity to grow with new challenges. Impact. Empowered employees view themselves as active participants in the organization; that is, their decisions and actions have an influence on the company's success.

role

a set of behaviors that people are expected to perform because they hold formal or informal positions in a team and organization.Some roles help the team achieve its goals; other roles maintain relationships within the team. Team members are assigned specific roles within their formal job responsibilities. For example, team leaders are usually expected to initiate discussion, ensure that everyone has an opportunity to present his or her views, and help the team reach agreement on the issues discussed. Many team roles aren't formally embedded in job descriptions. Instead, they are informally assigned or claimed as part of the team development process. Team members are attracted to informal roles that suit their personality and values as well as the wishes of other team members. These informal roles are shared, but many are eventually associated with specific team members through subtle positioning and negotiation. Several experts have tried to categorize the various team roles. One recent model identifies six role categories: organizer, doer, challenger, innovator, team builder, and connector

impression management

actively shaping the perceptions and attitudes that others have of us. mostly occurs through self-presentation. We craft our public images to communicate an identity, such as being important, vulnerable, threatening, or pleasant. For the most part, employees routinely engage in pleasant impression management behaviors to satisfy the basic norms of social behavior, such as the way they dress and how they behave toward coworkers and customers.Impression management is a common strategy for people trying to get ahead in the workplace. In fact, as we noted earlier, career professionals encourage people to develop a personal "brand"; that is, to form and display an accurate impression of their own distinctive, competitive advantage. Furthermore, people who master the art of personal branding rely on impression management through distinctive personal characteristics such as black shirts, tinted hair, or unique signatures. One subcategory of impression management is ingratiation, which is any attempt to increase liking by, or perceived similarity to, some targeted person. Ingratiation comes in several flavors. Employees might flatter their boss in front of others, demonstrate that they have similar attitudes as their boss (e.g., agreeing with the boss's proposal), or ask their boss for advice. Ingratiation is one of the more effective influence tactics at boost- ing a person's career success. However, people who engage in high levels of ingratiation are less (not more) influential and less likely to get promoted

legitimate power

an agreement among organizational members that people in certain roles can request a set of behaviors from others. This perceived right or obligation originates from formal job descriptions as well as informal rules of conduct.

grapevine

an unstructured and informal network founded on social relationships rather than organizational charts or job descriptions. The typical pattern is a cluster chain, whereby a few people actively transmit information to many others. The grapevine works through informal social networks, so it is more active where employees have similar backgrounds and are able to communicate easily. Transmits information very rapidly. Benefits:employees rely on the grapevine when information is not available through formal channels, It is also the main conduit through which organizational stories and other symbols of the organization's culture are communicated. A third benefit of the grapevine is that this social interaction relieves anxiety Challenges: Grapevine information is sometimes so distorted that it escalates rather than reduces employee anxiety. Furthermore, employees develop more negative attitudes toward the organization when management is slower than the grapevine in communicating information.

influence

any behavior that attempts to alter someone's attitudes or behavior. an essential process through which people coordinate their effort and act in concert to achieve organizational objectives. there are different types of influence tactics: silent authority, assertiveness, information control, coalition formation, upward appeal, persuasion, impression management, and exchange

Teams

are groups of two or more people who interact with and influence each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organizational objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within an organization. 3 types of team characteristics: team permanence, skill diversity, and authority dispersion

organizational politics

behaviors that others perceive as self-serving tactics at the expense of other people and possibly the organization Employees who experience organizational politics from others have lower job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship, and task performance, as well as higher levels of work-related stress and motivation to leave the organization.

self-directed teams

cross-functional groups organized around work processes that complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks and have substantial autonomy over the execution of those tasks. This definition captures two distinct features of SDTs. First, these teams complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks. This type of work arrangement clusters the team members together while minimizing interdependence and interaction with employees outside the team. The result is a close-knit group of employees who depend on each other to accomplish their individual tasks. The second distinctive feature of SDTs is that they have substantial autonomy over the execution of their tasks. In particular, these teams plan, organize, and control work activities with little or no direct involvement of a higher-status supervisor.

rational choice paradigm

decision making that selects the best alternative by calculating the probability that various outcomes will occur from the choices and the expected satisfaction from each of those outcomes 2 main elements: calculate the best alternative and the decision-making process

Team Effectiveness Model

design elements of the effectiveness model: task characteristics: complex tasks divisible into specialized roles, well-structured tasks with low task variability and high task analyzability, level of task interdependence team size: smaller teams are better because less process loss, require less time to develop, more engaged team, and feel more responsible for team's success team must be large enough to complete the task team composition: teams perform better when members are motivated, able, and understand their roles, and work effectively in teams. Have 5 cs of team member behaviors: cooperating, coordinating, communicating, comforting, and conflict handling, also want diverse team members

4 influences on effective communication encoding and decoding

effective communication depends on the sender's and receiver's ability, motivation, role clarity, and situational support to efficiently and accurately encode and decode information. Four main factors influence the effectiveness of this encoding-decoding process First, the sender and receiver encode and decode more effectively when they have similar "codebooks," which are dictionaries of symbols, language, gestures, idioms, and other tools used to convey information. With similar codebooks, the communication participants are able to encode and decode more accurately because they assign the same or similar meaning to the transmitted symbols and signs. Also, less need for redundancy. Second, the encoding-decoding process improves with experience because the sender learns which words, symbols, voice intonations, and other features transmit the message more clearly and persuasively to others. Third, the encoding-decoding process is better when the sender and receiver are skilled and motivated to use the selected communication channel(s). Some people prefer face-to-face conversations, others prefer tweets and text messages, and still others prefer writing and receiving detailed reports. Even when the sender and receiver have the same codebooks, the message can get lost in translation when one or both parties use a channel that they dislike or don't know how to use very well. Fourth, the encoding-decoding process depends on the sender's and receiver's shared mental models of the communication context. Mental models are visual or relational images of the communication setting, whereas codebooks are symbols used to convey message content (see Chapter 3). For example, a Russian cosmonaut and American astronaut might have shared mental models about the layout and features of the international space station (communication context), yet they experience poor communication because of language differences (i.e., different codebooks). Shared mental models potentially enable more accurate transmission of the message content and reduce the need for communication about the message context.

wikis

focus on sharing information or forming communities but have a much lower emphasis on presenting the user's identity or reputation.

job rotation

he practice of moving employees from one job to another for the purpose of improving the motivational and physiological conditions of the work. it increases skill variety throughout the workday, which seems to improve employee motivation and satisfaction to some extent. A second benefit is that it minimizes health risks from repetitive strain and heavy lifting because employees use different muscles and physical positions in the various jobs. A third benefit is that it supports multiskilling (employees learn several jobs), which increases workforce flexibility in staffing the production process and in finding replacements for employees on vacation.

Job Characteristics Model

identifies five core job dimensions that produce three psychological states. Employees who experience these psychological states tend to have higher levels of internal work motivation (motivation from the work itself), job satisfaction (particularly satisfaction with the work itself), and work effectiveness

upward appeal

involves calling on higher authority or expertise, or symbolically relying on these sources to support the influencer's position. It occurs when someone says "The boss likely agrees with me on this matter; let's find out!" Upward appeal also occurs when relying on the authority of the firm's policies or values. By reminding others that your request is consistent with the organization's overarching goals, you are implying support from senior executives without formally involving them.

5 sources of power in organizations

legitimate power: an agreement among organizational members that people in certain roles can request a set of behaviors from others. coercive power: the ability to apply punishment. This occurs when managers warn employees about the consequences of poor performance, yet employees also have coercive power. Reward power: derived from the person's ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sanctions (i.e., negative reinforcement). Managers have formal authority that gives them power over the distribution of organizational rewards such as pay, promotions, time off, vacation schedules, and work assignments. expert power: originates from within the power holder. It is an individual's or work unit's capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills valued by others. One important form of expert power is the perceived ability to manage uncertainties in the business environment. (prevention, forecasting, and absorption) referent power: the capacity to influence others on the basis of identification with and respect for the power holder. associated with charisma

social loafing

occurs when people exert less effort (and usually perform at a lower level) in teams than working alone more likely to occur when individual performance is hidden or difficult to distinguish from the performance of other team members, more common when the work is boring or the team's overall task has low task significance, more prevalent among team members with low conscientiousness and low agreeableness personality traits as well as low collectivist values, more prevalent when employees lack the motivation to help the team achieve its goals. This lack of motivation occurs when individual members have a low social identity with the team and the team has low cohesion. Lack of motivation also occurs when employees believe other team members aren't pulling their weight

Job Specialization

occurs when the work required to serve a customer—or provide any other product or service—is subdivided into separate jobs assigned to different people. For instance, supermarkets have separate jobs for checking out customers, stocking shelves, preparing fresh foods, and so forth. potentially improves efficiency since less time changing activities, jobs mastered more quickly, better person-job matching. potential problems are low motivation, high absenteeism and turnover, have to offer high wages to offset tedium, work quality is affected

information overload

occurs whenever the job's information load exceeds the individual's capacity to get through it. creates noise in the communication system because information gets overlooked or misinterpreted when people can't process it fast enough. The result is poorer-quality decisions as well as higher stress problems can be minimized by increasing our information-processing capacity, reducing the job's information load, or through a combination of both. Studies suggest that employees often increase their information-processing capacity by temporarily reading faster, scanning through documents more efficiently, and removing distractions that slow information-processing speed. Time management also increases information-processing capacity. When information overload is temporary, employees can increase their information-processing capacity by working longer hours. Information load can be reduced by buffering, omitting, and summarizing. Buffering involves having incoming communication filtered, usually by an assistant. Omitting occurs when we decide to overlook messages, such as using software rules to redirect emails from distribution lists to folders that we rarely look at. Summarizing involves digesting a condensed version of the complete communication, such as reading an executive summary rather than the full report.

Motivator-Hygiene Theory

proposes that employees experience job satisfaction when they fulfill growth and esteem needs (called motivators), and they experience dissatisfaction when they have poor working conditions, low job security, and other factors categorized as lower-order needs (called hygienes). Herzberg argued that only characteristics of the job itself motivate employees, whereas the hygiene factors merely prevent dissatisfaction

Pros and cons of teams

pros: better decisions and products, better information sharing and coordination, higher motivation due to team membership cons: process losses(resources (including time and energy) expended toward team development and maintenance rather than the task) social loafing(the problem that occurs when people exert less effort (and usually perform at a lower level) when working in teams than when working alone)

activities to support creativity

redefine the problem(look at things in a new way) associative play (playful activities) cross-pollination (exchange ideas across a firm) design thinking (solution focused creative process)

Communication

refers to the process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people. We emphasize the word understood because transmitting the sender's intended meaning is the essence of good communication communication is important because it allows coordination, it is critical for organizational learning, it is necessary for design making, it changes behavior, and it supports employee well-being

skill variety

refers to the use of different skills and talents to complete a variety of work activities. For example, sales clerks who normally only serve customers might be assigned the additional duties of stocking inventory and changing storefront displays.

divergent thinking

reframing the problem in a unique way and generating different approaches to the issue.breaks us away from existing mental models so that we can apply concepts or processes from completely different areas of life. The invention of Velcro is an example

process losses

resources (including time and energy) expended on team development and maintenance rather than on performing the task

pros and cons of competency based rewards

rewarding knowledge or competencies, two types: Pay increase based on competency and Skill-based pay pros: • Improves workforce flexibility • Tends to improve quality • Is consistent with employability cons: • Relies on subjective measurement of competencies • Skill-based pay plans are expensive and complex

Satisficing

select the first alternative that exceeds a standard of acceptance for their needs and preferences. usually necessary because decision makers lack enough information, time, and information processing capacity to figure out the best choice

Barriers to communication

several barriers called noise One barrier is that both sender and receiver have imperfect perceptual processes. As receivers, we don't listen as well as senders assume, and our needs and expectations influence what signals get noticed and ignored. We aren't any better as senders, either. Some studies suggest that we have difficulty stepping out of our own perspectives and stepping into the perspectives of others, so we overestimate how well other people understand the message we are communicating. Language issues can be huge sources of communication noise because sender and receiver might not have the same codebook. They might not speak the same language, or might have different meanings for particular words and phrases. The English language (among others) also has built-in ambiguities that cause misunderstandings The ambiguity of language isn't always dysfunctional noise.61 Corporate leaders sometimes purposively use obscure language to reflect the ambiguity of the topic or to avoid un- wanted emotional responses produced by more specific words. They might use metaphors to represent an abstract vision of the company's future, or use obtuse phrases such as "rightsizing" and "restructuring" to obscure the underlying message that people will be fired or laid off. Studies report that effective communicators also use more abstract words and symbols when addressing diverse or distant (not well known to the speaker) audiences, because abstraction increases the likelihood that the message is understood across a broader range of listeners. Jargon—specialized words and phrases for specific occupations or groups—is usually designed to improve communication efficiency. However, it is a source of communication noise when transmitted to people who do not possess the jargon codebook. Furthermore, people who use jargon excessively put themselves in an unflattering light. For example, Twitter cofounder and CEO Jack Dorsey recently fell into the jargon trap when attempting to gently tell hundreds of Twitter employees that they would be laid off. His email to all staff began: "We are moving forward with a restructuring of our workforce." After stating that "we plan to part ways with up to 336 people," he closed with: "We do so with a more purpose-built team, which we'll continue to build strength into over time, as we are now enabled to reinvest in our most impactful priorities." Dorsey's attempt to soften the blow with corporate speak didn't have the desired effect, even if employees did figure out what he meant.62 Another source of noise in the communication process is the tendency to filter messages. Filtering may involve deleting or delaying negative information or using less harsh words so the message sounds more favorable. Filtering is less likely to occur when corporate leaders create a "culture of candor." This culture develops when leaders them- selves communicate truthfully, seek out diverse sources for information, and protect and reward those who speak openly and truthfully.

social capital

social networks generate their power through this. the goodwill and resulting resources shared among members in a social network. This goodwill motivates and enables network members to share resources with each other because social networks produce trust, support, and empathy among network members. Social networks potentially enhance and maintain the power of its members through three resources: information, visibility, and referent power

job evaluation

systematically rating the worth of jobs within an organization by measuring the required skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. The higher the worth assigned to a job, the higher the minimum and maximum pay for people in that job. Along with receiving higher pay, employees with more valued jobs sometimes receive larger offices, company-paid vehicles, and other perks.

virtual teams

teams whose members operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries and are linked through information technologies to achieve organizational tasks.Virtual teams differ from traditional teams in two ways: (1) Their members are not usually co-located (they don't work in the same physical area), and (2) due to their lack of co-location, members of virtual teams depend primarily on information technologies rather than face-to-face interaction to communicate and coordinate their work effort. Teams have degrees of virtuality

prospect theory effect

tendency to experience stronger negative emotions when losing something of value than the positive emotions when gaining something of equal value. motivates us to avoid losses, which typically occurs by taking the risk of investing more in that losing project. Stopping a project is a certain loss, which evokes more negative emotions to most people than the uncertainty of success associated with continuing to fund the project. Given the choice, decision makers choose escalation of commitment, which is the less painful option at the time

emotional contagion

the automatic process of "catching" or sharing another person's emotions by mimicking that person's facial expressions and other non-verbal behavior. Technically, human beings have brain receptors that cause them to mirror what they observe. In other words, to some degree our brain causes us to act as though we are the person we are watching influences communication and social relationships in 3 ways: 1. mimicry provides continuous feedback, communicating that we understand and empathize with the sender 2.mimicking the nonverbal behaviors of other people seems to be a way of receiving emotional meaning from those people. If a coworker is angry with a client, your tendency to frown and show anger while listening helps you experience that emotion more fully 3.fulfill the drive to bond that we mentioned earlier in this chapter and was introduced in Chapter 5. Bonding develops through each person's awareness of a collective sentiment. Through nonverbal expressions of emotional contagion, people see others share the same emotions that they feel. This strengthens relations among team members as well as between leaders and followers by providing evidence of their similarity

power

the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others. There are a few important features of this definition. First, power is not the act of changing some- one's attitudes or behavior; it is only the potential to do so. People frequently have power they do not use; they might not even know they have power. Second, power is based on the target's perception that the power holder controls (i.e., possesses, has access to, or regulates) a valuable resource that can help the target achieve his or her goals. People might generate power by convincing others that they control something of value, whether or not they actually control that resource. This perception is also formed from the power holder's behavior, such as someone who is not swayed by authority or norms. For in- stance, people are perceived as more powerful just by engaging in behavior that deviates from norms, such as putting their feet on a table. However, power is not your own perception or feeling of power; it exists only when others believe you have power. Third, power involves asymmetric (unequal) dependence of one party on another party

referent power

the capacity to influence others on the basis of an identification with and respect for the power holder. originates within the power holder. It is largely a function of the person's interpersonal skills. Referent power is also associated with charisma

team cohesion

the degree of attraction people feel toward the team and their motivation to remain members 6 influences on team cohesion: member similarity(more similar more cohesion), team size (smaller teams are more cohesive), member interaction (more interaction, more cohesive), somewhat difficult entry (exclusivity increases value of membership in team), team success (more likely to attach social identity to successful teams), external competition and challenges (value team as ability to overcome a threat)

task identity

the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole or identifiable piece of work, such as assembling an entire broadband modem rather than just soldering in the circuitry.

task significance

the degree to which the job affects the organization and/or larger society. It is an observable characteristic of the job (you can see how it benefits others) as well as a perceptual awareness. For example, Rolls-Royce Engine Services improved this among its employees by inviting customers to talk to production staff about the importance of their engine repairs to their company. As one Rolls-Royce executive observed, "[These talks give] employees with relatively repetitive jobs the sense that they're not just working on a part but rather are key in keeping people safe."

task interdependence

the extent to which team members must share materials, information, or expertise to perform their jobs. 3 levels: 1. (lowest) pooled interdependence, occurs when an employee or work unit shares a common resource, such as machinery, administrative support, or a budget, with other employees or work units. 2.sequential interdependence, in which the output of one person becomes the direct input for another person or unit. Employees on an assembly line typically have sequential interdependence because each team member's output is forwarded to the next person on the line for further assembly of the product or service. 3. (highest) Reciprocal interdependence, in which work output is exchanged back and forth among individuals,

norms

the informal rules and shared expectations that groups establish to regulate the behavior of their members. Norms apply only to behavior, not to private thoughts or feelings. Furthermore, norms exist only for behaviors that are important to the team.

Scientific Management

the practice of systematically partitioning work into its smallest elements and standardizing tasks to achieve maximum efficiency. consists of a toolkit of activities. Some of these interventions—employee selection, training, goal setting, and work incentives— are common today but were rare until Frederick Winslow Taylor popularized them. the most effective companies have detailed procedures and work practices developed by engineers, enforced by supervisors, and executed by employees. Even the supervisor's tasks should be divided:

job design

the process of assigning tasks to a job, including the interdependency of those tasks with other jobs. The ideal, at least from the organization's perspective, is to find the right combination so that work is performed efficiently but employees are engaged and satisfied.

availability heuristic

the tendency to estimate the probability of something occurring by how easily we can recall those events. Unfortunately, how easily we recall something is due to more than just its frequency (probability). For instance, we easily remember emotional events (such as earthquakes and shark attacks), so we overestimate how often these traumatic events occur. We also have an easier time recalling recent events. If the media report several incidents of air pollution, we likely give more pessimistic estimates of air quality generally than if there have been no recent reports.

persuasion

the use of facts, logical arguments, and emotional appeals to change another person's beliefs and attitudes, usually for the purpose of changing the person's behavior spoken communication, particularly face-to-face interaction, is more persuasive than emails, websites, and other forms of written communication. 3 reasons for this: spoken communication is typically accompanied by nonverbal communication. People are persuaded more when they receive both emotional and logical messages. offers the sender high-quality, immediate feedback about whether the receiver understands and accepts the message (i.e., is being persuaded). This feedback allows the sender to adjust the content and emotional tone of the message more quickly than with written communication. A third reason is that people are persuaded more under conditions of high social presence than low social presence. Listeners have higher motivation to pay attention and consider the sender's ideas in face-to-face conversations (high social presence)

bounded rationality

the view that people are bounded in their decision- making capabilities, including access to limited information, limited information processing, and tendency toward satisficing rather than maximizing when making choices

key constraints on team decision making

time constraints: teams take longer to make decisions than individuals; production blocking where only one person can speak at a time evaluation apprehension: Team members are often reluctant to mention ideas that seem silly because they believe (often correctly) that other team members are silently evaluating them conformity to peer pressure: his control keeps the group organized around common goals, but it may also cause team members to suppress their dissenting opinions, particularly when a strong team norm is related to the issue groupthink/overconfidence: the team's efficacy far exceeds reality regarding its abilities and the favorableness of the situation. Overconfident teams are less vigilant when making decisions, partly because they have more positive than negative emotions and moods during these events. They also engage in less constructive debate and are less likely to seek out or accept information located outside the team, both of which undermine the quality of team decisions.

Contingencies of employee involvement

• Decision structure. At the beginning of this chapter, we learned that some decisions are programmed whereas others are non-programmed. Programmed decisions are less likely to need employee involvement because the solutions are already worked out from past incidents. In other words, the benefits of employee involvement increase with the novelty and complexity of the problem or opportunity. • Source of decision knowledge. Subordinates should be involved in some level of decision-making when the leader lacks sufficient knowledge and subordinates have additional information to improve decision quality. In many cases, employees are closer to customers and production activities, so they often know where the company can save money, improve product or service quality, and realize opportunities. This is particularly true for complex decisions where employees are more likely to possess relevant information. • Decision commitment. Participation tends to improve employee commitment to the decision. If employees are unlikely to accept a decision made without their involvement, some level of participation is usually necessary. • Risk of conflict. Two types of conflict undermine the benefits of employee involvement. First, if employee goals and norms conflict with the organization's goals, only a low level of employee involvement is advisable. Second, the degree of involvement depends on whether employees will agree with each other on the preferred solution. If conflict is likely to occur, high involvement (i.e., employees make the decision) would be difficult to achieve.