Chapters 9-11

3 components of attitudes:

1. Cognition 2. Affect 3. Behavior

The theory proposed that how hard we try to reduce dissonance is determined by three things:

1.The importance of the factors creating the dissonance. 2. The degree of influence the individual believes he or she has over those factors. 3. The rewards that may be involved in dissonance.

2. Job Involvement

Degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her job performance important for self-worth

1. Job Satisfaction

Employee's general attitude toward his or her job.

Attitudes are

Evaluative statements, either favorable or unfavorable, concerning objects, people, or events.

National cultures differ in terms of the degree to which people believe they control their environment.

True

4. Organizational Citizenship Behavior

discretionary behavior not part of an employee's formal job requirements, but promotes effective function of the organization. Examples include helping others, volunteering, avoiding conflicts, etc.

When we look at an organization, we see its visible aspects such as

strategies, objectives, policies, procedures, structure, technology, formal authority relationships, and chain of command

Managers study job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment, and employee engagement

true

To do this, managers should focus on factors that are conducive to high levels of employee job satisfaction, which are likely to help employees be more productive, such as:

• Making work challenging and interesting. • Providing equitable rewards. • Creating supportive working conditions and supportive colleagues.

Managers need to be able to

•Explain why employees engage in some behaviors rather than others. • Predict how employees will respond to various actions and decisions. • Influence how employees behave.

Social learning theory holds that people learn through both observation and direct experience. The influence of others (parents, teachers, peers, celebrities, managers, etc.) is central to the social learning viewpoint and the amount of influence that these models have on an individual is determined by four processes:

1. Attentional processes. People learn from a model when they recognize and pay attention to its critical features. 2. Retention processes. A model's influence will depend on how well the individual remembers the model's action, even after the model is no longer readily available. 3. Motor reproduction processes. After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the model, the watching must become doing. 4. Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if positive incentives or rewards are provided. Behaviors that are reinforced will be given more attention, learned better, and performed more often.

Employee behaviors we are specifically concerned with explaining, predicting, and influencing are:

1. Employee productivity 2. Absenteeism 3. Turnover 4. Organizational citizenship behavior 5. Job satisfaction 6. Workplace misbehavior

Another way of viewing personality is through a five-factor model of personality—more typically called the Big Five model.

1. Extraversion describes the degree to which someone is sociable, talkative, and assertive. 2. Agreeableness describes the degree to which someone is good-natured, cooperative, and trusting. 3. Conscientiousness describes the degree to which someone is responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented. 4. Emotional stability describes the degree to which someone is calm, enthusiastic, and secure (positive) or tense, nervous, depressed, and insecure (negative). 5. Openness to experience describes the degree to which someone is imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual.

Organizational behavior focuses on 3 major areas:

1. Individual behavior 2. Group Behavior 3. Organizational Aspects

There are four ways to shape behavior.

1. Positive reinforcement is when a desired behavior is followed with something pleasant, such as praise for a job well done. 2. Negative reinforcement is when a desired behavior is followed by the termination or withdrawal of something unpleasant. For example, a manager telling an employee he won't dock her pay if she starts coming to work on time. The only way for the employee not to have her pay docked is to come to work on time, which is the behavior the manager wants. 3. Punishment penalizes undesirable behavior. Suspending an employee for two days without pay for showing up drunk is an example of punishment. 4. Extinction is the not reinforcing (ignoring) a behavior, making it gradually disappear.

Emotional intelligence is composed of five dimensions:

1. Self-awareness, or being aware of what you're feeling. 2. Self-management of your own emotions and impulses. 3. Self-motivation, or persistence in the face of setbacks and failures. 4. Empathy, or the ability to sense how others are feeling. 5. Social skills, which means adapting to and handling the emotions of others.

4. Employee engagement

A new concept generating widespread interest, happens when employees are connected to, satisfied with, and enthusiastic about their jobs.

1. Employee productivity

A performance measure of both work efficiency and effectiveness

5. Job satisfaction

An employee's general attitude toward his or her job. Satisfied employees are more likely to show up for work, have higher levels of performance, and stay with an organization

3. Organizational Commitment

An employee's orientation toward the organization in terms of his or her loyalty to, identification with, and involvement in the organization

6. Workplace misbehavior

Any intentional employee behavior that is potentially harmful to the organization or to the individuals within the organization. Shows up in 4 ways: deviance, aggression, antisocial behavior, and violence.

2. Absenteeism

Failure to show up for work which costs organizations an average of 35% of payroll

This generation has lived much of their lives with cell phones, email, texting, laptops, and the Internet. When they don't have information they need, they're content to meet virtually, while baby boomers expect an in-person meeting. Baby boomers complain about Gen Y's inability to focus on one task, while Gen Ys see nothing wrong with multitasking. Again, flexibility from both is the key.

Gen Y

Two contemporary OB issues managers face today are generational differences and negative behaviors in the workplace.

Gen Y refers to individuals born from about 1982 to 1997 who bring new attitudes with them to the workplace. What Gen Ys want their work life to provide is shown here in Exhibit 9-6: •They have high expectations of themselves. • They have high expectations of employers. • They expect ongoing learning. • They expect immediate responsibility. • They are goal oriented.

Organizational aspects

Include structure, culture, and human resource policies and practices

Does this mean that we can predict an individual's behavior if we know his or her attitude on a subject?

Not necessarily, according to the theory of cognitive dissonance, proposed by Leon Festinger in the 1950s.

Behavior

The actions of people

Organizational Behavior

The study of the actions of people at work

Turnover

The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal of employees from an organization. Costly due to increased recruiting, selection, and training costs and work disruptions

About 62 percent of companies use personality tests when recruiting and hiring because managers are likely to have higher-performing and more-satisfied employees if consideration is given to matching personalities with jobs.

True

Actually, the five personality factors studied in the Big Five model appear in almost all cross-cultural studies, with differences found only in the emphasis on dimensions. The Chinese, for example, use the category of conscientiousness more often and use the category of agreeableness less often than Americans do. But a surprisingly high amount of correspondence is found, especially among individuals from developed countries.

True

Although it's generally correct to conclude that managers in organizations are risk averse, especially in large companies and government bureaus, individual differences exist. Therefore, it makes sense to consider aligning risk-taking propensity with specific job demands.

True

Another shortcut is the halo effect, where we form a general impression about a person on the basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance.

True

As Gen Ys say of themselves, "We are willing and not afraid to challenge the status quo. An environment where creativity and independent thinking are looked upon as a positive is appealing to people my age. We're very independent and tech savvy."

True

Attribution theory attempts to explain how we judge people differently depending on what meaning we attribute to a given behavior. This depends on three factors: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

True

Because we do not look at targets in isolation, the relationship of a target to its background also influences perception—as seen here in Exhibit 9-3—as does our tendency to group close things and similar things together. The context, time, and other situational factors in which we see objects or events is also important.

True

Employees organize and interpret what they see, so there is always the potential for perceptual distortion. The message is clear: Pay close attention to how employees perceive both their jobs and management actions.

True

Exhibit 9-4 summarizes the key elements in attribution theory. It would tell us, for instance, that if an employee, Mr. Flynn, generally performs at about the same level on other related tasks as he does on his current task (low distinctiveness), if other employees frequently perform differently—better or worse—than Mr. Flynn does on that current task (low consensus), and if Mr. Flynn's performance on this current task is consistent over time (high consistency), any manager judging Mr. Flynn's work is likely to hold him primarily responsible for his task performance (internal attribution).

True

For global managers, understanding how personality traits differ takes on added significance when looking at them from the perspective of national culture. For example, knowing that the trait of conscientiousness is a valid predictor of performance in European Community nations helps U.S.-based Burger King manage employees such as this BK employee in France.

True

Here in Exhibit 9-5 we see a summary of these perceptual shortcuts. Because individuals can't assimilate all they observe, they're selective in their perception, depending on their interests, background, experience, and attitudes. Selective perception allows us to "speed read" others but not without the risk of drawing an inaccurate picture.

True

Highly engaged employees are 2.5 times more likely to be top performers and remain with the organization, which reduces recruiting and training costs

True

Highly engaged employees increase benefits and reduce costs

True

Holland identified six basic personality types, as seen here in Exhibit 9-2: • Realistic • Investigative • Social • Conventional • Enterprising • Artistic

True

In addition, compatibility leads to other benefits. By recognizing that people approach problem solving, decision making, and job interactions differently, a manager can better understand why, for instance, an employee is uncomfortable with making quick decisions or why an employee insists on gathering as much information as possible before addressing a problem. In the same vein, managers can expect that individuals with an external locus of control may be less satisfied with their jobs than those with an internal locus, and also that they may be less willing to accept responsibility for their actions.

True

Individuals generally attribute their own successes to internal factors, such as ability or effort, while blaming failure on external factors. This self-serving bias suggests that employees will distort feedback from performance reviews, whether the feedback is positive or negative.

True

It's easy to judge others if we assume that they're similar to us. In assumed similarity, the observer's perception of others is influenced more by his or her own characteristics than by those of the person observed. For example, if you want challenges and responsibility in your job, you'll assume that others want the same thing.

True

Machiavellianism is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, known for his instruction on gaining and manipulating power in the 16th century. A high "Mach" is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, believes that ends can justify the means, and may have beliefs that are less ethical.

True

Managers need to recognize that their employees react to perceptions, not to reality. So whether the organization's wage levels are among the highest in the community is less relevant than what employees perceive them to be. If individuals perceive wage levels as low, they'll behave as if those conditions actually exist.

True

Managing Gen Y workers presents some unique challenges. Conflicts and resentment can arise over issues such as appearance, technology, and management style. One possible solution is being more flexible in what's acceptable. For example, the guideline might be that when the person is not interacting with someone outside the organization, more casual wear (with some restrictions) can be worn.

True

Obviously, individual personalities differ. So do jobs. How do we match the two? The best-documented personality-job fit theory was developed by psychologist John Holland, and states that an employee's satisfaction with his or her job, as well as his or her likelihood of leaving that job, depends on the degree to which the individual's personality matches the job environment.

True

One challenge in understanding organizational behavior is that it addresses issues that aren't obvious. Like an iceberg, OB has a small visible dimension and a much larger hidden portion

True

One of the more interesting findings drawn from attribution theory is that errors or biases distort attributions. For instance, substantial evidence supports the hypothesis that when we make judgments about the behavior of other people, we tend to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. This fundamental attribution error can explain why a sales manager may be prone to attribute the poor performance of her sales agents to laziness rather than to a competitor's innovative product line.

True

One of the skills you have to develop as a manager is learning to fine-tune your emotional reactions according to the situation. In other words, you have to learn to recognize when "you have to smile and when you have to bark."

True

Our perception and judgment of a person's actions will be significantly influenced by the assumptions we make about the person's internal state, which has led researchers to develop attribution theory.

True

People who understand their own emotions and are good at reading others' emotions may be more effective in their jobs. Therefore, emotional intelligence (EI) can be described as an assortment of non-cognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influences a person's ability to cope with environmental demands and pressures.

True

Perception can be shaped or distorted by a number of factors that reside in the perceiver, in the object or target being perceived, or in the context of the situation in which the perception is made.

True

Perception is a process by which we give meaning to our environment by organizing and interpreting sensory impressions.

True

Predictions for the other personality dimensions depended on the situation and the occupational group. For example, extraversion predicted performance in managerial and sales positions, and openness to experience predicted training competency.

True

Research consistently demonstrates that individuals may look at the same thing yet perceive it differently. For example, one manager can interpret the fact that her assistant takes several days to make important decisions as evidence that the assistant is slow, disorganized, and afraid to make decisions. Another manager with the same assistant might perceive the assistant as thoughtful, thorough, and deliberate. The point is, none of us sees an objective reality; we just interpret what we see and call it reality.

True

Self-monitoring is a trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust behavior to external, situational factors. High self-monitors can present striking contradictions between their public persona and their private selves and are more capable of conforming than low self-monitors are. We might hypothesize that high self-monitors will be more successful in managerial positions that require individuals to play multiple, and even contradicting, roles.

True

Several studies suggest that EI plays an important role in job performance and the implication is that employers should consider emotional intelligence as a criterion in their selection process—especially for those jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction.

True

The 16 personality types are based on four dimensions: Extraversion versus Introversion (EI), Sensing versus Intuition (SN), Thinking versus Feeling (TF), and Judging versus Perceiving (JP).

True

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) assessment uses four dimensions of personality to identify 16 different personality types based on the responses to an approximately 100-item questionnaire.

True

The degree to which individuals like or dislike themselves is a trait called self-esteem (SE). High SEs believe that they can succeed, take more risks in job selection, and are more likely to choose unconventional jobs. Low SEs are dependent on positive evaluations from others, more prone to conform to the beliefs and behaviors of those they respect, and less satisfied with their jobs.

True

The final personality trait influencing worker behavior is risk taking. A preference for assuming or avoiding risk impacts how long it takes an individual to make a decision and how much information they require before choosing. In one classic study, high risk-taking managers made more rapid decisions and used less information than low risk-taking managers, but the decision accuracy was the same for both groups.

True

The locus of control is the degree to which people believe they control their own fate and, in some work situations, whether they tend to blame others or examine their own actions when there's a negative situation.

True

There are certainly no common personality types for a given country, yet a country's culture influences the dominant personality characteristics of its people as reflected by locus of control. National cultures differ in terms of the degree to which people believe they control their environment. For instance, North Americans believe that they can dominate their environment, while other societies in Middle Eastern countries believe that life is essentially predetermined. On the basis of this particular cultural characteristic, we should expect a larger proportion of "internals" in the U.S. and Canadian workforces than in the workforces of Saudi Arabia or Iran.

True

These moderating factors suggest that if the issues underlying the dissonance are of minimal importance, if an individual perceives that the dissonance is externally imposed and is substantially uncontrollable, or if rewards are significant enough to offset the dissonance, the individual will not be under great tension to reduce the dissonance.

True

Through the years, researchers have attempted to focus on which personality types and personality traits would best identify information about an individual. Two of the most widely recognized efforts are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® and the Big Five model of personality.

True

When we judge someone on the basis of our perception of a group he or she is part of, we're using the shortcut called stereotyping. For instance, the statement "Married people are more stable employees than single people" is an example of stereotyping. To the degree that the stereotype is based on fact, it may produce accurate judgments—but many stereotypes aren't factual and distort our judgment.

True

•A behavior shows consensus if everyone faced with a similar situation responds in the same way. If consensus is high, you would be expected to give an external attribution to the behavior. But if only one person responds that way, you would conclude the reason to be internal.

True

•Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays a behavior in many situations or whether it is particular to one situation. If an employee who arrived late to work today is also the person coworkers see as a goof-off, then we want to know whether this behavior is unusual. If it is, the observer is likely to give the behavior an external attribution. If this action is not unique, it will probably be judged as internal.

True

•Finally, a manager looks for consistency in an employee's actions. The more consistent the behavior, the more the observer is inclined to attribute it to internal causes.

True

•Operant conditioning argues that behavior is a function of its consequences. Operant behavior is voluntary: People learn to behave to get something they want or to avoid something they don't want. Reinforcement strengthens a behavior and increases the likelihood that it will be repeated. Lack of reinforcement has the opposite effect.

True

•The EI dimension describes an individual's orientation toward the external world of the environment (E) or the inner world of ideas and experiences (I).

True

•The Judging-Perceiving index reflects an individual's attitude toward dealing with the external world, either in a planned and orderly way (J) or a flexible and spontaneous way (P).

True

•The Sensing-Intuition dimension indicates an individual's preference for gathering data while focusing on a standard routine based on factual data (S) versus focusing on the big picture and making connections among the facts (N).

True

•Thinking-Feeling reflects an individual's preference for making decisions in a logical and analytical manner (T) or on the basis of values and beliefs and the effects the decision will have on others (F).

True

Managers should also survey employees about their attitudes multiple times to more effectively pinpoint employee dissatisfaction

True. Also, managers should know that employees will try to reduce dissonance, so managers might point to external forces such as competitors, customers, or other factors—or provide rewards that the employee desires—when explaining the need to perform work about which that employee may feel some dissonance.

An individual's personality is a unique combination of emotional, thought, and behavioral patterns that affect how a person reacts to situations and interacts with others.

True. Often described in terms of measurable traits that a person exhibits, personality—just like attitudes—affects how and why people behave the way they do.

The Big Five model provides more than just a personality framework.

True. Research has shown that important relationships exist between these personality dimensions and job performance. For example, one study reviewed five categories of occupations—professionals (for example, engineers, architects, and attorneys), police, managers, employees in sales, and semiskilled and skilled employees—with respect to job performance. The results showed that conscientiousness predicted job performance for all five occupational groups.

Employees' attitudes influence behavior

True. Satisfied and committed employees have lower rates of turnover and absenteeism. If managers want to keep resignations and absences down—especially among their more productive employees—they'll want to do things that generate positive job attitudes.

Research shows that individuals generally try to reconcile differing attitudes and to align their attitudes and behavior so that they appear rational and consistent.

True. They do this by altering either the attitudes or the behavior, or by developing a rationalization for the discrepancy.

Can personality traits predict practical work-related behaviors?

Yes, The following five specific personality traits have proven most powerful in explaining individual behavior in organizations: •Locus of control •Machiavellianism •Self-esteem •Self-monitoring •Risk propensity

Cognitive Dissonance is

any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes The theory argues that inconsistency is uncomfortable and that individuals try to reduce the discomfort and thus, the dissonance.

Under the surface, there are hidden aspects that influence how employees behave at work, such as

attitudes, perceptions, group norms, informal interactions, interpersonal and intergroup conflicts

1. Individual behavior

includes attitudes, personality, perception, learning, and motivation

2. Group behavior

includes norms, roles, teams, leadership, and conflict

The goal of organizational Behavior

is to explain, predict, and influence behavior

Negative Behavior in the Workplace

n10% witnessed rudeness daily n20% were targets of incivility at least once/week

Self-serving bias:

the tendency for individuals to attribute their successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors.

Fundamental attribution error:

the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behavior of others.