Organizational Behavior 2E Chapter 4
Mario is setting up an after-school program for inner city youth. The population is a mix of white, African-American and Latino, with Latinos comprising the majority of participants. Which of the following would help the group overcome stereotypes? A. Create project opportunities using a mix of populations with equal status. B. Ignore stereotypes and the students will do the same. C. Ask the Latino student to be "nice" to the minority groups. D. Prevent any discussion of stereotypes. E. Treat the minority factions differently from the Latinos.
A
Marion, a shift supervisor, is keeping a performance diary for each of her employees. This mechanism can ______ performance appraisals. A. reduce bias in B. prove stereotypes for C. increase bias in D. eliminate E. speed up
A
Surface-level characteristics include _____, age, and race. A. gender B. attitudes C. opinions D. values E. seniority
A
______ characteristics are quickly apparent to interactants. A. Deep-level B. Surface-level C. Internal D. External E. Attributional
B
Which of the following is not a layer of diversity? A. organizational B. personality C. internal D. attributional E. external
D
Helen uses a wheelchair to get around. Her company, Cue Furniture, makes sure her desk is wheelchair accessible. The ___________ requires the company to do provide this. A. Civil Rights Act B. Rehabilitation Act C. Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act D. Americans with Disabilities Act E. Equal Treatment Directive
D`
"Women have a harder time than men in being perceived as effective leaders." This statement is a(n) A. awareness. B. reference. C. proven fact. D. accommodation. E. stereotype.
E
While perception is a part of the organizing framework for understanding and applying OB, it is a relatively unimportant process.
FALSE
A(n) ______ is an individual's set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group. A. implicit cognition B. stereotype C. negativity bias D. attribution E. memory
B
Alana looks at the clouds and sees flowers. Her brother, Sammy, looks at the same clouds and sees jellyfish. Alana and Sammy have different A. stereotypes. B. perceptions. C. attributions. D. attitudes. E. contexts.
B
Describe the status of the US workforce in terms of gender diversity/equality. Does this represent significant change from the past? Argue your position.
Coined in 1986, the term glass ceiling is used to represent an invisible but absolute barrier or solid roadblock that prevents women from advancing to higher-level positions. Various statistics support the existence of a glass ceiling. The pay gap between men and women is one example. In 2012, the median weekly income in full-time management, professional, and related occupations was $1,328 for men in contrast to $951 for women. This gap continued for MBA graduates. Female graduates from top MBA programs earned 93 cents for every dollar earned by a male graduate, and the pay gap tends to increase over time. Also, a recent WSJ/NBC national poll revealed that 40 percent of the women reported experiencing gender discrimination. Alice Eagly and her colleague Linda Carli conducted a thorough investigation into the organizational life of women and in 2007 published their conclusions that women had finally broken through the glass ceiling. We updated data originally reported in Eagly and Carli's book and that led to their conclusion. There were many more female CEOs in 2014 (24 and 50 female CEOs within Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 firms, respectively) and more women in managerial, professional, and related occupations than there were in the 1980s and 1990s. Statistics further showed that women had made strides along several measures: " Educational attainment (women earned the majority of bachelor's and master's degrees from 2006 through 2012). " Seats on boards of directors of Fortune 500 firms (9.6% in 1995 and 16.6% in 2013). " Leadership positions in educational institutions (in 2010, women represented 18.7% of college presidents and 29.9% of board members). " Federal court appointments (in 2013, 32% and 30% of federal courts of appeals and US district court judges, respectively, were women). You can interpret the above statistics in one of two ways. " No change. On the one hand, you might see proof that women remain underpaid and underrepresented in leadership positions, victims of discriminatory organizational practices. " Positive change. Alternatively, you can agree with Eagly and Carli's conclusion that "Men still have more authority and higher wages, but women have been catching up. Because some women have moved into the most elite leadership roles, absolute barriers are a thing of the past." Eagly and Carli propose that a woman's career follows a pattern more characteristic of traveling through a labyrinth. They use the labyrinth metaphor because they believe that a woman's path to success is not direct or simple, but rather contains twists, turns, and obstructions, particularly for married women with children.
Camilla, a manager, notes that Wilhelm's written reports from his hire date to the present are very thorough and accurate. Camilla is looking at A. consensus. B. distinctiveness. C. implicit factors. D. explicit factors. E. consistency.
E
Which one of the following is not a difference between affirmative action and diversity management? A. Affirmative action does not legitimize quotas. B. Affirmative action does not require companies to hire unqualified people. C. Affirmative action has created tremendous opportunities for women and minorities. D. Affirmative action is an intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct an imbalance. E. Affirmative action only refers to mandatory programs.
E
______ is based on a simple premise: Rightly or wrongly, people infer causes for their own and others' behavior. A. Context of interaction B. Stereotyping C. Person perception D. Implicit cognition E. Attribution theory
E
A person's level of effort is an internal factor in attributions.
TRUE
Harold Kelley hypothesized that people make causal attributions by observing three dimensions of behavior A. context, consistency, and simplification. B. consensus, storage, and retention. C. distinctiveness, retrieval, and consensus. D. consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency. E. consistency, recognition, and context.
D
The outer layer of the diversity wheel is that of organizational dimensions.
TRUE
The use of implicit cognition leads people to make biased decisions.
TRUE
Of the following options, which is the action to address any type of diversity issue? A. mutual adaptation B. exclusion C. denial D. isolation E. assimilation
A
The use of implicit cognitions A. leads people to make biased decisions. B. causes individuals to form stereotypes. C. influences managers to hire good candidates. D. fosters cultural change. E. is consistent with affirmative action programs.
A
When must managers accurately identify and communicate the behavioral characteristics and results they look for in a good performance? A. at the beginning of a review cycle B. in the middle of a review cycle C. at the end of a review cycle D. during the performance review meeting E. at least once a year
A
What is a stereotype? How are stereotypes formed and maintained? Present an example of a stereotype that affected your perception. Was it accurate or not?
A stereotype is an individual's set of beliefs about the characteristics or attributes of a group. Stereotyping is based on a four-step process: categorization, inferences, expectations, and maintenance. In categorization, we categorize people into groups according to criteria gender, age, race, and occupation. In inferences, we infer that all people within a category possess the same traits or characteristics. In expectations, we form expectations of others and interpret their behavior according to our stereotypes. In maintenance, we overestimate the frequency of stereotypic behaviors, incorrectly explain expected and unexpected behaviors, and differentiate minority individuals from ourselves.
The existence of implicit cognition leads people to make ________ decisions without realizing they are doing so. A. attentive B. biased C. perceptive D. independent E. predictable
B
Sharon observes her older co-worker, Robert, being rude to a new trainee. She has seen this behavior in Robert whenever the company brings in new trainees. Sharon believes that Robert resents the younger management trainees, who he refers to as "know-it-alls." She talks to him about _______ to help him understand. A. perceptions B. implicit cognition C. appraisals D. stereotyping E. internal attribution
D
Chris has studied for his mathematics test and his English test. He expects to do moderately well in both subjects. He gets an "A" in English, but fails mathematics. While Chris feels that the grade he got for English was well-deserved, he blames his failure in mathematics on the fact that his teacher, Mr. Wallace, does not like him. In this situation, Chris is exhibiting A. stereotypical behavior. B. a fundamental attribution bias. C. a negativity bias. D. micro-aggression. E. a self-serving bias.
E
Carlos, a manager, is looking at records of Mary's work performance. He notes that she performed very well on task A, but poorly on task B. He is observing A. consensus. B. distinctiveness. C. implicit factors. D. explicit factors. E. consistency.
B
Bill receives a compliment on a recent campaign; he attributes the success to his creativity. Mark's campaign didn't do well; he blames his team for not pulling together. These are examples of A. self-serving bias. B. person perception. C. fundamental attribution. D. consensus. E. implicit cognition.
A
Jennifer is described by her friends as independent, distrusting authority, and technologically savvy. One of her strongest memories is the day of the Oklahoma City bombings. She is most likely to be a member of the _____ generation. A. Baby boomers B. Gen Xers C. Gen 2020 D. Traditionalists E. Millennials
B
________ are suspected or inferred causes of behavior. A. Implicit cognitions B. Stereotypes C. Causal attributions D. Selectivity biases E. Semantic memories
C
At its most basic, a person's behavior can be attributed to either ______ or ______ factors. A. internal; external B. motivated; accidental C. effort; ability D. success; failure E. implicit; explicit
A
Ethan observes that his subordinate, Nate, is performing and acting like the other members of the unit. He is observing A. consensus. B. distinctiveness. C. implicit factors. D. explicit factors. E. consistency.
A
If Otto views a situation as having low consensus, low distinctiveness, and high consistency, he is likely to make an attribution of A. internal causes. B. external causes. C. self-serving bias. D. fundamental bias. E. person perception.
A
Pat is applying for a new job. Which of the following will help her online "image"? A. Include information on her volunteer activities. B. Criticize a former employer. C. Post pictures of her at a Halloween party in costume. D. Make negative political comments. E. Post comments about religious conflicts.
A
Since she was hired four months ago, Janelle has performed poorly on many aspects of her job. This is likely to be attributed to A. internal causes. B. external causes. C. self-serving bias. D. fundamental bias. E. nothing; there is not enough information.
A
Affirmative action plans A. are always mandated through legal processes. B. include quotas. C. can negatively affect women and minorities. D. require organizations to hire unqualified people. E. have failed to create opportunities for women and minorities.
C
Deep-level characteristics of diversity A. are the most stable. B. are unchangeable. C. include attitudes, opinions, and values. D. are not under our control. E. include our ethnicity.
C
Carrie goes out to lunch and orders a diet soda. If we consider _________, she is likely to prefer a salad for lunch. A. person perception B. category-based knowledge C. context of interaction D. implicit cognition E. cognitive load
D
The millennial generation is described as A. patriotic, loyal, and disciplined. B. multitasking, communicate fast, and online. C. workaholic, idealistic, competitive. D. entitled, civic-minded, closely involved with parents. E. self-reliant, adaptable, cynical.
D
John, a mid-level manager, notices that all his subordinates are filling out their monthly reports incorrectly. He concludes that the report forms are too complicated and need to be revised. On which type of attributional information is John's decision based? A. low consistency B. low consensus C. high consistency D. low distinctiveness E. high consensus
E
Josef, a manager, reviews Arturo's performance over the past six months and notes that during February he was late to work five times. He was not late during any other months. Josef is observing A. consensus. B. distinctiveness. C. implicit factors. D. explicit factors. E. consistency.
E
The self-serving bias states that we tend to A. take more responsibility for failure than success. B. blame others for our failures. C. give credit to others for their successes. D. over-attribute others' behaviors to personal factors. E. take more responsibility for success than failure.
E
There are two key situational characteristics that affect perception: the______ of the interaction, and the culture and race ______ between perceivers A. nonverbal cues; needs and goals B. situation; cognitive load C. consistency; context D. cognitive load; situation E. context; consistency
E
In distinctiveness, I compare an individual's behavior with that of his or her peers.
FALSE
Justine, a manager, has decided that Harrison is performing poorly because he is lazy. This is an example of a negativity bias.
FALSE
Managers cannot be trained to reduce implicit cognition; the best that they can do is to merely recognize its importance.
FALSE
Stereotypes exist about gender, race, and age, but not about occupation.
FALSE
Summertime Inc. is a multinational energy company. They have an aging, experienced staff and are concerned about losing many of their senior workforce in the next five to eight years. What type of initiatives can Summertime institute to help retain some of the senior staff?
Here are seven initiatives that can help organizations to motivate and retain an aging workforce: " Provide challenging work assignments that make a difference to the firm. " Give employees considerable autonomy and latitude in completing a task. " Provide equal access to training and learning opportunities when it comes to new technology. " Provide frequent recognition for skills, experience, and wisdom gained over the years. " Provide mentoring opportunities whereby older workers can pass on accumulated knowledge to younger employees. " Ensure that older workers receive sensitive, high-quality supervision. " Design a work environment that is both stimulating and fun.
. Quadrics Company, a service provider, is hiring for their customer service staff. They are reviewing resumes online. Because of "implicit cognitions," Quadrics tends to hire women for these positions. Explain the concept of "implicit cognitions" and describe actions that Quadrics could take to address any bias that occurs.
Interviewers make hiring decisions based on their impression of how an applicant fits the perceived requirements of a job. Unfortunately, many of these decisions are made on the basis of implicit cognition. Implicit cognition represents any thoughts or beliefs that are automatically activated from memory without our conscious awareness. The existence of implicit cognition leads people to make biased decisions without realizing they are doing so. A recent study of job applicants' résumés, for instance, demonstrated that recruiters evaluated women more favorably than men for customer service jobs, probably based on gender-role stereotypes. Experts recommend three solutions for reducing the biasing effect of implicit cognition. First, managers can be trained to understand and recognize this type of hidden bias. Second, they can use structured rather than unstructured interviews. Interviewers ask the same sequence of questions to all applicants in a structured interview, which leads to more reliable evaluations. Finally, managers can rely on evaluations from multiple interviewers rather than just one or two people.
Describe what is meant by "managing diversity." What is the business rationale for this?
Managing diversity focuses on changing an organization's culture and infrastructure such that people provide the highest productivity possible. Typically, diversity management programs have an educational component that prepares nontraditional managers for increasingly responsible posts and helps traditional managers overcome their prejudice, an enforcement component that puts teeth in diversity goals and encourages behavior change, and an exposure component that exposes people with different backgrounds and characteristics to each other. The rationale for managing diversity is more than its legal, social, or moral dimension. Quite simply, it's good business. Managing diversity gives the organization the ability to grow and maintain a business in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Describe at least five possible actions from the general framework of options that can be used to address diversity issues. Which approach fully endorses the philosophy behind managing diversity?
Organizations have eight options that they can use to address diversity issues: include/exclude the number of diverse people at all levels of the organization, deny that difference exist, assimilate diverse people into the dominant group, suppress differences, isolate diverse members from the larger group, tolerate differences among employees, build relationships among diverse employees, and foster mutual adaptation to create positive relationships. Exclusion, denial, assimilation, suppression, isolation, and toleration are among the least preferred options. Inclusion, building relationships, and mutual adaptation are the preferred strategies. Thomas reminds us that mutual adaptation is the only approach that unquestionably endorses the philosophy behind managing diversity.
Causal attributions are the suspected or inferred causes of behavior.
TRUE
External influences are individual differences that we have the ability to influence.
TRUE
Perception is a cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings.
TRUE
The negativity bias tends to make us notice bad things more than good things.
TRUE
The generation described as workaholic, idealistic, competitive, and materialistic is A. traditionalists. B. baby boomers. C. Gen Xers. D. millennials. E. Gen 2020.
B
David's boss has observed that David took about 12 hours to perform tasks A, B, and C. However, he took 24 hours to complete task D. David's boss concluded that task D must have been tougher than the other tasks. Which of the following attributional information led David's boss to this conclusion? A. high distinctiveness B. high consensus C. low consensus D. high consistency E. low distinctiveness
A
ABC Airlines hires flight attendants from diverse backgrounds and puts them through an extensive training and orientation program before they are approved to fly. In addition to learning about responding to medical issues and FAA guidelines, they also must learn the company's many rules and processes as contained in an extensive procedures and policies manual. ABC Airlines is adopting a(n) ______ option for managing diversity. A. deny B. assimilate C. suppress D. tolerate E. mutual adaptation
B
All the employees in Mustafa's unit are performing poorly on one specific aspect of their jobs during the month of June; however, they are performing well on all other parts of their job. This is likely to be attributed to A. internal causes. B. external causes. C. self-serving bias. D. fundamental bias. E. implicit cognition.
B
Carl's team is evaluating his effectiveness as a leader. Which of the following behaviors does reflect an effective leader? A. telling others they have done well B. not letting other group members make any decisions C. trying to get the group to work as a team D. maintaining definite standards of performance E. setting specific goals for the group
B
Meghan has a virtual interview with ABQ, Inc. for a receptionist position. The interviewer asks Meghan about any potential physical limitations she has. Meghan, who uses a walker, chooses not to answer. She does not get the job. Explain how this situation involves both discrimination and stereotyping. What should the interviewer have done differently and why? How would the Human Resources manager address what the interviewer did?
Approximately 20 percent of Americans have a physical or cognitive disability, according to the US Census Bureau. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities and requires organizations to reasonably accommodate an individual's disabilities. Not surprisingly, some people with disabilities have difficulty finding work. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 10.4 percent were unemployed in July 2015, much higher than the 5.4 percent rate for those without disabilities. Contrary to negative stereotypes about hiring the disabled, such as that making reasonable accommodation is expensive, many organizations are finding this group of people to be a valuable source of talent. Walgreens, for example, is dedicated to hiring people with disabilities. Forty percent of the workforce at two of its distribution centers have disabilities. Stereotypes influence decision making and interpersonal processes throughout the organization. The key managerial challenge is to reduce the extent to which stereotyping effects occur. Three ways that this can be achieved are: " Managers should educate people about stereotypes and how they can influence our behavior and decision making. " Managers should create opportunities for diverse employees to meet and work together in cooperative groups of equal status. " Managers should encourage all employees to strive to increase their awareness regarding stereotypes.
Josephine is on a four-person project team in her management class. The team produces four reports during the term, and each person leads one of these projects. The project Josephine leads earned an A, while the team receives Cs on the other three reports. Josephine believes that her project was successful was because of her leadership abilities, while the other projects were not as good because of the inadequate skills of the other team members. She demonstrates ______ in her beliefs. A. negativity bias B. self-serving bias C. central tendency D. halo effect E. leniency effect
B
Joyce finds that the members of the project team to which she has been assigned in her management class are all athletes on the college's football and basketball teams. She immediately considers dropping the class because she thinks her experience with that team will be negative. Joyce is likely to be reacting to a A. negativity bias. B. stereotype. C. self-serving bias. D. semantic memory. E. fundamental attribution bias.
B
Karrin notices immediately that one of the members assigned to her team in a marketing class is a middle-aged man. This is a(n) _______ characteristic. A. deep-level B. surface-level C. internal D. external E. attributional
B
Kelley hypothesized that people make causal attributions by observing A. external and internal factors and perceptions. B. consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency. C. effort, consistency, and ability. D. implicit and explicit factors. E. stereotypes and implicit cognition.
B
Melissa walks into her morning status meeting. She didn't have time for breakfast or even coffee. During the meeting, she is most likely to focus on A. staying alert because she knows the meeting can be tedious. B. snacks and drinks because she is hungry and thirsty. C. the agenda because it is the first thing she sees when she walks in. D. her phone messages because of her past experience with these meetings. E. the amount of tasks she has to accomplish today.
B
The steps in the process of stereotype formation and maintenance in order are A. categorization, expectations, inferences, maintenance. B. categorization, inferences, expectations, maintenance. C. expectations, categorization, inferences, maintenance. D. inferences, categorization, expectations, maintenance. E. inferences, expectations, categorization, maintenance.
B
We build stereotypes through a four-step process. Which of the following is not part of the process? A. maintenance B. appraisal C. categorization D. inferences E. expectations
B
Why do recruiters use virtual interviews? A. to accurately assess if the applicant will "fit in" B. to reduce problems associated with implicit cognition C. solely to save on travel expenses D. to evaluate work that does not produce objective outcomes E. to better judge leadership qualities
B
_______ is an artificial intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct an imbalance, injustice, mistake, or outright discrimination that occurred in the past. A. Discrimination rectification B. Affirmative action C. Managing diversity D. A legitimacy program E. The glass ceiling
B
Nita is the office manager at a service station. Two applicants, Max and Tim, arrive to interview for the open mechanic's position. Max's clothes are dirty, his hair is unwashed, and he doesn't make eye contact when he gives Nita his name. Tim dresses in clean jeans and a nice shirt, is shaved, and shakes Nita's hand when he introduces himself. After the interview, Keith the head mechanic, asks Nita what she thought. Both men have the skill set needed for the position. Nita recommends Tim. She is responding to her perception of A. diversity. B. the perceiver. C. the target. D. her culture. E. past performance.
C
Saying, "You've got to pay your dues" is another way to promote the status quo. This is an example of the _______ option that organizations can use to address any type of diversity issue. A. include/exclude B. deny C. suppress D. isolate E. tolerate
C
Seema is married with two children and lives in New York. She has worked at Bubble Zone for 10 years. These are all _______of the four layers of diversity. A. internal dimensions B. organizational dimensions C. external dimensions D. personality E. affirmations
C
Shoney's hired African Americans to fill positions of dining-room supervisors and vice presidents, added more franchises owned by African Americans, and purchased more goods and services from minority-owned companies. This represents the _____ option that organization can use to address diversity issues. A. suppress B. isolate C. include/exclude D. assimilate E. deny
C
The term _______ identifies an invisible but absolute barrier that prevents women from advancing to higher-level positions. A. diversity management B. affirmative action C. glass ceiling D. causal attribution E. self-serving bias
C
What form of diversity management is an organization adopting when it acknowledges differences but does not value nor accept them? A. mutual adaptation B. building relationships C. toleration D. isolation E. suppression
C
Which of the following is not one of the key perceiver characteristics that affect our perceptions of others? A. needs and goals B. category-based knowledge C. nonverbal cues D. experience with target E. direction of gaze
C
External factors include all of the following except A. bad luck. B. a difficult task. C. ineffective coworkers. D. putting forth effort. E. an unsympathetic boss.
D
Perception is the process that A. measures an individual's set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group. B. automatically activates any thoughts or beliefs from memory. C. evaluates suspected or inferred causes of behavior. D. enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings. E. attributes another person's behavior to his or her personal characteristics.
D
The fundamental attribution bias says that we tend to over-attribute others' behaviors to _________ factors. A. situational B. external C. environmental D. personal E. self-serving
D
Which of the following is not one of the recommendations to managers about reducing stereotypes? A. Managers should educate people about stereotypes. B. Managers should create opportunities for diverse employees to work together. C. Managers should encourage all employees to strive to increase their awareness of stereotypes. D. Managers should actively ignore stereotypes. E. Managers should provide opportunities for employees to get accurate data about the characteristics of other groups of people.
D
What is discrimination, and what is affirmative action? Evaluate whether affirmative action programs are good or bad for organizations. Identify a specific example of the benefits or problems of affirmative action at your college
Discrimination occurs when employment decisions about an individual are due to reasons not associated with performance or are not related to the job. Affirmative action is an artificial intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct an imbalance, injustice, mistake, or outright discrimination that occurred in the past. While affirmative action plans have created tremendous opportunities for women and minorities, they do not foster the kind of thinking that is needed to manage diversity effectively; and are found to negatively affect the women and minorities expected to benefit from them.
Molly works as a dishwasher at a restaurant. She comes across as a fun-loving, party-going person. One day her dog falls sick and Molly has to take him to the vet. She calls her boss and tells him that she won't be coming in to work. Her boss thinks that Molly is missing work intentionally, so that she can go out and party. Which of the following best describes the boss's perception of the situation? A. halo effect B. leniency effect C. central tendency D. self-serving bias E. fundamental attribution bias
E
Which of the following is not a behavior that research found in the employees' categorical knowledge of good leaders? A. Telling people they had done well. B. Setting specific goals for the group. C. Maintaining definite standards for performance. D. Letting other group members make decisions. E. Using an autocratic approach.
E
Which of the following is not a technique by which managers can reduce the effect of implicit cognition in hiring? A. Use structured interviews. B. Use multiple interviewers. C. Use virtual interviews. D. Undergo training to reduce bias. E. Rely on stereotypes.
E
To make effective hiring decisions, managers should learn to use their implicit cognitions.
FALSE
Explain Kelley's model of attributions, making sure to discuss both the dimensions of behaviors and the types of attributions people can make.
Harold Kelley attempted to pinpoint specific antecedents of internal and external attributions. Kelley hypothesized that people make causal attribution by observing three dimensions of behavior: consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency. These dimensions vary independently, forming various combinations and leading to differing attributions. Consensus compares an individual's behavior with that of his or her peers. Distinctiveness compares a person's behavior on one task with his or her behavior on other tasks. Consistency judges if the individual's performance on a given task is consistent over time. These three dimensions of behavior lead to specific attributions. Kelley theorized that people attribute behavior to either internal causes (personal factors) or external causes (environmental factors) depending on the ranking of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency as shown: SEE IMAGE IN FILE While other combinations are possible, the two options shown above have been most frequently studied. In Figure 4.3, charts taken together indicate Internal Attributions on the left-hand side and External Attributions on the right-hand side. For instance, say all employees are performing poorly (high consensus), on only one of several tasks (high distinctiveness), and during only one time period (low consistency). A supervisor will probably attribute the employees' poor performance to an external source such as a temporary distraction or event. In contrast, if only one employee performs poorly (low consensus), across several tasks (low distinctiveness), and over time (high consistency), the supervisor will likely attribute performance to personal factors. Many studies support this predicted pattern of attribution.
Perception is influenced by three key components. Describe each component and give an example of each from your own experiences
Perception is influenced by three key components: the characteristics of the perceiver, of the target-the person or group being observed-and of the situation. Figure 4.2 shows six key perceiver characteristics that affect our perceptions of others. " Direction of gaze. " Needs and goals. " Experience with target. " Category-based knowledge. " Gender and emotional status. " Cognitive load. Figure 4.2 identifies five important characteristics of the target that affect our person perception. The characteristics are: " Direction of gaze. " Facial features and body shape. " Nonverbal cues. " Appearance or dress. " Physical attractiveness. " Characteristics of the Situation Figure 4.2 shows two key situational characteristics that affect perception: the context of the interaction, and the culture and race consistency between perceivers and targets. Students should provide one example of each of the three components.
Describe the two attributional tendencies that can bias our interpretations of observed behavior. Give an example of each. Why are these important for managers to understand?
Researchers have uncovered two attributional tendencies that distort one's interpretation of observed behavior-fundamental attribution bias and self-serving bias. The fundamental attribution bias reflects one's tendency to attribute another person's behavior to his or her personal characteristics, as opposed to situational factors. The self-serving bias represents one's tendency to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure. These are important to managers because attributions profoundly affect organizational behavior, in particular managerial actions of reprimand or training subordinates who fail to perform adequately. Students should give an example of each.
Soltis & Sons is a management consulting firm that is attempting to grow its business by targeting small businesses that are run by women or immigrants. In pursuing this strategy, the company has hired employees of other cultures whose first language is not English. Many of these employees are under 30 and they do not have college degrees. While this effort is leading to a workforce that mirrors the clients, the company finds that employees and managers are experiencing difficulties communicating with one another. This leads to misunderstandings and a decrease in productivity and customer satisfaction. For example, if a manager gives instructions about completing a certain task to an employee who fails to fully comprehend the instructions, the employee may make mistakes. The director of Human Resources is considering whether or not to offer some type of training, yet none has been offered to date. She thinks some employees may be impacted by negative stereotypes associated with a lack of work experience with people from different cultures. She also noted that some work teams do not like to be supervised by younger people of color. A few employees quit over this issue and management is trying to decide what to do. Using the 3-Step Problem-Solving Approach and the Organizing Framework, how can Soltis & Sons address the problem?
Step 1: Define the problem. What are the gaps between the desired outcomes and the current state? Step 2: Identify causes of the problem. Remember, the diversity climate is an important situation factor. There are also relevant processes across the individual level (perception, attributions, and psychological safety), the group/team level (group/team dynamics), and the organizational level (options to manage diversity). These inputs and processes have critical outcomes. Step 3: Make recommendations for solving the problem. What options does Soltis & Sons have?
Joe, a marketing major, believes that Mary is probably better at math than he is because she is a finance major. This is an example of a stereotype.
TRUE
Kelley identified three dimensions of behavior that people observe when making attributions: consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency.
TRUE
Identify the five "generations" that are in, or about to enter, the US labor force. Give the birth years each generation represents, and discuss the broad traits of each. Give an example of an age-related conflict in values or traits from your own experience.
Table 4.3 summarizes the generational differences. Traditionalists, born from 1925 to 1945, are patriotic, loyal, disciplined, conformist, with a high work ethic, and respect for authority. Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 and are described as workaholic, idealistic, work ethic, competitive, materialistic, and seeks personal fulfillment. Gen Xers, born from 1965 to 1979, value self-reliance, work/life balance, adaptable, cynical, distrust authority, independent, technologically savvy. Born from 1980 to 2001, Millennials' broad traits are entitled, civic minded, close parental involvement, cyberliteracy, appreciate diversity, multitasking, work/life balance, technologically savvy. Multitasking, online life, cyberliteracy, communicate fast and online are broad traits which describe Gen 2020 born after 2002.
Name and explain at least seven of the barriers to implementing successful diversity programs. Suggest ways that organizations can overcome these barriers.
The following is a list of the most common barriers to implementing successful diversity programs: " Inaccurate stereotypes and prejudice. " Ethnocentrism. " Poor career planning. " A negative diversity climate. " An unsupportive and hostile working environment for diverse employees. " Lack of political savvy on the part of diverse employees. " Difficulty in balancing career and family issues. " Fears of reverse discrimination. " Diversity is not seen as an organizational priority. " The need to revamp the organization's performance appraisal and reward system. " Resistance to change. Organizations have eight options that they can use to address diversity issues: include/exclude the number of diverse people at all levels of the organization, deny that difference exist, assimilate diverse people into the dominant group, suppress differences, isolate diverse members from the larger group, tolerate differences among employees, build relationships among diverse employees, and foster mutual adaptation to create positive relationships.
Managing diversity gives an organization the ability to grow and maintain its business in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Provide two examples that show how an organization might benefit from managing diversity.
The textbook specifies two examples, but you can create others. Here's what William Weldon, former chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, said: "Diversity and inclusion are part of the fabric of our businesses and are vital to our future success worldwide. The principles of diversity and inclusion are rooted in Our Credo [the company's values] and enhance our ability to deliver products and services to advance the health and well-being of people throughout the world. We cannot afford to reduce our focus on these critical areas in any business climate." Research supports the logic of this strategy. For example, a recent study of 739 retail stores found reinforcement for the access-and-legitimacy perspective, defined in the following manner: An access-and-legitimacy perspective on diversity is based in recognition that the organization's markets and constituencies are culturally diverse. It therefore behooves the organization to match the diversity in parts of its own workforce as a way of gaining access to and legitimacy with those markets and constituent groups. This particular study discovered that customer satisfaction and employee productivity were higher when the racial-ethnic composition of store employees matched that of customers.
