Personality Behavior and Organizational Behavior

MODULE 11 LECTURE 1: Personality, Behavior, and Organizational Behavior ● Personality ○ Personality Is Who You Are ■ Consists of stable psychological traits and behavioral attributes that give a person her/his identity ● Big Five Personality Dimensions ○ Extroversion ■ How outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive a person is ○ Agreeableness ■ How trusting, good-natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted one is ○ Conscientiousness ■ How dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent one is ○ Emotional stability ■ How relaxed, secure, and unworried one is ○ Openness to experience ■ How intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broad-minded one is ● Do Personality Tests in the Workplace Work? ○ Use professionals. Rely on reputable, licensed psychologists for selecting and overseeing the administration, scoring, and interpretation of personality and psychological tests. Not every psychologist is an expert at these kinds of tests. ○ Don’t hire on the basis of personality test results alone. Supplement any personality test data with information from reference checks, personal interviews, ability tests, and job performance records. Also avoid hiring people on the basis of specified personality profiles. ○ Be alert for gender, racial, and ethnic bias. Regularly asses any possible adverse impact of personality tests on the hiring of women and minorities. This is truly a matter of great importance, since you don’t want to find your company (or yourself) embroiled in a lawsuit at some point downstream. ○ Graphology tests don’t work, but integrity tests do. Personality traits and aptitudes cannot be inferred from samples of people’s penmanship, as proponents of graphology tests claim. However, dishonest job applicants can often be screened by integrity tests. Dishonest people are reportedly unable to fake conscientiousness. ● Four Traits Important in Organizations ○ Self EfÏcacy ■ Belief in one’s personal ability to do the task ■ Learned helplessness: debilitating lack of faith in one’s own ability to exercise control over one’s environment ○ Self-Esteem ■ Extent to which one likes or dislikes themselves ○ Locus of Control ■ How much people believe they control their fate through their own efforts ○ Emotional Stability ■ Extent to which people feel secure and unworried ■ How likely people are to experience negative emotions under pressure ● Emotional Intelligence ○ Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ) ■ The ability to monitor your and others’ feelings and to use this information to guide your thinking and actions ● 1. Self-awareness: The most essential trait. This is the ability to read your own emotions and gauge your moods accurately, so you know how you’re affecting others. ● 2. Self-management: This is the ability to control your emotions and act with honesty and integrity in reliable and adaptable ways. You can leave occasional bad moods outside the ofÏce. ● 3. Social awareness: This includes empathy, showing others that you care, and organizational intuition, so you keenly understand how your emotions and actions affect others. ● 4. Relationship management: This is the ability to communicate clearly and convincingly, disarm conflicts, and build strong personal bonds. ● Organizational Behavior (OB) ○ OB is Critical to Evolving a Work Culture ■ Dedicated to better understanding and managing people at work ■ Strong influence from psychology (industrial/organizational psychology) ■ Helps managers explain and predict work behavior so they can better lead and motivate the organization’s most valuable asset—the team ■ ● Values and Attitude ○ Values ■ Abstract ideals that guide one’s thinking and behavior across all situations ○ Attitude ■ Learned predisposition toward a given object ■ Affective: feelings or emotions one has about a situation ■ Cognitive: beliefs and knowledge one has about a situation ■ Behavioral: how one intends or expects to behave toward a situation ● Values + Attitude ➔ Behavior ○ Values ■ Abstract ideals that guide one’s thinking and behavior across all situations ○ Attitude ■ Learned predisposition toward a given object ○ Behavior ■ One’s actions and judgments (influenced by values and attitude) ○ Revisiting the Role of OB ■ Interdisciplinary field dedicated to better understanding, explaining, and ultimately improving attitudes and behaviors of individuals (i.e. values, attitudes, personality, perception, and learning) and groups (i.e. norms, roles, and teams) ■ Helps managers explain and predict work behavior so they can better lead and motivate the organization’s most valuable asset—the team VIDEO: MISERABLE AT WORK LECTURE 2: Perception, and Behaviors Managers Should Address ● Perception ○ Process of interpreting and understanding one’s environment ○ ● Distortions of Perception: Stereotyping ○ Stereotyping ■ Tendency to attribute to an individual the characteristics one believes are typical of the group to which the individual belongs ■ Principal Areas of Stereotyping ● Sex-role ● Age ● Race/Ethnicity ● Distortions of Perception: Implicit Bias ○ Implicit Bias ■ Attitudes or beliefs that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner ● Distortions of Perception: Halo and Recency Effects ○ Halo Effect ■ When we form an impression of an individual based on a single trait ■ Sometimes called horn-and-halo effect ○ Recency Effect ■ Tendency to remember recent information of experiences better than earlier information ■ Managers tend to best remember the most recent interview they conducted when interviewing multiple candidates ● Distortions of Perception: Causal Attribution ○ Causal Attribution ■ Inferring causes for observed behavior ■ One’s desire to form cause-and-effect explanations for another’s behavior ○ Two Attributional Tendencies ■ Fundamental attribution bias: attributing another person’s behavior to her/his personal characteristics rather than the situation ■ Self-serving bias: taking more personal responsibility for success than for failure ● Attitudes of Interest to Managers ○ Employee Engagement ■ One’s involvement, satisfaction, and enthusiasm for work ○ Job Satisfaction ■ Extent to which you feel positive or negative about various aspects of your work ○ Organizational Commitment ■ Extent to which an employee identifies with an organization and is committed to its goals ● Diversity ○ All the ways people are unlike and alike—the differences and similarities in age, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, capabilities, and socioeconomic background ● Diversity Wheel ○ ● Trends in Workforce Diversity ○ Internal Dimensions of Diversity at Work in the U.S. ■ Age: Median age of Americans is almost 38 years – the oldest on record ■ Gender: Many more women in the workplace versus past decades ■ Race and ethnicity: U.S. population is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever before ■ Sexual orientation: Workplace inclusivity is increasing rapidly ■ Disability: Nearly 20% of Americans have a physical or mental disability ■ Education: Underemployment continues ● Barriers to Diversity ○ Organizational Barriers to Diversity ■ Ethnocentrism ● Belief that one’s native country, culture, language, abilities, or behavior is superior to those of another culture ■ Fear of discrimination by majority group members ■ Resistance to diversity program priorities ■ Negative diversity climate ● Subcomponent of the organization’s overall climate ● The employees’ aggregate perceptions about the organization’s diversityrelated formal structure characteristics and informal values ■ Lack of support for family demands ■ Hostile work environment for diverse employees ● Job-Related Stress ○ Stress ■ The tension people feel when they’re facing extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities, and are uncertain about their ability to handle them effectively ○ Stressor ■ The source of stress ● Sources of Job-Related Stress ○ Demands Created by Individual Differences ■ Genetic or personality characteristics ■ Type A behavior pattern: involved in a chronic, determined struggle to accomplish more in less time ○ Individual Task Demands ■ Stress created by the job itself ○ Individual Role Demands ■ Stress created by others’ expectations of you ■ Role: set of behaviors people expect of occupants of a position ○ Group Demands ■ Stress created by coworkers and managers ○ Organizational Demands ■ Stress created by the environment and culture ○ Nonwork Demands ■ Stress created by forces outside the organization ■ Family struggles ■ Financial problems ■ Health issues ● Effects of Stress ○ Physiological Signs ■ Transient or chronic health issues ○ Psychological Signs ■ Counterproductive psychological issues such as burnout and anxiety ○ Behavioral Signs ■ Substance abuse, reduced performance, reduced engagement, etc. ● Stress Reduction Strategies ○ Numerous Outlets to Relieve or Reduce Stress ■ Exercise ■ Establish a support system ■ Express yourself ■ Good nutrition and rest ■ Spiritual/Religious involvement ■ Meditation ■ Vacations MODULE 12: LECTURE 1: Content (Need-Based) Theories of Motivation ● Motivation ○ Psychological processes that arouse and direct goal-directed behavior ○ ● Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Rewards ○ Extrinsic Rewards ■ The payoff, such as money, a person receives from others for performing a particular task ■ Extrinsic motivation is to draw satisfaction in the payoff from others ○ Intrinsic Rewards ■ The satisfaction, such as a feeling of accomplishment, one feels from performing the particular task itself ■ Intrinsic motivation is to draw satisfaction from performing the task itself ● Different Theories of Motivation ○ Theories Address Different Aspects of Motivation ■ Content perspectives ● Needs-based perspectives ● Theories that emphasize the needs that motivate people’s behaviors ■ Process perspectives ■ Job design perspectives ■ Reinforcement perspectives ● Content Perspectives on Employee Motivation ○ Four Content Perspectives ■ Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ■ Acquired needs theory ■ Self-determination theory ■ Two-factor theory ● Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ○ ● Acquired Needs Theory ○ Three needs—achievement, afÏliation, and power—are major motives determining people’s behavior in the workplace ■ Achievement: Desire to solve problems, conquer tasks, be rewarded for these successes, etc. ■ AfÏliation: Desire for friendly and warm relations with others ■ Power: Desire to be responsible for others, influence their behavior, and be seen as an authority figure ■ ○ Applying Acquired Needs Theory at Work ■ Achievement: give challenging but achievable tasks; provide meaningful, constructive feedback; reward their successes ■ AfÏliation: provide opportunities for teamwork (for those who like teams) and interaction with others they engage with ■ Power: allow for employees to have appropriate control over their work and publicly recognize them for successes ● Overview of Self-Determination Theory ○ Assumes that people are driven to try to grow and attain fulfillment, with their behavior and well-being influenced by three innate needs ○ Competence: feeling qualified and knowledgeable ○ Autonomy: feel like they have freedom and discretion • Relatedness: feel a sense of belonging and attachment to others ● Overview of Two-Factor Theory ○ Proposes that work satisfaction and dissatisfaction arise from two different factors—work satisfaction from motivating factors and work dissatisfaction from hygiene factors ■ Motivating Factors: Motivators; factors associated with job satisfaction, all of which affect the job content or the rewards of work performance ■ Hygiene Factors: Factors associated with dissatisfaction, all of which affect the job context in which people work ■ ● Side-by-Side of Content Perspectives on Motivation ○ ○ Maslow, McClelland, Deci & Ryan, Herzberg LECTURE 2: Process and Job Design Perspectives ● Different Theories of Motivation ○ Theories Address Different Aspects of Motivation ■ Content perspectives ■ Process perspectives ■ Job design perspectives ■ Reinforcement perspectives ● Process Perspectives ○ Concerned with the thought process by which people decide how to act ○ Three Process Theories on Motivation ■ Equity/justice theory ■ Expectancy theory ■ Goal-setting theory ● Equity/Justice Theory ○ Equity Theory ■ Explains how people strive for fairness and justice in social exchanges or give-and-take relationships ■ Cognitive dissonance is a factor: the psychological discomfort people experience between their cognitive attitude and incompatible behavior ■ ○ Elements of Justice Theory ■ Distributive justice: reflects the perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are distributed and allocated ■ Procedural justice: reflects the perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to make allocation decisions ■ Interactional justice: reflects the quality of the interpersonal treatment people receive when procedures are implemented ○ Using Equity/Justice Theory to Motivate ■ Employee perceptions are what count ■ Employees want a voice in decisions that affect them ■ Employees should be given an appeals process ■ Leader behavior matters ■ A climate of justice makes a difference ● Expectancy Theory ○ Suggests that people are motivated by two things: ■ How much they want something ■ How likely they think they are to get what they want ● Expectancy is the belief that a particular level of effort will lead to a particular level of performance (i.e. effort-to-performance expectancy) ● Instrumentality is the expectation that successful performance of the task will lead to the outcome desired ● Valence is value, the importance the worker assigns to the possible outcome or reward ● ○ Using Expectancy Theory to Motivate at Work ■ Applying Expectancy Theory in the Workplace ● Determine what rewards your employees value ● Establish the job objectives and the performance level you desire ● Determine what rewards you will link to performance ● Ensure your employees believe you will deliver the right rewards for the right performance ● Goal-Setting Theory ○ Employees can be motivated by goals that are specific and challenging but achievable ○ Achieve success through four mechanisms ○ It directs your attention toward goal-relevant vs. irrelevant tasks ○ Effort expended is generally proportional to the goal’s difÏculty ○ Increases your persistence, resulting in overcoming more obstacles ○ It fosters the use of strategies and action plans ● Different Theories of Motivation ○ Theories Address Different Aspects of Motivation ■ Content perspectives ■ Process perspectives ■ Job design perspectives ■ Reinforcement perspectives ● Job Design Perspectives on Motivation ○ Job Design ■ The division of an organization’s work among its employees and the application of motivational theories to jobs to increase satisfaction and performance ○ Recall Past Content Related to Jobs ■ Job analysis and job descriptions ■ ○ Fitting People to Jobs ■ Assumption that people will gradually adapt to work in virtually any situation ■ Scientific management: process or reducing the number of tasks a worker performs ○ Fitting Jobs to People ■ Job enlargement: increasing the number of tasks in a job to increase variety and motivation ■ Job enrichment: building into the job such motivating factors as responsibility, achievement, recognition, etc. ○ Job Characteristics Model ■ Consists of five core job characteristics that affect three critical psychological states of an employee that, in turn, affect work outcomes—the employee’s motivation, performance, and satisfaction. THE FIVE CHARACTERISTICS: ● Skill variety: How many different skills does the job require? ● Task identity: How many different tasks are required to complete the work? ● Task significance: How many other people are affected by your job? ● Autonomy: How much discretion does your job afford? ● Feedback: How frequently do you learn how well you’re doing? ○ LECTURE 3: Reinforcement and the Role of Compensation ● Different Theories of Motivation ○ Theories Address Different Aspects of Motivation ■ Content perspectives ■ Process perspectives ■ Job design perspectives ■ Reinforcement perspectives ● Reinforcement Related to Motivation ○ Reinforcement ■ Anything that causes a given behavior to be repeated or inhibited ○ Reinforcement Theory ■ Explains behavior change by suggesting that behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, whereas behavior with negative consequences tends not to be repeated ● Reinforcing and Punishing Behavior ○ ● Positive Reinforcement as a Manager Best Practices for Positive Reinforcement at Work • Reward only desirable behavior • Give rewards as soon as possible • Be clear about what behavior is desired • Have different rewards and recognize individual differences • Reward progress toward a goal, not just achieving the goal (frequent feedback, recognition, and direction are important) ● Punishment as a Manager Best Practices for Punishment at Work • Punish only undesirable behavior • Give reprimands or disciplinary action as soon as possible • Be clear about what behavior is undesirable • Administer punishment in private • Combine punishment and positive reinforcement • This is not sugar-coating; it helps ensure the employee is bought-in to changing their behavior ● Money as a Motivator (or a Reinforcer) Recall that Good Reinforcers… • Satisfy individual needs • Are agreed upon by managers and employees, of course • Are believable and achievable by employees • Link directly to performance and are measurable • The more indirectly related to individual performance, the less control the employee has over the result and the weaker the reinforcer’s impact on the employee’s behavior ● Variable Compensation as a Reinforcer Pay for Performance • Bases compensation directly on one’s results • Examples include: • Piece rate: employees are paid based on how much they produce • Sales commission: sales employees are paid a percentage of the earnings the company made from their sales Bonuses • Cash rewards given to employees who achieve specific performance objectives ○ Profit Sharing • Distributing to employees a percentage of the company’s profits Gain Sharing • Distributing to specific groups of employees the savings or “gains” they’ve made in reducing costs or increasing measurable productivity ○ Stock Options • Certain employees are given the right to buy company stock at a future date for a discounted price Pay for Knowledge • Ties an employee’s pay to the number of jobrelated skills they have or academic degrees they earn ● Nonmonetary Compensation as Reinforcers Work-Life Benefits • An employer-sponsored benefit program or initiative designed to help all employees balance work life with home life • Includes benefits such as day care discounts, domestic partner benefits, job-protected leave longer than minimum federal requirements, etc. Other Common Nonmonetary Benefits • Flex-time • Vacations and sabbaticals ● Attributes of Positive Work Environments ○ Well-Being ■ The combined impact of five elements: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement ○ Flourishing ■ The extent to which our lives contain the traits listed above ● Meaningfulness ○ Sense of belonging to and serving something that you believe is bigger than yourself