Chapter 11: Managing Individual Differences & BehaviorThere are five personality dimensions and five personality traits that managers need to be aware of to understand workplace behavior.

Leading, is defined as motivating, directing, and otherwise influencing people to work hard to achieve the organization's goals.

Personality consists of the stable psychological traits and behavioral attributes that give a person his or her identity.

The Big Five Personality Dimensions

1. Extroversion.

a. How outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive a person is.

2. Agreeableness.

a. How trusting, good-natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted one Is.

3. Conscientiousness.

a. How dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent one is.

4. Emotional stability.

a. How relaxed, secure, and unworried one is.

5. Openness to experience.

a. How intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broadminded one is.

Extroversion-the outgoing personality.

Conscientiousness-the dependable personality.

Extroversion has been associated with success for managers and salespeople.

Stronger predictor of job performance than agreeableness, across all professions.

o It appears that being courteous, trusting, straightforward, and soft-hearted [that is, agreeableness] has a smaller impact on job performance than being talkative, active, and assertive [that is, extroversion].

Conscientiousness (strong work ethic) has been found to have the strongest positive correlation with job performance and training performance.

Individuals who exhibit traits associated with a strong sense of purpose, obligation, and persistence generally perform better than those who do not.

The proactive personality is someone who is more apt to take initiative and persevere to influence the environment.

People of this sort identify opportunities and act on them, which makes them associated not only with success-individual, team, and organizational-but also with entrepreneurship.

Five Traits Important in Organizationso Locus of Control – indicates how much people believe they control their fate

through their own efforts Internal locus of control – you believe you control your own destiny External locus of control – you believe external forces control you Expect different degrees of structure an compliance for each type Employ different reward systems for each type

o Self-Efficacy – belief in one’s personal ability to do a task Low self-efficacy associated with learned helplessness – debilitating lack of

faith in one’s ability to control one’s environment Implications for managers?

Assign jobs accordingly Develop Self-efficacy

o Self-esteem – the extent to which people like/dislike themselves, their overall self-evaluation

People with high self-esteem More apt to handle failure better + emphasize the positive Take more risk + choose unconventional jobs Might be too egotistical and boastful

People with low self-esteem Focus more on weakness during failure More dependent on others and are more influenced by them

Some ways managers can build employee self-esteem: Reinforce employee’s positive attributes and skills Provide positive feedback whenever possible Break larger projects into smaller tasks and projects Express confidence in employee’s abilities Provide coaching whenever employees are seen to be struggling to

complete taskso Self-monitoring – extent to which people are able to observe their own behavior

and adapt it to external situations Low self-monitors – criticized for being insensitive to their surroundings High self-monitors – enjoy more internal and external promotions and are

more political savvyo Emotional Intelligence – ability to cope, to empathize with others and be self-

motivated. Higher EI brings along:

Better social relations for child and adult Better family and intimate relationships Being perceived more positively by others Better academic achievement Higher task performance Better psychological well-being

EI comprised of 4 key components Self-Awareness – ability to read your own emotions so as to know

how you are affecting others Self-management – ability to control your own emotions and act

with honesty and integrity Social awareness – includes empathy, allowing you to show others

you care

Relationship management – ability to communicate clearly and convincingly, disarm conflicts

How to raise your EI? Develop awareness of your EI level Learn about areas needing improvement

Values, Attitudes and Behavior Organizational Behavior – dedicated to better understanding and management of people

at worko Tries to help managers not only explain workplace behavior but to also predict it so

that they can lead and motivate their employeeso Individual Behavioro Group Behavior

Values – abstract ideals that guide one’s thinking an behavior across all situationso Concepts, principles, things, people or activities for which a person is willing to work

hard for.o Compensation, recognition and status are common values in the workplace

Attitudes – learned predisposition toward a given objecto Unlike values, they are directed toward specific objects, people or events

Three Components of Attitudeso Affective component – consists of the feelings/emotions of a situation (I feel)o Cognitive component – beliefs and knowledge of a situation (I believe)o Behavioral component – intentional component refers to how one

intends/expects to behave toward a situation (I intend)o When attitudes and reality collide?

Cognitive dissonance – psychological discomfort a person experiences between his/her cognitive attitude and incompatible behavior (Leon Festinger)

Leon Foster: how people deal with discomfort of inconsistency: Importance (ex. Law abiding citizen that speeds on the road) Control (ex. Juror may not like the idea of death sentence but may

administer it for he/she has no choice) Rewards (ex. Police working on a case for a long time and does not

want to find contradictory evidence) Main ways to reduce cognitive dissonance

Change your attitude/behavior Belittle the importance of the inconsistent behavior Find consonant elements that out-weight the dissonant ones

Behavior – actions and judgments (through a person’s value and attitudes)

Work-Related Attitudes and Behaviors Managers Need To Deal With Job Involvement – extent to which an individual is immersed in his or her present job Work Related Attitudes

o Attempts at raising overall employee morale by thinking of work as a “calling” and not just a job. Three types of attitude managers are particularly interested in:

o Employee Engagement – individual’s involvement, satisfaction and enthusiasm for work

o Job Satisfaction – extent to which you feel positive/negative about various aspects of your work

Determined by their work, pay, promotions, co-workers and supervision Job satisfaction brings stronger motivation and less tardiness and perceived

stresso Organizational Commitment – extent to which an employee identified with an

organization and is committed to its goals Important Workplace Behaviors

o Performance and Productivity Evaluating behavior when employees are working, and must match the job

being performedo Evaluating behavior when employees are not working

Absenteeism – when an employee does not show up for work. Might be related to job dissatisfaction

Turnover – when employees leave their jobs Cost of turnover is high with around 30% of the annual salary of an

hourly employee but 150% of a professional employeeo Evaluating behavior that exceeds work roles

Organizational Citizenship behavior – employee behaviors that are not directly part of employee’s job descriptions (exceeds work-role requirements)

Example: Constructive statements of the department and expression of personal interest in the work of others

o Evaluating behavior that harms the organization Counterproductive work behaviors – types of behaviors that harm

employees and the organization as a whole Absenteeism, drugs, alcohol, abuse…etc and must be addressed by

the company usually by the interview stage

Perception and Individual Behavior Four steps in the perceptual process

o Perception – process of interpreting and understanding one’s environmento Process involves four steps

Selective attention – Did I notice something? Interpretation and evaluation – What was it I noticed? What does it mean? Storing in memory – Remember it as an event, concept, person? Retrieving from memory to make judgments and decisions – What do I recall

about that? Four distortion in perception

o The Recency Effect – the most recent impressions are the ones that count The tendency to remember recent information better than earlier

information.o Stereotyping – tendency to attribute to an individual the characteristics one

believes are typical of the group to which that individual belongs Sex-role stereotype – differing traits an abilities make males and females

particularly well suited to different roles (ex. Male as preferred leaders over females)

Age stereotype – depict older workers as less involved in work and less efficient

Race/ethnicity stereotypeso Halo Effect – we form an impression of an individual based on a single trait

One trait tells me all I need to know! Single positive trait = array of positive traits and single negative traits =

generalized negative imageo Casual Attributions – activity of inferring causes for observed behavior

Fundamental Attribution Bias – people attribute another person’s behavior to his/her personal characteristics rather than to situational force

Self-serving bias – people tend to take more personal responsibility for success than failure

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (Pygmalion effect) – phenomenon where people’s expectations of themselves/others lead them to behave in ways that make those expectations come true

o Example – waiter sees poorly dressed customers as not being able to give large tips hence gives them poor service and gets the expected results – a lower tip

o For a manager? If you expect employees to perform badly, most likely they will

Understanding Stress and Individual Behavior Stress – tension people feel when they are facing/enduring extraordinary demands,

constraints, or opportunities and are uncertain about how to handle them effectively Stressor – source of stress Toll of workplace stress

o Cost economy huge sums on health care, missed work, and stress reduction treatment

o Workplace stress is negatively related to job satisfaction, positive emotions and job performance

o Positively related to alcohol, drugs, and overeating How does stress work?

o Stress defined as the perception that events/circumstances have challenged or exceeded a person’s ability to cope

o Stressors can be hassles or simple irritants or crises The Sources of Job-Related Stress

o Demands created by individual differences (by genetic or personality characteristics) Type A Behavior Pattern – involved in a chronic, determined struggle to

accomplish more in less time. Often times includes increased work performance but greater cardiovascular activity

o Individual task demands (stress created by the job itself)o Individual role demands (stress created by other’s expectations)

Roles – sets of behaviors that people expect of occupants of a position Role overload – other’s expectations exceeds one’s abilities Role conflict – one feels torn by the different expectations of

important people in one’s life Role ambiguity – other’s expectations are unknown

o Group Demands (stress created by co-workers and managers)o Organizational demands (stress created by the environment and culture)

Physical environment of the job? Poultry processing and coal mining White collared environment stressors by poor lighting and no privacy

o Non-work demands (stress created by forces outside the organization) Money problems, divorce and family problems etc

The Consequences of Stresso Symptoms

Physiological signs – sweaty palms, heat attacks, hypertension etc Psychological signs – boredom, irritability, depression etc Behavioral signs – sleeplessness, changes in eating habits etc

o Burnout – state of emotional, mental, and even physical exhaustion (listlessness, indifference, or frustration)

Brings upon reduced productivityo Alcohol and other drug abuse

Reducing Stressors in the Organizationo Buffers – administrative changes that managers can make to reduce the stressors

that lead to employee burnout Employee assistance programs – host of programs aimed at helping

employees cope with stress and problems Holistic wellness program – self-responsibility, nutritional awareness and

environmental awareness Create a supportive environment Make jobs interesting Make career counseling available

Personality At the centre of the diversity wheel is personality. It is at the centre because personality is defined as the stable physical and mental characteristics responsible for a person's identity.

Internal Dimensions Internal dimensions of diversity are those human differences that exert a powerful, sustained effect throughout every stage of our lives: gender, age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, physical abilities.

These are referred to as the primary dimensions of diversity because they are not within our control for the most part.

Yet they strongly influence our attitudes and expectations and assumptions about other people, which in turn influence our own behaviour.

External Dimensions External dimensions of diversity include an element of choice; they consist of the personal characteristics that people acquire, discard, or modify throughout their lives: educational

background, marital status, parental status, religion, income, geographic location, work experience, recreational habits, appearance, personal habits.

They are referred to as the secondary dimensions of diversity because we have a greater ability to influence or control them than we do internal dimensions.

These external dimensions exert a significant influence on our perceptions, behaviour, and attitudes.

Organizational Dimensions Organizational dimensions include management status, union affiliation, work location, seniority, work content, and division or department.

Trends in Workforce Diversity Age: More older people in the workforce

o Number and proportion of younger people is rapidly shrinking. Those shrinking numbers of younger people will have to both drive their economies and help support much larger numbers of older people

Gender: More women workingo glass ceiling-the metaphor for an invisible barrier preventing women and minorities from

being promoted to top executive jobs.o Women slowly making up an increasing percentage of the workforce

Race & Ethnicity: More People of Colour in the Workforceo more minorities hitting the glass celling

Sexual Orientation: Gays & Lesbians Become More Visibleo harassed, pressured to quit, or denied a promotion because of their sexual orientation.

o if managers are concerned about hiring and keeping workplace talent, they shouldn't ignore the motivation and productivity of 6% of the workforce

People with Differing Physical & Mental Abilitieso People with disabilities have difficulty finding work

Educational Levels: Mismatches between Education & Workforce Needso College graduates may be in jobs for which they are overqualified.

some are underemployed – working at jobs that require less education than they have such as tending bar, managing video stores, or other jobs that someone with less education could do.

o High-school dropouts and others may not have the literacy skills needed for many jobs.

Barriers to DiversityResistance to change in general is an attitude that all managers come up against from time to time, and resistance to diversity is simply one variation.

1. Stereotypes & Prejudicesa. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's native country, culture, language, abilities, or

behaviour is superior to that of another culture.b. When differences are viewed as being weaknesses, this may be expressed as a

concern that diversity hiring will lead to a sacrifice in competence and quality.

2. Fear of Reverse Discriminationa. Some employees are afraid that attempts to achieve greater diversity in their

organization will result in reverse discrimination.

3. Resistance to Diversity Program Prioritiesa. Some companies, such as 3M, offer special classes teaching tolerance for diversity,

seminars in how to get along.i. Some employees may see diversity programs as distracting them from the

organization's "real work."1. In addition, they may be resentful of diversity promoting policies

that are reinforced through special criteria in the organization's performance appraisals and reward systems.

4. Unsupportive Social Atmospherea. Diverse employees may be excluded from office camaraderie and social events.

5. Lack of Support for Family Demandsa. more and more women are moving back and forth between being at-home mothers

and in the workforce, as economic circumstances dictatei. Yet in a great many households, it is still women who primarily take care of

children, as well as other domestic chores.b. When organizations aren't supportive in offering flexibility in hours and job

responsibilities, these women may find it difficult to work evenings and weekends or to take overnight business trips.

6. Lack of Support for Career-Building Stepsa. Organizations may not

i. provide diverse employees with the types of work assignments that will help qualify them for positions in senior management.

ii. provide the kind of informal training or mentoring that will help them learn the political savvy to do networking and other activities required to get ahead.