Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations
Chapte
r 14
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2
Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations
Employees and managers bring their individual differences to work each day
Differences in attitudes, values, personality, and behavior influence
– how people interpret an assignment,
– whether they like to be told what to do
– how they handle challenges
– how they interact with others
Manager’s Challenge: Quick Eagle Networks
Managers need to understand the way individuals & groups act
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Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations
Attitudes
Personality
Perception
Learning
Stress management
Topics
Chapter 14
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Organizational Behavior
• Interdisciplinary field dedicated to
the study of
attitudes
behavior
performance
Commonly called OB
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Industrial
Engineering
Vocational CounselingCultural Anthropology
Psychology
Interdisciplinary Influences on
Organizational Behavior
Sociology
Organizational
Behavior
Economics
Management
Ethics
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Organizational Citizenship
Work behavior that goes beyond job
requirements and contributes as needed to the
organization’s success
● Being helpful to coworkers and customers
● Doing extra work when necessary
● Looking for ways to improve products & procedures
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Attitudes
Cognitive and affective evaluation that
predisposes a person to act in a certain way
Attitudes determine how people
– Perceive the work environment
– Interact with others
– Behave on the job
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Components of an Attitude
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Components of Attitudes
Cognitive component includes the beliefs,
opinions, and information the person has
about the object of the attitude
Affective component is the person’s emotions
or feelings about the object of the attitude
Behavioral component of an attitude is the
person’s intention to behave toward the
object of the attitude in a certain way
Particularly important when attempting to change attitudes
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High-Performance Work Attitudes
Two attitudes that might
relate to high performance
– Job Satisfaction
– Organizational Commitment
Managers of today’s knowledge workers often rely on
job satisfaction to keep motivation and enthusiasm for
the organization high
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High-Performance Work Attitudes
Job Satisfaction = positive attitude
toward one’s job
Organizational Commitment = loyalty to
and heavy involvement in one’s
organization
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Conflicts Among Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance = condition in which
two attitudes or a behavior and an attitude
conflict
– Leon Festinger – 1950s
– People want to behave in accordance with their
attitudes
– Usually will take corrective action
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Perception
Cognitive process people use to make sense
out of the environment by
● Selecting
● Organizing
● Interpreting information
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Perception
Perception Process: Cognitive process
used to make sense out of the
environment (3 steps)
Observe information via senses
Screen information & select what to
process
Organize selected data into patterns
Perceptual Selectivity:
process by which
individuals screen and
select various stimuli that
vie for their attention
Primacy (toward beginning)
Recency (toward end of event)
Perceptual Distortions: errors in perceptual
judgment arising from inaccuracies in any part
of the perceptual process
Common Errors:
Stereotyping
Halo effect
Projection
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Common Perceptual Distortions
Tendency to assign an individual to
a group or broad category and then
attribute generalizations about the
group to the individual
Stereotyping
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Common Perceptual Distortions
Overall impression of a person or
situation based on one characteristic,
either favorable or unfavorable
Halo
Effect
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Common Perceptual Distortions
Tendency to
see one’s own
personal traits
in other
people
Projection
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Common Perceptual Distortions
Tendency of perceivers to protect
themselves by disregarding ideas
objects, or people that are threatening
to them
Perceptual
Defense
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Attributions
Judgments about what caused a person’s
behavior—either characteristics of the
person or of the situation
As people organize what they perceive, they
often draw conclusions
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External or Internal Attributions
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Attribution Biases
Fundamental Attribution Error = tendency to
underestimate the influence of external
factors on another’s behavior and to
overestimate the influence of internal factors
Self-serving Bias = tendency to overestimate
the contribution of internal factors to one’s
sucesses and the contribution of external
factors to one’s failures
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Personality
Set of characteristics that underlie a relatively stable pattern of behavior in response to ideas, objects, or people in the environment
– Big Five Personality Factors
Extroversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience
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Big Five Personality Factors
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Emotional Intelligence (EQ)Basic Components
Self-awareness: basis for all other components,
being aware of what you are feeling
Self-management: control disruptive or harmful
emotions and balance one’s moods so they do not
cloud thinking
Social awareness: understand others and practice
empathy
Relationship awareness: connect to others, build
positive relationships, respond to emotions of others,
and influence others
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Locus of Control
Tendency to place primary responsibility for
one’s success or failure either within oneself
(internally) or on outside forces (externally)
● Internal locus of control- your actions influence
what happens to you
● External locus of control- represents pawns of
fate
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Behaviors Influenced by Personality
Authoritarianism = belief that power and
status differences should exist within the
organization
Concerned with power
and toughness
Obey recognized
authority above them
Stick to conventional values
Critically judge others
Oppose the use of
subjective feelings
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Behaviors Influenced by Personality
Machiavellianism = tendency to direct
much of one’s behavior toward the
acquisition of power and the
manipulation of other people for
personal gain
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Problem Solving Styles
Individuals differ in the way they solve problems and make decisions
Gathering and evaluating information are separate activities
● Gather information
● Sensation
● Intuition
● Evaluate information
● Thinking
● Feeling
Based on work of Carl Jung
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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Personality test that measures a person’s
preference for
– introversion vs. extroversion
– sensation vs. intuition
– thinking vs. feeling
– judging vs. perceiving
Experiential Exercise: Personality Assessment (MBTI)
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Learning and Learning Styles
Learning = change in behavior or
performance that occurs as the result of
experience
Learning Styles
Diverger
Assimilator
Converger
Accommodator
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Stress and Stress Management
Stress = physiological and emotional response
to stimuli that place physical or psychological
demands on an individual
Type A Behavior = pattern characterized by
extreme competitiveness, impatience,
aggressiveness, and devotion to work
Type B Behavior = pattern that lacks Type A
and includes a more balanced, relaxed lifestyle
Ethical Dilemma: Should I Fudge the Numbers?
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The Stress Response (GAS)
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Work Stress
Four Categories
Job Tasks Demands
Physical Demands
Role Demand (Sets of expected
behaviors)
Interpersonal Demands
Work stress is skyrocketing