Chapter 14 Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations

Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations

Chapte

r 14

Copyright © 2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.

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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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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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Overall impression of a person or

situation based on one characteristic,

either favorable or unfavorable

Halo

Effect


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Tendency to

see one’s own

personal traits

in other

people

Projection


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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

Leadership & Management

Chapter 14 Dynamics of Behavior in Organizations