Individual Behavior in Organizations

1
Chapter 15

• Individual Behavior in Organizations

2
Individual Behavior

• Why is individual behavior of concern to
  organizations?
• Factors that determine individual behavior
• Personal characteristics
• Situational factors
• Environmental factors

3
Person-Job Fit

• Definition
• The extent to which contributions made by the
  individual match the inducements offered by the
  organization.
• Reasons for poor person-job fit
• Selection procedures are imperfect
• People and organizations change
• Individuals are unique (Individual Differences)

4
Ability, Intellect, and Intelligence

• AbilityAn individuals capacity to perform the
  various tasks in a job.
• Physical ability - The capacity to do tasks
  demanding stamina, dexterity, strength, and
  similar characteristics.
• Cognitive or Intellectual ability required to
  perform mental activities such as thinking,
  reasoning, and problem-solving.

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Intellectual Abilities

• Traditional intelligence (cognitive book
  smarts) most often associated with IQ score
• Practical intelligence (street smarts) -
  encompasses the abilities one needs to be
  successful in everyday life involves adapting to
  the environment, shaping or changing it, or
  selecting a new environment

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Personality

• Definition
• The relatively permanent set of psychological and
  behavioral attributes that distinguish one person
  from another.
• Big Five Personality Traits
• Openness to Experience imaginative, cultured,
  curious
• Conscientiousness responsible, organized,
  dependable
• Extraversion sociable, gregarious, talkative,
  active
• Agreeableness courteous, flexible, trusting
• Negative Emotionality (Emotional Stability)
  insecure, nervous, tense

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Sample Big Five Items

• I tend not to say what I think about others.
• I tend to be trusting of others.
• I approach most of my work steadily
  persistently.
• Whenever Im by myself, I feel vulnerable.
• I enjoy eating in new restaurants I know nothing
  about.

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Personality Types

• Type As
• are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly
• feel impatient with the rate at which most events
  take place
• strive to think or do two or more things at once
• cannot cope with leisure time
• are obsessed with numbers, measuring their
  success in terms of how many or how much of
  everything they acquire.

• Type Bs
• never suffer from a sense of time urgency with
  its accompanying impatience
• feel no need to display or discuss either their
  achievements or accomplishments
• play for fun and relaxation, rather than to
  exhibit their superiority at any cost
• can relax without guilt.

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Personality Types

• Proactive Personality
• Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes
  action, and perseveres until meaningful change
  occurs.
• Creates positive change in the environment,
  regardless or even in spite of constraints or
  obstacles.

10
Attitudes

• Definition
• Complexes of beliefs and feelings that people
  have about specific ideas, situations, or other
  people.
• Affective Component
• Feelings and emotions. Explains how we feel.
• Cognitive Component
• Attitude derived from perceived knowledge.
  Explains why we feel the way we feel, and what we
  think.
• Intentional Component
• How an individual expects to behave in a given
  situation.

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Work-Related Attitudes

• Job Satisfaction / Dissatisfaction
• Attitude that reflects the extent to which an
  individual is gratified or fulfilled by his/her
  work.
• Organizational Commitment
• An attitude that reflects an individuals
  identification with and attachment to an
  organization.

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Work-Related AttitudesOrganizational Commitment

• Commitment strengthens with
• age
• years with the organization
• job security
• participation in decision making

• Committed employees
• have highly reliable habits
• plan a longer tenure with the organization
• exert more effort in performance

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Perception and Perceptual Processes

• Perception
• The set of processes by which an individual
  becomes aware of and interprets information.
• Selective Perception
• Screening out information that causes discomfort
  or that contradicts our beliefs

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Perception and Attribution

• Attribution
• When we observe behavior and then attribute a
  cause to it.
• Consensus
• Extent to which others in same situation, behave
  the same.
• Consistency
• Extent to which person similarly behaves in the
  same situation.
• Distinctiveness
• Extent to which person behaves the same in other
  situations.

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Stress

• Is stress always bad?
• Reaction to stressful events General Adaptation
  Syndrome
• Stage 1 Alarm
• Stage 2 Resistance
• Stage 3 Exhaustion

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Causes of Stress

• Individual characteristics, such as Personality
  Type
• Type A (more likely to experience stress)
• Type B
• Task Demands
• Physical Demands
• Role Demands
• Interpersonal Demands
• Workplace events
• External events

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Consequences of Stress

• Negative personal consequences
• Behavioral
• Psychological
• Medical
• Negative work-related consequences
• Poor quality and productivity
• Low job satisfaction, morale, and commitment
• Withdrawal
• Burnout
• Increased accidents

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Stress Management

• Exercise
• Relaxation
• Time Management
• Support Groups

• Organizational Wellness Programs
• Organizations are partly responsible for stress
• Costs of stress-related claims
• Increase organizational productivity

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The Creative Individual

• Background Experiences
• Personal Traits
• Cognitive Abilities
• Divergent Thinking
• Convergent Thinking

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The Creative Process

• Preparation
• Incubation
• Insight
• Verification

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Workplace Behaviors

• Performance Behaviors
• The total set of work-related behaviors an
  organization expects from an individual.
• Counterproductive or Withdrawal Behaviors
• Behavior that makes a negative impact on the
  organization (e.g., absenteeism, theft, sabotage)
• Organizational Citizenship
• Extra-role behavior that makes a positive
  contribution to the organization (e.g., helping a
  coworker)

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Psychological Contract

• What do you expect to receive from an
  organization in exchange for your contributions?
• Definition
• The overall set of expectations held by an
  individual with respect to what he or she will
  contribute to the organization and what the
  organization will provide in return.
• Psychological contracts can be relational or
  transactional in nature.