Instructor Solution Manual for Essentials of Organizational Behavior, Global Edition, 15th edition S

Instructor’s Manual (Download Only) for Essentials of Organizational Behavior Revised by Francis Goeddeke

Essentials of Organizational Behavior Fifteenth Edition, Global Edition

Stephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge

Chapter 1 What Is Organizational Behavior?

Chapter Overview This chapter introduces the concept of organizational behavior. The focus of the text is that coupling individual understanding of behavior gained through experience with that gained through systematic organizational behavior (OB) analysis will help managers become more effective.

Many of the important challenges being faced by today’s managers are described, as are the three levels of OB study. The outline of the text is described in relation to these three levels.

Chapter Objectives

PPT 1.2 After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1-1. Define organizational behavior (referred to as OB throughout the text).

1-2. Show the value of systematic study to OB. 1-3. Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB. 1-4. Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB. 1-5. Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts.

1-6. Compare the three levels of analysis in this text’s OB model.

1-7. Describe the key employability skills gained from studying OB that are applicable to other major or future careers.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION A. Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the technical aspects of

management, focusing on economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques.

1. Course work in human behavior and people skills received relatively less attention.

2. During the past three decades, however, business faculty have come to realize the role that understanding human behavior plays in determining a manager’s effectiveness, and required courses on people skills have been added to many curricula.

B. Developing managers’ interpersonal skills also helps organizations attract and keep high-performing employees.

1. Regardless of labor market conditions, outstanding employees are always in short supply.

2. Companies known as good places to work have a big advantage.

3. A recent survey of hundreds of workplaces and over 200,000 respondents showed the social relationships among coworkers and supervisors were strongly related to overall job satisfaction.

a. Positive social relationships also were associated with lower stress at work and lower intentions to quit.

b. Having managers with good interpersonal skills is likely to make the

workplace more pleasant, which in turn makes it easier to hire and keep qualified people. c. Increasing the OB element in organizations can foster social responsibility awareness.

4. We have come to understand that in today’s competitive and demanding workplace, managers can’t succeed on their technical skills alone. a. They also have to have good people skills. b. This book has been written to help both managers and potential managers develop those people skills.

PPT 1.3, 4 II. MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR A. The roles of a manager — and the necessary skills to perform as one — are constantly evolving.

1. Yet, more than ever, individuals are placed into management positions without management training or informed experience.

2. Furthermore, a Gallup poll found that organizations chose the wrong candidate for management positions 82 percent of the time.

B. Effective versus Successful Managerial Activities.

1. What makes one manager more effective than another? To answer the question, Fred Luthans, a prominent OB researcher, and his associates looked at what managers do from a unique perspective.

2. Luthans and his associates studied more than 450 managers. All engaged in four managerial activities: a. Traditional management. Decision making, planning, and controlling. b. Communication. Exchanging routine information and processing paperwork. c. Human resources (HR) management. Motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing, and training. d. Networking. Socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders.

3. Among managers who were successful (defined in terms of speed of promotion within their organizations), networking made the largest relative contribution to success and HR management activities made the least relative contribution, which is the opposite of the average manager.

C. Organizational Behavior (OB) Defined.

1. Organizational behavior (OB) studies the influence that PPT 1.5 individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations. The chief goal of OB is to apply that knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

2. OB studies three determinants of behavior in organizations: a. individuals b. groups c. structure 3. OB applies the knowledge gained from this study to make organizations work more effectively.

4. This text will focus on: PPT 1.6 a. motivation b. leader behavior and power c. interpersonal communication d. group structure and processes

attitude development and perception change processes conflict and negotiation work design III. COMPLEMENTING INTUITION WITH SYSTEMATIC STUDY A. People develop intuitive understandings of the behaviors of other people through experience. This experiential, common sense method of “reading” human behavior can often lead to erroneous predictions.

B. You can improve your predictive ability by taking the PPT 1.7 systematic approach to the study of human behavior.

C. The fundamental assumption of the systematic approach is that human behavior is not random. There are fundamental consistencies that underlie the behavior of all individuals, and these fundamental consistencies can be identified and then modified to reflect individual differences.

1. Systematic study of behavior means: examining PPT 1.8 relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and basing our conclusions on scientific evidence — that is, on data gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner.

2. Evidence-Based Management (EBM): This PPT 1.9 complementary approach to systematic study involves basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence. Managers must become more scientific about how they think about managerial problems and not rely on instinct.

3. Intuition: your “gut feelings” about “what makes others tick.” This natural ability to guess how people will react is most accurate when coupled with systematic thinking and evidence-based management.

D. Big Data.

1. Big data is the extensive use of statistical compilation and analysis—didn’t become possible until computers were sophisticated PPT 1.10 enough to both store and manipulate large amounts of information. The use of big data began with online retailers but has since permeated virtually every business.

2. Current Usage: The reasons for data analytics include: predicting events, detecting how much risk is incurred at any time, and preventing catastrophes large and small.

3. New Trends: The use of big data for understanding, helping, and managing people is relatively new but holds promise. A manager who uses data to define objectives, develop theories of causality, and test those theories can determine which employee activities are relevant to the objectives. Big data has implications for correcting management assumptions and increasing positive performance outcomes.

4. Limitations: As technological capabilities for handling big data have increased, so have issues of privacy and appropriate application. This is particularly true when data collection includes surveillance instruments. a. We are not advising you to throw intuition out the window. In dealing with people, leaders often rely on hunches, and sometimes the outcomes are excellent. At other times, human tendencies get in the way. What we are advising is to use evidence as much as possible to inform your intuition and experience. The prudent use of big data, along with an understanding of

e. f. g. h.

human behavioral tendencies, can contribute to sound decision making and ease natural biases. That is the promise of OB. IV. DISCIPLINES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE OB FIELD A. Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science built on contributions from a number of behavioral PPT 1.11 disciplines, mainly psychology and social psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

1. Psychology’s contributions have been mainly at the individual or micro level of analysis, while the other disciplines have contributed to our understanding of macro concepts such as group processes and organization.

2. Exhibit 1-1 is an overview of the major contributions to the study of organizational behavior.

B. Psychology: seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change behavior of humans and other animals.

1. Those who have contributed and continue to add to the knowledge of OB are: a. learning theorists b. personality theorists c. counseling psychologists d. industrial and organizational psychologists 1) Early industrial/organizational psychologists studied the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other working conditions that could impede efficient work performance.

2) More recently, their contributions have expanded to include learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs and motivational forces, job satisfaction, decision-making processes, performance appraisals, attitude measurement, employeeselection techniques, work design, and job stress.

C. Social psychology: generally considered a branch of psychology; blends concepts from both psychology and sociology to focus on people’s influence on one another.

1. One major study area is change—how to implement it and how to reduce barriers to its acceptance.

2. Social psychologists also contribute to measuring, understanding, and changing attitudes; identifying communication patterns; and building trust.

3. Finally, they have made important contributions to our study of group behavior, power, and conflict.

D. Sociology: studies people in relation to their social environment or culture.

1. While psychology focuses on the individual, sociology studies people in relation to their social environment or culture. a. Sociologists have contributed to OB through their study of group behavior in organizations, particularly formal and complex organizations. b. Perhaps most important, sociologists have studied organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, communications, power, and conflict.

E. Anthropology: the study of societies to learn about human beings and their activities.

1. Anthropologists’ work on cultures and environments has helped us understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different countries and within different organizations.

2. Much of our current understanding of organizational culture, organizational environments, and differences among national cultures is a result of the work of anthropologists or those using their methods.

V. THERE ARE FEW ABSOLUTES IN OB A. Laws in the physical sciences—chemistry, astronomy, physics—are

PPT 1.12

consistent and apply in a wide range of situations.

1. They allow scientists to generalize about the pull of gravity or to be confident about sending astronauts into space to repair satellites.

2. Human beings are complex, and few, if any, simple and universal principles explain organizational behavior. a. Because we are not alike, our ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations is limited. b. Two people often act very differently in the same situation, and the same person’s behavior changes in different situations. c. Not everyone is motivated by money, and people may behave differently at a religious service than they do at a party.

B. That doesn’t mean that we can’t offer reasonably accurate explanations of human behavior or make valid predictions. It does mean that OB concepts must reflect situational, or contingency, conditions.

1. We can say x leads to y, but only under conditions specified in z—the contingency variables.

2. The science of OB was developed by applying general concepts to a particular situation, person, or group.

3. For example, OB scholars would avoid stating that everyone likes complex and challenging work (the general concept), because not everyone wants a challenging job. a. Some people prefer routine to varied or simple over complex. b. A job attractive to one person may not be to another; its appeal is contingent upon the person who holds it.

4. We best understand OB when we realize how both (general effects and the contingencies that affect them) often guide PPT 1.13 behavior.

VI. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB PPT 1.14 A. Understanding organizational behavior has never been more important for managers.

B. Take a quick look at the dramatic changes in organizations.

Exhibit 1-2 1. The typical employee is getting increasingly diverse.

2. Global competition requires employees to become more flexible and cope with rapid change.

C. Continuing Globalization.

PPT 1.15 1. Globalization is the process in which worldwide integration and interdependence is promoted across national borders.

2. Working with People from Different Cultures: In your own country or on foreign assignment, you’ll find yourself working with bosses, peers, and other employees born and raised in different cultures. What motivates you may not motivate them. Or your communication style may be straightforward and open, which others may find uncomfortable and threatening. To work effectively with people from different cultures, you need to understand how their culture and background have shaped them and how to adapt your management style to fit any differences.

3. Adapting to Differing Cultural and Regulatory Norms: To be effective, managers need to know the cultural norms of the workforce in each country where they do business.

D. Workforce Demographics.

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1. The workforce has always adapted to variations in the economy, longevity, birth

rates, socioeconomic conditions, and other changes that have a widespread impact. People adapt to survive, and OB studies the way those adaptations affect individuals’ behavior.

2. As students of OB, we can investigate what factors lead employees to make various choices and how their experiences affect their perceptions of their workplaces. In turn, this can help us predict organizational outcomes.

3. Longevity and birth rates have also changed the dynamics in organizations.

Global longevity rates have increased by six years in a very short time while birth rates are decreasing for many developed countries; trends that together indicate a lasting shift toward an older workforce. OB research can help explain what this means for employee attitudes, organizational culture, leadership, structure, and communication. Finally, socioeconomic shifts have a profound effect on workforce demographics.

E. Workforce Diversity.

PPT 1.17 1. One of the most important challenges for organizations is workforce diversity, a trend by which organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of employees’ gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics.

2. Managing this diversity is a global concern. Though we have more to say about it in the next chapter, suffice it to say here that diversity presents great opportunities and poses challenging questions for managers and employees.

F. Social Media.

PPT 1.18 1. Social media in the business world is here to stay.

2. Despite its pervasiveness, many organizations continue to struggle with employees’ use of social media in the workplace.

3. Social media is a difficult issue for today’s managers, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for OB. For instance, how much should HR look into a candidate’s social media presence? Should a hiring manager read the candidate’s Twitter feeds, or just do a quick perusal of his or her Facebook profile?

Managers need to adopt policies designed to protect employees and their organizations with balance and understanding.

4. Once employees are on the job, many organizations have policies about accessing social media at work—when, where, and for what purposes. But what about the impact of social media on employee well-being? One recent study found that subjects who woke up in a positive mood and then accessed Facebook frequently found their mood worsened during the day.

G. Employee Well-Being at Work.

PPT 1.19 1. One of the biggest challenges to maintaining employee well-being is the reality that many workers never get away from the virtual workplace. While communication technology allows many technical and professional employees to do their work at home, in their cars, or on the beach in Tahiti, it also means many feel like they’re not part of a team.

2. Another challenge is that organizations are asking employees to put in longer hours. According to one recent study, one in four employees shows signs of burnout, and two in three report high stress levels and fatigue.

3. Finally, employee well-being is challenged by heavy outside commitments.

Millions of single-parent employees and employees with dependent parents face significant challenges in balancing work and family responsibilities, for instance.

H. Positive Work Environment.

1. A growing area in OB research is positive organizational PPT 1.20

scholarship (POS; also called positive organizational behavior), which studies how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.

2. Researchers in this area say too much of OB research and management practice has been targeted toward identifying what’s wrong with organizations and their employees.

3. In response, they try to study what’s good about them. Some key subjects in positive OB research are engagement, hope, optimism, and resilience in the face of strain. Researchers hope to help practitioners create positive work environments for employees.

4. One aspect of a positive work environment is the organization’s culture, the topic of Chapter 16. Organizational culture influences employee behavior so strongly that organizations have employed “culture officers” to shape and preserve the company’s personality.

I. Ethical Behavior.

1. In an organizational world characterized by cutbacks, expectations of increasing productivity, and tough competition, it’s not surprising many employees feel pressured to cut corners, break rules, and PPT 1.21 engage in other questionable practices.

2. Increasingly they face ethical dilemmas and ethical choices, in which they are required to identify right and wrong conduct. a. What constitutes good ethical behavior has never been clearly defined, and, in recent years, the line differentiating right from wrong has blurred. b. Employees see people all around them engaging in unethical practices— elected officials pad expense accounts or take bribes; corporate executives inflate profits, so they can cash in lucrative stock options; and university administrators look the other way when winning coaches encourage scholarship athletes to take easy courses.

1) When caught, these people give excuses such as “Everyone does it” or “You have to seize every advantage nowadays.”

3. Today’s manager must create an ethically healthy climate for his or her employees, where they can do their work productively with minimal ambiguity about what right and wrong behaviors are. a. Companies that promote a strong ethical mission, encourage employees to behave with integrity, and provide strong ethical leadership can influence employee decisions to behave ethically. b. In upcoming chapters, we’ll discuss the actions managers can take to create an ethically healthy climate and help employees sort through ethically ambiguous situations.

PPT 1.22 VII. COMING ATTRACTIONS: DEVELOPING AN OB MODEL This book will follow the three levels of OB analysis, building from the individual to the organizational perspectives. Each level builds upon the levels before it.

A. Overview.

1. A model is an abstraction of reality, a simplified representation of some real-world phenomenon.

PPT 1.23 2. Exhibit 1-3 presents the skeleton of our OB model. It proposes three types of variables (inputs, processes, and outcomes) at three levels of Exhibit 1-3 analysis (individual, group, and organizational).

3. The model illustrates that inputs lead to processes, which lead to outcomes; we discuss interrelationships at each level of analysis.

PPT 1.24 a. Notice that the model also shows that outcomes can influence

inputs in the future, which highlights the broad-reaching effect OB initiatives can have on an organization’s future.

4. Inputs. a. Inputs are the variables like personality, group structure, and organizational culture that lead to processes. These variables set the stage for what will occur in an organization later. Many are determined in advance of the employment relationship.

5. Processes. a. Processes are actions that individuals, groups, and organizations engage in as a result of inputs and that lead to certain outcomes.

1) At the individual level, processes include emotions and moods, motivation, perception, and decision making.

2) At the group level, they include communication, leadership, power and politics, and conflict and negotiation. Finally, at the organizational level, processes include HR management and change practices.

6. Outcomes. a. Outcomes are the key variables that you want to explain or predict and that are affected by some other variables. b. What are the primary outcomes in OB? Scholars have emphasized individual-level outcomes, such as attitudes and stress, task performance, citizenship behavior, and withdrawal. c. At the group level, cohesion and functioning are the dependent variables. d. Finally, at the organizational level, we look at overall productivity and survival.

7. Attitudes and Stress: As we discuss in depth in Chapter 3, employee attitudes are the evaluations employees make, ranging from positive to negative, about objects, people, or events. a. Stress is a psychological process that occurs in response to environmental pressures.

8. Task Performance: The combination of effectiveness and efficiency at doing your core job tasks is a reflection of your level of task performance.

9. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB): The discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements and that contributes to the psychological and social environment of the workplace, is called organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), or simply citizenship behavior. a. Successful organizations have employees who do more than their usual job duties—who provide performance beyond expectations. b. Organizations want and need employees who make positive contributions that aren’t in any job description, and evidence indicates organizations that have such employees outperform those that don’t.

10. Withdrawal Behavior: Withdrawal behavior is the set of actions that employees take to separate themselves from the organization. a. There are many forms of withdrawal, ranging from showing up late or failing to attend meetings to absenteeism and turnover. b. Employee withdrawal can have a very negative effect on an organization.

11. Group Cohesion: Group cohesion is the extent to which members of a group support and validate one another at work. a. In other words, a cohesive group is one that sticks together. When employees trust one another, seek common goals, and work together to achieve these common ends, the group is cohesive; when employees are

divided among themselves in terms of what they want to achieve and have little loyalty to one another, the group is not cohesive.

12. Group Functioning: In the same way that positive job attitudes can be associated with higher levels of task performance, group cohesion should lead to positive group functioning. a. Group functioning refers to the quantity and quality of a group’s work output.

13. Productivity: The highest level of analysis in OB is the organization as a whole. a. An organization is productive if it achieves its goals by transforming inputs into outputs at the lowest cost. b. Thus, productivity requires both effectiveness and efficiency. c. A business firm is effective when it attains its sales or market share goals, but its productivity also depends on achieving those goals efficiently.

1) Popular measures of organizational efficiency include return on investment, profit per dollar of sales, and output per hour of labor.

14. Survival: The final outcome we consider is organizational survival, which is simply evidence that the organization is able to exist and grow over the long term. a. The survival of an organization depends not just on how productive the organization is, but also on how well it fits with its environment. b. A company that is very productively making goods and services of little value to the market is unlikely to survive for long, so survival also relies on perceiving the market successfully, making good decisions about how and when to pursue opportunities, and successfully managing change to adapt to new business conditions.

VIII. EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS A. Challenges relevant to OB can be found in just about every function of business, from finance and accounting to management and marketing.

1. At some point in your career, you will come across an issue that hinges to a large degree on the behavior of people in organizations.

2. OB is an essential piece of the puzzle in solving many problems that involve managing integrity/social responsibility, managing resources, competing among businesses, bolstering customer and employee loyalty, reducing uncertainty, complying with government regulation, managing risks, and finding the right staff – all while growing revenue and increasing profit.

B. OB is not relevant to business majors only; it is important for all students, no matter what their majors are.

1. OB principles matter and can help increase employability as well as interpersonal skills in the workplace.

2. These skills can also help you become successful in your classes, as you interact with other students and your professors!

3. Entry-level professional employees and working professionals benefit from having solid foundational skills in OB, such as communication, collaboration, problem solving, social responsibility, and knowledge application and analysis.

C. Employability Skills that apply across majors: 1. Critical thinking involves purposeful and goal-directed PPT 1.25 thinking used to define and solve problems and to make decisions or form judgements related to a situation or set of circumstances. It involves cognitive, metacognitive, and dispositional components that can be applied differently in specific contexts.

2. Communication is defined as the effective use of oral, written, and nonverbal

communications skills for multiple purposes; effective listening; the use of technology to communicate; and the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of communications efforts within diverse contexts.

3. Collaboration is a skill in which individuals can actively work together on a task, constructing meaning and knowledge as a group through dialogue and negotiation that results in a final product reflective of their joint, interdependent actions.

4. Knowledge application and analysis is defined as the ability to learn a concept and then apply that knowledge appropriately in another setting to achieve a higher level of understanding.

5. Social responsibility includes skills related to both business ethics and corporate social responsibility. Business ethics includes sets of guiding principles that influence the way individuals and organizations behave within the society that they operate.

IX. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Managers need to develop their interpersonal, or people, PPT 1.26 skills to be effective in their jobs.

1. Organizational behavior (OB) investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within an organization, and it applies that knowledge to make organizations work more effectively.

B. Here are a few specific implications for managers: 1. Resist the inclination to rely on generalizations; some provide valid insights into human behavior, but many are erroneous.

2. Use metrics and situational variables rather than hunches to explain cause-andeffect relationships.

3. Work on your interpersonal skills to increase your leadership potential.

4. Improve your technical and conceptual skills through training and staying current with organizational trends like big data.

5. Organizational behavior can improve your employees’ work quality and productivity by showing you how to empower your employees, design and implement change programs, improve customer service, and address the worklife balance conflict.

Discussion Questions

PPT 1.27

1. Define organizational behavior (OB). How can learning OB help you in your daily life?

Answer: OB is the study of the influence that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations. The chief goal of OB is to apply that knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness.

The second question will vary depending on the student, but there should be a direct link between life situations and the areas covered by OB. Students should give some indication that by having a systematic understanding of behavior, rather than just an individual experiential understanding of behavior, a better outcome would be achieved.

2. Why has the study of OB become a standard component of business school programs?

Answer: Business schools have come to realize, as have most managers, that learning just the technical aspects of management is insufficient for long-term managerial success. The important factors for this long-term managerial success are gaining an understanding of human behavior and developing increased

communication skills.

3. How does the systematic study of OB help managers be more effective?

Answer: Most people learn human behavior through their own individual observations. This method of learning always contains the potential for error. By coupling this individual learning with the systematic scientific study of OB and evidence-based management, managers benefit from the experiences and study of thousands of social scientists, rather than just relying on their own limited experiences. This broader base of understanding is more likely to help the manager make much better decisions and influence people more effectively.

4. What behavioral sciences contribute to our understanding of OB? Select one of these behavioral sciences and describe how it helps managers.

Answer: Psychology, social psychology, sociology, and anthropology are the behavioral sciences that contribute to our understanding of OB. The answers to the second question will vary depending on the students. The answer should tie the primary learning areas of one of the behavioral sciences (see below) to typical managerial problems. Ensure that the student indicates that knowing more about OB will make managers more effective through either (1) a greater ability to understand and influence other people, (2) a better design of organizations and jobs, or (3) a better understanding of group behavior.

Psychology: individual (micro) focus, in the areas of learning, perception, personality, emotions, training, leadership effectiveness, needs, motivation, job satisfaction, decision making, performance appraisals, attitude measurements, employee selection, work design, and job stress.

Social Psychology: individual and group (macro) focus, in the areas of change, measuring and changing attitudes, communication patterns, building trust, group behavior, power, and conflict.

Sociology: group and organizational (macro) focus, in the areas of group behavior, organizational culture, organizational theory and structure, communications, power, and conflict.

Anthropology: group and organizational (macro) focus, in the areas of values, attitudes, behaviors between organizations and countries. Anthropology also studies organizational culture and environment.

5. Select one of the OB concepts given in the chapter and apply it to a situation in your work or school life. How did this concept help with the situation, or if it was not applied, how could it have helped in the outcome?

Answer: The answers will vary depending on the student. Ensure that the student clearly ties the situation to an OB concept and indicates understanding of the concept by explaining how the concept would help the situation.

6. Taken from a managerial point of view, what do you think is the major OB challenge facing businesses today?

Answer: This may again vary depending on the particular viewpoint and experience of the student, but it should be one of the following. The best answers based on the text are (1) managing diversity or (2) responding to globalization. Other acceptable answers are: (3) improving customer service, (4) improving people skills, (5) stimulating innovation and change, (6) coping with “temporariness,” (7) working in networked organizations, (8) helping employees balance work-life conflicts, or (9) improving ethical behavior. Ensure that the student provides a good rationale for the answer.

7. Compare and contrast the three levels of OB analysis.

Answer: The three levels are individual, group, and organizational systems.

Common aspects: the study of human behavior including decision making, emotion, perception, and motivation. Unique aspects for each level deal primarily with the focus of the research activity: person, group, or larger grouping (such as society,

organization, or country). It should be noted, however, that each successive level builds on the theories and findings of the lower levels.

Exercises 1. Self-analysis. What do you hope to gain from the study of OB? How well do you think you currently understand human behavior in organizations? Have you ever been surprised by the actions or reactions of another person? Why? Describe what actually happened and what you were expecting to happen. What do you think may have caused the difference?

2. Web Crawling. Using an Internet search engine of your choice, find an article in either the popular press or a professional journal that relates to OB. Describe the key points of the article and detail how OB was used or should have been used in the situation.

3. Current Event. In a small group (four or fewer people per group), discuss a current event that was influenced by, or could have been positively influenced by, a clear understanding of OB. Prepare a ten-minute group presentation that concisely describes the current event and what the team believes to be the impact of OB. Discuss the team’s results with the class.

4. Three-Minute Elevator Introduction. Have students introduce themselves by giving their name and any other information you deem appropriate, and by offering one short one- to three-minute story about an experience they had with an organization.

Give students several minutes to think about their story. Keep time, and stop students who go too long. Tell them to imagine that they are new employees and introducing themselves to coworkers met in an elevator.

5. Experiences with Managers. Divide the class into groups of three, and have them discuss their experiences with managers. They may discuss items such as their last performance appraisal, a job interview, or a customer service issue. Use this as a starting point to discuss the importance of "people" in an organizational context.

6. Where Do You Want to Work? Lead a class discussion on what makes good organizations and what makes bad organizations. Create two lists on the board (good and bad) and write the ideas as the students brainstorm them. Once the class has given 10-20 answers on each list, stop them, and start grouping their responses into relevant key ideas. Point out how these key ideas are the primary topics of OB studies.

7. Learn from Experience. If you have older adult students, have them share their experiences regarding how the workplace used to look. Examine such issues as the demographic make-up of the organization and the attitudes of workers toward management. Emphasize how new the field of OB is, based upon these anecdotes.

8. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). This is an on-going activity that will help the student better understand his or her organization, or, if the student is not currently working, the organization for which he or she would like to work. This cumulative “hands-on” project will build on the concepts of each chapter. The point of the exercise is to take the OB theories and concepts and apply them to real organizations.

There are many ways you can use this project. For example, it could serve as homework to be turned in each week or a project to be built upon each week and turned in at the end of the class as a term paper/project. You could also use the exercise as a class discussion item, selecting students to do short discussion starter presentations several times per term. Still another use is to have them summarize their findings in small groups, and have each group report a summary to the class.

Most of these activities will involve interviewing someone who has knowledge of the topic. While interviewing someone in the subject organization is preferable, you

may wish to allow students to interview outside experts to gain a greater understanding of the concepts.

Use the questions provided after each chapter of the Instructor’s Manual as a guideline, but be sure to adapt them to the students’ needs. It is desirable for students to obtain written approval from their manager or supervisor early on in the process. Because OB deals with potentially sensitive issues, it is best if the students detail the project to the relevant parties early on in the process. You may choose to have the written approval as part of the first deliverables in this project.

9. Levels of Analysis. Divide the class into small groups of three or four students. Have them choose a team or group within an organization. Have them identify several inputs, processes, and outcomes at each of the three levels of analysis (individual, group, and organizational level). Additionally, identify at least one contingency variable at each level of analysis.

Suggested Assignments 1. Have the students discuss your course syllabus, including a description of the project, with their supervisor (or the person who will be their primary contact in cases where the student is not working for the organization to be studied in Analyzing Your Organization, No. 8 above). Submit the written approval.

2. Have the students briefly describe their chosen organization, discussing what goods or services are produced, how many employees it has, what the structure looks like, and a general overview of how the organization of study is managed. Ensure students include their relationship to the organization. (They are employees, job seekers, or simply interested parties.)

3. Have students go to the O*Net Interest Profiler, complete the 60-item survey, and find a suggested occupation that appeals to them. Have students identify and discuss which OB skills are necessary for that occupation, and how they can best prepare themselves to learn those skills. https://www.mynextmove.org/ Other Teaching Resources

1. Gerard, J. G. (2012). Linking in With LinkedIn®: Three Exercises That Enhance

Professional Social Networking and Career Building. Journal of Management Education, 36(6), 866–897. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052562911413464 2. The Center for Evidence-Based Management has numerous resources including articles and presentations. https://cebma.org/

Chapter 2 Diversity in Organizations Chapter Overview This chapter examines individual characteristics, including age, gender, race, ethnicity, and abilities, and how they influence employee performance; how managers can increase their awareness of these characteristics and better manage a diverse workforce.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 2.2 1-8. Demonstrate how workplace discrimination undermines organizational effectiveness.

1-9. Explain how stereotypes function in organizational settings.

1-10.

Describe how key biographical characteristics are relevant to OB. 1-11.

Explain how other differentiating characteristics factor into OB. 1-12.

Demonstrate the relevance of intellectual and physical abilities to OB. 1-13.

Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.

Suggested Lecture Outline

VII. INTRODUCTION A. In this chapter, you will learn how individual characteristics like age, gender, race,

identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and abilities can influence interactions and performance in the workplace. You will also see how managers can develop awareness about these characteristics and manage a diverse workforce effectively.

VIII. DIVERSITY A. Demographic Characteristics of the U.S. Workforce.

1. A change has occurred in the formerly predominantly PPT 2.3 white, male managerial workforce. Today’s workforce is gender-balanced and multiethnic. a. Compared to 1950, women today are much more likely to be employed full time, have more education, and earn wages comparable to those of men. b. In addition, over the past 50 years, the earnings gap between Whites and other racial and ethnic groups has decreased significantly.

2. This shift toward a diverse workforce means organizations need to make diversity management a central focus in their policies and practices.

B. Levels of Diversity.

PPT 2.4 1. Demographics mostly reflect surface level diversity, not thoughts and feelings, and can lead employees to perceive one another through stereotypes and assumptions.

2. However, evidence has shown that as people get to know one another, they become less concerned about demographic differences if they see themselves as sharing more important characteristics, such as personality and values, that represent deep-level diversity. a. Individual differences in personality and culture shape preferences for rewards, communication styles, reactions to leaders, negotiation styles, and many other aspects of behavior in organizations.

IX. DISCRIMINATION PPT 2.5 1. Although diversity does present many opportunities for organizations, effective diversity management also means Exhibit 2-1 working to eliminate unfair discrimination. a. To discriminate is to note a difference between things, which in itself isn’t necessarily bad. b. Noticing one employee is more qualified for making hiring decisions, and noticing another is taking on leadership responsibilities exceptionally well is necessary for making promotion decisions.

1) Usually when we talk about discrimination, though, we mean allowing our behavior to be influenced by stereotypes about groups of people.

Rather than looking at individual characteristics, unfair discrimination assumes everyone in a group is the same.

2. Stereotype Threat. a. Stereotype threat describes the degree to which we are concerned with being judged by or treated negatively based on a certain stereotype.

1) Along with that comes a fear of being judged when we are identified with the negative connotations of that group. This can happen when we are a minority in a situation.

2) Stereotype threat has serious implications for the workplace.

Stereotype threat can occur during preemployment tests and assessments, performance evaluations, training exercises, negotiations, and everyday interactions with others as well as to disengagement, poor job attitudes, a reluctance to seek feedback, and poor performance in the employees experiencing the threat.

3) The following organizational changes can be successful in reducing stereotype threat: increasing awareness of how stereotypes may be perpetuated, reducing differential and preferential treatment through objective assessments, confronting microaggressions against minority groups, and adopting transparent practices that signal the value of all employees.

3. Discrimination in the Workplace. a. As Exhibit 2-1 shows, discrimination can occur in many ways, and its effects can be just as varied depending on the organizational context and the personal biases of its members.

1) Some forms, like exclusion or incivility, are especially hard to root out because they are impossible to observe and may occur simply because the actor isn’t aware of the effects of his or her actions.

2) Whether intentional or not, discrimination can lead to serious negative consequences for employers, but recognizing diversity opportunities can lead to an effective diversity management program and ultimately to a better organization.

X. BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS A. Biographical characteristics such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, PPT 2.7 and disability are some of the most obvious ways employees differ.

1. Variations in these surface-level characteristics may be the basis for discrimination against classes of employees.

B. Age. PPT 2.8 1. The relationship between age and job performance is likely to be an issue of increasing importance during the next decade for many reasons. a. The workforce is aging. b. There is U.S. legislation that, for all intents and purposes, outlaws mandatory retirement.

2. Managers express mixed feelings about the older worker. a. They see a number of positive qualities older workers bring to their jobs, such as experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, and commitment to quality. But older workers are also perceived as lacking flexibility and resisting new technology.

3. What effect does age actually have on turnover, absenteeism, productivity, and satisfaction?

a. Most studies show that there is little relationship between age and job performance.

4. The evidence is mixed regarding age and job satisfaction. Older workers tend to

be more satisfied with their work and have better relationships with coworkers.

Workers also tend to become less satisfied with their work the longer they stay at any given organization.

C. Gender.

PPT 2.9 1. The best place to begin to consider this is with the recognition that few, if any, important differences between men and women affect job performance. a. There is virtually no difference between genders when it comes to performing well; however, differences in pay, benefits, and rewards are strong and substantial, up to fourteen times the size of the performance differences. b. Once on the job, men and women may be offered a similar number of developmental experiences, but females are less likely to be assigned challenging positions by men, assignments that may help them achieve higher organizational positions. c. Moreover, men are more likely to be chosen for leadership roles even though men and women are equally effective leaders, the “glass ceiling”. d. Women are generally selected for leadership roles that require handling organizational crises—positions in which they are usually set up to fail, a phenomenon known as the “glass cliff.” e. The glass ceiling and glass cliff may be due to stereotypes that depict white males as ideal leaders, as they are perceived as more agentic and dominating than women. f. Women may be more likely to experience a “motherhood” bias that prevents them from advancing their careers. g. Many countries have laws against sex discrimination, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other countries, such as Belgium, France, Norway, and Spain, are seeking gender diversity through laws to increase the percentage of women on boards of directors.

D. Race and Ethnicity.

1. Race is a controversial issue. a. We define race as the heritage people use

to identify themselves; ethnicity is PPT 2.10 the additional set of cultural characteristics that often overlaps with race.

2. Race and ethnicity have been studied as they relate to employment outcomes

such as hiring decisions, performance evaluations, pay, and workplace discrimination. We can summarize a few points. a. Some industries have remained less racially diverse than others. For instance, U.S. advertising and media organizations suffer from a lack of racial diversity in their ranks, even though their client base is increasingly ethnically diverse. b. Members of racial and ethnic minorities report higher levels of discrimination in the workplace. In the United States, black people generally fare worse than white people in employment decisions. They receive lower ratings in employment interviews, lower job performance ratings, less pay, and fewer promotions.

c. Moreover, black people are often discriminated against in controlled experiments.

E. Disabilities.

1. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act

(ADA) in 1990, representation of individuals with PPT 2.11 disabilities in the U.S. workforce rapidly increased.

2. The ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to make their workplaces accessible to people with physical or mental disabilities.

3. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency responsible for enforcing employment discrimination laws, classifies a person as disabled who has any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. a. One of the most controversial aspects of the ADA is the provision that requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for people with psychiatric disabilities.

4. The impact of disabilities on employment outcomes has been explored from a variety of perspectives. a. On the one hand, a review of the evidence suggests that workers with disabilities receive higher performance evaluations, whether or not the evaluations would be considered objective. b. This same review found that despite these higher performance ratings, individuals with disabilities tend to encounter lower performance expectations and are less likely to be hired. c. Negative employment situations are prevalent for individuals with mental disabilities, and there is some evidence to suggest mental disabilities may impair performance more than physical disabilities.

5. In summary, the treatment of the disabled workforce has long been problematic, but the recognition of the talents and abilities of disabled individuals has made a difference toward reducing workplace discrimination. a. In addition, continuing technology and workplace advancements have greatly increased the scope of available jobs for those with all types of disabilities.

F. Hidden Disabilities.

1. Unless an individual decides to disclose a disability that isn’t easily observable, it can remain hidden at the discretion of the employee. These are called hidden disabilities (or invisible disabilities). a. Hidden disabilities generally fall under the categories of sensory disabilities (for example, impaired hearing); autoimmune disorders (like rheumatoid arthritis); chronic illness or pain (like carpal tunnel syndrome); cognitive or learning impairments (like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder); sleep disorders (like insomnia); and psychological challenges (like posttraumatic stress disorder).

2. Research suggests that disclosing disabilities is actually beneficial to the individual, to others, and to the organization.

XI. OTHER DIFFERENTIATING CHARACTERISTICS PPT 2.12 A. Religion.

1. Religious and nonreligious people question each other’s belief systems, and people of different faiths often experience conflict with one another.

2. Faith can be an employment issue when religious beliefs prohibit or encourage certain behaviors.

3. Employers are prohibited by law from discriminating against employees based

on religion in many countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Reasonable accommodation, like that stipulated in the ADA, is also required for religious exemption in the U.S. B. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

1. Employees differ widely in their treatment of sexual orientation.

2. Federal law now prohibits discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and many states and municipalities also do.

3. Many organizations have implemented policies and procedures protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation.

C. Cultural Identity.

1. Many people carry a strong cultural identity, a link with the culture of family ancestry or youth that lasts a lifetime, no matter where the individual may live in the world.

2. People choose their cultural identity, and also how closely they observe the norms of that culture.

3. Cultural norms influence the workplace, sometimes resulting in clashes, or fostering alienation among cultural minorities.

4. Today’s global companies do well to understand and respect the cultural identities of their employees, both as groups and as individuals.

5. Employees and managers alike can do well to develop their own cultural intelligence (CQ), or ability to function with people of various cultural backgrounds, which can enable employees to work more effectively with one another in organizations.

VI. ABILITY A. Ability is an individual’s current capacity to perform the various PPT 2.13 tasks in a job. Overall abilities are made up of two sets of factors: intellectual and physical.

B. Intellectual Abilities.

1. Intellectual abilities are abilities needed to perform mental activities — thinking, reasoning, and problem solving.

PPT 2.14 2. Most societies place a high value on intelligence, and for good reason.

3. Smart people generally are better performers, earn more

Exhibit 2-2

money, are promoted more often, and attain higher-level jobs.

4. As shown in Exhibit 2-2, the seven most frequently cited PPT 2.15 dimensions making up intellectual abilities are number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory. a. Intellectual dimensions are positively related, so if you score high on verbal comprehension, for example, you’re more likely to also score high on spatial visualization. b. The correlations aren’t perfect, meaning people do have specific abilities that predict important work-related outcomes when considered individually. c. However, they are high enough that researchers also recognize a general factor of intelligence, general mental ability. d. Evidence strongly supports the idea that the structures and measures of intellectual abilities generalize across cultures.

e. There is some evidence that IQ scores vary to some degree across cultures,

but these differences are much smaller when we take into account educational and economic differences.

5. The intelligence test most widely used in hiring decisions, the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test, takes only 12 minutes to complete.

6. Interestingly, while intelligence is a big help in performing a job well, it doesn’t make people happier or more satisfied with their jobs.

C. Physical Abilities.

PPT 2.16 1. Though the changing nature of work suggests intellectual abilities are increasingly important for many jobs, physical Exhibit 2-3 abilities have been and will remain valuable.

2. Research on hundreds of jobs has identified nine basic abilities (see Exhibit 2-3) needed in the performance of physical tasks.

3. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of these abilities.

VII. IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES A. Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and PPT 2.17 sensitive to the needs and differences of others. a. Diversity is much more likely to be successful when we see it as everyone’s business than if we believe it helps only certain groups of employees.

PPT 2.18 B. Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Diverse Employees 1. One method of enhancing workforce diversity is to target recruiting messages to specific demographic groups underrepresented in the workforce. a. This means placing advertisements in publications geared toward specific demographic groups; recruiting at colleges, universities, and other institutions with significant numbers of underrepresented minorities, and forming partnerships with associations like the Society for Women Engineers or the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

1) The selection process is one of the most important places to apply diversity efforts. a) Managers who hire need to value fairness and objectivity in selecting employees and focus on the productive potential of new recruits. b) Fortunately, ensuring that hiring is bias-free does appear to work. Where managers use a well-defined protocol for assessing applicant talent and the organization clearly prioritizes nondiscrimination policies, qualifications become far more important in determining who gets hired than demographic characteristics.

2. Diversity in Groups. a. In some cases, diversity in traits can hurt team PPT 2.19 performance, whereas in others it can facilitate it.

1) Whether diverse or homogenous teams are more effective depends on the characteristic of interest. a) Demographic diversity (in gender, race, and ethnicity) does not appear to either help or hurt team performance in general. b) Teams of individuals who are highly intelligent, conscientious, and interested in working in team settings are more effective.

2) Groups of individuals with different types of expertise and education are more effective than homogeneous groups.

3) Employees and team leaders should look out for faultlines, or perceived differences that split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as sex, race, age, work experience, language, and education, especially when the team is under threat or pressure. These effects can be ameliorated by emphasizing similarities among members, capitalizing on complementary differences, and sharing a common goal or vision.

3. Diversity Programs.

PPT 2.20 a. Effective, comprehensive workforce programs encouraging diversity have three distinct components.

1) First, they teach managers about the legal framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment of all people regardless of their demographic characteristics.

2) Second, they teach managers how a diverse workforce will be better able to serve a diverse market of customers and clients.

3) Third, they foster personal development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers, acknowledging how differences in perspective can be a valuable way to improve performance for everyone.

4) Most negative reactions to employment discrimination are based on the idea that discriminatory treatment is unfair.

5) Regardless of race or gender, people are generally in favor of diversity-oriented programs, including affirmative action, if they believe the policies ensure everyone a fair opportunity to show their skills and abilities. a) Research indicates that a tailored approach will be needed for international organizations.

VIII. SUMMARY A. This chapter examined diversity from many perspectives, with a primary focus on surface-level vs. deep-level characteristics.

B. Individual differences can lead to discrimination through activating stereotypes, which can lead to unfair working conditions and treatment, and possible legal ramifications.

C. There are biographical characteristics and abilities and they have relationships to workplace outcomes.

D. Organizations, managers, and employees can manage diversity.

E. It must be an ongoing commitment that crosses all levels of the organization, and can be effective at improving minority representation, enhancing diversity, and helping improve employee knowledge about diversity strengths.

IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Increase awareness of stereotypes, how they are perpetuated, PPT 2.21 and how covert discrimination can manifest in organizations.

B. Assess and challenge your own stereotypical beliefs to increase your objectivity.

C. Fully evaluate what accommodations a person with disabilities PPT 2.22 will need and then fine-tune the job to that person’s abilities.

D. Seek to understand and respect the unique biographical characteristics of each individual; a fair but individualistic approach yields the best performance.

E. Understand your organization’s antidiscrimination policies thoroughly and share them with all employees.

F. Look beyond readily observable biographical characteristics and consider the

individual’s capabilities before making management decisions; remain open and encouraging for individuals to disclose any hidden disabilities.

G. Strive to promote diversity in recruitment and selection practices.

H. Develop a comprehensive diversity management program that weaves diversity considerations into the organization’s operations.

Discussion Questions

PPT 2.23, 24

8. Describe the two main levels of diversity. Give an example for each.

Answer: Surface-level diversity is reflected in demographics like age, race, and gender. It can lead employees to perceive one another through stereotypes and assumptions. Over the course of a relationship, this type of diversity becomes less important. Deep-level diversity is reflected in an individual’s personality and values.

This type of diversity becomes more important over the course of a relationship.

Examples will vary. Ensure the key ideas of superficial differences versus fundamental deeper differences are clearly stated.

9. What is the role of stereotypes in an organization?

Answer: Employees use stereotypes to make assumptions about groups of people based on surface-level diversity. Instead of considering individual characteristics, an individual may assume everyone in a group is the same. This type of behavior can lead to unfair and potentially harmful discrimination in an organization.

10. List and describe key biographical characteristics. How are they relevant to OB? Answer: Age, gender, race, disability, and length of service are some of the more important biographical characteristics. Other biographical characteristics include tenure, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It is important to understand how biographical characteristics influence employee productivity, absence, turnover, deviance, citizenship, and satisfaction. For example, compared to younger workers, older employees are less likely to quit their jobs, have lower rates of avoidable absence, and are often more productive.

11. Define intellectual ability. What is the relevance of intellectual ability to OB? Answer: Intellectual ability is the thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving ability needed to perform mental activities. The seven most frequently cited dimensions that make up intellectual ability are number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory. People with higher levels of intellectual ability are more likely to emerge as leaders of groups, attain higher levels of education, and earn more money.

In the workplace, their skills are valuable, especially for jobs that require high levels of information processing, because these jobs require higher levels of intellectual ability. Keep in mind, though, that the correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction is about zero.

12. Compare and contrast intellectual and physical ability.

Answer: Ability refers to an individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Intellectual abilities are the abilities needed to perform mental activities, while physical abilities refer to the basic abilities needed to perform physical tasks. Jobs that involve intellectual ability place a premium on thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Jobs that demand physical abilities use any of nine basic skills: dynamic strength, trunk strength, static strength, explosive strength, extent flexibility, dynamic flexibility, body coordination, balance, and stamina.

13. How can organizations effectively manage diversity?

Answer: Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and sensitive to the needs and differences of others. Diversity programs are more likely to be successful when more individuals believe that they are likely to benefit from the program.

Diversity programs that are comprehensive are more likely to be successful, whereas one-shot efforts tend to be less effective. Successful diversity management also requires ongoing commitment across all levels of the organization. Diversity management should be incorporated in group management, recruiting, hiring, retention, and development practices.

Exercises 10. Self-analysis. What is your position on diversity in the workplace? How would you describe your attitude toward diversity? Be detailed in your analysis.

11. Web Crawling. Find and present an online article on diversity in a country other than the United States. What commonalities are exposed and what differences are shown to exist?

12. Teamwork. In small groups meet and discuss diversity. Ask each group to prepare a list of metrics designed to measure progress in an organization toward diversity management. Each group should develop metrics to measure progress for both short-term and long-term objectives, and each group should develop metrics for upper-, middle-, and lower-level employees. Then, as a class, discuss the metrics each group has developed. Look for the common ideas and discuss why they are important. Next, explore the lists for each employee level and discuss how and why they should be different.

13. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Ask students to brainstorm three diversity scenarios that could be encountered in an organization. For example, one scenario could involve two individuals who are up for a promotion. One is a white male, the other a Hispanic woman. The team making the decision is led by a white male. The team promotes the white male. Then, ask students to meet with different members of their organization to discuss their views on the scenarios and how they perceive how the situation was handled. Students should try to meet with as diverse a group of individuals as possible, perhaps including individuals of different ages, races, genders, and so on. What conclusions can be drawn from these responses regarding the effectiveness of their organization’s diversity management program?

Keep in mind that this could be a very sensitive task, and instructors should review the need for anonymity and sensitivity in situations such as these.

14. Small Group Exercise. Randomly divide the class into groups of four or five students.

Ask each group to make a list of the things they have in common. After five minutes, ask each group to stand and recite their list for the entire class. The object of this exercise is to show that despite our differences in race, gender, age, etc., we have more in common than differences.

Suggested Assignments 1. In 2013, Diversity Inc. recognized seven companies for their efforts at diversity management. Divide the class into small groups and ask each group to do an Internet search for “diversityinc” and “2013 special awards dinner” and scroll down the page to view the videos from the 2013 Special Awards Dinner.

2. Ask each group to watch the clips of the award recipients and identify the common themes on successful diversity management. How has each award recipient approached diversity management?

3. After the small group work, have the students write up the findings and the potential impact of those general findings for the firms involved. Discuss the lessons that can be learned from these organizations.

Other Teaching Resources 1. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has a website “Preventing Hiring Bias” with many resources for how organizations can hire more effectively without bias.

http://shrm.org

Chapter 3 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Chapter Overview This chapter examines attitudes, their link to behavior, and how employees’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs affects the workplace.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1-14. Contrast the three components of an attitude.

1-15. Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

1-16. Compare the major job attitudes.

1-17. Identify the two approaches for measuring job satisfaction.

1-18. Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

1-19. Identify three outcomes of job satisfaction.

1-20. Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

PPT 3.2

Suggested Lecture Outline

XII. INTRODUCTION A. In this chapter, we look at attitudes, their link to behavior, and how employees’

satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs affects the workplace.

XIII. ATTITUDES A. Attitudes: evaluative statements—either favorable or PPT 3.3 unfavorable—concerning objects, people, or events. They reflect how one feels about something.

1. Attitudes are complex and the rationale behind them may not be obvious. To fully understand attitudes, we must explore their fundamental properties or components.

B. What Are the Main Components of Attitudes?

PPT 3.4 1. There are three main components of attitudes (Exhibit 3-1): a. Cognitive. The statement “My pay is low” is the Exhibit 3-1 cognitive component of an attitude—an opinion or belief about the attitude target. b. Affective. Affect is the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude and is reflected in the statement “I am angry over how little I’m paid.” Finally, affect can lead to behavioral outcomes. c. Behavior. This describes an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something—to continue the example, “I’m going to look for another job that pays better.” d. Viewing attitudes as having three components—cognition, affect, and behavior—is helpful in understanding their complexity. Keep in mind that these components are closely related, and cognition and affect in particular are inseparable in many ways.

e. Exhibit 3-1 illustrates how the three components of an attitude are related.

2. In organizations, attitudes are important for their behavioral component.

C. Attitudes and Behavior.

PPT 3.5 1. While attitudes may seem to be directly causal, Leon

XIV. 1.

2.

3.

4.

Festinger argued that attitudes follow behavior. People change what they say, so it does not contradict what they do. a. Cognitive Dissonance. Situations where attitudes follow behavior illustrate the effects of cognitive dissonance. The theory is that dissonance between what people say and what they do makes people uncomfortable and that they will take whatever actions they can to reduce that discomfort, such as changing their attitudes or behaviors.

1) Cognitive Dissonance: refers to any PPT 3.6, 3.7 incompatibility that an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes, or between behavior and attitudes.

2) The desire to reduce dissonance depends on three moderating factors: a) including the importance of the elements creating it and b) the degree of influence we believe we have over them. c) A third factor is the rewards of dissonance; high rewards accompanying high dissonance tend to reduce the tension inherent in the dissonance.

JOB ATTITUDES Research suggests that across all job attitudes, organizational identification, or the extent to which employees define themselves by the same characteristics that define one’s organization, forms a basis for which attitudes and behaviors are engendered. a. Organizational identification strongly predicts job attitude formation across all types. b. Employees may experience event (e.g., reduced pay) after event (e.g., downsizing) after event (e.g., cancelled bonuses)—from such events, employees begin to “learn” that the organization may not value paying employees well, begin to form negative attitudes toward the organization, and begin to dis-identify.

There are three important attitudes toward work that organizational behavior (OB) has traditionally studied: job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment. There are two other work-related attitudes that are attracting attention: perceived organizational support and employee engagement.

Job Satisfaction and Job Involvement.

PPT 3.8 a. Job Satisfaction: A positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. b. Job Involvement: The degree to which people identify psychologically with their jobs and consider their perceived performance level important to selfworth. c. Psychological Empowerment: Employees’ beliefs in the degree to which they influence their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and the perceived autonomy in their work.

Organizational Commitment.

PPT 3.9 a. Organizational Commitment: A state in which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization.

1) Employees who are committed are less likely to engage in work

withdrawal even if they are dissatisfied because they feel a sense of loyalty or attachment to the organization.

PPT 3.10 5. Perceived Organizational Support. a. Perceived Organizational Support (POS): The degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being.

1) Organizations are considered supportive when they: a) Fairly provide rewards, b) Give employees a voice in decision making, and c) Provide supervisors who are seen as being supportive. b. POS is a predictor of employment outcomes, but there are some cultural influences.

1) POS is important in countries where the power distance—the degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally—is lower.

2) In low power-distance countries like the United States, people are more likely to view work as an exchange than as a moral obligation, so employees look for reasons to feel supported by their organizations.

3) In high power-distance countries like China, employee POS perceptions are not as deeply based on employer demonstrations of fairness, support, and encouragement.

PPT 3.11 6. Employee Engagement. a. Employee Engagement: The degree of enthusiasm an employee feels for the job.

1) Highly engaged employees have a passion for their work and feel a deep connection to their company; disengaged employees have essentially checked out—putting time but not energy or attention into their work. a) Employee engagement is moderately related to employee and organizational performance. b) Units whose employees reported high-average levels of engagement achieved higher levels of customer satisfaction, were more productive, brought in higher profits, and experienced lower levels of turnover and accidents than at other business units.

VII. MEASURING JOB SATISFACTION PPT 3.12 A. As mentioned earlier, this attitude is one of the oldest and most critical attitudes examined in OB studies.

B. Approaches to Measurement.

1. There are two widely used approaches to measuring this attitude: a. Single Global Rating Method. This method uses responses to a single question about the job to determine job satisfaction. b. Summation Score Method. This method identifies key elements in the job and asks for the employee’s feelings about each element. Respondents’ answer on a standardized scale and their responses are tallied to create an overall job satisfaction score.

2. Is one of these approaches superior? Intuitively, summing up responses to a number of job factors seems likely to achieve a more accurate evaluation of job satisfaction. a. Research, however, doesn’t support the intuition. This is one of those rare instances in which simplicity seems to work as well as complexity, making one method essentially as valid as the other.

b. Both methods are helpful. c. The single global rating method isn’t very time consuming, thus freeing time

for other tasks, and the summation of job facets helps managers zero in on problems and deal with them faster and more accurately.

C. Measured Job Satisfaction Levels.

PPT 3.13 1. According to the 2017 World Happiness Report, the majority of employees in 92.5 percent of countries are satisfied with their jobs.

2. Job satisfaction levels can remain quite consistent over time, but poor economic conditions can result in a drop-off of job satisfaction.

3. Research shows satisfaction levels vary a lot, depending on which facet of job satisfaction you’re talking about.

Exhibit 3-2 4. As shown in Exhibit 3-2, people are, on average, satisfied with their jobs overall, with the work itself, and with their supervisors and coworker.

5. However, they tend to be less satisfied with their pay and with promotion opportunities.

6. It’s not really clear why people dislike their pay and promotion possibilities more than other aspects of their jobs.

PPT 3.14 7. While the concept appears relevant across cultures, there are still cultural differences in job satisfaction.

Exhibit 3-3 8. Exhibit 3-3 provides the results of a global study of job satisfaction levels of workers in 15 countries, with the highest levels in Mexico and Switzerland.

VIII. WHAT CAUSES JOB SATISFACTION? A. Job Conditions.

1. Interesting jobs that provide training, variety, independence, PPT 3.15 and control satisfy most employees.

a. A strong relation exists between how well people enjoy

the social context of their workplace and how satisfied PPT 3.16 they are overall. Interdependence, feedback, social support, and interaction with coworker outside the workplace are strongly related to job satisfaction even after accounting for characteristics of the work itself.

B. Personality.

PPT 3.17 1. Job satisfaction is not just about job conditions. Personality also plays a role. Research has shown that people who have positive core selfevaluations—who believe in their inner worth and basic competence—are more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative core self-evaluations.

C. Pay. PPT 3.18 1. Pay, once above a given level, does not increase satisfaction.

While money may be a motivator, it does not necessarily make people happy—at least once they have enough to live comfortably.

D. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

PPT 3.19 1. An organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), or its self-regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law, increasingly affects employee job satisfaction.

2. Organizations practice CSR through environmental sustainability initiatives, nonprofit work, charitable giving, and other globally attuned philanthropy.

3. CSR is good for the planet and good for people. Employees whose personal values fit with the organization’s CSR mission are often more satisfied.

4. CSR allows workers to serve a higher purpose or contribute to a mission. People

who view their work as part of a higher purpose often realize higher job satisfaction. a. However, an organization’s CSR efforts must be well governed and its initiatives must be sustainable for long-term job satisfaction benefits.

IX. OUTCOMES OF JOB SATISFACTION A. Job Performance.

PPT 3.20 1. Satisfaction and productivity research data for the organization as a whole, shows that more satisfied employees tend to be more effective than organizations with fewer satisfied employees.

B. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs).

1. It seems logical to assume job satisfaction should be a major determinant of an employee’s organizational citizenship behavior (OCB).

2. Consistent with this thinking, evidence suggests job satisfaction is moderately correlated with OCBs; people who are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to engage in OCBs. C. Customer Satisfaction.

1. Satisfied employees increase customer retention and loyalty.

D. Life Satisfaction.

1. Until now, we’ve treated job satisfaction as if it was separate from life satisfaction, but they may be more related than you think, and there is evidence that they mutually influence one another. a. Furthermore, life satisfaction decreases when people become unemployed, according to research in Germany, and not just because of the loss of income. b. For most individuals, work is an important part of life, and therefore, it makes sense that our overall happiness depends in no small part on our happiness in our work (our job satisfaction).

X. THE IMPACT OF JOB DISSATISFACTION PPT 3.21 1. The Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect Framework. This model is helpful in understanding the consequences of dissatisfaction. The framework has four responses that differ from one another along two dimensions: constructive/destructive and active/passive. a. Exit. This response involves directing behavior toward leaving the organization. It includes both looking for a new job, as well as resigning. b. Voice. This response involves actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions. Includes making suggestions and union activities. c. Loyalty. This response involves passively, but optimistically, waiting for conditions to improve. It involves trusting the organization and its management to “do the right thing.” d. Neglect. This response involves passively allowing conditions to worsen.

Includes chronic absenteeism, reduced effort, and increased error rate.

2. Exit and neglect behaviors are linked to performance variables such as productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. This model expands employee responses to include voice and loyalty—constructive behaviors that allow individuals to tolerate unpleasant situations.

A. Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB).

1. Substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socializing, PPT 3.22 gossiping, absenteeism, and tardiness are examples of

behaviors that are destructive to organizations. They are indicators of a broader syndrome called counterproductive work behavior (CWB; related terms are deviant behavior in the workplace, or simply withdrawal behavior; see Chapter 1).

2. If we can identify the predictors of CWB, we may lessen the probability of its effects. Generally, job dissatisfaction predicts CWB. People who are not satisfied with their work become frustrated, which lowers their performance and makes them more likely to commit CWB. 3. One important point about CWB is that dissatisfied employees often choose one or more specific behaviors due to idiosyncratic factors. a. One worker might quit. Another might use work time to browse Reddit or another might take work supplies home for personal use. b. In short, workers who don’t like their jobs “get even” in various ways.

Because these ways can be quite creative, controlling only one behavior with policies and punishments leaves the root cause untouched.

Employers should seek to correct the source of the problem—the dissatisfaction—rather than try to control the different responses.

4. As a manager, you can take steps to mitigate CWB. a. You can poll employee attitudes, for instance, and identify areas for workplace improvement. b. If there is no vocational fit, the employee will not be fulfilled, so you can try to screen for that to avoid a mismatch. c. Tailoring tasks to a person’s abilities and values should increase job satisfaction and reduce CWB. d. Furthermore, creating strong teams, integrating supervisors with them, providing formalized team policies, and introducing team-based incentives may help lower the CWB “contagion” that lowers the standards of the group.

1. Absenteeism: There is a weak-to-moderate negative relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism. Generally, when numerous alternative jobs are available, dissatisfied employees have high absence rates, but when there are few alternatives, dissatisfied employees have the same (low) rate of absence as satisfied employees.

2. Turnover: The relationship between job satisfaction and turnover is stronger than between satisfaction and absenteeism. a. Lowered job satisfaction is the best predictor of intent to leave. b. If the climate within an employee’s immediate workplace is one of low job satisfaction leading to turnover, there is a contagion effect. i. Managers should consider job satisfaction and turnover patterns of coworkers when assigning workers to a new area.

3. The satisfaction–turnover relationship also is affected by alternative job prospects. a. If an employee is presented with an unsolicited job offer, job dissatisfaction is less predictive of turnover because the employee is more likely leaving because of “pull” (the lure of the other job) than “push” (the unattractiveness of the current job). b. Similarly, job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into turnover when employment opportunities are plentiful because employees perceive it is easy to move. Finally, when employees have high “human capital” (high education, high ability), job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into turnover because they have, or perceive, many available alternatives.

4. Employees’ job embeddedness—connections to the job and community that result in an increased commitment to the organization—can be closely linked to their job satisfaction and the probability of turnover such that where job embeddedness is high, the probability of turnover decreases, particularly in collectivist (groupcentered; see Chapter 4) cultures where membership in an organization is of high personal value.

B. Managers Often “Don’t Get It.” 1. Organizations in higher-morale groups have higher stock price returns than organizations in medium- and lower-morale groups.

2. While there is much evidence that job satisfaction can affect PPT 3.23 organizational outcomes, many managers still are unconcerned about the job satisfaction of their employees or they falsely believe employee satisfaction is high.

3. Regular surveys can reduce gaps between what managers think employees feel and what they really feel. a. Employees also like to give their opinions to managers, the process of which also increases satisfaction.

VIII. SUMMARY A. Managers should be interested in their employees’ attitudes because attitudes influence behavior and indicate potential problems.

B. Creating a satisfied workforce is hardly a guarantee of successful organizational performance, but evidence strongly suggests managers’ efforts to improve employee attitudes will likely result in positive outcomes, including greater organizational effectiveness, higher customer satisfaction, and increased profits.

IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Of the major job attitudes—job satisfaction, job involvement, PPT 3.24 organizational commitment, POS, and employee engagement— remember that an employee’s job satisfaction level is the best single predictor of behavior.

B. Pay attention to your employees’ job satisfaction levels as determinants of their performance, turnover, absenteeism, and withdrawal behaviors.

C. Measure employee job attitudes objectively and at regular intervals in order to determine how employees are reacting to their work.

D. To raise employee satisfaction, evaluate the fit between the employee’s work interests and the intrinsic parts of the job to create work that is challenging and interesting to the individual.

E. Consider the fact that high pay alone is unlikely to create a satisfying work environment.

Discussion Questions

PPT 3.25

14. Describe the three components of an attitude. Give an example for each.

Answer: Cognition: what a person thinks about an object, person, or event.

Affective: the emotional overlay to the cognitive thought. It expresses how we feel about that object, person or event. Behavior: the actual or intended behavior brought about by the first two components of attitude. It is what we will do about that object, person, or event.

Examples will vary. Ensure the key ideas of thinks, feels, and does are clearly stated.

15. What is the relationship between attitudes and behavior?

Answer: Leon Festinger believed that attitudes followed behavior due to cognitive dissonance. The negative feelings aroused when actions were not aligned with

words caused the expressed attitudes to change. More commonly, recent research has shown that behavior follows attitudes. Therefore, it is important for managers to understand employee attitudes, so they may better predict behavior.

16. Compare and contrast the job attitudes discussed in this chapter.

Answer: Job satisfaction is how an employee feels about the job. Job involvement is closely related to psychological empowerment, and describes how much a person “buys into” their job based on the job’s worth to that person and how much control the employee has over the job itself. Organizational commitment is similar to job involvement, but it shows how strongly the employee identifies with the organization rather than with just the job. These three are the traditional attitudes studied by OB. Two additional attitudes are perceived organizational support (which measures how much an employee trusts the organization) and employee engagement, which measures how deeply involved the employees feel they are in their work. All of these attitudes may in fact be measuring the same basic underlying attitude toward work. To varying degrees, each of these attitudes positively affects job performance and organizational outcomes.

17. How can managers increase job satisfaction and what are the organizational consequences when there are high or low levels of job satisfaction?

Answer: Job satisfaction can best be increased through the design of the work itself.

Work that is challenging and interesting will lead to increased job satisfaction.

Other factors that increase job satisfaction are good supervisors and coworker, the ability to promote and to a lesser extent, pay. Pay only increases satisfaction to the point where a comfortable lifestyle is reached, after that point pay ceases to increase job satisfaction when pay is increased.

High job satisfaction is linked to better organizational outcomes: lower turnover and absenteeism, higher customer satisfaction, and fewer instances of workplace deviance. Low levels of job satisfaction result in opposite effects.

18. List and describe the four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

Answer: This involves the Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect Framework. The framework provides the four responses to employee dissatisfaction.

Exit: involves directing behavior toward leaving the organization, includes both looking for a new job, as well as resigning. Voice: involves actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions, includes making suggestions and union activities. Loyalty: involves passively, but optimistically, waiting for conditions to improve. It involves trusting the organization and its management to do the right thing. Neglect: involves passively allowing conditions to worsen, including chronic absenteeism, reduced effort, and increased error rate.

19. Is job satisfaction a global concept?

Answer: It appears to be. While the concept itself is global, there are still cultural issues involved in its expression. Western cultures tend to have higher levels of job satisfaction, perhaps due to the emphasis in the West toward positive emotions and individual happiness.

Exercises 15. Self-analysis. What are your attitudes toward the workplace? How would you describe your level of job satisfaction, and why? Be detailed in your analysis.

16. Web Crawling. Find and present an online article on job satisfaction in a country other than the United States. What commonalities are exposed and what differences are shown to exist?

17. Teamwork. In small groups meet and discuss attitudes. As a warmup, work backward from behaviors you have evidenced in the past to what your attitude was

toward that object, person, or event at that point in time. Then as a group, discuss how your attitudes changed toward various objects, persons, or events as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Prepare a list of the most commonly changed attitudes held by the group. Discuss how these attitudes were expressed in behaviors. Share your findings with the class.

18. Small Group Exercise. Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Each group will consider three career choices for 25-year-old people: financial analyst, government administrator, and carpenter. For each career choice, each group should list what types or traits of individuals will most likely be satisfied with each career choice, and the aspects of each career choice that individuals will most likely find most satisfying. After ten minutes, ask two of the groups to present their lists to the class and discuss.

19. How Have Attitudes in the Work Environment Changed? The purpose of this exercise is to explore the difference in work-related attitudes across generations.

The students will develop an interview instrument and use it to interview three to five people who are clearly in different age categories (i.e., work cohorts). a. Put students into small groups. In the group, brainstorm questions for a short interview regarding job satisfaction and attitudes toward work. b. As a class discuss the questions and ideas and narrow them to a list of five to ten questions, something that could be administered in an oral interview in thirty minutes. c. Each group should assign one member to each of the following cohorts. i. Workers who grew up influenced by the Great Depression and entered the workforce from the mid-1940s through the late-1950s. ii. Employees who entered the workforce during the 1960s through the mid-1970s were influenced heavily by John F. Kennedy. iii. Individuals who entered the workforce from the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s reflect the society’s return to values that are more traditional but with far greater emphasis on achievement and material success. iv. Generation X has been shaped by globalization, the fall of communism, MTV, and the digital revolution. d. The interviewer should identify an individual and conduct an interview using the questionnaire created in class. Students might consider scouting the local McDonald’s or Wal-Mart. These types of businesses hire across the age spectrum, making it easier to find candidates to interview. Be careful to request permission to perform interviews on business properties. Otherwise you may be in violation of local laws. e. Groups should meet and consolidate their information into a report, either a ten-minute oral or a three-to-five page written report. As part of their report, they should discuss the practical implications of any attitudinal trends they discovered among the cohorts. f. Groups should present and discuss their findings in class.

20. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). For this part of the project, students are asked to analyze employee attitudes and assess how well those attitudes are perceived by supervisors. This is potentially a very sensitive task, and instructors should review the need for anonymity and sensitivity in situations such as these.

Break the class back down into small groups (use the same groups as in the last assignment or create new ones to increase the diversity of opinion) and have the group brainstorm 5-10 statements regarding work attitudes based on the descriptions in the text. For instance, they may create “I take a lot of meaning from my work” as a measurement of job involvement.

As a class, select the best statements for each of the five job attitudes described in the text. Create a questionnaire with these five questions answered using a modified five-point Likert scale (Very True, Somewhat True, Neutral, Somewhat Untrue, Very Untrue). Assign point values to each of the Likert values (1-5 works best).

Have the students ask five workers at random to answer the survey. Ensure their privacy to get honest responses. Gather the surveys but do not show them to anyone else at the organization.

Give a survey, marked “supervisor,” to the supervisors and ask them to mark where they believe their average employee would be on the scales. Tell the supervisors that the purpose of this survey is NOT to judge that individual supervisor’s ability to assess the employees but to see if the average perceptions are different between workers and supervisors.

Have the small group average the point values of the employee responses and of the supervisor responses. Compare the two. Discuss the following issues: 1. How close were the supervisor’s perceptions to reality?

2. What issues may have concerned employees when they took the survey?

3. What issues may have concerned the supervisors regarding the survey?

Suggested Assignments 1. Discuss the small group findings of the cumulative case (No. 5 above) in class.

Build up student understanding of the importance of perception in OB and management based on the survey results. a. After the small group work, have the student write up the findings and the potential impact of those general findings in the firm the student is examining. (It is strongly suggested that the student NOT directly compare the employees of the firm with the supervisor of the firm to prevent potential problems.)

Other Teaching Resources 1. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presented a 20-minute TED talk in 2012 “What makes us feel good about our work?” Video online at http://www.ted.org

Chapter 4

Emotions and Moods Chapter Overview This chapter examines the effect of moods and emotions on the workplace. Humans are emotional creatures, and to ignore this fact during work hours is inappropriate in the study of organizational behavior (OB). This chapter examines the causes of, and influences on, emotion. Emotional intelligence (EI) is explored, as are the various ways emotions play out in the work environment.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:

PPT 4.2

4-1. Differentiate between emotions and moods.

4-2. Identify the sources of emotions and moods.

4-3. Show the impact emotional labor has on employees.

4-4. Describe affective events theory.

4-5. Describe emotional intelligence.

4-6. Identify strategies for emotion regulation.

4-7. Apply concepts about emotions and moods to specific OB issues.

Suggested Lecture Outline

XV. INTRODUCTION A. Emotions can greatly influence our attitudes toward others, our decision making, and our behaviors. We are human and cannot set aside our emotions, but we can acknowledge and work with them.

1. Not all emotions have negative influences on us.

XVI. WHAT ARE EMOTIONS AND MOODS? A. Emotional Terminology.

1. Three closely related terms that are closely intertwined:

PPT 4.3 Exhibit 4-1

affect, emotions, and moods. a. Affect: the generic term that covers a broad range of PPT 4.4 feelings, including both emotions and moods. b. Emotion: the intense, discrete, and short-lived feeling experiences that are often caused by a specific event.

1) Caused by specific events.

2) Emotions are very brief in duration (seconds or minutes).

3) Specific and numerous in nature (many specific emotions such as anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, surprise).

4) Usually accompanied by distinct facial expressions. c. Moods: are longer lived and less intense feelings than emotions and often arise without a specific event acting as a stimulus.

1) Cause is often general and unclear.

2) Longer lasting than emotions (hours or days).

3) Generally not indicated by distinct expressions. d. Exhibit 4-1 shows the relationships among affect, emotions, and mood.

2. The two categories of affect represent overall affective states PPT 4.5 (Exhibit 4-2). a. Positive Affect is a mood dimension consisting of positive emotions such as excitement, enthusiasm, and elation at the high end (high positive affect). b. Negative Affect is a mood dimension consisting of nervousness, stress, and anxiety at the high end (high negative PPT 4.6 affect). c. Being neutral is being non-emotional.

PPT 4.7 B. The Basic Emotions.

1. There are dozens of emotions. a. Include anger, contempt, enthusiasm, envy, fear, frustration, disappointment, embarrassment, disgust, happiness, hate, hope, jealousy, joy, love, pride, surprise, and sadness. b. Numerous researchers have tried to limit them to a fundamental set.

1) But some argue that it makes no sense to think in terms of “basic”

emotions because emotions can mean different things in different contexts and may vary across cultures.

2. It’s unlikely psychologists or philosophers will ever completely agree on a set of basic emotions, or even on whether there is such a thing.

3. Many researchers have agreed on six essentially universal emotions. a. They consist of anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, and surprise.

4. Psychologists have tried to identify basic emotions by studying how we express them. Of our myriad ways of expressing emotions, facial expressions have proved one of the most difficult to interpret. a. One problem is that some emotions are too complex to be easily represented on our faces. b. Second, people may not interpret emotions accurately the same way across cultures. c. People may also express their emotions vocally.

C. Moral Emotions.

PPT 4.8 1. Researchers have been studying what are called moral emotions; that is, emotions that have moral implications because of our instant judgment of the situation that evokes them. a. Examples of moral emotions include sympathy for the suffering of others, guilt about our own immoral behavior, anger about injustice done to others, and contempt for those who behave unethically.

D. Experiencing Moods and Emotions.

PPT 4.9 a. Positivity Offset: At zero input, when no stimulus is provided, most people experience a mildly positive mood. In fact, positive moods tend to be more common than negative ones.

E. The Function of Emotions.

1. Individuals who tend to experience positive affect consistently as part of their personalities tend to have positive job attitudes, experience good social integration with their supervisor and coworkers, experience good treatment from their organizations, and engage in more task and citizenship performance.

2. Do Emotions Make Us Irrational? a. How often have you heard someone say “Oh, you’re just being emotional”?

You might have been offended. b. These observations suggest rationality and emotion are in conflict, PPT 4.10 and that if you exhibit emotion you are likely to act irrationally. c. One team of authors argues that displaying emotions such as sadness to the point of crying is so toxic to a career that we should leave the room rather than allow others to witness it. d. These perspectives suggest the demonstration or even experience of emotions can make us seem weak, brittle, or irrational. e. However, research is increasingly showing that emotions are actually critical to rational thinking. There has been evidence of such a link for a long time. f. We must have the ability to experience emotions to be rational. g. Our emotions provide important information about how we understand the world around us and help guide our behaviors.

1) Individuals in a negative mood may be able to discern truthful from inaccurate information than are people in a happy mood.

2) Cold rationality does not acknowledge that people are, by nature, emotional.

XVII. SOURCES OF EMOTIONS AND MOODS

1. Personality. Moods and emotions have a personality component:

2.

3.

4.

5.

PPT 4.11

some people have built-in tendencies to experience certain moods and emotions more frequently than others do. a. People also experience the same emotions with different intensities. b. People also differ in affect intensity, or how strongly they experience their emotions. c. Affectively intense people experience both positive and negative emotions more deeply: when they’re sad, they’re really sad, and when they’re happy, they’re really happy. d. The tendency to experience positive and negative emotions and moods is the strongest predictor of whether an employee is engaged.

Time of the Day. Moods vary by the time of day. Most of us follow PPT 4.12 the same pattern. a. Positive Affect. (See Exhibit 4-3.) Levels of positive affect tend to peak in the late morning (about ten o’clock to noon) and then Exhibit 4-3 remain level until early evening (around seven o’clock). Starting about twelve hours after waking, positive affect begins to drop until dusk, and then, continues to accelerate until after midnight. The drop continues until positive mood picks up again after sunrise. While we commonly think of morning or evening people, the majority of the population tends to exhibit a similar pattern: moods start out low in the morning, peak during the day, and then decline in the evening. b. Negative Affect. Negative affect fluctuates less than positive affect. The general trend is for it to increase over the course of a day, so that it is lowest in the early morning and highest late in the evening.

Day of the Week. a. U.S. adults tend to experience their highest positive affect on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and their lowest on Monday.

1) In Japan, positive affect is higher on Monday than on either Friday or Saturday. b. Monday is the highest negative affect day across most cultures.

1) In some countries, negative affect is lower on Friday and Saturday than on Sunday. c. These findings may not generalize to countries that do not follow the Monday-Friday work schedule.

PPT 4.13 Weather. When do you think you would be in a better mood— when it’s 70 degrees and sunny or on a gloomy, cold, rainy day? a. Many people believe their mood is tied to the weather. However, a fairly large and detailed body of evidence conducted by multiple researchers suggests weather has little effect on mood. b. Illusory correlation explains why people tend to think nice weather improves their mood. It occurs when people associate two events that in reality have no connection.

Stress. As you might imagine, stressful daily events at work (a nasty e-mail, an impending deadline, the loss of a big sale, a reprimand from the boss) negatively affect moods. a. The effects of stress also build over time. As the authors of one study note, “a constant diet of even low-level stressful events has the potential to cause workers to experience gradually increasing levels of strain over time.” b. Mounting levels of stress can worsen our moods, and we experience more negative emotions.

c. Although sometimes we thrive on stress, most of us find stress takes a toll on our mood.

6. Sleep. Adults report sleeping less than adults did a generation ago. a. Sleep quality affects moods and decision making, and increased fatigue puts workers at risk of disease, injury, and depression.

b. Poor or reduced sleep also leads to emotional changes and irritability, makes it difficult to control emotions, and can impair job satisfaction.

c. Increased regular sleep can reduce the negative effects of fatigue and stress on employees.

7. Exercise. Research has shown that exercise does enhance

PPT 4.14

people's positive mood and reduces perceptions of fatigue. a. Exercise can help protect against persistent negative moods and improve the ability to recover from negative experiences.

8. Gender. Many believe women are more emotional than men. Is there any truth to this? a. There have been several reviews that have found differences in emotion display across genders that tend to increase with age, these tend to be trivial or small, and likely reflect differences in upbringing and stereotypes, or even the way emotions are measured, rather than actual gender differences.

XVIII. EMOTIONAL LABOR A. Jobs require emotional labor, an employee’s expression of PPT 4.15 organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work.

1. Emotional labor is a key component of effective job performance. We expect flight attendants to be cheerful, funeral directors to be sad, and doctors to be emotionally neutral.

B. Controlling Emotional Displays.

1. The way we experience an emotion is obviously not always the same as the way we show it. To analyze emotional labor, we divide emotions into felt or displayed emotions.

2. Felt emotions are an individual’s actual emotions.

3. In contrast, displayed emotions are those that the PPT 4.16 organization requires workers to show and considers appropriate in a given job. a. In U.S. workplaces, it is expected that employees should typically display positive emotions like happiness and excitement, and suppress negative emotions like fear, anger, disgust, and contempt.

4. Displaying fake emotions requires us to suppress real ones. a. Surface acting is hiding inner feelings and forgoing emotional expressions in response to display rules.

1) A worker who smiles at a customer even when he doesn’t feel like it is surface acting.

2) Surface acting deals with displayed emotions, and deep acting deals with felt emotions.

3) Research shows surface acting is associated with increased stress and decreased job satisfaction. Daily surface acting can also lead to emotional exhaustion at home, work-family conflict, absenteeism, and insomnia. b. Deep acting is trying to modify our true inner feelings based on display rules.

1) Deep acting has a positive relationship with job satisfaction (especially

when the work is challenging), job performance, and even better customer treatment and tips.

5. Emotional Dissonance and Mindfulness. a. When employees have to project one emotion while feeling another, this disparity is called emotional dissonance. Bottled-up feelings of frustration, anger, and resentment can lead to emotional exhaustion.

1) Long-term emotional dissonance is a predictor for job burnout, declines in job performance, and lower job satisfaction. b. It is important to counteract the effects of emotional labor and emotional dissonance.

1) Research from Germany and Australia suggests that employees who have a high capacity for self-control, who get a good night’s sleep every day, and who have strong relationships with their customers or clients tend to be buffered to some degree from the negative side effects of emotional dissonance.

XIX. AFFECTIVE EVENTS THEORY A. We’ve seen that emotions and moods are important parts of our PPT 4.17 personal lives and our work lives. But how do they influence our job performance and satisfaction?

B. A model called affective events theory (AET) demonstrates that employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work, and this reaction influences their job performance and satisfaction.

1. The theory begins by recognizing that emotions are a response to an event in the work environment.

2. Work events trigger positive or negative emotional reactions, to which employees’ personalities and moods predispose them to respond with greater or lesser intensity.

3. AET offers two important messages. a. First, emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace events influence employee performance and satisfaction. b. Second, employees and managers shouldn’t ignore emotions or the events that cause them, even when they appear minor, because they accumulate.

XX. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE A. Emotional Intelligence (EI): a person’s ability to (1) perceive PPT 4.18 emotions in the self and others, (2) understand the meaning of these emotions, and (3) regulate one’s emotions accordingly in a cascading PPT 4.19 model (Exhibit 4-4).

1. Employers value EI. 2. In a study that tracked college students from graduation over ten

Exhibit 4-4

years after entering the workforce, EI predicted how high their salary was ten years later, as well as whether the alumni had a mentor.

B. Several studies suggest EI plays an important role in predicting job attitudes and facilitating academic and job performance, although the survey items are often strikingly similar to other items from personality, intelligence, and self-perception tests.

C. Other reviews suggest that EI is related to improving teamwork effectiveness, organizational citizenship behaviors, and career decision making, as well as reducing counterproductive work behaviors.

D. In a study of U.S. presidents, leaders and employees alike who are high on PPT 4.20 EI tend to be more popular and successful because they are able to understand and manage their own, and others’, emotions.

E. EI that is focused on the self (e.g., self-understanding) decreases the experience of

F.

XXI. A.

B.

C.

stress, but with psychological costs, while other-focused EI (e.g., accurately perceiving the emotions in others) only weakly predicted task performance. This suggests that EI may be costly and not as effective as we think, especially in emotionally demanding contexts.

Although OB is progressing in its understanding of EI, and several studies suggest it plays an important role in job performance, many questions remain unanswered.

1. One relates to proving what EI may predict. For example, we need to be more precise when we talk about EI—are we referring to EI in general? Or to regulating emotions, understanding emotions, or perceiving emotions specifically?

2. A second question is about the reliability of EI testing and how best to measure it.

3. A third question is one of the most important for managers in organizations: can EI be learned? Several reviews suggest EI can be trained and developed as a skill—although paradoxically, the people who need it most are the ones least likely to actually seek it out.

EMOTION REGULATION Emotion Regulation: the process of identifying and modifying the PPT 4.21 emotions you feel.

1. Emotion regulation is a strong predictor of task performance for some jobs and for OCB. Emotion Regulation Influences and Outcomes.

1. Not everyone is equally good at regulating emotions. Individuals who are higher in the personality trait of neuroticism (see Chapter 5) have more trouble doing so and often find their moods are beyond their ability to control.

2. Individuals who have lower levels of self-esteem are also less likely to try to improve their moods, perhaps because they are less likely than others to feel they deserve to be in a good mood.

3. University seniors who are more focused on mastering the job search process are better able to regulate their emotions, and engage in more job search behaviors as a result.

4. The workplace environment has an effect on an individual’s tendency to employ emotion regulation. In general, diversity in work groups increases the likelihood that you will regulate your emotions.

5. Racial diversity also has an effect: if diversity is low, the minority may engage in emotion regulation, perhaps to “fit in” with the majority race as much as possible; if diversity is high and many different races are represented, the majority race will employ emotion regulation, perhaps to integrate themselves with the whole group.

6. However, the effort to change emotions can be exhausting and could actually result in a stronger emotion.

Emotion Regulation Techniques.

1. Researchers of emotion regulation often study the strategies people employ to change their emotions. a. One related technique of emotion regulation is emotional suppression, literally suppressing—blocking or ignoring—initial emotional responses to situations. b. This response seems to facilitate practical thinking in the short term, but is generally ineffective when compared with expressing one’s emotions.

c. However, it appears to be helpful only when a strongly negative event would elicit a distressed emotional reaction in a crisis situation.

2. Cognitive reappraisal, or reframing our outlook on an emotional situation, is

one way to regulate emotions effectively. a. This approach seems to be most helpful to individuals in situations where they cannot control the sources of stress.

3. Another technique with potential for emotion regulation is social sharing, or venting. Social sharing can reduce anger reactions when people can talk about the facts of a bad situation, their feelings about the situation, or any positive aspects of the situation.

4. Thus, while there is much promise in emotion regulation techniques, the best route to a positive workplace is to recruit positive-minded individuals and train employees and leaders alike to manage their moods, job attitudes, and performance.

XXII. OB APPLICATIONS OF EMOTIONS AND MOODS A. Selection.

PPT 4.22 1. Employers should consider EI as a factor in the hiring process, especially in jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction.

B. Decision Making.

1. OB researchers are increasingly finding that moods and emotions have important effects on decision making. a. Positive emotions and moods seem to help people make sound decisions.

Positive emotions also enhance problem-solving skills, so positive people find better solutions.

2. OB researchers continue to debate the role of negative emotions and moods in decision making. a. People who are saddened by events may make the same decisions as before, while people who are angered by events might make stronger (although not necessarily better) choices than before. b. Participants make choices reflecting original thinking when in a negative mood. c. Individuals in a negative mood may take higher risks than when in a positive mood.

C. Creativity.

1. Much research suggests that people in good moods tend to be more creative than people in bad moods. a. They produce more ideas and more options, and others think their ideas are original.

1) It seems people experiencing positive moods or emotions are more flexible and open in their thinking, which may explain why they’re more creative.

2. Other researchers do not believe that positive mood makes people more creative. a. When people are in a positive mood, they may relax and not engage in critical thinking necessary for some forms of creativity. b. Individuals who worry more may perform better on creative tasks than those who worry less.

D. Motivation.

1. Several studies have highlighted the importance of moods PPT 4.23 and emotions on motivation.

2. Giving people performance feedback—whether real or fake—influenced their mood, which then influenced their motivation.

3. A cycle can be created in which positive moods cause people to be more

creative, leading to positive feedback from those observing their work. The feedback further reinforces the positive mood, which makes people perform even better.

a.

E. Leadership.

1. Leaders who focus on inspirational goals generate greater optimism,

cooperation, and enthusiasm in employees, leading to more positive social interactions with coworkers and customers.

2. Leaders are perceived as more effective when they share positive emotions, and followers are more creative in a positive emotional environment. a. What about when leaders are sad? Research found that leader displays of sadness increased the analytic performance of followers, perhaps because followers attended more closely to tasks to help the leaders.

F. Customer Service.

1. A worker’s emotional state influences customer service, which influences levels of repeat business and of customer satisfaction.

2. Studies indicate a matching effect between employee and customer emotions called emotional contagion—the “catching” of emotions from others. a. Emotional contagion is important because customers who catch the positive moods or emotions of employees shop longer. b. When an employee feels unfairly treated by a customer, for example, it’s harder for him to display the positive emotions his organization expects of him.

3. Managers can interrupt negative contagion by fostering positive attitudes.

G. Work-Life Satisfaction.

PPT 4.24 1. A positive mood at work can spill over to your off-work hours, and a negative mood at work can be restored to a positive mood after a break.

2. People who have a good day at work tend to be in a better mood at home that evening, and vice versa.

3. People do emotionally take their work home with them, but by the next day the effect is usually gone.

4. Moods of people in your household may affect yours.

H. Deviant Workplace Behaviors.

1. Anyone who has spent much time in an organization realizes people often behave in ways that violate established norms and threaten the organization, its members, or both. a. These counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs; see Chapter 3) can be traced to negative emotions and can take many forms. Many can be traced to negative emotions.

1) For instance, envy is an emotion that occurs when you resent someone for having something you don’t have but strongly desire—such as a better work assignment, larger office, or higher salary. It can lead to malicious deviant behaviors.

2) An envious employee could undermine other employees, and take all the credit for things others accomplished.

3) Angry people look for other people to blame for their bad mood, interpret other people’s behavior as hostile, and have trouble

considering others’ point of view. This can lead directly to verbal or physical aggression. b. Anger correlated with more aggressive CWBs such as abuse against others and production deviance, while sadness did not.

1) Once aggression starts, it’s likely that other people will become angry and aggressive, so the stage is set for a serious escalation of negative behavior.

I. Safety and Injury at Work.

1. Bad moods can contribute to injury at work in several ways. a. Individuals in negative moods tend to be more anxious, which can make them less able to cope effectively with hazards. b. A person who is always fearful will be more pessimistic about the effectiveness of safety precautions because she feels she’ll just get hurt anyway, or she might panic or freeze up when confronted with a threatening situation. c. Negative moods also make people more distractible, and distractions can obviously lead to careless behaviors.

XXIII. SUMMARY A. Emotions and moods are similar in that both are affective in nature.

1. Moods are more general and less contextual than emotions.

2. The time of day, stressful events, and sleep patterns are some of the many factors that influence emotions and moods.

3. OB research on emotional labor, affective events theory, emotional intelligence, and emotional regulation helps us to understand how people deal with emotions.

XXIV. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 4.25 A. Emotions and moods are relevant for virtually every OB topic.

1. Recognize that emotions are a natural part of the workplace and good management does not mean creating an emotion-free environment.

2. To foster creative decision making, creativity, and motivation in employees, model positive emotions and moods as much as is authentically possible.

3. Provide positive feedback to increase the positivity of employees. Of course, it also helps to hire people who are predisposed to positive moods.

4. In the service sector, encourage positive displays of emotion, PPT 4.26 which make customers feel more positive and thus improve customer service interactions and negotiations.

5. Understand the role of emotions and moods to significantly improve your ability to explain and predict your coworkers’ and employees’ behavior.

Discussion Questions

PPT 4.27

20. What are the implications for failing to differentiate how emotions are expressed across cultures? How can managers improve their ability to do so?

Answer: We may fail to adequately express our own emotions, or interpret the emotions of others, if we have not had much exposure to people from another culture that we are interacting with. To improve our cross-cultural communication ability, we can study how emotions are displayed, and pay attention to cues when interacting with people from other cultures.

21. Can organizations help employees improve their levels of emotional intelligence? If so, how can this be achieved?

Answer: Several reviews of dozens of studies suggest that EI can be trained and

developed as a skill—although paradoxically, the people who need it the most are the ones least likely to seek it out.

22. Describe the three major emotional terms. How are they related and how do they differ?

Answer: (1) Affect: the generic term that covers a broad range of feelings that people experience. It's an umbrella concept that encompasses both emotions and moods. (2) Emotion: the intense feelings that are directed at someone or something.

Emotions are more fleeting than moods. Emotions tend to be clearly revealed through facial expressions and are often action-oriented. (3) Moods: the feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and often lack a contextual stimulus.

Longer lasting than emotions, moods are not usually directed at a person or event.

Moods are more hidden and cognitive, meaning they cause us to think or brood about a subject for a while.

Moods and emotions are related to each other, and exhibit a mutual influence. An emotion, once it dissipates, can turn into a mood. Moods can affect the intensity of an emotional experience; that is, the degree to which an emotion is expressed in a given situation. In reality, the distinction between moods and emotions is often difficult to make.

23. Of the nine sources of emotions and moods identified in your text, which do you feel is the most critical and why?

Answer: Answers will vary, but one of the following sources must be identified: personality, time of day, day of the week, weather, stress, sleep, exercise, age, or gender.

24. What are the sources of stress and emotional labor for employees?

Answer: Emotional dissonance: a situation in which employees have to project an emotion, while simultaneously feeling another. This dissonance between felt and displayed emotions can take a heavy toll on employees, resulting in emotional exhaustion and burnout. Surface acting (the hiding of one's inner feelings and foregoing emotional expressions based on display rules) especially tends to be very stressful for employees.

25. How valid do you consider the concept of EI to be? Rationalize your answer.

Answer: Answers will vary, but should align with the major arguments presented in the textbook.

26. Discuss the ethics of emotion regulation. As a manager, should you strive to control your emotions or do you owe to your employees to show your emotions?

Answer: Answers will vary but should align with the major arguments presented in the textbook.

27. Consider the impact of emotions on customer service. What is the effect of emotions and moods on customer satisfaction, and how does the concept of emotional contagion enter into this?

Answer: A worker's emotional state influences customer service, which influences levels of repeat business and customer satisfaction. Service situations may put employees in the state of emotional dissonance, which can prove stressful, leading to burnout and higher turnover.

Additionally, the employee’s emotions may be transferred to the customer through “emotional contagion.” This may be a positive thing, as when customer service contact personnel are expressing positive moods, which are reflected in their customers. When personnel are exhibiting negative emotions, the opposite is true.

So employee bad moods cause customer bad moods, which cause a lack of repeat business due to lowered customer satisfaction.

28. Are emotions universal? Why or why not? Give examples in your answer.

Answer: While emotions themselves may be universal, the expression and interpretation of them are culturally bound. Managers must be aware of local

cultural norms of expression and interpretation in order to avoid sending the wrong signals to locals or misinterpreting their responses.

The examples will vary.

Exercises 21. Self-analysis. Using the three components of emotional intelligence (EI), rate yourself on your ability to successfully interact with others. Choose your weakest area and provide three suggestions for improving that dimension of EI. 22. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term "emotions in the workplace" and find five webpages related to this chapter. Read the webpages and write up a two-page analysis of what you learned regarding the proper expression of emotions and moods in the workplace. Ensure you note if the webpages were in conflict with the guidance given in the textbook or agreed with it.

Exceptional students will seek out cultural differences as well.

23. Teamwork. As a small group, search for articles and webpages on workplace violence and emotion (try a search term of “going postal workplace”). Discuss the commonalities of the cases and examples. Try to determine what sorts of behaviors and emotions were evidenced before the deviant behavior, without falling into the perceptual distortion of hindsight. Be prepared to present your findings in the class.

24. Small Group Exercises – Emotional Regulation. Divide the class into groups of four or five students. Ask each student to think of an event at work or school that caused emotional distress, and share this event with the group. As a group, use the three techniques of emotional regulation (suppression, cognitive reappraisal, and social sharing) and suggest techniques each student can use to regulate their emotions as the result of the event described. After 15 minutes, ask each group to share one example for the entire class and discuss the example.

25. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). What is the prevalent mood of your workplace? Spend a week carefully observing three employees at your place of work. Attempt to assess their moods and the impact these moods have on behavior throughout the day. How well did their initial mood predict their behaviors later in the day? What could you have done, if you were the manager, to change these moods and behaviors in a positive way?

Suggested Assignment EI Debate. For this activity, divide the class into two equal groups: one of which will be for the concept of emotional intelligence, while the other group will be against it. Select two students who will be the spokesperson for each half. Either select three students to act as a panel of judges or bring in three outside individuals to act as neutral judges.

The instructor will act as the debate moderator.

The purpose of this debate is to explore the ramifications of mood and emotion in the workplace as expressed in the concept of EI. Setup. a. Each half of the class has 30 minutes to prepare their initial points regarding their position. The instructor may choose to give the pro and con positions to either half of the class or the instructor may let the class decide which position each half takes. b. The proposition before the floor is "Should emotional intelligence, as a concept, be removed from the study of organizational behavior?" c. The spokespeople should be prepared to present their five-minute arguments regarding their position on the proposition.

d. The moderator should explain the rules in front of the class to the judges: the judges are to make their final decision based solely on the arguments presented during the session and the strength of those arguments. e. The moderator will keep time during each presentation and will stop the spokesperson when time is up. Pro position should start first. Each side will be allowed to give their arguments without interruption. Notes and written suggestions may be passed from the group to the spokesperson. f. For the rebuttal, there are a number of options: i. Allow a second person from each side to rebut the arguments first given by the other side. Length of rebuttal should be two minutes. ii. Keep the same spokespersons and still limit the rebuttal to two minutes, or iii. Open the rebuttal to the two large groups: to do this effectively, allow five questions per side. Moderator selects questions by recognizing one of the members of a large group. A volunteer from the opposing group is allowed to answer the question. The volunteer may be aided verbally or with notes by his or her group.

Allow the con party to ask the first question, and then the pro party to ask their first question after they've responded. Rotate the questions, side by side, until all 10 have been answered. g. At the conclusion of the rebuttal, have the judges award the debate to the appropriate side. Have the judges explain why that side won the debate by recapping the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments on both sides.

Other Teaching Resources 1. The Emotional Intelligence Institute (a non-profit organization) has many resources for teachers and students, including links to several free online EI test students can take to assess their own EI. http://e-ii.org

Chapter 5

Personality and Values Chapter Overview Personality and values are major shapers of behavior. In order for managers to predict behavior, they must know the personalities of those who work for them. The chapter starts out with a review of the research on personality and its relationship to behavior and ends by describing how values shape many of our work-related behaviors.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 5-1. Describe the differences between person-job fit and personPPT 5.2 organization fit.

5-2. Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.

5-3. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality framework, the Big Five model, and the Dark Triad.

5-4. Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.

5-5. Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.

5-6. Contrast terminal and instrumental values.

5-7. Compare Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the GLOBE framework.

Suggested Lecture Outline

XXV.

LINKING INDIVIDUALS TO THE WORKPLACE A. Person-Job Fit Theory is a theory that identifies six personality types PPT 5.3 and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover.

1. The Vocational Preference Inventory questionnaire contains 160 Exhibit 5-1 occupational titles. Respondents indicate what they like or dislike, and their answers form occupational interest profiles. The questionnaire identifies from six personality types.

PPT 5.4 a. Satisfaction and propensity to leave a position depend on how well individuals match their interests to a job. b. Exhibit 5-1 describes the six types, their personality characteristics, and examples of congruent occupations for each. c. Person-job fit strongly predicts job satisfaction, organizational commitments, and intentions to quit.

2. There are cultural implications for person-job fit that speak to workers’ expectations that jobs will be tailored to them. a. In individualistic countries where workers expect to be heard and respected by management, increasing person-job fit by tailoring the job to the person increases the individual’s job satisfaction. b. In collectivist countries, person-job fit is a weaker predictor of job satisfaction.

1) Managers in collectivist cultures should not violate cultural norms by designing jobs for individuals.

B. Person-Organization Fit is a theory that people are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values and leave PPT 5.5 organizations that are not compatible with their personalities.

1. We would expect that extroverts fit well with aggressive and team-oriented cultures; people high on agreeableness match better with a supportive organizational climate; and highly open people fit better with organizations that emphasize innovation rather than standardization. a. Following these guidelines when hiring should yield employees who fit better with the organization’s culture, which should, in turn, result in higher employee satisfaction and reduced turnover.

2. A match in people’s values predicts job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and low turnover. a. New research suggests that people tend to care more about how well an organization’s values would be preferred by the typical person, rather than one’s own idiosyncratic preferences for values in an organization.

C. Other Dimensions of Fit 1. Person-group fit is important in settings where the dynamics of team interactions significantly affect work outcomes.

2. Person-supervisor fit is important since poor fit can lead to lower job satisfaction and reduced performance.

3. These are both referred to as person-environment fit.

4. Each dimension can predict work attitudes, which are partially based on

culture. a. Person-organization and person-job fit are the strongest predictors of positive work attitudes and performance in North America. These dimensions are important to a lesser degree in Europe, and they are least important in Asia.

XXVI. PERSONALITY PPT 5.6 A. What Is Personality?

1. Personality. When we speak of someone’s personality, we use many adjectives to describe how they act and seem to think.

Examples include “fun,” “outgoing,” “nice,” “hard-working,” “lazy,” “aloof,” “closed-minded,” or “nosy.” In OB, we organize these characteristics into overall traits describing one’s personality.

2. Defining Personality: Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to, and interacts with, the world around them. We most often describe personality in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits. a. Early work on personality tried to identify and label enduring characteristics, such as the adjectives listed above, that describe an individual’s behavior.

1) When someone exhibits these characteristics in a large number of situations and they are relatively enduring over time, we call them personality traits.

2) There may be cultural differences, even when it comes to personalities.

3. Measuring Personality: Personality assessments have PPT 5.7 been increasingly used in diverse organizational settings. a. In fact, 89 of the Fortune 100 companies and 57 percent of all large U.S. companies use them, including Xerox, McDonald’s, and Lowe’s. b. Schools such as DePaul University have also begun to use personality tests in their admissions process. c. Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best for a job.

4. Measuring Results: The most common means of measuring personality is through self-report surveys: 1) Individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors.

2) Potentially inaccurate when used for hiring decisions due to rating themselves higher on desirable traits than if they are taking the test to learn more about themselves.

5. Self-Reports and Observer-Ratings: Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality. a. Here, a coworker or another observer does the rating. b. Though the results of self-reports and observer-ratings surveys are strongly correlated, research suggests observer-ratings surveys predict job success more than self-ratings alone. c. However, each can tell us something unique about an individual’s behavior, so a combination of self-reports and observer-ratings predicts performance. d. Emotion recognition may play a role in who makes a good observer.

XXVII. PERSONALITY FRAMEWORKS A. Many of our behaviors stem from our personalities, so understanding the

components of personality helps us predict behavior. Important theoretical frameworks and assessment tools, discussed next, help us categorize and study the dimensions of personality.

B. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality PPT 5.8 test that taps into four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.

1. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used instrument in the world. It is a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in situations. Respondents are classified on four scales to determine personality type. a. Four Classification Scales: 1) Extraverted versus Introverted (E or I). People scoring higher on the extraverted side of the scale are more outgoing, social, and assertive while those on the introvert side are quiet and shy.

2) Sensing versus Intuitive (S or N). Sensing individuals are practical, enjoy routine and order, and they focus on details. Intuitive people rely on unconscious processes and look at the “big picture.”

3) Thinking versus Feeling (T or F). Thinking types use reason and logic to handle problems while feeling types rely on their personal values and emotions.

4) Judging versus Perceiving (J or P). Judging types want control and prefer order and structure, while perceiving types are more flexible and spontaneous. b. These classifications together describe 16 personality types, with every person identified with one of the items in each of the four pairs. Let’s explore several examples.

1) Introverted/Intuitive/Thinking/Judging people (INTJs) are visionaries with original minds and great drive. a) They are skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn.

2. In spite of its popularity, evidence is mixed about the MBTI’s validity as a measure of personality—with most of the evidence suggesting it isn’t. a. One problem is that it forces a person into either one type or another (that is, you’re either introverted or extraverted).

1) There is no in-between, though people can be both extraverted and introverted to some degree. b. When retaking the assessment, people often get different results. c. There is difficulty in interpretation, which often requires a trained interpreter. d. The results tend to be unrelated to job performance. e. But because results tend to be unrelated to job performance, managers probably shouldn’t use it as a selection test for job candidates.

C. The Big Five Personality Model.

1. The Big Five Model is a personality model that PPT 5.9 proposes five basic dimensions encompass most of the differences in human personality.

2. The Big Five Model of personality has an impressive body of research that supports it.

3. The model (particularly one factor, conscientiousness) appears to be

positively related to job performance and can be used as an employment selection or screening tool.

4. Five Factors. a. Conscientiousness: Measure of personal consistency and reliability.

1) High scorers are responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent.

2) Low scorers are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable. b. Emotional Stability: Measures ability to handle stress.

1) The more stable a person, the better he (or she) can handle stress.

2) People with high emotional stability tend to become self-confident and secure.

3) They are more likely to be positive, optimistic, and experience fewer negative emotions; they are often happier than low scorers. c. Extraversion: Captures our relational approach toward the social world.

1) Like the MBTI, this is contrasted with introversion.

2) Scoring high in this factor means the respondent is more gregarious, assertive, and sociable. They experience more positive emotions than introverts, and they more freely express those feelings.

3) Introverts tend to be more thoughtful, reserved, timid, and quiet. d. Openness to Experience: Measures the range of interests and fascination with novelty, a proxy for creativity.

1) People who score low on this factor tend to be conventional and enjoy familiar circumstances.

2) High scorers tend to be creative, curious, and artistically sensitive.

3) People high in this factor deal better with organizational change and are more adaptable. e. Agreeableness: Measures an individual’s propensity to defer to others.

1) High scorers are cooperative, warm, and trusting while low scorers are cold and antagonistic.

D. How do the Big Five traits predict behavior at work?

Exhibit 5-2 a. Research on the Big Five has found relationships between these personality dimensions and job performance.

PPT 5.10 b. Conscientiousness at Work: 1) Employees who score higher in conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge; probably because highly conscientious people learn more (conscientiousness was rather strongly related to GPA).

2) Higher levels of job knowledge then contribute to higher levels of job performance and OCB. 3) Conscientious employees are also less likely to engage in CWBs. 4) Conscientiousness is the best overall predictor of job performance.

However, the other Big Five traits are also related to aspects of performance and have other implications for work and for life. Exhibit 52 summarizes these other relations. c. Emotional Stability at Work: Of the Big Five traits, emotional stability is most strongly related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and reduced burnout and intentions to quit.

1) People high in emotional stability can adapt to unexpected or changing demands in the workplace.

2) People low in emotional stability often experience work-family conflict,

are more likely to engage in CWBs, less likely to engage in OCBs, and less likely to be motivated at work. d. Extraversion at Work: Extraverts tend to perform better in jobs that require significant interpersonal interaction.

1) Extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence in groups; extraverts are more socially dominant, which can be disadvantageous for jobs that do not require frequent social interaction.

2) Extraverts experience generally high job satisfaction and reduced burnout. e. Openness at Work: Individuals who score high on openness to experience are more creative and innovative.

1) They also are more comfortable with ambiguity and change than those who score lower on this trait.

2) Individuals high in openness are less susceptible to a decline in performance over a long time, and experience less work-family conflict. f. Agreeableness at Work: Agreeable individuals tend to do better in interpersonally oriented jobs such as customer service.

1) They experience less work-family conflict and are less susceptible to turnover.

2) They engage in a high degree of OCBs and a low degree of CWBs. 3) Often experience lower career success, because they consider themselves less marketable and are less willing to assert themselves.

4) Agreeableness is more predictive of organizational commitment in collectivist cultures rather than individualistic cultures.

5) Research suggests that extraversion is the most important trait predicting adjustment to living in different cultures.

E. The Dark Triad.

1. Research indicates the Big Five traits have the most PPT 5.11 verifiable linkages to important organizational outcomes, but neither are they the only traits a person exhibits nor are they the only ones with organizational behavior implications.

2. Researchers have found three socially undesirable traits are relevant to organizational behavior: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy.

Researchers have labeled these traits the Dark Triad.

3. Machiavellianism: 1) (often abbreviated Mach) Named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use power.

2) An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes ends can justify means. “If it works, use it” is consistent with a high-Mach perspective.

3) High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more than do low Machs. They are more likely to act aggressively and engage in CWBs. But Machiavellianism does not predict overall job performance.

4. Narcissism.

1) The term is from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a man so vain and proud he fell in love with his own image.

2) In psychology, narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, and is arrogant.

3) Narcissists often have fantasies of grand success, a tendency to exploit

situations and people, a sense of entitlement, and a lack of empathy.

They can also be hypersensitive and fragile people.

4) It is one of the largest predictors of CWBs in individualistic cultures, but not in collectivist cultures.

5) Narcissists may be more charismatic than others. They may be chosen more often for leadership positions, and medium ratings of narcissism are positively correlated with leadership effectiveness. They are more adaptable and often make better business decisions when the issues are complex.

5. Psychopathy.

1) In the OB context, psychopathy is defined as a lack of concern for others, and a lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm. a) Measures of psychopathy attempt to assess the person’s motivation to comply with social norms; willingness to use deceit to obtain desired ends; impulsivity; and disregard, that is, lack of empathic concern for others.

2) The literature is not consistent about whether psychopathy is important to work behavior. There is little correlation between measures of psychopathy and job performance or CWBs. 3) Research suggests psychopathy is related to the use of hard influence tactics (threats, manipulation) and bullying work behavior (physical or verbal threatening) and even suggests that they do not feel remorseful when they do it.

4) The cunning displayed by people who score high on psychopathy may thus help them gain power in an organization but keep them from using it toward healthy ends for themselves or their organizations.

PPT 5.12 F. Other Frameworks.

1. The Dark Triad is a helpful framework for studying the three dominant darkside traits in current personality research, and researchers are exploring other traits as well. a. One emerging framework incorporates an additional trait into the Big Five model. The new model is called the HEXACO model. The six traits are: (1) H for Honesty/Humility. This is for people who are sincere, fair, modest, and humble. These individuals are not interested in social status, wealth, or money.

(2) E for Emotionality (E: i.e., emotional stability).

(3) X for Extraversion (4) A for Agreeableness (5) C for Conscientiousness (6) O for Openness to Experience b) The additional trait H was added as the result of cross-cultural studies that suggest English-centric earlier studies missed this sixth dimension. c) The addition of the H dimension meaningfully adds to The Big Five, and it predicts ethically relevant outcomes like abstaining from cheating.

IV. OTHER PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES RELEVANT TO OB PPT 5.13 A. Core Self-Evaluation (CSE).

1. Core Self Evaluations are bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their

capabilities, competence, and worth as a person. a. This is a measure of the degree to which a person likes themselves and sees themselves as effective and in control of their environment. b. Negative evaluators tend to dislike themselves, question their capabilities, and view themselves as powerless over their environment. c. CSEs relate to job satisfaction because people who are positive on this trait see more challenge in their jobs and attain more complex jobs. They set more ambitious goals, are more committed to their goals, and persist longer in attempting to reach them. d. People high on CSEs provide better customer service, are more popular coworkers, may have careers that begin on a better footing and ascend more rapidly over time.

1) Too high on this trait and a person may become less popular with coworkers. e. People high on CSEs tend to more effectively adapt to changes in their careers, and to international environments when working in new cultures.

B. Self-Monitoring.

1. Self-Monitoring describes the ability of people to adjust their behaviors to fit external, situational factors.

1) High self-monitors are very adaptable and sensitive to external cues.

People with low self-monitoring tend to have high behavioral consistency between who they are and what they do.

2) High self-monitors tend to get better performance ratings, take leadership positions, are more mobile, and take up central positions in their organizations, even though they have less commitment to their organization. a) They may also be seen as inauthentic, self-serving, or unprincipled.

C. Proactive Personality. a. Individuals with proactive personalities tend to identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. b. People with this personality attribute are highly prized by organizations for obvious reasons. c. They have higher levels of job performance and creativity and do not need much oversight. They tend to be satisfied with their jobs, committed to their organizations, and engaged in their work. d. Proactive people tend to have successful careers although they are more likely to be envied by their coworkers.

V. PERSONALITY AND SITUATIONS A. Interestingly, we are learning that the effect of particular traits in PPT 5.14 organizational behavior depends on the situation.

1. Situations can be described as positive-negative, complex, typical, important, or humorous.

2. Two theoretical frameworks, situation strength and trait activation, help explain how this works.

3. Situation Strength Theory. a. Situation strength theory proposes that the way PPT 5.15 personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation. By situation strength, we mean the degree to which norms, cues, or standards dictate appropriate behavior.

1) Strong situations pressure us to exhibit the right behavior, clearly show us what that behavior is, and discourage the wrong behavior.

2) In weak situation, “anything goes,” and thus, we are freer to express our

personality in our behaviors.

3) Thus, research suggests that personality traits better predict behavior in weak situations than in strong ones. b. Components of Situation Strength: Researchers have analyzed situation strength in organizations in terms of four elements.

1) Clarity: the degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are available and clear.

2) Consistency: the extent to which cues regarding work duties and responsibilities are compatible with one another.

3) Constraints: the extent to which individuals’ freedom to decide or act is limited by forces outside their control.

4) Consequences: the degree to which decisions or actions have important implications for the organization or its members, clients, supplies, and so on. c. Organizational Situations: Some researchers have speculated that organizations are, by definition, strong situations because they impose rules, norms, and standards that govern behavior. These constraints are usually appropriate. d. But that does not mean that it is always desirable for organizations to create strong situations for their employees.

1) It is the perception of the rules that influences how an employee will respond to the situation’s strength.

2) Jobs with myriad rules and tightly controlled processes can be dull or demotivating.

3) Strong situations may suppress innovation.

4) Organizations can be strong in some areas and weak in others.

B. Trait Activation Theory (TAT). a. Trait Activation Theory (TAT) predicts that some situations, PPT 5.16 events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than others (Exhibit 5-3). b. Together, situation strength and trait activation theories show Exhibit 5-3 that the debate over nature versus nurture might best be framed as nature and nurture. Not only does each affect behavior, but they interact with one another.

1) Personality affects work behavior and the situation affects work behavior, but when the situation is right, the power of personality to predict behavior is even higher.

VI. VALUES A. Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially PPT 5.18 preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or endstate of existence.

1. They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individual’s ideas as to what is right, good, or desirable.

2. Values have both content and intensity attributes. a. The content attribute says a mode of conduct or end-state of existence is important. b. The intensity attribute specifies how important it is.

c. When we rank an individual’s values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that person’s value system.

3. All of us have a hierarchy of values that forms our value system. a. We find it in the relative importance we assign to values such as freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty, obedience, and equality.

4. There is evidence linking personality to values, implying our values may be B.

C.

VII. A.

B.

partly determined by our personality traits.

Terminal versus Instrumental Values.

1. Values can be classified by instruments such as the PPT 5.19 Rokeach Value Survey (RVS).

2. This instrument consists of two sets of values. a. The sets are terminal and instrumental values.

1) Terminal Values. Focuses on desirable end-states; goals a person would like to achieve during a lifetime. a) Examples include economic success, freedom, health and well-being, world peace, and meaning in life.

2) Instrumental Values. Lists preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving terminal values. a) Examples include autonomy and self-reliance, personal discipline, kindness, and goal-orientation.

3) Schwartz organized Rokeach’s values into ten dimensions: achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, security, and power.

Generational Values.

1. Researchers have integrated several analyses of work values PPT 5.20 into groups that attempt to capture the shared views of different cohorts or generations in the U.S. workforce.

2. You will surely be familiar with the labels—for example, baby boomers, gen x’ers, millennials—some of which are used internationally. a. It is important to remember that while categories are helpful, they represent trends not supported by research.

1) Although there is little validity to generational differences, nevertheless, these differences are still perpetuated as stereotypes that are often applied in the workplace.

CULTURAL VALUES PPT 5.21 Because values differ across cultures, an understanding of the differences would be helpful in explaining and predicting behavior of employees from different countries. Two frameworks to assess culture are Hofstede’s Framework and the GLOBE studies.

Hofstede’s Framework.

1. Examines five value dimensions of national culture. While there PPT 5.22 are many criticisms of this framework, it is one of the most widely read and accepted in OB (Exhibit 5-4). a. Power Distance: The degree to which people accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.

1) High power distance means that great inequities in power and wealth are tolerated.

Exhibit 5-4 2) Low power distance cultures stress equality and upward opportunities. b. Individualism/Collectivism: The amount of emphasis placed on the individual as opposed to the group.

1) Individualism is when people prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups and believe in individual rights above all else.

2) Collectivism emphasizes a tight social framework in which people

expect group members to look after and protect them. c. Masculinity/Femininity: The value a culture places on traditional gender roles.

1) Masculine societies have men dominating society, separate roles for men and women, and expressly value achievement, power, and control.

2) Feminine cultures value equality among the sexes. d. Uncertainty Avoidance: The degree to which people in a culture prefer structured over unstructured situations.

1) High uncertainty avoidance cultures are anxious over ambiguity and uncertainty: they emphasize law and controls.

2) Low cultures accept a greater variety of opinion and higher levels of risk while relying less on rules: they more readily accept change. e. Long-Term/Short-Term Orientation: Degree of long-term devotion to traditional values.

1) Long-term cultures are future-oriented and value tradition, thrift, and persistence.

2) Short-term cultures are immediate and accept change more readily. f. In recent years, Hofstede has proposed an additional dimension, indulgence versus restraint, which refers to a national culture attribute that emphasizes enjoying life and having fun versus regulating conduct through strict social norms.

2. There are both regional and national differences in culture as measured by this framework.

C. The GLOBE Framework.

PPT 5.23 1. A relatively recent and on-going program of research, this framework uses nine dimensions of national culture. a. Some dimensions – such as power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, gender differentiation, and future orientation can be seen as an extension of Hofstede’s framework.

Exhibit 5-5 b. The main difference is that the GLOBE framework added dimensions such as humane orientation (the degree individuals are rewarded for fair, generous, and altruistic behaviors) and performance orientation (the degree to which group members are rewarded for performance improvement and excellence).

2. Comparison of Hofstede’s Framework and the GLOBE Framework (Exhibit 5-5).

3. With the advent of globalization, companies often engage in multinational projects, work in multinational teams, and send their employees to work in different cultures that may be radically different than they may be used to— understanding what is valued (and what is not valued) in each culture is very “valuable” information to have, considering the modern global climate.

VIII. SUMMARY A. Personality does not explain all behavior, but it sets the stage. Personality matters more in some situations than others. The Big Five and Dark Triad are important. The astute employee or manager can put the understanding of personality to use by taking care to place employees in positions that best fit their personalities, or by recognizing personality and value differences in coworkers, in order to work more effectively together.

B. Values. Values often underlie and explain attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions.

Values tend to vary internationally but individuals may not hold values consistent with the values of national culture.

IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS 1. Consider applicants’ and employees’ fit to the job and PPT 5.25 organization in employment decisions. Their personalities, values, and other characteristics may be useful to understanding whether they will flourish in particular assignments, jobs, teams, or organizations.

2. Consider screening job candidates for high conscientiousness—as well as the other Big Five traits, depending on the criteria your organization finds most important. Other traits, such as core self-evaluation or narcissism, may be relevant in certain situations.

3. Emphasize the ideal personality and values of your organization in your recruitment materials and practices. This may help to attract people whose values and personality match your organization/or job vacancies.

4. Understand that situation strength and context (e.g., trait activating features) can affect behavior. Take stock of the environmental features in your organization that may influence the behavior of applicants, customers, employees, and even leaders.

5. An understanding of differences in cultural values can equip you to interact with others from cultures that are different from your own.

Discussion Questions

PPT 5.26, 27

29. Describe the two most common methods of assessing a personality. Which is likely to be the most accurate? Why? Answer: Most common are the self-report surveys, where individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors to determine the personality. A second type is observer-ratings surveys. In these surveys, a neutral party assesses the individual’s personality. These observer-ratings surveys tend to be more accurate as they do not lend themselves to falsehoods, impression management activities, or changes due to the emotional state of the observed individual.

30. Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality framework. Based on the framework, what would you think was your personality type? Why? Answer: The MBTI is made up of four classification scales that are combined into sixteen personality types denoted by the initials of the dominant side of each scale (with N for intuitive). The scales are: 1) Extraverted/Introverted. People scoring higher on the extraverted side of the scale are more outgoing, social, and assertive while those on the introvert side are quiet and shy. 2) Sensing/Intuitive. Sensing individuals are practical, enjoy order, and are detail oriented. Intuitive people are more “big picture” oriented and rely on “gut” feelings. 3) Thinking/Feeling. This scale is important in decision making: thinkers use reason and logic while feelers use emotions and their own personal values to make decisions.

4) Judging/Perceiving. Judgers are control oriented and enjoy structure and order.

Perceivers are more flexible and spontaneous.

Personality answers will vary. Extra credit should be given if students search the web and use a free MBTI program to identify their type.

31. Identify and describe the five traits of the Big Five personality model.

Answer: 1) Extraversion: deals with the comfort level with relationships. Like the MBTI, this is contrasted with introversion. 2) Agreeableness: measures deference.

3) Conscientiousness: measures reliability. 4) Emotional Stability (or Neuroticism –

its opposite): measures ability to handle stress. 5) Openness to Experience: measures the range of interests and fascination with novelty, a proxy for creativity.

32. What are two attributes of values? Why are values important in organizational behavior?

Answer: The two attributes of values are content (how important the mode of conduct or end-state of existence is to the individual) and intensity (how important this value is in relation to other values).

Values lay the foundation for understanding people's attitudes, motivation, and behavior. They influence our perceptions. Values can cloud objectivity and rationality. It is important to know values so that managers can better predict behavior.

33. Describe the relationship between terminal and instrumental values.

Answer: These are the two sets of values in the Rokeach Value Survey. Terminal values are desirable end-states while instrumental values are the preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving those end-states.

34. Compare and contrast Hofstede’s and Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness’s (GLOBE’s) national culture frameworks.

Answer: Hofstede’s framework is older and the established standard in the area; GLOBE is a more recent invention. Hofstede has five dimensions while GLOBE has nine, which include Hofstede’s five. The dimensions are: Hofstede and GLOBE common dimensions: 1) Future Orientation. The extent to which future-oriented behaviors are encouraged and rewarded. (Equivalent to Hofstede’s long-term/short-term orientation.) 2) Gender Differentiation. The extent to which society maximizes gender differences. (Equivalent to Hofstede’s masculine/feminine.) 3) Uncertainty Avoidance. Reliance on social norms and procedures to remove uncertainty. 4) Power Distance. The degree to which unequal power is acceptable. 5) Individualism/Collectivism. The degree to which individuals are encouraged to be integrated into groups.

GLOBE dimensions not found in Hofstede: 1) Assertiveness. The extent to which people are encouraged to be tough, confrontational, assertive, and competitive. 2) In-Group Collectivism. Extent to which people take pride in membership in small groups (family, friends, and work organizations). 3) Performance Orientation. The degree to which group members are rewarded for performance improvement and excellence. 4) Humane Orientation. The degree individuals are rewarded for fair, generous, and altruistic behaviors.

Exercises 26. Self-analysis/Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term “Free MBTI” and take one of the “light” versions of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Then search for “Free Big Five” and do the same for the Big Five model. Write a short paper providing your thoughts on the results of these two personality tests.

27. Teamwork. As individuals, search for “Free Holland Career Model Assessment” on the web and take one of the assessments. Get the list of jobs you are most likely to enjoy doing and those you are least likely to enjoy. Bring your results into the team.

As a team, find out which team members are currently in jobs (or if they are not working now, were in jobs) that Holland’s assessment indicates they should enjoy and which are in jobs that the assessment says they would not enjoy. Determine: a. How accurately does the assessment match your own experiences? b. How well do your degree fields match the suggested careers? c. What is the group’s opinion of the personality field in which each person was placed? How accurately does it describe each of you?

Compile your results and share them with the class.

28. Analyzing your Organization (Cumulative Project). Select a free web-based version of the MBTI, Big Five, or Holland assessment tool. Take the assessment and ask five of your coworkers and your supervisor to also take the assessment. Have them share the results with you. Based on these results, consider the following questions: a. How good a “match” are you with your coworkers and supervisor in terms of personality? b. Does your supervisor have a personality that is a good fit for the leadership position in your particular organization? c. What sort of personality should be hired in your organization if a vacancy occurs in your workgroup?

Present your findings as your instructor directs, either as: a. A short paper, b. A five-minute oral presentation to the class, or c. A combination of the two.

Suggested Assignment Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Ask them to go online and read about the MBTI personality types. Ask the student groups to discuss the types as they relate to people who work at your university. Have them create a table that shows the following: Person’s Position

Person’s Approx. Age

University Employees Person’s Tenure Person’s Socioat work Economic background

Person’s Personality Type

Please do not place people’s names in the chart. But, attempt to estimate responses to each of the categories for specific people the students know. Once this is completed for 15 to 20 people the group knows who work at the university, have the groups assess the entries for any patterns. Does personality type relate to characteristics identified such as age, socioeconomic background, or length of time a person has worked at the university? Does the distribution of personality types offer suggestions as to how people in different units should be managed? Does management of employees mean understanding their individual types and adjusting management techniques appropriately?

Other Teaching Resources

1. (Small group activity) For a one-hour classroom small group activity for learning about Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, please see:

Blanton, K. K., & Barbuto, J. E. (2005). Cultural constraints in the workplace: An experiential exercise using Hofstede’s dimensions. Journal of Management Education, 29(4), 654-666. DOI: 10.1177/1052562905276276.

2. (Small group activity) For a 75-minute classroom small group activity for learning about Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, please see:

Dwyer, L. P. (2017). An expatriate’s first 100 days: What went wrong? Management Teaching Review, 3(4), 309-319. DOI:10.1177/2379298117746932.

Chapter 6

Perception and Individual Decision Making Chapter Overview The old saying is that “perception is reality” and managers must learn what “reality” their workers are reacting to in order to effectively predict behavior. This chapter examines how perception acts to create an employee’s view of reality and modifies decision making.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 6.2 6-1. Explain the factors that influence perception.

6-2. Describe attribution theory.

6-3. Explain the link between perception and decision making.

6-4. Contrast the rational model of decision making with bounded rationality and intuition.

6-5. Explain how individual differences and organizational constraints affect decision making.

6-6. Contrast the three ethical decision criteria.

6-7. Describe the three-stage model of creativity.

Suggested Lecture Outline I.

INTRODUCTION A. This chapter examines perception and the influences on perception. It continues with an exploration of how individuals make decisions and how perception can influence those decisions.

II. WHAT IS PERCEPTION? A. Perception is a process by which individuals organize and PPT 6.3 interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment.

1. However, what we perceive can be substantially different from objective reality.

2. People’s behavior and decisions are based on their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.

3. For instance, a Brazilian employee interacting with a Japanese employee in a virtual meeting may perceive silence in the conversation as awkward or something negative—when, in reality, silence is important and conveys good listening in some Asian cultures.

B. Factors Influencing Perception.

PPT 6.4 1. Perceiver. When you look at a target and attempt to interpret what you see, your interpretation is heavily influenced by your personal characteristics. a. Characteristics that affect perception include your attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations.

2. Target. The object being perceived. a. Characteristics of the target will affect how it is perceived. b. The relationship of the target to its background influences perception as does the human trait of grouping similar things together.

3. Context. The context in which the perception is made. a. The context (time, location, light, heat, or situational factor) can influence the extent of perception of a target.

III. PERSON PERCEPTION: MAKING JUDGMENTS ABOUT OTHERS 1. Organizational behavior (OB) is concerned with person PPT 6.5 perceptions, the perceptions people form about each other.

2. Attribution Theory. a. Nonliving objects such as desks, machines, and buildings are subject to the laws of nature, but they have no beliefs, motives, or intentions. People do. i. That’s why when we observe people, we attempt to explain why they behave in certain ways. ii. Our perception and judgment of a person’s actions therefore will be influenced by the assumptions we make about that person’s state of mind. iii. Attribution theory tries to explain the ways we judge people differently depending on the meaning we attribute to a behavior b. Internal and External Causation. Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused. This determination is based on three factors: (1) distinctiveness, (2) consensus, and (3) consistency. i. Behaviors that are believed to be under the personal control of the individual are internally caused. ii. Externally caused behaviors are what we imagine the situation forced the individual to do (i.e., arriving late to work because of bad traffic). iii. New research suggests that there may be another kind of external attribution, where our relationship with the other person is the reason for the behavior. c. Distinctiveness, Consensus, and Consistency (Exhibit PPT 6.6 6-1). i. Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations.

Exhibit 6-1 i.

Is the employee who arrives late today also one who regularly blows off commitments? a) If no, we are likely to give it an external PPT 6.7 attribution. b) If yes, we are likely to judge the behavior to be internal.

ii. Consensus is if everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the same way. i.

The behavior of a tardy employee meets this criterion if all employees who took the same route to work were also late. ii.

If other employees who took the same route made it to work on time, you would attribute his lateness to an internal cause.

3) Consistency. i.

An observer looks for consistency in a person’s actions. a) Does the person respond the same way over time? b) The more consistent the behaviors, the more we are inclined to attribute it to internal causes. d. When we make judgments about the behavior of other people, we tend to underestimate the influence of external factors and PPT 6.8 overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors. i.

This fundamental attribution error can explain why we might perceive the wealthy as intelligent, savvy, or innately effective, without considering the external factors that precluded their success (e.g., being born into a wealthy family)—and similarly, to discount the poor as lazy, untalented, or unintelligent. ii.

People tend to attribute ambiguous information as relatively flattering, accept positive feedback, and reject negative feedback. a) This is the self-serving bias. iii.

The evidence on cultural differences in perception is mixed but generally indicates that there are differences across cultures in the attributions people make, with collectivist cultures making external attributions more frequently than internal attributions. a) These differences in attributions also influence the degree to whether attributions are made toward individuals or groups.

Individuals from Asian cultures tend to make group-based stereotypes, whereas Westerners tend to focus on the individual.

3. Common Shortcuts in Judging Others.

PPT 6.9 a. Shortcuts for judging others often allows us to make accurate perceptions rapidly and provide valid data for making predictions. However, they can and do sometimes result in significant distortions. b. Selective Perception. Selective perception is the tendency to selectively interpret what one sees based on one’s interests, background, experience, and attitudes. i. Some research suggests that if we are directed to focus more in our environment, we will; for example, if job satisfaction is emphasized as important by the top management team, then other managers will see it as important and will no longer ignore it. c. Halo Effect is the tendency to draw a positive general impression about an individual based on a single characteristic. i. The horns effect is when we draw a negative impression from a single characteristic. d. Contrast Effect. Contrast effect is the evaluation of a PPT 6.10 person’s characteristics that is affected by comparisons with other people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics. i.

We don’t evaluate a person in isolation.

e. Stereotyping. Judging an individual based on the perception of a group to which the target belongs is known as stereotyping. i.

Stereotyping can lead to prejudicial decision making that can mar the business processes like selection and promotion. ii.

Our perceptions distort our outlook. a) Artificial intelligence (AI) has been proving useful in combatting these biases—for example, AI-driven performance assessments can help reduce these common shortcuts in judging others. b) However, this has led many managers and other individuals to worry about AI taking over their jobs, a phenomenon referred to as the threat of technological unemployment.

IV. LINK BETWEEN PERCEPTION AND INDIVIDUAL DECISION MAKING A. Individuals in organizations make decisions, choices from among two or more alternatives.

PPT 6.11 B. Decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem.

1. That is, a discrepancy exists between the current state of affairs and some desired state, requiring us to consider how we can address this discrepancy.

2. Most problems don’t come neatly labeled “problem.” a. One person’s problem is another person’s desired state. b. We must consider how our perceptions of the situation influence our decisions, sometimes in ways we would not expect.

V. DECISION MAKING IN ORGANIZATIONS PPT 6.12 A. Business schools generally train students to follow rational decision-making models.

1. Although these models have considerable merit, they don’t always describe how people actually make decisions.

2. OB improves the way we make decisions in organizations by addressing both perceptual and decision-making errors.

B. The Rational Model, Bounded Rationality, and Intuition 1. In OB there are three accepted approaches to decision making: rational decision making, bounded rationality, and intuition. There are times when one strategy may lead to a better outcome than another.

2. Rational Decision Making. Rational – a style of decision making characterized by making consistent, value-maximizing choices within specified constraints. a. Rational decision-making model: A decision-making model that describes how individuals should behave in order to maximize some outcome. i.

The Six Steps of the Model: PPT 6.13 a) Define the problem. b) Identify the decision criteria.

Exhibit 6-2 c) Allocate weights to the criteria. d) Develop the alternatives. e) Evaluate the alternatives. f) Select the best alternative. ii.

Assumptions of the Model: One of the reasons that this model is rarely fully utilized in the real world is because the assumptions are almost never all met. iii.

Complete knowledge. The decision maker is assumed to have complete knowledge of the situation. iv.

Known options. The decision maker is assumed to be able to identify all relevant options in an unbiased manner. v.

Highest utility. The assumption is that the decision maker will always choose the option with the highest utility.

3. Bounded Rationality. Often, we do not follow the rational decision-making model for a reason: Our limited abilities to PPT 6.14 process information make it impossible to assimilate all the information we need, even if it is readily obtainable. Bounded rationality refers to a simplified process of making decisions by perceiving and interpreting the essential features of problems without capturing their complexity. i. One outcome of bounded rationality is a tendency to satisfice or seek solutions that are merely sufficient (i.e., “good enough”). ii. Bounded rationality can be a concern in ethical decision making. We are prone to make systematic and predictable errors in ethical decisions, and whether we have the right to behave in a particular way is bounded by our duties toward the people our actions affect. i.

To address this: Be sure to ask multiple questions to understand the situation better, draw on multiple sources of information, evaluate your sources of information, and leave enough time to decide.

4. Intuition. Perhaps the least rational way of making decisions is to rely on intuition. a. Intuitive decision making is an unconscious process created from distilled experience.

PPT 6.15 i.

Its defining qualities are that: a) it occurs outside conscious thought; b) it relies on holistic associations, or links between disparate pieces of information; c) it’s fast; d) and it’s affectively charged, meaning it usually engages the emotions. b.

Researchers are skeptical that intuition results in effective decision making, in part because intuition is hard to measure and analyze. i.

Intuition can also cause us to ignore contradictory information. a) “Intuition can be very useful as a way of setting up a hypothesis but is unacceptable as ‘proof.’”

C. Common Biases and Errors in Decision Making 1. Systematic biases and errors to creep into the judgments of decision makers.

PPT 6.16 a. To minimize effort and avoid difficult trade-offs, people tend to rely too heavily on experience, impulses, gut feelings, and convenient rules of thumb. b. In many instances, these shortcuts are helpful. Exhibit 6-3 provides some suggestions for how to avoid falling into these biases and errors. c. Following are the most common biases in decision making. i.

Overconfidence Bias, a tendency to fixate on initial information, from which one then fails to adequately adjust for subsequent information. a) People are more likely to select the overconfident as leaders as they tend to ease their sense of ambiguity and overconfidence fits the perceiver’s understanding of what it means to be a leader. b) Despite initial benefits, overconfidence may eventually backfire: as overconfidence is revealed (the person’s behaviors are not as good as they say or their claims are falsifiable), people begin to perceive the overconfident person negatively, which damages their reputation. ii.

Anchoring Bias.

a) Anchoring bias is the tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information. b) Anytime a negotiation takes place, so does anchoring. The more precise your anchor is, the smaller the adjustment. iii.

Confirmation Bias. a) Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that reaffirms past choices and current views, and to discount information that challenges them. Information that reaffirms past choices is amplified, while data that contradicts those choices is discounted. iv.

Availability Bias. a) The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them is availability bias. b) Emotional, vivid, or recent events tend to be more available in the minds of decision makers and therefore carry a greater weight in decision making. v.

Escalation of Commitment. a) Escalation of commitment bias refers to staying with an initial decision through a series of follow-on decisions, even when there is clear evidence that the initial PPT 6.17 decision was wrong. b) This bias often occurs when the decision maker views himself or herself as responsible for the outcome or when they feel they will eventually succeed. c) The sharing of decision authority—such as when others review the choices we made—can lead to higher escalation. vi.

Randomness Error. a) Most of us like to think we have some control over our world.

Our tendency to believe we can predict the outcome of random events is the randomness error. vii.

Risk Aversion. a) Nearly everyone but committed gamblers would rather have the sure thing than a risky prospect. b) This tendency to prefer a sure gain of a moderate amount over a riskier outcome, even if the riskier outcome might have a higher expected payoff is risk aversion. c) Chief executive officers (CEOs) at risk of being terminated are also exceptionally risk averse, even when a riskier investment strategy is in their firms’ best interests. viii.

Hindsight Bias. a) The tendency to believe (falsely) once the outcome of an event is actually known that the results could have been accurately predicted is hindsight bias.

VI. INFLUENCES ON DECISION MAKING: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS A. Individual Differences.

PPT 6.18 1. Personality. a. Employees differ in the extent to which they trust their intuitions, and this can lead them to make riskier decisions or even be harsher when condemning unethical behavior. b. Employees who are less closed-minded (or higher on openness) tend to be less prone toward selective perception or the confirmation bias, as they are more receptive to contradictory information.

c. Narcissists naturally tend to be prone to overconfidence or overclaiming and to self-serving biases. d. Specific facets of conscientiousness—particularly achievement striving and dutifulness—may affect escalation of commitment. i. First, achievement-oriented people hate to fail, so they escalate their commitment, hoping to forestall failure. ii. Second, achievement-striving individuals appear more susceptible to hindsight bias, perhaps because they have a need to justify their actions. e. Achievement-striving individuals appear more susceptible to hindsight bias, perhaps because they need to justify their actions.

2. Gender. Who makes better decisions, men or women? It depends on the situation. a. When the situation isn’t stressful, decision making by men and women is about equal in quality. In stressful situations, it appears that men become more egocentric and make more risky decisions, while women become more empathetic and their decision making improves.

3. General Mental Ability. We know people with higher levels of general mental ability (GMA; see Chapter 5) are able to process information more quickly, solve problems more accurately, and learn faster, so you might expect them to be less susceptible to common decision errors. a. However, GMA appears to help people avoid only some of them. i. Smart people are just as likely to fall prey to anchoring, overconfidence, and escalation of commitment; probably because being smart doesn’t alert you to the possibility you’re too confident or emotionally defensive.

4. Cultural Differences. The cultural background of a decision maker can significantly influence the selection of the problem, the depth of analysis, the importance placed on logic and rationality, and whether organizational decisions should be made autocratically by an individual manager or collectively in groups. a. Cultures differ in time orientation, the value they place on rationality, their belief in the ability of people to solve problems, and their preference for collective decision making. b. Second, while rationality is valued in North America, that’s not true elsewhere. i. In countries such as Iran, where rationality is not paramount to other factors, efforts to appear rational are not necessary. c. Third, some cultures emphasize solving problems, while others focus on accepting situations as they are. i. The United States falls in the first category; Thailand and Indonesia are examples of the second. Because problem-solving managers believe they can and should change situations to their benefit, U.S. managers might identify a problem long before their Thai or Indonesian counterparts would choose to recognize it as such. d. Fourth, decision making in Japan, a collectivistic society (see Chapter 4), is much more group-oriented than in the United States, an individualistic society (see Chapter 4).

B. Organizational Constraints.

1. Organizations can constrain decision makers, creating PPT 6.19 deviations from the rational model. These constraints can take the form of: 2. Performance Evaluation Systems. Managers are influenced in their decision making by the criteria on which they are evaluated.

3. Reward Systems. The reward system influences which choices are preferable in terms of a personal payoff.

4. Formal Regulations. Rules and policies limit the decision maker’s choice of action.

5. System-Imposed Time Constraints. Explicit deadlines create time pressures and often make it difficult to gather necessary information prior to making the decision.

6. Historical Precedence. Commitments that have already been made constrain current options. The historic context of a decision limits available alternatives.

7. Decision Making in Times of Crisis. Decision makers are particularly susceptible to biases and distortion during times of crisis. a. Decisions made during times of crisis are more likely to be emotionally charged and intuitive.

VII. ETHICS IN DECISION MAKING? A. Three Ethical Decision Criteria: PPT 6.20 1. The first ethical yardstick is utilitarianism, in which decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. a. This view dominates business decision making. It is consistent with goals such as efficiency, productivity, and high profits.

2. Another ethical criterion is to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges, as set forth in documents such as the Bill of Rights. a. An emphasis on rights in decision making means respecting and protecting the basic rights of individuals, such as the right to privacy, free speech, and due process. b. This criterion protects whistleblowers when they reveal an organization’s unethical practices to the press or government agencies, using their right to free speech.

3. A third criterion is to impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially to ensure justice or an equitable distribution of benefits and costs. a. This criterion is often approached from a deonance standpoint (employees feel as if they ought to behave in a certain way, as laid out in rules, laws, norms, or moral principles).

B. Choosing Between Criteria.

PPT 6.21 1. Decision makers, particularly in for-profit organizations, feel comfortable with utilitarianism.

2. The “best interests” of the organization and its stockholders can justify a lot of questionable actions, such as large layoffs.

3. The traditional perspective of viewing these criteria as completely separate is giving way to one that views them as interrelated and contingent upon whether decisions are made about the self or judging others’ behavior. a. Public concern about individual rights and social justice suggests managers should develop ethical standards based on nonutilitarian criteria. b. This presents a challenge because satisfying individual rights and social justice creates far more ambiguities than utilitarian effects on efficiency and profits. c. This helps explain why managers are increasingly criticized for their actions. i. Raising prices, selling products with questionable effects on consumer health, closing down inefficient plants, laying off large numbers of employees, moving production overseas to cut costs, and similar decisions can be justified in utilitarian terms. ii. But that may no longer be the single measure by which good decisions are judged.

C. Behavioral Ethics.

1. Increasingly, researchers are turning to behavioral ethics—an area of study that analyzes how people behave when confronted with ethical dilemmas. a. Their research tells us that while ethical standards exist collectively in societies and organizations, and individually in the form of personal ethics,

we do not always follow ethical standards promoted by our organizations, and we sometimes violate our own standards. b. Our ethical behavior varies widely from one situation to the next. c. Behavioral ethics research stresses the importance of culture to ethical decision making.

D. Lying.

1. A large body of research suggests that lying and dishonest behavior are very common. a. Lying is difficult to detect.

2. Lying is one of the top unethical activities we may indulge in daily, and it undermines all efforts toward sound decision making. a. The truth is that one of the reasons we lie is because lying is difficult for others to detect. In more than 200 studies, individuals correctly identified people who were lying only 47 percent of the time, which is less than random picking. b. Lying is deadly to decision making, whether we detect the lies or not.

Managers— and organizations—simply cannot make good decisions when facts are misrepresented and people give false motives for their behaviors.

VIII. CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS 1. Although the rational decision-making model will often improve decisions, PPT 6.22 a decision maker also needs creativity, the ability to produce novel and useful ideas.

2. Novel ideas are different from what’s been done before but are appropriate for the problem.

3. Although all aspects of organizational behavior have complexities, that is especially true for creativity.

4. The three-stage model of creativity: the core of the model is creative PPT 6.23 behavior, which has both causes (predictions of creative behavior) and effects (outcomes of creative behavior).

Exhibit 6-4 5. Creative Behavior. Creative behavior occurs in four steps, each of which leads to the next (Exhibit 6-4): a. Problem formulation. Any act of creativity begins with a problem that PPT 6.24 the behavior is designed to solve. Thus, problem formulation is defined as the stage of creative behavior in which we identify a problem or opportunity that requires a solution as yet unknown. b. Information gathering. Given a problem, the solution is rarely directly at hand.

We need time to learn more and to process that information. Thus, information gathering is the stage of creative behavior when knowledge is sought and possible solutions to a problem incubate in an individual’s mind. c. Idea generation. Once we have collected the relevant information, it is time to translate knowledge into ideas. Thus, idea generation is the process of creative behavior in which we develop possible solutions to a problem from relevant information and knowledge. i. Increasingly, idea generation is collaborative. d. Idea evaluation. Finally, it’s time to choose from the ideas we have generated.

Thus, idea evaluation is the process of creative behavior in which we evaluate potential solutions to identify the best one.

6. Causes of Creative Behavior. Having defined creative behavior, the main stage in the three-stage model, we now look back to the causes of creativity: creative potential and creative environment. a. Creative Potential. Is there such a thing as a creative personality?

PPT 6.25 Indeed. While creative genius—whether in science (Stephen Hawking), the performing arts (Martha Graham), or business

(Steve Jobs)—is scarce, most people have some of the characteristics shared by exceptionally creative people. i. The more of these characteristics we have, the higher our creative potential.

1) Intelligence and Creativity. Intelligence is related to creativity. Smart people are more creative because they are better at solving complex problems. However, intelligent people may also be more creative because they have greater working memory; that is, they can recall more information that is related to the task at hand.

2) Personality and Creativity. The Big Five personality trait of openness to experience correlates with creativity, probably because open individuals are less conformist in action and more divergent in thinking. a) Other traits of creative people include proactive personality, selfconfidence, risk taking, tolerance for ambiguity, and perseverance.

3) Expertise and Creativity. Expertise is the foundation for all creative work and thus is the single most important predictor of creative potential. b) People with larger social networks have greater exposure to diverse ideas and informal access to the expertise and resources of others.

4) Ethics and Creativity. Although creativity is linked to many desirable individual characteristics, it is not correlated with ethicality. a) People who cheat may actually be more creative than those who behave ethically, according to recent research. b) It may be that dishonesty and creativity can both stem from a rulebreaking desire. b. Creative Environment. Most of us have creative potential we can learn to apply, but as important as creative potential is, by itself it is not enough. i. We need to be in an environment where creative potential can be realized. ii. What environmental factors affect whether creative potential translates into creative behaviors? a) First and perhaps most important is motivation. If you aren’t motivated to be creative, it is unlikely you will be. Intrinsic motivation, or the desire to work on something because it is interesting, exciting, satisfying, and challenging correlates strongly with creative outcomes. b) It is also valuable to work in an environment that rewards and recognizes creative work. The organization should foster the free flow of ideas, including providing fair and constructive judgment.

(1) Freedom from excessive rules encourages creativity; employees should have the freedom to decide what work is to be done and how to do it.

(2) Certain job characteristics can foster creativity. Jobs that are complex, autonomous, and have clear role expectations or innovation are related to innovative behavior—these job characteristics can be especially important in inspiring creative behavior.

7. Creative Outcomes (Innovation). The final stage in our model of creativity is the outcome. Creative outcomes are ideas or solutions judged to be PPT 6.26 novel and useful by relevant stakeholders. a. We can define creative outcomes as ideas or solutions judged to be novel and useful by relevant stakeholders. i. Novelty itself does not generate a creative outcome if it isn’t useful.

ii. Thus, “off-the-wall” solutions are creative only if they help solve the problem.

iii. The usefulness of the problem might be self-evident, or it might be

considered successful by stakeholders before the actual success can be known. b. Creative ideas do not implement themselves; translating them into creative outcomes is a social process that requires utilizing other concepts addressed in this text, including power and politics, leadership, and motivation.

IX. SUMMARY A. Individuals base their behavior not on the way their external environment actually is but rather on what they see or believe it to be.

1. An understanding of how people make decisions can be helpful for explaining and predicting their behavior.

2. But few important decisions are simple or unambiguous enough for the rational model’s assumptions to apply.

3. Thus, we find individuals looking for solutions that satisfice rather than optimize, injecting biases and prejudices into the decision process, and relying on intuition.

B. Managers should encourage creativity in employees and teams to create a route to innovative decision making.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Behavior follows perception, so to influence employee behavior at PPT 6.27 work, assess how employees perceive their work. Often behaviors we find puzzling can be explained by understanding the initiating perceptions.

B. Make better decisions by recognizing perceptual biases and decision-making errors we tend to commit. Learning about these problems doesn’t always prevent us from making mistakes, but it does help.

C. Adjust your decision-making approach to the national culture you’re operating in and to the criteria your organization values. If you’re in a country that doesn’t value rationality, don’t feel compelled to follow the decision-making model or to try to make your decisions appear rational. Adjust your decision approach to ensure compatibility with the organizational culture.

D. Combine rational analysis with intuition. These are not conflicting approaches to decision making. By using both, you can improve your decision-making effectiveness.

E. Try to enhance your creativity. Actively look for novel solutions to problems, attempt to see problems in new ways, use analogies, and hire creative talent. Try to remove work and organizational barriers that might impede your creativity.

Discussion Questions

PPT 6.28

1. Ask the class members to think of places they have worked or organizations they

have been associated with. They should identify decisions that they observed being made by people within the organization. Ask them to rate the decision on the following scale:

Answer: Decisions about salary raises may be made by the decision maker based on intuition alone, rational processes alone, or some combination of the two. What

other types of decisions can be identified by the decision method applied? Would the group or organization be better served if these decision processes were modified?

35. Suppose a worker went out of her way to help the boss complete a project on time.

Some of her coworkers saw that behavior and thought she was selfishly trying to curry favor with the boss; others saw her as a great example of how employees should act in a progressive company. Why do these two very different interpretations come about?

Answer: The perceiver’s attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations all filter and modify what is perceived. In this case, each perceiver brings his or her own history to the observation. The target’s characteristics and history (and how well those characteristics are known to the observer), as well as how completely the situation is understood also will influence the interpretation of the behavior.

36. What criteria are used by people when attributing a behavior to either external or internal causes? Describe these three criteria.

Answer: There are three criteria: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

Distinctiveness. The level of uniqueness of the behavior of the target individual.

Distinctive behaviors tend to be judged as external while behaviors with low distinctiveness are considered internal.

Consensus. The degree to which everyone behaves in a certain way in a given situation. If high consensus is evident (everyone is acting in a similar fashion), the behavior is considered externally caused. But in low consensus situations (target is acting in a dissimilar fashion), the behavior is judged as being internal.

Consistency. The degree to which the target person responds in essentially the same fashion over time. High consistency is associated with internal causes while low consistency is judged to be caused externally.

37. People often use shortcuts such as selective perception and stereotyping to judge other people more quickly. What are the good and bad aspects of this type of perceptual fast track?

Answer: On the positive side, shortcuts allow for fast interpretation of behavior with a minimum of actual thought. But this means that a person’s behaviors are far less likely to be interpreted correctly, resulting in perceptual error and decreasing the manager’s ability to accurately forecast behavior. Further, some perceptual filters, the halo effect and stereotyping in particular, can reduce workplace morale and could lead to legal action by the offended party.

38. How does perception affect the decision-making process?

Answer: Perception allows, distorts, or blocks information. Effective decision making requires good information. At almost every stage of the decision-making process, incorrect or missing information can lead to poor decisions. For example, if a manager is influenced by the halo effect, he or she would take far greater credence of the information given by a person the manager thinks is trustworthy based on past performance — even if that person in this case is completely wrong!

Information given by a person who was wrong once in the past, (even if he or she was absolutely correct in this instance), would be heavily discounted.

39. Describe the steps of the rational decision-making process. Use buying a car as an example.

Answer: Define the problem. One of the most critical steps, incorrectly defining the problem or identifying the wrong problem is a frequent cause of poor decision making. My current vehicle is unreliable and I need a replacement.

Identify decision criteria. Decision makers must determine the relevant criteria that will influence the solution. This is where perception can be a strong influence. I need a two-door economy car to take me back and forth to work. It must be fuel efficient,

reliable, and safe. I would like it to cost less than $15,000.

Weight the previously identified criteria. In order to prioritize and balance the criteria, they must be given weightings: rarely are all criteria of equal importance to the decision. Fuel efficiency and economy are more important to me than safety.

Generate possible alternatives. Listing (not assessing) all of the possible ways in which the problem can be solved. I would go to www.kbb.com or some other information source and get a list of all the cars that fit my general criteria.

Rate each alternative upon each criterion. This step requires decision makers to critically analyze and evaluate each alternative against the identified and weighted criteria. I would take the information I had in the previous step and find out how each car performs on my criteria. For instance, I would put the estimated highway miles per gallon next to each car under the fuel-efficient criteria as well as the Consumer Reports rating on that vehicle under the reliable criteria.

Compute the optimal decision. Rank the rated alternatives and select the alternative with the highest score. I would total up the highest scores to find the best car. (Note: The text does not fully develop a complete rational decision matrix with weighted averages, so unless the instructor decides to bring that tool in, the student answers to this question will be very general.)

40. How does decision making under bounded rationality differ from that done under rational decision making?

Answer: Bounded rationality deals with minimizing options and limiting scope to make a problem’s solution more manageable. In this situation, the optimum solution can only be found through luck because not all possible solutions and criteria are used. Instead, a satisfactory solution (it will work/it is good enough) is determined at a much lower cost and in much less time.

Managers operating under bounded rationality still use rational procedures, but they use simplified models and constructs to make the situation less complex. Each of the rational decision-making steps are taken, but with much less rigor. Once a single satisfactory solution is determined, the search for an optimal answer stops.

Decisions in bounded rationality tend to be almost habitual in the sense that they will be very close to already accepted solutions for past problems. Bounded rationality decisions are not the best (optimal) solutions as they would be in rational decision making, but they are far faster and cheaper.

41. Choose one of the common decision-making biases that you have either personally experienced or which you are guilty of and describe the following: (1) what error was involved, (2) what were the circumstances, and (3) how did the bias affect the outcome of the situation?

Answer: The answers will vary, but ensure that one of the common biases mentioned in the text (overconfidence, anchoring, confirmation, availability, escalation of commitment, or hindsight) is given by name and accurately described.

42. Which ethical viewpoint do you think is the best? Describe the viewpoint and explain your choice.

Answer: The answers will vary. It is important that the student names and describes one of the three views given in the text (utilitarianism, rights, or justice) and gives a reasonable rationale for his or her choice.

43. Using the three-component model for creativity, which area do you believe would be easiest for managers to affect? Why? Answer: The answers will vary. One of the most logical components to use is intrinsic task motivation as managers have the most control over the factors that make up this component (the work itself, work environment, coworkers, culture, judgment of ideas, rewards and recognition for creative work, sufficient resources, freedom to work, and an effective supervision). The other two components (expertise and creative-thinking skills) might be improved by management-

provided training, but the impact wouldn’t be as direct, or as far reaching, as it would with intrinsic task motivation.

Exercises 29. Self-analysis. What biases, either perceptual or decision-making, do you find you use most commonly? What actions can you take to reduce the effects of those biases?

30. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, enter the term “famous perceptual experiments” and select three that look interesting to you. Describe what impact these studies have on organizational behavior.

31. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). The job interview process is where decision-making and perceptual biases can often come into play. Consider your own interview when you took the job and describe: a. What may have been the influences of the length of the interview? b. What may have been the influence of the length of time it took for the interviewer to make the hiring decision on both the perception of the firm toward the individual and the individual toward the firm? c. What biases may have been involved in your own hire? Consider your own biases regarding the firm as well as theirs toward you. d. What can the company do to reduce the negative effects of bias in the job interview process?

Suggested Assignment Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Have each team review and discuss the following court case. Answer the question that follows and be prepared to present your findings. Each team will be given additional guidance by the instructor.

State vs. Scroggs In the fall of 1875, Hiram Smith filed a claim on a very fertile piece of land in South Dakota with the land office. Before he could put any improvements on the land, he died. A young Swede, newly immigrated, filed a counterclaim to the land at once, and by late spring of the following year had built a home and had begun to cultivate the land.

In the meantime, the widow of the original claimant was on her way West with her two daughters and her son. She built a house on the land, across a ravine from the Swede’s home, and cultivated that half of the claim. Both parties sent their claims to the Department of the Interior, but ten years went by without a decision. Both the Swede and Mrs. Smith built barns and cultivated the land intensively, each on their own side of the ravine.

A distant relative of Mrs. Smith, a minister named Scroggs, lived in a small town about two miles from the rival farms. He had been an advisor for the Swede on all matters of religion and politics since the fellow had first taken up farming in Dakota.

He had often complimented the Swede on his land and had expressed his opinion at the general store that it was the best land in the West.

Scroggs had acted as arbiter for the disputants and had corresponded with the Secretary of the Interior regarding the land. One day at the general store he told the Swede that he thought the Swede’s claim would be supported. The Swede swore that no one was going to put him off the land. The next day Scroggs went to the Smith farm and showed Mrs. Smith a paper from Washington, D.C., ratifying her claim to the land. He said it would be all right for them to take possession. Young Smith hitched a team to the plow and went over on to the Swede’s side of the farm.

Scroggs, Mrs. Smith, and the two daughters went along; Scroggs on his horse. Young Smith had just started plowing when the Swede ran out of his house with a gun and

shot him.

Two more shots killed the horses at the plow. Scroggs galloped off and shouted that he was going after the marshal. When the marshal and a posse arrived, they found the Swede had killed the three women and had then committed suicide. Scroggs, being the only relative of the dead woman, inherited both pieces of land.

Should Scroggs be held responsible for the killings?

Instructions for Instructor: Copy the case text from this file and place it in a new Word documents or other word processing program that can read .docx files. Print the case for your class. This case will allow students to experience a decisionmaking process and see how different each strategy is in effort, process, and quality of decision.  Prior to passing out the case, divide the class into three large groups without telling them how or why they are being divided. One group will use the rational model, the second, bounded rationality, and the third, intuition.  Go to each group and quietly tell them the model they are to use to make their decision. Refer students to the appropriate section of their text for their process. Each large group should not know how the other groups are making their decisions. o Those using the rational model must be prepared to outline how they came to their decision. o Those using bounded rationality must be prepared to explain why they stopped where they did. o Those using intuition are to read the case and make a decision based on their reaction without rereading the case or studying the details.  Each group is to track how long it took them to come to their decision.  During the next class, have students note on the board or orally present what their decisions were. Simply tabulate their decisions, responsible or not. Begin with those using the rational model, those using bounded rationality, and end with the intuitive. e. As you debrief the class, note any pattern to the decisions. Did style lead to a given conclusion? Ask the groups for the reasons for their decisions. How long did it take to make the decision? Finally, ask the class if now that they have heard more viewpoints, whether anyone wishes to change his or her findings.

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group exercise) For a 75-90-minute ethical decision-making case that can be used in class with small groups, please see: James, C. R., and Smith, J. G. (2007). George Williams in Thailand: An Ethical Decision-Making Exercise. Journal of Management Education, 31(5), 696-712.

DOI:10.1177/1052562907304327 2. (Small group exercise) For a 50-80-minute ethical decision-making case that can be used in class with small groups, please see: Baker, S. D., and Comer, D. R. (2012). “Business Ethics Everywhere”: An Experiential Exercise to Develop Students’ Ability to Identify and Respond to Ethical Issues in Business. Journal of Management Education, 36(1), 95-125.

DOI:10.1177/1052562911408071

Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Chapter Overview Motivation is one of the major areas of interest in organizational behavior (OB). Properly motivating a workforce can lead to gains in productivity, innovation, and employee retention. This chapter will review the basics of motivation, assess the number of motivation theories, and provide an integrative model that shows how the best of these theories fits together.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 7.2 7-1. Describe the three key elements of motivation.

7-2. Compare the early theories of motivation.

7-3. Contrast the elements of self-determination theory and goal-setting theory.

7-4. Demonstrate the differences among self-efficacy theory, reinforcement theory, and expectancy theory.

7-5. Describe the forms of organizational justice, including distributive justice, procedural justice, informational justice, and interactional justice.

7-6. Identify the implications of employee job engagement for managers.

7-7. Describe how the contemporary theories of motivation complement one another.

Suggested Lecture Outline INTRODUCTION Motivation is a problem in the U.S. workforce. Poorly motivated workers express themselves through detrimental behaviors such as time wasting, absenteeism, and high turnover. It is important that motivational theories are understood and applied in the workplace.

XXIX. MOTIVATION A. Motivation: the processes that account for an individual’s PPT 7.3 intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal, specifically for OB, toward attaining an organizational goal.

B. Three Key Elements in the Definition: 1. Intensity: how much effort a person puts forth to meet a goal.

2. Direction: efforts are channeled toward organizational goals.

3. Persistence: how long a person maintains effort toward a goal.

XXX. EARLY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Three early theories of employee motivation formulated during PPT 7.4 the 1950s, although now of questionable validity, are probably the best known. We discuss more valid explanations later, but these represent a foundation, and practicing managers still use their terminology.

A. Hierarchy of Needs Theory (Exhibit 7-1).

1. In this, perhaps best known (and least supported) of all motivational theories, Abraham Maslow proposed that there are five levels of human needs.

XXVIII.

Exhibit 7-1

2. As each of the lower level needs are satisfied, the next unsatisfied need becomes

dominant. a. Therefore, to motivate someone, you need to understand what level of the hierarchy that person is on and focus on PPT 7.5 satisfying needs at or above that level. b. Recently, a sixth need has been proposed for a highest level—intrinsic values—which is said to have originated from Maslow, but it has yet to gain widespread acceptance.

3. The five needs are: a. Physiological: lower order need, includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs. Lower order needs are satisfied externally, through forces outside of the person. b. Safety-security: lower order need, includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm. c. Social-belongingness: upper order need, includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship. Upper order needs are satisfied internally, that is, from within the person. d. Esteem: upper order need, includes internal (self-respect, autonomy, and achievement) and external (status, recognition, and attention) esteem factors. e. Self-actualization: upper order need, defined as the drive to “be all one can be,” it includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment.

B. Two-Factor Theory (Exhibit 7-2).

1. The Two-Factor Theory is a theory that relates intrinsic factors to PPT 7.6 job satisfaction and associates extrinsic factors with dissatisfaction.

2. Frederick Herzberg proposed that an individual’s relation to work is basic and that one’s attitude toward work can very well Exhibit 7-2 determine success or failure. In other words, things that people feel good about at work are motivating and those things they don’t feel good about are de-motivating. This two-factor theory is also known as the motivationhygiene theory.

3. In his research, Herzberg realized that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction; rather there are two different factor scales, one ranging from satisfaction to no satisfaction and the other from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. When he related a number of workplace factors against these two scales, he realized they were very different concepts. He called the first set of factors motivation factors and the second hygiene factors. a. Hygiene Factors: Factors such as company policy and administration, supervision, and salary—that, when adequate in a job, placate workers and limit job dissatisfaction. b. Motivation Factors: These are intrinsically rewarding factors in the work environment such as advancement, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. Meeting these factors will increase motivation by creating a satisfying work environment.

4. As with the other two main motivational theories, this very popular theory is also not well supported in the research literature. There are many criticisms of the Two-Factor Theory, mostly dealing with the methodology Herzberg used in his initial studies.

C. McClelland's Theory of Needs.

1. David McClelland and his associates created a theory PPT 7.7 based on three subconscious needs, which suggest that

needs are more like motivating factors than strict needs for survival: 2. Need for Achievement (nAch): the need to excel or to PPT 7.8 achieve in relation to a set of standards. High achievers perform best when they have a 50-50 chance of success.

High achievers perform best in jobs with a high degree of personal responsibility and feedback with an intermediate degree of risk.

3. Need for Power (nPow): the need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise.

4. Need for Affiliation (nAff): the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.

5. McClelland’s theory has the best research support,] but has the least practical effect of any of the early motivational theories.

XXXI. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION PPT 7.9 1. Unlike the historic theories of motivation, these current theories of motivation do have a reasonable degree of supporting documentation. It is important to remember that these are still theories. None of these has been totally proven true.

A. Self-Determination Theory.

1. Self-determination theory, a meta-theory of PPT 7.10 motivation at work that is concerned with autonomy, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and the satisfaction of psychological work needs. This meta-theory is widely used and contains several sub-theories, including cognitive evaluation theory and self-concordance theory. a. Cognitive Evaluation Theory. Much research on self-determination theory in OB has focused on cognitive evaluation theory (CET), which hypothesizes that extrinsic rewards for behavior tend to decrease the overall level of motivation, if the rewards are seen as controlling or reducing their sense of competence.

1) When people are paid for work, it feels less like something they want to do and more like something they have to do.

2) Research suggests that intrinsic motivation contributes to the quality of work, which incentives contribute to the quantity of work. a) Intrinsic motivation may be weaker when incentives are directly tied to performance.

2. Self-Concordance. A recent outgrowth of self-determination theory is selfconcordance theory, which considers how strongly people’s reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values. a. If individuals pursue goals because of an intrinsic interest, they are more likely to attain their goals and are happy even if they do not. Why? Because the process of striving toward them is fun. b. OB research suggests that people who pursue work goals for intrinsic reasons are more satisfied with their jobs, feel like they fit into their organizations better, and may perform better.

3. Basic Psychological Needs. a. There are several basic psychological needs that affect work motivation.

When they are satisfied, we tend to be more motivated; when they are frustrated, we tend to be less motivated.

1) The need for relatedness is very similar to the nAff as discussed previously.

2) The need for autonomy is the need to feel in control and autonomous at work.

3) The need for competence is the need to feel like we are good at what we do and be proud of it.

b. The autonomy need is the most important for attitudinal and effective

outcomes, whereas the competence need appears to be most important for predicting performance. c. When using extrinsic rewards, need satisfaction matters less for performance when the rewards are directly salient and clear.

4. For organizations, this all means managers should provide intrinsic as well as extrinsic incentives. a. Managers need to make work interesting, provide recognition, and support employee growth and development. b. Employees who feel autonomous and free in what they choose to do are likely to be more motivated by their work and committed to their employers.

B. Goal-Setting Theory. a. Goal-setting theory is a theory that specific and PPT 7.11 difficult goals, with feedback, lead to higher performance. Studies the effects goal specificity, challenge, and feedback have on performance. The study of goal setting has created the following general rules: 1. Specificity, Difficulty and Feedback Dimensions. Specific goals increase performance; difficult goals, when accepted, produce higher performance than do easy goals; and that feedback leads to higher performance than does nonfeedback. a. Specific goals explicitly direct attention toward what needs to be accomplished. b. Once a difficult goal has been accepted, an employee will exert a high level of effort to try to achieve it. c. Feedback guides behavior. d. Self-generated feedback is more powerful than externally-generated feedback. The question of whether participative goal setting increases motivation has not yet been resolved. The assumption is that when employees are involved in setting the goals, they have greater buy-in and therefore will have a higher level of commitment. When employees don’t participate in goal setting, the manager must take pains to explain the purpose and importance of the goal.

2. Goal Commitment, Task Characteristics, and National Culture Factors. a. Goal Commitment. The individual (1) believes they can achieve the goal, and (2) wants to achieve it. Goal commitment is most likely to occur when employees expect that their efforts will pay off in goal attainment, when people of higher status are watching and aware of the goal, and when accomplishing the goal is attractive to them. b. Task Characteristics. Goals are better in terms of performance on simple rather than complex tasks, and when the tasks are independent rather than interdependent. On interdependent tasks, group goals along with delegation of tasks are preferable. c. National Culture. In collectivist and high power-distance cultures, achievable moderate goals can be more motivating than difficult ones.

Assigned goals appear to generate greater goal commitment in high and low power-distance cultures. d. Employees and managers should be careful not to overdo goal setting.

1) Goals might impede learning because we become too focused on achievement.

2) Choosing the wrong type or form of goal may impede performance, or lead to escalation of commitment.

3) Research suggests setting a cadence of accountability and monitoring of goals and publicly announcing progress toward the goals.

3. Individual and Promotion Foci. Research has found that PPT 7.12 people differ in the way they regulate their thoughts and behaviors during goal pursuit. Generally, people fall into one of two categories, though they could belong to both. a. Those with a promotion focus strive for advancement and accomplishment, and they approach conditions that move them closer toward desired goals. b. Those with a prevention focus strive to fulfill duties and obligations and avoid conditions that pull them away from desired goals. c. Ideally, it’s probably best to be both promotion and prevention oriented.

4. Goal-Setting Implementation (Exhibit 7-3). One of the PPT 7.13 more effective ways to formalize goal-setting theory into an organization is through management by objectives (MBO). MBO emphasizes participatively set goals that are Exhibit 7-3 tangible, verifiable, and measurable. MBO operationalizes the concept of objectives by devising a process by which objectives cascade down through the organization. Because lower-unit managers jointly participate in setting their own goals, MBO works from the bottom up as well as from the top down. The result of MBO is a hierarchy of objectives that build toward organizational objectives. It also provides specific performance goals for individuals.

5. Goal Setting and Ethics. The relationship between goal setting and ethics is quite complex: If we emphasize the attainment of goals, what is the cost? The answer is probably found in the standards we set for goal achievement. a. For example, when money is tied to goal attainment, we may focus on getting the money and become willing to compromise ourselves ethically. b. If we are focused on the outcome, this may make unethical behavior more likely.

Unethical behavior through depletion may occur. For example, if the kitchen staff is exhausted and overloaded, they might be more prone to take shortcuts in food preparation and cleaning that puts food safety in danger.

V. OTHER CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION PPT 7.15 A. Self-Efficacy Theory. a. Self-efficacy theory (also known as social cognitive theory PPT 7.16 or social learning theory): An individual’s belief of being capable of performing a task. Typically, people with high self-efficacy respond better to challenges and negative feedback than those with low selfefficacy. Self-efficacy can thus begin a positive

spiral in which those with high efficacy become more engaged in their tasks and then, in turn, increase performance, which increase efficacy further.

1) People who are intelligent, conscientious, and emotionally stable are so much more likely to have high self-efficacy that some researchers argue self-efficacy is less important than prior research suggested.

1. Influencing self-efficacy in others (Exhibit 7-4). Goal-setting theory and self-efficacy theory complement each other. When managers set Exhibit 7-4

PPT 7.17

difficult goals for employees, this leads employees to have a higher level of selfefficacy and they set higher goals on their own. This is because when managers set difficult goals for people, it communicates their confidence in those people. a. Four ways self-efficacy can be increased: 1) Enactive Mastery: gaining relevant experience with the task or job. Past success in a task increases future confidence.

2) Vicarious Modeling: enable them to watch someone else do the task.

3) Verbal Persuasion: Reassures the employees, letting them know that they have “what it takes” to do the task.

4) Arousal: Getting an employee energized will enable the employees to approach the task more positively. Not always effective in “low key” tasks. b. One of the best ways for a manager to use verbal persuasion is through the Pygmalion effect, a term based on the Greek myth about a sculptor (Pygmalion) who fell in love with a statue he carved.

1) The Pygmalion effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy in which believing something can make it true. Here, it is often used to describe that what one person expects can come to serve a self-fulfilling prophecy. c. Training programs often make use of enactive mastery by having people practice and build their skills. In fact, one reason training works is that it increases self-efficacy, particularly when the training is interactive and feedback is given afterward.

B. Reinforcement Theory. a. Reinforcement theory takes a behavioristic view, PPT 7.18 arguing that reinforcement conditions behavior.

1) Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concentrates solely on what happens when the individual acts.

2) Because it is not concerned with what initiates behavior, it is not, strictly speaking, a theory of motivation.

3) But it does provide a powerful means of analyzing what controls behavior, and this is why we typically consider reinforcement concepts in discussions of motivation.

1. Operant Conditioning/Behaviorism and Reinforcement. Operant conditioning suggests that people learn to behave a certain way to either get something they want or to avoid something they don’t want. a. Unlike reflexive or unlearned behavior, operant behavior is influenced by the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement brought about by consequences.

1) The concept of operant conditioning was one of B.F. Skinner’s broader concepts of behaviorism, which argues that behavior follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner.

2. Social-Learning Theory. Individuals can learn by being told or by observing what happens to other people, as well as through direct experience. a. Much of what we have learned comes from watching models—parents, teachers, peers, film and television performers, bosses, and so forth. The view that we can learn through both observation and direct experience is called social-learning theory. b. Although social-learning theory is an extension of operant conditioning— that is, it assumes behavior is a function of consequences—it also acknowledges the effects of observational learning and perception. c. People respond to the way they perceive and define consequences, not to the objective consequences themselves.

C. Expectancy Theory (Exhibit 7-5). a. Expectancy Theory is a theory that the strength of a

PPT 7.19 tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the Exhibit 7-5 attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. The theory focuses on three relationships: 1) Expectancy is the effort-performance PPT 7.20 relationship. The probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance.

2) Instrumentality is the performance-reward relationship. The degree to which the individual believes performing at a certain level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome.

3) Valence is the rewards-personal goals relationship. The degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an individual’s personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the individual.

4) This theory helps explain why a lot of workers are not motivated on their jobs and do only the minimum necessary to get by.

VI. ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE. A. Equity theory (Exhibit 7-6) is a theory stating that PPT 7.21 individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any inequities.

This theory holds that motivation can be affected by the Exhibit 7-6 comparisons employees make of their job inputs (such as effort, experience, and education) and the job's outcomes PPT 7.22 (such as pay, promotions, recognition, or a bigger office) relative to the inputs and outcomes of other employees. If the ratios of inputs to outputs are roughly equal between employees, a state of equity is said to exist.

1. Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make one of six choices: a. Change inputs (exert less effort if underpaid or more if overpaid). b. Change outcomes (individuals paid on a piece-rate basis can increase their pay by producing a higher quantity of units at a lower quality). c. Distort perceptions of self (“I used to think I worked at a moderate pace, but now I realize I work a lot harder than everyone else.”). d. Distort perceptions of others (“Mike’s job isn’t as desirable as I thought.”). e. Choose a different referent (“I may not make as much as my brother-in-law, but I’m doing a lot better than my Dad did when he was my age.”). f. Leave the field (quit the job).

2. Although equity theory’s propositions have not all held up, the hypothesis served as an important precursor to the study of organizational justice, or more simply, fairness, in the workplace.

3. Organizational justice is concerned with how employees feel authorities and decision makers treat them. For the most part, employees evaluate how fairly they are treated as shown in Exhibit 7-6.

B. Distributive Justice. Distributive justice is concerned with the fairness of the outcome, such as pay and recognition that employees receive.

1. We often think of individuals gauging distributive justice and equity in a rational, cold way. But individuals actually base distributive judgements on a

C.

D.

E.

B.

feeling or emotional reaction to the way they think they are being treated relative to others, and their reactions are often “hot” and emotional rather than cool and rational.

Procedural Justice. Procedural justice focuses on how outcomes are allocated. The two key elements of procedural justice are: a. Employees perceive that procedures are fairer when they are given a say in the decision-making process. Having direct influence over how decisions are made, or at the very least being able to present your opinion to decision makers, creates a sense of control and makes us feel empowered. b. Employees perceive that procedures are fairer when decision makers follow several rules. It is important that managers be consistent, unbiased, use accurate information, and are open to appeals for procedural justice to work. c. If the process is judged to be fair, then employees are Exhibit 7-7 more accepting of unfavorable outcomes.

Interactional Justice is sensitivity to the quality of interpersonal treatment. There are two types: Informational justice and PPT 7.24 interpersonal justice (Exhibit 7-7).

1. Informational Justice. Informational justice reflects whether managers provide employees with explanations for key decisions and keep them informed of important organizational matters. The more detailed and candid managers are with employees, the more fairly treated those employees feel. a. Though it may seem obvious that managers should be honest with their employees and not keep them in the dark about organizational matters, many managers are hesitant to share information. This is especially the case with bad news, which is uncomfortable for both the manager delivering it and the employee receiving it. b. Explanations for bad news are beneficial when they take the form of post hoc excuses rather than justifications.

2. Interpersonal Justice. Interpersonal justice reflects whether employees are treated with dignity and respect. This is a more interpersonal view of justice, normally related directly between supervisor and employee.

Justice Outcomes. When employees feel fairly treated, they respond in a number of positive ways. a. All the types of justice have been linked to higher levels of task performance and citizenship behaviors such as helping coworkers, as well as lower levels of counterproductive behaviors such as shirking job duties. b. Distributive and procedural justice are more strongly associated with task performance, while informational and interpersonal justice are more strongly associated with citizenship behavior. Even more physiological outcomes, such as how well employees sleep and the state of their health have been linked to fair treatment.

1. Your coworkers’ reactions to injustice can be just as important as your own, including third-party, or observer, reactions to injustice. a. Would you frequent a restaurant chain that announced massive layoffs with no warning to employees? Probably not.

2. Women are judged more harshly when they violate interactional norms than when they violate procedural norms.

Culture and Justice. Across nations, the same basic principles of procedural justice are respected, and workers around the world prefer rewards based on performance and skills over rewards based on seniority. a. One large-scale study of over 190,000 employees in 32 countries and regions suggested that justice perceptions are most important to people in

countries with individualistic, feminine, uncertainty-avoidance, and low power-distance values.

1) Employees in Confucian societies that are high power distance tend to be less affected by abusive supervision. b. Organizations can tailor programs to meet these justice expectations.

VII. JOB ENGAGEMENT A. Job engagement is the investment of an employee’s physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance.

PPT 7.25 1. Job engagement has been found to predict higher levels of task performance and citizenship behavior.

2. The construct is partially redundant with job attitudes like job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job involvement.

3. Apart from a proactive personality, conscientiousness, and extraversion, one key trait predicts job engagement: employees’ tendencies to express positive moods and emotions (e.g., positive affectivity).

4. Job characteristics and access to sufficient resources to work effectively, person—organization value fit, and inspirational leadership all affect job engagement as well.

VIII. INTEGRATING CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION PPT 7.26 A. Our job might be simpler if, after presenting a half-dozen theories, we could say only one was found valid. But many of the theories in this chapter are complementary. Exhibit 7-8 integrates much of Exhibit 7-8 what we know about motivation. Its foundation is expectancy theory.

B. We begin by explicitly recognizing that opportunities can either aid or hinder individual effort.

1. Note that the individual effort box on the left also has another arrow leading into it, from the person’s goals. Consistent with goal-setting theory, the goals–effort loop is meant to remind us that goals direct behavior.

C. Expectancy theory predicts employees will exert a high level of effort if they perceive strong relationships between effort and performance, performance and reward, and rewards and satisfaction of personal goals. Each of these relationships is, in turn, influenced by other factors.

1. For effort to lead to good performance, the individual must have the ability to perform and perceive the performance appraisal system as fair and objective.

2. The performance–reward relationship will be strong if the individual perceives that performance (rather than seniority, personal favorites, or other criteria) is rewarded.

D. If cognitive evaluation theory were fully valid in the actual workplace, we would predict that basing rewards on performance should decrease the individual’s intrinsic motivation.

E. The final link in expectancy theory is the rewards–goals relationship. Motivation is high if the rewards for high performance satisfy the dominant needs consistent with individual goals.

F. A closer look at Exhibit 7-8 also reveals that the model considers achievement motivation, job design, reinforcement, and equity theories/organizational justice.

1. A high achiever is not motivated by an organization’s assessment of performance or organizational rewards, hence the jump from effort to personal goals for those with high nAch. 2. Remember, high achievers are internally driven as long as their jobs provide them with personal responsibility, feedback, and moderate risks.

3. They are not as concerned with the effort–performance, performance–reward, or rewards–goal linkages.

G. Reinforcement theory enters the model by recognizing that the organization’s rewards reinforce the individual’s performance.

1. If employees see a reward system as “paying off” for good performance, the rewards will reinforce and encourage good performance.

2. Rewards also play a key part in organizational justice research. Individuals will judge the favorability of their outcomes (for example, their pay) relative to what others receive but also with respect to how they are treated: When people are disappointed by their rewards, they are likely to be sensitive to the perceived fairness of the procedures used and the consideration given to them by their supervisors.

IX. SUMMARY A. Motivation describes the processes underlying how employees and other individuals in the workplace direct their efforts toward a goal. Many early theories focused on needs of employees and the consequences of need satisfaction. More contemporary theories focus on topics such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, setting goals in organizations, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and our expectancies.

Various forms of organizational justice are important for motivating employees.

Motivation is key to understanding employees’ contributions to their work, including job engagement. Motivation underlies employees to exert effort to engage in performance activities, which in tun meet personal or organizational goals.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Make sure extrinsic rewards for employees are not viewed as PPT 7.27 coercive but instead provide information about competence and relatedness.

B. Either set or inspire your employees to set specific, difficult goals and provide quality, developmental feedback on their progress toward those goals.

C. Try to align or tie employee goals to the goals of your organization.

D. Model the types of behaviors you would like to see performed by your employees.

E. Expectancy theory offers a powerful explanation of performance PPT 7.28 variables such as employee productivity, absenteeism, and turnover.

F. When making decisions regarding resources in your organization, make sure to consider how the resources are being distributed (and who is affected), the fairness of the decision, and whether your actions demonstrate that you respect those involved.

G. Try to foster conditions that help improve job engagement and harness your employees’ traits to facilitate job engagement.

Discussion Questions

PPT 7.29

44. Describe the three key elements of motivation.

Answer: The three key elements of motivation are: (1) intensity: how much effort a person puts forth to meet a goal, (2) direction: efforts are channeled toward organizational goals, and (3) persistence: how long a person maintains effort toward a goal.

45. Describe one of the three early theories of motivation and evaluate its applicability today.

Answer: Answers will vary depending on which of the theories (Maslow, Hertzberg, or McClelland) is selected. Maslow and McClelland are generally not very valid explanations of motivation, although McClelland’s theory of the relationship between achievement and productivity comes the closest. Both Maslow’s and

McGregor's theories, although popular, are not particularly useful or supported by literature.

46. Describe the relationship between goal-setting theory and self-efficacy theory.

Answer: Goal-setting theory and self-efficacy theory complement each other. When managers set difficult goals for employees, this leads employees to have a higher level of self-efficacy and they set higher goals on their own. This is because when managers set difficult goals for people, it communicates their confidence in those people.

47. Explain why organizational justice can be considered a refinement of equity theory.

Answer: Equity is closely tied to a desire for fairness and fairness is normally associated with justice. Of the four views of justice, one relates closely to equity theory: organizational justice. In this view of justice, justice is the employee’s overall perception of what is fair in the workplace. Its view of justice is multidimensional and includes both distributive justice and procedural justice.

48. Describe the key relationships in expectancy theory.

Answer: There are three key relationships in expectancy theory: a. Effort-Performance Relationship. Defined as the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort leads to successful performance. If the employee believes that effort will not result in successful performance or that the performance will not be accurately reflected in the performance appraisal, little effort will be expended. b. Performance-Reward Relationship. The degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome. Unless the relationship between strong performance appraisals and rewards is clear, little effort will be expended to achieve those high appraisal marks. c. Rewards-Personal Goals Relationship. The degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an individual's personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the individual. Unless organizational rewards are tailored to individual employee wants and needs, they will not be very motivational and little effort will be expended.

49. How are motivational theories culturally bound?

Answer: The motivational theories described in the text were created out of the U.S. culture and significantly reflect its values. For instance, both goal setting and expectancy theories emphasize goal accomplishment and rational individual thought. Maslow's hierarchy may not appear in the same order in other cultures.

McClelland's need for achievement presupposes a cultural desire for a moderate degree of risk acceptance and a concern with performance. Adams' equity theory is very closely tied to American pay practices and may not be relevant in collectivistic or former socialistic cultures in which there is more of a sense of entitlement or the desire to be paid based on need rather than performance.

Exercises 32. Self-analysis. After reviewing all of the motivational theories of this chapter, select the one you believe to be the most accurate in describing human behavior. Justify your selection and describe how the motivational theory would explain the actions you have taken in your own life.

33. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, find webpages that relate to McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. Read five of the most interesting pages. What overall impressions do you get on the perceived validity of this theory on those pages? Did everyone explain the theory in the same way? What may have caused the differences if there were any?

34. Teamwork. In small groups, discuss the motivations that each of you had when you made the decision to attend this college and this class in particular. Were they the same motivations? What motivates you to expend more effort in this class? What motivates you to continue to attend college and expend the effort necessary to graduate?

As a group, decide which motivational theory best fits the results of your discussion.

Be ready to give a short description of the most common motivators found in your group. Justify your application of the chosen motivational theory.

What motivational suggestions would your team make to your professor or the college administrators to increase the likelihood of student performance, that is, successful graduation or increased study?

35. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Discuss with your manager the various motivational theories outlined in this chapter. Interview the manager to determine his or her beliefs regarding the validity of each of these theories. How might these beliefs affect organizational effectiveness? Be prepared to present your findings either orally in class or as a paper.

36. An Application of Motivation—Management by Objectives (MBO). Instructor notes: The goal here is to help students apply MBO. The emphasis should be on creating measurable realistic objectives. You may wish to use this as part of your grading for the course by holding the students accountable for their objectives at the end of the term.

Review the principles of MBO with the class. Carefully describe the nature of effective outcomes. The criteria for effective objectives are that they should be specific, challenging, and measurable. Generalized outcomes, with no means of measuring their accomplishment, should not be accepted.

As writing effective objectives is quite often a difficult task for both students and managers, it is strongly recommended that the first objective is written as a class activity. Typically, the students’ first version of an objective is “Get an A in the course.” Be gentle as you point out why this is not an effective objective.

Suggested Assignment a. Review the course objectives (outcomes) as given in the course materials. b. Create five personal objectives relating to the successful completion of this course’s objectives. Submit the objectives to your instructor, retaining a copy for yourself. c. In small groups, share your objectives and discuss. Present the five best objectives from the group to the class. d. At the end of the course, when the instructor directs, write a short paper describing how well you believe you have met your own objectives.

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group exercise) For a 75-minute classroom activity to learn about equity and expectancy theories using a basketball simulation, please see: Swain, J., Kumlien, K., and Bond, A. (2020). An experiential exercise for teaching theories of work motivation: using a game to teach equity and expectancy theories.

Organization Management Journal 17(3), 199-132. DOI 10.1108/OMJ-06-20190742 2. (Small group exercise) For an 80-minute classroom activity to learn about organizational justice using a 2-person role-play exercise, please see:

Caza, A., Caza, B., and Lind, E. (2011). The Missed Promotion: An Exercise Demonstrating the Importance of Organizational Justice. Journal of Management Education, 35, 537-563. DOI: 10.1177/1052562910381875.

Chapter 8

Motivation: From Concepts to Applications Chapter Overview This chapter builds on the last chapter and focuses on applying motivational concepts in the workplace.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 8.2 8-1. Describe how the job characteristics model (JCM) motivates by changing the work environment.

8-2. Compare the main ways jobs can be redesigned.

8-3. Explain how specific alternative work arrangements can motivate employees.

8-4. Describe how employee involvement measures can motivate employees.

8-5. Demonstrate how the different types of variable-pay programs can increase employee motivation.

8-6. Show how flexible benefits turn benefits into motivators.

8-7. Identify the motivational benefits of intrinsic rewards.

Suggested Lecture Outline INTRODUCTION Simply knowing about motivational theories is not enough to make managers effective.

Managers must be able to apply these theories in the workplace to increase worker motivation. This chapter will review the job characteristics model, discuss some ways jobs can be redesigned, and then explore some alternative work arrangements.

XXXIII. MOTIVATING BY JOB DESIGN: THE JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL 1. Job design suggests that the way elements in a job are PPT 8.3 organized can influence employee effort, and the model discussed next can serve as a framework to identify Exhibit 8-1 opportunities for changes to those elements.

2. Designed by Hackman and Oldham, the job characteristics model (JCM) proposes that any job can PPT 8.4 be described in terms of five core job dimensions: a. Skill Variety: described as the degree to which the job requires a variety of different activities, so the worker can use a number of different skills and talents. b. Task Identity: this is the degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. c. Task Significance: the degree to which the job affects the lives or work of other people.

XXXII.

d. Autonomy: the degree to which the job provides the worker freedom,

independence, and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out. e. Feedback: the degree to which carrying out the work activities generates direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance.

A. Elements of the JCM. 1. Exhibit 8-1 presents the job characteristics model.

PPT 8.5 2. The first three dimensions—skill variety, task identity, and task significance—combine to create meaningful work the incumbent will view as worthwhile.

3. Jobs with high autonomy give incumbents a feeling of responsibility for the outcomes of work; and feedback shows employees how effectively they are performing.

4. From a motivational standpoint, the JCM proposes that individuals obtain internal rewards when they learn (knowledge of results) that they personally (experienced responsibility) have performed well on a task they care about (experienced meaningfulness). a. The more these three psychological states are present, the greater will be employees’ motivation, performance, and satisfaction, and the lower their absenteeism and likelihood of leaving.

5. As Exhibit 8-1 shows, individuals with a high growth need are more likely to experience the critical psychological states when their jobs are enriched—and respond to them more positively.

B. Efficacy of the JCM. 1. Much evidence supports the relationship between the presence of a set of job characteristics and job satisfaction and organizational commitment through increased motivation. a. Studies suggest that the link between job characteristics and satisfaction are highest when employees tend to regularly experience positive moods. b. If individuals work together online but not in person, their experience of meaningfulness, responsibility, and knowledge of results can suffer.

C. Motivating Potential Score (MPS).

1. We can combine the core dimensions of the JCM into a single predictive index, called the motivating potential score (MPS) and calculated as follows: 2. MPS = Skill variety + Task identity + Task significance/ 3 * Autonomy * Feedback 3. To be high on motivating potential, jobs must be high on at least one of the three factors that lead to experienced meaningfulness and high on both autonomy and feedback.

III. JOB REDESIGN PPT 8.6 1. Redesigning jobs has important practical implications—reduced turnover and increased job satisfaction among them.

Let’s look at some ways to put the JCM into practice to make jobs more motivating.

A. Job Rotation and Job Enrichment.

1. Job Rotation. Helpful when employees suffer from over-routinization of their work. Job rotation is the periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements at the same organizational level (also called cross-training). a. The strengths of job rotation are:

1) Manufacturers use job rotation as needed to respond more flexibly to the volume of incoming orders, while also reducing boredom and increased motivation.

2) It may also increase safety and reduce repetitive-based work injuries. a) New managers are sometimes rotated through jobs to help them get a picture of the whole organization. b. The drawbacks of job rotation: 1) training costs increase when each rotation necessitates a round of training.

2) moving a worker into a new position reduces overall productivity for that role.

3) it creates disruptions when members of the work group have to adjust to new employees.

4) supervisors may have to spend more time answering questions and monitoring the work of recently rotated employees.

2. Job Enrichment. In job enrichment, high-level responsibilities are added to the job to increase a sense of purpose, direction, meaning, and intrinsic motivation. a. It involves adding another layer of responsibility and meaning. b. Job enrichment can be effective at reducing turnover, almost twice as effective as giving employees a “realistic preview” of the work before they join the organization. c. Job enrichment practices were related to organizations’ financial performance, labor productivity, absenteeism, and output quality through improvements in job satisfaction. d. Managers who are high on openness and are in autonomous jobs themselves tend to be more likely to design jobs that are enriching.

B. Relational Job Design. a. While redesigning jobs on the basis of jobs characteristics PPT 8.7 theory is likely to make work more intrinsically motivating, contemporary research is focusing on how to make jobs more prosocially motivating to people.

1) In other words, how can managers design work so employees are motivated to promote the well-being of the organization’s beneficiaries (customers, clients, patients, and employees)?

2) This view, relational job design, shifts the spotlight from the employee to those whose lives are affected by the job that employee performs. b. One way to make jobs mores prosocially motivating is to better connect employees with the beneficiaries of their work by relating stories from customers who have found the company’s products or services to be helpful.

1) In some cases, managers may be able to connect employees directly with beneficiaries.

IV. ALTERNATIVE WORK ARRANGEMENTS 1) Another means of increasing motivation in the PPT 8.8 workplace is to consider alternative work arrangements. There are three major ways to accomplish this.

A. Flextime.

1. Flextime refers to the use of "flexible work time." a. Flextime allows employees some discretion over when they arrive at work and when they can leave. b. Employees have to work a specific number of hours per week, but they are free to vary the hours of work within certain limits.

1) A majority of U.S. organizations use some form of flextime. a) Thirty-three percent report an increase in participation. b) Twenty-three percent report a gain in productivity. c) Fifty-three percent of employees report flextime as very important to their job satisfaction. d) Fifty-five percent of employees were unlikely to leave within a year. e) Thirty-four percent of employees said they would stay with their employer because of flextime. c. Core Period.

1) Typically, all workers must be in the office during a core period.

2) This core period may be as long as six hours, with the remaining two work hours scheduled at the employee's convenience. d. Benefits. They include: 1) Reduced absenteeism.

2) Increased productivity.

3) Increased schedule satisfaction.

B. Job Sharing. a. This scheduling innovation allows two or more individuals to split a single traditional full-time job among them. b. Only 18 percent of U.S. organizations offered job sharing in 2014, a 29 percent decrease since 2008. c. Reasons it is not more widely adopted include the difficulty of finding compatible pairs of employees to job share and the historically negative perceptions of individuals not completely committed to their jobs and employers. d. However, decreasing job sharing for these reasons may be short sighted.

1) Job sharing allows an organization to draw on the talents of more than one individual for a given job. It opens the opportunity to acquire skilled workers — for instance, parents with young children and retirees — who might not be available on a full-time basis.

2) From the employee’s perspective, job sharing can increase satisfaction and motivation. e. An employer’s decision to use job sharing is sometimes based on economics and national policy.

1) Two part-time employees can be less expensive in terms of salary and benefits than a full-time employee, but training, coordination, and administrative costs can still be high. f. Ideally, employers should consider each employee and job separately, seeking to match up the skills, personalities, and needs of each employee with the tasks required for the job to look for potential job sharing matches.

C. Telecommuting (or Working from the Virtual Office).

1. Telecommuting refers to employees who do their work remotely for at least two days a week using a computer linked to their office. A closely related term — the virtual office — describes working from home on a relatively permanent basis. a. With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, working from home might be the “new normal.” b. Telecommuting has several benefits: 1) It increases job satisfaction and performance (especially for complex, independent jobs with low social interaction requirements).

2) Reduces work-family conflict.

3) Carbon emissions decrease as more people telecommute.

c. From an employee’s standpoint, telecommuting: 1) Increases feelings of isolation, reduces job satisfaction and coworker relationship quality.

2) On the other hand, it allows one to “get away from it all” if the working situation is emotionally exhausting.

3) Work-family conflict can increase if always “on call.”

4) Employees miss out on impromptu meetings at work, and may be at a disadvantage when it comes to raises and promotions. d. For telecommuting to succeed, an employee should exhibit self-leadership, including proactive, goal-setting, and personal performance management.

1) Also, using smart collaboration tools, communicating frequently, clear and transparent policies, and building trust among virtual team members can help improve effectiveness of virtual work teams.

V. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT 1. Employee involvement and participation is a PPT 8.9 participative process that uses the input of employees to increase their commitment to the organization's success.

2. The logic behind employee involvement is that by involving workers in decisions that affect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, committed to their organization, and more satisfied with their jobs (and less likely to leave their jobs).

A. Cultural Employee Involvement Programs (EIPs) 1. Employee involvement programs (EIPs) differ among countries. Research shows that it is important to modify practices to reflect culture. a. Employees in many traditional cultures that value formal hierarchies do not especially value EIPs , but this is changing.

B. Examples of Employee Involvement Programs 1. Participative Management. Participative management is a process in which subordinates share a significant degree PPT 8.10 of decision-making power with their immediate superiors. a. This sharing can occur either formally through, say, briefings or surveys, or informally through daily consultations, as a way to enhance motivation through trust and commitment. b. In order for this type of decision making to be effective, followers must have trust and confidence in their leaders.

1) Leaders should refrain from coercive techniques and instead stress the organizational consequences of decisions to their followers, and review progress periodically.

2) Research findings on the use of this technique have been mixed.

2. Representative Participation. a. Representative participation is a system in which PPT 8.11 workers participate in organizational decision making through a small group of representative employees. b. Most countries in western Europe require this. c. Representatives of employees are legally mandated to be placed on an organization's board (or on works councils who must be consulted regarding management’s personnel decisions) to represent the interests of the workers.

d. Purpose is the desire to redistribute power within an organization by giving the interests of labor more of an equal footing with those of management and stockholders. e. Most common types are works councils and board representatives.

1) Works councils are groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decisions about employees.

2) Board representatives sit on the company’s board of directors and represent employees’ interests. f. Research.

1) Influence of representative participation on working employees is mixed, but employees need to feel their interests were well represented and make a difference to the organization for it to succeed.

VI. USING EXTRINSIC REWARDS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES PPT 8.12 1. Pay is not the only factor driving job satisfaction. However, it does motivate people, and companies often underestimate its importance.

A. What to Pay: Establishing a Pay Structure. a. The process of initially setting pay levels entails balancing PPT 8.13 internal equity—the worth of the job to the organization (usually established through a technical process called job evaluation), and external equity—the competitiveness of an organization’s pay relative to pay in its industry (usually established through pay surveys). b. Pay more, and you may get better-qualified, more highly motivated employees who will stay with the organization longer, and perhaps perform better and innovate.

1) A study covering 126 large organizations found employees who believed they were receiving a competitive pay level had higher morale and were more productive, and customers were more satisfied as well. c. But pay is often the highest single operating cost for an organization, which means paying too much can make the organization’s products or services too expensive. d. It’s a strategic decision an organization must make, with clear trade-offs.

B. How to Pay: Rewarding Individual Employees Through Variable-Pay PPT 8.14 Programs. a. Piece rate, merit based, bonus, profit sharing, and employee stock ownership plans are all forms of a variable-pay program (also known as pay-for-performance), which bases a portion of an employee’s pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance. b. Variable-pay plans have long been used to compensate salespeople and executives, but the scope of variable-pay jobs has broadened as the motivational potential has been realized. c. Globally, around 84 percent of companies offer some form of variable-pay plan. d. Unfortunately, not all employees see a strong connection between pay and performance. The results of pay-for-performance plans vary.

1) Research on teachers in the U.S. shows that variable pay programs (1) are not having a positive impact on teacher motivation or teaching practices, and (2) have actually led to higher levels of stress and CWBs. e. Secrecy also pays a role in the motivational success of variable-pay plans.

Although in some government and not-for-profit agencies pay amounts are either specifically or generally made public, most U.S. organizations encourage or require pay secrecy.

Is this good or bad? Unfortunately, it’s bad: pay secrecy has a detrimental effect on job performance.

1) Even worse, it adversely affects high performers more than other employees. It very likely increases employees’ perception that pay is subjective, which can be demotivating. g. For group pay for performance plans to work well, they should be used in stable economic environments in organizations with fair policies. Also, if employee effort is rewarded as well as performance.

1. Piece-Rate Pay. a. In piece-rate pay plans workers are paid a fixed sum for each PPT 8.15 unit of production completed. b. These plans may or may not have a base salary attached to them. c. Piece-rate plans are known to produce higher productivity and wages, so they can be attractive to organizations and motivating for workers. d. Organizations should verify that piece-rate plans are indeed motivating to individuals.

2. Merit-Based Pay. 1) These individual plans modify pay based on performance appraisal ratings. a) The advantage of merit-based pay plans is that employers can differentiate pay based on performance, so that high performers are given bigger raises. b) However, it should be noted that these plans are only as valid as the appraisals they are based on.

(1) This brings up the possibility of discrimination. c) Additionally, the pay raise pool from which the merit pay monies are taken may be too low to provide a sufficient level of incentive pay.

3. Bonus. a. Bonuses are pay plans that reward employees for recent performance rather than historical performance.

1) For organizations, when times are bad, they can reduce bonuses whereas they don’t often reduce base pay.

2) They can be motivating but not if employees come to view their bonuses as base pay.

4. Profit-Sharing Plans. a. Profit-sharing plans are organization-wide programs to distribute compensation based on some established formula PPT 8.16 designed around a company's profitability. Rewards can be given in the form of cash, or for top management, allocations of stock options.

1) Organizations with profit-sharing plans generally have higher levels of profitability than those without them.

5. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). a. Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are company-established benefit plans in which employees can acquire stock, often at below-market prices, as part of their benefits.

1) Research has shown that these plans do increase firm performance as well as employee innovation and organizational identification.

VII. USING BENEFITS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES PPT 8.17 A. As with pay, benefits are both an employee provision and an employee motivator.

1. A flexible benefits program turns the benefits package into a motivational tool. f.

2. Flexible benefits individualize rewards by allowing each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies his or her current needs and situation.

3. But are flexible benefits more motivating than traditional plans? It’s difficult to tell. Some organizations that have moved to flexible plans report increased employee retention, job satisfaction, and productivity.

4. They may be costlier to manage, and the benefits of these plans may decrease motivation over time.

VIII. USING INRINSIC REWARDS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES 1. We have discussed motivating employees through job design and by the extrinsic rewards of pay and benefits. We also need to consider PPT 8.18 intrinsic rewards organizations can provide such as employee recognition programs.

A. An employee recognition program is a plan to encourage specific behaviors by formally appreciating specific employee contributions.

1. Employee recognition programs range from a spontaneous and private thankyou to widely publicized formal programs in which specific types of behavior are encouraged and the procedures for attaining recognition are clearly identified.

2. Some research suggests financial incentives may be more motivating in the short term, but in the long run it’s nonfinancial incentives.

3. An obvious advantage of recognition programs is that they are inexpensive because praise is free! a. It shouldn’t be surprising then that they’ve grown in popularity.

4. Despite the increased popularity of employee recognition programs, critics argue they are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management.

5. When applied to jobs for which performance factors are relatively objective, such as sales, recognition programs are likely to be perceived by employees as fair. a. However, in most jobs, the criteria for good performance aren’t self-evident, which allows managers to manipulate the system and recognize their favorites.

1) Abuse can undermine the value of recognition programs and demoralize employees.

IX. SUMMARY A. Understanding what motivates individuals is ultimately key to organizational performance.

1. Employees whose differences are recognized, who feel valued, and who have the opportunity to work in jobs tailored to their strengths and interests will be motivated to perform at the highest levels.

2. Employee participation can also increase employee productivity, commitment to work goals, motivation, and job satisfaction.

3. However, we cannot overlook the powerful role of organizational rewards in influencing motivation. a. Pay, benefits, and intrinsic rewards must be carefully and thoughtfully designed in order to enhance employee motivation toward positive organizational outcomes.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 8.19 A. Recognize Individual Differences.

1. Spend the time necessary to understand what’s important to each employee.

2. Design jobs to align with individual needs and maximize their motivational potential.

B. Use Goals and Feedback.

1. Employees should have firm, specific goals, and they should get feedback on how well they are faring in pursuit of those goals.

C. Allow Employees to Participate in Decisions That Affect Them.

1. Employees can contribute to setting work goals, choosing their own benefits packages, and solving productivity and quality problems.

D. Link Rewards to Performance.

1. Rewards should be contingent on performance, and employees must perceive the link between the two.

E. Check the System for Equity.

1. Employees should perceive that experience, skills, abilities, effort, and other obvious inputs explain differences in performance pay, job assignments, and other rewards.

PPT 8.20

Discussion Questions

PPT 8.21

50. In what ways can employees be motivated through changing the work environment?

Answer: Employees can be motivated by changing the nature of the work environment in any of the following ways: (1) modifying the five dimensions of the job characteristics model (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback); (2) redesigning jobs through job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment; and/or (3) creating alternative work arrangements such as flextime, job sharing, or telecommuting.

51. Compare and contrast the means in which jobs can be redesigned.

Answer: Jobs can be redesigned through job rotation and relational job design. Job rotation keeps the individual jobs constant and rotates workers through each job.

Relational job design involves constructing the job so that employees see the positive difference they can make in the lives of others. This is especially relevant for companies with corporate social responsibility initiatives.

52. Why would managers want to use employee involvement programs?

Answer: By involving workers in the decisions that affect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs.

53. Define employee involvement and participation and identify the two major forms of employee involvement.

Answer: Employee involvement and participation is a process that uses employees’ input to increase their commitment to organizational success. Two major forms of employee involvement are participative management where subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors, and representative participation which redistributes power in an organization by including a small group of employees as participants in decision making.

54. Choose a variable-pay program and describe its motivational impact.

Answer: Answers will vary based on the choice. In general, these key points should be made. Piece-rate pay motivates productivity by linking output directly to pay.

Merit-based pay motivates toward organizational outcomes by linking appraisals to pay. Bonuses motivate by incentivizing recent performance. Skill-based pay motivates employees toward learning by rewarding them for it. Profit-sharing plans attempt to motivate employees toward organizational goals, specifically profits.

Gainsharing plans motivate employees toward productivity gains. Employee Stock Option Plans motivate toward organizational outcomes through ownership.

55. Can motivational theories be applied across cultures?

Answer: Most likely, motivational theories cannot be directly applied without some modification based on culture. However, there is insufficient research in most cases, to make definitive statements. Students may give intuitive statements, such as that individual rewards work best in individualistic cultures, but they should be cautioned against accepting intuition as fact.

Exercises 37. Self-analysis. Think back to the job or activity that you found to be the most motivational in your life. Describe the aspects of the job that made it so exciting for you. What type, or types, of motivational techniques were used in that job or activity? If you are the manager in your current job, how could you apply those techniques in that environment?

38. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, find an additional motivational technique, not mentioned in the chapter. Fully describe and cite this technique.

Using the motivational theories from Chapter 7, explain why you believe it would work and under what conditions you think it would prove most effective.

39. Teamwork. As a small group, assume you are a consultancy firm that specializes in motivational techniques and job redesign. The college administration has come to you and asked that you examine the college bookstore (or some other entity on the campus) and can provide them with suggestions for increasing the motivation of the employees there. Assess the current work environment and write your suggestions using the motivational theories and techniques given in Chapters 6 and 7.

40. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Assess the motivational techniques (both extrinsic and intrinsic) used at your workplace. Describe the techniques you were able to identify and assess their effectiveness in your work environment. If any of the techniques were ineffective, provide some suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of those techniques.

Suggested Assignment For this activity, select two teams of four people each, one moderator (master of ceremonies [MC]), one scorekeeper, and one timekeeper. The rest of the class will act as a studio audience (but they also have tasks to perform).

Setup: (ensure the class is very familiar with the concepts in both Chapters 7 and 8 before attempting this activity). a. One of the two groups of four will act as Abraham Maslow. The other group will act as Fredrick Herzberg. Allow the teams 5 to 10 minutes to review their materials on these two motivational theorists. b. The moderator will act as the MC for the debate and read questions to the two panels. (The instructor may decide to act as MC.) c. While the groups are preparing, the audience should write down questions regarding their concerns over the motivational effectiveness of job rotation, job enrichment, and job enlargement on 3 x 5 cards. d. The debate works this way: i. A question from the audience is selected and read aloud to both teams by the MC. ii. The MC selects one panel and gives them two minutes to respond to the question based on the views of the theorist they represent.

Timekeeper will give a five-second warning and stop the panel when two minutes are up. iii. The MC will then give the second panel their two minutes to express their theorist's viewpoint. Again, the timekeeper will give warning and stop the panel when time is up. iv. The MC will give the first group a one-minute rebuttal of the second panel's argument. Then the second group has one minute to rebut the first. Timekeeper will ensure deadlines are met. v. After the second rebuttal, the audience should be asked to vote as to which motivational theorist won the current point. vi. The debate cycle then begins anew with another card from the audience. This continues as time allows or until there are no more questions from the audience. vii. The panel with the most points at the end of the activity wins.

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group exercise) The following article describes a 75-minute small group exercise to explore the Job Characteristics Model using a toy construction set.

Smrt, D. L, and Nelson, R. E. (2013). Playing With a Concept: Teaching Job Characteristics Model With a Tinkertoy® Builder Set. Journal of Management Education, 37(4), 539-561. DOI:10.1177/1052562912458093 2. (Classroom case) The following article describes a 30-minute classroom case to explore intrinsic motivation.

Blair, C. A., and Shaver, K. G. (2019). Meaningful and complex work: An exercise to help students understand intrinsic motivation. Management Teaching Review, 4(1), 3948. DOI:10.1177/2379298117748568

Chapter 9 Foundations of Group Behavior Chapter Overview The text thus far has been dealing with individual behavior. Another important component of organizational behavior (OB) is group behavior. This chapter and the next will focus on how groups work and how to create effective teams.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 9.2 9-1. Distinguish between the different types of groups.

9-2. Describe the punctuated equilibrium model of group development.

9-3. Show how role requirements change in different situations.

9-4. Demonstrate how norms exert influence on an individual’s behavior.

9-5. Show how status and size differences affect group performance.

9-6. Describe how issues of cohesiveness and diversity can be integrated for group effectiveness.

9-7. Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.

Suggested Lecture Outline

XXXIV. INTRODUCTION A. While understanding individual behavior is important, most work takes place in group settings.

B. It is important for an effective manager to understand how people work in groups

and how to create effective teams.

XXXV. DEFINING AND CLASSIFYING GROUPS 1. A group is two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular PPT 9.3 objectives. a. Formal Groups: groups that are defined by the organization's structure with designated work assignments that establish tasks.

1) In these groups, acceptable behaviors are stipulated by, and directed toward, organizational goals. b. Informal Groups: alliances that are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.

1) Informal groups are natural formations in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact.

2) These types of interactions among individuals, though informal, deeply affect their behavior and performance.

A. Social Identity.

1. Our tendency to personally invest in the accomplishments of a PPT 9.4 group is the territory of social identity theory.

2. Social identity theory proposes that people have emotional reactions to the

failure or success of their group because their self-esteem gets tied to whatever happens to the group.

3. Within our organizations and work groups, we can develop many identities through: a. Relational identification, when we connect with others because of our roles, and b. Collective identification, when we connect with the aggregate characteristics of our groups.

4. If we have low identification with our organizations, we may experience decreased satisfaction and engage in fewer organizational citizenship behaviors.

B. Ingroups and Outgroups.

1. An ingroup consists of the members of the group we belong to.

PPT 9.5 We tend to “play favorites” or see our ingroup as better than other people. a. Favoritism can influence discrimination and prejudice in the workplace.

2. Whenever there is an ingroup, there is by necessity an outgroup, which is sometimes everyone else, but is usually an identified group known by the ingroup’s members. a. Research suggests that people may be more likely to be disgusted with outgroup members, derogate them, and treat them as if they have little worth.

1) One of the most powerful sources of ingroup-outgroup feelings regards the practice of religion, even in the workplace.

3. Automation and robot workforce may lead to a less prejudiced workforce. By classifying employees into human and non-human, a new panhumanist social identity (i.e., seeing humanity as a common social identity, where humans are part of the ingroup) may emerge that can reduce human-to-human prejudice, discrimination, and inequality.

III. STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT 1. As shown in Exhibit 9-1, temporary groups with finite deadlines pass through a unique sequencing of actions (or inaction), called the punctuated equilibrium model: a. The first meeting sets the group’s direction. b. The first phase of group activity is one of inertia and thus makes Exhibit 9-1 slower progress. c. A transition takes place exactly when the group has used up half its allotted time. d. This transition initiates major changes.

PPT 9.6 e. A second phase of inertia follows the transition. f. The group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.

2. This pattern is called the punctuated-equilibrium model, or a set of phases that temporary groups go through that involve transitions between inertia and activity. a. Their first meeting sets the groups direction; this first phase of group activity is one of inertia. b. A transition takes place exactly when the group has used up half its allotted time. This transition initiates major changes. c. A second phase of inertia follows the transition, and the group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity. d. The first meeting sets the group’s direction, and then a framework of behavioral patterns and assumptions through which the group will

approach its project emerges, sometimes in the first few seconds of the group’s existence.

1) Once set, the group’s direction is solidified and is unlikely to be reexamined throughout the first half of its life. This is a period of inertia — the group tends to stand still or become locked into a fixed course of action even if its gains new insights that challenge initial patterns and assumptions. e. The group’s last meeting is characterized by a final burst of activity to finish its work.

3. An alternative model is that teams progress through a formation stage, a conflict resolution or “storming” stage, a “norming” stage where members agree on roles and make decisions, and a “performing” stage where members begin to work collaboratively.

IV. GROUP PROPERTY 1: ROLES PPT 9.7 1. A role is a function assumed by someone occupying a given position in a group.

2. We all take on several diverse roles, both on and off our jobs (e.g., wife, mother, poker champion, editor, professor). Different groups impose different role requirements on individuals. a. Many of these roles are compatible; some create conflicts.

A. Role Perception.

1. The view of how a person is supposed to act in a given situation is role perception. a. We get role perceptions from stimuli all around us (e.g., our family, office, YouTube).

B. Role Expectations.

1. How others believe a person should act in a given situation is role expectations. a. In the workplace, we look at role expectations through the perspective of the psychological contract: an unwritten agreement that exists between employees and employers that establishes mutual expectations.

C. Role Conflict.

1. Role conflict is when an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.

2. Interrole conflict is a situation in which the expectations of an individual’s different, separate groups are in opposition.

3. Role conflict is a significant source of stress for most employees.

V. GROUP PROPERTY 2: NORMS 1. Norms are the acceptable standards of behavior that are shared PPT 9.8 by the group's members.

2. Different groups, communities, and societies have different norms, but they all have them.

3. For norms to be adopted, they need to be accepted by all group members.

A. Norms and Emotions.

1. The emotions of group members, especially those who work together daily, can amplify the power of norms.

2. Norms can even dictate which emotions individuals and their groups experience—in other words, people may grow to interpret their shared experiences the same way.

B. Norms and Conformity.

1. As a member of a group, you desire acceptance and stability.

Thus, you may conform to group norms when you perceive that PPT 9.9 others are doing so or if you experience conflict or frustration.

In order to be accepted, an individual will often change his or her behavior or opinion to conform to the group.

2. Conformity is the adjustment of one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group. a. In the set of classic studies by Solomon Asch, effects of conformity were demonstrated (Exhibit 9-2).

1) When the subjects of the experiment were shown lines of unequal length in the presence of a group who claimed that the lines were of equal length, 75 percent of the subjects gave at least one answer that conformed, even though they knew it was wrong. b. Do individuals conform to the pressures of all groups to which they belong?

Obviously not, because people belong to many groups and their norms vary and sometimes are contradictory.

1) These important groups are called reference groups, in which a person is aware of other members, defines himself as a member or would like to be a member, and feels group members are significant to him.

C. Norms and Behavior.

1. Norms in the workplace significantly influence employee behavior. This may seem intuitive, but full appreciation of the PPT 9.10 influence of norms on worker behavior did not occur until the Hawthorne Studies conducted between 1924 and 1932 with production workers at the Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago. a. The initial study determined that increases in productivity were caused by the fact that the groups were receiving more attention because they were observed, not by changes in the environmental conditions (lighting). b. In a follow-on study, dealing with pay-for-performance, researchers discovered that workers do not maximize individual economic rewards, but as a group, establish and maintain the norm of a “proper day’s work” level of output.

1) This also included strongly enforced norms of not creating too much or too little output or squealing to supervisors—enforced by sarcasm or punches.

D. Positive Norms and Group Outcomes.

1. Positive group norms may well beget positive outcomes, but only if other factors are present too.

2. One goal of every organization with corporate social responsibility initiatives is for its values to hold normative sway over employees. a. The more satisfied employees are, the more likely to adopt the CSR norms.

PPT 9.11 E. Negative Norms and Group Outcomes.

1. Deviant Workplace Behavior (also called counterproductive Exhibit 9-3 behavior or employee withdrawal). Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms, and in doing so, threatens the wellbeing of the organization or its members. a. Exhibit 9-3 provides a typology of deviant workplace behaviors. b. Few organizations will admit to creating or condoning PPT 9.12 conditions that encourage and maintain deviant norms. Yet they exist.

1) When a workgroup takes negative attributes, CWBs may be observed more frequently.

2) Employees who are mistreated by supervisors, their coworkers, and even customers often engage in unethical behaviors as a result.

3) As organizations try to do more with less and are pushing employees to work extra hours, they may indirectly be facilitating deviant behavior.

F. Norms and Culture.

1. Do people in collectivist cultures have different norms than people in individualist cultures? Of course they do. But did you know that our orientation may be changed, even after years of living in one society?

2. Cultural norms may affect many behaviors in the workplace, such as which negotiation strategy to select. a. Cultural norms may also influence how people respond to those who violate the norm.

VI. GROUP PROPERTY 3: STATUS, AND GROUP PROPERTY 4: SIZE AND DYNAMICS A. Group Property 3: Status.

PPT 9.13 a. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

1) Even the smallest group will develop roles, rights, and rituals to differentiate its members.

2) Status is a significant motivator and has major behavioral consequences when individuals perceive a disparity between what they believe their status to be and what others perceive it to be.

1. What Determines Status? a. According to the status characteristics theory, status develops into a hierarchy, and tends to be derived from one of three sources: 1) The Power a Person Wields over Others: The more power (control of resources) that an individual has, the higher his or her status.

2) A Person’s Ability to Contribute to Group Goals: People whose contributions are critical to the group success also tend to have high status.

3) An Individual's Personal Traits: When a group positively values certain personal characteristics, people who carry those traits receive high status.

2. Status and Norms. a. High status individuals may be more likely to deviate from norms PPT 9.14 when they have low identification (social identity) with the group.

1) They also eschew pressure from lower-ranking members of other groups. b. High status members are also better able to resist conformity pressures, as they are less likely to be motivated by the need for social rewards.

3. Status and Group Interaction. a. People tend to become more assertive when they seek to attain higher status in a group. b. High status people tend to be more assertive, while lower status members are more likely to be less active participants in discussions.

4. Status Inequity. a. Perceived inequity creates disequilibrium, which inspires PPT 9.15 various types of corrective behaviors. b. Hierarchical groups can lead to resentment among those at the lower end of the status continuum. c. Large differences in status within groups are also associated with poorer individual performance, lower health, and higher intentions for the lowerstatus members to leave the group.

5. Status and Stigmatization.

a. Studies have shown that people who are stigmatized can “infect” others with their stigma. b. The “stigma by association” effect can result in negative opinions and evaluations of the person affiliated with the stigmatized individual, even if the association is brief and purely coincidental.

6. Group Status. a. Early in life we acquire an “us” and “them” mentality. b. Sometimes ingroups represent the dominant forces in a society and are given high status, which can create discrimination against the outgroups.

B. Group Property 4: Size and Dynamics.

1. Group size does affect the group's overall behavior, but it is PPT 9.16 contingent upon which dependent variables are being examined. a. Groups with a dozen or more members are good for gaining diverse input. b. Smaller groups with about seven members are better at doing something productive.

2. Social loafing: the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. a) A group’s effort is not equal to the sum of the efforts of individuals within that group. b) Group performance does increase with group size, but the addition of new members of the group has diminishing returns on productivity. a. Social loafing appears to have a Western bias. It is consistent with individualistic cultures, and not prevalent in collective societies in which individuals are motivated by ingroup goals. b. The stronger an individual’s work ethic, the less likely the person is to engage in social loafing. c. The greater the levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness in a group, the more likely that performance will remain high whether there is social loafing or not. d. While there is no magic bullet, these five suggestions will help PPT 9.17 minimize the effect of social loafing: 1) Set group goals so that the group has a common purpose to strive toward.

2) Increase intergroup competition (increases focus on shared outcomes).

3) Engage in peer evaluations.

4) Select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in groups.

5) Base group rewards by partially basing them on each member’s unique contributions, and structure work so that each member’s contribution can be identified.

VII. GROUP PROPERTY 5: COHESIVENESS, AND GROUP PROPERTY 6: DIVERSITY A. Group Property 5: Cohesiveness.

1. Cohesiveness is the shared bond driving group members to work together and to stay in the group.

PPT 9.18 2. Time spent together, small size or purpose facilitates high interaction, or external threats bring members closer together.

3. Cohesiveness is important because it has been found to be related to the group's productivity, and vice versa.

4. Cohesiveness affects group productivity (Exhibit 9-4). a. Performance-related norms established by the group are the key moderating variable between cohesiveness and productivity.

b. If performance-related norms are high and the group is cohesive, they will be more productive than a less cohesive group. c. However, a cohesive group with low performance norms will experience low productivity.

5. Encouraging group cohesiveness. a. The following methods may increase group cohesiveness: 1) Decrease the size of the group.

PPT 9.19 2) Encourage group members to agree with the group's goals.

3) Increase the time members spend together.

4) Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of obtaining membership in that group.

5) Stimulate competition with other groups.

6) Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members.

7) Physically isolate the group.

B. Group Property 6: Diversity. a. a. Diversity is the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another.

PPT 9.20 b. Perceived self-to-team dissimilarity and splits lead to negative effects, and perceived group heterogeneity lead to both positive and negative effects. In other words, maybe the effect of diversity is more contingent on how it is framed or perceived, such as when executives adopt a “value-in-diversity” perspective.

1. Types of Group Diversity. You may have correctly surmised that the type of group diversity matters. a. Surface-level diversity — in observable characteristics such as national origin, race, and gender — appears to increase group conflict, especially in the early stages of a group’s tenure, which often lowers group morale and raises dropout rates. b. The effects of deep-level diversity tend to experience more conflict in groups, but leaders who can get the group to focus on the task at hand and encourage group learning are able to reduce these conflicts and enhance discussion of group issues. c. Functional diversity, or difference in skills, abilities, or other characteristics needed for the job, may improve team performance and innovation but these effects are contingent on several factors.

1) Functional diversity can influence team creativity by facilitating knowledge sharing.

2) Great leaders bring disparate skills together to do great work.

2. Challenges of Group Diversity. Differences can lead to conflict, but they can also provide an opportunity to solve problems in unique ways. It is difficult to be in a diverse group in the short term. However, if members can weather their differences, over time diversity may help them be more open-minded, creative, and to do better.

3. One possible side effect of diverse teams — especially those that are PPT 9.21 diverse in terms of surface-level characteristics — is faultlines, or perceived divisions that split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as sex, race, age, work experience, language, and education. a. Research on faultlines has shown that splits are generally detrimental to group functioning and performance.

1) Subgroups may wind up competing with each other, which takes time away from core tasks and harms group performance.

2) Groups that have subgroups learn more slowly, make more risky decisions, are less creative, and experience higher levels of conflict.

3) Subgroups are less likely to trust each other.

4) Finally, although the overall group’s satisfaction is lower when faultlines are present, satisfaction with subgroups is generally high. b. How can faultlines be addressed or harnessed for good within organizations?

1) When roles are crosscut, the group is given a common goal to strive for, and similar pairs are recruited within a diverse group.

2) Forced collaboration between members of subgroups and a focus on accomplishing a goal may boost performance in certain organizations.

3) Pro-diversity beliefs and open mindedness norms also help.

VIII. GROUP DECISION MAKING A. Groups versus the Individual.

PPT 9.22 a. Whether or not a group’s decisions are better than an individual’s decisions depends on a number of factors. b. To understand the group decision making, we must examine its strengths and weaknesses.

1. Strengths of Group Decision Making. The use of groups in decision making provides the following benefits: a. Generates more complete information and knowledge. b. Offers increased diversity of views. c. Increases the acceptance of the solution.

2. Weaknesses of Group Decision Making. Typically, it takes more time to reach a solution. a. Greater conformity pressures exist. b. Discussion can be dominated by one or a few members. c. Ambiguous responsibility decreases accountability.

3. Effectiveness and Efficiency. a. Effectiveness.

1) Whether or not group decisions are more effective than are PPT 9.23 those of an individual depends on the criteria used for defining effectiveness.

2) Accuracy: group decisions are generally more accurate than that of the average individual in the group, but less accurate than the judgments of the most accurate group member.

3) Speed: individual decision making is much faster than group decision making.

4) Creativity: groups tend to be more creative than are individuals.

5) Degree of acceptance: group decisions tend to be more readily accepted than are those of an individual. b. Efficiency.

1) Groups are far less efficient than are individual decision makers.

2) In deciding whether to use a group, consideration should be given to assessing whether increases in effectiveness more than offset the reductions in efficiency.

B. Groupthink.

1. Groupthink: relates to norms and describes situations in which PPT 9.24 group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. a. Groupthink appears closely aligned with the conclusions Asch drew in his experiments with a lone dissenter.

b. What can managers do to minimize groupthink?

PPT 9.25 1) First, they can monitor group size. a) People grow more intimidated and hesitant as group size increases, and, although there is no magic number that will eliminate groupthink, individuals are likely to feel less personal responsibility when groups get larger than about ten members.

2) Managers should also encourage group leaders to play an impartial role.

3) In addition, managers should appoint one group member to play the role of devil’s advocate; this member’s role is to overtly challenge the majority position and offer divergent perspectives.

4) Still another suggestion is to use exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives without threatening the group and intensifying identity protection. a) One such exercise is to have group members delay discussion of possible gains so they can first talk about the dangers or risks inherent in a decision.

2. Groupshift or Group Polarization. a. Groupshift: describes the way group members tend to exaggerate PPT 9.26 their initial positions when discussing alternatives and arriving at a solution. b. The group discussion tends to exaggerate the initial position of the group. c. We can view group polarization as a special case of groupthink.

1) The group’s decision reflects the dominant decision-making norm that develops during discussion.

2) Whether the shift in the group’s decision is toward greater caution or more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm. d. The shift toward risk has generated several explanations.

1) It’s been argued, for instance, that discussion makes the members more comfortable with each other and, thus, more bold and daring.

2) Another argument is that the group diffuses responsibility. a) Group decisions free any single member from accountability for the group’s final choice, so greater risks can be taken. b) It’s also likely that people take on extreme positions because they want to demonstrate how different they are from the outgroup.

C. Group Decision-Making Techniques.

PPT 9.27 a. One of the most common forms that groups take when making decisions is that of interacting groups. b. Interacting Groups: groups in which the members interact with each other, relying on both verbal and nonverbal communication.

1. Brainstorming. Brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity that dampen creativity by encouraging any and all alternatives while withholding criticism.

1) This somewhat ineffective technique does not lead to a solution, and may in fact lead to fewer creative alternatives than an individual could come up with, due to production blocking (distractions to thought caused by the technique itself).

2. Nominal Group Technique. Nominal group technique restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-making process.

1) Group members are all physically present, but operate independently.

2) A problem is presented and the following steps take place.

a) Each member independently writes down ideas on the problem without discussing it in the group. b) Sequentially, each member will present one idea to the group until all ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion is allowed until all ideas have been recorded. c) Group discusses ideas for clarity and evaluates them. d) Each group member silently and independently rank orders the ideas.

(1) The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

3) The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it does not restrict independent thinking; groups that use this technique tend to outperform brainstorming groups.

4) Each of the group-decision techniques has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The choice depends on what criteria you want to emphasize and the cost-benefit tradeoff.

5) As Exhibit 9-5 indicates, an interactive group is good for achieving commitment to a solution, brainstorming develops group Exhibit 9-5 cohesiveness, and the nominal group technique is an inexpensive means for generating a large number of ideas.

IX. SUMMARY A. Norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong.

B. Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity and willingness to remain with an organization.

C. The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type of task.

D. Cohesiveness may influence a group’s level of productivity, depending on the group’s performance-related norms.

E. Diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with some studies suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting it can hurt it.

F. Role conflict is associated with job-induced tension and job dissatisfaction.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Recognize that groups can dramatically affect individual behavior in PPT 9.29 organizations, to either positive or negative effect. Therefore, pay special attention to roles, norms, and cohesion — to understand how these are operating within a group is to understand how the group is likely to behave.

B. To decrease the possibility of deviant workplace activities, ensure that group norms do not support antisocial behavior.

C. Pay attention to the status levels of the employee groups you create. Because lower-status people tend to participate less in group discussions, groups with highstatus differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-status members and reduce their potential.

D. Use larger groups for fact-finding activities and smaller groups for action-taking tasks. When creating larger groups, you should also provide measures of individual performance.

E. To increase employee satisfaction, ensure people perceive their job roles accurately.

Discussion Questions 56. What is the difference between formal and informal groups? Give an example of each.

Answer: Formal groups are those defined by the organization’s structure,

PPT 9.30

designated work assignments, and established tasks. It may be in the form of the command group or a task group. Informal groups are alliances that are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined. Informal groups are typically interest groups or friendship groups. Examples will vary.

57. Describe the stages in the punctuated-equilibrium model and explain which types of groups it applies to.

Answer: At the first meeting, the general purpose and direction for the group are established. At this point, a framework emerges of behavioral patterns and assumptions through which the group will approach its project. This may occur as early as within the first few seconds of the group’s existence. Once it’s been established, the group’s direction is unlikely to be reevaluated throughout the first half of its life. During this time, inertia sets in and the group tends to get stuck in a fixed course of action even if new insights challenge initial patterns and assumptions. At the halfway point between the first meeting and the official deadline, there is a concentrated burst of changes — old patterns are dropped and new perspectives are adopted. This sets the stage for the next period of inertia in which the group executes the plans created during the transition period. Finally, there is another burst of activity to finish the work. This model applies to temporary task groups working under a time deadline.

58. How can group cohesiveness be increased? Give specific recommendations.

Answer: Group cohesiveness can be increased by: (1) decreasing the size of the group, (2) encouraging group members to agree with the group's goals, (3) increasing the time members spend together, (4) increasing the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of obtaining membership in that group, (5) stimulating competition with other groups, (6) giving rewards to the group rather than to individual members, and (7) physically isolating the group.

59. Describe the three sources of status.

Answer: (1) Power: the power a person wields over others. The more power that an individual has, the higher his or her status. (2) Ability: a person's ability to contribute to a group’s goals. People whose contributions are critical to the group success also tend to have high status. (3) Characteristics: an individual's personal traits. When a group positively values certain personal characteristics, people who carry those traits receive high status.

60. Why does social loafing occur?

Answer: There are a number of possible causes of social loafing. Equity theory would indicate that when an individual in the group believes that he or she is working harder than the other group members, that individual will reduce effort to match that of the group. Another explanation may be the dispersion of responsibility: because the results of a group cannot be attributed to any single individual, the relationship between an individual's input and the group's output is clouded and difficult to measure.

61. List the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.

Answer: Strengths of group decision making: (1) generates information and knowledge that is more complete, (2) offers increased diversity of views, and (3) increases the acceptance of the solution. Weaknesses of group decision making: (1) typically takes more time to reach a solution, (2) greater conformity pressures exist, (3) discussion can be dominated by one or a few members, and (4) ambiguous responsibility decreases accountability.

62. Compare and contrast brainstorming and nominal group technique. Ensure you describe both techniques fully in your answer.

Answer: Brainstorming. The technique designed to generate a list of creative alternatives. A problem is presented and everyone provides oral input on the solution simultaneously. No feedback or discussion is allowed until all of the inputs

have been recorded. This somewhat ineffective technique does not lead to a solution, and may in fact lead to fewer creative alternatives than an individual could come up with, due to production blocking (distractions to thought caused by the technique itself).

Nominal Group Technique (NGT). This technique restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-making process. This is why it is referred to as a nominal (in name only) group technique. Group members are all physically present, but operate independently. A problem is presented and the following steps take place: 1) Each member independently writes down ideas on the problem without discussing it in the group.

2) Sequentially, each member will present one idea to the group until all ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion is allowed until all ideas have been recorded.

3) Group discusses ideas for clarity and evaluates them.

4) Each group member silently and independently rank orders the ideas.

5) The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

The use of NGT does not restrict independent thinking; groups that use this technique tend to outperform brainstorming groups.

Exercises 41. Self-analysis. Consider the last group that you were in that was required to make a decision. What type of group was it? What types of decision-making techniques were used? How is your input to the group affected by the type of group and decision-making technique?

42. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, locate a group decision-making technique that was not mentioned in the textbook. Write a brief one-page synopsis of the technique that would allow a manager to use it without having viewed the website. Ensure you properly cite the source.

43. Teamwork. In this exercise, the instructor will break the class up into groups of various sizes, some large (12+ members) and some small (4-7 members), and will leave three individuals by themselves. The instructor will provide three datasheets on a product (cars, laptop computers, MP3 players, or something similar). Using whichever group decision-making technique the group thinks is appropriate, decide which of the three products is superior. Keep track of the time it takes to make your decision. The three individuals will also make this decision, each on their own, and keep track of the time it takes them.

As a class, compare the quality of the results and the time it took to achieve them, based on group size and decision-making technique. What are your findings?

44. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Write a one-page paper that outlines the use of groups and/or teams in your organization for decision making.

What decision-making techniques are commonly used and how does the average worker feel about the quality of these decisions?

Suggested Assignments 1. Group Membership Analysis. List out all of the groups that you belong to and categorize each group based on the group subcategories given in the text. Count the number of groups you belong to in each subcategory and record that subtotal. Sum up all of the subcategories and record your total group memberships. Share your results in class and sum up the individual subtotal counts to get a class total. In what subcategory was group membership most frequently identified and in which was membership least frequently identified? What was the average number of groups to which members of the class belonged?

2. Status Symbols. Examine an organization with which you are familiar and pay particular attention to the use of status symbols by those in high status positions.

Make a list of the differences in symbols between those in high and low status positions. Share your findings with the class, and as a class, discuss how being able to identify these high status symbols can help you become more effective in the organization.

3. Identifying Norms. As college students you have been exposed to a continuing series of norms. From elementary school on, you have learned what is considered to be proper behavior in the classroom. As a class (or in small groups), brainstorm and identify these unwritten rules of classroom behavior. How many norms were there?

How many of these norms were you consciously aware of prior to listing them?

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group activity) For a 60-minute in-class activity that uses small groups to teach about groupthink, please see: Fender, C. M., and Stickney, L. T. (2017). When Two Heads Aren’t Better Than One: Conformity in a Group Activity. Management Teaching Review, 2(1), 35-46.

DOI:10.1177/2379298116676596 2. CATME is a tool that uses small group activities as a means to teach students about their own performance in teams. http://www.catme.org 3. (Small group activity) For a 75-minute in-class activity that uses small groups to teach about information bias and group decision making, please see: Baker, D. F. (2010). Enhancing group decision making: An exercise to reduce shared information bias. Journal of Management Education, 34(2), 249-279.

Chapter 10

Understanding Work Teams Chapter Overview Teams are increasingly becoming the primary means for organizing work in contemporary business firms. Understanding how and when to create these work teams is the purpose of this chapter.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 10-1. Contrast groups and teams.

10-2. Contrast the five types of team arrangements.

10-3. Identify the characteristics of effective teams.

10-4. Explain how organizations can create team players.

10-5. Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.

PPT 10.2

Suggested Lecture Outline

XXXVI. WHY HAVE TEAMS BECOME SO POPULAR? A. As organizations have restructured themselves to compete more effectively and efficiently, they have turned to teams as a better way to use employee talents.

B. Teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than traditional departments or other forms of permanent groupings.

C. They can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband. But don’t overlook the motivational properties of teams.

D. Consistent with our discussion of employee involvement as a motivator, teams facilitate employee participation in operating decisions.

E. The fact that organizations have turned to teams doesn’t necessarily mean they’re always effective.

XXXVII. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS AND TEAMS PPT 10.3 A. Work Group.

1. A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

2. A work group is a group that interacts primarily to share information and to

make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility. a. Work groups have no need to engage in collective work or joint efforts, so no positive synergy is created.

3. In contrast to work groups, work teams create positive synergy through coordinated effort. a. Their individual efforts result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs. b. Teams are more likely to be constantly changing and adapting rather than static entities — seeing teams as dynamic entities in this way has led many to focus more on teaming as a verb rather than the team itself.

4. In both work groups and work teams, there are often behavioral expectations of members, collective normalization efforts, active PPT 10.4 group dynamics, and some level of decision making (even if just informally about the scope of membership). a. Both work groups and work teams may generate ideas, pool Exhibit 10-1 resources, or coordinate logistics such as work schedules; for the work group, however, this effort will be limited to information gathering for decision makers outside the group. b. Whereas we can think of a work team as a subset of a work group, the team is constructed to be purposeful (symbiotic) in its member interaction. c. The distinction between a work group and a work team should be kept even when the terms are mentioned interchangeably in differing contexts.

Exhibit 10-1 highlights the differences between work groups and work teams.

5. The definitions help clarify why organizations structure work processes in the way they do. Management is looking for positive synergy that will allow the organization to increase performance. a. The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in employee headcount. b. Notice however that we said potential. There is nothing magical that ensures the achievement of positive synergy in the creation of teams. Merely calling a group a team doesn’t automatically improve its performance. c. Effective teams have certain characteristics. If management hopes to gain increases in organizational performance through the use of teams, its teams must possess these characteristics.

XXXVIII. TYPES OF TEAMS PPT 10.5 1. In this section, we first describe four common types of teams; problemsolving teams, self-managed work teams, cross-functional teams, and Exhibit 10-2 virtual teams. Then we discuss multiteams, a team of teams.

A. Problem-Solving Teams.

1. Problem solving teams are teams of five to twelve members in which members, often from the same department, meet for a few PPT 10.6 hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency,

and the work environment.

2. They rarely have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions.

B. Self-Managed Work Teams.

1. Unlike problem-solving teams, self-managed work teams move PPT 10.7 beyond simply making recommendations and instead implement solutions and take responsibility for outcomes.

2. Typically made up of 10 to 15 employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs. a. This team takes on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors such as 1) planning and scheduling of work; 2) assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work; 3) making operating decisions; 4) taking actions on problems; and 5) working with suppliers and customers.

6) They may even select their own members who evaluate each other’s performance.

3. With a lack of authority, and accountability, teams may spend valuable time and resources aligning team values and goals to “get on the same page.”

4. Research has indicated that the effectiveness of self-managed teams is not uniformly positive. a. Self-managed teams do not typically manage conflicts well. b. When disputes arise, members stop cooperating and power struggles ensue, which leads to lower group performance. c. Moreover, although individuals on these teams report higher levels of job satisfaction than other individuals, they also sometimes have higher absenteeism and turnover rates.

C. Cross-Functional Teams.

1. Cross-functional teams are made up of employees from about PPT 10.8 the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a specific task.

2. This type of team is an effective means of allowing people from diverse areas within the organization (or even between organizations) to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects.

3. Cross-functional teams are somewhat difficult to manage. a. With members at the same hierarchical level, leadership may be ambiguous. b. The early stages of development are long since members need to learn to work with higher levels of diversity and complexity. c. It may take significant time for the teams to develop sufficient trust to become effective.

D. Virtual Teams.

1. Unlike the first three types of teams, virtual teams do not PPT 10.9 meet face to face.

2. Virtual teams use technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. a. Virtual teams should be managed differently than face-to-face teams in an office, partially because virtual team members may not interact in the same ways. Social cues may be misinterpreted and there may be a sense of distance between people. b. Employees may be less likely to share information with each other.

3. For virtual teams to be effective, management should ensure that: a. Trust is established among members. (One inflammatory remark in an email can severely undermine team trust.) b. Progress is monitored closely (so the team doesn’t lose sight of its goals and no team member disappears) c. The efforts and products of the team are publicized throughout the organization (so the team does not become invisible).

E. Multiteam Systems.

1. The types of teams we’ve described so far are typically PPT 10.10 smaller, standalone teams, though their activities relate to the broader objectives of the organization. As tasks become more complex, teams often grow in size.

2. Increases in team size are accompanied by higher coordination demands, creating a tipping point at which the addition of another member does more harm than good.

3. To solve this problem, organizations are employing a multiteam system, collections of two or more interdependent teams that share a superordinate goal. In other words, multiteam systems are teams of teams.

4. Some factors that make smaller, more traditional teams effective do not necessarily apply to multiteam systems and can even hinder their performance. a. One study showed that multiteam systems performed better when they had boundary spanners whose job was to coordinate with members of the other subteams. b. This reduced the need for some team member communication. Restricting the lines of communication was helpful because it reduced coordination demands. c. Some people (“boundary spanners”) and teams within a multiteam system may also hinder effective communication and coordination. These teams could benefit from training in which all teams adopt the same perspectives or assumptions. d. In some cases, employees can identify with their own team, or the multiteam as a whole.

1) When multiteams are first established, team identification can lead to conflicts between teams.

5. Leaders must facilitate coordination between teams as well as lead them.

IV. CREATING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 1. Many researchers have tried to identify factors related to team PPT 10.11 effectiveness. Exhibit 10-3 summarizes what we currently know about what makes teams effective.

Exhibit 10-3 2. We can organize the key components of effective teams into three general categories. First are the resources and other contextual influences that make teams effective. The second relates to the team’s composition. Finally, process variables are events within the team that influence effectiveness.

A. Team Context: What Factors Determine Whether Teams Are PPT 10.12 Effective?

1. The five contextual factors most significantly related to team performance, discussed next, are adequate resources, leadership and structure, culture or climate, a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions, and crises and extreme contexts. a. Adequate Resources. Teams are part of a larger organization system; every work team relies on resources outside the group to sustain it.

1) A scarcity of resources directly reduces the ability of the team to perform its job effectively.

2) These supportive resources include timely information, proper equipment, adequate staffing, encouragement, and administrative assistance. b. Leadership and Structure.

1) Team leadership and structure are required in order to properly allocate roles and ensure the workload is shared by all team members.

2) Leaders play a motivational role for members. Well-performing teams tend to have leaders who are transformational and empowering. c. The relationship between team members and the leader is more important for job attitudes, job performance, and turnover intentions than the relationships between the team members themselves. d. Culture Climate.

1) For effective teams, a climate that emphasizes the following is best: a) A shared sense of vision. b) A sense of being able to share and collaborate in a nonthreatening environment. c) A concern for performance quality. d) Encouragement of creative and innovative solutions. e) Regular, frequent interaction. e. Performance Evaluation and Rewards Systems.

1) These systems must be modified to reflect team performance in order to hold both individuals and the team accountable.

2) These modifications may include group-based appraisals, profit sharing, small-group incentives, and other system modifications that can reinforce team effort and commitment.

3) Constructive feedback can have a positive effect on team performance.

4) Care should be taken to avoid bias and discrimination in implementing a team reward system. f. Crises and Extreme Contexts.

1) These contexts can unlock the potential of team members who do truly great things under stress; they can also lead to the unraveling of the team fabric, resulting in disaster.

2) Research on multiteam systems in disaster environments demonstrates that people tend to default to gathering information rather than taking action — when they do take action, they do so without deliberately considering the context or options or even forming a plan.

3) Leaders are most effective during disasters when they support team problem solving, are supportive of team members, initiate structure and planning, delegate, and coordinate as well as help team members make sense of the situation.

4) Structure also plays an important role. Team scaffolds (i.e., fluid, underlying structures that establish role types, shared responsibilities, and boundaries in teams) have been shown to help support coordination during crises because they establish accountability, a shared understanding, and a sense of identity or belonging.

5) For individual team members, positive affectivity can help buffer negative impact of the strain of the crisis situation.

6) Informed decision-making is critical.

B. Team Composition.

PPT 10.13 a. There are seven variables in this category related to how

teams should be staffed.

1. Abilities of Members. Part of a team's performance depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of its members. a. A team’s performance is not merely the summation of its individual members’ abilities, but these abilities set limits on what members can do and how effectively they will perform on a team.

1) A number of groups of abilities are helpful to be a team member, including conflict resolution, collaborative problem solving, communication, goal setting, and planning abilities/skills.

2) Complimentary backgrounds also tend to be more strongly related to innovation and creativity in practice.

3) Team members learn how to work together more effectively over time.

2. Personality of Members. a. As demonstrated in a previous chapter, personality has a significant influence on individual behavior; it also does on team behavior.

1) Conscientiousness is especially important to teams.

2) Teams that are more agreeable tend to perform better, but a wide span of agreeable members can lower productivity.

3) Open team members are more willing to share ideas with one another.

4) Teams with high task conflict do better with members with high levels of emotional stability.

3. Allocation of Roles. a. Teams have different needs, and members should be selected to ensure all the various roles are filled.

1) A study of 778 major league baseball teams over a 21-year period highlights the importance of assigning roles appropriately. a) As you might expect, teams with more experienced PPT 10.14 and skilled members performed better. b) However, the experience and skill of those in core Exhibit 10-4 roles who handle more of the workflow of the team, and who are central to all work processes (in this case, pitchers and catchers), were especially vital. c) In other words, put your most able, experienced, and conscientious workers in the most central roles in a team.

2) We can identify nine potential team roles. (Exhibit 10-4) a) Successful work teams have selected people to play all these roles based on their skills and preferences. (On many teams, individuals will play multiple roles.) b) To increase the likelihood the team members will work well together, managers need to understand the individual strengths each person can bring to a team, select members with their strengths in mind, and allocate work assignments that fit with members’ preferred styles.

4. Diversity of Members. a. Organizational demography: The degree to which members of a work unit share a common demographic attribute such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in the organization.

1) Research suggests that turnover will be greater among those with dissimilar experiences, as communication may be more difficult and conflict more likely.

2) Demographic diversity has a negative (but very small) effect on team performance and creativity.

5. Cultural Differences.

1) We should be aware of how people identify with their cultural status even in diverse settings.

2) Culturally heterogeneous teams have more difficulty learning to work with each other and solving problems, but these difficulties dissipate with time.

6. Size of Teams.

1) Using the smallest possible number of people who can accomplish a task tends to be the most effective way of sizing a team.

2) Doing so reduces coordination problems, decreases the chance of social loafing, and increases cohesiveness.

7. Member Preferences.

1) Not every employee is a team player. a) Given the option, many employees will select themselves out of team participation. b) When people who would prefer to work alone are required to team up, there is a direct threat to the team’s morale and to individual member satisfaction. c) This suggests that when selecting team members, managers should consider individual preferences along with abilities, personalities, and skills. High-performing teams are likely to be composed of people who prefer working as part of a group.

PPT 10.15 C. Team Processes. a. The final key component for team effectiveness is process: Exhibit 10-5 specifically nine variables related to how a team completes its task. b. Team processes should produce positive results: the output should be greater than the sum of the inputs (positive synergy). Exhibit 10-5 illustrates how group processes have an impact on a group’s actual effectiveness.

1. Common Plan and Purpose. a. Effective teams begin by analyzing the team’s mission, PPT 10.16 developing goals to achieve that mission, and creating strategies for achieving the goals. b. Teams that establish a clear sense of what needs to be done and how to consistently perform better. c. Effective teams also show reflexivity, meaning they reflect on and adjust their master plan when necessary. d. A team has to have a good plan, but it also has to be willing and able to adapt when conditions call for it.

2. Motivation. a. Successful teams translate their common purpose into specific, measurable, and difficult (yet realistic) performance goals that align with the team objectives. b. Setting goals intended to improve team member performance (instead of team performance as a whole) has a tendency to undermine group performance. c. Teams that are strategic in how they allocate resources tend to perform better.

3. Team Efficacy. a. Effective teams have confidence in themselves: they believe they can succeed. We call this team efficacy. b. Past success breeds future success.

c. In order to increase team efficacy, managers can take one or both of the following two options.

1) Help the team to achieve small initial successes.

2) Provide technical and interpersonal skills training.

4. Team Identity. a. When people connect emotionally with the groups they’re in, they are more likely to invest in their relationship with those groups. It’s the same with teams. b. Therefore, by recognizing individuals’ specific skills and abilities, as well as creating a climate of respect and inclusion, leaders and members can foster positive team identity and realize improved team outcomes. c. Organizational identity is important too.

5. Team Cohesion. a. The term team cohesion means members are emotionally attached to one another, bonded to one another, and committed toward the team. b. Cohesive teams tend to perform better than non-cohesive teams — evidence also suggests the reverse can be true (better performing teams can become more cohesive as a result of their successes). c. Several factors can increase team cohesion, such as shared leadership responsibilities, open information sharing among team members, and interdependence among team members.

6. Mental Models.

PPT 10.17 a. Effective teams have accurate and common mental models— knowledge and beliefs (a psychological map) about how the work is done. Incorrect or inaccurate mental models will decrease effectiveness. b. Teams should develop transactive memory systems, which represent a shared model of information relevant to the team.

7. Team Conflict. a. A low level of conflict can actually improve team effectiveness. b. Relationship conflicts are usually detrimental, but task conflicts in teams performing nonroutine activities may actually lead to superior decisions.

8. Social Loafing. a. Individuals can hide within groups. b. They coast on the group's effort because their individual contributions can't be identified. c. Effective teams undermine this tendency by holding themselves accountable at both the individual and team level.

9. Team Trust. a. Trust in teams entails a mutual, positive state of positive expectations between team members. b. Team trust has a sizable effect on team performance, especially in virtual teams.

PPT 10.18 V. TURNING INDIVIDUALS INTO TEAM PLAYERS A. Selecting: Hiring Team Players.

1. When hiring team members, in addition to technical skills, candidates should be screened on their ability to fulfill team roles.

2. Managers should be sure to hire applicants who have the highest potential to perform well in a team, and strategically place them in teams where they are most likely to work well with the other team members.

B. Training: Creating Team Players.

1. Managers can train individuals to become team players.

2. Team training is effective at improving team member attitudes, team processes, and cognitive aspects like developing shared mental models; and that these findings generalize to particularly important industries.

C. Rewarding: Providing Incentives to Be a Good Team Player.

1. An organization’s reward system must be reworked to encourage cooperative efforts rather than competitive ones. a. Hallmark Cards, Inc. added to its basic individual-incentive system an annual bonus based on achievement of team goals. b. Whole Foods directs most of its performance-based rewards toward team performance. c. As a result, teams select new members carefully so they will contribute to team effectiveness (and thus team bonuses).

2. Promotions, pay raises, and other forms of recognition should be given to individuals who work effectively as team members by training new colleagues, sharing information, helping resolve team conflicts, and mastering needed skills.

3. Team-based rewards have been shown to positively influence team performance, especially when they are distributed based on an individual’s level of contribution (rather than equally distributed).

4. Don’t forget the intrinsic rewards, such as camaraderie, that employees can receive from teamwork.

VI. BEWARE! TEAMS AREN'T ALWAYS THE ANSWER PPT 10.19 A. Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than individual work.

B. Therefore, the benefits of using teams must exceed the costs of having them. This may not always be the case, and there are three tests to determine if a team is necessary in a given situation.

1. Complexity of Work. A good indicator of the need for teams is the complexity of the work and the need for different perspectives for effective solution. Simple tasks, that do not need diverse input, are probably best left to individuals.

2. Common Purpose. For organizational outcomes that require multifunction interaction, the common purpose created by a team may increase organizational effectiveness.

3. Interdependence. Teams make sense when the tasks are interdependent and require a great deal of coordination.

VII. SUMMARY A. Working on teams requires employees to cooperate with others, share information, confront differences, and sublimate personal interests for the greater good of the team.

B. Understanding the distinctions between problem-solving, self-managed, crossfunctional, and virtual teams as well as multiteam systems helps determine the appropriate applications for team-based work.

C. Concepts such as reflexivity, team efficacy, team identity, team cohesion, and mental models bring to light important issues relating to team context, composition, and processes.

D. For teams to function optimally, careful attention must be given to hiring, creating, and rewarding team players.

E. Still, effective organizations recognize that teams are not always the best method for getting work done efficiently.

F. Careful discernment and an understanding of organizational behavior are needed.

VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Effective teams have adequate resources, effective leadership, PPT 10.20 positive cultures and climates, and a performance and rewards

B. C.

D. E.

system that reflects team contributions.

1. These teams have individuals with technical expertise as well as problemsolving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills, as well as the right traits and skills.

Effective teams tend to be small. They have members who fill role demands and who prefer to be part of a group.

Effective teams have members who believe in the team’s capabilities are committed to a common plan and purpose, have an accurate shared mental model of what is to be accomplished.

Select individuals who have the interpersonal skills to be effective PPT 10.21 team players; provide training to develop teamwork skills; and reward individuals for cooperative efforts.

Do not assume that teams are always needed. When tasks will not benefit from interdependency, individuals may be the better choice.

Discussion Questions

PPT 10.22, 23

63. Why is the use of teams in organizations becoming more popular?

Answer: As organizations have reacted to external pressures to restructure themselves to compete more effectively and efficiently, they have turned to teams more and more often. The use of teams has increased managerial flexibility and is an effective means for democratizing organizations and increasing employee motivation.

64. What is the difference between a team and a group?

Answer: A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives. A work group is a group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility. Work groups have no need to engage in collective work or joint efforts, so no positive synergy is created. In contrast, work teams create positive synergy through coordinated effort.

Their individual efforts result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs. The use of work teams creates the potential for organizations to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs.

65. Describe the four types of teams.

Answer: (1) Problem-Solving Teams. These are teams in which members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes and methods can be improved; although they rarely have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions. (2) Self-Managed Work Teams. These are autonomous teams of 10 to 15 employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs; these teams take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors, such as planning and scheduling of work, assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work, making operating decisions, taking actions on problems, and working with suppliers and customers. (3) Cross-Functional Teams. These are teams made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a specific task. This type of team is an effective means of allowing people from diverse areas within the organization to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects. (4) Virtual Teams. Virtual teams use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. They rarely, if ever, meet face to face. All types of teams seem to have embraced this virtual technology.

66. Describe the three main components of effective teams.

Answer: (1) Context: effective teams have adequate resources, leadership, and

structure, a climate of trust and supportive performance evaluation and rewards systems. (2) Team Composition: effective teams must be composed of people who are able, have the correct personality types, are flexible, and prefer to work on teams. (3) Process: effective teams need a common purpose, specific goals, team efficacy, moderate nonpersonal conflict, and a lack of social loafing.

67. How can managers help individuals become team players?

Answer: Managers can help individuals become team players by: (1) hiring the correct people (candidates who can fulfill their team roles as well as technical requirements), (2) training people to become team players (perhaps through outside consultants), and (3) ensuring the organizational reward systems are aligned to support good teamwork.

68. When should individuals be used rather than teams?

Answer: Based on the three rules for the use of teams, individuals are preferred when: (1) the work is simple and doesn’t need diverse input, (2) there is no need for benefits from a common purpose, and (3) there is little or no interdependence or need for coordination.

Exercises 45. Self-analysis. Are you a team player? Based on the information in this chapter, do you believe you are a team player? Why or why not? How might you improve your ability to function well on effective teams?

46. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term “team effectiveness.” Find five webpages related to this concept and write up a one-page summary of the common team effectiveness concepts you discovered by visiting these pages.

47. Teamwork. As a team, you are to develop a bulleted study guide for this chapter.

The items included in the study guide are to fully represent the chapter content.

The items are also to be placed in the study guide in descending order of importance. In other words, the most important content item from the chapter is to be listed first, down to the least important content item. The items chosen for inclusion in this study guide, and their order of importance, must be completely agreed upon by ALL members of the team. No use of voting and majority rules can be employed in determining the content of the study guide. Consensus agreement must prevail within the team.

Instructor notes: The purpose of this exercise is to indicate to students the relationship between size and team effectiveness. Divide the class into different sized teams. Make some teams extremely small and lacking in diversity and skills, and some teams extremely large and cumbersome. Give the teams the instructions that they are to come to a consensus on the content of their study guide.

You might want to have a quick discussion on team roles, or simply let the teams themselves formally or informally let team roles evolve naturally, and have the teams identify the different role holders after the conclusion of the exercise.

Record the time required by each different team to complete its task. Walk around the classroom and listen to the conversations within the different groups—this may provide rich insights as to why some groups completed the task more efficiently than others. When the study guides are done, conduct a discussion on what problems the teams encountered (size, diversity, roles) and how they think the team overcame that particular problem.

48. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). If you are currently in an environment of teamwork, interview or discuss with the team leaders some of the variables in this chapter, using the following questions as a guide. a. How do you determine the size of the team?

b. c. d. e.

What types of conflict occur? How do you resolve conflict?

Does it take longer to complete tasks in a team environment?

Do you have resistors to teamwork? If so, how do you manage that?

What happened to cause management to look at teams as a more efficient way of doing work?

If you are not in a teamwork environment at your organization, what aspects of your organization would benefit from teamwork? Justify your answer.

Suggested Assignment Use the teams structured in the Teamwork exercise. Ask the students to go to Google Docs’ presentation template at https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ASCP6dbp8LXCZGRkMzZoeGpfMTgxY3dicXFoY 2M&hl=en&authkey=CP_bsocC and select “Edit” on the actions menu at the bottom. When the edit window opens, ask students to create a new presentation file by selecting File>New>Presentations (this may require that a student have a Google Docs account. If it does, ask one of the students to act as the coordinator and to sign up for a Google Account to manage the presentation set up.) A new presentation document should come up. Ask the students to rename the presentation document to a name they will remember by clicking on the “Chapter 9 Robbins and Judge” title. Ask the students to click on the “Share” button on the right. When its dialog box opens, click on “Change” access. Select “Only those with the address.” And “anyone can edit” (two check boxes). This should set the presentation to access by all students who use the unique address as a web URL. Once this is done and everything is saved, the student creating the presentation for the group should email the address to the other members of his or her group.

This is a presentation collaboration site that does not require passwords or other security clearance. Ask the groups to prepare a presentation on the results of the Teamwork Exercise. Assign this task to be done from their home computers or laptops in virtual meeting format. This illustrates the use of cloud computing for online virtual collaboration on a presentation. The same can be done for reports or spreadsheets. When the presentation is complete, have the students email the presentation address to the instructor, who will then distribute it to the class. Each class member can then view the presentations. Note that creation of this type of stand-alone presentation is different from the typical student outline of a paper that constitutes the slide content.

Ask students to rate the presentations on the basis of creativity, information presentation, and achievement of a communication objective. Discuss in class how the presentation could be improved to better present the information about the teamwork outcome.

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group activity) For a small group activity to examine group, individual, and organizational factors that affect intergroup conflict, please see: Rosh L., and Leach, E. (2011). The Idea Factory: An Interactive Intergroup Exercise. Journal of Management Education, 35(6), 859-894.

DOI:10.1177/1052562911403587 2. (Small group activity) For a small group activity to explore the effects of positive and negative group environments on creativity, please see: Zimmerman, D. K., and Gallagher, S. R. (2006). Creativity and team environment: An exercise illustrating how much one member can matter. Journal of Management Education, 30(4), 617-625. DOI: 10.1177/105256905282017

Chapter 11 Communication Chapter Overview In order to be successful, managers must be able to communicate effectively. This chapter describes the communication process and the various ways managers communicate to employees. Additionally, barriers to communication are presented.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 11.2 11-1. Describe the functions and process of communication.

11-2. Contrast downward, upward, and lateral communication through small-group networks and the grapevine.

11-3. Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.

11-4. Describe how channel richness underlies the choice of communication channel.

11-5. Differentiate between automatic and controlled processing of persuasive messages.

11-6. Identify common barriers to effective communication.

11-7. Discuss how to overcome potential problems of cross-cultural communication.

Suggested Lecture Outline

XXXIX. COMMUNICATION A. No individual, group, or organization can exist without communication (the transference and understanding of meaning).

XL. FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION A. Communication serves five major functions within a group or

PPT 11.3 organization: management, feedback, emotional sharing, persuasion, and information exchange.

1. Managing Behavior: Communication acts to manage member behavior in several ways. a. Organizations have formal hierarchies and guidelines for employees that guide communication. b. Informal communication can also manage behavior.

2. Feedback: Communication creates feedback by clarifying to employees what

they must do, how well they are doing it, and how they can improve their performance. a. Feedback is not necessarily one-way communication; supervisors often ask subordinates for feedback.

3. Emotional Sharing: Communication is a fundamental mechanism by which members show satisfaction and frustration. Communication therefore provides for the emotional sharing of feelings and fulfillment of social needs.

4. Persuasion: Like emotional sharing, persuasion can be good or bad depending on if, say, a leader is trying to persuade a workgroup to commit to the organization’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives or to, conversely, persuade the workgroup to break the law to meet an organizational goal.

5. Information Exchange: The final function of communication is information exchange to facilitate decision making.

B. The Communication Process.

1. Before communication can take place, it needs a purpose, expressed as a message to be conveyed.

2. The message passes between a sender and receiver. The message is encoded (converted to a symbolic form) and passed by way of some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates (decodes) the message. Successful communication results in the transference of meaning from one person to another.

3. Exhibit 11-1 shows the key components of the communication process. a. Sender: the person who initiates a message by encoding a PPT 11.4 thought. b. Encoding: converting the thought into symbols and language.

Exhibit 11-1 c. Message: the actual physical product the sender is encoding. It is the encoded thought to be transferred. d. Channel: the sender-selected medium through which the message travels.

There are two basic channels for communication in organizations: PPT 11.5 1) Formal channels follow the authority chain of the organization. The messages sent by these channels normally relate to the professional activities of the members of that organization.

2) Informal channels emerge as a response to individual choices.

Messages sent through these channels are often personal or social. e. Receiver: the person to whom the message is directed. f. Decoding: converting a message from symbols and language back into thought. g. Noise: communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message, such as perceptual problems, information overload, semantic difficulties, or cultural differences. h. Feedback: information sent from the receiver back to the sender to indicate how successful the transference was.

XLI. DIRECTION OF COMMUNICATION 1. Communication can flow vertically or laterally. Vertical PPT 11.6 communications can be upward or downward from a person's position in an organization.

A. Downward Communication.

1. Communication that flows from one level of a group or PPT 11.7 organization to a lower level in that organization.

a. The delivery mode and the context of the message are of high importance.

B. Upward Communication.

1. Communication that moves upward through the organization's

PPT 11.8 hierarchy. a. Upward communication is used to provide feedback to organizational superiors, inform superiors of progress toward goals, to relay current problems, and solicit employee suggestions.

1) Effective upward communication requires: a) Reduction of distractions. b) Communicating in short summaries. c) Supporting summaries with actionable items. d) Preparation and use of an agenda.

C. Lateral Communication.

1. Lateral communication takes place among members of the same work group, among members of work groups of the same level of the PPT 11.9 hierarchy, among managers at the same level, or between any horizontally equivalent personnel. a. Such communications help to facilitate coordination and save time. These lateral relationships may be formally sanctioned or, more often, they are informally created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy and expedite action. b. Such communication can be good or bad depending on whether it conflicts or enhances the formal vertical channels of communication.

D. Formal Small-Group Networks.

1. This text will demonstrate three basic types of networks: the chain, PPT 11.10 wheel, and all-channel (Exhibit 11-2). a. Chain. These networks rigidly follow the formal chain of command.

This can be seen in traditional, bureaucratic organizations.

Exhibit 11-2 b. Wheel. These networks rely on a central figure to be the conduit for all of the group's communication. This type of network is often seen in teams with strong leaders, with the leader acting as the conduit. c. All-Channel. In this network, all group members actively communicate with each other with no leader present. An example of this type of network is selfmanaged work teams.

PPT 11.11 2. Effectiveness. The effectiveness of each network hinges upon which dependent variable needs to be emphasized in the organization. No Exhibit 11-3 single network structure is best for all occasions (Exhibit 11-3).

E. The Grapevine.

1. In addition to the formal network systems of communication in organizations, there exists an informal one that is just as important: the PPT 11.12 grapevine.

2. The grapevine is an important part of any group or organization communication network and is well worth understanding. a. It gives managers a feel for the morale of their organization, identifies issues employees consider important, and helps tap into employee anxieties. b. The grapevine also serves employees’ needs: 1) Small talk creates a sense of closeness and friendship among those who share information.

2) Research suggests it often does so at the expense of those in the out group.

IV. MODES OF COMMUNICATION PPT 11.13 1. There are three basic methods of communication: oral, written,

and nonverbal.

A. Oral Communication.

1. Oral communication is the chief means of conveying PPT 11.14 messages. It may be in the form of speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, or talk along the grapevine. a. The advantages of oral communications are speed, feedback, and exchange.

It’s quick and feedback can be received just as quickly, making corrections relatively simple. b. The exchange given through oral communication has social, cultural, and emotional components. Cultural social exchange, in which we purposefully share exchanges that transcend cultural boundaries, can build trust, cooperation, and agreement between individuals and teams c. Oral communications are subject to personal interpretation, and when passed through a number of people, the message received at the final destination may not be the one that was originally sent.

B. Written Communication.

1. Written communication includes any method that PPT 11.15 conveys written words or symbols. a. Written communication today is usually conducted via letters, e-mail, instant messaging, social media, and blogs.

C. Nonverbal Communication.

1. This form of communication includes body movements, the PPT 11.16 intonations or emphasis given to words, and facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and the receiver. a. Body Movement. Any movement of the body can have meaning.

V. CHOICE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNEL PPT 11.17 1. Why do people choose one channel of communication over others?

A model of media richness helps explain channel selection among managers.

A. Channel Richness.

1. Channels differ in terms of their capacity to convey information. Some are rich in that they can: a. Handle multiple cues simultaneously, b. Facilitate rapid feedback, and c. Be very personal.

2. Others are lean in that they score low on these factors.

3. Face-to-face conversation scores highest in channel richness because it transmits the most information per episode — multiple information cues (words, postures, facial expressions, gestures, intonations); immediate feedback (both verbal and nonverbal); and the personal touch of being physically present.

4. Other examples of media with high channel richness (in descending order) include video conferences, telephone conversations, live speeches, and voice mail.

5. Impersonal written media such as formal reports and bulletins rate the lowest in richness.

B. Choosing Communication Methods.

PPT 11.18 a. The choice of channel depends on whether the message is routine. b. Routine messages tend to be straightforward and have minimal ambiguity, so channels low in richness can carry them efficiently.

c. Nonroutine communications are likely to be complicated and have the potential for misunderstanding.

d. Managers can communicate them effectively only by selecting rich channels.

1. Choosing Oral Communication: Whenever you need to gauge the

PPT 11.19 receiver’s receptivity, oral communication is usually the better choice. a. Also consider the receiver’s preferred mode of communication; some individuals focus on content better in written form and others prefer discussion.

1) If your manager requests a meeting with you, you may not want to ask for an exchange of emails instead. A fast-paced work place may thrive on pop-by meetings, while a deadline heavy team project may progress faster with scheduled Zoom videoconferences. b. Much of what we communicate face-to-face is in the delivery, so consider your speaking skills when choosing your communication method. Research indicates that the sound of your voice is twice as important as what you are saying.

2. Choosing Written Communication: Written communication is generally PPT 11.20 the most reliable mode for complex and lengthy communications, and it can be the most efficient method for short messages, as when a twosentence text can take the place of a 10-minute phone call.

1) But keep in mind that written communication can be limited in its emotional expression. b. Choose written communication when you want the information to be tangible, verifiable, and “on the record.”

1) Letters are used in business primarily for networking and recordkeeping purposes, and when signatures need to be authentic.

2) E-mails are often less formal forms of written communication and perhaps used the most frequently in business contexts. a) Nonverbal cues are often lost in these messages, and you could be perceived as rude, egocentric, or even culturally insensitive.

3) In general, you should respond to instant messages only when they are professional and initiate them only when you know they will be welcome; remember that your conversation will not be stored for later reference.

4) Texts are cheap to send and receive, and the willingness to be available for quick communications from clients and managers is conducive to good business.

5) Some of the most spectacular gains in social media are in the sales arena, both business-to-public and business-to-business.

6) Finally, curtail usage of blogs, posting, and commenting; both options are more public than you may think, and your words are easily found by your name via search engines like Google.

3. Choosing Nonverbal Communication: It’s important to be alert to PPT 11.21 nonverbal aspects of your communication and consider your body language cues as well as the literal meaning of your words. a. You should be particularly aware of contradictions between the verbal and nonverbal messages, as a sender and as a receiver.

C. Information Security.

PPT 11.22 1. Security is a huge concern for nearly all organizations with private or proprietary information about clients, customers, and employees. Organizations

worry about the security of the electronic information they seek to protect, such as hospital patient data 2. Most companies actively monitor employee Internet use and e-mail records, and some even use video surveillance and record phone conversations. a. Necessary as they may be, such practices can seem invasive to employees.

An organization can relieve employee concerns by engaging them in the creation of information-security policies and giving them some control over how their personal information is used.

VI. PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION A. Automatic and Controlled Processing.

1. To understand the process of communication, it is useful to consider two different ways that we process information. Consider the last time you were browsing a social networking website and came across an ad. Moments later, you did not expect to be buying a Harry Potter t-shirt that also had your college’s sports mascot on it, did you?

2. We often rely on automatic processing, a relatively superficial PPT 11.23 consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics. a. Automatic processing takes little time and minimal effort, so it makes sense to use it for processing persuasive messages related to topics you don’t care much about. The disadvantage is that it lets us be easily fooled by a variety of tricks, like a cute jingle or a glamorous photo.

3. Now consider the last time you chose a place to live. You probably researched the area, gathered information about prices from a variety of sources, and considered the costs and benefits of renting versus buying. Here, you’re relying on more effortful controlled processing, a detailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and logic. a. Controlled processing requires effort and energy, but it’s harder to fool someone who has taken the time and effort to engage in it.

B. So what makes someone engage in either automatic or controlled PPT 11.24 processing?

1. Interest Level: One of the best predictors of whether people will use an automatic or controlled process for reacting to a persuasive message is their level of interest in it. a. Interest levels reflect the impact a decision is going to have on your life.

When people are very interested in the outcome of a decision, they’re more likely to process information carefully. That’s probably why people look for so much more information when deciding about something important than something relatively unimportant.

2. Prior Knowledge: People who are very well informed about a subject area are more likely to use controlled processing strategies. They have already thought through various arguments for or against a specific course of action, and therefore they won’t readily change their position unless very good, thoughtful reasons are provided. a. On the other hand, people who are poorly informed about a topic can change their minds more readily, even in the face of fairly superficial arguments presented without a great deal of evidence. b. Overall, then, a better-informed audience is likely to be much harder to persuade.

3. Personality: Those who are lower in need for cognition are more likely to use automatic processing strategies, relying on intuition and emotion to guide their evaluation of persuasive messages.

4. Message Characteristics: Another factor that influences whether people use an

automatic or controlled processing strategy is the characteristics of the message itself. a. Messages provided through relatively lean communication channels, with little opportunity for users to interact with the content of the message, encourage automatic processing. b. Conversely, messages provided through richer communication channels tend to encourage more deliberative processing.

C. Choosing the Message.

1. The most important implication is to match your persuasive message to the type of processing your audience is likely to use. When the audience is not interested in a persuasive message topic, when they are poorly informed, when they are low in need for cognition, and when information is transmitted through relatively lean channels, they’ll be more likely to use automatic processing. a. In these cases, use messages that are more emotionally laden and associate positive images with your preferred outcome. b. On the other hand, when the audience is interested in a topic, when they are high in need for cognition, or when the information is transmitted through rich channels, then it is a better idea to focus on rational arguments and evidence to make your case.

VII. BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION A. Filtering.

1. Filtering refers to senders purposely manipulating information, so it PPT 11.25 will be seen more favorably by the receiver.

2. Upward communication, especially of bad news, is often filtered and distorted to avoid the possibility of upper management “killing the messenger.”

B. Selective Perception.

1. Receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their own needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics.

2. Human beings don't see reality; they interpret what they see and call it reality.

C. Information Overload.

1. Individuals have a finite capacity for processing data, and when that capacity is exceeded, the result is information overload.

2. When individuals are in this condition, they tend to pass over, ignore, select out, or forget information, resulting in lost information and less effective communication.

D. Emotions.

1. You can alter your nonverbal communication to become an effective communicator.

2. Expressing negative emotions such as anger can lead to poor social outcomes. a. However, the benefit to expressing your negative emotions is that others may have a better understanding of how you feel.

3. How a person feels when a message is received will influence how he or she interprets it.

E. Language.

1. Despite sharing a common language, words do not always hold the same meaning among members of the organization.

2. Senders tend to assume the words and terms they use mean the same to the receiver as to them. This assumption is often incorrect.

F. Silence.

1. It’s easy to ignore silence or lack of communication, precisely because it is defined by the absence of information.

2. Silence itself can be the message, communicating non-interest or inability to

deal with a topic. Silence can also be an outcome of information overload, or a delaying period for considering a response.

3. However, research suggests silence and withholding communication are both common and problematic.

G. Communication Apprehension.

1. Approximately 5 to 20 percent of the population suffers debilitating communication apprehension, which is undue tension and anxiety in oral communication, written communication, or both.

H. Lying.

1. The final barrier to effective communication is outright misrepresentation of information, or lying.

2. People differ in their definition of what constitutes a lie. Regardless of the definition, however, lying is prevalent.

3. The average person tells two lies per day and is more comfortable lying over the phone than face to face, and more comfortable lying in e-mail than on paper.

I. Communicating in Times of Crisis.

1. Communication becomes more challenging during times of crisis.

2. Effective communication during times of crisis involves breaking down crisis response into several stages: a. Communicating in anticipation of or preparation for crises, b. Managing responses to the crises while they are occurring, c. Communicating with stakeholders after the crisis and catalyzing shared learning.

3. People tend to take control and dominate during times of war, whereas crises during times of peace tend to drive people toward being self-critical and fear of negative consequences.

4. During crises, people should focus on sharing facts, sharing interpretations of the facts, and projections for consequences of actions, which at all stages can be beneficial. a. People should also work together during times of crises instead of independently. b. Technology can help communicate information rapidly and accurately to all those who may be immediately affected by a disaster.

VIII. CULTURAL FACTORS A. Effective communication is difficult under the best of conditions.

1. Cross-cultural factors clearly create the potential for increased communication problems.

B. Cultural Barriers.

1. Researchers have identified a number of problems related to PPT 11.26 language difficulties in cross-cultural communications.

2. First are barriers caused by semantics. a. Words mean different things to different people, particularly people from different national cultures. b. Some words don’t translate between cultures.

3. Second are barriers caused by word connotations. a. Words imply different things in different languages.

b. Negotiations between U.S. and Japanese executives can be difficult because

the Japanese word hai translates as “yes,” but its connotation is “Yes, I’m listening” rather than “Yes, I agree.”

4. Third are barriers caused by tone differences. a. In some cultures, language is formal; in others, it’s informal. In some cultures, the tone changes depending on the context: People speak differently at home, in social situations, and at work. Using a personal, informal style when a more formal style is expected can be embarrassing.

5. Fourth are differences in tolerance for conflict and methods for resolving conflicts. a. People from individualist cultures tend to be more comfortable with direct conflicts and will make the source of their disagreements overt. b. Collectivists are more likely to acknowledge conflict only implicitly and avoid emotionally charged disputes. c. They may attribute conflicts to the situation more than to the individuals and therefore may not require explicit apologies to repair relationships, whereas individualists prefer explicit statements accepting responsibility for conflicts and public apologies to restore relationships.

C. Cultural Context.

1. Cultures tend to differ in the degree to which context influences the meaning individuals take from communication. a. In high-context cultures such as China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person’s official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight.

1) What is not said may be more significant than what is said.

2) In contrast, people from Europe and North America reflect their lowcontext cultures.

3) They rely essentially on spoken and written words to convey meaning; body language and formal titles are secondary. b. These contextual differences actually mean quite a lot in terms of communication.

2. Communication in high-context cultures implies considerably more trust by both parties. a. What may appear to be casual and insignificant conversation in fact reflects the desire to build a relationship and create trust. b. Oral agreements imply strong commitments in high context cultures. And who you are—your age, seniority, rank in the organization—is highly valued and heavily influences your credibility.

3. But in low-context cultures, enforceable contracts tend to be in writing, precisely worded, and highly legalistic. a. Similarly, low-context cultures value directness. b. Managers are expected to be explicit and precise in conveying intended meaning.

D. A Cultural Guide 1. We often do not communicate well with people outside of our culture because we tend to generalize from only their cultural origin.

2. Attempts to be culturally sensitive to another person are often based on stereotypes propagated by the media. These stereotypes usually do not have a correct or current relevance.

3. Intercultural communication should be based on sensitivity and pursuit of common goals.

4. Intercultural groups that communicate effectively can be highly productive and

innovative.

5. When communicating with people from a different culture, what PPT 11.27 can you do to reduce misinterpretations? The following rules can be helpful: a. Know Yourself. Recognizing your own cultural identity and biases is critical to understanding the unique viewpoint of others. b. Foster a Climate of Mutual Respect, Fairness, and Democracy. Clearly establish an environment of equality and mutual concern. This will be your third culture context for effective intercultural communication that transcends each person’s cultural norms. c. State the Facts, Not Your Interpretation. Interpreting or evaluating what someone has said or done draws more on your own culture and background than on the observed situation. If you state only facts, you will have the opportunity to benefit from the other person’s interpretation. Delay judgment until you’ve had sufficient time to observe and interpret the situation from the differing perspectives of all concerned. d. Consider the Other Person’s Viewpoint. Before sending a message, put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. Try to see the people in the group as they really are at first, and take a collaborative problem-solving approach whenever potential conflicts arise. e. Proactively Maintain the Identity of the Group. Like any culture, the establishment of a common-ground third culture for effective intercultural communication takes time and nurturing. Remind members of the group of your common goals, mutual respect, and need to adapt to individual communication preferences.

IX. SUMMARY A. Communication is what keeps organizations running—by managing the transmission of understanding and information, organizations can improve their processes and ultimately achieve better outcomes.

B. Communication can be directed downward, upward, or laterally.

C. Communication can also occur more formally through established connections in a network, or more informally through the office grapevine.

D. There are several communications channels (e.g., oral, written, and verbal) that vary in their degree of richness, with some being more appropriate than others, given the situation.

E. In considering the perspective of the message receiver, it is important to understand that some messages are received automatically and require little thought, whereas others involve more cognitive effort to decode on the part of the receiver.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 11.28 A. Remember that your communication mode will partly determine your communication effectiveness.

B. Obtain feedback from your employees to make certain your messages — however they are communicated — are understood.

C. Remember that written communication creates more misunderstandings than oral communication; communicate with employees through in-person meetings when possible.

D. Make sure you use communication strategies appropriate to your audience and the type of message you’re sending.

E. Keep in mind communication barriers such as gender and culture.

Discussion Questions

PPT 11.29

69. Describe the communication process.

Answer: The communication process starts with an idea to be conveyed. The idea is encoded (converted into symbolic form) into a message. The message passes between a sender and receiver through a formal or informal channel (media) and may be distorted by noise (communications barriers). The receiver retranslates (decodes) the message. Successful communication is the result of transference of meaning from one person to another and may be evidenced through feedback.

70. Describe the possible directions that formal communication can take in an organization and provide examples of each.

Answer: Communication in organizations can be upward, downward, or lateral.

Upward communication is used to provide feedback to superiors, inform them of progress toward goals, relay current problems, and solicit employee suggestions.

Lateral communication takes place among members of the same work group, among members of work groups of the same level of the hierarchy, among managers at the same level, or between any horizontally equivalent personnel. Lateral communications facilitate coordination and save time, such as discussing the budget request with people in both finance and operations. Downward communication is typically used by leaders and managers to assign goals, provide job instructions, and inform employees of policies.

71. Compare and contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.

Answer: Oral communication is the chief means of conveying messages. It may be in the form of speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, or talk along the grapevine. Written communication includes memos, letters, fax transmissions, email, instant messaging, periodicals, notices, or any other means by which ideas are transmitted through written words or symbols. Nonverbal communication consists of body language, tone and emphasis of words, facial expressions, and the physical distance between sender and receiver. Oral communications are quick and feedback can be received just as quickly, making corrections relatively simple. Written communication can be time consuming, has slow or no feedback, and may not be received and/or read by the intended recipient. Because of the time and effort involved in creating written communications, they tend to be better thought out, more logical, and clearer than oral communications. Nonverbal communication is culture dependent and often difficult to interpret accurately. Written communications are tangible and verifiable. They provide a record of the communication and can be stored, making them available for future reference. Oral communications are subject to personal interpretation, and when passed through a number of people, the message received at the final destination may not be the one actually sent. Nonverbal communication can amplify oral communication.

72. Identify which organizational outcomes (dependent variables) are most effectively achieved by each type of formal small group communication network.

Answer: Accuracy is best achieved using the chain network. Leadership development is best facilitated through the wheel network. High member satisfaction is promoted with the all-channel network.

73. Compare and contrast automatic and controlled processing and discuss how we might determine which type of processing an audience will use.

Answer: Automatic processing involves the relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information. People using this type of processing when they don’t care much about the topic at hand. As a result, however, they are easily fooled by cute

jingles or glamorous photos. Controlled processing in contrast, involves detailed consideration of evidence and information. This type of processing is used for topics that people care about more. The choice of the type of processing used by people depends on interest level, prior knowledge, personality, and message characteristics. In general, the greater the interest in the decision, the more informed the individual is about the subject area, the greater the need for cognition, and richer the communication channel the greater the chance for controlled processing.

74. Identify and describe common barriers to effective communication.

Answer: (1) Filtering. Refers to senders purposely manipulating information so it will be seen more favorably by the receiver. (2) Selective Perception. Receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their own needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics. (3) Information Overload. Individuals have a finite capacity for processing data, and when that capacity is exceeded, the result is information overload. When individuals are in this condition, they tend to pass over, ignore, select out, or forget information, resulting in lost information and less effective communication. (4) Emotions. How a person feels when a message is received will influence how he or she interprets it.

(5) Language. Despite sharing a common language, words do not always hold the same meaning among members of the organization. (6) Communication Apprehension. Approximately 5 to 20 percent of the population is anxious when put in a situation where they have to communicate to others. This apprehension may affect all forms of communication, not just speaking in front of groups.

75. Describe the causes of potential problems in cross-cultural communication.

Answer: Miscommunication can occur because of cultural barriers: (1) Barriers Caused by Semantics. Some culture-specific words have no literal translation in another language. (2) Barriers Caused by Word Connotations. Words have culturally accepted meanings (connotations) that do not always reflect the dictionary definitions (denotations). (3) Barriers Caused by Tone Differences. In some cultures, the acceptable tone is linked to the context of the communication. Using the incorrect tone can diminish communication effectiveness. (4) Barriers Caused by Differences among Perceptions. People who speak different languages actually view the world in different ways, making it difficult to find commonality in some cases.

Exercises 49. Self-analysis. Have you ever been misinterpreted in an e-mail, TM, or IM because the receiver could not see your facial expressions or hear your tone of voice? If so, describe what happened. Do you think the use of emoticons (smiley faces and the like) help reduce this communication confusion?

50. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, enter the phrase communication tests, identify and take three of the free communications tests offered. What did the tests tell you about your communication style? Write up your results and compare the tests and suggestions with those of the textbook.

51. Teamwork. a. Telephone I: Line the class up and pass a hard copy of the following message to the first student in line. That student is to read the message silently and then whisper the message into the ear of the student next in line. No questions are allowed during the course of this activity and the message can only be passed on (said) once — no repeating.

All on a summer’s day, Candice crammed cranberries into the cask while Paula pruned the purple primroses completely away.

-Or-

Bob’s budget was bigger than the boss believed and, boy oh boy, was Bill belligerent about being berated about a bollixed budget!

Have the last student in line repeat the message aloud and then have the first student re-read the message. Count the number of words correctly passed along, calculate the error rate (100 percent — [number of correct words over total number of words to have been communicated * 100]) and share the results with the class. Have the class discuss what happened and how to remedy the situation. Their answers should lead to Phase II. b. Telephone II: Use whichever of the two messages was not used in Phase I and pass it along in a similar manner. This time, however, allow each recipient to ask for the message to be repeated (still in his or her ear) before forcing the message on to the next person. (As an alternative, also give the recipient the option of being able to repeat the message back into the sender’s ear for confirmation before passing it on.) End as with Phase I. Compare the results of the two phases. What might account for the differences?

52. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Discuss with various members of your organization where they think the communication breakdowns occur, either in their department or in the organization itself. Analyze their answers in the context of the communications model given as Exhibit 11-1. Where in the process do you feel these breakdowns tend to occur most often? Write up your results and prepare suggestions on fixing the process in your organization. If your instructor directs, be ready to share your suggestions in class.

Suggested Assignments

1. The Importance of Nonverbal Communication. Ask a couple of student volunteers to

participate in a role-playing communication exercise. Print these role scenarios on sheets that can be given to each “actor.” Allow the volunteers five minutes to resolve this issue. Have the class observe the drama and be ready to comment on the communication they observed: verbal and nonverbal.

Supervisor: You are a supervisor for an accounting department in a mid-sized manufacturing company. You have an employee, Roger, who is a good employee overall. However, Roger has one bad habit that has continually gotten worse—he is late for work regularly. The lateness has gotten to the level that Roger will be late— fifteen minutes or more—at least three days every week. However, Roger has worked for you for four years, and his work is of quite high quality and completed in a timely manner. In general, Roger is a good employee, and you would like to keep him. However, his lateness is beginning to affect office morale, as other employees are beginning to wonder (and talk about) why Roger is given the preferential treatment of being able to come in late and yet still leave on time. You have called Roger into your office to have a visit with him and indicate that he must come to work on time, or you will be forced to let him go. Your overall nonverbal messages need to convey a professional attitude of concern and authority; you must convey to Roger that his behavior is not acceptable, and must be changed. So how is he to change it?

Roger: You have worked for the firm for four years, and you are a good employee (at least you think you are, and your past evaluations have reinforced this opinion), but you have a problem getting to work on time. You are truly trying to be an exemplary employee, but your wife has recently left you (you did not tell anyone at work because you don’t believe in bringing your home problems into the workplace), and you are now a single parent responsible for getting your sevenyear-old to school. You must be at work by 8 a.m., but the school where your son attends will not allow him to be in the building until 8 a.m. He cannot ride the bus because you live too close to the school, and he is not eligible to be a bus rider. You have a high school student who is available to pick your son up from school in the afternoon, but she cannot take him in the morning. You have tried but can’t find a babysitter who could. Now, your boss is angry because you are late and has called you into her office. You certainly don’t want to lose your job, so you must communicate very openly about your changed home status. The nonverbal messages that you need to convey are a sense of embarrassment about having your wife leave you; a sense of remorse for being late, but you don’t know any other way to get your son to school; a sense of urgency because you do not want to lose your job. Suggestions: be very polite to the boss, sit up straight, sit on the forward part of your chair with your hands folded neatly; be sure that your appearance is as spit and polished as possible.

2. The Power of Punctuation. Write the following six words on the board without any punctuation: WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING. Ask the students to share what they believe the sentence to mean. Once the discussion has gone on for a while, offer to punctuate it this way.

Woman, without her man, is nothing.

Resume the discussion and then change the punctuation to read: Woman, without her, man is nothing!

Punctuation is the way we place tone and emphasis into writing—can the class see why nonverbal communication can be problematic?

3. Emoticons. To try to overcome the nonverbal communications problems in emails,

many people have resorted to the use of typographic faces (or smiley faces) to convey the emotion behind their words. How many of these can your class identify?

Emoticons #:-o %*} %-( %-6 >>:-<< () /\/\/\ 8-) 8-o :( :) :-@ :-p :-s :-{) :-| :-| :.( :-* @>--->--;) ]:-> ^^^ ~= ^5

Shocked Inebriated Confused Brain-dead Furious Hugging Laughter Wide-eyed Shocked Sad Smile Screaming Sticking tongue out What?!

Smile with moustache Déjà vu Crying Kiss A long-stemmed rose Wink Devil Giggles Flame Message High five

Other Teaching Resources

1. (Small group exercise). For a 30-minute small group communications exercise in listening that can be used in class, please see:

Schmidt, G. B. (2018). Listening Is Essential: An Experiential Exercise on Listening Behaviors. Management Teaching Review, 3(4), 287-294.

DOI:10.1177/2379298117748927

2. For a short classroom exercise using humor for students to learn and apply

communications concepts in order to assess barriers to communication and tactics for overcoming such barriers, please see: Julien, M., Clayton, R., and Stratton, M. (2020). Who’s On First: A Resource on Workplace Communication. Management Teaching Review, DOI:10.1177/2379298120951990

Chapter 12

Leadership

Chapter Overview Leaders can make the difference between success and failure. In this chapter, we'll look at the basic approaches to determining what makes an effective leader and what differentiates leaders from non-leaders.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 12.2 12-1. Summarize the conclusions of trait theories of leadership.

12-2. Identify the central tenets and main limitations of behavioral theories.

12-3. Contrast contingency theories of leadership.

12-4. Describe the contemporary theories of leadership and their relationship to foundational theories.

12-5. Discuss the roles of leaders in creating ethical organizations.

12-6. Describe how leaders can have a positive impact on their organizations through building trust and mentoring.

12-7. Identify the challenges to our understanding of leadership.

Suggested Lecture Outline

XLII. INTRODUCTION

This chapter examines what it takes to be an effective leader and what differentiates leaders from non-leaders.

XLIII. TRAIT THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP PPT 12.3 1. Not all leaders are managers, nor are all managers leaders.

2. Nonsanctioned leadership—the ability to influence that arises outside of the formal structure of the organization—is sometimes more important than formal influence.

3. Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals.

A. Personality Traits and Leadership. a. Trait theories of leadership focus on personal qualities, including personality traits like those in the Big Five, and characteristics that predict two distinct outcomes: leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness. b. Just because someone exhibits the right traits and others consider that person a leader does not necessarily mean they will be effective or successful at influencing the group to achieve its goals. c. Leader behavior is a function of traits and the situation.

1. Big Five Traits: PPT 12.4 a. Extraversion has been found to be important for several leadership outcomes.

1) It is the strongest predictor of leader emergence.

2) Extraverted leaders are more likely to use transformational leadership styles and consideration behaviors.

3) Extraversion can predict effective leadership, but it may be due to unique facets of the trait.

4) But leaders need to make sure they’re not “too bold” or “too warm,” as these can hurt chances of leadership emergence.

b. Agreeableness and emotional stability are important to some aspects of

leadership (e.g., they predict follower satisfaction with the leader); openness to experience appears to be less important as a trait, despite being a modest predictor of leader effectiveness. c. Conscientiousness appears to be important for several leadership behaviors and outcomes.

1) Conscientiousness predicts initiating structure as well as consideration behaviors.

2) Conscientiousness is also a moderate predictor of leader effectiveness and the strongest leader trait predictor of group performance.

2. Dark Side Traits: What about the Dark Side personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy? Research indicates they’re not all bad for leadership. a. Research indicates that normative (mid-range) scores on the Dark Side personality traits were optimal, and low (and high) scores were associated with ineffective leadership. b. Thankfully, both this study and other international research indicate that building self-awareness and self-regulation skills may be helpful for leaders to control the effects of their Dark Side traits B. Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Leadership.

1. Another trait that may indicate effective leadership is emotional intelligence (EI).

2. As discussed in Chapter 4, a core component of EI is empathy. Empathetic leaders can sense others’ needs, listen to what followers say (and don’t say), and read the reactions of others.

3. A leader who effectively displays and manages emotions will find it easier to influence the feelings of followers by expressing genuine sympathy and enthusiasm for good performance and by showing irritation when employees fail to perform.

4. Research has also demonstrated that people high in EI are more likely to emerge as leaders, even after taking cognitive ability and personality into account.

III. BEHAVIORAL THEORIES 1. Trait theory provides a basis for selecting the right people for PPT 12.5 leadership.

2. Behavioral theories of leadership imply that we can train people to be leaders.

3. The Ohio State Studies attempted to find what behaviors substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees.

Beginning with over a thousand dimensions, researchers narrowed the list to two: initiating structure and consideration.

A. Initiating Structure.

1. Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure their roles and those of their subordinates in pursuit of goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals.

2. A leader high in initiating structure is one who assigns followers tasks, sets definitive standards of performance, and emphasizes deadlines.

B. Consideration.

1. Consideration is the extent to which a person is likely to have job

relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.

2. A leader high in consideration helps employees with personal problems, is friendly and approachable, treats all employees as equals, and expresses appreciation and support.

3. Followers of leaders high in consideration were more satisfied with their

jobs, were more motivated, and had more respect for their leaders.

C. Cultural Differences.

1. Research from the program suggested there are international differences in the preference for initiating structure and consideration. a. Brazil.

1) Such leaders would need to be team oriented, productive, and humane.

2) They would be high in consideration and emphasize participative decision making. b. France.

1) Leaders are viewed more bureaucratically and are not expected to be humane or considerate.

2) Leaders who are task oriented will do best, and they may act autocratically. c. China.

1) Both initiating structure and consideration are important.

2) Leaders need to demonstrate politeness and consideration, and be unselfish.

IV. CONTINGENCY THEORIES 1. Background.

PPT 12.6 a. Some leaders gain a lot of admirers when they take over struggling companies and lead them out of crises. b. The leadership style that works in bad times does not necessarily translate into long-term success. c. Being an effective leader can be highly contingent upon situational demands.

A. The Fiedler Model.

1. One of the first models of this type was developed by Fred PPT 12.7 Fiedler (Exhibit 12-1).

2. The Fielder contingency model proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the Exhibit 12-1 leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader.

3. Fiedler believes a key factor in leadership success is the individual’s basic leadership style, which is assumed to be permanent. a. Fiedler created the least preferred coworker (LPC) questionnaire, which measures whether a person is task-oriented or relationshiporiented, by asking about the coworker you least enjoyed working with.

1) High LPC scores indicate a relationship-oriented leader; low LPC scores indicate a task-oriented one. b. After assessing an individual’s basic leadership style through the LPC questionnaire, the leader is matched with the situation.

c. Fiedler identified three contingency dimensions that defined the key

situational factors that will determine the appropriate leadership style.

1) Leader-member relations is the degree of confidence, trust, and respect members have in their leader.

2) Task structure is the degree to which the job assignments follow a specific procedure.

3) Position power is the degree of influence a leader has over hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases. d. The next step is to evaluate the situation in terms of these three variables.

1) Fiedler states that the better the leader–member relations, the more highly structured the job, and the stronger the position power, the more control the leader has.

2) A very favorable situation (in which the leader has a great deal of control) might include a payroll manager who is well respected and whose employees have confidence in her (good leader–member relations); activities to be done—such as wage computation, check writing, and report filing—that are specific and clear (high task structure); and provision of considerable freedom to reward and punish employees (strong position power).

3) An unfavorable situation might be that of the disliked chairperson of a volunteer United Way fundraising team. In this job, the leader has very little control.

4) In this job, the leader has very little control. When faced with a category I, II, III, VII, or VIII situation, task-oriented leaders perform better.

5) Relationship-oriented leaders, however, perform better in moderately favorable situations—categories IV, V, and VI. B. Situational Leadership Theory (SLT).

1. Situational leadership theory (SLT) focuses on the followers. It says successful leadership depends on selecting the right PPT 12.8 leadership style contingent on the followers’ readiness, the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task.

2. A leader should choose one of the following four behaviors depending on follower readiness. a. If followers are unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader needs to give clear and specific directions. b. If followers are unable but willing, the leader needs to display high task orientation to compensate for followers’ lack of ability and high relationship orientation to get them to “buy into” the leader’s desires. c. If followers are able but unwilling, the leader needs to use a supportive and participative style. d. If followers are both able and willing, the leader doesn’t need to do much.

3. SLT has intuitive appeal. It acknowledges the importance of followers and builds on the logic that leaders can compensate for their limited ability and motivation. a. Yet, research efforts to test and support the theory have been relatively disappointing. Possible explanations include internal ambiguities and inconsistencies in the model itself as well as problems with research methodology.

C. Path-Goal Theory.

1. Developed by Robert House, path-goal theory extracts elements from the

Ohio State leadership research on initiating structure and consideration, and the expectancy theory of motivation.

2. Path-goal theory suggests it’s the leader’s job to provide followers with information, support, or other resources necessary to achieve goals.

3. The theory predicts: a. Directive leadership yields greater satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous or stressful than when they are highly structured and well laid out. b. Supportive leadership results in high performance and satisfaction when employees are performing structured tasks. c. Directive leadership is likely to be perceived as redundant by employees with high ability or considerable experience.

4. Like SLT, path–goal theory has intuitive appeal, especially from a goal attainment perspective.

D. Leader-Participation Model.

PPT 12.9 1. The leader-participation model relates leadership behavior to subordinate participation in decision making.

2. Like path–goal theory, it says leader behavior must adjust to reflect the task structure (such as routine, nonroutine, or in between), but it does not cover all leadership behaviors and is limited to recommending what types of decisions might be best made with subordinate participation.

3. It lays the groundwork for the situations and leadership behaviors most likely to elicit acceptance from subordinates.

V. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP 1. The understanding of leadership is a constantly evolving science.

Contemporary theories have built upon the foundation we’ve just established to discover the unique ways leaders emerge, influence, and guide their employees and organizations.

A. Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory.

1. Think of a leader you know. Does this leader have favorites who make up an ingroup? If you answered “yes,” you’re acknowledging leader–member exchange (LMX) theory.

2. LMX suggests leaders and followers have unique, one-on-one relationshps that vary with each follower.

3. LMX argues that, because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their followers.

4. These followers make up the ingroup—they are trusted, get a disproportionate amount of the leader’s attention, and are more likely to receive special privileges. Other followers fall into the outgroup. a. For the LMX relationship to remain intact, the leader and the PPT 12.10 follower must invest in the relationship (Exhibit 12-2).

5. Competent, conscientious, proactive, and positive employees tend to have higher-quality relationships with their leaders and are more likely to be placed in the in-group. a. Leaders and followers of the same gender tend to have closer (higher LMX) relationships than those of different genders. b. Even though the leader does the choosing, the follower’s characteristics drive the categorizing decision.

6. Research to test LMX theory has been generally supportive, with substantive

evidence that leaders do differentiate among followers; these disparities are far from random; and followers with ingroup status receive higher performance ratings, objectively perform better, engage in more helping or citizenship behaviors at work, and report greater satisfaction with their superiors.

7. For all the positive outcomes the ingroup receives, research indicates that both the ingroup and the outgroup realize negative effects from LMX. a. It negatively affects team attitudes, collective efficacy, justice climate, and coordination, and can lead to conflict in teams. b. LMX quality among members of a team tends to matter more for work group or team outcomes. c. The quality of exchange between coworkers and collegaues can often substitute for or offset the negative impacts of low LMX in teams.

8. LMX’s relationship with perceptions of trust, job satisfaction, and justice, as well as OCBs and tunover intentions, depends in part on the culture—it matters more in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures.

9. The level of agreement between leaders and followers on relationship quality is not very strong. Disagreement can lead to lower employee engagement.

B. Charismatic, Transformational, and Transactional Leadership Styles. a. Two contemporary leadership theories—charismatic leadership and transformational leadership—share a common theme in the great leader debate: They view leaders as individuals who inspire followers through words, ideas, and behaviors.

1. What Is Charismatic Leadership?: Max Weber, a sociologist, PPT 12.11 defined charisma (from the Greek for “gift”) more than a century ago as “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he or she is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.

1) These are not accessible to the ordinary person and are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader.” b. According to the charismatic leadership theory, followers are believed to make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors, and tend to give these leaders power.

1) The charismatic characteristics identified by the research so far are (Exhibit 12-3): a) vision, b) a willingness to take personal risks to achieve that vision, c) sensitivity to followers’ needs, and d) exhibiting behaviors that are out of the ordinary. c. Some research has linked intelligence, extraversion, and agreeableness to the motivational and influential factors of charismatic leadership.

2. How Charismatic Leaders Influence Followers . It begins with articulating an appealing vision, a long-term strategy for attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the organization.

1) Desirable visions fit the times and circumstances and reflect the uniqueness of the organization. a. A vision is incomplete without an accompanying vision statement, a formal articulation of an organization’s vision or mission.

1) Charismatic leaders may use vision statements to imprint on followers an overarching goal and purpose.

2) They then communicate high performance expectations and express

confidence that followers can attain them.

3) This enhances follower self-esteem and self-confidence.

4) They engage in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior to demonstrate courage and conviction about the vision.

3. Does Effective Charismatic Leadership Depend on the Situation?

There are strong correlations between charismatic leadership and PPT 12.12 high performance and satisfaction among followers, but such results may be situationally dependent.

1) People are especially receptive to charismatic leadership when they sense a crisis, when they are under stress, or when they fear for their lives.

2) Another factor is ambiguity: when we cannot accurately assess or observe how someone is doing, we rely more on cues (e.g., charismatic behaviors) to assess whether they are being effective as a leader.

3) Some personalities are especially susceptible to charismatic leadership. a) For instance, an individual who lacks self-esteem and questions his self-worth is more likley to absorb a leader’s direction rather than establish his own way of leading or thinking. For these people, the situation may matter much less than the charismatic qualities of the leader.

4. The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership: Unfortunately, PPT 12.13 charismatic leaders who are larger than life don’t necessarily act in the best interests of their organizations. a. Individuals who are narcissistic are higher in some behaviors associated with charismatic leadership. b. Charismatic leadership can unduly distort follower fairness perceptions. c. Many have used their power to remake companies in their own image and allowed their own interest and personal goals to override the goals of the organization. d. The results at companies such as Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, and HealthSouth were leaders who recklessly used organizational resources for their personal benefit and executives who violated laws and ethical boundaries to inflate stock prices and allow leaders to cash in millions of dollars in stock options. e. We don’t mean to suggest charismatic leadership isn’t effective; overall it is.

1) But a charismatic leader isn’t always the answer. a) Success depends, to some extent, on the situation and on the leader’s vision, and on the organizational checks and balances in place to monitor the outcomes.

5. Becoming a Charismatic Leader. a. Anyone can develop, within our own limitations, a more charismatic leadership style. b. If you stay active and central in your leadership roles, you will naturally communicate your vision for achieving goals to your followers, which increases the likelihood you will be charismatic.

c. Use your passion as a catalyst for generating enthusiasm. d. Bring out the potential in followers by tapping into their emotions and forging a unifying bond among the team.

e. But do not overdo it!

VI. TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP a. Transactional leaders are those who guide or motivate their

PPT 12.14

followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements, allocating rewards and punishment Exhibit 12-4 where needed, and (passively or actively) intervening when the situation calls for it. b. Transformational leaders are those who inspire followers to PPT 12.15 transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound or extraordinary effect on their followers. c. Transactional and transformational leadership aren’t opposing approaches to getting things done. They complement each other, though they’re not equally important (Exhibit 12-4).

1) There is some evidence that whether leaders engage in transformational behaviors depends to a large extent on the culture and industry.

1. Full Range of Leadership Model. Exhibit 12-5 shows the full range of PPT 12.16 leadership model.

a. The first four: 1) Laissez-faire (“let it be”) is the most passive and therefore

Exhibit 12-5

least effective of leader behaviors.

2) Management by exception, in which leaders primarily “put out fires” during crises, monitor employee performance for errors, and interact with followers—active or passive—is slightly better than laissez-faire, but it’s still considered ineffective.

3) Contingent reward leadership, which gives predetermined rewards for employee efforts, can be an effective style of leadership but will not get employees to go above and beyond the call of duty. b. Only with the four remaining styles—all aspects of transformational leadership—are leaders able to motivate followers to perform above expectations and transcend their self-interest for the sake of the organization.

1) Individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence all result in extra effort from workers, higher productivity, higher creativity, higher well-being, higher morale and satisfaction, higher organizational effectiveness, lower turnover, lower absenteeism, and greater organizational adaptability.

2) Most of the Big Five traits (except emotional stability) appear to be important for idealized influence, but only openness and agreeableness appear to consistently predict inspirational motivation and individualized consideration.

2. How Transformational Leadership Works. Transformational PPT 12.17 leadership is generally effective for five reasons: a. Affective or attitudinal mechanism: Transformational approaches promote positive employee moods, emotions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and feelings of well-being.

b. Motivational mechanism: Transformational approaches motivate employees—they become more confident and engaged.

c. Identification mechanism: Transformational approaches lead employees

to personally identify with the leader’s values and identity, as well as with the team or organization. d. Social exchange mechanism: Transformational approaches improve the quality of exchange and relationship between leaders and followers.

Followers are also more likely to perceive they are supported by the leader, team, and/or organization. e. Justice enhancement mechanism: Transformational approaches improve employee fairness perceptions, motivating followers to contribute more and to trust the leader, team, and organization more. f. Research suggests the “social exchange mechanism” is the primary “reason” for why leadership behaviors and styles influence outcomes: Behaviors that improve perceptions of leader-follower relationship quality, in turn, result in improved follower performance.

3. Transformational versus Transactional Leadership. Transformational leadership and transactional leadership complement each other; they are not opposing approaches to getting things done. a. Transformation builds on transactional leadership and produces levels of follower effort and performance beyond what transactional leadership alone can do. b. Transformational leadership is more important for group performance, OCBs, and satisfaction with the leader. c. Transactional leadership is more important for leader effectiveness, follower performance, and follower job satisfaction.

4. Transformational Leadership versus Charismatic Leadership. In considering transformational and charismatic leadership, you surely noticed some commonalities.

1) Charismatic leaders are those that make value-based appeals and communicate through symbolic and emotion-laden means.

2) Charismatic leadership places somewhat more emphasis on how leaders communicate while transformational leadership focuses more on what is communicated.

3) At their heart, both theories focus on the ability of leaders to inspire followers, and some of the ways they do this are the same in both theories.

5. Evaluation of Transformational Leadership. In general, organizations perform better when they have transformational leaders. Transformational leadership has been supported at various job levels and in disparate occupations. a. Critics argue that transformational leadership behaviors can be construed as manipulative and unduly granting power to inspirational people. b. Others argue that transformational leadership theory could benefit from understanding which dimensions are most important. c. Others criticize the survey with which transformational leadership is measured, and suggest transformational leadership is often confounded with outcomes.

VII. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP One area left out of charismatic and transformational leadership theories

PPT 12.18

is the role of ethics and trust in leadership effectiveness.

A. Authentic Leadership.

1. Authentic leaders are self-aware and anchored by their mission, consider others’ opinions and all relevant information before acting, and display their true selves when interacting with employees.

2. Women are perceived to be more authentic, but if they engage in more transactional approaches, that goes against the stereotype and may lead some to label them as inauthentic.

3. Authentic leadership strongly predicts outcomes such as group performance, OCBs, LMS, satisfaction and trust in their leader, ratings of leader effectiveness, follower attitudes and empowerment, and, to a lesser degree, follower creativity, engagement, deviance, turnover intentions, and burnout.

4. Transformational and authentic leadership are extremely similar in practice, to the point where many researchers consider them to be identical.

B. (Un)ethical Leadership. The idea that leaders serve as ethical role models to followers, and thus demonstrate appropriate (or inappropriate) behavior by using their power in (un)ethical ways and/or by treating others fairly (or unfairly).

1. Unethical leadership has a direct influence on how employees think about moral issues.

2. Ethical leadership tends to improve follower job attitudes, job performance, and perceptions of follower leaders—indeed, ethical leadership tends to increase followers’ trust in their leaders, which in turn can lead to these positive outcomes.

3. Ethical leadership sets the example for how employees should treat one another.

4. It is difficult to untangle (un)ethical leadership from transformational leadership in practice.

5. It is difficult for a leader to be consistently ethical. a. If followers’ values align with the leaders’ and they have a sense of mutual trust, they may be more likely to support the leader.

6. Ethical leadership has implications for the financial outcomes as well.

C. Servant Leadership.

1. Scholars have recently considered ethical leadership from a PPT 12.19 new angle by examining servant leadership.

2. Servant leaders go beyond their own self-interest and focus on opportunities to help followers grow and develop. They don’t use power to achieve ends; they emphasize persuasion.

3. Characteristic behaviors include listening, empathizing, persuading, practicing stewardship, and actively developing followers’ potential.

4. What are the effects of servant leadership? Servant leadership is strongly related to followers’ job attitudes, as well as their trust in leadership and LMX perceptions.

5. High-level managers who are servant leaders can influence low-level managers to practice servant leadership, which in turn improves employee performance.

6. Although servant leadership is highly related to transformational, authentic, and ethical leadership, research suggests that it holds the most promise of “standing on its own” as a unique leadership style in practice, when compared to authentic and ethical leadership.

VIII.

POSITIVE LEADERSHIP A. Trust.

PPT 12.20 a. Trust is a psychological state of mutual positive expectations between people—both depend on each other and are genuinely concerned for each other’s welfare. b. Trust can be focused on competence or integrity. c. Trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership; breaking it can have serious adverse effects on a group’s performance. d. Followers who trust a leader are willing to be vulnerable to the leader’s actions, confident their rights and interests will not be abused.

1. The Outcomes of Trust: Trust between supervisors and employees has a number of specific advantages. Here are just a few from research: a. Trust encourages taking risks. Whenever employees decide to deviate from the usual way of doing things or to take their supervisor’s word on a new direction, they are taking a risk. In both cases, a trusting relationship can facilitate that leap. b. Trust facilitates information sharing. When managers demonstrate they will give employees’ ideas a fair hearing and actively make changes, employees are more willing to speak out. c. Trusting groups are more effective. When a leader sets a trusting tone in a group, members are more willing to help each other and exert extra effort, which increases trust. d. Trust enhances productivity. Employees who trust their supervisors tend to receive higher performance ratings, indicating higher productivity.

2. Trust Development: What key characteristics lead us to believe a PPT 12.21 leader is trustworthy? Evidence has identified three: integrity, benevolence, and ability (see Exhibit 12-6). a. Integrity refers to honesty and truthfulness. When 570 white-collar employees were given a list of 28 attributes related to leadership, they rated honesty the most important by far.

Exhibit 12-6 Integrity also means maintaining consistency between what you do and say. b. Benevolence means the trusted person has your interests at heart, even if your interests aren’t necessarily in line with theirs. Caring and supportive behavior is part of the emotional bond between leaders and followers. c. Ability encompasses an individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills. You’re unlikely to depend on someone whose abilities you don’t believe in even if the person is highly principled and has the best intentions.

3. Trust Propensity: Trust propensity refers to how likely a particular employee is to trust a leader. Some people are simply more likely to believe others can be trusted. a. Trust propensity is closely linked to the personality trait of agreeableness and people with lower self-esteem are less likely to trust others.

4. Trust and Culture: Does trust look the same in every culture? Using the basic definition of trust, it certainly does. However, in the work context, trust in an employment relationship may be built on very different perceptions from culture to culture.

a. In individualistic societies (see Chapter 4), we might expect that

paternalistic leadership will rankle many employees who prefer not to see themselves as part of a hierarchical family work group. b. Employees in individualistic cultures may build trust according to the degree of leadership support and consistency instead.

5. The Role of Time: We come to trust people by observing their behavior over a period of time. a. To help, leaders need to demonstrate integrity, benevolence, and ability in situations where trust is important—say, where they could behave opportunistically or let employees down. b. Second, research with 100 companies around the world suggested that leaders can build trust by shifting their communication style from topdown commands to ongoing organizational dialogue. c. Third, when leaders regularly create interpersonal conversations with their employees that are intimate, interactive, inclusive and that intentionally follow an agenda, followers demonstrate trust with high levels of engagement. d. Lastly, followers can experience a breach of trust when leaders replace transformational leadership with laissez-faire leadership or when they are furious in response to an unethical behavior—this breach of trust can cause followers to rate leaders as less effective as a result.

6. Regaining Trust: Managers who break the psychological contract with workers, demonstrating they aren’t trustworthy leaders, will find employees are less satisfied and less committed, have a higher intent toward turnover, engage in less organizational citizenship behavior, and have lower levels of task performance. a. Once it has been violated, trust can be regained, but only in certain situations and depending on the type of violation.

1) When it is a lack of ability, an apology helps.

2) When it is a lack of integrity, an apology usually does not do any good.

3) Saying nothing is never a good strategy for regaining trust. b. Trust can be restored when we observe a consistent pattern of trustworthy behavior by the transgressor.

1) However, if the transgressor used deception, trust never fully returns, not even after apologies, promises, or a consistent pattern of trustworthy actions.

B. Mentoring.

1. A mentor is a senior employee who sponsors and PPT 12.22 supports a less-experienced employee, a protégé.

2. Mentoring relationships, whether formal or informal, serve career functions and psychosocial functions.

3. In formal mentoring relationships, protégé candidates are identfied according to assessments of leadership potential; then they are matched with leaders in corresponding organizational functions.

4. Research indicates that employers should establish mentoring programs because they benefit both mentors and protégés, although informal programs tend to work better.

5. Males tends to be more likely to serve as a mentor, while females tend to both give and receive more psychosocial support in a mentoring relationship.

6. You might assume mentoring is valuable for objective outcomes like

compensation and job performance, but research suggets the gains are primarily psychological.

C. Leading in Times Of Crisis.

1. Leaders can and do emerge during times of crisis, although there PPT 12.23 is variability in how effective they are at handling the situation.

2. One historical review suggested that much of successful leadership episodes involved transactional behaviors, such as strategizing and coordinating.

3. Analyzing the situation appears to be particularly important. a. Leaders managing crisis teams move quickly toward a shared mental model of the crisis with followers over time. b. Emotions also play a large role: for example, in one study, a leader responsible for a product recall that cost an organization a lot of money was rated more favorably when accepting responsibility and expressing sadness.

4. During times of crisis, charaismatic leadership can be visionary, or crisisresponsive. Both forms can be effective in different ways.

5. The effects of charismatic and transformational leadership during times of crisis may even reverberate after the crisis is over.

IX. CHALLENGES TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LEADERSHIP PPT 12.24 A. Leadership as an Attribution. As you may remember from Chapter 6, attribution theory examines how people try to make sense of cause-and-effect relationships. The attribution theory of leadership says leadership is merely an attribution people make about other individuals.

1. Thus we attribute to our leaders: intelligence, outgoing personality, strong verbal skills, aggressiveness, understanding, and industriousness.

2. At the organizational level, we tend to see leaders, rightly or wrongly, as responsible for extremely negative or extremely positive performance.

3. Perceptions of leaders by their followers strongly affect leaders’ ability to be effective.

4. Attribution theory suggests what’s important is projecting the appearance of being a leader rather than focusing on actual accomplishments. a. Leader-wannabes who can shape the perception that they’re smart, personable, verbally adept, aggressive, hardworking, and consistent in their style can increase the probability their bosses, colleagues, and employees will view them as effective leaders.

B. Neutralizers of and Substitutes for Leadership. This theory holds that leadership actions are often irrelevant when trying to explain organizational outcomes.

1. Experience and training are among the substitutes that can replace the need for a leader’s support or ability to create structure. a. Organizational characteristics such as explicit formalized goals, rigid rules and procedures, and cohesive work groups can also replace formal leadership. b. Leadership can also serve as a substitute for the effects of policies, practices, and procedures.

2. Neutralizers make it impossible for leader behavior to make any PPT 12.25 difference to follower outcomes (Exhibit 12-7).

3. We’ve introduced a number of variables—such as attitudes, Exhibit 12-7 personality, ability, and group norms—that affect employee performance and satisfaction. a. It’s simplistic to think employees are guided to goal accomplishments

solely by the actions of their leader. b. Leadership is simply another independent variable in our overall OB model.

X. SUMMARY A. Leadership plays a central part in our understanding of group behavior because it’s the leader who usually directs us toward our goals.

B. Knowing what makes a good leader should thus be valuable in improving group

performance.

1. The early search for a set of universal leadership traits failed. However, recent efforts using the Big Five personality framework show strong and consistent relationships between personality and leadership.

2. The behavioral approach’s major contribution was narrowing leadership into task-oriented (initiating structure) and people-oriented (consideration) styles.

3. By considering the situation in which the leader operates, contingency theories promised to improve on the behavioral approach,.

4. Contemporary theories have made major contributions to our understanding of leadership effectiveness, and studies of ethics and positive leadership offer exciting promise.

XI. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 12.26 A. For maximum leadership effectiveness, ensure that your preferences on the initiating structure and consideration dimensions are a match for your work dynamics and culture.

B. Hire candidates who exhibit transformational leadership qualities and who have demonstrated success in working through others to meet a long-term vision.

1. Personality tests can reveal candidates higher in extraversion; conscientiousness may indicate leadership readiness.

C. Hire candidates whom you believe are ethical and trustworthy for management roles and train current managers in your organization’s ethical standards in order to increase leadership effectiveness.

D. Seek to develop trusting relationships with followers because, as organizations have become less stable and predictable, strong bonds of trust are replacing bureaucratic rules in defining expecations and relationships.

E. Consider investing in leadership training such as formal courses, workshops, rotating job responsibilities, coaching, and mentoring.

Discussion Questions

PPT 12.27

76. List and describe the traits of effective leaders.

Answer: Using the Big Five framework, effective leaders do appear to have some key traits in common: they are extraverted (individuals who like being around people and are able to assert themselves), conscientious (disciplined individuals who keep the commitments they make), and open (individuals who are creative and flexible).

77. Define and give examples of the Ohio State leadership dimensions.

Answer: There are two leadership dimensions; initiating structure and consideration. Initiating Structure: refers to the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals. Consideration: is the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings. People high in consideration show concern for followers’ comfort, well-being, status, and satisfaction.

78. Compare and contrast trait and behavioral theories.

Answer: The primary difference between leadership behavior theories and trait theories is that traits cannot be taught. Thus, trait studies attempted to identify people who had the natural characteristics necessary to be good leaders: the focus was on selection. Behaviors on the other hand, can be learned. So, behavioral studies attempt to find the correct actions leaders take. By teaching these behaviors, anyone could be trained to be a better leader: the focus is on what should be trained. Both sets of theories attempted to help organizations find (or develop) better leaders; it is their methodology that differs.

79. Describe Fiedler's contingency model.

Answer: The Fiedler contingency model proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. Leadership style is identified through the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) questionnaire, which purports to measure whether a person is task- or relationship-oriented. High LPC scores indicate a relationshiporiented leader; low LPC scores indicate a task-oriented leader. Fiedler assumed that an individual’s leadership style is fixed. The situation is defined by three contingency dimensions: (1) leader-member relations: the degree of confidence, trust, and respect members have in their leader; (2) task structure: the degree to which the job assignments are structured or unstructured; and (3) position power: the degree of influence a leader has over hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases. The combination of the measurements of these three dimensions creates eight potential situations that a leader might face. Task-oriented leaders tend to perform better in situations that are either very favorable to them or very unfavorable (category I, II, III, VII, or VIII). Relationship-oriented leaders perform better in moderately favorable situations (categories IV through VI). Recently Fiedler has condensed these eight situations down to three based on the degree of control: task-oriented leaders perform best in situations of high and low control while relationship-oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. In order to improve leader effectiveness an organization must either (1) change the leader to fit the situation or (2) change the situation to fit the leader. This second solution can be achieved by restructuring tasks or increasing/decreasing the power the leader has to control factors such as salary increases, promotions, and disciplinary actions.

80. Define the characteristics of a charismatic leader.

Answer: The charismatic characteristics identified by House are: vision, a

willingness to take personal risks to achieve that vision, sensitivity to followers’ needs, and exhibiting behaviors that are out of the ordinary. Charismatic leaders influence followers by: (1) Articulating an appealing vision: a long-term strategy on how to attain a goal or goals. (2) Communicating values. (3) Modeling behavior aligned with the new set of values: being an example for followers to imitate. (4) Engaging in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior to demonstrate courage and convictions about the vision.

81. Contrast transformational with transactional leaders.

Answer: Transformational leaders are those who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound or extraordinary effect on their followers. Transactional leaders are those who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. In a sense, transformational leaders reflect what is popularly known as leadership, while transactional leaders reflect management.

82. Discuss trust and leadership. What makes a leader appear to be trustworthy?

Answer: There are three main characteristics that lead us to believe a leader is trustworthy: integrity (honesty and truthfulness), benevolence (the trusted person has your interests a heart even of your interests aren’t necessarily in line with theirs), and ability (encompasses an individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills).

83. Identify when leadership may not be necessary.

Answer: According to the Substitutes and Neutralizers to Leadership Theory, the following variables can either neutralize or substitute for leadership: (1) employees with greater experience, training, professional orientation, or indifference toward organizational rewards; (2) jobs that are inherently unambiguous and routine or that are intrinsically satisfying; and/or (3) organizations with explicit, formalized goals, rigid rules and procedures, and cohesive work groups.

84. Does charismatic/transformational leadership generalize across cultures?

Answer: In general, yes, it does, but its expression may vary depending on the culture. A recent Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness project indicated that the desire for charismatic leadership appears to be universal.

Exercises 53. Self-analysis. Based on your Big Five personality profile, what leadership traits do you possess? Do you think you would be a good leader? Why or why not? (If you have not already completed this personality test in an earlier chapter, search the Internet for a free version of the Big Five personality test and take it.)

54. Web Crawling. Search the Internet to find three sources that believe that leadership is necessary for organizations to be effective and three sources that do not.

Concisely summarize the two arguments and then provide your opinion on the matter.

55. Teamwork. Split the class into small groups of four. Half of these teams will elect a leader who will act as a transactional leader. The other half will select leaders who will act as transformational leaders. Give each team three decks of cards that have been shuffled together and randomly stacked. Call the leaders together and inform them of their team’s task. The task of each group is to sort and sequence the pile into the original three separate decks of cards (ordered by suit and rank: A♠-K♠, A♣-K♣, A♥-K♥, and A♦-K♦). This activity is a race between teams. The winning team will be the one that completes the task the fastest and the most accurately. Every card that is found to be out of place is a thirty-second penalty. Review with the leaders the

differences between transactional and transformational leadership before allowing them to start the exercise. Allow the leaders to act in the way they see fit, based on their style of leadership. Time each team. At the end of the activity, have the competing teams check each other's results for accuracy. Average the time taken by each type of leader’s teams. Was there a difference? Why or why not? Address these questions to the team members, not the team leaders. Ask the team members of each type of leader how they felt during the activity. Ask the team leaders how they felt about their team members and the activity. Hold a discussion on the effects of these two types of leadership on the results of this activity.

56. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Analyze the leadership in your organization using the theories discussed in this chapter as a framework. Pick one or more theories that you think applies most to your organization, and actually write a case study on it. For example, if you think that the Fiedler model is what is driving the leadership in your organization, write a paper discussing why this is the case. For example, you may have a strong task-oriented leader who is very effective because the situational variables are either very high or very low.

57. What Characterizes a Leader? This exercise will show students different leadership styles in a fun way. It requires some significant preparation on the instructor’s part. a. Rent one or more of the following movies: i. Karate Kid - Good for contingency leadership. ii. Lawrence of Arabia - Good for charismatic/visionary leadership. iii. Hoosiers - Good for transactional leadership. b. Preview the film(s) you will use in class and note where the following sections are. (By previewing, you will reduce viewing time to fifteen to twenty minutes out of each film.) i. The Karate Kid: (1) When Miyagi has Daniel washing, sanding, and painting, only to show him that he has learned karate: high task/low relationship. (2) When they are on the inlet fishing and Daniel is standing on the boat practicing: moderate task/moderate relationship. And (3) the tournament at the end of the film: high relationship/low task direction. ii. Lawrence of Arabia: (1) The beginning of the film when Lawrence gets his assignment and declares it is fun. (2) When he is first riding in the desert and won’t drink his water except when his guide does.

(3) When he is talking the tribal leader into riding across the desert to attack the port city and (4) later when he talks the second tribal leader into joining them. The pattern shows the development, execution, and creation commitment to a vision. iii. Hoosiers: (1) When Gene Hackman is first coaching the players and tells them to leave if they don’t want to work. (2) Choose one or two scenes where he is dictating to them how to play: my way or the highway. Be sure to close with (3) the tournament game where the players finally have enough confidence to tell him they want to do something different and he lets them. This last scene is important to show that transactional leadership does work; you just may not like the method. c. Lead a discussion after watching the clips from each film. As an alternative, watch the entire movie(s), stopping the video periodically and discussing the elements of leadership displayed to that point.

58. Name That Leader! Before even beginning the discussion of leadership, have students name/identify who they think are or have been great leaders. This list can include past, present, and future leaders; male and female leaders; living or deceased leaders of the following categories: business leaders, governmental

leaders (domestic and international), ethnic leaders, and religious leaders from any/all denominations.

Try to encourage a wide variety of leaders, even some leaders that would not be considered socially acceptable, such as Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and cult leaders such as Jim Jones and Charles Manson, because they will lead into the discussion. While they were not exactly nice people, they were able to influence the behavior of others to act in a certain manner.

After the class has generated a relatively lengthy list (twenty or more), have the students identify why all of the people on this list are or were leaders, and what characteristics do they all have in common. Write the list on the board. This can lead into an interesting discussion on trait theory.

59. Ethical Leadership. Have the class search for news stories on ethical breakdowns by current leaders. Discuss the events in the context of why the breakdowns occurred.

Was it due to a wrong style, such as using charisma when it did not work? Discuss the concept of traits and behaviors in the context of what makes a great leader. For example, can one behave unethically in their personal lives, but still be a great leader?

Suggested Assignments 1. Ask students to look at the list of famous quotes from well-known leaders from history. They may use the Internet to find these leaders.

2. Once the leaders are identified, ask students to write a short paper about two to four of these leaders to describe their leadership characteristics in terms introduced in the chapter.

Who Said That?

Name That Leader 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

I have a dream.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

I have not yet begun to fight.

The buck stops here.

Read my lips.

[In response to a female heckler who claimed he was drunk.] And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.

Give me liberty or give me death.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Who Said That?

Name That Leader: Answer Key 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

I have a dream. -Martin Luther King, Jr. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt I have not yet begun to fight. -John Paul Jones The buck stops here. -Harry S. Truman Read my lips. -George H.W. Bush [In response to a female heckler who claimed he was drunk.] And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning. -Winston Churchill

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.

-John F. Kennedy Give me liberty or give me death. -Patrick Henry In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson If you judge people, you have no time to love them. -Mother Teresa Walk softly and carry a big stick. -Teddy Roosevelt

Other Teaching Resources

1. For a classroom discussion exercise to help students better understand the pathgoal behaviors (directive, supportive, participative, achievement-oriented), particularly those in which they feel weakest; and second, to provide practice modeling each behavior through generating explicit sample statements for the various behaviors that can be used in various leadership situations, please see:

Phillips, A. S., and Phillips, C. R. (2016). Behavioral Styles of Path-Goal Theory: An Exercise for Developing Leadership Skills. Management Teaching Review, 1(3), 148154. DOI:10.1177/2379298116639725

2. For a “movie club” exercise to illustrate transformational leadership, bases of

power, and servant leadership while considering how gender plays into leadership, the film Wonder Woman is viewed; students are given prompts on what to look for, and an in-depth discussion is facilitated following viewing the movie.

Urick, M. J., and Sprinkle, T. A. (2019). Teaching Leadership: Using Wonder Woman to Highlight the Importance of Gender Diversity. Management Teaching Review, 4(2), 173-181. DOI:10.1177/2379298118769254

Chapter 13

Power and Politics Chapter Overview For anything to be accomplished in an organization, people must use both power and politics. While often looked at as negative aspects of organizations, both power and politics are the means by which organizations and individuals get objectives accomplished.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 13-1. Contrast leadership and power.

13-2. Explain the three bases of formal power and the two bases of personal power.

13-3. Explain the role of dependence in power relationships.

13-4. Identify power or influence tactics and their contingencies.

13-5. Identify the causes and consequences of abuse of power.

13-6. Describe how politics work in organizations.

13-7. Identify the causes, consequences, and ethics of political behavior.

PPT 13.2

Suggested Lecture Outline

XLIV. INTRODUCTION A. This chapter will examine how power shapes group goals and resource allocation as well as the individual use of political skills to achieve goals.

XLV. POWER AND LEADERSHIP A. Power: the capacity, discretion, and means to enforce one’s will over

PPT 13.3

others.

1. Power requires a dependency relationship, the extent to which people depend or rely upon a powerful person: the greater the dependency, the greater the power that exists. a. Dependence is based on alternatives and their desirability. b. Alternatives. Dependence is increased as a number of alternatives decrease.

Control over an alternative gives power. c. Desirability. The more desirable an alternative is, the more dependent a person (target) is on the person (controller) who controls the alternative and therefore the more power the controller has.

2. The concepts of leadership and power are closely intertwined.

3. Power and leadership differ in three major areas: PPT 13.4 a. Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence.

1) Leadership requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led. b. Leadership focuses on the downward influence over one's followers.

1) It minimizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns.

Power is concerned with all directions of influence. c. Leadership research tends to emphasize the style leaders take.

1) Research on power is a broader topic and focuses on tactics for gaining compliance.

XLVI. BASES OF POWER A. There are two general groupings of power sources: formal and personal.

1. Formal Power.

PPT 13.5 a. This source of power comes from an individual's position in an organization. b. It is based on the ability to coerce or reward, or from formal authority.

1) Coercive Power: The coercive power base is driven by fear. a) A target reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that would occur if he or she fails to comply, or acting in a way that would anger the power holder. b) Coercive power comes also from withholding key information.

2) Reward Power: The opposite of coercive power, reward power is power based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable. a) Rewards can be financial (pay or bonuses) or nonfinancial (recognition, interesting assignments, or preferred work shifts).

3) Legitimate Power: In formal groups and organizations, legitimate power is the formal authority to control and use organizational resources based on structural position in the organization. a) It is based on member acceptance of the position, not simply the power to coerce and reward given with that position.

2. Personal Power.

a. This power stems from an individual's unique characteristics.

1) Expert Power: Expert power is influence wielded because

PPT 13.6

of expertise, special skill, or knowledge. a) This has become a powerful source of influence; as jobs become more specialized, we become dependent on experts to achieve goals.

2) Referent Power: Referent power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. a) It develops out of admiration of another and the desire to be like that person: followers wish to please a person with referent power. b) This source of power is closely aligned with charismatic dynamism, likeability, and emotional appeal.

B. Which Bases of Power Are Most Effective?

PPT 13.7 1. Regarding the dependents in the power relationship, different bases of power are effective depending on the perceptions and characteristics of the dependent. a. Dependents view angry leaders as higher on formal power, and in turn are more loyal toward these leaders and perceive them as more effective. b. Dependents are likely to perceive coercive and low-referent leaders as ineffective, become less loyal toward these leaders, and even engage in deviant behaviors directed at these leaders. c. Referent power can be an especially powerful motivator.

XLVII. DEPENDENCE: THE KEY TO POWER A. The General Dependence Postulate.

PPT 13.8 1. The greater B’s dependence on A, the more power A has over B. 2. When you possess anything others require that you alone control, you make them dependent on you, and therefore you gain power over them.

B. What Creates Dependence? a. Dependence increases when a resource you control is important, scarce, and non-substitutable.

1. Importance: If nobody wants what you have, it’s not going to create dependence.

2. Scarcity: We see the scarcity-dependence relationship in the power situation of employment. a. When the supply of labor is low relative to demand, workers can negotiate compensation and benefits packages that are far more attractive than those in occupations with an abundance of candidates.

3. Non-substitutability: The fewer viable substitutes for a resource, the more power a person controlling that resource has.

C. Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Assessing Resources.

PPT 13.9 1. One tool to assess the exchange of resources and dependencies within an organization is social network analysis (Exhibit 13-1). a. This method examines patterns of communication among Exhibit 13-1 organizational members to identify how information flows between them. b. Within a social network, or connections between people who share professional interests, each individual or group is called a node, and the links between nodes are called ties. c. When nodes communicate or exchange resources frequently, they are said to have very strong ties. Other nodes that are not engaged in direct communication with one another achieve resource flows through intermediary nodes.

d. In other words, some nodes act as brokers between otherwise unconnected nodes.

e. A graphical illustration of the associations among individuals in a social

network is called a sociogram, which functions like an informal version of an organization chart.

2. Networks can create substantial power dynamics. a. Those in the position of brokers tend to have more power because they can leverage the unique resources they can acquire from different groups. b. In other words, many people are dependent upon brokers, which gives the brokers more power. c. Some of the most powerful people within social networks are able to amass power because of their personality traits—for example, their insensitivity to rewards, extraversion, and even dark triad traits. d. Stereotype threat can also influence the effectiveness of women in brokerage positions. e. The relationships brokers form within networks are also extremely important—not only for getting things done in organizations, but also for employees’ well-being.

D. There are many ways to implement a social network analysis in an organization.

1. Some organizations keep track of the flow of e-mail communications or document sharing across departments. These big data tools are an easy way to gather objective information about how individuals exchange information.

2. Other organizations look at data from human resources (HR) information systems, analyzing how supervisors and subordinates interact with one another.

These data sources can produce sociograms showing how resources and power flow.

3. Leaders can then identify powerful brokers who exert the strongest influence on many groups, and address these key individuals.

V. INFLUENCE TACTICS 1. Influence tactics are what people use to translate power bases into PPT 13.10 specific actions that influence others.

2. Nine Influence Tactics: a. Legitimacy. Relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules. b. Rational Persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate a request is reasonable. c. Inspirational Appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations. d. Consultation. Increasing the target’s motivation and support by involving him or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done. e. Exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. f. Personal Appeals. Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. g. Ingratiation. Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making the request. h. Pressure. Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. i. Coalitions. Enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the support of others as a reason for the target to agree.

A. Using Influence Tactics.

1. Some tactics are more effective than others.

PPT 13.11 2. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend

3.

4.

5.

6.

to be equally effective in influencing performance at work.

Rational persuasion, although still effective at helping build relationships at work, tends not to be as superbly effective as inspirational appeal and consultation.

The pressure tactic tends to backfire and is typically the least effective.

Using ingratiation can improve relational outcomes of influence at work, but perhaps only when the audience does not really care about the outcome of the request or if it is routine.

Tactic effectiveness is modified by the direction of the influence and PPT 13.12 the audience (Exhibit 13-2). a. Rational persuasion is the only tactic effective at both upwardly and downwardly influencing, although it is stronger when it is Exhibit 13-2 used for downward influence attempts. b. Inspirational appeals and pressure work best as downward influencing tactics. c. Ingratiation is most effective as lateral influence, although it can also be effective in downward influence. d. The effectiveness also includes the sequencing of tactics, a person’s skill in using the tactic, and the organizational culture. e. You are more likely to be effective if you begin with “softer” tactics that rely on personal power, such as personal or inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation. If these fail, you can move to “harder” tactics, such as exchange and coalitions, which emphasize formal power and incur greater costs and risks. f. Personal appeals and coalitions are most effective as lateral influence attempts.

7. The effectiveness of tactics depends on the audience. a. People especially likely to comply with soft power tactics tend to be more

reflective, are intrinsically motivated, have high self-esteem, and have greater desire for control. b. People likely to comply with hard power tactics are more action oriented and extrinsically motivated and are more focused on getting along with others than with getting their own way.

B. Cultural Preferences for Power Tactics.

PPT 13.13 1. People in different countries prefer different power tactics. a. Those from individualistic countries tend to see power in personalized terms and as a legitimate means of advancing their personal ends, whereas those in collectivistic countries see power in social terms and as a legitimate means of helping others.

1) Managers in the U.S. seem to prefer rational persuasion, while Chinese managers may prefer coalition tactics.

C. Applying Influence Tactics.

1. People differ in their political skill, or their ability to influence PPT 13.14 others to enhance their own objectives.

2. The politically skilled are more effective users of all of the influence tactics. a. Political skill is more effective when social skills are required to do well in a job. b. The politically skilled are able to exert their influence without others detecting it, a key element in being effective. (It’s damaging to be labeled political.)

3. We know cultures within organizations differ markedly—some are warm,

relaxed, and supportive; others are formal and conservative. a. The organizational culture in which a person works will have a bearing on which tactics are considered appropriate. Some cultures encourage participation and consultation, some encourage reason, and still others rely on pressure. b. People who fit the culture of the organization tend to obtain more influence.

1) Specifically, extraverts tend to be more influential in team-oriented organizations, and highly conscientious people are more influential in organizations that value working alone on technical tasks. c. Part of the reason people who fit the culture are influential is that they are able to perform especially well in the domains deemed most important for success. In other words, they are influential because they are competent. So the organization itself will influence which subset of power tactics is viewed as acceptable for use.

4. Political skill leads to several positive individual outcomes for employees. a. Developing political skill can help you to build self-efficacy and become more satisfied with your job and committed to your organization, and lead you to experience less stress. b. Developing political skill can boost your performance and productivity, as well as enable you to engage in more organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). c. Being politically skilled can improve your reputation and career success as you earn a higher income and a more prestigious position and are more satisfied with your career.

VI. HOW POWER AFFECTS PEOPLE PPT 13.15 1. Does power corrupt? a. It is clear that power affects the power holder: It energizes people, but also can cause the holder to rely more on gut feelings and to become self-serving and potentially more corrupt. b. There is currently evidence that there are corrupting aspects of power.

Research suggests that power leads people to place their own interests ahead of others. Why does this happen? c. Interestingly, research suggests that power not only leads people to focus on their self-interests because they can, but it also liberates people to focus inward and thus come to place greater weight on their goals and interests. d. Power also appears to lead individuals to objectify others and to see relationships as more peripheral.

2. Powerful people react — especially negatively — to any threats to their competence. a. People in power hold on to it when they can, and individuals who face threats to their power are exceptionally willing to take actions to retain it whether their actions harm others or not. b. Possessing formal power can alter how you perceive others’ emotions and cause you to behave in ineffective ways. c. People given power are more likely to make self-interested decisions when faced with a moral hazard. d. They’re more willing to denigrate others. e. Power also leads to overconfident decision making.

A. What We Can Do About Power.

1. Power doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. There are some positive effects of power.

2. Power energizes and increases motivation to achieve goals. It can also enhance

our motivation to help others.

3. Power affects the cognition, or thought, as the powerful tend to simplify how they process information, rely on single sources, and use information that is easier to retrieve. a. This means the powerful are more likely to rely on stereotypes and heuristics forms of processing.

4. The powerful are more inclined to express genuine positive emotions without repercussions, but less likely to “mirror” others’ emotions.

5. Powerful people tend to display personal initiative and be more sensitive to potential rewards or benefits, and are less sensitive to normative behaviors.

6. The toxic effects of power depend on one’s personality. Research suggests that if we have an anxious personality, power does not corrupt us because we are less likely to think that using power benefits us.

7. Power doesn’t corrupt those with anxious personalities because they are less likely to think that using power benefits them.

8. The corrosive effects of power can be contained by organizational systems.

9. We have the power to blunt the negative effects of power.

10. The people who are most likely to abuse power are those who are low in status and gain power. Why is this the case? It appears that having low status is threatening, and this fear is used in negative ways if power is given.

B. Sexual Harassment: Unequal Power in the Workplace.

PPT 13.16 1. Sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment or creates a hostile work environment.

2. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment happens when a person encounters “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature on the job” that disrupts work performance or that creates an “intimidating, hostile, or offensive” work environment.

3. Worldwide, 35 percent of women have experienced physical or sexual violence, and even larger numbers have experienced sexual harassment.

4. Although the definition changes from country to country, most nations have at least some policies to protect workers. a. Whether the policies or laws are followed is another question, however.

5. Sexual harassment is disproportionately prevalent for women in certain types of jobs.

6. Most studies confirm that power is central to understanding sexual harassment, and is especially pronounced for employees who have newly acquired power.

7. Sexual harassment is most likely to occur when there are large power differentials.

8. When there are not effective controls to detect and prevent sexual harassment, abusers are more likely to act.

9. The bottom line is that managers have a responsibility to protect their employees from a hostile work environment. a. Make sure an active policy defines what constitutes sexual harassment, informs employees they can be fired for inappropriate behavior, and establishes procedures for making complaints.

b. Reassure employees that they will not encounter retaliation if they file a complaint.

c. Investigate every complaint and inform the legal and HR departments. d. Make sure offenders are disciplined or terminated. e. Set up in-house training to raise employee awareness of sexual harassment issues.

VII. POLITICS: POWER IN ACTION PPT 13.17 A. Political Behavior.

1. Political behavior is activities that are not required as part of one's formal role

in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.

2. This definition includes these key elements: a. Political behavior is outside one’s specified job requirements. b. The behavior requires some attempt to use one's power bases. c. It includes efforts to influence the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making.

B. The Reality of Politics.

PPT 13.18 1. There are multiple ways people construe politics: a. Some are reactive, believing that it involves engaging in destructive and manipulative behavior, b. Some are reluctant, viewing it as a necessary evil, c. Others are strategic, and view politics as a useful way of getting things done, and d. Some have more of an integrated perception, viewing politics as central to the reality of decision making.

2. Interviews with experienced managers show that most believe political behavior is a major part of organizational life.

3. Many managers report some use of political behavior is both ethical and necessary, as long as it doesn’t directly harm anyone else.

4. Managers describe politics as necessary and believe someone who never uses political behavior will have a hard time getting things done.

5. But why, you may wonder, must politics exist? Can organizations be politicsfree? a. It is possible—if all members of that organization hold the same goals and interests, if organizational resources are not scarce, and if performance outcomes are completely clear and objective.

1) But this does not describe the organizational world in which most of us live.

6. Maybe the most important factor leading to politics within organizations is the realization that most of the facts used to allocate the limited resources are open to interpretation.

7. It is in the large and ambiguous middle ground of organizational life—where the facts don’t speak for themselves—that politics flourish.

8. Finally, because most decisions have to be made in a climate of ambiguity— where facts are rarely objective and thus open to interpretation—people within organizations will use whatever influence they can to support their goals and interests.

VIII. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR A. Factors Contributing to Political Behavior. a. There are a number of factors that appear to encourage PPT 13.19 political behavior. Some are individual characteristics,

derived from the qualities of the people the organization employs; others are a result of the organization’s culture or internal environment. Exhibit 133 illustrates how both individual and organizational factors can increase political behavior and provide favorable outcomes (increased rewards and averted punishments) for individuals and groups in the Exhibit 13-3 organization.

1. Individual Factors: At the individual level, researchers have identified certain personality traits, needs, and other factors likely to be related to political behavior. a. In terms of traits, we find that employees who are high self-monitors, possess an internal locus of control, and have a high need for power are more likely to engage in political behavior.

1) The high self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of social conformity, and is more likely to be skilled in political behavior than the low self-monitor. b. Because they believe they can control their environment, individuals with an internal locus of control are more prone to take a proactive stance and attempt to manipulate situations in their favor.

1) Not surprisingly, the Machiavellian personality—characterized by the will to manipulate and the desire for power—is comfortable using politics as a means to further his or her self-interest. c. In addition, an individual’s investment in the organization, perceived alternatives, and expectations of success influence the degree to which he or she will pursue illegitimate means of political action.

1) The more a person expects increased future benefits from the organization, the more that person has to lose if forced out and the less likely he or she is to use illegitimate means.

2) The more alternative job opportunities an individual has—due to a favorable job market or the possession of scarce skills or knowledge, a prominent reputation, or influential contacts outside the organization— the more likely that individual is to risk illegitimate political actions.

3) Finally, some individuals engage in political behavior simply because they are better at it.

2. Organizational Factors: Although we acknowledge the role individual differences can play, the evidence more strongly suggests that certain situations and cultures promote politics. a. When an organization’s resources are declining or when the existing patterns of resource distribution are changing, the likelihood of political behavior increases.

1) Cultures characterized by low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluation systems, win–lose reward allocation practices, democratic decision making, high pressure for performance, and self-serving senior managers will create breeding grounds for politicking.

3. The Zero-Sum Approach: The more an organizational culture emphasizes the zero sum or win–lose approach to reward allocations, the more employees will be motivated to engage in politicking. a. The zero-sum approach treats the reward pie as fixed, so any gain one person or group achieves comes at the expense of another person or group.

B. How Do People Respond to Organizational Politics?

PPT 13.20 1. For most people who have modest political skills or who are unwilling to play the politics game, outcomes tend to be

predominantly negative in terms of decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety and stress, increased turnover, and reduced performance. a. Very strong evidence indicates that the more politics plays a role in one’s environment, organization, or team, the more negative outcomes will be experienced, regardless of how necessary people perceive them to be. b. Political behaviors can empower people to do well, while at the same time draining them from emotional exhaustion. c. Researchers have also noted several interesting qualifiers.

1) The politics-performance relationship appears to be PPT 13.21 moderated by an individual’s understanding of the hows and whys of organizational politics. a) “An individual who has a clear understanding of who is responsible for making decisions and why they were selected to be the decision makers would have a better understanding of how and why things happen the way they do than someone who does not understand the decision-making process in the organization.” b) When both politics and understanding are high, performance is likely to increase because the individual will see political actions as an opportunity.

(1) This is consistent with what you might expect among individuals with well-honed political skills.

(2) But when understanding is low, individuals are more likely to see politics as a threat, which would have a negative effect on job performance.

2) When employees see politics as a threat, they often PPT 13.22 respond with defensive behaviors—reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame, or change. a) Exhibit 13-4 provides some examples of these Exhibit 13-4 behaviors. b) People who consistently rely on defensiveness find that, eventually, it wears them down.

C. Impression Management (IM).

PPT 13.23 a. The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of them is called impression PPT 13.24 management (IM) (Exhibit 13-5). b. Most of the studies undertaken to test the effectiveness Exhibit 13-5 of IM techniques have related it to two criteria: interview success and performance evaluations.

1. Interviews and IM: The evidence indicates most job applicants use IM techniques in interviews and that it works, in part because they increase interviewer perceptions of the applicants’ warmth and competence. a. To develop a sense of how effective different IM techniques are in interviews, one study grouped data from thousands of recruiting and selection interviews into appearance-oriented efforts (efforts toward looking professional), explicit tactics (such as flattering the interviewer or talking up your own accomplishments), and verbal cues (such as using positive terms and showing general enthusiasm). b. Across all the dimensions, it was quite clear that IM was a powerful predictor of how well people did.

c. However, there was a twist. When interviews were highly structured,

meaning the interviewer’s questions were written out in advance and focused on applicant qualifications, the effects of IM were substantially weaker. d. Manipulative behaviors like IM are more likely to have an effect in ambiguous and unstructured interviews.

2. Performance Evaluations and IM: In terms of performance ratings, the picture is quite different. a. Ingratiation is positively related to performance ratings, meaning those who ingratiate with their supervisors get higher performance evaluations.

1) However, self-promotion appears to backfire: a) Those who self-promote actually seem to receive lower performance evaluations. b) There is an important qualifier to this general result.

(1) It appears that individuals high in political skill are able to translate IM into higher performance appraisals, whereas those lower in political skill are more likely to be hurt by their IM attempts. c) Another study of 760 boards of directors found that individuals who ingratiate themselves to current board members (express agreement with the director, point out shared attitudes and opinions, compliment the director) increase their chances of landing on a board.

D. The Ethics of Behaving Politically.

1. While there are no clear-cut standards to differentiate ethical PPT 13.25 from unethical politicking, answering the following questions may prove helpful. a. What is the utility of engaging in the behavior? b. How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm (or potential harm) it will do to others? c. Does the political activity conform to the standards of equity and justice?

2. Unfortunately, powerful people can become very good at explaining self-serving behaviors in terms of the organization’s best interests. a. They can persuasively argue that unfair actions are really fair and just. b. Those who are powerful, articulate, and persuasive are most vulnerable to ethical lapses because they are likely to be able to get away with unethical practices successfully. c. When faced with an ethical dilemma regarding organizational politics, try to consider whether playing politics is worth the risk and whether others might be harmed in the process. d. If you have a strong power base, recognize the ability of power to corrupt. e. Remember that it’s a lot easier for the powerless to act ethically, if for no other reason than they typically have very little political discretion to exploit.

PPT 13.26 E. Mapping Your Political Career.

1. You can use the concepts presented in this chapter in some very tangible ways we have outlined. However, there is another Exhibit 13-6 application: You. 2. One of the most useful ways to think about power and politics is in terms of your own career. Think about your career in your organization of choice.

a. What are your ambitions? Who has the power to get you there? What is your relationship with these people?

3. The best way to answer these questions is with a political map, which can help

you sketch out your relationships with the people upon whom your career depends (see Exhibit 13-6).

IX. SUMMARY A. Few employees relish being powerless in their jobs and organizations.

1. People respond differently to the various power bases.

2. Expert and referent power are derived from an individual’s personal qualities.

3. In contrast, coercion, reward, and legitimate power are essentially organizationally granted.

4. Competence offers wide appeal, and its use as a power base results in high performance by group members.

B. An effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations.

1. Some people are more politically astute than others, meaning that they are aware of the underlying politics and can manage impressions.

2. Those who are good at playing politics can be expected to get higher performance evaluations, and hence, larger salary increases and more promotions than the politically naïve or inept.

3. The politically astute are also likely to exhibit higher job satisfaction and be better able to neutralize job stressors.

4. A political map can provide a good schematic from which to identify positive politicking opportunities.

5. Finally, power and politics present significant ethical considerations. a. To accept the reality of these dimensions in organizations is to accept the responsibility for awareness and ethical behavior.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. When attempting to build and use power to further your teams’ or PPT 13.27 organizations’ interests (or perhaps, your own), recognize that certain power bases tend to be more effective than others. You should be aware of these power bases and use them when the situation calls for it (but stay within ethical guidelines).

B. In the same way, various tactics and impression management strategies are effective at influencing others to comply with your requests. In general, note that you may have more success with rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, and consultation, and the least effective success with pressure and self-promotion.

C. Be aware that power arises from dependence. If you feel a lack of control because you depend too much on another for resources, try to maximize your alternatives and seek ways to find a substitution for these resources.

D. Social network positions affect power: to promote change and exercise influence, try to serve as a bridge between people and broker connections, resources, and information across these boundaries.

E. Recognize that power affects people in several ways. By being aware of powergranted blind spots, you may be able to circumvent some of the negative effects of power on the powerholder.

F. Make sure to establish policy regarding how your organization handles sexual harassment, investigate and report complaints, and appropriately discipline offenders.

G. By assessing behavior in a political framework, you can better predict the actions of others and use that information to formulate political strategies that will gain advantages for you and your work unit.

Discussion Questions

PPT 13.28

85. Contrast leadership and power.

Answer: Power and leadership differ in three major areas: (1) Goal Compatibility.

Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence. Leadership requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led. (2) Direction of Influence. Leadership focuses on the downward influence over one's followers. It minimizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns. Power is concerned with all directions of influence. (3) Research Emphasis. Leadership research tends to emphasize the style leaders take. Research on power is a broader topic and focuses on tactics for gaining compliance. Power research looks at the power exerted by individuals, as well as that used by groups.

86. Define the formal and personal bases of power.

Answer: Formal Power. This source of power comes from an individual's position in an organization and has three bases associated with it. (1) Coercive Power. This power base is driven by fear. A target reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that would occur if one fails to comply. It rests on the application, or threat of application, of physical sanctions (pain, frustration, or threatening lower order needs). (2) Reward Power. The opposite of coercive power, this source of power is based on producing positive benefits for the target who complies. Rewards can be financial or nonfinancial (recognition, interesting assignments, or preferred work shifts). (3) Legitimate Power. In formal groups and organizations, this common base of power is the formal authority to control and use organizational resources based on structural position. It is based on member acceptance of the position, not of the person filling the position. Personal power stems from an individual's unique characteristics. There are two bases of personal power: (1) Expert Power. This is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge. (2) Referent Power. This power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. It develops out of admiration of another and the desire to be like that person: followers wish to please a person with referent power. This source of power is closely aligned with charisma.

87. List and define nine influence tactics.

Answer: (1) Legitimacy: relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules. (2) Rational Persuasion: presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate the request is reasonable. (3) Inspirational Appeals: developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, and needs, hopes, and aspirations. (4) Consultation: increasing the target’s motivation and support by involving him or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done. (5) Exchange: rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. (6) Personal Appeals: asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. (7) Ingratiation: using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making the request. (8) Pressure: using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. (9) Coalitions: enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the support of others as a reason for the target to agree.

88. Describe the effective use of influence tactics.

Answer: Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most effective tactics. Typically, these softer tactics are more effective than harder tactics (exchange, coalitions, and pressure). Pressure is the least effective of all nine tactics. Effectiveness is increased by using more than one type of tactic at the same time or sequentially, so long as the tactics are compatible. Inspirational appeals and pressure work best as downward influencing tactics. Personal appeals and

coalitions are most effective as lateral influence attempts. The only tactic that is effective across all organizational levels is rational persuasion. Power tactics are more likely to be successful if the target perceives it to be a socially acceptable form of influence behavior. The most effective method to use is to begin with softer tactics that rely on personal power (personal inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation) before moving to harder tactics that emphasize formal power and involve greater risks and costs (exchange, coalitions, and pressure).

89. List the individual and organizational factors that stimulate political behavior.

Answer: Individual factors: (1) personal traits, (2) situational factors (investment in the organization, the number of perceived alternatives, and expectations of success).

Organizational factors: (1) amount and stability of organizational resources; (2) availability of promotions; (3) organizational cultures with performance evaluation systems that are unclear, subjective, focused on one outcome measure, have long delays between action and appraisal, and/or are ambiguous; low levels of trust; ambiguous roles; zero-sum or win-lose reward allocation practices; democratic decision making; high pressures for performance; and/or self-serving senior managers.

90. Identify and describe the seven techniques for managing the impression one makes on others.

Answer: (From Exhibit 13-4) (1) Conformity: agreeing with someone else's opinion in order to gain his or her approval. (2) Excuses: explanations of our predicamentcreating event aimed at minimizing the apparent severity of the predicament. (3) Apologies: admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action. (4) Self-Promotion: highlighting one's best qualities, downplaying one's deficits, and calling attention to one's achievements.

(5) Flattery: complementing others on their virtues in an effort to make one appear perceptive and likeable. (6) Favors: doing something nice for someone to gain that person's approval. (7) Association: enhancing or protecting one's image by managing information about people and things with which one is associated.

91. List the three questions that can help determine if a political action is ethical.

Answer: (1) What is the utility of engaging in the behavior? (2) How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm (or potential harm) it will do to others? (3) Does the political activity conform to the standards of equity and justice?

Exercises 60. Self-analysis. What are your formal and personal bases of power? Create a written plan for increasing your power for all five bases. Submit to your instructor for comment.

61. Web Crawling. Use the Internet to look up three articles on an instance of abuse of power in a corporate, government, religious, or other organizational environment.

Using the articles as a reference and the terms from this chapter, describe what you believe happened in this abuse situation.

62. Teamwork. Assign students to teams based on their favorite television drama. The television show must have a wide range of characters in a work-type setting. As individuals, each team member will watch a minimum of one hour of the program, observing and identifying the use of power by the drama’s characters. Have the students keep a journal in which they identify the character, the action they see taking place, and describe enough of the scene that they can discuss this example with their team. Have the teams meet and summarize their individual observations.

Teams will elect a spokesperson, who will provide a 10-minute overview of their findings on the uses of power in the program.

63. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Keep a journal for one week in which you observe the political behaviors and impression management strategies of your co-workers. Meetings are an excellent time to observe these behaviors. In a meeting, examine the reactions of participants toward those that have the power, versus those that don’t. For example, did the participants tend to agree with the members that have power regardless of the quality of their ideas and comments?

Did those that did not have power tend to be interrupted often? Type up the journal and be prepared to discuss it in class. Specific examples should be given anonymously due to the ethical implications of the behaviors you will be observing.

Suggested Assignment Name That Power Base! The goal is for students to recognize through practice what the different bases of power look like in a real situation. Choose students to role-play the two positions, Student Government Association SGA) representative and president of your university. Let the students role-play for ten to twelve minutes. Adjust the time as you see fit. The rest of the class should observe the role-play and note: a. What power base was used by each person? b. What else could they have done to make the position more powerful? c. What did they do that didn’t fit that power perspective? d. Did they choose the most appropriate power base for this situation? Why? Once the role-play is completed, have the class discuss the following: a. Was this the only effective power base that could be used by the SGA? b. How did the choice of power bases on the part of the SGA representative and the president affect the outcome of the negotiation?

Power Play Situation You are a member of the SGA’s executive body at your college or university. You are an elected student representative, an executive-level officer, but not the president of the SGA. You represent students in the business program/school. This program is a major source of revenue for the University. The program’s graduates tend to become wealthy alumni who make generous contributions. The business school/program and SGA have built a close relationship with a number of these alumni. You also have been part of an undergraduate team that has enticed 20 percent larger corporations to interview at your campus through networking and personal contacts with the executives of these organizations.

The administration has implemented a campus-wide policy affecting all undergraduates that you want changed. (You may choose a current issue on campus or leave the particulars ambiguous.) This policy is a special pain for business students. The policy came out of administration/alumni talks over the last year.

Your president is a strong but reasonable person, who doesn’t easily change direction but is willing to hear someone’s perspective. The president is a bit feared by students, respected by faculty, and doesn’t have the best relationship with alumni.

SGA representative: choose one of the five power bases and negotiate the elimination of, or modification of, this policy. Choose the one you think has the most credibility given this situation. Talk, negotiate, and so on, as you think appropriate given this base of power. Do not make overt statements that will give away your power base.

President: choose a power base in response to the SGA representative. Choose the one you think has the most credibility given this situation. Talk, negotiate, and so on, as you think appropriate given this base of power. Do not make overt statements

that will give away your power base.

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group activity) For a 2- to 3-hour small group activity that explores the role of gender in power that can be broken into multiple class periods, please see: Shapiro, M., Ingols, C., and Blake-Beard, S. (2011). Using Power to Influence Outcomes: Does Gender Matter? Journal of Management Education, 35(5), 713-748.

DOI:10.1177/1052562911411089

Chapter 14

Conflict and Negotiation Chapter Overview Managers in organizations need to be able to effectively deal with conflict and to negotiate with people inside and outside of the organization. These two skill sets are critical for managerial success.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 14-1. Describe the three types of conflict and the three loci of conflict.

14-2. Outline the conflict process.

14-3. Contrast distributive and integrative bargaining.

14-4. Apply the five steps of the negotiation process.

14-5. Show how individual differences influence negotiations.

14-6. Describe the social factors that influence negotiations.

14-7. Assess the roles and functions of third-party negotiations.

PPT 14.2

Suggested Lecture Outline

XLVIII. INTRODUCTION A. This chapter examines both the positive and negative impacts of conflict, as well as describing how conflicts develop.

B. One of the ways to end conflict, negotiation, is also presented.

XLIX. A DEFINITION OF CONFLICT 1. Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about (Exhibit 14-1). a. People experience a wide range of conflicts in organizations over an incompatibility of goals, differences in interpretations of facts, disagreements over behavioral expectations, and the like.

2. Functional conflict is conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance: it is constructive.

3. Dysfunctional conflict is conflict that hinders group performance: it is destructive.

PPT 14.3

PPT 14.4

Exhibit 14-1

A. Types of conflict.

1. Relationship Conflict: This type of conflict focuses on interpersonal

relationships. Almost all conflict of this type is dysfunctional and its resolution can consume a fair portion of a manager’s time. a. Studies demonstrate that relationship conflicts, at least in work settings, are almost always dysfunctional. Why? It appears that the friction and interpersonal hostilities inherent in relationship conflicts increase personality clashes and decrease mutual understanding, which hinders the completion of organizational tasks. b. Of the three types, relationship conflicts also appear to be the most psychologically exhausting to individuals. c. It also tends to derail team processes by reducing the extent to which people are open toward working with one another to work collaboratively toward solutions, while increasing the extent to which they avoid and compete with one another. d. As a result, relationship conflict strongly depletes trust, cohesion, satisfaction, job attitudes, and positive affect, and can even lead to a reduction in OCBs paired with an increase in deviant behaviors. e. Relationship conflict itself is only weakly related to how well the team performs—so it appears the most nefarious affects are in how it affects people psychologically, how it reduces OCBs, and increases deviance.

2. Task Conflict: This type of conflict relates to the conflict and goals of the work. a. There is considerably less agreement as to whether task and process conflicts are functional. Early research suggested that task conflict was associated with higher group performance, but a recent review of 95 studies found that task conflict was essentially unrelated to group performance. b. Task conflict slightly reduces the extent to which people collaborate, and moderately increases the degree to which they compete with one another.

3. Process Conflict: This final type of conflict is often about delegation and roles. a. What about process conflict?

1) Researchers found that process conflict revolves around delegation and roles. Conflicts over delegation often revolves around shirking, and conflicts over roles can leave some group members feeling marginalized.

2) Thus, process conflict often becomes highly personalized and quickly devolves into relationship conflict.

3) Research suggests that it has a strong negative effect on team member trust and attitudes, as well as a weak effect on team performance.

4. Complicating Conflict: It also appears to matter whether other types of conflict occur at the same time. a. If task and relationship conflict occur together, relationship conflict is more likely to have a negative effect, whereas if task conflict occurs by itself, it is likely to have a positive effect. b. If task conflict is perceived as being very low, people are not really engaged or addressing important issues; if task conflict is too high, infighting will quickly degenerate into relationship conflict. Moderate levels of task conflict may thus be optimal. c. Conflict is more likely to have a positive effect on performance when a few members perceive strong task disagreement, whereas most others on the team perceive weak task disagreement. This is because the minority are much more likely to present their disagreements in a careful, cooperative, open manner.

PPT 14.6

B. Loci of Conflict. a. Another way to understand conflict is to consider its locus, or

PPT 14.7 where the conflict occurs.

1) Dyadic conflict is conflict between two people.

2) Intragroup conflict occurs within a group or team.

3) Intergroup conflict is conflict between groups or teams.

1. Nearly all the literature on task, relationship, and process conflict considers intragroup conflict. However, it doesn’t necessarily tell us about the other loci of conflict.

2. For example, research has found that for intragroup task conflict to influence performance within the team, it is important that the teams have a supportive climate in which mistakes aren’t penalized and every team member (has) the other’s back.

3. One study that focused on intergroup conflict found an interplay between an individual’s position within a group and the way that individual managed conflict between groups. a. Group members who were relatively peripheral in their own group were better at resolving conflicts between their group and another one.

1) But this happened only when those peripheral members were still accountable to their group. Thus, being at the core of your work group does not necessarily make you the best person to manage conflict with other groups.

4. Thus, understanding functional and dysfunctional conflict requires not only that we identify the type of conflict; we also need to know where it occurs. It’s possible that while the concepts of task, relationship, and process conflict are useful in understanding intragroup or even dyadic conflict, they are less useful in explaining the effects of intergroup conflict.

III. THE CONFLICT PROCESS a. There are five stages in the conflict process (Exhibit 14-2).

PPT 14.8 A. Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility. a. This indicates the presence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise.

Exhibit 14-2 b. These conditions don’t need to directly lead to conflict, but one of these conditions is necessary for conflict to surface. c. There are three general categories of these conditions (causes or sources of conflict): communication, structure, and personal variables.

1. Communication. This source of conflict arises from semantic PPT 14.9 difficulties, misunderstandings, and “noise” in the communication channels. Differing word connotations, jargon, insufficient exchange information, and other barriers to communication are potential antecedents to conflict. a. The potential for conflict increases when: 1) Communication barriers exist.

2) Too little or too much communication takes place.

2. Structure. a. This includes variables such as: 1) Size of group, 2) degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to group members, 3) role clarity, 4) member-goal compatibility, 5) leadership styles,

6) reward systems, and 7) the degree of dependence between groups. b. The potential for conflict increases when: 1) Groups are larger or more specialized.

2) Group members are younger or have less tenure.

3) Turnover is high.

4) Intergroup conflict can self-perpetuate.

3. Personal Variables. a. Personality, values, and emotions can lead to conflict. b. The potential for conflict increases when people are high in

disagreeableness, neuroticism, or self-monitoring, and these people are more likely to react poorly when conflicts occur. c. Incompatibilities in emotion can also lead to conflict. d. Differences in preferences and values can generate increased levels of conflict. e. People differ in their beliefs about conflict, and which strategies of managing conflict are the best or worst, and these beliefs shape the types of conflict they perceive as well as how they react.

1) B. Stage II: Cognition and Personalization.

1. If the antecedent conditions of the first stage negatively affect

PPT 14.10

something one party cares about, then the potential for conflict or incompatibility becomes actualized in the second stage.

2. As we noted in our definition of conflict, one or more of the parties must be aware that antecedent conditions exist. a. However, because a conflict is a perceived conflict does not mean it is personalized. b. It is at the felt conflict level, when individuals become emotionally involved, that parties experience anxiety, tension, frustration, or hostility.

3. Keep in mind two points. a. First, stage II is important because it’s where conflict issues tend to be defined.

1) This is the point when the parties decide what the conflict is about.

2) The definition of a conflict is important because it typically delineates the set of possible settlements. b. Second, emotions play a major role in shaping perceptions.

1) Negative emotions allow us to oversimplify issues, lose trust, and put negative interpretations on the other party’s behavior.

2) In contrast, positive feelings increase our tendency to see potential relationships among the elements of a problem, take a broader view of the situation, and develop more innovative solutions.

C. Stage III: Intentions.

1. Intentions intervene between people’s perceptions and emotions PPT 14.11 and their overt behavior. a. They are decisions to act in a given way. b. There is also typically a great deal of slippage between intentions and behavior, so behavior does not always accurately reflect a person’s intentions.

2. Using two dimensions—cooperativeness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns) and assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns)—we can identify

five conflict-handling intentions: competing (assertive and uncooperative), collaborating (assertive and cooperative), avoiding (unassertive and uncooperative), accommodating (unassertive and cooperative), and compromising (midrange on both assertiveness and cooperativeness). a. Competing.

1) When one person seeks to satisfy his or her own interests regardless of the impact on the other parties to the conflict, that person is competing. b. Collaborating.

1) When parties in conflict each desire to fully satisfy the concerns of all parties, there is cooperation and a search for a mutually beneficial outcome.

2) In collaborating, the parties intend to solve a problem by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating various points of view.

3) If you attempt to find a win–win solution that allows both parties’ goals to be completely achieved, that’s collaborating. c. Avoiding.

1) A person may recognize a conflict exists and wants to withdraw from or suppress it.

2) Examples of avoiding include trying to ignore a conflict and avoiding others with whom you disagree. d. Accommodating.

1) A party who seeks to appease an opponent may be willing to place the opponent’s interests above his or her own, sacrificing to maintain the relationship.

2) We refer to this intention as accommodating.

3) Supporting someone else’s opinion despite your reservations about it, for example, is accommodating. e. Compromising.

1) In compromising, there is no clear winner or loser.

2) Rather, there is a willingness to ration the object of the conflict and accept a solution that provides incomplete satisfaction of both parties’ concerns.

3) The distinguishing characteristic of compromising therefore is that each party intends to give up something.

D. Stage IV: Behavior.

1. It helps to think of stage IV as a dynamic process of interaction.

2. For example, PPT 14.12 a. you make a demand on me, b. I respond by arguing, you threaten me, c. I threaten you back, and so on.

3. Exhibit 14-3 provides a way of visualizing conflict behavior.

Exhibit 14-3 a. All conflicts exist somewhere along this continuum. b. At the lower part are conflicts characterized by subtle, indirect, and highly controlled forms of tension, such as a student questioning in class a point the instructor has just made. c. Conflict intensities escalate as they move upward along the continuum until they become highly destructive. d. Strikes, riots, and wars clearly fall in this upper range. e. For the most part, you should assume conflicts that reach the upper ranges of the continuum are almost always dysfunctional.

f. Functional conflicts are typically confined to the lower range of the continuum.

E. Stage V: Outcomes. a. The action–reaction interplay between the conflicting parties

PPT 14.13

results in consequences. b. As our model demonstrates (see Exhibit 14-1), these outcomes may be functional, if the conflict improves the group’s performance, or dysfunctional, if it hinders performance. c. Although workplace conflict may be beneficial, this usually happens under special circumstances, and most of the time dysfunctional outcomes outweigh the functional outcomes in severity.

1. Functional Outcomes: Conflict is constructive when it improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members, provides the medium for problems to be aired and tensions released, and fosters self-evaluation and change.

1) Mild conflicts also may generate energizing emotions so members of groups become more active and engaged in their work.

2) Groups that are extremely polarized do not manage their underlying disagreements effectively and tend to accept suboptimal solutions, or they avoid making decisions altogether rather than work out the conflict.

3) Conflict is an antidote for groupthink (see Chapter 9).

4) Conflict doesn’t allow the group to passively rubber-stamp decisions that may be based on weak assumptions, inadequate consideration of relevant alternatives, or other debilities.

5) Conflict challenges the status quo and furthers the creation of new ideas, promotes reassessment of group goals and activities, and increases the probability that the group will respond to change.

2. Dysfunctional Outcomes: The destructive consequences of conflict on the performance of a group or an organization are generally well known: a. Uncontrolled opposition breeds discontent, which acts to dissolve common ties, and eventually leads to the destruction of the group.

1) Group effectiveness is reduced.

2) Group communication is retarded.

3) Group cohesiveness is reduced.

4) Group goals are subordinated to infighting among members.

5) The group is threatened with destruction.

3. Managing Conflict: Conflict management is the use of PPT 14.14 resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve the desired level of conflict. a. In managing conflicts, organizations can target three domains: 1) Strategy, which is designing conflict management activities with an understanding of their effect on the organization system, garnering management support for and application of conflict management strategies.

2) Function, which is encouraging the systematic adoption of conflict management practices, understanding employees’ needs, and job design to reduce conflict.

3) Worker, or improving employee perceptions of conflict, fostering ties and cohesion between people, and adaptively addressing conflict, as it emerges.

b. Strategies for resolving one form of conflict may backfire and cause more conflict in another area.

c. Strategies appropriate for managing one form of conflict may spill over into

another domain. d. One of the keys to minimizing counterproductive conflicts is recognizing when there really is a disagreement. e. The most successful conflict management recognizes different views and attempts to resolve them by encouraging open, frank discussions focused on views rather than issues, listening and understanding opposing views, and then integrating them constructively. f. Another approach is to have opposing groups pick parts of the solution that are most important to them and focus on how each side can get its top needs satisfied. g. Groups that resolve conflicts successfully discuss differences of opinion openly and are prepared to manage conflict when it arises. h. Managers need to emphasize shared interests in resolving conflicts, so groups that disagree with one another do not become too entrenched in their points of view and start to take the conflicts personally.

4. Cultural Influences: Differences across countries in conflict PPT 14.15 resolution strategies may be based on collectivistic tendencies and motives. a. Collectivists may be more interested in demonstrations of concern and working through third parties to resolve disputes, whereas individualists will be more likely to confront differences of opinion directly and openly. b. Cross-cultural negotiations can lead to trust issues.

IV. NEGOTIATION A. Negotiation permeates the interactions of almost everyone in groups and PPT 14.16 organizations.

1. There’s the obvious: Labor bargains with management.

2. There’s the not so obvious: Managers negotiate with employees, peers, and bosses; salespeople negotiate with customers; purchasing agents negotiate with suppliers.

3. And there’s the subtle: An employee agrees to cover for a colleague for a few minutes in exchange for some past or future benefit.

4. In today’s loosely structured organizations, in which members work with colleagues over whom they have no direct authority and with whom they may not even share a common boss, negotiation skills become critical.

5. We can define negotiation as a process that occurs when two or more parties decide how to allocate scarce resources. a. Although we commonly think of the outcomes of negotiation in one-shot economic terms, like negotiating over the price of a car, every negotiation in organizations also affects the relationship between the negotiators and the way the negotiators feel about themselves. b. Depending on how much the parties are going to interact with one another, sometimes maintaining the social relationship and behaving ethically will be just as important as the immediate outcome of each bargain.

6. Note that we use the terms negotiation and bargaining interchangeably. a. In this section, we contrast two bargaining strategies, provide a model of the negotiation process, ascertain the role of moods and personality traits on bargaining, review gender and cultural differences in negotiation, and take a brief look at third-party negotiations.

B. Bargaining Strategies. a. There are two general approaches to negotiation:

PPT 14.17 distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining (Exhibit 14-4).

1. Distributive Bargaining: Distributive bargaining involves Exhibit 14-4 negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose situation (Exhibit 14-5). a. This type of bargaining operates under zero-sum (or fixed pie) conditions: one party’s gains reflect losses by the other. b. This model reflects zero-sum distributive bargaining PPT 14.18 positions. Each party is a negotiator.

1) Each has a unique target point (what he or she Exhibit 14-5 would like to achieve) and resistance point (the lowest acceptable outcome before negotiations are broken off).

2) The area between each negotiator’s target and resistance points is that negotiator’s aspiration range. a) If the two ranges overlap, this common area is referred to as the settlement range.

3) When you are engaged in distributive bargaining, research consistently shows one of the best things you can do is make the first offer—and make it an aggressive one. a) The reason is the anchoring bias. People tend to fixate on initial information. b) Once that anchoring point is set, they fail to adequately adjust it based on subsequent information.

4) A savvy negotiator sets an anchor with the initial offer, and scores of negotiation studies show that such anchors greatly favor the person who sets it.

5) Hardline strategies, in which you minimize concessions and make extreme offers, is best when you value a higher economic return than the relationship. a) This approach works best when you are physically interacting with the other negotiator, when the other party is male, when both are motivated to maximize individual outcomes, and both parties know what they can and can’t bargain.

6) Softline strategies, where you elicit concession by offering your own concessions, is best when preserving a relationship is more important.

7) Phantom anchors may also be an effective strategy.

8) Multiple equivalent simultaneous offers (MESOs) may also be an effective softline strategy.

2. Integrative Bargaining: Integrative bargaining operates under the PPT 14.19 assumption that one or more settlements can create a win-win solution.

3. Choosing Bargaining Methods: In terms of intraorganizational behavior, all things being equal, integrative bargaining is preferable to distributive bargaining because the former builds long-term relationships.

1) Integrative bargaining bonds negotiators and allows them to leave the bargaining table feeling they have achieved a victory.

2) Distributive bargaining, however, leaves one party a loser. It tends to

build animosities and deepen divisions when people have to work together on an ongoing basis. a. Research shows that over repeated bargaining episodes, when the “losing” party feels positive about the negotiation outcome, he is much more likely to bargain cooperatively in subsequent negotiations. b. This points to an important advantage of integrative negotiations: even when you win, you want your opponent to feel good about the negotiation. c. Necessary Conditions. Because of these requirements for integrative bargaining, is not as common in business as perhaps it should be.

1) Parties must be open with information and candid about their concerns.

2) There must be sensitivity by both parties regarding the other's needs.

3) The parties must be able to trust each other.

4) Both parties must be willing to maintain flexibility.

V. THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS a. This simplified model of the negotiation process is composed of PPT 14.20 five steps (Exhibit 14-6).

A. Preparation and Planning: This may be the most important part of the process.

Exhibit 14-6 1. Before you start negotiating, you need to do your homework. a. What’s the nature of the conflict? b. What’s the history leading up to this negotiation? c. Who’s involved and what are their perceptions of the conflict? d. What do you want from the negotiation? e. What are your goals?

1) It often helps to put your goals in writing and develop a range of outcomes—from most hopeful to minimally acceptable—to keep your attention focused.

2) You also want to assess what you think are the other party’s goals.

3) What are they likely to ask/request?

4) How entrenched is their position likely to be?

5) What intangible or hidden interests may be important to them?

6) On what might they be willing to settle?

7) When you can anticipate your opponent’s position, you are better equipped to counter arguments with the facts and figures that support your position.

2. An important consideration in any negotiation is to determine the best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) for both the negotiator and the opponent.

B. Definition of Ground Rules: 1. In this initial stage of negotiations, the methodology of the negotiation itself is determined.

2. The step determines the who, what, when, and how of the negotiation process.

3. What are the time constraints?

4. What are the issues to be negotiated?

5. What happens if an impasse is reached?

C. Clarification and Justification: 1. In this step each party will explain, amplify, clarify, bolster, and justify the original demands or proposals.

2. This step should be more explanatory in nature, rather than confrontational; it should be used to build understanding between the parties.

D. Bargaining and Problem Solving: 1. This step is what is typically thought of as negotiations.

2. It is the actual give-and-take necessary to accomplish agreement.

3. It is likely that both parties will have to make some concessions in order to reach agreement.

4. Relationships change as the result of negotiation.

E. Closure and Implementation: 1. The final step in the process is formalizing the negotiated agreement and

VI.

developing any necessary procedures for implementing and monitoring that agreement.

2. This step can be accomplished by anything from creating a formal contract through simply shaking hands on it.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN NEGOTIATION EFFECTIVENESS PPT 14.21 1. Personality Traits in Negotiation: a. Can you predict an opponent’s negotiating tactics if you know something about his or her personality?

1) Because personality and negotiation outcomes are related but only weakly, the answer is, at best, sort of.

2) Most research has focused on the Big Five trait of agreeableness, for obvious reasons — agreeable individuals are cooperative, compliant, kind, and conflict-adverse. a) We might think such characteristics make agreeable individuals easy prey in negotiations, especially distributive ones. b) The evidence suggests, however, that overall agreeableness is weakly related to negotiation outcomes.

3) What seems to matter is if the negotiators have similar personalities.

When they do, they tend to reach agreement faster, perceive less conflict, display more positive emotions, and have better impressions of the other negotiation partner.

4) Self-efficacy (see Chapter 7) is one individual-difference variable that consistently seems to relate to negotiation outcomes. a) This is a fairly intuitive finding—it isn’t too surprising to hear that those who believe they will be more successful in negotiation situations tend to perform more effectively. b) It may be that individuals who are more confident stake out stronger claims, are less likely to back down from their positions, and exhibit confidence that intimidates others.

5) Emotional intelligence and emotion recognition ability is linked to gains in negotiation performance as well as to perceptions of being more cooperative and likeable.

2. Moods/Emotions in Negotiations: a. Do moods and emotions influence negotiation?

1) They do, but the way they do appears to depend on the emotion as well as the context.

2) A negotiator who shows anger generally induces concessions because the other negotiator believes no further concessions from the angry party are possible.

3) One factor that governs this outcome, however, is power — you should show your anger in negotiations only if you have at least as much power as your counterpart. If you have less, showing anger actually seems to provoke hardball reactions from the other side.

4) Another facet is how genuine your anger is — faked anger, or anger

produced from so-called surface acting (see Chapter 4), is not effective, but showing anger that is genuine (so-called deep acting) does.

5) Suppressing anger hurts performance because it is distracting to the negotiator, but only when the anger is integral to the negotiation.

6) It also appears that having a history of showing anger, rather than sowing the seeds of revenge, actually induces more concessions because the other party perceives the negotiator as tough.

7) Finally, culture seems to matter. a) One study found that when East Asian participants showed anger, it induced more concessions than when the negotiator expressing anger was from the United States or Europe, perhaps because of the stereotype of East Asians refusing to show anger. b. Anxiety also appears to have an impact on negotiation.

1) One study found that individuals who experienced more anxiety about a negotiation used more deceptions in dealing with others.

2) Another study found that anxious negotiators expect lower outcomes, respond to offers more quickly, and exit the bargaining process more quickly, leading them to obtain worse outcomes. c. The expression of sadness can elicit more concessions, but only when the other negotiator perceives the expresser as lower in power and anticipates future interactions with this person, and when their relationship is collaborative. d. As you can see, emotions — especially negative ones — matter to negotiation. Even emotional unpredictability affects outcomes; researchers have found that negotiators who express positive and negative emotions in an unpredictable way extract more concessions because it makes the other party feel less in control.

3. Culture in Negotiations: a. It appears that people generally negotiate more effectively within cultures than between them. b. It appears that in cross-cultural negotiations, it is especially important that the negotiators be high in openness.

1) This suggests choosing cross-cultural negotiators who are high in openness to experience, but also avoiding factors — such as time pressures — that tend to inhibit learning to understand the other party. c. Because emotions are culturally sensitive, negotiators need to be especially aware of the emotional dynamics in cross-cultural negotiation.

1) For example, individuals from East Asian cultures feel that using anger to get their way in a negotiation is not a legitimate tactic, so they respond by refusing to cooperate when their opponents become upset.

2) The same language that leads to integrative agreements in Western cultures may backfire in others.

3) Idiosyncratic rituals that differ across cultures can improve the success of integrative bargaining: for example, in Western cultures a handshake promotes integrative deal making because it acts as a signal of cooperative threat.

4) A recent study has found that black job seekers in America are (1) expected to negotiate less than white job seekers, (2) penalized in negotiations when they do try to negotiate, and (3) penalized more heavily when the negotiator is more racially biased.

4. Gender Differences in Negotiations: a. One stereotype is that women are more cooperative and pleasant in

negotiations than men and, as a result, obtain worse outcomes. However, the research suggest influence of gender in negotiations is highly context dependent.

1) For example, women may be more effective negotiators in collectivist cultures with high harmony and low assertiveness norms. b. Compared to men, women tend to behave in a slightly less assertive, less self-interested, and more cooperative manner.

1) These differences are reduced when there are restrictions on communication.

2) Women can also be more competitive than men when the other negotiator engages in a “tit-for-tat” strategy. c. When it comes to initiating negotiations, women are less likely to initiate than men, especially when the situation is ambiguous and gender-role reinforcing information is present in the situational context. d. Although men achieved better outcomes, on average, these differences were reduced when controlling for negotiation experience, knowledge of the zone of bargaining, when negotiating on behalf of others, and when gendered role norms were not activated in the context. e. The influence of gender on both negotiation behavior and negotiation outcomes has been examined (although more research is needed on the influence of gender identity and sexual orientation).

VII. NEGOTIATING IN A SOCIAL CONTEXT 1. To really understand negotiations in practice, then, we must consider PPT 14.22 the social factors of reputation and relationships.

A. Reputation.

1. Your reputation is the way other people think and talk about you. When it comes to negotiation, having a reputation for being trustworthy matters.

2. In short, trust in a negotiation process opens the door to many forms of integrative negotiation strategies that benefit both parties.

3. The most effective way to build trust is to behave in an honest way across repeated interactions. Then, others feel more comfortable making open-ended offers with many different outcomes.

4. This helps to achieve win–win outcomes, since both parties can work to achieve what is most important to themselves while still benefiting the other party.

5. Sometimes we either trust or distrust people based on word-of-mouth about a person’s characteristics.

6. What characteristics help a person develop a trustworthy reputation? a. A combination of competence and integrity. b. Negotiators higher in self-confidence and cognitive ability are seen as more competent by negotiation partners. c. They are also considered better able to accurately describe a situation and their own resources, and are more credible when they make suggestions for creative solutions to impasses. d. Individuals who have a reputation for integrity can also be more effective in negotiations. e. They are seen as more likely to keep their promises and present information accurately, so others are more willing to accept their promises as part of a bargain.

f. This opens many options for the negotiator that wouldn’t be available to someone who is not seen as trustworthy.

g. Finally, individuals who have higher reputations are better liked and have

more friends and allies—in other words, they have more social resources, which may give them more understood power in negotiations.

B. Relationships.

1. There is more to repeated negotiations than just reputation. The social, interpersonal component of relationships with repeated negotiations means that individuals go beyond valuing what is simply good for themselves and instead start to think about what is best for the other party and the relationship as a whole.

2. Repeated negotiations built on a foundation of trust also broaden the range of options, since a favor or concession today can be offered in return for some repayment further down the road.

3. Repeated negotiations also facilitate integrative problem solving. This occurs partly because people begin to see their negotiation partners in a more personal way over time and come to share emotional bonds.

4. Repeated negotiations also make integrative approaches more workable because a sense of trust and reliability has been built up.

VIII. THIRD-PARTY NEGOTATIONS A. To this point, we’ve discussed bargaining in terms of direct PPT 14.23 negotiations. Occasionally, however, individuals or group representatives reach a stalemate and are unable to resolve their differences through direct negotiations. In such cases, they may turn to a third party to help them find a solution.

B. There are three basic third-party roles: mediator, arbitrator, and conciliator.

1. A mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives, and the like. a. Mediators are widely used in labor–management negotiations and in civil court disputes. Their overall effectiveness is fairly impressive.

1) For example, the EEOC reported a settlement rate through mediation at 72.1 percent. But the situation is the key to whether mediation will succeed; the conflicting parties must be motivated to bargain and resolve their conflict. b. In addition, conflict intensity can’t be too high; mediation is most effective under moderate levels of conflict. c. Finally, perceptions of the mediator are important; to be effective, the mediator must be perceived as neutral and non-coercive.

2. An arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an agreement.

Arbitration can be voluntary (requested by the parties) or compulsory (forced on the parties by law or contract). a. The big plus of arbitration over mediation is that it always results in a settlement. b. Whether there is a downside depends on how heavy-handed the arbitrator appears. If one party is left feeling overwhelmingly defeated, that party is certain to be dissatisfied and the conflict may resurface at a later time.

3. A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent. a. This role was made famous by Robert Duval in the first Godfather film. As Don Corleone’s adopted son and a lawyer by training, Duval acted as an intermediary between the Corleones and the other Mafioso families.

4. Comparing conciliation to mediation in terms of effectiveness has proven

difficult because the two overlap a great deal. a. In practice, conciliators typically act as more than mere communication conduits. b. They also engage in fact-finding, interpreting messages, and persuading disputants to develop agreements.

IX. SUMMARY A. While many people assume conflict lowers group and organizational performance, this assumption is frequently incorrect.

B. Conflict can be either constructive or destructive to the functioning of a group or unit.

C. Levels of conflict can be either too high or too low to be constructive.

1. Either extreme hinders performance.

2. An optimal level is one that prevents stagnation, stimulates creativity, allows tensions to be released, and initiates the seeds of change without being disruptive or preventing the coordination of activities.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Always try to be aware of potential conflict between people, PPT 14.24 within teams, and between groups. Recognize that relational and process conflict tends to be nefarious, while some task conflict may be beneficial in certain circumstances. You should try to maximize functional conflict and minimize the negative effects of dysfunctional conflict.

B. Try to identify ahead of time conditions that can cause conflict. Engage in conflict handling behaviors that are constructive, like the collaborating approach, but realize that conflict management strategies are often tricky as they can cause unintended conflict in other areas. One of the most effective conflict management strategies, however, is open, interest-based discussion.

C. When it comes to negotiation, we often believe that distributive bargaining is the only option; try to determine whether there are opportunities for integrative bargaining, as this approach is better for maintaining relationships over time. Also select hardline or softline strategies, depending upon what your goals are and what the situation calls for.

D. When you expect negotiations, be sure to follow the steps of preparing, setting ground rules, clarifying and justifying your arguments, bargaining, and implementing. Consider developing a “best alternative to a negotiated agreement,” or BATNA, before negotiating (but make sure it is realistic).

E. When selecting individuals for negotiating roles or assignments, remember that negotiators do well when they are similar to the person they are negotiating with; as well as reputable, confident, ambitious, and likeable. Also, emotionally intelligent negotiators who can recognize, understand, and express emotions to their advantage tend to do well in negotiations. The negotiator should also be aware of the culture within which they are negotiating.

Discussion Questions

PPT 14.25

92. Define conflict.

Answer: Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives another party has negatively affected or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about.

93. Explain contemporary perspectives of conflict.

Answer: Contemporary views of conflict differentiate types of conflict based on their effects. Functional conflict moves beyond accepting conflict in groups and

organizations to actively encouraging it. It is believed that encouraging group leaders to maintain an ongoing minimum level of conflict keeps groups viable, selfcritical, and creative. In contrast, dysfunctional conflict is conflict that hinders group performance and is destructive.

94. Contrast task, relationship, and process conflict.

Answer: Task Conflict: this type of conflict relates to the content and goals of the work. High levels of task conflict become dysfunctional when they create uncertainty about task roles, increase the time needed to complete tasks, or lead to members working at cross-purposes. Low-to-moderate levels of task conflict are functional as they consistently demonstrate a positive effect on group performance.

Relationship Conflict: this type of conflict focuses on interpersonal relationships.

Almost all conflict of this type is dysfunctional. Process Conflict: this type of conflict relates to how the work is accomplished. Low levels of process conflict are functional, while moderate-to-high levels of process conflict are dysfunctional.

95. Outline the conflict process.

Answer: There are five stages in the conflict process: (1) potential opposition or compatibility, in which there is a reason for conflict; (2) cognition and personalization, where the potential for conflict is recognized and perhaps felt; (3) intentions, where the feelings generated by the felt conflict are focused by behavioral intentions; (4) behavior, the actual physical and verbal aspects of the conflict; and (5) outcomes, the consequences of the behavior.

96. Contrast distributive and integrative bargaining.

Answer: Distributive Bargaining: this type of bargaining operates under zero-sum (or “fixed pie”) conditions: one party’s gains reflect losses by the other. Integrative Bargaining: this type of bargaining operates under the assumption that one or more settlements can create a win-win solution. Unlike distributive bargaining, for integrative bargaining, the negotiator’s true interests must be disclosed to the other party, which requires a certain amount of trust. Additionally, both parties must be aware of the other party's interests and sensitive to their needs. The exact opposite conditions exist in distributive bargaining.

97. Identify the five steps in the negotiation process.

Answer: (1) Preparation and planning, (2) definition of ground rules, (3) clarification and justification, (4) bargaining and problem solving, and (5) closure and implementation.

98. Discuss whether there are individual differences in negotiator effectiveness.

Answer: (1) Personality. There is little evidence to support the idea that personality can predict negotiation ability. However, it may be that several of the Big Five traits are related to negotiation outcomes. A disagreeable introvert may be the best distributive bargainer; agreeable or extraverted people are not very successful.

Individuals who are strongly concerned with appearing confident or successful in negotiations tend to have a negative effect on the outcome of the negotiation process, no matter which type of negotiation is being pursued. (2) Gender. While men and women do not tend to negotiate differently, the negotiation outcomes do differ based on gender. Men have been found to negotiate better outcomes than do women, although the difference is relatively small. When typical gender stereotypes are activated, (women are nice and men are tough), it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and the negotiator will act according to type. Women's attitudes toward negotiation and toward themselves as negotiators are quite different from and more negative than are those of men.

99. Identify the three basic third-party roles in negotiation.

Answer: A mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives, and the like. Mediators are widely used in labor–management negotiations and in civil court disputes. An

arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an agreement. Arbitration can be voluntary (requested by the parties) or compulsory (forced on the parties by law or contract). The big plus of arbitration over mediation is that it always results in a settlement. A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent.

Exercises 64. Self-analysis. Remember your last negotiation activity. This activity could have been as simple as asking someone out for a date or as complex as trying to purchase a home. Describe that negotiation using the terms and concepts from this chapter.

What could you have done better to increase your likelihood of success in the negotiation? Be specific.

65. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, seek out the term “conflict management.” Find five different and varied sources (perhaps one from a consultant, one from an institute of higher learning, one from a government source, one from a general-purpose site, and one from a business site) and read them carefully to see what they would tell the average manager about conflict management. Write up a brief synopsis of your findings. Compare and contrast your findings with the materials from this chapter and be ready to present them in class.

66. Teamwork. Have students work in small groups to develop a script to role-play the following scenarios in front of the class. You can assign a different scenario to each group, or have two groups role-play the same scenario to discuss comparisons and contrasts in style. Require each group to first role-play the scenario from a distributive bargaining perspective, and then from an integrative bargaining perspective. This should allow for comparison and contrast of the two styles of bargaining, and then encourage students to discuss which style they believed was more effective for achieving a final outcome.

Scenario 1: A group of students wants a faculty member to postpone the next exam until after Spring Break. Currently, the exam is scheduled for the Friday before Spring Break, and you would prefer to have the exam on the Monday, or even Wednesday, after Spring Break. The week before break is getting quite busy, and you need the time to study over Spring Break in order to do well on the exam.

Scenario 2: The firm you currently work for does not have any educational reimbursement benefit available. You would like to have your employer offer this benefit, as you and many of your fellow workers would like to go back to school (part-time) and earn your MBA degree. But, the cost of tuition is expensive, and you would like your company to help with the expenses. Many of the other companies in your locale and industry do offer their employees this educational reimbursement, and you would like your company to do so as well.

Scenario 3: The university is considering adding a computer fee to all students who are enrolled at your campus. The reason for the computer fee is to be able to generate funds in order to provide better computer instruction and facilities (labs and classrooms). But, fees are already relatively high. You and your group want to have the facilities, but you are reluctant to have fees increase.

Scenario 4: You would like to have your company allow you to work on a flexible schedule. You would agree to core hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when every employee is required to be at the workplace, but you would like to choose the other four hours you work each day. Your job is such that it would support this type of schedule, i.e., you do not work on an assembly line. Present a persuasive discussion to encourage your employer to go to a “flextime schedule.”

67. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Observe the negotiations that take place around you at work. Focus on one negotiation that appears typical for

your organization. Disguise the names of those involved and write up a case study on the negotiation process you observed. Utilizing the terms and concepts from this chapter, report your assessment of the effectiveness of both negotiators, their negotiating styles, and provide suggestions for improvement of each person’s negotiation skills.

68. Try It in Real Life. Have students create a negotiation scenario where they may not have thought of negotiating. For example, it is common and accepted that in the U.S. culture we will negotiate for automobiles, but not as widely accepted when purchasing furniture, for example. Challenge the class to negotiate their next nonconvenience purchase, and have them bring to the class the results of their negotiation attempts. For example, was the negotiation integrative or distributive?

Did they implement any of the methods discussed in class for improving negotiation skills? What was the outcome? Did gender or other variables affect the outcome?

Did they actually save any money? This can be submitted as a written report or given as an in-class exercise.

Suggested Assignment Conflict-Management Style Survey.* Make copies of the survey instrument provided in the next two pages and distribute them to your class. Give the students the following instructions: When you have completed all items, add your scores into the “column total” spaces provided. Your highest score is your dominant conflict management strategy. All of us use all four strategies at one time or another. Your dominant style is the one you prefer and will certainly come out in more intense conflict situations. Knowing your style will help you be more effective in dealing with conflict.

Column 1. Competition. When one party seeks to achieve certain goals or to further personal interests, regardless of the impact on the parties to the conflict, he or she competes and dominates.

Column 2. Collaboration. When each of the parties in conflict desires to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties, we have cooperation and the search for a mutually beneficial outcome. In collaboration, the behavior of the parties is aimed at solving the problem and at clarifying the differences rather than accommodating various points of view.

Column 3. Accommodation. When the parties seek to appease their opponents, they may be willing to place their opponents’ interests above their own. In order to maintain the relationship, one party is willing to be self-sacrificing.

Column 4. Avoidance. A party may recognize that a conflict exists but react by withdrawing from it or suppressing the conflict. Indifference or the desire to evade overt demonstration of a disagreement can result in withdrawal.

Now add the totals for the first and second columns in the space provided for Score A and add the third and fourth column totals in the space provided for Score B. If Score A is significantly higher than Score B (25 points or more), it may indicate a tendency toward assertive conflict management. A significantly higher B score signals a more conciliatory approach. * Adapted from the work of Marc Robert, in the 1987 University Associates, Inc. Conflict-Management Style Survey Instructions: Answer the following questions from a single frame of reference—workrelated conflicts, family conflicts, or social conflicts. Allocate ten points among the four alternative answers given for each of the items below.

Example: When the people I supervise become involved in a personal conflict, I usually: Call a meeting to Intervene to settle talk over the Offer to help if I Ignore the the dispute. problem. can. problem.

3 6 1 0 Be certain that your answers add up to 10.

Point Total =10

1.

When someone I care about is actively hostile toward me (yelling, threatening, abusive), I tend to: Try to persuade Respond in a hostile person to give up the Stay and listen as manner. hostile behavior. long as possible.

Walk away.

2.

When someone who is unimportant to me is actively hostile toward me (yelling, threatening, abusive, and so on), I tend to: Try to persuade the Respond in a hostile person to give up the Stay and listen as manner. hostile behavior. long as possible.

Walk away.

3.

When I observe people in conflict, where anger, threats, hostility, and strong opinions are present, I tend to: Become involved Observe to see what Leave as quickly as and take a position.

Attempt to mediate. happens. possible.

4. to:

When I perceive another person as meeting his or her needs at my expense, I am apt

Work to do anything I can to change that person.

5.

Rely on persuasion and facts when attempting to have that person change

Work hard at changing how I relate to that person.

Accept the situation as it is.

When involved in an interpersonal dispute, I generally:

Draw the other person into seeing the problem as I do.

Examine the issues between us as logically as possible.

Look hard for a workable compromise.

Let time take its course and hope the problem works itself out.

6.

The quality that I value the most in dealing with conflict would be: Emotional strength and security.

Intelligence.

Love and openness.

Patience.

7.

Following a serious altercation with someone I care for deeply, I: Strongly desire to go Want to go back and Worry about it a lot, Let it lie and do not back and settle work it out, but do not plan.

things my way.

whatever it takes.

initiate/plan for further contact.

8.

When I see a serious conflict developing between two people I care about, I tend to: Express my Attempt to persuade disappointment that them to resolve their Watch to see what this had to happen. differences. develops.

Leave the scene.

9.

When I see a serious conflict developing between two people who are unimportant to me, I tend to: Express my Attempt to persuade disappointment that them to resolve their Watch to see what this happened. differences. develops.

Leave the scene.

10.

The feedback that I receive from most people about how I behave when faced with conflict and opposition indicates that I: Try to work out I'm easy-going and Try hard to get my differences take a software Usually avoid the way. cooperatively. conciliatory position. conflict.

11.

When communicating with someone with whom I am having a serious conflict, I: Try to overpower Am an active listener Am a passive listener the other person Talk a little bit more (feeding back words (agreeing and with my speech. than I listen. and feelings). apologizing).

12.

When involved in an unpleasant conflict, I: Make an occasional Use humor with the quip or joke about Relate humor only to other party. the situation. myself.

Suppress all attempts at humor.

13.

When someone does something that irritates me (e.g., smokes in a nonsmoking area or crowds in line in front of me), my tendency in communicating with the offending person is to: (select an answer for each row) Look the person Insist that the directly in the eye Maintain Avoid looking person look me in and maintain eye intermittent eye directly at the the eye. contact. contact. person.

Stand close and make physical contact.

Use my hands and body to illustrate my point.

Stand close to the person without touching him or her.

Stand back and keep my hands to myself.

Use strong, direct language and tell the person to stop.

Try to persuade the person to stop

Talk gently and tell the person what my feelings are.

Say and do nothing

Total of Column 1

Total of Column 2

Total of Column 3

Total of Column 4

Column 1 + Column 2 = Score A

Column 3 + Column 4 = Score B

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group exercise) For a gender-based negotiation simulation that can be completed in as short as 80-90 minutes in class, please see: Barkacs, L. L., and Barkacs, C. B. (2017). Budget Time: A Gender-Based Negotiation Simulation. Journal of Management Education, 41(1), 56-93.

DOI:10.1177/1052562916667603 2. (Small group exercise) For a multi-party negotiation exercise that can be completed in as short as a 50 or 75 minutes in class, please see: Bennett, A. A., and Oksoy, A. S. (2020). Football Stadium Expansion: A Multiparty Negotiation Exercise. Management Teaching Review, 5(2), 115-132.

DOI:10.1177/2379298119826268

Chapter 15

Foundations of Organization Structure Chapter Overview This chapter examines some of the various means in which organizations can be structured for maximum effectiveness.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 15.2 15-1. Identify seven elements of an organization’s structure.

15-2. Identify the characteristics of the simple structure, bureaucracy, and the matrix structure.

15-3. Identify the characteristics of the virtual structure, the team structure, and the circular structure.

15-4. Describe the effects of downsizing on organizational structures and employees.

15-5. Contrast the reasons for mechanistic and organic structural models.

15-6. Analyze the behavioral implications of different organizational designs.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I.

II.

INTRODUCTION B. The theme of this chapter is that organizations have different structures and the structures have a bearing on employee attitudes and behavior.

C. Therefore, it is important that managers be able to identify the correct structure to use in a given situation.

WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE? PPT 15.3 A. The structure of an organization has a large impact on behavior.

1. An organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated.

PPT 15.4 2. There are seven key elements used to determine the proper structure for an organization: work specialization, departmentalization, chain Exhibit 15-1 of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, formalization, and boundary spanning (Exhibit 15-1).

B. Work Specialization.

1. Also known as division of labor, this is the degree to which PPT 15.5 activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs, each by a separate individual.

2. The essence of work specialization is that an entire activity is broken down into a number of steps, with each step (job) being completed by a separate individual, rather than one individual completing the entire activity.

3. Work specialization is a means of making the most efficient use of employee skills and even successfully improving them through repetition.

4. But by the 1960s, it increasingly seemed a good thing can be PPT 15.6 carried too far. a. Human diseconomies from specialization began to surface as Exhibit 15-2 boredom, fatigue, stress, low productivity, poor quality, increased absenteeism, and high turnover, which more than offset the economic advantages (Exhibit 15-2). b. Managers could increase productivity now by enlarging, rather than narrowing, the scope of job activities. c. Giving employees a variety of activities to do, allowing them to do a whole and complete job, and putting them into teams with interchangeable skills often achieved significantly higher output, with increased employee satisfaction. d. Most managers today recognize the economies specialization provides in certain jobs and the problems when it’s carried too far.

1) Amazon’s Mechanical Turk program, TopCoder, and others like it, have facilitated a new trend in microspecialization in which extremely small pieces of programming, data processing, or evaluation tasks are delegated to a global network of individuals by a program manager who then assembles the results.

C. Departmentalization.

PPT 15.7 1. This is the basis by which jobs are grouped together so that common tasks can be coordinated and complexity reduced is departmentalization.

2. Jobs can be grouped on a number of bases: functional, product or service, geography, process, consumer, or any reasonable combination of these bases.

3. Functional Departmentalization: One of the most popular ways to group jobs is by the functions performed. a. The major advantage of this type of functional departmentalization is efficiencies gained from putting like specialists together.

b. Functional structure allows specialists to become experts more easily than if they worked in diversified units.

c. Employees can be motivated by a clear career path to the top of the

organization chart specific to their specialties. d. However, coordination and infighting among diverse units is a problem.

4. Product or Service Departmentalization: Jobs can be organized by the type of product or service the organization produces. a. This type of grouping provides the major advantage of increased accountability for product performance, since all activities related to a specific product are under the direction of a single manager. b. For this type of organization to be effective, it is important for the department or team to have a broader understanding of the organization outside their own product specialization.

5. Geographic Departmentalization: Departments can be built based on geography or territory. a. If an organization's customers are scattered over a large geographic area and have similar needs based on their location, then this form of departmentalization can be valuable. b. Organizations with geographical departmentalization should pay special care toward inter-region communication and knowledge sharing.

6. Process and Customer Departmentalization: Process departmentalization involves structuring employee, product, or customer processes. a. Each department specializes in one specific phase in the production as each phase requires different skills; this method offers a basis for homogenous categorizing of activities.

7. Implications for organizational behavior (OB): Interestingly, organizations do not always stay with the basis of departmentalization they first adopt. a. The more divisional structures have the opposite benefits and disadvantages of the functional structure.

8. As we see throughout this text, whenever changes are deliberately made in organizations to align practices with organizational goals, particularly the goals of strong leaders, a good execution of the changes creates a much higher probability for improvement.

PPT 15.8 D. Chain of Command. a. The chain of command is the unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to its lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom. b. While it has become far less important in recent years, it still is a valid concern when structuring organizations.

1. Authority: Authority refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect the orders to be obeyed. a. Typically, the level of authority is matched to the responsibilities of a given position.

2. Unity-of-Command: The principle of unity of command helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority: it states that a person should have one and only one superior to whom the person is directly responsible. a. While this principle is often broken in modern organizations, the result may be increased conflicting demands or priorities given to workers.

3. Implications for OB: Due to the increased use of networked computers, employee empowerment, and self-managed teams in modern organizations, the concept of chain of command has become seemingly less relevant.

E. Span of Control.

1. The number of employees a manager is expected to effectively and

PPT 15.9

efficiently direct (often known as the number of “direct reports”) is span of control.

2. This span, to a large degree, determines the number of levels and managers an organization has. a. All other things being equal, the wider or larger the span, the more PPT 15.10 employees at each level, the more efficient the organization (Exhibit 15-3). b. Managerial effectiveness, however, may be diminished by larger Exhibit 15-3 spans of control.

1) The use of wider spans of control has become more prevalent in recent years due to the desire to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed up decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees by reducing the number of managerial layers in an organization.

2) Wider spans of control do increase training costs as workers must be much more knowledgeable about their jobs in order to allow managers to reduce the closeness of control. c. Keeping the span of control to five or six employees allows for close control by management. d. But there are three potential drawbacks to narrow spans: 1) Increased costs due to the additional levels of management.

2) Vertical communication in the organization becomes more complex and slower. a) Larger hierarchies tend to slow the decision-making process down and may isolate upper management.

3) Overly tight supervision may discourage employee autonomy.

F. Centralization and Decentralization.

1. Centralization refers to the degree to which decision making is PPT 15.11 concentrated at a single point in the organization.

2. The concept only includes formal authority: the rights inherent in one's position.

3. Centralized organizations have all key decisions made at the upper levels of the organization while decentralized organizations have decisions made at the lowest possible level.

4. Implications for OB: A decentralized organization can act more quickly to solve problems, more people provide input into decisions, and employees are less likely to feel alienated from those who make decisions that affect their work lives.

5. Recent research indicates that the effects of centralization and decentralization can be predicted: Centralized organizations are better for avoiding commission errors (bad choices), while decentralized organizations are better for avoiding omission errors (lost opportunities).

6. Decentralization is often necessary for companies with offshore sites because localized decision making is needed to respond to each region’s profit opportunities, client base, and specific laws, while centralized oversight is needed to hold regional managers accountable.

G. Formalization.

PPT 15.12 1. Formalization is the degree to which jobs in the organization are standardized.

a. If a job is highly formalized, the employee has a minimum amount of

III.

discretion over what is to be done, when it is to be done, and how it is to be done. b. There is consistent and uniform output driven by explicit job descriptions, organizational rules, and clearly defined procedures. c. Where formalization is low, job behaviors are relatively nonprogrammed, and employees have a great deal of freedom to exercise discretion in their work.

1) Formalization not only eliminates the need for employees to consider alternatives. d. The degree of formalization can vary widely between and within organizations.

1) In general, research from 94 high-technology Chinese firms showed that formalization is a detriment to team flexibility in decentralized organization structures, suggesting that formalization does not work as well where duties are inherently interactive, or where there is a need to be flexible and innovative.

H. Boundary Spanning.

1. Within a single organization, boundary spanning occurs when PPT 15.13 individuals form relationships with people outside their formally assigned groups. a. A human resources (HR) executive who frequently engages with the Information technology group is engaged in boundary spanning, as is a member of a research and development team who implements ideas from a production team.

2. These activities help prevent formal structures from becoming too rigid and, not surprisingly, enhance team creativity, decision making, knowledge sharing, and performance.

3. Organizations can use formal mechanisms to facilitate boundary-spanning activities through their structures. a. One method is to assign formal liaison roles or develop committees of individuals from different areas of the organization. b. Development activities can also facilitate boundary spanning. c. Many organizations set the stage for these types of positive relationships by creating job rotation programs so new hires get a better sense of different areas within the organization.

COMMON ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORKS AMD STRUCTURES A. We now turn to three of the more common organizational PPT 15.14 designs: the simple structure, the bureaucracy, and the matrix structure.

B. The Simple Structure.

1. The simple structure has a low degree of departmentalization, wide spans of control, authority is centralized in a single person, and there is little formalization.

PPT 15.15 a. Simple structures tend to be “flat” organizations, with only two or three vertical levels. b. Often used for small organizations and organizations in times of temporary crises.

2. The strength of the structure is its simplicity: it's fast, flexible, and inexpensive to maintain.

1) Accountability is clear.

3. The structure is difficult to maintain for anything other than small organizations. a. The focus of all decision making on one person can result very quickly in information overload as the organization increases in size.

b. This slows down decision making and increases risk as the loss of the single decision maker can cripple the entire firm.

C. The Bureaucracy.

1. Standardization is the key concept that underlies all

IV.

PPT 15.16

bureaucracies.

2. Bureaucracies are characterized by highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, formalized rules and regulations, departmentalization, centralized authority, narrow spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command.

3. Bureaucracies can perform standardized activities in a highly efficient manner due to economies of scale, minimum duplication of personnel and equipment, and a common language all employees share. a. They do not require talented low- to mid-level managers: the formalized rules and procedures are substitutes for managerial discretion.

4. Innovative employees often do not mesh well with bureaucracy.

5. The other major weakness of bureaucracies is obsessive concern with following the rules.

6. Bureaucratic structures may result in diminished autonomy and motivation for employees within these systems, making it difficult to develop and maintain motivation.

D. Matrix Structure.

1. The matrix structure combines two forms of departmentalization: functional and product.

2. The most obvious structural characteristic of a matrix is that it breaks the unityof-command concept.

PPT 15.17 3. Employees in a matrix have two bosses (their functional department manager and their product manager), thus making Exhibit 15-4 a dual chain of command (Exhibit 15-4).

4. The strength of the matrix is its ability to facilitate coordination when the organization has a number of complex and interdependent activities.

5. The matrix also reduces so-called “bureaupathologies”—its dual lines of authority limit people’s tendency to protect their territories at the expense of the organization’s goals.

6. The matrix also achieves economies of scale and facilitates the allocation of specialists by both providing the best resources and ensuring that they are efficiently used.

7. This type of structure tends to create confusion, foster power struggles, and place undue stress and insecurity on individuals. a. Ambiguity is significantly increased, which often leads to greater stress for those who seek security and less ambiguity. b. Some of these disadvantages can be offset through culture, especially one that values agility, flexibility, fluidity, collaboration, and a clear direction.

ALTERNATE DESIGN OPTIONS A. In the ever-increasing trend toward flatter structures, many PPT 15.18 organizations have been developing new options with fewer layers of hierarchy and more emphasis on opening the boundaries of the organization.

1. In this section, we describe three such designs: the virtual structure, the team structure, and the circular structure.

PPT 15.19

B. The Virtual Structure.

1. Also known as a network or modular organization, this highly flexible structure

typically features a small core organization that outsources major business functions.

2. The virtual structure is highly centralized with little or no departmentalization.

3. Exhibit 15-5 shows a virtual organization in which management Exhibit 15-5 outsources all the primary functions of the business. a. The core of the organization is a small group of executives whose job is to oversee directly any activities done in-house and to coordinate relationships with the other organizations that manufacture, distribute, and perform other crucial functions for the virtual organization.

4. The main advantage is flexibility. Virtual organizations also save a great deal of money by eliminating permanent offices and hierarchial roles.

5. Disadvantages: a. They are in a state of perpetual flux and reorganization, which means roles, goals, and responsibilities are unclear, setting the stage of political behavior. b. Those who work frequently with virtual organizations also note cultural alignment and shared goals can be lost because of the low degree of interaction among members.

C. The Team Structure.

1. The team structure seeks to eliminate vertical and horizontal PPT 15.20 boundaries and break down the external barriers between the company and its customers and suppliers.

2. The goal is to eliminate the chain of command and replace departments with empowered teams.

3. By removing vertical boundaries, management flattens the hierarchy and minimizes status and rank.

4. Cross-hierarchical teams, participative decision-making practices, and the use of 360-degree performance appraisals can be used.

a.

5. When fully operational, the team structure also breaks down geographic

V.

barriers. a. Today, most large U.S. companies see themselves as global corporations; many, like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, do almost as much business overseas as in the United States, and some struggle to incorporate geographic regions into their structure.

D. The Circular Structure.

1. Picture the concentric rings of an archery target. In the center are the executives; radiating outward in rings grouped by function are PPT 15.21 the managers, then the specialists, then the workers. This is the circular structure.

2. There is still a hierarchy, but top management is at the very heart of the organization, with its vision spreading outward.

3. The circular structure has intuitive appeal for creative entrepreneurs, and some small innovative firms have claimed it.

4. However, as in many of the current hybrid approaches, employees are apt to be unclear about whom they report to and who is running the show.

LEANER ORGANIZATION: ORGANIZATION DOWNSIZING A. The goal of the new organizational forms we’ve described is to PPT 15.22 improve agility by creating a lean, focused, and flexible organization.

1. Downsizing is a systematic effort to make an organization leaner by closing

locations, reducing staff, de-layering, or selling off business units that do not add value. a. Some companies do not have a choice and implement downsizing measures because of outside forces. b. Some firms downsize to direct all their efforts toward their core competencies.

2. Despite the advantages of being a lean organization, the impact of downsizing on organizational performance has been very controversial. a. Reducing the size of the workforce perhaps has positive outcomes in the long run, although most of the evidence suggests that downsizing has a negative effect on stock returns the year of downsizing.

b. c. Part of the problem is the effect of downsizing on employee attitudes. d. Those who remain often feel worried about future layoffs and may be less committed to the organization.

3. In companies that don’t invest much in their employees, downsizing can also

VI.

lead to more voluntary turnover, so vital human capital is lost. a. The result is a company that is more anemic than lean.

WHY DO STRUCTURES DIFFER? A. Models of Organizational Design.

PPT 15.23 1. There are two extreme models of organizational design, the mechanistic and the organic, which may aid in the discussion of these forces (Exhibit 15-6).

Exhibit 15-6 a. The mechanistic model is generally synonymous with bureaucracy, in that it has extensive departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network (normally downward communication), and centralization. b. The organic model is flat, has fewer formal procedures for making decisions, has multiple decision makers, and favors flexible practices.

2. Organizational Strategies.

1) An organization's structure is a means to help management to achieve its objectives.

2) Because objectives are derived from an organization's overall strategy, strategy and structure are closely linked.

3) Structure should follow strategy.

4) There are three strategic dimensions that affect structural design: a) Innovation strategy: (1) The degree to which an organization plans to introduce new products or services, not merely superficial changes to present offerings.

(2) Innovative firms will use competitive pay and benefits to attract top candidates and motivate employees to take risks.

(3) Some degree of mechanistic structure can benefit innovation.

(4) Well-developed communications channels, policies for enhancing long-term commitment, and clear channels of authority all may make it easier for rapid changes to occur smoothly. b) Cost minimization strategy: (1) These organizations tightly control costs, refrain from incurring unnecessary expenses, and cuts prices in selling a basic product.

(2) Sometimes, cost-minimization can hurt customer loyalty and perceptions of product quality.

(3) Cost-optimization focuses on looking at the bigger picture and

making sure expenditures maximize long-term growth and profits. c) Imitation strategy: (1) Imitators try to minimize risk, while maximizing the opportunity for profit.

(2) These firms are market followers who move into new products or new markets only after viability has been proven by the innovators.

(3) On a smaller scale, companies within the same industry share best practices and benchmarking data in order to advance the industry.

(4) Imitation can cause firms to imitate the effects of success rather than its causes, imitation often ignores the luck and serendipity that cause the imitated to become successful, and imitation can lead to long-term decline if the imitating company does not have the capacity or resources to scale. d) Structural Matches: Exhibit 15-7 describes the structural option that best matches each strategy.

PPT 15.24 (1) Innovators need the flexibility of the organic structure (although, as we noted, they may use some elements of the mechanistic structure as well), whereas cost Exhibit 15-7 minimizers seek the efficiency and stability of the mechanistic structure.

(2) Imitators combine the two structures. They use a mechanistic structure to maintain tight controls and low costs in their current activities but create organic subunits in which to pursue new opportunities.

3. Organizational Size. a. The size of an organization significantly affects its structure.

PPT 15.25 b. Organizations that employ two thousand or more people tend to have more specialization, more departmentalization, more vertical levels, and more rules and regulations than do small organizations. c. But size affects structure at a decreasing rate: once an organization has become fairly mechanistic (around 2,000 employees), additional increases in size have little effect on organizational structure.

4. Technology.

1) This refers to how an organization transfers its inputs into outputs.

2) Every organization has at least one technology for converting financial, human, and physical resources into products or services. a) Regardless, organizational structures adapt to their technology—and vice-versa.

5. Environment. a. An organization’s environment is composed of institutions or forces outside the organization that potentially affects the organization's structure, such as suppliers, competitors, government, and pressure groups.

1) Dynamic environments create significantly more uncertainty for managers than do static ones.

2) To minimize uncertainty, managers may broaden their structure to sense and respond to threats.

3) Any organization’s environment has three dimensions: capacity,

VII.

volatility, and complexity. a) Capacity: Capacity refers to the degree to which the environment can support growth.

(1) Rich and growing environments generate excess resources, which can buffer the organization in times of relative scarcity. b) Volatility: Volatility describes the degree of instability in the environment.

(1) A dynamic environment with a high degree of unpredictable change makes it difficult for management to make accurate predictions.

(2) Because information technology changes at such a rapid pace, for instance, more organizations’ environments are becoming volatile. c) Complexity: Finally, complexity is the degree of heterogeneity and concentration among environmental elements.

(1) Environments characterized by heterogeneity and dispersion are complex and diverse, with numerous PPT 15.26 competitors. d) Three-Dimensional Model: Given this three-dimensional definition of environment, we can offer some general Exhibit 15-8 conclusions about environmental uncertainty and structural arrangements (Exhibit 15-8).

(1) The more scarce, dynamic, and complex the environment, the more organic a structure should be.

(2) The more abundant, stable, and simple the environment, the more the mechanistic structure will be preferred.

6. Institutions. a. Another factor that shapes organizational structure is institutions. These are cultural factors that act as guidelines for appropriate behavior.

1) Institutional theory describes some of the forces that lead many organizations to have similar structures and, unlike the theories we’ve described so far, focuses on pressures that aren’t necessarily adaptive.

2) In fact, many institutional theorists try to highlight the ways corporate behaviors sometimes seem to be performance oriented but are actually guided by unquestioned social norms and conformity.

3) The most obvious institutional factors come from regulatory pressures; certain industries under government contracts, for instance, must have clear reporting relationships and strict information controls.

4) Sometimes simple inertia determines an organizational form— companies can be structured in a particular way just because that’s the way things have always been done, or what others are doing.

5) Organizations in countries with high power distance might have a structural form with strict authority relationships because it’s seen as more legitimate in that culture.

6) Some have attributed problems in adaptability in Japanese organizations to the institutional pressure to maintain authority relationships.

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNS AND EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR

A. It is impossible to generalize any link between organizational

VIII.

PPT 15.27 structures and employee performance and/or satisfaction due to the high variance caused by individual differences.

B. Different factors stand out in different structures as well.

C. In highly formalized, heavily structured, mechanistic organizations, the level of fairness in formal policies and procedures is a very important predictor of satisfaction. In more personal, individually adaptive organic organizations, employees value interpersonal justice more.

D. Some people are most productive and satisfied when work tasks are standardized and ambiguity minimized—that is, in mechanistic structures. So any discussion of the effect of organizational design on employee behavior has to address individual differences.

E. To do so, let’s consider employee differences.

1. Span of Control. a. There is no evidence to suggest a relationship between span of control and employee performance or satisfaction. b. Individual differences may be confounding the results of research in this area. One assumption, based on several of the contingency theories (presented in Chapter 12), is that factors such as employees’ experience and abilities along with the degree of structure in their tasks, would explain when wide or narrow spans of control are likely to contribute to performance and job satisfaction. c. Managers seem to have increasing job satisfaction as the number of employees they supervise increases.

2. Centralization. a. There is fairly strong evidence that the degree of centralization is linked to job satisfaction. b. Decentralized organizations tend to have more autonomy, which is positively related to job satisfaction. c. However, the individual need for autonomy varies, which moderates the relationship.

3. Predictability versus Autonomy. a. We can draw one obvious insight: people don’t select employers randomly.

They are attracted to, are selected by, and stay with organizations that suit their personal characteristics. b. Thus, the effect of structure on employee behavior is undoubtedly reduced when the selection process facilitates proper matching of individual characteristics with organizational characteristics. c. Furthermore, companies should strive to establish, promote, and maintain the unique identity of their structures since skilled employees may quit as a result of dramatic changes.

4. National Culture.

1) Although research is slim, it does suggest national culture influences the preference for structure.

2) Organizations that operate with people from high power-distance cultures, such as Greece, France, and most of Latin America, find their employees are much more accepting of mechanistic structures than are employees from low power-distance countries.

SUMMARY A. The theme of this chapter is that an organization’s internal structure contributes to explaining and predicting behavior.

1. That is, in addition to individual and group factors, the structural relationships in which people work has a bearing on employee attitudes and behavior.

B. To the degree that an organization’s structure reduces ambiguity for employees and IX.

clarifies concerns, it shapes their attitudes and facilitates and motivates them to higher levels of performance.

PPT 15.28 IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Design the structure of your organization, unit, or team so that it follows strategy, supports execution, and elicits desired behaviors and outcomes. In other words, your structure should be purpose driven.

B. Consider the design features that relate to specialization, departmentalization, authority, formalization, and boundary spanning to implement your strategy.

C. There are several common organizational structures that you can implement, and most organizations today use hybrid structures with a matrix format. However, you should always match your decision to your strategy (for example, flatter organizations tend to elicit more innovation) and what you expect to encounter in the organization’s environment (e.g., scarcity, volatility, complexity).

D. Downsize only if necessary, because downsizing can have a significant negative impact on employee attitudes/motivation and customer perceptions.

E. Generally, aim for an organic structure if your strategy prioritizes innovation, a mechanistic structure if your strategy prioritizes cost minimization, and a combination of the two if your strategy prioritizes imitation.

Discussion Questions

PPT 15.29

100. Identify the six key elements that define an organization’s structure.

Answer: (1) Work Specialization, or division of labor, is the degree to which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs. (2) Departmentalization is the basis by which jobs are grouped together so that common tasks can be coordinated. Jobs can be grouped by: function, product, geography, process, consumer, or any reasonable combination of these bases. (3) Chain of Command. This describes the unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to its lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom.

(4) Span of Control. This is the number of employees a manager is expected to effectively and efficiently direct. (5) Centralization and Decentralization. This refers to the degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization. The concept only includes formal authority: the rights inherent in one's position. (6) Formalization. This is the degree to which jobs in the organization are standardized.

101. Describe the characteristics of a bureaucracy.

Answer: Standardization is the key concept that underlies all bureaucracies.

Bureaucracies are characterized by routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments, centralized authority, narrow spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command.

102. Describe a matrix organization.

Answer: This organizational structure combines two forms of departmentalization: functional and product. The most obvious structural characteristic of a matrix is that it breaks the unity-of-command concept. Employees in a matrix have two bosses, (their functional and their product managers). The matrix attempts to gain the strengths of both functional and product departmentalization while avoiding each of their weaknesses. A matrix facilitates coordination, especially when organizations have a multiplicity of complex and interdependent activities. The direct and

frequent contact between different specialties in the matrix can make for better communication; faster data flow; more flexibility; and enhanced focus on organizational goals instead of departmental ones. It also facilitates the effective allocation of specialists. But this type of structure tends to create confusion, foster power struggles, and place undue stress and insecurity on individuals. Ambiguity is significantly increased, which often leads to greater potential for conflict.

103. Describe the characteristics of a virtual organization.

Answer: Also known as a network or modular organization, this highly flexible structure typically features a small core organization that outsources major business functions. It is highly centralized with little or no departmentalization. The structure allows for the employment of highly skilled workers only for as long as they are needed (thus reducing costs while improving quality), reduces long-term risks, and minimizes bureaucratic overhead. Managers in virtual organizations spend most of their time coordinating and controlling external relations, typically by way of computer-network links.

104. Summarize why managers want to use team structures.

Answer: This structure is the result of management's desire to reduce costs and increase flexibility in the global environment. It seeks to eliminate vertical and horizontal boundaries and break down the external barriers between the company and its customers and suppliers, which should reduce structure, costs, and decisionmaking time. Using cross-functional and cross-hierarchical empowered teams will increase organizational agility, flexibility, and communication. By removing external barriers through globalization, strategic alliances, customer-organization links, and telecommuting, organizations can hire the best workers or organizations to complete necessary tasks.

105. Contrast mechanistic and organic structural models.

Answer: The mechanistic model is generally synonymous with bureaucracy, in that it has extensive departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network (normally downward communication), and little participation by low-level members in decision making. The organic model is similar to the boundaryless organization. This structure is flat, uses cross-hierarchical and cross-functional teams, has low formalization, possesses a comprehensive information network (using lateral and upward communication as well as downward), and involves high participation in decision making.

106. List the factors that favor different organizational structures.

Answer: An organization’s strategy, size, use of technology, and environmental uncertainty all have an influence on the appropriate structure for the organization.

107. Explain the behavioral implications of different organizational designs.

Answer: It is impossible to generalize any link between organizational structures and employee performance and satisfaction due to the high variance in individual differences. These individual differences must become the focus of the discussion.

The text examines three aspects of organizational design: work specialization, span of control, and centralization. Work specialization contributes to higher employee productivity at the price of reduced job satisfaction, but not for everyone. While the point at which the human costs of specialized work overtake the economies of specialization seems to be reached more quickly now than in the past, there are still those who enjoy routine labor. The negative behavioral outcomes from high specialization are most likely to surface in professional jobs occupied by individuals with high needs for personal growth and diversity. There is no evidence to suggest a relationship between span of control and employee performance or high satisfaction. Individual differences may be confounding the results of research in this area. One assumption, based on several of the contingency theories (presented in Chapter 11), is that factors such as employees’ experience and abilities along with

the degree of structure in their tasks, would explain when wide or narrow spans of control are likely to contribute to performance and job satisfaction. There is fairly strong evidence that the degree of centralization is linked to job satisfaction.

Decentralized organizations tend to have a greater amount of participative decision making, which is positively related to job satisfaction. This relationship is strongest with employees who have low self-esteem.

Exercises 69. Self-analysis. Examine your own work life: consider the jobs you have held and organizations with which you have been associated. Based on your experiences, what type of organizational structure appears to suit you best? Why? Relate your own attitudes, behaviors, and values to the organizational structures described in this chapter.

70. Web Crawling. Search the web to find three articles on an organization that has changed its structure in the recent past (downsized or increased in scale). Carefully read the articles and describe what happened using structural terms from this chapter. What kinds of internal and external reactions were there to the structural change? What was the impact of the change on the organization’s effectiveness (e.g., perhaps as measured by its stock price)?

71. Teamwork. Students will learn how to analyze organizational structure by examining the structure of their current college or university. Divide the class into groups of three to five students, six groups in total. As a class, create a form for analysis of the organization: a. Use the key elements and their corresponding questions given in Exhibit 151 to create the form. b. Use a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high) for each of the six key elements. c. Leave space for written comments explaining the rating and giving details of each structural element.

If you are analyzing a large university, give each team one structural element to study. If you are analyzing a smaller college or school within the university, have each team look at the entire organization. Each team should prepare to report orally or in writing on their findings. The reports should address: a. How is the organization currently structured? b. What type of organizational structure is it: organic/mechanistic, simple, bureaucratic, matrix? c. Could this organization benefit from a new organizational structure; virtual, team, or boundaryless? How would it benefit?

As a class, discuss each group’s findings and come to a consensus on the restructuring action, if any, needed to be taken by the organization.

72. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Have students discuss with the top managers in their organization the concept of restructuring. When do they make the decision to restructure? In general, restructurings occur as organizations grow, but there are other variables also. Have them discuss how the past changes in structure affected the employees. You might also discuss any plans they might have to restructure in the future, how they determine when to do this, and the scope of the project. After the interview, have the students relate their notes to the six key elements. Did any one element stand out? As a class, were there patterns with various types of organizations?

Suggested Assignments Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Then ask them to follow these

assignments.

1. Brick & Mortar vs. Brick & Click vs. Click & Buy. Today’s retail world is increasingly moving online in an effort to woo customers. Research and identify a retailer from each of these three types: (1) brick & mortar: on-ground presence only, (2) brick & click: on-ground and online presence, (3) click & buy: online presence only. Describe the structures of each of these three firms in terms of the six key elements given in the chapter. If possible, draw a generalized organizational chart for each type of retail organization based on your research.

2. Mom & Pop Compared to a National Chain. Identify and compare two retailers that sell similar products, one of which is a small “Mom & Pop” local operation and the other belonging to a national chain. Compare the two organizations based on the six key elements given for structure. Consider the following: a. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the national chain’s structure? b. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Mom & Pop structure? c. At which organization would you prefer to work? Why? Does the structure have anything to do with your decision?

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group activity) For a 75-minute in-class simulation exercise that demonstrates how organizational structure is influenced by organizational and departmental technologies, please see: Miller, L.E. (2007). Teaching technology-structure contingencies by “Harnessing the wind.” Journal of Management Education, 31(4), 555-571.

2. (Small group activity) For a 110-minute in-class activity that promotes learning in relation to issues associated with organizational structure, please see: Lyons, P. R., and Nicol, D. M. (2001). Structuring-by-the-numbers: A process for discovering and understanding organizational structure. Journal of Management Education, 25(6), 726-736.

Chapter 16

Organizational Culture Chapter Overview This chapter examines organizational culture: the effects culture has on members within the organization, how members learn the culture, and how it can be changed.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 16.2 16-1. Describe the common characteristics of organizational culture.

16-2. Show how culture is transmitted to employees.

16-3. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture.

16-4.

16-5.

16-6.

Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization.

Describe the similarities and differences in creating an ethical culture, a positive culture, and a spiritual culture.

Show how national culture can affect the way organizational culture is interpreted in another country.

Suggested Lecture Outline INTRODUCTION A. In Chapter 5, we found that individuals have relatively enduring and stable traits that help predict their attitudes and behaviors.

B. Organizations also have personalities, which are referred to as “cultures.”

Organizational cultures govern how that organization’s members behave.

LI. WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE? 1. We have all felt an indescribable essence about the organizations we’ve experienced. The pervasive atmosphere can have a strong and measurable impact on behavior.

A. A Definition of Organizational Culture.

PPT 16.3 1. Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations.

2. This system of shared meaning includes values, beliefs, material symbols, and assumptions that characterize the organization.

3. These values, beliefs, and assumptions, when put into practice: a. Filter what employees pay attention to, b. are physically manifested as material symbols and stories, c. form the foundation for shared meaning amongst members of an organization.

L.

1) 4. Organizational culture describes how employees perceive the characteristics of

an organization’s culture, not whether or not they like those characteristics. It is a descriptive term.

5. Job satisfaction seeks to measure affective responses to the work environment: it is concerned with how employees feel about the organization. It is an evaluative term.

6. See Exhibit 16-1 for a contrast of two companies with very different organizational cultures.

PPT 16.4 7. Regardless of the many ways of conceptualizing varying “types” of culture by values or beliefs, one of the most common frameworks Exhibit 16-2 describes organizational cultures as possessing several competing values (Exhibit 16-2): a. “The Clan.” A culture based on human affiliation. Employees value attachment, collaboration, trust, and support. b. “The Adhocracy.” A culture based on change. Employees value growth, variety, attention to detail, stimulation, and autonomy. c. “The Market.” A culture based on achievement. Employees value communication, competence, and competition. d. “The Hierarchy.” A culture based on stability. Employees value communication, formalization, and routine.

8. The differences between these cultures are reflected in their internal versus

external focus and their flexibility and stability. a. For example, clans are internally focused and flexible, adhocracies are externally focused and flexible, markets are externally focused and stable, and hierarchies are internally focused and stable.

9. As shown in Exhibit 16-2, the various cultures differ regarding how they influence organizational outcomes.

10. A strategic approach to culture would suggest that cultures would ideally match one’s objectives.

11. Other frameworks have been introduced; for example, the Organizational Culture Inventory groups cultures into three categories: a. Constructive cultures that value affiliation, encouragement, and achievement, b. Passive-defensive cultures that avoid accountability, seek validation and approval from others, and are conventional, and c. Aggressive-defensive cultures that are competitive, perfectionist, and power-oriented.

12. Another widely used framework is the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP). The OCP suggests 8 profiles: a. Innovation b. Attention to detail c. Decisiveness d. Team orientation e. Outcome orientation f. Aggressiveness g. Supportiveness h. Rewards emphasis B. Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?

1. Culture is a system of shared meaning; therefore, PPT 16.5 individuals of dissimilar backgrounds or at varying levels in the organization should describe the organization's culture in similar terms despite their differences. a. This doesn't mean, however, that an organization's culture is completely uniform.

2. The dominant culture is the overall organizational culture as expressed by the core values held by the majority of the organization's members, and gives the organization its distinct personality.

3. Subsets of the overall culture, or subcultures, tend to develop in larger organizations to reflect the common problems, situations, or experiences that are unique to members of certain departments or geographical areas. a. Most large organizations have a dominant culture and numerous subcultures.

C. Strong versus Weak Cultures.

1. Strong cultures have a greater impact on employee behavior and are PPT 16.6 more directly related to reduced turnover.

2. A strong culture exists when an organization's core values are both intensely held and widely shared. a. The greater the number of members who accept the core values and the greater their commitment to these values, the stronger the culture is and its influence on member behavior.

b. A strong culture creates an internal climate of high behavioral

control and builds cohesiveness, loyalty, and organizational commitment, which, in turn, reduces turnover.

III. HOW EMPLOYEES LEARN CULTURE A. Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms: stories, rituals, PPT 16.7 material symbols, and language.

B. Stories.

1. Stories typically involve narratives about the organization’s founders, rule breaking, rags-to-riches successes, workforce reductions, relocations of employees, reactions to past mistakes, and organizational coping.

2. These stories anchor the present in the past and provide explanations and legitimacy for current practices.

C. Rituals.

1. Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organization. They highlight what goals are most important: which people are important and which are not.

2. Research suggests that rituals work because they inspire a sense of control in their participants and as a result, reduce anxiety.

D. Symbols.

1. Material symbols such as the size of offices, the elegance of furnishings, perquisites, awards and trophies, and the attire worn all convey to employees who is important, the degree of egalitarianism desired by top management, and the kinds of appropriate behavior, such as risk taking, conservative, authoritarian, participative, individualistic, or social behavior.

2. Material symbols also offer a sense of connection and stir emotions in employees who make sense of the symbols.

E. Language.

1. Many organizations and subunits within them use language to help members identify with the culture, attest to their acceptance of it, and help preserve it.

IV. CREATING AND SUSTAINING CULTURE A. How a Culture Begins.

PPT 16.8 1. The ultimate source of an organization's culture is its founder(s).

Founders have a vision of what the organization should be, and a firm’s initial small size makes it easy to enact that vision with all members.

2. Culture creation occurs in three ways: a. Employee Selection. Founders hire and keep only those employees who think and feel the same way the founders do. b. Socialization. Founders indoctrinate and socialize their employees toward the founders’ way of thinking and feeling. c. Modeling.

1) The founder acts as a role model and encourages employees to identify with him or her and to internalize the founder’s beliefs, values, and assumptions.

2) When the organization succeeds, the personality of the founder(s) becomes embedded in the culture.

3. Exhibit 16-3 summarizes how an organization’s culture is established and sustained.

PPT 16.9 a. The original culture derives from the founder’s philosophy and strongly influences hiring criteria as the firm grows. b. The success of socialization depends on the deliberateness of Exhibit 16-3 matching new employees’ values to those of the organization in the

selection process and on top management’s commitment to socialization programs. c. Top managers signal what is valued, including what is acceptable behavior and what is not, thus directly influencing the socialization process and the culture. d. The culture then becomes linked and entrenched within the organizational structures and systems and is perpetuated by leadership.

B. Keeping a Culture Alive. a. Once a culture exists, practices within the organization serve to PPT 16.10 maintain it by giving employees a similar set of experiences. b. These practices include the selection process, performance evaluation criteria, training and development activities, and promotional procedures: those who support the culture are rewarded and those who do not are penalized.

1. Selection: The explicit goal of the selection process is to identify and hire individuals with relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully.

The final decision identifies people whose values are consistent with at least a good portion of the organization’s. a. Employees whose values and beliefs are misaligned with those of the organization tend to not be hired, fake their way into the organization, or self-select out of the applicant pool, thereby protecting the existing organizational culture.

2. Top Management: The actions of top management have a major impact on the organization’s culture. a. Through words and behavior, senior executives establish norms that filter throughout the organization about, for instance, whether risk taking is desirable, how much freedom managers give employees, the uniforms employees should wear, and what behavior is desired and rewarded.

3. Socialization: New employees must adapt to the organizational culture PPT 16.11 in a process called socialization. a. Socialization can help alleviate the problem many employees report Exhibit 16-4 when their jobs are different than what they expected. b. There are three stages in this initial socialization shown in Exhibit 16-4. The success of this socialization will affect employee productivity, commitment, and turnover.

1) Prearrival stage. a) This encompasses all the learning that occurs before a new member joins the organization. b) Each individual arrives with his or her own unique set of values, attitudes, and expectations both surrounding the work and the organization. c) That knowledge, plus how proactive their personality is, are the two critical predictors of how well the new employees will adjust to the new culture. d) The perception of being able to “fit in” is critical in the hiring process.

2) Encounter stage. a) This is when the new employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may differ from reality.

b) If the employee's expectations prove to be reasonably accurate, the

encounter stage merely provides a reaffirmation of the perceptions gained earlier. c) But when expectations and reality differ, new employees must undergo socialization that will detach them from their previous assumptions and replace them with another set the organization deems desirable. d) At the extreme, a new member may become disillusioned with the actualities of the job and resign: an indication of the failure of the selection process. e) The greater the number of friendship ties a newcomer has in the organization, the more likely he or she is to be committed. f) Learning, unlearning, and relationship building are key during this stage.

3) Metamorphosis stage. a) Finally, to work out any problems discovered during the PPT 16.12 encounter stage, the new member changes or goes through the metamorphosis stage. The options presented in Exhibit Exhibit 16-5 16-5 are alternatives designed to bring about metamorphosis. b) The more management relies on socialization programs that are formal, collective, fixed, serial, and emphasize divestiture, the greater the likelihood that the newcomer’s differences and perspectives will be stripped away and replaced by standardized and predictable behaviors. c) Programs that are informal, individual, and random while emphasizing investiture are more likely to give newcomers a sense of their roles and methods of working. d) Most research suggest that high levels of institutional practices encourage person-organization fit, high levels of commitment, and improved role clarity, whereas individual practices produce more role innovation, inspire motivation, and lead to social integration. e) The initial adjustment is often marked by decreases in job satisfaction as idealized hopes come into contact with the reality of organizational life. f) Newcomers may find that the level of social support they receive from supervisors and coworkers is gradually withdrawn over the first few weeks on the job, as everyone returns to “business as usual.” g) Role conflict and role overload may rise for newcomers over time, and workers with the largest increases in these role problems experience the largest decreases in commitment and satisfaction.

V. WHAT DO CULTURES DO? A. The Functions of Culture.

1. Culture defines the “rules of the game.”

2. There are five basic functions of culture that help achieve these PPT 16.13 benefits: a. Defines Boundaries. Culture creates distinctions between one organization and another. b. Identity. Culture conveys a sense of identity for its members.

c. Commitment. Culture generates commitment to something that is larger than one's own self-interest.

d. Social Stability. Culture is the social glue that helps hold the organization

together by providing appropriate standards for socially acceptable employee behavior. e. Sense-Making and Control Mechanism. Culture serves as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees.

3. A strong culture ensures employees will act in a relatively uniform and predictable way.

4. A positive organizational culture improves employee job attitudes and, as such, bolsters talent acquisition and retention.

5. Today’s trend toward decentralized organizations makes culture more important than ever, but ironically, it also makes establishing a strong culture more difficult. a. When formal authority and control systems are reduced, culture’s shared meaning points everyone in the same direction. b. Decentralization also highlights the role climate plays in linking organizational culture to organizational and employee outcomes.

B. Culture Creates Climate.

1. Organizational climate refers to the shared perceptions organizational members have about their organization’s policies, procedures, and practices.

PPT 16.14 2. It may appear difficult on the surface to distinguish organizational culture from climate: a. Culture is difficult to measure and somewhat esoteric. b. Climate represents the more readily observable "behavioral evidence" for an organization’s culture. It links what the organization values and believes with explicit practices, policies, and procedures. c. If an organization is like an onion, the culture is at the core and the climates are on the surface layers.

3. Dozens of dimensions of climate have been studied, including innovation, creativity, communication, warmth and support, involvement, safety, justice, diversity, and customer service, to name a few. a. Strong safety climates lead to higher levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and healthier employees.

4. b. Climate influences the habits people adopt. If the climate for safety is positive, everyone wears safety gear and follows safety procedures PPT 16.15 even if individually they wouldn’t normally think very often about being safe. Exhibit 16-6 depicts the impact of organizational culture.

Exhibit 16-6 a. Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on leader and member behaviors, the organizational structure, and the organization’s values and beliefs.

1) This overall perception represents, in effect, the organization’s culture, which varies in its strength.

2) The culture is then revealed through organizational climates, which manifest the culture’s underlying values and beliefs.

3) The climates then affect employee performance and satisfaction, along with other outcomes relevant to the organization.

C. The Ethical Dimension of Culture.

1. Organizational cultures are not neutral in their ethical orientation, even

PPT 16.16 when they are not openly pursuing ethical goals.

2. Over time, an ethical culture, which is the shared concept of right and wrong behavior, develops as part of the organizational climate. a. Ethical culture reflects the true values of the organization and shapes the ethical decision making of its members. b. Researchers have developed ethical climate theory (ECT) to measure the shared perceptions of ethical policies, practices, and procedures. c. Organizations often progress through different categories as they move through their business life cycle. d. An organization’s ethical climate powerfully influences the way its individual members feel they should behave, so much so that researchers have been able to predict organizational outcomes.

1) Ethical climates that emphasize self-interest are negatively associated with employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment, even though these climates appeal to helping oneself vs. others. These climates are also positively associated with turnover intentions, workplace bullying, and deviant behavior.

2) Ethical climates that emphasize caring for one another and establishing rules may bring greater job satisfaction, as well as reduce employee turnover intentions, workplace bullying, and dysfunctional behavior.

3) Research suggests ethical climates have a strong influence on sales growth over time when there is a customer service climate to support it.

D. Culture and Sustainability.

PPT 16.17 1. As the name implies, sustainability refers to practices that can be maintained over very long periods of time because the tools or structures that support the practices are not damaged by the processes.

2. When we engage in business practices, we do so sustainably when we ensure that our practices can be continued and that we use resources responsibly, minimizing waste, maximizing reusability, and ensuring continued efficiency.

3. Social sustainability practices address the ways social systems are affected by an organization’s actions over time, and in turn, how changing social systems may affect the organization.

4. To create a truly sustainable business, an organization must develop a longterm culture and put its values into practice through climate.

E. Culture and Innovation.

1. The most innovative companies are often characterized by their open, PPT 16.18 unconventional, collaborative, vision-driven, and accelerating cultures. a. Start-up firms often have innovative cultures by definition because they are usually small, agile, and focused on solving problems in order to survive and grow.

2. Innovation-friendly practices (support for new ideas, openness to change, and providing resources to be creative) lead to boosts in creativity at work, the creation and implementation of novel ideas, and increased performance.

3. Innovation can also come from subcultures.

F. Culture as an Asset.

1. As we have discussed, organizational culture can provide a positive environment, with organizational climates that put values into action.

2. Culture can also significantly contribute to an organization’s bottom line in many ways.

G. Culture as a Liability.

PPT 16.19

1. Culture enhances organizational commitment and increases the consistency of employee behavior.

2. From an employee’s standpoint, culture is valuable because it spells out how

VI.

things are done and what’s important.

3. But we shouldn’t ignore the potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture, especially a strong one, on an organization’s effectiveness. a. Institutionalization: When an organization undergoes institutionalization and becomes institutionalized—that is, it is valued for itself and not for the goods or services it produces—it takes on a life of its own, apart from its founders or members.

1) Acceptable modes of behavior become largely self-evident to members, and although this isn’t entirely negative, it does mean behaviors and habits that should be questioned and analyzed become taken for granted, which can stifle innovation and make maintaining the organization’s culture an end in itself. b. Barriers to Change: Culture is a liability when the shared values are not in agreement with those that further the organization’s effectiveness.

1) This is most likely when an organization’s environment is undergoing rapid change and its entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate.

2) Consistency of behavior, an asset in a stable environment, may then burden the organization and make it difficult to respond to changes. c. Barriers to Diversity: Hiring new employees who differ from the majority in race, age, gender, disability, or other characteristics creates a paradox.

1) Management wants to demonstrate support for the differences these employees bring to the workplace, but newcomers who wish to fit in must accept the organization’s core cultural values.

2) Because diverse behaviors and unique strengths are likely to diminish as people attempt to assimilate, strong cultures can become liabilities when they effectively eliminate these advantages.

3) A strong culture that condones prejudice, supports bias, or becomes insensitive to people who are different can even undermine formal corporate diversity policies. d. Toxicity and Dysfunctions: We’ve discussed cultures that generally cohere around a positive set of values and attitudes. This consensus can create a powerful forward momentum.

1) However, coherence around negativity and dysfunctional management systems in a corporation can produce downward forces that are equally powerful yet toxic. e. Barriers to Acquisitions and Mergers: 1) Historically, when management looked at acquisition or merger decisions, the key factors were financial advantage and product synergy.

2) In recent years, cultural compatibility has become the primary concern.

3) All things being equal, whether the acquisition actually works seems to have more to do with how well the two organizations’ cultures match up.

INFLUENCING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE 1. As we discussed, the culture of an organization is set by its founders and is often difficult to change. It is true the ideal scenario is a strong founder (or founders) who carefully plans the organization’s culture beforehand. That is seldom the case, though; organizational culture usually grows organically over time.

2. When we think of the development of culture as ongoing and conducted through

each employee, we can see ways to increase the ethical, positive, and/or spiritual aspects of the environment, as discussed next.

A. Ethical Cultures. Principles for managers that encourage development of an ethical culture include: 1. Be a Visible Role Model.

PPT 16.20 a. Employees will look to the actions of top management as a benchmark for appropriate behavior, but everyone can be a good role model to positively influence the ethical atmosphere. Send a positive message.

2. Communicate Ethical Expectations. a. Whenever you serve in a leadership capacity, minimize ethical ambiguities by sharing a code of ethics that states the organization’s primary values and the judgment rules employees must follow.

3. Provide Ethical Training. a. Set up seminars, workshops, and training programs to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarify what practices are permissible, and address potential ethical dilemmas.

4. Visibly Reward Ethical Acts and Punish Unethical Ones. a. Evaluate subordinates on how their decisions measure up against the organization’s code of ethics. Review the means as well as the ends. Visibly reward those who act ethically and conspicuously punish those who do not.

5. Provide Protective Mechanisms. a. Seek formal mechanisms so everyone can discuss ethical dilemmas and report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand. These might include ethical counselors, ombudspeople, or ethical officers for liaison roles.

6. Setting a positive ethical climate has to start at the top of the organization.

7. When top management emphasizes strong ethical values, supervisors are more likely to practice ethical leadership.

8. This positive ethical attitude transfers down to line employees, who show lower levels of deviant behavior and higher levels of cooperation and assistance.

9. The values of top management are a good predictor of ethical behavior among employees.

10. Finally, employees whose ethical values are similar to those of their department are more likely to be promoted, so we can think of ethical culture as flowing from the bottom up as well.

B. A Positive Culture. a. A positive organizational culture is one that emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth.

PPT 16.21 1. Building on Employee Strengths: a. Although a positive organizational culture does not ignore problems, it does emphasize showing workers how they can capitalize on their strengths.

2. Rewarding More Than Punishing: a. Although most organizations are sufficiently focused on extrinsic rewards such as pay and promotions, they often forget about the power of smaller (and cheaper) rewards such as praise. b. Part of creating a positive organizational culture is catching employees doing something right. c. Many managers withhold praise either because they’re afraid employees will coast or because they think praise is not valued.

d. Because employees generally don’t ask for praise, managers usually don’t realize the costs of failing to do it.

3. Encouraging Vitality and Growth: a. A positive organizational culture recognizes the difference between a job and a career.

b. It supports not only what the employee contributes to organizational

effectiveness, but also how the organization can make the employee more effective—personally and professionally.

4. Limits of Positive Culture: a. Is a positive culture a cure-all? Though companies have embraced aspects of a positive organizational culture, it is a new enough idea for us to be uncertain about how and when it works best. b. Not all national cultures value being positive as much as U.S. culture does, and, even within U.S. culture, there surely are limits to how far we should go to preserve a positive culture. c. For example, Admiral, a British insurance company, has established a Ministry of Fun in its call centers to organize such events as poem writings, foosball, conker (a British game involving chestnuts) competitions, and fancy dress days. d. When does the pursuit of a positive culture start to seem coercive or even Orwellian? e. As one critic notes, “Promoting a social orthodoxy of positiveness focuses on a particular constellation of desirable states and traits but, in so doing, can stigmatize those who fail to fit the template.”

C. A Spiritual Culture. a. A growing number of organizations have embraced workplace PPT 16.22 spirituality.

1. What Is Spirituality: Workplace spirituality recognizes that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work in the context of community. a. Organizations that support a spiritual culture recognize that people seek to find meaning and purpose in their work and desire to connect with other human beings as part of a community. b. Many of the topics we have discussed—ranging from job design to corporate social responsibility (CSR)—are well matched to the concept of organizational spirituality. c. When a company emphasizes its commitment to paying third-world suppliers a fair (above-market) price for their products to facilitate community development—as did Starbucks—or encourages employees to share prayers or inspirational messages through e-mail—as did Interstate Batteries—it may encourage a more spiritual culture.

2. Why Spirituality Now?: An awareness of spirituality can help us better understand employee behavior (Exhibit 16-7).

PPT 16.23 3. Characteristics of a Spiritual Organization: Several cultural characteristics tend to be evident in spiritual organizations.

Exhibit 16-7 a. Benevolence. Spiritual organizations value kindness toward others and the happiness of employees and other organizational stakeholders. b. Strong sense of purpose. Spiritual organizations build their cultures around a meaningful purpose. Although profits may be important, they’re not the primary value.

c. Trust and respect. Spiritual organizations are characterized by mutual trust,

honesty, and openness. Employees are treated with esteem and are valued, consistent with the dignity of each individual. d. Open-mindedness. Spiritual organizations value flexible thinking and creativity among employees.

4. Achieving Spirituality in the Organization: Several types of practices can facilitate a spiritual workplace, including those that support work–life balance. a. Leaders can demonstrate values, attitudes, and behaviors that trigger intrinsic motivation and a sense of fulfilling a calling through work. b. Second, encouraging employees to consider how their work provides a sense of purpose can help achieve a spiritual workplace; often this is done through group counseling and organizational development, a topic we take up in Chapter 17. c. Third, a growing number of companies, including Taco Bell, offer employees the counseling services of corporate chaplains.

5. Criticisms of Spirituality: Critics of the spirituality movement in organizations have focused on three issues. a. First is the question of scientific foundation.

1) What is workplace spirituality, exactly? Is it just a buzzword? b. Second, an emphasis on spirituality can clearly make some employees uneasy.

1) Critics have argued that secular institutions, especially business firms, should not impose spiritual values on employees.

2) This criticism is undoubtedly valid when spirituality is defined as bringing religion and God into the workplace.

3) However, it seems less stinging when the goal is limited to helping employees find meaning and purpose in their work lives. c. Finally, whether spirituality and profits are compatible objectives is a relevant concern for managers and investors in business.

1) The evidence, although limited, indicates they are.

VII. THE GLOBAL CONTEXT PPT 16.24 A. Organizational cultures are so powerful they often transcend national boundaries.

1. But that doesn’t mean organizations should, or could, be blissfully ignorant of local culture.

B. One of the primary things U.S. managers can do is to be culturally sensitive.

1. Some ways in which U.S. managers can be culturally sensitive include being aware of one’s actions and how they may be perceived by others and to consider others’ backgrounds, perspectives, and emotions before speaking or acting.

C. The management of ethical behavior is one area where national culture can rub up against corporate culture.

D. U.S. managers endorse the supremacy of anonymous market forces and implicitly or explicitly view profit maximization as a moral obligation for business organizations.

1. This worldview sees bribery, nepotism, and favoring personal contacts as highly unethical.

2. Any action that deviates from profit maximization may indicate that inappropriate or corrupt behavior may be occurring.

3. In contrast, managers in developing economies are more likely to see ethical decisions as embedded in a social environment.

4. That means doing special favors for family and friends is not only appropriate but may even be an ethical responsibility.

E. Managers in many nations also view capitalism skeptically and believe the interests of workers should be put on a par with the interests of shareholders.

F. Creating a multinational organizational culture can initiate strife between

employees of traditionally competing countries.

1. As national organizations seek to employ workers in overseas operations, management must decide whether to standardize many facets of organizational culture.

VIII. SUMMARY A. Organizational cultures have an immense impact on behavior in organizations.

1. Although the “essence” of an organization is often hard to describe, we can peer into the world of organizational life by examining an organization’s shared values and beliefs, material symbols, rituals, stories, and language.

2. Several culture frameworks have demonstrated that values and beliefs can have a substantial effect on organizational outcomes and that different cultural values affect different strategic outcomes.

3. Cultures can also cut across organizations because employees differ in how strongly they agree on their organization’s culture—these differences can lead to the creation of subcultures, which have implications for why people do things differently in different branches, departments, or teams.

B. The influence of founders on organizations’ cultures is strong and undeniable.

1. Founders set the tone and establish the foundation for what is valued, which leads them to hire people who share these values (and exclude those who do not).

2. Over time, support from top management and socialization processes perpetuate the organizational culture, making it very difficult to change.

C. Cultures serve several functions for organizations.

1. They define boundaries, convey a sense of identity, facilitate commitment to something larger than the self, and enhance the stability of the organizational system (acting as the “glue that holds the organization together”).

2. The way the culture establishes tangible, concrete roots in organizations is through the establishment of climates, or policies, practices, and procedures that reinforce cultural values and beliefs.

3. These climates then influence organizational outcomes such as performance and attitudes.

4. Notably, a plethora of types of cultures and climates have been studied in OB to date. a. Of these, safety, ethical, sustainable, and innovation cultures and climates are particularly important and relevant for organizations.

5. Furthermore, cultures and climates can be construed as both assets and liabilities, depending upon the values and practices considered. a. To enhance their value as assets, managers and employees alike can seek to foster positive, ethical, and spiritual cultures and climates that may help make their organization a reaffirming and positive place to work.

6. As a caveat, you should always be aware of how national and organizational cultures may sometimes clash, especially when it comes to ethical issues.

IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Realize that organizational culture is a complex, descriptive, and PPT 16.25 information-rich aspect of organizations that has a major

influence on important outcomes, although is relatively fixed in the short term. To affect change, involve top management and strategize a long-term plan for culture and climate transformation.

B. Hire individuals whose values align with those of the organization (unless the objective is to introduce a diversity of perspectives); these employees will tend to remain committed and satisfied. Not surprisingly, “misfits” have considerably higher turnover rates.

C. Understand that employees’ performance and socialization depend to a considerable degree on their knowing what is valued and what is practiced in the organization. Train your employees well and keep them informed of changes to their job roles.

D. You can shape the culture of your work environment, sometimes as much as it shapes you. All managers can do their part to create the desired culture by focusing on establishing policies, practices, and procedures that reinforce the desired or emphasized values.

E. Realize that although culture change often begins with managers, it is most directly a function of the people who make up the company. You must involve and engage employees to be active participants in the organizational culture to create, sustain, or change culture.

F. Be aware that your company’s organizational culture may not be “transportable” to other countries. Understand the cultural relevance of your organization’s norms before introducing new plans or initiatives overseas.

Discussion Questions 108.

Describe the seven key characteristics that capture the essence of the organization's culture.

PPT 16.26 Answer: (1) Innovation and Risk Taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. (2) Attention to Detail.

The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. (3) Outcome Orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. (4) People Orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. (5) Team Orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. (6) Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing. (7) Stability.

The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

109.

Contrast organizational culture and job satisfaction.

Answer: Organizational culture describes how employees perceive the characteristics of an organization’s culture, not whether or not they like those characteristics. It is a descriptive term. Job satisfaction seeks to measure affective responses to the work environment: it is concerned with how employees feel about the organization. It is an evaluative term.

110.

Identify the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on employees.

Answer: Overall, culture benefits organizations by increasing organizational commitment and the consistency of employee behavior. It also aids employees by reducing ambiguity. There are five basic functions of culture that help achieve these benefits — it: (1) defines boundaries, (2) conveys a sense of identity for its members, (3) generates commitment to something that is larger than one's own

self-interest, (4) acts as the social glue that helps hold the organization together by providing appropriate standards for socially acceptable employee behavior, and (5) serves as a control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees. It helps employees make sense of the work environment: it defines the rules of the game. In today's organizations, where direct and close managerial control appears to no longer be an option, culture is one of the ways to enforce organizational standards and to maintain effectiveness.

Because culture is difficult to change in the short run and defines proper behavior, it may create three barriers in the organization. (1) Barrier to Change. When the cultural values are not aligned with those that will increase an organization’s effectiveness in dynamic environments, they can create a barrier to implementing the necessary organizational changes. (2) Barrier to Diversity. Strong cultures, by their very nature, often seek to minimize diversity. (3) Barrier to Acquisitions and Mergers. The main cause for the failure of these combinations has been cultural conflict.

111.

List the factors that maintain an organization's culture.

Answer: Once a culture exists, practices within the organization serve to maintain it by giving employees a similar set of experiences. These practices include the selection process, performance evaluation criteria, training and development activities, and promotional procedures: those who support the culture are rewarded and those who do not are penalized. Specifically, there are three key factors: (1) Selection. The selection process needs to ensure that potential hires have values that are consistent with those of the organization. (2) Top Management. The verbal messages and actions of top management establish norms of behavior throughout the organization. These norms include the desirability of risk taking, level of employee empowerment, appropriate attire, and outlining successful career paths.

(3) Socialization. New employees must adapt to the organizational culture in a process called socialization. While socialization continues throughout an employee's career, the initial socialization is the most critical.

112.

Identify and describe the phases of organizational socialization.

Answer: There are three phases in the initial socialization process: (1) Prearrival: this encompasses all the learning that occurs before a new member joins the organization. Each individual arrives with his or her own unique set of values, attitudes, and expectations both surrounding the work and the organization. That knowledge, plus how proactive their personality is, are the two critical predictors of how well the new employees will adjust to the new culture. (2) Encounter. This is when the new employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge. If the employee's expectations prove to be reasonably accurate, the encounter stage merely provides a reaffirmation of the perceptions gained earlier. But when expectations and reality differ, new employees must undergo socialization that will detach them from their previous assumptions and replace those assumptions with another set the organization deems desirable. At the extreme, a new member may become disillusioned with the actualities of the job and resign: an indication of the failure of the selection process. The greater the number of friendship ties a newcomer has in the organization, the more likely he or she is to be committed. (3) Metamorphosis.

In this final stage, relatively long-lasting changes take place as the employee has adjusted to the work itself and internalized the work group’s values and norms. The more management relies on socialization programs that are formal, collective, fixed, serial, and emphasize divestiture, the greater the likelihood that the newcomer’s differences and perspectives will be stripped away and replaced by standardized and predictable behaviors. Successful metamorphosis should have a positive effect on new employee productivity, organizational commitment, and turnover.

113.

How can culture be transmitted to employees? Provide examples for each.

Answer: In addition to the initial socialization process mentioned in Question 5, culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms: stories, rituals, material symbols, and language. (1) Stories typically revolve around key events such as rule breaking, unlikely successes, workforce reductions, reactions to past mistakes, and methods of organizational coping that involve the organization's founders or other key personnel. (2) Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organization. (3) Material symbols such as the size of offices, the elegance of furnishings, perquisites, awards and trophies, and the attire worn, convey to employees who is important, the degree of egalitarianism desired by top management, and the kinds of appropriate behavior. (4) Specialized languages, acronyms, or jargon serve as a means to identify and segregate members of a culture or subculture. Examples will vary.

114.

Explain how an ethical culture can be established.

Answer: First, favorable conditions must exist. A strong organizational culture that is high in risk tolerance, low-to-moderate in aggressiveness, and focuses on means as well as outcomes is the one most likely to shape high ethical standards. Secondly, top management can use practices that encourage the development of an ethical culture, such as: (1) being a visible role model: when senior management is seen as taking the ethical high road, it provides a positive behavioral guideline for all employees; (2) communicating ethical expectations: the creation and use of an organizational code of ethics helps reduce ethical ambiguities and enforce the organization's primary values; (3) providing ethical training: acts to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarifies ethical practices, and addresses possible ethical dilemmas; (4) visibly rewarding ethical acts and punishing unethical ones: performance appraisals must include the means taken to achieve goals as well as the ends themselves; (5) providing protective mechanisms: must create formal mechanisms that allow employees to discuss ethical dilemmas or report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand.

115.

What is a positive organizational culture and what key variables are used in creating it?

Answer: A positive organizational culture is one that emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth. Key variables in creating positive culture are: (1) Building on Employee Strengths. The emphasis in positive cultures is in showing workers how to capitalize on their own strengths. (2) Rewarding More Than Punishing. Involves using relatively inexpensive rewards such as praise and positive reinforcement.

Managers catch employees doing something right. (3) Emphasizing Vitality and Growth. Positive cultures emphasize individual growth: they want their employees to be all they can be.

116.

Explain workplace spirituality and identify the characteristics of a spiritual organization.

Answer: Workplace spirituality recognizes that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work in the context of community.

Organizations that support a spiritual culture recognize that people seek to find meaning and purpose in their work and desire to connect with other human beings as part of a community. Several cultural characteristics tend to be evident in spiritual organizations: benevolence, a strong sense of purpose, trust and respect, and open-mindedness.

117.

What is the relationship between national culture and a global organization’s organizational culture?

Answer: Organizational culture often reflects the national culture from whence it came. But it exists in a global context: global organizations must be aware of both

local and national cultures. Firms have often become heavily dependent on foreign product markets, labor markets, or both, increasing both internal and external complexity. All managers in organizations must be culturally sensitive. Not only must U.S. managers be aware of other cultures, managers from other cultures should be sensitive to the local cultures in which they operate.

Exercises 73. Self-analysis. How consumer-responsive are you? Using the six key variables mentioned in the chapter, assess your personality and your organization’s culture.

Write up your findings and give specific examples of what you believe can be done to increase your consumer responsiveness in this organization.

74. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term “creating ethical organizations” or “positive organizational culture.” Find four articles related to the topic of your choice and write up a brief synopsis that explains how managers can create such an organization. Compare your findings to the suggestions given by the authors in your text.

75. Teamwork. Slogan Analysis: break the class into teams, each team is tasked with creating a list of 12 slogans (or sayings) they have seen or heard that describe an organization’s culture (e.g., “Quality Is Job 1” for Ford, “Have It Your Way” at Burger King, or “It wasn’t invented here!”). Clearly write each of these slogans on a large Post-it® note (one slogan per note sheet). When all groups are completed, collect the Post-its® and randomly stick them on the wall or whiteboard. Gather the class in front of the notes and give them a few moments to read over the cards and then provide the following guidance: As a group, you have one minute to organize these notes into columns of like organizational cultural variables. No talking is allowed. Everyone and anyone can move the notes from one column to another: no one is in charge. Use your own individual beliefs as to where a card belongs.

Give them one minute to organize the cards. Ensure they do not speak. If two people keep moving a single card back and forth between two columns, create a second card with the same slogan and stick one copy of the card under each column. When the minute is up, give them 15 seconds to silently look over their arrangement.

Then give them 15 seconds more for any final changes. Have them return to their seats. Move column by column through the arrangement and lead a discussion over what organizational cultural variable each column represents. Seek and point out any commonalities with the slogans and the cultural variables mentioned in the text.

76. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Have the students meet with some of the “old-timers” in their organization. Have them discuss the various stories that shaped the organization’s culture throughout the years. You might ask them what the founder was like, and what his or her values and belief system were or are.

Relate these findings to the current organizational culture. Is it the same? If not, what has changed over the years, and why? Relate this to any existing materials, symbols, or special language that defines the current culture of the organization.

Suggested Assignment Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Ask each group to go to the following website: http://www.slideshare.net/. Search for author

Hora Tjitra. Then find the presentation titled: “Developing Intercultural Competence of Global Leader: An Action Learning Approach.” Ask each group to place themselves into the role of personnel

manager for a medium-sized multinational company. The company plans to expand into Vietnam. Several managers from various foreign locations—United States, Mexico, Canada, and France—will be transferred to the new location to oversee development and operations until such time as a cadre of Vietnamese managers can be trained and educated to company policies and culture traits to assume operational leadership. Have the student groups prepare a training plan for the expatiate managers to prepare them for the rigors of the transfer.

1. Are some expatriate managers more likely to acclimatize to the new assignment than others?

2. Is there an estimate of the time and effort it will take for each of the expatriate managers to acclimatize to the new location? Are some more likely to acclimatize faster than others based on their country cultures?

3. Which may be more effective: a. The plan to acclimatize our expatriate managers for managing in Vietnam b. A plan to hire management personnel in Vietnam and bring them to the U.S. operations for acclimatizing to the organizational culture to apply in their culture of country.

Other Teaching Resources

1. (Small group activity) For a small group activity that can be done outside of class times with a 5-minute presentation during class times, please see:

Barclay, L. A, and York, K. M. (1996). The scavenger hunt exercise: Symbols of organizational culture. Journal of Management Education, 20(1), 125-128.

2. (Small group activity) For a small group activity that can be completed in 80-115 minutes of class time, please see:

Colakoglu, S., and Littlefield, J. (2011). Teaching organizational culture using a projective technique: Collage construction. Journal of Management Education, 35(4), 564-585.

Chapter 17 Organizational Change and Stress Management Chapter Overview This chapter is about change. We describe environmental forces that require managers to implement comprehensive change programs. We also consider why people and organizations often resist change and how this resistance can be overcome. We review various processes for managing organizational change. We also discuss contemporary work stress issues for today’s managers.

Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 17.2, 3 17-1. Contrast the forces for change and planned change.

17-2. Describe ways to overcome resistance to change.

17-3. Compare the four main approaches to managing organizational change.

17-4. Demonstrate three ways of facilitating change.

17-5. Identify the potential environmental, organizational, and personal sources of stress at work as well as the role of individual and cultural differences.

17-6. Identify the physiological, psychological, and behavioral symptoms of stress at work.

17-7. Describe individual and organizational approaches to managing stress at work.

Suggested Lecture Outline

LII. INTRODUCTION A. Change is an environmental constant for modern organizations. Managers must be

able to help organizations change, understand the reasons for resistance of change, and move organizations in new relevant directions.

LIII. CHANGE A. Forces for Change.

1. Changing Nature of the Work Force.

PPT 17.4 a. Almost every organization must adjust to a multicultural environment, demographic changes, immigration, and outsourcing.

2. Technology. a. Technology is continually changing jobs and organizations.

3. Economic Shocks. a. International and national crises, overbuilding, rising inflation, speculative pricing, and debt accumulation are common causes of economic shocks.

4. Competition. a. Competition precipitates change. b. Successful organizations are fast on their feet, capable of developing new products rapidly and getting them to market quickly.

5. Social Trends. a. Companies must continually adjust product and marketing strategies to be sensitive to changing social trends.

6. World Politics. a. In recent years, we’ve seen a major set of financial crises that have rocked global markets, a worldwide pandemic, a dramatic rise in the power and influence of China, and dramatic shakeups in government across the Arab world.

B. Reactionary versus Planned Change.

1. Change is simply making things different than the way they are.

PPT 17.5 However, only proactive, intentional, and goal-oriented activities describe planned change.

2. What are the goals of planned change? a. First, it seeks to improve the ability of the organization to adapt to changes in its environment. b. Second, it seeks to change employee behavior. Who is responsible for managing change activities in organizations? The answer is change agents.

1) They see a future for the organization others have not identified, and they are able to motivate, invent, and implement this vision.

2) Change agents can be managers or non-managers, current or new

employees, or outside consultants.

LIV. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE A. Dynamics of Resistance to Change 1. We often see change as threatening.

PPT 17.6 a. One recent study showed that even when employees are shown data that suggest they need to change, they latch onto whatever data they can find that suggests they are okay and don’t need to change. b. Employees who have negative feelings about a change cope by not thinking about it, or even leaving the organization. c. Resisting change can be emotionally exhausting for employees.

2. Resistance to change can be positive if it leads to open discussion and debate. a. These responses are usually preferable to apathy or silence and can indicate that members of the organization are engaged in the process, providing change agents an opportunity to explain the change effort. b. Change agents can also use resistance to modify the change to fit the preferences of other members of the organization.

3. Resistance doesn’t necessarily surface in standardized ways. It can be overt, implicit, immediate, or deferred. a. It’s easiest for management to deal with overt and immediate resistance, such as complaints, a work slowdown, or a strike threat. b. The greater challenge is managing resistance that is implicit or deferred. c. These responses—loss of loyalty or motivation, increased errors or absenteeism—are more subtle and more difficult to recognize for what they are. d. Deferred actions also cloud the link between the change and the reaction to it and may surface weeks, months, or even years later. e. Or a single change of little inherent impact may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back because resistance to earlier changes has been deferred and stockpiled.

4. Exhibit 17-1 summarizes major forces for resistance to change, categorized by their sources. Individual sources reside in human PPT 17.7 characteristics such as perceptions, personalities, and needs.

1) Organizational sources reside in the structural makeup Exhibit 17-1 of organizations themselves.

B. Overcoming Resistance to Change.

1. There are eight tactics change agents can use to deal with PPT 17.8 resistance to change. a. Communication.

1) Communication is more important than ever in times of change.

2) Changes are most effective when a company communicates a rationale that balances the interests of various stakeholders (shareholders, employees, community, customers) rather than those of shareholders only.

3) Framing may also play a role; if the changes are framed as threatening, people may not comply, whereas if they are seen as a challenge, they are more likely to champion the change, comply with it, and become engaged with their work. b. Participation.

1) Assuming that the participants have the expertise to make a meaningful

contribution, their involvement can reduce resistance, obtain commitment, and increase the quality of the change decision.

2) However, there is also the possibility for a poor solution and a great consumption of time. c. Building Support and Commitment.

1) When managers or employees have low emotional commitment to change, they resist it and favor the status quo.

2) Providing organizational support and developing a positive climate can enable employees to emotionally commit to the change rather than embrace the status quo. d. Developing Positive Relationships.

1) People are more willing to accept changes if they trust the managers implementing them and see them as legitimate. e. Implementing Changes Fairly.

1) As noted in Chapter 7, procedural fairness becomes especially important when employees perceive an outcome as negative (as change often is).

2) Organizations should make sure employees see the changes are being implemented consistently and fairly. f. Manipulation and Cooptation.

1) Manipulation refers to covert influence attempts. a) Twisting facts to make them more attractive, withholding information, and creating false rumors to get employees to accept change are all examples of manipulation.

2) Cooptation seeks to buy off leaders of the resistance group by giving them a key role in the change decision. a) The organization seeks not their advice but their endorsement.

3) This manipulative tactic can backfire if the targets become aware they are being used. g. Selecting People Who Accept Change.

1) Organizations that have selected individuals whose personality easily accepts and adapts to change have far lower levels of resistance than organizations that have not used this criterion for selection.

2) Personalities that accept change are those that are open, risk-taking, flexible, and have a high general mental ability. h. Coercion.

1) If all else fails, change agents can apply direct threats or force on those who resist.

2) This technique is most effective when some force or pressure is enacted on at least some resisters.

C. The Politics of Change.

1. Because change invariably threatens the status quo, it inherently implies political activity.

2. Politics suggests the impetus for change is more likely to come from outside change agents, employees new to the organization (who have less invested in the status quo), or managers who are slightly removed from the main power structure.

3. Managers who have spent a long time with an organization and achieved a senior position in the hierarchy are often major impediments to change. Of course, as you might guess, these longtime power holders tend to implement incremental changes when they are forced to

introduce change. This explains why boards of directors that recognize the imperative for rapid and radical change frequently turn to outside candidates for new leadership LV. APPROACHES TO MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 1. This chapter presents several approaches to managing PPT 17.9 change: Lewin's classic three-step model of the change process, action research, Kotter’s eight-step plan, and organizational development.

PPT 17.10 A. Lewin's Three-Step Model (Exhibit 17-2).

1. This model treats change as a break in the organization's equilibrium state.

2. The status quo has been disturbed, and change is necessary

Exhibit 17-2

to establish a new equilibrium state.

3. Unfreezing. a. Pressure is required to overcome the inertia of the current status quo.

PPT 17.11 b. Unfreezing must occur in one of three ways (Exhibit 173): 1) Driving Forces.

Exhibit 17-3 a) The forces that direct behavior away from the status quo can be increased.

2) Restraining Forces. a) The forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium (or maintain the current status quo) can be decreased.

3) Combination Approaches. a) Pressure can be exerted by increasing the driving forces and decreasing the restraining forces.

4. Movement. a. Research on organizational change has shown that, to be effective, change has to happen quickly. b. Organizations that build up to change do less well than those that get to and through the movement stage quickly.

5. Refreezing. a. Without this last step, change will likely be short-lived and employees will attempt to revert to the previous equilibrium state. b. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces.

6. Criticisms of Lewin’s Model: a. Lewin assumes that change happens sequentially. b. The model implies a sense of perfect agency for managers; in other words, do change agents really know where they are, where the people in the organization are, and where they are going? c. “Freezing” is problematic: Time keeps moving, freezing may never happen, and new changes may interrupt current changes dynamically.

B. Kotter's Eight-Step Plan for Implementing Change.

1. Builds from Lewin’s change model and focuses on the various PPT 17.12 historic managerial failures in implementing change.

2. These eight sequential steps overcome historic problems.

Exhibit 17-4 a. The first four steps are the unfreezing stage, the next three represent movement, and the final step is Lewin's refreezing.

3. The Eight Steps: a. Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed.

b. Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change. c. Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision.

d. Communicate the vision throughout the organization. e. Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encouraging risk-taking and creative problem solving.

f. Plan for, create, and reward short-term wins that move the organization toward the new vision.

g. Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary

adjustments in the new programs. h. Reinforce the changes by demonstrating a relationship between new barriers and organizational success.

C. Action Research.

1. Action research is a change process based on the systematic PPT 17.13 collection of data and selection of a change action based on what the analyzed data indicate. a. Its value is in providing a scientific methodology for managing planned change.

2. Action research consists of five steps (note how they closely parallel the scientific method): diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action, and evaluation.

3. Action research provides at least two specific benefits. a. First, it’s problem-focused. The change agent objectively looks for problems, and the type of problem determines the type of change action. b. A second benefit of action research is the lowering of resistance. Because action research engages employees so thoroughly in the process, it reduces resistance to change. c. Once employees have actively participated in the feedback stage, the change process typically takes on a momentum of its own.

4. Organizations may resist participating in action research when their legitimacy is potentially or already at risk.

D. Organizational Development (OD).

1. Organizational development (OD) is a collection of change PPT 17.14 methods that try to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being a. OD values human organizational growth, collaborative and participative processes, and a spirit of inquiry.

2. Six OD Interventions for Change a. Sensitivity Training: A variety of names—sensitivity training, laboratory training, encounter groups, and T-groups (training PPT 17.15 groups)—all refer to an early method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction.

1) Current organizational interventions such as diversity training, executive coaching, and team-building exercises are descendants of this early OD intervention technique.

2) With all forms of OD, caution must be taken so the unstructured groups are not intimidating, chaotic, and damaging to work relationships.

b. Survey Feedback: One tool for assessing attitudes held by organizational

members, identifying discrepancies among member perceptions, and solving these differences, is the survey feedback approach.

1) Basically, data collected from strategic surveys is then used to spur problem identification and discussion.

2) The survey feedback approach can be helpful to keep decision makers informed about the attitudes of employees toward the organization.

3) However, individuals are influenced by many factors when they respond to surveys, which may make some findings unreliable.

4) Managers who use the survey feedback approach should therefore monitor their organization’s current events and employee response rates. c. Process Consultation: Managers often sense their unit’s performance can be improved but are unable to identify what to improve and how.

1) The purpose of process consultation (PC) is for an outside consultant to assist a client, usually a manager, through crafting “a relationship through a continuous effort of ‘jointly deciphering what is going on’ . . . to make co-authored choices about how to go on.” a) These events might include those surrounding the workflow, informal relationships among unit members, and formal communication channels. b) PC is similar to sensitivity training in assuming we can improve organizational effectiveness by dealing with interpersonal problems and in emphasizing involvement. c) But PC is more task directed, and consultants are there to give the client insight into what is going on around him, within him, and between him and other people. d) They do not solve the organization’s problems but rather guide or coach the client to solve his or her own problems after jointly diagnosing what needs improvement. e) The client develops the skill to analyze processes within his or her unit and can continue to call on it long after the consultant is gone. d. Team Building: We’ve noted throughout this book that organizations increasingly rely on teams to accomplish work tasks.

1) Team building uses high-interaction group activities to increase trust and openness among team members, improve coordinative efforts, and increase team performance. a) Team building typically includes goal setting, development of interpersonal relations among team members, role analysis to clarify each member’s role and responsibilities, and team process analysis. b) It may emphasize or exclude certain activities, depending on the purpose of the development effort and the specific problems with which the team is confronted. e. Intergroup Development: A major area of concern in OD is dysfunctional conflict between groups.

1) Intergroup development seeks to change groups’ attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions about each other.

(1) Here, training sessions closely resemble diversity training (in fact, diversity training largely evolved from intergroup development in OD), except rather than focusing on

demographic differences, they focus on differences among occupations, departments, or divisions within an organization.

(2) Once they have identified the causes of the difficulty, the groups move to the integration phase—developing solutions to improve relations between them.

(3) Subgroups can be formed of members from each of the conflicting groups to conduct further diagnosis and formulate alternative solutions.

2) Among several approaches for improving intergroup relations, a popular

one emphasizes problem solving. a) Each group meets independently to list its perceptions of itself and of the other group, and how it believes the other group perceives it. b) The groups share their lists, discuss similarities and differences, and look for the causes of disparities. f. Appreciative inquiry: Most OD problems are problem centered.

1) They identify a problem or set of problems, and then look for a solution.

2) Appreciative inquiry (AI) instead accentuates the positive; that is, AI focuses on an organization’s successes rather than its problems.

3) The AI process consists of four steps—discovery, dreaming, design, and destiny—often played out in a large-group meeting over a 2- or 3-day time period and overseen by a trained change agent. a) Discovery sets out to identify what people think are the organization’s strengths.

(1) Employees recount times they felt the organization worked best or when they specifically felt most satisfied with their jobs. b) In dreaming, employees use information from the discovery phase to speculate on possible futures, such as what the organization will be like in 5 years. c) In design, participants find a common vision of how the organization will look in the future and agree on its unique qualities. d) For the fourth step, participants seek to define the organization’s destiny or how to fulfill their dream, and they typically write action plans and develop implementation strategies.

V. FACILITATING CHANGE A. We’ve considered how organizations can adapt to change.

1. But recently, some organizational behavior scholars have focused on a more proactive approach—how organizations can embrace change by transforming their cultures.

2. In this section, we review three such approaches: managing paradox, stimulating an innovative culture, and creating a learning organization.

3. We also address the issue of organizational change and stress.

B. Managing Paradox.

PPT 17.16 1. Managers can learn a few lessons from paradox theory which states the key paradox in management is that there is no final optimal status for an organization. a. In a paradox situation, we are required to balance tensions across various courses of action, which are caused by resource scarcity. b. There is a constant process of finding a balancing point, a dynamic equilibrium, among shifting priorities over time.

c. The first lesson is that as the environment and members of the organization change, different elements take on more or less importance.

2. There is some evidence that managers who think holistically and recognize the

importance of balancing paradoxical factors are more effective, especially in generating adaptive and creative behaviors in those they are managing. a. However, leaders who adopt paradoxical approaches may fall into the trap of escalation of commitment, given that they may be more optimistic that the current state of affairs will swing toward a more desirable one.

C. Stimulating a Culture of Innovation.

1. Definition of innovation.

PPT 17.17 a. We said change refers to making things different. b. Innovation, a more specialized kind of change, is a new idea applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service. c. Thus, all innovations imply change, but not all changes necessarily introduce new ideas or lead to significant improvements. d. Innovations can range from small incremental improvements, such as netbook computers, to radical breakthroughs, such as tablets, to radical breakthroughs, such as the electric car.

2. Sources of Innovation: Structural variables are one potential source of innovation. a. Organic structures positively influence innovation as they are lower in vertical differentiation, formalization, and centralization. b. Contingent rewards positively influence innovation. When creativity is rewarded, firms tend to become more innovative—especially when employees are given feedback on their performance in addition to autonomy in doing their jobs. c. Slack resources nurture innovation: allows an organization to purchase innovations, create them themselves, or absorb failures. d. High interunit communication using committees, task forces, and crossfunctional teams increases innovation.

3. Context and Innovation: National cultures have an effect on innovation in organizations. Cultures that encourage experimentation, reward both successes and failures, and celebrate mistakes, are more likely to be innovative. a. Organizations that actively promote the training and development of their members, offer high job security, and encourage change champions are more innovative.

4. Idea Champions and Innovation: Idea champions are managers PPT 17.18 who actively and enthusiastically promote an idea, build support, overcome resistance, and ensure that innovation is implemented. a. Idea champions typically have extremely high self-confidence, persistence, energy, and acceptance of risk. b. They share many of the characteristics of transformational leaders through the use of inspiration and vision. c. They are good at gaining the commitment of others. d. Idea champions tend to have a lot of autonomy and decision-making discretion in their jobs. e. Idea champions do things differently in different cultures. f. People in collectivist cultures prefer appeals for cross-functional support for innovation efforts.

g. People in high power distance cultures prefer champions to work closely

with those in authority to approve innovative activities before work is begun. h. The higher the uncertainty avoidance of a society, the more champions should work within the organization’s rules and procedures to develop innovation.

D. Creating a Learning Organization. a. Another way an organization can proactively manage change is to PPT 17.19 make continuous growth part of its culture—to become a learning organization.

1. What’s a Learning Organization?: A learning organization has PPT 17.20 developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change. a. The Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire has been adopted and adapted internationally to assess the degree of commitment to learning organization principles. b. Exhibit 17-5 summarizes the five basic characteristics of a Exhibit 17-5 learning organization— one in which people put aside their old ways of thinking, learn to be open with each other, understand how their organization really works, form a plan or vision everyone can agree on, and work together to achieve that vision.

2. Managing Learning: What can managers do to make their firms learning organizations? Here are some suggestions: a. Establish a strategy. Management needs to make explicit its commitment to change, innovation, and continuous improvement. b. Redesign the organization’s structure. The formal structure can be a serious impediment to learning.

1) Flattening the structure, eliminating or combining departments, and increasing the use of cross-functional teams reinforces interdependence and reduces boundaries. c. Reshape the organization’s culture. To become a learning organization, managers must demonstrate by their actions that taking risks and admitting failures are desirable.

1) This means rewarding people who take chances and make mistakes.

2) Management needs to encourage functional conflict.

E. Organizational Change and Stress.

1. What have been your more memorable and lasting stressful times at work? For many people, they were those caused by organizational change. a. The overall findings demonstrate that organizational changes that incorporate OB knowledge of how people react to stressors may yield more effective results than organizational changes that are managed only objectively through goal-setting plans.

VI. STRESS AT WORK 1. Stress comes in many forms at work. a. Racial prejudice is one particularly nefarious form that has left professionals such as Jessica Jackson, a black, female clinical psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, strained. Ever since her high school days, when her teacher said she was in the wrong room and gave her lower grades than the other classmates (even on group projects), Jackson has had the stressful and frustrating task of proving her place.

2. Stress is (quite literally) a killer, and the statistics on workplace stress are shocking. One compilation of statistics suggests that:

83 percent of workers in the U.S. are stressed, stress results in $300 billion in losses annually, it accounts for 60 to 80 percent of workplace accidents, it causes one million people to miss work daily, and 29 percent of workers (that is almost a third!) have admitted to wanting to punch a coworker because of stress.

3. Work is a major source of stress in most people’s lives. (Exhibit 17-6) A. What Is Stress?

PPT 17.21 1. Stress is a psychological process in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both PPT 17.22 uncertain and important (e.g., stressors). a. Then, as a result, the individual experiences strain, or a psychological and physical unpleasant response due to an appraisal of the stressor.

Exhibit 17-6 b. Although stress is typically discussed in a negative context, it is not necessarily bad in and of itself; it also has a positive value, such as supplying you with a boost to cope with stressful situations.

2. Stressors: Challenge stressors are associated with workload, PPT 17.23 pressure to complete tasks, and time urgency—they operate differently than hindrance stressors, or stressors that keep you from reaching your goals. a. Evidence suggests that both challenge and hindrance stressors lead to strain, although hindrance stressors lead to increased levels of strain.

1) Challenge stressors (when they are stable over time) lead to more motivation, engagement, and performance than hindrance stressors.

2) Hindrance stressors, on the other hand, appear to have more of a negative effect on safety compliance and participation, employee engagement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, and withdrawal than do challenge stressors.

3) It appears that time pressure and learning demands both act as challenge stressors that can help employees learn and thrive in organizations.

4) Unnecessary tasks block the potentially positive, challenging nature of the normally challenging stressors, such as time pressure.

5) Hindrances (e.g., a lack of resources to complete your job) serve to block goal attainment and should be distinguished from threats, which can result in personal harm (e.g., corrections officers fearing harm from inmates).

6) Interestingly, recent research suggests that each type of stressor is amplified by given risk factors to produce negative health effects: Challenge stressors are amplified when coupled with alcohol consumption, and hindrance stressors are amplified when coupled with food consumption and smoking.

3. Demands and Resources: Typically stress is associated with demands and resources. a. Demands are the responsibilities, pressures, obligations, and even uncertainties that individuals face in the workplace. b. Resources are the things in an individual’s control that can be used to resolve the demands. c. Under the demands-resources perspective, having resources to cope with stress is just as important in offsetting stress as demands are in increasing it.

a. b. c. d. e.

4. Allostasis: Through allostasis, we work to find stability by changing our

behaviors and attitudes.

1) It all depends on the allostatic load, or the cumulative effect of stressors on us given the resources we draw upon.

Exhibit 17-7 B. Potential Sources of Stress at Work. a. What causes stress? b. To break it down, let’s examine the model in Exhibit 17-7.

1. Environmental Factors: Environmental uncertainty not only PPT 17.24 influences the design of an organization’s structure, it also influences stress levels among employees in that organization. a. Indeed, uncertainty is the biggest reason people have trouble coping with organizational changes, and why decisions made under stress deteriorate decision quality. There are three main types of environmental uncertainty: economic, political, and technological.

1) Changes in the business cycle create economic uncertainties.

2) Political uncertainties don’t tend to create stress among North Americans as much as they do for employees in countries such as Haiti or Venezuela. a) The obvious reason is that the United States and Canada have more stable political systems, in which change is typically implemented in an orderly manner.

3) Because innovations can make an employee’s skills and experience obsolete in a very short time, keeping up with new computer programs, robotics, automation, and similar forms of technological change are a further challenge to many people at work that cause them stress.

2. Organizational Factors: There is no shortage of factors within an organization that can cause stress. We’ve categorized these factors around task, role, and interpersonal demands. a. Task demands relate to a person’s job. They include the design of the job (including its degree of autonomy, task variety, and automation), working conditions, and the physical work layout.

1) The single factor most consistently related to stress in the workplace is the amount of work that needs to be done, followed closely by the presence of looming deadlines.

2) Working in an overcrowded room or visible location where noise and interruptions are constant can increase anxiety and stress. b. Role demands relate to pressures placed on a person as a function of the particular role he or she plays in the organization.

1) Role conflicts create expectations that may be hard to reconcile or satisfy.

2) Role overload occurs when the employee is expected to take on too much.

3) Role ambiguity means role expectations are not clearly understood and the employee is not sure what to do. c. Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees.

1) Some pressures are expected, but a rapidly growing body of research has shown that negative coworker and supervisor behaviors, including fights, bullying, incivility, racial harassment, and sexual harassment, are especially and strongly related to stress at work.

2) Interpersonal mistreatment can have effects at a physiological level, with

one study finding that unfair treatment in a controlled setting triggered the release of cortisol, a hormone involved in the stress-reaction process.

3) Individuals who believe they are experiencing a social climate of discrimination or social exclusion from multiple sources over time have higher levels of psychological strain, even after accounting for differing baseline levels of well-being.

4) Interpersonal demands from outside of work can also have a reciprocal effect: In other words, your family can interfere with your work and your work can interfere with your family, causing strain all-around.

3. Personal factors: The final category of sources of stress at work includes factors of an employee’s personal life: family issues and personal economic problems. a. National surveys consistently show people hold their families dear. Family issues, even good ones, can cause stress that significantly impacts individuals. Family issues are often closely related to work–life conflict. b. The personal economic problems of overextended financial resources create stress and siphon attention away from work.

4. Stressors are Additive: When we review stressors individually, it’s easy to overlook that stress is an additive phenomenon—it builds up. a. Each new and persistent stressor adds to an individual’s stress level. b. A single stressor may be relatively unimportant in and of itself, but if added to an already high level of stress, it can be too much. c. To appraise the total amount of stress an individual is under, we have to sum up all of the sources and severity levels of that person’s stress. d. Since this cannot be easily quantified or observed, managers should remain aware of the potential stress loads from organizational factors in particular.

C. Individual Differences in Stress.

1. What differentiates people in terms of their ability to handle stress? What individual variables moderate the relationship between potential stressors and experienced stress?

2. At least four are relevant—perception, job experience, social support, and personality traits. a. Perception: Perception therefore will moderate the relationship between a potential stress condition and an employee’s reaction to it. b. Job Experience: Experience on the job tends to be negatively related to work stress. Why? 1) Two explanations have been offered.

2) First is selective withdrawal. Voluntary turnover is more probable among people who experience more stress.

3) Therefore, people who remain with an organization longer are those with more stress-resistant traits or those more resistant to the stress characteristics of the organization.

4) Second, people eventually develop coping mechanisms to deal with stress.

3. Social Support: Social support—collegial relationships with coworkers or supervisors—can buffer the impact of stress. a. This is one of the best-documented relationships in the stress literature.

4. Personality Traits: Perhaps the most widely studied personality trait in research on stress is emotional stability, which we discussed in Chapter 5.

a. As you might expect, individuals low on emotional stability are more prone to experience psychological strain.

D. Cultural Differences.

1. Research suggests that the job conditions that cause stress show some

VII.

differences across cultures. a. One study revealed that whereas U.S. employees were stressed by a lack of control, Chinese employees were stressed by job evaluations and lack of training.

2. It doesn’t appear that personality effects on stress are different across cultures, however. a. A study of 5,270 managers from 20 countries found individuals from individualistic countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom experienced higher levels of stress due to work interfering with family than did individuals from collectivist countries in Asia and Latin America. b. The authors proposed that this may occur because, in collectivist cultures, working extra hours is seen as a sacrifice to help the family, whereas in individualistic cultures, work is seen as a means to personal achievement that takes away from the family.

CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS 1. Strain manifests itself in a number of ways, such as high blood pressure, ulcers, irritability, difficulty making routine decisions, changes in appetite, accident proneness, and the like (Exhibit 17-7).

2. These symptoms fit under three general categories: physiological, psychological, and behavioral symptoms. a. Physiological Symptoms: Most early concern with stress was directed at physiological symptoms because most researchers were specialists in the health and medical sciences.

1) Their work led to the conclusion that stress could create changes in metabolism, increase heart and breathing rates and blood pressure, bring on headaches, and induce heart attacks.

2) Recently, evidence suggests stress may have harmful physiological effects, including backaches, headaches, eye strain, sleep disturbances, dizziness, fatigue, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal problems.

3) Other research suggests that stress, in general, impairs episodic memory (but enhances memory after a stressful event). b. Psychological Symptoms: Job dissatisfaction is the simplest and most obvious psychological effect of stress.

1) But strain manifests itself in other psychological states—for instance, tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom, and procrastination.

2) Jobs that make multiple and conflicting demands or that lack clarity about the incumbent’s duties, authority, and responsibilities increase both stress and dissatisfaction.

3) Similarly, the less control people have over the pace of their work, the greater the stress and dissatisfaction.

4) Jobs that provide a low level of variety, significance, autonomy, feedback, and identity appear to create stress and reduce satisfaction and involvement in the job.

5) Not everyone reacts to autonomy in the same way, however. For those who have an external locus of control, increased job control increases the tendency to experience stress and exhaustion.

c. Behavioral Symptoms: Behavior-related stress symptoms include changes in

productivity, absence, and turnover, as well as changes in eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.

1) There is also evidence that challenge stress improves job performance in a supportive work environment, whereas hindrance stress reduces job performance in all work environments.

VIII. MANAGING STRESS a. Because low to moderate levels of stress can be PPT 17.25 functional and lead to higher performance, management may not be concerned when employees experience them.

1) It’s not unlikely, therefore, for employees and management to have different notions of what constitutes an acceptable level of stress on the job.

2) What management may consider to be a positive stimulus that keeps the adrenaline running is very likely to be seen as excessive pressure by the employee.

3) Keep this in mind as we discuss individual and organizational approaches toward managing stress.

A. Individual Approaches. a. An employee can effectively take personal responsibility for reducing stress levels through coping practices and recovery experiences, and doing so can have a downstream effect on performance, OCB, CWB, attitudes, and health at work. b. Developing resilience, or a resistance to the adverse effects of stress and strain, has been shown to be possible over time through practice, coaching, and training.

1) Individual strategies within a resilience program that have proven effective include time-management techniques, physical exercise, relaxation techniques, and social support networks.

1. Time Management Techniques: Many people manage their time poorly. a. The well-organized employee, like the well-organized student, can often accomplish twice as much as the person who is poorly organized. b. So an understanding and utilization of basic time-management principles can help minimize procrastination by focusing on immediate goals and boosting motivation even in the face of tasks that are less enjoyable.

2. Physical Exercise: Physicians have recommended noncompetitive physical exercise, such as aerobics, walking, jogging, swimming, and riding a bicycle, as a way to deal with excessive stress levels.

1) These activities decrease the detrimental physiological responses to stress and allow us to recover from stress more quickly.

3. Relaxation Techniques: Individuals can teach themselves to reduce tension through relaxation techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, hypnosis, and deep breathing.

1) The objective is to reach a state of deep physical relaxation, in which you focus all your energy on the release of muscle tension.

2) Deep relaxation for 15 or 20 minutes a day releases tension and provides a pronounced sense of peacefulness, as well as significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and other physiological factors.

3) A growing body of research shows that simply taking breaks from work

at routine intervals can facilitate psychological recovery and reduce stress significantly and may improve job performance, and these effects are even greater if relaxation techniques are employed.

4. Social Support Networks: As we have noted, friends, family, or work colleagues talk to provide an outlet when stress levels become excessive.

1) Expanding your social support network provides someone to hear your problems and offer a more objective perspective on the situation than your own.

2) Sometimes, however, these networks produce the opposite effect: If you do not try to expand your network and instead ruminate with similarly stressed friends, you can get caught in a vicious cycle.

B. Organizational Approaches. a. Several organizational factors that cause stress—particularly task and role demands—are controlled by management and thus can be modified or changed. b. Strategies to consider include improved personnel selection and job placement, training, realistic goal setting, redesign of jobs, increased employee involvement, improved organizational communication, employee sabbaticals, and corporate wellness programs.

1. Selection, Placement, and Training: Certain jobs are more stressful than others but, as already noted, individuals differ in their response to stressful situations.

1) We know individuals with little experience or an external locus of control tend to be more prone to stress.

2) Selection and placement decisions should take these facts into consideration.

3) Obviously, management shouldn’t restrict hiring to only experienced individuals with an internal locus, but such individuals may adapt better to high-stress jobs and perform those jobs more effectively.

4) Similarly, training can increase an individual’s self-efficacy and thus lessen job strain.

2. Goal Setting: We discussed goal setting in Chapter 7. a. Individuals perform better when they have specific and challenging goals and receive feedback on their progress toward these goals. Goals can reduce stress as well as provide motivation. b. Employees who are highly committed to their goals and see purpose in their jobs experience less stress because they are more likely to perceive stressors as challenges rather than hindrances. c. The type of goal also matters: When given a developmental, learning goal after negative feedback, employees tend to experience less tension and better performance than when they are given a performance target goal. d. The employee’s personality also matters: Goal setting and goal-focused leadership tend to be more successful in reducing stress for the conscientious but not for those who are low on emotional stability.

3. Redesigning Jobs: Redesigning jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress because these factors give employees greater control over work activities and lessen dependence on others. a. But as we noted in our discussion of work design, not all employees want enriched jobs.

b. The right redesign for employees with a low need for growth might be less responsibility and increased specialization.

c. If individuals prefer structure and routine, reducing skill variety should also

reduce uncertainties and stress levels.

4. Employee Involvement: Role stress is detrimental to a large extent because employees feel uncertain about goals, expectations, how they’ll be evaluated, and the like. a. By giving these employees a voice in the decisions that directly affect their job performance, management can increase employee control and reduce role stress. b. So managers should consider increasing employee involvement in decision making.

5. Organizational Communication: Increasing formal organizational communication with employees reduces uncertainty by lessening role ambiguity and role conflict. a. Given the importance that perceptions play in moderating the stress– response relationship, management can also use effective communications as a means to shape employee perceptions.

1) Remember that what employees categorize as demands, threats, or opportunities is an interpretation and that interpretation can be affected by the symbols and actions communicated by management.

6. Employee Sabbaticals: Some employees need an occasional escape from the frenetic pace of their work. a. These sabbaticals—ranging in length from a few weeks to several months—allow employees to travel, relax, or pursue personal projects that consume time beyond normal vacations.

7. Wellness Programs: Our final suggestion is organizationally supported wellness programs.

1) These typically provide workshops to help people quit smoking, control alcohol use, lose weight, eat better, and develop a regular exercise program; they focus on the employee’s total physical and mental condition.

2) Some help employees improve their psychological health as well.

3) A meta-analysis of 36 programs designed to reduce stress (including wellness programs) showed that interventions to help employees reframe stressful situations and use active coping strategies led to an appreciable reduction in stress levels.

4) Most wellness programs assume employees need to take personal responsibility for their physical and mental health and that the organization is merely a means to an end.

IX. SUMMARY A. The need for change has been implied throughout this text.

B. Think about attitudes, motivation, work teams, communication, leadership, organizational structures, human resource practices, and organizational cultures.

1. Change was an integral part in our discussion of each.

C. If environments were perfectly static, if employees’ skills and abilities were always up to date and incapable of deteriorating, and if tomorrow were always exactly the same as today, organizational change would have little or no relevance to managers.

1. But the real world is turbulent, requiring organizations and their members to undergo dynamic change if they are to perform at competitive levels.

D. Coping with all these changes can be a source of stress, but with effective

management, challenge can enhance engagement and fulfillment, leading to the high performance that is one major goal of the study of organizational behavior (OB), as you have discovered in this text.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Consider that as a manager, you are a change agent for your organization.

PPT 17.26 1. The decisions that you make and your role-modeling will help shape the organization’s change culture.

B. Your management policies and practices will determine the degree to which the organization learns and adapts to changing environmental factors.

C. Some stress is good. Increasing challenges brought by autonomy and responsibility at work will lead to some stress but also increase feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment. Hindrance stressors like bureaucracy and interpersonal conflicts, on the other hand, are entirely negative and should be eliminated.

D. You can help alleviate harmful workplace stress for you and any employees you supervise by accurately matching workloads to employees, providing employees with stress-coping resources, and responding to their concerns.

E. You can identify extreme stress when performance declines, turnover increases, health-related absenteeism increases, and engagement declines.

1. However, by the time these symptoms are visible, it may be too late to be helpful, so stay alert for early indicators and be proactive.

Discussion Questions

PPT 17.27

118. Describe forces that act as stimulants to change.

Answer: There are six specific forces that act as stimulants for change. (1) Changing Nature of the Work Force. The environment is steadily becoming more multicultural and the work force is aging. Skill sets of employees are in constant need of updating, increasing training costs. (2) Technology. Computers are now fundamental to almost every organization. Data has become digitized, raising issues with accessibility and privacy. (3) Economic Shocks. Monetary crises, fuel prices, stock market fluctuations, and historically low interest rates all create a much more dynamic environment than existed in the recent past. (4) Competition. The global economy also means global competition. Low labor cost countries are performing more and more of the manufacturing processes for the world while high labor cost countries shift to a servicebased economy. Speed of development and implementation is increasing. (5) Social Trends. The way people perform typical daily actions has changed dramatically in a short period of time. (6) World Politics. Governments have changed dramatically in recent years.

119. Describe the sources of resistance to change.

Answer: People tend to resist change, even in the face of evidence of its benefits. There are two main sources of resistance to change: individual and organizational. Individual Sources: (1) Habit—people tend to respond in accustomed ways; (2) Security—change threatens feelings of safety; (3) Economic Factors—fear that one will not be able to perform new tasks or routines when pay is tied to productivity; (4) Fear of the Unknown—ambiguity and uncertainty is less fearful than is the unknown; (5) Selective Information Processing—people filter what they perceive to keep their perceptions intact. Organizational Sources: (1) Structural Inertia—organizations have built-in mechanisms to produce stability such as regulations; (2) Limited Focus of Change— limited changes and subsystems tend to be nullified by the overall system; (3) Group Inertia—group norms act as a constraint to change; (4) Threat to Expertise— specialized groups feel change threatens their expertise; (5) Threat to Established

Power Relationships—change modifies existing power relationships.

120. Summarize Lewin's three-step change model.

Answer: This model treats change as a break in the organization's equilibrium state.

The status quo has been disturbed and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. The first step is unfreezing. Pressure is required to overcome the inertia of the current status quo. Pressure can be exerted on the organization in three ways: (1) driving forces—forces that direct behavior away from the status quo—can be increased, (2) restraining forces —forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium (or maintain the current status quo)—can be decreased, and/or (3) a combination of the two. The second step is changing (or reforming). Once the organization is fluid, (that is, the forces maintaining status quo have dissipated), managers can reform the organization to meet the new conditions. The final step is refreezing. Instituting a change is insufficient to make it permanent. Forces need to be applied to make the changed state into the new equilibrium state. Organizational systems need to be realigned around the new reality and managers need to ensure employees accept it. Lewin’s model has little applicability in the modern environment where change is the norm rather than the exception.

121. Explain the relationship between Lewin's change model and Kotter’s plan for implementing change.

Answer: Lewin's model describes the thawing, movement, and refreezing view of change. Kotter builds on this model and historic analysis of the reasons that managerial change efforts failed. His eight steps dovetail with Lewin's model: Steps one through four coincide with the unfreezing stage, steps 5 to 7 represent movement, and the final step is refreezing. Where Lewin provided general guidance, Kotter provides more specific guidance for managerial action.

122. Define Innovation and identify the sources of innovation.

Answer: Innovation is a specialized kind of change. It is applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service. Structural variables are one potential source of innovation. A review of the structure–innovation relationship leads to the following conclusions: (1) Organic structures. Because they’re lower in vertical differentiation, formalization, and centralization; organic organizations facilitate the flexibility, adaptation, and cross-fertilization that make the adoption of innovations easier. (2) Long tenure in management. Managerial tenure can provide the legitimacy and knowledge of how to accomplish tasks and obtain desired outcomes through creative methods. (3) Slack resources. Having an abundance of resources allows an organization to afford to purchase or develop innovations, bear the cost of instituting them, and absorb failures. (4) High interunit communication. These organizations are heavy users of committees, task forces, cross-functional teams, and other mechanisms that facilitate interaction across departmental lines.

123. Describe the characteristics of a learning organization.

Answer: A Learning organization is an organization that has developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change. In a learning organization there exists a shared vision that everyone agrees on; people discard their old ways of thinking and the standard routines they use for solving problems or doing their jobs; members think of all organizational processes, activities, functions, and interactions with the environment as part of a system of interrelationships; people openly communicate with each other (across vertical and horizontal boundaries) without fear of criticism or punishment; people sublimate their personal self-interest and fragmented departmental interests to work together to achieve the organization’s shared vision.

124. Describe potential sources of, and ways of managing, work stress.

Answer: Stress may result from demands and resources. Demands are the responsibilities, pressures, obligations, and even uncertainties individuals face in the workplace. The greater the number of demands, typically the greater the stress level.

Resources are the things in an individual’s control that can be used to resolve the demands. The scarcer the resources, the higher the stress, given the same level of demands.

Managing Stress. Realistically, stress can never be totally eliminated from a person's life.

Stress reduction techniques from organizational sources include: (1) Employee Selection. By selecting employees with abilities that match their positions the job stress is reduced. (2) Organizational Communications. Ambiguity-induced stress can be kept to a minimum by improving communications. (3) Goal-Setting Programs. Reduces stress by clarifying job responsibilities and providing clear performance objectives. (4) Job Redesign. If stress can be traced directly to boredom or work overload, job redesign can reduce stress. (5) Wellness Programs. Workshops sponsored by the organization can help employees improve their physical and mental health. However, an employee’s home life can also be creating stress. Stress reduction techniques from individual sources include: (1) Relaxation training and expanded social support networks. (2) Time Management Programs. These may prove helpful for both work-related and homerelated stress. (3) Physical Activity Programs. Exercise has been shown to reduce stressinducing chemicals in the body.

Exercises 77. Self-analysis. How open to change are you? Select three activities you do frequently on a daily basis: brushing your teeth, combing your hair, making a sandwich, or pouring a glass of milk. For 24 hours, consciously try to do these activities using the hand opposite from the one you typically use. How did you feel during this 24-hour period? Were you more anxious? Did you find yourself slipping into the habitual use of your dominant hand? How strong were your habits? Write a one-page paper summarizing your feelings and experiences during this 24-hour period.

78. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search the term “making change happen” and review the listed websites. Your task is to find five techniques for implementing change in organizations that were not mentioned in your textbook.

List these out with references and be prepared to discuss them in class.

79. Teamwork. Divide the class into teams. Ask them to access the website http://tomlaforce.com/stress-wrecks-teamwork/. After reviewing the site, ask students to relate to assignments they have had in other classes where they were required to work in groups. Can the students assess these groups as effective or not (relate to production of the desired outcome)? Can patterns be identified such as more effective group activity occurred when the group had less stress (maybe due dates, complexity of the assignment, concern for grade or others)? Ask the students to discuss their findings in the class.

80. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Discuss with your manager the times in which he or she has met resistance to a proposed organizational change.

What types of resistance were encountered? How did the manager overcome the resistance? What types of change seem to be hot buttons with this organization?

Have employees resisted when upper management implemented the change?

Related to this, discuss the methods by which your organization tries to improve.

Do they have specific quality programs in place? How about organizational development initiatives? Find out how they work, and how the organization responds to these initiatives. Report your findings to class.

81. Analyzing Your Organization (Summation). Review the answers you submitted for your Analyzing Your Organization questions throughout this course. Write a threepage summary of what you've learned through this course. How have your views and beliefs regarding your organization changed since the beginning of the course?

Suggested Assignment Divide the class into relatively large teams of six to eight people each. Students will learn that necessary change may be undesired and resisted. Yet the resistance must be overcome if the organization is to change, grow, and succeed. You can use this as a double exercise. Either have the students simply strategize means to overcome resistance, or (and this is a more complex option) have students think through the whole change process and create alternative courses of action—other change efforts that might help the college/university solve its problem in another way.

Introduce the following scenario (or one of your own that is more relevant to your situation) to the class: Due to massive cutbacks in both federal and state support and dramatically decreasing alumni gifts, your college or university must make some significant changes that will influence revenue and cash flow. The school had anticipated a budget increase this year in order to hire more faculty, reduce class sizes, and improve academic programs. Instead funding was cut.

The university administration is mandating the following initiatives: 1. All freshmen and sophomores must live on campus in dorms (to increase occupancy).

2. There will be Saturday classes (to increase utilization of classroom space).

3. All faculty members will have their teaching loads increased by one class per semester (to reduce the need for additional faculty).

4. All classes must have a minimum of fifteen enrollments or they will be canceled. All introductory courses will be taught as large lecture sections (to reduce the need for faculty and increase the profit margin per class).

5. Students must pay a $250 per semester parking fee to have a car on campus and a $100 per semester security fee (to pay for parking facilities and campus police).

6. All majors with less than 100 students will either be consolidated or eliminated (to focus resources on larger majors).

Have the teams brainstorm what type of resistance is likely to arise from these changes and from whom. Have the teams share their findings with the whole class and consolidate the specific examples of resistance into five or six categories.

Reform the teams and have them discuss what strategies might be effective in overcoming each category of resistance. In addition, discuss what other ways the college or university might address the problem. When complete, have each team report their suggestions to the class for critique.

Instructor Notes: Students will often begin by arguing about the specific changes.

Students will want to argue that the changes shouldn’t be made or make judgmental statements (“these are stupid”). Help them focus on the fact that as managers they may have to support and implement changes with which they personally do not agree. Next, students often start talking about the kind of resistance and focus on specific acts—protests, demonstrations, angry letters, and so on. Help them think about the constituencies: those who have a stake in the changes besides just students and faculty members.

If you chose the more complex option, then your students should begin by going back to the basic problem and assumptions. The basic problem is insufficient money (capital) and the assumption is that the university can solve the problem by spending less (reducing costs). Students should be encouraged to think about the particular needs represented by the various stakeholders. What does the administration need? What does the faculty need? What do students need? What do the alumni need?

Other Teaching Resources 1. (Small group activity) For a 2-hour experiential simulation that helps students understand (a) the challenge of even simple organizational changes, (b) the importance of communication between change agents and organizational members, and (c) the source of resistance to organizational change efforts, please see: Rollag, K., and Parise, S. (2005). The Bikestuff simulation: Experiencing the challenge of organizational change. Journal of Management Education, 29(5), 769787.

2. For an editorial of teaching resources available to teach organizational change, please see: Schmidt-Wilk, J. (2020). Resources for Teaching Organizational Change.

Management Teaching Review, 5(1), 4-5. DOI:10.1177/2379298119899196