Behavior in Organizations, 10e Jerald Greenberg Solution Manual

Type:

Solution Manual

Resource:

Behavior in Organizations

Edition:

10th Edition

Author(s):

Jerald Greenberg

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior

1: The Field of Organizational Behavior Learning Objectives: 1. Define the concepts of organization and organizational behavior.

2. Describe the field of organizational behavior’s commitment to the scientific method and the three levels of analysis it uses.

3. Trace the historical developments and schools of thought leading up to the field of organizational behavior today.

4. Identify the fundamental characteristics of the field of organizational behavior.

5. Describe how the field of OB today is being shaped by the global economy, increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce, and advances in technology.

6. Explain how people’s changing expectations about the desire to be engaged in their work and the need for flexibility in work have influenced the field of organizational behavior.

Chapter Overview This opening chapter presents the basic concepts of organizational behavior, including its historical background, relation to other disciplines, and adherence to the scientific method. The four fundamental characteristics and the two key assumptions of organizational behavior are highlighted. The organizational impacts of globalization, diversity, and technology are discussed in detail. The chapter closes with an analysis of the impacts of changing employee expectations regarding the workplace including the need for scheduling flexibility. Finally, a brief review of quality initiatives is provided.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: The Talented Chief of Taleo A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. How did Taleo’s problems help strengthen the company?

2. Does Michael Gregoire’s personal commitment to his employees change the environment at Taleo?

3. Why do you think studying OB is important?

.

1

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations II. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: ITS BASIC NATURE A. What Is the Field of Organizational Behavior All About?

1. Organizational behavior, as the name implies, is concerned with organizations and the behaviors of the people within those organizations. a. The Organization. A structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objectives. b. Organizational Behavior. A multidisciplinary field that seeks knowledge of behavior in organizational settings by systematically studying individual, group, and organizational processes.

2. Four Central Characteristics of the Field: a. OB Applies the Scientific Method to Practical Managerial Problems. Organizational behavior utilizes the behavioral sciences (psychology and sociology especially) to scientifically develop a base of empirical knowledge.

1) The scientific method is based on systematic observation and measurement of the phenomenon of interest. Its use is a hallmark of the field of OB. 2) “Application” refers to the practical use of the theories, findings, and models of OB in the workplace by managers. This use of theory in real-world organizations is an important aspect of OB. b. OB Focuses on Three Levels of Analysis— Individuals, Groups, and Organizations.

Organizational behavior cannot be explained by solely focusing on individuals. Groups, as well as the traits of the organizations themselves, have a strong bearing on the behavior of individuals in organizations. OB studies each level as well as the interactions among the levels.

Figure 1.1

c. OB Is Multidisciplinary in Nature. OB draws from a wide variety of academic fields because of the .

2

Table 1.1

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior broad range of issues and activities that influences the study of people in organizations. This acceptance of such diverse views and techniques is one of the reasons why OB is such a powerful and growing field of study. d. OB Seeks to Improve Organizational Effectiveness and the Quality of Life at Work. OB has a stated goal of finding ways to make organizations more competitive in the global environment. Balancing that pragmatic goal is a more esoteric one: helping organizations create work environments that improve the lives of employees.

1) Theory X/Theory Y. This OB theory describes how a manager’s viewpoint of the nature of workers can influence the work environment that employees face. a) Theory X managers believe that people are inherently lazy, dislike work, need close supervision, and must be pushed to perform.

This traditional approach to employees is less popular now than it once was. b) Theory Y managers think that people are naturally motivated and willing workers.

They believe that people enjoy working, are self-motivated, and desire positions of increasing responsibility and achievement.

This is the more prevalent viewpoint in modern organizations.

B. Why Is It Important to Know About OB? 1. Strong Impact. OB theory and practice make a great difference in the world of work for both individual workers and organizations.

2. Effectiveness. OB can improve the performance of workers, and therefore, taken together, that of firms.

Specifically, OB has shown that: a. Accurate performance appraisals lead to lower costs and higher productivity. b. Worker satisfaction increases workplace harmony and decreases turnover. .3

Figure 1.2

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations c. Proper team formation and team building can increase productivity. d. Workers who believe they have been treated fairly are less likely to steal or create disruptions in the workplace. e. Mistreated employees have more mental and physical illness, resulting in lower productivity. f. Firms that treat their employees well are (on average) twice as profitable as the S&P 500. g. People-oriented firms are more profitable.

3. OB is everyone’s job in an organization. The more an individual knows about OB, the greater the likelihood of his or her success in a firm.

III. OB’S TWO FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS A. OB Recognizes the Dynamic Nature of Organizations.

1. OB Is Concerned with Organizations. The structure, environmental interaction, and conditions for change in an organization are all important areas of OB study.

2. Organizations Are Open Systems. Open systems are self-sustaining systems that use energy to transform resources from the environment (such as raw materials) into some form of output (for example, a finished product).

B. OB Assumes There Is No “One Best” Approach.

1. The Contingency Approach. Because each organization and situation is unique, OB scholars embrace an orientation that recognizes that behavior and work settings are the complex result of many interacting forces.

2. There Are No “Hard-And-Fast” Rules in OB. IV. OB THEN AND NOW: A CAPSULE HISTORY A. The Early Days: Scientific Management and the Hawthorne Studies. Studies in the early days of OB theory

.

4

Figure 1.3

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior focused on trying to increase the efficiency and productivity of workers.

1. Scientific Management and Its Detractors. Frederick Winslow Taylor, the father of scientific management, was an engineer who bent his specialty toward improving the mechanics of the human workplace. His goal was to create the most efficient way of performing a task: that is, the one with the fewest moves required for completion. a. Time-and-Motion Studies. This technique was one of Taylor’s primary tools in his applied research of the workplace. The studies are designed to classify and streamline the individual movements needed to perform jobs with the intent of finding the “one best way” to perform them. b. Scientific Management. This was Taylor’s 1911 concept of management, which emphasized the importance of designing jobs as efficiently as possible. This management philosophy also pointed out the importance of proper selection and training of workers. c. The Results of Scientific Management. While Taylor is credited with increasing the effectiveness of the workplace, such changes did come at a cost.

Scientifically managed factories were seen as being dehumanized: making men more like machines. In reaction to the human problems of scientific management, the human relations movement began to develop.

2. The Human Relations Movement. This group of management theorists shared a perspective on organizational behavior that rejected the primary mechanistic orientation of scientific management and recognized instead the importance of social processes and work settings. a. The Hawthorne Studies. Elton W. Mayo and his associates spent a number of years changing various factors in the physical environment of the workplace (such as lighting) to determine the most productive levels of these factors. While these studies failed in their original purpose, the insights .

5

Figure 1.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations gained from worker reactions to the study have been powerful. These studies recognized the importance of social conditions in the workplace. One of the earliest and best-known systematic research projects in OB arose from this movement and took place at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works near Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s.

B. Classical Organizational Theory.

1. The focus of the classic organizational theory is on the most efficient way of structuring organizations.

2. Major Theorists: a. Henri Fayol: this French industrialist advocated for the division of labor, the practice of dividing work into specialized tasks that enables people to specialize in what they do best. b. Max Weber was a German sociologist who focused on bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is an organizational design that attempts to make organizations operate efficiently by having a clear hierarchy of authority and rules under which people are required to perform well-defined jobs. While a bureaucracy as an organizational structure is no longer as popular as it once was, there is still much to learn from its use.

Table 1.2

C. Late Twentieth Century: Organizational Behavior as a Social Science. The study of organizational behavior blossomed in the 1960s as more business schools embedded OB studies within their curriculum. It was during this time that OB developed its inherent interdisciplinary nature.

D. OB in Today’s Infotech Age. Figure 1.5

1. The Workplace. Computers have both changed the way that individuals work and the way that managers operate. These changes have affected the workplace and refocused OB theorists. In this new age, OB attempts to find new ways to make work more challenging, meaningful, and interesting to workers than it ever was before.

.

6

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior 2. Three Prominent Trends in Society. The three trends that most affect OB are the rise of global business with culturally diverse workforces, rapid advances in technology, and the rising expectations of people in general. Each of these trends is discussed below.

V. OB RESPONDS TO THE RISE OF GLOBALIZATION AND DIVERSITY A. International Business and the Global Economy.

1. Globalization. This is the ongoing process of interconnecting the world’s people with respect to the cultural, economic, political, technological, and environmental aspects of their lives. As the world becomes more global, each of the world’s countries is influenced by the others.

2. Three Forces That Lead to Increased Globalization: a. Technology. Technology has drastically lowered the cost of transportation and communication thereby enhancing the opportunities for international commerce. b. Trade Laws. The laws restricting trade have generally become more liberalized throughout the world. c. Stance of Developing Nations. Developing nations have begun to promote their exports and to encourage investment by foreign companies.

3. Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). These organizations, while headquartered in one nation, maintain significant operations throughout the globe. a. Staffing Expatriates. The rise of the MNEs has led to increasing numbers of expatriates. These are individuals who are the citizens of one country, but who live and work in another country for extended periods. b. Culture Shock. Cultures are the sets of values, customs, and beliefs that people have in common with other members of their social unit. Cultures are often very diverse, and when expatriates are immersed in a foreign culture, culture shock may .

7

Figure 1.6

Figure 1.7

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations result. This is the tendency for people to become confused and disoriented when they attempt to adjust to a new culture.

1) Causes. One of the main causes of cultural shock is the parochial assumptions and ethnocentric beliefs carried by many people.

2) Ethnocentrism is the cultural belief that (literally) the world revolves around that society. Everything is judged by the standards of the original culture, even when the individual is no longer residing in that culture. c. Repatriation. Not only may expatriates experience culture shock when entering a new society, they frequently experience culture shock when they reenter their own society after an absence of years.

This readjustment is known as repatriation.

4. Approaches to Management Practice. There are two basic approaches to management practice. a. The Convergence Hypothesis. This older view held that the principles of good management are universal and that the best management practices are those that work well in the United States. This approach to management was obviously very ethnocentric. b. The Divergence Hypothesis. In this orientation, understanding the behavior of people at work requires a careful appreciation of the cultural context within which the employees operate. This approach appears to be more relevant in today’s environment.

B. The Shifting Demographics of the Workforce: Trends Toward Diversity. These trends are found within organizations as well as in the environment outside them.

1. More Women Are in the Workforce Than Ever Before.

Almost half of all people in the workplace are women, many of whom are mothers, amplifying the need for day care and other family-friendly practices. While expensive, these practices have been shown to increase retention, alleviate non-work-related stress, and increase attraction of better-qualified applicants. .

8

Table 1.3

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior 2. Racial and Ethnic Diversity Is Reality. Liberal immigration policies and differential birth rates have increased the relative proportion of minorities in the workplace. By the year 2050, more than half of all Americans will be in minority (non-white) groups.

3. People Are Living—and Working—Longer Than Ever Before. The automatic retirement age is no longer 65 and a large segment of the population (the baby boomers, those born in the economic boom period following World War II) is nearing retirement age and declining to retire. This may be due to personal desire or economic necessity.

Figure 1.8

ADD Figure 1.9

4. Implications for OB. Each of these trends represents challenges for managers in the workplace of today and tomorrow and therefore important areas of study for OB professionals.

VI. OB RESPONDS TO ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY A. The Workplace Has Changed. Because of technology, jobs (carefully prescribed sets of tasks) and organizations (large networks of workers who answer to those above them in hierarchical arrangements) are changing dramatically. Three of the most profound changes are these: 1. Leaner Organizations: Downsizing and Outsourcing.

Technology and automation have made people more efficient, thereby decreasing the number of people it takes to do a given task. While in the past automation involved creating machines to work with physical objects, in today’s workplace automation deals with software created to manipulate digital data. a. Informate (as opposed to “automate”). This term describes the process by which workers use computer information technology to transform a once-physical task into one that involves manipulating a sequence of digital commands.

Informate processes are changing far more rapidly than mechanical automation processes changed in the past, quickly changing the nature of work. b. Downsizing (or rightsizing). Because of this greater efficiency, organizations have been rapidly reducing .

9

Table 1.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations the number of employees in their organizations.

More than simply laying off employees to save costs, this involves restructuring the work and the relationships within the organization. c. Outsourcing. Organizations have been encouraged to remove peripheral tasks that are not directly related to their core competency (the core activities that define the organization) and contract those tasks out to other organizations. This also reduces headcount in organizations, but may increase the ability of a firm to focus on essential processes.

2. The Virtual Organization. One of the results of increased outsourcing is the creation of virtual corporations. These are highly flexible, temporary organizations formed by a group of companies that join forces to exploit a specific opportunity. The use of this type of organization allows firms to hire the best possible talent without incurring the long-term costs that a more traditional organization would have in maintaining that expertise internally.

3. Telecommuting: Going to Work Without Leaving Home.

This is the practice of using communications technologies to enable work to be performed from remote locations, such as the employee’s home. As the cost of broadband Internet access and computer technology has decreased, the use of telecommuting has dramatically increased. a. Benefits. This method of working has many benefits for both the employee and the organization.

Employees gain greater flexibility, save commuting time, and reduce expenses. Organizations can reduce the overhead required to house their workers and more easily comply with government regulations. b. Limitations. Telecommuting is not for everyone. It works best for jobs that require concentration, have well-defined beginning and end points, are easily portable, call for minimal amounts of special equipment, and can be done with little supervision.

Successful telecommuting requires self-discipline on the part of the employees.

.

10

Figure 1.10

Figure 1.11

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior c. See the end-of-chapter Group Exercise on this topic (page 32).

VII.

OB IS RESPONSIVE TO PEOPLE’S CHANGING EXPECTATIONS

A. Changing Expectations. The expectations of people regarding their work environments are changing. There are three particular areas of concern to the field of OB: (1) desire for engagement, (2) compressed workweek, and (3) expected employer flexibility.

1. Employees and Employers Desire Engagement.

Engagement is defined as a mutual commitment between employers and employees to do things to help each other achieve each other’s goals and aspirations.

There are four key drivers of engagement, which are controlled by employers:

Figure 1.12

a. Involvement. Employees should be involved in decision making (Chapter 10). b. Input. Employees should be given opportunities to express their ideas and opinions (Chapter 2). c. Job Development. Employers should provide opportunities for employees to develop their jobs (Chapter 5). d. Concern. Employers should show concern for employees’ well-beings as individuals (Chapter 7).

2. The Compressed Workweek. This technique allows workers to work fewer days per week, but longer hours each day, in order to maintain the same total number of hours worked.

3.

In Search of Flexibility: Responding to Needs of Employees. The diversity of lifestyles demands a diversity of working arrangements. Some of these flexible arrangements include: a. Flexible Hours (Flextime Programs). These programs are policies that give employees some discretion over when they can arrive and leave work. They make it easier for employees to adapt their work schedules to the demands of their personal lives. Typically, there is a core period in .

11

Figure 1.13

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations which all employees must be at work, but the beginning and ending times of the workday are negotiable. b. The Contingent Workforce: “Permanent Temporary” Employees. Contingent workers are those temporarily hired by organizations to work as needed for finite periods. This technique increases the flexibility of organizations and that of the workers while at the same time reducing overall labor costs for the organization. This freelance work also tends to reduce the income of the contingent workers, as well as preventing them from taking advantage of employer-sponsored benefits. c. Idiosyncratic Work Arrangements (i-deals). These are uniquely customized agreements negotiated between individual employees and their employers with respect to employment terms benefiting each party. While not a form of favoritism, these arrangements may be seen as such by other workers, if not handled properly. d. Job Sharing. This is a form of part-time work in which pairs of employees split the duties of a single job. They share its responsibilities, salary, and benefits in proportion to the time each has worked.

These types of arrangements are often temporary. e. Voluntary Reduced Work Time (V-time) Programs.

These programs allow workers to voluntarily reduce the amount of hours they work with a proportional reduction in pay.

VIII.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES (These answers are located in the text.)

A. Define the concepts of organization and organizational behavior.

An organization is a structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objectives. Organizational behavior is the field that seeks knowledge of behavior in organizational settings by systematically studying individual, group, and organizational processes. .

12

Figure 1.14

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior B. Describe the field of organizational behavior’s commitment to the scientific method and the three levels of analysis it uses.

The field of OB seeks to develop a base of knowledge about behavior in organizations using an empirical, researchbased approach. As such, it is based on systematic observation and measuring the behavior or phenomenon of interest. The field of OB uses three levels of analysis: individuals, work groups, and entire organizations—all relying on the scientific method.

C. Trace the historical developments and schools of thought leading to the field of OB today.

The earliest approaches to OB relied on the scientific management approach, which essentially treated people like machines and emphasized what it took to get the most out of them. For example, this approach relied on a timeand-motion study, a type of applied research that was designed to find the most efficient way for people to perform their jobs. However, as this approach grew unpopular, it was supplanted by the human relations movement, which emphasized the importance of noneconomic, social forces in the workplace and remains popular as an approach today. Such factors were demonstrated in the Hawthorne studies, the first largescale research project conducted in a work organization that demonstrated the importance of social forces in determining productivity. In contrast with scientific management’s orientation toward organizing the work of individuals, proponents of classical organizational theory developed ways of efficiently structuring the way that work is done. Weber’s concept of bureaucracy is a prime example of this approach. Contemporary OB is characterized not by one best approach to management, however, but by systematic scientific research inspired from several fields of social science. Modern OB uses a contingency approach, recognizing that behavior may be influenced by many different forces at once and thereby rejecting the idea of any single most effective approach to managing behavior in organizations.

D. Identify the fundamental assumptions of the field of organizational behavior.

.

13

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations The field of OB assumes that organizations can be made more productive while also improving the quality of people’s work life, that no one approach to studying behavior in organizations is best, and that organizations are dynamic and ever changing.

E. Describe how the field of OB today is being shaped by the global economy, increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce, and advances in technology.

The world’s economy is becoming increasingly global, a trend that is affecting the field of OB in several distinct ways. For example, organizations are expanding overseas, requiring people to live and work in different countries, requiring considerable adjustment. As this occurs, much of what we thought we knew about managing people is proven to be limited by the culture in which that knowledge was developed (U.S. culture in most cases). Racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace is in large part the result of shifting patterns of immigration that have brought more foreign nationals into the workforce. It also is the result of changes in social values and the economy that have made the presence of women common in today’s workplace. In addition, thanks to modern medicine, people are living longer and retiring from work later than ever before.

Because technology has made it possible for fewer people to do more work, many organizations have been growing smaller through downsizing. Furthermore, as technology becomes increasingly specialized, organizations have found it useful to hire other companies to do nonessential aspects of their operations that they once performed themselves—a process known as outsourcing.

F. Explain how people’s changing expectations about the desire to be engaged in their work, the need for flexibility in work, and the pressure to promote quality have influenced the field of OB. Both employers and employees benefit when they are highly engaged with one another—that is, when they are highly committed to satisfying one another’s interests. This drives organizations to follow various OB practices to avoid the extremely high costs of having actively disengaged workers. Today’s employees also desire to have a high degree of flexibility in their work arrangements. This takes several forms: using idiosyncratic work arrangements, offering flexible hours, relying on contingent workers, .

14

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior using compressed workweeks, job sharing, and voluntary reduced work time programs. Because today’s consumers are demanding high-quality products and services, companies are working hard to meet these demands— thereby remaining in existence and possibly staying ahead of competitors. The popular policy of continuously improving products and services, referred to as total quality management (TQM), is a response to this trend.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. How can the field of organizational behavior contribute to both the effective functioning of organizations and to the well-being of individuals? Are these goals inconsistent? Why or why not?

The human side of work is a critical element in the effective functioning— and even basic existence—of organizations. An organization is a structured social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-on objectives. Organizations consist of structured social units, such as people or work groups, that strive to attain a common goal, such as to produce and sell a product at a profit.

Specialists in OB apply knowledge gained from scientific studies seeking to improve organizational functioning and the quality of life for the people working in organizations. Researchers seek to answer practical questions.

▪

How can goals be set to enhance employees’ job performance?

▪

How can jobs be designed to enhance employees’ feelings of satisfaction?

▪

Under what conditions do individuals make better decisions than groups?

▪

How can the quality of organizational communication be improved?

▪

What steps can be taken to alleviate work-related stress?

▪

What can leaders do to enhance the effectiveness of their teams?

Students’ responses to why these goals are or are not compatible will vary.

.

15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. What is the “contingency approach” and why is it so popular in the field of OB today?

Modern specialists in OB agree that no one approach is best when it comes to such complex phenomena. When studying human behavior in organizations, there are no simple answers; the processes involved are too complex to permit such a luxury. Scholars of OB recognize that behavior in work settings is the complex result of many interacting forces. This contingency approach is a hallmark of modern OB. Many factors may determine how productive someone is on the job: ▪

Personal characteristics

▪

Situational factors

▪

Characteristics of the environmental context

This approach may frustrate and disappoint some people because it makes it impossible to use simple cookbook formulas to predict and to explain behavior.

3. Explain how the field of organizational behavior stands to benefit by taking a global perspective. What would you say are the major challenges associated with such a perspective?

Organizations operate within an economic system in which resources (e.g., information, goods, and money) are constantly flowing. With growing frequency, economic transactions have occurred between countries. There are two key issues: the international nature of today’s organizations and the important role of culture in organizations.

Globally, OB is primarily interested in the influence of culture on people’s attitudes and behaviors at work. Do people in various cultures behave similarly or differently regarding their behavior in organizations? Most social scientists define culture as the set of values, customs, and beliefs that people have in common with other members of a social unit (e.g., a nation) shared by everyone. The effects of culture on people often occur without their awareness. In fact, people often must be confronted with different cultures before they become conscious of their own.

During the 1950s and 1960s, management scholars tended to overlook the importance of cultural differences in organizations. They made two key assumptions: ▪

The principles of good management are universal.

▪

The best management practices are those that work well in the United States.

. 16

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior This highly inflexible approach is known as the convergence hypothesis.

In fact, there may be many possible ways to manage people effectively, all of which depend greatly on the individual culture involved. This alternative approach, which is widely accepted today, is known as the divergence hypothesis. Thus, today’s organizational scholars are increasingly sensitive to the ways in which culture influences OB. 4. How has the growing quest for quality products and services affected your own work?

Again, students may not have sufficient experience to answer. Try two variations if this is true. How does the quest for quality affect your consumer behavior? Alternatively, you can lead a general discussion of its overall impact.

One of the most popular approaches to establishing quality is an organizational strategy of improving customer satisfaction by developing techniques to manage output quality. TQM is not so much a special technique as a well-ingrained set of corporate values. TQM is a way of’ life demonstrating a strong commitment to improving quality in everything that is done. Successful TQM requires full commitment to making whatever innovations are necessary to improve quality, carefully measuring quality through elaborate statistical procedures and continuously improving the manufacturing process to result in ever-higher quality. Another key ingredient of TQM is incorporating a concern for quality into all aspects of organizational culture.

Experiential Questions 1. Think about a person with whom you may have worked who happens to be very different from you, such as someone of the opposite sex who also is a member of a different racial group and/or from a different country. In what ways was this experience challenging for you? In what ways did these differences prove to be beneficial? What insight do you believe the field of OB can give you with respect to this experience?

Students’ responses will vary. Students may not have had a paid job; ask them to apply this concept to school or other groups where they interact with others. Lead a discussion on how the students responded in these situations.

What insight can OB offer? Differences in age, gender, and ethnic group membership bring differences in communication style. Additionally, people at different stages of their lives are motivated by different things.

Moreover, the wider the diversity, the greater number of issues about values and norms are likely to come up. OB can offer the perception of

.

17

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations working through these issues, and others, based on science and applied methods developed from years of study.

2. How have your own life and the lives of your family members changed because of flexible new working arrangements that have become popular in recent years?

Students’ responses will vary. Many may not be aware of the effects; if not, lead a discussion on the general impacts.

Flextime programs are policies that give employees some discretion over when they can arrive and leave work, thereby making it easier to adapt their work schedules to the demands of their personal lives. “Compressed workweek” is the practice of working fewer days each week but longer hours each day (e.g., four 10-hour days). Job sharing is a form of regular, part-time work in which pairs of employees assume the duties of a single job, thus splitting its responsibilities, salary, and benefits in proportion to the time each works. V-time programs allow employees to reduce the amount of time they work by a certain amount (typically 10 or 20 percent) with a proportional reduction in pay. Telecommuting is the practice of using communications technology to enable work to be performed from remote locations, such as the home.

3. Describe some ways in which you may have been treated by your boss that helped you become an engaged employee, a not-engaged employee, or an actively disengaged employee. How did you respond as a result?

The answers to this question will vary depending on student experience, but involvement, input, job development, and concern on the part of the employer should be mentioned as should employee responses in terms of pride, belief in the organization, willingness to help co-workers, and being able to see the “big picture.”

Questions to Analyze 1. Although only some people in an organization need to know about marketing, accounting, or production, almost everyone benefits by knowing about organizational behavior. Do you agree with this statement?

If not, why not? If so, exactly how can knowing OB help you in your own work?

Student answers will vary—but will tend to be agreeable with the idea of everyone benefiting from knowing about OB. Lead a discussion about how OB can help students in their own work. Some common responses are enhanced communication skills, an understanding of how to motivate others and how the students can motivate themselves, how to increase organizational effectiveness, and personal job satisfaction. . 18

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior 2. The practice of engineering is constantly evolving, but the basic rules of physics on which it rests remain relatively unchanged. Do you think the same relationship exists between technology and OB? In other words, do the things that have made organizations and individuals successful in yesterday’s low-tech era remain relevant today, or are they changing along with technology?

Student answers will vary—but generally, they will not equate the two.

Technology is growing at an ever-increasing rate and changes in the organization must be made to maximize the effectiveness of the technology. However, how people are motivated, why they are satisfied with their jobs, or developing cultural awareness probably do not change because of the technology. However, technology does change how the workplace operates, which is why OB can be beneficial.

3. Although many employees enjoy the flexibility of working lots of parttime jobs or working for a series of employers on a temporary basis, it comes at a cost: Such employees often make low wages, have little security, and cannot count on having fringe benefits. How do you think this trend affects organizations? How are companies helped and how are they harmed by this trend? Do you think this trend has any adverse effects on a company’s products?

The trend helps organizations to retain flexibility in scheduling and worker load allowing for increased effectiveness. Companies do not appear to be harmed by the trend unless a situation arises in which they need workers and cannot get them. There could be an adverse effect on the quality of the products if the employees are not trained properly and cannot produce the products or services according to the quality standards outlined by the organization.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: How Much Do You Really Know About OB? Because we’ve all done some kind of work and know other people also work, it’s not surprising that we assume various things about how people behave on the job.

After all, it’s something we experience all the time. However, the things we may believe to be true about behavior in organizations based on common sense or experience may be inconsistent with established research findings (many of which are noted in this book). Also, the things we think we know are unlikely to reflect all the complexities and subtle nuances of human behavior that only scientists are prepared to determine. This exercise will help you get a feel for this.

Directions Answer each of the following questions by marking it either true or false. Please indicate what you really think and not what you suspect “the real” answer may be. . 19

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. People who are satisfied with one job tend to be satisfied with other jobs too.

2. “Two heads are better than one,” so groups make better decisions than individuals.

3. The best leaders always act the same, regardless of the situations they face.

4. Specific goals make people nervous; people work better when asked to do their best.

5. People get bored easily, leading them to welcome organizational change.

6. Money is the best motivator.

7. Today’s organizations are more rigidly structured than ever before.

8. People generally shy away from challenges on the job.

9. Multiple channels of communication (e.g., written and spoken) tend to add confusion.

10. Conflict in organizations is always highly disruptive.

Scoring Now, the moment of truth: the first statement is true; all the others are false. Give yourself one point for each question you answered correctly. Please note that when we refer to something as being “true,” we mean that it has been supported by research. Here is where in this book you’ll find information relevant to these statements: question 1, chapter 5; question 2, chapter 9; question 3, chapter 12; question 4, chapter 4; question 5, chapter 16; question 6, chapter 4; question 7, chapter 14; question 8, chapter 4; question 9, chapter 8; question 10, chapter 10.

Questions for Discussion 1. How did you score on this quiz? If you answered honestly, you probably did not get them all correct. If so, do not be surprised. We are not. After all, many of the things people routinely believe about behavior in organizations are only partially true—that is, true under some conditions, but not always. In other words, this topic tends to be far more complex and nuanced than meets the eye. This is precisely why when it comes to studying OB, we cannot rely on our common sense as a guide. Instead, we rely on scientific research (see Appendix 1 for a summary of how such research is conducted).

2. Are you surprised to learn of any of the answers we present as being correct? If so, keep in mind that although it’s certainly not always perfect, the fact that research is carefully designed to describe and explain behavior in an unbiased fashion enhances our confidence in what it reveals. Indeed, OB is a science, and as such, the things we know about it are based not on what we think or hope or believe to be the case, but rather, on what research reveals. So, as you read this book you can be assured that the things we say are based on the results of careful scientific investigation—even (or especially) if it’s not what you’d expect.

3. How did you score relative to your classmates? It may be interesting to see exactly what questions stumped the most people in your class. Then, you can look forward to learning about the topic associated with it later in this book.

. 20

Chapter 1: The Field of Organizational Behavior Group Exercise: Is Your Team Ready for Telecommuting?

1. In scoring the scale responses, why do you think questions 2 and 9 were treated differently from the others? How are they different?

Questions 2 and 9 relate to the needs some employees have for social contact in the workplace. Telecommuting employees are not able to get this face-to-face contact. Therefore, when determining which employees are best suited for telecommuting it is important to take into account their individual needs for social contact. By reversing the values of questions 2 and 9, this need can be accounted for (negatively) in the overall score.

2. Does your individual score (step 4) suggest that you are ready for telecommuting? Do you do so already? Might it be possible to telecommute some of the time if you are not doing so already?

Answers will vary; however, the scores should match the response. Scores of 35 or higher reflect high degrees of readiness for telecommuting while scores of 15 or lower reflect lower degrees of readiness.

3. Does your team score (step 6) suggest that your team is ready for telecommuting? Do some members of the team engage in telecommuting already? If so, how are the other members of the work team affected by this? If not, why do you think this is not already going on?

Answers will vary; the average scores use the same scale as given in question 2.

.

21

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Answers to Case in Point Questions Good-bye to the Cubicle? Don’t Count On It 1. If you ever have worked in a cubicle, what did you like or dislike about it?

If not, what do you think you would like or dislike about it?

Answers will vary. Some potential reasons for liking cubicles are having one’s own space, privacy, quiet, ability to concentrate, and lack of distractions. Reasons to dislike cubicles are isolation, feeling penned in, feeling exposed, lack of privacy, and feeling observed.

2. What does the use of cubicles and people’s reactions to them suggest about the nature of people in organizations? Also, what are the implications of housing people in cubicles for managing them? (Hint: think about Theory X.) Assuming the cubicles are of an open design, managers can easily observe employees at work. Theory X managers would use this to their advantage by micromanaging their employees. Taller cubicles may increase feelings of isolation, and in keeping with the findings of the Hawthorne studies, lead to lower productivity as the social aspects of work are impeded.

3. Although telecommuting may keep people from working in cubicles, it may have its own limitations. What do you believe these may be? How would you compare the problems of telecommuting compared to the problems of working in cubicles?

The primary problem with telecommuting is the difficulty in establishing and maintaining social relationships in the workplace. Workers may find that they are “out of sight out of mind” when it comes to promotions and attractive assignments. They may even simply be lonely. While cubicle workers can maintain human contact by getting a cup of coffee from the break room, this avenue is not available to the telecommuter. The problems of telecommuting are far greater due to the lack of a close support group and the greater levels of self-sufficiency and independence required of telecommuters.

.

22

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility

2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility Learning Objectives: 1. Identify four different forms of organizational justice and the organizational impact of each.

2. Describe strategies that can be used to promote organizational justice.

3. Explain what is meant by ethical behavior and describe its relation to the law.

4. Describe the individual and situational factors responsible for unethical behavior in organizations and methods for minimizing such behavior.

5. Explain ways of behaving ethically when conducting business internationally.

6. Explain what is meant by corporate social responsibility, describe the forms it takes, and characterize the relationship between responsible behavior and financial profitability.

Chapter Overview This chapter explores organizational justice and ethics. These two concepts are still problematic in the workplace and are rarely straightforwardly addressed. The chapter also seeks to understand why unethical behavior occurs, and will offer suggestions on how to curtail such behavior. The chapter ends with discussion of corporate social responsibility and the ways in which it can be encouraged.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: A Huge Day’s Pay for a Seriously Bad Day’s Work A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. What does “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s wages” mean to you?

2. What are your thoughts about unknowing investors purchasing “mortgage backed securities”? Do you consider that the risk of investing?

3. In your experience, how have ethical obstacles in the workplace affected organizations?

II. ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE: FAIRNESS MATTERS .

23

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations A. Organizational Justice. The study of people’s perceptions of fairness in organizations. There are three key concerns regarding organizational justice: the major forms of organizational justice, the relationships among these forms, and suggestions for promoting just organizations.

B. Forms of Organizational Justice and Their Effects.

There are four interrelated forms of organizational justice.

Figure 2.1

1. Distributive justice. This form of organizational justice focuses on people’s beliefs that they have received fair amounts of valued work-related outcomes such as pay, recognition, and advancement. Distributive justice focuses on the employees’ perceptions of getting a fair allocation of an organization’s resources based on their performance. a. Effects of Injustice. People experiencing injustice feel high levels of stress, are dissatisfied with their jobs and company, and may have lower motivation.

All of which result in lower productivity.

2. Procedural Justice. This type of justice deals with people’s perceptions of the fairness of the procedures used to determine the outcomes they receive. It is processes-focused rather than outcome-based. a. Effects of Injustice. People who feel that a process is unfair will tend to reject or ignore the rules associated with that process. b. Procedural Justice Criteria. The five major criteria for determining the fairness or unfairness of a procedure are: Table 2.1

1) Whether or not workers have been given a voice in the decision-making process 2) The consistency of applying rules 3) The accuracy of the information 4) The opportunity to be heard in cases of redress 5) The safeguards in place to guard against bias 3. Interpersonal Justice. Interpersonal justice deals with people’s perceptions of the fairness of the manner in .

24

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility which they have been treated by others (especially by authority figures). This form of justice is focused on sensitivity and respect. a. Effects of Injustice. People who feel that they have been treated disrespectfully or with a lack of sensitivity are likely to take legal action as a means of redress.

4. Informational Justice. The final form of justice revolves around people’s perceptions of the fairness of the information used as the basis for making a decision. The basis of this type of justice is that the sharing of information prompts feelings of being valued by others in an organization. This is known as the group-value explanation of organizational justice. a. Effects of Injustice. When people are affected by a decision but are not given the rationale behind it, they tend to reject that decision.

C. A Neurological Basis for Responses to Injustice.

Typically, OB scientists focus only on people’s perceptions and their behaviors, especially when it comes to organizational justice. Interestingly, however, a recent study found that people’s reactions to distributive injustice and procedural injustice manifest themselves as different reactions inside people’s brains.

Figure 2.3

a. The brains of people experiencing distributive injustice would show signs of activation in regions known to be associated with emotion. As summarized in Figure 2.3, this is precisely what they found.

III. STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE A. Organizational Justice Is Its Own Reward. By being perceived as a “fair dealer,” firms can reduce the negative effects of unfairness (inefficiency, theft, poor quality, legal actions) while reaping the positive benefits of a fair workplace.

B. Justice Promoting Methods.

1. Pay Workers What They Deserve. Paying prevailing wage rates and sharing this information with employees .

25

Table 2.1

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations is a good way to promote justice and increase the likelihood of hiring and retaining the best candidates.

2. Offer Workers a Voice. Conducting regular meetings with employees to hear what they have to say regarding a decision can not only can provide a better-quality decision, but increase overall feelings of fairness. a. This method uses the fair process effect (the tendency for people to better accept outcomes into which they have had some input than those in which they have had no such involvement in the decisionmaking process) to increase perceived distributive and procedural justice.

Figure 2.4

b. Other Possible Methods: 1) Meet regularly and invite input 2) Conduct employee surveys 3) Keep an “open door policy” (meaning a manager is always willing to speak to employees about issues that concern them) 4) Use formal suggestion systems and provide rewards for helpful suggestions 3. Explain Decisions Thoroughly in a Manner Demonstrating Dignity and Respect. Fairness demands giving the employees lots of information about how decisions were made and explaining those decisions in a manner that demonstrates dignity and respect for them.

This is the embodiment of the additive relationship between interpersonal justice and informational justice discussed earlier. Train Workers to Be Fair. While the title of this method is to train the workers to be fair, it is important to first train managers to exhibit fair behaviors. Managers trained in organizational justice tend to be more effective and have workers that are more productive.

4. The Additive Relationship between Interpersonal Justice and Informational Justice. When people are treated respectfully (interpersonal justice) and have the rationales behind decisions explained to them (informational justice), the positive effect on perceived fairness is additive. That is, both forms of justice used .

26

Figure 2.5

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility together will increase the perceived fairness more than either one would when used by itself. a. A Practical Example. This additive relationship was demonstrated through research by one of the authors. Nurses, who were under stress, had less instances of insomnia when treated with interpersonal and informational justice than those who did not.

Figure 2.6

b. Managerial Implications. While managers may not have control over distributive injustices, the negative reactions and stress levels of employees can be significantly reduced by treating employees with sensitivity and concern (interpersonal justice) and by explaining the rationale behind the decision (informational justice).

IV. ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS: ITS FUNDAMENTAL NATURE A. What Do We Mean by Ethics?

1. Business Ethics is the study of people’s tendencies to behave in morally appropriate ways in organizations.

Figure 2.7

2. Morals (or moral values) are people’s fundamental beliefs regarding what is right or wrong, good or bad.

These values are often derived from religious backgrounds, beliefs, and training. While there are some generally accepted moral standards, people’s moral values often differ.

3. Ethics refer to standards of conduct that guide people’s decisions and behavior. If morals determine what an individual generally should or should not do, ethics provides specific guidance on what behaviors are acceptable or not. Where morals are based in religious precepts, ethics are based in socially accepted standards of conduct.

4. Organizational Responsibility. Organizations should not attempt to teach morals (in fact, that may cause legal action), but they do have the responsibility to set and maintain proper and clear standards of behavior.

B. The Epidemic of Ethical Scandals. While recent newspaper articles and headlines might indicate a dramatic .

27

Figure 2.8

Table 2.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations upsurge of ethical problems in business, this is not the case.

There have always been instances of ethical misbehavior in business. It is simply that the public has become more aware of, and less accepting of, unethical behavior in business. This has made businesses more sensitive of ethical issues and has caused them to raise ethical standards.

V. WHY DOES ETHICAL BEHAVIOR MATTER IN ORGANIZATIONS? A. Ethics and the Bottom Line.

1. Profitability. While ethics may not directly lead to profitability, lack of ethics may lead to failure. Should unethical practices or behaviors be made public, consumers are highly likely to abandon the organization.

Figure 2.10 Figure 2.11 Figure 2.12

2. See sidebar on page 57 to start an in-class discussion of ethics.

B. Ethics and the Law. Obeying the law is not the same as following ethical standards. The law may be considered the minimum acceptable standard to which companies and workers must adhere. Actions may be legal, but unethical.

1. Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations (Federal Sentencing Guidelines). This law, with its focus of holding corporate boards accountable for the actions of organizations they oversee, has led organizations to be more proactive in clearly outlining ethical standards of behavior. Some steps taken to promote ethics include: a. Dissemination. Organizations create widely disseminate clear standards for following the law. b. Ethics Officers. High-ranking official positions that are created to oversee adherence to legal and ethical practices. c. Monitoring. Organizations must closely monitor and audit behavior to be able to detect unethical acts. d. Discipline. Organizations must create and follow a clear policy for disciplining rule violators.

.

28

Sidebar: Using Ethics Audits to Monitor the Bottom Line

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility 2. Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This federal law, which focuses on accounting practices, has caused firms to change the way they account for their business as well as audit their business practices. Two key areas for Sarbanes-Oxley policy changes are: a. Gratuities. Policies must be enacted to delimit the amount and means of accepting entertainment and gifts by the employees. b. Accounting Documentation and Audits. Companies must raise standards for accurate documentation of company performance and for the evaluation of that documentation by neutral parties.

VI.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE BEHAVE UNETHICALLY— AT LEAST, SOMETIMES? The short answer is; it depends. The two key factors appear to be differences in the individual and in the situation.

A. Individual Differences in Cognitive Moral Development.

1.

Cognitive Moral Development. The developmental stage at which a person currently resides. The stages highlight the differences between people and their capacity to engage in the kind of reasoning that enables moral judgments.

2. Kohlberg’s Theory of Cognitive Moral Development.

This theory of moral development is tied to physical and mental development of people as they mature. In this theory, there are three levels of development: a. Preconventional Level of Moral Reasoning. People at this level do not have the capacity to assume the perspective of others. The only viewpoint they can hold is their own. Appeals to social obligations are ineffective. This level encompasses most children and about a third of all adults. b. Conventional Level of Moral Reasoning. At this level, people can judge right and wrong in terms of what is good for others around them, as well as for society as a whole. Behavior is governed by what is expected of these people by others and by social cues in the environment. Approximately two-thirds of all adults reside at this stage. . 29

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations c. Postconventional Level of Moral Reasoning. At this level, people judge what is right and wrong based on complex philosophical principles of duty, justice, and rights. Very few people ever attain this level, and those that do follow their own moral compass.

3. Behavior and Cognitive Moral Development Level.

Generally, people at higher levels are less inclined to harm others, less likely to misreport information, and less likely to steal from their employers.

B. Situational Determinants of Unethical Behavior. There are three main situational factors that affect ethical behavior: 1. Some Organizational Norms Discourage Ethical Behavior. Social pressure, pay, reward, and advancement systems all may lead to unethical behavior. a. Stonewalling. This unethical norm is the practice of willingly hiding relevant information by being secretive and deceitful, which occurs when organizations punish individuals who are open and honest and reward those who go along with unethical behavior. b. Counternorms. These behavioral norms in the organization are in opposition to the prevailing ethical standards of the society.

2. Managerial Values Sometimes Discourage Ethical Behavior. Given the amount of power and influence that managers hold over subordinates, the style of thinking that managers possess can be reflected in the employees.

Some of this traditional thinking may lead to unethical behavior. a. Bottom-Line Mentality. The belief that an organization’s financial success is the only thing that matters (the ends justify the means). b. Exploitative Mentality. The belief that one’s own immediate interests are more important than concern for others (“it’s all about me”). c. Madison Avenue Mentality. When this happens people are more concerned about how things appear to others than how they really are. The appearance .

30

Figure 2.10

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility of doing the right thing matters more than actually doing it (impression management).

3. Subordinates Emulate Their Managers’ Unethical Behavior. Employees will reflect the behavior of their managers. When managers behave unethically, it “green lights” similar behavior by their employees.

VII.

USING CORPORATE ETHICS PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

A. Components of Corporate Ethics Programs. These programs are formal, systematic efforts designed to promote ethics by making people sensitive to potentially unethical behavior and discouraging them from engaging in unethical acts.

1. Code of Ethics. This is a document describing what an organization stands for. It provides the general rules of conduct expected of employees. This document can be very specific or general and typically applies to all members of the organization. Three areas are commonly addressed by a code of ethics: a. Responsibilities of the employees b. Relationships with people c. Prohibitions against inappropriate behavior 2. Ethics Training. Providing training on ethics increases the effectiveness of codes of ethics. This training can be provided in any way that makes sense to the organization and its employees.

3. Bodies Formally Responsible for Ethics. Some organizations create ethics committees; groups of seniorlevel managers from various areas of an organization who assist the organization’s CEO in making ethical decisions by developing and evaluating company-wide ethics policies. Others may assign this task to a single high-ranking officer referred to as an ethics officer.

4. A Mechanism for Communicating Ethical Standards. In order to be effective, ethical standards must be articulated, repeated, and reinforced frequently. This can be done through newsletters, meetings, or the creation of ethics hotlines (or help lines) that provide ethical .

31

Figure 2.11

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations guidance to employees. (See “Case in Point” on page 84 for relevant examples.)

5. Ethics Audits. This is the practice of assessing an organization’s ethical practices by actively investigating and documenting instances of dubious ethical value, discussing them in an open and honest fashion, and developing a concrete plan to avoid such actions in the future.

B. How Effective Are Corporate Ethics Programs? While codes of ethics by themselves are relatively ineffective, an integrated program that includes a code of ethics with the additional components mentioned previously can be quite effective.

1. Outcomes of Effective Ethics Programs a. Individual. Employees are more likely to report misconduct, are more accountable for their actions, and face less pressure to conform. b. Organizational. Ethics programs may also reduce employee theft.

2. Additional Factor. The effectiveness of corporate ethics programs is often mitigated by the cognitive moral development level of the employees involved.

VIII.

ETHICS IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA

A. The Dilemma. What is considered ethical in one country may be highly unethical in another. In this age of increasing global interaction, acting ethically becomes difficult. There are, however, some guidelines to help.

B. International Ethical Background: Ethical Relativism and Ethical Imperialism. These are two extreme positions on the continuum of possible reactions to ethical problems raised with international business.

1. Ethical Relativism. Nothing is sacred. This is the belief that no culture’s ethics are better than is any other’s and that there are no internationally acceptable standards of right or wrong. In this case, anything is justifiable ethically, so long as the country in which the person is working accepts that behavior. Such a viewpoint may

.

32

Figure 2.13

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility cause people to act in ways that conflict with their own sense of morality.

2. Ethical Imperialism. What is different may be wrong. At the other end of the spectrum is the belief that the ethical standards of one’s own country should be imposed upon other countries when doing business there. Like other ethnocentric ideas, ethical imperialism does have difficulties in the real world. Businesspeople in other cultures may not be willing to forgo their own beliefs in order to avoid offending American sensibilities.

C. Three Guiding Principles of Global Ethics. The guiding principles of global ethics reside in the midpoint between these two extreme views.

1. Show Respect for Core Human Values. This principle deals with the minimum ethical standards that organizations should follow regarding core human values. These moral values include the right to safe working conditions, the right to be free, and the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Not all cultures accept these minimum standards. However, MNEs should take the lead in showing the proper way of treating employees by avoiding the use of sweatshops or suppliers that utilize them.

2. Demonstrate Sensitivity to Local Traditions. This guideline allows businesspeople to follow local traditions, so long as those values do not violate core human values. This acceptance of cultural norms is not the same as moral relativism: the moral standards of the host country are still assessed against core human values; they are not accepted blindly.

3. Recognize That Context Matters when Distinguishing Between Right and Wrong. Location is often the key to determining the ethical validity of an action. So long as the behavior is not seen locally as being wrong, and it does not violate core human values, it may be the right action to take, even if that action would be considered wrong in the businessperson’s home country.

D. Moral Ambiguity. Even with the proceeding guidelines, it should be obvious that businesspeople working with other cultures and countries must deal with situations that are full of ambiguity and tension. . 33

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

IX. BEYOND ETHICS: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY A. What Is Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) comprises the business practices that adhere to ethical values that comply with legal requirements but demonstrate respect for individuals, and that promote the betterment of the community at large and the environment.

1. The Four Types of Social Responsibility. These types can be formed to create a “pyramid” of CSR. a. Economic/Financial Responsibilities. These are the mandatory responsibilities a business has to its stockholders to make a profit. b. Legal Responsibilities. Businesses have the mandatory responsibility to follow the laws of the society in which they operate. c. Ethical Responsibilities. Businesses have the responsibility to do what is right and good for everyone. d. Philanthropic Responsibilities. Businesses should be responsible and contribute in a way to help the society at large.

.

34

Figure 2.14 Figure 2.14

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility B. Forms of Socially Responsible Behavior. Some of the means of demonstrating CSR are: 1. Helping the community by making charitable contributions

Table 2.3

2. Preserving the environment 3. Socially responsible investing 4. Promoting the welfare of employees.

C. Profitability and Social Responsibility: The Virtuous Circle. In general, firms that are more socially responsible tend to be more profitable. This is not to say that CSR is a strategy to create profitability, but rather that society rewards those firms that act ethically.

1. The Virtuous Circle. This concept suggests socially responsible companies perform well financially because they are supported by customers and investors. Because they have become wealthier, it is even easier for firms to be more philanthropic. This then draws even greater numbers of consumers and investors in an ongoing and upward-spiraling circle.

X. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES (These answers are available to students in the text.)

1. Identify four different forms of organizational justice and the organizational impact of each.

Organizational justice, people’s perceptions of fairness in organizations, takes four distinct forms. Distributive justice refers to the perceived fairness of rewards (e.g., pay) received. People who feel they have received fair amounts of reward feel satisfied with their jobs.

Procedural justice refers to people’s perceptions of the fairness of the procedures used to determine the outcomes they receive. When high levels of procedural justice are perceived, people are inclined to follow organizational rules and policies. Interpersonal justice refers to the fairness of interpersonal treatment by others. High levels of interpersonal justice are related to high levels of satisfaction with one’s supervisor.

Finally, informational justice refers to people’s perceptions of the fairness of the information used as the basis for making a decision. People tend to be .

35

Figure 2.16

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations highly valued by organizations in which they perceive high levels of informational justice.

2. Describe strategies that can be used to promote organizational justice.

Promoting organizational justice can be done in several ways. First, it is important to pay workers what they deserve—the “going rate” for the work done wherever they work. Underpaying workers promotes dissatisfaction, leading to turnover. Second, workers should be given a voice—that is, some input into decisions. This may involve such strategies as holding regular meetings, conducting employee surveys, keeping an “open door policy,” and using suggestion systems. Third, follow openly fair procedures.

Specifically, promote procedural fairness, such as by using unbiased, accurate information and applying decision rules consistently. Managers also should openly describe the fair procedures they are using.

Fourth, managers should explain decisions thoroughly in a manner demonstrating dignity and respect. Fifth, workers should be trained to be fair, such as by adhering to the principles described in this chapter.

3. Explain what is meant by ethical behavior and why organizations should be concerned about ethics.

Whereas moral values are people’s fundamental beliefs regarding what is right and wrong, ethics refers to standards of conduct that guide people’s decisions and behavior. Organizations are concerned about promoting ethical behavior in organizations. Behaving ethically is highly desirable for two important reasons.

First, good ethics is good business. In various ways, organizations in which ethical behavior prevails tend to be more successful than are those marked by low levels of ethics. Second, behaving ethically is consistent with many legal requirements—most notably, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

.

36

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility 4. Describe the individual and situational factors responsible for unethical behavior in organizations and methods for minimizing such behavior.

People behave ethically or unethically due to a combination of individual and situational factors. A key individual factor is the individual’s level of cognitive moral development. According to Kohlberg’s theory of cognitive level of moral development, over time people develop the capacity to make moral judgments. The more highly developed this capacity, the more likely people are to engage in ethical behavior. However, situational factors also dictate behavior. For example, some organizational norms (e.g., stonewalling) discourage ethical behavior, managerial values sometimes discourage ethical behavior, and subordinates emulate their manager’s unethical acts. Unethical behavior may be minimized by corporate ethics programs that use codes of ethics, use ethics training, have bodies formally responsible for ethics, have a mechanism for communicating ethical standards, and use ethics audits.

5. Explain ways of behaving ethically when conducting business internationally.

Behaving ethically when conducting international business is challenging because of the different ethical norms that apply in different cultures. Managers should resist the temptation to engage in ethical relativism by blindly adopting whatever ethical norms prevail in a certain country and ethical imperialism by insisting on applying their own country’s ethical standards wherever they do business. Instead, it is preferable to adopt a stance between these two extremes. This involves following these guiding principles of global ethics: (1) show respect for core human values, (2) demonstrate sensitivity to local traditions, and (3) recognize that context matters when distinguishing between right and wrong.

.

37

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 6. Explain what is meant by corporate social responsibility, the forms it takes, and the nature of the relationship between responsible behavior and financial profitability.

Corporate social responsibility refers to business practices that adhere to ethical values, that comply with legal requirements, and that promote the betterment of individuals and the community at large. Its most popular forms include making charitable contributions to the community, preserving the environment, investing in a socially responsible manner, and promoting the welfare of employees. Generally, research shows that socially responsible companies tend to be more profitable than companies that are less socially responsible. This reflects the virtuous circle, the tendency for successful companies to be socially responsible because they can afford to do so, which in turn, helps their chances of being even more financially successful.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What is organizational justice, and how are its four different types different from one another?

Organizational justice is the study of people’s perceptions of fairness in organizations.

There are four interrelated forms of organizational justice: (1) Distributive Justice. This form of organizational justice focuses on people’s beliefs that they have received fair amounts of valued workrelated outcomes such as pay, recognition, and advancement. Distributive justice focuses on the employees’ perceptions of getting a fair allocation an of organization’s resources based on their performance.

(2) Procedural Justice. This type of justice deals with people’s perceptions of the fairness of the procedures used to determine the outcomes they receive. It is processes-focused rather than outcome-based.

(3) Interpersonal Justice. Interpersonal justice deals with people’s perceptions of the fairness of the manner in which they have been treated by others (especially by authority figures). This form of justice is focused on sensitivity and respect.

(4) Informational Justice. The final form of justice revolves around people’s perceptions of the fairness of the information used as the basis . 38

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility for making a decision. The basis of this type of justice is that the sharing of information prompts feelings of being valued by others in an organization. This is known as the group-value explanation of organizational justice.

2. What specific things can managers do to help promote perceptions of fairness in their organizations?

(1) Pay Workers What They Deserve. Paying prevailing wage rates and sharing this information with employees is a good way to promote justice and increase the likelihood of hiring and retaining the best candidates.

(2) Offer Workers a Voice. Conducting regular meetings with employees to hear what they have to say regarding a decision cannot only provide a better-quality decision, it can increase the overall feelings of fairness. This would include meeting regularly and inviting input from workers, conducting employee surveys, keeping an “open door policy,” and using formal suggestion systems with rewards.

(3) Openly Follow Fair Procedures. It is important for managers to be consistent, unbiased, and accurate in their treatment of employees and have that fact known throughout the organization. Managers should openly accept additional information and be willing to change their minds in the face of new data. This is especially true in sensitive procedures such as annual performance evaluations.

(4) Explain Decisions Thoroughly in a Manner Demonstrating Dignity and Respect. Fairness demands giving the employees lots of information about how decisions were made and explaining those decisions in a manner that demonstrates dignity and respect for them. This is the embodiment of the additive relationship between interpersonal justice and informational justice discussed earlier.

(5) Train Workers to Be Fair. It is important to first train managers to exhibit fair behaviors. Managers trained in organizational justice tend to be more effective and have workers that are more productive.

3. What is the difference between ethics and moral values, and why should managers be concerned about promoting ethical behavior?

Morals (or moral values) are people’s fundamental beliefs regarding what is right or wrong, good or bad. These values are often derived from religious backgrounds, beliefs, and training. While there are some generally accepted moral standards, people’s moral values often differ.

Ethics refers to standards of conduct that guide people’s decisions and behavior. If morals determine what an individual generally should or should not do, ethics provides specific guidance on what behaviors are acceptable or not. Where morals are based in religious precepts, ethics are based in socially accepted standards of conduct. Businesspeople should be interested in ethics in their organizations because it may lead to greater profitability. While ethics may not directly lead to profitability, . 39

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations lack of ethics may lead to failure. Should unethical practices or behaviors be made public, consumers are highly likely to abandon the organization.

Additionally, acting ethically can prevent the organization from getting in trouble with federal law.

4. What special ethical challenges are created by doing business internationally?

The ethical dilemma in international business is that what is considered ethical in one country may be highly unethical in another. In this age of increasing global interaction, acting ethically becomes difficult. Between ethical relativism and ethical imperialism there are three guidelines that may help managers make better ethical decisions internationally. These are: showing respect for core human values, demonstrating sensitivity to local traditions, and recognizing the context matters when distinguishing between right and wrong. This still may leave international businesspeople with a sense of moral ambiguity, which can create tension.

5. What are the components of an ethics program, and how effective are such programs at promoting ethical behavior?

The components of corporate ethical programs are: (1) a code of ethics, (2) ethics training, (3) bodies formally responsible for ethics in the organization, (4) a mechanism for communicating ethical standards, and (5) ethical audits.

Corporate ethical programs vary in their effectiveness based on the components that exist. While codes of ethics by themselves are relatively ineffective, an integrated program that includes a code of ethics with the additional components mentioned previously can be quite effective. The effectiveness of corporate ethics programs may often be mitigated by the cognitive moral development level of the employees involved.

6. What is meant by corporate social responsibility, and why should organizations be concerned about being socially responsible?

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) comprises the business practices that adhere to ethical values that comply with legal requirements but demonstrate respect for individuals and that promote the betterment of the community at large and the environment. There are four types of corporate social responsibility: economic/financial responsibilities, legal responsibilities, ethical responsibilities, and philanthropic responsibilities.

These types can be formed to create a “pyramid” of CSR. The concept of the virtuous circle indicates that, in general, firms that are more socially responsible tend to be more profitable. This is not to say that CSR is a strategy to create profitability, but rather that society rewards those firms that act ethically.

. 40

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility Experiential Questions 1. Think about a time in which you were a victim of organizational injustice.

What specific types of justice were violated? How did you feel, and how did you react? What could have been done to avoid these injustices?

Answers will vary based on each student’s experience, but at least one of the four types of justice (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and/or informational) should be specifically mentioned and described accurately.

Suggestions to avoid the injustices should make sense based on the type of justice identified and be keyed to the justice-promoting methods listed in the text.

2. What do you believe are the major ethical challenges faced by the employees of the company in which you work? What might be done to make people in your company behave more ethically?

Answers will vary, but in general, the following suggestions should be made. Employees’ ethical behaviors may be increased by identifying and modifying any organizational counternorms. Because managerial values and behaviors are often reflected in the behaviors of the employees, ensure that managers are acting ethically and rewarding employees for the appropriate behaviors.

3. How socially responsible is the company in which you work? What particular things does it do to enhance the community, the lives of its employees, or the environment? What else might it do to be more socially responsible?

Four general areas of CSR that a company could use include helping the community by making charitable contributions, acting to preserve the environment, investing resources in a socially responsible manner, and promoting the welfare of employees. While student answers will vary, these are the general categories in which their suggestions should appear.

Questions to Analyze 1. The people in a company believe that they are being unfairly treated. What forms might this take? Why is this problematic? What can be done to overcome this situation?

People experience distributive injustice when they do not believe they are getting a fair allocation of an organization’s resources based on their performance. These workers will feel high levels of stress, will be dissatisfied with their jobs and company, and may have lower motivation.

All of which results in lower productivity. Procedural injustices occur when the procedures themselves are perceived as being unfair. Workers will tend to reject or ignore the rules associated with that process.

Interpersonal injustices occur when people feel they have not been treated . 41

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations by authority figures with sensitivity and respect. These workers tend to take legal actions to seek redress. Informational injustice occurs when people feel that they have not shared in the decision-making process or do not receive sufficient information regarding it. People who experience this unfairness tend to reject the decision. This is important to managers because the reaction to such unfairness makes the organization less efficient and managers less effective because their time is spent with interpersonal conflicts rather than focusing on organizational tasks.

To overcome this situation, managers must prevent the situation from happening in the first place. If they cannot prevent some forms of injustice (such as distributive justice caused by poor policies), managers can mitigate some of the feelings of unfairness through concern and sensitivity (interpersonal justice) and by explaining the rationale behind unpopular decisions (informational justice).

2. The people in your company are behaving unethically, making you feel uncomfortable. What might be responsible for this situation, and what might be done to overcome it?

Your company may have developed counternorms and the managers in your company may be exhibiting values and behaviors (such as bottomline mentalities), which may encourage unethical behavior. Assuming the organization had an ethics program, you might report the unethical behavior to those bodies formally responsible for ethics such as an ethics officer or ethics committee. There may be an ethics hotline or anonymous drop box that you could use to report the behaviors.

3. A company desires to become more socially responsible. What particular things might it do to achieve this objective, and what benefits might be expected to result from these actions?

Some of the means of demonstrating CSR are: (1) helping the community by making charitable contributions, (2) preserving the environment, (3) investing in a socially responsible manner, and (4) promoting the welfare of employees. In general, firms that are more socially responsible tend to be more profitable. This is not to say that CSR should be used as a strategy for profitability, but rather that society rewards those firms that act ethically.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Assessing Organizational Justice Where You Work 1. With respect to what particular type of fairness did you score highest?

What specific experiences contributed to this assessment?

Answers will vary, but the experiences should be keyed to the type of justice identified. . 42

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility 2. With respect to what particular type of fairness did you score lowest?

What specific experiences contributed to this assessment?

Answers will vary, but the experiences should be keyed to the type of justice identified.

3. What kinds of problems resulted from any violations of any type of organizational justice you may have experienced? What could have been done to avoid these violations?

These answers may vary based on student experience. In general, the key to avoiding ethical violations lies in the norms of the organization as well as the behaviors and values exhibited by management. Had managers acted ethically, it is unlikely the workers would have acted unethically.

Group Exercise: Taking Credit for Another Person’s Ideas: Analyzing an Ethical Dilemma 1. Did the members of your group generally agree or disagree about what they would do in the situation described? What new viewpoints, if any, did you learn from others in your group?

These reports will vary depending on the group.

2. Did the members of your group generally agree or disagree about what they thought was the right thing to do? What were the major points of agreement and disagreement?

The focus of this answer should be based on the types of justice. The theft of ideas can be considered infraction of distributive justice, if the thief is rewarded for his lies. Because the story does not indicate whether this person has been rewarded, this type of theft should be considered primarily as an infraction of interpersonal justice as the team members are being treated unfairly by someone in a leadership position over them.

The points of agreement and disagreement will vary.

3. Have you or members of your group ever been in similar situations? If so, how were they handled? From your own experiences and the experiences of others, what did you learn about handling an ethical dilemma of this nature?

Answers will vary based on experience. Potential answers include using formal reporting procedures for ethical infractions, directly confronting the leader, ignoring the behavior, or telling the other workers about it.

.

43

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Answers to Case in Point Questions Exelon Excels at Managing Ethics 1. What legal and ethical actions might Dunn have taken to prevent further leaks of sensitive information?

2. Of the four things that HP was required to do, which one do you believe will be most effective in avoiding future unethical behavior in the company? Why? 3. What aspects of the business environment might have put subtle pressures on Dunn to respond as she did?

Answers will vary based on the student’s experience and organization.

.

44

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment

3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment Learning Objectives: 1. Distinguish between the concepts of social perception and social identity.

2. Explain how the attribution process works, and describe the various sources of bias in social perception.

3. Understand how the process of social perception operates in the context of performance appraisals and employment interviews.

4. Define learning and describe the two types most applicable to OB: operant conditioning and observational learning.

5. Describe how principles of learning are involved in organizational training and innovative reward systems.

6. Compare the way organizations use reward in organizational behavior management programs and how they can use punishment most effectively when administering discipline.

Chapter Overview This chapter focuses on social perceptions and learning. The attribution process and the ways in which people make correspondent inferences to judge the behavior of others is a critical component of the chapter. Kelly’s Theory of Causal Attribution is discussed, as are the various perceptual biases most often found in organizations. This leads to a discussion on the reasons for, and dangers of, stereotyping. Impression management is described as well as its effects on performance appraisals and corporate images.

The chapter then focuses on learning through two key methods: operant conditioning and observational learning. The various contingencies and schedules of reinforcement of operant conditioning are discussed in depth, as are the modeling requirements for observational learning. The chapter ends with a discussion of the various methods for organizational training and discipline.

.

45

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: A “Taylor Made” Enterprise A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. Do you think that the salary plus a percentage of profit pay plan is motivational?

2. What are the advantages of selecting and training managers from employees inside the company? Is this style of learning important for corporate success?

3. Is “putting people first” a means for Enterprise to modify social perception? How? II. SOCIAL PERCEPTION AND SOCIAL IDENTITY: UNDERSTANDING OTHERS AND OURSELVES A. Social Perception: What Are Others Like? Social perception encompasses the ways we learn about others around us. This is often accomplished by attribution.

Figure 3.1

1. Social Perception. The process of combining, integrating, and interpreting information about others to gain an accurate understanding of them.

2. Attribution. Process through which individuals attempt to determine the causes behind others’ behavior.

B. Social Identity: Who Are You? Social identity is how we choose to learn about and define ourselves.

1. Personal Identity. The characteristics that define a particular individual (physical and mental attributes).

2. Social Identity. Defining a person in terms of his or her membership in various social groups (nationality, profession, organization, religion, family, or class).

3. Social Identity Theory. The view that people perceive others and themselves based on both their unique characteristics (personal identity) and their membership in various groups (social identity). Social Identity Theory indicates:

.

46

Figure 3.2

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment a. Identification. People tend to identify themselves based on their individual uniqueness in a group setting. b. Positive Reference Groups. When choosing which groups to identify with, people will choose those groups perceived to be most positive by those around them. c. Perceiving Others. When people compare themselves to others, they: 1) Focus on the differences between themselves and other individuals as well as between them and the members of other groups.

2) May falsely assume that other groups share qualities that make those groups different from the observers.

3) Perceive differences negatively, especially when those doing the observing are in competition with the observed group. d. Such inaccuracies and false categorizations simplify complex judgments at the cost of validity.

III. THE ATTRIBUTION PROCESS: JUDGING THE CAUSES OF OTHERS’ BEHAVIOR A. Purpose. The attribution process tries to determine two things. First, what traits and characteristics an individual possesses (dispositions), and second, what accounts for his or her actions (causality).

B. Making Correspondent Inferences: Using Acts to Judge Dispositions. Correspondent inferences are judgments about people’s dispositions (their traits and characteristics), based on what has been observed about their actions.

1. Challenges in Judging Others Accurately. There are many potential causes of observed behavior. Assuming the incorrect cause can lead to inferential error.

Additionally, unknown external factors may influence the behavior leading to inaccurate judgments. Finally, people tend to conceal negative traits leading to further error.

.

47

Figure 3.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Making Accurate Inferences About Others. There are several techniques to use to make more accurate correspondent inferences. a. Natural Observation. Observe people in situations where there is no given behavior that is clearly expected of them. You see them in their “natural setting” (as opposed to more socially contrived environments), which may reveal more telling behaviors. b. Situations with a Single Plausible Explanation.

Observing individuals in situations where there is only one possible reason for their actions increases the accuracy of inferences.

C. Causal Attribution of Responsibility: Answering the Question “Why?” 1. Causes. There are two major classes of explanations for the cause of someone’s behavior: a. Internal Causes. These are under the control of the individual. The individual is responsible for his or her behavior. b. External Causes. These are situational and outside the control of the individual. The individual is not directly responsible for the behavior.

2. Kelley’s Theory of Causal Attribution. This approach suggests that people can more accurately judge whether another person’s actions were caused by internal or external factors by using three types of information: a. Consensus. The extent to which other people would behave in the same manner as the person being judged. If in a given situation most people would react similarly to the person being observed, consensus is high. If the observed person’s actions are different from what most people would do, then consensus is low. b. Consistency. The extent to which the person being observed acts the same way at other times. If the person does, consistency is high; if not, it is low.

.

48

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment c. Distinctiveness. The extent to which the observed person behaves in the same manner in other contexts. If the behavior is the same in other situations, distinctiveness is low; if the behavior is different, it is high. d. Using the Three Indicators to Determine Causality.

When all three indicators are high, the cause for the behavior is likely to be external. When all three indicators are low, there is more than likely an internal cause for the behavior.

3. An Example. Because this model is somewhat abstract, the text provides a detailed example.

Figure 3.4

IV. PERCEPTUAL BIASES: SYSTEMATIC ERRORS IN PERCEIVING OTHERS A. Perceptual Biases. The predisposition that people have to misperceive others in various ways. These biases color perceptions, can lead to incorrect attributions of behavior, and therefore cause inaccurate judgments of people. Some of the major types of perceptual biases include: 1. The Fundamental Attribution Error. This is the tendency to attribute others’ actions to internal causes (such as, their traits), while largely ignoring external factors that may also have influenced behavior. People are prone to focus on internal causes of action: we blame the person, not the situation.

2. The Halo Effect: Keeping Perceptions Consistent. The tendency for overall impressions of others to affect the subjective evaluations of their specific traits; perceiving high correlations between characteristics that may be unrelated. a. Halos. Once a strong positive impression is formed of a person, everything that person does is viewed favorably despite any evidence to the contrary. b. Horns. This effect may also happen in reverse. A strong negative impression may adversely color all of the person’s actions (known as the “horns effect”). c. Performance Evaluations. The halo effect is especially dangerous in performance evaluations .

49

Figure 3.5

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations where one strong trait can cause all of the observed traits to be marked similarly. d. Team Halo Effect. The halo effect applies to both individuals and teams. Teams tend to be credited for their successes, but not held accountable for failures. When teams fail, that failure is normally attributed to individuals within the team rather than the team itself.

Figure 3.6

3. The Similar-to-Me Effect: “If You Are Like Me, You Must Be Pretty Good.” This is the tendency for people who perceive individuals who appear to be similar to them in a positive light. Again, this often appears in performance appraisals where the workers who are similar to the supervisor tend to get higher ratings. This bias may be due to the fact that people find it easier to empathize and relate to others who are similar to themselves.

4. Selective Perception: Focusing on Some Things While Ignoring Others. This is the tendency for people to focus on some aspects of the environment while ignoring others. The result of this bias is that the impact of some stimuli is heightened while other stimuli may be ignored.

5. First-Impression Error: Confirming One’s Own Expectations. This bias is the tendency to base current judgments of others on earlier impressions made of them, often ignoring any change in performance.

6. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies. This is the tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that person to behave in a manner consistent with those expectations. a. The Pygmalion Effect. A positive instance of the self-fulfilling prophecy, in which people holding high expectations of another tend to improve an individual’s performance.

1) Pygmalion is the name of a George Bernard Shaw play whose main character, Eliza Doolittle, is transformed from a simple flower girl to a proper lady by Professor Harry Higgins.

The movie My Fair Lady is based on this play. .

50

Figure 3.7 Table 3.1

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment 2) The original concept comes from Greek mythology, where Pygmalion was a king of Cyprus, who carved and then fell in love with an ivory statue of a woman, who was later brought to life in response to the king’s prayers. b. Golem Effect. The negative instance of a self-filling prophecy, in which people holding low expectations of another tend to lower that individual’s performance.

1) The term “golem” comes from Jewish folklore.

It is an animated being artificially created in the image of man entirely from clay and other inanimate matter.

2) The image is associated with stupidity and clumsiness. c. The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Process. There are four basic steps in this process: 1) Managers form expectations of workers.

2) Managers behave consistently with those expectations.

3) Managers’ behavior affects workers.

4) Workers respond to how they were treated by managers. d. Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Implications for Managers.

Because workers will reflect the attitudes taken toward them, managers should expect great things of their people and act accordingly.

V. STEREOTYPING: FITTING PEOPLE INTO CATEGORIES A. Stereotype. A belief that all members of a specific group share similar traits and are prone to behave in the same way.

B. Why Do We Rely on Stereotypes? Stereotyping is another way of reducing complex circumstances and decisions into simple forms. While stereotyping may appear to speed up the decision process, it often leads to counterproductive and false impressions of individuals and situations. .

51

Figure 3.8

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations C. The Dangers of Using Stereotypes in Organizations.

1. Negative Organizational Impact: Inaccurate Information. Decisions are made based on information.

Poor information results in bad decisions. Using stereotypes instead of direct observation is, by definition, poor information. Therefore, using stereotypes in decision making will result in bad decisions.

2. Negative Individual Impact: Stereotype Threats. The stereotype threat is the uncomfortable feeling that people have when they run the risk of fulfilling a negative stereotype associated with the group to which they belong. As a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, these uncomfortable and stressful feelings lead to poor performance, reinforcing the stereotype.

Figure 3.9

3. See the sidebar on page 87 to start an in-class discussion on the means of avoiding stereotyping.

Sidebar:

VI. PERCEIVING OTHERS: ORGANIZATIONAL APPLICATIONS IN THE EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW, EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, AND THE CORPORATE IMAGE

A Creative Approach to Avoiding Stereotyping

A. Employment Interviews: Managing Impressions to Prospective Employers.

1. Impression Management. Efforts made by individuals to improve how they appear to others. These efforts are especially important in situations in which the people to be impressed are prospective employers.

2. Impression management efforts include modifying dress, speech, and the manner used to discuss oneself and one’s accomplishments.

B. Performance Appraisal: Formal Judgments About Job Performance.

1. Performance Appraisal. The process of evaluating employees in various work-related dimensions. These evaluations of job performance can be accomplished on an annual, semiannual, or “as needed” basis.

2. An Inherently Biased Process. Because performance appraisals are done by humans about humans, all of .

52

Figure 3.10

Table 3.2

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment these subjective biases mentioned previously can be brought into play. Even the best managers will have biases that may influence appraisals.

VII.

LEARNING: ADAPTING TO THE WORLD

A. Learning. A relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience. Learning cannot be observed directly. Instead, it must be inferred from relatively permanent changes in behavior. While there are many means to learn, the two methods most likely to occur in organizations are operant conditioning and observational learning.

B. Operant (or Instrumental) Conditioning: Learning through Rewards and Punishments. B. F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning describes a form of learning in which people associate the consequences of their actions with the actions themselves.

1. Law of Effect. Behaviors with desirable consequences are acquired; behaviors with undesirable consequences tend to be eliminated.

2. Operant Conditioning Process. The steps of the operant conditioning process are: (1) becoming aware of the antecedents, (2) exhibiting behavior, and (3) receiving the consequences of that behavior.

Figure 3.13

a. Achieving desirable consequences because of an exhibited behavior will increase the likelihood of that behavior given the same set of antecedents. b. Not achieving desirable consequences, or receiving undesirable consequences, after the exhibition of a behavior will decrease the likelihood of that behavior given the same set of antecedents.

3. Reinforcement Contingencies. These are the various relationships between a person’s behavior and the consequences of that behavior. There are four distinct reinforcement contingencies: a. Positive Reinforcement. Rewards are made contingent upon the performance of a specific desired behavior, increasing the likelihood of that behavior being exhibited.

.

53

Table 3.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations b. Negative Reinforcement (or Avoidance). Removal of undesirable consequences is made contingent upon the performance of a specific desired behavior, increasing the likelihood of that behavior being exhibited. c. Punishment. Providing an undesirable or aversive consequence in response to a specific unwanted behavior, decreasing the likelihood of that behavior being repeated. d. Extinction. Rewards formally given for behavioral performance are no longer provided despite exhibition of the behavior. The behavioral links to the antecedents will weaken and eventually be extinguished due to the lack of performance reward.

C. Observational Learning: Learning by Imitating Others.

1. Observational Learning (or Modeling). The form of learning in which people acquire new behaviors by systematically observing the rewards and punishment given to others. Modeling is a form of vicarious learning in which the learner observes the person who is modeling the behavior to be learned.

2. Steps in the Observational Learning Process. There are four steps in this process: a. Attention. The learner must pay careful attention to the model. The greater the attention, the more effective the learning will be. b. Retention. The learner must be able to remember (or retain) the model’s behavior. c. Behavioral Reproduction. Learners must be capable of performing the actions they are trying to learn. If the learners practice the behaviors they are more likely to remember them correctly. d. Motivation. Learners must be motivated to learn from the model.

.

54

Figure 3.14

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment VIII.

TRAINING: LEARNING AND DEVELOPING JOB SKILLS

A. Training. The process of systematically teaching employees to acquire and improve job-related skills and knowledge.

B. Varieties of Training. Training can take many forms from informal observational learning through the following, more formal methods: 1. Classroom Training. This is the process of teaching people how to do their jobs by explaining various job requirements and how to meet them in a classroom setting. May include some practical job-related experience as part of the training.

2. Apprenticeship Programs. These are formal training programs involving both on-the-job and classroom training usually over a long period, often used for training people in the skilled trades. These programs may be regulated by professional trade associations.

3. Cross-cultural Training (CCT). A systematic way of preparing employees to live and work in other countries successfully. They include training on language, culture, and etiquette.

4. Corporate Universities. Corporate centers devoted to handling a company’s training needs on a full-time basis.

5. Executive Training Programs. These are sessions in which companies systematically attempt to develop their top leaders, in either specific skills or general managerial skills. Often outside experts and consultants are utilized for these types of training programs.

6. E-training. Training based on disseminating information online either through the Internet or over a company’s intranet. These programs tend to be very flexible, relatively efficient, and available at lower cost than traditional classroom training. Development of the materials, however, has proved to be expensive.

C. Principles of Learning: Keys to Effective Training. The use of the set of practices that make training effective.

.

55

Figure 3.15

Table 3.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Participation. This refers to the active involvement in the process of learning. The more active the participation, more effective the learning.

2. Repetition. Repeatedly performing a task increases the speed of learning.

3. Transfer of Training. The degree to which the skills learned during training sessions may be applied to the performance of one’s job. It is a measure of the relevance of the training to the workplace.

4. Feedback. Feedback is the knowledge of the results of one’s behavior. It is critical for people being trained in order for them to be able to gauge their improvement and performance. a. 360° Feedback utilizes multiple sources at a variety of organizational levels to give a more complete picture of performance.

Figure 3.16 Figure 3.16 Table 3.6

b. See sidebar on page 99 to start in-class discussion on 360° feedback.

Sidebar: How to Do It

IX. ORGANIZATIONAL PRACTICES INVOLVING THE USE OF REWARD AND PUNISHMENT A. Organizational Behavior Management (OB Mod). As an outgrowth of operant conditioning, this type of management attempts to align organizational rewards with desired behaviors.

B. Discipline: Eliminating Undesirable Organizational Behaviors.

1. Discipline. The process of systematically administering punishments in order to modify behavior in organizations. In keeping with the punishment reinforcement contingency aspect of operant conditioning, companies administer an unpleasant outcome in response to an undesirable behavior. This should reduce the frequency of the undesirable behavior.

2. Disciplinary Practices in Organizations. The method of administering discipline can vary dramatically in organizations. They can range from very formal

.

56

Figure 3.17

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment systems to highly informal means of dispensing discipline. a. Progressive Discipline. The practice of gradually increasing the severity of punishment for employees who exhibit repeated unacceptable job behavior. b. Publication. The most effective disciplinary programs in organizations tend to make the contingencies of inappropriate behavior clear by publicizing the punishment rules in the company handbook. c. Take Immediate Action. While it may seem easier in the short run for supervisors to ignore behavior rather than to give punishment, in the end this method only creates greater organizational problems.

3. Keys to Using Punishment Effectively. While properly administering punishment is difficult, some guidelines will help.

Table 3.6

a. Timing. Deliver punishment immediately after the undesirable response occurs. b. Moderation. Give moderate levels of punishment: nothing too high or too low. c. Focus on the Behavior. Punish the undesirable behavior, not the person. d. Fairness. Punish everyone equally for the same infraction. e. Communicate Rationale. Clearly communicate the reasons for the punishment given. f. Do Not Confuse Rewards and Punishments. Do not follow punishment with noncontingent rewards.

X. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Distinguish between the concepts of social perception and social identity.

Social perception is the process through which people select, organize, and interpret the information around them .

57

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations as it pertains to other people. According to social identity theory, the way we perceive others and ourselves is based on both are unique characteristics (known as personal identity) and our membership in various groups (known as social identity).

2. Explain how the attribution process works and describe the various sources of bias and social perception.

The process of attribution involves judging the underlying reasons for people’s behavior. Some of our judgments are based on inferences made by observing others’ behavior.

Known as correspondent inferences, these judgments often are inaccurate. Our search for explanations about the causes of others’ behavior leads us to make judgments of internal causality (i.e., the individual is responsible for his or her own actions) or external causality (i.e., someone or something else is responsible). Kelley’s Theory of Causal Attribution explains that such judgments are based on three types of information: consensus (i.e., whether others act in a similar manner), consistency (i.e., whether the individual previously acted this way in the same situation), and distinctiveness (i.e., whether this person acted similarly in different situations).

Several types of systematic errors, known as perceptual biases, limit the accuracy of social perception. These include the fundamental attribution error (the tendency to attribute others’ actions to internal causes), the halo effect (the tendency to perceive others in either consistently positive or negative terms), the similar-to-me effect (the tendency to perceive similar others in a favorable light), first-impression error (the tendency for initial impressions to guide subsequent ones), and selective perception (the tendency for people to focus on only certain aspects of the environment). Perceptual inaccuracies also result from the tendency for people to rely on the use of stereotypes (the judgments of others based on the categories to which they belong).

Perceptual biases can result in self-fulfilling prophecies (the tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that individual to behave in a manner consistent with those expectations). These can be positive in nature, such as when expecting someone’s performance to be good actually makes it so (known as the Pygmalion effect). They also can be negative, such as when someone’s performance .

58

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment is bad because it was expected to be bad (known as the Golem effect).

3. Understand how the process of social perception operates in the context of performance appraisals, employment interviews, and the cultivation of corporate images.

Biased judgments about others sometimes occur during the process of performance appraisals. In this context, people judge as superior those individuals whose performance matches their expectations. They also view people positively when their good performance is attributed to internal sources and when their poor performance is attributed to external sources. People are generally interested in getting others to perceive them favorably, and their efforts in this regard are referred to as impression management. This process is particularly important in employment interviews, although it sometimes interferes with the accuracy of information presented about individuals or companies. An organization’s overall impression on people, its corporate image, is a determinant of its ability to attract qualified job applicants.

4. Define learning and describe the two types most applicable to OB: operant conditioning and observational learning.

Learning refers to relatively permanent changes in behavior occurring as a result of experience. In organizations, learning generally takes the form of operant conditioning and observational learning. In operant conditioning, individuals learn to behave certain ways based on the consequences of their actions. Stimuli that increase the probability of the behaviors preceding it are known as reinforcers. Reinforcement may be either positive, if it is based on the presentation of a desirable outcome, or negative, if it is based on the withdrawal of an unwanted outcome. The probability of certain responses can be decreased if an unpleasant outcome results (punishment) or if a pleasant outcome is withdrawn (extinction). Observational learning involves learning by modeling the behavior of others. By paying attention to and rehearsing the behavior of others, we can learn vicariously, through the model’s experiences.

5. Describe how principles of learning are involved in organizational training and innovative reward systems.

.

59

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Learning is directly involved in efforts to teach people to acquire new job skills in the process known as training.

Training is most effective when people can participate actively in the learning process, repeat the desired behaviors, receive feedback on their performance, and learn under conditions closely resembling those found on the job. Today companies are experimenting with innovative reward systems that include skill-based pay (i.e., paying people for the various skills they have demonstrated on the job) and team-based rewards (i.e., paying people for their contributions to team performance).

6. Compare the way organizations use reward in organizational behavior management programs and how they can use punishment most effectively when administering discipline.

Organizational behavior management is a systematic attempt to apply the principles of reinforcement to the workplace to improve organizational functioning.

Reinforcing desired behaviors can improve organizational functioning greatly. In contrast to applications of reinforcement, discipline is the systematic application of punishments to minimize undesirable organizational behaviors. Discipline is most effective when punishment is applied immediately after the undesirable activity, is moderately severe, is focused on the activity rather than the individual, is applied consistently over time and for all employees, is clearly explained and communicated, and is not weakened by the use of inadvertent rewards.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What is social perception and how is it applicable to the field of OB? Social perception is the process through which people select, organize, and interpret the information around them as it pertains to other people.

According to social identity theory, the way we perceive others and ourselves is based on both our unique characteristics (known as personal identity) and our membership in various groups (known as social identity).

It is applicable to the field of OB in that we can use these perceptions of ourselves and others when observing and directing behaviors. . 60

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment 2. How do people come to make judgments about what others are like (known as the attribution process)?

The process of attribution involves judging the underlying reasons for people’s behavior. Some of our judgments are based on inferences made by observing others’ behavior. Known as correspondent inferences, these judgments often are inaccurate. Our search for explanations about the causes of others’ behavior leads us to make judgments of internal causality (i.e., the individual is responsible for his or her own actions) or external causality (i.e., someone or something else is responsible).

Kelley’s Theory of Causal Attribution explains that such judgments are based on three types of information: consensus (i.e., whether others act in a similar manner), consistency (i.e., whether the individual previously acted this way in the same situation), and distinctiveness (i.e., whether this person acted similarly in different situations).

3. In what ways is the attribution process biased, and what can be done about it?

Several types of systematic errors, known as perceptual biases, limit the accuracy of social perception. These include the fundamental attribution error (the tendency to attribute others’ actions to internal causes), the halo effect (the tendency to perceive others in either consistently positive or negative terms), the similar-to-me effect (the tendency to perceive similar others in a favorable light), first-impression error (the tendency for initial impressions to guide subsequent ones), and selective perception (the tendency for people to focus on only certain aspects of the environment). Perceptual inaccuracies also result from the tendency for people to rely on the use of stereotypes (the judgments of others based on the categories to which they belong). Perceptual biases can result in selffulfilling prophecies (the tendency for someone’s expectations about another to cause that individual to behave in a manner consistent with those expectations).

4. How do operant conditioning and observational learning operate in the workplace?

Learning refers to relatively permanent changes in behavior occurring as a result of experience. In organizations, learning generally takes the form of operant conditioning and observational learning. In operant conditioning, individuals learn to behave in certain ways based on the consequences of their actions. Stimuli that increase the probability of the behaviors preceding it are known as reinforcers. Reinforcement may be either positive, if it is based on the presentation of a desirable outcome, or negative, if it is based on the withdrawal of an unwanted outcome. The probability of certain responses can be decreased if an unpleasant outcome results (punishment) or if a pleasant outcome is withdrawn . 61

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations (extinction). Observational learning involves learning by modeling the behavior of others. By paying attention to and rehearsing the behavior of others, we can learn vicariously through the model’s experiences.

5. What are the fundamental principles of learning, and how are they involved in organizations?

Learning is directly involved in efforts to teach people to acquire new job skills in the process known as training. Training is most effective when people can participate actively in the learning process, repeat the desired behaviors, receive feedback on their performance, and learn under conditions closely resembling those found on the job. Today companies are experimenting with innovative reward systems that include skill-based pay (i.e., paying people for the various skills they have demonstrated on the job) and team-based rewards (i.e., paying people for their contributions to team performance).

6. What should be done to ensure that efforts to punish employees are as effective as possible?

Discipline is most effective when punishment is applied immediately after the undesirable activity, moderately severe, focused on the activity rather than the individual, applied consistently over time and for all employees, clearly explained and communicated, and not weakened by the use of inadvertent rewards. Many of today’s companies have knowledge management programs, which allow them to gather, organize, and share all the knowledge and expertise of their employees (referred to as human capital). Individuals known as knowledge managers often are responsible for knowledge management efforts.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of a time when you made judgments about a new workmate as you came to know him or her. In what ways were these judgments biased? As you began to know this person better, did you change your mind? What lesson can you learn about reaching judgments about people prematurely?

Students’ answers will vary on this. Encourage them to think (and discuss) what it specifically was that helped them to initially form an opinion and then to change their minds about this person. Was it behavior, appearance, or something else? What bias errors were at play here?

Perhaps halo, similar to me, stereotyping, and so forth are possibilities.

Encourage them to discuss ways that they can correct for errors when meeting new co-workers.

2. As a manager, it is important not to judge employees based on your expectations. If you do, the Pygmalion effect or the Golem effect may . 62

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment occur. Think back to a situation on the job or at school in which either you or your supervisor/teacher had expectations that led to one of these selffulfilling prophecies. Exactly what happened? How was everyone involved affected, both positively and negatively? What could have been done to avoid this problem?

Students generally have many examples for these phenomena. Because this effect can be positive, there may be no need to make adjustments.

However, what if it is a negative effect (Golem)? What strategies can they use to overcome it? If it is being directed at them specifically, what strategies can they use to help the instructor or supervisor to alter his or her opinion/view?

3. Think about any work-related training programs in which you may have been involved. In what ways were these efforts successful? What might have been done to make them even more effective?

Students often have examples for this question. Review the list of the different types of training methods to help them to think of experiences (on the job, classroom, apprenticeship, etc.). If a student has participated in more than one type of program, ask him or her to make comparisons of the two for the class. Was one more effective than the other? Why? If students have ideas to make programs more effective, they often will suggest that the managers or supervisors don’t attend the training, and therefore when they go back to the job the managers don’t know what they learned in class. If that happens, discuss the challenges of training transfer in the workplace and what can be done to improve it.

Questions to Analyze 1. The attribution process is inherently inaccurate and subject to bias. In view of this, what chance do you think managers have of making accurate assessments of their subordinates’ job performance? What could be done to combat these limitations, thereby making these important assessments more accurate?

It is always a challenge to avoid making attribution error and managers should try to minimize this effect. Suggested strategies include: ▪ ▪ ▪

Being aware of the potential for bias and reviewing the assessment for accuracy.

Keeping records all year long on an employee’s performance in specific instances recording both achievements and areas for improvement.

Asking the employee to prepare an assessment of performance and comparing the two. . 63

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations ▪

Including others in the assessment process. This could include coworkers, customers, and managers of other departments with whom the employee has regular contact.

2. E-learning is very popular today. What specific advice would you give anyone launching a corporate e-learning program who wants to make it as effective as possible? Do you think e-learning can ever be as effective as in-person training? In what ways might it be even more effective than inperson training?

When developing any type of training it is important to remember the principles of learning as applied to training. Suggested strategies include: ▪

Employees should be able to participate actively in the learning process. (Just reading computer screens probably won’t be effective—activity will need to be incorporated into the program.)

▪

Employees should receive feedback on their progress.

▪

The training should closely resemble the conditions found on the job.

▪

Rewards systems should be incorporated into the training system.

(Could be something as simple as a certificate of completion or more elaborate such as raise or “prize” for completing a difficult program.)

3. Overall, do you think that managers will be able to more effectively change their subordinates’ performance by using reward or by using punishment? What specific steps would you take to make these efforts most effective? Explain your recommendations.

Students generally have many ideas for this question. When discussing rewards they should include the reason for the reward—reinforcing desired behaviors for improving organizational performance. When discussing discipline—they should include that it should be applied immediately to be most effective, be moderately severe, be communicated effectively, and not be weakened by inadvertent rewards.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Identifying Occupational Stereotypes 1. Did your ratings of the various groups differ? If so, which were perceived most positively and which were perceived most negatively?

.

64

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment There should have been variation in the ratings. You may be able to start a class discussion relating the scores to the different levels of esteem that each of these professions is awarded by society.

2. On what characteristics, if any, did you find no differences with respect to the various groups? What do you think this means?

If this occurred, it means that either that factor is not helpful in separating these professions or perhaps the student saw these professions as referent groups and saw a characteristic of him- or herself in each of the groups.

3. To what extent did your ratings agree with those of others? In other words, was there general agreement about the stereotypical nature of people in various occupational groups?

Answers will vary depending on the degree of diversity of the classroom.

4. To what extent were your responses based on specific people you know?

How did knowledge or lack of knowledge of members of the various occupational groups influence your ratings?

Typically, occupational stereotypes are based on one or two examples that have been experienced by the students either in person or through the mass media. Knowing more people in a given profession will lessen the hold of stereotypes, while not knowing anyone in that profession will give greater credence to the stereotypes.

5. Do you believe that by becoming aware of these stereotypes you will perpetuate them in the future or refrain from behaving in accord with them? Explain.

Refer the students back to page 104 and the section “A Creative Approach to Avoid Stereotyping” for the problems in refraining from stereotyping.

The suggestion there is to think creatively and try to take different approaches: “think differently” to avoid the rebound effect that reinforces stereotypes.

Group Exercise: Role Play: Conducting a Disciplinary Interview 1. Did the supervisor, Barry B., define the problem in a nonthreatening way?

This will vary based on the skill of the role player, but if he or she followed the very general statements made in the role sheet, it would be considered nonthreatening.

2. Did each party listen to the other, or did he or she shut them out, merely explaining his or her own side of the story? . 65

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations The answer will vary depending on how the exercise played out.

3. Did Barry B. suggest specific things that Andy F. could do to improve?

Were the specific punishments associated with future bad acts spelled out explicitly?

Look to see if progressive discipline was used and if Barry focused on the problem and not the person. Did the punishment seem to fit the crime?

4. Where the discussions impersonal in nature, or did the parties focus on each other’s personalities?

Again, check to see if the supervisor focused on the problem and not the person. Did the employee listen to the supervisor or did the employee emotionally react to the supervisor’s statements?

5. Considering all these questions, which supervisor would you say did a better job of administering discipline? What could be done to improve the way each supervisor conducted the disciplinary meeting?

Ensure the students detail the words and behaviors used by the superior supervisor who did the better job.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Smiling Might Not Be Such a Safe Way to Treat Safeway Customers 1. How, specifically, is the process of attribution illustrated in this case?

There are several possible alternatives, however, the most likely is that if customers see employees smiling they will think they are friendly (or happy), which will translate that Safeway must be a nice place to shop or work.

2. What do you suppose is being done to help train people to be friendlier toward customers? In other words, what would you imagine goes on in Safeway’s “Smile School”?

We don’t know exactly what goes on, but it might be customer service techniques, or diversity awareness, organizational strategy awareness, and so on.

.

66

Chapter 3: Perception and Learning: Understanding and Adapting to the Work Environment 3. Describe what you believe might be the progressive discipline steps outlined in the warning letter sent to unfriendly Safeway clerks.

This could be an effective group exercise for students. Refer them to Figure 3.20 for the outline of progressive discipline steps.

.

67

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities Learning Objectives: 1. Define personality and describe its role in the study of organizational behavior.

2. Identify the Big Five dimensions of personality and elements of core selfevaluations, and describe how they are related to key aspects of organizational behavior.

3. Distinguish between positive and negative affectivity, and describe its effects on organizational behavior.

4. Describe achievement motivation, and distinguish among learning, performance, and avoidance goal orientations.

5. Describe Machiavellianism and the difference between morning and evening persons, and their role in work-related behavior.

6. Differentiate among cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, and practical intelligence, and explain their influences on behavior in organizations.

Chapter Overview This chapter will focus on personality by first considering the matter of how the various facets of personality combine with elements of the work environment to influence behavior. This is important, of course, because according to the popular interactionist perspective of organizational behavior, how we behave is based on both who we are and the contexts in which we operate. Following this, the chapter examines how personality can be measured and the variety of personality variables that have been discovered. The chapter ends by examining abilities and skills and their effects on various aspects of organizational behavior.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Kenneth Chenault: An American Success at American Express A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. If you were to describe Mr. Chenault, what terms would you use? Would you say he’s dedicated? A visionary? A risk taker?

.

68

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities 2. Can we really ascribe all the success to one person’s personality? Why or why not?

3. From your work experience, can one leader truly make a difference?

II.

PERSONALITY: ITS BASIC NATURE

A. What Is Personality? Personality is the unique and relatively stable patterns of behavior, thoughts, and emotions shown by individuals.

Figure 4.1

B. Personality and Situations: The Interactionist Approach.

1. The Interactionist Perspective. This is the view that behavior is the result of a complex interplay between personality and situational factors. In other words, a combination of personal factors (knowledge, abilities, skills, and personality) and situational factors (job demands and social norms) influence behavior. These factors can serve as facilitators or constraints, that is, they may encourage or discourage certain behaviors.

2. The Person-Job Fit. The extent to which the traits and abilities of individuals match the requirements of the jobs they must perform. Meaning: Do the person’s personality and the situational factors of the job combine in such a way that it makes it likely that the behaviors required of the job can be accomplished?

C. How Is Personality Measured? There are two primary methods of measuring personality: objective and projective tests.

1. Objective Tests: Paper-and-Pencil Measures of Who We Are. These are questionnaires and inventories designed to measure various aspects of personality. An individual’s scores are compared to the scores of all people who have taken the test previously and the relative standing determined. These tests are objective in that there is no subjective assessment of the person by the test givers.

2. Projective Tests. Projective tests present individuals with ambiguous stimuli (such as pictures or drawings) and then ask the individuals being tested to report what they perceive. Their answers are the basis for .

69

Figure 4.2

Figure 4.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations determining their personality. This type of test is not very popular for researchers in the OB field.

3. Reliability and Validity: Essential Requirements of Personality Tests. a. Reliability: The extent to which a test yields consistent scores on various occasions, and the extent to which all of its items measure the same underlying construct. It is a measure of a testing instrument’s stability and consistency over time. b. Validity: The extent to which a test actually measures what it claims to measure. The higher the validity of a testing instrument, the better it measures what it claims to. c. Predictive Validity: The extent to which the score achieved on a test administered to a person at one time predicts (i.e., is correlated with) some measure of his or her performance at some later time.

D. Do Organizations Have Personalities Too? Because organizations are not living creatures, they cannot have personalities. However, we do often treat them as if they do. These personalities may be linked to organizational attractiveness (the extent to which individuals perceive organizations as attractive places in which to work), which may aid companies in hiring the best employees.

Figure 4.4

Figure 4.5

III. MAJOR WORK-RELATED ASPECTS OF PERSONALITY: THE “BIG FIVE,” POSITIVE VERSUS NEGATIVE AFFECTIVITY, AND CORE SELFEVALUATIONS A. The Big Five Dimensions of Personality: Our Most Fundamental Traits.

1. Big Five Questionnaire. This personality testing instrument measures the five basic dimensions of personality that are assumed to underlie many specific traits. These are: a. Extroversion. The tendency to seek stimulation and to enjoy the company of other people. b. Agreeableness. The tendency to be compassionate toward others. .

70

Table 4.1

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities c. Conscientiousness. The tendency to show selfdiscipline, to strive for competence and achievement. d. Neuroticism. The tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily. e. Openness to Experience. The tendency to enjoy new experiences and new ideas.

2. Big Five Dimensions and Work Performance. The Big Five personality dimensions are very strongly related to work performance across many different occupational groups. In general, conscientiousness shows the strongest association with task performance. Emotional stability has also been shown to be related to task performance. The Big Five traits are also applicable to teams, where average scores of individual members can predict the effectiveness of the team. Leaders tend to be high in extroversion, in openness to experience, and in agreeableness.

B. Positive and Negative Affectivity: Tendencies Toward Feeling Good or Bad. 1. Affective State. This is how a person currently feels based on the temporary conditions (moods) and relatively stable differences in lasting dispositions toward experiencing positive or negative feelings (stable traits).

2. Affectivity. The predisposition toward positive or negative moods and feelings in a wide range of settings under many different conditions. This is an important personality trait. a. Positive affectivity describes people that tend toward upbeat moods, while negative affectivity describes those who tend toward angry and anxious moods. b. The Relationship. Positive and negative affectivity are not opposite ends of the same scale, but rather, two separate dimensions.

3. Affectivity at Work. A person’s positive or negative affectivity has an impact on his or her work

.

71

Figure 4.8

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations performance and, in many cases, the work performance of those around them. a. Decision Making. People with high levels of positive affectivity make superior decisions. b. Team Performance. Work groups that have a positive affective tone (average level is high) function more effectively than groups that have an average negative affective tone. c. Aggressive Behavior. People high in negative affectivity are likely to be targets of aggression from others in their organizations.

C. Core Self-Evaluations: How Do We Think of Ourselves? Core self-evaluations are people’s fundamental evaluations of themselves: their bottom-line conclusions about themselves. There are four distinct elements of personality that make up this core:

Figure 4.9

1. Self-Esteem. The overall value one places on oneself as a person. People with high self-esteem willingly put forth a great deal of effort and perform at high levels at the workplace. They enjoy challenging tasks. a. See the sidebar on page 123 to start an in-class discussion on means of increasing self-esteem at work.

2. Generalized Self-Efficacy. A person’s beliefs about his or her capacity to perform specific tasks successfully.

People high in this element are very confident in their ability, which encourages them to take on challenges.

They are unlikely to quit when things become difficult.

High self-efficacy individuals derive a lot of job satisfaction from completing a difficult task.

3. Locus of Control. The extent to which individuals feel they are able to control things in a manner that affects them. Locus of control is positively related to job satisfaction and performance. They are confident they can bring about change on their own.

4. Emotional Stability. The tendency to see oneself as confident, secure, and steady (the opposite of Big Five’s neuroticism, these two are endpoints on the same scale). People who have high emotional stability have .

72

Sidebar: How to Do It

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities low levels of negative affect and therefore better job performance.

IV. ADDITIONAL WORK-RELATED ASPECTS OF PERSONALITY. THESE ARE OTHER PERSONALITY TRAITS THAT AFFECT THE WORKPLACE A. Machiavellianism: Using Others to Get Ahead.

1. The Prince. Niccolò Machiavelli, an imprisoned Italian philosopher, wrote this short treatise on political expediency and published it in 1513. He lived in a time of strife during which powerful families and city-states were constantly vying violently for power.

2. Machiavellianism. A personality trait involving willingness to manipulate others for one’s own purposes. The only concern is winning, and the focus is on expedience and usefulness. Machiavellianism can be measured by means of a questionnaire known as the Mach Scale. High Machs accept the Machiavellian philosophy, low Machs reject it.

Table 4.2

3. The Characteristics of High Machs. People with this personality trait are smooth and charming, lie easily, have no qualms about manipulating or conning others, have little remorse or guilt over harming others, and are callous and show little empathy toward others. They are impulsive, irresponsible, and prone to feeling bored.

4. Machiavellianism and Success. Simply being a high Mach will not guarantee success. Success depends on two important factors: the kind of job held and the nature of the organization itself. High Machs succeed best in jobs that do not have much autonomy and in organizations that are loosely structured with few strict rules and regulations.

B. Achievement Motivation: The Quest for Excellence.

1. Achievement Motivation (the Need for Achievement).

The strengths of an individual’s desire to excel: to succeed at difficult tasks and do them better than other persons. They are very task-oriented.

2. Need Achievement and Attraction to Difficult Tasks.

People with a high need for achievement tend to avoid very easy and very difficult tasks. They prefer .

73

Figure 4.10

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations moderately challenging, intermediate difficulty tasks, at which they have a reasonable chance to complete successfully.

3. Are High Need-Achievers Successful Managers? While high need for achievement individuals often promote quickly in the beginning of their careers, they tend to stall due to their failure to take on difficult challenges.

They also find delegation, teamwork, and empowerment difficult, which weaken their position as managers. They do, however, seek feedback and have a preference for merit-based pay systems.

4. Achievement Motivation and Goal Orientation: Do People Differ in the Kind of Success They Seek? Yes. There are three contrasting goal orientations that individuals can have when performing various tasks. a. Learning Goal Orientation. The desire to perform well because it satisfies interest in meeting a challenge and learning new skills.

1) This type of goal orientation is related strongly to general self-efficacy. This orientation also desires the greatest amount of feedback that may appeal to achievement-oriented individuals.

2) See the sidebar on page 129 to start an in-class discussion on the impact of achievement motivation and economic growth around the world.

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

b. Performance Goal Orientation. The desire to perform well to demonstrate one’s competence to others. c. Avoidance Goal Orientation. The desire to achieve success to avoid appearing incompetent and to avoid receiving negative evaluations from others.

C. Morning Persons and Evening Persons This dimension of personality examines what portion of the day individuals feel most energetic and alert. As the name implies, morning people feel more energetic in the morning and evening people feel energetic at night. People should find work that takes advantage of their “up” periods under the guise of the person-job fit. .

74

Figure 4.11

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities D. ABILITIES AND SKILLS: HAVING WHAT IT TAKES TO SUCCEED E. Abilities. The mental and physical capacities to perform various tasks. Abilities are broader in nature than skills and have greater implications for a wider range of organizational behavior. There are two types of abilities: intellectual (or intelligence), which involves the capacity to perform various cognitive tasks, and physical abilities, which refers to the capacity to perform various physical actions.

F. Skills. Dexterity at performing specific tasks, which have been acquired through training or experience G. Intelligence: Three Major Types.

1. Cognitive Intelligence. The ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles with careful thought. a. Cognitive skills and abilities include: 1) Verbal Comprehension. The ability to understand written material quickly and accurately.

2) Verbal Reasoning. The ability to analyze verbal information so as to make valid judgments based on logical implications of material.

3) Word Fluency. The ability to express oneself rapidly, easily, and with flexibility.

4) Numerical Ability. The ability to perform basic mathematical operations quickly and accurately.

5) Numerical Reasoning. The ability to analyze logical relationships and recognize the underlying principles.

6) Space Visualization. The ability to visualize three-dimensional forms in space and to be able to manipulate them mentally.

.

75

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 7) Symbolic Reasoning. The ability to think and reason abstractly using symbols rather than words or numbers, to manipulate abstract symbols mentally, and to make logically valid judgments based on them. b. See the sidebar on page 132 to start an in-class discussion on IQ Tests.

2. Practical Intelligence: Solving the Problems of Everyday Life. This is an adeptness at solving the practical problems of everyday life. It is an ability to devise effective ways of getting things done. This type of intelligence is different from that measured by IQ tests and is especially important in business settings. a. Tacit Knowledge. The key to this type of intelligence, this is knowledge about how to get things done. It includes the following characteristics: 1) Action-oriented. This type of knowledge relates to knowing how to do something.

2) Allows individuals to achieve goals they personally value. The knowledge is focused to what is relevant to them.

3) Acquired without direct help from others. This often unspoken knowledge comes from experience and the desire to succeed. b. Practical Intelligence and Job Performance. This type of intelligence can help individuals succeed as managers. Coupling practical intelligence with cognitive intelligence gives managers an even greater chance for success.

3. Emotional Intelligence: Managing the Feeling Side of Life. a. Emotional Intelligence (EI). A cluster of skills relating to the emotional side of life such as the ability to recognize and regulate one’s own emotions, to influence those of others, and to selfmotivate.

.

76

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities b. The Basic Components of EI. 1) Appraisal and expression of emotions in oneself: an individual’s ability to understand his or her own emotions and to express them naturally.

2) Appraisal and recognition of emotions in others: the ability to perceive and understand others’ emotions.

3) Regulation of emotions in oneself: the ability to regulate one’s own emotions.

4) Use of emotions to facilitate performance: the ability to use emotions by directing them toward constructive activities and improve performance. c. EI and Organizational Behavior. In general, workers who have high levels of EI tend to have higher levels of job performance as assessed by their supervisors. It is also associated with successful entrepreneurship and productivity in scientists. It appears the EI is more important than cognitive intelligence in terms of job performance.

H. Physical Abilities. These are people’s capacities to engage in the physical tasks required to perform a job. They can include strength, flexibility, stamina, and speed. Most jobs require both cognitive and physical abilities for success.

I. Social Skills: Interacting Effectively with Others.

1. Types of Social Skills. a. Social Perception. Accuracy in perceiving others, including accurate perceptions of their traits, motives, and intentions. b. Impression Management. Proficiency in the use of a wide range of techniques for inducing positive reactions and others. c. Persuasion and Social Influence. Skill at using various techniques for changing others’ attitudes or behavior in desired directions.

.

77

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations d. Social Adaptability. The ability to adapt to a wide range of social situations and interact effectively with people from many different backgrounds. e. Emotional Awareness/Control. Proficiency with respect to a cluster of skills relating to the emotional side of life.

2. Similarity to EI. There is considerable overlap between these two concepts, but social skills are broader in scope. These skills can be trained.

Table 4.3

3. Social Skills and Job Performance. Social skills were found to be the single best predictor of job performance, ratings, and assessments of potential for promotion for employees in a wide range of jobs.

People with good social skills do better in job interviews, negotiations, and receive more positive evaluations.

4. The Importance of Social Skills: A Demonstration. A recent study has shown that workers with the Big Five trait of conscientiousness (hard workers) will have much better job performance if they also have strong social skills.

V. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define personality and describe its role in the study of organizational behavior.

Personality is the unique and relatively stable pattern of behavior, thoughts, and emotions shown by individuals.

Along with abilities (the capacity to perform various tasks) and various situational factors, personality determines behavior in organizations. This idea is reflected by the interactionist perspective that is widely accepted in the field of organizational behavior today.

2. Identify the Big Five dimensions of personality and elements of core self-evaluations and describe how they are related to key aspects of organizational behavior.

The Big Five dimensions of personality—so named because they seem to be very basic aspects of personality—appear to play a role in the successful performance of many jobs.

These are conscientiousness, extraversion-introversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. .

78

Figure 4.13

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities Two of these dimensions, conscientiousness and emotional stability, have been found to be good predictors of success in many different jobs. This is especially true under conditions where job autonomy is high. Core selfevaluations are elements of personality reflecting people’s fundamental evaluations of themselves, their bottom-line conclusions about themselves. These are self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability (opposite of the Big Five trait, neuroticism). Each of the four dimensions of core self-evaluations is associated with beneficial organizational outcomes.

3. Distinguish between positive and negative affectivity and describe its effects on organizational behavior.

Positive affectivity and negative affectivity refer to stable tendencies for people to experience positive or negative moods at work, respectively. Compared to people scoring high in negative affectivity, those who are predisposed toward positive affectivity tend to make higher quality individual decisions and are more willing to help others.

Negative affectivity on the part of customers can generate negative emotional reactions in service providers, and so reduce customers’ satisfaction with the treatment they receive.

4. Describe achievement motivation and distinguish among learning, performance, and avoidance goal orientations.

Achievement motivation (or need for achievement) refers to the strength of an individual’s desire to excel—to succeed at difficult tasks and to do them better than others. A learning goal orientation involves the desire to succeed in order to master new skills. A performance goal orientation involves the desire to succeed in order to demonstrate one’s competence to others. An avoidance goal orientation involves the desire to succeed to avoid criticism from others or appearing to be incompetent.

5. Describe Machiavellianism and the difference between morning and evening persons and their role in work-related behavior.

People who adopt a manipulative approach to their relations with others are described as being high in Machiavellianism (known as high Machs). They are not influenced by considerations of loyalty, friendship, or ethics. Instead, they simply do whatever is needed to get their way. Morning persons are individuals who feel most energetic early in the day. Evening persons are those who . 79

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations feel most energetic at night. People tend to do their best work during that portion of the day that they prefer and when they are most energetic.

6. Differentiate among cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, and practical intelligence and explain their influences on behavior in organizations.

Cognitive intelligence is the ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, and to overcome obstacles by careful thought. It is what we traditionally have in mind when we refer to intelligence.

However, other forms of intelligence have been recognized as well, and these play important roles in organizational functioning. These are practical intelligence, which is the ability to come up with effective ways of getting things done, and emotional intelligence, which is a cluster of abilities relating to the emotional or “feeling” side of life.

Social skills play an important role in success in many business contexts because getting along well with others is essential for obtaining positive outcomes and may even influence the effects of key aspects of personality (e.g., conscientiousness) on performance.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. Why might two individuals whose personalities are very similar behave differently in a given situation?

All human beings possess a distinct pattern of traits and characteristics that no other person fully duplicates, and many of these characteristics are quite stable over time. An individual probably also demonstrates such traits in many different situations. Together, these two features form the basis for a useful working definition of personality—the unique and relatively stable pattern of behaviors, thoughts, and emotions shown by individuals. Such stable patterns are important because they help us to understand how we likely will behave in various situations.

Why individuals perform tasks and how they do so requires personality.

The kinds of personality traits a person possesses likely lead people to perform the behaviors needed in any given situation. To say that people behave as they do solely because of “who they are” (i.e., their knowledge, ability, skills, and personality) is misleading. Doing so ignores an

. 80

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities important determinant of human behavior—the situation a person faces, or the setting in which that behavior occurs.

2. What is the difference between being in a good mood and having the characteristic of positive affectivity?

People’s moods often fluctuate rapidly during the course of a day. In addition to these rapidly changing reactions are more stable traits, which are consistent differences in the overall tendency to experience positive or negative feelings. People’s moods, their affect, are based on temporary conditions (i.e., mood states) that can influence anyone at any time and also on relatively stable differences in people’s dispositions (i.e., personality traits). Research indicates that affectivity influences not only individual performance but the performance of work teams as well.

3. Suppose you are considering jobs with two different companies. Would your perceptions of the “personalities” of those companies affect your decision? Should it?

Yes, it should, at least initially. The personalities of organizations indicate what values they consider important. Finding an organization whose beliefs match yours is important for long-term job success. Additionally, people with similar values to yours may also have been attracted to the organization, making it a more enjoyable place to work. However, because personalities are also the result of good public relations, you should check out the truth behind the personality before taking the job.

4. How does having low self-efficacy interfere with task performance?

Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s own capacity to execute courses of action required to reach specific levels of performance—an individual’s confidence in his or her capacity to perform a specific task. Judgments of self-efficacy consist of three basic components: ▪

Magnitude. The level at which an individual believes she or he can perform.

▪

Strength. The person’s confidence that she or he can perform at that level.

▪

Generality. The extent to which self-efficacy in one situation or for one task extends to other situations and other tasks.

5. Would you prefer to hire employees who are high in learning goal orientation or performance goal orientation? Why? Individuals also differ in terms of the kind of success they wish to attain.

They may have one of three contrasting goal orientations: ▪

Learning Goal Orientation. Desire the need and challenge of learning new skills.

▪

Performance Goal Orientation. Want to do well to show others how competent they are. . 81

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations ▪

Avoidance Goal Orientation. Want to do well to avoid appearing incompetent and receiving negative evaluations.

Students should provide a rationale for the choice they make. For example, an employee with a learning orientation will be quick to take on new tasks and not be afraid to take risks. An employee with performance goal orientation will undoubtedly display a high degree of professionalism. One choice may be more appropriate than the other based on the job. You may choose an individual with a learning orientation when assigning a new project or start-up for the organization, and may choose an individual with performance goal orientation when placing him or her in a highly technical position.

6. Why are social skills so beneficial to many different kinds of careers?

Social skills are helpful in many different kinds of careers because all careers require working with other people to one extent or another. The better a person’s social skills, the more easily he or she can work with others and leave behind a positive impression. Doing so increases the likelihood of a successful career, as shown by the research reported in the text.

Experiential Questions 1. Have you ever worked for an organization that selected future employees by means of psychological tests? If so, do you think the test made sense— for instance, did it really measure what it was supposed to measure?

Students may or may not have had this experience. If you wish to explore this idea further with them—suggest they go to www.queendom.com and take one or two of the different “personality” tests there. Have them print their results and then explore with them if the tests were valid. If they have had this experience of organizations using personality tests—“making sense” often has to do with the test being a valid predictor for the job.

2. Have you ever known someone who was high in conscientiousness but low in social skills? If so, was this individual successful in his or her career? Why? Why not?

Students, if they have met someone like this, should describe a person who is very task-oriented but who is unable to deal well with others. People in the situation would more than likely be frustrated in their ability to complete tasks due to their inability to get other people to work with them.

As a result, they are probably not successful in their careers. This failure is a result of their inability to get people to like them or willing to work toward mutual goals.

.

82

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities 3. Where do you think you stand with respect to generalized self-efficacy?

Are you fairly confident that you can accomplish most tasks you set out to do? Or do you have doubts about your ability to succeed in many situations?

Students’ answers will vary on this and often they confuse self-efficacy with self-confidence. Helping them to differentiate between the two concepts could be helpful to their understanding. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s own capacity to execute courses of action required to reach specific levels of performance—an individual’s confidence in his or her capacity to perform a specific task. Judgments of self-efficacy consist of three basic components: (1) magnitude: the level at which an individual believes she or he can perform, (2) strength: the person’s confidence that she or he can perform at that level, and (3) generality: the extent to which self-efficacy in one situation or for one task extends to other situations and other tasks. People, however, do acquire general expectations about their abilities to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and strategies they need to control the events in their lives. Such generalized beliefs about task-related capabilities affect one’s perception and confidence in one’s ability to perform any given task. Self-efficacy develops through direct experience or feedback from performing similar tasks in the past and vicarious experience or observations of others performing these tasks.

4. Have you ever encountered someone who was very high in cognitive intelligence (the kind IQ tests measure), but low in practical intelligence?

How could you tell?

Students often very easily identify someone who fits this description.

Sometimes they even mention the “absent-minded professor”! The “how could you tell” is often identified by a low social competence or some other behavior they have observed.

Questions to Analyze 1. Suppose you had to choose an assistant. Would you prefer someone who is high in conscientiousness but low in agreeableness, or someone who is high in agreeableness but low in conscientiousness? Why? The answers to this will vary depending on the personality of the student.

However, the most intelligent answer would be an assistant who is high in agreeableness. Agreeable people work better on teams, which is what you and your assistant should be. Conscientious people may produce a lot of work, but they may also be difficult to work with. Having a problematic, but highly effective assistant takes more energy than having an easy-towork-with assistant who may not be as efficient.

.

83

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Are you a morning or an evening person? When did you first decide that you were one or the other? Has the fact that you are a morning or an evening person affected your career decisions in any way?

Obviously, the answers will vary. Students should indicate that either they have selected or are selecting jobs that match their internal schedules or that they adjust their workload to match their peak periods in order to be effective. Stories may be given that are either positive or negative in terms of the match-up of bio-cycle and work cycle.

3. Many persons who attain very high levels of business success were only below-average students in school. Why this might be so?

Successful entrepreneurs are often people who display a great deal of successful intelligence rather than intellectual intelligence. Successful intelligence represents a good balance between IQ and practical and creative intelligence. Entrepreneurs with successful intelligence tend to be effective because of high levels of creative thinking, which helps them to see alternative ways of defining and solving problems. Additionally, practical intelligence allows entrepreneurs the ability to evaluate ideas and decide their viability, and their social competence also helps them achieve success.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: What Is Your EQ? Various tests have been developed to measure the degree of emotional intelligence a person has, characterized as an emotional quotient (EQ score). The instrument presented here is similar to ones that some scientists have used to assess people’s emotional intelligence. Although this contains just a sampling of items—and, therefore, is not a definitive measure—completing this scale will give you a good sense of your own EQ. Directions The items on the following scale describe difficult situations that might be encountered on the job. For each, select the one response that best indicates what you would be most likely to do in that situation.

Scale 1. Someone with whom you work and who you consider to be a friend has borrowed one of your favorite screwdrivers. You asked him to return it to your toolbox, but so far he hasn’t done so. a. Who needs friends like this? I would end the friendship. b. I’d ignore it. Keeping a friend is the most important thing.

. 84

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities c. Until he returns the screwdriver, I’d act cool toward him and hope he gets the message. d. I’d explain to my friend why I really can use the screwdriver back and politely ask him to return it.

2. After several months on the job, your boss finally assigns you an important project. This is your chance to show him how good you are, but only if you succeed. If you blow it, your future with the company will be bleak. a. You spend several weeks working out the details of the project before telling anyone about this opportunity. b. You put the project aside for now, planning to return to it some other time. c. You get very nervous as you think about the implications. d. You relax, think about the project, and then bounce some of your ideas off one of your colleagues before pursuing what you believe is the best one.

3. One of your co-workers in an adjacent cubicle has an annoying habit of humming all the time, and it’s really getting to you. a. You just put up with it because it’s not really so bad. b. You explain to this person politely that his or her humming annoys you and explain the reasons why. c. You take an indirect approach by making a joke about his or her annoying humming and hope that this person will get the hint. d. You tell your boss that you’ll quit your job if this person doesn’t stop humming or if you aren’t moved to a different cubicle.

4. You are in a business meeting with a client who, for no apparent reason, appears to be very uncomfortable talking to you. a. You do your best to involve the client in a conversation so that the two of you can learn about each other. b. You plan to schedule the next meeting at some other location. c. You begin to worry that you’ve done something to ruin the business deal. d. You assume that the client isn’t interested in doing business with you so you don’t pay much attention to the conversation and spend the time thinking about other things.

5. Walking through the office one day, you stumble and spill coffee all over the floor. a. You get angry and mutter something to yourself about being so clumsy. b. After cleaning up the mess you laugh at yourself and go about your business. c. You get extremely embarrassed and leave the office before anyone sees what you did. d. You give a dirty look to anyone who happened to see what you did.

6. For several months you were hoping to get an important promotion. You thought of yourself as an ideal candidate, but your boss apparently thought otherwise and recommended someone else instead.

. 85

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations a. You forget about it and convince yourself that the promotion really wasn’t that important to you. b. You keep on doing your best and realize that there will always be another opportunity to get promoted. c. You feel so upset that you hide in the restroom and cry. d. You keep thinking about what the promoted person has that you don’t have and make yourself feel bad about what happened.

7. In the break room one day, one of your co-workers, Bob, began saying bad things about Cathy, a colleague you really admire but who wasn’t there at the time. a. Although you don’t mean them, you go along with Bob by adding a few negative remarks about Cathy yourself. b. You don’t say anything to Bob at the time but later tell him in private how you feel about his remarks. c. You interrupt Bob, saying that you’re uncomfortable talking behind someone’s back, and then change the subject. d. You keep quiet but then feel bad about not stopping Bob from talking negatively about Cathy.

Scoring Procedure and Interpretation 1. One of the responses for each situation shows a higher degree of emotional intelligence than the others because it reveals empathy and respect for others.

With this in mind, try to identify these “answers,” that is, the responses that indicate the greatest amount of emotional intelligence.

2. Give yourself 1 point for answering the questions as follows.

1_d 2_d 3_b 4_a 5_b 6_b 7_c 3. The higher your score, the higher your EQ. Questions for Discussion 1. How successful were you at being able to predict the one response in each set of alternatives that reflected high emotional intelligence? (In other words, how closely did your responses to scoring point number 1 match the correct responses indicated in scoring point number 2?)

2. How did your EQ compare to what you thought it would be? How did it compare to those of other people in your class?

3. For item 7, why do you think the high EI answer was alternative “c” instead of “b”? What does this scoring reveal about standing up for others as an aspect of emotional intelligence? . 86

Chapter 4: Individual Differences: Personality, Skills, and Abilities

Group Exercise: Machiavellianism in Action: The $10 Game 1. How did the two-person groups form? Was there a particular person in each group who was largely responsible for the formation of the winning coalition?

Typically, the Machiavellian person is the one who was largely responsible for the formation of the winning coalition. The other party may simply have been the most easily manipulated person. The Machiavellian quickly saw the solution to the problem, determined who would most easily accept the deal, and acted to maximize his or her own benefit.

2. Why was the third person left out of the agreement? What did this person say or do—or fail to say or do—that led to his or her being omitted from the two-person coalition that divided the money?

Often, the “odd man out” is the other strong personality in the group.

Rather than directly fighting a strong person whose views may not match those of the Machiavellian, the high Mach chooses the person who is easiest to convince as a partner. This effectively shuts out the other strong-willed person and allows the Machiavellian to win. When a person shares strong opinions or makes strong statements, the Machiavellian identifies the “odd man out.”

3. Do you think that actions in this situation are related to Machiavellianism?

How? In other words, what particular things did anyone do that you took as an indicator of being a high Mach?

Machiavellian tendencies tend to arise in win-lose situations such as this.

Because someone has to lose based on the rules of the game, people with any level of Machiavellianism will choose to play. The manipulation of the weaker player is the most obvious sign of Machiavellianism.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Generous to a Fault?

1. What particular Big Five personality traits and what elements of core selfevaluation appear to characterize Mr. Feuerstein?

Mr. Feuerstein appears to be a very conscientious, agreeable, open, and perhaps extroverted individual with high self-efficacy, emotional stability, locus of control, and self-esteem.

2. How do you think Mr. Feuerstein’s social skills may have contributed to his capacity to raise money for his ailing company?

. 87

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Absolutely. Although not highlighted in the story, Feuerstein had to convince lenders that he and his company were a good risk. This is especially difficult in the face of an impending bankruptcy. Feuerstein had to have a good ability to read people and to make them want to work with him in order to have succeeded.

3. What evidence, if any, do you believe points to the possibility that Mr. Feuerstein has a high level of achievement motivation?

The fact that Mr. Feuerstein, despite his age and a large potential financial settlement, still kept fighting (not once, but twice) to maintain the firm his father started is a strong indicator of a strong achievement motivation.

.

88

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress

5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress Learning Objectives: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Distinguish between emotions and moods.

Explain how emotions and mood influence behavior in organizations.

Describe ways in which people manage their emotions in organizations.

Identify the major causes of organizational stress.

Describe the adverse effects of organizational stress.

Identify various ways of reducing stress in the workplace.

Chapter Overview The chapter begins with an overview of emotions and mood in organizations, describing their basic nature and the important role they play in organizations.

Following this, it examines the nature of stress on the job, focusing closely on specific steps that can be taken to minimize its often harmful effects.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Stressing Stress-free Jobs at Kaiser Permanente A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. How stressed do you feel at work?

2. Do you think corporate benefits such as yoga classes, massage, exercise, and counseling would help reduce your stress?

3. What are some of the symptoms of stress that you have experienced? Why would medical professionals not notice their own symptoms?

II. UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS AND MOOD A. Emotions Are Distinct from Moods. Understanding these two types of feelings is important in OB. B. Properties of Emotions. Emotions are overt reactions that express feelings about events. There are four properties of emotions. .

89

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Emotions Always Have an Object. Something or someone triggers emotions: do not just appear out of thin air.

2. The Spread of Emotions Is Contagious (Emotional Contagion). People tend to mimic the emotional expressions of others, converging with them emotionally. This phenomenon is prevalent on the job.

It is quite common for lower-ranking employees to mirror the emotions of those above them in the hierarchy.

Figure 5.1

3. Expression of Emotions Is Universal. In general, the facial expressions associated with various emotional states are common to all societies. We can normally determine a person’s emotional state by his facial expression, even if he comes from another culture.

4. Culture Determines How and when People Express Emotions. Each society has cultural norms (display rules) regarding the appropriate ways to express emotions.

C. Types of Emotions. There are three different methods of categorizing emotions.

1. Major Emotions and Their Subcategories. There are six major categories of emotions into which the various subcategories may be classified. The six categories are anger, fear, joy, love, sadness, and surprise. Some of the subcategories are shown in Figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2

2. Self-Conscious Emotions vs. Social Emotions. This method of categorizing emotions is based on whether the emotions come from internal or external sources. a. Self-conscious Emotions. Feelings that stem from within, such as shame, guilt, embarrassment, and pride. b. Social Emotions. Feelings based on information external to the person, such as pity, envy, jealousy, and scorn.

3. The Circumplex Model of Affect. The third and very popular way of differentiating among emotions is based on the combination of two different dimensions: the degree to which emotions are pleasant or unpleasant, .

90

Figure 5.3

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress and the degree to which they make one feel alert and engaged (activated—willing to take action). This model results in four major categories. They are activated negative affect, which is opposed to unactivated positive affect, and unactivated negative affect, which is opposed to activated positive affect.

D. The Basic Nature of Mood.

1. Mood. An unfocused, relatively mild feeling that exists as a background to our daily experiences. Moods are more subtle and difficult to detect than are emotions. a. States. Short-term differences in feeling that are partially responsible for moods. b. Traits. Stable components of the personality, reflecting persistent predispositions toward experiencing positive or negative affect. These are another component of moods. c. Situation. The third component of mood is the conditions faced such as the workgroup or work environment.

III. THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS AND MOOD IN ORGANIZATIONS A. Are Happier People More Successful on Their Jobs? If we define happy people as those who frequently experience positive emotions, then the answer is yes.

1. Job Performance. Happier people tend to perform better in their jobs, get better jobs, and if they are supervisors, they have happier subordinates.

2. Income. Money may not buy happiness, but it is strongly correlated to it. Greater happiness does mean greater income (or vice versa).

B. Why Are Happier Workers More Successful? There are a number of possible reasons for this relationship.

1. Decision Quality. Happy people who have high positive affectivity make more accurate and better decisions than unhappy people. These better decisions give them greater managerial potential.

.

91

Figure 5.4

Figure 5.5

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Evaluation. Mood is not only infectious, it’s distorting.

Happy people who are in a positive mood tend to see events and people around them in a positive way. This helps happy people provide positive feedback to their subordinates, which in turn increases performance.

Unhappy people see things negatively and tend to give disapproving feedback, which decreases performance.

3. Memory. Being in a positive mood increases people’s ability to recall positive things. Being in a negative mood increases recall of negative things. This concept is known as mood congruence. Keeping positive thoughts in their minds, happy people will put forth greater effort, which promotes successful job performance. Unhappy people, with their negative thoughts, are less likely to put forth effort.

Figure 5.6

4. Cooperation. People in good moods tend to be more generous and helpful than those in bad moods. People in a good mood are more inclined to work to resolve conflicts with those around them, while people in a bad mood let situations fester.

5. Distraction. People who are upset (not happy) tend to be distracted. This distraction directly interferes with task performance. Happy people do not have this distraction.

C. Affective Events Theory (AET). According to this theory, people’s job performance and job satisfaction are influenced by their positive and negative emotional reactions to events in the job. These events, in turn, are influenced by aspects of the work environment. People’s emotional reactions to these events depend on such individual characteristics as their moods and aspects of their personalities.

1. Important Components of the Work Environment. a. Emotional Labor. The psychological efforts involved in holding back one’s true emotions on the job and instead displaying a more appropriate emotion. This often-stressful activity is referred to as “putting on a happy face.”

.

92

Figure 5.7

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress b. Daily Hassles. Unpleasant or undesirable events that put people in bad moods. c. Daily Uplifts. Pleasant or desirable events that put people in good moods.

2. Emotional Reactions. Employees react positively or negatively to the environment and the work events as moderated by their personal predispositions (that is, their personality and mood).

3. On-the-Job Reactions. The emotional reaction that a person has to the environment will affect job performance and job satisfaction (the extent to which people hold positive values toward their jobs).

IV. MANAGING EMOTIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS A. Emotional Dissonance. This term describes the inconsistencies between the emotions felt and the emotions expressed by people as required by their job situation. This form of emotional labor is very stressful.

1. Felt Emotions. The emotion people actually feel.

2. Displayed Emotions. The emotions people show others, which may or may not be in line with their felt emotions.

3. Display Rules. Not only do display rules (when and how it is appropriate to display emotions) vary between cultures, they also appear to vary between occupations.

For professionals and emergency workers, occupational norms forbid them from displaying emotions in public.

B. Controlling Anger (Before It Controls You).

1. Anger. A heightened state of emotional arousal (for example, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, flushed face, sweaty palms) fueled by cognitive interpretations of situations. Anger reactions can be anything from mild irritation to outrage and fury.

2. When Is Anger Dangerous? Anger can be a very useful emotion and may help managers in some situations to be more effective. However, when anger is uncontrolled or expressed inappropriately, it becomes dangerous and problematic. .

93

Figure 5.8

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 3. Anger Management. Systematic efforts to reduce people’s feelings of anger and the physiological arousal that causes. a. See the sidebar on page 155 to start an in-class discussion on managing anger in the workplace.

Sidebar: How to Do It

V. ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS AND ITS CAUSES A. What Is Stress?

1. Stress is the pattern of emotional states and physiological reactions occurring in response to positive or negative demands from within or outside an organization. High levels of negative stress have been shown to affect physical health, psychological wellbeing, and many aspects of task performance.

2. Stress is normally caused by stimuli known as stressors, which are demands, either physical or psychological in nature, encountered during the course of living.

3. Work Stress. The harmful physical and emotional responses that people experience on their job because of negative stressors.

4. Cognitive Appraisal. A judgment made about the stressfulness of a situation based on the extent to which a person perceives a stressor as threatening and feels he or she is capable of coping with its demands. It is the perception of the stressors that leads to the stress, not the stressors themselves.

5. Strain. These reactions to stress are deviations from normal states of human functioning resulting from prolonged exposure to stressful events. They may take the form of physiological, behavioral, or psychological adverse reactions, all of which tend to impair job performance.

Figure 5.9

B. Causes of Stress in the Workplace 1. Occupational Demands. The type of job itself can be more stressful than other jobs based on the demands placed on the incumbent by the job.

Table 5.5

.

94

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress a. Five Factors Tend to Make a Given Job More Stressful: 1) Having to make decisions.

2) Performing boring, repetitive tasks.

3) Repeatedly exchanging information with others.

4) Working in unpleasant physical conditions.

5) Performing unstructured rather than structured tasks.

2. Conflict Between Work and Nonwork. This conflict normally arises out of the demands placed on an individual who is trying to fulfill more than one role. a. Role Conflict. Incompatibilities between the various sets of obligations people face. b. Role Juggling. The need to switch back and forth between the demands of work and family. This can be an especially powerful source of stress for a large segment of society.

3. Sexual Harassment: A Pervasive Problem in Work Settings. This form of stress comes from unwanted contact or communication of a sexual nature at the workplace, normally against women. While this is a very prevalent stressor, it is decreasing in the workplace, primarily due to better training and education of supervisors and employees.

Figure 5.10

Figure 5.12

4. Role Ambiguity: Stress from Uncertainty. This type of stressor occurs when people are uncertain about several aspects of their jobs such as the scope of their responsibility, the expectations, and prioritization of tasks. To reduce role ambiguity, managers should make certain that all employees are fully aware of what is expected of them.

5. Overload and Underload. Too many or too few stressors can lead to stress and low work productivity. a. Burnout. Too many stressors cause an overload, as employees feel overwhelmed by the tasks they have to perform. .

95

Table 5.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations b. Rustout. Too few stressors cause an underload as boredom and monotony take hold. c. Information Anxiety. Stress that comes from the pressure to store and process a great deal of information in one’s head and keep constantly gathering new data.

6. Responsibility for Others: A Heavy Burden. The necessity of overseeing, managing, and evaluating people is a major source of stress for managers.

VI. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM A. Negative Effects of Stress: Their Many Forms.

1. Stress and Task Performance. Work performance can be disrupted by even relatively low levels of stress. The greater the stress people encounter on the job, typically the more adversely affected is their work performance.

2. Stress and Health: The Silent Killer. Work stressors are more strongly related to a person’s health complaints than any other type of stressor in their lives. a. Metabolic Syndrome. The result of chronic stress, this syndrome is a combination of factors such as obesity around the abdomen, high triglyceride levels, and glucose intolerance that together are linked to such serious maladies as diabetes and hypertension.

Table 5.4

b. Intergenerational Stress. Children of stressed parents are far more likely to attempt or commit suicide than children of nonstressed parents.

3. Stress as a Source of Desk Rage. Similar to road rage, desk rage is the lashing out at others in response to stressful encounters on the job. See Table 5.5 for some tactics used to neutralize desk rage. a. See the sidebar on page 165 to start an in-class discussion on reactions to stress based on gender.

.

96

Table 5.5

Sidebar: OB in a Diverse World

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress B. Managing Stress: What Organizations Are Doing.

1. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Plans offered by employers to provide their employees with the systems for various personal problems such as substance abuse, career planning, financial and legal problems. By reducing the intensity of the stress of the situation, workers should become more productive. a. Member Assistance Programs (MAPs). Plans offered by trade unions to provide their members with assistance for various personal problems. b. Outsourced Assistance. Interest in these assistance programs is so high that firms have been created to offer these programs as outsourced functions.

2. Stress Management Programs. The systematic efforts to train employees in a variety of techniques they can use to become less adversely affected by stress. These programs include meditation and relaxation techniques.

3. Wellness Programs. Company-wide programs in which employees receive training regarding things they can do to promote healthy lifestyles. These programs include stress reduction, exercise programs, nutrition and weight management counseling, and even exercise and smoking cessation programs. a. These programs have proved to be very profitable for the companies in terms of lower insurance costs, lower absenteeism, and fewer sick days. This is especially true when employees are offered incentives to participate. b. Presentism. The practice of showing up for work too sick to be able to work effectively.

.

97

Figure 5.14

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations C. Managing Your Own Stress 1. Manage Your Time Wisely. Using good time management skills will reduce stress.

2. Eat a Healthy Diet and Be Physically Fit. Given the physiological effects of stress, exercising the body and eating right may help combat the symptoms.

3. Relax and Meditate. Meditation is a process of learning to clear one’s mind of external thoughts, often by repeating a single syllable (known as a mantra) repeatedly.

4. Get a Good Night’s Sleep. This is easier said than done, as one of the symptoms of stress is sleeplessness.

5. Avoid Inappropriate Self-Talk. People believe what they tell themselves. Using positive self-messages helps reduce stress.

6. Take a Time-out. When confronted with stress, take a time-out: a brief delay in activities designed to reduce mounting tension.

VII.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Distinguish between emotions and moods.

Whereas emotions are overt reactions that express people’s feelings about a specific event, moods are more general.

Specifically, moods are unfocused, relatively mild feelings that exist as background to our daily experiences.

2. Explain how emotions and mood influence behavior in organizations.

Emotions affect behavior in organizations in various ways.

For example, negative emotions tend to interfere with job performance. This is largely because people who are upset tend to neither listen to nor understand the performance feedback they receive. People also are more likely to help others when they are in good moods than when they are in bad moods.

3. Describe ways in which people manage their emotions in organizations. .

98

Table 5.9

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress One way people manage their emotions is by keeping their negative feelings to themselves. Rather than offending another with their actual negative feelings, people may engage in the emotional labor of disguising their true feelings. The inconsistency between the emotions people express and the emotions they feel is known as emotional dissonance. People in organizations also manage their emotions by displaying compassion for others when needed. This is especially important during major crises and emergencies.

4. Identify the major causes of organizational stress.

Stress is caused by many different factors, including occupational demands, conflicts between the work and nonwork aspects of people’s lives (i.e., role conflict), not knowing what is expected on the job (i.e., role ambiguity), overload and underload, having responsibility for other people, not having social support, and experiencing sexual harassment.

5. Describe the adverse effects of organizational stress.

Experiencing high levels of organizational stress has negative effects on task performance. It also adversely affects people’s physical and mental health in a wide variety of ways. Stress is also a major cause of such serious problems as desk rage and burnout.

6. Identify various ways of reducing stress in the workplace.

To help reduce employees’ stress, companies are doing such things as introducing employee assistance programs, wellness programs, absence control programs, and stress management programs. As individuals, we can control the stress we face in our lives by following good time management techniques, eating a healthy diet and being physically fit, relaxing and meditating, seeking social support, avoiding inappropriate self-talk, and taking control over our reactions.

.

99

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are emotions and moods, and how do they influence people’s behavior in organizations?

Emotions are overt reactions that express feelings about events. All emotions share key properties: they always have an object, something or someone triggers them, there are six major categories of emotions (anger, fear, joy, love, sadness, and surprise), the expression of emotion is universal, and people throughout the world generally use the same facial expressions to portray the same emotions. Finally, culture determines how and when people express emotions. Informal standards govern the degree to which it is acceptable to express emotions. These expectations are known as display rules. A mood is an unfocused, relatively mild feeling that exists as background to our daily experiences. They can fluctuate rapidly—from good to bad. Temporary shifts in feeling states—short-term differences in the way we feel—are only partially responsible for the moods we demonstrate. Moods are also influenced by our more stable personality traits—positive or negative affect—and are a combination of who we are and the conditions we face.

Emotions and moods can influence people’s behavior at work in terms of job performance. Negative emotions can distract a worker, affect decision-making capabilities, and even affect memory.

2. What does the affective events theory say about the effects of people’s emotions on their behavior in organizations?

AET says that a person’s positive or negative emotional reactions to the work environment and work events as moderated by their personal predispositions (personality and mood) will cause on-the-job reactions affecting job performance and job satisfaction. People with positive emotional reactions will see things in a positive light (both people and situations at work), will react positively to them, and have greater work performance than those who have negative emotional reactions and negative views.

3. What advice would you give to leaders of a company who are interested in managing their employees’ emotions?

While little can be done to avoid certain organizational disasters, organizations can create an environment in which can help to alleviate their own and others’ suffering. They can express organizational compassion, which are steps taken by organizational officials to alleviate the suffering of employees or others. To help guide leaders to assess the . 100

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress extent to which they demonstrate compassion, experts recommend that the reaction: (1) cover a broad scope of activities, (2) be extensive in scale, (3) occur rapidly, and (4) be specialized to fit the situation.

4. What are the differences among stressors, stress, and strain?

Stress is a complex pattern of emotional states, physiological reactions, and related thoughts in response to external demands. These external demands are referred to as stressors. The related term, strain, refers to the accumulated effects of stress, primarily deviations from normal states or performance resulting from exposure to stressful events. These effects can involve physical symptoms, reduced performance, and other changes in behavior.

5. What are the primary causes and consequences of stress on the job?

The primary causes of stress on the job include: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Occupational demands Conflict between work and nonwork Role juggling Role ambiguity Overload and underload Responsibility for others Lack of social support

The consequences of stress vary but often include reduced performance, burnout and increased health risks for heart attack, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases, and so forth.

6. What steps can be taken to minimize the potentially harmful effects of stress on the job?

Both individual workers and organizations need to take responsibility to reduce stress. Individual can take the following steps to help reduce their levels of stress: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Control how they spend their time Eat a healthy diet and be physically fit Relax and meditate Get a good night’s sleep Avoid inappropriate self-talk Control reactions

Organizations can introduce programs such as EAP, Wellness, Stress Management, and Absence Control to assist employees.

.

101

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Experiential Questions 1. Think of a time when it was necessary for you to express compassion on the job in response to a traumatic situation. What were the circumstances?

What did you do that was effective? What steps might you take to become even more effective the next time it is necessary to express compassion on the job?

Students may or may not have had this experience, and their answers will vary. If students have not had this experience, try giving them situations they might encounter while on the job and ask them to think through how they would express compassion. Examples of situations could include telling an employee her child or spouse has just had a serious accident and she needs to leave work immediately, helping an employee who has just witnessed a fatal accident, comforting an employee who has just lost a loved one, the employee comes to you and tells you he or she has just been fired, and so forth.

2. What was the most stressful situation you ever encountered on the job?

What were the stressors, and how did you react, both physically and psychologically? What role did social support play in helping you manage this stress?

Students’ answers will vary—typically, they will have many experiences to share. The key to answer this question is the use of terms regarding stressors and reactions as well as the description of the social support.

3. What experiences have you had using stress-management techniques— either formally or informally? For example, do you meditate? Do you find that physical exercise helps you relieve stress? Does talking to others help at all? Of the various techniques described in this chapter, which one do you think you would find most beneficial?

Students’ answers will vary. This would also be a good opportunity to discuss the resources available on campus for students to help with stress.

For example, fitness facility, counseling center, clubs, classes available for meditation, and so forth.

Questions to Analyze 1. We all experience emotions, but some people disguise their true feelings better than others. Do you think this is a helpful or harmful thing to do?

Under what conditions do you think it would be most useful to express your true feelings? Likewise, when do you think it would be best to keep your feelings to yourself?

. 102

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress Over the long run, burying your emotions is a harmful thing to do. In the short run, however, even though it is stressful, work environments or professions may require you to hide your emotions. It is healthier to express emotions, especially positive ones, so long as that expression will not negatively affect the work environment or those around you.

2. Social support can be a very helpful means of reducing stress. However, do you think it’s wise to seek social support on the job, where you stand to make yourself vulnerable by talking about your work-related stressors (e.g., by showing your weaknesses or by speaking negatively about your bosses)? Or do you think that only your co-workers are in a good position to understand your work-related stressors, suggesting that you should talk to them about the work-related stress you are experiencing?

Students’ answers will vary depending on experience. Pragmatically, an outside support group is safer and less stressful than one inside work.

There is less danger of an accidental comment coming back to “haunt” you or of offending someone in your organization by your statements. A complete understanding of the work environment is not critical for a support group to be helpful. General knowledge of organizations is sufficient.

3. Stress management programs generally work well, but they are not always as effective as hoped. What problems and limitations do you believe may interfere with the effectiveness of stress management programs? How can these problems and limitations be overcome?

Students’ answers will vary. If the stress-reduction program adds stress to the individual (for instance, rapid weight-loss/exercise programs for grossly obese people, smoking cessation programs for very stressed and nervous people, or time management programs that take more time out of the stressed person’s busy schedule), they may be ineffective. Two of the keys are (1) having the individual recognize his or her need for one of these programs and (2) incentivize attendance at the program.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Meditation Through Relaxation 1. How successful were you at being able to relax and meditate your first time? Did it come easily?

The answers will vary based on each student’s experience and abilities.

.

103

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. What were the major challenges you faced in following this procedure?

How do you think you can overcome them?

Typical answers include: not having an appropriate place to meditate, inability to concentrate, other activities/roles interfering, or feeling this was foolish. Overcoming most of these obstacles requires adjusting times or places. The last requires a change in attitude.

3. After trying this for a while, does it work? Do you feel more relaxed and stress free? Does this help you get through your workday more effectively?

Meditation does work, but your students need to do it repeatedly (perhaps even habitually) to see the benefits.

Group Exercise: Are You Tough Enough to Endure Stress?

1. Which questions were easiest to interpret? Which were most difficult?

The answers on this will vary, depending on the experiences of the student.

2. How did each individual’s responses compare with the way you would assess his or her ability to focus under stress?

Again, answers will vary depending on the team. The more similar the members of the team are to one another, the more comparable the answers will likely be.

3. For what jobs is the ability to concentrate under stress particularly important? For what jobs is it not especially important? How important is this ability for the work you do?

Again, answers will vary depending on experience. Some obvious answers for jobs that need concentration under stress are: police officers, firefighters, soldiers, ER doctors and nurses, tax preparers, and high wire artists. Jobs that do not require as much concentration under stress are difficult to find. Typically, students choose jobs that are less stressful (yard maintenance technicians, house painters, and grocery clerks) rather than what the question asks for: stressful jobs that do not require concentration. They do not realize that even in these seemingly stress-less jobs there are stresses and requirements for accuracy.

.

104

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life: Emotions and Stress

Answers to Case in Point Questions The Emotional Labor of Wanderlust’s Adventure Guides 1. What particular emotions do you believe Donaghy experienced as this situation unfolded?

Shame to himself and his family—based on students’ personal thoughts.

2. What sources of stress did Donaghy encounter, and how did he respond to them?

Former employer, family, friends, fans.

3. Considering the stressful nature of his ordeal, what would you recommend to Donaghy that he do to alleviate some of the stress he encountered?

Answers will vary based on students’ personal thoughts.

.

105

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

6: Work-related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Learning Objectives: 1. Define attitudes and work-related attitudes, and describe the basic components of attitudes.

2. Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination, and identify various victims of prejudice in organizations.

3. Describe some of the steps being taken by organizations to manage diversity in their workforces and the effectiveness of these practices.

4. Explain the concept of job satisfaction, and summarize three major theories of job satisfaction.

5. Describe the consequences of job dissatisfaction and ways to promote job satisfaction.

6. Describe the concept of organizational commitment, its major forms, the consequences of low levels of organizational commitment, and how to overcome them.

Chapter Overview This chapter will explore feelings about people and things on the job, known as work-related attitudes. Attitudes toward jobs or organizations have profound effects on performance and quality of work life. This chapter’s discussion of work-related attitudes focuses on three major targets: attitudes toward others (including a special kind of negative attitude known as prejudice), attitudes toward the job (known as job satisfaction), and attitudes toward the organization (known as organizational commitment). The chapter begins by examining the nature of attitudes in general.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Madison Avenue Welcomes Disabled Athletes A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. Why do you believe athletes with physical disabilities remain a rare sight in the media?

.

106

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment 2. Why is Cheri Blauwet such an incredible role model for disabled athletes?

3. Why are endorsement deals for disabled athletes so important?

II. ATTITUDES: WHAT ARE THEY? A. Basic Definitions: 1. Attitudes. Relatively stable clusters of feelings, beliefs, and behavioral intentions (predispositions) toward specific objects, people, or institutions.

2. Work-related Attitudes. This subset of attitudes refers to attitudes relating to any aspect of work or work settings.

These include prejudice, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.

B. Three Essential Components of Attitudes.

1. Evaluative. This component of an attitude is the like or dislike of any particular person, item, or event. It describes how you feel about the attitude object (the focus of our attitude).

2. Cognitive. This second component reflects what we believe about the attitude object. These beliefs do not have to be truthful or accurate, merely beliefs.

3. Behavioral. The final component of attitudes is the predisposition to behave in a way consistent with the beliefs and feelings about the attitude object. The fact that a person may be predisposed to a behavior is not the same as saying they must perform that behavior; it is merely a propensity toward a given action.

III. PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION: NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD OTHERS A. Prejudice. Negative attitudes toward the members of specific groups, based solely on the fact that they are members of those groups (such as race, creed, color, age, or sexual orientation).

.

107

Figure 6.1

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations B. The Challenge of Organizational Demography.

1. Organizational Demography. The nature of the composition of a workforce with respect to various characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnic makeup.

2. The Changing Workplace. The American workplace is becoming increasingly diverse due to three key trends: a. Birthrate. There have been unequal shifts in the birthrate with white couples having fewer children, while other ethnic groups have been increasing their birthrates. b. Immigration. Increasing numbers of foreign nationals are entering the American workforce. c. Gender Parity. At this point, about half of all American workers are women.

3. Challenges and Opportunities. Increased organizational diversity brings greater challenges as people with dissimilar backgrounds and interests attempt to work together. Diversity also brings with it the opportunity to bring in richer sources of data and divergent viewpoints to make better decisions.

C. Anatomy of Prejudice: Some Basic Distinctions.

1. Stereotypes. Beliefs that individuals possess certain characteristics because of their membership in certain groups. Stereotypes can be positive or negative.

2. Discrimination. The behavior consistent with a prejudicial attitude; the act of treating someone negatively because of his or her membership in a specific group.

D. Everybody Can Be a Victim of Prejudice and Discrimination!

Figure 6.2

Table 6.1 Figure 6.3

1. Prejudice Based on Age. a. Older Workers. Stereotypes include: older workers are too set in their ways, they cannot be trained, and they will tend to be sick more often or be accidentprone. In response to these stereotypes, the Age

.

108

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Discrimination in Employment Act has been made federal law. b. Younger Workers. Older workers may feel uncomfortable around younger colleagues due to the different worldview held by those under 30.

2. Prejudice Based on Physical Condition. People who are not physically challenged are unsure how to treat disabled people and this may cause embarrassment for both parties. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was enacted to help protect the rights of people with physical and mental disabilities.

3. Prejudice Against Women. The “glass ceiling” still exists despite increasing numbers of women in corporate ranks. Sex-role stereotypes persist regarding what tasks women should perform and what traits they should have (based on the prejudices of the observer).

Specifically, this stereotype says that women are not as aggressive or determined as are men and therefore they are less likely to succeed in business.

4. Prejudice Based on Sexual Orientation. A significant minority of people in the workplace classify themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Currently, no federal laws exist to protect them from discrimination.

Antihomosexual prejudice still exists in the workplace and discrimination is often felt by nonheterosexuals.

Fears of being “outed” as a homosexual are a major source of stress for gay, lesbian, or bisexual employees and lowers workplace efficiency.

5. Prejudice Based on Race and National Origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) strives to protect individuals in the workplace from discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin. Despite the fact that the workplace is more diverse than ever in our history, discrimination still exists.

6. Prejudice Based on Religion. Religious intolerance, hateful actions taken against a person or group of a different faith, while outlawed, still occurs. Typically, Hindus and Muslims are most likely to be victims of religious intolerance in the United States.

.

109

Figure 6.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations IV. STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING WORKPLACE PREJUDICE: MANAGING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE See the sidebar on page 190 to start an in-class discussion on using diversity as a completive weapon.

1. Affirmative Action Plans. These are plans made by organizations to comply with affirmative action laws.

These laws are designed to give employment opportunities to groups that have been underrepresented in the workforce, such as women and members of minority groups.

Sidebar: How to Do It

Table 6.2

2. Diversity Management Programs. Programs that teach employees to celebrate the differences between people and create supportive work environments for women and minorities. a. Orientation. Specifically efforts to manage diversity are aimed at promoting a supportive work environment for women and minorities. b. The Business Case for Diversity. Companies are interested in managing diversity so they can avoid becoming defendants in lawsuits claiming illegal discrimination.

B. Diversity Management Programs: What are companies doing? Diversity management programs fall into two categories: awareness-based and skills-based diversity training. The long-term goal of both types of programs is to create easier and more effective interactions between diverse groups of people.

1. Conduct Diversity Training. It is designed to raise awareness and to get employees to recognize the underlying assumptions they make about other people and helps to develop effective interpersonal skills. There are four main tools used in this training: a. Cross-Cultural Understanding. Understanding cultural differences and the resulting behaviors. b. Intercultural Communication. Learning how to overcome verbal and nonverbal communication barriers. .

110

Figure 6.5 Figure 6.5

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment c. Facilitation Skills. Training on how to help others communicate more effectively. d. Flexibility and Adaptability. Learning to take new and different approaches to workplace situations.

2.

Use Leaders to Send Strong Messages About Diversity.

3. Require Suppliers to Promote Diversity.

4. Make Diversity a Top Priority.

V. JOB SATISFACTION: ITS NATURE AND MAJOR THEORIES 1. The Nature of Job Satisfaction: Fundamental Issues.

2. The Dispositional Model of Job Satisfaction. This conceptualization proposes that job satisfaction is a relatively stable disposition of an individual, that is, a characteristic that stays with people across situations.

Figure 6.8

a. Genetic Component. It appears that job satisfaction may be genetic, that is, it is an inherited trait. b. Affectivity. While genetics may have something to do with job satisfaction, affectivity appears to have a stronger correlation to job satisfaction.

3. Value Theory of Job Satisfaction. The theory that suggests that job satisfaction depends primarily on the match between the outcomes that individuals value in their jobs and their perceptions about the availability of such outcomes. This theory focuses on the discrepancies between what people have and what they want: the greater the discrepancy, the more dissatisfied they will be.

4. Social Information Processing Model. The conceptualization that people adopt attitudes and behaviors in keeping with the cues provided by others with whom they come into contact. What people say at work can affect the job satisfaction of those around them.

.

111

Figure 6.9

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations VI. CONSEQUENCES OF JOB DISSATISFACTION—AND WAYS TO REDUCE THEM A. Employee Withdrawal: Voluntary Turnover and Absenteeism. Actions, such as chronic absenteeism and voluntary turnover that enable employees to escape from adverse organizational situations.

1. Voluntary Turnover. A form of employee turnover in which the individual resigns freely from his or her job.

While turnover may be the ultimate sign of job dissatisfaction, the relationship between the two concepts is more complex. Other factors such as availability of alternate jobs and the economic environment may preclude people from quitting immediately.

2. The Honeymoon-Hangover Effect for Voluntary Turnover. Satisfaction with New Employment.

Employees who turn over seek new positions.

Typically, their job satisfaction increases temporarily. a. The Honeymoon Effect. The tendency for people to enjoy high levels of satisfaction on new jobs they have taken in response to dissatisfaction with their old jobs. b. The Hangover Effect. The tendency for people’s levels of satisfaction to drop over time, from when the position is brand new to when one gains more experience with it. c. The Honeymoon-Hangover Effect. This is the tendency for job satisfaction to increase initially after a change in jobs followed by a decrease in job satisfaction as the employee becomes used to the new job.

Figure 6.11 Figure 6.11

3. The Unfolding Model of Voluntary Turnover. This is the concept that explains the cognitive processes through which people make decisions about quitting or staying on their jobs. a. Four Possible Decision Paths. In this model are four possible paths employees can take while making the decisions to stay or quit.

.

112

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment 1) Path 1: the shock occurs and that event matches an existing decision frame. The decision to stay or go is based on the decision frame.

2) Path 2: the shock occurs, but the event does not match any existing decision frame and there is no specific alternative job available. In this case, employees give additional thought to the matter and may or may not quit based on their feelings about the job itself.

3) Path 3: the shock occurs, does not match any existing decision frame, but a specific alternative job is available. The employee will give additional thought to the situation, comparing the current job with the prospective job. Based on that assessment, the employee will stay or go.

4) Path 4: there is no shock to the system; therefore, no decision frame is considered. It is unlikely the employee will quit unless, upon additional consideration, the employee determines that the job dissatisfaction level is too high.

4. Absenteeism. Staying away from the job when scheduled to work. Absenteeism is a short-term reaction to job dissatisfaction.

B. Job Performance: Are Dissatisfied Employees Poor Performers?

1. Job Performance and Satisfaction. There is only a very weak correlation between job satisfaction and job performance. This may be because in most cases employees do not have a great deal of ability to adjust their job performance (quantity and quality of work).

2. Job Satisfaction and OCB. In the areas of the workplace where workers do have some control, such as organizational citizenship behaviors (voluntary acts of cooperation that go beyond formal job requirements), there is a strong positive relationship. The more satisfied the worker is, the more likely he or she is to help a co-worker. . 113

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 3. See the sidebar on page 201 to start an in-class discussion on promoting job satisfaction by treating people ethically.

C. Job Satisfaction and Injuries: Are Happy Workers Safe Workers? In high-performance work systems (organizations that offer employees opportunities to participate in decision making, provide incentives for them to do so, and emphasize opportunities to develop skills), there is a relationship between job satisfaction and increased safety.

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

Figure 6.12

D. Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction. There is a growing body of evidence that there is a close link between job satisfaction and affect. It appears people do take work home with them, at least as far as moods go.

VII.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPANIES

A. Organizational Commitment. The extent to which an individual identifies with, and is involved with, his or her organization, or is unwilling to leave it. This organizational commitment, or loyalty, has decreased in recent decades.

Organizational commitment is generally independent of job satisfaction.

B. Varieties of Organizational Commitment. There are three distinct forms of organizational commitment: 1. Continuance Commitment. This is the strength of a person’s desire to continue working for an organization because he or she needs to do so or cannot afford to do otherwise. This is where the cost of leaving outweighs the pain of staying.

2. Normative Commitment. The strength of the person’s desire to continue working for an organization because he or she feels obligations from others to remain there.

They continue to work because they do not want to disappoint employers or co-workers by resigning.

3. Affective Commitment. The strength of a person’s desire to work for an organization because he or she agrees with it and wants to do so. This is a value-based decision; employees are working for what they believe in. .

114

Figure 6.14

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment

C. Why Strive for an Affectively Committed Workforce?

1. Affectively Committed Employees Contribute to Successful Organizational Performance.

2. Affectively Committed Employees Are Unlikely to Withdraw. The greater the commitment a person has toward an organization, the less likely he or she is to withdraw. a. See the sidebar on page 205 to start an in-class discussion on today’s diverse and global organizations.

3. Affectively Committed Employees Are Willing to Make Sacrifices for Their Organizations. The more committed a person is, the more likely he or she is to exhibit organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB).

D. How to Promote Affective Commitment. Some determinants of organizational commitment are outside of managerial control, but management can take some actions to increase the likelihood of organizational (affective) commitment.

1. Enrich Jobs. If people are able to take control over what they do in their jobs and are recognized for making important contributions (job enrichment), organizational commitment is increased.

2. Align the Interests of the Company with Those of the Employees. Employees become committed when things that benefit the company also benefit them. a. Profit-Sharing Plans. Incentive plans in which employees receive bonuses in proportion to the company’s profitability.

3. Recruit and Select New Employees Whose Values Closely Match Those of The Organization. The more a company indicates they want a new hire, the greater the likelihood that new hire will be committed.

VIII.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVE

.

115

Sidebar: OB in a Diverse World

Figure 6.15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Define attitudes and work-related attitudes and describe the basic components of attitudes.

Attitudes are the stable clusters of feelings, beliefs, and behavioral tendencies directed toward some aspect of the external world. Work-related attitudes involve such reactions toward various aspects of work settings or the people in them. All attitudes consist of a cognitive component (what you believe), an evaluative component (how you feel), and a behavioral component (the tendency to behave in a certain way).

2. Distinguish between prejudice and discrimination, and identify various victims of prejudice in organizations.

Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward members of specific groups, and discrimination refers to treating people differently because of these prejudices. Today’s workforce is characterized by high levels of diversity with many groups finding themselves victims of prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors (based on many different factors, including age, sexual orientation, physical condition, racial or ethnic group membership, gender, and religious beliefs). Although people are becoming more tolerant of individuals from diverse groups, prejudicial attitudes persist.

3. Describe some of the things being done by today’s organizations to manage diversity in their workforces and the effectiveness of these practices.

To help tap the rich pool of resources available in today’s highly diverse workforce, many companies are using diversity management programs—techniques for systematically teaching employees to celebrate the differences between people. Typically, these programs go beyond efforts to recruit and hire women and members of minority groups to creating supportive work environments for them. The most effective programs focus on enhancing awareness of the benefits of a diverse workforce. Although implementing diversity management programs is potentially difficult, experts acknowledge that the benefits, both organizational and personal, are considerable. For example, research has shown that companies whose employees systematically embrace diversity tend to be more profitable than those that allow discrimination to occur.

.

116

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment 4. Describe the concept of job satisfaction, and summarize three major theories of job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction involves positive or negative attitudes toward one’s work. Value theory suggests that job satisfaction reflects the apparent match between the outcomes individuals desire from their jobs (what they value) and what they believe they are actually receiving.

The social information-processing model specifies that people adopt attitudes and behaviors in keeping with the cues provided by others with whom they come into contact.

Finally, the dispositional model of job satisfaction suggests that job satisfaction is a relatively stable characteristic that stays with people over various situations.

5. Describe the consequences of job dissatisfaction and ways to promote job satisfaction.

When people are dissatisfied with their jobs, they tend to withdraw. That is, they are frequently absent and are likely to quit their jobs. However, evidence suggests that job performance is only very weakly associated with dissatisfaction. Levels of job satisfaction can be raised by paying people fairly, improving the quality of supervision, decentralizing control of organizational power, and assigning people to jobs that match their interests.

6. Describe the concept of organizational commitment, its major forms, the consequences of low levels of organizational commitment, and how to overcome them.

Organizational commitment focuses on people’s attitudes toward their organizations. There are three major types of organizational commitment. One is continuance commitment: the strength of a person’s tendency to continue working for an organization because he or she has to and cannot afford to do otherwise. Another is affective commitment: the strength of a person’s tendency to continue working for an organization because he or she agrees with its goals and values and desires to stay with it.

A third is normative commitment: commitment to remain in an organization stemming from social obligations to do so.

Low levels of organizational commitment have been linked to high levels of absenteeism and voluntary turnover, the unwillingness to share and make sacrifices for the company, and negative personal consequences for employees. However, organizational commitment may be . 117

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations enhanced by enriching jobs, aligning the interests of employees with those of the company, and recruiting and selecting newcomers whose values closely match those of the organization.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are the three main components of attitudes?

Attitudes are the stable clusters of feelings, beliefs, and behavioral tendencies directed toward some aspect of the external world. Workrelated attitudes involve such reactions toward various aspects of work settings or the people in them. All attitudes consist of a cognitive component (what you believe), an evaluative component (how you feel), and a behavioral component (the tendency to behave in a certain way).

2. What is job satisfaction, and what are its major causes and the consequences of dissatisfaction?

Job satisfaction involves positive or negative attitudes toward one’s work.

According to the two-factor theory, job satisfaction and dissatisfaction stem from different factors. Specifically, it claims that factors leading to job satisfaction stem from factors associated with the work itself (known as motivators) and that factors leading to job dissatisfaction are associated with the conditions surrounding jobs (e.g., the work environment). Value theory suggests that job satisfaction reflects the apparent match between the outcomes individuals desire from their jobs (what they value) and what they believe they are actually receiving. When people are dissatisfied with their jobs, they tend to withdraw. That is, they are frequently absent and are likely to quit their jobs. However, evidence suggests that job performance is only very weakly associated with dissatisfaction. Levels of job satisfaction can be raised by paying people fairly, improving the quality of supervision, decentralizing control of organizational power, and assigning people to jobs that match their interests.

3. What is organizational commitment, and what are its major causes and the consequences of low levels of organizational commitment?

Organizational commitment focuses on people’s attitudes toward their organizations. There are three major types of organizational commitment.

One is continuance commitment: the strength of a person’s tendency to continue working for an organization because he or she has to and cannot afford to do otherwise. Another is affective commitment: the strength of a . 118

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment person’s tendency to continue working for an organization because he or she agrees with its goals and values and desires to stay with it. A third is normative commitment: commitment to remain in an organization stemming from social obligations to do so. Low levels of organizational commitment have been linked to high levels of absenteeism and voluntary turnover, the unwillingness to share and make sacrifices for the company, and negative personal consequences for employees. However, organizational commitment may be enhanced by enriching jobs, aligning the interests of employees with those of the company, and recruiting and selecting newcomers whose values closely match those of the organization.

4. What steps can be taken to promote job satisfaction and organizational commitment?

Considering the negative consequences of job dissatisfaction, it makes sense to raise satisfaction and, thus, to prevent dissatisfaction on the job.

After all, satisfaction is a desirable end in itself. How can it be promoted?

▪

Make jobs fun. People are more satisfied with jobs that they enjoy doing than with those they find dull and boring.

▪

Pay people fairly. People who believe their organization’s pay system is inherently unfair tend to be dissatisfied with their jobs.

▪

Match people to jobs that fit their interests. People have many interests, which only sometimes are satisfied on the job. The more people find they can fulfill their interests on the job, however, the more satisfied they are with those jobs.

▪

Avoid boring, repetitive jobs. In keeping with two-factor theory, people are far more satisfied with jobs that allow them to succeed by taking control over how they do things.

5. What is the difference between prejudice and discrimination?

Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward members of specific groups, and discrimination refers to treating people differently because of these prejudices. Today’s workforce is characterized by high levels of diversity with many groups finding themselves victims of prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors (based on many different factors, including age, sexual orientation, physical condition, racial or ethnic group membership, gender, and religious beliefs). Although people are becoming more tolerant of individuals from diverse groups, prejudicial attitudes persist.

6. What steps are today’s organizations taking to promote diversity, and are these efforts effective?

.

119

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Specific examples will vary; students may draw from examples in the text, that is, PE, or from their own experience. They should tie their answers into text content with examples of things such as: ▪

Affirmative action programs.

▪

Promoting policies that discourage sexual harassment.

▪

Providing physical access for employees with physical disabilities.

▪

Offering flexible work schedules.

▪

Allowing days off for religious holidays that may not be recognized widely.

▪

Offering parental leaves.

They may address training.

▪

Awareness-based diversity training is designed to raise people’s awareness of diversity issues in the workplace and to help them recognize the underlying assumptions they make about people.

▪

Skills-based diversity training builds on the awareness approach and is designed to develop people’s skills in managing diversity.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of a particular job you have enjoyed most. What did you like about it so much? Now, think of a particular job that you enjoyed least. What made you dislike it so much? Did the factors you liked fall into the “motivator” category of two-factor theory? Did the factors you disliked fall into the “hygiene” category of the two-factor theory?

Student’s answers will vary on this, however they should address component of the two-factor theory. Dissatisfaction associated with conditions surrounding the job (e.g., working conditions, pay, security, and quality of supervision, relations with others) rather than with the work itself. These factors are referred to as hygiene (or maintenance) factors.

And, satisfaction with factors associated with the work itself or to outcomes directly derived from it (e.g., nature of the job, achievement in the work, promotion opportunities, chance for personal growth and recognition).

2. Think about the particular organization at which you have worked the longest. What were the main reasons you stayed there? How do these compare to the three forms of organizational commitment described in this chapter?

.

120

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Students’ answers will vary, but should address the three forms of organizational commitment: continuance commitment, affective commitment, and normative commitment.

3. If you have ever participated in a diversity management -training program, what effects did it have on you? In what ways, if any, did your attitudes or behavior change? If you have never participated in a diversity management-training program, how do you think you would react to being in one? Do you think you would find it enjoyable? Useful? What challenges to effectiveness, if any, do you suspect you might encounter?

Students’ answers will vary.

Questions to Analyze 1. One of the strategies that has been recommended for enhancing job satisfaction is to make jobs more fun. We all like having fun, of course, but do you really think this matters when it comes to job satisfaction? In other words, is job satisfaction promoted by just having a pleasant, joking atmosphere in the workplace? Or, is what really matters making the work itself more interesting and enjoyable to perform? Explain your thoughts on this matter.

This is a good class discussion question. Students’ answers will vary, and they typically have much to say on this topic.

2. In today’s economy, where replacing employees can be an expensive proposition, it pays to be able to maintain a highly committed workforce.

Of the various things that can be done to promote commitment to an organization, which tactics do you believe may be most effective? Explain the basis for your answer.

Tactics to promote commitment include making jobs interesting and giving people responsibility, recruiting new employees whose values closely match those of the organization, and listening to employees.

3. Racial prejudice has been a serious problem in American society for a long time. How do you reconcile this with the fact that diversity management training generally seems to be successful? In other words, do you think diversity training actually changes people’s prejudicial attitudes? Or, do you think that such programs get people to change their behavior—at least long enough to allow different kinds of people to be accepted? Explain.

Students’ answers will vary depending on their experience and maturity.

. 121

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: How Satisfied Are You with Your Job? Questionnaires similar to this one are used to assess job satisfaction. Completing this questionnaire will help you appreciate the level of satisfaction you feel toward your own job. It also illustrates one of the most popular tools for measuring this important work-related attitude.

Directions Each of the following statements refers to a particular aspect of your job. In the space to the left of each, write the one number that reflects the extent to which you are satisfied or dissatisfied with this particular aspect of your present job.

Express your answers using the following scale: 1 _ very dissatisfied 2 _ dissatisfied 3 _ neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 4 _ satisfied 5 _ very satisfied 1. The opportunity to do things I find enjoyable.

2. Being able to count on a steady paycheck.

3. The feeling that I’ve accomplished something important.

4. The environment or surroundings in which I work.

5. The people with whom I work most of the time.

6. Opportunities to advance to higher positions.

7. A chance to be responsible for my accomplishments.

8. The opportunity to do things that I find challenging.

9. A chance to learn interesting new skills.

10. Having a chance to socialize and have fun with people.

Scoring and Interpretation 1. Add your scores for the 10 items. This will yield a number between 10 and 50.

2. Higher scores reflect higher degrees of job satisfaction.

Questions for Discussion 1. What did this questionnaire reveal about your level of job satisfaction?

Were you surprised at what it suggested, or did it tell you something you already knew?

2. Although this questionnaire includes only 10 items, statements about other aspects of the job might have been added to the list. Thinking about other . 122

Chapter 6: Work-Related Attitudes: Prejudice, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment aspects of the job that may be particularly important to you, what might some of these items be? If such items were included, how might your score have been affected?

3. To what extent do you believe that your score on this questionnaire is likely to change as you move into new positions over the years? Do you expect it to become higher or lower in the future? Why? Group Exercise: Recognizing Differences in Cultural Values on the Job Stereotyping and Being Stereotyped: Comparing Experiences You’ve probably been a victim of stereotyping by others, undoubtedly more often than you’d like. At the same time, you may have engaged in stereotyping others, even if you’re not especially proud of it. This exercise is designed to make you sensitive to these processes so that hopefully you’ll think twice before stereotyping anyone in the future.

Directions 1. Divide the class into pairs of students.

2. One student in each pair should recall a time in which he or she was stereotyped by someone else. To keep the facts straight, describe what occurred in a few lines. Also describe how this made you feel. Spend about 5 to 10 minutes on this.

3. At the same time, the other student in each pair should recall a time in which he or she engaged in stereotyping someone else. To keep the facts straight, describe what you did in a few lines. Also describe what led you to do this.

4. The members of each pair should take turns describing their experiences as “stereotypers” or victims of stereotyping. Be sure to explain your reactions (if you were a stereotype victim) or the things that led you to engage in stereotyping (if you were a stereotyper). Take about 5 to 10 minutes on this process.

Questions for Discussion 1. How did the other person’s experiences as a victim or stereotyper compare to your own experiences in these roles?

Various discussions are possible on this topic.

2. Thinking about the experiences shared in this exercise, what factors associated with an organization may have led to the willingness to . 123

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations stereotype or to the reactions experienced as a victim of stereotyping? Did something about the company or its people make things better or worse?

What are these factors?

Various discussions are possible on this topic.

3. Did this exercise make you any more sensitive to the costs of stereotyping? Do you think it will make a difference, at least for a little while?

It is hoped so.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Domino’s Pizza Takes a Bite Out of Turnover Questions for Discussion 1.

Of the three initiatives put into place to boost retention, which one do you believe will prove to be most effective? Why? Answers will vary based on students’ opinion.

2. Based on the material in this chapter, what else could Domino’s Pizza do to reduce its turnover problem?

Answers will vary based on students’ opinion.

3. How might making an effort to promote job satisfaction contribute to reducing turnover? As a manager of a Domino’s store, what exactly could you do to help in this way?

Incentives for managers that rewarded them for outstanding performance were implemented. This led to a system of bonuses based on store profits in addition to stock options for managers whose store sales grew while also creating highly satisfied customers. The effect was to align the financial interests of the managers with those of the company.

.

124

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations

7: Motivation in Organizations Learning Objectives: 1. Define motivation and explain its importance in the field of organizational behavior.

2. Describe the motivational-fit approach and what it suggests about how to improve motivation in organizations.

3. Identify and explain the conditions through which goal setting can be used to improve job performance.

4. Describe equity theory and explain how it may be applied to motivating people in organizations.

5. Describe expectancy theory and how it may be applied in organizations.

6. Distinguish among job enlargement, job enrichment, and the job characteristics model as techniques for motivating employees.

Chapter Overview The chapter begins with the definition of motivation. Motivational techniques will be described and explained. The chapter examines six different approaches to motivation: (1) meeting basic human needs, (2) fitting people’s traits and skills with the nature of the work, (3) setting goals, (4) treating people equitably, (5) enhancing beliefs that desired rewards can be attained, and (6) designing jobs to make them more desirable. As with the rest of the text, this chapter approaches this subject from two levels: the theoretical and the practical.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Costco: Doing Something Right A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. How many retailers do you believe would risk a vendor relationship in support of their customers? What are your thoughts on Costco’s demand on Coca-Cola? How do you think Costco motivates its customers and employees in overall satisfaction? What are your thoughts on the statement “helpful employees are an extension of the company’s friendly relations with its employees”?

II. MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS: ITS BASIC NATURE

.

125

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations A. Motivation. The set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain human behavior toward attaining some goal.

Figure 7.1

B. Components of Motivation 1. Arousal. This is the drive or energy behind our actions.

Arousal motivates people to do what it takes to accomplish their desired objectives.

2. Direction. This component of motivation deals with the choices people make while trying to satisfy their motives. Direction refers to the various options and paths people can take toward achieving a goal.

3. Maintenance. This final component of motivation deals with persistence. How long will people continue to attempt to meet a goal? People with little persistence cannot be said to be motivated.

C. Three Key Points About Motivation 1. Motivation and Job Performance Are Not Synonymous. Motivation is concerned with the effort expended toward achieving the goal while job performance is how well that goal is achieved. A person can be highly motivated but unable to perform in the job or vice versa.

2. Motivation Is Multifaceted. People often have more than one motive active at the same time. These motives may even be in conflict with one another.

3. People Are Motivated by More Than Just Money. The strongest motivator for today’s workers is not money, but the prospect of performing jobs that are interesting and challenging.

III. MOTIVATING BY ENHANCING FIT WITH THE ORGANIZATION A. Motivational Fit Approach. The framework stipulating that motivation is enhanced by a good fit between the traits and skills of the individuals and the requirements of the jobs they perform in organizations. The better the fit, the higher the motivation.

.

126

Figure 7.2

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations B. Individual Characteristics. The motivational traits and skills of an individual are important.

1. Motivational Traits. These are relatively stable individual characteristics. The most highly motivated employees tend to be those with high levels of achievement and low levels of anxiety. a. Achievement. Refers to people’s interest in excelling at what they do or accomplishing desired objectives. b. Anxiety. This is the tendency for someone to be excessively apprehensive or nervous about things in everyday life.

2. Motivational Skills. These are the particular strategies used when attempting to meet objectives. People can be trained in these skills or develop them naturally over time as they gain experience. High levels of both of the skill sets indicate individuals with high levels of motivation. a. Emotion Control. The capacity to control one’s emotions and stay focused on task without allowing emotions to interfere. b. Motivation Control. Capacity to push oneself by directing attention to the job; to persist at exerting effort even when one’s interest begins to wane.

3. Influence of Individual Characteristics. Motivational traits and skills do not operate independently. Traits influence skills: training someone to enhance his motivational skills will be ineffective if his traits are not a good fit.

.

127

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations C. Organizational Factors: Enhancing Motivational Fit 1. Changing the Person. In order to best match an individual to the requirements of the job, organizations can use two approaches: a. Screening. Organizations can prescreen job applicants to match individual characteristics with job requirements. b. Training. Organizations may attempt to increase motivational skills directly through training or motivational traits through long-term training and counseling.

2. Job Requirements. Organizations should assess jobs to determine what individual characteristics have the best fit.

Figure 7.3

D. Assessment. Although this is a new concept, initial research findings have been highly supportive.

IV.

MOTIVATING BY SETTING GOALS A. Goal-Setting Theory. A popular theory specifying that people are motivated to attain goals because doing so makes them feel successful.

Firgure 7.4

1. Goal Setting. The process of determining specific levels of performance for workers to attain and then striving to attain them.

2. A goal serves as a motivator for several reasons. a. Self-Efficacy. Being assigned a goal influences people’s beliefs about their ability to perform the task in question. People wish to feel competent and so choose to put effort toward goals they believe they can achieve. b. Goal Commitment. Degree to which people accept organizational goals as their own and strive to attain them. Employees with a desire to attain a goal, and who perceive they have a strong chance of successfully completing it, will be committed toward goal achievement. Those who do not believe they can attain it will not become committed. .

128

Figure 7.8

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations c. Self-Efficacy and Goal Commitment. In goalsetting theory, beliefs about self-efficacy and goal commitment influence task performance. If organizations can increase an employee’s selfefficacy (openly believing he or she is competent) and/or goal commitment (showing that he or she has the ability to achieve the goal), performance will be increased.

B. Guidelines for Setting Effective Performance Goals 1. Assign Specific Goals. People perform at higher levels when asked to meet a specific high-performance goal than when asked to meet a more general “do your best” goal (or when no goal at all is assigned).

2. Assign Difficult, but Acceptable, Performance Goals.

Goals must be neither too easy nor too difficult in order to be motivational. Goals considered to be outside the capability of the workers will be seen as unrealistic and unattainable.

Figure 7.5

a. Stretch Goals. Goals that are so difficult they challenge people to rethink the way they work.

1) Vertical Stretch Goals. Goals that challenge people to achieve higher levels of success in current activities.

2) Horizontal Stretch Goals. Goals that challenge people to perform tasks they have never done.

Figure 7.6

Table 7.2

b. Employee Participation and Acceptance. One of the easiest means of strengthening employees’ commitment to new goals is to involve them in the goal-setting process.

3. Provide Feedback on Goal Attainment. Feedback helps people attain their performance goals in two important ways.

Figure 7.7

a. Status. Feedback helps people determine how well they are doing toward reaching the goal, which may increase their feelings of self-efficacy. b. Interim Adjustments. Feedback helps people determine the nature of the adjustments to their

.

129

Figure 7.8

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations performance that must be made in order to improve.

V. MOTIVATING BY BEING EQUITABLE A. Equity Theory. The theory stating that people strive to maintain ratios of their own outcomes (rewards) to their own inputs (contributions) that are equal to the outcome/input ratios of others with whom they compare themselves.

1. Outcomes. The rewards employees receive from their jobs, such as salary and recognition.

2. Inputs. People’s contributions to their jobs, such as their experience, qualifications, or the amount of time worked.

B. Balancing Outcomes and Inputs 1. Creating Equity. People are motivated to maintain fair relationships between themselves and others and to avoid those relationships that are inequitable. Equity is perceived when the ratio of what people get out of their jobs (outcomes) to what they put into their jobs (inputs) is approximately equal. People have no problem with someone being paid twice as much as they are, so long as they believe that person to be working twice as hard. They consider that an equitable payment.

Figure 7.9

2. Responding to Inequities on the Job. There are two basic imbalances: a. Overpayment Inequity. The condition, resulting in feelings of guilt, in which the ratio of one’s outcomes-to-inputs is more than the corresponding ratio of another person with whom one compares him- or herself.

1) The person in this position either receives more outcomes than another person does for an equal level of input or receives equal outcomes when providing fewer inputs than did the other person.

2) Persons experiencing overpayment inequity may have feelings of guilt. This negative .

130

Table 7.3

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations emotional state motivates people to change the situation to feel satisfied by adjusting the outcomes or inputs.

3) Behavioral Reactions to Overpayment Inequity. People in the situation may begin to work harder, providing more input and balancing out the ratios. Alternatively (though rare), a person in the situation may voluntarily take a pay cut or reduce benefits until the ratios are back in alignment. b. Underpayment Inequity. The condition, resulting in feelings of anger, where the ratio of one’s outcomes-to-inputs is less than the corresponding ratio of another person with whom one compares him- or herself. This is the opposite of the overpayment inequity.

1) The person in this position receives fewer outcomes than another person does for an equal level of input or receives equal outcomes when providing more inputs than did the other person.

2) Persons experiencing underpayment inequity may have feelings of anger. This negative emotional state motivates people to change the situation to feel satisfied by adjusting the outcomes or inputs.

3) Behavioral Reactions to Underpayment Inequity. People in the situation may begin to slack off at work (if they can do so safely) until their perceived outcomes are in the proper ratio to their inputs. Alternatively, these people could ask for raises or some other form of benefit to balance out the ratio. In the worstcase scenario, people quit their jobs. c. Cognitive Reactions to Inequities. People who cannot behaviorally change their conditions to bring the ratios into alignment may resolve the inequity by changing the way they think about the situation. This may include inflating or deflating the perceptions of other people’s inputs or changing their beliefs of their own self-worth. .

131

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations d. See sidebar on page 228 to start an in-class discussion on inequities at home.

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

C. Managerial Implications of Equity Theory 1. Avoid Underpayment. Companies that try to save money by reducing salaries may find that employees respond in different ways to even the score. This can be increased theft, tardiness, decreased production, strikes, and increased turnover. a. Two-Tier Wage Structures. Payment systems in which newer employees are paid less than employees hired in earlier times to do the same work. These plans can lead to dramatic turnover but labor unions have bowed to the pressure and accepted them. b. Contingent Workers. Part-time workers are often paid less than are full-timers doing the same job.

This can be very disheartening for the contingent workers who often receive fewer (if any) of the benefits provided full-time employees.

2. Avoid Overpayment. There are two reasons to avoid overpayment and instead aim for equitable payment. a. No Long-term Performance Increase. Any increases in performance in response to an overpayment are only temporary. Performance will return to previous levels, only at a higher rate of pay. b. Equity. If one employee is overpaid, the other employees will feel underpaid and lower their performance, resulting in a net decrease in productivity and an increase in dissatisfaction.

3. Be Open and Honest with Employees. The key to equity theory is that it is all based on perception. By openly discussing situations with employees, their perceptions can be brought in line with reality. This may remove any feelings of inequity. Openness may also lead to increased levels of trust in both the company and its management.

VI.

MOTIVATING BY ALTERING EXPECTATIONS

.

132

Figure 7.10

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations A. Expectancy Theory. The theory that asserts that motivation is based on people’s beliefs about the probability that effort will lead to performance (expectancy), multiplied by the probability that performance will lead to reward (instrumentality), multiplied by the perceived value of the reward (valence).

B. Basic Elements of Expectancy Theory

Figure 7.11

1. Expectancy. The belief that one’s efforts positively influence one’s performance. “What are the odds that I will be able to do this?”

2. Instrumentality. An individual’s beliefs regarding the likelihood of being rewarded in accord with his or her own level of performance. “What are the odds that I will receive a reward if I do this?”

3. Valence. The value a person places on the rewards he or she expects to receive from an organization. “How important is the reward to me?”

4. Combining All Three Types of Beliefs. Motivation is a multiplicative function of all three components. That is to say, the values given for each of the three factors must be multiplied together to determine how motivational a situation is. If any of the three factors has a value of zero, then no motivation results.

5. Other Determinants of Job Performance. Expectancy theory views motivation is just one of several determinants of job performance. The two key moderators on the effect of motivation and job performance in this model are: a. Skills and Abilities. The greater a person’s skills and abilities are, the higher the job performance will be given the same level of motivation. b. Role Perceptions and Opportunities. When there is confusion over the tasks and responsibilities of the job, job performance suffers. If there are no opportunities for the motivated worker to perform, then too job performance suffers.

C. Putting Expectancy Theory to Work: Key Managerial Implications. This theory takes a very practical approach

.

133

Table 7.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations to motivation. The idea is for managers to modify the three factors in a way to increase motivation.

1. Make it clear that effort will lead to performance.

Training employees to do their jobs more efficiently, following their suggestions about ways to change their jobs, or allowing them to participate in decision making are all means to allow employees to perceive that the desired performance is attainable.

2. Administer Rewards That Provide Positive Valence to Employees. Benefits must be meaningful to the employees to be motivational. Cafeteria-style benefit plans (incentive systems in which employees have the opportunity to select the fringe benefits they want from a menu of available alternatives) may be helpful in this regard.

3. Clearly Link Valued Rewards and Performance.

Managers must enhance the link between behaviors and rewards; they must highlight the instrumentality of the behaviors in getting benefits for the employees. a. Pay-for-performance plans (systems in which employees are paid differentially, based on the quantity and quality of their performance) are designed to be instrumental but often fail due to poor implementation. b. Nonmonetary Incentives. Rewards do not have to be monetary. Recognition can take any form of value to the employees. c. Incentive Stock Options (ISO) Plans. Corporate programs in which a company grants an employee the opportunity to purchase its stock at some future time at a specified price. As the employees perform better in response to this incentive, the company should do better, raising the stock price and thereby benefiting the employees for their efforts.

VII.

MOTIVATING BY STRUCTURING JOBS TO MAKE THEM INTERESTING A. Job Design. An approach to motivation suggesting that jobs can be created to enhance people’s interest in doing them. .

134

Figure 7.12

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations 1. Job Enlargement. The practice of expanding the content of a job to include more variety and the greater number of tasks at the same level. This is one of the ways to minimize the negative effects of jobs composed of highly repetitive tasks. The research assessment of this technique has not shown it to be that powerful over the long run.

2. Job Enrichment. The practice of giving employees a high degree of control over their work, from planning and organization, through implementing the jobs and evaluating the results. This technique is more effective than job enlargement and it increases the skills and responsibilities of the workers. a. Vertical Job Loading. This is the aspect of job enrichment where workers perform tasks normally done at higher levels in the organization. b. Impediments to Job Enrichment. There are a number of factors that make this a difficult program to create.

1) Difficulty of Implementation. Redesigning existing facilities so that jobs can be enriched quite often is expensive.

2) Lack of Employee Acceptance. Some people do not wish increased responsibilities. Job enrichment for these people may actually lower their motivation and job performance. Other employees may wish additional pay for the additional responsibilities.

B. The Job Characteristics Model (JCM). An approach to job enrichment that specifies that there are five core job dimensions that produce critical psychological states that lead to beneficial outcomes for individuals and the organization. This model is used to design jobs during job enrichment efforts. The model has a number of components.

1. Components of the Model. a. Skill Variety. Refers to the extent to which the job requires doing different activities using several of the employee’s skills and talents. .

135

Figure 7.13

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations b. Task Identity. Refers to the extent to which the job requires completing a whole piece of work from beginning to end.

Figure 7.14

c. Task Significance. Refers to the degree of impact the job is believed to have on others. d. Autonomy. Refers to the extent to which employees have the freedom and discretion to plan, schedule, and carry out their jobs as desired.

1) See the sidebar on page 239 to start an in-class discussion on the dangers of autonomy.

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

e. Feedback. Refers to the extent to which the job allows people to have information about the effectiveness of their performance.

2. Does the Job Characteristics Model Apply to Everyone? The JCM is theorized to be especially effective in describing the behavior of individuals who are high in growth end strength (the personality variable describing the extent to which people have a higher need for personal growth and development on the job). Individuals who have low growth end strength will not enjoy the benefits predicted by the model.

3. Putting It All Together. This model is associated with a questionnaire known as the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS). Responses on the JDS are indexed to create the motivating potential score (MPS). The MPS describes the degree to which the job is designed to motivate people. The higher the score, the more motivational the job, and the lower the score, the more likely it is to benefit from redesign. The MPS index is determined by averaging the skill variety, task identity, and task significance values and multiplying the average by the value for autonomy and the value for feedback.

4. Evidence for the Model. This model has received some empirical support and it is the subject of a great deal of research.

C. Designing Jobs That Motivate: Managerial Guidelines

.

136

Table 7.5

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations 1. Combine Tasks. Having people perform an entire job rather than a separate task increases motivation (skill variety and task identity).

2. Open Feedback Channels. The greater the level of feedback, the more motivated the workers (feedback).

3. Establish Client Relationships. When the person performing the service meets the recipient of the service, the job will be more motivational (feedback, skill variety, and autonomy).

4. Load Jobs Vertically. Giving greater responsibility to people in their jobs may often be motivational (autonomy), remembering that not all workers relish the idea of greater responsibility.

VIII. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define motivation and explain its importance in the field of organizational behavior.

Motivation is concerned with the set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain behavior toward a goal. It is not equivalent to job performance, but is one of several determinants of job performance. Today’s work ethic motivates people to seek interesting and challenging jobs, instead of just money.

2. Describe the motivational-fit approach and what it suggests about how to improve motivation in organizations.

The motivational-fit approach highlights the importance of motivational traits (achievement and anxiety) and motivational skills (emotion control and motivation control) in work motivation. This framework specifies that people will be most highly motivated when these traits and skills best fit the requirements of the job and the organization in which someone works.

3. Identify and explain the conditions through which goal setting can be used to improve job performance.

The goal-setting theory claims that an assigned goal influences a person’s beliefs about being able to perform a task (referred to as self-efficacy) and his or .

137

Figure 7.15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations her personal goals. Both of these factors, in turn, influence performance. Research has shown that people will improve their performance when specific, acceptably difficult goals are set and feedback about task performance is provided. The task of selecting goals that are acceptable to employees is facilitated by allowing employees to participate in the goal-setting process.

4. Describe equity theory and explain how it may be applied to motivating people in organizations.

Equity theory claims that people desire to attain an equitable balance between the ratios of their work rewards (outcomes) and their job contributions (inputs) and the corresponding ratios of comparison to others.

Inequitable states of overpayment inequity and underpayment inequity are undesirable, motivating people to try to attain equitable conditions. Responses to inequity may be either behavioral (e.g., raising or lowering one’s performance) or psychological (e.g., thinking differently about work contributions). To avoid negative reactions (e.g., strikes, reduced work, and resignations), overpayment inequity and underpayment inequity should be avoided. It also is useful to explain how outcomes and inputs were determined in an open and honest fashion.

5. Describe expectancy theory and how it may be applied in organizations.

Expectancy theory recognizes that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about expectancy (effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and valence (the perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and opportunities, motivation contributes to job performance. Expectancy theory suggests that motivation may be enhanced by linking rewards to performance (as in pay-for-performance plans) and by administering rewards that are highly valued (as may be done using cafeteria-style benefit plans).

6. Distinguish among job enlargement, job enrichment, and the job characteristics model as techniques for motivating employees. .

138

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations Motivation may be enhanced at the organizational level by designing or redesigning jobs in certain ways.

Popular approaches include job enlargement (performing more tasks at the same level) and job enrichment (giving people greater responsibility and control over their jobs). A more sophisticated approach, the job characteristics model, identifies the specific job dimensions that should be enriched (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback), and relates these to the critical psychological states influenced by including these dimensions on a job. These psychological states will, in turn, lead to certain beneficial outcomes for both individual employees (e.g., job satisfaction) and the organization (e.g., reduced absenteeism and turnover).

Jobs may be designed to enhance motivation by combining tasks, opening feedback channels, establishing client relationships, and loading jobs vertically (i.e., enhancing responsibility for one’s work).

.

139

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are Maslow’s five categories of needs and how might each be satisfied on the job?

▪

Physiological Needs. Refers to satisfying fundamental biological drives (e.g., the need for food, air, water, and shelter). Organizations must provide employees with a salary that affords them adequate living conditions. Similarly, sufficient opportunities to rest (e.g., coffee breaks) and to engage in physical activity (e.g., fitness and exercise facilities) also are important for people to meet these needs.

▪

Safety Needs. Refers to the need for a secure environment that is free from threats of physical or psychological harm. Organizations can provide employees with safety equipment (e.g., hard hats and goggles), life and health insurance, and security forces (e.g., police and fire protection). Similarly, jobs that provide tenure (e.g., teaching) and nolayoff agreements provide a psychological security blanket that helps to satisfy safety needs.

▪

Social Needs. Refers to the need to be affiliative (e.g., to have friends, to be loved and accepted by other people). Organizations may encourage participation in social events (e.g. office picnics or parties).

▪

Esteem Needs. Refers to the need to develop self-respect and to gain the approval of others—the desire for success, be given prestige, and be recognized by others. Companies may have awards banquets to recognize distinguished achievements. Giving monetary bonuses— even small ones—in recognition of employees’ suggestions for improvement also helps to promote their esteem. Nonmonetary awards (e.g., trophies and plaques) provide reminders of an employee’s important contributions as well and continuously fulfill esteem needs.

▪

Self-Actualization Needs. Refers to the need to become all that one can be, to develop one’s fullest potential. Individuals who have selfactualized are working at their peak, and they represent the most effective use of an organization’s human resources. Organizations can offer training, tuition reimbursement, projects that are more challenging, and so forth.

2. What particular traits and skills are most important when it comes to enhancing motivation by promoting fit with one’s job and organization?

The key personal traits are the desire for achievement and the amount of anxiety/apprehensiveness normally felt. Typically, successful people have high levels of desire for achievement and low levels of anxiety. Key . 140

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations personal skills are abilities to control emotions and the capacity to motivate oneself even when no longer interested in the project. Successful people have highly controlled emotions and the ability to self-motivate to goal completion.

3. What rules should be followed when setting goals to motivate workers?

The basic idea behind the goal-setting theory is that a goal serves as a motivator because it causes people to compare their present capacity to perform with that required to succeed at the goal. Some guidelines to follow are: ▪

Make goals specific

▪

Assign challenging but attainable goals

▪

Provide feedback concerning goal attainment

4. What does equity theory say about the role of money as a motivator?

Equity theory states that people compare themselves with others and focus on two variables; outcomes and inputs. Outcomes are things we get out of our jobs and include pay, fringe benefits, and prestige. Inputs are things we contribute, such as the amount of time worked, amount of effort expended, number of units produced, and the qualifications we bring to the job.

People compare their outcomes and inputs with those of others and then judge the equitableness of these relationships in the form of a ratio.

Comparisons can result in any of three different states: overpayment inequity, underpayment inequity, or equitable payment. Individuals seek to create a state of equitable payment in which their outcome/input ratios are equal, thus leading them to feel satisfied. People change inequitable states to equitable ones in a couple of ways: ▪

People who are underpaid may lower their inputs or raise their outcomes.

▪

People who are overpaid might do the opposite and either raise inputs or lower outcomes.

People may be unwilling to do some of the things that are necessary to respond behaviorally to inequities. As a result, they may resort to resolving the inequity not by changing their behavior, but by changing how they think about the situation. So by changing how they see things, people may come to perceive inequitable situations as being equitable, thus effectively reducing their distress over the inequity.

.

141

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 5. What are the basic components of expectancy theory and how are they combined to predict performance?

Expectancy theory recognizes that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about expectancy (effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and valence (the perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and opportunities, motivation contributes to job performance. Expectancy theory suggests that motivation may be enhanced by linking rewards to performance (as in pay-for-performance plans) and by administering rewards that are highly valued (as may be done using cafeteria-style benefit plans).

6. How, specifically, can jobs be designed in an effort to enhance motivation?

Job design techniques include job enlargement (performing more tasks at the same level) and job enrichment (giving people greater responsibility and control over their jobs). The job characteristics model identifies the specific job dimensions that should be enriched (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) and relates these to the critical psychological states influenced by including these dimensions on a job.

These psychological states will, in turn, lead to certain beneficial outcomes for both individual employees (e.g., job satisfaction) and the organization (e.g., reduced absenteeism and turnover). Jobs may be designed to enhance motivation by combining tasks, opening feedback channels, establishing client relationships, and loading jobs vertically (i.e., enhancing responsibility for one’s work).

Experiential Questions 1. What experiences have you had in setting personal goals (e.g., for saving money, for losing weight, for getting a certain job)? Which rules of goal setting did you follow? Which rules might you have followed to be even more successful?

Students’ answers will vary but should include the components of goal setting: (1) make goals specific, (2) assign challenging but attainable goals, and (3) provide feedback concerning goal attainment.

2. Think of a time in which you felt inequitably underpaid by your employer or manager. How did it make you feel, and how did you respond as a result?

If the student has been inequitably underpaid (and most will feel they have been), they typically felt angry, “harm done to,” and “ripped off.” . 142

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations Responses can range from taking excessively long breaks, leaving early, not working as hard as they could, ripping off the employer to “even things out,” taking unauthorized “mental health days,” using company equipment for personal enjoyment, arguments with the boss over pay, demands for pay raises, or quitting.

3. Think of the job you currently do or one that you have done recently.

Describe two specific things that could be done to redesign that job so that employees will be more motivated to perform it.

Students’ answers will vary but should include elements of job design or job enlargement techniques.

Questions to Analyze 1. An employee claims to be trying very hard but is not attaining acceptable levels of job performance. According to expectancy theory, what factors would contribute to such effort? What additional factors, besides motivation, contribute to task performance?

The expectancy theory states that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about expectancy (effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and valence (the perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and opportunities, motivation contributes to job performance. If the employee is comparing himself to a lower performing employee—he may believe that he is working hard. Additionally, he may not have the required skills to do the job and therefore is working very hard just to keep up.

2. Money is not the only source of work motivation, but it plays a key role.

Explain the specific role of money as a motivator in each of the theories of motivation presented in this chapter.

Money in Maslow’s need hierarchy theory would meet a physiological need. In the motivational fit approach, money does not even enter into the picture. Money could be used in the goal-setting theory as a specified amount (goal) that an employee might aspire to. According to the equity theory, money is a motivator so long as it was paid equitably in relation to the worker’s inputs. The expectancy theory would suggest that an employee would be motivated to work harder believing rewards (money) will be there.

3. Imagine that you are devising an incentive plan for your company. What particular guidelines will you follow to ensure that it is effective? What problems do you anticipate as the plan takes effect?

Answers will vary based on each student’s experience level. In general, based on the information in this chapter, they should be looking to ensure . 143

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations that the program is equitable (meaning fair to all parties) and motivational (meaning it pays for itself through increased job performance). Some potential problems are: ▪

Ensuring that the incentives encourage the behaviors the company wishes to see.

▪

Ensuring that the incentives are available to everyone equally.

▪

Poor implementation could destroy the program before it even starts.

▪

Employees who learned to “game” the system may end up destroying the motivational effectiveness of the program.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Are You Equitably Paid?

1. What do your responses to this questionnaire reveal about the perceived equitableness of your pay? Are you overpaid or underpaid? Does your score confirm what you believe about the fairness of your pay?

Answers will vary. Students who feel they are underpaid should have close to the maximum of 5 points for response “a” while those who believe they are overpaid should have up to 5 points for response “c.” Students who have up to 5 points in response “b” feel they are being paid equitably.

2. If you are equitably paid, do you feel satisfied on the job? If you are inequitably paid (either overpaid or underpaid), do you feel dissatisfied on the job?

In general those who were equitably paid should feel satisfied (and least about the pay) although other job factors may make them state that they are dissatisfied overall. Most typically, the underpaid students will evidence strong job dissatisfaction. The overpaid students may have already cognitively adjusted their viewpoint and are no longer dissatisfied over being paid too much.

3. On occasions in which you felt inequitably underpaid, how did you respond? Did you lower your inputs? If so, how? Did you attempt to raise your outcomes? If so, how?

Answers may vary, but in general lowering inputs includes getting off work early, reducing the amount of work performed per hour, stealing from the employer, and basic goofing off. Raising the outcomes could have been done by asking for a raise or quitting for a better paying job.

. 144

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations Group Exercise: Does Goal Setting Really Work? Demonstrate It for Yourself 1. Was there a statistically significant difference between the performance levels of the two groups? If so, did students in the “specific goal” group outperform those in the “do your best” group, as expected? What does this reveal about the effectiveness of goal setting?

Results of the t-test will tend to show the students in the “specific goal” group outperformed those in the “do your best” group. This would show that by providing specific goals, greater job performance can be attained.

2. If the predicted findings were not supported, why do you suppose this happened? What was it about the procedure that may have led to this failure? Was the specific goal (i.e., twice the fastest speed in the “baseline” group) too high, thus making the goal unreachable?

Alternatively, was it too low, thus making the specific goal too easy?

If the test does not show a significant difference between the two groups, or even that the “do your best” group outperformed the “specific goal” group, the results might be due to the small size of the groups and the off chance that through random selection people who naturally write faster fell into the “do your best” group more often than they did the “specific goal” group. In that case, recommend more studies using larger groups.

Questions of the difficulty of the goal can be assessed by observing the groups as they are being tested. If the test subjects start out quickly, but then look at the clock and begin to slow down, this may be an indication that they came to believe the goal was not attainable once they made an attempt to judge the difficulty. If they wrote slowly initially and then sped up toward the end, it may be that they thought the goal was too easy and did not try until it was too late.

3. What do you think would happen if the goal were lowered, thus making it easier, or raised, thus making it more difficult?

Answers will vary depending on how much the goals are raised or lowered and what the students think a reasonable amount of effort in a minute is.

In general, low simple goals and impossibly high ones should not prove to be very motivational. The goal must be obtainable but difficult.

4. Do you think that providing feedback about goal attainment (e.g., someone counting the number of words copied and calling this out to the performers as they worked) would have helped?

This depends on the students’ perspectives: some will see this as a form of feedback and therefore view it positively; others may see it as a stressinducing change to the environment. Those who see it as a positive thing . 145

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations would believe that such feedback would increase performance. Those who see it as a negative will believe that performance will decline.

5. For what other kinds of tasks do you believe goal setting may be effective? Specifically, do you believe that goal setting can improve your own performance on something? Explain this possibility.

Goal setting can be helpful in any aspect of life. In fact, longitudinal studies have shown that people who used goals tended to achieve more things in life, have more material success, and were happier than those who did not have specific goals.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Google: Searching for a Better Way to Work Questions for Discussion 1. What does Google do to motivate its employees?

Employees are treated very well. A fantastic on-site cafeteria serves gourmet meals of every kind, catering to a variety of dietary needs and preferences—all absolutely free of charge. People even can bring their dogs to work, keeping them company throughout the day. Every year, the company takes all of its employees on an all-expenses-paid ski trip (to name a few).

2. Based on the material in this chapter, what recommendations would you make to Google about additional things it could do to enhance motivation?

Based on student opinion from material in text.

3. What particular problems or limitations do you envision in the recommendations you offered in answering the previous question? For example, under what conditions are they likely to be effective? Would they work for everyone?

Answers will vary based on students’ opinion.

.

146

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams

8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams Learning Objectives: 1. Define what is meant by a group and identify different types of groups operating within organizations.

2. Describe the importance of roles, norms, status, and cohesiveness within organizations.

3. Explain how individual performance in groups is affected by the presence of others (social facilitation) and the number of others with whom one is working (social loafing).

4. Define what teams are and describe the various types of teams that exist in organizations.

5. Describe the effectiveness of teams in organizations.

6. Explain the factors responsible for the failure of some teams to operate as effectively as possible and steps that can be taken to build successful teams.

Chapter Overview The first half of this chapter describes the nature of groups by defining what groups are, identifying various types of groups and why they form, explaining the various stages through which groups develop, and describing the dynamics of the way groups are structured. Following this, the attention shifts to how effective groups operate, specifically, how people are affected by the presence of others, how the cultural makeup of a group affects performance, and the tendency for people to withhold their individual performance under certain conditions.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Making a “Better Place” One Electric Vehicle at a Time A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. Do you believe a company will perform better overall by achieving economic or environmental advances?

2. Do you think it is possible for something as advanced as an electric c to be completely designed by just one person or are teams absolutely required?

3. Do you believe Agassi and his team will indeed change the world?

.

147

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations II. GROUPS AT WORK: THEIR BASIC NATURE A. Group Dynamics. The social science field of focusing on the nature of groups: the factors governing their formation and development, the elements of their structure, and their interrelationships with individuals, other groups, and organizations.

B. What Is a Group? A collection of two or more interacting individuals who maintain stable patterns of relationships, share common goals, and perceive themselves as being a group. This definition provides four characteristics of a group:

Figure 8.1

1. Social Interaction. Members of the group must have some influence on one another, either verbally or nonverbally.

2. Stability. While groups do change over time, there must be a relatively stable structure.

3. Common Interests or Goals. Members must share common interests or goals.

4. Recognition as Being a Group. The people in the group must recognize one another as members of their group and be able to distinguish members from nonmembers.

Figure 8.2

C. What Types of Groups Exist?

1. Formal Groups. Groups that are created by the organization, intentionally designed to direct its members toward some organizational goal. a. Command Group. A group determined by the connections between the individuals who are a formal part of the organization (i.e., those who legitimately can give orders to others). These groups are normally determined by the organization’s rules regarding who reports to whom, and usually consist of a supervisor and his or her subordinates. b. Task Group. A formal organizational group formed around some specific task. These groups may be composed of individuals with some special interest or expertise in a specific area regardless of their positions in the organizational hierarchy. .

148

Slide 8.05 Figure 8.3

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams 1) Standing Committees. Permanent task groups.

2) Ad Hoc Committee. A temporary task group formed for a specific purpose. Also known as task forces.

2. Informal Groups. Groups tend to develop naturally among people, without any direction from the organization within which they operate. A key factor in the formation of informal groups is a common interest shared by its members. a. Interest Groups. A group of employees who come together to satisfy a mutual interest. Groups of workers that form as part of initial union activities fall in this category. Membership in the group is voluntary. b. Friendship Groups. Informal groups that develop because the members are friends, often seeing one another outside of the organization. These groups are means for members to satisfy the social needs that are so important to individual well-being.

D. Why do People Join Groups?

1. To Satisfy Mutual Interests and Goals. By bonding together, people can achieve actions that would be impossible as individuals.

Figure 8.4

2. To Achieve Security. Groups derive safety from numbers and protection against common enemies.

3. To Fill Social Needs. Being in groups helps satisfy people’s basic need to be with others (Maslow’s need for affiliation).

4. To Fill the Need for Self-Esteem. Group membership provides opportunities for people to be recognized.

E. The Five-Stage Model of Group Formation. No matter what the reason may be for the group’s formation, the way the group develops is fairly standard. This model of group formation contains five sequential stages.

1. Stage 1: Forming. During this stage, members become acquainted with one another. They establish ground rules for unacceptable behavior and tend to be a bit .

149

Figure 8.5

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations confused and uncertain about the group itself. The stage is complete when individuals think of themselves as members of the group.

2. Stage 2: Storming. The state is characterized by a high degree of conflict within the group. Members resist the control of the group’s leaders and show hostility toward one another. This stage ends when either (1) the conflicts are resolved and the group moves to stage three or (2) the conflicts are not resolved and the group disbands.

3. Stage 3: Norming. At this point, the group becomes more cohesive and each individual member’s identification with the group becomes stronger. Close relationships develop and a feeling of shared responsibility for the group’s activities is heightened.

This stage ends when group members accept the common set of social expectations (norms).

4. Stage 4: Performing. Finally, at this stage, the group can begin to work. Energy that was devoted toward forming the group can now be expended in accomplishing the group’s goals.

5. Stage 5: Adjourning. Few groups last forever. Groups may end abruptly when their task is accomplished or they may simply wither away over time. It is important to have formal closure for group: a ceremony or some other activity that recognizes the work the group accomplished.

F. The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model. A second conceptualization of how groups develop, this model claims that groups generally plan activities during the first half of their time together, then revise and implement their plans in the second half.

1. Phase 1. During this phase, teams define their task and set their mission. This first phase does not allow for much change. At the halfway point toward the deadline, the group faces a crisis and shifts to phase 2.

.

150

Figure 8.6

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams 2. Phase 2. The group drops its old ways of thinking and adopts new perspectives. They then carry out their mission until the end of phase 2, when they show the final bursts of activity necessary to complete their work.

III. THE STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS OF WORK GROUPS A. Group Structure. The stable pattern of interrelationships between individuals constituting a group; the guidelines of behavior that make group functioning orderly and predictable. There are four different aspects of group structure: the various parts played by group members (roles), the rules and expectations that develop within groups (norms), the prestige of group membership (status), and the members’ sense of belonging (cohesiveness).

1. Roles: The Hats We Wear. These are the parts people play in the group: a. Role. The typical behavior that characterizes a person in a specific social context. b. Role Incumbent. A person holding a particular role (the part in the group). c. Role Expectations. The behaviors expected of someone in a particular role (the role incumbent). d. Role Ambiguity. Confusion arising from not knowing what one is expected to do as the holder of a role. This includes confusion over expectations, authority, and responsibility, all of which may lead to job dissatisfaction. e. Role Differentiation. The tendencies for various specialized roles to emerge as groups develop. This is from the beneficial effects of having different individuals perform different tasks for the benefit of the group. This can be formal or informal. f. Naturally Occurring Group Roles. These three roles seem to spontaneously and naturally occur in group settings.

1) Task-oriented Role. The activities of an individual in a group who, more than anyone else, helps the group reach its goal. .

151

Figure 8.7

Table 8.1

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2) Socioemotional Role. The activities of an individual in a group who is supportive and nurturant of other group members and who helps them feel good.

3) Self-oriented Role. The activities of an individual in a group who focuses on his or her own good, often at the expense of others.

2. Norms: A Group’s Unspoken Rules. Norms are the generally agreed upon informal rules that guide group members’ behavior. These are not the formal and written organizational rules; they are informal social agreements on how to properly behave in the group.

Norms can develop in a number of different ways. a. Prescriptive Norms. Expectations within groups regarding what is supposed to be done. b. Proscriptive Norms. Expectations within groups regarding behaviors in which members are not supposed to engage.

3. Status: The Prestige of Group Membership. Status is the relative prestige, social position, or rank given to groups or individuals by others. People with higher status tend to be more influential. Status may be formal or informally conferred. a. Formal Status. The prestige one has by virtue of his or her official position in an organization. It is an attempt to differentiate between the degrees of formal authority given to employees by an organization.

1) Status Symbols. Objects reflecting the position of any individual within an organization’s hierarchy of power. b. Informal Status. The prestige accorded individuals with certain characteristics that are not formally recognized by the organization.

4. Cohesiveness: Getting the Team Spirit. Cohesiveness is the strength of the group members’ desires to remain a part of the group. Also known as esprit de corps.

Cohesive groups have members that are attracted to one another, accept the group’s goals, and help work toward .

152

Figure 8.8

Table 8.2

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams meeting them. Group cohesiveness is not always positive. When the group’s norms are in conflict with those of the organization, highly cohesive groups can have a negative impact on the organization. The factors that influence group cohesiveness are: a. Severity of Initiation. The harder it is to become a member of the group, the more cohesive it will be. b. Conditions of High External Threats or Competition. When groups face a “common enemy,” they tend to draw together for protection and safety.

Figure 8.9

c. Frequency of Contact. When group members spend a significant amount of time together, cohesiveness is increased. d. Size of Groups. Smaller groups tend to be more cohesive. e. Group History. Groups with a history of success tend to be highly cohesive.

IV. INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN GROUPS A. Social Facilitation: Working in the Presence of Others.

The tendency for the presence of others to enhance or impair an individual’s performance.

1. The Drive Theory of Social Facilitation. The theory that the presence of others increases arousal, which increases people’s tendencies to perform the dominant response. If that response is well learned, performance will improve. But if it is novel, performance will be impaired. This theory uses two basic psychological processes to explain social facilitation. a. Heightened Emotional Arousal. These are the feelings of tension and excitement people experience when in the presence of others. b. Perform the Dominant Response. When people are aroused, they perform their most likely behavior in the given setting. Newly learned behaviors tend to exhibit incorrect dominant responses while rehearsed behaviors tend to be correctly exhibited.

This may be explained by evaluation apprehension: .

153

Figure 8.10

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations the fear of being evaluated or judged by another person.

2. Social Loafing in Computer-Monitored Groups.

Computer-monitored groups are those whose performance is monitored indirectly (virtually) by computer. Social facilitation occurs even when the “other person” is a computer, which may lead to lower levels of performance.

B. Social Loafing: “Free Riding” when Working with Others.

1. Social Loafing. The tendency for group members to exert less individual effort on an additive task (a task that could be accomplished by an individual but is instead done by more than one) as the size of the group increases.

2. Social Impact Theory. A theory that explains social loafing in terms of the diffused responsibilities for each member of the group doing what is expected. The larger the size of the group, the less each member is influenced by the social pressures acting upon the group.

3. Is Social Loafing a Universal Phenomenon? Social loafing appears to be more common in individualistic cultures than in collectivistic cultures. In fact, unlike the situation in individualistic cultures where team members are typically less productive when working in a group than when working alone, team members in collectivistic cultures are more productive in groups than they are when working alone. a. Individualistic Cultures. National groups whose members place a high value on individual accomplishments and personal success (such as the United States). b. Collectivistic Cultures. Cultures in which people place high value on shared responsibility and the collective good of all (for instance, Israel).

.

154

Figure 8.11

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams 4. Overcoming Social Loafing. a. Identification. If each group member can be identifiable, that is, he or she can be publicly tied directly to his or her output; social loafing is less likely to occur. b. Interesting Tasks. When tasks are perceived to be vital to the organization, that is, meaningful and important, team members are less likely to loaf. c. Reward Individuals. Rewarding individuals for a group’s performance may help focus them on collective concerns and obligations, thereby lessening the likelihood of loafing. d. Use Threats. Loafing may be reduced by threatening to punish the group when individuals from the group are found to be slacking off.

V. TEAMS: SPECIAL KINDS OF GROUPS A. Defining Teams and Distinguishing Them from Groups.

1. Team. A group whose members have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose or set of performance goals for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

2. Differences Between Teams and Groups. a. Collective Work Products. In teams, the outcome is the joint result of the team members working in concert; in groups, performance depends on the work of individual members. b. Mutual Accountability. In groups, the supervisor holds individual members accountable for their work, whereas in teams, members hold themselves accountable. c. Common Commitment to a Purpose. Teams establish “ownership” of their purposes and usually spend a great deal of time establishing their purposes, such as winning or being number one. In teams, goals have a broader purpose that supplies a source of meaning and emotional energy to the

. 155

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations activities performed. Groups merely have a common goal. d. Self-Managing. Groups typically must be responsive to managerial demands throughout their life. In teams, management establishes the mission and allows the team to do its job without further interference. Teams are often described as being autonomous or semi-autonomous for this reason.

Table 8.3

B. Types of Teams. There are five dimensions used to categorize the types of teams.

Figure 8.12

1. Purpose or Mission. This dimension focuses on why the team was formed. a. Work Teams. Work team members are primarily concerned with using the organization’s resources to effectively create its results. b. Improvement Teams. Members of these teams are oriented primarily toward increasing the effectiveness of the processes used by the organization.

2. Time. Here the concern is how long the team will last. a. Temporary Teams. These teams are established for a specific project and exist for only a finite period. b. Permanent Teams. These teams remain intact as long as an organization is still in existence.

3. Degree of Autonomy. This is the degree to which teams operate autonomously (that is they make their own decisions). a. Work Groups. Management makes the decisions for group members and management is responsible for work outcomes. b. Semi-Autonomous Workgroups. Workgroups in which employees get to share the responsibility for decisions with their bosses and are jointly accountable for their work outcomes.

.

156

Figure 8.13

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams c. Self-managed Work Teams. Team members are free to make their own key decisions and are accountable for them.

4. Authority Structure. This refers to the team’s connection to the organization’s overall authority structure: that is, whether or not team members are drawn from a single functional area.

Firgure 8.14 Figure 8.14

a. Intact Teams. Teams work within their own functional area (be that function based on product, profession, division, or some other criteria). b. Cross-functional Teams. Teams consist of members from several different specialties. Team members are from the same organizational level (within the hierarchy) but from different functions. Using this type of team provides organizations with better decisions due to the team’s wider viewpoint.

Figure 8.15

5. Physical Presence. This final dimension relates to how the members interact. a. Physical Teams. These are traditional teams in which members are physically present. b. Virtual Teams. Teams operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries, communicating with one another only through electronic technology.

C. Creating and Developing Teams: A Four-Stage Process 1. Stage 1: Prework. This stage contains the preliminary work required to set up a team. The most important decision is whether to form a team at all. The team’s objectives must be established, inventory of required skills made, and the authority of the team must be determined.

2. Stage 2: Create Performance Conditions. Management must ensure the team has the proper resources needed to carry out its work. These resources include material, people, and support.

3. Stage 3: Form and Build the Team. There are three steps that can be taken to ensure this stage will be successful:

.

157

Figure 8.16

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations a. Form Boundaries. Management should clearly establish who is and who is not a member of the team. b. Acceptance of Mission. Management must get members to accept the team’s overall mission and purpose. c. Clarify Mission and Responsibilities. Management must make perfectly clear precisely what is expected of the team and the extent of their responsibility.

4. Stage 4: Provide Ongoing Assistance. Management may need to help the team occasionally to eliminate problems and perform even better.

VI. EFFECTIVE TEAM PERFORMANCE

Table 8.4

A. How Successful Are Teams? Research suggests that teams are well received. Teams can help enhance commitment to the organization, help reduce layers of management, but may not necessarily make firms more productive.

B. Potential Obstacles to Success: Why Some Teams Fail 1. Unwillingness to Cooperate. If team members are unwilling to cooperate with one another, the teams will fail.

Figure 8.19

2. Lack of Management Support. If teams are not given the resources they require, they will fail.

3. Managers’ Reluctance to Relinquish Control. If managers do not “get out of the way” and let the team start to work toward its goals, the team will fail.

4. Failure to Cooperate Between Teams. The boundaries between the responsibility areas of most teams are very porous. In order to succeed, teams must cooperate with one another. If they do not, the team will fail.

VII.

DEVELOPING SUCCESSFUL TEAMS. “Teams are the Ferraris of work design. They’re high performance but high maintenance and expensive.”

A. Compensate Team Performance. In individualistic cultures such as the United States, compensation is .

158

Figure 8.17

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams commonly based on the work of the person. Firms must begin to reward people based on team and organizational performance if they want to develop strong teams.

B. Recognize the Role of Team Leaders. Scientists have identified two sets of external factors that constrain team performance in ways that limit the extent to which even the best leaders can make a difference. These are (1) team-level constraints (i.e., aspects of the technological and organizational context within which the team operates) and (2) contextual constraints (i.e., factors associated with the broad institutional context within which the team operates).

C. Communicate the Urgency of the Team’s Mission. As mentioned earlier, people are more likely to willingly work on teams (and not “free ride”) when the work of the team is perceived to be very important to the future of the firm.

D. Train Members in Team Skills. Formal effort directed toward making teams effective is referred to as team building.

1. Two Key Areas of Team Training. a. Being a Team Member. These are the key interpersonal skills required to be an effective team member. b. Self-Management. This involves training on the skills required to manage one’s own behavior.

2. Team Training Exercises. a. Role Definition Exercises. This type of training is designed to reduce role ambiguity and increase the clarity of role expectations. b. Goal-setting Exercises. These exercises help the team focus on what they must accomplish. c. Problem-solving Exercises. These exercises help teams to develop new means of approaching problems. d. Interpersonal Process Exercises. These are trust building and communications exercises for team members.

.

159

Figure 8.18

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations e. See the sidebar on page 283 to start an in-class discussion about making cross-national teams successful.

Sidebar: OB In Practice

1) Faultline. A condition in which the key attributes of group members are correlated across group membership instead of cutting across group membership.

2) Ethnocentrism. A bias toward one’s own subgroup against other subgroups.

3) Ethnorelativistic Thinking. Taking the perspective of another group in understanding how they see the world, including one’s own group.

3. Is Team Training Effective? Teamwork training can be effective if it is done properly.

Figure 8.19

a. Focus. Training must be focused on what the team needs and be conducted properly. b. Frequency. Team training is not a one-time activity; it must be done on a continuing basis.

E. Promote Cooperation Within and Between Teams. This is often accomplished through having regularly scheduled meetings of team leaders to gather information from other teams to disseminate to their people.

F. Select Team Members Based on Their Skills or Potential Skills. To be successful, teams must be composed of people with complementary skills. Therefore, the selection of individuals for a team is critical to its success.

G. A Cautionary Note: Developing Successful Teams Requires Patience. Creating successful teams is a timeconsuming activity. Peter Drucker, one of America’s foremost management experts, claims that it takes five years to build a team.

.

160

Figure 8.20

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams VIII.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Define what is meant by a group and identify different types of groups operating within organizations.

A group is a collection of two or more interacting individuals with a stable pattern of relationships between them who share common goals and who perceive themselves as being a group. Within organizations, there are two major classes of groups—formal groups (which includes command groups and task groups) and informal groups (which includes interest groups and friendship groups).

2. Describe the importance of roles, norms, status, and cohesiveness within organizations.

Roles are the typical pattern of behavior in a social context. Norms are generally agreed upon informal rules.

Status refers to the prestige accorded group members.

Cohesiveness refers to the pressures faced by group members to remain in their groups. Together, these factors determine the dynamics of people working in groups.

3. Explain how individual performance in groups is affected by the presence of others (social facilitation), the cultural diversity of group membership, and the number of others with whom one is working (social loafing).

Individual productivity is influenced by the presence of other group members. Sometimes, a person’s performance improves in the presence of others (when the job they are doing is well learned), and sometimes performance declines in the presence of others (when the job is novel).

This phenomenon is known as social facilitation. Not only is performance influenced by the presence of others, but by the group’s racial/ethnic diversity. Performance in diverse groups is initially worse than performance in homogeneous groups, although these differences disappear with repeated involvement with the group. On additive tasks (i.e., ones in which each member’s individual contributions are combined), social loafing occurs. According to this phenomenon, the more people who work on a task, the less each group member contributes to it.

. 161

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 4. Define what teams are and describe the various types of teams that exist in organizations.

Teams are special kinds of groups—ones whose members focus on collective, rather than individual, work products, are mutually accountable to one another, share a common commitment to purpose, and are usually self-managing.

Teams differ with respect to several dimensions: their purpose or mission (work teams vs. improvement teams), time (temporary teams or permanent teams), degree of autonomy (work groups, semi-autonomous work groups, self-managed teams), authority structure (intact teams vs. cross-functional teams), and physical presence (physical teams vs. virtual teams).

5. Describe the effectiveness of teams in organizations.

In general, teams are well received. Most people enjoy working in teams, at least after they have adjusted to them (which can take some work). Teams help enhance commitment among employees and are effective in promoting organizational efficiency by eliminating layers of management. However, teams are not always responsible for making individuals and organizations any more productive. Cases of companies becoming wildly successful after adopting teams, although compelling, cannot always be generalized to all teams in all situations.

6. Explain the factors responsible for the failure of some teams to operate as effectively as possible and identify things that can be done to build successful teams.

Despite some evidence of the team successes, some teams fail. This is often because: team members are unwilling to cooperate with one another, they fail to receive support from management, some managers are unwilling to relinquish control, and some teams fail to coordinate their efforts effectively with other teams. With some effort, teams can yield exceptionally high levels of performance. To build successful teams, it helps to do the following: provide training in team skills, compensate team performance, provide managerial support, promote employee support, promote cooperation within and between teams, and select team members based on their skills or potential skills.

.

162

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What is a group and how do groups form?

Social scientists formally define a group as a collection of two or more interacting individuals, with a stable pattern of relationships between them, who share common goals and perceive themselves as being a group.

The model for group development is: ▪

Forming. Members get acquainted with one another, they also establish the ground rules by finding out what behaviors are acceptable regarding the job (e.g., how productive they are expected to be) and interpersonal relations (e.g., who is really in charge).

▪

Storming. Is characterized by a high degree of conflict within the group. Members often resist the control of the group’s leaders, and they show hostility toward one another.

▪

Norming. The group becomes more cohesive, and identification as a member becomes greater. Close relationships develop, and shared feelings become common.

▪

Performing. Questions about group relationships and leadership have been resolved—and the group is ready to work. Having fully developed, the group may now devote its energy to getting the job done.

▪

Adjourning. Groups may cease to exist because they have met their goals and no longer are needed. Other groups may adjourn gradually, as the group disintegrates either because members leave or the norms no longer are effective for the group.

2. How do norms, roles, status, and cohesiveness influence the operation of groups?

One of the primary structural elements of groups is the members’ tendencies to play specific roles. Social scientists use the term role much the same as a director would refer to the character in a play. Many roles are assigned based on an individual’s position within an organization.

Norms are generally agreed upon, informal rules that guide the members’ behavior. They represent shared ways of viewing the world. Norms differ from organizational rules as they are not formal and written. Status is the prestige of group membership. Within most organizations, status can be both formal and informal in nature.

3. How do the phenomena of social facilitation and social loafing influence the performance of individuals in group settings?

. 163

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Social facilitation results from the heightened emotional arousal people experience in the presence of others. When people are aroused, they tend to perform the most dominant response, their most likely behavior in that setting. If someone is performing a well-learned act, the dominant response likely would be correct. If the behavior in question is relatively novel and newly learned, however, the dominant response likely would be incorrect. Depending on how well an individual knew the task, performance will be impacted.

Social loafing refers to the phenomena in which the coordinated efforts of several people are added together to form the group’s product and are known as additive tasks. When several people combine their efforts on additive tasks, however, each individual’s contribution tends to be less.

This lessens the overall productivity compared to what each individual would have done working alone.

4. What are teams and how do they differ from groups?

A team may be defined as a group whose members have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose or set of performance goals for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. There are several important distinctions between them. Students’ responses should clarify the differences between groups and teams in their discussion.

▪

Performance in groups typically depends on the work of individual members. Performance in teams, however, depends on the individual contribution and on collective work products, the joint outcome of team members working in concert.

▪

Typically, group members pool their resources to attain a goal, but individual performance is taken into consideration when issuing rewards. In contrast, teams focus on both individual and mutual accountability. They work together to produce an outcome that represents their joint contributions, and each member shares responsibility for that outcome.

▪

The key difference is that in groups, the supervisor holds individual members accountable for their work, whereas in teams, members hold themselves accountable.

▪

Group members may share a common interest goal. Team members also share a common commitment to purpose. Moreover, these purposes typically concern winning in some way, such as being first or best at something. Teams are said to establish “ownership” of their purposes and usually spend much time establishing that purpose.

▪

Teams differ from groups by the nature of their connections to management. Work groups typically are required to be responsive to demands regularly placed on them by management.

. 164

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams 5. What does the evidence reveal about the effectiveness of work teams?

Data on the effective of teams is mixed. Case studies often purport the effectiveness of teams, but because the environment is not controlled, it is unclear if the same experience would be true in another setting.

Researchers have begun to conduct controlled studies and are learning more about the effectiveness of teams overall. However, it is reported that teams are well received, people seem to enjoy working in them and they are effective in eliminating layers of management. However, they do not always make organizations more productive.

6. What are the major obstacles to team success and how can they be overcome?

There are four major obstacles to team success. The first: working in a team is demanding, and not everyone may be ready for them. One reason some teams fail is because their members are unwilling to cooperate.

Second: some teams also are not effective because they fail to receive support from management. Third: some managers are unwilling to relinquish control. And fourth: teams might fail because they fail to cooperate with other teams. Training team members and others involved with teams is an effective way to overcome obstacles. It is important to communicate the urgency of the team’s mission and to confront the team with new facts to continue a fresh approach to problems. Additionally, management support is critical to the overall success of the team. Finally, patience is key—it takes time for a functioning team to develop fully.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of a group in which you have been working. How do the five-stage model and the punctuated-equilibrium model apply to this experience?

Students’ responses will vary based on their personal experience. They should review all five elements of the model and the basics of the punctuated-equilibrium model.

▪

Forming. Members get acquainted with one another; they also establish the ground rules.

▪

Storming. Is characterized by a high degree of conflict within the group.

▪

Norming. The group becomes more cohesive, and identification as a member becomes greater.

▪

Performing. Questions about group relationships and leadership have been resolved, and the group is ready to work.

▪

Adjourning. Groups may cease to exist because they have met their goals and no longer are needed.

. 165

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations The punctuated-equilibrium model.

▪

The punctuated-equilibrium model recognizes that members working to meet a deadline approach their task differently in the first half of their time together than they do in the second half.

▪

During the first half, or phase I, groups define their task, setting a mission that is unlikely to change until the second half of the group’s life.

▪

Once groups reach the midpoint of their lives, almost as if an alarm goes off, they experience a sort of “midlife crisis,” a time when they recognize they must change how they operate if they are going to meet their goals.

▪

This begins phase 2 of their existence, which is a time when groups drop old ways of thinking and adopt new perspectives.

2. Describe an incident of social loafing in which you may have been involved (e.g., a class project). What might be done to overcome this effect?

Specific examples will vary; they should demonstrate the basic principles of social loafing. The more individuals who contribute to an additive task, the less each individual’s contribution tends to be—social loafing.

Suggestions to overcome social loafing: ▪

Make each performer identifiable.

▪

Make work tasks more important and interesting.

▪

Managers can reward individuals for contributing to their group’s performance by encouraging their interest in their group’s performance.

▪

Another mechanism for overcoming social loafing is to use punishment threats.

3. How have your own experiences in work teams compared to those described in this chapter? Based on what you read, what could be done to make your own team experiences more successful?

Students’ answers will vary depending on their experiences but should include a discussion on the ideas included on how to make teams more effective from the text.

.

166

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams Questions to Analyze 1. Imagine that you are about to go on stage to give a solo piano recital. How would the phenomenon of social facilitation account for your performance?

The tendency for the presence of others to enhance an individual’s performance at certain times and to impair it at others is known as social facilitation. Social facilitation results from the heightened emotional arousal people experience in the presence of others. When people are aroused, they tend to perform the most dominant response, their most likely behavior in that setting. If someone is performing a well-learned act, the dominant response likely would be correct. If the behavior in question is relatively novel and newly learned, however, the dominant response likely would be incorrect.

2. Based on the evidence regarding the effectiveness of teams, would you say that the popularity of teams today is well founded?

Students’ responses will vary. The presentation in the text is that they are worthy of their popularity. Students should consider some of the limitations or liabilities in their discussion.

3. Think of any professional sports team, such as a professional baseball, football, or basketball team. In what ways do they fit the definition of teams used in this chapter? In what ways do they not fit the definition of teams used in this chapter?

A group is a collection of two or more interacting individuals with a stable pattern of relationships between them who share common goals and who perceive themselves as being a group. Teams are special kinds of groups—ones whose members focus on collective rather than individual work products, are mutually accountable to one another, share a common commitment to purpose, and are usually self-managing. A professional sports team doesn’t exactly fit the criteria for a team in this definition.

Most players are hired for their individual skill and are paid accordingly—not for how well they get along with others. They do share a common commitment to a purpose, but are not self-managed.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Are You a Team Player?

1. What was your score, and how did it compare to those of others in your class?

Answers will vary.

.

167

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. What underlying criteria of team success are assessed by this questionnaire?

The criteria measured are cooperation both with others and between teams.

3. What does this questionnaire reveal about the ways in which you are best equipped to work in teams?

Team members should be ethical, willing to subordinate their own goals for those of the team, willing to work and share with others, and be able to communicate well. This will vary depending on the students’ answers, but they should mention these general areas.

Group Exercise: Demonstrating the Social Loafing Effect 1. Was the social loafing effect demonstrated? What is the basis for this conclusion?

It should have been. The basis would be that the number of entries per person should decrease as the group size increases.

2. If the social loafing effect was not found, why do you think this occurred?

Do you think it might have been due to the possibility that your familiarity with the effect led you to avoid it? Test this possibility by replicating the exercise using people who do not know about the phenomenon (e.g., another class), then compare the results.

This, of course, is one of the typical problems encountered in experimenting with respondents who are aware of the purpose of the test: it colors their performance and masks the true situation.

3. Did members of smaller groups feel more responsible for their group’s performance than members of larger groups?

They should have, but in very large classes where students do not know one another, this effect may be muted as students will realize that they will have little interaction with teammates after the exercise is over.

4. What could have been done to counteract any “free riding” that may have occurred in this demonstration?

If individual team members kept tallies of their progress and announced them on a minute-by-minute basis, or of some other public display of progress was made, free riding should have decreased.

.

168

Chapter 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams

Answers to Case in Point Questions Inside the Peloton: Social Dynamics of the Tour de France 1. What examples of role differentiation are found in this case? To what extent do they help achieve the desired goals?

The roles of this cycling team are quite clearly defined by the story: the champion, the roulers (for the flats), hill specialists, and domestiques (for supplies). Each role helped position the leader for a win. Roulers and hill specialists help the champion save energy over the changing terrain while domestiques provided the champion with food, water, and other supplies.

2. What social norms are illustrated? How do they help each team’s mission, and how are they enforced?

Importance of cooperation is highlighted throughout the story. The story of Dante Coccolo was especially telling in terms of the power of social norms and the results of breaking them (the enforcement).

3. Teams of nine are used in this case. Do you think they would be more effective if they were smaller in size or does the situation dictate the team size used? To what extent would larger sizes help or hinder effectiveness?

A problem with smaller teams is that the loss of just one member over the 3,407 km could be devastating to the team. So even though the team may be easier to manage if it were smaller, it may be less effective given its objectives. Larger teams could be even more problematic. Not only would that increase the number of supplies needed for the race, but the route is already crowded with 180 riders, adding just one member to each team would bring this up to 200 riders, an increase of 11 percent! This may cause increased accidents and slow all the riders, which would make the teams less effective.

.

169

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

9: Communication in Organizations Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the process of communication and its fundamental purposes in organizations.

2. Identify various forms of verbal media used in organizations, and explain which ones are most appropriate for communicating messages of different types.

3. Describe how technology has influenced organizational communication.

4. Describe how people’s communication patterns differ as a function of their sex and culture.

5. Distinguish between the various forms of formal and informal communication that occur in organizations and how they operate.

6. Explain how you can improve your effectiveness as a communicator in organizations.

Chapter Overview Given the vital role of communication in organizations, this chapter will examine this process closely. To begin, the process of communication will be defined and its role characterized in organizations. Following this, the two basic forms of communication (verbal and nonverbal) will be described. Because much of today’s communication is high tech in nature, computer-mediated communication techniques will be highlighted. Next, the chapter will distinguish between two major types of communication: formal and informal communication. Then, recognizing that people don’t always communicate in the same fashion, two key individual differences with respect to communication (gender and cross-cultural differences) will be discussed. Finally, the chapter concludes by offering a series of concrete suggestions on how to become a better communicator.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Reducing Interruptions: High-tech Style at Microsoft and IBM A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. If you lost 28 percent of your daily work hours due to distraction, what would that equate to you?

2. Do you believe that Eric Horvitz’s artificial intelligence program would help you prioritize your day? Would you want it to? .

170

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations 3. What are your thoughts on IMSavvy? Would you prefer this device?

II. COMMUNICATION: ITS BASIC NATURE A. The Importance of Communication. Communication is an especially important contributor to the effective functioning of today’s organizations. There are several key reasons for this.

1. Technology Has Sped Up the Pace of Work.

Communication must be more effective because there is less time to correct errors or misunderstandings.

2. Work Is More Complex Than Ever Before. People interact with lots of others, requiring the careful coordination of information.

3. Employees Are Likely to Be Distributed Geographically. It’s not unusual for people to telecommute and to keep in close contact with their home office while traveling on business.

4. Knowledge and Information Are Key to Success. For today’s organizations to be successful, they must stay abreast of rapidly changing markets.

5. Technology Has Transformed the Way People Do Their Jobs. In today’s electronically sophisticated world, we count on a wide variety of communication media that have transformed the way people do their jobs.

B. Defining Communication and Describing the Process.

Communication is defined as the process by which a person, group, or organization (the sender) transmits some type of information (the message) to another person, group, or organization (the receiver). This communication process has five components: 1. Encoding. The critical process by which an idea is transformed so that it can be transmitted to, and recognized by, a receiver. This can take the form of a written or spoken message or a picture.

2. Channels of Communication. The pathways over which messages are transmitted. This can include telephone lines, “snail” mail, the Internet, and radio waves. The selection of communication channel has impacts on the .

171

Figure 9.1

Figure 9.2

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations encoding. The goal is to send the encoded message accurately to a desired receiver.

3. Decoding. The process by which a receiver of messages transforms them back into the sender’s ideas. This process includes interpretation and comprehension of the information. Limitations in the receiver’s ability to decode the message present a potential weakness in the communication process.

4. Feedback. Knowledge about the impact of messages on receivers. Here the recipient becomes the sender and encodes a response to the original message, sending it via a communication channel to the new recipient (old sender). The cycle may repeat indefinitely.

5. Noise. Factors capable of distorting the clarity of messages at any point in the communication process.

This can include poor encoding/decoding, disruptive channels of communication (such as spam e-mails), time pressure, organizational politics, and even physical noise.

C. Purposes and Levels of Organizational Communication.

There are eight critical functions that communication fulfills in organizations.

1. Directing Action. Managers must be able to communicate with subordinates to give direction and provide feedback.

2. Linking and Coordination. Communication helps coordinate the efforts and activities of multiple functions in an organization.

3. Building Relationships. Communication helps build friendships and promote trust.

4. Explaining Organizational Culture. Communication can help share values and build stronger organizations.

5. Interorganizational Linking. People in one organization must be able to communicate with other organizations in order to accomplish their tasks.

6. Presenting the Organization’s Image. Communications allows organizations to tell the world about themselves.

.

172

Figure 9.3

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations 7. Generating Ideas. In order to generate and share ideas, communication processes must be wide open.

8. Promoting Ideas and Values. Not only does communication allow organizations to tell others about themselves, it provides a way to share the concepts and beliefs that an organization considers important.

III. VERBAL AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: MESSAGES WITH AND WITHOUT WORDS Table 9.1

A. Types of Communication.

1. Verbal. The transmission of messages using the written or spoken word.

2. Nonverbal. The transmission of messages without the use of words such as through gestures and expressions.

B. Verbal Media. Forms of communication involving the use of words. Verbal media exist on a continuum of possibilities from rich to lean.

1. “Rich” Verbal Media. Rich media are those that provide vast amounts of information, are highly personal in nature, and are two-way communications that provide opportunities for immediate feedback. Rich media is best used for nonroutine or ambiguous messages. The richest verbal media is face-to-face conversations.

2. “Lean” Verbal Media. These are highly impersonal, one-way communications that use static media and normally appear in the written form, targeted broadly and not aimed at any one specific individual. Lean media is best used for routine and clear messages. The leanest verbal media is a flyer. a. Newsletters. Regularly published internal documents, either hardcopy or electronic in nature, describing information of interest to employees regarding an array of business and nonbusiness issues affecting them. b. Employee Handbooks. This document gives employees basic information about the company. It clarifies expectations, explains the rules and policies, and expresses the company philosophy. .

173

Figure 9.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations C. Matching the Medium to the Message. Although communication is most effective when it uses multiple channels, there are appropriate uses for each type of media.

The trick in selecting a communication medium is not only knowing when to use it, but how to use it wisely.

Table 9.2

1. Media Richness Theory. A conceptualization specifying that the effectiveness of any verbal medium depends on the extent to which it is appropriate in view of the ambiguity of the message being sent.

2. Media-Sensitive and -Insensitive. Managers who match up appropriate media to the messages they are sending are considered to be media-sensitive. Those who do not bother to do so are media-insensitive.

D. Nonverbal Communication. Some of the means of nonverbal communication include: 1. Mode of Dress. Typically, higher status people dress more formally than do those of lower ranks.

2. Waiting Time. Status can be communicated by who waits for whom.

3. Seating Position. Being seated at the head of the table normally indicates high status.

4. Body Language. Body language is not universal; it is culturally based and as such should be “read” with care.

IV. THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY: COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION A. Forms of Computer-Mediated Communication.

Communication methods using computers have dramatically increased recently including: 1. Podcasts. Prerecorded messages distributed (most often through the Internet) for playback on MP3 players and other smart devices.

2. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) Feed. Information, usually news, delivered to Web sites on a real-time basis as a result of an online subscription.

.

174

Figure 9.5

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations 3. Blogs (Web Logs). Web pages on which people express their personal experiences and feelings through an Internet-based diary.

4. Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communication. a. Synchronous Communication. Communication that happens in real-time: both sender and receiver can transmit messages simultaneously (like a telephone call). b. Asynchronous Communication. Communication that most often does not happen in realntime.

Sender posts a message that can be read and responded to at another time by the receiver (like a business card left on a bulletin board).

B. Synchronous Communication: Video-Mediated Communication (VMC). These are virtual conferences in which people can see and hear one another, interacting via computer and network hookup. These are often referred to as cybermeetings, videoconferences or, if the format is more presentation oriented, Web casts (Web broadcasts).

Although far cheaper than physical travel, this method of communication is not as rich as face-to face.

Figure 9.6

C. Asynchronous Communication: E-mail and Instant Messaging. This includes older technologies such as fax machines and voicemail as well as newer technologies such as text messaging.

Figure 9.7

1. E-mail (electronic mail). System whereby people use personal computer terminals to send and receive messages between each other using the Internet. This rapid means of communication is the preferred way to share facts and coordinate details. a. Information Overload. The condition in which too much information is provided to be assessed by any one individual. E-mail can frequently cause this problem. b. Emoticons (Emotional Icons). Symbols type using characters such as commas, hyphens, and parentheses for the purposes of expressing emotions in online communications. The use of emoticons helps to clarify the emotions being expressed in the message. .

175

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Instant Messaging (IM) or Text Messaging (Texting).

This is the practice of communicating with another person by typing short messages that are immediately broadcast over a network to PCs, smart phones, or other Internet-connected smart devices. IMing and texting allow people to have text-based conversations in almost real time. Web addresses (URLs), pictures, and files can also be instantly shared using these systems.

3. Does High-tech Communication Dehumanize the Workplace? The inherently lonely nature of Internet communication does depress some people. Individuals who have difficulty communicating face-to-face often excel in this environment, to the point of spending a significant amount of their day online.

Table 9.5

Figure 9.8

V. FORMAL COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONS A. Formal Communication. The sharing of messages regarding the official work of the organization.

B. Organizational Structure Influences Communication.

1. Organizational Structure. The formally prescribed pattern of interrelationships existing among the various units of an organization. Structure has a profound impact on communications. Structure is often described through the use of an organization chart. a. Organization Chart. A diagram showing the formal structure of an organization, indicating who is to communicate with whom. b. Reporting Relationships. Formal connections (lines of authority) between people indicating who must answer to whom in an organization. Normally indicated by connecting lines in the organization chart. People filling jobs on the bottom of the organization chart report via the lines to those on top of the organization chart. Those executives at the top of the chart communicate to the people at the bottom following the lines in reverse. c. Direct Report. Someone in an organization, a subordinate, who must answer directly to a higher level individual in the organization.

.

176

Figure 9.9

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations C. Downward Communication: From Supervisor to Subordinate. These messages typically consist of instructions, directions, orders, and feedback on past performance.

1. What Do Subordinates Want to Hear? There are six key areas of interest to employees: ▪

What, exactly, does my job entail?

▪

How well am I doing?

▪

Does anyone care about me?

▪

How is my work unit doing?

▪

Where’s the organization headed?

▪

How can I help the company meet its objectives?

2. The MUM Effect. This is the reluctance to transmit bad news, shown either by not transmitting a message at all or by delegating the task to someone else. This effect can lead to poor decisions when the decision makers do not have all the relevant information before them.

D. Upward Communication: From Subordinate to Superior. Messages flowing in this direction tend to contain data required for decision making: status reports, suggestions for improvement, reactions to work-related issues, and new ideas.

1. Differences Between Upward and Downward Communication. Because of status differences, upward communication tends to happen less frequently, is of shorter duration, and appears to be somewhat restricted.

Upward communication is often inaccurate with good news being highlighted and bad news being downplayed.

2. The Importance of Time. Time pressure on the part of the superior may be the driving factor in the inaccuracy of upward communication. Managers who want honest input from their subordinates must make time to receive it.

. 177

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations E. Lateral Communication: Coordinating Messages at the Same Organizational Level. The messages that flow in this direction typically have to do with coordination.

Because this is a peer-to-peer communication, it tends to be friendly and less awkward than upward or downward communication.

F. Communicating Inside vs. Outside the Organization: Strategic Communication. Typically, messages for dissemination outside the organization tend to be more positive than are internal messages.

1. Strategic Communication. The practice of presenting information about the company to broad, external audiences, such as the press. It is a means of managing the corporate image and public relations.

VI. INFORMAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS: BEHIND THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART A. Informal Communication. The sharing of unofficial messages, ones that go beyond the organization’s formal activities. The pattern of the pathways of this informal communication is known as an informal communication network.

B. Organizations’ Hidden Pathways.

1. The Old Boys’ Network. A gender-segregated informal communication network composed of men with similar backgrounds. These types of networks, based on similarities such as age, background, gender, and race, appear quite frequently in organizations. They are not limited to older white males.

2. The Snowball Effect. The tendency for people to share informal information with others with whom they came into contact. Voluntary turnover is quite often related to this effect, where alternative job openings are communicated informally from outside the organization.

C. Rumors and How to Combat Them. Rumors are information with little basis in fact, often transmitted through informal channels.

1. Types of Rumors.

.

178

Figure 9.10

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations a. Pipe Dreams. Types of rumor that express people’s wishes. b. Bogie Rumors. Rumors that are based on people’s fears and anxieties. c. Wedge Drivers. Rumors in which people intentionally say malicious things about someone with the intent to damage that individual’s reputation. d. Home-Stretchers. Rumors designed to reduce the degree of ambiguity in a situation by telling a story about something before it happens.

D. The Nature of the Grapevine. An organization’s informal channels of communication based mainly on friendship or acquaintance. Grapevines tend to present oral data and can be dramatically quicker than formal channels of communication.

1. Today’s High-tech Grapevine. In the computermediated environment, the grapevine moves at the speed of light. a. Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and Misinformation. The Internet is a great source of information, but the quality of the information is quite often sorely lacking. From an organizational standpoint, this misinformation can be quite devastating if it is directed toward the firm.

2. How to Combat Rumors.

Figure 9.11

Table 9.4

a. Directly Refuting. This method has not proved to be effective, especially on the Internet. It may in fact increase the spread of the rumor. b. Redirection. Directing the public’s attention away from the rumor may help minimize its adverse impact.

VII.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN COMMUNICATION

A. Sex Differences in Communication: Do Women and Men Communicate Differently?

.

179

Figure 9.12

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Status. Men emphasize and reinforce their status when they speak whereas women downplay their status.

2. Connections. Women focus on creating positive social connections between themselves and others. Men do not.

3. Questioning and Confidence. Men equate questioning with a lack of confidence and will exude confidence by boasting. Women will downplay their confidence and ask questions.

4. Responses to Problems. When confronted with a problem, men tend to take control by offering advice while women will listen and lend social support.

5. Confrontation. Men tend to be more direct and confrontational than are women.

6. The Impact of Style. People in powerful positions tend to reward individuals whose linguistic style matches their own. Given that at this point in time most leaders are men, women may have a hard time being heard.

B. Cross-cultural Differences in Communication. It is wise for foreign visitors to other countries to learn not only the language of the country, but the customs about using the language as well. Not only does the use of language change in formal and informal communications, the proper tones of speech, appropriate physical proximity, and nonverbal signals all can change dramatically from country to country.

1. See the sidebar on page 318 to start an in-class discussion on cross-cultural communication.

VIII.

Table 9.5

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS

A. Use Jargon Sparingly. Jargon is a specialized language used by a particular group. Jargon simplifies complex communications within the group and makes communication with people outside the group more difficult.

B. Be Consistent in What You Say and Do. Managers who are inconsistent tend to lose the confidence and obedience of their subordinates. The best thing to do when you wish to increase your communication power is to “do what you .

180

Table 9.8

Figure 9.13

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations say and say what you do” often and publicly (see the SayDo Matrix).

C. Become an Active, Attentive Listener. Just as important as being a good encoder of messages is being a good decoder of messages. This is helped by active listening.

1. Some Tips for Active Listening. a. Paraphrasing. Ask questions and put the speaker’s ideas in your own words to ensure you understood what was said. b. Avoid Distractions. Concentrate on what is being said rather than activities in the environment. c. Understand, then Question. Make sure you understand another’s ideas before you formulate your reply.

2. HURIER Model. The conceptualization that describes effective listening is made up of the following six components: ▪

Hearing. Paying careful attention to what is being said.

▪

Understanding. Comprehending the message being sent.

▪

Remembering. Being able to recall the message being sent.

▪

Interpreting. Not reading anything into the message the sender is communicating.

▪

Evaluating. Not immediately passing judgment on the message being sent.

▪

Responding. Replying to the sender letting him or her know you are paying attention.

D. Gauge the Flow of Information: Avoiding Overload (the condition in which a unit of an organization becomes overburdened with too much incoming information).

.

181

Figure 9.14

Figure 9.15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Avoiding Overload. There are means to avoid becoming a bottleneck in the situation. a. Use Gatekeepers. These are people responsible for controlling the flow of information to others to keep them from being overloaded. b. Queuing Data. Lining up incoming information so it can be managed in an orderly fashion.

2. Results of Overload. If the systems are overloaded, distortion and omission may result. Messages may be either changed or left out when they move from one organizational unit to another (remember the childhood game of “telephone”).

3. Systemic Solutions to Overload Problems. Two ways to deal with the results of overload are: a. Redundancy. Transmit the information through more than one channel. b. Verification. Confirm messages that are received by repeating them back.

E. Give and Receive Feedback: Opening Channels of Communication.

1. 360° Feedback. The process of systematically giving and receiving feedback between individuals at various organizational levels (above, below, peer, and outside assessments).

2. Suggestion Systems. Formal mechanisms through which employees can present ideas to their company.

Especially effective when coupled with rewards for good ideas.

3. Corporate Hotlines. Telephone lines staffed by corporate personnel ready to answer employees’ questions, list their comments, and the like. Not only does this method help employees, but by keeping track of the questions, managers have a better idea of employee concerns.

.

182

Table 9.6

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations 4. Informal Meetings. There are two types of these informal meetings: a. Brownbag Meetings. These mealtime sessions (hence the “brownbag”) are designed to facilitate informal communication among people who do not usually get together because they work at different organizational levels. b. Skip-Level Meetings. Gatherings of employees with corporate supervisors who are more than one level higher than they are in the organizational hierarchy (one level of supervision has been “skipped”).

5. Employee Surveys. These are questionnaires designed to assess how employees feel about the organization.

Surveys administered at regular intervals can be useful for spotting changes in attitudes over time. Surveys such as these can be very effective if the results are shared with employees.

F. Be a Supportive Communicator: Enhancing Relationships. This sort of communication is any communication that is accurate and honest, and that builds and enhances relationships instead of jeopardizing them.

The way a person acts toward another influences the nature of the relationship and affects the quality of the communication.

1. Focus on the Problem, Not the Person. By discussing the issue and not assessing blame, you reduce the level of defensiveness in the other person.

2. Honestly Say What You Mean. Clearly state how you feel.

3. Own Up to Your Decisions. Take responsibility for your own actions.

4. Use Validating Language. This is language that makes people feel recognized and accepted for who they are.

Invalidating language arouses negative feelings about a person’s self-worth.

5. Strive to Keep the Conversation Going. Use conjunctive statements, which keep the conversation going by connecting one speaker’s remarks to another rather than disjunctive statements. These are statements . 183

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations disconnected from a previous statement and tend to bring conversations to a close.

IX. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Describe the process of communication and its fundamental purposes in organizations.

The process of communication occurs when a sender of information encodes a message and transmits it over communication channels to a receiver, who decodes it and then sends feedback. Factors interfering with these processes are known as noise. Communication serves many functions in organizations. These include: directing action, linking and coordinating, building relationships, explaining organizational culture, linking people with other organizations, presenting an organization’s image, generating ideas, and promoting ideals and values.

2. Identify various forms of verbal media used in organizations, and explain which ones are most appropriate for communicating messages of different types.

Communication in both oral and written forms is commonly used in organizations. Verbal media range from those that are rich (highly personal and provide opportunities for immediate feedback), such as face-to-face discussions, to those that are lean (impersonal and one-way), such as flyers. According to the media richness theory, rich forms of communication are best for communicating ambiguous and nonroutine matters, whereas leaner forms of communication are adequate for more routine matters.

3. Describe how technology has influenced organizational communication.

Technology has been a major force in facilitating organizational communication. Indeed, computer-mediated communication has been responsible for making communication faster and by making the distances between people irrelevant as a barrier to sending and receiving information. Such techniques as video-mediated communication (video conferences), e-mail, and instant messaging have revolutionized people’s access to information. These media are not without problems, however. For example, people receive so many e-mails that they suffer information overload. They also find it a very .

184

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations limiting medium for expressing emotions. Although also very useful, many people find instant messaging too intrusive. Finally, the rapid speed of electronic communication poses another problem—it allows rumors to flow extremely rapidly, making them difficult to control, often causing damage in the process.

4. Describe how people’s communication patterns differ as a function of their sex and culture.

Despite similarities, women and men communicate in several different ways that may be problematic unless understood. Whereas men tend to communicate with the intent of emphasizing their status, women tend to focus on making positive social connections. Such differences frequently lead to miscommunication between men and women. Cross-cultural communication is hampered by the fact that people from different cultures frequently misunderstand each other’s intentions. This may stem from different vocabularies and subtle differences in the meanings of words that may not be understood outside the culture.

5. Distinguish between the various forms of formal and informal communication that occur in organizations and how they operate.

Formal communication is governed by organizational structure, the formally prescribed pattern of interrelationships between people in organizations.

Structure dictates who must communicate with whom (as reflected in an organization chart, a diagram outlining these reporting relationships) and the form that communication takes. Orders flow down an organizational hierarchy, and information flows upward. However, the downward and upward flow of information is often distorted insofar as people are reluctant to share bad news with their superiors (known as the MUM effect). Attempts at coordination characterize horizontal communication, messages between organizational members at the same level. Information flows rapidly along informal communication networks. These informal connections between people are responsible for spreading information very rapidly because they transcend formal organizational boundaries. Informal pathways known as the grapevine are often responsible for the rapid transmission of partially inaccurate information known as rumors. Rumors may be . 185

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations costly to organizations as well as individuals. Fortunately, there are several ways they can be combated.

6. Explain how you can improve your effectiveness as a communicator in organizations.

There are several things you can do to become a better communicator. First, keep your messages clear by avoiding jargon while communicating with those who may not be familiar with specialized terms. Second, you can become a better communicator by demonstrating consistency between what you say and do. Third, you can improve your listening skills, learning to listen actively (thinking about and questioning the speaker) and attentively (without distraction). Fourth, you can minimize the problem of overload by using gatekeepers (individuals who control the flow of information to others) or by queuing (the orderly lining up of incoming information). And you can minimize the problems of distortion and omission of messages by making messages redundant and by encouraging their verification. Fifth, you can improve communication at the organizational level by using techniques that open upward channels of communication to employee feedback (e.g., suggestion systems, corporate hotlines, and employee surveys). Sixth, you should attempt to be a supportive communicator—someone who makes an effort to enhance his or her relationships with others, such as by focusing attention on the problem instead of the person, using validating language. Finally, you can enhance communication by using inspirational communication techniques—inspiring listeners, such as by projecting confidence, being credible, and pitching your message directly at the listener.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are the various steps in the communication process?

The process of communication occurs when a sender of information encodes a message and transmits it over communication channels to a receiver, who decodes it and then sends feedback. Factors interfering with these processes are known as noise.

2. What types of verbal media are best suited to various situations? .

186

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations Communication in both oral and written forms is commonly used in organizations. Verbal media range from those that are rich (highly personal and provide opportunities for immediate feedback), such as faceto-face discussions, to those that are lean (impersonal and one-way), such as flyers. Rich forms of communication are best for communicating ambiguous and nonroutine matters, whereas leaner forms of communication are adequate for more routine matters.

3. How does technology facilitate communication in an organization?

Technology speeds communication and makes information retrieval easier. The prevalence of cell phones and the Internet mean that employees are almost always available when needed no matter where they are. Technology has allowed us to deal with far greater amounts of information than was previously conceivable.

4. What can be done to improve the quality of formal and informal communication in organizations?

Communication is influenced by organizational structure, the formally prescribed pattern of interrelationships between people in organizations.

Orders flow down an organizational hierarchy, and information flows upward. To improve communication in this direction, techniques aimed directly at the employee are most effective. These include small group meeting and organizational publications. The upward flow of information is often distorted insofar as people are reluctant to share bad news with their superiors. To improve communication along this direction, management must provide opportunities for direct communication such as suggestion boxes and e-mail. Additionally, encouraging employees to share bad news without fear of reprisal is important.

Informal connections between people are responsible for spreading information very rapidly because they transcend formal organizational boundaries. Informal pathways known as the grapevine are often responsible for the rapid transmission of partially inaccurate information known as rumors. Rumors may be costly to organizations as well as individuals. The best way to address rumors is directly and with facts.

5. How do women and men differ in their styles of communication?

Men emphasize and reinforce their status when they speak whereas women downplay their status. Women focus on creating positive social connections between themselves and others. Men do not. Men equate questioning with a lack of confidence and will exude confidence by boasting. Women will downplay their confidence and ask questions. When confronted with a problem, men tend to take control by offering advice while women will listen and lend social support. Men tend to be more direct and confrontational than are women.

6. What steps can be taken to improve the quality of communication in organizations? . 187

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations To improve the quality of communication, the following tips have been shown to be effective: (1) use simple, clear language, (2) be an active and attentive listener, (3) avoid information overload, (4) give and receive feedback,( 5) be a supportive communicator and, (6) use inspirational communication tactics.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of an instance in which you had to transmit bad news to another person (e.g., firing, unwanted transfer). Were you reluctant to share this information (as per the MUM effect)? How did you respond in this situation?

Students’ answers will vary depending on their experiences. Encourage the students to discuss the differences in their attitudes transmitting bad news (same message) when the person they are telling is a: superior/manager, friend or co-worker, parent, child, the person who is directly affected by the news. Why can the same news be subject to the MUM effect and just plain gossip?

2. Think of an instance in which you used a particular communication medium (e.g., e-mail) in a manner that proved to be ineffective. What occurred? In retrospect, what could you have done to avoid the problems you encountered?

Students’ answers will vary. As for ideas on how to write effective e-mails, have them do an Internet search on the term “netiquette.” This will yield a number of results giving tips on writing appropriate e-mail communications.

3. Do you regard yourself to be a good listener? What might you do to improve your skills as a listener?

Students’ answers will vary; however, they should use the HURIER model to become a better listener. Hearing, Understanding, Remembering, Interpreting, Evaluating, Responding.

Questions to Analyze 1. What particular communication problem do you believe occurs most frequently in organizations? Why is this so? What would you recommend to combat this particular problem?

A number of communication problems occur in organizations ranging from sharing too little information, incorrect information, delivery mechanisms, discouraging communication, rumors, and so on. Lack of feedback and rumors are probably two of the most frequent problems.

Implementing feedback mechanisms such as performance reviews and

. 188

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations weekly one-on-one meetings can be useful tools. Rumors must be dealt with directly, quickly, and with facts.

2. There’s no doubt that technology has facilitated organizational communication. However, it also has brought problems. What are these limitations and how might they be overcome? Has technology been more of a help or hindrance to the communication process? Why? Technology has sped up the pace of work. Communication must be more effective because there is less time to correct errors or misunderstandings.

Work is more complex than ever before. People interact with many others, requiring the careful coordination of information. Employees are likely to be distributed geographically. It’s not unusual for people to telecommute and to keep in close contact with their home office while traveling on business. Knowledge and information are key to success. For today’s organizations to be successful, they must stay abreast of rapidly changing markets. Technology has transformed the way people do their jobs. In today’s electronically sophisticated world, we count on a wide variety of communication media that have transformed the way people do their jobs.

Technology has been a help; people make more and better decisions today than they did in the past because of the additional information at their fingertips. The problems of communication have more to do with training people how to use the technology properly than it is with the technology itself.

3. In what ways has rapidly advancing technology helped communication in organizations and in what ways has it been a hindrance? Explain your answer.

Technology has provided both convenience and access in communication that did not exist before. Virtual meetings and e-mail are examples.

However, because of the ease of communication that this technology provides, information overload has become a problem. Additionally, just plain “junk” mail or spam—in the case of e-mail—robs employees of time and servers of processing capacity.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Are You a Supportive Communicator?

1. Based on this questionnaire, how supportive are you? Did you score high, such as 4 or 5, or low, such as 1 or 2? Does this score surprise you? Did you expect to score higher or lower than you did?

The answers will vary based on each student’s scores and experience.

2. Of the five aspects of supportive communication described in the text and assessed here, which ones are most challenging for you? How do you

. 189

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations think you can overcome these limitations and become even more supportive in the future?

The answers will vary, but students should choose one of the following five aspects and provide some relevant ideas.

1. Focus on the problem, not the person.

2. Honestly say what you mean.

3. Own up to your decisions.

4. Use validating language.

5. Strive to keep the conversation going.

3. Based on your own past experiences, how supportive are the various people with whom you have communicated? Who are the most supportive individuals and how do they make you feel when communicating with you?

These answers may vary dramatically, but again the description of the supportive individuals should relate back to the five aspects of supportive communication and the feelings should be positive if the person was supportive.

Group Exercise: Sharpening Your Listening Skills 1. What did this exercise teach you about your own skills as a listener? Are you as good as you thought? Do you think you can improve?

Typical answers will include statements such as effective listening is harder than the students thought, they were not as effective a listener as they thought they were, and that by practicing the techniques they can be better.

2. Was there general agreement or disagreement about each listener’s strengths and weaknesses? Explain.

These answers can change dramatically depending on the gender of the two participants and the nature of the stories. In general, the middle of the HURIER (remembering, interpreting, and evaluating) model causes the greatest concern. These are the areas of the greatest gender difference and the ones that take the most skill to do effectively.

3. After the discussion about the first listener’s effectiveness, you might expect the second listener to do a better job. Was this the case in your own group or throughout the class?

It is possible, but other factors may intrude. Learning the effective listening skills could not have been accomplished in 15 minutes. But there may be some improvement shown. On the other hand, partners who are

. 190

Chapter 9: Communication in Organizations upset about their initial evaluations may be hypercritical toward the second listener.

4. Which particular listening skills were easiest and most difficult to put into practice? Are there certain conditions under which good listening skills may be difficult to implement?

Of the general effective listening skills, paraphrasing is the easiest to master and avoiding distractions and understanding before questioning (especially for the males) are more difficult. For the HURIER model, hearing, understanding, and responding are the easiest to do; remembering, interpreting, and evaluating tend to be the most difficult.

Conditions that make good listening skills difficult to implement include: time pressure, cultural/accent differences, emotions, distractions/noise, illness, and information overload.

5. Do you think you will learn something from the exercise that will help you to improve your listening skills in other situations? If so, what? If not, why not?

The hope is that students will realize they are not as effective listeners as they thought they were and they will understand how important it is to be an effective listener. If that is true, they should find something in the HURIER model or the general effective listening suggestions to work on.

It is extremely rare that a student (or anyone else for that matter) is naturally an effective listener and therefore has nothing to improve.

Answers to Case in Point Questions The Home Depot’s Extreme Communication Makeover Questions for Discussion 1. What major communication problems did The Home Depot have and manage to solve?

Geographic communication was a big issue as there were multiple languages to cover.

2. In what ways did The Home Depot leverage the power of technology to facilitate communication? How else might it do so?

3. The biggest challenge in implementing the system involved training thousands of employees in every store, but it has been working well. Now, they’ve got a single pipeline that all managers can use for all actionrequired communication, completely eliminating duplication in communication. . 191

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

4. Based on the material in this chapter, what else could be done at The Home Depot to improve communication within the company?

Various forms of communication can be discussed.

.

192

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations

10: Decision Making in Organizations Learning Objectives: 1. Identify the steps in the analytical model of decision making and distinguish among the various types of decisions that people make.

2. Describe different individual decision styles and the various organizational and cultural factors that influence the decision-making process.

3. Distinguish among three approaches to how decisions are made: the rational-economic model, the administrative model, and image theory.

4. Identify the various factors that lead people to make imperfect decisions.

5. Compare the conditions under which groups make superior decisions to individuals and when individuals make superior decisions to groups.

6. Describe various techniques that can be used to enhance the quality of individual decisions and group decisions.

Chapter Overview The chapter begins by examining the general nature of the decision-making process and the wide variety of decisions made in organizations. It then explores the theories, research, and practical managerial techniques concerned with decision making in organizations both by individuals and groups. Beginning with individuals, the chapter will review various perspectives on how people go about making decisions. Then the factors that may adversely affect the quality of individual decisions will be identified and ways of combating them—that is, techniques for improving the quality of decisions—will be explained. The focus will then shift to group decisions, focusing on the conditions under which individuals and groups are each better suited to making decisions. Finally, the chapter ends with a description of some of the factors that make group decisions imperfect and various techniques that can be used to improve the quality of group decisions.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: How Should We Handle the Tiger Affair?

A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. Should the decisions Tiger Woods make in his personal life affect his professional endorsements? Why or why not?

2. Do you believe Accenture acted fairly by cutting their ties immediately after Tiger’s indiscretions became .

193

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations public? Would there have been a good reason to continue the endorsement?

3. Which is easier: making a poor decision or publicly apologizing for it?

II. A GENERAL, ANALYTICAL MODEL OF THE DECISIONMAKING PROCESS A. Decision Making. The process of making choices from among several alternatives.

B. Analytical Model of the Decision-making Process. A conceptualization of the eight steps through which individuals and groups make decisions: identify the problem, define objectives, make a predecision, generate alternatives, evaluate alternatives, make a choice, and implement the choice. This model has three phases: formulation, consideration, and implementation.

C. Decision Formulation (the process of understanding a problem).

1. Identifying the Problem. The first step is recognizing and identifying the problem. This is often a difficult step as people do not always have a realistic view of their situation.

2. Defining Objectives. This step requires defining the objectives that must be met in order to solve the problem. This involves creatively assessing the various ways the problem might be solved. This step provides the criteria for identifying the best solution.

3. Making a Predecision (a decision about what process to follow in making a decision). The selection of solution method is the next step. Each method of solution works best in its own set of circumstances.

Selection of solution method is based on the nature of the problem: the key is to find the best fit between problem and solution method. A DSS (Decision Support System: computer programs in which information about organizational behavior is presented to decision makers in a manner that helps them structure their responses to decisions) may prove helpful in this step.

.

194

Figure 10.1

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations D. Decision Consideration (the process of determining and selecting a decision).

1. Generating Alternatives. In this step, possible solutions to the problem are identified. People often rely on previously used approaches to provide ready-made answers, but often the best alternatives are derived through creative processes that do not rely on old solutions.

2. Evaluating Alternative Solutions. Managers must judge the value of each of the alternative solutions from the previous step. The objectives determined in step two may prove to be useful criteria for the judging process.

3. Making a Choice. The most acceptable alternative is selected. Different decision-making approaches may come up with different alternative selections.

E. Decision Implementation (the process of carrying out the decision made).

1. Implementing the Decision. Once the decision has been made, action still has to be taken to carry out the decision.

2. Following Up. Monitoring the effectiveness of decisions is important to the organization and to the improvement of future decision making. Follow-up may require the decision process to start over again.

3. See the sidebar on page 337 to start an in-class discussion on the decision making process.

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

III. THE BROAD SPECTRUM OF ORGANIZATIONAL DECISIONS (There are three major ways to distinguish among decisions: their routineness, their riskiness, and who gets to make them.)

A. Programmed vs. Nonprogrammed Decisions.

1. Programmed Decisions. Routine decisions made according to pre-established organizational routines and procedures. The type of tasks associated with this type of decision is routine and simple. Managers derive considerable guidance from past decisions and rely on organizational policies. A decision maker is typically a lower level worker by his- or herself. .

195

Figure 10.2

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Nonprogrammed Decisions. Decisions made about a novel problem for which there is no prespecified course of action. These decisions require creativity to solve.

Types of tasks faced in nonprogrammed decisions are complex and creative. Managers are unable to use past decisions for guidance or rely on organizational policies to help with the solution. A decision maker is typically an upper-level supervisor who may make a decision in a group setting. a. Strategic Decisions. Nonprogrammed decisions typically made by high-level executives regarding the direction their organizations should take to achieve its mission.

B. Certain vs. Uncertain Decisions. Certainty refers to the degree of knowledge of the factors on which the decisions are made (risk). Unknown factors or factors whose values are unknown result in uncertain decisions. Known factors or factors whose values can be reasonably estimated are found in certain decisions.

Table 10.1

1. Understanding Risk: Objective and Subjective Probabilities. a. Probability and Risk. Probability is a measure of the odds of some event occurring or of some factor having a given value. The higher the odds against something happening (the lower the probability of occurrence), the higher the risks in relying on that event happening. b. Objective Probabilities. Probabilities based on concrete, verifiable data. c. Subjective Probabilities. Probabilities based on personal beliefs or hunches about what will happen.

Also known as using “gut feelings.”

2. Reducing Uncertainty in Decision Making. Much of what decision makers do in organizations are attempts to reduce uncertainty. Some of the methods of doing this are: a. Establishing Linkages with Other Organizations.

This reduces uncertainty by giving managers knowledge of what the other organization will do in their business environment. .

196

Figure 10.3

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations b. Gather Information. The more information a manager has regarding a decision, the less uncertainty in that decision. c. Past Experience and Intuition. The history of a manager’s past decisions has great weight in the decision-making process and may help to reduce uncertainty.

C. Top-Down vs. Empowered Decisions 1. Top-Down Decision Making. The practice of vesting decision-making power in the hands of superiors as opposed to lower-level employees. This is the traditional decision-making method for organizations.

2. Empowered Decision Making. The practice of vesting power for making decisions in the hands of employees themselves.

Figure 10.4

IV. FACTORS AFFECTING DECISIONS IN ORGANIZATIONS (These will be examined at the individual, group, and organizational levels.)

A. Decision Styles.

1. Decision Style. Research has shown that there are meaningful differences in how people make decisions.

2. Decision Style Model. The idea that people use one of four predominant decision styles: directive, analytical, conceptual, or behavioral. Managers typically have one dominant style, but they may use many different styles in their decision making. The best managers are often able to smoothly shift through all four decision-making styles, matching the style to the circumstance. a. Directive. These people prefer simple, clear solutions to problems. Decisions are made rapidly with little information and without consideration of many alternatives. This style of decision maker relies heavily on existing rules and aggressively uses status to achieve results. b. Analytical. This type of decision maker is willing to consider complex solutions based on ambiguous information. These people carefully analyze their decisions using as much data as possible and enjoy .

197

Figure 10.5

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations solving problems. They want the best possible answers and are willing to use innovative methods to achieve them. c. Conceptual. These decision makers are socially oriented in their approach to problems: they are humanistic and artistic. These individuals consider many broad alternatives in an attempt to solve their problems creatively and hold a strong future orientation. They enjoy initiating new ideas. d. Behavioral. People with this decision style have a deep concern for the organizations in which they work and the personal development of their coworkers. They are supportive of others, concerned about the achievements of others, and frequently help other people meet their goals. They are open to suggestions and tend to rely on meetings as a means of making decisions.

3. Indecisiveness. An individual difference variable reflecting the degree to which people approach decisions eagerly as opposed to wanting to put them off.

B. Group Influences: A Matter of Trade-offs.

1. Potential Benefits of Decision-making Groups. There are three potential benefits of using groups to make decisions: (1) a pooling of resources, (2) a specialization of labor within the group, and (3) greater acceptance of the decision.

Figure 10.6

2. Potential Problems of Decision-making Groups. Some of the drawbacks of using groups are: (1) groups tend to waste time, (2) there is a greater potential for disruptive group conflict, and (3) there is greater likelihood of intimidation by group leaders.

3. Groupthink: Too Much Cohesiveness Can Be a Dangerous Thing. a. Groupthink. The tendency for members of highly cohesive groups to so strongly conform to group pressures regarding a certain decision that they fail to think critically, rejecting the potentially correcting influences of outsiders. Members of very cohesive groups may have such considerable .

198

Slide 10.11 Figure 10.7

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations confidence in the group’s decision that they suspend their own critical thinking in favor of conforming to the group. This can result in completely uninformed, irrational, or even immoral decisions being made and supported. b. See the sidebar on page 347 to start an in-class discussion on means of avoiding groupthink.

C. Organizational Influences on Decision Making 1. Political Pressure. The pressure to look good to others often results in decisions that are not in the best interest of the organization.

2. Time Pressure: Making Decisions in Emergencies. The number of decisions that must be made every day are increasing, and the amount of time given to solve them is decreasing. Older experts are able to make decisions quickly based on their experience; younger managers must take time to work through the decisions.

V. HOW ARE INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS MADE? (There are three basic approaches to how individuals make decisions: the rational-economic model, the administrative model, and image theory.)

A. The Rational-Economic Model: In Search of the Ideal Decision.

1. Rational Decisions. Decisions that maximize the chance of attaining an individual’s, group’s, or organization’s goals.

2. The Rational-Economic Model. The model of decision making according to which decision makers consider all possible alternatives to problems before selecting the optimal solution. The approach taken is typically the eight-step model described earlier in the chapter. a. Premise. In order for this model to work, decision maker must have complete and perfect information and be able to process all this information in an accurate and unbiased fashion in order to determine the best solution. b. Type of Model. Since the premise is rarely (if ever) met, this model describes how decision should .

199

Sidebar: How to Do It

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations ideally be determined not how decisions are actually made. This is referred to as a normative or prescriptive approach.

B. The Administrative Model: The Limits of Human Rationality.

1. Administrative Model. The model of decision making that recognizes that people have imperfect views of problems, which limits the making of optimally rational-economic decisions.

Figure 10.8

a. Satisficing Decisions. Decision makers in this model select the first minimally acceptable solution as it becomes available; that is, they look for the first satisfactory decision and take it. b. Bounded Rationality. This is the major assumption of the administrative model; that the organizational, social, and human limitations lead to the making of satisficing rather than optimal decisions. c. Bounded Discretion. A self-imposed additional limitation on decision makers in this model in which they restrict decision alternatives to those that fall within prevailing ethical standards. d. Type of Model. This model describes how decisions actually occur and is said to be a descriptive or proscriptive model.

C. Image Theory: An Intuitive Approach to Decision Making.

1. Image Theory. The theory of decision making that recognizes that decisions are made in an automatic, intuitive fashion. According to the theory, people will adopt a course of action that best fits their individual principles, current goals, and plans for the future. In this theory, the decision-making process is very rapid and simple with little reflection or cognitive processing.

2. Types of Decisions. Image theory deals primarily with decisions about adopting a certain course of action or changing a current course of action.

.

200

Figure 10.9

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations 3. Two-Step Decision-making Process: a. Compatibility Test. The first step is to perform a comparison of the degree to which a particular course of action is consistent with various images, particularly the individual’s principles, current goals, and plans for the future.

1) If a lack of compatibility exists with respect to the decision maker’s image of him- or herself and the potential results of the solution, a rejection decision is made.

2) If there is compatibility between the course of action and an individual’s self-images, the second step is undertaken. b. Profitability Test. The second step is to consider which of the several alternatives best coincides with the decision maker’s personal principles, goals, and plans and to select that one.

4. Decision Frame. This two-step process is done with the consideration of meaningful information about the decision context (such as past experiences). This decision frame provides a historic guide for current decisions.

5. Type of Model. This model also describes how decisions actually occur and is said to be a descriptive or proscriptive model.

VI. THE IMPERFECT NATURE OF INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS. (In addition to the general limitations based on human information-processing capacity, there are several systematic determinants of imperfect decisions, factors that contribute to the imperfect nature of people’s decisions.)

A. Framing Effects. The tendency for people to make different decisions based on how the problem is presented to them (how it is “framed”).

1. Risky Choice Frames. The tendency for people to make choices that avoid risks when situations are presented in a way that emphasizes the positive gains to be gained from the choice (risk-averse behavior) and to take risks when situations are presented in a way that emphasizes potential losses that may be suffered (risk-seeking .

201

Figure 10.10

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations behavior) in order to avoid potential loss. This frame deals with preference for risk.

2. Attribute Framing. The tendency for people to evaluate a characteristic more positively when it is presented in positive terms than when it is presented in negative terms. This frame deals with evaluations of characteristics.

3. Goal Framing. The tendency for people to be more strongly persuaded by information that is framed in negative terms than information that is framed in positive terms. This frame deals with persuasion toward a behavioral action.

B. Reliance on Heuristics. Heuristics are simple decision rules (rules of thumb) used to make quick decisions about complex problems. There are two basic types: Figure 10.11

1. The Availability Heuristic. The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them although it may be potentially inaccurate, thereby adversely affecting decision quality.

2. The Representativeness Heuristic. The tendency to perceive others in stereotypical ways if they appear to be typical representatives of the category to which they belong.

3. The Helpful Side of Heuristics. The use of heuristics themselves does not always deteriorate the quality of the decisions made. Heuristics are very useful if they do not contain systematic biases.

VII. THE INHERENTLY BIASED NATURE OF INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS. There are four key biases people use in making decisions that provide imperfect solutions: implicit favorites bias, hindsight bias, person sensitivity decision bias, and the escalation of commitment bias.

A. Bias Toward Implicit Favorites. This bias comes about because people tend to pick an implicit favorite option (a preferred alternative) fairly early in the decision-making process. Then as other options appear, they are not given serious consideration but are merely used to convince the person that the implicit favorite is indeed the best choice.

These alternatives are known as confirmation candidates as they merely serve to confirm the initial selection. .

202

Figure 10.12

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations B. Hindsight Bias. This is the tendency for people to perceive outcomes as inevitable after they have occurred (i.e., in hindsight) rather than before they occurred (i.e., in foresight). This bias tends to relate more toward positive outcomes than negative outcomes.

C. Person Sensitivity Bias. The tendency for people to give too little credit to others when things are going poorly and too much credit when things are going well. Basically, this means when things go bad the person in charge is assumed to be incompetent, but when things take off, the person is assumed to be a top performer, neither of which is true from an empirical viewpoint. This is true for assessments of people but not for those of objects.

D. Escalation of Commitment Bias. This is the tendency for individuals to continue to support previously unsuccessful courses of action.

1. Irrational Decision Making. This bias may be due to an inability of organizations or managers to accept responsibility for the initial incorrect decision. Instead, they rationalize the failure and attempt self-justification by adding more resources to gain a dreamed-for future success. This can continue to the point of irrationality.

VIII. GROUP DECISIONS: DO TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH? (The focus of this section is to determine under what conditions individuals or groups would be expected to make superior decisions.)

A. When Are Groups Superior to Individuals? The answer depends on the nature of the task. a. Complex Decision Tasks. Groups make better decisions in this situation than do individuals. b. Simple Decision Tasks. In this situation, generally individuals will make better decisions than the group. If the group contains an individual who happens to have the correct answer, then the performance is approximately equal.

B. When Are Individuals Superior to Groups? Generally, research has shown that on poorly structured, creative tasks individuals perform better than groups.

.

203

Figure 10.13

Figure 10.14

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Brainstorming. One method of increasing creativity in groups is to use brainstorming. This is a technique designed to foster group productivity by encouraging interacting group members to express their ideas in an uncritical way and to discuss freely and openly all ideas on the floor.

Table 10.3

a. Rules for Brainstorming: ▪

Avoid criticizing others’ ideas

▪

Share even far-out suggestions

▪

Offer as many comments as possible

▪

Build on others’ ideas to create your own

b. Does Brainstorming Work? Whether this technique helps groups with creativity is still open to debate.

But even with the technique, what has been settled is that individuals are far more effective at creative tasks than are groups.

IX. TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DECISIONS A. Training Individuals to Improve Group Performance. If individual group members are trained to avoid making these errors, more creative decisions are likely to be made in groups.

1. Hypervigilance. The state in which an individual frantically searches for quick solutions to problems, and goes from one idea to another out of a sense of desperation that one idea is not working and that another needs to be considered before time runs out.

Avoid this problem by keeping in mind it is best to stick with one suggestion and work it out thoroughly.

The individual may need a little reassurance that he or she is up to the task.

2. Unconflicted Adherence. The tendency for decision makers to stick to the first idea that comes into their minds without more deeply evaluating the consequences. To avoid this, decision makers are urged to: .

204

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations a. Think about the difficulties associated with their ideas. b. Force themselves to consider different ideas. c. Consider the special and unique characteristics of the problems they are facing and avoid carrying over assumptions from previous problems.

3. Unconflicted Change. The tendency for people to quickly change their minds and adopt the first new idea to come along. To avoid this, decision makers are encouraged to ask themselves about the: a. Risks and problems of adopting that solution. b. The good points of the first idea. c. The relative strengths and weaknesses of both ideas.

4. Defensive Avoidance. The tendency for decision makers to fail to solve problems because they go out of their way to avoid working on the problem at hand. There are a number of techniques to help in this situation: a. Avoid procrastination. b. Avoid disowning responsibility. c. Avoid giving up too soon. d. Do not ignore potentially corrective information.

Use your doubts to test and potentially improve the quality of your ideas.

B. Techniques for Enhancing Group Decisions. The purpose here is to structure the group experience so as to enable the many benefits of groups to occur without also experiencing the weaknesses.

1. The Delphi Technique: Decisions by Expert Consensus.

A method of improving group decisions using the opinions of experts, which are solicited by mail, compiled, and blindly resubmitted to the experts for comments. The expert consensus of opinion is used to make a decision. This is a very time-consuming technique.

.

205

Figure 10.16

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. The Nominal Group Technique: A Structured Group Meeting. A technique for improving group decisions in which small groups of individuals systematically present and discuss their ideas before privately voting on their preferred solution. The most preferred solution is accepted as the group’s decision.

Figure 10.17

a. Advantages and Disadvantages. This is a relatively rapid technique and may be useful for many types of decisions. It does discourage any pressure to conform from high-status group members because the balloting is private. Disadvantages are that the group requires a trained group leader, only one narrowly defined problem can be considered at a time (so this technique is ineffective for complex tasks), and the decision may be swayed by the superior presentation skills of a group member. b. Comparison to Face-to-Face Groups. NGT has shown to produce better quality judgments and at higher levels of satisfaction in the group members.

Both nominal groups and Delphi groups are more productive than interacting groups. However, the decision acceptance is lower in both techniques than it is for interacting groups.

3. The Step Ladder Technique: Systematically Incorporating New Members. A technique for improving the quality of group decisions that minimizes the tendency for group members to be unwilling to present their ideas by adding new members to a group one at a time and requiring each to present his or her ideas independently to a group that has already discussed the problem at hand.

C. Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS). Interactive computer-based systems that combine communication, computer, and decision technologies to improve the effectiveness of group problem-solving meetings.

X.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Identify the steps in the analytical model of decision making and distinguish among the various types of decisions that people make.

.

206

Figure 10.18

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations According to the analytical model of decision making, the making of decisions is a multistep process through which: (1) a problem is identified, (2) solution objectives are defined, (3) a predecision is made (i.e., a decision about how to make a decision), (4) alternatives are generated, (5) these alternatives are evaluated, (6) an alternative is chosen, (7) that alternative is implemented, and then (8) a follow-up occurs to determine if the problem still exists.

Decisions made in organizations can be characterized as being programmed, either routine decisions made according to preexisting guidelines, or nonprogrammed decisions requiring novel and creative solutions. Decisions also differ with respect to the amount of risk involved, ranging from those in which the decision outcomes are relatively certain to those in which the outcomes are highly uncertain. Uncertain situations are expressed as statements of probability based on either objective or subjective information. Decisions also differ with respect to whether they are made by high-level organizational officials (topdown decisions) or by employees themselves (empowered decisions).

2. Describe different individual decision styles and the various organizational and cultural factors that influence the decision-making process.

There are two major individual differences in the way people make decisions. The first is decision style. Generally, people demonstrate one of four dominant decision styles: directive (preference for simple, clear solutions), analytical (willingness to consider complex situations based on ambiguous information), conceptual (a humanistic and artistic orientation), or behavioral (a concern for the organization). Another individual difference is indecisiveness.

.

207

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 3.

Distinguish among three approaches to how decisions are made: the rational-economic model, the administrative model, and image theory.

The rational-economic model characterizes decision makers as thoroughly searching through perfect information to make an optimal decision. This is a normative approach, in that it describes how decision makers ideally ought to behave to make the best possible decisions. In contrast, the administrative model is a descriptive approach, which describes how decision makers actually behave. It recognizes that limitations imposed by people’s ability to process the information needed to make complex decisions (bounded rationality and bounded discretion) restrict decision makers to making satisficing decisions—solutions that are not optimal, but good enough. An alternative approach, image theory, recognizes that decisions are made in an automatic, intuitive fashion. It claims that people will adopt a course of action that best fits their individual principles, current goals, and plans for the future.

4. Identify the various factors that lead people to make imperfect decisions.

People make imperfect decisions due to cognitive biases.

One such bias, framing, refers to the tendency for people to make different decisions based on how a problem is presented. For example, when a problem is presented in a way that emphasizes positive gains to be received, people tend to make conservative, risk-averse, decisions, whereas when the same problem is presented in a way that emphasizes potential losses to be suffered, people tend to make riskier decisions. Simple rules of thumb, known as heuristics, also may bias decisions. For example, according to the availability heuristic, people base their judgments on information readily available to them, and according to the representativeness heuristic, people are perceived in stereotypical ways if they appear to be representatives of the categories to which they belong. People also are biased toward implicit favorites, alternatives they prefer in advance of considering all the options. Other alternatives, confirmation candidates, are considered for purposes of convincing oneself that one’s implicit favorite is the best alternative. Decisions also are biased because of the tendency to believe that we were far better at judging past events than we actually were (known as the hindsight bias) .

208

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations and the tendency for people to give too little credit to others when things are going poorly and too much credit when things are going well (known as the person sensitivity bias). Finally, decisions are biased insofar as people tend to escalate commitment to unsuccessful courses of action because they have sunk costs invested in them. This occurs in large part because people need to justify their previous actions and wish to avoid having to admit that their initial decision was a mistake.

5. Compare the conditions under which groups make superior decisions to individuals and when individuals make superior decisions to groups.

Groups make superior decisions to individuals when these are composed of a heterogeneous mix of experts who possess complementary skills. However, groups may not be any better than the best member of the group when performing a task that has a simple, verifiable answer.

Individuals make superior decisions to face-to-face brainstorming groups on creative problems. However, when brainstorming is done electronically—that is, by using computer terminals to send messages—the quality of decisions tends to improve.

6. Describe various techniques that can be used to enhance the quality of individual decisions and group decisions.

Decision quality may be enhanced in several different ways. First, the quality of individual decisions has been shown to improve following individual training in problemsolving skills. Training in ethics also can help people make more ethical decisions. Group decisions may be improved in three ways. First, in the Delphi technique, the judgments of experts are systematically gathered and used to form a single joint decision. Second, in the nominal group technique group meetings are structured so as to elicit and evaluate systematically the opinions of all members. Third, in the stepladder technique new individuals are added to decision-making groups one at a time, requiring the presentation and discussion of new ideas. Contemporary techniques also employ the use of computers as aids in decision making. One of these is known as electronic meeting systems. These are computer networks that bring individuals from different locations together for a meeting via telephone or satellite transmissions, either on television monitors or via shared space on a computer screen. . 209

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Another computer-based approach is computer-assisted communication—the sharing of information, such as text messages and data relevant to the decision, over computer networks. Finally, computers have been used to facilitate decision making by way of group decision support systems.

These are interactive computer-based systems that combine communication, computer, and decision technologies to improve the effectiveness of group problem-solving meetings.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are the general steps in the decision-making process, and how can the different types of organizational decisions be characterized?

According to the analytical model of decision making, the making of decisions is a multistep process through which (1) a problem is identified, (2) solution objectives are defined, (3) a predecision is made (i.e., a decision about how to make a decision), (4) alternatives are generated, (5) these alternatives are evaluated, (6) an alternative is chosen, (7) that alternative is implemented, and then (8) a follow-up evaluation occurs to determine if the problem still exists.

Decisions made in organizations can be characterized as being either programmed, routine decisions made according to preexisting guidelines or nonprogrammed decisions requiring novel and creative solutions.

Decisions also differ with respect to the amount of risk involved, ranging from those in which the decision outcomes are relatively certain to those in which the outcomes are highly uncertain. Uncertain situations are expressed as statements of probability based on either objective or subjective information. Decisions also differ with respect to whether they are made by high-level organizational officials (top-down decisions) or by the employees themselves (empowered decisions).

2. How do individual decision styles, group influences, and organizational influences influence decision making in organizations?

There are individual differences in the way people make decisions.

Generally, people demonstrate one of four dominant decision styles: directive (preference for simple, clear solutions), analytical (willingness to consider complex situations based on ambiguous information), conceptual (a humanistic and artistic orientation), or behavioral (a concern for the organization). Within organizations, decision quality may be adversely affected by severe time constraints and by political face-saving pressures.

. 210

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations 3. What are the major differences between the rational-economic model, the administrative model, and the image theory approach to individual decision making?

The rational-economic model characterizes decision makers as thoroughly searching through perfect information to make an optimal decision. This is a normative approach, in that it describes how decision makers ideally ought to behave to make the best possible decisions. In contrast, the administrative model is a descriptive approach, which describes how decision makers actually behave. It recognizes that limitations imposed by people’s ability to process the information needed to make complex decisions (bounded rationality and bounded discretion) restrict decision makers to making satisficing decisions—solutions that are not optimal but are good enough. An alternative approach, image theory, recognizes that decisions are made in an automatic, intuitive fashion. It claims that people will adopt a course of action that best fits their individual principles, current goals, and plans for the future.

4. How does each of the following factors contribute to the imperfect nature of decisions: framing effects, reliance on heuristics, decision biases, and the tendency to escalate commitment to a losing course of action?

Framing is the tendency for people to make different decisions based on how the problem is presented to them. Scientists have identified three different forms of framing effects that occur when people make decisions: risky choice frames, attribute framing, and goal framing. Heuristics are simple decision rules used to make quick decisions about complex problems. People’s decisions are biased by their tendency not to consider all the available relevant information. Finally, the escalation of commitment phenomenon is the tendency for people to continue to support previously unsuccessful courses of action because they have sunk costs invested in them. Each of these factors inhibits effective decision making.

5. When it comes to making decisions, under what conditions are individuals superior to groups and under what conditions are groups superior to individuals?

Groups make superior decisions to individuals when the groups are composed of a heterogeneous mix of experts who possess complementary skills. However, groups may not be any better than the best member of the group when performing a task that has a simple, verifiable answer.

Individuals make superior decisions to face-to-face brainstorming groups on creative problems. However, when brainstorming is done electronically—that is, by using computer terminals to send messages— the quality of decisions tends to improve.

.

211

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 6. What traditional techniques and computer-based techniques can be used to improve the quality of decisions made by groups or individuals?

Decision quality may be enhanced in several different ways. First, the quality of individual decisions has been shown to improve following individual training in problem-solving skills. Training in ethics also can help people make decisions that are more ethical. Group decisions may be improved in three ways. First, in the Delphi technique, the judgments of experts are systematically gathered and used to form a single joint decision. Second, in the nominal group technique, group meetings are structured so as to elicit and evaluate systematically the opinions of all members. Third, in the stepladder technique, new individuals are added to decision-making groups one at a time, requiring the presentation and discussion of new ideas.

Contemporary techniques also employ the use of computers as aids in decision making. One of these is known as electronic meetings. Another computer-based approach is computer-assisted communication—the sharing of information, such as text messages and data relevant to the decision, over computer networks. Finally, computers have been used to facilitate decision making by way of group decision support systems.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of any decision you recently made. Would you characterize it as programmed or nonprogrammed? Highly certain or highly uncertain? Topdown or empowered? Explain your answers.

Student examples will vary but should cover these basics.

Programmed and nonprogrammed. A decision that is made repeatedly and according to a pre-established set of alternatives is a programmed decision: routine decisions by lower-level personnel that rely on predetermined courses of action. In contrast, nonprogrammed decisions are decisions for which no ready-made solutions exist. In these cases, the decision maker confronts a unique situation, and the solutions are equally novel.

Certain and uncertain decisions. Degrees of certainty and uncertainty are expressed as statements of risk. All organizational decisions involve some degree of risk, which ranges from complete certainty (i.e., no risk) to complete uncertainty or “a stab in the dark” (i.e., high risk). What makes a decision risky is the probability of obtaining the desired outcome.

Top-down and empowered decision. Traditionally, making decisions in organizations was a manager’s job. Subordinates collect information and give it to their superiors, who then use it to make decisions. Known as topdown decision making, this approach puts the power to make decisions in the hands of managers. . 212

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations 2. Identify ways in which various decisions you have made were biased by framing, heuristics, the use of implicit favorites, and the escalation of commitment.

Student examples will vary but should cover these basics.

▪

Framing is the tendency for people to make different decisions based on how the problem is presented to them.

▪

Reliance on heuristics. The use of certain rules to make decisions.

▪

Bias toward implicit favorites reflects individuals’ tendency to pick an implicit favorite option (i.e., a preferred alternative) early in the decision-making process. Subsequent options are not given serious consideration. They are used merely to convince oneself the implicit favorite is indeed the best choice.

▪

Escalation of commitment. People sometimes “throw good money after bad” because they have “too much invested to quit,” the escalation of commitment phenomenon is the tendency for people to continue to support previously unsuccessful courses of action because they have sunk costs invested in them.

3. Think of various decision-making groups you may have participated in over the years. Do you think that groupthink was involved in these situations? What signs were evident?

Student answers will vary, but they should include a discussion of the characteristics of groupthink: complacency, overconfidence, widespread agreement, lack of conflict, and lack of reflection on the decision.

Questions to Analyze 1. Imagine that you are a manager facing the problem of not attracting enough high-quality personnel to your organization. Would you attempt to solve this problem alone or by committee? Explain your reasoning.

It depends on how you frame the problem, simple—we don’t pay enough, or complex—our corporate culture, our competition, our business environment are affecting our recruiting. Student responses should reflect certain basics depending on how they frame the problem.

Whether a group does better or worse than individuals depends on the nature of the task—it depends on how complex or how simple the task is.

An important decision must be made about a complex problem. The highly complex nature of this situation may overwhelm even an expert, thereby setting the stage for a group to do a better job. Naturally, groups may excel in such situations.

. 213

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations In a situation in which a decision is required on a simple problem with a readily verifiable answer, an expert working alone may do even better than a group, because the expert performing a simple task may not be distracted by others or need to convince them of the correctness of his or her solution. If the problems are seen as poorly structured, creative tasks, then an individual would perform better than a group.

2. Suppose you are on a committee charged with making an important decision, and that committee was composed of people from various nations. How do you think this might make a difference in the way the group operates?

Both in terms of their focus on collectivistic versus individualistic approaches and what they consider as ethical behavior. Even if people followed the same basic steps when making decisions, there would still be widespread differences in the way people from various cultures might go about doing so.

In Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia, for example, managers often accept nonperformance by suppliers as fate and allow the projects to be delayed.

An American, Canadian, or Western European manager would perceive such a situation as a problem in need of a decision, whereas Thai, Indonesian, or Malaysian managers would perceive no such problem.

Cultures also differ regarding the nature of the decision-making unit they typically employ. In the United States, where people tend to be highly individualist, individual decisions are common. In more collectivist cultures such as Japan, however, it is inconceivable for someone to make a decision without first gaining the acceptance of his/her immediate colleagues. Swedes may totally ignore an organizational hierarchy and contact whomever is needed to make a decision, however high-ranking that individual may be. In India, however, where autocratic decision making is expected, a manager consulting a subordinate about a decision is considered to be a sign of weakness.

Yet another cultural difference deals with time. In the United States, one mark of a good decision maker is being decisive, willing to make an important decision without delay. In Egypt, the more important the matter, the more time the decision maker is expected to take.

There tend not to be equally similar norms regarding ethical and unethical behavior. Rather, ethical standards vary widely among capitalist nations, and Americans appear to be more concerned than their foreign counterparts about ethics—too much so, according to some.

3. Argue pro or con: “All people make decisions in the same manner.”

There are meaningful differences between people in their orientation toward decisions, in their decision style. Although most managers may have one dominant style, they often use many different styles. Being aware of people’s decision styles is a potentially useful way of understanding . 214

Chapter 10: Decision Making in Organizations social interactions in organizations. People take very different approaches to the decisions they make. Coupled with their interpersonal skills, their personalities lead them to approach decisions in consistently different ways. The decision-style model classifies four major decision styles.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: What Is Your Personal Decision Style?

1. What style did the test reveal that you have? How did this compare to the style you thought you had before you took the test?

Answers will vary. Students should specifically indicate their assessed style (directive, analytical, conceptual, or behavioral) and their assumed style.

2. Based on the descriptions of the personal decision styles in the text, were you able to guess in advance which test items were indicative of which styles?

Answers will vary, but the more aware students should say “yes” as the potential answers in the instrument are very similar to parts of the descriptions of each of the styles given in the text.

3. What additional items may be added to the test to assess each style?

One possibility for this question is to have students write up an additional question using the text-based style descriptions as a key. Another option would be to provide a mini case. Have students come up with four possible managerial actions (each selection reflecting a decision-making style).

Group Exercise: Running a Nominal Group: Try It Yourself 1. Collectively, how did the group answer the question? Do you believe that this answer accurately reflected the feelings of the group?

Answers will vary on the first question and the second question answer should be yes.

2. How did the various groups’ answers compare? Were they similar or different? Why? Answers will vary depending on how dissimilar the responses were. If the responses were similar, it may be because everyone is being drawn from the same basic group, i.e., students. If they were somewhat dissimilar, it may have been due to the experience or viewpoints of one or two very vocal students in some of the groups.

3. What were the major problems, if any, associated with the nominal group experience? For example, were there any group members who were reluctant to wait their turns before speaking up? . 215

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations This will vary depending on the group compositions and the strength of the team leaders. Typically, without strong team leaders, more interactive people in a group will have a tough time avoiding making comments and waiting their turn.

4. How do you think your group experiences would have differed had you used a totally unstructured, traditional face-to-face group instead of a nominal group?

Answers will vary, but students should say that the face-to-face meetings would have had more interaction and perhaps deeper discussion of the key points. They may also say that face-to-face would have had more conflict and taken longer.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Coca-Cola: Deciding on the Look 1. How do you think the analytical model of decision making (see Figure 10.1, page 335) might have been applied by Coca-Cola when designing new bottles? What specific tasks might have been done at each step in the process?

2. The analytical model of the decision-making process describes most decisions as following the eight steps shown in the figure. Each step may be applied to a hypothetical organizational problem, in which the problem can be solved. The process of bottle making could have been reviewed in this problem-solving activity. What errors or biases might have contributed to less than-perfect decisions in this case? How might they have been overcome?

3. Bottle designs were voted on by consumers so company officials could get a good idea of what the consumers like. This is a small pool of people voting, so a consensus must be made from that group of consumers. What recommendations for improving the decision-making process identified in this chapter might be applied in this case? How do you think they would help?

Students will give their opinions on improving the decision-making process.

.

216

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance

11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance Learning Objectives: 1. Describe three types of psychological contracts and the two basic kinds of trust that play a role in work relationships.

2. Describe organizational citizenship behavior and ways in which it may be encouraged.

3. Identify ways in which cooperation can be promoted in the workplace.

4. Describe the causes and effects of conflict in organizations along with techniques that can be used to manage conflict in organizations.

5. Explain why deviant organizational behavior can produce positive as well as negative effects.

6. Describe the major forms of workplace deviance, both constructive and destructive.

Chapter Overview The chapter starts by considering the two processes that play a role in all interpersonal relationships: developing psychological constructs and building trust. These processes are important because they often affect the extent to which people choose either to work with or against one another. First, the chapter examines prosocial behavior—the tendency for people to help others on the job, sometimes even when there doesn’t appear to be anything in it for them.

Following this, the situations in which people help one another and receive help from them—that is, the tendency to cooperate—will be discussed. In the world of business, people and entire companies don’t always work with each other; they also compete against each other—that is, as one tries to win, it forces the other to lose. Under such circumstances, it is not unusual for conflict to emerge, breeding ill will. And, when taken to the extreme, this may result in deviant behavior— extreme acts such as stealing from the company or even harming another person; the final topic for the chapter.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Nascar: The Ettiquette of Drafting A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. What do you think this statement means, “to win races, drivers also must know how to compete by cooperating”?

.

217

Slide 11.01-.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Why is trust of other drivers so important to the sport of racing?

3. What is meant by the statement “one hand washed the other” and how does it apply to behavior?

II. VARIETIES OF INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR A. Interpersonal Behavior: a variety of behaviors involving the ways in which people work with and against one another.

B. The Five Major Forms of Interpersonal Behavior. On the continuum between working with and working against others there are five general forms that will be discussed this chapter (moving from most to least willing to help others):

Figure 11.1

1. Prosocial Behavior. Acts that benefit others.

2. Cooperation. Situations in which people help one another and receive help from one another.

3. Competition (midpoint of the spectrum). As one tries to win, the other has to lose.

4. Conflict. The ill will bred from competition.

5. Deviant Organizational Behavior. Extreme acts such as stealing for the company or even harming another person.

III. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACTS AND TRUST: BUILDING BLOCKS OF WORKING RELATIONSHIPS A. Psychological Contracts: Our Expectations of Others 1. Psychological Contract. A person’s beliefs about what is expected of another in a relationship. These informal, unwritten, and often unspoken contracts guide one’s expectations of others. By their very nature, these psychological contracts can be easily misinterpreted, leading to disagreements and interpersonal friction.

2. Two Dimensions of Psychological Contracts. These determine the three kinds of psychological contracts.

.

218

Figure 11.2

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance a. Timeframe. These contracts vary based on how long they are expected to last. b. Performance Requirements. How close a relationship is between performance demands (what employees are expected to do) and the rewards they receive. This relationship is not defined purely by economic terms as employees expect emotional and social support from their companies as well as pay.

3. The Three Basic Types of Psychological Contracts. a. Transactional Contract. Psychological contracts in which the parties have a brief and narrowly defined relationship that is primarily economic in focus.

Figure 11.3

b. Relational Contract. Psychological contracts in which the parties have a long-term and widely defined relationship with a vast focus. Personal relationships in this type of contract are close and personal; they are not tied to pay or other awards.

There tends to be a greater sense of commitment toward the organization and the job. c. Balanced Contracts. Psychological contracts that combine the open-ended, long-term features of relational psychological contracts with the wellspecified reward-performance contingencies of transactional contract. In this contract, each side receives some benefit from the other.

4. Effects of Psychological Contracts. a. Voluntary Assistance. Relational and balanced contracts tend to encourage individuals to go beyond the basic requirements of their jobs and help others or their companies on a voluntary basis. b. Personal Characteristics and Contracts. People that are emotionally stable are normally highly sensitive to being treated fairly and are inclined to form transactional contracts. Individuals high in conscientiousness and self-esteem prefer relational contracts. c. See the sidebar on page 379 to start an in-class discussion on psychological contracts in China and the United States. .

219

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations B. Trust in Working Relationships.

1. Trust. A person’s degree of confidence in the words and actions of another. Trust is more important in relational contracts than in transactional ones. a. Calculus-Based Trust. A form of trust based on deterrence; whenever people believe that another will behave as promised out of fear of being punished for doing otherwise. This type of trust is typically found in business relationships.

Figure 11.4

b. Identification-Based Trust. A person behaves as promised because he or she has the best interests of the other person at heart. It is based on accepting and understanding another person’s wants and desires.

2. Swift Trust a. Outcomes are interdependent. b. Time constraints exist. c. Group members focus on task and professional roles. d. A trust broker is in place.

3. Developing trustworthiness. There are three main factors that influence the development of trust: Table 11.1

a. Ability b. Benevolence c. Integrity IV. ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIORS (OCB): GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND THE FORMAL JOB REQUIREMENTS A. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB). An informal form of behavior in which people go beyond what is formally expected of them to contribute to the well-being of their organization and those in it. .

220

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance B. Forms of OCB. There are five different forms that OCB can take: altruism, conscientiousness, civic virtue, sportsmanship, and courtesy (see Table 11.1). OCB can also be separated based on whom the behaviors are directed toward:

Table 11.2

1. OCB-O. Behaviors directed toward the organization.

This includes behaviors such as speaking favorably about the organization to outsiders, being tolerant of temporary inconveniences without complaining, and expressing loyalty toward the organization.

2. OCB-I. Behaviors directed toward an individual. This includes doing favors for someone, assisting coworkers, and sending birthday cards to others in the office.

C. Why Does OCB Occur? The critical factor appears to be people’s belief that they are being treated fairly by their organization and especially by their immediate supervisor.

If workers hold this belief, OCB is more likely to occur.

There are however secondary factors that may cause OCB: 1. Employees holding positive attitudes toward their organization.

2. People in the organization having good relationships with their supervisors.

3. When the workers have the proper personality characteristics (highly conscientious and highly empathic).

D. Does OCB Really Matter? OCB appears to be related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It may also aid in recruitment efforts.

E. See the sidebar on page 386 to start an in-class discussion on promoting OCB in the workplace.

V. COOPERATION: PROVIDING MUTUAL ASSISTANCE A. Cooperation. A pattern of behavior in which assistance is mutual and two or more individuals, groups, or organizations work together toward shared goals for their mutual benefit. When two or more organizations cooperate, it is known as an interorganizational alliance.

.

221

Figure 11.5 Sidebar: How to Do It

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations B. Cooperation between Individuals. Cooperation between individuals can only occur when their goals are compatible: that is, they can be shared.

1. Competition. A pattern of behavior in which each person, group, or organization seeks to maximize its own gains, often at the expense of others. In this situation, goals are incompatible and cooperation is unlikely to occur.

2. Social Dilemmas. Situations in which each person can increase his or her individual gains by acting in a purely selfish manner, but if others also act selfishly, the outcomes experienced by all will be reduced. People in these dilemmas have mixed motives, there may be reasons to cooperate but there are also reasons to compete.

3. The Reciprocity Principle. The tendency to treat others as they have treated us; popularly referred to as “the golden rule.” This describes the way people behave when they cooperate with others. The difficulty with cooperation is merely getting it started. Once it is started, it tends to be self-sustaining because of the reciprocity principle.

4. Personal Orientation. Some people are more cooperative by nature, others are more competitive.

There are four different categories of people in terms of their natural predispositions toward working with or against others. These differences are stable and difficult to change. a. Competitors. People whose primary motive is doing better than others; beating them in open competition. b. Individualists. People who care almost exclusively about maximizing their own gain, and do not care whether others do better or worse than they do. c. Cooperators. People who are concerned with maximizing joint outcomes, getting as much as possible for their team. d. Equalizers. People who are primarily interested in minimizing the differences between themselves and others. .

222

Figure 11.6

Figure 11.7

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance 5. Organizational Reward Systems. Organizational reward systems may be inadvertently built in such a way as to inspire competition rather than cooperation. Reward structures can also affect the speed and accuracy of task performance. Higher speeds are achieved with competitive reward structures and greater accuracy is achieved with cooperative reward structures.

C. Cooperation between Organizations: Interorganizational Alliances 1. Partnering with Suppliers. Historically, organizations considered their suppliers interchangeable and competitors for precious resources. Today’s organizations consider suppliers to be partners and tend to cooperate very closely with them.

2. Research and Development (R&D) Partnerships. In some industries, it makes sense to pool the risk and later share the profits of R&D because of the staggering costs involved.

3. Interorganizational Alliances and Social Dilemmas.

Research has shown that as the number of participants in the interorganizational alliances increase, the likelihood of any one of the partners defecting and then taking competitive action increases. To avoid this, ensure the level of payoff for universal cooperation is greater than it is for universal defection, focus on the long-term aspects of the alliance, increase the level of communication among members, and establish a high level of identification with the alliance. The object, as it is for all cooperation, is that there are larger rewards for persons or groups to be gained through cooperation than they could obtain if they went it alone.

VI. CONFLICT: THE INEVITABLE RESULTS OF INCOMPATIBLE INTERESTS A. Conflict. A process in which one party perceives that another party has taken or will take actions that are incompatible with one’s own interests.

B. Types of Conflict: 1. Substantive Conflict. Conflict that occurs when people have different viewpoints and opinions with respect to a decision they are making with others. This type of .

223

Figure 11.8

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations conflict can be beneficial in helping groups make decisions that are more effective because it forces the various sides to clearly articulate their ideas.

2. Affective Conflict. Conflict that results when people experience clashes of personality or interpersonal tension, resulting in frustration and anger.

3. Process Conflict. Conflict that results from differences of opinion regarding how workgroups are going to operate, such as how various duties and resources will be allocated and with whom various responsibilities will reside. Generally, the higher level of process conflict, the lower the level of group performance.

C. Causes of Conflict 1. Grudges. People who have “lost face” in their dealings with someone will attempt to “get even” by planning some form of revenge.

Figure 11.9

2. Malevolent Attributions. To the extent that someone believes that the harm suffered by him or her is due to an individual’s malevolent motives means conflict is inevitable. Harm caused by outside forces is less likely to cause conflict.

3. Destructive Criticism. Feedback that angers recipients instead of helping him or her do a better job.

Constructive criticism may deflect this conflict.

Table 11.3

4. Distrust. The more a person is distrusted, the more conflict there will be in his or her relationships.

5. Competition over Scarce Resources. Whenever resources are insufficient for everyone’s needs, there will be competition and therefore conflict over the distribution of those resources (often due to the selfserving tendency in people’s perceptions over their own worth).

D. Consequences of Conflict. Conflict yields strong negative emotions, which both increases stress levels and diverts people’s attention from the task at hand. Communications may also suffer which can detract from coordination efforts and lower performance.

.

224

Table 11.4

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance 1. See sidebar on page 394 to start an in-class discussion on the benefits promoting conflict.

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

E. Managing Conflict through Negotiation 1. Bargaining (Negotiation). The process by which two or more parties in dispute with one another exchange offers, counteroffers, and concessions in an attempt to find a mutually acceptable agreement. This is the most common way for people to resolve conflicts. For bargaining to be effective, both parties must be willing to adjust their stances on the issues at hand.

2. Tips for Negotiating Win-Win Solutions. These are resolutions to conflicts in which both parties get what they want: they both “win.” a. Avoid Making Unreasonable Offers. Extreme offers tend to anger one’s opponents, sometimes ending the negotiation process on a sour note. b. Seek the Common Ground. It is more effective to focus on areas of agreement in negotiations than it is to focus on areas where the goals may be incompatible. By reaching agreement on the majority of points, the parties are more likely to offer concessions on the remaining points of dispute. c. Broaden the Scope of Issues Considered. It may be better to bargain from a “big picture” stance than trying to negotiate each individual issue independently. d. Uncover “The Real” Issues. Conflict may exist at several levels, some of which may be hidden.

Negotiators must determine what the driving issue in the process is and bring that to the table.

F. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). A set of procedures, such as mediation and arbitration, in which disputing parties work together with a neutral party who helps them settle their disagreements out of court.

1. Mediation. A process in which a neutral party (known as a mediator) works together with two or more parties (sides) to reach a settlement on their conflict.

.

225

Figure 11.10

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations a. Integrative Agreement. A type of solution to a conflict situation in which the parties consider joint benefits that goes beyond a simple compromise. b. Mediator Focus. The focus of mediators is on conflict resolution not assessing who is wrong or right. Mediators have no formal power and cannot impose any agreements. As a result, mediation often proves to be ineffective and simply underscores the depth of the differences between the two sides.

2. Arbitration. The process in which a third party (known as an arbitrator) has the power to impose, or at least to recommend, the terms of an agreement between two or more conflicting parties. There are four common types of arbitration: a. Binding Arbitration. Both sides agree in advance to accept the terms set by the arbitrator, whatever they may be. b. Voluntary Arbitration. The sides retain the freedom to reject the recommended agreement. c. Conventional Arbitration. The arbitrator can offer any package of terms he or she wishes. d. Final-Offer Arbitration. The arbitrator chooses between final offers made by the disputing parties themselves.

3. ADR Today. ADR is very popular because it helps disputants reach agreements more privately, rapidly, and inexpensively than if the dispute were taken to court.

VII. DEVIANT ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR A. Deviant Organizational Behavior. Actions on the part of employees that intentionally violate norms of organizations or the formal rules of society.

1. Destructive Organizational Deviance. A form of behavior that violates both organizational and social norms, resulting in negative consequences. This includes workplace aggression and violence.

.

226

Slide 11.18

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance a. Cyberloafing. The practice of using a company’s e-mail or Internet facilities for non-work-related activities. This is a costly problem for which little has been done. Monitoring may help the situation, but it does create conflict over employee privacy rights.

2. Constructive Organizational Deviance. Behaviors that violate norms of a particular company which can produce beneficial effects if, at the same time, they are consistent with other norms, and those of the broader society or culture. This includes whistle-blowing behaviors. a. Whistle-Blowing. Disclosure by employees of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices by employers to people or organizations able to take action. Although this behavior is seen as negative deviance within the organization, for society as a whole it is deemed to be a constructive action.

However, the high personal cost for such behavior (such as being fired) makes whistle-blowing relatively rare if those involved cannot remain anonymous.

Table 11.5

Figure 11.12

b. Cyberloafing. Deviant Behavior Goes High-Tech.

The practice of using a company’s email and/or internet facilities for personal use. c. Workplace Aggression and Violence.

1) Workplace Aggression. Acts of verbal and physical abuse toward others in organizations, ranging from mild to severe.

2) Forms of Workplace Aggression. Many forms of workplace aggression are covert, that is the acts are hidden to avoid retribution toward the perpetrator. However, there are three categories of overt aggressive behavior in the workplace: a) Incivility. Behaviors demonstrating a lack of regard for others, denying them the respect they are due. These acts are often verbal or symbolic in nature and include activities such as spreading rumors.

.

227

Figure 11.13

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations b) Obstructionism. Behaviors designed to obstruct or impede the target performance.

These behaviors normally take the form of failing to provide necessary information or failing to respond to requests. c) Overt Aggression. Acts that are outwardly intended to harm other people or organizations such as physical assaults, destruction of property, threats of physical violence, and direct verbal abuse.

3. Workplace Aggression: Its Causes. It appears the primary driver for this behavior is perceived unfairness in the workplace. Additionally, the likelihood of a specific individual engaging in workplace aggression is influenced by the overall level of aggression in his or her work group or organization. Other potential triggers include downsizing, layoffs, and the increased use of contingent workers.

4. Who Engages in Workplace Aggression? People most likely to engage in workplace aggression may have the following traits but research has not given a clear picture on exactly who is most likely to engage in these forms of aggression. a. High Anger Traits. The tendency to respond to situations in a predominately-angry manner. b. Positive Attitude toward Revenge. The belief that it is justifiable to get back at others who caused one harm. c. Past Experience with Aggression. A history that involves exposure to aggressive behavior. d. Tendency toward Overt Expressions. The tendency to express anger overtly rather than suppress it.

5. What Job Characteristics Put People at Risk for Violence or Aggression? People whose jobs lead them to exercise control over others or to handle various weapons, or to have contact with people on medication, or take physical care of others were most likely to experience violence on the job.

.

228

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance 6. Managing Workplace Aggression. There are a number of things organizations can do to reduce the chance of workplace aggression. a. Norms. Establish clear norms against abusive treatment of employees and clear procedures for ensuring they are followed. b. Training. Train managers in interpersonal skills.

Figure 11.14

c. Assessment. Conduct periodic assessments of employee satisfaction and commitment.

B. Abusive Supervision: Workplace Bullying 1. Abusive Supervision. A pattern of supervision in which a boss engages in sustained displays of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors. These are individuals with an unhealthy need to control others, to the point of needing psychological counseling. a. Workplace Bullying. The repeated mistreatment of an individual at work in a manner that endangers his or her physical or mental health. Most often done by supervisors, this form of abusive supervision is repetitive and vengeful.

Table 11.6

b. The Results of Abusive Supervision. Because of the ease with which supervisors can exact retribution on complaining employees, most reactions involve leaving the organization and follow-up litigation.

C. Employee Theft. Most employee theft is not considered to be so by the employee (such as taking a pencil home) but it is still a cost to the company.

1. Why Do Employees Steal? Although there may be some employees who have gambling or drug habits they are trying to support, most employees steal for different reasons. a. Everyone’s Doing It. When the majority of coworkers are seen engaging in theft, it is more likely for an employee to steal something. b. Informal Norms Support Theft. In some companies, employees must steal to feel accepted by their coworkers. .

229

Figure 11.15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations c. Need to Even the Score. Employees who believe their employers have mistreated them or taken advantage of them will attempt to redress this situation through theft (as explained by equity theory).

2. Reducing Employee Theft. It takes more than security cameras: a. Involve employees in the creation of a theft policy that defines what theft is. b. Communicate the costs of stealing. c. Treat people fairly. d. Be a good role model.

VIII. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Describe three types of psychological contracts and the two basic kinds of trust that play a role in work relationships.

One type of psychological contract is the transactional contract. It is characteristic of relationships that have an exclusively economic focus, last for a brief period of time, are unchanging in nature, and have a narrow, well-defined scope. Another kind is the relational contract. It applies to relationships that are longer-term in scope and go beyond basic economic issues such as pay for performance. A third type is the balanced contract; this involves elements of both transactional and relational contracts. With respect to trust, one type is known as calculus-based trust. It is a form of trust based on deterrence, whenever people believe that another will behave as promised out of fear of being punished for doing otherwise. A second type is identification-based trust. It is based on understanding another person plus the acceptance of this person’s wants and desires.

2. Describe organizational citizenship behavior and ways in which it may be encouraged.

Organizational citizenship behavior consists of acts that go above and beyond one’s formal job requirements in helping one’s organization or fellow employees. It is influenced by many factors, including employees’ beliefs about whether they are being treated fairly, their relationships with their .

230

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance supervisors, their attitudes toward their company, and several personal characteristics (e.g., conscientiousness).

3. Identify ways in which cooperation can be promoted in the workplace.

Although by nature some people are more cooperative than are others, interpersonal cooperation may be promoted by following the reciprocity principle and by adopting reward systems that encourage cooperation with others.

4. Describe the causes and effects of conflict in organizations along with techniques that can be used to manage conflict in organizations.

Conflict is caused by a wide variety of factors, including grudges, malevolent attributions, destructive criticism, distrust, and competition over scarce resources. Conflict can be not only a source of negative emotions, but it also can lead to a lack of coordination, which can make performance suffer in organizations. But conflict also can have beneficial effects. These include: bringing out into the open problems that have been previously ignored, motivating people to appreciate one another’s positions more fully, and encouraging people to consider new ideas.

Bargaining is the single most effective technique for resolving conflicts. Many factors influence the course and outcomes of bargaining, including specific tactics used by bargainers (e.g., the “big lie” technique), their overall approach to the situation (win-win versus win-lose), cognitive factors such as faulty beliefs and perceptions on the part of negotiators (e.g., the belief that keeping deadlines secret is best), and the motives and emotions of the negotiators. Alternative dispute resolution is another approach to resolving conflicts. It involves mediation (in which a neutral third party works with the conflicting parties to find a mutually satisfying solution to the conflict) and arbitration (in which a neutral third party proposes solutions for conflicting parties).

5. Explain why deviant organizational behavior can produce positive as well as negative effects.

Deviant organizational behavior (sometimes termed workplace deviance) involves actions on the part of employees that intentionally violate the norms of organizations or the rules of society. Depending on . 231

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations whether such actions violate one or both of these sets of norms, they can result in beneficial or harmful effects for both the organization and society. For instance, if an employee’s behavior is consistent with organizational norms but violates societal ones (e.g., dumping toxic chemical wastes into a nearby river), it produces positive effects for the organization but negative ones for society. If it violates organizational norms but is consistent with societal norms, then the opposite occurs (as occurs in the case of whistle-blowing).

6. Describe the major forms of workplace deviance.

Workplace aggression is usually covert (i.e., hidden) in nature. Direct physical or verbal assaults by one employee against another are much rarer than indirect attacks, such as spreading malicious rumors about another person or withholding important information from them. Workplace aggression stems from many different factors including employees’ beliefs that they have been treated unfairly, their personal characteristics, and the general level of aggression in a work group or organization. Abusive supervision is a style of supervision involving sustained displays of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors by a supervisor. Cyberloafing is a form of deviance in which employees “goof off” by using their computers for nonwork activities. Employee theft, another form of deviant organizational behavior, occurs when employees take company property for personal use. It can be reduced by involving employees in the creation of a theft policy, communicating the costs of stealing, and having managers act as a good role model by not stealing themselves.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are psychological contracts and why do different kinds develop in various working relationships?

A psychological contract is a person’s beliefs about what is expected of another in a relationship. They guide behavior much the way a legal contract does—but are perceptual in nature. What one person expects may not be what the other expects—making interpersonal relationships challenging. One type of psychological contract is the transactional contract. It is characteristic of relationships that have an exclusively . 232

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance economic focus, last for a brief period of time, are unchanging in nature, and have a narrow, well-defined scope. Calculus-based trust—trust based on deterrence—is associated with transactional contracts. A second type of contract is the relational contract. Such contracts are based on friendship. They exist in relationships in which the parties take a longterm perspective. Such relationships are characterized by identificationbased trust—that is, trust based on accepting and understanding one another.

2. What is the difference between calculus-based trust and identificationbased trust?

Calculus-Based Trust: a form of trust based on deterrence. Whenever people believe that another will behave as promised out of fear of being punished for doing otherwise. This type of trust is typically that found in business relationships. Identification-Based Trust: a person behaves as promised because he or she has the best interests of the other person at heart. It is based on accepting and understanding another person’s wants and desires.

3. What forms does organizational behavior take? Why do people engage in it?

There are five different forms that OCB can take: altruism, conscientiousness, civic virtue, sportsmanship, and courtesy (see Table 11.1). They can be separated based on whom the behaviors are directed toward. OCB-O are behaviors directed toward the organization. These include behaviors such as speaking favorably about the organization to outsiders, being tolerant of temporary inconveniences without complaining, and expressing loyalty toward the organization. OCB-I are behaviors directed toward an individual. These include doing favors for someone, assisting coworkers, and sending birthday cards to others in the office.

Why Does OCB Occur? The critical factor appears to be people’s belief that they are being treated fairly by their organization and especially by their immediate supervisor. If workers hold this belief, OCB is more likely to occur. There are, however, secondary factors that may cause OCB: (1) employees holding positive attitudes toward their organization, (2) people in the organization having good relationships with their supervisors, and (3) when the workers have the proper personality characteristics (highly conscientious and highly empathic).

4. What are the major determinants of cooperation between individuals and between organizations?

Their goals must be compatible, there should be minimal social dilemmas or competition in the situation, the people involved should be cooperative by nature (cooperators and equalizers), and the rewards systems should be aligned with the desire for cooperation. The object, as it is for all . 233

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations cooperation, is that there should be larger rewards for persons or groups to be gained through cooperation than they could obtain if they went it alone.

5. What are the major causes and consequences of organizational conflict?

The common causes of organizational conflict are: (1) Grudges. People who have “lost face” in their dealings with someone will attempt to “get even” by planning some form of revenge. (2) Malevolent Attributions. To the extent that someone believes that the harm suffered by him or her is due to an individual’s malevolent motives conflict is inevitable. Harm caused by outside forces is less likely to cause conflict. (3) Destructive Criticism. Feedback that angers recipients instead of helping him or her do a better job. Constructive criticism may deflect this conflict. (4) Distrust. The more a person is distrusted, the more conflict will be in his or her relationships. (5) Competition over Scarce Resources. Whenever resources are insufficient for everyone’s needs, there will be competition and therefore conflict over the distribution of those resources (often due to the self-serving tendency in people’s perceptions over their own worth).

Consequences of Conflict. Conflict yields strong negative emotions, which both increases stress levels and diverts people’s attention from the task at hand. Communications may also suffer which can detract from coordination efforts and lower performance.

6. In what ways can organizational conflict be managed effectively?

Managing Conflict through Negotiation: The process by which two or more parties in dispute with one another exchange offers, counteroffers, and concessions in an attempt to find a mutually acceptable agreement.

This is the most common way for people to resolve conflicts. For bargaining to be effective, both parties must be willing to adjust their stances on the issues at hand. Tips for Negotiating Win-Win Solutions.

These are resolutions to conflicts in which both parties get what they want: they both “win.” (1) Avoid Making Unreasonable Offers. Extreme offers tend to anger one’s opponents, sometimes ending the negotiation process on a sour note. (2) Seek the Common Ground. It is more effective to focus on areas of agreement in negotiations than it is to focus in areas where the goals may be incompatible. By reaching agreement on the majority of points, the parties are more likely to offer concessions on the remaining points of dispute. (3) Broaden the Scope of Issues Considered.

It may be better to bargain from a “big picture” stance than trying to negotiate each individual issue independently. (4) Uncover “The Real” Issues. Conflict may exist at several levels, some of which may be hidden.

Negotiators must determine what the driving issue in the process is and bring that to the table.

Another possibility is to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). A set of procedures, such as mediation and arbitration, in which disputing parties work together with a neutral party who helps them settle their . 234

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance disagreements out of court. Mediation is a process in which a neutral party (known as a mediator) works together with two or more parties (sides) to reach a settlement on their conflict. The focus of mediators is on conflict resolution, not assessing who is wrong or right. Mediators have no formal power and cannot impose any agreements. As a result, mediation often proves to be ineffective and simply underscores the depth of the differences between the two sides. Arbitration is a process in which a third party (known as an arbitrator) has the power to impose, or at least to recommend, the terms of an agreement between two or more conflicting parties. ADR is very popular because it helps disputants reach agreements more privately, rapidly, and inexpensively than if the dispute were taken to court.

7. Why can deviant organizational behavior result in negative consequences for an organization but positive consequences for society?

The situation can occur because organizations often have different goals and norms than society as a whole. One example of a deviant behavior that is negative to the organization but helpful to society is whistleblowing. This is the disclosure by employees of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices by employers to people or organizations able to take action. Although this behavior is seen as negative deviance within the organization, for society as a whole it is deemed to be a constructive action. However, the high personal cost for such behavior (such as being fired) makes whistle-blowing relatively rare if those involved cannot remain anonymous.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of individuals whom you trust and those you do not trust. In what key ways do your relationships with these people differ?

Student answers will vary based on their experiences. Ideas for promoting trust in working relationships includes: always meet deadlines, follow through as promised, and spend time sharing personal values and goals.

2. What are the major sources of conflict at work within the company at which you are employed? How do you think these conflicts may be resolved?

Student answers will vary based on their experiences. Resolving conflict means looking for strategies for a win-win outcome. Ideas include: avoid making unreasonable offers, seek the common ground, uncover the “real” issues, and broaden the scope of issues considered.

3. Have you ever been the target of some form of workplace aggression?

Why do you think this happened? What did you do to deal with it?

Answers will vary depending on the student experience but all answers need to be handled with concern. Care should be taken in assessing the

. 235

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations student’s manner of dealing with the aggression: helpful suggestions are more powerful than critiques in this instance.

Questions to Analyze 1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People are inherently good, but are forced into behaving in negative ways by virtue of compelling forces they encounter within their organizations.

Student answers will vary based on their worldview.

2. What would you say are the major barriers to interpersonal cooperation within the workplace?

Student answers will vary based on their experiences. But these answers should still focus on the key areas brought out in the text: goal compatibility, the presence of social dilemmas, the personalities involved, and the reward systems in the organization.

3. What do you think you would do if faced with a situation in which obeying the norms of your organization would lead you to perform actions you considered illegal or unethical? Would you resist? What would be the consequences of resisting or “going along”?

These answers will vary dramatically depending on the personalities of the students.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Assessing Your Personal Orientation toward Others 1. What did this exercise reveal about you?

This exercise should give students a rough idea of their personality type.

How much is actually “revealed” will depend on the student selfawareness and their honesty in giving the answers.

2. Were you surprised at what you learned, or was it something you already knew?

The answer will vary.

3. Do you tend to maintain the same orientation most of the time, or are there occasions on which you change from one orientation to another? What do you think this means?

Because these differences are personality based, and therefore relatively stable and long-lived, there should not be a lot of “jumping” from one type to another. However, students may be able to change their overt behaviors to better fit in the situation (meaning the orientation does not change, but the outward behaviors do).

Group Exercise: Negotiating the Price of a Used Car . 236

Chapter 11: Interpersonal Behavior at Work: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance 1. Did you reach an agreement? If so, how easy or difficult was this process?

Answers will vary depending on how easily the students moved from a win-lose to a win-win mindset.

2. Which side do you think “won” the negotiation? What might have changed the outcome?

Answers will vary but the hope is that both sides believe they “won” the negotiation.

3. How might the negotiation process or the outcome have been different had this been a real situation?

There could have been strong pressures on the salesperson to make the sale, perhaps even at almost any price. Or the salesperson could have been directed not to go below a certain price. There may also have been pressure on the buyer to immediately purchase (say if the original car just died) or a total lack of pressure if the buyer was simply window-shopping.

Additionally other options may have been brought into play by the dealer: financing, accessories, trade-in values, alarm systems, and extended warranties all of which would have made negotiating a price easier for the dealer but more confusing for the buyer.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Southwest Airlines: Profits from People 1. What forms of trust are involved in this case and how were they violated?

2. Previous CEO Kelleher exhibited Identification-Based Trust. This appears to have been violated when Parker resigned and in this resignation speech stated that he never found the job fun and Southwest deserved a leader who could take the company to the next level. How are issues of cooperation and competition involved in this case?

3. CEO Parker reached out to former CEO Kelleher and asked him to come out of retirement to help resolve a bitter dispute that involved Parker.

Kelleher agreed and was able to quickly resolve the dispute. This was less competition and more cooperation. To what extent might the excellent state of labor relations at Southwest have contributed to the company’s record of financial success—especially in a challenging business environment?

The answers to this will vary based on the students’ opinions of Southwest and their assessments of its motives.

. 237

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the nature of influence in organizations and its major forms.

2. Distinguish between various forms of individual power in organizations.

3. Define empowerment and indicate how it operates among individuals and in teams.

4. Describe how the resource-dependency model and the strategic contingencies model explain the nature of power among organizational units.

5. Describe how sexual harassment constitutes an abuse of organizational power and ways of reducing its occurrence.

6. Describe when and where organizational politics occur and the forms such behavior takes.

Chapter Overview The chapter begins by examining the nature of the influence process in general. It describes a wide range of tactics used by individuals and groups in work settings to change others’ behavior. Then, building on this, it turns to the nature of power.

In this connection, the chapter examines separately power as it is acquired and used by individuals and power as it is used by groups or units in an organization.

For both discussions, the key issues will be how power is gained and used, and— especially with respect to individual power—how it sometimes is shared with others. Then, the chapter focuses on the various ways in which people abuse power in organizations, highlighting the problem of sexual harassment, including the extent of the problem and how to address it. Finally, in closing, the chapter will cover a fascinating form of behavior known as organizational politics, examining the tactics individuals use to attain their personal (and selfish) goals, as well as the ethical issues raised by these actions.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Abuse of Power or “An Indiscriminate Jerk” A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. Do you agree that what Melton did, by not instituting all the recommended punishments against Wright, was

. 238

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations implicitly condoning sexual harassment in the workplace? Why or why not?

2. Is sexual harassment about sex or about power?

3. What could Holland & Knight have done differently to prevent situations such as this?

II. INFLUENCE: A BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS A. Social Influence. Attempts to affect another in a desired fashion whether or not these attempts are successful.

Successful influence attempts indicate that the influencer exercised control over the individual being influenced.

B. Tactics for Exerting Influence. Which tactics to use and when to use them depends on the difference of status between the people involved. Downward (superior to subordinate) influence attempts often use inspirational appeals or pressure. Upward (subordinate to superior) influence attempts tend to rely on consultation or rational persuasion. In general, for all influence attempts, the more coercive methods are least likely to be effective or appropriate. Keep in mind that these techniques can be used in combination or in sequence for maximum effect.

1. Rational Persuasion. Using logical arguments and factual evidence to persuade others (targets) that an idea is acceptable or a desired result will occur.

2. Inspirational Appeals. Arousing enthusiasm by appealing to a target’s values and ideals.

3. Collaboration. Working together to find a way to make it easier for a target to agree to a request.

4. Consultation. Asking the target to participate in decision making or planning a change.

5. Ingratiation. Getting a target to agree to a request by putting him or her in a good mood or by getting him or her to like the influencer.

6. Exchange. Promising some benefits to the target upon complying with a request.

7. Personal Appeal. Activating feelings of personal loyalty or friendship before making a request. .

239

Table 12.1

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 8. Coalition Building. Persuading by seeking the assistance of others in a coalition, or by telling them about the support you already enjoy from others.

9. Legitimizing. Calling attention to one’s formal authority to make a request, or verifying it is consistent with prevailing organizational policies and practices.

10. Pressuring. Seeking compliance by making demands or threats, or otherwise intimidating the target.

C. Can Managers Learn to Use Influence More Effectively?

1. Influence Is a Skill. And like all skills, it can be learned and improved.

2. See the sidebar on page 417 to start an in-class discussion on how to increase the use of influence tactics.

III. INDIVIDUAL POWER: SOURCES AND USES A. Power. The capacity to change the behavior or attitudes of others in a desired manner; to exert influence over others.

B. Position Power: Influence That Comes with the Office.

1. Position Power. Power that is based on one’s formal position in an organization. The power is associated with the job held not the incumbent. There are four bases of positional power: a. Legitimate Power. The individual power base derived from one’s position in an organizational hierarchy; acceptance of the authority of one’s position. This narrow band of power applies only to the range of behaviors that are recognized and accepted as being appropriate by the parties involved. b. Reward Power. Individual power base derived from an individual’s capacity to administer valued rewards to others. c. Coercive Power. Individual power base derived from the capacity to administer punishment to others. .

240

Figure 12.1

Sidebar: How to Do It

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations d. Information Power. The extent to which a supervisor provides a subordinate with information needed to do the job.

2. Personal Power. The power that one derives because of one’s individual qualities or characteristics. It is unique to the individual and there are four basic types: a. Rational Persuasion. Individuals who are truly expert at influencing others on the strength of their logical arguments and by their effective style of delivering those arguments often acquire power over others. b. Expert Power. Individual power base derived from an individual’s recognized superior skills and abilities in a certain area. This is based on an individual’s expert knowledge. c. Referent Power. The individual power base derived from the degree to which one is liked and admired by others. Subordinates typically wish to emulate people with referent power to “be like them when they grow up.” d. Charisma. An attitude of enthusiasm and optimism that is contagious; an aura of leadership. There are several key elements in this particular type of personal power: 1) Charismatic individuals express clear visions of the future and how to get there.

2) They excite crowds by using colorful metaphors and exciting language.

3) They inspire trust because their integrity is beyond reproach.

4) They make people feel good about themselves.

C. How Is Individual Power Used? Most people use several bases of power and use different types to fit the occasion.

1. Relationships between Bases of Power. There are some relationships in the way power is used.

.

241

Figure 12.2

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations a. Coercive Power. Managers who use this type of power frequently are liked less by their subordinates and tend to have little or no referent power. b. Expert Power. Managers with expert power are also likely to have legitimate power with the expertise being the basis for the legitimacy. c. Legitimate Power. The higher someone is in the organizational hierarchy the more of this type of power he or she possesses. Additionally, there are greater opportunities to use rewards and coercions to increase those bases of power.

2. Preferred Bases of Power. Overall most people prefer to use expert power most often and coercive power least often.

Figure 12.3

3. Influencing Peers and Superiors. Executives tend to use expert power when attempting to influence peers and superiors. They tend to avoid coercive tactics, especially when trying to influence superiors.

Influencing superiors is tricky because of their counterpower (their capacity to neutralize another’s influence attempts) and the possibility of retaliation.

D. When Can Being Powerful Be a Liability?

1. Straightforwardness. The tendency for people to behave in ways that are frank, sincere, and candid in dealings with others.

IV. EMPOWERMENT: SHARING POWER WITH EMPLOYEES A. Empowerment. The passing of responsibility and authority from managers to employees.

1. Three Key Points for Effective Empowerment: a. Information Sharing. Organizations must provide potentially sensitive information on costs, productivity, quality, and financial performance to employees throughout the organization. b. Autonomy through Boundaries. Organizations must choose designs and practices that encourage

.

242

Figure 12.4

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations autonomous action by employees, including work procedures, areas of responsibilities, and goals. c. Team Accountability. Organizations must ensure that both decision-making authority and performance accountability reside in teams.

B. Do Employees Like Being Empowered? Although empowerment may not be desirable for all workers (just as enriched jobs or autonomous teams were not), when empowerment is implemented with willing workers it seems to be very successful.

1. See the sidebar on page 426 to start an in-class discussion on empowerment in four different nations.

2. Empowerment Cultures. A relatively enduring atmosphere in the workplace that is supportive of empowerment.

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

Figure 12.7

V. THE POWER OF ORGANIZATIONAL GROUPS A. The Resource-Dependency Model: Controlling Critical Resources. The view that power resides within subunits that are able to control the greater share of valued organizational resources.

1. The Resource-Dependency Model suggests that a key determinant of subunit power is the control of valued resources. The greater this control, the greater the power the subunit or department can wield.

B. The Strategic-Contingencies Model: Power through Dependence. Whereas the resource-dependency model focused on control over resources, this model focuses on control over the activities of other subunits as the source of power. In this model, departments that can control the relative power of various organizational subunits by virtue of its actions is said to have control over strategic contingencies. Typically, the departments that control strategic contingencies (have the most organizational power) are those whose function is the most important for organizational success.

1. Increasing Power. A subunit’s power can be enhanced when:

.

243

Figure 12.8

Figure 12.9

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations a. Uncertainty. A subunit can reduce the level of uncertainty (lack of knowledge about the likelihood of certain outcomes occurring in the future) experienced by other subunits. Units that have projections or other insights into future activities may gain power in organizations. b. Centrality. The subunit’s position is more centralized. Centrality is the degree to which an organizational unit has a key impact on others because it has to be consulted and because its activities have immediate effects on an organization. c. Nonsubstitutable. The subunits activities are highly indispensable to the organization and cannot be done by other units (nonsubstitutable activities).

Also includes the rarity of the skills of the individuals in that subunit: a unit whose personnel are easily replaced has less power than a unit comprised of difficult-to-replace specialists.

Figure 12.10

VI. SEXUAL HARASSMENT: A SERIOUS ABUSE OF POWER A. Sexual Harassment (as defined by the EEOC). The unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Sexual harassment is about power not about sex: it is an abuse of power.

B. Major Forms of Sexual Harassment 1. Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment (a Latin phrase meaning “one thing in return for another”). A form of sexual harassment in which the harasser requests sexual favors in exchange for some tangible conditions, privileges, or terms of employment from a victim. This is the overt form of sexual harassment.

2. Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment. This more recent form of sexual harassment has a wider scope.

Under this form, when individuals are subjected to negative, unwanted, or abusive conditions under which their ability to work effectively and comfortably is .

244

Figure 12.11

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations compromised, sexual harassment has occurred. This type of sexual harassment can occur not only in terms of one person demeaning another, but also by virtue of management’s failure to prevent such actions from occurring among its employees. This type of harassment is the most common in modern workplaces and the most challenging to establish given the wide scope.

C. Occurrence. The rate of sexual harassment occurrence has been flat over the recent years. This may be due to increased reporting as awareness of sexual harassment has risen coupled with fewer instances of harassment occurring due to training and increased sensitivity. Sexual harassment continues to be a serious issue in the workplace. a. See the sidebar on page 434 to start an in-class discussion on the myths associated with sexual harassment.

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

D. Managing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: What to Do. Organizations are held legally liable for the hostile work environments created by their employees. Managers must discourage sexual harassment. What follows are several successful practices: 1. Have—and Communicate—a Clear Policy.

Organizations should publish their policy regarding sexual harassment. These policies should make it clear that the employer will not tolerate such harassment nor will it tolerate retaliation or retribution.

2. Train Employees about What Constitutes Inappropriate Behavior. This is training needed to increase the sensitivity of the work force toward the feelings of others and define what is, and what is not, proper behavior.

3. Make Sure There Is a Clear and Effective Complaint Procedure. There must be a mechanism in place to report violations that may occur and identified personnel to take action on those reports.

4. Take Immediate Steps to Stop Harassment. Perpetrators found guilty of harassment should be disciplined using measures proportional to the seriousness of the offense.

The employer should also correct any effects of the .

245

Figure 12.11

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations harassment (make the victim “whole” again, as if the incidents never occurred).

5. Contribute to a Nonhostile Environment. One of the most effective things a manager can do to prevent sexual harassment is to provide a supportive and positive role model through his or her actions.

VII. ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS: SELFISH USES OF POWER A. Organizational Politics. Unauthorized uses of power that enhances or protects one’s own or one’s group’s personal interests. These are the actions by individuals that are directed toward the goal of furthering their own selfinterest without regard for the well-being of others or their organizations.

B. Forms of Political Behavior. These are strategies typically used by people to promote their own selfish interests by influencing others.

1. Gain Control over—and Selectively Using— Information. Information is a base of power (as mentioned earlier), the difference here is that the information is controlled to gain political advantage.

Negative information may be withheld, information may be selectively disclosed, or some other technique may be used to give a false impression to others for the advantage of another.

2. Cultivating a Favorable Impression. These imagebuilding efforts include dressing for success, taking credit for other people’s work, and selfaggrandizement.

3. Building Powerful Coalitions. Managers may lobby for their idea in one-to-one settings before making a political move.

4. Blaming and Attacking Others. The most popular tactic in organizational politics involves blaming and attacking others when bad things happen. This requires finding a scapegoat (someone who is made to take the blame for someone else’s failure or wrongdoing) and shifting the blame to the person.

.

246

Figure 12.12

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations 5. Associating with Powerful Others. One of the most direct ways to gain power is by connecting oneself with people who are more powerful. This may be done by finding a powerful mentor, ingratiating oneself with powerful people, and forming alliances.

6. Creating Obligations and Using Reciprocity. This technique uses the frequent small favors done by the political person to later demand a large favor in return.

C. Why Does Political Behavior Occur? There are both personal and organizational variables that encourage political behavior.

1. Personal Determinants of Organizational Politics. The following types of individuals tend to be very political. a. Machiavellians. It should be no surprise that people with this personality characteristic engage in politics. b. Social Chameleons. These are individuals who figure out what behaviors they believe are considered generally appropriate in their organization, and then go out of their way to make sure that others are aware that they are behaving in such a manner. c. Other Traits. Individuals who are very socially adept, highly popular, extroverted, self-confident, aggressive, ambitious, tedious, intelligent, and articulate tend to be political.

2. Organizational Determinants of Organizational Politics. Political behavior is more likely to occur in organizations where roles and goals are ambiguous, the organization itself has a history or climate of political activity, and resources are scarce. Highly centralized organizations and those whose units have conflicts of interests also tend to experience more behavior that is political. a. Politics in Human Resource Management.

Managerial activities such as performance appraisals, personnel selection, and compensation all tend to be highly political. Managers may be more concerned about the image they portray through the appraisals or the personnel they select .

247

Figure 12.13

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations than they are actually appraising someone fairly or selecting the best person for the job. As a source of rewards, pay raise decisions are often very political. b. Politics in Large Multinational Organizations.

Independent and powerful subsidiaries may increase the amount of political behaviors at corporate headquarters.

D. The Impact of Organizational Politics. For the person who successfully uses organizational politics there are rewards and benefits. For the other people in the organization, and the organization itself, the use of organizational politics creates increased costs and negative effects. Political behavior tends to lower employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, increases voluntary turnover, lowers morale and motivation, and in the long-run lowers organizational performance.

VIII. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Describe the nature of influence in organizations and its major forms.

When someone attempts to change the behavior or views of one or more others, they are engaging in attempts at exerting influence. Influence can take many different forms, including rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, consultation, ingratiation, exchange, personal appeal, coalition building, legitimating, and pressure.

2. Distinguish between various forms of individual power in organizations.

Overall, power refers to the capacity to influence others.

One major type of power, position power, resides within one’s formal organizational position. It includes: (1) reward power and (2) coercive power, the capacity to control valued rewards and punishments; (3) legitimate power, the recognized authority that an individual has by virtue of his or her organizational position; and (4) information power, power that stems from having special data and knowledge. A second major type of power, personal power, resides within an individual’s own unique qualities or characteristics. It includes: (1) rational persuasion, using logical arguments and factual evidence to convince others that an idea is acceptable; (2) expert .

248

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations power, the power an individual has because he or she is recognized as having some superior knowledge, skill, or expertise; (3) referent power, influence based on the fact that an individual is admired by others; and (4) charisma, having an engaging and magnetic personality.

3. Define empowerment and indicate how it operates among individuals and in teams.

Empowerment is a process in which authority is delegated to the lowest level in an organization at which competent decisions regarding various issues can be made. At the individual level, it has been found to enhance both performance and job satisfaction, although these beneficial effects are greater in some cultures (low power-distance cultures) than are others (high power-distance cultures).

To the extent organizations create an empowerment climate they can empower teams as well as individuals. This can enhance the performance of both teams and individuals.

4. Describe how the resource-dependency model and the strategic contingencies model explain the nature of power between organizational units.

The resource-dependency model asserts that power resides within the subunits that control the greatest share of valued organizational resources. The strategic contingencies model explains power in terms of a subunit’s capacity to control the activities of other subunits. Such power may be enhanced by the capacity to reduce the level of uncertainty experienced by another unit, having a central position within the organization, or performing functions that other units cannot perform.

.

249

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 5. Describe how sexual harassment constitutes an abuse of organizational power and ways of reducing its occurrence.

Almost always, sexual harassment constitutes an abuse of power in which a more powerful person (usually, but not always, a male) gives unwanted sexual attention to a less powerful person (usually, but not always, a female).

Because there’s a power difference between the parties, the less powerful individual is put in a difficult situation.

Unfortunately, this form of behavior is not uncommon, although most instances go unreported. Not only is sexual harassment patently illegal, but it also is highly costly to all involved parties, both financially and psychologically. To help reduce the occurrence of sexual harassment, it is useful for management to do the following: (1) have—and communicate—a clear policy prohibiting sexual harassment, (2) train employees about what constitutes inappropriate behavior, (3) make sure there’s a clear and effective complaint procedure in place, (4) take immediate steps to stop harassment before it gets worse, and (5) as a manager, contribute to a nonhostile work environment yourself.

6. Describe when and where organizational politics occur and the forms such behavior takes.

Political behavior is likely to occur in situations where goals and roles are ambiguous, the organization has a history or climate of political activity, and resources are scarce. In addition, politics is also encouraged by a high level of centralization or when different individuals or units in the organization have conflicting interests or goals.

Politics often occur in connection with human resources issues and tends to increase as organizations mature and increase in size. Political tactics vary greatly and include such things as blaming and attacking others, controlling access to information, and cultivating a favorable impression.

.

250

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What is influence and how does it differ from power? From organizational politics?

When someone attempts to affect another in a desired fashion, that person is said to be using social influence. The concept of power refers to the capacity to change the behavior or attitudes of others in a desired manner.

Behaving in a manner that is not officially approved by an organization to meet one’s own goals by influencing others is known as organizational politics.

2. What are the tactics of influence used most frequently in organizations?

Social influence may take the forms of rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, collaboration, consultation, ingratiation, exchange, personal appeal, coalition building, legitimating, and pressure. The last two are used least of all.

3. What is position power? How does it differ from personal power?

Position power is based on one’s formal position in an organization. The power is associated with the job held not the incumbent. There are four bases of positional power: legitimate, reward, coercive, and information.

Personal power derives from one’s individual qualities or characteristics.

It is unique to the individual and there are four basic types: rational persuasion, expert power, reference power, and charisma.

4. What is empowerment? Can it work on the team as well as individual level?

Empowerment is the passing of responsibility and authority from managers to employees. It is effective for individuals and especially for teams.

5. According to the resource-dependency model of subunit power, what are the most important foundations of subunit power in an organization?

An organization can be thought of as a complex set of subunits that are constantly exchanging resources with one another. The formal organizational departments may be both giving to and receiving from other departments valued commodities—money, personnel, equipment, supplies, and information. Organizational subunits are involved in a complex set of interrelationships. To the extent that one subunit controls the resources on which another subunit depends, the first subunit may be said to have power over the second. The resource-dependency model proposes that a subunit’s power is based on the degree to which it

. 251

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations controls those resources required by other subunits. The most powerful subunits are those that contribute the most important resources.

6. According to the strategic contingencies model, what is the basis of subunit power in an organization?

To the extent a department can control the relative power of various organizational subunits by its actions, it is said to have control over strategic contingencies. The basis of subunit power are, (1) the capacity to reduce the uncertainty faced by others, (2) the degree of centrality in the organization, (3) functions that are both nonsubstitutable and indispensable.

7. What, exactly, is sexual harassment, and what can be done to minimize its occurrence in organizations?

Sexual Harassment (as defined by the EEOC): are the unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Sexual harassment is about power not about sex: it is an abuse of power.

Organizations are held legally liable for the hostile work environments created by their employees. Managers must discourage sexual harassment. What follows are several successful practices: ▪

Have and Communicate a Clear Policy.

▪

Train Employees about What Constitutes Inappropriate Behavior.

▪

Make Sure There Is a Clear and Effective Complaint Procedure.

▪

Take Immediate Steps to Stop Harassment.

▪

Contribute to a Nonhostile Environment.

8. What are some of the most important antecedents of organizational politics?

There are personal determinants and organizational determinants (antecedents) for the likelihood of organizational politics occurring. The following types of individuals tend to be very political.

▪

Machiavellians. It should be no surprise that people with this personality characteristic engage in politics.

▪

Social Chameleons. These are individuals who figure out what behaviors they believe are considered generally appropriate in their organization, and then go out of their way to make sure that others are aware that they are behaving in such a manner.

. 252

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations ▪

Other Traits. Individuals who are very socially adept, highly popular, extroverted, self-confident, aggressive, ambitious, tedious, intelligent, and articulate tend to be political.

Political behavior is more likely to occur in organizations where roles and goals are ambiguous, the organization itself has a history or climate of political activity, and resources are scarce. Highly centralized organizations and those whose units have conflicts of interests also tend to experience more behavior that is political. Managerial activities such as performance appraisals, personnel selection, and compensation all tend to be highly political. Pay raise decisions are often very political.

9. What are the effects of organizational politics?

For the person who successfully uses organizational politics there are rewards and benefits. For the other people in the organization, and the organization itself, the use of organizational politics creates increased costs and negative effects. Political behavior tends to lower employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, increases voluntary turnover, lowers morale and motivation, and in the long-run lowers organizational performance.

Experiential Questions 1. How do you attempt to influence the people with whom you work?

Answers will vary but student should list at least some of the eight influence techniques mentioned in the chapter (rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, collaboration, consultation, ingratiation, exchange, personal appeal, coalition building, legitimating, and pressure).

2. If you hold power in an organization, what is its basis? How do you prefer to exert power over others?

The answers will vary depending on the student’s position. However, they should mention both positional and personal power bases (four bases of positional power: legitimate, reward, coercive, and information. Personal power bases: rational persuasion, expert power, reference power, and charisma) and either influence tactics or which of these bases they use to influence others.

3. Have you ever felt empowered in an organization? If so, why? And what effects, if any, did such feelings of being empowered have on your performance?

Student answers will vary depending on their experiences. Encourage students to discuss how the message that they were empowered was communicated and what the consequences were (positive and negative) when they did make decisions.

. 253

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 4. Answer the following questions if you don’t mind talking about this personal issue: Have you ever engaged in sexual harassment? What, precisely, did you do that was wrong and what might have been done to prevent you from doing it?

Be careful with the responses to these questions: very sensitive material.

5. Answer the following questions if you don’t mind talking about this personal issue: Have you ever been a victim of sexual harassment? How did it make you feel?

Be careful with the responses to these questions: very sensitive material.

Do not judge the students emotional responses to their victimization.

6. Have you ever engaged in organizational politics? If so, what tactics did you use?

Answers will vary but should include at least one of the six strategies mentioned in the chapter: ▪

Gain Control over and Selective Use of Information.

▪

Cultivating a Favorable Impression.

▪

Building Powerful Coalitions.

▪

Blaming and Attacking Others.

▪

Associating with Powerful Others.

▪

Creating Obligations and Using Reciprocity.

Questions to Analyze 1. Do you think that highly influential people gain power? In other words, are influence and power related?

Answers will vary, but in general, the answer is yes.

2. Aside from rational persuasion, what techniques of influence do you believe are used most often in organizations? Why are these particular techniques used more frequently than are others?

Inspirational appeal, collaboration, consultation, ingratiation, exchange, personal appeal, and coalition building are all popular methods and depending on the student’s experience, can be used to answer this question. The rationale is most of these are positive influence methods and can build off the strengths of the individuals that use them. Two influence forms, legitimating and pressure, are seldom used by good leaders. These two influence techniques can actually take power away from the individual who uses them.

.

254

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations 3. Why do you think most executives prefer personal bases of power to positional bases of power?

Using the personal basis of power builds the worth of the individual as a leader whereas using positional bases of power do little for the individual’s image. Personal power gets people to do things because they wish to do so; positional power gets people to do things because they have to.

4. Do you think that sexual harassment ever can be eliminated entirely or that some degree of harassment is inevitable in the workplace?

Answers will vary. Realistically, so long as men and women work together and as long as they have varying degrees of maturity, there will be some instances of sexual harassment.

5. Politics often produces negative effects for organizations as a whole. What steps can an organization wishing to reduce politics take to reach this goal?

To reduce politics, organizations must remove its antecedents: do not hire people who are likely to be political (Machiavellians and social chameleons). Clarify roles and goals in the organization, publicly punish people for political behavior, decentralize the organization, and try to ensure fair allocation of resources. Activities like HRM that by their very nature are political, should be watched closely.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: What Kinds of Influence Does Your Supervisor Use? 1. With respect to which dimensions did your supervisor score highest and lowest? Are these consistent with what you would have predicted in advance?

Answers will vary. If students are not currently employed, have them use a former supervisor.

2. Does your supervisor behave in ways consistent with the dimension along which you gave him or her the highest score? In other words, does he or she fit the description given in the text?

Answers will vary.

3. How do you think your own subordinates would answer the various questions with respect to yourself?

This assumes that the students do have subordinates. They should at least be able to say what influence methods they are most likely to use.

.

255

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 4. Which of the eight forms of social influence do you think are most common and least common, and why?

Answers will vary but the best answer would be rational persuasion as most common and coercive as least common (or, better stated, least effective). Rational persuasion is the most common because it works in all directions, upward, outward, and among peers. It is the least likely one to have any negative consequences when used. Coercion only works in one direction (downward) and results in negative consequences when used (lower morale, resentment, and lower job satisfaction).

Group Exercise: Recognizing Organizational Politics When You See It 1. How successful was the class in identifying the various political tactics portrayed? Were some tactics more difficult to portray than were others?

Answers will vary.

2. Based on these portrayals, which tactics do you believe are most likely to be used in organizations, and under what circumstances?

Answers will vary, but rational persuasion, expert, and referent should be the tactics frequently used.

3. Which political tactics do you believe are most negative? Why? Traditionally the two worst methods are coercive and legitimate. Coercive because by its very nature it is negative (punishment) and legitimate because it is weak as it relies on the job description and not the personal power of person.

Answers to Case in Point Questions The Smith Brothers: A Low-Key Approach to Gaining—and Keeping— Organizational Power 1. What bases of personal power contribute to the Smith brothers’ success?

Much of their personal power comes from their charisma and their concern for others in the organization. However, they no doubt have expert power as well.

2. Is their low-key, unassuming approach the best for obtaining—and keeping—power?

It may not be the fastest approach to getting leadership position, but in the right organization is the best way to achieve, and most importantly, keep power.

.

256

Chapter 12: Power: Its Uses and Abuses in Organizations 3. If you studied the Smith brothers’ family background closely, do you think you could identify specific factors (e.g., in the way their parents raised them) that play a role in their successful rise to corporate power?

They stated they were from a businesses-oriented family and as children played board games like Monopoly—money was always interesting to them. They liked business as children and this was reinforced in their home. Although not clearly stated in the case, the assumption has to be that the parents taught them not to be self-serving and instead to be concerned with the needs of others as reflected in their team player approach to business.

.

257

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

13: Leadership in Organizations Learning Objectives: 1. Differentiate between leadership and management, contrasting the things people in these roles typically do.

2. Identify the major characteristics that make leaders effective and that help transformational leaders inspire followers to make major changes in their organizations.

3. Distinguish between the two basic forms of leader behavior: personoriented behavior and production-oriented behavior, explaining how grid training helps develop them.

4. Explain what the leader-member exchange (LMX) model and the attributional approach to leadership say about the relationships between leaders and followers.

5. Summarize what LPC contingency theory and situational leadership theory say about the connection between leadership style and situational variables.

6. Describe various techniques used to develop leadership in organizations.

Chapter Overview This chapter describes the various approaches to the study of leadership as well as their implications for managerial practice. To make the task of summarizing this wealth of information manageable, the chapter will first consider some basic points about leadership—what it is and why being a leader is not necessarily synonymous with being a manager. Then, it examines views of leadership focusing on the traits of leaders, followed by another view that focuses on leaders’ behaviors. Next, it examines several major theories of leadership that focus on the relationship between leaders and their followers. Following this, the chapter reviews several contrasting theories dealing with the conditions under which leaders are effective or ineffective in their important role. Finally, it concludes by describing various techniques used to enhance and develop leaders.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: The Woman Who Saved the Chicken Fajitas A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. Do you think being “the woman who saved chicken fajitas” is more important internally for the company or externally for the customers?

.

258

Slide 13.01-.3

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations 2. Do you think that leaders who try to make change need to have a vision?

3. What kind of reaction do you think Ms. Gulvik received from other leaders at Houlihans?

II. THE NATURE OF LEADERSHIP A. Key Definitions. Leadership as an influence process.

1. Leader. An individual within a group or organization who wields the most influence over others.

2. Leadership. The process whereby one individual influences other group members toward the attainment of defined group or organizational goals.

B. Important Characteristics of Leadership. These are the main characteristics of the leadership process.

Figure 13.1

1. Leadership Involves Noncoercive Influence. Dictators use coercion, leaders do not: the point of leadership rests, at least in part, on developing positive feelings between leaders and subordinates. Followers accept influence from leaders because they respect, like, or admire them, not because the leader holds a position of authority.

2. Leadership Influence Is Goal-Directed. Leadership is the exercise of influence for a purpose. Specifically, the purpose of attaining defined group or organizational goals.

3. Leadership Requires Followers. Due to the central role of influence, there must be followers for leadership to exist. In this reciprocal relationship leaders influence followers and followers influence leaders.

C. Leaders versus Managers: A Key Distinction—At Least in Theory.

1. Primary Function of a Leader. To create the essential purpose or mission of the organization and the strategy for attaining it. Leaders cope with change. Leaders establish direction by creating a vision of the future.

2. Primary Function of a Manager, To implement the leader’s vision. Managers cope with complexity. .

259

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Managers create plans and monitor results relative to the leader’s plans.

3. Practical Considerations. In practice, the distinction between the tasks performed by leaders and managers is often blurred. The several overlapping roles played by leaders and managers in real organizations may make the distinction between them somewhat difficult to make. But there are differences.

Figure 13.2

Table 13.1

III. THE TRAIT APPROACH TO LEADERSHIP: HAVING THE RIGHT STUFF A. Premise. This approach to leadership assumes leadership is derived from the characteristics that people possess (physical attributes, personality, or other genetic trait).

B. The Great Person Theory. The view that leaders possess special traits that set them apart from others and that these traits are responsible for their assuming positions of power and authority. These leadership traits remain stable over time and across different groups: in other words, these are traits that can be identified in others and used to recognize leaders in any time or place.

1. Leadership Traits. Leaders tend to have the following characteristics.

Table 13.2

a. Leadership Motivation: The Desire to Lead. The desire to influence others, especially toward the attainment of shared goals. There are two types of this motivation: 1) Personalized Power Motivation. The wish to dominate others, and the desire to do so often, as reflected in an excessive concern with status.

2) Socialized Power Motivation. Seeking power as a means to achieve desired, shared goals. These leaders cooperate with others, develop networks and coalitions, and generally work with subordinates rather than try to dominate or control them. This type of leadership motivation is more suitable for moderate leadership positions.

Table 13.3

b. Flexibility. The ability of leaders to recognize what actions are required in a given situation and then to .

260

Figure 13.4

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations act accordingly. Effective leaders are adaptive to the situation. c. Focus on Morality. Authentic leaders (highly moral individuals who are confident, hopeful, optimistic, and resilient, and who are highly aware of the contexts in which they operate) put considerable emphasis on ethics and morality. d. Multiple Domains of Intelligence. Leaders have to be intelligent in three special ways: cognitive intelligence (traditional measures of the ability to integrate and interpret information), emotional intelligence (the ability to be sensitive to one’s own and others’ emotions) and cultural intelligence (awareness of cultural differences in people).

Figure 13.5

Figure 13.6

Table 13.4

IV. LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR: WHAT DO LEADERS DO A. Premise. As opposed to studying leadership by examining traits in the individual, another means is to study the behaviors exhibited by leaders. The benefit of this process is that unlike traits (which are inherent in the individual) behaviors can be taught to anyone. This means that everyone can become better leaders by studying leadership and learning leadership behaviors.

B. Participative versus Autocratic Leadership Behaviors.

This key variable involves how much influence leaders allow subordinates to have over the decisions that are made. There are two ways of describing these behaviors.

1. The Autocratic-Delegation Continuum Model. A simplistic approach to leadership describing the ways in which leaders allocate influence to subordinates. This ranges from controlling everything (autocratic) to allowing others to make decisions for themselves (delegating). Between these extremes are more participative forms of leadership, consulting and making joint decisions. a. Autocratic Leadership Style. The style of leadership in which the leader makes all decisions unilaterally. b. Participative Leadership Style. A style of leadership in which the leader permits subordinates to take part in decision making and also permits them a .

261

Figure 13.6

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations considerable degree of autonomy in completing routine work activities.

2. The Two-Dimensional Model of Subordinate Participation. A more sophisticated approach to assessing leadership behaviors, this model describes the nature of the influence leaders give followers. It distinguishes between leaders who are directive or permissive toward subordinates, and the extent to which they are participative or autocratic in their decision making. Individual leaders may be classified into four types in terms of where they fall when these two dimensions are combined. No one style seems to be superior. In fact, the relative success of each depends on the conditions existing within a given organization and its specific stage of development.

Table 13.4

a. The Directive Autocrat. These leaders make decisions unilaterally and closely supervise subordinates. b. The Permissive Autocrat. These leaders make decisions unilaterally but give subordinates latitude in carrying out their work c. The Directive Democrat. These leaders make decisions participatively and closely monitor their subordinates. d. The Permissive Democrat. These leaders make decisions participatively and give subordinates latitude in carrying out their work.

C. Person-Oriented versus Production-Oriented Leaders.

Leaders’ behaviors may also be segregated based on their focus toward people or production.

1. The Two Dimensions. These two, largely independent, sets of behaviors create the two dimensions of this model. They are rated from high to low. a. Production-Oriented (Initiating Structure) Leadership Behaviors. This first leadership dimension focuses on the activities taken by a leader designed to enhance productivity or task performance. Leaders who focus primarily on these goals are described as demonstrating a task-oriented .

262

Figure 13.7

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations style: they are interested in initiating helpful structures in the work environment. b. Person Centered (Consideration) Leadership Behaviors. The second leadership dimension examines the actions taken by a leader that demonstrates concern with the welfare of subordinates and establishes positive relations with them. Leaders who focus primarily on this task are often described as demonstrating a person-oriented style: they are considerate of their workers.

2. Developing Successful Leader Behavior: Grid Training.

This is a multistep process designed to cultivate concern for people and concern for production. In this model, the two dimensions form a 9 x 9 grid. A supervisor’s position on the grid describes his style in relation to consideration (concern for people) and initiating structure (concern for production). Once a manager’s style is determined, training is developed to move the manager toward the “9, 9” position. The five basic types of management styles identified with this model are:

Figure 13.8

a. Impoverished Management (1, 1). Managers in this area have little concern for production or people. b. Task Management (9, 1). A manager who is highly concerned about production that shows little interest in people. c. Country Club Management (1, 9). High concern for people with little concern for production. d. Middle-of-the-Road Management (5, 5). Moderate concern for both dimensions. e. Team Management (9, 9). High concerns for both people and production. This is the most effective style in most situations.

V. LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS A. Premise. Whereas earlier studies of leadership of focused on the leader, these three models of leadership focus on the dynamic between leaders and followers.

.

263

Figure 13.9

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Model: The Importance of Being in the “In-Group.” This model focuses on the observation that leaders do not treat all subordinates equally, as is assumed by the earlier models of leadership. The theory suggests that leaders form different relations with various subordinates and that the nature of such dyadic exchanges can exert strong effects on subordinates’ performance and satisfaction.

Figure 13.10 13.190

a. In-Group. This refers to the subordinates who are favored by the leader. These individuals tend to receive considerably more attention from the leader and larger shares of the resources they can offer such as time and recognition. b. Out-Group. These individuals are not favored by the leader and as such receive fewer valued resources from him or her.

2. The Challenge of Leading Work Teams. Leadership of a team, by its very nature, requires a different approach by leaders than do typical command-and-control situations. This is especially true regarding the role of the leader in self-managed teams. a. Team Leadership Roles.

1) Instead of directing people, team leaders work at building trust and inspiring teamwork. They must be proactive in dealing with the current situation.

2) Rather than focusing simply on training individuals, effective team leaders concentrate on expanding team capabilities: they act as coaches.

3) Instead of managing one-on-one, team leaders attempt to create a team identity. They help clarify the team’s mission.

4) Instead of preventing conflict between individuals, team leaders are encouraged to make the most of differences between members.

Their job is to create positive conflict and avoid dysfunctional conflict. .

264

Table 13.5

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations 5) Rather than reacting to change, team leaders try to foresee and influence change. They act as environmental scanners to read changes outside of the group that may affect the group.

VI. CONTINGENCY THEORIES OF LEADER EFFECTIVENESS A. Contingency Theories of Leader Effectiveness. Any of several theories, which recognize that certain styles of leadership are more effective in some situations than are others. These theories are linked by two common themes: 1. Contingency Approach. The belief that there is no one best style of leadership, and that the key task of organizational behavior researchers is determining which leadership styles will prove most effective under which specific conditions.

2. Leader Effectiveness. They seek to identify the conditions and factors that determine whether, and to what degree, leaders will enhance the performance and satisfaction of their subordinates.

B. LPC Contingency Theory: Matching Leaders and Tasks. Building from the people-oriented and productionoriented theory, this model attempts to determine when (under what conditions) each type of behavior works best.

1. The Basics of the Theory. The theory suggests that leader effectiveness is determined both by the characteristics of the leaders and by the level of situational control they are able to exert over their subordinates. a. Characteristics of the Leader. The most important personal characteristic for a leader is based on a questionnaire that measures the esteem (or liking) a leader holds toward the least preferred coworker (LPC). Leaders with low LPC scores are more taskoriented whereas those with high LPC scores are people-oriented. This orientation in leaders is considered to be fixed, like a personality trait. b. Characteristics of the Situation. There are three factors that, when combined, determine the situational control held by a leader. These range from very high to very low. . 265

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1) The nature of the leader’s relations with group members (their loyalty and support).

2) The degree of structure in the task being performed (how well the jobs and roles are clearly defined).

3) The leader’s positional power (ability to enforce compliance. c. Applying LPC Contingency Theory . Because leadership trait is considered to be unchanging in this model and as situational characteristics, at least in the short run, are also unchanging, the key is to determine in what set of situational circumstances a given leader will be the most effective. This is referred to as the leader match.

Figure 13.11

1) Low LPC Leaders (task-oriented) are most effective when situational control is either very low or very high.

2) High LPC Leaders (people-oriented) are most effective when situational control is in the intermediate range.

C. Situational Leadership Theory: Adjusting Leadership Style to the Situation. The theory that suggests that the most effective style of leadership, either delegating, participating, selling, or telling, depends on the extent to which the followers require guidance, direction, and emotional support. In this model, leaders are able to shift from one style of leadership to another to fit the situation they face.

1. Situational Factors. The maturity of the followers is assessed in the situation. This maturity is based on two variables: a. Task Behavior. The degree to which followers have the appropriate job knowledge and skills. The higher this variable the more guidance and direction required by the worker. b. Relationship Behavior. The degree to which all workers are willing to work without taking direction from others; the higher this variable, the more the workers need emotional support. .

266

Figure 13.12

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations 2. The Four Situation Types and Leadership Styles. Based on the factors there are four situation types (denoted by the letter S) and four appropriate leadership styles. a. S1. (High task and low relationship) Employees do not have appropriate job knowledge and skills but need little emotional support. Telling: leaders should tell followers what to do by giving them specific instructions and supervising their work. b. S2. (High task and high relationship) Employees do not have appropriate job knowledge and skills and require emotional support. Selling: leaders must be very directive and yet very supportive. c. S3. (High relationship and low task) Employees understand what to do on the job but require emotional support. Participating: leaders should focus on improving the levels of relationship and provide supportive behaviors. d. S4. (Low relationship and low task) Employees know what to do on the job and do not require emotional support. Delegating: leaders should turn over the responsibility for making and implementing the decisions to the workers.

3. Leader Requirements. Leaders must be able to (1) diagnose situations they face, (2) identify the appropriate behavioral style, and then (3) implement that response. Situations may change all the time and leaders must constantly reassess the situation.

D. Path-Goal Theory: Leaders as Guides to Valued Goals.

The theory of leadership suggesting that subordinates will be motivated by a leader only to the extent they perceive this individual as helping them to obtain valued goals. The leader’s task is to clarify for followers the path toward the goals and rewards they seek.

1. Leader Behavior Style. In path-goal theory, there are four basic styles of leader behaviors. These are not mutually exclusive and leaders can shift from one style to another. a. Instrumental (Directive). Focusing on providing specific guidance, establishing work schedules and rules. .

267

Figure 13.13

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations b. Supportive. Focused on establishing good relations with subordinates and satisfying their needs. c. Participative. The leader consults with subordinates, permitting them to participate in decisions. d. Achievement-Oriented. Sets challenging goals and seeks improvements in performance. e. See the sidebar on page 467 to start an in-class discussion on the coaching approach to leadership.

.

268

Sidebar: How to Do It

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations VII. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: BRINGING OUT THE LEADER WITHIN YOU A. Leadership Development. The practice of systematically training people to expand their capacity to function effectively in leadership roles.

Figure 13.15

B. Areas of Emphasis. There are three major areas of emphasis in leadership development all of which focus on the development of emotional intelligence: 1

Developing networks of social interaction between people, close ties within and between organizations.

2

Developing trusting relationships between oneself and others.

3

Developing common values and shared visions with others.

C. Assumptions of Leadership Development Programs.

There are two key assumptions: 1. Leadership Makes a Difference. Leaders have a direct impact on an organization’s performance.

2. Leadership Can Be Taught. Leaders can be developed by being taught the skills and behaviors of good leaders.

D. Types of Leadership Development Programs/Activities 1. 360° Feedback. The process of using multiple sources from around an organization and outside it to evaluate the work of an individual. Often used for leaders to learn what people think about them. It helps leaders identify those areas of their style that are in need of change. The most effective way to provide this feedback is in face-to-face meetings.

2. Networking. A leadership development tool designed to help people make connections to others to whom they can turn for information and problem solving. This technique is helpful in leadership development because it promotes peer relationships in work settings. a. See the sidebar on page 470 to start an in-class discussion on Guanxi, social networking in China.

.

269

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 3. Executive Coaching. A technique of leadership development that involves custom-tailored, one-on-one learning aimed at improving an individual leader’s performance. This typically includes integrative assessment of a leader’s strengths and weaknesses along with a comprehensive plan for improvement. This technique should not be used remedially to avoid it receiving the stigma of a cure for managerial weakness and thereby cause executives to fail to become involved in the program.

4. Mentoring. Program in which employees receive help, either formally or informally, from more experienced colleagues in the organization as a means of helping them develop their careers. It is focused on personal and professional support and is one of the most effective forms of leadership development. That being said, there may be an issue of protégés becoming so highly connected to their mentors that they fail to think independently.

5. Job Assignments. These newly assigned positions provide the kind of opportunities that make learning possible and give new leaders the opportunity to try out different approaches to leadership. If executives are rotated through challenging assignments properly, they may develop into very successful leaders.

6. Action Learning. A leadership development technique involving a continuous process of learning and reflection that is supported by colleagues and that emphasizes getting things done. The assumption is that leaders are developed most effectively when they are working on real organizational problems.

VIII. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Differentiate between leadership and management, contrasting the things people in these roles typically do.

Leadership involves influencing others (followers) in ways that help attain goals and in a manner that is noncoercive and goal-directed. A leader’s primary function is to envision and articulate the essential purpose or mission of an organization and the strategy for attaining it. The job of the manager is to implement the leader’s vision, putting into practice ways of bringing that vision to fruition. In .

270

Firgure 13.16

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations practice, this distinction is often difficult to make because many leaders and followers also do things that are in keeping with the other’s role.

2. Identify the major characteristics that make leaders effective and that help transformational leaders inspire followers to make major changes in their organizations.

The trait approach to leadership, referred to as great person theory, claims that successful leaders have characteristics that set them apart from other people. Such individuals tend to be higher in leadership motivation (i.e., the desire to be a leader), drive, honesty, self-confidence, and several other traits. Successful leaders also tend to have multiple sources of intelligence (e.g., cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence) and demonstrate high amounts of flexibility— that is, the ability to adapt their style to the followers’ needs and to the requirements of specific situations.

Transformational leaders also have several important characteristics that help them inspire people to make major changes in their organizations. Most notably, transformational leaders generally have many of the following traits: charisma, self-confidence, vision, environmental sensitivity, intellectual stimulation, interpersonal consideration, inspiration, and morality.

3. Distinguish between the two basic forms of leader behavior: person-oriented behavior and production-oriented behavior, explaining how grid training helps develop them.

Leaders differ with respect to the extent to which they focus on efforts to attain successful task performance—known as initiating structure (or being task-oriented)—and their concern with maintaining favorable personal relations with subordinates—known as consideration (or being personoriented). Grid training is a systematic way of training managers to raise their concern for people as well as their concern for production (by training them in communication skills and planning skills).

.

271

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 4. Explain what the leader-member exchange (LMX) model says about the relationships between leaders and followers.

This conceptualization suggests that for various reasons leaders form different kinds of relationships with various groups of subordinates. One group, referred to as the ingroup, is favored by the leader. Members of in-groups receive considerably more attention from the leader and larger shares of the resources they have to offer (such as time and recognition). By contrast, other subordinates fall into the out-group. These individuals are disfavored by leaders. As such, they receive fewer valued resources from their leaders. Leaders distinguish between in-group and out-group members very early in their relationships with them—and on the basis of surprisingly little information.

Sometimes, perceived similarity with respect to personal characteristics such as age, gender, or personality is sufficient to categorize followers into a leader’s in-group.

Similarly, a particular follower may be granted in-group status if the leader believes that person to be especially competent at performing his or her job.

5. Summarize what LPC contingency theory and situational leadership theory say about the connection between leadership style and situational variables.

LPC contingency theory suggests that a leader’s characteristics in conjunction with various situational factors determine his or her group’s effectiveness. Taskoriented leaders (termed low- LPC leaders) are more effective than people-oriented leaders (termed high-LPC leaders) under conditions in which the leader has either high or low control over the group in question. In contrast, people-oriented leaders are more effective under conditions where the leader has moderate control. The situational leadership theory suggests that the most effective style of leadership—either delegating, participating, selling, or telling—depends on the extent to which followers require guidance and direction, and emotional support. Effective leaders are required to diagnose the situations they face and implement the appropriate behavioral style for that situation.

6. Describe various techniques used to develop successful leaders in organizations.

.

272

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations One popular technique of leadership development, 360degree feedback, involves giving people multiple sources of feedback about their strengths and weaknesses.

Networking, another technique, is aimed at helping leaders learn to whom they should turn for information, both inside and outside their organization. Executive coaching is a one-on-one experience in which a leader is given an integrative assessment of his or her strengths and weaknesses. Leadership development also involves giving people special job assignments that allow them to develop new skills. Finally, action learning is a leadership development technique in which people get to learn by experiencing real organizational problems.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What is the difference between leadership and management? What are the characteristics that distinguish successful leaders from ordinary managers?

Student examples will vary but they should align with the following characteristics. Leadership primarily involves influence, a leader changes the actions or attitudes of several group members or subordinates. In general, leadership refers to the use of noncoercive techniques. This is what distinguishes a leader from a dictator. The primary function of a leader is to create the essential purpose or mission of the organization and the strategy for attaining it.

▪

Leadership is about coping with change.

▪

Leaders establish direction by creating a vision of the future.

In contrast, the primary function of a manager is to implement that vision.

▪

Essentially, the manager’s job is to put into practice the means to achieve the leader’s vision.

▪

Thus, whereas management is about coping with complexity.

▪

Managers create plans and monitor results.

Leaders and managers play several overlapping roles in actual practice; this makes distinguishing between them difficult. Some managers also are considered leaders, whereas others are not. Similarly, some leaders take on more of a management role than do others.

2. What is the difference between person-oriented leadership and productionoriented leadership?

. 273

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Leaders differ with respect to the extent to which they focus on efforts to attain successful task performance—known as initiating structure (or being task-oriented)—and their concern with maintaining favorable personal relations with subordinates—known as consideration (or being person-oriented). Grid training is a systematic way of training managers to raise their concern for people as well as their concern for production (by training them in communication skills and planning skills).

3. How are the relationships between leaders and followers explained by the LMX model and the attribution approach to leadership? What assumptions must be made about the relationships between leaders and followers when leading work teams?

The leader–member exchange (LMX) model specifies that leaders favor members of some groups, (referred to as in-groups), more than they do others (that are referred to as out-groups). As a result, in-groups tend to perform better than do out-groups. The relationship between leaders and followers is also the focus of the attributional approach to leadership.

This approach focuses on leaders’ assessments of the underlying causes of followers’ performance. Specifically, when leaders perceive that their subordinates’ poor performance is caused by internal factors, they react by helping him or her to improve. However, when poor performance is attributed to external sources; leaders direct their attention toward changing aspects of the work environment believed to be responsible for the poor performance.

Traditionally, leaders have made strategic decision on behalf of followers who are responsible for carrying those decisions out. Today, team leaders help subordinates take responsibility for their own work. They may be called upon to provide special resources to groups empowered to implement their own missions in their own ways.

4. What makes charismatic leaders and transformational leaders so special in organizations?

Charismatic leaders exert profound effects on the beliefs, perceptions, and actions of their followers. Such individuals have a special relationship with their followers in which they inspire exceptionally high levels of performance, loyalty, and enthusiasm. Charismatic leaders tend to have high amounts of self-confidence; present a clearly articulated vision; behave in extraordinary ways; are recognized as change agents; and are sensitive to the environmental constraints they face. In addition to being charismatic, transformational leaders also do things that transform and revitalize their organizations. They provide intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and inspirational motivation.

Transformational leaders tend to be very effective.

. 274

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations 5. What are the basic assumptions of contingency theories of leadership?

What particular theories fall into this category?

LPC contingency theory suggests that a leader’s characteristics in conjunction with various situational factors determine his or her group’s effectiveness. Task-oriented leaders (termed low LPC leaders) are more effective than people-oriented leaders (termed high LPC leaders) under conditions in which the leader has either high or low control over the group in question. In contrast, people-oriented leaders are more effective under conditions in which the leader has moderate control. The situational leadership theory suggests that the most effective style of leadership—delegating, participating, selling, or telling—depends on the extent to which followers require guidance, direction, and emotional support. Effective leaders are required to diagnose the situations they face and implement the appropriate behavioral style for that situation.

6. What is meant by “leadership development,” and what techniques are used to bring it about?

Leadership development is the systematic process of training people to expand their capacity to function effectively in leadership roles. One popular technique of leadership development, 360-degree feedback, involves giving people multiple sources of feedback about their strengths and weaknesses. Networking, another technique, is aimed at helping leaders learn to whom they should turn for information, both inside and outside their organization. Executive coaching is a one-on-one experience in which a leader is given an integrative assessment of his or her strengths and weaknesses. Leadership development also involves giving people special job assignments that allow them to develop new skills. Finally, action learning is a leadership development technique in which people get to learn by experiencing real organizational problems.

Experiential Questions 1. Do you know anyone who you consider a charismatic leader or a transformational leader? If so, what is this person like? What has this individual done that suggests that he or she is so special?

Student answers will vary depending on their experience. Some charismatic leaders they may be familiar with are: Bill Clinton, Ronald Regan, Martin Luther King, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

2. Think about the leaders of teams in which you have worked and how they compare to the leaders of other groups that do not operate as teams. In what ways do these leaders behave similarly or differently?

. 275

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Student answers will vary depending on their experiences. They should incorporate into their answers the various leadership theories discussed in this chapter.

3. Have you ever participated in a leadership development program? If so, what exactly was done? In what ways was the program effective or ineffective?

Student answers will vary depending on their experience.

Questions to Analyze 1. As we noted, the lines between leading and managing sometimes are blurred in practice. What factors (e.g., technology, the economy, etc.) do you believe are responsible for making this distinction so vague?

Student answers will vary depending on their experience. One possible answer to this is downsizing. The effects of downsizing include the enlargement of many jobs, including those of executives. This means that the executives now have to do not only the “thinking” they often have to do the “doing” (implementation) as well.

2. As technology advances further in the years to come, how do you think the nature of leadership in work organizations is likely to change?

Student answers will vary depending on their experience. Many possibilities: increased loss of privacy, greater span of managerial control, greater blurring of the line between management and leadership, greater need for technical expertise on the part of leaders to be able to communicate to the followers.

3. What techniques of leadership development do you believe would be most effective in the company in which you work? What do you see as the major impediments to the effectiveness of leadership development?

Student answers will vary depending on their experience.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Determining Your Leadership Style 1. Based on this questionnaire, what was your most predominant leadership style? Is this consistent with what you would have predicted in advance?

The answers will vary based on how self-aware the students were before taking the exercise.

. 276

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations 2. According to situational leadership theory, in what kinds of situations would this style be most appropriate? Have you ever found yourself in such a situation, and if so, how well did you do?

The answers will vary based on the leadership style. The student should correctly match the type of situation with their identified leadership style.

▪

Telling = S1: (high task and low relationship) employees do not have appropriate job knowledge and skills but need little emotional support.

▪

Selling = S2: (high task and high relationship) employees do not have appropriate job knowledge and skills and require emotional support.

▪

Participating = S3: (high relationship and low task) employees understand what to do on the job but require emotional support.

▪

Delegating = S4: (low relationship and low task) employees know what to do on the job and do not require emotional support.

3. Do you think that it would be possible for you to change this style if needed?

Answers will vary, but according to situational leadership theory, they should be able to.

Group Exercise: Identifying Great Leaders in All Walks of Life 1. How did the traits identified in this exercise compare to the ones identified in this chapter (see pp. 450–451 and Table 13.2) as important determinants of leadership? Were they similar or different? Why? Answers will vary based on the composition of the groups, the leader selected, and the familiarity of the students with the material in the chapter.

2. To what extent were the traits identified in the various groups different or similar? In other words, were different characteristics associated with leadership success in different walks of life? Or were the ingredients for leadership success universal?

According to the “great person” theory of leadership, these identified traits should be relatively common and universal.

3. Were some of the traits identified surprising to you, or were they all what you would have expected?

Answers will vary.

. 277

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Answers to Case in Point Questions A New Era for Newark 1. What particular characteristics does Cory Booker appear to have that make him well suited to his leadership position?

Hard worker, humble, hands on. Students will discuss various characteristics present.

2.

Would you consider Cory Booker to be a transformational leader, or a potential one, at least? Why or why not?

Based on student opinion of text material.

3. How might Cory Booker benefit from any of the leadership development techniques described in this chapter? What particular techniques would appear to be most helpful, and why?

Based on student opinion of text material.

.

278

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation

14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation Learning Objectives: 1. Define organizational culture and identify its core characteristics and the various functions it serves in organizations.

2. Describe the four major forms of organizational culture specified by the competing values framework.

3. Explain the factors responsible for creating and transmitting organizational culture and for getting it to change.

4. Define creativity and describe the basic components of individual and team creativity.

5. Describe various approaches to promoting creativity in organizations.

6. Identify the basic forms and targets of innovation and the stages of the innovation process.

Chapter Overview The culture of creativity and innovation is the focus of this chapter. The chapter begins by describing the basic nature of organizational culture, including the role it plays in organizations. Then the processes through which organizational culture is formed and maintained are explained. Following this, a review of the effects of organizational culture on individual and organizational functioning is given, examining when and how culture is subject to change. The chapter then shifts to the nature of creativity and innovation in organizations. Finally, the chapter ends with a consideration of what makes individuals and teams creative and how this creativity can be harnessed to implement innovative ideas in organizations.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Zipcar: Wheels on Demand A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. What are your thoughts about this innovative way to operate a car rental business?

2. Do you believe this would be helpful or useful if it was in your area, or is it? Why or why not?

3. In your opinion, how does this idea rank on innovation?

Please explain.

.

279

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations II. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: ITS BASIC NATURE The five fundamental aspects of culture.

A. Organizational Culture. Cognitive framework consisting of attitudes, values, behavioral norms, and expectations shared by organization members; a set of basic assumptions shared by members of an organization.

Figure 14.1

B. Core Cultural Characteristics. There are six core characteristics that are valued collectively by members of an organization and make up the roots of an organization’s culture.

1. Sensitivity to Others. This is especially true when it comes to sensitivity to customers.

2. Interest in New Ideas.

3. Willingness to Take Risks.

4. The Value Placed on People. How an organization values its people has a dramatic impact on the culture. a. Toxic Organizational Cultures. Organizational cultures in which people feel that they are not valued. Turnover is high in these organizations and profitability is problematic. b. Healthy Organizational Cultures. Organizational cultures in which people feel they are valued. In these organizations turnover is very low and profitability tends to be high.

5. Openness of Available Communication Options. This characteristic relates to the ability of lower-level employees to easily access upper-level employees.

6. Friendliness and Congeniality.

C. Strengths of Organizational Culture. Organizations differ with respect to the degree to which the organizational cultures influence the people within them.

1. Strong Culture. An organization in which there is widespread and intense agreement with respect to the core elements of the culture, making it possible for these factors to exert major influences on the way .

280

Figure 14.2

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation people behave. Strong cultures tend to exist in younger organizations and may diffuse as companies get older and larger. Strong cultures have the following characteristics: a

A clear philosophy exists about how business is to be conducted.

b

Considerable time is spent communicating values and beliefs.

c

Explicit statements are made to describe the organization’s values.

d

A set of values and norms exist that are shared widely and rooted deeply.

e

New employees are screened carefully to ensure fit with the culture.

2. Weak Cultures. An organization in which there is limited agreement with respect to the core elements of culture, giving these factors little influence on the way people behave.

D. Cultures within Organizations. Most organizations of any size have multiple cultures operating within.

1. Subcultures. Cultures existing within parts of organizations rather than entirely through them. In general, people have attitudes and values that are more in common with others in their own fields or work units than they do with those of other fields or other parts of the organization.

2. Dominant Culture. The distinctive, overarching “personality” of an organization. An organization’s dominant culture reflects core values, dominant perceptions that are generally shared throughout the organization.

E. The Role of Culture in Organizations. Culture has three important roles in organizations.

1. Culture Provides a Sense of Identity. The more clearly an organization’s shared perceptions and values are defined, the more strongly people can associate with their organization’s mission and feel a vital part of it.

.

281

Figure 14.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. Culture Generates Commitment to the Organization’s Mission. In strong cultures people feel that they are part of the larger, well-defined whole and involved in the entire organizations’ work: something that is bigger than any one individual’s interests; culture reminds people of what their organization is all about.

3. Culture Clarifies and Reinforces Standards of Behavior. Culture provides stability to behavior, both in respect to what an individual might do at different times, but also what different individuals may do at the same time.

III. FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE A. Competing Values Framework. A conceptualization of organizational culture that specifies the cultures of organizations differ with respect to sets of opposite values: (1) valuing flexibility and discretion as opposed to stability, order, and control, and (2) valuing internal affairs as opposed to what is going on in the external environment.

These two opposing sets of values create four unique types of organizational culture.

1. Hierarchy Culture. A form of organizational culture in which organizations have an internal focus and emphasize stability and control. Most effective leaders in this organization are good coordinators of projects and emphasize a smooth-running organization, often relying on formal rules and policies to do so.

2. Market Culture. A form of organizational culture in which organizations are concerned with stability and control, but are external in their orientation; core values emphasize competitiveness and productivity, focusing on bottom-line results.

3. Clan Culture. A form of organizational culture characterized by strong internal focus along with a high degree of flexibility and discretion; with goals that are highly shared by members of the organization and high levels of cohesiveness, such organizations feel more like extended families than economic entities. Most people prefer clan cultures to any of the other forms organizational culture.

.

282

Figure 14.4

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation 4. Adhocracy Culture. Organizations that emphasize flexibility while also paying a great deal of attention to the external environment; characterized by recognition that to succeed an organization needs to be highly innovative and constantly assessing what the future requires for it to survive. a. Adhocracy. A form of organization that cuts across normal bureaucratic lines in order to capture opportunities, solve problems, and get results. It is the opposite of a bureaucracy and contains little if any organizational hierarchy. This form of organization is typically used for firms that produce highly innovative products and services that are essential to its success.

Figure 14.5 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

IV. CREATING, TRANSMITTING, AND CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE A. How Is Organizational Culture Created? Two key factors in the creation of organizational culture are the influence of the company founder(s) and the company’s experience with the external environment.

1. Company Founders. These individuals often possess dynamic personalities, strong values, and clear visions of how their organization should operate. Their views become the accepted ones in the organization.

Figure 14.6 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

2. Experiences with the External Environment. Dramatic interactions with the external environment often cause an organizational culture to change. a. Organizational Memory. Information from an organization’s history that is stored in the recollection of events and their shared interpretations by key individuals in the organization who pass it along to others as needed.

Figure 14.7 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

B. Tools for Transmitting Culture.

1. Symbols. Material objects that connote meanings that extend beyond their intrinsic content. Material symbols are potent tools for sending messages about organizational culture.

2. Slogans. Catchy phrases that companies use to call attention to their products or services. They also .

283

Table 14.1

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations communicate important aspects of the organization’s culture to both the public at large and the company’s own employees.

3. Stories. Organizations also transmit information about culture by virtue of the stories that are told in them, both formally and informally. These stories illustrate key aspects of an organization’s culture and telling them can effectively introduce or reaffirm those values to employees.

4. Jargon. The everyday language used in companies can help sustain its culture, especially the unique slang or jargon that is the company’s own. The use of jargon helps people find their identities as members of a special group.

5. Ceremonies. Celebrations of an organization’s basic values and assumptions. These ceremonies convey meaning to people inside and outside the organization.

6. Statements of Principle. Explicitly written statements describing the principal beliefs that guide an organization. Such documents can help reinforce an organization’s culture. This may include a Code of Ethics, which are explicit statements of the company’s ethical values and expectations.

V. WHY AND HOW DOES ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE? Culture changes because the world in which the organization exists constantly changes. Some of the prevalent factors that cause organizational change are: A. Composition of the Work Force. As people from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds enter organizations, their differing views can create pressure for organizational cultural change.

B. Mergers and Acquisitions. When one organization purchases or otherwise absorbs another, the two cultures may have to become merged into one. This has historically caused serious problems.

1. Culture Clashes. Problems, such as arguments and considerable uncertainty about what to do, that result

.

284

Table 14.2

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation from attempts to merge two or more organizational cultures that are incompatible.

2. Cultural Due Diligence Analysis. Accomplished before a merger or acquisition is finalized, this is the process of analyzing the cultures of both organizations to ensure their compatibility.

C. Strategic Cultural Change. Sometimes, company officials deliberately decide to change the organizational culture so as to help the organization adjust to changing conditions, even positive conditions such as fantastic growth. One method of introducing cultural change has the following three steps: 1. Measure Performance.

2. Integrate the New Culture.

3. Build Support for Cultural Change.

D. Responding to the Internet. The culture of business on the Internet is agile, fast-paced, and receptive to new solutions.

Information sharing is the key to success across both internal and external organizational boundaries. Changes in the online aspects of organizations often cause changes in the existing organization.

VI. CREATIVITY IN INDIVIDUALS AND TEAMS A. Creativity. The process by which individuals or teams produce novel and useful ideas.

B. Components of Individual and Team Creativity. There are three basic components of creativity: 1. Domain-Relevant Skills. Any task a person seeks to undertake requires certain talents, knowledge, or skills.

Skills and abilities that are already possessed constitute the raw materials needed for creativity to occur.

2. Creativity-Relevant Skills. In addition to basic skills, creativity requires people to: a. Break Mental Sets and Take New Perspectives.

People are encouraged to take a fresh look at even the most familiar things.

.

285

Figure 14.8 and persist as long as the Table 14.3 founders are on the scene

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1) Divergent Thinking: the process of reframing familiar problems in unique ways.

Table 14.4

b. Understand Complexities. Seeing the complex and interrelated details may generate more creativity than oversimplification. c. Keep Options Open and Avoid Premature Judgments. This is the rationale behind hiring outsiders in the corporation: they bring fresh perspectives and do not rely on existing solutions. d. Follow Creativity Heuristics. These are strategies and rules to help people approach tasks in novel ways. They include techniques such as considering the counterintuitive and using analogies. e. Use Productive Forgetting. The ability to abandon unproductive ideas and temporarily put aside stubborn problems until new approaches can be considered.

3. Intrinsic Task Motivation. The motivation to do work because it is interesting, engaging, or challenging in a positive way. Unlike the first two components of creativity that focus on what people are capable of doing, this component refers to what people are willing to do. Intrinsic task motivation is higher when people have a personal interest in the task at hand or whenever an individual perceives that he or she has internal reasons for performing that task. External motivators are unlikely to be successful in increasing creativity.

4. Putting It All Together. Research has shown that people are most creative when they have high amounts of all three of the components. The relationship is multiplicative, meaning that if any one of the three components is zero (the individual does not possess a component) then there is no creativity (the overall value is zero).

Figure 14.9 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

C. The Model of the Creative Process. This model of the creative process occurs in four steps: 1. Step 1: Prepare to Be Creative. This involves gathering the appropriate information in concentrating on the problem. .

286

Figure 14.10 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation 2. Step 2: Allow Ideas to Incubate. Because ideas take time to develop, creativity can be enhanced by putting a problem out of our conscious minds allowing it to incubate.

3. Step 3: Document Insight. Ideas tend to be transient: they should be written or recorded as soon as possible to avoid being lost forever.

4. Step 4: Verify Ideas. Assessing the usefulness of an idea requires consciously thinking about and verifying it, such as by seeing what others have to say about it.

VII. PROMOTING CREATIVITY IN ORGANIZATIONS. Two Major Approaches: A. Training People to Be Creative. Generally this training involves three steps: 1. Encourage Openness to New Ideas. Activities like “thinking expeditions” whose purpose is to allow creative thinking that is not in keeping with the current ways of doing things may prove helpful. The goal is to get people “thinking out of the box.”

Figure 14.11 and persist as long as the founders are Figure 14.12 on sceneas andthe persist long as the founders are on the scene

2. Take the Time to Understand the Problem. Only when time is taken to examine the many different facets of the issue can people be equipped to develop creative solutions.

3. Promote Divergent Thinking. This involves taking new approaches to old problems. One method of teaching this is to use morphology, an approach to analyzing problems in which basic elements are combined in systematically different ways.

B. Developing Creative Work Environments. There are a number of approaches to changing the work environment in ways that promote people’s creativity.

1. Provide Autonomy. People are especially creative when they are given the freedom to control their own behavior.

2. Provide Exposure to Other Creative People. Being around creative people inspires one to be more creative.

Additionally creativity-relevant skills can be learned .

287

Figure 14.13 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations from other creative individuals. This only appears to be true however when the workers are not closely monitored by their supervisors.

3. Allow Ideas to Cross-Pollinate. People who work on several projects are likely to come into contact with different people and have a chance to apply an idea they noticed in one project on another.

4. Make Jobs Intrinsically Interesting. People are more inclined to be creative when they are intrinsically interested in the work they do. The essence of the idea is to turn work into play by making it interesting.

5. Set Your Own Creative Goals. The freedom to make one’s own decisions pays off most handsomely when people set their own creative goals.

6. Support Creativity at High Organizational Levels.

Supervisors, team leaders, and top executives must encourage employees to take risks if there is to be any chance of the workers being creative. This involves accepting any failures that result.

7. Promote Diversity. Divergent thinking is a key element of creativity. People from different ethnic and cultural groups are bound to think differently about the situations that they face and may come up with a more creative solution. a. See the sidebar on page 504 to start an in-class discussion on Entrepreneurial Creativity.

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

VIII. THE PROCESS OF INNOVATION A. Innovation. Process of making changes in something already established by introducing something new; the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. Where creativity involves coming up with new ideas, innovation involves putting them into action.

Table 14.5

B. Innovation Pays off on the Bottom Line. Research has shown that companies that are more innovative are also more profitable.

C. Major Forms of Innovation. It is possible to differentiate between the forms of innovation with respect to three key factors: .

288

Figure 14.14 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation 1. Impact on Existing Business. a. Sustaining Innovation. A form of innovation that is incremental in nature; innovation allows companies to approach their markets in the same manner as they have done in the past. b. Disruptive Innovation. A form of innovation that is so extreme in nature that it changes the market in which companies operate.

2. Degree of Uncertainty. a. Incremental Innovation. A slow-and-steady approach to innovation, in which companies exploit existing technology and operate under conditions in which uncertainty about the future is low. b. Radical Innovation. A form of innovation in which companies make quantum leaps; involves exploring new technology in operating under a highly uncertain conditions.

3. Source of Innovation. a. Manufacturer Innovation. The traditional form of innovation in which an individual or organization develops an innovation for the purpose of selling it. b. End-User Innovation. This is a newly popular form of innovation in which new ideas are inspired by the individuals who use a company’s products.

D. Targets of Innovation. Most innovation falls into one or more of the following seven categories, each of which may be considered a target of innovation. Multiple categories can be pursued at once.

1. Product Innovation. Introducing goods that are new or substantially improved.

2. Service Innovation. Introducing services that are new or substantially improved.

3. Process Innovation. Creating new or significantly improve production or delivery methods.

. 289

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 4. Marketing Innovation. Coming up with new or improved marketing methods, such as those involving product design or packaging, product promotion, or pricing.

5. Supply Chain Innovation. Developing quicker and more accurate ways to get products from suppliers and deliver them to customers.

6. Business Model Innovation. Revising the basic way business is done.

7. Organizational Innovation. Changing key organizational practices, such as those presented in the text.

E. Conditions Required for Innovation to Occur. Creativity is necessary for innovation to occur, but it is not sufficient.

The same three basic components that are essential for creativity to occur are required for innovation, but in slightly different forms.

1. Motivation to Innovate. Organizations must have the kind of cultures that encourage innovation. When top executives fail to promote a vision of innovation and accept the status quo, change is unlikely.

2. Resources to Innovate. Organizations must possess certain basic resources that make innovation possible, including human and financial resources.

3. Skills to Manage Innovation. Organizations must develop special ways of managing people so as to encourage innovation. The most notable aspect of this management style is balance. Managers must show a balance with respect to three key matters: a. Goals. Goals must be carefully linked to the corporate mission but they should not be so specific that they smother innovation. b. Reward Systems. A person’s contributions should be rewarded generously and fairly but the reward system should not make the rewards so specific as to connect literally every move to a bonus or some other type of monetary reward. To do so reduces people’s desire to take risk.

.

290

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation c. Time Pressures. If time pressures are too great, people will offer routine solutions; if time pressures are too weak, employees may not put any effort at all toward finding a solution.

F. Stages of the Organizational Innovation Process.

Innovation occurs gradually through a series of five stages.

1. Stage 1: Setting the Agenda. This stage involves creating a mission statement, a document describing an organization’s overall direction and general goals. The highest-ranking officials of the organization must be highly committed to innovation and motivated toward making it happen.

Figure 14.15 and persist as long as the founders are on the scene

2. Stage 2: Setting the Stage. This stage involves narrowing down certain broad goals into more specific tasks and gathering the resources to meet them. They also involve assessing the environment, both outside and inside the organization. Resources (managerial, human, and financial) should be aligned to start the innovation process.

3. Stage 3: Producing the Ideas. This stage of the process involves coming up with new ideas and testing them.

This is the stage where the individual and organizational factors for creativity enter the picture.

4. Stage 4: Testing and Implementing the Ideas. This is the stage where implementation takes place. It may include activities such as prototyping, testing, and market research. This may be a very resource-intensive stage. Because of that, ideas may be killed at this stage even if they still sound good. Avoiding canceling a good idea is a managerial skill that must be developed.

Table 14.6

5. Stage 5: Assessing the Outcomes. The final stage of the process involves assessing the new idea that arises.

There are three possible outcomes: the idea was a success, the idea was a failure, or the idea showed promise and is making progress toward the organization’s objectives. In the first two cases the innovation and process stops. In the last case, the process starts all over again in stage two. a. See the sidebar on page 510 to start an in-class discussion on how to inspire innovation. .

291

Sidebar: How to Do It

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations IX. SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1. Define organizational culture and identify its core characteristics and the various functions it serves in organizations.

Organizational culture is a cognitive framework consisting of attitudes, values, behavioral norms, and expectations shared by organization members. Scientists often think of organizational culture as a set of basic assumptions shared by members of an organization. Organizational culture consists of six core characteristics by which organizations may be differentiated. These are: (1) sensitivity to others, (2) interest in new ideas, (3) willingness to take risks, (4) value placed on people, (5) openness of available communication options, and (6) friendliness and congeniality. Culture plays three major roles in organizations. It provides a sense of identity for its members, it generates commitment to the organization’s mission, and it also serves to clarify and reinforce standards of behavior.

2. Describe the four major forms of organizational culture specified by the competing values framework.

According to the competing values framework, organizations have one of four different forms of organizational culture. Organizations that have an internal focus and that emphasize stability and control are said to have a hierarchy culture. In this case, effective leaders are good coordinators of projects and emphasize a smoothrunning organization, often relying on formal rules and policies to do so. Organizations that are concerned with stability and control, but that are external in their orientation are said to have a market culture. In such organizations, the core values emphasize competitiveness and productivity, focusing on bottom-line results. They do this by carefully identifying the markets in which they are going to compete and then taking a very hard-driving, results-oriented approach to getting things done.

Organizations that have a strong internal focus along with a high degree of flexibility and discretion are said to have a clan culture. With goals that are highly shared by members of the organization and high levels of cohesiveness, such organizations feel more like extended families than economic entities. Organizations that emphasize flexibility while also paying attention to external environments are .

292

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation said to have adhocracy cultures. Such cultures are characterized by the recognition that to succeed organizations need to be highly innovative and constantly assessing what the future requires for survival.

3. Explain the factors responsible for creating and transmitting organizational culture and for getting it to change.

Organizational culture is created by two key factors—the influence of company founders and experiences with the external environment. Organizational culture is transmitted in several ways, including: symbols, slogans, stories, jargon, ceremonies, and statements of principle. Although organizational culture tends to be stable, it is subject to change. Among the factors most responsible for changing organizational culture are the composition of the workforce, mergers and acquisitions, strategic (i.e., planned) organizational changes, and changes necessitated by the Internet.

4. Define creativity and describe the basic components of individual and team creativity.

Creativity is the process by which individuals or small groups produce novel and useful ideas. Creativity in organizations is based on three fundamental components: domain-relevant skills (basic knowledge needed to perform the task at hand), creativity-relevant skills (special abilities needed to generate creative new ideas), and intrinsic task motivation (people’s willingness to perform creative acts).

5. Describe various approaches to promoting creativity in organizations.

Creativity in organizations may be promoted by training people to be creative, by encouraging openness to new ideas (e.g., “thinking outside the box”), by taking the time to understand the problem at hand, by developing divergent thinking (e.g., using morphology). It also may be accomplished by developing creative work environments.

These are ones in which autonomy is provided, people are exposed to creative individuals, ideas are permitted to cross-pollinate, jobs are made intrinsically interesting, creative goals are set, creativity is supported within the organization, people have fun, and diversity is promoted.

.

293

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 6. Identify the basic forms and targets of innovation and the stages of the innovation process.

Innovation refers to the implementation of creative ideas within organizations. It takes different forms depending on three factors: impact on existing business (sustaining innovation if impact is minor, and disruptive innovation if impact is major), the degree of uncertainty involved (incremental innovation if uncertainty is low, and radical innovation if uncertainty is high), and its sources (manufacturer innovation if ideas come from within, and end-user innovation if ideas come from customers). The innovation process generally proceeds in the following five stages: setting the agenda, setting the stage, producing the ideas, testing and implementing the ideas, and assessing the outcome.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What is organizational culture, what role does it play in organizations, and how is it created?

Organizational culture: cognitive framework consisting of attitudes, values, behavioral norms, and expectations shared by organization members; a set of basic assumptions shared by members of an organization. There are six core characteristics that are valued collectively by members of an organization and make up the roots of an organization’s culture: sensitivity to others; interest in new ideas; willingness to take risks; value placed on people; openness of available communication options; friendliness and congeniality.

Culture has three important roles in organizations.

1. Culture Provides a Sense of Identity. The more clearly an organization’s shared perceptions and values are defined, the more strongly people can associate with their organization’s mission and feel a vital part of it.

2. Culture Generates Commitment to the Organization’s Mission. In strong cultures, people feel that they are part of the larger, welldefined whole and involved in the entire organization’s work: something that is bigger than any one individual’s interests; culture reminds people of what their organization is all about.

3. Culture Clarifies and Reinforces Standards of Behavior. Culture provides stability to behavior, both in respect to what an individual . 294

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation might do at different times, but also what different individuals may do at the same time.

How is organizational culture created? Two key factors in the creation of organizational culture are the influence of company founder(s) and the company’s experience with the external environment. Company founders often possess dynamic personalities, strong values, and clear visions of how their organization should operate. Their views become the accepted ones in the organization. Dramatic interactions with the external environment often cause an organizational culture to change through the use of organizational memory.

2. How does organizational culture influence individuals and organizations, and what makes organizational culture change?

Culture is the distinctive, overarching “personality” of an organization.

An organization’s dominant culture reflects core values, dominant perceptions that are generally shared throughout the organization. Strong corporate cultures provide a set of values and norms that are shared widely and rooted deeply. They help with new employee orientation and assessing proper corporate and individual behaviors.

Culture changes because the world in which the organization exists constantly changes. Some of the prevalent factors that cause organizational change are: (1) Composition of the Work Force. As people from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds enter organizations, their differing views can create pressure for organizational cultural change. (2) Mergers and Acquisitions. When one organization purchases or otherwise absorbs another, two cultures may have to become merged into one. (3) Strategic Cultural Change. Sometimes, company officials deliberately decide to change the organizational culture so as to help the organization adjust to changing conditions, even positive conditions such as fantastic growth. (4) Responding to the Internet. The culture of business on the Internet is agile, fast-paced, and receptive to new solutions. Information sharing is the key to success across both internal and external organizational boundaries. Changes in the online aspects of organizations often cause changes in the existing organization.

3. What are the three components of individual and team creativity? What can be done to promote creativity in individuals, work teams, and the whole work environment?

There are three basic components of creativity: (1) Domain-Relevant Skills. Any task a person seeks to undertake requires certain talents, knowledge, or skills. Skills and abilities that are already possessed constitute the raw materials needed for creativity to occur. (2) CreativityRelevant Skills. In addition to basic skills, creativity requires people to break mental sets and take new perspectives (divergent thinking); understand complexities; keep options open and avoid premature judgments; follow creativity heuristics; and use productive forgetting. (3) . 295

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Intrinsic Task Motivation. The motivation to do work because it is interesting, engaging, or challenging in a positive way.

Research has shown that people are most creative when they have high amounts of all three of the components. The relationship is multiplicative, meaning that if any one of the three components is zero (the individual does not possess a component), then there is no creativity (the overall value is zero).

People can be trained to be more creative by encouraging openness to new ideas, giving them time to understand the problem, and promoting divergent thinking. Creativity can also be increased by developing creative work environments. This can be done by providing autonomy, exposure to other creative people, allowing ideas to cross-pollinate, making the jobs intrinsically interesting, allowing people to set their own creative goals, supporting creativity at the highest organizational level, allowing workers to have fun, and promoting diversity.

4. What are the basic components of innovation and the stages through which the process of innovation progresses?

The three basic components of innovation are: motivation to innovate, the resources to innovate and the skills to manage innovation (focused on the balance between goals, rewards systems, and time pressure).

The stages of the organizational innovation process are (1) setting the agenda, (2) setting the stage, (3) producing the ideas, (4) testing and implementing the ideas, and (5) assessing the outcomes.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of an organization in which you have worked. In what ways was its culture transmitted to the people who worked in it and those who remained outside, such as the public?

Answers will vary but should include at least some of the tools listed in the text such as: symbols, slogans, stories, jargon, ceremonies, and Statements of Principle/Code of Ethics.

2. Have you ever worked for an organization whose culture is in need of change? If so, what was the problem? What could have been done to change the culture? What obstacles would have had to be overcome for the changes to be effective?

Answers will vary depending on the students’ experience.

.

296

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation 3. Do you think of yourself as a creative person? What could you do to become more creative when it comes to the work you do?

Answers will vary; some of these suggestions should be aligned with the text such as building domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and increasing the intrinsic task motivation.

4. Have you ever worked for a highly innovative company? If so, what was done that made it so innovative? If not, what could have been done to make it more innovative?

Answers will vary: students may not have the experience.

Questions to Analyze 1. Organizational culture is a “mushy” concept. You can’t see it, yet you know it’s there. What indication is there that organizational culture really does exist?

Organizational culture is a cognitive framework consisting of attitudes, values, behavioral norms, and expectations shared by the organization’s members. At its root is a set of core characteristics that are collectively valued by the members.

▪

First, organizations differ regarding their sensitivity to the needs of customers and employees.

▪

Second, organizations differ regarding their interest in having employees generate new ideas.

▪

Third, companies differ regarding the value placed on taking risks.

▪

Fourth, organizations differ regarding the openness of available communication options.

2. Think of an organization in which you have worked. Was its culture predominantly hierarchy, market, clan, or adhocracy? Was this an effective culture given the nature of the people employed there and the type of work done?

Answers will vary based on the students’ experience, but the type of organization should be defined properly.

1. Hierarchy Culture. A form of organizational culture in which organizations have an internal focus and emphasize stability and control. Most effective leaders in this organization are good coordinators of projects and emphasize a smooth-running organization, often relying on formal rules and policies to do so.

2. Market Culture. A form of organizational culture in which organizations are concerned with stability and control, but are

. 297

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations external in their orientation; core values emphasize competitiveness and productivity, focusing on bottom-line results.

3. Clan Culture. A form of organizational culture characterized by strong internal focus along with a high degree of flexibility and discretion; with goals that are highly shared by members of the organization and high levels of cohesiveness, such organizations feel more like extended families than economic entities. Most people prefer clan cultures to any of the other forms of organizational culture.

4. Adhocracy Culture. Organizations that emphasize flexibility while also paying a great deal of attention to the external environment; characterized by recognition that to succeed an organization needs to be highly innovative and constantly assessing what the future requires for it to survive. Adhocracy: A form of organization that cuts across normal bureaucratic lines in order to capture opportunities, solve problems, and get results. It is the opposite of a bureaucracy and contains little if any organizational hierarchy. This form of organization is typically used for firms that produce highly innovative products and services that are essential to its success.

3. Think of an instance in which you were especially creative. Did it involve a task at which you were particularly skillful and that you found interesting (e.g., composing music)? Also, did you use any of the creativity-relevant skills identified here (e.g., divergent thinking, productive forgetting)? In retrospect, what additional skills might you have used to be even more creative in that situation?

Student responses should reference the following techniques and then be added to from their own experience. Ways to foster creativity: ▪

Break mental sets and take new perspectives. Creativity is enhanced when people do not limit themselves to old ways of doing things.

▪

Understand complexities. Instead of making things overly simplistic, consider complex ways in which ideas may interrelate.

▪

Keep options open, avoid premature judgments. Creative people consider all options. To do so, they consider all the angles and avoid reaching premature conclusions.

▪

Use productive forgetting. Our becoming fixated on certain ideas sometimes inhibits creativity. It helps to practice productive forgetting, the ability to abandon unproductive ideas and temporarily put aside stubborn problems until new approaches can be considered.

▪

Follow creativity heuristics. These are rules people follow to help them approach tasks in novel ways. They may involve a variety of techniques. . 298

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation ▪

To help individuals and groups become more creative, many organizations invite employees to participate in training exercises to promote these skills.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Who’s Most Like a Giraffe?

A highly effective way of “getting your creative juices flowing” is by thinking of things in unusual ways. (This is the concept of divergent thinking that we described on page 496.) Doing this opens you up to considering new approaches to things, unusual ways of looking at them. And this, in turn, is key to promoting creative thinking. This exercise is designed to get this process going.

Directions 1. On the left in the following table is a list of animals. For each one, think of a famous person (a celebrity from any walk of life, such as a well-known performer, politician, athlete, etc.), alive or dead, who you believe is most similar to it in one way or another. The match can be based on a physical similarity, personality, whatever, so long as you think there’s some strong similarity. Write that person’s name on the corresponding line in the “Celebrity” column.

2. For each of the celebrities, think of one particular food that you associate with that person for one reason or another. Write the name of that food on the corresponding line in the “Food” column.

Animal

Celebrity

Food

Giraffe______________________________________________________ Snake_______________________________________________________ Tiger________________________________________________________ Rat__________________________________________________________ Panda________________________________________________________ Moose________________________________________________________ Monkey_______________________________________________________ Flamingo______________________________________________________ Crab__________________________________________________________ Grasshopper____________________________________________________ Cougar________________________________________________________ Parrot_________________________________________________________

.

299

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Questions for Discussion 1. Do you think that completing this exercise was helpful in getting you to think about things in unusual ways? Why or why not?

2. Do you believe that thinking about things from unusual perspectives will help you think more creatively in other ways, such as on your job? If so, for how long do you think this will last?

3. In what ways do you think that being more creative will help you on your current job? How about in a job you hope to have someday? Might there be any ways in which being especially creative will be a hindrance?

4. So, who’s most like a giraffe, anyway?

Group Exercise: What Does Your Workspace Suggest about Organizational Culture?

1. For each set of photos examined, how close did the descriptions of members of the class come to the photographers’ assessments of their own companies? In other words, how well did the photos capture the culture of the organization as perceived by an “insider”?

Answers will vary.

2. As a whole, were people more accurate in assessing the culture of companies with which they were already familiar than those they didn’t already know? If so, why do you think this occurred?

If the pictures were well done, the students should have been fairly accurate in assessing the culture of the companies. If the pictures did not reveal some of the critical aspects of the firm (the entryway, the workers’ environment, the executive suites) they may not have been as accurate.

3. Was there more agreement regarding the cultures of organizations in some types of industries (e.g., manufacturing) than in others (e.g., service)? If so, why do you think this occurred?

Answers will vary.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Amazon.com: Innovation via the “Two-Pizza Team” 1. As Amazon.com has grown in size over the years, do you think it has become easier or more difficult for innovation to occur? Or do you think that the company’s size makes no difference in this regard? . 300

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture, Creativity, and Innovation Even though Amazon’s culture is built on innovation, as organizations get larger it is harder to keep that culture alive. So long as Amazon does not fall into the same trap that Home Depot did of killing a key aspect of their culture in order to manage things more “effectively,” their innovative culture should survive. (Note, although the text ends with Home Depot doing well, in early 2007 there are repeated consumer complaints in the popular press and the Internet over Home Depot’s abhorrent level of customer service—a loss of one of the key cultural aspects that made them great in the past. Their financial numbers are also starting to tumble, perhaps as a result of this.)

2. What role do you think Jeff Bezos has played in instilling the innovative culture at Amazon.com? How, if at all, do you think he is involved in maintaining an innovative culture?

As the founder, he is the key to the corporate culture: the company still reflects his beliefs, attitudes, and values. So long as he is deeply involved in the company, Amazon will continue to reflect his values, especially his deep concern with innovation.

3. Personally, would you like to work at a highly innovative company like Amazon.com, or would you be among those who leave because you prefer a more stable environment?

Answers will vary depending on the personality of the student.

.

301

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

15: Organizational Structure and Design Learning Objectives: 1. Describe what is meant by organizational structure and how it is revealed by an organization chart.

2. Describe different approaches to departmentalization—functional organizations, product organizations, matrix organizations, and the boundaryless organization.

3. Distinguish between classical and neoclassical approaches to organizational design and between mechanistic organizations and organic organizations, as described by the contingency approach to organizational design.

4. Describe the five organizational forms identified by Mintzberg: simple structure, machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisional structure, and adhocracy.

5. Explain how organizations can be designed with strategy in mind.

6. Characterize three forms of intraorganizational design—boundaryless organization, conglomerates, and strategic alliances.

Chapter Overview As you may suspect, finding the best way to structure and design organizations is no simple matter. However, because understanding the structure and design of organizations is the key to appreciating their functioning fully—and, ultimately, their success—organizational scientists have devoted considerable energy to this topic. This chapter describes those efforts. To begin, it identifies the basic structural dimensions of organizations. Following this, the structural elements that can be most effectively combined into productive organizational designs will be examined. In so doing, the chapter covers some of the traditional ways of designing organizations as well as some of the rapidly developing organizational forms emerging today.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Verizon and McAfee Head for “the Cloud” Together A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. How has its organizational structure helped the joint venture of Verizon and McAfee?

. 302

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design 2. Do you believe it was a good business decision for these two companies to join forces in today’s complex and rapidly changing business environment? Why or why not?

3. Verizon is now able to offer McAfee’s security solutions, but how might this venture help McAfee?

II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE There are five elements of structure: hierarchy of authority, division of labor, span of control, line versus staff positions, and decentralization. These are the building blocks of organizational structure and represent the key dimensions along which organizations differ.

A. Definitions: 1. Organizational Structure. The formal configuration between individuals and groups with respect to the allocation of tasks, responsibilities, and authorities within organizations. Its purpose is to meet the goals of the organization.

2. Organization Chart. A diagram representing the connections between the various departments within an organization; a graphic representation of organizational design (its internal structure). Organization charts provide information about the various tasks performed in the organization and the formal lines of authority between them. a. Boxes. Each box represents a specific job. b. Connecting Lines. The lines that connect the boxes represent the formally prescribed reporting relationships between the individuals performing those jobs.

B. Hierarchy of Authority. A configuration of the reporting relationships within organizations; that is, who reports to whom.

1. Organizational Levels. Number of layers in the organization chart from the lowest job to the highest position.

Figure 15.1 .

303

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations a. Tall Organizations. Traditional organizations that have many levels of reporting relationships. b. Flat Organizations. Modern organizations that have few levels of reporting relationships. These are the structures that resulted from the downsizing efforts of the 1990s.

C. Span of Control. Number of subordinates in an organization who are supervised by a manager. It is represented on an organization chart by the number of boxes that directly connect to a single manager (“direct reports”). The appropriate number of employees for an “ideal” span of control varies with the situation faced.

Figure 15.2

Figure 15.3

1. Wide Span of Control. Managers who are responsible for many individuals. Typically the situation in flat organizations.

2. Narrow Span of Control. Managers who are responsible for few individuals. Typically the situation in tall organizations.

D. Division of Labor. Process of dividing the many tasks performed within an organization into specific jobs.

1. Specialization. The more the tasks are divided into separate jobs and the narrower the range of activities the job incumbents are required to perform, the more specialized the job becomes. In theory, the fewer tasks a person performs, the better he or she may be expected to perform them and more efficient the organization becomes.

2. Specialization and Structure. High levels of specialization are most likely to occur in larger organizations. Smaller and flatter organizations may have broader job descriptions.

E. Line versus Staff Positions: Decision-Makers versus Advisors. The difference between the two types of positions may arouse conflict in the organization. Solid lines on the organization chart indicate direct reporting (line) relationships whereas dashed lines indicate staff relationships.

Table 15.1

1. Line Positions. Positions in an organization in which people can make decisions related to doing the basic Figure 15.4 .

304

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design work of the organization. These are the nodes on the decision-making structure. Line managers feel more committed to the organization than do staff managers.

Their success rests with the company.

2. Staff Positions. Positions in organizations where people make recommendations to others, but are not themselves involved in making decisions concerning the organization’s day-to-day operations. Staff managers tend to be younger, better educated, and more committed to their fields than to the organizations employing them. A staff person’s loyalty is to their profession.

F. Decentralization. The extent to which authority and decision-making are spread throughout all levels of an organization rather than being reserved for top management (i.e., “centralization”). Decentralization is a natural outgrowth of the flattening of organizational hierarchies.

1. Caution. Decentralization is not always an ideal step for organizations to take. In routine jobs, such as assembly line workers, the addition of managerial responsibilities actually detracts from their performance. a. See the sidebar on page 525 to start an in-class discussion on how fair is centralization?

Table 15.2

Sidebar: How to Do It

2. Perceived Fairness of Centralization. Among low-level employees, high participation in decision making (decentralization) was perceived as reflecting a higher degree of interactional justice (fairness) than low participation (centralization). Among high-level employees, the degree of participation in decision making had minimal impact on perceived interactional justice.

III. DEPARTMENTALIZATION The process of breaking up organizations into coherent units.

Organizations can be divided by function, product, market, or blended into a matrix.

A. Functional Organization. The type of departmentalization based on the activities or functions performed (e.g., sales, finance). This is the form organizations usually take when they are first created. It is the most basic approach to departmentalization. Individuals are departmentalized .

305

Figure 15.5

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations according to the nature of the functions they perform: they are grouped together by professions and skills.

1. Advantages. This form of organizational structure takes advantage of economies of scale and individual specialization.

2. Disadvantages. This type of structure encourages “functional silos” where each unit develops its own narrow perspective and loses sight of overall organizational goals. This form may also discourage innovation because it does not encourage coordination and cross-fertilization of ideas.

B. Product Organization. Type of departmentalization based on the products (or product lines) produced. The resources associated with each product are separated organizationally while certain organization-wide functions such as HR are maintained centrally. In effect, the organization becomes a series of smaller functional organizations each focused on an individual product or product line called self-contained divisions.

Figure 15.6

1. Advantages. Each division acts as its own cost center allowing for clearer accounting for each product line.

Each division is run like its own small business, which increases managerial interest and expertise. By separating from the parent organization, these divisions may be able to take advantage of some better marketing opportunities as well.

2. Disadvantages. The divisional structure loses the economies of scale because of duplication of functional departments within the operating units. It may be more difficult for units to attract and retain the most talented employees because the opportunities for advancement are smaller. A third disadvantage is that coordination across product lines may be difficult: an organization may find that it is in competition with itself as two different divisions try to sell to the same consumer.

C. Matrix Organizations. The type of organization in which a product or project form is superimposed on the functional form. In this type of organization, an employee is required to report to both a functional (or division) manager and the manager of a specific project (or product) under dual authority. .

306

Figure 15.7

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design 1. Three Major Roles in Matrix Organizations: a. Top Leader. This individual has authority over both lines (functional and product) and is tasked with ensuring proper coordination between them. b. Matrix Bosses. People who head functional departments or specific projects. These bosses must coordinate with other matrix bosses, especially on issues such as promotions and raises for specific people working under their joint authority. c. Two-Boss Managers. People who must report to both product and functional managers and attempt to balance the demands of each.

2. Key Considerations. A fair amount of coordination, flexibility, openness, and trust is essential for matrix organizations to work. This suggests that not everyone adapts well to such a system.

3. Advantages. This form permits flexible use of an organization’s human resources. They offer mediumsized organizations an efficient means of responding quickly to a changing and unstable environment.

Matrices often enhance communication among managers: they literally force managers to communicate.

4. Disadvantages. The major disadvantage is the frustration and stress faced by two-boss managers in reporting to two different supervisors along with the constantly high level of cooperation required for people involved in the organization to succeed.

IV. ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN The process of coordinating structural elements of an organization in the most appropriate manner.

A. Classical and Neoclassical Approaches: The Quest for One Best Design 1. Classical Organizational Theory. Approaches to organizational structure that assumed there was one best way to design organizations. This theory has fallen out of favor due to its insensitivity to human needs and the need of modern organizations to change to fit the .

307

Figure 15.8

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations rapidly changing external environment that now exists.

Classical theory recommended tall hierarchies with narrow spans of control.

2. Neoclassical Organizational Theory. An attempt to improve upon the classical organizational theory by adding employee satisfaction as a goal to the classical theory’s goal of economic effectiveness. Three eminent neoclassical organizational theory scholars are Douglas McGregor, Chris Argyris, and Rensis Likert.

Neoclassical theory recommends flat hierarchical structures with high degrees of decentralization, falling into the same trap as classical organizational theory by offering “the one best way” to structure organizations.

Figure 15.9

B. The Contingency Approach. The approach to organizational design that recognizes that no one approach is best, that the best design is the one that best fits with the existing environmental conditions.

1. The External Environment: Its Connection to Organizational Design. The external environment is the sum of all the forces impinging on an organization with which it must deal effectively if it is to survive. These include the economy, geography, competitors, customers, the workforce, and their suppliers. a. Types of Environments. Environments can be considered stable (unchanging) or unstable (turbulent) depending on the degree of change occurring.

2. Mechanistic Organization. An internal organizational structure in which people perform specialized jobs, many rigid rules are imposed, and authority is invested in a few top-ranking officials. This type of organizational structure is best suited for stable environments.

3. Organic Organizations. An internal organizational structure in which jobs tend to be very general, there are few rules, and decisions can be made by lower-level employees. Emphasis is placed on coordination between peers and decisions tend to be made in highly democratic, participative manners. This type of organizational structure is best suited for unstable environments. .

308

Table 15.3

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design 4. Organizational Effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness is related to the degree to which the organization structure (mechanistic or organic) is matched to its environment (stable or turbulent). It should be noted that both of these scales, structure and environment, are continua with only the endpoints described.

C. Mintzberg’s Framework. This theory claims that organizations are composed of five basic elements, or groups of individuals, any of which may predominate in an organization. The one that does will determine the most effective design in that situation.

1. The Five Basic Elements: a. The Operating Core. Employees who perform the basic work related to the organization’s product or service. b. The Strategic Apex. Top-level executives responsible for running the entire organization. c. The Middle Line. Managers who transfer information between the strategic apex and the operating core. d. The Technostructure. Those specialists responsible for standardizing various aspects of the organization’s activities. e. The Support Staff. Individuals who provide indirect support services to the organization.

2. The Five Specific Designs: a. Simple Structure. An organization characterized as being small and informal, with a single powerful individual, often the founding entrepreneur, who is in charge of everything. These organizations can respond quickly to the environment and are very flexible. The downside of this form is everything is dependent upon a single individual. The dominant group in the structure is the strategic apex. b. Machine Bureaucracy. An organizational form in which work is highly specialized, decision making is concentrated at the top, and the work .

309

Figure 15.10

Table 15.4

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations environment is not prone to change (such as a government office). These organizations tend to be highly efficient at performing standardized tasks but are dehumanizing and very boring for the employees. The dominant group in this structural design is the technostructure. c. Professional Bureaucracy. Organizations such as hospitals and universities in which there are many rules to follow, but employees are highly skilled and free to make decisions on their own. These organizations tend to be highly effective because they allow employees to practice those skills for which their best qualified. Occasionally, the specialists fail to see the big picture, which can lead to errors and potential conflict between employees.

The dominant group in this situation is the operating core. d. Divisionalized Structure. The form used by many larger organizations, in which separate autonomous units are created to deal with entire product lines, freeing top management to focus on larger, strategic decisions. These structures have high duplication of effort. The dominant group is the middle line. e. Adhocracy. A highly informal, organic organization in which specialists work in teams, coordinating with each other on various projects (such as software development companies). This form is very nimble and creative. The disadvantages of this form are its high level of inefficiency and its great potential for disruptive conflict. The dominant group in this case is the support staff.

D. Vertically Integrated Organization. These organizations own their own suppliers or the customers who purchase their products from them.

1. Advantages. These companies have greater control over their inputs or their outputs, which makes planning easier.

2. Disadvantages. Vertically integrated organizations often find it difficult to balance their resources effectively. Additionally, because the company’s suppliers are internal, they don’t face market .

310

Table 15.5 Figure 15.11

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design competition: that may result in higher costs and lower efficiency. A final disadvantage is that the very interconnectedness of the company makes it difficult for it to respond quickly to market changes.

E. Team-Based Organizations. These organizations have flattened hierarchies. They use autonomous work teams organized in a parallel fashion so that each performs many different steps in the work process. In fact, this approach calls for designing organizations around processes instead of tasks.

Figure 15.12

V. A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO DESIGNING ORGANIZATIONS A. Strategy. Particular objectives a company has for the future and how it plans to focus its business activities so as to create and sustain value.

Figure 15.14

B. Contingency Factor.

1. Size 2. Innovation 3. Diversification 4. Geographic diversity

C. Task Qualities and Coordination Mechanisms.

1. Task uncertainty 2. Task interdependence Table 15.6

D. Structural or Design Feature.

1. See the sidebar on page 542 to start an in-class discussion on organizational design strategies for the Information Age. VI. INTERORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNS: JOINGING MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS .

311

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

Figure 15.15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations A. Boundaryless Organizations: Eliminating Walls. An organization in which chains of command are eliminated, spans of control are unlimited, and rigid departments give way to empowered teams.

B. Conglomerates: Diversified “Megacorporations”. A form of diversified organization in which the organization (usually a very large, multinational firm) adds an entirely unrelated business or product to the organizational design.

The reasons behind forming conglomerates are to diversify so the downturns in one industry can be offset by upturns in another and to gain advantages by using other members of the conglomerate for parts and services.

C. Strategic Alliance: Joining Forces for Mutual Benefit.

This is a type of organizational design in which two or more separate companies combine forces to develop and operate a specific business. The goal of the alliance is to provide benefits to each individual organization that could not be attained if they operated separately. They are lowrisk ways of diversifying and entering new markets.

Figure 15.16

Figure 15.17

1. The Continuum of Alliances. There are three basic types of cooperative arrangements between organizations. a. Mutual Service Consortia. The type of strategic alliance in which two similar companies from the same or similar industries pool their resources to receive a benefit that would be too difficult or expensive for either one to try to obtain alone. This is the weakest form of alliance. b. Value-Chain Partnership. Strategic alliances between companies in different industries that have complementary capabilities. This is the strongest type of alliance often in the form of customersupplier relationships. c. Joint Ventures. Strategic alliances in which several companies work together to fulfill opportunities that require one another’s capabilities. This type of alliance is of intermediate strength.

1) Networked Incubator: a type of joint venture partnership between established companies (often Internet-based firms), which provide valued resources and experience, with start-ups,

.

312

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design which are able to develop and market products quickly.

2) Incubator: the company that specializes in starting up new businesses.

D. Strategic Alliances in the Global Economy. Forming strategic alliances with companies in nations with transforming economies (such as China and Eastern Europe) provides opportunities for those nations’ economies to develop. Such arrangements may also be excellent means of gaining or maintaining a competitive advantage by gaining entry into a new market, accessing lower labor costs, or trading technology.

1. See the sidebar on page 547 to start an in-class discussion on challenges of launching joint ventures in China.

E. An Alternative to the Joint Venture. A spinoff is an entirely new company that is separate from the original parent organization, one with its own identity, a new Board of Directors, and a different management team. In a sense, instead of looking for a partner, the organization creates its own.

VII.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Describe what is meant by organizational structure and how it is revealed by an organization chart.

The formal configuration between individuals and groups with respect to the allocation of tasks, responsibilities, and authority within organizations is known as organizational structure. It is an abstract concept that can be represented by an organizational chart, a diagram indicating the relationships between the various units (individuals or departments) in an organization.

2. Describe different approaches to departmentalization— functional organizations, product organizations, and matrix organizations.

.

313

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Within organizations, groups of people can be combined into departments in various ways. The most popular approach is the functional organization, an organization created by combining people in terms of the common functions they perform (e.g., sales, manufacturing). An alternative approach is to departmentalize people by virtue of the specific products for which they are responsible, known as the product organization.

Another form of departmentalization combines both of these approaches into a single form known as the matrix organization. In such organizations, people have at least two bosses; they are responsible to a superior in charge of the various functions and a superior in charge of the specific product. Employees also may have to answer to high-ranking people responsible for the entire organization, the top leader.

3. Distinguish between classical and neoclassical approaches to organizational design and between mechanistic organizations and organic organizations, as described by the contingency approach to organizational design.

Organizational design is the process of coordinating the structural elements of organizations in the most appropriate way. Classical organizational theories (such as Weber’s notion of bureaucracy) claim that a universally best way to design organizations exists, an approach based on high efficiency. Neoclassical organizational theories (such as those advanced by McGregor, Argyris, and Likert) also believe that there is one best way to design organizations. Their approach, however, emphasizes the need to pay attention to basic human needs. The contingency approach to organizational design is predicated on the belief that the most appropriate way to design organizations depends on the external environments within which they operate. Specifically, a key factor has to do with the degree to which the organization is subject to change. A stable environment is one in which business conditions do not change, whereas a turbulent environment is one in which conditions change rapidly. When conditions are stable, a mechanistic organization is effective. This is one in which people perform specialized jobs, many rigid rules are imposed, and authority is vested in a few topranking officials. However, when conditions are turbulent, an organic organization is effective. This is one in which

.

314

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design jobs tend to be very general, there are few rules, and decisions can be made by low-level employees.

4. Describe the five organizational forms identified by Mintzberg: simple structure, machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisional structure, and adhocracy.

Five specific organizational forms have been identified by Mintzberg. Organizations with simple structure are small and informal and have a single powerful individual, often the founding entrepreneur, who is in charge of everything (e.g., a small retail store owned by a sole proprietor). In a machine bureaucracy work is highly specialized, decision making is concentrated at the top, and the work environment is not prone to change (e.g., a government office). In professional bureaucracies, such as hospitals and universities, there are many rules to follow, but employees are highly skilled and free to make decisions on their own. Divisional structure characterizes many large organizations (such as General Motors) in which separate autonomous units are created to deal with entire product lines, freeing top management to focus on larger scale, strategic decisions. Finally, the adhocracy is a highly informal, organic organization in which specialists work in teams, coordinating with each other on various projects (e.g., many software development companies).

5. Explain how organizations can be designed with strategy in mind.

An organization’s strategy is its long-term plans and objectives. Five major types include differentiation, innovation, low cost, market expansion, and risk reduction.

To implement its strategy successfully, various contingency factors have to be taken into account. These are size, innovation, diversification, and geographic diversity. These factors, in turn, influence the nature of the qualities of the tasks that people are required to perform (i.e., task uncertainty and task interdependence). And this requires using particular coordination mechanisms to govern the organization, such as rules, plans, hierarchy, and mutual agreement. This is made possible by certain dimensions of organizational structure and design—most notably, levels of hierarchy, organic-mechanistic, specialization, formalization, divisional structure, and centralizeddecentralized. . 315

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 6. Characterize three forms of intraorganizational design—boundaryless organizations, conglomerates, and strategic alliances.

Some organizational designs, known as interorganizational designs, combine more than one organization. One of these is the boundaryless organization. This involves not only eliminating all internal boundaries (such as those between employees) but also external boundaries (such as those between the company and its suppliers). Popular forms of boundaryless organizations include modular (or networked) organizations and virtual organizations.

Another type of interorganizational design is the conglomerate, a large corporation that diversifies by getting involved in unrelated businesses. A third type of interorganizational design is the strategic alliance, one or more organizations that combine forces to operate a specific business. There are three major types of strategic alliances: mutual service consortia, joint ventures, and value-chain partnerships.

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. What are the fundamental dimensions of organizations that are described by organizational structure?

The formal configuration between individuals and groups with respect to the allocation of tasks, responsibilities, and authority within organizations is known as organizational structure. There are five elements of structure: hierarchy of authority, division of labor, span of control, line versus staff positions, and decentralization. These are the building blocks of organizational structure and represent the key dimensions along which organizations differ. It is an abstract concept that can be represented by an organizational chart, a diagram indicating the relationships between the various units (individuals or departments) in an organization.

2. 2.

What are the major ways that traditionally have been used to organize departments in organizations?

Within organizations, groups of people can be combined into departments in various ways. The most popular approach is the functional organization, which combines people in terms of the common functions they perform (e.g., sales manufacturing). An alternative approach is to departmentalize people by virtue of the specific products for which they . 316

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design are responsible, which is known as the product organization. Another form of departmentalization combines both these approaches into a single form; this is known as the matrix organization. In such organizations, people have at least two bosses. They are responsible to a superior in charge of the various functions and to a superior in charge of the specific product. Employees also may have to answer to high-ranking people responsible for the entire organization (i.e., the top leader). Following the lead of General Electric, many of today’s companies are moving toward boundaryless organizations, in which chains of command are eliminated, spans of control are unlimited, and rigid departments give way to empowered teams. These organizations eliminate all internal boundaries (e.g., those between employees) and external boundaries (e.g., those between the company and its suppliers).

3. What are the major differences between classical, neoclassical, and contingency approaches to organizational design?

Organizational design is the process of coordinating the structural elements of organizations in the most appropriate way. Classical organizational theories (such as Weber’s notion of bureaucracy) claim that a universally best way to design organizations exists, an approach based on high efficiency. Neoclassical organizational theories (such as those advanced by McGregor, Argyris, and Likert) also believe that there is one best way to design organizations. Their approach, however, emphasizes the need to pay attention to basic human needs. The contingency approach to organizational design is predicated on the belief that the most appropriate way to design organizations depends on the external environments within which they operate. Specifically, a key factor has to do with the degree to which the organization is subject to change: a stable environment is one in which business conditions do not change, whereas a turbulent environment is one in which conditions change rapidly. When conditions are stable, a mechanistic organization is effective. This is one in which people perform specialized jobs, many rigid rules are imposed, and authority is vested in a few top-ranking officials.

However, when conditions are turbulent, an organic organization is effective. This is one in which jobs tend to be very general, there are few rules, and decisions can be made by low-level employees.

4. 4.

What are the five organizational forms identified by Mintzberg?

Mintzberg identified five specific organizational forms. Organizations with a simple structure are small and informal, and they have a single powerful individual (often the founding entrepreneur) who is in charge of everything (e.g., a small retail store owned by a sole proprietor). In a machine bureaucracy, work is highly specialized, decision making is concentrated at the top, and the work environment is not prone to change (e.g., a government office). Professional bureaucracies (e.g., hospitals, . 317

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations universities) have many rules to follow, but employees are highly skilled and free to make decisions on their own. Divisional structure characterizes many large organizations (e.g., General Motors) in which separate, autonomous units are created to deal with entire product lines, thereby freeing top management to focus on larger-scale, strategic decisions. Finally, the adhocracy is a highly informal, organic organization in which specialists work in teams, coordinating with one another on various projects (e.g., many software-development companies).

5. What is meant by “the boundaryless organization” and what forms does it take?

Traditional organizations clearly define the roles of managers and employees. Everyone knows precisely what to do. The boundaryless organization involves breaking down both internal and external barriers.

Therefore, they sometimes are referred to as barrier-free organizations. In addition to the boundaryless organization itself, there are two other forms, modular (or network) and virtual organizations. For boundaryless organizations to function effectively, they need to meet many of the same requirements as successful teams. There must be high levels of trust between all parties, high levels of skill, and they must be able to work with a minimum of management input.

6. What are the major types of interorganizational design, in which two or more organizations can coordinate their efforts?

Some organizational designs represent ways of combining more than one organization. Such interorganizational designs include the conglomerate (i.e., large corporations that diversify by getting involved in unrelated businesses) and the strategic alliance (i.e., organizations combining forces to operate a specific business). There are three major types of strategic alliances: mutual service consortia, joint ventures, and value-chain partnerships. An alternative partnership would be the spinoff—where a parent company has created a suitable partner for itself.

Experiential Questions 1. Think of the organization in which you currently work—specifically, the work group or department with which you are most closely affiliated. How would you characterize this unit with respect to division of labor, span of control, and centralization?

Student examples will vary but should take into consideration the following characteristics in their answers.

Simple structure.

. 318

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design ▪

A small informal organization in which a single individual has the ultimate power. There is little specialization or formalization, and the overall structure is organic. No hierarchy.

▪

Decision-making power is vested in a single individual and the power resides at the strategic apex.

Machine bureaucracy.

▪

Work is highly specialized.

▪

Decision making is concentrated at the top.

▪

The work environment is highly stable.

Professional bureaucracy.

▪

Members have considerable expertise and decision-making authority.

▪

The environment is highly formal.

▪

There is a need for coordination with other professionals.

▪

Such organizations can be highly effective, because they allow employees to practice those skills for which they are best qualified.

▪

However, specialists become so overly narrow they fail to see the “big picture.”

Divisional structure.

▪

Such organizations consist of autonomous units coordinated by a central headquarters.

▪

The middle line has considerable control.

▪

Such designs preclude the need for top-level executives to think about day-to-day operations and, thus, frees them to concentrate on larger-scale, strategic decisions.

▪

There is a high duplication of effort.

Adhocracy ▪

A smaller company with a less formal environment.

▪

Professionals work as members of a team.

▪

There are no rules, and schedules are made to be broken.

▪

High cooperation, relatively informal, loose hierarchy.

▪

Power resides with the support staff.

2. Based on your own experiences, do you think that traditional, hierarchical organizations are giving way to less well-structured, boundaryless forms of organization? In other words, do you see this trend in your own organizational life? . 319

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Student examples will vary based on their own experiences. An experience on a team used in a traditional organization could be one example of how organizations are working to break barriers.

3. Have you ever worked for a company that was involved in a strategic alliance of some kind? How about a virtual organization? If so, how was the experience different from working for a traditional company?

Student examples will vary based on their experiences.

Questions to Analyze 1. How have advances in information technology changed the way organizations are structured and designed today?

The changes in technology have made communication and the sharing of information easier than ever before. This has given rise to virtual organizations that are composed of a continually evolving network of companies linked together to share skills, costs, and market access. They form a partnership to pursue common objectives, after these objectives have been met, they disband. Unlike modular organizations, which maintain close control over the companies with which they outsource, virtual organizations give up some control and become part of a new organization. Affiliate networks are formed which are satellite organizations that are affiliated with core companies that have helped them develop. These new firms can work with—rather than compete against—the parent companies on emerging technologies. The underlying idea of a virtual organization is that each participating company contributes only its core competencies.

2. 2.

For what types of business endeavors do you think virtual organizations are particularly well suited, and for what type do you believe they should be avoided?

Students will have varying ideas on this. Certainly, technology and telecommunication companies could be well suited to a virtual organizational concept. Less likely would be government agencies or retail.

3. Much has been said about the successes of networked incubators.

However, they can have problems. What do you believe are the most important limitations of this form of organizational design?

Students will have varying ideas on this. Probable issues they will raise will be money, loss of control, finding appropriate talent, and so on.

.

320

Chapter 15: Organizational Structure and Design

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: How Centralized Is Your Organization?

Organizations differ in terms of how highly centralized they are. This questionnaire is designed to help you identify the degree to which your organization is centralized.

Directions Read each of the following statements and think about the extent to which it describes the organization in which you currently work. In the space to the left of each statement, mark “T” if you believe it is mostly true in your organization or “F” if you believe it is mostly false.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Decisions are made mostly by top executives.

Many employees at lower levels are empowered to make decisions.

Power generally resides in the hands of only a few individuals.

For my boss to get an answer to a question, he or she has to ask someone who pushes the question up the organization.

5. The company would operate more effectively if some of the people separating me from top management were eliminated.

Scoring and Interpretation 1. Give yourself 1 point for answering each of the following questions as indicated: 1 = T, 2 = F, 3 = T, 4 = T, 5 = T 2. Your score could range from 0 to 5. The higher your score, the more centralized your organization appears to be.

Questions for Discussion 1. Based on your score, how centralized does your organization appear to be?

How does this fit with your own informal assessment of its degree of centralization? Answers will vary.

2. Complete the same questionnaire, but this time, answer with respect to another job you’ve held at some time. Is your current organization more centralized or less centralized than this other one? Answers will vary.

3. What particular advantages or disadvantages does your organization have because of its current degree of centralization? What additional advantages or disadvantages would result if it were more centralized? Student answers will vary based on experience.

4. What particular changes would have to be made for the organization to become more centralized? Less centralized? Student answers will vary based on the students opinion.

. 321

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Group Exercise: Comparing Span of Control in Organizational Charts 1. How easy or difficult was it to find organization charts on the Internet?

The answers can vary dramatically depending on the industry and the search skills of the students. Some generic organizational charts may be found but finding detailed organizational charts for nongovernmental organizations may be difficult.

2. Did you find that there were differences with respect to span of control?

Assuming they found detailed charts, and the charts were from different industries and organizations then yes, they should have seen differences in the span of control. Without the detailed charts, this might prove difficult.

3. Were spans of control different at different organizational levels? If so, how? And, were these differences the same for all industry groups?

Answers will vary.

4. In what ways did spans of control differ for the various industry groups?

Were the spans broader for some industries and narrower in others? How do you explain these differences? Do these differences make sense to you?

Answers will vary; the focus should be on what is being accomplished in these tasks within the industries. Some tasks (and workers) take a tighter span of control than do others.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Biotechnology-Pharmaceutical Alliances: Unexpected Side Effects 1. What type of organizational design does CMC appear to use? On what do you base your answer?

Student to answer based on text material and defend their answer.

2. How might CMC be redesigned to make it even more efficient than it is already? How would this fit with what you would regard to be its strategy?

Based on student opinion.

3. How might CMC benefit from entering into some form of strategic alliance with other companies? What particular form of strategic alliance should be used and why?

Based on student opinion.

.

322

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development

16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development Learning Objectives: 1. Characterize the prevalence of the change process in organizations.

2. Explain what, exactly, happens when organizational change occurs, and the forces responsible for unplanned organizational change.

3. Describe what is meant by strategic planning and the types of strategic changes that organizations make.

4. Identify the 10 steps in the strategic planning process.

5. Explain why people are resistant to organizational change and how this resistance may be overcome.

6. Identify and describe the major organizational development techniques that are used today.

Chapter Overview It is an understatement to say that the impact of organizational change can be found everywhere. This change may be defined as planned or unplanned transformations in an organization’s structure, technology, or people. To understand this important process, the chapter examines it from several key perspectives. To begin, it describes the nature of the process of change, describing forces that require organizations to change. Then it shifts focus to changes that are more deliberate, describing what is known as strategic planning. This involves deliberately making radical changes in the way an organization operates. The chapter then examines the various reasons for people’s resistance to change. The chapter closes with some of the means to overcome that resistance using organizational development techniques.

Chapter Outline I. PREVIEW CASE: Saving Campbell’s from the Soup A. Suggested In-Class Discussion Questions: 1. What are your thoughts on Conant’s recipe for success, “You can’t win in the marketplace unless you win first in the workplace”? What does this statement mean to you?

.

323

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 2. What do you believe was Conant’s most drastic change? Why was this important?

3. Why do you believe employees are typically resistant to organizational change?

II. THE PREVALENCE OF CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS A. The Message Is Clear: Change or Disappear! Research has shown support for organizational change among senior managers is a characteristic distinguishes most successful organizations from other organizations.

Figure 16.2

1. Change Is a Global Phenomenon. Organizational change is occurring throughout the world. Although different forces may be shaping change at different rates in different places, the conclusion is apparent: change is a universal fact in today’s organizations.

III. THE NATURE OF THE CHANGE PROCESS A. Targets: What, Exactly, Is Changed? There are three potential targets of organizational change: organizational structure, technology, and people.

1. Changes in Organizational Structure. Altering the structure of an organization may be a reasonable way of responding to a need for change. Modifying roles, responsibilities, and procedures may be an effective way to manage change.

2. Changes in Technology. Technology not only can be a cause for change, it may be a part of the solution.

3. Changes in People. Altering the way people behave may be a reasonable response to the needed organizational change. The basic assumption is that the effectiveness of organizations is greatly dependent on the behavior of the people working within them.

Making changes in people is not easy, but there is a three-step procedure for it: a. Unfreezing. This refers to the process of recognizing that the current state of affairs is undesirable and in need of change. In the absence of current pressure to change, management can use doomsday management to increase pressure for

.

324

Figure 16.3

Figure 16.4

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development change by suggesting that an impending crisis is likely. b. Changing. This step occurs when some planned attempt is made to create a more desirable state for the organization and its members. c. Refreezing. This occurs when the changes made are incorporated into the employees’ thinking and the organization’s operations: the changes are now an enduring aspect of the organization.

B. Magnitude: How Much Is Changed?

1. First-Order Change. Change is continuous in nature and involves no major shifts in the way an organization operates. This type of change is often associated with the continuous improvement movement.

2. Second-Order Change. Radical change; major shifts involving many different levels of the organization and many different aspects of business. These are major and complex changes.

Figure 16.5

C. Forces: Why Does Unplanned Change Occur?

Unplanned changes are shifts in organizational activities due to forces that are external in nature, those beyond the organization’s control. These include: 1. Shifting Employee Demographics. The composition of the work force has changed and is more diverse than ever. This has changed hiring and training processes in organizations and drives the need for diversity management programs.

2. Performance Gaps. These are gaps between the real unexpected levels of organizational performance that become forces for change. These gaps may be major factors in the push for organizational innovation.

3. Government Regulation. The most common source of unplanned organizational changes is the government.

Changes in rules, regulations, law, and policy can all have dramatic effects on organizations.

4. Global Competition. The extensive globalization of the economy and lowering rates for transportation of .

325

Figure 16.6

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations materials around the world presents a strong need to change and be innovative.

5. Fluctuating Economic Conditions. The general state of the economy, unemployment levels, and interest rates all shift frequently and create great pressure on organizations for a rapid change. In particular there are four reasons that these changes are important:

Figure 16.7

a. Unemployment. Lay offs will force people into unemployment and create stress on the organization and the individual. b. Expansion. The strength of the economy determines the degree to which organizations will expand in ways that will allow new jobs to be created. c. Business Investment. As the economy grows, companies are likely to invest in new technological advances that enable them to take on new and different lines of business, which has implications for the nature of the work that people will do. d. Social Responsibility. In prosperous times, companies are more likely to be generous toward their employees and to be more socially responsible to the communities in which they operate.

6. Advances in Technology. Advances in technology can produce changes in the way organizations operate.

Maintaining a technological edge is no longer a competitive advantage, it is a requirement of the game.

IV. STRATEGIC PLANNING The process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives.

Strategic planning deals with changes that are deliberately planned as opposed to unplanned changes that are forced upon an organization by the external environment.

A. Three Basic Assumptions about Strategic Planning 1. Strategic Planning Is Deliberate. When organizations make strategic plans, they make conscious decisions to change fundamental aspects of themselves. Often these changes are radical.

.

326

Table 16.1

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development 2. Strategic Planning Occurs When Current Objectives Can No Longer Be Met. New strategies are required when the old methods of doing business can no longer satisfy organizational goals.

3. New Organizational Objectives Require New Strategic Plans. Whenever a company takes steps to move in a completely new direction, establishes new objectives, and creates a strategic plan that is designed to meet those objectives. These sweeping changes require the involvement of all the functions and levels of an organization.

B. About What Do Companies Make Strategic Plans?

1. Products and Services. Changes in the products and services offered by an organization require strategic plans to be implemented.

2. Organizational Structure. Organizations make strategic plans to change the structures of their organizations themselves. Many organizations have struggled to stay competitive by reducing the size and basic configurations of their organizations: a. Outsourcing. The practice of eliminating parts of organizations whose focus is on noncore sectors of the business and hiring outside firms to perform those functions instead. b. Offshoring. Short for offshore outsourcing, the practice of using outsourcing services of overseas companies, typically because it allows companies to take advantage of lower labor costs.

C. Strategic Planning Process: Making Change Happen.

There are 10 steps to this process: 1. Define Goals. A strategic plan must begin with a stated goal. The company’s overall goals must be translated into the corresponding goals to be achieved by the various organizational units.

2. Define the Scope of Products or Services. Company officials must clearly define their organization’s scope: the businesses in which they already operate and the new ones in which they aim to participate. .

327

Figure 16.8

Figure 16.9

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 3. Assess Internal Resources. Concern with internal resources is the current availability and the amount needed to implement the strategy. These resources include funds, physical assets, and human assets.

4. Assess the External Environment. The organization must determine the extent to which the outside environment either aids or hinders their strategic plan.

Three key factors in the external environment can provide the organization with a competitive advantage: a. Uniqueness. The organizations resources cannot be easily imitated by others. b. Viability. The resources will not depreciate anytime soon. c. Positioning. The organization’s competitors do not have resources that are any better.

5. Analyze Internal Arrangements. This refers to analyzing the organization itself, including the culture, to determine if the layout and mindset of the organization is aligned with the strategic plan.

6. Assess Competitive Advantage. A competitive advantage describes the benefits enjoyed by an organization to the extent that its customers perceive its products or services as being superior to the products or services of another organization. It is a measure of perceived superiority.

7. Develop a Competitive Strategy. A competitive strategy is the means by which an organization achieves its goal.

This reflects a decision that has been made about how to go about achieving an organization’s goals based on the information gathered thus far in the strategic planning process. Some popular strategies are: a. Market-Share Increasing Strategies. The deliberate attempt on the part of a company to develop a broader share of an existing market (such as by widening the range of products, or forming a joint venture with another company that has a presence in the market of interest). b. Profit Strategies. Attempts to derive more profit for existing business, such as by entreating employees .

328

Table 16.2

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development to work more effectively or salespeople to sell more effectively. c. Market Concentration Strategies. The tactic of withdrawing from markets where a company is less effective and concentrating resources instead in markets where the company is likely to be more effective. d. Turnaround Strategies. Attempts to reverse a decline in business by moving to a new product line, or by radically restructuring operations. e. Exit Strategies. The tactic by which a company withdraws from markets, such as by liquidating its assets.

8. Communicate the Strategy to Stakeholders. A stakeholder is any individual or group in whose interest an organization is run. These are the individuals who have a special stake (or claim) on the company. These include employees, stockholders, and even the local society. Unless the stakeholders fully understand and accept a firm’s strategy, it is unlikely to receive the full support it needs to reach its goals.

9. Implement the Strategy. Once a strategy has been formulated and communicated, the time has come for it to be implemented. This is normally a time of upheaval and stress as people actually make the change.

10. Evaluate the Outcome. After the strategy is implemented, it is crucial to determine if the goals have been met. If so, the new goals may be sought. If not, then different goals may be defined, or different strategies may be followed so as to achieve the original goals. a. See the sidebar on page 568 to start an in-class discussion on global strategic planning.

V. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE: MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO. Fear of new conditions is quite real and that creates unwillingness to accept change. For this reason, people may react to organizational change quite negatively. Then again, if .

329

Sidebar: OB In a Diverse World

Table 16.2 Figure 16.10

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations the process is managed effectively, people may respond to change in a very enthusiastic manner.

A. Resistance to Change. The tendency for employees to be unwilling to go along with organizational changes, either because of individual fears of the unknown or organizational impediments (such as structural inertia).

B. Individual Barriers to Change.

1. Economic Insecurity. Because any changes in the job have the potential to threaten one’s livelihood, (either through job loss or reduced pay), some resistance to change is inevitable.

2. Fear of the Unknown. Employees derive a sense of security from doing things the same way, knowing who their coworkers will be, and whom they are supposed answer to from day to day. Disrupting these wellestablished, comfortable patterns creates unfamiliar conditions and rejection of the change.

3. Threats to Social Relationships. Many organizational changes threaten the integrity of the friendship groups that workers have developed. These friendship groups provide the workers with valuable social rewards.

4. Habit. Jobs that are well learned are easy for an individual to perform. The prospect of change to the way the job is done challenges people to develop new job skills.

5. Failure to Recognize the Need for Change. Unless employees can recognize and appreciate the need for changes in organizations, the vested interests they may have been keeping things the same may overpower their willingness to accept change.

C. Organizational Barriers to Change.

1. Structural Inertia. Organizations and the jobs within them are designed to promote stability. Meaning the organization has structural inertia: the difficulty in overcoming the resistance created by the forces that created the stability.

2. Work Group Inertia. Forces within a work group that encourage employees to perform their jobs in certain .

330

Figure 16.11

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development ways, thereby making them resistant to change.

Introducing change disrupts these established normative expectations, leading to a formidable resistance.

3. Threats to the Existing Balance of Power. If changes are made with respect to who is in charge, a shift in the balance of power between individuals and organizational subunits is likely to occur. This may cause fear that an individual or a subunit may lose their advantageous positions.

4. Previously Unsuccessful Change Efforts. Groups or entire organizations that have been through unsuccessful change efforts in the past may be cautious about accepting further attempts at introducing change into the system.

D. Readiness for Change: When Will Organizational Change Occur? Change is most likely to occur when the people involved believe that the benefits associated with making the change outweigh the costs.

1. Factors. The three factors contributing to the benefits of making a change are: a. The amount of dissatisfaction with the current conditions. b. The availability of a desirable alternative. c. The existence of a plan for achieving the alternative.

2. Multiplicative Relationship. These three factors are related multiplicatively; meaning if any of the three factors is equal to zero, the overall benefit is equal to zero.

E. Factors Affecting Resistance to Change. To overcome resistance to change, it helps to discover the individual and organizational variables with which the resistance is most closely linked. Doing this makes it possible to identify specific ways of changing people or changing situations so as to reduce the resistance to organizational change.

.

331

Figure 16.12

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1. Openness to Change. The individual’s willingness to accept changes in his or her organization is closely linked to three variables:

Figure 16.13

a. Resilience. The extent to which the person is capable of bouncing back from adversity. b. Information about Change. The availability of specific facts about how things will be different. c. Change Self-Efficacy. The belief in one’s own ability to function effectively despite the demands of change.

2. Openness to Change: Research Findings. These three variables were positively related to the openness to change and job satisfaction (as the variable increased so did the openness to change). Openness to change itself was negatively related to work-related irritation and intention to quit (as openness to change increased the likelihood of quitting decreased). Therefore attempting to change these three variables can make workers less resistant to change.

F. How Can Resistance to Organizational Change Be Overcome?

1. Shape Political Dynamics. By winning the support of the most powerful and influential individuals in the company, resistance to change is decreased.

2. Identify and Neutralize Change Resisters. It is important for people promoting organizational change to identify and neutralize those who resist change. This is especially true when oral statements against the change are made: they must be responded to immediately.

Table 16.3

3. Educate the Workforce. Fears about economic security may be put to rest by a few reassuring words from powerholders. By showing emotional sensitivity and explaining, “What’s in it for me” managers may be able to get the workers to help make the change.

4. “Sell” the Need for Change. Lower-level managers, who often have the original ideas for change, are put in the position of having to sell their superiors on the Figure 16.14 .

332

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development quality of their ideas. There are three major approaches to selling these ideas: a. Packaging Moves. This involves combining several ideas into a coherent whole. It includes such approaches as presenting one’s ideas in the form of a clear business plan and bundling the ideas together with other key organizational concerns such as profitability. b. Involvement Moves. Involving other people in the selling of the idea, such as other top-level personnel, peers, or even individuals outside the organization. c. Process Moves. Paying attention to matters of form and style, such as giving a thorough presentation with all of the issues carefully thought out, presenting ideas at the most opportune time and in a persistent fashion.

5. Involve Employees in the Change Efforts. It is well established that people who participate in making a decision tend to be more committed to the outcomes of that decision. By involving workers in the change process, they are less likely to resist change.

6. Reward Constructive Behaviors. One obvious method is to reward people for behaving in a desired fashion.

This includes providing feedback on the new behaviors.

7. Create a “Learning Organization.” This type of organization is successful in acquiring, cultivating, and applying knowledge that can be used to help it adapt to changes. For a firm to become a continuous learner, management must take the following steps: a. Established Commitment to Change. Unless all employees clearly see that top management is committed strongly to changing and improving the organization, they will be unlikely to make the changes necessary to bring about improvements. b. Adopt an Informal Organizational Structure.

Change is more readily accepted when organizational structures are flat, cross-functional

.

333

Figure 16.15

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations teams are created, and the formal boundaries between people are eliminated. c. Develop an Open Organizational Culture. To adapt effectively to changes in their environments, organizations should have cultures that embrace risk taking, openness, and growth. Companies whose leaders are reluctant to confront the risk of failure are the ones that will be unlikely to grow and develop.

8. Take the Situation into Account. The approach one should take to the change process depends on the nature of the situation being faced. Some strategies for ways to overcome resistance to change in various situations include:

Table 16.4

a. When information is lacking or inaccurate, educate employees and communicate with them. b. When management does not know what type of change is best, involve employees in the process of making the change. c. When employees are concerned about losses resulting from change, negotiate an agreement about other aspects of work. d. When changes are vital and must be made immediately, impose the required changes.

1) See the sidebar on page 576 to start an in-class discussion on tips from three established organizations.

VI. ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OD) INTERVENTIONS: IMPLEMENTING PLANNED CHANGE A. Organizational Development. A set of social science techniques designed to plan change in organizational work settings, for the purposes of enhancing the personal development of individuals and improving the effectiveness of organizational functioning.

B. OD Intervention Strategies. The goal of these strategies is to attempt to produce some kind of change in individual employees, workgroups, or entire organizations.

.

334

Sidebar: How to Do It

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development 1. Management By Objectives (MBO): Clarify Organizational Goals. This is a very time-intensive technique by which managers and their subordinates work together to set, and then meet, organizational goals. This process consists of three basic steps:

Figure 16.16

a. Develop Action Plan. Goals are selected that the employees will try to attain to best serve the needs of the organization. They are selected by both managers and their subordinates together; they are not imposed on subordinates by managers. These goals are directly measurable and have a timeframe attached to them. Manager and employee then develop a detailed action plan to achieve these goals. b. Implementation Plan. The action plan is carried out and progress toward the goal is carefully monitored by both manager and employee. Any needed corrections are made along the way. c. Evaluate Results. Manager and employee sit down to determine whether or not the goals were attained.

If the goals were attained, a new action plan is developed with new goals. If the goals were not attained, a new action plan is developed with the old goals.

2. Survey Feedback: Inducing Change by Sharing Information. This is a very popular and effective OD technique in which questionnaires and interviews are used to collect information about issues of concern to an organization. This information is shared with employees and is used as a basis for planning organizational change. As with all techniques, this works best with top-level support. There are three basic steps in this technique: a. Collect Data. Employees complete surveys to provide information about problems in the organization. b. Give Feedback. Feelings about the organization are summarized and shared with all employees.

.

335

Figure 16.17

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations c. Develop Action Plans. The group discusses and specific plans for overcoming problems are identified and developed.

3. Appreciative Inquiry (AI). An OD intervention that focuses attention away from an organization’s shortcomings and toward its capabilities and its potential. It is based on the assumption that members of organizations already know the problems they face and that they stand to benefit more by focusing on what is possible. Small groups are guided through the following four steps: a. Discovery. Identify the positive aspects of the organization: the best of what currently exists. b. Dreaming. Envisioning what the organization might become. c. Designing. Coming to a common understanding of what the future should look like. d. Delivering. Instituting a plan for delivering their ideas: involves establishing specific objectives and directions regarding “what will be.”

4. Action Labs. The action lab is meant to be a “greenhouse” in which change can be created by insulating a group of decision makers from daily operations and getting them to focus on the business problem. In this intervention, teams of participants work off-site for extended periods of time to develop and implement new ways of solving organizational problems by focusing on the ineffectiveness of current methods.

5. Quality of Work Life (QWL) Programs. An OD technique designed to improve organizational functioning by humanizing the workplace, making it more democratic and involving employees in decision making. a. Work Restructuring. Popular process of changing the way jobs are done to make them more interesting to workers. This includes job enrichment and job enlargement.

.

336

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development b. Quality Circles (QCs). An approach to improving the quality of work life, in which small groups of volunteers meet regularly to identify and solve problems related to the work they perform and the conditions under which they work. These programs may have three major benefits: increased job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and reduced turnover within the work force; increased productivity; and increased organizational effectiveness. There are two key provisions for any QWL program: 1) Both management and labor must cooperate in designing the program.

2) The plans agreed to by all concerned parties must be fully implemented.

6. See the sidebar on page 581 to start an in-class discussion on whether OD is ethical.

Sidebar: OB Making Sense Out of Common Sense

VII. CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT A. The Effectiveness of Organizational Development: Does It Really Work? OD is an expensive and time-consuming activity that has been shown to be beneficial, particularly when it comes to improving organizational functioning.

There are some major qualifications on its effectiveness: 1. OD interventions tend to be more effective among bluecollar employees than among white-collar employees.

2. The beneficial effects of OD can be enhanced by using a combination of several techniques instead of any single technique.

3. The effectiveness of OD techniques depends on the degree of support they receive from top management.

B. Is Organizational Development Dependent on National Culture? In order for OD to be effective people must be willing to share their ideas candidly with others, they must be willing to accept uncertainty, and they must be willing to show concern for others, especially members of their own teams. These traits may not be common across all cultures. Scandinavian countries seem to have cultural .

337

Figure 16.18

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations values most similar to those required for OD whereas South American countries have those most different. The effectiveness of OD techniques will depend, in part, on the extent to which the values of the technique match the underlying values of the national culture in which it is employed.

VIII.

SUMMARY AND REVIEW OF LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Characterize the prevalence of the change process in organizations.

Organizational change is very prevalent and is occurring at a rapid pace. Almost all organizations are changing in one way or another in order to survive. Inevitably, those that fail to adapt, fail. Research has shown that the tendency for organizational change to occur is not limited to organizations in North America. Change is occurring rapidly in organizations of all nations throughout the world.

2. Explain what, exactly, happens when organizational change occurs, and the forces responsible for unplanned organizational change.

The process of organizational change involves some combination of changing organizational structure, technology, and people. Unplanned change occurs in organizations due to: shifting employee demographics, performance gaps, governmental regulation, economic competition in the global arena, and advances in technology.

3. Describe what is meant by strategic planning and the types of strategic changes that organizations make.

Strategic planning is the process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives. Typically, strategic plans are made about changing either a company’s products and services, or its organizational structure.

4. Identify the 10 steps in the strategic planning process.

The strategic planning process follows 10 steps: (1) define goals, (2) define the scope of products or services, (3) assess internal resources, (4) assess the external .

338

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development environment, (5) analyze internal arrangements, (6) assess competitive advantage, (7) develop a competitive strategy, (8) communicate the strategy to stakeholders, (9) implement the strategy, and (10) evaluate the outcome.

5. Explain why people are resistant to organizational change and how this resistance may be overcome.

In general, people are resistant to change because of individual factors (e.g., economic insecurity, fear of the unknown) and organizational factors (e.g., the stability of work groups, threats to the existing balance of power).

However, resistance to change can be overcome in several ways, including: shaping political dynamics, educating the workforce about the effects of the changes and involving employees in the change process, involving employees in change efforts, rewarding constructive behaviors, and creating a learning organization.

6. Identify and describe the major organizational development techniques that are used today.

Management by objectives (MBO) focuses on attempts by managers and their subordinates to work together at setting important organizational goals and developing a plan to help meet them. Survey feedback uses questionnaires or interviews as the basis for identifying organizational problems, which then are addressed in planning sessions. Appreciative inquiry (AI) is an OD intervention that focuses attention away from an organization’s shortcomings and toward its capabilities and its potential. It involves having small groups of workers discover, dream, design, and deliver changes to their organizations. An action lab is an OD intervention in which teams of participants work off-site to develop and implement new ways of solving organizational problems by focusing on the ineffectiveness of current methods. Quality of work life (QWL) programs seek to humanize the workplace by involving employees in the decisions affecting them (e.g., through quality circle meetings) and by restructuring the jobs themselves. The rationale underlying all of these techniques is that they may enhance organizational functioning by involving employees in identifying and solving organizational problems. Overall, research suggests that they generally are effective in this regard. . 339

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Answers to Points to Ponder Exercises Questions for Review 1. When people talk about organizational change, what precisely is being changed and what forces lead to such change?

Planned or unplanned transformations in organization structure, technology, or people. Forces that lead to change include shifting employee demographics, performance gaps, government regulations, global competition, fluctuating economic conditions, and advances in technology.

2. Under what conditions will people be most willing to make changes in organizations? Explain your answer and give an example.

Change is likely to occur when the people involved believe the benefits associated with that change outweigh the costs. The factors contributing to the benefits of making a change are as follows: ▪

The amount of dissatisfaction with current conditions.

▪

The availability of a desirable alternative.

▪

The existence of a plan for achieving that alternative.

Theorists consider these three factors to combine multiplicatively and to determine the benefits of making a change. If any one factor is zero, the benefits of making a change and the likelihood of change itself also is zero.

3. What is meant by strategic planning, and what are the steps in the strategic planning process?

Strategic planning is the process of formulating, implementing, and evaluating decisions that enable an organization to achieve its objectives.

Typically, strategic plans are made to change a company’s products and services or its organizational structure. The strategic planning process follows 10 steps: (1) define the goals, (2) define the scope of products or services, (3) assess the internal resources, (4) assess the external environment, (5) analyze the internal arrangements, (6) assess the competitive advantage, (7) develop a competitive strategy, (8) communicate the strategy to stakeholders, (9) implement the strategy, and (10) evaluate the outcome.

4. What are the major techniques of organizational development?

Major techniques of organizational development are management by objectives, survey feedback, appreciative inquiry, action labs, and quality of work life programs. . 340

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development 5. Overall, how effective is organizational development in improving organizational functioning? With respect to what factors does it work or not work?

OD techniques require a considerable amount of time, money, and effort.

But, does OD really work? Most of the relevant studies show the effects of these various interventions to be beneficial mostly in the area of improving organizational functioning. We hasten to add that any conclusions about the effectiveness of OD should be qualified in several important ways.

▪

OD interventions tend to be more effective among blue-collar employees than among white-collar employees.

▪

The beneficial effects can be enhanced by using a combination of several techniques instead of any single one.

▪

The effectiveness also depends on the degree of support these techniques receive from top management. The more these programs are supported from the top, the more successful they tend to be.

The effectiveness of OD techniques depend, in part, on the extent to which the values the technique is based on match the underlying values of the national culture in which it is employed.

6. Argue for or against the following statement: “Organizational development doesn’t work.” Explain your answer.

Answers will vary.

Experiential Questions 1. Think about the one job in a company with which you are most familiar (a job you have or one that a close friend or family member has). Based on what you know about this position, how has the nature of this job changed over the years? What is done differently, and why? In what ways has technology been involved? To what extent do you believe that the company benefited from these changes?

Student answers will vary based on their experiences. Some jobs, which have had changes they may be familiar with, are: bank teller, customer service representative, food service worker, nurse, secretary, and so on.

2. Think back to one particular change that was made in the organization in which you either work or have worked. What concerns did you have about it? Were you resistant to this change? If so, what, if anything, did management do to allay your fears? What might they have done?

In general, people resist change because of individual factors (e.g., economic insecurity, fear of the unknown) and organizational factors . 341

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations (e.g., stability of work groups, threats to the existing balance of power).

Resistance to change can be overcome in several ways, however, including shaping the political dynamics, educating the workforce about the effects of the changes, involving employees in the change efforts, rewarding constructive behaviors, and creating a learning organization.

3. Have you ever participated in some type of organizational development effort? If so, what was done? How did you feel about the program? Do you believe the effort was effective?

Student answers will vary based on their experiences.

Questions to Analyze 1. Suppose you are having difficulty managing a small group of subordinates who work in an office 1,000 miles away from your home base. What kinds of changes in structure, technology, and people can be implemented to more closely supervise these distant employees?

Student answers will vary. One obvious set of possibilities is to install some form of computer monitoring via the Internet, select people who can work independently, and give them some autonomy.

2. Suppose that you are a top executive of a large organization about to undertake an ambitious restructuring plan that involves massive changes in job responsibilities for most employees. Explain why people might be resistant to such changes and what steps could be taken to overcome this resistance.

Organizational scientists recognize that resistance to change stems from both individual and organizational variables. The individual variables include: ▪

Economic insecurity—as changes on the job may threaten one’s livelihood—either by loss of job or by reduced pay—some resistance to change is inevitable.

▪

Fear of the unknown—disrupting well-established, comfortable patterns creates unfamiliar conditions a state of affairs that often is rejected.

▪

Threats to social relationships—many organizational changes (e.g., reassignment of job responsibilities) threaten the integrity of friendship groups, which provide valuable social rewards.

▪

Habit—the prospect of changing how jobs are done challenges people to develop new skills, which clearly are more difficult than continuing to perform the job as it originally was learned.

▪

Failure to recognize the need for change—unless employees can recognize and fully appreciate the need for change in an . 342

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change: Strategic Planning and Organizational Development organization, any vested interests they may have in keeping things the same may overpower their willingness to accept change.

3. Imagine that you are a manager whose unit is suffering problems due to a lack of coordination between employees. How can OD techniques be used to address this problem? Which particular technique would you use and why? What do you need to do to help ensure its success?

Student answers will vary.

Suggested Answers to Experiencing OB Exercises Individual Exercise: Developing a Strategic Plan 1. How easy or difficult was it for you to develop this strategic plan? What would have made the process easier or more effective?

It should have been relatively difficult for most students. What would have made the process easier and more effective would be: (1) using a team, (2) having more information about the organization, and (3) having more practice in developing strategic plans.

2. Which of the 10 steps would you imagine is easiest to implement? Which do you think would be most challenging?

Answers will vary depending on the sort of plan the student developed.

Typically, the easiest is step 10, evaluation. The most difficult might be step two, define the scope, as it requires the most creativity and insight into both the market and the organization.

3. Would you use competitive intelligence in the course of implementing your plan? If so, how?

Absolutely. By sharing with the workers what the competition is currently doing, an immediate sense of crisis can be developed (doomsday management) which may reduce resistance to change and increase the likelihood of the success of the strategic plan.

4. What special challenges, if any, would the employees of your company face as they attempted to implement this plan? How would you attempt to overcome these challenges?

Answers will vary depending on the situation students imagined they were in and the solution they created for their company Group Exercise: Recognizing Impediments to Change—and How to Overcome Them 1. For each of the situations, were the impediments to change similar or different? . 343

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Answers will vary slightly in the sense that one situation deals with an interpersonal issue and the other with a system issue, but generally the same type of impediments should have been identified.

2. Were the ways of overcoming the impediments similar or different?

Answers will vary.

3. How might the nature of the situation confronted dictate the types of change barriers confronted and the ease with which these may be overcome?

Systems (like e-mail changes) are frustrating because a new skill has to be learned. Personnel changes however involve the social dynamic associated with a change in the work group, the loss of a friend, and the concern over the traits of the replacement. The personal change tends to be more of a concern to most people.

Answers to Case in Point Questions Can P&G Turn the Tide?

1. What adjustments were required at P&G as changes were made?

There were a number of them. Some employees had to get used to the fact that outsourcing occurred, there were changes in marketing, and new ideas to adapt. Answers may vary based on student assessment.

2. What sources of resistance to change do you suspect were encountered at P&G and how do you think they were overcome?

There may have been some political infighting due to outsourcing and the loss of jobs. There may been resistance on the part marketing changes, but again the case does not say if this occurred, how this resistance was overcome. There was resistance to adopting new ideas. Answers may vary based on student assessment.

3. What OD techniques might have been helpful for P&G to use? Explain your reasoning.

Student answers will vary based on text interpretation and application.

.

344

Appendix 1: Learning about Behavior in Organizations

Appendix 1: Learning about Behavior There are no learning objectives associated with this appendix.

Appendix Overview It is useful to understand the basic tools scientists use to learn about behavior in organizations. This Appendix will briefly describe some of these techniques. The goal here is not to make you an expert in scientific methodology, but rather, to give you a solid understanding of the techniques you will be encountering in the study of organizational behavior.

Appendix Outline I. ISN’T IT ALL JUST COMMON SENSE? No, it is not. There are many phenomena studied in the field of OB that seem to contradict common sense. When common sense does not provide the correct answer, the scientific method is the approach that must be taken. Whether it's confirming our commonsense beliefs or contradicting them, the scientific method is the best approach to use in the study of OB. II. THEORY: AN INDISPENSABLE GUIDE TO ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH A. Theory. A set of statements about the interrelationships between concepts that allow us to predict and explain various processes and events. A theory consists of two basic elements: 1. Concepts. These are the measurable ideas of interest.

2. Assertions about How the Concepts Are Related. These are statements about how one idea affects another.

B. Developing and Testing Theories.

1. The Research Process. Once the theory is proposed, it is used to introduce hypotheses (logically derived, testable statements about the relationships between variables that follow from a theory). These hypotheses, or predictions, then need to be tested in actual research .

345

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations to see if they are confirmed. If the hypotheses are not confirmed, our confidence in the theory is weakened.

But if the research confirms the hypotheses, we can be more confident about the accuracy of the theory. Given the complexities of human behavior, theories are rarely, if ever, fully confirmed but they may become generally accepted.

2. The Three Functions of Theories: Figure A1.1

a. Organizing. Theory allows us to organize large amounts of data into meaningful propositions. b. Summarizing. Theories help summarize this knowledge by making it possible to make sense out of bits and pieces of information that otherwise would be difficult, if not impossible, to understand. c. Guiding. Theories help scientists identify important areas of needed research that would not have been apparent without theories to guide their thinking.

3. Theories Must Be Testable. The usefulness of any theory is based on the extent to which it can be confirmed or disconfirmed. A theory that cannot be tested serves no real purpose to scientists. a. The Place of Research. Research is the general term for the experimental techniques that are used to test hypotheses. These techniques include surveys, experiments, and qualitative methods. When hypotheses are accepted, theories can be confirmed.

III. SURVEY RESEARCH: THE CORRELATIONAL METHOD A. Surveys. Questionnaires in which people are asked to report how they feel about various aspects of themselves, their jobs, and organizations. This is the most popular approach to conducting research in OB. The technique can be used in any setting and on a wide variety of topics, questionnaires are relatively easy to administer (by mail, phone, or in person) and they are readily quantifiable, lending themselves easily to powerful statistical analyses.

B. Conducting Surveys.

1. The Three Major Steps of the Survey Approach:

.

346

Appendix 1: Learning about Behavior in Organizations a. Variable Identification. The first step is that the researcher must identify the variables in which he or she is interested. These may be various aspects of people (for instance, attitudes), organizations (e.g., pay plans), or the environment in general (industry competition, for example). These variables can be suggested from many sources, such as a theory, previous research, or even hunches based on casual observations. b. Precise Measurement. In the second step, the variables must be measured as precisely as possible.

In OB studies, it is critical to pay a great deal of attention to the way questions are worded to ensure proper measurement of the variables under study.

Table A1.1

c. Determine Relationships. In the third and final step, after the variables of interest have been identified and measured, scientists must determine how, if at all, they are related to one another. They seek to find how changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variable. In order to do this, scientists analyze their findings using a variety of different statistical procedures.

2. Online Surveys. Questionnaires presented to people via either e-mail or using a Web site, which they then complete and return to administrators using the same electronic means. The low cost, quick responses, and the rapid and easy analysis of this technique has made it very popular in recent years. Although this is a very useful tool, it is important to remember that not everyone has Internet access. Because of this, results from a Web-based survey may not describe the entire population.

3. Analyzing Survey Results: Using Correlations. After the data has been collected, the investigator must use statistics to analyze the results to compare them to those predicted by the hypotheses. a. Correlation. Variables are correlated to the extent that the level of one variable is associated with level of another variable. A correlation exists if, when the value of one variable changes, a change is also seen in a second variable. There are two main types of correlations: .

347

Figure A1.2

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations 1) Positive Correlation. A relationship between two variables in which as the value of one variable increases so does the value of the second variable. When plotted, positive correlations tend to move up into the right.

2) Negative Correlation. A relationship between two variables in which as the value of one variable increases, the value of the second variable decreases. When plotted, negative correlations tend to move down to the right. b. Correlation Coefficient. Not only is the direction and the relationship important (positive or negative), so is the strength of that relationship. The stronger the relationship, the more closely the variables are related to each other mathematically.

Correlation coefficients are measured on a scale from -1.00 and +1.00. The closer the correlation coefficient is to one (positive or negative), the stronger the relationship. The closer the correlation coefficient is to zero, the weaker the relationship.

The sign in front of the correlation coefficient (+/-) indicates a positive or negative correlation. c. The Use of Correlation. When variables are strongly correlated, scientists can make more accurate predictions about future events. Knowing the value of one variable can allow for a reasonably accurate prediction of the value of the second variable if the two are strongly correlated. d. Examining More Than Two Variables. When scientists wish to determine the relationships between more than two variables they use a technique known as multiple regression. This statistical technique makes it possible to determine the extent to which each of several different variables contributes to predicting another variable.

4. An Important Limitation of Correlations. Although correlations do help scientists demonstrate that when one variable “moves” so will another, that relationship does not imply causality. Meaning that although a scientist can say that variable A and variable B are strongly correlated (as A moves so moves B) that does not mean that A causes B to move. To prove that one .

348

Figure A1.3

Appendix 1: Learning about Behavior in Organizations variable causes the value of another variable requires an entirely different technique to determine cause-andeffect.

IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH: THE LOGIC OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

Figure A1.4

A. The Experimental Method. A research technique through which it is possible to determine cause-and-effect relationships between the variables of interest: that is, the extent to which one variable causes another. This method allows researchers to definitively state when changes in one variable force changes in another.

B. A Hypothetical Experiment. (The text describes the experiment in detail.) In this experiment, three different assessments were made on work efficiency of typists by differing the densities of workers; that is, the number of workers in an enclosed space.

C. Logic of Experimentation. The basic logic behind the experimental method is quite simple. It involves only two major steps. First, some variable of interest (the independent variable) must be systematically varied. Then the effects, if any, of such variations on the dependent variable must be measured.

1. Random Assignment. By assigning participants randomly into the experimental groups, experimenters reduce the possibility of hidden bias from selection errors. In the hypothetical experiment, the typists were randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups.

This should have averaged out the typing speeds for each group.

2. Independent Variable. This is the variable that is systematically manipulated by the experimenter to determine its effects on the variable of interest (the dependent variable). In the hypothetical experiment, the independent variable was the density as measured by the number of people per square foot in the office.

3. Dependent Variable. A variable that is measured by the researcher and is influenced by the independent variable. For the hypothetical experiment, this was task performance as measured by the average number of words correctly typed. .

349

Figure A1.5

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations D. Drawing Valid Conclusions from Experiments. In order for the conclusions of the experimenters to be valid, it is critical for them to hold all factors other than the independent variable constant. In the hypothetical experiment, this was done by a random selection of the participants. The experiment may also have required keeping the temperature of the room constant so that the heat of the office from the extra bodies would not affect the results.

E. Where Are Experiments Conducted? There are two basic settings for OB experiments. Selection of the setting affects the ease in which extraneous variables can be controlled. If possible, experiments should be done in both settings for increased validity.

1. Laboratory Settings. The hypothetical experiment was conducted in a lab. These are experiments conducted away from the “real world” where the conditions can be carefully controlled and manipulated. This greater amount of control allows more powerful, valid conclusions to be drawn from experiments by minimizing the effects of extraneous variables. This type of setting may be somewhat unrealistic and therefore may not relate well to workplace settings; meaning the results may not apply outside the lab.

2. Fieldwork. These experiments are held in natural settings such as offices and other workplaces. Although very realistic, it is much more difficult for researchers to control all the extraneous variables. This may mean that valid correlations could be missed or correlations may be erroneously discovered that do not really exist.

V. V QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS A. Qualitative Research. A non-empirical, descriptive type of research that by preserving the natural qualities of the situation being studied, attempts to capture the richness of the context while disturbing naturalistic conditions only minimally, if at all. Two major qualitative methods used by OB scientists are naturalistic observation and the case method.

1. Naturalistic Observation. A research technique in which people are systematically observed in situations of interest to the researcher. .

350

Figure A1.6

Appendix 1: Learning about Behavior in Organizations a. Advantages. The advantages of observational research is that it can be used without disrupting normal routines, allowing behavior to be studied in its natural state and almost anyone, including current workers, can be trained to use it. b. Disadvantages. The limitations of this method are the subjectivity of the researchers, the potential for lack of impartiality, and the likelihood of researchers placing unequal emphasis on unusual events. c. Participant Observation. A variant of natural observation, this is a qualitative research technique, often used by anthropologists, in which people systematically make observations of what goes on in the setting by becoming an insider, part of that setting itself.

2. The Case Method. A research technique in which a particular organization is thoroughly described and analyzed for the purpose of understanding what went on in that setting. The rationale behind the case method is not to teach about a specific organization per se, but to learn what happened in an organization as a means of providing cues as to what may be going on in other organizations. This is a post hoc (after the fact) assessment of the situation rather than a firsthand evaluation. a. Advantages. Case methods, especially those that include interviews can be very revealing. b. Limitations. If the observed organization is unique, the case may not be generalizable to other organizations and situations. The second limitation, as with naturalistic observation or any other qualitative method, is the potential for bias.

There are no questions or exercises associated with this appendix.

.

351

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Appendix 2: Understanding and Managing Your Career There are no learning objectives associated with this appendix.

Appendix Overview This Appendix describes the basic nature of careers. It also elaborates on some of the key issues associated with choosing a career and the challenges encountered as a career develops over the years. To fully understand these ideas, of course, the Appendix begins with some basic definitions.

Appendix Outline I. THE NATURE OF CAREERS A. Basic Definitions: 1. Career. The evolving sequence of work experiences over time.

2. Job. A predetermined set of activities one is expected to perform.

3. Occupation. A coherent set of jobs.

B. The Importance of Careers. Careers mean a great deal to individuals, both financially and psychologically. The career chosen has a great impact on lifetime earnings and an individual’s sense of contentment and pride. Careers can even give meaning to a person’s life. Often a job identifies a person’s identity in the eyes of others.

C. Types of Careers. There are four different types of careers.

1. Study-State Careers. This is the type of career in which there is a lifetime of employment in a single occupation. People who have these types of careers are generally very satisfied with what they are doing and are very skilled at it.

.

352

Figure A2.1

Appendix 2: Understanding and Managing Your Career 2. Linear Careers. The type of career in which someone stays in a certain field and works his or her way up the occupational ladder from low-level jobs to high-level jobs. People with these careers tend to move from organization to organization into positions of greater responsibility and challenge but stay in the same field.

This type of career is rather traditional, especially if the person stays in the same firm.

3. Spiral Careers. The kind of career in which people evolve through a series of occupations, each of which require new skills and builds upon existing knowledge and skills. People who have spiral careers are not “jobhoppers,” who move from one post to another. Rather, they are constantly growing and improving as they explore different facets of the same profession.

Typically, people in spiral careers spend about seven to ten years in each position, enabling them to become pretty good at what they do.

Figure A2.2

4. Transitory Careers. The type of career in which someone moves between many different unrelated positions, spending about one to four years in each.

Often people in transitory careers are those who have not been fortunate enough to discover the kind of work that allows them to derive satisfaction. In fact, many of the most successful people in the business world have been “late bloomers,” who drifted between jobs until they found their calling. Some people simply do not find work a major source of fulfillment in their lives; they prefer to devote their energy and talent to their avocations instead of their vocations.

II. GETTING STARTED: MAKING CAREER CHOICES. There are three major factors that determine people’s career choices: the person-job fit, the career anchors, and the job opportunities.

A. Person-Job Fit: Holland’s Theory of Occupational Choice 1. Person-Job Fit. The degree to which a particular job matches an individual skills, abilities, and interests.

2. Holland’s Theory of Vocational Choice. John Holland believed that a person’s occupational choice is based primarily on his or her personality. That people will perform best at occupations that match their traits and .

353

Figure A2.3

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations personalities. Holland discovered that people from various occupations tend to have very similar personality characteristics and people with the characteristics that matched those of people already in a given field are predisposed to succeed in that field.

3. Holland’s Hexagon. The conceptualization specifying the occupations for which people are best suited based on which of six personality types most closely describe them. The closer a job environment comes to the associated personality type on the diagram, the more effective, successful, and less stressed the person will be. This theory, and the tools associated with it, have been widely used by vocational counselors— professionals specializing in helping people find the kind of work that best suits them.

Figure A2.4

B. Career Anchors. A person’s occupational self-concept based on his or her self-perceived talents, abilities, needs, and motives. This factor deals with how well a person’s occupation matches his or her self-image. In this case, the beliefs one holds about oneself “anchors” one’s choice of careers. There are five major career anchors as identified on the Career Orientation Inventory questionnaire: 1. Technical or Functional. Concentration on jobs focusing on specific content areas.

2. Managerial Competence. Focus on jobs that allow for analyzing business problems and dealing with people.

3. Security and Stability. Attraction to jobs that are likely to continue into the future.

4. Creativity or Entrepreneurship. Primary interest in starting new companies from visions of unique products or services, but not necessarily running them.

5. Autonomy and Independence. Attraction to jobs that allow for freedom from constraints and working at one’s own pace.

C. Job Opportunities. Most people tend to be highly rational when it comes to making career choices. They favor occupations in which opportunities are most likely to exist and avoid positions in which opportunities are declining.

.

354

Table A2.1

Appendix 2: Understanding and Managing Your Career 1. The Cyclical Nature of Job Growth, Training Opportunities, and Skilled Labor. There is a cyclical relationship between the growth of an industry; the demand for employment in that industry; the creation of training programs for skills in that industry; which increases the number of people with the required skills who take jobs in that industry.

Figure A2.5

III. MANAGING ESTABLISHED CAREERS A. Confronting the Career Plateau. This is the point at which one’s career has peaked and is unlikely to develop further. Employees who have been at a particular post for five or more years are considered to have plateaued and may become unmotivated.

1. Career Development Interventions. Systematic efforts to help manage people’s careers while simultaneously helping the organizations in which they work. The idea is to avoid the career plateaus by using a six-step process.

Figure A2.6

2. Outplacement Programs. In the event employees are laid off, these are systematic efforts to help them find new jobs.

B. Managing Career Changes. Changing jobs, or even entire careers, is quite common today. To minimize the disruption of these changes, many career experts advise making the changes in two steps: first changing either the occupation or the field of expertise, and then changing the other.

Figure A2.7

C. Retirement. The phase of people’s lives in which they reach the end of their careers and stop working for their primary income. This may be voluntary or involuntary.

D. Succession Planning and Mentoring. Succession planning entails a systematic attempt to identify possible holders of particular positions ahead of time as preparation for a future departure. Mentoring is a process by which a more experienced employee advises, counsels, and otherwise enhances the professional development of a new employee referred to as a protégé.

Figure A2.8 Table A2.1

There are no questions or exercises associated with this appendix. .

355

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Video Case Guide Video Case Title (Alphabetically) Global Business at KPMG Social Responsibility at Terra Cycle Work/Life Balance Training and Development Managing Stress Diversity at KPMG Motivating Employees at KPMG Effective versus Ineffective Communication Groups and Teams at Kluster Technology and the Tools of Communication Leadership at Kluster Decision Making at Insomnia Cookies Change, Creativity, and Innovation at Terra Cycle Inside Student Advantage Organizational Culture at Terra Cycle

Guide Page 70 70 70 174 174 247 248 411

Text Chapter 2 2 2 5 5 7 7 11

411 411

11 11

478 478 586

13 13 16

587 587

16 16

Cases are presented in chapter order in this guide.

Chapter 2: Organizational Justice, Ethics, and CSR “Global Business at KPMG” Synopsis: International knowledge has become a top priority for managers at KPMG. KPMG provides audit, tax, and advisory services to clients located around the world. The company is an amalgam of firms located in approximately 180 countries; these businesses come together under the KPMG umbrella. According to Aidan Walsh, head of KPMG’s Global Mobility program, because today’s clients are operating in foreign locations, KPMG must be prepared to provide the services they need in those markets. To that end, the company has implemented a program in which managers from one country are sent on assignments in another country. The goal is to allow supervisors to gain business experience in foreign markets and languages; obtain cross-cultural experience; and possibly earn . 356

Video Case Guide foreign certifications. Foreign assignments at KPMG last from three months to five years. Walsh believes that because so many managers today want to acquire foreign experience, the program has given KPMG a competitive advantage when it comes to hiring.

Discussion Questions: 1. Can KPMG be classified as a multinational enterprise? If so, how does this designation change the services KPMG offers?

2. How have the three major forces driving globalization (as discussed in Chapter 1) facilitated KPMG’s global expansion, and what new challenges and opportunities do these forces bring to KPMG? 3. How does the Global Mobility program at KPMG help managers avoid both culture shock and the kind of ethnocentric behavior commonly found in managers initially exposed to new cultures?

“Social Responsibility at Terra Cycle” Synopsis: Social responsibility is important at Terra Cycle, a company that makes consumer products from garbage. The company was founded by then–college student Tom Szaky, who initially developed his ideas for the company by entering and winning various business-plan competitions. However, it was not until he won a contest paying $1 million that Szaky’s commitment to being an eco-capitalist solidified.

The contest rules required Szaky to change his focus from using waste materials to produce and package consumer products and to using more traditional inputs to produce an organic product. Szaky refused to compromise his ideals, rejected the prize money, and scraped together enough funds to start the business on his own.

He claims that he is not an environmentalist; rather, he simply wants to do the right thing for society and the world. Eco-friendly products usually are more expensive to produce than standard ones, keeping them from mainstream consumers. Szaky hopes to change this by showing how an eco-capitalist can make money while helping the environment simply by recognizing the value in waste.

Discussion Questions: 1. How does Terra Cycle’s business model reflect the basic elements of the pyramid of corporate social responsibility, as presented in Chapter 2?

2. Which of the forms of socially responsible behavior does Terra Cycle pursue?

3. How does the virtuous circle concept discussed in the text relate to Terra Cycle’s approach to strategy and profitability?

.

357

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

“Work/Life Balance” Synopsis: Providing a good balance between work and outside interests and responsibilities is important at Ernest & Young. In response to a survey indicating that employees valued flexibility in their jobs, the company has attempted to create an atmosphere in which people have the opportunity to achieve not only their career goals, but also their personal goals, whether these include family obligations or some other interest. Ernest & Young has adopted what it refers to as its People First program, according to which the firm commits to doing right for employees, who in turn commit to doing right for the firm. Employee Maryella Goekel notes that the People First program enables workers to be 100 percent dedicated to whatever they are doing at a particular moment, whether it’s outside or inside the firm. Goekel also notes that Ernest & Young tries to treat workers like adults rather than children, and makes the assumption that once an employee knows what has to be accomplished, it will be done. One person who has worked at Ernest & Young for more than a decade says that the firm’s dedication to ensuring that workers have a balance between work and life through its flexible system gives the company a competitive advantage when it comes to employee retention.

Discussion Questions: 1. Using the discussion of Theory X versus Theory Y in Chapter 1, explain why a work/life balance is important for employees at Ernest & Young.

2. How does Ernest & Young’s People First program relate to the human relations movement described in Chapter 1?

3. How do the family friendly policies at Ernest & Young help the company meet the challenges associated with a demographically diverse workforce?

Chapter 5: Coping with Organizational Life “Training and Development” Synopsis: Employee training is a major responsibility for most human resource departments.

These programs provide employees with the tools they need to accomplish their job duties successfully. Developing a good plan begins with clearly identifying what needs to be achieved and then determining which kind of training is most appropriate. Once the answers to these questions have been identified, firms can ascertain who should conduct the training and how its effectiveness will be measured. According to Jenny Herman of Lowes Hotels, for a training program to be effective, it should incorporate input from people in the field and be used on a pilot basis to work out any kinks before being rolled out to the entire firm. . 358

Video Case Guide Various tools, including one-on-one relationships, mentoring programs, interactive training, and computer training, can be used. Training is not a one-time event, but an ongoing process. Companies also should implement management development programs to help employees improve their skills and advance their careers. Although an annual review can provide employees with some feedback, Martin Buckingham of Hot Jobs says that he prefers ongoing feedback. Herman claims that at her organization, the management development program focuses on the career plans of employees and the steps managers should take to move toward achieving their goals.

Discussion Questions: 1. Which of the different types of training presented in Chapter 3 would be most effective for companies like Lowes Hotels?

2. Why are the keys to effective training presented in Chapter 3 so important to companies like those shown in the video?

3. Explain how 360-degree feedback can be used to improve the effectiveness of training in situations like the one at Lowes Hotels.

“Managing Stress” Synopsis: Stress in the workplace is all too commonplace. Some individuals, like Student Advantage’s Vinnie Russo, feel pressured because they cannot say “no,” even when they are already overscheduled. Other employees, like Heidi Vanvliet, feel stressed when they are faced with impossible deadlines. People experience this pressure in different ways. Things that might cause strain in one person may be of little importance to another. An individual’s experience also plays a role: An employee who has already put in an 18-hour day, for example, may feel bothered when facing a situation that on any other day would cause little problem. Because high levels of stress can have a negative impact on performance, some companies have implemented programs designed to help workers deal with it. At Student Advantage, Kevin Roach shows employees how to integrate personal and professional goals. Roach points out that planning and prioritizing are important to managing stress, and that individuals need to be able to identify what adds value and what can be ignored. Stressors can vary over time as circumstances change. When Student Advantage initially was founded, for example, most employees were relatively young and single. Today, however, many have families, and this change has introduced new stressors as managers strive to find a good balance between their family lives and professional lives. Similarly, as the company has grown and added more layers of management, more policies, and new procedures, additional stressors have been introduced for long-time employees who now must adapt to the more structured environment. As part of its effort to assist workers, Student Advantage takes special care to hire individuals . 359

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations who not only have the right technical skills, but who also will fit well with the corporate culture.

Discussion Questions: 1. How can time-management tactics such as those in Table 5.8 (on page 169) help employees at Student Advantage lower their stress levels?

2. In the video clip, Amy Geeler claims she feels stressed when doing payroll.

What are the major causes of organizational stress (as described in Chapter 5) and which of these does Amy appear to be experiencing?

3. In what ways does Student Advantage benefit from offering employee assistance programs?

Chapter 7: Motivation in Organizations “Diversity at KPMG” Synopsis: According to Kathy Hannan, diversity is essential to the culture at KPMG. Hannan heads both the company’s Women’s Advisory Board and the Diversity Advisory Board. In fact, KPMG has established a number of other advisory boards, including one for African Americans, one for Latinos, and one for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees. KPMG’s commitment to a more diverse workforce is also evident in its efforts to recruit and hire minorities. The company has implemented several programs designed to attract students to the firm with the expectation that they could become future hires. These programs include internships and other kinds of educational opportunities. Furthermore, KPMG believes that a diverse workforce attracts more minority workers. Nigel Franklin of KPMG’s African American Network agrees. He notes that prospective hires want to see other people like themselves in an organization so that they know that there is someone to relate to—someone who has traveled their path already. Kathy Hannan says that the Women’s Advisory Board is actively focusing on retaining young women; to that end, she has established goals of how the firm should look from a gender perspective and created a network that acts as a forum for women to reach out to each other. Kristen Johnston of KPMG’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Network believes that education is the key to a more diverse organization. Johnston says that is important to help people understand differences and accept them. She feels that there is a long road ahead, but is optimistic that, at some point in time, stereotypes and prejudices will be a thing of the past. Hannan agrees, and believes that one day there no longer will be a need for the different networks to support the various groups. Until then, though, they perform a valuable role.

.

360

Video Case Guide Discussion Questions: 1. Which of the major training approaches to diversity management as discussed in Chapter 6 is KPMG following?

2. How does Kristen Johnston of KPMG’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Network hope the group will help her avoid the prejudice and discrimination described in Chapter 6 that is found commonly in many organizations?

3. Which of the guidelines presented in Chapter 6 for making diversity programs successful is KPMG following?

“Motivating Employees at KPMG” Synopsis: KPMG believes that it is important for employees to feel valued and motivated to work. Just a few years ago, however, this was not the case. Workers at the company were not engaged in their jobs, turnover was high, and overall performance was suffering as a result. KPMG recognized that a fundamental shift was needed if it were to maintain its track record of success. KPMG identified four things that were important to motivating employees and improving job performance. First, employees wanted to work for a winning organization of which they could be proud. Second, workers wanted to have the resources and information necessary to allow them to achieve their objectives in a timely fashion. Third, they wanted to be treated well, and fourth, they wanted to enjoy their work. This knowledge, together with the commitment of the CEO and senior management, allowed the company to make changes in several areas. Today, KPMG workers enjoy better compensation packages, improved work/family arrangements, and more career development opportunities. The changes appear to have been successful. Employee turnover at KPMG has dropped and individuals at all levels are more committed to their jobs and to the company as a whole.

Discussion Questions: 1. What would equity theory (as presented in Chapter 7) imply about employee satisfaction and performance at KPMG? 2. What does expectancy theory (as presented in Chapter 7) suggest about the habits of workers at KPMG? 3. How does KPMG go about meeting the varied needs of its employees?

.

361

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Chapter 11: Conflict, Cooperation, Trust, and Deviance “Effective versus Ineffective Communication” Synopsis: Effective communication in business is essential to success. Top managers spend approximately 85 percent of their time communicating with others. However, at the advertising agency The Factory, Mike, the new art director, is finding out just how difficult this can be, and why he needs to improve his skills. In a conversation with Natalie, an account director at the firm, Mike finds out that his efforts at connecting with people so far have been lacking. Mike points out that he is finding it is more difficult to speak with clients than with other employees.

Benny, the creative director, notes that Mike needs to learn how to communicate internally with upper management and externally with clients. Benny points out that having external communication skills is particularly important because, when he is dealing with clients, Mike is the face of the company. A Messenger tells Mike that this requires him to be practical, factual, concise, clear, and persuasive.

After Mike takes the advice of the Messenger, his communications skills improve, and he receives positive feedback for his efforts. Mike’s clients are happier because they believe that he really understands their needs and goals. Mike knows that he still has much to learn, but recognizes that he already has come a long way.

Discussion Questions: 1. In which phases of the communication process discussed in Chapter 9 is Mike having the most trouble when he communicates with clients?

2. How does the Messenger in the video clip suggest that Mike improve the process of encoding?

3. Mike is having trouble with both internal and external communication. Using the techniques to improve communication presented in Chapter 9, what would you recommend Mike do?

“Groups and Teams at Kluster” Synopsis: The concept of teamwork is essential to the success of Kluster. The company’s Illuminator project, a community driven product development platform, requires the involvement of many different people. Tom Pasley, the project manager, notes that each individual on the Illuminator team brings a different set of skills to the table. Members meet daily, either electronically or physically, to discuss the project and generate new ideas. According to Pasley, self-management is important to the project’s success. Each person must stay on task and provide . 362

Video Case Guide feedback to the other members. The graphic designer on the project says that each individual plays a different role. One person provides the voice of reason; a second gives a perspective of how ideas will affect the internal situation. A third member of the team thinks outside the box; a fourth considers the project from a future point of view, and so on. The founder of Kluster, Ben Kaufman, generates many of the ideas for the project, and is the leader of the team. However, engineer, Peter Wadsworth, claims that Kaufman also values the perspectives and inputs of the other team members. Wadsworth notes that self-discipline is important, and that it quickly becomes apparent when someone fails to pull his or her weight. Strong communication skills contribute to the success of the project.

Discussion Questions: 1. Using the definitions presented in Chapter 8, how would you characterize the Illuminator project at Kluster? Is it a group or a team?

2. Use the five dimensions of teams outlined in Chapter 8 to describe the Illuminator team at Kluster.

3. Considering the keys to successful teams presented in Chapter 8, what would you recommend that Kluster do to ensure that its Illuminator team is successful?

“Technology and the Tools of Communication” Synopsis: Effective communication is essential for organizations. Communicators face two main challenges. The first is to ensure that information is easy to comprehend.

The second is to get a message noticed. This is particularly important because people are bombarded continually with new information. This involves choosing the right media and delivery vehicle for a particular audience. When choosing the right tools, it is essential to consider the audience’s expectations, the development time and cost of the message, how long it will take to distribute it, how many people it will reach, and whether the audience will read it. Tools available to communicators include traditional methods, such as interoffice memos, bulletin boards, and brochures, and technology-enhanced methods, such as on-demand custom-printed booklets, e-mail, and Web sites. Making messages more interesting has become an important component in an organization’s overall communication strategy.

Not only does technology allow firms to develop highly personalized messages, but it also facilitates measuring return on investment. Communicators can develop a decision matrix to identify which tool will be most effective in a given situation.

In some cases, they may choose to combine options.

.

363

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations Discussion Questions: 1. The video explores the importance of choosing the right media and delivery vehicle when communicating. Using the model presented in Chapter 9, explain which stage of the communication process this involves.

2. Technology has had a significant effect on communication within and between companies. Using the discussion of technology in Chapter 9 as a basis, explain how technology has increased the speed of communication in the workplace.

3. Using media richness theory presented in Chapter 9, explain which medium would be most effective for communicating: (a) highly sensitive material, (b) messages of an emotional nature, and (c) a short thank-you note.

Chapter 13: Leadership in Organizations “Leadership at Kluster” Synopsis: Kluster, a company that produces a Web-based platform called the Illuminator, is the latest in a string of companies founded by 20-year-old Ben Kaufman, who launched his first business as a high school student. Despite founding the company, Kaufman is not Kluster’s CEO. He demoted himself from that position when he realized that his youth and inexperience made investors uneasy.

Although he lacks a formal title, Kaufman is very much a visionary leader and is committed to the success of the Illuminator. Design coordinator Andres Arango claims that Kaufman inspires everyone at the firm. Peter Wadsworth, an engineer, agrees. He believes that Kaufman’s key strength is his ideas and that Kaufman knows exactly where he wants to go. Wadsworth notes that although everyone is encouraged to voice their opinions, Kaufman will campaign for ideas he thinks are best, and tell people when he believes their suggestions lack merit. At the same time, however, Kaufman knows his limitations and is willing to pass responsibility to those who are more skilled. He also possesses a high level of self-confidence and believes strongly in the value of his ideas and decisions.

Wadsworth believes these characteristics are an asset when Kaufman meets with other companies and celebrities. Indeed, Arango notes that it was Kaufman’s charisma and commitment to his vision that prompted him to join the Illuminator team.

Discussion Questions: 1. Using the discussion of effective leaders in Chapter 13 as a starting point, identify the qualities of effective leadership that Ben Kaufman appears to have. . 364

Video Case Guide 2. Has Ben’s effectiveness as a leader been diminished by his decision to step down as CEO? Why or why not?

3. Based on the description in Chapter 13, do you believe that Ben Kaufman is a transformational leader?

“Decision Making at Insomnia Cookies” Synopsis: Insomnia Cookies was founded by Seth Berkowitz when he was a college student.

The company, a chain of late-night cookie stores located on college campuses, began with a delivery-only concept, but more recently has incorporated retail outlets. When Insomnia Cookies was founded, Berkowitz did everything from baking cookies to delivering them. Today, however, the company has expanded to include COO Joe Essenfeld and Elise Piatkowski, the marketing director. Both Piatkowski and Essenfeld play important roles in decision making at Insomnia Cookies. In fact, Berkowitz says that he welcomes their input because it forces him to look at issues in different ways. Essenfeld feels that the team works well because members continually critique one another by challenging decisions and ideas. Pitakowski, for example, believes she pays more attention to detail and has a better feel for the brand’s aesthetics than either Berkowitz or Essenfeld. She feels that Essenfeld has a tendency to leap before he looks, which sometimes can be problematic. Piatkowski also notes that the nature of the interaction between Essenfeld and Berkowitz has been beneficial for the company: Essenfeld encourages Berkowitz to explore areas he otherwise might have avoided, and Berkowitz helps Essenfeld moderate his more extreme thinking. According to Berkowitz, the team has been successful at separating members’ personal feelings from their professional feelings, which has facilitated the decision-making process.

Discussion Questions: 1. Using the model of the different phases of the decision-making process presented in Chapter 10, explain how Insomnia Cookies likely made the decision to close its Binghampton store.

2. In your opinion, does Insomnia Cookies’ decision to use a purple truck constitute a strategic decision? Explain your answer.

3. Using the decision style model presented in Chapter 10, how would you characterize the decision making styles of Seth Berkowitz, Joe Essenfeld, and Elise Piatkowski?

.

365

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations

Chapter 16: Managing Organizational Change “Change, Creativity, and Innovation at Terra Cycle” Synopsis: Change, creativity, and innovation are essential to the success of Terra Cycle, a company that makes consumer products from garbage. Tom Szaky, founder and CEO, hopes to reinvent consumer products and how they are made by capitalizing on the growing trend toward environmentally friendly lifestyles. The notion of change, flexibility, and the ability to identify new ways to respond to consumer demand permeates every part of the culture at Terra Cycle. A core team is dedicated to innovation, but novel ideas are welcome from anyone, and employees are encouraged to try new things. Getting products to market quickly is an important component in Terra Cycle’s competitive strategy, so the company looks for ways to circumvent traditional processes that can be time consuming. In fact, although time to market at a traditional company is about three years, at Terra Cycle it’s just nine months. The company also prides itself on its ability to find quick fixes to problems in the production process. At one point, for example, the company used swimming pools and horse troughs to mix fertilizer in an effort to get around the time constraints involved in waiting for customized equipment.

Milton Oppenheimer, assistant production manager, clams that being openminded and willing to try new things is a characteristic of all employees at Terra Cycle. Change and thinking outside the box are part of the job, and everyone is expected to contribute ideas and find new solutions to problems. Tom Szaky also encourages employees to be innovative. His philosophy is that it is acceptable to fail because failing is better than not trying at all.

Discussion Questions: 1. How does Terra Cycle promote a culture of creativity and divergent thinking as described in Chapter 14?

2. How are the basic components of creativity in teams and individuals as presented in Chapter 14 displayed at Terra Cycle?

3. In your opinion, is innovation at Terra Cycle radical or incremental in nature?

“Organizational Culture at Terra Cycle” Synopsis: The commitment to making the world a better place drives just about everything at Terra Cycle, an eco-friendly company that makes consumer products entirely out of garbage. The company is staffed primarily by young people who share a vision of growing a better world. Founder and CEO Tom Szaky is devoted to the notion of eco-capitalism, which, he argues, involves a business model that differs . 366

Video Case Guide from those of other companies that claim to be “green.” According to Szaky, other businesses simply take existing practices, look for ways to make them more environmentally friendly, and then pass the additional costs on to consumers. In contrast, eco-capitalism involves completely rethinking the entire process—and doing what is best for the environment—but without charging premium prices.

Following this new model requires an organizational culture that demands flexibility from employees along with a willingness to change direction quickly and to occupy multiple roles. According to Albe Zakes, director of public relations, employees at Terra Cycle are given many responsibilities and are empowered to handle them in their own way. He notes that although there is a set of checks and balances in place, it is not unusual for him to hand off a project with only very loose guidelines instructing a subordinate as to what to do. The sense of empowerment is evident in many areas at Terra Cycle, from R&D to production to marketing. Even interns at the company note that they receive far more freedom and responsibility than they would be given at most companies.

Inside the graffiti-covered walls of Terra Cycle’s New Jersey headquarters is a scene of organized chaos, and the prevailing feeling is to get done what needs to be done and then move on. There are no rules as to how something is to be completed. Employees figure things out as they go. Zakes believes that the close relationships among employees at Terra Cycle and the shared belief that they are making the world a better place are significant factors in the company’s success.

Discussion Questions: 1. How are the core characteristics of organizational culture presented in Chapter 14 displayed at Terra Cycle?

2. Using the discussion of strong versus weak organizational culture presented in Chapter 14 as a starting point, how would you describe the organizational culture at Terra Cycle?

3. In which category of the competing values framework discussed in Chapter 14 would you place Terra Cycle?

“Inside Student Advantage” Synopsis: Student Advantage is a company whose focus is capitalizing on the economic influence of college students. Recognizing that they usually do not have much money, but that most of what they do have is usually disposable, Ray Sozzi, president and CEO of Student Advantage, founded the company in 1992 with the idea that he could draw students across the country into an association that would give them more clout in the marketplace. To some extent, the idea is modeled after the American Association of Retired Persons. Members receive a card that gives them discounts of 15 to 20 percent at a variety of Big Box stores and restaurants, as well as at many smaller “mom and pop” outlets. The company now employs approximately 450 people. Expansion has occurred primarily through . 367

Instructor’s Manual: Behavior in Organizations mergers and acquisitions. Sozzi typically looks for companies that fit with his vision, and then acquires them. According to Todd Eichler, vice president, the new businesses are usually integrated and absorbed directly into the organization’s existing operations. Today, the company is expanding into a new product line called “Student Advantage Cash,” which involves students, colleges, and merchants. With the new card, students will be able to do everything from using the laundry facilities in their dorms to buying pizzas at local retail outlets.

Parents can add cash to the cards as needed. This new product complements many of the others that Student Advantage has launched since its inception, including Web sites that provide travel advice and academic assistance. Todd Eichler feels that because of its breadth and depth, Student Advantage has a strategic advantage in offering clients the opportunity to have a customized marketing package.

Discussion Questions: 1. Which of the different organizational structures described in Chapter 15 does Student Advantage appear to have?

2. How do you think the division of labor within Student Advantage may have changed as the company has grown?

3. Using the discussions of strategy in Chapters 15 and 16, how would you characterize the strategic approach to change adopted by Student Advantage?

.

368