Essentials of Organizational Behavior, Global Edition, 14th edition By Stephen P Robbins Solution Ma

Type:

Solution Manual

Essentials of Organizational Resource: Behavior Edition:

14th Edition

Author(s):

Stephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge

Preface

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Preface

Instructor’s Manual Overview

This instructor’s manual has been created as an easy-to-use guide for the classroom instructor. The maximum amount of detail has been provided for each major teaching point to reduce the need for annotation. Discussion questions and answers are given for each chapter, as are exercises to involve the students in the learning process. Additionally, some suggested course layouts are provided for traditional and nontraditional settings.

Components of the Instructor’s Manual

Each chapter of the instructor’s manual contains a detailed lecture outline, discussion questions and answers, and individual and team exercises.

Lecture Outline The lecture outline follows the textbook and provides relevant details for each teaching point. Space is provided for instructor annotations along the right margin. Icons are embedded in the right margin that keys the instructor to relevant slides and textbook exhibits.

Discussion Questions The discussion questions are taken from the chapter objectives. One question is provided per objective along with a detailed suggested answer. These discussion questions appear immediately after the lecture outline for each chapter.

Exercises The number of exercises provided for each chapter varies, but at a minimum, each of the following areas will be covered for every chapter.

Self-Analysis. As a means for allowing students to internalize the lessons of the course, each chapter is provided with a self-analysis activity that causes the student to relate his or her life and work experience to the concepts given in the text.

Web Crawling. To appeal to the digital-friendly nature of most students, each chapter is provided with a web search exercise. Most of these will involve searching for outside references on concepts given in the textbook and writing analyses of the similarities and differences between the textbook and any discovered Internet-based information. In some cases, students will be directed to take free web-based versions of some OB tools for selfreflection and analysis.

Teamwork. While the emphasis on the use of teams in the classroom varies from institution to institution, it is important that students studying OB learn, through experience, some of the difficulties and pleasures of working in teams. The teamwork exercises provided vary from small group work (three to four team members) to large group (12 members) activities and often end with an open discussion of the findings in a classroom setting.

Instructors may find that students greatly enjoy this break from lecture-based instruction.

Properly managed, these teamwork exercises can be a powerful learning tool. .

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Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). As another means of helping students internalize the major concepts of the course, they are encouraged to apply them directly to their experience in the workplace. The application of one key OB concept from each chapter is studied in the students’ workplaces and reported to either the instructor or the class. In the final chapter, students are asked to reflect on all of their individual assignments and to report how their feelings, attitudes, and beliefs regarding their organization may have changed because of the knowledge gained in this class.

Suggested Assignments. Each chapter includes one or more Suggested Assignments that are external exercises based on the chapter’s concepts. These assignments are typically group oriented and are designed to serve as possible graded assignments.

Suggested Course Layouts The size of this text lends itself easily to most traditional and nontraditional environments while still allowing sufficient time for classroom exercises and activities.

Traditional Semester/Quarter Systems The traditional semester system of 16 weeks allows ample time for the use of many of the exercises provided in this manual. The 13-week quarter systems may require slight compression of the material, which could limit the amount of time available for classroom exercises.

Week Chapter/Activity Week Chapter/Activity 1 1 9 9-10 2 2 10 11-12 3 3-4 11 12-13 4 4-5 12 13-14 5 5-6 13 14-15 6 6 14 15-16 7 7-8 15 17 8 Midterm 16 Final

Traditional Summer/Intensive Course Eight-Week Systems It is strongly recommended that intense courses such as these maximize the use of in-class and team-based activities to create a more dynamic classroom experience.

Week Chapter/Activity Week Chapter/Activity 1 1-2 5 11-12-13 2 3-4-5 6 14-15 3 6-7-8 7 16-17 4 9-10 8 Final Exam Non-Traditional (Four to Five Week) Systems Non-traditional classrooms have the greatest need for compression of material and may have few alternatives regarding the use of class exercises. Still, instructors are strongly encouraged to include at least one exercise for every two chapters.

Session Chapter/Activity Session Chapter/Activity 1 1-2 5 10-11-12 2 3-4-5 6 13-14 .

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6-7-8 Midterm 9

7 8

15-16-17 Final Exam

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SAMPLE SYLLABUS Introduction to Organizational Behavior Spring 2018 Joan Smith Office: HH 235; ext. 6789 Email: Smithjj@uaa.edu Office Hours: T and TH 10am - noon Course Description and Objectives This course provides a one-term introduction to, and survey of, basic organizational behavior concepts and their application in contemporary organizations. The field of organizational behavior focuses on issues related to human behavior and interpersonal relations within an organization. The course will include conceptual frameworks, case discussions, and skill oriented activities. Topics include diversity in organizations, attitudes and job satisfaction, emotions and moods, personality and values, perception and individual decision making, motivation, group behavior, work teams, communication, leadership, power and politics, conflict and negotiation, the structure and culture of organizations, and organizational change. Students should acquire skills and analytic concepts to improve organizational relationships and effectiveness.

Textbook and Other Readings The textbook for this course is: Essentials of Organizational Behavior 14e, Global Edition, Robbins and Judge. From time to time additional readings will be assigned from newspapers and magazines.

Assignments Students are responsible for completing discussion questions at the conclusion of each chapter.

Students will also complete a Self-Analysis exercise and Web Crawling exercise for each chapter. Each of these assignments is worth 10 points for a total of 340 points. These exercises will be discussed in class.

A cumulative project will be due the last week of the course. Details of the assignment will be given during lecture each week. The cumulative project is worth 150 points.

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Examination Policy In this course, there will be two examinations, a midterm and a comprehensive final examination. The midterm is worth 150 points and the final examination that is worth 300 points.

You must take exams with your class at the assigned period. Make-up examinations are given only for rare and unusual circumstances.

Grading Policy In order to receive an A, you must earn at least a 90% average; a B is at least 80%; a C is at least 68%; and a D is at least 58%.

Relevant College Policies Course withdrawals must be initiated on or before the deadline outlined in your Bulletin.

TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS Week

Topic

Assignment

Week 1

Welcome to the World of OB

Chapter 1

Week 2

Attitudes

Chapter 2

Week 3

Emotions Personality Factors

Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Week 4

Personality Factors (continued) Perceptual Processes

Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Week 5

Perceptual Processes (continued) Valuing Diversity

Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Week 6

Valuing Diversity (continued)

Chapter 6

Week 7

Basic Motivation Applied Motivation

Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Week 8

MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Week 9

Communication Basics of Group Behavior

Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Week 10

From Groups to Teams Characteristics of Leaders

Chapter 11 Chapter 12

Week 11

Characteristics of Leaders (continued) Power and Politics in Organizations

Chapter 12 Chapter 13

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Preface

Week 12

Power and Politics in Organizations (continued) Conflict in Organizations

Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Week 13

Conflict in Organizations (continued) Organization Structure and Design

Chapter 14 Chapter 15

Week 14

Organization Structure and Design (continued) Creating and Maintaining Organizational Culture

Chapter 15 Chapter 16

Week 15

Organizational Change

Chapter 17

Week 16

FINAL EXAMINATION

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Chapter 1 Welcome to the World of OB

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Chapter 1

Welcome to the World of OB

Chapter Overview

PPT 1.2

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

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

Chapter Objectives

PPT 1.3 After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Define organizational behavior (referred to as OB throughout the text).

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

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

Suggested Lecture Outline

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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3. A recent survey of hundreds of workplaces and over 200,000 respondents

showed the social relationships among co-workers and supervisors were strongly related to overall job satisfaction. a. Positive social relationships also were associated with lower stress at work and lower intentions to quit. b. Having managers with good interpersonal skills is likely to make the workplace more pleasant, which in turn makes it easier to hire and keep qualified people. c. Increasing the OB element in organizations can foster social responsibility awareness.

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

PPT 1.4 II. MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR A. The roles of a manager — and the necessary skills to perform as one — are constantly evolving.

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

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

B. Organizational Behavior (OB) Defined.

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

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

4. This text will focus on: PPT 1.6 a. motivation b. leader behavior and power c. interpersonal communication d. group structure and processes e. attitude development and perception f. change processes g. conflict and negotiation PPT 1.7 h. work design C. Effective versus Successful Managerial Activities.

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

2. Luthans and his associates studied more than 450 managers. All engaged in four .

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managerial activities:

a. Traditional management. Decision making, planning, and controlling. b. Communication. Exchanging routine information and processing paperwork. c. Human resources (HR) management. Motivating, disciplining, managing

conflict, staffing, and training. d. Networking. Socializing, politicking, and interacting with outsiders.

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

III. COMPLEMENTING INTUITION WITH SYSTEMATIC STUDY A. People develop intuitive understandings of the behaviors of other people through experience. This experiential, common sense method of “reading” human behavior can often lead to erroneous predictions.

B. You can improve your predictive ability by taking the PPT 1.8 systematic approach to the study of human behavior.

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

1. Systematic study of behavior means: examining PPT 1.9 relationships, attempting to attribute causes and effects, and basing our conclusions on scientific evidence — that is, on data gathered under controlled conditions and measured and interpreted in a reasonably rigorous manner.

2. Evidence-based Management (EBM): This PPT 1.10 complementary approach to systematic study involves basing managerial decisions on the best available scientific evidence. Managers must become more scientific about how they think about managerial problems and not rely on instinct.

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

D. Big Data.

1. Big data is the extensive use of statistical compilation and analysis—didn’t become possible until computers were sophisticated PPT 1.11 enough to both store and manipulate large amounts of information. The use of big data began with online retailers but has since permeated virtually every business.

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

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

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4. Limitations: As technological capabilities for handling big data have increased,

so have issues of privacy and appropriate application. This is particularly true when data collection includes surveillance instruments. a. We are not advising you to throw intuition out the window. In dealing with people, leaders often rely on hunches, and sometimes the outcomes are excellent. At other times, human tendencies get in the way. What we are advising is to use evidence as much as possible to inform your intuition and experience. The prudent use of big data, along with an understanding of human behavioral tendencies, can contribute to sound decision making and ease natural biases. That is the promise of OB. IV. DISCIPLINES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE OB FIELD A. Organizational behavior is an applied behavioral science built on contributions from a number of behavioral PPT 1.12 disciplines, mainly psychology and social psychology, sociology, and anthropology.

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

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

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

1. Those who have contributed and continue to add to the knowledge of OB are: a. learning theorists b. personality theorists c. counseling psychologists d. industrial and organizational psychologists.

1) Early industrial/organizational psychologists studied the problems of fatigue, boredom, and other working conditions that could impede efficient work performance.

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. While psychology focuses on the individual, sociology studies people in relation to their social environment or culture. a. Sociologists have contributed to OB through their study of group behavior in organizations, particularly formal and complex organizations. .

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b. Perhaps most important, sociologists have studied organizational culture,

formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, communications, power, and conflict.

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

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

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

V. THERE ARE FEW ABSOLUTES IN OB PPT 1.13 A. Laws in the physical sciences—chemistry, astronomy, physics—are consistent and apply in a wide range of situations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. We best understand OB when we realize how both (general effects and the contingencies that affect them) often guide PPT 1.14 behavior.

VI. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OB PPT 1.15 A. Understanding organizational behavior has never been more important for managers.

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

Exhibit 1-2 1. The typical employee is getting older.

2. More women and people of color are in the workplace; corporate downsizing and the heavy use of temporary workers are severing the bonds of loyalty that tied many employees to their employers. .

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3. Global competition requires employees to become more flexible and cope with

rapid change.

C. Continuing Globalization.

PPT 1.16 1. Organizations are no longer constrained by national borders. The world has become a global village. In the process, the manager’s job has changed.

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

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

D. Workforce Demographics.

PPT 1.17 1. The workforce has always adapted to variations in the economy, longevity, birth rates, socioeconomic conditions, and other changes that have a widespread impact. People adapt to survive, and OB studies the way those adaptations affect individuals’ behavior.

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

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

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

E. Workforce Diversity.

PPT 1.18 1. One of the most important challenges for organizations is workforce diversity, a trend by which organizations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of employees’ gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other characteristics.

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

F. Social Media.

PPT 1.19 1. Social media in the business world is here to stay.

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

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

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

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

G. Employee Well-Being at Work.

PPT 1.20 1. One of the biggest challenges to maintaining employee well-being is the reality that many workers never get away from the virtual workplace. While communication technology allows many technical and professional employees to do their work at home, in their cars, or on the beach in Tahiti, it also means many feel like they’re not part of a team.

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

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

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

H. Positive Work Environment.

1. A growing area in OB research is positive organizational PPT 1.21 scholarship (POS; also called positive organizational behavior), which studies how organizations develop human strengths, foster vitality and resilience, and unlock potential.

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

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

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

E. Ethical Behavior.

1. In an organizational world characterized by cutbacks, expectations of increasing productivity, and tough competition, it’s not surprising many employees feel pressured to cut corners, break rules, and PPT 1.22 engage in other questionable practices.

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

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scholarship athletes to take easy courses.

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

2) Determining the ethically correct way to behave is especially difficult in

a global economy because different cultures have different perspectives on certain ethical issues.

3) Fair treatment of employees in an economic downturn varies considerably across cultures, for instance.

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

PPT 1.23 VII. COMING ATTRACTIONS: DEVELOPING AN OB MODEL This book will follow the three levels of OB analysis, building from the individual to the organizational perspectives. Each level builds upon the levels before it.

A. Overview.

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

PPT 1.24 2. Exhibit 1-3 presents the skeleton of our OB model. It proposes three types of variables (inputs, processes, and outcomes) at three levels of analysis (individual, group, and organizational).

Exhibit 1-3 3. The model illustrates that inputs lead to processes, which lead to outcomes; we discuss interrelationships at each level of analysis. a. Notice that the model also shows that outcomes can influence PPT 1.25 inputs in the future, which highlights the broad-reaching effect OB initiatives can have on an organization’s future.

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

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

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

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

6. Outcomes. a. Outcomes are the key variables that you want to explain or predict and that are affected by some other variables. .

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b. What are the primary outcomes in OB? Scholars have emphasized

individual-level outcomes, such as attitudes and stress, task performance, citizenship behavior, and withdrawal. c. At the group level, cohesion and functioning are the dependent variables. d. Finally, at the organizational level, we look at overall productivity and survival.

7. Attitudes and Stress: As we discuss in depth in Chapter 2, employee attitudes are the evaluations employees make, ranging from positive to negative, about objects, people, or events. a. Stress is an unpleasant psychological condition that occurs in response to environmental pressures.

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

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

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

11. Group Cohesion: Group cohesion is the extent to which members of a group support and validate one another at work. a. In other words, a cohesive group is one that sticks together. When employees trust one another, seek common goals, and work together to achieve these common ends, the group is cohesive; when employees are divided among themselves in terms of what they want to achieve and have little loyalty to one another, the group is not cohesive.

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

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

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

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14. Survival: The final outcome we consider is organizational survival, which is

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discussion Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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5.

6.

7.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Compare and contrast the three levels of OB analysis.

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

Common aspects: the study of human behavior including decision making, emotion, .

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perception, and motivation. Unique aspects for each level deal primarily with the focus of the research activity: person, group, or larger grouping (such as society, organization, or country). It should be noted, however, that each successive level builds on the theories and findings of the lower levels.

Exercises

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are many ways you can use this project. For example, it could serve as homework to be turned in each week or a project to be built upon each week and .

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turned in at the end of the class as a term paper/project. You could also use the exercise as a class discussion item, selecting students to do short discussion starter presentations several times per term. Still another use is to have them summarize their findings in small groups, and have each group report a summary to the class.

Most of these activities will involve interviewing someone who has knowledge of the topic. While interviewing someone in the subject organization is preferable, you may wish to allow students to interview outside experts to gain a greater understanding of the concepts.

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

Suggested Assignments

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

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

(They are employees, job seekers, or simply interested parties.)

.

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Chapter 2

Attitudes

Chapter Overview

PPT 2.2

This chapter examines attitudes, their link to behavior, and how employees’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs affects the workplace.

Chapter Objectives

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

2. Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

3. Compare the major job attitudes.

4. Identify the two approaches for measuring job satisfaction.

5. Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

6. Identify three outcomes of job satisfaction.

7. Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

PPT 2.3

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION A. In this chapter, we look at attitudes, their link to behavior, and how employees’ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their jobs affects the workplace.

II. ATTITUDES A. Attitudes: evaluative statements—either favorable or

PPT 2.4 unfavorable—concerning objects, people, or events. They reflect how one feels about something.

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

B. What Are the Main Components of Attitudes?

PPT 2.5

1. There are three main components of attitudes (Exhibit 2-1): a. Cognitive. The statement “My pay is low” is

Exhibit 2-1

the cognitive component of an attitude—a description of or belief in the way things are. b. Affective. Affect is the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude and is reflected in the statement “I am angry over how little I’m paid.” Finally, affect can lead to behavioral outcomes. c. Behavior. This describes an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something—to continue the example, “I’m going to look for another job that pays better.” .

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d. Viewing attitudes as having three components—cognition, affect, and

behavior—is helpful in understanding their complexity. Keep in mind that these components are closely related, and cognition and affect in particular are inseparable in many ways. e. Exhibit 2-1 illustrates how the three components of an attitude are related.

2. In organizations, attitudes are important for their behavioral component. If workers believe, for example, that supervisors, auditors, bosses, and time-andmotion engineers are all in conspiracy to make employees work harder for the same or less money, it makes sense to try to understand how these attitudes formed, their relationship to actual job behavior, and how they might be changed.

C. Attitudes and Behavior.

1. While attitudes may seem to be directly causal, Leon PPT 2.6 Festinger argued that attitudes follow behavior. People change what they say, so it does not contradict what they do. a. Cognitive Dissonance. Situations where attitudes follow behavior illustrate the effects of cognitive dissonance. The theory is that dissonance between what people say and what they do makes people uncomfortable and that they will take whatever actions they can to reduce that discomfort, such as changing their attitudes or behaviors.

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

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

2. Moderating Variables. The most powerful moderators of the PPT 2.7 attitude-behavior relationship are: a. Importance of the attitude: Important attitudes reflect fundamental values, self-interest, or identification. The greater the importance, the stronger the link between attitude and behavior becomes. b. Correspondence to behavior: The more closely the attitude and the behavior are matched, the stronger the link between them. c. Accessibility: The easier an attitude is to recall, the stronger the link. The more frequently an attitude is expressed, the more accessible it is and therefore the stronger its link becomes to behavior. d. Social Pressures: Exceptional social pressures can override personal attitudes and may have a stronger relation to behavior than do the attitudes.

This subservience of personal attitude to social pressure is often found in organizations. e. Direct Experience: Predictions of behavior tend to be more accurate when the person whose behavior is being predicted has some experience regarding the situation.

D. Job Attitudes. .

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1. There are three important attitudes toward work that organizational behavior

(OB) has traditionally studied: job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment. There are two other work-related attitudes that are attracting attention: perceived organizational support PPT 2.8 and employee engagement.

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

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

1) Employees who are committed are less likely to engage in work withdrawal even if they are dissatisfied because they feel a sense of loyalty or attachment to the organization.

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

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

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

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

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

4) The difference is in the level of expectation by employees. c. Employee Engagement.

1) Employee Engagement: An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for, the work he or she does.

2) Conditions that can increase engagement include: a) Opportunities to learn new skills, b) Important and meaningful work, and c) Positive interactions with coworker and supervisors. .

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2) Highly engaged employees have a passion for their work and feel a deep

connection to their company; disengaged employees have essentially checked out—putting time but not energy or attention into their work.

3) Promising research findings have earned employee engagement a following in many business organizations and management consulting firms. However, the concept generates active debate about its usefulness, partly because of the difficulty of identifying what creates engagement. a) The two top reasons for engagement that participants gave in a recent study were: (1) having a good manager they enjoy working for and (2) feeling appreciated by their supervisor. b) Another reviewer called engagement “an umbrella term for whatever one wants it to be.”

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

B. Measuring Job Satisfaction.

1. Our definition of job satisfaction—a positive feeling about a PPT 2.9 job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics—is clearly broad. Jobs require interacting with coworker and bosses, following organizational rules and policies, meeting performance standards, living with less than ideal working conditions, and the like. An employee’s assessment of his satisfaction with the job is thus a complex summation of many discrete elements.

C. Approaches to Measurement.

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

2. Is one of these approaches superior? Intuitively, summing up responses to a number of job factors seems likely to achieve a more accurate evaluation of job satisfaction. a. Research, however, doesn’t support the intuition. This is one of those rare instances in which simplicity seems to work as well as complexity, making one method essentially as valid as the other. b. Both methods are helpful. c. The single global rating method isn’t very time consuming, thus freeing time for other tasks, and the summation of job facets helps managers zero in on problems and deal with them faster and more accurately.

D. Measured Job Satisfaction Levels.

PPT 2.10 1. Research shows satisfaction levels vary a lot, depending on which facet of job satisfaction you’re talking about.

2. As shown in Exhibit 2-2, people are, on average, satisfied with

their jobs overall, with the work itself, and with their supervisors and coworker. .

Exhibit 2-2

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

opportunities.

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

PPT 2.11 5. While the concept appears relevant across cultures, there are still cultural differences in job satisfaction.

Exhibit 2-3 6. Exhibit 2-3 provides the results of a global study of job satisfaction levels of workers in 15 countries, with the highest levels in Mexico and Switzerland.

E. What Causes Job Satisfaction?

1. Job Conditions. a. Interesting jobs that provide training, variety, PPT 2.12 independence, and control satisfy most employees. i. A strong relation exists between how well people enjoy the social context of their workplace and how satisfied they are overall. Interdependence, feedback, social support, and interaction with coworker outside the workplace are strongly related to job satisfaction even after accounting for characteristics of the work itself.

2. Personality. a. Job satisfaction is not just about job conditions. Personality also plays a role.

Research has shown that people who have positive core self-evaluations— who believe in their inner worth and basic competence—are more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative core self-evaluations.

3. Pay. a. Pay, once above a given level, does not increase satisfaction. While money may be a motivator, it does not necessarily make people happy—at least once they have enough to live comfortably.

4. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). a. An organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), or its self-regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law, increasingly affects employee job satisfaction. b. Organizations practice CSR through environmental sustainability initiatives, nonprofit work, charitable giving, and other globally attuned philanthropy. c. CSR is good for the planet and good for people. Employees whose personal values fit with the organization’s CSR mission are often more satisfied. d. Organizations need to address a few issues: i. First, not all projects are equally meaningful for every person’s job satisfaction, yet participation for all employees is sometimes expected. ii. Second, some organizations require employees to contribute in a prescribed manner. iii. Last, CSR measures can seem disconnected from the employee’s actual work, providing no increase to job satisfaction.

IV. Outcomes of Job Satisfaction.

A. Job Performance.

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

B. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs). .

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1. It seems logical to assume job satisfaction should be a major determinant of an

employee’s organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). a. Satisfied employees would seem more likely to talk positively about the organization, help others and go beyond the normal expectations in their job. b. They might go beyond the call of duty because they want to reciprocate their positive experiences.

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

1. Satisfied employees increase customer retention and loyalty because satisfied employees tend to be upbeat and helpful.

D. Life Satisfaction.

1. Until now, we’ve treated job satisfaction as if it was separate from life satisfaction, but they may be more related than you think. a. Research in Europe indicates that job satisfaction is positively correlated with life satisfaction, and our attitudes and experiences in life spill over into our job approaches and experiences. b. Furthermore, life satisfaction decreases when people become unemployed, according to research in Germany, and not just because of the loss of income. c. For most individuals, work is an important part of life, and therefore, it makes sense that our overall happiness depends in no small part on our happiness in our work (our job satisfaction).

E. The Impact of Job Dissatisfaction.

1. There are consequences both when employees like their jobs and when they dislike them.

2. The Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect Framework. This model is helpful in understanding the consequences of dissatisfaction. The framework has four responses that differ from one another along two dimensions: constructive/destructive and active/passive.

PPT 2.13 a. Exit. This response involves directing behavior toward leaving the organization. It includes both looking for a new job, as well as resigning. b. Voice. This response involves actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions. Includes making suggestions and union activities. c. Loyalty. This response involves passively, but optimistically, waiting for conditions to improve. It involves trusting the organization and its management to “do the right thing.” d. Neglect. This response involves passively allowing conditions to worsen.

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

3. This model includes both typical performance variables and constructive behaviors that allow individuals to tolerate unpleasant situations.

F. Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB).

1. Substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socializing, PPT 2.14 gossiping, absenteeism, and tardiness are examples of behaviors that are destructive to organizations. They are indicators of a broader syndrome called counterproductive work behavior (CWB; related terms are .

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deviant behavior in the workplace, or simply withdrawal behavior; see Chapter 1).

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

4. As a manager, you can take steps to mitigate CWB. a. You can poll employee attitudes, for instance, and identify areas for workplace improvement. b. If there is no vocational fit, the employee will not be fulfilled, so you can try to screen for that to avoid a mismatch. c. Tailoring tasks to a person’s abilities and values should increase job satisfaction and reduce CWB. d. Furthermore, creating strong teams, integrating supervisors with them, providing formalized team policies, and introducing team-based incentives may help lower the CWB “contagion” that lowers the standards of the group 5. Absenteeism: There is a weak-to-moderate negative relationship between job satisfaction and absenteeism. Generally, when numerous alternative jobs are available, dissatisfied employees have high absence rates, but when there are few alternatives, dissatisfied employees have the same (low) rate of absence as satisfied employees.

6. Turnover: The relationship between job satisfaction and turnover is stronger than between satisfaction and absenteeism. a. Employees’ job embeddedness—connections to the job and community that result in an increased commitment to the organization—can be closely linked to their job satisfaction and the probability of turnover such that where job embeddedness is high, the probability of turnover decreases, particularly in collectivist (group-centered; see Chapter 3) cultures where membership in an organization is of high personal value. b. The satisfaction–turnover relationship also is affected by alternative job prospects. i. If an employee is presented with an unsolicited job offer, job dissatisfaction is less predictive of turnover because the employee is more likely leaving because of “pull” (the lure of the other job) than “push” (the unattractiveness of the current job). ii. Similarly, job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into turnover when employment opportunities are plentiful because employees perceive it is easy to move. Finally, when employees have high “human capital” (high education, high ability), job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into turnover because they have, or perceive, many available alternatives.

G. Understanding the Impact. .

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1. While there is much evidence that job satisfaction can affect

PPT 2.15

organizational outcomes, many managers still are unconcerned about the job satisfaction of their employees or they falsely believe employee satisfaction is high.

2. Job satisfaction must be a managerial priority and managers must measure it to manage it.

3. Regular surveys can reduce gaps between what managers think employees feel and what they really feel.

V. SUMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 2.16 A. Managers should be interested in their employees’ attitudes because attitudes influence behavior and indicate potential problems.

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

1. Of the major job attitudes—job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, POS, and employee engagement— remember that an employee’s job satisfaction level is the best single predictor of behavior.

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

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

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

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

Discussion Questions 1. Describe the three components of an attitude. Give an example for each.

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

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

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

2. What is the relationship between attitudes and behavior?

Answer: Leon Festinger believed that attitudes followed behavior due to cognitive dissonance. The negative feelings aroused when actions were not aligned with words caused the expressed attitudes to change. More commonly, recent research has shown that behavior follows attitudes. Therefore, it is important for managers to understand employee attitudes, so they may better predict behavior.

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

Answer: Job satisfaction is how an employee feels about the job. Job involvement is closely related to psychological empowerment, and describes how much a person “buys into” their job based on the job’s worth to that person and how much control the employee has over the job itself. Organizational commitment is similar to job involvement, but it shows how strongly the employee identifies with the .

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organization rather than with just the job. These three are the traditional attitudes studied by OB. Two additional attitudes are perceived organizational support (which measures how much an employee trusts the organization) and employee engagement, which measures how deeply involved the employees feel they are in their work. All of these attitudes may in fact be measuring the same basic underlying attitude toward work. To varying degrees, each of these attitudes positively affects job performance and organizational outcomes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Is job satisfaction a global concept?

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

Exercises

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

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

3. Teamwork. In small groups meet and discuss attitudes. As a warmup, work backward from behaviors you have evidenced in the past to what your attitude was toward that object, person, or event at that point in time. Then as a group, discuss how your attitudes changed toward various objects, persons, or events as the result of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center of 9/11. Prepare a list of the most commonly changed attitudes held by the group. Discuss how these attitudes were expressed in behaviors. Share your findings with the class. .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suggested Assignments

1. Discuss the small group findings of the cumulative case (No. 5 above) in class. Build up student understanding of the importance of perception in OB and management based on the survey results.

2. After the small group work, have the student write up the findings and the potential impact of those general findings in the firm the student is examining. (It is strongly suggested that the student NOT directly compare the employees of the firm with the supervisor of the firm to prevent potential problems.)

.

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Chapter 3

Emotions

Chapter Overview

PPT 3.2

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

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Differentiate between emotions and moods.

2. Identify the sources of emotions and moods.

3. Show the impact emotional labor has on employees.

4. Describe affective events theory and its applications.

5. Describe emotional intelligence.

6. Identify strategies for emotion regulation.

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

PPT 3.3

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION A. Emotions do have an effect on behavior. Nevertheless, until recently OB has not

given much research attention to the subject.

1. Wide-standing belief that emotions of any kind were thought to be disruptive in the work environment.

B. Certainly some emotions, particularly when exhibited at the wrong time, can hinder employee performance.

1. This doesn’t change the fact that employees bring their emotional sides with them to work every day and that no study of OB would be comprehensive without considering the role of emotions in workplace behavior.

II. WHAT ARE EMOTIONS AND MOODS? A. Emotional Terminology: 1. Three closely related terms must be defined before we can explore the subject.

Exhibit 3-1

a. Affect: the generic term that covers a broad range of

PPT 3.4

feelings that people experience. It's an umbrella concept that encompasses both emotions and moods. b. Emotion: the intense feelings that are directed at someone or something. .

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1) Emotions are more fleeting than moods.

2) Emotions tend to be clearly revealed through facial expressions and are often action-oriented.

3) Emotions are reactions to a person (seeing a friend at work may make

you feel glad) or an event (dealing with a rude client may make you feel angry).

4) You show your emotions when you’re “happy about something, angry at someone, afraid of something.” c. Moods: the feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and often lack a contextual stimulus.

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

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

3) Moods aren’t usually directed at a person or an event.

4) This affect state describes a mood. d. Exhibit 3-1 shows the relationships among affect, emotions, and mood.

2. Affect, emotions, and moods are separable in theory; in practice, the distinction isn’t always crystal clear. a. In some areas, researchers have studied mostly moods, in other areas mainly emotions. b. So, when we review the OB topics on emotions and moods, you may see more information on emotions in one area and on moods in another.

B. The Basic Emotions.

1. There are dozens of emotions.

PPT 3.5 a. Include anger, contempt, enthusiasm, envy, fear, frustration, disappointment, embarrassment, disgust, happiness, hate, hope, jealousy, joy, love, pride, surprise, and sadness. b. Numerous researchers have tried to limit them to a fundamental set.

1) But some argue that it makes no sense to think in terms of “basic” emotions because even emotions we rarely experience, such as shock, can have a powerful effect on us.

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

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

4. Psychologists have tried to identify basic emotions by studying how we express them. Of our myriad ways of expressing emotions, facial expressions have proved one of the most difficult to interpret. a. One problem is that some emotions are too complex to be easily represented on our faces. b. Second, people may not interpret emotions from vocalizations (such as sighs or screams) the same way across cultures.

5. Cultural differences regarding emotions can be apparent between countries that are individualistic and collectivistic—broad terms that describe the general outlook of people in a society. a. Individualistic countries are those in which people see themselves as independent and desire personal goals and personal control. .

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1) Individualistic values are present in North America and Western Europe,

for example, collectivistic countries are those in which people see themselves as interdependent and seek community and group goals. b. Collectivistic values are found in Asia, Africa, and South America C. Moral Emotions.

PPT 3.6 1. Researchers have been studying what are called moral emotions; that is, emotions that have moral implications because of our instant judgment of the situation that evokes them. a. Examples of moral emotions include sympathy for the suffering of others, guilt about our own immoral behavior, anger about injustice done to others, and contempt for those who behave unethically. b. Another example is the disgust we feel about violations of moral norms, called moral disgust. Moral disgust is different from disgust.

D. The Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect.

1. One way to classify emotions is whether they are positive or PPT 3.7 negative. a. Positive Emotions. Express a favorable evaluation or feeling, such as joy and gratitude.

1) Positive Affect: The mood dimension consisting of positive PPT 3.8 emotions such as excitement, self-assurance, and cheerfulness at the high end with boredom, sluggishness, and tiredness at the Exhibit 3.2 low end.

2) Negative Affect: The mood dimension consisting of nervousness, stress, and anxiety at the high end with relaxation, tranquility, and poise at the low end.

2. Experiencing Moods and Emotions. a. Positivity Offset: At zero input, when no stimulus is provided, most people experience a mildly positive mood. In fact, positive moods tend to PPT 3.9 be more common than negative ones.

1) The degree to which people experience positive and negative emotions can vary across cultures.

E. The Function of Emotions.

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

You might have been offended. b. These observations suggest rationality and emotion are in conflict, PPT 3.10 and that if you exhibit emotion you are likely to act irrationally. c. One team of authors argues that displaying emotions such as sadness to the point of crying is so toxic to a career that we should leave the room rather than allow others to witness it. d. These perspectives suggest the demonstration or even experience of emotions can make us seem weak, brittle, or irrational. e. However, research is increasingly showing that emotions are actually critical to rational thinking. There has been evidence of such a link for a long time. f. We must have the ability to experience emotions to be rational. g. Our emotions provide important information about how we understand the world around us. h. The key to good decision making is to employ both thinking and feeling in .

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our decisions.

2. Do Emotions Make Us Ethical? a. People who are behaving ethically are at least partially making decisions based upon their emotions and feelings.

F. Sources of Emotions and Moods.

1. Personality. Moods and emotions have a trait component: most people

PPT 3.11 have built-in tendencies to experience certain moods and emotions more frequently than others do. a. People also experience the same emotions with different intensities. b. People also differ in affect intensity, or how strongly they experience their emotions. c. Affectively intense people experience both positive and negative emotions more deeply: when they’re sad, they’re really sad, and when they’re happy, they’re really happy.

2. Day of the Week and Time of the Day. Mood and emotion can be affected by the timing of the stimulus.

PPT 3.12 a. Time. (See Exhibit 3-2) While we commonly think of morning or

Exhibit 3-2 evening people, the majority of the population tends to exhibit a similar pattern: moods start out low in the morning, peak during the day, and then decline in the evening.

1) No matter what time a person goes to bed or gets up in the PPT 3.13 morning, the peak of a positive mood effect typically occurs midway between waking and sleeping times.

2) Negative affect, however, shows little fluctuation throughout the day. b. Day. People tend to be in their worst moods (highest negative affect and lowest positive affect) early in the week and in their best moods later in the week.

1) This trend appears to be true in several other cultures as well (see Exhibit 3-3).

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

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

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5. Sleep. Sleep does affect mood. a. Sleep-deprived people report greater feelings of fatigue, anger, and hostility. b. Lack of sleep also impairs decision making, makes it difficult to control

emotions, and can affect job satisfaction the next day.

6. Exercise. Research has shown that exercise does enhance people's positive mood.

PPT 3.14 a. This effect is strongest in people who are depressed. b. However, while consistent, the effect of exercise on mood is not very strong.

7. Age. Negative emotions tend to occur less often as people get older. a. Positive moods last longer for older individuals, and bad moods tend to fade more quickly. b. This may be due to the increased emotional experience given by age.

8. Sex. Many believe women are more emotional than men. Is there any truth to this? a. Evidence does confirm women are more emotionally expressive than men; they experience emotions more intensely, they tend to “hold onto” emotions longer than men, and they display more frequent expressions of both positive and negative emotions, except anger. b. Thus, there are some gender differences in the experience and expression of emotions. c. These gender differences may be caused more by socialization than by innate generic abilities.

III. EMOTIONAL LABOR A. Jobs require emotional labor, an employee’s expression of PPT 3.15 organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work.

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

2. At the least, your managers expect you to be courteous, not hostile, in your interactions with coworkers.

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

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

3. In contrast, displayed emotions are those that the PPT 3.16 organization requires workers to show and considers appropriate in a given job. a. They’re not innate; they’re learned. b. Effective managers have learned to be serious when giving an employee a negative performance evaluation and to hide their anger when they’ve been passed over for promotion.

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

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

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

felt emotions.

3) Research shows surface acting is more stressful to employees because it entails feigning their true emotions. b. Deep acting is trying to modify our true inner feelings based on display rules.

1) A health care provider trying to genuinely feel more empathy for her patients is deep acting.

2) Displaying emotions we don’t really feel is exhausting, so it is important to give employees who engage in surface displays a chance to relax and recharge.

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

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

1) Research in the Netherlands and Belgium indicates that while surface acting was stressful to employees, mindfulness—objectively and deliberately evaluating our emotional situation in the moment—was negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion and positively affected job satisfaction IV. AFFECTIVE EVENTS THEORY A. We’ve seen that emotions and moods are important parts of our PPT 3.17 personal lives and our work lives. But how do they influence our job performance and satisfaction?

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

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

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

3. AET offers two important messages. a. First, emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace events influence employee performance and satisfaction. b. Second, employees and managers shouldn’t ignore emotions or the events that cause them, even when they appear minor, PPT 3.18 because they accumulate.

V. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE A. Emotional Intelligence (EI): a person’s ability to (1) perceive emotions in the self and others, (2) understand the meaning of these PPT 3.19 emotions, and (3) regulate one’s emotions accordingly in a cascading model (Exhibit 3-4). Self-aware people tend to be good at reading .

Exhibit 3-4

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emotion cues. High EI is moderately associated with high job performance.

B. Several studies suggest EI plays an important role in job performance.

1. One study that used functional magnetic resonance imaging

PPT 3.20

technology found that executive MBA students who performed best on a strategic decision-making task were more likely to incorporate emotion centers of the brain into their choice processes.

2. One simulation study showed that students who were good at identifying and distinguishing among their own feelings were able to make more profitable investment decisions.

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

1. One relates to proving what EI may predict. For example, while evidence indicates that EI correlates with job performance, the correlation isn’t high and is explained to a large degree by traits such as emotional stability.

2. A second question is about the reliability of EI testing. For example, part of the reason EI has only a modest correlation with job effectiveness is that it is hard to measure — mostly it is measured with self-report inventories, which of course are often far from objective!

EMOTION REGULATION VI. A. Emotion Regulation: identifying and modifying the emotions you PPT 3.21 feel.

B. Emotion Regualation Influences and Outcomes.

1. Not everyone is equally good at regulating emotions. Individuals who are higher

in the personality trait of neuroticism (see Chapter 4) have more trouble doing so and often find their moods are beyond their ability to control.

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

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

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

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

C. Emotion Regulation Techniques.

1. Researchers of emotion regulation often study the strategies people employ to change their emotions. a. One related technique of emotion regulation is emotional suppression, literally suppressing—blocking or ignoring—initial emotional responses to situations. b. This response seems to facilitate practical thinking in the short term. c. However, it appears to be helpful only when a strongly negative event would elicit a distressed emotional reaction in a crisis situation. .

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2. While emotion regulation techniques can help us cope with difficult workplace

situations, research indicates that the effect varies.

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

D. Ethics of Emotion Regulation.

1. Emotion regulation has important ethical implications.

2. On one end of the continuum, some people might argue that controlling your emotions is unethical because it requires a degree of acting.

3. On the other end, people might argue that all emotions should be controlled so you can take a dispassionate perspective. Both arguments—and all arguments in between—have ethical pros and cons you will have to decide for yourself.

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

PPT 3.22 1. Employers should consider EI as a factor in the hiring process, especially in jobs that demand a high degree of social interaction.

B. Decision Making.

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

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

2. OB researchers continue to debate the role of negative emotions and moods in decision making. a. Despite some evidence to the contrary, people experiencing bad moods or negative emotions are more likely to take a significant amount of time to make a decision and may not come up with a better solution than would people in good moods.

C. Creativity.

1. People in good moods tend to be more creative than people in bad moods.

2. They produce more ideas and more options, and others think their ideas are original. a. It seems people experiencing positive moods or emotions are more flexible and open in their thinking, which may explain why they’re more creative.

D. Motivation.

1. Several studies have highlighted the importance of moods PPT 3.23 and emotions on motivation.

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

3. One study looked at the moods of insurance sales agents in Taiwan. a. Agents in a good mood were more helpful toward their coworkers and also felt better about themselves. b. These factors in turn led to superior performance in the form of higher sales and better supervisor reports of performance.

E. Leadership.

1. Effective leaders rely on emotional appeals to help convey their messages. .

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a. In fact, the expression of emotions in speeches is often the critical element

that makes us accept or reject a leader’s message.

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

F. Customer Service.

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

2. Providing quality customer service makes demands on employees because it often puts them in a state of emotional dissonance.

3. Over time, this state can lead to job burnout, declines in job performance, and lower job satisfaction.

4. Employees’ emotions can transfer to the customer.

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

G. Job Attitudes. Ever hear the advice “Never take your work home with you,” meaning you should forget about work once you go PPT 3.24 home?

1. Several studies have shown people who had a good day at work tend to be in a better mood at home that evening, and vice versa.

2. People who have a stressful day at work also have trouble relaxing after they get off work.

3. As most married readers might suspect, if one member of the couple was in a negative mood during the workday, that mood spilled over to the spouse at night.

4. In other words, if you’ve had a bad day at work, your spouse is likely to have an unpleasant evening. Even though people do emotionally take their work home with them, however, by the next day the effect is usually gone.

H. Deviant Workplace Behaviors.

1. Anyone who has spent much time in an organization realizes people often behave in ways that violate established norms and threaten the organization, its members, or both. a. These counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs; see Chapter 2) can be traced to negative emotions and can take many forms. Many can be traced to negative emotions.

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

2) An envious employee could backstab another employee, negatively distort others’ successes, and positively distort his own .

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accomplishments.

3) Angry people look for other people to blame for their bad mood,

interpret other people’s behavior as hostile, and have trouble considering others’ point of view. b. Evidence suggests people who feel negative emotions, particularly anger or hostility, are more likely than others to engage in deviant behavior at work.

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

I. Safety and Injury at Work.

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

VIII. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 3.25 A. Emotions and moods are relevant for virtually every OB topic.

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

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

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

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

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

Discussion Questions 1. Describe the three major emotional terms. How are they related and how do they differ?

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

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

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

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

Moods and emotions are related to each other, and exhibit a mutual influence. An emotion, once it dissipates, can turn into a mood. Moods can affect the intensity of an emotional experience; that is, the degree to which an emotion is expressed in a .

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

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given situation. In reality, the distinction between moods and emotions is often difficult to make.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Answer: While emotions themselves may be universal, the expression and interpretation of them are culturally bound. Managers must be aware of local cultural norms of expression and interpretation in order to avoid sending the wrong signals to locals or misinterpreting their responses.

The examples will vary.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Using the three components of emotional intelligence (EI), rate yourself on your ability to successfully interact with others. Choose your weakest area and provide three suggestions for improving that dimension of EI. 2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term "emotions in the workplace" and find five webpages related to this chapter. Read the webpages and write up a two-page analysis of what you learned regarding the proper .

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expression of emotions and moods in the workplace. Ensure you note if the webpages were in conflict with the guidance given in the textbook or agreed with it.

Exceptional students will seek out cultural differences as well.

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

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

Suggested Assignment

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

The instructor will act as the debate moderator.

The purpose of this debate is to explore the ramifications of mood and emotion in the workplace as expressed in the concept of EI. Setup. a. Each half of the class has 30 minutes to prepare their initial points regarding their position. The instructor may choose to give the pro and con positions to either half of the class or the instructor may let the class decide which position each half takes. b. The proposition before the floor is "Should emotional intelligence, as a concept, be removed from the study of organizational behavior?" c. The spokespeople should be prepared to present their five-minute arguments regarding their position on the proposition. d. The moderator should explain the rules in front of the class to the judges: the judges are to make their final decision based solely on the arguments presented during the session and the strength of those arguments. e. The moderator will keep time during each presentation and will stop the spokesperson when time is up. Pro position should start first. Each side will be allowed to give their arguments without interruption. Notes and written suggestions may be passed from the group to the spokesperson. f. For the rebuttal, there are a number of options: i. Allow a second person from each side to rebut the arguments first given by the other side. Length of rebuttal should be two minutes. ii. Keep the same spokespersons and still limit the rebuttal to two minutes, or iii. Open the rebuttal to the two large groups: to do this effectively, allow five questions per side. Moderator selects questions by recognizing one of the members of a large group. A volunteer from .

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the opposing group is allowed to answer the question. The volunteer may be aided verbally or with notes by his or her group.

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

.

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Chapter 4

Personality Factors

Chapter Overview

PPT 4.2

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

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors PPT 4.3 that shape it.

2. Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality framework and the Big Five model, 3. Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.

4. Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.

5. Contrast terminal and instrumental values.

6. Describe the differences between person-job fit and person-organization fit.

7. Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) framework.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. PERSONALITY A. What Is Personality?

1. Personality. When psychologists talk of personality,

PPT 4.4

they mean a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system.

2. Defining Personality: Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to, and interacts with, others — described in terms of measurable traits. a. Early work on personality tried to identify and label enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior including shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid.

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

3. Assessing Personality: Personality assessments have been increasingly used in diverse organizational settings.

.

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a. In fact, 8 of the top 10 U.S. private companies and 57 percent of all large

U.S. companies use them, including Xerox, McDonald’s, and Lowe’s. b. Schools such as DePaul University have also begun to use personality tests in their admissions process. c. Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best for a job.

4. Measuring Results: The most common means of PPT 4.5 measuring personality is through self-report surveys: 1) Individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors.

2) Potentially inaccurate due to falsehoods, impression management, or the momentary emotional state of the candidate.

5. Culture and Ratings: Research indicates our culture influences the way we rate ourselves. a. People in individualistic countries (see Chapter 3) like the United States and Australia trend toward self-enhancement, while people in collectivistic countries (see Chapter 3) like Taiwan, China, and South Korea trend toward self-diminishment.

6. Self-Reports and Observer-Ratings: Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality. a. Here, a coworker or another observer does the rating. b. Though the results of self-reports and observer-ratings surveys are strongly correlated, research suggests observer-ratings surveys predict job success more than self-ratings alone. c. However, each can tell us something unique about an individual’s behavior, so a combination of self-reports and observer-ratings predicts performance 7. Personality Determinants: Personality appears to be development of both hereditary and environmental factors. Of the two, heredity seems to have the most impact. a. Heredity: These are factors determined at conception PPT 4.6 such as physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms.

1) The heredity approach argues that personality is determined at the chromosome level.

2) As people grow older, their personalities do change.

3) However, this change is more in terms of level of ability than it is in changes in the actual ranking of the behavioral traits themselves— which are very stable over time.

B. PERSONALITY FRAMEWORKS 1. Many of our behaviors stem from our personalities, so understanding the components of personality helps us predict behavior. Important theoretical frameworks and assessment tools, discussed next, help us categorize and study the dimensions of personality.

2. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

PPT 4.7 3. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used instrument in the world. Respondents are

.

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asked a series of situational questions and their answers are categorized on four scales to determine personality type. a. Four Classification Scales: 1) Extraverted versus Introverted (E or I). People scoring higher on the extraverted side of the scale are more outgoing, social, and assertive while those on the introvert side are quiet and shy.

2) Sensing versus Intuitive (S or N). Sensing individuals are practical, enjoy order, and are detail oriented. Intuitive people are more big picture oriented and rely on gut feelings.

3) Thinking versus Feeling (T or F). This scale is important in decision making: thinkers use reason and logic while feelers use emotions and their own personal values to make decisions.

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

1) Introverted/Intuitive/Thinking/Judging people (INTJs) are visionaries. a) They usually have original minds and great drive for their own ideas and purposes. b) They are skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn.

2) ESTJs are organizers. a) They are realistic, logical, analytical, and decisive and have a natural head for business or mechanics. b) They like to organize and run activities.

3) The ENTP type is a conceptualizer, a) They are innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. b) This person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments.

4. In spite of its popularity, evidence is mixed about the MBTI’s validity as a measure of personality—with most of the evidence suggesting it isn’t. a. One problem is that it forces a person into either one type or another (that is, you’re either introverted or extraverted). b. There is no in-between, though people can be both extraverted and introverted to some degree. c. The best we can say is that the MBTI can be a valuable tool for increasing self-awareness and providing career guidance. d. But because results tend to be unrelated to job performance, managers probably shouldn’t use it as a selection test for job candidates.

C. The Big Five Personality Model.

1. The Big Five Model of personality has an PPT 4.8 impressive body of research that supports it.

2. The model (particularly one factor,

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

3. Five Factors. a. Extraversion: Deals with the comfort level with relationships.

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

2) Scoring high in this factor means the respondent is more gregarious, assertive, and sociable.

3) Introverts tend to be reserved, timid, and quiet.

4) Extraverts tend to be happy in their jobs but may be impulsive and absent themselves from work to take on some other, more sensational tasks. b. Agreeableness: Measures deference toward others.

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

2) Agreeable workers are less likely to be involved in drugs and excessive drinking. c. Conscientiousness: Measures reliability.

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

2) Low scorers are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.

3) Not surprisingly, this is the key determinant of job performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) on the Big Five.

4) However, conscientious people also tend not to take risks and may find organizational change difficult to handle. d. Emotional Stability (or Neuroticism – its opposite): Measures ability to handle stress.

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

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

3) They often have higher life and job satisfaction. Low emotional stability scorers tend to be nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure.

4) Yet, surprisingly, low-scoring people make better and faster decisions when in a bad mood than do stable people. e. Openness to Experience: Measures the range of interests and fascination with novelty, a proxy for creativity.

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

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

3) People high in this factor deal better with organizational change and are more adaptable.

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

Exhibit 4-1 a. Research on the Big Five has found relationships between these personality dimensions and job performance.

PPT 4.9 b. Conscientiousness at Work: 1) Employees who score higher in conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge; probably because highly conscientious

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people learn more (conscientiousness was rather strongly related to GPA).

2) Higher levels of job knowledge then contribute to higher levels of job performance.

3) Despite pitfalls, conscientiousness is the best overall predictor of job performance. However, the other Big Five traits are also related to aspects of performance and have other implications for work and for life.

Exhibit 4-1 summarizes these other relations. c. Emotional Stability at Work: Of the Big Five traits, emotional stability is most strongly related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels. d. Emotional Stability at Work: Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in their lives as a whole.

1) They experience more positive emotions than do introverts, and they more freely express these feelings.

2) Extraversion at Work: Extraverts tend to perform better in jobs that require significant interpersonal interaction. a) Finally, extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence in groups; extraverts are more socially dominant, take charge sorts of people, and they are generally more assertive than introverts. b) One downside of extraversion is that extraverts are more impulsive than introverts; they are more likely to be absent from work and engage in risky behavior such as unprotected sex, drinking, and other impulsive or sensation-seeking acts.

3) Openness at Work: Individuals who score high on openness to experience are more creative in science and art than those who score low. a) They also are more comfortable with ambiguity and change than those who score lower on this trait.

4) Agreeableness at Work: You might expect agreeable people to be happier than disagreeable people. a) And they are, but only slightly. b) When people choose romantic partners, friends, or organizational team members, agreeable individuals are usually their first choice. c) Agreeable individuals are better liked than disagreeable people, which explains why they tend to do better in interpersonally oriented jobs such as customer service. d) They also are more compliant and rule abiding and less likely to get into accidents as a result. e) Agreeable children do better in school and as adults are less likely to get involved in drugs or excessive drinking. f) They are also less likely to engage in organizational deviance.

One downside of agreeableness is that it is associated with lower levels of career success (especially earnings). g) Agreeable individuals may be poorer negotiators; they are so concerned with pleasing others that they often don’t negotiate as much for themselves as they might.

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5) In general, the Big Five personality factors appear in almost all cross-

cultural studies, including China, Israel, Germany, Japan, Spain, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, and the United States. e. The Dark Triad.

PPT 4.10 1) Research indicates the Big Five traits have the most verifiable linkages to important organizational outcomes, but neither are they the only traits a person exhibits nor are they the only ones with organizational behavior implications.

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

Researchers have labeled these traits the Dark Triad. b. Machiavellianism: 1) (often abbreviated Mach) Named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use power.

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

3) A considerable amount of research has related high- and low-Mach personalities to behavioral outcomes.

4) High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more than do low Machs.

5) Yet high-Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors. High Machs flourish: a) when they interact face to face with others rather than indirectly; b) when the situation has a minimal number of rules and regulations, allowing latitude for improvisation; and c) when emotional involvement with details irrelevant to winning distracts low Machs.

6) Thus, whether high Machs make good employees depends on the type of job.

7) In jobs that require bargaining skills (such as labor negotiation) or that offer substantial rewards for winning (such as commissioned sales), high Machs will be productive.

8) But if ends can’t justify the means, there are absolute standards of behavior, or the three situational factors we noted are not in evidence, our ability to predict a high Mach’s performance will be severely curtailed. c. Narcissism.

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

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

3) Narcissism can have pretty toxic consequences. a) A study found that although narcissists thought they were better leaders than their colleagues, their supervisors actually rated them as worse.

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b) For example, an Oracle executive described that company’s CEO

Larry Ellison as follows: “The difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is Larry.”

4) Because narcissists often want to gain the admiration of others and receive affirmation of their superiority, they tend to “talk down” to those who threaten them, treating others as if they were inferior.

5) Narcissists also tend to be selfish and exploitive and believe others exist for their benefit.

6) Their bosses rate them as less effective at their jobs than others, particularly when it comes to helping other people. d. Psychopathy.

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

2) The literature is not consistent about whether psychopathy or other aberrant personality traits are important to work behavior.

3) Given the newness of research on the Dark Triad, using psychopathology scores for employment decisions may carry more risks for now than rewards. Organizations wishing to assess psychopathy or other traits need to exercise caution. e. Other Traits.

1) The Dark Triad is a helpful framework for studying the three dominant dark-side traits in current personality research, and researchers are exploring other traits as well. a) One emerging framework incorporates five additional aberrant compound traits based on the Big Five.

(1) First, antisocial people are indifferent and callous toward others.

They use their extraversion to charm people, but they may be prone to violent counterproductive work behaviors and risky decision making.

(2) Second, borderline people have low self-esteem and high uncertainty. They are unpredictable in their interactions at work, are inefficient, and may have low job satisfaction.

(3) Third, schizotypal individuals are eccentric and disorganized. In the workplace, they can be highly creative, although they are susceptible to work stress.

(4) Fourth, obsessive-compulsive people are perfectionists and can be stubborn, yet they attend to details, carry a strong work ethic, and may be motivated by achievement.

(5) Fifth, avoidant individuals feel inadequate and hate criticism.

They can function only in environments requiring little interaction.

E. Other Personality Traits Relevant to organizational behavior.

PPT 4.11 1. Core Self-Evaluation.

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a. This is a measure of the degree to which a person likes or dislikes him- or

herself. b. Positive core self-evaluators like themselves and see themselves as being effective, capable, and in charge of their environment. They tend to perform better because they set ambitious goals and persist at achieving them. c. Negative evaluators tend to dislike themselves, question their capabilities, and view themselves as powerless over their environment.

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

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

People with low self-monitoring tend to have high behavioral consistency while high self-monitors can appear chameleon-like to their coworkers.

2) High self-monitors tend to get better performance ratings, take leadership positions, are more mobile, and take up central positions in their organizations, even though they have less commitment to their organization.

3. Proactive Personality. a. Individuals with proactive personalities tend to identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. b. People with this personality attribute are highly prized by organizations for obvious reasons. c. They are often leaders or change agents and will challenge the status quo. d. Proactive people tend to have successful careers but may not be a good match for organizations who do not value change.

F. Personality and Situations.

1. Interestingly, we are learning that the effect of particular PPT 4.12 traits in organizational behavior depends on the situation.

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

2. Situation Strength Theory. a. Situation strength theory proposes that the way PPT 4.13 personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation. By situation strength, we mean the degree to which norms, cues, or standards dictate appropriate behavior.

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

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

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

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

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

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3) Constraints: the extent to which individuals’ freedom to decide or act is

limited by forces outside their control.

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

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

2) People do differ, so what works well for one person might work poorly for another.

3. Trait Activation Theory (TAT). a. Trait Activation Theory (TAT) predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than others (Exhibit 4-2).

1) Research shows that in a supportive environment, everyone behaves prosocially, but in an environment that is not so nice, whether an individual has the personality to behave prosocially makes a major difference. b. Together, situation strength and trait activation theories show Exhibit 4-2 that the debate over nature versus nurture might best be framed as nature and nurture. Not only does each affect behavior, but PPT 4.14 they interact with one another.

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

II. VALUES A. Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially PPT 4.15 preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or endstate of existence.

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

2. Values have both content and intensity attributes. a. The content attribute says a mode of conduct or endPPT 4.16 state of existence is important. b. The intensity attribute specifies how important it is. c. When we rank an individual’s values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that person’s value system.

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

4. Values tend to be relatively stable and enduring.

5. Values lay the foundation for understanding people's attitudes, motivation, and behavior.

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6. They influence our perceptions.

7. Values can cloud objectivity and rationality.

B. Terminal versus Instrumental Values.

1. Values can be classified by instruments such as the

Rokeach Value Survey (RVS).

PPT 4.17 2. This instrument consists of two sets of values. a. The sets are terminal and instrumental values.

1) Terminal Values. Focuses on desirable end-states; goals a person would like to achieve.

2) Instrumental Values. Lists preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving terminal values.

C. Generational Values.

1. Researchers have integrated several analyses of work values into groups that

attempt to capture the shared views of different cohorts or generations in the U.S. workforce.

2. You will surely be familiar with the labels—for example, baby boomers, genxers, millennials—some of which are used internationally. a. It is important to remember that while categories are helpful, they represent trends not the beliefs of individuals.

III. LINKING AN INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONALITY AND VALUES TO THE WORKPLACE Managers have become concerned with matching both the personality and the values of an employee with those of the organization. The hope is to identify workers who are both flexible and committed to the organization.

A. Person-Job Fit. 1. Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory: a. Holland identified six personality types and proposed that PPT 4.18 job satisfaction and propensity to leave depend on how well the job and personalities are matched (congruency). b. Social individuals belong in jobs requiring social skills and so on. c. Vocational Preference Inventory Questionnaire.

1) This was the tool Holland used to identify congruent occupations.

2) The six personality types (or fields in Holland’s PPT 4.19 terminology) are laid out on a hexagon.

3) Fields that lie adjacent to each other are similar; Exhibit 4-3 those diagonally opposite are highly dissimilar.

4) Appropriate jobs for that personality (that is, those jobs that are congruent to the field) are listed either within the field’s segment of the hexagon or in a separate document.

d. There are cultural implications for person–job fit that speak to workers’ expectations that jobs will be tailored to them.

1) In individualistic countries where workers expect to be heard and respected by management, increasing person–job fit by tailoring the job to the person increases the individual’s job satisfaction.

2) However, in collectivistic countries, person–job fit is a weaker predictor of job satisfaction because people do not expect to have jobs tailored to them, so they value person–job fit efforts less.

B. Person-Organization Fit.

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1. The understanding that a person must be a good match to

PPT 4.20 the organization itself has become increasingly important to managers.

2. The person-organization fit concept argues that employees are more likely to leave an organization when their personalities do not match the organizational culture rather than when their skills or personalities are a good match with a particular job.

3. The alignment of an employee’s personality and values with an organization’s culture is positively related to increased job satisfaction, lower turnover, and higher organizational commitment.

4. By testing and selecting based on this concept, managers can increase organizational outcomes.

C. Other Dimensions of Fit. 1. Although person–job fit and person–organization fit are considered the most salient dimensions for workplace outcomes, other avenues of fit are worth examining.

2. These include person–group fit and person–supervisor fit. a. Person–group fit is important in team settings, where the dynamics of team interactions significantly affect work outcomes. b. Person–supervisor fit has become an important area of research since poor fit in this dimension can lead to lower job satisfaction and reduced performance.

3. All dimensions of fit are sometimes broadly referred to as person–environment fit. Each dimension can predict work attitudes, which are partially based on culture.

IV. CULTURAL VALUES A. Because values differ across cultures, an understanding of the differences would be helpful in explaining and predicting PPT 4.21 behavior of employees from different countries. Two frameworks to assess culture are Hofstede’s Framework and the GLOBE studies.

B. Hofstede’s Framework.

1. Examines five value dimensions of national culture. While there PPT 4.22 are many criticisms of this framework, it is one of the most widely read and accepted in OB (Exhibit 4-4). a. Power Distance: The degree to which people accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed PPT 4.23 unequally.

1) High power distance means that great inequities in

Exhibit 4-4

power and wealth are tolerated.

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

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

2) Collectivism emphasizes a tight social framework in which people expect group members to look after and protect them.

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c. Masculinity/Femininity: The value a culture places on traditional gender roles.

1) Masculine societies have men dominating society, separate roles for

men and women, and expressly value achievement, power, and control.

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

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

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

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

2) Short-term cultures are immediate and accept change more readily.

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

3. Hofstede’s framework is not without its critics, but it is still highly influential.

C. The GLOBE Framework.

PPT 4.24 1. A relatively recent and on-going program of research, this framework uses nine dimensions of national culture. a. Some dimensions – such as power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, gender differentiation, and future orientation can be seen as an extension of Hofstede’s framework. b. The main difference is that the GLOBE framework added dimensions such as humane orientation (the degree individuals are rewarded for fair, generous, and altruistic behaviors) and performance orientation (the degree to which group members are rewarded for performance improvement and excellence).

2. Comparison of Hofstede’s Framework and the GLOBE Framework. a. Which framework is better? That is hard to say, and each has its supporters.

V. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Personality. Managers need to evaluate the job, the work PPT 4.25 group, and the organization in order to determine what the optimum Big Five personality type would be for a new employee. The MBTI could be helpful in training and development.

B. Values. Values strongly influence attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions, so knowing a person’s values may help improve prediction of behavior.

C. Additionally, matching an individual’s values to organizational culture can result in positive organizational outcomes.

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

2. Although the MBTI has faults, you can use it in training and development to help employees better understand themselves, help team members better

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understand each other, and open up communication in work groups and possibly reduce conflicts.

3. Evaluate jobs, work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal personality fit.

4. Take into account employees’ situational factors when evaluating their observable personality traits, and lower the situation strength to better ascertain personality characteristics.

5. The more you consider people’s different cultures, the better you will be able to determine their work behavior and create a positive organizational climate that performs well.

Discussion Questions

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

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

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

Perceivers are more flexible and spontaneous.

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

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

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

3) Conscientiousness: measures reliability. 4) Emotional Stability (or Neuroticism – its opposite): measures ability to handle stress. 5) Openness to Experience: measures the range of interests and fascination with novelty, a proxy for creativity.

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

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

Values lay the foundation for understanding people's attitudes, motivation, and behavior. They influence our perceptions. Values can cloud objectivity and

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rationality. It is important to know values so that managers can better predict behavior.

5. Describe the relationship between terminal and instrumental values.

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

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

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

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

Exercises

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

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

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

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

Compile your results and share them with the class.

3. Analyzing your Organization (Cumulative Project). Select a free web-based version of the MBTI, Big Five, or Holland assessment tool. Take the assessment and ask five of your coworkers and your supervisor to also take the assessment. Have them share the results with you. Based on these results, consider the following questions:

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a. How good a “match” are you with your coworkers and supervisor in terms of personality? b. Does your supervisor have a personality that is a good fit for the leadership position in your particular organization? c. What sort of personality should be hired in your organization if a vacancy occurs in your workgroup?

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

Suggested Assignment

Divide the class into groups of three to five students. Ask them to go to http://www.buzzle.com/articles/personality-types-a-b-c.html and read about this resource’s definition of four different personality types. Ask the student groups to discuss the four types as they relate to people who work at your university. Have them create a table that shows the following: Person’s Position

Person’s Approx. Age

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

Person’s Personality Type

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

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Chapter 5 Perceptual Processes

Perceptual Processes

Chapter Overview

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Chapter 5

PPT 5.2 The old saying is that “perception is reality” and managers must learn what “reality” their workers are reacting to in order to effectively predict behavior. This chapter examines how perception acts to create an employee’s view of reality and modifies decision making.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 5.3 1. Explain the factors that influence perception.

2. Describe attribution theory.

3. Explain the link between perception and decision making.

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

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

6. Contrast the three ethical decision criteria.

7. Describe the three-stage model of creativity.

Suggested Lecture Outline I.

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

II. WHAT IS PERCEPTION? A. Perception is a process by which individuals organize and PPT 5.4 interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. a. However, what we perceive can be substantially different from objective reality. b. For example, all employees in a firm may view it as a great place to work— favorable working conditions, interesting job assignments, good pay, excellent benefits, understanding and responsible management—but, as most of us know, it’s very unusual to find such agreement. c. The study of perception is important simply because people’s behavior is based on their perceptions of what reality is, not on reality itself. d. The world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviorally important.

B. Factors Influencing Perception. a. Perceiver. When you look at a target and attempt to PPT 5.5 interpret what you see, your interpretation is heavily influenced by your personal characteristics. .

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a. Characteristics that affect perception include your attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations. b. Target. The object being perceived. a. Characteristics of the target will affect how it is perceived. b. Things that are bright, beautiful, loud, or unusual are far more likely to be noticed. c. The relationship of the target to its background influences perception as does the human trait of grouping similar things together. c. Context. The context in which the perception is made. a. The context (time, location, light, heat, the appropriateness of attire) can influence the extent of perception of a target.

C. Person Perception: Making Judgments About Others. a. Organizational behavior (OB) is concerned with people perception because how people see each other can, in large part, determine how well these individuals can work together and indicate an organization’s level of potential conflict. a. Person perception: the perceptions people form about each other. b. Attribution Theory. a. Nonliving objects such as desks, machines, and PPT 5.6 buildings are subject to the laws of nature, but they have no beliefs, motives, or intentions. People do.

1) That’s why when we observe people, we attempt to explain why they behave in certain ways.

2) Our perception and judgment of a person’s actions therefore will be significantly influenced by the assumptions we make about that person’s internal state.

3) Attribution theory tries to explain the ways we judge people differently, depending on the meaning we attribute to a behavior b. Internal and External Causation. Attribution theory suggests that when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was internally or externally caused.

1) Behaviors that are believed to be under the personal control of the individual are internally caused.

2) Behaviors that are believed to be outside of the personal control of the individual are externally caused. The person is forced into the behavior by outside causes. c. Distinctiveness, Consensus, and Consistency.

1) Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual PPT 5.7 displays different behaviors in different situations. a) Is the employee who arrives late today also the one coworkers say regularly blows off commitments?

(1) What we want to know is whether this behavior is unusual.

(2) If it is, we are likely to give it an external attribution.

(3) If it’s not, we will probably judge the behavior to be internal.

2) Consensus is if everyone who faces a similar situation responds in the same way. a) The behavior of a tardy employee meets this criterion if all employees who took the same route to work were also late. b) From an attribution perspective, if consensus is high, you would probably give an external attribution to the employee’s tardiness. .

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

3) Consistency. a) An observer looks for consistency in a person’s actions.

(1) Coming in 10 minutes late for work is not perceived in the same way for an employee who hasn’t been late for several months as it is for an employee who is late two or three times a week.

(2) The more consistent the behaviors, the more we are inclined to attribute it to internal causes. d. Exhibit 5-1 summarizes the key elements in attribution Exhibit 5-1 theory.

1) It tells us, for instance, that if an employee, Katelyn, generally performs at about the same level on other PPT 5.8 related tasks as she does on her current task (low distinctiveness), other employees frequently perform differently—better or worse—than Katelyn does on that current task (low consensus), and Kim’s performance on this current task is consistent over time (high consistency), anyone judging Katelyn’s work will likely hold her primarily responsible for her task performance (internal attribution).

2) One of the most interesting findings from attribution theory research is that errors or biases distort attributions. a) When we make judgments about the behavior of other people, we tend to underestimate the PPT 5.9 influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors.

(1) This fundamental attribution error can explain why a sales manager is prone to attribute the poor performance of her sales agents to laziness rather than to the innovative product line introduced by a competitor. b) Individuals and organizations also tend to attribute their own successes to internal factors such as ability or effort, while putting the blame for failure on external factors such as bad luck or unproductive coworkers.

(1) This is the self-serving bias. c) The evidence on cultural differences in perception is mixed but generally indicates that there are differences across cultures in the attributions people make.

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

(2) However, while self-serving biases are less common in East Asian cultures, they do still exist. c. Common Shortcuts in Judging Others. a. We use a number of shortcuts when we judge others.

PPT 5.10 1) These techniques are frequently valuable: they allow us to make accurate perceptions rapidly and provide valid data for making predictions. a) Understanding these shortcuts can help you recognize when they can result in significant distortions. .

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b. Selective Perception. Selective perception allows us to speed-read others, but not without the risk of drawing an inaccurate picture.

1) Any characteristic that makes a person, an object, or an event stand out will increase the probability that we will perceive it.

2) It is impossible for us to assimilate everything we see; we can take in only certain stimuli. a) This tendency explains why you’re more likely to notice cars like your own or why a boss may reprimand some people and not others who are doing the same thing. b) Because we can’t observe everything going on about us, we engage in selective perception.

3) Because we see what we want to see, we can draw unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation. c. Halo Effect. Drawing an overall impression based on a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability, or appearance.

1) Halo effects can falsely enhance or reduce the perceived overall characteristics of an individual.

2) This effect can also result in a negative impression. d. Contrast Effect. Contrast effect can distort perceptions.

1) We don’t evaluate a person in isolation.

2) Other persons we have recently encountered influence our reaction to a person. e. Stereotyping. Judging an individual based on the perception of a group to which the target belongs is known as stereotyping.

1) We rely on generalizations every day because they help us make decisions quickly; they are a means of simplifying a complex world. It’s less difficult to deal with an unmanageable number of stimuli if we use heuristics or stereotypes.

2) The problem occurs, of course, when we generalize inaccurately or too much. In organizations, we frequently hear comments that represent stereotypes based on gender, age, race, religion, ethnicity, and even weight.

3) Stereotypes can be deeply ingrained and powerful enough to influence life-and-death decisions. a) One study, controlling for a wide array of factors (such as aggravating or mitigating circumstances), showed that the degree to which black defendants in murder trials looked stereotypically black essentially doubled their odds of receiving a death sentence if convicted.

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

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

PPT 5.11 a. That is, a discrepancy exists between the current state of affairs and some desired state, requiring us to consider alternative courses of action. b. Most problems don’t come neatly labeled “problem.” a. One person’s problem is another person’s satisfactory state of affairs. .

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b. So awareness that a problem exists and that a decision might or might not be needed is a perceptual issue. c. Every decision requires us to interpret and evaluate information.

1) We typically receive data from multiple sources and need to screen, process, and interpret it.

2) The decision maker’s perceptions will answer that question, “Which data are relevant to the decision, and which are not?” d. We also need to develop alternatives and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

1) Again, the individual’s perceptual process will affect the final outcome.

2) Finally, throughout the entire decision-making process, perceptual distortions often surface that can bias analysis and conclusions.

IV. DECISION MAKING IN ORGANIZATIONS A. Business schools generally train students to follow rational decision-making models. a. Although these models have considerable merit, they don’t always describe how people actually make decisions. b. This is where OB enters the picture: to improve how we make decisions in organizations, we must understand the decision-making errors people commit (in addition to the perception errors we’ve discussed).

B. The Rational Model, Bounded Rationality, and Intuition a. Rational Decision Making. Making consistent, value-maximizing choices within specified constraints. a. Rational decision-making model: This model has six steps that lead to an optimal solution.

PPT 5.12 1) The Six Steps of the Model: a) Define the problem.

Exhibit 5-2 b) Identify decision criteria. c) Weight the previously identified criteria. d) Generate possible alternatives. e) Rate each alternative upon each criterion. f) Compute the optimal decision.

2) Assumptions of the Model: One of the reasons that PPT 5.13 this model is rarely fully utilized in the real world is because the assumptions are almost never all met. a) Complete knowledge. The decision maker is assumed to have complete knowledge of the situation. b) Known options. The decision maker is assumed to be able to identify all relevant options in an unbiased manner. c) Highest utility. The assumption is that the decision maker will always choose the option with the highest PPT 5.14 utility. b. Bounded Rationality. Bounded rationality refers to the limited information-processing capability of human beings that makes it impossible to assimilate and understand all the information necessary to optimize.

1) So most people respond to a complex problem by reducing it to a level at which they can readily understand it. .

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2) Also many problems likely don’t have an optimal solution because they are too complicated to be broken down into the parameters of the rational decision-making model.

3) So people satisfice; that is, they seek solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient. c. Because the human mind cannot formulate and solve complex problems with full rationality, we operate within the confines of bounded rationality.

1) We construct simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity.

2) We can then behave rationally within the limits of the simple model.

3) To use the rational model in the real world, you need to gather a great deal of information about all the options, compute applicable weights, and then calculate values across a huge number of criteria. a) All these processes can cost you time, energy, and money. b) And if there are a great number of unknowns when it comes to weights and preferences, the fully rational model may not be any more accurate than a best guess. c) Sometimes a fast-and-frugal process of solving problems might be your best option. d. Intuition. Perhaps the least rational way of making decisions is to rely on intuition. e. Intuitive decision making is an unconscious process created from distilled experience.

1) Its defining qualities are that: PPT 5.15 a) it occurs outside conscious thought; b) it relies on holistic associations, or links between disparate pieces of information; c) it’s fast; d) and it’s affectively charged, meaning it usually engages the emotions. f. Although intuition isn’t rational, it isn’t necessarily wrong. g. Nor does it always operate in opposition to rational analysis; rather, the two can complement each other.

V. COMMON BIASES AND ERRORS IN DECISION MAKING a. Decision makers engage in bounded rationality, but they also allow systematic biases and errors to creep into their PPT 5.16 judgments. a. To minimize effort and avoid difficult trade-offs, people tend to rely too heavily on experience, impulses, gut feelings, and convenient rules of thumb. b. In many instances, these shortcuts are helpful. However, they can lead to severe distortions of rationality. c. Following are the most common biases in decision making.

1) Overconfidence Bias. a) The likelihood of overestimating the probability of being correct. b) Tends to decrease as intellectual and interpersonal abilities rise: knowledge reduces overconfidence.

2) Anchoring Bias. a) Anchoring bias is the tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information. .

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4)

5)

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b) The first information given forms the basis for the process, no matter what additional information is provided later.

Confirmation Bias. a) Confirmation bias represents a specific case of selective perception.

Information used in decision making is selectively gathered: information that reaffirms past choices is amplified, while data that contradicts those choices is discounted. b) Information that agrees with preconceived views is accepted at face value, while other information is criticized skeptically.

Availability Bias. a) The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them is availability bias. b) Emotional, vivid, or recent events tend to be more available in the minds of decision makers and therefore carry a greater weight in decision making. c) Causes people to overestimate the chances of unlikely but vivid events and underestimate chances of more likely, but less dramatic, events.

Escalation of Commitment. a) Escalation of commitment bias refers to staying with an initial decision through a series of follow-on decisions, even when there is clear evidence that the initial decision PPT 5.17 was wrong. b) This bias often occurs when the decision maker views himself or herself as responsible for the failure.

Randomness Error. a) Most of us like to think we have some control over our world. Our tendency to believe we can predict the outcome of random events is the randomness error.

Risk Aversion. a) Nearly everyone but committed gamblers would rather have the sure thing than a risky prospect. b) This tendency to prefer a sure thing over a risky outcome is risk aversion.

(1) Risk aversion has important implications.

(2) To offset the risks inherent in a commission-based wage, companies pay commissioned employees considerably more than they do those on straight salaries.

(3) Risk-averse employees will stick with the established way of doing their jobs, rather than taking a chance on innovative or creative methods.

(4) Sticking with a strategy that has worked in the past does minimize risk, but in the long run, it will lead to stagnation.

(5) Ambitious people with power that can be taken away (most managers) appear to be especially risk averse, perhaps because they don’t want to lose on a gamble everything they’ve worked so hard to achieve. .

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(6) Chief executive officers (CEOs) at risk of being terminated are also exceptionally risk averse, even when a riskier investment strategy is in their firms’ best interests.

8) Hindsight Bias. a) The tendency to believe (falsely) once the outcome of an event is actually known that the results could have been accurately predicted is hindsight bias. b) This bias reduces our ability to learn from the past and falsely inflates our opinion of our ability to make accurate predictions.

VI. INFLUENCES ON DECISION MAKING: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS A. Individual Differences. a. Personality. Specific facets of conscientiousness—particularly achievement striving and dutifulness—may affect escalation of commitment. a. First, achievement-oriented people hate to fail, so they escalate PPT 5.18 their commitment, hoping to forestall failure. b. Second, achievement-striving individuals appear more susceptible to hindsight bias, perhaps because they have a need to justify their actions. c. We don’t have evidence yet on whether dutiful people are immune to this bias. b. Gender. Who makes better decisions, men or women? It depends on the situation. a. When the situation isn’t stressful, decision making by men and women is about equal in quality. In stressful situations, it appears that men become more egocentric and make more risky decisions, while women become more empathetic and their decision making improves. c. General Mental Ability. We know people with higher levels of general mental ability (GMA; see Chapter 4) are able to process information more quickly, solve problems more accurately, and learn faster, so you might expect them to be less susceptible to common decision errors. a. However, GMA appears to help people avoid only some of them.

1) Smart people are just as likely to fall prey to anchoring, overconfidence, and escalation of commitment; probably because being smart doesn’t alert you to the possibility you’re too confident or emotionally defensive. d. Cultural Differences. Cultures differ in time orientation, the value they place on rationality, their belief in the ability of people to solve problems, and their preference for collective decision making. a. Differences in time orientation help us understand, for instance, why managers in Egypt make decisions at a much slower and more deliberate pace than their U.S. counterparts. b. Second, while rationality is valued in North America, that’s not true elsewhere.

1) A North American manager might make a decision intuitively but know it’s important to appear to proceed in a rational fashion because rationality is highly valued in the West.

2) In countries such as Iran, where rationality is not paramount to other factors, efforts to appear rational are not necessary. .

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c. Third, some cultures emphasize solving problems, while others focus on accepting situations as they are.

1) The United States falls in the first category; Thailand and Indonesia are examples of the second. Because problem-solving managers believe they can and should change situations to their benefit, U.S. managers might identify a problem long before their Thai or Indonesian counterparts would choose to recognize it as such. d. Fourth, decision making in Japan, a collectivistic society (see Chapter 3), is much more group-oriented than in the United States, an individualistic society (see Chapter 3). e. The Japanese value conformity and cooperation, so before Japanese CEOs make an important decision, they collect a large amount of information to use in consensus-forming group decisions. e. Nudging. Anyone who has ever seen a commercial knows about nudging.

Commercials represent one of the most outright forms of an organization’s attempt to influence our perceptions (of a product) and our decision (to acquire that product). a. Nudging has also been used positively in the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR; see Chapter 2) initiatives to change people’s expectations for organizations B. Organizational Constraints. a. Organizations can constrain decision makers, creating PPT 5.19 deviations from the rational model. These constraints can take the form of: b. Performance Evaluation Systems. People are strongly influenced in their decision making by the criteria on which they are evaluated. c. Reward Systems. The reward system influences which choices are preferable in terms of a personal payoff. d. Formal Regulations. Rules and policies limit the decision maker’s choice of action. e. System-Imposed Time Constraints. Explicit deadlines create time pressures and often make it difficult to gather necessary information prior to making the decision. f. Historical Precedence. Commitments that have already been made constrain current options. The historic context of a decision limits available alternatives.

VII. WHAT ABOUT ETHICS IN DECISION MAKING? A. Three Ethical Decision Criteria: PPT 5.20 a. The first ethical yardstick is utilitarianism, in which decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. a. This view dominates business decision making. It is consistent with goals such as efficiency, productivity, and high profits. b. Another ethical criterion is to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges, as set forth in documents such as the Bill of Rights. a. An emphasis on rights in decision making means respecting and protecting the basic rights of individuals, such as the right to privacy, free speech, and due process. .

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b. This criterion protects whistleblowers when they reveal an organization’s unethical practices to the press or government agencies, using their right to free speech. c. A third criterion is to impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially to ensure justice or an equitable distribution of benefits and costs. a. Union members typically favor this view. b. It justifies paying people the same wage for a given job regardless of performance differences and using seniority as the primary determination in layoff decisions.

B. Choosing Between Criteria. a. Decision makers, particularly in for-profit organizations, feel comfortable with utilitarianism. b. The “best interests” of the organization and its stockholders can justify a lot of questionable actions, such as large layoffs. c. But many critics believe this perspective needs to change. a. Public concern about individual rights and social justice suggests managers should develop ethical standards based on nonutilitarian criteria. b. This presents a challenge because satisfying individual rights and social justice creates far more ambiguities than utilitarian effects on efficiency and profits. c. This helps explain why managers are increasingly criticized for their actions.

1) Raising prices, selling products with questionable effects on consumer health, closing down inefficient plants, laying off large numbers of employees, moving production overseas to cut costs, and similar decisions can be justified in utilitarian terms.

2) But that may no longer be the single measure by which good decisions are judged.

C. Behavioral Ethics. a. Increasingly, researchers are turning to behavioral ethics—an area of PPT 5.21 study that analyzes how people behave when confronted with ethical dilemmas. a. Their research tells us that while ethical standards exist collectively in societies and organizations, and individually in the form of personal ethics, we do not always follow ethical standards promoted by our organizations, and we sometimes violate our own standards. b. Our ethical behavior varies widely from one situation to the next.

D. Lying. a. Are you a liar? Many of us would not like to be labeled as a liar. But if a liar is merely someone who lies, we are all liars. b. We lie to ourselves, and we lie to others. We lie consciously and unconsciously.

We tell big lies and create small deceptions. c. Lying is one of the top unethical activities we may indulge in daily, and it undermines all efforts toward sound decision making. a. The truth is that one of the reasons we lie is because lying is difficult for others to detect. In more than 200 studies, individuals correctly identified people who were lying only 47 percent of the time, which is less than random picking. .

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b. Lying is deadly to decision making, whether we detect the lies or not.

Managers— and organizations—simply cannot make good decisions when facts are misrepresented and people give false motives for their behaviors.

VIII. CREATIVITY, CREATIVE DECISION MAKING, AND INNOVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS a. Although the rational decision-making model will often improve decisions, PPT 5.22 a decision maker also needs creativity, the ability to produce novel and useful ideas. b. Novel ideas are different from what’s been done before but are appropriate for the problem. c. Although all aspects of organizational behavior have complexities, that is especially true for creativity. d. The three-stage model of creativity: the core of the model is creative PPT 5.23 behavior, which has both causes (predictions of creative behavior) and effects (outcomes of creative behavior).

Exhibit 5-4 e. Creative Behavior. Creative behavior occurs in four steps, each of which leads to the next (Exhibit 5-4): a. Problem formulation. Any act of creativity begins with a problem that the behavior is designed to solve. Thus, problem formulation is defined as the stage of creative behavior in which we identify a problem or opportunity that requires a solution as yet unknown. b. Information gathering. Given a problem, the solution is rarely directly at hand. We need time to learn more and to process that information. Thus, PPT 5.24 information gathering is the stage of creative behavior when possible solutions to a problem incubate in an individual’s mind. c. Idea generation. Once we have collected the relevant information, it is time to translate knowledge into ideas. Thus, idea generation is the process of creative behavior in which we develop possible solutions to a problem from relevant information and knowledge.

1) Increasingly, idea generation is collaborative. d. Idea evaluation. Finally, it’s time to choose from the ideas we have generated.

Thus, idea evaluation is the process of creative behavior in which we evaluate potential solutions to identify the best one.

1) Sometimes, the method of choosing can be innovative.

2) Generally, you want those who evaluate ideas to be different from those who generate them, to eliminate the obvious biases. f. Causes of Creative Behavior. Having defined creative behavior, the main stage in the three-stage model, we now look back to the causes of creativity: creative potential and creative environment. a. Creative Potential. Is there such a thing as a creative personality? Indeed.

While creative genius — whether in science (Albert Einstein), art (Pablo Picasso), or business (Steve Jobs) — is scarce, most people have some of the characteristics shared by exceptionally creative people.

1) The more of these characteristics we have, the higher our creative potential. b. Intelligence and Creativity. Intelligence is related to creativity. Smart people are more creative because they are better at solving complex problems.

However, intelligent people may also be more creative because they have greater working memory; that is, they can recall more information that is related to the task at hand. .

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c. Personality and Creativity. The Big Five personality trait of openness PPT 5.25 to experience correlates with creativity, probably because open individuals are less conformist in action and more divergent in thinking.

(1) Other traits of creative people include proactive personality, selfconfidence, risk taking, tolerance for ambiguity, and perseverance. d. Expertise and Creativity. Expertise is the foundation for all creative work and thus is the single most important predictor of creative potential.

1. People with larger social networks have greater exposure to diverse ideas and informal access to the expertise and resources of others. e. Ethics and Creativity. Although creativity is linked to many desirable individual characteristics, it is not correlated with ethicality.

1. People who cheat may actually be more creative than those who behave ethically, according to recent research.

2. It may be that dishonesty and creativity can both stem from a rulebreaking desire. g. Creative Environment. Most of us have creative potential we can learn to apply, but as important as creative potential is, by itself it is not enough.

1. We need to be in an environment where creative potential can be realized.

2. What environmental factors affect whether creative potential translates into creative behaviors? a) First and perhaps most important is motivation. If you aren’t motivated to be creative, it is unlikely you will be. This link is true regardless of whether we are talking about student creativity or employee creativity. b) It is also valuable to work in an environment that rewards and recognizes creative work. The organization should foster the free flow of ideas, including providing fair and constructive judgment.

(1) Freedom from excessive rules encourages creativity; employees should have the freedom to decide what work is to be done and how to do it. h. Creative Outcomes (Innovation). The final stage in our model of creativity is the outcome. Creative behavior does not always produce a creative or innovative outcome.

1. An employee might generate a creative idea and never share it.

Management might reject a creative solution. Teams might squelch creative behaviors by isolating those who propose PPT 5.26 different ideas. a) When people feel uncertain, their ability to see any idea as creative is blocked.

2. We can define creative outcomes as ideas or solutions judged to be novel and useful by relevant stakeholders. a) Novelty itself does not generate a creative outcome if it isn’t useful. b) Thus, “off-the-wall” solutions are creative only if they help solve the problem. c) The usefulness of the problem might be self-evident, or it might be considered successful by stakeholders before the actual success can be known.

3. Creative ideas do not implement themselves; translating them into creative outcomes is a social process that requires utilizing other concepts addressed in this text, including power and politics, leadership, and motivation. .

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IX.

SUMMARY A. Individuals base their behavior not on the way their external environment actually is but rather on what they see or believe it to be. h. An understanding of how people make decisions can be helpful for explaining and predicting their behavior. i. But few important decisions are simple or unambiguous enough for the rational model’s assumptions to apply. j. Thus, we find individuals looking for solutions that satisfice rather than optimize, injecting biases and prejudices into the decision process, and relying on intuition.

B. Managers should encourage creativity in employees and teams to create a route to innovative decision making.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Behavior follows perception, so to influence employee behavior at PPT 5.27 work, assess how employees perceive their work. Often behaviors we find puzzling can be explained by understanding the initiating perceptions.

B. Make better decisions by recognizing perceptual biases and decision-making errors we tend to commit. Learning about these problems doesn’t always prevent us from making mistakes, but it does help.

C. Adjust your decision-making approach to the national culture you’re operating in and to the criteria your organization values. If you’re in a country that doesn’t value rationality, don’t feel compelled to follow the decision-making model or to try to make your decisions appear rational. Adjust your decision approach to ensure compatibility with the organizational culture.

D. Combine rational analysis with intuition. These are not conflicting approaches to decision making. By using both, you can improve your decision-making effectiveness.

E. Try to enhance your creativity. Actively look for novel solutions to problems, attempt to see problems in new ways, use analogies, and hire creative talent. Try to remove work and organizational barriers that might impede your creativity.

Discussion Questions

1. Ask the class members to think of places they have worked or organizations they

have been associated with. They should identify decisions that they observed being made by people within the organization. Ask them to rate the decision on the following scale:

Answer: Decisions about salary raises may be made by the decision maker based on intuition alone, rational processes alone, or some combination of the two. What other types of decisions can be identified by the decision method applied? Would the group or organization be better served if these decision processes were modified? .

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2. Suppose a worker went out of her way to help the boss complete a project on time.

Some of her coworkers saw that behavior and thought she was selfishly trying to curry favor with the boss; others saw her as a great example of how employees should act in a progressive company. Why do these two very different interpretations come about?

Answer: The perceiver’s attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations all filter and modify what is perceived. In this case, each perceiver brings his or her own history to the observation. The target’s characteristics and history (and how well those characteristics are known to the observer), as well as how completely the situation is understood also will influence the interpretation of the behavior.

3. What criteria are used by people when attributing a behavior to either external or internal causes? Describe these three criteria.

Answer: There are three criteria: distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.

Distinctiveness. The level of uniqueness of the behavior of the target individual.

Distinctive behaviors tend to be judged as external while behaviors with low distinctiveness are considered internal.

Consensus. The degree to which everyone behaves in a certain way in a given situation. If high consensus is evident (everyone is acting in a similar fashion), the behavior is considered externally caused. But in low consensus situations (target is acting in a dissimilar fashion), the behavior is judged as being internal.

Consistency. The degree to which the target person responds in essentially the same fashion over time. High consistency is associated with internal causes while low consistency is judged to be caused externally.

4. People often use shortcuts such as selective perception and stereotyping to judge other people more quickly. What are the good and bad aspects of this type of perceptual fast track?

Answer: On the positive side, shortcuts allow for fast interpretation of behavior with a minimum of actual thought. But this means that a person’s behaviors are far less likely to be interpreted correctly, resulting in perceptual error and decreasing the manager’s ability to accurately forecast behavior. Further, some perceptual filters, the halo effect and stereotyping in particular, can reduce workplace morale and could lead to legal action by the offended party.

5. How does perception affect the decision-making process?

Answer: Perception allows, distorts, or blocks information. Effective decision making requires good information. At almost every stage of the decision-making process, incorrect or missing information can lead to poor decisions. For example, if a manager is influenced by the halo effect, he or she would take far greater credence of the information given by a person the manager thinks is trustworthy based on past performance — even if that person in this case is completely wrong!

Information given by a person who was wrong once in the past, (even if he or she was absolutely correct in this instance), would be heavily discounted.

6. Describe the steps of the rational decision-making process. Use buying a car as an example.

Answer: Define the problem. One of the most critical steps, incorrectly defining the problem or identifying the wrong problem is a frequent cause of poor decision making. My current vehicle is unreliable and I need a replacement.

Identify decision criteria. Decision makers must determine the relevant criteria that will influence the solution. This is where perception can be a strong influence. I .

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need a two-door economy car to take me back and forth to work. It must be fuel efficient, reliable, and safe. I would like it to cost less than $15,000.

Weight the previously identified criteria. In order to prioritize and balance the criteria, they must be given weightings: rarely are all criteria of equal importance to the decision. Fuel efficiency and economy are more important to me than safety.

Generate possible alternatives. Listing (not assessing) all of the possible ways in which the problem can be solved. I would go to www.kbb.com or some other information source and get a list of all the cars that fit my general criteria.

Rate each alternative upon each criterion. This step requires decision makers to critically analyze and evaluate each alternative against the identified and weighted criteria. I would take the information I had in the previous step and find out how each car performs on my criteria. For instance, I would put the estimated highway miles per gallon next to each car under the fuel-efficient criteria as well as the Consumer Reports rating on that vehicle under the reliable criteria.

Compute the optimal decision. Rank the rated alternatives and select the alternative with the highest score. I would total up the highest scores to find the best car.

(Note: The text does not fully develop a complete rational decision matrix with weighted averages, so unless the instructor decides to bring that tool in, the student answers to this question will be very general.)

7. How does decision making under bounded rationality differ from that done under rational decision making?

Answer: Bounded rationality deals with minimizing options and limiting scope to make a problem’s solution more manageable. In this situation, the optimum solution can only be found through luck because not all possible solutions and criteria are used. Instead, a satisfactory solution (it will work/it is good enough) is determined at a much lower cost and in much less time.

Managers operating under bounded rationality still use rational procedures, but they use simplified models and constructs to make the situation less complex. Each of the rational decision-making steps are taken, but with much less rigor. Once a single satisfactory solution is determined, the search for an optimal answer stops.

Decisions in bounded rationality tend to be almost habitual in the sense that they will be very close to already accepted solutions for past problems. Bounded rationality decisions are not the best (optimal) solutions as they would be in rational decision making, but they are far faster and cheaper.

8. Choose one of the common decision-making biases that you have either personally experienced or which you are guilty of and describe the following: (1) what error was involved, (2) what were the circumstances, and (3) how did the bias affect the outcome of the situation?

Answer: The answers will vary, but ensure that one of the common biases mentioned in the text (overconfidence, anchoring, confirmation, availability, escalation of commitment, or hindsight) is given by name and accurately described.

9. Which ethical viewpoint do you think is the best? Describe the viewpoint and explain your choice.

Answer: The answers will vary. It is important that the student names and describes one of the three views given in the text (utilitarianism, rights, or justice) and gives a reasonable rationale for his or her choice.

10. Using the three-component model for creativity, which area do you believe would be easiest for managers to affect? Why? .

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Answer: The answers will vary. One of the most logical components to use is intrinsic task motivation as managers have the most control over the factors that make up this component (the work itself, work environment, coworkers, culture, judgment of ideas, rewards and recognition for creative work, sufficient resources, freedom to work, and an effective supervision). The other two components (expertise and creative-thinking skills) might be improved by managementprovided training, but the impact wouldn’t be as direct, or as far reaching, as it would with intrinsic task motivation.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. What biases, either perceptual or decision-making, do you find you use most commonly? What actions can you take to reduce the effects of those biases?

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, enter the term “famous perceptual experiments” and select three that look interesting to you. Describe what impact these studies have on organizational behavior.

3. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). The job interview process is where decision-making and perceptual biases can often come into play. Consider your own interview when you took the job and describe: • What may have been the influences of the length of the interview?

• What may have been the influence of the length of time it took for the interviewer to make the hiring decision on both the perception of the firm toward the individual and the individual toward the firm?

• What biases may have been involved in your own hire? Consider your own biases regarding the firm as well as theirs toward you.

• What can the company do to reduce the negative effects of bias in the job interview process?

Suggested Assignment

Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Have each team review and discuss the following court case. Answer the question that follows and be prepared to present your findings. Each team will be given additional guidance by the instructor.

State vs. Scroggs In the fall of 1875, Hiram Smith filed a claim on a very fertile piece of land in South Dakota with the land office. Before he could put any improvements on the land, he died. A young Swede, newly immigrated, filed a counterclaim to the land at once, and by late spring of the following year had built a home and had begun to cultivate the land.

In the meantime, the widow of the original claimant was on her way West with her two daughters and her son. She built a house on the land, across a ravine from the Swede’s home, and cultivated that half of the claim. Both parties sent their claims to the Department of the Interior, but ten years went by without a decision. Both the Swede and Mrs. Smith built barns and cultivated the land intensively, each on their own side of the ravine.

A distant relative of Mrs. Smith, a minister named Scroggs, lived in a small town about two miles from the rival farms. He had been an advisor for the Swede on all matters of religion and politics since the fellow had first taken up farming in Dakota. .

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He had often complimented the Swede on his land and had expressed his opinion at the general store that it was the best land in the West.

Scroggs had acted as arbiter for the disputants and had corresponded with the Secretary of the Interior regarding the land. One day at the general store he told the Swede that he thought the Swede’s claim would be supported. The Swede swore that no one was going to put him off the land. The next day Scroggs went to the Smith farm and showed Mrs. Smith a paper from Washington, D.C., ratifying her claim to the land. He said it would be all right for them to take possession. Young Smith hitched a team to the plow and went over on to the Swede’s side of the farm.

Scroggs, Mrs. Smith, and the two daughters went along; Scroggs on his horse. Young Smith had just started plowing when the Swede ran out of his house with a gun and shot him.

Two more shots killed the horses at the plow. Scroggs galloped off and shouted that he was going after the marshal. When the marshal and a posse arrived, they found the Swede had killed the three women and had then committed suicide. Scroggs, being the only relative of the dead woman, inherited both pieces of land.

Should Scroggs be held responsible for the killings?

Instructions for Instructor: Copy the case text from this file and place it in a new Word documents or other word processing program that can read .docx files. Print the case for your class. This case will allow students to experience a decisionmaking process and see how different each strategy is in effort, process, and quality of decision.

• Prior to passing out the case, divide the class into three large groups without telling them how or why they are being divided. One group will use the rational model, the second, bounded rationality, and the third, intuition.

• Go to each group and quietly tell them the model they are to use to make their decision. Refer students to the appropriate section of their text for their process. Each large group should not know how the other groups are making their decisions. o Those using the rational model must be prepared to outline how they came to their decision. o Those using bounded rationality must be prepared to explain why they stopped where they did. o Those using intuition are to read the case and make a decision based on their reaction without rereading the case or studying the details.

• Each group is to track how long it took them to come to their decision.

• During the next class, have students note on the board or orally present what their decisions were. Simply tabulate their decisions, responsible or not. Begin with those using the rational model, those using bounded rationality, and end with the intuitive.

• As you debrief the class, note any pattern to the decisions. Did style lead to a given conclusion? Ask the groups for the reasons for their decisions. How long did it take to make the decision? Finally, ask the class if now that they have heard more viewpoints, whether anyone wishes to change his or her findings.

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Chapter 6

Valuing Diversity

Chapter Overview

PPT 6.2

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

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 6.3 1. Demonstrate how workplace discrimination undermines diversity effectiveness.

2. Explain how stereotypes function in organizational settings.

3. Describe how key biographical characteristics are relevant to organizational behavior (OB).

4. Explain how other differentiating characteristics factor into OB. 5. Demonstrate the relevance of intellectual and physical abilities to OB. 6. Describe how organizations manage diversity effectively.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION A. In this chapter, we demonstrate how workplace discrimination undermines

diversity effectiveness, explain how stereotypes function in organizational settings, look at the key biological characteristics and their relevance to OB, explore intellectual and physical abilities and their relevance in OB, and discuss how to manage a diverse workforce effectively.

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

1. A change has occurred in the formerly predominantly PPT 6.4 white, male managerial workforce. Today’s workforce is gender-balanced and multiethnic. a. Compared to 1950, women today are much more likely to be employed full time, have more education, and earn wages comparable to those of men. b. In addition, over the past 50 years, the earnings gap between Whites and other racial and ethnic groups has decreased significantly; past differences between Whites and Asians have disappeared or been reversed.

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

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B. Levels of Diversity.

1. Demographics mostly reflect surface level diversity, not

PPT 6.5

thoughts and feelings, and can lead employees to perceive one another through stereotypes and assumptions.

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

III. Discrimination.

PPT 6.6

1. Although diversity does present many opportunities for

Exhibit 6-1 organizations, effective diversity management also means working to eliminate unfair discrimination. a. To discriminate is to note a difference between things, which in itself isn’t necessarily bad. b. Noticing one employee is more qualified for making hiring decisions, and noticing another is taking on leadership responsibilities exceptionally well is necessary for making promotion decisions.

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

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

2. Stereotype Threat. a. Stereotype threat describes the degree to which we internally agree with the generally negative stereotyped perceptions of our groups.

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

2) Stereotype threat has serious implications for the workplace. Those who feel it may have lower performance, lower satisfaction, negative job attitudes, decreased engagement, decreased motivation, higher absenteeism, more health issues, and higher turnover intentions.

3. Discrimination in the Workplace. a. As Exhibit 6-1 shows, discrimination can occur in many ways, and its effects can be just as varied depending on the organizational context and the personal biases of its members.

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

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

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IV. BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS A. Biographical characteristics such as age, gender, race, disability,

PPT 6.7

and length of service are some of the most obvious ways employees differ.

1. In general, many biographical differences are not important to actual work outcomes, and far more variation occurs within groups sharing biographical characteristics than between them.

B. Age. PPT 6.8 1. The relationship between age and job performance is likely to be an issue of increasing importance during the next decade for many reasons. a. The workforce is aging. b. There is U.S. legislation that, for all intents and purposes, outlaws mandatory retirement.

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

3. What effect does age actually have on turnover, absenteeism, productivity, and satisfaction? a. Most studies show that there is little relationship between age and job performance. b. The evidence is mixed regarding age and job satisfaction. Satisfaction tends to continually increase among professionals as they age, whereas it falls among nonprofessionals during middle age and then rises again in the later years.

C. Sex. PPT 6.9 1. Few issues initiate more debates, misconceptions, and unsupported opinions than whether women perform as well on jobs as men do.

2. The best place to begin to consider this is with the recognition that few, if any, important differences between men and women affect job performance. a. There are no consistent male-female differences in problem-solving ability, analytical skills, competitive drive, motivation, sociability, or learning ability.

3. Unfortunately, sex roles still affect our perceptions. a. Once on the job, men and women may be offered a similar number of developmental experiences, but females are less likely to be assigned challenging positions by men, assignments that may help them achieve higher organizational positions. b. Moreover, men are more likely to be chosen for leadership roles even though men and women are equally effective leaders. c. Many countries have laws against sex discrimination, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Other countries, such as Belgium, France, Norway, and Spain, are seeking gender diversity through laws to increase the percentage of women on boards of directors.

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D. Race and Ethnicity.

1. Race is a controversial issue. a. We define race as the biological heritage people use to PPT 6.10 identify themselves; ethnicity is the additional set of cultural characteristics that often overlaps with race.

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

such as hiring decisions, performance evaluations, pay, and workplace discrimination. We can summarize a few points. a. In employment settings, individuals tend to slightly favor colleagues of their own race in performance evaluations, promotion decisions, and pay raises, although such differences are not found consistently, especially when highly structured methods of decision making are employed. b. In the United States, African Americans generally fare worse than Whites in employment decisions. They receive lower ratings in employment interviews, lower job performance ratings, less pay, and fewer promotions. c. Moreover, African Americans are often discriminated against in controlled experiments.

E. Disabilities.

1. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, representation of individuals with PPT 6.11 disabilities in the U.S. workforce rapidly increased.

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

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

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

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

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F. Hidden Disabilities.

1. Unless an individual decides to disclose a disability that isn’t easily observable, it

can remain hidden at the discretion of the employee. These are called hidden disabilities (or invisible disabilities). a. Hidden disabilities generally fall under the categories of sensory disabilities (for example, impaired hearing); autoimmune disorders (like rheumatoid arthritis); chronic illness or pain (like carpal tunnel syndrome); cognitive or learning impairments (like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder); sleep disorders (like insomnia); and psychological challenges (like posttraumatic stress disorder).

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

G. Other Differentiating Characteristics.

PPT 6.12 1. Religion. Perhaps the greatest religious diversity issue in the United States today revolves around Islam. a. There are nearly 3 million Muslims in the United States, and across the world, Islam is one of the most popular religions. Yet, there is evidence that people are discriminated against for their Islamic faith. b. Faith can be an employment issue when religious beliefs prohibit or encourage certain behaviors.

2. Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. a. Employees differ widely in their treatment of sexual orientation. b. Federal law does not prohibit discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation, though many states and municipalities do. c. Many organizations have implemented policies and procedures protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation.

3. Cultural Identity. a. Many people carry a strong cultural identity, a link with the culture of family ancestry or youth that lasts a lifetime, no matter where the individual may live in the world. b. People choose their cultural identity, and also how closely they observe the norms of that culture. c. Cultural norms influence the workplace. Organizations must adapt. d. Today’s global companies do well to understand and respect the cultural identities of their employees, both as groups and as individuals.

IV. ABILITY A. Ability is an individual’s current capacity to perform the various PPT 6.13 tasks in a job. Overall abilities are made up of two sets of factors: intellectual and physical.

B. Intellectual Abilities.

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

2. Most societies place a high value on intelligence, and for good PPT 6.14 reason.

3. Smart people generally earn more money and attain higher Exhibit 6-2 levels of education.

4. They are also more likely to emerge as leaders of groups. .

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5. As shown in Exhibit 6-2, the seven most frequently cited dimensions making up

intellectual abilities are number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory. a. Intellectual dimensions are positively related, so if you score high on verbal comprehension, for example, you’re more likely to also score high on spatial visualization. b. The correlations aren’t perfect, meaning people do have specific abilities that predict important work-related outcomes when considered individually. c. However, they are high enough that researchers also recognize a general factor of intelligence, general mental ability . d. Evidence strongly supports the idea that the structures and measures of intellectual abilities generalize across cultures. e. There is some evidence that IQ scores vary to some degree across cultures, but these differences are much smaller when we take into account educational and economic differences.

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

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

C. Physical Abilities.

PPT 6.15 1. Though the changing nature of work suggests intellectual abilities are increasingly important for many jobs, physical Exhibit 6-3 abilities have been and will remain valuable.

2. Research on hundreds of jobs has identified nine basic abilities (see Exhibit 6-3) needed in the performance of physical tasks.

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

V. IMPLEMENTING DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES A. A positive diversity climate exists in organizations in which there is an environment of inclusiveness and an acceptance of diversity.

B. Diversity management makes everyone more aware of and PPT 6.16 sensitive to the needs and differences of others.

1. Diversity is much more likely to be successful when we see it as everyone’s business than if we believe it helps only certain groups of employees.

PPT 6.17 C. Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Diverse Employees 1. One method of enhancing workforce diversity is to target recruiting messages to specific demographic groups underrepresented in the workforce. a. This means placing advertisements in publications geared toward specific demographic groups; recruiting at colleges, universities, and other institutions with significant numbers of underrepresented minorities, and forming partnerships with associations like the Society for Women Engineers or the Graduate Minority Business Association.

1) The selection process is one of the most important places to apply diversity efforts. .

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

2) A positive diversity climate should be the goal since all workers appear to prefer an organization that values diversity.

2. Diversity in Groups. a. In some cases, diversity in traits can hurt team PPT 6.18 performance, whereas in others it can facilitate it.

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

2) Groups of diverse individuals will be much more effective if leaders can show how members have a common interest in the group’s success.

3) Leaders who emphasize higher-order goals and values in their leadership style are more effective in managing diverse teams.

3. Diversity Programs.

PPT 6.19 a. Effective, comprehensive workforce programs encouraging diversity have three distinct components.

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

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

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

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

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

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VI. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Understand your organization’s antidiscrimination policies PPT 6.20 thoroughly and share them with your employees.

B. Assess and challenge your stereotype beliefs to increase your objectivity.

C. Look beyond observable biographical characteristics and consider the individual’s capabilities before making management decisions; remain open and encouraging for individuals to disclose any hidden disabilities.

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

E. Seek to understand and respect the unique biographical characteristics of your employees; a fair but individualistic approach yields the best performance.

VII. SUMMARY PPT 6.21 A. This chapter looked at diversity from many perspectives. We paid particular attention to three variables—biographical characteristics, abilities, and diversity programs.

B. Diversity management must be an ongoing commitment that crosses all levels of the organization.

1. Policies to improve the climate for diversity can be effective, and diversity management can be learned.

Discussion Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Define intellectual ability. What is the relevance of intellectual ability to OB? Answer: Intellectual ability is the thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving ability needed to perform mental activities. The seven most frequently cited dimensions that make up intellectual ability are number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, .

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and memory. People with higher levels of intellectual ability are more likely to emerge as leaders of groups, attain higher levels of education, and earn more money.

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

5. Compare and contrast intellectual and physical ability.

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

6. How can organizations effectively manage diversity?

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

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

Exercises

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

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

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

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Ask students to brainstorm three diversity scenarios that could be encountered in an organization. For example, one scenario could involve two individuals who are up for a promotion.

One is a white male, the other a Hispanic woman. The team making the decision is led by a white male. The team promotes the white male. Then, ask students to meet with different members of their organization to discuss their views on the scenarios and how they perceive how the situation was handled. Students should try to meet with as diverse a group of individuals as possible, perhaps including .

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individuals of different ages, races, genders, and so on. What conclusions can be drawn from these responses regarding the effectiveness of their organization’s diversity management program? Keep in mind that this could be a very sensitive task, and instructors should review the need for anonymity and sensitivity in situations such as these.

Suggested Assignments

1. In 2012, Diversity Inc. recognized eight companies for their efforts at diversity management. Divide the class into small groups and ask each group to go to the following website: http://bestpractices.diversityinc.com/diversity-management/video-2014diversityinc-special-awards/ 2. Ask each group to watch the clips of the award recipients and identify the common themes on successful diversity management. How has each award recipient approached diversity management?

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

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Chapter 7 Basic Motivation

Basic Motivation

Chapter Overview

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Chapter 7

PPT 7.2 Motivation is one of the major areas of interest in organizational behavior (OB).

Properly motivating a workforce can lead to gains in productivity, innovation, and employee retention. This chapter will review the basics of motivation, assess the number of motivation theories, and provide an integrative model that shows how the best of these theories fits together.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Describe the three key elements of motivation.

PPT 7.3 2. Compare the early theories of motivation.

3. Contrast the elements of self-determination theory and goalsetting theory.

4. Demonstrate the differences between self-efficacy theory, reinforcement theory, equity theory, and expectancy theory.

5. Identify the implications of employee job engagement for managers.

6. Describe how the contemporary theories of motivation complement one another.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION

Motivation is a problem in the U.S. workforce. Poorly motivated workers express themselves through detrimental behaviors such as time wasting, absenteeism, and high turnover. It is important that motivational theories are understood and applied in the workplace.

II. MOTIVATION A. Motivation: the processes that account for an individual’s PPT 7.4 intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal, specifically for OB, toward attaining an organizational goal.

B. Three Key Elements in the Definition: 1. Intensity: how much effort a person puts forth to meet a goal.

2. Direction: efforts are channeled toward organizational goals.

3. Persistence: how long a person maintains effort toward a goal.

PPT 7.5 III. EARLY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Three early theories of employee motivation formulated during the 1950s, although now of questionable validity, are probably the best known. We discuss more valid explanations later, but these represent a foundation, and practicing managers still use their terminology.

A. Hierarchy of Needs Theory.

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Chapter 7 Basic Motivation

B. In this, perhaps best known (and least supported) of all motivational

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PPT 7.6

theories, Abraham Maslow proposed that there are five levels of human needs.

Exhibit 7-1 1. As each of the lower level needs are satisfied, the next unsatisfied need becomes dominant. a. Recently, a sixth need has been proposed for a highest level—intrinsic values—which is said to have originated from Maslow, but it has yet to gain widespread acceptance.

2. Satisfied needs no longer motivate; only unsatisfied needs motivate people. In cultures that do not share American traits, the hierarchical order of needs may be out of sequence. a. Physiological: lower order need, includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs. Lower order needs are satisfied externally, through forces outside of the person. b. Safety-security: lower order need, includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm. c. Social-belongingness: upper order need, includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship. Upper order needs are satisfied internally, that is, from within the person. d. Esteem: upper order need, includes internal (self-respect, autonomy, and achievement) and external (status, recognition, and attention) esteem factors. e. Self-actualization: upper order need, defined as the drive to “be all one can be,” it includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment.

C. Two-Factor Theory.

PPT 7.7 D. Frederick Herzberg proposed that an individual’s relation to work is basic and that one’s attitude toward work can very well determine success or failure. In other words, things that people feel good about at work are motivating and those things they don’t feel good about are de-motivating. This two-factor theory is also known as the motivation-hygiene theory.

1. In his research, Herzberg realized that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction; rather there are two different factor scales, one ranging from satisfaction to no satisfaction and the other from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. When he related a number of workplace factors against these two scales, he realized they were very different concepts. He called the first set of factors motivation factors and the second hygiene factors. a. Hygiene Factors: These workplace factors, when not met, lead to job dissatisfaction. When they are met, they do not lead to job satisfaction, but rather, to a lack of dissatisfaction. Therefore, meeting hygiene factors does not increase motivation; it merely placates the workers. Hygiene factors include quality of supervision, pay, company policies, physical working conditions, relations with others, and job security. b. Motivation Factors: These are intrinsically rewarding factors in the work environment such as promotion and personal growth opportunities, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. Meeting these factors will increase motivation by creating a satisfying work environment.

2. As with the other two main motivational theories, this very popular theory is also not well supported in the research literature. There are many criticisms of

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the Two-Factor Theory, mostly dealing with the methodology Herzberg used in his initial studies.

E. McClelland's Theory of Needs.

F. David McClelland and his associates created a theory based on three subconscious needs: PPT 7.8

1. Need for Achievement (nAch): the drive to excel and to

Exhibit 7-2

achieve in relation to a set of standards. High achievers perform best when they have a 50-50 chance of success. High achievers perform best in jobs with a high degree of personal responsibility and feedback with an intermediate degree of risk. a. High achievers tend to be successful entrepreneurs.

PPT 7.9 b. A high need for achievement does not necessarily mean the person would be a good manager for larger organizations, as his or her desire for personal recognition supersedes his or her concern for the organization.

2. Need for Power (nPow): the need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise.

PPT 7.10 3. Need for Affiliation (nAff): the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. a. The best managers appear to be those with a high need for power and a low need for affiliation.

4. The need for achievement presupposes certain cultural characteristics such as moderate degree of risk acceptance and a concern with performance. These two cultural characteristics are not universal, and therefore, the need for achievement may not be as powerful in other cultures.

5. McClelland’s theory has the best research support,] but has the least practical effect of any of the early motivational theories.

IV. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION PPT 7.11 A. Unlike the historic theories of motivation, these current theories of motivation do have a reasonable degree of supporting documentation. It is important to remember that these are still theories. None of these has been totally proven true.

B. Self-Determination Theory.

PPT 7.12 1. Self-determination theory, which proposes that people prefer to feel they have control over their actions, so anything that makes a previously enjoyed task feel more like an obligation than a freely chosen activity will undermine motivation.

2. Cognitive Evaluation Theory. Much research on self-determination theory in OB has focused on cognitive evaluation theory, which hypothesizes that extrinsic rewards will reduce intrinsic interest in a task. a. When people are paid for work, it feels less like something they want to do and more like something they have to do.

3. Self-determination theory also proposes that in addition to being driven by a need for autonomy, people seek ways to achieve competence and positive connections to others. a. A large number of studies support self-determination theory. b. When organizations use extrinsic rewards as payoffs for superior performance, employees feel less like they are doing a good job because of

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their own intrinsic desire to excel and more like they are doing a good job because that’s what the organization wants.

1) If a computer programmer values writing code because she likes to solve problems, a reward for working to an externally imposed standard she does not accept could feel coercive, and her intrinsic motivation would suffer.

2) She may or may not increase her number of lines of code per day in response to the extrinsic motivator. c. In support of the theory, one meta-analysis confirmed that intrinsic motivation contributes to the quality of work, while incentives contribute to the quantity of work. d. Although intrinsic motivation predicts performance whether or not there are incentives, it may therefore be less of a predictor when incentives are tied to performance directly (such as with monetary bonuses) rather than indirectly.

4. Self-Concordance. A recent outgrowth of self-determination theory is selfconcordance, which considers how strongly people’s reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values. a. If individuals pursue goals because of an intrinsic interest, they are more likely to attain their goals and are happy even if they do not. Why? Because the process of striving toward them is fun.

5. OB research suggests that people who pursue work goals for intrinsic reasons are more satisfied with their jobs, feel like they fit into their organizations better, and may perform better.

6. What does all this mean? a. It means choose your job for reasons other than extrinsic rewards. b. For organizations, it means managers should provide intrinsic as well as extrinsic incentives.

1) They need to make the work interesting, provide recognition, and support employee growth and development. Employees who feel what they do is within their control and a result of free choice are likely to be more motivated by their work and committed to their employers.

C. Goal-Setting Theory.

1. Goal-setting theory studies the effects goal specificity, challenge, and feedback have on performance. The study of PPT 7.13 goal setting has created the following general rules: 2. Difficulty and Feedback Dimensions. Specific goals produce a higher level of output than do generalized goals.

3. Typically, the more difficult the goal, the higher level of performance, assuming that goal has been accepted by the employee. This is because: a. Difficult goals focus attention on the task and away from distractions. b. Difficult goals energize employees. c. Difficult goals tend to make people persist in efforts toward attaining them. d. Difficult goals force employees to discover strategies to help them perform the task or job more effectively.

4. Feedback is important in goal-setting theory, especially self-generated feedback.

5. The question of whether participative goal setting increases motivation has not yet been resolved. The assumption is that when employees are involved in setting the goals, they have greater buy-in and therefore will have a higher level

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of commitment. When employees don’t participate in goal setting, the manager must take pains to explain the purpose and importance of the goal.

6. Goal Commitment, Task Characteristics, and National Culture Factors. a. Goal Commitment. Commitment increases when goals are made public, when the individual has an internal locus of control, and when goals are selfset rather than assigned. b. Task Characteristics. Goals are better in terms of performance on simple rather than complex tasks, when tasks are familiar, and when they are accomplished by a single individual. c. National Culture. Goal-setting theory is culture-bound. It is important that the key components of goal-setting theory match the culture traits.

7. Individual and Promotion Foci. Research has found that people differ in the way they regulate their thoughts and behaviors during goal pursuit. Generally, people fall into one of two categories, though they could belong to both. a. Those with a promotion focus strive for advancement and accomplishment, and they approach conditions that move them closer toward desired goals. b. Those with a prevention focus strive to fulfill duties and obligations and avoid conditions that pull them away from desired goals. c. Ideally, it’s probably best to be both promotion and prevention oriented.

8. Goal-Setting Implementation. One of the more effective ways to formalize goalsetting theory into an organization is through management by objectives (MBO). MBO emphasizes participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable, and measurable. MBO operationalizes the concept of objectives by devising a process by which objectives cascade down through the organization. The result of MBO is a hierarchy of objectives that build toward organizational objectives.

It also provides specific performance goals for individuals.

PPT 7.14 a. Four ingredients common to MBO programs: 1) goal specificity, 2) participation in decision making, 3) an explicit time period, and PPT 7.15 4) performance feedback.

9. Goal Setting and Ethics. The relationship between goal setting

Exhibit 7-3

and ethics is quite complex: If we emphasize the attainment of goals, what is the cost? The answer is probably found in the standards we set for goal achievement. a. For example, when money is tied to goal attainment, we may focus on getting the money and become willing to compromise ourselves ethically. b. If instead we are primed with thoughts about how we are spending our time when we are pursuing the goal, we are more likely to act ethically.

V. OTHER CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION PPT 7.16 A. Self-Efficacy Theory.

1. Self-efficacy theory (also known as social cognitive theory or social learning theory). Typically, people with high self-efficacy respond better to PPT 7.17 challenges and negative feedback than those with low self-efficacy. Selfefficacy: an individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task.

Exhibit 7-4 2. Goal-setting theory and self-efficacy theory complement each other. When managers set difficult goals for employees, this leads employees to have a PPT 7.18 higher level of self-efficacy and they set higher goals on their own. This is

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because when managers set difficult goals for people, it communicates their confidence in those people.

3. Increasing Self-Efficacy in Yourself. Four ways self-efficacy can be increased: a. Enactive Mastery: gaining relevant experience with the task or job. Past success in a task increases future confidence. b. Vicarious Modeling: becoming more confident because another person is observed doing the task. c. Verbal Persuasion: confidence gained because another person convinces the target individual of the target's abilities. d. Arousal: an energized state, which may drive a person to complete a task.

Not always effective in tasks that require detail-orientation or finesse.

4. Personality and intelligence. While not part of self-efficacy theory, intelligence, conscientiousness, and emotional stability have all been shown to increase selfefficacy. In fact, the relationship is so strong that some researchers believe that self-efficacy itself is merely a reflection of the effects of a highly confident personality.

5. Influencing Self-Efficacy in Others. The best way for a manager to use verbal persuasion is through the Pygmalion effect, a term based on the Greek myth about a sculptor (Pygmalion) who fell in love with a statue he carved. a. The Pygmalion effect is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy in which believing something can make it true. Here, it is often used to describe that what one person expects can come to serve a self-fulfilling prophecy. b. Training programs often make use of enactive mastery by having people practice and build their skills. In fact, one reason training works is that it increases self-efficacy, particularly when the training is interactive and feedback is given afterward.

B. Reinforcement Theory.

1. Goal setting is a cognitive approach, proposing that individuals’ purposes direct their actions.

2. Reinforcement theory, in contrast, takes a behavioristic view, arguing that reinforcement conditions behavior.

3. The two theories are clearly philosophically at odds. Reinforcement theorists see behavior as environmentally caused.

PPT 7.19 a. You need not be concerned, they would argue, with internal cognitive events; what controls behavior are reinforcers—any consequences that, when they immediately follow responses, increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated.

4. Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concentrates solely on what happens when he or she takes some action. a. Because it is not concerned with what initiates behavior, it is not, strictly speaking, a theory of motivation. b. But it does provide a powerful means of analyzing what controls behavior, and this is why we typically consider reinforcement concepts in discussions of motivation.

5. Operant Conditioning/Behaviorism and Reinforcement. Operant conditioning theory, probably the most relevant component of reinforcement theory for management, argues that people learn to behave a certain way to either get something they want or to avoid something they don’t want.

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a. Unlike reflexive or unlearned behavior, operant behavior is influenced by

the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement brought about by consequences.

1) The concept of operant conditioning was one of B.F. Skinner’s broader concepts of behaviorism, which argues that behavior follows stimuli in a relatively unthinking manner.

6. Social-Learning Theory and Reinforcement. Individuals can learn by being told or by observing what happens to other people, as well as through direct experience. a. Much of what we have learned comes from watching models—parents, teachers, peers, film and television performers, bosses, and so forth. The view that we can learn through both observation and direct experience is called social-learning theory. b. Although social-learning theory is an extension of operant conditioning— that is, it assumes behavior is a function of consequences—it also acknowledges the effects of observational learning and perception. c. People respond to the way they perceive and define consequences, not to the objective consequences themselves.

C. Equity Theory — Organizational Justice.

PPT 7.20 1. Equity theory holds that motivation can be affected by the comparisons employees make of their job inputs (effort, Exhibit 7-5 experience, education, confidence) and the job's outcomes (salary levels, raises, recognition) relative to the inputs and outcomes of other employees. If the ratios of inputs to outputs are roughly equal between employees, a state of equity is said to exist.

2. Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make one of six choices: a. Change inputs (exert less effort if underpaid or more if PPT 7.21 overpaid). b. Change outcomes (individuals paid on a piece-rate basis can increase their pay by producing a higher quantity of units at a lower quality). c. Distort perceptions of self (“I used to think I worked at a moderate pace, but now I realize I work a lot harder than everyone else.”). d. Distort perceptions of others (“Mike’s job isn’t as desirable as I thought.”). e. Choose a different referent (“I may not make as much as my brother-in-law, but I’m doing a lot better than my Dad did when he was my age.”). f. Leave the field (quit the job).

3. Although equity theory’s propositions have not all held up, the hypothesis served as an important precursor to the study of organizational justice, or more simply, fairness, in the workplace.

PPT 7.22 a. Organizational justice is concerned with how employees

feel authorities and decision makers treat them. For the Exhibit 7-6 most part, employees evaluate how fairly they are treated along four dimensions.

4. Distributive Justice. Distributive justice is concerned with the fairness of the outcome, such as pay and recognition that employees receive.

5. Procedural Justice. Procedural justice focuses on the fairness of the process used to distribute rewards. The two key elements of procedural justice are:

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a. Employees perceive that procedures are fairer when they are given a say in

the decision-making process. Having direct influence over how decisions are made, or at the very least being able to present your opinion to decision makers, creates a sense of control and makes us feel empowered. b. Employees perceive that procedures are fairer when decision makers follow several rules. It is important that managers be consistent, unbiased, use accurate information, and are open to appeals for procedural justice to work. c. In the absence of distributive justice, research has shown that procedural justice becomes more important to employees.

6. Informational Justice. Informational justice reflects whether managers provide employees with explanations for key decisions and keep them informed of important organizational matters. The more detailed and candid managers are with employees, the more fairly treated those employees feel. a. Though it may seem obvious that managers should be honest with their employees and not keep them in the dark about organizational matters, many managers are hesitant to share information. This is especially the case with bad news, which is uncomfortable for both the manager delivering it and the employee receiving it. b. Explanations for bad news are beneficial when they take the form of post hoc excuses rather than justifications.

7. Interpersonal Justice. Interpersonal justice reflects the individual's perception of the degree to which he or she is treated with dignity, concern, and respect.

This is a more interpersonal view of justice, normally related directly between supervisor and employee.

8. Justice Outcomes. When employees feel fairly treated, they respond in a number of positive ways. a. All four types of justice have been linked to higher levels of task performance and citizenship behaviors such as helping coworkers, as well as lower levels of counterproductive behaviors such as shirking job duties. b. Distributive and procedural justice are more strongly associated with task performance, while informational and interpersonal justice are more strongly associated with citizenship behavior. Even more physiological outcomes, such as how well employees sleep and the state of their health have been linked to fair treatment.

9. Ensuring Justice. How can an organization affect the justice perceptions and rule adherence of its managers? This depends upon the motivation of each manager. a. It might be tempting for organizations to adopt strong justice guidelines in attempts to mandate managerial behavior, but this isn’t likely to be universally effective. b. In cases where managers have more rules and less discretion, those who calculate justice are more likely to act fairly, but managers whose justice behavior follows from their affect may act more fairly when they have greater discretion.

D. Culture and Justice. Across nations, the same basic principles of procedural justice are respected, and workers around the world prefer rewards based on performance and skills over rewards based on seniority. a. One large-scale study of over 190,000 employees in 32 countries and regions suggested that justice perceptions are most important to people in

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countries with individualistic, feminine, uncertainty-avoidance, and low power-distance values. b. Organizations can tailor programs to meet these justice expectations.

E. Expectancy Theory.

1. The widely accepted expectancy theory explains motivation as a coupling of three beliefs: a. Effort will lead to a good performance appraisal, b. Good appraisals will lead to organizational rewards, and PPT 7.23 c. Organizational rewards will satisfy the employee's personal goals. d. The relationship between these three beliefs and the strength of the links between them are the focus of this theory.

2. The Three Key Relationships: a. Effort-Performance Relationship.

PPT 7.24

1) The probability perceived by the individual that

Exhibit 7-7

exerting a given amount of effort leads to successful performance.

2) If the employee believes that effort will not result in successful performance or that the performance will not be accurately reflected in the performance appraisal, little effort will be expended. b. Performance-Reward Relationship.

1) The degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome. Unless the relationship between strong performance appraisals and rewards is clear, little effort will be expended to achieve those high appraisal marks. c. Rewards-Personal Goals Relationship.

1) The degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an individual's personal goals (or needs) and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the individual.

2) Unless organizational rewards are tailored to individual employee wants and needs, they will not be very motivational and little effort will be expended. d. While the research results are mixed, there is reasonable support for this theory.

1) It may be considered somewhat idealistic, considering the current realities of the workplace.

2) This theory may explain why such a large portion of the workforce exhibits low levels of effort in carrying out job responsibilities, as most companies do not reward for performance.

VI. JOB ENGAGEMENT A. Job engagement is the investment of an employee’s physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance.

PPT 7.25 1. When employees are engaged, organizations have higher levels of productivity, fewer safety incidents, and lower turnover.

2. People are more likely to be engaged in their jobs if they believe that it is meaningful to do so and when there is a match between their values and those of the organization. In addition, leadership behaviors that inspire workers to a greater sense of mission can also increase employee engagement.

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3. In some cases, individuals may become so engaged in their work that family

responsibilities become an unwelcome intrusion.

VII. INTEGRATING COTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION A. Our job might be simpler if, after presenting a half-dozen theories, we could say only one was found valid. But many of the theories in this chapter are complementary.

Exhibit 7-8 integrates much of what we know about motivation.

B. We begin by explicitly recognizing that opportunities can either aid or PPT 7.26 hinder individual effort.

1. Note that the individual effort box on the left also has another arrow Exhibit 7-8 leading into it, from the person’s goals. Consistent with goal-setting theory, the goals–effort loop is meant to remind us that goals direct behavior.

C. Expectancy theory predicts employees will exert a high level of effort if they perceive strong relationships between effort and performance, performance and reward, and rewards and satisfaction of personal goals. Each of these relationships is, in turn, influenced by other factors.

1. For effort to lead to good performance, the individual must have the ability to perform and perceive the performance appraisal system as fair and objective.

2. The performance–reward relationship will be strong if the individual perceives that performance (rather than seniority, personal favorites, or other criteria) is rewarded.

D. If cognitive evaluation theory were fully valid in the actual workplace, we would predict that basing rewards on performance should decrease the individual’s intrinsic motivation.

E. The final link in expectancy theory is the rewards–goals relationship. Motivation is high if the rewards for high performance satisfy the dominant needs consistent with individual goals.

F. A closer look at Exhibit 7-8 also reveals that the model considers achievement motivation, job design, reinforcement, and equity theories/organizational justice.

1. A high achiever is not motivated by an organization’s assessment of performance or organizational rewards, hence the jump from effort to personal goals for those with high nAch. 2. Remember, high achievers are internally driven as long as their jobs provide them with personal responsibility, feedback, and moderate risks.

3. They are not as concerned with the effort–performance, performance–reward, or rewards–goal linkages.

G. Reinforcement theory enters the model by recognizing that the organization’s rewards reinforce the individual’s performance.

1. If employees see a reward system as “paying off” for good performance, the rewards will reinforce and encourage good performance.

2. Rewards also play a key part in organizational justice research. Individuals will judge the favorability of their outcomes (for example, their pay) relative to what others receive but also with respect to how they are treated: When people are disappointed by their rewards, they are likely to be sensitive to the perceived fairness of the procedures used and the consideration given to them by their supervisors.

VIII. SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Make sure extrinsic rewards for employees are not viewed as PPT 7.27 coercive, and recognize the importance of intrinsic motivators that

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appeal to employees’ desires for autonomy, relatedness, and competence.

B. Consider goal setting theory: Clear and difficult goals often lead to higher levels of employee productivity.

C. Consider reinforcement theory regarding quality and quantity of work, persistence of effort, absenteeism, tardiness, and accident rates.

D. Consult equity theory to help understand productivity, satisfaction, absence, and turnover variables.

E. Expectancy theory offers a powerful explanation of performance variables such as employee productivity, absenteeism, and turnover.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the three key elements of motivation.

Answer: The three key elements of motivation are: (1) intensity: how much effort a person puts forth to meet a goal, (2) direction: efforts are channeled toward organizational goals, and (3) persistence: how long a person maintains effort toward a goal.

2. Describe one of the three early theories of motivation and evaluate its applicability today.

Answer: Answers will vary depending on which of the theories (Maslow, Hertzberg, or McClelland) is selected. Maslow and McClelland are generally not very valid explanations of motivation, although McClelland’s theory of the relationship between achievement and productivity comes the closest. Both Maslow’s and McGregor's theories, although popular, are not particularly useful or supported by literature.

3. Describe the relationship between goal-setting theory and self-efficacy theory.

Answer: Goal-setting theory and self-efficacy theory complement each other. When managers set difficult goals for employees, this leads employees to have a higher level of self-efficacy and they set higher goals on their own. This is because when managers set difficult goals for people, it communicates their confidence in those people.

4. Explain why organizational justice can be considered a refinement of equity theory.

Answer: Equity is closely tied to a desire for fairness and fairness is normally associated with justice. Of the four views of justice, one relates closely to equity theory: organizational justice. In this view of justice, justice is the employee’s overall perception of what is fair in the workplace. Its view of justice is multidimensional and includes both distributive justice and procedural justice.

5. Describe the key relationships in expectancy theory.

Answer: There are three key relationships in expectancy theory: a. Effort-Performance Relationship. Defined as the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort leads to successful performance. If the employee believes that effort will not result in successful performance or that the performance will not be accurately reflected in the performance appraisal, little effort will be expended. b. Performance-Reward Relationship. The degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome. Unless the relationship between strong performance appraisals and rewards is clear, little effort will be expended to achieve those high appraisal marks. c. Rewards-Personal Goals Relationship. The degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an individual's personal goals or needs and the

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attractiveness of those potential rewards for the individual. Unless organizational rewards are tailored to individual employee wants and needs, they will not be very motivational and little effort will be expended.

6. How are motivational theories culturally bound?

Answer: The motivational theories described in the text were created out of the U.S. culture and significantly reflect its values. For instance, both goal setting and expectancy theories emphasize goal accomplishment and rational individual thought. Maslow's hierarchy may not appear in the same order in other cultures.

McClelland's need for achievement presupposes a cultural desire for a moderate degree of risk acceptance and a concern with performance. Adams' equity theory is very closely tied to American pay practices and may not be relevant in collectivistic or former socialistic cultures in which there is more of a sense of entitlement or the desire to be paid based on need rather than performance.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. After reviewing all of the motivational theories of this chapter, select the one you believe to be the most accurate in describing human behavior. Justify your selection and describe how the motivational theory would explain the actions you have taken in your own life.

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, find webpages that relate to McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. Read five of the most interesting pages. What overall impressions do you get on the perceived validity of this theory on those pages? Did everyone explain the theory in the same way? What may have caused the differences if there were any?

3. Teamwork. In small groups, discuss the motivations that each of you had when you made the decision to attend this college and this class in particular. Were they the same motivations? What motivates you to expend more effort in this class? What motivates you to continue to attend college and expend the effort necessary to graduate?

As a group, decide which motivational theory best fits the results of your discussion.

Be ready to give a short description of the most common motivators found in your group. Justify your application of the chosen motivational theory.

What motivational suggestions would your team make to your professor or the college administrators to increase the likelihood of student performance, that is, successful graduation or increased study?

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Discuss with your manager the various motivational theories outlined in this chapter. Interview the manager to determine his or her beliefs regarding the validity of each of these theories. How might these beliefs affect organizational effectiveness? Be prepared to present your findings either orally in class or as a paper.

5. An Application of Motivation—Management by Objectives (MBO). Instructor notes: The goal here is to help students apply MBO. The emphasis should be on creating measurable realistic objectives. You may wish to use this as part of your grading for the course by holding the students accountable for their objectives at the end of the term.

Review the principles of MBO with the class. Carefully describe the nature of effective outcomes. The criteria for effective objectives are that they should be specific, challenging, and measurable. Generalized outcomes, with no means of measuring their accomplishment, should not be accepted.

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As writing effective objectives is quite often a difficult task for both students and managers, it is strongly recommended that the first objective is written as a class activity. Typically, the students’ first version of an objective is “Get an A in the course.” Be gentle as you point out why this is not an effective objective.

Suggested Assignment

a. Review the course objectives (outcomes) as given in the course materials. b. Create five personal objectives relating to the successful completion of this course’s objectives. Submit the objectives to your instructor, retaining a copy for yourself. c. In small groups, share your objectives and discuss. Present the five best objectives from the group to the class. d. At the end of the course, when the instructor directs, write a short paper describing how well you believe you have met your own objectives.

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Chapter 8

Applied Motivation

Chapter Overview

This chapter builds on the last chapter and focuses on applying motivational concepts in the workplace.

PPT 8.2

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 8.3 1. Describe how the job characteristics model (JCM) motivates by changing the work environment.

2. Compare the main ways that jobs can be redesigned.

3. Explain how specific alternative work arrangements can motivate employees.

4. Describe how employee involvement measures can motivate employees.

5. Demonstrate how the different types of variable-pay programs can increase employee motivation.

6. Show how flexible benefits turn benefits into motivators.

7. Identify the intrinsic motivational benefits of employee recognition programs.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION

Simply knowing about motivational theories is not enough to make managers effective.

Managers must be able to apply these theories in the workplace to increase worker motivation. This chapter will review the job characteristics model, discuss some ways jobs can be redesigned, and then explore some alternative work arrangements.

II. MOTIVATING BY JOB DESIGN: THE JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL

A. Job design suggests that the way elements in a job are PPT 8.4 organized can influence employee effort, and the model discussed next can serve as a framework to identify opportunities for changes to those elements.

1. Designed by Hackman and Oldham, the job characteristics model (JCM) proposes that any job can be described in terms of five core job dimensions:

a. Skill Variety: described as the degree to which the job requires a variety of different activities, so the worker can use a number of different skills and talents. b. Task Identity: this is the degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. c. Task Significance: the degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people. d. Autonomy: the degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and .

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determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out. Jobs that possess autonomy give employees a feeling of personal responsibility for the results. e. Feedback: the degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance. Jobs that provide feedback lets employees know how effectively they are performing.

2. Elements of the JCM. a. Exhibit 8-1 presents the job characteristics model.

PPT 8.5 b. The first three dimensions—skill variety, task identity, and task

significance—combine to create meaningful work the Exhibit 8-1 incumbent will view as important, valuable, and worthwhile. c. Jobs with high autonomy give incumbents a feeling of personal responsibility for the results and that, if a job provides feedback, employees will know how effectively they are performing. d. From a motivational standpoint, the JCM proposes that individuals obtain internal rewards when they learn (knowledge of results) that they personally (experienced responsibility) have performed well on a task they care about (experienced meaningfulness).

PPT 8.6 1) The more these three psychological states are present, the greater will be employees’ motivation, performance, and satisfaction, and the lower their absenteeism and likelihood of leaving. e. As Exhibit 8-1 shows, individuals with a high growth need are more likely to experience the critical psychological states when their jobs are enriched— and respond to them more positively.

3. Efficacy of the JCM. a. Much evidence supports the JCM concept that the presence of a set of job characteristics—variety, identity, significance, autonomy, and feedback— does generate higher and more satisfying job performance.

4. Motivating Potential Score (MPS). a. We can combine the core dimensions of the JCM into a single predictive index, called the motivating potential score (MPS) and calculated as follows: b. MPS = Skill variety + Task identity + Task significance/ 3 * Autonomy * Feedback 5. Cultural Generalizability of the JCM. a. A few studies have tested the JCM in different cultures, but the results are not consistent. The fact that the JCM is relatively individualistic suggests job enrichment strategies may not have the same effects in collectivistic cultures as in individualistic cultures.

B. USING JOB DESIGN TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES 1. Redesigning jobs has important practical implications— PPT 8.7 reduced turnover and increased job satisfaction among them. Let’s look at some ways to put the JCM into practice to make jobs more motivating.

2. Job Rotation. a. Helpful when employees suffer from excessively routine work. Job rotation is the periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another.

1) The strengths of job rotation are: .

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activities, and

c) it helps employees understand how their work contributes to the organization.

d) International evidence from Britain, Italy, and Turkey shows that job

rotation is associated with higher levels of organizational performance in manufacturing settings.

3. The drawbacks of job rotation: a. work that is done repeatedly may become habitual and routine, which does make decision making more automatic and efficient, but less thoughtfully considered. b. training costs increase when each rotation necessitates that an employee learn new skills. c. moving a worker into a new position reduces overall productivity for that role. d. it creates disruptions when members of the work group have to adjust to new employees. e. supervisors may have to spend more time answering questions and monitoring the work of recently rotated employees.

4. Relational Job Design. a. While redesigning jobs on the basis of jobs characteristics theory is likely to make work more intrinsically motivating, contemporary research is focusing on how to make jobs more prosocially motivating to people.

1) In other words, how can managers design work so employees are motivated to promote the well-being of the PPT 8.8 organization’s beneficiaries (customers, clients, patients, and employees)?

2) This view, relational job design, shifts the spotlight from the employee to those whose lives are affected by the job that employee performs. b. One way to make jobs mores prosocially motivating is to better connect employees with the beneficiaries of their work by relating stories from customers who have found the company’s products or services to be helpful.

1) In some cases, managers may be able to connect employees directly with beneficiaries.

5. Using Alternative Work Arrangements to Motivate Employees. a. Another means of increasing motivation in the workplace is to alter the typical work arrangements.

PPT 8.9 There are three major ways to accomplish this. b. Flextime.

1) Flextime refers to the use of "flexible work time."

2) Flextime allows employees some discretion over when they arrive at work and when they can leave.

3) Employees have to work a specific number of hours per week, but they are free to vary the hours of work within certain limits.

4) Flextime has become popular outside the United States in countries such as Germany where 73 percent of businesses offer flextime, and Japan. c. Core Period. .

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1) Typically, all workers must be in the office during a core period.

2) This core period may be as long as six hours, with the remaining two work hours scheduled at the employee's convenience.

d. Benefits. They include: 1) reduced absenteeism, 2) increased productivity, 3) reduced overtime expenses, 4) reduced hostility toward management, 5) reduced traffic congestion around work sites, elimination of tardiness, and

6) increased autonomy and responsibility for employees, any of which may

increase employee job satisfaction. e. Research Results.

1) Most evidence seems to back up the listed benefits of flextime.

2) The use of this technique is not applicable to every job. a) It does work well for clerical tasks, where interaction with outside individuals is limited, but b) It is inappropriate for jobs with comprehensive service demands during predetermined hours.

6. Job Sharing. a. This scheduling innovation allows two or more individuals to split a single traditional 40-hour-a-week job among them. b. Only 18 percent of U.S. organizations offered job sharing in 2014, a 29 percent decrease since 2008. c. Reasons it is not more widely adopted include the difficulty of finding compatible pairs of employees to job share and the historically negative perceptions of individuals not completely committed to their jobs and employers. d. However, decreasing job sharing for these reasons may be short sighted.

1) Job sharing allows an organization to draw on the talents of more than one individual for a given job. It opens the opportunity to acquire skilled workers — for instance, women with young children and retirees — who might not be available on a full-time basis.

2) From the employee’s perspective, job sharing can increase satisfaction and motivation. e. An employer’s decision to use job sharing is sometimes based on economics and national policy.

1) Two part-time employees sharing a job can be less expensive than one full-time employee, but experts suggest this is not the case because training, coordination, and administrative costs can be high.

2) In the United States, the national Affordable Care Act may create an incentive for companies to increase job sharing arrangements in order to avoid the fees employers must pay the government for full-time employees.

3) Many German and Japanese firms have been using job sharing – but for a different reason. Germany’s Kurzarbeit program has kept employment levels from plummeting through economic crises by switching full-time workers to part-time job sharing workers. .

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f. Ideally, employers should consider each employee and job separately,

seeking to match up the skills, personalities, and needs of each employee with the tasks required for the job to look for potential job sharing matches.

7. Telecommuting (or Working from the Virtual Office). a. This refers to employees who do their work remotely for at least two days a week using a computer linked to their office. A closely related term — the virtual office — describes working from home on a relatively permanent basis.

1) While telecommuting would seem to mesh with a transition to knowledge work, it has been a popular topic lately not for its potential, but rather for reconsideration.

2) While the movement away from telecommuting by some companies makes headlines, it appears that for most organizations, it remains popular. a) For example, almost 50 percent of managers in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States are permitted telecommuting options. b) Telecommuting is less of a practice in China, but there, too, it is growing.

(1) In developing countries, the telecommuting percentage is between 10 and 20 percent.

(2) Organizations that actively encourage telecommuting include Amazon, IBM, American Express, Intel, Cisco Systems, and a number of U.S. government agencies. c) From the employee’s standpoint, telecommuting can increase feelings of isolation and reduce job satisfaction.

(1) Research indicates it does not reduce work–family conflicts, though perhaps it is because telecommuting often increases work hours beyond the contracted workweek.

(2) Telecommuters are also vulnerable to the “out of sight, out of mind” effect: Employees who aren’t at their desks, miss impromptu meetings in the office, and don’t share in day-to-day informal workplace interactions may be at a disadvantage when it comes to raises and promotions because they’re perceived as not putting in the requisite “face time.”

(3) As for a corporate social responsibility (CSR) benefit of reducing car emissions by allowing telecommuting, research indicates that employees actually drive over 45 miles more per day, due to increased personal trips, when they telecommute!

III. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT A. Employee involvement and participation is a participative PPT 8.10 process that uses the input of employees to increase their commitment to the organization's success.

B. The logic behind employee involvement is that by involving workers in decisions that affect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs.

C. Cultural Employee Involvement Programs (EIPs). .

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1. Employee involvement programs (EIPs) differ among countries. Research shows that it is important to modify practices to reflect culture.

a. Employees in many traditional cultures that value formal hierarchies do not

especially value EIPs , but this is changing.

1) In China, for instance, some employees are becoming less high power– distance oriented.

D. Forms of EIPs. 1. Participative Management. Participative management is the use of joint decision making in an organization.

PPT 8.11 a. This sharing can occur either formally through, say, briefings or surveys, or informally through daily consultations, as a way to enhance motivation through trust and commitment. b. In order for this type of decision making to be effective, followers must have trust and confidence in their leaders.

1) Leaders should refrain from coercive techniques and instead stress the organizational consequences of decisions to their followers.

2) Research findings on the use of this technique have been mixed. a) It appears that participation in decision making only has a modest influence on employee productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction.

2. Representative Participation. a. Representative participation from Western Europe is a legislated form of participation.

PPT 8.12 b. Representatives of employees are legally mandated to be placed on an organization's board (or on works councils who must be consulted regarding management’s personnel decisions) to represent the interests of the workers. c. Purpose is the desire to redistribute power within an organization by giving the interests of labor more of an equal footing with those of management and stockholders. d. Research.

1) From results thus far, it appears that this mandatory form of employee involvement has minimal impact on the employees.

2) It may be motivational for those employees selected to represent the other workers, but it does not appear to motivate workers in general.

IV. USING EXTRINSIC REWARDS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES 1. Pay is not the only factor driving job satisfaction. However, it does motivate people, and companies often underestimate its PPT 8.13 importance.

2. What to Pay: Establishing a Pay Structure. a. The process of initially setting pay levels entails balancing internal equity— the worth of the job to the organization (usually established through a technical process called job evaluation), and external PPT 8.14 equity—the competitiveness of an organization’s pay relative to pay in its industry (usually established through pay surveys). b. Pay more, and you may get better-qualified, more highly motivated employees who will stay with the organization longer. .

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1) A study covering 126 large organizations found employees who believed

they were receiving a competitive pay level had higher morale and were more productive, and customers were more satisfied as well. c. But pay is often the highest single operating cost for an organization, which means paying too much can make the organization’s products or services too expensive. d. It’s a strategic decision an organization must make, with clear trade-offs.

3. How to Pay: Rewarding Individual Employees Through Variable-Pay Programs. a. Piece rate, merit based, bonus, profit sharing, and employee stock ownership plans are all forms of a variable-pay program (also known as payPPT 8.15 for-performance), which bases a portion of an employee’s pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance. b. Variable-pay plans have long been used to compensate salespeople and executives, but the scope of variable-pay jobs has broadened as the motivational potential has been realized. c. Globally, around 80 percent of companies offer some form of variable-pay plan.

1) In the United States, 91 percent of companies offer a variable-pay program.

2) In Latin America, more than 90 percent of companies offer some form of variable-pay plan.

3) European and U.S. companies are lower, at about 12 percent.

4) When it comes to executive compensation, Asian companies are outpacing western companies in their use of variable pay. d. Unfortunately, not all employees see a strong connection between pay and performance. The results of pay-for-performance plans vary. e. Secrecy also pays a role in the motivational success of variable-pay plans.

Although in some government and not-for-profit agencies pay amounts are either specifically or generally made public, most U.S. organizations encourage or require pay secrecy. f. Is this good or bad? Unfortunately, it’s bad: pay secrecy has a detrimental effect on job performance.

1) Even worse, it adversely affects high performers more than other employees. It very likely increases employees’ perception that pay is subjective, which can be demotivating.

2) Do variable-pay programs increase motivation and productivity?

Generally, yes, but that doesn’t mean everyone is equally motivated by them. a) Many organizations have more than one variable pay element in operation, such as an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) and bonuses, so managers should evaluate the effectiveness of the overall plan in terms of the employee motivation gained from each element separately and from all elements together. b) Managers should monitor their employees’ performance–reward expectancy, since a combination of elements that makes employees feel that their greater performance will yield them greater rewards will be the most motivating. g. Piece-Rate Pay. .

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1) In piece-rate pay plans workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of

production completed.

2) These plans may or may not have a base salary attached to them.

PPT 8.16 a) Piece-rate plans are known to produce higher productivity and wages, so they can be attractive to organizations and motivating for workers. h. Merit-Based Pay. 1) These individual plans modify pay based on performance appraisal ratings. a) The advantage of merit-based pay plans is that employers can differentiate pay based on performance, so that high performers are given bigger raises. b) However, it should be noted that these plans are only as valid as the appraisals they are based on. c) Additionally, the pay raise pool from which the merit pay monies are taken may be too low to provide a sufficient level of incentive pay. i. Bonuses.

1) Bonuses, extra money paid for a specific event or organizational achievement, are becoming more common even in the lower levels of organizations.

2) One advantage of using bonuses is that they reward employees for recent performance rather than historical performance.

3) However, employees may prefer base pay increases to the variable bonuses. j. Profit-Sharing Plans.

1) Profit-sharing plans are organization-wide programs to distribute compensation based on some established formula designed around a company's profitability. Rewards can be given in the form of cash, or for top management, allocations of stock options. k. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).

1) Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are company-established benefit plans in which employees can acquire stock, often at belowmarket prices, as part of their benefits.

2) Research has shown that these plans do increase employee satisfaction, but their impact on performance is less clear.

3) In situations where the employees do feel like owners, the impact on organizational performance can be quite dramatic.

V. USING BENEFITS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES A. As with pay, benefits are both an employee provision and an employee motivator.

1. A flexible benefits program turns the benefits package into a motivational tool.

PPT 8.17 2. Flexible benefits individualize rewards by allowing each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies his or her current needs and situation.

3. These plans replace the “one-benefit-plan-fits-all” programs designed for a male with a wife and two children at home that dominated organizations for more than 50 years. .

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4. But are flexible benefits more motivating than traditional plans? It’s difficult to

tell. Some organizations that have moved to flexible plans report increased employee retention, job satisfaction, and productivity. a. Given the intuitive motivational appeal of flexible benefits, however, it may be surprising that their usage is not yet global.

VI. USING INRINSIC REWARDS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES A. We have discussed motivating employees through job design and by the extrinsic rewards of pay and benefits. We also need to consider intrinsic PPT 8.18 rewards organizations can provide such as employee recognition programs.

1. An employee recognition program is a plan to encourage specific behaviors by formally appreciating specific employee contributions.

2. Employee recognition programs range from a spontaneous and private thankyou to widely publicized formal programs in which specific types of behavior are encouraged and the procedures for attaining recognition are clearly identified.

3. Some research suggests financial incentives may be more motivating in the short term, but in the long run it’s nonfinancial incentives. a. A few years ago, 1,500 employees were surveyed in a variety of work settings to find out what they considered the most powerful workplace motivator.

1) Recognition, recognition, and more recognition.

4. An obvious advantage of recognition programs is that they are inexpensive because praise is free! a. It shouldn’t be surprising then that they’ve grown in popularity.

5. Despite the increased popularity of employee recognition programs, critics argue they are highly susceptible to political manipulation by management.

6. When applied to jobs for which performance factors are relatively objective, such as sales, recognition programs are likely to be perceived by employees as fair. a. However, in most jobs, the criteria for good performance aren’t self-evident, which allows managers to manipulate the system and recognize their favorites.

1) Abuse can undermine the value of recognition programs and demoralize employees.

VII. SUMMARY A. Understanding what motivates individuals is ultimately key to organizational performance.

1. Employees whose differences are recognized, who feel valued, and who have the opportunity to work in jobs tailored to their strengths and interests will be motivated to perform at the highest levels.

2. Employee participation can also increase employee productivity, commitment to work goals, motivation, and job satisfaction.

3. However, we cannot overlook the powerful role of organizational rewards in influencing motivation. a. Pay, benefits, and intrinsic rewards must be carefully and thoughtfully designed in order to enhance employee motivation toward positive organizational outcomes. .

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VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Recognize Individual Differences.

1. Spend the time necessary to understand what’s important to each employee.

2. Design jobs to align with individual needs and maximize their motivational potential.

B. Use Goals and Feedback.

1. Employees should have firm, specific goals, and they should get feedback on

PPT 8.19

how well they are faring in pursuit of those goals.

C. Allow Employees to Participate in Decisions That Affect Them.

1. Employees can contribute to setting work goals, choosing their own benefits

packages, and solving productivity and quality problems.

2. Participation can increase employee productivity, commitment to work goals, motivation, and job satisfaction.

D. Link Rewards to Performance.

1. Rewards should be contingent on performance, and employees must perceive the link between the two.

2. Recognize the power of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards.

E. Check the System for Equity.

1. Employees should perceive that experience, skills, abilities, effort, and other obvious inputs explain differences in performance pay, job assignments, and other rewards.

Discussion Questions

1. In what ways can employees be motivated through changing the work environment?

Answer: Employees can be motivated by changing the nature of the work environment in any of the following ways: (1) modifying the five dimensions of the job characteristics model (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback); (2) redesigning jobs through job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment; and/or (3) creating alternative work arrangements such as flextime, job sharing, or telecommuting.

2. Compare and contrast the means in which jobs can be redesigned.

Answer: Jobs can be redesigned through job rotation and relational job design. Job rotation keeps the individual jobs constant and rotates workers through each job.

Relational job design involves constructing the job so that employees see the positive difference they can make in the lives of others. This is especially relevant for companies with corporate social responsibility initiatives.

3. Why would managers want to use employee involvement programs?

Answer: By involving workers in the decisions that affect them and by increasing their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs.

4. Define employee involvement and participation and identify the two major forms of employee involvement.

Answer: Employee involvement and participation is a process that uses employees’ input to increase their commitment to organizational success. Two major forms of employee involvement are participative management where subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors, and .

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representative participation which redistributes power in an organization by including a small group of employees as participants in decision making.

5. Choose a variable-pay program and describe its motivational impact.

Answer: Answers will vary based on the choice. In general, these key points should be made. Piece-rate pay motivates productivity by linking output directly to pay.

Merit-based pay motivates toward organizational outcomes by linking appraisals to pay. Bonuses motivate by incentivizing recent performance. Skill-based pay motivates employees toward learning by rewarding them for it. Profit-sharing plans attempt to motivate employees toward organizational goals, specifically profits.

Gainsharing plans motivate employees toward productivity gains. Employee Stock Option Plans motivate toward organizational outcomes through ownership.

6. Can motivational theories be applied across cultures?

Answer: Most likely, motivational theories cannot be directly applied without some modification based on culture. However, there is insufficient research in most cases, to make definitive statements. Students may give intuitive statements, such as that individual rewards work best in individualistic cultures, but they should be cautioned against accepting intuition as fact.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Think back to the job or activity that you found to be the most motivational in your life. Describe the aspects of the job that made it so exciting for you. What type, or types, of motivational techniques were used in that job or activity? If you are the manager in your current job, how could you apply those techniques in that environment?

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, find an additional motivational technique, not mentioned in the chapter. Fully describe and cite this technique.

Using the motivational theories from Chapter 7, explain why you believe it would work and under what conditions you think it would prove most effective.

3. Teamwork. As a small group, assume you are a consultancy firm that specializes in motivational techniques and job redesign. The college administration has come to you and asked that you examine the college bookstore (or some other entity on the campus) and can provide them with suggestions for increasing the motivation of the employees there. Assess the current work environment and write your suggestions using the motivational theories and techniques given in Chapters 5 and 7.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Assess the motivational techniques (both extrinsic and intrinsic) used at your workplace. Describe the techniques you were able to identify and assess their effectiveness in your work environment. If any of the techniques were ineffective, provide some suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of those techniques.

Suggested Assignment

For this activity, select two teams of four people each, one moderator (master of ceremonies [MC]), one scorekeeper, and one timekeeper. The rest of the class will act as a studio audience (but they also have tasks to perform).

Setup: (ensure the class is very familiar with the concepts in both Chapters 7 and 8 before attempting this activity). .

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a. One of the two groups of four will act as Abraham Maslow. The other group will act as Fredrick Herzberg. Allow the teams 5 to 10 minutes to review their materials on these two motivational theorists. b. The moderator will act as the MC for the debate and read questions to the two panels. (The instructor may decide to act as MC.) c. While the groups are preparing, the audience should write down questions regarding their concerns over the motivational effectiveness of job rotation, job enrichment, and job enlargement on 3 x 5 cards. d. The debate works this way: i. A question from the audience is selected and read aloud to both teams by the MC. ii. The MC selects one panel and gives them two minutes to respond to the question based on the views of the theorist they represent.

Timekeeper will give a five-second warning and stop the panel when two minutes are up. iii. The MC will then give the second panel their two minutes to express their theorist's viewpoint. Again, the timekeeper will give warning and stop the panel when time is up. iv. The MC will give the first group a one-minute rebuttal of the second panel's argument. Then the second group has one minute to rebut the first. Timekeeper will ensure deadlines are met. v. After the second rebuttal, the audience should be asked to vote as to which motivational theorist won the current point. vi. The debate cycle then begins anew with another card from the audience. This continues as time allows or until there are no more questions from the audience. vii. The panel with the most points at the end of the activity wins.

.

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Communication

Chapter Overview

Chapter 9 PPT 9.2

In order to be successful, managers must be able to communicate effectively. This chapter describes the communication process and the various ways managers communicate to employees. Additionally, barriers to communication are presented.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 9.3 1. Describe the functions and process of communication.

2. Contrast downward, upward, and lateral communication through small-group networks and the grapevine.

3. Contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.

4. Describe how channel richness underlies the choice of communication channel.

5. Differentiate between automatic and controlled processing of persuasive messages.

6. Identify common barriers to effective communication.

7. Discuss how to overcome the potential problems of cross-cultural communication.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I.

COMMUNICATION

A. No individual, group, or organization can exist without communication (the

transference and understanding of meaning).

B. Functions of Communication.

1. Communication serves five major functions within a group or organization: management, feedback, emotional sharing, persuasion, PPT 9.4 and information exchange.

2. Managing Behavior: Communication acts to manage member behavior in several ways.

3. Feedback: Communication creates feedback by clarifying to employees what they must do, how well they are doing it, and how they can improve their performance.

4. Emotional Sharing: The workgroup is a primary source of social interaction for many employees. Communication within the group is a fundamental mechanism by which members show satisfaction and frustration. Communication therefore provides for the emotional sharing of feelings and fulfillment of social needs.

5. Persuasion: Like emotional sharing, persuasion can be good or bad depending on if, say, a leader is trying to persuade a workgroup to commit to the organization’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives or to, conversely, persuade the workgroup to break the law to meet an organizational goal.

6. Information Exchange: The final function of communication is information exchange to facilitate decision making.

The Communication Process.

II. .

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A. Before communication can take place, it needs a purpose, expressed as a message to

be conveyed.

B. The message passes between a sender and receiver. The message is PPT 9.5 encoded (converted to a symbolic form) and passed by way of some medium (channel) to the receiver, who retranslates (decodes) the message. Successful communication results in the transference of Exhibit 9-1 meaning from one person to another.

C. Exhibit 9-1 shows the key components of the communication process.

1. Sender: the person who initiates a message by encoding a thought.

2. Encoding: converting the thought into symbols and language.

3. Message: the actual physical product the sender is encoding. It is the encoded thought to be transferred.

4. Channel: the sender-selected medium through which the message travels. There are two basic channels for communication in organizations: a. Formal channels follow the authority chain of the PPT 9.6 organization. The messages sent by these channels normally relate to the professional activities of the members of that organization. b. Informal channels emerge as a response to individual choices. Messages sent through these channels are often personal or social.

5. Receiver: the person to whom the message is directed.

6. Decoding: converting a message from symbols and language back into thought.

7. Noise: communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message, such as perceptual problems, information overload, semantic difficulties, or cultural differences.

8. Feedback: information sent from the receiver back to the sender to indicate how successful the transference was.

III. DIRECTION OF COMMUNICATION A. Communication can flow vertically or laterally. Vertical communications can be upward or downward from a person's position in an organization.

B. Downward Communication.

1. Communication that flows from one level of a group or PPT 9.7 organization to a lower level in that organization. a. Typically used by leaders and managers to assign goals, provide job instructions, inform employees of policies and procedures, point out problems that need attention, and offer feedback about performance. b. Downward communication can be an effective means for managers to explain the reasons why a decision was made. Such explanations can dramatically increase employee commitment to change.

PPT 9.8 c. Downward communication is one way: from manager to employee.

The effectiveness of downward communication can be increased if it includes a request for upward communication (feedback, opinions, or advice) from those they supervise.

C. Upward Communication.

1. Communication that moves upward through the organization's hierarchy.

PPT 9.9 a. Upward communication is used to provide feedback to organizational superiors, inform superiors of progress toward goals, to relay current problems, and solicit employee suggestions. .

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1) Effective upward communication requires: a) Reduction of distractions. b) Communicating in headlines, not paragraphs. c) Supporting headlines with actionable items. d) Preparation and use of an agenda.

D. Lateral Communication.

1. Lateral communication takes place among members of the same

PPT 9.10 work group, among members of work groups of the same level of the hierarchy, among managers at the same level, or between any horizontally equivalent personnel. a. Such communications help to facilitate coordination and save time. These lateral relationships may be formally sanctioned or, more often, they are informally created to short-circuit the vertical hierarchy and expedite action. b. Such communication can be good or bad depending on whether it conflicts or enhances the formal vertical channels of communication.

E. Formal Small-Group Networks.

1. This text will demonstrate three basic types of networks: the chain, PPT 9.11 wheel, and all-channel. a. Chain. These networks rigidly follow the formal chain of command.

Exhibit 9-2 This can be seen in traditional, bureaucratic organizations. b. Wheel. These networks rely on a central figure to be the conduit for all of the group's communication. This type of network is often seen in teams with strong leaders, with the leader acting as the conduit. c. All-Channel. In this network, all group members actively communicate with each other with no leader present. An example of this type of network is self-managed work teams.

PPT 9.12 2. Effectiveness. The effectiveness of each network hinges upon which dependent variable needs to be emphasized in the organization. No Exhibit 9-3 single network structure is best for all occasions.

F. The Grapevine.

1. In addition to the formal network systems of communication in organizations, there exists an informal one that is just as important: the grapevine.

PPT 9.13 2. The grapevine is an important part of any group or organization communication network and is well worth understanding. a. It gives managers a feel for the morale of their organization, identifies issues employees consider important, and helps tap into employee anxieties. b. The grapevine also serves employees’ needs: 1) Small talk creates a sense of closeness and friendship among those who share information.

2) Research suggests it often does so at the expense of those in the out group.

MODES OF COMMUNICATION IV. PPT 9.14 A. There are three basic methods of communication: oral, written, and nonverbal.

B. Oral Communication.

PPT 9.15 1. Oral communication is the chief means of conveying messages. It may be in the form of speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, or talk along the grapevine. .

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a. The advantages of oral communications are speed, feedback, and exchange.

It’s quick and feedback can be received just as quickly, making corrections relatively simple. b. The exchange given through oral communication has social, cultural, and emotional components. Cultural social exchange, in which we purposefully share exchanges that transcend cultural boundaries, can build trust, cooperation, and agreement between individuals and teams c. Oral communications are subject to personal interpretation, and when passed through a number of people, the message received at the final destination may not be the one that was originally sent.

C. Written Communication.

PPT 9.16 1. Written communication includes any method that conveys written words or symbols. a. Written communication today is usually conducted via letters, e-mail, instant messaging, social media, and blogs.

D. Nonverbal Communication.

PPT 9.17 1. This form of communication includes body movements, the intonations or emphasis given to words, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and the receiver. a. Forms of Nonverbal Communication: 1) Body Movement. Any movement of the body can have meaning. Such body language conveys two important messages: a) the degree of like or interest in another (or the person's ideas) and b) the perceived status differences between sender and receiver. c) Body language both enhances and complicates verbal communication.

2) Intonation. This is the emphasis given to words or phrases in verbal communication. Changing the intonation of a set of words can completely change their meaning.

3) Facial Expressions. Similar to intonation, facial expressions can change the meaning of the words communicated. Facial expressions allow people to add an emotional component to the words they use.

4) Physical Distance. While highly dependent on cultural norms, the space between people can convey meaning. Typically, the closer two people are, the more intimate they are. Formal relationships and disinterest are often demonstrated by a greater distance between two people.

CHOICE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNEL V. A. Why do people choose one channel of communication over others? A PPT 9.18 model of media richness helps explain channel selection among managers.

B. Channel Richness.

1. Channels differ in terms of their capacity to convey information. Some are rich in that they can: a. Handle multiple cues simultaneously, b. Facilitate rapid feedback, and c. Be very personal.

2. Others are lean in that they score low on these factors. .

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3. As Exhibit 9-5 illustrates, face-to-face conversation scores highest in channel

richness because it transmits the most information per episode — multiple information cues (words, postures, facial expressions, gestures, intonations); immediate feedback (both verbal and nonverbal); and the personal touch of being physically present.

4. Impersonal written media such as formal reports and bulletins rate the lowest in richness.

C. Choosing Communication Methods.

PPT 9.19 1. The choice of channel depends on whether the message is routine. a. Routine messages tend to be straightforward and have minimal ambiguity, so channels low in richness can carry them efficiently. b. Nonroutine communications are likely to be complicated and have the potential for misunderstanding. c. Managers can communicate them effectively only by selecting rich channels.

2. Choosing Oral Communication: Whenever you need to gauge the receiver’s receptivity, oral communication is usually the better choice.

PPT 9.20 a. Also consider the receiver’s preferred mode of communication; some individuals focus on content better over the phone than in person. The pace of your work environment matters, too.

1) If your manager requests a meeting with you, you may not want to ask for an exchange of emails instead. A fast-paced work place may thrive on pop-by meetings, while a deadline heavy team project may progress faster with scheduled Skype videoconferences. Sometimes we cannot choose between a face-to-face meeting and a telephone meeting because of distance. Other times, there is an option. b. Much of what we communicate face-to-face is in the delivery, so consider your speaking skills when choosing your communication method. Research indicates that the sound of your voice is twice as important as what you are saying.

3. Choosing Written Communication: Written communication is generally the most reliable mode for complex and lengthy communications, and it can be the most efficient method for short messages, as when a PPT 9.21 two-sentence text can take the place of a 10-minute phone call.

1) But keep in mind that written communication can be limited in its emotional expression. b. Choose written communication when you want the information to be tangible and verifiable.

1) Letters are used in business primarily for networking and recordkeeping purposes, and when signatures need to be authentic.

2) In general, you should respond to instant messages only when they are professional and initiate them only when you know they will be welcome; remember that your conversation will not be stored for later reference.

3) Texts are cheap to send and receive, and the willingness to be available for quick communications from clients and managers is conducive to good business.

4) Some of the most spectacular gains in social media are in the sales arena, both business-to-public and business-to-business. .

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5) Finally, curtail usage of blogs, posting, and commenting; both options are

more public than you may think, and your words are easily found by your name via search engines like Google.

4. Choosing Nonverbal Communication: It’s important to be alert to nonverbal aspects of your communication and consider your body language cues as well as the literal meaning of your words. a. You should be particularly aware of contradictions between the verbal and nonverbal messages, as a sender and as a receiver.

D. Information Security.

1. Security is a huge concern for nearly all organizations with private or proprietary information about clients, customers, and employees. Organizations worry about the security of the electronic information they seek to protect, such as hospital patient data, the physical information they still keep in file cabinets, and the security of the information they entrust their employees with knowing.

2. Most companies actively monitor employee Internet use and e-mail records, and some even use video surveillance and record phone conversations. a. Necessary as they may be, such practices can seem invasive to employees.

An organization can relieve employee concerns by engaging them in the creation of information-security policies and giving them some control over how their personal information is used.

PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION VI. A. Automatic and Controlled Processing.

PPT 9.22 1. To understand the process of communication, it is useful to consider two different ways that we process information. Consider the last time you bought a can of soda. Did you carefully research brands, or did you choose the can that had the most appealing advertising images? If we’re honest, we’ll admit glitzy ads and catchy slogans do indeed influence our choices as consumers.

2. We often rely on automatic processing, a relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information making use of heuristics. a. Automatic processing takes little time and minimal effort, so it makes sense to use it for processing persuasive messages related to topics you don’t care much about. The disadvantage is that it lets us be easily fooled by a variety of tricks, like a cute jingle or a glamorous photo.

3. Now consider the last time you chose a place to live. You probably researched the area, gathered information about prices from a variety of sources, and considered the costs and benefits of renting versus buying. Here, you’re relying on more effortful controlled processing, a detailed consideration of evidence and information relying on facts, figures, and logic. a. Controlled processing requires effort and energy, but it’s harder to fool someone who has taken the time and effort to engage in it.

4. So what makes someone engage in either automatic or controlled processing?

5. Interest Level: One of the best predictors of whether people will use an automatic or controlled process for reacting to a persuasive message is their level of interest in the outcome.

PPT 9.23 a. Interest levels reflect the impact a decision is going to have on your life. When people are very interested in the outcome of a decision, they’re more likely to process information carefully. That’s probably why .

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people look for so much more information when deciding about something important than something relatively unimportant.

6. Prior Knowledge: People who are very well informed about a subject area are more likely to use controlled processing strategies. They have already thought through various arguments for or against a specific course of action, and therefore they won’t readily change their position unless very good, thoughtful reasons are provided. a. On the other hand, people who are poorly informed about a topic can change their minds more readily, even in the face of fairly superficial arguments presented without a great deal of evidence. b. Overall, then, a better-informed audience is likely to be much harder to persuade.

7. Personality: Those who are lower in need for cognition are more likely to use automatic processing strategies, relying on intuition and emotion to guide their evaluation of persuasive messages.

8. Message Characteristics: Another factor that influences whether people use an automatic or controlled processing strategy is the characteristics of the message itself. a. Messages provided through relatively lean communication channels, with little opportunity for users to interact with the content of the message, encourage automatic processing. b. Conversely, messages provided through richer communication channels tend to encourage more deliberative processing.

B. Tailoring the Message.

1. The most important implication is to match your persuasive message to the type of processing your audience is likely to use. When the audience is not interested in a persuasive message topic, when they are poorly informed, when they are low in need for cognition, and when information is transmitted through relatively lean channels, they’ll be more likely to use automatic processing. a. In these cases, use messages that are more emotionally laden and associate positive images with your preferred outcome. b. On the other hand, when the audience is interested in a topic, when they are high in need for cognition, or when the information is transmitted through rich channels, then it is a better idea to focus on rational arguments and evidence to make your case.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. VII. A. Filtering.

1. Filtering refers to senders purposely manipulating information, so it will be seen more favorably by the receiver.

PPT 9.24 2. Upward communication, especially of bad news, is often filtered and distorted to avoid the possibility of upper management “killing the messenger.”

B. Selective Perception.

1. Receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their own needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics.

2. Human beings don't see reality; they interpret what they see and call it reality.

C. Information Overload. .

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1. Individuals have a finite capacity for processing data, and when that capacity is

exceeded, the result is information overload.

2. When individuals are in this condition, they tend to pass over, ignore, select out, or forget information, resulting in lost information and less effective communication.

D. Emotions.

1. How a person feels when a message is received will influence how he or she interprets it.

2. When emotions are running high, most people tend to disregard rational and objective thinking processes.

E. Language.

1. Despite sharing a common language, words do not always hold the same meaning among members of the organization.

2. Senders tend to assume the words and terms they use mean the same to the receiver as to them. This assumption is often incorrect.

F. Silence.

1. It’s easy to ignore silence or lack of communication, precisely because it is defined by the absence of information.

2. However, research suggests silence and withholding communication are both common and problematic. a. One survey found that more than 85 percent of managers reported remaining silent about at least one issue of significant concern. Employee silence means managers lack information about ongoing operational problems. b. And silence regarding discrimination, harassment, corruption, and misconduct means top management cannot take action to eliminate this behavior. c. Finally, employees who are silent about important issues may also experience psychological stress.

G. Communication Apprehension.

1. Approximately 5 to 20percent of the population is anxious when put in a situation where they have to communicate to others.

2. This communication apprehension may affect all forms of communication, not just speaking in front of groups.

H. Lying.

1. The final barrier to effective communication is outright misrepresentation of information, or lying.

2. People differ in their definition of what constitutes a lie. Regardless of the definition, however, lying is prevalent.

3. The average person tells two lies per day and is more comfortable lying over the phone than face to face, and more comfortable lying in e-mail than on paper.

VIII. CULTURAL FACTORS A. Effective communication is difficult under the best of conditions.

PPT 9.25 1. Cross-cultural factors clearly create the potential for increased communication problems.

2. A gesture that is well understood and acceptable in one culture can be meaningless or lewd in another. .

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3. Only 18 percent of companies have documented strategies for communicating

with employees across cultures, and only 31 percent require that corporate messages be customized for consumption in other cultures.

B. Cultural Barriers.

1. Researchers have identified a number of problems related to language difficulties in cross-cultural communications.

2. First are barriers caused by semantics. a. Words mean different things to different people, particularly people from different national cultures. b. Some words don’t translate between cultures. c. The new capitalists in Russia may have difficulty communicating with British or Canadian counterparts because English terms such as efficiency, free market, and regulation have no direct Russian equivalents.

3. Second are barriers caused by word connotations. a. Words imply different things in different languages. b. Negotiations between U.S. and Japanese executives can be difficult because the Japanese word hai translates as “yes,” but its connotation is “Yes, I’m listening” rather than “Yes, I agree.”

4. Third are barriers caused by tone differences. a. In some cultures, language is formal; in others, it’s informal. In some cultures, the tone changes depending on the context: People speak differently at home, in social situations, and at work. Using a personal, informal style when a more formal style is expected can be embarrassing.

5. Fourth are differences in tolerance for conflict and methods for resolving conflicts. a. People from individualist cultures tend to be more comfortable with direct conflicts and will make the source of their disagreements overt. b. Collectivists are more likely to acknowledge conflict only implicitly and avoid emotionally charged disputes. c. They may attribute conflicts to the situation more than to the individuals and therefore may not require explicit apologies to repair relationships, whereas individualists prefer explicit statements accepting responsibility for conflicts and public apologies to restore relationships.

C. Cultural Context.

1. Cultures tend to differ in the degree to which context influences the meaning individuals take from communication. a. In high-context cultures such as China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational cues in communicating with others, and a person’s official status, place in society, and reputation carry considerable weight.

1) What is not said may be more significant than what is said.

2) In contrast, people from Europe and North America reflect their lowcontext cultures.

3) They rely essentially on spoken and written words to convey meaning; body language and formal titles are secondary. b. These contextual differences actually mean quite a lot in terms of communication. .

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2. Communication in high-context cultures implies considerably more trust by

both parties. a. What may appear to be casual and insignificant conversation in fact reflects the desire to build a relationship and create trust. b. Oral agreements imply strong commitments in high context cultures. And who you are—your age, seniority, rank in the organization—is highly valued and heavily influences your credibility.

3. But in low-context cultures, enforceable contracts tend to be in writing, precisely worded, and highly legalistic. a. Similarly, low-context cultures value directness. b. Managers are expected to be explicit and precise in conveying intended meaning.

4. It’s quite different in high-context cultures, in which managers tend to make suggestions rather than give orders.

D. A Cultural Guide PPT 9.26 1. When communicating with people from a different culture, what can you do to reduce misinterpretations?

2. Begin by trying to assess the cultural context. You’re likely to have fewer difficulties if it’s similar to yours.

3. The following rules can be helpful: a. Know Yourself. Recognizing your own cultural identity and biases is critical to understanding the unique viewpoint of others. b. Foster a Climate of Mutual Respect, Fairness, and Democracy. Clearly establish an environment of equality and mutual concern. This will be your third culture context for effective intercultural communication that transcends each person’s cultural norms. c. State the Facts, Not Your Interpretation. Interpreting or evaluating what someone has said or done draws more on your own culture and background than on the observed situation. If you state only facts, you will have the opportunity to benefit from the other person’s interpretation. Delay judgment until you’ve had sufficient time to observe and interpret the situation from the differing perspectives of all concerned. d. Consider the Other Person’s Viewpoint. Before sending a message, put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. Try to see the people in the group as they really are at first, and take a collaborative problem-solving approach whenever potential conflicts arise. e. Proactively Maintain the Identity of the Group. Like any culture, the establishment of a common-ground third culture for effective intercultural communication takes time and nurturing. Remind members of the group of your common goals, mutual respect, and need to adapt to individual communication preferences.

IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Remember that your communication mode will partly PPT 9.27 determine your communication effectiveness.

B. Obtain feedback from your employees to make certain your messages — however they are communicated — are understood.

C. Remember that written communication creates more misunderstandings than oral communication; communicate with employees through in-person meetings when possible. .

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D. Make sure you use communication strategies appropriate to your audience and the

type of message you’re sending.

E. Keep in mind communication barriers such as gender and culture.

SUMMARY X. A. You’ve probably discovered the link between communication and employee satisfaction in this chapter: the less uncertainty, the greater the satisfaction.

B. Distortions, ambiguities, and incongruities between oral, written, and nonverbal messages all increase uncertainty and reduce satisfaction.

C. Careful attention to the methods and modes for each communication better ensures that the message is properly interpreted by the receiver.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the communication process.

Answer: The communication process starts with an idea to be conveyed. The idea is encoded (converted into symbolic form) into a message. The message passes between a sender and receiver through a formal or informal channel (media) and may be distorted by noise (communications barriers). The receiver retranslates (decodes) the message. Successful communication is the result of transference of meaning from one person to another and may be evidenced through feedback.

2. Describe the possible directions that formal communication can take in an organization and provide examples of each.

Answer: Communication in organizations can be upward, downward, or lateral.

Upward communication is used to provide feedback to superiors, inform them of progress toward goals, relay current problems, and solicit employee suggestions.

Lateral communication takes place among members of the same work group, among members of work groups of the same level of the hierarchy, among managers at the same level, or between any horizontally equivalent personnel. Lateral communications facilitate coordination and save time, such as discussing the budget request with people in both finance and operations. Downward communication is typically used by leaders and managers to assign goals, provide job instructions, and inform employees of policies.

3. Compare and contrast oral, written, and nonverbal communication.

Answer: Oral communication is the chief means of conveying messages. It may be in the form of speeches, formal one-on-one and group discussions, or talk along the grapevine. Written communication includes memos, letters, fax transmissions, email, instant messaging, periodicals, notices, or any other means by which ideas are transmitted through written words or symbols. Nonverbal communication consists of body language, tone and emphasis of words, facial expressions, and the physical distance between sender and receiver. Oral communications are quick and feedback can be received just as quickly, making corrections relatively simple.

Written communication can be time consuming, has slow or no feedback, and may not be received and/or read by the intended recipient. Because of the time and effort involved in creating written communications, they tend to be better thought out, more logical, and clearer than oral communications. Nonverbal communication is culture dependent and often difficult to interpret accurately. Written communications are tangible and verifiable. They provide a record of the communication and can be stored, making them available for future reference. Oral communications are subject to personal interpretation, and when passed through a .

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number of people, the message received at the final destination may not be the one actually sent. Nonverbal communication can amplify oral communication.

Identify which organizational outcomes (dependent variables) are most effectively achieved by each type of formal small group communication network.

Answer: Accuracy is best achieved using the chain network. Leadership development is best facilitated through the wheel network. High member satisfaction is promoted with the all-channel network.

Compare and contrast automatic and controlled processing and discuss how we might determine which type of processing an audience will use.

Answer: Automatic processing involves the relatively superficial consideration of evidence and information. People using this type of processing when they don’t care much about the topic at hand. As a result, however, they are easily fooled by cute jingles or glamorous photos. Controlled processing in contrast, involves detailed consideration of evidence and information. This type of processing is used for topics that people care about more. The choice of the type of processing used by people depends on interest level, prior knowledge, personality, and message characteristics. In general, the greater the interest in the decision, the more informed the individual is about the subject area, the greater the need for cognition, and richer the communication channel the greater the chance for controlled processing.

Identify and describe common barriers to effective communication.

Answer: (1) Filtering. Refers to senders purposely manipulating information so it will be seen more favorably by the receiver. (2) Selective Perception. Receivers in the communication process selectively see and hear based on their own needs, motivations, experience, background, and other personal characteristics. (3) Information Overload. Individuals have a finite capacity for processing data, and when that capacity is exceeded, the result is information overload. When individuals are in this condition, they tend to pass over, ignore, select out, or forget information, resulting in lost information and less effective communication. (4) Emotions. How a person feels when a message is received will influence how he or she interprets it. (5) Language. Despite sharing a common language, words do not always hold the same meaning among members of the organization. (6) Communication Apprehension. Approximately 5 to 20 percent of the population is anxious when put in a situation where they have to communicate to others. This apprehension may affect all forms of communication, not just speaking in front of groups.

Describe the causes of potential problems in cross-cultural communication.

Answer: Miscommunication can occur because of cultural barriers: (1) Barriers Caused by Semantics. Some culture-specific words have no literal translation in another language. (2) Barriers Caused by Word Connotations. Words have culturally accepted meanings (connotations) that do not always reflect the dictionary definitions (denotations). (3) Barriers Caused by Tone Differences. In some cultures, the acceptable tone is linked to the context of the communication.

Using the incorrect tone can diminish communication effectiveness. (4) Barriers Caused by Differences among Perceptions. People who speak different languages actually view the world in different ways, making it difficult to find commonality in some cases.

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Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Have you ever been misinterpreted in an e-mail, TM, or IM because the receiver could not see your facial expressions or hear your tone of voice? If so, describe what happened. Do you think the use of emoticons (smiley faces and the like) help reduce this communication confusion?

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, enter the phrase communication tests, identify and take three of the free communications tests offered. What did the tests tell you about your communication style? Write up your results and compare the tests and suggestions with those of the textbook.

3. Teamwork. a. Telephone I: Line the class up and pass a hard copy of the following message to the first student in line. That student is to read the message silently and then whisper the message into the ear of the student next in line. No questions are allowed during the course of this activity and the message can only be passed on (said) once — no repeating.

All on a summer’s day, Candice crammed cranberries into the cask while Paula pruned the purple primroses completely away.

-OrBob’s budget was bigger than the boss believed and, boy oh boy, was Bill belligerent about being berated about a bollixed budget!

Have the last student in line repeat the message aloud and then have the first student re-read the message. Count the number of words correctly passed along, calculate the error rate (100 percent — [number of correct words over total number of words to have been communicated * 100]) and share the results with the class. Have the class discuss what happened and how to remedy the situation. Their answers should lead to Phase II. b. Telephone II: Use whichever of the two messages was not used in Phase I and pass it along in a similar manner. This time, however, allow each recipient to ask for the message to be repeated (still in his or her ear) before forcing the message on to the next person. (As an alternative, also give the recipient the option of being able to repeat the message back into the sender’s ear for confirmation before passing it on.) End as with Phase I. Compare the results of the two phases. What might account for the differences?

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Discuss with various members of your organization where they think the communication breakdowns occur, either in their department or in the organization itself. Analyze their answers in the context of the communications model given as Exhibit 9-1. Where in the process do you feel these breakdowns tend to occur most often? Write up your results and prepare suggestions on fixing the process in your organization. If your instructor directs, be ready to share your suggestions in class.

Suggested Assignments

1. The Importance of Nonverbal Communication. Ask a couple of student volunteers to participate in a role-playing communication exercise. Print these role scenarios on sheets that can be given to each “actor.” Allow the volunteers five minutes to resolve this issue. Have the class observe the drama and be ready to comment on the communication they observed: verbal and nonverbal. .

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Supervisor: You are a supervisor for an accounting department in a mid-sized manufacturing company. You have an employee, Roger, who is a good employee overall. However, Roger has one bad habit that has continually gotten worse—he is late for work regularly. The lateness has gotten to the level that Roger will be late— fifteen minutes or more—at least three days every week. However, Roger has worked for you for four years, and his work is of quite high quality and completed in a timely manner. In general, Roger is a good employee, and you would like to keep him. However, his lateness is beginning to affect office morale, as other employees are beginning to wonder (and talk about) why Roger is given the preferential treatment of being able to come in late and yet still leave on time. You have called Roger into your office to have a visit with him and indicate that he must come to work on time, or you will be forced to let him go. Your overall nonverbal messages need to convey a professional attitude of concern and authority; you must convey to Roger that his behavior is not acceptable, and must be changed. So how is he to change it?

Roger: You have worked for the firm for four years, and you are a good employee (at least you think you are, and your past evaluations have reinforced this opinion), but you have a problem getting to work on time. You are truly trying to be an exemplary employee, but your wife has recently left you (you did not tell anyone at work because you don’t believe in bringing your home problems into the workplace), and you are now a single parent responsible for getting your sevenyear-old to school. You must be at work by 8 a.m., but the school where your son attends will not allow him to be in the building until 8 a.m. He cannot ride the bus because you live too close to the school, and he is not eligible to be a bus rider. You have a high school student who is available to pick your son up from school in the afternoon, but she cannot take him in the morning. You have tried but can’t find a babysitter who could. Now, your boss is angry because you are late and has called you into her office. You certainly don’t want to lose your job, so you must communicate very openly about your changed home status. The nonverbal messages that you need to convey are a sense of embarrassment about having your wife leave you; a sense of remorse for being late, but you don’t know any other way to get your son to school; a sense of urgency because you do not want to lose your job. Suggestions: be very polite to the boss, sit up straight, sit on the forward part of your chair with your hands folded neatly; be sure that your appearance is as spit and polished as possible.

2. The Power of Punctuation. Write the following six words on the board without any punctuation: WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING. Ask the students to share what they believe the sentence to mean. Once the discussion has gone on for a while, offer to punctuate it this way.

Woman, without her man, is nothing.

Resume the discussion and then change the punctuation to read: Woman, without her, man is nothing!

Punctuation is the way we place tone and emphasis into writing—can the class see why nonverbal communication can be problematic?

3. Emoticons. To try to overcome the nonverbal communications problems in emails, many people have resorted to the use of typographic faces (or smiley faces) to convey the emotion behind their words. How many of these can your class identify? .

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Emoticons #:-o %*} %-( %-6 >>:-<< () /\/\/\ 8-) 8-o :( :) :-@ :-p :-s :-{) :-| :-| :.( :-* @>--->--;) ]:-> ^^^ ~= ^5

Shocked Inebriated Confused Brain-dead Furious Hugging Laughter Wide-eyed Shocked Sad Smile Screaming Sticking tongue out What?!

Smile with moustache Déjà vu Crying Kiss A long-stemmed rose Wink Devil Giggles Flame Message High five

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Chapter 10 Basics of Group Behavior

Basics of Group Behavior

Chapter Overview

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Chapter 10 PPT 10.2

The text thus far has been dealing with individual behavior. Another important component of organizational behavior (OB) is group behavior. This chapter and the next will focus on how groups work and how to create effective teams.

Chapter Objectives

PPT 10.3

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Distinguish between the different types of groups.

2. Describe the punctuated-equilibrium model of group development.

3. Show how role requirements change in different situations.

4. Demonstrate how norms exert influence on an individual’s behavior.

5. Show how status and size affect group performance.

6. Describe how issues of cohesiveness and diversity can be integrated for group effectiveness.

7. Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION A. While understanding individual behavior is important, most work takes place in group settings.

B. It is important for an effective manager to understand how people work in groups

and how to create effective teams.

II. GROUPS AND GROUP IDENTITY PPT 10.4 1. A group is two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objectives. a. Formal Groups: groups that are defined by the organization's structure with designated work assignments that establish tasks.

1) In these groups, acceptable behaviors are stipulated by, and directed toward, organizational goals. b. Informal Groups: alliances that are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined.

1) Informal groups are natural formations in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact.

2) These types of interactions among individuals, though informal, deeply affect their behavior and performance.

A. Social Identity.

PPT 10.5 1. Our tendency to personally invest in the accomplishments of a group is the territory of social identity theory. .

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2. People develop many group identities throughout the course of their lives. You

might define yourself in terms of the organization you work for, the city you live in, your profession, your religious background, your ethnicity, and/or your gender. a. Over time, some groups you belong to might become more significant to you than others. b. If we have low identification with our organizations, we may experience decreased satisfaction and engage in fewer organizational citizenship behaviors.

B. Ingroups and Outgroups.

1. Ingroup favoritism occurs when we see members of our group as better than other people and people not in our group as all the same. a. Recent research shows that people with low openness and/or PPT 10.6 low agreeableness are more susceptible to ingroup favoritism. b. Whenever there is an ingroup, there is by necessity an outgroup, which is sometimes everyone else, but is usually an identified group known by the ingroup’s members. c. When there are ingroups and outgroups, there is often animosity between them.

1) One of the most powerful sources of ingroup-outgroup feelings regards the practice of religion, even in the workplace.

III. STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT 1. As shown in Exhibit 10-1, temporary groups with finite deadlines pass through a unique sequencing of actions (or inaction): a. The first meeting sets the group’s direction. b. The first phase of group activity is one of inertia and thus makes slower progress. c. A transition takes place exactly when the group has used up half its allotted time. d. This transition initiates major changes. e. A second phase of inertia follows the transition. f. The group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.

2. This pattern is called the punctuated-equilibrium model. a. Their first meeting sets the groups direction; this first phase of PPT 10.7 group activity is one of inertia.

b. A transition takes place exactly when the group has used up half its

Exhibit 10-1 allotted time. This transition initiates major changes. c. A second phase of inertia follows the transition, and the group’s last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity. d. The first meeting sets the group’s direction, and then a framework of behavioral patterns and assumptions through which the group will approach its project emerges, sometimes in the first few seconds of the group’s existence.

1) Once set, the group’s direction is solidified and is unlikely to be reexamined throughout the first half of its life. This is a period of inertia — the group tends to stand still or become locked into a fixed course of action even if its gains new insights that challenge initial patterns and assumptions. .

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e. The group’s last meeting is characterized by a final burst of activity to finish

its work. f. In summary, the punctuated-equilibrium model characterizes groups as exhibiting long periods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes triggered primarily by members’ awareness of time and deadlines.

1) Keep in mind that this model doesn’t apply to all groups but is suited to the finite quality of temporary task groups working under a time deadline.

B. Group Property 1: Roles.

1. In order to understand workgroups, it is important that we realize that the behavior of the members is shaped by the properties of the PPT 10.8 workgroups.

2. Some defining group properties are roles, norms, status, size, cohesiveness, and diversity.

3. Roles are the set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit. a. Typically, people are required to play a number of diverse roles, both on and off the job, which makes the understanding of role behavior more difficult. b. There are different ways to examine roles: 1) Role Perception. a) The view of how a person is supposed to act in a given situation. Is role perception. b) The interpretation of how an individual believes he or she is supposed to behave will determine behavior. c) Perceptions can be gained through the media, direct experience, or observation.

2) Role Expectations. a) How others believe a person should act in a given situation is role expectations. b) In the workplace, we look at role expectations through the perspective of the psychological contract: an unwritten agreement that exists between employees and employers.

3) Role Conflict. a) Role conflict exists when an individual finds that compliance with one role’s requirements makes it more difficult to comply with another role's requirements. b) At the extreme, two or more role expectations can be completely contradictory and we can experience interrole conflict.

C. Group Property 2: Norms.

1. Norms are the acceptable standards of behavior as shaped by PPT 10.9 the group's members.

2. When accepted by the group's members, norms act as a powerful means of influencing the behavior of the group with a minimum of external control.

3. Norms can cover any aspect of group behavior.

D. Norms and Emotions. .

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1. Have you ever noticed how the emotions of one member of your family,

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especially strong emotions, can influence the emotions of the other family members?

2. A family can be a highly normative group. So can a task group whose members work together on a daily basis, because frequent communication can increase the power of norms.

E. Norms and Conformity.

1. In order to be accepted, an individual will often change his PPT 10.10 or her behavior or opinion to conform to the group. a. There are numerous reasons for conformity, with recent research highlighting the importance of a desire to develop meaningful social relationships with others or to maintain a favorable self-concept. b. In the set of classic studies by Solomon Asch, effects of conformity were demonstrated.

1) When the subjects of the experiment were shown lines of unequal length in the presence of a group who claimed that the lines were of equal length, 75 percent of the subjects gave at least one answer that conformed, even though they knew it was wrong. However, these experiments are 50 years old and culture bound; the pressures to conform may not be as strong today as they were then. c. Do individuals conform to the pressures of all groups to which they belong?

Obviously not, because people belong to many groups and their norms vary and sometimes are contradictory.

1) These important groups are called reference groups, in which a person is aware of other members, defines himself as a member or would like to be a member, and feels group members are significant to him.

F. Norms and Behavior.

1. Norms in the workplace significantly influence employee PPT 10.11 behavior. This may seem intuitive, but full appreciation of the influence of norms on worker behavior did not occur until the Hawthorne Studies conducted between 1924 and 1932 with production workers at the Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago. a. The initial study determined that increases in productivity were caused by the fact that the groups were receiving more attention because they were observed, not by changes in the environmental conditions (lighting). b. In a follow-on study, dealing with pay-for-performance, researchers discovered that workers do not maximize individual economic rewards, but as a group, establish and maintain the norm of a “proper day’s work” level of output.

1) This also included strongly enforced norms of not creating too much or too little output or squealing to supervisors—enforced by sarcasm or punches.

G. Positive Norms and Group Outcomes.

1. One goal of every organization with corporate social responsibility initiatives s for its values to hold normative sway over employees.

2. What is the effect of strong positive norms on group outcomes? The popular thinking is that to increase creativity in groups, for instance, norms should be loosened. .

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3. Positive group norms may well beget positive outcomes, but only if other factors

are present too. Moreover, as powerful as norms can be, not everyone is equally susceptible to positive group norms.

H. Negative Norms and Group Outcomes.

1. Deviant Workplace Behavior (also called PPT 10.12 counterproductive behavior or employee withdrawal).

Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms, and in doing so, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members. a. Exhibit 10-3 provides a typology of deviant workplace behaviors.

PPT 10.13 b. Few organizations will admit to creating or condoning conditions that encourage and maintain deviant norms. Yet they exist.

Exhibit 10-3 1) Employees report an increase in rudeness and disregard toward others by bosses and coworkers in recent years.

2) Research suggests that a lack of sleep, which is often caused by heightened work demands and which hinders a person’s ability to regulate emotions and behaviors, can lead to deviant behavior.

I. Norms and Culture.

1. Do people in collectivist cultures have different norms than people in individualist cultures? Of course they do. But did you know that our orientation may be changed, even after years of living in one society?

IV. GROUP PROPERTY 3: STATUS, AND GROUP PROPERTY 4: SIZE 1. Group Property 3: Status.

PPT 10.14 a. Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

1) Even the smallest group will develop roles, rights, and rituals to differentiate its members.

2) Status is a significant motivator and has major behavioral consequences when individuals perceive a disparity between what they believe their status to be and what others perceive it to be.

2. What Determines Status? a. According to the status characteristics theory, status develops into a hierarchy, and tends to be derived from one of three sources: 1) The Power a Person Wields over Others: The more power (control of resources) that an individual has, the higher his or her status.

2) A Person’s Ability to Contribute to Group Goals: People whose contributions are critical to the group success also tend to have high status.

3) An Individual's Personal Traits: When a group positively values certain personal characteristics, people who carry those traits receive high status.

3. Status and Norms. a. High status members of groups often have more PPT 10.15 freedom to deviate from norms than do low status members. b. High status members are also better able to resist conformity pressures, as they are less likely to be motivated by the need for social rewards.

4. Status and Group Interaction. .

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a. The interactions among members of a group are influenced by status. b. High status people tend to be more assertive, while lower status members are more likely to be less active participants in discussions.

c. The situation may result in a lower diversity of ideas and creativity.

5. Status Inequity. a. Perceived inequity creates disequilibrium, which

PPT 10.16

inspires various types of corrective behaviors. b. Hierarchical groups can lead to resentment among those at the lower end of the status continuum. c. Large differences in status within groups are also associated with poorer individual performance, lower health, and higher intentions for the lowerstatus members to leave the group.

6. Status and Stigmatization. a. Studies have shown that people who are stigmatized can infect others with their stigma. b. The stigma by association effect can result in negative opinions and evaluations of the person affiliated with the stigmatized individual, even if the association is brief and purely coincidental.

7. Group Status. a. Early in life we acquire an us and them mentality. You may have correctly surmised that if you are in an outgroup, your group is of lower status in the eyes of the associated ingroup’s members.

B. Group Property 4: Size.

1. Group size does affect the group's overall behavior, but it is contingent upon which dependent variables are being examined.

2. Smaller groups complete tasks faster and their individuals PPT 10.17 perform better, but larger groups consistently do better in problem solving.

3. Social loafing: the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually. a. A group’s effort is not equal to the sum of the efforts of individuals within that group. b. Group performance does increase with group size, but the addition of new members of the group has diminishing returns on productivity. d. Social loafing appears to have a Western bias. It is consistent PPT 10.18 with individualistic cultures, and not prevalent in collective societies in which individuals are motivated by ingroup goals. e. While there is no magic bullet, these four suggestions will help minimize the effect of social loafing: 1) Set group goals so that the group has a common purpose.

2) Increase intergroup competition (increases focus on shared outcomes).

3) Engage in peer evaluation.

4) Select members who have high motivation and prefer to work in groups.

5) Distribute group rewards by partially basing them on each member’s unique contributions.

V. GROUP PROPERTY 5: COHESIVENESS, AND GROUP PROPERTY 6: DIVERSITY A. Group Property 5: Cohesiveness. .

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PPT 10.19 other and are motivated to stay in the group.

2. Cohesiveness is important because it has been found to be related to the group's productivity.

3. Groups may become more cohesive when they spend a lot of time together, the group size is small, or the group has experienced external threats.

4. Cohesiveness affects group productivity (Exhibit 10-4). a. Performance-related norms established by the group are the key moderating variable between cohesiveness and productivity. b. If performance-related norms are high and the group is cohesive, they will be more productive than a less cohesive group. c. However, a cohesive group with low performance norms will experience low productivity.

5. Encouraging group cohesiveness.

PPT 10.20 a. The following methods may increase group cohesiveness: 1) Decrease the size of the group.

2) Encourage group members to agree with the group's goals.

3) Increase the time members spend together.

4) Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of obtaining membership in that group.

5) Stimulate competition with other groups.

6) Give rewards to the group rather than to individual members.

7) Physically isolate the group.

B. Group Property 6: Diversity.

1. Diversity is the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another.

2. Studies identify both costs and benefits from group diversity.

3. Diversity appears to increase group conflict, especially in the early PPT 10.21 stages of a group’s tenure, which often lowers group morale and raises dropout rates.

4. Research shows that teams in which the members’ values or opinions differ tend to experience more conflict, but leaders who can get the group to focus on the task at hand and encourage group learning are able to reduce these conflicts and enhance discussion of group issues.

5. Types of Group Diversity. You may have correctly surmised that the type of group diversity matters. a. Surface-level diversity — in observable characteristics such as national origin, race, and gender — alters people to possible deep-level diversity — in underlying attitudes, values, and opinions. b. The effects of deep-level diversity are less understood.

6. Challenges of Group Diversity. The impact of diversity on groups is mixed. It is difficult to be in a diverse group in the short term. However, if members can weather their differences, over time diversity may help them be more openminded, creative, and to do better. But even positive effects are unlikely to be especially strong.

7. One possible side effect of diverse teams — especially those that are diverse in terms of surface-level characteristics — is faultlines, or perceived divisions that .

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split groups into two or more subgroups based on individual differences such as sex, race, age, work experience, and education. a. Research on faultlines has shown that splits are generally detrimental to group functioning and performance.

PPT 10.22 1) Subgroups may wind up competing with each other, which takes time away from core tasks and harms group performance.

2) Groups that have subgroups learn more slowly, make more risky decisions, are less creative, and experience higher levels of conflict.

3) Subgroups are less likely to trust each other.

4) Finally, although the overall group’s satisfaction is lower when faultlines are present, satisfaction with subgroups is generally high. b. Overall, although research suggests that diversity in groups is a potential double-edged sword, recent work indicates they can be strategically employed to improve performance.

VI. GROUP DECISION MAKING A. Groups versus the Individual.

1. Whether or not a group’s decisions are better than an individual’s PPT 10.23 decisions depends on a number of factors.

2. To understand the group decision making, we must examine its strengths and weaknesses.

3. Strengths of Group Decision Making. The use of groups in decision making provides the following benefits: a. Generates more complete information and knowledge. b. Offers increased diversity of views. c. Increases the acceptance of the solution.

4. Weaknesses of Group Decision Making. Typically, it takes more time to reach a solution. a. Greater conformity pressures exist. b. Discussion can be dominated by one or a few members. c. Ambiguous responsibility decreases accountability.

5. Effectiveness and Efficiency.

PPT 10.24 a. Effectiveness.

1) Whether or not group decisions are more effective than are those of an individual depends on the criteria used for defining effectiveness.

2) Accuracy: group decisions are generally more accurate than that of the average individual in the group, but less accurate than the judgments of the most accurate group member.

3) Speed: individual decision making is much faster than group decision making.

4) Creativity: groups tend to be more creative than are individuals.

5) Degree of acceptance: group decisions tend to be more readily accepted than are those of an individual. b. Efficiency.

1) Groups are far less efficient than are individual decision makers.

2) In deciding whether to use a group, consideration should be given to assessing whether increases in effectiveness more than offset the reductions in efficiency. .

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B. Groupthink.

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pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. a. It describes a deterioration of an individual's mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment as a result of group PPT 10.25 pressures. b. Groupthink appears closely aligned with the conclusions Asch drew in his experiments with a lone dissenter.

1) Individuals who hold a position different from that of the PPT 10.26 dominant majority are under pressure to suppress, withhold, or modify their true feelings and beliefs.

2) As members of a group, we find it more pleasant to be in agreement—to be a positive part of the group—than to be a disruptive force, even if disruption is necessary to improve the effectiveness of the group’s decisions. c. What can managers do to minimize groupthink?

PPT 10.27 1) First, they can monitor group size. a) People grow more intimidated and hesitant as group size increases, and, although there is no magic number that will eliminate groupthink, individuals are likely to feel less personal responsibility when groups get larger than about ten members.

2) Managers should also encourage group leaders to play an impartial role. a) Leaders should actively seek input from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions, especially in the early stages of deliberation.

3) In addition, managers should appoint one group member to play the role of devil’s advocate; this member’s role is to overtly challenge the majority position and offer divergent perspectives.

4) Still another suggestion is to use exercises that stimulate active discussion of diverse alternatives without threatening the group and intensifying identity protection. a) One such exercise is to have group members delay discussion of possible gains so they can first talk about the dangers or risks inherent in a decision.

5) Requiring members to first focus on the negatives of an alternative makes the group less likely to stifle dissenting views and more likely to gain an objective evaluation.

C. Groupshift or Group Polarization.

1. Groupshift: describes the way group members tend to exaggerate their initial positions when discussing alternatives and arriving at a solution.

PPT 10.28 a. There are differences between group decisions and the individual decisions of group members.

1) Sometimes group decisions are more conservative.

2) More often, they lean toward greater risk. What appears to happen in groups is that the discussion leads members toward a more extreme view of the position they already held. .

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3) Conservatives become more cautious, and more aggressive types take

on more risk. b. The group discussion tends to exaggerate the initial position of the group. c. We can view group polarization as a special case of groupthink.

1) The group’s decision reflects the dominant decision-making norm that develops during discussion.

2) Whether the shift in the group’s decision is toward greater caution or more risk depends on the dominant pre-discussion norm. d. The shift toward risk has generated several explanations.

1) It’s been argued, for instance, that discussion makes the members more comfortable with each other and, thus, more bold and daring.

2) Another argument is that the group diffuses responsibility. a) Group decisions free any single member from accountability for the group’s final choice, so greater risks can be taken. b) It’s also likely that people take on extreme positions because they want to demonstrate how different they are from the outgroup.

3) People on the fringes of political or social movements take on more and more extreme positions just to prove they are really committed to the cause.

4) So how should you use the findings on groupshift? a) Recognize that group decisions exaggerate the initial position of the individual members, b) Recognize that the shift has been shown more often to be toward greater risk, and c) Recognize that which way a group will shift is a function of the members’ pre-discussion inclinations.

D. Group Decision-Making Techniques.

1. One of the most common forms that groups take when PPT 10.28 making decisions is that of interacting groups. a. Interacting Groups: groups in which the members meet face to face and rely on both verbal and nonverbal interaction to communicate with each other. b. Brainstorming. Brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity that dampen creativity by encouraging any and all alternatives while withholding criticism.

1) This somewhat ineffective technique does not lead to a solution, and may in fact lead to fewer creative alternatives than an individual could come up with, due to production blocking (distractions to thought caused by the technique itself). c. Nominal Group Technique. Nominal group technique restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-making process.

1) Group members are all physically present, but operate independently.

2) A problem is presented and the following steps take place. a) Each member independently writes down ideas on the problem without discussing it in the group. b) Sequentially, each member will present one idea to the group until all ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion is allowed until all ideas have been recorded. .

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c) Group discusses ideas for clarity and evaluates them. d) Each group member silently and independently rank orders the ideas.

e) The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

3) The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it does not

restrict independent thinking; groups that use this technique tend to outperform brainstorming groups.

4) Each of the group-decision techniques has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The choice depends on what criteria you want to emphasize and the cost-benefit tradeoff.

PPT 10.29 5) As Exhibit 10-5 indicates, an interactive group is good for achieving commitment to a solution, brainstorming develops Exhibit 10-5 group cohesiveness, and the nominal group technique is an inexpensive means for generating a large number of ideas.

IV. SUMMARY A. Norms control behavior by establishing standards of right and wrong.

B. Status inequities create frustration and can adversely influence productivity and willingness to remain with an organization.

C. The impact of size on a group’s performance depends on the type of task.

D. Cohesiveness may influence a group’s level of productivity, depending on the group’s performance-related norms.

E. Diversity appears to have a mixed impact on group performance, with some studies suggesting that diversity can help performance and others suggesting it can hurt it.

F. Role conflict is associated with job-induced tension and job dissatisfaction.

V. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Recognize that groups can dramatically affect individual behavior in

PPT 10.30 organizations, to either positive or negative effect. Therefore, pay special attention to roles, norms, and cohesion — to understand how these are operating within a group is to understand how the group is likely to behave.

B. To decrease the possibility of deviant workplace activities, ensure that group norms do not support antisocial behavior.

C. Pay attention to the status levels of the employee groups you create. Because lower-status people tend to participate less in group discussions, groups with highstatus differences are likely to inhibit input from lower-status members and reduce their potential.

D. Use larger groups for fact-finding activities and smaller groups for action-taking tasks. When creating larger groups, you should also provide measures of individual performance.

E. To increase employee satisfaction, ensure people perceive their job roles accurately.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the difference between formal and informal groups? Give an example of each.

Answer: Formal groups are those defined by the organization’s structure, designated work assignments, and established tasks. It may be in the form of the command group or a task group. Informal groups are alliances that are neither .

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formally structured nor organizationally determined. Informal groups are typically interest groups or friendship groups. Examples will vary.

Describe the stages in the punctuated-equilibrium model and explain which types of groups it applies to.

Answer: At the first meeting, the general purpose and direction for the group are established. At this point, a framework emerges of behavioral patterns and assumptions through which the group will approach its project. This may occur as early as within the first few seconds of the group’s existence. Once it’s been established, the group’s direction is unlikely to be reevaluated throughout the first half of its life. During this time, inertia sets in and the group tends to get stuck in a fixed course of action even if new insights challenge initial patterns and assumptions. At the halfway point between the first meeting and the official deadline, there is a concentrated burst of changes — old patterns are dropped and new perspectives are adopted. This sets the stage for the next period of inertia in which the group executes the plans created during the transition period. Finally, there is another burst of activity to finish the work. This model applies to temporary task groups working under a time deadline.

How can group cohesiveness be increased? Give specific recommendations.

Answer: Group cohesiveness can be increased by: (1) decreasing the size of the group, (2) encouraging group members to agree with the group's goals, (3) increasing the time members spend together, (4) increasing the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of obtaining membership in that group, (5) stimulating competition with other groups, (6) giving rewards to the group rather than to individual members, and (7) physically isolating the group.

Describe the three sources of status.

Answer: (1) Power: the power a person wields over others. The more power that an individual has, the higher his or her status. (2) Ability: a person's ability to contribute to a group’s goals. People whose contributions are critical to the group success also tend to have high status. (3) Characteristics: an individual's personal traits. When a group positively values certain personal characteristics, people who carry those traits receive high status.

Why does social loafing occur?

Answer: There are a number of possible causes of social loafing. Equity theory would indicate that when an individual in the group believes that he or she is working harder than the other group members, that individual will reduce effort to match that of the group. Another explanation may be the dispersion of responsibility: because the results of a group cannot be attributed to any single individual, the relationship between an individual's input and the group's output is clouded and difficult to measure.

List the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.

Answer: Strengths of group decision making: (1) generates information and knowledge that is more complete, (2) offers increased diversity of views, and (3) increases the acceptance of the solution. Weaknesses of group decision making: (1) typically takes more time to reach a solution, (2) greater conformity pressures exist, (3) discussion can be dominated by one or a few members, and (4) ambiguous responsibility decreases accountability.

Compare and contrast brainstorming and nominal group technique. Ensure you describe both techniques fully in your answer.

Answer: Brainstorming. The technique designed to generate a list of creative alternatives. A problem is presented and everyone provides oral input on the .

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solution simultaneously. No feedback or discussion is allowed until all of the inputs have been recorded. This somewhat ineffective technique does not lead to a solution, and may in fact lead to fewer creative alternatives than an individual could come up with, due to production blocking (distractions to thought caused by the technique itself).

Nominal Group Technique (NGT). This technique restricts discussion or interpersonal communication during the decision-making process. This is why it is referred to as a nominal (in name only) group technique. Group members are all physically present, but operate independently. A problem is presented and the following steps take place: 1) Each member independently writes down ideas on the problem without discussing it in the group.

2) Sequentially, each member will present one idea to the group until all ideas have been presented and recorded. No discussion is allowed until all ideas have been recorded.

3) Group discusses ideas for clarity and evaluates them.

4) Each group member silently and independently rank orders the ideas.

5) The idea with the highest aggregate ranking determines the final decision.

The use of NGT does not restrict independent thinking; groups that use this technique tend to outperform brainstorming groups.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Consider the last group that you were in that was required to make a decision. What type of group was it? What types of decision-making techniques were used? How is your input to the group affected by the type of group and decision-making technique?

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, locate a group decision-making technique that was not mentioned in the textbook. Write a brief one-page synopsis of the technique that would allow a manager to use it without having viewed the website. Ensure you properly cite the source.

3. Teamwork. In this exercise, the instructor will break the class up into groups of various sizes, some large (12+ members) and some small (4-7 members), and will leave three individuals by themselves. The instructor will provide three datasheets on a product (cars, laptop computers, MP3 players, or something similar). Using whichever group decision-making technique the group thinks is appropriate, decide which of the three products is superior. Keep track of the time it takes to make your decision. The three individuals will also make this decision, each on their own, and keep track of the time it takes them.

As a class, compare the quality of the results and the time it took to achieve them, based on group size and decision-making technique. What are your findings?

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Write a one-page paper that outlines the use of groups and/or teams in your organization for decision making.

What decision-making techniques are commonly used and how does the average worker feel about the quality of these decisions?

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1. Group Membership Analysis. List out all of the groups that you belong to and categorize each group based on the group subcategories given in the text. Count the number of groups you belong to in each subcategory and record that subtotal. Sum up all of the subcategories and record your total group memberships. Share your results in class and sum up the individual subtotal counts to get a class total. In what subcategory was group membership most frequently identified and in which was membership least frequently identified? What was the average number of groups to which members of the class belonged?

2. Status Symbols. Examine an organization with which you are familiar and pay particular attention to the use of status symbols by those in high status positions.

Make a list of the differences in symbols between those in high and low status positions. Share your findings with the class, and as a class, discuss how being able to identify these high status symbols can help you become more effective in the organization.

3. Identifying Norms. As college students you have been exposed to a continuing series of norms. From elementary school on, you have learned what is considered to be proper behavior in the classroom. As a class (or in small groups), brainstorm and identify these unwritten rules of classroom behavior. How many norms were there?

How many of these norms were you consciously aware of prior to listing them?

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From Groups to Teams

Chapter Overview

Chapter 11 PPT 11.2

Teams are increasingly becoming the primary means for organizing work in contemporary business firms. Understanding how and when to create these work teams is the purpose of this chapter.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Analyze the continued popularity of teams in organizations.

2. Contrast groups and teams.

3. Contrast the five types of team arrangements.

4. Identify the characteristics of effective teams.

5. Explain how organizations can create team players.

6. Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.

PPT 11.3

Suggested Lecture Outline

I.

WHY HAVE TEAMS BECOME SO POPULAR? PPT 11.4 A. As organizations have restructured themselves to compete more effectively and efficiently, they have turned to teams as a better way to use employee talents.

B. Teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than traditional departments or other forms of permanent groupings.

C. They can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband. But don’t overlook the motivational properties of teams.

D. Consistent with our discussion of employee involvement as a motivator, teams facilitate employee participation in operating decisions.

E. The fact that organizations have turned to teams doesn’t necessarily mean they’re always effective.

II. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS AND TEAMS A. Work Group.

1. A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting PPT 11.5 and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

2. A work group is a group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility. a. Work groups have no need to engage in collective work or joint efforts, so no positive synergy is created. .

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3. In contrast to work groups, work teams create positive synergy through

coordinated effort. a. Their individual efforts result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs.

4. In both work groups and work teams, there are often behavioral PPT 11.6 expectations of members, collective normalization efforts, active group dynamics, and some level of decision making (even if just informally Exhibit 11-1 about the scope of membership). a. Both work groups and work teams may generate ideas, pool resources, or coordinate logistics such as work schedules; for the work group, however, this effort will be limited to information gathering for decision makers outside the group. b. Whereas we can think of a work team as a subset of a work group, the team is constructed to be purposeful (symbiotic) in its member interaction. c. The distinction between a work group and a work team should be kept even when the terms are mentioned interchangeably in differing contexts.

Exhibit 11-1 highlights the differences between work groups and work teams.

5. The definitions help clarify why organizations structure work processes by teams. Management is looking for positive synergy that will allow the organization to increase performance. a. The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in employee headcount. b. Notice however that we said potential. There is nothing magical that ensures the achievement of positive synergy in the creation of teams.

Merely calling a group a team doesn’t automatically improve its performance. c. Effective teams have certain characteristics. If management hopes to gain increases in organizational performance through the use of teams, its teams must possess these characteristics.

III. TYPES OF TEAMS PPT 11.7 A. In this section, we first describe four common types of teams; problemsolving teams, self-managed work teams, cross-functional teams, and Exhibit 11-2 virtual teams. Then we discuss multiteams, a team of teams.

B. Problem-Solving Teams.

1. Problem solving teams are teams in which members, often from the same department, share ideas or offer suggestions on how work PPT 11.8 processes and methods can be improved.

2. They rarely have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions.

C. Self-Managed Work Teams.

1. Unlike problem-solving teams, self-managed work teams move PPT 11.9 beyond simply making recommendations and instead implement solutions and take responsibility for outcomes.

2. Typically made up of 10 to 15 employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs. a. This team takes on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors such as .

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1) planning and scheduling of work; 2) assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work; 3) making operating decisions; 4) taking actions on problems; and 5) working with suppliers and customers.

3. Research has indicated that the effectiveness of self-managed teams is not uniformly positive.

a. Self-managed teams do not typically manage conflicts well. b. When disputes arise, members stop cooperating and power struggles ensue, which leads to lower group performance.

c. Moreover, although individuals on these teams report higher levels of job

satisfaction than other individuals, they also sometimes have higher absenteeism and turnover rates.

D. Cross-Functional Teams.

PPT 11.10 1. Cross-functional teams are made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a specific task.

2. This type of team is an effective means of allowing people from diverse areas within the organization (or even between organizations) to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects.

3. Cross-functional teams are somewhat difficult to manage, and it may take significant time for the teams to develop sufficient trust to become effective.

4. The strength of traditional cross-functional teams is the face-to-face collaborative efforts of individuals with diverse skills from a variety of disciplines. When the unique perspectives of these members is considered, these teams can be very effective.

E. Virtual Teams.

PPT 11.11 1. Unlike the first three types of teams, virtual teams do not meet face to face.

2. Virtual teams use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal.

3. These teams have become so pervasive and the technology so advanced that nearly all types of teams today do some of their work remotely.

4. Thus, it is a mistake to think that virtual teams are an easy substitute for faceto-face teams. While geographic reach and immediacy of virtual communication make virtual teams a natural development, managers must make certain this type of team is the optimal choice for the desired outcome and then maintain an oversight role throughout the collaboration.

5. For virtual teams to be effective, management should ensure that: a. Trust is established among members. (One inflammatory remark in an email can severely undermine team trust.) b. Progress is monitored closely (so the team doesn’t lose sight of its goals and no team member disappears) c. The efforts and products of the team are publicized throughout the organization (so the team does not become invisible). .

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F. Multiteam Systems.

1. The types of teams we’ve described so far are typically

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smaller, standalone teams, though their activities relate to the broader objectives of the organization. As tasks become more complex, teams often grow in size.

2. Increases in team size are accompanied by higher coordination demands, creating a tipping point at which the addition of another member does more harm than good.

3. To solve this problem, organizations are employing a multiteam system, collections of two or more interdependent teams that share a superordinate goal. In other words, multiteam systems are teams of teams.

4. Some factors that make smaller, more traditional teams effective do not necessarily apply to multiteam systems and can even hinder their performance. a. One study showed that multiteam systems performed better when they had boundary spanners whose job was to coordinate with members of the other subteams. b. This reduced the need for some team member communication. Restricting the lines of communication was helpful because it reduced coordination demands. c. Research on smaller, standalone teams tends to find that opening up all lines of communication is better for coordination, but when it comes to multiteam systems, the same rules do not always apply.

5. In general, a multiteam system is the best choice when either a team has become too large to be effective or when teams with distinct functions need to be highly coordinated.

CREATING EFFECTIVE TEAMS IV. A. Many researchers have tried to identify factors related to team PPT 11.13 effectiveness. Exhibit 11-3 summarizes what we currently know about what makes teams effective.

Exhibit 11-3 1. We can organize the key components of effective teams into three general categories. First are the resources and other contextual influences that make teams effective. The second relates to the team’s composition. Finally, process variables are events within the team that influence effectiveness.

B. Team Context: What Factors Determine Whether Teams Are Effective?

1. The four contextual factors most significantly related to PPT 11.14 team performance, discussed next, are adequate resources, leadership and structure, a climate of trust, and a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions. a. Adequate Resources. Teams are part of a larger organization system; every work team relies on resources outside the group to sustain it.

1) A scarcity of resources directly reduces the ability of the team to perform its job effectively.

2) These supportive resources include timely information, proper equipment, adequate staffing, encouragement, and administrative assistance. b. Leadership and Structure. .

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1) Team leadership and structure are required in order to get team

members to agree on the specifics of work and how they fit together to integrate individual skills into a team output.

2) Leadership is especially important in multiteam systems, where different teams need to coordinate efforts to produce a desired outcome.

3) In these situations, leaders need to play the role of facilitators. c. Climate of Trust.

1) Members of effective teams trust each other and their leaders.

2) This trust facilitates cooperation, reduces the need to monitor each other’s behavior, and increases bonding.

3) Team members are more likely to take risks and expose vulnerabilities when they believe they can trust others on their team.

4) Trust in the leadership helps the team accept and commit to the leader’s goals and decisions. d. Performance Evaluation and Rewards Systems.

1) These systems must be modified to reflect team performance in order to hold both individuals and the team accountable.

2) These modifications may include group-based appraisals, profit sharing, gainsharing, and small-group incentives.

C. Team Composition.

1. There are five variables in this category related to how PPT 11.15 teams should be staffed. a. Abilities of Members. Part of a team's performance depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of its members.

1) A team’s performance is not merely the summation of its individual members’ abilities, but these abilities set limits on what members can do and how effectively they will perform on a team.

2) Research has shown the following results when considering the abilities of members of effective teams. a) For tasks that entail considerable thought, high ability teams (teams composed of mostly intelligent members) do better. b) High ability teams are also better at adapting to changing situations. c) When tasks are simple, high ability teams do not perform well; team tasks must be matched to team abilities. d) The intelligence and ability of a team’s leader also matters. A less intelligent leader can neutralize the effect of a high ability team. b. Personality of Members.

1) As demonstrated in a previous chapter, personality has a significant influence on individual behavior; it also does on team behavior.

2) Teams that rate higher in mean levels of conscientiousness and openness to experience with a minimum level of agreeableness tend to perform better.

3) Conscientious team members are valuable because they back up other team members and are good at sensing limited support is truly needed.

4) Opening team members are better communicators and throw up more ideas leading to more creative and innovative solutions. c. Allocation of Roles. .

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1) Teams have different needs, and members should be selected to ensure

all the various roles are filled.

2) A study of 778 major league baseball teams over a 21-year period highlights the importance of assigning roles appropriately. a) As you might expect, teams with more experienced PPT 11.14 and skilled members performed better. b) However, the experience and skill of those in core Exhibit 11-4 roles who handle more of the workflow of the team, and who are central to all work processes (in this case, pitchers and catchers), were especially vital. c) In other words, put your most able, experienced, and conscientious workers in the most central roles in a team.

3) We can identify nine potential team roles. (Exhibit 11-4) a) Successful work teams have selected people to play all these roles based on their skills and preferences. (On many teams, individuals will play multiple roles.) b) To increase the likelihood the team members will work well together, managers need to understand the individual strengths each person can bring to a team, select members with their strengths in mind, and allocate work assignments that fit with members’ preferred styles. d. Diversity of Members.

1) Organizational demography: The degree to which members of a work unit share a common demographic attribute such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in the organization.

2) Attributes such as age or the date of joining should help us predict turnover.

3) Surface-level social-category diversity such as race/ethnicity, gender, and age tend to have negative effects on the performance of teams.

4) While these effects may decline over time, there is little evidence diverse teams perform better. e. Cultural Differences.

1) Culturally heterogeneous teams have more difficulty learning to work with each other and solving problems, but these difficulties dissipate with time. f. Size of Teams.

1) Most effective teams have five to nine members.

2) Using the smallest possible number of people who can accomplish a task tends to be the most effective way of sizing a team.

3) Doing so reduces coordination problems, decreases the chance of social loafing, and increases cohesiveness. g. Member Preferences.

1) Not every employee is a team player. a) Given the option, many employees will select themselves out of team participation. b) When people who would prefer to work alone are required to team up, there is a direct threat to the team’s morale and to individual member satisfaction. .

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c) This suggests that when selecting team members, managers should

consider individual preferences along with abilities, personalities, and skills. High-performing teams are likely to be composed of people who prefer working as part of a group.

PPT 11.15 D. Team Processes.

1. The final key component for team effectiveness is process: 2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Exhibit 11-5 specifically six variables related to how a team completes its task.

Team processes should produce positive results: the output should be greater than the sum of the inputs (positive synergy).

Common Plan and Purpose. a. Effective teams begin by analyzing the team’s mission, developing goals to achieve that mission, and creating strategies for achieving the goals. b. Teams that establish a clear sense of what needs to be done and how to consistently perform better.

PPT 11.16 c. Effective teams also show reflexivity, meaning they reflect on and adjust their master plan when necessary. d. A team has to have a good plan, but it also has to be willing and able to adapt when conditions call for it.

Specific Goals. a. Successful teams translate their common purpose into specific, measurable, and realistic performance goals. b. Specific goals facilitate better communication and help teams maintain focus on results. c. These goals should be challenging in order to be motivational.

Team Efficacy. a. Effective teams have confidence in themselves: they believe they can succeed. b. Past success breeds future success. c. In order to increase team efficacy, managers can take one or both of the following two options.

1) Help the team to achieve small initial successes.

2) Provide technical and interpersonal skills training.

Team Identity. a. When people connect emotionally with the groups they’re in, they are more likely to invest in their relationship with those groups. It’s the same with teams. b. Therefore, by recognizing individuals’ specific skills and abilities, as well as creating a climate of respect and inclusion, leaders and members can foster positive team identity and realize improved team outcomes Team Cohesion. a. The term team cohesion means members are emotionally attached to one another and motivated toward the team because of their attachment. b. Team cohesion is a useful tool to predict team outcomes.

1) For example, a large study in China indicated that if team cohesion is high and tasks are complex, costly investments in promotions, rewards, training, and so forth yield greater profitable team creativity. c. Team cohesion is a strong predictor of team performance such that when cohesion is harmed, performance may be too. .

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8. Mental Models. a. Effective teams have accurate and common mental models—knowledge

and beliefs (a psychological map) about how the work is done. Incorrect or inaccurate mental models will decrease effectiveness.

9. Conflict Levels. a. A low level of conflict can actually improve team effectiveness. b. Relationship conflicts are usually detrimental, but task conflicts in teams performing nonroutine activities may actually lead to superior decisions.

10. Social Loafing. a. Individuals can hide within groups. b. They coast on the group's effort because their individual contributions can't be identified. c. Effective teams undermine this tendency by holding themselves accountable at both the individual and team level.

TURNING INDIVIDUALS INTO TEAM PLAYERS V. A. In many cultures and companies, employees have been trained to be fiercely individualistic.

PPT 11.19 1. Teamwork is not a natural state for them.

2. Management's challenge therefore is to overcome the individual resistance toward team participation.

B. Selection: Hiring Team Players.

1. When hiring team members, in addition to technical skills, candidates should be screened on their ability to fulfill team roles.

2. Creating teams often means resisting the urge to hire the best talent no matter what.

C. Training: Creating Team Players.

1. Managers can train individuals to become team players.

2. This may require the use of outside consultants who can help employees improve the employees’ problem solving, communication, negotiation, conflictmanagement, and coaching skills.

D. Rewarding: Providing Incentives to Be a Good Team Player.

1. An organization’s reward system must be reworked to encourage cooperative efforts rather than competitive ones. a. Hallmark Cards, Inc. added to its basic individual-incentive system an annual bonus based on achievement of team goals. b. Whole Foods directs most of its performance-based rewards toward team performance. c. As a result, teams select new members carefully so they will contribute to team effectiveness (and thus team bonuses).

2. It is usually best to set a cooperative tone as soon as possible in the life of a team. a. As we already noted, teams that switch from a competitive to a cooperative system do not share information and make rushed, poor-quality decisions. b. Apparently, the low trust typical of the competitive group will not be readily replaced by high trust with a quick change in reward systems. c. These problems are not seen in teams that have consistently cooperative systems. .

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3. Promotions, pay raises, and other forms of recognition should be given to

individuals who work effectively as team members by training new colleagues, sharing information, helping resolve team conflicts, and mastering needed skills.

4. Don’t forget the intrinsic rewards, such as camaraderie, that employees can receive from teamwork.

BEWARE! TEAMS AREN'T ALWAYS THE ANSWER VI. A. Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than PPT 11.20 individual work.

B. Therefore, the benefits of using teams must exceed the costs of having them. This may not always be the case, and there are three tests to determine if a team is necessary in a given situation.

1. Complexity of Work. A good indicator of the need for teams is the complexity of the work and the need for different perspectives for effective solution.

Simple tasks, that do not need diverse input, are probably best left to individuals.

2. Common Purpose. For organizational outcomes that require multifunction interaction, the common purpose created by a team may increase organizational effectiveness.

3. Interdependence. Teams make sense when the tasks are interdependent and require a great deal of coordination.

SUMMARY VII. A. Few trends have influenced jobs as much as the massive movement to introduce teams to the workplace.

B. The shift from working alone to working on teams requires employees to cooperate with others, share information, confront differences, and sublimate personal interests for the greater good of the team.

VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Effective teams have adequate resources, effective leadership, a climate of trust, and a performance and rewards system that reflects team contributions.

1. These teams have individuals with technical expertise as well as problemsolving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills, as well as the right traits, especially conscientiousness and openness.

PPT 11.21 B. Effective teams tend to be small — fewer than ten people, preferably of diverse backgrounds.

1. They have members who fill role demands and who prefer to be part of a group.

C. Effective teams have members who believe in the team’s capabilities and are committed to a common plan and purpose, have an accurate shared mental model of what is to be accomplished.

D. Select individuals who have the interpersonal skills to be effective team players; provide training to develop teamwork skills; and reward individuals for cooperative efforts.

E. Do not assume that teams are always needed. When tasks will not benefit from interdependency, individuals may be the better choice.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is the use of teams in organizations becoming more popular? .

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Answer: As organizations have reacted to external pressures to restructure themselves to compete more effectively and efficiently, they have turned to teams more and more often. The use of teams has increased managerial flexibility and is an effective means for democratizing organizations and increasing employee motivation.

What is the difference between a team and a group?

Answer: A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives. A work group is a group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility.

Work groups have no need to engage in collective work or joint efforts, so no positive synergy is created. In contrast, work teams create positive synergy through coordinated effort. Their individual efforts result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs. The use of work teams creates the potential for organizations to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs.

Describe the four types of teams.

Answer: (1) Problem-Solving Teams. These are teams in which members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes and methods can be improved; although they rarely have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions. (2) Self-Managed Work Teams. These are autonomous teams of 10 to 15 employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs; these teams take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors, such as planning and scheduling of work, assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work, making operating decisions, taking actions on problems, and working with suppliers and customers. (3) Cross-Functional Teams. These are teams made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a specific task. This type of team is an effective means of allowing people from diverse areas within the organization to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects. (4) Virtual Teams. Virtual teams use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. They rarely, if ever, meet face to face. All types of teams seem to have embraced this virtual technology.

Describe the three main components of effective teams.

Answer: (1) Context: effective teams have adequate resources, leadership, and structure, a climate of trust and supportive performance evaluation and rewards systems. (2) Team Composition: effective teams must be composed of people who are able, have the correct personality types, are flexible, and prefer to work on teams. (3) Process: effective teams need a common purpose, specific goals, team efficacy, moderate nonpersonal conflict, and a lack of social loafing.

How can managers help individuals become team players?

Answer: Managers can help individuals become team players by: (1) hiring the correct people (candidates who can fulfill their team roles as well as technical requirements), (2) training people to become team players (perhaps through outside consultants), and (3) ensuring the organizational reward systems are aligned to support good teamwork.

When should individuals be used rather than teams?

Answer: Based on the three rules for the use of teams, individuals are preferred when: (1) the work is simple and doesn’t need diverse input, (2) there is no need .

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for benefits from a common purpose, and (3) there is little or no interdependence or need for coordination.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Are you a team player? Based on the information in this chapter, do you believe you are a team player? Why or why not? How might you improve your ability to function well on effective teams?

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term “team effectiveness.” Find five webpages related to this concept and write up a one-page summary of the common team effectiveness concepts you discovered by visiting these pages.

3. Teamwork. As a team, you are to develop a bulleted study guide for this chapter.

The items included in the study guide are to fully represent the chapter content.

The items are also to be placed in the study guide in descending order of importance. In other words, the most important content item from the chapter is to be listed first, down to the least important content item. The items chosen for inclusion in this study guide, and their order of importance, must be completely agreed upon by ALL members of the team. No use of voting and majority rules can be employed in determining the content of the study guide. Consensus agreement must prevail within the team.

Instructor notes: The purpose of this exercise is to indicate to students the relationship between size and team effectiveness. Divide the class into different sized teams. Make some teams extremely small and lacking in diversity and skills, and some teams extremely large and cumbersome. Give the teams the instructions that they are to come to a consensus on the content of their study guide.

You might want to have a quick discussion on team roles, or simply let the teams themselves formally or informally let team roles evolve naturally, and have the teams identify the different role holders after the conclusion of the exercise.

Record the time required by each different team to complete its task. Walk around the classroom and listen to the conversations within the different groups—this may provide rich insights as to why some groups completed the task more efficiently than others. When the study guides are done, conduct a discussion on what problems the teams encountered (size, diversity, roles) and how they think the team overcame that particular problem.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). If you are currently in an environment of teamwork, interview or discuss with the team leaders some of the variables in this chapter, using the following questions as a guide. a. How do you determine the size of the team? b. What types of conflict occur? How do you resolve conflict? c. Does it take longer to complete tasks in a team environment? d. Do you have resistors to teamwork? If so, how do you manage that? e. What happened to cause management to look at teams as a more efficient way of doing work?

If you are not in a teamwork environment at your organization, what aspects of your organization would benefit from teamwork? Justify your answer.

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Suggested Assignment

Use the teams structured in the Teamwork exercise. Ask the students to go to Google Docs’ presentation template at https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ASCP6dbp8LXCZGRkMzZoeGpfMTgxY3dicXFo Y2M&hl=en&authkey=CP_bsocC and select “Edit” on the actions menu at the bottom. When the edit window opens, ask students to create a new presentation file by selecting File>New>Presentations (this may require that a student have a Google Docs account. If it does, ask one of the students to act as the coordinator and to sign up for a Google Account to manage the presentation set up.) A new presentation document should come up. Ask the students to rename the presentation document to a name they will remember by clicking on the “Chapter 10 Robbins and Judge” title. Ask the students to click on the “Share” button on the right. When its dialog box opens, click on “Change” access. Select “Only those with the address.” And “anyone can edit” (two check boxes). This should set the presentation to access by all students who use the unique address as a web URL. Once this is done and everything is saved, the student creating the presentation for the group should email the address to the other members of his or her group.

This is a presentation collaboration site that does not require passwords or other security clearance. Ask the groups to prepare a presentation on the results of the Teamwork Exercise. Assign this task to be done from their home computers or laptops in virtual meeting format. This illustrates the use of cloud computing for online virtual collaboration on a presentation. The same can be done for reports or spreadsheets. When the presentation is complete, have the students email the presentation address to the instructor, who will then distribute it to the class. Each class member can then view the presentations. Note that creation of this type of stand-alone presentation is different from the typical student outline of a paper that constitutes the slide content.

Ask students to rate the presentations on the basis of creativity, information presentation, and achievement of a communication objective. Discuss in class how the presentation could be improved to better present the information about the teamwork outcome.

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Chapter 12

Characteristics of Leaders Chapter Overview

Leaders can make the difference between success and failure. In this chapter, we'll look at the basic approaches to determining what makes an effective leader and what differentiates leaders from non-leaders.

PPT 12.2

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 12.3 1. Summarize the conclusions of trait theories of leadership.

2. Identify the central tenets and main limitations of behavioral theories.

3. Contrast contingency theories of leadership.

4. Describe the contemporary theories of leadership and their relationship to foundational theories.

5. Discuss the roles of leaders in creating ethical organizations.

6. Describe how leaders can have a positive impact on their organizations through building trust and mentoring.

7. Identify the challenges to our understanding of leadership.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION

This chapter examines what it takes to be an effective leader and what differentiates leaders from non-leaders.

II. TRAIT THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP A. Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the PPT 12.4 achievement of a vision or set of goals.

1. Nonsanctioned leadership—the ability to influence that arises outside the formal structure of the organization is often as important, or more important, than formal influence.

2. Trait theories of leadership differentiated leaders from non-leaders by focusing on personal qualities and characteristics.

B. Personality Traits and Leadership.

PPT 12.5 1. Big Five Traits: a. Extraversion has been found to be the most important trait of effective leaders but more strongly related to leader emergence than to leader effectiveness. Sociable and dominant people are more likely to assert themselves in group situations.

1) But leaders need to make sure they’re not too assertive. .

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2) One study found leaders who scored very high on assertiveness

were less effective than those who were moderately high. b. Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience also PPT 12.6 showed strong and consistent relationships to leadership, although not as strong as extraversion. c. Agreeableness and Emotional Stability were not strongly correlated with leadership.

2. Dark Side Traits: What about the Dark Side personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy? Research indicates they’re not all bad for leadership. a. A study in Europe and the United States found that normative (midrange) scores on the Dark Side personality traits were optimal, and low (and high) scores were associated with ineffective leadership.

Furthermore, the study suggested that high emotional stability may actually accentuate ineffective behaviors. b. However, higher scores on Dark Side traits and emotional stability can contribute to leadership emergence.

3. Thankfully, both this study and other international research indicate that building self-awareness and self-regulation skills may be helpful for leaders to control the effects of their Dark Side traits C. Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Leadership.

1. Another trait that may indicate effective leadership is emotional intelligence (EI).

2. As discussed in Chapter 3, a core component of EI is empathy. Empathetic leaders can sense others’ needs, listen to what followers say (and don’t say), and read the reactions of others.

3. A leader who effectively displays and manages emotions will find it easier to influence the feelings of followers by expressing genuine sympathy and enthusiasm for good performance and by showing irritation when employees fail to perform.

4. Research has also demonstrated that people high in EI are more likely to emerge as leaders, even after taking cognitive ability and personality into account.

III. BEHAVIORAL THEORIES A. Trait theory provides a basis for selecting the right people PPT 12.7 for leadership. But you probably noticed trait theories don’t adequately explore the way leaders behave.

B. Behavioral theories of leadership imply that we can determine leadership effectiveness by leader behavior, and perhaps train people to be leaders.

1. The Ohio State Studies attempted to find what behaviors substantially accounted for most of the leadership behavior described by employees.

Beginning with over a thousand dimensions, researchers narrowed the list to two: initiating structure and PPT 12.8 consideration.

2. Initiating Structure. a. Initiating structure refers to the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the .

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search for goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals.

3. Consideration. a. Consideration is the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings.

4. Cultural Differences.

PPT 12.9 1) Research from the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness program—a study of 18,000 leaders from 825 organizations in 62 countries, discussed in Chapter 4—suggested there are international differences in the preference for initiating structure and consideration.

2) Brazil. a) Such leaders would need to be team oriented, productive, and humane. b) They would be high in consideration and emphasize participative decision making.

3) France. a) Leaders are viewed more bureaucratically and are not expected to be humane or considerate. b) Leaders who are task oriented will do best, and they may act autocratically.

4) China. a) Both initiating structure and consideration are important. b) Leaders need to demonstrate politeness and consideration, and be unselfish.

IV. CONTINGENCY THEORIES A. Background.

1. While trait and behavioral theories contributed to our understanding of leadership, predicting leadership success proved to be more complex than thought so researchers began to focus on situational influences. a. The goal of such contingency theories was to match leadership style with work conditions in order to achieve leadership effectiveness.

B. The Fiedler Model.

1. One of the first models of this type was developed by Fred Fiedler.

2. The Fielder contingency model proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper PPT 12.10 match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader.

3. Fiedler believes a key factor in leadership success is the individual’s basic leadership style. a. Fiedler created the least preferred coworker (LPC) questionnaire, which measures whether a PPT 12.11 person is task-oriented or relationship-oriented.

1) High LPC scores indicate a relationship-oriented leader; low LPC scores indicate a task-oriented one.

1) After assessing an individual’s basic leadership style through the LPC questionnaire, the leader is matched with the situation. .

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2) Fiedler identified three contingency dimensions that defined the key

situational factors that will determine the appropriate leadership style. a) Leader-member relations is the degree of confidence, trust, and respect members have in their leader. Measured as good or poor. b) Task structure is the degree to which the job assignments are structured or unstructured. Measured as high or low. c) Position power is the degree of influence a leader has over hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases. Measured as strong or weak.

3) The next step is to evaluate the situation in terms of these three variables. a) Fiedler states that the better the leader–member relations, the more highly structured the job, and the stronger the position power, the more control the leader has.

b) A very favorable situation (in which the leader has a great deal

PPT 12.12

of control) might include a payroll manager who is well Exhibit 12-1 respected and whose employees have confidence in her (good leader–member relations); activities to be done—such as wage computation, check writing, and report filing—that are specific and clear (high task structure); and provision of considerable freedom to reward and punish employees (strong position power). c) An unfavorable situation might be that of the disliked chairperson of a volunteer United Way fundraising team. In this job, the leader has very little control. d) In this job, the leader has very little control. When faced with a category I, II, III, VII, or VIII situation, task-oriented leaders perform better. e) Relationship-oriented leaders, however, perform better in moderately favorable situations—categories IV, V, and VI. C. Situational Leadership Theory (SLT).

PPT 12.13 1. Situational leadership theory (SLT) focuses on the followers. It says successful leadership depends on selecting the right leadership style contingent on the followers’ readiness, the extent to which followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task.

2. A leader should choose one of the following four behaviors depending on follower readiness. a. If followers are unable and unwilling to do a task, the leader needs to give clear and specific directions. b. If followers are unable but willing, the leader needs to display high task orientation to compensate for followers’ lack of ability and high relationship orientation to get them to “buy into” the leader’s desires. c. If followers are able but unwilling, the leader needs to use a supportive and participative style. d. If followers are both able and willing, e. the leader doesn’t need to do much. .

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3. SLT has intuitive appeal. It acknowledges the importance of followers and

builds on the logic that leaders can compensate for their limited ability and motivation. a. Yet, research efforts to test and support the theory have been relatively disappointing. Possible explanations include internal ambiguities and inconsistencies in the model itself as well as problems with research methodology.

C. Path-Goal Theory.

PPT 12.14 1. Developed by Robert House, path-goal theory extracts elements from the Ohio State leadership research on initiating structure and consideration, and the expectancy theory of motivation.

2. Path-goal theory suggests it’s the leader’s job to provide followers with information, support, or other resources necessary to achieve goals.

3. The theory predicts: a. Directive leadership yields greater satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous or stressful than when they are highly structured and well laid out. b. Supportive leadership results in high performance and satisfaction when employees are performing structured tasks. c. Directive leadership is likely to be perceived as redundant by employees with high ability or considerable experience.

4. The match between leadership style and situation can be individualistic and mercurial. Some tasks may be both stressful and highly structured, and employees may have high ability or experience in some tasks and not others.

5. Other research has found that goal-focused leadership can lead to higher levels of emotional exhaustion for subordinates who are low in conscientiousness and emotional stability. a. This suggests that leaders who set goals enable conscientious followers to achieve higher performance but may cause stress for workers who are low in conscientiousness.

6. Like SLT, path–goal theory has intuitive appeal, especially from a goal attainment perspective.

D. Leader-Participation Model.

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subordinate participation in decision making.

PPT 12.15 2. Like path–goal theory, it says leader behavior must adjust to reflect the task structure (such as routine, nonroutine, or in between), but it does not cover all leadership behaviors and is limited to recommending what types of decisions might be best made with subordinate participation.

3. It lays the groundwork for the situations and leadership behaviors most likely to elicit acceptance from subordinates.

V. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP A. The understanding of leadership is a constantly evolving science.

Contemporary theories have built upon the foundation we’ve just established to discover the unique ways leaders emerge, influence, and guide their employees and organizations.

B. Let’s explore some of the leading current concepts, and look for aspects of the theories we’ve discussed already.

C. Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory.

PPT 12.16 1. Think of a leader you know. Does this leader have favorites who make up an ingroup? If you answered “yes,” you’re acknowledging leader– member exchange (LMX) theory.

2. LMX argues that, because of time pressures, leaders establish a special relationship with a small group of their followers.

3. These followers make up the ingroup—they are trusted, get a disproportionate amount of the leader’s attention, and are more likely to receive special privileges. Other followers fall into the outgroup. a. LMX theory proposes that early in the history of the interaction between a leader and a given follower, the leader implicitly categorizes the follower as an in or an out; that relationship becomes relatively stable over time. b. For the LMX relationship to remain intact, the leader and the follower must invest in the relationship.

4. Just how the leader chooses who falls into each category is unclear, but there is evidence ingroup members have demographic, attitude, and PPT 12.17 personality characteristics similar to those of their leaders or a higher level of competence than outgroup members (see Exhibit 12Exhibit 12-2 2). a. Leaders and followers of the same gender tend to have closer (higher LMX) relationships than those of different genders. b. Even though the leader does the choosing, the follower’s characteristics drive the categorizing decision.

5. Research to test LMX theory has been generally supportive, with substantive evidence that leaders do differentiate among followers; these disparities are far from random; and followers with ingroup status receive higher performance ratings, engage in more helping or citizenship behaviors at work, and report greater satisfaction with their superiors.

6. For all the positive outcomes the ingroup receives, research indicates that both the ingroup and the outgroup realize negative effects from LMX. D. Charismatic Leadership. .

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1. Two contemporary leadership theories—charismatic leadership and

transformational leadership—share a common theme in the great leader debate: They view leaders as individuals who inspire followers PPT 12.18 through words, ideas, and behaviors. a. What Is Charismatic Leadership?: Max Weber, a sociologist, defined charisma (from the Greek for “gift”) more than a century ago as “a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he or she is set apart from ordinary people and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.

1) These are not accessible to the ordinary person and are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader.” b. The first researcher to consider charismatic leadership in terms of organizational behavior (OB) was Robert House. c. According to the charismatic leadership theory, followers are believed to make attributions of heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.

1) The charismatic characteristics identified by the research so far are: a) vision, b) a willingness to take personal risks to achieve that vision, c) sensitivity to followers’ needs, and d) exhibiting behaviors that are out of the ordinary. d. Are Charismatic Leaders Born or Made?: Individuals are born with traits that make them charismatic. In fact, studies of identical twins have found they score similarly on charismatic PPT 12.19 leadership measures, even if they were raised in different households and had never met. e. Personality is also related to charismatic leadership; charismatic leaders are likely to be extraverted, self-confident, and achievement oriented. f. How Charismatic Leaders Influence Followers: It begins with articulating an appealing vision, a long-term strategy for attaining a goal by linking the present with a better future for the organization.

1) Desirable visions fit the times and circumstances and reflect the uniqueness of the organization.

PPT 12.20 g. A vision is incomplete without an accompanying vision statement, a formal articulation of an organization’s vision or mission.

1) Charismatic leaders may use vision statements to imprint on followers an overarching goal and purpose.

2) They then communicate high performance expectations and express confidence that followers can attain them.

3) This enhances follower self-esteem and self-confidence. h. Through words and actions the leader conveys a new set of values and sets an example for followers to imitate. i. Finally, the charismatic leader engages in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior to demonstrate courage and conviction about .

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the vision. Followers “catch” the emotions their leader is conveying.

j. Does Effective Charismatic Leadership Depend on the Situation?: There

are strong correlations between charismatic leadership and high performance and satisfaction among followers, but such results may be situationally dependent.

1) Charisma appears to be most successful when the follower’s PPT 12.21 task includes ideology or the environment involves a high degree of stress and uncertainty.

2) Finally, people are especially receptive to charismatic leadership when they sense a crisis, when they are under stress, or when they fear for their lives.

3) Some personalities are especially susceptible to charismatic leadership. a) For instance, an individual who lacks self-esteem and questions his self-worth is more likley to absorb a leader’s direction rather than establish his own way of leading or thinking. For these people, the situation may matter much less than the charismatic qualities of the leader. k. The Dark Side of Charismatic Leadership: Unfortunately, charismatic leaders who are larger than life don’t necessarily act in PPT 12.22 the best interests of their organizations.

1) Many have used their power to remake companies in their own image and allowed their own interest and personal goals to override the goals of the organization.

2) The results at companies such as Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, and HealthSouth were leaders who recklessly used organizational resources for their personal benefit and executives who violated laws and ethical boundaries to inflate stock prices and allow leaders to cash in millions of dollars in stock options. l. We don’t mean to suggest charismatic leadership isn’t effective; overall it is.

1) But a charismatic leader isn’t always the answer. a) Success depends, to some extent, on the situation and on the leader’s vision.

E. Transactional and Transformational Leadership.

PPT 12.23 1. Transactional leaders are those who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. These leaders were described in the Ohio State studies and Fiedler's model.

2. Transformational leaders are those who inspire followers to

PPT 12.24

transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound or extraordinary effect on their followers. a. Transactional and transformational leadership aren’t opposing approaches to getting things done. They complement each other, though they’re not equally important. .

Exhibit 12-4

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1) Transformational leadership builds on transactional leadership and produces levels of follower effort and performance beyond what transactional leadership alone can do.

2) But the reverse isn’t true. So if you are a good transactional leader but do not have transformational qualities, you’ll likely only be a mediocre leader.

3) The best leaders are transactional and transformational.

b. Full Range of Leadership Model. Exhibit 12-5 shows the full range c.

d.

e. f.

g. h.

PPT 12.25

Exhibit 12-5 of leadership model.

The first four: 1) Laissez-faire is the most passive and therefore least effective of leader behaviors.

2) Management by exception—active or passive—is slightly better than laissez-faire, but it’s still considered ineffective.

3) Management-by-exception leaders tend to be available only when there is a problem, which is often too late.

4) Contingent reward leadership can be an effective style of leadership but will not get employees to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Only with the four remaining styles—all aspects of transformational leadership—are leaders able to motivate followers to perform above expectations and transcend their self-interest for the sake of the organization.

1) Individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence all result in extra effort from workers, higher productivity, higher morale and satisfaction, higher organizational effectiveness, lower turnover, lower absenteeism, and greater organizational adaptability.

Based on this model, leaders are generally most effective when they regularly use each of the four transformational behaviors.

How Transformational Leadership Works. Organizations with transformational leaders generally have: PPT 12.26 1) Greater decentralization of responsibility.

2) Managers with a higher propensity to take risks.

3) Compensation plans geared toward long-term results—all of which facilitate corporate entrepreneurship.

Companies with transformational leaders often show greater agreement among top managers about the organization’s goals, which yields superior organizational performance.

Evaluation of Transformational Leadership. Transformational leadership has been supported at various job levels and in disparate occupations.

1) Transformational leadership isn’t equally effective in all PPT 12.27 situations, however. a) It has a greater impact on the bottom line in smaller, privately held firms than in more complicated organizations. b) Transformational leadership can also vary depending on whether work is evaluated at the team or the individual .

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level.

c) Individual-focused transformational leadership

empowers individual followers to develop ideas, enhance their abilities, and increase their self-efficacy. d) Team-focused transformational leaders emphasize group goals, shared values and beliefs, and unified efforts. b) Transformational leadership is not foolproof, though. i. Transformational Leadership versus Transactional Leadership. When comparing transformational leadership with transactional leadership, research shows that transformational PPT 12.28 leadership is more strongly correlated than transactional leadership with lower turnover rates, higher productivity, lower employee stress and burnout, and higher employee satisfaction. j. Transformational leadership theory is not perfect.

1) There are concerns about whether contingent reward leadership is strictly a characteristic of transactional leaders only.

2) And contrary to the full range of leadership model, the 4 I’s in transformational leadership are not always superior in effectiveness to transactional leadership (contingent reward leadership sometimes works as well as transformational leadership). k. Transformational Leadership and Charismatic Leadership. In considering transformational and charismatic leadership, you surely noticed some commonalities.

1) Charismatic leadership places somewhat more emphasis on how leaders communicate while transformational leadership focuses more on what is communicated.

2) At their heart, both theories focus on the ability of leaders to inspire followers, and some of the ways they do this are the same in both theories. Because of this some researchers believe the concepts are interchangeable.

VI. RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP One area left out of charismatic and transformational leadership theories is the role of ethics and trust in leadership effectiveness.

A. Authentic Leadership.

B. Authentic leaders know who they are, what they believe in and PPT 12.29 value, and act on those values and beliefs openly and candidly.

1. Their followers consider them ethical people. The primary quality produced by authentic leadership therefore is trust.

2. Authentic leaders share information, encourage open communication, and stick to their ideals. The result: people come to have faith in them. a. Related to this behavior is the concept of humility, another characteristic of being authentic. Research indicates that leaders who model humility help followers to understand the growth process for their own development. b. Transformational or charismatic leaders can have a vision and communicate it persuasively, but sometimes the vision is wrong (as in the case of Hitler), or the leader is more concerned with his or her own .

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needs or pleasures, as were Dennis Kozlowski (ex-CEO of Tyco) and Jeff Skilling (ex-CEO of Enron).

C. Ethics and Leadership.

D. Leadership is not value-free. In assessing leadership PPT 12.30 effectiveness, we need to address the means a leader uses to achieve goals as well as the content of those goals.

1. The role of the leader in creating the ethical expectations for all members is crucial. Therefore, although every member of an organization is responsible for ethical behavior, many initiatives aimed at increasing organizational ethical behavior are focused on the leader.

2. Ethics and leadership intersect at a number of junctures. a. Transformational leaders have been described as fostering moral virtue when they try to change the attitudes and behaviors of followers. b. Charisma, too, has an ethical component. Unethical leaders use their charisma to enhance power over followers, directed toward selfserving ends.

3. To integrate ethical and charismatic leadership, scholars have advanced the idea of socialized charismatic leadership—conveying other-centered (not self-centered) values through leaders who model ethical conduct. a. These leaders are able to bring employee values in line with their own values through their words and actions.Leaders who treat their followers with fairness, especially by providing honest, frequent, and accurate information, are seen as more effective. b. Because top executives set the moral tone for an organization, they need to set high ethical standards, demonstrate those standards through their own behavior, and encourage and reward integrity in others while avoiding abuses of power, such as giving themselves large raises and bonuses while seeking to cut costs by laying off long-time employees.

4. Leadership is not value free. a. In assessing its effectiveness we need to address the means a leader uses in trying to achieve goals, as well as the content of those goals. b. Scholars have tried to integrate ethical and charismatic leadership by advancing the idea of socialized charismatic leadership—leadership that conveys other centered (not self-centered) values by leaders who model ethical conduct. Socialized charismatic leaders are able to bring employee values in line with their own values through their words and actions.

E. Servant Leadership.

F. Scholars have recently considered ethical leadership from a PPT 12.31 new angle by examining servant leadership.

1. Servant leaders go beyond their own self-interest and focus on opportunities to help followers grow and develop. They don’t use power to achieve ends; they emphasize persuasion.

2. Characteristic behaviors include listening, empathizing, persuading, practicing stewardship, and actively developing followers’ potential.

3. What are the effects of servant leadership? One study of 123 supervisors found that it resulted in higher levels of commitment to the supervisor, self.

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efficacy, and perceptions of justice, which were all related to organizational citizenship behavior. The relationship between servant leadership and follower organizational citizenship behavior appears to be stronger when followers are focused on being dutiful and responsible.

4. Servant leadership increases team potency (a belief that one’s team has above-average skills and abilities), which in turn leads to higher levels of group performance.

5. A study with a nationally representative sample found higher levels of citizenship associated with a focus on growth and advancement, which in turn was associated with higher levels of creative performance.

6. Servant leadership may be more prevalent and more effective in certain cultures. In particular, the East Asian prototype is more like a servant leader, which might mean servant leadership is more effective in these cultures.

POSITIVE LEADERSHIP A. Trust and Leadership 1. Trust is a psychological state that exists when you agree PPT 12.32 to make yourself vulnerable to another because you have positive expectations about how things are going to turn out. Although you aren’t completely in control of the situation, you are willing to take a chance that the other person will come through for you.

2. Trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership; breaking it can have serious adverse effects on a group’s performance.

3. Followers who trust a leader are willing to be vulnerable to the leader’s actions, confident their rights and interests will not be abused.

4. The Outcomes of Trust: Trust between supervisors and employees has a number of specific advantages. Here are just a few from research: a. Trust encourages taking risks. Whenever employees decide to deviate from the usual way of doing things or to take their supervisor’s word on a new direction, they are taking a risk. In both cases, a trusting relationship can facilitate that leap. b. Trust facilitates information sharing. When managers demonstrate they will give employees’ ideas a fair hearing and actively make changes, employees are more willing to speak out. c. Trusting groups are more effective. When a leader sets a trusting tone in a group, members are more willing to help each other and exert extra effort, which increases trust. d. Trust enhances productivity. Employees who trust their supervisors tend to receive higher performance ratings, indicating higher productivity.

5. Trust Development: What key characteristics lead us to believe a leader is trustworthy? Evidence has identified three: integrity, benevolence, and ability (see Exhibit 12-6).

PPT 12.33 a. Integrity refers to honesty and truthfulness. When 570 whitecollar employees were given a list of 28 attributes related to leadership, they rated honesty the most important by far.

Exhibit 12-6 Integrity also means maintaining consistency between what you do and say. .

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b. Benevolence means the trusted person has your interests at heart, even

6.

7.

8.

9.

if your interests aren’t necessarily in line with theirs. Caring and supportive behavior is part of the emotional bond between leaders and followers. c. Ability encompasses an individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills. You’re unlikely to depend on someone whose abilities you don’t believe in even if the person is highly principled and has the best intentions.

Trust Propensity: Trust propensity refers to how likely a particular employee is to trust a leader. Some people are simply more likely to believe others can be trusted. a. Trust propensity is closely linked to the personality trait of agreeableness and people with lower self-esteem are less likely to trust others.

Trust and Culture: Does trust look the same in every culture? Using the basic definition of trust, it certainly does. However, in the work context, trust in an employment relationship may be built on very different perceptions from culture to culture. a. In individualistic societies (see Chapter 4), we might expect that paternalistic leadership will rankle many employees who prefer not to see themselves as part of a hierarchical family work group. b. Employees in individualistic cultures may build trust according to the degree of leadership support and consistency instead.

The Role of Time: We come to trust people by observing their behavior over a period of time. a. To help, leaders need to demonstrate integrity, benevolence, and ability in situations where trust is important—say, where they could behave opportunistically or let employees down. b. Second, trust can be won in the ability domain by demonstrating competence. c. Third, research with 100 companies around the world suggested that leaders can build trust by shifting their communication style from topdown commands to ongoing organizational dialogue. d. Lastly, when leaders regularly create interpersonal conversations with their employees that are intimate, interactive, inclusive and that intentionally follow an agenda, followers demonstrate trust with high levels of engagement.

Regaining Trust: Managers who break the psychological contract with workers, demonstrating they aren’t trustworthy leaders, will find employees are less satisfied and less committed, have a higher intent toward turnover, engage in less organizational citizenship behavior, and have lower levels of task performance. a. Leaders who betray trust are especially likely to be evaluated negatively by followers if there is already a low level of LMX. b. Once it has been violated, trust can be regained, but only in certain situations and depending on the type of violation. c. Trust can be restored when we observe a consistent pattern of trustworthy behavior by the transgressor. .

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1) However, if the transgressor used deception, trust never fully

returns, not even after apologies, promises, or a consistent pattern of trustworthy actions.

MENTORING PPT 12.34 A. A mentor is a senior employee who sponsors and supports a less-experienced employee, a protégé.

1. Successful mentors are good teachers. They present ideas clearly, listen well, and empathize with protégés’ problems.

B. Mentoring relationships, whether formal ot informal, serve career functions and psychosocial functions.

C. In formal mentoring relationships, protégé candidates are identfied according to assessments of leadership potential; then they are matched with leaders in corresponding organizational functions.

D. Informal relationships happen much the same, but organically: first a less experienced, lower-level employee who appears to have potential for future develepment is identified. The protégé is often then tested with a particularly challenging assignment. If performance is acceptable, the leader will develop the mentoring relationship.

1. In both formal and informal mentoring, the goal is to show the protégé how the organization really works outside its formal structures and procedures.

E. Research indicates that employers should establish mentoring programs because they benefit both mentors and protégés.

F. You might assume mentoring is valuable for objective outcomes like compensation and job performance, but research suggets the gains are primarily psychological.

1. It may feel nice to have a mentor, but it doesn’t appear that having a good mentor, or any mentor, is critical to your career.

IX. CHALLENGES TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LEADERSHIP A. Leadership as an Attribution. As you may remember from Chapter 5, PPT 12.35 attribution theory examines how people try to make sense of causeand-effect relationships. The attribution theory of leadership says leadership is merely an attribution people make about other individuals.

1. Thus we attribute to our leaders: intelligence, outgoing personality, strong verbal skills, aggressiveness, understanding, and industriousness.

2. At the organizational level, we tend to see leaders, rightly or wrongly, as responsible for extremely negative or extremely positive performance.

3. Attribution theory suggests what’s important is projecting the appearance of being a leader rather than focusing on actual accomplishments. a. Leader-wannabes who can shape the perception that they’re smart, personable, verbally adept, aggressive, hardworking, and consistent in their style can increase the probability their bosses, colleagues, and employees will view them as effective leaders.

PPT 12.36 B. Substitutes and Neutralizers to Leadership. This theory holds that leadership actions are often irrelevant when trying to explain PPT 12.37 organizational outcomes.

VIII.

1. Experience and training are among the substitutes that can replace the need for a leader’s support or ability to create structure. .

Exhibit 12-7

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a. Organizational characteristics such as explicit formalized goals, rigid

rules and procedures, and cohesive work groups can also replace formal leadership, while indifference to organizational rewards can neutralize its effects.

2. Neutralizers make it impossible for leader behavior to make any difference to follower outcomes.

3. We’ve introduced a number of variables—such as attitudes, personality, ability, and group norms—that affect employee performance and satisfaction. a. It’s simplistic to think employees are guided to goal accomplishments solely by the actions of their leader. b. Leadership is simply another independent variable in our overall OB model.

4. There are many possible substitutes for and neutralizers of many different types of leader behaviors across many different situations. a. Moreover, sometimes the difference between substitutes and neutralizers is fuzzy. b. If I’m working on a task that’s intrinsically enjoyable, theory predicts leadership will be less important because the task itself provides enough motivation. But does that mean intrinsically enjoyable tasks neutralize leadership effects, or substitute for them, or both? c. Another problem is that while substitutes for leadership (such as employee characteristics, the nature of the task, and so forth) matter to performance, that doesn’t necessarily mean that leadership doesn’t.

C. Online Leadership.

1. We propose that online leaders have to think carefully about PPT 12.38 what actions they want their digital messages to initiate. a. These leaders confront unique challenges, the greatest of which appears to be developing and maintaining trust. identification-based trust, based on a mutual understanding of each other’s intentions and appreciation of the other’s wants and desires, is particularly difficult to achieve without face-to-face interaction. b. Online negotiations can also be hindered because parties tend to express lower levels of trust.

2. We believe good leadership skills will soon include the ability to communicate support, trust, and inspiration through electronic communication and to accurately read emotions in others’ messages. a. In electronic communication, writing skills are likely to become an extension of interpersonal skills in ways that are not yet defined.

X. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. For maximum leadership effectiveness, ensure that your preferences on the initiating structure and consideration PPT 12.39 dimensions are a match for your work dynamics and culture.

B. Hire candidates who exhibit transformational leadership qualities and who have demonstrated success in working through others to meet a long-term vision.

1. Personality tests can reveal candidates higher in extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness, which may indicate leadership readiness. .

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C. Hire candidates whom you believe are ethical and trustworthy; and train

managers in your organization’s ethical standards.

D. Seek to develop trusting relationships with followers because, as organizations have become less stable and predictable, strong bonds of trust are replacing bureaucratic rules in defining expecations and relationships.

E. Consider investing in leadership training such as formal courses, workshops, rotating job responsibilities, coaching, and mentoring.

XI. SUMMARY A. Leadership plays a central part in our understanding of group behavior because it’s the leader who usually directs us toward our goals.

B. Knowing what makes a good leader should thus be valuable in improving group performance.

1. The early search for a set of universal leadership traits failed. However, recent efforts using the Big Five personality framework show strong and consistent relationships between leadership and extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.

2. The behavioral approach’s major contribution was narrowing leadership into task-oriented (initiating structure) and people-oriented (consideration) styles.

3. By considering the situation in which the leader operates, contingency theories promised to improve on the behavioral approach, but only LPC theory has fared well in leadership research.

4. Research on charismatic and transformational leadership has made major contributions to our understanding of leadership effectiveness.

Discussion Questions

1. List and describe the traits of effective leaders.

Answer: Using the Big Five framework, effective leaders do appear to have some key traits in common: they are extraverted (individuals who like being around people and are able to assert themselves), conscientious (disciplined individuals who keep the commitments they make), and open (individuals who are creative and flexible).

2. Define and give examples of the Ohio State leadership dimensions.

Answer: There are two leadership dimensions; initiating structure and consideration. Initiating Structure: refers to the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure his or her role and those of employees in the search for goal attainment. It includes behavior that attempts to organize work, work relationships, and goals. Consideration: is the extent to which a person is likely to have job relationships that are characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas, and regard for their feelings. People high in consideration show concern for followers’ comfort, well-being, status, and satisfaction.

3. Compare and contrast trait and behavioral theories.

Answer: The primary difference between leadership behavior theories and trait theories is that traits cannot be taught. Thus, trait studies attempted to identify people who had the natural characteristics necessary to be good leaders: the focus was on selection. Behaviors on the other hand, can be learned. So behavioral studies attempt to find the correct actions leaders take. By teaching these behaviors, anyone could be trained to be a better leader: the focus is on what .

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5.

6.

7.

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should be trained. Both sets of theories attempted to help organizations find (or develop) better leaders; it is their methodology that differs.

Describe Fiedler's contingency model.

Answer: The Fiedler contingency model proposes that effective group performance depends on the proper match between the leader’s style and the degree to which the situation gives control to the leader. Leadership style is identified through the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) questionnaire, which purports to measure whether a person is task- or relationship-oriented. High LPC scores indicate a relationship-oriented leader; low LPC scores indicate a taskoriented leader. Fiedler assumed that an individual’s leadership style is fixed. The situation is defined by three contingency dimensions: (1) leader-member relations: the degree of confidence, trust, and respect members have in their leader; (2) task structure: the degree to which the job assignments are structured or unstructured; and (3) position power: the degree of influence a leader has over hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, and salary increases. The combination of the measurements of these three dimensions creates eight potential situations that a leader might face. Task-oriented leaders tend to perform better in situations that are either very favorable to them or very unfavorable (category I, II, III, VII, or VIII).

Relationship-oriented leaders perform better in moderately favorable situations (categories IV through VI). Recently Fiedler has condensed these eight situations down to three based on the degree of control: task-oriented leaders perform best in situations of high and low control while relationship-oriented leaders perform best in moderate control situations. In order to improve leader effectiveness an organization must either (1) change the leader to fit the situation or (2) change the situation to fit the leader. This second solution can be achieved by restructuring tasks or increasing/decreasing the power the leader has to control factors such as salary increases, promotions, and disciplinary actions.

Define the characteristics of a charismatic leader.

Answer: The charismatic characteristics identified by House are: vision, a willingness to take personal risks to achieve that vision, sensitivity to followers’ needs, and exhibiting behaviors that are out of the ordinary. Charismatic leaders influence followers by: (1) Articulating an appealing vision: a long-term strategy on how to attain a goal or goals. (2) Communicating values. (3) Modeling behavior aligned with the new set of values: being an example for followers to imitate. (4) Engaging in emotion-inducing and often unconventional behavior to demonstrate courage and convictions about the vision.

Contrast transformational with transactional leaders.

Answer: Transformational leaders are those who inspire followers to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the organization and are capable of having a profound or extraordinary effect on their followers. Transactional leaders are those who guide or motivate their followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. In a sense, transformational leaders reflect what is popularly known as leadership, while transactional leaders reflect management.

Discuss trust and leadership. What makes a leader appear to be trustworthy?

Answer: There are three main characteristics that lead us to believe a leader is trustworthy: integrity (honesty and truthfulness), benevolence (the trusted person has your interests a heart even of your interests aren’t necessarily in line with .

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theirs), and ability (encompasses an individual’s technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills).

8. Identify when leadership may not be necessary.

Answer: According to the Substitutes and Neutralizers to Leadership Theory, the following variables can either neutralize or substitute for leadership: (1) employees with greater experience, training, professional orientation, or indifference toward organizational rewards; (2) jobs that are inherently unambiguous and routine or that are intrinsically satisfying; and/or (3) organizations with explicit, formalized goals, rigid rules and procedures, and cohesive work groups.

9. Does charismatic/transformational leadership generalize across cultures?

Answer: In general, yes, it does, but its expression may vary depending on the culture. A recent Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness project indicated that the desire for charismatic leadership appears to be universal.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Based on your Big Five personality profile, what leadership traits do you possess? Do you think you would be a good leader? Why or why not? (If you have not already completed this personality test in an earlier chapter, search the Internet for a free version of the Big Five personality test and take it.)

2. Web Crawling. Search the Internet to find three sources that believe that leadership is necessary for organizations to be effective and three sources that do not. Concisely summarize the two arguments and then provide your opinion on the matter.

3. Teamwork. Split the class into small groups of four. Half of these teams will elect a leader who will act as a transactional leader. The other half will select leaders who will act as transformational leaders. Give each team three decks of cards that have been shuffled together and randomly stacked. Call the leaders together and inform them of their team’s task. The task of each group is to sort and sequence the pile into the original three separate decks of cards (ordered by suit and rank: A♠-K♠, A♣-K♣, A♥-K♥, and A♦-K♦). This activity is a race between teams. The winning team will be the one that completes the task the fastest and the most accurately.

Every card that is found to be out of place is a thirty-second penalty. Review with the leaders the differences between transactional and transformational leadership before allowing them to start the exercise. Allow the leaders to act in the way they see fit, based on their style of leadership. Time each team. At the end of the activity, have the competing teams check each other's results for accuracy. Average the time taken by each type of leader’s teams. Was there a difference? Why or why not? Address these questions to the team members, not the team leaders. Ask the team members of each type of leader how they felt during the activity. Ask the team leaders how they felt about their team members and the activity. Hold a discussion on the effects of these two types of leadership on the results of this activity.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Analyze the leadership in your organization using the theories discussed in this chapter as a framework. Pick one or more theories that you think applies most to your organization, and actually write a case study on it. For example, if you think that the Fiedler model is what is driving the leadership in your organization, write a paper discussing why this is the .

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case. For example, you may have a strong task-oriented leader who is very effective because the situational variables are either very high or very low.

5. What Characterizes a Leader? This exercise will show students different leadership styles in a fun way. It requires some significant preparation on the instructor’s part. a. Rent one or more of the following movies: i. Karate Kid - Good for contingency leadership. ii. Lawrence of Arabia - Good for charismatic/visionary leadership. iii. Hoosiers - Good for transactional leadership. b. Preview the film(s) you will use in class and note where the following sections are. (By previewing, you will reduce viewing time to fifteen to twenty minutes out of each film.) i. Karate Kid: (1) When Miagi has Daniel washing, sanding, and painting, only to show him that he has learned karate: high task/low relationship. (2) When they are on the inlet fishing and Daniel is standing on the boat practicing: moderate task/moderate relationship. And (3) the tournament at the end of the film: high relationship/low task direction. ii. Lawrence of Arabia: (1) The beginning of the film when Lawrence gets his assignment and declares it is fun. (2) When he is first riding in the desert and won’t drink his water except when his guide does.

(3) When he is talking the tribal leader into riding across the desert to attack the port city and (4) later when he talks the second tribal leader into joining them. The pattern shows the development, execution, and creation commitment to a vision. iii. Hoosiers: (1) When Gene Hackman is first coaching the players and tells them to leave if they don’t want to work. (2) Choose one or two scenes where he is dictating to them how to play: my way or the highway. Be sure to close with (3) the tournament game where the players finally have enough confidence to tell him they want to do something different and he lets them. This last scene is important to show that transactional leadership does work; you just may not like the method. c. Lead a discussion after watching the clips from each film. As an alternative, watch the entire movie(s), stopping the video periodically and discussing the elements of leadership displayed to that point.

6. Name That Leader! Before even beginning the discussion of leadership, have students name/identify who they think are or have been great leaders. This list can include past, present, and future leaders; male and female leaders; living or deceased leaders of the following categories: business leaders, governmental leaders (domestic and international), ethnic leaders, and religious leaders from any/all denominations.

Try to encourage a wide variety of leaders, even some leaders that would not be considered socially acceptable, such as Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and cult leaders such as Jim Jones and Charles Manson, because they will lead into the discussion. While they were not exactly nice people, they were able to influence the behavior of others to act in a certain manner.

After the class has generated a relatively lengthy list (twenty or more), have the students identify why all of the people on this list are or were leaders, and what .

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characteristics do they all have in common. Write the list on the board. This can lead into an interesting discussion on trait theory.

7. Ethical Leadership. Have the class search for news stories on ethical breakdowns by current leaders. Discuss the events in the context of why the breakdowns occurred. Was it due to a wrong style, such as using charisma when it did not work? Discuss the concept of traits and behaviors in the context of what makes a great leader. For example, can one behave unethically in their personal lives, but still be a great leader?

Suggested Assignments

1. Ask students to look at the list of famous quotes from well-known leaders from history. They may use the Internet to find these leaders.

2. Once the leaders are identified, ask students to write a short paper about two to four of these leaders to describe their leadership characteristics in terms introduced in the chapter.

Who Said That?

Name That Leader 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

I have a dream.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

I have not yet begun to fight.

The buck stops here.

Read my lips.

[In response to a female heckler who claimed he was drunk.] And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.

Give me liberty or give me death.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Who Said That?

Name That Leader: Answer Key

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

I have a dream. -Martin Luther King, Jr. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. -Franklin D. Roosevelt I have not yet begun to fight. -John Paul Jones The buck stops here. -Harry S. Truman Read my lips. -George H.W. Bush [In response to a female heckler who claimed he was drunk.] And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning. -Winston Churchill No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -Eleanor Roosevelt Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country. -John F. Kennedy Give me liberty or give me death. -Patrick Henry .

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11.

12.

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In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.

-Thomas Jefferson If you judge people, you have no time to love them. -Mother Teresa Walk softly and carry a big stick. -Teddy Roosevelt

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Chapter 13

Power and Politics in Organizations

Chapter Overview

PPT 13.2

For anything to be accomplished in an organization, people must use both power and politics. While often looked at as negative aspects of organizations, both power and politics are the means by which organizations and individuals get objectives accomplished.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Contrast leadership and power.

2. Explain the three bases of formal power and the two bases of personal power.

3. Explain the role of dependence in power relationships.

4. Identify power or influence tactics and their contingencies.

5. Identify the causes and consequences of abuse of power.

6. Describe how politics work in organizations.

7. Identify the causes, consequences, and ethics of political behavior.

PPT 13.3

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. II.

INTRODUCTION

A. This chapter will examine how power shapes group goals and resource

PPT 13.4

allocation as well as the individual use of political skills to achieve goals.

POWER AND LEADERSHIP A. Power: a capacity that one person has to influence the behavior of another so that the other acts in accordance with the first person's wishes.

1. Power requires a dependency relationship: the greater the dependency, the greater the power that exists. a. Dependence is based on alternatives and their desirability. b. Alternatives. Dependence is increased as a number of alternatives decrease.

Control over an alternative gives power. c. Desirability. The more desirable an alternative is, the more dependent a person (target) is on the person (controller) who controls the alternative and therefore the more power the controller has.

2. The concepts of leadership and power are closely intertwined. Leaders use power as a means of attaining group goals.

3. Power and leadership differ in three major areas: PPT 13.5 a. Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence.

1) Leadership requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led. b. Leadership focuses on the downward influence over one's followers. .

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1) It minimizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns.

Power is concerned with all directions of influence. c. Leadership research tends to emphasize the style leaders take.

1) Research on power is a broader topic and focuses on tactics for gaining compliance. d. Power research looks at the power exerted by individuals, as well as that used by groups.

III. BASES OF POWER A. There are two general groupings of power sources: formal and PPT 13.6 personal.

1. Formal Power. a. This source of power comes from an individual's position in an organization. b. It is based on the ability to coerce or reward, or from formal authority.

1) Coercive Power: The coercive power base is driven by fear. a) A target reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that would occur if he or she fails to comply. b) It rests on the application, or threat of application, of physical sanctions (pain, frustration, or threatening lower order needs).

2) Reward Power: The opposite of coercive power, reward power is based on producing positive benefits for the target who complies. a) Rewards can be financial (pay or bonuses) or nonfinancial (recognition, interesting assignments, or preferred work shifts).

3) Legitimate Power: In formal groups and organizations, legitimate power is the formal authority to control and use organizational resources based on structural position. a) It is based on member acceptance of the position, not simply the power to coerce and reward given with that position.

2. Personal Power.

PPT 13.7 a. This power stems from an individual's unique characteristics.

1) Expert Power: Expert power is influence wielded because of expertise, special skill, or knowledge. a) This has become a powerful source of influence as the world becomes more technologically oriented.

2) Referent Power: Referent power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. a) It develops out of admiration of another and the desire to be like that person: followers wish to please a person with referent power. b) This source of power is closely aligned with charisma.

B. Which Bases of Power Are Most Effective?

1. Research suggests the personal sources of power are most PPT 13.8 effective. a. Both expert and referent power are positively related to employee satisfaction with supervision, organizational commitment, and performance. b. Reward and legitimate power are unrelated to organizational outcomes. c. Coercive power can be damaging.

IV. DEPENDENCE: THE KEY TO POWER A. The General Dependence Postulate.

PPT 13.9 .

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B. The greater B’s dependence on A, the more power A has over B. 1. When you possess anything others require that you alone control, you make them dependent on you, and therefore you gain power over them.

C. What Creates Dependence?

D. Dependence increases when a resource you control is important, scarce, and non-

substitutable.

1. Importance: If nobody wants what you have, it’s not going to create dependence.

2. Scarcity: We see the scarcity-dependence relationship in the power situation of employment. a. When the supply of labor is low relative to demand, workers can negotiate compensation and benefits packages that are far more attractive than those in occupations with an abundance of candidates.

3. Student Government Association (SGA) Non-substitutability: The fewer viable substitutes for a resource, the more power a person controlling that resource has.

E. Social Network Analysis: A Tool for Assessing Resources.

F. One tool to assess the exchange of resources and dependencies PPT 13.10 within an organization is social network analysis (Exhibit 13-1).

1. This method examines patterns of communication among Exhibit 13-1 organizational members to identify how information flows between them.

2. Within a social network, or connections between people who share professional interests, each individual or group is called a node, and the links between nodes are called ties.

3. When nodes communicate or exchange resources frequently, they are said to have very strong ties. Other nodes that are not engaged in direct communication with one another achieve resource flows through intermediary nodes.

4. In other words, some nodes act as brokers between otherwise unconnected nodes.

G. Networks can create substantial power dynamics.

1. Those in the position of brokers tend to have more power because they can leverage the unique resources they can acquire from different groups.

2. In other words, many people are dependent upon brokers, which gives the brokers more power.

H. There are many ways to implement a social network analysis in an organization.

1. Some organizations keep track of the flow of e-mail communications or document sharing across departments. These big data tools are an easy way to gather objective information about how individuals exchange information.

2. Other organizations look at data from human resources (HR) information systems, analyzing how supervisors and subordinates interact with one another.

These data sources can produce sociograms showing how resources and power flow.

3. Leaders can then identify powerful brokers who exert the strongest influence on many groups, and address these key individuals.

V. POWER TACTICS PPT 13.11 A. Power tactics are what people use to translate power bases into specific actions that influence others.

B. Nine Influence Tactics: .

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1. Legitimacy. Relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in

accordance with organizational policies and rules.

2. Rational Persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate the request is reasonable.

PPT 13.11 3. Inspirational Appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations.

4. Consultation. Increasing the target’s motivation and support by involving him or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done.

5. Exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request.

6. Personal Appeals. Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty.

7. Ingratiation. Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making the request.

8. Pressure. Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats.

9. Coalitions. Enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the support of others as a reason for the target to agree.

C. Using Power Tactics.

PPT 13.13 D. Not all tactics are equally effective.

1. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most effective tactics.

2. Pressure is the least effective of all nine tactics.

3. Effectiveness is increased by using more than one type of tactic at PPT 13.14 the same time or sequentially, so long as the tactics are compatible.

4. Tactic effectiveness is modified by the direction of the influence. a. Inspirational appeals and pressure work best as downward influencing tactics. b. Personal appeals and coalitions are most effective as lateral influence attempts.

5. You’re more likely to be effective if you begin with softer tactics that rely on personal power, such as personal and inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation.

6. If these fail, you can move to harder tactics, such as exchange, coalitions, and pressure, which emphasize formal power and incur greater costs and risks.

7. Interestingly, a single soft tactic is more effective than a single hard tactic, and combining two soft tactics or a soft tactic and rational persuasion is more effective than any single tactic or combination of hard tactics.

8. The effectiveness of tactics depends on the audience. a. People especially likely to comply with soft power tactics tend to be more reflective, are intrinsically motivated, have high self-esteem, and have greater desire for control. b. People likely to comply with hard power tactics are more action oriented and extrinsically motivated and are more focused on getting along with others than with getting their own way.

E. Cultural Preferences for Power Tactics.

1. People in different countries prefer different power PPT 13.15 tactics. a. Those from individualistic countries tend to see .

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power in personalized terms and as a legitimate means of advancing their personal ends, whereas those in collectivistic countries see power in social terms and as a legitimate means of helping others.

1) Research has also shown that individuals in Western, individualistic cultures tend to engage in more self-enhancement behaviors (such as self-promotion) than individuals in more collectivistic Eastern cultures.

F. Applying Power Tactics.

1. People differ in their political skill, or their ability to influence others to enhance their own objectives.

PPT 13.16 2. The politically skilled are more effective users of all of the influence tactics. a. Political skill also appears more effective when the stakes are high—such as when the individual is accountable for important organizational outcomes.

3. The politically skilled are able to exert their influence without others detecting it, a key element in being effective. (It’s damaging to be labeled political.)

4. Finally, we know cultures within organizations differ markedly—some are warm, relaxed, and supportive; others are formal and conservative. a. The organizational culture in which a person works will have a bearing on which tactics are considered appropriate. Some cultures encourage participation and consultation, some encourage reason, and still others rely on pressure. b. People who fit the culture of the organization tend to obtain more influence.

1) Specifically, extraverts tend to be more influential in team-oriented organizations, and highly conscientious people are more influential in organizations that value working alone on technical tasks. c. Part of the reason people who fit the culture are influential is that they are able to perform especially well in the domains deemed most important for success. In other words, they are influential because they are competent. So the organization itself will influence which subset of power tactics is viewed as acceptable for use.

VI. HOW POWER AFFECTS PEOPLE A. Does power corrupt?

B. There is currently evidence that there are corrupting aspects of PPT 13.1 power. Research suggests that power leads people to place their own interests ahead of others. Why does this happen?

1. Interestingly, research suggests that power not only leads people to focus on their self-interests because they can, but it also liberates people to focus inward and thus come to place greater weight on their goals and interests.

2. Power also appears to lead individuals to objectify others and to see relationships as more peripheral.

C. Powerful people react — especially negatively — to any threats to their competence. They’re more willing to denigrate others.

1. People given power are more likely to make self-interested decisions when faced with a moral hazed.

2. Power also leads to overconfident decision making.

D. Power Variables.

E. Power doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. There are some positive effects of power. .

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1. The toxic effects of power depend on one’s personality. Research suggests that

if we have an anxious personality, power does not corrupt us because we are less likely to think that using power benefits us.

2. Power doesn’t corrupt those with anxious personalities because they are less likely to think that using power benefits them.

3. The corrosive effects of power can be contained by organizational systems.

4. We have the power to blunt the negative effects of power.

5. The people who are most likely to abuse power are those who are low in status and gain power. Why is this the case? It appears that having low status is threatening, and this fear is used in negative ways if power is given.

F. As you can see, there are factors that can ameliorate the negative effects of power.

But there also appear to be general positive effects.

1. Power energizes and leads to approach motivation. It can also enhance people’s motivation to help others, at least for certain people. a. One study found, for example, that values toward helping others translated into actual work behavior only when people felt a sense of power.

2. This study points to an important insight about power. It is not so much that power corrupts, as it reveals. a. Supporting this line of reasoning, another study revealed that power led to self-interested behavior only for those with a weak moral identity; power actually enhanced their moral awareness.

G. Sexual Harassment: Unequal Power in the Workplace.

1. Sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted activity of a PPT 13.18 sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment or creates a hostile work environment.

2. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment happens when a person encounters unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature on the job that disrupts work performance or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. a. Although the definition changes from country to country, most nations have at least some policies to protect workers. b. Whether the policies or laws are followed is another question, however.

3. Generally, sexual harassment is more prevalent in male-dominated societies. a. For example, a study in Pakistan found that up to 93 percent of female workers were sexually harassed. b. In Singapore, up to 54 percent of workers (women and men) reported they were sexually harassed. c. The percentages in the United States and some other countries are generally much lower but still troubling. Surveys indicate about one-quarter of U.S. women and 10 percent of men have been sexually harassed. d. Data from the EEOC suggest that sexual harassment is decreasing: sexual harassment claims now make up 10 percent of all discrimination claims, compared with 20 percent in the mid-1990s.

4. The bottom line is that managers have a responsibility to protect their employees from a hostile work environment.

VII. POLITICS: POWER IN ACTION A. Definition of Organizational Politics:

PPT 13.19

.

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1. Occurs when employees convert their power into action.

2. Employees with good political skills have the ability to use their bases of power effectively.

B. Definition of Political Behavior.

1. Political behavior is activities that are not required as part of one's formal role

in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.

2. This definition includes these key elements: a. Political behavior is outside one’s specified job requirements. b. The behavior requires some attempt to use one's power bases.

3. Interviews with experienced managers show that most believe political behavior is a major part of organizational life.

4. Many managers report some use of political behavior is both ethical and necessary, as long as it doesn’t directly harm anyone else.

5. Managers describe politics as necessary and believe someone who never uses political behavior will have a hard time getting things done.

6. Most managers indicate they had never been trained to use political behavior effectively.

7. But why, you may wonder, must politics exist? a. Organizations are made up of individuals and groups with different values, goals, and interests. b. This sets up the potential for conflict over the PPT 13.20 allocation of limited resources, such as departmental budgets, space, project responsibilities, and salary adjustments. c. If resources were abundant, then all constituencies within the organization could satisfy their goals. d. But because they are limited, not everyone’s interests can be satisfied. e. Furthermore, gains by one individual or group are often perceived as coming at the expense of others within the organization (whether they are or not). f. These forces create real competition among members for the organization’s limited resources. g. Maybe the most important factor leading to politics within organizations is the realization that most of the facts used to allocate the limited resources are open to interpretation. h. It is in the large and ambiguous middle ground of organizational life—where the facts don’t speak for themselves—that politics flourish. i. Finally, because most decisions have to be made in a climate of ambiguity— where facts are rarely objective and thus open to interpretation—people within organizations will use whatever influence they can to support their goals and interests.

VIII. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR A. Factors Contributing to Political Behavior.

B. There are a number of factors that appear to encourage political behavior. Some are individual characteristics, derived from the qualities of the people the organization employs; others are a result of the organization’s culture or internal environment.

Exhibit 13-3 illustrates how both individual and organizational factors can increase .

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political behavior and provide favorable outcomes (increased rewards and averted punishments) for individuals and groups in the organization.

1. Individual Factors: At the individual level, researchers have PPT 13.21 identified certain personality traits, needs, and other factors likely to be related to political behavior.

Exhibit 13-3 a. In terms of traits, we find that employees who are high self-monitors, possess an internal locus of control, and have a high need for power are more likely to engage in political behavior.

1) The high self-monitor is more sensitive to social cues, exhibits higher levels of social conformity, and is more likely to be skilled in political behavior than the low self-monitor. b. Because they believe they can control their environment, individuals with an internal locus of control are more prone to take a proactive stance and attempt to manipulate situations in their favor.

1) Not surprisingly, the Machiavellian personality—characterized by the will to manipulate and the desire for power—is comfortable using politics as a means to further his or her self-interest. c. In addition, an individual’s investment in the organization, perceived alternatives, and expectations of success influence the degree to which he or she will pursue illegitimate means of political action.

1) The more a person expects increased future benefits from the organization, the more that person has to lose if forced out and the less likely he or she is to use illegitimate means.

2) The more alternative job opportunities an individual has—due to a favorable job market or the possession of scarce skills or knowledge, a prominent reputation, or influential contacts outside the organization— the more likely that individual is to risk illegitimate political actions.

3) Finally, if an individual has a low expectation of success in using illegitimate means, it is unlikely he or she will attempt to do so. a) High expectations of success in the use of illegitimate means are most likely to be the province of both experienced and powerful individuals with polished political skills and inexperienced and naïve employees who misjudge their chances.

2. Organizational Factors: Although we acknowledge the role individual differences can play, the evidence more strongly suggests that certain situations and cultures promote politics. a. When an organization’s resources are declining or when the existing patterns of resource distribution are changing, the likelihood of political behavior increases.

1) Cultures characterized by low trust, role ambiguity, unclear performance evaluation systems, win–lose reward allocation practices, democratic decision making, high pressure for performance, and self-serving senior managers will create breeding grounds for politicking.

3. The Zero-Sum Approach: The more an organizational culture emphasizes the zero sum or win–lose approach to reward allocations, the more employees will be motivated to engage in politicking. a. The zero-sum approach treats the reward pie as fixed, so any gain one person or group achieves comes at the expense of another person or group. .

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4. Interorganizational Factors: There are also political forces at work in the

relationships between organizations, where politics work differently depending on the organizational cultures. a. One study showed that when two organizations with very political environments interacted with one another, the political interactions between them hurt performance in collaborative projects. b. On the other hand, when companies with less internal political behavior interacted with one another, even political disputes between them did not lead to lower performance in collaborative projects.

B. How Do People Respond to Organizational Politics?

1. For most people who have modest political skills or who are unwilling to play the politics game, outcomes tend to be predominantly negative in terms of decreased job satisfaction, increased anxiety and stress, increased turnover, and reduced performance.

PPT 13.22 a. Very strong evidence indicates that perceptions of organizational politics are negatively related to job satisfaction.

1) The perception of politics also tends to increase job satisfaction.

2) When politicking becomes too much to handle, it can lead employees to quit.

PPT 13.23 b. Researchers have also noted several interesting qualifiers.

1) First, the politics-performance relationship appears to be moderated by an individual’s understanding of the hows and whys of organizational politics. a) “An individual who has a clear understanding of who is responsible for making decisions and why they were selected to be the decision makers would have a better understanding of how and why things happen the way they do than someone who does not understand the decision-making process in the organization.” b) When both politics and understanding are high, performance is likely to increase because the individual will see political actions as an opportunity.

(1) This is consistent with what you might expect among individuals with well-honed political skills.

(2) But when understanding is low, individuals are more likely to see politics as a threat, which would have a negative effect on job performance.

2) Second, political behavior at work moderates the effects of ethical leadership.

3) Third, when employees see politics as a threat, they often respond with defensive behaviors—reactive and protective behaviors to avoid action, blame, or change.

PPT 13.24

a) Exhibit 13-4 provides some examples of

Exhibit 13-4

these behaviors. b) People who consistently rely on defensiveness find that, eventually, it is the only way they know how to behave.

(1) At that point, they lose the trust and support of their peers, bosses, employees, and clients.

C. Impression Management (IM).

PPT 13.25

.

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1. The process by which individuals attempt to control the impression others form of

2.

3.

4.

5.

them is called impression management (IM). a. Being perceived positively by others should have benefits for people in organizations. b. It might, for instance, help them initially to get the jobs they want in an organization and, once hired, to get favorable evaluations, superior salary increases, and more rapid promotions. c. Exhibit 13-4 summarizes some of the most popular and provides an example of each.

Most of the studies undertaken to test the effectiveness of IM techniques have related it to two criteria: interview success and performance evaluations.

Interviews and IM: The evidence indicates most job applicants use IM techniques in interviews and that it PPT 13.26 works. a. To develop a sense of how effective different IM techniques are in interviews, one study grouped data from thousands of recruiting and selection interviews into appearance-oriented efforts (efforts toward looking professional), explicit tactics (such as flattering the interviewer or talking up your own accomplishments), and verbal cues (such as using positive terms and showing general enthusiasm). b. Across all the dimensions, it was quite clear that IM was a powerful predictor of how well people did. c. However, there was a twist. When interviews were highly structured, meaning the interviewer’s questions were written out in advance and focused on applicant qualifications, the effects of IM were substantially weaker. d. Manipulative behaviors like IM are more likely to have an effect in ambiguous and unstructured interviews.

Performance Evaluations and IM: In terms of performance ratings, the picture is quite different. a. Ingratiation is positively related to performance ratings, meaning those who ingratiate with their supervisors get higher performance evaluations.

1) However, self-promotion appears to backfire: a) Those who self-promote actually seem to receive lower performance evaluations. b) There is an important qualifier to this general result.

(1) It appears that individuals high in political skill are able to translate IM into higher performance appraisals, whereas those lower in political skill are more likely to be hurt by their IM attempts. c) Another study of 760 boards of directors found that individuals who ingratiate themselves to current board members (express agreement with the director, point out shared attitudes and opinions, compliment the director) increase their chances of landing on a board.

IM by Culture: Are our conclusions about responses to politics globally valid? a. Almost all of our conclusions on employee reactions to organizational politics are based on studies conducted in North America. .

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b. The few studies that have included other countries suggest some minor

modifications.

D. The Ethics of Behaving Politically.

1. While there are no clear-cut standards to differentiate ethical from unethical politicking, answering the following PPT 13.27 questions may prove helpful.

2. What is the utility of engaging in the behavior?

3. How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm (or potential harm) it will do to others?

4. Does the political activity conform to the standards of equity and justice? a. Sometimes it is difficult to weigh the costs and benefits of a political action, but its ethicality is clear. b. The department head who inflates the performance evaluation of a favored employee and deflates the evaluation of a disfavored employee—and then uses these evaluations to justify giving the former a big raise and nothing to the latter—has treated the disfavored employee unfairly.

5. Unfortunately, powerful people can become very good at explaining self-serving behaviors in terms of the organization’s best interests. a. They can persuasively argue that unfair actions are really fair and just. b. Our point is that immoral people can justify almost any behavior. c. Those who are powerful, articulate, and persuasive are most vulnerable to ethical lapses because they are likely to be able to get away with unethical practices successfully. d. When faced with an ethical dilemma regarding organizational politics, try to consider whether playing politics is worth the risk and whether others might be harmed in the process. e. If you have a strong power base, recognize the ability of power to corrupt. f. Remember that it’s a lot easier for the powerless to act ethically, if for no other reason than they typically have very little political discretion to exploit.

E. Mapping Your Political Career.

PPT 13.28

F. You can use the concepts presented in this chapter in some very

IX.

Exhibit 13-6

tangible ways we have outlined. However, there is another application: You. 1. One of the most useful ways to think about power and politics is in terms of your own career. Think about your career in your organization of choice. a. What are your ambitions? Who has the power to get you there? What is your relationship with these people?

2. The best way to answer these questions is with a political map, which can help you sketch out your relationships with the people upon whom your career depends (see Exhibit 13-6).

IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PPT 13.29 1. To maximize your power, increase others’ dependence on you. For instance, increase your power in relation to your boss by developing knowledge or a skill for which there is no ready substitute.

2. You will not be alone in attempting to build your power bases. Others, particularly employees and peers, will be seeking to increase your dependence .

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on them, while you are trying to minimize it and increase their dependence on you.

B. Try to avoid putting others in a position where they feel they have no power.

C. By assessing behavior in a political framework, you can better predict the actions of others and use that information to formulate political strategies that will gain advantages for you and your work unit.

D. Consider that employees who have poor political skills or are unwilling to play the politics game generally relate perceived organizational politics to lower job satisfaction and self-reported performance, increased anxiety, and higher turnover.

Therefore, if you are adept at organizational politics, help others understand the importance of becoming politically savvy.

SUMMARY X. A. An effective manager accepts the political nature of organizations.

1. Some people are more politically astute than others, meaning that they are aware of the underlying politics and can manage impressions.

2. Those who are good at playing politics can be expected to get higher performance evaluations, and hence, larger salary increases and more promotions than the politically naïve or inept.

3. The politically astute are also likely to exhibit higher job satisfaction and be better able to neutralize job stressors.

4. A political map can provide a good schematic from which to identify positive politicking opportunities.

5. Finally, power and politics present significant ethical considerations. a. To accept the reality of these dimensions in organizations is to accept the responsibility for awareness and ethical behavior.

Discussion Questions

1. Contrast leadership and power.

Answer: Power and leadership differ in three major areas: (1) Goal Compatibility.

Power does not require goal compatibility, merely dependence. Leadership requires some congruence between the goals of the leader and those being led. (2) Direction of Influence. Leadership focuses on the downward influence over one's followers. It minimizes the importance of lateral and upward influence patterns.

Power is concerned with all directions of influence. (3) Research Emphasis.

Leadership research tends to emphasize the style leaders take. Research on power is a broader topic and focuses on tactics for gaining compliance. Power research looks at the power exerted by individuals, as well as that used by groups.

2. Define the formal and personal bases of power.

Answer: Formal Power. This source of power comes from an individual's position in an organization and has three bases associated with it. (1) Coercive Power. This power base is driven by fear. A target reacts to this power out of fear of the negative results that would occur if one fails to comply. It rests on the application, or threat of application, of physical sanctions (pain, frustration, or threatening lower order needs). (2) Reward Power. The opposite of coercive power, this source of power is based on producing positive benefits for the target who complies. Rewards can be financial or nonfinancial (recognition, interesting assignments, or preferred work shifts). (3) Legitimate Power. In formal groups and organizations, this common base of power is the formal authority to control and use organizational resources .

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3.

4.

5.

6.

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based on structural position. It is based on member acceptance of the position, not of the person filling the position. Personal power stems from an individual's unique characteristics. There are two bases of personal power: (1) Expert Power. This is influence wielded as a result of expertise, special skill, or knowledge. (2) Referent Power. This power is based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. It develops out of admiration of another and the desire to be like that person: followers wish to please a person with referent power. This source of power is closely aligned with charisma.

List and define nine influence tactics.

Answer: (1) Legitimacy: relying on one's positional authority or stressing the request is in accordance with organizational policies and rules. (2) Rational Persuasion: presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate the request is reasonable. (3) Inspirational Appeals: developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, and needs, hopes, and aspirations. (4) Consultation: increasing the target’s motivation and support by involving him or her in deciding how the plan or change will be done. (5) Exchange: rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. (6) Personal Appeals: asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. (7) Ingratiation: using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making the request. (8) Pressure: using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. (9) Coalitions: enlisting the aid of other people to persuade the target or using the support of others as a reason for the target to agree.

Describe the effective use of influence tactics.

Answer: Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most effective tactics. Typically, these softer tactics are more effective than harder tactics (exchange, coalitions, and pressure). Pressure is the least effective of all nine tactics. Effectiveness is increased by using more than one type of tactic at the same time or sequentially, so long as the tactics are compatible. Inspirational appeals and pressure work best as downward influencing tactics. Personal appeals and coalitions are most effective as lateral influence attempts. The only tactic that is effective across all organizational levels is rational persuasion. Power tactics are more likely to be successful if the target perceives it to be a socially acceptable form of influence behavior. The most effective method to use is to begin with softer tactics that rely on personal power (personal inspirational appeals, rational persuasion, and consultation) before moving to harder tactics that emphasize formal power and involve greater risks and costs (exchange, coalitions, and pressure).

List the individual and organizational factors that stimulate political behavior.

Answer: Individual factors: (1) personal traits, (2) situational factors (investment in the organization, the number of perceived alternatives, and expectations of success).

Organizational factors: (1) amount and stability of organizational resources; (2) availability of promotions; (3) organizational cultures with performance evaluation systems that are unclear, subjective, focused on one outcome measure, have long delays between action and appraisal, and/or are ambiguous; low levels of trust; ambiguous roles; zero-sum or win-lose reward allocation practices; democratic decision making; high pressures for performance; and/or self-serving senior managers.

Identify and describe the seven techniques for managing the impression one makes on others. .

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Answer: (From Exhibit 13-4) (1) Conformity: agreeing with someone else's opinion in order to gain his or her approval. (2) Excuses: explanations of our predicamentcreating event aimed at minimizing the apparent severity of the predicament. (3) Apologies: admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneously seeking to get a pardon for the action. (4) Self-Promotion: highlighting one's best qualities, downplaying one's deficits, and calling attention to one's achievements.

(5) Flattery: complementing others on their virtues in an effort to make one appear perceptive and likeable. (6) Favors: doing something nice for someone to gain that person's approval. (7) Association: enhancing or protecting one's image by managing information about people and things with which one is associated.

7. List the three questions that can help determine if a political action is ethical.

Answer: (1) What is the utility of engaging in the behavior? (2) How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm (or potential harm) it will do to others? (3) Does the political activity conform to the standards of equity and justice?

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. What are your formal and personal bases of power? Create a written plan for increasing your power for all five bases. Submit to your instructor for comment.

2. Web Crawling. Use the Internet to look up three articles on an instance of abuse of power in a corporate, government, religious, or other organizational environment.

Using the articles as a reference and the terms from this chapter, describe what you believe happened in this abuse situation.

3. Teamwork. Assign students to teams based on their favorite television drama. The television show must have a wide range of characters in a work-type setting. As individuals, each team member will watch a minimum of one hour of the program, observing and identifying the use of power by the drama’s characters. Have the students keep a journal in which they identify the character, the action they see taking place, and describe enough of the scene that they can discuss this example with their team. Have the teams meet and summarize their individual observations.

Teams will elect a spokesperson, who will provide a 10-minute overview of their findings on the uses of power in the program.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Keep a journal for one week in which you observe the political behaviors and impression management strategies of your co-workers. Meetings are an excellent time to observe these behaviors. In a meeting, examine the reactions of participants toward those that have the power, versus those that don’t. For example, did the participants tend to agree with the members that have power regardless of the quality of their ideas and comments?

Did those that did not have power tend to be interrupted often? Type up the journal and be prepared to discuss it in class. Specific examples should be given anonymously due to the ethical implications of the behaviors you will be observing.

Suggested Assignment

Name That Power Base! The goal is for students to recognize through practice what the different bases of power look like in a real situation. Choose students to role-play the two positions, Student Government Association SGA) representative and president of your .

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university. Let the students role-play for ten to twelve minutes. Adjust the time as you see fit. The rest of the class should observe the role-play and note: a. What power base was used by each person? b. What else could they have done to make the position more powerful? c. What did they do that didn’t fit that power perspective? d. Did they choose the most appropriate power base for this situation? Why? Once the role-play is completed, have the class discuss the following: a. Was this the only effective power base that could be used by the SGA? b. How did the choice of power bases on the part of the SGA representative and the president affect the outcome of the negotiation?

Power Play Situation You are a member of the SGA’s executive body at your college or university. You are an elected student representative, an executive-level officer, but not the president of the SGA. You represent students in the business program/school. This program is a major source of revenue for the University. The program’s graduates tend to become wealthy alumni who make generous contributions. The business school/program and SGA have built a close relationship with a number of these alumni. You also have been part of an undergraduate team that has enticed 20 percent larger corporations to interview at your campus through networking and personal contacts with the executives of these organizations.

The administration has implemented a campus-wide policy affecting all undergraduates that you want changed. (You may choose a current issue on campus or leave the particulars ambiguous.) This policy is a special pain for business students. The policy came out of administration/alumni talks over the last year.

Your president is a strong but reasonable person, who doesn’t easily change direction but is willing to hear someone’s perspective. The president is a bit feared by students, respected by faculty, and doesn’t have the best relationship with alumni.

SGA representative: choose one of the five power bases and negotiate the elimination of, or modification of, this policy. Choose the one you think has the most credibility given this situation. Talk, negotiate, and so on, as you think appropriate given this base of power. Do not make overt statements that will give away your power base.

President: choose a power base in response to the SGA representative. Choose the one you think has the most credibility given this situation. Talk, negotiate, and so on, as you think appropriate given this base of power. Do not make overt statements that will give away your power base.

.

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Conflict in Organizations

Chapter Overview

Chapter 14 PPT 14.2

Managers in organizations need to be able to effectively deal with conflict and to negotiate with people inside and outside of the organization. These two skill sets are critical for managerial success.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Describe the three types of conflict and the three loci of conflict.

2. Outline the conflict process.

3. Contrast distributive and integrative bargaining.

4. Apply the five steps of the negotiation process.

5. Show how individual differences influence negotiations.

6. Describe the social factors that influence negotiations.

7. Assess the roles and functions of third-party negotiations.

PPT 14.3

Suggested Lecture Outline

INTRODUCTION A. This chapter examines both the positive and negative impacts of conflict, as well as describing how conflicts develop.

B. One of the ways to end conflict, negotiation, is also presented.

A DEFINITION OF CONFLICT II. 1. Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about (Exhibit 14-1). a. This definition is flexible enough to cover the full range of conflict levels, from overt and violent acts to subtle forms of disagreement.

2. Functional conflict is conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance: it is constructive.

I.

3. Dysfunctional conflict is conflict that hinders group performance: it is

PPT 14.4

PPT 14.5

PPT 14.6 Exhibit 14-1

destructive.

TYPES OF CONFLICT III. A. Types of conflict.

PPT 14.7 1. Relationship Conflict: This type of conflict focuses on interpersonal relationships. Almost all conflict of this type is dysfunctional and its resolution can consume a fair portion of a manager’s time. a. Studies demonstrate that relationship conflicts, at least in work settings, are almost always dysfunctional. Why? It appears that the friction and .

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interpersonal hostilities inherent in relationship conflicts increase personality clashes and decrease mutual understanding, which hinders the completion of organizational tasks. b. Of the three types, relationship conflicts also appear to be the most psychologically exhausting to individuals. c. Because they tend to revolve around personalities, you can see how relationship conflicts can become destructive. After all, we can’t expect to change our co-workers’ personalities, and we would generally take PPT 14.8 offense at criticisms directed at who we are as opposed to how we behave.

2. Task Conflict: This type of conflict relates to the content and goals of the work.

High levels of task conflict become dysfunctional when they create uncertainty about task roles, increase the time needed to complete tasks, or lead to members working at cross-purposes. Low-to-moderate levels of task conflict are functional as they consistently demonstrate a positive effect on group performance as it stimulates discussion of ideas. a. There is considerably less agreement as to whether task and process conflicts are functional. Early research suggested that task conflict was associated with higher group performance, but a recent review of 116 studies found that task conflict was essentially unrelated to group performance. b. One such factor was whether the conflict included top management or occurred lower in the organization.

1) Task conflict among top management teams was positively associated with their performance, whereas conflict lower in the organization was negatively associated with group performance.

2) This review also found that it mattered whether other types of conflict were occurring at the same time. a) If task and relationship conflict occurred together, task conflict was more likely negative, whereas if task conflict occurred by itself, it was more likely positive.

3) Finally, some scholars have argued that the strength of the conflict is important —if task conflict is very low, people aren’t really engaged or addressing the important issues. If task conflict is too high, however, infighting will quickly degenerate into relationship conflict.

4) According to this view, moderate levels of task conflict are optimal. c. Finally, the personalities of the teams appear to matter.

1) A recent study demonstrated that teams made up of individuals who are, on average, high in openness and emotional stability, are better able to turn task conflict into increased group performance.

3. Process Conflict: This final type of conflict relates to how the work is accomplished. Low levels of process conflict are functional, while moderate-tohigh levels of process conflict are dysfunctional. a. What about process conflict?

1) Researchers found that process conflict revolves around delegation and roles. Conflicts over delegation often revolves around shirking, and conflicts over roles can leave some group members feeling marginalized.

2) Thus, process conflict often becomes highly personalized and quickly devolves into relationship conflict. .

Chapter 14 Conflict in Organizations B. Loci of Conflict.

C. Another way to understand conflict is to consider its locus, or where

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the conflict occurs.

1. Dyadic conflict is conflict between two people.

2. Intragroup conflict occurs within a group or team.

3. Intergroup conflict is conflict between groups or teams.

D. Nearly all the literature on task, relationship, and process conflict considers intragroup conflict. However, it doesn’t necessarily tell us about the other loci of conflict.

1. For example, research has found that for intragroup task conflict to influence performance within the team, it is important that the teams have a supportive climate in which mistakes aren’t penalized and every team member (has) the other’s back.

2. One study that focused on intergroup conflict found an interplay between an individual’s position within a group and the way that individual managed conflict between groups. a. Group members who were relatively peripheral in their own group were better at resolving conflicts between their group and another one.

1) But this happened only when those peripheral members were still accountable to their group. Thus, being at the core of your work group does not necessarily make you the best person to manage conflict with other groups.

3. Thus, understanding functional and dysfunctional conflict requires not only that we identify the type of conflict; we also need to know where it occurs. It’s possible that while the concepts of task, relationship, and process conflict are useful in understanding intragroup or even dyadic conflict, they are less useful in explaining the effects of intergroup conflict.

THE CONFLICT PROCESS IV. PPT 14.10 A. There are five stages in the conflict process (Exhibit 14-2).

1. Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility.

Exhibit 14-2 a. This indicates the presence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise. b. These conditions don’t need to directly lead to conflict, but one of these conditions is necessary for conflict to surface. c. There are three general categories of these conditions (causes or PPT 14.11 sources of conflict): 2. Communication. This source of conflict arises from semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and “noise” in the communication channels. Differing word connotations, jargon, insufficient exchange information, and other barriers to communication are potential antecedents to conflict. a. The potential for conflict increases when: 1) Communication barriers exist.

2) Too little or too much communication takes place.

3. Structure. a. This includes variables such as: 1) size, 2) degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to group members, 3) jurisdictional clarity, .

Chapter 14 Conflict in Organizations 4) member-goal compatibility, 5) leadership styles, 6) reward systems, and 7) the degree of dependence between groups.

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b. The potential for conflict increases when: 1) Groups are larger or more specialized.

2) Group members are younger or have less tenure.

3) Turnover is high.

4) Jurisdiction and/or responsibility for action are ambiguous.

5) Diversity of goals exists among groups.

6) Reward systems are designed so that one member gains at another's expense.

7) The group is dependent upon another group.

8) One group can gain at another group’s expense.

4. Personal Variables. a. Personality types, values, and emotions can lead to conflict. b. The potential for conflict increases when: 1) Conflict-oriented personality types, such as highly authoritarian or

dogmatic personalities, exist in the work group.

2) Members are highly emotional in the work environment (no matter what the cause of those emotions).

B. Stage II: Cognition and Personalization.

1. If the antecedent conditions of the first stage negatively PPT 14.12 affect something one party cares about, then the potential for conflict or incompatibility becomes actualized in the second stage.

2. As we noted in our definition of conflict, one or more of the parties must be aware that antecedent conditions exist. a. However, because a conflict is a perceived conflict does not mean it is personalized. b. It is at the felt conflict level, when individuals become emotionally involved, that parties experience anxiety, tension, frustration, or hostility.

3. Keep in mind two points. a. First, stage II is important because it’s where conflict issues tend to be defined.

1) This is the point when the parties decide what the conflict is about.

2) The definition of a conflict is important because it typically delineates the set of possible settlements. b. Second, emotions play a major role in shaping perceptions.

1) Negative emotions allow us to oversimplify issues, lose trust, and put negative interpretations on the other party’s behavior.

2) In contrast, positive feelings increase our tendency to see potential relationships among the elements of a problem, take a broader view of the situation, and develop more innovative solutions.

PPT 14.13 C. Stage III: Intentions.

1. Intentions intervene between people’s perceptions and emotions and their overt behavior. a. They are decisions to act in a given way. .

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b. There is also typically a great deal of slippage between intentions and

behavior, so behavior does not always accurately reflect a person’s intentions.

2. Using two dimensions—cooperativeness (the degree to which one PPT 14.14 party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns) and assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns)—we can identify five conflict-handling intentions: competing (assertive and uncooperative), collaborating (assertive and cooperative), avoiding (unassertive and uncooperative), accommodating (unassertive and cooperative), and compromising (midrange on both assertiveness and cooperativeness). a. Competing.

1) When one person seeks to satisfy his or her own interests regardless of the impact on the other parties to the conflict, that person is competing. b. Collaborating.

1) When parties in conflict each desire to fully satisfy the concerns of all parties, there is cooperation and a search for a mutually beneficial outcome.

2) In collaborating, the parties intend to solve a problem by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating various points of view.

3) If you attempt to find a win–win solution that allows both parties’ goals to be completely achieved, that’s collaborating. c. Avoiding.

1) A person may recognize a conflict exists and wants to withdraw from or suppress it.

2) Examples of avoiding include trying to ignore a conflict and avoiding others with whom you disagree. d. Accommodating.

1) A party who seeks to appease an opponent may be willing to place the opponent’s interests above his or her own, sacrificing to maintain the relationship.

2) We refer to this intention as accommodating.

3) Supporting someone else’s opinion despite your reservations about it, for example, is accommodating. e. Compromising.

1) In compromising, there is no clear winner or loser.

2) Rather, there is a willingness to ration the object of the conflict and accept a solution that provides incomplete satisfaction of both parties’ concerns.

3) The distinguishing characteristic of compromising therefore is that each party intends to give up something.

D. Stage IV: Behavior.

PPT 14.15 1. When most people think of conflict situations, they tend to focus on stage IV because this is where conflicts Exhibit 14-3 become visible (Exhibit 14-3).

2. The behavior stage includes the statements, actions, and reactions made by the conflicting parties, usually as overt attempts to implement their own intentions. .

Chapter 14 Conflict in Organizations 3. As a result of miscalculations or unskilled enactments, overt behaviors

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sometimes deviate from these original intentions.

4. It helps to think of stage IV as a dynamic process of interaction.

5. For example, a. you make a demand on me, b. I respond by arguing, you threaten me, c. I threaten you back, and so on.

6. Exhibit 14-3 provides a way of visualizing conflict behavior. a. All conflicts exist somewhere along this continuum. b. At the lower part are conflicts characterized by subtle, indirect, and highly controlled forms of tension, such as a student questioning in class a point the instructor has just made. c. Conflict intensities escalate as they move upward along the continuum until they become highly destructive. d. Strikes, riots, and wars clearly fall in this upper range. e. For the most part, you should assume conflicts that reach the upper ranges of the continuum are almost always dysfunctional. f. Functional conflicts are typically confined to the lower range of the continuum. g. If a conflict is dysfunctional, what can the parties do to de-escalate it? h. Or, conversely, what options exist if conflict is too low and needs to be increased?

1) This brings us to techniques of conflict management. We have already described several as conflict-handling intentions.

2) Under ideal conditions, a person’s intentions should translate into comparable behaviors.

E. Stage V: Outcomes.

1. The action–reaction interplay between the conflicting PPT 14.16 parties results in consequences.

2. As our model demonstrates (see Exhibit 14-1), these outcomes may be functional, if the conflict improves the group’s performance, or dysfunctional, if it hinders performance. a. Functional Outcomes: Conflict is constructive when it improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members, provides the medium for problems to be aired and tensions released, and fosters self-evaluation and change.

1) Mild conflicts also may generate energizing emotions so members of groups become more active and engaged in their work.

2) Conflict is an antidote for groupthink (see Chapter 10).

3) Conflict doesn’t allow the group to passively rubber-stamp decisions that may be based on weak assumptions, inadequate consideration of relevant alternatives, or other debilities.

4) Conflict challenges the status quo and furthers the creation of new ideas, promotes reassessment of group goals and activities, and increases the probability that the group will respond to change.

3. Dysfunctional Outcomes: The destructive consequences of conflict on the performance of a group or an organization are generally well known: .

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a. Uncontrolled opposition breeds discontent, which acts to dissolve common

ties, and eventually leads to the destruction of the group.

1) Group effectiveness is reduced.

2) Group communication is retarded.

3) Group cohesiveness is reduced.

4) Group goals are subordinated to infighting among members.

5) The group is threatened with destruction.

4. Managing Functional Conflict: One of the keys to minimizing counterproductive conflict is recognizing when there really is a disagreement. a. Many apparent conflicts are due to people using a different PPT 14.17 language to discuss the same general course of action.

1) Successful conflict management recognizes these different approaches and attempts to resolve them by encouraging open, frank discussion focused on interests rather than issues.

2) Another approach is to have opposing groups pick the issues that are most important to them and then focus on how each side can get its top needs satisfied. Neither side may get exactly what it wants, but each side will get the most important parts of its agenda. b. Groups that resolve conflicts successfully discuss differences of opinion openly and are prepared to manage conflict when it arises.

1) An open discussion makes it much easier to develop a shared perception of the problems at hand; it also allows groups to work toward a mutually acceptable solution.

2) Managers need to emphasize shared interests in resolving conflicts, so groups that disagree with one another don’t become too entrenched in their points of view and start to take the conflicts personally.

3) Groups with cooperative conflict styles and a strong underlying identification to the overall group goals are more effective than groups with a more competitive style.

5. Cultural Influences: Differences across countries in conflict PPT 14.18 resolution strategies may be based on collectivistic tendencies and motives. a. Collectivist cultures see people as deeply embedded in social situations, whereas individualist cultures see them as autonomous.

1) As a result, collectivists are more likely to seek to preserve relationships and promote the good of the group as a whole.

2) They will avoid direct expression of conflicts, preferring indirect methods for resolving differences of opinion. b. Collectivists may also be more interested in demonstrations of concern and working through third parties to resolve disputes, whereas individualists will be more likely to confront differences of opinion directly and openly.

V. NEGOTIATION A. Negotiation permeates the interactions of almost everyone in groups and organizations.

1. There’s the obvious: Labor bargains with management.

PPT 14.19 2. There’s the not so obvious: Managers negotiate with employees, peers, and bosses; salespeople negotiate with customers; purchasing agents negotiate with suppliers. .

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3. And there’s the subtle: An employee agrees to cover for a colleague for a few

minutes in exchange for some past or future benefit.

4. In today’s loosely structured organizations, in which members work with colleagues over whom they have no direct authority and with whom they may not even share a common boss, negotiation skills become critical.

5. We can define negotiation as a process that occurs when two or more parties decide how to allocate scarce resources. a. Although we commonly think of the outcomes of negotiation in one-shot economic terms, like negotiating over the price of a car, every negotiation in organizations also affects the relationship between the negotiators and the way the negotiators feel about themselves. b. Depending on how much the parties are going to interact with one another, sometimes maintaining the social relationship and behaving ethically will be just as important as the immediate outcome of each bargain.

6. Note that we use the terms negotiation and bargaining interchangeably. a. In this section, we contrast two bargaining strategies, provide a model of the negotiation process, ascertain the role of moods and personality traits on bargaining, review gender and cultural differences in negotiation, and take a brief look at third-party negotiations.

B. Bargaining Strategies.

PPT 14.20 1. There are two general approaches to negotiation: distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining (Exhibit Exhibit 14-4 14-4).

2. Distributive Bargaining: Distributive bargaining involves negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose situation. a. This type of bargaining operates under zero-sum (or fixed pie) conditions: one party’s gains reflect losses by the other. b. This model reflects zero-sum distributive bargaining PPT 14.21 positions. Each party is a negotiator.

1) Each has a unique target point (what he or she

Exhibit 14-5

would like to achieve) and resistance point (the lowest acceptable outcome before negotiations are broken off).

2) The area between each negotiator’s target and resistance points is that negotiator’s aspiration range. a) If the two ranges overlap, this common area is referred to as the settlement range.

3) When you are engaged in distributive bargaining, research consistently shows one of the best things you can do is make the first offer—and make it an aggressive one. a) One reason for this is that making the first offer shows power; individuals in power are much more likely to make initial offers, speak first at meetings, and thereby gain the advantage. b) Another reason is the anchoring bias. People tend to fixate on initial information. c) Once that anchoring point is set, they fail to adequately adjust it based on subsequent information. .

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4) A savvy negotiator sets an anchor with the initial offer, and scores of

negotiation studies show that such anchors greatly favor the person who sets it.

3. Integrative Bargaining: Integrative bargaining operates under the assumption that one or more settlements can PPT 14.22 create a win-win solution.

4. Choosing Bargaining Methods: In terms of intraorganizational behavior, all things being equal, integrative bargaining is preferable to distributive bargaining because the former builds long-term relationships.

1) Integrative bargaining bonds negotiators and allows them to leave the bargaining table feeling they have achieved a victory.

2) Distributive bargaining, however, leaves one party a loser. It tends to build animosities and deepen divisions when people have to work together on an ongoing basis. b. Research shows that over repeated bargaining episodes, when the “losing” party feels positive about the negotiation outcome, he is much more likely to bargain cooperatively in subsequent negotiations. c. This points to an important advantage of integrative negotiations: even when you win, you want your opponent to feel good about the negotiation. e. Necessary Conditions. Because of these requirements for integrative bargaining, is not as common in business as perhaps it should be.

1) Parties must be open with information and candid about their concerns.

2) There must be sensitivity by both parties regarding the other's needs.

3) The parties must be able to trust each other.

4) Both parties must be willing to maintain flexibility.

VI. The Negotiation Process.

1. This simplified model of the negotiation process is composed of five steps (Exhibit 14-6).

PPT 14.23 a. Preparation and Planning: This may be the most important part of the process.

Exhibit 14-6 1) Before you start negotiating, you need to do your homework. a) What’s the nature of the conflict? b) What’s the history leading up to this negotiation? c) Who’s involved and what are their perceptions of the conflict? d) What do you want from the negotiation? e) What are your goals?

(1) It often helps to put your goals in writing and develop a range of outcomes—from most hopeful to minimally acceptable—to keep your attention focused.

(2) You also want to assess what you think are the other party’s goals.

(3) What are they likely to ask/request?

(4) How entrenched is their position likely to be?

(5) What intangible or hidden interests may be important to them?

(6) On what might they be willing to settle?

(7) When you can anticipate your opponent’s position, you are better equipped to counter arguments with the facts and figures that support your position. .

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2) Determine Strategic Limits. a) An important consideration in any negotiation is to determine the

best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) for both the negotiator and the opponent. b) This is similar in concept to a resistance point: the negotiator must determine when it is better strategically to cease negotiations and accept some other alternative. c) One possible negotiation strategy is to get the opponent to modify his or her BATNA to increase the settlement range. b. Definition of Ground Rules: 1) In this initial stage of negotiations, the methodology of the negotiation itself is determined.

2) The step determines the who, what, when, and how of the negotiation process.

3) The initial proposals or demands will be exchanged between the parties. c. Clarification and Justification: 1) In this step each party will explain, amplify, clarify, bolster, and justify the original demands or proposals.

2) This step should be more explanatory in nature, rather than confrontational; it should be used to build understanding between the parties. d. Bargaining and Problem Solving: 1) This step is what is typically thought of as negotiations.

2) It is the actual give-and-take necessary to accomplish agreement.

3) It is likely that both parties will have to make some concessions in order to reach agreement. e. Closure and Implementation: 1) The final step in the process is formalizing the negotiated agreement and developing any necessary procedures for implementing and monitoring that agreement.

2) This step can be accomplished by anything from creating a formal contract through simply shaking hands on it.

Individual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness.

VII. 1. Personality Traits in Negotiation: PPT 14.24 a. Can you predict an opponent’s negotiating tactics if you know something about his or her personality?

1) Because personality and negotiation outcomes are related but only weakly, the answer is, at best, sort of.

2) Most research has focused on the Big Five trait of agreeableness, for obvious reasons — agreeable individuals are cooperative, compliant, kind, and conflict-adverse. a) We might think such characteristics make agreeable individuals easy prey in negotiations, especially distributive ones. b) The evidence suggests, however, that overall agreeableness is weakly related to negotiation outcomes.

3) Self-efficacy (see Chapter 7) is one individual-difference variable that consistently seems to relate to negotiation outcomes. .

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a) This is a fairly intuitive finding—it isn’t too surprising to hear that

those who believe they will be more successful in negotiation situations tend to perform more effectively. b) It may be that individuals who are more confident stake out stronger claims, are less likely to back down from their positions, and exhibit confidence that intimidates others.

2. Moods/Emotions in Negotiations: a. Do moods and emotions influence negotiation?

1) They do, but the way they do appears to depend on the emotion as well as the context.

2) A negotiator who shows anger generally induces concessions because the other negotiator believes no further concessions from the angry party are possible.

3) One factor that governs this outcome, however, is power — you should show your anger in negotiations only if you have at least as much power as your counterpart. If you have less, showing anger actually seems to provoke hardball reactions from the other side.

4) Another facet is how genuine your anger is — faked anger, or anger produced from so-called surface acting (see Chapter 3), is not effective, but showing anger that is genuine (so-called deep acting) does.

5) It also appears that having a history of showing anger, rather than sowing the seeds of revenge, actually induces more concessions because the other party perceives the negotiator as tough.

6) Finally, culture seems to matter. a) One study found that when East Asian participants showed anger, it induced more concessions than when the negotiator expressing anger was from the United States or Europe, perhaps because of the stereotype of East Asians refusing to show anger. b. Another relevant emotion is disappointment. Generally, a negotiator who perceives disappointment from her counterpart concedes more because disappointment makes many negotiators feel guilty. c. Anxiety also appears to have an impact on negotiation.

1) One study found that individuals who experienced more anxiety about a negotiation used more deceptions in dealing with others.

2) Another study found that anxious negotiators expect lower outcomes, respond to offers more quickly, and exit the bargaining process more quickly, leading them to obtain worse outcomes. d. As you can see, emotions — especially negative ones — matter to negotiation. Even emotional unpredictability affects outcomes; researchers have found that negotiators who express positive and negative emotions in an unpredictable way extract more concessions because it makes the other party feel less in control.

3. Culture in Negotiations: a. It appears that people generally negotiate more effectively within cultures than between them. b. It appears that in cross-cultural negotiations, it is especially important that the negotiators be high in openness. .

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1) This suggests choosing cross-cultural negotiators who are high in

openness to experience, but also avoiding factors — such as time pressures — that tend to inhibit learning to understand the other party. c. Finally, because emotions are culturally sensitive, negotiators need to be especially aware of the emotional dynamics in cross-cultural negotiation.

1) One study, for example, explicitly compared how U.S. and Chinese negotiators reacted to an angry counterpart. Chinese negotiators increased their use of distributive negotiating tactics, whereas U.S. negotiators decreased their use of these tactics. That is, Chinese negotiators began to drive a harder bargain once they saw that their negotiation partner was becoming angry.

2) Why the difference? It may be that individuals from East Asian cultures feel that using anger to get their way in a negotiation is not a legitimate tactic, so they respond by refusing to cooperate when their opponents become upset.

4. Gender Differences in Negotiations: a. Although men and women do not tend to negotiate differently, the negotiation outcomes do differ based on gender. b. Men tend to place a higher value on status, power, and recognition, whereas women tend to place a higher value on compassion and altruism. Moreover, women tend to value relationship outcomes more than men, and men tend to value economic outcomes more than women.

1) One comprehensive literature review suggested that the tendency for men to receive better negotiation outcomes in some situations did not cover all situations.

2) Indeed, the evidence suggested women and men bargain more equally in certain situations, women sometimes outperform men, and both men and women obtain more nearly equal outcomes when negotiating on behalf of someone else. a) In other words, everyone is better at advocating for others than they are at advocating for themselves.

3) Factors that increased the predictability of negotiations also tended to reduce gender differences. a) When the range of negotiation settlements was well defined, men and women were more equal in outcomes. b) When more experienced negotiators were at the table, men and women were also nearly equivalent. c) The study authors proposed that when situations are more ambiguous, with less well-defined terms and less experienced negotiators, stereotypes may have stronger effects, leading to larger gender differences in outcomes.

VI. NEGOTIATING IN A SOCIAL CONTEXT C. To really understand negotiations in practice, then, we must consider the social factors of reputation and relationships.

PPT 14.25 D. Reputation.

1. Your reputation is the way other people think and talk about you.

When it comes to negotiation, having a reputation for being trustworthy matters. .

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2. In short, trust in a negotiation process opens the door to many forms of

integrative negotiation strategies that benefit both parties.

3. The most effective way to build trust is to behave in an honest way across repeated interactions. Then, others feel more comfortable making open-ended offers with many different outcomes.

4. This helps to achieve win–win outcomes, since both parties can work to achieve what is most important to themselves while still benefiting the other party.

5. Sometimes we either trust or distrust people based on word-of-mouth about a person’s characteristics.

6. What characteristics help a person develop a trustworthy reputation? a. A combination of competence and integrity. b. Negotiators higher in self-confidence and cognitive ability are seen as more competent by negotiation partners. c. They are also considered better able to accurately describe a situation and their own resources, and are more credible when they make suggestions for creative solutions to impasses. d. Individuals who have a reputation for integrity can also be more effective in negotiations. e. They are seen as more likely to keep their promises and present information accurately, so others are more willing to accept their promises as part of a bargain. f. This opens many options for the negotiator that wouldn’t be available to someone who is not seen as trustworthy. g. Finally, individuals who have higher reputations are better liked and have more friends and allies—in other words, they have more social resources, which may give them more understood power in negotiations.

E. Relationships.

1. There is more to repeated negotiations than just reputation. The social, interpersonal component of relationships with repeated negotiations means that individuals go beyond valuing what is simply good for themselves and instead start to think about what is best for the other party and the relationship as a whole.

2. Repeated negotiations built on a foundation of trust also broaden the range of options, since a favor or concession today can be offered in return for some repayment further down the road.

3. Repeated negotiations also facilitate integrative problem solving. This occurs partly because people begin to see their negotiation partners in a more personal way over time and come to share emotional bonds.

4. Repeated negotiations also make integrative approaches more workable because a sense of trust and reliability has been built up.

VII. THIRD-PARTY NEGOTATIONS C. To this point, we’ve discussed bargaining in terms of direct negotiations.

Occasionally, however, individuals or group representatives reach a stalemate and are unable to resolve their differences through direct negotiations. In such cases, they may turn to a third party to help them find a solution.

D. There are three basic third-party roles: mediator, arbitrator, and conciliator.

1. A mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives, and the like. .

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civil court disputes. Their overall effectiveness is fairly impressive.

PPT 14.26 a. For example, the EEOC reported a settlement rate through mediation at 72.1 percent. But the situation is the key to whether mediation will succeed; the conflicting parties must be motivated to bargain and resolve their conflict.

3. In addition, conflict intensity can’t be too high; mediation is most effective under moderate levels of conflict.

4. Finally, perceptions of the mediator are important; to be effective, the mediator must be perceived as neutral and non-coercive.

5. An arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an agreement.

Arbitration can be voluntary (requested by the parties) or compulsory (forced on the parties by law or contract). a. The big plus of arbitration over mediation is that it always results in a settlement. b. Whether there is a downside depends on how heavy-handed the arbitrator appears. If one party is left feeling overwhelmingly defeated, that party is certain to be dissatisfied and the conflict may resurface at a later time.

6. A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent. a. This role was made famous by Robert Duval in the first Godfather film. As Don Corleone’s adopted son and a lawyer by training, Duval acted as an intermediary between the Corleones and the other Mafioso families.

7. Comparing conciliation to mediation in terms of effectiveness has proven difficult because the two overlap a great deal. a. In practice, conciliators typically act as more than mere communication conduits. b. They also engage in fact-finding, interpreting messages, and persuading disputants to develop agreements.

VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS C. Choose an authoritarian management style in emergencies; when unpopular PPT 14.27 actions need to be implemented (such as cost cutting, enforcement of unpopular rules, and discipline); and when the issue is vital to the organization’s welfare. Be certain to communicate your logic when possible to make certain others remain engaged and productive.

D. Seek integrative solutions when your objective is to learn, when you want to merge insights from people with different perspectives, when you need to gain commitment by incorporating concerns into a consensus, and when you need to work through feelings that have interfered with a relationship.

E. You can build trust by accommodating others when you find you’re wrong, when you need to demonstrate reasonableness, when other positions need to be heard, when issues are more important to others than to yourself, when you want to satisfy others and maintain cooperation, when you can build social credits for later issues, to minimize loss when you are outmatched and losing, and when others should learn from their own mistakes.

F. Consider compromising when goals are important but not worth potential disruption, when opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals, and when you need temporary settlements to complex issues. .

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G. Distributive bargaining can resolve disputes, but it often reduces the satisfaction of

one or more negotiators because it is confrontational and focused on the short term.

Integrative bargaining, in contrast, tends to provide outcomes that satisfy all parties and build lasting relationships.

SUMMARY IX. C. While many people assume conflict lowers group and organizational performance, this assumption is frequently incorrect.

D. Conflict can be either constructive or destructive to the functioning of a group or unit.

E. Levels of conflict can be either too high or too low to be constructive.

1. Either extreme hinders performance.

2. An optimal level is one that prevents stagnation, stimulates creativity, allows tensions to be released, and initiates the seeds of change without being disruptive or preventing the coordination of activities.

Discussion Questions

1. Define conflict.

Answer: Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives another party has negatively affected or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about.

2. Explain contemporary perspectives of conflict.

Answer: Contemporary views of conflict differentiate types of conflict based on their effects. Functional conflict moves beyond accepting conflict in groups and organizations to actively encouraging it. It is believed that encouraging group leaders to maintain an ongoing minimum level of conflict keeps groups viable, selfcritical, and creative. In contrast, dysfunctional conflict is conflict that hinders group performance and is destructive.

3. Contrast task, relationship, and process conflict.

Answer: Task Conflict: this type of conflict relates to the content and goals of the work. High levels of task conflict become dysfunctional when they create uncertainty about task roles, increase the time needed to complete tasks, or lead to members working at cross-purposes. Low-to-moderate levels of task conflict are functional as they consistently demonstrate a positive effect on group performance.

Relationship Conflict: this type of conflict focuses on interpersonal relationships.

Almost all conflict of this type is dysfunctional. Process Conflict: this type of conflict relates to how the work is accomplished. Low levels of process conflict are functional, while moderate-to-high levels of process conflict are dysfunctional.

4. Outline the conflict process.

Answer: There are five stages in the conflict process: (1) potential opposition or compatibility, in which there is a reason for conflict; (2) cognition and personalization, where the potential for conflict is recognized and perhaps felt; (3) intentions, where the feelings generated by the felt conflict are focused by behavioral intentions; (4) behavior, the actual physical and verbal aspects of the conflict; and (5) outcomes, the consequences of the behavior.

5. Contrast distributive and integrative bargaining.

Answer: Distributive Bargaining: this type of bargaining operates under zero-sum (or “fixed pie”) conditions: one party’s gains reflect losses by the other. Integrative Bargaining: this type of bargaining operates under the assumption that one or more .

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settlements can create a win-win solution. Unlike distributive bargaining, for integrative bargaining, the negotiator’s true interests must be disclosed to the other party, which requires a certain amount of trust. Additionally, both parties must be aware of the other party's interests and sensitive to their needs. The exact opposite conditions exist in distributive bargaining.

6. Identify the five steps in the negotiation process.

Answer: (1) Preparation and planning, (2) definition of ground rules, (3) clarification and justification, (4) bargaining and problem solving, and (5) closure and implementation.

7. Discuss whether there are individual differences in negotiator effectiveness.

Answer: (1) Personality. There is little evidence to support the idea that personality can predict negotiation ability. However, it may be that several of the Big Five traits are related to negotiation outcomes. A disagreeable introvert may be the best distributive bargainer; agreeable or extraverted people are not very successful. Individuals who are strongly concerned with appearing confident or successful in negotiations tend to have a negative effect on the outcome of the negotiation process, no matter which type of negotiation is being pursued. (2) Gender. While men and women do not tend to negotiate differently, the negotiation outcomes do differ based on gender. Men have been found to negotiate better outcomes than do women, although the difference is relatively small. When typical gender stereotypes are activated, (women are nice and men are tough), it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and the negotiator will act according to type. Women's attitudes toward negotiation and toward themselves as negotiators are quite different from and more negative than are those of men.

8. Identify the three basic third-party roles in negotiation.

Answer: A mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives, and the like. Mediators are widely used in labor–management negotiations and in civil court disputes. An arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an agreement. Arbitration can be voluntary (requested by the parties) or compulsory (forced on the parties by law or contract). The big plus of arbitration over mediation is that it always results in a settlement. A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Remember your last negotiation activity. This activity could have been as simple as asking someone out for a date or as complex as trying to purchase a home. Describe that negotiation using the terms and concepts from this chapter.

What could you have done better to increase your likelihood of success in the negotiation? Be specific.

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, seek out the term “conflict management.” Find five different and varied sources (perhaps one from a consultant, one from an institute of higher learning, one from a government source, one from a general-purpose site, and one from a business site) and read them carefully to see what they would tell the average manager about conflict management. Write up a brief synopsis of your findings. Compare and contrast your findings with the materials from this chapter and be ready to present them in class. .

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3. Teamwork. Have students work in small groups to develop a script to role-play the following scenarios in front of the class. You can assign a different scenario to each group, or have two groups role-play the same scenario to discuss comparisons and contrasts in style. Require each group to first role-play the scenario from a distributive bargaining perspective, and then from an integrative bargaining perspective. This should allow for comparison and contrast of the two styles of bargaining, and then encourage students to discuss which style they believed was more effective for achieving a final outcome.

Scenario 1: A group of students wants a faculty member to postpone the next exam until after Spring Break. Currently, the exam is scheduled for the Friday before Spring Break, and you would prefer to have the exam on the Monday, or even Wednesday, after Spring Break. The week before break is getting quite busy, and you need the time to study over Spring Break in order to do well on the exam.

Scenario 2: The firm you currently work for does not have any educational reimbursement benefit available. You would like to have your employer offer this benefit, as you and many of your fellow workers would like to go back to school (part-time) and earn your MBA degree. But, the cost of tuition is expensive, and you would like your company to help with the expenses. Many of the other companies in your locale and industry do offer their employees this educational reimbursement, and you would like your company to do so as well.

Scenario 3: The university is considering adding a computer fee to all students who are enrolled at your campus. The reason for the computer fee is to be able to generate funds in order to provide better computer instruction and facilities (labs and classrooms). But, fees are already relatively high. You and your group want to have the facilities, but you are reluctant to have fees increase.

Scenario 4: You would like to have your company allow you to work on a flexible schedule. You would agree to core hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., when every employee is required to be at the workplace, but you would like to choose the other four hours you work each day. Your job is such that it would support this type of schedule, i.e., you do not work on an assembly line. Present a persuasive discussion to encourage your employer to go to a “flextime schedule.”

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Observe the negotiations that take place around you at work. Focus on one negotiation that appears typical for your organization. Disguise the names of those involved and write up a case study on the negotiation process you observed. Utilizing the terms and concepts from this chapter, report your assessment of the effectiveness of both negotiators, their negotiating styles, and provide suggestions for improvement of each person’s negotiation skills.

5. Try It in Real Life. Have students create a negotiation scenario where they may not have thought of negotiating. For example, it is common and accepted that in the U.S. culture we will negotiate for automobiles, but not as widely accepted when purchasing furniture, for example. Challenge the class to negotiate their next nonconvenience purchase, and have them bring to the class the results of their negotiation attempts. For example, was the negotiation integrative or distributive?

Did they implement any of the methods discussed in class for improving negotiation skills? What was the outcome? Did gender or other variables affect the outcome?

Did they actually save any money? This can be submitted as a written report or given as an in-class exercise. .

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Chapter 14 Conflict in Organizations Suggested Assignment

Conflict-Management Style Survey.* Make copies of the survey instrument provided in the next two pages and distribute them to your class. Give the students the following instructions: When you have completed all items, add your scores into the “column total” spaces provided. Your highest score is your dominant conflict management strategy. All of us use all four strategies at one time or another. Your dominant style is the one you prefer and will certainly come out in more intense conflict situations. Knowing your style will help you be more effective in dealing with conflict.

Column 1. Competition. When one party seeks to achieve certain goals or to further personal interests, regardless of the impact on the parties to the conflict, he or she competes and dominates.

Column 2. Collaboration. When each of the parties in conflict desires to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties, we have cooperation and the search for a mutually beneficial outcome. In collaboration, the behavior of the parties is aimed at solving the problem and at clarifying the differences rather than accommodating various points of view.

Column 3. Accommodation. When the parties seek to appease their opponents, they may be willing to place their opponents’ interests above their own. In order to maintain the relationship, one party is willing to be self-sacrificing.

Column 4. Avoidance. A party may recognize that a conflict exists but react by withdrawing from it or suppressing the conflict. Indifference or the desire to evade overt demonstration of a disagreement can result in withdrawal.

Now add the totals for the first and second columns in the space provided for Score A and add the third and fourth column totals in the space provided for Score B. If Score A is significantly higher than Score B (25 points or more), it may indicate a tendency toward assertive conflict management. A significantly higher B score signals a more conciliatory approach. * Adapted from the work of Marc Robert, in the 1987 University Associates, Inc.

Conflict-Management Style Survey

Instructions: Answer the following questions from a single frame of reference—workrelated conflicts, family conflicts, or social conflicts. Allocate ten points among the four alternative answers given for each of the items below.

Example: When the people I supervise become involved in a personal conflict, I usually: Call a meeting to Intervene to settle talk over the Offer to help if I Ignore the Point the dispute. problem. can. problem.

Total 3 6 1 0 =10 Be certain that your answers add up to 10.

.

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1. When someone I care about is actively hostile toward me (yelling, threatening, abusive), I tend to: Try to persuade Respond in a hostile person to give up the Stay and listen as manner. hostile behavior. long as possible.

Walk away.

2.

When someone who is unimportant to me is actively hostile toward me (yelling, threatening, abusive, and so on), I tend to: Try to persuade the Respond in a hostile person to give up the Stay and listen as manner. hostile behavior. long as possible.

Walk away.

3.

When I observe people in conflict, where anger, threats, hostility, and strong opinions are present, I tend to: Become involved Observe to see what Leave as quickly as and take a position.

Attempt to mediate. happens. possible.

4. to:

When I perceive another person as meeting his or her needs at my expense, I am apt

Work to do anything I can to change that person.

5.

Rely on persuasion and facts when attempting to have that person change

Work hard at changing how I relate to that person.

When involved in an interpersonal dispute, I generally:

Draw the other person into seeing the problem as I do.

Examine the issues between us as logically as possible.

Look hard for a workable compromise.

Accept the situation as it is.

Let time take its course and hope the problem works itself out.

6.

The quality that I value the most in dealing with conflict would be: Emotional strength and security.

Intelligence.

Love and openness.

7.

Patience.

Following a serious altercation with someone I care for deeply, I: Worry about it a lot, Strongly desire to go Want to go back and but do not back and settle work it out, initiate/plan for Let it lie and do not things my way. whatever it takes. further contact. plan. .

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When I see a serious conflict developing between two people I care about, I tend to: Express my Attempt to persuade disappointment that them to resolve their Watch to see what this had to happen. differences. develops.

Leave the scene.

8.

9.

When I see a serious conflict developing between two people who are unimportant to me, I tend to: Express my Attempt to persuade disappointment that them to resolve their Watch to see what this happened. differences. develops.

Leave the scene.

10.

The feedback that I receive from most people about how I behave when faced with conflict and opposition indicates that I: Try to work out I'm easy-going and Try hard to get my differences take a software Usually avoid the way. cooperatively. conciliatory position. conflict.

11.

When communicating with someone with whom I am having a serious conflict, I: Try to overpower Am an active listener Am a passive listener the other person Talk a little bit more (feeding back words (agreeing and with my speech. than I listen. and feelings). apologizing).

12.

When involved in an unpleasant conflict, I: Make an occasional Use humor with the quip or joke about Relate humor only to other party. the situation. myself.

Suppress all attempts at humor.

13.

When someone does something that irritates me (e.g., smokes in a nonsmoking area or crowds in line in front of me), my tendency in communicating with the offending person is to: (select an answer for each row) Look the person Insist that the directly in the eye Maintain Avoid looking person look me in and maintain eye intermittent eye directly at the the eye. contact. contact. person.

Stand close and make physical contact.

Use my hands and body to illustrate my point.

Stand close to the person without touching him or her.

.

Stand back and keep my hands to myself.

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Use strong, direct language and tell the person to stop.

Try to persuade the person to stop

Talk gently and tell the person what my feelings are.

Say and do nothing

Total of Column 1

Total of Column 2

Total of Column 3

Total of Column 4

Column 1 + Column 2 = Score A

Column 3 + Column 4 = Score B

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Chapter 15 Organization Structure and Design

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Chapter 15

Organization Structure and Design

Chapter Overview

This chapter examines some of the various means in which organizations can be structured for maximum effectiveness.

PPT 15.2

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 15.3 1. Identify the seven elements of an organization’s structure.

2. Identify the characteristics of the functional structure, the divisional structure, and the matrix structure.

3. Identify the characteristics of the virtual organization, the team structure, and the circular structure 4. Describe the effects of downsizing on organizational structures and employees.

5. Contrast the reasons for mechanistic and organic structural models.

6. Analyze the behavioral implications of different organizational designs.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I.

II.

INTRODUCTION

A. The theme of this chapter is that organizations have different structures and the structures have a bearing on employee attitudes and behavior.

B. Therefore, it is important that managers be able to identify the correct structure to

use in a given situation.

WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE? PPT 15.4 C. The structure of an organization has a large impact on behavior.

1. An organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated.

PPT 15.5 2. There are seven key elements used to determine the proper structure for an organization: work specialization, departmentalization, chain Exhibit 15-1 of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, formalization, and boundary spanning (Exhibit 15-1).

D. Work Specialization.

1. Also known as division of labor, this is the degree to which PPT 15.6 activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs.

2. The essence of work specialization is that an entire activity is broken down into a number of steps, with each step (job) being completed by a separate individual, rather than one individual completing the entire activity. a. Because not all employees in an organization have the same skills, management saw specialization as a means of making the most efficient use of its employees’ skills and even successfully improving them through repetition. .

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b. Less time is spent in changing tasks, putting away tools and equipment from

a prior step, and getting ready for another.

3. But by the 1960s, it increasingly seemed a good thing can be PPT 15.7 carried too far. a. Human diseconomies from specialization began to surface as Exhibit 15-2 boredom, fatigue, stress, low productivity, poor quality, increased absenteeism, and high turnover, which more than offset the economic advantages (Exhibit 15-2). b. Managers could increase productivity now by enlarging, rather than narrowing, the scope of job activities. c. Giving employees a variety of activities to do, allowing them to do a whole and complete job, and putting them into teams with interchangeable skills often achieved significantly higher output, with increased employee satisfaction. d. Most managers today recognize the economies specialization provides in certain jobs and the problems when it’s carried too far.

1) Amazon’s Mechanical Turk program, TopCoder, and others like it, have facilitated a new trend in microspecialization in which extremely small pieces of programming, data processing, or evaluation tasks are delegated to a global network of individuals by a program manager who then assembles the results.

E. Departmentalization.

PPT 15.8 1. This is the basis by which jobs are grouped together so that common tasks can be coordinated is departmentalization.

2. Jobs can be grouped on a number of bases: functional, product, geography, process, consumer, or any reasonable combination of these bases.

3. Functional Departmentalization: One of the most popular ways to group jobs is by the functions performed. a. The major advantage of this type of functional departmentalization is efficiencies gained from putting like specialists together.

4. Product or Service Departmentalization: Workers can be organized by the type of product or service the organization produces. a. This type of grouping provides the major advantage of increased accountability for product performance, since all activities related to a specific product are under the direction of a single manager.

5. Geographic Departmentalization: Departments can be built based on geography or territory. a. If an organization's customers are scattered over a large geographic area and have similar needs based on their location, then this form of departmentalization can be valuable.

6. Process and Customer Departmentalization: Process departmentalization works for processing customers as well as products. a. Each department specializes in one specific phase in the production as each phase requires different skills; this method offers a basis for homogenous categorizing of activities.

7. The assumption underlying customer departmentalization is that the various groups of customers have common sets of problems and needs that can best be met by having specialists for each type of customer. .

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8. Implications for organizational behavior (OB): Interestingly, organizations do

not always stay with the basis of departmentalization they first adopt.

9. As we see throughout this text, whenever changes are deliberately made in organizations to align practices with organizational goals, particularly the goals of strong leaders, a good execution of the changes creates a much higher probability for improvement.

PPT 15.9 F. Chain of Command.

1. The chain of command is the unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to its lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom.

2. While it has become far less important in recent years, it still is a valid concern when structuring organizations.

3. Authority: Authority refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect the orders to be obeyed. a. Typically, the level of authority is matched to the responsibilities of a given position.

4. Unity-of-Command: The principle of unity of command helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority: it states that a person should have one and only one superior to whom the person is directly responsible. a. While this principle is often broken in modern organizations, the result may be increased conflicting demands or priorities given to workers.

5. Implications for OB: Due to the increased use of networked computers, employee empowerment, and self-managed teams in modern organizations, the concept of chain of command has become seemingly less relevant.

G. Span of Control.

1. The number of employees a manager is expected to effectively and PPT 15.10 efficiently direct (often known as the number of “direct reports”) is span of control.

2. This span, to a large degree, determines the number of levels and managers an organization has. a. All other things being equal, the wider or larger the span, the more PPT 15.11 cost-efficient the organization (Exhibit 15-3). b. Managerial effectiveness, however, may be diminished by larger Exhibit 15-3 spans of control.

1) The use of wider spans of control has become more prevalent in recent years due to the desire to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed up decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees by reducing the number of managerial layers in an organization.

2) Wider spans of control do increase training costs as workers must be much more knowledgeable about their jobs in order to allow managers to reduce the closeness of control. c. Keeping the span of control to five or six employees allows for close control by management. d. But there are three potential drawbacks: 1) Increased costs due to the additional levels of management.

2) Vertical communication in the organization becomes more complex and slower. .

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a) Larger hierarchies tend to slow the decision-making process down

and may isolate upper management.

3) Overly tight supervision may discourage employee autonomy.

H. Centralization and Decentralization.

1. Centralization refers to the degree to which decision making is PPT 15.12 concentrated at a single point in the organization.

2. The concept only includes formal authority: the rights inherent in one's position.

3. Centralized organizations have all key decisions made at the upper levels of the organization while decentralized organizations have decisions made at the lowest possible level.

4. Implications for OB: The current trend in organizations is toward decentralization, in order to become more flexible and responsive.

5. Recent research indicates that the effects of centralization and decentralization can be predicted: Centralized organizations are better for avoiding commission errors (bad choices), while decentralized organizations are better for avoiding omission errors (lost opportunities).

6. Decentralization is often necessary for companies with offshore sites because localized decision making is needed to respond to each region’s profit opportunities, client base, and specific laws, while centralized oversight is needed to hold regional managers accountable.

I. Formalization.

PPT 15.13 1. Formalization is the degree to which jobs in the organization are standardized. a. If a job is highly formalized, the incumbent has a minimum amount of discretion over what is to be done, when it is to be done, and how it is to be done. b. There is consistent and uniform output driven by explicit job descriptions, organizational rules, and clearly defined procedures. c. Where formalization is low, job behaviors are relatively nonprogrammed, and employees have a great deal of freedom to exercise discretion in their work.

1) Formalization not only eliminates the need for employees to consider alternatives. d. The degree of formalization can vary widely between and within organizations.

1) In general, research from 94 high-technology Chinese firms showed that formalization is a detriment to team flexibility in decentralized organization structures, suggesting that formalization does not work as well where duties are inherently interactive, or where there is a need to be flexible and innovative.

J. Boundary Spanning.

1. Within a single organization, boundary spanning occurs when PPT 15.14 individuals form relationships with people outside their formally assigned groups. a. A human resources (HR) executive who frequently engages with the Information technology group is engaged in boundary spanning, as is a member of an research and development team who implements ideas from a production team. .

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2. These activities help prevent formal structures from becoming too rigid and, not

III.

surprisingly, enhance organization and team creativity.

3. Organizations can use formal mechanisms to facilitate boundary-spanning activities through their structures. a. One method is to assign formal liaison roles or develop committees of individuals from different areas of the organization.

4. Boundary-spanning activities occur not only within but also between organizations.

5. Gathering information from external knowledge sources is especially advantageous in highly innovative industries where keeping up with the competition is challenging.

COMMON ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORKS AMD STRUCTURES A. We now turn to three of the more common organizational PPT 15.15 designs: the simple structure, the bureaucracy, and the matrix structure.

B. The Simple Structure.

1. The simple structure has a low degree of departmentalization, wide spans of control, authority is centralized in a single person, and there is little formalization.

PPT 15.16 a. Simple structures tend to be “flat” organizations, with only two or three vertical levels. b. Often used for small organizations and organizations in times of temporary crises.

2. The strength of the structure is its simplicity: it's fast, flexible, and expensive to maintain.

1) Accountability is clear.

3. The structure is difficult to maintain for anything other than small organizations. a. The focus of all decision making on one person can result very quickly in information overload as the organization increases in size. b. This slows down decision making and increases risk as the loss of the single decision maker can cripple the entire firm.

C. The Bureaucracy.

1. Standardization is the key concept that underlies all PPT 15.17 bureaucracies.

2. Bureaucracies are characterized by highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments, centralized authority, narrow spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command.

3. Bureaucracies can perform standardized activities in a highly efficient manner due to economies of scale, minimum duplication of personnel and equipment, and specialized employees. a. They do not require talented low- to mid-level managers: the formalized rules and procedures are substitutes for managerial discretion.

4. There are two aspects of bureaucracies we should explore: functional and divisional structures.

5. The Functional Structure: The functional structure groups PPT 15.18 employees by their similar specialties, roles, or tasks. .

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a. An organization structured into production, marketing, HR, and accounting

IV.

departments is an example.

6. Many large organizations utilize this structure, although this is evolving to allow for quick changes in response to business opportunities.

7. Still, there are advantages, including that the functional structure allows specialists to become experts more easily than if they worked in diversified units. a. Employees can also be motivated by a clear career path to the top of the organization chart specific to their specialties. b. The functional structure works well if the organization is focused on one product or service. Unfortunately, it creates rigid, formal communications because the hierarchy dictates the communication protocol. c. Coordination among many units is a problem, and infighting in units and between units can lead to reduced motivation.

8. The Divisional Structure: The divisional structure groups employees into units by product, service, customer, or geographical market area. It is highly departmentalized. a. Sometimes this structure is known by the type of division structure it uses: product/service organizational structure (like units for cat food, dog food, and bird food that report to an animal food producer); customer organizational structure (like units for outpatient care, inpatient care, and pharmacy that report to hospital administration); or geographic organizational structure (like units for Europe, Asia, and South America that report to corporate headquarters).

9. The divisional structure has the opposite benefits and disadvantages of the functional structure. a. It facilitates coordination in units to achieve on-time completion, budget targets, and development and introduction of new products to market, while addressing the specific concerns of each unit. It provides clear responsibility for all activities related to a product, but with duplication of functions and costs.

D. Matrix Structure.

1. The matrix structure combines two forms of PPT 15.19 departmentalization: functional and product.

2. The most obvious structural characteristic of a matrix is that it breaks the unity-of-command concept.

PPT 15.20 3. Employees in a matrix have two bosses (their functional department manager and their product manager), thus making Exhibit 15-4 a dual chain of command (Exhibit 15-4).

4. The strength of the matrix is its ability to facilitate coordination when the organization has a number of complex and interdependent activities.

5. This type of structure tends to create confusion, foster power struggles, and place undue stress and insecurity on individuals. a. Ambiguity is significantly increased, which often leads to the greater potential for conflict.

ALTERNATE DESIGN OPTIONS A. In the ever-increasing trend toward flatter structures, many PPT 15.21 organizations have been developing new options with fewer layers of hierarchy and more emphasis on opening the boundaries of the organization. .

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1. In this section, we describe three such designs: the virtual structure, the team

structure, and the circular structure.

B. The Virtual Structure.

1. Also known as a network or modular organization, this highly flexible structure typically features a small core organization that outsources major business functions.

2. The virtual structure is highly centralized with little or no departmentalization.

3. Exhibit 15-5 shows a virtual organization in which management outsources all the primary functions of the business.

PPT 15.22 a. The core of the organization is a small group of executives whose job is to oversee directly any activities done inhouse and to coordinate relationships with the other Exhibit 15-5 organizations that manufacture, distribute, and perform other crucial functions for the virtual organization. b. The dotted lines represent the relationships typically maintained under contracts. In essence, managers in virtual structures spend most of their time coordinating and controlling external relations, typically by way of computer-network links.

4. The main advantage is flexibility. Virtual organizations also save a great deal of money by eliminating permanent offices and hierarchial roles.

5. Disadvantages: a. They are in a state of perpetual flux and reorganization, which means roles, goals, and responsibilities are unclear: b. Those who work frequently with virtual organizations also note cultural alignment and shared goals can be lost because of the low degree of interaction among members.

C. The Team Structure.

1. The team structure seeks to eliminate vertical and horizontal PPT 15.23 boundaries and break down the external barriers between the company and its customers and suppliers.

2. The goal is to reduce internal boundaries by eliminating the chain of command, having limitless spans of control, and replacing departments with crossfunctional and cross-hierarchical empowered teams.

3. By removing vertical boundaries, management flattens the hierarchy and minimizes status and rank.

4. Another way management can cut through horizontal barriers is to use lateral transfers, rotating people into and out of different functional areas. a. This approach turns specialists into generalists.

5. When fully operational, the team structure also breaks down geographic barriers. a. Today, most large U.S. companies see themselves as global corporations; many, like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, do almost as much business overseas as in the United States, and some struggle to incorporate geographic regions into their structure.

D. The Circular Structure.

E. Picture the concentric rings of an archery target. In the center are the executives; radiating outward in rings grouped by function are the PPT 15.24 managers, then the specialists, then the workers. This is the circular .

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VI.

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structure.

F. The circular structure has intuitive appeal for creative entrepreneurs, and some small innovative firms have claimed it.

G. However, as in many of the current hybrid approaches, employees are apt to be unclear about whom they report to and who is running the show.

LEANER ORGANIZATION: ORGANIZATION DOWNSIZING A. The goal of the new organizational forms we’ve described is to PPT 15.25 improve agility by creating a lean, focused, and flexible organization.

1. Downsizing is a systematic effort to make an organization leaner by selling off business units, closing locations, or reducing staff. a. It has been very controversial because of its potential negative effects on employees. b. Some companies probably need to downsize just to survive. c. Others downsize to direct all their efforts toward their core competencies.

2. Despite the advantages of being a lean organization, the impact of downsizing on organizational performance has been very controversial. a. Reducing the size of the workforce has an immediately positive outcome in the huge reduction in wage costs. b. Companies downsizing to improve strategic focus often see positive effects on stock prices after the announcement. c. On the other hand, among companies that only cut employees but don’t restructure, profits and stock prices usually decline. d. Part of the problem is the effect of downsizing on employee attitudes. e. Those who remain often feel worried about future layoffs and may be less committed to the organization. f. Stress reactions can lead to increased sickness absences, lower concentration on the job, and lower creativity.

3. In companies that don’t invest much in their employees, downsizing can also lead to more voluntary turnover, so vital human capital is lost. a. The result is a company that is more anemic than lean.

4. Companies can reduce negative effects by preparing for the post-downsizing environment in advance, thus alleviating some employee stress and strengthening support for the new strategic direction.

WHY DO STRUCTURES DIFFER? A. Models of Organizational Design.

PPT 15.26 1. There are two extreme models of organizational design, the mechanistic and the organic, which may aid in the discussion of these forces (Exhibit 15-6).

Exhibit 15-6 a. The mechanistic model is generally synonymous with bureaucracy, in that it has extensive departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network (normally downward communication), and little participation by low-level members in decision making. b. The organic model is flat, has fewer formal procedures for making decisions, has multiple decision makers, and favors flexible practices. The forces that influence structure.

2. Organizational Strategies.

PPT 15.27 1) An organization's structure is a means to help .

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management to achieve its objectives.

2) Because objectives are derived from an organization's overall strategy, strategy and structure are closely linked.

3) Structure should follow strategy.

4) There are three strategic dimensions that affect structural design: a) Innovation strategy: (1) The degree to which an organization plans to introduce new products or services, not merely superficial changes to present offerings.

(2) Innovative firms will use competitive pay and benefits to attract top candidates and motivate employees to take risks. b) Cost minimization strategy: (1) These organizations tightly control costs, refrain from incurring unnecessary innovation or marketing expenses, and cut price by selling a basic product.

(2) Cost-minimizing organizations pursue fewer policies meant to develop commitment among their workforce. c) Imitation strategy: (1) These organizations try to capitalize on the best of both of the previous strategies.

(2) Imitators try to minimize risk, while maximizing the opportunity for profit.

(3) These firms are market followers who move into new products or new markets only after viability has been proven by PPT 15.28 the innovators. d) Structural Matches: Exhibit 15-7 describes the structural Exhibit 15-7 option that best matches each strategy.

(1) Innovators need the flexibility of the organic structure (although, as we noted, they may use some elements of the mechanistic structure as well), whereas cost minimizers seek the efficiency and stability of the mechanistic structure.

(2) Imitators combine the two structures. They use a mechanistic structure to maintain tight controls and low costs in their current activities but create organic subunits in which to pursue new opportunities.

3. Organizational Size. a. The size of an organization significantly affects its structure.

PPT 15.29 Larger firms tend to be more mechanistic. b. They develop more specialization, departmentalization, vertical levels, and rules and regulations. c. But size affects structure at a decreasing rate: once an organization has become fairly mechanistic (around 2,000 employees), additional increases in size have little effect on organizational structure.

4. Technology.

1) This refers to how an organization transfers its inputs into outputs. a) What differentiates technologies is their degree of routineness. b) Regardless, organizational structures adapt to their technology. .

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forces outside the organization that potentially affects the organization's performance such as suppliers, competitors, government, and pressure groups.

1) An organization's environmental uncertainty is a key determinant of structure.

2) To minimize uncertainty, managers may broaden their structure to sense and respond to threats.

3) Any organization’s environment has three dimensions: capacity, volatility, and complexity. a) Capacity: Capacity refers to the degree to which the environment can support growth.

(1) Rich and growing environments generate excess resources, which can buffer the organization in times of relative scarcity. b) Volatility: Volatility describes the degree of instability in the environment.

(1) A dynamic environment with a high degree of unpredictable change makes it difficult for management to make accurate predictions.

(2) Because information technology changes at such a rapid pace, for instance, more organizations’ environments are becoming volatile. c) Complexity: Finally, complexity is the degree of heterogeneity and concentration among environmental elements.

(1) Simple environments—like in the tobacco industry—are homogeneous and concentrated. Environments characterized by heterogeneity and dispersion—like the broadband industry—are complex and diverse, with numerous competitors.

PPT 15.31 d) Three-Dimensional Model: Given this three-dimensional definition of environment, we can offer some general Exhibit 15-8 conclusions about environmental uncertainty and structural arrangements (Exhibit 15-8).

(1) The more scarce, dynamic, and complex the environment, the more organic a structure should be.

(2) The more abundant, stable, and simple the environment, the more the mechanistic structure will be preferred.

6. Institutions. a. Another factor that shapes organizational structure is institutions. These are cultural factors that act as guidelines for appropriate behavior.

1) Institutional theory describes some of the forces that lead many organizations to have similar structures and, unlike the theories we’ve described so far, focuses on pressures that aren’t necessarily adaptive.

2) In fact, many institutional theorists try to highlight the ways corporate behaviors sometimes seem to be performance oriented but are actually guided by unquestioned social norms and conformity.

3) The most obvious institutional factors come from regulatory pressures; certain industries under government contracts, for instance, must have clear reporting relationships and strict information controls. .

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4) Sometimes simple inertia determines an organizational form—

VII.

companies can be structured in a particular way just because that’s the way things have always been done.

5) Organizations in countries with high power distance might have a structural form with strict authority relationships because it’s seen as more legitimate in that culture.

6) Some have attributed problems in adaptability in Japanese organizations to the institutional pressure to maintain authority relationships.

Sometimes organizations start to have a particular structure because of fads or trends.

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGNS AND EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR A. It is impossible to generalize any link between organizational structures and employee performance and/or satisfaction due PPT 15.32 to the high variance caused by individual differences.

B. Different factors stand out in different structures as well.

C. In highly formalized, heavily structured, mechanistic organizations, the level of fairness in formal policies and procedures is a very important predictor of satisfaction. In more personal, individually adaptive organic organizations, employees value interpersonal justice more.

D. Some people are most productive and satisfied when work tasks are standardized and ambiguity minimized—that is, in mechanistic structures. So any discussion of the effect of organizational design on employee behavior has to address individual differences.

E. To do so, let’s consider employee preferences for work specialization, span of control, and centralization.

1. Work Specialization. a. Work specialization generally contributes to higher employee productivity at the price of reduced job satisfaction, but not always. b. While the point at which the human costs of specialized work overtakes the economies of specialization seems to be reached more quickly now than in the past, there are still those who enjoy routine labor. c. The negative behavioral outcomes from high specialization are most likely to surface in professional jobs occupied by individuals with high needs for personal growth and diversity.

2. Span of Control. a. There is no evidence to suggest a relationship between span of control and employee performance or satisfaction. b. Individual differences may be confounding the results of research in this area. One assumption, based on several of the contingency theories (presented in Chapter 12), is that factors such as employees’ experience and abilities along with the degree of structure in their tasks, would explain when wide or narrow spans of control are likely to contribute to performance and job satisfaction. c. Managers seem to have increasing job satisfaction as the number of employees they supervise increases.

3. Centralization. a. There is fairly strong evidence that the degree of centralization is linked to job satisfaction. .

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b. Decentralized organizations tend to have more autonomy, which is

VIII.

IX.

positively related to job satisfaction. c. However, the individual need for autonomy varies, which moderates the relationship.

4. Predictability versus Autonomy. a. We can draw one obvious insight: people don’t select employers randomly.

They are attracted to, are selected by, and stay with organizations that suit their personal characteristics. b. Thus, the effect of structure on employee behavior is undoubtedly reduced when the selection process facilitates proper matching of individual characteristics with organizational characteristics. c. Furthermore, companies should strive to establish, promote, and maintain the unique identity of their structures since skilled employees may quit as a result of dramatic changes.

5. National Culture.

1) Although research is slim, it does suggest national culture influences the preference for structure.

2) Organizations that operate with people from high power-distance cultures, such as Greece, France, and most of Latin America, find their employees are much more accepting of mechanistic structures than are employees from low power-distance countries.

SUMMARY A. The theme of this chapter is that an organization’s internal structure contributes to explaining and predicting behavior.

1. That is, in addition to individual and group factors, the structural relationships in which people work has a bearing on employee attitudes and behavior.

B. To the degree that an organization’s structure reduces ambiguity for employees and clarifies concern, it shapes their attitudes and facilitates and motivates them to higher levels of performance.

IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Specialization can make operations more efficient, but remember that excessive specialization also can create dissatisfaction and reduced PPT 15.33 motivation.

B. Avoid designing rigid hierarchies that overly limit employees’ empowerment and autonomy.

C. Balance the advantages of remote work against the potential pitfalls before adding flexible workplace options.

D. Downsize your organization to realize major cost savings, and focus the company around core competencies — but only if necessary because downsizing can have a significant negative impact on employee affect.

E. Consider the scarcity, dynamism, and complexity of the environment, and balance the organic and mechanistic elements when designing an organizational structure.

Discussion Questions

1. Identify the six key elements that define an organization’s structure.

Answer: (1) Work Specialization, or division of labor, is the degree to which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs. (2) Departmentalization is the basis by which jobs are grouped together so that .

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3.

4.

5.

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common tasks can be coordinated. Jobs can be grouped by: function, product, geography, process, consumer, or any reasonable combination of these bases. (3) Chain of Command. This describes the unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to its lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom.

(4) Span of Control. This is the number of employees a manager is expected to effectively and efficiently direct. (5) Centralization and Decentralization. This refers to the degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization. The concept only includes formal authority: the rights inherent in one's position. (6) Formalization. This is the degree to which jobs in the organization are standardized.

Describe the characteristics of a bureaucracy.

Answer: Standardization is the key concept that underlies all bureaucracies.

Bureaucracies are characterized by routine operating tasks achieved through specialization, formalized rules and regulations, tasks that are grouped into functional departments, centralized authority, narrow spans of control, and decision making that follows the chain of command.

Describe a matrix organization.

Answer: This organizational structure combines two forms of departmentalization: functional and product. The most obvious structural characteristic of a matrix is that it breaks the unity-of-command concept. Employees in a matrix have two bosses, (their functional and their product managers). The matrix attempts to gain the strengths of both functional and product departmentalization while avoiding each of their weaknesses. A matrix facilitates coordination, especially when organizations have a multiplicity of complex and interdependent activities. The direct and frequent contact between different specialties in the matrix can make for better communication; faster data flow; more flexibility; and enhanced focus on organizational goals instead of departmental ones. It also facilitates the effective allocation of specialists. But this type of structure tends to create confusion, foster power struggles, and place undue stress and insecurity on individuals. Ambiguity is significantly increased, which often leads to greater potential for conflict.

Describe the characteristics of a virtual organization.

Answer: Also known as a network or modular organization, this highly flexible structure typically features a small core organization that outsources major business functions. It is highly centralized with little or no departmentalization.

The structure allows for the employment of highly skilled workers only for as long as they are needed (thus reducing costs while improving quality), reduces long-term risks, and minimizes bureaucratic overhead. Managers in virtual organizations spend most of their time coordinating and controlling external relations, typically by way of computer-network links.

Summarize why managers want to use team structures.

Answer: This structure is the result of management's desire to reduce costs and increase flexibility in the global environment. It seeks to eliminate vertical and horizontal boundaries and break down the external barriers between the company and its customers and suppliers, which should reduce structure, costs, and decisionmaking time. Using cross-functional and cross-hierarchical empowered teams will increase organizational agility, flexibility, and communication. By removing external barriers through globalization, strategic alliances, customer-organization links, and telecommuting, organizations can hire the best workers or organizations to complete necessary tasks. .

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6. Contrast mechanistic and organic structural models.

Answer: The mechanistic model is generally synonymous with bureaucracy, in that it has extensive departmentalization, high formalization, a limited information network (normally downward communication), and little participation by low-level members in decision making. The organic model is similar to the boundaryless organization. This structure is flat, uses cross-hierarchical and cross-functional teams, has low formalization, possesses a comprehensive information network (using lateral and upward communication as well as downward), and involves high participation in decision making.

7. List the factors that favor different organizational structures.

Answer: An organization’s strategy, size, use of technology, and environmental uncertainty all have an influence on the appropriate structure for the organization.

8. Explain the behavioral implications of different organizational designs.

Answer: It is impossible to generalize any link between organizational structures and employee performance and satisfaction due to the high variance in individual differences. These individual differences must become the focus of the discussion.

The text examines three aspects of organizational design: work specialization, span of control, and centralization. Work specialization contributes to higher employee productivity at the price of reduced job satisfaction, but not for everyone. While the point at which the human costs of specialized work overtake the economies of specialization seems to be reached more quickly now than in the past, there are still those who enjoy routine labor. The negative behavioral outcomes from high specialization are most likely to surface in professional jobs occupied by individuals with high needs for personal growth and diversity. There is no evidence to suggest a relationship between span of control and employee performance or high satisfaction. Individual differences may be confounding the results of research in this area. One assumption, based on several of the contingency theories (presented in Chapter 9), is that factors such as employees’ experience and abilities along with the degree of structure in their tasks, would explain when wide or narrow spans of control are likely to contribute to performance and job satisfaction. There is fairly strong evidence that the degree of centralization is linked to job satisfaction.

Decentralized organizations tend to have a greater amount of participative decision making, which is positively related to job satisfaction. This relationship is strongest with employees who have low self-esteem.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. Examine your own work life: consider the jobs you have held and organizations with which you have been associated. Based on your experiences, what type of organizational structure appears to suit you best? Why? Relate your own attitudes, behaviors, and values to the organizational structures described in this chapter.

2. Web Crawling. Search the web to find three articles on an organization that has changed its structure in the recent past (downsized or increased in scale). Carefully read the articles and describe what happened using structural terms from this chapter. What kinds of internal and external reactions were there to the structural change? What was the impact of the change on the organization’s effectiveness (e.g., perhaps as measured by its stock price)?

3. Teamwork. Students will learn how to analyze organizational structure by examining the structure of their current college or university. Divide the class into .

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groups of three to five students, six groups in total. As a class, create a form for analysis of the organization: a. Use the key elements and their corresponding questions given in Exhibit 151 to create the form. b. Use a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high) for each of the six key elements. c. Leave space for written comments explaining the rating and giving details of each structural element.

If you are analyzing a large university, give each team one structural element to study. If you are analyzing a smaller college or school within the university, have each team look at the entire organization. Each team should prepare to report orally or in writing on their findings. The reports should address: a. How is the organization currently structured? b. What type of organizational structure is it: organic/mechanistic, simple, bureaucratic, matrix? c. Could this organization benefit from a new organizational structure; virtual, team, or boundaryless? How would it benefit?

As a class, discuss each group’s findings and come to a consensus on the restructuring action, if any, needed to be taken by the organization.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Have students discuss with the top managers in their organization the concept of restructuring. When do they make the decision to restructure? In general, restructurings occur as organizations grow, but there are other variables also. Have them discuss how the past changes in structure affected the employees. You might also discuss any plans they might have to restructure in the future, how they determine when to do this, and the scope of the project. After the interview, have the students relate their notes to the six key elements. Did any one element stand out? As a class, were there patterns with various types of organizations?

Suggested Assignment

Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Then ask them to follow these assignments.

1. Brick & Mortar vs. Brick & Click vs. Click & Buy. Today’s retail world is increasingly moving online in an effort to woo customers. Research and identify a retailer from each of these three types: (1) brick & mortar: on-ground presence only, (2) brick & click: on-ground and online presence, (3) click & buy: online presence only. Describe the structures of each of these three firms in terms of the six key elements given in the chapter. If possible, draw a generalized organizational chart for each type of retail organization based on your research.

2. Mom & Pop Compared to a National Chain. Identify and compare two retailers that sell similar products, one of which is a small “Mom & Pop” local operation and the other belonging to a national chain. Compare the two organizations based on the six key elements given for structure. Consider the following: a. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the national chain’s structure? b. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Mom & Pop structure? c. At which organization would you prefer to work? Why? Does the structure have anything to do with your decision? .

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Chapter 16

Creating and Maintaining Organizational Culture

Chapter Overview

PPT 16.2

This chapter examines organizational culture: the effects culture has on members within the organization, how members learn the culture, and how it can be changed.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 16.3 1. Describe the common characteristics of organizational culture.

2. Compare the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization.

3. Identify the factors that create and sustain an organization’s culture.

4. Show how culture is transmitted to employees.

5. Describe the similarities and differences in creating an ethical culture, a positive culture, and a spiritual culture.

6. Show how national culture may affect the way organizational culture is interpreted in another country.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I.

INTRODUCTION

A. In Chapter 4, we found that individuals have relatively enduring and stable traits

that help predict their attitudes and behaviors.

B. Organizations also have personalities, which are referred to as “cultures.”

Organizational cultures govern how that organization’s members behave.

WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE? II. A. We have all felt an indescribable essence about the organizations we’ve experienced. The pervasive atmosphere can have a strong and measurable impact on behavior.

B. A Definition of Organizational Culture.

PPT 16.4 1. Organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations.

2. This is a shared medium that consists of a set of seven key characteristics of the organization values. a. They are: PPT 16.5 1) Innovation and Risk Taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks.

2) Attention to Detail. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. .

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3) Outcome Orientation. The degree to which management focuses on

results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes.

4) People Orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

5) Team Orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals.

6) Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing.

7) Stability. The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

3. Organizational culture describes how employees perceive PPT 16.6 the characteristics of an organization’s culture, not whether or not they like those characteristics. It is a descriptive term.

4. Job satisfaction seeks to measure affective responses to the work environment: it is concerned with how employees feel about the organization. It is an evaluative term (Exhibit 16-1).

C. Do Organizations Have Uniform Cultures?

1. Culture is a system of shared meaning; therefore, PPT 16.7 individuals of dissimilar backgrounds or at varying levels in the organization should describe the organization's culture in similar terms despite their differences. a. This doesn't mean, however, that an organization's culture is completely uniform.

2. The dominant culture is the overall organizational culture as expressed by the core values held by the majority of the organization's members. a. When people are asked to portray an organization's culture, they normally describe the dominant culture: a macro view that gives an organization its distinct personality.

3. Subsets of the overall culture, or subcultures, tend to develop in larger organizations to reflect the common problems, situations, or experiences that are unique to members of certain departments or geographical areas. a. The subculture retains the core values of the dominant culture but adds to, or modifies, them to reflect their own distinct situation.

D. Strong versus Weak Cultures.

1. Strong cultures have a greater impact on employee behavior and are PPT 16.8 more directly related to reduced turnover.

2. A strong culture exists when an organization's core values are both intensely held and widely shared. a. The greater the number of members who accept the core values and the greater their commitment to these values, the stronger the culture is. b. A strong culture creates an internal climate of high behavioral control and builds cohesiveness, loyalty, and organizational commitment, which, in turn, reduces turnover.

E. Culture versus Formalization.

PPT 16.9 1. Since strong organizational culture increases behavioral consistency, strong culture can act as a substitute for formalization. .

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2. Strong culture achieves the same ends as formalization, but without the need for

written documentation.

3. Thus they are two means to the same ends: predictability, orderliness, and consistency.

III. WHAT DO CULTURES DO? A. The Functions of Culture.

1. Overall, culture benefits organizations by increasing organizational commitment and the consistency of employee behavior.

2. It also aids employees by reducing ambiguity.

3. There are five basic functions of culture that help achieve these PPT 16.10 benefits: a. Defines Boundaries. Culture creates distinctions between one organization and another. b. Identity. Culture conveys a sense of identity for its members. c. Commitment. Culture generates commitment to something that is larger than one's own self-interest. d. Social Stability. Culture is the social glue that helps hold the organization together by providing appropriate standards for socially acceptable employee behavior. e. Control Mechanism. Culture serves as a sense-making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees.

4. Today’s trend toward decentralized organizations makes culture more important than ever, but ironically, it also makes establishing a strong culture more difficult. a. When formal authority and control systems are reduced, culture’s shared meaning points everyone in the same direction. b. However, employees organized in teams may show greater allegiance to their team and its values than to the values of the organization as a whole.

5. In virtual organizations, the lack of frequent face-to-face contact makes establishing a common set of norms very difficult. Strong leadership that communicates frequently about common goals and priorities is especially important in innovative organizations.

6. Individual–organization “fit”—that is, whether the applicant’s or employee’s attitudes and behavior are compatible with the culture—strongly influences who gets a job offer, a favorable performance review, or a promotion. a. It’s no coincidence that Disney theme park employees appear almost universally attractive, clean, and wholesome with bright smiles. b. The company selects employees who will maintain that image.

B. Culture Creates Climate.

1. If you’ve worked with someone whose positive attitude inspired you to do your best, or with a lackluster team that drained your motivation, you’ve experienced the effects of climate.

PPT 16.11 2. Organizational climate refers to the shared perceptions organizational members have about their organization and work environment.

3. This aspect of culture is like team spirit at the organizational level. a. When everyone has the same general feelings about what’s important or how well things are working, the effect of these attitudes will be more than the sum of the individual parts. .

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b. The same appears true for organizations.

1) One meta-analysis found that across dozens of different samples,

psychological climate was strongly related to individuals’ level of job satisfaction, involvement, commitment, and motivation.

2) A positive overall workplace climate has been linked to higher customer satisfaction and financial performance as well.

4. Dozens of dimensions of climate have been studied, including safety, justice, diversity, and customer service, to name a few. a. A person who encounters a positive climate for performance will think about doing a good job more often and will believe others support his or her success. b. Someone who encounters a positive climate for diversity will feel more comfortable collaborating with co-workers regardless of their demographic background.

5. Climate also influences the habits people adopt. a. If the climate for safety is positive, everyone wears safety gear and follows safety procedures even if individually they wouldn’t normally think very often about being safe.

C. The Ethical Dimension of Culture.

1. Organizational cultures are not neutral in their ethical orientation, even PPT 16.12 when they are not openly pursuing ethical goals.

2. Over time, an ethical work climate (EWC), which is the shared concept of right and wrong behavior, develops as part of the organizational climate. a. EWC reflects the true values of the organization and shapes the ethical decision making of its members. b. Researchers have developed ethical climate theory (ECT) and the ethical climate index (ECI) to categorize and measure the ethical dimensions of organizational cultures. c. Of the nine identified ECT climate categories, five are most prevalent in organizations: instrumental, caring, independence, law and code, and rules.

Each explains the general mind-set, expectations, and values of managers and employees in relationship to their organizations. d. An organization’s ethical climate powerfully influences the way its individual members feel they should behave, so much so that researchers have been able to predict organizational outcomes from the climate categories.

D. Culture and Sustainability.

PPT 16.13 1. As the name implies, sustainability refers to practices that can be maintained over very long periods of time because the tools or structures that support the practices are not damaged by the processes.

2. Social sustainability practices address the ways social systems are affected by an organization’s actions over time, and in turn, how changing social systems may affect the organization.

3. To create a truly sustainable business, an organization must develop a longterm culture and put its values into practice.

E. Culture and Innovation.

1. The most innovative companies are often characterized by their open, PPT 16.14 unconventional, collaborative, vision-driven, and accelerating cultures. .

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a. Start-up firms often have innovative cultures by definition because they are

usually small, agile, and focused on solving problems in order to survive and grow.

F. Culture as an Asset.

1. As we have discussed, organizational culture can provide a positive ethical environment and foster innovation.

2. Culture can also significantly contribute to an organization’s bottom line in many ways.

G. Culture as a Liability.

PPT 16.15 1. Culture enhances organizational commitment and increases the consistency of employee behavior.

2. From an employee’s standpoint, culture is valuable because it spells out how things are done and what’s important.

3. But we shouldn’t ignore the potentially dysfunctional aspects of culture, especially a strong one, on an organization’s effectiveness. a. Institutionalization: When an organization undergoes institutionalization and becomes institutionalized—that is, it is valued for itself and not for the goods or services it produces—it takes on a life of its own, apart from its founders or members.

1) It doesn’t go out of business even if its original goals are no longer relevant.

2) Acceptable modes of behavior become largely self-evident to members, and although this isn’t entirely negative, it does mean behaviors and habits that should be questioned and analyzed become taken for granted, which can stifle innovation and make maintaining the organization’s culture an end in itself. b. Barriers to Change: Culture is a liability when the shared values are not in agreement with those that further the organization’s effectiveness.

1) This is most likely when an organization’s environment is undergoing rapid change and its entrenched culture may no longer be appropriate.

2) Consistency of behavior, an asset in a stable environment, may then burden the organization and make it difficult to respond to changes. c. Barriers to Diversity: Hiring new employees who differ from the majority in race, age, gender, disability, or other characteristics creates a paradox.

1) Management wants to demonstrate support for the differences these employees bring to the workplace, but newcomers who wish to fit in must accept the organization’s core cultural values.

2) Because diverse behaviors and unique strengths are likely to diminish as people attempt to assimilate, strong cultures can become liabilities when they effectively eliminate these advantages.

3) A strong culture that condones prejudice, supports bias, or becomes insensitive to people who are different can even undermine formal corporate diversity policies. d. Strengthening Dysfunctions: We’ve discussed cultures that generally cohere around a positive set of values and attitudes. This consensus can create a powerful forward momentum.

1) However, coherence around negativity and dysfunctional management systems in a corporation can produce downward forces that are equally powerful. .

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2) Negative attitudes in groups add to negative outcomes, suggesting a

powerful influence of culture on individuals. e. Barriers to Acquisitions and Mergers: 1) Historically, when management looked at acquisition or merger decisions, the key factors were financial advantage and product synergy.

2) In recent years, cultural compatibility has become the primary concern.

3) All things being equal, whether the acquisition actually works seems to have more to do with how well the two organizations’ cultures match up.

4) The primary cause of failure is conflicting organizational cultures. a) The $183 billion merger between America Online (AOL) and Time Warner in 2001 was the largest in U.S. corporate history. b) It was also a disaster. c) Only 2 years later, the stock had fallen an astounding 90 percent, and the new company reported what was then the largest financial loss in U.S. history.

IV. CREATING AND SUSTAINING CULTURE A. How a Culture Begins.

PPT 16.16 1. The ultimate source of an organization's culture is its founder(s).

Founders have a vision of what the organization should be and they are unconstrained by previous customs or ideologies.

2. The new organization's small size facilitates the founder’s imposition of his or her vision on all organizational members. Founders create culture in three ways: a. Employee Selection. Founders hire and keep only those employees who think and feel the same way the founders do. b. Socialization. Founders indoctrinate and socialize their employees toward the founders’ way of thinking and feeling. c. Modeling.

1) The founder acts as a role model and encourages employees to identify with him or her and to internalize the founder’s beliefs, values, and assumptions.

2) Any organizational success is attributed to the founder’s vision, attitudes, and behavior.

3) In a sense, the organization becomes an extension of the founder’s personality.

B. Keeping a Culture Alive.

1. Once a culture exists, practices within the organization serve to PPT 16.17 maintain it by giving employees a similar set of experiences.

2. These practices include the selection process, performance evaluation criteria, training and development activities, and promotional procedures: those who support the culture are rewarded and those who do not are penalized.

3. Selection: The selection process needs to identify and hire employees with relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities; one of the more critical facets of this process is ensuring that those selected have values that are consistent with those of the organization. a. Employees whose values and beliefs are misaligned with those of the organization tend to not be hired, or self-select out of the applicant pool, thereby protecting the existing organizational culture. .

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4. Top Management: The verbal messages and actions of top management

establish norms of behavior throughout the organization. a. These norms include the desirability of risk taking, level of employee empowerment, appropriate attire, and outlining successful career paths.

5. Socialization: New employees must adapt to the organizational culture PPT 16.18 in a process called socialization. a. While socialization continues throughout an employee's career, the Exhibit 16-2 initial socialization is the most critical. b. There are three stages in this initial socialization shown in Exhibit 16-2. The success of this socialization will affect employee productivity, commitment, and turnover.

1) Prearrival stage. a) This encompasses all the learning that occurs before a new member joins the organization. b) Each individual arrives with his or her own unique set of values, attitudes, and expectations both surrounding the work and the organization. c) That knowledge, plus how proactive their personality is, are the two critical predictors of how well the new employees will adjust to the new culture. d) The perception of being able to “fit in” is critical in the hiring process.

2) Encounter stage. a) This is when the new employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge. b) If the employee's expectations prove to be reasonably accurate, the encounter stage merely provides a reaffirmation of the perceptions gained earlier. c) But when expectations and reality differ, new employees must undergo socialization that will detach them from their previous assumptions and replace them with another set the organization deems desirable. d) At the extreme, a new member may become disillusioned with the actualities of the job and resign: an indication of the failure of the selection process. e) The greater the number of friendship ties a newcomer has in the organization, the more likely he or she is to be committed.

3) Metamorphosis stage. a) In this final stage, relatively long-lasting changes take place as the employee has adjusted to the work itself and internalized the work group’s values and norms. b) The more management relies on socialization programs that are formal, collective, fixed, serial, and emphasize divestiture, the greater the likelihood that the newcomer’s differences and perspectives will be stripped away and replaced by standardized and predictable behaviors. c) Successful metamorphosis should have a positive effect on new employee productivity, organizational commitment,

PPT 16.19

.

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and turnover as the employee has internalized the norms of the organization and their work group (Exhibit 16-3).

(1) Bringing about desired metamorphosis.

(2) Formal versus Informal. Formal programs segregate the employees from ongoing work and differentiate them in some way as a newcomer. Informal programs simply put the new employee to work.

(3) Individual versus Collective. Socialization can occur on an individual or group basis.

(4) Fixed versus Variable refers to the time scheduled when newcomers make the transition from outsider to insider. A fixed schedule establishes standardized stages of transition, such as probationary periods. Variable schedules give no advance notice of transition timetables.

(5) Serial versus Random. Serial programs use role models to train and encourage the newcomer, such as in apprenticeship programs. In random programs, role models are deliberately withheld and employees must learn to figure things out on their own.

(6) Investiture versus Divestiture. Investiture socialization assumes and confirms that newcomers have the necessary qualities and qualifications for success. Divestiture programs try to strip away certain characteristics of the recruits to reshape them into the proper role.

C. Summary: How Cultures Form.

PPT 16.20 1. Exhibit 16-4 provides a simple model of how an organization's culture is established and sustained.

Exhibit 16-4 2. The original culture is derived from the founder's philosophy, which in turn strongly influences the criteria used in hiring.

3. The actions of top management set the general climate of what is acceptable behavior.

HOW EMPLOYEES LEARN CULTURE V. PPT 16.21 A. Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms: stories, rituals, material symbols, and language.

B. Stories.

1. Stories typically revolve around key events such as rule breaking, unlikely successes, workforce reductions, reactions to past mistakes, and methods of organizational coping that involve the organization's founders or other key personnel.

2. These stories anchor the present in the past and provide explanations and legitimacy for current practices.

C. Rituals.

1. Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organization. They highlight what goals are most important: which people are important and which are not.

D. Symbols.

1. Material symbols such as the size of offices, the elegance of furnishings, perquisites, awards and trophies, and the attire worn, all convey to employees .

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who is important, the degree of egalitarianism desired by top management, and the kinds of appropriate behavior.

E. Language.

1. Specialized languages, acronyms, or jargon serve as a means to identify and segregate members of a culture or subculture.

2. Once assimilated, the specialized language acts as a common denominator that unites members of a given culture or subculture.

INFLUENCING AN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE. VI. A. When we think of the development of culture as ongoing and PPT 16.22 conducted through each employee, we can see ways to increase the ethical, positive, and/or spiritual aspects of the environment, as discussed next.

B. An Ethical Culture.

C. Principles for managers that encourage development of an ethical culture include: 1. Be a Visible Role Model. a. When senior management is seen as taking the ethical highroad, it provides a positive behavioral guideline for all employees.

2. Communicate Ethical Expectations. a. The creation and use of an organizational code of ethics helps reduce ethical ambiguities and enforce the organization's primary values.

3. Provide Ethical Training. a. Training acts to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarifies ethical practices, and addresses possible ethical dilemmas.

4. Visibly Reward Ethical Acts and Punish Unethical Ones. a. Performance appraisals must include the means taken to achieve goals as well as the ends themselves. b. Review the means taken to achieve goals as well as the ends themselves. c. Visibly reward those who act ethically. Just as important, unethical acts should be conspicuously punished.

5. Provide Protective Mechanisms. a. Organizations must create formal mechanisms that allow employees to discuss ethical dilemmas or report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand (such as ethical counselors, ombudsmen, or ethical officers) to facilitate the change to an ethical culture.

D. Setting a positive ethical climate has to start at the top of the organization.

1. One study demonstrated that when top management emphasizes strong ethical values, supervisors are more likely to practice ethical leadership.

2. This positive ethical attitude transfers down to line employees, who show lower levels of deviant behavior and higher levels of cooperation and assistance.

3. The general ethical behavior and attitudes of other members of the department matter too for shaping individual ethical behavior.

4. Finally, employees whose ethical values are similar to those of their department are more likely to be promoted, so we can think of ethical culture as flowing from the bottom up as well.

E. A Positive Culture.

1. A positive organizational culture is one that emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth.

PPT 16.23 2. Building on Employee Strengths: .

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a. Although a positive organizational culture does not ignore problems, it does

emphasize showing workers how they can capitalize on their strengths.

3. Rewarding More Than Punishing: a. Although most organizations are sufficiently focused on extrinsic rewards such as pay and promotions, they often forget about the power of smaller (and cheaper) rewards such as praise. b. Part of creating a positive organizational culture is catching employees doing something right. c. Many managers withhold praise either because they’re afraid employees will coast or because they think praise is not valued. d. Because employees generally don’t ask for praise, managers usually don’t realize the costs of failing to do it.

4. Encouraging Vitality and Growth: a. A positive organizational culture recognizes the difference between a job and a career. b. It supports not only what the employee contributes to organizational effectiveness, but also how the organization can make the employee more effective—personally and professionally. c. A positive culture recognizes the difference between a job and a career and supports not only what the employee does to contribute to organizational effectiveness but also what the organization can do to make the employee more effective (personally and professionally).

5. Recognizing Outside Context: a. Is a positive culture a panacea? Though companies have embraced aspects of a positive organizational culture, it is a new enough idea for us to be uncertain about how and when it works best. b. Not all cultures value being positive as much as U.S. culture does, and, even within U.S. culture, there surely are limits to how far we should go to preserve a positive culture. c. For example, Admiral, a British insurance company, has established a Ministry of Fun in its call centers to organize such events as poem writings, foosball, conker (a British game involving chestnuts) competitions, and fancy dress days. d. When does the pursuit of a positive culture start to seem coercive or even Orwellian? e. As one critic notes, “Promoting a social orthodoxy of positiveness focuses on a particular constellation of desirable states and traits but, in so doing, can stigmatize those who fail to fit the template.”

F. A Spiritual Culture.

1. A growing number of organizations have embraced workplace PPT 16.24 spirituality. a. What Is Spirituality: Workplace spirituality recognizes that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work in the context of community.

1) Organizations that support a spiritual culture recognize that people seek to find meaning and purpose in their work and desire to connect with other human beings as part of a community. .

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2) Many of the topics we have discussed—ranging from job design to

b. c.

d.

e.

corporate social responsibility (CSR)—are well matched to the concept of organizational spirituality.

3) When a company emphasizes its commitment to paying third-world suppliers a fair (above-market) price for their products to facilitate community development—as did Starbucks—or encourages employees to share prayers or inspirational messages through e-mail—as did Interstate Batteries—it may encourage a more spiritual culture.

Why Spirituality Now?: An awareness of spirituality can help us better understand employee behavior (Exhibit 16-5).

Characteristics of a Spiritual Organization: Several cultural characteristics tend to be evident in spiritual organizations.

1) Benevolence. Spiritual organizations value kindness toward others and the happiness of employees and other organizational stakeholders.

2) Strong sense of purpose. Spiritual organizations build their cultures around a meaningful purpose. Although profits may be important, they’re not the primary value.

3) Trust and respect. Spiritual organizations are characterized by mutual trust, honesty, and openness. Employees are treated with esteem and are valued, consistent with the dignity of each individual.

4) Open-mindedness. Spiritual organizations value flexible thinking and creativity among employees.

Achieving Spirituality in the Organization: Several types of practices can facilitate a spiritual workplace, including those that support work–life balance.

1) Leaders can demonstrate values, attitudes, and behaviors that trigger intrinsic motivation and a sense of fulfilling a calling through work.

2) Second, encouraging employees to consider how their work provides a sense of purpose can help achieve a spiritual workplace; often this is done through group counseling and organizational development, a topic we take up in Chapter 17.

3) Third, a growing number of companies, including Taco Bell and Sturdisteel, offer employees the counseling services of corporate chaplains.

Criticisms of Spirituality: Critics of the spirituality movement in organizations have focused on three issues.

1) First is the question of scientific foundation. a) There is comparatively little research on workplace spirituality, and it has been defined so broadly in some sources that practices from job rotation to corporate retreats at meditation centers have been identified as spiritual.

2) Second, an emphasis on spirituality can clearly make some employees uneasy. a) Critics have argued that secular institutions, especially business firms, should not impose spiritual values on employees. b) This criticism is undoubtedly valid when spirituality is defined as bringing religion and God into the workplace. c) However, it seems less stinging when the goal is limited to helping employees find meaning and purpose in their work lives. .

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3) Finally, whether spirituality and profits are compatible objectives is a

relevant concern for managers and investors in business. a) The evidence, although limited, indicates they are.

VII. THE GLOBAL CONTEXT PPT 16.25 A. Organizational cultures are so powerful they often transcend national boundaries.

1. But that doesn’t mean organizations should, or could, be blissfully ignorant of local culture.

B. One of the primary things U.S. managers can do is to be culturally sensitive.

1. Some ways in which U.S. managers can be culturally sensitive include talking in a low tone of voice, speaking slowly, listening more, and avoiding discussions of religion and politics.

C. The management of ethical behavior is one area where national culture can rub up against corporate culture.

D. U.S. managers endorse the supremacy of anonymous market forces and implicitly or explicitly view profit maximization as a moral obligation for business organizations.

1. This worldview sees bribery, nepotism, and favoring personal contacts as highly unethical.

2. Any action that deviates from profit maximization may indicate that inappropriate or corrupt behavior may be occurring.

3. In contrast, managers in developing economies are more likely to see ethical decisions as embedded in a social environment.

4. That means doing special favors for family and friends is not only appropriate but may even be an ethical responsibility.

E. Managers in many nations also view capitalism skeptically and believe the interests of workers should be put on a par with the interests of shareholders.

F. Creating a multinational organizational culture can initiate strife between employees of traditionally competing countries.

1. As national organizations seek to employ workers in overseas operations, management must decide whether to standardize many facets of organizational culture.

PPT 16.264 VIII. SUMMARY A. Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization Exhibit 16-6 based on factors such as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people (Exhibit 16-6).

1. This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organization’s culture or personality and affects employee performance and satisfaction, with stronger cultures having greater impact.

IX. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Realize that an organization’s culture is relatively fixed in the PPT 16.27 short term.

1. To affect change, involve top management and strategize a long-term plan.

B. Hire individuals whose values align with those of the organization; these employees will tend to remain committed and satisfied. Not surprisingly, misfits have considerably higher turnover rates.

C. Understand that employees’ performance and socialization depend to a considerable degree on their knowing what to do and not do.

1. Train your employees well and keep them informed of changes to their job roles. .

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D. You can shape the culture of your work environment, sometimes as much as it

shapes you.

PPT 16.23 1. All managers can especially do their part to create an ethical culture.

E. Be aware that your company’s organizational culture may not be transportable to other countries.

1. Understand the cultural relevance of your organization’s norms PPT 16.24 before introducing new plans or initiatives overseas.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the seven key characteristics that capture the essence of the organization's culture.

Answer: (1) Innovation and Risk Taking. The degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative and take risks. (2) Attention to Detail. The degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail.

(3) Outcome Orientation. The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. (4) People Orientation. The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. (5) Team Orientation. The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. (6) Aggressiveness. The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing. (7) Stability. The degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status quo in contrast to growth.

2. Contrast organizational culture and job satisfaction.

Answer: Organizational culture describes how employees perceive the characteristics of an organization’s culture, not whether or not they like those characteristics. It is a descriptive term. Job satisfaction seeks to measure affective responses to the work environment: it is concerned with how employees feel about the organization. It is an evaluative term.

3. Identify the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on employees.

Answer: Overall, culture benefits organizations by increasing organizational commitment and the consistency of employee behavior. It also aids employees by reducing ambiguity. There are five basic functions of culture that help achieve these benefits — it: (1) defines boundaries, (2) conveys a sense of identity for its members, (3) generates commitment to something that is larger than one's own self-interest, (4) acts as the social glue that helps hold the organization together by providing appropriate standards for socially acceptable employee behavior, and (5) serves as a control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees. It helps employees make sense of the work environment: it defines the rules of the game. In today's organizations, where direct and close managerial control appears to no longer be an option, culture is one of the ways to enforce organizational standards and to maintain effectiveness.

Because culture is difficult to change in the short run and defines proper behavior, it may create three barriers in the organization. (1) Barrier to Change. When the cultural values are not aligned with those that will increase an organization’s effectiveness in dynamic environments, they can create a barrier to implementing the necessary organizational changes. (2) Barrier to Diversity. Strong cultures, by .

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their very nature, often seek to minimize diversity. (3) Barrier to Acquisitions and Mergers. The main cause for the failure of these combinations has been cultural conflict.

4. List the factors that maintain an organization's culture.

Answer: Once a culture exists, practices within the organization serve to maintain it by giving employees a similar set of experiences. These practices include the selection process, performance evaluation criteria, training and development activities, and promotional procedures: those who support the culture are rewarded and those who do not are penalized. Specifically, there are three key factors: (1) Selection. The selection process needs to ensure that potential hires have values that are consistent with those of the organization. (2) Top Management. The verbal messages and actions of top management establish norms of behavior throughout the organization. These norms include the desirability of risk taking, level of employee empowerment, appropriate attire, and outlining successful career paths.

(3) Socialization. New employees must adapt to the organizational culture in a process called socialization. While socialization continues throughout an employee's career, the initial socialization is the most critical.

5. Identify and describe the phases of organizational socialization.

Answer: There are three phases in the initial socialization process: (1) Prearrival: this encompasses all the learning that occurs before a new member joins the organization. Each individual arrives with his or her own unique set of values, attitudes, and expectations both surrounding the work and the organization. That knowledge, plus how proactive their personality is, are the two critical predictors of how well the new employees will adjust to the new culture. (2) Encounter. This is when the new employee sees what the organization is really like and confronts the possibility that expectations and reality may diverge. If the employee's expectations prove to be reasonably accurate, the encounter stage merely provides a reaffirmation of the perceptions gained earlier. But when expectations and reality differ, new employees must undergo socialization that will detach them from their previous assumptions and replace those assumptions with another set the organization deems desirable. At the extreme, a new member may become disillusioned with the actualities of the job and resign: an indication of the failure of the selection process. The greater the number of friendship ties a newcomer has in the organization, the more likely he or she is to be committed. (3) Metamorphosis.

In this final stage, relatively long-lasting changes take place as the employee has adjusted to the work itself and internalized the work group’s values and norms. The more management relies on socialization programs that are formal, collective, fixed, serial, and emphasize divestiture, the greater the likelihood that the newcomer’s differences and perspectives will be stripped away and replaced by standardized and predictable behaviors. Successful metamorphosis should have a positive effect on new employee productivity, organizational commitment, and turnover.

6. How can culture be transmitted to employees? Provide examples for each.

Answer: In addition to the initial socialization process mentioned in Question 5, culture is transmitted to employees in a number of forms: stories, rituals, material symbols, and language. (1) Stories typically revolve around key events such as rule breaking, unlikely successes, workforce reductions, reactions to past mistakes, and methods of organizational coping that involve the organization's founders or other key personnel. (2) Rituals are repetitive sequences of activities that express and reinforce the key values of the organization. (3) Material symbols such as the size of offices, the elegance of furnishings, perquisites, awards and trophies, and the attire .

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worn, convey to employees who is important, the degree of egalitarianism desired by top management, and the kinds of appropriate behavior. (4) Specialized languages, acronyms, or jargon serve as a means to identify and segregate members of a culture or subculture. Examples will vary.

7. Explain how an ethical culture can be established.

Answer: First, favorable conditions must exist. A strong organizational culture that is high in risk tolerance, low-to-moderate in aggressiveness, and focuses on means as well as outcomes is the one most likely to shape high ethical standards. Secondly, top management can use practices that encourage the development of an ethical culture, such as: (1) being a visible role model: when senior management is seen as taking the ethical high road, it provides a positive behavioral guideline for all employees; (2) communicating ethical expectations: the creation and use of an organizational code of ethics helps reduce ethical ambiguities and enforce the organization's primary values; (3) providing ethical training: acts to reinforce the organization’s standards of conduct, clarifies ethical practices, and addresses possible ethical dilemmas; (4) visibly rewarding ethical acts and punishing unethical ones: performance appraisals must include the means taken to achieve goals as well as the ends themselves; (5) providing protective mechanisms: must create formal mechanisms that allow employees to discuss ethical dilemmas or report unethical behavior without fear of reprimand.

8. What is a positive organizational culture and what key variables are used in creating it?

Answer: A positive organizational culture is one that emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes individual vitality and growth. Key variables in creating positive culture are: (1) Building on Employee Strengths. The emphasis in positive cultures is in showing workers how to capitalize on their own strengths. (2) Rewarding More Than Punishing. Involves using relatively inexpensive rewards such as praise and positive reinforcement.

Managers catch employees doing something right. (3) Emphasizing Vitality and Growth. Positive cultures emphasize individual growth: they want their employees to be all they can be.

9. Explain workplace spirituality and identify the characteristics of a spiritual organization.

Workplace spirituality recognizes that people have an inner life that nourishes and is nourished by meaningful work in the context of community. Organizations that support a spiritual culture recognize that people seek to find meaning and purpose in their work and desire to connect with other human beings as part of a community. Several cultural characteristics tend to be evident in spiritual organizations: benevolence, a strong sense of purpose, trust and respect, and openmindedness.

10. What is the relationship between national culture and a global organization’s organizational culture?

Answer: Organizational culture often reflects the national culture from whence it came. But it exists in a global context: global organizations must be aware of both local and national cultures. Firms have often become heavily dependent on foreign product markets, labor markets, or both, increasing both internal and external complexity. All managers in organizations must be culturally sensitive. Not only must U.S. managers be aware of other cultures, managers from other cultures should be sensitive to the local cultures in which they operate. .

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1. Self-analysis. How consumer-responsive are you? Using the six key variables mentioned in the chapter, assess your personality and your organization’s culture.

Write up your findings and give specific examples of what you believe can be done to increase your consumer responsiveness in this organization.

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search on the term “creating ethical organizations” or “positive organizational culture.” Find four articles related to the topic of your choice and write up a brief synopsis that explains how managers can create such an organization. Compare your findings to the suggestions given by the authors in your text.

3. Teamwork. Slogan Analysis: break the class into teams, each team is tasked with creating a list of 12 slogans (or sayings) they have seen or heard that describe an organization’s culture (e.g., “Quality Is Job 1” for Ford, “Have It Your Way” at Burger King, or “It wasn’t invented here!”). Clearly write each of these slogans on a large Post-it® note (one slogan per note sheet). When all groups are completed, collect the Post-its® and randomly stick them on the wall or whiteboard. Gather the class in front of the notes and give them a few moments to read over the cards and then provide the following guidance: As a group, you have one minute to organize these notes into columns of like organizational cultural variables. No talking is allowed. Everyone and anyone can move the notes from one column to another: no one is in charge. Use your own individual beliefs as to where a card belongs.

Give them one minute to organize the cards. Ensure they do not speak. If two people keep moving a single card back and forth between two columns, create a second card with the same slogan and stick one copy of the card under each column.

When the minute is up, give them 15 seconds to silently look over their arrangement. Then give them 15 seconds more for any final changes. Have them return to their seats. Move column by column through the arrangement and lead a discussion over what organizational cultural variable each column represents. Seek and point out any commonalities with the slogans and the cultural variables mentioned in the text.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Have the students meet with some of the “old-timers” in their organization. Have them discuss the various stories that shaped the organization’s culture throughout the years. You might ask them what the founder was like, and what his or her values and belief system were or are. Relate these findings to the current organizational culture. Is it the same? If not, what has changed over the years, and why? Relate this to any existing materials, symbols, or special language that defines the current culture of the organization.

Suggested Assignment

Divide the class into groups of three to five students each. Ask each group to go to the following website: http://www.slideshare.net/horatjitra/developing-interculturalcompetence-of-global-leader-an-action-learning-approach. Ask each group to place themselves into the role of personnel manager for a medium-sized multinational company.

The company plans to expand into Vietnam. Several managers from various foreign locations—United States, Mexico, Canada, and France—will be transferred to the new location to oversee development and operations until such time as a cadre of Vietnamese .

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managers can be trained and educated to company policies and culture traits to assume operational leadership. Have the student groups prepare a training plan for the expatiate managers to prepare them for the rigors of the transfer.

1. Are some expatriate managers more likely to acclimatize to the new assignment than others?

2. Is there an estimate of the time and effort it will take for each of the expatriate managers to acclimatize to the new location? Are some more likely to acclimatize faster than others based on their country cultures?

3. Which may be more effective: a. The plan to acclimatize our expatriate managers for managing in Vietnam b. A plan to hire management personnel in Vietnam and bring them to the U.S. operations for acclimatizing to the organizational culture to apply in their culture of country.

.

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Organizational Change

Chapter Overview

Chapter 17 PPT 17.2

This chapter is about change. We describe environmental forces that require managers to implement comprehensive change programs. We also consider why people and organizations often resist change and how this resistance can be overcome. We review various processes for managing organizational change. We also discuss contemporary work stress issues for today’s managers.

Chapter Objectives

After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: PPT 17.3 1. Contrast the forces for change and planned change.

2. Describe the ways to overcome resistance to change.

3. Compare the four main approaches to managing organizational change.

4. Demonstrate three ways of creating a culture for change.

5. Identify the potential environmental, organizational, and personal PPT 17.4 sources of stress at work as well as the role of individual and cultural differences.

6. Identify the physiological, psychological, and behavioral symptoms of stress at work.

7. Describe individual and organizational approaches to managing stress at work.

Suggested Lecture Outline

I. INTRODUCTION A. Change is an environmental constant for modern organizations. Managers must be

able to help organizations change, understand the reasons for resistance of change, and move organizations in new relevant directions.

II. CHANGE A. If we want to realize positive outcomes for organizational behavior (OB), which after all is the purpose of this text in its entirety, we need to address two realities of organizational life: change and stress.

B. Let’s first discuss change, which often brings about increased stress. As we will find, change brought upon by many forces is either reactionary or planned.

C. Forces for Change.

D. Change often occurs along one (or more) of six dimensions: 1. Changing Nature of the Work Force. a. Almost every organization must adjust to a multicultural environment, demographic changes, immigration, and outsourcing. .

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2. Technology. a. Technology is continually changing jobs and organizations.

PPT 17.5 3. Economic Shocks. a. Monetary crises, fuel prices, stock market and real estate fluctuations,

coupled with historically low interest rates all create a much more dynamic environment than existed in the recent past.

4. Competition. a. The global economy also means global competition. Speed of development and implementation is increasing. b. Successful firms must be flexible and responsive, requiring an equally nimble workforce.

5. Social Trends. a. Consumers who are otherwise strangers now meet and share product information in chat rooms and blogs. b. Companies must continually adjust product and marketing strategies to be sensitive to changing social trends.

6. World Politics. a. In recent years, we’ve seen a major set of financial crises that have rocked global markets, a dramatic rise in the power and influence of China, and dramatic shakeups in government across the Arab world. b. Throughout the industrialized world, businesses—particularly in the banking and financial sectors—have come under new scrutiny.

E. Reactionary versus Planned Change.

1. Change is simply making things different. However, only PPT 17.6 proactive situations describe planned change.

2. Many changes are in direct reaction to, say, employee demands. Some organizations treat all change as an accidental occurrence.

3. In this chapter, we address change as an intentional, goal-oriented activity.

4. What are the goals of planned change? a. First, it seeks to improve the ability of the organization to adapt to changes in its environment. b. Second, it seeks to change employee behavior. Who is responsible for managing change activities in organizations? The answer is change agents.

1) They see a future for the organization others have not identified, and they are able to motivate, invent, and implement this vision.

2) Change agents can be managers or non-managers, current or new employees, or outside consultants.

III. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE A. Dynamics of Resistance to Change 1. We often see change as threatening.

PPT 17.7 a. One recent study showed that even when employees are shown data that suggest they need to change, they latch onto whatever data they can find that suggests they are okay and don’t need to change. b. Employees who have negative feelings about a change cope by not thinking about it, increasing their use of sick time, and quitting. c. All these reactions can sap the organization of vital energy when PPT 17.8 it is most needed.

2. Resistance to change can be positive if it leads to open discussion and debate. .

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a. These responses are usually preferable to apathy or silence and can indicate

that members of the organization are engaged in the process, providing change agents an opportunity to explain the change effort. b. Change agents can also use resistance to modify the change to fit the preferences of other members of the organization.

1) When they treat resistance only as a threat, rather than a point of view to be discussed, they may increase dysfunctional conflict.

3. Resistance doesn’t necessarily surface in standardized ways. It can be overt, implicit, immediate, or deferred. a. It’s easiest for management to deal with overt and immediate resistance, such as complaints, a work slowdown, or a strike threat. b. The greater challenge is managing resistance that is implicit or deferred. c. These responses—loss of loyalty or motivation, increased errors or absenteeism—are more subtle and more difficult to recognize for what they are. d. Deferred actions also cloud the link between the change and the reaction to it and may surface weeks, months, or even years later. e. Or a single change of little inherent impact may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back because resistance to earlier changes has been deferred and stockpiled.

4. Exhibit 17-1 summarizes major forces for resistance to change, categorized by their sources. Individual sources reside in human characteristics such as perceptions, personalities, and needs.

1) Organizational sources reside in the structural makeup of organizations themselves.

B. Overcoming Resistance to Change.

1. There are eight tactics change agents can use to deal with PPT 17.9 resistance to change. a. Communication.

1) Resistance can be reduced by communicating with employees to help them see the logic of the change.

2) Doing so reduces misinformation and can help managers “sell” the need for the change. b. Participation.

1) Involving people in the change decision builds buy-in and reduces resistance.

2) Assuming that the participants have the expertise to make a meaningful contribution, the result could be a higher quality solution. c. Building Support and Commitment.

1) If the emotional commitment to change can be raised, it will reduce resistance. d. Developing Positive Relationships.

1) People are more willing to accept changes if they trust the managers implementing them. e. Implementing Changes Fairly.

1) As noted in Chapter 7, procedural fairness becomes especially important when employees perceive an outcome as negative (as change often is). .

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2) Organizations should make sure employees see the changes are being

implemented consistently and fairly. f. Manipulation and Cooptation.

1) Manipulation refers to covert influence attempts. a) Twisting facts to make them more attractive, withholding information, and creating false rumors to get employees to accept change are all examples of manipulation.

2) Cooptation seeks to buy off leaders of the resistance group by giving them a key role in the change decision. a) The organization seeks not their advice but their endorsement.

3) This manipulative tactic can backfire if the targets become aware they are being used. g. Selecting People Who Accept Change.

1) Organizations that have selected individuals whose personality easily accepts and adapts to change have far lower levels of resistance than organizations that have not used this criterion for selection.

2) Personalities that accept change are those that are open, risk-taking, flexible, and have a high self-concept. h. Coercion.

1) If all else fails, change agents can apply direct threats or force on those who resist.

2) This technique is has limited effectiveness and may actually increase resistance to change.

C. The Politics of Change.

1. Because change invariably threatens the status quo, it inherently implies political activity.

2. Politics suggests the impetus for change is more likely to come from outside change agents, employees new to the organization (who have less invested in the status quo), or managers who are slightly removed from the main power structure.

3. Managers who have spent a long time with an organization and achieved a senior position in the hierarchy are often major impediments to change. Of course, as you might guess, these longtime power holders tend to implement incremental changes when they are forced to introduce change. Radical change is often considered too threatening.

This explains why boards of directors that recognize the imperative for rapid and radical change frequently turn to outside candidates for new leadership IV. APPROACHES TO MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE A. This chapter presents several approaches to managing change: PPT 17.10 Lewin's classic three-step model of the change process, action research, Kotter’s eight-step plan, and organizational development.

PPT 17.11 B. Lewin's Three-Step Model.

1. This model treats change as a break in the organization's equilibrium state.

Exhibit 17-2 2. The status quo has been disturbed, and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. .

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3. Unfreezing. a. Pressure is required to overcome the inertia of the current status quo. b. Unfreezing must occur in one of three ways: PPT 17.12 1) Driving Forces. a) The forces that direct behavior away from the Exhibit 17-3 status quo can be increased.

2) Restraining Forces. a) The forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium (or

maintain the current status quo) can be decreased.

3) Combination Approaches. a) Pressure can be exerted by increasing the driving forces and decreasing the restraining forces.

4. Movement. a. Research on organizational change has shown that, to be effective, change has to happen quickly. b. Organizations that build up to change do less well than those that get to and through the movement stage quickly.

5. Refreezing. a. Without this last step, change will likely be short-lived and employees will attempt to revert to the previous equilibrium state. b. The objective of refreezing, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces.

C. Kotter's Eight-Step Plan for Implementing Change.

1. Builds from Lewin’s change model and focuses on the various PPT 17.13 historic managerial failures in implementing change.

2. These eight sequential steps overcome historic problems. a. The first four steps are the unfreezing stage, the next three represent movement, and the final step is Lewin's refreezing.

3. The Eight Steps: a. Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed. b. Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change. c. Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision. d. Communicate the vision throughout the organization. e. Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encouraging risk-taking and creative problem solving. f. Plan for, create, and reward short-term wins that move the organization toward the new vision. g. Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary adjustments in their programs. h. Reinforce the changes by demonstrating a relationship between new barriers and organizational success.

D. Action Research.

1. Action research is a change process based on the systematic collection of data and selection of a change action based on what PPT 17.14 the analyzed data indicate. .

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a. Its value is in providing a scientific methodology for managing planned

change.

2. Action research consists of five steps (note how they closely parallel the scientific method): diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action, and evaluation.

3. Action research provides at least two specific benefits. a. First, it’s problem-focused. The change agent objectively looks for problems, and the type of problem determines the type of change action. b. A second benefit of action research is the lowering of resistance. Because action research engages employees so thoroughly in the process, it reduces resistance to change. c. Once employees have actively participated in the feedback stage, the change process typically takes on a momentum of its own.

E. Organizational Development (OD).

1. Organizational development (OD) is a collection of change PPT 17.15 methods that try to improve organizational effectiveness and employee well-being a. OD values human organizational growth, collaborative and participative processes, and a spirit of inquiry.

2. Six OD Interventions for Change a. Sensitivity Training: A variety of names—sensitivity training, laboratory training, encounter groups, and T-groups (training PPT 17.16 groups)—all refer to an early method of changing behavior through unstructured group interaction.

1) Current organizational interventions such as diversity training, executive coaching, and team-building exercises are descendants of this early OD intervention technique. b. Survey Feedback: One tool for assessing attitudes held by organizational members, identifying discrepancies among member perceptions, and solving these differences, is the survey feedback approach.

1) Basically, data collected from strategic surveys is then used to spur problem identification and discussion.

2) The survey feedback approach can be helpful to keep decision makers informed about the attitudes of employees toward the organization.

3) However, individuals are influenced by many factors when they respond to surveys, which may make some findings unreliable.

4) Second, a high number of nonresponses may indicate organizational dysfunction or decreased job satisfaction, which the absence of data will not show.

5) Managers who use the survey feedback approach should therefore monitor their organization’s current events and employee response rates. c. Process Consultation: Managers often sense their unit’s performance can be improved but are unable to identify what to improve and how.

1) The purpose of process consultation (PC) is for an outside consultant to assist a client, usually a manager, to perceive, understand, and act upon process events with which the manager must deal. a) PC is similar to sensitivity training in assuming we can improve organizational effectiveness by dealing with interpersonal problems and in emphasizing involvement. .

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b) But PC is more task directed, and consultants are there to give the

client insight into what is going on around him, within him, and between him and other people. c) They do not solve the organization’s problems but rather guide or coach the client to solve his or her own problems after jointly diagnosing what needs improvement. d) The client develops the skill to analyze processes within his or her unit and can continue to call on it long after the consultant is gone. d. Team Building: We’ve noted throughout this book that organizations increasingly rely on teams to accomplish work tasks.

1) Team building uses high-interaction group activities to increase trust and openness among team members, improve coordinative efforts, and increase team performance. a) Team building typically includes goal setting, development of interpersonal relations among team members, role analysis to clarify each member’s role and responsibilities, and team process analysis. b) It may emphasize or exclude certain activities, depending on the purpose of the development effort and the specific problems with which the team is confronted.

2) Intergroup Development: A major area of concern in OD is dysfunctional conflict between groups. a) Intergroup development seeks to change groups’ attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions about each other.

(1) Here, training sessions closely resemble diversity training (in fact, diversity training largely evolved from intergroup development in OD), except rather than focusing on demographic differences, they focus on differences among occupations, departments, or divisions within an organization.

(2) Among several approaches for improving intergroup relations, a popular one emphasizes problem solving. b) Each group meets independently to list its perceptions of itself and of the other group, and how it believes the other group perceives it.

(1) The groups share their lists, discuss similarities and differences, and look for the causes of disparities.

(2) Once they have identified the causes of the difficulty, the groups move to the integration phase—developing solutions to improve relations between them.

(3) Subgroups can be formed of members from each of the conflicting groups to conduct further diagnosis and formulate alternative solutions. e. Appreciative inquiry: Most OD problems are problem centered.

1) They identify a problem or set of problems, and then look for a solution.

2) Appreciative inquiry (AI) instead accentuates the positive; that is, AI focuses on an organization’s successes rather than its problems.

3) The AI process consists of four steps—discovery, dreaming, design, and destiny—often played out in a large-group meeting over a 2- or 3-day time period and overseen by a trained change agent. a) Discovery sets out to identify what people think are the organization’s strengths. .

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b) Employees recount times they felt the organization worked best or

when they specifically felt most satisfied with their jobs. c) In dreaming, employees use information from the discovery phase to speculate on possible futures, such as what the organization will be like in 5 years. d) In design, participants find a common vision of how the organization will look in the future and agree on its unique qualities. e) For the fourth step, participants seek to define the organization’s destiny or how to fulfill their dream, and they typically write action plans and develop implementation strategies.

V. CREATING A CULTURE FOR CHANGE A. We’ve considered how organizations can adapt to change.

1. But recently, some organizational behavior scholars have focused on a more proactive approach—how organizations can embrace change by transforming their cultures.

2. In this section, we review three such approaches: managing paradox, stimulating an innovative culture, and creating a learning organization.

B. Managing Paradox.

PPT 17.17 1. Managers can learn a few lessons from paradox theory which states the key paradox in management is that there is no final optimal status for an organization. a. In a paradox situation, we are required to balance tensions across various courses of action. b. There is a constant process of finding a balancing point, a dynamic equilibrium, among shifting priorities over time. c. The first lesson is that as the environment and members of the organization change, different elements take on more or less importance.

2. There is some evidence that managers who think holistically and recognize the importance of balancing paradoxical factors are more effective, especially in generating adaptive and creative behaviors in those they are managing.

C. Stimulating a Culture of Innovation.

1. Definition of innovation.

PPT 17.18 a. We said change refers to making things different. b. Innovation, a more specialized kind of change, is a new idea applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service. c. Thus, all innovations imply change, but not all changes necessarily introduce new ideas or lead to significant improvements. d. Innovations can range from small incremental improvements, such as netbook computers, to radical breakthroughs, such as Soylent, a liquid food product that is cheaper and more environmentally sustainable than nearly every other food source.

2. Sources of Innovation: Structural variables are one potential source of innovation. a. Organic structures positively influence innovation as they are lower in vertical differentiation, formalization, and centralization. b. Management with long tenure is positively associated with innovation as it provides legitimacy and knowledge of the process. .

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c. Slack resources nurture innovation: allows an organization to purchase

innovations, create them themselves, or absorb failures. d. High interunit communication using committees, task forces, and crossfunctional teams increases innovation.

3. Context and Innovation: Cultures that encourage experimentation, reward both successes and failures, and celebrate mistakes, are more likely to be innovative. a. Organizations that actively promote the training and development of their members, offer high job security, and encourage change champions are more innovative.

4. Idea Champions and Innovation: Idea champions are managers PPT 17.19 who actively and enthusiastically promote an idea, build support, overcome resistance, and ensure that innovation is implemented. a. Idea champions typically have extremely high self-confidence, persistence, energy, and acceptance of risk. b. They share many of the characteristics of transformational leaders through the use of inspiration and vision. c. They are good at gaining the commitment of others. d. Idea champions tend to have a lot of autonomy and decision-making discretion in their jobs. e. Idea champions do things differently in different cultures. f. People in collectivist cultures prefer appeals for cross-functional support for innovation efforts. g. People in high power distance cultures prefer champions to work closely with those in authority to approve innovative activities before work is begun. h. The higher the uncertainty avoidance of a society, the more champions should work within the organization’s rules and procedures to develop innovation. i. These findings suggest that effective managers will alter their organization’s championing strategies to reflect cultural values.

D. Creating a Learning Organization.

1. Another way an organization can proactively manage change is to PPT 17.20 make continuous growth part of its culture—to become a learning organization.

2. What’s a Learning Organization?: A learning organization has PPT 17.21 developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change. a. Exhibit 17-5 summarizes the five basic characteristics of a learning organization— one in which people put aside their old Exhibit 17-5 ways of thinking, learn to be open with each other, understand how their organization really works, form a plan or vision everyone can agree on, and work together to achieve that vision.

3. Managing Learning: What can managers do to make their firms learning organizations? Here are some suggestions: a. Establish a strategy. Management needs to make explicit its commitment to change, innovation, and continuous improvement. b. Redesign the organization’s structure. The formal structure can be a serious impediment to learning. .

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1) Flattening the structure, eliminating or combining departments, and

increasing the use of cross-functional teams reinforces interdependence and reduces boundaries. c. Reshape the organization’s culture. To become a learning organization, managers must demonstrate by their actions that taking risks and admitting failures are desirable.

1) This means rewarding people who take chances and make mistakes.

2) Management needs to encourage functional conflict.

E. Organizational Change and Stress.

1. What have been your more memorable and lasting stressful times at work? For many people, they were those caused by organizational change. Not surprisingly, we also find the role of leadership is critical. a. One study indicates that transformational leaders can help shape employee affect so employees stay committed to the change and do not perceive it as stressful. b. Other research indicates that a positive orientation toward change before new initiatives are planned will decrease employees’ stress when they go through organizational changes and increase their positive attitudes.

1) Managers can continually strive to increase employees’ self-efficacy, change-related attitudes, and perceived control over the situation to create this positive change orientation. c. Another study adds the need for increasing the amount of communication to employees during change, assessing and enhancing employees’ psychological resilience through offering social support, and training employees in emotional self-regulation techniques. d. Through these methods, managers can help employees keep their stress levels low and their commitment high.

VI. STRESS AT WORK A. Work is a major source of stress in most people’s lives. (Exhibit 17-6) B. What Is Stress?

PPT 17.22 1. Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand, or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. a. Although stress is typically discussed in a negative context, it is not necessarily bad in and of itself; it also has a positive value. b. For some, it’s an opportunity when it offers potential gain.

1) Many professionals see the pressures of heavy workloads and deadlines as positive challenges that enhance the quality of their work and the satisfaction they get from their job. c. Stressors: Challenge stressors are associated with workload, PPT 17.23 pressure to complete tasks, and time urgency.

1) Although research is just starting to accumulate, early evidence suggests challenge stressors produce less strain than hindrance stressors.

2) Hindrance stressors keep you from reaching your goals (for example, red tape, office politics, and confusion over job responsibilities). d. Demands and Resources: Typically stress is associated with demands and resources. .

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1) Demands are the responsibilities, pressures, obligations, and even

uncertainties that individuals face in the workplace. a) The greater the number of demands, typically the greater the stress level.

2) Resources are the things in an individual’s control that can be used to resolve the demands. a) The scarcer the resources, the higher the stress, given the same level of demands. e. Allostasis: Through allostasis, we work to find stability by changing our behaviors and attitudes.

1) It all depends on the allostatic load, or the cumulative effect of stressors on us given the resources we draw upon C. Potential Sources of Stress at Work.

1. What causes stress? A meta-analysis of responses from more than 35,000 individuals showed role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, job insecurity, environmental uncertainty, and situational constraints were PPT 17.24 all consistently negatively related to job performance.

2. To break it down, let’s examine the model in Exhibit 17-7.

Exhibit 17-7 a. Environmental Factors: Environmental uncertainty not only influences the design of an organization’s structure, it also influences stress levels among employees in that organization. b. Indeed, uncertainty is the biggest reason people have trouble coping with organizational changes. There are three main types of environmental uncertainty: economic, political, and technological.

1) Changes in the business cycle create economic uncertainties.

2) Political uncertainties don’t tend to create stress among North Americans as much as they do for employees in countries such as Haiti or Venezuela. a) The obvious reason is that the United States and Canada have more stable political systems, in which change is typically implemented in an orderly manner.

3) Because innovations can make an employee’s skills and experience obsolete in a very short time, keeping up with new computer programs, robotics, automation, and similar forms of technological change are a further challenge to many people at work that cause them stress.

3. Organizational Factors: There is no shortage of factors within an organization that can cause stress. We’ve categorized these factors around task, role, and interpersonal demands. a. Task demands relate to a person’s job. They include the design of the job (including its degree of autonomy, task variety, and automation), working conditions, and the physical work layout.

1) The single factor most consistently related to stress in the workplace is the amount of work that needs to be done, followed closely by the presence of looming deadlines. b. Role demands relate to pressures placed on a person as a function of the particular role he or she plays in the organization.

1) Role conflicts create expectations that may be hard to reconcile or satisfy. .

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2) Role overload occurs when the employee is expected to take on too

much. Role ambiguity means role expectations are not clearly understood and the employee is not sure what to do. c. Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees.

1) Some pressures are expected, but a rapidly growing body of research has shown that negative coworker and supervisor behaviors, including fights, bullying, incivility, racial harassment, and sexual harassment, are especially and strongly related to stress at work.

2) Interpersonal mistreatment can have effects at a physiological level, with one study finding that unfair treatment in a controlled setting triggered the release of cortisol, a hormone involved in the stress-reaction process 4. Personal factors: The final category of sources of stress at work includes factors of an employee’s personal life: family issues and personal economic problems. a. National surveys consistently show people hold their families dear. Family issues, even good ones, can cause stress that significantly impacts individuals. Family issues are often closely related to work–life conflict. b. The personal economic problems of overextended financial resources create stress and siphon attention away from work. c. Regardless of income level, some people are poor money managers or have wants and needs that exceed their earning capacity.

Stressors are Additive: When we review stressors individually, it’s easy to 5. overlook that stress is an additive phenomenon—it builds up. a. Each new and persistent stressor adds to an individual’s stress level. b. A single stressor may be relatively unimportant in and of itself, but if added to an already high level of stress, it can be too much. c. To appraise the total amount of stress an individual is under, we have to sum up all of the sources and severity levels of that person’s stress. d. Since this cannot be easily quantified or observed, managers should remain aware of the potential stress loads from organizational factors in particular.

D. Individual Differences in Stress.

1. What differentiates people in terms of their ability to handle stress? What individual variables moderate the relationship between potential stressors and experienced stress?

2. At least four are relevant—perception, job experience, social support, and personality traits. a. Perception: Perception therefore will moderate the relationship between a potential stress condition and an employee’s reaction to it. b. Job Experience: Experience on the job tends to be negatively related to work stress. Why? 1) Two explanations have been offered.

2) First is selective withdrawal. Voluntary turnover is more probable among people who experience more stress.

3) Therefore, people who remain with an organization longer are those with more stress-resistant traits or those more resistant to the stress characteristics of the organization.

4) Second, people eventually develop coping mechanisms to deal with stress. .

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3. Social Support: Social support—collegial relationships with coworkers or

supervisors—can buffer the impact of stress. a. This is one of the best-documented relationships in the stress literature.

4. Personality Traits: Perhaps the most widely studied personality trait in research on stress is neuroticism, which we discussed in Chapter 4. a. As you might expect, neurotic individuals are more prone to experience psychological strain.

E. Cultural Differences.

1. Research suggests that the job conditions that cause stress show some differences across cultures. a. One study revealed that whereas U.S. employees were stressed by a lack of control, Chinese employees were stressed by job evaluations and lack of training.

2. It doesn’t appear that personality effects on stress are different across cultures, however. a. One study of employees in Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom, Israel, and the United States found Type A personality traits (see Chapter 4) predicted stress equally well across countries. b. A study of 5,270 managers from 20 countries found individuals from individualistic countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom experienced higher levels of stress due to work interfering with family than did individuals from collectivist countries in Asia and Latin America. c. The authors proposed that this may occur because, in collectivist cultures, working extra hours is seen as a sacrifice to help the family, whereas in individualistic cultures, work is seen as a means to personal achievement that takes away from the family.

3. Evidence suggests that stressors are associated with perceived stress and strains among employees in different countries. a. In other words, stress is equally bad for employees of all cultures.

F. Consequences of Stress.

1. Stress shows itself in a number of ways, such as high blood pressure, ulcers, irritability, difficulty making routine decisions, loss of appetite, accident proneness, and the like.

2. These symptoms fit under three general categories: physiological, psychological, and behavioral symptoms. a. Physiological Symptoms: Most early concern with stress was directed at physiological symptoms because most researchers were specialists in the health and medical sciences.

1) Their work led to the conclusion that stress could create changes in metabolism, increase heart and breathing rates and blood pressure, bring on headaches, and induce heart attacks.

2) Recently, evidence suggests stress may have harmful physiological effects.

3) One study linked stressful job demands to increased susceptibility to upper respiratory illnesses and poor immune system functioning, especially for individuals with low self-efficacy. b. Psychological Symptoms: Job dissatisfaction is the simplest and most obvious psychological effect of stress. .

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1) But stress shows itself in other psychological states—for instance,

tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom, and procrastination.

2) Jobs that make multiple and conflicting demands or that lack clarity about the incumbent’s duties, authority, and responsibilities increase both stress and dissatisfaction.

3) Similarly, the less control people have over the pace of their work, the greater the stress and dissatisfaction.

4) Jobs that provide a low level of variety, significance, autonomy, feedback, and identity appear to create stress and reduce satisfaction and involvement in the job.

5) Not everyone reacts to autonomy in the same way, however. For those who have an external locus of control, increased job control increases the tendency to experience stress and exhaustion. c. Behavioral Symptoms: Behavior-related stress symptoms include changes in productivity, absence, and turnover, as well as changes in eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech, fidgeting, and sleep disorders.

G. Managing Stress.

1. Because low to moderate levels of stress can be PPT 17.25 functional and lead to higher performance, management may not be concerned when employees experience them. a. Employees, however, are likely to perceive even low levels of stress as undesirable. b. It’s not unlikely, therefore, for employees and management to have different notions of what constitutes an acceptable level of stress on the job. c. What management may consider to be a positive stimulus that keeps the adrenaline running is very likely to be seen as excessive pressure by the employee. d. Keep this in mind as we discuss individual and organizational approaches toward managing stress.

2. Individual Approaches. a. An employee can take personal responsibility for reducing stress levels.

Individual strategies that have proven effective include time-management techniques, increased physical exercise, relaxation training, and expanded social support networks. b. Time Management Techniques: Many people manage their time poorly.

1) The well-organized employee, like the well-organized student, can often accomplish twice as much as the person who is poorly organized.

2) So an understanding and utilization of basic time-management principles can help individuals better cope with tensions created by job demands. c. Physical Exercise: Physicians have recommended noncompetitive physical exercise, such as aerobics, walking, jogging, swimming, and riding a bicycle, as a way to deal with excessive stress levels.

1) These forms of physical exercise increase heart capacity, lower the atrest heart rate, provide a mental diversion from work pressures, and even slow the physical and mental effects of aging. .

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d. Relaxation Techniques: Individuals can teach themselves to reduce tension

through relaxation techniques such as meditation, hypnosis, and biofeedback.

1) The objective is to reach a state of deep physical relaxation, in which you feel somewhat detached from the immediate environment and from body sensations.

2) Deep relaxation for 15 or 20 minutes a day releases tension and provides a pronounced sense of peacefulness, as well as significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and other physiological factors.

3) A growing body of research shows that simply taking breaks from work at routine intervals can facilitate psychological recovery and reduce stress significantly and may improve job performance, and these effects are even greater if relaxation techniques are employed. e. Social Support Networks: As we have noted, friends, family, or work colleagues talk to provide an outlet when stress levels become excessive.

1) Expanding your social support network provides someone to hear your problems and offer a more objective perspective on the situation than your own.

3. Organizational Approaches. a. Several factors that cause stress—particularly task and role demands—are controlled by management and thus can be modified or changed. b. Strategies to consider include improved personnel selection and job placement, training, realistic goal setting, redesign of jobs, increased employee involvement, improved organizational communication, employee sabbaticals, and corporate wellness programs. c. Selection and Placement: Certain jobs are more stressful than others but, as already noted, individuals differ in their response to stressful situations.

1) We know individuals with little experience or an external locus of control tend to be more prone to stress.

2) Selection and placement decisions should take these facts into consideration.

3) Obviously, management shouldn’t restrict hiring to only experienced individuals with an internal locus, but such individuals may adapt better to high-stress jobs and perform those jobs more effectively.

4) Similarly, training can increase an individual’s self-efficacy and thus lessen job strain. d. Goal-Setting: We discussed goal setting in Chapter 7.

1) Individuals perform better when they have specific and challenging goals and receive feedback on their progress toward these goals. Goals can reduce stress as well as provide motivation.

2) Employees who are highly committed to their goals and see purpose in their jobs experience less stress because they are more likely to perceive stressors as challenges rather than hindrances.

3) Specific goals perceived as attainable clarify performance expectations.

In addition, goal feedback reduces uncertainties about actual job performance.

4) The result is less employee frustration, role ambiguity, and stress. e. Redesigning Jobs: Redesigning jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work, more autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce .

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stress because these factors give employees greater control over work activities and lessen dependence on others.

1) But as we noted in our discussion of work design, not all employees want enriched jobs.

2) The right redesign for employees with a low need for growth might be less responsibility and increased specialization.

3) If individuals prefer structure and routine, reducing skill variety should also reduce uncertainties and stress levels. f. Employee Involvement: Role stress is detrimental to a large extent because employees feel uncertain about goals, expectations, how they’ll be evaluated, and the like.

1) By giving these employees a voice in the decisions that directly affect their job performance, management can increase employee control and reduce role stress.

2) So managers should consider increasing employee involvement in decision making. g. Organizational Communication: Increasing formal organizational communication with employees reduces uncertainty by lessening role ambiguity and role conflict.

1) Given the importance that perceptions play in moderating the stress– response relationship, management can also use effective communications as a means to shape employee perceptions. a) Remember that what employees categorize as demands, threats, or opportunities is an interpretation and that interpretation can be affected by the symbols and actions communicated by management. h. Employee Sabbaticals: Some employees need an occasional escape from the frenetic pace of their work.

1) These sabbaticals—ranging in length from a few weeks to several months—can revive and rejuvenate workers who might otherwise be headed for burnout. i. Wellness Programs: Our final suggestion is organizationally supported wellness programs.

1) These typically provide workshops to help people quit smoking, control alcohol use, lose weight, eat better, and develop a regular exercise program; they focus on the employee’s total physical and mental condition.

2) Some help employees improve their psychological health as well.

3) A meta-analysis of 36 programs designed to reduce stress (including wellness programs) showed that interventions to help employees reframe stressful situations and use active coping strategies led to an appreciable reduction in stress levels.

4) Most wellness programs assume employees need to take personal responsibility for their physical and mental health and that the organization is merely a means to an end.

VII. SUMMARY A. The need for change has been implied throughout this text.

B. Think about attitudes, motivation, work teams, communication, leadership, organizational structures, human resource practices, and organizational cultures.

1. Change was an integral part in our discussion of each. .

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C. If environments were perfectly static, if employees’ skills and abilities were always

up to date and incapable of deteriorating, and if tomorrow were always exactly the same as today, organizational change would have little or no relevance to managers. a. But the real world is turbulent, requiring organizations and their members to undergo dynamic change if they are to perform at competitive levels.

VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Consider that as a manager, you are a change agent for your organization.

PPT 17.26 1. The decisions that you make and your role-modeling will help shape the organization’s change culture.

B. Your management policies and practices will determine the degree to which the organization learns and adapts to changing environmental factors.

C. Some stress is good. Increasing challenges brought by autonomy and responsibility at work will lead to some stress but also increase feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment. Hindrance stressors like bureaucracy and interpersonal conflicts, on the other hand, are entirely negative and should be eliminated.

D. You can help alleviate harmful workplace stress for you and any employees you supervise by accurately matching workloads to employees, providing employees with stress-coping resources, and responding to their concerns.

E. You can identify extreme stress when performance declines, turnover increases, health-related absenteeism increases, and engagement declines.

1. However, by the time these symptoms are visible, it may be too late to be helpful, so stay alert for early indicators and be proactive.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe forces that act as stimulants to change.

Answer: There are six specific forces that act as stimulants for change. (1) Changing Nature of the Work Force. The environment is steadily becoming more multicultural and the work force is aging. Skill sets of employees are in constant need of updating, increasing training costs. (2) Technology. Computers are now fundamental to almost every organization. Data has become digitized, raising issues with accessibility and privacy. (3) Economic Shocks. Monetary crises, fuel prices, stock market fluctuations, and historically low interest rates all create a much more dynamic environment than existed in the recent past. (4) Competition. The global economy also means global competition. Low labor cost countries are performing more and more of the manufacturing processes for the world while high labor cost countries shift to a servicebased economy. Speed of development and implementation is increasing. (5) Social Trends. The way people perform typical daily actions has changed dramatically in a short period of time. (6) World Politics. Governments have changed dramatically in recent years.

2. Describe the sources of resistance to change.

Answer: People tend to resist change, even in the face of evidence of its benefits. There are two main sources of resistance to change: individual and organizational. Individual Sources: (1) Habit—people tend to respond in accustomed ways; (2) Security—change threatens feelings of safety; (3) Economic Factors—fear that one will not be able to perform new tasks or routines when pay is tied to productivity; (4) Fear of the Unknown—ambiguity and uncertainty is less fearful than is the unknown; (5) Selective Information Processing—people filter what they perceive to keep their perceptions intact. Organizational Sources: (1) Structural Inertia—organizations have built-in .

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mechanisms to produce stability such as regulations; (2) Limited Focus of Change— limited changes and subsystems tend to be nullified by the overall system; (3) Group Inertia—group norms act as a constraint to change; (4) Threat to Expertise— specialized groups feel change threatens their expertise; (5) Threat to Established Power Relationships—change modifies existing power relationships.

3. Summarize Lewin's three-step change model.

Answer: This model treats change as a break in the organization's equilibrium state.

The status quo has been disturbed and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. The first step is unfreezing. Pressure is required to overcome the inertia of the current status quo. Pressure can be exerted on the organization in three ways: (1) driving forces—forces that direct behavior away from the status quo—can be increased, (2) restraining forces —forces that hinder movement from the existing equilibrium (or maintain the current status quo)—can be decreased, and/or (3) a combination of the two. The second step is changing (or reforming). Once the organization is fluid, (that is, the forces maintaining status quo have dissipated), managers can reform the organization to meet the new conditions. The final step is refreezing. Instituting a change is insufficient to make it permanent. Forces need to be applied to make the changed state into the new equilibrium state. Organizational systems need to be realigned around the new reality and managers need to ensure employees accept it. Lewin’s model has little applicability in the modern environment where change is the norm rather than the exception.

4. Explain the relationship between Lewin's change model and Kotter’s plan for implementing change.

Answer: Lewin's model describes the thawing, movement, and refreezing view of change. Kotter builds on this model and historic analysis of the reasons that managerial change efforts failed. His eight steps dovetail with Lewin's model: Steps one through four coincide with the unfreezing stage, steps 5 to 7 represent movement, and the final step is refreezing. Where Lewin provided general guidance, Kotter provides more specific guidance for managerial action.

5. Define Innovation and identify the sources of innovation.

Answer: Innovation is a specialized kind of change. It is applied to initiating or improving a product, process, or service. Structural variables are one potential source of innovation. A review of the structure–innovation relationship leads to the following conclusions: (1) Organic structures. Because they’re lower in vertical differentiation, formalization, and centralization; organic organizations facilitate the flexibility, adaptation, and cross-fertilization that make the adoption of innovations easier. (2) Long tenure in management. Managerial tenure can provide the legitimacy and knowledge of how to accomplish tasks and obtain desired outcomes through creative methods. (3) Slack resources. Having an abundance of resources allows an organization to afford to purchase or develop innovations, bear the cost of instituting them, and absorb failures. (4) High interunit communication. These organizations are heavy users of committees, task forces, cross-functional teams, and other mechanisms that facilitate interaction across departmental lines.

6. Describe the characteristics of a learning organization.

Answer: A Learning organization is an organization that has developed the continuous capacity to adapt and change. In a learning organization there exists a shared vision that everyone agrees on; people discard their old ways of thinking and the standard routines they use for solving problems or doing their jobs; members think of all organizational processes, activities, functions, and interactions with the environment as part of a system of interrelationships; people openly communicate with each other .

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(across vertical and horizontal boundaries) without fear of criticism or punishment; people sublimate their personal self-interest and fragmented departmental interests to work together to achieve the organization’s shared vision.

7. Describe potential sources of, and ways of managing, work stress.

Answer: Stress may result from demands and resources. Demands are the responsibilities, pressures, obligations, and even uncertainties individuals face in the workplace. The greater the number of demands, typically the greater the stress level.

Resources are the things in an individual’s control that can be used to resolve the demands. The scarcer the resources, the higher the stress, given the same level of demands.

Managing Stress. Realistically, stress can never be totally eliminated from a person's life. Stress reduction techniques from organizational sources include: (1) Employee Selection. By selecting employees with abilities that match their positions the job stress is reduced. (2) Organizational Communications. Ambiguity-induced stress can be kept to a minimum by improving communications. (3) Goal-Setting Programs. Reduces stress by clarifying job responsibilities and providing clear performance objectives. (4) Job Redesign. If stress can be traced directly to boredom or work overload, job redesign can reduce stress. (5) Wellness Programs. Workshops sponsored by the organization can help employees improve their physical and mental health. However, an employee’s home life can also be creating stress. Stress reduction techniques from individual sources include: (1) Relaxation training and expanded social support networks. (2) Time Management Programs. These may prove helpful for both work-related and home-related stress. (3) Physical Activity Programs. Exercise has been shown to reduce stress-inducing chemicals in the body.

Exercises

1. Self-analysis. How open to change are you? Select three activities you do frequently on a daily basis: brushing your teeth, combing your hair, making a sandwich, or pouring a glass of milk. For 24 hours, consciously try to do these activities using the hand opposite from the one you typically use. How did you feel during this 24-hour period? Were you more anxious? Did you find yourself slipping into the habitual use of your dominant hand? How strong were your habits? Write a one-page paper summarizing your feelings and experiences during this 24-hour period.

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, search the term “making change happen” and review the listed websites. Your task is to find five techniques for implementing change in organizations that were not mentioned in your textbook.

List these out with references and be prepared to discuss them in class.

3. Teamwork. Divide the class into teams. Ask them to access the website http://tomlaforce.com/stress-wrecks-teamwork/. After reviewing the site, ask students to relate to assignments they have had in other classes where they were required to work in groups. Can the students assess these groups as effective or not (relate to production of the desired outcome)? Can patterns be identified such as more effective group activity occurred when the group had less stress (maybe due dates, complexity of the assignment, concern for grade or others)? Ask the students to discuss their findings in the class.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Discuss with your manager the times in which he or she has met resistance to a proposed organizational change.

What types of resistance were encountered? How did the manager overcome the .

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resistance? What types of change seem to be hot buttons with this organization?

Have employees resisted when upper management implemented the change?

Related to this, discuss the methods by which your organization tries to improve.

Do they have specific quality programs in place? How about organizational development initiatives? Find out how they work, and how the organization responds to these initiatives. Report your findings to class.

5. Analyzing Your Organization (Summation). Review the answers you submitted for your Analyzing Your Organization questions throughout this course. Write a threepage summary of what you've learned through this course. How have your views and beliefs regarding your organization changed since the beginning of the course?

Suggested Assignment

Divide the class into relatively large teams of six to eight people each. Students will learn that necessary change may be undesired and resisted. Yet the resistance must be overcome if the organization is to change, grow, and succeed. You can use this as a double exercise. Either have the students simply strategize means to overcome resistance, or (and this is a more complex option) have students think through the whole change process and create alternative courses of action—other change efforts that might help the college/university solve its problem in another way.

Introduce the following scenario (or one of your own that is more relevant to your situation) to the class: Due to massive cutbacks in both federal and state support and dramatically decreasing alumni gifts, your college or university must make some significant changes that will influence revenue and cash flow. The school had anticipated a budget increase this year in order to hire more faculty, reduce class sizes, and improve academic programs. Instead funding was cut.

The university administration is mandating the following initiatives: 1. All freshmen and sophomores must live on campus in dorms (to increase occupancy).

2. There will be Saturday classes (to increase utilization of classroom space).

3. All faculty members will have their teaching loads increased by one class per semester (to reduce the need for additional faculty).

4. All classes must have a minimum of fifteen enrollments or they will be canceled. All introductory courses will be taught as large lecture sections (to reduce the need for faculty and increase the profit margin per class).

5. Students must pay a $250 per semester parking fee to have a car on campus and a $100 per semester security fee (to pay for parking facilities and campus police).

6. All majors with less than 100 students will either be consolidated or eliminated (to focus resources on larger majors).

Have the teams brainstorm what type of resistance is likely to arise from these changes and from whom. Have the teams share their findings with the whole class and consolidate the specific examples of resistance into five or six categories.

Reform the teams and have them discuss what strategies might be effective in overcoming each category of resistance. In addition, discuss what other ways the college or university might address the problem. When complete, have each team report their suggestions to the class for critique.

Instructor Notes: Students will often begin by arguing about the specific changes.

Students will want to argue that the changes shouldn’t be made or make judgmental .

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statements (“these are stupid”). Help them focus on the fact that as managers they may have to support and implement changes with which they personally do not agree. Next, students often start talking about the kind of resistance and focus on specific acts—protests, demonstrations, angry letters, and so on. Help them think about the constituencies: those who have a stake in the changes besides just students and faculty members.

If you chose the more complex option, then your students should begin by going back to the basic problem and assumptions. The basic problem is insufficient money (capital) and the assumption is that the university can solve the problem by spending less (reducing costs). Students should be encouraged to think about the particular needs represented by the various stakeholders. What does the administration need? What does the faculty need? What do students need? What do the alumni need?

.