CH-6-7 Perception and Individual Decision Making – Essentials of Organizational Behavior : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 6 to 7 Chapter 6 Perception and Individual Decision Making Chapter Overview The old saying is that “perception is reality” and managers must learn what “reality” their workers are reacting to in order to effectively predict behavior. This chapter examines how perception acts to create an employee’s view of reality and modifies decision making. Chapter Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Define perception and explain the factors that influence it. 2. Explain attribution theory, and describe the shortcuts used in judging others. 3. Explain the link between perception and decision making. 4. Contrast the rational model of decision making with bounded rationality. 5. Identify the common decision biases or errors. 6. Explain how individual differences and organizational constraints affect decision making. 7. Contrast the three ethical decision criteria. 8. Define creativity and discuss 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 interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. 1. However, what we perceive can be substantially different from objective reality. 2. 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. 3. The study of perception is important simply because people’s behavior is based on their perceptions of what reality is, not on reality itself. 4. The world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviorally important. B. Factors Influencing Perception 1. Perceiver: When you look at a target and attempt to interpret what you see, your interpretation is heavily influenced by your personal characteristics. a. Characteristics that affect perception include your attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations. 2. Target: the object being perceived. a. Characteristics of the target will affect how it is perceived. b. 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. 3. Situation: 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 1. 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. 2. Attribution Theory. a. Nonliving objects such as desks, machines, and buildings are subject to the laws of nature, but they have no beliefs, motives, or intentions. People do. 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. b. Internally Caused Behaviors. Behaviors that are believed to be under the personal control of the individual. c. Externally Caused Behaviors. Behaviors that are believed to be outside of the personal control of the individual. The person is forced into the behavior by outside causes. d. Three Factors That Differentiate Internally from Externally Caused Behaviors. 1) Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different behaviors in different situations. a) Is the employee who arrives late today also the one co-workers 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. 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. e. Exhibit 6-1 summarizes the key elements in attribution theory. 1) It tells us, for instance, that if an employee, Kim, generally performs at about the same level on other related tasks as she does on her current task (low distinctiveness), other employees frequently perform differently—better or worse—than Kim does on that current task (low consensus), and Kim’s performance on this current task is consistent over time (high consistency), anyone judging Kim’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 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 co-workers. (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. 3. Common Shortcuts in Judging Others. a. We use a number of shortcuts when we judge others. 1) These techniques are frequently valuable: they allow us to make accurate perceptions rapidly and provide valid data for making predictions. a) They are not foolproof. b) They can and do get us into trouble. Understanding these shortcuts can help you recognize when they can result in significant distortions. b. 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 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. 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. 4) One of the problems of stereotypes is that they are widespread and often useful generalizations, despite the fact that they may not contain a shred of truth when applied to a particular person or situation. 5) Thus, we constantly have to check ourselves to make sure we’re not unfairly or inaccurately applying a stereotype in our evaluations and decisions. Stereotypes are an example of the warning “The more useful, the more danger from misuse.” III. LINK BETWEEN PERCEPTION AND INDIVIDUAL DECISION MAKING A. Individuals in organizations make decisions, choices from among two or more alternatives. 1. Top managers determine their organization’s goals, what products or services to offer, how best to finance operations, or where to locate a new manufacturing plant. 2. Middle- and lower-level managers set production schedules, select new employees, and decide how to allocate pay raises. 3. Non-managerial employees decide how much effort to put forth at work and whether to comply with a request by the boss. 4. In recent years, organizations have been empowering their non-managerial employees with decision-making authority historically reserved for managers alone. B. Individual decision making is thus an important part of organizational behavior. C. Decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem. 1. That is, a discrepancy exists between the current state of affairs and some desired state, requiring us to consider alternative courses of action. 2. Most problems don’t come neatly labeled “problem.” a. One person’s problem is another person’s satisfactory state of affairs. 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. 1. Although these models have considerable merit, they don’t always describe how people actually make decisions. 2. 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 1. 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. 1) The Six Steps of the Model: a) Define the problem. 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 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 utility. 2. Bounded Rationality a. The limited information-processing capability of human beings 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. 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. b. 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) How does bounded rationality work for the typical individual? a) Once we’ve identified a problem, we begin to search for criteria and alternatives. b) But the list of criteria is likely to be far from exhaustive. c) We identify a limited list of the most conspicuous choices, both easy to find and highly visible, that usually represent familiar criteria and tried-and-true solutions. d) Next, we begin reviewing them, but our review will not be comprehensive. e) Instead, we focus on alternatives that differ only in a relatively small degree from the choice currently in effect. f) Following familiar and well-worn paths, we review alternatives only until we identify one that is “good enough”—that meets an acceptable level of performance. g) That ends our search. h) So the solution represents a satisficing choice—the first acceptable one we encounter—rather than an optimal one. (1) This process of satisficing is not always a bad idea—using a simple process may frequently be more sensible than the traditional rational decision-making model. 4) 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. 3. Intuition a. Perhaps the least rational way of making decisions is to rely on intuition. b. Intuitive decision making is an unconscious process created from distilled experience. 1) Its defining qualities are that: a) it occurs outside conscious thought; b) it relies on holistic associations, or links between disparate pieces of information; c) it’s fast; d) and it’s affectively charged, meaning it usually engages the emotions. c. Although intuition isn’t rational, it isn’t necessarily wrong. d. Nor does it always operate in opposition to rational analysis; rather, the two can complement each other. e. But intuition is not superstition, or the product of some magical or paranormal sixth sense. V. COMMON BIASES AND ERRORS IN DECISION MAKING 1. Decision makers engage in bounded rationality, but they also allow systematic biases and errors to creep into their 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) The tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust for subsequent information. b) The first information given forms the basis for the process, no matter what additional information is provided later. 3) Confirmation Bias. a) This 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. 4) Availability Bias. a) The tendency for people to base their judgments on information that is readily available to them. 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. 5) Escalation of Commitment. a) This 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 was wrong. b) This bias often occurs when the decision maker views himself or herself as responsible for the failure. 6) 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. (6) CEOs at risk of being terminated are also exceptionally risk averse, even when a riskier investment strategy is in their firms’ best interests. 7) 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. b) This bias reduces our ability to learn from the past and falsely inflates our opinion of our ability to make accurate predictions. VI. ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON DECISION MAKING A. Organizations can constrain decision makers, creating deviations from the rational model. These constraints can take the form of: 1. Performance Evaluations. People are strongly influenced in their decision making by the criteria on which they are evaluated. 2. Reward Systems. The reward system influences which choices are preferable in terms of a personal payoff. 3. Formal Regulations. Rules and policies limit the decision maker’s choice of action. 4. System-Imposed Time Constraints. Explicit deadlines create time pressures and often make it difficult to gather necessary information prior to making the decision. 5. 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: 1. The first ethical yardstick is utilitarianism, in which decisions are made solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally to provide the greatest good for the greatest number. a. This view dominates business decision making. It is consistent with goals such as efficiency, productivity, and high profits. 2. Another ethical criterion is to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges, as set forth in documents such as the Bill of Rights. a. An emphasis on rights in decision making means respecting and protecting the basic rights of individuals, such as the right to privacy, free speech, and due process. b. This criterion protects whistleblowers when they reveal an organization’s unethical practices to the press or government agencies, using their right to free speech. 3. A third criterion is to impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially to ensure justice or an equitable distribution of benefits and costs. a. 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. 4. Each criterion has advantages and liabilities. a. A focus on utilitarianism promotes efficiency and productivity, but it can sideline the rights of some individuals, particularly those with minority representation. b. The use of rights protects individuals from injury and is consistent with freedom and privacy, but it can create a legalistic environment that hinders productivity and efficiency. c. A focus on justice protects the interests of the underrepresented and less powerful, but it can encourage a sense of entitlement that reduces risk taking, innovation, and productivity. 5. Decision makers, particularly in for-profit organizations, feel comfortable with utilitarianism. 6. The “best interests” of the organization and its stockholders can justify a lot of questionable actions, such as large layoffs. 7. 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 non-utilitarian 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. B. Creativity in Organizations. 1. Although the rational decision-making model will often improve decisions, a decision maker also needs creativity, the ability to produce novel and useful ideas. 2. Novel ideas are different from what’s been done before but are appropriate for the problem. 3. Although all aspects of organizational behavior have complexities, that is especially true for creativity. 4. The three-stage model of creativity: the core of the model is creative behavior, which has both causes (predictions of creative behavior) and effects (outcomes of creative behavior). 5. Creative Behavior. Creative behavior occurs in four steps, each of which leads to the next (Exhibit 6-4): a. Problem formulation. Any act of creativity begins with a problem that the behavior is designed to solve. Thus, problem formulation is defined as the stage of creative behavior in which we identify a problem or opportunity that requires a solution as yet unknown. b. Information gathering. Given a problem, the solution is rarely directly at hand. We need time to learn more and to process that information. Thus, information gathering is the stage of creative behavior when 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. 6. Causes of Creative Behavior. Having defined creative behavior, the main stage in the three-stage model, we now look back to the causes of creativity: creative potential and creative environment. a. Creative Potential. Is there such a thing as a creative personality? 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. 2) 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. 3) The Big Five personality trait of openness to experience correlates with creativity, probably because open individuals are less conformist in action and more divergent in thinking. (1) Other traits of creative people include proactive personality, self-confidence, risk taking, tolerance for ambiguity, and perseverance. 4) Expertise is the foundation for all creative work and thus is the single most important predictor of creative potential. a) The potential for creativity is enhanced when individuals have abilities, knowledge, proficiencies, and similar expertise to their field of endeavor. (1) For instance, you wouldn’t expect someone with minimal knowledge of programming to be very creative as a software engineer. b. Creative Environment. Most of us have creative potential we can learn to apply, but as important as creative potential is, by itself it is not enough. 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. c. Creative Outcomes. 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 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. VIII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Behavior follows perception, so to influence employee behavior at 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. IX. KEEP IN MIND A. People have inherent biases in perception and decision making. 1. Understanding those biases allows for better prediction of behavior. B. Biases can be helpful. 1. Managers must determine when the bias may be counterproductive. C. Creativity aids in decision making. D. Helps to appraise, understand, and identify problems. X. SUMMARY A. Individuals base their behavior not on the way their external environment actually is but rather on what they see or believe it to be. 1. An understanding of how people make decisions can be helpful for explaining and predicting their behavior. 2. But few important decisions are simple or unambiguous enough for the rational model’s assumptions to apply. 3. Thus, we find individuals looking for solutions that satisfice rather than optimize, injecting biases and prejudices into the decision process, and relying on intuition. B. Managers should encourage creativity in employees and teams to create a route to innovative decision making. 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? 2. Suppose a worker went out of her way to help the boss complete a project on time. Some of her co-workers 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 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 MPG 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. Bias: Confirmation Bias 1. Error: Favoring information that confirms preexisting beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence. 2. Circumstances: During a research project, I focused only on sources that supported my initial hypothesis, disregarding studies that presented opposing views. 3. Effect on Outcome: This led to a skewed analysis and weakened the overall validity of my conclusions, ultimately affecting the quality and credibility of the project. 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. Ethical Viewpoint: Utilitarianism Description: Utilitarianism evaluates actions based on their outcomes, aiming to maximize overall happiness and minimize suffering. It focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number. Choice Explanation: Utilitarianism is practical and outcome-oriented, making it useful for decision-making in complex situations where the impact on overall well-being is a key consideration. It provides a clear criterion for assessing the ethical value of actions based on their consequences. 10. Using the three-component model for creativity, which area do you believe would be easiest for managers to affect? Why? Answer: The answers will vary. One of the most logical components to use is intrinsic task motivation as managers have the most control over the factors that make up this component (the work itself, work environment, co-workers, culture, judgment of ideas, rewards and recognition for creative work, sufficient resources, freedom to work, and an effective supervision). The other two components (expertise and creative-thinking skills) might be improved by management-provided training, but the impact wouldn’t be as direct, or as far reaching, as it would with intrinsic task motivation. Component: Expertise Reason: Managers can more easily affect expertise by providing training, resources, and opportunities for skill development. Unlike intrinsic motivation or creative thinking, which are more personal and complex to influence directly, enhancing expertise through structured support is more straightforward and measurable. 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. 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 decision-making 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. ○ Those using the rational model must be prepared to outline how they came to their decision. ○ Those using bounded rationality must be prepared to explain why they stopped where they did. ○ 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. Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Chapter Overview Motivation is one of the major areas of interest in 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. 2. Evaluate the applicability of early theories of motivation. 3. Contrast the elements of self-determination theory and goal-setting theory. 4. Demonstrate the differences between self-efficacy theory, equity theory, and expectancy theory. 5. Identify the implications of employee job engagement for management. 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. DEFINING MOTIVATION Motivation: the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal, specifically for OB, toward attaining an organizational goal. A. 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. III. EARLY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Four 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 four represent a foundation, and practicing managers still use their terminology. A. Hierarchy of Needs Theory. In this, perhaps best known (and least supported) of all motivational theories, Abraham Maslow proposed that there are five levels of human needs. As each of the lower level needs are satisfied, the next unsatisfied need becomes dominant. 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. 1. 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. 2. Safety: lower order need, includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm. 3. Social: upper order need, includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship. Upper order needs are satisfied internally, that is, from within the person. 4. Esteem: upper order need, includes internal (self-respect, autonomy, and achievement) and external (status, recognition, and attention) esteem factors. 5. Self-actualization: upper order need, defined as the drive to “be all one can be,” it includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment. B. Theory X and Theory Y. Douglas McGregor’s theory proposed that there were two basic views of human nature, one essentially negative (Theory X) and the other positive (Theory Y). Which view a manager believed was true would give that manager a pre-set series of assumptions and related behaviors. 1. Theory X. In this negative view of human nature, workers inherently dislike work and must be directed or even coerced into performing it. 2. Theory Y. In this positive view, employees view work as being as natural as rest or play. Therefore, they can learn to accept and even seek responsibility. 3. Unfortunately, as with Maslow’s theory, there is no research evidence that either view of human nature is valid or that taking actions based on Theory Y will increase motivation in workers. C. Two-Factor Theory. 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 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 the Two-Factor Theory, mostly dealing with the methodology Herzberg used in his initial studies. D. McClelland's Theory of Needs. David McClelland and his associates created a theory based on three subconscious needs: 1. Need for Achievement (nAch): the drive to excel and to 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. 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. 3. Need for Affiliation (nAff): the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. 4. The best managers appear to be those with a high need for power and a low need for affiliation. 5. 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. 6. 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 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 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. 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 their own intrinsic desire to excel and more like they are doing a good job because that’s what the organization wants. 1) Eliminating extrinsic rewards can also shift from an external to an internal explanation of an individual’s perception of why she works on a task. 2) If you’re reading a novel a week because your English literature instructor requires you to, you can attribute your reading behavior to an external source. 3) However, if you find yourself continuing to read a novel a week after the course is over, your natural inclination is to say, “I must enjoy reading novels because I’m still reading one a week.” 4) Recent studies examining how extrinsic rewards increased motivation for some creative tasks suggests we might need to place cognitive evaluation theory’s predictions in a broader context. 4. Goal setting is more effective in improving motivation, for instance, when we provide rewards for achieving the goals. 5. The original authors of self-determination theory acknowledge that extrinsic rewards such as verbal praise and feedback about competence can improve even intrinsic motivation under specific circumstances. 6. Deadlines and specific work standards do, too, if people believe they are in control of their behavior. a. This is consistent with the central theme of self-determination theory: rewards and deadlines diminish motivation if people see them as coercive. 7. What does self-determination theory suggest for providing rewards? Consider two situations. a. If a senior sales representative really enjoys selling and making the deal, a commission indicates she’s been doing a good job at this valued task. b. The reward will increase her sense of competence by providing feedback that could improve intrinsic motivation. c. On the other hand, 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. d. She would be less interested in the task and might reduce her effort. 8. A recent outgrowth of self-determination theory is self-concordance, which considers how strongly people’s reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values. a. If individuals pursue goals because of an intrinsic interest, they are more likely to attain their goals and are happy even if they do not. Why? Because the process of striving toward them is fun. b. In contrast, people who pursue goals for extrinsic reasons (money, status, or other benefits) are less likely to attain their goals and less happy even when they do achieve them. c. Why? Because the goals are less meaningful to them. 9. 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. 10. 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. This theory studies the effects goal specificity, challenge, and feedback have on performance. The study of goal setting has created the following general rules: 2. 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 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. Contingencies in goal-setting theory: a. Goal Commitment. Commitment increases when goals are made public, when the individual has an internal locus of control, and when goals are self-set 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. Although goal setting has positive outcomes, it is not unequivocally beneficial. For example, some goals may be too beneficial. When learning something is important, goals related to performance undermine adaptation and creativity because people become too focused on outcomes and ignore changing conditions. a. A goal to learn and generate alternative solutions will be more effective than a goal to perform. b. Individuals may fail to give up on an unattainable goal, even when it might be beneficial to do so. c. Managers should make sure goals are aligned with company objectives. 8. 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. 9. Implementing Goal-Setting. Setting specific, challenging goals for employees is the best thing managers can do to improve performance. However, it appears that few managers actually set goals for their employees. One of the ways an organization can ensure this happens is through Management by Objectives (MBO). D. Management by Objectives (MBO). One of the more effective ways to formalize goal-setting theory into an organization is through management by objectives. 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. 1. Four ingredients common to MBO programs: a. goal specificity, b. participation in decision making, c. an explicit time period, and d. performance feedback. 2. MBO and Goal Setting. The primary difference between MBO programs and goal-setting theory relates to the issue of participation. MBO strongly advocates it, while goal-setting theory demonstrates that having managers assign goals is usually just as effective. V. OTHER CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION A. Self-Efficacy Theory (also known as "social cognitive theory" or "social learning theory"). Typically, people with high self-efficacy respond better to challenges and negative feedback than those with low self-efficacy. Self-efficacy: an individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task. 1. 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. 2. Four Ways to Increase Self-Efficacy: 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. 3. Personality and Intelligence. While not part of self-efficacy theory, intelligence, conscientiousness, and emotional stability have all been shown to increase self-efficacy. 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. B. Equity Theory – Organizational Justice. 1. This view holds that motivation can be affected by the comparisons employees make of their job inputs (effort, 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. The situation is perceived to be fair. a. However, when the ratios are seen as unequal, employees may experience tension and emotion. b. Employees who believe they are under-rewarded may be angry, while those who feel they are over-rewarded might feel guilty. c. This emotional tension provides the motivation to do something to correct the situation. 3. Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity will make one of six choices: a. Change inputs (exert less effort if underpaid or more if overpaid). b. Change outcomes (individuals paid on a piece-rate basis can increase their pay by producing a higher quantity of units at a lower quality). c. Distort perceptions of self (“I used to think I worked at a moderate pace, but now I realize I work a lot harder than everyone else.”). d. Distort perceptions of others (“Mike’s job isn’t as desirable as I thought.”). e. Choose a different referent (“I may not make as much as my brother-in-law, but I’m doing a lot better than my Dad did when he was my age.”). f. Leave the field (quit the job). 4. Some of these propositions have been supported, but others haven’t. a. First, inequities by overpayment do not seem to significantly affect behavior in most work situations. So, don’t expect an employee who feels overpaid to give back part of her salary or put in more hours to make up for the inequity. Although individuals sometimes perceive that they are over-rewarded, they restore equity by rationalizing their situation. b. Second, not everyone is equity-sensitive. A few actually prefer outcome-input ratios lower than the referent comparisons. 5. 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. Organizational justice is concerned with how employees feel authorities and decision makers treat them. For the most part, employees evaluate how fairly they are treated along four dimensions. a. Distributive justice is concerned with the fairness of the outcome, such as pay and recognition that employees receive. People base distributive judgments on a feeling or an emotional reaction to the way they think they are being treated relative to others, and their reactions are often “hot” and emotional rather than rational. b. Procedural justice focuses on the fairness of the process used to distribute rewards. The two key elements of procedural justice are: 1) 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. 2) 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. 3) In the absence of distributive justice, research has shown that procedural justice becomes more important to employees. c. 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. 1) 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. 2) Research has linked the absence of explanations to increased litigation intentions by employees who have been laid off. Explanations for bad news are beneficial when they take the form of post hoc excuses rather than justifications. d. 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. C. When employees feel fairly treated, they respond in a number of positive ways. All four types of justice have been linked to higher levels of task performance and citizenship behaviors such as helping co-workers, as well as lower levels of counterproductive behaviors such as shirking job duties. D. 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. E. Why does justice have these positive effects? First, fair treatment enhances commitment to the organization and makes employees feel it cares about their well-being. In addition, employees who feel fairly treated trust their supervisors more, which reduces uncertainty and fear of being exploited by the organization. Finally, fair treatment elicits positive emotions, which in turn prompt citizenship behaviors. F. To promote fairness in the workplace, managers should consider openly sharing information on how allocation decisions were made, and following consistent unbiased procedures, to increase the perception of procedural justice. G. Despite all attempts to enhance fairness, perceived injustices are likely to occur. Fairness is often subjective; what one person sees as unfair, another may see as perfectly appropriate. 1. In general, people see allocations or procedures favoring themselves as fair. 2. When addressing perceived injustices, managers need to focus their attentions on the source of the problem. H. In terms of cultural differences, meta-analytic evidence shows individuals in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures prefer an equitable distribution of rewards over an equal division. 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. 1. However, in collectivistic cultures employees expect rewards to reflect their individual needs as well as their performance. 2. Other research suggests that inputs and outcomes are valued differently in various cultures. Materialistic cultures are more likely to see cash compensation and rewards as the most relevant outcomes of work, whereas relational cultures will see social rewards and status as important outcomes. 3. International managers must consider the cultural preferences of each group of employees when determining what is “fair” in different contexts. I. Expectancy Theory. 1. This widely accepted 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 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. 1) The probability perceived by the individual that 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. WORKPLACE MOTIVATION A. Job Engagement. 1. Job engagement is the investment of an employee’s physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job performance. 2. When employees are engaged, organizations have higher levels of productivity, fewer safety incidents, and lower turnover. 3. 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. 4. In some cases, individuals may become so engaged in their work that family responsibilities become an unwelcome intrusion. VII. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS A. Make sure extrinsic rewards for employees are not viewed as coercive, and recognize the importance of intrinsic motivators that appeal to employees’ desires for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. B. Consider goal setting theory: Within reason, clear and difficult goals often lead to higher levels of employee productivity. C. In accordance with self-efficacy theory, efforts you make to help your employees feel successful in completing tasks will result in their increased motivation. D. As suggested by justice theory, ensure that employees feel fairly treated; sensitivity to processes and interactions are particularly important when rewards are distributed unequally. E. Expectancy theory offers a partial means of enhancing employee productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. Employees are more motivated to engage in behaviors they think they can perform, and which in turn lead to valued rewards. VIII. KEEP IN MIND A. Make goals specific and difficult. B. Motivation can be increased by raising employee confidence in their own abilities (self-efficacy). C. Openly share information on allocation decisions, especially when the outcome is likely to be viewed negatively. IX. SUMMARY 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 four early theories of motivation and evaluate its applicability today. Answer: Answers will vary depending on which of the four theories (Maslow, McGregor, Hertzberg, or McClelland) is selected. Maslow, Hertzberg, 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. Theory: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Description: Maslow's theory posits that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy: physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Individuals are motivated to fulfill lower-level needs before progressing to higher-level needs. Applicability Today: Maslow's hierarchy remains relevant as it provides a useful framework for understanding human motivation. However, its linear progression is often challenged by contemporary research, which suggests that individuals may address multiple needs simultaneously or in different orders based on context and personal circumstances. 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 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—MBO. Instructor notes: The goal here is to help students apply MBO. The emphasis should be on creating measurable realistic objectives. You may wish to use this as part of your grading for the course by holding the students accountable for their objectives at the end of the term. Review the principles of MBO with the class. Carefully describe the nature of effective outcomes. The criteria for effective objectives are that they should be specific, challenging, and measurable. Generalized outcomes, with no means of measuring their accomplishment, should not be accepted. As writing effective objectives is quite often a difficult task for both students and managers, it is strongly recommended that the first objective is written as a class activity. Typically, the students’ first version of an objective is “Get an A in the course.” Be gentle as you point out why this is not an effective objective. Suggested Assignment a. Review the course objectives (outcomes) as given in the course materials. b. Create five personal objectives relating to the successful completion of this course’s objectives. Submit the objectives to your instructor, retaining a copy for yourself. c. In small groups, share your objectives and discuss. Present the five best objectives from the group to the class. d. At the end of the course, when the instructor directs, write a short paper describing how well you believe you have met your own objectives. Instructor Manual for Essentials of Organizational Behavior Stephen P. Robbins, Timothy A. Judge 9789332587984, 9780133920819, 9780133973013, 9781292090078, 9781292090184, 9780134523859, 9780132968508