CH-1-3 Organizational Behaviour and Management – Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 1 to 3 CHAPTER 1 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND MANAGEMENT CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 1, students should be able to: LO1.1 Define organizations and describe their basic characteristics. LO1.2 Explain the concept of organizational behaviour and describe the goals of the field. LO1.3 Define management and describe what managers do to accomplish goals. LO1.4 Contrast the classical viewpoint of management with that which the human relations movement advocated. LO1.5 Describe the contemporary contingency approach to management. LO1.6 Explain what managers do — their roles, activities, agendas for action, and thought processes. LO1.7 Describe the societal and global trends that are shaping contemporary management concerns. CHAPTER OUTLINE AND TEACHING NOTES This first chapter introduces several basic concepts that provide students with a frame of reference upon which to integrate the more complex topics to come. It is useful to spend some time explaining just what organizational behaviour is, since students may have some difficulty in grasping the meaning of this wholly qualitative term. What Are Organizations? Organizations are social inventions for accomplishing common goals through group effort. There are three important elements of this definition highlighted in the chapter. Social inventions There is a fundamental requirement for a coordinated presence of people which is the essential characteristic of organizations as social inventions. The field of organizational behaviour is about understanding people and managing them to work effectively. Goal Accomplishment The reason organizations exist is to achieve goals. Survival is the overriding goal of all organizations. The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with how organizations can survive and adapt to change. Group Effort Individuals who function in an organization must be coordinated to achieve goals efficiently. This coordination is accomplished through group effort. The field of organizational behaviour is concerned with how to get people to practise effective teamwork. What Is Organizational Behaviour? Organizational behaviour refers to the attitudes and behaviours of individuals and groups in organizations. The field of organizational behaviour involves the systematic study of these attitudes and behaviours. Human resources management refers to programs, practices, and systems to acquire, develop, and retain employees in organizations. Common examples of human resources practices are recruitment and selection, compensation, and training and development. Students should be informed of how human resources management is different from organizational behaviour and how knowledge of organizational behaviour will help them understand the use and effectiveness of human resource practices. Why Study Organizational Behaviour? There are three good reasons to study organizational behaviour. Organizational Behaviour Is Interesting We see the subject matter every day, although we may not understand it completely. Organizational behaviour is interesting because it is about people and human nature. Organizational Behaviour Is Important Organizational behaviour is important to managers, employees, and consumers and understanding it can make us more effective managers, employees, or consumers and improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Organizational Behaviour Makes a Difference Effective management and organizational behaviour can provide an organization with a competitive advantage. Today, the main factor that differentiates organizations is their workforce or human capital and the most successful organizations are those that effectively manage their employees. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that management practices and organizational behaviour not only influence employee attitudes and behaviour, but also have an effect on an organization’s effectiveness. The research described in the Research Focus feature shows that the best companies to work for are also among the best performing companies. Thus, organizational behaviour makes a difference in terms of good management and organizational performance and competitiveness. How Much Do You Know about Organizational Behaviour? Students often make the erroneous assumption that much of organizational behaviour can be explained by common sense. The problem with this assumption is that what is common sense to one person may not be to another. This suggests that common sense is no substitute for the systematic study of organizational behaviour. Management practice should be based on informed opinion and systematic study, not common sense. Some discussion of the material in the Appendix can help to show how the systematic study of organizational behaviour can improve management decision making and practice. Students can begin to understand these concepts and the importance of systematic study by answering the five questions in the textbook and seeing how easy it is to make up answers that are both true and false. Goals of Organizational Behaviour There are three goals of organizational behaviour. Predicting Organizational Behaviour Predicting the behaviour of others is an essential requirement of everyday life. Although some prediction about future behaviour in organizations is possible because of the very regularity of much behaviour, its accuracy requires systematic study. Through systematic study, the field of organizational behaviour provides a scientific foundation that helps improve predictions of organizational events. Explaining Organizational Behaviour A second goal of organizational behaviour is to explain events in organizations and why they occur. It is usually more difficult to explain a behaviour than to predict it, since a given behaviour may have multiple causes, and the reasons people do things tend to change over time and circumstances. The ability to understand behaviour is a necessary prerequisite for effectively managing it. Managing Organizational Behaviour Management is defined as the art of getting things accomplished in organizations through others. If behaviour can be predicted and explained, it can often be managed. If prediction and explanation constitute analysis, then management constitutes action. Responding to the information gathered through prediction and explanation helps to influence organizational behaviour. A number of technologies or interventions have been developed in a conscious attempt to make practical much of the information learned in the field. Future chapters will introduce many of these interventions to students, including pay systems and job enrichment. Students should understand that a systematic understanding of behavioural science and organizational behaviour can improve management practice and decision. This then leads into a discussion of evidence-based management. Evidence-based management involves translating principles based on the best scientific evidence into organizational practices. By using evidence-based management, managers can make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence from social science and organizational research, rather than personal preference and unsystematic experience. The use of evidence-based management is more likely to result in the attainment of organizational goals, including those affecting employees, stockholders, and the public in general. Understanding how to predict, explain, and manage behaviour is a prerequisite to accomplishing two basic managerial tasks — analysis and action. To help students understand the practical and applied use of organizational behaviour in organizations, discuss the You Be the Manager feature on Toronto’s Troubled Transit System. This is a good example that most students will be able to relate to about how the goals of organizational behaviour are relevant for organizational change and effectiveness. Early Prescriptions Concerning Management There are two basic phases in the pursuit of the “correct” way to manage an organization to achieve its goal. Experts often call these the classical view and bureaucracy and the human relations view. The Classical View and Bureaucracy A brief history on the evolution of management thought and background material on the classical view of management and bureaucracy will be helpful for students who have not had a previous course in management. A discussion of the work of Henri Fayol, Frederick Taylor, and Max Weber allows students to see that management practice was not, and should not, be static in a dynamic and changing environment. The classical viewpoint advocated high specialization of labour, intensive coordination, and centralized decision making. Scientific management is Frederick Taylor’s system for using research to determine the optimum degree of specialization and standardization of work tasks. Bureaucracy is Max Weber’s ideal type of organization that included a strict chain of command, detailed rules, high specialization, centralized power, and selection and promotion based on technical competence. When describing these aspects of the classical viewpoint make sure students realize the conflict of interest between managers and employees and then you can begin to discuss the human relations movement and its critique of bureaucracy. The Human Relations Movement and a Critique of Bureaucracy The human relations movement and the Hawthorne studies allow a smooth transition to the following section where the contingency approach to management is examined. By the 1920s, criticism of the scientific approach was growing, focusing on the basic assumptions underlying scientific principles and lack of attention to motivation and human needs. The human relations view emphasized favourable treatment of employees instead of focusing solely on their output or performance. The human relations approach is generally considered to have started with the Hawthorne Studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric in the 1920s and 1930s that illustrated how psychological and social processes affect productivity and work adjustment. It was discovered that the most powerful incentive for increased production was not the physical working conditions, but resulted from what came to be known as the Hawthorne effect, whereby workers felt important and appreciated when they received attention and recognition. Later studies in the plant’s relay assembly room were conducted to test the effect of other working conditions on output. The results of the studies upset the traditional concepts of industrial efficiency and discovered that worker productivity increased when they felt someone was interested in them. After World War II, researchers and theorists such as Chris Argyris, Alvin Gouldner, and Rensis Likert took up the theme of the Hawthorne studies. The human relations movement was a critique of classical management and bureaucracy that advocated management styles that were more participative and oriented toward employee needs. The critique of bureaucracy addressed a number of specific problems that were incompatible with human needs for growth achievement and can lead to employee alienation from the organization and its clients, resistance to change, restriction of performance, and losing sight of the overall goals of the organization. The human relations advocates called for more flexible systems of management and the design of more interesting jobs as well as open communication, employee participation in decision making, and less rigid, more decentralized forms of control. Contemporary Management — The Contingency Approach The concept of contingencies is important for students to understand. An essential fact is that organizations are complex entities, and accordingly, there are no simple principles that can be applied in all situations. However, what happens in organizations depends on certain critical factors. These critical factors are called contingencies. This contingency approach to management recognizes that there is no one best way to manage, and that an appropriate management style depends on the demands of the situation. The textbook will use a contingency framework to discuss the subject. Management approaches need to be tailored to fit the situation. What Do Managers Do? Organizational behaviour is not only useful to aspiring managers. A good understanding is useful to consumers or anyone else who has to interact with organizations to get things done. This section examines what managers actually do, using research studies as a source. Managerial Roles Henry Mintzberg conducted an in-depth study of the behaviour of managers and found a rather complex set of roles played by managers. The relative importance of these roles will vary with management level and organizational technology. Interpersonal Roles. Interpersonal roles were those that were used to establish and maintain interpersonal relations. These included the figurehead role, leadership role, and liaison role. Informational Roles. Informational roles were concerned with various ways the manager receives and transmits information. Roles in this group included the monitor role, disseminator role, and spokesperson role. Decisional Roles. Decisional roles deal with managerial decision-making and include the entrepreneur role, the disturbance handler role, the resource allocation role, and the negotiator role. Managerial Activities Fred Luthans, Richard Hodgetts, and Stuart Rosenkrantz studied the behaviour of a large number of managers and have compiled data on what managers actually do with their time. The four basic activities were: Routine communication. Formal sending and receiving of information. Traditional management. Planning, decision making, and controlling. Networking. Interacting with people outside the organization and informal socializing and politicking with insiders. Human resource management. Motivating and reinforcing, disciplining and punishing, managing conflict, staffing, and training and developing employees. One of the interesting findings of this research was how emphasis on these various activities correlated with managerial success. Networking proved most critical for moving up the ranks of the organization quickly. Human resource management proved most critical for unit effectiveness and employee satisfaction and commitment. Managerial Agendas John Kotter has also studied the behaviours of successful general managers and found a strong pattern of similarities that he grouped into the categories of agenda setting, networking, and agenda implementation. Agenda Setting. The managers all gradually developed agendas of what they wanted to accomplish for the organization. These agendas were almost always informal and unwritten, and they were much more concerned with “people issues” and less numerical than most formal strategic plans. Networking. The managers established a wide formal and informal network of key people both inside and outside of their organizations. This network provided managers with information and established cooperative relationships relevant to their agendas. Agenda Implementation. The managers used networks to implement the agendas. They would go anywhere in the network for help – up or down, in or out of the organization. The theme that runs through Kotter’s findings is the high degree of informal interaction and concern with people issues that were necessary for the managers to achieve their agendas. Managerial Minds Other researchers have examined how managers think. Herbert Simon and Darnel Isenberg stress the role of intuition in good management. Intuition is problem identification and solving based on systematic education and experiences that enable manager to locate problems within a network of previously acquired information. International Managers The style with which managers do what they do and the emphasis given to various activities will vary greatly across cultures because of cross-cultural variations in values that affect both managers’ and employees’ expectations about interpersonal interaction. Geert Hofstede has done pioneering work on cross-cultural differences in values and how these differences promote contrasts in the general role that managers play across cultures. National culture is one of the most important contingency variables in organizational behaviour. The appropriateness of various leadership styles, motivation techniques, and communication methods depends on where one is in the world. Some Contemporary Management Concerns To conclude the first chapter, we thought it appropriate to discuss contemporary concerns such as diversity, a positive work environment and employee well-being, talent management and employee engagement, and corporate social responsibility. This material can be used to emphasize that organizational behaviour can be used as a tool for the challenges facing organizations today and for future issues that students will face in their careers. When discussing each of these issues, ask students what organizational behaviour has to do with them followed by a discussion of the relevance and role of organizational behaviour for managing each of the management concerns. Diversity — Local and Global Several factors are influencing the demographics of the North American workforce. As a result, both the labour force and customers are becoming increasingly culturally diverse. More women are entering the workforce, as are visible minorities, aboriginal people, and persons with disabilities. Diversity of age is also a factor. Diversity is also coming to the fore as many organizations realize that they have not treated certain segments of the population fairly in many aspects of employment and that organizations have to be able to get the best from everyone in order to be truly competitive. Both legal and social pressures have contributed to this awareness. Multinational expansion, strategic alliances, and joint ventures between global partners are also bringing people into contact with their counterparts in organizations in other cultures as never before. Thus, managers must be able to manage these issues effectively for organizations to benefit from the considerable opportunities that a diverse workforce affords. What does diversity have to do with organizational behaviour? Organizational behaviour has long been concerned with stereotypes, conflict, cooperation, and teamwork. These are just some of the factors that managers must manage effectively for organizations to benefit from the considerable opportunities that a diverse workforce affords. Let students know that they will learn more about workforce diversity in Chapter 3 and cultural differences in values in Chapter 4. A Positive Work Environment and Employee Well-Being Employees are facing increasing concerns over job security, increasing job demands, and work-related stress that have contributed to a deterioration of their physical and psychological health and well-being. Employees have become disengaged, disillusioned, and are suffering from physical and mental sicknesses. Absenteeism and employee turnover in Canadian organizations are also on the rise. Although there is no one definitive cause, increasing stress levels and poorly designed jobs are major contributors. As a result, organizations have begun to focus on employee physical and mental health by creating more positive work environments. What does a positive work environment and employee well-being have to do with organizational behaviour? Organizational behaviour is concerned with creating positive work environments that contribute to employee health and wellness. A good example of this is a spiritual workplace or workplace spirituality. Workplace spirituality refers to workplaces that provide employees with meaning, purpose, a sense of community, and a connection to others. It is important that students understand that workplace spirituality is not about religion in the workplace but rather, providing employees with a meaningful work-life that is aligned with their values, provides them with interesting work, meaning and a sense of purpose, feeling that they belong to and are part of a caring and supportive community, and a sense of connection to their work and others. Another important contributor to employee well-being is psychological capital (PsyCap). Psychological capital refers to an individual’s positive psychological state of development that is characterized by self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience. Self-efficacy refers to one’s confidence to take on and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks; optimism involves making internal attributions about positive events in the present and future and external attributions about negative events; hope refers to persevering toward one’s goals, and when necessary making changes and using multiple pathways to achieve one’s goals; and resilience refers to one’s ability to bounce back or rebound from adversity and setbacks to attain success. It is important for students to understand that each of the components of PsyCap are states or positive work-related psychological resources that can be changed, modified, and developed. In other words, they are not fixed, stable, or static personality traits. Along these lines, there is evidence that PsyCap interventions (PCI) that focus on enhancing each of the components of PsyCap are effective for developing employees’ PsyCap. Thus, one way for organizations to improve employee health and well-being is to develop their PsyCap. Talent Management and Employee Engagement A major challenge facing organizations today is talent management. A survey of senior executives from all over the world found that talent was ranked as the second most critical challenge just behind business growth. Talent management refers to an organization’s processes for attracting, developing, retaining, and utilizing people with the required skills to meet current and future business needs. The ability of organizations to attract and retain talent has become especially critical for organizations that are struggling to find the employees they need to compete and survive. The shortage of skilled labour is expected to get even worse in the coming years as the baby boomers begin to retire. Organizations have also become increasingly concerned about employee engagement. Work engagement is a positive work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigour, dedication, and absorption. Only one-third of workers are engaged and yet engaged workers have more positive work attitudes and higher job performance, and engagement is considered to be key to an organization’s success and competitiveness and it can have a significant impact on productivity, customer satisfaction, profitability, innovation, and quality. What does organizational behaviour have to do with talent management and employee engagement? Organizational behaviour can help organizations make important changes in the workplace and provides the means for organizations to be designed and managed in ways that optimize talent attraction, development, engagement, retention, and performance. This topic can generate some lively discussion in the classroom as students discuss some of the reasons why they have accepted or would accept a job as well as the reasons why they have been engaged or disengaged. This can then lead into a discussion of the management practices of the best companies to work for in Canada (Exhibit 1.1) and how organizational behaviour can be useful for dealing with the challenge of talent management and employee engagement. You might ask students to review the practices in Exhibit 1.1 and how each practice would influence their decision to join an organization and if it would have an effect on their work engagement. Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility refers to an organization taking responsibility for the impact of its decisions and actions on its stakeholders. It has to do with an organization’s overall impact on society at large and extends beyond the interests of shareholders to the interests and needs of employees and the community in which it operates. It involves a variety of issues that range from community involvement, environmental protection, safe products, ethical marketing, employee diversity, and local and global labour practices. Ultimately, CSR has to do with how an organization performs its core functions of producing goods and providing services and that it does so in a socially responsible way. What does corporate social responsibility have to do with organizational behaviour? It is important to emphasize to students that many CSR issues have to do with organizational behaviour such as an organization’s treatment of employees, management practices such as managing diversity, work-family balance, and employment equity. Organizations that rank high on CSR are good employers because of the way they treat their employees and because of their management practices that promote employee well-being. In addition, green programs require changes in employees’ attitudes and behaviours. It might be worthwhile to ask students how important CSR is for them when choosing to work for an organization. Along these lines, you might note that an organization’s CSR has implications for the recruitment and retention of employees and that an increasing number of workers want to work for organizations that are environmentally friendly and rank high on CSR. TEACHING TIPS If the majority of your students are taking a full business program or a number of management courses, it might be useful in discussing Chapter 1 to highlight how organizational behaviour is related to their other courses. That is, what is the function of OB in your particular curriculum, and how does it differ from other management courses? (We like to distinguish OB from basic behavioural science, introduction to management, and human resource management. We also point out relevant similarities and interfaces.) This brief exercise indicates to students that you understand the program that they are taking, and it gives them a better idea of just what to expect from your OB course in particular. The brief vignette about Sodexo Canada that begins Chapter 1 can be used to illustrate some of the subject matter that will be covered in the course. Have your students generate a list of possible reasons why the company has been ranked as one of the world’s Most Admired Companies and one of Canada’s greenest employers. Many of the reasons and implications they offer will be relevant to subsequent chapters of the text (for example learning, diversity, motivation, teams, culture, communication, etc.). Briefly discuss their ideas and point out how these topics will be covered in greater detail later in the course. This is a good way to illustrate the broad domain of organizational behaviour and its role in making an organization a great place to work and a success. CHAPTER 2 PERSONALITY AND LEARNING CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 2 students should be able to do the following: LO2.1. Define personality and discuss its general role in influencing organizational behaviour. LO2.2. Describe the dispositional, situational, and interactionist approaches to organizational behaviour and trait activation theory. LO2.3. Discuss the Five-Factor Model of personality. LO2.4. Describe and discuss the consequences of locus of control, self-monitoring, and self-esteem. LO2.5. Discuss positive and negative affectivity, proactive personality, general self efficacy, and core self-evaluations and their consequences. LO2.6. Define learning and describe what is learned in organizations. LO2.7. Explain operant learning theory and differentiate between positive and negative reinforcements. LO2.8. Explain when to use immediate versus delayed reinforcement and when to use continuous versus partial reinforcement. LO2.9. Distinguish between extinction and punishment and explain how to punish effectively. LO2.10. Explain social cognitive theory and discuss observational learning, self-efficacy beliefs, and self-regulation. LO2.11.Discuss the following organizational learning practices: organizational behaviour modification, employee recognition programs, training and development programs, and career development. CHAPTER OUTLINE AND TEACHING NOTES What Is Personality? Personality refers to the relatively stable set of psychological characteristics that influences the way individuals interact with their environment. It is reflected in the distinctive way that individual’s react to people, situations, and problems. Personality consists of a number of dimensions and traits that are determined in a complex way by generic predisposition and by one’s long-term learning history. As well, people have a variety of personality characteristics. There is no one best personality. Personality and Organizational Behaviour Personality has a rather long and rocky history in organizational behaviour that is demonstrated by the “person-situation” debate and the dispositional, situational, and interactionist approaches. According to the dispositional approach, individuals possess stable traits or characteristics that influence their attitudes and behaviours. According to the situational approach, characteristics of the organizational setting such as rewards and punishment influence people’s feelings, attitudes, and behaviour. According to the interactionist approach, organizational behaviour is a function of both dispositions and the situation. The interactionist approach is the most widely accepted perspective within organizational behaviour. A good example of the interationist approach is the role of personality in strong and weak situations. The role of personality in organizational settings is strongest in “weak” situations where there are loosely defined roles and few rules. In strong situations which have more defined roles, rules, and contingencies, personality tends to have less impact. Thus, the extent to which personality influences people’s attitudes and behaviours depends on the situation. An important implication of the interactionist approach is that some personality characteristics are useful in certain situations. According to trait activation theory, traits lead to certain behaviours when the situation makes the need for that trait salient. Thus, personality characteristics influence people’s behaviour when the situation calls for a particular personality characteristic. As a result, managers need to appreciate the value of diversity and concentrate on achieving the right “fit” between people and positions, and exposing different employees to different management styles. The Five-Factor Model of Personality The “Big Five” dimensions of the Five-Factor model of personality and examples of traits are introduced as well as the kind of jobs where each trait is likely to be relevant: • Extraversion. Sociable, talkative vs. withdrawn, shy. It is especially important for jobs that require a lot of interpersonal interaction, such as sales and management, where being sociable, assertive, energetic, and ambitious is important for success. • Emotional Stability/Neuroticism. Stable, confident vs. depressed, anxious. For most jobs the performance of persons with low emotional stability is likely to suffer. Persons who score high on emotional stability are likely to have more effective interactions with co-workers and customers because they tend to be more calm and secure. • Agreeableness. Tolerant, cooperative vs. cold, rude. Agreeableness is most likely to contribute to job performance in jobs that require interaction and involve helping, cooperating, and nurturing others, as well as in jobs that involve teamwork and cooperation. • Conscientiousness. Dependable, responsible vs. careless, impulsive. Persons who are high on conscientiousness are likely to perform well on most jobs given their tendency toward hard work and achievement. • Openness to Experience. Curious, original vs. dull, unimaginative. People who are high on openness to experience are likely to do well in jobs that involve learning and creativity given that they tend to be intellectual, curious, and imaginative and have broad interests. These dimensions are relatively independent and hold up will cross-culturally. There is also evidence for a genetic basis to them. Research has linked the Big Five to organizational behaviour. There is evidence that each of the “Big Five” dimensions is related to job performance and organizational citizenship behaviours. High conscientiousness is related to performance for all jobs across occupations and is the strongest predictor of overall job performance of all of the “Big Five” dimensions. The “Big Five” have also been found to be related to other work outcomes such as work motivation, job satisfaction, and job search and career success. The Big Five personality dimensions are basic and general while those that follow are more specific. Locus of Control Locus of control is introduced using the examples of Laurie, a hard-working, driven individual who believes that she controls her destiny, and Stan who believes that luck is what provides advancement opportunities. These two examples are used to show the differences between an external locus of control (Stan) and an internal locus of control (Laurie). Locus of control is a set of beliefs about whether one’s behaviour is controlled mainly by internal or external forces. High “externals” see their behaviours controlled by factors like fate, luck and powerful people. High “internals” see stronger effects on their behaviour as a consequence of self-initiative, personal actions and free will. Locus of control influences organizational behaviour in a variety of occupations. Internals are more satisfied with their jobs, more committed to their organizations, earn more money, and achieve higher organizational positions. In addition, they seem to perceive less stress, to cope with stress better, experience less burnout, and to engage in more careful career planning. They are also less likely to be absent from work and to be more satisfied with their lives. Self-Monitoring Self-monitoring is the extent to which people observe and regulate how they appear and behave in social settings and relationships. Individuals low in self-monitoring are said to “wear their hearts on their sleeves.” They act like they feel and say what they think without regard to the situation. Individuals high on self-monitoring behave somewhat like actors, taking great care to observe and control the images that they project. In particular, they tend to show concern for socially appropriate emotions and behaviours, tune in to social and interpersonal cues, and respond accordingly. Self-monitoring is related to organizational behaviour. High self-monitors tend to gravitate toward jobs that require a degree of role-playing such as sales, law, public relations, and politics. They perform particularly well in occupations that call for flexibility and adaptiveness in dealings with diverse constituencies. In terms of work-related outcomes, high self-monitors tend to be more involved in their jobs, to perform at a higher level, and more likely to emerge as leaders. They also experience more role stress and show less commitment to their organization. They have also been found to receive more promotions than low-self-monitors. However, high self-monitors are unlikely to feel comfortable in ambiguous social settings in which it is hard to determine exactly what behaviours are socially appropriate. Dealing with unfamiliar cultures (national or corporate) might provoke stress. Self-Esteem Self-esteem is the degree to which a person has a positive self-evaluation. People with high self-esteem have favourable self-images. People with low self-esteem tend to be more susceptible to external and social influences than those who have high self-esteem, that is, they are more plastic. This is known as behavioural plasticity theory. People with low self-esteem tend to react badly to negative feedback – it lowers their subsequent performance and they do not react well to ambiguous and stressful situations. Despite a possible downside to excessive esteem, organizations will generally benefit from a workforce with high self-esteem. Such people tend to make more fulfilling career decisions, they exhibit higher job satisfaction and job performance, and they are generally more resilient to the strains of everyday work life. Organizations can bolster self-esteem by providing opportunities for participation, autonomy, and interesting work which have been found to be positively related to self-esteem. New Developments in Personality and Organizational Behaviour Five more recent personality variables that are important for organizational behaviour are positive affectivity, negative affectivity, proactive personality, general self-efficacy, and core self-evaluations. Positive and Negative Affectivity. People who are high on positive affectivity have a propensity to view the world, including oneself and other people, in a positive light. People who are high on negative affectivity have a propensity to view the world, including oneself and other people, in a negative light. Positive and negative affectivity are emotional dispositions that predict people’s general emotional tendencies. PA and NA are not opposite ends of a continuum; they are independent dimensions. People who have high positive affectivity report higher job satisfaction while those with high negative affectivity report lower job satisfaction. High PA has also been found to be related to job performance, organizational citizenship behaviours, and creativity at work. People with high negative affectivity tend to experience more stressful conditions at work and report higher levels of workplace stress and strain. NA has also been found to be associated with more counterproductive work behaviours (e.g., harassment, physical aggression), withdrawal behaviours (e.g., absenteeism, turnover), and occupational injury. PA has also been found to be a key factor that links happiness to success in life and at work. Proactive Personality. Proactive behaviour involves taking initiative to improve one’s current circumstances or creating new ones. It involves challenging the status quo. Proactive personality is a stable disposition that reflects a tendency to take personal initiative across a range of activities and situations to effect positive change in one’s environment. Individuals with a proactive personality are relatively unconstrained by situational forces and act to change and influence their environment. Proactive personality is related to a number of work outcomes including job performance, organizational citizenship behaviours, tolerance for stress in demanding jobs, leadership effectiveness, participation in organizational initiatives, work team performance, and entrepreneurship. Persons with a proactive personality have also been found to be more successful when searching for employment and to have greater career success in terms of higher salaries, more frequent promotions, and more satisfying careers. General Self-Efficacy. General self-efficacy (GSE) is a general trait that refers to an individual’s belief in his or her ability to perform successfully in a variety of challenging situations. It is considered to be a motivational trait rather than an affective trait because it reflects an individual’s belief that he or she can succeed at a variety of tasks rather than how an individual feels about him or herself. Individuals with high GSE are better able to adapt to novel, uncertain, and adverse situations. Employees with higher GSE have higher job satisfaction and job performance. Core Self-Evaluations. Core self-evaluations refer to a broad personality concept that consists of more specific traits that reflect the evaluations people hold about themselves and their self-worth. The four specific traits that make up a person’s core self-evaluations are self-esteem, general self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism (emotional stability). Core self-evaluations are positively related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance as well as life satisfaction and career satisfaction. Individuals with higher core self-evaluations perceive fewer stressors at work and experience less stress and conflict at work. People with higher core self-evaluations perceive their jobs as more intrinsically satisfying and have higher perceptions of fairness and support. They are also more likely to perceive and pay attention to the positive aspects of their environments. What Is Learning? Learning occurs when practice or experience leads to a relatively permanent change in behaviour potential. Practice or experience prompts learning which stems from an environment that gives feedback concerning the consequences of behaviour. What do Employees Learning? In organizations, employees learn four general types of content: practical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal skills, and cultural awareness. Practical skills refer to job-specific skills, knowledge, and technical competence required to perform one’s job. Intrapersonal skills refer to skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and risk-taking. Interpersonal skills refer to interactive skills such as communication and teamwork. Cultural awareness refers to the cultural norms and expectations that exist in an organization. Operant Learning Theory Operant learning occurs when the subject learns to operate on the environment to achieve certain consequences. Operantly learned behaviour is controlled by the consequences that follow it. These consequences are usually contingent on the behaviour, and this connection is what is learned. Operant learning can be used to increase the probability of desired behaviours and to reduce or eliminate the probability of undesirable behaviours. Increasing the Probability of Behaviour There are two ways to increase the probability of behaviour, both based on the concept of reinforcement. Reinforcement is the process by which stimuli strengthen behaviours. A reinforcer is a stimulus that follows some behaviour and increases or maintains the probability of that behaviour. Positive reinforcers work by their application to a situation, while negative reinforcers work by their removal from a situation. Positive Reinforcement Positive reinforcement increases or maintains the probability of some behaviour by the application or addition of a stimulus to the situation in question. The stimulus is called a positive reinforcer. Whether or not something is a positive reinforcer depends on whether it increases or maintains the occurrence of some behaviour by its application. Negative Reinforcement Negative reinforcement increases or maintains the probability of some behaviour by the removal of a stimulus from the situation in question. It also occurs when a response prevents some event or stimulus from occurring. The removed or prevented stimulus is called a negative reinforcer. Although negative reinforcers tend to be unpleasant things, it is important to note that stimuli are not inherently positive or negative; they become so only if they increase or maintain the probability of some behaviour by their application (a positive reinforcer) or by their removal or prevention (a negative reinforcer). Organizational Errors Involving Reinforcement Managers sometimes make errors in trying to use reinforcement. The most common errors are confusing rewards with reinforcers, neglecting diversity in preferences for reinforcers, and neglecting important sources of reinforcement. Confusing Rewards with Reinforcers. Rewards can fail to serve as reinforcers when they are not made contingent on specific behaviours that are of interest to the organization. Rewards that are not contingent on specific behaviours which an organization wishes to encourage may fail to serve as reinforcers. Neglecting Diversity in Preferences for Reinforcers. Organizations tend to neglect diversity and individual differences in preferences for reinforcers. Thus, even rewards that are made contingent on behaviour may fail to have a reinforcing effect. Managers need to consider the possible range of stimuli under their control for their applicability as reinforcers for particular employees. Neglecting Important Sources of Reinforcement. While concentrating on potential reinforcers of a formal nature, such as pay or promotions, managers often neglect those which are administered by co-workers or intrinsic to the jobs being performed. Two important sources of reinforcement that managers often ignore are performance feedback and social recognition. Performance feedback involves providing quantitative or qualitative information on past performance for the purpose of changing or maintaining performance in specific ways. Performance feedback is most effective when it is a) conveyed in a positive manner, b) delivered immediately after the performance is observed, c) represented visually, such as in graph or chart form, and d) specific to the behaviour that is being targeted for feedback. Social recognition involves informal acknowledgement, attention, praise, approval, or genuine appreciation for work well done from one individual or group to another. When social recognition is made contingent on employee behaviour it can be an effective means for performance. Reinforcement Strategies Immediate reinforcement entails reinforcing the behaviour of interest without delay after its occurrence. Delayed reinforcement entails reinforcing the behaviour of interest after some time period has elapsed since its enactment. Continuous reinforcement entails reinforcing the behaviour of interest every time it occurs. Partial reinforcement entails reinforcing the behaviour of interest only a portion of the time it occurs. Fast acquisition of some response occurs through continuous, immediate reinforcement, while persistent learning occurs through delayed, partial reinforcement. Note that a reinforcement strategy should match the requirements of a situation. Thus, managers have to tailor reinforcement strategies to the needs of the situation and must alter strategies over time to achieve effective learning and maintenance of behaviour. Reducing the Probability of Behaviour Two strategies to reduce the probability of learned behaviour are extinction and punishment. Extinction Extinction refers to the gradual dissipation of behaviour following the termination of reinforcement. It is the process of doing away with a reinforcer that is maintaining some unwanted behaviour. Behaviours that are not reinforced will gradually dissipate. Note that extinction works best when coupled with reinforcement of some desired substitute behaviour. Also, behaviours learned under delayed or partial reinforcement schedules are more difficult to extinguish than those learned under continuous, immediate reinforcement. Punishment Punishment involves the application of an aversive stimulus following some behaviour designed to decrease the probability of that behaviour. It decreases the probability of some unwanted behaviour by the application or addition of a negative stimulus to the situation in question. Using Punishment Effectively Punishment has some unique characteristics that limit its effectiveness in stopping unwanted behaviour. While it provides a clear signal as to which activities are inappropriate, it does not by itself demonstrate which activities should replace the punished response. Positive and negative reinforcers specify which behaviours are appropriate. Punishment indicates only what is not appropriate and only temporarily suppresses the unwanted response. Thus, it is important to provide an acceptable alternative for the punished response. Another difficulty is that punishment has a tendency to provide a strong emotional reaction on the part of the punished individual. Thus, managers must be sure that their emotions are under control before punishing and should avoid punishment in front of observers. In addition to providing correct alternative responses and limiting the emotions involved in punishment, the following principles should be considered for increasing the effectiveness of punishment: • Make sure the chosen punishment is truly aversive. • Punish immediately. • Do not reward unwanted behaviours before or after punishment. • Do not inadvertently punish desirable behaviour. Punishment can be an effective means of stopping undesirable behaviour when it is applied very carefully and deliberately. In general, reinforcing correct behaviours and extinguishing unwanted responses are safer strategies for managers than the frequent use of punishment. Social Cognitive Theory Learning and behaviour often occurs without the conscious control of positive and negative reinforcers by managers. People have the cognitive capacity to regulate and control their own thoughts, feelings, motivation, and actions. Human behaviour is not simply due to environmental influences. Social cognitive theory emphasizes the role of cognitive processes in regulating people’s behaviour. According to social cognitive theory, human behaviour can best be explained through a system of triadic reciprocal causation in which personal factors and environmental factors work together and interact to influence people’s behaviour. In addition, people’s behaviour also influences personal factors and the environment. According to Albert Bandura, social cognitive theory involves three components: observational learning, self-efficacy beliefs, and self-regulation Observational Learning Observational learning is the process of imitating the behaviour of others. It is a form of learning that occurs by observing or imagining the behaviour of others rather than by direct personal experience. With observational learning, self-reinforcement often shapes the behaviour of the learner. The best models for observing are attractive, credible, competent, and of high status. Vivid, memorable behaviour is most often imitated. The extent of observational learning as a means of learning in organizations suggests that managers should pay more attention to the process. Self-Efficacy Beliefs Self-efficacy beliefs refer to beliefs people have about their ability to successfully perform a specific task. It is a cognitive belief that is task specific and is the result of four sources of information: experience and success performing the task; observation of others performing the task; verbal persuasion and encouragement; and one’s physiological or emotional state. Self-efficacy influences the activities people choose to perform, the amount of effort and persistence devoted to a task, affective and stress reactions, and job performance. Self-Regulation Self-regulation is the process in which people use learning principles to regulate their own behaviour. Self-regulation involves collecting self-observation data, observing models, setting behavioural goals, rehearsing the desired behaviour, and applying self-reinforcement. A key part of the process is people’s pursuit of self-set goals that guide their behaviour. When there exists a discrepancy between one’s goals and performance, individuals are motivated to modify their behaviour in the pursuit of goal attainment (a process known as discrepancy reduction). When individuals attain their goals, they are likely to set even higher and more challenging goals, a process known as discrepancy production. In this way, people continually engage in a process of setting goals in the pursuit of ever higher levels of performance. Thus, discrepancy reduction and discrepancy production lie at the heart of the self-regulatory process. Specific self-regulation techniques include: collect self-observation data, observe models, set goals, rehearse, and reinforce oneself. Research has found that self-regulation can improve learning and result in a change in behaviour. One study found that it reduced absenteeism and in another study it improved the sales performance of a sample of insurance salespeople. Self-regulation programs have been successful in positively changing a variety of work behaviours and are an effective method of training and learning. Organizational Learning Practices Organizations employ a number of practices to enhance employee learning. These practices include organizational behaviour modification, employee recognition programs, training and development programs, and career development. Organizational Behaviour Modification Organizational behavior modification (O.B. Mod) involves the systematic use of learning principles to influence organizational behaviour. The example in the text describes a program to improve safe working practices. Research supports the effectiveness of organizational behaviour modification. O.B. Mod programs have also been used to improve work attendance and task performance. The effects on task performance tend to be stronger in manufacturing than in service organizations. Although money has been found to have stronger effects on performance than social recognition and performance feedback, the use of all three together has the strongest effect on task performance. Employee Recognition Programs Employee recognition programs are formal organizational programs that publicly recognize and reward employees for specific behaviours. To be effective, a formal employee recognition program must specify (a) how a person will be recognized, (b) the type of behaviour being encouraged, (c) the manner of the public acknowledgement, and (d) a token or icon of the event for the recipient. A key part of an employee recognition program is public acknowledgement. Peer recognition programs are formal programs in which employees can publicly acknowledge, recognize, and reward their co-workers for exceptional work and performance. Employee recognition programs have been found to be related to a number of individual and organizational outcomes, including job satisfaction, performance and productivity, and lower turnover. They have also been shown to be effective for improving work attendance. Training and Development Programs Training and development is one of the most common and important types of formal learning in organizations. Training refers to planned organizational activities that are designed to facilitate knowledge and skill acquisition to change behaviour and improve performance in one’s current job; development focuses on future job responsibilities. One of the most widely used and effective methods of training is behaviour modelling training (BMT), which is based on the observational learning component of social cognitive theory and involves the following steps: • Describe to trainees a set of well-defined behaviours (skills) to be learned. • Provide a model or models displaying the effective use of those behaviours. • Provide opportunities for trainees to practise using those behaviours. • Provide feedback and social reinforcement to trainees following practice. • Take steps to maximize the transfer of those behaviours to the job. Research on behavioural modelling training has found that it has a positive effect on learning, skills, and job behaviour and the effects have been found to be greatest when trainees are instructed to set goals and when rewards and sanctions are used in the trainees’ work environment. Career Development Career development is an ongoing process in which individuals progress through a series of stages that consist of a unique set of issues, themes, and tasks. This usually involves a career planning and career management component. Career planning involves the assessment of an individual’s interests, skills, and abilities in order to develop goals and career plans. Career management involves taking the necessary steps that are required to achieve an individual’s goals and career plans and often involves special assignments and activities that are designed to assist employees in their career development. CHAPTER 3 PERCEPTION, ATTRIBUTION, AND DIVERSITY CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 3 students should be able to: LO3.1. Define perception and discuss some of the general factors that influence perception. LO3.2. Explain social identity theory and Bruner’s model of the perceptual process. LO3.3. Describe the main biases in person perception. LO3.4. Describe how people form attributions about the causes of behaviour. LO3.5. Discuss various biases in attribution. LO3.6. Discuss the concepts of workforce diversity and valuing diversity. LO3.7. Discuss how racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and age stereotypes affect organizational behaviour and what organizations can do to manage diversity. LO3.8. Discuss trust perceptions and perceived organizational support and describe organizational support theory. LO3.9. Discuss person perception and perceptual biases in human resources. CHAPTER OUTLINE AND TEACHING NOTES What Is Perception? Perception is the process of interpreting the messages of our senses to provide order and meaning to the environment. Individuals’ perceptual systems help interpret reality, and when that reality is another person, the influence that perception has on organizational behaviour becomes clear. People frequently base their actions on the interpretation of reality that their perceptual system provides rather than on reality itself. Among the most important perceptions that influence organizational behaviour are the perceptions that organizational members have of each other or what is known as person perception. Components of Perception Perception has three components – a perceiver, a target that is being perceived, and some situational context in which the perception is occurring. The Perceiver The perceiver’s experience, needs, and emotions can affect his or her perceptions. a. Experience — The perceiver’s past experience leads him or her to develop expectations, and these expectations affect current perceptions. b. Needs — The particular needs that an individual has at any given point in time will influence his or her perceptions. Often, this results in an individual perceiving what he or she wants to perceive. c. Emotional State — The particular emotions that an individual is experiencing at any given point in time also affect perception. Often one person, when angry, misperceives another. Sometimes, the perceptual system serves to defend against unpleasant emotions, a phenomenon called perceptual defence. In general, we tend to “see what we want to see.” The Target Ambiguity influences the amount of interpretation and addition of meaning to the target. Perceivers have some need to resolve ambiguities about the target. Ambiguous targets are especially susceptible to interpretation, which is what perception is all about. The Situation The situational context in which a perceptual event takes place affects perception, usually by adding information about the target. The most important effect that the situation can have is to add information about the target. Social Identity Theory According to social identity theory, people form perceptions of themselves based on their characteristics and memberships in social categories. Our sense of self is composed of a personal identity and a social identity. Our personal identity is based on our unique personal characteristics, such as our interests, abilities, and traits. Social identity is based on our perception that we belong to various social groups, such as our gender, nationality, religion, occupation, and so on. Personal and social identities help us answer the question, “Who am I?” We categorize ourselves and others to make sense of and understand the social environment. Once a category is chosen, we tend to see members of that category as embodying the most typical attributes of that category, or what are called “prototypes.” Further, people tend to perceive members of their own social categories in more positive and favourable ways than those who are different and belong to other categories. As a result, social identity theory is useful for understanding stereotyping and discrimination. A Model of the Perceptual Process Jerome Bruner developed a model of the perceptual process in which the concept of cues is important. Cues are the bits and pieces of information contained in the target and the situation that we use (or ignore) in forming our perceptions of the target. According to Bruner’s perceptual model, when we encounter an unfamiliar target we are very open to the cues contained in the target and the situation surrounding it. However, once familiar cues are encountered, we attempt to categorize the target. At this point, we are very selective about which cues we perceive, searching out cues that strengthen our categorization of the target. This cue selectivity refers to the perceiver choosing only certain cues out of all the available cues to perceive. Such selectivity is efficient, though efficiency can both aid and hinder our perceptual accuracy. Bruner’s model points out three common perceptual tendencies. Selectivity. Perception is selective – perceivers do not use all the available cues, and those they use are thus given special emphasis. Constancy. Perceptual constancy is the tendency to perceive the target in the same way over time or across situations. Consistency. Perceptual consistency is the tendency to select, ignore, and distort cues in such a manner that they fit together to form a homogeneous image of the target. Basic Biases in Person Perception The perception an individual has of another person is not always an accurate depiction of reality. A number of perceptual biases influence our perception. Primacy and Recency Effects Primacy effect is the tendency to form a fast impression of another person by relying on early cues or first impressions. Primacy can have a lasting effect on the perceiver since the perceiver tends to select cues that are consistent with the first impression. Recency effect is the tendency to give undue weight to the most recent information obtained or last impressions. In other words, last impressions count most. Reliance on Central Traits Another perceptual bias occurs when an individual organizes his or her perceptions around the presence of certain traits or characteristics of a target person that are of interest to him or her. This reliance on central traits influences the perception of the target person, biasing the perceiver to center on those traits that he or she considers important. Physical appearance such as height is a common central trait in work settings that is related to a variety of job-related outcomes. Individuals who are overweight tend to be evaluated negatively on a number of workplace outcomes. Implicit Personality Theories Implicit personality theories suggests that an individual has a “theory” about which personality characteristics go together. For example, if someone is hardworking one may take it for granted that this person is also honest. Since such “theories” are very often inaccurate, they represent another example of perceptual bias. Projection Projection is the tendency to attribute one’s own thoughts and feelings to others. In some cases, projection is an efficient and sensible perceptual strategy and although the projection an individual makes may be accurate, in many situations it is not. Just because a person is honest doesn’t mean that everyone else is honest. Thus, projection can lead to perceptual difficulties. Stereotyping Stereotyping is the tendency to generalize about people in a social category and ignore variations among them. Categories on which people might base a stereotype include race, religion, age, gender, ethnic background, social class, occupation, and so on. There are three specific aspects to stereotyping: ▪ We distinguish some category of people (university professors). ▪ We assume that the individuals in this category have certain traits (absent-minded, disorganized, ivory-tower mentality). ▪ We perceive that everyone in this category possesses these traits (“All my professors this year will be absent-minded, disorganized, and have an ivory-tower mentality”). Stereotypes can be favourable or unfavourable and may be evoked with very little information. Although they help clarify ambiguous targets, stereotypes are very often inaccurate, especially when they are used to develop perceptions of specific individuals. A number of factors work to reinforce inaccurate stereotypes. Even incorrect stereotypes help us process information about others quickly and efficiently and sometimes it is easier for the perceiver to rely on an inaccurate stereotype than it is to discover the true nature of the target. Inaccurate stereotypes are often reinforced by selective perception and the selective application of language. Since most stereotyping is inaccurate, it is best to obtain information about targets before jumping to conclusions. Occupational stereotypes often cause people to assign an elaborate complex of personal characteristics to others based on their membership in a particular occupation. Attribution: Perceiving Causes and Motives Attribution is the process by which causes or motives are assigned to explain people’s behaviour. Dispositional attributions are explanations for behaviour based on an actor’s personality or intellect. Situational attributions are explanations for behaviour based on an actor’s external situation or environment. The attribution process is important because many rewards and punishments in organizations are based on judgments about what really caused a target person to behave in a certain way. Three implicit questions guide our decisions as to whether we should attribute the behaviour to dispositional or situational causes. ● Does the person engage in the behaviour regularly and consistently? (Consistency cues) ● Do most people engage in the behaviour, or is it unique to this person? (Consensus cues) ● Does the person engage in the behaviour in many situations, or is it distinctive to one situation? (Distinctiveness cues) Consistency Cues Consistency cues reflect how consistently a person engages in some behaviour over time. In general, greater consistency provokes dispositional attributions. Consensus Cues Consensus cues reflect how a person’s behaviour compares with that of others. In general, lower consensus behaviours provoke dispositional attributions. Distinctiveness Cues Distinctiveness cues reflect the extent to which a person engages in some behaviour across a variety of situations. In general, behaviours that lack distinctiveness (and thus occur in various situations) provoke dispositional attributions. When a behaviour is highly distinctive in that it occurs in only one situation, we are likely to assume that some aspect of the situation caused the behaviour. Attribution in Action We often have information at hand about consistency, consensus, and distinctiveness, and we tend to use this information whenever we judge people and their behaviour. The example in the textbook describes three employees who are absent from work. A manager must develop an attribution about the cause to decide which action is warranted. The following cue combination results in a dispositional attribution: high consistency, low consensus, low distinctiveness. The following cue combination results in a situational attribution: high consistency, high consensus, high distinctiveness. The following cue combination results in a temporary situation attribution: low consistency, high consensus, and low distinctiveness. Biases in Attribution Several attributional biases exist despite rational attempts to apply cues in making attributions. Three biases in attribution are the fundamental attribution error, actor-observer effect, and self-serving bias. Fundamental attribution error. The fundamental attribution error is the tendency to overemphasize dispositional explanations for behaviour at the expense of situational explanations. This occurs because people are often seen behaving in constraining and constant situations and because the impact of social roles on behaviour is not taken into account. We fail to realize that the observed behaviour is distinctive to a particular situation. Actor-observer effect. The actor-observer effect is the propensity for actors and observers to view the causes of the actor’s behaviour differently. Attributions of the observer are more dispositional, and those of the actor are more situational. Thus, the observer is making the fundamental attribution error while the actor emphasizes the role of the situation. Research on the actor–observer effect has found that it appears to be more likely under particular conditions such as when explaining negative events. Self-serving bias. Self-serving bias is the tendency to take credit for successful outcomes and to deny responsibility for failures. Thus, successes may be attributed to one’s disposition, and failures may be attributed to an uncontrollable situation. People explain the very same behaviour differently on the basis of events that happened after the behaviour occurred. Person Perception and Workforce Diversity Workforce diversity refers to differences among recruits and employees in characteristics, such as gender, race, age, religion, cultural background, physical ability, and sexual orientation. Workforce diversity is an important issue today because the workforce is becoming more diverse and there is growing recognition that many organizations have not successfully managed workforce diversity. The Changing Workplace The changes in the composition of the Canadian workforce over the past few years has had a dramatic effect on the makeup of the workforce and has forced organizations and individuals to deal with these new realities. Changing immigration patterns, the ageing baby boomers, and the increasing movement of women into paid employment have created greater diversity in the workplace. Globalization, mergers, and strategic alliances also require that employees interact with people from different cultures. The increased emphasis on teamwork as a means of job design and quality enhancement has also contributed to the increased interest in diversity issues. Valuing Diversity While legal regulations have encouraged firms to engage in fair hiring and employment practices for decades, it is only recently that organizations have come to recognize the value of diversity and not merely meeting legislated levels. A critical motive for valuing diversity is the basic fairness of doing so. In addition, there is increasing awareness that diversity and its proper management can yield strategic and competitive advantages. Table 3.5 lists the competitive advantages to valuing and managing a diverse workforce. Stereotypes and Workforce Diversity A major barrier to valuing diversity is the stereotype. Common workplace stereotypes are based on gender, age, race, religion, and ethnicity. Stereotypes can have negative effects on how individuals are treated in organizations. Stereotype threat occurs when members of a social group (e.g., visible minorities, women) feel they might be judged or treated according to a stereotype and that their behaviour and/or performance will confirm the stereotype. In other words, the existence of a stereotype threat can undermine a person’s performance. Research has found evidence for stereotype threat effects for ethnicity/race stereotypes and gender-based stereotypes. Racial, Ethnic, and Religious Stereotypes. The impact that racial, ethnic, and religious stereotypes have as a barrier to organizations valuing diversity is examined. Racial, ethnic, and religious stereotypes are pervasive, persistent, frequently negative, and often self-contradictory. Examples that you can use to illustrate racial stereotypes can range from Asians that are seen as mathematically and technically superior, and African American athletes that are seen as athletically superior, but characterized as not having the requisite leadership skills to handle a key position such as the quarterback on a football team. In terms of human resource outcomes, just getting in the door can be a problem. Whites have been found to advance further in the hiring process than blacks even when the applicants are the same age and physical size, have identical education and work experience, and share similar personalities. A recent study on religious discrimination found that female job applicants who appeared to be Muslim experienced more negative interpersonal behaviour and discrimination than non-Muslim female applicants. Along these lines, you might refer students to the Ethical Focus feature which describes how discrimination in hiring has been found to occur when job applicants have an ethnic-sounding name. Career advancement based on racial or ethic stereotypes is also common. Attributions have been found to play an important role in how job performance is interpreted. Recent evidence suggests that organizations are simply reflections of the environments in which they are a part. Thus, if prejudice, negative stereotyping, ethnocentrism, and discrimination exist within the environment that an organization inhabits, it is very likely that these problems will surface within the organization itself. Gender Stereotypes. Gender stereotypes are also problematic for organizations. Women are severely underrepresented in managerial and administrative jobs. Since males dominate business and many males have a false stereotype of women’s executive capabilities, women have not been able to advance as easily as men to higher management levels. Studies have shown that successful middle managers are perceived as having traits and attitudes that are similar to those generally ascribed to men. Thus, stereotypes of successful middle managers do not correspond to stereotypes of women. Although good managers are described today as possessing less masculine characteristics than in past decades, the most recent research indicates that both men and women of varying age, education, and work experience still describe a good manager as possessing predominantly masculine characteristics. Thus, the stereotype of a leader is culturally masculine. People perceive leaders as similar to men but not very similar to women. This stereotype is detrimental to the hiring, development, promotion, and salaries of women. Gender stereotypes are partly to blame for the underrepresentation of women in managerial jobs. However, the detrimental effects of gender stereotypes can be reduced or removed when decision makers have accurate information about the qualifications and performance of particular women and a detailed picture of the job for which the women are applying. In particular, several studies reveal convincingly that women do not generally suffer from gender stereotypes in performance evaluations that their supervisors provide. Instructors can use the “glass ceiling” and discuss which industries or jobs students see as having the greatest incidence of gender stereotypes. Use the construction, accounting, manufacturing, sales and marketing jobs as a starting point. Women have made the most significant progress moving into senior management and executive positions in the financial services industry. On the other hand, industries that tend to be stereotypically male, such as paper and forest products, steel production, motor vehicles and parts, oil and gas, and general manufacturing and construction, continue to have the lowest representation of women in senior positions. Age Stereotypes. Age stereotyping is something that many students will have difficulty in grasping. Knowing that a person falls into a certain age range, we have a tendency to make certain assumptions about the person’s physical, psychological, and intellectual capabilities. For example, older people tend to be perceived as having less capacity for performance than younger people. They are also viewed as being less productive and lacking the potential for development. These stereotypes are essentially inaccurate. Age seldom limits the capacity for development until post-employment years. The most comprehensive study on age and job performance found that age is not related to task performance or creativity. However, older workers were found to exhibit more citizenship behaviours and greater safety-related behaviour, and fewer counterproductive work behaviours. Older workers were also found to exhibit less workplace aggression, on-the-job substance use, tardiness, and absenteeism. Thus, older workers perform as well or better than younger workers across numerous dimensions of job performance Nonetheless, as a result of false stereotypes, many older people have experienced discrimination, and many have taken their complaints to human rights agencies. Discrimination on the basis of age is experienced by people as young as 40 to 45, who are often passed over for merit pay and promotions or pressured to take early retirement. Age stereotypes may have less impact on human resource decisions when managers have good information about the capacities of the particular employee in question. We find that using a highly technical area such as personal computers and popular culture based business such as music and leisure wear will give students an appreciation of how age stereotyping can play a role in organizational life. A good way to begin this discussion is to have students complete the experiential exercise “Beliefs about Older Workers” at the end of the chapter and then have students work in groups and calculate their scores as described in the scoring and interpretation section of the exercise. The On-the-Job Challenge question 1 (Australia’s Jobs Bonus Initiative) can also be used as part of a discussion of age stereotypes and the effect they have on human resource outcomes. Managing Diversity Diversity needs to be managed to have a positive impact on work behaviour and an organization. Management can use a number of strategies to achieve and manage a diverse workforce. One way to begin this discussion is to have students read the chapter-opening vignette on KPMG, and then describe the strategies used to manage diversity. You might also review Exhibit 3.7 which lists the common activities included in diversity programs. It might be helpful to review these activities and ask students if they have experienced any of them in organizations they have applied for or worked in. The most important thing for students to understand from this section is how organizations can manage a diverse workforce and that organizations integrate diversity into all of its policies and practices rather than treat diversity as a stand-alone practice. The textbook describes the following additional examples of how to manage diversity: 1. Select enough minority members to elevate them beyond token status. 2. Encourage teamwork that brings minority and majority members together. 3. Ensure that those making career decisions about employees have accurate information about them. 4. Train people to be aware of stereotypes and to value diversity. The example in the text on Boeing Canada’s strategies for managing diversity also provides a good example and description of diversity activities. It is a good example of a company with a comprehensive diversity program. The strategies used by Boeing to manage diversity include: • Diversity days that feature a lunch from a particular culture accompanied by presentations that include dancers and singers to help employees learn about the diverse backgrounds of their co-workers. • Diversity training that includes formal educational classes on respecting and honouring co-worker’s origins, leanings, and affiliations. • Language training for recent immigrants and others who want to improve their English, as well as training in American Sign Language (ASL). • Monthly awareness campaigns that profile events in the calendar such as Ramadan. • Aboriginal recruitment in partnership with the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development in Winnipeg. • Manages a women’s committee to assist female employees with personal and professional development. • Partners with the Society for Manitobians with Disabilities (SMD) to provide employment opportunities to disabled job seekers. • Job shadowing in cooperation with Red River College’s deaf students program in Winnipeg so that students can see and communicate with deaf employees at work. • A volunteer employment equity and diversity team that meets biweekly to identify and discuss diversity initiatives and plan awareness programs. Diversity training programs are one of the most common approaches for managing diversity, however, there is little hard research on the success of these programs. Further, there is some anecdotal evidence that these programs can actually cause disruption and bad feelings when all they do is get people to open up and voice their stereotypes and then send them back to work. Thus, awareness training should be accompanied by skills training that is relevant to the particular needs of the organization as well as a number of other tactics (see Exhibit 3.7). Organizations that have been successful in managing diversity have an inclusive culture that values individual differences It might also be worthwhile to discuss the impact of diversity programs and to note that there is little hard evidence of the success of them and that they can cause disruption and bad feelings when all they do is get people to open up and generate stereotypes and then send them back to work. This can then lead to a discussion of what organizations must do to ensure that diversity programs are effective. Other tactics that organizations use are described in future chapters: The implications of generational differences in values and work attitudes (Chapter 4) Recognizing diversity in employee needs and motives (Chapter 5) Using alternative working schedules to offer employees flexibility (Chapter 6) Using employee surveys to foster better communication (Chapters 10 and 16) Perceptions of Trust Trust is a topic that students can easily identify with. A good way to begin a discussion on this topic is to ask students what trust means to them and if they trust managers in general and if they trust managers in their current job or a previous job. The discussion can also focus on why they do or do not trust managers they have worked for. You might also ask your students if they trust their co-workers and the effect this has had on them if they do or do not trust them. Trust refers to a willingness to be vulnerable and to take risks with respect to the actions of another party. Trust perceptions toward management are based on perceptions of ability, benevolence, and integrity. Ability refers to employee perceptions regarding management’s competence and skills. Benevolence refers to the extent that employees perceive management as caring and concerned for their interests. Integrity refers to employee perceptions that management adheres to and behaves according to a set of values and principles. The combination of these three factors influences perceptions of trust. Employees who perceive their supervisor as fair also have higher trust perceptions. Perceptions of trust in management are positively related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance and organizational citizenship behaviour, and negatively related to turnover intentions. Trust is considered to be the most critical factor when judging best workplaces in Canada. Trust among co-workers is also important and it has been found to be related to physical symptoms and withdrawal. Perceived Organizational Support Perceived organizational support (POS) refers to employees’ general belief that their organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being. According to organizational support theory, employees who have strong perceptions of organizational support feel an obligation to care about the organization’s welfare and to help the organization achieve its objectives. They feel a greater sense of purpose and meaning and a strong sense of belonging to the organization. As a result, employees incorporate their membership and role within the organization into their social identity and employees feel obligated to reciprocate the organization’s care and support. POS is related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, a positive mood, performance, reduced strains, and lower absenteeism and turnover. The main factors that contribute to POS are perceived supervisor support, fairness, organizational rewards, and job conditions. Supportive human resource practices that demonstrate an investment in employees and recognition of employee contributions are most likely to lead to the development of greater POS. Person Perception in Human Resources Perceptions play an important role in human resources and can influence who gets hired and how one is evaluated once they are hired. Perceptions play a role in three important areas of human resources: applicant perceptions of recruitment and selection, the employment interview, and the performance appraisal. Perceptions of Recruitment and Selection Research on recruitment and selection indicates that how job applicants are treated during the recruitment and selection process influences their perceptions toward the organization and their likelihood of accepting a job offer. According to signalling theory, job applicants interpret their recruitment experiences as cues or signals about unknown characteristics of the organization and what it will be like to work in an organization. These perceptions are important because they influence a job applicant’s likelihood of remaining in the selection process and accepting a job offer. Applicants also form perceptions toward organizations based on the selection tests they are required to complete. Job applicants form more positive perceptions of the selection process when selection procedures are perceived as fair. Applicants who have more positive perceptions of selection fairness are more likely to view the organization favourably and to have stronger intentions to accept a job offer and recommend the organization to others. Employment interviews and work samples are perceived more favourably than cognitive ability tests, which are perceived more favourably than personality tests and honesty tests. Perceptions in the Employment Interview A complex perceptual task like the employment interview is used to illustrate how perceptual accuracy can be a problem. Research shows that the interview is a valid selection device, although it is far from perfectly accurate, especially when the interviewer conducts it in an unstructured, free-form format. The interview is a difficult setting in which to form accurate impressions about others. Interviewers often adopt “perceptual” crutches” that hinder accurate perception. A number of factors affect the validity of the employment interview. Applicants are usually motivated to present an especially favourable impression of themselves. Perceptual biases that increase the difficulties in the interview include primacy, the use of inaccurate ideal stereotypes, and the tendency to underweight positive information about applicants which means that negative information has undue impact on the decision. Contrast effects occur when previously interviewed job applicants affect an interviewer’s perception of a current applicant, leading to an exaggeration of differences between applicants. This might occur in an interview when an interviewer rates an average candidate low after the interviewer has just seen two excellent candidates. The validity of the interview improves when it is structured. Based on research conducted by Derek Chapman and David Zweig, interview structure involves four dimensions: evaluation standardization (the extent to which the interviewer uses standardized and numeric scoring procedures); question sophistication (the extent to which the interviewer uses job-related behavioural questions and situational questions); question consistency (the extent to which the interviewer asks the same questions in the same order of every candidate); and rapport building (the extent to which the interviewer does not ask personal questions that are unrelated to the job). Interviews are more likely to be structured when the interviewer had formal interview training and focuses on selection rather than recruitment during the interview. Perceptions and the Performance Appraisal Organizations need to measure performance for decisions about pay raises, promotions, and training needs. This involves the use of objective and subjective measures of performance. Objective and Subjective Measures. Objective measures, such as attendance records and sales figures can be used to measure performance. These are measures that do not involve a substantial degree of human judgment. However, it is difficult to find objective indicators of performance as one moves up the organizational hierarchy and they are often contaminated by situational factors. Thus, organizations must often rely on subjective measures of effectiveness that are usually provided by managers and involve the use of rating scales. However, observers’ are confronted by a number of perceptual roadblocks such as not being in a position to observe to observe many instances of effective and ineffective performance as well as rater errors. Rater Errors. Subjective performance appraisal is susceptible to some of the perceptual biases we discussed earlier such as primacy, recency, and stereotypes. In addition, rater errors are also possible in subjective performance evaluation. Leniency is the tendency to perceive the job performance of ratees as especially good. Harshness is the tendency to perceive the job performance of ratees as especially ineffective. Central tendency is the tendency to assign most ratees to middle-range job performance categories. These rating tendencies are partially a function of rater’s personal experiences and not all instances of them represent perceptual errors. The halo effect occurs when the observer allows the rating of an individual on one trait or characteristic to colour the ratings on other traits or characteristics. For example, a manager who rates an employee low on punctuality may devalue the employee’s quality of work as well. As a result, the rater fails to perceive differences within ratees. Similar-to-me effects occur when a rater gives more favourable evaluations to people who are similar to the rater in terms of background or attitudes. For example, a rater may overestimate the performance of an individual who holds similar religious or political views. This probably stems from a tendency to view our own performance, attitudes, and background as “good” and then generalize that to others who are similar to us in some way. Because it is difficult to get good subjective evaluations of employee performance, a number of techniques have been developed for reducing perceptual errors and biases. One example of this is a behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) that gives very specific behavioural examples of good, average, and poor performance. The idea is that with such an aid the rater will be less susceptible to perceptual errors. Another example is frame-of- reference (FOR) training which involves providing raters with a common frame-of-reference to use when rating individuals. Raters learn about each performance dimension and are provided with examples of good, average, and poor performance and to use the same frame-of-reference when rating all individuals. Research on FOR training has shown that it is a very effective method for improving rating accuracy A CLASSROOM DEMONSTRATION: THE FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR The text defines the fundamental attribution error as the tendency for observers to overemphasize dispositional factors in explaining the behaviour of others at the expense of situational explanations. The role of situational factors is thus downplayed. We often introduce this topic (without preamble) using the following exercise: Before class begins, privately ask one of the brighter, more outgoing students to think up three difficult but general knowledge questions to which he or she knows the answer. When the time arrives to discuss the fundamental attribution error, announce to the class that this “questioner” will quiz an “answerer.” Choose another bright student with high ego strength to be the “answerer.” As you might guess, this “needle in a haystack” setup doesn’t favour the answerer, who doesn’t do very well. Then ask the class “Who’s smarter? The questioner or the answerer?” The students grin, because they know that 1) the questioner looks brighter and 2) this is something of a setup. Then continue by pointing out that the classroom demonstration is a simulation of an actual study done by Lee Ross and colleagues (L. Ross, T.M. Amabile, & J.L. Steinmets, “Social Roles, Social Controls, and Biases in Social Perception Processes,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1977). In that study and others, observer, questioners, and answerers have rated the questioner as more knowledgeable. This is, of course, a dispositional attribution, and it occurs despite the strong and obvious impact of a situational factor (role assignment as questioner or answerer) on the outcome of the quiz. A CLASSROOM DEMONSTRATION: SELF-SERVING BIAS The text defines self-serving bias as a tendency to take credit for successes and to deny responsibility for failures. A little more generally, self-serving bias can also be seen in self-assessment of one’s own character. Dana S. Dunn (“Demonstrating a Self-Serving Bias,” Teaching of Psychology, February 1989, pp. 21-22) describes a simple but effective technique for illustrating this in the classroom. Simply have student volunteers cite some of their strengths and weaknesses and write them in two columns on the board. Professor Dunn notes that the strengths column will generally be longer than the weaknesses column, and that several weaknesses will in fact be modest or socially acceptable versions of strengths (e.g., “workaholic”). Professor Dunn also points out that this can be done as an (anonymous) hand-in assignment. The instructor can then calculate the mean strength and weakness results for the next class session. Possible debriefing questions: Are these biases indicative of true self-perceptions, or do they contain some self-presentational public relations? Are they adaptive or maladaptive? How do they affect encounters such as performance evaluation discussions between managers and employees? Another approach for demonstrating the self-serving bias is to ask students to recall the last time they did very well on an exam and the last they did very poorly. Then have them list the main reasons why they did very well on one exam and the reasons they did very poorly on the other exam. Have them list their reasons in order of importance. Then ask them to label their main reasons as dispositional or situational. The results should reveal that students take credit for their successful exam but find situational explanations for their poor exam performance. Instructor Manual for Organizational Behaviour: Understanding and Managing Life at Work Gary Johns, Alan M. Saks 9780133347500, 9780133951622