Week 2-Individual Behavior

FOUNDATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR

SM 60.42 - OBSProf. S. SiengthaiSOM/AIT/THEmail: [email protected]; [email protected]

Learning Objectives:

Define the key biographical characteristics; Identify two types of ability; Shape the behavior of others; Identify the major individual

variables that influence work behavior; Distinguish between the four schedules of reinforcement; Clarify the role of punishment in learning; Practice self-management. Perception and its influence on individual behavior; Describe how attributions influence our behavior Distinguish between stereotyping and prejudice;

Learning Objectives:

Explain what an attitude is and identify its three components;

Discuss the relationship between job satisfaction and performance;

Describe the major forces influencing personality Identify the Big Five personality dimensions. Discuss several important personality factors.

Biographical characteristics:

Age;Gender;Marital status;Job tenureEducational attainment.Socioeconomic background;Nationality;Race.

Ability:•Intellectual abilities;•Physical ability;•The ability - job fit

Individual Variables: (contd.)

Aptitude, Ability and Skill:-Aptitude represents a person’s capability of learning something, whereas ability reflects a person’s existing capacity to perform various tasks needed for a given job and includes both relevant knowledge and skills.

-Although distinctions can be made between the two terms, ‘ability and skill’, often are used interchangeably. -Some abilities and skills are primarily innate. These Include such characteristics as spatial orientation, eye- hand coordination, and numerical facility. Others may be learned such as using a key board, operating a lathe, or driving an automobile.

Dimension of Intellectual Ability:

Number aptitude; Verbal comprehension; Perceptual speed; Inductive reasoning; Deductive reasoning; Spatial visualization; Memory.

Learning:

Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.

Theories of learning:

Classical conditioning; Operant conditioning; Social cognitive learning;

Attentional processes; Retention processes; Motor reproduction processes; Reinforcement processes;

Shaping: A managerial tool

4 Methods of shaping behavior:

* positive reinforcement;

* negative reinforcement;

* punishment; and

* extinction.

Research findings on shaping behavior:

1. Some type of reinforcement is necessary to produce a change in behavior;

2. Some types of rewards are more effective than others for use in organization;

3. The speed with which learning takes place and the permanence of its effects will be determined by the timing of reinforcement.

Two major types of schedules of reinforcement:

1. Continuous reinforcement; 2. Intermittent reinforcement: 2.1 fixed-interval; 2.2 variable-interval; 2.3 fixed-ratio; 2.4 variable-ratio.

Behavior modification:

The typical OB Mod program follows a 5-step problem-solving model:

1. Identifying critical behaviors;2. Developing baseline data;3. Identifying behavioral consequences;4. Developing and implementing an intervention

strategy;5. Evaluating performance improvement.

Values

Personality

Perceptions

Emotions and attitudes

Stress

Individual characteristics

MARS Model

MARS model of individual behavior and results

Motivation

Ability

Role Perception

Behavior andResults

SituationalFactors

Source: McShane and Von Glinow (2005) Organizational Behavior, McGraw-Hill , p.38.

Variables that Influence Work Behavior:

Individual VariablesDemographic factorsAbilities and skillsPerceptionAttitudesPersonality

Work BehaviorProductiveNonproductiveCounterproductive

Organizational Variables:ResourcesLeadershipRewardsStructureJob Design

Individual Variables: (contd.)

Perception:

Perception is the cognitive process by which an individual gives meaning to the environment. Because each person gives his or her own meaning to stimuli, different individuals will “see” the same thing in different ways.

Perception involves cognition (knowledge).Thus, perception includes the interpretation of objects, symbols, and people in the light of pertinent experiences. In other words, perception involves receiving stimuli, organizing the stimuli, and translating or interpreting the organized stimuli so as to influence behavior and form attitudes.

Individual Variables: (contd.)

Stereotyping:

-a process employed to assist individuals in dealing with massive information-processing demands.-stereotypes can be helpful but prejudice is never helpful. This is because prejudice is a stereotype that refuses to change when presented with information indicating the stereotype is inaccurate.

How to use stereotypes more effectively:

Remember that stereotypes are frequently based on little or inaccurate information;

Always be willing to change or add information that will improve the accuracy of your stereotypes;

Understand that stereotypes rarely accurately apply to a specific individual. Judgments based on personal knowledge of a specific person are almost always more accurate than using a broad category to which that person belongs.

The Attribution Process:

EventAnalysis of What causedThe event

ReinforcementOr modification of Previous AssumptionsOf causality

Choices RegardingFuturebehavior

Adapted from Abraham Korman, Organizational Behavior (Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1977), p.273.

Attribution theory is concerned with the process by which individuals interpret events around them as being caused by a relatively stable portion of their environment.

The Attribution Process:

The attribution process also can be important in understanding the behavior of other people. The behavior or others can be examined on the basis of its distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus.

Distinctiveness is the degree to which a person behaves similarly in different situations.

Consistency is the degree to which a person engages in the same behaviors at different times.

Consensus is the degree to which other people are engaging in the same behavior.

The attributions made regarding why the event took place have important implications ford dealing with the problem.

Attitude:

Attitudes are determinants of behavior because they arelinked with perception, personality, and motivation.

An attitude is a mental state of readiness, learned andOrganized through experience, exerting a specific influence on a person’s response to people, objects, and situations with which it is related. The implications:1. Attitudes are learned.2. Attitudes define one’s predispositions toward given

aspects of the world. 3. Attitudes provide the emotional bias of one’s interpersonal

relations and identification with others.4. Attitudes are organized and are close to the core of

personality.

Attitude:

Affect is the emotional component of an attitudes and is often learned from parents, teachers, and peer group members. It is the part of an attitude that is associated with “feeling” a certain way about a person, group, or situation.

Sometimes, there may be discrepancies between attitudes and behaviors. That is, the behavioral component of an attitude held by someone might suggest behavior different from or even opposed to the actual behavior engaged in by the individual.

This kind of discrepancy is called “ cognitive dissonance”.

Changing Attitude:

Many variables affect attitude change, they all can be described in terms of three general factors: trust in the sender, the message itself, and the situation.

The greater the prestige of the communicator, the greater the attitude change that is produced. Liking the communicator can lead to attitude change because people try to identify with a liked communicator and tend to adopt attitudes and behaviors of the liked person.

Even if a manager is trusted, presents a convincing message, and is liked, the problems of changing people’s attitudes are not easily solved. An important factor is the strength of the employees’ commitment to an attitude.

Changing Attitude:

An attitude that has been expressed publicly are more difficult to change because the person has shown commitment, and to change would be to admit a mistake.

Studies indicate that if people are distracted while they are listening to a message, they will show more attitude change because the distraction interferes with silent counter-arguing.

How to increase effectiveness in changing attitudes

It is easier to make small changes than large ones. If the change you want is a large one, you will be more effective if you concentrate on gradually changing the attitude over a period of time;

The key to changing an attitude is to identify the beliefs or values that are part of it and then provide the attitude holder with information that will alter those beliefs or values;

Don’t overlook the setting in which the attempted change occurs. Make it as pleasant and enjoyable as possible;

How to increase effectiveness in changing attitudes

People will more likely change their attitudes when it is to their advantage to do so. Help identify reasons that changing the attitude is a good idea.

Personality:

Personality is a relatively stable set of feelings and behaviors that have been significantly formed by genetic and environmental factors.

Or in other words, it represents the overall profile or combination of characteristics that capture the unique nature of a person as the person reacts and interacts with others.

1. Personality appears to be organized into patterns which are, to some degree, observable and measurable;

2. Personality has superficial aspects, such as attitudes toward being a team leader, and a deeper core, such as sentiments about authority or the strong work ethic;

Personality:

3. Personality involves both common and unique characteristics. Every person is different from every other person in some respects and similar to other persons in other respects.

Personality Determinants:

Heredity – refers to those factors that were determined at conception.

Environment – These include: culture, our earlyConditioning, the norms among family, friends, and social groups; and other experiences.

Situation – influences the effects of heredity and environment on personality.

Sixteen Primary Traits:

1. Reserved 2. Less intelligent 3. Affected by feelings 4. Submissive 5. Serious 6. Expedient 7. Timid 8. Tough-minded 9. Trust 10. Practical 11. Forthright 12. Self-assured 13. Conservative 14. Group dependent 15. Uncontrolled 16. Relaxed

Outgoing More intelligent Emotionally stable Dominant Happy-go-lucky Conscientious Venturesome Sensitive Suspicious Imaginative Shrewd Apprehensive Experimenting Self-sufficient Controlled Tense

The Big Five Personality Model:

Extroversion – the tendency to be friendly, sociable, and expressive. Emotional stability – the tendency to experience positive emotional states. Feeling psychologically secure, calm, and relaxed are แonsistent with having high emotional stability.Agreeableness – Being courteous, forgiving, tolerant, trusting, and soft-hearted are traits associated with agreeableness.conscienciousness – is exhibited by those who are described as dependable, organized, and responsible. It also includes perseverance, hard work, and achievement orientation.Openness to experience – the extent to which an individual has broad interests and is willing to be a risk-taker. Specific traits include curiosity, broad-mindedness, creativity, imagination, and intelligence.

Consciousness

Agreeableness

Neuroticism

Openness to experience

Extroversion

Careful, dependable, self-disciplined

Courteous, good-natured, empathic, caring

Anxious, hostile, depressed

Sensitive, flexible, creative, curious

Outgoing, talkative, sociable, assertive

People who score high on this dimension tend to be more:Dimension

Source: McShane and Von Glinow (2005)

The Big Five Personality Model:

A few select personality traits are used to examine the relationship between behavior and performance. Three such characteristics are:

1. Locus of control – the degree to which they believe their behaviors influence what happens to them;.

2. Self-efficacy- personal beliefs regarding competencies and abilities; (magnitude, strength, and generality)

3. Creativity – The ability to break away from habit-bound thinking and produces innovation, and innovation is the life-blood of a growing number of corporations.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator:

This is one of the most widely used personality frameworks.

It is essentially a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in particular situations.

Holland’s Six-Types of personality and work environment

Holland type Personality traits Work environment characteristicsRealistic Practical, shy, Work with hands, machines, or tools materialistic stable focus on tangible resultsInvestigative Analytic, introverted, Work involves discovering, collecting, and reserved, curious, analyzing; solving problems. precise, independentArtistic Creative, impulsive, Work involves creation of new products idealistic, intuitive, or ideas, typically in an unstructured setting emotionalSocial Sociable, outgoing, Work involves serving or helping others, conscious, need for working in teams affiliation Enterprising Confident, assertive Work involves leading others; achieving energetic, need for goals through others in a results-oriented power settingConventional Dependable, disciplined Work involves systematic manipulation of orderly, practical, data or information efficient

McShane & Von Glinow (2005) p,63

References:

Ivancevich and Matteson (1999) Organizational Behavior and Management, McGraw-Hill International Editions.

Robbins, Stephen P. (2003) Organizational Behavior, Prentice Hall, 10th edition.

Schermerhorn; Hunt; and Osborn (2003) Organizational Behavior, 8th edition, John Wiley & Sons.

McShane, Steven L. and Von Glinow, Mary Ann (2005) Organizational Behavior, McGraw-Hill, third edition, 688 pp.