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Chapter 3
Understanding and
Valuing Differences
A Rich Stew
• The modern workplace is much more than a melting pot
in which contents are transformed into a uniform mass.
• It is more like a rich stew, with ingredients varying in
origin and properties, providing different flavors,
nuances, and textures, and retaining their character
while contributing to the whole.
• Many characteristics of these ingredients are important,
including race and ethnic origin, gender, age, abilities,
sexual orientation, personality, attitudes, and much
more.
A Rich Stew (Continued)
• As the ingredients become more varied, they offer the
potential for an expanded, more exotic and exciting menu.
• Still, it is a challenge to blend the ingredients in ways that
bring out their best properties.
• And, a stew that is a delight to one person may seem
bland or bitter or simply unpalatable to another.
• In this chapter we explore the challenge of recognizing
and capturing the best qualities of available ingredients -valuing diversity -- while creating a successful stew -managing diversity.
Some Individual Differences
in Organizations
Demographic
Diversity
Attitudes
Individual
Differences
Perceptions
Personality
Cross-Cultural
Differences
Managing Diversity
• Diversity refers to the membership mix in organizations in
terms of gender, race, ethnic origin, and other
characteristics.
• The Pillsbury Company defines diversity as “all the ways in
which we differ.”
• Historically, many companies have focused on the potential
problems created by a diverse workforce.
– It was felt there would be more misunderstandings and
coordination problems as diversity increased.
– Very real prejudices against members of certain groups, such as
blacks and women, could lead to conflict and mistrust.
• Increasingly, organizations are learning to value diversity.
Valuing Diversity
• Diversity can provide a powerful competitive advantage.
• A diverse workforce brings more perspectives and a wider
range of knowledge to bear on problems, increasing
creativity and decision-making effectiveness.
• Diversity helps the firm understand and meet the needs of
diverse markets.
• Companies that become successful at managing a diverse
workforce also see their recruiting prospects enhanced.
• Active steps toward fostering diversity in the workplace
include training for tolerance, rewarding diversity efforts,
changing employee attitudes toward diversity, and
developing supportive personnel policies.
Focus on Management:
Diversity Awareness at Celanese
• Ernest Drew, the former CEO of Celanese, became an advocate of a
more diverse workforce while attending a conference for Celanese’s
top 125 officers, mostly white men, who were joined by about 50
lower-level women and minorities.
• The group split into problem-solving teams, some mixed by race and
sex and others all white and male, to address questions relating to
Celanese’s corporate culture.
• When the teams presented their findings, one thing seemed clear to
Drew. “It was so obvious that the diverse teams had the broader
solutions. … For the first time, I realized that diversity is a strength
as it relates to problem solving.”
• As a result, Drew made Celanese a pioneer in attracting, retaining, and
promoting women and minorities.
The Diversity Elite
(From Figure 3-1)
Rank and
Company
# of
% Minority Minorities Comments
Minorities Officials & as % of
on Board Managers New Hires
1. Union Bank of
Managers at all levels participate in numerous
California
7 of 17
35.9%
56%
social, business, and community groups affiliated
with various minorities.
2. Fannie Mae
4 of 16
27.3%
47%
Chairman and CEO Franklin Raines is the first
black to head a Fortune 500 company.
3. Public Service Co. of
One of only five companies to win the Hispanic
N.M.
3 of 9
34.2%
48%
Association on Corporate Responsibility’s top grade
for board representation.
4. Sempra Energy
5 of 16
28.0%
39%
Helps its minority vendors develop management
skills, access capital, and obtain technical expertise.
5. Toyota Motor Sales
Increased the number of women- and minority13 of 18
19.3%
35%
owned dealerships by 22% between 1994 and 1998.
Training for Tolerance
• Firms are adopting many approaches toward
training for tolerance.
• At Celanese, the top 26 officers are each required
to join two organizations in which they are a
minority.
• Firms are also providing training to integrate
sexual orientation into ongoing diversity efforts.
• Many firms are “gender training” to promote
tolerance between the sexes.
Rewarding Diversity Efforts
• Some firms are tying performance appraisal to their
efforts to increase diversity.
• At Celanese, attainment of workforce diversity is one
of four sets of outcomes that are equally weighted in
performance appraisals.
• Coca-Cola’s new chairman and CEO, Douglas Daft,
announced that he would tie his own compensation
and that of others throughout the management ranks
to diversity goals and would create an executive
position for promoting minorities.
Changing Employee Attitudes Toward
Diversity
• Companies are using a variety of innovative
approaches to develop more positive employee
diversity-related attitudes and skills.
• US WEST Dex trains its employees via a threeday diversity awareness workshop.
• US WEST Dex also uses “resource groups,”
volunteer-driven meetings that address the
concerns of particular employees, such as women,
blacks, Hispanics, gays, and lesbians; all
employees are encouraged to attend.
Focus on Management: Diversity
Seminars at Rohm & Haas Texas Inc.
• At Rohm & Haas cross-functional teams are part of total quality
efforts and were selected to take advantage of the variety of
experiences and perspectives offered by diversity.
• However, as positions opened up on other teams, employees began
to migrate to teams composed of members with whom they felt they
had more in common; African American employees, for example,
would apply for teams with more African American members.
• Rohm & Haas launched five-hour awareness seminars that stressed
the benefits of diversity and focused on tension that any kind of
difference creates.
• 95% of employees participated, and the company credits the
seminars with getting its quality efforts back on track.
Developing Personnel Policies
That Support Diversity
• AT&T, which has announced major job cuts every year since
1990, monitors workforce reduction by department and finds
creative ways to keep valued workers, regardless of their gender
or color.
• Workers may be retrained for work elsewhere in AT&T or
assigned to the in-house temporary agency and loaned out to
various departments until permanent jobs are found for them.
• AT&T also offers valued laid-off employees an “enhanced leave
of absence” in which the employee takes two years off to go to
school or travel, with full benefits and assurance of
reemployment at the same level and pay if a job in the company
is available upon return.
The Bottom Line: Developing a
Diversity Program
Obtain the
Support of Top
Management
Foster a
Culture
That
Supports the
Diversity
Program
Develop a
Definition of
What Diversity
Means in the
Organization
Evaluate the
Diversity
Program and
Modify as
Needed
Identify Specific
Objectives for the
Diversity
Program
Implement
the
Diversity
Program
Educate All
Employees
Regarding
the
Diversity
Program
Develop the
Elements of the
Program That
Support
Diversity Goals
Identify
Measures of
the Diversity
Program’s
Effectiveness
Personality
Understanding Personality
• Personality is the organized and distinctive pattern of
behavior that characterizes an individual’s adaptation
to a situation and endures over time.
• The distinctive character of personality allows us to
tell people apart.
• The enduring character of personality permits us to
recognize people and to anticipate their behaviors.
• Personality determines how people respond to new
situations and interact with others, whether they can
work on their own, and much else.
Aristotle’s Challenge
Anyone can become angry -- that is easy.
But to be angry with the right person, to
the right degree, at the right time, for the
right purpose, and in the right way -this is not easy.
ARISTOTLE, The Nichomachean Ethics
In The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle
presented a challenge to manage our
emotional life with intelligence. Our
passions, when well exercised, have
wisdom; they guide our thinking, our
values, our survival. The question is,
how can we bring intelligence to our
emotions?
The Marshmallow Test
• Children at age 4 were given an IQ test and the
“Marshmallow Test.” With the Marshmallow Test,
the child is given a marshmallow and told that if s/he
can put off eating it until later, s/he can have two.
• Twelve to fourteen years later, reaction to this
moment of impulse was twice as powerful a predictor
as IQ of how children did on the Scholastic Aptitude
Test. It also predicted adjustment, popularity,
confidence, and dependability.
Is IQ Enough?
• Most experts now agree that IQ scores are heavily
influenced by a relatively narrow range of linguistic
and math skills.
• So, IQ taps only a small part of the structure of
intellect.
• The skills tapped by IQ tests may be relevant to
classroom performance but less so as life’s path
diverges from academe.
• This suggests the need to take a broader view of
intelligence.
How Do People Describe An
“Intelligent” Person?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Solves problems well
Displays interest in the world at large
Accepts others for what they are
Admits mistakes
Is goal oriented
Converses well
Together, these suggest that people focus on the
practical and worldly side of intelligence, rather
than just on “academic” intelligence.
Some Forms of Intelligence
(Howard Gardner -- Frames of Mind)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Logical-mathematical
Linguistic
Bodily-kinesthetic
Visual-spatial
Musical
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalist
“IQ”
“Emotional
Intelligence”
Personal Intelligences
• Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to
understand other people: what motivates
them, how they work, how to work
cooperatively with them.
• Intrapersonal intelligence is the capacity to
form an accurate model of oneself and to be
able to use that model to operate effectively
in life.
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
“Emotional intelligence is a phrase for a different way of
being smart. It’s not the usual way of thinking about it -academic smarts -- IQ -- it’s how you do in life, how you
manage yourself, your feelings, how you get along with
other people, whether you’re empathic, how well
motivated you are.”
Daniel Goldman, author
Emotional Intelligence
Two “Brains”
• The amygdala -- the “emotional brain,” the
source of emotional life
• The neocortex -- the “thinking cap,” source
of planning, learning, and memory
Questions Calling for EQ
• Should you trust a coworker with a
confidence?
• Is a friend on the verge of a nervous
breakdown?
• How should you behave in an escalating
argument?
• How should you respond to a racist joke?
Why Care About Emotional Intelligence?
• The emotional brain may “highjack” the rational brain.
Fear, rage, and jealousy may prevent us from rationally
addressing problems.
• EQ is especially important in higher-level jobs,
including leadership roles. While technical skills may
suffice in lower-level positions, the ability to deal with
others becomes critical as we advance in organizations.
• EQ is critical for working in groups.
• EQ is needed to effectively manage diversity.
• EQ helps us adapt to new situations.
Key Emotional Intelligence Abilities
• Self-Awareness -- Recognizing an emotion as it
engulfs us;
• Emotion Management -- Controlling reactions to
emotion-laden events so that our response fits the
situation;
• Self-Motivation -- Directing emotions in service
of a desirable goal;
• Empathy -- Recognizing emotions in others;
• Relationship Management -- Managing the
emotions in others.
Some Consequences of EQ
In business settings, EQ has been found to be
related to:
• leadership ability
• group performance
• individual performance
• interpersonal/social exchange
• change management skills
• ability to conduct performance appraisals
Multiple Intelligences at Saturn Corp.
• At Saturn Corp., all 10,000 employees are
required to take 92 hours of instruction each year.
• They first learn about the multiple intelligences.
• They then select courses of their choosing, such as
safety or leadership.
• Instructors adapt multiple-intelligence training to
the programs. They might, for instance, use music
to enhance technical training courses.
Personality Theories
• Some early personality theories saw behavior as
being related to innate traits, such as
independence, sociability, and humility. These
traits were felt to be stable, enduring, and
interrelated. The unique combination of these
traits was seen as a clue to personality.
• According to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic
theory, we are motivated by drives or instincts.
We may be unaware of these drives, and they are
largely outside our control.
Personality Theories (Continued)
• Humanistic-existential theories focus on the total
personality of the individual rather than on the separate
behaviors that make up the personality. They emphasize
striving for awareness and fulfillment of human potential.
• Learning theories see personality as a set of patterns of
learned behaviors. That is, personalities differ because
people have different experiences in childhood and
throughout life.
• Together, the approaches provide a variety of potentially
useful perspectives for examining and predicting human
behavior.
Some Key Personality
Dimensions
Risk-Taking
Propensity
The “Big 5”
Type A and
Type B
SelfMonitoring
Proactive
Personality
PERSONALITY
Authoritarianism
Machiavellianism
Tolerance for
Ambiguity
Dogmatism
Locus of
Control
Risk-Taking Propensity
• People differ markedly in their risk-taking propensity.
• Some are risk averse; they like to “play it safe,”
choosing alternatives that are likely to give a relatively
low but certain return.
• Others -- risk seekers -- like to gamble. They prefer
alternatives that may turn out very well or very poorly.
• Risk seekers tend to make fast decisions based on
relatively little information.
Proactive Personality
• Proactivity is the extent to which people take
actions to influence their environments/
• Proactive individuals look for opportunities, show
initiative, take action, and persevere until they are
able to bring about change.
• Proactive individuals have been shown to engage
in high levels of entrepreneurial activities and to
have relatively high levels of job performance.
• This is a trait that is highly valued by employers.
Authoritarianism
• Authoritarian individuals believe that power and status
should be clearly defined and that there should be a
hierarchy of authority.
• They feel that authority should be concentrated in the hands
of a few leaders and that this authority should be obeyed.
• Authoritarian leaders expect unquestioning obedience to
their commands.
• Authoritarian subordinates willingly give obedience.
• Authoritarian individuals are likely to be comfortable in
organizations that emphasize rules and the chain of
command.
Dogmatism
• Dogmatic individuals are closed-minded.
• They have rigid belief systems and “doggedly” stick to
their opinions, refusing to revise them in the face of
conflicting evidence.
• Dogmatic individuals make decisions quickly, based on
relatively little information, and are confident in their
decisions.
• They like to follow the rules and are unlikely to consider
novel alternatives.
• They may perform acceptably in well-defined, routine
situations, but do poorly in situations requiring creativity.
Locus of Control
• Locus on control is an indicator of an individual’s sense
of control over the environment and external events.
– A person with an internal locus of control feels in control of
his or her life.
– A person with an external locus of control feels controlled by
fate, chance, and circumstance.
• Internals are generally more highly motivated than
externals.
• Leaders who are internal tend to choose more innovative
strategies and to be more proactive and future oriented.
Tolerance for Ambiguity
• Individuals with high tolerance for ambiguity
welcome uncertainty and change.
• Those with low tolerance for ambiguity see such
situations as threatening and uncomfortable.
• Since managers are increasingly facing dynamic,
unstructured situations, tolerance for ambiguity is
clearly an important characteristic.
Machiavellianism
• Machiavellians:
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
– think any behavior is acceptable
if it achieves their goals
– try to manipulate others
– are unemotional and detached
– “look out for Number One”
– aren’t likely to be good team
players
– are relatively likely to be
unethical
Web Wise: Machiavelli’s The Prince
• The term Machiavellian comes from Niccolo Machiavelli,
author of The Prince. Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a
practical guide for the ruling Medici family on how to
deal with the problems a monarch faces in staying in
power.
• The main theme of the book is that princes should retain
absolute control of their territories and should use any
means necessary to accomplish this end, including deceit.
• The book has caused Machiavelli’s name to become
synonymous with self-serving, manipulative, deceitful
behavior.
Self-Monitoring
• Self-monitoring is a person’s ability to adjust his or her
behavior to external, situational factors.
• High self-monitors:
– are very sensitive to external cues and are “chameleon-like.”
– can present striking contradictions between their public and
private lives -- are capable of “disguise.”
– are effective in “boundary role” situations and other situations
requiring multiple “faces.”
• High self-monitors are more likely to assume leadership
roles than low self-monitors
Type A and Type B
• Type A individuals:
– feel great time pressure and impatience.
– work aggressively, speak explosively, and find themselves
constantly struggling.
• Type B individuals show the opposite pattern -- relaxed, steadypaced, and easygoing.
• Type A individuals:
– are much more likely than Type B’s to experience high stress
levels and associated symptoms, including coronary heart
disease.
– have trouble delegating responsibility to others, don’t work well
in groups, and are impatient with tasks requiring prolonged
problem solving.
• Relatively few Type A’s rise to high levels in organizations.
The “Big 5” Model
• Extraversion: Sociable, talkative, assertive
• Agreeableness: Good-natured, cooperative,
trusting
• Conscientiousness: Responsible, dependable,
persistent, achievement oriented
• Emotional Stability: Calm, enthusiastic, secure
• Openness to Experience: Imaginative, artistically
sensitive, intellectual
The “Big 5” and Performance
• Extraverts tend to take on leadership roles.
• Agreeableness is especially significant in
careers where teamwork or customer
service is important.
• Conscientious individuals have high levels
of job performance.
• Openness to experience is related to
performance in training programs.
Why Care About Globalization?
• You are likely to spend part of your career in other
countries.
• According to Andrew Grove, with globalization “every
employee will compete with every person in the world who
is capable of doing the same job. There are a lot of them,
and many of them are very hungry.”
• You may suddenly find yourself working for a foreign firm.
• Your firm -- and your job -- will increasingly depend on
international trade.
• You will be managing a culturally diverse workforce even if
you never leave the U.S.
Diversity on the New York Yankees
• During the 1998 season New York Yankees
pitching coach Mel Stottlemeyer did a masterful
job of overseeing one of the most international
pitching staffs in major league baseball.
• The staff included Graeme Lloyd from
Australia, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez from
Cuba, Hideki Irabu from Japan, and Ramiro
Mendoza and Mariano Rivera from Panama.
• They led the Yankees to 114 wins, the most in
American League history.
The Hofstede Framework
• Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher who
worked as a psychologist for IBM, studied
116,000 people working in 64 countries.
• He identified five important dimensions on
which national cultures differ.
The Hofstede Framework
Time
Orientation
Quality Versus
Quantity of Life
Individualism vs.
Collectivism
National
Culture
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Power
Distance
Individualism and Collectivism
• Individualism refers to a loosely knit social framework in
which people are chiefly supposed to look after their own
interests and those of their immediate family. The society offers
individuals a great amount of freedom.
• Collectivism refers to a tight social framework in which people
expect other groups to which they belong to look after them and
protect them in times of trouble. In exchange for security, they
offer loyalty. “The nail that sticks out will be pounded down.”
• Individualistic countries include Australia, the U.S., Great
Britain, and the Netherlands. Collectivist countries include
Columbia, Pakistan, Venezuela, Peru, and Taiwan.
Power Distance
• Power Distance is the degree to which a society accepts
the fact that power in institutions and organizations is
distributed unequally.
– A high-power-distance society accepts wide differences in
power in organizations. Employees show great respect for
authority, titles, status, and rank. Titles are important in
bargaining.
– A low-power-distance society plays down inequalities as much
as possible.
• High-power-distance countries include the Philippines, Mexico, and
India. Low-power-distance countries include Denmark, Israel, and
Ireland.
Uncertainty Avoidance
• Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the way societies deal with
uncertainty.
– In low-uncertainty-avoidance countries people are relatively
comfortable with risks, and are more tolerant of behavior and
opinions that differ from their own.
– In high-uncertainty-avoidance countries, there is a high level of
anxiety among the people.
• Formal rules and other mechanisms are created to provide
security and reduce risk.
• There is less tolerance of deviant ideas and behaviors.
• Members strive to believe in absolute truths.
• Low-uncertainty-avoidance countries include Switzerland &
Denmark. High-uncertainty-avoidance countries include Japan &
Greece.
Quality Versus Quantity of Life
• Quality Versus Quantity of Life:
– Some cultures emphasize the quantity of life and
value assertiveness and the acquisition of money and
natural things.
– Some cultures emphasize the quality of life and the
importance of relationships, and show sensitivity and
concern for the welfare of others.
• Japan and Austria score high on quantity of life. Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, and Finland score high on quality of
life.
Time Orientation
• A long-term orientation is derived from values
of thrift (saving) and persistence in achieving
goals.
• A short-term orientation is derived from values
that express a concern for maintaining personal
stability or happiness and living for the present.
• Japan and Hong Kong have a long-term
orientation, while France and Indonesia have a
short-term orientation.
High-Context and Low-Context Cultures
• Another key factor is whether cultures are high or low context.
• In a high-context culture, such as most Asian, Hispanic, African,
and Arab countries, the context in which communication occurs is
just as important as the words that are actually spoken, and
cultural clues are important in understanding what is being
communicated. The context includes the social setting, use of
phrasing, gestures, and tone of voice, and the person’s history and
status.
• In a low-context culture, such as Germany and the U.S., the
words used by the speaker explicitly convey the speaker’s
message to the listener.
Context and Nonverbal Communications
• Nonverbal communications are especially important in high-context
cultures. Most immigrants to the U.S. are now coming from highcontext cultures.
• Nonverbal communications have dramatically different meanings
across cultures. For example:
– Nodding your head means “Yes” in most countries but “No” in
Bulgaria and Greece.
– The classic “OK” sign of thumb and forefinger forming a circle
can imply “money” in Japan, means “worthless” in France, and is
considered an obscene gesture in Brazil, Germany, and Russia.
– In Saudi Arabia, to cross your legs in such a way as to display the
sole of your foot to your host is a grievous affront.
– Americans expect eye contact in a conversation, but Hispanics
consider eye contact, especially with a superior, to be disrespectful.
The Bottom Line:
Managing Cross-Cultural Differences
Develop an
Understanding of
the Cultural Beliefs
and Practices
of Others
Maintain a Flexible
and Open-Minded
Attitude to
Managing People
Discuss Misunderstandings
or Conflicts that Occur Due to
Cross-Cultural Differences
in Order To Enhance Mutual
Understanding
Demonstrate
Respect for
Cross-Cultural
Differences in
Employees
Be Sensitive to How
Others May Have
Differing
Interpretations of
Your Statements
and Actions
Maintaining Accurate Perceptions
• We all live in our own world.
• It is a world created by our attempts to sift through, to
organize, and to interpret the tremendous number of
things we see, hear, feel, and otherwise constantly sense.
• It is different from all other worlds -- the unique product
of a complex process.
• The “truth” in our world depends on whether something
is consistent with the rest of that world.
• The nature of our unique world helps determine how we
behave.
The Perceptual Process
• Perception is the complex process by which we
select, organize, and interpret sensory stimuli into
a meaningful and coherent picture of the world.
• The perceptual process involves several steps,
including sensation, selection, organization, and
translation.
• In the first step, sensation, many stimuli impact on
our sensory filters, but only some are sensed.
Others are filtered out, perhaps because they are at
very low levels or are not in a particular range.
The Perceptual Process
(Figure 3-2)
Stimuli
Sensation
Selection
Physiological
Reaction to
Stimuli
Conscious
Awareness
of Stimuli
Organization
Translation
Placement of
Interpretation
Selected
of Stimuli
Stimuli into a
Framework
for Storage
Selecting Stimuli
• If our perceptions were not selective, we would be
overwhelmed.
• Many factors affect selection, some of which are
potentially troublesome.
• Perceptual readiness causes us to see things we
expect to see.
• Different people will select stimuli based on their
needs and personalities.
• Stimuli that contrast with the surrounding
environment are more likely to be selected.
• Repetition of a stimulus makes it more likely to be
perceived.
Organizing Stimuli
• Once stimuli have been selected, they must be
organized in a useful framework.
• Things we group together tend to be recalled
together, and their meanings tend to influence one
another.
• In general, we are likely to group things that are
somehow similar.
• We tend to organize things so closure occurs. That
is, we “close up” or “fill in” missing parts to create
a meaningful whole.
Interpreting Stimuli
• We interpret stimuli at the translation step of the perceptual
process.
• The way we interpret the stimuli we have selected and
organized depends on the situation, our characteristics, and
the characteristics of the thing being perceived.
• Many distortions of objective reality are possible at the
translation stage. Some of these, such as the Hering illusion,
are simply due to quirks in the way our senses work.
• Other distortions are more subtle but no less important.
These include stereotyping, Pygmalion effect, halo effect,
projection, primacy/recency effects, and perceptual defense.
The Hering Illusion
The “Hering Illusion” illustrates a quirk in the way
our senses work. Two parallel lines appear curved
because of the nature of their background.
Stereotyping
• Walter Lippmann coined the term stereotyping in 1922,
describing stereotypes as “pictures in people’s heads” that
distorted their perceptions of others.
• The term is now often used to mean the forming of an opinion of
people based on group membership.
• Stereotyping, if accurate, may be useful since it efficiently places
information into categories. When we face new situations,
stereotypes provide guidelines to help classify people.
• Unfortunately, stereotyping may lead to a distorted view of the
situation if stereotyping is based on false premises.
• Stereotyping in work organizations may be harmful to minority
group members, older workers, and females.
Pygmalion Effect
• Pygmalion effect refers to creating something in
the image we have of it.
• It is a prime example of self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Teachers, managers, and others often demonstrate
this effect.
• For instance, teachers who were told that certain
students were especially intelligent (when, in fact,
they were not) later perceived those students to
show signs of greater intelligence and higher
performance. As a result, they treated them
differently. These “intelligent” students then
showed gains in intellectual capacity, while others
did not.
Pygmalion and
Galatea
Halo Effect
• Halo Effect refers to a process in which a judge uses a
general impression that is favorable or unfavorable (a
“horns effect”) to evaluate specific traits.
• Sometimes one trait, such as a subordinate’s
enthusiasm, forms the halo.
• So, if the boss feels the subordinate is enthusiastic, he
or she may also see the subordinate as loyal, efficient,
courteous, and so on.
• If we make evaluations on the basis of a halo and the
traits aren’t really linked, the result is halo error.
Other Perceptual Distortions
• Projection is the tendency to project our own characteristics on
others. For instance, if we feel fearful, we may perceive others
as fearful. People with traits such as stinginess or obstinacy tend
to rate others as relatively high on these traits.
• Primacy/Recency Effects. We give especially heavy weight to
stimuli we receive early (a primacy effect) or recently (a
recency effect). Intermediate stimuli receive less weight.
• Perceptual Defense. When we face information we find to be
threatening or unacceptable, our perceptions try to defend us. We
may fail to perceive the troublesome stimuli, or we may distort
our perceptions of the stimuli to make them less troublesome.
Implicit Theories
• Implicit theories are theories in people’s minds.
• For instance, we may believe that jobs offering more
challenge also offer more authority. Or we may believe
that leaders who let their subordinates participate more in
decision making also care more about their subordinates.
• These implicit theories may be correct or incorrect.
• Implicit theories may influence perceptions at the
selection, organization, and translation stages.
• For instance, if we see evidence concerning one element
of the theory, we are likely to perceive other elements
also.
Causal Attribution
• Causal attribution is the process of forming perceptions about the
causes underlying others’ behaviors.
• It may be especially important to determine whether the behaviors
were the result of internal factors, such as the person’s motives or
traits, or of external factors, such as luck or the situation.
• According to attribution theory, we try to sort out the causes of an
individual’s behavior by considering three factors:
– Did others act the same way in the same situation?
– Does this person always act this way in this situation?
– Does this person act differently in other situations?
• This process is prone to error. For instance, we tend to attribute the
behavior of others to internal factors, even when this is not
appropriate. Also, self-serving bias -- the tendency to take credit for
successes and deny personal responsibility for failures -- is often seen.
Focus on Management:
Attribution Theory at Boots the Chemist
• Boots the Chemist, a British pharmaceutical firm, wanted
a test to select potential sales assistants.
• It developed a new questionnaire based on attribution
theory.
• It was predicted -- and shown in subsequent research -that the most successful sales performers and those rated
most highly for their customer care would be more likely
to attribute outcomes to controllable factors, such as their
own effort or choice of sales strategies.
• The questionnaire is now used in the selection process
for sales assistants and to help identify developmental
needs.
Reducing Perceptual Errors
• People who are aware of their own characteristics make
fewer errors in perceiving others and are less likely to
see the world in black-and-white terms.
• People who are able to accept themselves as they are can
see a wider range of characteristics in others and may be
less prone to projection.
• Simple knowledge of such tendencies as halo error,
stereotyping, and self-serving bias may help to avoid
them.
• It is important to make a conscious effort to attend to
relevant information and to test reality.
The Bottom Line:
Increasing Perceptual Accuracy
Talk to All Parties
Involved in the
Situation
Individually -Emphasize Obtaining
Objective Information
Meet with the Parties
Involved as a Group
to Develop a Mutual
Understanding of
the Issues at Hand
Maintain an OpenMinded Attitude
and Do Not Jump
to Conclusions
Prematurely
Be Aware of Your
Own Biases and
Assumptions in
Trying to
Understand the
Situation
Formulate Your
Overall View
of the Situation
Develop an
Understanding of
How Others View
the Situation from
Their Perspectives
Attitudes
Attitudes are the beliefs, feelings, and
behavioral tendencies held by a person about
an object, event, or person (called the attitude
object).
The Components of Attitudes
• The cognitive component of attitudes is our
cognitions, or beliefs about the facts pertaining to the
attitude object. This is descriptive information rather
than liking or intentions.
• The affective component of attitudes is made up of
our feelings toward the attitude object. The affective
component involves evaluation and emotion.
• The behavioral tendency component of attitudes is
the way we intend to behave toward the attitude object.
The Components of Attitudes
(Figure 3-5)
Cognitive
Affective
Behavioral
Tendency
Why Care About Attitudes?
• Attitudes may influence work behaviors, such as
turnover or absenteeism.
• Attitudes may influence things of direct concern to
the employee, such as stress levels, ability to
sleep, and attitudes toward other aspects of life.
• Attitudes are important for their own sake,
independent of their consequences. Employees
spend half their waking lives at work.
Some Potential Relationships of Attitudes
to Behaviors (Figure 3-6)
Attitudes
Behaviors
WORK QUALITY
COGNITIVE
COMPONENT
ABSENTEEISM
AFFECTIVE
COMPONENT
TURNOVER
ACCIDENTS
BEHAVIORA
L
TENDENCY
COMPONENT
SABOTAGE
Job Satisfaction
• Job satisfaction is the affective component of
work-related attitudes.
• Quite simply, it is how employees feel about their
jobs.
• Managers may be concerned about employees’
satisfaction with specific facets of the job, as well
as about their overall job satisfaction.
Job Facet Satisfaction and Overall
Satisfaction (Figure 3-7)
Satisfactio
n
With
Promotions
Satisfactio
n
With Pay
Satisfactio
n
With
Coworkers
Overall Job
Satisfaction
Satisfactio
n
With Work
Itself
Satisfactio
n
With
Supervisio
n
Measuring Job Satisfaction
• Measuring job satisfaction provides information
concerning what is, and isn’t, being done correctly in the
workplace.
• The most popular approach to measuring job satisfaction
is to use standardized scales. They have been widely
used and tested, and norm data are often available.
• The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) is the best-known scale
to measure facets of job satisfaction.
• It is often helpful to assess overall job satisfaction as
well.
Measuring Job Satisfaction
(Continued)
• In addition to paper-and-pencil tests, satisfaction may be
assessed by use of the critical incidents method,
interviews, or confrontation meetings.
• The critical incidents method as applied to measuring
job satisfaction asks employees to recall incidents that
were particularly satisfying or dissatisfying to them.
• Interviews allow in-depth questioning about the nature
and causes of sources of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
• Confrontation meetings bring together groups of
employees who are encouraged to openly express their
feelings about their jobs.
Job Descriptive Index: Supervision Subscale
Sample Items (Figure 3-8)
The following adjectives and phrases describe five aspects of a job: the
work itself, supervision, pay, promotions, and coworkers. Carefully
consider each adjective or phrase and indicate whether or not it is true of
your job by circling:
Y
?
N
for YES, this is true of my job.
for I cannot decide if this is true of my job.
for NO, this is not true of my job.
The Supervision on My Job
Asks my advice ……………………
Hard to please ……………………..
Impolite ……………………………..
Influential …………………………...
Stubborn ……………………………
Knows job well …………………….
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
?
?
?
?
?
?
N
N
N
N
N
N
Determinants of Job Satisfaction
• There are two primary views of the determinants of job
satisfaction -- situational and dispositional.
• The situational perspective sees satisfaction as largely due
to things in the environment of the employee, such as the
nature of the job, reward system and supervision. If this
view is correct, it may be possible to influence satisfaction
levels by changing such things.
• The dispositional perspective sees satisfaction as due to
individual factors -- some people are simply more satisfied
in general than are others -- and thus as relatively stable and
more difficult to change. If this view is valid, varying the
situation may have little impact on satisfaction.
Situational Determinants of Satisfaction
• Many work-related factors influence job
satisfaction (see Figure 3-9).
• Among these, equitable rewards, work
itself, and others in the organization (scu as
the supervisor) are quite important.
• We examine the specific roles of many of
these factors in later chapters.
Dispositional Determinants of
Satisfaction
• A direct approach to examining the dispositional perspective is
simply to measure the degree to which people seem to be generally
positive or negative in their outlooks.
• These are called positive affectivity and negative affectivity.
Research consistently shows these measures to predict levels of job
satisfaction.
• The dispositional view is also supported by studies that follow
people as they move across jobs through their lives; one study found
overall attitudes to be quite stable over a period of nearly 50 years.
• Another interesting approach to examining the dispositional view
looks at identical twins reared apart. One famous study found
identical twins reared apart to have considerable similarity in
satisfaction levels despite different jobs.
Work-Related Influences on Satisfaction
(From Figure 3-9)
Work Factors
Work Itself
 Challenge
Effects



 Physical Demands
 Personal Interest
Reward Structure
Working Conditions
 Physical
 Goal Attainment



Others in the
Organization
Organization and
Management
Fringe Benefits
Mentally challenging work that the individual can
successfully accomplish is satisfying.
Tiring work is dissatisfying.
Personally interesting work is satisfying.
Rewards that are equitable and that provie accurate
feedback on performance are satisfying.
Satisfaction depends on the match between working
conditions and physical needs.
Working conditions that permit goal attainment are
satisfying.
Individuals will be satisfied with other in the
organization who help them attain rewards, and with
those who see things the same way they do.
Individuals will be satisfied with organizations that have
policies and procedures designed to help them attain
rewards. They will be dissatisfied with conflicting
and/or ambiguous roles.
Fringe benefits do not have a strong influence on job
satisfaction for most employees.
The Bottom Line:
Enhancing Employee Job Satisfaction
Assess Employee
Satisfaction with
Various Job Facets
Implement the
Strategies
Identify Job Facets
with Which
Employees are
Highly Satisfied or
Highly Dissatisfied
Develop an Understanding of the
Underlying Causes of
the Employees’
Satisfaction or
Dissatisfaction
Develop Strategies
for Maintaining
Satisfaction with
Job Facets for
Which Employees
Are Now Satisfied
Develop Strategies
for Enhancing
Satisfaction with Job
Facets for Which
Employees are Not
Currently Satisfied
Job Involvement
• Job involvement is the degree to which employees really
are involved with -- that is, “get into” -- their jobs.
• Job involvement is high when the job is very important in
the person’s life and central to the person’s self-concept.
• Statements reflecting high job involvement include:
– The most important things that happen to me involve my job.
– The major satisfaction of my life comes from my job.
– I live, eat, and breathe my job.
• Companies want their employees to be involved in their
jobs, but overly high levels of job involvement may be
undesirable.
• Work involvement relates to work in general rather than
the specific job.
Global Perspectives:
Work Involvement Across Cultures
• Japanese employees tend to be highly involved with
their jobs and work; relatively few Japanese work just a
40-hour week of even that their allotted vacation time.
• Japanese were asked to imagine they were heading to
their job and there was an earthquake, and they had
only a single phone call. Would they phone the spouse,
physician, children, employer, or parents? The
overwhelming majority selected their employer.
• German workers put in substantially shorter workweeks
than Americans and place greater emphasis on leisure.
Organizational Commitment
• Organizational commitment reflects the
degree to which the employee shows:
– (1) a strong desire to remain as a member of
the organization
– (2) a willingness to exert high levels of effort
on behalf of the organization
– (3) a belief in, and acceptance of, the values
and goals of the organization.
Organizational Commitment
(Continued)
• Affective commitment is an emotional attachment
characterized by strong affective ties to the organization and
psychological identification with it. It flows from liking the
firm, sharing its values, and caring about its fate.
• Continuance commitment results from consideration of
the benefits of organizational membership and the perceived
costs of leaving. It flows from the belief that one needs to
stay with the firm since better alternatives are lacking.
• High levels of organizational commitment, while generally
desirable, may cause poor-performing employees to be
reluctant to leave, may stifle dissent, and may even lead to
illegal or unethical acts.
Real and Expressed Attitudes
• People’s expressed attitudes may differ dramatically from
their true attitudes.
• People may hide or falsely report their true attitudes
because they feel the attitudes may be unpopular or
somehow lead to retribution.
• Further, they may attempt to disguise their emotions, since
emotions reflect attitudes.
• In many cases, employees are required to express certain
emotions as part of their work roles, such as employees
who are told they must smile. As such, these employees’
smiles say nothing about their true feelings.
Do Attitudes Cause Behaviors?
• Many researchers have found surprisingly weak links between
attitudes and behaviors.
• One reason for this is that people may have no choice but to
behave in certain ways. They may, for instance, stay on jobs
they hate because they have no alternatives.
• It is important to recognize that a person’s behavior depends on
many things beyond attitude, including pressures exerted by
others, the nature of the job market, and personality
characteristics.
• On the other hand, research may underestimate the strength of
the linkage of attitudes to behaviors if people don’t reveal their
true attitudes or the measures of attitudes or behaviors are poor.
When Do Attitudes Best Predict
Behaviors?
In general, attitudes will best predict behaviors when:
• The attitude is specific to the behavior.
• The attitude is potent.
• The attitude is salient (that is, more noticeable or
prominent in our attention).
• The behavior is not constrained or subject to other
influences.
Some Potential Consequences of
Dissatisfaction (Figure 3-10)
Channel off
Frustration
Continued
Dissatisfaction
Frustration
Displacement
Strike Back at
Source of
Frustration
Accusation
Negativism
Informal Groups
Strikes
Sabotage
Try to Minimize
Impact of
Frustration
Apathy
Rationalizing
Leave the
Source of
Frustration
Daydreaming
Tardiness
Absenteeism
Turnover
Satisfaction and Turnover
• Costs of turnover include disruption of the work process, the loss
of employees with valuable skills, knowledge, and experience, and
low productivity of new employees during the training period.
• In some industries, turnover rates may exceed 100% annually.
Overall, rates in the U.S. were 14.4% in 1999, the highest level in
two decades.
• Research clearly shows that more satisfied workers are less likely
to leave the firm. A little over 15% of the variance in turnover is
related to variance in satisfaction.
• The relationship of satisfaction to turnover is indirect and is
influenced by many pressures and factors, such as wishes of
family members, feelings about the community, aversion to
change, and economic conditions.
A Model of the Relationship of
Satisfaction to Turnover (Figure 3-11)
Job
Satisfaction
Thoughts
of Quitting
Age/
Tenure
Probability of
Finding Another
Acceptable Job
Intention to
Search for
New Job
Intention to
Quit/Stay
Quit/
Stay
Satisfaction and Absenteeism
• Absenteeism can be quite costly for companies. Typically,
companies continue to pay absent employees. Also, absenteeism
causes costly disruptions, such as the need to reschedule work and
reassign employees.
• One estimate is that such disruptions cause productivity to drop by
as much as 2.5% for every 1% increase in absenteeism.
• An estimated 400 million person-days are lost annually to
absenteeism.
• Satisfaction and absenteeism are negatively related, though the
association is not as strong as we might expect.
• While job satisfaction may influence motivation to attend,
attendance also depends on pressure to attend and ability to attend.
A Model of the Relationship of
Satisfaction to Attendance (Figure 3-12)
Ability to
Attend
Job
Satisfaction
Motivation
to Attend
Pressure to
Attend
Attendance
Satisfaction and
Performance
• While it seems reasonable to expect that satisfied workers
would be more productive, many studies show this is not
the case, at least to any appreciable degree.
• Early studies of the satisfaction - performance relationship
concluded that the relationship is so low as to be
negligible; a major statistical summary of previous
research showed that only about 3% of the variance in
performance was associated with variance in satisfaction.
• While the traditional view of this relationship viewed
satisfaction as causing performance, it may be the case
that performance causes satisfaction.
Satisfaction and Performance
(Continued)
• According to this view, performance levels affect the rewards
people receive. If employees feel their rewards are fair, they will
be satisfied. If not, they will be dissatisfied.
• If this model is correct, why aren’t satisfaction-performance
relationships stronger? Quite simply, because some companies
don’t properly reward employees.
• Most studies of the satisfaction - performance relationship have
used a narrow definition of performance, such as quantity of
output.
• Research shows that broader measures of performance -- such as
organizational citizenship behaviors -- are more directly caused
by satisfaction.
Two Views of the SatisfactionPerformance Relationship (Figure 3-13)
(a) View 1: Satisfaction Causes Performance
Satisfaction
Effort
Performance
(b) View 2: Performance Causes Satisfaction
Perceived
Equitable Rewards
Performance
Effort
Satisfaction
Satisfaction and Work Violence
• Workplace violence, including homicide, is increasing. Homicide
is now the number-3 work-related cause of death, and is the
leading cause of death for women in the workplace.
• It appears that dissatisfaction does play a role in this violence.
Violence is especially great in regimented settings, such as post
offices, where employees feel they have no control over their
work.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have formally
declared workplace homicide an epidemic.
• Some firms, such as IBM, are training managers to recognize
aggressive behavior and effectively deal with it through
communication and conflict management.
Satisfaction and Nonwork Life
• Some possible relationships of job satisfaction to
satisfaction with nonwork life include:
– Perhaps job satisfaction carries over to nonwork satisfaction (a
“spillover” view).
– Perhaps employees who are satisfied at work devote so much
time and energy at work that they ignore other aspects of their
lives, resulting in low satisfaction with nonwork life.
– Perhaps employees compensate for dissatisfaction at work by
focusing more on home life and finding satisfaction there.
• Most research supports the spillover view that
satisfaction in one sphere of life seems to increase
satisfaction in other spheres.
The Financial Impact of Attitudes
• The area of behavioral accounting is trying to assess the
financial impact of attitudes.
• It does this by examining the costs of such behaviors as
turnover and absenteeism and the strength of their links to
attitudes.
• One study used behavioral accounting to estimate the costs
of absenteeism, turnover, and balancing shortages of 160
bank tellers.
• The study concluded that moderate improvements in
attitudes averaging perhaps 0.7 on a seven-point scale
would yield the bank savings of $781,892, or $4,886.83
per employee.
The Role of Mood
• Mood is a transient mental state or attitude, perhaps caused
by something as fleeting as a sunny day, convenient parking
spot, or good meal.
• Mood can affect job satisfaction as well as behaviors.
• People who are in a good mood do helpful things.
• Interestingly, bad mood also often leads to helping
behaviors; helping others makes us feel better about
ourselves.
• Helping softens a bad mood and sustains a good mood.
• Important work behaviors such as prosocial behaviors may
be heavily influenced by mood.
Do Behaviors Cause Attitudes?
Behaviors may cause attitudes by:
• Dissonance reduction. Cognitive dissonance is an
uncomfortable situation in which we have conflicting
thoughts, such as “I don’t like my job, but I stay on it.” To
reduce the dissonance, we may change one or both
cognitions to make them consistent. So, we may change
our attitudes to make them consistent with our behaviors.
• Consequences of behavior. Behaviors may lead to
consequences that affect attitudes. For example,
performance may lead to a pay increase which may lead to
increased satisfaction with pay.
Do Behaviors Cause Attitudes?
(Continued)
• Self-Attribution. Behaving in a certain way can lead us to make
corresponding attributions about ourselves. For example, smiling
(for no good reason) can apparently induce a good mood and
increase willingness to laugh at humorous material. Even though
we’re playing a role, we seem to internalize the attitudes and
moods that maintain the role.
• Indoctrination. Brainwashing and cult recruitment are two forms
of indoctrination that have proven to be effective. In
brainwashing, for instance, torture or threat may be used to cause
victims to yield to their oppressors’ cause. As victims engage in
the behavior and pressure is reduced, they come to infer that the
behavior was voluntary, and their attitudes change accordingly.