Download Organizational Behavior 9e.

Chapter 3
Foundations
of Individual
Behavior
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
All rights reserved.
Prepared by Charlie Cook
The University of West Alabama
Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
• Explain the nature of the individual-organization
relationship.
• Define personality and describe personality attributes
that affect behavior in organizations.
• Discuss individual attitudes in organizations and how
they affect behavior.
• Describe basic perceptual processes and the role of
attributions in organizations.
• Explain how workplace behaviors can directly or
indirectly influence organizational effectiveness.
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–2
People in Organizations
• Psychological Contract
 A person’s overall set of expectations regarding what
he or she will contribute to the organization and what
the organization, in return, will provide to the
individual
 Individuals contribute effort, skills, ability, time, loyalty
 Organizations provide inducements in the form of
tangible/intangible rewards
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–3
Figure 3.1
The Psychological Contract
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–4
People in Organizations
• Person-Job Fit
 The extent to which the contributions made by the
individual match the inducements offered by the
organization
• Individual Differences
 Personal attributes that vary
from one person to another
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–5
Personality and Organizations
• The “Big Five” Personality Traits
 A set of fundamental traits that are especially relevant
to organizations
Agreeableness
The ability to get along with others
Conscientiousness
The number of goals on which a person focuses
Negative emotionality Characteristics are moodiness/insecurity
Extraversion
The quality of being comfortable with relationships
Openness
The capacity to entertain new ideas and to change
as a result of new information
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–6
Figure 3.2
The “Big Five” Personality Framework
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–7
Personality and Organizations (cont’d)
• The Myers-Briggs Framework
 Differentiation across four general dimensions
• Sensing
• Intuiting
• Judging
• Perceiving
 Sixteen personality classifications result from the
higher and lower positions of the general dimensions
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a popular
questionnaire used to assess personality types
• Communications styles
• Interaction preferences
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–8
Personality and Organizations (cont’d)
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
 The extent to which people are self-aware, can
manage their emotions, can motivate themselves,
express empathy for others, and possess social skills
• Dimensions of EQ
 Self-awareness
 Managing emotions
 Motivating oneself
 Empathy
 Social skills
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
Stockbyte at Getty Images®
3–9
Other Personality Traits at Work
Locus of Control
The extent to which a person believes his/her
circumstances are a function of either his/her own
actions or of external factors beyond his/her control
Self-Efficacy
A person’s beliefs about his/her capabilities to
perform a task
Authoritarianism
The belief that power and status differences are
appropriate within hierarchical social systems such
as organizations
Machiavellianism
Behavior directed at gaining power and control of
others
Self-Esteem
The extent to which a person believes he or she is a
worthwhile/deserving individual
Risk Propensity
The degree to which a person is willing to take
chances and make risky decisions
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–10
Attitudes in Organizations
• Attitudes
 A person’s complexes of beliefs and feelings about
specific ideas, situations, other people
• Structural Components of Attitudes
 Affect: a person’s feelings toward something
 Cognitions: the knowledge a person presumes to
have about something
 Intention: a component of an attitude that guides a
person’s behavior
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–11
Attitudes in Organizations (cont’d)
• Cognitive Dissonance
 The anxiety a person experiences when he/she
simultaneously possesses two sets of knowledge or
perceptions that are contradictory or incongruent
• Why Attitudes Change
 Availability of new information
 Changes in the object of the attitude
 Object of the attitude becomes less important
 To reduce cognitive dissonance
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–12
Attitudes in Organizations
Key Work-Related Attitudes
Job satisfaction
The extent to which a person is gratified or
fulfilled by his or her work
Organizational
commitment
(job commitment)
A person’s identification with and
attachment to an organization
Affect and Mood in Organizations
Positive affectivity
Upbeat and optimistic, overall sense of
well-being, seeing things in a positive light
Negative affectivity
Downbeat and pessimistic, seeing things in
a negative way, seeming to be in a bad
mood
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–13
Perception in Organizations
• Perception
 The set of processes by which an individual becomes
aware of and interprets information about the
environment
• Selective perception
• Stereotyping
• Attribution Theory
 We attribute causes to behavior based on our
observations of certain characteristics of that behavior
• Consensus
• Consistency
• Distinctiveness
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–14
Figure 3.3
Basic Perceptual Processes
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–15
Figure 3.4
The Attribution Process
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–16
Types of Workplace Behavior
• Workplace Behavior
 A pattern of action by the members of an organization
that directly or indirectly influences organizational
effectiveness
• Performance Behaviors
 All of the total set of work-related behaviors that the
organization expects the individual to display
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–17
Types of Workplace Behavior (cont’d)
• Dysfunctional Behaviors
 Behaviors that detract from
organizational performance
• Absenteeism: when an individual
does not show up for work
• Turnover: when people quit their
jobs
• Organizational Citizenship
 The extent to which a person’s
behavior makes a positive overall
contribution to the organization
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
Stockbyte at Getty Images®
3–18
Organizational Behavior in Action
• After reading the chapter:
 What specifically would convince you that an
organization would be likely to honor its psychological
contract with you?
 What actions could you personally take to increase
the person-job fit for your first job after graduation?
 Which of the “Big Five” personality traits would be the
easiest to fake in an interview? Which would be the
hardest?
© 2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning
3–19