Individual Behavior - Organizational Behavior Course

The interactional psychology points out the need to study both persons and situations.
The person consists of individual differences such as personality, perception, attribution, attitudes, values, and ethics.
The situation consists of environment, the personal life situation, job characteristics, and many other environmental influences. One important and fascinating individual difference is personality.
Personality
Personality is a base to individual difference that lend consistency to a person’s behavior.
It is defined as a relatively stable set of characteristics that influence an individual’s behavior.
There are two basic determinant factors for personality. I.e. heredity and environment
Heredity – Identical twins who are raised apart in every different situation have been found to share personality traits and job preferences.
For example, about half of the variation in traits like extraversion, impressiveness, and flexibility is found to be genetically determined.
I.e. identical twins who grew up in different environments shared those traits.
In addition, the twins held similar jobs. Thus, there does not appear to be a genetic influence on personality.
Environment – Another determinant of personality is the environment a person is exposed to.
Family influences, cultural influences, educational influence, and other environmental forces shaped personality. Managers should learn as much as possible about personality in order to understand their employees.
There are five basic characteristics of personality that influences individual behavior in organizations these are; Locus of control, self esteem, self efficacy, self monitoring, and positive/negative affect.
Locus of control – individuals generalized belief about internal (self) versus external (situation or others) control is called locus of control.
People who belief they control what happens to them are said to have an internal locus of control,
where as people who belief that circumstances or other people control their fate have an external locus of control.
Self monitoring - A characteristics with great potential for affecting behavior in an organizations is self monitoring – the extent to which people base their behavior on cues from people and situations.
High self monitors pay to what is appropriate in particular situations and to the behavior of other people, and they behave accordingly.
Low self monitors, in contrast, are not as vigilant/alert to situational cues/signals and act from internal states rather than paying attention to the situation.
As a result, the behavior follow self monitors is consistent across situations.
High self monitors, because their behavior varies with the situation, appear to be more un predictable and less consistent.
5. Positive /negative affect – Individuals who focus on the positive aspects of themselves, other people, and the world in general are said to have positive affect.

1. CHAPTER TWO INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR 6/16/2023 1

2. Individual differences: personality, perception, and attributions The bases for understanding individual differences steams from Lewin’s early contention that behavior is a function of the person and the environment. Lewins expressed this idea in an equation: B = f (P, E), where, B = behavior, P = person and E = environment . This idea has been developed by the interactional psychology approach. Basically, this approach says that in order to understand behavior; we must know something about the situation . 6/16/2023 2

3. There are four basic propositions of international psychology: i.e. Behavior is a function of continuous, multi directional interaction between the person and the situation. The person is active in this process and both are changed by situations and changes situations. People vary in many characteristics, including cognitive, affective, motivational, and ability factors. Two interpretations of situations are important: the objective situation and the person’s subjective view of the situation. 6/16/2023 3

4. Figure 2.1. Variables influencing individual Behavior 6/16/2023 4

5. The interactional psychology points out the need to study both persons and situations. The person consists of individual differences such as personality, perception, attribution, attitudes, values, and ethics. The situation consists of environment, the personal life situation, job characteristics, and many other environmental influences. One important and fascinating individual difference is personality . Personality Personality is a base to individual difference that lend consistency to a person’s behavior. It is defined as a relatively stable set of characteristics that influence an individual’s behavior. There are two basic determinant factors for personality. I.e. heredity and environment 6/16/2023 5

6. Heredity – Identical twins who are raised apart in every different situation have been found to share personality traits and job preferences. For example, about half of the variation in traits like extraversion, impressiveness, and flexibility is found to be genetically determined. I.e. identical twins who grew up in different environments shared those traits. In addition, the twins held similar jobs. Thus, there does not appear to be a genetic influence on personality. Environment – Another determinant of personality is the environment a person is exposed to. Family influences, cultural influences, educational influence, and other environmental forces shaped personality. 6/16/2023 6

7. Personality characteristics in organizations Managers should learn as much as possible about personality in order to understand their employees. There are five basic characteristics of personality that influences individual behavior in organizations these are; Locus of control, self esteem, self efficacy, self monitoring, and positive/negative affect. Locus of control – individuals generalized belief about internal (self) versus external (situation or others) control is called locus of control. People who belief they control what happens to them are said to have an internal locus of control, where as people who belief that circumstances or other people control their fate have an external locus of control. 6/16/2023 7

8. 2. Self esteem ( የራስ ግምት ) – self esteem is an individual’s general feeling of self worth. Individuals with high self esteem have positive feelings about themselves; perceive themselves to have strengths as well as weakness, and believe their strengths are more important than their weakness. Individuals with low self esteem view themselves negatively. They are more strongly affected by what other people think of them, and they complement individuals who give them positive feedback while cutting down people who give them negative feedback. 3. Self efficacy ራስን የቻለ ውጤታማነት – An individual’s beliefs and expectancies about his or her ability to accomplish a specific task effectively is known as self efficacy. Individuals with high self efficacy believe that they have the ability to get things done, that they are capable of putting forth the effort to accomplish the task and that they can overcome any obstacles to their success. 6/16/2023 8

9. 4. Self monitoring - A characteristics with great potential for affecting behavior in an organizations is self monitoring – the extent to which people base their behavior on cues from people and situations. High self monitors pay to what is appropriate in particular situations and to the behavior of other people, and they behave accordingly. Low self monitors, in contrast, are not as vigilant/alert to situational cues/signals and act from internal states rather than paying attention to the situation. As a result, the behavior follow self monitors is consistent across situations. High self monitors, because their behavior varies with the situation, appear to be more un predictable and less consistent. 5. Positive /negative affect – Individuals who focus on the positive aspects of themselves, other people, and the world in general are said to have positive affect. 6/16/2023 9

10. Positive affect : An individual’s tendency to emphasize positive aspect/s of him/ herself, other people, and the world in general. Negative affect : An individual tendency to emphasis negative aspects of him or herself, other people and the world in general. Individuals with negative affect report more work stress. Individual affect also influence the work group. Negative individuals affect produces negative group affect, and this leads to less cooperative behavior in the work group. 6/16/2023 10

11. Social perception Social perception is the process of interpreting information about other person. Virtually all management activities relay on perception. In apprising performance, managers use their perception of an employee’s behavior as a base for evaluation. One work situation that highlights the importance of perception is the selection interview. The consequences of a bad match between an individual and the organization are devastating for both parties, so it is essential that the data gathered be accurate. 6/16/2023 11

12. Perception is also culturally determined. Based on our cultural back grounds, we tend to perceive things in a certain ways. Culture affects our interpretation of the data we gather, as well as the way we add meaning to it. Valuing diversity, including cultural diversity, has been recognized as the key to international competitiveness. This challenge and others make social perception skills essential to managerial success. 6/16/2023 12

13. Factors affecting perception There are three major categories of factors influence our perception of another person: characteristics of our selves, as a perceiver; characteristics of the target person we perceive; and characteristics of the situation in which the interaction takes place. 1. Characteristics of the perceiver Familiarity : One of the characteristic of the perceiver can affect is familiarity, with the target (the person being perceived). When we are familiar with a person, we have multiple observations up on which to base our impression of him or her. 6/16/2023 13

14. Fig 2.2 A model for social perception 6/16/2023 14

15. Attitudes : The perceiver’s attitudes also affect the social perception. Suppose you are interviewing candidates for a very important position in your organization – a position that requires negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. You may feel that women are not capable of holding their own though negotiations. This attitude will doubtless affect your perceptions of the female candidates you interview. Mood: Mood can have a strong influence on the way we perceive someone. We think differently when we are happy than we do when we depressed. When in a positive mood, we form more positive impressions of others. When we in a negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavorably. 6/16/2023 15

16. Self concept : An individual with a positive self concept tends to notice positive attributes in another person, and the reverse is true. Greater understanding of self allows us to have more accurate perceptions of others. Cognitive structure : Cognitive structure is an individual’s pattern of thinking, also affects social perception. Some people have a tendency to perceive physical traits, such as, height, weight, and appearance, more rapidly. Others tend to focus more on central traits, or personality dispositions. Cognitive complexity allows a person to perceive multiple characteristics of another person rather than attending to just a few traits. 6/16/2023 16

17. 2. Characteristics of the target Characteristics of the target, who is the person being perceived, influence social perception. The following are some of the typical characteristics of the target; Physical Appearance : Physical appearance plays a great role in our perception of others. The perceiver will notice the targets physical features like height, weight, estimated age, race and gender. Clothing and physical attractiveness often colors our entire impression of another person. 6/16/2023 17

18. b. Verbal and non verbal communication: Verbal communication: from targets also affect our perception of them. We listen to the topics they speak about, their voice tone, and their accent and make judgment based on this input. Non verbal communication : Conveys a great deal of information about the target. Eye contact, facial expression, body movements, and posture all are deciphered by the perceiver in attempt to form an impression of the target. c. Intentions : The intentions of the target are inferred by the perceiver, who observes the target’s behavior. In any case, the perceiver’s interpretation of the target’s intentions affects the way the perceiver views the target. 6/16/2023 18

19. 3. Characteristics of the situation The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target takes place has an influence on the perceiver’s impression of the target. Social context : the social context of the interaction has a major influence. Getting a professor in his office affects your impression in a certain way that may contrast with the impression you would form had you meet the professor in a local restaurant. Strength of situational cues : the strength of situational cues also affects the social perception. Some situations provide strong cues as to appropriate behavior. In these situations, we assume that the individual’s behavior can be accounted for the situation, and that it may not reflect the individual’s disposition. 6/16/2023 19

20. Barriers to social perception Several factors lead us to form inaccurate impressions of others. The basic five of these perceptions are; Selective perception, stereotyping, first- impression error, implicit personality theories, and self fulfilling proficiencies. Selective perception : selective perception is a tendency to choose information that supports our view points. Individuals often ignore information that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatens their view points. Stereo types : A stereo type is a generalization about a group of people. It reduces information about other people to a work place level and they are efficient for compiling and using information. 6/16/2023 20

21. Stereo types can be accurate, and when they are accurate, they can be useful perceptual guide lines. Most of the time, however, stereotypes are in accurate. They harm individuals when in accurate impressions of them are inferred and are never tested or changed. Thus, stereo types may not be effective if they are too rigid or based on false information. In multi cultural work teams, members often stereo type foreign co workers rather than getting to know them before forming an impression. Team members from less developed countries are often assumed to have less knowledge simply because their home land is economically or technologically less developed. Stereotypes like this can deflate the productivity of the work team, as well as create low morale. 6/16/2023 21

22. 3. First impression : First impression is lasting impressions, so the saying goes. First impression error means that we observe a very brief bit of a person’s behavior in our first encounter and infer that this behavior reflects what the person is really like. 4. Implicit personality theories : Implicit personality theory can also leads to in-accurate perceptions. We tend to have our own mini-theories about how people look and behave. These theories help us to organize our perceptions and stake short cuts instead of integrating new information at all time. 5. Self fulfilling proficiencies : Self-fulfilling proficiencies are also barriers to social perception. Sometimes our expectations affect the way we interact with others such that we expect to get what we need before. 6/16/2023 22

23. Attitudes – Attitude is a pre disposition to respond in a positive or negative way to someone or something in one’s environment. Attitudes are evaluating statements – either favorable or unfavorable concerning objects, people, or events. They reflect how one feels about something. For example you say that you “like” or “dislike” someone or something, you are expressing an attitude. It’s important to remember that an attitude is a hypothetical construct; i.e. one never sees, touches, or actually isolates an attitude. 6/16/2023 23

24. Attitudes are individual’s general affective, cognitive, and intentional response towards objects, other people, themselves, or social issues. Attitudes are an integral part of the world of work. Managers speak of workers who have “bad attitudes” and conduct “attitude judgment” talks with employees. Often, poor performance attributed to bad attitudes really steams from lack of motivation, minimal feedback, lack of trust in management, or other problems. These are areas that managers to must explore. You can see that managers should understand the antecedents to attitude as well as their consequences. Managers also need to understand the different components of attitudes, how attitude are formed, the major attitudes that affect work behavior, and how to use persuasion to change attitudes. 6/16/2023 24

25. Components of Attitudes An attitude has three components: Affect, Behavior, and Cognition. The ABC model of the attitude describes these components and including their measures. AFFECT – Affect is the emotional or felling component of an attitude. It refers to an individual felling about something or someone. Statements such as “I like this” or “I prefer that “reflect the affective component of an attitude. BEHAVIOURAL COMPONENT – The second component is the intention to behave in a certain way toward an object or person. The behavior component of an attitude indicates the intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something. 6/16/2023 25

26. THE COGNITIVE COMPONENT - The third component of an attitude is cognition (thought), reflects a person’s perception or beliefs. Cognitive elements are evaluative beliefs and are measured by attitude scales or by asking about thoughts. The statement “I believe Japanese workers are industrious” reflect the cognitive component of an attitude. The belief that discrimination is wrong is a value statement. Such an opinion is the cognitive component of an attitude. Suppose, a sales person is required to sell damaged televisions for the full retail price, without revealing the damage to the customers. She believes however, that doing so constitutes unethical behavior. This creates a conflict between her attitude (concealing information from customers is un ethical) and her behavior (selling defective TV’s without informing customers about the damage). 6/16/2023 26

27. The sales person, experiencing the discomfort from dissonance, will try to resolve the conflict. She might change her behavior by refusing to sell the defective TV sets. Alternatively, she might rationalize that the defects that the defects are minor and that the customers will not be harmed by their lack of awareness of them. These are attempts by the sales person to restore equilibrium between her attitudes and behavior, thereby eliminating the tension from cognitive dissonance. Managers need to understand cognitive dissonance because employees often find themselves in situations in which their attitudes conflict with their behavior. 6/16/2023 27

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29. Attitude formation Attitude is learned. Two major influences on attitudes are direct experience and social learning. Direct experience - Direct experience with an object or person is a powerful influence on attitude. How do we know that you like management and dislike Accounting? You have probably form this attitudes from experience in studying the subjects. Attitude that has derived from direct experience are stronger, are held more confidently, and are more resistant to change than attitudes formed through indirect experience. b. Social learning- In social learning the family, peer groups, religious organizations, and culture shapes an individual attitude in an indirect manner. Substantial social learning occurs through modeling, in which individual acquires attitudes by merely observing others. 6/16/2023 29

30. For an individual to learn from observing a model, four processes must take place: The learner must focus attention to the model The learner must retain what was observed from the model. Retention is accomplished in two basic ways i.e. (symbolic rehearsal & “stamp in” what was observed by forming a verbal code for it.) Behavioral reproduction must occur, i.e. the learner must practice the behavior. The learner must be motivated to learn from the model. Culture also plays a definite role in attitude development. For example, the contrast in the North American and European attitude towards vacation and leisure. The typical vacation in US is two weeks, and some workers don’t use all of their vacation time. In Europe, the norm is longer vacation. 6/16/2023 30

31. Attitude and behavior Some studies suggest that attitudes and behavior are closely linked, while others found no relationship at all and others say have weak /some relationship. Attention was given for this matter and they bring that attitude and behavior relate on the following five basic points; these are; attitude specificity, attitude relevance, timing of measurement, personality factors, and social constraints. Attitude specificity – individuals posses both general and specific attitudes. The more the attitude specific the stronger it links with /to behavior. Attitude relevance – attitude that addresses an issue in which we have some self interest are more relevant for us, and our subsequent behavior is consistent with our expressed attitude. 6/16/2023 31

32. 3. The timing of the measurement – time plays a great important role for the relation between attitude and behavior, the shorter the time between the attitude measurement and the observed behavior the stronger the relationship. 4. Personality factors – it influences the attitude-behavior link. One personality disposition that affects the consistency between attitude and behavior is self-monitoring. High self monitors display little correspondence their attitude and behavior, because, they behave according to the situation/ the environment. 5. Social constraints – social constraints affect the relationship between attitude and behavior. The social system/ context provide information about acceptable attitudes and behaviors. New employees in the organization have a citizen ship from Afghanistan have a negative attitude about females on the managerial position. 6/16/2023 32

33. Work attitudes Attitudes at work are very important, because it directly or indirectly affects behavior, for example the attitude of Japanese workers are towards quality to the contrary the attitude of Americans workers are towards productivity/level of production . 6/16/2023 33

34. Organizational citizen ship behavior Organizational citizen ship is behavior to do a job which is above and beyond the call of duty. Satisfied employees’ are more likely to help their co-workers, make positive comments above the company and refrain from complaining when things at work don’t go well. Satisfied workers are more likely to want to give something back to the organization because they want to reciprocate their positive experiences. Organizational citizen ship influences performance appraisal, employees who exhibit behaviors such as helping others, making suggestions, for innovations, and developing their skills receive higher performance. 6/16/2023 34

35. Job satisfaction also influenced by culture, for example Japanese have low job satisfaction and Americans have high level of job satisfaction, also Americans influenced by the following basic factors; style, pay, security. And the following are the major influential factors for job satisfaction for Indians; recognition, innovation, and absence of conflict. Generally, managers should understand the job satisfaction of employees’ in a work force/ people from different culture. Since, there is no a single prescription for employees’ in increasing job satisfaction. 6/16/2023 35

36. Organizational commitment The strength of individual’s identification with an organization is known as organizational commitment. There are two types of organizational commitment, i.e. 1. Affective commitment – is an employee’s intention to remain in an organization because, of a strong desire to do so. It consists of three factors; A belief in the goals and values of the organization A willingness to put forth effort on behalf of the organization A desire to remain a member of the organization 6/16/2023 36

37. 2. Continuance commitment – is an employee’s tendency to remain in an organization because the person cannot afford to leave. Sometimes employees believe that if they leave, they will lose a great deal of their investment in time, effort, and benefits and that they cannot replace this investment. Decision making, job security, participative management, autonomy, responsibility, and interesting work encourage commitment. And also, organizational commitment decreases absenteeism, increases quality work and productivity. So, managers should strive to bring job satisfaction and organizational commitment among their employees. 6/16/2023 37

38. The End of the Second Chapter! 6/16/2023 38