1. Organizations FIGURE 4 - 1: INDIVIDUAL - BEHAVIOR FRAMEWORK
The environment
The environment
The individual
The individual
Behaviors
Behaviors
Outcomes
Outcomes
Work
Abilities & skills
Problem solving
Performance
Thinking process 4
Job design
Family background 4
Long -
term
Communication 4
Organizational
Personality 4
Short -
term
structure 4
Talking
Perception
Personal development 4
Policies & rules 4
Listening
Attitudes
Relations with others 4
Leadership
Observations
Satisfaction
Attributions 4
Rewards &
Movement
sanctions
Learning capacity
Resources
Age 4
Nonwork
Race 4
Family
Sex 4
Economics
Experience
Leisure & hobbies 4 3

2. Individual Differences
Managers must observe and recognize the differences
Study (understand) variables that influence individual behavior
Discover (predict) relationships among the variables
We will focus on personality, perception, and attitudes
Abilities and Skills
Demographics
Racial and Cultural Diversity

3. Behavior is… Caused Goal-directed Observed and measurable
Not directly observed (thinking, perceiving)
Motivated
Desired result is effective performance

4. Management of Poor Impressions
Becker & Martin (1995)
Management of Poor Impressions
Individual
Differences
Motives for
Intentionally
Looking Bad
Situational
Factors
Perceived Efficacy
of Different
Methods
Intent to Manage
Poor Impressions
Intended Method
of Managing
Managing
People’s motives for intentionally looking bad are a function of individual differences and situational factors. The motives for looking bad are different from the motives for looking good.
Possible relevant individual differences are the need for achievement and self-esteem. + Propose that individuals with a high need for achievement will be less likely to engage in the management of poor impressions because this behavior would not generally be expected to result in long-term career advancement. + Those with low self-esteem is consistent with managing poor impressions due to negative self-perceptions.
Possible situational factors are task characteristics and leader attributes. Jobs with low autonomy, insufficient feedback can set the stage for task avoidance and exit. Leaders who consider needs of employees and supply reasonable goals can reduce motive for avoidance and exit
Perceived efficacy is also a function of individual differences and situational factors. Self-efficacy would likely guide looking bad if they expect it would be successful.
Perceived efficacy and the intent to manage determines which methods an individual uses. Once that method is chosen, the management of poor impression will take place.

5. Seven Major Mental Abilities
Verbal comprehension: Meaning of words and reading comprehension
Word fluency: Ability to produce isolated words to meet specific requirements
Numerical: Arithmetic computation
Spatial: Perceive spatial patterns and visualize geometric shapes
Memory: Good rote memory of words, symbols, and lists
Perceptual speed: Perception of similarities and differences in figures
Inductive reasoning: Reasoning from specifics to general conclusion

6. Performance Depends on the Right Combination of Effort, Ability, and Skill

7. Individual Psychological Variables
Perception – cognitive process that gives meaning to the environment – organize and interpret stimuli. Easy to make mistakes based on the context of the stimuli
One’s characteristics affect the characteristics identified in others and people who accept themselves are more likely to see favorable aspects of others
Needs, Emotions, and Situational factors can influence perceptions

8. Individual Psychological Variables
Attribution – provides insight into the process by which we assign causes or motives to people’s behavior.
Dispositional attributions emphasize some aspect of the individual such as ability, skill, or motivation.
Situational attribution – emphasizes the environment’s effect on behavior (tardiness due to traffic rather than boredom of work). We tend to compare the person’s behavior to others in similar situations, compare to previous experience with the person, and whether the person consistently engages in a certain behavior.

9. Individual Psychological Variables
Attribution errors
Attributional bias is a tendency to prefer one type of behavior explanation over the other. We tend to minimize or ignore situational factors, even when the situation may completely explain the behavior of the individual
Actor-Observer bias – when a person attributes another person’s behavior to personal traits and attributes her own behavior to situational causes.

10. Individual Psychological Variables
Attitudes – determinants of behavior because they are linked with perception, personality, and motivation. An attitude is a positive or negative feeling or state of readiness, learned and organized through experience, that exerts specific influence on a person’s response to people, objects, and situations.
Attitudes are learned
Attitudes define predispositions
Attitudes provide emotional basis of our interpersonal relations and identification with others
Attitudes are organized – can be long term but subject to change

11. Individual Psychological Variables

12. Individual Psychological Variables
An individual’s intention to engage in a given behavior is the best predictor of that behavior. For example, the quickest way of determining whether an individual will quit his or her job is to have an objective third party ask if he or she intends to quit. Behavioral intentions are good predictors of employee turnover (more so than job satisfaction or organizational commitment).
Although this allows us to predict, it does not indicate why. So, we consider their relevant attitudes. Behavior intentions are influenced by one’s attitude toward the behavior and by perceived norms about exhibiting the behavior. Attitudes and subjective norms are determined by personal beliefs.

13. Individual Psychological Variables
Beliefs influence attitudes – beliefs are mental representations of relevant surroundings – and are based on cause and effect relationships. For example, we believe a laughing co-worker is happy. Based on the model, an individual will have positive attitudes towards performing the behavior when she believes the behavior is associated with positive outcomes.
Beliefs influence subjective norms – SN refer to perceived social pressure to perform a specific behavior. SN can exert a strong influence on behavior intentions of those that are sensitive to opinions of respected role models.

14. Individual Psychological Variables
How do we change a person’s attitudes?
Trust the messenger
What is the message
What is the situation
Job satisfaction is an attitude that individuals have about their jobs – it results from perceptions, based on work environment factors. How do you measure job satisfaction?
Why do we study job satisfaction with attitudes?

15. Satisfaction and Performance
Does job satisfaction cause high performance? Does high performance cause job satisfaction? Rewards moderate job satisfaction and job performance?
Research shows that the relationship between JP and JS is not strong – so why are we still interested in this area?

16. Determinants and Consequences of Organization-Based Self-Esteem
Determinants of OBSE
Factors Influenced
by OBSE
Global self-esteem
Job performance
Intrinsic motivation
General satisfaction
Citizenship behavior
Organizational commitment and satisfaction
Managerial respect
Organizational structure
Job complexity
OBSE

17. Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy: “A person’s belief about his or her chances of successfully accomplishing a specific task.”
A Model of Self-Efficacy
Sources of Self-Efficacy Beliefs: - Prior experience - Behavior models - Persuasion from others - Assessment of physical/emotional state

19. Implications of Self-Efficacy
Job Design
Training and Development
Self-Management
Goal Setting
Coaching
Leadership
Rewards

20. Locus of Control Internal External
Performance results from individual’s own abilities
Greater work motivation
Stronger expectations
Higher performance on learning tasks
Higher salaries and increases
External
Performance results from factors beyond the individual’s control
Greater levels of anxiety than Internals