Individual Behavior, Values, and Personality

Engagement at Owens Corning Owens Corning is making employee engagement a cornerstone of its business strategy to become a world-class organization. Reprinted with permission of Owens Corning. All rights reserved

Employee Engagement Defined The employee’s emotional and cognitive (rational) motivation, ability to perform the job, clear understanding of the organization’s vision and his/her specific role in that vision, and a belief that he/she has the resources to get the job done Reprinted with permission of Owens Corning. All rights reserved

MARS Model of Individual Behavior Role Perceptions Values Personality Perceptions Emotions Attitudes Stress Motivation Ability Individual Behavior and Results Situational Factors

Employee Motivation Internal forces that affect a person’s voluntary choice of behavior direction intensity persistence R M BAR A S

Employee Ability Natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task competencies  personal characteristics that lead to superior performance person  job matching selecting developing redesigning R M BAR A S

Employee Role Perceptions Beliefs about what behavior is required to achieve the desired results: understanding what tasks to perform understanding relative importance of tasks understanding preferred behaviors to accomplish tasks R M BAR A S

Situational Factors Environmental conditions beyond the individual’s short-term control that constrain or facilitate behavior time people budget work facilities R M BAR A S

Types of Behavior in Organizations Task Performance Goal-directed behaviors under person’s control Organizational Citizenship Performance beyond the required job duties more

Types of Behavior in Organizations Counterproductive Work Behaviors Voluntary behavior that potentially harms the organization Joining/staying with the Organization Goal-directed behaviors under person’s control Maintaining Work Attendance Attending work at required times

Values in the Workplace Stable, evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences Define right or wrong, good or bad Value system -- hierarchy of values Espoused vs. enacted values: Espoused -- the values we say we use and often think we use Enacted -- values we actually rely on to guide our decisions and actions

Schwartz’s Values Model Self-transcendence Openness to Change Conservation Self-enhancement

Values and Behavior Habitual behavior usually consistent with values, but conscious behavior less so because values are abstract constructs Decisions and behaviors linked to values when: Mindful of our values Have logical reasons to apply values in that situation Situation does not interfere

Values Congruence at Coles Integrity -- Respect/recognition -- Passion for excellence -- Working together More than 2,300 Coles employees across all levels participated in 203 focus groups around the country. Their objective: to identify a set of values for Australia’s second largest retailer that would be congruent with their personal values. Armen Dueschian/Newspix

Values Congruence Values congruence -- where two or more entities have similar value systems Problems with incongruence Incompatible decisions Lower satisfaction and commitment Increased stress and turnover Benefits of (some) incongruence Better decision making (diverse values) Enhanced problem definition Prevents “corporate cults” Armen Dueschian/Newspix

Individualism- Collectivism High Peru Portugal Italy Taiwan Nigeria PR China India Mexico Chile Collectivism Hungary Hong Kong Korea United States France Japan Australia New Zealand Singapore Egypt Low Low Individualism High

Power Distance High Power Distance Malaysia The degree that people accept an unequal distribution of power in society Venezuela Japan U.S. Denmark Israel Low Power Distance

Uncertainty Avoidance High U. A. Greece Japan The degree that people tolerate ambiguity (low) or feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty (high uncertainty avoidance). Italy U.S. Singapore Low U. A.

Achievement-Nurturing Japan The degree that people value assertiveness, competitiveness, and materialism (achievement) versus relationships and well-being of others (nurturing) China U.S. France Chile Sweden Nurturing

Three Ethical Principles Utilitarianism Greatest good for the greatest number of people Individual Rights Fundamental entitlements in society Distributive Justice People who are similar should receive similar benefits

Influences on Ethical Conduct Moral intensity degree that issue demands ethical principles Ethical sensitivity ability to recognize the presence and determine the relative importance of an ethical issue Situational influences competitive pressures and other conditions affect ethical behavior

Supporting Ethics at Adolph Coors Long before it was a priority at other firms, Adolph Coors developed training programs and reward systems that explicitly strengthen ethical conduct.

Supporting Ethical Behavior Ethical code of conduct Establishes standards of behavior Problem: Limited effect alone on ethical behavior Ethics training Awareness and clarification of ethics code Practice resolving ethical dilemmas Ethics officers Educate and counsel; hear about wrongdoing Ethical leadership and culture Demonstrate integrity and role model ethical conduct

Defining Personality Relatively stable pattern of behaviors and consistent internal states that explain a person's behavioral tendencies

Big Five Personality Dimensions Conscientiousness Careful, dependable Agreeableness Courteous, caring Neuroticism Anxious, hostile Openness to Experience Sensitive, flexible Extroversion Outgoing, talkative

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Extroversion Introversion vs. Sensing Intuition vs. Thinking Feeling vs. Judging Perceiving vs.

Locus of Control and Self-Monitoring Internals believe in their effort and ability Externals believe events are mainly due to external causes Self-monitoring personality Sensitivity to situational cues, and ability to adapt your behavior to that situation

Holland’s Occupational Choice Theory Career success depends on fit between the person and work environment Holland identifies six “themes” Represent work environment and personality traits/interests A person aligned mainly with one theme is highly differentiated A person has high consistency when preferences relate to adjacent themes

Individual Behavior, Values, and Personality

Chapter Two Extras

Long/Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation China Japan The degree that people value thrift, savings, and persistence (long-term) versus past and present issues, respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations (short-term). Netherlands U.S. Philippines Short-Term Orientation