1. Chapter 14 Understanding Individual Behavior

2. Learning Objectives
Describe the dimensions of positive individual behaviors and their impact on organizational performance
Explain the characteristics of individual personalities and strength profiles
Explain how individual attitudes and beliefs affect team and organizational dynamics
Interpret how stress, deviance, and dysfunctional behavior manifest and negatively affect team and organizational performance
Design a plan for maximizing individual behavior to change an organizational culture or performance positively
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3. How Individuals Make a Difference (p. 352)
Positive psychology
Explores ways to help people recognize their positive traits or strengths, rather than their perceived weaknesses and failings
Abundance – conscious pursuit of purposeful possibilities that are sustainable and stable over time
In economically rough times, it is difficult to instill the message of positive psychology
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4. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Stress – physiological and emotional reactions experienced by individuals to excessive pressures or demands at work (p. 352)
Consequences of stress
Absenteeism
Burnout
Negative affectivity – general dimension of personality where an individual experiences negative mood states
Lowers likelihood of making contributions to the organization
Even under adverse conditions, managers must try to promote positive affectivity (p. 353)
Outward display of positive emotions
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5. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Self-awareness (p. 353)
Ability to look objectively at a circumstance and make subjective, principle-based judgment decisions simultaneously
In order to make judgments about others, one must be keenly aware of one’s own behavior
Involves focusing on external relationships
Mangers who practice self-awareness are more likely to receive feedback from others, listen to other perspectives, encourage communication, and treat others fairly
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6. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Purposeful thinking (p. 353)
Involves continually seeking pathways for possibilities and looking for opportunities to learn and grow
Linked to self-awareness
Relationships of thoughtful candor
Candor – quality of being open, frank, and sincere in speech or expression
Must hold oneself responsible first, then others
Show gratitude for the acts of others
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7. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Challenging work (p. 354)
Comprised of two types of tasks
Pleasureful tasks – provide an immediate feeling of joy and delight, with little effect on overall life satisfaction
Purposeful tasks – provide a sense of accomplishment that has lasting meaning
Moral courage
Taking a position against something or someone even though you know the outcome may be unpopular
Involves taking risks
The probability of loss or undesirable consequences
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8. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Joyful living (p. 354)
Feelings and emotions defined by interest, passion, curiosity, contentment, enthusiasm, satisfaction and quality of life
A measurable culmination of the other dimensions of abundance, providing the means for progress and motivation
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9. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Power of perception and a positive approach (p. 354)
Perception – process by which individuals select, interpret, and organize information in the world around them
Selective perception – process by which individuals accept information consistent with their values and beliefs, while screening out information that is not aligned with their own needs
Commitment – degree to which an employee is psychologically devoted to an organization or team (p. 355)
Confidence – certainty about handling something that a person desires or needs to do
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10. How Individuals Make a Difference (cont.)
Type A personality (p. 355)
Behavioral pattern where individuals tend to be ambitious, goal oriented, impatient, determined, highly organized, competitive, and aggressive
Type B personality
Behavioral pattern where individuals tend to be more patient, relaxed, easygoing, and more sensitive to the feelings of others
Psychological contract
Informal expectation between employee and organization that determines quality and satisfaction
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11. Personalities and Strengths (p. 356)
Stereotyping
Tendency to ascribe characteristics or attributes to a particular group or individual unfairly
Attribution
Ascribed quality or characteristic that is related to a particular individual or situation
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12. Personalities and Strengths (cont.)
“Big Five” personality traits (p. 357)
Five broad domains of human psychology
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13. Personalities and Strengths (cont.)
Attitudes (p. 357)
Person’s or group’s inclinations toward an idea or situation
Individual differences
Variable psychological, behavioral, cultural, and physical dimensions that uniquely distinguish each team member
Locus of control
Degree to which an individual or team feels in control of circumstances and outcomes
Internal – one feels in control of own fate
External – one feels that fate, rather than the actions of an individual, controls outcomes in life
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14. Personalities and Strengths (cont.)
Authoritarianism (p. 358)
Management philosophy that using the threat of punishment, power, and legitimacy is required to produce superior results
Less prevalent as organizations have adopted flatter structures
Machiavellianism
Pragmatic management philosophy that condones unethical and manipulative behavior if it produces desirable results
Machiavellian leaders have little respect for their subordinates, tend to take credit for their ideas, and rule with fear
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15. Attitudes and Belief Systems (p. 361)
Cognitive dissonance
Psychological strain that occurs when a person is faced with two or more conflicting cognitions (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, or items of knowledge)
Creativity
Ability to devise innovative ideas to meet the needs of a particular task or organizational goals
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16. Stress, Deviance, and Dysfunctional Behavior (p. 363)
Actions that show a lack of commitment, lack of trust, fear of confrontation or conflicting opinions, a refusal to accept responsibility, and a tendency to focus on their own individual needs ahead of the team and organization
Deviance
Intentional behavior and attitudes that differ from or violate the accepted social norms
Positive deviance – deviance that is honorable
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17. Stress, Deviance, and Dysfunctional Behavior (cont.)
General adaptation syndrome (GAS; p. 364)
Physiological reactions to long-term stress that can be grouped into three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
Citizenship
Commitment to the overall functions of the team and organizational culture in order to improve performance
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18. Positive Deviance and Performance (p. 365)
Emotional intelligence (EI; p. 366)
Capacity to recognize and appreciate emotional responses in one’s self and others
EQ – managers who have insight into their own emotions and the feelings of others can inspire a higher quality of work performance
Requires getting substantial feedback from others to increase self-awareness
Inducements
Formal or informal agreements intended to entice positive or desirable behaviors
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19. Copyright
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