1. Understanding Individual Behavior
Chapter 14
Understanding Individual Behavior

2. Organizational Behavior (OB)
Interdisciplinary field — study human attitudes, behavior, and performance in organizations; Important to managers as they depend on human cooperation.
Organizational citizenship – work behavior that goes beyond job requirements and contributes to the organization’s success; the tendency of people to help one another
Managers must select people with positive attitudes, help them contribute, and enable them to learn from workplace, to encourage organizational citizenship.
DQ: How can a manager encourage organizational citizenship?
Organizational behavior, commonly referred to as OB, is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to the study of human attitudes, behavior, and performance in organizations. The concepts and principles of organizational behavior are important because human beings make decisions to control how the organization will acquire and use resources. People distract from the firm’s strategy by engaging in conflict and misunderstandings, or pool their talents and perspectives to do more as a group than as individuals.
By understanding what causes people to behave as they do, managers can exercise leadership to achieve positive outcomes. They can foster organizational citizenship — work behavior that goes beyond job requirements and contributes to the organization’s success. An employee demonstrates organization citizenship by being helpful, doing extra work, and looking for ways to improve products and procedures. Managers encourage organizational citizenship by selecting people with positive attitudes, helping them contribute, and enabling them to learn from workplace challenges.

3. Attitudes
Attitude = a positive or negative evaluation that predisposes a person to act in a certain way; determine:
how people perceive the work environment, interact with others, and behave on the job
Negative Attitude = Hard to get along with; Always gripe; Consistently resist new ideas
Positive Attitude = Positive, happy people are healthier, more effective, and more productive
Managers must develop and reinforce positive attitudes
DQ: Describe evidence of a negative attitude at workplace.
An attitude is a positive or negative evaluation that predisposes a person to act in a certain way. An employee with an attitude problem might be hard to get along with, might gripe, and consistently resist new ideas. Understanding employee attitudes is important to managers because attitudes determine how people perceive the work environment, interact with others, and behave on the job. Effective managers strive to develop and reinforce positive attitudes among employees. Managers should recognize that negative attitudes can be the result of underlying problems in the workplace as well as a contributor to forthcoming problems.

4. 14.1 Components of Attitudes (1) Cognitions (2) Affect (feelings) (3) Behavior DQ: How do three components impact on an attitude?
Components of Attitudes
Attitudes have three components: cognitions (thoughts), affect (feelings), and behavior.
The cognitive component includes the beliefs, opinions, and information the person has about the object of the attitude, such as knowledge of what a job entails and opinions about personal abilities.
The affective component is the person’s emotions or feelings about the object of the attitude, such as enjoying or hating a job.
The behavioral component of an attitude is the person’s intention to behave toward the object of the attitude in a certain way.
As a general rule, changing one component of an attitude—cognitions, affect, or behavior—can contribute to an overall change in attitude.
Discussion Question #2: In what ways might the cognitive and affective components of attitude influence the behavior of employees who are faced with learning an entirely new set of computer-related skills in order to retain their jobs at a manufacturing facility?

5. High-Performance Work Attitudes
Job Satisfaction – a positive attitude toward one’s job
Organizational Commitment - an employee’s loyalty to and engagement with the organization
Managers want the benefit of loyal, committed employees
Job Satisfaction Exhibit 14.2
Job satisfaction is a positive attitude to one’s job. People experience this attitude when their work matches their needs and interests and they like their co-workers. Job satisfaction also occurs when working conditions and rewards are satisfactory and when people have positive relationships with supervisors.
Research shows that the link between job satisfaction and performance is small and is affected by other factors. Satisfaction varies according to the amount of control the employee has (Autonomy). Managers play an important role in whether employees have positive or negative attitudes about their jobs.
Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment is loyalty to and engagement in one’s organization. Most managers want to enjoy the benefits of loyal, committed employees, including low turnover and willingness to do more than the job’s basic requirements.
A recent study of 650,000 employees in global organizations found that companies with highly committed employees outperformed the industry average by 6 percent. High motivation and engagement that comes with organizational commitment are essential to the success of knowledge-based organizations that depend on creativity.
Copyright ©2012 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

6. 14.2 Rate Your Job Satisfaction

7. Cognitive Dissonance - Conflicts Among Attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance = a psychological discomfort that occurs when individuals recognize inconsistencies in their own attitudes and behaviors
 Cognitive Dissonance Theory = People want to behave in accordance with their attitudes and will take corrective action to alleviate the dissonance and achieve balance.
Cognitive Dissonance & Negative Attitude: If corrective action, such as adjusting work hours, is not possible, individuals may develop negative attitudes toward their employer.
DQ: How cognitive dissonance is related to negative attitude?
DQ: How can a manager control employee’s cognitive dissonance?
Conflicts Among Attitudes
Sometimes a person may discover that his or her attitudes conflict with one another or are not reflected in behavior. This can create a state of cognitive dissonance, a psychological discomfort that occurs when individuals recognize inconsistencies in their own attitudes and behaviors.
The theory of cognitive dissonance states that people want to behave in accordance with their attitudes and will take corrective action to alleviate the dissonance and achieve balance. If corrective action, such as adjusting work hours, is not possible, individuals may develop negative attitudes toward their employer.
A manager must communicate with employees constantly, and find out their concerns & challenges they face, and try to address such concerns & challenges. Otherwise, employees may feel there is no hope for an improvement at workplace, will develop negative attitudes inevitably.
Discussion Question #4: How might a manager be able to use an understanding of perceptual selectivity and perceptual organization to communicate more effectively with subordinates?

8. ..the cognitive process people use to make sense of the environment
Perception
..the cognitive process people use to make sense of the environment
Perceptual Selectivity –the process of screening and selecting stimuli
Perceptual Distortions – errors in perceptual judgment
Stereotyping : generalizing about group or individual
Halo effect: impression based on one characteristic
Perceptual defense: protecting oneself against objects and ideas that are threatening
Attributions – judgment about the cause of behavior
Perception is the cognitive process people use to make sense out of the environment by selecting, organizing, and interpreting information from the environment. Because of individual differences in attitudes, personality, values, interests, and so forth, people often “see” the same thing in different ways. Perception can be viewed as a step-by-step process: first we observe information from the environment through our senses (sensory data); next our minds screen the data and select only the items we will process further; and third, we organize selected data into meaningful patterns for interpretation and response.
Perceptual Selectivity
Perceptual selectivity is the process by which individuals screen and select the various stimuli that compete for their attention. People typically focus on stimuli that satisfy their needs and that are consistent with their attitudes, values, and personality.
Characteristics of the stimuli itself also affect perceptual selectivity. People tend to notice stimuli that stand out against other stimuli or that are more intense than surrounding stimuli. People also tend to notice things that are familiar to them, as well as things that are new or different from their previous experiences.
Primacy and recency are important to perceptual selectivity. Primacy supports the old truism that first impressions do count. Recency reflects the reality that the last impression might be a lasting impression. Managers can use an understanding of perceptual selectivity to obtain clues about why one person sees things differently from others and apply this to communication.
Perceptual Distortions Exhibit 14.5
Once people have selected the sensory data, they group the data into patterns. Perceptual organization is the process by which people organize or categorize stimuli. Perceptual distortions are errors in perceptual judgment that arise from inaccuracies in any part of the perceptual process. Some types of errors are so common that managers should become familiar with them.
Stereotyping is the tendency to assign an individual to a group or broad category and then attribute generalizations about the group to the individual.
Halo effect refers to creating an overall impression of a person or situation based on one attribute, either favorable or unfavorable.
Projection is the tendency to see one’s own personal traits in other people.
Perceptual defense refers to the tendency of perceivers to protect themselves by disregarding ideas, objects, or people that are threatening to them.

9. 14.3 The Perception Process
Copyright ©2012 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

10. Attribution
As people organize what they perceive, they often draw conclusions about the stimuli. Attributions are judgments about what caused a person’s behavior—something about the person or something about the situation.
An internal attribution says characteristics of the person led to the behavior.
An external attribution says something about the situation caused the person’s behavior.
Attributions Exhibit 14.6
As people organize what they perceive, they often draw conclusions about the stimuli. Attributions are judgments about what caused a person’s behavior—something about the person or something about the situation. An internal attribution says characteristics of the person led to the behavior. An external attribution says something about the situation caused the person’s behavior. Three factors influence whether an attribution will be external or internal.
Distinctiveness. Whether the behavior is unusual for that person.
Consistency. Whether the person being observed has a history of behaving in the same way.
Consensus. Whether other people tend to respond to similar situations in the same way.
In addition to these general rules, people tend to have biases that they apply when making attributions.
Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors on another’s behavior and to overestimate the influence of internal factors.
Self-serving bias is the tendency to overestimate the contribution of internal factors to one’s successes and the contribution of external factors to one’s failures.

11. Attribution (continued)
Three factors influence whether an attribution will be external or internal.
Distinctiveness. Whether the behavior is unusual for that person.
Consistency. Whether the person being observed has a history of behaving in the same way.
Consensus. Whether other people tend to respond to similar situations in the same way.
Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors on another’s behavior and to overestimate the influence of internal factors.
 Self-serving bias is the tendency to overestimate the contribution of internal factors to one’s successes and the contribution of external factors to one’s failures.
Attributions Exhibit 14.6
As people organize what they perceive, they often draw conclusions about the stimuli. Attributions are judgments about what caused a person’s behavior—something about the person or something about the situation. An internal attribution says characteristics of the person led to the behavior. An external attribution says something about the situation caused the person’s behavior. Three factors influence whether an attribution will be external or internal.
Distinctiveness. Whether the behavior is unusual for that person.
Consistency. Whether the person being observed has a history of behaving in the same way.
Consensus. Whether other people tend to respond to similar situations in the same way.
In addition to these general rules, people tend to have biases that they apply when making attributions.
Fundamental attribution error is the tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors on another’s behavior and to overestimate the influence of internal factors.
Self-serving bias is the tendency to overestimate the contribution of internal factors to one’s successes and the contribution of external factors to one’s failures.

12. 14.6 Factors Influencing Whether Attributions Are Internal or External

13. 5 Personality Traits
Extroversion = the degree to which a person is sociable, talkative, assertive, and comfortable with interpersonal relationships.
 Agreeableness = the degree to which a person is able to get along with others by being good-natured, cooperative, forgiving, understanding, and trusting.
 Conscientiousness = the degree to which a person is focused on a few goals, thus behaving in ways that are responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented.
 Emotional stability = the degree to which a person is calm, enthusiastic, and secure, rather than tense, nervous, depressed, moody, or insecure.
 Openness to experience = the degree to which a person has a broad range of interests and is imaginative, creative, artistically sensitive, and willing to consider new ideas.
PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOR
An individual’s personality is the set of characteristics that underlie a relatively stable pattern of behavior in response to ideas, objects, or people in the environment. Understanding personality can help managers predict how a person might act in a particular situation. Managers who appreciate the ways their employees’ personalities differ have insight into what kinds of leadership behavior will be most influential.
Personality Traits Exhibit 14.7
There are five general dimensions that describe personality, often called the Big Five personality factors.
Extroversion refers to the degree to which a person is sociable, talkative, assertive, and comfortable with interpersonal relationships.
Agreeableness refers to the degree to which a person is able to get along with others by being good-natured, cooperative, forgiving, understanding, and trusting.
Conscientiousness refers to the degree to which a person is focused on a few goals, thus behaving in ways that are responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented.
Emotional stability refers to the degree to which a person is calm, enthusiastic, and secure, rather than tense, nervous, depressed, moody, or insecure.
Openness to experience refers to the degree to which a person has a broad range of interests and is imaginative, creative, artistically sensitive, and willing to consider new ideas.
These factors represent a continuum. A person may have a low, moderate, or high degree of each quality. Having a moderate-to-high degree of each personality factor is considered desirable for a wide range of employees, but is not a guarantee for success.
Many companies use personality testing to hire, evaluate, or promote employees despite the fact that there is little hard evidence that these personality tests are valid predictors of job or relationship success.
Discussion Question #5: In the Big Five personality factors, extroversion is considered a “good” quality to have. Why might introversion be an equally positive quality?

14. 14.7 The Big Five Personality Traits

15. Attitudes and Behaviors Influenced by Personality: Locus of Control
Locus of Control = Whether individuals place the primary responsibility for success or failure within themselves (internally) or on outside forces (externally).
People with an internal locus of control:
Easier to motivate & better able to handle complex information
Better at problem solving
More achievement oriented
More independent  More difficult to manage
People with an external locus of control:
Harder to motivate, less involved in their jobs, and more likely to blame others,
More compliant and conforming  Easier to manage
Attitudes and Behaviors Influenced by Personality Exhibit 14.8
Locus of control refers to whether individuals place the primary responsibility for success or failure within themselves (internally) or on outside forces (externally).
Some believe that their actions can strongly influence what happens to them—they believe they are in control of their own fate. These individuals have a high internal locus of control. Many top leaders of e-commerce and high-tech organizations have a high internal locus of control.
People with an internal locus of control are easier to motivate and better able to handle complex information. They are better at problem solving and are more achievement oriented, but are also more independent and therefore more difficult to manage.
Others believe that events occur because of chance, luck, or outside people or events. They see themselves as the pawns of their fate. These individuals have a high external locus of control.
People with an external locus of control are harder to motivate, less involved in their jobs, and more likely to blame others, but are more compliant and conforming and thus easier to manage.
Discussion Question #8: How might understanding whether an employee has an internal or an external locus of control help a manager better communicate with, motivate, and lead the employee?

16. 14.8 Measuring Locus of Control

17. Attitudes and Behaviors Influenced by Personality: Authoritarianism & Machiavellianism
Authoritarianism = The belief that power and status differences should exist within the organization.
More friction b/w a manager & employees in their degree of authoritarianism  Less management effectiveness.
The trend: The more empowerment & equitable relationships, the less authoritarianism.
Machiavellianism = the tendency to direct much of one’s behavior toward the acquisition of power and the manipulation of others for personal gain.
High Machs are predisposed to being pragmatic, capable of lying to achieve personal goals, more likely to win in win-lose situations, and more likely to persuade than to be persuaded.
In loosely structured situations  High Machs
In highly structured situations  Low Machs
Authoritarianism is the belief that power and status differences should exist within the organization. If a manager and his or her employees differ in their degree of authoritarianism, the manager may have difficulty managing effectively. The trend toward empowerment and shifts in expectations among younger employees for more equitable relationships has caused a decline in authoritarianism.
Machiavellianism is the tendency to direct much of one’s behavior toward the acquisition of power and the manipulation of others for personal gain. Research shows that high Machs are predisposed to being pragmatic, capable of lying to achieve personal goals, more likely to win in win-lose situations, and more likely to persuade than to be persuaded.
In loosely structured situations, high Machs actively take control, while low Machs accept the directions given by others. Low Machs thrive in highly structured situations, while high Machs perform in a detached, disinterested way.

18. Sensation or Intuition (Carl Jung):
Attitudes and Behaviors Influenced by Personality: 4 Problem-solving Styles
Sensation or Intuition (Carl Jung):
Sensation-type: facts and data
Intuitive-type: Looking for possibilities, use abstract concepts
Thinking or Feeling.
Thinking-type: impersonal analysis using reason and logic
Feeling-type: personal feelings, such as harmony, and make decisions that result in approval from others.
 4 Problem-solving Styles:
(1) Sensation & Thinking
(2) Intuition & Thinking
(3) Sensation & Feeling
(4) Intuition & Feeling
Problem-Solving Styles and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Exhibit 14.9
Individuals differ in the way they go about gathering and evaluating information for problem solving and decision making. Psychologist Carl Jung believed that people gather information either by sensation or intuition, but not by both simultaneously. Sensation-type people would rather work with known facts and data; intuitive-type people would prefer to look for possibilities and use abstract concepts for problem solving.
People evaluate information by thinking or feeling. Thinking-type people base their evaluations on impersonal analysis using reason and logic rather than emotion or values. Feeling-type individuals base their evaluations on personal feelings, such as harmony, and make decisions that result in approval from others.
According to Jung, only one of the four functions—sensation, intuition, thinking, or feeling—is dominant; however, the dominant feature is backed up by one of the others. Two additional sets of paired opposites not related to problem solving are introversion–extroversion and judging–perceiving.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality test that measures a person’s preference for introversion vs. extroversion, sensation vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving. The various combinations of these four preferences result in 16 unique personality types, each of which can have both positive and negative consequences for behavior. The two preferences most strongly associated with effective management are thinking and judging.

19. 14.9 Four Problem-Solving Styles

20. Introversion vs. Extroversion Judging vs. Perceiving
Attitudes and Behaviors Influenced by Personality: Additional Sets of Personality
 Introversion vs. Extroversion
Judging vs. Perceiving
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) = a personality test that measures a person’s preference for introversion vs. extroversion, sensation vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving.
16 personality types
Thinking, Judging  Most significant factors on Mgmt Effectiveness
Two additional sets of paired opposites not related to problem solving are introversion–extroversion and judging–perceiving.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality test that measures a person’s preference for introversion vs. extroversion, sensation vs. intuition, thinking vs. feeling, and judging vs. perceiving. The various combinations of these four preferences result in 16 unique personality types, each of which can have both positive and negative consequences for behavior. The two preferences most strongly associated with effective management are thinking and judging.

21. Person-Job Fit Person job fit
Manager’s Responsibility – A manager must match the right employees with the right jobs
Increases job satisfaction and commitment
If this fit is poor, a manager must restructure tasks or replace employees
Person-environment fit - employees who fit organizational environment
Person-Job Fit
Trying to match employees and job characteristics so that work is done by people who are well suited to do it is an important responsibility of managers. Person-job fit is the extent to which a person’s ability and personality match the requirements of a job. When person-job fit is poor, the manager may have to restructure tasks or replace employees.
Person-environment fit looks not only at whether the person and job are suited to one another, but also at how well a person fits into the overall organizational environment.

22. Emotions
A mental state that arises spontaneously within a person based on interactions
People cannot be separated from their emotions
Managers can influence positive or negative emotions at work
Emotional contagion
Good managers pay attention to people’s emotions
An emotion can be thought of as a mental state that arises spontaneously within a person based on interaction with the environment rather than through a conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes or sensations.
Positive emotions are triggered when people are on track toward achieving their goals.
Negative emotions are triggered when people become frustrated in trying to achieve their goals.
Managers can influence whether people experience primarily positive or negative emotions at work. As a result of emotional contagion, the emotional state of the manager influences the entire team or department. Effective managers pay attention to people’s emotions, because positive emotions are typically linked to higher productivity and greater effectiveness of employees.

23. 14.10 Positive and Negative Emotions

24. Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Self-awareness = being aware of what you are feeling
 Self-management = the ability to control disruptive or harmful emotions and balance one’s moods so that worry, anxiety, fear, or anger do not cloud thinking
Social awareness = the ability to understand others and practice empathy, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, recognizing the feelings of others without being told
 Relationship awareness = the ability to connect to others, build positive relationships, respond to the emotions of others, and influence others
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) includes four basic components.
Self-awareness means being aware of what you are feeling. It is the basis for all the other components.
Self-management refers to the ability to control disruptive or harmful emotions and balance one’s moods so that worry, anxiety, fear, or anger do not cloud thinking.
Social awareness is the ability to understand others and practice empathy, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, recognizing the feelings of others without being told.
Relationship awareness is the ability to connect to others, build positive relationships, respond to the emotions of others, and influence others.
Studies have found a positive relationship between job performance and high degrees of emotional intelligence in a variety of jobs. At times of great change or crisis, managers rely on a high EQ level to help employees cope with anxiety and stress.
Managers with low emotional intelligence can undermine employee morale and harm the organization. Growing concerns over workplace bullying have prompted enlightened companies to take action that helps managers develop greater emotional intelligence, such as by honing their self-awareness.

25. EQ (continued)
Positive relationship between job performance and high degrees of EQ
At times of great change or crisis, managers rely on a high EQ level to help employees cope with anxiety and stress. 
Managers with low EQ  Undermine employee morale and harm the organization
Make such low EQ manager improve their self-awareness

26. The Learning Process
Learning is a change in behavior or performance that occurs as the result of experience
Ability to adapt to changes in the world
Managers have to learn
Active experimentation promotes learning
Requires reflection
Managers are required to change and therefore they must learn
Learning is a change in behavior or performance that occurs as the result of experience. Experience may take the form of observing others, reading or listening to sources of information, or experiencing the consequences of one’s own behavior.
The Learning Process Exhibit 14.11
One model of the learning process depicts learning as a four-stage cycle. First a person encounters a concrete experience, followed by thinking and reflective observation, leading to abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The results of experimentation generate new experiences, and the cycle repeats.
Learning Styles Exhibit 14.12
Individuals develop personal learning styles that vary in terms of how much they emphasize each stage of the learning cycle. These differences occur because the learning process is directed by individual needs and goals.
Some people have a tendency to overemphasize one stage of the learning process, or to avoid some aspects of learning. Not many people have totally balanced profiles. The key to effective learning is competence in each of the four stages when it is needed.
Each person’s learning style is a combination of the emphasis placed on the four stages. Researchers have identified four fundamental learning styles that combine elements of the four stages: Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, and Accommodator.
Through awareness of their learning style, managers can understand how they approach problems and issues, their learning strengths and weaknesses, and how they react to employees or co-workers who have different learning styles.
Copyright ©2012 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

27. 14.11 Experiential Learning Cycle
Copyright ©2012 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

28. Learning Styles Individuals’ learning styles vary
Questionnaires can aid in determining learning styles
It helps for managers to know their dominant learning style
Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, and Accommodator.
Learning Styles Exhibit 14.12
Individuals develop personal learning styles that vary in terms of how much they emphasize each stage of the learning cycle. These differences occur because the learning process is directed by individual needs and goals.
Some people have a tendency to overemphasize one stage of the learning process, or to avoid some aspects of learning. Not many people have totally balanced profiles. The key to effective learning is competence in each of the four stages when it is needed.
Each person’s learning style is a combination of the emphasis placed on the four stages. Researchers have identified four fundamental learning styles that combine elements of the four stages: Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, and Accommodator.
Through awareness of their learning style, managers can understand how they approach problems and issues, their learning strengths and weaknesses, and how they react to employees or co-workers who have different learning styles.

29. 14.12 What’s Your Learning Style?

30. Stress and Stress Management
Work-related stress is increasing worldwide
Low levels of stress can be a positive force
Too much stress can have negative consequences
Causes of Work Stress
Task demands – role ambiguity
Interpersonal demand – role conflict
Stress is a physiological and emotional response to stimuli that place physical or psychological demands on an individual and create uncertainty and lack of control when important outcomes are at stake. These stimuli, called stressors, produce some combination of frustration and anxiety.
People’s responses to stressors vary according to their personality, the resources available to help them cope, and the context in which the stress occurs. When the level of stress is low, stress can be a positive force, stimulating desirable change and achievement. However, too much stress is associated with many negative consequences, including sleep disturbances, drug and alcohol abuse, headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure, and heart disease. People who are experiencing the ill effects of stress may withdraw from interactions with their coworkers, take excess time off for illnesses, and have more health problems.
Type A and Type B Behavior
Researchers have categorized people as having one of two behavior patterns.
Type A Behavior is a behavior pattern characterized by extreme competitiveness, impatience, aggressiveness, and devotion to work.
Type B Behavior is a behavior pattern that lacks Type A characteristics and includes a more balanced, relaxed lifestyle.
Type A individuals can be powerful forces for innovation and leadership within their organizations. However, many Type A personalities cause stress-related problems for themselves and sometimes for those around them. Most Type A individuals are high-energy people. Type B individuals experience less conflict with other people and a more balanced lifestyle.
Causes of Work Stress
Work-related stress is on the rise worldwide. Managers can better cope with their own stress and establish ways for the organization to help employees cope if they define the conditions that tend to produce work stress. One way to identify work stressors is to place them in four categories.
Task demands are stressors arising from the tasks required of a person holding a particular job such as decisions made under time pressure, those that must be made with incomplete information, and those that have serious consequences. Task demands also sometimes cause stress because of role ambiguity, which means that people are unclear about what task behaviors are expected of them.
Interpersonal demands are stressors associated with relationships in the organization. Interpersonal relationships can be a source of stress when the group puts pressure on an individual or when conflicts arise between individuals. Role conflict occurs when an individual perceives incompatible demands from others.

31. Type A and Type B Behavior
Type A Behavior
Pattern characterized by extreme competitiveness, impatience, aggressiveness, and devotion to work
Type B Behavior
Pattern that lacks Type A characteristics and includes more balanced, relaxed lifestyle
Copyright ©2012 by South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

32. Innovative Responses to Stress Management
Quiet rooms
Wellness programs
Training programs
Manager intervention
Work-life balance initiatives
Innovative Responses to Stress Management Exhibit 14.13
Organizations that want to challenge their employees and stay competitive in a fast-changing environment will never be stress-free. Because many consequences of stress are negative, managers need to participate in stress management for themselves and for their employees.
A variety of techniques can help individuals manage stress. Among the most basic strategies are those that help people stay healthy: exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and eating a healthful diet.
Although individuals can pursue stress management strategies on their own, today’s enlightened companies support healthful habits to help employees manage stress and be more productive. Stress costs businesses billions of dollars a year in absenteeism, lower productivity, staff turnover, accidents, and higher health insurance and workers’ compensation costs. Supporting employees can be as simple as encouraging people to take regular breaks and vacations.
Companies also develop other programs aimed specifically at helping employees reduce stress and lead healthier, more balanced lives. Some companies provide quiet rooms or meditation centers where employees can take short, calming breaks at any time they feel the need. Many companies offer wellness programs that provide access to nutrition and exercise facilities. Training programs and conferences can help people identify stress and teach them coping mechanisms. Manager intervention is a growing trend in enlightened companies. Some companies create broad work-life balance initiatives to include flexible work options such as telecommuting and flexible hours, as well as onsite daycare, fitness centers, and personal services such as pickup and delivery of dry cleaning.
Daily flextime is considered by many employees to be the most effective work-life practice, which means giving employees the freedom to vary their hours. Work-life practices also communicate that managers and the organization care about employees as human beings. Managers’ attitudes make a tremendous difference in whether employees are stressed out and unhappy or relaxed, energetic, and productive.

33. 14.13 How Managers Create Stress for Employees

34. Discussion Questions (in progress)
Define attitudes and explain their relationship to personality, perception, and behavior.
 Discuss the importance of work-related attitudes.
 Define major personality traits and describe how personality can influence workplace attitudes and behaviors.
 Identify positive and negative emotions and describe how emotions affect behavior.
 Define the four components of emotional intelligence and explain why they are important for today’s managers.
 Explain how people learn in general and in terms of individual learning styles.
 Discuss the effects of stress and identify ways individuals and organizations can manage stress to improve employee health, satisfaction, and productivity.
Define attitudes and explain their relationship to personality, perception, and behavior.
An attitude is an evaluation that predisposes a person to act in a certain way. The three components of attitudes are cognitions (thoughts), affect (feelings), and behavior. The cognitive component of an attitude includes the beliefs, opinions, and information the person has about the object of the attitude, such as knowledge of what a job entails and opinions about personal abilities.
The affective component is the person’s emotions or feelings about the object of the attitude, such as enjoying or hating a job. The behavioral component of an attitude is the person’s intention to behave toward the object of the attitude in a certain way. The cognitive element is the conscious thought, “my job is interesting and challenging.” The affective element is the feeling, “I love this job.”
An individual’s personality is the set of characteristics that underlie a relatively stable pattern of behavior in response to ideas, objects, or people in the environment. Understanding an individual’s personality can help managers predict how that person will act in a particular situation.
Perception is the cognitive process people use to make sense out of the environment by selecting, organizing, and interpreting information from the environment. Attitudes affect perceptions and vice versa. Because of individual differences in attitudes, personality, values, interests, and so forth, people often “see” the same thing in different ways.
Discuss the importance of work-related attitudes.
A positive attitude toward one’s job is called job satisfaction. People experience this attitude when their work matches their needs and interests, when working conditions and rewards (such as pay) are satisfactory, and when the employees like their co-workers. Organizational commitment is loyalty to and engagement in one’s organization. An employee with a high degree of organizational commitment is likely to say “we” when talking about the organization. Such a person tries to contribute to the organization’s success and wishes to remain with the organization.
Define major personality traits and describe how personality can influence workplace attitudes and behaviors.
In common usage, people think of personality in terms of traits, or relatively stable characteristics of a person. Extroversion is the degree to which a person is sociable, talkative, assertive, and comfortable with interpersonal relationships. Agreeableness is the degree to which a person is able to get along with others by being good-natured, cooperative, forgiving, understanding, and trusting. Conscientiousness, which is the degree to which a person is focused on a few goals, thus behaving in ways that are responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement oriented. Emotional stability is the degree to which a person is calm, enthusiastic, and secure, rather than tense, nervous, depressed, moody, or insecure. Openness to experience is the degree to which a person has a broad range of interests and is imaginative, creative, artistically sensitive, and willing to consider new ideas.
An individual’s personality influences a wide variety of work-related attitudes and behaviors, some of which are locus of control, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, and problem-solving styles. The locus of control defines whether a person places the primary responsibility within themselves or on outside forces. Authoritarianism is the belief that power and status differences should exist within the organization. Machiavellianism is characterized by the acquisition of power and the manipulation of other people for purely personal gain. Managers also need to understand that individuals differ in the way they go about gathering and evaluating information for problem solving and decision making.
Identify positive and negative emotions and describe how emotions affect behavior.
Positive emotions are triggered when people are on track toward achieving their goals. Examples include happiness/joy, pride, love/affection, and relief. Negative emotions are triggered when people become frustrated in trying to achieve their goals. Examples include anger, fright/anxiety, guilt/shame, sadness, envy/jealousy, and disgust.
Emotions affect behavior not only for the individual displaying the emotions, but also for those who interact with that individual, as a result of emotional contagion. People around an emotional individual tend to “catch” that person’s emotions and begin to feel and behave in a manner similar to that person. Negative emotions tend to diminish productivity as workers focus more on their emotions than on their work and begin to exhibit counterproductive behaviors.
Managers can influence whether people experience primarily positive or negative emotions at work. As a result of emotional contagion, the emotional state of the manager influences the entire team or department. Effective managers pay attention to people’s emotions, because positive emotions are typically linked to higher productivity and greater effectiveness of employees.
Define the four components of emotional intelligence and explain why they are important for today’s managers.
Self-awareness. The basis for all the other components. Being aware of what you are feeling.
The four components of emotional intelligence include:
Self-management. The ability to control disruptive or harmful emotions and balance one’s moods so that worry, anxiety, fear, or anger do not cloud thinking and get in the way of what needs to be done.
Relationship awareness. The ability to connect to others, build positive relationships, respond to the emotions of others, and influence others.
Social awareness. The ability to understand others and practice empathy, which means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, to recognize what others are feeling without them needing to tell you.
Studies show that there a positive relationship between job performance and high degrees of emotional intelligence in a variety of jobs.
Explain how people learn in general and in terms of individual learning styles.
Learning is a change in behavior or performance that occurs as the result of experience. There are individual differences in the learning process. First, a person encounters a concrete experience. This is followed by thinking and reflective observation, which leads to abstract conceptualization and in turn, to active experimentation. The results of the experimentation generate new experiences, and the cycle repeats. Each person’s learning style is a combination of the emphasis placed on the four stages. They are Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, and Accommodator.
Discuss the effects of stress and identify ways individuals and organizations can manage stress to improve employee health, satisfaction, and productivity.
Stress is an individual’s physiological and emotional response to stimuli that place physical or psychological demands on the individual and create uncertainty and lack of personal control when important outcomes are at stake.
These stimuli, called stressors, produce some combination of frustration (such as the inability to meet a deadline because of inadequate resources) and anxiety (such as the fear of being disciplined for not meeting deadlines). People’s responses to stressors vary according to their personalities, the resources available to help them cope, and the context in which the stress occurs. When the level of stress is low relative to a person’s coping resources, stress can be a positive force, stimulating desirable change and achievement. However, too much stress is associated with many negative consequences, including sleep disturbances, drug and alcohol abuse, headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure and heart disease. Too much stress is harmful to employees as well as to the organization.
There are a variety of techniques to help individuals manage stress. Among the most basic strategies are those that help people stay healthy: exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and eating a healthful diet. In addition, most people cope with stress more effectively if they lead balanced lives and are part of a network of people who support and encourage them. Family relationships, friendships, and memberships in nonwork groups such as community or religious organizations are helpful for stress management, as well as for other benefits. Supporting employees can be as simple as encouraging people to take regular breaks and vacations. Creating broad work-life balance initiatives that may include flexible work options such as telecommuting and flexible hours, as well as benefits such as onsite daycare, fitness centers, and personal services. Organizations and employees should look for ways to reduce the stressors and increase employees’ coping skills. Organizations can provide training or clearer directions so that employees feel able to handle their responsibilities. They can make the work environment safer and more comfortable. Individuals also can act on their own initiative to develop their knowledge and skills.