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Question 1 why manager need understand organizational behavior and its

theories

As managers begin to study organizational behavior, they will be struck by the fact that they can
apply what they have learned immediately to the problems they encounter at work. Managers
will be gaining a broad view of organizational behavior disciplines, and they will also find
different ways they can alter their management philosophy to reflect the knowledge newly found
in the study of organizational behavior. The more the knowledge about organizational behavior
grows; the more managers will become skilled in understanding and analyzing the behavioral
implications of the problems facing their organization. Before we look at the necessity of
managers studying organizational behavior, let‟s first look at the organizational behavior
theories.

Human Relations Behavioral Theory

This theory states that organizations function well when the staff feels empowered and valued.
The theory is based on studying the productivity of the employees under different circumstances
of work. Theory also states that the staff in an organization is likely to increase efficiency and
productivity if they feel validated and satisfied at work.

For example, things such as free lunch could help employees feel content and secure because
their company meets their needs. When the staff believes that management cares about their
needs and wants, they feel a sense of loyalty, and this boosts their productivity in return.

Decision-making Behavioral Theory

This is the most applied theory to supervisors and managers because they can make more of their
decisions that affect their company. Decision making behavioral theory states that people within
an organization can only make decisions based on the available information. However, the
information must be complete and accurate for the decision to achieve a specific goal.

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The person making the decision should have the ability to sort through the process and
information correctly. Inadequate or insufficient information leads to bad decision making. Also,
managers who are not strong in information synthesis are likely to make bad decisions.

Servant Leadership Behavioral Theory

The servant leadership theory has gained a lot of influence over the past few decades. The theory
states that the leaders. Leaders wield influence in an organization, unlike servants. They are
therefore able to create the principles and vision that drives the company forward. The servant
leadership theory allows executives to view all work protocols and processes from the point of
view of their employees. If you own a company, then your primary job is to view the needs and
the wants of your employees as more important as your needs and wants.

This simply means that you provide employees with all the necessary resources for them to
achieve performance standards that you have established for your company. Servant leadership
behavior can help you create a stronger bond with your employees, but it is important to
remember that your main focus should remain on the wants and needs of your employees and not
on their feelings. Managers who focus too much on the feelings of their workers may be
restricted from making hard decisions and from providing honest critiques of their work.

Benefits of Organizational Behavior to Managers

There are many benefits of knowing organizational behavior for leaders and managers in any
organization. We have listed the three main benefits for you to understand.

 As we have already seen in our previous post, organizational behavior is the study of employees and
their work within an organization. When managers understand the definition itself, they can use it in
their leadership roles. It will also help individuals within an organization to understand their behavior.
Organizational behavior helps organizations to understand their employees better, and this helps them
to get their work done perfectly.
 Organizational behavior also helps in managing human resources within an organization. It helps to
develop a work-related environment within an organization. Organizational behavior can help in the
creation of a motivated atmosphere within an organization. It also assists in functional behavior within
an organization such as increasing the effectiveness, productivity, efficiency, etc. of different

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operations. Organizational behavior helps in reducing dysfunctional behavior in a workplace such as
dissatisfaction of employees, employee absenteeism and tardiness.
 Organizational behavior can help in enhancing managerial skills in an organization. It
helps to create good leaders. It also helps in self-development. This is an integral part of
learning organizational behavior. It can also help in getting a perspective of ethics and
human values. Communication in the form of coaching, persuasion, monitoring,
negotiation, goal setting, and conflict handling creates an efficient and effective culture in
an organization. It can also help managers to create good teams that can achieve the
organizational goals.

Employee Training

Organizational behavior is very important in the process of training employees. Employees with
the right backgrounds get hired to do relevant jobs in an organization. However, often the
background is not enough to ensure that there is effective performance over time.

Organizational behavior affects the training provided to employees internally through resources.
Employee training is focused on strengthening and improving the existing skills, regulatory
requirements or learning about new technology that can impact how work is done in an
organization and staying updated on changes in the environment that can change how employees
do work.

Engagement

Managers and employers are concerned about developing a conducive environment where
employees can feel connected to their work and to the mission of the company. Managers are
also concerned about their ability to offer ideas and insights to help improve the production and
the work environment. The work rules in an organization affect the engagement as well as the
culture.

Organizational behavior is an important subject. It helps leaders and managers to understand, and
plan for an individual‟s actions. Organizational behavior is the study of perception, attitude, and
moral ethics of individuals in an organization.

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Question 2 why do manager care about organizational behavior

Managers in small businesses have enormous responsibilities. They must wear many different
hats--and take on more duties than a department manager in a large company who has assistant
managers and supervisors to share in the responsibilities. For this reason, a small business
manager must have superior organizational skills for the department to run smoothly and with a
productive and satisfied workforce.

Time Management

Time management helps managers establish department goals and determine objectives to reach
those goals on deadline. Staffing and workforce planning, delegating assignments and setting
priorities are activities that create organization skills. Time management is also important in
conducting performance appraisals. Some managers wait until the last possible moment to
evaluate the employee‟s performance for the past 12 months. This results in a haphazard way of
appraising an employee‟s contributions and may result in not recognizing all of the employee‟s
contributions to the department and the company.

Achieving department goals requires the manager‟s ability to execute tasks and motivate his staff
to accomplish their respective tasks. Organization skills in time management will help determine
to whom certain tasks will be assigned. Subsequent to finishing the tasks required for meeting
goals, the manager must ensure the goal has been achieved efficiently and to business standards.

Professional Development

The manager needs organization skills in the area of professional development for his staff and
himself. Observing his employees' duties and capabilities will help create professional
development plans. However, organizational skills are needed to maintain knowledge of the
employee skills and responsibilities. In addition, the manager himself must engage in self-
evaluation and communication with his superior to plan his professional development.
Organizing a schedule of interacting with employees on a regular basis and providing feedback
to help their development is a critical part of managing a workforce. A manager cannot get so
caught up in other business details as to forget this.

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Communication with Executive Leadership

There needs to be regular communication between the department manager and executive
leadership. The manager should communicate issues such as departmental productivity, goals,
objectives, workforce issues and any other challenges she encounters as manager. Keeping
executive leadership informed is good business practice that enables the owner of the business or
executive team to make wise decisions on behalf of the company.

In addition, the manager must spend time learning the business if she wants to see career
progression with the company. During regular contact with business leaders, she demonstrates
her interpersonal skills and suitability for promotion within the company. Communication
supported by organizational skills are required to convey to executive leadership your
department‟s status and contributions to the business overall.

Question 3 Identify the importance of studying organizational behavior

In our competitive, complex, and constantly changing world, organizations must be both
efficient and effective in what they do. To do this, organizations must have competent
employees that know how to work together to reach organizational goals. As a result, it is
important to understand how to build and maintain a competent and cooperative work force.

For example, think about the organizations that you've dealt with either as a customer or as an
employee. It's likely that your experiences have not always been pleasant and trouble-free.
Perhaps you've been kept waiting for service, spent hours trying to get relatively
straightforward information, or worked for a boss who gave you no direction and then
criticized your work. On the other hand, you have also most likely been exposed to
organizations that consistently maintained high standards of excellence. Organizational
behavior addresses the differences in these organizations, such as why some organizations are
more effective than others, and why some supervisors make excellent managers.

By studying organizational behavior, both employees and managers come to understand what
makes people behave the way they do. Employees can use this knowledge to increase their
own job satisfaction and improve work performance. Managers can use organizational
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behavior to accomplish goals and help employees achieve optimal performance. More
importantly, learning about organizational behavior will help you to understand your own
behaviors, attitudes, ethical views, and performance, as well as those of the people with whom
you'll be working. This type of knowledge will assist you in working effectively with
managers, colleagues, and subordinates.

The environment of doing business is constantly undergoing major transformations. A significant

number of managers have discovered that their role in the workplace is becoming more complex
due to the increase in the duties available and tasks that require prompt outcomes.

Because of these complexities, a number of different fields of study have sprung up to address
the ever-changing demands of the workforce. Among these, the study of organizational
behaviour has been vital over the years in enhancing the management style of different
organizations. This paper discusses the importance of studying organizational behaviour.

A working definition of organizational behaviour is “the systematic study of the nature of

organizations: how they begin, grow, and develop, and their effect on individual members,
constituent groups, other organizations, and larger institutions” (Kelly & Kelly, 1998, p.5).

The study of organizational behavior scrutinizes the various types of employees in all kinds of
diverse circumstances. The study seeks to benefit those in managerial and supervisory positions
in a number of ways. It is important in all the different aspects of the organization.
Organizational behavior aims to understand the human behavior in an organization and how its
association with the organization.

Many of us, at some point in our working life, might have said, “I do not feel like going to my
place of work today,” or “I dislike my work, I am disgusted with the job I am doing.” However,
these utterances have little to do with the person saying them, his or her place of work or the job
he or she is doing.

Poor management of organizational behavior is likely to be the cause of this problem! A good
manager should be able to study workers to ensure that their positions in the organization are

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satisfying. As an example, if a manager has a worker who is young, timid, and softly spoken, he
or she should not attempt to give the worker the task of collecting debts.

As an alternative, the manager should consider placing the worker in a less stressful situation
such as the customer care position, which would go well with the worker‟s nature in addition to
assisting her or him develop self-confidence in tackling the various issues of the customers.

Workers in high spirits with their positions and the different issues they have to tackle make
them to be more productive in undertaking their duties. This attribute is beneficial to the progress
of the organization as well as enabling the workforce to be contented with their roles.

The best method of knowing if an employee is uncomfortable in various circumstances is by

observing their body language. An example of the lack of a good relationship between the
employee and the manager occurs when a manager is standing too close or if the employee is
feeling uneasy with the presence of the manager behind him or her.

An employee can even lose his or her train of thought when having a conversation with the
manager. These examples illustrate the benefits of a good organizational behavior since it can
prevent this from taking place.

In the business environment, it is essential that the manager is able to motivate the workers, first
by example. The manager or the supervisor ought to be self-motivating. When an individual has
the capability of being self-motivating, it becomes uncomplicated to pass this trait to others.

An individual with good leadership qualities, who has the capability of inspiring others, can play
a vital role in the success of any organization. Sometimes it becomes difficult when a manager is
indolent and does not posses motivation skills. Currently, when one goes to apply for a position
in any organization, a question always arises whether the job seeker has any skills in
management.

This can be attributed to the fact that many organizations these days are searching for applicants
who posses leadership qualities together with the desired level of educational attainment. It raises
the concern that not everyone, either learned or experienced in the job, possesses management

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qualities. The study of organizational behaviour equips the learners with the important skills in
leadership.

In a situation when a well-inspired individual controls the business enterprise, it depicts the aim
of the organization and its ultimate success. When the manager maintains punctuality to the
place of work in order to get things started on time, he or she sets a good example to the people
under her or him.

This attribute is most of the times past automatically to the subordinates. No one can be heard
saying, “I do not feel like going to my place of work today,” since there is no person who intends
to be left behind when things are done in a definite way. No worker would like to stray away
from the norms of the group. A motivated manager is of essence to the ultimate success of the
business environment.

When employees make efforts to strike the right balance between their lives at home with their
lives at the place of work, a number of them often are stressed and worked up. This may lead to
increased cases of absenteeism and decrease in the level of productivity. Having a career is
different from having a life.

Since most organizations have employees who are married, it is important to ensure that they
have occasions when they can be outside the place of work and spend some quality time with
their families. Griffin and Moorhead (2002, p.182) have proved that recognizing the needs of the
employees outside work is an important aspect of realizing their dedication when undertaking
various duties.

The manager of an organization must ensure that the workers are doing a commendable work.
Achievement of this is by making the workers realize that their input in the organization is
important, not just to be salaried at the end of the month. The quality of the work usually
disintegrates when employees fail to recognize the value of their input in the organization.

A good manager has to encourage the workers that the place of work forms their second home
and that they add value to the success of the organization. Individuals most of the time react

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better to a surrounding where their emotional well-being is properly taken care of. Rewards
ought to be given to the most motivated employees to act as an encouragement to them.

Work performance is instrumental to the ultimate realization of an organization‟s corporate

goals. This task, which requires sound management principles to accomplish, is got through
studying organizational behavior.

Organizations are very important in the society since most of the activities we participate in
mostly take place within the context of an organization. Studying organizational behaviour
requires one to relate its connection with such areas as corporate responsibility and internal
control systems.

Understanding these areas enables one to come to terms with a good organizational behavior and
ways of maintaining it in the place of work. In addition, this makes one to be aware of the
potential risks that may arise when a business falls short of its set standards. Understanding this
aspect is essential in preventing a misfortune such as financial crisis from taking place.

A number of managers-to-be are not concerned of the significance of organizational behaviour

and its meaning to them as future leaders in different organizations. The study of organizational
behaviour focuses on the attitudes and the behaviours of the current workforce and strives to get
the best methods of leading and sufficiently transforming them. This study assists future
managers to have an increased understanding of their role and the people they oversee, which
enables them to pursue a successful career in management.

The duties of managers usually involve working hand in hand with other individuals in the
workplace therefore the learning of “people skills” is a vital and important resource. The study of
organizational behavior assists in developing these “people skills” and enables managers and
supervisors to be more efficient in undertaking their duties. Managers are endowed with
humanistic task to give the workers duties that are challenging and which offers them the
contentment they aspire to have (Robbins, 1994, p.2).

An important aspect of realizing a good organizational behavior is to institute the correct career
processes for career advancement of the employees. This aspect is vital in retaining the most
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experienced workforce. Any job that an employee has strived to accomplish within the set
standards ought to be recognized and rewarded accordingly by the leadership.

Doing this makes the employees to work even harder in realizing the set targets as they have
tangible incentives when they accomplish particular tasks well. The success of the organization
depends on the treatment accorded to the employees towards their career advancement.
Managers ought to realize and give workers what they may require. They reciprocate this by
delivering quality service to their employers.

Many organizations are concerned about whether or not their workers are satisfied with their
employment. Satisfied workers are generally more productive on the job. Employee
dissatisfaction is capable of bringing the whole organization back to zero. It is within the
mandate of an organization to institute candid ways of achieving employee satisfaction.

Work performance relates directly to job satisfaction. Presently, a number of organizations are
having problems with retaining their workforce. Many of the workers enter a company with little
experience and they leave the organizational after they have gained useful skills in the job. This
often increases the expenses of the organization, as they have to re-train other people to
undertake the same work.

The leadership of an organization should study the level of satisfaction of the employees as
failure to do this makes them search for better opportunities that may crop in. In spite of the
salary that the employees take home, if the employees are not satisfied with their current
employment, leaving in search of greener pastures becomes the next resort. By studying
organizational behavior, the student learns vital skills in making the employees happy in the
place of work, hence limiting their exit.

Another important ingredient to the success of any organization is communication. Effective

communication is the key to optimal day-to-day running of an organization. A manager or
supervisor has to adhere to good communication skills when addressing his or her subordinates.
Undertaking various tasks requires efficient communication.

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Communication involves keeping the workers conversant with the activities taking place behind
the scenes in addition to rendering a listening ear to their needs. As stated earlier in the paper,
workers generally respond well to an environment that cares for their emotions.

Most of the people in leadership positions tend to possess an autocratic management style and
rewards tend to be based upon individual contributions, the prevailing culture within many
organizations is the antithesis of teamwork

Establishing team-based organizations is aimed at creating an empowered decision making

process, flatten hierarchies and create collaborative work environment as a way of facilitating the
development of a more adaptive and flexible set-up of the organization. The manager of an
organization plays a vital role in fostering the culture of teamwork in the organization.

Question 4 some people have suggested that understanding human behavior

at work is the single most important requirement for managerial success. Do
you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Answer: To some degree, students‟ responses may depend on their major field of study,
especially if it is not management. However, students should recognize that the behavior of
people in organizations affects everyone‟s lives in numerous ways every day. The extent to
which we are able to get things done at work or to register for classes every semester reflects the
behavior of people in organizations. After all, people are the organization, people are resources
that organizations use, and, most importantly, people are individuals interacting in increasingly
complex ways.

Question 5 Do you believe the field of organizational behavior has the

potential to become prescriptive as opposed to descriptive? Why or why not?
The text states that organizational behavior tends to be descriptive rather than prescriptive; that
is, the field is concerned primarily with understanding relationships among concepts as opposed
to telling managers what they should do to achieve various goals. The main reasons for the
descriptive nature include the relative immaturity of the field, the complexities inherent in
studying human behavior, and the lack of valid, reliable, and accepted definitions and measures

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of key constructs. As research in the field progresses, key constructs probably will become more
accepted and more clearly defined which will enable the field to extend its knowledge base and
become more prescriptive. The complexities of studying human behavior, however, most likely
will remain. Thus, the field has the potential to become more prescriptive, but this is not likely in
the near future.

Question 6 Discuss the five big personality traits.

Personality research has generated a variety of different theories that attempt to define and
measure personality. The most widely accepted taxonomy of personality among industrial-
organizational psychologists is the Big Five Personality Traits model, or the Five Factor Model
of personality. The Five Factor Model breaks personality down into five components:
Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Openness, and Stress Tolerance. Personality
tests that are based on this model measure where an individual lies on the spectrum of each of the
five traits.

Each trait measures a unique aspect of human personality:

 Agreeableness is a measure of an individual‟s tendencies with respect to social harmony.

This trait reflects how well the individual gets along with others, how cooperative or
skeptical they are, and how they might interact within a team.
 Conscientiousness is a measure of how careful, deliberate, self-disciplined, and
organized an individual is. Conscientiousness is often predictive of employee
productivity, particularly in lower-level positions.
 Extraversion is a measure of how sociable, outgoing, and energetic an individual is.
Individuals who score lower on the extraversion scale are considered to be more
introverted, or more deliberate, quiet, low key, and independent. Some types of positions
are better suited for individuals who fall on one side of the spectrum or the other.
 Openness measures the extent to which an individual is imaginative and creative, as
opposed to down-to-earth and conventional.
 Stress Tolerance measures the ways in which individuals react to stress.

Question 7 Describe the difference between perception and personality

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Perception and personality affect how people relate to each other and their work. Managers will
learn how selective attention, stereotypes, and other attitudinal distortions are formed and may
contribute to group dynamics, interpersonal conflict and inequity in the
workplace. Understanding the fundamentals of social identity theory, perception and personality
can assist managers in managing and maximizing diversity, coaching employees and teams, and
reducing stress in the workplace.

1. Perception

Each of us has a particular way of perceiving and making sense of the world around us. It is
tempting to assume that human behavior is a response to an objective reality but, as the
comedian Lily Tomlin noted, “Reality is nothing more than a collective hunch.” The same
stimuli may be present in our environment, but what we do with that stimuli is affected by
individual differences.

Perception is the selection and organization of environmental information to provide meaningful

experiences to the perceiver. It is the process of making sense of sensory data. Perception
serves as a filter or gatekeeper so that we are not overwhelmed by all the stimuli that bombard
us. We need to pay attention to three aspects of perception: organizing data, selective attention,
and perceptual bias.

We organize information according to similarity, figure ground (what is in front compared to

what is in the background), proximity, closure (filling in the gaps), continuity (continue things in
a direction they seem to be heading), and simplicity (reducing things to their simplest shapes or
patterns). We also have patterns of perception based in our life experience that become our
schemas. (Schemas are mental frameworks that help us manage information by grouping
individuals, objects and situations together). And we put together information into cause-and-
effect patterns. All these together – organization, schemas, cause-and-effect patterns -- become
our frame of reference. Once our frame of reference is established, it is usually efficient in
managing environmental stimuli. It serves to focus our attention.

2. Selective Attention, Perceptual Distortion and Stereotypes

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Selective attention means that we perceive only some of the stimuli that are actually present –
usually information that fits into our existing frame of reference. Our ability to perceive
information outside the frame or information that would eliminate the frame itself (discon
organizationing data) is usually limited once this process is in use. We have a number of
perceptual distortions that result from our particular way of organizing information and
intentional focus. Some common distortions include halo / horn effects, projection, self-
fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. The halo effect occurs when one positive characteristic or
skill a person has is used to develop an overall positive impression of that person, often in
unrelated or irrelevant areas. The horn effect is when one negative characteristic or skill
is made into a negative overall impression of a person. Projection is when an individual
attributes his/her attitudes or feelings to another person. It is a defense mechanism which serves
to transfer blame and/or provide protection from our own unacceptable thoughts and
feelings. Self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our beliefs-expectations determine our behavior
thereby making our expectations come true. Stereotyping is the all too frequent result of rapid,
automatic perception and attribution processes when we are dealing with people we consider to
be different from us. A stereotype is an oversimplified evaluative opinion or judgement about a
group of people applied to an individual. Stereotyping occurs when we attribute behavior,
attitudes, motives, and/or attributes to a person on the basis of the group to which that person
belongs. Just because stereotyping is so common in society does not mean we should accept
stereotypical relating as inevitable. Stereotypes have negative consequences in relationships at
work. Slowing down, describing rather than evaluating behavior, learning more about the
individual or group with whom you are interacting, and consciously choosing behaviors that will
enhance your relationship will all reduce, if not eliminate the negative impact of stereotyping.

Our perception processes have both advantages and drawbacks. The drawbacks are that selective
attention and perceptual bias can prevent us from considering all the relevant information,
thereby making our interpretations about the meaning of that information unreliable. The
advantage is that our perceptual processes improve our decision making efficiency by preventing
information overload and saving us time by organizing the information.

3. Attribution Process

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Attribution refers to the specification of the perceived causes of events. It is our way to answer
the question “Why did I/they do that?” We have learned through our study of attribution
processes that:

Different people often attribute different causes to the same event.

When people try to understand their own or others‟ behavior they focus on the personal
(internal) or situational (external) factors.

We have predictable attributional biases based on a combination of three factors:

Consensus. How many others behaved in the same way as that individual? If that person‟s
behavior is unique we attribute the cause of the behavior to that person‟s internal personality. If
that person‟s behavior is like the behavior of others we attribute the cause of the behavior to the
situation.

Distinctiveness. How consistent or unusual is that person‟s behavior across situations? If that
person‟s behavior is routine for them across situations we attribute the cause of the behavior to
the personal factors. If that person‟s behavior is unusual when compared to their behavior in
other situations, we attribute the cause of the behavior in this case to the situation.

Consistency. How consistent is this person‟s behavior over time? If this person always acts this
way and has done so all their life, we attribute the cause of the behavior to individual
personality. If this person‟s behavior is different from their past or typical behavior we attribute
the cause of the behavior to the situation or circumstances.

So in each case there is a decision made whether the cause of the behavior is due more to the
personality or to the situation. We tend to be more generous with ourselves though, than with
others.

4. The Fundamental Attribution Error and Self-Serving Bias

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We also have a tendency to under estimate the influence of the situation and to over estimate the
influence of personality when we are making judgements about others. We do the reverse for
ourselves. This is called the Fundamental Attribution Error.

Moreover, we have a self-serving bias depending upon whether the behavior is considered good-
positive or bad-negative. If it is good, it‟s because I am good. If it is bad, it is because the
situation made me do it. Self-serving bias is the tendency to take credit and responsibility for
positive outcomes of behavior and to deny credit and responsibility for negative outcomes.

Recent research supports the notion of a difference in these biases by gender. Women are more
likely to attribute failure to themselves and success to external factors such as luck or task
ease. Men are more likely to attribute success to their own efforts and failure to external factors
such as time limitations or monetary constraints.

5. Attitudes

Attitudes are relatively lasting tendencies to consistently respond to various aspects of people,
situations, or objects. Attitudes have three components: cognition (beliefs), affect (emotions),
and behavior. These components of an attitude do not exist or function separately. Of the three,
we can observe behavior, we infer beliefs, and we sense feelings. From these we attribute
motives to people, including ourselves. Attitudes reflect how we feel, think and act. When I say
“I am committed to my job” I am expressing my attitude about my work. When I attend work
every day, I am expressing my attitude about my work.Attitudes are the result of our learned
experiences in life. We develop our attitudes through easily available information, personal
experiences, and repeated expression. We learn them from our friends, family, media, culture,
teachers, peers and role models. Attitudes are related to but different from values which we will
discuss in the next module.

It is important for individuals to have alignment between their cognition, affect and
behavior. Festinger coined the term cognitive dissonance to refer to internal conflict between
our beliefs. We can extend this idea of dissonance to include conflict between our personal
beliefs, feelings and behaviors – attitudinal dissonance. Dissonance is an unpleasant

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state. When we experience cognitive or attitudinal dissonance, we are compelled to change one
or the other component of our attitude to regain alignment. We tend to change either our beliefs,
or our behaviors. Because behaviors can be seen and somewhat controlled, many people change
attitudes through encouraging acceptable behaviors and constraining unacceptable
behaviors. The person then feels compelled / motivated to change any beliefs or feelings aligned
with the old behaviors, and to develop new beliefs that would be consistent with the new
behaviors. Our attitudes influence our behavior -- when they are relevant and brought to
mind. The reverse is also true: we are as likely to act ourselves into a way of thinking as to think
ourselves into action. We are as likely to believe in what we have stood up for as to stand up for
what we believe. Especially when we feel responsible for how we have acted, our beliefs and
feelings follow our behavior. It is important to realize that inner feelings and thoughts and outer
behaviors – all components of our attitudes -- like chickens and eggs generate one another.

6. Personality – Measuring using Self-Report Inventories

Personality is a set of distinctive individual characteristics, including motives, emotions, values,

interests, attitudes and competencies. Personality is the result of personal traits interacting with
the environment. We measure personality through the use of self-report personality inventories,
projective tests, and observation from simulations, role plays or interviews. Our intention
through these measurement systems is to be able to identify and articulate individual traits and
attributes. Self-report inventories require individuals to answer a series of questions about their
behavior. Their responses are then organized in a way that provides insight into some aspect of
their personality. Generally these inventories are for psychologically healthy people what seek to
learn more about themselves and others. There are many personality inventories
available. Widely used ones include the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, The DiSC Personal
Profile System, Type A-Type B Indicators and the Life Styles Inventory. Self-report inventories
have the advantage of being readily available, easily interpreted, standardized, and fun to
use. They have the disadvantages associated with any self-report instruments – questionable
validity, a positive self-report bias and/or confusing results if the person has ambivalence in their
personality.

7. Personality measurement: Projective Tests and Observation Techniques

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Projective tests provide the opportunity to respond in a free flowing way to a picture, inkblot, or
story. They are called projective tests because the individual is free to perceive and interpret the
material in a manner that reflects his or her own personality, that is to „project‟ their personality
into the story, diagram, or inkblot. Projective tests have the advantage that the trained observer
can overcome the disadvantages of self-report and observation techniques. The disadvantage is
that the projective tests are not standardized and they still depend on the subjective opinion of the
trained test giver.

Observation techniques involve putting a person in a situation and seeing how they
respond. Employment interviews, simulations, and case competitions are examples of this
technique. Observers are usually looking for the person‟s problem-solving skills, work-related
competencies, and/or organizational fit with the organization‟s culture. An advantage of the
observation technique is that it puts behavior in a context analogous to the situation they may
find themselves in at work – and context influences behavior. In addition the observation
technique allows the observer to ask follow up questions and explain why they behave they way
they do. The disadvantage is that it is a small sample of the person‟s behavior and the observer
is usually not unbiased.

All three ways to measure personality work in some situations. Unless a personality test or
instrument is valid and reliable, we must be cautious in using that test for selection and
promotion. Personality measurement is wonderful for increasing insight into your own behavior
and starting high quality conversations within organizations about differences between people.

8. Social Identity

In addition to individual personality we all have social identities. Social identity is that part of
your self-concept that derives from your knowledge of your membership in a social group
together with the value and emotional significance you attach to that membership. Social
identity is developed over time, negotiated with others, and shifts with the times-situation-
context. Social identities might include your race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, religion,
gender, appearance, age, language, education, socio-economic class, occupation, profession, and
values.

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Social identity theory not only talks about the importance of defining those dimensions of
diversity that are important to individuals, but goes on to explore and explain other important
social dynamics namely social categorization, social comparison, in-group favoring, and social-
identity esteem management. Social identity rests on comparing one‟s group to another group in
order to con organization, maintain, or establish qualities about one‟s group as distinct and
favorable when compared to the „other group‟, all of which is motivated by an underlying need
for self-esteem. Researchers have noticed for years that people in groups tend to define their
group as better than the other group, even when the groups were formed in overtly random
ways.

9. Social Identity Processes

After years of research social identity theorists now believe that people in groups engage in the
following process:

1. Categorize themselves and similar others into an in-group

2. Categorize different others into an out-group

3. Come up with ways of thinking about, believing, and connecting favorably to their
in-group

4. Develop ways of thinking about, defining, and describing the out-group unfavorably

5. Eventually no longer see themselves as individuals (as long as group membership is

important) but rather as embodiments of the characteristics which favorably define
their in-group in their minds.

When a person‟s social identity group is denigrated, social identity esteem management
procedures are used. There are essentially three strategies for handling this problem: exit, pass,
voice. The exit strategy is to leave the identity group. The pass strategy is to pretend you are
not a member of the denigrated group. The voice strategy is to change the perception of your
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group. Which of these strategies you choose will depend on the possibilities for exercising each
strategy and your personal preferences.

10. Social Identity Dynamics in Context: The Eye of the Beholder

The eye of the beholder effects more than just beauty. In fact, how we perceive each other may
be affected as much by who we are as who we observe. David Porter‟s research demonstrates
how our perceptions are affected by the stereotypes we hold, our innate preference for people
like ourselves (in-group favoritism), and our desire to be accepted by our peers (in-group
conformity).

Our history and socialization helps to shape the stereotypes we have about other people. These
stereotypes effect how we interpret the actions and results of the people we observe. We have a
desire to view the people who we identify with more positively than the people who we perceive
as different. This in-group favoritism is elicited by our desire to have a more positive view of
ourselves. How this plays out in the real world is that we evaluate the people who we hold a
shared identity with more positively so that we can bask in their reflected glory. The groups that
we are a part of often subtly influence us to adopt the value and beliefs of the majority.

These biased patterns have significant implications for organizations because they bring into
question many of the so-called “objective” evaluations that we make about others. Further,
because these biases act on the sub-conscious level, it is difficult for even an individual of good
will to be completely objective. This means that the evaluation systems which organizational
meritocracies are based may be flawed in systematic ways favoring some groups while
disadvantaging others. Organizations run the risk that their fairness will be challenged and that
their employees will not be motivated by the incentives they put into place.

Since our perceptions are shaped by our social identity often in unrecognizable ways,
organizations have to develop solutions that do not depend on the individual‟s recognition of
their own discriminatory intent. One such solution is the development of a shared identity among
employees. A shared identity can be developed through the generation of super-ordinate goal,
which everyone in the organization can rally around. Another approach is to raise people‟s

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sensitivity to their own biases. Diversity, effective communication, and conflict resolution
training often help individuals to take special care so that their biases do not have an undue
influence on their interaction with and evaluations of others.

Question 8 Identify and describe several important workplace behaviors

The way you behave at work affects several aspects of your job and can affect the company‟s
health. Less than exemplary conduct could cost the company money, and it could cost you your
job. Employers provide an employee handbook to guide staff members on appropriate conduct
and limit possible problems. In addition to the written guidelines, the company‟s culture and
general rules of social etiquette also dictate appropriate staff behavior.

Company Image

Employees are the face of a business, and the public forms an opinion of the company based on
employees' conduct. Customers and clients can decide to take their business elsewhere if they are
unsatisfied with an employee‟s behavior. Because customers share bad experiences with other
people, this could have a considerable impact on the company‟s revenue if customers and
potential customers stay away. Employers can terminate bad-mannered employees to maintain a
favorable image and protect sales.

Work Disruption

Inappropriate behavior at the office is distracting for other employees and interrupts the
workflow. This lost time is expensive for the employer. Frequent disruptive behavior is also
grounds for termination.

Lost Opportunities

Employees who behave inappropriately often miss opportunities for promotion. For instance,
positions of responsibility rarely are given to the employee co-workers regard as the office
clown. Such positions go to employees who are respected for their workmanship, have shown
dedication and have obtained results.

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Security

Inappropriate behavior at work can arise from the way employees handle sensitive information.
A careless display or intentionally sharing such information could cause a loss of market
advantage as well as legal and financial problems for a company. The employee responsible for
damages could face legal action in addition to termination.

Office Interaction

Proper office conduct is also important when interacting with co-workers. Polite behavior
between employees creates a pleasant work environment. Negative attitudes cause
misunderstandings and differences, which can create a hostile workplace. This could lead to
multiple problems for the employer, such as low productivity, loss of employees and possible
legal action.

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