Exploring Management Chapter 12 Individual Behavior

Chapter 12 How do perceptions influence individual behavior? How do personalities influence individual behavior? How do attitudes, emotions and moods influence individual behavior?

Perceptual distortions can obscure individual differences 12.1 Perceptions Perceptual distortions can obscure individual differences Perception can cause attribution errors as we explain events and problems Impression management is a way of influencing how others perceive us The expression “Perception is reality” is valid. The way a person perceives things is real to that person.

PERCEPTIONS Individual Differences Process for receiving and interpreting information from the environment The accuracy of two–way communication is limited by the perceptual distortions of the sender and receiver.

PERCEPTIONS Individual Differences Stereotypes Using limited attributes of a group to describe an entire group or individuals in the group Halo effect Using one characteristic of a person to form an overall impression Stereotypes do not allow for individual differences. Managers can miss spotting potential in employees if stereotypes interfere with perception.

PERCEPTIONS Individual Differences Selective perception Limit perception of information to that which agrees with existing beliefs Projection Assign our personal attributes to another individual Perception related problems can be overcome by building trust.

PERCEPTIONS Attribution Errors Developing explanations or causes for events Fundamental attribution error Tendency to blame someone else when things go wrong Self-serving bias Blame personal problems on external causes rather than accept personal responsibility When faced with employee related perception related problems, it is good to remember that there are two perceivers and to question your perceptions of the employee as well as the employee’s perception of you.

PERCEPTIONS Impression Management Attempting to influence how others perceive us Is it misrepresenting yourself to try to influence others by the way we dress and act? Probably not. We’re just trying to overcome perceptual distortion.

Self-monitoring and other personality traits influence work behavior 12.2 Personalities The Big Five personality traits describe work-related individual differences The Myers-Briggs type indicator is a popular approach to personality assessment Self-monitoring and other personality traits influence work behavior People with Type A personalities tend to stress themselves Stress has consequences for work performance and personal health There are as many personalities as there are people. Fortunately, they can be combined into a number of groups for academic and professional reasons. However, keep in mind that each person is unique in some way.

PERSONALITIES Personality Traits Combination of characteristics that make us unique individuals Understanding the elements of personality help us to understand the strengths and weakness of each combination and how they will react in the workplace.

PERSONALITIES Personality Traits The “Big Five” personality traits Extroversion An extravert is talkative, comfortable, and confident in interpersonal relationships; an introvert is more private, withdrawn, and reserved. Agreeableness An agreeable person is trusting, courteous, and helpful, getting along well with others; a disagreeable person is self-serving, skeptical, and tough, creating discomfort for others. Conscientiousness A conscientious person is dependable, organized, and focused on getting things done; a person who lacks conscientiousness is careless, impulsive, and not achievement oriented. Emotional stability A person who is emotionally stable is secure, calm, steady, and self-confident; a person lacking emotional stability is excitable, anxious, nervous, and tense. Openness to Experience A person open to experience is broad-minded, imaginative, and open to new ideas; a person who lacks openness is narrow-minded, has few interests, and resists change. When you consider that each person has various degrees of these variables and each of us have different perceptions of the same person, it is easy to see how everyone appears to be different.

PERSONALITIES Personality Assessment Myers-Briggs Dimensions of Personality - how we relate to others Extraversion/Introversion - how we gather information Sensation/Intuition - how we evaluate information Thinking/Feeling - how we react to the outside world Judging/Perceiving Myers-Briggs type indicator Myers-Briggs types are based on the work of Carl Jung.

PERSONALITIES Personality Traits Locus of Control Internal Personal control over success and failure “If it is to be, it’s up to me!” External Little personal control “What happens, happens.” People with an internal locus of control tend to have higher self-esteem.

PERSONALITIES Personality Traits Authoritarianism Respect authority Machiavellianism Manipulate others to achieve goals In his Sixteenth-century book The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli gained lasting fame for his advice on how to use power to achieve personal goals.

PERSONALITIES Personality Traits Self monitoring Open to feedback Able to adjust to changing situations Self monitoring involves flexibility and emotional intelligence.

PERSONALITIES Personality Traits Type A personalities High achievement orientation Creates own stress Indicators of a type A personality are: Always moving, walking, and eating rapidly Impatient, disliking waiting Doing or trying to do several things at once Feeling guilty when relaxing Trying to schedule more in less time Using nervous gestures such as clenched fists Hurrying or interrupting the speech of others

Stress Tension when faced with demands, constraints and opportunities PERSONALITIES Stress Stress Tension when faced with demands, constraints and opportunities Constructive stress Destructive stress Different people can handle different levels of stress. Many believe that it is not the amount of stress in your life that counts but how you handle it that counts.

Job burnout Workplace rage PERSONALITIES Stress Workplace rage makes the news when it turns into a shocking event. However, the signs are usually visible long before such events occur.

PERSONALITIES Stress Symptoms of stress can be misleading. Behaviors like low energy and bad attitude appear to be behavior problems rather than a symptom of job stress.

Personal Wellness Helps cope with stress and job demands Rest Exercise PERSONALITIES Stress Personal Wellness Helps cope with stress and job demands Rest Exercise Eating right Healthy habits Workplace wellness programs can help employees cope with stress by encouraging healthy living habits like adequate exercise and proper diet.

12.3 Attitudes and Behavior Attitudes predispose people to act in certain ways Job satisfaction is a positive attitude toward one’s job and work experiences Job satisfaction influences behavior Job satisfaction has a complex relationship with job performance Emotions and moods are positive and negative states of mind that influence behavior Recent trends such as eliminating pensions and health benefits and layoffs caused by the recession likely have a negative impact on employee attitudes.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Attitudes Attitudes predispose people to act in certain ways Cognitive dissonance Discomfort felt when behavior is inconsistent from attitude Attitudes are highly influenced by environment. If you are in the wrong environment, it might be wise to consider changing it.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Job Satisfaction Positive feeling about a job and work experience The Facts to Consider feature in the text indicates that job satisfaction in the U.S. has declined since 1995.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Work Behaviors Withdrawal behavior Absenteeism Turnover Organizational citizenship Positive work behaviors Going the extra mile Employee engagement An increase in withdrawal behaviors should be an indicator to management that the job characteristics are unfulfilling.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Job Satisfaction and Performance Job satisfaction and performance are interrelated They are so interrelated that one does not necessarily need to be first. An increase in one leads to an increase in the other.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Emotions and Moods Strong feelings directed at someone or something Emotional Intelligence Ability to understand and manage emotions Emotional intelligence is an important management trait. It allows managers to keep a cool head in difficult situations and help other to keep theirs too.

ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR Emotions and Moods Positive or negative feelings or state of mind Mood contagion Influence of one’s mood on others Enthusiasm is contagious. Unfortunately, so are negative moods.