1. Leadership: The Human Side of Projects
Managing Stress
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

2. Stress and Business Costs US economy $500 billion+/year
75 – 90% of visits to primary care doctors related to stress complaints or disorders
550 million workdays lost each year
60-80% of industrial accidents are related to stress
40% of worker turnover due to stress
$12 billion/year on stress management training and products
How many of you have missed at least one day of work this year from a stress-related issue? (Physical or psychological)
How many have missed more than one day?
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

3. Project Managers and Stress
How do you, as a project manager, contribute to stress for people on your project?
25 year study: incompetent management is the largest cause of workplace stress.
Three out of four people report that their relationship with immediate supervisor is the worst part of their job.
Managers are most common source of stress.
Managers who cause stress are themselves affected by stress.
Stress impedes effective management behaviors:
Listening
Making good decisions
Solving problems effectively
Planning
Generating new ideas
How do you, as a project manager, contribute to stress on your project team?
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

4. Managing Stress: Objectives
Review causes of stress in organizational settings
Discuss effects of stress on personal performance and health
Review some strategies for coping with stress
The first instrument assesses skill in managing stress and time as discussed in the chapter. The second assesses life changes highly related to the negative effects of stress. The third focuses on the extent to which individuals use effective time management principles, and the fourth assesses a personality type connected with the negative effects of stress. Although not all these assessment instruments assess skill competency, you will find the text material more relevant after completing the instruments.
1,5,8,9 –stress Elimination
2,3,6,7 Resiliency
4,10 -coping
Stress Management Survey
Purpose: Several items from the Personal Assessment of Management Skills (PAMS) instrument in the Introduction chapter allow students to compare their scores with one another and with the norm group data in the scoring key.
Procedure: Scoring instructions are contained on page 168 in the text.
Students can compare scores with classmates or in their small group on each subsection. Some may be much stronger in one or two of the subscales than in others.
Sample Discussion Questions
Do students need different stress management strategies than top executives, homemakers, or professional athletes? Is there a basic level of stress management skill that is applicable to all positions?
Describe the most-effective and the least-effective manager you have known. To what extent were they competent stress and time managers? To what extent were they able to control their time? What evidence is there of their stress and time management skill?
Can people be skilled managers of their time and stress when they are in a subordinate position? Does one have to be in charge or have a secretary to be a skillful stress and time manager?
What are the major stressors you face as a student? How do you currently cope with the stresses you face?
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

5. Model of Forced Field Analysis
Current Level
of Functioning
Driving Force A
Driving Force B
Driving Force C
Driving Force D
Restraining Force A
Restraining Force B
Restraining Force C
Restraining Force D
Kurt Lewin developed his force field model to explain how individuals and organizations react to change. The model suggests that behavior is a product of driving forces that push us toward one level and restraining forces that inhibit or block change. When the forces become out of balance behavior changes.
Similarly, stressors can be seen as driving forces that can create negative reactions by driving the individual toward physiological and psychological dysfunction. The restraining forces in this case are resiliency creating mechanisms that individuals develop. Negative reactions can be counterbalanced or prevented if individuals consciously increase their restraining forces
Force field analysis: Lewin’s force field analysis suggests that behavior is a product of “driving” forces that push behavior toward one level and “restraining” forces that inhibit or block that behavior change. The resulting behavior occurs because the forces are in balance—the driving forces are counterbalanced by the restraining forces. When the forces become out of balance, behavior changes.
Similarly, stressors can be seen as driving forces that can create negative reactions by driving the individual toward physiological and psychological dysfunctions. The restraining forces are the resiliency—creating mechanisms that individuals develop. Negative reactions can be counterbalanced or prevented if individuals consciously increase their restraining forces. Depicted in this way, you might want to redraw the summary model from Figure 2, which appears in the “Reactions to Stress” section of the chapter:
DRIVING FORCES REACTIONS RESTRAINING FORCES Stressors Anxiety Resiliency
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

6. A General Model of Stress
Experiencing Stress
STRESSORS
Anticipatory
Encounter
Time
Situational
REACTIONS
Physiological
Psychological
This slide depicts a general model of stress.
There are four types of stressors
Anticipatory - unpleasant events that loom in the future
Encounter - stressors those that occur from interactions with others
Time - too much to do in too little time
Situational - arise from environment or an individual’s circumstances (e.g. long hours, noise, abuse)
Resiliency:
refers to the ways we are able to cope with stressors in our life
Physical resilience:
occurs through managing health, nutrition, and physical activities
Psychological:
refers to dispositional influences on how we deal with stress and also to the extent to which we are able to modify our behavior and reactions when faced with stressors
Social:
the extent to which we are embedded in supportive social networks that help us to deal with stressors
RESILIENCY
Physical
Psychological
Social
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

7. Sources of Stress Time Stressors Situational Stressors
Work overload
Lack of control
Encounter Stressors
Role conflicts
Issue conflicts
Action conflicts
Situational Stressors
Unfavorable working conditions
Rapid change
Anticipatory Stressors
Unpleasant expectations
Fear
People face four major types of stressors.
Time stressors result from too much to do in too little time.
Encounter stressors are conflicts resulting from interactions with others. Three specific kinds of conflicts are:
1. Role
2. Issue conflicts
3. Interaction conflicts
Situational stressors arise from the circumstances (or the environment) in which individuals find themselves.
Anticipatory stressors result from anticipating potentially disagreeable events, causing anxiety or fear.
Four types of stressors. In your discussion groups, try to identify the extent to which each of you face the four types of stressors (summarized in Table 1 on page 121) and the extent to which your have developed the four types of restraining forces. Try to rate on a scale of 1 to 100 how much each stressor or restraining force is present or try to list examples of each category relevant to each of you personally. A discussion of the ratings or the examples lets you share ideas about sources of stress and ways to cope.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

8. Burnout: Its Major Components
Physical exhaustion
(fatigue, lack of energy)
Emotional exhaustion
(depression, feelings
of hopelessness)
Intense and prolonged
work-related stress
Reduced performance;
other negative effects
Attitudinal exhaustion
(cynicism, negative views of other’s & own work)
Burnout on the job is the result of intense and prolonged stress in the workplace. In one study by Northwest Insurance, encounter stressors were cited as a major cause of burnout. Table 2 in your text summarizes the results of that study. Of the seven most significant stressors four dealt with encounter stressors. The other three were situational stressors.
Feelings of low
personal accomplishment

9. Develop Resiliency Strategies Learn Temporary Coping Mechanisms
Managing Stress
Eliminate Stressors
Develop Resiliency Strategies
Learn Temporary Coping Mechanisms
Effects
Permanent
Long Term
Short Term
Approach
Enactive
Proactive
Reactive
Time Required
Long Time
Moderate Time
Immediate
When faced with stress we generally have three options available to us in terms of coping with stress. We can eliminate it; Develop resiliency to handle it over the long term or we can learn coping techniques to help us deal with it over the short term
Managing stress
Implementing Enactive strategies – most effective strategy in coping with stressors – eliminate the stressors
Proactive – increase personal resiliency
Reactive strategies – coping with stress on a temporary basis. Best when an on-the spot response is required
Three strategies exist for managing stress.
A. The most effective way to cope with stressors is to eliminate them, that is, to implement enactive strategies.
B. The next most effective is to increase personal resiliency, that is, to implement proactive strategies.
C. The third way to cope with stress, only on a temporary basis, is to implement short-term, reactive strategies.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

10. Management Strategies for Eliminating Stressors
Type of Stressor
Elimination Strategy
Time
Time Management Delegation
Encounter
Collaboration Emotional Intelligence
Situational
Work redesign
Anticipatory
Prioritizing Planning
Your text describes different approaches for eliminating each of the four types of stressors. Remember eliminating stressors is an ideal approach but it typically takes the greatest amount of time and often requires making significant changes in our own behavior and actions
Several stress elimination strategies exist.
A. Effective time management, efficient time management, and delegation can eliminate time stressors.
B. Encounter stressors can be eliminated through effective collaboration and emotional intelligence.
C. Situational stressors can be eliminated through restructuring work.
D. Anticipatory stressors can be eliminated through prioritizing, goal setting, and small wins.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

11. Stress Management - Four Stressors
Time Stressors: Too much to do in too little time; work overload; lack of control
Encounter Stressors: stress from interpersonal interactions -- role conflicts, issue conflicts, action conflicts
Situational Stressors: stress from your environment or life circumstances, e.g.; unfavorable working conditions, rapid change
Anticipatory Stressors: stress from anticipating unpleasant things that haven’t happened but that might happen; unpleasant expectations or fears
List the things that are currently stressful for you in each area. Then rate the amount of stress you feel in each area this week:
0..…………… 25..…………… 50……………..75 …………….100
none a little a fair quite a a great
bit amount bit amount
______ My Time Stressors are:
 ______ My Encounter Stressors are:
 ______ My Situational Stressors are:
 ______ My Anticipatory Stressors are:

12. Stress Management – Strategies for Eliminating stressors
Type of Stressor; Elimination Strategy
Elimination Strategy: Effective time management, efficient time management, Delegating
Encounter: Collaboration and team building; Emotional Intelligence
Situational: Work redesign
Anticipatory: Goal setting; Small wins
Choose one area where you would most benefit from reducing stress.
List three things (or more) that you could do to reduce your experience of stress in this area:   
What will you do this week to start managing your stress in this area?

13. Your Strategies
When faced with stressful or time-pressured situations –
scale 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree)
 ______ 1. I use effective time management methods such as keeping track of my time, making
to-do lists, and prioritizing tasks.
______ 2. I maintain a program of regular exercise for fitness.
______ 3. I maintain an open trusting relationship with someone with whom I can share my
frustrations.
______ 4. I know and practice several temporary relaxation techniques such as deep breathing
and muscle relaxation.
______ 5. I reaffirm my priorities so that less important things don’t drive out more important
things.
______ 6. I maintain balance in my life by pursuing a variety of interests outside of work.
______ 7. I have a close relationship with someone who serves as my mentor or advisor.
______ 8. I effectively utilize others in accomplishing work assignments.
______ 9. I encourage others to generate recommended solutions, not just questions, when they
come to me with problems or issues.
______ I strive to redefine problems as opportunities for improvement.

14. Your Strategies Stress Management Self-Assessment
SKILL AREA ITEMS ASSESSMENT
Eliminating stressors: 1,5,8,9 Total:________
Developing resiliency: 2,3,6,7 Total:________
Short-term coping: ,10 Total:________
Overall Total: ________

15. Comparison Data Maximum possible = 60 points
Compared to 500 business school students:
50 or above = Top Quartile
= Second Quartile
= Third Quartile
39 or below = Bottom Quartile

16. Characteristics of Effective Delegation
The extent to which:
delegation was clear and complete
participation was allowed
there was parity of authority and responsibility
delegation included adequate support
accountability for results was specified, both in terms of time and outcome
teamwork, trust, and support were engendered
Major projects; reoccurring activities; training; expectations; big picture; milestones; transfer authority
Delegating. Because of lack of experience with delegation, students generally think it means just telling someone else what to do. Yet delegation is one of the most crucial, and most improperly applied, skills in most managers’ repertoires. To give students some experience with delegation, divide them into teams of three, where one student acts as the delegator, one as the recipient of the delegated assignment, and the other as the observer. Then assign one of the following delegation tasks to the team. Rotate team member roles so that each student has a chance to be the delegator. Make sure that the observer has time to provide feedback to the delegator. The observer should look for:
The extent to which the delegation occurred clearly and completely
The extent to which participation was allowed
The extent to which there was parity of authority and responsibility
The extent to which the delegation included adequate support
The extent to which accountability for results was specified, both in terms of time and outcome
The extent to which teamwork, trust, and support were engendered
Suggested Delegation Tasks
You must finish a scholarly paper by next week and the bibliography is not yet developed.
Someone in your organization will need to spend three weeks opening up a new market for your company in Mexico.
Bookkeeping tasks, including paying monthly bills, have become too much to handle, and someone else needs to be assigned to do it for you.
Some of your employees were accused by a customer of getting drunk at a community picnic. Someone needs to investigate to determine if this accusation is true.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

17. Types of Activities That Determine Time Use
URGENCY
HIGH LOW 1. 3.
Developmental
opportunities
Innovating
Planning
Crises
Customer
complaints
HIGH
LOW
IMPORTANCE 2. 4.
Overload and lack of control are the greatest sources of time stress for managers.
The figure depicted on this slide is a time management matrix. It suggests that we can characterize activities in terms of their importance and urgency.
Important activities are those that produce a desired result. They achieve a desired result or valued end.
Urgent activities are those that demand immediate attention. Most managers spend a significant amount of their time dealing with issues in Cells 1 and 2. When things get too rough they resort to cell 4. Doing so only provides a temporary solution.
A better alternative is to focus on activities in cell 3. By making these issue priorities managers can generally reduce the extent of quadrant 1 and 2 issues they face.
A key is determining what is important to you (and not being overwhelmed by other’s perceptions of what is important).
Doing this requires establishing clear and specific priorities for you. To help you do so, take a look at the questions listed on page 98 of your text.
Mail
Ringing telephone
Unscheduled
interruptions
Escapes
Routines
Arguments
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

18. Time Management Work Sheet – 168 Hours
 Use the worksheet to analyze how you are spending your 168 hours each week.
Think of an average rather than a particularly hectic week.
Example categories of time use: work, school, family, social, self, sleep, fitness, spiritual…
List activities and time spent, on average, on each. Hours must add up to 168.
Category: | | | | | | 
 Review your findings with a class partner for 5 minutes.
 What discoveries did you make?
 How might this impact your managerial effectiveness?
Delegating. Because of lack of experience with delegation, students generally think it means just telling someone else what to do. Yet delegation is one of the most crucial, and most improperly applied, skills in most managers’ repertoires. To give students some experience with delegation, divide them into teams of three, where one student acts as the delegator, one as the recipient of the delegated assignment, and the other as the observer. Then assign one of the following delegation tasks to the team. Rotate team member roles so that each student has a chance to be the delegator. Make sure that the observer has time to provide feedback to the delegator. The observer should look for:
The extent to which the delegation occurred clearly and completely
The extent to which participation was allowed
The extent to which there was parity of authority and responsibility
The extent to which the delegation included adequate support
The extent to which accountability for results was specified, both in terms of time and outcome
The extent to which teamwork, trust, and support were engendered
Suggested Delegation Tasks
You must finish a scholarly paper by next week and the bibliography is not yet developed.
Someone in your organization will need to spend three weeks opening up a new market for your company in Mexico.
Bookkeeping tasks, including paying monthly bills, have become too much to handle, and someone else needs to be assigned to do it for you.
Some of your employees were accused by a customer of getting drunk at a community picnic. Someone needs to investigate to determine if this accusation is true.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

19. Time Management – Prioritizing Tasks
High-High: Reactive – controlled by someone else
Low-High: Reactive – don’t produce results that are meaningful or valued
High-Low: Proactive – you are in control and focused on accomplishing high priority results
Low- Low: Escapes – can reduce stress of being in high-urgency quadrants or can waste time
URGENCY
HIGH LOW 1. 3.
Developmental
opportunities
Innovating
Planning
Proactive
Crises
Customer
Complaints
Reactive
HIGH
LOW
IMPORTANCE 2. 4.
Overload and lack of control are the greatest sources of time stress for managers.
The figure depicted on this slide is a time management matrix. It suggests that we can characterize activities in terms of their importance and urgency.
Important activities are those that produce a desired result. They achieve a desired result or valued end.
Urgent activities are those that demand immediate attention. Most managers spend a significant amount of their time dealing with issues in Cells 1 and 2. When things get too rough they resort to cell 4. Doing so only provides a temporary solution.
A better alternative is to focus on activities in cell 3. By making these issue priorities managers can generally reduce the extent of quadrant 1 and 2 issues they face.
A key is determining what is important to you (and not being overwhelmed by other’s perceptions of what is important).
Doing this requires establishing clear and specific priorities for you. To help you do so, take a look at the questions listed on page 98 of your text.
telephone
Unscheduled
Interruptions
Reactive
Small talk, busy work
Routines
Arguments
Escapes
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

20. Time Management – Prioritizing Tasks
List some of your work activities in the quadrants below. Think about yesterday or the past week to gather examples.
URGENCY
HIGH LOW 1. 3.
HIGH
LOW
IMPORTANCE 2. 4.
Overload and lack of control are the greatest sources of time stress for managers.
The figure depicted on this slide is a time management matrix. It suggests that we can characterize activities in terms of their importance and urgency.
Important activities are those that produce a desired result. They achieve a desired result or valued end.
Urgent activities are those that demand immediate attention. Most managers spend a significant amount of their time dealing with issues in Cells 1 and 2. When things get too rough they resort to cell 4. Doing so only provides a temporary solution.
A better alternative is to focus on activities in cell 3. By making these issue priorities managers can generally reduce the extent of quadrant 1 and 2 issues they face.
A key is determining what is important to you (and not being overwhelmed by other’s perceptions of what is important).
Doing this requires establishing clear and specific priorities for you. To help you do so, take a look at the questions listed on page 98 of your text.
Which quadrants would you like to spend more time in. Which quadrants could you reduce?
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

21. Anticipatory Stressors: Short Term Goal Setting
1. Establish a Goal
4. Identify Criteria of Success and a Reward
2. Specify Actions and Behavioral Requirements
Establishing short terms plans also helps eliminate anticipatory stressors by helping us to focus on immediate and attainable goals, instead of the uncertain future.
3. Generate Accountability and Reporting Mechanisms
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

22. Work Redesign
Effectively eliminating stress and increasing productivity by changing aspects of work.
To eliminate stressors at work:
combine tasks
form identifiable work units
establish customer relationships
increase decision-making authority
open feedback channels
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

23. Resiliency: Moderating the Effects of Stress
Psychological
Balanced lifestyle
Hardy personality
High internal control
Strong personal commitment
Love of challenge
Small-wins strategy
Deep relaxation techniques
Physiological
Cardiovascular conditioning
Proper diet
Social
Supportive social relations
Mentors
Teamwork
Resiliency is best developed by having a balanced life in several areas
Physical resiliency is developed through exercise and diet
Psychological resiliency is developed through building a hardy personality
hardy personalities have a sense of control, commitment and challenge
Type A personality counteracts resiliency and creates dysfunctional consequences
social resiliency is fostered in three ways
forming close personal relationships
forming mentoring relationships
forming cohesive task teams
Physiological resiliency is developed through cardiovascular conditioning and proper diet to maintain good physical condition.
Psychological resiliency is developed through building a hardy personality.
Hardy personalities have a sense of control, commitment, and like challenges.
Type A personality counteracts resiliency and creates dysfunctional consequences.
Traditional masculine behavior is typical of Type A personality attributes.
One antidote to the Type A escalation problem is a small wins strategy. Another antidote is implementing deep relaxation techniques.
Social resiliency is fostered in three ways.
Forming close personal relationships.
Forming mentoring relationships.
Forming cohesive task teams.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

24. Confirmed Benefits of Regular Vigorous Exercise
Blood pressure is lowered.
Resting heart rate is lowered; better able to distribute blood where needed under stress.
Increased red blood cells; more oxygen is carried to the body.
Elasticity of arteries is increased.
Triglyceride level is lowered.
Fibrin, a protein that aids in the formation of blood clots, is decreased.
Regular exercise and a healthy diet have profound impacts of the effects of stress. Although it may seem difficult at times, the benefits of building in time for exercise can be profound.
Source: Goldberg, 1978
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

25. Confirmed Benefits of Regular Vigorous Exercise
Blood cholesterol decreases.
High density cholesterol increases proportionally to low-density (HD protects blood vessels more).
Adrenal secretions to emotional stress are lowered.
Lactic acid is efficiently eliminated from muscles (associated with decreased fatigue and tension).
Additional routes of blood supply are built up in the heart.
Regular exercise and a healthy diet have profound impacts of the effects of stress. Although it may seem difficult at times, the benefits of building in time for exercise can be profound.
Source: Goldberg, 1978
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

26. The Small Wins Strategy
Small Wins – being sensitive and celebrating small successes while coping with a major stressor
Introduction - in the next 15 minutes, analyze the past weeks activities.
Identify – every success or positive outcome (no matter how trivial).
Identify – potential positive events for the coming week (need not be major events – just small wins!).
Share the list with your group members.
One antidote for coping with a type A approach is to use a small-wins strategy. (deep relaxation is another coping strategy)
When individuals work for small wins, they consciously remain sensitive to their small success and celebrate them while coping with a major stressor
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

27. Developing Resiliency: Balancing Life Activities
The most resilient individuals are those who have achieved life balance. for example, if the center of the figure represents the zero point of resiliency development and the outside edge of the figure represents maximum development, shading in a portion would represent the amount of development achieved in each area. Individual who are bets able to cope with stress would shade in a majority of each wedge, indicating that they have a relatively balanced life pattern. (An exercise for assessing your own life balance is included in the skill practice Section of your text)
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

28. Characteristics of a Type A Personality
Signs of personal tension
Committed to having, rather than being.
Unawareness of broader environment
Strong need to be an expert on a subject, otherwise lack of involvement.
Compulsion to be with other type A’s.
Hyper-acceleration and accentuation of last few words of a sentence.
Chronic sense of being in a hurry
Type A personalities are very achievement oriented and often capable of achieving outstanding results. Their achievements can be true benefits of organizations and sources of personal pride. There are also significant downsides to being a type A person. Namely Type A individuals are highly susceptible to the negative effects of stress type A personalities consist of four independent dimensions:
hard driving and competitive
speed and impatience
hostility and anger
job-involvement
High scores on these four dimensions are significantly related to the development of coronary heart disease (although job involvement has the weakest correlation with heart disease)
A great deal of research has shown that coronary heart disease can be reliably predicted by behavior patterns. The most coronary-prone behavior pattern is called Type A. This instrument is based on work done by C. David Jenkins and his colleagues, who wanted to identify a coronary-prone behavior pattern using a relatively simple instrument. They found that Type A behavior consists of four independent dimensions: hard-driving and competitive, speed and impatience, hostility and anger, and job involvement. High scores on these four dimensions are significantly related to the development of coronary heart disease, although the job-involvement dimension has the weakest correlations with coronary heart disease.
Procedure: Type A Personality Inventory p Items 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21 have been found to reliably assess the hard-driving and competitive dimension; items 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23 indicate the hostility and anger dimension; items 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 indicate the urgency and impatience dimension; and items 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22 indicate the job-involvement dimension. The sum of all four dimension scores gives an overall picture of the extent to which the student has developed a coronary-prone behavior pattern. Scores above 48 (an average of approximately 12 on each dimension) indicate definite Type A behavior. After students have completed the instrument, have them share their scores with the class so a distribution can be compiled. Comparisons with classmates are not only fun but also help raise issues about alternative ways to cope with stress. Ask several students with especially high and especially low scores to describe an average week, their family life, career aspirations, and so on. Interesting contrasts will likely surface.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

29. Characteristics of a Type A Personality
Polyphasic thoughts and actions.
Impatience with normal pace of events.
Doing everything rapidly.
Feeling of guilt when relaxing.
Evaluates activities in terms of measurable results.
Believe Type A attributes lead to success.
Frequent knee-jiggling/finger tapping.
Determined to win every game.
Type A personalities are very achievement oriented and often capable of achieving outstanding results. Their achievements can be true benefits ot organizations and sources of personal pride. There are also significant downsides to being a type A person. Namely Type A individuals are highly susceptible to the negative effects of stress type A personalities consist of four independent dimensions:
hard driving and competitive
speed and impatience
hostility and anger
job-involvement
high scores on these four dimensions are significantly related the development of coronary heart disease (although job involvement has the weakest correlation with heart disease)
A great deal of research has shown that coronary heart disease can be reliably predicted by behavior patterns. The most coronary-prone behavior pattern is called Type A. This instrument is based on work done by C. David Jenkins and his colleagues, who wanted to identify a coronary-prone behavior pattern using a relatively simple instrument. They found that Type A behavior consists of four independent dimensions: hard-driving and competitive, speed and impatience, hostility and anger, and job involvement. High scores on these four dimensions are significantly related to the development of coronary heart disease, although the job-involvement dimension has the weakest correlations with coronary heart disease.
Procedure: Type A Personality Inventory p Items 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21 have been found to reliably assess the hard-driving and competitive dimension; items 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23 indicate the hostility and anger dimension; items 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 indicate the urgency and impatience dimension; and items 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22 indicate the job-involvement dimension. The sum of all four dimension scores gives an overall picture of the extent to which the student has developed a coronary-prone behavior pattern. Scores above 48 (an average of approximately 12 on each dimension) indicate definite Type A behavior. After students have completed the instrument, have them share their scores with the class so a distribution can be compiled. Comparisons with classmates are not only fun but also help raise issues about alternative ways to cope with stress. Ask several students with especially high and especially low scores to describe an average week, their family life, career aspirations, and so on. Interesting contrasts will likely surface.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

30. PERSONAL TRAITS AND RESISTANCE TO STRESS
Personal Characteristics
Description; Effects
Type A Behavior Pattern
Always in a hurry, highly competitive, irritable, highly susceptible to the adverse effects of stress.
Optimism
Hopeful outlook on life; sees situations in a positive light; expect favorable outcomes. These traits lead to problem-focused coping which helps such people deal with stress.
Hardiness
High levels of commitment to their jobs; believe they can control their outcomes; see stress as challenge; together these traits make them resistant to the adverse effects of stress.
Tension Discharge Rate
Persons high in this trait dissipate job-related tension quickly at the end of the day; this reduces the harmful effects of such stress on them.
This slide summarizes the relationships between other personality traits and their implications for resisting stress
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

31. Behavioral Guidelines for Managing Stress and Time
Use time management principles.
Delegate effectively.
Improve interpersonal competency.
Make your work stress reducing
Reaffirm your priorities
Develop life balance.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

32. Behavioral Guidelines for Managing Stress and Time
Increase your physical resiliency.
Implement small wins strategy.
Learn a deep relaxation technique.
Form an open, close relationship with someone.
Form teams and share tasks.
Learn some short-term relaxation techniques.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

33. The Four Types of Stressors and Resiliency
Optional exercise:
Consider the force field
Which of the four stressors (driving forces) do you face?
For each stressor: What resiliency or restraining strategies do you use?
Which force is stronger? Stressors or restraining forces
Pick one or two stressors. What type of strategy would enhance your ability to cope more effectively?
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

34. In class Case Discussion Questions
1. What principles of time and stress management are violated in this case?
2. What are the organizational problems in the case?
3. Which of Chet’s personal characteristics inhibit his effective management of time?
4. If you were hired as a consultant to Chet, what would you advise him?
Discussion Questions
1. What principles of time and stress management are violated in this case?
2. What are the organizational problems in the case?
3. Which of Chet’s personal characteristics inhibit his effective management of time?
4. If you were hired as a consultant to Chet, what would you advise him?
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

35. Reflect on your organization
Describe the most and least effective manager you have known
To what extent were they competent stress and time managers
To what extent were they able to control their time
What evidence is of their stress and time management skills
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

36. Part B
Do working students need different stress management strategies than top executives, homemakers, or professional athletes?
Is there a basic level of stress management skill that is applicable to all positions?
To the extent that you are comfortable discussing your personal results, what were some of the most common stressors that emerged within your team?
Do you think the stressors results from demands …
…by your organization?
… the times we live in?
… your personal situations?
… etc?
Are there any common coping mechanisms that have been used by the team to address these stressors?
Discussion Questions
1. What is effective about these strategies for coping with stress, and why did they
work?
2. What troubles, challenges, or stressors do you face right now to which these
prescriptions might apply?
3. Are these prescriptions effective coping strategies or merely escapes?
4. What other prescriptions could the author take besides the four mentioned here?
Generate your own list based on your own experiences with stress.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson

37. Turn of the Tide Discussion Questions
1. What is effective about these strategies for coping with stress, and why did they
work?
2. What troubles, challenges, or stressors do you face right now to which these prescriptions might apply?
3. Are these prescriptions effective coping strategies or merely escapes?
4. What other prescriptions could the author take besides the four mentioned here?
Generate your own list based on your own experiences with stress.
© Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson