1. Copyright © 2011 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Individual Differences and Work Behavior Chapter 3

2. 3-2 Learning Objectives ■ Identify the major individual variables that influence work behavior ■ Understand how diversity is influencing the workplace ■ Explain what an attitude is and identify its three components ■ Discuss the relationship between job satisfaction and performance ■ Describe major forces influencing personality ■ Identify the Big Five personality dimensions ■ Discuss several important personality factors

3. 3-3 Why Individual Differences are Important These differences explain why some people embrace change and others fear it Individual differences have a direct effect on behavior, perceptions, and interactions Or, why some employees are only productive when closely supervised Virtually no area of an organization is unaffected by individual differences

4. 3-4 Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework People are attracted to careers and organizations as a function of their… ■ Abilities ■ Interests ■ Personalities Organizations select employees on the basis of organizational needs

5. 3-5 Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework Attrition occurs when… Individuals discover they don’t like being part of the organization and resign Or, the organization determines an individual is not succeeding and elects to terminate Each phase of the ASA cycle is influenced by the individual differences of each person

6. 3-6 Attraction-Selection-Attrition Framework Each individual is different from every other ■ Managers who ignore such differences often hinder organizational and personal goals

7. 3-7 The Basis for Understanding Work Behavior Factors Influencing Individual Differences Age Environment Race Heredity Gender Background Temperament Behavior is Hard to Predict

8. 3-8 Individual Differences in the Workplace

9. 3-9 Individual Differences in the Workplace To understand individual differences ■ Observe and recognize the differences ■ Study relationships among variables that influence individual behavior Work behavior is anything a person does in the work environment ■ Some behaviors contribute to productivity; others are non- or counter-productive

10. 3-10 Individual Differences Influencing Behavior Heredity factors ■ Psychological, mental, and moral differences are influenced by genetic inheritance ■ Debate continues as to whether behavior is determined by heredity or environment The foremost heredity difference is gender ■ Most stereotypical differences used to describe males and females are not valid

11. 3-11 Diversity Factors Primary Dimensions (stable) Age Ethnicity/Race Gender Physical attributes Sexual/affectional orientation Secondary Dimensions (changeable) Educational background Marital status Religious beliefs Health Work experience

12. 3-12 Diversity in the Workplace The workforce is becoming more diverse ■ Dramatic growth in older workers (55 and up) ■ By 2016, 76.5 million women in the labor force ■ Asian- and Hispanic-Americans continue to enter workforce at a rapid pace ■ More African-American women than men will enter the workforce ■ More disabled will be looking for jobs ■ Percentage of white workers drops to 65%

13. 3-13 Diversity in the Workplace Gender, racial, age, and ethnic diversity will bring differences in… Values Work ethics Behavioral norms Miscommunication, insensitivity, ignorance, and hostility may become major concerns

14. 3-14 Diversity in the Workplace Generational diversity ■ Gen Y or Millennials (20s and younger) ■ Gen X (30s and 40s) ■ Baby boomers Disability diversity ■ Make facilities accessible ■ Restructure jobs ■ Modify work schedules ■ Job reassignments

15. 3-15 Abilities and Skills Ability A person’s talent to perform a mental or physical task Generally stable over time Skill A learned talent Acquired in order to perform a task

16. 3-16 Abilities and Skills Verbal fluency & comprehension Mental ability Inductive & deductive reasoning Associative memory Spatial orientation

17. 3-17 Abilities and Skills Emotional intelligence is the ability to… ■ Be self-aware of feelings ■ Manage emotions ■ Motivate oneself ■ Express sympathy ■ Handle relationships with others People with high emotional intelligence are more successful on the job

18. 3-18 Abilities and Skills Tacit knowledge… work-related, practical know-how ■ Acquired through observation and experience

19. 3-19 Abilities and Skills Sternberg believes practically intelligent leaders… Capitalize on their strengths, overcome weaknesses Realize they are not good at everything Overcome negative expectations set by others Learn from positive and negative experiences Have can-do attitudes

20. 3-20 Attitudes Attitudes are determinates of behavior because they are linked to… ■ Perception ■ Personality ■ Feelings ■ Motivation An attitude is… ■ A mental state of readiness ■ Learned and optimized through experience

21. 3-21 Attitudes: Implications for the Manager Attitudes… ■ Are learned ■ Define one’s predispositions ■ Are the emotional basis of interpersonal relations and identifications with others ■ Are closely linked to personality ■ Are subject to change

22. 3-22 Components of Attitudes A person’s perceptions, opinions, and beliefs Emotional components of attitudes; learned from parents, teachers, peers The tendency to act in a certain way toward someone or something Cognition Affect Behavior

23. 3-23 Components of Attitudes

24. 3-24 Cognitive Dissonance Discrepancy between attitude and behavior ■ Example: Knowing that smoking is bad for your health, but continuing to smoke ■ Creates discomfort, which individuals attempt to reduce or eliminate

25. 3-25 Changing Attitudes The communicator The message The situation Changing attitudes depends on three general factors

26. 3-26 The Communicator Trust the manager Like the manager Employees are more likely to change their attitude if they… Think the manager has prestige

27. 3-27 The Message Must develop and deliver consistent, persuasive messages Happens through verbal and non-verbal communication Managers send intentional and unintentional messages

28. 3-28 The Situation Changing employee attitudes depends partly on the situation in which the effort takes place ■ Distraction interferes with silent counter-arguing ■ Employees don’t have time to come up with strong internal arguments against the request

29. 3-29 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is an attitude toward a job ■ Results from a perception of the job and the fit between the worker and the organization

30. 3-30 Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Factors linked to job satisfaction Pay Job security The work itself Work conditions Promotion opportunities Co-workers Supervision

31. 3-31 Satisfaction-Performance: Three Views 2. Job Performance Job Satisfaction Causes “The more productive worker is satisfied.” 3. Job Performance Job Satisfaction Rewards Perceived Equity 1. Job Satisfaction Job Performance Causes “The satisfied worker is more productive.”

32. 3-32 Personality A relatively stable set of feelings and behaviors that have been significantly formed by genetic and environmental factors ■ The relationship between behavior and personality is complex

33. 3-33 Personality Principles generally accepted as true… ■ Personality has observable, measurable patterns ■ Personality has superficial aspects, such as attitudes toward being a team leader ■ There is a deeper core, such as sentiment about having a strong work ethic ■ Personality involves both common and unique characteristics

34. 3-34 Forces Influencing Personality

35. 3-35 Personality & Behavior in Organizations Many researchers believed that personality testing could predict job performance ■ The validity of such tests is questionable ■ There was fear that such tests discriminated against minorities Many companies today still use such tests ■ Selection, career planning, training, and team assignment decisions ■ Myers-Briggs Inventory is popular

36. 3-36 The Big Five Personality Dimensions Conscientiousness Extroversion Emotional Stability Agreeableness Openness to Experience

37. 3-37 The Big Five Personality Dimensions No trait or group of traits predicts how well someone will perform on a project or job Additional selection tools ■ Structured interview ■ Cognitive ability test ■ Work performance test

38. 3-38 Locus of Control The degree to which one believes their behavior influences what happens to them ■ Internals believe their good performance is due to their effort or skill ■ Externals believe they are controlled by outside forces over which they have little, if any, control

39. 3-39 Self-Efficacy Personal beliefs regarding competencies and abilities ■ Beliefs are learned, and tend to be task-specific Self-efficacy has three dimensions ■ Magnitude… the level of task difficulty that individuals believe they can attain ■ Strength… refers to whether the belief is weak or strong ■ Generality… how generalized across different situations the belief in capability is

40. 3-40 Self-Efficacy Feelings of self-efficacy affect… ■ Selection decisions ■ Training programs ■ Goal setting and performance

41. 3-41 Creativity Creativity is a personality trait ■ The ability to break away from habit-bound thinking and produce novel and useful ideas ■ Produces innovation, which is the lifeblood of corporations ■ Can be encouraged and developed by giving people the opportunity and freedom to think in unconventional ways

42. 3-42 Developing Employee Creativity Encourage everyone to view old problems from new perspectives Make certain people know it is OK to make mistakes Provide as many people with as many new experiences as possible Set an example in your own approach to dealing with problems and opportunities