Transcript Module 3

Individual Behavior

Individual differences are grounded in 4
basic psychological concepts
– Values
– Attitudes
– Perception
– Learning
Values

Personally or socially preferred behavior or
end-state.
 Element of Judgment: Right versus wrong
 Examples:
– Freedom
– Pleasure
– Self-respect, peace, honesty, equality
International Survey: Key
Attributes in a job

Work family-balance
 Interesting work
 Security for the future
 Good Pay
 Enjoyable and friendly co-workers
– Western Europe, Japan, Russia, & U.S.
International Survey:
Continued
 33%
would leave their current job
for a 10% pay increase
 44% would change jobs for a
position with more advancement
and growth potential
Importance of Values
 Values
influence
– perceptions
– attitudes
– behaviors
Dominant Values in Today’s Workforce
Unique Values
of Today’s Workforce
Career
Stage
Entered the
Workforce
Approximate
Current Age
1. Protestant
Mid-1940s to
Late 1950s
60 to 75
Hard working; loyal to
firm; conservative
2. Existential
1960s to
Mid-1970s
45 to 60
Nonconforming; seeks
autonomy; loyal to self
3. Pragmatic
Mid-1970s to
Mid-1980s
35 to 45
Ambitious,hard worker;
loyal to career
Under 35
Flexible, values leisure;
loyal to relationships
4. Generation X Mid-1980s
through 1990s
Dominant
Work Values

Today’s worker:
– Better educated
– More mobile with less commitment
to your organization
– More “reward” options
– Aware of new economy and
technology impact
 Hofstede’s
work on values across
cultures (1980+)
 Bottom line: Cultural values are
of immense importance-“drive”
how people behave and,
Examples of Values-Cultural Dimensions
Country
Power
Distance
Individual
Quantity
Of Life
UncertAvoid
Long Term
Oriented
China
High
Low
Moderate
Moderate
High
Hong Kong
High
Low
High
Low
High
Indonesia
High
Low
Moderate
Low
Low
Japan
Moderate
Moderate
High
Moderate
Moderate
Adapted from G. Hofstede, “Cultural Constraints in Management Theories,”
Academy of Management Executive, February 1993, p.91.
Attitudes
 Your
affective evaluative reaction to
objects, people or events
– Evaluative (like/dislike)
cognitive
 affective
 behavioral

Attitudes, Behavior &
Consistency
 People
seek consistency between
attitudes they hold
 People seek consistency between
attitudes and behavior
Cognitive Dissonance
 Tension
caused by:
– inconsistency between attitudes
– inconsistency between attitudes and
behavior
How hard one tries to reduce
dissonance depends on
 Importance
of elements (situation)
creating the dissonance
 Degree of personal influence over the
elements (situation)
 Rewards involved in maintaining
discrepant attitude/behavior
Reducing Dissonance
 Change
attitude
 Change behavior
 Acquire new information
 Minimize importance of inconsistency
Work Attitudes
 Job
Satisfaction
Job
Satisfaction
and Employee
Productivity
Absenteeism
Performance
Turnover
Attitudes and Behavior
 Do
– Attitudes cause behavior?
– Behavior cause attitudes?
 Self-perception theory
Job Satisfaction and OB
Perceptions of Fairness
Outcomes
Treatment
Procedures
Responses to Job
Dissatisfaction
 Exit
 Voice
 Neglect
 Loyalty
Job Attitude Surveys
 Recommended
once or twice
yearly to monitor employees and
perceived working conditions
Other work related attitudes
 Job
Involvement
 Organizational Commitment
Perceptions
 How
we organize and interpret our
environment
 Influenced by value system
 Influenced by perceptual biases
– Attribution biases
Causal Attributions we make

Observe Behavior – Internally or externally
caused?
– Distinctiveness: Unusual for the person?
– Consensus: Others likely to do same
under circumstances?
– Consistency: Same behavior over time?
Fundamental attribution error

We tend to underestimate the influence of
external factors on behavior!
Self-Serving Bias

We tend to attribute:
– Own successes to internal factors (ability,
effort)
– Own failures to external factors (luck,
unreasonable expectations, lack of resources,
poor management).
Shortcuts to Judging Others
 Selectivity
 Assumed
Similarity
 Stereotyping
 Halo effect