Individual Behaviour

•Personality and Learning

•Perception, Attribution, and Judgment of
Others
•Values, Attitudes, and Work Behaviour
•Theories of Work Motivation
•Motivation in Practice
What Is Personality?

• The relatively stable set of psychological

characteristics that influences the way an
individual interacts with his or her environment.
• Dimensions and traits that are determined by
genetic predisposition and one’s long-term
learning history.
• People have a variety of personality
characteristics.

Copyright ©2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc. Chapter 2 / Slide 5

Personality and Organizational
Behaviour
• Personality has a long history in
organizational behaviour.
• The role of personality in organizational
behaviour has often been debated in what is
known as the “person-situation debate”
• This has led to three approaches:
– The dispositional approach
– The situational approach
– The interactionist approach
The Dispositional Approach

• Focuses on individual dispositions and personality.

• Individuals possess stable traits or characteristics
that influence their attitudes and behaviours.
• Individuals are predisposed to behave in certain
ways.
The Situational Approach

• Characteristics of the organizational setting such

as rewards influence people’s attitudes and
behaviour.
• Many studies have shown that situational factors
such as the characteristics of work tasks predict
job satisfaction.
The Interactionist Approach

• Organizational behaviour is a function of both

dispositions and the situation.
• To predict organizational behaviour, we need to
know something about an individual’s personality
and the work setting.
• This the most widely accepted approach to
organizational behaviour.
Personality and the Situation

• Personality has the strongest effect in weak

situations.
• In weak situations, roles are loosely defined,
there are few rules and weak reinforcement and
punishment contingencies.
Personality and the Situation
(continued)
• Personality has less of an impact in strong
situations.
• In strong situations, the roles, rules, and
contingencies are more defined.
Implications of the Interactionist
Approach
• Some personality characteristics are useful in
certain organizational situations.
• There is no one best personality.
• The advantages of employee diversity.
• The importance of fit - putting the right person in
the right job, group, or organization.
The Five-Factor Model of
Personality
• Five basic but general dimensions that describe
personality:
– Extraversion
– Emotional stability/neuroticism
– Agreeableness
– Conscientiousness
– Openness to experience
The Five-Factor Model of
Personality (continued)
The Five-Factor Model of
Personality (continued)
• Each of the “Big Five” dimensions is related to job
performance.
• Conscientiousness is the strongest predictor of
overall job performance.
• The “Big Five” are related to work motivation and
job satisfaction.
• The “Big Five” predict job search, employment,
vocational interests, and career success.
Locus of Control

• A set of beliefs about whether one’s behaviour is

controlled mainly by internal or external factors.
• Internals believe that the opportunity to control
their own behaviour rests within themselves.
• Externals believe that external forces determine
their behaviour.
The Internal/External Locus of
Control Continuum
Locus of Control (continued)

• Internals are more satisfied with their jobs, earn

more money, and achieve higher organizational
positions.
• Internals perceive less stress, cope with stress
better, and engage in more careful career
planning.
Self-Monitoring

• The extent to which people observe and regulate

how they appear and behave in social settings and
relationships.
• High self-monitors take great care to observe and
control the images that they project.
Self-Monitoring (continued)

• High self-monitors show concern for socially

appropriate behaviour and social cues, and they
regulate their behaviour according to these cues.
• High self-monitors gravitate to jobs that require
role-playing.
Self-Monitoring (continued)

• High self-monitors are more likely to change

employers and locations and to receive more
promotions.
• They do not feel comfortable in ambiguous social
settings in which it is hard to determine what
behaviours are appropriate.
Self-Esteem

• The degree to which a person has a positive self-

evaluation.
• People with high self-esteem have favourable
self-images.
• People with low self-esteem have unfavourable
self-images.
Self-Esteem and Behavioural
Plasticity Theory

• People with low self-esteem tend to be more

susceptible to external and social influences than
those who have high self-esteem.
• Events and people in organizations have more
impact on the beliefs and actions of employees
with low self-esteem.
Self-Esteem (continued)

• Employees with low self-esteem react badly to

negative feedback.
• People with high self-esteem make more fulfilling
career decisions and have higher job satisfaction
and job performance.
• People with high self-esteem are more resilient to
the strains of everyday worklife.
Recent Developments in
Personality and Organizational
Behaviour
• Five new personality variables that have been
found to be important for organizational
behaviour:
– Positive and negative affectivity
– Proactive personality
– General self-efficacy
– Core self-evaluations
Positive and Negative Affectivity

• People who are high on positive affectivity (PA)

have a propensity to the view world in a positive
light.
• People who are high on negative affectivity (NA)
have a propensity to view the world in a negative
light.
• PA and NA are emotional dispositions that predict
people’s general emotional tendencies.
Positive and Negative Affectivity
(continued)
• People with high PA report higher job satisfaction.
• People with high NA report lower job satisfaction.
• People with high NA experience more stressful
conditions at work and report higher levels of
workplace stress and strain.
Proactive Personality

• A relatively stable personal disposition that

reflects a tendency to behave proactively and to
effect positive change in one’s environment.
• Proactive individuals search for and identify
opportunities, show initiative, take action, and
persevere until they bring about meaningful
change.
Proactive Personality (continued)

• Proactive personality is related to:

– Job performance
– Tolerance for stress
– Leadership effectiveness
– Participation in organizational initiatives
– Work team performance
– Entrepreneurship
– Career success
General Self-Efficacy

• A general trait that refers to an individual’s belief

in his or her ability to perform successfully in a
variety of challenging situations.
• General self-efficacy (GSE) is a motivational trait.
• High GSE individuals are better able to adapt to
novel, uncertain, and adverse situations.
• Employees with higher GSE have higher job
satisfaction and job performance.
Core Self-Evaluations

• A broad personality concept that consists of more

specific traits that reflect the evaluations people
hold about themselves and their self-worth.
• Four traits of core self-evaluations:
– Self-esteem
– General self-efficacy
– Locus of control
– Neuroticism (emotional stability)
Core Self-Evaluations (continued)

• People with more positive core self-evaluations

have higher job satisfaction and job performance.
• Core self-evaluations are also positively related to
life satisfaction.
What is Learning?

• A relatively permanent change in behaviour

potential that occurs due to practice or
experience.
• The environment provides feedback concerning
the consequences of behaviour.
What Do Employees Learn?

• Practical skills:
– job-specific skills, knowledge, technical
competence.
• Intrapersonal skills:
– Problem solving, critical thinking, alternative work
processes, risk taking.
What Do Employees Learn?
(continued)
• Interpersonal skills:
– Interactive skills such as communicating,
teamwork, conflict resolution.
• Cultural awareness:
– The social norms of organizations, company goals,
business operations, expectations, and priorities.
Operant Learning Theory

• The subject learns to operate on the environment

to achieve certain consequences.
• Operantly learned behaviour is controlled by the
consequences that follow it.
• It is the connection between the behaviour and
the consequence that is learned.
Increasing the Probability of
Behaviour
• One of the most important consequences that
influences behaviour is reinforcement.
• Reinforcement is the process by which stimuli
strengthen behaviours.
• A reinforcer is a stimulus that follows some
behaviour and increases or maintains the
probability of that behaviour.
Positive Reinforcement

• The application or addition of a stimulus that

increases or maintains the probability of some
behaviour.
• The stimulus is the positive reinforcer.
• The reinforcer is dependent or contingent on the
occurrence of some desired behaviour.
Negative Reinforcement

• The removal of a stimulus from a situation that, in

turn, increases or maintains the probability of
some behaviour.
• Negative reinforcement occurs when a response
prevents some event or stimulus from occurring.
• The removed or prevented stimulus is a negative
reinforcer.
Organizational Errors Involving
Reinforcement
• Rewards fail to serve as reinforcers when they are
not made contingent on some specific desired
behaviour.
• Organizations often fail to appreciate individual
differences in preferences for reinforcers.
Organizational Errors Involving
Reinforcement (continued)
• Managers often neglect important sources of
reinforcement such as those administered by
coworkers or intrinsic to the job.
• An important source of reinforcement that
managers often ignore is positive feedback that
accompanies desired behaviour or good
performance.
Reinforcement Strategies

• For fast acquisition of some response, continuous

and immediate reinforcement should be used.
• Behaviour tends to be persistent when it is
learned under conditions of partial and delayed
reinforcement.
• Managers have to tailor reinforcement strategies
to the needs of the situation.
Summary of Reinforcement
Strategies and their Effects
Reducing the Probability of
Behaviour
• Some behaviours are detrimental to the operation
of an organization and we want to stop them from
occurring.
• There are two strategies that can reduce the
probability of learned behaviour:
– Extinction
– Punishment
Extinction

• The gradual dissipation of behaviour following the

termination of reinforcement.
• If the behaviour is not reinforced, it will gradually
dissipate or be extinguished.
• Extinction works best when coupled with the
reinforcement of some desired substitute
behaviour.
Punishment

• The application of an aversive stimulus following

some behaviour designed to decrease the
probability of that behaviour.
• A nasty stimulus is applied after some undesirable
behaviour in order to decrease the probability of
that behaviour.
Summary of Learning Effects
Problems Using Punishment

• Punishment has some unique characteristics that

often limit its effectiveness in stopping unwanted
activity.
• It does not demonstrate which activities should
replace the punished response.
• Punishment indicates only what is not
appropriate.
Problems Using Punishment
(continued)
• Punishment only temporarily suppresses the
unwanted response.
• Punishment can provoke a strong emotional
reaction.
Using Punishment Effectively

• Provide an acceptable alternative for the

punished response.
• Limit the emotions involved in punishment.
• Make sure the chosen punishment is truly
aversive.
Using Punishment Effectively
(continued)
• Punish immediately or reinstate the circumstances
surrounding the problem behaviour at a more
appropriate time.
• Do not reward unwanted behaviours before or
after punishment.
• Do not inadvertently punish desirable behaviour.
Social Learning Theory

• Social learning involves:

– observing the behaviour of others
– seeing what consequences they experience
– thinking about what might happen if we act the
same way
• Modelling, self-efficacy, and self-management are
part of social learning theory.
Modelling

• The process of imitating the behaviour of others.

• Self-reinforcement occurs in the modelling
process.
• Attractive, credible, competent, high-status
people are most likely to be imitated.
• It is important that the model’s behaviour result
in positive consequences and that it is vivid and
memorable.
Self-Efficacy

• Beliefs people have about their ability to

successfully perform a specific task.
• It influences the activities people choose to
perform, the amount of effort and persistence
devoted to a task, affective and stress reactions,
and job performance.
Self-Efficacy (continued)

• Sources of information that can influence self-

efficacy beliefs:
– Task success
– Observation
– Verbal persuasion and social influence
– Physiological or emotional state
Self-Management

• The use of learning principles to manage one’s

own behaviour.
• Self-management processes:
– Self-observation
– Observe others
– Set goals
– Rehearse
– Reinforce oneself
Self-Management (continued)

• Self-management can improve learning and result

in a change in behaviour.
• Self-management training has been shown to
improve work attendance and sales performance.
Organizational Learning Practices

• Organizational learning practices include:

– Organizational behaviour modification
– Employee recognition programs
– Training and formal learning
– Informal learning
– Career development
Organizational Behaviour
Modification
• The systematic use of learning principles to
influence organizational behaviour.
• O.B. Mod. has been shown to improve safe
working behaviour, work attendance, and task
performance.
Organizational Behaviour
Modification (continued)
• The effects on task performance are stronger in
manufacturing than in service organizations.
• Money, feedback, and social recognition have
been used as effective forms of positive
reinforcement.
• All three together has the strongest effect on task
performance.
Employee Recognition Programs

• Formal organizational programs that publicly

recognize and reward employees for specific
behaviours.
• To be effective they must specify:
– How a person will be recognized
– The type of behaviour being encouraged
– The manner of the public acknowledgement
– A token or icon of the event for the recipient
Employee Recognition Programs
(continued)

• Employee recognition programs have been found

to be related to higher job satisfaction and
performance, and lower turnover.
• Many of the best companies to work for in Canada
have employee recognition programs.
Training and Formal Learning

• Planned organizational activities that are

designed to facilitate knowledge and skill
acquisition in order to change behaviour and
improve performance.
Training and Formal Learning
(continued)

• Effective training programs include positive

reinforcement, feedback, observation, and self-
management.
• Self-efficacy is an important factor in a training
program’s effectiveness.
Informal Learning

• Learning experiences that are not planned and

designed by the organization.
• It is more spontaneous, immediate, and task
specific than formal learning.
• Up to 70 percent of learning in organizations takes
place informally.
Career Development

• An ongoing process in which individuals progress

through a series of stages that consist of a unique
set of issues, themes, and tasks.
• It involves career planning and career
management.
• Career planning involves the assessment of one’s
interests, skills, and abilities, and the
development of career goals and plans.
Career Development (continued)

• Career management involves taking the necessary

steps that are required to achieve one’s goals and
plans.
• Many organizations have career development
programs.