Understanding and

1
Chapter 2

• Understanding and
• Valuing Differences

2
A Rich Stew

• The modern workplace is much more than a melting
  pot in which contents are transformed into a
  uniform mass.
• It is more like a rich stew, with ingredients
  varying in origin and properties, providing
  different flavors, nuances, and textures, and
  retaining their character while contributing to
  the whole.
• Many characteristics of these ingredients are
  important, including race and ethnic origin,
  gender, age, abilities, sexual orientation,
  personality, attitudes, and much more.

3
A Rich Stew (Continued)

• As the ingredients become more varied, they offer
  the potential for an expanded, more exotic and
  exciting menu.
• Still, it is a challenge to blend the ingredients
  in ways that bring out their best properties.
• And, a stew that is a delight to one person may
  seem bland or bitter or simply unpalatable to
  another.
• In this chapter we explore the challenge of
  recognizing and capturing the best qualities of
  available ingredients -- valuing diversity --
  while creating a successful stew -- managing
  diversity.

4
Some Individual Differencesin Organizations
Individual Differences
5
Managing Diversity

• Diversity refers to the membership mix in
  organizations in terms of gender, race, ethnic
  origin, and other characteristics.
• The Pillsbury Company defines diversity as all
  the ways in which we differ.
• Historically, many companies have focused on the
  potential problems created by a diverse
  workforce.
• It was felt there would be more misunderstandings
  and coordination problems as diversity increased.
• Very real prejudices against members of certain
  groups, such as blacks and women, could lead to
  conflict and mistrust.
• Increasingly, organizations are learning to value
  diversity.

6
Valuing Diversity

• Diversity can provide a powerful competitive
  advantage.
• A diverse workforce brings more perspectives and
  a wider range of knowledge to bear on problems,
  increasing creativity and decision-making
  effectiveness.
• Diversity helps the firm understand and meet the
  needs of diverse markets.
• Companies that become successful at managing a
  diverse workforce also see their recruiting
  prospects enhanced.
• Active steps toward fostering diversity in the
  workplace include training for tolerance,
  rewarding diversity efforts, changing employee
  attitudes toward diversity, and developing
  supportive personnel policies.

7
Focus on ManagementDiversity Awareness at
Celanese

• Ernest Drew, the former CEO of Celanese, became
  an advocate of a more diverse workforce while
  attending a conference for Celaneses top 125
  officers, mostly white men, who were joined by
  about 50 lower-level women and minorities.
• The group split into problem-solving teams, some
  mixed by race and sex and others all white and
  male, to address questions relating to Celaneses
  corporate culture.
• When the teams presented their findings, one
  thing seemed clear to Drew. It was so obvious
  that the diverse teams had the broader solutions.
  For the first time, I realized that diversity
  is a strength as it relates to problem solving.
• As a result, Drew made Celanese a pioneer in
  attracting, retaining, and promoting women and
  minorities.

8
The Best Companies for Minorities(From Figure
2-1)
9
Training for Tolerance

• Firms are adopting many approaches toward
  training for tolerance.
• At Celanese, the top 26 officers are each
  required to join two organizations in which they
  are a minority.
• Firms are also providing training to integrate
  sexual orientation into ongoing diversity
  efforts.
• Many firms are gender training to promote
  tolerance between the sexes.

10
Rewarding Diversity Efforts

• Some firms are tying performance appraisal to
  their efforts to increase diversity.
• At Celanese, attainment of workforce diversity is
  one of four sets of outcomes that are equally
  weighted in performance appraisals.
• Coca-Colas then chairman and CEO, Douglas Daft,
  announced in 2000 that he would tie his own
  compensation and that of others throughout the
  management ranks to diversity goals and would
  create an executive position for promoting
  minorities.

11
Changing Employee Attitudes Toward Diversity

• Companies are using a variety of innovative
  approaches to develop more positive employee
  diversity-related attitudes and skills.
• US WEST Dex trains its employees via a three-day
  diversity awareness workshop.
• US WEST Dex also uses resource groups,
  volunteer-driven meetings that address the
  concerns of particular employees, such as women,
  blacks, Hispanics, gays, and lesbians all
  employees are encouraged to attend.

12
Focus on Management DiversitySeminars at Rohm
Haas Texas Inc.

• At Rohm Haas cross-functional teams are part of
  total quality efforts and were selected to take
  advantage of the variety of experiences and
  perspectives offered by diversity.
• However, as positions opened up on other teams,
  employees began to migrate to teams composed of
  members with whom they felt they had more in
  common African American employees, for example,
  would apply for teams with more African American
  members.
• Rohm Haas launched five-hour awareness seminars
  that stressed the benefits of diversity and
  focused on tension that any kind of difference
  creates.
• 95 of employees participated, and the company
  credits the seminars with getting its quality
  efforts back on track.

13
Developing Personnel PoliciesThat Support
Diversity

• ATT, which has announced major job cuts every
  year since 1990, monitors workforce reduction by
  department and finds creative ways to keep valued
  workers, regardless of their gender or color.
• Workers may be retrained for work elsewhere in
  ATT or assigned to the in-house temporary agency
  and loaned out to various departments until
  permanent jobs are found for them.
• ATT also offers valued laid-off employees an
  enhanced leave of absence in which the employee
  takes two years off to go to school or travel,
  with full benefits and assurance of reemployment
  at the same level and pay if a job in the company
  is available upon return.

14
The Bottom Line Developing aDiversity Program
Obtain the Support of Top Management
15
Personality
16
Understanding Personality

• Personality is the organized and distinctive
  pattern of behavior that characterizes an
  individuals adaptation to a situation and
  endures over time.
• The distinctive character of personality allows
  us to tell people apart.
• The enduring character of personality permits us
  to recognize people and to anticipate their
  behaviors.
• Personality determines how people respond to new
  situations and interact with others, whether they
  can work on their own, and much else.

17
Aristotles Challenge
Anyone can become angry -- that is easy. But to
be angry with the right person, to the right
degree, at the right time, for the right purpose,
and in the right way -- this is not easy.
ARISTOTLE, The Nichomachean Ethics
18
In The Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle presented a
challenge to manage our emotional life with
intelligence. Our passions, when well
exercised, have wisdom they guide our thinking,
our values, our survival. The question is, how
can we bring intelligence to our emotions?
19
The Marshmallow Test

• Children at age 4 were given an IQ test and the
  Marshmallow Test. With the Marshmallow Test,
  the child is given a marshmallow and told that if
  s/he can put off eating it until later, s/he can
  have two.

• Twelve to fourteen years later, reaction to this
  moment of impulse was twice as powerful a
  predictor as IQ of how children did on the
  Scholastic Aptitude Test. It also predicted
  adjustment, popularity, confidence, and
  dependability.

20
Is IQ Enough?

• Most experts now agree that IQ scores are heavily
  influenced by a relatively narrow range of
  linguistic and math skills.
• So, IQ taps only a small part of the structure of
  intellect.
• The skills tapped by IQ tests may be relevant to
  classroom performance but less so as lifes path
  diverges from academe.
• This suggests the need to take a broader view of
  intelligence.

21
How Do People Describe An Intelligent Person?

• Solves problems well
• Displays interest in the world at large
• Accepts others for what they are
• Admits mistakes
• Is goal oriented
• Converses well
• Together, these suggest that people focus on the
  practical and worldly side of intelligence,
  rather than just on academic intelligence.

22
Some Forms of Intelligence(Howard Gardner --
Frames of Mind)

• Logical-mathematical
• Linguistic
• Bodily-kinesthetic
• Visual-spatial
• Musical
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Naturalist

23
Personal Intelligences

• Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to
  understand other people what motivates them, how
  they work, how to work cooperatively with them.
• Intrapersonal intelligence is the capacity to
  form an accurate model of oneself and to be able
  to use that model to operate effectively in life.

24
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
25
Two Brains

• The amygdala -- the emotional brain, the source
  of emotional life
• The neocortex -- the thinking cap, source of
  planning, learning, and memory

26
Questions Calling for EQ

• Should you trust a coworker with a confidence?
• Is a friend on the verge of a nervous breakdown?
• How should you behave in an escalating argument?
• How should you respond to a racist joke?

27
Why Care About Emotional Intelligence?

• The emotional brain may highjack the rational
  brain. Fear, rage, and jealousy may prevent us
  from rationally addressing problems.
• EQ is especially important in higher-level jobs,
  including leadership roles. While technical
  skills may suffice in lower-level positions, the
  ability to deal with others becomes critical as
  we advance in organizations.
• EQ is critical for working in groups.
• EQ is needed to effectively manage diversity.
• EQ helps us adapt to new situations.

28
Key Emotional Intelligence Abilities

• Self-Awareness -- Recognizing an emotion as it
  engulfs us
• Emotion Management -- Controlling reactions to
  emotion-laden events so that our response fits
  the situation
• Self-Motivation -- Directing emotions in service
  of a desirable goal
• Empathy -- Recognizing emotions in others
• Relationship Management -- Managing the emotions
  in others.

29
Some Consequences of EQ

• In business settings, EQ has been found to be
  related to
• leadership ability
• group performance
• individual performance
• interpersonal/social exchange
• change management skills
• ability to conduct performance appraisals

30
Multiple Intelligences at Saturn Corp.

• At Saturn Corp., all 10,000 employees are
  required to take 92 hours of instruction each
  year.
• They first learn about the multiple
  intelligences.
• They then select courses of their choosing, such
  as safety or leadership.
• Instructors adapt multiple-intelligence training
  to the programs. They might, for instance, use
  music to enhance technical training courses.

31
Personality Theories

• Some early personality theories saw behavior as
  being related to innate traits, such as
  independence, sociability, and humility. These
  traits were felt to be stable, enduring, and
  interrelated. The unique combination of these
  traits was seen as a clue to personality.
• According to Sigmund Freuds psychoanalytic
  theory, we are motivated by drives or instincts.
  We may be unaware of these drives, and they are
  largely outside our control.

32
Personality Theories (Continued)

• Humanistic-existential theories focus on the
  total personality of the individual rather than
  on the separate behaviors that make up the
  personality. They emphasize striving for
  awareness and fulfillment of human potential.
• Learning theories see personality as a set of
  patterns of learned behaviors. That is,
  personalities differ because people have
  different experiences in childhood and throughout
  life.
• Together, the approaches provide a variety of
  potentially useful perspectives for examining and
  predicting human behavior.

33
Some Key Personality Dimensions
PERSONALITY
34
Risk-Taking Propensity

• People differ markedly in their risk-taking
  propensity.
• Some are risk averse they like to play it
  safe, choosing alternatives that are likely to
  give a relatively low but certain return.
• Others -- risk seekers -- like to gamble. They
  prefer alternatives that may turn out very well
  or very poorly.
• Risk seekers tend to make fast decisions based on
  relatively little information.

35
Proactive Personality

• Proactivity is the extent to which people take
  actions to influence their environments/
• Proactive individuals look for opportunities,
  show initiative, take action, and persevere until
  they are able to bring about change.
• Proactive individuals have been shown to engage
  in high levels of entrepreneurial activities and
  to have relatively high levels of job
  performance.
• This is a trait that is highly valued by
  employers.

36
Authoritarianism

• Authoritarian individuals believe that power and
  status should be clearly defined and that there
  should be a hierarchy of authority.
• They feel that authority should be concentrated
  in the hands of a few leaders and that this
  authority should be obeyed.
• Authoritarian leaders expect unquestioning
  obedience to their commands.
• Authoritarian subordinates willingly give
  obedience.
• Authoritarian individuals are likely to be
  comfortable in organizations that emphasize rules
  and the chain of command.

37
Dogmatism

• Dogmatic individuals are closed-minded.
• They have rigid belief systems and doggedly
  stick to their opinions, refusing to revise them
  in the face of conflicting evidence.
• Dogmatic individuals make decisions quickly,
  based on relatively little information, and are
  confident in their decisions.
• They like to follow the rules and are unlikely to
  consider novel alternatives.
• They may perform acceptably in well-defined,
  routine situations, but do poorly in situations
  requiring creativity.

38
Locus of Control

• Locus of control is an indicator of an
  individuals sense of control over the
  environment and external events.
• A person with an internal locus of control feels
  in control of his or her life.
• A person with an external locus of control feels
  controlled by fate, chance, and circumstance.
• Internals are generally more highly motivated
  than externals.
• Leaders who are internal tend to choose more
  innovative strategies and to be more proactive
  and future oriented.

39
Tolerance for Ambiguity

• Individuals with high tolerance for ambiguity
  welcome uncertainty and change.
• Those with low tolerance for ambiguity see such
  situations as threatening and uncomfortable.
• Since managers are increasingly facing dynamic,
  unstructured situations, tolerance for ambiguity
  is clearly an important characteristic.

40
Machiavellianism

• Machiavellians
• think any behavior is acceptable if it achieves
  their goals
• try to manipulate others
• are unemotional and detached
• look out for Number One
• arent likely to be good team players
• are relatively likely to be unethical

41
Web Wise Machiavellis The Prince

• The term Machiavellian comes from Niccolo
  Machiavelli, author of The Prince. Machiavelli
  wrote The Prince as a practical guide for the
  ruling Medici family on how to deal with the
  problems a monarch faces in staying in power.
• The main theme of the book is that princes should
  retain absolute control of their territories and
  should use any means necessary to accomplish this
  end, including deceit.
• The book has caused Machiavellis name to become
  synonymous with self-serving, manipulative,
  deceitful behavior.

42
Self-Monitoring

• Self-monitoring is a persons ability to adjust
  his or her behavior to external, situational
  factors.
• High self-monitors
• are very sensitive to external cues and are
  chameleon-like.
• can present striking contradictions between their
  public and private lives -- are capable of
  disguise.
• are effective in boundary role situations and
  other situations requiring multiple faces.
• High self-monitors are more likely to assume
  leadership roles than low self-monitors

43
Type A and Type B

• Type A individuals
• feel great time pressure and impatience.
• work aggressively, speak explosively, and find
  themselves constantly struggling.
• Type B individuals show the opposite pattern --
  relaxed, steady-paced, and easygoing.
• Type A individuals
• are much more likely than Type Bs to experience
  high stress levels and associated symptoms,
  including coronary heart disease.
• have trouble delegating responsibility to others,
  dont work well in groups, and are impatient with
  tasks requiring prolonged problem solving.
• Relatively few Type As rise to high levels in
  organizations.

44
The Big 5 Model

• Extraversion Sociable, talkative, assertive
• Agreeableness Good-natured, cooperative,
  trusting
• Conscientiousness Responsible, dependable,
  persistent, achievement oriented
• Emotional Stability Calm, enthusiastic, secure
• Openness to Experience Imaginative, artistically
  sensitive, intellectual

45
The Big 5 and Performance

• Extraverts tend to take on leadership roles.
• Agreeableness is especially significant in
  careers where teamwork or customer service is
  important.
• Conscientious individuals have high levels of job
  performance.
• Openness to experience is related to performance
  in training programs.

46
Why Care About Globalization?

• You are likely to spend part of your career in
  other countries.
• According to Andrew Grove, with globalization
  every employee will compete with every person in
  the world who is capable of doing the same job.
  There are a lot of them, and many of them are
  very hungry.
• You may suddenly find yourself working for a
  foreign firm.
• Your firm -- and your job -- will increasingly
  depend on international trade.
• You will be managing a culturally diverse
  workforce even if you never leave the U.S.

47
Diversity on the New York Yankees

• During the 1998 season New York Yankees pitching
  coach Mel Stottlemeyer did a masterful job of
  overseeing one of the most international pitching
  staffs in major league baseball.
• The staff included Graeme Lloyd from Australia,
  Orlando El Duque Hernandez from Cuba, Hideki
  Irabu from Japan, and Ramiro Mendoza and Mariano
  Rivera from Panama.
• They led the Yankees to 114 wins, the most in
  American League history.

48
The Hofstede Framework

• Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher who worked as
  a psychologist for IBM, studied 116,000 people
  working in 64 countries.
• He identified five important dimensions on which
  national cultures differ.

49
The Hofstede Framework
National Culture
50
Individualism and Collectivism

• Individualism refers to a loosely knit social
  framework in which people are chiefly supposed to
  look after their own interests and those of their
  immediate family. The society offers individuals
  a great amount of freedom.
• Collectivism refers to a tight social framework
  in which people expect other groups to which they
  belong to look after them and protect them in
  times of trouble. In exchange for security, they
  offer loyalty. The nail that sticks out will be
  pounded down.
• Individualistic countries include Australia, the
  U.S., Great Britain, and the Netherlands.
  Collectivist countries include Columbia,
  Pakistan, Venezuela, Peru, and Taiwan.

51
Power Distance

• Power Distance is the degree to which a society
  accepts the fact that power in institutions and
  organizations is distributed unequally.
• A high-power-distance society accepts wide
  differences in power in organizations. Employees
  show great respect for authority, titles, status,
  and rank. Titles are important in bargaining.
• A low-power-distance society plays down
  inequalities as much as possible.
• High-power-distance countries include the
  Philippines, Mexico, and India.
  Low-power-distance countries include Denmark,
  Israel, and Ireland.

52
Uncertainty Avoidance

• Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the way societies
  deal with uncertainty.
• In low-uncertainty-avoidance countries people are
  relatively comfortable with risks, and are more
  tolerant of behavior and opinions that differ
  from their own.
• In high-uncertainty-avoidance countries, there is
  a high level of anxiety among the people.
• Formal rules and other mechanisms are created to
  provide security and reduce risk.
• There is less tolerance of deviant ideas and
  behaviors.
• Members strive to believe in absolute truths.
• Low-uncertainty-avoidance countries include
  Switzerland Denmark. High-uncertainty-avoidance
  countries include Japan Greece.

53
Quality Versus Quantity of Life

• Some cultures emphasize the quantity of life and
  value assertiveness and the acquisition of money
  and natural things.
• Some cultures emphasize the quality of life and
  the importance of relationships, and show
  sensitivity and concern for the welfare of
  others.
• Japan and Austria score high on quantity of life.
  Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland score high
  on quality of life.

54
Time Orientation

• A long-term orientation is derived from values of
  thrift (saving) and persistence in achieving
  goals.
• A short-term orientation is derived from values
  that express a concern for maintaining personal
  stability or happiness and living for the
  present.
• Japan and Hong Kong have a long-term orientation,
  while France and Indonesia have a short-term
  orientation.

55
High-Context and Low-Context Cultures

• Another key factor is whether cultures are high
  or low context.
• In a high-context culture, such as most Asian,
  Hispanic, African, and Arab countries, the
  context in which communication occurs is just as
  important as the words that are actually spoken,
  and cultural clues are important in understanding
  what is being communicated. The context includes
  the social setting, use of phrasing, gestures,
  and tone of voice, and the persons history and
  status.
• In a low-context culture, such as Germany and the
  U.S., the words used by the speaker explicitly
  convey the speakers message to the listener.

56
Context and Nonverbal Communications

• Nonverbal communications are especially important
  in high-context cultures. Most immigrants to the
  U.S. are now coming from high-context cultures.
• Nonverbal communications have dramatically
  different meanings across cultures. For example
• Nodding your head means Yes in most countries
  but No in Bulgaria and Greece.
• The classic OK sign of thumb and forefinger
  forming a circle can imply money in Japan,
  means worthless in France, and is considered an
  obscene gesture in Brazil, Germany, and Russia.
• In Saudi Arabia, to cross your legs in such a way
  as to display the sole of your foot to your host
  is a grievous affront.
• Americans expect eye contact in a conversation,
  but Hispanics consider eye contact, especially
  with a superior, to be disrespectful.

57
The Bottom LineManaging Cross-Cultural
Differences
Develop an Understanding of the Cultural
Beliefs and Practices of Others
58
Maintaining Accurate Perceptions

• We all live in our own world.
• It is a world created by our attempts to sift
  through, to organize, and to interpret the
  tremendous number of things we see, hear, feel,
  and otherwise constantly sense.
• It is different from all other worlds -- the
  unique product of a complex process.
• The truth in our world depends on whether
  something is consistent with the rest of that
  world.
• The nature of our unique world helps determine
  how we behave.

59
The Perceptual Process

• Perception is the complex process by which we
  select, organize, and interpret sensory stimuli
  into a meaningful and coherent picture of the
  world.
• The perceptual process involves several steps,
  including sensation, selection, organization, and
  translation.
• In the first step, sensation, many stimuli impact
  on our sensory filters, but only some are sensed.
  Others are filtered out, perhaps because they
  are at very low levels or are not in a particular
  range.

60
The Perceptual Process(Figure 2-2)
Stimuli
61
Selecting Stimuli

• If our perceptions were not selective, we would
  be overwhelmed.
• Many factors affect selection, some of which are
  potentially troublesome.
• Perceptual readiness causes us to see things we
  expect to see.
• Different people will select stimuli based on
  their needs and personalities.
• Stimuli that contrast with the surrounding
  environment are more likely to be selected.
• Repetition of a stimulus makes it more likely to
  be perceived.

62
Organizing Stimuli

• Once stimuli have been selected, they must be
  organized in a useful framework.
• Things we group together tend to be recalled
  together, and their meanings tend to influence
  one another.
• In general, we are likely to group things that
  are somehow similar.
• We tend to organize things so closure occurs.
  That is, we close up or fill in missing parts
  to create a meaningful whole.

63
Interpreting Stimuli

• We interpret stimuli at the translation step of
  the perceptual process.
• The way we interpret the stimuli we have selected
  and organized depends on the situation, our
  characteristics, and the characteristics of the
  thing being perceived.
• Many distortions of objective reality are
  possible at the translation stage. Some of
  these, such as the Hering illusion, are simply
  due to quirks in the way our senses work.
• Other distortions are more subtle but no less
  important. These include stereotyping, Pygmalion
  effect, halo effect, projection, primacy/recency
  effects, and perceptual defense.

64
The Hering Illusion(Figure 2-4)
The Hering Illusion illustrates a quirk in the
way our senses work. Two parallel lines appear
curved because of the nature of their background.
65
Stereotyping

• Walter Lippmann coined the term stereotyping in
  1922, describing stereotypes as pictures in
  peoples heads that distorted their perceptions
  of others.
• The term is now often used to mean the forming of
  an opinion of people based on group membership.
• Stereotyping, if accurate, may be useful since it
  efficiently places information into categories.
  When we face new situations, stereotypes provide
  guidelines to help classify people.
• Unfortunately, stereotyping may lead to a
  distorted view of the situation if stereotyping
  is based on false premises.
• Stereotyping in work organizations may be harmful
  to minority group members, older workers, and
  females.

66
Pygmalion Effect

• Pygmalion effect refers to creating something in
  the image we have of it.
• It is a prime example of self-fulfilling
  prophecy.
• Teachers, managers, and others often demonstrate
  this effect.
• For instance, teachers who were told that certain
  students were especially intelligent (when, in
  fact, they were not) later perceived those
  students to show signs of greater intelligence
  and higher performance. As a result, they
  treated them differently. These intelligent
  students then showed gains in intellectual
  capacity, while others did not.

67
Halo Effect

• Halo Effect refers to a process in which a judge
  uses a general impression that is favorable or
  unfavorable (a horns effect) to evaluate
  specific traits.
• Sometimes one trait, such as a subordinates
  enthusiasm, forms the halo.
• So, if the boss feels the subordinate is
  enthusiastic, he or she may also see the
  subordinate as loyal, efficient, courteous, and
  so on.
• If we make evaluations on the basis of a halo and
  the traits arent really linked, the result is
  halo error.

68
Other Perceptual Distortions

• Projection is the tendency to project our own
  characteristics on others. For instance, if we
  feel fearful, we may perceive others as fearful.
  People with traits such as stinginess or
  obstinacy tend to rate others as relatively high
  on these traits.
• Primacy/Recency Effects. We give especially
  heavy weight to stimuli we receive early (a
  primacy effect) or recently (a recency effect).
  Intermediate stimuli receive less weight.
• Perceptual Defense. When we face information we
  find to be threatening or unacceptable, our
  perceptions try to defend us. We may fail to
  perceive the troublesome stimuli, or we may
  distort our perceptions of the stimuli to make
  them less troublesome.

69
Implicit Theories

• Implicit theories are theories in peoples minds.
• For instance, we may believe that jobs offering
  more challenge also offer more authority. Or we
  may believe that leaders who let their
  subordinates participate more in decision making
  also care more about their subordinates.
• These implicit theories may be correct or
  incorrect.
• Implicit theories may influence perceptions at
  the selection, organization, and translation
  stages.
• For instance, if we see evidence concerning one
  element of the theory, we are likely to perceive
  other elements also.

70
Causal Attribution

• Causal attribution is the process of forming
  perceptions about the causes underlying others
  behaviors.
• Causal attribution may be especially important to
  determine whether the behaviors were the result
  of internal factors, such as the persons motives
  or traits, or of external factors, such as luck
  or the situation.

71
Causal Attribution (Cont.)

• According to attribution theory, we try to sort
  out the causes of an individuals behavior by
  considering three factors
• Did others act the same way in the same
  situation?
• Does this person always act this way in this
  situation?
• Does this person act differently in other
  situations?
• This process is prone to error. For instance, we
  tend to attribute the behavior of others to
  internal factors, even when this is not
  appropriate. Also, self-serving bias -- the
  tendency to take credit for successes and deny
  personal responsibility for failures -- is often
  seen.

72
Focus on ManagementAttribution Theory at Boots
the Chemist

• Boots the Chemist, a British pharmaceutical firm,
  wanted a test to select potential sales
  assistants.
• It developed a new questionnaire based on
  attribution theory.
• It was predicted -- and shown in subsequent
  research -- that the most successful sales
  performers and those rated most highly for their
  customer care would be more likely to attribute
  outcomes to controllable factors, such as their
  own effort or choice of sales strategies.
• The questionnaire is now used in the selection
  process for sales assistants and to help identify
  developmental needs.

73
Reducing Perceptual Errors

• People who are aware of their own characteristics
  make fewer errors in perceiving others and are
  less likely to see the world in black-and-white
  terms.
• People who are able to accept themselves as they
  are can see a wider range of characteristics in
  others and may be less prone to projection.
• Simple knowledge of such tendencies as halo
  error, stereotyping, and self-serving bias may
  help to avoid them.
• It is important to make a conscious effort to
  attend to relevant information and to test
  reality.

74
The Bottom LineIncreasing Perceptual Accuracy
Talk to All Parties Involved in
the Situation Individually -- Emphasize
Obtaining Objective Information
75
Attitudes

• Attitudes are the beliefs, feelings, and
  behavioral tendencies held by a person about an
  object, event, or person (called the attitude
  object).

76
The Components of Attitudes

• The cognitive component of attitudes is our
  cognitions, or beliefs about the facts pertaining
  to the attitude object. This is descriptive
  information rather than liking or intentions.
• The affective component of attitudes is made up
  of our feelings toward the attitude object. The
  affective component involves evaluation and
  emotion.
• The behavioral tendency component of attitudes is
  the way we intend to behave toward the attitude
  object.

77
The Components of Attitudes(Figure 2-5)
78
Why Care About Attitudes?

• Attitudes may influence work behaviors, such as
  turnover or absenteeism.
• Attitudes may influence things of direct concern
  to the employee, such as stress levels, ability
  to sleep, and attitudes toward other aspects of
  life.
• Attitudes are important for their own sake,
  independent of their consequences. Employees
  spend half their waking lives at work.

79
Some Potential Relationships of Attitudes to
Behaviors (Figure 2-6)
80
Job Satisfaction

• Job satisfaction is the affective component of
  work-related attitudes.
• Quite simply, it is how employees feel about
  their jobs.
• Managers may be concerned about employees
  satisfaction with specific facets of the job, as
  well as about their overall job satisfaction.

81
Job Facet Satisfaction and Overall Satisfaction
(Figure 2-7)
Overall Job Satisfaction
82
Measuring Job Satisfaction

• Measuring job satisfaction provides information
  concerning what is, and isnt, being done
  correctly in the workplace.
• The most popular approach to measuring job
  satisfaction is to use standardized scales. They
  have been widely used and tested, and norm data
  are often available.
• The Job Descriptive Index (JDI) is the best-known
  scale to measure facets of job satisfaction.
• It is often helpful to assess overall job
  satisfaction as well.

83
Measuring Job Satisfaction (Cont.)

• In addition to paper-and-pencil tests,
  satisfaction may be assessed by use of the
  critical incidents method, interviews, or
  confrontation meetings.
• The critical incidents method as applied to
  measuring job satisfaction asks employees to
  recall incidents that were particularly
  satisfying or dissatisfying to them.
• Interviews allow in-depth questioning about the
  nature and causes of sources of satisfaction or
  dissatisfaction.
• Confrontation meetings bring together groups of
  employees who are encouraged to openly express
  their feelings about their jobs.

84
Job Descriptive Index Supervision Subscale
Sample Items (Figure 2-8)

• The following adjectives and phrases describe
  five aspects of a job the work itself,
  supervision, pay, promotions, and coworkers.
  Carefully consider each adjective or phrase and
  indicate whether or not it is true of your job by
  circling
• Y for YES, this is true of my job.
• ? for I cannot decide if this is true of my
  job.
• N for NO, this is not true of my job.
• The Supervision on My Job
• Asks my advice Y ? N
• Hard to please .. Y ? N
• Impolite .. Y ? N
• Influential ... Y ? N
• Stubborn Y ? N
• Knows job well . Y ? N

85
Determinants of Job Satisfaction

• There are two primary views of the determinants
  of job satisfaction -- situational and
  dispositional.
• The situational perspective sees satisfaction as
  largely due to things in the environment of the
  employee, such as the nature of the job, reward
  system and supervision. If this view is correct,
  it may be possible to influence satisfaction
  levels by changing such things.
• The dispositional perspective sees satisfaction
  as due to individual factors -- some people are
  simply more satisfied in general than are others
  -- and thus as relatively stable and more
  difficult to change. If this view is valid,
  varying the situation may have little impact on
  satisfaction.

86
Situational Determinants of Satisfaction

• Many work-related factors influence job
  satisfaction (see Figure 2-9).
• Among these, equitable rewards, work itself, and
  others in the organization (such as the
  supervisor) are quite important.
• We examine the specific roles of many of these
  factors in later chapters.

87
Dispositional Determinants of Satisfaction

• A direct approach to examining the dispositional
  perspective is simply to measure the degree to
  which people seem to be generally positive or
  negative in their outlooks.
• These are called positive affectivity and
  negative affectivity. Research consistently
  shows these measures to predict levels of job
  satisfaction.
• The dispositional view is also supported by
  studies that follow people as they move across
  jobs through their lives one study found overall
  attitudes to be quite stable over a period of
  nearly 50 years.
• Another interesting approach to examining the
  dispositional view looks at identical twins
  reared apart. One famous study found identical
  twins reared apart to have considerable
  similarity in satisfaction levels despite
  different jobs.

88
Work-Related Influences on Satisfaction(From
Figure 2-9)
89
The Bottom LineEnhancing Employee Job
Satisfaction
Assess Employee Satisfaction with Various Job
Facets
90
Job Involvement

• Job involvement is the degree to which employees
  really are involved with -- that is, get into
  -- their jobs. Job involvement is high when the
  job is very important in the persons life and
  central to the persons self-concept.
• Statements reflecting high job involvement
  include
• The most important things that happen to me
  involve my job.
• The major satisfaction of my life comes from my
  job.
• I live, eat, and breathe my job.
• Companies want their employees to be involved in
  their jobs, but overly high levels of job
  involvement may be undesirable.
• Work involvement relates to work in general
  rather than the specific job.

91
Work Involvement Across Cultures

• Americans work longer hours and take less leisure
  time off than peoples of other advanced nations.
• The average hours worked per year in 2001 were
• 1,877 in the United States
• 1,840 in Japan
• 1,708 in Great Britain
• 1,596 in France
• 1,480 in Germany

92
Organizational Commitment

• Organizational commitment reflects the degree to
  which the employee shows
• (1) a strong desire to remain as a member of the
  organization
• (2) a willingness to exert high levels of effort
  on behalf of the organization
• (3) a belief in, and acceptance of, the values
  and goals of the organization.

93
Organizational Commitment (Cont.)

• Affective commitment is an emotional attachment
  characterized by strong affective ties to the
  organization and psychological identification
  with it. It flows from liking the firm, sharing
  its values, and caring about its fate.
• Continuance commitment results from consideration
  of the benefits of organizational membership and
  the perceived costs of leaving. It flows from
  the belief that one needs to stay with the firm
  since better alternatives are lacking.
• High levels of organizational commitment, while
  generally desirable, may cause poor-performing
  employees to be reluctant to leave, may stifle
  dissent, and may even lead to illegal or
  unethical acts.

94
Real and Expressed Attitudes

• Peoples expressed attitudes may differ
  dramatically from their true attitudes.
• People may hide or falsely report their true
  attitudes because they feel the attitudes may be
  unpopular or somehow lead to retribution.
• Further, they may attempt to disguise their
  emotions, since emotions reflect attitudes.
• In many cases, employees are required to express
  certain emotions as part of their work roles,
  such as employees who are told they must smile.
  As such, these employees smiles say nothing
  about their true feelings.

95
Do Attitudes Cause Behaviors?

• Many researchers have found surprisingly weak
  links between attitudes and behaviors.
• One reason for this is that people may have no
  choice but to behave in certain ways. They may,
  for instance, stay on jobs they hate because they
  have no alternatives.
• It is important to recognize that a persons
  behavior depends on many things beyond attitude,
  including pressures exerted by others, the nature
  of the job market, and personality
  characteristics.
• On the other hand, research may underestimate the
  strength of the linkage of attitudes to behaviors
  if people dont reveal their true attitudes or
  the measures of attitudes or behaviors are poor.

96
When Do Attitudes Best Predict Behaviors?

• In general, attitudes will best predict behaviors
  when
• The attitude is specific to the behavior.
• The attitude is potent.
• The attitude is salient (that is, more noticeable
  or prominent in our attention).
• The behavior is not constrained or subject to
  other influences.

97
Some Potential Consequences of Dissatisfaction
(Figure 2-10)
98
Satisfaction and Turnover

• Costs of turnover include disruption of the work
  process, the loss of employees with valuable
  skills, knowledge, and experience, and low
  productivity of new employees during the training
  period.
• In some industries, turnover rates may exceed
  100 annually. Overall, voluntary turnover rates
  were 20.3 in 2002.
• Research clearly shows that more satisfied
  workers are less likely to leave the firm. A
  little over 15 of the variance in turnover is
  related to variance in satisfaction.
• The relationship of satisfaction to turnover is
  indirect and is influenced by many pressures and
  factors, such as wishes of family members,
  feelings about the community, aversion to change,
  and economic conditions.

99
A Model of the Relationship of Satisfaction to
Turnover (Figure 2-11)
Job Satisfaction
100
Satisfaction and Absenteeism

• Absenteeism can be quite costly for companies.
  Typically, companies continue to pay absent
  employees. Also, absenteeism causes costly
  disruptions, such as the need to reschedule work
  and reassign employees.
• One estimate is that such disruptions cause
  productivity to drop by as much as 2.5 for every
  1 increase in absenteeism.
• An estimated 400 million person-days are lost
  annually to absenteeism, at a cost of 25
  billion.
• In 2002, overall absence rates were 4.12 and
  absenteeism cost firms an average of 789 per
  employee.
• Satisfaction and absenteeism are negatively
  related, though the association is not as strong
  as we might expect.
• While job satisfaction may influence motivation
  to attend, attendance also depends on pressure to
  attend and ability to attend.

101
A Model of the Relationship ofSatisfaction to
Attendance (Figure 2-12)
Job Satisfaction
102
Satisfaction and Performance

• While it seems reasonable to expect that
  satisfied workers would be more productive, many
  studies show this is not the case, at least to
  any appreciable degree.
• Early studies of the satisfaction - performance
  relationship concluded that the relationship is
  so low as to be negligible a major statistical
  summary of previous research showed that only
  about 3 of the variance in performance was
  associated with variance in satisfaction.
• While the traditional view of this relationship
  viewed satisfaction as causing performance, it
  may be the case that performance causes
  satisfaction.

103
Satisfaction and Performance(Continued)

• According to this view, performance levels affect
  the rewards people receive. If employees feel
  their rewards are fair, they will be satisfied.
  If not, they will be dissatisfied.
• If this model is correct, why arent
  satisfaction-performance relationships stronger?
  Quite simply, because some companies dont
  properly reward employees.
• Most studies of the satisfaction - performance
  relationship have used a narrow definition of
  performance, such as quantity of output.
• Research shows that broader measures of
  performance -- such as organizational citizenship
  behaviors -- are more directly caused by
  satisfaction.

104
Two Views of the Satisfaction-Performance
Relationship (Figure 2-13)
(a) View 1 Satisfaction Causes Performance
(b) View 2 Performance Causes Satisfaction
105
Satisfaction and Work Violence

• Workplace violence, including homicide, is
  increasing. Homicide is now the number-3
  work-related cause of death, and is the leading
  cause of death for women in the workplace.
• An estimated 1.7 million workers are injured in
  nonfatal workplace assaults annually and more
  than 1,000 are murdered.
• Dissatisfaction does play a role in this
  violence. Violence is especially great in
  regimented settings, such as post offices, where
  employees feel they have no control over their
  work.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  have formally declared workplace homicide an
  epidemic.
• Some firms, such as IBM, are training managers to
  recognize aggressive behavior and effectively
  deal with it through communication and conflict
  management.

106
Satisfaction and Nonwork Life

• Some possible relationships of job satisfaction
  to satisfaction with nonwork life include
• Perhaps job satisfaction carries over to nonwork
  satisfaction (a spillover view).
• Perhaps employees who are satisfied at work
  devote so much time and energy at work that they
  ignore other aspects of their lives, resulting in
  low satisfaction with nonwork life.
• Perhaps employees compensate for dissatisfaction
  at work by focusing more on home life and finding
  satisfaction there.
• Most research supports the spillover view that
  satisfaction in one sphere of life seems to
  increase satisfaction in other spheres.

107
The Financial Impact of Attitudes

• The area of behavioral accounting is trying to
  assess the financial impact of attitudes.
• It does this by examining the costs of such
  behaviors as turnover and absenteeism and the
  strength of their links to attitudes.
• One study used behavioral accounting to estimate
  the costs of absenteeism, turnover, and balancing
  shortages of 160 bank tellers.
• The study concluded that moderate improvements in
  attitudes averaging perhaps 0.7 on a seven-point
  scale would yield the bank savings of 781,892,
  or 4,886.83 per employee.

108
The Role of Mood

• Mood is a transient mental state or attitude,
  perhaps caused by something as fleeting as a
  sunny day, convenient parking spot, or good meal.
• Mood can affect job satisfaction as well as
  behaviors.
• People who are in a good mood do helpful things.
• Interestingly, bad mood also often leads to
  helping behaviors helping others makes us feel
  better about ourselves.
• Helping softens a bad mood and sustains a good
  mood.
• Important work behaviors such as prosocial
  behaviors may be heavily influenced by mood.

109
Do Behaviors Cause Attitudes?

• Behaviors may cause attitudes by
• Dissonance reduction. Cognitive dissonance is an
  uncomfortable situation in which we have
  conflicting thoughts, such as I dont like my
  job, but I stay on it. To reduce the
  dissonance, we may change one or both cognitions
  to make them consistent. So, we may change our
  attitudes to make them consistent with our
  behaviors.
• Consequences of behavior. Behaviors may lead to
  consequences that affect attitudes. For example,
  performance may lead to a pay increase which may
  lead to increased satisfaction with pay.

110
Do Behaviors Cause Attitudes? (Cont.)

• Self-Attribution. Behaving in a certain way can
  lead us to make corresponding attributions about
  ourselves. For example, smiling (for no good
  reason) can apparently induce a good mood and
  increase willingness to laugh at humorous
  material. Even though were playing a role, we
  seem to internalize the attitudes and moods that
  maintain the role.
• Indoctrination. Brainwashing and cult
  recruitment are two forms of indoctrination that
  have proven to be effective. In brainwashing,
  for instance, torture or threat may be used to
  cause victims to yield to their oppressors
  cause. As victims engage in the behavior and
  pressure is reduced, they come to infer that the
  behavior was voluntary, and their attitudes
  change accordingly.