PART FIVE
C H A P T E R
F O U R T E E N
Foundations of
Behavior
14
Lecture Outline
Introduction
Why Look at Individual Behavior?
Focus of Organizational Behavior
Goals of Organizational Behavior
Attitudes
Job Satisfaction
Job Involvement and Organizational
Commitment
Attitudes and Consistency
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Attitude Surveys
Implications for Managers
Personality
MBTI
The Big-Five Model
Additional Personality Insights
Personality Types in Different Cultures
Emotions and Emotional Intelligence
Implications for Managers
Perception
Factors That Influence Perception
Attribution Theory
Shortcuts Frequently Used in Judging
Others
Implications for Managers
Learning
Operant Conditioning
Social Learning
Shaping: A Managerial Tool
Implications for Managers
In their study of Chapter Fourteen, your students
will have an opportunity to learn fundamental
information about individual and group behavior
in the workplace. This chapter explores key topics
related to the behavior of individuals at work
including attitudes, personality, perception,
learning, and motivation. Students will look at
dynamics of group behavior that encompass
norms, roles, team building, leadership, and
conflict resolution. In exploring these dimensions
of organizational behavior, the text lays the
foundation for understanding how and why people
behave the way they do within the organization’s
environment.
In “A Manager’s Dilemma,” students read of
challenges faced by Naguib Sawiris, chairman
and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding, a
telecommunications company headquartered in
Cairo. Choosing to operate in “difficult and
primitive target areas” such as Algeria, Tunisia,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iraq, the company
strives to develop employees in each of its
locations in order to provide the best service
possible to its more than 25 million users. Naguib
Sawiris, as well as managers of organizations in
less volatile circumstances, must understand the
myriad aspects of human behavior within their
organizations in order to provide the most
efficient and effective services and products to
their customers. As students put themselves in
Naguib Sawiris’s position, they are asked, “How
can he make sure that his company hires
employees with [the necessary] attitudes and
personality?”
200
A variety of PowerPoint slides, including both original text art and newly created
images, are available for your use in enhancing the presentation of Chapter Fourteen
materials to your students.
ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1.
INTRODUCTION
This chapter examines numerous factors that influence employee behavior and
their implications for managers.
 NOTES
2.
WHY LOOK AT INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR?
Behavior is how people act. Organizational behavior is the study of how
people act at work. The visible organization can be described as the tip of an
iceberg; many of the important issues involved in understanding OB are not
easily observed. (See Exhibit 14-1 and PowerPoint slide 14-7.)
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.1 Even if managers can control behavior, is it ethical for them to do so?
A.
 NOTES
B.
 NOTES
Focus of Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior focuses on two major areas:
1.
Individual behavior
2.
Group behavior
Materials I Plan to Use:
The goals of OB are to explain, predict, and influence behavior.
Materials I Plan to Use:
201
3.
ATTITUDES
Attitudes are defined as evaluative statements—favorable or unfavorable—
concerning objects, people, or events.
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.2 Can managers control employee behavior?
A.
 NOTES
Q&A
Attitudes have three components: cognitive, affective, and behavioral.
1.
The cognitive component of an attitude is the part of an
attitude that is made up of the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or
information held by a person.
2.
The affective component of an attitude is that part of an
attitude that is the emotional, or feeling, part.
3.
The behavioral component of an attitude is that part of an
attitude that refers to an intention to behave in a certain way.
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.3 Why should managers care about employees’ attitudes?
B.
 NOTES
Q&A
Managers are particularly interested in the job-related attitudes of
employees. Job-related attitudes include job satisfaction, job
involvement, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship
behavior.
1.
Job satisfaction is an employee’s general attitude toward his or
her job.
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.4 Does job satisfaction vary predominantly by characteristics in a job?
Passport
Passport Part 5 Scenario 2
Have students complete Passport Part 5 Scenario 2 dealing with attitudes.
202
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Job Satisfaction
Have students complete SAL #I.B.3 “How Satisfied Am I with My Job?” Students
should consider the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand how people feel
about their jobs?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
2.
 NOTES
Job involvement is the degree to which an employee identifies
with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his
or her job performance important to his or her self-worth.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Job Involvement
Have students complete SAL #I.B.2 “How Involved Am I in My Job?” Students should
consider the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand how people relate
to their jobs?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
3.
 NOTES
Organizational commitment is an employee’s orientation
toward the organization in terms of his or her loyalty to,
identification with, and involvement in the organization.
Materials I Plan to Use:
203
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Commitment
Have students complete SAL #III.B.2 “How Committed Am I to My Organization?”
Students should consider the following:



What did you learn about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything surprise
you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand how people relate
to their jobs?
How do you think this information could help you as a manager?
4.
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
D.
 NOTES
A fourth job-related concept is organizational citizenship
behavior, which is the discretionary behavior that is not part of
an employee’s formal job requirements, but promotes the
effective functioning of the organization.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Attitudes and Consistency
Research has generally shown that people seek consistency among their
attitudes and between their attitudes and their behavior.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Does the consistency principle mean that we can predict an individual’s
behavior if we know his or her attitude on a subject? The answer
depends.
Materials I Plan to Use:
1.
2.
3.
Cognitive dissonance refers to any inconsistency that an
individual might perceive between attitudes or between behavior
and attitudes.
This dissonance or inconsistency leads to an uncomfortable state
for the individual, who will try to reduce the inconsistency.
The desire to reduce dissonance is determined by (a) the
importance of the factors creating the dissonance, (b) the degree
of influence the individual believes he/she has over those
factors, and (c) the rewards that may be involved in dissonance.
204
4.
 NOTES
E.
 NOTES
Individuals reduce dissonance either by changing the behavior,
concluding that the dissonant behavior is not so important after
all, or by changing the attitude.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Attitude surveys are surveys that ask employees how they feel about
their jobs, work groups, supervisors, or the organization. Exhibit 14-2
provides a sample of an attitude survey. (See also PowerPoint slide
14-22.)
Materials I Plan to Use:
Q&A
14.5 What’s the relationship between an employee’s job satisfaction and his or her
work behavior?
Q&A
14.6 What is cognitive dissonance theory?
F.
 NOTES
The Satisfaction-Productivity Controversy
A controversy exists concerning the relationship between satisfaction
and productivity. Are happy workers productive workers?
1.
Following the Hawthorne Studies, many managers believed that
if they kept their employees happy, the employees would be
productive.
2.
A review of the research on worker productivity indicates that if
satisfaction does have a positive effect on productivity, that
effect is fairly small.
3.
Rather, managers should focus on factors that are conducive to a
high degree of employee satisfaction. Such factors include
mentally challenging work, equitable rewards, supportive
working conditions, and supportive colleagues.
Materials I Plan to Use:
205
G.
 NOTES
Q&A
4.
The implication for managers from understanding attitudes is that there
is relatively strong evidence that committed and satisfied employees
have lower rates of turnover and absenteeism. Also, the belief that
making employees happy will make them productive needs to be
reexamined.
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.7 What are the implications of cognitive dissonance theory for managers?
PERSONALITY
Personality is defined is the unique combination of emotional, thought, and
behavioral patterns that affect how a person reacts and interacts with others.
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Personality
Have students complete SAL #I.A.1 “What’s My Basic Personality?” Students should
consider the following:



Q&A
What did you discover about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand other people?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
14.8 How can a manager use personality theories to improve employee job
performance?
A.
Two models for classifying personality traits are widely used: the
MBTI® and the Big Five Model.
1.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) is a general
personality assessment (see PowerPoint slide 14-25).
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Jungian Personality
Have students complete SAL #I.A.2 “What’s My Jungian 16-Type Personality?”
Students should consider the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand other people?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
206
The MBTI® measures four dimensions:
1)
Social interaction: extrovert (E) or introvert (I)
2)
Preference for gathering data: sensing (S) or
intuitive (N)
3)
Preference for decision making: feeling (F) or
thinking (T)
4)
Style of making decisions: perceptive (P) or
judgmental (J)
b.
Combining these preferences provides descriptions
about 16 different personality types.
c.
Examples of MBTI® personality types are shown in
Exhibit 14-3 and PowerPoint slide 14-27.
The Big Five Model. The Big-Five Model is a five-factor model
of personality (see PowerPoint slide 14-28).
a.
Research has shown that important relationships exist
between these personality dimensions and job
performance.
b.
The personality traits in the Big-Five Model are listed
below:
1)
Extraversion
2)
Agreeableness
3)
Conscientiousness
4)
Emotional Stability
5)
Openness to Experience
a.
2.
 NOTES
B.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Additional Personality Insights. Personality researchers have identified
five additional personality traits that have proved to be the most
powerful in explaining individual behavior in organizations: locus of
control, Machiavellianism, self-esteem, self-monitoring, and risk-taking.
1.
Locus of control is the degree to which people believe they
control their own fate. Locus of control can be either external or
internal.
Materials I Plan to Use:
207
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Type-A Personality
Have students complete SAL #I.A.3 “Am I a Type-A?” Students should consider the
following:



What did you learn about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything surprise
you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand the behavior of
others?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
2.
3.
4.
 NOTES
Machiavellianism is the degree to which people are pragmatic,
maintain emotional distance, and believe that ends justify
means.
Self-esteem is an individual’s degree of like or dislike for
himself or herself.
Self-monitoring is an individual’s ability to adjust his or her
behavior to external situational factors.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Impression
Management
Have students complete SAL #I.C.4 “How Well Do I Manage Impressions?” Students
should consider the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you be more effective?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
5.
 NOTES
Risk-taking refers to an individual’s willingness to take risks.
Materials I Plan to Use:
208
Self-Assessment Library
Exercises in Creativity
Have students complete SAL #I.A.5 “How Creative Am I?” Students should consider the
following:
What did you learn about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything surprise
you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand the risk behavior of
people?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?



C.
 NOTES
?
Personality Types in Different Cultures. Do these personality types
transfer across cultures? Although no common personality types are
found in a given national culture a country’s culture can influence
dominant personality characteristics of its people. This is particularly
true for the personality trait, locus of control.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Focus on Leadership
Know Thyself
In this course, your students are learning about qualities and skills necessary for successful
leadership in a business organization. In Chapter Fourteen, they will read about the vital
component of emotional intelligence and its role in their own development as effective
leaders. To engage students in considering aspects of their present EI, ask them to access
the following Web site outside of class and take the Emotional Intelligence Quiz 1:
http://ei.haygroup.com/resources/default_ieitest.htm
When students submit their responses online, they will be given an EI score for the quiz.
Have each student read carefully the “Basics of Emotional Intelligence” below his/her score
and the information explaining the possible answer choices for each quiz question.
Following this assignment, lead a class discussion of EI, encouraging students to describe
what they learned about EI in taking the quiz and how well they think their quiz score
reflects their own EI. (Emphasize to students that no individual score will be revealed or
discussed in this activity.) Encourage your students to explore the subject of EI in readings
in the library and on the Internet to further develop their emotional intelligence in
preparation for a more successful professional and personal life.
1
Emotional Intelligence Services (HayGroup). When it comes to emotional intelligence, how savvy
are you? (1999-2005). Retrieved November 4, 2006, from http://ei.haygroup.com/resources/
default_ieitest.htm
209
D.
 NOTES
5.
Materials I Plan to Use:
PERCEPTION
Perception is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory impressions in
order to give meaning to the environment.
 NOTES
Q&A
Emotions and Emotional Intelligence. The benefit of a manager’s
understanding personality differences is clearly seen in the area of
employee selection. Just as individual personalities differ, so too do
jobs. Efforts have been made to match the proper personalities with the
proper jobs.
1.
John Holland has developed the best-documented personalityjob fit theory (see Exhibit 14-4).
2.
The key points of his model: Intrinsic differences in personality
probably do exist among individuals; there are different types of
jobs; and people who work in job environments congruent with
their personality types should be more satisfied.
3.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to notice and to
manage emotional cues and information.
4.
Emotional intelligence is composed of five dimensions:
a.
Self-awareness
b.
Self-management
c.
Self-motivation
d.
Empathy
e.
Social skills
5.
Research has shown that emotional intelligence is positively
related to job performance at all organizational levels.
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.9 If everyone perceives things differently, how can a manager ever decide the best
way to manage?
A.
What factors influence perception? (Show PowerPoint slide 14-27 to
your students at this point and ask for their reactions). A number of
factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception:
1.
The perceiver
2.
The target (See Exhibit 14-5 and PowerPoint slide 14-39)
3.
The situation
210
 NOTES
B.
 NOTES
Q&A
Attribution theory is a theory that explains how we judge people
differently depending on the meaning we attribute to a given behavior.
The determination of the cause of the behavior depends on three factors:
distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency.
1.
Distinctiveness refers to whether an individual displays different
behavior in different situations.
2.
Consensus refers to whether an individual who is faced with a
similar situation responds in the same way with the same
behavior.
3.
Consistency refers to the congruency in a person’s actions, that
is, whether the person engages in the behaviors regularly and
consistently.
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.10 Do managers really use attribution theory? If so, how?
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
4.
Exhibit 14-6 and PowerPoint slide 14-41 summarize the key
elements of attribution theory.
5.
One of the most interesting findings of attribution theory is that
there are errors or biases that distort attributions.
a.
The fundamental attribution error refers to the
tendency to underestimate the influence of external
factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors
when making judgments about the behavior of others.
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.11 What predictions can we make based on the fundamental attribution error?
b.
Self-serving bias is the tendency for individuals to
attribute their own successes to internal factors while
putting the blame for failures on external factors.
211
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
D.
 NOTES
6.
Materials I Plan to Use:
There are four frequently used shortcuts we use in judging others.
1.
Selectivity refers to the process by which people assimilate
certain bits and pieces of what they observe, depending on their
interests, background, and attitudes.
2.
Assumed similarity is the belief that others are like oneself.
3.
Stereotyping refers to judging a person on the basis of one’s
perception of a group to which he or she belongs.
4.
Halo effect refers to a general impression of an individual based
on a single characteristic.
Materials I Plan to Use:
The implication for managers regarding perception and its impact on
employee behavior is that they need to recognize that their employees
react to perceptions, not reality.
Materials I Plan to Use:
LEARNING
Learning is any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result
of experience.
A.
Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which desired voluntary
behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.
1.
B. F. Skinner is the psychologist most often associated with
operant conditioning theory.
2.
Operant conditioning theory proposes that behavior is
determined from without (that is, learned) rather than from
within (reflexive, or unlearned).
3.
Skinner argued that creating pleasing and desirable
consequences to follow some specific behavior would increase
the frequency of that behavior.
4.
People will most likely engage in desired behaviors if they
receive positive reinforcement for doing so.
212
 NOTES
Q&A
?
Materials I Plan to Use:
14.12 What’s the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?
Managing Your Career
Learning to Get Along with
Difficult People
No matter their current or future position in an organization, your students will discover that
skills in getting along with difficult people are essential to success in the business world.
Suggest that each student take time during the next week to visit a local bookstore and
browse in the “Business Books” section. Ask them to make a list of several books they locate
that address this issue. You may want to ask them to explore books on this subject in the
library and on the Internet as well. How many books dealing with the subject of getting along
with difficult people did they locate on the shelves of the bookstore? Does this number
indicate the attention generated by this subject?
Ask students to share the title and make comments about the most helpful book they
examined about getting along with difficult people, especially in the workplace.
B.
 NOTES
Social learning is a learning theory that says people learn through
observation and direct experience. Four processes determine the amount
of influence that these models will have on an individual: attentional
processes, retention processes, motor reproduction processes, and
reinforcement processes.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Practical Interactive Skills Modules
PRISM #7
Have students visit the Web and consider PRISM #7 that deals
with mentoring.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Attentional processes. People learn from a model only when
they recognize and pay attention to its critical features.
Retention processes. A model’s influence depends upon how
well an individual remembers the model’s action.
Motor reproduction processes. After a person has observed a
new behavior by watching a model, he/she must demonstrate an
ability to do the modeled activities.
Reinforcement processes. Individuals will be motivated to
exhibit modeled behavior if positive rewards are provided.
213
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
?
Materials I Plan to Use:
Shaping: A Managerial Tool In shaping, a manager systematically
reinforces each successive step that moves an individual closer to a
desired response. Behavior can be shaped in four ways:
1.
Positive reinforcement is reinforcing a desired behavior by
providing something pleasant after that behavior.
2.
Negative reinforcement is reinforcing a desired behavior with
the termination or withdrawal of something unpleasant.
3.
Punishment penalizes undesirable behavior.
4.
Extinction involves eliminating any reinforcement that is
maintaining a behavior.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Thinking Critically About Ethics
Shaping Behavior
This critical thinking exercise asks students to consider a managerial technique and its
ethical implications. In this exercise, students are asked to think about shaping behavior
and whether or not shaping can be considered manipulation.
This exercise can be used as the basis for a classroom debate, with half the class taking
each side of the issue, i.e., “Shaping is manipulation” or “Shaping does not constitute
manipulation.”
Be sure to point out to students that each of us shapes the behavior of people around us
every day of our lives—knowingly and unknowingly. In this respect, all of us are leaders,
as students will discover in their study of Chapter Sixteen.
D.
From learning theory, managers should recognize that employees will
learn while doing a job. A key question: Will managers manage
employees’ learning through the rewards the managers allocate and the
examples they set, or will managers allow learning to occur
haphazardly?
214
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Answers to Thinking About Management Issues
1.
How, if at all, does the importance of knowledge of OB differ based on a
manager’s level in the organization? Be specific.
Knowledge of OB is important for all managers since executives at all levels of
the organization deal with people. Low-level managers are likely to supervise
employees directly, so they need knowledge of attitudes, perception, and
learning. If they have responsibilities pertaining to the hiring of employees, they
need to have knowledge about personality. Middle-level managers are likely to
need knowledge of attitudes and personality, as they supervise lower-level
managers. Upper-level managers need knowledge of attitudes as they deal with
organizational design decisions and human resource management issues.
2.
“A growing number of companies are now convinced that people’s ability to
understand and to manage their emotions improves their performance, their
collaboration with peers, and their interaction with customers.” What are the
implications of this statement for managers?
If the manager’s company agrees with this statement, the manager must consider
emotional intelligence (EI) as a necessary factor in employee selection, as well
as in employee training and development issues.
3.
What behavioral predictions might you make if you knew that an employee
had (a) an external locus of control? (b) a low Mach score? (c) low self-esteem?
(d) high self-monitoring tendencies?
Employees with an external locus of control might be less satisfied with their
jobs, more alienated from the work setting, and less involved in their work.
Employees with a low Mach score would be overly idealistic, emotional, and
concerned about fair and equitable treatment. Employees with low self-esteem
would be more susceptible to external influence. Employees with high selfmonitoring tendencies would tend to be more adaptable in adjusting their
behavior to the demands of different situations.
4.
“Managers should never use discipline with a problem employee.” Do you
agree or disagree? Discuss.
Discipline that is rooted in behavior theories can be quite positive and can be
used as a means to promote acceptable and desired behavior. When disciplining
an employee, however, managers should be governed by their knowledge of the
implications of attitudes, perceptions, learning, and personality.
5.
A Gallup Organization survey shows that most workers rate having a caring
boss even higher than they value money or fringe benefits. How should
managers interpret this information? What are the implications?
215
First, ask your students if they agree or disagree with this survey finding. Their
answers should be interesting and enlightening to their classmates. If they do
agree with the statement—which they most likely will—the implications for
managers would include training managers to be kind and respectful, while
communicating to their employees that they expect the best performance from
each employee. The discussion could include a review and consideration of the
findings of the Hawthorne Studies.
6.
Does a job’s prestige (as assessed by others outside of the organization)
increase an employee’s job satisfaction? Research data are beginning to show,
“Yes, it does.” What do you think? What are the implications for organizations?
Before your students begin to answer this question, ask them to think of an
employment position or a volunteer position they have held. Did the prestige (or
lack of prestige) associated with their position have any impact on their
satisfaction with the position? If so, ask students to describe this impact. If not,
ask them to describe other aspects of the position that contributed to their
satisfaction (or lack of satisfaction) with the job or volunteer position. Then,
have students answer Question 6 in light of their experience.
7.
Suppose that you’re responsible for managing a group whose members are
much younger than you are. What challenges might you face and how will you
address those challenges?
Be sure that your students consider the likelihood that they will likely find
themselves in this situation early in their management career. Have any of the
students already experienced this type of employment situation? If so, ask them
to share with the class some ways in which they managed the challenges posed
by leading a group whose members are much younger.
You may want to mention that a number of books have been published to help a
first-time manager deal successfully with such challenges. One of these books
that may prove helpful to your students is the First-Time Manager (5th ed.) by
Loren B. Belker and Gary S. Topchik. The fifth edition was published by the
American Management Association in 2005.
WORKING TOGETHER—Team-Based Exercise
Student groups of three to four are asked to debate the statement: “When we use
shortcuts to judge others, are the consequences always negative?”
The debate between student groups could be enhanced by first assigning different groups
to support or negate the statement concerning specific shortcuts such as: stereotyping,
halo effect, selectivity, assumed similarity (“like me”). These four shortcuts would
require eight student groups for debate. Students may want to describe some of the
incidents or examples their groups generate.
216
Answers to Case Application Questions
Washington Mutual, Inc.
1.
What type of personality characteristics would best fit into WaMu’s customerservice and innovative culture?
The following personality characteristics would be consistent with WaMu’s
customer-service and innovative culture.
Have students consider other
characteristics as well, and have them defend their selections.










Extrovert
Intuitive
Thinking
Perceptive
Conscientious
Open to new experiences
Self-motivated
Self-aware
High self-esteem
Risk-taking
2.
Design an employee attitude survey that WaMu’s managers might use. If you
want, check out information on the company’s Web site (www.wamu.com).
Students will have a variety of items for this question. You should be sure to
emphasize the legal requirements concerning types of questions that employers
ask their employees. Students should also be able to explain what their
questions are designed to measure. You may want to ask students how they
would determine both the validity and the reliability of their survey items.
3.
WaMu was named by Fortune magazine in 2006 as one of the 100 Best
Companies to Work For. What predictions, if any, could you make about job
satisfaction at WaMu? How might job satisfaction affect work outcomes at
WaMu?
Students will undoubtedly argue that job satisfaction must be very high at
WaMu. They may argue causality regarding the job satisfaction–performance
link. You may want to caution students about reaching this conclusion too
quickly. You may ask them whether an unhappy worker could be productive in
the WaMu environment, and if so, why. You may also ask students to consider
indicators such as turnover in dealing with this question.
4.
The company’s core values include fair, caring, human, dynamic, and driven.
How does the company exhibit these values?
The company is careful to reinforce its culture through its selection process.
WaMu espouses and enacts the value it places on the well-being of all
employees in the company. The organization promotes attitudes and policies that
promote dignity and respect in the treatment with all employees. The company
has created a work environment in which everyone has the opportunity to thrive,
innovate, and succeed.
217
ADDITIONAL CHAPTER INFORMATION
You may want to have your students research the age-old question of the role of nature
versus environment (nurture) in determining personality. Some of this research is
currently exploring which aspects of personality may have a genetic component by
asking the question: Does DNA shape behavior? Some aspects of personality that may
have a genetic component include risk-taking, impulsiveness, openness, conservatism,
and hostility. Another area your students may wish to address is the subject of loyalty to
one’s organization. You might ask students to consider how relevant organizational
commitment is today, considering that individuals change jobs and careers more often
than in the past.
218