1 Industrial/Organizational Psychology - peer ratings are fairly reliable only when the peers who make the ratings are similar to and well Chapter 7: Evaluating Employee Performance acquainted with the employees being rated. Step 1 Subordinates feedback (also called upward Employee Performance feedback)- is an important component of 360- degree feedback. The first step in the performance appraisal process is to determine the reasons your organization wants to evaluate employee performance. Forced-choice rating scale- - can provide a very different view about a supervisor’s behavior. a performance appraisal method - can be difficult to obtain because employees fear a backlash if they unfavorably rate their supervisor. - is excellent for determining compensation but Customers- customers provide feedback on terrible for training purposes employee performance by filing complaints or Providing Employee Training and Feedback complimenting a manager about one of her employees. the most important use of performance evaluation is to improve employee performance by providing Self-Appraisal- feedback about what employees are doing right only a small - Employee self-appraisals tend to suffer from Performance appraisal review- is an excellent leniency and correlate only moderately with actual time to meet with employees to discuss their performance strengths and weaknesses. management ratings. Making Promotion Decisions by percentage of organizations and wrong. used and poorly with subordinate and - Self-appraisals of performance appear to be Peter Principle- Promoting the best or most senior most accurate when the self-appraisal will not be used employee for - the promotion of employees until they reach such administrative purposes as raises or promotions. their highest level of incompetence Step 4 Step 2 Accomplish Your Goals Limitations The next step in the performance appraisal The second step in the performance appraisal process is to select the performance criteria and process is to identify the environmental and appraisal methods that will best accomplish your cultural factors that could affect the system. goals for the system. In an environment in which there is no money Criteria are ways of describing employee success. available for merit pay, developing a numerically Developing the actual performance appraisal complex system will become frustrating, and the instrument, two important decisions must be made: results of the evaluation may not be taken the focus of the performance appraisal dimensions seriously and whether to use rankings or ratings. In an environment in which employees are very Decision 1 cohesive, the use of peer ratings might reduce the cohesiveness. Appraisal Dimensions Trait-Focused Performance Dimensions - A trait-focused system concentrates on such employee attributes as dependability, honesty, and Step 3 : Determine Who Will Evaluate Performance courtesy. The buzzwords for using multiple sources to - trait-focused performance appraisal appraise performance are 360-degree feedback instruments are not a good idea because they provide and multiple-source feedback. poor feedback and thus will not result in employee Supervisors- the most common type of development and growth. performance appraisal is the supervisor rating. - supervisors may not see every minute of an employee’s behavior, they do see the end result. Peers- often see the actual behavior - Peer ratings usually come from employees who work directly with an employee. Competency-Focused Performance Dimensions - competence-focused dimensions concentrate on the employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. - include writing skills, oral presentation skills, and driving skills 2 - The advantage to organizing dimensions by Employee Comparisons competencies is that it is easy to provide feedback and - To reduce leniency, employees can be suggest the steps necessary to correct deficiencies. compared with one another instead of being rated individually on a scale. Task-Focused Performance Dimensions Rank order- The easiest and most common of - Task-focused dimensions are organized by the similarity of tasks that are performed. these methods. In this approach, employees - The advantage of this approach is that are ranked in order by their judged because supervisors are concentrating on tasks that performance for each relevant dimension. occur together and can thus visualize an employee’s Rank orders are easily used when there are performance, it is often easier to evaluate performance only a few employees to rank, but they than with the other dimensions. become difficult to use with larger numbers. - The disadvantage is that it is more difficult to Paired comparisons- This method involves offer suggestions for how to correct the deficiency if an comparing each possible pair of employees employee scores low on a dimension. and choosing which one of each pair is the better employee. Goal-Focused Performance Dimensions - The fourth type of performance dimension is Forced distribution- With this method, a to organize the appraisal on the basis of goals to be predetermined percentage of employees are accomplished by the employee. placed in each of the five categories. - Also called “rank and yank,” - The advantage of a goal-focused approach is that it makes it easier for an employee to understand - To use the method, one must assume that why certain behaviors are expected. employee performance is normally distributed, that is, that there are certain percentages of employees who Contextual Performance - the effort an employee makes to get along with peers, improve the organization, and perform are poor, average, and excellent. The greatest problem with all of the employee- evaluating employee performance 247 tasks that are comparison methods is that they do not provide needed but are not necessarily an official part of the information about how well an employee is actually employee’s job description. doing. - Contextual performance is important because not only are these pro-social organizational behaviors Objective Measures A second way to evaluate performance is to use important to the success of an organization, but they what are commonly called objective, or hard, also tend to be similar across jobs, whereas the criteria. Common types of objective measures dimensions involved in task performance differ across include jobs attendance, and safety. Decision 2 Quantity of Work- Evaluation of a worker’s - Once the type of dimension has been determined, the next decision is whether the work, quality of work, by simply counting the number of relevant job behaviors that take place. Quality of Work- Another method to evaluate important than others. Weighting of performance in terms of quantity is obtained dimensions should be weighted so that some are more - quantity dimensions makes good performance is by measuring the quality of the philosophical sense, as some dimensions might be work that is done. more important to an organization than others. - Quality is usually measured in terms of errors, Decision 3 which are defined as deviations from a standard. Thus, Objective Measures, or Ratings to obtain a measure of quality, there must be a - Once the types of dimensions have been standard against which to compare an employee’s work. considered, the next decision is whether to evaluate Attendance- A common method for objectively performance by comparing employees with one another measuring one aspect of an employee’s (ranking), performance is by looking at attendance. using objective measures such as attendance and number of units sold, or having - Attendance can be separated into three supervisors rate how well the employee has performed distinct criteria: absenteeism, tardiness, and tenure. on each of the dimensions. Both absenteeism and tardiness have obvious implications for the performance appraisal process.The 3 weight that each has in the overall evaluation of the comparing the employee’s level of performance employee largely depends on the nature of the job. with that of other employees. - Tenure as a criterion is used mostly for - It is important to note that when such scale research purposes when evaluating the success of anchors as “below average,” “ average,” and “above selection decisions. average” are used, the evaluation involves rating Safety- Another method used to evaluate the success of an employee is safety. employee performance in comparison with other employees. - Obviously, employees who follow safety rules Frequency of Desired Behaviors- Behaviors can and who have no occupational accidents do not cost an be rated based on the frequency with which they organization as much money as those who break rules, occur. equipment, and possibly their own bodies. - As part of our performance appraisal system, - As with tenure, safety is usually used for supervisors are asked to decide whether their research purposes, but it can also be used for employees “always,” “almost always,” “often,” “seldom,” employment or “never” follow the rules. decisions such as promotions and bonuses. Extent to Which Organizational Expectations Ratings of Performance Are Met- Perhaps the best approach is to rate The most commonly used option in evaluating employees on the extent to which their behavior performance is to have supervisors rate how well meets the expectations of the evaluating employee the employee performed on each dimension. performance 255 organization. Though there are many variations of how these - Such an approach allows for high levels of rating scales can be created, the two most feedback and can be applied to most types of common are the graphic rating scale and the employee behavior. behavioral checklist. Graphic Rating Scale- most common rating Evaluation of Performance Appraisal Methods scale. - It is important to understand that although the - various performance appraisal methods may yield words such as “excellent” and “poor” anchoring the results that are technically similar, the way in which the ends of the scale. performance appraisal system is administered can - The obvious advantage of graphic rating affect employee trust and satisfaction. scales is their ease of construction and use, but they have been criticized because of their susceptibility to Step 5 : Train Raters such rating errors as halo and leniency. Although training supervisors to evaluate Behavioral Checklists- behavioral checklists performance is essential to a sound and legal consist of a list of behaviors, expectations, or performance appraisal system, few organizations results for each dimension. spend the time and resources necessary to do this - This list is used to force the supervisor to concentrate on the relevant behaviors that fall under a properly. dimension. The effectiveness of rater training also is a function of training format. - Behavioral checklists are constructed by Raters who receive frame-of-reference training taking the task statements from a detailed job make fewer rating errors and recall more training description information than do untrained raters or raters and converting them into behavioral performance statements representing the level at which receiving the behavior is expected to be performed. behaviors. - A problem with result-focused statements is information about only job-related Frame-of-reference training provides raters with that an employee can do everything asked of her by an job-related information, practice in rating, and organization and still not get the desired results due to examples of ratings made by experts as well as the factors outside of her control. These factors are rationale behind those expert ratings. referred to as contamination. - The goal of frame-of reference training is to Comparison with Other Employees- Supervisors communicate the organization’s definition of effective can performance and to then get raters to consider only rate performance on a dimension by 4 relevant employee behaviors when Behavior consistent with the supervisor’s making performance evaluations. opinion- Once we form an opinion of someone, we tend to look for behaviors that Step 6 e confirm that opinion. If a supervisor likes an The next step in the performance appraisal employee, she process is for supervisors to observe employee behaviors consistent with that opinion. The behavior and document critical incidents as they opposite would be true for a supervisor who occur. disliked an employee. Once you get on Critical incidents are examples of excellent and someone’s bad side, it is hard to get off of it. poor employee performance. - Such documentation is usually written in a will probably recall only Third, documentation provides examples to use when reviewing performance ratings with critical incident log—formal accounts of excellent and employees.Instead of telling an employee that she poor employee performance that were observed by the is constantly getting into arguments with customers, supervisor. a supervisor can use documented critical incidents - Critical incidents should be communicated to to show the employee the specific incidents and the employee at the time they occur. behaviors that are problematic. Documentation is important for four reasons. First, documentation forces a supervisor to focus defend against legal actions taken against it by an on employee behaviors rather than traits and employee who was terminated or denied a raise or provides promotion. behavioral examples to use when reviewing performance ratings with employees. Second, documentation helps supervisors recall behaviors when they are evaluating performance. Fourth, documentation helps an organization Without documentation, employers will seldom win lawsuits filed against them. To use critical incidents to document performance, Without documentation, instead of recalling all of a supervisor maintains a log of all the critical an employee’s behavior or at least a representative behaviors she observes her employees performing. sample of behavior, supervisors tend to recall only Employee Performance Record- formal method a small percentage of an employee’s actual for behavior. Supervisors tend to remember the performance. This method consists of a two-color following: form. Half of the sheet is used to record examples First impressions- supervisors recall behaviors that are consistent with their first using critical incidents in evaluating of good behaviors, and the other half to record examples of poor behaviors. impression of an employee, even though those first behaviors may not have been representative of the employee’s typical performance. Step 7 : Evaluate Performance Obtaining and Reviewing Objective Data When it is time to appraise an employee’s - Being aware of first impressions is important performance, a supervisor should first obtain and because performance can be dynamic, meaning that a review the objective data relevant to the employee’s person who is the top performer one year may not be behavior.These data, when combined with critical- the top performer during another year. incident logs, provide a solid basis on which to rate an Recent behaviors- supervisors tend to recall the most recent behavior that occurred during the evaluation period. employee. Reading Critical-Incident Logs After obtaining objective data, the supervisor Unusual or extreme behaviors- Supervisors should go back and read all of the critical incidents tend to remember unusual behaviors more written for an employee. Reading these incidents than they remember common behaviors. For should reduce errors of primacy, recency, and attention example, if an average-performing police to unusual information. officer captures an important criminal, the Completing the Rating Form officer’s performance evaluations are likely to Once critical-incident logs have been read and be inappropriately high. Likewise, a good objective data reviewed, the supervisor is ready to officer who makes a terrible mistake is likely to assign performance appraisal ratings. While making receive inappropriately low ratings. these ratings, the supervisor must be careful not to 5 make common rating errors involving distribution, halo, proximity of the dimension rather than an overall proximity, and contrast. impression. Distribution Errors- A common type of error in Contrast Errors- The performance rating one evaluating employee performance involves the person distribution of ratings on a rating scale. performance of a previously evaluated person. - are made when a rater uses only one part of a Leniency error- One kind of distribution error. - certain raters tend to rate every employee at the upper end of the scale regardless of the actual can be influenced by the - compare and contrast rating scale. receives Low Reliability across Raters There are three major reasons for this lack of reliability. First, raters often commit the rating errors performance of the employee. For example, on our five- previously discussed (e.g., halo, leniency). Thus, if point scale, the supervisor rates eve 4 or 5. one rater engages in halo error and another in - Leniency error can in part be explained by the contrast error, it is not surprising that their ratings discomfort felt by supervisors about giving low ratings. Central tendency error- which results in a of the same employee are different. supervisor rating every employee in the middle of the scale. For example, in our five-point and ideas about the ideal employee. scale, the supervisor rates everyone a 3. Strictness error- rates every employee at the Third, two different raters may actually see very different behaviors by the same employee. One way to reduce the number of rating errors and low end of the scale. For example, on our five- increase reliability is to train the people who will be point scale, our supervisor rates everyone a 1 making the performance evaluations. or 2. Second, raters often have very different standards Sampling Problems Halo Errors- A halo error occurs when a rater Recency Effect- recent behaviors are given allows either a single attribute or an overall more weight in the performance evaluation impression of an individual to affect the ratings that than behaviors that occurred during the first she makes on each relevant job dimension. few months of the evaluation period. - Halo effects occur especially when the rater Infrequent Observation- another problem that has little knowledge of the job and is less familiar with affects performance appraisals is that many the person being rated. managers or supervisors do not have the - For example, a teacher might think that a opportunity student is highly creative. Because of that, the teacher observe a representative sample of employee behavior. might rate the student as being intelligent and industrious when, in fact, the student’s grades are to - occurs for two reasons. First, managers are often so busy with their own below average. work that they have no time to “walk the floor” and observe their employees’ behavior. Proximity Errors- Proximity errors occur when a rating made on one dimension affects the rating Second, employees often act differently around a made on the dimension that immediately follows it supervisor than around other workers, which is the on the rating scale. second reason managers usually do not make - For example, a supervisor gives an employee accurate observations. Cognitive Processing of Observed Behavior second dimension is physically located on the rating Observation of Behavior- raters recall those form next to the first, there is a tendency to provide the behaviors that are consistent with their general same rating on both the first and second dimensions. impression of an employee and the greater the - The difference between this error and halo time interval between the actual behavior and the error is in the cause of the error and the number of performance rating, the greater the probability that dimensions affected. rating errors will occur. - With halo error, all dimensions are affected by Emotional State- The amount of stress under an overall impression of the employee. With proximity which a supervisor operates also affects her error, only the dimensions physically located nearest a performance ratings. particular dimension on the rating scale are affected; the reason for the effect, in fact, is the close physical 6 - raters who were placed in a stressful situation produced ratings with more errors than did raters who Performance Appraisal Scores Low ratings on a particular dimension for most were not under stress. employees may indicate that additional training in that Bias- Raters who like the employees being rated dimension is needed. Conversely, if most employees may be more lenient and less accurate in their score high on a particular dimension, relatively little ratings than would raters who neither like nor training time is needed. dislike their employees. Chapter 8 : Designing and Evaluating Training Survey Another common approach to determine Systems training needs is to design and administer a survey that Determining Training Needs asks employees what knowledge and skills they believe should be included in future training. Conducting a needs analysis is the first step in developing an employee training system. Surveys offer several advantages: The purpose of needs analysis is to determine the types of training, if any, that are needed in an organization, as well as the extent to which training First, they eliminate the problems of performance rating errors. Second, employees often know their own strengths is a practical means of achieving an organization’s and weaknesses best. Thus, to determine what goals. employees need, ask them. There are three types of needs analysis are Finally, training needs can be determined with typically conducted: organizational analysis, task surveys even when the organization has not analysis, and person analysis. previously made an effort to design an effective Organizational Analysis- The purpose of performance appraisal system or adequate job organizational analysis is to determine those descriptions. organizational factors that either facilitate or inhibit training effectiveness. As with any type of survey, training needs surveys can be conducted in many ways. The most - A properly conducted organizational analysis common method is a questionnaire that asks will focus on the goals the organization wants to employees to list the areas in which they would like achieve, the extent to which training will help achieve further or future training. Perhaps a better method is to those goals, the organization’s ability to conduct provide a list of job-related tasks and components of training (e.g., finances, physical space, time), and the knowledge and have employees rate the need for extent to which employees are willing and able to be training on each. trained (e.g., ability, commitment, motivation, stress). Interviews - An organizational analysis should also include Interviews are not used as extensively as a survey of employee readiness for training. surveys, but they can yield even more in-depth answers to questions about training needs. Task Analysis- The purpose of a task analysis is to use the job analysis methods to identify the - The main advantage of interviews is that tasks performed by each employee, the conditions employee feelings and attitudes are revealed more under which these tasks are performed, and the clearly than with the survey approach. competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities) needed Skill and Knowledge Tests to perform the tasks under the identified conditions. The fourth way to determine training needs is - The most common job analysis methods used with a skill test or a knowledge test. The greatest for this purpose include interviews, observations, and problem with using testing as a method to determine task inventories. training needs is that relatively few tests are available Person Analysis- is based on the recognition that for this purpose. An organization that wants to use this not every employee needs further training for every method will probably have to construct its own tests, task performed. and proper test construction is time-consuming and - To determine the individual training needs for each employee, person analysis uses performance appraisal scores, surveys, interviews, knowledge tests, and/or critical incidents. skill and expensive. Critical Incidents To use this technique for needs assessment, the critical incidents are sorted into dimensions and separated into examples of good and poor performance. Dimensions with many examples of poor performance 7 Golem are considered to be areas in which many employees effect- are performing poorly and in which additional training is expectations indicated. decrease of in occurs an that when individual negative cause individual’s a actual performance. Chapter 9 : Employee Motivation Intrinsic Motivation- will seek to perform well Is an Employee Predisposed to Being Motivated? Self-Esteem- Intrinsic Motivation is the extent to which a person because they either enjoy performing the views himself as valuable and worthy. actual tasks or enjoy the challenge of - employees high in self-esteem are more successfully completing the task. - don’t need external rewards such as pay or motivated and will perform better than employees low in self-esteem. praise. Extrinsic motivation- , they don’t particularly Consistency theory- there is a positive correlation between self-esteem and performance. enjoy the tasks but are motivated to perform Consistency theory takes the relationship between well to receive some type of reward or to avoid self-esteem and motivation one step further by negative consequences. stating that employees with high self-esteem - can be measured by the Work Preference actually desire to perform at high levels and Inventory (WPI). The WPI yields scores on two employees with low self-esteem desire to perform dimensions at low levels.In other words, employees try to challenge) and two dimensions of extrinsic motivation perform at levels consistent with their self-esteem (compensation, outward orientation). level. Three types of self-esteem feeling about himself. self-esteem intrinsic motivation (enjoyment, Needs for Achievement and Power A theory developed by McClelland (1961) Chronic self-esteem is a person’s overall Situational of suggests that employees differ in the extent to which they are motivated by the need for achievement, (also called self- affiliation, and power. efficacy) is a person’s feeling about himself in Need for Achievement- are motivated by jobs a particular situation such as operating a that are challenging and over which they have machine or talking to other people. some control, whereas employees who have Socially influenced self-esteem is how a minimal achievement needs are more satisfied person feels about himself on the basis of the when jobs involve little challenge and have a expectations of others. high probability of success. Need for Affiliation- are motivated by jobs in Self-Esteem Workshops To increase self-esteem, employees can attend which they can work with and help other workshops in which they are given insights into their people. strengths. It is thought that these insights raise self- Need for Power- motivated by a desire to esteem by showing employees that they have several influence others rather than simply to be strengths and are good people. successful. Have the Employee’s Values and Expectations Experience with Success With the experience-with-success approach, an employee is given a task so easy that he will almost Been Met? certainly succeed. A discrepancy between what an employee Self-fulfilling prophecy - which states that an individual will perform as well or as poorly as expected a job to be like and the reality of the job can affect motivation and satisfaction. Realistic Job Preview (RJP)- A method of he expects to perform. Galatea effect- relationship between self- recruitment in which job applicants are told expectations and performance. both the positive and the negative aspects of a Supervisor Behavior job. Pygmalion Effect- high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area low expectations lead to worse. Job Expectations and Job Characteristics Job Characteristics Theory- employees desire jobs that are meaningful, provide them with the opportunity to be personally 8 responsible for the outcome of their work Two-Factor Theory- can refer to two different (autonomy), and provide them with feedback theories: Hygiene factors and Motivators. of the results of their efforts. Hygiene Needs, Values, and Wants factors- are those job-related elements that result from but do not involve A discrepancy between an employee’s needs, the job itself.Similarly, making new friends values, and wants, and what a job offers can also lead may result from going to work, but it is also not to low levels of motivation and satisfaction. directly involved with the tasks and duties of -Three theories focus on employees’ needs and the job. Motivators- are job elements that do concern values: Maslow’s needs hierarchy, ERG theory, and two-factor theory. actual Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy tasks and duties. Examples of motivators would be the level of responsibility, - Maslow believed that employees would be the amount of job control, and the interest that motivated by and satisfied with their jobs at any given the work holds for the employee. point in time if certain needs were met. - five major types of needs and that these needs are hierarchical—that is, lower-level needs must be satisfied before an individual will be concerned with the next level of needs. Basic Biological Needs- individual first seeks to satisfy basic biological needs for food, air, water, and shelter. - an individual who does not have a job, is homeless, and is on the verge of starvation will be Self-Regulation Theory- is that employees monitor their own progress toward attaining goals satisfied with any job as long as it provides for these basic needs.People at this level might reply, “I can’t and then make the necessary adjustments; that is, complain, it pays the bills.” they self-regulate. Safety Needs- individual earn enough money levels of job satisfaction and motivation are related to ensure their family’s survival, but once their to how fairly we believe we are treated in family has food and shelter, they will remain comparison with others. satisfied with their jobs only if the workplace is - If we believe we are treated unfairly, we safe. - Safety needs have been expanded to include psychological as well as physical safety. Psychological safety—often referred to as job security—can certainly attempt to change our beliefs or behaviors until the situation appears to be fair. Three components are involved in this perception of fairness: inputs, outputs, and input/output ratio. affect job motivation. Inputs- are those personal elements that we Social Needs- involve working with others, put into our jobs. Obvious elements are time, developing friendships, and feeling needed. effort, education, and experience. Ego Needs- These are needs for recognition Outputs- are those elements that we receive and success, and an organization can help to satisfy them through praise, from our jobs. A list of obvious outputs awards, includes promotions, salary increases, publicity, and Self-Actualization Needs- An benefits, challenge, and Input/output ratio- dividing output value by employee input value. striving for self-actualization wants to reach - employees then compute the input/output her potential in every task. ERG Theory- needs theory that has only three levels which are existence, relatedness, and growth. - the major difference between Maslow’s theory and ERG theory is that Aldefer suggested that a person can skip levels. pay, responsibility. many other ways. Equity Theory- is based on the premise that our ratios for other employees and for previous work experiences and compare them with their own. Expectancy Theory- of motivation or the expectancy theory is the belief that an individual will choose their behaviors based on what they believe will lead to the most beneficial outcome. 9 - This theory has three components which are and effort that she has already put into it or the Expectancy (E), Instrumentality (I) and Valence (V). difficulty she would have in finding another job. Expectancy (E): The perceived relationship Normative commitment- is the extent to which between the amount of effort an employee an puts in and the resulting outcome. organization and, as a result of this obligation, - In terms of expectancy, if an employee employee feels obligated to the must remain with the organization. believes that no matter how hard he works he will never - A good example of normative commitment reach the necessary level of performance, then his would be an employee who was given her first job by motivation will probably be low. an organization, was mentored by her manager, and Instrumentality (I): The extent to which the was trained at great cost to the organization. The outcome of a worker’s performance, if noticed, employee may feel that she is ethically obligated to results in a particular consequence. remain with the organization because of its extensive - For instrumentality, the employee will be motivated only if his behavior results in some specific investment in her. Individual difference theory- postulates that consequence. That is, if the employee works extra some variability in job satisfaction is due to an hours, he expects to be rewarded, or if he is individual’s personal tendency across situations to inexcusably absent from work, he expects to be enjoy what she does. punished. Valence (V): The extent to which an employee Social learning theory- postulates that employees observe the levels of motivation and satisfaction of values a particular consequence. other employees and then model those levels. - For valence, if an employee is rewarded, the reward must be something he values. If good Chapter 11: Organizational Communication performance is rewarded by an award, then the Types of Organizational Communication employee will be motivated only if he values awards. Upward Communication- is communication of subordinates to superiors or of employees to Chapter 10: Employee Satisfaction and managers. Commitment - in ideal upward communication, employees Why Should We Care about Employee Attitudes? speak directly to management in an environment with an “open door” policy. Affective-cognitive consistency- For employees who have strong, consistent beliefs about their Direct upward communication also may not level of job satisfaction (called affective-cognitive be workable because employees often feel consistency), job threatened by managers and may not be satisfaction and performance is much stronger willing to openly communicate bad news or than it is for employees whose job satisfaction complaints. the relationship between Serial attitudes are not so well developed. communication- To minimize the What Causes Employees to Be Satisfied with number of different people communicating and Committed to Their Jobs? with the top executive. Three motivational facets to organizational - With serial communication, the message is commitment relayed from an employee to her supervisor, who relays Affective commitment- is the extent to which an it to her supervisor, who, in turn, relays it to her employee wants to remain with the organization, supervisor, and so on until the message reaches the cares about the organization, and is willing to exert top. effort on its behalf. MUM - For example, an employee of the Red Cross effect- (minimize unpleasant second drawback to that news is bad messages) serial might like her coworkers and her boss, share the communication and altruistic goals of the organization, and realize that her complaints are seldom relayed, in part due to efforts will result in better organizational performance. the stress associated with delivering bad news. Continuance commitment- is the extent to - effect negatively affects the organization by which an employee believes she must remain keeping important information from reaching the upper with the organization due to the time, expense, levels. 10 Communication channels- Serial communication’s third drawback. It is less effective the farther away two people are from bulletin boards have the advantage of low cost and wide exposure to both employees and visitors. Policy Manuals- is the place for posting important one another. That is, a supervisor is more changes in policy or procedure. This manual likely to pass along a message to another contains all the rules under which employees must supervisor if the two are in close physical operate. proximity. Attitude - most organizations have two types of Surveys- annually by are an usually conducted outside consultant who company manual: administers a questionnaire asking employees containing all of the rules and policies under which to rate their opinions on such factors as the organization operates. satisfaction with pay, working conditions, and supervisors. complaints or Employee handbook- is much shorter and contains only the most essential policies and rules, - . Employees are also given the opportunity to list Policy manual- is very specific and lengthy, suggestions that they as well as general summaries of less important want management to read. The consultant then tabulates the rules. responses and reports the findings to management. Newsletters- Newsletters are good sources of information for celebrating employee successes, Focus Groups and Exit Interviews providing feedback on how well the organization is - A second method of upward communication is doing, introducing a new employee, and providing to hold focus groups, in which an outside consultant meets with groups of current employees to get their reminders about organizational changes. opinions and suggestions. This information is then Intranets- organization-wide versions of the Internet. passed on to management. - One of the most useful aspects of this intranet Suggestion Boxes is the speed at which the company can survey - A third method for facilitating upward employees about new ideas. Other advantages include communication is the use suggestion or complaints employee self- boxes. Theoretically, these two boxes should be the support, and reduced paper, printing, and postage same, but a box asking for suggestions is not as likely costs. to get complaints as a box specifically labeled complaints and vice versa. -hour Business Communication- is the transmission of business-related information among employees, Third-Party Facilitators management, The use of a third party such as a liaison or an communication and customers. methods Business include memos, ombudsperson is another method that can increase telephone calls, and email and voice mail. upward communication. Both are responsible for taking Memos - most common methods of business employee complaints and suggestions and personally communication. working with management to find solutions. - have the advantage of providing detailed Downward Communication- is that of superior to information to a large number of people in a short subordinate period of time. or management to employees. Telephone Calls- connection over a telephone ( internal Communication) - is considered a key method not only of network between the called party and the keeping employees informed but of communicating vital calling party. information needed by employees to perform their jobs. Email and Voice Mail- used primarily to Such communication can be accomplished in many exchange general and/or timely information ways, and ask questions; they are not meant as including bulletin boards, policy manuals, newsletters, and intranets. Bulletin Boards- substitutes for important conversation. Their main use is to - The advantages to email and voice mail communicate non- work–related opportunities such include a reduction in the use and filing of paper and as scholarships, optional meetings, and items for time sale. communicating a short message by phone. - Important information is seldom seen because the bulletin board is not the appropriate place to post a change of policy or procedure. Still, saved by avoiding “small talk” when 11 Business Meetings Office Design- To facilitate employee of the information but seldom passed it on communication, 70% of organizations have to other employees. adopted what is formally called an “open” or - grapevine contains two types of information: gossip “landscaped” office design, and informally and rumor. called a “cube farm” - The idea behind this design is that employees walls. the message lacks contains information to lives the that of is those about individuals or other topics Freestanding design (also called a bullpen Interpersonal communication involves the design), all desks are placed in a large area that is exchange of a message across a communication completely open. channel from one person to another. Uniform plans - desks are placed at uniform distances and are separated by panels into cubicle Chapter 12: Leadership areas. Leader Emergence Free-form workstations- use a combination of Leader Emergence- is the idea that people who designs so that the different needs of each worker become leaders possess traits or characteristics can be accommodated. different from people who do not become leaders. Informal Communication- is transmitted through Three factors affecting the identity motivation the grapevine when loosely hung telegraph wires Affective identity motivation- become leaders resembled grapevines. The communication across because they enjoy being in charge and leading these lines was often distorted. others. - grapevine and established the existence of four of communicating the message, and can be offices Rumorsignificant - three common designs for open or landscaped content significance to the people gossiping. to supervise and help without the physical barriers of Gossip is primarily about individuals and the will communicate better with one another and be easier Dead-enders were those who heard most grapevine patterns: single strand, gossip, Gossip grapevine- Ex. Jones passes the leadership a leader may result in an increase in status or in message to Smith, who passes the message chain.” seek will result in personal gain. For example, becoming Single-strand grapevine- Ex. Jones passes a received by everyone or someone “breaks the motivation- positions when they perceive that such positions probability, and cluster. to Brown, and so on until the message is Non-calculative pay. Social-normative motivation- become leaders out of a sense of duty. Chapter 13: Group Behavior, Teams, and Conflict Group Dynamics message to only a select group of people. For a collection of people to be called a group, the Notice that with this pattern only one person following four criteria must be met: passes the message along, and not everyone (a) The members of the group must see themselves as has a chance to receive, or will receive, it. a unit; Probability grapevine- Ex. Jones tells the (b) the group must provide rewards to its members; message to a few other employees, and they (c) anything that happens to one member of the group in turn randomly pass the message along to affects every other member; and other employees. (d) the members of the group must share a common Cluster grapevine- Ex. Jones tells only a few goal. select employees, who in turn tell a few select - The first criterion is that the group must have multiple others. members.Usually we refer to two people as a dyad, to 3 Isolates- were employees who received people as a triad, and to 4 to 20 people as a small less than half of the information, group. Liaisons were employees who both - The second group criterion is that membership must received most of the information and be rewarding for each individual in the group. It is passed it on to others, important to remember that people will join or form a group only if it provides some form of reward. 12 - The third group criterion is that an event that affects Groups that are isolated or located away from one group member should affect all group members. other groups tend to be highly cohesive. Corresponding effects- if something significant Outside Pressure- Groups that are pressured by happens to one person and does not affect any of outside forces also tend to become highly cohesive. the other people gathered with her, then the To some degree, this response to outside pressure collection of people cannot be considered a group. can be explained by the phenomenon of - The fourth and final criterion is that all members must psychological reactance. When we believe that have a common goal. someone is trying to intentionally influence us to Reasons for Joining Groups take some particular action, we often react by Assignment- In the workplace, the most common reason for joining groups is that doing the opposite. employees are assigned to them. Group Size- Groups are most cohesive and perform best when group size is small. Studies Physical Proximity- One especially strong have shown that large groups have lower reason that a person might join a particular productivity, less coordination, and lower morale, group, especially if the group is informal, is and are less active, less cohesive, and more physical proximity. That is, people tend to form critical than smaller groups. groups with people who either live or work Additive tasks are those for which the group’s nearby. performance is equal to the sum of the Affiliation- involves our need to be with other performances by each group member. people. Thus, one reason people join groups In groups working on additive tasks, each member’s contribution is important, and is to be near and talk to other people. Identification- to identify with others. larger groups will probably be better than Emotional Support smaller groups Assistance or Help Conjunctive tasks are those for which the Common Interests group’s performance depends on the least Common Goals effective group member. Because success on Factors Affecting Group Performance a conjunctive task is limited by the least Group Cohesiveness effective member, smaller groups are usually Group Cohesiveness- is the extent to which best. group members like and trust one another, are Disjunctive tasks are those for which the committed to accomplishing a team goal, and group’s performance is based on the most share a feeling of group pride. talented Group Homogeneity- The homogeneity disjunctive tasks include problem solving, of a group is the extent to which its brainstorming. Homogeneous members who are similar in some or group settings depends on strength of the most ways group, immediacy of the group and the group contains number of people in the group exerting the Slightly social influence. heterogeneous Group Status- A group can be made more groups cohesive by increasing group status. The group compositions of the best- performing does not actually have to have high status, but it is groups were actually somewhere important that its members believe they have high between completely homogeneous status. and completely heterogeneous. of amount of influence a person experiences in alike. Examples contains Heterogeneous group members who are more different than member. Social Impact Theory- proposes that the members are similar. group Stability of Membership- The greater the stability Group Ability and Confidence - groups consisting of high-ability members of the group, the greater the cohesiveness. outperform those with low-ability members Isolation- Physical isolation is another variable Personality of the Group Members that tends to increase a group’s cohesiveness. - An important factor affecting group performance is the personality of the group members. 13 Communication Structure - Evaluation apprehension - hypothesizes that - For a group to perform successfully, good communication among members is essential judgment by others causes the differential effects of social facilitation Group Roles - Distracting-the individual is able to perform - For a group to be successful, its members’ roles must fall into one of two categories: task oriented despite the distraction because the behaviors are almost automatic. Social Loafing theory- considers the effect on and social oriented Task-oriented roles involve behaviors such as individual performance when people work offering new ideas, coordinating activities, and finding new information Social-oriented Individual Dominance roles involve encouraging cohesiveness and participation Individual together on a task. single group member. If the leader or group member activities, calling attention to oneself, and has an accurate solution to a problem the group is avoiding group interaction. Individual roles trying to solve, the group will probably perform at a high seldom result in higher group productivity. level. of Others: includes performance is individual dominance by a leader or group Presence role - Another variable that can affect group Social blocking Facilitation and Groupthink Inhibition - members become so cohesive and like- Social facilitation involves the positive effects minded that they make poor decisions despite contrary of the presence of others on an individual’s information that might reasonably lead them to other behavior options.Groupthink most often occurs when the group Social inhibition involves the negative effects is cohesive of others’ presence - Social facilitation and social inhibition can be Nominal further delineated by audience effects and coaction. Audience Effects- The phenomenon Individual Versus Group Performance of When several people individually work on a problem but do not audience effects takes place when a group of people passively watch an individual. An group- interact Interacting group- When several individuals example would be a sporting event held in an interact to solve a problem arena. Coaction- The effect on behavior when two or Team more people are performing the same task in - a work team is “a collection of three or more the presence of one another. Examples would individuals who interact intensively to provide an be two runners competing against each other organizational product, plan, decision, or service” without a crowd present. Factors to be considered before calling a group of Explaining Social Facilitation Effects- social facilitation have indicated that performance individuals as team Identification- n Identification is the extent to does not always increase in the presence of which group members identify with the team others. Performance increases only when the rather than with other groups. For example, task well suppose a committee was created composed learned;performance decreases when the task of one representative from each of five is difficult or not well learned. different departments. During the meetings, being performed is easy or members use such statements as “Our department won’t agree,”. Four explanations to support social facilitation - Mere presence of others naturally produces Interdependence- the dependence of two or arousal or increase in energy, helps an individual more people or things on each other. In a perform team, well-learned tasks but hinders him in performing poorly learned or unpracticed tasks. his performance with the other person’s need and desire the assistance, expertise, and opinions of the - Comparison- f an individual is working on a task with another individual, he can directly compare members other members. Power Differentiation- In a team, members try to decrease power differentiation by 14 treating others as equals and taking steps to ensure equality. How Teams Develop Social Distance- In a team, members try to decrease social distance by being casual, using nicknames, and expressing liking, other and decide what roles each member will play. empathy, and common views. Conflict Management Team become frustrated with their roles, show the stress members respond to conflict by collaborating, of balancing their previous duties with their new whereas non-team members respond by team responsibilities, and question whether they forcing and accommodating. . In teams, have the ability to accomplish the goals set in the members try to understand the others’ views, forming stage. Tactics- tension from the storming stage. Team members Negotiation Process- In teams, members begin to acknowledge the reality of the team by negotiate in a win-win style in which the goal is accepting the team leader and working directly with for every person to come out ahead. other team members to solve difficulties. Permanency- some teams are designed its others are formed to solve a particular suggestions, problem defensive responses, and participate at high levels. and then are expected to Group members challenge one make innovative another without Proximity-physically close to one another than forming in stages, teams develop direction and Virtual teams - whose members carry out strategy in the first meeting, follow this direction for a their period of time, and then drastically revise their strategy team functions and through email, computer-based about half way through the life of the team. Why Teams Don’t Always Work videoconferencing Types of Teams - Teams come in many shapes and sizes The Team Is Not a Team- teams in name only Excessive Meeting Requirements- they waste Four types of Teams time when they do meet Work teams consist of groups of employees who manage themselves, assign jobs, plan and schedule work, make work-related decisions, and formed to produce goods, provide service, or Lack of Empowerment- not given sufficient authority solve work- related problems. They are typically Lack of Skills-lack of skills needed to work in a team increase the quality and cost-effectiveness of a Distrust of the Team Process-doesn’t trust the concept of teams product or system. Parallel teams, also called cross-functional teams, Group Conflict consist of representatives from various Unclear Objectives Conflict is the psychological and behavioral departments (functions) within an organization. reaction to a perception that another person is Project teams are formed to produce one-time either keeping you from reaching a goal, taking outputs such as creating a new product, installing a away your right to behave in a particular way, or new software system, or hiring a new employee. violating the expectancies of a relationship. Once the team’s goal has been accomplished, the goals. - punctuated equilibrium, suggests that rather teleconferencing, Performing stage, the team begins to accomplish to work together permanently, whereas dissolve. Norming stage, the team works toward easing the nonthreatening tones. Storming stage, the good behavior disappears. On an individual level, team members often make attempts to compromise, and use Forming stage, team members get to know each Dysfunctional conflict keeps people from working team is dismantled. together, lessens productivity, spreads to other Management Teams coordinate, manage, advice, areas, and increases turnover. and direct employees and teams. Whereas work, Functional conflict, moderate levels of conflict parallel, and project teams are responsible for can directly competition, and increase team effectiveness. accomplishing a particular goal, management teams are responsible for providing general direction and assistance to those teams. stimulate new ideas, increase friendly - can reduce the risk of much larger conflicts 15 Types of Conflict Interpersonal Conflict - occurs between two fashion and does what it takes to win, with little individuals. In the workplace, interpersonal conflict regard for the other person might occur between two coworkers, a supervisor Winning at all costs occurs especially when a and a subordinate, an employee and a customer, person regards his side as correct and the or an employee and a vendor. other person is regarded as the enemy whose Individual–group conflict usually occurs when side is incorrect. the individual’s needs are different from the group’s Forcing style handles conflict in a win-lose Collaborating Style- wants to win but also wants needs, goals, or norms. to see the other person win. These people seek Group–Group Conflict- In industry, company win-win solutions—that is, ways in which both divisions often conflict for the same reasons. A sides get what they want. good example of group–group conflict occurred Compromising Style- The user of this type adopts between two branches of the same bank located in giveand-take tactics that enable each side to get the same town. The branches competed for some of what it wants but not everything it wants. customers not only with other banks but with each other. - Compromising usually involves a good deal of negotiation and bargaining. Causes of Conflict Competition for Resources- when demand for a settlement that a person is willing to accept; it resource exceeds its supply, conflict occurs must be realistic and satisfy the person’s Task interdependence, comes when the actual needs performance of some group members depends on the performance of other group members. Jurisdictional ambiguity, is found when for and still reasonably support with facts and logic. unclear. For example, two employees might argue Resolving Conflict over whose job it is to get the mail. Communication Barriers- The barriers Prior to Conflict Occurring to - employees should first try to resolve their own interpersonal communication can be physical, such conflicts, and if that is not successful, they can utilize a as separate locations on different floors or in third-party intervention. Employees should receive different buildings; cultural, such as different training on the causes of conflict, ways to prevent languages or different customs; or psychological, conflict, and strategies for resolving conflict. such as different styles or personalities. Beliefs - Conflict is most likely to occur when individuals or groups believe that they: When Conflict First Occurs - When conflict first occurs between coworkers or between a supervisor and a subordinate, the two - are superior to other people or groups parties should be encouraged to use the conflict - have been mistreated by others resolution skills they learned in training to resolve the - are vulnerable to others and are in harm’s conflict on their own. - If the two can’t agree, the conflict is labeled a way Maximum Supportable Position (MSP) s the best possible settlement that a person can ask geographical boundaries or lines of authority are Least Acceptable Result (LAR) is the lowest Personality- Conflict is often the result of people dispute, and the parties should seek third-party with incompatible personalities who must work intervention. together. - Cooperative Problem Solving- An example Conflict Styles of this approach is when the president of an Avoiding Style- Employees using an avoiding organization forms a task force or committee with style choose to ignore the conflict and hope it will representatives from all of the departments or divisions resolve itself. that will be affected by the solution. Together these Triangling occurs when an employee representatives work to define the problem, identify discusses the conflict with a third party, such possible solutions, and arrive at the best one. as a friend or supervisor. Third-Party Intervention Accommodating Style- When a person is so - If conflict cannot be resolved by the parties intent on settling a conflict that he gives in and involved, it is often a good idea to seek help—that is, to risks hurting himself ask for third-party intervention. This third party 16 usually is provided through mediation, and if that doesn’t work, through arbitration. Mediation, a neutral third party is asked to help both parties reach a mutually agreeable solution to the conflict. Mediators are not there to make decisions. Instead, their role is to facilitate the communication process by providing the parties with a safe and equitable venue so that they are more willing and able to reach a solution. Arbitration, a neutral third party listens to both sides’ arguments and then makes a decision. Within an organization, this neutral party is often the manager of the two employees in conflict. However, if that manager just served as a mediator, then an HR director might be used. Arbitration decisions can be either binding or nonbinding If the decision is binding, the two sides have agreed to abide by the arbitrator’s decision regardless of how displeased one or both sides may be with that decision. If the decision is nonbinding, then one or both sides can reject an unfavorable decision.
