ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 1: Organisational Structure
An organisation is an entity (comprised of people) that has a collective goal and is
linked to an external environment.
Two types of organisations are: 1) Organic (decentralised, shared decision-making),
and 2) Mechanistic (hierarchical, predictable).
Organisational Structure is the pattern of interactions and coordination that links
technology, tasks, and humans of an organisation, to ensure that the organisation
accomplishes its goals.
Organisational Structure (Chain of Command) is the hierarchical arrangements of
lines of authority, communicators, rights, and duties in an organisation, determining
how the roles of power and responsibilities are assigned, controlled, and
coordinated, and how information flows between the various levels of management.
There should be Unity of Command (no employee should receive directions from
more than one manager).
One factor in an Organisational Structure is the Span of Control. The span of control
is the number of employees under the supervision of a manager. Factors affecting
span of control include: geographical dispersion; the capabilities of the workers; and
the capability of the manager.
Organisational Structure provides an environment for, and largely determines,
Organisational Behavior.
External Environment is the environment of an organisation which affects its ability to
reach business goals.
An Organisational Structure’s 6 building blocks are:
1) Span of Control -- the number of subordinates a superior can effectively manage.
2) Chain of Command -- who reports to whom?
3) Centralisation -- who makes what decisions?
4) Specialisation -- division of labor.
5) Formalisation -- the degree to which an employee’s tasks are governed by rules,
procedures, and other mechanisms.
6) Departmentalisation -- how the organisation groups the company's functions,
offices, and teams.
Task Environment: Any employee or consumer who is directly involved with a
business is part of that business's Task Environment. Task Environment sectors
include: Employees, Suppliers, Customers, and Competitors.
An organisation has a Building Process. (?)
Business Communication is the transfer and understanding of information and
meaning among management, employees, and customers.
Components of the communication process include:
1) Sender.
2) Encoding a message.
3) Selecting a channel.
4) Sending the message.
5) The message is received.
6) The message is de-coded.
7) The receiver sends feedback.
Communication is affected by the context within which it occurs.
Communication and Perception are related.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 2: Organisational Design
Organisational Design is the structure of tasks, responsibilities, and authority
relationships within an organisation.
Organisational Design involves environmental factors that affect human cognitions
(thoughts), emotions, and behaviour in an organisation.
Organisational Design represents the outcomes of a decision-making process that
includes environmental factors, strategic choices, and technological factors.
Organisation Design decisions often involve an organisation’s culture, power and
political behaviours, and job design.
Functional Design is the deployment of employees based on their specialised
abilities.
3 factors in Organisational Design
1) Environmental (suppliers, distributors, competitors, customers).
2) Strategic (low cost, differentiation [be distinct], focused [target a niche].
3) Technological (turn inputs into outputs).
***
Each Organisational Design fosters its own kind of Bureaucratic Structure and
Organisational Culture. For examples:
1) Bureaucratic (predictable, stable),
2) Clan (commitment, teamwork, self-management),
3) Entrepreneurial (risk-taking, creative), and
4) Market (competitive, market-oriented).
BCEM
***
Modern organization designs are a marked departure from the classical bureaucratic
model. The horizontal, hollow, modular, network, and virtual organization designs
have
emerged to better meet the needs for flexibility and change in the new environment.
***
7 types of Organisational Design
***
1) Multi-national
A multinational organisation is a company which has its headquarters in one
country but has assembly or production facilities in other countries.
***
2) Networked
The network structure is a newer type of organizational structure viewed as
less hierarchical (i.e., more “flat”), more decentralized, and more flexible than
other structures.
***
3) Virtual
Created to respond to an exceptional market opportunity that is seen as
temporary. Attributes: technology, opportunism, no borders, trust, excellence.
The term, Virtual, itself represents the new environment and the partnering,
alliances, and outsourcing arrangements found in an increasing number of
global companies. Collaboration or joint ventures with competitors may take
the form of a Virtual organization -- a company outside a company, created to
specifically respond to an exceptional market opportunity that is often
temporary.
Different from traditional mergers and acquisitions, the partners in the Virtual
organization share costs, skills, and access to international markets. Each
partner contributes to the Virtual organization its best core capabilities. Key
attributes of the virtual organization include:
1. Technology. Informational networks help far-flung companies and
entrepreneurs link up and work together.
2. Opportunism. Partnerships are less permanent, less formal, and more
opportunistic. Companies band together to meet specific market opportunities
and often fall apart once the need evaporates.
3. No borders. This new organizational model redefines the traditional
boundaries of the company. More cooperation among competitors, suppliers,
and customers makes it harder to determine where one company ends and
another begins.
4. Trust. These relationships make companies far more reliant on each other
and require far more trust than ever before. They share a sense of
“codestiny,” meaning that the fate of each partner is dependent on the other.
5. Excellence. Because each partner brings its “core competence” to the
effort, it may be possible to create a “best-of-everything” organization. Every
function and process could be world class -- something no single company
could achieve.
Virtual organizations can help competitiveness in the global economy. The
alliances and partnerships with other organizations can extend worldwide, the
spatial and temporal interdependence can transcend boundaries, and the
flexibility allows easy reassignment and reallocation to take quick advantage
of shifting opportunities in global markets. To avoid disintegration and attain
effective needed focus, the Virtual organization must have a shared vision, a
strong brand, and, most important, a high-trust culture.
4) Hollow and Modular.
Around the turn of the new century, especially with the advent of advanced
information technology (i.e., the Internet and mobile phones) and
globalization, new organization designs emerged.
The horizontal designs broke down the former bureaucratic hierarchical and
functional specialization boundaries within an organization.
In addition, twenty-first century designs have extended and broken the
boundaries of the organization itself.
In order to compete in the global economy, far-thinking management
recognized and embraced the fact that they needed to outsource selected
tasks, functions, and processes.
For example, much of manufacturing on all levels and industries was
outsourced to China and other developing countries, while information
processing and customer service was outsourced to India and a few other
countries.
This movement of entire processes outside the organization left what has
been termed the Hollow design.
When just parts of the product or service are outsourced, it’s called
the Modular design.
Initially, organizations involved in labor intensive manufacturing of toys,
apparel, shoes (e.g., Nike and Reebok) moved to Hollow designs that
outsourced the entire process of making of their products and left them to
focus on product design and marketing.
Then in recent years manufacturing of all kinds has moved outside the United
States and also financial, accounting, and even medical service processes
have left Hollow organizations.
Advantages of this design include cost savings, tapping into best sources of
specialization and technology, supplier competition and technology, and
flexibility. Disadvantages include the loss of in-house skills and innovation,
reduced control over supply and quality, and even the threat of being entirely
supplanted by suppliers.
Modular designs are based on outsourcing, but instead of the entire process
being taken offshore, as in Hollow designs (e.g., manufacturing, logistics, or
customer service), the Modular design consists of product chunks provided by
internal and external subcontractors.
Industries that commonly use Modular designs include auto, bicycle,
consumer electronics, appliances, power tools, and computing products and
software.
The advantages of Modular designs include cost, speed of response to
market changes, and innovation through recombination of modules in different
ways. This flexibility advantage, however, is counterbalanced by problems
with interfacing the modules and laggards in the supply chain affecting the
whole system.
5) Horizontal
All can communicate with all. Gives people involved with a process have
more say-so regarding ways this process is done. Horizontal corporate
culture: openness, cooperation, and collaboration; valuing employee
empowerment, responsibility, and development.
Horizontal designs are at the other end of the continuum from the traditional
vertical, hierarchical structures.
The horizontal organization advocates the dispensing of internal boundaries
that are an impediment to effective business performance.
If the traditional structure can be likened to a pyramid, the metaphor that best
applies to the horizontal organization is a pizza. The modern environment
has stimulated the change to horizontal designs that better facilitate
cooperation, teamwork, and a customer rather than a functional orientation.
1. Organization revolves around the process, not the task. Instead of creating
a structure around the traditional functions, the organization is built around its
three to five core processes. Each process has an “owner” and specific
performance goals.
2. The hierarchy is flattened. To reduce levels of supervision, fragmented
tasks are combined, work that fails to add value is eliminated, and activities
within each process are cut to the minimum.
3. Teams are used to manage everything. Self-managed teams are the
building blocks of the organization. The teams have a common purpose and
are held accountable for measuring performance goals.
4. Customers drive performance. Customer satisfaction, not profits or stock
appreciation, is the primary driver and measure of performance.
5. Team performance is rewarded. The reward systems are geared toward
team results, not just individual performance. Employees are rewarded for
multiple skill development rather than just specialized expertise.
6. Supplier and customer contact is maximized. Employees are brought into
direct, regular contact with suppliers and customers. Where relevant, supplier
and customer representatives may be brought in as full working members of
in-house teams.
7. All employees need to be fully informed and trained. Employees should be
provided all data, not just sanitized information on a “need to know”
basis. However, they also need to be trained how to analyze and use the
data to make effective decisions.
6) Boundaryless
Boundaryless organizations can innovate rapidly, and therefore are ideal for
technology industries.
Boundaryless organizations “transcend the rigid lines of bureaucracy and
divisional boundaries within a corporation and ignore the borders where the
corporation itself is separated from its markets, customers and
stakeholders. Focusing on fluid and adaptive behavior, these organic
structures welcome and thrive on change. The informal managerial style is
well suited for intricate and non-standard work.
Boundaryless organizations communicate mainly through email, phone, and
other virtual methods rather than more traditional face-to-face
communication. The freedom to telecommute with international employees
removes geographical barriers to productivity and allows for schedule
flexibility. By organizing expert employees in groups and giving them
decision-making authority, these companies can change quickly to meet
needs and function efficiently in a loosely-defined hierarchy.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 3: Organisational Climate
An Organisational Climate is a set of properties of the work environment, perceived
directly or indirectly by the employees, that influences employee
behavior. Organisational Culture, Structure, Design, and Communication practices -as well as the physical qualities of the workplace -- contribute to the Organisational
Climate.
Organizational Climate is an overall “feeling” that is conveyed by the physical layout,
the way participants interact, and the way members of the organization conduct
themselves with customers or other outsiders.
Organisational Psychology is the scientific study of organisations, and of the ways
people within organisations behave and interact. It applies psychological theories
and principles to organisations, and to the people within the
organisations. Organisational Psychology is usually undertaken in order to improve
the organisation.
Organisational Psychology is also known as Occupational Psychology, Industrial
Psychology, Work Psychology, Corporate Psychology, and Business Psychology.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 4: Organisational Culture
Organisational Culture is a complex pattern of learned beliefs, expectations, ideas,
values, attitudes, behaviours, and customs shared by the members of an
organisation that evolve over time.
Organisational Culture involves the knowledge, values, visions, goals, structure,
technology, and environment (including the physical layout of the workplace) that are
shared by people in an organisation.
Organisational culture includes the dominant values held by the organisation, the
norms shared by the individuals and teams, and the philosophy that guides
management’s policies and decision-making.
An Organisational Culture is a pattern of assumptions -- invented, discovered, and/or
developed by the organisation -- that have worked and are considered valuable and
worth teaching to new members as the ideal way to perceive, think, and feel in
relation to challenges.
An Organisational Culture directs the behaviour of members of the organisation.
4 Organisational Cultures are:
1) Bureaucratic (predictable, stable).
2) Clan (commitment, teamwork, self-management).
3) Entrepreneurial (risk-taking, creative).
4) Market (competitive, market-oriented).
BCEM
Aspects of Organisational Culture include:
1) Observed behavioural regularities.
2) Norms.
3) Values.
4) Philosophy.
5) Rules.
6) "Organisational Climate" (the overall feeling, including the physical layout of the
workplace, and ways people conduct themselves within the organisation).
Organisations have sub-cultures according to gender, age, etc.
There is sub-cultural distinctiveness, homogeneity, and exclusion.
6 ways to create and maintain positive Organisational Cultures are -1) Managers and teams pay attention, and measure, seek to promote and control the
organisation's culture.
2) The organisation's culture influences ways managers react to unexpected
situations, crises.
3) The organisation's culture is embodied in managerial role-modeling, teaching,
and coaching.
4) The organisation's culture provides criteria for allotting rewards and status.
5) The organisation's culture provides criteria for recruitment, selection, promotion,
and removal.
6) The organisation's culture is in its rituals, ceremonies, and stories (folklore).
***
Reasons people might fear cultural diversity include:
1) Diversity might pose threats to the organisation's functioning.
2) Members of minority groups might be oversensitive, and might express discomfort
with the dominant group's values.
3) Members of minority groups might not adopt values of the dominant group.
4) Members of minority groups might feel they are not receiving equal ("fair")
treatment.
Socialisation (enculturalisation) is a process that adapts employees to the
organisation’s culture. It is a process by which individuals acquire the knowledge,
language, social skills, and value to conform to the norms and roles required for
integration into a group or community.
6 ways to socialise (enculturate) people into organisations are:
1) Select employees who may seem interetedd in the organisation’s culture.
2) Invite employees to question their old beliefs.
3) Give training (for practice and habit formation) regarding the organisation’s
methods.
4) Measure productivity and adherence to the organisation's beliefs.
5) Promote folklore, values, and certain role models and personality traits.
6) Promote and reward employees who exhibit certain behaviors and traits.
6 ways to create and teach the culture of an organisation are:
1) Managers and teams pay attention, and measure, seek to promote and control the
organisation's culture.
2) The organisation's culture influences ways managers react to unexpected
situations, crises.
3) The organisation's culture is embodied in managerial role-modeling, teaching,
and coaching.
4) The organisation's culture provides criteria for allotting rewards and status.
5) The organisation's culture provides criteria
for recruitment, selection, promotion, removal, etc.
6) The organisation's rituals, ceremonies, and stories (folklore) are inspired by its
cultures.
Organisational Culture includes Organisational Justice, and Organisational Equity.
Organisational Justice (also known as Organisational Fairness) is the perception of
fairness and equity. It is the degree to which rules are perceived as being fair, and
as being applied fairly.
Organisational Justice refers to the idea that an action or decision is morally right,
which may be defined according to ethics, religion, fairness, equity, or law. People
are naturally attentive to the justice of events and situations in their everyday lives,
across a variety of contexts. The concept of organisational justice is with regard to
how an employee judges the behaviour of the organisation and the employee's
resulting attitude and behaviour. Justice in organisations can include issues related
to perceptions of fair pay, equal opportunities for promotion, and personnel selection
procedures.
***
Organisational Equity is the perception of being treated fairly in comparison to other
employees. When an employee feels the contribution he/she is making is valued
and rewarded by the company to the same degree that similar contributions made by
other employees are being valued, the employee feels a state of equity exists.
A State of Equity exists when each employee perceives the ratio of his/her “inputsto-outcomes” is equal to the ratio of other similar-level employees’ inputs-tooutcomes.
***
A Social Audit is a formal review of a company's social and ethical performance.
Social Audit is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately
improving a company's social and ethical performance.
A Social Audit is a process of evaluating a company's various operating procedures,
codes of conduct, and other factors to determine its impact on society (including on
its own employees).
A Social Audit looks at factors such as a company's record of charitable giving,
volunteer activity, energy use, transparency, work environment, and worker pay and
benefits to evaluate what kind of social and environmental impact a company is
having.
A Social Audit helps to narrow gaps between an organisation's vision/goal, and its
reality.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 5: Organisational Behavior
Organisational Behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups, structure, and culture have on behavior within organisations, for
the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organisation’s
effectiveness.
Studying Organisational Behavior involves attempting to understand, predict, and
manage behavior in organisations.
Organisational Behavior studies the impact individuals, groups, and structures have
on human behavior within organisations.
A central idea of the study of Organisational Behavior is that a scientific approach
can be applied to the management of workers.
Organisational Behavior studies the impact individuals, groups, and structures have
on human behavior within organisations.
Organisational Behavior involves understanding, predicting, and managing behavior
in organisations.
Organisational Behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups, structure, and culture have on behavior within organisations, for
the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organisation’s
efficiency and effectiveness.
Organisational Behavior is the study of both group and individual performance and
activity within an organisation.
Organisational Behaviour is the study of human behavior, attitudes, and performance
in organisations.
Organisational Behavior is an interdisciplinary field, drawing ideas from Sociology,
Cultural Anthropology, Industrial Engineering, Management, Communication, and
(Social, Clinical, and Organisational) Psychology.
2 types of Conformity are:
1) Compliance (against one's will).
2) Personal acceptance.
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognise one's own and others' emotions,
including self-awareness, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 6: Ability, Aptitude
Ability is being able to do something.
Ability is a person's capability for: performing an assigned, goal-related task;
acquiring knowledge; or developing a skill.
Ability is a person's capability for: performing an assigned, goal-related task;
acquiring knowledge; or developing a skill.
Ability is a person's capability for performing an assigned, goal-related task.
Ability is a basic capacity for performing a wide range of different tasks, acquiring
knowledge, or developing a skill.
Ability is the person’s talent for performing goal-related tasks. However, regardless
of a person’s competence, ability alone is not enough to ensure performance at a
high level. The person must also want to achieve a high level of performance.
A person may have a Specific Ability (referring to ability in one field), or General
Ability (referring to ability in several fields). One might say about a person with
General Ability: "This person knows how to get things done".
The kinds of employees' abilities are relevant to the organisations in which the
employees work.
Aptitude is being able to learn to do something.
Aptitude is the natural capacity of a person to acquire competence through training.
Aptitude is a person's natural capacity to acquire competence through training: it is
being able to learn to do something.
A person may have a Specific Aptitude or General Aptitude. One might say about a
person with General Aptitude: "This person is a fast learner".
Ability x Motivation = Achievement, Performance
Efficacy is the ability to do produce a desired result.
Self-efficacy is the confidence that one has the ability to produce a desired result.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 7: Perception in orgs
Perception is the process through which one selects, organises, and interprets input
from one's sensory receptors in order to give meaning to one's environment.
The Stages of Perception are:
1) Exposure / Registration,
2) Attention.
3) Interpretation.
4) Feedback.
***
Self-fulfilling Prophecy occurs when a person inaccurately perceives a second
person and the resulting expectations cause the second person to behave in ways
consistent with the original perception. Expectations about the occurrence of a
future event or behavior act to increase the likelihood the event or behavior will
occur.
***
Stereotyping is making a generalisation, usually exaggerated or oversimplified and
often offensive, that is used to describe or distinguish a group. Stereotyping is
assigning traits to groups of people based on their race, nationality, sexual
orientation, or another characteristic.
***
Cognitive Dissonance is the mental stress or discomfort experienced by an individual
who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values at the same time,
performs an action that is contradictory to one or more beliefs, ideas or values, or is
confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs, ideas, or values.
***
Availability Bias is the preference for most recent data, observed personally, in a
memorable way.
***
Contrast Effects.
A contrast effect is the enhancement or diminishment, relative to normal, of
perception, cognition, or related performance as a result of immediately previous or
simultaneous exposure to a stimulus of lesser or greater value in the same
dimension.
A contrast effect is the enhancement or diminishment of perception of performance
as a result of perception of immediately previous or simultaneous stimulus.
Perception example: A neutral gray area of color may appear lighter or darker than it
does in isolation when immediately preceded by, or simultaneously compared to, a
dark gray or light gray area of color.
Cognition example: A person may appear more or less attractive than that person
does in isolation when immediately preceded by, or simultaneously compared to, a
less or more attractive person.
Performance example: A laboratory rat may work faster or slower during a stimulus,
predicting a given amount of reward, when that stimulus and reward are immediately
preceded by, or alternated with, respectively, different stimuli associated with either a
lesser or greater amount of reward.
***
Judging Others (Shortcuts in Judging Others in Organisations) -1) Assumed Similarity -- "He is like me".
The statement is accurate only if one is referring to someone who indeed is like one.
2) Group Stereotyping -- Generalising.
3) Halo Effect.
4) Horn Effect.
The Halo Effect is letting one factor influence one to think all is good about a person.
A Halo Effect occurs when a rater allows either a single attribute or an overall
impression of an individual to affect the ratings that she makes on each relevant job
dimension.
The Halo Effect is a cognitive bias in which an observer's overall impression of a
person, company, brand, or product influences the observer's feelings and thoughts
about that entity's character or properties.
The Horn Effect is letting one factor influence one to think all is bad about a person.
***
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognise one's own and others' emotions,
including self-awareness, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills.
***
Field Dependence is a cognitive style. People who exhibit Field Dependence tend to
rely on information provided by the field or frame of a situation, and their cognition
toward other things is based on this overall field.
Field Dependence learning style is defined by a tendency to perceive details in
relation to the surrounding context. Field-dependent learners often work well in
teams as they tend to be better at interpersonal relationships.
***
Social Facilitation is the tendency for people to perform in an improved ways when in
the presence of others.
Two types of Social Facilitation are:
1) Co-action Effect -- Improved task performance occurs due to the mere presence
of others doing the same task.
2) Audience Effect -- Improved task performance occurs due to the presence of a
passive spectator/audience.
***
What are some links between perception and individual decision-making in
organisations?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 8: Attribution
Attribution concerns ways people explain the causes of their own and others'
behavior.
Attribution Theory seeks to explain how people "assign causality" (blame or credit) to
people. Attribution involves understanding why people do what they do.
Attribution is the process by which people use information to make inferences about
the causes of behavior or events. Attributions strongly influence the way people
interact with others, including in organisations.
We attribute a person's behavior to various factors, including: internal, external,
stable, unstable, and other causes.
4 types of Attribution are:
1) Dispositional (Internal traits): People infer that an event or a person’s behavior is
due to personal factors such as traits, abilities, or feelings.
2) Situational (External influences): People infer that a person’s behavior is due to
situational factors.
3) Stable: People infer that an event or behavior is due to stable, unchanging
factors.
4) Unstable: People infer that an event or behavior is due to unstable, temporary
factors.
The Fundamental Attribution Error attributes others' failures to their traits, not to
external factors. One underestimates the influence of external factors. We attribute
an employee's lateness to his/her character, when he/she might have been late
because of unusual traffic.
Self-serving Bias attributes one's successes to one's traits, and attribute one's
failures to external factors.
There is a tendency for individuals to attribute one's successes to internal factors
such as ability or effort while putting the blame for one's failure on external factors
such as luck. This is called Self-serving Bias and suggests that feedback provided
to employees in performance reviews will be predictably distorted by recipients
depending on whether it is positive or negative.
Defensive Attribution -- People generally take credit for success (Internal Attribution),
but blame failure on outside causes (External Attribution).
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 9: Personality in orgs
Traits are the consistent and habitual patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviour,
emotions or actions that distinguish one individual from another which are
considered to be relatively consistent and distinctive ways across situations and over
time.
Traits are the distinctive qualities or exclusive set of characteristics, especially of
one‘s individual specific nature.
Traits are not fixed but they are the foundation tendencies which remain stable
across the life span, but individualistic characteristic behaviour can change
significantly through adaptive process.
A trait is an inner characteristic that corresponds to any intense position on the
behavioural dimensions.
Attitude Formation (Personality Determinants):
1) Culture.
2) Environment.
3) Family.
4) Experiences.
5) Groups.
CEFEG
Personality Determinants include):
1) Hereditary (Genetic).
2) Learned (Attitude Formation).
***
Big 5 Personality Factors
(as stated on p. 31 of the course textbook) -Conscientiousness.
Agreeableness.
Adjustment.
Sociability.
Intellectual Openness.
CAASI
1) Conscientiousness is a trait that can be described as the tendency to control
impulses and act in socially acceptable ways, behaviors that facilitate goal-directed
behavior. Conscientious people excel in their ability to delay gratification, work
within the rules, and plan and organize effectively. Conscientiousness includes high
levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed
behaviors. People who are very conscientious tend to be organized and mindful of
details. They are diligent, organised, and detail-oriented.
2) Agreeableness includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection,
flexibility and many other pro social behaviors. This factor concerns how well people
get along with others. While extroversion concerns sources of energy and the pursuit
of interactions with others, agreeableness concerns your orientation to others. It is a
construct that rests on how you generally interact with others.
3) Adjustment. Being flexible. Being willing and able to adjust to new circumstances
-- without getting angry and resentful. Not being rigid and brittle. Sees change as an
opportunity, not as an inconvenience.
4) Sociability often involves being talkative, assertive, and expressive.
5) Intellectual Openness / Openness to Experience. This involves characteristics
such as curiosity, imagination, and insight. Those high in this trait tend to have a
broader range of interests. They are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and
interested in new ideas. Openness is measured across six facets: Imagination,
Artistic Interests, Emotionality, Adventurousness, Intellect, and Liberalism.
***
In other versions of the Big Five Personality Factors, these other terms are also
sometimes
included: Self-esteem. Extraversion. Openness to Experience. Emotional
Stability. Neuroticism.
Openness to Experience.
Conscientiousness.
Extraversion.
Agreeableness.
Neuroticism.
OCEAN
Neuroticism (anger, anxiety, depression; unstable). Being prone to psychological
stress. Tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety,
depression, and vulnerability. Neuroticism may also involve low emotional stability
and impulse control.
Extraversion -- talkative, expressive, energetic, assertive, sociable, and having the
tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others, and talkativeness. High
extraversion is often perceived as attention-seeking and domineering. Low
extraversion causes a reserved, reflective personality, which can be perceived as
aloof or self-absorbed. Extroverted people may appear more dominant in social
settings, as opposed to introverted people in this setting.
Extraverts enjoy human interactions. They thrive off of being around other people,
and take pleasure in activities that involve large social gatherings, such as parties,
community activities, community meetings, public demonstrations, business groups,
and political groups.
Extroversion is a Personality dimension. Extraversion is the act, state, or habit of
being predominantly concerned with obtaining gratification from what is outside the
self.
Self-esteem is the evaluation which the individual makes and customarily maintains
with regard to himself/herself”. Self- esteem refers to a person's sense of worth and
the extent to which a person values or likes himself. Further, Self-esteem refers to
people’s representations of their typical, or general, global feelings of self-worth and
self-esteem level reflects people’s representations of how they typically feel about
themselves across time and context. Generally, self-esteem is described as a
personal evaluation that an individual makes of her or himself, their sense of their
own worth, value, importance, or capabilities.
***
Leaders may have Hardy personalities, and may have Type A personalities.
Hardy personality:
1) Feels commitment.
2) Problems are challenges and opportunities.
3) Internal motivations -- interests, curiosity, optimism.
4) Responds constructively to seek solutions.
Commitment (a sense of self, direction, and place in life).
Control (personal agency, an internal locus of control).
Challenge (look at change as normal, a challenge, and an opportunity; not a
stressor.)
Type A personality:
1) Urgency about time.
2) Competitive.
3) Aversion to idleness.
4) Impatience with barriers.
People who have Type A personality:
1) May speak rapidly.
2) May be dissatisfied with life.
3) May develop heart disease.
4) May over-react in hostile and aggressive ways.
***
If one has a Dogmatic Personality, one follows a doctrine relating to morals and faith,
a set of beliefs that is never questioned. Such a person holds arrogant opinions
based on unproven theories or even despite facts; is stubborn and narrow-minded,
often because of prejudice and bigotry; and maintains opinions no matter what.
***
3 aspects of Attitudes are:
1) Cognitive (thoughts about a thing),
2) Affective (emotions about a thing), and
3) Conative (intentions, possibly leading to actions).
3 factors in Attitude Formation are:
1) Ways attitudes are learned.
2) Sources of influence.
3) Impact of the consumer's personality on consumption practices.
Attitudes are learned pre-dispositions.
Attitudes are relatively long-lasting and stable feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and
tendencies regarding specific things, classes of things, objects, ideas, issues,
individuals, or groups.
The Dark Triad:
1) Machiavellianism.
2) Narcissism.
3) Psychopathology.
Machiavellianism is a personality trait such that one is so focused on one's own
interests that one will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve one's goals.
Ideal Self Image -Humanistic Psychologist Carl Rogers states the personality is composed of the Real
Self and the Ideal Self. One's Real Self is who one actually is, while one's Ideal Self
is the person one wants to be (or imagines oneself to be). The Ideal Self is an
idealised version of oneself, created out of the demands of society, and what one
admires in one's role models. One's Ideal Self might be someone who excels in
science subjects, spends a lot of time studying, and does not get queasy at the sight
of blood. If one's Real Self is far from this idealised image, then one might feel
dissatisfied with one's life and consider oneself a failure.
4 Traits, aspects of personality:
1) Introversion / Extroversion.
2) Perceiving / Judging.
3) Sensing / Intuiting.
4) Thinking / Feeling.
Four Theories of Personality -1) Self-concept (self-image): A) Desire for self-consistency; B) Desire to enhance
one's self-esteem.
2) Psychoanalytic.
3) Social / Cultural (Neo-Freudian).
4) Trait:
A) Behavioral tendencies are relatively stable.
B) A limited number of traits are common to most individuals, and differ only
in the degree to which they have these tendencies.
C) When identified and measured, these traits and degrees are useful in
characterising individual personalities.
Hans Eyesenck.
Emotional stability. Impulse control. If emotional instability, then neurosis.
Internal or External Locus of Control.
In personality psychology, locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals
believe they can control events affecting them. The concept is an aspect of
personality studies. A person's "locus" (Latin for "place" or "location") is
conceptualised as either internal (the person believes they can control their life) or
external (meaning they believe their decisions and life are controlled by
environmental factors which they cannot influence, or by chance or fate).
Individuals with a strong internal locus of control believe events in their life derive
primarily from their own actions: for example, when receiving exam results, people
with an internal locus of control tend to praise or blame themselves and their
abilities. People with a strong external locus of control tend to praise or blame
external factors such as the teacher or the exam.
Locus of control generated much research in a variety of areas in psychology. The
construct is applicable to such fields as educational psychology, health psychology
and clinical psychology. Debate continues whether specific or more global
measures of locus of control will prove to be more useful in practical
application. Careful distinctions should also be made between locus of control (a
concept linked with expectancies about the future) and attributional style (a concept
linked with explanations for past outcomes), or between locus of control and
concepts such as self-efficacy.
***
What are some ways that Personality Traits could be relevant to
Organisational Behavior?
What are some ways the personality of an individual could his/her predict
behavior at work?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 10: Motivation in orgs
Motivation is a drive to satisfy a need.
Motivation is the driving force that impels people to act. It represents the reasons
one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
Motivation represents the forces acting on or within a person that cause the person
to behave in a specific, goal-oriented manner. Because motives of employees affect
their productivity, one of management’s jobs is to channel employee motivation
effectively toward achieving organisational goals.
Motivation is not the same as performance. Even the most highly motivated
employees may not be successful in their jobs, especially if they don’t have the
competencies needed to perform the jobs or work under unfavourable job
conditions. Although job performance involves more than motivation, motivation is
an important factor in achieving high performance.
Social Motives are also known as Acquired Motives and Learned Motives.
Social Motives are learned in social groups about things one should do in society.
One learns what is socially acceptable.
Behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives.
People act in order to achieve maximum pleasure, and minimum pain.
Early theories of motivation --
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory - "Needs."
McClelland's Manifest Needs Theory (Achievement Motivation Theory) -- "Needs."
Vroom's Expectancy Theory of Motivation (Expectancy Behavior) states that effort,
performance, and motivation are based on:
1) Expectancy (one will do something if one wants what one expects will be the
result of doing the thing; given a set of inputs, one expects a set of outputs).
2) Instrumentality (ability to be focused, competitive, objective, and decisive).
3) Valence (measurement of preferability of an action).
People are motivated to work by the expectation that they would get what they want
as a result.
Expectancy is the belief that effort equals performance. Expectancy is related to
motivation.
Expectancy is the belief that a particular level of effort will be followed by a particular
level of performance and reward.
Forces acting on or in a person cause the person to behave in a specific, goaloriented manner.
Expectancy Model: One will be motivated to work if one believes one will get what
one wants as a result of one's work -- if one expects to achieve the things one wants
from one's job.
Employees will be motivated if -1) There is a positive correlation between effort and performance.
2) Good performance will result in a desired reward.
3) The reward will satisfy an important need,
4) The desire to satisfy the reward is worth the effort.
Competence x Motivation = Productivity
Forces acting on or in a person cause the person to behave in a specific, goaloriented manner.
People are motivated to work by the expectation that they would get what they want
as a result.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations.
Extrinsic motives are tangible, and are visible to others. In the workplace, extrinsic
motivators include pay, benefits, and promotions. Intrinsic motives are internally
generated, including feelings of responsibility, achievement, accomplishment, that
something was learned from an experience, and/or that something was an engaging
task. Finding and performing work that is meaningful to one is associated with
intrinsic motivation.
Performance is determined by -1) Personality.
2) Experience.
3) Abilities.
4) Knowledge.
5) Skills.
PEAKS
What implications might Motivation theories have for managers?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 11: Needs
Needs are circumstances or things that are wanted or required, and they direct the
motivational forces.
2 types of human needs are:
1) Physiological.
2) Psychological.
***
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory
(as stated on p. 45 of the course textbook) -Self-actualisation.
Esteem -- Respect from others.
Affiliation -- Belonging.
Security.
Physiological.
SEASP
Security is sometimes replaced by Safety.
To satisfy:
Physiological needs -- health foods, low-fat products, medicines.
Security needs -- Insurance, home-security systems.
Affiliation (Social, Belonging) needs -- grooming products and clothing.
Esteem needs -- Hi-tech and luxury products.
Self-actualisation needs -- Graduate school, exotic vacations.
The term, Self-actualisation, was originally introduced by the organismic theorist Kurt
Goldstein for the motive to realise one's full potential. Expressing one's creativity,
quest for spiritual enlightenment, pursuit of knowledge, and the desire to give to
society are examples of self-actualisation. In Goldstein's view, it is the organism's
master motive, the only real motive: "the tendency to actualise itself as fully as
possible is the basic drive... the drive of self-actualisation."
Carl Rogers wrote, "The curative force in psychotherapy is the client's drive to selfactualise, to become one's potentialities ... to express and activate as many as
possible of the capacities in one's organism."
The concept was brought most fully to prominence in Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy
of Needs theory as the final level of psychological development that can be achieved
when all basic and mental needs are essentially fulfilled and the "actualisation" of the
full personal potential takes place.
Humanistic Psychology. Client-centered Therapy (Carl Rogers).
Fulfilling one's potential is a major drive in life. Clients' emotions, feelings are
primary.
Transactional leaders appeal to the lower needs. Transformative leaders appeal to
the higher needs.
***
Manifest Needs Theory / Achievement Motivation Theory (McClelland).
(Learned Needs) -1) Power -- An individual's desire to control his/her environment.
2) Achievement -- Personal accomplishment.
3) Affiliation-- Connection with and reinforcement from individuals and
organisations.
PAA
These Manifest Needs are learned and socially acquired through interaction with the
environment. The drive for these needs affect the actions of people, and could be
understood from managerial perspectives.
The Need for Affiliation is the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships;
the extent to which a person desires to be around other people.
Need for Achievement (n Achievement, N-Ach) refers to an individual's desire for
significant accomplishment, mastering of skills, control, or high standards. These
include "intense, prolonged and repeated efforts: To accomplish something
difficult. To work with singleness of purpose towards a high and distant goal. To
have the determination to win". The concept of N-Ach was popularised by the
psychologist David McClelland in his Motivation theory.
Need for Cognition measures a person's craving for and enjoyment of thinking.
***
In what ways could Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory be applied in
organisations?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 12: Decision-making in orgs
Decision-making is the thought process of selecting a logical choice from the
available options. It is the process of selecting the best among the different
alternatives. When trying to make a good decision, a person must weigh the
positives and negatives of each option, and consider all the alternatives. For
effective decision-making, a person must be able to forecast the outcome of each
option as well, and based on all these items, determine which option is the best for
that particular situation.
The benefits and costs of a decision can be assessed.
Steps of Decision-making:
1) Assessment.
2) Alternatives.
3) Analysis.
4) Application.
5) Action.
Steps of Decision-making in Organisations:
1) Identification phase.
A) Recognise problem.
2) Development phase.
A) Search for existing solutions.
B) Design new solutions.
3) Selection phase.
(Has to be authorised, and agreed to, by the company.)
A) Judgment of decision-maker.
B) Analyse opportunities.
C) Bargain.
Nominal Group Techniques
(designed especially for facilitating creativity) is:
1) Generating ideas.
2) Recording ideas.
3) Clarifying ideas.
4) Voting on ideas.
Critical variables in Decision-making include:
1) Identifying key elements of a plan to implement a particular solution.
2) Establishing priorities.
5 components of Ethical Decision-making are:
1) Ethical Intensity (the degree of moral importance given to an issue).
2) Decision-making principles and decision rules.
3) Affected individuals.
4) Benefits and costs.
5) Determination of rights.
Ethical Intensity is composed of:
1) Magnitude of Consequences.
2) Probability of Effect.
3) Social Consensus.
4) Temporal Immediacy.
5) Concentration of Effect.
3 types of Decision-making processes are:
1) Rational (un-biased, objective).
2) Bounded (may need to select a less-than-perfect alternative -- "Satisfacing" -- this
might avoid controversy, be easy to identify, and be safe).
3) Political (satisfies one's own interests; avoids controversy, popular, safe).
1) Rational (choosing from among alternatives):
A) Problem definition.
B) Data collection.
C) Data Analysis.
D) Assessment of alternatives (ranked according to criteria; what gives
maximum benefit?).
With Rational Decision-making (Rational Motives):
1) Available relevant accurate data about the alternatives has been gathered.
2) The information is presumably unbiased and accurate.
3) Alternative decisions have been ranked according to explained criteria.
4) The selected alternative will give the maximum possible gain for the organisation.
Xerox's 6-step rational process for decision-making is:
1) Identify problem -- What do we want to change?
2) Analyse problem -- What is stopping us?
3) Generate possible solutions -- How could the change be made?
4) Select and plan the solution -- What is the best way to do it?
5) Implement the solution -- Are we following the plan?
6) Evaluate the solution -- How well did it work?
2) Bounded Rationality reflects tendencies to:
A) Undertake a limited search for alternative solutions.
B) Select a less-than-the-best solution (Satisfacing).
C) Cope with inadequate information and control of environmental (external)
forces influencing the outcomes of decisions.
Satisfacing (selecting an acceptable, rather than optimal, alternative) produces
options that are:
1) Easier to identify.
2) Easier to achieve.
3) Less controversial.
4) Relatively safe.
Limited Search refers to Escalating Commitment (continuing or escalating the
allocation of resources to a course of action, even though there are indications the
course is wrong: to justify previous choices; to avoid admitting one has made a
mistake, and to be consistent).
If there is inadequate information and/or control:
1) Risk Propensity (the outcomes are unknown; it is good to avoid decisions in
situations in which the anticipated outcome is unknown).
2) Problem Framing (interpreting issues in positive/negative terms).
3) Knowledge management (one can add value to employees and to the
organisation by capitalising on the employees' expertise; this is a way of raising the
level of satisfacing).
3) Political decision-making: people satisfy their own interests.
Learning is a continuous process and gets modified or changed as a result of
exposure to new information and personal experiences. We infer that learning has
taken place if an individual behaves, reacts, or responds, as a result of experience,
in a manner different from the way the individual usually behaves.
Tacit knowledge comes from direct experience. Explicit knowledge comes from
statistics.
Availability Bias is the giving of preference by decision makers to information and
events that are more recent, that were observed personally, and were more
memorable. This is because memorable events tend to be more magnified and are
likely to cause an emotional reaction.
Ethics has to do with the rightness or wrongness of the decisions and behaviours of
individuals and the organisations of which they are members. Ethical issues in
organisations are more common and complex than generally recognised. Ethical
issues influence the decisions that employees make daily.
3 ethical principles used to justify self-serving decisions and behaviors are:
1) Hedonistic -- acts in self-interest, but not illegal.
2) Might-equals-right.
3) Organisation's interest.
When a person has more internal Locus of Control, more ethics are involved.
Ethics should be part of a job description and job review.
3 ethical principles used to justify decisions intended to balance the interests of
multiple individuals and groups are:
1) Means-end -- acting on the basis of an overall good is thought to justify a moral
transgression.
2) Utilitarian -- act on the basis of whether the harm from a decision is outweighed by
the good in it.
3) Professional Standards -- act on the basis of whether the decision can be
explained before a group of one's peers.
3 ethical principles focusing on the need to consider decisions and behaviors from
the perspectives of those affected (concern for others) are:
1) Disclosure -- act on the basis of ways the general public might respond.
2) Distributive Justice -- act on the basis of treating people equitably rather than
arbitrarily.
3) The Golden Rule -- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
3 types of Management Ethics are:
1) Moral.
2) Immoral.
3) Amoral.
What are some links between perception and decision-making?
What is meant by this statement? -- "Most significant decisions are made by
judgment".
What are 3 models of decision-making?
What are some common biases and errors in decision-making?
What are the steps involved in rational decision-making?
What are some ways to improve creativity in decision-making?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 13: Job attitudes
Job Satisfaction is the level of a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting
from the self-appraisal of one's job or job experiences.
Job Satisfaction can be defined as how content an individual is with his or her job;
whether he or she likes the job or not.
Job Satisfaction can be assessed at both the global level (whether or not the
individual is satisfied with the job overall), or at the facet level (whether or not the
individual is satisfied with different aspects of the job)
Job Satisfaction -1) The work itself.
A) Facet level.
B) Global level.
2) Pay.
3) Promotion opportunities.
4) Supervision.
5) Co-workers.
Job Satisfaction -1) Cognitive (intellectual satisfaction).
2) Affective (emotional satisfaction).
Affective Job Satisfaction for individuals reflects the degree of pleasure or happiness
their job in general induces. Cognitive job satisfaction is a more objective and logical
evaluation of various facets of a job.
A person with a high level of Job Satisfaction holds positive feelings about his or her
job, while a person with a low level holds negative feelings.
Job Rotation is a management approach where employees are shifted between two
or more assignments or jobs at regular intervals of time in order to expose them to all
verticals of an organisation. Job rotation explores the hidden potential of the
employee and reduces the risk of collusion between individuals. Job rotation also
helps in business continuity as multiple people are equally equipped to perform a job
function.
Career Elements -1) Subjective -- Values, attitudes, personality, motivation.
2) Objective -- Job choices, positions held, competencies developed.
Whistle Blowers are individuals who report unethical practices by their employer to
outsiders. A person who informs on a person or organisation regarded as engaging
in an unlawful or immoral activity.
Performance is determined by -1) Personality.
2) Experience.
3) Abilities.
4) Knowledge.
5) Skills.
PEAKS
Job Involvement (also known as Employee Engagement and Work Engagement)
refers to the extent to which an employee is psychologically and emotionally involved
in and enthusiastic about his/her work, profession, company, and industry.
Job Involvement is the degree to which people consider their perceived performance
levels important to self-worth. Employees with a high level of job involvement
strongly identify with and really care about the kind of work they do.
2 Job Attitudes are:
1) Just working for money. No interest in the work. No loyalty to the
company. Behaves in a transactional way (is motivated only by materialistic
rewards).
2) Inspired by the work and the company. Self-motivated.
Psychological Empowerment relates to employees' beliefs they affect their work
environments, are competent, their job is meaningful, and they are autonomous.
Organisational Commitment
Perceived Organisational Support (POS)
Employment at Will -- a manager can fire an employee for any reason.
Job Productivity -Relationships between an employee's personality, type of job, and productivity.
Productivity is the relationship between inputs consumed (labor hours, raw materials,
machines used, etc) and outputs created (goods and services produced).
Determinants of Work Performance:
1) Declarative Knowledge -- facts.
2) Procedural Knowledge (knowing ways to do things) -- cognitive, perceptual,
inter-personal skills.
3) Procedural Skills.
4) Motivation -- Does one make an effort? If yes -- How much? For how
long?
Measuring Productivity and Performance:
1) First-level outcomes -- Level of performance, quality of work, amount of
absenteeism (immediate).
2) Second-level outcomes -- Rewards and punishments (raises, promotions,
security, praise, reprimands, dismissal, etc) (results, long-term).
What are some ways Job Satisfaction could affect Employee Performance?
What are some ways employees express Job Dissatisfaction?
In what ways might the type of job an employee does moderate the
relationship between Personality and Job Productivity / Job Creativity ?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 14: Human relations
Human Relations in organisations is the process of training employees, addressing
their needs, fostering a workplace culture, and resolving conflicts between
employees, and between employees and management.
4 tasks of Human Relations in organisations are:
1) Training.
2) Addressing needs.
3) Fostering a workplace culture.
4) Resolving conflicts between employees, and between employees and
management.
Long-term development of employees may include promotion, education, and
facilitating self-actualisation.
Relationships between employees and management are of substantial value in any
workplace. Thus, human relations in the workplace are a major part of what makes
a business work.
Ways of assessing employees -1) Distinctive -- Is a person different in different situations?
2) Consensus -- Would most people act the same way?
3) Consistency -- Does a person act the same way over time?
4) Internal or external Locus of Control.
Wellness Programs.
Organisationally supported programs that focus on the employee’s total physical and
mental condition. The program allows your employer or plan to offer you premium
discounts, cash rewards, gym memberships, and other incentives to participate.
A company may offer incentives to employees to motivate them to join such
programs. Examples include: Stop Smoking. Diabetes Management. Weight
Loss. Preventative health screenings.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 15: Employee involvement programs
Management by Objectives (MBO) is a personnel management technique by which
managers and employees work together to set, record, and monitor goals for a
specific period of time. This is a supervised and managed activity. It aims to
coordinate all to work together towards the overall goals of the organisation; with
managers seeking to channel employees' motivations towards achieving the goals
the managers have in mind.
Interpersonal roles arise from a manager's formal authority. Three interpersonal
roles are as follows. The first is the figurehead role, as a symbol of the organization:
this involves ceremonial duties such as greeting visitors. The second is the leader
role, whereby a manager seeks to motivate and encourage employees to accomplish
organizational objectives. The third is the liaison role, which involves interacting with
with peers in other units, or even with people outside the organization.
A Mentor is a more experienced or more knowledgeable person who helps to guide
a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or
younger,but have a certain area of expertise. It is a learning and development
partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to
learn. The person in receipt of mentorship may be referred to as a protege, an
apprentice, or a mentee.
Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and
the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or
professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually faceto-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to
have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person
who is perceived to have less (the protege)".
Mentoring involves communication, and is relationship based.
Empowerment is a management practice of sharing information, rewards, and
power with employees so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve
problems and improve service and performance. Empowerment is based on the idea
that giving employees skills, resources, authority, opportunity, motivation, as well
holding them responsible and accountable for outcomes of their actions, will
contribute to their competence and satisfaction.
Participative Management (also known as, Consultative Management) is a process
in which subordinates share a significant degree of decision making power with their
immediate superiors. Employees participate in management-type decisions. A type
of management in which employees at all levels are encouraged to contribute ideas
towards identifying and setting organisational-goals, problem solving, and other
decisions that may directly affect them.
Wellness Programs are organizationally supported programs that focus on the
employee’s total physical and mental condition. The program may involve one's
employer or plan to offer premium discounts, cash rewards, gym memberships, and
other incentives to employees to participate. Some examples of wellness programs
include programs to help you stop smoking, diabetes management programs, weight
loss programs, and preventative health screenings.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 16: Groups, teams
7 factors in teams:
1) Team size (number of team members).
2) Members' roles.
3) Norms.
4) Goals.
5) Context.
6) Self-oriented.
7) Diversity.
The 5-stage Group-development model is:
1) Forming (understand the group's goals, and members' roles).
2) Storming (dealing with conflicts over who is going to do what in what ways).
3) Norming (agreeing upon methods).
4) Performing (achieving results).
5) Adjourning.
Nominal Group Techniques (designed especially for facilitating creativity) is:
1) Generating ideas.
2) Recording ideas.
3) Clarifying ideas.
4) Voting on ideas.
***
5 types of work teams are:
1) Functional (individual departments).
2) Problem-solving.
3) Cross-functional (a combination of departments).
4) Self-managed.
5) Virtual.
1) Functional (individual departments).
Functional teams are composed of organisational members from several vertical
levels of the organisational hierarchy who perform specific organisational functions.
A typical functional team will have several subordinates and a manager who has
authority to manage internal operations and external relationships of a particular
department or division of the organisation. Accounting, marketing, finance and
human resources are examples of functional work teams. Functional team members
usually have different responsibilities but all work to perform the same function of the
department. Most organisations that have different functional areas are arranged in
functional teams regardless of the size of the company.
2) Problem-solving.
A problem-solving team is a temporary, cross-functional group of people who come
from different departments, and possess different roles, skills and interests. A fast,
permanent solution to a specific problem is the problem-solving team's priority. The
cross-functional makeup of the team means the problem can be analyzed from a
variety of perspectives.
3) Cross-functional (a combination of departments).
Sometimes teams need to be formed by combining multiple functional teams into
one. These cross-functional teams are composed of experts from various functional
areas and work cooperatively towards some organizational goal. Because these
members are considered experts of their individual functional area, they are usually
empowered to make decisions on their own without needing to consult management.
4) Self-managed.
Typically, members of self-managed teams are employees of the same organization
who work together, and even though they have a wide array of objectives, their aim
is to reach a common goal. There is no manager nor authority figure, so it is up to
members to determine rules and expectations, to solve a problems when they it
arises, and to bare shared responsibility for the results.
5) Virtual.
Technology allows people to participate in an organization's activities regardless of
their geographic locations. Virtual teams communicate online, through various
conferencing and collaboration technologies. Thanks to social-networking tools,
virtual-team members can be in touch continually and access group projects, no
matter where they are. It's important to choose virtual-team members able to work
with minimal supervision. They should also have excellent communication skills,
because they'll work within the limitations of communicating without benefit of seeing
facial expressions and body language.
Team members tend to feel empowered when they feel their work is:
1) Effective.
2) Valuable.
3) Independent.
4) Having an impact.
Aspects of team work (and goals) -1) Relationship-oriented.
2) Task-oriented.
Group Dynamics are forces operating within groups that affect ways group members
relate to, and work with, each other.
Group Dynamics is a system of behaviours and psychological processes occurring
within a social group (intragroup dynamics), or between social groups (intergroup
dynamics).
Forces in a group include:
1) Cooperation.
2) Leadership.
3) Conformity.
***
Synergy occurs when 2 or more factors work together and complement each
other. It is the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations, substances,
or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate
effects. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
***
3 types of Task Interdependence are:
1) Pooled,
2) Sequential.
3) Reciprocal.
***
Cohesiveness can be defined as the degree of compatibility between team goals and
individual members' goals.
***
In Hot Groups, there are disagreements, but they are cohesive, supporting diversity
of opinion.
***
A Task Group is a small group, usually four to twelve people, that is charged with the
responsibility for making a specific contribution to the goals of the parent
organization. A task group exists for a specific, time-limited purpose, usually lasting
a few months to a year.
***
What are some problems that might arise in teams at each stage in the 5-stage
group-development model?
How might team member's expectations affect team performance.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 17: Organisational Change
1 What is an Organisation?
An Organisation (a company, an NGO, etc) is an entity comprised of people that has
a collective goal, and is linked to an external environment.
2 What is Organisational Change?
In response to internal and external developments, it may be necessary to modify an
organisation to help it adjust to and address the new conditions.
Organisations must have the capacity to adapt quickly and effectively in order to
survive. The speed and complexity of change may severely test the capabilities of
managers and employees to adapt rapidly enough to remain a leader in its field.
Planned organisational change is intentional, goal-oriented and represents a
deliberate attempt by managers and employees to improve the functioning of teams,
departments, divisions, or an entire organisation in important ways.
3 Factors that lead to resistance to change may include:
1) (Selective and Defensive) Perceptions -- Only seeing what fits into the status quo.
2) Personality -- People who have low self-esteem tend to resist change.
3) Habits.
4) Threats to power and influence.
5) Fear of the unknown.
6) Economic reasons.
4 7 techniques for overcoming resistance to change are:
1) Capitalise on dramatic opportunities.
2) Combine caution with optimism.
3) Understand resistance.
4) Maintain some continuity.
5) Recognise the importance of implementation.
6) Modify socialisation tactics.
7) Find and cultivate innovative leadership.
Force Field Analysis, Kurt Lewin's Model of Change -1) Un-freezing.
2) Moving.
3) Re-freezing.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 18: Stress
Stress of people in organisations.
Stress is the excitement, feeling of anxiety, and/or physical tension that occurs when
the demands placed on one are felt to exceed one's ability to satisfy the demands.
Stress is feelings and thoughts (of anxiety and tension) that one
1) cannot succeed in a situation,
2) cannot satisfy demands, and/or
3) cannot cope and function.
Demands from one's environment are Stressors.
Factors affecting ways one reacts to stress include:
1) Perception.
2) Experiences.
3) Social support.
4) Individual differences in ways of reacting to stress.
Type A people may feel a lot of stress and may be
1) Urgent about time.
2) Competitive.
3) Hostile to idleness.
4) Impatient with barriers to completing tasks.
Type A people may
1) Over-reach in hostile and aggressive ways.
2) Develop heart disease.
3) Speak rapidly.
4) Be dissatisfied with life.
What are some effects of stress?
What is Occupational stress?
What is Distress stress? (Acute or chronic.)
What is Negative stress?
What are some steps employees and organisations could take to prevent,
manage, reduce, and resolve employee stress?
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 19: Managers, management
Managers seek to channel employees' motivations towards achieving the managers'
goals.
Managers' Seven Competencies -1) Teams.
2) Self.
3) Change.
4) Community.
5) Ethics.
6) Across Cultures.
7) Diversity.
TSeCCEAD
Skills of Effective Managers -1) Verbal communication (including listening).
2) Managing time and stress.
3) Managing individual decisions.
4) Recognising, defining, and solving problems.
5) Motivating and influencing others.
6) Delegating.
7) Setting goals and articulating visions.
8) Self-awareness.
9) Team building.
10) Managing conflict.
Dimensions of Management -1) Technical.
2) Conceptual.
3) Human.
Sources of a Manager's Power -1) Legitimate (due to position in organisation).
2) Rewards.
3) Coercion (punishments).
4) Referent (listeners want to imitate).
5) Expertise.
LRCRE
Three types of roles for a manager:
1) Interpersonal.
2) Informational.
3) Decisional.
Interpersonal Roles arise from a manager's formal authority. These are roles in the
relationships a manager has with others.
Sub-categories of Interpersonal Roles -1) Figurehead.
Is a symbol of the organization. This involves ceremonial duties such as
greeting visitors. Presides over social, ceremonial, and legal
matters. Symbolises authority. Inspires people within the organisation to
feel connected to each other and to the institution, to support the policies and
decisions made by the organisation, and to work for the good of the
institution.
2) Leader
Motivates and encourages employees to accomplish organizational
objectives. Ensures that everyone knows how to do their jobs safely and
well.
3) Liaison
Helps connect people to what they need. Makes contacts with people
outside of their area of responsibility, both inside the organisation and
beyond.
Empowerment is a management practice of sharing information, rewards, and power
with employees so that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems
and improve service and performance. Empowerment is based on the idea that
giving employees skills, resources, authority, opportunity, motivation, as well holding
them responsible and accountable for outcomes of their actions, will contribute to
their competence and satisfaction.
Participative Management (also known as, Consultative Management) is a process
in which subordinates share a significant degree of decision making power with their
immediate superiors. Employees participate in management-type decisions. This ia
a type of management in which employees at all levels are encouraged to contribute
ideas towards identifying and setting organisational-goals, problem solving, and
other decisions that may directly affect them.
Management by Objectives (MBO) is a personnel management technique by which
managers and employees work together to set, record, and monitor goals for a
specific period of time. This is a supervised and managed activity. It aims to
coordinate all to work together towards the overall goals of the organisation; with
managers seeking to channel employees' motivations towards achieving the goals
the managers have in mind.
ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 20: Leaders, leadership
A Leader exhibits the key attributes of leadership – ideas, vision, values, influencing
others, and making tough decisions. He/she is instrumental in developing ideas and
a vision, living by the values that support these ideas and the vision, influencing
others to embrace them in their own behaviours, and making hard decisions about
human and other resources.
Leaders tend to be:
1) Focused.
2) Competitive.
3) Objective.
4) Decisive.
***
Leadership Traits
1) Honesty.
2) Achievement, self-motivated, has drive.
3) Intelligence.
4) Maturity and Breadth (Experience).
HAIM
***
Leadership Styles
1) Consult individually (present the problem to team members one by one).
2) Consult team.
3) Facilitate.
4) Delegate.
5) Decide.
CCFDD
***
Leadership Qualities
1) Develops ideas.
2) Develops vision.
3) Lives (on the job) by values that support these ideas and this vision.
4) Influences others to do the same.
5) Makes decisions about human and other resources.
Leadership by Example: exhibits behavior others will follow and behave in similar
ways.
2 Models of Leadership
1) Relationship-oriented -- focuses on relationships with employees, and is
considerate and supportive of employees' attempts to achieve their personal goals.
2) Task-oriented -- focuses on quality and quantity of output.
Leaders' Behavioral Traits
1) Consideration (extent to which a leader has relationships with subordinates that
are characterised by mutual trust).
2) Initiating Structure (leader defines roles of subordinates in order to set and
accomplish organisational goals).
A Formal Leader is a person exercising authority conferred upon him by the
organisation pursuant to the individual's position in the organisation. An example of
formal leadership is the ability of a company president to exert control over
employees, which is based upon his status as president of the company.
3 Types of Leadership
1) Transactional (contingent on rewards and punishments).
2) Charismatic (emphasising shared vision and values, and presenting a radical set
of ideas designed to resolve a crisis).
3) Transformative (inspiring followers to embrace a new set of possibilities).
Transactional Leadership (also known as Managerial Leadership) 1) All is contingent on rewards and punishments.
2) Active management by exception (seeks to prevent mistakes).
3) Passive management by exception (seeks to correct mistakes).
Transactional Leadership focuses on the role of supervision, organisation, and group
performance; transactional leadership is a style of leadership in which the leader
promotes compliance of his/her followers through both rewards and punishments.
Leaders using the Transactional approach are not looking to change the future, they
are looking to merely keep things the same. Leaders using transactional leadership
as a model pay attention to followers' work in order to find faults and deviations. This
type of leadership is effective in crisis and emergency situations, as well as for
projects that need to be carried out in a specific way. Transactional leadership
involves motivating and directing followers primarily through appealing to their own
self-interest. The power of transactional leaders comes from their formal authority
and responsibility in the organisation. The main goal of the follower is to obey the
instructions of the leader.
Charismatic Leadership -1) Emphasises shared vision and values.
2) Promotes shared identity.
3) Models desired behaviors.
4) Reflects strength.
Charismatic Leadership (Restricted Model) -1) Leader has extraordinary gifts and qualities.
2) Community faces a desperate situation.
3) A Charismatic Leader presents a radical set of ideas to resolve a crisis.
4) A set of people follow the leader.
5) The Charismatic Leader's leadership is validated by his/her gifts and vision,
and by repeated successes in dealing with perceived crises.
Transformative Leadership -1) Anticipates trends.
2) Inspires followers to embrace a new vision of possibilities.
3) Develops others to be leaders.
4) Builds a community of learners who like to be challenged and who work for
rewards (internal and external).
Elements of Transformative Leadership that relate to followers -1) Inspires and motivates.
2) Stimulates intellectually.
3) Influences listeners towards ideals.
4) "Individualised consideration" (degree to which a leader has relationships with
followers based on mutual trust).
An Autocratic leader dictates policies, procedures, and goals to be achieved, and
directs and controls all activities without any meaningful participation by the
subordinates. Autocratic leaders tend to distrust their subordinates' abilities, and
closely supervise and control people under them.
2 Models of Leadership
1) Relationship-oriented -- focuses on relationships with employees, and is
considerate and supportive of employees' attempts to achieve their personal goals.
2) Task-oriented -- focuses on quality and quantity of output.
Contingency Theories of Leadership state that the success of a leader is contingent
on the demands of the situation, and on the leader's responses to these demands.
A contingency theory claims that there is no best way to organize a corporation, to
lead a company, or to make decisions. Instead, the optimal course of action is
contingent upon the internal and external situation.
Fiedler’s "Model of Leadership Style".
Fiedler’s classic contingency theory suggests that leadership styles must fit or match
the situation in order to be effective.
The Path-Goal model is a theory based on specifying a leader's style or behavior
that best fits the employee and work environment in order to achieve a goal. The
goal is to increase your employees' motivation, empowerment, and satisfaction so
they become productive members of the organization.
Path-Goal is based on Vroom's (1964) expectancy theory in which an individual will
act in a certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed by a given
outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.
The path-goal theory can best be thought of as a process in which leaders select
specific behaviors that are best suited to the employees' needs and the working
environment so that they may best guide the employees through their path in the
obtainment of their daily work activities (goals) .
While Path-Goal Theory is not a detailed process, it generally follows these steps:
1) Determine the employee and environmental characteristics.
2) Select a leadership style.
3) Focus on motivational factors that will help the employee succeed.
The Leader–member Exchange Theory is a relationship-based approach to
leadership that focuses on the two-way relationship between leaders and
followers. It suggests that leaders develop an exchange with each of their
subordinates, and that the quality of these leader–member exchange relationships
influences subordinates' responsibility, decisions, and access to resources and
performance. Relationships are based on trust and respect and are often emotional
relationships that extend beyond the scope of employment. Leader–member
Exchange may promote positive employment experiences and augment
organizational effectiveness.
Hershey-Blanchard's Situational Model of Leadership claims that employee
performance is partly based on the amount of relationship (supportive) and task
(directive) behavior the leader provides.
According to Vroom-Jago's Time-driven Leadership model, Situational Factors
(Contingency Variables) are:
1) Decision significance.
2) Importance of commitment.
3) Leader expertise.
4) Likelihood of commitment.
5) Team support.
6) Team expertise.
7) Team competence.
Behavioral Theories of Leadership are classified as such because they focus on the
study of specific behaviors of a leader.
For behavioral theorists, a leader behavior is the best predictor of his leadership
influences and as a result, is the best determinant of his or her leadership success.
Behavioral Theory of Leadership is a leadership theory that considers the observable
actions and reactions of leaders and followers in a given situation.
Behavioral theories focus on how leaders behave and assume that leaders can be
made, rather than born and successful leadership is based on definable, learnable
behavior.
Behavioral theories of leadership are classified as such because they focus on the
study of specific behaviors of a leader.
These theories concentrate on what leaders actually do rather than on their qualities.
Different patterns of behavior are observed and categorized as 'styles of
leadership'.
According to the behavior-focused approach, behaviors can be conditioned in a
manner that one can have a specific response to specific stimuli.
We have gone from the supposition that leaders are born, (Great Man Theory)
through to the possibility that we can measure your leadership potential (Trait
Theory) via psychometrics measurements and then to the point that anyone can be
made a leader (Behavioral Theories) by teaching them the most appropriate
behavioral response for any given situation.
What are some of the Trait Theories of Leadership?
What are some benefits and limitations of the Behavior Theories of
Leadership?
Discuss these 2 Leadership theories:
1) Path-goal Theory.
2) Leader-member Exchange Theory.
Contingency Theory of Leadership
Closely related to the situational approach is what has become known as
contingency theory. The contingency theory of leadership was proposed by the
Austrian psychologist Fred Edward Fiedler in his landmark 1964 article, "A
Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness."
The contingency theory emphasizes the importance of both the leader's personality
and the situation in which that leader operates. Fiedler and his associates studied
leaders in a variety of contexts but mostly in military context and their model is based
on their research findings.
They outline two styles of leadership:
task-motivated and
relationship-motivated.
Task refers to task accomplishment, and relationship-motivation refers to
interpersonal relationships.
Fiedler measured leadership style with the Least Preferred Co-Worker Scale (LPC
scale.) The leaders scoring high on this scale are relationship motivated and those
scoring low are task motivated.
Central to contingency theory is concept of the situation, which is characterized by
three factors:
Leader-member relations, deals with the general atmosphere of the group and
the feelings such as trust, loyalty and confidence that the group has for its
leader.
Task structure is related to task clarity and the means to task
accomplishment.
The position power relates to the amount of reward-punishment authority the
leader has over members of the group.
These three factors determine the favorableness of various situations in
organizations.
Contingency Theory of Leadership
Effective leadership is finding a good fit between behaviour, context, and need.
Contingency Theory of leadership became prominent during the 1970s and 80s:
effective leadership is dependent upon the interaction between a leader’s behaviors
and the situation itself.
Contingency theories suggest that there is no one best style of leadership.
Successful and enduring leaders will use various styles according to the nature of
the situation and the followers.
Those who support contingency theory suggest that the best leaders are those who
known how to adopt different styles of leadership in different situations. These
leaders know that just because one approach to leadership worked well in the past, it
does not mean that it will work again when the situation or task is not the same.
Variables that might influence which leadership style is most effective might include:
The maturity levels of the subordinates or followers
Whether the relationship between the leader and the followers is a positive one
The clarity of the task at hand
The amount of personal power held by the leader
The level of power given by the leader’s position
The culture of the organization
The amount of time available to complete the task
The speed at which the task must be completed
A number of different approaches to contingency theory have emerged over the
years. The following are just a few of the most prominent theories:
Fiedler’s Contingency Theory
The contingency theory of leadership was one of the first situational leadership
theories. One of the very first contingency theories was proposed by Fred. E. Fiedler
in the 1960s. Fiedler’s theory proposes that a leader’s effectiveness hinges on how
well his or her leadership style matches the current context and task.
Fiedler’s pioneering theory suggests that leaders fall into one of two different
leadership styles: task-oriented or people-oriented. The effectiveness of a person’s
style in a particular situation depends on how well-defined the job is, how much
authority the leaders has, and the relationship between the followers and the leader.
The Evans and House Path-Goal Theory
According to the path-goal contingency theory of leadership, first proposed by Martin
Evans and later expanded by Robert House during the 1970s, focuses on how
leadership behavior can help followers achieve the group’s goals. Four key types of
behavior are identified (directive, supportive, achievement-oriented, and
participative), and the type of behavior applied should depend upon the nature of the
task.
Hershey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory: a situational theory of leadership
characterized by four leadership styles. The style that should be used in a particular
situation depends upon the maturity level of the subordinates. For example, if
followers lack both knowledge and responsibility, the leader should adopt a directive
leadership style in that situation.
Two criticisms of contingency theories are that they do not account for the position of
the leader or how styles change. While these theories help account for the
importance of the situation, they do not explain the processes behind how leadership
styles vary according to factors such as the organization or the position of the leader
within the structure. Perhaps most importantly, they do not explain how leaders can
change their behavior or style depending upon the situation or features of the group.