FOUNDATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
• Biographical characteristics and ability affect employee’s
performance (productivity, absence, turnover) and
satisfaction, which determine his/her behavior
• How to shape the behavior so that it goes on the line with
the company’s way ?
• Biographical characteristics = personal characteristics (age,
gender, marital status, tenure)
AGE
• Older workers are less likely to quit the job : fewer job
opportunities + long tenure provides higher wage rates and
other benefits, low absenteeism, strong ethic, experience,
loyalty, quality
• avoidable absence - unavoidable absence
• productivity declines with age ?
• Job satisfaction between professional and non-professional
GENDER
• No evidence indicating it affects job satisfaction and
productivity
• absenteeism depends on the culture, social environment
and the nature
• no meaningful conclusion for turnover
• some important differences still exist : consistency,
analytical skill, motivation, sociability, learning ability,
physical ability
MARITAL STATUS AND TENUR
• Married employees : fewer absence, less turnover, more
satisfied
• Productivity ? Widow/widower ? Living together ? The
issue : culture influence personality
• the impact of seniority on performance : experience
• negatively correlate with absenteeism and turnover
• tenure and satisfaction is positively related
ABILITY
• Equality, strengths and weaknesses in terms of ability
• Management standpoint : knowing how people different in
abilities and using that knowledge to increase the
likelihood an employee will perform the job well
• intellectual ability : to perform mental activities,
measurement, dimension - test for future performance
• physical ability : basic factors
• the ability-job fit : adequate job performance depends on
the ability requirements of the job and the capacities of the
workers
LEARNING
• complex behavior is learned.
• to predict behavior by knowing how people learn
• learning involves change : to change is to facilitate
learning processes
• theories of learning : classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, social learning
• how to tech the employees in ways that most benefit to the
organization = shaping behavior that moves the employees
to the desired response by rules and rewards/punishment
PERSONALITY
• behavior is shaped by personality
• personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual
reacts and interacts with others
• determinants : the result of the influences of heredity,
environment and situation
• environment : culture in which someone is raised that
establish norms, attitudes and values
• situation influences the effects of heredity and environment
• traits : primary traits, personality types of Myers-Briggs,
the big five model
PERSONALITY (Continued)
• attributes : locus of control, Machiavellianism, self
esteem, self monitoring, risk taking, type A
• how to utilize those different individuals ?
• personality-job fit : to match individuals to specific jobs
(Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent
Occupation)
• personality-organization fit : concerns about the flexibility
to meet, organization’s culture and changing situations
• results : higher satisfaction and reduced turnover
EMOTIONS
• little attention : emotion-free organization, emotion is
disruptive
• potentials : constructive, ability to stimulate performanceenhancing behaviors and unavoidable
• emotion : intense feeling or reaction on an object
• mood : less intense and not directed on an object
• example, emotional labor and what to do with emotions ?
• dimensions : variety, intensity, frequency and duration
• men’s and women’s emotions : job and organization fit
• external constraints : organization, culture-professionalism
THE APPLICATIONS
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selection process - emotional intelligence
decision making
motivation
leadership
interpersonal conflict
deviant workplace behavior