Module 5: Leading

1. Module 5: Leading Section 1: Foundations of individual and group behavior

2. Learning objectives • Understand basic concepts of individual behaviors • Explain how managers can shape employee behavior based on the understanding of these concepts • Describe group concepts • Identify differences between groups and teams • Explain how managers can shape team behaviors

3. Attitude • Attitude is defined as valuative statements, either favorable or unfavorable, concerning objects, people, or events (e.g., job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment) • Cognitive component of an attitude is made up of the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, and information held by a person. • Affective component of an attitude is the emotional, or feeling, segment of an attitude. • Behavioral component of an attitude refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.

4. Attitude and behavior • Relationship between attitude and behavior • Cognitive dissonance theory identifies that individuals’ attempt to reduce dissonance is based on • Whether the dissonance is controllable • Whether rewards are significant enough to offset the dissonance • The degree of tension under which individuals are to reduce the dissonance • Implications of understanding this relationship to managers • Change employees’ attitudes first in order to change their behaviors • Offer rewards to reduce dissonance

5. Personality • Personality is the combination of the psychological traits. Techniques for identifying personality types include: • Myers-Briggs type indicator http://www.geocities.com/dan_atteberry/MYERS-BRIGGS_KEIRSEY.html • Big-five model of personality http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/

6. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Extrovert (E) Type of Social Interaction Introvert (I) Sensing (S) Preference for Gathering Data Intuitive (N) Feeling (F) Preference for Evaluating information Thinking (T) Perceiving (P) Attitude toward the external world Judging (J)

7. Extroversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional Stability Openness to experiences The “Big-Five” Personality Model

8. Emotional Intelligence Self-Awareness Self-Management Self-Motivation Empathy Social Skills

9. Personality and behavior Five specific personality traits can be used to explain individual behavior • Locus of control • Machiavellianism • Self-esteem • Self-monitoring • Risk propensity

10. Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory Type Personality Occupations Realistic Shy, Stable, Practical Mechanic, Farmer, Assembly-Line Worker Investigative Analytical, Independent Biologist, Economist, Mathematician Social Sociable, Cooperative Social Worker, Teacher, Counselor Conventional Practical, Efficient Accountant, Manager Bank Teller Enterprising Ambitious, Energetic Lawyer, Salesperson Artistic Imaginative, Idealistic Painter, Writer, Musician

11. Implications of understanding personality to managers • Different individuals have different personality • Match personality with jobs (e.g., Holland’s typology) • Carefully select appropriate employees

12. Perception • Factors influencing perception • Characteristics of the perceiver • Characteristics of the target being perceived • Context where the perception is made • Attribution theory tries to explain how we judge people differently by analyzing what meaning we attribute to a given behavior

13. The process of attribution theory High External distinctiveness Low Internal High External Individual behavior consensus Low Internal High Internal Low consistency External observation interpretation Attribution of causes

14. Implications of understanding perception to managers • Employees’ perception has effects on their behaviors • Managers should pay attention to how employees perceive both their jobs and management practices • Managers try to change employees’ perceptions if necessary • Understand bias existing in the perception generation (i.e., fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias)

15. Learning • Learning theories • Operant conditioning • Operant behavior is voluntary or learned rather than reflexive or unlearned behavior • argues that voluntary, or learned, behavior is a function of its consequences (e.g., people learn to get something they want or to avoid something they don’t want)

16. Social learning theory • assumes behavior is a function of consequences • at the same time, emphasizes that people can learn through observation and direct experience • The influence of models is decided by • Attention processes (e.g., models’ attractiveness) • Retention process (e.g., how well models will be remembered) • Motor reproduction processes (e.g., convert what learned to behavior) • Reinforcement process (e.g., repeat rewarded behavior)

17. How to shape employees’ behavior? • Positive reinforcement • Negative reinforcement • Punishment • Extinction • Role model

18. Group behavior • Group: two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve particular objectives • Formal groups are work groups established by the organization that have designated assignments and established tasks • Informal groups are natural formation that appear in the work environment in response to the need for social contact.

19. Why do people join groups? • Security • Status • Self-esteem • Affiliation • Power • Goal achievement

20. Basic concepts of group behavior • Role refers to a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone who occupies a given position in a social unit. • Norms define acceptable standards that are shared by the group’s members (e.g., dress code) • Status is a prestige grading, position, or rank within a group

21. Group size • Large groups are good for gaining diverse input • Small groups are better for taking action • Social loafing • the tendency of an individual in a group to decrease his or her effort because responsibility and individual achievement can not be measure • Group cohesiveness • the degree to which members of a group are attracted to each other and share goals

22. Group cohesiveness and productivity Cohesiveness Low High Strong increase In productivity Moderate increase In productivity High Alignment of group and Organizational goals Decrease in productivity No significant effect Low

23. Team • Work group: a group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions that will help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility • Work team: a group that engages in collective work that requires joint effort and generates a positive synergy

24. Comparing work teams and work groups Work groups Work teams Share information Goal Collective performance Synergy Neutral or negative Positive Accountability Individual Individual and mutual Complementary Skills Random and varied

25. Stage I Forming Prestage I Stage II Storming Stage III Norming Stage IV Performing Stage V Adjourning Stages of team development

26. Types of work teamsclassified on the basis of objectives • Functional teams • A team that is composed of a manage and the employees in his or her unit and involved in efforts to improve work activities or to solve specific problems within the particular functional unit

27. Problem-solving teams • Work teams typically are composed of 5 to 12 hourly employees from the same departments who meet each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment. An example of problem-solving team is quality circles (i.e., teams are composed of 8 to 10 employees and supervisors who share an area of responsibility and who meet regularly to discuss quality problems, investigate the causes of the problems, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions but who have no authority.

28. Self-managed work team • A formal group of employees that operates without a manager and is responsible for a complete work process or segment that delivers a product or service to an external or internal customer

29. Cross-functional work team A team that is composed of employees from about the same hierarchical level but from differed work areas in an organization who are brought together to accomplish a particular task

30. Virtual team • An electronic meeting team, allows groups to meet without concern for space or time

31. Clear Goals Unified Commitment Good Communication Effective Teams Relevant Skills Mutual Trust Negotiating Skills Effective Leadership Internal Support External Support

32. Key Roles on Teams Adviser Linker Creator Promoter Assessor Organizer Producer Controller Maintainer

33. Turning individuals into team players • Management challenges of creating team players • Individual preferences • National culture • Work environment • Methods of shaping team behavior • Proper selection • Employee training • Rewarding the appropriate team behaviors

34. Reinvigorate mature teams • Prepare members to deal with the problems of maturity • Offer refresher training • Offer advanced training • Encourage teams to treat their development as a constant learning experience

35. Summary • Organizations comprise of individuals and groups. Understanding individual and group behaviors helps improve management practice and organizational performance. • Four basic concepts regarding individual behaviors include attitude, personality, perception, and learning. • Team is flexible and responsive to a change environment. It is also a better way to utilize various skills. • Teams are particularly effective for resolving complex problems, responding to urgent issues, and implementing continuous process improvement.