Chapter 2 - Individual and Cultural Differences Flashcards
factors that influence employee behaviour and performance (2 categories)
those that influence our capacity to respond
- mental/ physical ability
- personality traits
- stress-tolerance levels
those that influence our will or desire to respond
- variables dealing with employee motivation
why is recognizing and employees abilities/ skills important relating to OB
they bound an employees ability to respond/ potential in some regards
what is cognitive complexity?
- a key aspect of mental ability
- represents capacity to acquire and sort through information and make sense of it
what are characteristics of someone with low cognitive complexity?
- categorical and stereotypical
- internal conflict is minimized, closure quick
what are characteristics of people with higher cognitive complexity?
- cognitive system less deterministic
- generate plenty of solutions
- more utilization of internal processes
what are two important areas of cognitive complexity studies from a management perspective?
- leadership style
- decision making
what are two types of physical abilities?
- basic physical abilities
- psychomotor (manual dexterity, hand-eye, etc.)
why is the consideration of abilities important from a manager’s standpoint?
- brings focus of importance of job-matching
- benefits being: lower turnover rate which saves money, more happy employees, etc.
what is the definition of a personality?
- stable set of characteristics and tendencies that determine thoughts, feelings, and actions of a person
- remain relatively stable over time
five major influences on personality traits
- physiological
- cultural
- family and social group
- role
- situational determinants
difference between capitalistic and socialist societies
capitalistic = individuality high priority, emphasis on developing achievement-oriented, independent, self-reliant people
socialist = emphasis on developing cooperative group-oriented people
what are role determinants
people are assigned roles early in life because of factors like race, sex, etc.
later in life we are categorized based on factors like occupation, etc.
these “roles” limit our personal growth and development
what are situational determinants
typically are unpredictable
example divorce
what are trait theories + advantages?
- identify several characteristics that describe people
- traits are identifiable and measurable and tend to remain stable over time –> good for comparing people
what are the six traits that are central to trait theory?
- self-esteem
- locus of control
- introversion/ extroversion
- authoritarianism
- dogmatism
- dependability
what is self-esteem and why is it important for trait theory?
“one’s opinion or belief about one’s self and self-worth”
those with high self-esteem often find it easier to give/ receive affection, set higher goals and exert energy to attain goals
more likely to seek higher-status occupations, take more risks, more highly rated by recruiters, etc.
what is locus of control and how it relates to trait theory
“tendency among individuals to attribute the events affecting their lives either to their own actions or to external forces”
measure of how much you think you control your own destiny
knowing this helps managers know how to treat employee–>
internals would not like being placed under tight supervision, whereas externals would… different types of payment plans (merit-based would be good for internals)
what is internal locus?
tendency to attribute your success/ failures to your own abilities and efforts
exhibit greater work motivation, have stronger expectations that effort will lead to high job performance, perform better on tasks requiring learning/ problem solving
typically receive higher salaries and exhibit less job-related anxieties than externals
what is external locus?
tendency to attribute things that happen to them as being caused by someone or something else
give themselves neither credit nor blame
introverts vs extroverts (trait theory)
introverts = focus NRG inwards and have greater sensitivity to abstract feelings; succeed in positions requiring more reflection, analysis, and sensitivity
extroverts = direct attention to other people, objects, events; more often succeed in first-line management roles where only superficial people skills are required
both are needed!!
authoritarianism vs non-authoritarianism
authoritarianism orientation = belief that it is right and proper for there to be clear status and power differences among people; tend to perform better under rigid supervision; may be demanding/ directive in authority & submissive/ fearful of change in subordinate positions; intellectually rigid
non authoritarianism orientation = general belief that status difference should be minimized and that social change can be constructive; people with this view tend to perform better under participatory supervision
what is dogmatism and what are dogmatic managers like?
cognitive style characterized by closed-mindedness and inflexibility
dogmatic managers tend to make decisions quickly, based on limited info with a high degree of confidence
why is dependability attractive in employees? (trait theory)
individuals seen as self-reliant, responsible, consistent, and dependable are typically considered desirable colleagues who will cooperate and work towards group goals
What is the basic incongruity thesis by Argyris?
a model of person-organization relationships
as people grow to maturity, seven basic changes in needs and interests occur, developments may differ among individuals, however, the general tendencies from childhood to adulthood are believed to be fairly common
in pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness, organizations create work situations aimed more at getting the job done than at satisfying employee’s personal goals (to turn out standardized products for standardized people)
what are the three parts of the basic incongruity thesis?
what individuals want from organizations, what organizations want from individuals, and how these two potentially conflicting sets of desires are harmonized
basic incongruity thesis: characteristics of how people are expected to work in pursuit of standardization
- employees allowed minimal control over their work
- expected to be passive
- allowed short-term horizon in their work
- placed on repetitive jobs that require minimal skills
- on basis of first four, people expected to produce under conditions leading to psychological failure
discuss how many jobs in our society are structured in a way that conflicts with the basic growth needs of a healthy personality (basic incongruity thesis)
organizations that have very formalized structures and segmented positions may not allow us the room to learn and grow and have control
when there is conflict between what an organization and employee want, employees face difficult decisions
–> leave organization or work hard to become manager
–> stay and adapt through defense mechanisms
(strikes, union activities, dissociation, focus on materialistic reward, etc.)
discuss pre-employment screening tests
a means to help match employees to the position
assumption is that individuals have different personalities and traits and that these affect their behaviour and performance
also that jobs have different requirements
what are disparate treatment and disparate impact?
two cases in which discrimination might apply to selection practices
disparate treatment = involves intentional discrimination against an individual
disparate impact = involves adverse effect of selection practices on minorities regardless of whether these practices were intended to have an adverse impact or note
(care must be taken to demonstrate the characteristics measured actually predict job performance)
what is a value?
a judgement by an individual that certain things are good or bad, important or unimportant…
what are characteristics of values?
values people have tend to be stable over time because of the manner in which they are acquired –> learn a value and taught it is always good or bad
as we grow, we are increasingly confronted with new and often conflicting situations which may change or develop our values
what are the roles of values and ethics in organizations? (2 categories)
- personal values
- standards for behaviour, decision making, conflict resolution
- influence on employee motivation (work ethic!) - standards of behaviour
- values place limits on our behaviour to make decisions concerning right and wrong (ethical behaviour)
- ethical behaviour influenced by societal norms, gray zones make harder
- people must determine their own standards of behaviour in gray zones
what are integrity and honesty tests?
tests designed to measure an individual’s level of integrity or honesty based on the notion that honest or dishonest behaviour and decisions stem from a person’s underlying values
what is culture?
- collective mental programming of people
- members within a culture tend to exhibit similar behavioral patterns that reflect the way we grew up
- knowledge of culture’s patterns can help us interact with its members
6 dimensions that distinguish a culture (Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck)
- how people view humanity
- how people see nature
- how people approach interpersonal relationships
- how people view activity and achievement
- how people view time
- how people view space (physical space, live together or separate, should people be physically separated from others)
Six dimensions of culture (Hofstede, Bond, and Minkov)
- power distance index
- individualism
- masculinity vs femininity
- uncertainty avoidance index
- long vs short term orientation
- indulgence vs restraint
Hofstede vs Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
Hofstede = more specific measures of power, individualism vs collectivism, etc.
Kluckhohn = how people see things (perspective), motivations…
Hofstede vs Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
Hofstede = more specific measures of power, individualism vs collectivism, etc.
Kluckhohn = how people see things (perspective), motivations..
why is it important for managers to keep their employees’ cultural backgrounds in mind?
cultural factors influence our actions and how we behave at work
- by influencing our values, which affect attitudes and behaviors
persons from different cultures usually have different behavioural patterns, so managers should know these patterns
What is the MARS model of individual behaviour
model that depicts the four variables that directly influence an individual’s voluntary behaviour and performance
Motivation
Ability
Role perceptions
Situational Factors
How does the MARS model work?
if any of the variables is low in a given situation, the employee is less likely to engage in the behaviour or will perform the behaviour poorly
what are the three components of motivation in the MARS model? think car metaphor
direction = path along which people steer their effort, motivation is goal-directed
intensity = the amount of effort allocated to the goal
persistence = the length of time that the individual continues to exert effort towards objective
car = direction is where you steer, intensity is how much you put your foot down on the pedal, persistence is how long you drive towards your destination
what are the two components of ability in the MARS model?
learned capabilities and aptitudes
what are three strategies towards hiring regarding the ability variable of the MARS model?
- select employees who already demonstrate required abilities
- train employees who lack specific knowledge or skills needed or the job
- redesign job so that employees are given tasks only within their current abilities
why is role clarity important in the MARS model?
perceptions range from role clarity to ambiguity
it is important because it represents how well employees know where to direct their effort
employees with role clarity perform work more accurately and efficiently whereas those with role ambiguity waste time and NRG performing wrong tasks or the right tasks the wrong way
people more confident exerting the required effort when they know what is expected of them
what are the two main influences on individual performance and behaviour regarding situational factors of the MARS model?
- work context constraints or facilitates behaviour and performance
- the work environment provides cues to guide and motivate people
