Individual Behavior, Personality, and Values (Chapter 2) Flashcards
Describe each component of the MARS model. (First two)
Motivation is the force within a person that affects his or her direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary behavior. One’s direction is not random, it is goal-directed. Intensity the the amount of effort allocates, and persistence is continuing that effort for some time; effort is sustained until the goal is reach or one gives up.
Ability is the natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task. Aptitudes help a worker learn a skill faster; they do not necessarily make them better. Learned capabilities are KSAs you already possess. Together they make competencies which are characteristics of a person that result in superior performance.
Describe each component of the MARS model. (Last two)
Role perceptions are the beliefs people have about what behaviors are appropriate for a situation. It involves understanding what you’re accountable for, the relative importance and priority of tasks, and preferred behaviors used to accomplish a task. Allows employees to know where to direct effort and work more efficiently and accurately.
Time, budget, physical work facilities and other situational factors are cues that guide employee behavior. Environmental conditions beyond individual’s short-term control that constrain or facilitate behavior.
What can managers do to influence motivation, ability and role perceptions?
Motivation - Goal setting, strong reinforcements and rewards, good learning systems in place, fairness for performance, etc. among various workers.
Ability - The 3 matching strategies: Select applicants who already demonstrate required competencies, train employees who lack specific KSAs needed to fill job, redesign a job so that employees are given tasks only within current abilities.
Role Perceptions - Ensure that there is no role ambiguity; workers waste considerable time and effort when this exists. Make sure workers know what is expected of them.
Define Task Performance and give an example of it.
Goal-directed behaviors under the individual’s control that support organizational objectives. Proficiency is performing work efficiently and accurately, adaptability is how well an employee responds, copes with and supports new circumstances and work patters, and proactivity involves how well employees anticipate environmental work changes and initiates new work patters aligned with changed. E.g., foreign exchange traders at Morgan Stanley must be able to identify and execute profitable trades, work cooperatively with clients and coworkers, assist in training new staff and work on special telecommunications equipment without error.
Define Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs) and give an example.
OCBs are the various forms of cooperation and helpfulness to others that support the organization’s social and psychological context. Are work requirements in many places. An example is adjusting your work schedule to cover a shift that they were not able to work anymore.
Define Counterproductive Work Behaviors (CWBs) and give an example.
CWBs are voluntary and dysfunctional behaviors that have the potential to directly or indirectly harm the organization. Harassing coworkers, creating unnecessary conflict and deviating from preferred work methods are examples. Not minor concerns, can substantially undermine organization’s effectiveness.
Describe joining and staying in the organization.
(Behavior is hiring and retaining talent). Need to find people who will work together towards a common goal; the cost of turnover is high and when people leave the organization they take intellectual capital with them, causing a loss in productivity and customer service. 46% of executives are concerned in the next year that their company won’t have required skills.
Describe maintaining work attendance.
Workers need to show up at scheduled times. Absenteeism is higher with generous sick leave and a norm of absenteeism, i.e. employees expect their coworkers to miss time. Employees often site situational factors as issues. Presenteeism, however, is also an issue; usually present when employees fear job security, have many people dependent on them, or have personality traits that motivate them to show up when others would stay home.
Explain the Person-Situation interaction view of personality including the influence of strong and weak situations.
Recognizes that behavior is not consistent across all situations and that people adapt their behaviors and ways of thinking to the situation. Often an interaction between personality and situation factors.
Define each of the Big Five personality traits and identify which of the five traits tends to have the strongest relationship with job performance across occupational groups.
Conscientiousness - motivation, performance
Agreeableness - better performance in jobs requiring cooperation and helpfulness
Neuroticism - (low) work motivator, strong indicator of performance
Openness to situations - Sales and mgt performance (persuasion)
Extraversion - sales, mgt performance
Describe the 3 types of values congruence?
Person-Organization - Personal’s values are similar to organization’s dominant values. Higher job satisfaction, increases chance employee acts in a way consistent with organization.
Espoused-Enacted - Acting in a way that is consistent with the company’s core values. Undermines integrity of upper management if they don’t.
Organization-Community - Similarity of an organization’s dominant values with the prevailing values of society around it.
Describe the 3 types of values congruence?
Person-Organization - Personal’s values are similar to organization’s dominant values. Higher job satisfaction, increases chance employee acts in a way consistent with organization.
Espoused-Enacted - Acting in a way that is consistent with the company’s core values. Undermines integrity of upper management if they don’t.
Organization-Community - Similarity of an organization’s dominant values with the prevailing values of society around it.
What are the three ethical principles?
Utilitarianism, individual rights and distributive justice.
Utilitarianism
Greatest good for greatest number of stakeholders, concerned with ends, not means. Issues - Can’t know C/B for all stakeholders, focuses on outcomes rather than actions, benefits/harm may sometimes come to those who did not deserve them.
Individual Rights
People have fundamental entitlements in society: free consent, privacy, freedom of conscience and speech, due process. Issues - Not all rights recognized by law or parties, rights of one may conflict with another, rights not usually absolute.
