INDIVIDUAL DYNAMICS

Session 1
Managing people
PGP I 2009-2010 Sections A & C

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

Organisations as webs of
relationships

Individuals Groups

Organisation
(including informal organisation)

Extra-organisational environment
• Interdependence: Reciprocal relationships in
which there is need/opportunity for mutual
support
• Dependence: Person has to rely on/needs
assistance from others, with little opportunity
for/requirement of reciprocity
• Independence: Person operates by
himself/herself
Counterdependence: Pattern of behavior in
which individuals, believing that no one
will be available to turn to in stressful
situations, isolate themselves and resist
supportive overtures by others
Overdependence: Pattern of behavior where
individuals cling too tightly to others while
failing to reciprocate support
 Interpersonal behaviour
„ A variety of behaviours involving the ways
in which people work with and against one
another
Competition

Working Working
with others against others
Co-operation Conflict
 Co-operation
„ Pattern of behaviour in which assistance is
mutual and two or more individuals,
groups or organisations work together
towards shared goals for their mutual
benefit
 Competition
„ A pattern of behaviour in which each
person, group or organisation seeks to
maximise its own gains, often at the
expense of others
„ Even though people have similar goals,
they compete rather than co-operate
when their goals cannot be shared
 Conflict
„ Struggle between two or more
individuals/groups in an organisation
 Influence
„ The foundational process of organisations is
influence – that is the efforts to induce others to
behave in a desired way
„ It becomes significant because organisations are all
about members working through others to accomplish
their tasks
„ People exercise influence in a variety of ways
„ Use of power/formal capacity to influence others
„ In the absence of power, other techniques are
resorted
„ Influence could be upward, downward or lateral
„ Influence tactics include
„ Ingratiation/friendliness (‘buttering’)
„ Reason
„ Participation/consultation
„ Exchange
„ Coalition
„ Appeal
„ Pressure/threats
„ Legitimating/authority/consistency with organisational
policy and practice
„ Usually a combination of tactics are used
simultaneously - more effective than using a
single tactic
 Managing people – The
organisational level
„ The critical role of leadership
„ Redesigning the organisation, as required
„ Culture, goal congruence, role clarity,
interpersonal sensitivity (role of
Organisational Development)

Reward systems
Expansion of resources
 Managing people – the
interpersonal and intrapersonal
levels
„ Identify your network in terms of inter-
dependencies
„ Understand each member of your network as a
person
„ Assess the progress of the relationship and work
towards its maintenance
„ Manage differences through the balancing of
inquiry and advocacy and disciplined reflection
„ Need to understand self and others
„ Learn to communicate with and respond to others in
ways that will increase their understanding of
themselves, our understanding of them as well as
their understanding of us
INDIVIDUAL DYNAMICS
Session 2: Understanding self
and others
PGP I 2009-2010
Sections A & C

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

Self/identity/personality
„ Answers the question ‘who am I?’
„ Meanings attached to a person by self and
others that are based on personal aspects such
as traits, abilities, attitudes, etc., and on
people’s social roles and membership in various
groups
„ Unique/distinct
„ Stable yet changing
„ Person can have multiple selves stemming from
a variety of identities (self-pluralism)
„ Ideal/possible self
Self/identity/personality
„ Product of
… What you are
… What society expects you to be
… What experiences you have and how you deal
with them
Self/identity/personality at the
workplace
„ Intrapersonal and interpersonal effectiveness
„ Person-job fit
„ Career/occupational choice, selection and promotion, job
performance, job satisfaction
„ Measurement via psychometric tests draws on
trait theories essentially
… Strengths- Parsimonious and facilitate comparison
… Weaknesses – static rather than processual,
incomplete rather than comprehensive
„ Implications of psychometric tests
Johari window
„ The most useful model to describe the process
of human interaction, resembling a
communication window through which you give
and receive information about yourself and
others
„ Through feedback and disclosure (in other
words, the processes of giving and receiving
feedback), you can reveal more about yourself
to others and learn more about yourself from
others
 Johari window model

Known Ask Unknown

by self by self

1 2

Feedback solicitation
Known blind area/
open/free/public arena blind spot
by others
area

Tell
Self- disclosure/exposure/give Shared
feedback Discovery Others’ observation

Self-discovery
Unknown hidden/facade unknown
by others area area

3 4
 Under Condition of Self Disclosure

2
1

3 4

Under Condition of Feedback

1 2

3 4

Under Condition of Self Disclosure and Feedback

1 2

3 4

http://saweb.weber.edu/elibrary/StructuredExperience/PDF/P-FB/P-FB-1.pdf
Initial phase of group interaction

Open
Blind
H
i
d
d Unknown
e
n
Later phase of group interaction

Blind
Open

Unknown

Hidden
Principles of change in the Johari
window
„ A change in one quadrant affects other
quadrants
„ It takes energy to hide/deny/be blind to
behaviour that is involved in interaction
„ Trust increases awareness
„ Forced awareness is undesirable and
usually ineffective
„ The smaller the open area, the poorer the
communication
„ Interpersonal learning means a change has taken
place so the Q1 is larger and one or more of the
other quadrants also has grown smaller.
„ Working with others is facilitated by a large open
area. An increased Q1 means more of the
resources and skills in the relationships can be
applied to a task. Interpersonal effectiveness is
enhanced with a larger open area
„ There is universal curiosity about the Unknown
area, but is held in check by custom, social
training and diverse fears.
„ Sensitivity means appreciating the covert aspect
of behaviour, in quadrant 2, 3 and 4, and
respecting the desire of others to keep them so.
Self-presentation/impression
management: Revealing yourself to
others
„ Self-consciousness – the process of knowing
oneself
„ Self monitoring - what do you present and why
„ Presenting your true self - makes one
vulnerable, so we prefer to act according to
social expectations, wear masks and remain
enigmas
… Assumption of maturity and sensitivity
… Of course, sometimes even we do not know our true
selves (cf self- consciousness)
Understanding self
and others
Individual Dynamics
PGP I 2009-2010
Sections A & C
Prof. Premilla D’Cruz
 How do I relate to others and
how do they relate to me?
• Broadly, the patterns of interpersonal
interactions at work could range from
– Non-assertion/passivity
– Assertion
– Aggression

Aggression Assertion Non-aggression/

passivity
 Assertion
• Serves as a balance between exclusively
pursuing personal goals (aggression) and
completely deferring to others (passivity)
• Rooted in the notion that we should not violate
our own or others’ basic human rights – thus, a
person expresses himself/herself and his/her
needs in such a way that his/her own rights as
well as the rights of others are respected
• Expressive and self-enhancing style that does
not intrude on others
– Boundaries of all parties are maintained
– Allows for trust and mutual respect
 In other words
• Respectful, healthy and mature communication
which preserves the integrity of all involved
• Facilitates conflict resolution and negotiation
while defusing anger
• Agree to disagree – room for differences
• Solution that is acceptable to all parties
- When both parties do it, no one is hurt in any
way and all parties win on some level
– We get what we want without diminishing the other
person
– Other person can feel good about himself/herself
while also achieving his/her own goals
 Examples of Assertive
Communication
• “So what you’re saying is…..”
• “I can see that this is important to you,
and it is also important to me. Perhaps we
can talk more respectfully and try to solve
the problem”
• “I think…I feel…I believe that…..”
• “I would appreciate it if you….”
 What is “Okay” in assertive
behavior
• It is okay to say “I don’t know”
• It is okay to say “No” or “I cannot do that”
• It is okay to make mistakes as long as
responsibility is taken for them
• It is okay to disagree and to verbalize that
• It is okay to challenge other’ opinions or action
• It is okay to not accept another’s opinion as
factual or accurate (e.g., getting criticized)
• It is okay to ask for a change in behavior
 Non-assertion/passivity
• Inhibited, self-denying quality where we
do not express ourselves or strive to get
what we want from the situation
• Encourages others to take advantage of us
and control the situation
• Precipitates negative feelings in us and
disrespect for us in the other person
• Could lead to aggression after a critical
limit is reached
 Examples of Passive Communication

• “ I don’t know.”
• “Whatever you think.”
• “You have more experience than I. You
decide.”
• “I’ll go with whatever the group decides.”
• “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me.”
• “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes . . . NO!”
 What does it do for you?
• Promotes inertia
• Resigns you to losing
• Makes you deferential – ‘people-pleasing’
• Places you in victim mode
• Embodies a sense of ‘peace at all costs’
• Precipitates feelings of depression and
anxiety
 Aggression
• We get what we want by controlling the
situation, taking advantage of others and
denying the other person any space or
opportunity – behave in a righteous,
superior way
• The other person feels angry and
humiliated
• Creates antagonism and destroys team-
building efforts
 Examples of Aggressive
Communication
• “I don’t know why you can’t see that this is
the right way to do it.”
• “It’s going to be my way or not at all.”
• “You ‘re just stupid if you think that will
work”
• “That kind of logic will sink the company”
• “Who cares what you feel. We’re talking
about making things work here.”
 What does it do for you?
• Allows you to win at all costs
• Makes you insensitive
• Portrays you as intimidating and
threatening rather than mature and
professional
– Walk over others
– Bully others
– Use attacking ‘you’ statements
– Insist that you are always right
 When passivity is appropriate

• When the results of pushing the issue

would cause problems that outweigh the
benefits
• When issues are minor
• When there is a power differential that is
not in your favor and the other party is
getting agitated by your assertiveness
• When the other individual’s position is
impossible to change (E.g., the law)
When aggression is appropriate
• In an emergency
• When there is not time to spend on a
compromise
• When your opinion is based on several
facts, you therefore KNOW you are right,
and there is no time to utilize
assertiveness skills
 From no to yes
• Listen actively
– Show them that you understand
• That they feel strongly
• What they feel strongly about
• Why they feel strongly about it
• Win yourself a hearing
– Explain your own feelings
– Refer back to their points
– Make your point firmly but stay friendly
• Work towards a joint solution
– Seek their ideas
– Build on their ideas (don’t knock them down)
– Offer your ideas (don’t impose)
– Construct a solution from everyone’s ideas, that
addresses everyone’s needs
 Understanding self and others
• Significance of co-operation and
interdependence
• Use of influence strategies
• Attempt to have open areas (based on
knowledge of self and use of feedback),
via trust, maturity and sensitivity
• Relevance of assertiveness
 Feedback (continued from Johari
window model)
• Purpose of feedback
– Helps us see ourselves as others see us
– Others learn how we see them
– In so doing, it helps us move towards our
goals
• Presupposes a caring, trusting
environment
– Which reduces defensiveness
– Which maximises personal growth
• The desire for feedback is often off-set by the fear
of asking for such information
 Giving feedback
• Feedback should be given such that the
person receiving it
– Hears it in the most objective, least distorted
way possible
– Understands it
– Retains the choice of using/not using it
• People need to be trained to give feedback
– Should be given such that the recipient
preserves his/her self-esteem
• Solicited versus imposed feedback
– Solicited is more useful since recipient is open
• Data-based versus impressionistic
• Positive and negative versus completely
negative
• Suggestive versus prescriptive
• Constructive versus destructive
• Motivation to help versus motivation to hurt
• Description versus interpretation of behaviour
– Description focuses on observable aspects whereas
interpretation involves attributing intention and
could be wrong
• Non-evaluative versus evaluative feedback
– Non-evaluative looks at behaviour rather than
personal worth and refrains from value-judgments
• Specific versus general feedback
– Specific gives you an opportunity to know what to
change
• Freedom of choice to change versus pressure to
change
– Freedom of choice to change means that the decision
to act on the feedback is voluntary rather than
imposed
• Immediate versus delayed timing
– Immediate feedback is most effective since memory is
vivid
 Receiving feedback
• Elicit versus wait
• Listening and self-analysis versus denial
and rationalisation
• Clarifying versus assuming
Perception
Individual Dynamics Session 4
PGP-I 2009-10, Sections A & C

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

Perception in organisational life
† Perceptions are variable – raise issues
about
„ accuracy
„ objectivity
„ congruence
† What are the implications for work
settings?
„ Objects of perception at work
„ Deep level diversity, perceptual processes and
errors
Person perception
† Person/social perception (similar to perception but
the target/object is a person): Process by which we
seek to understand the people around us
„ Characteristics of the perceiver
„ Characteristics of the person being perceived
† Impression formation

† Impression management and self monitoring

„ Behavioural matching, self-promotion,

conformity, appreciation/flattery
„ Perceptual errors
Perceptual errors/biases in person perception
† Perceptual/mental set/schema
† Perceptual defense (including projection)
† Stereotype and halo effect
† Similar-to-me/similarity effects
„ Tendency for perceiver to perceive in a positive light targets who they
believe are similar to themselves in any of several different ways
† Contrast effects
„ Perceiver’s perceptions of others influence perceiver’s perception of a
target
† Primacy effects
„ Initial pieces of information that a perceiver has about a target have an
inordinately large effect on the perceiver’s perception and evaluation of
the target
† Recency/latency effects
„ Later pieces of information that a perceiver has about a target have an
inordinately large effect on the perceiver’s perception and evaluation of
the target
† Attributional errors
Perception as deep level diversity
† Individual differences in perception and their implications for work and
organisation
„ Manifestations
† Organisation processes such as strategy, decision-making, resource allocation,
communication, conflict, etc.
† Interpersonal and group functioning
† Recruitment
† Appraisals, rewards, promotions
† Justice/fairness, motivation and stress
„ Solutions/management of differences
† Survival and competitive advantage
† Organisational goals, values and culture
† Organisational practices and policies
† Leadership, power and ethics
† Intelligence systems
† OD interventions at individual, group and organisational level (for self-awareness and
checking biases and errors)
† Individual survival and vested interests (performance and promotions)
† Conflict handling strategies
† Can perceptual differences be beneficial?
 Attribution
Session 5
Individual Dynamics
PGP I 2009-2010 Sections A & C

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

 Attribution as part of
person/social perception
• Person/social perception (similar to
perception but the target/object is a
person): Process by which we seek to
understand the people around us
• Attribution is an attempt to understand
the reasons underlying a person’s
behaviour
 Definition
• Cognitive process of inferring the
causes of our own and others’
behaviour/of events
• Causal attributions have 3
dimensions:
– Locus of causality (internal or external)
– Stability of the cause (fixed or
variable), and
– Controllability of the cause (controllable
or uncontrollable)
 Locus of causality
• Do people’s behaviours stem from
factors internal/external to them?
• Internal (dispositional) or external
(situational)
– Internal (dispositional) – ability,
personality, motivation, effort, mood
– External (situational) – task difficulty,
luck, boss, peers, resources
 Stability of the cause
• Are the causal factors that influence
behaviour stable over time?
• Fixed (stable) factors – ability,
personality, task difficulty
• Variable (unstable/changing) factors
– mood, effort, strategy, fatigue,
luck
Controllability of the cause
• Can an individual change or influence these
causal factors if he/she wishes to do so?
• Or are these factors beyond his/her
control?
Locus of control:
Internal locus of control - do I believe that
I can control outcomes?
External locus of control – do I believe that
outcomes are beyond my control?
Personality traits and attributions
The attribution process is further
complicated by the role of personality –
that is, there are individual differences in
attribution that can be explained by
dispositional factors

Attribution Expectancy Behavioural

about an of success responses
outcome

Personality
traits/
Dispositions
The possibility of errors
• About self
– Self-serving bias
• About others
– Limited/inaccurate information which
has not been verified
– Perceptual errors including
mental/perceptual sets/schema,
stereotypes, etc
Organisational applications
• My attributions about myself affect my
emotional state, my motivation and my
efforts/behaviours
• Others’ attributions about me affect
various HR practices such as selection,
appraisals, promotions, transfers/layoffs,
training
• My attributions about others which affect
how I relate to them, how I work with
them, how I assess them
– PLUS ERRORS
 Learning
Individual Dynamics
PGP I 2009-10 Sections A & C

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

Learning

z Relatively
permanent change in
knowledge or behaviour that arises due
to experience or practice
Learning theories

z Classical conditioning
z Higher order conditioning
z Operant Conditioning
z Shaping the desired behaviours through:
z Positive Reinforcement

z Negative Reinforcement

Reinforcement increases the occurrence of

the desired response
z Continuous versus intermittent reinforcement
schedules
z Fixed interval/ratio

z Variable interval/ratio
z Cognitive theory
z Complexity of human behaviour
z Role of cognition
z Learning occurs via meaningful behaviour and
information processing, not merely because of
reinforcement
z Social Learning Theory
z Vicarious learning or modeling
z Observation and imitation
Single loop and double loop learning

z Single loop learning (adaptive learning)

z Set ways of solving problems that are not questioned but lead to
defensive thinking which blocks learning
z How to improve the status quo
z Reduce gaps and errors between desired and existing conditions
z Produces incremental changes
z Double loop learning (generative learning)
z Breaking down defensive thinking by recognising the reasoning one
uses, identifying inconsistencies between espoused and actual
theories of action and working towards alternatives such that one
finds newer and more effective ways of learning
z How to change the status quo
z Aims at changing the assumptions and conditions within which single
loop learning occurs
z Can lead to transformational/radical change
Applications of learning in the
workplace
z Socialisation learning theory,
z Training learning styles
z Mentoring and coaching
z Reward/performance systems operant cond.
z Behaviour modification and discipline
z Impression management and personal promotion (social
learning, modeling and conformity)
z Team creation learning styles
z Person job fit
z Decision making, problem solving and change (cognitive
learning, single and double loop learning)
z Knowledge management systems (tacit knowledge)
z Learning organisations (Senge’s Fifth Discipline, double
loop learning and organisational design issues )
 Decision making

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz,

Individual Dynamics
PGP I 2009-2010, Sections A & C
Film
• Authoritarian style: Top-down approach
where the boss takes the decision and
subordinates must obey
• Consultative style: Boss decides, after
considering the inputs of and
influencing/persuading subordinates
• Participative style: Joint decision making
by boss and subordinates where
consensus is emphasised
• Decision making style – how one
approaches decision making, based on
how one perceives and comprehends
stimuli/information and the general
manner in which one chooses to respond
to such stimuli/information
• There is no one best decision making style
applicable to all situations
– People have preferences for particular styles
– But they generally alternate between 2-3
styles depending on their preference and the
demands of the situation such as time, nature
of the problem, strategic concerns, sub-
ordinates, etc.
• Knowing one’s preferred style promotes
self-awareness and self-improvement
• Knowing other’s style helps you influence
them more effectively
Decision making
• The process of identifying and solving
problems, occurs at all levels and in all
units of the organisation. It involves
making choices from among several
alternatives
• The most crucial managerial activity,
involving both objective and subjective
aspects
Programmed Non-programmed
decisions decisions
1. Routine 1. Non-routine
2. Recurrent 2. Non-recurring
3. Can be made 3. Unique/novel
at lower levels problem
4. Rely on past 4. Rely on
experience and creativity
organisational 5. Upper level
policy/practice 6. Strategic
decisions
Top-down Empowered

Decision Decision
making making
power power
in the in the
hands of hands of
superiors employees
Vroom-Yetton normative decision making
model – which decision style is most
effective in which situation

Decision E
acceptance F
F
E
C
T
Decision Decision Decision style/
I
quality rule procedure
V
E
N
E
Situational S
factors S
Decision styles/procedures
• Autocratic l (Al) Leader solves the problem alone using
information that is readily available to him/her
• Autocratic ll (All) Leader obtains additional information
from group members, then makes decision alone. Group
members may or may not be informed.
• Consultative l (Cl) Leader shares problem with group
members individually, and asks for information and
evaluation. Group members do not meet collectively,
and leader makes decision alone.
• Consultative ll (Cll) Leader shares problem with group
members collectively, but makes decision alone
• Group ll (Gll) Leader meets with group to discuss
situation. Leader focuses and directs discussion, but
does not impose will. Group makes final decision.
• Decision acceptance by subordinates
– Degree of subordinate commitment required to
implement a decision effectively
• Decision quality
– Objective aspects of a decision that affect
performance
– Eg: how many alternatives are present, are all the
alternatives similar in consequences, what are the
consequences of the alternatives for performance
– A decision of a good quality if it represents the best
possible solution to the problem
• Situational factors
Effectiveness of a decision procedure/style
depends on the following aspects of a situation
– The amount of relevant information possessed by
leader and subordinates
– The likelihood that subordinates will accept an
autocratic decision
– The likelihood that subordinates will co-operate if
allowed to participate
– The amount of disagreement among subordinates
with respect to their preferred alternatives
– The extent to which the decision problem is
unstructured and requires creative problem solving
• Decision rules
– Which decision procedure/style is appropriate in a given
situation such that decision quality and/or acceptance are not
jeopardised by using that procedure
• When the decision is important and subordinates possess relevant
information lacked by a leader, an autocratic decision (AI, AII) is
not appropriate because an important decision would be made
without all of the relevant, available information
• When the decision quality is important and subordinates do not
share the leader’s concern for task goals, a group decision (GII) is
not appropriate because these procedures would give too much
influence over an important decision to uncooperative or even
hostile people
• When decision quality is important, the decision problem is
unstructured, and the leader does not possess the necessary
information and expertise to make a good decision, then the
decision should be made by interaction among people who have the
relevant information (CII, GII)
• When the decision acceptance is important and subordinates are
unlikely to accept an autocratic decision, then an autocratic decision
(AI, AII) is not appropriate because the decision may not be
implemented effectively
Decision rules continued…
• When decision acceptance is important and subordinates
are likely to disagree among themselves about the best
solution to an important problem, autocratic procedures
(AI, AII) and individual consultation (CI) are not
appropriate because they do not provide the opportunity
to resolve differences through discussion and
negotiation among subordinates and between
subordinates and the leader
• When decision quality is not important but acceptance is
critical and unlikely to result from an autocratic decision,
the only appropriate procedure is a group decision (GII),
because acceptance is maximised without risking quality
• When decision acceptance is important and not likely to
result from an autocratic decision, and subordinates
share the leader’s task objectives, subordinates should be
given equal partnership in the decision process (GII),
because acceptance is maximised without risking quality
Decision process flow chart – simplifies the application
of the rules and assists managers in identifying the
optimal decision style
 Problem attributes
1. Quality Requirement (QR): How important is the technical quality
of the decision?
2. Commitment Requirement (CR): How important is subordinate
commitment to the decision?
3. Leader's Information (LI): Do you (the leader) have sufficient
information to make a high quality decision on your own?
4. Problem Structure (ST): Is the problem well structured (e.g., defined,
clear, organized, lend itself to solution, time limited, etc.)?
5. Commitment Probability (CP): If you were to make the decision by
yourself, is it reasonably certain that your subordinates would be
committed to the decision?
6. Goal Congruence (GC): Do subordinates share the organizational
goals to be attained in solving the problem?
7. Subordinate conflict (CO): Is conflict among subordinates over
preferred solutions likely?
8. Subordinate information (SI): Do subordinates have sufficient
information to make a high quality decision?
Attitudes and Stereotypes
Individual Dynamics:
Session 6 
PGP I 2009‐2010, Sections A & C 

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz 
 Attitudes  
• Definition: Evaluative reaction which is either 
positive or negative toward something or 
someone that we reveal in our thoughts, 
feelings, or intended actions toward that person 
or thing
– Could sometimes be ambivalent too 
• Have direction (positive/negative) and intensity 
(weak/strong)
• Are learned via socialisation and experience 
• Attitude objects include self, people, artefacts, 
entities such as events, issues, policies, practices 
(could be complex too) 
• Operate as schema/mental sets/perceptual sets
• Comprise cognitive (beliefs/thoughts), 
affective (emotional) and behavioural 
(action) components
– Inconsistencies between cognitive/affective 
and behavioural components due to 
situational factors (eg: norms, self‐monitoring)
• Cognitive dissonance 
 Stereotypes
Attitude (cog/beh/aff)

Prejudice 
Affective 
Cognitive – Behavioural –
Stereotype  Discrimination 
• Prejudice – attitude (usually negative) towards 
the members of some group, based solely on 
their membership in that group
– Functions as schema/mental sets/perceptual sets  
– Works on automatic processing/in an implicit manner
– Tend to evaluate members of the group negatively 
merely because they belong to that group, rather than 
looking at them as individuals 
• Discrimination – negative actions towards 
groups that are the target of prejudice 
• Stereotypes – beliefs that all members of a 
particular group show certain ‘typical’ traits 
• Operate as schema/mental sets/perceptual sets 
do
• Labelling, scapegoating and self‐fulfilling 
prophecies/pygmalion effect 
– Judge people prematurely 

Prejudice/discrimination/stereotypes could be positive too 
• Roots of prejudice and stereotypes
– Social categorisation
• In‐group and out‐group
• In‐group heterogeneity and out‐group 
homogeneity
– Realistic conflict hypothesis
• Social networks and scarce resources 
– Social learning 
 Work related attitudes
• Workplace commitment
• Work‐related satisfaction

Individual Attitude  Multiple  Satisfaction/ Behaviour/

objects at  positive/ dissatisfaction performance/
work  negative/ + productivity/
(existing/ ambivalent  Commitment/ organisational
emergent) attitudes lack of  effectiveness
Group  with  commitment
varying  (resistance)
intensity  [various 
[includes  combinations]
stereotypes]

Various organisational interventions to handle all of these 
 Prejudice and stereotypes at 
work
• Capitalising on diversity
 Changing attitudes
• Volition, motivation and self‐awareness
• Providing new information
• Influence of social networks
• Co‐opting people 
 Reducing prejudice and 
stereotypes
• Unlearning (introspection and questioning of the 
reified) and relearning (volition, motivation and 
self‐awareness)
• Shared goals, shared identity and OD 
interventions – contact hypothesis and 
recategorising

• The relevance of diversity management 
programmes
 Values
Individual Dynamics
PGP I 2009-2010
Sections A & C
Prof. Premilla D’Cruz
Definition
• Conception, implicit or explicit, of what an
individual or group regards as desirable, and in
terms of which they select means and ends of
action
• “To say that a person ‘has a value’ is to say
that he has an enduring belief that a specific
mode of conduct or end state of existence is
personally and socially preferable to
alternative modes of conduct or end-states of
existence (Rokeach, 1969: 159-160)”
Five key components of values
• Concepts or beliefs (cognitions)
• Pertain to desirable end-states and modes
of existence/behaviours
• Transcend situations
• Guide selection and evaluation of
behaviour and events
• Ordered by relative importance
• Judgemental element as to what is good, right
and desirable
• Intrinsic, (usually) unquestioned part of oneself
– brought to the fore by situations
• Acquired early in life from various agents of
socialisation and through various modes
(reinforcement, punishment, imitation, etc.), but
affected by experience, individuality and ‘times’ -
hence though they are stable and enduring, they
can change too
Functions of values
• Part of psychological makeup – influence
behaviour (hence complete objectivity is never
possible)
– Guide action
• Help us to take particular positions on various
issues
– Justify action
• Guide our presentation of self to others
– Influence comparison with others
• Facilitate our understanding of and interaction
with others
– Affect moral judgments of self and others
• In other words, they influence perceptions,
attitudes, motivation, etc.
Value system
• Value system is the ranking of an
individual’s values in terms of their
intensity – this shows the relative
importance of we assign to each value
Classification of values
• Helps us to distinguish and compare
values and values systems of individuals,
groups and cultures
• Spranger’s classification (quoted by Guth
& Tagiuri)
– Theoretical – empirical, rational, critical
‘truth’
– Economic – practical, wealth, resources
‘business’
– Aesthetic – artistic, harmonious, graceful
– Social – altruistic, philantropic, people as
ends, unselfish, kind – ‘love’
– Political – power, recognition, competition
– Religious – relate to the universe in a
meaningful way, mystical orientation, ‘unity’
• Rokeach’s classification
– Terminal values are desirable end state of
existence that a person would like to achieve
during his/her lifetime. Eg: Peace in the
world
– Instrumental values are preferable modes of
conduct/behaviour or means of achieving
one’s terminal values. Eg: Courteous,
altruistic behaviour
– Within these 2 groups, values could be self-
centred or other-centred
• Kinicki
– Espoused values – which are cited as being
preferred or aspired for
– Enacted values – which are actually exhibited
or manifested in action
– Value congruence – the gap between enacted
and espoused values
 Interface with work life
• Organisational values – linked to organisational culture
– Internal functioning and external adaptation
– Espoused versus enacted values
– Individual versus organisational values (degree of congruence and
subcultures)
• Individual level
– Influence on work
– Interpersonal differences and their effects
• Do my values change or not in a group context – why?
– Espoused versus enacted values
• Can values be maintained in an absolute sense or does their enactment get
influenced by contextual factors?
• Experience of dilemmas and their resolution
• The issue of overidentification
• Values accorded to work
– Work values in the Indian context – the changing psychological
contract
– Cross-cultural differences and implications for the workplace
Stress and coping
PGPI 2009-2010 Sections A & C
Individual Dynamics

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

 What is stress?
The contemporary perspective

Stressor Strain or
(Stimulus) well being
Acute/chronic or both
(Temporal
(Response)
dimension);
Positive/
Negative; Appraisal Coping
Multiple
(pile-up) Reappraisal

Personality traits Coping resources

Type A including time,
Locus of control abilities, money,
Optimism social support
Self-efficacy
• Stress arises when the demands of a
situation/experience/event are appraised by the
individual as about to tax or exceed the resources
available, thereby threatening well-being and
precipitating strain
• Disruption in normal functioning
• Resolution of the disruption
• Coping – efforts to master, reduce or tolerate the
demands created by a stressful transaction
 Components of strain
• Physiological
– Cardiovascular symptoms, biochemical reactions,
gastrointestinal symptoms
– Degeneration due to chronic exposures
• Psychological
– Dissatisfaction and boredom
– Anxiety and irritability
– Depression
– Emotional exhaustion and fatigue
– Anger
– Burnout
• Behavioural
– Self-damaging behaviours (drug/alcohol abuse)
– Aggression
– Disruption in various aspects of one’s life (such
as in social relationships)
(In the context of organisations, it includes
disruptions such as absenteeism, errors,
accidents, vandalism)
 Components of well-being
• Self-acceptance
• Mastery
• Autonomy
• Positive relationships
• Personal growth
• Purpose in life
 Stressor
• Source of stress that creates demands
• Could be
– Positive and/or negative
– Acute/chronic
– Pile-up (multiple simultaneously)
• Generally denotes change
 Workplace stressors
• Factors intrinsic to the job
– Work conditions (temperature, furniture/layout,
risks/hazards)
– Shifts
– Hours of work
– Travel
– New technology
– Job design elements (autonomy, complexity and variety)
• Roles in the organisation
– Role ambiguity
– Role conflict
– Responsibility for people
– Role overload/role underload
• Relationships at work
– Boss
– Subordinates
– Colleagues
• Career development issues
– Job security (or lack of it)
– Job performance and advancement
– Competition
• Participation in decision making (or lack of it)
• Inequity
• Victimisation
• Ethical dilemmas
• Organisational structure/processes, culture,
change, leadership/supervision, etc
• Home-work interface/work-life (im)balance
• Technostress
– Loss of privacy, monitoring and surveillance
– Information overload
– Erosion of face to face contact
– Continual learning

Stressors at the workplace are only one

source of stress for the individual
 Coping
Common to use multiple strategies
simultaneously
• Active cognitive strategies
• Active behavioural strategies
– Solve the problem
– Alter the situation
– Change the way one thinks/feels about the
problem without solving it
– Regulate emotional distress
• Avoidance strategies
 Managing stress – personal
strategies
• Lifestyle issues - exercise, diet, sleep, relaxation
and meditation and substance use
• Leisure and hobbies
(Work-life balance)
• Prioritising and time management
• Social support
• Spiritual resources
• In the workplace – delegation, mentoring, role
negotiation
• Managing stress – organisational strategies
– Create comfortable working conditions – physical
environment, organisational processes and practices - (as
far as possible), including an atmosphere of support and
avenues for redressal
– Match individuals with tasks (and train them for growth)
– Clarify employee roles
– Assign mentors to employees
– Offer job security/ensure employability
– Offer flexitime
– Provide on-site care facilities for dependents
– Provide stress and time management training
– On-site exercise and relaxation facilities/training
– Employee assistance programs (counselling and medical
assistance)
INDIVIDUAL DYNAMICS
Session 9: Motivation
PGP I 2009-2010
Sections A & C

Prof. Premilla D’Cruz

Motivation

An internal state that directs individuals

toward certain goals and objectives, and
that accounts for his/her intensity, direction
and persistence of effort in attaining a goal
„ A set of processes that arouse, direct and
maintain human behaviour towards
attaining a goal
„ Arousal – the drive or energy behind our
actions (rooted in a need/deficiency that one
experiences)
„ Direction – the movement towards a goal
„ Maintenance – the persistence in attaining the
goal
„ No such thing as a person without
motivation
„ Motivation varies between individuals and
within an individual
„ People have multiple (sometimes
conflicting) motives operating
simultaneously
Work motivation

Psychological forces within a person that

determine the direction of a person’s
behavior in an organization, a person’s level
of effort, and a person’s persistence in the
face of obstacles level, and persistence of
effort
Theories of motivation
„ Content/need theories/models
„ Process theories/models (Vroom)
„ Contemporary models (Adams)
„ Reinforcement theory
 Content theories/models – what
is it that motivates people to
work?
„ Concern needs/drives and how these are
prioritised
„ Maslow
„ Herzberg
„ Alderfer
„ McClelland
 Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

SELF-
ACTUALIZATION

ESTEEM/
EGO-
STATUS
Higher order
SOCIAL/
BELONGINGNESS

Lower order SAFETY/

SECURITY

PHYSIOLOGICAL/
BASIC
Criticisms of Maslow’s theory
„ A general theory of motivation, later
applied to work settings
„ Pre-potency of needs (satisfaction-
progression hypothesis)
Herzberg’s two factor theory
„ Satisfaction and dissatisfaction on the job
are completely distinct concepts, not polar
opposites
 Traditional view

Satisfaction Dissatisfaction
Herzberg’s view
Motivators

Satisfaction No satisfaction

Hygiene

No dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction
„ Rooted in two completely different needs
„ Basic needs – hygiene factors linked to
(avoidance of) dissatisfaction and extrinsic to
the job
„ associated with the physical and psychological context of
the job
„ Prevents the occurrence of job dissatisfaction

„ Cannot provide job satisfaction

„ Cannot give rise to positive motivation

„ Need for achievement and growth – motivators

linked to satisfaction and intrinsic to the job
„ associated with the job itself
„ Results in job satisfaction

„ Cannot prevent job dissatisfaction

„ Can result in positive motivation

Motivators Hygiene factors
•Responsibility •Working conditions
•Achievement •Supervision
•Advancement or growth •Interpersonal relations
•Challenge •Salary and benefits
•Recognition •Job security
•The work itself •Policies and
administration
Criticisms of Maslow and
Herzberg
„ Scientific rigour is questioned
„ Maslow’s theory has little empirical evidence
„ Herzberg’s methodology is questioned
„ Oversimplify the complexities of work motivation
„ Basis for more sophisticated theories
„ Popularly known and referred to even today
„ Applications of Herzberg’s theory in job design
Alderfer’s ERG theory
„ Has reworked Maslow’s theory based on
empirical evidence
„ Existence needs
„ Basic material existence requirements
„ Relatedness needs
„ Maintenance of interpersonal relationships
„ Growth needs
„ Intrinsic desire for personal achievement
„ Does not assume pre-potency of needs
„ Multiple needs can operate simultaneously
„ Substitution and compensation can take place
McClelland’s theory: Need for achievement

Desire to exceed some standards of behavior; to excel; to

succeed, to accomplish goals, to strive to do things better

People high on n-Ach prefer to work on tasks:

• that are moderately challenging (perceived as achievable
for them in the light of their abilities)
• on which their performance can be evaluated (feedback)
• where they can take personal responsibility for delivering
and get personal credit for outcomes

They are task oriented and individualistic

Need for power
Desire to to dominate, influence, or command; desire to
have impact, and to control others; desire to make
others behave the way they would not have behaved
otherwise

People high on n-Pow:

• enjoy being in-charge
• strive for influence over others
• prefer to be placed into status-oriented situations.
• tend to be more concerned with prestige and gaining
influence than with effective performance.
• enjoy getting things done through others rather than
doing on their own
Need for affiliation
Desire to establish friendly relations with others; to be a
part of the group

People high on n-Aff:

• have concern for establishing, maintaining, repairing
relation with others
• enjoy cooperation with others.
• like to interact and be with others in situations where
they feel they are accepted
Managerial effectiveness
„ Who makes a better manager?
„ Motive
„ Affiliation driven
„ Power driven
„ Personal power
„ Institutional power
„ Socialised face of power where inhibition operates
„ Style
„ Democratic
„ Authoritarian
„ Ideal manager: Institutional power motive with
democratic style + maturity
 Matching Content Models*
Needs Model Motivator-Hygiene Model Achievement
Motivation
Needs Hierarchy ERG Theory Model

Self-Actualization Motivators Need for

•Advancement Achievement
Growth
•Growth
Esteem/Ego-Status •Achievement

Need for
Power
Social/Belongingness Relatedness
Hygiene factors
•Job security Need for
Affiliation
Safety/Security •Salary
•Working conditions
Existence

Physiological/Basic

* Figure 5.6, P. 154, Organizational Behaviour, 8th Ed., Hellriegel et al, South Western College
bl h
 Vroom’s expectancy model
Effort
Expectancy

Performance/ X
Outcomes
Instrumentality Motivation

Rewards X

Valence
of rewards

Skills, abilities, opportunities, context

Vroom’s expectancy model
„ Expectancy (E): Belief that effort will influence
performance/outcome
„ Instrumentality (I): Belief that one will be rewarded for
performance/outcome
„ Valence (V): The perceived value of rewards expected
„ Motivation: E x I x V
„ Person will be highly motivated if he/she perceives a
strong link between E, I, V
 J.S. Adams’s equity theory
Output Output
1. Equity P’ --------- = O' ---------
Input Input

2. (+)Inequity Output Output

P’ --------- > O’ ---------
Overrewarded Input Input

3. (-) Inequity Output Output

P’ --------- < O’ ---------
Unrewarded Input Input
P’= Person/self
O’= Relevant/referent other
Adams’s equity theory
„ Output/outcome-input ratio for oneself and for the
referent/relevant other (based on perception and
social comparison)
„ Subjective assessment

„ Inputs
„ Effort
„ Experience
„ Education
„ Competence
„ Outcomes/outputs
„ Salary
„ Raises
„ Recognition
„ Equity gives rise to a sense of fairness and justice ,
inequity results in a sense of unfairness and injustice
„ Who is your referent
„ Self-inside (Your experiences within the same organisation)
„ Self-outside (Your experiences in another organisation)
„ Other-inside (Someone else’s experiences in the same
organisation)
„ Other-outside (Someone else’s experiences in another
organisation)
„ Behavioural and cognitive responses to inequity
„ Change in inputs and/or outcomes
„ Distort perceptions of self and referent other
„ Change the referent
„ Exit the situation
Reinforcement theory
• Behaviour is a function of its consequences
• Reinforcement: Anything that strengthens
a desired behavior, and increases the
probability of its repetition/recurrence
• Different types of rewards
• Schedules of reinforcement
Applications
„ Job design
„ Job enlargement (horizontal loading)
„ Job enrichment (vertical loading)
„ Complexity, variety and autonomy
„ Goal setting and MBO (management by
objectives)
„ Reward, performance and discipline systems
„ Organisational justice
„ Linked to training, career development and work-
life balance