Introduction to Individual Behaviour

Clifford Kilmo

What is behaviour? Behaviour is the pattern of how a person responds to a stimulus. Responses can be influenced by
Culture: the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization. These shared patterns identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group. Attitude: a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's like or dislike for an item; mental position relative to a way of thinking or being. The current popular usage of attitude implies a negative mindset, a "chip on the shoulder" behavior, and an inner anger toward the prevailing majority of thought.Emotion: a feeling that is private and subjective; a state of psychological arousal an expression or display of distinctive somatic and autonomic responses. Values: beliefs of a person or social group in which they

have an emotional investment (either for or against something)Ethics: response based on what is right; the process of determining how one should hold the interests of various stakeholders, taking into account moral values/principles

Authority: the power or right to give orders or make decisionsCoercion: obtaining a response by use force; compelling a person to behave in an involuntary way (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats/intimidationPersuasion: obtaining a response by convincing a person; the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is strategy of problem-solving relying on "appeals" rather than force. Genetics: inherited from parents; pertaining to genes or any of their effects.

Why to study Individual Behaviour? Learn ones own behaviour pattern Interpret ones own behaviour pattern Take corrective measures to develop appropriate behaviour pattern for personal effectiveness Develop Self Competency

Self Competency Understanding ones own personality Taking responsibility for managing oneself Assessing and establishing ones own developmental, personal and work related goals

Behaviours That Help Effectiveness:

Behaviour Listens Actively Supports Probes Clarifies Offers Ideas

Description Looks at the person who is speaking, nods, asks, probing questions and acknowledges what is said by paraphrasing point(s) made Encourages others to develop ideas and make suggestions; gives them recognition for their ideas Goes beyond the surface comments by questioning teammates to uncover hidden information Asks members for more information about what they mean; clears up confusion Shares suggestions, ideas, solutions, and proposals

Includes Others Asks quiet members for their opinions, making sure no one is left out

Summarizes

Harmonizes Manages conflict

Pulls together ideas from a number of people; determines where the group is and what has been covered Reconciles opposing points of view; links together similar ideas; points out where ideas are the same Listens to the views of others; clarifies issues and key points made by opponents; seeks solutions

Behaviours That Hinder Effectiveness

Behaviour Yeah Buts Blocks Description Discredits the ideas of others Insists on getting ones way; doesnt compromise; stands in the way of the teams progress Draws attention to ones personal skills; boasts

Grandstands

Goes off topic Directs the conversation off onto other topics Dominates Withdraws Devils Advocate Criticizes Tries to run the group through dictating, bullying Doesnt participate or offer help or support to others Takes pride in being contrary Makes negative comments about people or their ideas

Personal Slurs Hurls insults at other people

Biographical characteristics are readily available to managers. Generally, they include data that are contained in an employees personnel file. The most important conclusions are that age seems to have no relationship to productivity; older workers and those with longer tenure are less likely to resign; and married employees have fewer absences, less turnover, and report higher job satisfaction than do unmarried employees. But what value can this information have for managers? The obvious answer is that it can help in making choices among job applicants.

Ability directly influences an employees level of performance and satisfaction through the ability-job fit. Given managements desire to get a compatible fit, what can be done? First, an effective selection process will improve the fit. A job analysis will provide information about jobs currently being done and the abilities that individuals need to perform the jobs adequately. Applicants can then be tested, interviewed, and evaluated on the degree to which they possess the necessary abilities. Second, promotion and transfer decisions affecting individuals already in the organizations employ should reflect the abilities of candidates. With new employees, care should be taken to assess critical abilities that incumbents will need in the job and to match those requirements with the organizations

human resources. Third, the fit can be improved by fine-tuning the job to better match an incumbents abilities. Often modifications can be made in the job that, while not having a significant impact on the jobs basic activities, better adapts it to the specific talents of a given employee. Examples would be to change some of the equipment used or to reorganize tasks within a group of employees. A final alternative is to provide training for employees. This is applicable to both new workers and present job incumbents. Training can keep the abilities of incumbents current or provide new skills as times and conditions change.

Biographical Characteristics 1. Finding and analyzing the variables that have an impact on employee productivity, absence, turnover, and satisfaction is often complicated. 2. Many of the conceptsmotivation, or power, politics or organizational cultureare hard to assess. 3. Other factors are more easily definable and readily availabledata that can be obtained from an employees personnel file and would include characteristics such as: Age Gender Marital status Length of service, etc.

A. Age 1. The relationship between age and job performance is increasing in importance. First, there is a widespread belief that job performance

declines with increasing age. Second, the workforce is aging; workers over 55 are the fastest growing sector of the workforce. Third, U.S. legislation largely outlaws mandatory retirement. 2. Employers perceptions are mixed. They see a number of positive qualities that older workers bring to their jobs, specifically experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, and commitment to quality. Older workers are also perceived as lacking flexibility and as being resistant to new technology. Some believe that the older you get, the less likely you are to quit your job. That conclusion is based on studies of the age-turnover relationship. A. Age (cont.) 3. It is tempting to assume that age is also inversely related to absenteeism. Most studies do show an inverse relationship, but close examination finds that the age-absence relationship is partially a function of whether the absence is avoidable or unavoidable. In general, older employees have lower rates of avoidable absence. However, they have higher rates of unavoidable absence, probably due to their poorer health associated with aging and longer recovery periods when injured. 4. There is a widespread belief that productivity declines with

age and that individual skills decay over time. Reviews of the research find that age and job performance are unrelated. This seems to be true for almost all types of jobs, professional and nonprofessional. 5. The relationship between age and job satisfaction is mixed. Most studies indicate a positive association between age and satisfaction, at least up to age 60. Other studies, however, have found a U-shaped relationship. When professional and nonprofessional employees are separated, satisfaction tends to continually increase among professionals as they age, whereas it falls among nonprofessionals during middle age and then rises again in the later years. B. Gender 1. There are few, if any, important differences between men and women that will affect their job performance, including the areas of: Problem-solving Analytical skills Competitive drive Motivation Sociability Learning ability 2. Women are more willing to conform to authority, and men are more aggressive and more likely than women to have expectations of success, but those differences are minor. 3. There is no evidence indicating that an employees gender

affects job satisfaction. 4. There is a difference between men and women in terms of preference for work schedules. Mothers of preschool children are more likely to prefer part-time work, flexible work schedules, and telecommuting in order to accommodate their family responsibilities. 5. Absence and turnover rates Womens quit rates are similar to mens. The research on absence consistently indicates that women have higher rates of absenteeism. The logical explanation: cultural expectation that has historically placed home and family responsibilities on the woman.

C. Marital Status 1. There are not enough studies to draw any conclusions about the effect of marital status on job productivity. 2. Research consistently indicates that married employees have fewer absences, undergo less turnover, and are more satisfied with their jobs than are their unmarried coworkers. 3. More research needs to be done on the other statuses besides single or married, such as divorce, domestic partnering, etc..

D. Tenure 1. The issue of the impact of job seniority on job performance has been subject to misconceptions and speculations. 2. Extensive reviews of the seniority-productivity relationship have been conducted: There is a positive relationship between tenure and job productivity. There is a negative relationship between tenure to absence. Tenure is also a potent variable in explaining turnover. Tenure has consistently been found to be negatively related to turnover and has been suggested as one of the single best predictors of turnover. The evidence indicates that tenure and satisfaction are positively related. E. Ability 1. We were not all created equal; most of us are to the left of the median on some normally distributed ability curve. 2. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses in terms of ability in performing certain tasks or activities; the issue is knowing how people differ in abilities and using that knowledge to increase performance.
3.

Ability refers to an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. It is a current assessment of what one can do.

4. Individual overall abilities are made up of two sets of

factors: intellectual and physical.

Intellectual Abilities 1. Intellectual abilities are those needed to perform mental activities. 2. IQ tests are designed to ascertain ones general intellectual abilities. Examples of such tests are popular college admission tests such as the SAT, GMAT, and LSAT. 3. The seven most frequently cited dimensions making up intellectual abilities are: number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, and memory.

F. Intellectual Abilities (cont.)

Notes:

4. Jobs differ in the demands they place on incumbents to use their intellectual abilities. For example, the more information-processing demands that exist in a job, the more general intelligence and verbal abilities will be necessary to perform the job successfully. 5. A careful review of the evidence demonstrates that tests that assess verbal, numerical, spatial, and perceptual abilities are valid predictors of job proficiency at all levels of jobs. 6. The major dilemma faced by employers who use mental ability tests is that they may have a negative impact on racial and ethnic groups. 7. New research in this area focuses on multiple intelligences, which breaks down intelligence into its four sub-parts: cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural.
Physical Abilities

1. Specific physical abilities gain importance in doing less skilled and more standardized jobs. 2. Research has identified nine basic abilities involved in the performance of physical tasks. (See Exhibit 2-2). 3. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of these abilities. 4. High employee performance is likely to be achieved when management matches the extent to which a job requires each of the nine abilities and the employees abilities.
H. The Ability-Job Fit

1. Employee performance is enhanced when there is a high ability-job fit. 2. The specific intellectual or physical abilities required depend on the ability requirements of the job. For example, pilots need strong spatialvisualization abilities. 3. Directing attention at only the employees abilities, or only the ability requirements of the job, ignores the fact that employee performance depends on the interaction of the two.

4. When the fit is poor employees are likely to fail. 5. When the ability-job fit is out of sync because the employee has abilities that far exceed the requirements of the job, performance is likely to be adequate, but there will be organizational inefficiencies and possible declines in employee satisfaction. 6. Abilities significantly above those required can also reduce the employees job satisfaction when the employees desire to use his or her abilities is particularly strong and is frustrated by the limitations of the job.