Unit II OT&B Discussion

BBA 3451, Organizational Theory and Behavior 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

2. Discuss human aspects of an organization. 2.1 Identify the five types of individual behavior in organizations. 2.2 Describe the Big Five personality dimensions and how they relate to individual behavior in

organizations. 2.3 Discuss the ways to improve perceptions in organizational situations.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

2.1

Unit Lesson Chapter 2: Individual Behavior, Personality, and Values, pp. 32–44, 45–51 Chapter 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations Unit II Podcast Unit II Essay

2.2

Unit Lesson Chapter 2: Individual Behavior, Personality, and Values, pp. 32–44, 45–51 Unit II Podcast Unit II Essay

2.3

Unit Lesson Chapter 2: Individual Behavior, Personality, and Values, pp. 32–44, 45–51 Chapter 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations Unit II Podcast Unit II Essay

Reading Assignment Chapter 2: Individual Behavior, Personality, and Values, pp. 32–44, 45–51 Chapter 3: Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations Click here to access the Unit II Podcast. (Click here to access the transcript of the Unit II Podcast.)

Unit Lesson In the podcast below, Chantell Cooley, Dayna Fuller, and Caroline Walters discuss ways in which personality tests can be used within the workplace. Dayna, Chantell, and Caroline share their experiences with you as well as helpful tips. Click here to access the Unit II Podcast. (Click here to access the transcript of the Unit II Podcast.)

UNIT II STUDY GUIDE

Individual Behaviors and Perceiving Ourselves and Others

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Individual Behavior, Personality, and Values To begin this unit, let us think about two entities: a large corporation comprised of hundreds of people and a major league sports team (e.g., a hockey team comprised of 25 players or a professional football team

comprised of 80 players). These represent a good cross section of organizational behavior. These units face the same individual types of behavior. Refer to the MARS model shown in Exhibit 2.1 on page 32 of the textbook; MARS represents motivation, ability, role perceptions, and situational factors (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018). Looking at each example in the model, they all contribute to the five types of individual behavior in the workplace. Task Performance

Within a corporation, employees need to add value to gain market share, increase growth, maintain a competitive advantage, and control cost for their company. Also, their task performance can be measured based on the task performance of other entities; therefore, good relationships are key. For a major league sports team, winning games, selling seats to the games, selling season ticket packages, and winning a championship are the overarching goals for the organization. Organizational Citizenship According to McShane and Von Glinow (2018), organizational citizenship involves the relationships between workers, courtesy toward others, support for each other, and the promotion of a professional public image. In a corporation, whether public or private, citizenship is a part of the corporate culture as well as the image that is projected to customers and external suppliers. From a professional sports team’s standpoint, the relationships between players, playing time, number of points, number of lost games, and mistakes that are made on the ice or field that lead to errors all contribute to the citizenship found in an organization. From a corporation’s standpoint, league commissioners have strict policies on behavior that is professional regarding conduct. Examples are spousal abuse and alcohol abuse. Such citizenship sends the wrong message about players’ commitment to their teammates and society. Other areas of organizational citizenship include players encouraging each other in critical game situations, in locker rooms, and in conditioning settings such as the weight room. Change is stressful, dynamically fast at times, and extremely slow at other times. Good organizational citizenship is the ability for every employee to know his or her role and help others. Counterproductive Work Behaviors Very simply, counterproductive work behaviors are those that go against the standards set by corporate leadership. These behaviors do not promote good team comradery or respect for each other. These behaviors cause conflict and distract employees from focusing on their task performance toward measured goals and objectives. According to McShane and Von Glinow (2018), counterproductive work behaviors hurt the organization through conflict between workers, staff, a divergence in the way work is to be performed, personal aggression through sabotage of work practices, and unethical behavior. All undermine good order and discipline. Joining or Staying with the Organization Many factors influence an individual’s decision to join and stay with an organization; these factors include culture, pay, job interest, and advancement. According to Iqbal and Hashmi (2015), a culture of empowerment, quality leadership, and management support are factors that contribute to retention and hiring. Think about all of these factors. They are important to you; however, for each one of us, there is a different order of importance. Some consider the culture to be most important, some may simply want to immerse

A cross section of a corporate entity and professional sports teams (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018)

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themselves in the job tasks and integrate skill sets to contribute to corporate vision, and some may be driven by pay and benefits. A good example of this is in the medical and biotechnological career field. Scientists and technicians work hard every day to find cures for cancer and other diseases, where solutions are few and far between and failures are high. According to Iqbal and Hashmi (2015), it takes 13 years to approve a drug for release to the public. This is due to stringent testing, a lack of qualified researchers (scientists) to work on the development of the drug, and uncertainty of regulatory policies regarding whether the drug will be approved after years of development. In a professional football scenario, all of the same factors apply but are instead driven by job performance with goals, assists, yards gained, touchdowns, and more. The intangible factor is age. The older an athlete gets, the harder performance is to maintain because of the brutal nature of the sport on the body. Young draft picks are the pipeline to replace aging veterans. Some choose to leave because of free agency and the ability to sign more lucrative financial contracts. Perceiving Ourselves and Others in Organizations Have you ever really sat back and asked yourself who you are or what the meaning is behind someone’s actions? These questions are referring to personality. Personality refers to the thoughts and actions of a person and the reasons behind these thoughts and actions (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018). Additionally, there are five types of individual behaviors that can be found within an organization, and these include conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience and extraversion (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018). Conscientiousness produces characteristics of being organized, dependable, goal focused, and disciplined. Reaching back to previous paragraphs, we can see how conscientiousness fits directly into the MARS model and individual behavior. Agreeableness is a large factor, and this category is based on trustworthiness and selflessness. Again, the ability for people to work together, share ideas, and create win-win situations is very important. Neuroticism deals with the internal behaviors that cannot always be detectable to others such as depression and insecurity. As managers, friends, and leaders, not all of us are psychologists. We do not have the ability to internally analyze someone. We usually ask questions of others when we see abnormal behavior by saying; “Are you alright?” At this point, the best solution may be to have the individual seek professional assistance. The final two personality dimensions are openness to experience through creativity and imaginative actions as well as extraversion, which describes someone who is outgoing, energetic, or talkative. Let’s now go a little deeper into perceiving others and ourselves. The Big Five characteristics have framed some behaviors that we have probably seen, although we may not always consider the characteristics as being the true source of the behaviors. As noted from the history and continual validation of the Big Five

personality test, the test helps us get a framework of who we are. By knowing who we are, we are more aware of how others see us and how they react to our behaviors. Realize that everyone is different. We all are not extroverts, nor are we all introverts. The five categories of the Big Five personality test are listed below, and as you review them, consider how each personality type could impact an organization, a sports team, or other individuals.

 Open-mindedness: You are relatively open to new experiences.

 Conscientious: You are very well-organized and can be relied upon.

 Extraversion: You are extremely outgoing, social, and energetic.

 Agreeableness: You are neither extremely forgiving nor irritable.

 Negative emotionality: You probably remain calm, even in tense situations. So, why is this so important? The benefits are very simple. By knowing yourself and knowing the personality composition of others, you will be able to more effectively and efficiently communicate, negotiate, handle

The five categories of the Big Five personality test (Wyatt, 2017)

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conflict, and comprehend the perspectives of others on issues. That is the underlying foundation of organizational behavior. Ways to Improve Perceptions in Organizational Situations McShane and Von Glinow (2018) introduce three ways to improve perceptions in organizational situations.

1. Become more aware of who people are and their existence (personal characteristics). 2. Become more aware of our perceptions of who people are through our decisions and behaviors. 3. By working on the aforementioned, we can be more effective in communicating, perceiving,

cooperating, and working with others. Barriers will come down and biases will be eliminated through meaningful interactions.

Behaviors, personalities, and values—what a mix of intangible things that are within and outside our control in our daily environment! Each of these play an important part in organizational behavior, teamwork, individualism, and the ability to meet company goals. The bottom line is to produce results for ourselves and our company. By learning about behavior, the types of behavior, and the effects of behavior on others, we can all be better individuals, leaders, managers, and team players by having a stronger and broader foundation in decision-making and dealing with emotions.

References Hashmi, M. S., & Iqbal, S. (2015). Impact of perceived organizational support on employee retention with

mediating role of psychological empowerment. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 9(1), 18–34.

McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2018). Organizational behavior: Emerging knowledge, global reality

(8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Suggested Reading In order to access the following resources, click the links below. This study, which was published by the Government Accounting Office (GAO), outlines the hurdles and challenges for companies to bring a drug to market. Aronovitz, L. G. (2006). New drug development: Science, business, regulatory, and intellectual property

issues cited as hampering drug development efforts. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=bth&AN=23495110&site=ehost-live&scope=site

This article reviews a study conducted in Pakistan with regard to the retention of employees within higher levels of education. What was being measured through the survey was the perceived level of empowerment and organizational support to the impact on the work produced. Hashmi, M. S., & Iqbal, S. (2015). Impact of perceived organizational support on employee retention with

mediating role of psychological empowerment. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 9(1), 18–34. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=buh&AN=102753545&site=ehost-live&scope=site