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Chapter 1 Introduction to Organizational Behavior

Outline

· Overview

· What Is Organizational Behavior?

· Challenges for Organizational Behavior

· Challenge 1: The Changing Social and Cultural Environment

· Challenge 2: The Evolving Global Environment

· Challenge 3: Advancing Information Technology

· Challenge 4: Shifting Work and Employment Relationships

· Summary

· Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

· Appendix 1 : A Short History of Organizational Behavior

What is Organizational Behavior?

To begin our study of organizational behavior, we could just say that it is the study of behavior in organizations and the study of the behavior of organizations, but such a definition reveals nothing about what this study involves or examines. To reach a more useful and meaningful definition, let’s first look at what an organization is. An organization is a collection of people who work together and coordinate their actions to achieve a wide variety of goals. The goals are what individuals are trying to accomplish as members of an organization (earning a lot of money, helping promote a worthy cause, achieving certain levels of personal power and prestige, enjoying a satisfying work experience, and so forth). The goals are also what the organization as a whole is trying to accomplish (providing innovative goods and services that customers want; getting candidates elected; raising money for medical research; making a profit to reward stockholders, managers, and employees; and being socially responsible and protecting the natural environment). An effective organization is one that achieves its goals.

Organization

A collection of people who work together and coordinate their actions to achieve individual and organizational goals.

Police forces, for example, are formed to achieve the goals of providing security for law-abiding citizens and providing police officers with a secure, rewarding career while they perform their valuable services. Paramount Pictures was formed to achieve the goal of providing people with entertainment while making a profit in the process. Actors, directors, writers, and musicians receive well-paid and interesting work.

Organizations exist to provide goods and services that people want, and the amount and quality of these goods and services are products of the behaviors and performance of an organization’s employees—of its managers, of highly skilled employees in sales or research and development, and of the employees who actually produce or provide the goods and services. Today, most people make their living by working in or for some kind of company or organization. People such as a company’s owners or managers—or company employees who desire to become future owners or managers—all benefit from studying organizational behavior. Indeed, people who seek to help or volunteer their time to work in nonprofit or charitable organizations also must learn the principles of organizational behavior. Like most employees today, volunteers attend training courses that help them understand the many kinds of issues and challenges that arise when people work together and cooperate in a company or organization to benefit others, such as when they seek to aid ill, distressed, or homeless people.

The Nature of Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior (OB) is the study of the many factors that have an impact on how people and groups act, think, feel, and respond to work and organizations, and how organizations respond to their environments. Understanding how people behave in an organization is important because most people work for an organization at some point in their lives and are affected—both positively and negatively—by their experiences in it. An understanding of OB can help people to enhance the positive, while reducing the negative, effects of working in organizations.

Organizational behavior

The study of factors that affect how individuals and groups act in organizations and how organizations respond to their environments.

Most of us think we have a basic, intuitive, commonsense understanding of human behavior in organizations because we all are human and have been exposed to different work experiences. Often, however, our intuition and common sense are wrong, and we do not really understand why people act and react the way they do. For example, many people assume that happy employees are productive employees—that is, that high job satisfaction causes high job

Exhibit 1.1 What is Organizational Behavior?

performance—or that punishing someone who performs consistently at a low level is a good way to increase performance or that it is best to keep pay levels secret. As we will see in later chapters, all of these beliefs are either false or are true only under very specific conditions, and applying these principles can have negative consequences for employees and organizations.

The study of OB provides guidelines that help people at work to understand and appreciate the many forces that affect behavior in organizations. It allows employees at all levels in an organization to make the right decisions about how to behave and work with other people in order to achieve organizational goals. OB replaces intuition and gut-feeling with a well-researched body of theories and systematic guidelines for managing behavior in organizations. The study of OB provides a set of tools—concepts and theories—that help people to understand, analyze, and describe what goes on in organizations and why. OB helps people understand, for example, why they and others are motivated to join an organization; why they feel good or bad about their jobs or about being part of the organization; why some people do a good job and others don’t; why some people stay with the same organization for 30 years and others seem to be constantly dissatisfied and change jobs every 2 years. In essence, OB concepts and theories allow people to correctly understand, describe, and analyze how the characteristics of individuals, groups, work situations, and the organization itself affect how members feel about and act within their organization (see Exhibit 1.1 ).

Levels of OB

In practice, OB is examined at three main levels: the individual, the group, and the organization as a whole. A full understanding of OB is impossible without a thorough examination of the factors that affect behavior at each level (see Exhibit 1.2 ).

Exhibit 1.2 Levels of Analysis in Organizational Behavior

Much of the research in OB has focused on the way in which the characteristics of individuals (such as personality, feeling, and motivation) affect how well people do their jobs, whether they like what they do, whether they get along with the people they work with, and so on. In Chapters 2 through 9 , we examine individual characteristics critical in understanding and managing behavior in organizations: personality and ability; attitudes, values, and moods; perception and attribution; learning; motivation; and stress and work-life linkages (see Exhibit 1.3 ).

The effects of group or team characteristics and processes (such as communication and decision making) on OB also need to be understood. A group is two or more people who interact to achieve their goals. A team is a group in which members work together intensively and develop team-specific routines to achieve a common group goal. A virtual team is a group whose members work together intensively via electronic means using a common IT platform, and who may never actually meet. The number of members in a group, the type and diversity of team members, the tasks they perform, and the attractiveness of a group to its members all influence not just the behavior of the group as a whole but also the behaviors of individuals within the group. For example, a team can influence its members’ decisions on how diligently they should do their jobs or how often they are absent from work, as happens at Xerox. Chapters 10 through 15 examine the ways in which groups affect their individual members and the processes involved in group interactions such as leadership, communication, and decision making.

Group

Two or more people who interact to achieve their goals.

Team

A group in which members work together intensively and develop team specific routines to achieve a common group goal.

Virtual team

A group whose members work together intensively via electronic means, and who may never actually meet.

Many studies have found that characteristics of the organization as a whole (such as its culture and the design of an organization’s structure) have important effects on the behavior of individuals and groups. The values and beliefs in an organization’s culture influence how people, groups, and managers interact with each other and with people (such as customers or suppliers) outside the organization. Organizational culture also shapes and controls the attitudes and behavior of people and groups within an organization and thus influences their desire to work toward achieving organizational goals. An organization’s structure controls how people and groups cooperate and interact to achieve organizational goals. The principal task of organizational structure is to encourage people to work hard and coordinate their efforts to ensure high levels of organizational performance. Chapters 16 through 18 examine

the ways organizational structure and culture affect performance, and they also examine how factors such as the changing global environment, technology, and ethics impact work attitudes and behavior.

OB and Management

The ability to use the tools of OB to understand behavior in organizations is one reason for studying this topic. A second reason is to learn how to use and apply these concepts, theories, and techniques to improve, enhance, or change behavior so that employees, groups, and the whole organization can all better achieve their goals. For example, a salesperson working in Neiman Marcus in Houston has the individual goal, set by his supervisor, of selling $5,000 worth of men’s clothing per week. In addition, he and the other members of the men’s clothing department have the group goals of keeping the department looking neat and attractive and of never keeping customers waiting. The store as a whole (along with all the other stores in the nationwide Neiman Marcus chain) has goals of being profitable by selling customers unique, high-quality clothes and accessories and providing excellent service. If all these different goals are met, employees receive a large yearly pay bonus and Neiman Marcus makes a profit.

Knowledge of OB can help Neiman Marcus employees earn their bonuses. For example, OB research has found that organizations whose employees have been taught how to work as a team, and to take pains to be helpful, courteous, and agreeable to each other and to customers will be more effective than those organizations whose employees do not behave in this way. At Neiman Marcus, employees know what kinds of behaviors result in satisfied customers. They know that if they work hard to be courteous and agreeable to each other and to customers, they will sell more clothes and so they will achieve (a) their personal sales goal, (b) their department’s goal of never keeping customers waiting, and (c) the organization’s goals of being profitable and providing excellent service.

Sam Palmisano introduces the companies’ new products to reporters and analysts at trade meetings.

K.M. Cannon\Getty Images, Inc - Liaison

A working knowledge of OB is important to employees at all levels in the organization because it helps them to appreciate the work situation and how they should behave to achieve their own goals (such as promotion or higher income). But knowledge of OB is particularly important to managers , people who direct and supervise the activities of one or more employees. For example, Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM, and Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox, have ultimate responsibility for the behavior of the hundreds of thousands of employees who work for these companies. The sales managers of IBM’s or Xerox’s southern region, who control hundreds of salespeople, are also managers, as are the managers (or supervisors) in charge of these companies’ technical service centers who supervise small teams of service technicians.

Managers

Persons who supervise the activities of one or more employees.

Managers at all levels confront the problem of understanding the behavior of their subordinates and responding appropriately. Palmisano and Burns have to manage their companies’ top-management teams , the group of high-ranking executives who jointly work to develop the strategies that allow an organization to achieve its goals. Similarly, sales managers have to train their salespeople so that they can offer each customer the mix of IT hardware and software that best satisfies their company’s specific needs. And, service managers have to manage IT technicians so that they respond promptly and courteously to customers’ appeals for help and quickly solve their IT problems—providing customers with high-quality customized or personalized service is currently a major strategy of both IBM and Xerox.

Top-management teams

High-ranking executives who plan a company’s strategy so that the company can achieve its goals.

Each of these managers faces the common challenge of finding ways to help the organization achieve its goals. A manager who understands how individual, group, and organizational characteristics affect and shape work attitudes and behavior can begin to experiment to see whether changing one or more of these characteristics might increase the effectiveness of the organization—and the individuals and groups it consists of. Organizational effectiveness is the ability of an organization to achieve its goals. The study of OB helps managers meet the challenge of improving organizational effectiveness by providing them with a set of tools.

Organizational effectiveness

The ability of an organization to achieve its goals.

· A manager can work to raise an employee’s self-esteem or beliefs about his or her ability to accomplish a certain task in order to increase the employee’s productivity or job satisfaction.

· A manager can change the reward system to change employees’ beliefs about the extent to which their rewards depend on their performance.

· A manager can change the design of a person’s job or the rules and procedures for doing the job to reduce costs, make the task more enjoyable, or make the task easier to perform.

Recall from the chapter-opening case that Xerox’s goal is to attract customers by providing them with high-quality, affordable copiers and customized service. To achieve this goal, Xerox’s CEOs created a work setting in which employees were taught what kinds of organizational behaviors are necessary to create superior color copiers customized to the needs of different organizations. Xerox succeeded because it chose a way to motivate and reward employees that encourages them to work hard and well and behave in a way that benefits everyone. A key challenge for all organizations, and one that we address throughout this book, is how to encourage organizational members to work effectively for their own benefit, the benefit of their work groups, and the benefit of their organization.

Managerial Functions

The four principal functions or duties of management are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness. 3 And, as our previous examples show, managers who are knowledgeable about OB are in a good position to improve their ability to perform these functions (see Exhibit 1.4 ).

Management

The process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization’s human, financial, material, and other resources to increase its effectiveness.

Planning

In planning , managers establish their organization’s strategy—that is, they decide how best to allocate and use resources to achieve organizational goals. At Southwest Airlines, for example, CEO Gary Kelly’s goal is to provide customers with low-priced air travel, and to achieve this Southwest has created many strategies to use its resources as efficiently as possible. 4 For example, Southwest uses only one kind of plane, the Boeing 737, to keep down operating, training, and maintenance costs; employees cooperate and share jobs when necessary to keep down costs; and the company sells its tickets on its own website—one of the easiest to use in the industry.

Planning

Deciding how best to allocate and use resources to achieve organizational goals.

Planning is a complex and difficult task because managers must make decisions under uncertain conditions and so considerable risks are involved when they choose which strategies to pursue. A knowledge of OB can help improve the quality of decision making, increase the chances of success, and lessen the risks inherent in planning and decision

Exhibit 1.4 Four Functions of Management

making. First, the study of OB reveals how decisions get made in organizations and how politics and conflict affect the planning process. Second, the way in which group decision making affects planning, and the biases that can influence decisions, are revealed. Third, the theories and concepts of OB show how the composition of an organization’s top-management team can affect the planning process. As a result, the study of OB can improve a CEO’s and top management team’s planning abilities and allow them to increase organizational performance.

Organizing

In organizing , managers establish a structure of work relationships that determines how members of an organization will cooperate and act jointly to achieve organizational goals. Organizing involves grouping employees into groups, teams, or departments according to the kinds of tasks or jobs they perform. At Southwest and Xerox, for example, the technicians who service and maintain their products (planes and copiers) are grouped into the service-operation department; and their salespeople are grouped into the sales department.

Organizing

Establishing a structure of relationships that dictates how members of an organization work together to achieve organizational goals.

OB offers many guidelines on how best to organize employees (an organization’s human resources) to make the most effective use of their personal skills and capabilities. In later chapters, we discuss various methods of grouping workers to enhance communication and coordination while avoiding conflict or politics. At Southwest Airlines, for example, although employees are members of particular departments (pilots, flight attendants, baggage handlers), they are expected to perform one another’s nontechnical jobs when needed.

Leading

In leading , managers encourage workers to do a good job (work hard, produce high-quality products) and coordinate individuals and groups so that all organizational members are working to achieve organizational goals. The study of different leadership methods and of how to match leadership styles to the characteristics of the organization and all its components is a major concern of OB. Today, the way managers lead employees is changing because millions of employees work in self-managed teams —groups of employees who are given both the authority and responsibility to manage important aspects of their own work behaviors. These groups, for example, are often responsible for interviewing job applicants and for selecting their new team members who they often train as well. Also, these groups work together to improve work methods and procedures that can increase their effectiveness and help each other raise their own personal job skills and knowledge. The managers who used to actively supervise the team now play a different role—that of coaches or mentors. Their new role is to provide advice or support as needed and to champion the team and help it to obtain additional resources that will allow it to perform at a higher level and earn greater rewards as well.

Leading

Encouraging and coordinating individuals and groups so that all organizational members are working to achieve organizational goals.

Self-managed teams

Groups of employees who are given the authority and responsibility to manage many different aspects of their own organizational behavior.

Controlling

Finally, in controlling , managers monitor and evaluate individual, group, and organizational performance to see whether organizational goals are being achieved. If goals are met, managers can take action to maintain and improve performance; if goals are not being met, managers must take corrective action. The controlling function also allows managers to evaluate how well they are performing their planning, organizing, and leading functions.

Controlling

Monitoring and evaluating individual, group, and organizational performance to see whether organizational goals are being achieved.

Once again, the theories and concepts of OB allow managers to understand and accurately diagnose work situations in order to pinpoint where corrective action may be needed. Suppose the members of a group are not working effectively together. The problem might be due to personality conflicts between individual members of the group, to the faulty leadership approach of a supervisor, or to poor job design. OB provides valuable tools managers can use to diagnose which of these possible explanations is the source of the problem, and it enables managers to make an informed decision about how to correct the problem. Control at all levels of the organization is impossible if managers do not possess the necessary organizational-behavior knowledge. The way in which Joe Coulombe founded a retail company called Trader Joe’s, which follows this approach to managing OB, illustrates many of these issues as the following OB Today suggests.

Managerial Roles

Managers perform their four functions by assuming specific roles in organizations. A role is a set of work behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform because of the position he or she holds in a group or organization. One researcher, Henry Mintzberg, has identified ten roles that manager’s play as they manage the behavior of people inside and outside the organization (such as customers or suppliers). 5 (See Exhibit 1.5 .)

Role

A set of behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform because of the position he or she holds in a group or organization.

Managerial Skills

Just as the study of OB provides tools that managers can use to increase their abilities to perform their functions and roles, it can also help managers improve their skills in managing OB. A skill is an ability to act in a way that allows a person to perform well in his or her role.

Skill

An ability to act in a way that allows a person to perform well in his or her role.

Type of Role	Examples of Role Activities
Figurehead	Gives speech to workforce about future organizational goals and objectives; opens a new corporate headquarters building; states the organization's ethical guidelines and principles of behavior that employees are to follow in their dealings with customers and suppliers.
Leader	Gives direct commands and orders to subordinates; makes decisions concerning the use of human and financial organizational resources; mobilizes employee commitment to organizational goals.
Liaison	Coordinates the work of managers in different departments or even in different parts of the world; establishes alliances between different organizations to share resources to produce new products.
Monitor	Evaluates the performance of different managers and departments and takes corrective action to improve their performance; watches for changes occurring in the industry or in society that may affect the organization.
Disseminator	Informs organizational members about changes taking place both inside and outside the organization that will affect them and the organization; communicates to employees the organization's cultural and ethical values.
Spokesperson	Launches a new organizational advertising campaign to promote a new product; gives a speech to inform the general public about the organization's future goals.
Entrepreneur	Commits organizational resources to a new project to develop new products; decides to expand the organization globally in order to obtain new customers.
Disturbance handler	Moves quickly to mobilize organizational resources to deal with external problems facing the organization, such as environmental crisis, or internal problems facing the organization, such as strikes.
Resource allocator	Allocates organizational resources between different departments and divisions of the organization; sets budgets and salaries of managers and employees.
Negotiator	Works with suppliers, distributors, labor unions, or employees in conflict to solve disputes or to reach a long-term contract or agreement; works with other organizations to establish an agreement to share resources.

Exhibit 1.5 Types of Managerial Roles

Managers need three principal kinds of skill in order to perform their organizational functions and roles effectively: conceptual, human, and technical skills. 6

Conceptual skills allow a manager to analyze and diagnose a situation and to distinguish between cause and effect. Planning and organizing require a high level of conceptual skill, as do the decisional roles previously discussed. The study of OB provides managers with many of the conceptual tools they need to analyze organizational settings and to identify and diagnose the dynamics of individual and group behavior in these settings.

Conceptual skills

The ability to analyze and diagnose a situation and to distinguish between cause and effect.

Human skills enable a manager to understand, work with, lead, and control the behaviors of other people and groups. The study of how managers can influence behavior is a principal focus of OB, and the ability to learn and acquire the skills needed to coordinate and motivate people is a principal difference between effective and ineffective managers.

Human skills

The ability to understand, work with, lead, and control the behavior of other people and groups.

Technical skills are the job-specific knowledge and techniques that a manager requires to perform an organizational role—for example, in manufacturing, accounting, or marketing. The specific technical skills a manager needs depend on the organization the manager is in and on his or her position in the organization. The manager of a restaurant, for example, needs cooking skills to fill in for an absent cook, accounting and bookkeeping skills to keep track of receipts and costs and to administer the payroll, and artistic skills to keep the restaurant looking attractive for customers.

Technical skills

Job-specific knowledge and techniques.

Effective managers need all three kinds of skills—conceptual, human, and technical. The lack of one or more of these skills can lead to a manager’s downfall. One of the biggest problems that entrepreneurs confront—a problem often responsible for their failure—is lack of appropriate conceptual and human skills. Similarly, one of the biggest problems faced by scientists, engineers, and others who switch careers and go from research into management is their lack of effective human skills. Management functions, roles, and skills are intimately related, and the ability to understand and manage behavior in organizations is indispensable to any actual or prospective manager over the long run.

Challenges for OB

In the last few decades, the challenges facing organizations to effectively utilize and develop the skills, knowledge, and “human capital” of their employees have been increasing. As we noted earlier, among these challenges, those stemming from changing pressures or forces in the social and cultural, global, technological, and work environments stand out. To appreciate the way changes in the environment affect behavior in organizations, it is useful to model an organization from an open-systems perspective. In an open system , an organization takes in resources from its external environment and converts or transforms them into goods and services that are sent back to that environment, where customers buy them (see Exhibit 1.6 ).

Open system

Organizations that take in resources from their external environments and convert or transform them into goods and services that are sent back to their environments where customers buy them.

Exhibit 1.6 An Open System View of Organizational Behavior

The activities of most organizations can be modeled using the open-systems view. At the input stage, companies such as Ford, General Electric, Ralph Lauren, Xerox, and Trader Joe’s acquire resources such as raw materials, component parts, skilled employees, robots, and computer-controlled manufacturing equipment. The challenge is to create a set of organizational behaviors or procedures that allow employees to identify and purchase high-quality resources at a favorable price. An organizational procedure is a behavioral rule or routine an employee follows to perform some task in the most effective way.

Organizational procedure

A rule or routine an employee follows to perform some task in the most effective way.

Once the organization has gathered the necessary resources, conversion begins. At the conversion stage, the organization’s workforce—using appropriate skills, tools, techniques, machinery, and equipment—transforms the inputs into outputs of finished goods and services such as cars, appliances, clothing, and copiers. The challenge is to develop the set of behaviors and procedures that results in high-quality goods and services produced at the lowest possible cost.

At the output stage, the organization releases finished goods and services to its external environment where customers purchase and use them to satisfy their needs. The challenge is to develop the set of behaviors and procedures that attract customers to a company’s products and who come to believe in the value of a company’s goods and services and thus become loyal customers. The money the organization obtains from the sales of its outputs to customers allows the organization to acquire more resources so that the cycle can begin again.

The system just described is said to be open because the organization continuously interacts with the external environment to secure resources to make its products and then to dispose of its products or outputs by selling them to customers. Only by continually altering and improving its work behaviors and operating procedures to respond to changing environmental forces can an organization adapt and prosper over time. Organizations that fail to recognize the many changing forces in the environment lose their ability to acquire resources and sell products, so they often disintegrate and disappear over time.

In the next sections, we introduce the four major OB challenges resulting from a changing environment that confront people who work in companies and organizations today. We then examine these challenges in more depth throughout the rest of the book to reveal the many dramatic ways in which managers can use constantly improving OB tools and procedures to allow organizations to adapt, change, and prosper.

Challenge 1: The Changing Social and Cultural Environment

Forces in the social and cultural environment are those that are due to changes in the way people live and work—changes in values, attitudes, and beliefs brought about by changes in a nation’s culture and the characteristics of its people. National culture is the set of values or beliefs that a society considers important and the norms of behavior that are approved or sanctioned in that society. Over time, the culture of a nation changes, and this affects the values and beliefs of its members. In the United States, for example, beliefs about the roles and rights of women, minorities, gays, and the disabled—as well as feelings about love, sex, marriage, war, and work—have all changed in each passing decade.

National culture

The set of values or beliefs that a society considers important and the norms of behavior that are approved or sanctioned in that society.

Organizations must be responsive to the changes that take place in a society because they affect all aspects of their operations. Change affects their hiring and promotion practices, for one, as well as the types of organizational behaviors and procedures considered as appropriate in the work setting. For example, in the last 10 years, the number of women and minorities assuming managerial positions in the workforce has increased by over 25 percent. As we discuss in detail in later chapters, organizations have made many significant changes to their organizational rules and procedures to prevent employees from discriminating against others because of factors such as age, gender, or ethnicity, and to work to prevent sexual harassment. Two important challenges facing OB today are those that derive from a breakdown in ethical values and from the increasing diversity of the workforce.

Developing Organizational Ethics and Well-Being

Over the last decade, major ethical scandals have plagued hundreds of U.S. companies such as Lehman brothers, Countryside Mortgage, WorldCom, Tyco, and Enron whose top managers put personal gain ahead of their responsibility toward their employees, customers, and investors. Many of these companies’ stock prices collapsed and they have been absorbed into other companies, but ordinary Americans have seen the value of their pension plans and investments plunge in value as a result of the financial crises caused by their managers’ unethical behavior. In light of these scandals, the effect of ethics—an important component of a nation’s social and cultural values—on the behavior of organizations and their members has increasingly taken center stage. 7

An organization’s ethics are the values, beliefs, and moral rules that its managers and employees should use to analyze or interpret a situation and then decide what is the “right” or appropriate way to behave to solve an ethical dilemma. 8 An ethical dilemma is the quandary managers experience when they have to decide if they should act in a way that might benefit other people or groups, and that is the “right” thing to do, even though doing so might go against their own and their organization’s interests. An ethical dilemma may also arise when a manager has to decide between two different courses of action, knowing that whichever course chosen will inevitably result in harm to one person or group even while it may benefit another. The ethical dilemma here is to decide which course of action is the “lesser of two evils.”

Ethics

The values, beliefs, and moral rules that managers and employees should use to analyze or interpret a situation and then decide what is the “right” or appropriate way to behave.

Ethical dilemma

The quandary managers experience when they have to decide if they should act in a way that might benefit other people or groups, and is the “right” thing to do, even though doing so might go against their own and their organization’s interests.

Managers and employees know they are confronting an ethical dilemma when their moral scruples come into play and cause them to hesitate, debate, and reflect upon the “rightness” or “goodness” of a course of action. The ethical problem is to decide how a particular decision or action will help or harm people or groups—both inside and outside the organization—who will be affected by it. 9 Ethical organizational behavior is important because it can enhance or reduce the well-being —that is, the happiness, health, and prosperity—of a nation and its citizens in several ways. 10

Well-being

The condition of being happy, healthy, and prosperous.

First, ethics help managers establish the goals that their organizations should pursue and the way in which people inside organizations should behave to achieve them. 11 For example, one goal of an organization is to make a profit so that it can pay the managers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, and others who have contributed their skills and resources to the company. Ethics specify what actions an organization should take to make a profit. Should an organization be allowed to harm its competitors by stealing away their skilled employees or by preventing them from obtaining access to vital inputs? Should an organization be allowed to produce inferior goods that may endanger the safety of customers? Should an organization be allowed to take away the jobs of U.S. employees and transfer them overseas to employees in countries where wages are $5 per day? What limits should be put on organizations’ and their managers’ attempts to make a profit? And who should determine those limits? 12 For example, Apple’s 2010 ethics report revealed that sweatshop conditions still existed in over 55 of the 102 factories it uses abroad to assemble its products which had ignored its rule that workers cannot work more than 60 hours a week. Apple is continuing its efforts to reduce these abuses, so it is publically defining its ethical position. 13

The devastating effect of a lack of organizational ethics is illustrated by the behavior of the company Metabolife International that made and sold the drug Ephedra, which used to be a widely used supplement taken for weight loss or body-building purposes. Although fears about this drug’s side effects had been around for years, Metabolife resisted attempts by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain a list of customer reports about the effects they had experienced from using its pills. After being threatened with a criminal investigation, Metabolife released over 16,000 customer reports about its Ephedra products that listed nearly 2,000 adverse reactions including 3 deaths, 20 heart attacks, 24 strokes, and 40 seizures. 14 Metabolife did not have to reveal this negative information about its products’ side effects because no laws existed to force supplement makers to do so, although pharmaceutical companies are governed by laws that require them to reveal side effects. Its actions might have been legal but they were unethical, and those who had suffered adverse reactions from using its pills began to sue the company and win large settlements. 15 A national lobbying campaign began to ban Ephedra from the market, and the FDA eventually banned the drug.

In addition to defining right and wrong behavior for employees, ethics also define an organization’s social responsibility , or its obligations and duty toward people or groups outside the organization that are affected by its actions. 16 Organizations and their managers must establish an ethical code and standards that describe acceptable behaviors, and they must create a system of rewards and punishments to enforce this ethical code.

Social responsibility

An organization’s obligations toward people or groups directly affected by its actions.

Different organizations have different views about social responsibility. 17 To some organizations, being socially responsible means performing any action as long as it is legal. Other organizations do more than the law requires and work to advance the well-being of their employees, customers, and society in general. 18 Target, UPS, and Ben & Jerry’s, for example, each contribute a percentage of their profits to support charities and community needs and expect their employees to be socially active and responsible. Starbuck’s and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters seek out coffee-growing farmers and cooperatives that (1) do not use herbicides and pesticides on their crops, (2) control soil erosion, and (3) treat their employees fairly and with respect in terms of safety and benefits. Starbuck’s also signs contracts with small coffee growers abroad to ensure they receive a fair price for their coffee crop, even if world prices for coffee plunge—they want their growers to remain honest and loyal.

Not all organizations are willing or able to undertake such programs, but all organizations need codes of conduct that spell out fair and equitable behavior if they want to avoid doing harm to people and other organizations. Developing a code of ethical standards helps organizations protect their reputations and maintain the goodwill of their customers and employees. Today, most companies are strengthening their ethical standards, and employees at all levels have to sign off that they understand and will abide by them. For example, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that the CEO and chief financial officer (CFO) personally sign their company’s financial reports to affirm that they are a true and accurate account of its performance. 19

The challenge is to create an organization whose members resist the temptation to behave in illegal and unethical ways that promote their own interests at the expense of the organization or promote the organization’s interests at the expense of people and groups outside the organization. Employees and managers have to recognize that their behavior has important effects not only on other people and groups inside and outside the organization but also on the organization itself. 20 The well-being of organizations and the well-being of the society of which they are a part are closely linked and are the responsibility of everyone. 21 (How to create an ethical organization is an issue that we discuss throughout the text.) With this in mind, take a look at the ethical exercise in “A Question of Ethics,” found in Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, a collection of experiential exercises located at the end of every chapter of this book. For an example of the way unethical behavior can destroy an organization, consider the actions of the CEO of the meat-packing plant discussed in the following Ethics in Action box.

Dealing with a Diverse Workforce

A second social and cultural challenge is to understand how the diversity of a workforce affects OB. Diversity results from differences in age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and capabilities or disabilities. If an organization or group is composed of people who are all of the same gender, ethnicity, age, religion, and so on, the attitudes and behavior of its members are likely to be very similar. Members are likely to share the same attitudes or values and will tend to respond to work situations (projects, conflicts, new tasks) in similar ways. By contrast, if the members of a group differ in age, ethnicity, and other characteristics, their attitudes, behavior, and responses are likely to differ as well.

Diversity

Individual differences resulting from age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background.

In the last 20 years, the demographic makeup of employees entering the workforce and advancing to higher-level positions in organizations has been changing rapidly. For example, the percentage of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and female employees has steadily increased through the 2000s as the U.S. labor force has also increased in size; these employees are also reaching higher levels in organizations. However, they are still underrepresented and paid less than comparable white male employees who still comprise the largest group of U.S. employees. 25 Finally, because of increased globalization, the diversity of the U.S. population is increasing because of the large numbers of people born in other nations who immigrate to the United States to live and work.

The increasing diversity of the workforce presents three challenges for organizations and their managers: a fairness and justice challenge, a decision-making and performance challenge, and a flexibility challenge (see Exhibit 1.7 ).

Fairness and Justice Challenge

Jobs in organizations are a scarce resource, and obtaining jobs and being promoted to a higher-level job is a competitive process. Managers are challenged to allocate jobs, promotions, and rewards in a fair and equitable manner. As diversity increases, achieving fairness can be difficult because many organizations have traditionally appointed white-male employees to higher organizational positions but today all kinds of diverse employees must be judged by the same equitable and unbiased criteria if companies are to avoid

Exhibit 1.7 The Challenge Posed by Diverse Workplace

employment lawsuits that have cost companies such as Walmart hundreds of millions of dollars. 26 Increasing diversity can strain an organization’s ability to satisfy the aspirations of all the diverse groups in its workforce—and this can create problems that, in turn, affect the well-being of employees and organizational performance. Deciding how to promote diversity to increase employee well-being and organizational performance poses difficult ethical problems for managers.

Decision-Making and Performance Challenge

Another important challenge posed by a diverse workforce is how to take advantage of differences in the attitudes and perspectives of people of different ages, genders, or races, in order to improve decision making and raise organizational performance. 27 Many organizations have found that tapping into diversity and taking advantage of the potential of diverse employees, leads to new and improved OBs and procedures. 28 Accenture, the global management consulting company, provides an example of one company that has enjoyed huge success because of the way it has developed an approach to diversity that reflects the needs of its employees, customers, and its environment. 29

Accenture serves the IT needs of thousands of client companies located in over 120 countries around the world. A major driving force behind Accenture’s core organizational vision is to manage and promote diversity in order to improve employee performance and client satisfaction. At Accenture, managers at all levels realize that its highly diverse consultants bring distinct experiences, talents, and values to their work, and a major management initiative is to take advantage of that diversity to improve the service Accenture provides to each of its global clients. Because Accenture’s clients are also diverse by country, religion, ethnicity, and so forth, it tries to match its teams of consultants to the attributes of its diverse clients.

Accenture provides hundreds of diversity management training programs to its consultants each year using its 13 teams of global human capital and diversity experts who collaborate to create its programs. Accenture also encourages each of its consultants to pursue opportunities to “work across different geographies, workforces, and generations to create agile global leaders.” 30 In 2010, one-third of its global workforce was composed of women, who also hold 16 percent of its management positions at all levels. Accenture chooses to buy from suppliers who can also demonstrate their commitment to diversity and in 2010 nearly $300 million or 15 percent of Accenture’s purchasing came from small minority- or women-owned suppliers. The firm also provides diversity training programs to its suppliers and prospective suppliers around the world to show them how diversity can increase their efficiency and effectiveness. In all these ways, Accenture uses its expertise in managing diversity to promote individual and organizational performance—one reason it has become the most successful and fast-growing consultancy company in the world. Takahiro Moriguchi, when CEO of Union Bank of California has a similar philosophy, as he eloquently said when accepting a diversity award for his company, “By searching for talent from among the disabled, both genders, veterans, all ethnic groups, and all nationalities, we gain access to a pool of ideas, energy, and creativity as wide and varied as the human race itself. I expect diversity will become even more important as the world gradually becomes a truly global marketplace.” 31

Flexibility Challenge

A third diversity challenge is to be sensitive to the needs of different kinds of employees and to try to develop flexible employment approaches that increase employee well-being. Examples of some of these approaches include the following:

· New benefits packages customized to the needs of different groups of employees such as single employees with no children and families, gays and lesbians in long-term committed relationships, and employees caring for aged parents or disabled children

· Flexible employment conditions (such as flextime or working from home) that give employees input into the length and scheduling of their workweek

· Arrangements that allow for job sharing so that two or more employees can share the same job (to take care of children or aged parents, for example)

· Designing jobs and the buildings that house organizations to be sensitive to the special needs of handicapped employees (and customers)

· Creating management programs designed to provide constructive feedback to employees about their personal styles of dealing with minority employees

· Establishing mentoring relationships to support minority employees

· Establishing informal networks among minority employees to provide social support

Managing diversity is an ongoing activity that has many important implications for organizations. We discuss diversity in depth in Chapter 4 .

Challenge 2: The Evolving Global Environment

The challenge of responding to social and cultural forces increases as organizations expand their operations globally and set up international operations in countries throughout the world. Global organizations , like GM, Toyota, Xerox, Nokia, PepsiCo, and Sony, are companies that produce or sell their products in countries and regions throughout the world. Each country has a different national culture, and so when they expand their operations abroad global organizations encounter much greater differences in social and cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes. They therefore face the increased challenge of dealing with ethical and diversity-related issues across countries and national boundaries. 32 Two important challenges facing global organizations are to appreciate the differences that exist between countries and then to benefit from this new global knowledge to find ways to improve organizational behavior. 33

Global organizations

Companies that produce or sell their products in countries and regions throughout the world.

Understanding Global Differences

Companies must learn about many different kinds of factors when they operate globally. 34 First, there are the considerable problems of understanding OB in different global settings. 35 Evidence suggests that people in different countries have different values, beliefs, and attitudes about the value of the jobs they perform and the organizations they work for. For example, U.S. employees have an individualistic orientation toward work while Japanese employees have a collectivist orientation and this cultural difference affects employees’ personal work behavior, their behavior in groups, and their commitment and loyalty to an organization.

OB becomes especially complex at a global level because the attitudes, aspirations, and values of the workforce differ by country. For example, most U.S. employees are astonished to learn that in Europe the average employee receives from 4 to 6 weeks paid vacation a year. In the United States, a comparable employee receives only 1 or 2 weeks. Similarly, in some countries, promotion by seniority is the norm, but in others, level of performance is the main determinant of promotion and reward. Understanding the differences between national cultures is important in any attempt to manage behavior in a global organization.

Second, problems of coordinating the activities of an organization to match its environment become much more complex as an organization’s activities expand across the globe. 36 Decision making, for example, must be coordinated between managers at home and abroad—each of whom are likely to have different views about what goals and strategies their organization should pursue. One of the most important organizing tasks of global

Global Learning

Although the changing global environment has been a major threat to U.S. organizations and workers, it also offers them many opportunities to improve the ways they operate. By fostering global learning —the process of acquiring and learning the skills, knowledge, and OBs and procedures that have helped companies abroad become major global competitors—U.S. companies have also prospered. 40 For example, U.S. companies have been able to gain access to many kinds of valuable resources present in companies abroad. Ford and GM have bought the design skills of Italian companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini, electronic components from Japanese companies like NEC and Matsushita (well known for their quality), and machine tools and manufacturing equipment from German companies like Daimler and BASF (well known for their excellent engineering skills). Through global learning, companies also learn how to better serve the needs of their customers and of course they can attract more customers for their goods and services. For example, the potential size of the U.S. market for hamburgers is 335 million people, but there are 3 billion potential burger-eaters in Asia alone. Thus, it is not surprising that McDonald’s has expanded globally, opening restaurants throughout Asia and the rest of the world in order to take advantage of the huge global appetite for hamburgers, french fries, and milk shakes. 41

Global learning

The process of acquiring and learning the skills, knowledge, and organizational behaviors and procedures that have helped companies abroad become major global competitors.

To respond to the global challenge, more and more companies are rotating their employees and moving them to their overseas operations so they can learn firsthand the problems and opportunities that arise when working in countries overseas. Expatriate managers are those who live and work for companies in countries abroad. There are many ways they can help their companies develop improved OBs and procedures. First, expatriate managers can learn about the sources of low-cost inputs and the best places to assemble their products throughout the world. Second, expatriate managers in functions such as research and development, manufacturing, and sales can take advantage of their presence in a foreign country to learn the skills and techniques used by that country’s companies. They can apply this knowledge to improve the

Expatriate managers

The people who work for a company overseas and are responsible for developing relationships with organizations in countries around the globe.

performance not only of their operations abroad but also of their domestic or home operations. Many companies also use global virtual teams to increase global learning. 42

After World War II, for example, many of Toyota’s manufacturing managers visited the U.S. car plants of GM and Ford to learn how these companies assembled cars. Those Japanese managers took that manufacturing knowledge back to Japan and then improved on these techniques and developed the lean manufacturing technology that gave Toyota and other Japanese automakers their competitive advantage over U.S. companies in the 1990s. But, recognizing the lead Japanese companies had gained in quality manufacturing techniques, GM, Ford, Xerox, and many other U.S. companies sent their managers to Japan to learn about the new techniques. These U.S. companies then incorporated the Japanese techniques into their manufacturing operations, often improving on them in the process, so that in the 2000s companies like Ford and Xerox have substantially narrowed the efficiency gap. In this way, global learning continually takes place as global organizations compete with one another worldwide for customers. Organizational effectiveness and peoples’ well-being increases because all global companies must learn how to apply recent advances in technology and adopt the best organizational behaviors and procedures if they are to survive and prosper—especially after the latest economic recession.

Global Crisis Management

Today, global learning is also important to tackle another challenging issue: global crisis management. Extensive global learning allows for more effective responses to the increasing number of crises or disasters that are occurring from natural or manmade causes or because of international terrorism and geopolitical conflicts. Crises that arise because of natural causes include the wave of hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, famines, and diseases that have devastated so many countries in the 2000s—hardly any country has been left untouched by their effects. Manmade crises, such as those that are the result of global warming, pollution, and the destruction of the natural habitat or environment, also seem to be increasing. For example, pollution has become an increasingly important problem for companies and countries to deal with, for example, the BP oil disaster due to the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Companies in heavy industries such as coal and steel have polluted millions of acres of land around major cities in Eastern Europe and Asia, and huge cleanups are necessary. Disasters such as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown released over 1,540 times as much radiation into the air as occurred at Hiroshima, and over 50,000 people have died from this while hundreds of thousands more have been affected. 43 The need to avoid crises of this kind is of paramount importance.

Manmade crises, such as global warming due to emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, may have made the effects of natural disasters more serious. For example, increasing

Relief efforts at the former Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform site where an explosion led to the biggest oil spill in history in 2010. So far, the effects of the oil spill on the natural environment have yet to be seen.

Dwaine Scott\AP Wide World Photos

global temperatures and acid rain may have increased the intensity of hurricanes; led to unusually strong rains and lengthy droughts; and caused the destruction of coral reefs, forests, and the natural habitat in many parts of the world. The shrinking polar icecaps are expected to raise the sea level by a few, but vital, inches.

Finally, increasing geopolitical tensions that are the result of the speed of the process of globalization have upset the global balance of power as different countries or world regions try to protect their own economic and political interests. Rising oil prices, for example, have strengthened the bargaining power of major oil-supplying countries, which has led the United States to adopt global political strategies, including its war on terrorism, to secure the supply of oil that is vital to protect the national interest. In a similar way, countries in Europe have been forming contracts and allying with Russia to obtain its supply of natural gas as Japan and China have been negotiating with Iran and Saudi Arabia.

OB has an important role to play in helping people and organizations respond to such crises, for it provides lessons as to how to manage and organize the resources needed to respond to a crisis. As we discuss in later chapters, crisis management involves important decisions such as (1) creating teams to facilitate rapid decision making and communication, (2) establishing the organizational chain of command and reporting relationships necessary to mobilize a fast response, (3) recruiting and selecting the right people to lead and work in such teams, and (4) developing bargaining and negotiating strategies to manage the conflicts that arise whenever people and groups have different interests and objectives. How well managers make these decisions determines how quickly an effective response to a crisis can be implemented and sometimes can prevent or reduce the severity of the crisis itself.

Challenge 3: Advancing Information Technology

One kind of technology that poses a major challenge for organizations today is information technology (IT). Just decades ago, science fiction writers like Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov imagined devices such as wrist-held videophones, virtual reality machines, and speech-programmed, hand-held computers. Today, companies like Apple, Palm, HP, Nokia, Sony, and Microsoft are offering these devices to their customers. Even science fiction writers did not imagine the development of the World Wide Web (WWW), a global store of information that contains the products of most kinds of human knowledge such as writing, music, and art. Such knowledge can be accessed and enjoyed by anyone connected to the global network of interlinked computers that is the Internet . We live in a different world than just a mere decade ago; advances in IT have changed the way people think and the very nature of OB. To understand how IT has changed OB and the way companies operate it is necessary to understand the concept of information.

World Wide Web

A global store of information that contains the products of most kinds of human knowledge such as writing, music, and art.

Internet

The global network of interlinked computers.

Suppose you add up the value of the coins in your pocket and find you have $1.36 in change. You have been manipulating basic data, the numerical value of each individual coin, to obtain information, the total value of your change. You did so because you needed to know, for example, if you have enough change to buy a coke and a candy bar. Information is a set of data, facts, numbers, and words that has been organized in such a way that they provide their users with knowledge. Knowledge is what a person perceives, recognizes, identifies, or discovers from analyzing data and information. Over time, the result of acquiring more and better information and knowledge is learning. In an organization, the issue is to use and develop IT that allows employees to acquire more and better information that increases an organization’s ability to respond to its environment.

Information

A set of data, facts, numbers, and words that has been organized in such a way that it provides its users with knowledge.

Knowledge

What a person perceives, recognizes, identifies, or discovers from analyzing data and information.

Information technology (IT) is the many different kinds of computer and communications hardware and software and the skills of their designers, programmers, managers, and technicians. IT is used to acquire, define, input, arrange, organize, manipulate, store, and transmit facts, data, and information to create knowledge and promote organizational learning. Organizational learning occurs when its members can manage information and knowledge to achieve a better fit between the organization and its environment. In the following, we examine the effect IT has on two important kinds of OB. First, those behaviors that increase effectiveness by helping an organization improve the quality of its products and lower their cost. Second, those behaviors that increase effectiveness by promoting creativity and organizational learning and innovation.

Information technology

The many different kinds of computer and communications hardware and software, and the skills of their designers, programmers, managers, and technicians.

Organizational learning

The process of managing information and knowledge to achieve a better fit between the organization and its environment.

IT and Organizational Effectiveness

The Internet and the growth of intranets —a network of information technology linkages inside an organization that connects all its members—dramatically changed OB and procedures. With information more accurate, plentiful, and freely available, IT allows for the easy exchange of know-how and facilitates problem solving. 44 And as computers increasingly take over routine work tasks, employees have more time to engage in constructive, work-expanding kinds of activities such as finding better ways of performing a task or providing customers better service. 45

Intranets

A network of information technology linkages inside an organization that connects all its members.

IT has allowed organizations to become much more responsive to the needs of their customers—as at Xerox, discussed in the Opening Case. Similarly, organizations like retail stores, banks, and hospitals depend entirely on their employees performing behaviors that result in high-quality service at reasonable cost. And, as the United States has moved to a service-based economy (in part because of the loss from manufacturing jobs going abroad), advances in IT have made many kinds of service organizations more effective. Developing IT has also opened new opportunities for entrepreneurs to found small dot.com’s to better satisfy customers.

Finally, inside companies, integrating and connecting an organization’s employees around the world through electronic means such as video teleconferencing, e-mail, and intranets, is becoming increasingly important—especially as smartphones become ever more sophisticated and capable of videoconferencing between their users. Because the success of a global company depends on communication between employees in its various business operations both at home and abroad, the importance of real-time communication through the use of personal digital assistants such as smartphones and tablet PCs such as Apple’s iPhones and iPad and Google’s Android-based devices available from an increasing number of companies has increased enormously. For example, teleconferencing (especially through smartphones) allows managers in different countries to meet face-to-face through broadband hookups. It reduces communication problems, allows decisions to be made quickly, and facilitates learning when managers in domestic and overseas divisions must work together to solve mutual problems.

IT, Creativity, and Organizational Learning

Today, using new IT to help employees, individually and in groups, to be creative and enhance organizational innovation and learning is a major challenge. Creativity is the generation of novel and useful ideas. One of its outcomes is innovation, an organization’s ability to make new or improved goods and services or improvements in the way they are produced. The United States is home to some of the most innovative companies in the world, and innovation is the direct result or outcome of the level of creativity in an organization.

IT plays a major role in fostering creativity and innovation because it changes OBs and procedures. Innovation is an activity that requires constant updating of knowledge and a constant search for new ideas and technological developments that can be used to improve a product over time. Typically, innovation takes place in small groups or teams and IT can be used to create virtual teams that can enhance creativity and cooperation between employees. Developing an IT system that allows scientists and engineers from all parts of a company to cooperate by way of bulletin boards, chatrooms, or teleconferencing is also a way to use IT to speed creativity and innovation. One good example of a company using IT to promote creativity and innovation is IBM.

IBM’s thousands of consultants are experts in particular industries such as the automotive, financial services, or retail industries. They have a deep understanding of the particular problems facing companies in those industries and how to solve them. Palmisano asked IBM’s consultants to work closely with its software engineers to find ways to incorporate their knowledge into advanced software that can be implanted into a customer’s IT system. IBM has developed 17 industry “expert systems,” which are industry-specific, problem-solving software organizations that researchers and scientists can use to improve their abilities to innovate new products. One of these expert systems was developed in the pharmaceutical industry. Using IBM’s new software, a company can use IBM’s expert system to simulate and model the potential success of its new drugs under development. Currently only 5–10 percent of new drugs make it to the market; IBM’s new software will increase scientists’ ability to develop innovative new drugs, for they will now know better where to focus their time and effort.

As this example suggests, there are many, many ways in which IT can be used at all levels in the organization, between departments, and between its global divisions to enhance learning, speed decision making, and promote creativity and innovation. Throughout this book, you will find many more examples of the importance of facilitating learning and creativity in OB today.

Challenge 4: Shifting Work and Employment Relationships

In the last few decades, the relationship between an organization and its members has been changing because of increasing globalization and the emergence of new information technologies. 46 The effects of these changes on OB have taken many forms, and important developments include a shortening employment relationship because of downsizing, the growth in the number of contingent or temporary employees, and outsourcing. 47

In the past, it was quite common for many people to spend their whole careers at a large company like IBM, Microsoft, or Ford, often moving up the organizational hierarchy over time to higher seniority and better-paying jobs. Throughout the 2000s, most companies have been pressured by global competition to find ways to reduce operating costs and the result has been that tens of millions of employees have found themselves laid off by their companies and forced to search for new jobs.

Downsizing is the process by which organizations lay off managers and workers to reduce costs. The size and scope of these downsizing efforts have been enormous. It is estimated that, in the last few decades, Fortune 500 companies have downsized so much that they now employ about 15–20 percent fewer employees than they used to. The drive to reduce costs is often a response to increasing competitive pressures in the global environment. 48 While companies often realize considerable cost savings by downsizing, the remaining employees in downsized organizations often work under stress, both because they fear they might be the next employees to be let go and because they are forced to do the work previously performed by the lost employees—work that often they cannot cope with. 49

Downsizing

The process by which organizations lay off managers and workers to reduce costs.

The increasing tendency of companies to lay off hard-working, loyal employees when the need arises seems to be changing the employment relationship between employees and the companies they work for. 50 Employees now realize that to keep their jobs and to advance to better ones, they need to invest more in themselves and make sure that they keep their job skills and knowledge up to date. They also need to search for new job opportunities. Some experts argue that people presently starting their careers can expect to make at least six to eight job and organizational changes over the course of their working lives—some because of their own personal choice, but also some because of layoffs. 51

Other important trends that go hand in hand with downsizing are the increasing use of empowered self-managed teams, contingent or temporary workers, and outsourcing. Empowerment is the process of giving employees throughout an organization the authority to make important decisions and to be responsible for their outcomes. Self-managed teams are work groups who have been empowered and given the responsibility for leading themselves and ensuring that they accomplish their goals. 52

Empowerment

The process of giving employees throughout an organization the authority to make important decisions and to be responsible for their outcomes.

As organizations have downsized, there has also been an increasing trend for companies to employ contingent workers to keep costs down. Contingent workers are people employed for temporary periods by an organization and who receive no benefits such as health insurance or pensions. Contingent workers may work by the day, week, or month performing some functional task, or they may contract with the organization for some fee to perform a specific service to the organization. Thus, for example, an organization may employ ten temporary accountants to “do the books” when it is time, or it may contract with a software programmer to write some specialized software for a fixed fee.

Contingent workers

People employed for temporary periods by an organization and who receive no benefits such as health insurance or pensions.

The advantages an organization obtains from contingent workers are (1) they cost less to employ since they receive no benefits and (2) they can be let go easily when their services are no longer needed. It has been estimated that 20 percent of the U.S. workforce today consists of part-time employees who work by the day, week, month, or even year. Part-time employees pose a new OB challenge because they cannot be motivated by the prospect of rewards such as job security, promotion, or a career within an organization.

Finally, also as a way to reduce costs, organizations are engaging in an increasing amount of outsourcing. Outsourcing is moving a specific type of work activity, process, job, or function that was performed inside an organization to outside, where it is carried out by another person or company. At the individual level, for example, companies may outsource particular kinds of jobs such as bookkeeping, computer support, and website design to freelancers —independent specialists who contract with an organization to perform specific tasks. They often work from their homes and are connected to an organization by computer, phone, fax, and express package delivery. Freelancers are similar to contingent workers except that they do not physically work inside a company.

Outsourcing

The process of employing people, groups, or a specialist organization to perform a specific type of work activity or function previously performed inside an organization.

Freelancers

People who contract with an organization to perform specific services.

Sometimes an organization outsources a whole value-creation activity such as manufacturing, marketing, or the management of its IT to a specialist company that can perform it at a lower cost than the organization itself. In this case, an organization stops performing the value-creation itself. For example, a company may hire a specialist IT company to manage its computer network or a national distributor to deliver its products to stores or a specialist in customer service to manage its customer call center. Dell, for example, employs 10,000 people in India to manage requests from customers around the world for help with purchasing or operating their computers. It announced in 2006 that it would be adding 5,000 more. 53 The huge wave of outsourcing by U.S. companies has resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of call-center jobs at home. Millions more jobs have been lost as companies have outsourced their manufacturing operations to companies in countries like Mexico, China, and Malaysia.

Chapter 3 Values, Attitudes, and Moods and Emotions

Outline

· Overview

· Values, Attitudes, and Moods and Emotions

· Job Satisfaction

· Theories of Job Satisfaction

· Potential Consequences of Job Satisfaction

· Organizational Commitment

· Summary

· Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

Values, Attitudes, and Moods and Emotions

The thoughts and feelings people have about work, their jobs, and their organizations determine how they experience work. Some thoughts and feelings are fundamental and broad; they are concerned not so much with aspects of a particular job or organization but more with the meaning and nature of work itself. These thoughts and feelings, called values, are relatively long lasting. Other thoughts and feelings are more specific. Those focused directly on a person’s current job or organization, called work attitudes, are not as long lasting as values. Work moods and emotions—that is, how people feel while they are performing their jobs from day to day, hour to hour, and even minute to minute—also determine how they experience work. Next, we describe each of these determinants of how people experience work.

Exhibit 3.1 Values in the Workplace

The Nature of Values

Values are personal convictions about what one should strive for in life and how one should behave. 21 While researchers have identified multiple values, ranging from a world at peace and a world of beauty to a comfortable life and social recognition, two kinds of values especially relevant to organizational behavior are work values and ethical values (see Exhibit 3.1 ; in Chapter 17 , we describe another type of important values: national values).

Values

One’s personal convictions about what one should strive for in life and how one should behave.

Work values

Work values are an employee’s personal convictions about what outcomes one should expect from work and how one should behave at work. Outcomes people might expect to obtain through work include a comfortable existence with family security, a sense of accomplishment and self-respect, social recognition, and an exciting life. 22 Ways people think they should behave at work include being ambitious, imaginative, obedient, self-controlled, and respectful to others. 23 Work values are general and long-lasting feelings and beliefs people have that contribute to how they experience work.

Work values

An employee’s personal convictions about what outcomes one should expect from work and how one should behave at work.

Why are work values important for understanding and managing organizational behavior? They reflect what people are trying to achieve through and at work. An employee who thinks he or she should learn new things on the job, for example, will be unhappy working as a toll collector on a highway because, once he or she has learned how to collect tolls, there will be little opportunity for any further learning. His or her unhappiness may, in turn, cause him or her to be less courteous to drivers—or more likely to look for another job.

The work values that researchers in organizational behavior have identified generally fall into two broad categories: intrinsic work values and extrinsic work values (see Exhibit 3.2 ). 24

Intrinsic Work Values	Extrinsic Work Values
Interesting work	High pay
Challenging work	Job security
Learning new things	Job benefits
Making important contributions	Status in wider community
Reaching full potential at work	Social contacts
Responsibility and autonomy	Time with family
Being creative	Time for hobbies

Exhibit 3.2 A Comparison of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Work Values

Intrinsic work values are values related to the nature of the work itself. Employees who desire to be challenged, learn new things, make important contributions, and reach their full potential on their jobs have intrinsic work values. These employees want challenging jobs that use all of their skills and abilities and provide them with responsibility and autonomy (the ability to make decisions), while at the same time giving them opportunities for personal growth. Employees who desire adventure, enjoy being creative, or like helping other people also are satisfying intrinsic work values because the work they perform—whether it be building new businesses, composing a new symphony, or helping a troubled teen—is what is important to them.

Intrinsic work values

Work values related to the nature of work itself.

Rather than valuing features of the work itself, some employees have extrinsic work values , values related to the consequences of work. Employees whose primary reason for working is to earn money, for example, have extrinsic work values. They see work primarily as a means of providing economic security for themselves and their families. These employees value their work not for its own sake but for its consequences. Other extrinsic work values include a job’s status in the organization and in the wider community, social contacts provided by the job, and the extent to which a job enables an employee to spend time with his or her family, pursue a hobby, or volunteer for a worthy cause.

Extrinsic work values

Work values related to the consequences of work.

Because working is the way most people make a living, there is an extrinsic element to most people’s work values, but many people have both extrinsic and intrinsic work values. Extrinsic and intrinsic work values differ in their relative importance from one person to another. An elementary schoolteacher who likes teaching but quits her job to take a higher-paying position as a sales representative for a computer company has stronger extrinsic than intrinsic work values. A social worker who puts up with low pay and little thanks because he feels that he is doing something important by helping disadvantaged families and their children has stronger intrinsic than extrinsic work values.

Employees with values related to the nature of the work itself have intrinsic work values. These employees want to be challenged, learn new things, make important contributions, and reach their full potential on their jobs.

Jupiterimages/Pixland/Thinkstock

When making changes in the workplace, managers need to take into account employees’ values. Managers may try to increase employees’ motivation by making their work more interesting, giving them more freedom to make their own decisions, or expanding the number of activities they perform (see Chapters 6 , 7 , and 8 for details on motivation). A manager might try to increase the motivation of a computer sales representative by requiring her to call on different types of customers and by giving her the responsibility for setting up the equipment a customer purchases.

The success of such approaches to increasing motivation, however, depends on the extent to which the change in an employee’s job relates to the employee’s values. Making the work of the computer sales representative more interesting and challenging may do little to increase her motivation if her strong extrinsic work values result in her being motivated primarily by the money she earns. Indeed, these efforts may actually backfire if the sales representative thinks she is working harder on her job but not receiving any additional financial compensation. Employees who are extrinsically motivated may be much more responsive to financial incentives (such as bonuses) and job security than to changes in the work itself.

Because work values reflect what employees are trying to achieve through working, they hold the key to understanding how employees will react to different events in the workplace and to understanding and managing organizational behavior. Managers need to be especially sensitive to the work values of their subordinates when making changes in jobs, working hours, or other aspects of the work situation.

Ethical values

Ethical values are one’s personal convictions about what is right and wrong. Ethical values help employees decide on the right course of action and guide their decision making and behavior. 25 Especially in situations in which the proper course of action is unclear, ethical values help employees make moral decisions. Some ethical values are focused on an individual’s conduct and whether it is right or wrong, such as being honest or trustworthy. 26

Ethical values

Ethical values are one’s personal convictions about what is right and wrong. Ethical values help employees decide on the right course of action and guide their decision making and behavior. 25 Especially in situations in which the proper course of action is unclear, ethical values help employees make moral decisions. Some ethical values are focused on an individual’s conduct and whether it is right or wrong, such as being honest or trustworthy. 26

Ethical values

One’s personal convictions about what is right and wrong.

Other kinds of ethical values come into play when a person must decide how to make decisions that have the potential to benefit or harm other individuals or groups. These ethical values are especially important guides for behavior when a decision may benefit one individual or group to the detriment of another. 27 For example, when major corporations like Eastman Kodak announce plans to lay off thousands of employees due to lower demand for their products and services, the stock price of shares in these companies often rises. 28 Fewer employees means fewer costs and greater profitability. The workforce reduction benefits shareholders of the corporation because the value of their stock has increased, but it hurts those employees whose jobs have been or will be cut.

Utilitarian, moral rights, and justice values are complementary guides for decision making and behavior when a decision or action has the potential to benefit or harm others. 29 Utilitarian values dictate that decisions should be made that generate the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Moral rights values indicate that decisions should be made in ways that protect the fundamental rights and privileges of people affected by the decision, such as their freedom, safety, and privacy. Justice values dictate that decisions should be made in ways that allocate benefit and harm among those affected by the decision in a fair, equitable, or impartial manner. 30

Utilitarian values

Values that dictate that decisions should be made that generate the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

Moral rights values

Values that dictate that decisions should be made in ways that protect the fundamental rights and privileges of people affected by the decision.

Justice values

Values that dictate that decisions should be made in ways that allocate benefit and harm among those affected by the decisions in a fair, equitable, or impartial manner.

Each kind of ethical value should be taken into account when evaluating whether or not a course of action is an ethical one. Even with these values as guides, employees are often faced with ethical dilemmas because the interests of those who might be affected by the decision are often in conflict and it is not always clear how to determine, for example, how to weigh the benefits and costs of different groups to determine the greatest good, which rights and privileges must be safeguarded, and what is a fair or ethical decision. 31 For example, what sort of job security do loyal and hardworking employees deserve? What does the corporation owe its shareholders in terms of profits?

People develop their own individual ethical values over time based on influences from family, peers, schooling, religious institutions, and other groups. 32 As employees, these ethical values guide their behavior in the workplace. Sometimes different groups of employees or people holding certain kinds of jobs or professions develop what are called professional ethics. 33 Physicians, lawyers, and university professors have professional ethics that dictate appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. Societal ethics, embodied in laws, customs, practices, and values, apply to a society as a whole.

Individual ethics, professional ethics, and societal ethics all contribute to an organization’s code of ethics. A code of ethics is the set of formal rules and standards, based on ethical values and beliefs about what is right and wrong, that employees can use to make appropriate decisions when the interests of other individuals or groups are at stake. 34 Corporate scandals, allegations of wrongdoing, and fraud at companies such as WorldCom, Enron, Tyco, Adelphia, and ImClone 35 have resulted in many organizations taking active steps to ensure that employees behave in an ethical manner and their codes of ethics are followed. However, some of the organizations in which the most egregious instances of fraud have recently occurred actually did have codes of ethics. 36 The problem was that they were not followed, and outside parties such as auditors, bankers, analysts, and lenders did not intervene when they should have. Rather, as in the case of Enron, it took the courageous action of a whistleblower (Sherron Watkins) to bring the wrongdoing to light. 37 A whistleblower is a person who informs people in positions of authority and/or the public of instances of wrongdoing, illegal behavior, or unethical behavior in an organization. 38

Code of ethics

A set of formal rules and standards, based on ethical values and beliefs about what is right and wrong, that employees can use to make appropriate decisions when the interests of other individuals or groups are at stake.

Whistleblower

A person who informs people in positions of authority and/or the public of instances of wrongdoing, illegal behavior, or unethical behavior in an organization.

Enron had a code of ethics and a conflict-of-interest policy that, if followed, should have prevented the downfall of this once high-flying company. However, its board of directors waived the code and policy to allow Enron managers to form the off-balance-sheet partnerships that destroyed the company. 39 At Tyco, one of the lawyers in charge of compliance with ethics policies has been accused of falsifying records. Arthur Andersen LLP, Enron’s auditing firm, was convicted of obstruction of justice for destruction of documents pertaining to Enron’s audits. Ironically, prior to the conviction, Arthur Andersen routinely performed ethics consulting services for clients. 40

In 2002, the U.S. federal government passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which has dramatically increased the reporting and accountability obligations of public companies and also requires independence on the part of a company’s audit committees. 41 The act also provides protections for whistleblowers and has increased the criminal penalties for those engaging in white-collar crime. The act has been called, “the most dramatic change to federal securities laws since the 1930s.” 42

Does passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act override the need for an organization to have a code of ethics? Absolutely not. Rather, the act not only requires a code of ethics be enacted, but it also mandates strict adherence to it. It also requires that organizations have ethics programs in place. 43 If a company is convicted of fraud, the penalties might be reduced if the firm can document it had implemented programs to encourage ethical behavior and detect fraud. Many organizations such as Ford Motor Co. and Johnson & Johnson are stepping up their ethics training for all employees through the use of Web-based programs offered by companies such as Integrity Interactive Corp. and Legal Knowledge Co. 44 A number of nonprofit organizations, such as the National Whistleblower Association, formed in 1988, provide assistance to would-be whistleblowers. 45 Hopefully, heightened public awareness of the potential for corporate wrongdoing, penalties for those convicted of white-collar crimes, enforcement of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and protection for would-be whistleblowers will reduce the incidence of unethical behavior in organizations.

When entrepreneurs found their own companies, it is important that they adhere to strong ethical values and instill these values in their workplaces, as illustrated in the following Ethics in Acti

The Nature of Work Attitudes

Work attitudes are collections of feelings, beliefs, and thoughts about how to behave that people currently hold about their jobs and organizations. Work attitudes are more specific than values and not as long lasting because the way people experience their jobs often changes over time. For example, a person’s work situation might be altered due to a job transfer or being given or denied a promotion. As a result, his or her work attitudes might change, too. Values, in contrast, can and often do remain constant from job to job and organization to organization. Two work attitudes that have especially important implications for organizational behavior are job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Work attitudes

Collections of feelings, beliefs, and thoughts about how to behave in one’s job and organization.

Job satisfaction is the collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their current jobs. People’s levels or degrees of job satisfaction can range from extreme satisfaction to extreme dissatisfaction. Recall from the opening case how job satisfaction levels are very high at Nugget Markets. In addition to having attitudes about their jobs as a whole, people also can have attitudes about various aspects of their jobs such as the kind of work they do; their coworkers, supervisors, or subordinates; and their pay.

Job satisfaction

The collection of feelings and beliefs people have about their current jobs.

Organizational commitment is the collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their organization as a whole. Levels of commitment can range from being extremely high to extremely low, and people can have attitudes about various aspects of their organization such as the organization’s promotion practices, the quality of the organization’s products, and the organization’s stance on ethical issues.

Organizational commitment

The collection of feelings and beliefs people have about their organization as a whole.

Work attitudes, like job satisfaction and organizational commitment, are made up of three components: feelings, the affective component; beliefs, the cognitive component; and thoughts about how to behave, the behavioral component (see Exhibit 3.3 ). 56 For example, the affective component of an employee’s attitude is the employee’s feelings about his or her job or organization. The cognitive component is the employee’s beliefs about the job or organization—that is, whether or not he or she believes the job is meaningful and important. The behavioral component is the employee’s thoughts about how to behave in his or her job or organization. Each component of a work attitude influences and tends to be consistent with the other components.

Because job satisfaction and organizational commitment are key determinants of the experience of work and central to understanding and managing organizational behavior, we explore these two work attitudes in depth later in the chapter.

The Nature of Moods and Emotions

Work mood describes how people feel at the time they actually perform their jobs. Some employees tend to feel excited and enthusiastic at work, whereas others feel anxious and nervous, and still others feel sleepy and sluggish. Much more transitory than values and attitudes, work moods can change from hour to hour, day to day, and sometimes minute to minute. Think about how your own moods have varied since you woke up today or about how your moods today differ from how you felt yesterday. Then you will have some idea about the fluctuating nature of work moods.

Work mood

How people feel at the time they actually perform their jobs.

Exhibit 3.3 Components of Work Attitudes

Although people can experience different moods at work, moods can be categorized generally as positive or negative. When employees are in positive moods, they feel excited, enthusiastic, active, strong, peppy, or elated. 57 When employees are in negative moods, they feel distressed, fearful, scornful, hostile, jittery, or nervous. 58 Sometimes, employees’ feelings are neither strongly positive nor strongly negative; they may simply experience less intense feelings such as being drowsy, dull, and sluggish or calm, placid, and relaxed. 59 The extent to which employees experience positive, negative, and less intense moods at work is determined by both their personalities and the specific situation.

Recall from Chapter 2 that employees who are high on the personality trait of positive affectivity are more likely than other employees to experience positive moods at work, and employees who are high on the trait of negative affectivity are more likely to experience negative moods at work. A wide range of situational factors also affects work mood—major events and conditions, such as receiving a promotion (or a demotion) and getting along well with one’s coworkers, and relatively minor conditions, such as how pleasant the physical surroundings are. 60 If you stop and think a minute about the different factors that influence your own moods—weather, pressures of school or family life, your love life, and so on—you will see that many of them, though unrelated to work, nonetheless have the potential to influence an employee’s mood on the job. Getting engaged, for example, may put an employee in a very good mood both on and off the job, but having a big argument with one’s spouse may put an employee in a very bad mood.

Preliminary research suggests that workplace incivility , rude interpersonal behaviors reflective of a lack of regard and respect for others, may be on the rise, which can lead to more negative moods for organizational members. 61 The increasing use of e-mail and phone conversations in place of face-to-face communications and mounting workloads and pressures on many employees has resulted in some managers and employees being uncivil to each other and just plain rude. 62 Office incivility can range from ignoring a coworker or subordinate, making rude comments, or never having the time for even a brief conversation to raising one’s voice, being sarcastic, refusing requests for help, and verbal belittlement. When organizational members are uncivil toward each other, there can be potentially numerous negative consequences in addition to the recipients of such behavior feeling bad, such as reduced job satisfaction and lower organizational effectiveness. 63

Workplace incivility

Rude interpersonal behaviors reflective of a lack of regard and respect for others.

Research suggests that mood at work has important consequences for understanding and managing organizational behavior. 64 Employees in positive moods at work, for example, are more likely to be helpful to each other and those around them, including clients and customers, and they may also be less likely to be absent from their jobs. 65 One study found that salespeople who were in positive moods at work provided higher-quality service to customers in a department store than salespeople who were not in positive moods. 66 Another study found that the extent to which leaders (in this case, managers of small retail stores) experienced positive moods was related to the performance levels of their subordinates (the salespeople in the stores). 67 (Leadership is the subject of Chapter 12 .) Research has also found that moods influence important behaviors such as creativity, decision making, and the accuracy of judgments. 68

Recent studies suggest that the influence that moods have on behaviors is likely to depend on the situation or context, too. 69 For example, some studies have found that people in positive moods are more likely to come up with unusual word associations, which has been used to index creativity. 70 The reasoning in these studies is that positive moods result in people thinking more broadly or expansively. However, other studies have found that being in a negative mood sometimes fosters creativity. For example, when employees are striving to be creative on the job, and have to determine for themselves how well they are doing or when they have to come up with a creative idea under pressure, people in negative moods tend to demand more of themselves and put forth more effort to be creative. 71 Whether positive moods, negative moods, or both lead to creativity appears to depend on situational factors such as the goals or objectives sought, the extent to which people receive clear feedback about how they are doing, and the nature of the tasks they are working on. 72 Similarly, we know that positive and negative moods influence decision making. Again, however, the exact nature of that influence depends on situational factors such as the kind of decision being made, the goals of the decision maker, and the kinds of information available to the decision maker.

Clearly, work moods can have important effects on organizational behavior. Moreover, because managers and organizations can do many things to promote positive moods—for example, giving people attractive offices to work in, giving praise when it is deserved, providing employees with opportunities for social interaction, and incorporating fun and humor into the workplace—work moods are receiving more attention from researchers and managers alike. Additionally, since all employees are likely to experience negative moods at some time or another on the job, it is important to understand the consequences of those bad feelings and how they might be channeled into effective behaviors. (For more on understanding and managing moods, see the discussion of emotional intelligence in Chapter 2 .)

Moods tend to be general, pervasive feelings that do not interrupt employees’ thoughts or behaviors. Emotions, by contrast, are much more intense than moods. Emotions are intense, short-lived feelings linked to a specific cause or antecedent and interrupt thought processes and behaviors. Emotions have adaptive, evolutionary value in that they signal to people that something has happened or will happen that has implications for personal well-being. 73 Thus, emotions alert us to things we need to pay attention to and things we need to do. For example, the fear a newly hired office worker experiences upon hearing that her company has had a really bad fourth quarter and is about to lay off employees interrupts her ongoing work as she thinks about how she should deal with this potential threat (e.g., try to find out more information, update her résumé, start looking for other jobs). Researchers have identified basic emotions that have universal nonverbal expressions such as anger, disgust, sadness, fear, surprise, and happiness. 74 Research suggests that certain other emotions such as pride also have universal nonverbal expressions. 75

Emotions

Intense short-lived feelings linked to a specific cause or antecedent.

Over time, emotions can feed into moods. 76 For example, if a manager engages in workplace incivility by berating a subordinate in front of coworkers, the subordinate may initially feel strong emotions of anger or shame. As time goes by, the intense emotion may subside and feed into a less intense negative mood that the subordinate experiences for the remainder of the day, coloring his or her thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. As another example, take the case of Mary and Paul Putnam, a dual-career couple who work in different states and have been commuting on weekends to see each other. Both of the Putnams have been trying to relocate to eliminate their long-distance marriage, and they have agreed that whoever finds an acceptable position first will make the move. Recently, Paul received a phone call indicating that he was offered a position in a company close to where Mary is working. It is just what he has been looking for. Paul is ecstatic and puts what he has been working on aside. He is thrilled and calls Mary, and the two count their blessings for their good fortune. A short while later, Paul realizes he must get back to work and finish a report that is due to his boss the following day; throughout the day, Paul is in a great mood, even when he is not thinking about his new job.

On certain kinds of jobs, it is important that employees express certain kinds of moods and emotions and refrain from expressing other kinds. For example, waiters, flight attendants, and cheerleaders are expected to display positive moods and emotions, like enthusiasm and pleasure, and refrain from experiencing negative moods and emotions, like anger and hostility. Thus, no matter how distressed these employees might be for a variety of reasons—say, being forced to deal with a difficult customer, experiencing flight delays, or having problems at home—they are expected to be cheerful and pleasant. Sometimes, this is very hard to do and can be quite stressful. We have all been in situations in which we tried to hide how we really felt and express an emotion other than our true feelings. This can be quite challenging on occasion. Now imagine having to do this day in and day out as part of your job. Emotional labor is the work that employees perform to control their experience and expression of moods and emotions on the job. 77

Emotional labor

The work employees perform to control their experience and expression of moods and emotions on the job.

Emotional labor is governed by display rules. 78 There are two types of display rules: feeling rules and expression rules. Feeling rules dictate appropriate and inappropriate feelings for a particular setting. 79 For example, funeral directors are not supposed to feel delighted in the presence of grieving families, and managers are not supposed to feel angry when letting subordinates know they have just received promotions. As another example, professors are expected to be enthusiastic when they teach classes and not be bored. Expression rules dictate what emotions should be expressed and how they should be expressed in a particular setting. 80 For example, professors are expected to be enthusiastic via their facial expressions and tone of voice, but they are not expected to jump up and down and hoot and holler. Employees high on emotional intelligence (see Chapter 2 ) are likely to be better able to follow feeling and expression rules.

Emotional labor takes place in many organizations and in a variety of kinds of jobs. For example, many employees believe that they should not cry in the workplace in front of coworkers, no matter how badly they might be feeling. However, jobs do differ in terms of the extent to which emotional labor is required on a day-to-day basis. Jobs that involve high levels of interpersonal interaction (whether with the public, students, coworkers, clients, customers, or patients) typically require more emotional labor than jobs that entail less frequent interactions with others.

Emotional dissonance occurs when employees are expected to express feelings that are at odds with how the employees are actually feeling. 81 For example, a waiter who is angry after dealing with a particularly difficult customer is nonetheless expected to act pleasant and helpful. Emotional dissonance can be a significant source of stress for employees, 82 especially when it occurs frequently or on a day-to-day basis. (We discuss stress in more detail in Chapter 9 ) For example, Steffanie Wilk and Lisa Moynihan found that when call-center employees’ supervisors place heavy emphasis on employees expressing positive emotions and being pleasant and polite to callers no matter how rude the callers might be to the employees, the employees were much more likely to feel emotionally exhausted from their work. 83

Emotional dissonance

An internal state that exists when employees are expected to express feelings at odds with how the employees are actually feeling.

Of course, emotional labor is often part and parcel of high-quality customer service and does not necessarily need to lead to high levels of stress if it is managed appropriately. Take the case of the restaurant at the Inn at Little Washington, famous for its exceptional food and perhaps even more famous for its high-quality customer service. 84 Cofounder and chef, Patrick O’Connell, believes it is his obligation and the obligation of his staff to provide such a superior dining experience that people leave the restaurant feeling much better than when they entered it. 85 Not only is the staff expected to manage their own emotions, but they are also expected to manage the emotions of their customers.

When a dining party enters the restaurant, the captain assigns the party a mood rating gauging their current state of mind from a low of 1 to a high of 10. Ratings of 7 and lower suggest that the party seems unhappy or displeased. The mood ratings are placed on the table’s order and also hung in the kitchen. O’Connell insists that guests leave his restaurant with a mood rating of 9 or 10, and staff members are encouraged to do whatever they can to see that this happens. Tours of the kitchen, tableside visits from the chef, and complimentary drinks or desserts all are used to try to ensure that everyone leaves the restaurant feeling great. 86 And it is up to the staff to figure out how to improve the moods of customers who might have just gotten into an argument or had a very rough day.

Employees who work in jobs that involve high levels of interpersonal interaction, such as this bartender, perform emotional labor. She is expected to act a certain way when dealing with customers, despite what she may be feeling.

Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images/Thinkstock

The restaurant staff also is required to be very knowledgeable about a variety of topics, ranging from different kinds of foods and wines to the likes and dislikes of important food and restaurant critics. Staff members are admonished never to say “no” or “I don’t know.” 87 O’Connell provides them with the training and experience before they actually begin serving customers, so they never need to plead ignorance. New wait staff receive several months of training, which includes being asked every kind of question that a customer might pose to them. Only when they are able to satisfactorily answer these questions do they receive their portion of the tip pool. O’Connell indicates that his almost fanatical approach to providing high-quality customer service essentially reflects his gratitude to his customers, without whom the restaurant would cease to exist. And employees seem to like the emphasis on customer service; turnover at the Inn is much lower than at many other restaurants. 88

Relationships between Values, Attitudes, and Moods and Emotions

Values, attitudes, and moods and emotions capture the range of thoughts and feelings that make up the experience of work. Each one of these determinants of the experience of work has the potential to affect the other two (see Exhibit 3.4 ). Because

Exhibit 3.4 Relationships between Values, Attitudes, and Moods and Emotions

work values are the most stable and long lasting, they can strongly affect work attitudes, moods, and emotions. A person whose work values emphasize the importance of being ambitious, for example, may have negative work attitudes toward a job that offers no possibility of promotion.

Work attitudes can affect work moods and emotions in a similar fashion. A salesperson who is very satisfied with his or her job and loves interacting with customers may often be in a good mood at work. In this case, work attitudes (job satisfaction) affect work moods and emotions (positive feelings).

In the long run—over the course of a few years—a person’s work values might change in response to his or her more fleeting attitudes, moods, and emotions toward work. A person who values work as merely a way to make a living and not as a source of personal fulfillment might find a nursing job so rewarding and exciting that he or she is usually in a good mood while on the job and finds it satisfying. Eventually, the person’s work values may change to include the importance of doing something to help other people. By contrast, an employee who frequently experiences bad moods at work and often feels angry (perhaps because of a dishonest or unpleasant supervisor) may be less satisfied and decide the job isn’t meeting his or her expectations. Persistent moods and emotions, in other words, can have an impact on long-held attitudes and values. 89

When members of an organization share important values, have positive attitudes, and experience positive moods, they may be more likely to trust each other. 90 Trust is an expression of confidence in another person or group of people that you will not be put at risk, harmed, or injured by their actions. 91 Trust, in turn, can enhance co-operation and the sharing of information necessary for creativity and innovation. A lack of trust between employees and managers is often symptomatic of more widespread problems in an organization. 92 At a minimum, managers must ensure that employees can be confident that their well-being will not be jeopardized by their jobs. From the opening case, it is clear that trust levels are high at Nugget Market. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Trust

An expression of confidence in another person or group of people that you will not be put at risk, harmed, or injured by their actions.

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction (the collection of feelings and beliefs that people have about their current jobs) is one of the most important and well-researched work attitudes in organizational behavior. Why do managers and researchers think it’s so important? Job satisfaction has the potential to affect a wide range of behaviors in organizations and contribute to employees’ levels of well-being. Interestingly enough, research suggests that levels of job satisfaction in the United States are at record lows, as profiled in the following OB Today.

Determinants of Job Satisfaction

What causes different employees to be satisfied or dissatisfied with their jobs? Four factors affect the level of job satisfaction a person experiences: personality, values, the work situation, and social influence (see Exhibit 3.5 ).

Personality

Personality, the enduring ways a person has of feeling, thinking, and behaving (see Chapter 2 ), is the first determinant of how people think and feel about their jobs or job satisfaction. 101 An individual’s personality influences the extent to which thoughts and feelings about a job are positive or negative. A person high on the Big Five trait of extraversion, for instance, is likely to have a higher level of job satisfaction than a person low on this trait. 102

Given that personality helps to determine job satisfaction and that personality is, in part, genetically determined, researchers have wondered whether genetics influence job satisfaction. Richard Arvey of the University of Minnesota and his colleagues explored the extent to which employees’ levels of job satisfaction were inherited from their parents. 103 They studied 34 identical twins raised apart from an early age. The twins shared the same genetic makeup, but were exposed to different situational influences in their developmental years and later in life. For each pair of twins, the researchers measured the degree to which one twin’s level of job satisfaction was the same as the other twin’s level.

Exhibit 3.5 Determinants of Job Satisfaction

The researchers found that genetic factors accounted for about 30 percent of the differences in levels of job satisfaction across the twins in their study. Another interesting finding was that the twins tended to hold jobs similar in complexity, motor skills needed, and physical demands required. This suggests that people seek out jobs suited to their genetic makeup. In other words, people’s personalities (which are partially inherited) predispose them to choose certain kinds of jobs.

What do these findings mean for managers? Essentially, they suggest that part of job satisfaction is determined by employees’ personalities, which an organization or manager cannot change in the short run. Does this mean that managers should not worry about the job satisfaction levels of their subordinates or that it is pointless to try to improve levels of job satisfaction? Definitely not. Although it certainly is impressive that genetic factors account for 30 percent of the differences in levels of job satisfaction, 70 percent of the variation in job satisfaction remains to be explained. It is this 70 percent that managers can influence. Thus, managers should be concerned about job satisfaction because it is something within their power to influence and change.

Personality predisposes people to choose certain kinds of jobs but values drive job satisfaction as well. Some job holders, like this researcher, derive their job satisfaction from the kind of work that they do.

Dean Golja/Photodisc/Thinkstock

Values

Values have an impact on levels of job satisfaction because they reflect employees’ convictions about the outcomes that work should lead to and how one should behave at work. A person with strong intrinsic work values (those related to the nature of the work itself), for example, is more likely than a person with weak intrinsic work values to be satisfied with a job that is interesting and personally meaningful (such as social work) but that also requires long working hours and doesn’t pay well. A person with strong extrinsic work values (those related to the consequences of work) is more likely than a person with weak extrinsic work values to be satisfied with a job that pays well but is monotonous.

The work situation

Perhaps the most important source of job satisfaction is the work situation —the tasks a person performs (for example, how interesting or boring they are), the people a jobholder interacts with (customers, subordinates, and supervisors), the surroundings in which a person works (noise level, crowdedness, and temperature), and the way the organization treats its employees (such as the job security it offers them and whether the pay and benefits are fair). Any aspect of the job and the employing organization is part of the work situation and can affect job satisfaction. 104 Some of the theories of job satisfaction that we consider later in the chapter focus on the way in which specific situational factors affect job satisfaction.

Work situation

The work itself, working conditions, and all other aspects of the job and the employing organization.

According to Working Mother magazine, which publishes a list of the top 100 companies for working mothers, flexibility is a very important contributor to the job satisfaction levels of working mothers. 105 Flexibility can take many forms, ranging from compressed workweeks and flexible working hours to the ability to take an extended leave of absence to attend to a sick child. For Cindy Clark, an employee at the IKEA furniture store in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, IKEA’s flexibility has been a blessing. When her son Ryan was born, she was able to switch to a three-day workweek. 106 When Ryan was recently diagnosed with leukemia, Clark took a 6-month leave of absence to take care of him, knowing that her job would be waiting for her when Ryan recovered and she could get back to work. 107

Most people would be more satisfied with a job that pays well and is very secure than with a job that pays poorly and exposes the employee to the ever-present threat of a layoff. In fact, an increasing source of dissatisfaction for employees is a lack of job security and higher workloads as a result of organizational restructurings and layoffs. Layoffs are devastating experiences for employees and their families; how organizations and managers conduct layoffs can have profound effects on layoff victims and those employees who survive the layoff and still have their jobs. Layoffs should be managed in a humane fashion by, for example, demonstrating compassion and empathy for those who lose their jobs, providing severance benefits, and assisting layoff victims find new positions.

Sometimes people are dissatisfied with their jobs because of real problems in the workplace. Perhaps they are overloaded with responsibilities. Or perhaps they are required to use inefficient processes and procedures, lack the autonomy to expediently solve problems or institute more efficient and effective ways of doing things, or feel frustrated that their organization is not taking a more proactive approach to seizing opportunities. Recent research suggests that dissatisfaction can actually be an impetus for change and improvement in an organization to the extent that an organization provides a supportive environment. For example, Jing Zhou and Jennifer George of Rice University found, in a study of 149 office employees of a company that makes petroleum drilling equipment, that experienced job dissatisfaction was positively related to creativity on the job (i.e., coming up with new and useful ideas to improve things) when employees were committed to remain with the organization and either received useful feedback from their coworkers, had coworkers who were helpful and supportive, or perceived that their organization was supportive of employees’ creativity. 108

Social influence

The last determinant of job satisfaction is social influence , or the influence that individuals or groups have on a person’s attitudes and behavior. Coworkers, the groups a person belongs to, and the culture a person grows up and lives in all have the potential to affect employees’ levels of job satisfaction.

Social influence

The influence individuals or groups have on a person’s attitudes and behavior.

Social influence from coworkers can be an important determinant of an employee’s job satisfaction because coworkers are always around, often have similar types of jobs, and often have certain things in common with an employee (such as educational background). Coworkers can have a particularly potent influence on the job satisfaction levels of new hires. New hires are still likely to be forming an opinion about the organization and the job. They might not yet know what to make of it or whether or not they will ultimately like it. If they are surrounded by coworkers who are dissatisfied with their jobs, they are more likely to be dissatisfied themselves than if they are surrounded by employees who enjoy and are satisfied with their jobs.

The groups he or she belongs to also influence an employee’s level of job satisfaction. The family in which a child grows up, for example, can affect how satisfied the child is with his or her job as an adult. An employee who grows up in a wealthy family might be dissatisfied with a job as an elementary schoolteacher because the salary places out of reach the high standard of living he or she enjoyed while growing up. A teacher raised under more modest circumstances might also desire a higher salary but might not be dissatisfied with his or her teaching job because of its pay level.

A wide variety of groups can affect job satisfaction. Employees who belong to certain religious groups are likely to be dissatisfied with jobs that require working on Saturdays or Sundays. Unions can have powerful effects on the job satisfaction levels of their members. Belonging to a union that believes managers are not treating employees as well as they should be, for example, might cause an employee to be dissatisfied with a job.

The culture a person grows up and lives in may also affect an employee’s level of job satisfaction. Employees who grow up in cultures (such as the American culture) that emphasize the importance of individual achievement and accomplishment are more likely to be satisfied with jobs that stress individual accomplishment and provide bonuses and pay raises for individual achievement. Employees who grow up in cultures (such the Japanese culture) that emphasize the importance of doing what is good for everyone may be less satisfied with jobs that stress individual competition and achievement. (We discuss national culture in more depth in Chapter 17 .)

In fact, cultural influences may shape not just job satisfaction but also the attitudes employees have about themselves. An American may introduce a lecture with a joke that displays both his knowledge and his wit, but a Japanese lecturer in the same position would more likely start off apologizing for his lack of expertise. According to Dr. Hazel Markus of the University of Michigan and Dr. Shinobu Kitayama of the University of Oregon, these two contrasting styles reflect how Americans and Japanese view themselves, which is, in turn, based on the values of their respective cultures. 109

Consistent with American culture, the American lecturer views and portrays himself as independent, autonomous, and striving to achieve; this makes him feel good and makes his American audience comfortable. In contrast, Japanese culture stresses the interdependence of the self with others; the goal is to fit in, meet one’s obligations, and have good interpersonal relations. The Japanese lecturer’s more self-effacing style reflects these values; it demonstrates that he is but one part of a larger system and emphasizes the connection between himself and the audience.

Markus and her colleagues have been conducting some interesting research that further illuminates the effects of culture on attitudes about the self. They have asked Japanese and American students to describe themselves using what the researchers call the “Who Am I” scale. Americans tend to respond to the scale by describing personal characteristics (such as athletic or smart). Japanese students, however, tend to describe themselves in terms of their roles (such as being the second son). These responses again illustrate that Americans view themselves in terms of personal characteristics, and Japanese view themselves in terms of social characteristics such as their position in their family. 110 This is a simple yet powerful demonstration of how the culture and society we grow up in influences our attitudes, even attitudes as fundamental as our attitudes about ourselves.

Theories of Job Satisfaction

There are many theories or models of job satisfaction. Each of them takes into account one or more of the four main determinants of job satisfaction (personality, values, the work situation, and social influence) and specifies, in more detail, exactly what causes one employee to be satisfied with a job and another employee to be dissatisfied. Here, we discuss four of the most influential theories: the facet model, Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, the discrepancy model, and the steady-state theory. These different theoretical approaches to job satisfaction are complementary. Each helps us understand the various aspects of job satisfaction by highlighting the factors and issues managers need to consider in order to enhance the satisfaction levels of their subordinates.

The Facet Model of Job Satisfaction

The facet model of job satisfaction focuses primarily on work situation factors by breaking a job into its component elements, or job facets , and looking at how satisfied employees are with each facet. Many of the job facets that researchers have investigated are listed and defined in Exhibit 3.6 . An employee’s overall job satisfaction is determined by summing his or her satisfaction with each facet of the job.

Job facet

One of numerous components of a job.

As Exhibit 3.6 indicates, employees can take into account numerous aspects of their jobs when thinking about their levels of job satisfaction. The facet model is useful because it forces managers and researchers to recognize that jobs affect employees in multiple ways. However, managers who use this model to evaluate the work situation’s effect on job satisfaction always need to be aware that, for any particular job, they might inadvertently exclude an important facet that strongly influences an employee’s job satisfaction.

The extent to which an employing organization is “family friendly,” for example, is an important job facet for many employees. Given the increasing diversity of the workforce and the increasing numbers of women, dual-career couples, and single parents who need to balance their responsibilities on the job and at home, family-friendly organizational policies and benefits are becoming important to more and more employees. 111

Another issue that must be considered by managers using facet models of job satisfaction is that some job facets may be more important than others for any given employee. 112 Family-friendly policies, for example, are generally valued by employees with dependents, but they clearly are less important for employees who are single and intend to remain so. Telecommuting (see Chapter 9 ) and work-at-home arrangements might be facets that appeal to working parents and those with long

Job Facet	Description
Ability utilization	The extent to which the job allows one to use
	one's abilities
Achievement	The extent to which an employee gets a feeling
	of accomplishment from the job
Activity	Being able to keep busy on the job
Advancement	Having promotion opportunities
Authority	Having control over others
Company policies and	The extent to which they are pleasing to an
practices	employee
Compensation	The pay an employee receives for the job
Coworkers	How well one gets along with others in the
	workplace
Creativity	Being free to come up with new ideas
Independence	Being able to work alone
Moral values	Not having to do things that go against one's
	conscience
Recognition	Praise for doing a good job
Responsibility	Being accountable for decisions and actions
Security	Having a secure or steady job
Social service	Being able to do things for other people
Social status	The recognition in the wider community that
	goes along with the job
Human relations supervision	The interpersonal skills of one's boss
Technical supervision	The work-related skills of one's boss
Variety	Doing different things on the job
Working conditions	Working hours, temperature, furnishings, office
	location and layout, and so forth

Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory of Job Satisfaction

One of the earliest theories of job satisfaction, Frederick Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory, focuses on the effects of certain types of job facets on job satisfaction. Herzberg’s theory proposes that every employee has two sets of needs or requirements: motivator needs and hygiene needs. 113 Motivator needs are associated with the actual work itself and how challenging it is. Job facets such as how interesting the work is, autonomy on the job, and the responsibility it affords satisfy motivator needs. Hygiene needs are associated with the physical and psychological context in which the work is performed. Job facets such as the physical working conditions (for example, the temperature and pleasantness of the surroundings), the nature of supervision, amount of pay, and job security satisfy hygiene needs.

Herzberg proposed the following theoretical relationships between motivator needs, hygiene needs, and job satisfaction:

1. When motivator needs are met, employees will be satisfied; when these needs are not met, employees will not be satisfied.

2. When hygiene needs are met, employees will not be dissatisfied; when these needs are not met, employees will be dissatisfied.

According to Herzberg, an employee could experience job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction at the same time. An employee could be satisfied because motivator needs are being met. For example, the employee might find the work interesting and challenging yet be dissatisfied because his or her hygiene needs are not being met. (Perhaps the position offers little job security.) According to the traditional view of job satisfaction, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are at opposite ends of a single continuum, and employees are either satisfied or dissatisfied with their jobs. Exhibit 3.7(a) illustrates the traditional view. Herzberg proposed that dissatisfaction and satisfaction are two separate dimensions, one ranging from satisfaction to no satisfaction and the other ranging from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. Exhibit 3.7(b) illustrates Herzberg’s view. An employee’s location on the satisfaction continuum depends on the extent to which motivator needs are met, and an employee’s location on the dissatisfaction continuum depends on the extent to which hygiene needs are met.

Many research studies have tested Herzberg’s formulations. Herzberg himself conducted some of the early studies that supported the theory. He relied on the critical incidents technique to collect his data. Herzberg and his colleagues interviewed employees and asked them to describe a

Exhibit 3.7 Two Views of Job Satisfaction

time when they felt particularly good about their jobs and a time when they felt particularly bad about their jobs. After collating responses from many employees, they made the following discovery: whenever employees related an instance when they felt good about their job, the incident had to do with the work itself (it was related to their motivator needs). Whenever they described an instance when they felt bad about their job, the incident had to do with the working conditions (it was related to their hygiene needs). These results certainly seemed to support Herzberg’s theory.

When other researchers used different methods to test Herzberg’s theory, however, the theory failed to receive support. 114 Why did studies using the critical incidents technique support the theory? As you will learn in Chapter 4 , people have a tendency to want to take credit for the good things that happen to them and blame others or outside forces for the bad things. This basic tendency probably accounts for employees’ describing good things that happened to them as being related to the work itself, because the work itself is something an employee can take direct credit for. Conversely, working conditions are mostly outside the control of an employee, and it is human nature to try to attribute bad things to situations beyond one’s control.

Even though research does not support Herzberg’s theory, the attention Herzberg paid to motivator needs and to work itself as determinants of satisfaction helped to focus researchers’ and managers’ attention on the important topic of job design and its effects on organizational behavior (discussed in detail in Chapter 7 ). Nevertheless, managers need to be aware of the lack of research support for the theoretical relationships Herzberg proposed.

The Discrepancy Model of Job Satisfaction

The discrepancy model of job satisfaction is based on a simple idea: to determine how satisfied they are with their jobs, employees compare their job to some ideal job. 115 This ideal job could be what one thinks the job should be like, what one expected the job to be like, what one wants from a job, or what one’s former job was like. According to the discrepancy model of job satisfaction, when employees’ expectations about their ideal job are high, and when these expectations are not met, employees will be dissatisfied. New college graduates may be particularly prone to having overly high expectations for their first jobs. 116 According to discrepancy models of job satisfaction, they are bound to experience some job dissatisfaction when their new positions fail to meet their high hopes.

Some researchers have combined the facet and discrepancy models of job satisfaction. 117 For each of the job facets described in Exhibit 3.6 , for example, we could ask employees “how much” of the facet they currently have on the job compared to what they think their jobs should have. The difference between these two quantities would be the employees’ level of satisfaction with the facet. For example, an employee who indicates that she thinks she should have a lot of autonomy on her job but reports that she currently has limited autonomy would be dissatisfied with the autonomy facet of her job. After determining satisfaction levels for each of the job facets in this manner, the total of all of the responses would yield an overall satisfaction score.

Discrepancy models are useful because they take into account that people often take a comparative approach to evaluation. It is not so much the presence or absence of job facets that is important but rather how a job stacks up against an employee’s “ideal job.” Managers need to recognize this comparative approach and should ask employees what they want their jobs to be like. This information can help them make meaningful changes to increase the level of job satisfaction their subordinates are experiencing.

Exhibit 3.8 Job Satisfaction as a Steady State

The Steady-State Theory of Job Satisfaction

The steady-state theory suggests that each employee has a typical, or characteristic, level of job satisfaction, called the steady state or equilibrium level. Different situational factors or events at work may move an employee temporarily from this steady state, but the employee will return eventually to his or her equilibrium level 118 (see Exhibit 3.8 ). For example, receiving a promotion and raise may temporarily boost an employee’s level of job satisfaction, but it eventually will return to the equilibrium level. The finding that job satisfaction tends to be somewhat stable over time 119 supports the steady-state view. The influence of personality on job satisfaction also is consistent with the steady-state approach. Because personality, one of the determinants of job satisfaction, is stable over time, we would expect job satisfaction to exhibit some stability over time.

The steady-state theory suggests that when managers make changes in the work situation in an effort to enhance job-satisfaction levels, they need to determine whether the resulting increases in satisfaction are temporary or long lasting. Some researchers have found, for example, that when changes are made in the nature of the work itself (such as making jobs more interesting), levels of job satisfaction increase temporarily (e.g., for six months) but then return to their former levels. 120 To decide on the most effective ways to sustain an increase in job satisfaction, it is also important for managers to determine how long it takes employees to return to their equilibrium levels. Changes in some job facets, for example, may lead to longer-lasting changes in job satisfaction than changes in other facets.

Measuring Job Satisfaction

There are several measures of job satisfaction that managers can use to determine job-satisfaction levels. A manager who discovers that most employees are dissatisfied with the same few job facets and that overall levels of job satisfaction are low as a result can use this information to determine where to make changes in the work situation. Researchers can also use these measures to learn more about the causes and consequences of job satisfaction. Most of these measures ask employees to respond to a series of questions or statements about their jobs. Among the most popular scales are the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (based on a facet approach), 121 the Faces Scale, 122 and the Job Descriptive Index. 123 Sample items from the first two of these scales appear in Exhibit 3.9 .

Potential Consequences of Job Satisfaction

Earlier, we said that job satisfaction is one of the most important and most studied attitudes in organizational behavior. One reason for the interest in job satisfaction is that whether or not an employee is satisfied with his or her job has consequences not just for the employee but also for coworkers, managers, groups, teams, and the organization as a whole. In this section, we consider several potential consequences of job satisfaction: job performance, absenteeism, turnover, organizational citizenship behavior, and employee well-being.

Does Job Satisfaction Affect Job Performance?

Intuitively, most people (including managers) believe that job satisfaction is positively associated with job performance—that is, that employees more satisfied with their jobs will perform at a higher level than those less satisfied. Many studies have been conducted to see whether this

piece of conventional wisdom holds true. Surprisingly, the results indicate that job satisfaction is not strongly related to job performance; at best, there is a very weak positive relationship. One recent review of the many studies conducted in this area concluded that levels of job satisfaction accounted for only about 2 percent of the differences in performance levels across employees in the studies reviewed. 124 Another recent review found somewhat similar results: job satisfaction accounted for, on average, about 3 percent of the differences in performance levels across employees. 125 For all practical purposes, then, we can conclude that job satisfaction is not meaningfully associated with job performance.

Although this finding goes against the intuition of many managers, it is not that surprising if we consider when work attitudes such as job satisfaction do affect work behaviors. Research indicates that work attitudes (such as job satisfaction) affect work behaviors only when employees are free to vary their behaviors and when an employee’s attitude is relevant to the behavior in question.

Are most employees free to vary their levels of job performance to reflect how satisfied they are with their jobs? Probably not. Organizations spend considerable time and effort to ensure that members perform assigned duties dependably regardless of whether they like their jobs or not. As you will see in later chapters, organizations develop rules and procedures that employees are expected to follow. To ensure the rules are followed, they reward employees who perform at acceptable levels and punish or dismiss employees who do not. Such rules, procedures, rewards, and punishments are situational pressures that compel employees to perform at acceptable levels.

If chefs in a restaurant, for example, lower the quality of the meals they prepare because they are dissatisfied, customers will stop coming to the restaurant, and the restaurant will either go out of business or the owners will replace the chefs. Similarly, firefighters will not keep their jobs if, because of their levels of job satisfaction, they vary the number of emergencies they respond to. And a secretary who, because of dissatisfaction, cuts back on the quality or quantity of letters he or she types is likely to be reprimanded or even fired and certainly will not be offered a promotion.

In order for a work attitude (job satisfaction) to influence behavior, the attitude must be relevant to the behavior in question (job performance). Sometimes employees’ levels of job satisfaction are not relevant to their job performance. Suppose a security guard is satisfied with his job because it is not very demanding and allows him to do a lot of outside reading while on the job. Clearly, this employee’s job satisfaction is not going to result in higher levels of performance because the reason for his satisfaction is that the job is not very demanding.

Because of strong situational pressures in organizations to behave in certain ways and because an employee’s level of job satisfaction may not be relevant to his or her job performance, job satisfaction is not strongly related to job performance. Some research, however, suggests that the direction of influence between these two factors (satisfaction and performance) may be

Motivation to Attend	Ability to Attend Work
Work Is Affected by	Is Affected by
Job satisfaction	Illness and accidents
Organization's absence policy	Transportation problems
Other factors	Family responsibilities

Exhibit 3.10 Determinants of Absence from Work

reversed: job performance may lead to job satisfaction if employees are fairly rewarded for a good performance. The relationship between job performance and rewards, the importance of equity or fairness, and the implications of these issues for understanding and managing organizational behavior are covered in more detail in Chapters 6 , 7 , and 8 on motivation.

Absenteeism

Absenteeism can be very costly for organizations. It is estimated that approximately 1 million employees a day are absent from their jobs. In a year, absenteeism costs companies in the United States approximately $40 billion. 126 Not surprisingly, in an effort to reduce absenteeism, many researchers have studied its relationship to job satisfaction. Research focusing on this question has indicated that job satisfaction has a weak negative relationship with absenteeism: Employees satisfied with their jobs are somewhat less likely to be absent. 127

Richard Steers and Susan Rhodes have provided a model of absenteeism that helps explain these results. 128 They propose that employee attendance is a function not only of their motivation to go to work but also of their ability to attend (see Exhibit 3.10 ). An employee’s ability to go to work is influenced by illness and accidents, transportation problems, and family responsibilities. Because of the variety of situations and factors that affect work absences, it’s not surprising that the relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism is relatively weak. Job satisfaction is just one of many factors that affect the motivation to attend. 129

Absenteeism is a behavior that organizations can never eliminate, but they can control and manage it. Attendance policies should not be so restrictive, however, that they literally force employees to come to work even if they are ill. A certain level of absenteeism—perhaps from a high-stress job—can be functional. Many companies, such as General Foods Corporation, have acknowledged this possibility by including “mental health days” or “personal days” in their absence policies. General Foods employees can take a mental health or personal day at their discretion. They aren’t penalized for these absences, and the absences don’t count toward the numbers of sick and vacation days they’re allowed.

Turnover

Turnover is the permanent withdrawal of an employee from the employing organization. Job satisfaction shows a weak-to-moderate negative relationship to turnover, that is, high job satisfaction leads to low turnover. Why is this relationship observed? Employees who are satisfied with their jobs are less likely to quit than those who are dissatisfied, but some dissatisfied employees never leave, and some employees satisfied with their jobs eventually move on to another organization. Moreover, unlike absenteeism, which is a temporary form of withdrawal from the organization, turnover is permanent and can have a major impact on an employee’s life. Thus, the decision to quit a job is not usually made lightly but is instead the result of a carefully thought out process.

Turnover

The permanent withdrawal of an employee from the employing organization.

When, in the turnover process, does job satisfaction play an important role? According to a model of the turnover process developed by Bill Mobley, job satisfaction triggers the whole turnover process (see Exhibit 3.11 ). 130 Employees very satisfied with their jobs may never even think about quitting; for those who are dissatisfied, it is the dissatisfaction that starts them thinking about quitting.

As indicated in Exhibit 3.11 , job dissatisfaction will cause an employee to begin thinking about quitting. At this point, the individual evaluates the benefits of searching for a new job versus the costs of quitting. These costs could include any corporate benefits linked to seniority (such as vacation time and bonuses), the loss of pension and medical plans, and a reduced level of job security (often based on seniority in the organization). On the basis of this cost/benefit

evaluation, the individual may decide to search for alternative jobs. The person evaluates and compares these alternatives to the current job and then develops an intention to quit or stay. The intention to quit eventually leads to turnover behavior. Hence, although job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is an important factor to consider because it may trigger the whole turnover process and start an employee thinking about quitting, other factors come into play to determine whether or not an employee actually quits. (Mobley’s model applies neither to employees who impulsively quit their jobs nor to employees who quit their jobs before even looking for alternatives.)

Just as in the case of absenteeism, managers often think of turnover as a costly behavior that must be kept to a minimum. There are certainly costs to turnover, such as the costs of hiring and training replacement employees. In addition, turnover often causes disruptions for existing members of an organization; it may result in delays on important projects; and it can cause problems when employees who quit are members of teams.

Although these and other costs of turnover can be significant, turnover can also have certain benefits for organizations. First, whether turnover is a cost or benefit depends on who is leaving. If poor performers are quitting and good performers are staying, this is an ideal situation, and managers may not want to reduce levels of turnover. Second, turnover can result in the introduction of new ideas and approaches if the organization hires newcomers with new ideas to replace employees who have left. Third, turnover can be a relatively painless and natural way to reduce the size of the workforce through attrition, the process through which people leave an organization of their own free will. Attrition can be an important benefit of turnover in lean economic times because it reduces the need for organizations to downsize their workforces. Finally, for organizations that promote from within, turnover in the upper ranks of the organization frees up some positions for promotions of lower-level members. Like absenteeism, turnover is a behavior that needs to be managed but not necessarily reduced or eliminated.

When employees voluntarily help each other out on the job, they are engaging in organizational citizenship behavior.

Michael Blann/Lifesize/Thinkstock

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Although job satisfaction is not related to job performance, new research suggests it is related to work behaviors that are of a more voluntary nature and not specifically required of employees. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is behavior above and beyond the call of duty—that is, behavior not required of organizational members but nonetheless necessary for organizational survival and effectiveness. 131 Examples of OCB include helping coworkers; protecting the organization from fire, theft, vandalism, and other misfortunes; making constructive suggestions; developing one’s skills and capabilities; and spreading goodwill in the larger community. These behaviors are seldom required of organizational members, but they are important in all organizations. Helping coworkers is an especially important form of OCB when it comes to computing in the workplace and learning new information technologies.

Organizational citizenship behavior

Behavior that is not required but is necessary for organizational survival and effectiveness.

Employees have considerable discretion over whether or not they engage in acts of organizational citizenship behavior. Most employees’ job descriptions do not require them to come up with innovative suggestions to improve the functioning of their departments. Nevertheless, employees often make valuable innovative suggestions, and it may be that employees most satisfied with their jobs are most likely to do so. Once again, because these behaviors are voluntary—that is, there are no strong situational pressures to perform them—it is likely they are influenced by attitudes such as job satisfaction. As we saw earlier, work moods are also likely to have some impact on these behaviors. Employees in positive moods are especially likely to perform forms of OCB such as helping customers or suggesting new ideas. 132

Dennis Organ of Indiana University suggests that satisfied employees may be likely to perform these behaviors because they seek to give something back to an organization that has treated them well. 133 Organ notes that most people like to have fair exchanges with the people and organizations for which they work. Because of this desire, satisfied employees may seek to reciprocate or give something back to the organization by engaging in various forms of OCB.

Because the various forms of organizational citizenship behavior are not formally required of employees, they may not be formally recognized by the organization’s reward and incentive systems. Often managers may not even be aware of these behaviors or may underestimate their occurrence (as in the case of employees helping others with their PC problems). This lack of awareness does not mean, however, that managers cannot recognize and acknowledge OCB that does occur.

The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics recognizes OCBs through its “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty Awards Program.” 134 Employees, patients, visitors, volunteers, and students who believe that a staff member, student, or volunteer has exceeded job expectations and has gone out of his or her way to help the organization achieve its goal of “excellence in service with compassion, vision, and integrity” can nominate the individual for the award on a recognition form. 135 Each month, the University of Iowa Health Care Recognition Committee reviews all the nominations that have been received and selects one nominee to be recognized by the Hospital CEO as the “CEO Above & Beyond of the Month.” 136 This nominee is presented with a certificate and pin during a special ceremony and has his or her accomplishments noted on a recognition bulletin board and in the Hospital newsletter. At the end of the year, all monthly award winners are invited to an open-house reception held in their honor. 137

Employee Well-Being

Employee well-being —how happy, healthy, and prosperous employees are—is the last potential consequence of job satisfaction we consider. Unlike absenteeism and turnover, this consequence focuses on the employee rather than the organization. If you count the number of hours of their adult lives that employees spend on the job, the number is truly mind-boggling: An employee who puts in an 8-hour day, works 5 days a week, and has 2 weeks off a year for vacation works approximately 2,000 hours a year. Over a 40-year period (from age 25 to 65), this employee clocks in some 80,000 hours on the job. (These figures don’t even touch on the amount of time employees spend thinking about their jobs during their time off and the fact that many employees work far longer hours than 40 per week.) Being dissatisfied with one’s job for a major portion of one’s working life almost certainly adversely affects well-being and general happiness. Consistent with this observation, research suggests that job satisfaction contributes to overall well-being in life. 138 According to Benjamin Amick, a professor at the University of Texas, “More satisfaction leads to improved physical and mental health and saves money through reduced health-care costs and improved productive time at work.” 139

Employee well-being

How happy, healthy, and prosperous employees are.

Organizational Commitment

Whereas job satisfaction relates to feelings and beliefs that individuals have about specific jobs, organizational commitment relates to feelings and beliefs about the employing organization as a whole. Researchers have identified two distinct types of organizational commitment: affective commitment and continuance commitment. 140 Affective commitment exists when employees are happy to be members of an organization, believe in and feel good about the organization and what it stands for, are attached to the organization, and intend to do what is good for the organization. Continuance commitment exists when employees are committed not so much because they want to be but because they have to be—when the costs of leaving the organization (loss of seniority, job security, pensions, medical benefits, and so on) are too great. 141 As you might imagine, affective commitment generally has more positive consequences for employees and organizations than continuance commitment.

Affective commitment

The commitment that exists when employees are happy to be members of an organization, believe in and feel good about the organization and what it stands for, are attached to the organization, and intend to do what is good for the organization.

Continuance Commitment

The commitment that exists when it is very costly for employees to leave an organization.

Determinants of Affective Commitment

A wide range of personality and situational factors has the potential to affect levels of affective commitment. For example, employees may be more committed to organizations that behave in a socially responsible manner and contribute to society at large. It is easier to believe in and be committed to an organization that is doing good things for society rather than causing harm, such as polluting the atmosphere. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, the ice cream company, encourages employee commitment through socially responsible corporate policies and programs that support the community and protect the environment. 142 The Body Shop, which manufactures and sells organic beauty products, engenders commitment in its employees by supporting the protection of the environment and animal rights. Employees may also be more likely to be committed to an organization that shows that it cares about its employees and values them as individuals. Managers cannot expect employees to be committed to an organization if the organization is not committed to employees and society as a whole.

Potential Consequences of Affective Commitment Managers intuitively believe that employees committed to an organization will work harder, and research has found affective commitment to have a weak positive relationship with job performance.143 However, affective commitment (like job satisfaction) may be more highly related to organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Because these behaviors are voluntary, they tend to be more directly related to employees’ attitudes toward an organization. When affective commitment is high, employees are likely to want to do what is good for the organization and, thus, perform OCBs.144 However, when continuance commitment is high, employees are not expected to go above and beyond the call of duty because their commitment is based more on necessity than a belief in what the organization stands for. Affective commitment also shows a weak, negative relationship to absenteeism and tardiness.145 A stronger, negative relationship exists between affective commitment and turnover. Employees committed to an organization are less likely to quit; their positive attitude toward the organization itself makes them reluctant to leave.146

Chapter 5 Learning and Creativity

Outline

· Overview

· The Nature of Learning

· Learning through Consequences

· Learning from Others

· Learning on Your Own

· Learning by Doing

· Continuous Learning through Creativity

· The Learning Organization

· Summary

· Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

The Nature of Learning

Learning is a relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior that results from practice or experience. 19 There are several key points in this definition. First, with learning comes change. For example, when you learn a second language, your knowledge about how to communicate evolves, and your behavior changes when communicating with native speakers of the language. Second, the change in knowledge or behavior has to be relatively permanent or long lasting. If you attempt to communicate with someone in another language by looking up words in a dictionary that you quickly forget once the interaction is complete, learning did not take place because there was no permanent change in your knowledge of the second language. The third key aspect of the definition is that learning takes place as a result of practice or through experience. Learning a second language requires much practice in pronunciation, word usage, and grammar. Similarly, through practice or experience, secretaries learn how to use new software packages, financial analysts learn the implications of new tax laws, engineers learn how to design more fuel-efficient automobiles, and flight attendants learn how to serve meals on airplanes. In this chapter, we discuss the multiple ways in which organizational members can and do learn.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in knowledge or behavior that results from practice or experience.

Learning through Consequences

One of the most fundamental ways in which people learn throughout their lives is through the consequences they receive for their behaviors and actions. Psychologist B. F. Skinner was fascinated by the power of consequences to influence behavior, and his operant conditioning approach describes how learning takes place through consequences. 20 Operant conditioning is learning that takes place when the learner recognizes the connection between a behavior and its consequences (see Exhibit 5.1 ). 21 An individual learns to engage in specific behaviors (such as being responsive to customers’ needs) in order to receive certain consequences (such as a bonus). This type of learning is called operant conditioning because individuals learn to operate in their environment in a certain way to achieve certain consequences.

Operant conditioning

Learning that takes place when the learner recognizes the connection between a behavior and its consequences.

You have probably learned that if you study hard, you will receive good grades; and, if you keep up with your reading throughout the semester, you will not be overburdened during finals week. Thus, you have learned how to operate in your environment to achieve your desired goals. In organizations, operant conditioning focuses on associating work behaviors (such as job performance, absenteeism, and lateness) with the consequences that will ensue in the employee’s environment. These include desired consequences, such as pay and verbal praise, and undesired consequences, such as reprimands.

Exhibit 5.1 Operant Conditioning

In addition to making the connection between a behavior and its consequences, antecedents play an important role in operant conditioning. Antecedents are instructions, rules, goals, advice from other members of an organization, and anything else that helps employees realize what behaviors they should and should not perform and what the consequences are for different behaviors. Antecedents play an educational role by letting employees know the organizational consequences (such as a pay raise or a promotion) for different behaviors (performing at a high level or impressing the division president during a presentation) and, thus, what behaviors they should perform. 22 For example, a rule (the antecedent) that three incidences of tardiness result in the loss of one vacation day (the consequence) lets employees know what will happen if they are continually late (the behavior).

Operant conditioning focuses on how organizations can use consequences to achieve two outcomes. One is increasing the probability that employees perform desired behaviors such as satisfying customers and coming to work on time. The other is decreasing the probability that employees perform undesired behaviors such as excessive Web surfing and making lengthy personal telephone calls at work. In the next section, we focus on the use of operant conditioning to promote desired behaviors in organizations; then, we describe how operant conditioning can be used to discourage undesired behaviors.

Encouraging Desired Behaviors through Positive and Negative Reinforcement

In operant conditioning, reinforcement is the process by which the probability that a desired behavior will occur is increased by applying consequences that depend on the behavior in question. One of a manager’s major responsibilities is to ensure that subordinates learn and continue to perform desired behaviors consistently and dependably. In operant conditioning terms, managers need to increase the chances that this will occur. For example, they may want to encourage their subordinates to sell more products; assemble computer components faster; attend work more regularly; make more consistent use of safety equipment such as helmets, earplugs, and goggles; or provide higher-quality customer service.

Reinforcement

The process by which the probability that a desired behavior will occur is increased by applying consequences that depend on the behavior.

Identifying desired behaviors

The first step in the use of reinforcement is to identify desired behaviors that the organization wants to encourage or reinforce, such as using safety equipment or giving customers good service (see Exhibit 5.1 ). Surprisingly, correctly identifying these behaviors is not as easy as it might seem.

To an outside observer, for example, paying a commission on sales seems like a logical way to encourage salespeople to learn to satisfy customers. In this example, making sales is the behavior that is the focus of the reinforcement effort. However, this approach may result in short-run sales but not necessarily satisfied, loyal customers. It might lead to salespeople adopting a hard-sell approach, pushing customers to buy items that do not really meet their needs. Thus, the behaviors that result in satisfied long-term customers—behaviors such as building long-term relationships and making sure customers buy what is right for them—have not been identified correctly. What has been identified is the amount of actual sales.

Similarly, a professor who wants to encourage students to participate in class might reason that students have to regularly attend class in order to participate. The professor might, therefore, decide to reinforce attendance by making it worth 5 percent of a student’s grade. Most students do come to class, but they do not actively participate because the behavior the professor has reinforced is attendance, not actual participation. The professor has not correctly identified the desired behavior.

When desired behaviors are identified correctly, the second step in the reinforcement process is to decide how to reinforce the behavior. In operant conditioning, there are two types of reinforcement: positive and negative. 23

Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement increases the probability that a behavior will occur by administering positive consequences to employees who perform the behavior. These positive consequences are known as positive reinforcers. To use positive reinforcement to facilitate the learning of desired behaviors, managers need to determine what consequences a given employee considers positive. Potential positive reinforcers include rewards such as higher pay, bonuses, promotions, job titles, interesting work, verbal praise, time off from work, and awards. Managers can determine whether these rewards are positively reinforcing for any given employee by seeing if that employee performs desired behaviors in order to obtain them.

Companies frequently use awards and plaques as positive reinforcers to motivate their employees. However, reinforcers differ from person to person. A money-motivated employee, for example, may be less than pleased if presented with a plaque versus a bonus check.

Creatas Images\Thinkstock

It is important to keep in mind that individuals differ in what they consider to be a positive reinforcer. An employee who is independently wealthy, for example, may not view financial rewards as a positive reinforcer but may consider interesting work very reinforcing. In contrast, an employee with many financial needs and few financial resources may have exactly opposite preferences. Similarly, getting 5 percent credit for attending class regularly might be a powerful positive reinforcer for a student who is hoping to earn an A, but not a positive reinforcer for a student who is content with a B or C in the course. Thus, managers need to take into account employees’ individual preferences for different consequences.

With a little creative thinking, organizations can use reinforcement to promote the learning and performance of a wide variety of desirable behaviors. Many companies, for example, are trying to encourage their employees to give equal opportunities to an increasingly diverse workforce, yet are having a hard time getting a specific handle on the best ways to accomplish this objective. Positive reinforcement for diversity efforts may be one strategy that organizations can use. At Colgate-Palmolive, for example, a manager’s pay is linked to diversity initiatives through the firm’s Executive Incentive Compensation Plan. According to the plan, incentive compensation (such as a yearly bonus) depends on the extent to which a manager achieves certain predetermined objectives—one of which is supporting diversity. Colgate’s diversity efforts in the United States have focused primarily on giving equal opportunities to women, African Americans, and Hispanics by having managers recruit and hire these employees, and once hired, giving them meaningful job assignments and opportunities for advancement and promotion. 24

Negative reinforcement

As in the case of positive reinforcement, subordinates experiencing negative reinforcement learn the connection between a desired organizational behavior and a consequence; however, the consequence is not a positive one that an employee wants to obtain but a negative one that the employee wishes to remove or avoid. Negative reinforcement increases the probability that a desired behavior will occur by removing, or rescinding, a negative consequence when an employee performs the behavior desired. The negative consequence removed is called a negative reinforcer. For example, if a manager complains every time an accountant turns in a report late, the complaints are a negative reinforcer if they result in the accountant learning to turn in the reports on time. By turning in reports when they are due, the accountant is able to “remove” the negative consequence of the complaints. Just as with positive reinforcement, managers need to take into account that individuals differ in what they consider to be a negative reinforcer.

Negative reinforcement

Reinforcement that increases the probability of a desired behavior by removing a negative consequence when an employee performs the behavior.

When positive and negative reinforcement is used to promote learning, it is important for the consequences to be equivalent in magnitude to the desired behavior. 25 For example, even if pay is a positive reinforcer for an employee, a small increase in pay (a $5 weekly bonus) might not be significant enough to cause the employee to perform a desired behavior (say, make follow-up calls to all new customers). In the same way, 5 percent of the course grade might not be a big enough reinforcer to cause chronically absent students to come to class, and a professor’s complaints in class might not be a big enough negative reinforcer to get some students to participate in class discussions (and by doing so, stop the professor from complaining).

Using reinforcement appropriately

In general, positive reinforcement is better for employees, managers, and the organization as a whole than negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement often has unintended side effects and makes for an unpleasant work environment. For example, a supervisor who continually complains may be resented and disliked. Even if positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement are equally successful in encouraging desired behaviors, the person or organization providing the reinforcement is likely to be viewed much more positively when positive reinforcement is consistently used.

When using reinforcement to promote the learning of desired behaviors in organizations, managers need to exercise some caution: When certain behaviors receive extensive reinforcement and others do not, employees may tend to focus on the former and ignore the latter. For example, if salespeople are paid solely on a commission basis, they may focus on making quick sales, and in doing so, may not perform the behaviors necessary for building long-term customer satisfaction (like making follow-up calls and service reminders, for example). Similarly, managers have to be careful to identify the right behaviors to reinforce.

Reinforcement schedules

Managers using reinforcement to encourage the learning and performance of desired behaviors must choose whether to use continuous or partial reinforcement. When reinforcement is continuous, a behavior is reinforced every time it occurs. When reinforcement is partial, a behavior is reinforced intermittently. Continuous reinforcement can result in faster learning than can partial reinforcement. But if the reinforcement for some reason is curtailed, continuously reinforced behaviors will stop occurring more quickly than partially reinforced behaviors.

Practical considerations often dictate whether reinforcement should be continuous or partial. A manager who is trying to encourage employees to use safety equipment, for example, may find continuous reinforcement infeasible: If she has to continually monitor her subordinates’ use of safety equipment, she will never be able to get any work done.

Managers who decide to use partial reinforcement can choose from four schedules of partial reinforcement. 26 With a fixed-interval schedule, the period of time between the occurrence of each instance of reinforcement is fixed or set. An insurance agent whose supervisor takes him out to lunch at a fancy restaurant on the last Friday of the month if he has written a large number of policies during that month is being reinforced on a fixed-interval schedule. Once the supervisor has taken the agent out to lunch, a month will pass before the supervisor takes him out again for performing well. If in any given month, the agent writes only a few policies, the supervisor does not treat him to lunch.

With a variable-interval schedule, the amount of time between reinforcements varies around a constant average. The owner of a car wash company who every so often watches each employee work on a car and praises those who do a good job is following a variable-interval schedule. The owner may watch and reinforce a given employee once a week, once every three weeks, or once a month, but over a six-month period the average amount of time between reinforcements is two weeks.

With a fixed-ratio schedule, a certain number of desired behaviors must occur before reinforcement is provided. Employees who are paid $5 for every three circuit boards they assemble are being reinforced on a fixed-ratio schedule. Many piece-rate pay plans currently in use at companies such as Lincoln Electric follow a fixed-ratio schedule. 27

With a variable-ratio schedule, the number of desired behaviors that must occur before reinforcement varies around a constant average. A manager who allows an employee to leave early after she has stayed late for several evenings is following a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement. Sometimes the manager allows the employee to leave early after working two late evenings, at other times after four late evenings, but over time the average is three evenings.

The choice of a schedule of partial reinforcement often depends on practical considerations: the particular behavior encouraged, the type of reinforcer used, or the nature of the employee’s job. The specific type of schedule chosen is not as important as the fact that reinforcement is based on the performance of desired behaviors: Learning takes place only when the provision of a reinforcer depends on performance of a desired behavior.

Shaping

Sometimes a desired behavior is unlikely to occur on its own or at any given point in time because an individual does not have the skills and knowledge necessary to perform the behavior or because the behavior can only evolve out of practice or experience. Consider, for example, a trainee who is learning to drive a bus in New York City. At the beginning of her training conducted by the firm’s driving instructor, the trainee is unlikely to drive the bus properly and thus cannot be reinforced for this desired behavior. The instructor can use reinforcement to stimulate learning, however, by reinforcing successively closer approximations to the desired behavior (in this case, the proper handling of the bus in city traffic). Suppose the trainee initially jumps the curb when making left turns but after her sixth trip finally makes a turn that is still too wide but does not jump the curb. Even though the behavior was not at its ideal level, because the turn was a bit wider than it should have been, this improved behavior is positively reinforced by verbal praise from the instructor to increase the probability that it will occur again.

The reinforcement of successive and closer approximations to a desired behavior is known as shaping . 28 Shaping is particularly effective when employees need to learn complicated sequences of behavior. When it is unlikely that employees will be able to perform the desired behaviors all at once, managers reinforce closer and closer approximations to the desired behavior to encourage employees to gradually acquire the skills and expertise needed to perform at an adequate level.

Shaping

The reinforcement of successive and closer approximations to a desired behavior.

Discouraging Undesired Behaviors through Extinction and Punishment

Just as managers need to ensure that employees learn to perform desired behaviors dependably, they also need to ensure that employees learn not to perform undesired behaviors. Examples of undesired behaviors in organizations include (among hundreds of others) excessive absenteeism, excessive Web surfing on company time, operating heavy equipment such as bulldozers and cranes in a dangerous fashion, and sexual harassing other employees. Two main operant conditioning techniques reduce the probability of undesired behaviors: extinction and punishment (see Exhibit 5.1 ).

Extinction

According to the principles of operant conditioning, all behaviors—good and bad—are controlled by reinforcing consequences. Thus, any behavior that occurs is performed because the individual is receiving some form of reinforcement for it. If managers wish to lessen the probability that an undesired behavior will occur, they need to first determine what is currently reinforcing the behavior and then remove the source of reinforcement. Once the undesired behavior ceases to be reinforced, its frequency diminishes until it no longer occurs. This process is called extinction .

Extinction

The lessening of undesired behavior by removing the source of reinforcement.

Suppose every time a manager has a meeting with one of her subordinates, Sam, he always tells jokes and fools around. At first, the manager thinks Sam’s joking is harmless, but soon she realizes that the meetings are taking twice as long as they should, that certain items on the agenda are getting short shrift, and that Sam is having a hard time remembering the important points made during the meeting. After attending a management development seminar on operant conditioning, the manager realizes that she is actually positively reinforcing Sam’s behavior by laughing at his jokes. At the next meeting, she treats Sam cordially but refrains from laughing at his jokes. Sam looks a little perplexed, but soon stops joking and takes the meetings more seriously.

This example illustrates that extinction can be a relatively painless way to reduce the occurrence of undesired behaviors. The supervisor had considered talking directly to Sam or criticizing his behavior at their next meeting. Eliminating Sam’s positive reinforcement for horsing around probably did less to hurt his feelings and disrupt their otherwise good relationship.

Punishment

Managers do not have the time to wait for extinction to lessen or eliminate some undesired behaviors. Certain behaviors are so detrimental or dangerous they need to stop immediately. Just as a parent cannot rely on extinction to stop a child from touching a hot stove, a manager cannot rely on extinction to eliminate highly undesirable behaviors in the workplace such as sexual harassment or operating heavy equipment in a dangerous fashion. Under such circumstances, a manager can try to eliminate undesired behavior by using punishment —administering a negative consequence when the undesired behavior occurs.

Punishment

The administration of a negative consequence when undesired behavior occurs.

In operant conditioning, punishment and negative reinforcement are often confused. Students, employees, and managers alike think these two techniques for managing behavior are similar or have the same result. However, they differ from each other in two important ways. First, punishment reduces the probability of an undesired behavior; negative reinforcement increases the probability of a desired behavior. Second, punishment involves administering a negative consequence when an undesired behavior occurs; negative reinforcement entails removing a negative consequence when a desired behavior occurs. Exhibit 5.2 summarizes the effects of the different operant conditioning techniques managers can use to encourage the performance of desired behaviors and eliminate undesired behaviors.

Managers need to take into account the fact that people differ in what they consider to be punishment. If being scolded by a supervisor after coming to work late is a source of punishment for one employee, then that employee will try as hard as possible not to be late after receiving a scolding. But an employee who hardly gives the scolding a second thought will come to work late again the next day. Some forms of punishment that organizations typically use are verbal reprimands, reductions in pay, elimination of privileges (such as personal days an employee can take off at his or her discretion), and temporary suspension. Organizations sometimes use a system of progressive punishment to try to curtail undesired behavior: the more an employee engages in the behavior, the stricter the punishment becomes.

Punishment can have some unexpected side effects and should be used only when necessary. It not only has the potential to threaten the employee’s self-respect but can also create so much resentment and negative feelings toward the punisher and organization as a whole that the employee might want to retaliate. Thus, when punishment is used, managers need to be very careful that, while eliminating the undesired behavior, they do not create excessive hostility or negative feelings.

The following guidelines can help to ensure that punishment has its intended effect and does not generate negative side effects:

· Try to downplay the emotional element involved in punishment. Remember: you are punishing the person’s undesirable behavior, not the person.

· Make sure the chosen negative consequence is indeed a punishment for the individual, and punish the undesired behavior immediately. 29 Make sure employees know why they are being punished.

Technique	How Consequence Is Administered	Effect on Behavior	Example
Positive reinforcement	Positive consequence is given when desired behavior is performed	Increases probability of desired behavior	Employee is praised for cleaning up work station
Negative reinforcement	Negative consequence is removed when desired behavior is performed	Increases probability of desired behavior	Supervisor complains about messy work station and stops only when worker cleans it
Extinction	Positive consequence is removed when undesired behavior is performed	Decreases probability of undesired behavior	Manager refrains from laughing at a subordinate's disruptive jokes when the two have important matters to discuss
Punishment	Negative consequence is given when undesired behavior is performed	Decreases probability of undesired behavior	Manager criticizes subordinate for telling disruptive jokes when the two have important matters to discuss

· Exhibit 5.2 Operant Conditioning Techniques

· Try to avoid punishing an employee in front of others. Although public punishment might seem like a good idea because it serves as a warning to others, it is likely to humiliate the individual being punished, reduce his or her esteem, and make coworkers uncomfortable. Remember: the key goal is to eliminate a person’s undesirable behavior, not his or her self-respect.

· When possible, provide employees with a desired behavior in place of the undesired behavior.

When a manager does not follow those guidelines, not only is the individual who is being punished likely to suffer, but so too are his or her coworkers, the manager, and the whole organization.

Organizational Behavior Modification

The systematic application of the principles of operant conditioning for learning desired behaviors is called organizational behavior modification (OB MOD) . OB MOD has been successfully used to improve productivity, attendance, punctuality, safe work practices, customer service, and other important behaviors in a wide variety of kinds of organizations such as banks, department stores, factories, hospitals, and construction sites. 30 OB MOD can be used to encourage the learning of desired organizational behaviors as well as to discourage undesired behaviors.

Organizational behavior modification (OB MOD)

The systematic application of the principles of operant conditioning for teaching and managing important organizational behaviors.

Organizations that successfully use OB MOD follow a five-step process: identify, measure, analyze, intervene, and evaluate. 31

Identify the behavior to be learned

OB MOD should be used to encourage behaviors that can be observed by others (and can, therefore, be reinforced), are important for task performance, and can be measured. Examples include attendance, punctuality, the use of safety equipment, sales goals, customer service levels, productivity, and quality control. 32 The work behaviors also should be relevant to the job and to organizational performance. For example, at the Treehouse Day Care Center in Chicago, the director of the center has identified punctuality as a critical behavior in need of improvement. OB MOD has been successfully used to promote desired behaviors ranging from safe driving by city bus drivers and timely and error-free registration and admittance procedures performed by hospital administrators to safe mining practices followed in open pit mines. It has also been used to encourage bank tellers to establish eye contact with their customers and greet them by name, to improve the productivity of vineyard pruners, and to improve the output of factory workers. 33

Measure the frequency of the behavior

Before any actions are taken, it is important to get a baseline measure of how often the identified behavior occurs. For example, the director of Treehouse measured the punctuality of the center’s staff over a two-week period and discovered that each staff member was late around three times per week.

Analyze the antecedents and consequences of the behavior

Once the frequency of the behavior has been determined, it is important to identify the current antecedents and consequences of the behavior. At Treehouse, the director realized that while it was assumed staff would come to work on time for their shifts, there were no actual antecedents in place to cue punctuality. In terms of consequences, the director would occasionally reprimand workers who were excessively late for their shifts, and other staff members would occasionally complain when they had to remain on the job past their own quitting time because staff members on the next shift were late. However, the director realized there were no positive reinforcers in place to actually promote punctuality.

Intervene to change the frequency of the behavior

Interventions can include introducing antecedents and applying operant conditioning techniques including positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. Remember, whenever feasible, positive reinforcement is preferred to negative reinforcement and extinction is preferred to punishment. At Treehouse’s next staff meeting, the director stressed how important punctuality was to the quality of child care, how important state-mandated children-to-caregiver ratios were, and the importance of being considerate to other staff members (who have to fill in for those who are late). The director also had a plaque made that summarized the reasons why “Punctuality Benefits Us All,” which was hung next to the center’s bulletin board. In addition to cuing punctuality with these antecedents, the director also positively reinforced punctuality in two ways. First, each week, staff staff members arriving on time were given verbal praise from the director. Second, staff with perfect punctuality records each month were allowed to take a half-day off the following month.

Evaluate whether the intervention was successful in changing behavior

At this last step, the frequency of the behavior is again measured to determine if the intervention was successful. If the behavior has been successfully modified, then all that needs to be done at this step is to maintain the intervention (for example, continue to use the antecedents and positive reinforcers from the prior step to encourage the behavior). If the behavior has not been successfully modified, then managers need to reconsider their intervention methods and modify them accordingly and/or reconsider the behavior they originally identified. At Treehouse, the director measured the punctuality of the staff over a two-week period following the intervention and was delighted to discover that no staff members were late for their shifts during the entire two weeks.

Research suggests that when OB MOD is appropriately used, it can be highly effective when it comes to promoting desirable organizational behavior. 34 For example, a recent review of research on OB MOD showed that it improved employee performance by 17 percent on average. In a recent field experiment conducted by Alexander Stajkovic and Fred Luthans in a division of a large organization that processes credit card bills, it was found that OB MOD resulted in a 37 percent increase in performance when the reinforced behavior included financial incentives. 35 Interestingly, when performance was positively reinforced by simple supervisory feedback, the performance of employees increased by 20 percent. When social recognition and praise were used, performance increased by 24 percent. 36

Ethical Issues in OB MOD

There is some controversy surrounding the use of OB MOD in organizations. Proponents rightfully claim that OB MOD is a useful way to manage important organizational behaviors. Research indicating that OB MOD can be successfully used to increase productivity and cut down on accidents, waste, and absenteeism is certainly consistent with this view. Opponents of OB MOD, however, complain that it is overly controlling. These critics believe that managers who explicitly manipulate consequences to control behavior strip employees of their dignity, freedom of choice, and individuality. They also believe that treating employees in such a cut-and-dried fashion may, over time, rob them of the initiative they might otherwise have had to respond appropriately to changing conditions.

Moreover, employees who are managed in such a fashion may refrain from performing important organizational behaviors that are not specifically part of their job duties, such as helping coworkers or coming up with new and good ideas, because these behaviors often cannot be assigned in advance and appropriately reinforced. These voluntary behaviors are essential for organizational survival and effectiveness but may not be covered by an organization’s formal system of rewards because they are performed voluntarily. When employees are managed according to the principles of operant conditioning, they may become so reinforcement oriented that they refrain from doing anything that is not reinforced.

There is no clear-cut answer to the ethical dilemma posed by OB MOD, and there are counterarguments to each of the anti–OB MOD positions. In response to the criticism that OB MOD strips employees of their freedom of choice and individuality, for example, OB MOD proponents might assert that whether an employee performs a behavior or not is ultimately his or her own choice and that operant conditioning takes individuality into account when the individual preferences of different reinforcers are considered. Nonetheless, as a manager, it is important to be aware of the issues raised by this debate and think through their implications from one’s own perspective. Additionally, any use of OB MOD must conform to employment laws. For example, in California and many other states, labor laws require that employers compensate employees for overtime work, even if they are paid on a piece-rate basis, to encourage them to produce products as quickly as possible. 37

Learning from Others

Although operant conditioning accurately describes some of the major factors that influence learning in organizations, certain aspects of learning are not covered in this theory. To get a more complete picture of how members of an organization learn, we now turn to social cognitive theory

Social cognitive theory

A learning theory that takes into account the fact that thoughts, feelings, and the social environment influence learning.

Exhibit 5.3 Social Cognitive Theory

(also referred to as social learning theory). Albert Bandura, one of the principal contributors to social cognitive theory, suggests that any attempt to understand how people learn must also take into account a person’s feelings and thoughts (cognitions) and their observations of the world around them (that is, their social environment; see Exhibit 5.3 ). Social cognitive theory acknowledges the importance of the person in the learning process by taking cognitive processes into account. 38

Cognitive processes are the various thought processes that people engage in. When people form attributions (see Chapter 4 ), for example, they are engaging in a cognitive process to determine why a person has performed a specific behavior. From the perspective of social cognitive theory, employees actively process information from the social environment and those around them when they learn. 39

Cognitive processes

Thought processes.

Suppose you study hard, yet do poorly in one of your classes. A friend of yours doesn’t seem to put in as much time as you do yet maintains a B+ average in the class. You think you are just as smart as your friend and notice how your friend studies for the class: he takes detailed notes in class, highlights the chapters, then summarizes the key points, and goes to see the professor whenever he is confused. You start doing this yourself, your grades improve, and you think you can salvage a B in the course after all. This example demonstrates how you have learned from observing another person. In learning how to do well in the class, your thoughts about your poor performance and about your friend’s relatively good performance, your observations of how your friend studies for the class, your belief that you are just as smart as your friend, and your decision to copy your friend’s approach to studying were the steps you took to learn how to perform well in the class.

In social cognitive theory, learning from observing others perform a behavior is called vicarious learning . When vicarious learning occurs, a person (the learner) observes another person (the model) perform a behavior. The learner observes the effect of the model’s behavior on the environment (is it reinforced?), and when an appropriate situation arises, the learner imitates the model’s behavior.

Vicarious learning

Learning that occurs when one person learns a behavior by watching another person perform the behavior.

Several conditions must be met for vicarious learning to take place: 40

· The learner must observe the model when he or she is performing the behavior.

· The learner must accurately perceive the model’s behavior.

· The learner must remember the behavior.

· The learner must have the skills and abilities necessary to perform the behavior.

· The learner must see that the model receives reinforcement for the behavior in question. If the model is not reinforced (or is punished) for the behavior, there is obviously no incentive for the learner to imitate the behavior.

Learning on Your Own

Social cognitive theory acknowledges that people can learn on their own by using self-control —learning to perform a behavior even though there is no external pressure to do so. Several conditions indicate that a person is using self-control: 51

Self-control

Self-discipline that allows a person to learn to perform a behavior even though there is no external pressure to do so.

1. An individual must engage in a low-probability behavior. A low-probability behavior is a behavior that a person would ordinarily not want to perform. This condition distinguishes individuals exhibiting self-control from those engaging in activities they enjoy. For example, Sylvia Crano, an administrative secretary, has had a new software package for graphics sitting on her desk for the past six months. She hates learning how to use new software and, fortunately, her boss hasn’t put any pressure on her to learn the new software. Taking the initiative to learn how to use the new software is a low-probability response for Crano. If she bites the bullet and comes in one Saturday to learn it, Crano will be exhibiting self-control.

2. Self-reinforcers must be available to the learner. Self-reinforcers are any consequences or rewards that individuals give to themselves. Potential self-reinforcers include buying oneself a present, eating a favorite food, going out to a movie, getting some extra sleep, and going out with friends. Sometimes self-reinforcement comes simply from a feeling of accomplishment or achievement. In the past, when Sylvia Crano has accomplished a particularly difficult task, she has rewarded or reinforced herself by buying a new CD or having lunch with a friend.

Self-reinforcers

Consequences or rewards that individuals can give to themselves.

3. The learner must set goals that determine when self-reinforcement takes place. When self-control takes place, people do not indiscriminately reward themselves but set goals that determine when they will self-reinforce. How do people determine these goals or standards? Essentially, they rely on their own past performance, the performance of others on similar kinds of tasks, or some socially acquired performance standard. Crano’s goal was to complete the software’s tutorial and use the new program to reproduce some graphs she had done previously.

4. The learner must administer the reinforcer when the goal is achieved. Crano allowed herself to have lunch out with her friend only when she was able to use the new software to reproduce her existing graphs.

When employees care about their work and doing a good job, they often engage in self-control. When employees engage in self-control, managers should avoid closely supervising their work.

Siri Stafford/Photodisc/Thinkstock

All people engage in self-control and self-reinforcement to learn behaviors on and off the job. These activities can range from the relatively mundane (such as cutting short a lunch hour to catch up on e-mails) to the more involved (learning how to appropriately give subordinates negative feedback). Managers need to be aware that self-control takes place at work, especially when individuals are interested in and care about their work. When opportunities for self-control are present and employees engage in it, managers do not need to take as active a role in controlling behavior and consequences because employees are taking responsibility for learning and performing desired behaviors themselves. In such cases, the managers’ efforts at control may be not only redundant but counterproductive because they may irritate and anger those who are self-controlled. Instead of trying to control individuals like this, managers would be wise to focus their efforts on those who need more guidance.

Employees who manage their own behavior through self-control are often said to be self-managing. Sometimes, however, employees may need a bit of coaching and guidance to become truly self-managing. Managers can provide the training and support employees need to develop self-management skills and put them to use. Some organizations such as National Semiconductor explicitly recognize this need and have formal programs in place to teach self-management. 52

Beliefs about One’s Ability to Learn: The Role of Self-Efficacy

Social cognitive theory also emphasizes the importance of self-efficacy —a person’s belief about his or her ability to perform a particular behavior successfully—in the learning process. 53 One secretary may believe that she can learn how to use a new software package on her own, and another may have strong doubts about his ability to learn new software without taking a formal training course. Self-efficacy has powerful effects on learning because people try to learn only those behaviors that they think they will be able to perform successfully. 54 Self-efficacy affects learning in three ways: 55

Self-efficacy

A person’s belief about his or her ability to perform a particular behavior successfully.

1. Self-efficacy influences the activities and goals that individuals choose for themselves: Employees with a low level of self-efficacy may never try to learn how to perform challenging tasks because they think they will fail at them. Such employees tend to set relatively low goals for themselves. Conversely, an individual with high self-efficacy is likely to try to learn how to perform demanding tasks and set high personal goals. Consistent with this reasoning, research has found that individuals not only learn but also perform at levels consistent with their self-efficacy beliefs. Employees learn what they think they are able to learn.

2. Self-efficacy affects learning by influencing the effort that individuals exert on the job: Employees with high self-efficacy generally work hard to learn how to perform new behaviors because they are confident that their efforts will be successful. Employees with low self-efficacy may exert less effort when learning how to perform complicated or difficult behaviors, not because they are lazy but because they don’t think the effort will pay off. Their lack of confidence in their ability to succeed causes them to think that exerting a lot of effort is futile because they are likely to fail anyway.

3. Self-efficacy affects the persistence with which a person tries to master new and sometimes difficult tasks: Because employees with high self-efficacy are confident that they can learn how to perform a given task, they are likely to persist in their efforts even in the face of temporary setbacks or problems.

If employees believe that they will be successful in performing certain tasks, they are more likely to learn the behaviors associated with those tasks.

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Conversely, employees with low self-efficacy, who think they are unlikely to learn a difficult task, are likely to give up as soon as an obstacle appears or the going gets a little tough. Consistent with this reasoning, in a recent review of the extensive literature on self-efficacy, Albert Bandura and Ed Locke concluded that self-efficacy is a powerful determinant of job performance. 56

Sources of Self-Efficacy

Because self-efficacy can have such powerful effects on learning and performance in organizations, it is important to identify where it comes from. Bandura has identified four principal sources. 57

Past performance is one of the most powerful sources of self-efficacy. Employees who have succeeded on job-related activities in the past are likely to have higher self-efficacy for such activities than employees who have failed. Managers can boost low levels of self-efficacy by ensuring that employees can and do succeed on certain tasks. “Small successes” boost self-efficacy and enable more substantial accomplishments in the future.

Vicarious experience or observation of others is another source of self-efficacy. Seeing coworkers succeed at a particular task may heighten the observer’s self-efficacy. Conversely, seeing coworkers fail is likely to discourage the observer.

Verbal persuasion—that is, trying to convince people that they have the ability to learn and succeed at a particular task—can give rise to self-efficacy. Research has shown that when managers are confident that their subordinates can succeed at a particular task, the subordinates actually perform at a higher level. 58

An individual’s reading of his or her internal physiological states is the fourth source of self-efficacy that Bandura identified. 59 A person who expects to fail at some task or to find something too demanding is likely to experience certain physiological symptoms: a pounding or racing heart, feeling flushed, sweaty hands, headaches, and so on. The particular symptoms vary from individual to individual but over time become associated with doing poorly. If the symptoms start to occur in any given situation, self-efficacy for dealing with that situation may plummet.

Consider the case of Michael Pulinski, who was facing an important job interview. Pulinski really wanted to get this job and had spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the interview. He was familiar with the company and had prepared good questions to ask the interviewer about the job. He also had thoroughly rehearsed answers to typical interview questions (such as “Where do you see yourself in five years?”) and had bought a new suit for the occasion. The day of the interview, Pulinski got up feeling quite good and was actually looking forward to the interview and to demonstrating that he was the right candidate for the job. He arrived to the interview a little early and paged through a recent copy of Business Week in the reception area. As he was thinking about how much this job meant to him, he started getting nervous. He could feel his face getting flushed, his hands were sweaty, and his heart started pounding in his chest. Pulinski’s self-efficacy plummeted. Because of these physical symptoms, he decided that he was much too nervous to make a good impression in the interview. Unfortunately, his low self-efficacy resulted in his not doing well in the interview and failing to get a job offer.

Learning by Doing Some learning takes place by actually engaging in a new or different activity. Often referred to as experiential learning, this learning occurs by the direct involvement of the learner in the subject matter being learned—learning by doing, in other words.60 Consider, for example, how people learn to be air traffic controllers. They, of course, can read reference books on air traffic patterns, study Federal Aviation Administration rules and regulations, learn how to communicate with pilots who are flying planes, and study the configurations of different airports. However, if they only rely on these kinds of activities, they will never be an effective and safe air traffic controller. What’s missing? Learning by doing. In order to master air traffic controlling, it is essential that prospective controllers learn their jobs by doing them. Clearly, it would be too dangerous for them to learn how to be an air traffic controller while directing real traffic in airspace. But they can and do learn by performing realistic simulations of actual air traffic controllers’ jobs using the same equipment they will be using on the job. Similarly, the training new drivers receive at Integrad described in the opening case learn how to safely and efficiently drive UPS trucks and deliver packages by performing simulations and driving UPS trucks and making deliveries in Clarksville. Experiential learning Learning that occurs by the direct involvement of the learner in the subject matter being learned (that is, learning by doing). Learning by doing is an important component of many kinds of jobs and occupations ranging from landscape architecture and nursing to sports, acting, and surgery. Moreover, learning by doing it not just important in order to be able to be able to execute technical, physical, or artistic tasks well—it is also important for interpersonal skills. Recall how trainees at UPS’s Integrad learn how to work as part of a team from the opening case. Continuous Learning through Creativity Creativity is the generation of novel and useful ideas.61 By novel we mean ideas that represent new ways of thinking. By useful we mean ideas that have the potential to contribute to the performance and well-being of individuals, groups, and organizations. When people are creative, they are engaged in continuous learning, whether it is to discover a vaccine for the HIV virus that causes AIDS, develop a new design for kitchen cabinets, or successfully revive a classic car model such as the Volkswagon Beetle. The idea of easy-to-use stick-on notes (Post-it NotesTM), the idea of offering healthy foods like salads in fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s, and the idea of flexible work schedules—all are examples of the results of creativity. Creative ideas such as these are novel and useful responses to problems and opportunities and result from continuous learning. Continuous learning through creativity is key to remaining competitive in today’s global economy. Creativity The generation of novel and useful ideas. Innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas.62 The 3MTM Corporation innovated when it successfully manufactured and marketed Post-it NotesTM; Apple Computer innovated when it designed and built the first personal computer, and it continues to innovate today with its new product offerings and new ways to enhance consumers’ shopping experience in its Apple Stores. Innovation The successful implementation of creative ideas. The Creative Process Each instance of creativity seems unique because an individual or group has come up with something that seems totally new or different. The creative process, however, usually entails a number of learning steps (see Exhibit 5.4).63 The first two steps are recognizing a problem or opportunity and gathering information. Sometimes the first step entails learning that something people think is a problem really isn’t. Decades ago, some well-intentioned, but misinformed, educators thought it was a problem to be left-handed; so when left-handed children were learning how to write, they were urged to use their right hands no matter how awkward or difficult it was. Sometimes the problem needs redefining, in other words. Tooth decay in toddlers, for example, is not so much a function of what toddlers eat and drink but how and when they do it. (The real culprit is drinking from Exhibit 5.4 The Creative Process a bottle, especially right before bedtime.) Identifying a problem is also part of this first step—for example, recognizing that excessive exposure to the sun can lead to cancer—as is recognizing a potential opportunity—for example, that reality shows appeal greatly to today’s TV viewers.64 An important part of learning about a problem or opportunity is involved in the second step—gathering information. Here, too, learning takes place as the learner figures out what kind of information to gather. In the process of gathering information, the learner might decide the problem or opportunity has been defined too broadly or too narrowly. He or she may then go back to step one and redefine the problem or opportunity before proceeding to learn about which information to gather and how to find it. The third step in the creative process is the production of ideas. Once learners have gathered information, they need to come up with potential responses to problems or opportunities. During the production of ideas, it is important that learners feel free to come up with ideas that seem far-fetched or off the wall. Once the ideas have been produced, learners are then ready for the fourth step of the creative process: selecting the idea or ideas they think will be useful. Sometimes learners assess each idea according to some criterion they may have previously determined to be important, such as the estimated annual sales of a new type of digital camera or the amount of computer memory needed to run a program. At this step, the information gathered during the second step can be helpful in evaluating the usefulness of each idea generated. Once one or more ideas have been selected, it is time for implementation. At this stage in the creative process, innovation kicks in. Can the organization successfully implement the creative ideas it has developed and chosen to pursue? Although the steps in the creative process are described previously and are shown in Exhibit 5.4 as if they always occur in a certain sequence, the order in which they occur is not fixed, nor does each step have to take place for creativity to occur. Many organizations are relying on innovation labs with open spaces and comfortable surroundings to bring teams together to create new products and services. South Korean consumer electronics giant, Samsung Electronics, has taken this concept one step further with its Value Innovation Program Center (VIP Center).65 Creating new products at rapid-fire speed is key to Samsung’s success. Many of these products are developed in the VIP Center located in a five-story building in Suwon, South Korea. Researchers, engineers, and product designers are brought to the Center to brainstorm new ideas for products, solve design problems, cut costs, and create and innovate.66 The Center boasts training rooms; work rooms for teams; a kitchen; a relaxation center in the basement with a sauna, gym, billiards, and ping-pong (though apparently, employees are often too busy to relax); and a dormitory with 42 rooms on the fifth floor. The presence of the dormitory speaks to the intense, round-the-clock creating that takes place in the VIP Center. In fact, when employees are working on a project or trying to solve a problem, they are often expected to stay at the Center until their problem is solved or their project has progressed.67 Creativity and the creative process, by their nature, are hard to predict. It is difficult to tell in advance, for example, which decision makers will come up with creative ideas. Some people are naturally more creative than others, but, under the right circumstances, a person who is not very creative may come up with a creative solution. Evidence also shows that creativity is more likely to occur in some groups and organizations than in others. Researchers who have tried to Exhibit 5.5 Determinants of Creativity identify some of the determinants of creativity have found that characteristics of individual decision makers and of the situations in which they make decisions contribute to creativity. Characteristics of Employees That Contribute to Creativity Numerous characteristics of employees have been linked to creativity, but the ones that seem to be most relevant to understanding creativity in organizations are personal characteristics or individual differences, task-relevant knowledge, and intrinsic motivation (see Exhibit 5.5). These characteristics contribute to creativity whether employees work individually or in groups. Although these factors contribute to creativity, they do not, of course, guarantee that any given employee or group of employees will be creative. And the lack, or low level, of any of these factors does not mean that a person or group will not or cannot be creative. Creativity is determined by the interaction or joint effects of a number of factors. Individual differences In Chapter 2, we described a variety of ways in which people differ from each other and some of the personality traits and abilities especially relevant to understanding and managing organizational behavior. At least three of the personality traits we discussed earlier are likely to contribute to creativity.68 Recall that one of the Big Five general personality traits is openness to experience, which captures the extent to which an individual is original, is open to a wide variety of stimuli, has broad interests, and is willing to take risks. How does openness to experience contribute to creativity? It helps employees come up with new ideas and ways of doing things, and it helps to ensure that employees are willing to take the risks involved in proposing unusual ideas. As illustrated in the following OB Today, entrepreneurs and inventors are often high on openness to experience.

Task-relevant knowledge

Task-relevant knowledge is all of the information, skills, and expertise that an individual or group has about the kind of work being performed. 79 Without task-relevant knowledge, it would be difficult for an architect to come up with a creative design for a new building, for a doctor to find a new way to treat arthritis, or for a secretary to discover a unique and useful filing system. To generate creative responses, the architect needs a good understanding of building design and architectural principles, the doctor needs knowledge pertaining to medicine in general and to arthritis in particular, and the secretary needs to be familiar with the kinds of information to be filed, the ways in which it needs to be accessed, and how frequently it’s accessed.

Intrinsic motivation

In Chapter 6 , we distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For intrinsically motivated employees, the source of motivation is the work itself. These employees enjoy performing their jobs, often love their work, and get a sense of personal satisfaction when they do a good job or come up with a creative idea. Extrinsically motivated employees may perform at a high level, but the source of their motivation is external; they are motivated by, for example, the pay they receive and the chances of receiving a bonus, raise, or promotion—positive reinforcers provided by others, in other words.

In general, employees are more likely to be creative when they are intrinsically motivated. 80 The high level of involvement in the work that intrinsic motivation brings seems to spur creativity.

Characteristics of the Organizational Situation That Contribute to Creativity

Although certain individuals may be more likely than others to be creative, creativity is also more likely to occur in certain situations than in others. Four situational characteristics are likely to affect creativity: level of autonomy, form of evaluation, reward system, and the importance of a task or problem (see Exhibit 5.5 ).

Level of autonomy

More than 70 percent of the research and development (R&D) scientists who participated in a study of creativity indicated that autonomy was an important factor in instances of creativity that they were involved in or observed in their organizations. 81 Autonomy is the freedom and independence to make decisions and have personal control over one’s work on a day-to-day basis. A high degree of autonomy is good for creativity. And when autonomy is low, creativity is unlikely.

Form of evaluation

Imagine how William Shakespeare would have felt when he was writing some of his masterpieces if a supervisor had been standing over his shoulder critiquing scenes or bits of dialog that didn’t sound quite right (“A hero who believes in ghosts, talks to himself a lot, and kills his girlfriend’s father? I don’t think so, Will”) and criticizing him when he took too long to complete a play. In all likelihood, these kinds of actions would have hampered some of Shakespeare’s creativity.

Creative people and employees like to know how they are doing and to receive feedback and encouragement. But overly evaluative feedback and criticism can hamper creativity because it can make employees afraid to take risks. 82 If there is a strong likelihood that your boss will criticize the far-out idea you come up with, you may not risk expressing it. However, if your boss is interested in your ideas, provides constructive comments about how they may be improved, and points out some of their pros and cons, you may be encouraged to come up with an even better idea.

Reward system

People who come up with creative ideas like to be rewarded for them. But what happens if employees think that their salaries, bonuses, and chances for promotion hinge on their almost always being right, rarely or never making mistakes, and always being efficient in their use of time? Their creativity may be hampered, and they may be unlikely to take risks to come up with and choose creative responses to problems and opportunities. 83 By definition, creative responses are new, and there is always the potential that they may fail.

To help promote creativity, an organization’s reward system should recognize and reward hard work and creativity. Creative employees and others in the organization need to see that hard work and creativity are recognized, appreciated, and rewarded—for example, through bonuses and raises. It is important, however, that these rewards not be seen as an attempt to control behavior and that employees do not feel they are closely watched and rewarded based on what is observed. 84 It also is important that employees are not punished when some of their creative ideas do not pan out. Indeed, if employers want creativity, they need to encourage organizational members to take reasonable risks and be willing to accept failure.

By now it should be clear to you that OB Mod should not be used for behaviors that involve creativity or when creativity is desired. OB Mod assumes that desired behaviors can be objectively determined in advance; this is impossible for any kind of creative activity, which, by definition, is novel or new. Moreover, the relatively rigid matching of behavior and consequences in OB Mod ensures that any out-of-the-ordinary behavior (which could be creative) is discouraged. More generally, principles of operant conditioning, which are useful for learning desired behaviors that can be determined in advance, should not be used for creative kinds of work and tasks. However, even when creativity is desired, principles from operant conditioning can be used to promote the learning of certain kinds of behavior, such as using safety equipment, which can be objectively specified in advance. For example, suppose a welder is trying to come up with a way to join thin steel cylinders so that the place where they are joined together is invisible to the naked eye. In order to come up with the new procedure or process, the welder should have autonomy to experiment, and consequences such as rewards should not be directly linked to his or her current behaviors or else his or her creativity will be hampered. However, a priori, her supervisor knows that she must wear safety goggles and follow certain safety procedures—for these kinds of behaviors, operant conditioning can be beneficial.

Importance of a task

Being creative is intrinsically rewarding, but it also can be hard work. Creativity is enhanced when members of an organization feel that what they are working on is important. 85

The Interaction of Personality and Situational Factors

Recall from Chapter 2 how behavior is often the result of the interaction of personality and the situation. Recent research suggests that this is the case for creativity. For example, one study found that whether or not openness to experience was related to creativity in jobs that do not necessarily entail creative work depended on the extent to which the employees’ tasks provided them with the opportunity to be creative, or entailed some degree of flexibility and uncertainty, and the extent that the employees received positive feedback. 86 Results from this study and others are encouraging, as they suggest that all personality types have the potential to be creative if the situation they are in and those around them provide them with the right kinds of encouragement and support. 87

You’re the Management Expert Encouraging Independent Thinking

Susan Armstrong, the owner and operator of a chain of nail salons in the southeastern United States, has recently hired a store manager, Marcy Cook. Cook is not only very qualified for the job but also has many creative ideas that can increase the visibility of the salons and their sales. In fact, Cook runs circles around Armstrong’s other store managers, who are good at keeping the stores running but do not seem that interested in doing much else. Since Cook took over as store manager, revenues at her salon have increased by 20 percent, and none of her staff members have quit. (The salons have generally been plagued by high turnover rates in the past.) After visiting the salons, Armstrong concluded that part of Cook’s success as a store manager is due to her independent thinking—she takes the initiative to solve problems on her own, seeks and develops new opportunities, and creates a positive atmosphere in her salon both for clients and the staff. The other store managers are effective in terms of ensuring smooth operations, adequate staffing, and salon appearance, but they just don’t take the initiative to go beyond the basics. Because you are an expert in OB, Armstrong has come to you for help. How can she foster the kind of independent thinking and creativity among her other store managers that Cook exhibits?

The Learning Organization

Not only is it important that individuals learn to perform behaviors that contribute to organizational effectiveness but also that the organization as a whole adopts a learning mentality. Organizational learning involves instilling all members of the organization with a desire to find new ways to improve its effectiveness. 88 Moreover, learning organizations make sure their members actually have the knowledge and skills to learn continuously. They also take steps to ensure that new ideas are acted upon and knowledge is shared throughout the organization. 89 Organizational learning is especially important for organizations in environments that are rapidly changing.

Organizational learning

The process through which managers instill in all members of an organization a desire to find new ways to improve organizational effectiveness

Learning theorist Peter Senge has identified five key activities central to a learning organization. 90

· Encourage personal mastery or high self-efficacy. In order for members of an organization to strive to find new ways of improving organizational effectiveness, they must have confidence in their abilities to do so.

· Develop complex schemas to understand work activities. Recall from Chapter 4 that schemas are abstract knowledge structures. In order for the members of an organization to learn new ways to cut costs or increase revenues, they must have an appreciation of not only their own jobs but also how the work they do affects the work of others and the organization as a whole.

· Encourage learning in groups and teams. New discoveries often take place in groups and teams. 91 Members of groups and teams need to strive to find new ways of doing things and manage the learning process by, for example, increasing the self-efficacy of group members who may question their own capabilities.

· Communicate a shared vision for the organization as a whole. Members of an organization need guidance in terms of what they should be striving for. For example, should they be striving to cut costs, or should they focus more on improving customer satisfaction even at the expense of higher costs? More and more managers and companies are finding that cutting costs and improving efficiency are not enough to remain competitive in today’s global economy. What are really needed are creativity and innovation to develop new products, concepts, and experiences that customers don’t even know they want and then realize they can’t live without.

· Encourage system thinking. Organizations are systems of interrelated parts. What one part of the organization does or learns affects other parts of the organization. Organizational members must be encouraged to think in these terms and address how their individual actions and their actions in groups and teams influence other parts of the organization.

An important ingredient for a learning organization is knowledge management—being able to capitalize on the knowledge members of the organization have that might not be written down or codified in formal documents. As employees do their jobs, they gain knowledge about the tasks they perform and learn the best ways to get certain things done and solve specific problems. Through knowledge management, this information can be shared and used by others. This knowledge is not necessarily contained in job descriptions or written down in rules, standard operating procedures, or manuals. Rather, it is knowledge that has evolved from actually performing work tasks. 92 By disseminating and sharing this knowledge in an organization, other members will be able to take advantage of it.

A study of customer service representatives who repair Xerox machines confirms the importance of knowledge management. Repairing machines seems pretty straightforward—error codes on the machines indicate what the problems are, and written documents and manuals specify how to fix the problems. When anthropologist Julian Orr observed the representatives performing their jobs, however, their work didn’t seem straightforward at all. 93 In a typical workday, the representatives came across many idiosyncratic breakdowns and problems and solutions that weren’t predictable or detailed in the manuals. By actually performing their jobs, the representatives learned about the idiosyncrasies of the machines they repaired, how to solve a variety of problems not covered in the manuals, and how a variety of factors ranging from air temperature to the age of a certain part may affect their operation. Moreover, the representatives got together regularly over breakfast, coffee, lunch, or at the end of the workday and also at other times to share their knowledge while joking, playing games, or chatting. In these informal get-togethers, the representatives discussed problems they had encountered and how they were solved and shared their insights gleaned on the job. 94 Clearly, the people performing a certain job are likely to learn the most about it. Knowledge management seeks to share this learning and knowledge throughout an organization.

Chapter 6 The Nature of Work Motivation

Outline

· Overview

· What Is Work Motivation?

· Need Theory

· Expectancy Theory

· Equity Theory

· Organizational Justice Theory

· Summary

· Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Appreciate why motivation is of central importance in organizations and the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

2. Understand what we can learn about motivation from need theories.

3. Describe why expectancy, valence, and instrumentality are of central importance for work motivation.

4. Appreciate the importance of equity and the dangers of inequity.

5. Understand why organizational justice is so important and how to promote it.

Opening Case High Motivation at Enterprise Rent-A-Car

1. How can managers motivate employees to provide excellent customer service?

Enterprise has achieved an enviable track record of success by motivating and rewarding its employees.

John Raedle\Getty Images, Inc - Liaison

Founded in 1957 by Jack Taylor as a very small auto leasing business, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the biggest car rental company in North America with over 65,000 employees and over $12 billion in revenues. 1 With over 6,900 locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Ireland, Enterprise is one of the largest employees of new college graduates in the United States. 2 Enterprise hires over 7,000 entry-level employees each year. 3 In spite of the fact that starting salaries tends to be a bit on the low side and the work can be hard (e.g., several years ago, four assistant managers sued the company because they thought they should have received overtime pay), Enterprise has been ranked among the best 50 companies for new college graduates to start their careers by BusinessWeek magazine. 4

Enterprise excels at motivating employees to provide excellent service to customers. 5 Almost all entry-level employees complete Enterprise’s Management Training Program. 6 This program teaches new employees all aspects of Enterprise’s business and how to provide excellent customer service. During an initial four-day training session, new management trainees learn about Enterprise’s culture. After this session, they work in a branch office from between 8 and 12 months where they learn everything about the company’s business from washing cars to negotiating with body shops to helping customers. During this training, the importance of high quality customer service is instilled in them and they learn how they can personally provide excellent customer service which boosts their confidence levels. 7

Those who do well in the program are promoted to the position of management assistant after about a year. Management assistants who perform well are promoted to the position of assistant branch managers which includes being responsible for supervising and mentoring employees. Assistant branch managers who perform well can receive promotions to become branch managers. Branch managers are responsible for all branch activities including managing employees, customer service, and the rental car fleet as well as the branch’s financial performance. Once branch managers have approximately five years experience managing a branch, they often move on to management positions at headquarters or become an area manager who oversees all the branches in a specific geographic area. 8

Essentially, all new hires are trained in all aspects of the business including the provision of excellent customer service. As they learn and progress, they are given increasing levels of empowerment and responsibility and the opportunity to advance in the company. All of these factors contribute to very high levels of motivation. Patrick Farrell, vice president of communication describes this process as follows, “What’s unique about our company is that everyone came up through the same system, from the CEOs on down...100% of our operations personnel started as management trainees.” 9 In fact, the current President and Chief Operating Officer of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Pamela Nicholson, started her career with the company in 1981 as a management trainee. 10

Besides motivating high performance and excellent customer service through training and promotional opportunities, Enterprise also motivates employees with financial incentives. Each individual branch is viewed as a profit center and the managers overseeing the branch have autonomy and responsibility for all aspects of its performance including its financial performance as if it were their own franchise or small business. 11 Branch employees who are at the rank of assistant manager or higher receive incentive compensation such that their monthly pay depends upon the profitability of their branch. At higher levels such as the branch manager level, incentive pay depends upon the profitability of the region a manager oversees. Essentially, managers at all levels know that their own pay is linked to the performance and profitability of the parts of the business for which they have responsibility. Importantly, managers have autonomy to make decisions that affect their branches and regions such as decisions regarding buying and selling cars or opening new branches. 12

Above all else, Enterprise prides itself on excellent customer service and has been ranked on BusinessWeek magazine’s list of “Customer Service Champs.” 13 For example, Enterprise picks up customers who need to rent cars from their workplaces or homes and after they return their rental cars, drops them off where they need to go. Enterprise monitors how well branches are doing in terms of the provision of excellent customer service with the Enterprise Service Quality Index (ESQi). 14 For the ESQi, phone calls are made to about one out of every 15 Enterprise customers to find out how they were treated when they rented a car at Enterprise, how satisfied they were with the experience, and if they would rent a car again from Enterprise. Branch and unit managers can determine how well they are doing by comparing their branches’ or units’ scores to the overall scores for the company. When their scores fall short, managers can take steps to improve the quality of the service provided in their branch or unit. 15

Enterprise also motivates its employees through its philanthropic activities and initiatives to protect the natural environment. 16 The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation has committed $50 million to plant 50 million treats in public forests over a 50 year period; its 5 millionth tree was planted in 2010. 17 The Foundation also provides support to communities in which Enterprise operates. This support can range from supporting centers for troubled youths and teens to funding multimillion dollar research projects. 18 Enterprise has the largest fleet of fuel-efficient cars of all rental car companies which includes thousands of hybrid electric cars and tens of thousands of cars that run on fuel which is 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol (E85). 19 Andrew Taylor, son of the founder of Enterprise and its current CEO and Chairman, indicates that “We’re not going to be able to save the world...but we think we can have an effect on the space where we play every day as a business. And we think that’s what our customers and especially our employees want us to do.” 20

In sum, Enterprise motivates its employees in multiple ways and these employees, in turn, satisfy Enterprise’s customers which makes for a winning combination. 21

Overview

As the Enterprise Rent-A-Car case suggests, motivating employees to make important contributions to their jobs can have a profound impact on organizational effectiveness. Motivation is central to understanding and managing organizational behavior because it explains why people behave as they do in organizations. 22 Just as your own motivation determines how many classes you take, how hard you study for exams, and the amount of time and effort you spend on research projects, similarly, motivation determines how hard members in an organization will work to help achieve its goals. Motivation explains, for example, why one employee wants and tries to do a good job while another employee with the same abilities couldn’t care less. Motivation also explains why some students strive for A’s and study much harder than others, who are content with maintaining a solid B average.

In this chapter, we examine work motivation. We focus on the important distinctions between motivation and performance and between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. We discuss several specific theories of work motivation: need theory, expectancy theory, equity theory, and organizational justice theory. Each theory seeks to explain why people behave as they do in organizations and suggests ways of increasing employee motivation and performance. An understanding of motivation is of utmost importance for organizational effectiveness. Managers need

What Is Work Motivation?

Motivation is a frequently used but poorly understood term. Over 140 definitions have been provided over the years, 23 and noted scholars of work motivation have said that trying to define motivation often gives them “a severe stomachache.” 24 This remark may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it underscores the need to get a firm grasp on what motivation is before we try to understand its role in understanding and managing organizational behavior.

Motivation is important because it explains why employees behave as they do. Work motivation can be defined as the psychological forces within a person that determine the direction of that person’s behavior in an organization, effort level, and persistence in the face of obstacles. 25 Because motivation involves psychological forces within a person, many of the topics that we cover in prior chapters are relevant to understanding motivation: personality and ability ( Chapter 2 ); values, attitudes, and moods ( Chapter 3 ); and perception and attribution ( Chapter 4 ).

Work motivation

The psychological forces that determine the direction of a person’s behavior in an organization, a person’s level of effort, and a person’s level of persistence.

The three key elements of work motivation are direction of behavior, level of effort, and level of persistence (see Exhibit 6.1 ).

Direction of Behavior

Which behaviors does a person choose to perform? On any job, there are many behaviors (some appropriate, some inappropriate) that the jobholder can engage in. Direction of behavior refers to the behavior employees choose to perform from the many potential behaviors they could perform. If a stockbroker in an investment banking firm illegally manipulates stock prices, if managers advance their own careers at the expense of their subordinates, or if an engineer convinces skeptical superiors to change the design specifications of a new product in order to lower production costs—all of these actions reflect behaviors these employees chose to perform.

As the examples illustrate, employees can be motivated in functional ways that help an organization achieve its goals or in dysfunctional ways that hinder an organization from achieving its goals. In looking at motivation, managers want to ensure that the direction of their subordinates’ behavior is functional for the organization. They want employees to be motivated to come to work on time, perform their assigned tasks dependably, come up with good ideas, and help others. They do not want employees to come to work late, ignore rules concerning health and safety, or pay lip service to quality.

Element	Definition	Example
Direction of behavior	Which behaviors does a person choose to perform in an organization?	Does an engineer take the time and effort to convince skeptical superiors of the need to change the design specifications for a new product to lower production costs?
Level of effort	How hard does a person work to perform a chosen behavior?	Does an engineer prepare a report outlining problems with the original specifications, or does the engineer casually mention the issue when he or she bumps into a supervisor in the hall and hope that the supervisor will take the advice on faith?
Level of persistence	When faced with obstacles, roadblocks, and stone walls, how hard does a person keep trying to perform a chosen behavior successfully?	When the supervisor disagrees with the engineer and indicates that a change in specifications is a waste of time, does the engineer persist in trying to get the change implemented or give up despite his or her strong belief in the need for a change?

Starbucks is a model of employee learning, ownership, and motivation. Even part-time Starbucks employees, or “partners,” as they are called, get stock options, full health care benefits, and extensive training.

Doug Kanter\Getty Images, Inc - Bloomberg News

Level of Effort

How hard does a person work to perform a chosen behavior? It is not enough for an organization to motivate employees to perform desired functional behaviors; the organization must also motivate them to work hard at these behaviors. If, for example, an engineer decides to try to convince skeptical superiors of the need for design changes, the engineer’s level of motivation determines the lengths to which he or she will go to convince them. Does the engineer just mention the need for the change in casual conversation, or does he or she prepare a detailed report outlining the problems with the original specifications and describing the new, cost-saving specifications that are needed?

Level of Persistence

When faced with obstacles, roadblocks, and stone walls, how hard does a person keep trying to perform a chosen behavior successfully? Suppose the engineer’s supervisor indicates that a change in specifications is a waste of time. Does the engineer persist in trying to get the change implemented or give up even though he or she strongly believes it’s necessary? Likewise, if a factory employee’s machine breaks down, does the employee simply stop working and wait for someone to come along to fix it, or does the employee try to fix the machine or at least alert others about the problem?

The Distinction Between Motivation and Performance

Because motivation determines what employees do and how hard and diligently they do it, you might think that an employee’s motivation to do a job is the same as the employee’s job performance. In fact, motivation and performance, though often confused by employees and managers alike, are two distinct aspects of behavior in an organization. Performance is an evaluation of the results of a person’s behavior: It involves determining how well or poorly a person has accomplished a task or done a job. 26 Motivation is only one factor among many that contributes to an employee’s job performance. The performance of a screenwriter for a television series, for example, is the extent to which viewers find his scripts to be informative, entertaining, and engaging. Similarly, a research scientist’s performance is the extent to which her research advances knowledge, and a physician’s performance is the extent to which he provides high-quality care to patients.

What is the relationship between motivation and performance? All else being equal, one would expect a highly motivated screenwriter to write better scripts than those written by a poorly motivated screenwriter. 27 All else, however, is not always equal because so many other factors affect performance—factors such as personality and ability (see Chapter 2 ), the difficulty of the task, the availability of resources, working conditions, and chance or luck. A screenwriter who is highly creative, for example, may quickly turn out high-quality scripts, even though his or her motivation to do so is not high. And a physician in Somalia who is highly motivated to provide high-quality medical care may have difficultly providing it due to inadequate facilities or a lack of supplies.

In summary, because motivation is only one of several factors that can affect performance, a high level of motivation does not always result in a high level of performance. Conversely, high performance does not necessarily imply that motivation is high: Employees with low motivation may perform at a high level if they have a great deal of ability. Managers have to be careful not to automatically attribute the cause of low performance to a lack of motivation or the cause of high performance to high motivation (see Chapter 4 ). If they incorrectly assume that low performance stems from low motivation, managers may overlook the real cause of a performance problem (such as inadequate training or a lack of resources) and fail to take appropriate actions to rectify the situation. Similarly, if managers assume that employees who perform at a high level are highly motivated, they may inadvertently fail to take advantage of the talents of exceptionally capable employees: if employees perform at a high level when their motivation levels are low, they may be capable of making truly exceptional contributions to the organization if managers devote their efforts to boosting their motivation.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Another distinction important to a discussion of motivation is the difference between the intrinsic and extrinsic sources of work motivation. Intrinsically motivated work behavior is behavior performed for its own sake; the source of motivation actually comes from performing the behavior itself, in other words. 28 A professional violinist who relishes playing in an orchestra regardless of relatively low pay and a millionaire CEO who repeatedly puts in 12-hour days because she enjoys her work are both intrinsically motivated. Employees who are intrinsically motivated often remark that their work gives them a sense of accomplishment and achievement or that they feel that they are doing something worthwhile. For young professionals in China, learning and having the opportunity to develop new skills on the job are important sources of intrinsic motivation. After surveying Chinese managers, Grace Cheng, the managing director of Korn Ferry’s search firm in Beijing, concluded that “money is a less important reason to change jobs than the potential to grow...” 29 Some people, like environmental designer William McDonough, are intrinsically motivated by protecting the natural environment. 30

Intrinsically motivated work behavior

Behavior performed for its own sake.

Extrinsically motivated work behavior is behavior performed to acquire material or social rewards or to avoid punishment. 31 The behavior is performed not for its own sake but rather for its consequences. The operant conditioning theory of learning discussed in Chapter 5 essentially deals with how consequences (positive and negative reinforcers and punishment) can be used to generate extrinsically motivated behavior. Examples of rewards that may be a source of extrinsic motivation include pay, praise, and status (discussed in detail in Chapter 8 ).

Extrinsically motivated work behavior

Behavior performed to acquire material or social rewards or to avoid punishment.

An employee can be extrinsically motivated, intrinsically motivated, or both. 32 When employees are primarily extrinsically motivated and doing the work itself is not a source of motivation, it is especially important for an organization and its managers to make a clear connection between the behaviors the organization wants employees to perform and the outcomes or rewards employees want.

You may be wondering whether there is any connection between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the intrinsic and extrinsic work values we described in Chapter 3 . Employees who have intrinsic work values want challenging assignments, the opportunity to make important contributions to their jobs and organizations, and the opportunity to reach their full potentials at work. Employees with extrinsic work values desire some of the consequences of working, such as earning money, having status in the community, social contacts, and time off from work for family and leisure. It stands to reason that employees with strong intrinsic work values are likely to want to be intrinsically motivated at work and those with strong extrinsic work values are likely to want to be extrinsically motivated at work.

Theories of Work Motivation

We have explored what motivation is, where it comes from, and how it is related to the performance of behaviors in an organizational setting. But we have not considered what motivates people, why they become motivated, and how they sustain their motivation.

Theories about work motivation provide answers to such questions by explaining why employees behave as they do in organizations. The key challenge facing managers in terms of motivation is how to encourage employees to contribute inputs to their jobs and to the organization. Managers want employees to be motivated to contribute inputs (effort, specific job behaviors, skills, knowledge, time, and experience) because inputs influence job performance and, ultimately, organizational performance. Employees are concerned with obtaining outcomes from the organization—both extrinsic outcomes (pay and job security) and intrinsic outcomes (a feeling of accomplishment from doing a good job or the pleasure of doing interesting work). These key concerns for managers and their employees lie at the heart of motivation. As indicated in Exhibit 6.2 , we can graphically depict these concerns in an equation: Inputs→Performance→Outcomes.

The four theories we describe in this chapter—need theory, expectancy theory, equity theory, and organizational justice theory—are complementary perspectives. Each theory addresses different questions about motivation in organizations and the relationships between inputs, performance, and outcomes, shown in Exhibit 6.2 . Note that each of the four theories has its own merits—there is no “best” theory, in other words. To get a good understanding of organizational motivation, we need to consider all four.

Need Theory

Need theory focuses on the outcome side of the equation in Exhibit 6.2 and on this question: What outcomes are individuals motivated to obtain from their jobs and organizations? The principal message of need theory is that employees have needs that they are motivated to satisfy in the workplace. 33 In order to determine which outcomes motivate employees the most, managers must first learn which needs employees are trying to satisfy.

Once an employee’s needs are determined, the manager must make sure that she or he can control—either administer or withhold—the outcomes satisfying those needs. The manager should make it clear to the employee that receiving the outcomes depends on the desired behaviors being performed. Then the manager must administer the outcomes contingent on that performance. In this way, the employee satisfies her or his needs while also contributing important inputs to the organization.

Although we just described need theory as if it is only one theory, need theory is actually a group of theories about work motivation. Collectively, these theories explain what motivates employees to behave in certain ways by focusing on employees’ needs as the sources of motivation. Need theories propose that employees seek to satisfy many of their needs at work and that their behavior at work is, therefore, oriented toward need satisfaction.

Need theory

A group of theories about work motivation that focuses on employees’ needs as the sources of motivation.

A need is a requirement for survival and well-being. To determine what will motivate an employee, a manager first must determine what needs an employee is trying to satisfy on the job because needs will vary from person to person. The manager then must ensure that the employee can satisfy his or her needs by engaging in behaviors that contribute to the organization’s effectiveness. The two theories that we discuss next by Abraham Maslow and Clayton Alderfer describe several specific needs employees try to satisfy through their work behaviors and the order in which they try to satisfy them. In previous chapters, we discussed two other need-based approaches to understanding behavior in organizations: David McClelland’s work on achievement, affiliation, and power needs (see Chapter 2 ) and Frederick Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory ( Chapter 3 ).

Need

A requirement for survival and well-being.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that human beings have five universal needs they seek to satisfy: physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. These needs and examples of how they can be satisfied are described in Exhibit 6.3 . Maslow proposed that these needs can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance, with the most basic or compelling needs—physiological and safety needs—at the base. 34 These basic needs must be satisfied before an individual seeks to satisfy needs higher up in the hierarchy. Maslow argued that once a need is satisfied, it is no longer a source of motivation.

There are many ways that organizations can help employees who are at different levels in Maslow’s hierarchy satisfy their needs while at the same time also help the organization achieve its goals and a competitive advantage. Some organizations, for example, help satisfy employees’ esteem needs by providing special recognition for their outstanding accomplishments and achievements. 35

According to Maslow’s theory, unsatisfied needs are the prime motivators of behavior, and needs at the lowest levels of the hierarchy take precedence over needs at higher levels. 36 At any particular time, however, only one set of needs motivates behavior, and it is not possible to skip levels. Once an individual satisfies one set of needs, he or she tries to satisfy needs at the next level of the hierarchy, and this level becomes the focus of motivation.

By specifying the needs that contribute to motivation, Maslow’s theory helps managers determine what will motivate any given employee. A simple but important lesson from Maslow’s theory is that employees differ in the needs they try to satisfy at work and that what motivates one employee may not motivate another. What does this conclusion suggest? To have a motivated workforce, managers must identify which needs each employee is seeking to satisfy at work, and once these needs have been identified, managers must ensure that the employee’s needs are satisfied if he or she performs the desired behaviors.

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Clayton Alderfer’s existence-relatedness-growth (ERG) theory is also a need theory of work motivation. Alderfer’s theory builds on some of Maslow’s thinking but reduces the number of universal needs from five to three and is more flexible in terms of movement between levels. 37 Like Maslow, Alderfer also proposes that needs can be arranged in a hierarchy. The three types of needs in Alderfer’s theory are described in Exhibit 6.4 .

Whereas Maslow assumes that lower-level needs must be satisfied before a higher-level need is a motivator, Alderfer lifts this restriction. According to ERG theory, a higher-level need can be a motivator even if a lower-level need is not fully satisfied, and needs at more than one level can be motivators at any time. Alderfer agrees with Maslow that as lower-level needs are satisfied, an employee becomes motivated to satisfy higher-level needs. But Alderfer breaks with Maslow on the consequences of need frustration. Maslow says that once a lower-level need is satisfied, it is no longer a source of motivation. Alderfer proposes that when an individual is motivated to satisfy a higher-level need but has difficulty doing so, the person’s motivation to satisfy lower-level needs will increase.

To see how this process works, let’s look at the case of a middle manager in a manufacturing firm whose existence and relatedness needs (lower-level needs) are pretty much satisfied. Currently, the manager is motivated to try to satisfy her growth needs but finds this hard to do because she has been in the same position for the past five years. She is very skilled and knowledgeable about all aspects of the job, and the wide variety and number of her current responsibilities leave her no time to pursue anything new or exciting. Essentially, the manager’s motivation

to satisfy her growth needs is being frustrated because of the nature of her job. According to Alderfer, this frustration will increase the manager’s motivation to satisfy a lower-level need such as relatedness. As a result of this motivation, the manager becomes more concerned about interpersonal relations at work and continually seeks honest feedback from her colleagues.

The Research Evidence

Because Maslow’s and Alderfer’s theories were among some of the earliest approaches to work motivation, they have received a considerable amount of attention from researchers. Although they seem logical and intuitively appealing and many managers like them, by and large these theories have tended not to receive support from research. 38 There appear to be at least two major difficulties with the theories. First, it may be unreasonable to expect a relatively small set of needs ordered in a particular fashion to apply to all human beings. Second, it may be unrealistic to expect that all people become motivated by different types of needs in a set order (that is, that the satisfaction of higher needs is sought only when lower-level needs have been satisfied).

Studies of American employees generally do not support the main tenets of Maslow’s and Alderfer’s theories, and it is likely that international studies conducted in other cultures would yield even less support. Even though the conclusions of the theories have not been supported, we can still learn some important lessons about motivation from the work of Maslow and Alderfer.

Expectancy Theory

Need theories try to explain what motivates employees. Expectancy theory focuses on how employees decide which specific behaviors to perform and how much effort to exert. In other words, expectancy theory is concerned with how employees make choices among alternative behaviors and levels of effort. 39 With its emphasis on choices, expectancy theory focuses on employees’ perceptions (see Chapter 4 ) and thoughts or cognitive processes ( Chapter 5 ).

Expectancy theory

A theory about work motivation that focuses on how employees make choices among alternative behaviors and levels of effort.

Expectancy theory addresses two questions about motivation and the equation in Exhibit 6.2 . One question is: Does an individual believe that his or her inputs (such as effort on the job) will result in a given level of performance? Expectancy theory proposes that regardless of which outcomes are available, employees will not be motivated to contribute their inputs to the organization unless they believe it will result in achieving a given level of performance. Employees’ beliefs about the relationship between their inputs (such as effort) and the performance level they reach are, thus, central to understanding motivation. Put simply, if employees do not think they are capable of performing at an adequate level even with maximum effort, their motivation to perform at that level will be zero. 40

The other question that expectancy theory addresses is: Does an individual believe that performing at this level will lead to obtaining the outcomes he or she wants (pay, job security, a feeling of accomplishment, and so forth)? The second key part of expectancy theory indicates that employees will be motivated to perform at a given level only if that level leads to the desired outcomes. 41

Only when the answer to both of these questions is “yes” will the individual be motivated to contribute effort and other inputs on the job. According to expectancy theory, a manager who wants to motivate an employee to perform at a certain level must first make sure the employee believes he or she can achieve the performance level. Then the manager must make sure the employee believes he or she will receive, and actually does receive, the desired outcomes once the performance level has been achieved.

To understand the overall focus of expectancy theory, consider the direction of behavior of an experienced nurse who has just taken a job at a new hospital. Which behaviors could she choose to perform? Does she spend time casually chatting with patients, or does she limit her interactions to those directly pertaining to medical care? Does she discuss her patients’ symptoms and complaints with their physicians in detail, or must doctors rely on her written records? Does she readily help other nurses when they seem to have a heavy load, or does she provide assistance only when asked?

Once the nurse chooses what she will do, she also needs to decide how much effort to exert on the job. Should she push herself to do as much as she can, even if doing so means forgoing some of her authorized breaks? Should she do just enough to adequately perform her job requirements? Should she minimize her efforts by taking longer breaks, referring her most difficult patients to her supervisor, and avoiding conversations with patients and physicians?

Also, with what level of persistence should she report her fears that a junior doctor has made a misdiagnosis? Should she mention it to some of her more senior coworkers? Should she tell her supervisor? If her supervisor does nothing about it, should she raise the issue with the head nurse in charge of her unit? If the head nurse is unconcerned, should she discuss her fears with a more senior doctor?

Expectancy theory seeks to explain how employees go about making these various decisions. Because these choices determine what employees do on the job and how hard they work, they have profound effects on organizational effectiveness. By describing how employees make these choices, expectancy theory provides managers with valuable insights on how to get employees to perform organizationally functional behaviors and how to encourage employees to exert high levels of effort when performing these behaviors.

Because of its profound organizational implications, expectancy theory is among the most popular theories of work motivation. The theory, which was originally developed by Victor Vroom in the 1960s, assumes that employees are essentially pleasure seeking 42 —that is, they are motivated to receive positive outcomes (such as a weekly paycheck, a bonus, or an award) and to avoid negative outcomes (such as getting reprimanded, fired, or demoted). It also assumes that employees are rational, careful processors of information and use information about their jobs, abilities, and desires to decide what they will do on the job and how hard they will do it.

Expectancy theory identifies three major factors that determine an employee’s motivation: valence, instrumentality, and expectancy. 43

Valence: How Desirable Is an Outcome?

Employees can obtain a variety of outcomes from their jobs—pay, job security, benefits, feelings of accomplishment, the opportunity to do interesting work, good relationships with coemployees, and promotions. For any individual, the desirability of each outcome is likely to vary. The term valence refers to the desirability of an outcome to an individual employee. Valence can be positive or negative and can vary in size or magnitude. If an outcome has positive valence, an employee prefers having the outcome to not having it. If an outcome has negative valence, an employee prefers not having the outcome. For most employees, getting a raise is likely to have positive valence, and being fired is likely to have negative valence. The magnitude of valence is how desirable or undesirable an outcome is for an employee. 44 Maslow’s and Alderfer’s need theories suggest that employees will find outcomes that satisfy their needs to be especially attractive or valent. In the opening case, some highly valent outcomes for Enterprise employees include the opportunity to advance to more responsible positions and incentive pay.

Valence

In expectancy theory, the desirability of an outcome to an individual.

Some motivation problems occur because highly valent outcomes are unavailable to employees. To determine what outcomes might motivate an employee, managers must determine what outcomes an employee desires or the valence of different outcomes for the employee. In addition to contributing to high levels of motivation, receiving highly valent outcomes may also lead employees to be less likely to quit their jobs, as illustrated in the following OB Today.

OB Today Motivating Loyal Employees at the Container Store

Founded in Dallas, Texas in 1978 by Kip Tindell and Garrett Boone, the Container Store has grown to encompass 47 stores in 20 U.S. markets and today, stores average around 25,000 square feet (the first store in Dallas had about 1,600 square feet). 45 Along with growth in the size and number of its stores, sales and profits at the Container Store have grown as well. 46 Tindell is the Container Store’s CEO and Chairman and Boone is Chairman Emeritus. 47 In their first store, Tindell and Boone were out on the shop floor helping customers find storage and organization products that would save them space and time and make their lives a bit less chaotic. And Tindell can still be seen out on the shop floor organizing shelves or helping customers carry out their purchases. 48

Although challenging in retail jobs, motivating employees promotes loyalty, increasing retention rates in an industry notorious for high turnover.

Wiskerke\Alamy Images

From the start, Tindell and Boone realized that employees are the Container Store’s most precious asset and that after hiring great employees, a top priority is motivating them. In an industry with high turnover rates like the retail industry which has an average annual turnover rate of 100% or more, motivating employees can be quite challenging. 49 Managers at the Container Store have met this challenge and as a consequence have loyal employees with a less than 10% average annual turnover rate. 50 In fact, the Container Store has been included on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for nine years in a run. 51 In 2010, the Container Store was ranked 36th on the list. 52

Tindell, Boone, and other managers at the Container Store have long realized the importance of providing employees with highly valent outcomes in recognition for a job well done. Salespeople receive starting salaries of about $40,000, which is quite a bit higher than retail averages, and employees are given merit pay increases for high sales performance. Both high individual performance and teamwork and cooperation are emphasized through the use of individual and team-based rewards. Exceptional performing salespeople can earn more than store managers. 53

Another highly valent outcome for employees at the Container Store is professional development. All employees have opportunities for training and development and full-time salespeople receive over 240 hours of training their first year on the job. 54 Additionally, employees can work flexible hours and have flexible benefits. Other highly valent outcomes include medical, dental, and 401(k) plans, job security, a variety of wellness programs including yoga classes, chair massages, and exercise and nutrition guidance, and being able to work with other highly motivated employees in an enthusiastic and upbeat environment. 55 In addition to being highly motivated, employees at the Container Store look forward to coming to work and enjoy a family-like relationship with their coworkers and managers. Employees take pride in their work and believe that in helping customers organize their lives and save space and time, they are contributing to their well-being. Thus, in addition to benefiting from high performance by receiving highly valent outcomes, employees also have a sense of accomplishment from selling products they know will help customers. 56 All in all, highly motivated and loyal employees provide excellent service to customers at the Container Store.

Instrumentality: What Is the Connection Between Job Performance and Outcomes?

In our discussion of learning and operant conditioning in Chapter 5 , we emphasized how important it is for outcomes (or consequences, as they are called in operant conditioning) to be given to employees on the basis of their performance of desired behaviors. Like operant conditioning, expectancy theory proposes that outcomes should be directly linked to desired organizational behaviors or to overall levels of job performance.

Instrumentality , the second key determinant of motivation according to expectancy theory, is an employee’s perception about the extent to which performing certain behaviors or performing at a certain level will lead to the attainment of a particular outcome. In organizations, employees are going to engage in desired behaviors and be motivated to perform them at a high level only if they perceive that high performance and desired behaviors will lead to positively valent outcomes such as a pay raise, a promotion, or sometimes even just a pat on the back. 57

Instrumentality

In expectancy theory, a perception about the extent to which performance of one or more behaviors will lead to the attainment of a particular outcome.

Just like valence, instrumentality can be positive or negative and varies in size or magnitude. Instrumentality, the perceived association between a certain level of job performance (or the performance of certain behaviors) and the receipt of a specific outcome, can be measured on a scale from MathML removed to MathML removed . An instrumentality of MathML removed means that an employee perceives that performing a certain behavior, or performing it at a certain level, definitely will not result in obtaining the outcome. An instrumentality of +1 means that the employee perceives the performance definitely will result in obtaining the outcome.

An advertising executive, for example, perceives that if she obtains three new major corporate accounts this year (and holds on to all of her existing accounts), her performance definitely will result in her receiving a hefty year-end bonus (an instrumentality of +1) and definitely will not result in her being asked to relocate to one of the agency’s less prestigious locations (an instrumentality of −1). The magnitude of instrumentalities between the extremes of −1 and +1 indicates the extent of the perceived association or relationship between the performance and the outcome. An instrumentality of zero means that an employee perceives no relationship between performance and outcome. Let’s continue with the example of the advertising executive. She perceives that there is some possibility that if she performs at a high level she will be given a promotion (an instrumentality of 0.3) and a larger possibility that she will obtain a bigger office (an instrumentality of 0.5). She perceives that her medical and dental benefits will be unaffected by her level of performance (an instrumentality of zero).

In trying to decide which behaviors to engage in and how hard to work (the level of job performance to strive for), the advertising executive considers the valences of the outcomes that she perceives will result from different levels of performance (how attractive the outcomes are to her) and the instrumentality of performing at a certain level for attaining each outcome (how certain it is that performing at that level will result in that outcome). In this way, both instrumentality and valence influence motivation.

Instrumentalities that are, in fact, high and that employees believe are high are effective motivators. Managers need to make sure that employees who perform at a high level do in fact receive the outcomes that they desire—outcomes with high positive valence. In the opening case, Enterprise Rent-A-Car maintains high instrumentalities by linking employees’ pay to the performance of the branch or unit they are responsible for. Managers also need to clearly communicate instrumentalities to employees by letting them know what outcomes will result from various levels of performance.

Sometimes employees are not motivated to perform at a high level because they do not perceive that high performance will lead to highly valent outcomes (such as pay raises, time off, and promotions). When employees think that good performance goes unrecognized, their motivation to perform at a high level tends to be low.

Expectancy: What Is the Connection Between Effort and Job Performance?

Even though an employee perceives that a pay raise (a highly valent outcome) will result directly from high performance (high instrumentality), he or she still may not be motivated to perform at a high level. To understand why motivation is low even when instrumentalities and valences are high, we need to consider the third major factor in expectancy theory: expectancy.

Expectancy is an employee’s perception about the extent to which his or her effort will result in a certain level of job performance. Expectancy varies from 0 to 1 and reflects the chances that putting forth a certain amount of effort will result in a certain level of performance. An expectancy of 0 means that an employee believes there is no chance that his or her effort will result in a certain level of performance. An expectancy of 1 signifies that an employee is absolutely certain that his or her effort will lead to a certain level of performance. Expectancies between 0 and 1 lie along the continuum between the two.

Expectancy

In expectancy theory, a perception about the extent to which effort will result in a certain level of performance.

Employees are going to be motivated to perform desired behaviors at a high level only if they think they can do so. 58 If they think they actually will perform at a high level when they work hard, their expectancy is high. No matter how much the advertising executive in our earlier example wants the pay raise and promotion that she thinks will result from high performance, if she thinks she cannot possibly perform at the necessary level, she will not be motivated to do so. Similarly, no matter how much a student wants to pass a course, if she thinks she will flunk no matter how hard she studies, she will not be motivated to study. Expectancy is similar to the concept of self-efficacy, discussed in Chapter 5 , which captures the idea that employees are not always certain that their efforts will be successful or result in a given level of performance.

If motivation levels are low because employees do not think their efforts will pay off with improved performance, managers need to reassure them that they are capable of performing at a high level if they try hard. In addition, organizations can boost employees’ expectancies by helping them improve their skills and abilities. Organizations ranging from the Enterprise Rent-A-Car to the Container Store and Southwest Airlines are great believers in training to boost expectancies. 59 From the opening case, it is clear that the extensive training employees receive at Enterprise contributes to their high levels of expectancy.

In order for workers like this pediatrician to be highly motivated, expectancy, instrumentality, and valence must all be high.

Comstock Images/Getty Images/Thinkstock

The Combined Effects of Valence, Instrumentality, and Expectancy on Motivation

In order for an employee to be motivated to perform desired behaviors and to perform them at a high level, the following conditions are necessary (see Exhibit 6.5 ):

· Valence must be high: The employee wants outcomes the organization has to offer.

· Instrumentality must be high: The employee perceives that she or he must perform the desired behaviors at a high level to obtain these outcomes.

· Expectancy must be high: The employee thinks that trying hard will lead to performance at a high level.

If just one of these three factors—valence, instrumentality, or expectancy—is zero, motivation will be zero. In addition to believing that performing certain behaviors at a high level will result in obtaining outcomes (positive instrumentality), our advertising executive must perceive that (1) she is likely to receive desired (positively valent) outcomes if she performs at a high level and (2) she can perform at a high level if she tries (has a high expectancy).

High performance depends on what an employee does and how hard he or she does it. According to expectancy theory, in trying to decide what to do and how hard to do it, employees ask themselves questions such as these:

· Will I be able to obtain outcomes I want? (In expectancy theory terms: Is the valence of outcomes that the organization provides high?)

· Do I need to perform at a high level to obtain these outcomes? (In expectancy theory terms: Is high performance instrumental for obtaining these outcomes?)

· If I try hard, will I be able to perform at a high level? (In expectancy theory terms: Is expectancy high?)

Only when employees answer “yes” to each of these three questions are they motivated to perform as best they can. Expectancy theory suggests not only that rewards should be based on performance and that employees should have the abilities necessary to perform at a high level but also that managers must make sure that employees accurately perceive this to be the case.

Expectancy theory is a popular theory of motivation and has received extensive attention from researchers. Some studies support the theory, and others do not, 60 but by and large the theory has been supported.

Equity Theory

The equity theory of work motivation was developed in the 1960s by J. Stacy Adams (equity means “fairness”). Equity theory is based on the premise that an employee perceives the relationship between the outcomes—what the employee gets from a job and organization—and his or her inputs—what the employee contributes to the job and organization. 62 Outcomes include pay, fringe benefits, job satisfaction, status, opportunities for advancement, job security, and anything else the employees wants from the organization. Inputs include special skills, training, education, work experience, effort on the job, time, and anything else that employees believe they contribute. According to equity theory , however, it is not the objective level of outcomes and inputs that is important in determining work motivation. What is important to motivation is the way an employee perceives his or her outcome/input ratio compared to the outcome/input ratio of another person. 63

Equity theory

A theory about work motivation that focuses on employees’ perceptions of the fairness of their work outcomes and inputs.

Outcome/input ratio

In equity theory, the relationship between what an employee gets from a job (outcomes) and what the employee contributes to the job (inputs).

This other person, called a referent by Adams, is simply another employee or group of employees perceived to be similar to oneself. The referent could also be oneself at a different place or time (for example, in a previous job), or it could be one’s expectations (for example, one’s beliefs about what the outputs and inputs of an entry-level accountant’s job should be). Regardless of the referent an employee chooses, it is the employee’s perceptions of the referent’s outcomes and inputs that are compared—not any objective measure of actual outcomes or inputs.

Thus, equity theory focuses primarily on the relationship between inputs and outcomes and addresses this question: Are the outcomes perceived as being at an appropriate level in comparison to the inputs? The theory proposes that from past experience or the observation of others, employees will have a sense of the input levels that should result in certain outcomes. 64

To motivate employees to contribute the inputs the organization needs, managers need to administer outcomes based on those inputs. Moreover, managers need to ensure that different employees’ outcome-input ratios are approximately equal so that employees who contribute more inputs receive more outcomes and vice versa.

Equity

Equity exists when an individual’s outcome/input ratio equals the outcome/input ratio of the referent (see Exhibit 6.6 ). Because the comparison of the ratios is what determines the presence or absence of equity (not the comparison of absolute levels of outcomes and inputs), equity can exist even if the referent receives more than the individual who is making the comparison.

Consider the case of two financial analysts who have been working at the same corporation for two years. At the end of the two years, analyst A gets promoted, but analyst B does not. Can both analysts consider this situation to be equitable? The answer is yes: Equity exists if analyst A and analyst B perceive that that their respective outcome/input ratios are equal or proportional and that analyst A generally worked more hours than analyst B. Perhaps, for example, added input, or overtime, accounts for analyst A’s additional outcome (the promotion).

When an employee perceives that the employee’s and the referent’s outcome/input ratios are proportionally equal, the employee is motivated either to maintain the status quo or to increase his or her inputs to receive more outcomes.

		Example
		A financial analyst contributes more inputs (time and effort) to her job and receives proportionally more outcomes (a promotion and a pay raise) than her referent receives.

Inequity

Inequity, or lack of fairness, exists when outcome/input ratios are not proportionally equal. Inequity creates tension and unpleasant feelings for an employee and motivates the individual to try to restore equity by bringing the two ratios back into balance.

There are two basic types of inequity: overpayment inequity and underpayment inequity (see Exhibit 6.6 ). Overpayment inequity exists when an individual perceives that his or her outcome/input ratio is greater than that of a referent. Underpayment inequity exists when a person perceives that his or her outcome/input ratio is less than that of a referent.

Overpayment inequity

The inequity that exists when a person perceives that his or her outcome/input ratio is greater than the ratio of a referent.

Underpayment inequity

The inequity that exists when a person perceives that his or her outcome/input ratio is less than the ratio of a referent.

Consider the case of Steve and Mike, who are janitors in a large office building. Steve is a conscientious employee who always gets to work on time and keeps his areas of the building spotless. Mike is often late, takes long lunch hours, and often “forgets” to clean some of his areas. Steve and Mike receive the same level of pay, benefits, and other outcomes from their employer. According to equity theory, if both employees have accurate perceptions and choose each other as a referent, Mike should perceive overpayment inequity. This perception creates tension within Mike (perhaps it makes him feel guilty), and so he’s motivated to restore equity. Steve, in contrast, perceives underpayment inequity. Because Steve is contributing more than Mike yet receiving the same level of outcomes, he, too, experiences tension (perhaps anger) and is motivated to restore equity.

Ways to Restore Equity

There are several ways by which equity can be restored in situations like the one involving Steve and Mike. 65

1. Employees can change their inputs or outcomes. When employees perceive underpayment inequity, for example, they can restore equity by reducing their inputs. In the case of the two janitors, Steve could restore equity by cutting back on his inputs—by coming to work late, taking longer breaks, and working less conscientiously. An underpaid employee could also try to change his or her outcomes by asking for a raise.

2. Employees try to change their referents’ inputs or outcomes. Steve might complain to his supervisor about Mike’s coming to work late and not doing a very good job in the hope that the supervisor will alter Mike’s inputs (perhaps by getting him to show up on time or do a better job) or his outcomes (cutting his pay or threatening his job security). On the other hand, Mike might encourage Steve to relax and take it easy on the job.

3. Employees change their perceptions of inputs and outcomes (either their own or the referents’). Mike could restore equity by changing his perceptions about his inputs. He could start to think that his area is larger or harder to clean than Steve’s or that he works faster, so his and Steve’s ratios are really proportional after all. As this example illustrates, employees who perceive overpayment inequity are especially likely to change their perceptions (rather than their actual inputs or outcomes) to restore equity. This is why overpaid employees often do not feel guilty for very long.

4. Employees can change the referent. 66 An employee may decide that the original referent does not allow for an appropriate comparison and, thus, select another one. Steve might recall hearing that Mike is a relative of one of the managers in the company and conclude that he is not the most suitable basis for comparison. Conversely, Mike might decide that Steve is clearly an extraordinary, almost superhuman janitor and select someone else to compare himself to.

5. Employees leave the job or organization or force the referent to leave. The most common example of this approach is employee turnover and, not surprisingly, leaving the organization is most prevalent in situations of underpayment inequity. Thus, Steve might be motivated to look for a job elsewhere, or he might try to get Mike fired.

The Effects of Inequity and the Research Evidence

Both underpayment inequity and overpayment inequity are dysfunctional for organizations, managers, and employees. In the case of overpayment, although employees are sometimes motivated to increase their inputs to restore equity (an effort that is functional for the organization), they are more likely to be motivated to change their perceptions of inputs or outcomes (an effort that is dysfunctional because there is no actual increase in the level of inputs contributed by the overpaid employees). In the case of underpayment, capable and deserving employees may be motivated to reduce their inputs or even leave the organization, both of which are dysfunctional for the organization. Moreover, sometimes when employees feel very unfairly treated, they engage in unethical behaviors such as stealing from the organization. 67

All in all, motivation is highest when equity exists and outcomes are distributed to employees on the basis of their inputs to the organization. Employees who contribute a high level of inputs and receive, in turn, a high level of outcomes are motivated to continue to contribute inputs. Employees who contribute a low level of inputs and receive a low level of outcomes know that if they want to increase their outcomes, they must increase their inputs.

Like expectancy theory, equity theory is a popular theory of motivation and has received extensive research attention. Also, as in the case of expectancy theory, although there have been some nonsupportive results, by and large the research supports the main ideas of the theory.

Organizational Justice Theory

Organizational justice , employees’ perceptions of overall fairness in their organizations, is increasingly being recognized as an important determinant of employee motivation, attitudes, and behaviors. 69 Organizational justice theory does not refer to a single theory per se, but rather describes a group of theories that focus on the nature, determinants, and consequences of organizational justice. Based on this group of theories, researchers have identified four forms of organizational justice: distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. 70

Organizational justice

An employee’s perception of overall fairness in his or her organization.

Organizational justice theory addresses this question about motivation: Are the procedures used to assess inputs and performance and distribute outcomes perceived to be fair, are employees treated with dignity and respect, and do managers provide adequate explanations of their decisions and the procedures used to arrive at them? Organizational justice theory proposes that employees will not be motivated to contribute their inputs unless they perceive fair procedures will be used to distribute outcomes in the organization and that they will be treated fairly by managers. These procedures include those used to assess input levels, determine the level of performance achieved, and then actually distribute the outcomes.

When these procedures are perceived to be unfair and employees feel unfairly treated, motivation suffers because all the relationships in the motivation equation (see Exhibit 6.2 ) are weakened: assessing the inputs, determining the performance, and ultimately distributing the outcomes.

Forms of Organizational Justice

Because equity theory focuses on the fair distribution of outcomes across employees to encourage high levels of motivation, it is often called a theory of distributive justice. 71 Distributive justice , the perceived fairness of the distribution of outcomes in organizations, such as pay, promotions, and desirable working conditions and assignments, is an important contributor to more

Distributive justice

The perceived fairness of the distribution of outcomes in an organization.

You’re the Management Expert When Equal Treatment Backfires

Tom Li manages the order processing department of a large catering company in New York City. Times have been tough, and he has been told that he will have very limited funds available for annual salary increases. In an effort to be fair, he has decided to take his entire pool of funds for raises and distribute a flat, 3 percent salary increase equally to each of his subordinates. At the end of the last department meeting, he announced the 3 percent raise and noted that, given the decrease in the company’s revenues over the past year, he was pleasantly surprised that any funds were available for raises. A few days after the meeting, one of Li’s subordinates, Sebastian Saltado, came by his office and complained about his measly raise and asked why he was receiving the same percentage increase as everyone else in the department. Li told him that he knew that Saltado processed orders more quickly than other members in the department and was more responsive to customers, and he wished he could do something more to recognize his contributions. But, Li explained, because very limited funds were available for raises, he thought it only fair to share the raise pool equally. Two weeks later, Saltado gave notice that he would be leaving the company because he found a better job working in a large department store. Li is concerned and confused—he thought Saltado really liked his work at the catering company and was satisfied with his job; in fact, Saltado had mentioned that a friend of his would be interested in a job in the same department if a position opened up. And Li is really going to miss having Saltado around; he could always count on Saltado to placate a disgruntled customer and somehow arrange for changes or replacements on an order to be processed and delivered in record time. As an expert in OB, Li has come to you for help. Why did Saltado quit, and was there anything that Li should have done differently?

general perceptions of organizational justice. 72 An example of a scale that measures distributive justice is provided in Exhibit 6.7

Procedural justice is concerned with the perceived fairness of the procedures used to make decisions about the distribution of outcomes. It is not concerned about the actual distribution of outcomes. 73 Procedural decisions pertain to how performance levels are evaluated, how grievances or disputes are handled (if, for example, an employee disagrees with a manager’s evaluation of his or her performance), and how outcomes (like raises) are distributed. Like equity theory, employees’ perceptions are of fundamental importance for procedural justice. That is, employees’ reactions to procedures depend on how fair they perceive the procedures to be rather than how fair they actually are. 74

Procedural justice

The perceived fairness of the procedures used to make decisions about the distribution of outcomes in an organization.

Procedural justice theory holds that employees are going to be more motivated to perform at a high level when they perceive that the procedures used to make decisions about the distribution of outcomes are fair. 75 In other words, they’ll be more motivated if they think their performance will be accurately assessed. Conversely, if employees think their performance will not be accurately assessed because the supervisor is not aware of their contributions to the organization or lets his or her personal feelings affect appraisals, employees will not be as strongly motivated to perform at high levels.

Employees are likely to perceive that procedural justice is high when they are able to have input into procedures used to determine the distribution of outcomes in an organization and when they have the opportunity to express their own views and opinions. 76 Take the case of a subordinate who has worked very hard to attain the goal of reducing inventory levels by 20 percent to cut costs. On the surface it seems as if the goal has not been met, as the dollar value of inventory has remained unchanged. However, the subordinate knows that she has actually reduced physical inventory levels by 20 percent; the dollar value of inventory on hand does not reflect this reduction since prices have increased by about 20 percent. Having the opportunity to explain to her supervisor why inventory costs appear to be unchanged despite all her hard work to successfully reduce inventory quantities by 20 percent will increase the subordinate’s perceptions of procedural justice.

Procedural justice is also likely to be high when employees perceive that procedures are used consistently across employees (e.g., all employees with the same job have their performance appraised through the same process); accurate information is relied on (e.g., numerical data such as sales figures are free of errors); and procedures are unbiased (e.g., supervisors do not let their

When managers treat employees with dignity and respect, they are promoting interpersonal justice.

Keith Brofsky/Valueline/Thinkstock

personal likes and dislikes influence their judgments). 77 Additionally, having the opportunity to appeal judgments and decisions that have been made as well as knowing that procedures used in an organization adhere to the organization’s code of ethics promotes procedural justice. 78 An example of a scale that measures procedural justice is provided in Exhibit 6.7 .

Interpersonal justice is concerned with the perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment employees receive from the distributors of outcomes (usually their managers). 79 It is important for managers to be courteous and polite and to treat employees with dignity and respect to promote interpersonal justice. 80 Additionally, managers should refrain from making disparaging remarks or belittling subordinates. 81 An example of a scale that measures interpersonal justice is provided in Exhibit 6.7 .

Interpersonal justice

The perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment employees receive from the distributors of outcomes or their managers.

Informational justice captures employee perceptions of the extent to which managers explain their decisions, and the procedures used to arrive at them, to employees. 82 For example, managers can explain to employees (1) how they assess inputs, including time, effort, education, and previous work experience; (2) how they appraise performance; and (3) how they decide to distribute outcomes. When managers describe the procedures they use to distribute outcomes in an honest, forthright, and timely manner, when their explanations are thorough, and when subordinates perceive these explanations to be well-reasoned, perceptions of informational justice are likely to be high. 83 An example of a scale that measures informational justice is provided in Exhibit 6.7 .

Informational justice

Employee perceptions of the extent to which managers explain their decisions and the procedures they used to arrive at these decisions.

Organizational justice is important for all kinds of organizations and employees, even those intrinsically motivated by their work, as profiled in the following Ethics in Action feature.

Ethics in Action Organizational Justice at Genentech

Genentech, the San Francisco biotechnology company that researches, develops, and manufactures new drugs to combat life-threatening conditions and diseases such as cancer has been included on Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” 12 years in a row; in 2010, Genentech was ranked 19th on the list. 84 Founded in 1976, Genentech has been called “the first biotech company,” has developed drugs such as Avastin® to treat colon cancer, Raptiva® to treat psoriasis, and Activase® to treat blood clots, 85 and has been recognized as being a highly innovative company. 86

The researchers and scientists at Genentech are truly intrinsically motivated by their work, developing new drugs to save lives and cure diseases. They also thrive in a culture that embodies organizational justice. All employees, regardless of position or rank, are treated with respect and dignity. There are no special offices, parking spots, or dining rooms for top managers like former CEO Art Levinson (who also happens to be an exceptionally talented scientist) and current CEO Ian Clark 87 and all employees are addressed by their first name (regardless of whether or not they have a PhD or an MD). 88

An outcome that is very important to the researchers and scientists is funding for their projects, and Genentech ensures that organizational justice is served when these funding decisions are made. Around once or twice a year, the Research Review Committee (composed of 13 expert PhD’s) makes decisions about where the company’s research funds will be allocated. 89 Scientists and researchers seeking funding for their projects have the opportunity to discuss the progress and merits of their work with the committee, and the committee considers multiple sources of information to make sure that all R&D allocations are based on the scientific merits of the projects under consideration and are not subject to any bias or favoritism. When a project is not funded, scientists know why, do not lose their jobs, and move on to another project. As Levinson put it, “At the end of the day, we want to make drugs that really matter. That’s the transcendent issue.” 90 And Genentech’s commitment to organizational justice contributes to ensuring its scientists and researchers are motivated to do just that.

Genentech had long partnered with the Roche Group, a large pharmaceutical company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and in 2009, Genentech became a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. 91 Recognizing the benefits of Genentech’s unique culture for innovation, top managers at Roche have committed to not trying to change Genentech or impose Roche’s ways of doing things. 92 Scientists continue to work on new developments in treatments for cancer, brain disease, and immunology at Genentech in an environment that supports innovation and justice. 93

Consequences of Organizational Justice

Perceptions of organizational justice (i.e., distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, informational justice) can have widespread ramifications for employee motivation, attitudes, and behaviors. 94 One can get a good handle on some of the possible consequences of organizational justice by considering the implications of procedural justice for the expectancy and equity theories of motivation.

Recall that expectancy theory asserts that individuals are motivated to work hard when they believe that (1) their efforts will result in their achieving a satisfactory level of performance (expectancy is high) and (2) their performances will lead to desired outcomes such as pay or a promotion (instrumentality and valence of outcomes are high). Suppose, however, that an organization has a problem with procedural justice, and its employees do not perceive that the procedures used to distribute outcomes are fair. More specifically, suppose employees believe that the performance appraisal system is inaccurate and biased, so that performing at a high level does not ensure a good performance appraisal, and performing poorly has been known to result in an average performance rating. In this organization, employees may believe that they are capable of performing at a high level (their expectancy is high), but they cannot be sure that they will receive a high performance rating because the appraisal system is unfair (procedural justice is low). Employees will not be motivated to exert a lot of effort on the job if they think their performance will not be accurately and fairly assessed and they will not receive the outcomes they think they deserve.

From the perspective of equity theory, motivation will also suffer when perceptions of procedural justice are low. Employees may believe that their inputs to the organization are not going to be fairly assessed or that outcomes will not be distributed based on relative inputs. Under these circumstances, employees will not be motivated to contribute inputs, for there is no guarantee that they will result in the outcomes they think they deserve.

It appears that perceptions of procedural justice are especially important when outcomes, like pay and benefits, are relatively low—that is, when there are few rewards to distribute to employees. When individuals obtain high levels of outcomes, they may view them as fair regardless of whether or not the procedures in place to distribute them are really fair. However, they view low outcome levels—assuming they’re the ones receiving them—as equitable only when the procedures used to distribute them really are fair. 95

More generally, organizational justice has been found to be positively associated with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance, and organizational citizenship behavior and negatively associated with absenteeism and turnover intentions. 96 Research also suggests that when perceptions of organizational justice are low, there might be increased potential for the

Counterproductive work behaviors

Behaviors by an employee that violate organizational values and norms and that can potentially harm individuals and the organization.

occurrence of counterproductive work behaviors. 97 Counterproductive work behaviors are those behaviors that violate organizational values and norms and have the potential to harm individuals and the organization as a whole. 98 Such behaviors can range from relatively minor infractions such as wasting time and resources to much more major infractions such as theft, sabotage, and verbal and physical abuse.

Chapter 7 Creating a Motivating Work Setting

Outline

· Overview

· Job Design: Early Approaches

· Job Design: The Job Characteristics Model

· Job Design: The Social Information Processing Model

· Job Design Models Summarized

· Organizational Objectives

· Goal Setting

· Goal Setting and Job Design as Motivation Tools

· Summary

· Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

Job Design: Early Approaches

Job design is the process of linking specific tasks to specific jobs and deciding what techniques, equipment, and procedures should be used to perform those tasks. The tasks that make up a secretary’s job, for example, include answering the telephone, filing, typing letters and reports, and scheduling meetings and appointments. The techniques, equipment, and procedures the secretary uses to accomplish these tasks may include using a personal computer and one or more word-processing software packages to type documents and prepare graphs, using an answering machine to take calls, and keeping a weekly appointment book to schedule and keep track of meetings.

Job design

The process of linking specific tasks to specific jobs and deciding what techniques, equipment, and procedures should be used to perform those tasks.

In general, managers try to design jobs to motivate employees to perform well, enjoy their work, and receive the outcomes they deserve. Job design also influences the motivation of employees and their input levels (see Exhibit 7.1 ). When employees are motivated to contribute inputs at a high level (to work harder, more efficiently, and more creatively) and perform their jobs more effectively, organizational effectiveness increases.

In the next sections, we examine scientific management, job enlargement, and job enrichment—three early approaches to job design. Each has implications not only for how new jobs should be designed but also for how existing jobs can be redesigned to improve motivation and performance. Some of the approaches can be used to design a job so the employee doing it gets more satisfaction from it (discussed in Chapter 3 ) along with the outcomes (pay, promotion, or other rewards) he or she desires.

Scientific Management

In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor published one of the earliest approaches to job design, The Principles of Scientific Management. 19 Taylor was concerned that employees were slacking off and not performing as highly on the job as they should be. Scientific management , a set of principles and practices stressing job simplification and specialization, was developed by Taylor to increase the performance of individual employees. Taylor started with this premise: There is one best way to perform any job, and management’s responsibility is to determine what that way is. He believed that following the principles of job simplification and specialization would help managers make this determination. Job simplification involves breaking up the work that needs to be done into the smallest identifiable tasks. Jobs are then designed around these narrow tasks. Job specialization results when employees are assigned to perform small, simple tasks and focus exclusively on them.

Scientific management

A set of principles and practices designed to increase the performance of individual employees by stressing job simplification and specialization.

Job simplification

The breaking up of the work that needs to be performed in an organization into the smallest identifiable tasks.

Job specialization

The assignment of employees to perform small, simple tasks.

Many fast-food restaurants employ the principles of job simplification and specialization. The way food preparers at Subway (the sandwich shop chain) do their jobs illustrates the principles of simplification and specialization. One person puts the meat on a sandwich, another person puts on the trimmings (like lettuce, tomatoes, and condiments), and another person collects the money from customers. Because of simplification and specialization, Subway restaurants can make a large number of “custom” sandwiches in a short period. The effectiveness of this job design is easily illustrated by watching what happens when one or more employees are unavailable (because, for example, they are on the telephone or are replenishing supplies). When this occurs, the other Subway employees must do their own work plus the work of the temporarily absent employee(s). As a result, it generally takes much longer to serve a customer. A cashier who fills in for the “trimmings” employee, for example, must wash his or her hands after handling a customer’s money before trimming another sandwich (in keeping with Subway’s cleanliness policy).

Advocates of scientific management conduct time and motion studies to determine the one best way to perform each narrow task. Time and motion studies reveal exactly how long it takes to perform a task and the best way to perform it—for example, what body movements are most efficient for performing the task. Employees are then instructed in precisely how to perform their tasks.

Time and motion studies

Studies that reveal exactly how long it takes to perform a task and the best way to perform it.

Employees at Subway, for example, learn exactly how to slice the roll for a sandwich, how to place the meat on a sandwich, and how to add the trimmings. Because these tasks are simple, employees quickly learn to perform them correctly. Because managers know (from time and motion studies) exactly how long it should take to perform each task, they know how much output, on average, they can expect from an employee. Subway knows, for example, how many sandwiches can be made and how many customers can be served in each shop per hour. By clearly specifying exactly what an employee should do on the job, exactly how a task should be done, and exactly how long the task should take, scientific management ensures that employee inputs result in acceptable performance levels.

In the scientific management approach to job design, pay is the principal outcome used to motivate employees to contribute their inputs. Pay is often linked closely to performance by a piece-rate pay system in which employees are paid a set amount of money for performing a certain number of tasks. For example, an employee might be paid $5 for every eight sound mufflers that he or she attaches to computer printers.

Scientific management has been instrumental in helping organizations improve employee effectiveness and productivity. The early assembly lines that made the mass production of affordable automobiles possible reflected scientific management principles. These principles still guide some mass-production assembly lines in use today. Eventually, however, some disadvantages of designing jobs according to the principles of scientific management became apparent. Many problems stemmed from the fact that employees are intelligent human beings who have the capacity to be intrinsically as well as extrinsically motivated and who also like to have control over their work.

Recall from Chapter 6 that extrinsically motivated behavior is behavior performed to acquire rewards (such as pay) or to avoid punishment, and intrinsically motivated behavior is behavior performed for its own sake. Employees who are intrinsically motivated enjoy performing their jobs; the motivation comes from the work itself. However, scientific management focuses exclusively on extrinsic motivation and ignores the important role of intrinsic motivation. This narrow focus results in several disadvantages for employees and the organizations trying to motivate them.

First, employees may feel that they have lost control over their work behaviors. With its careful, exact specification of how a simple, repetitive, specialized task should be performed, and how long it should take, scientific management leaves no room for employees to feel that they have control over their actions. Second, employees tend to feel as if they are part of a machine and are being treated as such. Because they view their work as depersonalized, meaningless, and monotonous, their job satisfaction may decline. This decline, in turn, can lead to lower work-life quality and potential increases in absenteeism and turnover. Finally, employees have no opportunity to develop and acquire new skills with job simplification and specification. These three drawbacks are part of the reason Subway and other fast-food restaurants experience high turnover levels: Employees leave to find more interesting and demanding work.

Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment

The first widespread attempt to counteract some of the disadvantages related to the scientific management approach was job enlargement, a movement that started in the late 1940s and continued through the 1950s. 20 Job enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks an employee performs but keeping all of the tasks at the same level of difficulty and responsibility. Job enlargement is often referred to as horizontal job loading because the content of a job is expanded, but the difficulty remains constant. For example, one might enlarge the job of assembly-line workers who attach the paper tray to a computer printer by also requiring them to attach the sound muffler and the toner cartridge. The employees now do more tasks of equal difficulty with no increase in the level of responsibility.

Job enlargement

Increasing the number of tasks an employee performs but keeping all of the tasks at the same level of difficulty and responsibility; also called horizontal job loading.

Proponents of job enlargement thought that increasing the number of tasks performed on a job might increase intrinsic motivation. The job enlargement approach to job design was put into effect at a number of companies including IBM, Maytag, and AT&T. 21 Some companies reported increased employee productivity and satisfaction from job enlargement, but at other companies the effects were not as clear-cut. This mixed success is not surprising because jobs that are “enlarged” may still be simple and limited with regard to how much control and variety employees have. Even though they no longer do one simple task, employees performing several simple tasks (each of which may quickly lose its appeal) may still be bored.

In response to the limited effects of job enlargement on work motivation, job enrichment emerged in the 1960s. Job enrichment involves designing jobs to provide opportunities for employee growth by giving employees more responsibility and control over their work. Job enrichment is often referred to as vertical job loading because employees are given some of the responsibilities that used to belong to their supervisors, such as planning for how to go about completing a project or checking the quality of one’s work. Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory (discussed in Chapter 3 ) was a driving force in the movement to enrich jobs. Recall that Herzberg’s theory suggested that employees’ motivator needs are satisfied by things such as having autonomy on the job and being responsible for one’s work, and that employees are satisfied with their jobs only when these needs are met.

Job enrichment

Increasing an employee’s responsibility and control over his or her work; also called vertical job loading.

Managers can enrich jobs in a variety of ways. The following are some of the most common: 22

· Allow employees to plan their own work schedules. For example, when possible, allow a secretary to determine when he or she does various tasks—such as typing, filing, and setting up meetings—and how much time to allow for each activity.

· Allow employees to decide how the work should be performed. If a manager wants a secretary to prepare a new company brochure or filing system, the manager may let the secretary decide how to design the brochure or filing system.

· Allow employees to check their own work. Instead of insisting that the secretary give a draft of the brochure to the manager to check for errors, the manager holds the secretary responsible for producing a top-quality, error-free brochure.

· Allow employees to learn new skills. A secretary may be given the opportunity to learn bookkeeping and some basic accounting procedures.

Like job enlargement, job enrichment is aimed at increasing intrinsic motivation so that employees enjoy their jobs more. When employees are given more responsibility, they are more likely to feel competent and like they have control over their own work behaviors. Job enrichment can also lead to efficiency gains, as has been the case at General Mills. 23

Not all employees, however, want the additional responsibility that job enrichment brings, and it can sometimes have disadvantages for the organization as a whole. Enriching some jobs can be expensive for an organization and may be impossible to do. Enriching other jobs may result in less efficiency. One of the reasons why Subway shops are able to make large numbers of customized sandwiches is because of job simplification and specialization. Enriching the jobs of Subway employees might increase the time it takes to serve customers, an outcome that would reduce organizational effectiveness.

Research evidence on the effects of job enrichment has been mixed. Although employees seem to be more satisfied with enriched jobs, it is not clear whether employees with enriched jobs are actually more motivated and perform at higher levels.

Job Design: The Job Characteristics Model

The job enlargement and job enrichment movements came about in part because of some of the negative effects observed when jobs were designed according to the principles of scientific management. Both movements attempted to increase employees’ levels of intrinsic motivation to perform their jobs, in the hope that employees who found their jobs more interesting and meaningful would be more motivated to perform at higher levels and be more satisfied. Satisfied employees would mean less turnover and absenteeism. The job characteristics model proposed by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham in the 1970s was built on these early approaches but went further. 24 Based on the work of A. N. Turner and P. R. Lawrence, Hackman and Oldham attempted to identify exactly which job characteristics contribute to intrinsically motivating work and what the consequences of these characteristics are. 25

Job characteristics model

An approach to job design that aims to identify characteristics that make jobs intrinsically motivating and the consequences of those characteristics.

The job characteristics model is one of the most popular approaches to job design. Hackman and Oldham sought to provide a detailed and accurate account of the effects of job design on motivation, performance, job satisfaction, and other important aspects of organizational behavior. Like the job enlargement and enrichment approaches, the job characteristics model focuses on what makes jobs intrinsically motivating. When employees are intrinsically motivated, Hackman and Oldham reasoned, good performance makes them feel good. This feeling motivates them to continue to perform at a high level, so good performance becomes self-reinforcing. 26

Core Job Dimensions

According to the job characteristics model, any job has five core dimensions that affect intrinsic motivation: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. The higher a job scores on each dimension, the higher the level of intrinsic motivation.

1. Skill variety is the extent to which a job requires an employee to use a number of different skills, abilities, or talents. Employees are more intrinsically motivated by jobs that are high on skill variety.

Skill variety

The extent to which a job requires an employee to use different skills, abilities, or talents.

High variety: In the opening case, we described how Zappos’ employees use a variety of skills to perform their jobs. Today, even factory jobs, which traditionally have had relatively low levels of variety, are increasing in skill variety due to the prevalence of sophisticated and computer-based technology. Factory employees now use a variety of skills, including computer skills, mathematics, statistical control, and quality control, in addition to skills related to whatever they are producing, such as metal products.

Low variety: The jobs of employees in a Subway restaurant have a low level of skill variety. All the employees need to know is how to slice rolls and put meat and trimmings on them.

2. Task identity is the extent to which a job involves performing a whole piece of work from its beginning to its end. The higher the level of task identity, the more intrinsically motivated an employee is likely to be.

Task identity

The extent to which a job involves performing a whole piece of work from its beginning to its end.

High identity: At Zappos, C.L.T. members view each customer as an important human being that they develop a personal relationship with and strive to keep happy; they deal with customer inquiries and problems from start to finish and until customers are happy and satisfied. As another example, a carpenter who makes custom wood cabinets and furniture has high task identity. The carpenter designs and makes cabinets and furniture from start to finish.

These mechanics use a high variety of skills and talents, making them more intrinsically motivated.

iStockphoto.com

Low identity: For a factory worker assembling computer printers, task identity is low if the worker only attaches the paper tray.

3. Task significance is the extent to which a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people in or out of the organization. Employees are more likely to enjoy performing their jobs when they think their jobs are important in the wider scheme of things. Recall from the opening case how C.L.T. members view their work as highly significant for Zappos’ customers and the company as a whole.

Task significance

The extent to which a job has an impact on the lives or work of other people in or out of the organization.

High significance: Medical researchers and doctors experience high levels of task significance because their work promotes the health and well-being of people.

Low significance: The job of an employee who dries cars off after the cars go through a car wash has low task significance because the employee doesn’t think it has much impact on other people.

4. Autonomy is the degree to which a job allows an employee the freedom and independence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out. High autonomy generally contributes to high levels of intrinsic motivation.

Autonomy

The degree to which a job allows an employee the freedom and independence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out.

High autonomy: From the opening case, it is clear that employees at Zappos have high autonomy.

Low autonomy: An employee at the Internal Revenue Service who opens tax returns and sorts them into different categories has a low level of autonomy because she or he must work at a steady, predetermined pace and follow strict guidelines for sorting the returns.

5. Feedback is the extent to which performing a job provides an employee with clear information about his or her effectiveness. Receiving feedback has a positive impact on intrinsic motivation. At Zappos, employees receive positive feedback from happy customers.

Feedback

The extent to which performing a job provides an employee with clear information about his or her effectiveness.

High feedback: Computer-based technology in factories often gives factory workers immediate feedback on how well they are doing, and this information contributes to their intrinsic motivation.

Low feedback: An employee who reshelves books in the New York City Public Library rarely receives feedback as he or she performs the job and is often unaware of when he or she makes a mistake or does a particularly good job.

According to the job characteristics model, when managers consider the five core dimensions of a job, it is important for them to realize that employees’ perceptions of the core dimensions (not the actual reality or a manager’s perceptions) are the key determinants of intrinsic motivation. As we discussed in Chapter 4 , two people can watch the same movie or take part in the same group meeting and have very different perceptions of what they have experienced. One person might hate a movie that another person loved, and one group member might perceive that a group meeting was a noisy, incomprehensible, free-for-all while another perceives that a reasonable and lively discussion took place. In a like manner, two employees may have the same job yet perceive it differently. For example, one employee might perceive the job to be high on task significance while another perceives it to be low on this dimension.

Additionally, it is also important to recognize that sometimes employees take proactive steps to actually modify the design of their jobs or their perceptions of their jobs so as to make them more enjoyable, meaningful, intrinsically motivating, and for other reasons. In particular, sometimes employees engage in job crafting whereby they proactively seek to modify the kinds of tasks that comprise their jobs, modify how they view their jobs, and/or change who they interact with while performing their jobs. 27

Job crafting

Employees proactively modifying the tasks that comprise their jobs, how they view their jobs, and/or who they interact with while performing their jobs.

Critical Psychological States

Hackman and Oldham proposed that the five core job dimensions contribute to three critical psychological states that determine how employees react to the design of their jobs: experienced meaningfulness of the work, experienced responsibility for work outcomes, and knowledge of results.

First, employees who perceive that their jobs are high in skill variety, task identity, and task significance attain the psychological state of experienced meaningfulness of the work. Experienced meaningfulness of the work is the degree to which employees feel their jobs are important, worthwhile, and meaningful as do many employees at Zappos in the opening case. The second critical psychological state, experienced responsibility for work outcomes , is the extent to which employees feel they are personally responsible or accountable for their job performance. This psychological state stems from the core dimension of autonomy. The third critical psychological state, knowledge of results , is the degree to which employees know how well they perform their jobs on a continuous basis; it stems from the core dimension of feedback. Exhibit 7.5 summarizes the relationships among the five core dimensions, the three critical psychological states, and work and personal outcomes (discussed next).

Experienced meaningfulness of the work

The degree to which employees feel their jobs are important, worthwhile, and meaningful.

Experienced responsibility for work outcomes

The extent to which employees feel personally responsible or accountable for their job performance.

Knowledge of results

The degree to which employees know how well they perform their jobs on a continuous basis.

Change Made	Core Job Dimensions Increased	Example
Combine tasks so that an employee is responsible for doing a piece of work from start to finish.	Skill variety Task identity Task significance	A production worker is responsible for assembling a whole bicycle, not just attaching the handlebars.
Group tasks into natural work units so that employees are responsible for performing an entire set of important organizational activities rather than just part of them.	Task identity Task significance	A computer programmer handles all programming requests from one division instead of one type of request from several different divisions.
Allow employees to interact with customers or clients, and make employees responsible for managing these relationships and satisfying customers.	Skill variety Autonomy Feedback	A truck driver who delivers photocopiers not only sets them up but also trains customers in how to use them, handles customer billing, and responds to customer complaints.
Vertically load jobs so that employees have more control over their work activities and higher levels of responsibility.	Autonomy	A corporate marketing analyst not only prepares marketing plans and reports but also decides when to update and revise them, checks them for errors, and presents them to upper management.
Open feedback channels so that employees know how they are performing their jobs.	Feedback	In addition to knowing how many claims he handles per month, an insurance adjustor receives his clients’ responses to follow-up questionnaires that his company uses to measure client satisfaction.

Work and Personal Outcomes

Hackman and Oldham further proposed that the critical psychological states result in four key outcomes for employees and their organizations: high intrinsic motivation, high job performance, high job satisfaction, and low absenteeism and turnover (see Exhibit 7.5 ).

1. High intrinsic motivation. One of the major outcomes of job design is intrinsic motivation. When jobs are high on the five core dimensions, employees experience the three critical psychological states and are intrinsically motivated. When intrinsic motivation is high, employees enjoy performing a job for its own sake. Good performance makes employees feel good, and this positive feeling further motivates them to continue to perform at a high level. Poor performance makes employees feel bad, but this feeling may motivate them to try to perform at a high level. In other words, because good performance is self-reinforcing (performance is its own reward), the motivation to perform well comes from inside the employee rather than from an external source like praise from a supervisor or the promise of pay.

2. High job performance. Jobs high in the five core dimensions, which lead to high levels of the three critical psychological states, motivate employees to perform at a high level.

3. High job satisfaction. Hackman and Oldham reasoned that employees are likely more satisfied with their jobs when the critical psychological states are high because they will have more opportunities for personal growth and development on the job.

4. Low absenteeism and turnover. When employees enjoy performing their jobs, Hackman and Oldham reasoned, they will be less likely to be absent or quit. (Also, recall from Chapter 3 that satisfied employees are less likely to be absent or quit.)

The Role of Individual Differences in Employees’ Responses to Job Design

The job characteristics model acknowledges the role that individual differences play in determining how employees respond to the design of their jobs. To see how individual differences interact with job design, let’s look at the case of three sales managers, each of whom manages a different department in a department store. Mary Catalano, the manager of women’s shoes, is a competent manager, eager to learn more about different aspects of retailing, and is serious about her career. Ron Richards, the manager of men’s shoes, is still mastering the responsibilities of his first supervisory position and is having a rough time. Roberta Doran, who has an MBA in marketing, manages the china department. Doran is a competent manager but always complains about how low retailing salaries are compared to salaries she could be making in other organizations.

To increase the motivating potential score of each manager’s job, the department store has recently redesigned each job. In the past, a manager’s main responsibility was to supervise the sales teams in his or her respective departments. After the redesign, managers also became responsible for purchasing merchandise (an increase in skill variety and task significance), hiring and firing salespeople (also an increase in skill variety and task significance), and the profitability of their respective departments (an increase in task identity, autonomy, and feedback).

As you might expect, Catalano, Richards, and Doran have responded in different ways to their redesigned jobs. The job characteristics model helps explain why employees may respond somewhat differently to an increase in some of the core characteristics of their jobs. It identifies three types of individual differences that affect the relationships between the core dimensions and the psychological states and the relationships between the psychological states and the outcomes (see Exhibit 7.5 ). The nature of those relationships depends on the growth-need strength, knowledge and skills, and satisfaction with the work context of the individual employee.

1. Growth-need strength is the extent to which an individual wants his or her work to contribute to personal growth, learning, and development. When an individual wants his or her job to fuel personal growth, both relationships in the model (core dimensions–psychological states and psychological states–outcomes) are stronger. Such individuals are expected to be especially responsive both to increased levels in the core dimensions and to the critical psychological states. In our example, Mary Catalano is likely to have the most favorable response to the job redesign because she is most eager to learn what she can about her chosen career.

2. Knowledge and skills at an appropriate level enable employees to perform their jobs effectively. When employees do not have the necessary knowledge and skills, the relationships depicted in Exhibit 7.5 may be weak, nonexistent, or even negative. In our example, Ron Richards was barely keeping his head above water before the increases in the core dimensions of his job. Once the job is redesigned, he may become frustrated because his lack of knowledge and skills prevents him from performing well. As a result, his intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction will probably suffer, and he will be unable to perform the more complicated job.

3. Satisfaction with the work context describes how satisfied employees are with extrinsic outcomes (such as pay, benefits, job security, and good relationships with coworkers) they receive from their jobs. Hackman and Oldham reasoned that when employees are dissatisfied with their work contexts, they spend much of their energy trying to deal with their dissatisfaction with the contexts and are not able to appreciate and respond to the potential for intrinsic motivation on their jobs. 36 When satisfaction with the work context is high, the relationships depicted in Exhibit 7.4 are expected to be strong; when context satisfaction is low, they are expected to be weak. In our example, Roberta Doran’s dissatisfaction with her pay is intensified by the job redesign because she must now take on additional responsibilities but will receive no extra pay. (In terms of the equity theory that we discussed in Chapter 6 , Doran sees her outcome/input ratio as being more unfavorable than it was before the job redesign because her inputs are going up but she is not receiving any additional outcomes.) Instead of increasing intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction, the changes in Doran’s job make her even more dissatisfied with her pay, and she spends much of her time complaining, thinking about how to improve matters, and looking for another job.

Although the job characteristics model focuses on the relationships between the core job dimensions and psychological states and, in turn, psychological states and outcomes, cultural differences may also have an impact on these relationships. American employees are used to a certain amount of autonomy at work, but employees in other countries like China have traditionally had very little freedom and independence on the job. Chinese employees, for example, may be motivated by core job dimensions such as autonomy, but it might take a little time and effort to convince them that they can really make decisions on their own. This proved to be the case at Minneapolis-based H. B. Fuller Company, which owns and runs a joint venture factory in China that makes adhesives used in products ranging from cardboard boxes to packages of cigarettes. The Chinese employees were originally reluctant to make decisions on their own but now find autonomy to be a source of motivation. 37

The Research Evidence

Many research studies have tested different components of the job characteristics model since Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham originally proposed it. A recent review of this literature conducted by Fried and Ferris identified almost 200 studies. Fried and Ferris’s overall conclusion from their review is that there is modest support for the model. 38 Some of their specific findings are as follows:

1. It is not clear that exactly five dimensions (the five core job dimensions outlined by Hackman and Oldham) best describe the job design of all jobs.

2. Research shows that job dimensions have the most significant effects on intrinsic motivation and on job satisfaction; the effects on actual work behaviors (such as job performance, absenteeism, and turnover) are not as strong.

3. Simply adding the scores for the job characteristics might be a better way of calculating the motivating potential score than using the multiplicative formula proposed by Hackman and Oldham.

The results of this review of the job characteristics model as well as other reviews and studies 39 lead to these overall conclusions: Employees tend to prefer jobs that are high in the five core dimensions in the model, they tend to be more satisfied with these types of jobs, and they have higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Thus, job design can contribute to the quality of work life and may also have some indirect effects on absenteeism and turnover rates. In addition, when the intrinsic motivation of employees is high, they are internally motivated to perform well. As a result, managers do not need to supervise them as closely as they do when their intrinsic motivation is low. The need for less supervision may free up some management time for other activities. Nevertheless, it is not clear that job performance will actually be higher when core dimensions are high.

Job Design: The Social Information Processing Model

The job characteristics model is complemented by another approach to job design: the social information processing model developed in 1978 by Gerald Salancik and Jeffrey Pfeffer. 40 According to the social information processing model , factors other than the core dimensions specified by Hackman and Oldham influence how employees respond to the design of their jobs. Salancik and Pfeffer propose that how employees perceive and respond to the design of their jobs is influenced by social information (information from other people) and by employees’ own past behaviors. The following example highlights the social information processing model.

Social information processing model

An approach to job design based on the idea that information from other people and employees’ own past behaviors influence employees’ perceptions of and responses to the design of their jobs.

Joseph Doherty and Robert Cantu have recently received their law degrees from Columbia University and accepted associate positions with the same prestigious Wall Street law firm. They

You’re the Management Expert Redesigning Jobs

Marcia Long has recently been hired as the manager of a group of five employees who process mortgage applications for a bank in West Hempstead, New York. When Long was interviewing for the position, her boss told her there were certain morale problems in the group. This was confirmed during Long’s first week on the job when her boss shared the results of an employee attitude survey with her. The employees in her group were very dissatisfied with the work they did—they found it monotonous and boring. They were actually satisfied with extrinsic factors such as pay, benefits, and their coworkers. But the nature of their actual jobs was a real problem. In Long’s group there are basically three different kinds of jobs. Two employees focus on the beginning of the process of granting a mortgage; they interact with home buyers, provide them with applications, and make sure their applications are complete with all supporting documents attached. They also run credit and background checks. Two employees focus on the next stage of the process—getting surveys and appraisals conducted, interacting with builders in the case of new homes, and arranging for title searches and a title policy. The remaining employee focuses on arranging closings, making sure everything is complete and in good order beforehand, and interacting with customers once they have been approved for a mortgage. Much to Long’s surprise, the employees were about equally dissatisfied with their jobs, regardless of which of the three positions they had. Because you are an expert in OB, Long has come to you for help. She wants to redesign her employees’ jobs so they are more motivated and satisfied, but she has no idea where to start and what to focus on. What should she do?

work in different sections of the corporate law department and report to different partners in the firm, for whom they do a lot of research and grunt work. The design of their jobs and the extrinsic outcomes (pay and perks) that they receive are similar. About half of their work is interesting and challenging, and the other half is tedious. They are expected to put in between 60 and 70 hours each week and are well paid, receiving $100,000 a year.

Despite these and other similarities, Doherty’s and Cantu’s reactions to their jobs are different. Doherty still can’t believe his luck at landing a job that is so interesting and challenging. He enjoys his work and thinks nothing of the long hours; his high salary is the icing on the cake. Cantu complains that he didn’t spend four years in college and three years in law school (never mind the year spent studying to pass the bar exam) to spend half of his time at work running errands for the partners of a law firm. He resents the fact that he is not able to deal directly with corporate clients (this job is reserved for the partners) even though he is the one who does most of the work on their cases. In his view, his high salary barely makes up for the long working hours.

Doherty is both intrinsically motivated by and very satisfied with his job. The opposite is true for Cantu, whose motivation (both intrinsic and extrinsic) is low and dissatisfaction is high. Why do they have such different reactions to jobs that are similar on most dimensions?

The Role of the Social Environment

Salancik and Pfeffer’s social information processing model suggests several reasons why Doherty’s and Cantu’s reactions are so different. First, the model proposes that the social environment provides employees with information about which aspects of their job design and work outcomes they should pay attention to and which they should ignore. Here, social environment means the other individuals with whom employees come into contact at work. An employee’s social environment, thus, includes his or her coworkers, supervisors, and other work group members. Second, the model suggests that the social environment provides employees with information about how they should evaluate their jobs and work outcomes.

The social environment provides employees with information about how they should evaluate their jobs and work outcomes.

Yuri_Arcurs\iStockphoto.com

Doherty and Cantu belong to two different work groups, each of which has three other associates in it. In Doherty’s work group, there is one other new associate and two experienced associates who have been with the firm for several years. Rumor has it that the experienced associates are soon to be promoted to the position of managing attorney. From day one, these two associates impressed on Doherty and the other newcomer to the group the valuable experience they would obtain if they did their jobs well. They acknowledged the dullness of the grunt work but made light of it and instead stressed the considerable autonomy the new associates had in conducting their research. These two associates are very satisfied with their jobs and are intrinsically motivated. Interestingly enough, the long hours expected of all the associates never became a topic of conversation in this group. Doherty’s social environment emphasizes the importance of the valuable experience he is obtaining from his job, points out the considerable autonomy he has, and suggests that this job provides high levels of intrinsic motivation and satisfaction.

Cantu’s work group is also composed of one other newcomer and two experienced associates who have been with the firm for several years. These two associates, however, do not expect to be promoted, and both are on the job market. They are bitter about their experiences in the law firm and warn Cantu and the other newcomer that they can look forward to being “the personal slaves” of the partners for the next several years. They also complain that most of the work they had to do when they first joined the firm didn’t require someone with a law degree and that the long hours were simply inhumane. Given the type of social environment Cantu encountered, his dissatisfaction with his new job and his lack of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are hardly surprising. If two seasoned veterans evaluate the job so negatively, why should he think any differently?

The different social environments that Doherty and Cantu encounter cause them to focus on different aspects and outcomes of their jobs and how they should evaluate these factors.

The increasing reliance of organizations on contingent employees has some interesting implications for social environments at work. Contingent workers are employees organizations hire or contract with on a temporary basis to fill needs for labor, which change over time. 41 Contingent workers have little job security and loyalty toward their organizations because they know their employment is on a temporary, as-needed basis. 42 Contingent workers often face a different social environment on the job than regular employees.

Contingent workers

Employees whom organizations hire or contract with on a temporary basis to fill needs for labor that change over time.

The Role of Past Behaviors

The social information processing model proposes another reason why Doherty and Cantu view their similar jobs so differently: employees’ past behaviors have implications for how they view their current jobs and work outcomes. Doherty made considerable sacrifices to get through law school. He worked at night as a waiter to supplement the $60,000 worth of student loans he took out to pay his tuition and living expenses over the three-year period. His hectic schedule made his social life practically nonexistent. Cantu, in contrast, did not have to take out any loans or work to pay for law school. His father, an attorney, always assumed that Cantu would follow in his footsteps. In fact, Cantu was not overjoyed by the prospect of going to law school but couldn’t find a decent job with his BA in anthropology. His parents were pleased that he decided to attend the Columbia law school and thought nothing of paying the high tuition and living expenses involved.

Because Doherty freely chose to become a lawyer, made a lot of sacrifices to attend law school, and will be paying off his debts from law school for the next several years, his intrinsic motivation is high, and his attitude toward his job is extremely positive. Having such a good job justifies all the sacrifices he has made. Cantu, who didn’t have many options after graduating from college, was pressured by his parents to become a lawyer and didn’t have to sacrifice much at all to attend law school. In terms of his past behaviors, Cantu has much less to justify because he didn’t have much choice, nor was he required to make many sacrifices.

The social information processing model, thus, identifies a second factor that affects employees’ reactions to the design of their jobs: Employees’ past behaviors have implications for their evaluations of their current jobs, their levels of intrinsic motivation, and their levels of job satisfaction, especially when these behaviors are freely chosen and involve certain personal sacrifices.

To sum up, the social information processing model points to the importance of the social environment and past behaviors for an understanding of how employees react to the design of their jobs. 43 It helps explain why two employees with the same job and outcomes may have very different levels of motivation and satisfaction. As you might expect, research has found that both the objective features of a job (its actual design in terms of the five core dimensions of the job characteristics model) and an employee’s social environment and past behavior all interact to affect motivation levels and satisfaction. 44 Research has found that the social environment is an especially potent source of information when employees with limited information and experience are new to a job or to an organization. Once employees have gained firsthand experience with their jobs, the social environment may play less of a decisive role in molding reactions, and the actual design of the job itself may become more important.

Job Design Models Summarized

Scientific management, job enlargement, job enrichment, the job characteristics model, and the social information processing model—each theory highlights different aspects of job design that are important to consider when it comes to understanding work motivation. The main features and motivational focus of each approach are recapped in Exhibit 7.6 .

Approach	Main Features	Motivational Focus
Scientific management	Work simplification Specialization Time and motion studies Piece-rate pay	Extrinsic
Job enlargement	Horizontal job loading (increase number of tasks with no increase in difficulty and responsibility)	Intrinsic
Job enrichment	Vertical job loading (increase responsibility and provide employee with opportunities for growth)	Intrinsic
Job characteristics model	Core job dimensions Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy Feedback Motivating potential score Critical psychological states Experienced meaningfulness of the work Experienced responsibility for work outcomes Knowledge of results Work and personal outcomes Intrinsic motivation Job performance Job satisfaction Absenteeism and turnover	Intrinsic
Social information-processing model	Emphasis on social environment (what aspects to consider, and how to evaluate a job) Emphasis on implications of past behaviors (on how jobs and outcomes are perceived)	Extrinsic and intrinsic

Exhibit 7.6 Approaches to Job Design

Scientific management advocates job simplification and job specialization, and its key goal is maximizing performance. Scientific management implicitly assumes that extrinsic motivation is the primary determinant of performance and provides no opportunity for intrinsic motivation. Proponents believe employees can be motivated to contribute inputs to their jobs and organizations if pay is closely linked to performance by means of piece-rate pay systems. Jobs designed according to the principles of scientific management tend to be boring, monotonous, and dissatisfying.

Job enlargement and job enrichment focus on expanding the simple jobs created by scientific management (enlargement through horizontal loading; enrichment through vertical loading) to promote intrinsic motivation.

In response to some of the problems related to designing jobs according to the principles of scientific management, Hackman and Oldham proposed the job characteristics model. The job characteristics model outlines the job dimensions that lead to high levels of intrinsic motivation. When employees are intrinsically motivated, they contribute inputs to their jobs because they enjoy the work itself. According to this model, how jobs are designed along five core dimensions can affect intrinsic motivation, job performance, job satisfaction, and absenteeism and turnover rates.

The social information processing model makes the important point that how employees view their jobs and their levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is affected not just by the objective nature of the job but also by the social environment at work and the employees’ own past behaviors.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, the primary aim of the different approaches to job design is to try to ensure that employees are motivated to contribute their inputs (time, effort, knowledge, and skills) to their jobs and organizations. Approaches such as scientific management, which stress extrinsic motivation, advocate designing jobs from an efficiency standpoint and closely linking pay and performance to them. Approaches such as the job characteristic model, which stress intrinsic motivation, suggest designing jobs to make them interesting and enjoyable. Regardless of whether the motivational focus is intrinsic, extrinsic, or both, job design affects motivation levels primarily by influencing the level and amount of inputs employees contribute to their jobs and organizations.

Some employees like their jobs and are motivated by them but at the same time have other aspects of their lives that are important to them and demanding of their time. When they are at work, they want to contribute a high level of inputs to a job that they find motivating but at the same time, they want to have more time available to them for other aspects of their lives that are important to them. For employees such as these, job sharing may be a viable option as illustrated in the following Focus on Diversity feature.

Focus on Diversity Job Sharing a Viable Option

Jennifer Turano and Joan O’Rourke share an advertising sales job at Glamour magazine, together managing about 20 accounts from large companies. 45 Turano, a working mother, always knew she wanted to share a job so that she would have time for her children but it took her some time to find the right person to share a job with. Turano and O’Rourke each work 3 days a week; one works Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and the other works Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. They use the same phone number and e-mail account and write each other extensive notes so that they are always up-to-date with their clients and what needs to be done next. 46

Turano and O’Rourke both get full benefits and in a recent year, together, they won the salesperson of the year award from the publisher. 47 Of course, they also share their commissions. Turano indicates that in order for job sharing to succeed, the two people sharing the job really need to get along well with each other, have the same work ethic, and be similar in terms of how they approach work and their jobs. 48

In order for job sharing to succeed, the two people sharing the job must get along well with each other, have the same work ethic, and be similar in terms of how they approach work and their jobs.

claudiobaba\iStockphoto.com

In the late 2000s, two pediatricians in Mission Viejo, California, Jennifer Stahl and Suzy McNulty opened a pediatric practice called Mia Bella Pediatrics so that they could share jobs. Both had young children and wanted to have a bit more balance in their lives than they had working full-time. 49 Stahl and McNulty have their own patients for well check-ups and when their patients are ill, they see whoever is working that day. The two doctors each see patients two and a half days per week, have beepers for emergencies, and have other responsibilities that they divide up between them based on their skills and interests such as paperwork, accounting, marketing, human resources, and information technology (the practice utilizes electronic medical records). Each works between 30 and 50 hours per week; some of the nonclinical work can be done at home so that Stahl and McNulty have more time and flexibility to be available for their children. 50

In fact, all employees at Mia Bella Pediatrics share jobs including medical assistants and billing clerks. 51 Excellent and ongoing communication is essential for such an arrangement to work out as well as simply getting along well with the other person and having commonalities in terms of skills and the kind of lifestyle and work-life balance being sought. As Stahl indicated, “You need to choose well...It’s kind of like a marriage in a way.” 52 In fact, job sharing is an option for a variety of kinds of jobs in a variety of organizations. For example, Cornell University has a job sharing option for interested employees. 53 In addition to providing employees with more time for nonwork interests and responsibilities and to have a balanced life, job sharing can also help to create more jobs during recessionary times and economic downturns. 54

Organizational Objectives

Organizational objectives describe the overarching purpose of an organization—what it stands for and what it seeks to accomplish. From the opening case, it is clear that key objectives of Zappos are to provide outstanding service to customers and keeping customers and employees happy. Organizational objectives contribute to creating a motivating work setting because they can provide employees with a sense of meaning and purpose. Organizational objectives can focus on the wider environment in which an organization operates, its products and services, and various stakeholder groups including employees and customers or clients. A hospital’s objective of providing high-quality patient care can be motivating for employees holding a variety of jobs. Take the case of a janitor in a not-for-profit teaching hospital known for its superior patient care and the fact that needy patients are never turned away. A key source of motivation for the janitor might be knowing he is contributing to an organization that really helps people regardless of their financial means.

Organizational objectives

The overarching purpose of an organization, what it stands for, and what it seeks to accomplish.

Social identity theory explains how and why an organization’s objectives can serve to motivate its employees. Social identity theory postulates that people tend to classify themselves and others into social categories, such as being members of a certain group or team, religion, political party, or organization. When people identify with an organization, they define themselves in terms of being a member and see their destiny as being connected to it. 55

Social identity theory

A theory that describes how individuals use the groups and organizations they are members of to define themselves.

Identification helps people answer the “who am I?” question. 56 People also prefer positive identifications to negative ones. Thus, for example, most employees would prefer to work for and identify with an organization that makes safe, life-improving products for consumers rather than for an organization whose products have a questionable safety record. When individuals identify with an organization, they are motivated to make positive contributions to it because their organizational membership is one way in which they see themselves. 57

Identifying with an organization can also help employees keep things in perspective when doing tedious or unpleasant tasks or when they’re frustrated by a persistent work-related problem. Knowing they are adding real value to society can help them get through tough times and prop up their motivation. Although individual employees typically focus on achieving their goals tied to their own jobs, they are more likely to realize that by meeting their individual or group goals, they are helping the organization to reach its objectives, too. Thus, in addition to general organizational objectives, the individual goals employees work toward play an important role in creating a motivating work setting. Goal-setting theory (discussed in the next section) describes when, how, and why goals contribute to creating a motivating work setting. 58

Increasing numbers of organizations are turning to outsourcing, or offshoring, of business functions and jobs to other countries such as China and India, to meet their objectives of cutting costs. However, as profiled in the following Global View feature, offshoring can also be viewed as a way to fuel growth and efficiency.

Global View Offshoring Expands Into Many Kinds of Jobs

Offshoring is increasingly relied on by organizations to reduce costs. And while offshoring manufacturing to low-cost countries like China has a relatively longer history, offshoring of services is much less capital-intensive and thus has the potential to achieve more cost reductions per dollar invested in offshoring than manufacturing, which typically entails significant capital expenditures to get plants up and running overseas. 59

Organizations in the United States and Western Europe with relatively high labor costs are offshoring computer programming, office work, and technical work to countries with relatively lower labor costs such as China and India. 60 Computer programmers in India and China earn much less than programmers in the United States. Moreover, knowledge-intensive work such as engineering, development of computer software, and research and developments is also being offshored. A recent study conducted by The Conference Board and Duke University’s Offshoring Research Network found that over half of the companies they surveyed had an offshoring strategy relative to knowledge-intensive work and innovation. 61 In addition to cost savings, these companies are also trying to reap the benefits of a talented global workforce and be in closer proximity to the global market for goods and services. 62 Large U.S. companies often generate a good portion of their earnings in other countries. Hewlett-Packard, Caterpillar, and IBM each generate more than 60 percent of their revenues from global markets. 63

Small companies also engage in offshoring to countries such as Sri Lanka, Russia, Egypt, and Brazil. 64 In companies large and small, offshoring also brings with it challenges such as maintaining sufficient managerial control over activities, employee turnover, data theft, the effects of natural disasters, and political unrest. 65

Outsourcing, or offshoring, of business functions and jobs to other countries, such as India and China, is increasingly being relied on to cut costs and fuel efficiency and growth.

Photos.com\Getty Images - Thinkstock

Goal Setting

A goal is what an individual is trying to accomplish through his or her behavior and actions. 66 Goal-setting theory, like the different approaches to job design, focuses on how to motivate employees to contribute inputs to their jobs 67 (see Exhibit 7.1 ). The theory also stresses the importance of ensuring their inputs result in acceptable job performance levels.

Goal

What an individual is trying to accomplish through his or her behavior and actions.

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, leaders in goal-setting theory and research, suggest that the goals employees try to attain at work have a major impact on their levels of motivation and performance. Just as you might have a goal to get an A in this course or to find a good job or nice apartment upon graduation, employees likewise have goals that direct their behaviors in organizations. Salespeople at Dillard’s department stores, for example, have weekly and monthly sales goals they are expected to reach, and telephone operators have goals for the number of customers they should assist each day. CEOs of organizations such as IBM, Chrysler, and Acme Metal strive to meet growth, profitability, and quality goals.

Goal setting is used in organizations not just to influence input levels employees are motivated to contribute but also to ensure the inputs are directed toward furthering organizational goals. 68 Goal-setting theory explains what types of goals are most effective in producing high levels of motivation and performance and why goals have these effects.

Goal-setting theory

A theory that focuses on identifying the types of goals that are most effective in producing high levels of motivation and performance and why goals have these effects.

What Kinds of Goals Lead to High Motivation and Performance?

According to goal-setting theory, there are two major characteristics of goals that, together, lead to high levels of motivation and performance. One is specificity; the other is difficulty.

Specific goals lead to higher performance than do vague goals or no goals. Specific goals are often quantitative, such as a salesperson’s goal of selling $600 worth of merchandise in a week, a telephone operator’s goal of assisting 20 callers per hour, or a CEO’s goal of increasing monthly and annual revenues by 10 percent. Vague goals are much less precise than specific goals. A vague goal for a salesperson might be to “sell as much as you can.” A vague goal for a CEO might be to “increase revenues and quality.”

Difficult goals lead to higher motivation and performance than do easy or moderate goals. Difficult goals are hard (but not impossible) for most employees to reach. Practically all employees can achieve easy goals. Moderate goals can be achieved, on average, by about half of the people working toward the goal.

The theory states that specific and difficult goals lead to higher motivation and performance than do easy, moderate, or vague goals or no goals at all. Goal-setting theory is supported by research studies conducted in a wide variety of organizations. 69 Although most of the studies have been conducted in the United States, research conducted in Canada, the Caribbean, England, Israel, and Japan suggests that specific, difficult goals lead to high levels of motivation and performance in different cultures as well. 70

Specific, difficult goals lead to high motivation and performance whether the goals are set by managers for their subordinates, by employees themselves, 71 or by managers and employees together. When managers set goals for subordinates, it is important that the subordinates accept the goals—that is, agree to try to meet them. 72 It is also important that employees are committed to attaining goals—that is, want to attain them. Sometimes managers and employees may set goals together (a process often referred to as allowing subordinates to participate in goal setting) to boost subordinates’ acceptance of and commitment to the goals. High self-efficacy also helps ensure that employees will be motivated to try to reach difficult goals. Recall from Chapter 5 that self-efficacy is a person’s belief that she or he can successfully perform a behavior. Employees with high self-efficacy believe they can attain difficult goals, and this belief contributes to their acceptance, commitment, and motivation to achieve them. Sometimes providing employees with flexibility to achieve their difficult goals can increase their self-efficacy and performance. For example, at TechTarget, an interactive media company in Needham, Massachusetts, employees are given specific, difficult goals on a quarterly basis, but they are then given the flexibility to set their own hours and schedules to meet them. 73 Finally, goal setting seems to work best when employees are given feedback about how they are doing. 74

Why Do Goals Affect Motivation and Performance?

Why do specific, difficult goals lead to consistently higher levels of motivation and performance than easy or moderate goals or vague goals such as “do your best”? There are several reasons, and they are illustrated in the case of Mary Peterson and Allison Rios, who are the division managers of the frozen desserts and frozen vegetables divisions, respectively, of a food-processing company. Both divisions overran their operating budgets the previous year. One of the priorities for the current period is to cut operating expenses. When Peterson and her supervisor, the vice president who oversees the dessert division, met to decide Peterson’s goals for the year, they agreed that she should aim to cut operating expenses by 10 percent. Rios met with the vice president of the vegetables division on the same issue, and they decided on a goal of reducing operating expenses by 25 percent. At year end, even though Peterson met her goal of reducing expenses by 10 percent and Rios failed to meet her goal, Rios’s performance was still much higher than Peterson’s because she had reduced expenses by 23 percent.

Why did Rios’s more difficult goal motivate her to perform at a level higher than Peterson? First, Rios’s difficult goal prompted her to direct more attention toward reducing expenses than Peterson felt she needed to expend. Second, it motivated her to put forth more effort than Peterson felt she had to put forth. Consequently, Rios spent a lot of time and effort working out ways to reduce expenses; she developed more efficient inventory and product distribution systems and upgraded some of her division’s production facilities. Peterson, on the other hand, devoted much less attention to reducing expenses and focused exclusively on cutting back inventories. Third, Rios’s difficult goal motivated her to create a plan for achieving her goal. The plan outlined the cost savings from each change she was proposing. By contrast, Peterson, confident that she could reach her goal through improved inventory management, didn’t do much planning at all. Fourth, Rios’s difficult goal made her more persistent than Peterson. Both Rios and Peterson changed their inventory-handling procedures to try to cut costs, and they originally decided to focus on reducing their inventories of both raw materials and finished products. The former, however, was much easier than the latter to cut back. Peterson, confident that she could attain her easy goal, decided to maintain her finished-product inventories as they were and focus solely on reducing the raw-materials inventories. Rios also encountered problems in reducing her finished-product inventory but persisted until she was able to come up with a viable plan to do so.

To sum up, specific, difficult goals affect motivation and performance by

· directing employees’ attention and action toward goal-relevant activities

· causing employees to exert higher levels of effort

· causing employees to develop action plans to achieve their goals

· causing employees to persist in the face of obstacles or difficulties 75

It is important to note that research shows that goal setting affects motivation and performance even when employees are not given any extra extrinsic rewards for achieving their goals. Not surprisingly, however, specific, difficult goals tend to have more powerful effects on performance when some financial reward is given for goal attainment. Goal setting can operate to enhance both intrinsic motivation (in the absence of any extrinsic rewards) and extrinsic motivation (when employees are given extrinsic rewards for achieving their goals).

Because goals work so well, setting them may lead employees to not perform activities not related to the specific goals they’re supposed to attain (recall the discussion of organizational citizenship behavior in Chapter 3 ). Research has found, for example, that employees with specific, difficult goals may be less likely to help a coworker who is having a problem because it might interfere with the achievement of their own goals. 76 A telephone operator who spends time explaining how to use a new electronic directory to a coworker, for example, might fail to meet her own goal of assisting 20 callers per hour because of the 15 minutes she spent helping her coworker. Some of these unassigned goals, however, may be paramount to the organization’s overall effectiveness.

Moreover, it’s important that employees do not so single-mindedly purse their goals that they behave in questionable or unethical ways. Clearly, no goal is so important that a person’s or an organization’s ethics should be compromised.

Limits to Goal-Setting Theory

Although goal-setting theory has received extensive research support for a variety of jobs and organizations, some recent research suggests that there may be certain limits on the theory’s applicability. Research suggests that there are three circumstances under which setting specific, difficult goals will not lead to high motivation and performance:

1. When employees lack the skills and abilities needed to perform at a high level. Giving an employee the goal of writing a computer program to calculate production costs will not result in high levels of motivation and performance if the employee does not know how to write computer programs.

2. When employees are given complicated and difficult tasks that require all of their attention and require a considerable amount of learning. Good performance on complicated tasks depends on employees directing all of their attention to learning the task at hand. When employees are given difficult goals for such tasks, some of their attention will be directed toward trying to attain the goal and not toward actually learning about the task. Under these circumstances, assigning a specific, difficult goal actually reduces performance. 77 Once the task has been mastered, goal setting will then have its customary effects.

Ruth Kanfer and Philip Ackerman of the University of Minnesota explored the effects of goal setting on the performance of Air Force personnel who were learning the complicated, difficult tasks involved to become air traffic controllers. 78 During the early stages of learning, assigning goals to the recruits resulted in lower levels of performance because it distracted some of their attention away from learning how to direct air traffic and toward trying to achieve the goal. Once the recruits had developed a certain level of mastery over the task, setting specific, difficult goals did enhance performance.

3. When employees need to be creative. As we discussed in Chapter 5 , creativity is the generation of new and useful ideas whether they be products, services, or processes. 79 Given that creativity involves coming up with something that is novel and has not been thought of before, it is often not appropriate to provide employees with specific, difficult goals as the outcome of their creative efforts is unknown. If they are coming up with something really new, a specific, difficult goal cannot be set a priori because managers do not yet know what it is that they will create. Additionally, if creativity is desired and employees are given specific, difficult goals, it is likely they will focus on achieving the goals rather than being creative. However, this does not mean more general kinds of goals cannot help motivate creativity. Indeed, research has found that giving employees the general goal to be creative can help encourage creativity. And, clearly, creative pursuits are driven by organizational objectives and group goals, such as providing new services that will meet clients’ needs.

Management by Objectives

Some organizations adopt formal systems to ensure that goal setting actually takes place on a periodic basis. 80 Management by objectives (MBO) is a goal-setting process in which a manager meets periodically with his or her supervisor to set goals and evaluate how well previously set goals have been met. 81 The objective of MBO is to make sure that all goal setting contributes to the organization’s effectiveness. Most MBO programs are usually reserved for managers, but the programs can also be used as a motivational tool for nonmanagers. Although the form and content of MBO programs vary from organization to organization, most programs have three basic steps: goal setting, implementation, and evaluation (see Exhibit 7.7 ). 82

Management by objectives (MBO)

A goal-setting process in which a manager meets with his or her supervisor to set goals and evaluate the extent to which previously set goals have been achieved.

1. Goal setting. The manager and the supervisor meet and jointly determine the goals the manager will try to achieve during a specific time period, say, 6 or 12 months. In our earlier example, Allison Rios, the division manager for frozen vegetables, met with the vice president to whom she reports, and together they decided that she should work throughout the coming year toward the goal of reducing operating expenses by 25 percent.

2. Implementation. The manager is given the autonomy to decide how to meet the goals in the specified time period. Progress toward goal attainment is periodically assessed and discussed by the manager and her or his supervisor. In our example, Rios came up with several ways to cut expenses, including the development of more efficient inventory and product distribution systems and upgrading the production facilities. Rios made and implemented these decisions on her own and periodically met with her supervisor to review how her plans were working.

Exhibit 7.7 Basic Steps in Management by Objectives

3. Evaluation. At the end of the specified time period, the manager and supervisor again meet to assess the extent of goal attainment, discuss why some goals may not have been attained, and set goals for the next period.

The success of an MBO program depends on the appropriateness and difficulty of the goals set. Clearly, the goals should focus on key dimensions of a manager’s performance such as cutting operating expenses, expanding sales, or increasing the profitability of a division’s product line that are under the manager’s control. And, as we’ve seen, goals should be specific and difficult. Finally, for MBO to work, a certain amount of rapport and trust must exist between managers and their supervisors. A manager who doesn’t trust her supervisor, for example, might fear that if some unforeseen, uncontrollable event prohibits her from attaining a difficult goal, the supervisor will penalize her (for example, by not giving a raise). To avoid this situation, the manager may try to set easy MBO goals. Managers and supervisors must be committed to MBO and be willing to take the time and effort needed to make it work. Moreover, when conditions change, a willingness to change objectives in midstream can be important; if an objective is no longer appropriate, there is no point in continuing to work toward it.

Goal Setting and Job Design as Motivation Tools

Recall from Chapter 6 that motivating employees to contribute their inputs (which include their time, effort, and skills) to their jobs is a key challenge in an organization. Goal-setting theory suggests that one way to meet this challenge is to set specific, difficult goals. Employees exert more effort for such goals than they do for easy or vague goals, and they are more likely to persist in the face of obstacles. In addition to motivating employees, goals focus employee inputs in the right direction so that the inputs result not only in acceptable levels of job performance but also in the achievement of organizational goals.

Together, job design and goal setting address some of the many questions managers face in the realm of motivation: How can I make my subordinates more interested in doing a good job? What is the best way to assign specific tasks to each of my subordinates? How can I get my subordinates to care about their work? How can I achieve increases in performance and quality necessary for the organization to achieve its goals? In terms of the motivation equation (Inputs fi Performance fi Outcomes), job design and goal setting focus primarily on how to motivate employees to contribute their inputs to their jobs and organizations (see Exhibit 7.1 ).

Chapter 9 Managing Stress and Work-Life Balance

Outline

· Overview

· The Nature of Stress

· Sources of Stress

· Coping with Stress

· Summary

· Exercises in Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

· The Nature of Stress

· When was the last time you felt particularly stressed? Maybe you had a paper due in a couple of days, but you hadn’t even started it. Perhaps you had three big exams on the same day, and you weren’t getting along with your roommate, or you were worried about not being able to find a good job when you graduate. You might have had a sense of being overwhelmed, of facing a problem that seemed insurmountable, or of being expected to do too many things at once. Or you may have felt uncertain about how to respond to an opportunity that had the potential to benefit you but also was very challenging.

· Stress is the experience of opportunities or threats that people perceive as important and also perceive they might not be able to handle or deal with effectively. 22 Several significant aspects of stress are highlighted in this definition. First, stress can be experienced because of both opportunities and threats. An opportunity is something that has the potential to benefit a person. A threat is something that has the potential to harm a person. 23 Opportunities, such as learning new skills or getting a new job, can be stressful if employees lack self-efficacy (see Chapter 5 ) and fear that they will not be able to perform at an acceptable level. When an organization reduces the size of its workforce, employees experience stress because their financial security, psychological well-being, and career development are threatened. From the opening case, it is clear that layoffs cause employees to experience stress because it threatens their financial security.

· Stress

· The experience of opportunities or threats that people perceive as important and also perceive they might not be able to handle or deal with effectively.

· A second aspect of stress is that the threat or opportunity experienced is important to a person. By important, we mean that it has the potential to affect a person’s well-being or the extent to which someone is happy, healthy, or prosperous. Many of the things people encounter in their daily lives could be classified as opportunities or threats, but usually only the important ones result in stress. Driving through traffic on the way to work is a threat, for example, but for many people it is not significant enough to result in stress. However, the threat of heavy traffic may become important enough to cause stress if you are caught in a traffic jam at 7:50 a.m. and are scheduled to make a crucial presentation to upper management at 8:00 a.m. In this situation, heavy traffic has the potential to affect your well-being negatively—being late for your own presentation will not make you look good in the eyes of your superiors.

· Clearly, workplace violence is one of the most life-threatening sources of stress. How real is the threat, and what can be done to overcome it? The Ethics in Action feature on the next page discusses this topic.

· A third key aspect of stress is uncertainty: The person who is experiencing an important opportunity or threat is not sure that he or she can effectively deal with it. When people are confident that they can effectively handle an opportunity or threat, they usually do not experience stress. An orthopedic surgeon performing a routine knee operation is not likely to experience stress if he or she has performed similar operations in the past and feels confident about doing a good job. Performing a

· Ethics in Action Violence in the Workplace

· Individual Differences and Stress

· Our definition emphasizes that an individual’s experience of stress depends on a number of factors such as how important a person thinks a given opportunity or threat is and the extent to which a person thinks he or she can deal effectively with the opportunity or threat. Above all else, stress is a very personal experience. Although it may be terrifying for some students to make a presentation in front of class, others enjoy being in the spotlight and having a chance to display their knowledge and wit. Similarly, some nurses who care for AIDS patients find this duty highly stressful because of the threat of accidental infection or the emotional pain caused by the death of their patients. But other nurses consider caring for AIDS patients a professional opportunity that they have the skills and knowledge to deal with. Members of an organization must realize that individuals may respond differently to the same potential source of stress and that what might seem trivial to one employee might be a real source of stress for another.

· In Chapter 2 , we discussed the two major ways in which people differ from each other, in personality and ability, and their implications for understanding and managing organizational behavior. Individual differences also play a significant role in determining how members of an organization perceive and think about potential sources of stress, their ability to deal with stress effectively, and ultimately the extent to which they experience stress.

· Personality

· Several of the personality traits we discussed in Chapter 2 are important for understanding why employees exposed to the same potential source of stress may differ in the extent to which they actually experience stress. Employees who are high on the Big Five personality dimension of neuroticism, or negative affectivity, for example, have a general tendency to view themselves, their organizations, their jobs, and the people they work with in a negative manner. These employees are likely to view ambiguous conditions and changes at work as potential threats and feel ill-equipped to deal with both threats and opportunities. Consistent with this reasoning, employees high on negative affectivity tend to experience more stress than those low on negative affectivity. 34

· As another example, employees who are high on the Big Five dimension of extraversion, or positive affectivity, tend to be outgoing and enjoy interacting and socializing with other people. In the classroom, extraverts are less likely than introverts to experience stress when making presentations. Similarly, extraverts are less likely to experience stress in jobs requiring frequent presentations or meeting with new people on a day-to-day basis. Sales and service jobs are examples.

· Openness to experience, which captures the extent to which employees are daring and open to a wide range of experiences, is a final example of a personality trait from the Big Five model that is likely to affect the extent to which employees experience stress. For most people, taking risks and making frequent changes can be stressful. Even entrepreneurs are stressed by the risks of starting their own companies and the frequent changes needed to be innovative. Nevertheless, it is likely that employees high on openness to experience may find risk taking and frequent change less stressful than those low on openness to experience.

· In Chapter 2 , we also discussed some other, more specific personality traits that are relevant to understanding and managing organizational behavior, and it is likely that these traits also affect stress. Employees high on self-esteem, for example, are less likely to experience stress from challenging work assignments and are also more likely to think they can deal effectively with sources of stress. As another example, Type A employees have stress experiences different from those of Type B employees. Type A’s, as you recall, have a strong desire to achieve, are competitive, have a sense of time urgency, are impatient, and can be hostile. They have a strong desire to get a lot done in a short period of time. The more relaxed Type B’s are not so driven. Initially, researchers thought that Type A’s would experience more stress than Type B’s; however, recent research suggests that only Type A’s who are very hostile experience high levels of stress. A final example of a personality trait that is likely to play a role in the extent to which employees experience stress is locus of control. Employees with an internal locus of control may experience less stress than those with an external locus of control because they feel that they can influence what happens to them. However, when events are largely beyond an employee’s control (for example, when his or her company goes bankrupt), internals may experience stress because they are not in control of the situation.

· Ability

· In addition to having different personalities, employees also differ in their abilities, which can affect stress levels. Stress can be experienced when employees lack the abilities necessary to perform their jobs. Providing employees with training can help them to develop new skills and improve their abilities, as indicated in Chapter 2 . More generally, taking steps to boost self-efficacy (see Chapter 5 ) can help alleviate stress when employees feel they lack the needed skills and abilities to be effective on their jobs.

· Somewhat related to ability is another factor that affects whether employees feel stressed or not: experience. People are more likely to feel stressed when they lack experience at doing something, and they are less likely to feel stressed as they gain experience. This explains why employees starting new jobs often feel stressed and nervous—their lack of on-the-job experience breeds uncertainty. A new supervisor in a bank, for example, is uncertain about how to settle work-scheduling conflicts among his subordinates, how to run a group meeting most effectively, how to get help from his boss without seeming incompetent, and how to motivate a capable but poorly performing subordinate. These sources of uncertainty create stress for the supervisor, but the stress diminishes over time as he gains experience.

· Consequences of Stress

· Because what an employee considers stressful is highly personal, employees differ in the extent to which they experience the consequences of stress, even when they are exposed to the same sources of stress (such as making a presentation or getting laid off). At some point in their lives, however, all employees experience some of the consequences of stress. These consequences are of three main types: physiological, psychological, and behavioral. Each consequence has the potential to affect well-being, performance, and effectiveness at the individual, group, and organizational levels.

· Physiological consequences

· Were you ever unable to fall asleep or stay asleep at night when you were experiencing particularly high levels of stress during the day? Such sleep disturbances are just one of the many potential physiological consequences of stress, as indicated in the opening case. Other potential physiological consequences range from sweaty palms, feeling flushed, trembling, a pounding heart, elevated blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, nausea, stomachaches, backaches, and hives to heart attacks and impaired immune system functioning. 35

· The relationship between stress and physiological consequences is complicated, and researchers are still struggling to understand the dynamics involved. 36 Two individuals experiencing the same high levels of stress may have different physiological reactions. Moreover, some people seem to experience more physiological consequences than others. People also differ in the extent to which they complain about physical symptoms of stress such as headaches and stomachaches. 37 The most serious physiological consequences of stress are likely to occur only after considerably high levels of stress are experienced for a prolonged period of time. High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart attacks, for example, may result from excessive levels of prolonged stress.

· Psychological consequences

· One of the major psychological consequences of stress is the experience of stressful feelings and emotions. Stressful feelings and emotions can range from being in a bad mood, feeling anxious, worried, and upset to feeling angry, scornful, bitter, or hostile. Any or all of these feelings will detract from employees’ well-being. 38

· Another psychological consequence of stress is that people tend to have more negative attitudes when they experience stress. Highly stressed employees tend to have a more negative outlook on various aspects of their jobs and organizations and are more likely to have low levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Stressed employees may feel underappreciated, feel a lack of control, and feel that their work is interfering with their personal lives.

· Difficulty falling asleep at night or staying asleep are one of the many potential physiological consequences of stress.

· Comstock\Thinkstock

· Burnout —psychological, emotional, or physical exhaustion—is a special kind of psychological consequence of stress that afflicts some employees who experience high levels of work stress day in and day out for an extended period of time. Burnout is especially likely to occur when employees are responsible for helping, protecting, or taking care of other people.39 Nurses, doctors, social workers, teachers, lawyers, and police officers, for example, can be at risk for developing burnout due to the nature of their jobs.

· Burnout

· Psychological, emotional, or physical exhaustion.

· Three key signs of burnout are feelings of low personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization.40 Burned-out employees often feel they are not helping others or accomplishing as much as they should be. Emotionally, they are worn out from the constant stress of dealing with people who are sometimes in desperate need of assistance. Burned-out employees sometimes depersonalize the people they need to help, thinking about them as objects or things rather than as feeling human beings. A burned-out social worker, for example, may think about a foster child in need of a new home as a case number rather than as a very scared 12-year-old. This psychological consequence may lead to a behavioral consequence when the burned-out social worker treats the child in a cold and distant manner.

· Behavioral consequences

· The potential consequence of stress on job performance is perhaps of most interest to managers. One way to summarize the relationship between stress and performance is in terms of an inverted U (see Exhibit 9.1). Up to a certain point (point A in the figure), increases in stress enhance performance. Beyond that point, further increases in stress impair performance. Stress up to point A is positive stress because it propels employees to perform at a high level. Stress beyond point A is negative stress because it impairs performance. Dr. Allen Elkin, who works at the Stress Management Counseling Center in New York City, suggests that each person has to find the right level of stress for himself or herself—enough to feel productive and fulfilled but not too much to be overwhelming. Dr. Elkin likens finding the optimal level of stress to tuning the strings on a violin or guitar. If the strings are too loose, there is no sound; if they are too tight, they break; when they are tuned correctly, they can make beautiful music.

· The fact that stress can be positive is illustrated by considering the motivational theories and tools we discussed in Chapters 6, 7, and 8. These theories and tools can be used to raise levels of motivation and job performance, but they also have the potential to increase levels of stress. For

· Sources of Stress

· What causes stress? Five major potential stressors, or sources of stress, are personal life, job responsibilities, membership in work groups and organizations, work-life balance, and environmental uncertainty. Whether potential stressors become actual stressors and produce stress and whether the stress an employee experiences is positive or negative depend on individual differences and how the individual perceives and interprets the stressors. Between the five categories of potential stressors (discussed next), a nearly infinite combination of them can lead to the physiological, psychological, and behavioral consequences of stress (see Exhibit 9.2 ). The effects of these stressors combine to determine the overall level of stress a person experiences. Each stressor contributes to or influences how stressed a person generally feels.

· Stressor

· A source of stress.

·

· Exhibit 9.2 Sources and Consequences of Stress

· Personal Stressors

· Why are we bothering to discuss stressors from one’s personal life in a book on organizational behavior? What happens to employees off the job can affect their attitudes, behaviors, and performance on the job as well as their own well-being. A normally polite and helpful salesperson may lose his temper with a disgruntled customer because he is preoccupied with the fight he had with his wife that same morning. Similarly, a marketing manager who normally has an open-door policy may avoid interacting with her colleagues because she can’t get her mind off her teenage son’s drug problem. Marriott International found that personal and family problems are a significant cause of the high turnover rates of employees in some of its restaurants and hotels. 53 From the opening case, it is clear that family responsibilities and home life are an important concern for employees both on and off the job.

· One way of viewing these and other personal sources of stress is in terms of major and minor life events. 54 Major life events can have serious implications for stress and well-being and include the death of a loved one, divorce, serious illness of oneself or a loved one, and getting arrested. These are all sources of stress involving emotional or physical “threats” and are negative. Other major life events are positive “opportunities” that can be stressful such as getting married, buying a house, having or adopting a baby, and moving to another state. Relatively minor life events also can be sources of stress, such as getting a speeding ticket, having trouble with your in-laws or child care provider, and even going on vacation.

· How stressed a person generally feels appears to depend not only on the extent to which the stressors occur and how significant they are for the person but also on how many of them occur simultaneously during any given period. 55 New college graduates, for example, sometimes experience high levels of stress because many potentially stressful life events (both positive and negative) occur in a short period of time—moving, losing old friends, making new friends, getting married, and becoming financially independent while at the same time starting or looking for a job. Although each event might be only mildly stressful by itself, the fact that they are all happening together results in a high level of stress.

· Researchers have developed questionnaires that contain checklists of stressful life events and their perceived impact. Overall stress levels are determined by the number of events that have occurred during a certain period (such as the past three years) and their significance to a person. Overall stress levels, in turn, have been shown to be related to the extent to which some of the negative consequences of stress we discussed earlier occur. 56 Items from one of these questionnaires are listed in Exhibit 9.3

· Job-Related Stressors

· Just as a wide variety of life events can be potentially stressful, a wide variety of potential stressors arise from a person’s job. Here we consider six job-related stressors: role conflict, role ambiguity, overload, underload, challenging assignments, promotions, and conditions that affect employees’ economic well-being.

· In Chapter 1 , we defined a role as a set of behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform because of the position he or she holds in a group or organization. Role conflict occurs when expected behaviors or tasks are at odds with each other. 57 A social worker experiences role conflict when he is told to (1) spend more time and effort to determine whether children in foster care should be returned to their parents and (2) double the number of cases he handles each month. A middle manager experiences role conflict when her supervisor expects her to increase production levels, and her subordinates complain they are being overworked.

Role conflict

The struggle that occurs when the behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform are at odds with each other.

Role ambiguity is the uncertainty that occurs when employees are not sure about what is expected of them and how they should perform their jobs. 58 Role ambiguity can be an especially potent source of stress for newcomers to an organization, work group, or job. Newcomers are often unclear about what they are supposed to do and how they should do it. Most employees, however, experience some degree of role ambiguity at one time or another because organizations frequently change job responsibilities to adapt to changing conditions in the competitive environment. Ford Motor Company, for example, realized it needed to adapt to increased customer demands for high-quality automobiles and workers’ demands for more autonomy. To address the need for change, Ford reorganized some of its factories so that employees performed their jobs in teams rather than individually. Some team members experienced role ambiguity because they were unsure about their new responsibilities in the teams.

Role ambiguity

The uncertainty that occurs when employees are not sure what is expected of them and how they should perform their jobs.

Sometimes employees experience job-related stress not because of conflicting demands (role conflict) or uncertain expectations (role ambiguity) but because of overload —the condition of having too many tasks to perform. 59 Robert Kakiuchi was a vice president of human resources at the U.S. Bank of Washington and often worked nights, weekends, and holidays to accomplish all of the tasks he was assigned. Layoffs reduced Kakiuchi’s department from 70 employees to six, but the number of human resource services he was expected to provide to other departments in the bank had not been reduced at all. 60 Kakiuchi experienced overload because his organization expected the remaining human resource workers to perform the tasks

Overload

The condition of having too many tasks to perform.

that used to be performed by laid-off workers. 61 Nadine Billard was a manager of export sales for book publisher HarperCollins and experienced so much overload that she typically worked 15-hour days and took work home on weekends. 62 According to a study conducted by the Families and Work Institute, dual-career couples worked, on average, 91 hours per week in the 2000s, compared to an average of 81 hours per week in 1970s. 63 Whether the high level of stress an overloaded employee experiences is negative and impairs performance depends on the employee’s personality traits and abilities.

Overload is particularly prevalent among middle and top managers. 64 A study conducted by the American Management Association found that 41 percent of the middle managers surveyed had more work to do than time in which to do it. Another study conducted by the Seattle consulting firm Priority Management found that many middle managers are working much longer hours because of the extent of their overload. 65 Earlier, we discussed how overload is a significant problem in Japan and sometimes leads to karoshi (death by overwork).

Underload , not having enough work to do, can also be a source of stress for employees. When was the last time you were really bored? Maybe it was a slow day at work, or you were doing research for a paper at the library. Perhaps you were bored while studying for an exam or watching a bad movie. Now imagine that you were truly bored for eight hours a day, five days a week. You would probably experience stress just because you were bored. As we know from the job characteristics model (see Chapter 7 ), most employees like to use different skills on the job and feel like they’re doing something worthwhile. More generally, a certain level of stress is positive and leads to high levels of motivation and performance, as indicated in Exhibit 9.2 .

Promotions and challenging assignments can be a source of stress for employees who are not sure that they can perform effectively or who have low self-efficacy. An employee promoted to a supervisory position who has never before had subordinates reporting to him may experience stress because he is not sure that he will be able to be assertive enough.

Stressors that affect employees’ economic well-being and job security are also powerful sources of stress. 66 When job-related income is very low or threatened by layoffs and downsizing, a lack of job security, or pay cuts, the well-being of employees and their families is put in jeopardy, as indicated in the opening case.

Numerous studies have shown that when organizations lay off employees, unemployment stress can be very damaging to employees and their families and may result in physical and mental illness, including depression, suicide, family violence, and even a family’s breakup. 67 Layoffs can also be stressful for members of an organization who do not lose their jobs or are survivors of the layoff. 68 Layoff survivors can feel guilty, angry, unhappy, lonely, or fearful that they will be the next to lose their jobs. Sometimes they become physically ill from their high levels of stress. A 46-year-old geologist who has worked for a Houston oil company for the past 11 years survived a layoff and was promoted to be the leader of a group of 12 of her close colleagues. One of her first assignments in her new supervisory role was to lay off half of the geologists in the group. Her stress levels were so high that she started to go to bed earlier and earlier at night so that she would not have to think about work. 69

Given how important job income is to employees and their families, opportunities for increasing pay levels also can be stressful to employees who are not sure they can meet the requirements for pay increases. 70 A car salesman working strictly on a commission basis experiences considerable stress every day because his ability to support his family and buy them the things they need depends on how many cars he sells. He likes his job because he has a lot of autonomy and is given the opportunity to earn high commissions by his hard work. But the job is stressful because so much is riding not only on what he does but also on things beyond his control such as the economy, company-sponsored discounts, and advertising.

The previous examples constitute just a few of the potential stressors people face. But there are still many others, some of which we discussed in previous chapters. For example, being a victim of discrimination or sexual harassment (see Chapter 4 ) is typically very stressful for employees. 71

Although we discuss how employees and organizations can cope with stressors in general later in the chapter, at this point it is useful to list some of the steps managers can take to make sure job-related stressors do not cause employees to experience stress levels so high that their well-being and performance are impaired:

· To make sure that role conflict does not get out of hand, managers should be sure not to give employees conflicting expectations. They should try to ensure that what they expect of subordinates does not conflict with what others (customers, coworkers, and other managers) expect from them.

· Role ambiguity can be kept to a manageable level by telling employees clearly what is expected of them, how they should do their jobs, and what changes are being made.

· Managers should try to avoid overloading their subordinates and redesign jobs with too many tasks and responsibilities.

· When underload is a problem, managers should consider redesigning jobs so they score higher on the five core dimensions in the job characteristics model (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback).

· When employees experience stress from promotions or challenging job assignments, managers should take steps to raise their self-efficacy—their belief that they can be successful. We discussed several ways to boost self-efficacy in Chapter 5 , such as encouraging small successes, letting subordinates know that others like themselves have succeeded in similar kinds of situations, having high expectations, and expressing confidence in subordinates’ abilities.

· Organizations should do whatever they can to minimize the negative effects of layoffs and downsizing on their employees’ economic well-being by giving employees advance notice of layoffs, fair and equitable severance pay, and providing them with counseling services. Similar steps can also be taken to reduce the stress of layoff survivors.

· When employees are experiencing stress due to, for example, a pay-for-performance plan, managers should actively work on boosting employee’s self-efficacy.

Group- and Organization-Related Stressors

Potential stressors that can cause too high a level of stress also can arise at the work group and organizational levels. At the work group level, for example, misunderstandings, conflicts, and interpersonal disagreements can be sources of negative stress for group members. In Chapters 10 and 11 , we discuss the benefits of using groups in organizations, some of the specific problems they face, and ways to alleviate them.

Given increasing globalization, more and more organizations are assembling cross-cultural teams whose members come from different countries. Misunderstandings and conflicts due to cultural differences sometimes are sources of stress in these teams. For example, in an impressive cross-cultural business venture, researchers from three competing companies—Siemens AG of Germany, Toshiba Corporation of Japan, and IBM—worked together at IBM’s East Fishkill, New York, facility to build a new computer memory chip. The more than 100 scientists from the three different cultures working on the project called themselves the Triad. The managers (from all three companies) who organized the effort were initially concerned the scientists might encounter problems working together because of their different cultural backgrounds. Their concerns were borne out: misunderstandings and conflicts became a significant source of stress for many of the scientists. For instance, the German scientists from Siemens were aghast when their Japanese counterparts from Toshiba closed their eyes during meetings and appeared to be sleeping. (Apparently, overworked scientists and managers frequently do this in Japan during parts of meetings that don’t relate to them.) As another example, the American scientists from IBM experienced stress because they thought the Germans spent too much time on planning, the Japanese spent too much time reviewing ideas, and neither spent enough time actually getting the project done.

Working through potential misunderstandings such as these in cross-cultural teams is important because international joint ventures have many advantages: participants get different perspectives on a project or problem, a wide variety of skills and expertise is represented, and participants are able to benefit from their exposure to new ways of doing things. To take advantage of the benefits of diversity without experiencing too much stress from culture shock, individuals and groups need to be sensitive to the role that national culture plays when it comes to behavior in groups and organizations.

Uncomfortable working conditions are another source of stress for groups and entire organizations. Excessive noise, temperature extremes, and poorly designed office equipment and machinery can be very stressful when employees are exposed to them day in and day out. In recent years, more than 2,000 lawsuits have been filed by employees who claim that poorly designed computer keyboards—some made by well-known companies such as Eastman Kodak, IBM, and AT&T—have resulted in high levels of stress and painful, sometimes crippling, injuries to the employees’ hands and wrists. 72

Uncomfortable working conditions took on new meaning at Jim Beam’s Clermont, Kentucky, bourbon distillery when a new policy prevented workers from using the rest room whenever they needed to. Bottling-line employees at the plant complained to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union when they were restricted to four breaks to use the restroom during their 8 1/2-hour shifts, with only one of the breaks being unscheduled. 73 Employees found enforcement of this policy highly stressful, uncomfortable, and for some, a medical challenge. Employees who received notes from their doctors did not have to follow the policy and were able to use the rest room whenever nature called. 74

Potentially unsafe or dangerous jobs that involve, say, working in nuclear power plants, with toxic chemicals or dangerous machinery, or with people who have communicable diseases such as AIDS, can cause stress and injuries. 75 A study by Circadian Technologies Inc. found that pilots who fly for United Parcel Service face dangerous working conditions between 15 percent and 31 percent of the time. The pilots’ union attributes these dangerous working conditions to flights that cross several time zones, and flight schedules that cause pilots to alternate between flying at night and flying during the day. 76 Dangerous working conditions can also lead to on-the-job injuries. A study conducted by the University of Michigan School of Public Health found that employees in Michigan missed 8.9 million days of work in a year for injuries they received while performing their jobs. 77

Mergers and acquisitions are often an organizational source of stress, particularly for employees in the acquired firm. Employees in the acquired firm often feel like second-class citizens and fear being laid off. Such fears are often justified because once an acquisition is completed, the acquiring firm or parent company typically restructures the organization it has acquired to capitalize on synergies across the two companies and eliminate duplication of effort. 78 Some employees in the acquired firm may be likely to lose their jobs. Others will be required to do more with less. This is what happened at Kentucky Fried Chicken when PepsiCo acquired the franchise. 79 Employees in the newly merged firm might experience stress from heightened uncertainty about the future and potential culture clashes between the two organizations.

We discuss what individuals and organizations can do to cope with stressors in general later in the chapter, but at this point it is useful to consider what managers and organizations can do to try to make sure that group- and organizational-level stressors do not get out of hand. First, members of work groups can be trained to work together as a team and communicate effectively with each other. (In Chapter 18 , we discuss some team-building strategies.) Second, organizations should make sure that employees have comfortable working conditions whenever possible. Third, organizations should ensure that employees are not exposed to any unnecessary risks on the job and that all safety precautions are in place to limit the risk of injury on the job. Fourth, when organizations are undergoing major changes such as mergers and acquisitions, 80 they should provide employees with accurate and timely information about how the change will proceed and how it may affect them. This is just a sampling of the steps managers and organizations can take to try to limit the extent to which these potential stressors have negative effects on the employees exposed to them.

Stressors Arising Out of Work-Life Balance

People employed as factory workers, receptionists, managers, nurses, and truck drivers are also often parents, spouses, children of elderly parents, volunteers in community organizations, and hobbyists. A study conducted by the nonprofit Families and Work Institute based in New York found that 85 percent of U.S. employees are responsible for family members living at home. 81 In light of the fact that employees are working longer hours than they did 20 years ago, this suggests that achieving a balance between work and life outside of work can be a real challenge. 82 When work roles conflict with one’s personal life, stress is often the result. New accountants and attorneys working in major accounting and law firms, for example, are expected to put in very long hours. Although working long hours can be stressful in its own right, it can be even more stressful when it conflicts with demands from one’s personal life. Many employees have young children at home and a spouse who is putting in equally long hours. Add in the responsibility of taking care of an ill parent or being president of a local charity and the stress can be overwhelming. Single parents often feel even more burdened because they do not have a spouse to help them deal with family problems and responsibilities. 83

Even when employees do not have children, family responsibilities often cause stress when they conflict with work demands. Faith Merrens, a manager of software designers at U.S. West Communications Inc., indicated that “elder care is the biggest personal issue we face in maintaining productivity from day to day.” 84 Most of her subordinates have been forced to take time off from work to care for elderly relatives. Even Merrens and her boss had to take time off when their parents were hospitalized.

Additionally, many employees fall into what has been called the “sandwich generation.” 85 These employees are responsible for not only taking care of their own children, but also taking care of their aging parents. 86 Responsibilities for children and infirm parents often conflict with heavy workloads, significantly increasing stress for those caught in the middle. Later in the chapter, we discuss some of the steps organizations can take to help prevent these kinds of conflicts from overwhelming their employees.

Another form of conflict between work and personal life occurs when employees are asked to do things that conflict with their personal values or when they work in organizations with ethics different from their own. It is very stressful, for example, for some emergency room personnel at private hospitals to turn away potential patients because they lack medical insurance. Likewise, it is sometimes stressful for loan officers at banks to foreclose on a family’s mortgage because the family can’t keep up the payments. Similarly, it may be difficult for insurance agents to cancel medical insurance or deny coverage to patients for certain kinds of ailments. An environmentalist may feel stressed out working for an organization that fails to recycle; salespeople may experience stress selling products they know are low quality.

Environmental Uncertainty

Just as employees can experience stress from their personal lives, so too can they experience stress from uncertainty and crises in the wider environment in which organizations operate. The tragic and devastating terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, shocked the nation and the world. Research suggests the attacks were a significant source of stress for the employees directly affected by the attacks and those people in the vicinity of the attacks. But the attacks were also deeply distressful to people living and working hundreds of miles away who didn’t know anyone personally affected. This is a stressor that unfortunately continues to be present. We hear it in governmental warnings, and security lapses contribute to a sense of threat and vulnerability over which many people feel they have little control. Although the threat of terrorism continues to be a source of stress around the world, research suggests that it does not appear to have changed employees’ attitudes about their jobs and organizations. 87

Other examples of contemporary stressors stemming from the wider environment include global instability and wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Corporate scandals in which top managers engaged in deception and fraud, 88 tragic accidents such as an explosion at a BP oil refinery in Texas City that killed 15 employees and injured 100, 89 and pollution of the natural environment and exposure to toxins are just a few examples. In 2010, BP’s Macondo oil well under a mile of water off the coast of Louisiana blew out, destroying a Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Eleven workers were killed and thousands of barrels of oil a day leaked into the Gulf of Mexico threatening beaches, fish, and wildlife. 90 Stressors like these that stem from uncertainty in the wider environment can affect the well-being and stress levels of employees in organizations—whether or not they have a close connection to the stressor. Such stressors can be particularly troubling because many individuals feel they have little personal control over the stressors.

Although people may have little control over terrorism, war, or disasters, there are steps they can take to manage how they feel about, think about, and deal with environmental stressors. The accompanying Global View explains how.

Coping with Stress

Ultimately, the extent to which stress is experienced and whether it is positive or negative depends on how people cope—that is, manage or deal with stressors. There are two basic types of coping: problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping relates to the steps people take to deal directly with and act on the source of stress. 100 For example, employees facing the threat of a layoff may cope in a problem-focused manner by looking for other jobs in organizations that are not downsizing. When problem-focused coping is successful, it helps employees deal with opportunities and threats that are causing stress.

Problem-focused coping

The steps people take to deal directly with and act on the source of stress.

Emotion-focused coping relates to the steps people take to deal with and control their stressful feelings and emotions. 101 For example, some employees facing the threat of a layoff may try to alleviate some of their stressful feelings and emotions by exercising regularly or meditating. When emotion-focused coping is successful, stressful feelings and emotions generated by threats and opportunities do not get out of hand.

Emotion-focused coping

The steps people take to deal with and control their stressful feelings and emotions.

Research suggests that most of the time people engage in both kinds of coping when dealing with a stressor. 102 Individuals cope with stressors in a variety of problem- and emotion-focused ways, and organizations can take steps to help employees cope with the many stressors they face.

Problem-Focused Coping Strategies for Individuals

Problem-focused coping is directly tailored to the stressor being experienced. A college senior experiencing stress due to an upcoming job interview copes in a problem-focused way by finding out as much information as possible about the company and doing some practice interviews with a friend. In addition to problem-focused coping strategies devised to manage a very specific source of stress, such as preparing for a job interview or relocating, more general strategies can be used to deal with several kinds of stressors. Here, we consider three: time management, getting help from a mentor, and role negotiation.

Time management

One strategy for coping with overload is time management , a series of techniques that can help people accomplish more with the limited amount of time they do have. Time management usually entails these steps:

Time management

Prioritizing and estimating techniques that allow employees to identify the most important tasks and fit them into their daily schedule.

· Employees make lists of all the tasks they need to accomplish during the day.

· The tasks are then prioritized in terms of those that are most important and must be done and those that are less important and can be put off, if needed.

· Employees estimate how long it will take to accomplish these tasks and plan their workdays accordingly. 103

Time management is a coping strategy for individuals, but organizations can help their members learn effective time management techniques. Valerie Nossal is employed as a time management expert at MeadWestvaco Consumer and Office Products in Stamford, Connecticut, to help employees better manage their time. 104 She suggests that employees need to be proactive and also set priorities and limits. Given the high volumes of work many employees are faced with, they could work around the clock and not get everything done. Thus, employees need to set priorities not only in terms of what is more and less important to get done at work but also in terms of making sure they have a balance between work and the rest of their lives. Nossal advises employees to schedule time to exercise and be with their families because these are important activities that should not be neglected due to work pressures. 105 Moreover, not paying attention to one’s priorities and achieving a work-life balance may actually make employees less efficient.

Given pressures to get more done in less time, some employees engage in multitasking—doing two or more things at once—such as writing a report during a meeting, answering e-mails while talking on the telephone, or opening mail while listening to a coworker. Does multitasking save time? Research suggests that rather than saving time, multitasking might actually make people become less, rather than more, efficient, especially when they are working on complex tasks or activities. 106 Multitasking that relies on the same parts of the brain makes a person especially vulnerable to efficiency losses. 107 For example, if you are trying to compose an e-mail while carrying on a conversation with your boss over your speaker phone, both of these tasks require you to use and process language. One will likely interfere with the other, resulting in lower efficiency. However, photocopying documents while talking with a coworker might be more feasible, though the coworker is probably receiving a bit less of your attention than he or she would have received if you weren’t multitasking. 108

Getting help from a mentor

Recall from Chapter 4 that more experienced members of an organization (mentors) can offer advice and guidance to less experienced members (protégés). Getting help from a mentor can be an effective problem-focused coping strategy for dealing with stressors such as role conflict, role ambiguity, overload, and challenging assignments and promotions. A mentor can advise an overloaded protégé, for example, about how to prioritize tasks so the important ones get accomplished, how to determine what tasks can be put aside, and when to say “no” to additional assignments or requests.

Like time management, getting help from a mentor is an individual-based, problem-focused coping strategy, but organizations can take steps to help ensure that mentors are available to protégés. For example, some organizations have formal mentoring programs to help new employees get the guidance and advice they need to achieve their goals.

Role negotiation

Role negotiation is the process through which employees actively try to change their roles in order to reduce role conflict, role ambiguity, overload, or underload. 109 Sometimes simply saying “no” to additional assignments can be an effective means of role negotiation for overloaded employees. Role negotiation can also be an effective problem-focused coping mechanism for employees experiencing stress due to work-life linkages.

Role negotiation

The process through which employees actively try to change their roles in order to reduce role conflict, role ambiguity, overload, or underload.

Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies for Individuals

In addition to trying to manage stressful problems and opportunities, employees also have to learn to manage the feelings and emotions they give rise to. Here, we consider four emotion-focused coping strategies for individuals: exercise, meditation, social support, and clinical counseling.

Exercise

One of the reasons why exercise is so popular today is that it is an effective means of emotion-focused coping. Jogging, aerobics, swimming, tennis, and walking are just a few of the types of exercise that employees ranging from entry-level employees to CEOs and even American presidents use to cope with stressors in an emotion-focused way. Regular exercise can reduce stress, improve cardiovascular functioning, and enhance well-being.

Yoga is growing in popularity as a means to alleviate stress and can also increase people’s ability to concentrate. According to the magazine Yoga Journal, 15 million adults in the United States engage in yoga, and over 35 million say they want to try it in the next 12 months. 110 Yoga involves practicing certain postures and poses, controlling breathing, and achieving a sense of calm and alleviating stress. Some organizations provide optional yoga classes to help their employees combat stress. For example, Katz Media Company in New York and Lomangino Studio, a Washington, D.C. graphic design company, both offer on-site yoga classes for their employees. 111 And some counselors in the New York City Fire Department who worked 80-hour weeks after September 11 found yoga helped them cope with the stress of helping firefighters and their families deal with the deaths of 343 fellow firefighters. Bill Crawford, who has over 30 years of experience with the department and heads its counseling group, is a yoga devotee himself. As he puts it, yoga “makes me focus and put aside all the stray thoughts of the day that overwhelm us and cause us stress.” 112

Meditation

Some employees deal with stressful emotions through meditation. There are various forms of meditation, and some of them require professional training to learn. Generally, however, meditation entails being in a quiet environment, sitting in a comfortable position, and tuning out everyday cares and worries by focusing mentally on some visual image or verbal phrase. 113

Buddhist monks are masters of the practice of meditation and excel at the kind of trained introspection that meditation involves. In fact, neuroscientists at MIT have met with the Dalai Lama to understand how meditation works and what it can reveal about the workings and power of the brain. 114 The French monk Matthieu Ricard met with neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin for similar reasons. Not only do the scientists hope to learn from the Buddhists, but the Buddhists hope to learn from the scientists as well. 115

Social support

People naturally seek help from others—social support—when they are having problems or feeling stressed. The social support of friends, relatives, coworkers, or other people who care about you and are available to discuss problems, give advice, or just be with you can be an effective means of emotion-focused coping. 116 Both the number of people you can turn to and the quality of the relationships you have with those people are important in helping to alleviate stress. A sample measure that is used to determine the extent to which a person is satisfied with the social support available to him or her is provided in Exhibit 9.4 .

Clinical counseling

Sometimes employees have difficulty coping on their own and seek professional help or clinical counseling. Trained psychologists and psychiatrists can help employees learn how to cope with stressors that may seem overwhelming and at times unbearable.

Nonfunctional strategies

The four emotion-focused coping strategies that we have discussed are functional for individuals because they generally help alleviate stressful feelings and emotions without creating new problems or sources of stress. Unfortunately, however, there are other emotion-focused ways of coping that are less functional for employees. Some people react to high levels of stress by eating too much, drinking too much, or taking drugs. Some employees employed by Phillips Petroleum Company, for example, started having problems with alcohol when they experienced high levels of stress from a big layoff. 117 These ways of coping are never effective in alleviating stressful feelings and emotions in the long run, and they create more problems, such as being overweight, being addicted to alcohol or drugs, and being unable to function to one’s fullest capacity.

Problem-Focused Coping Strategies for Organizations

Managers and organizations can do several things to deal with problems and opportunities that are sources of stress for employees. Some problem-focused coping strategies for organizations are job redesign and rotation, reduction of uncertainty, job security, company day care and family friendly benefits, flexible work schedules, job sharing, and telecommuting.

Job redesign and rotation

Sometimes it is possible to redesign jobs to reduce negative stress caused by high levels of role conflict, role ambiguity, overload, or underload, or to improve working conditions. The job characteristics model (see Chapter 7 ) outlined the aspects of the job especially important to consider—namely, skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. Increasing autonomy can be useful to combat role conflict, and providing feedback can help cut down on role ambiguity. When overload is a problem, reducing the number of tasks a jobholder must perform is a viable option. Underload can be remedied by raising the skill levels, variety, task identity, and task significance related to the job. Uncomfortable and dangerous working conditions should be remedied whenever possible. Redesigning jobs to reduce unnecessary travel and job relocations can also help reduce levels of stress, particularly for dual-career couples and single parents.

When job redesign is not a viable option, job rotation , assigning employees to different jobs (which themselves do not change) on a regular basis, can sometimes alleviate stress. Physicians, for example, often rotate on-call duty for hospital emergency rooms and thereby reduce the level of stress that any one physician experiences from this job assignment.

Job rotation

Assigning employees to different jobs on a regular basis.

Reduction of uncertainty

Often employees experience stress because they are uncertain about how to perform their assigned tasks, how to deal with conflicting goals or expectations, or how to prioritize assignments. Uncertainty also can cause stress when employees are unsure about how an organization expects or wants them to deal with competing demands at work and home. Whatever gives rise to it, uncertainty often results in stress.

One way to reduce uncertainty in organizations is by allowing employees to participate in making decisions that affect them and their jobs. When employees participate in decision making, they often have a lot more information about changes an organization can make and how to adjust to them. We discuss participation in decision making in more detail in Chapters 12 and 15 . As we discuss in Chapter 15 , participation can be taken one step further by empowering employees—giving them the authority to make decisions and be responsible for the outcomes of those decisions.

Another way to reduce uncertainty is to improve communication throughout an organization. Employees need clear, accurate information on a timely basis, and steps should be taken to ensure that employees understand what this information essentially means for them as well as the organization as a whole. Good communication is so important in understanding and managing organizational behavior that it is the focus of Chapter 14 .

Job security

Whenever possible, providing employees with job security so that they know they will be able to support themselves and their loved ones helps to eliminate stressors related to the economic functions of work.

In lean economic times, it may be hard for organizations to guarantee job security. IBM and other companies that in the past prided themselves on high levels of security have been forced to lay off employees. Nevertheless, organizations can take steps to reduce the impact a layoff has on employees and their families. If a layoff is a real possibility, managers should provide employees with clear, honest information about their prospects in the organization. When laying off employees is necessary, it is best to give them as much advance notice as possible so they can prepare themselves and explore their options. Whenever possible, outplacement counseling should be made available to help employees find other positions or obtain additional training to increase their employment options. Employees should also receive fair severance packages.

Company day care and family friendly benefits

The problem of finding good, safe, affordable day care for young children is well known to many working parents. So is the problem of knowing what to do with their children when they get sick. Many organizations are coming up with innovative ways to help employees cope with stressors arising out of this work-life linkage, as profiled in the following Focus on Diversity.

Flexible work schedules and job sharing

Some organizations provide their employees with the option of having flexible work schedules to help them cope with conflicts between work and personal life, as does Guerra DeBerry Coody. Flexible schedules allow employees to take time off when they need to take care of a sick child or an elderly parent.

When job sharing is used, two or more employees are responsible for a single job and agree on how to divide job tasks and working hours. One employee might perform the job in the mornings and another in the afternoons; employees might alternate days; one might work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays; or each employee might be accountable for particular tasks and assignments. Job sharing helps employees cope with the competing demands they face at work and home. In order for job sharing to be effective, however, good communication and understanding between the organization and its employees are necessities.

The prospect of increased flexibility leads some people to become contingent workers, hired on a temporary basis by organizations. If a contingent worker is finished with an assignment at one company and wants to take some time off before the next job, he or she is free to do so. However, this increased flexibility comes at the expense of job security and other benefits from full-time employment, and a lack of job security can be a source of stress in and of itself.

Telecommuting

When telecommuting is used, employees are employed by an organization and have an agreement that enables them to work out of their homes regularly but not necessarily all the time. 124 Some employees’ telecommuting arrangements may entail working three days at home and two days in the office. Other employees may work primarily at home but come to the office for meetings on an as-needed basis. Still others have the option of working from home as the need arises. New advances in information technology offer telecommuters multiple ways to communicate and stay in constant contact with their coworkers, bosses, customers, and clients.

Telecommuting

A work arrangement whereby employees are employed by an organization and have an agreement that enables them to work out of their homes regularly but not necessarily all the time.

Telecommuting can help employees cope with stress by providing them with more flexibility, freeing up time that would ordinarily be spent commuting, and giving them more autonomy. However, some telecommuters feel isolated, and others think they end up working longer hours than they would have because their work is always “there”—at home, that is. Telecommuting also has potential advantages and disadvantages for the employing organization. On the plus side, telecommuting can help organizations attract and retain valuable employees. It can also lead to higher productivity and less time lost due to absences. On the downside, telecommuting can result in coordination problems and tensions between employees who telecommute and those who don’t. 125

Research suggests that employees tend to appreciate the opportunity to telecommute. For example, one study found that telecommuters were generally satisfied with telecommuting. 126 Another study found that telecommuters perceived lower levels of role conflict and ambiguity, had higher levels of organizational commitment, and were more satisfied with their supervisors than employees who did not telecommute. However, the telecommuters were less satisfied with their coworkers and opportunities for promotions. 127 Research also suggests that telecommuting may be more likely to reduce stress levels when telecommuters perceive that their organizations are supportive and really care about their well-being. 128

Clearly, more organizations are making telecommuting an option for employees, and more employees are choosing to telecommute. Millions of people in the United States work from their homes at least part of the time. 129

Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies for Organizations

Organizations can help employees cope effectively with stressful feelings and emotions through such things as on-site exercise facilities, organizational support, employee assistance programs, and personal days and sabbaticals.

On-site exercise facilities

Realizing the benefits of exercise, many organizations such as General Foods Corporation and the SAS Institute have exercise facilities and classes that employees can use before and after work and during their lunch hours.

Organizational support

Organizational support is the extent to which an organization cares about the well-being of its members, listens to their complaints, tries to help them when they have a problem, and treats them fairly. 130 Feeling and knowing that an organization cares about and is committed to its members are likely to help reduce employees’ stressful feelings and emotions. 131 Research has found, for example, that nurses who perceive high levels of organizational support are less likely to experience negative feelings and emotions when they take care of AIDS patients. 132 Organizational support is also likely to help mitigate some of the negative feelings and emotions generated by downsizing and layoffs. An example of a measure of employees’ perceptions of how supportive their organizations are is provided in Exhibit 9.5 .

Organizational support

The extent to which an organization cares about the well-being of its members, tries to help them when they have a problem, and treats them fairly.

Employee assistance programs

Many organizations realize that employees sometimes face stressors that they simply cannot handle on their own. IBM, General Motors, Caterpillar, and many other organizations use employee assistance programs (EAPs) to provide their members with professional help to deal with stressors. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, approximately 70 percent of organizations have EAPs. Some EAPs simply provide employees with free professional counseling by trained psychologists. Others are structured to deal with particular types of stressors and problems, such as alcohol or drug abuse by employees or members of their families or problems with troubled teens. Champion International Corporation, for example, offers workshops to its employees on how to deal with potential drug abuse in their families. 140

Employee assistance programs (EAPs)

Company-sponsored programs that provide employees with counseling and other kinds of professional help to deal with stressors such as alcohol and drug abuse and family problems.

In order for EAPs to be effective, however, employees must be guaranteed confidentiality so they’re not afraid their jobs and careers will be jeopardized by seeking help.

Employee health management programs (EHMPs) are a special kind of EAP designed to promote the well-being of members of an organization and encourage healthy lifestyles. These programs focus on helping employees improve their well-being and abilities to cope with

Personal days, time off, and sabbaticals

Providing personal days, time off from work, and sabbaticals can help reduce stressful feelings and emotions by allowing employees to put their work-related stress aside for a day or two (in the case of personal days) or for a more extended period (in the case of sabbaticals). Personal days are common at many large and small organizations and are available to all employees.

People usually cope with stressors in both problem-focused and emotion-focused ways. When coping is successful, it helps employees effectively deal with stressful opportunities and threats without experiencing too many stressful feelings and emotions. Exhibit 9.6 summarizes the various coping strategies available to individuals and organizations.

Summary

Stress affects individual well-being and has the potential to affect the extent to which individuals and organizations achieve their goals and perform at high levels. Stress is bound up with employees’ personal lives; thus, the study of stress also entails exploring the nature of work-life linkages. In this chapter, we made the following major points:

1. People experience stress when they face opportunities or threats that they perceive as important and also perceive they might not be able to handle or deal with effectively. An opportunity is something that has the potential to benefit a person. A threat is something that has the potential to harm a person. Stress is a highly personal experience influenced by an individual’s personality, abilities, and perceptions; what is stressful for one person might not be stressful for another.

2. Stress can have physiological, psychological, and behavioral consequences. The relationship between stress and physiological consequences is complicated, and the most serious physiological consequences (for example, cardiovascular disease and heart attack) result only after considerably high levels of stress have been experienced for a prolonged period of time. Psychological consequences of stress include negative feelings, moods, and emotions; negative attitudes; and burnout. Potential behavioral consequences of stress include poor job performance, strained interpersonal relations, absenteeism, and turnover.

3. Employees responsible for helping others sometimes experience burnout. The three key signs of burnout are feelings of low personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization.

4. A certain level of stress is positive in that it can result in high levels of job performance. When stress levels are excessively high, negative stress is experienced, and performance suffers. Other potential behavioral consequences of high stress include strained interpersonal relations, absenteeism, and turnover.

5. Potential stressors can arise from employees’ personal lives, job responsibilities, membership in work groups and organizations, work-life balance, and environmental uncertainty. Stressors from employees’ personal lives include major and minor life events. Job-related stressors include role conflict, role ambiguity, overload, underload, challenging assignments and promotions, and conditions that affect employees’ economic well-being. Group- and organization-related stressors include misunderstandings, conflicts, and interpersonal disagreements; uncomfortable working conditions; and dangerous or unsafe working conditions. Stressors arising out of work-life balance result when work roles conflict with people’s personal lives. Stressors arising out of environmental uncertainty result from events and conditions in the wider environment in which organizations function, such as the threat of terrorism, pollution of the natural environment, and infectious diseases.

6. Coping methods are the steps people take to deal with stressors. Problem-focused coping involves steps people take to deal directly with the source of stress. Emotion-focused coping involves steps people take to deal with their stressful feelings and emotions. Most of the time, people engage in both types of coping when dealing with a stressor.

7. Some problem-focused coping strategies that individuals can use are time management, getting help from a mentor, and role negotiation. Some emotion-focused coping strategies for individuals are exercise, meditation, social support, and clinical counseling. Some problem-focused coping strategies that organizations can use are job redesign and rotation, reduction of uncertainty, job security, company day care and family friendly benefits, flexible work schedules and job sharing, and telecommuting. Some emotion-focused coping strategies for organizations are on-site exercise facilities, personal days and sabbaticals, organizational support, and employee assistance programs.