Organizational Behavior 4 Assignment

182 Chapter 6 Work Motivation need for achievement The need to perform well against a standard of excellence. needs. Understanding this is important for managers because it may provide them with the reasons for a person’s behavior. ERG theory has more research support than Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For example, some research has found evidence for the meaningfulness of the three categories of needs.11 Support has also been found for several of Alderfer’s basic propositions, such as the concept that a satisfied need may remain a motivator.12 Indeed, relatedness and growth needs have been found to increase as they are satisfied. In other words, the more they are satisfied, the more they are desired. However, more research on ERG theory is necessary to test its useful- ness under different conditions. In general, ERG theory may be viewed as a refinement of the needs hierarchy theory.13 Theory of Achievement, Affiliation, and Power A third theory, largely developed by David McClelland, also uses need classifications and focuses on the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power. Some have referred to these as learned needs because they are influenced by cultural background and can be acquired over time.14 The three needs are also viewed as independent, meaning a person can be high or low on any one or all three needs. Although all three needs are important, the need for achievement has received the most attention from researchers because of its prominent organizational effects.15 Need for Achievement Need for achievement, first discussed in Chapter 5, was originally defined by McClelland and his colleagues as a “desire to perform well against a standard of excellence.”16 People with a high need for achievement feel good about themselves when surpassing a standard that is meaning- ful to them. Furthermore, people with a high need for achievement prefer to set their own goals rather than to have no goals or to accept the goals set for them by others. Specifically: • They tend to set goals of moderately strong difficulty that are achievable. • They like to solve problems rather than leave the results to chance. They are more interested in achieving the goal than in the formal rewards they may receive, although they recognize the value of their inputs and tend to earn good incomes. • They prefer situations in which they receive regular, concrete feedback on their performance.17 • They are positive thinkers who find workable solutions to life’s hurdles and challenges.18 • They assume strong personal responsibility for their work. Some consider the achievement motive to be a component of self-actualization.19 Con- sistent with this belief, people high on need for achievement tend to do well in challenging jobs but do less well in boring or routine jobs. In a study of sales and sales support person- nel, individuals with high achievement needs had positive outcomes only when occupying more demanding, technically oriented roles.20 Related to this finding, people who aspire to be entrepreneurs frequently have a high need for achievement.21 Also, managers who have high achievement needs tend to manage differently relative to those who have lower achievement needs.22 More specifically, they tend to be more goal directed, work with others to attain goals, and instill in others strong motivation for important tasks.23 Although need for achievement is thought to be a relatively stable characteristic in adults, it is possible to coach adults to increase their need for achievement. This coaching includes the following steps:24 1. Teach people how to think like persons with a high need for achievement. This includes teaching people how to imagine the achievement of desired goals and mentally rehearse the steps necessary to reach those goals. Teach and encourage people to set challenging but realistic work-related goals. This includes sharing specific examples of challenging goals, as well as examples of successful attainment of such goals. 3. Give people concrete feedback about themselves and their performance. Ensure that people are knowledgeable about their behavior and its outcomes. 4. Create esprit de corps to support the above steps. In organizations such as W.L. Gore & Associates, people with high achievement needs generally do well. Such people, however, can react negatively to the ambiguity found in these organizations. Without reasonably clear pathways to success, high achievement needs can go unmet in any given time period. Need for Affiliation People with a high need for affiliation have a strong desire to be liked and to stay on good terms with most other people. Affiliative people tend not to make good managers. They are more concerned with initiating and maintaining personal relationships than with focusing on the task at hand. In one study, managers of product development units were assessed. Those with high needs for affiliation were seen as less influential and as having less-influential units. They also had units with weaker innovation profiles.25 Need for affiliation is a particularly important consideration in today’s world, where work- ing from home as remote contributors is common. About 10 percent of the U.S. workforce is now classified as remote, with the number of companies offering virtual working arrangements having increased from 34 percent in 2005 to 63 percent in 2012 according to the Society for Human Resources Management.26 Significant percentages of people work virtually at Oracle, Optum, Convergys, and many other companies. Without daily contact with other associates or managers, individuals with strong affilia- tion needs might have difficulty developing strong relations and assessing how well they are liked. They may be particularly prone to feelings of isolation and dissatisfaction. To combat these and other issues, companies that rely heavily on virtual contributors have introduced a host of technologies and practices. To ensure satisfied and productive workers, they gener- ally have provided key technologies that help people stay connected, such as laptops, tablets, smart phones, and Internet access. Many companies also provide sophisticated collaboration software. Companies such as Oracle, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte & Touche designate office and conference space for associates who occasionally stop in. Also, some managers insist on face-to-face team meetings every now and then.27 Need for Power The need for power can be defined as the desire to influence people and events. According to McClelland, there are two types of need for power: one that is directed toward the good of the organization (institutional power) and one that is directed toward the self (personal power).28 People high in the need for institutional power want to influence others for altru- istic reasons—they are concerned about the functioning of the organization and have a desire to serve others. They are also more controlled in their exercise of power. In contrast, those high in the need for personal power desire to influence others for their own personal gain. They are more impulsive in exercising power, show little concern for other people, and are focused on obtaining symbols of prestige and status (such as big offices). Manag- ers with high needs for personal power create a great deal of dissatisfaction and turnover among associates.29 Research has shown that a high need for institutional power is critical for high-performing managers. People with a high need for institutional power are particularly good at increasing

morale, creating clear expectations, and influencing others to work for the good of the organi- zation. Need for institutional power seems to be more important than need for achievement in creating managerial success,30 although blending both is perhaps better than having one or the other. As discussed in the Managerial Advice feature, the Hay Group has conducted a great deal of research on managers’ needs. Its consultants apply this work in the firm’s well-regarded global consulting practice. Importantly, Hay research shows that a strong need for achievement can create problems. Such problems, however, are less likely to occur when a strong achieve- ment need is blended and balanced with a significant need for institutional power and perhaps also with some level of need for affiliation. Two-Factor Theory The two-factor theory (sometimes called the dual-factor theory) is based on the work of Frederick Herzberg.31 It has some similarities to the other need theories, but it focuses more on the rewards or outcomes of performance that satisfy individuals’ needs. The two-factor theory emphasizes two sets of rewards or outcomes—those related to job satisfaction and those related to job dissatisfaction. This theory of motivation suggests that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposite ends of the same continuum but are independent states. In other words, the opposite of high job satisfaction is not high job dissatisfaction; rather, it is low job satisfaction. Likewise, the opposite of high dissatisfaction is low dissatisfaction. It fol- lows that the job factors leading to satisfaction are different from those leading to dissatisfac- tion, and vice versa. Furthermore, receiving excess quantities of a factor thought to decrease dissatisfaction will not produce satisfaction, nor will increasing satisfaction factors overcome dissatisfaction. The factors related to job satisfaction have been called satisfiers, or motivators. These are factors that, when increased, will lead to greater levels of satisfaction. They include: • Achievement • Recognition • Responsibility • Opportunity for advancement or promotion • Challengingwork • Potential for personal growth The factors related to dissatisfaction have been called dissatisfiers, or hygienes. When these factors are deficient, dissatisfaction will increase. However, providing greater amounts of these factors will not lead to satisfaction—only to less dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors include: • Pay • Technicalsupervision • Workingconditions • Company policies, administration, and procedures • Interpersonal relationships with peers, supervisors, and subordinates • Status • Security Research has not generally supported Herzberg’s two-factor theory.32 One criticism is that the theory is method-bound—meaning that support can be found for the theory only when Herzberg’s particular methodology is used. Researchers using different methodologies to test the theory have not found support. A second criticism is that the theory confuses job satisfac- tion and motivation. As discussed in Chapter 5, job satisfaction does not always lead to strong motivation. Happy associates are not always motivated associates. The causal path can also go he other way—with motivation, and consequently performance, influencing satisfaction—or there may be no relationship at all in some situations. A third criticism is that motivators and hygienes may not be uniquely different. For example, some factors, such as pay, can affect both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Pay can help satisfy basic food and shelter needs (hygiene), but it can also provide recognition (motivator). Despite the criticisms of two-factor theory, managers tend to find it appealing. Indeed, Herzberg’s 1965 Harvard Business Review article on this theory was reprinted in a more recent Harvard Business Review volume indicating that these ideas continue to be popular with man- agers. At a practical level, the theory is easy to understand and apply. To motivate associates, managers should provide jobs that include potential for achievement and responsibility. They should also try to maintain the hygiene factors at an appropriate level to prevent dissatisfac- tion. Thus, managers can motivate associates by manipulating job-content factors and can prevent associate dissatisfaction by manipulating the job context or environment. Perhaps the most important managerial conclusion is that organizations should not expect high productivity in jobs that are weak in motivators, no matter how much they invest in hygienes. Simply providing good working conditions and pay may not result in consistently high performance. Thus, managers now give much more attention to how jobs are designed. Indeed, Herzberg’s work helped launch the current focus on enriched jobs that emphasize responsibility, variety, and autonomy. This focus is consistent with high-involvement manage- ment, a key theme of our book. Conclusions Regarding Content Theories The four content theories we have just discussed address the factors that affect motivation. These factors include associates’ needs and the various job and contextual attributes that might help them meet these needs. All four theories are popular among managers because each has an intuitive logic and is easy to understand. Although research support for the theories has not been strong overall, the theories have been useful for developing specific managerial practices that increase motivation and performance. Further, these theories can be integrated with pro- cess theories, discussed next. Process Theories of Motivation Whereas content theories emphasize the factors that motivate, process theories are concerned with the process by which such factors interact to produce motivation. One of the weaknesses of content theories is the assumption that motivation can be explained by only one or two factors, such as a given need or the content of a job. As we have seen, human motivation is much more complex than that. In most cases, several conditions interact to produce motivated behavior. Process theories take this complexity into account. Process theories generally focus on the cog- nitive processes in which people engage to influence the direction, intensity, and persistence of their behavior. Three important process theories of motivation are expectancy theory, equity theory, and goal-setting theory. Expectancy Theory The first process theory to recognize the effects of multiple, complex sources of motivation was Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory.33 Expectancy theory suggests that managers and associates consider three factors in deciding whether to exert effort. First, they consider the probability that a given amount of effort will lead to a particular level of performance. For example, an associate might consider the probability that working

on a report for an extra four hours will lead to a significant improvement in that report. This probability is referred to as an expectancy. The second factor individuals consider is the perceived connection between a particular level of performance and important outcomes. For example, the associate cited above would consider the potential outcomes of a better report. She may believe there is a strong positive connection between a better report and (1) praise from her supervisor and (2) interesting future assignments. In other words, she may perceive that good performance makes these outcomes very likely. She may also believe that there is a weak positive connection between a better report and an increase in pay, meaning she believes that good performance makes this outcome only slightly more likely to occur. Overall, she is interested in the effects of good performance on three outcomes. Each perceived connection between performance and an out- come is referred to as an instrumentality. The third factor is the importance of each anticipated outcome. In our example, the asso- ciate may believe that more praise from her boss, better assignments, and an increase in pay would bring her a great deal of gratification. As a result, these outcomes have high valence. Valence is defined as the value placed on an outcome. In essence, expectancy theory suggests that people are rational when deciding whether to expend a given level of effort. The following equation formally states how people implement expectancy theory: MF=E×Σ(I ×V) where: MF = Motivational force. E = Expectancy, or the subjective probability that a given level of effort will lead to a particular level of performance. It can range from 0 to +1. Further, the expectancy of interest usually corresponds to the probability that strong effort will result in good performance.34 Thus, an expectancy of zero means that an individual thinks there is no chance that strong effort will lead to good performance. An expectancy of one means that an individual thinks it is certain that strong effort will lead to good performance. For a given person in a given situation, self-esteem, previous experience with the task, and availability of help from a manager can influence this subjective probability.35 I = Instrumentality, or the perceived connection between a particular level of performance and an outcome. Instrumentality can range from –1 to +1, because it is possible for a performance level to make an outcome less likely as well as make an outcome more likely. For example, an instrumentality of –.8 indicates that an individual expects that performing at a particular level would make an outcome very unlikely (e.g., praise from co-workers might be unlikely because of jealousy). V = Valence, or the value associated with an outcome. Valence can be negative or positive, because some outcomes may be undesirable while others are desirable. Exhibit 6-2 illustrates the expectancy theory process. As an example, consider a car salesman who is contemplating the possibility of selling 15 automobiles next month. Would he attempt to sell that many cars? Assume that our salesman believes there is a .7 probability that strong effort would result in the desired performance. Also, assume that he perceives the following connections between performance and four key outcomes: +.9 for a $1,000 bonus, +.8 for strong praise from his managers, +.9 for high intrin- sic satisfaction, and –.7 for meaningful praise from co-workers.36 Finally, assume valences for these outcomes of 5, 3, 4, and 1 (on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means valued very little and 5 means highly valued). Based on these beliefs and perceptions, our salesman probably would be motivated to attempt to sell the automobiles. He believes there is a good chance that his

Exhibit 6-2 Expectancy Theory strong effort would result in success (expectancy of .7), and he perceives strong positive con- nections between performance and three valued outcomes (instrumentalities of .9, .8, and .9) while perceiving a strong negative connection to a trivial outcome (–.7) (he perceives that success probably would yield no praise, and perhaps even scorn, from co-workers, but he does not care). Another example of expectancy theory in action comes from a study of over 400 police officers’ productivity in terms of drug arrests.37 This study found that officers who made the most arrests were more likely to have: (1) received specialized training in drug interdiction, and perceived that they had sufficient time in their shift to properly investigate suspected drug offenses (high expectancies); (2) perceived that drug arrests were rewarded by their agency (high instrumentalities); and (3) valued available rewards (high valence). Research has generally been supportive of expectancy theory, including research on entre- preneurship.38 Criticisms, however, have been expressed concerning how the components of expectancy theory are measured, how they should be combined, and the impact of individual differences. For example, it has been shown that all three components of expectancy theory predict motivation better when they are considered together than when any one component is examined alone. However, the three components do not appear to have equal strength in affecting motivation. That is, the desirability of outcomes may be the most important element in the equation. Not surprisingly, valence seems to be most important.39 Another issue results from consideration of individual differences. For example, people who have high consideration of others are less likely to engage in the rational, outcome-maximizing decision-making pro- cesses underlying expectancy theory.40 Although subsequent research has led to revised versions of Vroom’s original model, the basic components remain the same.41 Expectancy theory has clear implications for managers. In order to increase motivation, managers can do one or more of the following: Heighten expectancy by increasing associates’ beliefs that strong effort will lead to higher levels of performance. Increase instrumentalities by clearly linking high performance to outcomes

Increase valence by providing outcomes that are highly valued. We discuss specific procedures later in this chapter. Equity Theory The notion of fairness and justice has been of concern to human beings throughout written history and undoubtedly before that as well. Thus, it should not be surprising that people’s erception of how fairly they are being treated influences their motivation to perform tasks. The study of organizational justice has been popular in recent years,42 and its popularity is likely to continue given the high rate of corporate scandals (such as those involving Enron, J.P. Morgan, and Capitol One) and discrimination lawsuits.43 Further, the concept of equity has taken on added importance with the demands by minority groups and women for equitable treatment on the job.44 The basic model for using the fairness concept to explain human motivation comes from J. Stacey Adams’s equity theory.45 According to this theory, motivation is based on a person’s assessment of the ratio of outcomes she receives (e.g., pay, status) for inputs on the job (e.g., effort, ability) compared with the same ratio for a comparison other, frequently a co-worker. Thus, in assessing equity, the person makes the following comparison:

After making the comparison, the person forms equity perceptions. Based on the percep- tions of equity or the lack of it, people make choices about the action to take (e.g., how much effort to exert in the future). Equity exists when the person’s ratio of outcomes to inputs is equal to that of the other person, and inequity exists when the ratios are not equal. Inequity may result, for example, when one person is paid less than the other for the same inputs or when one person provides more input for the same pay. It may also result when one person is paid more than the other for the same inputs or when one person provides less input for the same pay. Note that an individual may compare his outcome/input ratio to the average ratio of several other people, but often the comparison is to one other person who is highly visible in the work unit. When individuals perceive inequity, they can reduce it in several ways. Consider the fol- lowing tactics (pay is the focus here, but other inputs can affect perceptions of inequity): • Increasing or decreasing inputs. Underpaid associates could decrease their efforts, whereas overpaid associates could increase their efforts to resolve inequity. These reactions to inequity demonstrate how equity perceptions can influence motivation. • Changing their outcomes. If underpaid associates convince their supervisor to increase their pay, inequity is resolved. It is less likely, but possible, that overpaid workers would seek a salary reduction. However, they may seek to reduce or give up other outcomes, such as not taking the best assignments or taking a less desirable office. • Distorting perceptions of their inputs and/or outcomes. If it is not possible to actually change inputs or outcomes, inequitably paid associates may distort their perceptions of the situation. One common erroneous perception by underpaid workers is that their jobs offer many psychological benefits. Overpaid workers often believe they are working much harder than they actually are. • Distorting perceptions of the inputs and/or outcomes of the referent other. This is similar to distorting perceptions of one’s own inputs and outcomes to resolve inequity. For example, if an associate feels she is underpaid compared to her co-worker, she can reason that the co-worker really does stay late more often or has a degree from a better school and therefore the co-worker has higher inputs. • Changing the referent other. If an associate perceives inequity in comparison to one co- worker, it may be easiest to find a co-worker who compares more favorably. • Leaving the organization. In cases where inequity is resistant to other forms of resolution, associates may be motivated to resign from the organization and seek a more equitable situation elsewhere. Research generally suggests that inequity is an important concept.46 For example, some individuals have been found to respond to overpayment by increasing their effort and performance.47 When these individuals believe they are being paid more than they deserve, they increase their inputs to bring them into balance with outcomes. In general, different individuals have been found to react differently to inequity. Sensitives are individuals who pay a great deal of attention to outcome/input ratios and are motivated to resolve any inequity, whether the ineq- uity is favorable or unfavorable to them. Benevolents are tolerant of inequity that is unfavorable but are not comfortable with inequity that favors them. Entitleds do not tolerate unfavorable inequity but are comfortable with inequity that favors them.48 In the overall population, many people exhibit behavior that seems consistent with the entitleds. Interestingly, those who possess a strong exchange ideology based on the norm of reciprocity sometimes resemble entitleds. In fact, the degree to which this ideology is held can be even more predictive of negative responses to unfavorable inequity than simple membership in the entitleds category.49 Professional athletes provide interesting case studies for the inequity concept, as indicated by frequent headlines telling us that some “star” is upset about his compensation. These star athletes evidently feel that their outcome/input ratios—their salaries compared with their con- tributions to their teams—do not measure up to those of similar athletes in the same sport. In 2001, Alex Rodriguez, a young and talented professional baseball player, agreed to a 10-year, $252 million contract to play for the Texas Rangers. This amount was well above other com- pensation levels at the time and was generally perceived as outrageous. The contract provided Rodriguez, known as A-Rod to his fans, $25.2 million annually. However, that was not all. If by chance anyone in professional baseball negotiated a higher salary in the 10 years of his con- tract, A-Rod would be given that figure plus $1. In other words, his contract guaranteed that he would be the highest-paid professional baseball player for a decade.50 Yet, partly because of this very high compensation level, he was traded to the New York Yankees, where he has had both good times and bad.51 His 2014 suspension as part of a scandal involving performance enhancing drugs fits into the bad category. Perceptions of inequity have several important effects in the workplace.52 For example, research has found that feelings of inequity can lead to negative employee behaviors such as theft and revenge.53 On the positive side, feelings of equity frequently lead to outcome satisfaction and job satisfaction,54 organizational commitment,55 and organizational citizenship behaviors.56 Organizational citizenship behavior refers to an associate’s willingness to engage in organization- ally important behaviors that go beyond prescribed job duties, such as helping co-workers with their work or expending extra effort to bring positive publicity to the organization.57 Finally, new research suggests that perceptions of equity affect contributions to innovation in crowdsourcing situations. Individuals external to the firm who contribute to the firm’s innovation are very con- cerned with the fairness of distributions not just the absolute amount of those distributions. A deal that offers a strong absolute amount is not enough. This is important new knowledge because using the general public for creative ideas has become quite important for many companies. 58 As highlighted by equity theory, perceptions of inequity often are defined in terms of distributive justice, a form of justice that relates to perceptions of fairness in outcomes. Other types of justice are also important, however. Procedural justice, the degree to which procedures used to determine outcomes seem fair, is the most important of these.59 Research shows that when outcomes are unfavorable, people are likely to be concerned with the fairness used in determining those outcomes.60 People will be less likely to have negative reactions to unfavor- able or questionable outcomes when they perceive that procedures used to arrive at the out- comes are fair. From work assignments to layoffs to mergers and acquisitions, procedural justice has been shown to be very important for the acceptance of decisions that have been made.61 Procedures based on the following rules are more likely to be perceived as fair:62 • People should feel that they have a voice in the decision process. For example, good performance-appraisal systems allow associates to provide inputs into the evaluation process.

• Procedures should be applied consistently. For example, the same criteria should be used to decide on everyone’s pay increase. • Procedures should be free from bias. • Procedures should be based on accurate information. • A mechanism should be in place for correcting faulty outcome decisions. Such mechanisms sometimes involve formal grievance procedures. • Procedures should conform to the prevailing ethical code. • People should be treated with respect. • People should be given reasons for the decisions. For example, survivors of a layoff are much more likely to remain motivated if the reasons for the layoff are explained.63 Overall, equity and procedural-justice concepts can help managers understand associates’ reactions to decisions about rewards. As discussed earlier, individuals at W.L. Gore & Associ- ates have already mastered the use of equity and procedural justice. Goal-Setting Theory Goal-setting theory, developed by Edwin Locke, posits that goals enhance human perfor- mance because they direct attention and affect effort and persistence.64 Given the nature of human beings, individuals are likely to be committed to the achievement of goals after they have been set and to exert effort toward goal attainment.65 Indeed, goals serve as reference points that energize behavior.66 The positive effects of goals on work motivation is one of the strongest findings in research on organizational behavior. Goal setting has been found to increase the motivation of associates in a multitude of jobs, such as air traffic controllers, truck drivers, faculty researchers, marine recruits, managers, social workers, nurses, research and development workers, truck maintenance workers, and weightlifters.67 To effectively set goals for associates, managers should address several factors, including goal difficulty, goal specificity, goal commitment, participation in goal setting, and feedback: • Goal difficulty. How difficult should the performance goal be? Should the goal be easy, moderately difficult, or very difficult to achieve? • Goal specificity. How specific should the expected outcome be (e.g., number of parts assembled), or can goals be more loosely defined (do your best)? • Goal commitment. What will make associates commit to goals? • Participation in setting goals. How important is it for associates to have input in selecting the goals and levels of performance to be achieved? If important, how should they be involved? • Feedback. To what extent should associates be informed of their progress as they work toward the performance goals? Goal Difficulty From the perspective of expectancy theory and achievement motivation theory, we might expect that associates exert the maximum effort at work when their performance goals are set at moderately strong levels of difficulty (i.e., somewhat difficult but achievable). Goals that are too difficult may be rejected by associates because the expectancy is low (strong effort would not lead to goal attainment). A number of researchers, however, have found that associates exert more effort when they have goals that are difficult to a significant degree. This has been found to be true of engineers and scientists, loggers, and many experimental subjects working on a variety of tasks in laboratory settings.68 It has also been found to be true for teams working on various tasks.69 Overall, it seems that goals should be difficult but not impossible. Despite the guidance available from goal-setting research, some firms have emphasized stretch goals. These goals are seemingly impossible and their pursuit requires changes in work strategies—working harder is not enough; working smarter must be emphasized.70 Although there are some success stories, the use of stretch goals is not advisable except in narrow circum- stances.71 First, there must be plenty of resources available for experimentation and failure. Second, there must be strong past performance in the unit or organization. The confidence generated from recent success in routine pursuits is critical for any attempt at a stretch goal. Overall, caution is advised. The corporate landscape is littered with failures in the use of stretch goals, including examples at General Motors, Ontario Hydro, Blue Whale Moving Company, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.72 Daniel Markovits, a noted author and con- sultant, said this: “Let’s dispense, once and for all, with the managerial absurdity known as ‘stretch goals.’”73 His concerns relate not only to the demotivation that can result from seem- ingly impossible goals but also to the possibilities of unethical behavior and too much risk taking as individuals struggle to pursue such goals. Goal Specificity Performance goals can be explicitly stated, clear in meaning, and specific in terms of quantity or quality of performance. For example, a goal might be to “generate 27 pages of edited copy with an error rate of less than one error per 10 pages in each work period” or “make 12 new customer contacts each month.” The nature of some tasks, however, makes it difficult to clearly determine and state the exact performance levels that should be achieved. In such cases, a performance goal can be stated only in vague terms, such as “do your best” or “increase sales during the month.” Many studies have shown that specific goals lead to better performance than do vague goals, such as “do your very best.”74 If a goal is to act as a motivator, it must establish a specific target toward which people can direct their effort. Managers are likely to find this aspect of setting goals to be challenging because many jobs involve activities that are dif- ficult to specify. For example, it may be difficult for a manager to be specific about an engi- neer’s goals; yet the manager must make the attempt, or the engineer’s motivation could be adversely affected. Goal Commitment In general, associates must accept and be committed to reaching externally set goals for these goals to be motivating. A great deal of research has been conducted on the factors that influ- ence people’s commitment to externally set goals. Expectancy theory provides a useful frame- work for organizing these factors; people will be committed to goals that: (1) are viewed as desirable to attain and (2) carry a reasonable expectation of being attained.75 A summary of the factors that can affect goal commitment is presented in Exhibit 6-3. Participation in Setting Goals A practical question for a manager, especially during performance-counseling sessions with associates, is, “Should I set performance goals for the associate on the basis of my own knowledge and judgment of her abilities, or should I allow the associate to provide input and have some degree of control over them?” Importantly, associates who partici- pate in setting a goal rather than having it dictated to them might be more satisfied with the goal and be more committed to it, resulting in stronger performance.76 While some researchers have failed to find a relationship between participation in goal setting and performance,77 others have found that performance is better when associates participate in setting goals.78 Also, as discussed earlier, individuals with high achievement needs tend to dislike assigned goals.

Some research has demonstrated that managers can put goals in place without explicitly assigning them.79 That is, managers can generate useful goals in subtle and even stealthy ways. Studies examining this phenomenon usually use supraliminal priming to generate goals. Supraliminal priming involves consciously providing people with achievement infor- mation, but in a manner that appears to be unrelated to the task that they are about to perform.80 For example, call center workers might be given a general instruction packet that includes in the background a picture of a woman winning a race. Research has found that those who are primed with achievement goals outperform those who are not primed with goals81 and that this effect can last for quite some time.82 In the case of the call center work- ers mentioned above, they outperformed other workers who received instruction packets without a priming picture. 83 It appears that subconsciously primed goals lead people to set higher self-set goals than do non–goal-oriented primes. This line of research is still new, so it remains to be seen to what extent subconscious goals can be reliably primed and to what extent these subconscious goals will affect behavior.84 Preliminary evidence is, however, provocative. Feedback The motivational effect of providing feedback to associates about their progress toward perfor- mance goals is well established. In fact, feedback on performance, even in the absence of estab- lished goals, is likely to have a positive effect on motivation.85 However, feedback is especially important when performance goals exist and when they are relatively difficult to achieve. In this case, feedback permits an associate to gauge his actual progress toward the goal and make corresponding adjustments in his efforts. Such adjustments are unlikely in the absence of feed- back. Thus, the presence of both goals and feedback exerts a positive influence on employee motivation.

Sources: D. Lauk,“Up Close: Local Company Puts Employees First,” 11 News (Houston, Texas), (April 14, 2003), http://www .khou.com; I. MacMillan & R.G. McGrath, The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Strategies for Continuously -Creating Opportunity in an Age of Uncertainty (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.); Leadership-and-Motivation Training. Jan. 29, 2010. “Managing Change in the Workplace,” http://www.leadership-and-motivation-training.com/managing- change-in-the-workplace.html; A. Ragsdale (May 30, 2007); “Texas CEO Makes Big Promise to Employees,” Houstonist.com at http://houstonist .com/2007/05/30/texas_ceo_makes.php. Visible Changes, “Careers,” http://visiblechanges.com/ careers/; Visible Changes, “Hair Cutting Specialist,” http://visiblechanges.com/hair-cutting-specialist/; Visible Changes, “Our Story,” http://visiblechanges.com/history/. Visible Changes websites accessed December 2013. Conclusions Regarding Process Theories Expectancy theory, equity theory, and goal-setting theory emphasize the processes that occur in motivation. Expectancy theory focuses on people as rational decision makers: “If I exert a given amount of effort, how likely is it that my performance will result in outcomes I value?” The manager’s job in this case is to develop situations in which associates have high expectancies and strong performance is rewarded. Equity theory focuses more on people’s general feelings about how fairly they are being treated. This theory suggests that managers must take into account how associates are comparing themselves with others in the organiza- tion; a manager’s treatment of one individual can influence the motivation of others. Finally, goal-setting theory suggests that managers can motivate associates by setting or helping to set goals. In the Experiencing Organizational Behavior feature, the importance of associates’ motiva- tion is emphasized. The owners of Visible Changes, the McCormacks, ensure challenging goals for their associates and then pay them handsome bonuses for meeting those goals. They also focus on expectancies held by associates and use a variety of meaningful rewards. Finally, they support associates’ growth needs through an education program, and they allow associates to participate in decisions. As a result, associates earn well above the industry average, and turn- over is exceptionally low. The associates’ high motivation and strong performance have made Visible Changes a top performer in its industry. Thus, Visible Changes is an industry leader both in methods of motivating associates and in company performance. Motivating Associates: An Integration of Motivation Theories Viewed as a set, the various motivation theories may suggest that motivation is highly complex and even confusing. That is not actually the case, however. Motivating associates and junior managers can be undertaken in a reasonably straightforward and meaningful way. While there are no foolproof approaches, there are sound tactics to use. Exhibit 6-4 identifies connections between the various motivation theories and five categories of motivation practices that man- agers can use. As shown in the exhibit, multiple theories have similar implications for manag- ers. We discuss these implications in the remainder of the chapter. Find Meaningful Individual Rewards Content theories suggest that individuals vary in what they find motivating. Furthermore, expectancy theory implies that individuals assign different valences to outcomes. This means that by tailoring individual rewards to individual needs and desires, companies can create a competitive advantage in attracting and motivating associates. One area in which this is

obvious is the provision of benefits. An unmarried 28-year-old associate with no children likely places different values on various retirement and insurance plans relative to a 50-year-old associate with three children in college, for example. One mistake that managers often make when trying to determine what motivates indi- vidual associates involves placing too much emphasis on extrinsic rewards (e.g., pay increases, bonuses, pay level, job security, job titles) while underemphasizing intrinsic rewards (e.g., sat- isfaction based on exciting and challenging work, feelings of accomplishment).86 Indeed, one survey of a random sample of U.S. adults indicated that they ranked “important work” as the most important aspect of their jobs. Pay was ranked third. When, however, these same people were asked what motivates “other people,” 75 percent responded that pay was the primary motivator of others.87 Apparently, most people feel that they are motivated by outcomes that meet higher-order growth or achievement needs, but they think others are primarily motivated by money as a way to meet physiological and security needs. Some research has shown that if a person receives extrinsic rewards for performing an intrin- sically satisfying task, he may attribute the performance to external forces, with a resulting reduc- tion in his intrinsic interest in the job.88 This suggests that relying too heavily on extrinsic rewards can cause people to lose any natural interest they have in performing their jobs. However, this position has been challenged by some researchers, who argue that in work situations, extrinsic rewards are necessary for motivation on any kind of task. Despite the mixed research,89 it is clear that managers must be concerned with both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and not overempha- size either, striving instead for an appropriate balance between the two (keeping in mind that the appropriate balance differs across different people or types of people). Individuals may vary in what they find motivating based on their position in the organization. People in different jobs and at different levels may have different concerns. Indeed, when Harvard Business Review asked a dozen top leaders to state their most impor- tant thoughts on motivating people, Liu Chuanzhi, chairman of the Legend Group of Bei- jing, noted that a leader must establish different incentives for people at different levels in the organization.90 He divided his organization into three groups and provided appropriate incentives for each group: 1. The company’s executives wanted a sense of ownership in the company, so the company gave all of its executives stock, an unusual practice in Chinese state-owned organizations. They also wanted recognition, so they were given opportunities to speak to the media. 2. Mid-level managers wanted to become senior-level managers. The major incentives applied to this group involved opportunities to display and develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, so they would be in a better position to achieve promotions within the company. 3. To a nontrivial degree, associates wanted outcomes that would provide a sense of stability and security. Thus, based on their performance, they received predictable bonuses. Furthermore, they were allowed to participate in decisions regarding how bonuses were allotted. Tie Rewards to Performance A basic characteristic of high-involvement management involves tying rewards to performance. The importance of this tactic is supported by many theories concerning human motivation and learning. One of the basic principles of operant conditioning (Chapter 4) is that rewards should be tied directly to performance to encourage the desired behavior. This basic proposi- tion is reflected in the process theories of motivation as well. Expectancy theory proposes that motivation is a function of the perceived connections between performance and outcomes. To the extent that people have experience with performance leading to rewards, they will develop stronger instrumentalities. Equity theory suggests that performance in the recent past (an input) should play a role in rewards (outcomes). In addition, justice research indicates that linking performance and rewards should result in greater motivation because the reward decisions will be viewed as more ethical and unbiased as people are rewarded based on their achievement and contribution. Finally, goal-setting theory suggests that providing rewards for the achievement of goals can help associates accept and become committed to those goals, although external rewards are not necessarily required for goals to affect motivation.91 Tying rewards to performance may seem obvious and simple, but managers often find it to be challenging. One reason for this problem is that performance is sometimes difficult to measure.92 How does one evaluate the work of an R&D professional whose job entails devel- oping and testing many new ideas, most of which will not result in usable products? What if an individual is highly interdependent with others? Can his individual contributions be clearly assessed? Further, some managers may supervise too many employees to closely observe and easily evaluate the contributions of all of them. If one cannot measure or evaluate performance accurately, then one cannot link performance to rewards. To partially address these issues, managers can have their direct reports generate peer assessments and have them undertake self-assessments. These tactics, coupled with managers’ knowledge of performance, are often very helpful. Another problem with tying rewards to performance is that managers may have little flexibility with rewards, particularly financial rewards. For example, a manager may be able to give an average raise of only 3 percent to her employees. If the bottom third of performers are given 2 percent increases, to adjust for the cost of living, this means the best performers can receive only 4 percent increases. Associates are not likely to see this small differential as being commensurate with performance differences. Such a small differential can produce low instru- mentalities or perceptions of inequity. Such problems with flexibility underscore the importance of nonfinancial rewards. Although managers may be restricted in how they can distribute financial rewards, they often can be more creative in assigning other types of rewards based on performance. For example, high-performing associates can be given job assignments that allow them to develop new skills, or they can be given credits toward payment of tuition at a local university. The Soci- ety for Human Resource Management surveyed its members and developed a list of over 150 creative rewards that companies offer their associates. These included the services of an ergonomics consultant, sophisticated office chairs, textbook money, funding to attend confer- ences in exotic locations, allowing pets at work, concierge services, free dinners, and flexible work hours. To think more deeply about tying financial rewards to performance, consider the case of Susan. Susan supervises 10 customer call-center representatives. One of her associates, Angelo, clearly outperforms the others. Angelo’s customer satisfaction ratings are much higher than those of the others, he handles the most calls, and there have been no complaints against him. Susan is highly pleased with Angelo’s performance, especially because he has been on the job for only one month. Susan’s worst performer is Jessica, who has the lowest customer service rating, handles an average number of calls, and has been the target of several customer com- plaints about rudeness. Jessica has worked in the unit for the past three years, which is a long tenure for a customer service representative. It’s time to assign pay increases, and Susan’s boss told her that her budget for salaries would be only 4 percent. This means that her employees can receive, on average, only a 4 percent raise. Susan is considering an 8 percent increase for Angelo and no increase for Jessica. However, when she begins to assign pay increases, she has a change of heart. She realizes that if she gives Angelo an 8 percent increase and gives no pay increase to Jessica, Angelo will receive more overall pay than Jessica, who has been on the job much longer. Susan doesn’t want to alienate Jessica, because it is difficult to retain people on the job (and Jessica has a tendency to react quite negatively to bad news). In the end, Susan gives Angelo a 5 percent pay increase and Jessica a 3 percent pay increase. Three months later, Susan notices that Angelo’s customer service rating has decreased and that he is handling fewer calls. Jessica’s performance hasn’t improved, either. In fact, the number of complaints against her has increased.93 Susan’s dilemma illustrates several common pitfalls in tying financial rewards to perfor- mance. One problem is that Susan didn’t differentiate more between Angelo’s and Jessica’s pay increases because of her fear that Jessica would become angry. This is a common reaction of managers when distributing financial rewards. Too often, managers are overly focused on superficial harmony, and they mistakenly distribute rewards equally or nearly equally rather than equitably based on performance. Monica Barron, a management consultant from AMR research, has stated, “You should make your best performers role models and say to others ‘Here’s what you can do to get one of these checks.’”94 A second problem was that Susan really wanted to reward performance, but instead she ended up rewarding tenure. Jessica received a larger pay increase because she had remained with the organization and in the job for a relatively long time. If Susan was asked whether mediocre, or even poor, performers should be rewarded for remaining on the job, she would probably answer, “No.” This might not have happened if Susan had clearly established what performance she expected from associates and how that performance would be rewarded. A third problem was Susan’s dilemma of having a budget of only 4 percent for pay increases. Her situation reflects the current state for many companies. Indeed, Robert Hene- man, a compensation expert from Ohio State University, has said that managers “need a 7 percent or 8 percent [compensation increase] just to catch anybody’s attention”95 (this assumes ordinary rates of inflation). Thus, the amount of money Susan had for rewards limited her flexibility.

Beyond the simple amount of money available, how the money is used also can make a difference. A frequent issue is too much emphasis placed on merit pay increases (i.e., year-to- year pay increases). With such a focus, rewards provided for good performance in any given year are maintained in an associate’s pay regardless of future performance. In addition, such an approach is often inflexible in dealing with economic downturns (because higher levels of pay are locked in for some individuals who are no longer performing among the best). Finally, the approach constrains managers from being able to provide a wide distribution of rewards. There are more creative ways to provide merit-based pay, including profit sharing and bonuses. As discussed in the next Experiencing Organizational Behavior feature, some firms have also made it more difficult to manage rewards and performance by adopting a policy of stack rank- ing associates. This practice has created a great deal of animosity and dysfunctional behavior. Redesign Jobs Job redesign is viewed as a way to make jobs more intrinsically meaningful to people and thus more likely to satisfy higher-order needs. Job redesign generally takes one of two forms: job enlargement or job enrichment. Job Enlargement Job enlargement involves incorporating into the job tasks that are similar to the complexity of current tasks. The new tasks offer more variety and often require the use of different skills. However, the additional tasks are not of greater complexity and therefore offer only limited opportunities for personal growth. Some refer to this practice as horizontal job loading. An example of job enlargement involves giving a data entry specialist the additional task of filing hard-copy correspondence. In this case, a different skill is utilized, but filing is no more complex than routine data entry. Even so, by providing variety, job enlargement may prevent boredom in simple tasks. However, the effects may be only temporary because the tasks do not offer more challenges or opportunities for personal growth. Overall, research has shown that the effects of job enlargement are mixed. Some studies have found that job enlargement produces positive results whereas others have not.96 Individuals with lower growth needs may benefit the most. Job Enrichment For our purposes, job enrichment can be differentiated from job enlargement by the complex- ity of tasks added to the job. Job enrichment is frequently referred to as vertical job loading. In enriched jobs, workers have greater responsibility for accomplishing assigned tasks; it may be said that they become “managers” of their own jobs. The concept of job enrichment was popularized by Herzberg’s two-factor concept of motivation, which emphasizes responsibility, achievement, and the work itself as motivators. The concept of job enrichment also is consis- tent with Maslow’s and Alderfer’s ideas about meeting higher-order needs. It also is consistent with McClelland’s ideas related to meeting the need for achievement, assuming job enrich- ment does not make the work too difficult. Many organizations, including AT&T, Corning, IBM, and Procter & Gamble, have implemented job enrichment programs. Usually, job enrichment involves adding tasks for- merly handled at levels higher in the hierarchy. Boeing, for example, has implemented job enrichment by using work teams, empowering employees to work on their own ideas, and providing continuous learning opportunities. Because job enrichment involves giving asso- ciates greater control over their work, expanded job duties, and greater decision power, job enrichment is an integral part of high-involvement management. Numerous studies have found positive results from job enrichment using outcome vari- ables such as job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and performance.97 How- ever, job enrichment programs are not always successful. To be effective, such programs must be carefully planned, implemented, and communicated to associates and must also take into account individual differences such as growth needs

• Maslow’s needs hierarchy includes five levels of needs: physiological, safety, social and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. These needs are arranged in prepotent hierarchical order. Prepotency refers to the concept that a lower-order need, until satisfied, is dominant in motivating a person’s behavior. Once a need is satisfied, the next higher need becomes the active source of motivation. Research has not been very supportive of Maslow’s theory; however, this theory has served as the basis for other theories and practices that have received empirical support. • ERG theory is similar to Maslow’s hierarchy but does not consider prepotency to be relevant. The three needs in ERG theory are existence, relatedness, and growth. A person may work on all three needs at the same time, although satisfying lower-order needs often takes place before a person is strongly motivated by higher-level needs. • Achievement, affiliation, and power needs are the focus of McClelland’s theory. Practitioners have given the most attention to the need for achievement. People with a high need for achievement like to establish their own goals and prefer them to be moderately strong in terms of difficulty. They seek feedback on their achievements and tend to be positive thinkers. However, the need that most distinguishes effective managers from nonmanagers is the need for institutionalized power. • Herzberg’s two-factor theory identifies two types of organizational rewards: those related to satisfaction (motivators) and those related to dissatisfaction (hygienes). It also raises the issue of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. One important application of this theory, job enrichment, is widely practiced today. • Whereas content theories emphasize the factors that motivate, process theories are concerned with the process by which such factors interact to produce motivation. They generally are more complex than content theories and offer substantial insights and understanding. Their application frequently results in highly motivated behaviors. • Expectancy theory suggests that motivation is affected by several factors acting together. This theory emphasizes associates’ perceptions of the relationship between effort and performance (expectancy), the linkage between performance and rewards (instrumentalities), and anticipated gratification from rewards (valence). Managers can influence employee motivation by affecting one of these areas but can have greater impact by affecting more than one. • Equity theory considers the human reaction to fairness. According to this theory, a person compares her outcome/ input ratio with that of another person, often a co-worker, to determine whether the relationship is equitable. An inequitable situation causes an individual to alter inputs or outcomes, distort his or her perception of inputs or outcomes, change the source of comparison, or leave the organization. Associates’ perceptions of procedural justice can also influence how they react to perceived inequities. • Goal-setting theory is concerned with several issues that arise in the process of setting performance goals for employees, including goal difficulty, goal specificity, goal commitment, associates’ participation, and feedback. In general, goals should be difficult but realistic and specific. Participation and feedback are also useful for increasing the effectiveness of goals in influencing motivation. • Motivation theories support the use of several managerial practices to increase associates’ motivation: (1) find meaningful individual rewards; (2) tie rewards to performance; (3) redesign jobs through enlargement or enrichment; (4) provide feedback; and (5) clarify expectations and goals. Thinking about Ethics 1. Is there anything wrong with providing no pay increase to a person whose performance is average or below average? What are the implications of this action? 2. If the rewards provided are equitable, must the process used in providing them be fair? Why or why not? 3. Suppose a manager has provided what she believes is an equitable reward to an associate but he does not believe it is fair. What are the manager’s responsibilities to the associate? 4. Is it appropriate for managers to set higher goals for some associates and lower goals for others performing the same job? Why or why not? 5. Can senior managers terminate whistle-blowers who report what they believe to be wrongdoing by managers? Would the termination be acceptable if the whistle- blowers truly believed that the managers were in the wrong but, in fact, the managers’ actions had been judged as appropriate by independent external observers? How would termination affect the motivation of others in the organization

Human Resource Management Applications Human resource management (HRM) practices play a large role in fostering associates’ motivation. Most obvious is HRM’s role in determining and administering compensation and benefits packages. Often, the HRM department must determine what is to be used in compensating the people in various positions. This requires research of external markets and analyses of the jobs in question. Furthermore, strategic decisions must be made on how to compensate people. What should the salary/bonus ratio be? What should the average pay increase be, and how should indi- vidual raises be determined? Performance appraisal and feedback are an important part of managing associates’ motivation. HRM departments train managers in the performance-appraisal system, and frequently in how to conduct appraisals and give feedback. HRM departments may also develop the performance-appraisal procedures and policies used in an organization, as well as monitor the process. HRM departments may also develop goal-setting programs, train employees in the use of these programs, and then assess the results in terms of increased productivity. HRM departments can also conduct associate surveys to assess whether they are engaged with their work, what they find rewarding, and whether they feel that their efforts are being rewarded. This information can then be used to design perfor- mance-management programs, evaluation programs, and com- pensation policies. Also, should there be a need for job redesign, HRM departments could be responsible for introducing and implementing these changes. uilding your human capital Assessing Your Needs Instructions Look at the picture to the right for 60 seconds. Turn the picture over or close your book and take 15 to 20 minutes to write a story about what you see happening in the picture. Your story should be at least one to two pages in length, and it should address the following issues: 1. Who are the people in the picture? What is their relation- ship? 2. What is currently taking place in the picture? What are the people doing? 3. What took place in the hour preceding the taking of the picture? 4. What will take place in the hour following the taking of the picture?

demands, all of these jobs involve having to react quickly to unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. The combination of high demands and low control leads to distress situations. Contrast these jobs to that of a tenured university professor, which is one of Career Cast’s least stressful jobs.25 Demands may be high in this case due to public evaluation of one’s work and responsibility for student learning. However, control is also high in that this job allows for a great deal of autonomy and control in how one does research and teaches. This situation exemplifies the “Active” condition in which both demands and control are high. The result is similar to the notion of eustress discussed earlier. Individuals are most likely to be energized, motivated, and creative in this condition.26 Less research has been done on the other two con- ditions, labeled “Low Strain” and “Passive,” which are characterized by low demands. In any event, people facing these conditions are unlikely to experience stress. The demand–control model is depicted in Exhibit 7-2. Research on the demand–control model has yielded somewhat mixed results. Some research has found that people in the high-strain condition are more likely to experience stress-related health problems, such as coronary heart disease and high blood pressure.27 Other research has found less support for the model.28 On balance, most researchers agree that both demands and control are important factors in explaining stress. However, how they work together, what con- stitutes job control, and the role of other variables (such as social support) must be considered in refining the demand–control model of workplace stress.29 Furthermore, control may have only a buffering effect if it serves to reduce a person’s perception of job demands.30 Effort–Reward Imbalance Model The effort–reward imbalance model is focused on two factors, as depicted in Exhibit 7-3: 1. The effort required by an associate or manager

2. The rewards an individual receives as a result of the effort Effort required relates to the performance demands and obligations of the job. It is very similar to the demand dimension in the demand–control model, but it is somewhat more

Research has yielded generally supportive results for the effort–reward imbalance model. For example, several studies have found that an effort–reward imbalance predicted muscu- loskeletal injury.32 Effort–reward imbalance also predicted a variety of negative outcomes, including poor well-being.33 The relevance of overcommitment has been questioned (it may not play an important role), but other aspects of the model appear to be valid. Organizational and Work-Related Stressors A great deal of research has focused on identifying the specific aspects of the work environ- ment likely to cause associates and managers to experience stress—that is, the factors that act as stressors. Organizational and work-related causes of stress include role conflict, role ambigu- ity, work overload, occupation, resource inadequacy, working conditions, management style, monitoring, job insecurity, and incivility.34 We examine these factors next. Role Conflict All of us have many roles (student, fraternity/sorority member, athlete, spouse, associate). Many times, these roles are reasonably compatible. Sometimes, however, they are not compatible and create conflicting demands and requirements. This situation, known as role conflict, has been demonstrated to be a significant work stressor and is often associated with dissatisfaction, tardiness, absenteeism, and turnover.35 It has been labeled a hindrance stressor in recent stress research.36A specific example of role conflict and its connection to stress is provided by the case of flight attendants after the September 11 terrorist attacks.37 Prior to the attacks, the flight attendants’ role focused on providing service to passengers—“service with a smile.” However, since September 11, flight attendants, under federal rulings, have been required to perform extraordinary security procedures and to scrutinize passengers. It is difficult to provide friendly service (customer service role) while taking extreme security precautions (security role). Pat Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, noted that before the attacks, flight attendants could ignore or “grin and bear” unruly passenger behavior. Now, however, they are required to treat the mildest infraction as a “level-one” threat. This approach has produced an increase in passenger complaints, stress-management programs for flight attendants, and a study of job stress sponsored by a major flight attendants’ union. Apart from conflict among work roles, it is not uncommon for a person’s work and non- work roles to conflict. For example, a person’s job demands may conflict with a role as a spouse and mother or father. Recall from the exploring behavior in action feature, that Amy Bishop, the professor who gunned down her colleagues, often wrote about such conflicts in her novels. One study, for example, connected work–family conflict to mental distress. Individuals with high levels of such conflict exhibited mood problems, anxiety, and substance use. This was true for women and men, with single mothers and married fathers having the highest levels of work–family tension.38 The discussion in the Managerial Advice feature highlights a number of useful ideas for managing work–life conflict. Ensuring an appropriate balance between work and personal lives is crucial to the well-being and productivity of associates and managers. Because high-involvement organizations expect a great deal from associates, these organiza- tions must pay particular attention to work–life balance among those individuals. Role Ambiguity Role ambiguity refers to the situation in which jobholders are unclear about the goals, expec- tations, or requirements of their jobs. Under ambiguous job demands, people are unsure of what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated. A number of management jobs have high role ambiguity; thus, ambiguity is another contributor to the high stress often experi- enced in managerial jobs. Ambiguity on the job creates tension and anxiety.39 Reactions to this stress are likely to be emotional. Moreover, role ambiguity has been shown to have strong negative effects on job moti- vation and performance, even stronger than role conflict in many instances. Further, it often has stronger effects on tardiness, absenteeism, and turnover than does role conflict.40 Finally, role ambi- guity seems to be most problematic when the job demands are perceived as quite challenging.41 Work Overload Another common cause of stress in organizations is work overload. Overload can be quantita- tive (too much work) or qualitative (work is too complex). Research suggests that qualitative overload creates more stress than quantitative overload. For example, qualitative work overload has been found to create greater depression, less enjoyment of work, and greater hostility.42 In a study of nurses, those with an overload of complex cases were sick more frequently.43 Therefore, managers should be very sensitive to overloading associates with work that is too complex for them. Evidence suggests that workload has been increasing over the past few decades.44 In one study of high earners, 62 percent reported working more than 50 hours per week, 35 percent reported working more than 60 hours per week, and 10 percent reported working more than 80 hours per week.45 The majority of these respondents also reported qualitative overload such as unpredictability, a fast pace with tight deadlines, and 24/7 client demands. U.S. workers are not the only ones experiencing overload—it appears to be a global phe- nomenon. The problem of work overload and its ensuing stress-related health consequences has become so prevalent in Japan that they have special terms to describe the phenomenon: karoshi, which means “work to death” and karo-jisatsu, which means “suicide by overwork.”46 Causes for the growth in overload are far ranging, from economic downturns leading to more work for fewer employees, more competitive work environments, and the increas- ing ease with which employees are available because of technology. “Cell phone thumb” has become an actual medical condition.47

Occupation In accordance with the models of stress already discussed, occupations characterized by high demands and strong required efforts can generate stress. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor indicate that white-collar occupations are associated with a higher proportion of stress cases than the blue-collar and service occupations combined.48 Technical, sales, and adminis- trative support personnel contribute most of these cases, but managerial and professional occu- pations also contribute a substantial number of them. Although the white-collar occupations may allow greater control and offer substantial rewards, demands and requirements for people holding these jobs are typically much greater than in other occupations. On the other hand, the effects of control and rewards are demonstrated in research findings that suggest senior managers (upper-level executives, such as CEOs) experience less stress than middle managers. Even though demands on the senior managers may be greater, these managers are also likely to have more control,49 and they frequently have generous reward packages. Resource Inadequacy People may also experience job stress when they lack needed resources.50 Having inadequate resources makes it difficult to accomplish tasks effectively and efficiently and can therefore increase job demands or lessen control. There may be too few people, too little support, or inadequate material to accomplish a task, placing pressure on the person who has responsibil- ity for the task. Severe resource shortages caused by situations such as loss of sales may lead to other stressful events, such as layoffs. As mentioned earlier, layoff decisions are stressful for the managers who make them, for those who lose their jobs, and even for those who stay. Those who remain on the job experienced stress before the layoff decision (because of uncertainty about who would be laid off), experienced the loss of friends and co-workers who were laid off, and then must endure added pressures to accomplish tasks with fewer workers. Working Conditions The job environment can have major effects on job attitudes and reactions. The job envi- ronment includes both physical surroundings (lighting, temperature, noise, office arrange- ments, and so on) and psychological aspects (such as peer relationships, warmth, and perceived rewards). If the working conditions are unpleasant, they can be stressful. For example, working with inadequate lighting, loud noise, or uncomfortable temperatures or working in isolation from others creates pressure and stress.51 Management Style Management style significantly affects the psychological climate of the workplace, and certain styles of dealing with subordinates create more stress than others. For example, one study found that high scores on Machiavellianism (managing through fear) were negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to job tension.52 Certain types of jobs and associate personali- ties may interact with managerial style to produce stress. For example, directive managerial styles may produce less stress on routine jobs and with associates who prefer a more structured environ- ment. However, for people in professional jobs and for those who prefer more personal involve- ment and self-determination in their jobs, a less directive managerial style produces less stress. Monitoring Relatively recent developments in technology have led to an explosion of stricter moni- toring of associates’ behavior—both work-related and non-work-related. Organizations are able to read associates’ e-mail, detect websites they visit, listen to phone conversations, and keep track of any work they do electronically. Call center representatives at Verizon actu- ally went on strike because of frequent and random monitoring, because the monitoring led to stress.53 Monitoring can cause associates to experience increased demands and loss of control at the same time, making monitoring extremely stressful.54 Demands are increased because associates feel that they must always be “on” and that any mistake will be noticed. Control is lessened because associates who are being monitored may feel that they have little discretion in how they do their jobs. Call-center associates, for example, complained about having to follow strict scripts when they felt that it was inappropriate and would even hinder performance. Job Insecurity In the early part of the twenty-first century, the U.S. unemployment rate increased somewhat, and more organizations became involved in mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, and moving work offshore. The economic downturn beginning in 2008 has led to record numbers of jobs lost and unemployment rates over 9 percent. Although employment rates are coming down, U.S. associates today are still likely to experience insecurity about keeping their jobs. Job inse- curity can be an enormous stressor.55 Bullying and Incivility in the Workplace On October 28, 2013, Miami Dolphins rookie Jonathon Martin left his team’s facilities due to “emotional” reasons and checked himself into a hospital. It came out that Martin was alleging that he had been a victim of bullying by his teammates. At the time of writing this chapter, details of what exactly occurred are unclear. One allegation is that Martin was forced to pay for some teammates’ trip to Las Vegas and was not invited along. Martin’s teammate Richie Incognito sent text messages containing racial slurs and profanities to Martin in response to the allegations. Incognito was suspended from the Miami Dolphins due to “conduct detrimental to the team.” A great deal of discussion has been generated from this incident, much of it focusing on the controversial issue of whether Martin was really bullied and the culture of the team. The Dolphins traded Martin to the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. Incognito tried reach- ing out to Martin via Twitter in February 2014, writing that he supported the lineman “100 percent in his return to football.” When asked about that tweet, Martin said he was trying to move forward and put that chapter of his life behind him. 56 The Workplace Bullying Institute defines workplace bullying as “repeated, health- harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms: (1) verbal abuse, (2) offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating, and (3) work interference—sabotage—which prevents work from getting done.57 In a recent survey, the Institute found that 37 percent of respondents reported that they had firsthand contact with bullying, when bullying was defined as “repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that pre- vented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation, & humilia- tion.”58 Bullying can have severe consequences on stress levels and resulting psychological and physical conditions.59 Incivility is related to bullying, but is less severe and more common.60 Have you ever been annoyed by someone taking a cell phone call while you were in a meeting, or by someone sending rude jokes over the Internet, or by someone purposefully failing to include you in a conference call? If so, then you have experienced workplace incivility. Incivility is defined as slightly deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm another person.61 Slightly deviant behavior means that the behavior is not overtly aggressive, physical, or violent. Ambiguous intent means that the perpetrator behaves in a way so that he or she can deny the intent to harm someone else. Incivility at work has been found to be related to job stress, mental health, and physical health of employees,62 as well as other outcomes that impact an organization’s bottom line.63 Incivility in the workplace is discussed in more detail in the Experiencing Orga- nizational Behavior feature.

Individual Influences on Experiencing Stress Earlier, in defining stress, we noted that individuals vary in how they respond to external stress- ors. For example, some individuals may be energized by quite demanding workloads, whereas others respond with negative stress reactions. A great deal of research has examined character- istics that are likely to influence how an individual reacts to stress. These characteristics include Type A versus Type B personality, self-esteem, hardiness, and gender. Type A versus Type B Personality Many researchers have studied people with Type A and Type B personalities and how they respond to stress. People with Type A personalities are competitive, aggressive, and impatient. Type A’s may push themselves to achieve higher and higher goals until they become frustrated, irritated, anxious, and hostile. Type A behavior is exemplified by the driver who blasts the car horn when the car in front of him is a second too slow in moving through an intersection after the light has turned green. In the words of the two physicians who focused attention on this phenomenon: The Type A pattern is an action–emotion complex that can be observed in any person who is aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing efforts of other things or other persons. It is not psychosis or a complex of worries or fears or phobias or obsessions, but a socially acceptable—indeed, often praised—form of conflict.64 People with Type B personalities are quite different. They tend to be less competitive, less aggressive, and more patient. People with Type A personalities are more susceptible to stress-induced illness.65 Type A individuals may experience more stress for two reasons. First, given their competitive and aggressive tendencies, they may actually create more stressors in their environments. For exam- ple, Type A people have been known to increase work overload on their own, whereas Type B people are more reasonable.66 Second, Type A people are more likely to appraise any given event as a stressor than are Type B people.67 Self-Esteem Research has found that people with high self-esteem suffer fewer negative effects from stress than people with low self-esteem.68 People with high self-esteem, in general, experience greater well-being and may be more resistant to the effects of stressors. Furthermore, people with high self-esteem are more likely to engage in active coping behaviors when they experience stressful demands relative to those with low self-esteem. For example, when faced with a heavy work- load, people with high self-esteem may break tasks down into manageable units and prioritize their work so that they can begin to tackle excessive work demands. In contrast, someone with low self-esteem may withdraw from the work or procrastinate, making the work overload even worse. Consequently, people with high self-esteem are more likely to gain control over stressful situations and decrease the amount of stress they experience. Hardiness Individuals who are high in hardiness tend to have a strong internal commitment to their activ- ities, have an internal locus of control, and seek challenge in everyday life. Research has shown that people who are high in hardiness experience less severe negative stress reactions than those who are low in hardiness.69 For example, one study showed that managers in a public utility who had scored high on hardiness had fewer illnesses following exposure to significant stress.7

Perhaps the most important aspect of hardiness is locus of control. Recall from Chapter 5 that people with an internal locus of control are likely to view themselves as responsible for the outcomes they experience. Those with an external locus of control are more likely to view themselves as victims of fate or luck. It is not surprising that people with an internal locus of control are more likely to develop active coping strategies and to perceive that they have control when experiencing stressful work demands. However, research has shown that the rela- tionship between stress and locus of control may be more complex because people who have an extreme internal locus of control are likely to blame themselves for negative events and thus experience more responsibility, a stressor.71 Gender Although the evidence is not entirely conclusive, women and men do not seem to differ in how stressful they perceive a given stressor to be.72 They do, however, seem to cope differently. More specifically, women seek more emotional social support (comfort and a shoulder to lean on), seek more instrumental social support (specific support to solve a problem), engage in more positive self-talk, and exhibit rumination (thinking over the situation).73 Social support tends to be an effective coping strategy.74 Beyond these issues, women might be exposed to more stressors in the workplace. In some cases, women are paid less than men are for similar work. They are more likely than men to experience discrimination and stereotyping and to work in service industries that are stressful (such as nursing). Research suggests that women experience a greater variety of stressors in the workplace than men.75 Some studies directly comparing the stress experienced by men and women at work also suggest that women experience more stress overall.76 One reason for this is that women are more likely to be the victims of bullying and harassment than are men.77 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that for every case of stress leading to work absence for men, there were 1.6 cases for women.78 Individual and Organizational Consequences of Stress It should be clear by now that stress can be detrimental to developing a high-involvement, high-performance work organization. High-involvement organizations require that associates be engaged and motivated to perform at high levels and that their individual capabilities be used in the most productive and efficient manner. However, the consequences of work stress can sabotage managerial attempts to develop such an environment. The following discussion focuses on the individual and organizational consequences of stress. Individual Consequences Individual consequences of stress can be classified as psychological, behavioral, or physiological. Psychological Consequences Psychological responses to stress include anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, sleeplessness, frustration, family problems, and burnout.79 Some of these psychological reactions are more severe than others. Their importance and overall effect on individual behavior and physical condition depend on their degree or level. Extreme frustration or anxiety can lead to other, more severe behavioral and physiological problems. One important psychological problem is burnout. Associates and managers experienc- ing burnout show little or no enthusiasm for their jobs and generally experience constant fatigue. These individuals often complain bitterly about their work, blame others for mis- takes, are absent from work more and more often, are uncooperative with co-workers, and become increasingly isolated.80 Burnout often occurs in jobs that require individuals to work closely and intensely with others under emotionally charged conditions (nurs- ing is an example). Burnout is a major concern in American industry and governmental organizations. Behavioral Consequences Behavioral consequences of stress include excessive smoking, substance abuse (alcohol, drugs), accident proneness, appetite disorders, and even violence.81 Probably the most severe behav- ioral consequences are substance abuse and violence. Substance abuse, unfortunately, has become much more common in the United States in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that alcohol, tobacco, and other drug-related problems cost U.S. businesses over $185 billion every year.82 Over 15 percent of U.S. workers have reported being impaired by alcohol at work dur- ing the past year, and 9 percent of workers reported being hungover at work.83 Alcoholics and other drug users in the workforce exhibit the following characteristics:84 • They are much less productive than other associates. • They use three times as many sick days as other associates. • They are more likely to expose themselves and co-workers to serious safety hazards because of poor judgment and coordination. Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities are linked to alcohol and drug consumption. • They are five times more likely to file worker’s compensation claims. • Absenteeism is 16 times greater for employees with drug and alcohol problems than for those without problems. Although there are many reasons for alcoholism and drug abuse, many people use alcohol and drugs as a means of handling stress. Alcohol and some drugs are depressants that can substantially reduce emotional reactions. Studies have shown that in small doses, alcohol has little effect. However, with moderate-to-heavy consumption, alcohol can substantially reduce tension, anxiety, fear, and other emotional reactions to disturbing situations.85 Drugs can have the same effects. Alcohol and drugs, then, give people a means of blocking stress reac- tions when they cannot control the situation. Of course, emotions are suppressed only as long as the individual continues to consume large quantities of alcohol or drugs. Because the disturbing situation still exists, emotional reac- tions return when the effects of drugs or alcohol wear off, leading to continued usage of these substances. Another serious behavioral consequence of stress is workplace violence. As presented in the opening Exploring Behavior in Action case, workplace violence can be quite costly. Victims lose more than $55 million annually in lost wages, and employers lose approximately $4.2 billion annu- ally.86 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that approximately 2 million workers are victims of workplace violence every year. Homicide is the third-leading cause of workplace fatalities. Workplace vio- lence can be either physical or mental, as in the case of exces- sive taunting or harassment. Many cases of tragic outbursts at work are related to stressful working conditions. The case of Amy Bishop offers one exam- ple. The case of Mark O. Barton offers another example. On July 31, 1999, Barton shot and killed 9 people and injured 13 more at two Atlanta day-trading organizations. In the previous days, he had killed his wife and two children by hammering them to death. After being spotted by the police at a gas station a few hours after the shootings, Barton shot and killed himself. What caused Barton to commit these unspeak- able acts of violence? While the causes of such behavior are highly complex, one contributing factor was the extreme stress involved in day trading.87 Day trading involves the buying and selling of stocks on a very-short-term basis. Traders often use their own money, and they can experience heavy gains and losses daily. In the month before the killings, Mark Barton had lost $105,000. Day traders have no security and no regular paycheck. Some have said that day traders must have a casino mentality.88 Christopher Farrell, author of Day Trading Online, states: “A day trader makes a living at the game; you live or die by your profit and loss. You never get away from it. It’s on your mind 24 hours a day. You don’t have a steady paycheck.”89 Although day trading is not as popular as it once was, it continues to be a widespread phenomenon.90 As with Amy Bishop, stress probably was not the only factor that led to Barton’s deadly outburst; he most likely suffered from personality disorders. However, the stress of trading may have been one factor that set him off. And while Barton’s behavior may have been extreme, workplace violence is so prevalent that we have nicknames such as “going postal,” “desk rage,” and “air rage” to describe it. Physiological Consequences Physiological reactions to stress include high blood pressure, muscle tension, headaches, ulcers, skin diseases, impaired immune systems, musculoskeletal disorders (such as back problems), and even more serious ailments, such as heart disease and cancer.91 Stress has also been linked to obesity, a rising health epidemic worldwide.92 Stress can be directly related to physiological problems, or it can make existing conditions worse. It has been estimated that 75 percent of all medical problems are directly attributable to stress.93 The physical ailments noted earlier in the chapter in Exhibit 7-1 may lower productivity while on the job and increase absences from work (thereby reducing overall productivity even more). Rick Speckmann exemplifies the debilitating physiological effects that can result from stress.94 Speckmann was a hard-driving entrepreneur, burned out from the stress of running his executive search company in Minneapolis. One day, at age 40, Speckmann experienced an intense tightness in his chest after exercising. He was promptly sent to the hospital in an ambulance, where he received a battery of tests. The final diagnosis: acute overstress. Luckily, Speckmann paid attention to this lesson and changed his lifestyle to a less stressful one. It is important to note that physiological stress begins with normal biological mecha- nisms. Recall from our earlier discussion that the stress response prepares the body to deal with impending danger by releasing hormones and increasing the heartbeat, pulse rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and output of blood sugar from the liver. These physiological changes helped primitive human beings respond to danger.95 Such a physiological response to stress is often referred to as the fight-or-flight response. However, the stress response is best adapted for dealing with acute stress. As noted earlier, it is chronic stress, and the physiological responses to it, that can lead to physical ailments. The human body has not yet adapted well to an environ- ment of continuous stress. Therefore, individual responses to stress can be severe and costly. Organizational Consequences Stress has consequences for organizations as well as for individuals. These consequences fol- low from the effects on individuals that include lower motivation, dissatisfaction, lower job

performance, increased absenteeism, increased turnover, and lower quality of relationships at work. Research has shown strong connections between stress, job dissatisfaction, turnover, and health-care costs.96 Stress-related illnesses cost companies millions of dollars in insurance and worker’s compensation claims. Employees who report high levels of stress have health-care expenditures that are 50 percent higher than those reporting lower levels of stress.97 Exhibit 7-4 gives some perspective to these costs. Furthermore, individual consequences of stress may interact to cause organizational prob- lems. For example, behavioral problems, such as violence, and psychological consequences, such as anxiety, can lower the quality of the relationships between co-workers, resulting in distrust, animosity, and a breakdown in communications. When individuals frequently miss work because of stress-related illness, their colleagues may become resentful at having to take over their work while they are absent.98 We have already discussed the increased safety risks for everyone that result from one person’s alcohol or drug use. Thus, the organizational con- sequences of stress can be dangerous as well as costly. Fortunately, many organizations and professionals, including companies, government agencies (NIOSH, OSHA), medical doctors, and psychologists, have recognized the importance of addressing stress in the workplace, and a variety of techniques have been developed to combat stress-induced problems. We now turn to a discussion of actions that can be taken to alleviate the debilitating effects of stress on individuals and organizations. Managing Workplace Stress Individual associates and managers can implement a number of tactics to more effectively deal with stress. Similarly, organizations can be helpful in alleviating stress. They also can be mind- ful of stressful working conditions that cause stress in the first place. Individual Stress Management Based on the models of stress discussed earlier in this chapter, associates and managers can avoid workplace stress by finding jobs that provide a personally acceptable balance between demands and control, and between effort required and rewards. They can also propose that a dysfunctional job be redesigned. Further, they can avoid or reduce some stress by following the tactics for work–life balance presented in the earlier Managerial Advice feature. Beyond these tactics, individuals can adopt several positive tactics for coping with existing stress. The goal is to develop healthy ways of coping. Because individuals experience multiple sources of stress, using multiple tactics for coping is beneficial. One of the most important tactics is regular exercise. Three areas are important: endur- ance, strength, and flexibility.99 Endurance activities maintain or increase aerobic capacity. Key activities include regular walking, treadmill walking, jogging, running, cycling, and swim- ming. Extreme amounts of endurance exercise are not required. Moderate amounts improve fitness and reduce mortality.100 Moderate exercise has been defined as 30 minutes of sustained activity three to four times per week, at a heart rate that is above the normal rate but below the maximum rate. An individual’s target heart rate can be calculated by subtracting his age from 220, and then taking 65 to 80 percent of that number.101 Strength activities maintain or improve muscle mass and can prevent loss of bone mass as well. Key activities include weight training and aqua-aerobics. Twenty minutes of these types of exercises three times per week can provide important benefits.102 Flexibility activities main- tain or improve range of motion and energy. Stretching is the key activity. Stretching various muscle groups three times per week provides important and sustainable benefits.103 A second tactic for coping with stress is proper diet. Diet affects energy, alertness, and overall well-being. According to research conducted at the Cooper Institute, four key areas should be considered:104 1. It is important to monitor fat intake. Adults over 30 should obtain no more than 20 to 25 percent of calories from fat per day. Younger adults also should be careful with fat consumption. Fifty to 70 percent of calories should come from complex carbohydrates (drawn from fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods, not from candy and cakes). Ten to 15 percent of calories should come from protein (drawn from fish, poultry, and meats). 2. It is important to consume a reasonable amount of fiber, both insoluble and soluble. 3. Consumption of calcium is important. 4. Consumption of foods rich in antioxidants can be helpful. Antioxidants seem to be helpful in preventing damage caused by normal bodily operations involving oxygen. In today’s world, implementing a proper diet can be difficult. Time for grocery shopping and cooking is often limited. Many companies (not to mention school cafeterias) make the situation worse by providing or facilitating the consumption of junk food. In a poll conducted by Harris Interactive for the Marlin Company (a workplace communications company), 63 percent of respondents reported that vending machines on the job mostly contain junk food, such as potato chips, candy bars, and cookies. In a second poll, 74 percent of respondents reported that it is common for special occasions to be celebrated with candy, cookies, or cake. Even on routine workdays, accessible candy bowls are in many cubicles and offices. A third tactic for coping with stress involves the development and use of social-support networks.105 Social support is very important. Research has shown that such support is posi- tively related to cardiovascular functioning and negatively related to perceived stress, anxiety, and depression.106 Having friends and family to talk with about problems can be quite useful (emotional social support). Having friends and family who can offer specific suggestions, pro- vide resources, and break down barriers can also be quite useful (instrumental social support). A fourth tactic involves the use of relaxation techniques. For some, meditation, yoga, and visualization of serene settings work very well. For others, a simple walk in the park is more useful. Other tactics include developing and using planning skills, being realistic about what can be accomplished, and avoiding unnecessary competition. Organizational Stress Management Organizations can help to reduce stress or help managers and associates deal more effectively with stress. To reduce stress, the following actions can be taken. These actions are consistent with high-involvement management: • Increase individuals’ autonomy and control. According to the demand–control model, increased control should help to keep experienced stress to manageable levels. • Ensure that individuals are compensated properly. According to the effort–rewards imbalance model, proper compensation should help to keep experienced stress to manageable levels. • Maintain job demands/requirements at healthy levels. • Ensure that associates have adequate skills to keep up-to-date with technical changes in the workplace. • Increase associate involvement in important decision making. • Improve physical working conditions. For example, use ergonomically sound equipment and tools. • Provide for job security and career development. Provide educational opportunities so that associates can continue to improve their skill sets. Use job redesign and job rotation to expand associates’ skill sets. • Provide healthy work schedules. Avoid constant shifting of schedules. Allow for flextime or other alternative work schedules. • Improve communication to help avoid uncertainty and ambiguity. In addition to actions taken to reduce stress, organizations can help associates and manag- ers cope with stress and its effects. Specifically, they can encourage some managers to be “toxin handlers” and they can implement wellness programs. These are discussed next. Toxin handlers, a term coined by renowned educator and consultant Peter Frost, are people who take it upon themselves to handle the pain and stressors that are part of everyday life in organizations.107 Frost argues that toxin handlers are necessary for organizations to be success- ful, even though their contributions are often overlooked. Without the efforts of these organi- zational heroes, both individual and organizational well-being and productivity would suffer. Managers can become more efficient, compassionate toxin handlers. Frost lists the follow- ing behaviors as necessary for handling the pain, strain, and stress of others: • Read your own and others’ emotional cues and understand the impact that emotional cues have on others. For example, be aware that when you show signs of anger, the most common response will be defensiveness or hostility. This can begin a cycle of negative emotions and nonproductive behavior that could have been avoided. The ability to avoid negative behaviors is one of the major components of emotional intelligence. • Keep people connected. Devise ways in which people at work can react to each other as human beings. This can be accomplished by encouraging intimacy and fun. • Empathize with those who are in pain. Actively listen with compassion. • Act to alleviate the suffering of others. Providing a shoulder to cry on might be appropriate. Arranging for discreet financial aid to an associate in need might be useful. • Mobilize people to deal with their pain and get their lives back on track. Actively acknowledge problems, encourage helping behavior, and celebrate achievements. • Create a compassionate environment. This is an environment where compassionate behavior toward others is encouraged and rewarded. Wellness programs are very popular and important tools that organizations use to manage stress and its effects.108 These programs include health screenings, health advice, risk-management programs, smoking cessation, weight control, and exercise. The main goal is to develop/maintain a healthy and productive workforce. In some organizations, health coaches are used to proactively monitor participating associates and managers. These coaches, often nurses, offer advice based on health-screening information as well as ongoing medical events and drug prescriptions.109 The wellness program at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is one of the oldest and most rec- ognized. Originally called “Live for Life,” the program has helped thousands of people lead healthier lives. In terms of company benefits, assessments have shown positive returns to the bottom line through enhanced productivity and lower health-care costs. In 2007, one estimate suggested that savings just from reduced medical expenditures have been approximately $400 per person per year, which translates into quite a savings given that Johnson and Johnson has about 128,700 employees.110 J&J has exceeded its program goals, given that: • 96 percent of employees are tobacco-free. • 94 percent of employees have blood pressures of 140/90 or better. • 93 percent of employees have total cholesterol levels below 240. • 68 percent of employees are physically active, defined as 30 minutes of activity three or more times each week.111 Evidence suggests that wellness programs provide benefits to both individuals and orga- nizations. As such, organizations want as many people as possible to participate. Participation, though, is voluntary. As discussed in the next Experiencing Organizational Behavior feature, incentives have been used to raise participation levels. These incentives, however, have a dark side, and legal issues have arisen.

What This Chapter Adds to Your Knowledge Portfolio 233 ? back to the knowledge objectives 1. What do we mean by stress? What are the distinguishing features of acute and chronic stress, and eustress and dystress? Does all stress result in negative consequences? 2. What are the general causes of workplace stress according to the demand–control model? What are the general causes of stress according to the effort–reward imbalance model? What implications do these models have for creating a high- involvement workplace? 3. What are the most common workplace stressors? 4. What types of people are likely to experience the most stress at work? If you are experiencing too much stress, what can you do to help manage it? 5. What impact does associate stress have on organizational and individual effectiveness? Why is stress so costly for organizations? 6. What can organizations do to prevent and manage workplace stress? How can individuals manage their own stress?What specific changes can they make?

234 Chapter 7 Stress and Well-Being Thinking about Ethics 1. What responsibility do senior managers have to understand how their decisions affect the stress experienced by other managers and by associates? 2. Do managers have any responsibility to help associates manage stress caused by life events outside of work? Explain. 3. What actions should a manager take if she has an associate experiencing burnout? 4. Do organizations have a responsibility to offer programs or benefits that can help associates manage stress, such as more vacations, flexible work arrangements, and wellness programs? Why or why not? 5. Is it appropriate for employers to seek detailed personal information in order to make recommendations for wellness action plans?

Organizational Behavior – Week #4 Lecture 1

Motivating Associates

Hello Class! As we start this week’s lecture, I hope you’re starting to notice a trend. Each lecture starts off with a goal – what we want to accomplish in the following paragraphs. This idea of goal-setting, regardless of the task at hand, is a critical element of success! Whether it’s a phone call, a meeting, or a visit to local grocery store, I always strive to have a specific goal in mind at the onset. Okay, now let’s press on to the goal of this lecture – to gain an understanding of how to motivate associates. We’ll discuss five specific ways to motivate employees followed by a mind-boggling example from the hair salon industry as discussed in your text. On pages 195-202, Hitt, Miller, and Colella provide a practical list of motivation practices as described below:

·             Find Meaningful Individual Rewards – tailor individual rewards to individual needs and desires, consider both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, intrinsic examples include satisfaction based on exciting and challenging work, feelings of accomplishment, extrinsic examples include pay increases, bonuses, pay level, job security, job titles.

·             Tie Rewards to Performance – encourages desired behavior, performance measurement is critical to accurate linkage with rewards, can be financial or non-financial rewards.

·             Redesign Jobs (Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment) – goal is to make jobs more meaningful, job enlargement involves adding tasks that are similar in complexity relative to the current tasks, job enrichment is making a job more motivating by increasing responsibility

·             Provide Feedback – should be provided in conjunction with goals, regular intervals, be specific, from a credible source, focus on the performance and not the individual when delivering.

·             Clarify Expectations and Goals – Ah, refer back to the first paragraph of this lecture!  You must know the destination before embarking on the journey to get there!

·            Now that we have an understanding of some of the most practical techniques to motivate associates, let’s look at an unexpected example from the hair salon industry. Please draw your attention to the Experiencing Organizational Behavior segment on page 194 of the text title “Making Visible Changes”. Visible Changes is a hair salon company based on Houston, TX. As you can see from the lead-in paragraph, this is not your normal hair salon. A hairdresser making a total of a quarter million dollars (includes her $40k bonus) just doesn’t seem feasible. As my grandpa used to say when he worked on cars, “let’s look under the hood”, or delve deeper in the workings of Visible Changes, to understand how a company in an industry not known for high pay can pull this off. Considering the backdrop of motivation practices provided above, which of these does Visible Changes engage in that makes it so successful? It’s obvious they tie performance to rewards – commissions and bonuses are based on specific criteria such as repeat customers and products sold. Visible Changes has also done a fantastic job at clarifying expectations and goals. For instance, there are different levels of hair stylists. Each level (such as senior cutter and master cutter) has a requisite set of goals that must be met (such as number of haircuts, repeat customers, and continuous learning hours) before a hairstylist can move to the next level. The company has also been successful at finding meaningful individual rewards to include profit-sharing, public recognition, and travel to interesting locations. The company even offered to pay tuition to medical school for any children of employees…what a perk! Let’s further extend this discussion to the public sector and Federal government employees. Within the last few years, Federal employees have been subjected to multiple years without cost of living adjustments (also known as the “pay freeze”), a government shutdown, furloughs, reductions in travel and training, and elimination of bonuses (although these appear to be coming back in certain agencies). The bottom line is that the Federal workforce has been subjected to various practices that effectively decreased their motivation.  

Here’s the question…with such a brutal few years, can the government environment be changed and motivation practices implemented to improve employee morale?  Are there complicating factors in the public sector which do not appear in the private sector? Yes, the environment can be changed, however, for meaningful changes to occur, there needs to be some compromising between the Executive and Legislative branches. The Federal government is a unique organization in that there is not one person who makes the ultimate decisions. Instead, the government is structured to provide adequate checks and balances. While the “balance of power” concept makes us strong as a nation, it provides numerous challenges from an employee motivation standpoint. If you were a government manager, which of the motivation practices might you use considering the circumstances? One place to start might be to find meaningful individual rewards.  For many, government service is a calling and they do it for patriotic reasons rather than for financial gain.  References

·            Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

 

Organizational Behavior – Week #4 Lecture 2

Stress Management

Class, I’m proud of the efforts you’ve shown thus far in class! Completion of this week marks the halfway point, a significant achievement considering the difficulty and time commitment for this class. Well done! The second lecture this week revolves around a topic from Chapter Seven, stress – how to identify it and how to manage it. My hope is that you can reflect on your own situation (and those you care about) and not only identify stress concerns but take a proactive approach to managing them so you live a long, productive, happy, and healthy life! Have you ever found yourself feeling uneasy after a day at the office? Do you often experience physiological, emotional, or behavioral discomfort as a result of your work environment? If so, you’re likely experiencing symptoms of stress. Here are some the common symptoms of stress as noted by Hitt, Miller, and Colella on page 215 of the text:

·        Common Physical Symptoms:  headaches, muscle tension and pain, chest pain, fatigue, change in sex drive, upset stomach, lowered resistance to infection and disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, increased metabolism and burning of body fat.

·        Common Emotional Symptoms:  anxiety or worry, restlessness, lack of motivation, lack of focus, irritability, anger, sadness, depression.

·        Common Behavioral Symptoms:  alertness and excitement, increase in energy, overeating, undereating, angry or aggressive outbursts, drug or alcohol abuse, tobacco use, social withdrawal.

If you haven’t experienced any of the aforementioned symptoms, I want your job :) Seriously though, I suspect we’ve all experienced a number of these stress effects at one time or another in our lives. So now that you’ve diagnosed your own situation, it’s time to prescribe a solution. The best solutions are typically a two-pronged approach from both the individual and the organization. Regardless of how much effort an individual invests in reducing stress, the organization must be willing to make changes to keep good employees over the long-term. A good organization will make changes to accommodate employees, even if it costs them money in the short-term, because of the long-term benefits and reduction in healthcare costs associated with stress. Let’s start by looking at changes you can personally make to lessen stress. The first is diet. What does yours look like? Do you often eat junk food and make unhealthy choices at fast food restaurants? To use an analogy…would you fuel your car which takes unleaded gasoline with corn syrup? Of course not...the car won’t make the trip and will likely sustain permanent damage. This is no different than your body. By fueling your body with unhealthy food, you’re sure to contribute to stress. The text notes that diet impacts alertness, energy levels, and overall well-being. Another life change you can make immediately to lessen your stress levels is the implementation of an exercise routine. Rather than go into the numerous exercise routines out there, I’ll focus on the different categories of exercise. Generally speaking, exercise can be broken down into three major groups, what have been coined the “three Ss” – stamina, strength, stretching. Hitt, Miller, and Colella define moderate exercise as 30 minutes of activity three to four times a week. The key here is not to get burnt out and be sure to use moderation.

For instance, if you’ve been literally laying on the couch after work for the last year, you’ll not want to go out and run 5 miles.  Rather, you might start with walking a half mile 3 times a week for the first couple of weeks and slowly increasing rates and mileage after that. So, even if you do everything right from an individual level that will only go so far. There must be action on your organization’s part to help lessen the stress as well. Page 230 of the text provides various actions that can be taken by the organization to reduce stress as listed below:

·        Increased autonomy & control

·        Proper compensation

·        Maintain job demands/requirements at healthy levels

·        Ensure associates have adequate skills to keep up-to-date with technical changes in the workplace

·        Increased associate involvement in decision making

·        Improve physical working conditions

·        Provide job security and career development

·        Provide flexible work schedules

·        Improve communication to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity

Now it’s time to sound like a broken record again…project, project, project! Has your organization instituted any of these measures? Might your organization benefit from instituting additional measures. As you should recall from your project assignment, you are to identify a process/structure/environment that needs improvement and provide an intervention recommendation for improvement. As an example, let’s say you work 12 hour shifts and your analysis shows that workplace accidents typically happen the last couple of hours of the shift due to exhaustion.

One proposed intervention might be to provide flexible work schedules where you can choose between eight, ten, or twelve hour shifts. This is your chance in a friendly environment to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of your organization.  The possibilities are endless! References

·        Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 

W4 Video Lecture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW-DBk4pssY&feature=youtu.be