Organizational Behavior

You might have moderate motivation to manage.

Research indicates there are seven types of motivation that seem to predict overall motivation to manage.

· Authority – People who are motivated to have positive relationships with their supervisors and managers are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Competitive games – People who like to play competitive games are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Competitive situations – people who are competitive in work situations are more likely to become managers. For example, if you tried to cut more grass than other workers at your summer landscaping job, this might be an indication you are more likely to have the motivation to become a manager.

· Assertive roles – If you like to act in an assertive manner, you are more likely to become a manager.

· Imposing wishes – If you like to influence what other people do and to direct the behavior of others, you are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Standing out from the group – If you like to be unique and have others watching you, you are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Routine administrative functions – If you like the details associated with administrative work, you are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

Your engagement level may be moderate.

Research shows that students and employees who are more engaged are more productive and satisfied. Engagement appears to grow out of personal characteristics (such as being conscientious) and organizational characteristics (such as regularly recognizing high performance). The text has a more complete description of the personal and organizational factors that lead to engagement.

Engaged students and employees share three characteristics.

· Vigor – Has a high level of energy at work, invests a great deal of effort, and is willing to work through barriers and difficulties.

· Dedication – Displays high amounts of loyalty to, and enthusiasm about, the organization and their work responsibilities.

· Absorption – Is so attached to the work that time spent at work seems to pass quickly; willing to invest extra time to ensure successful completion of responsibilities.

If your score is in the low and moderate ranges, this may indicate that you do not find much excitement in your school work. You probably are less likely to look forward to returning to school after breaks, and you are likely to look for shortcuts to completing your work.

If your score is in the high range, this may indicate you are engaged in your schooling, you look forward to learning, and you are more tolerant of assignments that are either not inherently exciting to you or that appear to have little application to your life or career preparation.

As described earlier, engagement arises from a combination of personal and organizational characteristics. Obviously, you have more control over your personal characteristics. You can decide to become more positive about your school assignments and required courses. Clearly, if you go into a class with a pessimistic attitude, it will be that much harder for the instructor to engage you in the material. Instead, if you enter with an optimistic attitude, more than likely you will enjoy the assignments and find aspects of the course material that are helpful and relevant to your life.

You have less control over organizational characteristics. For example, you are not in a position to alter your school’s curricular requirements. However, this does not make you powerless. If you find the curricular requirements do not suit you, you can investigate changing your major or even transferring to a different institution. Seek out the advice of faculty, student life staff, the career office, or other available resources to help you make these decisions. Take care not to think a change of major or school is going to automatically change your level of engagement. As the saying goes, the grass may appear greener on the other side of the fence, but it often is not.

If you are deeply engaged in your studies, research indicates that you will more likely be engaged in your work responsibilities after graduation. Since engaged employees are happier and more productive, they are also more likely to be successful. So, the efforts you invest in your education now to raise your level of engagement are likely to pay off later in the form of a more satisfying life and career. Remember, engagement is partially your choice. You can choose to be more or less engaged. The more that you practice being engaged while a student, the more likely you will be engaged as an employee.

Personality measurement can be fun and informative—but it can also be challenging if the results are not as you might expect. There has been a great deal of research and thought given to how best to categorize persons in personality terms. Much of this research and writing has coalesced around the view that the most helpful categorization scheme involves five dimensions of personality. These have come to be known as “The Big Five.”

· Extraversion – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive. Research has shown that people in sales (think of a coach who recruits college athletes or a car sales person) tend to be more successful if they are on the high end of the extraversion scale. Likewise, managers tend to be more successful if they behave in extroverted ways. In contrast, persons who score low on extraversion (introverts) tend to like more solitary activities such as doing office support, research and development work, working with data, and so on.

· Agreeableness – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be trusting, good-natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted. Surprisingly, while all of us would like to have work colleagues who are agreeable, research shows agreeableness is less connected to general work success than are extroversion and conscientiousness. Of course, this does not mean you should not work at being as agreeable as you can be!

· Conscientiousness – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent. Research shows people who score high in conscientiousness tend to be more successful in all types of employment settings than their less conscientious co-workers. It is easy to see why. What employer would want to hire someone who sees themselves not always prepared (item 5) or someone who does not pay attention to details (item 6)? If your score on this dimension is not as high as you would like, you can expect a high payoff from working on becoming stronger in this area.

· Emotional stability – Persons who score high on emotional stability tend to be relaxed, secure, and unworried. In contrast, persons who score low tend to experience more highs and lows in terms of their emotional life. Research shows this dimension has less to do with success at work than extraversion and emotional stability.

· Openness to experience – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broadminded. Research shows there is not a strong relationship between scores on this dimension and success at work. However, certain types of jobs are certainly better fits for people who are strong in this area. For example, people who have to work across cultures are likely to be more successful if they are more open to experience because it is easier for them to imagine that people are different from them without having to draw conclusions about whether these differences are good or bad.

Your organization has a moderate diversity climate.

The three conceptually distinct factors of an organization’s diversity climate comprise the following:

· Organizational Fairness – This measures the extent to which employees perceive there is equal treatment in policies and practices for persons regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion and age.

· Organizational Inclusion – This measures the extent to which the organization supports activities such as diversity networks, mentoring, and diversity training programs.

· Diversity Promises – This measures the extent to which the organization is perceived to have followed through on commitments with respect to the elimination of bias and being receptive to hearing concerns raised by employees who are members of minority groups.

If your score is in the low or moderate range, this indicates you do not perceive the organization is committed to having a good diversity climate. If your score is in the high range, it is likely you think your organization is strong in this respect. Research suggests that you are more likely to be unhappy, dissatisfied, and less likely to give the organization your best effort if you work in a low diversity climate. Sometimes, you may need to look for other job opportunities if the climate is inconsistent with your values and needs.

You might have a neutral view of the fairness of your organization.

You might have moderate motivation to manage.

Research indicates there are seven types of motivation that seem to predict overall motivation to manage.

· Authority – People who are motivated to have positive relationships with their supervisors and managers are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Competitive games – People who like to play competitive games are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Competitive situations – people who are competitive in work situations are more likely to become managers. For example, if you tried to cut more grass than other workers at your summer landscaping job, this might be an indication you are more likely to have the motivation to become a manager.

· Assertive roles – If you like to act in an assertive manner, you are more likely to become a manager.

· Imposing wishes – If you like to influence what other people do and to direct the behavior of others, you are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Standing out from the group – If you like to be unique and have others watching you, you are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

· Routine administrative functions – If you like the details associated with administrative work, you are more likely to have the motivation to manage.

Your engagement level may be moderate.

Research shows that students and employees who are more engaged are more productive and satisfied. Engagement appears to grow out of personal characteristics (such as being conscientious) and organizational characteristics (such as regularly recognizing high performance). The text has a more complete description of the personal and organizational factors that lead to engagement.

Engaged students and employees share three characteristics.

· Vigor – Has a high level of energy at work, invests a great deal of effort, and is willing to work through barriers and difficulties.

· Dedication – Displays high amounts of loyalty to, and enthusiasm about, the organization and their work responsibilities.

· Absorption – Is so attached to the work that time spent at work seems to pass quickly; willing to invest extra time to ensure successful completion of responsibilities.

If your score is in the low and moderate ranges, this may indicate that you do not find much excitement in your school work. You probably are less likely to look forward to returning to school after breaks, and you are likely to look for shortcuts to completing your work.

If your score is in the high range, this may indicate you are engaged in your schooling, you look forward to learning, and you are more tolerant of assignments that are either not inherently exciting to you or that appear to have little application to your life or career preparation.

As described earlier, engagement arises from a combination of personal and organizational characteristics. Obviously, you have more control over your personal characteristics. You can decide to become more positive about your school assignments and required courses. Clearly, if you go into a class with a pessimistic attitude, it will be that much harder for the instructor to engage you in the material. Instead, if you enter with an optimistic attitude, more than likely you will enjoy the assignments and find aspects of the course material that are helpful and relevant to your life.

You have less control over organizational characteristics. For example, you are not in a position to alter your school’s curricular requirements. However, this does not make you powerless. If you find the curricular requirements do not suit you, you can investigate changing your major or even transferring to a different institution. Seek out the advice of faculty, student life staff, the career office, or other available resources to help you make these decisions. Take care not to think a change of major or school is going to automatically change your level of engagement. As the saying goes, the grass may appear greener on the other side of the fence, but it often is not.

If you are deeply engaged in your studies, research indicates that you will more likely be engaged in your work responsibilities after graduation. Since engaged employees are happier and more productive, they are also more likely to be successful. So, the efforts you invest in your education now to raise your level of engagement are likely to pay off later in the form of a more satisfying life and career. Remember, engagement is partially your choice. You can choose to be more or less engaged. The more that you practice being engaged while a student, the more likely you will be engaged as an employee.

Personality measurement can be fun and informative—but it can also be challenging if the results are not as you might expect. There has been a great deal of research and thought given to how best to categorize persons in personality terms. Much of this research and writing has coalesced around the view that the most helpful categorization scheme involves five dimensions of personality. These have come to be known as “The Big Five.”

· Extraversion – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be outgoing, talkative, sociable, and assertive. Research has shown that people in sales (think of a coach who recruits college athletes or a car sales person) tend to be more successful if they are on the high end of the extraversion scale. Likewise, managers tend to be more successful if they behave in extroverted ways. In contrast, persons who score low on extraversion (introverts) tend to like more solitary activities such as doing office support, research and development work, working with data, and so on.

· Agreeableness – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be trusting, good-natured, cooperative, and soft-hearted. Surprisingly, while all of us would like to have work colleagues who are agreeable, research shows agreeableness is less connected to general work success than are extroversion and conscientiousness. Of course, this does not mean you should not work at being as agreeable as you can be!

· Conscientiousness – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, and persistent. Research shows people who score high in conscientiousness tend to be more successful in all types of employment settings than their less conscientious co-workers. It is easy to see why. What employer would want to hire someone who sees themselves not always prepared (item 5) or someone who does not pay attention to details (item 6)? If your score on this dimension is not as high as you would like, you can expect a high payoff from working on becoming stronger in this area.

· Emotional stability – Persons who score high on emotional stability tend to be relaxed, secure, and unworried. In contrast, persons who score low tend to experience more highs and lows in terms of their emotional life. Research shows this dimension has less to do with success at work than extraversion and emotional stability.

· Openness to experience – Persons who score high on this dimension tend to be intellectual, imaginative, curious, and broadminded. Research shows there is not a strong relationship between scores on this dimension and success at work. However, certain types of jobs are certainly better fits for people who are strong in this area. For example, people who have to work across cultures are likely to be more successful if they are more open to experience because it is easier for them to imagine that people are different from them without having to draw conclusions about whether these differences are good or bad.

Your organization has a moderate diversity climate.

The three conceptually distinct factors of an organization’s diversity climate comprise the following:

· Organizational Fairness – This measures the extent to which employees perceive there is equal treatment in policies and practices for persons regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion and age.

· Organizational Inclusion – This measures the extent to which the organization supports activities such as diversity networks, mentoring, and diversity training programs.

· Diversity Promises – This measures the extent to which the organization is perceived to have followed through on commitments with respect to the elimination of bias and being receptive to hearing concerns raised by employees who are members of minority groups.

If your score is in the low or moderate range, this indicates you do not perceive the organization is committed to having a good diversity climate. If your score is in the high range, it is likely you think your organization is strong in this respect. Research suggests that you are more likely to be unhappy, dissatisfied, and less likely to give the organization your best effort if you work in a low diversity climate. Sometimes, you may need to look for other job opportunities if the climate is inconsistent with your values and needs.

You might have a neutral view of the fairness of your organization.