CHAPTER THREE

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE ORGANIZATION

Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students will be able to do the following:
 Define personality, identify determinants and key dimensions of personality, obtain
knowledge about personality characteristics, and basic methods of measuring personality.
 Define learning, distinguish between classical and operant conditioning, and explain the
strategies of reinforcement and punishment using positive and negative consequences of
behavior.
 Define perception and identify the nature and the processes of perception, get acquainted
with the concepts of social perception and understand its common barriers, and know the
relationship between perception and attribution.
 Know the functions and the formation of attitudes; identify the importance of work
related attitudes and know how attitudes can be changed through persuasion.
 Identify types of values and concepts of work related values.
 Know the causes and effects of stress and the ways of managing stress.

3.1 Introduction
Being that diversity is now a fact of organizational life, managers must master the challenges of
fully understanding what researchers call individual differences –that make each persona unique
human being. In this respect, the concept of individual differences requires managers to focus on
what one diversity consultant refers to as “enabling every member of your workforce to perform
to his or her best potential.” While easily said, this may not be easy for some to do – especially
those generations of managers who used to deal with more homogeneous work groups in
traditional work settings. If, as a potential manager, you wish to understand the behavior of
another individual, you will have to go beyond concepts that simply apply to “most people” and
to needs in general. It is necessary to develop some insights into the unique ways in which each
person operates from his or her own frame of reference. To understand someone whose behavior
is puzzling, surprising or contrary to your expectations requires a way of getting inside that
person, seeing the world as he or she does. From within an individual‟s behavior makes sense, is
understandable and reasonable, even when not clear from outside (Combs & Snygg, 1959 in
Cohen et al., 1992). Today‟s managers must be more broadly informed and capable in
recognizing and dealing with individual differences based on personality, perception, learning,
attitudes, values, and stresses.

3.2 Personality
3.2.1 Personality Defined
Different writers defined personality in the following ways:
Personality is the unique but stable set of characteristics and behavior that sets each individual
apart from others (Robert A. Baron and Jerald Greenberg, 1990).
Personality is those relatively stable and enduring aspects of an individual that distinguish him
or her from other people and at the same time form a basis for our predictions concerning his or
her future behavior (Wright et al., 1970 in Derek Dollinsion & Aysen Broadfiled, 2002).
In short, personality refers to the lasting ways in which a given person is different from all
others.
3.2.2 Determinants of Personality
General factors that can shape personality are:
 Genetic Factors - inherited factors that influence physical and mental characteristics.
The genes we inherit play some part in the formation and development of our metal
characteristics including that of personality.
 Social Factors - factors that influence personality that arise from interaction with other
people. Humans are social animals and their psychological characteristics are in part a
reflection of their interactions with other members of the species. Therefore early
socialization, which includes interactions with parents, siblings and peers, has an effect
on personality and behavior in later life.
 Cultural Factors - wider social beliefs, values and motives that are absorbed by an
individual and guide behavior towards that which is acceptable within a particular social
context. A culture embraces patterns of belief, values and motives that are acceptable in
a particular society, and these give individuals a general set of predispositions to behave
in certain set ways.
Situational Factors - the effect of a specific experience or situations on a person‟s
feelings and behavior. Different experiences can affect personality, for example, the
trauma of losing a parent or a loved one can sometimes change a person in a dramatic
way. In addition, certain situations can bring out up till now unrecognized aspects of
personality that could have been repressed in the past, and once these are released they
can become part of a person‟s current repertoire of behavior.

3.2.3 Key Dimensions of Personality

The Type A and the Type B Behavior Patterns - persons classified as Type A show high levels
of competitiveness, irritability, and time urgency (they are always in a hurry). In addition, they
demonstrate certain stylistic patterns, such as loud and accelerated speech, and a tendency to
respond very quickly in many contexts (For example, during conversations they often begin
speaking before others are through).
In contrast, the Type B personality lacks these characteristics and is not prone to coronary
problems. Type B people may well work hard and have considerable drive, but they feel no
pressing conflict with people or time.
The differences between Type A and Type B persons have important implications for their
behavior in work settings. The most central of these involves differences in their personal health,
their performance on many tasks, and their relations with others.

 The A Type Pattern and Health - persons who frequently push themselves to their limits
may adversely affect their own health. Research findings indicate that Type A‟s are more
than twice as likely as Type B‟s to experience serious heart disease. Type A persons
certainly pay a high price for their hard–driving, over stimulated lifestyle. Type A‟s tend
to perceive themselves as being more over loaded by their jobs than Type B‟s. Such
congestive appraisals pay a crucial role in determining the level of stress/load actually
experienced by individuals in many situations.
  The Type A Pattern and Task Performance - given their high level of competitiveness,
Type A‟s will work harder at various tasks than other persons, and will perform at higher
levels. Type A‟s tending to work faster on many tasks than Type B‟s, even when no
pressure or deadline is involved. They are able to get more done in the presence of
distractions and Type A‟s often seeking more challenge in their work and daily lives than
type B‟s. For example, when given a choice, they select more difficult tasks than type
B‟s. Surprisingly, though, Type A‟s do not always perform better than Type B‟s. For
example, Type A‟s frequently do poorly on tasks requiring patience or careful,
considered judgment. They are simply too hurry to complete such work in an effective
manner.
In sum, available evidence suggests that type A‟s tend to do better than type B‟s on some tasks-
especially ones involving time pressure or solitary work. However, they may actually do worse
than Type B‟s on tasks involving complex judgment, accuracy rather than speed, and working as
part of a team. Thus, neither pattern appears to have an overall edge. Rather it is the nature of the
tasks being performed that will usually determine whether Type A‟s or Type B‟s tend to excel.
The Type A pattern and Interpersonal Relations - Type A and Type B persons also
demonstrates contrasting styles of interpersonal behavior. First, because they are always in a
hurry, Type A‟s tend to become in patient with other persons, and frequently grow angry if some
one delays them in any way. Second, when given a choice, Type A‟s prefer to work by
themselves rather than with others. They are definitely loners-not team players. Third, Type A‟s
are more irritable and aggressive than type B‟s. They lose their tempers more frequently, and are
more likely to lash out at others for even slight provocations. As a result of these tendencies, type
A‟s report becoming involved in more conflicts at work than type B‟s. In sum, several
characteristics of type A‟s seem to get them in to more than their share of interpersonal
difficulties at work.

3.2.4 Measuring Personality - Some Basic Methods

Several methods can be used to assess personality. These include projective tests, behavioral
measures and self report questionnaires.
The Projective test is one method used to measure personality. In these tests, individuals are
shown a picture, abstract images, or photo and are asked to describe what they see or to tell a
story about what they see. The rationale behind projective tests is that each individual responds
to the stimulus in a way that reflects his or her unique personality.
Behavioral measures are personality assessments that involve observing an individuals behavior
in a controlled situation to identify personality characteristics needed for different contexts. We
might assess a person‟s sociability, sensitively, decisiveness, career ambition, integrity,
independence, initiatives, energy…etc. And the behavior is scored in some manner to produce an
index of personality.
Self report questionnaires are the most common method of assessing personality. In this case,
individuals respond to a series of standard questions describing aspects of themselves and their
behavior usually in an agree /disagree or true /false format.
3.2.5 Personality Characteristics in Organization
Managers should learn as much as possible about personality in order to understand their
employees. Most organizations have their own cultures and accepted patterns of behavior. Thus
personality differences mean that some people are likely to fit in to a culture better than others.
In addition, jobs differ in terms of the personal characteristics they require and so an individual‟s
personality could have an impact on his or her suitability for certain roles.
Some personality characteristics such as locus of control, self esteem, self efficacy, self
monitoring, positive or negative effect, and honesty and dishonesty are briefly discussed below.

Locus of control - an individual‟s generalized belief about internal orientation (self)

versus external orientation (situation or others control) is called locus of control. Those
with an internal orientation feel that they can exert a great deal of influence on events
around them and have a strong desire to play prominent part in these events. For
example, „internals‟ believe that what happens to them is mainly the result of their own
actions. Conversely, those with an external orientation are more likely to believe that they
are swept along by events, and that what happens is determined by fate or luck.
Knowing about locus of control can prove valuable to managers. Because of internals
believe that they control what happen to them, they will want to exercise control in their
work environment, shoulder responsibility for goal achievement and more likely to have
confidence with all their means in terms of adaptive behavior. Allowing internals
considerable voice in how work is performed is important. Internals will not react well to
being closely supervised. Externals, in contrast may prefer a more structured work
setting, and they may be more reluctant to participate in decision making.

Self-esteem - self esteem is an individual‟s general feeling of self worth. Individuals

with high self esteem have positive feeling about themselves, perceive themselves to
have strengths as well as weakness, and believe their strengths are more important than
their weaknesses. Individuals with low self esteem view themselves negatively. They are
more strongly affected by what other people think of them, and they compliant
individuals who give them feed back while cutting down people who give them negative
feedback.
Self esteem may be strongly affected by situations. Success tends to raise self esteem,
where as failure tends to lower it. Given that high self esteem is generally a positive
characteristic; managers should encourage employees to raise their self esteem by giving
them appropriate challenges and opportunities for success.

 Self–efficacy - an individual believes and expectancies about his or her ability to

accomplish a specific task effectively are known as self-efficacy. Individuals with high
self efficacy believe that they have ability to get things done, that they are capable of
putting in effort to accomplish the task, and that they can overcome any obstacles to their
success. Self efficacy leads to high performance on a wide variety of physical and mental
tasks. High self efficacy has also led to success in breaking addictions, increasing pain
tolerance, and recovering from illness. Managers can help employees develop their self
efficacy. This can be done by providing job challenges, coaching and counseling for
improved performance, and rewarding employees’ achievements. Empowerment, or
sharing power with employees, can be accomplished by interventions that help
employees increase their esteem and self-efficacy.
  Self – monitoring - a characteristic with great potential for affecting behavior in
organizations is self-monitoring - the extent to which people base their behavior on cues
from people and situations. High self-monitors pay attention to what is appropriate in
particular situations and to the behavior of other people, and they behave accordingly.
Low self monitors, in contrast, are not as vigilant to situational cues and act from internal
states rather than paying attention to the situation. High self monitors, because their
behavior carries with the situation, appears to be more unpredictable and less consistent.
High self-monitors respond more readily to work group norms, organizational culture,
and supervisory feedback than do low self monitors, who adhere more to internal
guidelines for behavior (“I am who I am”) . In addition, high self- monitors may be
enthusiastic participants in the trend toward work teams because of their ability to assume
flexible roles.
Personality results in predictable patterns of behavior, and for this reason the personality
concept has some significance for organizations. Most organizations have their own
cultures and accepted patterns of behavior. Thus personality differences mean that some
people are likely to fit into a culture better than others. In addition, job differs in terms of
the personal characteristics they require and so an individual‟s personality could have an
impact on his or her suitability for certain roles. An understanding of personality
characteristics can help a manager appreciate differences in employees. Managers need to
know as much as possible about personality in order to understand themselves and those
with whom they work.

3.3 Learning in an Organization

Learning is a fundamental process, relevant to many aspects of organizational behavior.
Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience (Debra
L. Nelson & Jams Campbell Quick, 1994). Learning has its basis in classical and operant
conditioning.
Classical Conditioning (Learning by Association) – is the process of modifying
behavior so that a conditioned stimulus is paired with unconditioned stimulus and elicits an
unconditioned response. The classical conditioning process may help explain a variety of
organizational behaviors. For example, workers who have witnessed dangerous industrial
accidents after certain warning lights have gone on may be expected to feel fear the next time
those lights begin to flash.
Operant Conditioning – is the process of modifying behavior through the use of positive and
negative consequences following specific behaviors. Our behavior usually produces
consequences which may be either positive or negative. If our actions have pleasant effects, then
we will be more likely to repeat them in the future. If, however, our actions have unpleasant
effects, we are less likely to repeat them in the future. The consequences of behavior are used to
influence, or shape, behavior through three strategies: reinforcement, punishment, and
extinction.
Reinforcement and punishment are administered through the management of positive and
negative consequences of behavior. Positive consequences are the results of a person‟s behavior
that a person finds attractive or punishable. They might include a pay increase, a bonus, a
promotion, a transfer to a more desirable geographical location, or praise from a supervisor.
Negative consequences are the results of a person‟s behavior that the person finds unattractive or
aversive. They might include disciplinary action, an undesirable transfer, a demotion, or harsh
criticism from a supervisor. Positive and negative consequences must be defined for the person
receiving them. Therefore, individual, gender, and cultural differences may be important in their
classification. The use of positive and negative consequences following a specific behavior either
reinforces or punishes the behavior. Behaviors followed by positive consequences are more
likely to recur and behaviors followed by negative consequences are less likely to recur.
 Reinforcement – is the attempt to enhance or strengthen desirable behavior by either
bestowing positive consequences or withholding negative consequences. Positive
reinforcement results from the application of a positive consequence following a
desirable behavior. For example, bonus paid at the end of successful business year.
Negative reinforcement results from withholding a threatened negative consequence
when a desirable behavior occurs. For example, a manager who reduces an employee‟s
pay (negative consequence) if the employee comes to work late ( undesirable behavior)
and refrains from doing so when the employees is on time (desirable behavior) has
negatively reinforced the employees on - time behavior. The employee avoids the
negative consequence (a reduction in pay) by exhibiting a desirable behavior (being on
time to work).
 Punishment – is the attempt to eliminate or weaken undesirable behavior. It is used in
two ways. One way to punish a person is through the application of a negative
consequence following an undesirable behavior. For example, a professional athlete
who is excessively offensive to an official (undesirable behavior) may be ejected from a
game (negative consequence). The other way to punish a person is through the
withholding of a positive consequence following an undesirable behavior. For example,
a sales person who makes few visits to companies (undesirable behavior) and whose sales
are well bellow the quota (undesirable behavior) is likely to receive a very small
commission check (positive consequence) at the end of the month. One problem with
punishment is that it may have unintended results. Because punishment is discomforting
to the individual being punished, the experience of punishment may result in negative
psychological, emotional, performance, or behavioral consequences. For example the
person being punished may become angry, hostile, depressed, or despondent. From the
organizational standpoint, this result becomes important when the punished person
translates negative emotional and psychological responses in to positive actions.
 Extinction – an alternative to punishing undesirable is extinction – the attempt to
weaken a behavior by attaching no consequences (either positive or negative) to it. It is
equivalent to ignoring the behavior. The rationale for using extinction is that a behavior
not followed by any consequence is weakened. However, some patience and time may be
needed for it to be effective. Extinction may be practiced, for example, by not responding
(no consequence) to the sarcasm (behavior) of the colleague. Extinction may be most
effective when used in conjunction with the positive reinforcement of desirable
behaviors. Extinction is not always the best strategy, however, punishment might be
preferable incases of dangerous behavior to deliver a swift, clear lesson. It might also be
preferable in cases of seriously undesirable behavior, such as employee embezzlement or
other unethical behavior.
In relation to learning, people are of two types: introvert and extrovert. Introverts need quite
time to study, concentrate, and reflect on what they are learning. They think well when they are
alone. Extroverts need to interact with other people, learning through the process of expressing
and exchanging ideas with others. They think best in groups and while they are talking.
To summarize, people in organization learn from the consequences of their actions. Therefore,
managers must exercise care in the application of positive and negative consequences, ensuring
that they are connected to the behaviors they intend to reward or punish. Managers should also
be judicious in the use of punishment and should consider extinction coupled with positive
reinforcement as an alternative to punishment for shaping employee behavior.

3.4 Perception
3.4.1 Perception Defined
Perception is active mental process which involves the selection, organization, structuring and
interpretation of information in order to make inferences and give meaning to the information
(Derek Rollinson & Aysen Broadfield, 2002).
Robert A. Baron & Jerald Greenberg (1990) defined Perception as the process thorough which
we select, organize, and interpret information brought to us by our senses in order to understand
the world around us.

3.4.2 The nature of Perception

Human behavior in any context-including organizational settings-is largely a function of
individual‟s current interpretations (perceptions) of the world around them. Individual
perceptions are likely to influence the nature of their interactions.
Sensation is what comes in to a person through the senses. Organizational behavior and theory is
primarily interested in vision and hearing. The brain organizes, interprets, and selects these
sensory data. The complex process of determining meaningful sensory input is what we call
perception. Perception can mirror the real world, but it does not always do so exactly; to varying
degrees it can produce a personally created world, influenced by aspects of personality. The
senses provide the raw data for perception, but what actually influences the person‟s behavior is
much more complex. In the process of registering and interpreting sensory data, human being
can come up with a variety of perceptions. The consequences can some times be perceptual
distortion, possibly with a negative impact on performance.

3.4.3 The Perceptual Process

The perceptual process in which incoming sensory data is gradually transformed in to a
perception is divided in to three stages.
Stage1: Attention and Selection - the tendency to acknowledge some stimuli and ignore or
mask out others. People are often confronted with more stimuli than they can
comprehend at the same time. Some are out side the range of their sensory apparatus
and some are screened out to enable attention to be focused on others.
Stage2: Stimulus Organization and Recognition - the organization of stimulus information in to
meaningful patterns that form identifiable wholes.
Stage3: Interpretation and Inference - in the two prior stages certain stimuli receive attention
while others are largely ignored, and those that are accepted are organized in to
meaningful patterns. However, a perception doesn‟t take place until a decision is made
 that the pattern means some thing. In this stage much more significant events take
place. An identity and nature is imputed and, since sensory data is usually insufficient
to provide unequivocal evidence about identity, we make inferences, that is, we reach a
conclusion about some thing based on incomplete evidence, and make assumption
about what the missing evidence is.

3.4.4 Social Perception - Understanding Others

Other persons are a central part of our lives, both at work and elsewhere. Bosses, coworkers,
subordinates, friends, relatives, lovers-all can (and often do) powerfully influence us in many
ways. Understanding others is essential for interacting with them effectively. In organizations,
almost everything that takes place involves human interaction, which means that the
effectiveness of organizational processes can be strongly influenced by perceptions.
Social perception is the task of combining, integrating, and interpreting information about
others to gain an accurate understanding of them. It is the process of interpreting information
about another person. Virtually all management activities relay on perception. In appraising
performance, managers use their perceptions of an employee‟s behavior as a basis for the
evaluation.
One work situation that highlights the importance of perception is the selection interview. The
consequences of a bad match between an individual and the organization are devastating for the
parties. Perception is culturally determined. Based on our cultural backgrounds; we tend to
perceive things in certain way. Three major categories of factors influence our perception of
another person: Characteristics of ourselves, as perceivers; characteristics of the target person
we perceive; and characteristics of the situation on which the interaction takes place.

Characteristics of the Perceiver

Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect social perception. One such characteristic is
familiarity with the target (the person being perceived). When we are familiar with a person, we
have multiple observations up on which to base our impression of him or her. If the information
we have gathered during these observation is accurate, we may have an accurate perception of
the other person. Familiarity does not always mean accuracy, however, some times, when we
know a person well; we tend to screen out information that is in consistent with what we believe
the person is like. This is a particular danger in performance appraisals where the rater is
familiar with the person being rated. The perceiver’s attitudes also affect social perception
suppose you are interviewing candidates for a very important position in your organization - a
position that requires negotiating contracts with suppliers, most of whom are male. You may feel
that women are not capable of holding their own in tough negotiations. Mood can have a strong
influence on the way we perceive some one. We think differently when we are happy than we do
when we are depressed. When in a positive mood, we form more positive impressions of others.
When in a negative mood, we tend to evaluate others unfavorably. Another factor that can affect
social perception is the perceiver’s self-concept. An individual with a positive self concept tends
to notice positive attributes in another person. In contrast, a negative self-concept can lead a
perceiver to pick out negative traits in another person. Greater understanding of self allows us
to have more accurate perceptions of others.
Cognitive structure, an individual’s pattern of thinking, also affects social perception. Some
people have a tendency to perceive physical traits, such as height, weight, and appearance, more
readily. Others tend to focus more on central traits, or personality dispositions. Cognitive
complexity allows a person to perceive multiple characteristics of another person rather than
attending to just a few traits.

Characteristics of the Target

Characteristics of the target, who is the person being perceived, influence social perception.
Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of others. The perceiver will notice the
target‟s physical features like height, weight, estimated age, race, and gender. Clothing says a
great deal about a person. Perceivers tend to notice physical appearance characteristics that
contrast with the norm that are intense, or that are new or unusual. Physical attractiveness of
the target, often colors, affects our entire impression of another person. Verbal communication
from targets also affects our perception of them. We listen to the topics they speak about, their
voice tone and their accent and make judgments based on this inputs. Non-verbal
communication conveys a great deal of information about the target. Eye contact, facial
expressions, body movements, and posture all are deciphered by the perceiver in an attempt to
form an impression of the target. The perceiver’s interpretation of the target’s intensions
affects the way the perceiver views the target.
Characteristics of the Situation
The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver and the target, takes place has an
influence on the perceiver‟s impression of the target. The social context of the interaction is a
major influence. Meeting a professor in his or her office affects your impression in a certain way
that may contrast with the impression you would form had you met the professor in a local
restaurant. The strength of situational cues also affects social perception. Some situations
provide strong cues as to appropriate behavior. In these situations, we assume that the
individual‟s behavior can be accounted for by the situation, and that it may not reflect the
individual‟s disposition. This is the discounting principle, the assumption that an individual‟s
behavior is accounted for by the situation, in social perception.

Barriers to Social Perception

Several factors lead to inaccurate impressions of others. Some of these barriers to social
perception are selective perception, stereotype, halo effect, first impression error, implicit
personality theory, and self fulfilling prophecies.

 Selective perception is our tendency to choose information that supports our view points.
Individuals often ignore information that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatens their
view points.
 Stereotyping is a generalization about a group of people. It is the general inclination to
place a person in some category according to some easy and quickly identifiable
characteristic such as age, sex, ethnic member ship, nationality, or occupation and then
attribute the person as having qualities believed to be typical of members of that category.
Almost any characteristics can be used to make stereotyped judgments, for instance; age -
older people are resistant to change; all engineers are good at Mathematics. It assumes that
all people in a certain category are assumed to have common characteristics. Stereotypes
reduce information about other people to a workable level and they are efficient for
compiling and using information. It can be accurate, and when they are accurate, they can be
useful perceptual guidelines. Most of the time, however, stereotypes are inaccurate. They
harm individuals when inaccurate impressions of them are inferred and are never tested
 or changed.

 Halo Effect - the assumptions that because a person has a certain trait he or she
automatically has other traits. In this case, a particular trait is taken to be an indication that a
person also has a number of other traits. The halo effect can lead to generalizations that are
either positive or negative. Two areas of organizational activity in which the halo effect can
have potentially adverse consequences are selection and performance appraisal.

 First Impression Error - the tendency to form lasting opinions about an individual
based on initial perceptions. We observe a very brief bit of a person‟s behavior in our first
encounter and infer that this behavior reflects what the person is really like. Primacy effects
can be particularly dangerous in interviews.

 Implicit Personality Theory - opinions formed about other people that are based on our
own mini-theories about how people behave. We group traits and appearances into clusters
that seem to go together. It can lead to in accurate perceptions. However, it helps us
organize our perceptions and take short cuts instead of integrating new information all the
time.

 Self-fulfilling Prophecies - the situation in which our expectations about people affect
our interaction with them in such a way that our expectations are fulfilled. Sometimes our
expectations affect the way we interact with others such that we get what we wish for.

3.4.5 Perception and Attribution: Attribution in an Organization

Attribution theory explains how individuals pinpoint the causes of the behavior of themselves
and others. Attribution can be made to an internal source of responsibility (something within the
individual‟s control) or an external source (something outside the individual‟s control).
Attribution patterns differ among individuals. Achievement oriented individuals attribute their
success to ability and their failure to lack of effort, both internal cases. Failure oriented
individuals attribute their failures to lack of ability, and they may develop feeling of
incompetence as a result of their attribution pattern.
The way individuals interpret the events around them has a strong influence on their behavior.
People try to understand the causes of behavior in order to gain predictability and control over
future behavior. Managers use attributions in all aspects of their jobs. In evaluating performance
and rewarding employees, managers must determine the causes of behavior and perceived
sources of responsibility. Attribution theory can explain how performance evaluation judgments
can lead to differential rewards.
In summary, managers need to know as much as possible about individual differences in order to
understand them selves and those with whom they work. An understanding of personality
characteristics can help a manager appreciate differences in employees.
Managers use social perception constantly on the job. Knowledge of the forces that affect
perception and the barriers to accuracy can help the managers form more accurate impression of
others. Determining the causes of job performance is a major task for the manager, and
attribution theory can be used to explain how managers go about determining causality.
3.5 Attitudes
Attitudes are individuals‟ general affective (the emotional component of an attitude), cognitive,
and intentional responses toward objects, other people, themselves, or social issues. As
individuals, we respond favorably or unfavorably toward many things: animals, co-workers, our
own appearance, and politics. The importance of attitude lies in their link to behavior. For
example, some people prefer either cats or dogs. Individuals who prefer cats may be friendly to
cats but hesitate in approaching dogs.
Attitudes are an integral part of the world of work. Managers speak of workers who have „bad
attitude‟ and conduct „attitude adjustment‟ talks with employees.
Often poor performance attributed to bad attitudes really steams from lack of motivation,
minimal feedback, lack of trust in management, or other problems. These are areas that manager
must explore. It is important for managers to understand the functions of attitudes, formation of
attitude and work related attitudes.

3.5.1 The Functions of Attitudes

Unlike other individual differences, which probably have a genetic component, attitudes are
man-made. They are part of an individual psychological make up, and develop and change in
response to the person‟s current needs. Attitudes have four functional categories:

 The Adjustment Function – helps the person adjust to his or her world and to obtain
reward and avoid punishments from the environment.
 The Ego-defensive Function – helps the person to defend his or self-image.
 The Value-expressive Function – allows the person to derive satisfaction from
expressing attitudes that reflect his or her central values and concept of self.
 The Knowledge Function – helps the person mentally to structure and organize his
or her world so that it is more understandable.

3.5.2 Attitude Formation

Attitudes are learned. There are a number of potential sources from which we derive our
attitudes, the most prominent of which are given below.
► Direct Experience – it is the direct experience of people with an object or person
which is a powerful influence on attitude. We know that we like Biology or dislike Math
from experience in studying the subjects.
► Social Learning – the process of deriving attitudes from family, peer groups, religious
organizations, and culture. These factors shape an individual‟s attitude in an indirect
manner. Substantial social learning occurs through modeling, in which individuals
acquire attitudes by merely observing others.
►Cultural Influence – play a definitive role in attitude development. Different societies
and nations have different value systems from which spring different social conventions
about what is polite or impolite, good or bad, and acceptable or unacceptable behavior.
We should not expect people in all countries to have similarly positive or negative
attitudes towards the same thing.
3.5.3 Work Related Attitudes
Attitudes at work are important because, directly or indirectly, they affect work behavior. While
many work attitudes are important, two attitudes in particular have been emphasized. Job
satisfaction and organizational commitment are key attitudes of interest to managers.

I) Job Satisfaction – is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal
of one‟s job or job experiences. When allowed to operate freely, job satisfaction can
contribute substantially to organizational effectiveness. It can contribute to productive out put
in the form of high quantity and quality of products or services, as well as to organizational
performance objectives. Job satisfaction has been treated both as a general attitude and as
satisfaction with five specific dimensions of the jobs: pay, the work itself, promotion
opportunities, supervision, and co-workers.
 Pay – there seem to be more connection between pay and satisfaction; first, whether
the financial reward for job is regarded as adequate, and second, whether it is
considered to be equitable compared to that receivable by other people. To some
people pay is a reflection of how much their efforts are recognized.
 The Work Itself – this dimension reflects the match between expectations and
experience in terms of whether the job provide interesting tasks, a measure of
responsibility and opportunities for learning. To the extent that there is a good
match, this aspect of satisfaction is likely to be rated positively.
 Promotion Opportunities – it reflects the perceived possibilities for an increase
in status. However, promotion is not desired by every body and so satisfaction in this
regard is very strongly influenced by the match between expectations and receipts.
Indeed since promotion usually brings an increase in pay, for some people this is the
major satisfaction it provides, while for others it is more connected with self-image
and ego.
 Supervision – this dimension reflects the extent to which a person derives
satisfaction from the relation ship with his or her immediate supervisor. Satisfaction
with supervision is usually connected to two aspects of supervisor behavior:
♦ Interpersonal support – the supervisor‟s interest in the person‟s welfare
♦ Technical support – the extent to which the supervisor provides technical
and task related help and guidance
Satisfaction is a highly personalized matter that is closely connected with the match
between expectations and receipts. Not everybody welcomes a close personal
interest and some people interpret a high level of technical guidance as a sign that
the supervisor has a lack of trust in their work.

 Co-workers – satisfaction in this respect has similar effects to supervision and

reflects the extent that members of an individual‟s work group are perceived to be
socially supportive and competent in their own tasks.

Generally, many of the conditions that lead individuals to hold positive or negative views of their
job can be summarized in to three major categories: factors relating to organizational policies
or procedures; factors relating to specific aspects of jobs or the setting in which they are
performed, and factors relating to personal characteristics.
Effects of Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction has been shown to be related to many other important personal and
organizational outcomes. Job satisfaction among employees does affect many aspects of
organizational behavior. People react to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction in a number of ways
that can have important implications for job performance.
♠ Employee Turnover – there is convincing evidence that where job satisfaction is
high labor turnover is reduced. The lower individuals‟ level of satisfaction with their
jobs, the more likely they are to resign and seek other opportunities.
♠ Employee Absenteeism – the lower individuals‟ satisfaction with their
jobs, the more likely they are to be absent from work. People who are dissatisfied
with their jobs are absent more frequently, are more likely to quit, and report more
psychological and medical problems than do satisfied employees.

II) Organizational Commitment – Organizational commitment is an attitude towards the

organization as a whole reflecting the individual‟s acceptance of its goals and values, his or
her willingness to expend effort on its behalf and an intention to remain with the organization.
Certain organizational conditions encourage commitment. Participation in decision making
and job security are two such conditions. Certain job characteristics also positively affect
commitment. These include autonomy, responsibly, and interesting work. Organizational
commitment is related to lower rates of absenteeism, higher quality of work, and increased
productivity. Managers should be concerned about organizational commitment because
committed individuals expand more task related effort and are less likely than others to leave
the organization.
Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are two important work related attitudes that
managers can strive to improve among their employees. To begin with, managers can use
attitude surveys to reveal employees‟ satisfaction or dissatisfaction with specific facets of their
jobs.
3.5.4 Persuasion and Attitude Change
To understand how attitude can change, it is necessary to understand the process of persuasion.
Through persuasion one individual (the source) tries to change the attitude of the other (the
target). Certain characteristics of the source, the target, and the message affect the persuasion
process.
♦ Sources of Characteristics – three major characteristics of the source affect persuasion:
expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness. A source that is perceived as an expert is
particularly persuasive. Trustworthiness is also important for persuasion. Attractiveness
and liability play a role in persuasion. Attractive communicators have long been used in
advertising to persuade consumers to buy certain products. As a source of persuasion,
managers who are perceived as being experts, who are trust worthy, or who are attractive or
likable will have an edge in changing employee attitudes.
♦ Target Characteristics – some people are more easily persuaded than others. Individuals
with low self-esteem are more likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasion
than are individuals with high self-esteem. Individuals who hold very extreme attitudes are
 more resistant to persuasion, and people who are in a good mood are easier to persuade.
Managers must recognize these differences and realize that their attempts to change
attitudes may not receive universal acceptance.
♦ Message Characteristics – message that are designed to change the target‟s attitude may
be met with considerable negative reaction. In fact, undistinguished deliberate attempts at
changing attitudes may cause attitude change in the opposite direction! This is most likely to
occur when the target of the persuasive communication feels her or his freedom is
threatened. Less threatening approach is less likely to elicited negative reactions.
In summary, managers must understand attitudes because of their effect on work behavior. By
understanding how attitudes are formed and how they can be changed, managers can shape employee
attitude. Attitudes are learned through observation of other employees and by the way they are reinforced.
Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are important attitudes to encourage among employees,
and participative management is an excellent tool for doing so.
3.6 Values
Another source of individual differences is value. Values exist at a deeper level than attitudes
and are more general and basic in nature. We use them to evaluate our own behavior and that of
others. They vary widely among individuals.
Values are enduring beliefs that a specific mode of conduct or end state or existence is
personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of
existence. Values give us a sense of right and wrong, good or bad.
Values are learned by the individuals as they grow and mature. They may change over the life
span as an individual develops a sense of self. Cultures, societies, and organizations shape
values. Parents and others, who are respected by the individual, play crucial roles in value
development by providing guidance about what is right and wrong. Because values are general
beliefs about right and wrong they form the basis for ethical behavior.
3.6.1 Types of Values
Instrumental Values – reflect the means to achieve goals; that is, they represent the
acceptable behaviors to be used in achieving some end state. It includes ambition, honesty, self-
efficiency, and courageousness.
Terminal Values – represent the goals to be achieved, or the end states of existence. It
includes happiness, love, pleasure, self-respect, and freedom. Instrumental and terminal values
work in concert to provide individuals with goals to strive for and acceptable ways to achieve the
goals.
3.6.2 Work Values
Work values are important because they affect how individuals behave on their jobs in terms of
what is right and wrong. The work values most relevant to individuals are achievement, concern
for others, honesty, and fairness. Achievement is a concern for advancement of one‟s career.
This is shown in such behavior as working hard and seeking opportunities to develop new skills.
Concern for others reflects caring, compassionate behaviors such as encouraging other
employees or helping others work on difficult tasks. This behavior constitutes organizational
citizenship. Honesty is accurately providing information and refusing to mislead others for
personal gain. Fairness emphasizes impartiality and recognizes different points of views.
Individuals can rank-order these values in terms of their importance in their work lives.
Although individuals vary in their value systems, when they share similar values at work, the
results are positive. Employees who share their supervisor‟s values are more satisfied with their
jobs and more committed to the organization. Values also have pro-founded effects on the choice
of jobs. Traditionally, pay and advancement potential have been the strongest influences on job
choice decisions. However, Judge, T.A. and Bretz, R.D., Jr., 1992 in Nelson, D.L. and Quick,
J.C., 1994 indicated that three other work values – achievement, concern for others, and
fairness – exerted more influence on job choice decisions than did pay and promotion
opportunities. This means that organizations recruiting job candidates should pay careful
attention to individual‟s values.
In summary, values affect work behavior because they affect employees‟ views of what
constitute right and wrong. The diversity of the work force makes it imperative that managers
understand differences in values system. Shared values within an organization can provide the foundation
for cooperative efforts toward achieving organizational goals.
3.7 Stresses
Stress carries a negative connotation for some people, as though it were something to be avoided.
This is unfortunate, because stress is important in managing legitimate emergencies and
achieving peak performance. Stress, or the stress response, is the unconscious preparation to
fight or flee a person experiences when faced with any demand. A stressor or demand is the
person or event that triggers the stress response. Distress or strain refers to the adverse
psychological, physical, behavioral and organizational consequences that may occur as a result
of stressful events.
Stress is the pattern of emotional states and physiological reactions acquiring in situations where
individuals perceive threats to their important goals because they may be valuable to meet. In
short, stress occurs where individuals feel, rightly or wrongly, that they may soon be
overwhelmed by events or circumstances that exceed their personal resources

3.7.1 Causes (sources) of stresses at work

What are the major causes of stress in organizational context? Several of the most important
sources of stress in the workplace are described below.
 Occupational (Task) Demands - several features of the jobs are indeed related to
the levels of stress they generate. For example, the greater the extent to which a given job
requires making decisions, consistent monitoring of devices or materials, repeated
exchange of information with others, unpleasant physical conditions, and performing
unstructured rather than structured tasks, the more stressful it tends to be. The greater
virtually any job possesses these characteristics, the higher the level of stress it produces
among persons holding it, regardless of the specific tasks being performed.
Uncertainty and lack of control are also two of the most stressful demands people face at
work.
Uncertainty may be created by a lack of predictability in a persons daily tasks and
activities, or it may be created by job insecurity related to difficult economic times (such
as extensive merger, acquisition, and downsizing), technology and technological
innovation (which requires adjustments in training, education and skill development).
Lack of Control in work environments that is difficult and psychologically demanding.
The lack of control may be caused by inability to influence the timing of tasks and
activities to select tools or methods for accomplishing the work, to make decisions that
influence work outcomes, or to exercises direct action to affect the work outcomes.
 Role Demands - people encounter two major categories of role stress at work: role
conflict and role ambiguity. Role conflicts from inconsistent or incompatible expectation
communicated to a person. It occurs when the demands of one role conflict with the
demands of another. The conflict may be an inter-role, intra-role, or person-role
conflict. Inter-role conflict is caused by conflicting expectations related to two separate
roles, such as employee and parent. For example, employee with a major sales
presentation on Monday and a sick child at home Sunday night. Intra-role conflict is
caused by conflicting expectations related to a single role, such as employee. For
example, the manager who presses employees for both very fast work and high quality
work. Ethics violations are likely to cause person-role conflicts. Employees expected to
behave in ways that violate personal values; beliefs or principles may experience conflict.
The unethical act of committed employees exemplifies this problem. Organizations with
high ethical standards are less likely to create ethical conflicts for employees. Person-
role conflicts and ethics violations create a sense of divided loyalty for an employee.
The second major cause of role stress is role ambiguity. Role ambiguity is the confusion
a person exercises related to the expectations of others. Role ambiguity may be caused by
not understanding what is expected, not knowing how to do it, or not knowing the result
of failure to do it- lack of familiarity.

 Responsibility for Others - a heavy burden –in any organization, due to a division of
responsibility. Some persons deal primarily with the physical side of the organization,
others focus mainly on financial matters, and still others- usually supervisors or
managers- deal primarily with people. Individuals who are responsible for other people -
who must motivate them, reward or punish them, communicate with them-experience
higher levels of stress than persons who handle other organizational functions. This is
because they deal with the many functions that are a normal part of human relations at
work- listening to endless complaints, mediating disputes, promoting cooperation, and
exercising leadership.

 Appraisal, Working Conditions and Change - being evaluated by their

supervisors is a highly stressful experience for many persons; after all, the stakes are
high, and the possibility of negative feedback is real. For this reason it is important that
such appraisals be conducted in calm, rational, and fair a manner as possible. This
involves considerable preparation on the part of the manager and the persons being
evaluated. Another potential source of stress in many work setting is the physical
conditions prevailing in them. Unpleasant environmental conditions such as extreme heat
or cold, loud noise, crowding, and poor lightning can all act as stressors and exert
negative effects upon employees exposed to them. Stress often derives from change
within an organization. Shifts in an organizational policy, reorganization, mergers and
major changes to top management can all generate high levels of uncertainty, and,
therefore high levels of stress.

 Non Work Demands – non work demand creates stress for people, which may carried
over to the work environment. Family demands related to marriage, child raring, and
parental care may create role conflicts or overloads that are difficult to manage. In
addition to family demand, people have personal demands related to non work
organizational commitments, such as in churches and public service organizations.
 Events related to death of a loved one, job loss, examination failures, and termination of
romantic attachments could lead to distress if not addressed and resolved.

3.7.2 Major Consequences (Effects) of Stresses

Stress can influence physical and psychological well-being, performance on many tasks and even
the course of individual careers. We will see several of these effects as follows.

 Performance and Normal (Healthy) Stress – stress leads to improved

performance up to an optimum point. Beyond the optimum point, further stress and
arousal have detrimental effect on performance. Therefore healthy amount of eustress
(normal stress) are desirable to improve performance by arousing a person to action.
Specific stressful activities, including aerobic exercise, weight training, and flexibility
training, improve health and enhance a person‟s ability to manage stressful demands or
situations.

 Individual Distress – work-related psychological disorders are among the leading

health disorders and diseases. The most common types of psychological distress are
depression, burnout, and psychogenic disorders. In the early stages, depression and
burnout result in a decline in efficiency; diminished interest in work; fatigue; and an
exhausted, run-down feeling. Psychogenic disorders are physical disorders with a
genesis, or beginning, in the mind. A number of medical illnesses have a stress-related
component. The most significant are heart diseases and stroke. Behavioral problems are
also the other form of individual distress. This problem includes violence (physical and
interpersonal), substance abuse of various kinds, and accidents.

 Organizational Distress – in relation to organizational distress the identified indirect

costs of mismanaged stress for the organization are:

 Performance Decrement – are the cost resulting from poor quality or low
quality of production, grievances, and unscheduled machine down time and
repair.
 Participation problems – are the costs associated with absenteeism,
tardiness, strikes and work stoppages, and turnover.
 Compensation awards – are organizational cost resulting from court awards
for job distress.

3.7.3 Individual Differences in Resistance to Stress

Optimism – optimists are people who see the glasses as half full. They are hopeful in their
outlook on life, interoperate a wide range of situations in a positive light, and tend to expect
favorable out comes and results. They are much more stress resistant than pessimists. Optimists
are much less likely than pessimists to report physical illness and symptoms during highly
stressful period such as final examinations. Optimists concentrate on problem and enacting
specific plans for dealing with sources of stress. In addition, they seek social support – the advice
and help of friends and others, and refrain from engaging in other activities until current
problems are solved and stress is reduced.
Pessimism – pessimists are individuals who see the glass as half empty; they interpret many
situations negatively, and expect unfavorable outcomes and results. Pessimists tend to adopt
different strategies, such as giving up in their efforts to reach goals with which stress is
interfering, and denying that the stress full events have even occurred. Personality Hardness –
implies a personality resistant to distress and characterized by three components. First, they show
higher levels of commitment – deeper involvement in their jobs and other life activities; control
– the belief that they can, in fact, influence important events in their lives and the outcomes they
experience; and challenge – they perceive change as a challenge and an opportunity to grow
rather than as a threat to their security. They use these three components actively to engage in
transformational coping (a way of managing stressful events by changing them into subjectively
less stressful events) when faced with stressful events.

3.7.4 Managing Stress

Stress is an inevitable future of work and personal life. It is neither inherently bad nor distractive.
Stress can be managed. Several strategies exist to manage stress. We will consider these under
two major headings: individual (personal), and organizational stress management techniques.

I) Organizational Stress Management

Organizational stress prevention focuses on people‟s work demands and ways to reduce distress
at work. Organizations can play a key role in stress management. They can adopt changes in
their internal structure and procedures, or alter the nature of jobs to reduce stress among
employees as indicated below.

 Changes in Organizational Structure and Function – several changes in

organizational policy and function are useful in reducing job related stress. First, such
benefits can sometimes be gained by decentralization – a process in which authority is
spread more widely through out an organization. This reduces feelings of helplessness
among employees and so reduces their overall level of stress. Second, employees can be
afforded greater participation in decisions, especially ones involving their jobs. The lack
of opportunities for such input can be a major source of stress. Third, steps can be taken
to assure that performance appraisals and the distribution of organizational rewards are as
fair as possible.
 Changes in the Nature of Specific Jobs – stress can also be reduced through
careful attention to the nature of specific jobs. For example, the stress resulting from
boring, repetitive task can be lessened through job enlargement – efforts to broaden the
scope of the activities they involve. Second, stress deriving from feelings of lack of
control can be reduced by job enrichment - procedures in which employees are provided
with more responsibility for planning and directing their own work. Third, the
stressfulness of specific jobs can be reduced through such steps as limiting unnecessary
travel or geographic relocations. Finally, important causes of stress can be removed
trough eliminating hazardous or unpleasant working conditions.
 Employee Fitness Programs – these are programs, run and founded by
organizations, to improve the physical fitness of their employees. Improved physical
fitness increases individuals‟ resistance to the adverse effect of stress. It enhances
productivity and contributes to commitment and other positive attitudes among
employees by reducing absenteeism.
A programmable management intervention at the work place, usually at the level of the
individual employees, using behavioral science knowledge and methods for recognition of
certain work and non-work related programs (notably alcoholism, drug abuse and mental health)
which adversely affects job performance, with the objective of enabling the individual to return
to making his or her full work contribution and to attaining full function in personal life.

II) Individual Stress Management

Individuals can improve their physical fitness through change in diet or physical exercise.
Alternatively, they can adopt techniques designed to help them relax following exposure to stress
(relaxation training, meditation). Social support, professional help, leisure time activities and
time management are also helpful.
To sum up, stress is an inevitable result of work and personal life. Well managed stress can
improve health and performance. Managers must learn how to create healthy stress for
employees to facilitate performance and well-being. Managers can help employees by adjusting
workloads, avoiding ethical dilemmas, being sensitive to diversity among individuals concerning
what is stressful, and being sensitive to employees‟ personal demands. Managers should be
aware of gender, personality, and behavioral differences when analyzing stress in the work place.
Managers can be sensitive to early signs of distress at work, such as employee fatigue or changes
in work habits, in order to avoid serious form of distress.

Questions for Review and Discussion

1. Describe the determinants of personality.
2. Suppose you had to choose one of two individuals for a middle management position. One of
these persons is type A and the other is type B. Which would you select?
3. Describe four useful personality characteristics for an individual whose job requires frequent
interactions (negotiations) with others.
4. Indicate some basic methods of measuring personality.
5. Define the term learning, reinforcement, punishment, and extinction.
6. What are positive and negative consequences in shaping behavior and how should they be
managed? Explain the value of extinction as a strategy.
7. Define perception, and describe the nature and processes of perception.
8. What factors (characteristics) influence social perception? What are the barriers to social
perception?
9. Describe how attribution can be made and how attribution patterns differ among individuals?
10. What is attitude? Describe the functions of attitude?
11. Discuss how attitude is formed and indicate which source of attitude is strong?
12. What should managers know about the persuasion process?
13. Define values. Distinguish between instrumental values and terminal values.
14. Discuss the work values which are most relevant to individuals.
15. Define stress, distress, strain, and eustress.
16. Discuss causes (factors) of stress at work.
17. What are major effects of stress? Describe each of them.
18. What are the four changes associated with the organizational stress management? Discuss
individual differences in resistance to stress based on the concepts of optimism, pessimism, and
personality hardness.
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Kreitner, R. and Kinicki, A. (1992). Organizational Behavior 2nd ed. U.S.A., Richard D. Irwin.
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Miner, J.B. (1988). Organizational Behavior: Performance and Productivity. New York,
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Nelson, D.L. and Quick, J.C. (1994). Organizational Behavior: Fundamentals,
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Rollinson, D. and Broadfield, A. (2002). Organizational Behavior and Analysis: An Integrated
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