CHAPTER 1.

- ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

you can skip the part "The Bath model of HRM"

1.1 What is Organizational Behavior?

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR = the study of the structure and management of organizations, their
environments, and the actions and interactions of their individual members and groups. Organizational
behavior is shorthand for the activities and interactions of people in organizations.

- ORGANIZATION = a social arrangement for achieving controlled performance in pursuit of collective

goals. Organization can mean different things to those who work in them because they are significant
personal and social sources of money, identity, stability, status, power, etc.

- ORGANIZATIONAL DILEMMA = the goals pursued by individual members of an organization can be

different from the purpose of their collective activity. This creates the organizational dilemma = how
to design organizations that will achieve the collective purpose of the organization, while also meeting
the needs of those who work for them.

FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR = the tendency to explain the behavior of others based on their
personality or disposition, and to overlook the influence of wider contextual influences. This error leads to
false explanations for the behavior of others. We need to be aware of how context influences behavior.

- PESTLE ANALYSIS = organizations are influenced by their Political, Economic, Social, Technological,
Legal, and Ecological context.

ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS = a multi-dimensional concept that can be defined in differently by different

stakeholders. For instance, some organizations measure organizational effectiveness depending on the profit,
whereas others prioritize increasing market share.

- BALANCED SCORECARD = an approach to defining organizational effectiveness using a combination of

quantitative and qualitative measures. This involves deciding on a range of quantitative and qualitative
performance measures, such as environmental concerns, employee development, internal operating
efficiencies, and shareholder value.

- QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE = an individual´s overall satisfaction with their job, working conditions,
pay, colleagues, management style, organization culture, work-life balance, and training,
development, and career opportunities. Quality of working life is linked to organizational effectiveness
(human resources policies and practices, management style, etc.).

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1.2 Explaining Organizational Behavior

1) POSITIVISM = a perspective which assumes that the world can be understood in terms of causal
relationships between observable and measurable variables, and that these relationships can be
studied objectively using controlled experiments. To measure something, you need an operational
definition, a method for quantifying the variables. Independent variable (causal) and dependent
variable (outcome).

2) CONSTRUCTIVISM = a perspective which argues that our social and organizational worlds have no
ultimate objective truth or reality, but are instead determined by our shared experiences, meanings,
and interpretations.

3) VARIANCE THEORY = an approach to explaining organizational behavior based on universal

relationships between independent and dependent variables which can be defined and measured
precisely. Example: do variations in management styles cause varying levels of job satisfaction?

4) PROCESS THEORY = an approach to explaining organizational behavior based on narratives which show
how several factors, combining and interacting over time in a particular context, are likely to produce
the outcomes of interest.

Positivism and variance theory have been successful in the natural sciences. Many social scientists, however,
argue that this approach is not suitable for the study of society and organizations. Positivism assumes that
there is an objective world ‘out there’ which we can observe, define, and measure. In contrast, constructivism
argues that many aspects of that so-called objective reality are determined by us.

The organizational behaviour variables in which we are interested are going to mean different things, to
different people, at different times, and in different places. Variance theory, therefore, is not going to get us
very far. To understand organizational issues, we have to use Process theory.

1.3 Management

There is a well-known gap between academic research and organizational practice, and it is not difficult to
explain why. Researchers publish their work in academic journals. Most managers do not read much, and few
read academic publications. Many researchers follow lines of enquiry that do not focus on the problems that
organizations and their managers are facing. Research and practice also work on different timescales. A
manager with a problem wants to solve it today. A researcher with a project could take two to three years to
come up with some answers.

EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT = systematically using the best available research evidence to inform
decisions about how to manage people and organizations.

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HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT = the function responsible for establishing integrated personnel policies
to support organization strategy. OB is concerned with micro and macro-organizational issues, at individual,
group, corporate and contextual levels of analysis. HR develops and implements policies which enhance
quality of working life, and which encourage commitment, engagement, flexibility, and high performance from
employees.

EMPLOYMENT CYCLE = the sequence of stages through which all employees pass in each working position they
hold, from recruitment and selection to termination. The employment cycle shows the stages that you will
experience at various points in your career.

1.4 Data Analytics and Human Resources

- BIG DATA = information collected, often real- time, from sources such as internet clicks, mobile
transactions, user generated content, social media, sensor networks, sales queries, purchases.

- DATA ANALYTICS = the use of powerful computational methods to reveal and to visualize patterns and
trends in very large sets of data.

- HUMAN CAPITAL ANALYTICS = an HR practice enabled by computing technologies that use descriptive,
visual, and statistical analyses of data related to HR processes, human capital, organizational
performance, and external economic benchmarks to establish business impact and enable evidence-
based, data-driven decision-making.

The low impact of HR policies may now change, due to the development of big data. Applied to HR, human
capital analytics can provide insights into an organization’s workforce, the HR policies and practices that
support them, and workforce characteristics such as knowledge, skills, and experience. Big data is contributing
to human resource management by providing objective information on which to base decisions and solve HR
problems.

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CHAPTER 1.- ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR RECAP:

1.- Explain the importance of an understanding of Organizational Behavior = Organizations influence almost
every aspect of our daily lives in a multitude of ways. If we eventually destroy this planet, the cause will not
lie with technology or weaponry, but with ineffective organizations and management practices.

2.- Explain and illustrate the central dilemma of organizational design = The organizational dilemma concerns
how to reconcile the inconsistency between individual needs and aspirations, and the collective purpose of
the organization.

3.- Understand the need for explanations of behavior in organizations that take account of combinations of,
and relationships between, factors at different levels of analysis:

- The study of organizational behavior is multi- disciplinary, drawing in particular from psychology,
social psychology, sociology, economics, and political science.

- Organizational behavior involves a multi-level study of the external environment, and inter- nal
structure, functioning and performance of organizations, and the behavior of groups and individuals.

- Organizational effectiveness and quality of working life are explained by a combination of contextual,
individual, group, structural, process and manage- rial factors.

- In considering explanations of organizational behavior, systemic thinking is required, avoiding

explanations based on single causes, and considering a range of interrelated factors at different levels
of analysis.

4.- Understand the difference between positivist and constructivist perspectives, and their respective
implications for the study of organizational behavior.

- A positivist perspective uses the same research methods and modes of explanation found in the
natural sciences to study and understand organizational behavior. It is difficult to apply conventional
scientific research methods to people, because of the ‘reactive effects’ which come into play when
people know they are being studied.

- A constructivist perspective assumes that, as we are self-defining creatures who attach meanings to
our behavior, social science is different from natural science. A constructivist perspective believes that
reality is not objective and ‘out there’ but is socially constructed. A constructivist approach abandons
scientific neutrality and seeks to stimulate social and organizational change by providing critical
feedback and encouraging self-awareness.

5.- Understand the distinction between variance and process explanations of organizational behavior:

VARIANCE THEORY explains organizational behavior by identifying relationships between independent and
dependent variables which can be defined and measured. Variance theories are often quantitative and are
based on a positivist perspective. PROCESS THEORY explains organizational behavior using narratives which
show how many factors pro- duce outcomes by combining and interacting over time in a given context. Process

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theories can com- bine quantitative and qualitative dimensions and can draw from positivist and constructivist
traditions.

6.- Explain the development and limitations of evidence-based management = The concept of evidence-
based management is popular, but the links between evidence and practice are complex; evidence can shape
the ways in which problems are understood and approached, rather than offering specific solutions.

7.- Recognize the breadth of applications of organizational behavior theory, and contributions to human
resource management practice = The Bath model of human resource management argues that discretionary
behavior going beyond minimum requirements relies on having a combination of HR policies. High
performance work practices increase organizational profitability by decreasing employee turn- over and
improving productivity, but they are not widely adopted.

8.- Assess how the human resources management function can use big data and human capital analytics to
improve individual and team performance, and organizational effectiveness.

- Extremely large and complex sets of data – ‘big data’ – can be captured easily, stored cheaply, and
analyzed rapidly, due to developments in data storage and data processing capabilities.

- Human capital analytics applies sophisticated analytical tools and techniques to big data sets in
order to generate fresh HR insights that can improve organizational performance.

- Human capital analytics can complement (or replace) experience, judgement, and intuition as bases
for HR decision making, with quantified metrics that can help to establish causal relation- ships
between HR policies and practices and performance outcomes.

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 CHAPTER 2.- ENVIRONMENT

Skip: “PESTLE and scenario planning” and all sections after

2.1 Why study an organization´s environment?

ENVIRONMENT = issues, trends, and events outside the boundaries of the organization, which influence
internal decisions and behaviours. Organizations are constantly involved in exchanges with their environment,
in terms of suppliers, customers, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders, including employees. External
environment trends and developments, lead to changes in internal organization structures, processes, and
behaviors.

2.2 The search for environmental fit

ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTY = the degree of unpredictable turbulence and change in the political,
economic, social, technological, legal, and ecological context in which an organization operates. Duncan
defined uncertainty as the lack of adequate information to reach an unambiguous decision, and argued that
environmental uncertainty has two dimensions: the degree of complexity and the degree of dynamism.

ANSOFF´S TYPOLOGY OF ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS = it considers the environmental change, the

organization´s strategy and the management attitude. Ansoff argues that we can identify the most appropriate
strategy and management attitude for that environment.

- Repetitive environment with no change → strategy should be stable and based on precedent →
management should seek stability and reject change

- Surprising environment, unpredictable change → novel strategies should be based on creativity →

management should embrace change and seek novelty

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM = the argument that internal organizational responses are primarily
determined by external environmental factors.

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STRATEGIC CHOICE = the view that an organization’s environment, market, and technology are the results of
senior management decisions.

The search for Environment-Organization fit:

2.3 Environment analysis tools

ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING = techniques for identifying and predicting the impact of external trends and
developments on the internal functioning of an organization.

PESTLE ANALYSIS = an environmental scanning tool identifying Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal
and Ecological factors that affect an organization. Pestle analysis is used to inform strategic planning, human
resource strategy, marketing, product development, and organizational change

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2.4 The wider business context

GLOBALIZATION = the intensification of worldwide social and business relationships which link localities in
such a way that local conditions are shaped by distant events.

2.5 Demographic trends

- LIFE EXPECTANCY IS INCREASING, ageing population

- BIRTH RATES ARE FALLING, fewer young people join the workforce (multigenerational workforce)
- GLOBAL MIGRATION, creates social and political tensions, richer diversity in the workforce

2.6 Ethical behavior

ETHICS = the moral principles, values and rules that govern our decisions and actions with respect to what is
right and wrong, good, and bad.

These concerns are not new, but they attract more attention than in the past. News about corporate
misbehavior spreads rapidly through social media. Unethical behavior by an individual can put an end to their
career. Organizations suffer reputational damage and lose customers if they are seen to be acting unethically.

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2.7 Corporate social responsibility

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY = the view that organizations should act ethically, in ways that contribute
to economic development, the environment, quality of working life, local communities, and the wider society.

Organizations are expected to act in ethical and socially responsible ways. Those who do not are quickly
exposed through social media. Organizations can be criticized even when their own activities are ethical, but
those of their suppliers are not. The reputation of Apple was damaged in 2017 when it was revealed that its
supplier Foxcomm employed school-age interns who were working illegal overtime.

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT (SRI) = means avoiding companies that are seen to be doing harm and
investing in those that do measurable good (impact investing). The social benefits that count are broad, and
can relate to climate change and product packaging, for example.

The popularity of Corporate Social Responsibility:

1) CSR AS SELF-DEFENCE = While operating within the law, organizations are still self-regulating in many
respects. However, there is always the danger that a high-profile corporate scandal will create demand
for new regulation.

2) CSR AS A RESULT OF INCREASED AFFLUENCE = If we don’t do it, they’ll stop buying from us. If we feel
that a company is not behaving in a socially responsible manner, then we withdraw our custom.

3) CSR AS IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT = If we tell people how responsible we are, our reputation will
improve profits. Every CSR initiative gets media attention, and free publicity. The company that makes
visible contributions to society may find that sales and market share increase.

CHAPTER 2.- ENVIRONMENT RECAP:

1.- Understand the need for “fit” between the organization and its environment = To survive, organizations
have to adapt their internal structures, processes, and behaviours to cope with complexity and the pace of
external change. External pressures on organizations come from the globalization of business, developments
in information technology, and social and demographic trends. Ansoff argues that bureaucratic organizations
are effective in stable environments, but that fluid structures are more effective in ‘turbulent’ environments.
Duncan argues that what counts is the management perception of environmental uncertainty; perception
determines the management response.

2.- Appreciate the strengths and limitations of the PESTLE analysis = PESTLE analysis provides a
comprehensive frame- work for identifying and planning responses to external factors that can affect an
organization. PESTLE analysis generates vast amounts of information, creating a time-consuming analysis
problem, and making predictions based on this analysis can be difficult.

3.- Apply utilitarism, theory of rights, and theory of justice to assess whether or not management actions
are ethical and recognize the limitations of those criteria =

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 - The utilitarian perspective argues that behavior is ethical if it achieves the greatest good for the
greatest number.
- The theory of rights judges’ behavior on the extent to which individual rights are respected, including
right of free consent, right to privacy, right to freedom of conscience, right to free speech, right to due
process in an impartial hearing.
- The theory of justice judges’ behavior on whether or not the benefits and burdens flowing from an
action are fairly, equitably and impartially distributed.
- These criteria produce different assessments of the same behavior; circumstances can involve other
factors, making the application of these criteria inappropriate.

4.- Understand the concept of corporate social responsibility, and the practical and ethical implications of
this concept for organizational behavior =

- Businesses and their managers are expected to act in responsible and ethical ways, contributing to
the triple bottom line – people and planet as well as profits.

- Responsible practices include, for example, the business contribution to the community, the
sustainable use of resources, ethical behavior in relationships with suppliers and customers, and
‘common good balance sheet’ reporting to complement financial reporting.

- Companies are encouraged to act responsibly by consumers adopting values-based purchasing, and
investors adopting socially responsible investment practices; companies seen to be acting
irresponsibly can have their reputations damaged rapidly through social media.

- Critics argue that it is government’s job to deal with social and environmental issues. The role of
business is to maximize profits while operating within the law. Managers who donate company funds
to ‘good causes’ give away shareholders’ money.

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 OB → Chapter 6: PERSONALITY

What’s personality: its stable and distinctive

How do we measure personality, observe people or Tests: mbti, value test and big five
He likes the big five test: reliability and predictive validity we must know it, it’s important.
5 quality that should take into consideration when measuring personalities.
Careful with the AI tests because they work on average and they are biased and they label
people or put them in boxes.
The contexts affects everything.
Do the wheel of life
Important: the difference between values and goals
Terminal goals because you can measure them (goal sheet vs wheel of life)
Value es como el suelo y goals son pequeñas acciones para conseguirlo.
Personality

• The psychological qualities that influence an individual’s characteristic behaviour

patterns, in a stable and distinctive manner.

It is widely believed that personality is related to job performance and career success.
Psychometrics1 offer to support selection decisions with objective data.

In addition to selecting job applicants, psychometric assessment has several other useful
applications: assessment of suitability for promotion; redeployment purposes; evaluation of
training potential; team and leadership development; vocational guidance, career counselling;
recruiting graduates with limited work experience; redundancy counselling.

* However, psychometrics have been criticized for being unfair and misleading, in gender and
cultural terms, as well as being poor predictors of job performance.

Personality describes behaviours which are stable and enduring, and which distinguish one
individual from others:

1. Stability: The ‘stable’ behaviours which we exhibit depend on social context. Some
personality features may only appear in particular social and physical settings.
2. Distinctiveness: Personality theory is concerned with the pattern of dispositions and
behaviours unique to the individual and is less concerned with properties that all or
most other people share.
Some psychologists argue that personality is inherited, determined by genetics and the
biochemistry and physiology of the brain.
Others argue that our characters are shaped by environment, culture and social factors,

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The systematic testing, measurement and assessment of intelligence, aptitudes and personality.

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 and that our feelings and behaviour patterns are learned. Social learning theory argues
that we acquire new behaviours by observing and imitating others. Motivation theory
shows how job satisfaction can be influenced by changes in supervisory style and the
design of jobs.
In this view, your personality is flexible and changes with experience.
The controversy over the effects of heredity and environment on personality is known
as the ‘nature–nurture’ debate.

Types and traits

Type (or temperament): Type a descriptive label for a distinct pattern of personality
characteristics, such as introvert, extravert, neurotic.

Jung’s theory:

Introvert extravert

sensing iNtuiting

thinking feeling

judging perceiving

Personality type: a category whose members are expected to have the same pattern of
behaviours.

Personality trait2: a predisposition to behave in a particular way. Traits allow us to explore the
complexity and variation in personality. Individuals belong to types; traits belong to individuals.

The study of traits in personality assessment, and of how traits cluster to form ‘super traits’, is
associated with the nomothetic 3approach in psychology. This approach assumes that
personality is inherited and that environmental factors have little effect.

2
A relatively stable quality or attribute of an individual’s personality, influencing behaviour in a
particular direction.
3
An approach to the study of personality emphasizing the identification of traits, and the systematic
relationships between different aspects of personality.

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Eysenck’s approach: identifies two main sets of types of trait clusters. The E dimension runs
from extrovert to introvert. The N dimension runs from neuroticism to stability.

Extraverts are tough-minded individuals who need stimulation. They are sociable, like parties,
are good at telling stories, enjoy practical jokes, have many friends, but do not enjoy studying
on their own.

Introverts are tender-minded, have strong emotions, and do not need intense stimuli. They are
quiet, prefer books to people, are reserved, plan ahead, distrust impulse, appreciate order, lead
careful sober lives, suppress emotions, are pessimistic, worry about moral standards, and are
reliable.

Neurotics are emotional, unstable and anxious, have low opinions of themselves, feel that they
are unattractive failures, tend to be disappointed with life, and are pessimistic and depressed.
They feel controlled by events, by others and by fate.

Stable people are ‘adjusted’, self-confident, optimistic, realistic, solve their own problems, have
few health worries, and have few regrets about their past.

Personality Types A and B

A theory that links personality to stress identified two ‘behaviour syndromes’ called Type A4 and
Type B5 personality.

Stress management: individual and organizational

3 factors moderating the impact of stressors:

Condition: You are better able to cope with stress if you are in good health.

Cognitive appraisal: If you believe that you are not going to cope with a particular event, this
belief can become a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’.

Hardiness: Hardiness is an outlook on life characterized by a welcoming approach to change,

commitment to purposeful activity, and a sense of being in control. This combination increases
ability to deal with to stress.

The consequences of stress can be costly. The performance of stressed employees can be poor,
and stress causes absenteeism, staff turnover, accidents and sabotage.

There are two broad strategies for reducing stress; individual emotion-focused strategies, and
organizational problem-focused strategies.

Individual emotion-focused strategies improve resilience and coping skills and include:

- consciousness-raising to improve self-awareness;

4
A combination of emotions and behaviours characterized by ambition, hostility, impatience and a sense
of constant time pressure.
5
A combination of emotions and behaviours characterized by relaxation, low focus on achievement and
ability to take time to enjoy leisure.

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 - exercise and fitness programmes;
- self-help training, in biofeedback, meditation, relaxation, coping strategies;
- time management training;
- development of other social and job interests.

Organizational problem-focused strategies deal directly with the stressors and include:

- improved selection and training;

- staff counselling;
- improved organizational communications;
- job redesign and enrichment strategies;
- development of teamworking.

The big 5 ( or 6)
-The sets of factors, or ‘super traits’, which describe common elements among the sub-factors
or traits which cluster together. It captures the main dimension of personality.

1. Openness is based on six traits: fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values

2. Conscientiousness: competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline,

deliberation. This continuum runs from ‘focused’ to ‘flexible’

3. Extraversion: warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, positive

emotions. This continuum runs from ‘extravert’ to ‘introvert’

4. Agreeableness: trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender-

mindedness. This continuum runs from ‘adapter’ to ‘challenger¨”

5. Neuroticism, or ‘negative emotionality’: worry, anger, discouragement, self-consciousness,

impulsiveness, vulnerability. This continuum runs from ‘reactive’ to ‘resilient’

- Is personality linked to success management? 3 conclusions:

1. Conscientiousness→ positively related to management level. More likely to be promoted.

Usually high-level jobs

2. Extraversion→also linked to management. You need to relationate with too much people in
order to success

3. Neuroticism→negatively related to management level. Stress, tense, nervous..people avoid

high-level jobs.

THE H FACTOR

- HEXACO model a model of personality based on six trait clusters – honesty– humility,
emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to
experience.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF6

6
Self-concept the set of perceptions that we have about ourselves

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 - Idiographic an approach to the study of personality emphasizing the uniqueness of the
individual, rejecting the assumption that we can all be measured on the same
dimensions. Personality means study each individual.
Characteristics:
1. unique traits that cannot be compared with the traits of others
2. we are socially self-conscious. Our behaviour is shaped by our experience,
reflection, and reasoning, not just by instinct and habit.
3. we learn about ourselves through interacting with others, and we behave in
accordance with the image that we have of ourselves – our self-concept.
4. Personality can change with social experiences.7

It is said that self has 2 elements:

I The unique, individual, conscious and impulsive aspects of the individual

Me The norms and values of society that the individual learns and accepts, or ‘internalizes

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The American psychologist Charles Horton Cooley introduced the concept of the ‘looking glass self’.
Our mirror is the other people with whom we interact. If others respond warmly and favourably towards
us, we develop a ‘positive’ self-concept. If others respond with criticism, ridicule and aggression, we
develop a ‘negative’ self-image. T

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SELECTION METHOODS

The Generalized other is what we think other people expect of us, in terms of our attitudes,
values, beliefs and behaviour.

Thematic apperception test an assessment in which the individual is shown ambiguous pictures
and is asked to create stories of what may be happening in them.

Need for achievement a concern with meeting standards of excellence, the desire to be
successful in competition, the motivation to excel.

Projective test an assessment based on abstract or ambiguous images, which the subject is asked
to interpret by projecting their feelings, preoccupations and motives into their responses.

→Recruitment is mainly based on premeditated tests (physiometrics) but these are not entirely
subjective as they do not take into account:

- that the jobs may consist of multiple tasks

-they can evolve over time

-they do not measure certain aptitudes of the candidates

To summerize:

1. Psychometrics offer objective, systematic, comprehensive and quantitative

information. They are also useful in career guidance, counselling and development.
2. Intelligence and aptitude tests are better predictors of performance than most
personality assessments.
3. It is usually difficult to predict job performance from a personality profile.
4. Personality assessment can identify strengths and limitations in specific areas of
competence

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INTERVIEWS
Meeting someone in person, in an interview, offers an informal opportunity to assess their
personality. Some interviews might be subjective in terms that the is no answer correct. Some
companies tend to use: Competency-based interviews which can have a high predictive validity.
Candidates may be presented with work-related problems, and asked how they would respond.
(poner problemas reales que podrian ocurrir en tu puesto de trabajo y ver como el candidato
responde)

Traditional selection interviews are poor predictors of job performance, which is why many
organizations now use structured competency-based interviews

Cybervetting covertly gathering information from informal, non institutional online sources via
social media and search engines to help decide whom to recruit, hire, promote or fire.

Most organizations use cybervetting – gathering information from social media – to screen
potential job candidates.

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 CHAPTER 8.- PERCEPTION

There is no need to memorize ALL different biases (on pg 267 and pg 676). Remember the main ones
we covered: e.g. halo effect, stereotypes, attribution/ fundamental attribution error

It is our perception of reality which shapes and directs our behaviour, not some objective understanding of it.
We each perceive the world around us in different ways. If one person on a hillside perceives that it is cold,
they will reach for a sweater. If the person standing next to them perceives that it is warm, they will remove
their sweater. These contrasting behaviours can occur simultaneously, regardless of the ambient temperature.
Human behaviour is a function of the way in which we perceive the world around us, and how we perceive
other people and events in that world.

8.1. Perception

Perception is the dynamic psychological process responsible for attending to, organizing, and interpreting
sensory data. It is our perception of reality which shapes and directs our behavior, not some objective
understanding of it. To understand each other’s behavior, we need to be able to understand each other’s
perceptions. Thus, we need to be able to understand why we perceive things differently in the first place.

8.1.1. Are you an Alpha?

How other people see you counts as much as who you think you are. To be an Alpha, others have to see that
you have the following attributes: self-confidence and opinionated, highly intelligent, action oriented, high-
performance expectations, of self and others, direct communication style, highly disciplined, and unemotional.

8.1.2. Perception management

Research carried out in 2015 asked a group of women how being pregnant had influenced their experience at
work. The participants emphasized four motives: to show that their commitment to work had not changed; to
be seen as maintaining a professional image; to avoid damaging their careers; and to persuade others that
they were not about to leave. Analysis of the interviews reveled six tactics for managing professional image:

- Managing the place

- Not expecting concessions

- Going the extra mile

- Accepting shorter leave

- Passing as not pregnant

- Downplaying the issue

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8.2. Selectivity and organization

From a psychological point of view, the process of sensation and the process of perception work together
through what are termed bottom-up and top-down processing. The bottom-up processing consists of the way
in which we process the raw data received by our sensory apparatus, including the need for selecting the
relevant inputs. The top-down processing concerns the mental process which allow us to interpret and give
sense to the world around us by filling in the gaps, correcting the mistakes, and making sense of the
“imperfect” raw data.

The bottom-up process includes:

- sensory input (incoming raw data)

- selective attention (we cannot pay attention to everything)

The top-down process includes:

- perceptual organization (we look for order, pattern, and meaning)

- interpretation (sense-making, seeking closure)

- behavioural response

Top and down part are two process

of getting information from the
environment.
- Botton up: the way in which we
process the raw data received by our
sensory apparatus. Screening- less
important information (ex selection
attention)
- Top-down: the mental processing
that allows us to order, interpret,
and make sense of the world around
us. Make sense- search for meaning
(attribution)
El proceso va en ambas direcciones.
De arriba abajo es información sin
darte cuenta y sin elegirlo. Sin
embargo, de abajo a arriba es por ejemplo que decides comprarte un coche blanco y a partir de
ese momento empiezas a ver muchísimos coches blancos.

The ‘real world’ as a concept depends very much on our social and physical backgrounds; we behave in, and
in response to, the world as we perceive it. That is where the ‘perceptual world’ concept arises.

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The perceptual world is the individual’s personal internal image, map, or picture of their social, physical and
organizational environment.

Perception, therefore, is an information-processing activity which concerns the phenomenon of selective

attention

The constraints imposed by our sensory apparatus can be modified in certain ways by experience. The
boundary, or perceptual threshold, between what we can and cannot detect can be established by
experiment. We can explore individual differences in thresholds across the senses, and these thresholds can
sometimes be altered by training and experience. Page 306

Even though or perceptual processing is unconscious; we can control some aspects of the process simply by
being consciously aware of what is happening. Perception is an information processing activity which involves
selective attention.

- Selective attention is the ability, often exercised unconsciously, to choose from the stream of sensory
data, to concentrate on particular elements, and to ignore others.

- The perceptual threshold: a boundary point, either side of which our senses respectively will or will
not be able to detect stimuli, such as sound, light or touch.

- Habituation: once a stimulus becomes familiar, it stops being sensed. That is what happens when a
clock is ticking next to us; suddenly we stop noticing it.

- Perceptual Filters, which are individual characteristics, predispositions, and preoccupations that
interfere with the effective transmission and receipt of messages.

Selective attention is influenced by external factors (stimulus factors and context factors) and internal factors
(learning from past experiences; expectations; motivation, as we are more likely to respond to stimuli that we
perceive as important and motivating; and our personality). Regarding the stimulus factors, our attention is
drawn more likely to stimuli that are: large, bright, loud, strong, unfamiliar, strand out from surroundings,
moving, and repeated.

Much of perception can be described as classification or categorization. These categories are learnt, they are
social constructs, often culture specific. Problem comes when people are blind to see that different points of
view don’t necessarily mean wrong points of view. Different people in the same culture, with different
experiences, develop different expectations. We tend to select information that fits our expectations, and we
pay less attention to information that does not. This perceptual work is captured by the term Perceptual
Organization: the process through which incoming stimuli are organized or patterned in systematic and
meaningful ways.

The perceptual organization principles are:

- Proximity principle: we tend to group together stimuli that are physically close to each other.

- Similarity principle: we classify together stimuli that resemble each other in appearance in some
respect.

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8.3. Perceptual sets and perceptual worlds

Perceptual set: an individual’s predisposition to respond to people and events in a particular manner.

We each have a perceptual world that is selective and partial, and which concentrates on features of particular
interest and importance to us. Our perception, that is the meanings that we attach to the information available
to us, shape our actions. Behavior in an organization context can usually be understood once we understand
the way in which the individual perceives that context.

To change an individual’s behavior first have to consider changing their perceptions, through the information
and experiences available to them.

8.4. Do we see to know or know to see?

In order to survive in a rapidly changing, turbulent, and highly competitive environment, we need to become
more efficient, more cost conscious, more flexible and adaptable, and more customer focused. Therefore, we
need to implement the following radical changes to organization structures, procedures, and jobs.

There are two ways to read this ‘turbulent world’ argument. First, this is a taken-for-granted expression of
contemporary organizational reality. There is nothing unusual in this argument about the need for flexibility
to deal with change. People have been saying that for years. It’s obvious, isn’t it? This is a widely accepted
view.

Second, this is an attempt to promote a particular perception of organizational reality, based on management
values. After all, change is stressful, and employees are likely to resist. If we can present a case that is difficult
to challenge, then resistance can be avoided, and the changes can go ahead more smoothly.

Consider the ‘turbulent world so we must change’ argument. What kind language is typically used to support
this case? Looking through job advertisements and other organizational communications, note how often the
following kinds of statements appear:

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 - We need to become more customer orientated

- Our mission is excellence

- We believe in employee empowerment

- Our survival depends on efficiency and cost effectiveness

- Initiative and creativity are key competencies

- Flexibility is the key to competitive success

- We must strive for continuous improvement

8.5. Perceptual sets and assumptions

The concept of perceptual set or perceptual expectation applies to the ways in which we see other people,
events, and objects. Three perceptual shortcuts:

- Halo effect: an overall assessment of a person which influences our judgement of their other specific
characteristics. It takes one-tenth of a second to reach a first impression based on appearance. If the
judgement is favorable, we may then overlook further information. Horn effect: if the overall first
assessment of a person is negative.

- Stereotype: a category or personality type to which we allocate people on the basis of their
membership of some known group. We tend to group together people who seem to share similar
characteristics. Stereotypes are often false but can be helpful. By adopting a stereotyped perspective,
we shortcut our evaluation process, and make quicker predictions of behavior. Although this shortcut
may lead us to commit errors.

- Self-fulfilling prophecy: a prediction that becomes true because someone expects it to happen. If we
expect people to be lazy, apathetic, and careless, and treat them accordingly, we are likely to find that
they respond to that treatment by displaying those behaviors. The reverse can also be true; if we treat
people as though we expect them to be motivated, enthusiastic, and competent, then they are likely
to respond accordingly.

8.6. Appearance, age and attributions

Our need for explanation and understanding of the people and events in the world around us is reflected in
the way in which we search for the causes of people’s actions. Our perceptions of causality are known as
attributions:

- Attribution is the process by which we make sense of our environment through our perceptions of
casualty. It is the belief about the cause or causes of an event. An attribution is simply the process of
attaching causes or reasons to the actions and events we see. Attribution Theory: the understanding
of our social world is based on our continual attempts at casual analysis based on how we interpret
our experiences. A situation can be explained in terms of internal or external casualty, example: when

5
 we success we tend to attribute it to our own merit, whereas when we fail, we attribute it to external
circumstances such as bad teaching.

- Appearance bias: people suffer discrimination based on their appearance; it can explain
discrimination in organizational settings. For example, it has been proven that attractive people earn
more money. People with tattoos are less employable as they are perceived as unreliable and
aggressive.

- Age discrimination: older workers are stereotyped as less motivated, poor performers, expensive,
with poor technology skills, and a limited ability to learn. Research has shown these perceptions to be
false and proven that older workers tend to be more engaged, focused, and have better social skills.
Younger workers are stereotyped as being disloyal, inexperienced, unmotivated, immature,
irresponsible and selfish. However, they are more likely to be eager to learn, capable with technology,
and creative.

8.7. Perceptual errors and how to avoid them

Our perceptions can often lead to inaccurate judgements and inappropriate decisions and actions. In order to
avoid perceptual errors, we need to be aware of how these can arise, and how we can be misled.

Main sources of errors in person perception:

1) Not collecting enough information.

2) Allowing visual cues to dominate our assessments.

3) Seeing what we expect and want to see, and not investigating further – Selective Attention

4) Basing our judgements on particularly favorable pieces of information – Halo Effect

5) Categorizing others on the basis of specific attributes – Stereotyping

6) Basing our judgements on information that is irrelevant or insignificant

7) Allowing early information to color our judgment, despite later contradictory information

8) Allowing our own characteristics to influence our judgements of others

9) Attempting to decode non-verbal behavior outside the context in which it appears

Avoid making perceptual errors: 1) Take more time, avoid instant judgments, do not let visual cues dominate.
2) Collect and consciously use more information about other people. 3) Develop self-knowledge and
understanding of how our personal biases preferences affect our perceptions and judgments of others. 4)
Check your attributions – the assumptions you make about the causes of behavior, and the links between
personality and appearance on the one hand and behavior on the other.

CHAPTER 8.- PERCEPTION RECAP:

6
The main features of the process of perception: People behave according to how they perceive the world,
not in response to “reality”. The perceptual process involves the interpretation of sensory input in the light of
past experience, and our store of knowledge, beliefs, expectations, and motives.

- Sensation or bottom-up processing determines the data to which we pay attention.

- Perception or top-down processing determines the way which we organize and interpret perceived
information in order to make behavioral choices.

Selective attention is influenced by external factors relating to the stimulus and the context, and by internal
factors such as learning, personality and motivation. The way in which we organize and interpret sensory data
in meaningful ways, even when it is incomplete or ambiguous, is known as perceptual organization.

How behavior is influenced by our perceptions: we each have our own perceptual world, an internal mental
image of our environment. Different cultures lead to differences in perception and consequently in behavior.

Main processes and problems in perception:

- An attribution is a belief about cause and effect. When speaking about ourselves, we tend to attribute
success to personal factors and failure to external factors. When speaking about others we tend
attribute success and failure to personality features.

- Making a favorable judgement of someone on the basis of a single positive characteristic is known as
the halo effect and is called the horn effect if the judgement is negative.

- Assuming that someone possesses a set of personality traits because they belong to a particular social
group is known as stereotyping.

Sources of discrimination at work: aspects of behavior are attributed to appearance, leading to

discrimination. You are likely to be paid less at work if you are an overweight or underweight female, a short
man, and are perceived to be unattractive. The fundamental attribution error leads us to emphasize individual
personality and ignore social and organizational context when explaining behavior.

Ways to improve perceptual accuracy and avoid errors: to avoid mistakes, avoid rapid judgements, take more
time, collect more information, be aware of your own prejudices and biases, and develop increased self-
awareness. To improve accuracy, expect errors to occur, use as much feedback as you can get, and take small
steps rather than radical ones to reduce risks.

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8
CHAPTER 10: GROUP FORMATION

Skip Homan (Group environment) continue with Group formation.

1. DEFINITIONS OF GROUPS
• Group: two or more people, in face-to-face interaction, each aware of their group
membership and interdependence, as they strive to achieve their goals. (ex: football
team)
• Psychological group: people who consider themselves part of an identifiable unit. A
psychological group is unlikely to exceed twelve or so persons. Beyond that number, the
opportunity for frequent interaction between members, and hence group awareness, is
considerably reduced.
• Group dynamics: the forces operating within groups that affect their performance and
their members’ satisfaction. (how they influence each other; what roles they play in the
group; what kind of relationships they have; which members lead, and which follow; how
they balance a focus on their task with social issues; and how they resolve conflicts).

*It is important to maintain a distinction between aggregates of individuals and groups.

• Aggregate: collections of individuals who happen to be together at any particular time.

(ex: audience in a theatre).

Our class is a group

1.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GROUP

5 characteristics listed below. The more of them that they possess, the more power it will have to
influence its members:

1) A minimum membership of two people: from two people to over 30. The greater the number of
group members, the greater the level of communication that is required, and the more complex
the structure needed to operate the group successfully.
2) A communication network: each member must be capable of communicating with every other
member.
3) A shared sense of collective identity: each member must identify with the other members of their
group, and not see themselves as an individual acting independently.
4) Complementary goals: members have individual objectives which can only be met through
participation in the group.
5) Group structure: different roles within the group. These roles indicate what members expect of
each other.

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 1.2 CHALLENGES WITHIN A GROUP:

From the group dynamics characteristics you can see whats broken and do interventions. (add
esquema de group dynamics)

1.3 TYPES OF GROUP TASKS (important el nombre de los autores !!)

Group tasks vary in terms of intrinsic interest; need for member cooperation; whether they are unitary or
divisible, and whether they are conceptual or behavioural; and level of difficulty:

1) Additive tasks: sum of all group members efforts. All group members do basically the same
job, and the final group performance is the sum of all their individual contributions. There is
low interdependency between these people, but social loafing can reduce performance. Ex:
ug-of-war contests and pedestrians giving a stalled car a push-start.
2) Conjunctive tasks: a task whose accomplishment depends on the performance of the group’s
least talented member. Coordination is essential. Ex: running a relay race
3) Disjunctive tasks: a task whose accomplishment depends on the performance of the group’s
most talented member. One member’s performance depends on another’s. Ex: quiz teams;
good for diagnostic and problem-solving activities.

2. HAWTHORNE STUDIES

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The hawthorne effect

The famous Hawthorne studies consisted of a series of experiments conducted during the 1920s and
1930s:

➢ The illumination experiments (1924–1927): These explored the relationship between the quality
of illumination and efficiency. The conclusion was that lighting was only one of several factors
affecting production.
➢ Relay Assembly Test Room experiments (1927–1933): focused on the effects of rest pauses and
the length of the working day on employees and their attitudes to their work and the company.
The results (see Figure 10.4) showed a nearly continuous increase in output over those thirteen
periods. This increase began when employee benefits such as rest periods, served lunches, and
early finishes were added, but was maintained even when these privileges were withdrawn and
the women returned to their normal 48-hour week. The six reasons offered for the increases in
output included:
• the motivating effect of acquiring a special status through their selection for and
involvement in the experiment
• the effect of participation as the women were consulted and informed by the
experimenter
• the effect of observer friendliness which improved their morale
• a different and less intensive form of supervision which reduced their stress while
increasing their productivity
• the self-selected nature of the group creating higher levels of mutual dependence and
support appropriate for group working.

Conclusion: Their attitudes towards and

achievement of increased output seemed
to be affected by the group to which they
belonged. These results led management
to study employee attitudes using an
interviewing programme.

➢ Interviewing programme (1928–

1930): To find out more about how employees felt about their supervisors and working
conditions. They made over 20000 interviews which revealed the existence of many informal
groups. Each had its own leaders and ‘sidekicks’.
➢ Bank Wiring Observation Room experiments (1931–1932): The interviews had revealed that
groups exercised a great deal of control over the behaviour of their members. To find out more,
a group of men were observed in another part of the company. Two major findings: first, it

3
 revealed the existence of two informal groups or ‘cliques’ within the three formal groups; second,
it was found that these cliques developed informal rules of behaviour or ‘norms’.

These results showed that workers were more responsive to the social forces of their peer group than
to the controls and incentives of management.

R likert. Collection of groups rather than individuals page 17 presentation.

2.1 GROUP DEVELOPMENT

1º Forming: This is the orientation
stage. The individual asks ‘How do I fit
in?’ and the group asks ‘Why are we
here?’ They seek orientation as to
what they are being asked to do, what
the issues are, and whether everyone
understands the task.
2º Storming: This is a conflict stage in
the group’s life and can be an
uncomfortable period. The individual
asks ‘What’s my role here?’ and the
group asks ‘Why are we fighting over
who’s in charge and who does what?’.
Individuals reveal their personal goals
and it is likely that interpersonal
hostility is generated when differences
in these goals are revealed. The early
relationships established in the
forming stage may be disrupted. The
key in this stage is the management of
conflict.

3º Norming: In this cohesion stage, the members of the group develop ways of working to develop closer
relationships and camaraderie. The individual asks ‘What do others expect me to do?’ and the group asks
‘Can we agree on roles and work as a team?’. The questions of who will do what and how it will be done
are addressed. Working rules are established in terms of norms of behaviour (e.g. do not smoke) and role
allocation (e.g. Jill will be the spokesperson). Members feel that they have overcome conflict and
experience a sense of ‘groupiness’. On the task side, there is an increase in data-flow as members become
more prepared to be more open about their goals.

4º Performing: By this stage the group has developed an effective structure, and it is concerned with
actually getting on with the job in hand and accomplishing objectives. The individual asks ‘How can I best
perform my role?’ and the group asks ‘Can we do the job properly?’. Members are equally happy working
alone, in sub-groupings, or as a single unit. On the task side, there is a high commitment to the objective,
jobs are well defined, and problem-solving activity ensues.

4
5º Adjourning: In this final stage, the group may disband, either because the task has been achieved or
because the members have left. The individual asks ‘What’s next?’ and the group asks ‘Can we help
members make the transition to their next task or group?’. Before they do so, they may reflect on their
time together, and ready themselves to go their own ways.

It doesn’t really work because not all the groups act the same way. But it is importznt to know it.

Ha añadido otro modelo para criticar este

2.2 GROUP AND TEAMS

Writers focus on the transformation of a group into a team. They see the difference between the two
as being in terms of a group being ‘stuck’ in the forming, storming, or norming stage of Tuckman and
Jensen’s model, while a team is a group that has successfully arrived at the performing stage.

5
 CHAPTER 12: INDIVIDUALS IN GROUPS
Skip "A model of the process of group socialization (pg. 400 lower part and 401)". But know the
model of the "four stages of group development" (table 12.4) and its shortcomings that we
discussed in class).

The individual and the group

Tajfel and Turner (1986) argued that as long as individuals see themselves as more important
than their group, then the latter cannot function effectively. Participants have to identify
themselves as group members, treating the group’s values as their own. Such an attitudinal
‘switch’ and commitment facilitates their group's long-term existence and success.

Concepts and theories that explain the relationship between an individual and their group:

- Self-concept refers to the set of perceptions that we have about ourselves. It affects
both how we feel about ourselves and how we act within a group. This is because joining
a group lowers our self-awareness and raises our group awareness. The roles that we
play within different groups, especially those that are important to us, influence and
shape our attitudes and behaviours.
- Social identity is that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from their
membership of groups. It holds that a person’s self-concept is based not only on their
individual characteristics or personal identity. Our social identities, developed through
our group membership, are an important part of how we define ourselves.

According to Tajfel, in order to evaluate your own opinions and abilities, you compare yourself
with other individuals with whom you interact. This process is called social categorization and
involves assessing the people that we meet on the basis of how similar or different they are from
the way that we see ourselves. It leads us to behave in ways that are consistent with the
stereotypes of the categories to which we believe that we belong. Self-categorization
transforms a number of separate individuals into a group. You then compare the group that you
are in (the in-group) with similar but distinct groups of which you are not a member (the out-
group).

Within the organizational context, we offer control to fellow group members who wish to direct
our attitudes, thoughts and behaviours in line with what the group considers appropriate. We
also hand control to managers who seek both to motivate and control us by instituting various
forms of team working arrangements.

Group influences on individuals’ perceptions

How does a group affect the perceptions of its individual members?

- Constructivist perspective: our social and organizational surroundings possess no ultimate

truth or reality but are determined instead by the way in which we experience and
understand those worlds which we construct and reconstruct for ourselves, through our
interactions with others.

1
- Social representations theory: formulated by Moscovici (1984). Social representations are
the beliefs, ideas and values, objects, people and events that are constructed by current
group members and which are transmitted to its new members. When individuals join a new
group, its members will construct and transmit complex and unfamiliar ideas to newcomers
in straightforward ways. This process creates social representations which come to be
accepted, in a modified form, by the new members of a group. A shared frame of reference
and social representations suggest the existence of a group-level process equivalent of
organizational culture forming – a ‘group culture.

Group influences on individuals’ performance

Social influence refers to the process whereby our attitudes and behaviour are influenced by the
presence of others. This presence can either improve or reduce our performance. Having other
people around us increases our arousal. The complexity of the task that we perform (easy or
difficult) also determines how well we do.

Social facilitation refers to the effect of the presence of other people enhancing an individual’s
performance.

Social inhibition is the effect of the presence of others reducing an individual’s task
performance.

Also relevant here is the concept of synergy which refers to the outcome of interactions of two
or more individuals which can either be positive or negative, and which is different from the sum
of outcomes of individuals operating separately.

Sometimes, when people work together as a group, they perform better than if they worked
alone. The term social compensation refers to persons increasing their effort and working
harder when in a group than when alone.

2
Social loafing is defined as the tendency of people to exert less effort when working as part of
a group than when working alone, and is an example of negative synergy. If group process losses
exceed group process gains, then one will have a situation of negative synergy. Causes of social
loafing: lack of individual evaluation, dispensability of effort, lack of influence, lack of effort by
others, individualism vs collectivism, unmotivating task…

Schippers (2014) found that if there was a high degree of consciousness and agreeableness
within a group, its members compensated for social loafing tendencies and overall group
performance increased. In the absence of this, the solutions offered to managers to overcome
social loafing assume that it is a natural group state and that something has to be added to a
situation to avoid it occurring.

Free riding is related to social loafing. A free rider obtains benefits from team membership
without bearing a proportional share of the costs for generating the Benefit. The main difference
between social loafing and free riding is that although loafers reduce their individual effort on
team tasks, they still contribute something to the group’s goal. In contrast, free riders exploit

3
the group product, as in the case of a team project where a student gets the same grade as all
the others, without having contributed anything whatsoever to the team’s final report.

Free riding dooms a team to ineffectiveness and is abhorrent to team members because it
violates a(n): Equity standard, Social responsibility standard and Reciprocity standard. The basic
strategy for management to counteract free-riding is to broaden the individual’s concept of self-
interest and arrange matters so that an individual’s personal goals are attained by the
achievement of the group’s collective goal.

Group influences on individuals’ behaviour

A group norm is an expected mode of behaviour or belief that is established either formally or
informally by a group. Sherrif experiment has now become a classic in experimental social
psychology.

The experiment consisted of placing groups of three subjects in a dark room, and he found the
individuals agreed with the group about in which direction they saw a light moving when in
reality this light was not moving at all. Having exchanged information on their judgements their
behaviour changed. They began seeing the light moving in the same direction as those who had
spoken earlier.

Sherif’s work showed that in a situation where doubt and uncertainty exist and where first-hand
information is lacking, a person’s viewpoint will shift to come into line with those of other group
members. In essence this situation leads to the creation of a group norm. In order to organize
and manage itself every group developed a system of norms, consciously and unconsciously.

Norms guide behaviour and facilitate interaction by specifying the kinds of reactions expected
or acceptable in a particular situation. Not all group norms have equal importance. Pivotal
norms guide behaviour which is central to the group. In contrast, peripheral norms guide
behaviour that is important but not essential. The consequences for transgressing pivotal norms
are severe.

Why do group norms develop? Feldman (1984) argued that their purpose was to:

• Facilitate group task achievement or group survival

• Increase the predictability of group members’ behaviours

• Reduce embarrassing interpersonal problems for group members

• Express the group’s core values and define their distinctiveness

• Initial pattern of behaviour

• Explicit statement by a supervisor or co-

• Critical events in the group’s history

4
• Transfer behaviours from past situations

To enforce its norms, a group develops a set of sanctions with which to police them. The term
group sanction refers to both the punishments and rewards that are given by a group to its
members in the process of enforcing group norms.

Isolating an individual from the group is labelled ostracism. It is defined as an individual or a

group failing to take actions that engage another organization member when it would be
customary or appropriate to do so. Ostracism in the workplace can take many forms including
having one’s greetings ignored, being excluded from invitations, or others ‘going silent’ when
the person tries to join their conversation. It is strongly related to negative outcomes such as
greater health problems, lower job satisfaction, and higher psychological withdrawal.

Conformity is defined as a change in an individual’s belief or behaviour in response to real or

imagined group pressure. Conformity to norms tends to increase under certain conditions. An
increase in conformity is associated with a decrease in the size of the group and also with an
increase in its homogeneity, visibility and experienced stability. Diagnosing a team’s norms and
its members’ conformity to them can help to explain group behaviour. The power that a group
has to influence its members towards conformity to its norms depends on four main factors:

• How important a member’s presence is to the group

• The positive and negative sanctions (rewards and punishments) that the group has at its
disposal

• That member’s desire to avoid negative sanctions such as social and physical punishments or
expulsion from the group

5
• The degree of attraction that the group has for an individual member and the attraction that
group members have for each other. This is called group cohesion.

Group cohesion refers to the number and strength of mutual positive attitudes towards group
members. Cohesion has a moderating, positive relationship on group performance.

Having established a set of norms and the sanctions to enforce them, a group has to
communicate these to new members. An important aspect of achieving such status is to adhere
to the group’s norms or rules. The continued violation of norms by a group member puts at risk
the cohesion of the group. When there is disagreement on a matter of importance to the group,
the preservation of group effectiveness, harmony and cohesion requires a resolution of the
conflict. Hence pressure is exerted on the deviating individual through persuasive
communication to conform.

The name given to this ‘educational’ process which the new member undergoes is group
socialization. It is the process whereby members learn the values, symbols and expected
behaviours of the group to which they belong. It occurs within most groups in all types of
organizations. If new recruits are thoroughly socialized, they are less likely to transgress group
norms and require sanctions to be administered.

6
It is important to remember that while a work group will be attempting to get its new member
to adopt its own values, symbols and expected behaviours, the organization which recruited the
person will be endeavouring to do the same. This equivalent process is called organizational
socialization.

Why do members conform to group pressure? Group norms increase the predictability of the
behaviour of others and reduce the chances of individuals embarrassing each other when
interacting, for example, during group discussions. Complying with group norms may be of such
personal benefit to us that we are willing to abide by them. In so doing, we suppress our own
personal desires and reduce our individual freedoms. Moreover, we also punish those who
violate the group’s norms and reward those who do not. Additionally, adherence to norms

7
allows us to feel in control of the situations in which we find ourselves. The earliest experimental
studies into conformity to group norms were carried out by Solomon Asch.

Asch’s study of conformity: laboratory experiment about individual conformity within groups.
Only one of seven members of a group was the subject, the rest were instructed to lie about
choosing the correct answer about the size of a line between three options. Under pressure, the
real subjects showed signs of conflict when deciding whether to conform to the group’s
judgement or give the response that they considered to be correct.

Asch found that those subjects who yielded to group pressure did so for different reasons. He
distinguished three types of yielding:

• Distortion of perception
• Distortion of judgement
• Distortion of action

Deindividuation

Social facilitation explains how groups can arouse individuals and stimulate their performance,
while social loafing shows that groups can diffuse and hence diminish individual responsibility.
Together, arousal and diffused responsibility combine to decrease normal social inhibitions and
create deindividuation. Deindividuation refers to a person’s loss of self-awareness and
selfmonitoring. It involves some loss of personal identity and greater identification with the
group. Experiment: Lebon experiment about the influence of a crowds (the crowd is always
intellectually inferior to the isolated individual).

Diener (1980) considered self-awareness to be the crucial element in the deindividuation

process. The environmental conditions which reduce self-awareness and thereby trigger
deindividuation, as well the consequences of deindividuation, are:

8
A great number of different factors influence conformity to norms:

Individual influences on group attitudes and behaviour

Individuals can also influence the group. Indeed, leadership can be considered an example of
minority influence. The underpinning to the process of a minority’s influence on a majority is
provided by Moscovici’s (1980) social influence theory. He used the term compliance to
describe what happens when a majority influences a minority. It does this through its possession
of various kinds of power and its ability to implement positive and negative sanctions. He applied
the term conversion to describe a minority’s persuasion of a majority. Huczynski (2004) listed
what the minority influencer of a majority has to do: become viable, create tension, be
consistent, be persistent, be unyielding, be self-confident, and seek defectors.

Team building

Companies utilize team building: a set of techniques used to help team members to understand
their own roles more clearly and improve their interaction and collaboration with other
members. There are many different approaches to team building:

• Goal setting: Team members identifying individual and team goals and defining
measures of success and failure. The purpose of this activity is to foster a sense of team
goal ownership and individual motivation.
• Effectiveness rating: Members rate their team on criteria such as of goal clarity,
willingness to share ideas, time management, etc. Individual ratings are scored and the
combined ratings are used to identify and address differences in perceptions so as to
highlight problems affecting the team.
• Role clarification: Using a team role assessment questionnaire, members can identify
their personal team role preferences. Then they determine which roles are present and
which are absent and how to compensate for any imbalance. Members may be invited
to ‘hold back’ on a preferred role if it is over-represented in the group or ‘cover’ for roles
that are not among their strong preferences but which are missing from the group’s
overall profile.
• Interpersonal relation: These techniques seek to develop members’ teamworking skills
as giving and receiving feedback. They may involve outdoor training/ activities are
designed to require teamwork and to encourage the development of interpersonal
trust, group decision-making, communication skills and an awareness of leadership
roles.

9
 CHAPTER 20: DECISION MAKING

1. Why study decision making?

Decision making is the process of making a choice from among a number of alternatives. Within
organizations, decisions are made at all hierarchical levels, not just at the top. Both managers
and non – managers make them.

Decision making can be analyzed at a number of different levels. Each level focuses on its own
key issues and possesses its own theoretical perspectives. However, the levels are interrelated
with one affecting and being affected by the others.

2. Models of decision making

The traditional approach to understanding individual decision making is based upon classical
decision theory and the rational model of decision making.

The Classical decision theory assumes that decision – makers are objective, have complete
information and consider all possible alternatives and their consequences before selecting the
optimal solution.

The rational model of decision making assumes that decision making is and should be a rational
process consisting of a sequence of steps that enhance the probability of attaining a desired
outcome. The steps are the following:
1. Recognition of a problem or opportunity
2. Identifying choice criteria
3. Assigning weightings to the criteria
4. Gathering data about alternatives
5. Selection from among the alternatives
6. Implementation of preferred alternative

The rational view of decision making employs the

concepts of rationality and rational decisions in its
discussions and prescriptions. Rationality is equated with scientific reasoning, empiricism and
positivism, as well as with the use of decision criteria of evidence, logical argument and
reasoning.

1
However, this theory might have not included a very important aspect. Emotions now play a
greater role in decision making. People are increasingly asked and explain not what they think
but what they feel.

2.1 Descriptive model of decision making

The descriptive model of decision making is a model which seeks to portray how individuals
actually make decisions. The aim of these model is to examine which of these factors are the
most important, and how they interrelate to produce the decision that is to be made.

One of the most influential descriptive models is the behavioral theory of decision making which
recognizes that bounded rationality limits the making of optimal decisions. Bounded rationality
recognizes that:
- The definition of a situation is likely to be incomplete
- It is impossible to generate all alternatives
- It is impossible to predict all the consequences of each alternative
- Final decision are often influenced by personal and political factors

The effect of personal and situational limitations is that individuals make decisions that are
“good enough” rather than “ideal”. That is, the “satisfice”, rather than “maximize”. When
maximizing, decision makers review the range of alternatives available, all at the same time, and
attempt to select the very best one. However, when satisficing, they evaluate one option at a
time in sequence, until they alight on first one that is acceptable. The option chosen will meet
all the minimum requirements for the solution but may not be the very best (optimal) choice in
the situation.

2.2 Prescriptive models of decision making

The prescriptive model is an approach that recommends how individuals should make decisions
in order to achieve a desired outcome. This model uses seven factors to select the decision-
making style that is likely to be most effective in any given situation. Also, it consists of three
main elements:
1. Decision participation styles

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 2. Diagnostic questions with which to analyze decision situations
3. Decision rules to determine the appropriate decision participation style

The quality of the decision relates to it achieving the aim; the cost of its implementation; and
the time taken to implement it. The acceptability of the decision relates to subordinates and
anyone else either affected by the decision or who has to implement it. Leaders and managers
generally select the highest quality decision that is acceptable.

2.2.1 Decision participation styles

Five decision participation styles are identified: decide, consult individually, consult group,
facilitate and delegate.

2.4 Explanatory model of decision making

An explanatory model of decision making is an approach that accounts for how individuals,
groups and organizations make decision.

Decision making involves choice, and choice requires both careful thought and much
information. Excessive information can both overload and delay us. Many managers believe that
making the right decision late is the same as making the wrong decision on time. Hence, we
speed up the process by relying on judgment shortcuts called heuristics to cut through a large
maze of information.

The developing field of behavioral economics considers the role of heuristics and their
associated biases in our decision making and represents a further step away from the rational
model. These are the mental shortcuts that we use to solve tricky problems and make difficult
decisions. Heuristics are simple and approximate rules, guiding procedures, shortcuts or

3
decision strategies; and biases are our prejudices, predispositions or systematic distortions that
we apply when using a heuristic.

3. Decision conditions: risk and programmability

Decisions differ in terms of the degree of risk involved and programmability. Every decision is
made under conditions of certainty, risk or uncertainty. We shall consider each in turn:
● Certainty is a condition
in which managers possess full knowledge
of alternatives; a high probability of having these available; being able to calculate the
costs and benefits of each alternative; and having high predictability of outcomes.
● Risk a condition in which managers have a high knowledge of alternatives; know the
probability of these being available; can calculate the costs and know the benefits of
each alternative; and have a medium predictability of outcomes.
● Uncertainty is a condition in which managers possess little knowledge of alternatives;
a low probability of having these available; can to some degree calculate the costs and
benefits of each alternative; but have no predictability of outcomes.

In a situation of certainty, no element of chance comes between the alternative and its
outcome. A situation of total certainty is so rare as to be virtually non-existent. In reality most
organizational decisions are made under conditions of risk. Decisions made under uncertainty
are the most difficult since the manager even lacks the information with which to estimate the
likelihood of various outcomes and their associated probabilities and payoffs.

3.1 Programmability of decisions

Routine decisions are those which involve the use of pre-established organizational procedures
or rules. Routine decision makers are given considerable guidance as to what to do and how to
do it through a well-established process; clearly defined goals; and the provision of information
sources and decision rules. All these decisions tend to be repetitive and programmed.

Adaptive decisions typically require a form of judgement which is difficult for a computer to
make. They involve a range of variables including values and ethical issues, which have to be
weighted and compared

Innovative decisions are made when a unique situation is confronted that has no precedent;
when there are no off-the-shelf solutions; and when a novel answer has to be found. Innovative
decisions are an outcome of problem solving and frequently deal with areas of the unknown.

4. Individual and group decision making

In average, quality of a decision made by a group is higher than the average quality of a decision
made by an individual, the quality of group decisions is consistently below that made by their
most capable individual member.
Research has revealed that two main factors determine whether groups should be preferred to
individuals. If the task to be performed is structured (has a clear, correct solution) then groups
are better, although they take longer. In the case of unstructured tasks (no single correct answer
and creativity required), individuals are better. Hence the counter-intuitive finding that the
performance of brainstorming groups is inferior to that of individuals.

4.1 Group polarization

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Group polarization refers to the phenomenon that occurs when a position that is held on an
issue by the majority of group members is intensified (in a given direction) as a result of
discussion. This tendency can lead to irrational and hence to ineffective group performance.

4.2 Group think

Groupthink is a mode of thinking that occurs when the members’ strivings for unanimity
override their motivation to appraise realistically the alternative courses of action. Groups and
teams can develop a high level of cohesiveness. This is generally a positive thing but it also has
negative consequences. Specifically, the desire not to disrupt the consensus can lead to a
reluctance to challenge the group’s thinking which in turn results in bad decisions.

Research supports a link between the level of cohesion in a group and the occurrence of
groupthink (Mullen et al., 1994; Turner and Pratkanis, 1998). However, an additional crucial
variable is directive leadership. It appears that if the group leader is strong, states their position
at the start, and appears to have a strong preference for a particular outcome, then there is
more discouragement of dissent. The group is less likely to review a wide range of information;
it will consider fewer solutions; and there will be more self-censorship by its members.

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4.3 Brainstorming

Brainstorming a technique in which all group members are encouraged to propose ideas
spontaneously, without critiquing or censoring others’ ideas. The ideas so generated are not
evaluated until all have been listed.

The technique is based on the belief that under given conditions, a group of people working
together will solve a problem more creatively than if the same people worked separately as
individuals.

- Avoid criticizing others’ ideas.

- Share even fanciful or bizarre suggestions.
- Offer as many comments as possible.
- Build on others’ ideas to create your own.

The proponents of brainstorming argue that the flow of ideas in a group will trigger off further
ideas whereas the usual evaluative framework will tend to stifle the imagination.
However, many will be talking at the same time, and this can block the thought process and
eventually impede the sharing of ideas. This is called ‘production blocking’.

In contrast, if one has four individuals working alone, they can generally greatly outperform a
group of four in terms of the number of ideas generated
Research has consistently shown that group brainstorming actually inhibits creative thinking.

They discovered that pseudo-groups were superior to brainstorming groups on criteria of idea
quantity, quality and uniqueness

Brainstorming appears to be more related to employee commitment than to problem solution

or creativity. Group members may fail to contribute to brainstorm. However, brainstorming is a
good way of gaining employee buy-in for decisions that have already been made by
management

4.3.1 Electronic brainstorming

While face-to-face brainstorming has been proved to be of little value, electronic brainstorming
may prove to be superior.

4.4 Escalation of commitment

Escalation of commitment an increased commitment to a previously made decision, despite

negative information suggesting one should do otherwise.

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5. Organizational decision-making

The making of decision in the organizational context. The management of any organization has
two main tasks.
- To coordinate the work activities within the organization
- To adjust to circumstances outside the organization

From this perspective, a particular decision is less an expression of the organization’s goals, and
more a reflection of the ability of a particular individual or group to impose their view or
‘definition of the situation’, and their solution, onto other groups.
The rational model assumes that: (NOT REAL)
- Decision-makers possess a consistent order of preferences
- There is agreement among the stakeholders about the goals of the organization
- Decision rules are known and accepted by everyone

5.1 Strategies and models

In contrast to the rational modebl, the bounded rationality view stresses that, for two reasons,
decision-makers cannot make the types of decisions that the rational model recommends

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 1. Computational strategy – rational model: n this case, those concerned are clear and
agreed on what outcome they desire (no ambiguity), and certain about the
consequences of their actions (high certainty)

2. Judgemental strategy – incremental model: In this case, those concerned are clear and
are agreed on what outcome they desire (no ambiguity), but are uncertain about the
consequences of their actions (low certainty) because information is inadequate

3. Compromise strategy – political model: In this case, those concerned are unclear or
divided as to what outcomes they desire (high ambiguity). These sorts of
unprogrammed decisions are bound to be resolved, ultimately, by reasoning,
judgement, influence, and political.

4. Inspirational strategy – garbage can model: In this case, those concerned are unclear or
are divided as to what outcomes they desire (high ambiguity). They are also uncertain
about the consequences that their actions are likely to have (high uncertainty). When
there is neither agreement on goals, nor certainty about cause-and-effect relationships,
ambiguity and uncertainty prevail, and decision-making becomes random.

Evidence-based decision-making
A situation in which a decision is made that follows directly from the evidence.

Decision-based evidence-making
Marshalling facts and analysis to support a decision that has already been made elsewhere in
the organization.

- To make a decision – the decision arose directly from the evidence

- To inform a decision – the evidence was mixed in with intuition or bargaining, to lead
to a decision
- To support a decision – the evidence was used simply to justify a decision already made.

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 22: POWER AND POLITICS

Skip the section "Is it different for women?"

Inescapable features of organizational life, power and politics can be damaging, but can be also
used in positive and constructive ways, to solve problems, generate consensus, and drive
change.
Management decisions are often the result of influence, bargaining, negotiation and jockeying
for position. Leaders and managers who lack power and are not skilled in working with the
politics of an organization, struggle to make things happen and to get things done.
Understanding power and politics allows us to assess the power of others and to respond
accordingly. Psychologists use the term “power tells” to describe signs and clues that indicate
how powerful someone is (or want to be).
Power tells of dominant individuals:
• Sitting and standing with legs far apart (men)
• Appropriating the territory around them by placing their hands on their hips
• Using open postures
• Using invasive hand gestures
• Smiling less, because a smile is an appeasement gesture
• Establishing visual dominance by looking away from the other person while speaking,
implying that they do not need to be attentive
• Speaking first, and dominating the conversation thereafter
• Using a lower vocal register, and speaking more slowly
• More likely to interrupt others; more likely to resist interruption by others
Power tells of submissive individuals:
• Modifying speech style to sound more like the person they are talking to
• More frequent hesitations, using lots of “ums” and “ers”
• Adopting closed postures
• Clasping hands, touching face and hair (self-comfort gestures)
• Blushing, coughing, dry mouth, heavy breathing, heavy swallowing, increased heart
rate, lip biting, rapid blinking and sweating are “leakage tells” which reveal stress and
anxiety

1. POWER IN ORGANIZATIONS
We can view the concept of power from three different angles:
1) Power as property of the individual
This perspective sees power as something that you possess, a set of resources that you
accumulate.

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From this perspective, power is something you can accumulate, you can take deliberate action
to strengthen both you structural and individual sources of power (make influential Friends, join
important networks and projects, etc). Be aware, however, that others in the organization are
also trying to accumulate power. You can win more power, but if you are not careful, you can
lose it.

2) Power as property of the relationship

John French and Bertram Raven (1958) identified five bases of power:
1- Reward power: the ability to exert influence based on the other’s belief that the
influencer has access to valued rewards which will be dispensed in return for
compliance.
2- Coercive power: the ability to exert influence based on the other’s belief that the
influencer can administer unwelcome penalties or sanctions.
3- Referent power: the ability to exert influence based on the other’s belief that the
influencer has desirable abilities and personality traits that can and should be
copied.
4- Legitimate power: the ability to exert influence based on the other’s belief that the
influencer has authority to issue orders which they in turn have an obligation to
accept.
5- Expert power: the ability to exert influence based on the other’s belief that the
influencer has superior knowledge relevant to the situation and the task.
Because two parties and their perceptions are involved, this perspective treats power as a
relational concept, and not solely as the personal property of an individual. (e.g., an individual
may have access to rewards or possess expertise, but others will be less willing to comply if they
do not believe that the individual has those resources.

3) Power as a property of social and organizational structures

This perspective explores how power controls our behaviour through less obvious means. The
system of rules we follow, social and organization structures… These features influence our
behaviour in subtle ways, and we rarely challenge them, because we consider them “normal”.
Power embedded in social and organizational structures may be less visible, but can be just as
powerful in controlling behaviours as visible sources.

2
In most organizations, different sections have different levels of power (e.g., the finance
function in most organizations is often a higher priority, and tend to have more power and
influence). This is known as the strategic contingencies theory of organizational power, a
perspective which argues that the most powerful individuals and departments are those best
able to deal effectively with the issues that are most critical to the organization’s survival and
performance. A department’s ability to deal with strategic contingencies depends on five
factors:
1- Dependency creation: A department is powerful if other units and departments depend
on it, for materials, information, resources and advice. The receiving department is
always in an inferior power position.
2- Financial resources: A department’s ability to control financial resources increases
power. Departments thus compete with each other for new projects which have large
budgets attached to them.
3- Centrality of activities: centrality concerns the degree to which a department’s activities
are critical to achieving the organization’s goals. Departments such as training, payroll
management, human resources and advertising can be outsourced without jeopardizing
the organization’s performance.
4- Non-substitutability: A department is more powerful where its work cannot easily be
done by another department. Individuals and sections increase power by handling
specialized work that needs high levels of skill and knowledge.
5- Uncertainty reduction: Those with the ability to reduce uncertainty can gain significant
reputations and positions of influence, by providing clear definitions of problems and
solutions, thus restoring an otherwise confused situation.

Three faces of power

Stephen Lukes argues that power in organizational structures has “three faces”:
- Visible power. Power that is exercised to secure a decision in situations where there is
observable conflict or disagreement. This face focuses on the observable behaviours
that influence the form or content of a decision.
- Covert power. Power that is exercised to keep issues off the decision-making agenda,
so that potential conflicts or disagreements are precluded, and are therefore
unobservable. The focus here is on the non-observable behaviours that keep issues on
or off an agenda. This form of power prevents controversial issues from ever reaching
the public domain, so discussion is prevented, and no decisions are taken.
- Institutional power. Power that defines reality for others, by indicating what is ‘normal’
and to be ‘taken for granted’. This involves shaping others’ perceptions, cognitions and
preferences, so that they accept their current situation because they cannot see an
alternative. In other words, the powerful define the reality for the powerless.
Paradoxically, this face of power is characterized by harmony, as power is not exposed
in public, those subjected to it are unaware of its presence and influence, and overt
conflict is avoided. Another distinguishing feature of institutionalized power is that it
cannot be linked readily with the actions of any one particular individual, as if you can
control indirectly the actions of others by getting them to accept particular assumptions
it is difficult to point to individuals who may be to blame.

Disciplinary Power

3
Michael Foucault provides another perspective related to the institutional face of power,
focusing on the ways in which management remains dominant by defining reality and normality
in ways that reduce the likelihood of challenge or resistance. There are two central concepts in
this theory:
- Bio power
Another term for power that operates by establishing what is normal or abnormal, or socially
acceptable or deviant, in thought and behaviour. Bio-power exercises its control over us by
‘constituting the normal’ and operates through our individual cognition and understanding. Sets
of procedures, instructions and controls are applied constantly by individuals to themselves in
pursuit of goals that they have been persuaded on their own, but which are maintained by self-
interested elites.
- Disciplinary power
Disciplinary power targets individuals and groups and works through the construction of social
and organizational routines. Power is seen as a set of techniques, the effects of which are
achieved through what Foucault calls disciplinary practices:
o The allocation of physical space in offices or factories, which establishes
homogeneity and uniformity, individual and collective identity, ranks people
according to status, and fixes their position in the network of social relations.
o The standardization for individual behaviour through timetables, regimentation,
work standards and repetitive activities.
o The composition of forces, where individuals become parts of larger units, such as
cross-functional teams, or production lines
o The creation of job ladders and career systems which, through their promises of
future promotion and reward, encourage compliance with the organizations
demands.
These normal features of organizational life help to shape and discipline our daily activities and
interpersonal relationships, controlling us, and guaranteeing our compliance with social and
organizational norms and expectations.
Foucault argues that we are trapped in a “field of force relations”, a web of power which we
help to create, and which we are always recreating by ourselves. This force field, however, is
neither stable nor inevitable. This force field changes as points of resistance are encountered,
networks of alliances change, fissures open up, old coalitions break up, and new ones are
formed.

2. POWER AND INFLUENCE

Influence is the process of affecting someone else’s attitudes, beliefs or behaviours, without
using coercion or formal position, such that the other person believes that they are acting in
their own best interests.
Kipnis et al (1984) identified eight categories of influence tactic:

4
From their study, they identified four types of managers based on their patterns of use of these
tactics:
➢ Bystanders rarely use any of these influence tactics, have low organizational power,
have limited personal and organizational objectives, and are frequently dissatisfied.
➢ Shotguns use all of these influence tactics all the time, have unfulfilled goals, and are
inexperienced in their job.
➢ Captives use one or two ‘favourite’ tactics, habitually, and with limited effectiveness.
➢ Tacticians use rational appeal frequently, make average use of other tactics, tend to
achieve their objectives, have high organizational power, and are usually satisfied.
Robert Cialdini (2008, 2013) identifies six principles of influence by observing the “compliance
professionals” who persuade other people for a living:
1- Reciprocity: we are more likely to comply with a request from someone who has
previously given us a gift, favour or concession.
2- Social proof: we are more likely to comply with a request which is consistent with what
similar others are thinking or doing.
3- Commitment/consistency: we are more likely to comply with a request which leads to
actions consistent with our previous acts and commitments.
4- Friendship/liking: we are more likely to comply with requests from friends, or from
others whom we like.
5- Scarcity: we are more likely to comply with requests that will lead to the acquisition of
opportunities that are scarce.
6- Authority: we are more likely to comply with requests from those in positions of
legitimate authority.

5
We tend to respond to influence attempts in one of three main ways: Acceptance means
agreement to the request which will be carried out enthusiastically, with commitment, and with
a high probability that it will be fulfilled successfully. In this case, the target’s behaviour and
attitude both changes. Compliance involves reluctance to do what the influencer is asking. The
response is apathetic and unenthusiastic, involving minimal effort, and further prodding may be
required in order to meet minimum requirements. In this case, the target’s behaviour changes,
but not their attitude. Resistance involves rejection of the request, with steps to avoid having to
do this, such as excuses, or a direct refusal. In other words, neither behaviour nor attitude
change in this situation.

6
ORGANIZATION POLITICS AND POLITICAL SKILL
Organization politics is a topic generally regarded as unsavoury and damaging, associated with
back-stabbing and dirty tricks. However, research has also revealed the positive, constructive,
‘pro-social’ uses of political tactics, which can be used to pursue organizational as well as
individual goals. This involves the exercise of political skill. Gerald Ferris et al (2000) argue that
political skill has four dimensions:

➢ Studies have produced the following conclusions about political skills:

➢ Political skill correlates with measures of self-monitoring and emotional intelligence.
➢ Those who score high on political skill show less anxiety, and are less likely to perceive
stressful events as threatening.
➢ Political skill is not correlated with general intelligence.
➢ Political skill predicts job performance and subordinate evaluations of leadership ability.
➢ The dimension of political skill related most strongly to performance rating is social
astuteness
Political skills can contribute then to individual performance, leadership effectiveness, career
success… The outcomes, however, depend on the organizational context, and on how political
tactics are used.

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But, why does political behaviour arise in the first place. Chanlat (1977) identifies four sets of
factors driving political behaviour: personal, decisional, structural and organizational change.
1) Personal drivers
Organizations hire people who have a set of different traits related to a willingness to use power
and engage in political behaviour. These traits include
o Need for power
McClelland (1961) identified three types of need are culturally acquired or
learned. These are need for power, need for achievement and the need for
affiliation. The author also distinguishes between institutional managers and
personal power managers. The latter seek personal gain at the expense of
others and are not disciplined enough to be good institution builders. On the
other hand, a good institutional manager has the following profile:
▪ They feel responsible for developing the organizations to which they
belong
▪ They believe in the importance of centralized authority
▪ They enjoy the discipline of work and getting things done in an orderly
way
▪ They are willing to sacrifice self-interest for organizational welfare

8
 ▪ They have a keen sense of justice, concerning reward for hard effort

o Machiavellianism
Those who score highly on their Machiavellian characteristics tend to agree with
statements such as:
▪ The best way to handle people is to tell them what they want to hear
▪ Anyone who completely trusts anyone else is asking for trouble
▪ Never tell anyone the real reason you did something unless it is useful
to do so

o Internal locus of control

Some people believe that what happens to them in life is under their own
control; they have an internal locus of control. Others believe that their life
situation is under the control of fate or other people; they are described as
having an external locus of control. It is the ‘internals’, who believe that they
control what happens to them, who tend to use more political behaviour than
‘externals’. Internals are more likely to expect that their political tactics will be
effective, and are also less likely to be influenced by others.
o Risk-seeking propensity
This concept is defined as an individual’s willingness to choose options that
involve risk. Engaging in political behaviour is risky, and there are negative as
well as positive outcomes for those who do it.

2) Decisional drivers
The extent to which politics enters the decision-making process depends on the type of
decisions. Decisions are either structured or unstructured. Structured decisions are
programmable, and can be resolved using clear decision rules (e.g., routine decisions, such as
how much stock to order). Unstructured decisions also depend on judgement, experience,
intuition, preference, values and ‘gut feel’. The latter are more common, and virtually all senior
management decisions are unstructured to some degree (e.g., should we maximize short-term
profitability, or develop our medium-term market share instead?).
Structured decisions tend to be less likely for the use of politics, while in unstructured decisions,
one can expect different managers with their own experience, opinions or values to disagree.
Since information, calculation and logic cannot help to reach an unstructured decision, in these
kinds of situations, those involved are more likely to use political tactics to gain the support of
others, and to deflect resistance, when necessary, in order to ensure that their preferred course
of action is endorsed.
3) Structural drivers
Organization structures tend to be based on departments or functions, which compete with
each other. In addition, these functions are interdependent (they have to work together). This
combination of factors can produce conflict, which results in the use of political tactics when the
issues are important, resources are scarce, and power is distributed unevenly across the
organization.
4) Organizational change drivers
Organizational change creates more unstructured decisions, particularly with regard to the
direction and purpose of change, and also how the goals of change should best be achieved. The
scope for political behaviour during periods of major change is therefore high. Change also
generates uncertainty, and those who have the appropriate political knowledge and skill can

9
exploit that uncertainty to their advantage, to influence decisions in their preferred direction,
and to position themselves favourably in the new structure.

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This exec¡rcise works to make people see that life is not that easy and we have to empathise.

Students of our class looking for a job:

Insiders:

- People who is already working

- Students of goos universities
- People with hr and business background

Outsiders

- People with no hr experience

- Parents that haven’t gone to a university

Abercrombie:

Insiders:

- Thin
- Hot people
- Pretty
- White people
- CEO

Outsiders:

- Basically the rest

10