SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

UNIT – 2 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR SBAB1203

 Unit : 2 Individual behaviour

Introduction to individual behaviour: values, attitudes, personality, perception and individual

decision making, learning. managing emotions and stress: meaning – definition stress and
job performance relationship – approaches to stress management.

VALUES:

Values are convictions and frameworks of philosophy of an individual on the basic of which
he judges what is good or bad. desirable or undesirable, ethical or unethical.Rokeach a noted
psychologist has defined values as “Global beliefs that guide actions and judgments across a
variety of situations”

He further defines,

Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct (or end state of
existence) is personality or socially preferable to an opposite mode of conduct (end state of
existence)

Features :

Part of culture: Values basically comes from our culture which constitutes of ideas,
beliefs of society.

Learned response: Values our called learned response which is one acquires from the
society.

Passed from one generation to another: Values are circulated and are passed through

generation to generation by specific groups and institutions it starts from family educational

institutions, religions and ethnic institutions

 Social Phenomenon: An individual way of thinking which is influence by his society and

Family

Difference between Attitudes and Values.

Attitudes Values

Attitude exhibit predisposition to response. Values represent judgmental

They refer to several beliefs relating to a
specific
object or situation
These are one’s personal experiences
ideas about what is right
They represent single belief foe used on
objects or situations
These are derived from social cultural
mores.

Similarities between attitudes and values

Attitudes and values are learned or acquired from the same source experience with people,
object and event.Attitudes and values affect cognitive process and behaviour of people.

Attitudes and values are endurable and difficult to change.

Attitudes and values influence each other and, more often than not, are used interchangeably.

Types of values :

Rokeach , a pioneer is studying human values conducted a research survey on human

values.One the basis of his research findings he identified two basic type of values.

Terminal values

Instrumental values

Terminal Values :

Terminal values represent the desirable end-state of existence, the goals that an individual
would like to achieve during his life time.

Instruments values :

Instrumental values : It reflects the way to achieve goals another words, these represent
preferable modes of behaviour or means of achieving one terminal goals.
Rokeach identified is terminal & 18 instrumental names :

Terminal Values Instrumental Value

1. World piece 1. Honesty

2. Happiness 2. Forgiving nature

3. Equalty 3. Helpfulness

4. Achievement 4. Self control

5. Inner peace 5. Independence

6. Beauty in nature 6. Obedience

7. Family security 7. Ambition.

8. Self respect 8. Open mindedness

9. Salvation 9. Cleanliness

10. Friendship 10. Affection and love

11. Mature love 11. Politeness

12. Pleasure 12. Rationality

13. Freedom 13. Responsibility

14. Wisdom 14. Courage

15. Prospect 15. Competence

16. National Security 16. Cheerfulness

17. Social Respect 17. Intelligence

18. Exciting life 18. Imagination

All port and his associates had identified six types of values .All port and his associates
developed a different type of questionnaire containing a description of different situations.
The respondents were told to give their preference to the questions for which ranks were
fixed accordingly. Based on the answers given and the rank accordingly allotted by the
respondents.
Value was categorized into six types

Theoretical : Accords high importance on the discovery of truth through a critical and
rational

approach.

Economics : Emphasizes on the usefulness and practicability money

Aesthetic : Places the top most importance on form and harmony

Social : Accords the highest value to the love a affection of mankind

Political : Assigns more interest to the acquisition of power and influence.

Religions : Pay more values or importance to the religion they belong

Formation of values Research has proven that,

40% of one’s values is genetically determined

Rest of the values are acquired through experience with parents school-mates friends,
peers, models & organizations

Culture also influences in the formation of values.

Values & Ethics :

Though sometimes people consider values and ethics synonymous and use them

interchangeably. But they are different.

Values are beliefs that affect an individuals fundamental ideas about what is good or bad.

Ethic is the way the values are acted out ethical was of behaviour is acting according is one

personal values.

Values and Behaviour :

Values serve as foundations for attitudes.

In practice, individuals enter organization with a pre-conceived motion of what ought and

what ought not to be. These motions are value later.

 Independent hold their own interpellations of right and wrong – This affects their
behaviour.

Values affect both attitude and behavior

Values once formed are very difficult to change and are in challenge to modern
management.

ATTITUDES:

An attitude is a positive; negative or mixed evaluation of an object that is expressed at some

level of intensity.

It is an expression of a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of a person, place, thing or event.

Attitudes involve a complex organization of evaluative beliefs, feelings, and tendencies

toward certain actions.

How much we like or dislike something determines our behavior towards that thing.

According to Stephen P. Robbins – “Attitude is manner, disposition, feeling and position with
regard to a person or thing, tendency or orientation especially in the mind.”

Frank Freeman said, “An attitude is a dispositional readiness to respond to certain

institutions, persons or objects in a consistent manner which has been learned and has
become one’s typical mode of response.”

Characteristics of Attitude are;

Attitudes are the complex combination of things we tend to call personality, beliefs, values,
behaviors, and motivations.

It can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favorable to very unfavorable.

All people, irrespective of their status or intelligence, hold attitudes.

An attitude exists in every person’s mind. It helps to define our identity, guide our actions,
and influence how we judge people.

Although the feeling and belief components of attitude are internal to a person, we can
view a person’s attitude from his or her resulting behavior.
 Attitude helps us define how we see situations, as well as define how we behave toward the
situation or object.

It provides us with internal cognitions or beliefs and thoughts about people and objects.

It can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitude is those that we are consciously aware
of an implicit attitude is unconscious, but still, have an effect on our behaviors.

Attitudes cause us to behave in a particular way toward an object or person.

An attitude is a point of view, substantiated or otherwise, true or false which one holds
towards an idea, object or person.

It has aspects such as direction, intensity, generality or specificity.

It refers to one’s readiness for doing Work.

“Attitudes is a mental and neural state of readiness organized through experience, exerting a

directing or dynamic influences upon the individuals response to all objects and situations
with which is related”

---ALL PORT

“Attitude is the persistent tendency to feel and behave in a favorable or unfavorable way
towards some object, person, or ideas” REITZ

“Attitude is a predisposition to respond in a positive or negative way to someone or

something is one’s environment” SCHERMERHOSM ET AL

FEATURES OF ATTITUDE:-

Attitude affects the behavior :An individuals behaviour is affected by putting him ready
responds favorably or unfavorably to things in the environment.

Attitudes are acquired through learning over the period of time: the process of learning
starts right from childhood and centenaries throughout the life of an individual.

Attitudes are invisible: They constitute a psychological phenomenon which can not be
observed directly. They can be observed only by observing the behavior of an individual.

Attitudes are pervasive: Attitudes are pervasive and every individual has some kind of
attitude towards the object situation or person around them.
FORMATION OF ATTITUDES

Attitudes are not inherited. They are acquired and learned by the people from the
environment in which an individual interacts.The information of attitude is broadly classified
into two sources:

1. Direct experience

2. Social learning

1. Direct Experience:-One’s direct experience with an object or person serves as a powerful

source of his/her attitude formation ,i.e. attitudes are formed on one’s past experiences.

E.g.:- Some of you mav like HR, some other may like finance and few may like marketing.
This is an attitude which is formed by studying the subject and getting a fair knowledge from
the same. Attitudes derived from direct experience are powerful, stronger, durable and
difficult to change.

2. Social learning: The process of deriving attitude from family, peer , groups, religious,
organization and culture is called social learning.In social learning an individual acquires
attitudes from his environment in an indirect manner.Attitudes are derived from peers also.
Social learning starts from early age when children derive attitudes from their parents,
friends, teachers, educational institutions etc.Individuals acquire much of their attitudes by
merely observing their models that they admire and respect. The observe over hears.Their
models expressing their opinion or watches them displaying their behavior and that reflects
their to align with their models.An individual’s association with others also shapes his
Attitude. Culture of a country / state also plays a vital role in shaping one’s attitude.

Learning attitudes involves 4 processes:

1. Attention : Attention must be focused on model.

2. Retention :What was observed from the model must be retained.

3. Reproduction: Behavior must be practiced again and again

4. Motivation :The learner must be motivated to form the model.

Type of Attitudes:-

Though an individual can have numerous attitudes, but OB focuses on job related
attitudes.Job related attitudes are of 3 types:
1. Job satisfaction

2. Job involvement

3. Organizational commitment

Job satisfaction:-

Job satisfaction refers to an individual pleasurable or positive emotional state towards his/her
job. Job

satisfaction is related with five specific dimensions of job pay, work itself, promotion,
opportunities,

supervision and co-workers, positive attitude towards lead to job satisfaction.

Job Involvement:-

It is the degree to which employee immense themselves into their jobs invest time energy

Organizational commitment:-

It is attitude of the employees towards their organization. It is the measure of the employees
willingness to remain with a firm in the future,

MEASUREMENT OF ATTITUDE:

Measurement in its broadest sense is the assignment of numerals, to objects or events.The

methods are classified in to four types:-

1. Self report

2. Indirect tests

3. Direct observation technique

4. Psychological Reaction Techniques.

Self Report:

This technique usually elicits response from employee through questionnaires dealing with
their feelings about their work and related matters. This report is carried out through the use
of attitude surveys.Attitude surveys contain a set of statement or question to be answered by
the employee. A definite assigns to each answer. Scaling terms assigned are tailored to obtain
the information what managers actually want.
E.g.:-Attitude scaling might be dislike statement. My job makes the best use of my abilities.

Strongly Agree 5

Agree 4

Undecided 3

Disagree 2

Strongly disagree - 1.

Indirect tests:-

These tests may not be brought directly to the employees notice. But the test will be fixed and

employees’ performance would be evaluated with out his conscience. Indirect test may be
also conducted where the employee will answer to questions which may seem to be very
simple in answering but these answers when evaluated will help the employee to know his
attitude.

Direct observation technique:-

It is very simple where the employee will be directly observed on his work and his attitude
will be known.

Psychological Reaction Techniques:-

Employees psychological reaction towards work and work environment will be judged and
their attitudes will be observed to understand his/her attitude towards job aspects.

How to change attitude:-

Fill in the information gap: Unfavorable attitudes can be changed by filling the information
which may change his attitudes.

Use of fear: Low and high degree fear arousal may lead to problems only median level fear

would help the employee to change his attitude.

Resolving discrepancies: -People have different kind of attitude and behavior and so by

proper solving of discrepancies one’s negative attitude could be changed.

PERSONALITY
The term personality has been derived from the Latin term person which means to ‘speak
through’. Itrefers to the mask worn by actors in ancient Greece or Rome in plays which
signifies the role which the actor displays to the public. Personality of an individual is unique
personal and a major determinant of his behaviour.

Meaning:
Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.

Definitions:
Carl Rogers views personality in terms of self, an organized, permanent, subjectively
perceived entity.
Gordon Allport defines “Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of
thosepsychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.”

It refers to what an individual really is, as an internal ‘something’ that guides and directs all
humanactivities.

“It is better to consider individual aspects of personality as bricks and total personality as a
house made of bricks”…….. James

Factors Influencing Individual Behaviour

Implications of Individual Differences:

Every Individual has his/her own character

Personality of each individual is unique hence it should be properly diagnoised by a manager.

Manager should understand the differences and manage employees accordingly.

He should act differently to different people .

He should assign job, motivate and lead every employee accordingly.

Foundations of Individual Behaviour

Physiological Variables
1. Age

2. Gender

3. Physiological Characters

4. Heredity

Psychological Variables
1. Intelligence

2. Learning

3. Personality

4. Attitude

5. Motivation

Social Cultural Variables

1. Value systems

2. Cultural Background

5. Traditions

Organizational Variables
1. Type of Organization

2. Type of supervision

3. Type of subordinates

4. Type of Co- employees

5. Type of incentives

6. Training

7. Social environment at work place

Physical and Job variables
1. Method of work

2. Type of work

3. Physical job variables

4. Condition of working equipments

DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
Enormously the following five factors of personality are contributing to the formation and
development of human personality.
1. Biological Factors

2. Social Factors

3. Cultural Factors

4. Physical Environment

5. Situational Factors

1. Biological Factors of Personality

Biological factors of personality are very important for the formation of human personality.
Children are born in a family; inherit many traits and features from their parents. Children get
physical and psychological characteristics from their parents which becomes a part of their
personalities. Some of the inherited traits are courage, coward, intelligence, weakness etc.
2. Social Factors of Personality
When an individual interact with other persons in his/her group give and take relationship
takes place and it affects the personality of an individual social factors of personality are
responsible for the formation of personality, when an individual has group experience and
contact with others personality of an individual is influenced by others may be bad or good
but depends on the association in which he/she keeps. In a society every person plays a
specific role and status
3. Cultural Factors of Personality
Both material as well as non-material culture affects personality of an individual. An
individual living in his/her culture adopts the traits consciously or unconsciously and acts
accordingly. Culture of any society determines the behaviors and personality of an individual
and he/she is expected to act according to the culture. A person follows all the social norms
of a culture which results in the formation of good personality while non-conformity to the
cultural rules develops abnormal or bad personality. So, the culture in which an individual
seeks satisfaction adjusts himself/herself and develops personality.
4. Physical Environment
Physical environment also determines the personality of an individual. Environmental factors
include land, river, mountains, hills, forests, plain area, atmosphere etc which affect the
personality to be good or bad, healthy or weak. All the feelings, emotions, ideas, attitudes,
habits and behavior as well as body structure is the result of physical environment of to which
an individual belongs. For example, body structure, physique, color and health of the rural
people are different from urban people. These people have different environment due to
which they develop variety of personalities. The people living in cities have facilities and
modern ways of life which creates to develop delicate bodies and minds as compare to the
rural people who are deprived of these facilities.
5. Situational Factors of Personality
Situational factors of personality also have a complete share in the formation of personality of
an individual. situational factors of personality are charging according to the social situations.
Every person face may situations in his life which enables him/her to change his/her
behavior. For example, a teacher may be rigid and strict with students but may not with
his/her family. An officer may behave with the subordinates differently as compare to his/her
friends. Personality is not the result of only one factor but every factor is responsible to give
complete share in its formation. A person behave and his/her personality exists when interacts
with environment, culture, society, parents, friends and to those who come in contact by
chance.

THEORIES OF PERSONALITY

PSYCHOANALYTICAL THEORY
Sigmund Freud and other associates formed this theory. Clinical techniques were used to
develop this
theory. Patient’s behaviour was studied to derive this theory. According to this theory Man is
motivated by unforeseen forces than he is controlled by conscious and rational thought. Freud
says that personality of a person is determined by a constant interplay of the three parts: The
Id, The Ego, The Super Ego.

Personality is made up of 3 parts:

The Id:
It is the unconscious emotional part . It is a sea of biological urges and drives where different
instincts exist. E.g. Hunger, thrust, sex(libido).
It works on the principles of pleasure and pain. Any person seeks to satisfy his raw,
animalistic needs and urges, obeys no laws and rules, wants to seek immediate gratification
of biological or instinctual needs. It would proceed unchecked to satisfy motives. As an
individual matures he learns to control id.

Ego:-
It is the logical and conscious part or the rational practical and factual side . It evaluates on
the principle of what is possible and not possible. It works on the principle of right and wrong
. It keeps id in check through realities of the environment by intellect and reason.
Super Ego:
It is the ethical moral side. The individual not only cares about right and wrong but also care
about the societal norms. Hence it controls the above two parts and directs them constantly.

SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY:
Human personality depends on his inter-relationship in society. This model suggests that
human behaviour results from three predominant- interpersonal orientations.
Based on which Individual can be categorized as:
Aggressive people:

Motivated by the need for power. They want good positions more power. They go for
challenging jobs and want to raise high in positions. They are not attached with the society
and hence go against the society
Detached people:

These are self sufficient people who are not more attached with the society. They are happy
in their solitude. They do not depend on others. They are away from the society.
 Complaint people:

These people are more depended on society. They live to be with friends and families. They
seldom quit organization. They do not have any lust for position, power and money. They
move towards the society.

TRAIT THEORY

Some psychologists have tried to understand personality on the basis of individual’s traits.
This theory attempts to understand how a set of set of personality variables exerts on one’s
behaviour. This theory defines that individual personality is composed of definite
predisposition attributes called traits. Traits in an individual define his personality. Traits are
stable, traits are common but may vary is absolute quantities in individuals and also traits can
be inferred form the measurement of behavioural indicators. The author Catell has developed
a set of traits through construction of tests onvarious individuals. These traits can be classifies
as surface traits and source traits.The source traits defines the basic trait in individual and the
surface traits define the qualities in an individual based on his source trait.

Source traits (Deep inner traits in an individual)

Affectionthymia Vs Sizothymia
(Meaning: Good nature and trust full ness VS critical and Conspicuous)
Ego Strength Vs Emotionality
(Meaning: Maturity and realism Vs Immaturity and Evasiveness)
Dominance Vs Submissiveness
Cheerfulness and Depression

Surface traits (visible traits in an individual)

Wise foolish
Affectionate – Cold
Sociable-Seclusive
Honest- Dishonest

SELF THEORY
Carl Rogers has developed this theory.This theory is also described as phenomenological
which studies individuals subjective experience ,feelings and his concepts of world and self.
In this theory the following four factors are included:-
Self image: what you think you are?

Ideal self: What you want to be?

Looking glass self-What you think other think of you?

Real Self-What you really are?

Self image :
It is the way one sees oneself. Every person has certain beliefs about who he is and these
belief form his self image.
Ideal self:
It denotes the way one would like to be. Any individual admires personalities (family
members or outsiders )in his environment and tries to imitate them. This forms the basis for
his ideal image.
Looking glass self:
It is a perception about how others are perceiving oneself. It if formed on the basis I of the
interactions and conversations of others.
Real Self:
There are three stages in which an individual perceives about himself. The self image, ideal
self and looking glass self. All the three help the individual to know about himself based on
which he get tips to develop his personality, evaluates himself and adjusts his self image with
other three.
It is a comprehensive inner behavioural process.

TYPES OF PERSONALITY

Introvert and Extrovert

Based On Characteristics, There Are Two types of personality, i.e. introvert and extrovert.
When a person is reserved and does not open up easily, he or she is said to be an introvert.
An introvert is a person who remains isolated, or enjoys the company of few closed ones.

Self-contained
 They think before speaking.

Recharges with solitude

Spends more time with themselves

Inward focused

Have few friends

Do not accept change easily.

Openly communicate about themselves with people they know and trust.

Deeply concentrate for long period.

An extrovert is an outgoing and outspoken person who enjoys being around and talking to
people.

Extrovert is a social, talkative person and makes friends quickly.An extrovert is an outgoing
and outspoken person who enjoys being around and talking to people.
Gregarious

They reason things out by speaking them.

Recharges with social interactions

Spends more time with family and friends

They reason things out by speaking them.

Recharges with social interactions

Spends more time with family and friends

Outward focused

Have many friends

Accept change easily.

Openly communicate about themselves with anyone.

Get distracted easily.

Type A and Type B personality

Type A Personality
Type A personality implies a temperament which is stress prone, concerned with time
management. They are ambitious, rigidly organised, hard-working, anxious, highly status
conscious, hostile and aggressive. Individuals who possess Type A personality have the
following behavioural patterns:
They move, walk and eat fast.

Great at multitasking.

Self-driven feels guilty when relaxing.

Feels impatient with the pace of things, dislikes waiting.

They have a busy schedule and does not have time to enjoy life.

Uses nervous gestures, like clenched fist or banging hand on the table.

They are high-achievers, perform beyond par.

They do not easily accept failure.

Type B Personality

Type B personality is one that is less prone to stress, easy going, work steadily, enjoy
achievement, modest ambition, and live in the moment. They are social, creative, thoughtful,
procrastinating. Individuals who possess Type B personality are associated with the following
behavioural traits:
They are not concerned about time.

They compete for fun, not to win.

Mild-mannered.

Never in a hurry and has no pressing deadlines.

Does not brag.

Focus on quality rather than quantity.

 Laid back and live stress-less life.

Judging and Perceptive

Judging (J) and Perceiving (P) are how you interact with the world outside yourself, either in
a structured or flexible manner. Judging and Perceiving are opposite preferences. A person’s
natural tendency toward one will be stronger than the other.
Judging
Judging people think sequentially. They value order and organization. Their lives are
scheduled and structured. Judging people seek closure and enjoy completing tasks. They take
deadlines seriously. They work then they play. The Judging preference does not mean
judgmental. Judging refers to how a person deals with day-to-day activities.
Judging Characteristics

Decisive

Controlled

Good at finishing

Organized

Structured

Scheduled

Quick at tasks

Responsible
Likes closure

Makes plans

Perceiving (P)
Perceivers are adaptable and flexible. They are random thinkers who prefer to keep their
options open. Perceivers thrive with the unexpected and are open to change. They are
spontaneous and often juggle several projects at once. They enjoy starting a task better than
finishing it. Deadlines are often merely suggestions. Perceivers play as they work.
Perceiving Characteristics
 Adaptable

Relaxed

Disorganized

Care-free

Spontaneous

Changes tracks midway

Keeps options open

Procrastinates

Dislikes routine

Flexible

PERSONALITY INFLUENCE ON ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

1. Self Esteem:

Self Esteem refers to the feeling of like or dislike for oneself.” “Self Esteem is the degree of
respect a person has for himself.” This trait varies from person to person as people differ in
the degree to which they like or dislike each other.
2. Self Monitoring:

“Self monitoring is a personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her
behaviour to external situational factors”.
Locus of control : Locus of control refers to an individual’s belief that events are either
within one’s control are determined by forces beyond one’s control. People with internal
locus of control believe that they are the masters of their own fate. Where as people with
external locus of control take life as it comes. They see themselves as pawns of fate,
believing that whatever happens to them in their lives is due to their luck or fate.
3. Machiavellianism:
Machiavellianism is the ability to influence others for ones benefit. High Machiavellianism
refers to a personality trait which sees a person so focused on their own interests they will
manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve their goals.
4. Risk taking :

The propensity of people to assume risks or avoid risks varies from person to person
depending upon the willingness of the people to take chances. This human trait will affect the
decision making capability of a manager. This individual personality trait will determine how
long will it take a person to take a decision or how much information will be needed before
he takes a decision
5. Introvert and extrovert

These two terms are generally associated with the interpersonal behaviour of an individual
and his sociability. Extroverts are gregarious and sociable individuals while introverts are
shy, quiet and retiring. It has been observed that introverts and extroverts people have
different career orientations and require different organisational environment to maximize
performance. Extroverts are more suitable for positions that require considerable interaction
with others that is why managerial positions are dominated by extroverts.
6. Type A and Type B

People who are impatient, aggressive and highly competitive are termed as ‘Type A’
personality. But those who are easy going, laid back and non-competitive are termed as ‘Type
B’ personality. Type ‘A’ people tend to be very productive as they work very hard. Their
negative side is that they are very impatient, good team players, more irritable and have poor
judgment. Type ‘B’ people do better on complex tasks involving judgment and accuracy
rather than speed and hard work

7. Self monitoring :

As self monitoring refers to the individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external
factors, individuals with high self monitoring can show considerable adaptability in adjusting
their behaviour to external, situational factors than low self monitoring
PERCEPTION
Perception means perceiving, i.e., giving meaning to the environment around us. It can be
defined as a process which involves seeing, receiving, selecting, organising, interpreting and
giving meaning to the environment
Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets information
to create a meaningful picture.
Definition by Stephen P Robbins
Perception can be defined as “the process by which individuals organize and interpret their
sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environments.”
Importance of perception
Perception is very important in understanding human behavior because every person
perceives the world and approaches life problems differently. Whatever we see or feel is not
necessarily the same as it really is. When we buy something, it is not because it is the best,
but because we take it to be the best.
1. If people behave on the basis of their perception, we can predict their behavior in the
changed circumstances by understanding their present perception of the environment. One
person may be viewing the facts in one way which may be different from the facts as seen by
another viewer.
2. With the help of perception, the needs of various people can be determined, because
people’s perception is influenced by their needs.
3. Perception is very important for the manager who wants to avoid making errors when
dealing with people and events in the work setting. This problem is made more complicated
by the fact that different people perceive the same situation differently. In order to deal with
the subordinates effectively, the managers must understand their perceptions properly.
4. Perception can be important because it offers more than objective output; it ingests an
observation and manufactures an altered reality enriched with previous experiences.
5. Perception builds character (not necessarily good or bad character) that defines different
roles individuals fall into the clown, the hypocrite, the self-righteous, the victim, etc..
6. It is vitally important if we want to get along with Others to try to see things from their
perspective or walk in their shoes for a while. If we walk in their shoes we will gain a new
perspective about things and in that understand the other and also can love and help the other
more appropriately.
Nature of perception
(1) Perception is the intellectual process.
(2) Perception is the basic cognitive or psychological process.
(3) Perception becomes a subjective process and different people may perceive the same
event
differently.
Perception and Sensation
There is a distinction between sensation and perception. Sensation is the response of a
physical sensory organ. The physical senses are vision, hearing, tough, smell and taste.
These senses are bombarded by stimuli and reactions in particular sense organ take place
because of these, e.g., of sensation may be reaction of eye to colour, ear to sound and so on.
Sensation percedes perception.
Perception is much more than sensation. Perception depends upon the sensory raw data.
The perceptual process adds to or/and subtracts from the sensory world. Perception is
determined by both physiological and psychological characteristics, of the organism.
Sensation only activates the organs of the body and is not affected by such psychological
factors as learning and motives. Activation of eyes to see an object is sensation and the
inference what is being seen is perception.

PERCEPTUAL PROCESS
Perceptual Process.
Perception is a process of receiving, selecting, organising, interpreting, checking and reacting
to stimuli. This is like an input-through put-output process in which the stimuli can be
considered as 'inputs' transformation of 'input' through selection, organization and
interpretation as 'through puts' and the ultimate behaviour/action as 'output'. The whole
perceptional process can be presented as follows : These are explained one by one
1. Receiving Stimuli : The first process in the perception is the presence of stimuli. The
stimuli are received from the various sources. Through the five organs. It is a physiological
aspect of perception process. Stimuli may be external to us (such as sound waves) and inside
us (such as energy generation by muscles).
2. Selection of Stimuli : After receiving the stimuli or data, some are selected. Others are
screened out. Two types of factors affect selection of stimuli for processing : external and
internal factors. External factors relate to stimuli such as intensity of stimuli, its size,
movement, repetition, etc. Internal factors, relate to the perceiver such as his/her age,
learning, interest, etc. Normally, he will select the objects which interest him and will avoid
that for which he is indifferent. This is also called 'selective perception'.
3. Organization of Stimuli : Organising the bits of information into a meaningful whole is
called "organization". There are three ways by which the selected data, i.e., inputs are
organised. These are : (i) Grouping, (ii) Closure and (iii) Simplification.
(i) Grouping : In grouping, the perceiver groups the various stimuli on the basis of their
similarity or proximity. For example, all the workers coming from the same place may be
perceived as similar on the basis of proximity.
(ii) Closure : When faced with incomplete information, people fill up the gaps themselves to
make the information meaningful. This may be done on the basis of past experience, past
data, or hunches. For example, in many advertisement, alphabets are written by putting
electric bulbs indicating the shape of the concerned alphabets but broken lines. In such cases,
people tend to fill up the gap among different bulbs to get meaning out of these.
(iii) Simplification : People identify main stimulus features and assesses how they are
organized. He interprets a stimulus situation, the perceiver simples the information.
Selection of stimuli:
The world around us is filled with an infinite number of stimuli that we might attend, but our
brains do not have the resources to pay attention to everything. There are various types of
stimuli around in our environment—whether it is a smell, a feeling, a sound, or something
else entirely—it becomes the attended stimulus. Selecting is the first part of the perception
process, in which we focus our attention on certain incoming sensory information. In
selection, we choose stimuli that attract our attention.We focus on the ones that stand out to
our senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch). We take information through all five of our
senses, but our perceptual field includes so many stimuli that it is impossible for our brains to
process and make sense of it all.So, as information comes in through our senses, various
factors influence what actually continues on through the perception process.
Organization of Stimuli
Once we have chosen to attend to a stimulus in the environment, the choice sets off a series
of reactions in our brain.This neural process starts with the activation of our sensory receptors
(touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing). Organizing is the second part of the perception
process, in which we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and
learned cognitive patterns.
Interpretation
After we have attended to a stimulus, and our brains have received and organized the
information, we interpret it in a way that makes sense using our existing information about
the world Interpretation simply means that we take the information that we have sensed and
organized and turn it into something that we can categorize. By putting different stimuli into
categories, we can better understand and react to the world around us.
Action :
The perceptual process ends with the resultant behaviour caused after interpreting the data
received through sensory organs.
Perception Distortion
Perceptual distortions are incorrect understanding or abnormal interpretation of a perceptual
experience. A perceptual distortion occurs when a persons responses to stimuli varies from
how it is commonly perceived. Perceptual distortion can relate to either sensory or
psychological disorders, medication or drugs, or physical damage to the brain or sensory
organ.

Perceptual Distortion
1. Personality : Personality of the perceiver greatly influence the perception of other persons.
Personality influence perception because of 2 reason .First, the perceiver tries to project his
personality attributes in others, known as projection.Second, the perceiver tries to fit his
attitude, beliefs, expectation to reality known as process of self-fulfilling.
2. Mental Set : Mental set is the tendency on has to react in a certain way to a given
situation.In organization setting, people have tendency to perceive about others on the basis
of this mental set which cause misperception. For ex. Suppose you are a contestant in a track
meet and are positioning yourself in your
starting blocks as you hear the preparatory command, get ready, get set when you hear the
command, Go you take off at once since you are already set and ready to this command.
3. Attribution :Attribution is the process by which we make sense of our environment
through our perception of our causality. Attribution is simply the process of attaching or
attributing causes or reason to the actions and events we see. Causality is usually described in
terms of internal causality and external causality.For ex. We may explain a particular
individuals success or promotion with reference to his/her superior skills and knowledge
(internal causality) or with reference to luck, 'friends in high places’ and coincidence
(external causality).
4. HALO Effect :The term halo effect was used by the psychologist Edward Thorndike in
1920. A HALO Effect is a judgment based on a single striking characteristics such as an
aspects of dress, speech, posture, or nationality. HALO Effect can be negative as well as
positive. • For ex. It is a natural human response on a meeting a stranger, to make judgment
about the kind of person they are and whether we will like them or not.
5. Stereotyping :Stereotyping occurs when the perceiver judges or perceives a person on the
basis of characteristics of the group to which he belongs. The person is not perceived as an
individual with specific set of his characteristics but on the basis of his group characteristics.
• For ex. There are some stereotyping at the international level like; Japanese are industrious,
Italian are quick tempered American are materialistic and ambitious.
6. First Impression : It is very common that people evaluate others on the basis of first
impression. • The evaluation based on first impression may be correct if it is based on
adequate and significant evidence. However, since first impression evaluation is not based on
adequate information, it may not be true reflection of peoples being perceived. • This can be
corrected by more frequent interaction, though erasing of first impression evaluation is not
that easy.

Factors Influencing Perceptual process

External Factors
1. Size : Bigger size attracts the attention of the perceiver
2. Intensity : A loud sound, strong odor or bright light is noticed more as compared to a soft
sound, weak odour or dimlight.
3. Repetition : A repeated external stimulus is more attention getting than a single one.
Advertisers use this principle.
4. Novelty and Familiarity : A novel or a familiar external situation can serve as attention
getter.
5. Contrast : It is a kind of uniqueness which can be used for attention getting. Letters of
bold types, persons dressed differently than others, etc., get more attention.
6. Motion : A moving object draws more attention as compared to a stationary object.
Advertisers use this principle.

Internal Factors
1. Self-concept : The way a person views the world depends a great deal on the concept or
image he has about himself. The concept plays an internal role in perceptual selectivity.
2. Beliefs : A person's beliefs have profound influence on his perception. Thus, a fact is
conceived not on what it is but what a person believes it to be.
3. Expectations : These affect what a person perceives. A technical manager may expect
ignorance about the technical features of a product from non-technical people.
4. Inner Needs : The need is a feeling of tension or discomfort, when one thinks he is
missing something. People with different needs experience different stimuli. According to
Freud, wishful thinking is the means by which the Id attempts to achieve tension reduction.
5. Response Disposition : It refers to a person's tendency to perceive familiar stimuli rather
than unfamiliar ones.
6. Response Salience : It is the set of disposition which are determined not by the familiarity
of the stimulus situations, but by the person's own cognitive predispositions. Thus, a
particular problem may be viewed as a marketing problem by marketing personnel, a control
problem by accounting people and human relations problem by personnel people.
7. Perceptual Defence : It refers to the screening of those elements which create conflict and
threatening situation in people. Denying the existence or importance of conflicting
information.

Learning
Learning can be defined as the permanent change in behavior due to direct and indirect
experience.

It means change in behavior, attitude due to education and training, practice and
experience.

It is completed by acquisition of knowledge and skills, which are relatively permanent.

Nature of Learning
Nature of learning means the characteristic features of learning. Learning involves change;
it may or may not guarantee improvement.
It should be permanent in nature, that is learning is for lifelong.
The change in behavior is the result of experience, practice and training. Learning is
reflected through behavior.

Factors Affecting Learning

Learning is based upon some key factors that decide what changes will be caused by this
experience. The key elements or the major factors that affect learning are motivation,
practice, environment, and mental group.
Motivation − The encouragement, the support one gets to complete a task, to achieve a
goal is known as motivation. It is a very important aspect of learning as it acts gives us a
positive energy to complete a task. Example − The coach motivated the players to win the
match.
 Practice − We all know that ”Practice makes us perfect”. In order to be a perfectionist or
at least complete the task, it is very important to practice what we have learnt. Example −
We can be a programmer only when we execute the codes we have written.
Environment − We learn from our surroundings, we learn from the people around us.
They are of two types of environment – internal and external. Example − A child when at
home learns from the family which is an internal environment, but when sent to school it is
an external environment.
Mental group − It describes our thinking by the group of people we chose to hang out
with. In simple words, we make a group of those people with whom we connect. It can be for
a social cause where people with the same mentality work in the same direction. Example−
A group of readers, travelers, etc.

THEORIES OF LEARNING
Learning can be understood clearly with the help of some theories that will explain our
behavior. Some of the remarkable theories are −
Classical Conditioning Theory

Operant Conditioning Theory

Social Learning Theory

Cognitive Learning Theory

Classical Conditioning Theory

The classical conditioning occurs when a conditioned stimulus is coupled with an
unconditioned stimulus. Usually, the conditioned stimulus (CS) is an impartial stimulus like
the sound of a tuning fork, the unconditioned stimulus (US) is biologically effective like the
taste of food and the unconditioned response (UR) to the unconditioned stimulus is an
unlearned reflex response like salivation or sweating.
After this coupling process is repeated (for example, some learning may already occur after a
single coupling), an individual shows a conditioned response (CR) to the conditioned
stimulus, when the conditioned stimulus is presented alone. The conditioned response is
mostly similar to the unconditioned response, but unlike the unconditioned response, it must
be acquired through experience and is nearly impermanent.
Operant Conditioning Theory
Operant conditioning theory is also known as instrumental conditioning. This theory is a
learning process in which behavior is sensitive to, or controlled by its outcomes.
Let’s take an example of a child. A child may learn to open a box to get the candy inside, or
learn to avoid touching a hot stove. In comparison, the classical conditioning develops a
relationship between a stimulus and a behavior. The example can be further elaborated as the
child may learn to salivate at the sight of candy, or to tremble at the sight of an angry parent.
In the 20th century, the study of animal learning was commanded by the analysis of these two
sorts of learning, and they are still at the core of behavior analysis.

Social Learning Theory

The key assumptions of social learning theory are as follows −
Learning is not exactly behavioral, instead it is a cognitive process that takes place in a
social context.
 Learning can occur by observing a behavior and by observing the outcomes of the
behavior (known as vicarious reinforcement).
Learning includes observation, extraction of information from those observations, and
making decisions regarding the performance of the behavior (known as observational
learning or modeling). Thus, learning can occur beyond an observable change in behavior.
Reinforcement plays an important role in learning but is not completely responsible for
learning.
The learner is not a passive receiver of information. Understanding, environment, and
behavior all mutually influence each other.

Cognitive Learning Theory

Cognition defines a person’s ideas, thoughts, knowledge, interpretation, understanding about
himself and environment.
This theory considers learning as the outcome of deliberate thinking on a problem or situation
based upon known facts and responding in an objective and more oriented manner. It
perceives that a person learns the meaning of various objects and events and also learns the
response depending upon the meaning assigned to the stimuli.
This theory debates that the learner forms a cognitive structure in memory which stores
organized information about the various events that occurs.
Learning & Organizational Behavior An individual’s behavior in an organization is
directly or indirectly affected by learning.
Example − Employee skill, manager’s attitude are all learned.
Behavior can be improved by following the listed tips −
 Reducing absenteeism by rewarding employees for their fair attendance.

Improving employee discipline by dealing with employee’s undesirable behavior, drinking

at workplace, stealing, coming late, etc. by taking appropriate actions like oral reprimands,
written warnings and suspension.

Developing training programs more often so as to grab the trainees’ attention, provide
required motivational properties etc.

Decisions: choices from among two or more alternatives

○ This is largely influenced by their perceptions
● Problem: a discrepancy between the current state of affairs and some desired state

○ A decision is made in reaction to the problem

○ Decisions require us to interpret and evaluate information and our perceptions
answer our questions regarding the decisions
Decision Making in Organizations
The Rational Model, Bounded Rationality, and Intuition
● Rational: making consistent, value-maximizing choices within specified constraints
● Rational Decision Making: follows a six-step model
1. Define the problem
2. Identify the decision criteria
3. Allocate weights to the criteria
4. Develop the alternatives
5. Evaluate the alternatives
6. Select the best alternative
○ Assumes the decision maker has complete information, is able to identify all
relevant options in an unbiased manner, and chooses the option with the highest
utility
○ In reality, most decisions don’t follow the rational model
● Bounded Rationality: the human mind cannot formulate and solve complex problems
with full rationality so we operate within certain confines; we construct simplified models
that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all their complexity
○ Satisfice: seeking solutions that are satisfactory and sufficient
○ We tend to reduce complex problems to a level we can readily understand
● Intuition: the least rational way of decision making
○ It is an unconscious process created from distilled experience
○ It occurs outside conscious though, relies on holistic association, or links
between disparate pieces of information
○ It isn’t necessarily wrong, and it can complement rational analysis
Common Biases and Errors in Decision Making
● People tend to rely too heavily on experience, impulses, gut feelings, and convenient
rules of thumb
● The most common biases in decision making include:
○ Overconfidence Bias: we tend to be overconfident about our abilities and the
abilities of others
○ Those whose intellectual and interpersonal abilities are weak are most likely to
overestimate their performance and ability
● Anchoring Bias: the tendency to fixate on initial information and fail to adequately adjust
for subsequent information
○ The mind gives a disproportionate amount of emphasis to the first information it
receives
○ Anchors are widely used by professions like advertising, management, politics,
real estate, and law
● Confirmation Bias: represents selective perception
○ We seek out information that reaffirms our past choices, and we discount
information that contradicts them
○ We also accept face value information that confirms our preconceived views
while we are skeptical of information that challenges them
● Availability Bias: our tendency to base judgements on readily available information
○ A combination of readily available information and our previous direct experience
with similar information has a very strong impact on our decision making
○ Events that evoke emotion tend to be more available in our memory
● Escalation of Commitment: refers to our staying with a decision even if there is clear
evidence that it's wrong
○ Occurs when individuals view themselves as responsible for the outcome
● Randomness Error: our tendency to believe we can predict the outcome of random
events
○ Decision making suffers especially when we turn imaginary patterns into
superstitions
● Risk Aversion: the tendency to prefer a sure thing over a risky outcome
○ Implications:
■ To offset the inherent risk employees accept in a commision-based wage
companies may pay commissioned employees more than they do those
on straight salaries
■ Risk-averse employees will stick with the established way of doing their
jobs rather than take a chance on innovative methods
■ Ambitious people with power that can be taken away appear to be
especially risk averse
○ Reversed: people take chances when trying to prevent a negative outcome
● Hindsight Bias: the tendency to believe falsely, after the outcome is known, that we
would have accurately predicted it
Influences on Decision Making: Individual Differences and Organizational Constraints
Individual Differences:
● Personality: conscientiousness and self-esteem
● Gender: do men or women make decisions better?
○ Depends on the situation
● Mental Ability: intelligent people are just as likely to fall prey to anchoring,
overconfidence, and escalation of commitment
○ However.. Once warned about decision making errors, more intelligent people
learn more quickly to avoid them
● Cultural Differences: cultural background of a decision maker can significantly influence
the selection of problems, the depth of analysis, the importance placed on logical and
rationality, and whether organizational decisions should be made autocratically by an
individual manager or collectively in groups
○ Cultures differ in time orientation, their belief in the ability of people to solve
problems, and their preference for collective decision making
● Nudging: an organization’s attempt to influence our perceptions of a product and our
decision to acquire that product
○ Commercials
Organizational Constraints
● Performance evaluation systems:
○ Managers are influenced by the criteria on which they are evaluated
● Reward systems:
○ Influencing decision makers by suggesting which choices have better personal
payoffs
● Formal regulations:
○ Rules and policies to program decisions and get individuals to act in the intended
manner
○ Limit decision choices
● System-Imposed time constraints:
○ Deadlines
○ Conditions make it difficult for managers to gather all information before making a
final choice
● Historical Precedents:
○ Choices made today are a result of choices made over the years
What About Ethics in Decision Making?
Three Ethical Decision Criteria
1. Utilitarianism: proposes making decisions solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally
to provide the greatest good for the greatest number
a. This vies dominates business decision making and is consistent with goals such
as efficiency, productivity, and high profits
b. Utilitarian values can vary by culture
2. Making decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges
a. Emphasis on rights to protect the basic rights of individuals such as the right to
privacy, free speech, and due process.
b. Whistle-blowers: those who reveal an organization’s unethical practices to the
press or government agencies
c. Whistle-blowers are protected by the criteria mentioned before
3. Impose and enforce rules fairly and impartially to ensure justice or an equitable
distribution and benefits and costs
a. This can be used to justify paying people the same wage for a given job
regardless of performance differences and using seniority for layoff decisions
● Decision makers in for-profit organizations feel comfortable with utilitarianism
● Corporate social responsibility (CSR)- tries to influence a positive change
○ Consumers increasingly choose to purchase goods and services from organizations with
effective CSR initiatives ○ Behavioral ethics: an area of study that analyzes how people
behave when confronted with ethical dilemmas ■ We do not always follow ethical standards
promoted by our organizations, and we sometimes violate our own standards

What is Stress?
• Most of us are aware that employee stress is an increasing
problem in organizations. One hears about postal workers killing
co-workers and supervisors and then one learn job-related tensions
were a major cause.
• Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is
confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to
what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to
be both uncertain and important.
• Stress is not necessarily bad in and of itself. While stress is typically
discussed in a negative context, Consider, for example, the superior
performance that an athlete or stage performer gives in “clutch” situations.
Such individuals often use Stress positively to rise to the occasion and
perform at or near their maximum.
• More typically, Stress is associated with constraints and demands.
• Stress is associated with two constraints:
1-Constraints forces that prevent individuals from doing what they
desire.
2-Demands the loss of something desired.
What is not stress?
• Stress is not simply anxiety or nervous tensions.
• Stress need not always due to overwork.
• Stress cannot be avoided
Potential Sources of Stress
There are three categories of potential stressors:
1. Environmental
2. Organizational and
3. Individual.
These can be explained as follows:
 1. Organizational Stressors
There is no shortages of factors within the organization that can cause stress.
Pressures to avoid errors or complete tasks in a limited time period, work
overload, a demanding and insensitive boss, and unpleasant co-workers are a
few examples.
We’ve categorized these factors around task, role, and interpersonal
demands; organizational structure; organizational leadership; and the
organization’s life stages-
• Task Demands-
Factors related to a person’s job. They include the design of the
individual’s job, working conditions, and the physical work
layout. Assembly lines can put pressure on people when their
speed is perceived as excessive. The more interdependence
between a person’s tasks and the tasks of others, the more
potential stress there is. Autonomy, on the other hand, tends to
lessen stress. Jobs where temperatures, noise, or other working
conditions are dangerous or undesirable can increase anxiety. So,
too, can working in an overcrowded room or in a visible location
where interruptions are constant. Security is another task demand
that can cause stress. The final task demand stressor is overload.
• Role Demands-
It relates to pressures placed on a person as a function of the
particular role he or she plays in the organization. Include role
conflict, role ambiguity, role erosion, and role overload. Role
conflict occurs when an individual receives competing and
conflicting expectations from others. Role ambiguity results
from having unclear expectations.
• Inter-personal Demands-
These are pressures created by other employees. Lack of social
support from colleagues and poor interpersonal relationships can
cause considerable stress, especially among employees with a
high social need. Conflicting personalities and behaviors may
cause stress. Conflict can occur when two or more people must
work together even though their personalities, attitudes and
behaviors doffer.
• Organizational Structure-
Defines the level of differentiation, the degree of rules and regulations,
and where decisions are made. Excessive rules and lack of participation in
decision that affect an employee are examples of structural variables that
might be potential stressors.
• Organizational leadership-
Represents the managerial style of the organization’s senior executives.
Some chief executives officers create a culture characterized by tension,
fear and anxiety. They establish unrealistic pressures to perform in the
short run, impose excessively tight controls, and routinely fire employees
who fail to measure up.
• Organization’s life-cycle-
Organizations like human beings pass through a life cycle. The
life cycle of an organization compromises eight stages i.e., birth,
growth policy, procedure, theory religion, ritual and last rites.
2. Group Stressor-
• Lack of Group cohesiveness-If an employee is denied the
opportunity for this cohesiveness because of the task design,
because the supervisor does things to prohibit or limit it, or
because the other members of the group shut the person out, this
can be very stress producing.
• Lack of Social Support-Employees are greatly affected by
the support of one or more members of a cohesive group. By
sharing their problem and joys with others, they may be much
better. But if this type of social support is lacking for an individual,
it can be very stressful.
• Inter-personal and Inter group conflict- Conflict has both
functional and dysfunctional consequences have stress potential.
3. Individual Stressors -
Some people thrive on stressful situation, while they overwhelm others.
What is it that differentiates people in terms of their ability to handle stress?
What individual differences variables moderate the relationship between
potential stressors and experienced stress? At least five variables-perception,
Job experience, social support, belief in locus of control, and hostility-have
has been found to be relevant moderators.
COPING STRATEGIES FOR STRESS
From the organization’s standpoint, management may not be concerned
when employees experience low to moderate levels of stress. The reason, as
we showed earlier, is that such levels of stree may be functional and lead to
higher employee performance. But high levels of stree, or even low levels
sustained over long periods of time, can lead to reduced employee
performance and, thus, require by management.
While a limited amount of stree may benefit an
employee’s performance, don’t expect employees to see it that way. From
the individual’s standpoint, even low levels of stree are likely to be
perceived as undesirable. It’s not unlikely, therefore, for employees and
management to have different notions of what constitutes an acceptable level
of stree on the job. What management may consider as “ a positive stimulus
that keeps the adrenalin running” is very likely to be seen as “excessive
pressure “ by the employee.
• Categorization in to:
1-Individual Strategies- An employee can take personal
responsibility for reducing his or her stress level. Individual
strategies that have proven effective include –
• Time Management
• Physical Exercise
• Relaxation
• Yoga
• Social Support
• Control the situation
Many people manage their time properly. The things they have to
accomplish in any given day or week are not necessarily beyond completion
if they manage their time properly. The well-organized employee, like the
well-organized student, can often accomplish twice as much as the person
who is poorly organized. So an understanding and utilization of basic time
management principles can help individuals better cope with tensions
created by job demands. A few of the more well-known time management
principles are:
1. Making daily lists of activities to be accomplished
2. Prioritizing activities by importance and urgency
3. Scheduling activities according to the priorities set
4. Knowing your daily cycle and handling the most demanding parts
of your job during the high part of your cycle when you are most
alert and productive.
2-Organizational Strategies-Several of the factors that cause
stress-particularly task and role demands, and organizational
structure-are controlled by management. As such, they can be
modified or changed. Strategies that management might want to
consider include improved personnel selection & job placement,
use of realistic goal, setting redesigning of jobs, increased
employee involvement, improved organizational communication,
and establishment of corporate wellness programs.
While certain jobs are more stressful than others, we
learned earlier in this that individuals differ in their response to
stress situations. We know, for example, that individuals with little
experience or an external locus of control tend to be more prone to
stress.
• Personal wellness
• Improved organizational communication
• Participative Decision-Making
• Job Redesign
• Goal setting
• Increasing employee involvement
• Selection and Placement
CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS
Stress shows itself in a number of ways. For instance, an individual who is
experiencing a high level of stress may develop high blood pressure, ulcers,
irritability, difficulty in making routine decisions, loss of appetite, accident
proneness, and the like. These can be subsumed under three general
categories:
• Physiological Symptoms-Most of the early concern with stress
was directed at psychological symptoms this was predominantly due to the
fac that the topic was researched by specialists in the g\health and medical
sciences. This research heart and breathing rates, increase blood pressures,
bring on headaches, and induce heart attacks.
• Psychological Symptoms-Stress can cause dissatisfaction. Jobrelated stress can cause job
related dissatisfaction. Job dissatisfaction, in
fact, is “the simplest and most obvious psychological effect” of stress. But
stress shows itself in other psychological states- for instance, tension,
anxiety, irritability, boredom, and procrastination.
• Behavioral Symptoms-Behaviorally related stress symptoms
include changes in productivity, absence, and turnover, as well as changes in
eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech,
fidgeting and sleep disorders.

JOB PERFORMANCE
● Understanding one's performance is a critical concern for the employee and manager
● Look at performance in specific jobs but also in other aspects of the firm
● Dilemma: is performance a set of behaviours that a person does/doesn't perform, or the end
result of those behaviours?
● Using results as the primary indicator of job performance creates potential problems.
○ Some ppl go above results. Focus on bottom line results results in social
underminingsabotaging coworkers reputations, trying to make others look bad. May also
result in
employees violating policies to reach bottom line. Finally, results often r influenced by
factors beyond employees control, and results don't tell you how to reverse a bad year;
feedback based on results cant provide people with info needed to improve behaviours
● Think of job performance has behaviour, use term ‘results’ for the outcomes of these
behaviours
2.1- What is job performance
● Job performance- the value of the set of employee behaviours that contribute (+/-) to
organizational goal performance
○ Includes behaviors within control of employees, puts boundary on which behaviours
are/aren't
relevant to job performance
○ If a bhvr is relevant to job performance and organizational accomplishment, and is
intentional, it is considered an included behaviour in job performance
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A ‘GOOD PERFORMER’
● Behaviours relevant to job performance (how to be a good performer) fit into 3 broad
categories:
(1) task performance, (2) citizenship bhvr (both contribute positively to the firm), and (3)
counterproductive bhvr (contributes negatively)
2.2- What is task performance
● Task performance- includes employee behaviours that are directly involved in
transformation of
organizational resources into the g/s that the firm produces
○ Tasks/duties/responsibilities are task performance behaviours outlined in a job description
● Set of explicit obligations that an employee must fulfil to receive compensation and
continued
employment (TP for flight attendant is present safety procedure, check condition of aircraft)
● TP can be understood in terms of more general categories. Can categorize TP by
considering
extent to which the context of the job is routine/changing:
● Routine task performance- well known responses to demands that occur in a normal/routine
or
predictable way. Employees act in habitual way, vary little from one instance to another
(flight
attendant’s robotic inserting seat belt demo; basic demand of job done many times)
● Adaptive task performance- (adaptability) employee responses to task demands that are
novel,
unusual or unpredictable (ex. Attendants TP shifted from demo’s to performing emergency
procedures to save passengers' lives. Trained to do so but doing it is not common)
○ Becoming increasingly important as globalization, technological advances and
knowledge based work increase the pace of change in the workplace
○ Crucial in today's global economy, firms faced w challenge of being more productive
with less employees (emp must be able to adapt to any challenges/bigger workload)
● Creative task performance- degree to which individuals develop ideas/physical outcomes
that
are both novel and useful. Necessary to include both novelty/usefulness in definition of
creativity;
it must be unique but also useful and possible; ex making swimsuit out of steel is novel not
useful
and making swimsuit out of comfortable material is useful not novel (basic)
○ Must have both to be considered creative (can't be creative if not useful or new)
○ Inc in creative TP is caused by rapid technological change and modern intense
competition. Emphasis on this TP is inc across many jobs. Employee creativity is needed
to spart types of innovations that enable firms to stay ahead of competition.
○ Creative ideas are not always implemented, important to recognize creative performance
behaviors, and creative outcomes that result from these behaviours
2.3- How do organizations identify the behaviours that underlie task performance
● Firms identify sets of behaviours that represent TP for different jobs by conducting a job
analysis
● General steps to conduct (many different ways to do it but generally):
● (1) list of all activities involved in the job is generated (drawn from many sources of
datainterviews, surveys, etc)
● (2) each activity on the list is rated by ‘subject matter experts’ according to
importance/frequency
of the activity. Experts have experiences at that specific job, so are in a position to judge the
degree to which specific activities contribute to the organization
● (3) activities rated highly in importance/frequency are retained and used to define TP
○ Retained behaviours find their way into training programs as learning objectives and into
performance appraisal system as things to evaluate TP (what's good/needs improving)
● Behaviours are in employees control, better to get feedback based on that, more
informative than just ‘have better results’ (can't really control/ensure that; errors, shortages,
etc)
● If a firm finds it impractical to use job analysis to identify a set of behaviours needed to
define TP, it can turn to a database the federal govt created to help describe many jobs’;
national
occupational classification. This is a primary reference on jobs in canada
○ Organizes over 40 000 job titles into 500 occupational descriptions
○ Used to compile, analyze and communicate info about jobs and to understand the jobs
found throughout canada. Can also use occupational information network (US based)
● These only represent first step in figuring out important tasks for given job; descriptive in a
general way, but cant capture unique task requirements and numerous small decisions that
distinguish most effective firms from competitors (give specific tasks, so workforce is
unique)
○ Can't convey the unique ways these activities are enacted in a particular corp culture
○ Info from these sources should be supplemented w info regarding behaviours that support
the
firm's specific values/strategies (ex. More accommodation for customer specific needs in
unique description of firm that has a strong customer focus)
● TP behaviours aren't simply performed/not. The best performers exceed expectations of
behaviours
2.4- What is citizenship behaviour
● Citizenship bhvr- voluntary employee activities that may or may not be rewarded but that
contribute to the firm by improving overall quality of the setting in which work takes place
○ Employees go extra mile, enact behaviours that aren't within their job description (not TP)
○ Ex. help someone whos struggling, support coworkers, maintain good attitude
● Two main categories of citizenship bhvr (differ on who benefits; firm/coworkers):
● Interpersonal citizenship bhvr: bhvr benefits coworkers/colleagues. Involves assisting,
supporting and developing other workers in a way that goes beyond normal job expectations
○ Helping- assisting coworkers who have heavy workloads, personal matters, and helping
new employees
○ Courtesy- keeping coworkers informed about matters relevant to them. Many keep
relevant facts as secrets (to get ahead). Good citizens keep others in the loop cause they
never know what info might be useful to someone else
○ Sportsmanship- maintaining a good attitude with coworkers, even when they annoy you.
Complaining is contagious, but good citizens avoid complaining and overreacting
○ ICB is important especially in small teams. Helpful team members cause a positive team
atmosphere where one member trusts the other. Essential to foster willingness of
members to work towards a common goal (not self serving ones). Teamwork is ICB
● Organizational citizenship behaviour- supporting/defending a firm, working to improve its
operations and being especially loyal to it
○ Voice- speaking up/offering constructive suggestions for change (bad policy- don't
complain about it, constructively try to bring about change/better policy).
○ Civic virtue- participating in firms operations at a deeper than normal level by attending
voluntary meetings, keeping up with firm announcements, and keeping up with firm news
that affects the firm
○ Boosterism- representing firm in + way when in public/not in office/away from work
■ Dont talk shit about firm to friends when out with them
● Three points emphasized about citizen behaviours:
● (1) citizenship behaviours are relevant in virtually any job, regardless of particular nature
of its tasks
○ These behaviours can boost organizational effectiveness (firm efficiency) in each type of
job
● (2) because citizenship behaviors are discretionary/influenced by the specific situation the
employee is working in, they can change significantly over time (act is CB at one time not at
another). Good citizens can develop citizenship fatigue- worn out from engaging in
citizenship
○ Reduces good acts, happens when they feel like their extra efforts are not supported or
they experience pressure to continue being a good citizen even when they already feel
stretched out by other demands
● (3) from employees perspective, may be tempting to discount importance of citizenship
behaviours to
just focus on your own job tasks and leave aside ‘extra’ stuff
○ Citizenship bhvr is voluntary, task performance requirements aren't
○ Not a good idea; supervisors don't always view such acts as optional; CB related strongly
to supervisor evaluations of job performance, even when differences in TP are also
considered. Then, evaluations of employee job performance play role in deciding
employee pay/promotions; CB influences salary ppl receive over TP (if CB not opt)
2.5- What is counterproductive behaviour?
● TP/CB are employee activities that help the firm achieve its goals/objectives
● 3rd broad category of job performance is counterproductive behaviour- employee
behaviours that
intentionally hinder organizational goal accomplishment
● ‘Intentionally’- key aspect; things employees mean to do (not accident). CPB grouped into:
● (1) property deviance- behaviours that harm the firm's assets/possessions (harm firm, more
serious)
○ Ex.sabotage- intentional destruction of physical equipment, organizational processes or
firm products. (morale of employees dec, counterproductive behaviours occur)
■ Ex. cooks knowingly served improperly prepared food.sabotage leads to bad
meal and a customers resolve never to return (or lawsuit/food poisoning)
■ Employees who mistreat customers might do so as a response to perceived
mistreatment by customers. Not justified, counterproductive behaviour
○ Theft- beneficial to workers/friends but counterproductive for firms. Shrinks store
inventory and costs the firm loads of money
● (2) production deviance- reduce efficiency of work output, directed against firm (less
serious)
○ Wasting resources- most common, employees use too many materials or too much time
to do too little work (waste resources in both cases; materials, time)
○ Substance abuse- employees abuse drugs/alcohol while at or before coming to work,
efficiency of production is compromised since work is done ^ slowly, less accurately
● (3) political deviance- behaviours intentionally disadvantage other ppl (less serious. Harm
worker)
○ Gossiping- casual conversations abt other ppl in which facts are not confirmed as true
■ Undermines the morale of work groups. Causes many negative emotions
○ Incivility- communication that's rude, impolite, and lacking in good manners. Manners is
a society wide phenomenon, very important to workplaces
○ These acts one by one don't seem serious to the firm. Im excess, creates a firm climate of
distrust and unhealthy competitiveness. Productivity loss results from lack of cooperation
of employees, firms w this climate cant retain good employees. These get worse till a
tipping point, then more serious interpersonal actions can occur (v)
● (4) the more serious interpersonal actions ^ may involve personal aggression- hostile verbal
and
physical actions directed toward other employees (more serious. Harm employees)
○ Harassment- worker subject to unwanted physical contact/verbal remarks by coworker
○ Abuse- employee is assaulted/endangered in a way that physical/psychological injuries
may occur. Extreme forms of personal aggression prevalent in firms (murder)
○ Many workers are bullied- psychological harassment/abuse directed towards a person
■ Humiliation, social isolation, systematic maltreatment; target feels helpless
● Bosses often bully workers (lose sight between tough/bullying). Forget
that what matters isn't intent of bhvr, but perception of targeted person
○ Personal aggression acts can also be quite costly to firms in terms of reputation
● Four points should be notes about counterproductive behaviour:
1. Ppl who engage in one form of it also engage in others (pattern of bhvr, no isolated
incidents)
2. Like CB, CPB is relevant to any job; no matter what it entails; there's things 2 steal, ppl to
bully
3. CPB may be contagious and its negative consequences may ripple through a firm;
CPB/incivility
of supervisor may cause CPB/ineffectiveness among subordinates or vice versa
4. Often surprising which employees engage in CPB; best task performers are unexpectedly
usually
the ones who can best get away with CPB (less likely to be suspected)
a. Many tolerate committing CPB if they can accomplish challenging tasks through it
● Good performer; employees are good at particular job tasks of their descriptions
(routine/adaptable). Also engage in CB directed at coworkers and the firm, and they refrain
from CPB that can damage the climate of a firm. The goal of any manager is to have
employees who fulfill all three conditions above.
APPLICATION: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
2.6- how can firms use job performance info to manage employee performance?
● Good firms understand link between employee job performance and firm performance, so
invest resources collecting info about employee performance so that it can be managed in a
way that helps the firms achieve its mission
● General ways in which job performance info is used to manage employee performance:
Management by Objectives
● Management by objectives- management philosophy that bases employees evaluations on
whether the employee achieves specific performance goal
● How it works: employee meets w manager to develop mutually agreed objectives that are
measurable and specific. Both agree on a time period for achieving objectives and a method
used to do so.
● Ex. ‘reduce production waste by 35% in 3 months by implementing new prdctn
procedures’
● Employee performance can then be judged referring to the degree to which the employee
achieves results consistent with objectives (effective if does 35 or over, if less its ineffective)
● MBO is best suited for managing the performance of employees who work in contexts in
which objective measures of performance can be quantified (rly specific numbers; like the
example ^)
● MBO emphasizes results of job performance as much as it does performance behaviours
themselves
Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales
● Behaviourally anchored rating scales- measure performance by directly assessing job
performance behaviours. Uses 'critical incidents’- short descriptions of effective/ineffective
behaviours- to
create a measure that can be used to evaluate employee performance
● The measure focuses on a specific task performance. The rater reads the behaviours that the
employee
enacts on the right column of the measure and then selects a rating in the left column that
corresponds to the behaviour that best matches actual observations of the workers bhvr
● Supervisors rate many performance dimensions/measures using BARS and score
employees
overall job performance by taking the avg value across all dimensions
● Because critical incidents convey the precise kinds of behaviours that are effective/not,
feedback from
BARS helps employee to develop/improve over time
○ Develop appreciation of types of behaviours that would make them effective
○ Info provides nice compliments to MBO, which is less capable of providing specific
feedback about why an objective might have been missed
360-Degree Feedback
● 360 degree feedback- involves collecting performance info not just from the supervisor but
from anyone else who might have first hand knowledge abt the employee's performance
behaviours
○ Coworkers, subordinates, customers, employee himself
● Ratings are combined (supervisors are separate) so raters are anonymous to employee
● Ask employees to provide ratings on themselves. Hope that this feedback system will
provide a
more balanced and comprehensive examination of performance. By comparing self provided
ratings with others ratings, employees can develop better sense of how their performance may
be deficient in eyes of others and where they need to focus energies to improve
● Info from this can be used to evaluate employees for administrative purposes (raises etc),
there are problems with that sort of application
○ Because ratings vary across sources there's the question of which source is most correct
○ Unclear how the info from each source should be weighed when making general score
○ Raters may give biased evaluations if they believe the info will be used for compensation,
not just skill improvement. Peers will be unwilling to give bad info if they think it'll harm
the person being rated (won't get paid as well)
● This feedback is best suited for improving/developing employee talent, especially if
feedback is
accompanied by coaching in areas identified as points of concern. (should not be used to
decide on payment for employees)
Forced Ranking
● Evaluations that make clear distinctions among employees in terms of their job
performance.
● The most effective systems that differentiate employees relied on the ‘vitality curve’;
forces managers to rank each employee into one of their 3 categories: top 20% (A players),
the vital
middle 70% (middle players), or bottom 10 % (C players)
● A players have the 4 Es of GE leadership: very high energy levels, ability to energize
others around common goals, edge to make tough yes/no decisions, and the ability to
consistently
execute and deliver on their promises
● B players are targeted for further development; considered backbone of firm but lack the
passion of the As
● C players are those who can't get the job done and are let go
● Some important limitations:
○ Some believe its inherently unfair cause it forces management to give bad evaluations to
employees who may be good performers, just to reach pre-established %
○ Employees may become competitive with another to avoid finding themselves in a lower
category, or they may avoid stepping out of routine for fear of standing out/making a
mistake. Unfortunately, that's the opposite of what is needed for team based organizations
which require cooperativeness/creativity
● Firms moved away from PM systems that rely on forced ranking of employees
Social Networking Systems
● Facebook/twitter technology recently applied to organizational contexts to
develop/evaluate
employee performance.
● Some firms use facebook styled program ‘performance multiplier’ which requires
employees to post/update weekly and quarterly goals. Managers then monitor the info,
provide feedback
○ Some firms can post Qs on Twitter like format about their own performance and
anonymous coworkers give feedback
● Effectiveness... has not been studied scientifically, but there's advantages that indicate it'll
grow in popularity; more timely (faster feedback), learn about faults before continue in them

EMOTIONS:

Emotions are reactions that human beings experience in response to events or situations. The
type of emotion a person experiences is determined by the circumstance that triggers the
emotion. For instance, a person experiences joy when they receive good news and fear when
they are threatened.

Emotions have a strong influence on our daily lives. We make decisions based on whether we
are happy, angry, sad, bored, or frustrated. We also choose activities and hobbies based on the
emotions they incite. Understanding emotions can help us navigate life with greater ease and
stability.

"Being aware of our internal emotional state and being more mindful and present with how our
mind and body respond to situations enables us to manage stress better," says Annie Miller

Types of Emotions

In addition to different theories about the development of emotions, there are also various
theories as to how many types of emotions humans experience. As mentioned, psychologist
Paul Ekman established the following six universal emotions:

• Happiness: Many people strive for happiness as it is a pleasant emotion accompanied

by a sense of well-being and satisfaction. Happiness is often expressed by smiling or
speaking in an upbeat tone of voice.
• Sadness: All of us experience sadness now and then. Someone might express this
emotion by crying, being quiet, and/or withdrawing from others.Types of sadness
include grief, hopelessness, and disappointment.
• Fear: Fear can increase heart rate, cause racing thoughts, or trigger the fight-or-flight
response. It can be a reaction to actual or perceived threats. Some people enjoy
the adrenaline rush that accompanies fear in the form of watching scary movies, riding
roller coasters, or skydiving.
• Disgust: Disgust can be triggered by a physical experience, such as seeing or smelling
rotting food, blood, or poor hygiene. Moral disgust may occur when someone sees
another person doing something they find immoral or distasteful.
• Anger: Anger can be expressed with facial expressions like frowning, yelling, or
violent behavior. Anger can motivate you to make changes in your life, but it's also
 important to find a healthy outlet to express anger so it doesn't cause harm to yourself
or others.
• Surprise: Surprise can be pleasant or unpleasant. You might open your mouth or gasp
when you're surprised. Like fear, surprise can trigger a fight-or-flight response.

MANAGE EMOTIONS:
Stay Positive
Staying positive doesn’t mean you have to be happy all the time. It just means that when
things get tough, remind yourself of what’s good in life and focus on those aspects instead of
only looking at the negative side.

Don’t Dwell On Negative Emotions

Everyone experiences negative emotions from time to time. But letting them linger will make
it harder for you to move forward with solutions or ideas about how to feel better again soon.
If something is making you sad or angry, allow yourself a little bit of extra time (maybe 15
minutes) before moving on. This is because dwelling too long can put unnecessary stress on
your body if left unresolved.

Write Out Your Feelings

Similar to not dwelling on negative emotions, it’s important to write them down. This is
when you experience something upsetting. Writing your feelings is a great way of getting rid
of the negativity in your life and focusing more on what makes you happy instead. Of course,
this won’t work for everyone who experiences negative emotions. It is because some people
can hold onto their sadness or anger longer than others. You might be able (or willing) to let
go of that same feeling after writing about it.

Don’t Let Negative Emotions Control You

Everyone has emotional triggers. This is even if they don’t realize it right away—and letting
these issues control how you think and act is never good. Instead, try identifying what kinds
of things trigger certain negative emotions. This is so that you can proactively decide to avoid
them in the future.

Smile More
This tip is easy enough because it’s not about anything complicated. Smiling more can help
you manage your emotions better by helping reduce stress, anxiety, and anger when you act
on what makes you happy instead of dwelling on negative feelings that could get worse with
time if left ignored or unresolved. For example, if someone at work has been making snarky
comments towards you (and they always seem to come right before lunch), give yourself a
moment to calm down after their rude comment. You can then go eat something good for
your body. Even if it means getting some fresh air outside for a few minutes so that you feel
calmer overall afterward. Don’t let anyone else control how you feel about your life.

Be Patient With Yourself

Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s okay because no one is perfect. Being kinder towards
yourself can help reduce negative emotions by being patient with what happens in your daily
routine. This is especially when things don’t always go as planned even if it wasn’t
something you were directly responsible for. If someone else messes up at work or forgets
their share of the bill on a night out, try not taking it personally. This is so that you won’t
experience unnecessary stress over something that isn’t entirely under your control. Pro tip:
instead of getting upset at others who have let you down, celebrate the accomplishments
they’ve made. This is regardless of how big or small they might seem.

Identify Your Triggers

Everyone has different triggers for negative emotions, and knowing what causes you to
experience worrisome feelings can help reduce them in the future. This is because you know
why your mood changed all of a sudden even if it wasn’t something within your control. For
example, someone at work told you about an opportunity that will take up more time than
expected. Once you identify these emotional triggers, think about the appropriate actions you
need to take. This is so that they don’t happen again. It is even if their cause was completely
unexpected or out of thin air. For example, asking yourself “why?” after getting upset over
something is important when unnecessary stress does occur. This simple act allows everyone
to move forward with finding solutions. It is instead of staying stuck on bad habits.

Try To Meditate
If you’re having a hard time managing your emotions, meditating can be helpful for reducing
stress and anxiety. It is by making room in your mind to let go of everything that’s going on
around you at any given moment. This is no matter how big or small the problem might seem
when it shows up unexpectedly. Meditation is one way of describing what happens when
people clear their minds from unnecessary worries. This only adds more pressure without
actually solving anything in life. It is because they’ve been left unattended for too long. At its
core, meditation is about giving yourself mental space away from all the noise. This is so that
you can find better clarity with whatever problems happen next. It is instead of getting lost
within them until it feels like there’s no way out.

Remember the People Who Matter Most

Not everyone who walks into your life will be around forever. That is why it’s important to
remember how much they have taught you about what matters most in life. This is instead of
staying upset at them for things that are completely within their control. If someone makes a
mistake, try forgiving them. This is because holding onto resentment is only going to hurt
both of you without actually solving anything along the way. It is no matter how big or small
that problem may have been when it first occurred.

Forgiveness might feel like saying goodbye to another person. This is even if they were good
friends with strong ties but all relationships end eventually. It is instead of letting this
relationship drag on until there’s nothing left between each other. Do your best to cherish the
time spent together. This is because that’s what will remain in your memories instead of bad
feelings.

Take Some Time for Yourself

No matter how much you love doing activities with other people, sometimes taking some
alone time is necessary. This is for managing negative emotions by being introspective
enough to reduce stress without anyone else around. It is especially when life gets too busy
and there are no opportunities left to take care of yourself. This is until it feels like there’s
nothing left within you anymore. Take this opportunity away from others so that you can
clear your mind about everything going on right now. This is whether or not their presence
was completely expected or out of thin air. You can use this newfound solitude as a chance to
recharge. It is while also catching up on the things that matter most in life because you
deserve this time away, too.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

No person is an island unto themselves even if they don’t always feel like it’s necessary to
ask others for help when problems happen throughout daily life. This is even though
everyone needs a little bit of assistance every once in and while. You can use your support
system as a way to catch up with how everyone else is feeling about what matters most. This
is instead of keeping all these feelings within yourself. Sometimes asking for help means
opening communication lines between each other so that people can talk more openly about
their lives without having any reservations; not only does this make it easier to share feelings
with each other, it’s also a good way of managing problems as soon as they arise instead of
letting them fester within you until there’s nothing left but resentment and bad feelings.

Start Practicing Mindfulness

No matter how busy your life might be right now, practicing mindfulness is one way of
making room for all the things that matter most in daily life—no matter how small or big
these emotions happen to feel when they show up unexpectedly (this goes back to writing
down feelings). Being mindful can help reduce stress by simply slowing everything down so
that people have time away from their thoughts without any interruptions; use this newfound
silence between all those unwanted distractions throughout day-to-day life as an opportunity
to get in touch with your feelings and what’s going on right now without letting these
problems fester within yourself because that will only make things worse for everyone
involved.