The Individual in the Organization

*Biographic Characteristics
*Learning
*Social Learning
 Biographic Characteristics
• Personal characteristics—such as age, gender,
marital status, race, disability, length of
tenure, religion, sexual orientation and gender
identity— are some of the biographic
characteristics.
• These data are easily available from personal
records of employees without any analysis.
 Biographical Characteristics--Age
The general belief about age is:

Age—performance 1. performance declines with increasing age

relationship is important 2. Perfect performance can be expected.

Age—turnover 1. the older one get, the less likely to quit one’s job
2. Fewer job opportunities
3. Long tenure :higher wage rate, longer paid
vacation, better pension benefits.
Age—absenteeism 1. Avoidable absences are low.
2. Unavoidable absences are high.
Age-- productivity 1. Employee over 50 are more productive.
2. Unrelated
Age--satisfaction 1. The finding is mixed.
2. Professional—increase.
3. Non-professional—U shape
 Biographical Characteristics--Gender

• Will the differences between man and women affect

their job performance?

difference No difference
Productivity ◎
Work ◎ when employee has
schedule pre-school children
Turnover ◎
Absence ◎ woman--higher
 Biographical Characteristics--Race

• Individuals tend to favor colleagues of their

own race in performance evaluation,
promotion decisions, and pay raises.
• The issue of racial differences in cognitive
ability---is still on debate
 Biographical Characteristics--Tenure

• Seniority negatively related to absence.

• Seniority negatively related to turnover.
• Tenure on one’s previous job is a powerful
predictor of the one’s future turnover.
• Tenure positively related to satisfaction.
Biographic Characteristics- Sexual Orientation
and Gender Identity
• Dealing with transgender employees requires
some special considerations.
• Many employers have the policy of “ Don’t ask
and don’t tell”.
• Treatment/behavior by organization(policies),
employees and others may affect the behavior
of gay or transgender people at work.
 Ability
• Why we concern
– By knowing how people different in abilities, we may use
the knowledge to increase /enhance people’s performance

• What is ability
– An individual’s capacity to perform the various tasks in a
job.
– Made up of two factors: Intellectual and physical

Ability

Intellectual physical
 Intellectual Ability

•The abilities needed to perform mental activities for

thinking, reasoning and problem solving.

1.1.Number
Numberaptitude
aptitude
2.2.Verbal
Verbalcomprehension
comprehension
77 Dimensions
Dimensions 3.3.Perceptual
of Perceptualspeed
speed
of
Intellectual 4.4.Inductive
Inductivereasoning
reasoning
Intellectual
Ability
Ability 5.5.Deductive
Deductivereasoning
reasoning
6.6.Spatial
Spatialvisualization
visualization
7.7.Memory
Memory
 Dimensions of Intellectual Ability

1. Number Aptitude: Ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic

2. Verbal Comprehension: Ability to understand what is read or heard and the
relationship of words to each other.
3. Perceptual Speed: Ability to identify visual similarities and differences quickly
and accurately.
4. Inductive Reasoning: Ability to identify a logical sequence in a problem and
then solve the problem.
5. Deductive Reasoning: Ability to use logic and assess the implications of
an argument.
6. Spatial Visualization: Ability to imagine how an object would look if its
position in space were changed.
7. Memory: Ability to retain and recall past experiences.
 Intelligence is one of the predictors

1. intelligence is one of the predictors of job

performance.
2. Use IQ test as hiring tools
3. Correlation between intelligence and Job
satisfaction is about zero
 Multiple intelligences

• Intelligence contains four subparts: cognitive,

social, emotional, cultural
– Cognitive: traditional intelligence test.
– Social: ability to relate effectively to others
– Emotional: ability to identify, understand, and
manage emotions.
– Cultural: awareness of cross-culture differences
and the ability to function successfully in cross-
cultural situation.
 Physical Ability
• The capacity to do tasks demanding stamina,
dexterity (swiftness or precision), strength, and
similar characteristics.

Flexibility
FlexibilityFactors
Factors
5.5. Extent
Extentflexibility
flexibility
Strength 6.6. Dynamic
Dynamicflexibility
StrengthFactors
Factors flexibility
1.1. Dynamic
Dynamicstrength Other
strength OtherFactors
Factors
2.2. Trunk
Trunkstrength 7.7. Body
strength Bodycoordination
coordination
3.3. Static
Staticstrength
strength 8.8. Balance
Balance
4.4. Explosive
Explosivestrength
strength 9.9. Stamina
Stamina
 The Ability-Job Fit

Ability-Job
Employee’s Job’s Ability
Abilities Fit Requirements

• Performance
Low High inadequate

• Organizational
High Low Inefficiencies
• Reduce Job
satisfaction
 The Ability-Job Fit
• The high ability-job fit is necessary for high
performance.
• Lack of fit leads to performance related
problems.
• In the absence of the fit, organizational
inefficiency and job satisfaction occur.
 Learning
Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behavior
that occurs as a result of experience.

Learning
Learning
••Involves
Involveschange
change
••Is
Isrelatively
relativelypermanent
permanent
••Is
Isacquired
acquiredthrough
throughexperience
experience

2–16
 Theories of Learning
1, Classical Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual
responds to some stimulus that would not
ordinarily produce such a response.

Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
••Unconditioned
Unconditionedstimulus
stimulus
••Unconditioned
Unconditionedresponse
response
••Conditioned
Conditionedstimulus
stimulus
••Conditioned
Conditionedresponse
response
2–17
 Cont’d……
• It all started with Ivan Pavlov and his study of
the digestive system
• Research based on work with animals
• Wildly successful – 1905 Nobel Prize
• Studied the automatic connection between
food (meat) in the mouth and the flow of
digestive juices
Classical Conditioning – Cont’d…..

• Two parts: response (action that takes place)

stimulus (cause of action)
• Response: salivation
• Stimulus: food, bell/tone
• How do we differentiate between
food/salivation and bell/salivation?
Classical Conditioning – Cont’d…..

• Food and salivation:

• a. Unconditioned Stimuli and Response
– UCS (food) & UCR (salivation)
– occurs naturally, automatically, unconditionally.
– NOT learned, like reflex
Classical Conditioning – Cont’d….

• Bell and Salivation:

• b. Conditioned Stimuli and Response
– CS (tone/bell) & CR (salivation)
– originally NEUTRAL stimulus, that, after
being paired with UCS, triggers CR.
– learned, NOT automatic.
– not naturally occurring.
2, Operant Conditioning Theory
• Operant Conditioning
– People learn to perform behaviors that lead to
desired consequences and learn not to perform
behaviors that lead to undesired consequences.
– Linking specific behaviors to the attainment of
specific outcomes can motivate high
performance and prevent behaviors that detract
from organizational effectiveness.
 Theories of Learning (cont’d)
Operant Conditioning (Voluntary Behavior)
A type of conditioning in which desired voluntary
behavior leads to a reward or prevents a punishment.

Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
••Reflexive
Reflexive(unlearned)
(unlearned)behavior
behavior
••Conditioned
Conditioned(learned)
(learned)behavior
behavior
••Reinforcement
Reinforcement
 Operant Conditioning- Cont’d….
• Reinforcement based
• Behavior is learned as a function of its
consequence
• Learning results from simple conditioning, not
from higher mental functioning

B.F. Skinner, a behaviorist,

emphasized conditioning
in people
 Operant Conditioning Tools
• Positive Reinforcement
– Gives people outcomes they desire when they
perform organizationally functionally behaviors
• Positive reinforcers: Pay, praises, or promotions
 Operant Conditioning Tools
• Negative Reinforcement
– Eliminating undesired outcomes once the
functional behavior occurs
• Negative reinforcers: criticisms, pay cuts, suspension
 Operant Conditioning Tools
• Extinction
– Curtailing the performance of a dysfunctional
behavior by eliminating whatever is reinforcing it.
• Punishment
– Administering an undesired/negative consequence
to immediately stop a dysfunctional behavior.
• Manager administers an undesired consequence to
worker (verbal reprimand, demotion, pay cut).
 Shaping Behavior: A Managerial Tool

Shaping Behavior:
Managers systematically apply operant conditioning
techniques to promote the performance of
organizationally functional behaviors and discourage
the performance of dysfunctional behaviors
 Organizational Behavior Modification

• Used to improve productivity, efficiency,

attendance, punctuality, safe work practices,
and customer service
• Sometimes questioned because of lack of
relevance to certain work behaviors
• To critics it is overly controlling and robs
workers of their dignity, individuality, freedom
of choice and creativity
 3,Social Learning Theory
(Albert Bandura)
People can learn
through observation
and direct experience.
Proposes that
motivation results not Key
KeyConcepts
Concepts
only from direct ••Attentional
Attentionalprocesses
processes
experience of rewards ••Retention
and punishments but Retentionprocesses
processes
also from a person’s ••Motor
Motorreproduction
reproductionprocesses
processes
thoughts and beliefs ••Reinforcement
Reinforcementprocesses
processes
 Cont’d…
• Vicarious Learning (Observational Learning)
Occurs when a person becomes motivated to perform a
behavior by watching another person perform the
behavior and be positively reinforced for doing so
• Self-Reinforcement
– Any desired or attractive outcome or award that a person
can give himself or herself for good performance.
• Self-efficacy
– A person’s belief about his or her ability to perform a
behavior successfully