Unit ii ob at individual level

Learning Block I: Study of OB at Individual Level
Graduate Teaching Notes on OB
(2015)
Dr Chanakya P Rijal
Nepal College of Management
In Affiliation with
Kathmandu University, School of Management
Lalitpur, Nepal
March 22, 2015 1Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB

Unit II: Organizational Psychology at Individual Level
The Contents
1. Importance of human attitude, perception,
personality, learning and motivation in
organizational psychology.
2. Theoretical perspectives of job satisfaction,
motivation, learning, and personality
development.
March 22, 2015 Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB 2

1. Human Attitude in Organizational Psychology
Meaning:
 Attitude may be defined as the evaluative
statement or judgment over an event, process,
people, idea, or an object.
 Such statements may be favorable or unfavorable
about the considered event, process, people, idea,
or an object.
 Thus, it has two directions – positive and negative.

Attitude Meaning and Definition
 The posture, action, or disposition of a figure or a
statue.
 Position as indicating action, feeling, or mood; as,
in times of trouble let a notion preserve a firm
attitude; one's mental attitude in respect to
religion.
 The posture or position of a person or an animal,
or the manner in which the parts of his body are
disposed; position assumed or studied to serve a
purpose; as, a threatening attitude; an attitude of
entreaty.
March 22, 2015Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB
4

Attitude Vs
Opinion…
Attitude generates stimuli by the help of
predisposition.
Stimuli helps to judge a set of facts, or the
evaluation of facts.
Opinion is the final outcome of this
judgment.
5

• Beliefs are much stronger than the opinions.
• Beliefs are less affected by the pro or con
positions fundamental in attitude, than are
opinions
• Action is what separates belief from opinion.
• Attitude, opinions, and beliefs are closely tied
together in real life that it is difficult to
separate them except on a limited conceptual
basis.
6

How are attitudes influenced?
They are influenced simply by --
–Culture
–Value system
–Family and social system
–Social class and religion
–Inherent personality traits
–Other circumstances
7

Attitude change
• According to Catz (1960), attitudes may
undergo changes as per their functional types.
• Utilitarian: Adjustive ones and can be recognized
most easily in change situations. One of the most
controversial examples of utilitarianism was the
dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan during
WWII.
• Ego-defensive: these attitude protect a person from threats
to the ego and the anxiety generated by them. For
example, a wife who learns her husband is dying tries to
learn all she can do for survive.
8

Attitude change
Value expressive: attitudes those attempt to protect
self identity or leading to self expression and
determination. e.g., "What sort of man reads
Playboy?“
Knowledge function: these attitudes promote in
individuals towards knowledge enhancement. e.g.,
"Bayer wants you to know about pain relievers"
9

Types of change of attitudes
Congruent change: change happens in the same
direction by strengthening the power of attitude. For
example, a less serious student converting into a
more serious one.
i. Positive: To more positive
ii. Negative: To more negative
Incongruent change: change happens in opposite
direction. For example, the conversion of a dull and
non-intelligent student into an interesting and
intelligent student.
10

Factors involved in Attitude change
• Person itself and his/her level of interest and
motivation
• Surrounding, or situation, or circumstances
beyond the person.
11

Applications of attitude change
 Applications of attitude change in
management are: organizational change,
development, re-engineering, kaizen, re-
design, innovation, etc.
 At the same time,
government agencies
at any level.
12

Components of Attitude
 Basically, there are THREE components of attitude:
1. Cognitive component: Opinion or belief segment of an
attitude. Example: My boss is so good!
Cognitive = Evaluation
2. Affective component: The emotional or feeling segment
of attitude. Example: I am happy with my boss.
Affective = Feeling
3. Behavioral component: An intention to behave in a
certain way toward someone or something. Example: I
want to continue working under the supervision of my
boss.
Behavioral = Action

Major Job Attitudes
1. Job satisfaction: The extent of positive feeling on a job.
2. Job involvement and engagement: The degree to which
one identifies content for self with a job, participates
in it, and considers job performance worth caring.
3. Psychological empowerment: Job holder’s perceived
meaningfulness of the contribution and autonomy.
4. Organizational commitment: The extent to which the
organizational system is perceived to be worth serving
for what it has communicated to.
5. Perceived organizational support: The extent to which
the employee believes that the organization cares for
its people.

Outcomes of Positive Job Attitudes
1. Employee job satisfaction
2. Employee empowerment
3. Job involvement and engagement
4. Supportive employee behavior
5. Better organizational process climate and culture
6. Higher degree of employee retention

2. PERCEPTION
 Perception is the
process by which an
individual organizes
and interprets his or
her sensory
impression in order to
give meaning to the
environment he or she
is exposed to.
 It is a way of sensing.

 Perception refers to the way we try to understand
the world around us.
 We gather information through our five sense
organs, but perception adds meaning to these
sensory inputs.
 A situation may be the same but the
interpretation of that situation by two individuals
may be immensely different.

Directions of Perception
Positive
Negative

Elements of perception
Sensory
receptors
The
absolute
threshold
The
differential
threshold
Subliminal
perception

1. Sensory receptors: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin,
etc.
2. Absolute threshold: the lowest level at which an
individual can experience sensation.
3. Differential threshold: minimal differences that can
be detected between two stimuli.
4. Subliminal perception: perception of very weak or
rapid stimuli received below the level of conscious
awareness.

Sensory organs Registration Interpretation
Action
Consequences
Attention
Interest
Feedback
PERCEPTION PROCESS

Factors influencing perception
Factors in
perceiver
• Attitude
• Motives
• Interest
• Experience
• Expectation
Factors in
situation
• Time
• Work setting
• Social setting
Factors in
target
• Motion
• Sound
• Size
• Background
• Similarity

Social Perception
 The perception people form about each other.
 It refers to the processes through which we use
available information to form impressions of
other people, to assess what they are like.

Attribution Theory
 When we observe people, we attempt to develop
explanations of why they behave in certain ways.
 Our perception and judgement of a person's
action is significantly influenced by the
assumptions we make about that person's internal
state.
 Attribution theory provides explanations of the
ways in which we judge people differently,
depending on what meaning we attribute to a
given behavior.

 When we observe an individual's behavior, we
attempt to determine whether it was internally
caused or externally caused.
 Internally caused behaviors are those that are
believed to be under the personal control of the
individual.
 Externally caused behaviors are those that are
seen as resulting from outside causes i.e., the
person is seen as having been forced into the
behavior by the situation.

 And that determination depends largely on THREE
factors.
a. Distinctiveness
b. Consensus and
c. Consistency
a. Distinctiveness
 It refers to whether an individual displays different
behavior in different situations, whether the
behavior is unusual.
 If it is, the behavior is judged as an external.
 If the action is not unusual, it will be judged as
internal attribution.

b. Consensus
 We can say a behavior shows consensus, if
everyone who faces a similar situation and
responds in the same way.
 If consensus is high, the behavior is attributed to
external causes
 If it is low, it would be attributed to internal
causes.
c. Consistency
 Lastly, it is consistency in a person's actions.
 The more consistent the behavior, the more it is
attributed to internal causes.

Errors or biases that distort attributions
a. Tendency of poor estimation
b. The self-serving bias
c. Stereotype
d. Halo effect
e. Projection

a. Tendency of poor estimation
We have a tendency to underestimate the
influence of external factors and
overestimate the influence of internal or
personal factors when we make judgments
about the behavior of other people.

b. The self-serving bias
Self-serving bias is the tendency for
individuals to attribute their own successes
to internal factors while putting the blame
for failures on external factors.

c. Stereotype
Judging someone on the basis of ones
perception of the group to which that person
belongs to.
It is a means of simplifying a complex world,
and it permits us to maintain consistency.
It is less difficult to deal with an
unmanageable number of stimuli if we use
stereotypes.

d. Halo effect
It refers to the tendency of forming a general
impression about an individual on the basis
of a single characteristic feature.
A person smart dressed and very fluent in
English often tends to create favorable
impression on interviewer though the job is
of an accountant or engineer, requiring little
or no verbal fluency.

e. Projection
Attributing one’s own characteristics to the
other people.
It is easy to judge other people by assuming
that they are similar to us.
A person who engages in projection tends to
perceive the other people according to what
he/she is personally like rather than
according to what they are really like.

Outcomes of Improved Employee Perception
1. Improved interpersonal and organizational value
judgment system
2. Improved organizational decision-making
3. Increased level of interdependence among the people
4. Improved organizational relations within and beyond
the organizational boundaries
5. Improved level of trustworthiness at individual, group
and systems level

3. Personality
Meaning
 The inside-out features of a person observed and
sensed by the fellow members is known as one’s
personality.
 Personality refers to a dynamic and organized set of
characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely
influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and
behaviors in various situations.
 Personality is the sum total of ways in which an
individual reacts and interacts with others.
 Basically, personality comprises of psychological,
physiological and social dimensions of individual traits.

 Personality is the combination of emotional,
attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an
individual.
 The pattern of responses may vary according to
change in situation and environment.
 Personality is broad amorphous designation
relating to fundamental approaches of person to
other and themselves.
 It is a study of the characteristics of an individual
relationships between these traits and the ways in
which the person adjusts to other people and
situation.

PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
 Family is the major source for the development of personality.
 Self-discipline is an important factor in bringing change in
personality.
 Marriage may bring large difference in a man or woman.
 Personality development consists of personal development that
includes physical, mental and social development.
 The profile of stable beliefs, moods, and behavior that
differentiate among children and adults who live in a society.
 Role modeling plays a vital role in personality development.
 Awarding more importance to personality development is
significant in all societies and organizations today.
 The children wish to possess the qualities that their culture
regards as good.

Attributes of Personality
1. Physical or biological attributes: Gender, body
structure, height, hair style, color of the pupil of
the eyes, etc.
2. Psychological or intellectual attributes: Skill
competence, scholarship, knowledge, memory,
etc.
3. Social attributes: friendliness, outgoing, people-
based, team player, etc.

Determinants of Personality
a. Heredity
b. Environment
c. Situation

a. Heredity
The factors determined at
conception.
Physical stature, facial
attractiveness, sex, temperament,
energy level, and biological
rhythms are characteristics
generally considered to be brought
down to you from your parents.
The contribution of heredity to
personality development is vividly
clear for developing external
appearance, behavior, social
stimuli, self inner awareness, and
other traits.

b. Environment
Cultural factors: The accepted norms of social behavior are known as
culture. The way in which people behave with others and the driving
force of such functions are considered significant components of
culture.
Religion: A strong belief in a supernatural power that controls human
destiny. Religion plays a significant role in shaping one's personality.
Hindus have different personalities compared to Buddhists.
Family: Children learn from their parents, sisters and brothers. Family
is the first factor affecting personality development, after hereditary
characteristics are endowed. Children nurtured under a warm, loving
environment are positive and active as compared to the children
neglected by their parents.
Parental Influences: Positive or negative personalities of children are
dependent on their parents characteristics and mutual behavior.
Children develop negative personalities if their parents do not have
good relationship. Proper parental guidance to children makes them
active and efficient.March 22, 2015 41Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB

c. Situation
Internal Factors: The beholder’s level of socialization,
understanding, knowledge, maturity, experience, age,
tenure, etc. may have significant impact in
determining personality and its development.
External Factors: Time and urgency, requirements,
fellow members’ familiarity with the beholder and
their acceptance, etc. also may have varying effects
on personality formation and development.

Effect of locus of control in personality
Refers to the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that
affect them.
Individuals with a high internal locus of control believe that events result primarily
from their own behavior and actions. Those with a low internal locus of control believe
that powerful others, fate, or chance primarily determine events.

Some Personality Test and Application Tools
a. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
b. The Big FIVE Model
c. Risk Taking
d. Personality Types

a. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
assessment is a psychometric questionnaire
designed to measure psychological preferences in
how people perceive the world and make
decisions.
 It taps four characteristics and classifies people into
1 of 16 personality types.
Extroverted vs. Introverted (E or I)
Sensing vs. Intuitive (S or N)
Thinking vs. Feeling (T or F)
Judging vs. Perceiving (P or J)March 22, 2015 45Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB
Practice this tool in SAL
given to you

A FEW PERSONALITY COMPARISION EXAMPLES

b. The Big FIVE Model
1. Openness to experience: (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious).
Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and
variety of experience.
2. Conscientiousness: efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless). A
tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement;
planned rather than spontaneous behavior.
3. Extraversion – (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved). Energy,
positive emotions, and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company
of others.
4. Agreeableness – (friendly/compassionate vs. cold/unkind). A
tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious
and antagonistic towards others.
5. Emotional stability/Neuroticism – (sensitive/nervous vs.
secure/confident). A tendency to experience unpleasant emotions
easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability.

c. Risk-Taking
High Risk-taking Managers
• Make quicker decisions
• Use less information to make decisions
• Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial
organizations
Low Risk-taking Managers
• Are slower to make decisions
• Require more information before making
decisions
• Exist in larger organizations with stable
environmentsMarch 22, 2015 48Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB
Assess your tendency of
risk taking by practicing
the SAL exercise

d. Personality Types
Type A: Type A individuals are more ambitious, aggressive, business-like,
controlling, highly competitive, impatient, preoccupied with their status,
time-conscious, and tightly-wound. Type A people are often high-
achieving "workaholics" who multi-task, push themselves with
deadlines, and hate both delays and ambivalence. Because of these
characteristics, Type A individuals are often described as "stress junkies"
by individuals with Type B or other personality types.
Type B: Type B individuals are perfect contrast to those with Type A
personality. People with Type B personality are generally patient,
relaxed, easy-going, and at times lacking an overriding sense of urgency.
Because of these characteristics, Type B individuals are often described
as apathetic and disengaged by individuals with Type A or other
personality types.
Using SAL exercise, try to figure
out your personality type.

Outcomes of Personality
1. Rationalized employee selection and development
2. Interdependence, relationship and trustworthiness
3. Contribution in the organizational culture
4. Institutional promotion and market relationship
5. Increased self confidence and commitment
6. Enhanced creativity through expertise, task
motivation and creative skills

4. Learning
Meaning
 Learning is a means to create relatively permanent
change in one’s behavior.
 Change in behavior refers to shaping up the behavior
for some defined purpose.
 Relatively permanent in the sense that it may go on
accumulating the knowledge about things, events or
people over time.
 Learning in behavioral science, is beyond academic
knowledge or skill competence in doing something; it
is all about knowing or understanding the
phenomenon.
 Learning is always situational.

Three Major Theories of Learning in OB
1. Classical Conditioning
2. Operant Conditioning
3. Observational Learning
4. Social Learning

Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory of Learning
 Evan Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist and winner of Nobel
Prize in 1904 for his work on digestion, is best known for
his research on Classical Conditioning and propagating a
universal approach in learning as the outcomes of the
research.
 Classical conditioning is a basic form of learning in which
one stimulus comes to serve as a signal for the occurrence
of a second stimulus. For example, ringing the bell followed
by serving the food to the dog and salivation happening in
the dog.
 During classical conditioning, organisms acquire
information about the relations between various stimuli,
not simple association between them.

Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory of Learning
Unconditioned Stimulus
(UCS)
Unconditioned Response
(UCR)
A stimuli that can evoke an
unconditioned response in
the first time it is presented.
Calling the dog with its name,
following a bell-ring.
The response evoked by an
unconditioned stimulus. The
dog looks at the source/s of
the call.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Unconditioned Response (CR)
The stimulus that is
repeatedly paired with an
unconditioned stimulus.
Once the dog is ready to look
at, serving of food to eat.
The response to the
conditioned stimulus.
Salivation on seeing the food.

Operant Conditioning
 Learning based on consequences.
 Operant learning is a form of learning in which
behavior is maintained, or changed, through
consequences.
 For example, the views the politicians express
often reflect the public opinion through different
polls.
 Employee satisfaction may be taken as a result of
level of care and support by the boss.

Operant Conditioning Theory of Learning
Operant Conditioning Reinforcement
A process through which
organisms learn to repeat
behavior that yields positive
outcomes, or permit them to
avoid or escape from negative
outcomes
The application or removal of
a stimulus to increase the
strength of a specific
behavior.
Positive Reinforcement Premack Principle
The stimuli that strengthens
responses that precede them.
Principle stating that a more
preferred activity can be used
to reinforce a less preferred
activity.

Social Learning
 The newly hired employee understands the reality
within the organization after socializing with the
peer workers.
 What boss had said about the organization during
the selection interviewed may not rightly be the
truth. What the peer workers said about it may be
the truth.
 Learning may go in positive or negative direction.

Observational Learning
The theory believes that a significant amount of learning
results from watching other people’s behavior in action
in many instances.
We learn so many things by watching the children in
action.
The subordinates perform better in a critical problem if
they are provided with a finely designed demonstration
of the operating process before they perform.
I see, I learn.

4. Motivation
1. Definition of motivation
2. Content theories of motivation
a. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
b. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
c. McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory
d. ERG Theory
3. Process theories of motivation
a. Adam’s Equity Theory
b. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
c. Locke’s Goal Setting Theory
4. Cognitive Theories of Motivation
a. Achievement Theory
b. Attribution Theory

Definition of Motivation
• A tendency to expend effort to achieve goals
• The psychological processes that cause for
arousal, direction, task persistence, task
involvement, and goal directed behavior are
the keys to motivation
• Motivation is only one determinant of
performance
• Performance is also influenced by abilities or
traits and role perceptions and opportunities

Motivation Defined
• The forces that move people to perform their jobs.
• An stimulus, internal or external, influences,
persuades, or directs the behavior of human
beings.
• Motivation is the willingness to achieve
organizational objectives.
• Through the motivation process, people go from
need to motive to behavior to consequence and
finally to either satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
• Motivation is a general term applying to the entire
class of drives, desires, needs, wishes, and similar
forces.

The Need-Want-Satisfaction Chain
actions
Needs
give
raise to
wants
which
cause
tensions
which give
raise tothat
result in
satisfaction

Difference between Motivation and Satisfaction
Motivation Results
Satisfaction

Challenges of Motivating Employees
• Layoffs, restructuring
–Damaged trust,
commitment
• Flatter organizations
–Fewer supervisors to
monitor performance
• Changing workforce
–Younger staff have different
needs
–Diverse workforce variety of
motivation practices

What Motivates Employees
• Money
• Participation
• Quality of work life
• Job enrichment
• Need enrichment
• Physical conditions
• Training and development
• Recognition
• Challenging job
• Good coworkers, boss, inspectors, and so on

Selected Theories of Motivation
I. Content Theories of Motivation
II. Process Theories of Motivation
III. Cognitive Theories of Motivation

I. Content Theories
• Focus on factors within a person
• Attempt to identify what specific needs motivate
people
• Also known as need theories of motivation
• The main content theories of motivation include:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory
ERG Theory

Self-
Actualization
Esteem
Belongingness
Safety
Physiological
Growth
Relatedness
Existence
MHerzberg’s
Two-Factor Theory
Motivators
Hygienes
Need for
Achievement
Need for
Power
Need for
Affiliation
McClelland’ Learned
Needs Theory
Alderfer’s
ERG Theory
Maslow’s Needs
Hierarchy Theory

• Defines five needs arranged in hierarchical order:
• Physiological needs are physical needs common to
all (e.g. need for food, water)
• Safety needs refer to physical or psychological
protection
• Social needs refer to love and social acceptance
• Esteem needs refer to master life experiences; the
need for success
• Self actualization needs refer to achieve one’s
creative potential; to be all that one is capable of
being

Self-Actualization
Esteem
Love/Belongingness
Safety
Physiological
Lower Order Higher
Strength Needs
Higher Order Lower
Strength Needs

Needs Hierarchy Theory
Needs Hierarchy Theory
• Maslow arranged five
needs in a hierarchy
• Satisfaction-progression
process
• People who experience
self-actualization desire
more rather than less of
this need
Self-Actualization
Esteem
Belongingness
Safety
Physiological

• Recap: Individuals attempt to satisfy basic needs
before directing behavior toward higher order
needs
• Practical value: user-friendly theory for managers
• Limitations:
–Doesn’t address individual differences (eg.,
order and intensity of need deprivation, time
between stages, etc.)
–Needs are dynamic and are subject to change

Self
Actualization
Esteem
Love/Belongingness
Safety
Physiological
Relatedness
Growth
Alderfer’s ERG Theory
Existence

ERG
Theory
Needs Hierarchy
Theory
ERG Theory: Originated from Maslow’s Hierarchy
• Alderfer’s model has
three sets of needs
• Adds frustration-
regression process to
Maslow’s model
Self-
Actualization
Esteem
Belongingness
Safety
Physiological
Growth
Relatedness
Existence

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Recap: not all elements of a job can motivate…but
they can certainly aggravate!
– Hygiene factors are necessary, but not sufficient
– Motivators have to be there
Practical value: Managers can fine-tune job and job
environment to include motivators
Limitations:
– Assumes every employee has similar needs
– Hasn’t been updated to reflect current situation
toward job security and pay

Extremely satisfied Neutral Extremely dissatisfied
Motivators
• Achievement
• Recognition
• Work itself
• Responsibility
• Advancements
• Growth
Hygiene Factors
• Supervision
• Company policy
• Relationship with supervisors
• Working conditions
• Salary
• Relationship with peers
• Personal life
• Relationship with subordinates
• Status
• Security

McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory
Recap: Certain needs are learned, and individuals will be
more likely to engage in behavior to satisfy these needs.
• Need for achievement (set difficult goals for him/her)
• Need for power (encourage individual to make decisions
and to persuade others)
• Need for affiliation (place person in work teams)
Practical value: management can focus on these needs in
employees so that needs satisfaction can match
organizational goals.
Limitations
– Complicated to understand
– Lack of testing of the motivators and hygiene factors

Implications of Content Theories
• Match rewards with employee needs
• Offer employees a choice of rewards
– people have different needs at different times
• Limit use of financial rewards as a source of
motivation

II. Process Theories
• Focus on factors external to a person
• Attempt to identify how behavior is initiated,
directed, and sustained
• The key process theories:
Adam’s Equity Theory
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Locke’s Goal Setting Theory

• A theory based on the social comparison between
an individual and a referent
• Focuses on perception of how fairly individual is
being treated
• Equity is achieved when the ratio of individual’s
outcomes to inputs equals that of a referent
other’s
Inputs – characteristics the person brings to the job
such as education, skills, experience, etc.
Outcomes – what the individual receives from job
such as pay, recognition, benefits, etc.

Restoring equity: Individuals can…
• Change inputs (eg., put in less hours)
• Change outcomes (eg., ask for raise)
• Change referent other (eg., compare to peer)
• Change the situation (eg., quit job)
Note: maintaining employee perceptions of equity is
critical role of managers

Elements of Equity Theory
Outcome/input ratio
–inputs -- what employee contributes (e.g. skill)
–outcomes -- what employees receive (e.g. pay)
Comparison other
–person/people we compare ratio with
–not easily identifiable
Equity evaluation
–compare outcome/input ratio with
the comparison other

Overreward vs Underreward Inequity
You
Comparison
Other
Outcomes
Inputs
Outcomes
Inputs
Overreward
Inequity
Outcomes
Inputs
Outcomes
Inputs
Underreward
Inequity

Equity Theory
I/O = I/O

Consequences of Inequity
• Change inputs
• Change outcomes
• Change perceptions
• Leave the field
• Act on the comparison other
• Change the comparison other

Equity Sensitivity
Benevolent
– Tolerant of being underrewarded
Equity Sensitive
– Want ratio to be equal in comparison to others
Entitled
– Prefer receiving proportionately more than
others

Work
motivation
Growth
satisfaction
General
satisfaction
Work
effectiveness
Job Characteristics Model
Feedback
from job
Knowledge
of results
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance
Meaningfulness
Autonomy Responsibility
Individual
differences
Critical
Psychological
States
Core Job
Characteristics Outcomes

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Motivation depends on individuals’ expectations
about their ability to perform tasks and achieve
desired rewards
E  P expectancy: putting effort into a given activity
will result in high performance
P  O expectancy: successful performance of a task
will lead to desired outcome
Valence: the value a person places on an outcome
Problem: Assumes that employees always make
conscious decisions

Effort Performance
E-to-P
Expectancy
P-to-O
Expectancy
Outcomes
& Valences
Outcome 1
+ or -
Outcome 3
+ or -
Outcome 2
+ or -
Expectancy Theory of Motivation

Expectancy Theory in Practice
Increasing the E-to-P expectancy
– training, selection, resources, clarify roles,
provide coaching and feedback
Increasing the P-to-O expectancy
– Measure performance accurately, explain how
rewards are based on past performance
Increasing outcome valences
– Use valued rewards, individualize rewards,
minimize countervalent outcomes

VIE Theory
Valence
Instrumentality
Expectancy

VIE Theory
Valence: The importance (valence) of the reward; is
the reward important?
Instrumentality: Does one believe that improved
performance leads to greater rewards?
Expectancy: Does one believe that increased effort
leads to improved performance?

• Process of establishing goals to achieve motivation
–typically involving superior and subordinate
working together
–goal is defined as a specific target that an
individual is attempting to achieve
• Attributes of cognitive process of goal setting:
• Goal specificity – degree of clarity of goal
• Goal difficulty – degree of proficiency or
performance sought
• Goal commitment – amount of effort used to
achieve goal

Tends to encourage motivation when
–Goals are stated in specific, clear terms
–Goals are difficult, but not attainable
–Individuals can participate in goal setting process
Criticisms
–Difficult to sustain
–Doesn’t work well for complex jobs
–Game playing is encouraged (e.g., setting low
goals)
–Goal accomplishment can become an obsession

Effective Goal Setting
Task
Effort
Task
Performance
Specific
Relevant
Challenging
Difficulty
Participation
Commitment

Goal Setting at CDW Computer Centers
CDW Computer Centers has
become a leading direct
marketer of computers and
peripherals by setting specific,
challenging goals for its
employees. “We set BHAGS --
which are big, hairy aggressive
goals,” says CEO John A.
Edwardson (shown here).

Area of
Optimal
Goal
Difficulty
Effect of Goal Difficulty on Performance
High
TaskPerformance
Low Moderate Challenging Impossible
Goal Difficulty

III. Cognitive Theories of Motivation
Suggests that motivation is a function of
cognition and thought; that is, what we think
about what is happening influences motivation
• Achievement Theory
• Attribution Theory

Achievement Theory
• Suggests that motivation is a function of the
interaction between one’s need for
achievement/fear of failure and the difficulty level
of the task
• The need for achievement can be defined as a
tendency to approach new/novel tasks
• The fear of failure can be defined as a tendency to
avoid new/novel tasks

High Need for
Achievement
Low Fear of
Failure
Low Need for
Achievement
High Fear of
Failure

Initial Success Initial Failure
High
Need for
Ach.
Low
Need for
Ach.
Motivation
Decreases
Motivation
Increases
Motivation
Increases
Motivation
Decreases
High
Need for
Achievement
Low Need for
Achievement
Easy
Moderate Difficult
Low
Motivation
High
Motivation
Low
Motivation
High
Motivation
Low
Motivation
Low
Motivation
Task Difficulty

Initial Success Initial Failure
High
Need for
Achievement
Low
Need for
Achievement
Motivation
Decreases
Motivation
Increases
Motivation
Increases
Motivation
Decreases

Attribution Theory
• Motivation decreases when we attribute our failures to
stable factors like ability and task difficulty
• Motivation increases when failure is attributed to unstable
factors like effort
• Motivation is influenced by the reasons we attribute
ourselves for successes and failures
• Four attributions: ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck
• The attributions can also be categorized in two dimensions:
locus of control (internal, external) and stability (stable,
unstable)
• Motivation is high when we attribute our successes and
failures to internal factors like ability and effort
• Motivation is low when we attribute our successes and
failures to external factors like task difficulty and luckMarch 22, 2015 103Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB

Internal
Locus of
Control
Stable Unstable
Behavior Behavior
External
Locus of
Control
Effort
Luck
Task
Difficulty
Ability

5. Job Satisfaction
Meaning
 It is the extent to which the job holders show
pleasure or displeasure of being involved in a
particular job.
 Job satisfaction is a dependent variable in
organization psychology as it is an outcome of job
performance and working environment within an
organization.
 It is measures in two directions, viz. satisfaction
and dissatisfaction.

 It is perceived from the employees’ points of views
on a job.
 Can be measured using a number of qualitative as
well as quantitative tools.
 Is highly instrumental in enhancing organizational
productivity, employee loyalty, retention and
punctuality.
 A satisfied employee intends to create a number of
satisfied customers for a company.

Job Satisfaction
• One of the primary job attitudes measured.
– Broad term involving a complex individual summation of
a number of discrete job elements.
• How to measure?
– Single global rating (one question/one answer) - Best
– Summation score (many questions/one average) - OK
• Are people satisfied in their jobs?
– In the U. S., yes, but the level appears to be dropping.
– Results depend on how job satisfaction is measured.
– Pay and promotion are the most problematic elements.
March 22, 2015
Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB 107

Causes of Job Satisfaction
• Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point.
–After about $40,000 a year (in the U. S.), there is
no relationship between amount of pay and job
satisfaction.
–Money may bring happiness, but not necessarily
job satisfaction.
• Personality can influence job satisfaction.
–Negative people are usually not satisfied with
their jobs.
–Those with positive core self-evaluation are more
satisfied with their jobs.
March 22, 2015Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB 108

There may be a number of means of generating job
satisfaction, but more important ones are:
 Achievement through challenging job
 Reward and promotion on achievement
 Job excellence contributing to interpersonal
relations
 Involvement in decision making
 Leadership role
 Institutional responsiveness and accountability
 Position and power given on a job

Causes of Job Satisfaction

Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction
Exit
• Behavior
directed toward
leaving the
organization
Voice
• Active and
constructive
attempts to
improve
conditions
Neglect
• Allowing
conditions to
worsen
Loyalty
• Passively
waiting for
conditions to
improve
Active
Destructive Constructive
Passive

Outcomes of Job Satisfaction
1. Job performance: Satisfied workers are more productive
AND more productive workers are more satisfied!
2. Organizational citizenship behavior: Satisfaction
influences OCB through perceptions of fairness.
3. Customer satisfaction: Satisfied frontline employees
increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Absenteeism: Satisfied employees are moderately less
likely to miss work.
5. Workplace deviance: Dissatisfied workers are more likely
to unionize, abuse substances, steal, be tardy, and withdraw.
March 22, 2015
Dr Rijal's Discourses on OB
112

Unit ii ob at individual level

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Unit ii ob at individual level (20)

More from Rolling Plans Pvt. Ltd. (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Unit ii ob at individual level

Editor's Notes