(1) Max Weber (1964-1920) Bureaucracy

Highly structured:
Centralization of power
Lecture 1 What is OB? OB is the field of behavioural science 1. Classic OB View: Single supervisor; chain of command
that seeks knowledge of how individuals act, think, and feel Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) Rules and regulations
in organizations by studying individual and group processes Standardization of job design Specialization of labor
Lecture 2
2. Human relations view of OB: 3. Contingency view
- Concerned with the social and psychological needs of employees - Much of contemporary research offers answers to organizational
- Mayo and the Hawthorne studies problems by saying : It depends. NEUROTICISM:
- Hawthorne Plants of Western Electric Co. - No best way that applies to all situations - Neuroticism is not a factor of meanness or incompetence, but one of confidence and
- Relay Assembly Room Study (1927-29) - An appropriate management style depends on interactions (e.g., being comfortable in ones own skin. It encompasses ones emotional stability and
- Five female employees context x behavior or the person x situation). general temper.
- Effects of length of workday & week, & use of rest periods on - National culture and ethnic diversity have proven to be some of the - Those high in neuroticism are generally given to anxiety, sadness, worry, and low self-
productivity & fatigue most important contingency variables in OB research. esteem
Initial conditions: 48 hours/ week (Monday-Saturday, 9-5), no breaks - Individuals who score on the low end of neuroticism are more likely to feel confident,
sure of themselves, and adventurous.
AGREEABLENESS:
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS: - This factor concerns how well people get along with others. While Self-monitoring:
- Conscientiousness is a trait that can be described as the extroversion concerns sources of energy and the pursuit of - Refers to the extent to which people observe and regulate how they appear and behave in
tendency to control impulses and act in socially acceptable interactions with others, agreeableness concerns your orientation to social settings and relationships
ways, behaviors that facilitate goal-directed behavior others -Those who score high on the trait of self-monitoring are characterized by sensitivity to
- Someone who is high in conscientiousness is likely to be - People high in agreeableness tend to be well-liked, respected, and social clues indicating socially appropriate behavior
successful in school and in their career, to excel in leadership sensitive to the needs of others. - Low self-monitors are thought to be relatively insensitive to social cues, and tend to
positions, and to doggedly pursue their goals with - People on the low end of the agreeableness spectrum are less likely maintain a consistent self-presentation across different situations.
determination to be trusted and liked by others. They tend to be callous, blunt, rude,
- A person who is low in conscientiousness is much more likely ill-tempered, antagonistic, and sarcastic. Locus of Control:
to procrastinate, to be flighty, impetuous, and impulsive. - High external control determined by fate, luck, powerful people
EXTRAVERSION
- High internal control determined by self initative, personal actions, free will
OPENNESS: - The extent to which a person is outgoing versus shy
- Openness to experience has been found to contribute to - Those high in extroversion are likely to value achievement
Fundamental attribution error
likelihood of obtaining a leadership position, likely due to the and stimulation, and unlikely to value tradition or conformity
- When individuals observe behavior, they attempt to determine the
ability to entertain new ideas and think outside the box cause of iteither dispositional or situational
Self-serving bias
- Those high in openness to experience should capitalize on their - FAE is the tendency to underestimate the influence of external
- The tendency for individuals to take credit for successful outcomes
advantage and explore the world, their selves, and their passions. factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when
while denying responsibility for failures.
Perception: making judgments about the behavior of others.
What matters more? Personality or environment? It depends:
- How do you accurately judge others? - In general, we tend to blame the other person first, not the situation.
(1) Strength of the situation
- How do you know you are not making a biased decision? Halo effect:
- Weak situations are ambiguous. There is no obvious way to behave
- Perception can be biased both in terms of how individuals process - We tend to categorize people as globally positive or negative
(e.g., work group just formed and no one knows each other well)
inputs and individuals make judgments about situations or people Seeing someone positively on one trait affects how you see them on
- Strong situations are concrete. It is expected that you behave in
- Context and motivation matter other traits
specific ways (e.g., assembly line working following basic protocol)
- Attention is limited In the beautiful is good example, more attractive people are often
(2)When situation is relevant to the role
thought to possess social desirable traits, be happier, be better
- Personality matters when a certain role calls for having a certain Why do we have all of these biases?
parents, live a more fulfilled life, etc.
personality (personality x role fit). Cognitive shortcuts (heuristics)
- Extraversion is extremely predictive of performance for a sales - Too much information in environment to process Job dissatisfaction! Job Satisfaction
Lecture 3
person consciously, so our brain does it on auto-pilot - Why are people dissatisfied with their jobs? Collection of attitudes
- Extraversion does not predict performance for an assembly line - Is it something about their co-workers, that people have about their jobs
worker What does job satisfaction What predicts job satisfaction? their bosses, the organization, the
predict? - Disposition/Personality, Discrepancy, fairness, compensation, something else? 2. Facet satisfaction
Frequently used shortcuts in judging others Absenteeism, Turnover Mood and emotions, Challenging work, Adequate - Facet satisfaction refers to the tendency
Stereotyping intentions, Customer compensation, Career opportunities, Relationship for an employee to be more or less
- Judging someone on the basis of ones perception of the group to satisfaction Organizational with co-workers (1) Overall satisfaction satisfied with various facets of the job:
which that person belongs commitment, Organizational - Overall satisfaction is an average or total of the - I love my colleagues, but hate my boss
- More specifically, a generalization that groups all people of a certain What is motivation?
citizenship behaviors (OCBs) - I find my work tasks really enjoyable,
belief/race/age group, etc. as having a certain behavioral trait or - The extent to which persistent effort attitudes individuals hold toward their job as a whole. but hate how much I get paid
is directed toward a goal. - I love my job vs I hate my job
characteristic. Job Characteristics - Task significance - I give my job a 10 out of 10!
Projection - Effort: How hard a person tries Extrinsic motivation
- The impact that a job has on other people.
- Attributing ones own characteristic to other people - Persistence: How long a person tries - Two employees might express the same level of - What are the external reasons would I
- High task significance: Caring for patients overall satisfaction, but for different reasons.
- Direction: Towards beneficial goal want to achieve this goal?
Satisfaction-performance in ICU
(to whom?) Intrinsic motivation - Motivation that stems from the work
(1) Performance = motivation + ability - Low task significance: Sweeping floor in
- Goal: The objective that a person is What are the internal reasons would I want to environment external to the task. It is
- Satisfaction can increase motivation, but it cant really ICU trying to achieve achieve this goal? usually applied by others.
increase ability Job Characteristics - Autonomy Stems from the direct relationship between the - e.g., pay, benefits, bonuses, praise,
(2) Satisfaction can lead to being too relaxed and - The freedom to schedule ones own work activities and decide worker and the task and is usually self-applied. promotions, etc.
complacent work procedures. e.g., sheer interest in the job itself, feeling of Job characteristics
(3) Feelings of satisfaction may come from non- - High autonomy: A telephone installer who schedules his or her achievement, accomplishment, challenge, - Jobs with these characteristics
productive facets of work (e.g., youre satisfied because own work for the day, and decides on the best techniques for a mastering skills, and engaging in meaningful directly affect three
you like chatting with co-workers). particular installation work psychological states of
Job Characteristics - Skill variety Low autonomy: A telephone operator who must handle calls as
Job Characteristics - Job feedback employees:
- The opportunity to do a variety of job activities using various they come according to a routine, highly specified procedure
- Information about the effectiveness of ones work - Knowledge of results
skills and talents. performance. - Meaningfulness of work
Job Characteristics - Task identity
- High skill variety: The operator of a garage who does electrical - High feedback: An electronics factory worker who - Personal feelings of
- The extent to which a job involves doing a complete piece of work,
repair, rebuilds engines, body work, and interacts with customers assembles a radio and then tests it to determine if it responsibility for results
from beginning to end.
- Low skill variety: A bodyshop worker who sprays paint eight operates properly - Increases in these psychological
- High task identity: A worker who designs a piece of furniture, selects
hours a day - Low feedback: An electronics factory worker who
the wood, builds the object, and finishes it states result in increased
Lecture 4 - Low task identity: A worker in a factory who operates a tool to assembles a radio and then routes it to a quality motivation, performance, and
make table legs control inspector who tests and adjusts it job satisfaction.
In-group/out-group bias and textbook (1) Goal setting theory
Maslows Hierarchy of Needs McClellands Theory of Needs - Process theory of
In-group/out-group bias stereotypes people - The lowest level that is not satisfied will be what motivates you. Needs are individual differences (like personality traits) motivation (how)
- We categorize ourselves and others - All levels below (satisfied needs) will not motivate you because you dont People focus on different needs - Looks at goals at
- Social identity theory: people form perceptions of themselves based need them anymore. The needs you focus on the most are the ones that motivators
on their characteristics and membership in social groups - All levels above will not be motivating because you have more pressing needs motivate you the most (fit model). - What kinds of goals are
- Stereotypes: assume people have certain characteristics by virtue of to A nonhierarchical need theory (c/w Maslow) most motivating?
attend to. Three elements: A need for - Rewards?
some category that they fall into - EXCEPT, self-actualization needs become stronger when they are gratified Achievement (n Ach) - Supportiveness?
- Person perception and workplace diversity What are some problems with this motivational hierarchy? What do you think? Affiliation (n Aff) - Goal feedback: ongoing,
- Very strong bias to prefer our own group (textbook calls this - People aim for higher order needs even when lower order needs are not met. Power (n Pow) accurate, specific, credible,
intergroup bias) - People often compensate for failing to achieve higher order needs by focusing and timely
on achieving more lower order needs. Expectancy theory
- Individual differences! - Different from goal setting theory
Types of contextual social biases
- Psychological, safety and security, love and belonging, self-esteem, self- - Expectancy theory says that motivation is determined by outcomes people expect
- We assess cues over time and in relationship to situation actualization to occur as a result of their actions on the job.
- Consistency cues: evaluate cues for consistency over time Need for Achievement (n Ach) - Increase motivation by boosting expectancies, clarify instrumentalies (reward
- Consensus cues: evaluate compared to the behavior of others contingencies), appreciate differences in preferences (valences).
- Distinctiveness cues: evaluate whether engaging in a - A strong desire to perform challenging tasks well. - In goal-setting theory, concerned with how the goal itself acts as a motivator
behavior across a variety of situations - High need for achievement exhibit: - Increase motivation by modifying elements of the goal (i.e. specificity), challenge
- A preference for situations in which personal responsibility can be taken for - of goal, commitment to goal, etc.
Need for Affiliation (n Aff) outcomes.
- A strong desire to establish and maintain friendly, compatible interpersonal Jobs where achievement is central (i.e. sales jobs or entrepreneurial positions) Expectancy
relationships. - A tendency to set moderately difficult goals that provide for calculated risks. Links effort and performance
- People with a high need for affiliation have an ability to learn social networking - A desire for performance feedback. The probability that a particular first-level outcome can be achieved
quickly and a tendency to communicate frequently with others. Instrumentality
- Likewise, jobs where affiliation is central (i.e. social work or customer relations) Links performance and reward
The probability that a particular first-level outcome will be followed by a particular
Need for Power (n Pow) second-level outcome
- A strong desire to influence others, making a significant impact or impression. Valence
- People with a high need for power seek out social settings in which they can be The value an individual places on that reward
influential. The expected value of work outcomes
- Power can be used to serve the power seeker, other people, or the organization.
- Again, jobs where power is central (i.e. journalism or politics)