Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 9/e Stephen P. Robbins/Timothy A.

Judge

Chapter 2

Foundations of Individual Behavior

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After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Explain the relationship between ability and job performance. Contrast the three components of an attitude. Discuss similarities and differences between job satisfaction and the other job attitudes discussed. Discuss the causes and consequences of job satisfaction. Understand how to shape the behavior of others. Distinguish among the four schedules of reinforcement.
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Ability
Refers to an individuals capacity to perform the various tasks in a job Is a current assessment of what one can do Intellectual ability is one of the best predictors of performance The correlation between intelligence and job satisfaction is about zero Employee performance is enhanced when there is a high ability-job fit
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Attitudes
Evaluative statements either favorable or unfavorable concerning objects, people or events Attitudes reflect how one feels about something

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Major Components of Attitude

Cognition an opinion or belief Affect the emotional or feeling segment Behavior the intention to behave in a certain way

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Consistency of Attitudes
People seek consistency among their attitudes and between their attitudes and their behavior When there is an inconsistency, the individual may alter either the attitudes or behavior, or develop a rationalization for the discrepancy
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Cognitive Dissonance
Any inconsistency between two or more attitudes, or between behavior and attitudes Individuals seek to minimize dissonance The desire to reduce dissonance is determined by:
The importance of the elements creating the dissonance The degree of influence the individual believes he or she has over the elements The rewards that may be involved in dissonance
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Moderators of the attitudesbehavior relationship

Importance of the attitude Specificity of the attitude or behavior Accessibility of the attitude The existence of social pressures A persons direct experience with the attitude
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Self-Perception Theory
The view that behavior influences attitudes Argues that attitudes are used after the fact to make sense out of an action that has already occurred rather than as devices that precede and guide action Tend to infer attitude from behavior when you have had few experiences regarding an issue Attitudes likely to guide behavior when your attitudes have been established for a while
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Major Job Attitudes

Job satisfaction Job involvement Psychological empowerment Organizational commitment
Affective commitment Continuance commitment Normative commitment

Perceived organizational support Employee engagement

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What causes job satisfaction?

Work itself the strongest correlation with overall satisfaction Pay not correlated after individual reaches a level of comfortable living Advancement opportunities Supervision Coworkers A persons personality
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Effects of Satisfied and Dissatisfied Employees

Job performance strong correlation OCB modest relationship but more related to conceptions of fair outcomes, treatment and procedures Customer Satisfaction strong correlation Absenteeism moderate to weak negative correlation Turnover moderate negative correlation Workplace deviance strong correlation
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Learning
Any relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a result of experience.

Learning involves change The change must become ingrained Some form of experience is necessary for learning
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Theories of Learning
Operant Conditioning
Argues that people learn to behave to get something they want or avoid something they dont want

Social Learning
Individuals can learn by observing what happens to other people and just being told about something, as well as by direct experiences
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Methods of Shaping Behavior

1. 2. 3. 4. Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Punishment Extinction

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Schedules of reinforcement
Continuous reinforces behavior each and every time it is demonstrated Intermittent
Fixed or variable ratio Fixed or variable interval

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Schedules of Reinforcement

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Implications for Managers

Ability
Effective selection process improves fit Promotion and transfer based on abilities Fine-tune job to better match abilities

Attitudes raise satisfaction by focusing on making work challenging and interesting Learning Use reinforcement instead of punishment
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Summary
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Explained the relationship between ability and job performance. Contrasted the three components of an attitude. Discussed similarities and differences between job satisfaction and the other job attitudes. Discussed the causes and consequences of job satisfaction. Understand how to shape the behavior of others. Distinguished among the four schedules of reinforcement.
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