Foundations of Individual Behavior

*Ability
*Biographical Characteristics
*Learning

*Ability-an individuals capacity to perform

the various tasks in a job

Types of ability:
1. Intellectual Ability-capacity to do
mental activities
Dimensions of Intellectual Ability-number
aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual
speed, inductive reasoning, deductive
reasoning, spatial visualization & memory

2. Physical Ability-capacity to do
tasks demanding stamina, dexterity,
strength and similar characteristics

*Nine Physical Abilities-strength

factors (dynamic , trunk, static &
explosive ),flexibility factors ( extent
& dynamic) & other factors (body
coordination, balance & stamina)

Ability-j0b fit - employee performance is

enhanced when there is a high abilityjob fit
*high ability-job fit when an employee
and position are well matched

*Biographical Characteristics
-Personal characteristics such as age, gender
and marital status, they are objective and
easily obtained from personnel records. Age
seems to have no relationship to productivity.
Older/longer tenured workers are less likely
to resign. Married employees have fewer
absences, less turn over, and report high job
satisfaction than do unmarried employees.

*Learning any relatively permanent change in

behavior that occurs as a result of experience
Theories of learning:
-Classical Conditioning- a type of conditioning in
which an individual responds to some stimulus that
would ordinarily produce such a response
- Operant Conditioning-a type of conditioning in
which desired voluntary behavior leads to a reward
or prevents a punishment.

Reinforcement
Two Major Types

Continuous Reinforcement*a desired behavior is reinforced each time

it is demonstrated
Intermittent Reinforcement
*a desired behavior is reinforced often
enough to make the behavior worth repeating
but not every time it is demonstrated
* Multiple Frequencies

Types of Intermittent Reinforcement

Ratio =>depends on the number of
responses made
Interval =>depends on the time of
reinforcement
Fixed =>rewards are spaced at uniform time
intervals or after a set of responses.
Variable =>rewards that are unpredictable
or that vary relative to the behavior

Attitude & Job Satisfaction

Attitudes-evaluative statements or
judgments concerning objects, people or
events
Three Components
-Cognitive
-Affective
-Behavioral

 Predicting Behavior from Attitudes

-Important attitudes have a strong
relationship to behavior
-The closer the match between attitude &
behavior, the stronger the relationship
-The more frequently expresses an attitude,
the better predictor it is
-High social pressures reduce the
relationship & may cause dissonance
-Attitudes based on personal experience are
stronger predictors

 What are the major job attitudes?

- Job Satisfaction
- Job Involvement
- Psychological Empowerment
Another major job attitude
-Organizational Commitment
More job attitudes
-Perceived Organizational Support
(POS)
-Employee Engagement

 Causes of job satisfaction

Employees Responses to dissatisfaction
Outcome of Job Satisfaction
-job performance
-organizational citizenship behaviors
-Customer satisfaction
-absenteeism
More outcomes of job satisfaction
-turn over
-workplace deviance

Personality & Values

Personality- is the unique way an

individual has learned to deal with the

challenges of life and work. It is the general
trend of how a person thinks and behaves.

Personality Determinants

Heredity
- Factors determined at conception;
physical stature, facial
attractiveness, gender,
temperament, muscle composition
and reflexes, energy level and biorhythms

Personality traits
Enduring characteristics that describe
an individual behavior --- the more
consistent the characteristics and the
more frequently it occurs in diverse
situations the more important the trait.

The BIG Five Model of Personality Dimensions

- Extroversion

Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Open to Experience

How do the Big Five Traits Predict

Behavior?
- Highly conscientious people develop
more job knowledge, exert greater
effort, and have better performance.
- Emotional stability is related to job
satisfaction

- Extroverts tend to be happier in their

jobs and have good social skills.
- Open people are more creative and can
be good leaders.

- Agreeable people are good in social

settings.

Other Personality Traits Relevant to

Organizational Behavior (OB)
Core Self-Evaluation

The degree to which people like or

dislike themselves
Positive self-evaluation leads to
higher job performance

Machiavellianism

A pragmatic, emotionally distant power-player

who believes that ends justify the means.
High Machs are manipulative, win more often and
persuade more than they are persuaded --- so
they flourish when they have direct interaction,
work with minimal rules & regulations.
Narcissism
An arrogant, entitled, self-important person who
needs excessive admiration
Less effective in their job.

More Relevant Personality Traits

Self-Monitoring
The ability to adjust behavior to meet
external situational factors
High monitors conform more and are more
likely to become leaders.
Risk Taking
The willingness to take chances
Risk takers make faster decisions with less
information

Proactive Personality

Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes

action, and perseveres to completion
Creates positive change in the environment

Type A Personality

Aggressively involved in chronic, incessant struggle

to achieve more in less time
Impatient: always moving, walking and eating rapidly
Strive to think or do two or more things at once.
Cannot cope with leisure time
Obsessed with achievement numbers

Type B is the complete opposite of A.

Sixteen Personality Types

1) The Duty Fulfiller

9) The Doer
2) The Mechanic
10) The Guardian
3) The Nurturer
11) The Performer
4) The Artist
12) The Caregiver
5) The Protector
13) The Inspirer
6) The Idealist
14) The Giver
7) The Scientist 15) The Visionary
8) The Thinker
16) The Executive

Values
Basic convictions on how to conduct
yourself or how to live your life that is
personally or socially preferable
How to live life properly

Importance of values
Provide understanding of attitudes,
motivation and behaviors
Influence our perception of the world around
us
Represent interpretations of right and
wrong
Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are
preferred over others

Values
Attributes of values:
: Content Attribute
: Intensity Attribute
Values System
Importance of Values
-Classifying Values
*Terminal Values
*Instrumental Values
*People in same occupations or categories
tend to hold similar values
* Generational Values

Five Value Dimensions

Power Distance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Masculinity vs. Feminity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

Hofstedes Framework
- an assessment-

-There are regional differences within

countries
- The original data is old and based on only
one company
- Hofstede had to make many judgment calls
while doing research
- Some results dont match what is believed to
be true about given countries
- Despite these problems it remains a very
popular framework

Each of us is a puzzle, unique in shape & fit ,

every person in an organization is different
from everyone else. Understanding
individuals in an organizations is important for
all managers. A basic framework for
facilitating this understanding is the
psychological contract-peoples expectations
regarding what they will contribute to the
organization and what they will get in return.
Organizations strive to achieve an optimal
person-job fit, but this process is complicated
by the existence of individual differences

Personalities are the relatively stable sets

of psychological & behavioral attributes
that distinguish one person from
another. The big five personality
traits are: agreeableness,
conscientiousness, negative
emotionality, extraversion and
openness. Other personality traits
include locus of control, self-efficacy,
authoritarianism. Machiavellianism, selfesteem, and risk propensity.

Attitudes are based on emotion,

knowledge, and intended behavior.
Cognitive dissonance results from
contradictory or incongruent attitudes,
behaviors, or both. Job satisfaction or
dissatisfaction and organizational
commitment are important work-related
attitudes. Employees moods, assessed
in terms of positive or negative
affectivity, also affect attitudes in
organizations.

Perception is the set of processes by

which a person becomes aware of and
interprets information about the
environment. Basic perceptual
processes include selective perception
and stereotyping. Perception and
attribution are also closely related

Creativity is a persons ability to generate

new ideas or to conceive of new
perspectives on existing ideas.
Background experiences, personal traits,
and cognitive abilities affect an individuals
creativity. The creative process usually
involves four steps: preparation, incubation,
insight, and verification.

Workplace behavior is a pattern of action

by the members of an organization that
directly or indirectly influences
organizational effectiveness. Performance
behaviors are the set of work-related
behaviors include absenteeism and
turnover, as well as theft, sabotage and
violence. Organizational citizenship entails
behaviors that make a positive overall
contributions to the organization.

Thank you!!!

Group Members

Bayona, Maria Jane A.

Delantein, Reynaldo S.
Emnace, Laureana B.
Lanestosa, Alex P.
Puti-an, Zita
Salazar, Efren T.
Sastrellas, Mario O.