INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR

Foundations of Individual Behaviour:

The organisations that do and make things happen. As far asAn organisation
cannot function by itself. It is only the individualstowards work, their superiors,
fellow employees and the management individuals are concerned, it is their
behaviour that indicates their attitude.
A person's behaviour, therefore, needs to be observed.organisation, negative
unfavourable behaviour is detrimental to its interesWhile positive or
favourable employee behaviour isbeneficial to the success of the manager,
therefore, lies in his capacity to secure positThis Chapter is devoted to studying
the various aspects of individual employee behaviour.

Positive Individual Behaviour:

In a workplace the behaviour of an individual is considered positive when
 Completes his task within the stipulated time.
 Does not waste time during working hours.
 Does not complain about anything or anyone unnecessarily.
 Is regular for work and also punctual.
 Accepts and carries out any assignment with enthusiasm.

Negative Individual Behaviour:

 The individual behaviour is negative when.
 There is always undue delay in carrying out his duties.
 There is always a tendency to while away time.
 He complains frequently about someone or something.
 He is irregular for work.
 He shows resistance to any proposal.
Individual Differences
Different individuals possess different personality traits. Such differences may
be usually noticed in respect of the following personal attributes:
  Intelligence
 Attitude
 Aptitude
 Preference
 Memory
 Perception
 Inquisitiveness
 Ambition and so on.
It is only individual differences that give scope for certain happenings in a
workplace as stated below:
 Some employees join trade unions while others do not.
 Job satisfaction is of paramount importance for some while others
attachmuch importance to monetary benefits.
 Some people just mind their work irrespective of whether the
supervisoris present or not while others work only under strict
supervision.
 Job stress affects the performance of some individuals while there
arepeople who can successfully handle stress situations.
 Some subordinates expect spoon-feeding by their superiors.
 On the otherhand, there are subordinates who can perform their tasks
without anykind of assistance from anyone.
FACTORS INFLUENCING INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR:
Personal Factors:
1. Age
2. Sex
3. Education
4. Marital Status
5. Potentials
Psychological Factors:
1. Personality
2. Perception
3. Attitudes
4. Values
5. Learning
Organisational Factors & Environmental Factors:
 Nature of Job
 Job Security
 Work Environment
 Pay Benefits
 Leadership Style

 Economic Conditions
 Technological Changes
 Government Policies
 Cultural Environment

Each of the above classification of factors is explained below:

Personal Factors:

Age: Among the personal factors influencing behaviour the most important
isperson's age. Generally speaking as an employee grows older his level
ofenthusiasm for work may decline. This happens either because the
employeefeels saturated or because he lacks physical fitness. It is for this
reason that ifcertain jobs as those of sales representatives youngsters are
always preferred.
Another point worth mentioning here is that the older members of
theorganisation may not be prepared to adapt themselves to the
changingenvironment. They are generally conservatives who prefer to workin
the conventional manner.

Sex: Men in the workplace generally show greater interest in union

activities. Womenemployees, on the other hand, may reluctant to even join
trade unions. Also a feeling among manyemployers that women employees
arethat hey appointWomen employees may have toavail leave frequently due
to greater domesticmore women employees.
Education: The level of education of an individual does influence
behaviour. The generalbeliefs that education disciplines a person. An educated
employee knows how to get things donein the workplace without incurring
anyone's displeasure. Hebut quietly achieves his goals. Does not lose temper
the influence of level of education on a person's behaviour may also
beexplanative from another angle. If a highly qualified person is given a lower
level he may not work with enthusiasm. Such a person deserves a better
placement.

Marital Status: The need for a secured job and stable income is greater in
case ofmarried employees. A married employee has greater domestic
commitmentsand therefore adapts himself to the needs of the organisation.
He cannotresign his job in case he derives less or no job satisfaction or finds
thework environment not conducive. On the other hand, an
unmarriedemployee without much domestic commitments may find a better
job if thepresent job does not give him satisfaction.

Potentials: Needless to say, the potentials of an individual influence

behaviour.A person with the ability to perform any task effortlessly are able to
beemphatic. He is in a position to demand better status in the organisational is
only people with greater potentials who contribute significantly to theprogress
of any organisation. It is, therefore, quite natural that such people are given
higher remuneration and greater decision-making authority.
A sales officer, for example, who always attains or exceeds his targets, has tobe
given greater incentives failing which he may leave the organisation and
joinsome other organisation that recognises his potentials.

Psychological Factors:

Personality: The personality of a person, as misunderstood by many, is not

justof a person, no doubt, are important but these get noticed only
ifdetermined by his physical appearance alone. The physical
characteristicsaccompanied by certain intellectual qualities as stated below:
  Communication ability
 Inquisitiveness
 Perseverance
 Reasoning power
 Leadership capacity and so on.

An individual, who possesses the attributes mentioned above, cancommand

respect wherever he is. Such a person is always able to achieve
whatcertainlyhe wants to achieve.

Perception: Perception is the process of knowing or understanding. A

givensituation is perceived differently by different people. If the perception of
aperson is correct he/his organisation stand to benefit. If it turns out tobe
incorrect he/his organisation loses.Every organisation requires people who are
in a position to perceive thingsright. A person without the capacity to make
correct perceptions has to listen tothose who possess such a capacity.

Attitudes: In the context of the workplace 'attitude' is the feeling of an

employeeabout his job, his superiors and fellow-employees. Attitude may
bepositive or negative. An employee with a positive attitude likes his
job,carries out the tasks assigned by his superior and maintains
friendlyrelationships with the fellow-employees.Employees with a negative
attitude, on the other hand, are insincere in theirwork. They quarrel frequently
with their superiors and fellow-workmen.

Values: The 'values' of a person indicate to him as to what is good and

whatis bad. Different people have different values. For example, some
peopleare spendthrifts while others consciously save. Some contribute to
charitywhile others don't.

Learning: learning is the process of bringing about changes in an individual's

behaviour employee absenteeism, for example, may be a problem faced in
many organisations e.g.: casual leave, sick leave earned leave etc., they may be
illing to avail the same. But this affects employeeattendance
Organisational Factors:

Nature of Job: Among the various organisational factors influencing

behaviour theimportant one is the nature of an employee's job. Obviously, if
theemployee's job is a challenging one he will have greater motivation towork.
On the other hand, if the work is of a routine, dull or repetitivecertainlyeve
whatA givennature the employee may not work with interest.

Job Security: One of the most important needs of employees is job security.
Anemployee with security of service can, certainly, work with
greatermotivation than the one without it. Further, job security also makes
anemployee more loyal to his organisation. This happens because he is ableto
identify himself with the organisation.

Pay Benefits: Let us not say here that the employee should be given higher
pay. Heshould be adequately compensated for his work. The
compensationpackage of the organisation should do justice to both the
employee andthe employer. If the employee does not get pay commensurate
with work he is to be dissatisfied. He is sure to show his displeasure by shirking
duties.

Leadership Style:
Different managers adopt different leadership styles. Autocratic style
ofleadership does not always produce good results. An autocratic managermay
succeed in the short-run. He is sure to incur the displeasure of hissubordinates
and this may affect the attainment of goals in the long-run.

Environmental Factors:
The important factors in the external environment affecting behaviourare
discussed below.

Economic Conditions: The level of employment opportunities available in

the country is oneof the economic factors influencing behaviour of individuals.
The demandfor computer professionals in the concerns in the US, for example,
inducescomputer professionals from India to go over to the States.
Availability of plenty of employment opportunities results in a higherrate of
labour turnover in workplaces. This happens because individualsbegin to look
for jobs that give them better pay, status, and greatersatisfaction. Once they
find such a job they resign their present job andgo. Fewer employment
opportunities, on the other hand, curtails the rateof labour turnover and
absenteeism because the employees are keen onretaining their present job.

Technological: Technological changes affect job opportunities and cause

Dissatisfaction among individuals. As a result of such changes there is
reduction in the skill of employees.

Government Policies:
The labour policy of the Government is yet another important factor.
stated below:

 Reduction in the retirement age.

 Compulsory retirement.
 Increase in the rates of Income-Tax.
 Withdrawal of certain welfare schemes for employees and so on.

Cultural Environment:
Cultural environment differs from region to region. For example, workersin the
western countries work overtime to show their protest to the anti-labour
policies of their employers. But in India, workers strike work to show their
protest.
Life-time employment opportunities may be given to employees underthe
Japanese working environment (Z Theory of Motivation). But in acountry like
India, where unemployment has become a serious problem, such a proposal
may do more harm than good.