ORGANIZATIONAL

BEHAVIOUR

UNIT 2: INDIVIDUAL
BEHAVIOR
3–1
I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his
ability. — Oscar Wilde

3–2
 CHAPTER
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW

Why is it important to know an individual’s values? Although they do not

have a direct impact on behavior, values strongly influence a person’s
attitudes. Knowledge of an individual’s value system can provide insight
into his/her attitudes.
Given that people’s values differ, managers can use the Rokeach Value
Survey to assess potential employees and determine if their values align
with the dominant values of the organization. An employee’s performance
and satisfaction are likely to be higher if his/her values fit well with the
organization. For instance, the person who places high importance on
imagination, independence, and freedom is likely to be poorly matched with
an organization that seeks conformity from its employees. Managers are
more likely to appreciate, evaluate positively, and allocate rewards to
employees who “fit in,” and employees are more likely to be satisfied if they
perceive that they do fit. 3–3
 CHAPTER
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
This argues for management to strive during the selection of new employees
to find job candidates who not only have the ability, experience, and
motivation to perform, but also a value system that is compatible with the
organization’s.
Managers should be interested in their employees’ attitudes because
attitudes give warnings of potential problems and because they influence
behavior. Satisfied and committed employees, for instance, have lower rates
of turnover and absenteeism. Given that managers want to keep resignations
and absences down—especially among their more productive employees—
they will want to do those things that will generate positive job attitudes.
Managers should also be aware that employees will try to reduce cognitive
dissonance. More importantly, dissonance can be managed. If employees are
required to engage in activities that appear inconsistent to them or are at
odds with their attitudes, the pressures to reduce the resulting dissonance are
lessened when the employee perceives that the dissonance is externally
imposed and is beyond his/her control or if the rewards are significant
enough to offset the dissonance. 3–4
 LEVELS
LEVELS OF
OF DIVERSITY
DIVERSITY
Although much has been said about diversity in age, race, gender,
ethnicity, religion, and disability status, experts now recognize that
these demographic characteristics are just the tip of the iceberg.
Demographics mostly reflect surface-level diversity , not thoughts
and feelings, and can lead employees to perceive one another through
stereotypes and assumptions. However, evidence has shown that as
people get to know one another, they become less concerned about
demographic differences if they see themselves as sharing more
important characteristics, such as personality and values, that
represent deep-level diversity.
To understand this difference between surface- and deep-level
diversity, consider a few examples. Luis and Carol are co-workers
who seem to have little in common at first glance. Luis is a young,
recently hired male college graduate with a business degree, raised in
a Spanish-speaking neighborhood in Miami.
3–5
 LEVELS
LEVELS OF
OF DIVERSITY
DIVERSITY
Carol is an older, long-tenured woman raised in rural Kansas, who
achieved her current level in the organization by starting as a high
school graduate and working her way through the hierarchy.
At first, these co-workers may experience some differences in
communication based on their surface-level differences in education,
ethnicity, regional background, and gender. However, as they get to
know one another, they may find they are both deeply committed to
their families, share a common way of thinking about important work
problems, like to work collaboratively, and are interested in
international assignments in the future. These deep-level similarities
will overshadow the more superficial differences between them, and
research suggests they will work well together.
On the other hand, Steve and Dave are two unmarried white male
college graduates from Oregon who recently started working
together. Superficially, they seem well matched.
3–6
 LEVELS
LEVELS OF
OF DIVERSITY
DIVERSITY
But Steve is highly introverted, prefers to avoid risks, solicits the
opinions of others before making decisions, and likes the office quiet,
while Dave is extroverted, risk-seeking, and assertive and likes a
busy, active, and energetic work environment. Their surface-level
similarity will not necessarily lead to positive interactions because
they have such fundamental, deep-level differences. It will be a
challenge for them to collaborate regularly at work, and they’ll have
to make some compromises to get things done together.
Throughout this chapter, we will encounter differences between deep-
and surface-level diversity in various contexts. Individual differences
in personality and culture shape preferences for rewards,
communication styles, reactions to leaders, negotiation styles, and
many other aspects of behavior in organizations.

3–7
 DISCRIMINATION
DISCRIMINATION
Although diversity does present many opportunities for organizations,
effective diversity management also means working to eliminate
unfair discrimination. To discriminate is to note a difference between
things, which in itself isn’t necessarily bad. Noticing one employee is
more qualified is necessary for making hiring decisions; noticing
another is taking on leadership responsibilities exceptionally well is
necessary for making promotion decisions. Usually when we talk
about discrimination, though, we mean allowing our behavior to be
influenced by stereotypes about groups of people. Rather than looking
at individual characteristics, unfair discrimination assumes everyone
in a group is the same. This discrimination is often very harmful to
organizations and employees.
Although many of these actions are prohibited by law, and therefore
aren’t part of almost any organization’s official policies, thousands of
cases of employment discrimination are documented every year, and
many more go unreported. 3–8
 DISCRIMINATION
DISCRIMINATION
As discrimination has increasingly come under both legal scrutiny and
social disapproval, most overt forms have faded, which may have
resulted in an increase in more covert forms like incivility or exclusion.
As you can see, discrimination can occur in many ways, and its effects
can be just as varied depending on the organizational context and the
personal biases of its members. Some forms, like exclusion or incivility,
are especially hard to root out because they are impossible to observe
and may occur simply because the actor isn’t aware of the effects of his
or her actions. Whether intentional or not, discrimination can lead to
serious negative consequences for employers, including reduced
productivity and citizenship behavior, negative conflicts, and increased
turnover. Unfair discrimination also leaves qualified job candidates out
of initial hiring and promotions. Even if an employment discrimination
lawsuit is never filed, a strong business case can be made for
aggressively working to eliminate unfair discrimination.
3–9
DISCRIMINATION
DISCRIMINATION

3–10
 BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Age
The relationship between age and job performance is likely to be an
issue of increasing importance during the next decade for at least
three reasons. First, belief is widespread that job performance
declines with increasing age. Regardless of whether this is true, a lot
of people believe it and act on it. Second, as noted in Chapter 1 , the
workforce is aging. Many employers recognize that older workers
represent a huge potential pool of high-quality applicants. Companies
such as Borders and the Vanguard Group have sought to increase
their attractiveness to older workers by providing targeted training
that meets their needs, and by offering flexible work schedules and
part-time work to draw in those who are semi-retired. The third
reason is U.S. legislation that, for all intents and purposes, outlaws
mandatory retirement. Most U.S. workers today no longer have to
retire at age 70.
E.g.: Older employees are an integral part of the workforce at
Supermarkets, where one in five employees is over the age of 50.3–11
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS
Sex
Few issues initiate more debates, misconceptions, and unsupported
opinions than whether women perform as well on jobs as men do. The
best place to begin to consider this is with the recognition that few, if
any, important differences between men and women affect job
performance. There are no consistent male–female differences in
problem-solving ability, analytical skills, competitive drive, motivation,
sociability, or learning ability. 16 Psychological studies have found
women are more agreeable and willing to conform to authority, whereas
men are more aggressive and more likely to have expectations of
success, but those differences are minor.
Unfortunately, sex roles still affect our perceptions. For example, women
who succeed in traditionally male domains are perceived as less likable,
more hostile, and less desirable as supervisors. 18 Interestingly, research
also suggests that women believe sex-based discrimination is more
prevalent than do male employees, and these beliefs are especially
pronounced among women who work with a large proportion of men. 3–12
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS
Race and Ethnicity: Race is a controversial issue. In many cases, even
bringing up the topic of race and ethnicity is enough to create an
uncomfortable silence. Indeed, evidence suggests that some people find
interacting with other racial groups uncomfortable unless there are clear
behavioral scripts to guide their behavior. Most people in the United States
identify themselves according to racial group. The U.S. Bureau of the
Census classifies individuals according to seven broad racial categories:
American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American,
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Some Other Race, White, and
Two or More Races. An ethnicity distinction is also made between native
English speakers and Hispanics: Hispanics can be of any race.
Race and ethnicity have been studied as they relate to employment
outcomes such as hiring decisions, performance evaluations, pay, and
workplace discrimination. Most research has concentrated on the differences
in outcomes and attitudes between Whites and African Americans, with
little study of issues relevant to Asian, Native American, and Hispanic
populations. 3–13
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS

Disability: With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in
1990, the representation of individuals with disabilities in the U.S. workforce
rapidly increased. According to the ADA, employers are required to make
reasonable accommodations so their workplaces will be accessible to individuals
with physical or mental disabilities. Making inferences about the relationship
between disability and employment outcomes is difficult because the term disability
is so broad. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission classifies a
person as disabled who has any physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities. Examples include missing limbs, seizure
disorder, Down Syndrome, deafness, schizophrenia, alcoholism, diabetes, and
chronic back pain. These conditions share almost no common features, so there’s
no generalization about how each condition is related to employment. Some jobs
obviously cannot be accommodated to some disabilities—the law and common
sense recognize that a blind person could not be a bus driver, a person with severe
cerebral palsy could not be a surgeon, and a person with profound mobility
constraints probably could not be a police patrol officer. However, the increasing
presence of computer technology and other adaptive devices is shattering many
traditional barriers to employment. 3–14
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS
Tenure: Except for gender and racial differences, few issues are more
subject to misconceptions and speculations than the impact of seniority on
job performance. Extensive reviews have been conducted of the seniority–
productivity relationship. If we define seniority as time on a particular job,
the most recent evidence demonstrates a positive relationship between
seniority and job productivity. So tenure, expressed as work experience,
appears to be a good predictor of employee productivity.
Religion Not only do religious and nonreligious people question each
other’s belief systems; often people of different religious faiths conflict. As
the war in Iraq and the past conflict in Northern Ireland demonstrate, violent
differences can erupt among sects of the same religion. U.S. federal law
prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their
religion, with very few exceptions. However, that doesn’t mean religion is a
nonissue in OB. Perhaps the greatest religious diversity issue in the United
States today revolves around Islam. There are nearly 2 million Muslims in
the United States. and across the world Islam is one of the most popular
religions. There are a wide variety of perspectives on Islam. 3–15
 BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
BIOGRAPHICAL
Sexual CHARACTERISTICS
Orientation and Gender Identity: Employers differ widely
in their treatment of sexual orientation. Federal law does not prohibit
discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation, though
many states and municipalities do. In general, observers note that
even in the absence of federal legislation requiring nondiscrimination,
many organizations have implemented policies and procedures
protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation.
Intellectual Abilities are abilities needed to perform mental activities
— thinking, reasoning, and problem solving. Most societies place a
high value on intelligence, and for good reason. Smart people
generally earn more money and attain higher levels of education.
They are also more likely to emerge as leaders of groups. Intelligence
quotient (IQ) tests, for example, are designed to ascertain a person’s
general intellectual abilities. Number aptitude, Verbal
comprehension, Perceptual speed, Inductive reasoning, Deductive
reasoning, 3-D visualization, Memory etc. are example of intellectual
abilities. 3–16
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS
Physical Abilities
Though the changing nature of work suggests intellectual abilities are
increasingly important for many jobs, physical abilities have been
and will remain valuable. Research on hundreds of jobs has
identified nine basic abilities needed in the performance of physical
tasks. Individuals differ in the extent to which they have each of these
abilities. Not surprisingly, there is also little relationship among them:
a high score on one is no assurance of a high score on others. High
employee performance is likely to be achieved when management has
ascertained the extent to which a job requires each of the nine
abilities and then ensures that employees in that job have those
abilities.
The different dimensions of physical abilities are: strength factor,
flexibility factor and other body factor such as body coordination,
balance, stamina.
3–17
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS
Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Diverse Employees
One method of enhancing workforce diversity is to target recruiting
messages to specific demographic groups underrepresented in the
workforce. This means placing advertisements in publications geared
toward specific demographic groups; recruiting at colleges, universities, and
other institutions with significant numbers of underrepresented minorities;
and forming partnerships with associations like the Society for Women
Engineers or the Graduate Minority Business Association. These efforts can
be successful, and research has shown that women and minorities do have
greater interest in employers that make special efforts to highlight a
commitment to diversity in their recruiting materials. Advertisements
depicting groups of diverse employees are seen as more attractive to women
and racio ethnic minorities, which is probably why most organizations
depict workforce diversity prominently in their recruiting materials.
Diversity advertisements that fail to show women and minorities in
positions of organizational leadership send a negative message about the
diversity climate at an organization. 3–18
 BIOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS
Effective Diversity Programs: Organizations use a variety of efforts to
capitalize on diversity, including the recruiting and selection policies we
have already discussed, as well as training and development practices.
Effective, comprehensive workforce programs encouraging diversity have
three distinct components. First, they teach managers about the legal
framework for equal employment opportunity and encourage fair treatment
of all people regardless of their demographic characteristics. Second, they
teach managers how a diverse workforce will be better able to serve a
diverse market of customers and clients. Third, they foster personal
development practices that bring out the skills and abilities of all workers,
acknowledging how differences in perspective can be a valuable way to
improve performance for everyone. Much concern about diversity has to do
with fair treatment. Most negative reactions to employment discrimination
are based on the idea that discriminatory treatment is unfair. Regardless of
race or gender, people are generally in favor of diversity-oriented programs,
including affirmative action, if they believe the policies ensure everyone a
fair opportunity to show their skills and abilities. 3–19
 CONCEPT
CONCEPT OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
 It provides micro perspective of organizational behavior.
 It develop explanations as to why individuals behave as they do.
 Organization consists of people as individual members. The work
on various tasks. They have individual differences.
 The impact of psychological factors on individual behavior and job
performance. The factors can be needs, values, beliefs, attitudes,
motivation, perception, personality and job satisfaction.
 The reactions of individual employee to organizational policies,
procedures and practices.
 Assumptions about nature of individual
 Individual difference: Each individual is different from all others. The
individual experiences differ and make people more different. People
also differ in terms of physique, intelligence, personality and other
traits.

3–20
 CONCEPT OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
 Assumptions about nature of individual BEHAVIOR
CONCEPT OF INDIVIDUAL
 Selective perception: Perception is a process by which individual
organize and interpret their sensory impression for giving meaning to
their environment. Each person has unique way to see, organize and
interpret things.
 A whole person: An individual functions as a whole person. Work life
cannot be separated from home life. Emotional conditions cannot be
separated from physical conditions.
 Motivated behavior: Individual behavior is motivate. It is caused by
needs. It is not random. It is directed towards goals.
 Desire for involvement: People desire involvement. They believe that
they have capabilities for making meaningful contribution and meeting
challenging situation. They seek opportunity to get involved in decision
making.
 Value of the person: People should not be treated as economic tools.
They should be treated with respect and dignity. They want to be
valued for their abilities and skills. Their aspirations should be
recognized.
3–21
 DETERMINANTS OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
DETERMINANTS
Individual OF INDIVIDUAL
behavior is affected by the followingBEHAVIOR
psychological
factors:
Needs:
•Needs are the starting point of human behavior. They serve as a
stimulus for action. They trigger behavior.
•They indicate a state of felt deprivation or deficiencies that energize
an individual to search ways for their satisfaction.
•They are anything an individuals requires or wants i.e. basic human
requirements.
•Unsatisfied needs cause tension within an individual. The individual
engages in goal-directed behavior to satisfy those needs to reduce
tension.
•Primary Needs: They are basic thing that an individual require to
sustain life. They are physiological-based such as: foods, water etc.
•Secondary Needs: They are requirement learned from the
environment and culture where individual lives. They are psychology
based such as need for affiliation, power, achievement.
3–22
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
Goals: Individual behavior is goal directed. Goals influence
individual behavior in an organizations. Goals are end results to be
achieved. They guide actions. They provide unified direction to
effort.
•It provides direction to individual which motivate employee for
better performance.
•Goals also provide a basis for control which should be accepted.
•Effective goals should be specific, measurable, agreed upon,
realistic, and time bound.
•The nature of goals can be
 Multiple: Individual have multiple goals to satisfy their needs.
 Conflicting: Multiple goals can lead to intra-individual conflicts.
 Future oriented: Goals serve as targets for the future end results to be
achieved.
 Succession: New goals can succeed old goals. This may be necessary
for environmental adaptation by the individual.
 Displacement: It takes place when the change in goals is unintentional.
3–23
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR

Values: Values represent basic convictions of an individual as to

what is right, good or desirable.
•They imply enduring conviction and carry moral flavor.
•They contain an element of judgment.
•They tend to be stable.
•Most values acquired from culture, parents, teachers, friends,
reference group and media.
•It influence individual behavior in an organizations/
•Values are basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-
state of existence is personally or socially preferable.
•It act as foundation for understanding of attitudes.
•It influence perception of individuals
•It influence motivation of an individual
•It influence behavior and types of activities that the individual finds
appealing. They guide individual actions.
3–24
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR

Beliefs: Beliefs are descriptive thoughts that an individual hold about

something.
•They can be based on knowledge, opinion, and faith.
•They are acquired from parents, teachers, peer and reference group
members.
•They influence individual behavior.
•They are psychological cornerstone of people.
•They serve as foundation upon which people order and structure
their lives.
•They provides continuity to personality and provide meaning to
perception.
•The cultural environment and functional factors (needs, demand and
emotions) of individual account for individual differences in beliefs
•It provide continuity to the personality of an individual
•Belief exert vital impact on motivation of an individual.
3–25
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
Attitudes:
•Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects,
ideas, people or events.
•Attitudes are evaluative statements—either favorable or unfavorable
—about objects, people, or events.
•They reflect how we feel about something.
•Attitudes are complex.
•In order to fully understand attitudes, we must consider their
fundamental properties or components.
•They reflect how an individual feels about and it disposed toward
something.
•It can be favorable or unfavorable.
•Attitudes are acquired from parents, teachers, peer and reference
group members.
•Professional experience, education, media and environmental factors
mold attitudes. It influence individual behavior.
3–26
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
• Attitudes are less stable than beliefs
• They can be favorable or unfavorable
• They are directed towards object, ideas, people or events about which
a person has feelings
• They are specific to express feelings
Components of Attitudes (Structure)
Cognitive Component: It is knowledge or belief segment of an attitude
which is also informational segment.
Affective Attitudes: It is the feeling segment of an attitude. Feelings can
be positive, negative or neutral.
Behavioral attitude: It is the intention to behave in a certain way towards
someone or something.
Attitude are formed by Situational Determinant: The situational
context has been regarded important to attitude formation &
Personality Traits: Traits describe the nature of an individual’s
personality. Personality traits are important determinants of work
related attitudes.
3–27
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
Types of Attitude: Individual can have thousands of attitude. Job related
attitudes are important for understanding individual behavior in the
context of OB.
Job Satisfaction: It refers to an individual’s general attitude towards his
job. Positive attitude implies high level of job satisfaction. Negative
attitudes implies job dissatisfaction.
Job Involvement: It is the degree to which an employee: identifies with
his job, actively participate in it and consider job performance important
to self worth. High job involvement tend to be more productive.
Organizational Commitment: It is the degree to which an employee
identifies with a particular organization and its goals an wish to maintain
attachment in the organization.
Attitudes helps to determine job satisfaction, reduce absenteeism,
turnover, grievances, provide frame of reference, bases for expressing
values, help to defend self image, helps to adjust work environment.
3–28
 DETERMINANTS
DETERMINANTS OF
OF INDIVIDUAL
INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BEHAVIOR
 Perception: It gives meaning to environment around individual.
 Personality: It is sum total of the ways of an individual’s reactions
and interactions.
 Motivation: It is intensity, direction and persistence of efforts.
 Job satisfaction: It is an individual’s general attitude towards job.

3–29