High-service pumps  used to deliver fluids under “adequate” pressure throughout a distribution piping network, or through long transmission pipelines.

Booster pumps  used to increase fluid pressure at intermediate points along transmission pipelines, or within distribution piping networks.

In the U.S., the Hazen-Williams Formula is commonly used for the turbulent flow of water at normal environmental temperatures through circular pipes with diameters in the range of 2 inches to 6 ft. This formula is extensively used for design and evaluation of water distribution piping networks.

Welcome to Chapter 11 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

11-*

What Characteristics Can
Be Used to Describe Teams?

11-*

Team Characteristics

• A team consists of two or more people who work interdependently over some time period to accomplish common goals related to some task-oriented purpose.
• A special type of “group.”
• The interactions among members within teams revolve around a deeper dependence on one another than the interactions within groups.
• The interactions within teams occur with a specific task-related purpose in mind.

11-*

Types of Teams

11-*

Types of Teams

11-*

Variations within Team Types

• Virtual teams are teams in which the members are geographically dispersed, and interdependent activity occurs through electronic communications—primarily e-mail, instant messaging, and Web conferencing
• Teams also vary in how developmentally mature they are

11-*

Stages of Team Development

11-*

Stages of Team Development

11-*

Team Interdependence

• Task interdependence refers the degree to which team members interact with and rely on other team members for the information, materials, and resources needed to accomplish work for the team

11-*

Task
Interdep-endence

11-*

Team Interdependence

• Goal interdependence exists when team members have a shared vision of the team’s goal and align their individual goals with that vision as a result

11-*

Goal
Interdep-endence

11-*

Team Interdependence

• Outcome interdependence exists when team members share in the rewards that the team earns

11-*

Task

Interdependence

Goal

Interdependence

Outcome

Interdependence

14

14

14

11-*

Team Composition

11-*

Member
Roles

11-*

Member Roles

• OB on Screen: Inception
• What kinds of roles is Cobb recruiting members to fill?

11-*

Member Ability

• Cognitive and physical abilities needed in a team depend on the nature of the team’s task
• Disjunctive tasks
• Conjunctive tasks
• Additive tasks

11-*

Member Personality

• Three traits are especially critical in teams:
• Agreeable people tend to be more cooperative and trusting, tendencies that promote positive attitudes about the team and smooth interpersonal interactions.
• Conscientious people tend to be dependable and work hard to achieve goals.
• Extraverted people tend to perform more effectively in interpersonal contexts and are more positive and optimistic in general.

11-*

Team Diversity

• Degree to which members are different from one another in terms of any attribute that might be used by someone as a basis of categorizing people.
• Value in diversity problem-solving approach
• Similarity-attraction approach
• Surface-level diversity
• Deep-level diversity

11-*

Team Size

• Having a greater number of members is beneficial for management and project teams but not for teams engaged in production tasks.
• Research concluded that team members tend to be most satisfied with their team when the number of members is between 4 and 5.

11-*

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INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

MECHANISMS INDIVIDUAL

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

GROUP MECHANISMS

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS

Organizational Culture

Organizational Structure

Teams: Processes &

Communication

Motivation

Trust, Justice, & Ethics

Learning & Decision Making

Ability

Personality & Cultural Values

Stress

Job Satisfaction

Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

Organizational Commitment

Job PerformanceLeadership:

Power & Negotiation

Teams: Characteristics &

Diversity

chapter

Teams: Characteristics and Diversity 11

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348 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

however, there’s more to understanding team characteristics than meets the eye. Team character- istics such as diversity, for example, have many meanings, and its effect on team functioning and effectiveness depends on what type of diversity you’re concerned with as well as several addi- tional complicating factors. Chapter 12 will focus on team processes and communication—the specific actions and behaviors that teams can engage in to achieve synergy. The concepts in that chapter will help explain why some teams are more or less effective than their characteristics would suggest they should be. For now, however, we turn our attention to this question: “What characteristics can be used to describe teams?”

T E A M T Y P E S One way to describe teams is to take advantage of existing taxonomies that place teams into vari- ous types. One such taxonomy is illustrated in Table 11-1 . The table illustrates that there are five general types of teams and that each is associated with a number of defining characteristics. 10

The most notable characteristics include the team’s purpose, the length of the team’s existence, and the amount of time involvement the team requires of its individual members. The sections to follow review these types of teams in turn.

WORK TEAMS. Work teams are designed to be relatively permanent. Their purpose is to pro- duce goods or provide services, and they generally require a full-time commitment from their members. As an example of a work team, consider how cars and trucks are manufactured at Toyota. 11 Teams are composed of four to eight members who do the physical work, and a leader who supports the team and coordinates with other teams. Although the teams are responsible for the work involved in the assembly of the vehicles, they are also responsible for quality control and developing ideas for improvements in the production process. Team members inspect each other’s work, and when they see a problem, they stop the line until they are able to resolve the problem.

Sources: S.G. Cohen and D.E. Bailey, “What Makes Teams Work: Group Effectiveness Research from the Shop Floor to the Executive Suite,” Journal of Management 27 (1997), pp. 239–90; and E. Sundstrom, K.P. De Meuse, and D. Futrell, “Work Teams: Applications and Effectiveness.” American Psychologist 45 (1990), pp. 120–33.

11.1 What are the five general team types and their defining characteristics?

TYPE OF TEAM PURPOSE AND ACTIVITIES

LIFE SPAN

MEMBER INVOLVEMENT SPECIFIC EXAMPLES

Work Team Produce goods or provide services.

Long High Self-managed work team Production team Maintenance team Sales team

Management Team

Integrate activities of subunits across business functions.

Long Moderate Top management team

Parallel Team Provide recommenda- tions and resolve issues.

Varies Low Quality circle Advisory council Committee

Project Team Produce a one-time out- put (product, service, plan, design, etc.).

Varies Varies Product design team Research group Planning team

Action Team Perform complex tasks that vary in duration and take place in highly visible or challenging circumstances.

Varies Varies Surgical team Musical group Expedition team Sports team

TABLE 11-1 Types of Teams

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350 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

takes to complete. Surgical teams and aircraft flight crews may only work together as a unit for a single two-hour sur- gery or flight.

SUMMARY. So how easy is it to classify teams into one of the types summarized in Figure  11-1 ? Well, it turns out that teams often fit into more than one category. As an example, consider the teams at Pixar, the company that has produced many computer-ani- mated hit films, such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding

Nemo, Cars, Wall-E, and Up. On the one hand, because the key members of Pixar teams have stuck together for each film the company has produced, it might seem like Pixar uses work teams. 15 On the other hand, because the creation of each film can be viewed as a project, and because members are likely involved in multiple ongoing projects, it might seem reasonable to say that Pixar uses project teams. It’s probably most appropriate to say that at Pixar, teams have characteristics of both work teams and project teams.

VA R I AT I O N S W I T H I N T E A M T Y P E S Even knowing whether a team is a project team, an action team, or some other type of team doesn’t tell you the whole story. Often there are important variations within those categories that are needed to understand a team’s functioning. As one example, teams can vary with respect to the degree to which they have autonomy and are self-managed. 16 If you’ve ever been on a team where members have a great deal of freedom to work together to establish their own goals, procedures, roles, and membership, you’ve worked on a team where the level of autonomy and self-management is high. You may also have worked on a team where the level of autonomy and self-management is low. In these teams, there are strict rules regarding goals, procedures, and roles, and team leaders or managers make most of the decisions regarding management of the team with respect to membership. Research has shown that although people generally prefer working in teams where the level of autonomy and self-management is high, the appropriate level of self-management with regard to overall team effectiveness may depend on a variety of factors. 17 For example, research has shown that high levels of self-management may be most advantageous for teams where team members’ have high levels of team-relevant knowledge obtained from outside experts and others in their social networks. 18

Another way that teams can vary relates to how the members typically communicate with each other. Virtual teams are teams in which the members are geographically dispersed, and interde- pendent activity occurs through electronic communications—primarily e-mail, instant messag- ing, and web conferencing. Although communications and group networking software is far from

Team Types

FIGURE 11-1 Types of Teams

The Pixar team, shown here at the Academy

Awards, has characteristics of both work teams and project teams. Trying to characterize this team is even more complicated when you consider that

key members are involved in the management of

the company, and their involvement in the films

runs parallel to these other responsibilities.

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351C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

perfect, it has advanced to the point that it’s possible for teams doing all sorts of work to func- tion virtually. In fact, there has been an 800 percent increase in the number of virtual employees over the last decade or so, and it’s likely that there are tens of millions of virtual teams operating today. 19 Companies such as Con Edison, New York’s giant electric and gas utility, has invested significant resources in technology and training to help these teams function and perform more effectively. 20 The same is true at IBM, where at least 40 percent of the employees work virtually. 21

As we described in the chapter opening on TRW, virtual teams are not just an efficient way to accomplish work when members are geographically separated. In fact, many companies in high- tech industries are leveraging virtual teams to make continuous progress on work tasks without members having to work 24/7. For example, Logitech, the Swiss company that makes things such as computer mice and keyboards, universal remotes for home entertainment systems, and gaming controllers, attributes its success to teams of designers and engineers who are located in different places around the world. 22 Although you might be inclined to believe that time-zone differences would be a hindrance to this sort of team, Logitech turned it into a competitive advantage by letting the work follow the sun. 23 Specifically, work at Logitech is accomplished continuously because members of a team who have finished their workday in one country electronically hand off the work to team members in another country who have just arrived at the office. Because these electronic hand-offs occur continuously, product development and other work needed to bring innovative products to the market can be completed much more quickly.

In addition to varying in their “virtuality,” teams of any type can differ in the amount of expe- rience they have working together. One way to understand this point is to consider what occurs in teams at different stages of their development as they progress from a newly formed team to one that’s well-established. According to the most well-known theory, teams go through a pro- gression of five stages shown in the top panel of Figure 11-2 . 24 In the first stage, called forming, members orient themselves by trying to understand their boundaries in the team. Members try to get a feel for what is expected of them, what types of behaviors are out of bounds, and who’s in charge. In the next stage, called storming, members remain committed to ideas they bring with them to the team. This initial unwillingness to accommodate others’ ideas triggers conflict

Some teams develop in a predictable sequence . . .

. . . whereas many develop in a less linear fashion.

Forming and Pattern Creation

Inertia

Process Revision

Inertia

Punctuated Equilibrium

Time

Time TimeMidpoint

Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

FIGURE 11-2 Two Models of Team Development

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351C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

perfect, it has advanced to the point that it’s possible for teams doing all sorts of work to func- tion virtually. In fact, there has been an 800 percent increase in the number of virtual employees over the last decade or so, and it’s likely that there are tens of millions of virtual teams operating today. 19 Companies such as Con Edison, New York’s giant electric and gas utility, has invested significant resources in technology and training to help these teams function and perform more effectively. 20 The same is true at IBM, where at least 40 percent of the employees work virtually. 21

As we described in the chapter opening on TRW, virtual teams are not just an efficient way to accomplish work when members are geographically separated. In fact, many companies in high- tech industries are leveraging virtual teams to make continuous progress on work tasks without members having to work 24/7. For example, Logitech, the Swiss company that makes things such as computer mice and keyboards, universal remotes for home entertainment systems, and gaming controllers, attributes its success to teams of designers and engineers who are located in different places around the world. 22 Although you might be inclined to believe that time-zone differences would be a hindrance to this sort of team, Logitech turned it into a competitive advantage by letting the work follow the sun. 23 Specifically, work at Logitech is accomplished continuously because members of a team who have finished their workday in one country electronically hand off the work to team members in another country who have just arrived at the office. Because these electronic hand-offs occur continuously, product development and other work needed to bring innovative products to the market can be completed much more quickly.

In addition to varying in their “virtuality,” teams of any type can differ in the amount of expe- rience they have working together. One way to understand this point is to consider what occurs in teams at different stages of their development as they progress from a newly formed team to one that’s well-established. According to the most well-known theory, teams go through a pro- gression of five stages shown in the top panel of Figure 11-2 . 24 In the first stage, called forming, members orient themselves by trying to understand their boundaries in the team. Members try to get a feel for what is expected of them, what types of behaviors are out of bounds, and who’s in charge. In the next stage, called storming, members remain committed to ideas they bring with them to the team. This initial unwillingness to accommodate others’ ideas triggers conflict

Some teams develop in a predictable sequence . . .

. . . whereas many develop in a less linear fashion.

Forming and Pattern Creation

Inertia

Process Revision

Inertia

Punctuated Equilibrium

Time

Time TimeMidpoint

Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

FIGURE 11-2 Two Models of Team Development

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354 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

who perform tasks that are next to each other in the sequence. Moreover, the member perform- ing the task in the latter part of the sequence depends on the member performing the task in the earlier part of the sequence, but not the other way around. The classic assembly line in manufac- turing contexts provides an excellent example of this type of interdependence. In this context, an employee attaches a part to the unit being built, and once this is accomplished, the unit moves on to another employee who adds another part. The process typically ends with the unit being inspected and then packaged for shipping.

Reciprocal interdependence is the next type of task interdependence. 31 Similar to sequential interdependence, members are specialized to perform specific tasks. However, instead of a strict sequence of activities, members interact with a subset of other members to complete the team’s work. To understand reciprocal interdependence, consider a team of people who are involved in a

Pooled Interdependence

Sequential Interdependence

Reciprocal Interdependence

Comprehensive Interdependence

D eg

re e

o f

C o

o rd

in at

io n

R eq

ui re

d

Member 3

Member 1

Member 1

Member 2

Member 3

Member 3

Member 3

Member 4

Member 4

Member 2

Member 2

Member 1

Member 1

Member 4

Member 2

Member 4

Output

Output

Output

Output

FIGURE 11-3 Task Interdependence and Coordination Requirements

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356 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

TABLE 11-2 The Mission Statement Development Process

Steps in Mission Statement Development

1. The team should meet in a room where there can be uninterrupted discussion for 1–3 hours.

2. A facilitator should describe the purpose of a mission statement, along with important details that members of the team should consider. Those details may include the products, outcomes, or services that the team is responsible for providing, as well as relevant time constraints.

3. The team should brainstorm to identify potential phrases or elements to include in the mission statement.

4. If the team is large enough, subgroups should be formed to create “first draft” mission statements. Those mission statements should include action verbs and be no more than four sentences.

5. The subgroups should share the first drafts with one another.

6. The team should then try to integrate the best ideas into a single mission statement.

7. The resulting mission statement should be evaluated using the following criteria: Clarity—It should focus clearly on a single key purpose. Relevance—It should focus on something that is desired by the team members. Significance—If achieved, there are benefits that excite the members. Believability—It reflects something that members believe they can achieve. Urgency—It creates a sense of challenge and commitment.

8. The team should then revise any weak areas of the mission statement. The team should continue to work on the mission statement until there is consensus that it inspires dedica- tion and commitment among members toward a common purpose.

Source: From P.S. MacMillan, The Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork, Nashville, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, pp. 51–53. Copyright © 2001 B&H Publishing Group. Used by permission.

the case that students come to a team like this with individual goals that are surprisingly differ- ent. Some students might be more interested in “just getting by” with a passing grade because they already have a job and just need their degree. Others students might want to do well in the course, but are more concerned with maintaining balance with the demands of their lives outside of school. Finally, other students might be focused solely on their grades, perhaps because they want to get into a prestigious graduate school in an unrelated discipline. Of course, the problem here is that each of these goals is associated with a different approach to working in the team. Students who want to learn the course material will work hard on the team assignments and will want to spend extra time discussing assignment-related issues with teammates, students who just want to get by will do the minimum amount of work, students who want to maintain their work–life balance will look for the most efficient way to do things, and students who are focused on their grades would be willing to take shortcuts that might inhibit learning. Although trying to reach a consensus on a team mission may not be easy in a situation in which the members have goals that vary along these lines, research has shown that teams of students experience significantly greater effectiveness if they invest time and effort doing so soon after the team first forms. 39 For more discussion regarding the importance of goal interdependence, see our OB at the Bookstore feature.

OUTCOME INTERDEPENDENCE. The final type of interdependence relates to how mem- bers are linked to one another in terms of the feedback and outcomes they receive as a conse- quence of working in the team. 40 A high degree of outcome interdependence exists when team members share in the rewards that the team earns, with reward examples including pay, bonuses, formal feedback and recognition, pats on the back, extra time off, and continued team survival. Of course, because team achievement depends on the performance of each team member, high

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353C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

finally, throw the fish into a tank filled with ice and other fish. At the end of the day, the boat’s production would be the total weight of the fish that were caught.

The next type of task interdependence is called sequential interdependence. 30 With this type of interdependence, different tasks are done in a prescribed order, and the group is structured such that the members specialize in these tasks. Although members in groups with sequential interdependence interact to carry out their work, the interaction only occurs between members

O B A S S E S S M E N T S

1 TOTALLY

DISAGREE

2 DISAGREE

3 SOMEWHAT DISAGREE

4 NEUTRAL

5 SOMEWHAT

AGREE

6 AGREE

7 TOTALLY AGREE

1. I cannot accomplish my tasks without information or materials from other members of my team.

2. Other members of my team depend on me for information or materials needed to perform their tasks.

3. Within my team, jobs performed by team members are related to one another.

4. My work goals come directly from the goals of my team.

5. My work activities on any given day are determined by my team’s goals for that day.

6. I do very few activities on my job that are not related to the goals of my team.

7. Feedback about how well I am doing my job comes primarily from information about how well the entire team is doing.

8. Evaluations of my performance are strongly influenced by how well my team performs.

9. Many rewards from my work (e.g., pay, grades) are determined in large part by my contributions as a team member.

INTERDEPENDENCE How interdependent is your student project team? This assessment is designed to measure three types of interdependence: task interdependence, goal interdependence, and outcome interdepen- dence. Read each of the following questions with a relevant student team in mind. Answer each question using the response scale provided. Then follow the instructions below to score yourself. (For more assessments relevant to this chapter, please visit http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com.)

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION

Task Interdependence: Sum up items 1–3. _____ Goal Interdependence: Sum up items 4–6. _____ Outcome Interdependence: Sum up items 7–9. _____

If you scored 14 or above, then you are above average on a particular dimension. If you scored 13 or below, then your team is below average on a particular dimension.

Source: From M.A. Campion, E.M. Papper, and G.J. Medsker, “Relations Between Work Team Characteristics and Effectiveness: A Replication and Extension,” Personnel Psychology 49 (1996), pp. 429–52. Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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358 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

skills, abilities, and personalities. Team members were not only capable of performing their role responsibilities effectively, but they also cooperated and got along fairly well together. In this section, we identify the most important characteristics to consider in team composition, and we describe how these elements combine to influence team functioning and effectiveness. As shown in Figure 11-4 , five aspects of team composition are crucial: roles, ability, personality, diversity, and team size.

MEMBER ROLES. A role is defined as a pattern of behavior that a person is expected to dis- play in a given context. 42 In a team setting, there are a variety of roles that members can take or develop in the course of interacting with one another, and depending on the specific situation, the presence or absence of members who possess these roles may have a strong impact on team effectiveness. 43 One obvious way that roles can be distinguished is by considering the specific sets of task-focused activities that define what the individual members are expected to do for their team. As our OB on Screen feature illustrates, one of the main considerations when creat- ing a team is to ensure that it has members who are skilled in performing the duties and respon- sibilities involved in their specific roles.

Another way to distinguish roles is to consider what leaders and members do. In leader– staff teams, the leader makes decisions for the team and provides direction and control over members who perform assigned tasks, so this distinction makes sense in that the responsibili- ties of the leader and the rest of the team are distinct. 44 Typically, however, team members have some latitude with respect to the behaviors they exhibit. In these situations, team roles can be described in terms of categories that are more general than the task-focused roles described above. By general we mean that these roles can apply to many different types of teams. As shown in Table 11-3 , these general roles include team task roles, team building roles, and indi- vidualistic roles. 45

Team task roles refer to behaviors that directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks. Examples include the orienter who establishes the direction for the team, the devil’s advocate who offers constructive challenges to the team’s status quo, and the energizer who motivates team members to work harder toward team goals. As you may have realized, the importance of specific task-oriented roles depends on the nature of the work in which the team is involved. The orienter role may be particularly important in teams that have autonomy over how to accomplish their work. The devil’s advocate role may be particularly important in team contexts in which decisions are “high stakes” in nature. Finally, the energizer role may be most important in team contexts in which the work is important but not intrinsically motivating.

In contrast to task-oriented roles, team building roles refer to behaviors that influence the quality of the team’s social climate. Examples of team building roles include the harmonizer

Team Composition

Member Roles

Member Personality

Team Diversity

Team Size

Member Ability

FIGURE 11-4 Five Aspects of Team Composition

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360 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

Finally, whereas task roles and team building roles focus on activities that benefit the team, individualistic roles reflect behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team. For example, the aggressor “puts down” or deflates fellow teammates. The recognition seeker takes credit for team successes. The dominator manipulates teammates to acquire control and power. If you’ve ever had an experience in a team in which members took on individualistic roles, you probably realize just how damaging they can be to the team. Individualistic role behaviors foster negative feelings among team members, which serve to hinder a team’s ability to function and perform effectively. 46

MEMBER ABILITY. Team members possess a wide variety of abilities (see Chapter 10 on Abil- ity for more discussion of such issues). Depending on the nature of the tasks involved in the team’s work, some of these may be important to consider in team design. For example, for teams involved in physical work, relevant physical abilities will be important to take into account. Consider the types of abilities that are required of pit crew members in stock car racing, where margins of victory can be one-tenth of a second. When a car pulls into pit row, pit crew members

TABLE 11-3 Team and Individualistic Roles

TEAM TASK ROLES DESCRIPTION

Initiator-contributor Proposes new ideas

Coordinator Tries to coordinate activities among team members

Orienter Determines the direction of the team’s discussion

Devil’s advocate Offers challenges to the team’s status quo

Energizer Motivates the team to strive to do better

Procedural-technician Performs routine tasks needed to keep progress moving

TEAM BUILDING ROLES DESCRIPTION

Encourager Praises the contributions of other team members

Harmonizer Mediates differences between group members

Compromiser Attempts to find the halfway point to end conflict

Gatekeeper/expediter Encourages participation from teammates

Standard setter Expresses goals for the team to achieve

Follower Accepts the ideas of teammates

INDIVIDUALISTIC ROLES DESCRIPTION

Aggressor Deflates teammates, expresses disapproval with hostility

Blocker Acts stubbornly resistant and disagrees beyond reason

Recognition seeker Brags and calls attention to him- or herself

Self-confessor Discloses personal opinions inappropriately

Slacker Acts cynically, nonchalantly, or goofs off

Dominator Manipulates team members for personal control

Source: Adapted from K. Benne and P. Sheats, “Functional Roles of Group Members.” Journal of Social Issues 4 (1948), pp. 41–49.

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365C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

Team Interdependence

Team Types

Team Composition

Member Roles

Member Personality

Team Diversity

Team Size

Member Ability

Task Interdependence

Goal Interdependence

Outcome Interdependence

Team Characteristics

Work teams Management

teams Parallel teams Project teams Action teams

FIGURE 11-5 What Characteristics Can Be Used to Describe Teams?

H O W I M P O RTA N T A R E T E A M C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S ?

In previous chapters, we have described individual characteristics and mechanisms and discussed how these variables affect individual performance and commitment. In this chapter, we’re con- cerned with team characteristics, and so naturally, we’re interested in how they influence team effectiveness. One aspect of team effectiveness is team performance, which may include metrics such as the quantity and quality of goods or services produced, customer satisfaction, the effec- tiveness or accuracy of decisions, victories, completed reports, and successful investigations. Team performance in the context of student project teams most often means the quality with which the team completes assignments and projects, as well as the grades they earn.

A second aspect of team effectiveness is team commitment, which is sometimes called team viability. Team viability refers to the likelihood that the team can work together effectively into

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366 C H A P T E R 1 1 Teams: Characteristics and Diversity

the future. 103 If the team experience is not satisfying, members may become disillusioned and focus their energy on activities away from the team. Although a team with low viability might be able to work together on short-term projects, over the long run, a team such as this is bound to have significant problems. 104 Rather than planning for future tasks and working through issues that might improve the team, members of a team with low viability are more apt to be looking ahead to the team’s ultimate demise.

Of course, it’s difficult to summarize the relationship between team characteristics and team performance and commitment when there are so many characteristics that can be used to describe teams. Here we focus our discussion on the impact of task interdependence. We focus on task interdependence because it’s one of the most important characteristics that distinguishes true teams from mere groups of individuals. As Figure 11-6 shows, it turns out that the relationship between task interdependence and team performance is moderately positive. 105 That is, task per- formance tends to be higher in teams in which members depend on one another and have to coor- dinate their activities rather than when members work more or less independently. It’s important to mention that the relationship between task interdependence and team performance is sig- nificantly stronger in teams that are responsible for completing complex knowledge work rather than simple tasks. When work is more complex, interdependence is necessary because there’s a need for members to interact and share resources and information. When work is simple, sharing information and resources is less necessary because members can do the work by themselves.

In the lower portion of Figure 11-6 , you can see that the relationship between task interdepen- dence and team commitment is weaker. 106 Teams with higher task interdependence have only a slightly higher probability of including members who are committed to their team’s continued existence. As with the relationship with team performance, task interdependence has a stronger effect on viability for teams doing complex knowledge work. Apparently, sharing resources and information in a context in which it’s unnecessary is dissatisfying to members and results in a team with reduced prospects of continued existence.

11.5 How do team charac- teristics influence team effectiveness?

Task interdependence has a moderate positive effect on Team Performance. However, the correlation is higher in teams involved in more complex knowledge work rather than less complex work.

Task interdependence has a weak relationship with Team Commitment. However, the correlation is stronger for teams involved in more complex knowledge work than in teams involved in less complex work.

Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).

Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).

Team Performance

Team Commitment

Task Interdependence

Task Interdependence

FIGURE 11-6 Effects of Task Interdependence on Performance and Commitment

Sources: M.A. Campion, G.J. Medsker, and A.C. Higgs, “Relations Between Work Group Characteristics and Effective- ness: Implications for Designing Effective Work Groups,” Personnel Psychology 46 (1993), pp. 823–49; M.A. Campion, E.M. Papper, and G.J. Medsker, “Relations Between Work Team Characteristics and Effectiveness: A Replication and Extension,” Personnel Psychology 49 (1996), pp. 429–52; and G.L. Stewart, “A Meta-Analytic Review of Relationships Between Team Design Features and Team Performance,” Journal of Management 32 (2006), pp. 29–54.

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Welcome to Chapter 10 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

10-*

How Can We Describe What
Employees Can Do?

1-*

10-*

Ability

• The relatively stable capabilities people have to perform a particular range of different but related activities
• In contrast to skills, which are more trainable and improvable
• As with personality, about half of the variation in ability levels is due to genetics

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• Capabilities related to the acquisition and application of knowledge in problem solving
• Verbal
• Quantitative
• Reasoning
• Spatial
• Perceptual

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• One of the most widely used measures of cognitive ability is the Wonderlic Personnel Test
• 50 questions in 12 minutes
• A score of 20 is equivalent to an IQ of 100, which is average
• A score of 10 indicates literacy

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• What’s the right answer?
• Which ability facet is being measured?

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• What’s the right answer?
• Which ability facet is being measured?

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• What’s the right answer?
• Which ability facet is being measured?

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• What’s the right answer?
• Which ability facet is being measured?

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• What’s the right answer?
• Which ability facet is being measured?

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• For NFL players taking the Wonderlic, the closer you are to the ball, the higher your score
• Offensive tackles: 26
• Centers: 25
• Quarterbacks: 24
• Guards: 23
• Tight Ends: 22
• Safeties: 19
• Linebackers: 19
• Cornerbacks: 18
• Wide receivers: 17
• Running backs: 16

10-*

Cognitive Ability

1-*

10-*

Cognitive Ability

• Think of the people you know who are exceptionally smart. Are all of them successful?
• Those who are not successful—why aren’t they? What holds them back?

10-*

Emotional Intelligence

• Capabilities related to the management and use of emotions when interacting with others
• Sometimes labeled EQ or EI
• Especially vital in jobs that require a lot of “emotional labor”
• Comes in four varieties

10-*

Other

Awareness

Emotion

Regulation

Emotion

Use

Self

Awareness

19

19

19

19

1-*

10-*

Emotional Intelligence

• Self awareness
• The ability of an individual to understand the types of emotions he/she is experiencing, the willingness to acknowledge them, and the capability to express them accurately
• What’s your score?

1-*

10-*

Emotional Intelligence

• Other awareness
• The ability of an individual to recognize and understand the emotions that other individuals are feeling
• What’s your score?

1-*

10-*

Emotional Intelligence

• Emotion regulation
• The ability to quickly recover from emotional experiences and control one’s feelings
• What’s your score?

1-*

10-*

Emotional Intelligence

• Use of emotions
• The ability of an individual to harness emotions and use them to improve their chances of being successful in a given area
• What’s your score?

10-*

Emotional Intelligence

• Video: Sherlock Holmes
• How would you describe Holmes’s cognitive ability?
• What about his emotional intelligence?

10-*

Physical Ability

• Importance varies according to the nature of the job
• Strength
• Stamina
• Flexibility and coordination
• Psychomotor
• Sensory

10-*

How Can We Describe What
Employees Can Do?

10-*

How Can We Describe What
Employees Can Do?

Cognitive Ability

Emotional Intelligence

Physical Ability

Cognitive Ability

Emotional Intelligence

Physical Ability

10-*

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INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

MECHANISMS INDIVIDUAL

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

GROUP MECHANISMS

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS

Organizational Culture

Organizational Structure

Teams: Processes &

Communication

Motivation

Trust, Justice, & Ethics

Teams: Characteristics &

Diversity Learning & Decision Making

Personality & Cultural Values

Stress

Job Satisfaction

Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

Organizational Commitment

Job PerformanceLeadership:

Power & Negotiation

CHARACTERISTICSCHARACTERISTICS

Ability

chapter Ability 10

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331C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

FIGURE 10-5 Sample Wonderlic Questions

1. Which of the following is the earliest date?

A) Jan. 16, 1898 B) Feb. 21, 1889 C) Feb. 2, 1898 D) Jan. 7, 1898 E) Jan. 30, 1889

2. LOW is to HIGH as EASY is to ? .

J) SUCCESSFUL K) PURE L) TALL M) INTERESTING N) DIFFICULT

3. A featured product from an Internet retailer generated 27, 99, 80, 115 and 213 orders over a 5-hour period. Which graph below best represents this trend?

A B C D E

4. What is the next number in the series? 29 41 53 65 77 ?

J) 75 K) 88 L) 89 M) 98 N) 99

5. One word below appears in color. What is the OPPOSITE of that word? She gave a complex answer to the question and we all agreed with her.

A) long B) better C) simple D) wrong E) kind

6. Jose’s monthly parking fee for April was $150; for May it was $10 more than April; and for June $40 more than May. His average monthly parking fee was? for these 3 months.

J) $66 K) $160 L) $166 M) $170 N) $200

7. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?

Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.

Notebooks are office supplies.

Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.

A) yes B) no C) uncertain

8. Which THREE choices are needed to create the figure on the left? Only pieces of the same color may overlap.

J K L M N

9. Which THREE of the following words have similar meanings?

A) observable B) manifest C) hypothetical D) indefinite E) theoretical

10. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer service, which was ? of the employees.

J) 1% K) 2% L) 3% M) 4% N) 6%

Answers:

1. E, 2. N, 3. D, 4. L, 5. C, 6. M, 7. A, 8. KLM, 9. CDE, 10. K

Source: Wonderlic WPT—Sample Questions. Reprinted with permission of Wonderlic, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Wonderlic, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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331C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

FIGURE 10-5 Sample Wonderlic Questions

1. Which of the following is the earliest date?

A) Jan. 16, 1898 B) Feb. 21, 1889 C) Feb. 2, 1898 D) Jan. 7, 1898 E) Jan. 30, 1889

2. LOW is to HIGH as EASY is to ? .

J) SUCCESSFUL K) PURE L) TALL M) INTERESTING N) DIFFICULT

3. A featured product from an Internet retailer generated 27, 99, 80, 115 and 213 orders over a 5-hour period. Which graph below best represents this trend?

A B C D E

4. What is the next number in the series? 29 41 53 65 77 ?

J) 75 K) 88 L) 89 M) 98 N) 99

5. One word below appears in color. What is the OPPOSITE of that word? She gave a complex answer to the question and we all agreed with her.

A) long B) better C) simple D) wrong E) kind

6. Jose’s monthly parking fee for April was $150; for May it was $10 more than April; and for June $40 more than May. His average monthly parking fee was? for these 3 months.

J) $66 K) $160 L) $166 M) $170 N) $200

7. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?

Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.

Notebooks are office supplies.

Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.

A) yes B) no C) uncertain

8. Which THREE choices are needed to create the figure on the left? Only pieces of the same color may overlap.

J K L M N

9. Which THREE of the following words have similar meanings?

A) observable B) manifest C) hypothetical D) indefinite E) theoretical

10. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer service, which was ? of the employees.

J) 1% K) 2% L) 3% M) 4% N) 6%

Answers:

1. E, 2. N, 3. D, 4. L, 5. C, 6. M, 7. A, 8. KLM, 9. CDE, 10. K

Source: Wonderlic WPT—Sample Questions. Reprinted with permission of Wonderlic, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Wonderlic, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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331C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

FIGURE 10-5 Sample Wonderlic Questions

1. Which of the following is the earliest date?

A) Jan. 16, 1898 B) Feb. 21, 1889 C) Feb. 2, 1898 D) Jan. 7, 1898 E) Jan. 30, 1889

2. LOW is to HIGH as EASY is to ? .

J) SUCCESSFUL K) PURE L) TALL M) INTERESTING N) DIFFICULT

3. A featured product from an Internet retailer generated 27, 99, 80, 115 and 213 orders over a 5-hour period. Which graph below best represents this trend?

A B C D E

4. What is the next number in the series? 29 41 53 65 77 ?

J) 75 K) 88 L) 89 M) 98 N) 99

5. One word below appears in color. What is the OPPOSITE of that word? She gave a complex answer to the question and we all agreed with her.

A) long B) better C) simple D) wrong E) kind

6. Jose’s monthly parking fee for April was $150; for May it was $10 more than April; and for June $40 more than May. His average monthly parking fee was? for these 3 months.

J) $66 K) $160 L) $166 M) $170 N) $200

7. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?

Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.

Notebooks are office supplies.

Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.

A) yes B) no C) uncertain

8. Which THREE choices are needed to create the figure on the left? Only pieces of the same color may overlap.

J K L M N

9. Which THREE of the following words have similar meanings?

A) observable B) manifest C) hypothetical D) indefinite E) theoretical

10. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer service, which was ? of the employees.

J) 1% K) 2% L) 3% M) 4% N) 6%

Answers:

1. E, 2. N, 3. D, 4. L, 5. C, 6. M, 7. A, 8. KLM, 9. CDE, 10. K

Source: Wonderlic WPT—Sample Questions. Reprinted with permission of Wonderlic, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Wonderlic, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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331C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

FIGURE 10-5 Sample Wonderlic Questions

1. Which of the following is the earliest date?

A) Jan. 16, 1898 B) Feb. 21, 1889 C) Feb. 2, 1898 D) Jan. 7, 1898 E) Jan. 30, 1889

2. LOW is to HIGH as EASY is to ? .

J) SUCCESSFUL K) PURE L) TALL M) INTERESTING N) DIFFICULT

3. A featured product from an Internet retailer generated 27, 99, 80, 115 and 213 orders over a 5-hour period. Which graph below best represents this trend?

A B C D E

4. What is the next number in the series? 29 41 53 65 77 ?

J) 75 K) 88 L) 89 M) 98 N) 99

5. One word below appears in color. What is the OPPOSITE of that word? She gave a complex answer to the question and we all agreed with her.

A) long B) better C) simple D) wrong E) kind

6. Jose’s monthly parking fee for April was $150; for May it was $10 more than April; and for June $40 more than May. His average monthly parking fee was? for these 3 months.

J) $66 K) $160 L) $166 M) $170 N) $200

7. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?

Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.

Notebooks are office supplies.

Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.

A) yes B) no C) uncertain

8. Which THREE choices are needed to create the figure on the left? Only pieces of the same color may overlap.

J K L M N

9. Which THREE of the following words have similar meanings?

A) observable B) manifest C) hypothetical D) indefinite E) theoretical

10. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer service, which was ? of the employees.

J) 1% K) 2% L) 3% M) 4% N) 6%

Answers:

1. E, 2. N, 3. D, 4. L, 5. C, 6. M, 7. A, 8. KLM, 9. CDE, 10. K

Source: Wonderlic WPT—Sample Questions. Reprinted with permission of Wonderlic, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Wonderlic, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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331C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

FIGURE 10-5 Sample Wonderlic Questions

1. Which of the following is the earliest date?

A) Jan. 16, 1898 B) Feb. 21, 1889 C) Feb. 2, 1898 D) Jan. 7, 1898 E) Jan. 30, 1889

2. LOW is to HIGH as EASY is to ? .

J) SUCCESSFUL K) PURE L) TALL M) INTERESTING N) DIFFICULT

3. A featured product from an Internet retailer generated 27, 99, 80, 115 and 213 orders over a 5-hour period. Which graph below best represents this trend?

A B C D E

4. What is the next number in the series? 29 41 53 65 77 ?

J) 75 K) 88 L) 89 M) 98 N) 99

5. One word below appears in color. What is the OPPOSITE of that word? She gave a complex answer to the question and we all agreed with her.

A) long B) better C) simple D) wrong E) kind

6. Jose’s monthly parking fee for April was $150; for May it was $10 more than April; and for June $40 more than May. His average monthly parking fee was? for these 3 months.

J) $66 K) $160 L) $166 M) $170 N) $200

7. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?

Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.

Notebooks are office supplies.

Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.

A) yes B) no C) uncertain

8. Which THREE choices are needed to create the figure on the left? Only pieces of the same color may overlap.

J K L M N

9. Which THREE of the following words have similar meanings?

A) observable B) manifest C) hypothetical D) indefinite E) theoretical

10. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer service, which was ? of the employees.

J) 1% K) 2% L) 3% M) 4% N) 6%

Answers:

1. E, 2. N, 3. D, 4. L, 5. C, 6. M, 7. A, 8. KLM, 9. CDE, 10. K

Source: Wonderlic WPT—Sample Questions. Reprinted with permission of Wonderlic, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Wonderlic, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

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Source: Wonderlic Personnel Test and Scholastic Level Exam: User’s Manual (Vernon Hills, IL: Wonderlic Personnel Test, Inc., 1992), pp. 28–29. Reprinted with permission.

TABLE 10-3 Suggested Minimum Wonderlic Scores for Various Jobs

JOB MINIMUM SCORES

Mechanical Engineer 30

Attorney 29

Executive 28

Teacher 27

Nurse 26

Office Manager 25

Advertising Sales 24

Manager/Supervisor 23

Police Officer 22

Firefighter 21

Cashier 20

Hospital Orderly 19

Machine Operator 18

Unskilled Laborer 17

Maid-Matron 16

should be able to see how the items correspond with many of the cognitive abilities that we’ve described previously.

People who take the test receive one point for each correct response, and those points are summed to give a total score that can be used as a basis for selecting people for different jobs. The Wonderlic User’s Manual offers recommendations for minimum passing scores for differ- ent job families, some of which are included in Table 10-3 . For example, a score of 17 is the minimum suggested score for an unskilled laborer, a score of 21—which is the average for high school graduates and corresponds to an IQ of approximately 100—is the minimum suggested score for a firefighter. A score of 28 is the minimum suggested score for upper-level managerial and executive work and around the average for all college graduates.

Chances are you’ll hear about the Wonderlic Personnel Test every March and April. This is because the National Football League (NFL) administers the test to players who enter the draft, and teams consider the scores when selecting players. One question that people always debate during this time is whether scores on a test of cognitive ability are relevant to a football player’s performance on the field. Although supporters of the Wonderlic’s use in the NFL argue that cognitive ability is necessary to remember plays and learn complex offensive and defensive sys- tems, many people wonder how the ability to answer questions like those listed in Figure 10-5 relates to a player’s ability to complete a pass, run for a touchdown, tackle an opponent, or kick a field goal. Moreover, detractors of the Wonderlic wonder why a poor score should overshadow a record of superior accomplishments on the playing field. So who’s right? Well, the results of at least one study indicate that a player’s Wonderlic score does not predict subsequent perfor- mance in the NFL, and that this effect is not influenced much by the position of the player being considered. 69

10.6 What steps can organiza- tions take to hire people with high levels of cogni- tive ability?

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325C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

1 TOTALLY

DISAGREE

2 DISAGREE

3 SOMEWHAT DISAGREE

4 NEUTRAL

5 SOMEWHAT

AGREE

6 AGREE

7 TOTALLY AGREE

1. I have a good sense of why I have certain feelings most of the time.

2. I have a good understanding of my own emotions.

3. I really understand what I feel.

4. I always know whether or not I am happy.

5. I am a good observer of others’ emotions.

6. I always know my friends’ emotions from their behavior.

7. I am sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others.

8. I have a good understanding of the emotions of people around me.

9. I always set goals for myself and then try my best to achieve them.

10. I always tell myself I am a competent person.

11. I am a self-motivating person.

12. I would always encourage myself to try my best.

13. I am able to control my temper so that I can handle difficulties rationally.

14. I am quite capable of controlling my own emotions.

15. I can always calm down quickly when I am very angry.

16. I have good control over my own emotions.

O B A S S E S S M E N T S

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE How high is your emotional intelligence? This assessment will tell you where you stand on the four facets of emotional intelligence discussed in this chapter—self-awareness, other awareness, emotion regulation, and emotion use. Answer each question using the response scale provided. Then follow the instructions below to score yourself. (For more assessments relevant to this chap- ter, please visit http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com.)

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION:

Self-Awareness: Sum up items 1–4. _____ Other Awareness: Sum up items 5–8. _____ Emotion Use: Sum up items 9–12. _____ Emotion Regulation: Sum up items 13–16. _____

If you scored 19 or above, then you are above average on a particular dimension. If you scored 18 or below, then you are below average on a particular dimension.

Sources: K.S. Law, C.S. Wong, and L.J. Song, “The Construct and Criterion Validity of Emotional Intelligence and its Potential Utility for Management Studies,” Journal of Applied Psychology 89 (2004), pp. 483–96; and C.S. Wong and K.S. Law, “The Effects of Leader and Follower Emotional Intelligence on Performance and Attitude,” The Leadership Quarterly 13 (2002), pp. 243–74.

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328 C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

using different types of speaker wire. 51 He listened to the music over and over again and carefully considered the dynamics, loudness, bass response, and high frequencies of the music to deter- mine which combination of wire thickness, composition, and braiding pattern sounded best.

S U M M A RY: W H AT D O E S I T M E A N F O R A N E M P L O Y E E T O B E “ A B L E ” ? Thus far in the chapter, we’ve presented you with a fairly detailed description of the domain of human abilities, which are summarized in Figure 10-3 . Although the list of abilities included in the figure may seem somewhat daunting, we hope that you can appreciate that this set of abilities describes each and every one of us. Moreover, as we have alluded to throughout the chapter, these abilities play an important role in determining how effective we can be at different tasks and jobs.

H O W I M P O RTA N T I S A B I L I T Y ?

So, now that you know what ability is and where it comes from, let’s turn to the next important question: Does ability really matter? That is, does ability have a significant impact on job perfor- mance and organizational commitment—the two primary outcomes in our integrative model of OB? The answer to this question depends on what type of ability you are referring to—cognitive, emotional, or physical. We focus our discussion on general cognitive ability because it’s the most relevant form of ability across all jobs and is likely to be important in the kinds of positions that students in an OB course will be pursuing. As it turns out, there’s a huge body of research linking general cognitive ability to job performance, as summarized in Figure 10-4 . 52

The figure reveals that general cognitive ability is a strong predictor of job performance—in particular, the task performance aspect. Across all jobs, smarter employees fulfill the requirements

Cognitive Ability

Emotional Ability

Physical Ability

Verbal

Quantitative

Reasoning

Spatial

Perceptual

Self-Awareness

Other Awareness

Emotion Regulation

Use of Emotions

Strength

Stamina

Flexibility &

Coordination

Psychomotor

Sensory

OVERALL ABILITY

FIGURE 10-3 What Does It Mean for an Employee to Be “Able”?

Source: Adapted from J.J. Johnson and J.B. Cullen, “Trust in Cross-Cultural Relationships,” in Blackwell Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management, eds. M.J. Gannon and K.L. Newman (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2002), pp. 335–60.

10.5 How does cognitive ability affect job perfor- mance and organizational commitment?

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329C H A P T E R 1 0 Ability

Job Performance

Cognitive Ability

Organizational Commitment

Cognitive Ability

General cognitive ability has a strong positive effect on Task Performance. However, the correlation is higher for jobs that are more complex than average and lower for jobs that are less complex than average. The effects of general cognitive ability are near zero for Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.

General cognitive ability has no effect on Affective Commitment, Continuance Commitment, or Normative Commitment. Smarter employees are no more, or no less, likely to want to remain members of the organization.

Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).

Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).

FIGURE 10-4 Effects of General Cognitive Ability on Performance and Commitment

Sources: J.W. Boudreau, W.R. Boswell, T.A. Judge, and R.D Bretz, “Personality and Cognitive Ability as Predictors of Job Search Among Employed Managers,” Personnel Psychology 54 (2001), pp.  25–50; S.M. Colarelli, R.A. Dean, and C. Konstans, “Comparative Effects of Personal and Situational Influences on Job Outcomes of New Professionals,” Journal of Applied Psychology 72 (1987), pp.  558–66; D.N. Dickter, M. Roznowski, and D.A. Harrison, “Temporal Tempering: An Event History Analysis of the Process of Voluntary Turnover,” Journal of Applied Psychology 81 (1996), pp. 705–16; and F.L. Schmidt and J. Hunter, “General Mental Ability in the World of Work: Occupational Attainment and Job Performance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 86 (2004), pp. 162–73.

of their job descriptions more effectively than do less smart employees. 53 In fact, of all the vari- ables discussed in this book, none has a stronger correlation with task performance than general cognitive ability. Thousands of organizations, many of which are quite well-known, assess cogni- tive ability in efforts to select the best candidates available for specific jobs. 54 The use of cognitive ability tests for this purpose appears to be quite reasonable, given that scores on such tests have a strong positive correlation with measures of performance across different types of jobs. 55

In fact, this relationship holds even for performance in academic contexts. We mentioned the Scholastic Assessment Test, or the SAT, several times in this chapter because it’s likely to be quite familiar to you and because it largely reflects general cognitive ability. 56 Most colleges and univer- sities in the United States take these scores into account when deciding which students to admit because they believe that higher scores increase the chances that students will be successful in col- lege. But does the SAT really relate to how well someone does in college? Many of you are likely to be skeptical because you probably know someone who did extremely well on the SAT but per- formed poorly as a college student. Similarly, you probably know someone who didn’t do that well on the SAT but who performed well as a college student. As it turns out, the SAT is actually good at predicting college performance. Students with higher SAT scores tend to perform much better in their first year of college, end up with a higher cumulative grade point average, and have a higher likelihood of graduating. 57 The same finding applies to predicting success in graduate-level school as well. The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is similar to the SAT in structure and content, and students who score higher on this test prior to admission to graduate school tend to achieve better grade point averages over the course of their graduate program. 58

So what explains why general cognitive ability relates to task performance? People who have higher general cognitive ability tend to be better at learning and decision making, (which we covered in detail in Chapter 8). They’re able to gain more knowledge from their experiences at a

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Welcome to Chapter 9 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

9-*

How Can We Describe What
Employees are Like?

9-*

Personality

• The structures and propensities inside a person that explain his or her characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior
• Where does your personality come from?

9-*

Personality

• Nature vs. Nurture
• Are you extraverted or introverted? How does that compare to your parents?
• Do such similarities represent nature or nurture?

9-*

Personality

• Nature vs. Nurture
• Twin Studies
• Scientists study identical twins reared apart in order to separate nature and nurture effects
• This research suggests that between 35% and 49% of the variation in personality is due to genetics

9-*

Personality

• While we could come up with thousands of adjectives, most of them would cluster around five general dimensions
• We call these dimensions the “Big Five”
• How do you score on them?

9-*

Welcome to Chapter 8 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

8-*

Why Do Some Employees Learn to Make Decisions Better than Others?

8-*

Learning Defined

• Permanent changes in an employee’s knowledge or skill that result from experience
• Employees learn two types of knowledge:
• Explicit - easy to communicate and teach
• Tacit - more difficult to communicate; gained with experience

8-*

Methods of Learning

• How do employees learn?
• Reinforcement

8-*

Methods of Learning

8-*

Methods of Learning

8-*

Methods of Learning

• How do employees learn?
• Reinforcement
• Observation

8-*

Methods of Learning

8-*

Methods of Learning

• OB on Screen: The Karate Kid
• What kind of learning methods are being used?
• What kind of knowledge is Dre gaining?

8-*

Methods of Learning

• Some people learn differently, as a function of the goals and activities that they prioritize
• Goal orientation
• Learning
• Performance-prove
• Performance-avoid

8-*

Learning

Performance

Prove

Performance

Avoid

20

15

15

8-*

Decision Making

• The process of generating and choosing from a set of alternatives to solve a problem.
• Learning has a significant impact on decision making

8-*

Decision Making

Identify the problem

Is the problem recognized? Has it been dealt with before?

Programmed Decisions

Nonprogrammed Decisions

(Intuition, “Gut feeling”)

(Rational decision

making model)

Yes

No

8-*

Decision Making

• Nonprogrammed decisions
• Rational decision-making model

8-*

Decision Making Problems

• Common reasons for making bad decisions
• Limited information
• Faulty perceptions
• Faulty attributions
• Escalation of commitment

8-*

Limited Information

8-*

Faulty Perceptions

• Heuristics and decision-making biases
• Availability
• Anchoring
• Framing
• Representativeness
• Contract
• Recency
• Ratio Bias

8-*

Faulty Attributions

8-*

Escalation of Commitment

• The decision to continue to follow a failing course of action
• Throwing good money after bad

8-*

Why Do Some Employees Learn to Make Decisions Better than Others?

8-*

Why Do Some Employees Learn to Make Decisions Better than Others?

Reinforcement

Goal Orientation

Observation

Faulty Attributions

Escalation of Commitment

Faulty Perceptions

Limited Information

Reinforcement

Goal Orientation

Observation

Limited Information

Faulty Perceptions

Faulty Attributions

Escalation of Commitment

8-*

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INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

MECHANISMS INDIVIDUAL

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

GROUP MECHANISMS

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS

Organizational Culture

Organizational Structure

Teams: Processes &

Communication

Motivation

Trust, Justice, & Ethics

Teams: Characteristics &

Diversity

Ability

Personality & Cultural Values

Stress

Leadership: Power &

Negotiation

Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

Organizational Commitment

Job Performance

Job Satisfaction

Learning & Decision Making

chapter

Learning and Decision Making

8

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241C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

primarily the consequences of actions that drive behavior. This entire process of reinforcement is a continuous cycle, and the repetition of behaviors is strengthened to the degree that reinforce- ment continues to occur. There are four specific consequences typically used by organizations to modify employee behavior, known as the contingencies of reinforcement . 23 Figure 8-2 sum- marizes these contingencies. It’s important to separate them according to what they’re designed to do, namely, increase desired behaviors or decrease unwanted behaviors.

Two contingencies of reinforcement are used to increase desired behaviors. Positive reinforcement occurs when a positive outcome follows a desired behavior. It’s perhaps the most common type of reinforcement and the type we think of when an employee receives some type of “reward.” Increased pay, promotions, praise from a manager or coworkers, and public recogni- tion would all be considered positive reinforcement when given as a result of an employee exhib- iting desired behaviors. For positive reinforcement to be successful, employees need to see a direct link between their behaviors and desired outcomes (see Chapter 6 on Motivation for more discussion of such issues). If the consequences aren’t realized until long after the specific behav- iors, then the odds that employees will link the two are minimized. Negative reinforcement occurs when an unwanted outcome is removed following a desired behavior. Have you ever performed a task for the specific reason of not getting yelled at? If so, you learned to perform certain behaviors through the use of negative reinforcement. Perhaps there are some tasks your job requires that you don’t enjoy. If your manager removes these responsibilities specifically because you perform well at another aspect of your job, then this could also be seen as negative reinforcement. It’s important to remember that even though the word “negative” has a sour con- notation to it, it’s designed to increase desired behaviors.

The next two contingencies of reinforcement are designed to decrease undesired behaviors. Punishment occurs when an unwanted outcome follows an unwanted behavior. Punishment is exactly what it sounds like. In other words, employees are given something they don’t like as a result of performing behaviors that the organization doesn’t like. Sus- pending an employee for showing up to work late, assigning job tasks generally seen as demeaning for not following safety procedures, or even firing an employee for gross mis- conduct are all examples of punish- ment. Extinction occurs when there is the removal of a consequence fol- lowing an unwanted behavior. The use of extinction to reinforce behav- ior can be purposeful or accidental. Perhaps employees receive attention

Wanted outcome

Consequence is added

Consequence is removed

Unwanted outcome

Increases desired behaviors

Decreases unwanted behaviors

Positive reinforcement

Negative reinforcement

Extinction

Punishment

FIGURE 8-2 Contingencies of Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement, like public recognition, both encourages employees and helps ensure that desirable behaviors will be imitated and repeated.

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242 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

from coworkers when they act in ways that are somewhat childish at work. Finding a way to remove the attention would be a purposeful act of extinction. Similarly though, perhaps employ- ees work late every now and then to finish up job tasks when work gets busy, but their manager stops acknowledging that hard work. Desired behavior that’s not reinforced will diminish over time. In this way, a manager who does nothing to reinforce good behavior is actually decreasing the odds that it will be repeated!

In general, positive reinforcement and extinction should be the most common forms of rein- forcement used by managers to create learning among their employees. Positive reinforcement doesn’t have to be in the form of material rewards to be effective. There are many ways for man- agers to encourage wanted behaviors. Offering praise, providing feedback, public recognition, and small celebrations are all ways to encourage employees and increase the chances they will continue to exhibit desired behaviors. At the same time, extinction is an effective way to stop unwanted behaviors. Both of these contingencies deliver their intended results, but perhaps more importantly, they do so without creating feelings of animosity and conflict. Although punishment and negative reinforcement will work, they tend to bring other, detrimental consequences along with them.

Whereas the type of reinforcement used to modify behavior is important, research also shows that the timing of reinforcement is equally important. 24 Therefore, it’s important to examine the timing of when the contingencies are applied, referred to as schedules of reinforcement . Table  8-2 provides a summary of the five schedules of reinforcement. Continuous reinforce- ment is the simplest schedule and happens when a specific consequence follows each and every occurrence of a desired behavior. New learning is acquired most rapidly under a continuous schedule. 25 For most jobs, continuous reinforcement is impractical. As a manager, can you imag- ine providing positive reinforcement every time someone exhibits a desired behavior? It’s a good thing that research also shows that under many circumstances, continuous reinforcement might be considered the least long lasting, because as soon as the consequence stops, the desired behav- ior stops along with it. 26 Once a behavior has been acquired, some form of intermittent schedul- ing is more effective. 27

The other four schedules differ in terms of their variability and the basis of the consequences. Two schedules are interval based; that is, they distribute reinforcement based on the amount of time that passes. A fixed interval schedule is probably the single most common form of rein- forcement schedule. With this schedule, workers are rewarded after a certain amount of time, and the length of time between reinforcement periods stays the same. Every time employees get a paycheck after a predetermined period of time, they’re being reinforced on a fixed inter- val schedule. Variable interval schedules are designed to reinforce behavior at more random points in time. A supervisor walking around at different points of time every day is a good example of a variable interval schedule. If that supervisor walked around at the same exact

TABLE 8-2 Schedules of Reinforcement

REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULE

REWARD GIVEN FOLLOWING

POTENTIAL LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE

EXAMPLE

Continuous Every desired behavior High, but difficult to maintain Praise

Fixed Interval Fixed time periods Average Paycheck

Variable Interval Variable time periods Moderately high Supervisor walk-by

Fixed Ratio Fixed number of desired behaviors

High Piece-rate pay

Variable Ratio Variable number of desired behaviors

Very high Commission pay

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245C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

For behavioral modeling to occur successfully, a number of processes have to take place. These steps are shown in Figure 8-3 . First, the learner must focus attention on an appropriate model and accurately perceive the critical behavior the model exhibits. That model might be a supervisor, a coworker, or even a subordinate. Some organizations go out of their way to sup- ply role models for newcomers or inexperienced workers to watch and learn from. For instance, BASF, the German chemical giant, rewards and encourages older workers to model behavior and share their knowledge. In this way, not only does explicit knowledge get passed on but also tacit knowledge. BASF CFO Kurt Bock says, “For the engineers, transferring knowledge to their successors is easier said than done.” 32 In fact, because tacit knowledge is so difficult to communicate, modeling might be the single best way to acquire it. For that reason, modeling is a continual process that is used at all levels of many organizations. Ursula Burns’s ascent to CEO of Xerox was carefully controlled as she was allowed to closely observe and model former CEO Anne Mulcahy for a number of years before taking control. 33 Needless to say, choosing a good model is important, and not all models are good ones. There is a great deal of evidence that supports the notion that employees will learn to behave unethically when in the presence of oth- ers who model that same behavior. 34 Salomon Brothers, the New York–based investment bank, learned this lesson the hard way when employees began to model the unethical behaviors of their managers and leaders. 35

Second, the learner needs to remember exactly what the model’s behavior was and how they did it. This step is very difficult when watching experts perform their job, because so much of what they do remains unspoken and can occur at a rapid pace. Third, the learner must undertake production processes, or actually be able to reproduce what the model did. Not only must the learner have the requisite knowledge and physical skills to be able to perform the task; now he or she must translate what’s been observed into action. Do you remember the first time

FIGURE 8-3 The Modeling Process

Learner focuses

attention on the critical behaviors

exhibited by the model

Attentional Processes

Learner must remember the behaviors of the model once the

model is no longer present

Retention Processes

Learner must have the

appropriate skill set and be

able to reproduce the

behavior

Production Processes

Learner must view the model

receiving reinforcement for the behavior and

then receive it themselves

Reinforcement

Source: Adapted from H.M. Weiss, “Learning Theory and Industrial and Organizational Psychology,” in Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, eds. M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough. (Consulting Psychologists Press: Palo Alto, CA, 1990), pp. 75–169.

Ursula Burns was provided an unusual opportunity to learn by observation and behavioral modeling before becoming CEO of Xerox. She essentially co-led with her predeces- sor for two years to gain insider experience before taking the helm.

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247C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

GOAL ORIENTATION What does your goal orientation look like? This assessment is designed to measure all three dimensions of goal orientation. Please write a number next to each statement that indicates the extent to which it accurately describes your attitude toward work while you are on the job. Answer each question using the response scale provided. Then sum up your answers for each of the three dimensions. (For more assessments relevant to this chapter, please visit http://connect. mcgraw-hill.com.)

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION Learning Orientation: Sum up items 1–5. _____ Performance-Prove Orientation: Sum up items 6–9. _____ Performance-Avoid Orientation: Sum up items 10–13. _____

For learning orientation, scores of 20 or more are above average, and scores of 19 or less are below average. For the two performance orientations, scores of 15 or more are above average, and scores of 14 or less are below average.

Source: From J.F. Brett and D. VandeWalle, “Goal Orientation and Goal Content as Predictors of Performance in a Train- ing Program,” Journal of Applied Psychology 84 (1999), pp. 863–73. Copyright © 1999 by the American Psychological Associated. Reprinted with permission. No further reproduction or distribution is permitted without written permission from the American Psychological Association.

O B A S S E S S M E N T S

1 STRONGLY DISAGREE

2 DISAGREE

3 NEUTRAL

4 AGREE

5 STRONGLY AGREE

1. I am willing to select challenging assignments that I can learn a lot from.

2. I often look for opportunities to develop new skills and knowledge.

3. I enjoy challenging and difficult tasks where I’ll learn new skills.

4. For me, development of my ability is important enough to take risks.

5. I prefer to work in situations that require a high level of ability and talent.

6. I like to show that I can perform better than my coworkers.

7. I try to figure out what it takes to prove my ability to others at work.

8. I enjoy it when others at work are aware of how well I am doing.

9. I prefer to work on projects where I can prove my ability to others.

10. I would avoid taking on a new task if there was a chance that I would appear incompetent to others.

11. Avoiding a show of low ability is more important to me than learning a new skill.

12. I’m concerned about taking on a task at work if my performance would reveal that I had low ability.

13. I prefer to avoid situations at work where I might perform poorly.

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248 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

Experts tend to recognize problems more quickly than novices

Programmed Decisions Nonprogrammed Decisions (using rational decision-making model)

Experts have the ability to recognize patterns and situations that novices don't

Identify the problem

Is the problem recognized? Has it been dealt with

before?

Does the solution deliver the expected

outcome?

Implement appropriate solution

Does the solution deliver the expected

outcome?

Determine appropriate criteria

for making a decision

Generate list of available alternatives

Evaluate the alternatives against

criteria

Choose the solution that maximizes value

Implement appropriate solution

FIGURE 8-4 Programmed and Nonprogrammed Decisions

To experts, programmed decisions sometimes comes across as intuition or a “gut feeling.” Intuition can be described as emotionally charged judgments that arise through quick, non- conscious, and holistic associations. 41 There is almost unanimous consent among researchers that intuition is largely a function of learning—tacit knowledge gained through reinforcement, observation, and experience allow a decision maker to decide more quickly and confidently. 42 Because of their tacit knowledge, experts sometimes cannot put into words why they know that a

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250 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

assumes that decision makers have perfect information—that they know and are able to identify the available alternatives and the outcomes that would be associated with those alternatives. The model further assumes that time and money are generally not issues when it comes to mak- ing a decision, that decision makers always choose the solution that maximizes value, and that they will act in the best interests of the organization. Given all these assumptions, perhaps we shouldn’t label the model as “rational” after all!

D E C I S I O N - M A K I N G P R O B L E M S Because employees don’t always make rational decisions, it’s easy to second-guess decisions after the fact. Many decisions made inside organizations look good at the time and were made with perfectly good justifications to support them but turn out to have what are perceived as “bad results.” The reality, however, is that it’s a lot easier to question decisions in hindsight. As Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is often quoted as saying, “In the business world, the rear- view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” 49 Our responsibility here is not to rehash all the poor decisions employees and managers have made (and there are many of them!) but rather to detail some of the most common reasons for bad decision making—in other words, when are people most likely to falter in terms of the rational decision-making model and why?

LIMITED INFORMATION. Although most employees perceive themselves as rational deci- sion makers, the reality is that they are all subject to bounded rationality . Bounded rational- ity is the notion that decision makers simply do not have the ability or resources to process all available information and alternatives to make an optimal decision. 50 A comparison of bounded rationality and rational decision making is presented in Table 8-3 . This limit results in two major problems for making decisions. First, people have to filter and simplify information to make sense of their complex environment and the myriad of potential choices they face. 51 This sim- plification leads them to miss information when perceiving problems, generating and evaluat- ing alternatives, or judging the results. Second, because people cannot possibly consider every single alternative when making a decision, they satisfice. Satisficing results when decision mak- ers select the first acceptable alternative considered. 52 For more discussion of such issues, see our OB at the Bookstore feature.

Sources: Adapted from H.A. Simon, “Rational Decision Making in Organizations,” American Economic Review 69 (1979), pp. 493–513; D. Kahneman, “Maps of Bounded Rationality: Psychology for Behavioral Economics,” The American Economic Review 93 (2003), pp. 1449–75; and S.W. Williams, Making Better Business Decisions (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2002).

TABLE 8-3 Rational Decision Making vs. Bounded Rationality

TO BE RATIONAL DECISION MAKERS, WE SHOULD. . .

BOUNDED RATIONALITY SAYS WE ARE LIKELY TO. . .

Identify the problem by thoroughly examining the situation and considering all interested parties.

Boil the problem down to something that is easily understood.

Develop an exhaustive list of alternatives to consider as solutions.

Come up with a few solutions that tend to be straightforward, familiar, and similar to what is currently being done.

Evaluate all the alternatives simultaneously.

Evaluate each alternative as soon as we think of it.

Use accurate information to evaluate alternatives.

Use distorted and inaccurate information during the evaluation process.

Pick the alternative that maximizes value. Pick the first acceptable alternative (satisfice).

8.5 What decision-making problems can prevent employees from translating their learning into accurate decisions?

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254 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

FAULTY ATTRIBUTIONS. Another category of decision-making problems centers on how we explain the actions and events that occur around us. Research on attributions suggests that when people witness a behavior or outcome, they make a judgment about whether it was internally or externally caused. For example, when a coworker of yours named Joe shows up late to work and misses an important group presentation, you’ll almost certainly make a judgment about why that happened. You might attribute Joe’s outcome to internal factors—for example, suggesting that he is lazy or has a poor work ethic. Or you might attribute Joe’s outcome to external factors—for example, suggesting that there was unusually bad traffic that day or that other factors prevented him from arriving on time.

The fundamental attribution error argues that people have a tendency to judge others’ behaviors as due to internal factors. 60 This error suggests that you would likely judge Joe as hav- ing low motivation, poor organizational skills, or some other negative internal attribute. What if you yourself had showed up late? It turns out that we’re less harsh when judging ourselves. The self-serving bias occurs when we attribute our own failures to external factors and our own suc- cesses to internal factors. Interestingly, evidence suggests that attributions across cultures don’t always work the same way; see our OB Internationally feature for more discussion of this issue.

One model of attribution processes suggests that when people have a level of familiarity with the person being judged, they’ll use a more detailed decision framework. This model is illus- trated in Figure 8-5 . 61 To return to our previous example, if we want to explore why Joe arrived late to work, we can ask three kinds of questions:

Consensus: Did others act the same way under similar situations? In other words, did others arrive late on the same day?

Distinctiveness: Does this person tend to act differently in other circumstances? In other words, is Joe responsible when it comes to personal appointments, not just work appointments?

Consistency: Does this person always do this when performing this task? In other words, has Joe arrived late for work before?

The way in which these questions are answered will determine if an internal or external attri- bution is made. An internal attribution, such as laziness or low motivation for Joe, will occur if

Behavior is observed

Consensus

Lo w

H ig

h

Distinctiveness

Lo w

H ig

h

Consistency

Lo w

H ig

h

Environmental factors are to

blame

External attributionIndividual factors such as ability, motivation, or

attitudes are to blame

Internal attribution

FIGURE 8-5 Consensus, Distinctiveness, and Consistency

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257C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

8.6 How does learning affect job performance and organi zational commitment?

Decision-Making Problems Limited Information Faulty Perceptions Faulty Attributions Escalation of Commitment

Reinforcement Observation GoalOrientation

Programmed Decision Accuracy

Nonprogrammed Decision Accuracy

Expertise

Explicit Knowledge

Tacit Knowledge

FIGURE 8-6 Why Do Some Employees Learn to Make Decisions Better Than Others?

performance focuses on explicit knowledge, which is more practical to measure. It’s difficult to measure tacit knowledge because of its unspoken nature, but clearly such knowledge is relevant to task performance. Learning seems less relevant to citizenship behavior and counterproduc- tive behavior however, given that those behaviors are often less dependent on knowledge and expertise.

Figure 8-7 also reveals that learning is only weakly related to organizational commitment. 71

In general, having higher levels of job knowledge is associated with slight increases in emotional attachment to the firm. It’s true that companies that have a reputation as organizations that value learning tend to receive higher-quality applicants for jobs. 72 However, there’s an important dis- tinction between organizations that offer learning opportunities and employees who take advan- tage of those opportunities to actually gain knowledge. Moreover, it may be that employees with higher levels of expertise become more highly valued commodities on the job market, thereby reducing their levels of continuance commitment.

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258 C H A P T E R 8 Learning and Decision Making

A P P L I C AT I O N : T R A I N I N G

How can organizations improve learning in an effort to boost employee expertise and, ultimately, improve decision making? One approach is to rely on training , which represents a systematic effort by organizations to facilitate the learning of job-related knowledge and behavior. Orga- nizations spent $125 billion on employee learning and development in 2009, or $1,081 per employee. 73 A full discussion of all the types of training companies offer is beyond the scope of this section, but suffice it to say that companies are using many different methods to help their employees acquire explicit and tacit knowledge. Technological changes are altering the way those methods are delivered, as instructor-led classroom training has declined while online self- study programs and other forms of e-learning have increased to 36.5 percent of learning hours. 74

In addition to traditional training experiences, companies are also heavily focused on knowledge transfer from their older, experienced workers to their younger employees. Some companies are using variations of behavior modeling training to ensure that employees have the ability to observe and learn from those in the company with significant amounts of tacit knowledge. For example, Raytheon, the Waltham, Massachusetts–based defense and aerospace supplier, has created a train- ing program called “Leave-a-Legacy” that pairs employees holding vital knowledge with high- potential subordinates. Raytheon’s program is not one of those “have lunch once a month” mentor programs; it’s a relatively regimented program in which younger workers follow older workers around for extended periods of time, ensuring adequate opportunities for observation. Each pair of employees is also assigned a third-party coach that helps the knowledge transfer take place. 75 Such sharing of information between workers is not always easy, especially in competitive or political

Job Performance Learning

Organizational CommitmentLearning

Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).

Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).

Learning has a moderate positive effect on Performance. Employees who gain more knowledge and skill tend to have higher levels of Task Performance. Not much is known about the impact of learning on Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.

Learning has a weak positive effect on Commitment. Employees who gain more knowledge and skill tend to have slightly higher levels of Affective Commitment. Not much is known about the impact of learning on Continuance Commitment or Normative Commitment.

FIGURE 8-7 Effects of Learning on Performance and Commitment

Sources: G.M. Alliger, S.I. Tannenbaum, W. Bennett Jr., H. Traver, and A. Shotland, “A Meta-Analysis of the Relations among Training Criteria,” Personnel Psychology 50 (1997), pp. 341–58; J.A. Colquitt, J.A. LePine, and R.A. Noe, “Toward an Integrative Theory of Training Motivation: A Meta-Analytic Path Analysis of 20 Years of Research,” Journal of Applied Psychology 85 (2000), pp. 678–707; and J.P. Meyer, D.J. Stanley, L. Herscovitch, and L. Topolnytsky, “Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 61 (2002), pp. 20–52.

8.7 What steps can organi- zations take to foster learning?

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Welcome to Chapter 7 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

7-*

Why are Some Authorities
More Trusted than Others?

7-*

Trust Defined

• OB on Screen: Slumdog Millionaire

7-*

Trust Defined

• The willingness to be vulnerable to an authority based on positive expectations about the authority’s actions and intentions
• Trust = willing to be vulnerable
• Risk = actually becoming vulnerable

7-*

Trust Drivers

7-*

Disposition-Based Trust

• Trust Propensity
• A general expectation that the words, promises, and statements of individuals and groups can be relied upon
• Which is more damaging in organizational life: being too trusting or being too suspicious?

7-*

21

7-*

Cognition-Based Trust

• Trustworthiness
• The characteristics of a trustee that inspire trust
• Ability
• Benevolence
• Integrity
• Which are most important with subordinates? With supervisors?

7-*

Affect-Based Trust

7-*

Justice

• Trustworthiness can sometimes be difficult to judge, especially early in work relationships
• Justice-relevant acts can serve as behavioral evidence of trustworthiness
• Distributive justice
• Procedural justice
• Interpersonal justice
• Informational justice

7-*

Distributive and Procedural Justice

7-*

Distributive and Procedural Justice

7-*

Interpersonal & Informational Justice

7-*

Interpersonal & Informational Justice

7-*

Ethics

• The degree to which the behaviors of an authority are in accordance with generally accepted moral norms
• Unethical behavior
• “Merely ethical” behavior
• “Especially ethical” behavior

7-*

Ethics

• Exercise
• Read the scenario on the next four slides
• Come up with three ideas for reducing theft in this grocery store

7-*

Welcome to Chapter 6 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

6-*

Why Are Some Employees
More Motivated than Others?

6-*

Motivation Defined

• A set of energetic forces that originate within and outside an employee that initiates work-related effort and determines its direction, intensity, and persistence
• What do you do?
• How hard do you do it?
• How long do you do it?

6-*

Theories of Motivation

• Several theories attempt to summarize the key factors that foster high motivation:
• Expectancy theory
• Goal setting theory
• Equity theory
• Psychological empowerment

6-*

Expectancy Theory

• Motivation is fostered when the employee believes three things:
• That effort will result in performance
• That performance will result in outcomes
• That those outcomes will be valuable

6-*

Expectancy Theory

6-*

Expectancy

• Effort → Performance
• Can be hindered by:
• Lack of necessary resources
• Lack of supportive leadership
• Low self-efficacy

6-*

Expectancy

6-*

Instrumentality

• Performance → Outcomes
• Can be hindered by:
• Poor methods for measuring performance, as Instrumentality could actually be rewritten to be Performance → Evaluation → Outcomes
• Inadequate budget to provide outcomes, even when performance is high
• Use of policies that reward things besides performance, such as attendance or seniority
• Time delays in doling out rewards

6-*

Valence

• Anticipated value of outcomes
• Extrinsic
• Intrinsic

6-*

Valence

6-*

Valence

• Why does pay have such a high valence?
• The meaning of money
• Achievement
• Respect
• Freedom

6-*

13

15

20

Achieve

Respect

Freedom

6-*

Expectancy Theory

• Motivation = (E→P) x Σ[(P→O) x V]
• Key aspect: multiplicative effects
• Motivation is zero if either expectancy, instrumentality, or valence is zero

6-*

Expectancy Theory

• Taken together, the instrumentality and valence components resemble a concept from a famous movie franchise
• OB on Screen: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

6-*

Expectancy Theory

• Motivation = (E→P) x Σ[(P→O) x V]
• Motivation = (E→P) x Greed?
• Is greed indeed “good”?
• How could greed be “channeled”?

6-*

Goal Setting Theory

• Motivation is fostered when employees are given specific and difficult goals
• Rather than no goals, easy goals, or “do your best” goals

6-*

Goal Setting Theory

6-*

Goal Setting Theory

6-*

Equity Theory

• Motivation is maximized when an employee’s ratio of “outcomes” to “inputs” matches those of some “comparison other”
• Thus motivation also depends on the outcomes received by other employees

6-*

Equity Theory

• Are these really equal?

6-*

Equity Theory

• What emotion do you feel in this case?
• What methods can be used to restore equity?

6-*

Equity Theory

• What emotion do you feel in this case?
• What methods can be used to restore equity?

6-*

Psychological Empowerment

• An intrinsic form of motivation derived from the belief that one’s work tasks are contributing to some larger purpose
• Fostered by four beliefs:
• Meaningfulness
• Self-Determination
• Competence
• Impact

6-*

Why Are Some Employees
More Motivated than Others?

6-*

Why Are Some Employees
More Motivated than Others?

Instrumentality

Expectancy

Valence

Specific & Difficult Goals

Empowerment

Equity

Expectancy

Instrumentality

Valence

Empowerment

Specific & Difficult Goals

Equity

6-*

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INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

MECHANISMS INDIVIDUAL

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

GROUP MECHANISMS

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS

Organizational Culture

Organizational Structure

Teams: Processes &

Communication

Motivation

Trust, Justice, & Ethics

Teams: Characteristics &

Diversity Learning & Decision Making

Ability

Personality & Cultural Values

Stress

Leadership: Power &

Negotiation

Job Satisfaction

Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

Organizational Commitment

Job Performance

Motivation

chapter Motivation 6

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166 C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

Figure 6-1. However, some of them are uniquely suited to explaining the direction of effort, whereas others do a better job of explaining the intensity and persistence of effort.

E X P E C TA N C Y T H E O RY What makes you decide to direct your effort to work assignments rather than taking a break or wasting time? Or what makes you decide to be a “good citizen” by helping out a colleague or attending some optional company function? Expectancy theory describes the cognitive process that employees go through to make choices among different voluntary responses. 14 Drawing on earlier models from psychology, expectancy theory argues that employee behavior is directed toward pleasure and away from pain or, more generally, toward certain outcomes and away from others. 15 How do employees make the choices that take them in the “right direction”? The theory suggests that our choices depend on three specific beliefs that are based in our past learning and experience: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. These three beliefs are summarized in Figure 6-2 , and we review each of them in turn.

EXPECTANCY. Expectancy represents the belief that exerting a high level of effort will result in the successful performance of some task. More technically, expectancy is a subjective prob- ability, ranging from 0 (no chance!) to 1 (a mortal lock!) that a specific amount of effort will result in a specific level of performance (abbreviated E P). Think of a task at which you’re not particularly good, such as writing romantic poetry. You may not be very motivated to write romantic poetry because you don’t believe that your effort, no matter how hard you try, will result in a poem that “moves” your significant other. As another example, you’ll be more moti- vated to work on the assignment described in Figure 6-1 if you’re confident that trying hard will allow you to complete it successfully.

FIGURE 6-2 Expectancy Theory

? ? Effort Performance

Outcomes

1 or 2 ?

1 or 2 ?

1 or 2 ?

Instrumentality: If I perform well, will I receive outcomes?

Valence: Will the outcomes be

satisfying?

Expectancy: If I exert a lot of effort, will I

perform well?

1 or 2 ?

Source: Adapted from V.H. Vroom, Work and Motivation (New York: Wiley, 1964).

6.2 What three beliefs help determine work effort, according to expectancy theory?

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167C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

What factors shape our expectancy for a particular task? One of the most critical factors is self-efficacy, defined as the belief that a person has the capabilities needed to execute the behav- iors required for task success. 16 Think of self-efficacy as a kind of self-confidence or a task- specific version of self-esteem. 17 Employees who feel more “efficacious” (that is, self-confident) for a particular task will tend to perceive higher levels of expectancy—and therefore be more likely to choose to exert high levels of effort. Why do some employees have higher self-efficacy for a given task than other employees? Figure 6-3 can help explain such differences.

When employees consider efficacy levels for a given task, they first consider their past accomplishments —the degree to which they have succeeded or failed in similar sorts of tasks in the past. 18 They also consider vicarious experiences by taking into account their observations and discussions with others who have performed such tasks. 19 Self-efficacy is also dictated by verbal persuasion, because friends, coworkers, and leaders can persuade employees that they can “get the job done.” Finally, efficacy is dictated by emotional cues, in that feelings of fear or anxiety can create doubts about task accomplishment, whereas pride and enthusiasm can bolster confidence levels. 20 Taken together, these efficacy sources shape analyses of how difficult the task requirements are and how adequate an employee’s personal and situational resources will prove to be. 21 They also explain the content of most pregame speeches offered by coaches before the big game; such speeches commonly include references to past victories (past accomplish- ments), pep talks about how good the team can be (verbal persuasion), and cheers to rally the troops (emotional cues).

INSTRUMENTALITY. Instrumentality represents the belief that successful performance will result in some outcome(s). 22 More technically, instrumentality is a set of subjective probabilities, each ranging from 0 (no chance!) to 1 (a mortal lock!) that successful performance will bring a set of outcomes (abbreviated P O). The term “instrumentality” makes sense when you consider the meaning of the adjective “instrumental.” We say something is “instrumental” when it helps attain something else—for example, reading this chapter is instrumental for getting a good grade in an OB class (at least, we hope so!). 23 Unfortunately, evidence indicates that many employees don’t perceive high levels of instrumentality in their workplace. One survey of more

FIGURE 6-3 Sources of Self-Efficacy

Analysis of Task

Requirements

Assessment of Personal and Situational Resources

Source: Adapted from A. Bandura, “Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change,” Psychological Review 84 (1977), pp. 191–215; and M.E. Gist and T.R. Mitchell, “Self-Efficacy: A Theoretical Analysis of its Determi- nants and Malleability,” Academy of Management Review 17 (1992), pp. 183–211.

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170 C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

MOTIVATIONAL FORCE. According to expectancy theory, the direction of effort is dictated by three beliefs: expectancy (E P), instrumentality (P O), and valence (V). More specifi- cally, the theory suggests that the total “motivational force” to perform a given action can be described using the following formula: 46

The ∑ symbol in the equation signifies that instrumentalities and valences are judged with var- ious outcomes in mind, and motivation increases as successful performance is linked to more and more attractive outcomes. Note the significance of the multiplication signs in the formula: Moti- vational force equals zero if any one of the three beliefs is zero. In other words, it doesn’t matter how confident you are if performance doesn’t result in any outcomes. Similarly, it doesn’t matter how well performance is evaluated and rewarded if you don’t believe you can perform well.

G O A L S E T T I N G T H E O RY So, returning to the choice shown in Figure 6-1 , let’s say that you feel confident you can perform well on the assignment your boss gave you and that you also believe successful performance will bring valued outcomes. Now that you’ve chosen to direct your effort to that assignment, two critical questions remain: How hard will you work, and for how long? To shed some more light on these questions, you stop by your boss’s office and ask her, “So, when exactly do you need this done?” After thinking about it for a while, she concludes, “Just do your best.” After returning

TABLE 6-2 Extrinsic and Intrinsic Outcomes

Sources: Adapted from E.E. Lawler III and J.L. Suttle, “Expectancy Theory and Job Behavior,” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 9 (1973), pp. 482–503; J. Galbraith and L.L. Cummings, “An Empirical Investigation of the Motivational Determinants of Task Performance: Interactive Effects between Instrumentality–Valence and Motivation– Ability,” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 2 (1967), pp. 237–57; E. McAuley, S. Wraith, and T.E. Dun- can, “Self-Efficacy, Perceptions of Success, and Intrinsic Motivation for Exercise,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 21 (1991), pp. 139–55; and A.S. Waterman, S.J. Schwartz, E. Goldbacher, H. Green, C. Miller, and S. Philip, “Predicting the Subjective Experience of Intrinsic Motivation: The Roles of Self-Determination, the Balance of Challenges and Skills, and Self-Realization Values,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 29 (2003), pp. 1447–58.

EXTRINSIC OUTCOMES INTRINSIC OUTCOMES

Pay Enjoyment

Bonuses Interestingness

Promotions Accomplishment

Benefits and perks Knowledge gain

Spot awards Skill development

Praise Personal expression

Job security (Lack of) Boredom

Support (Lack of) Anxiety

Free time (Lack of) Frustration

(Lack of) Disciplinary actions

(Lack of) Demotions

(Lack of) Terminations

Motivational Force = E P × ! [(P O) × V ]

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171C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

to your desk, you realize that you’re still not sure how much to focus on the assignment, or how long you should work on it before turning to something else.

Goal setting theory views goals as the primary drivers of the intensity and persistence of effort. 47 Goals are defined as the objective or aim of an action and typically refer to attaining a specific standard of proficiency, often within a specified time limit. 48 More specifically, the

O B A S S E S S M E N T S

THE MEANING OF MONEY How do you view money—what meaning do you attach to it? This assessment will tell you where you stand on the three facets of the meaning of money—money as achievement, money as respect, and money as freedom. Answer each question using the response scale provided. Then follow the instructions below to score yourself. (For more assessments relevant to this chapter, please visit http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com.)

1 STRONGLY DISAGREE

2 DISAGREE

3 SLIGHTLY DISAGREE

4 NEUTRAL

5 SLIGHTLY AGREE

6 AGREE

7 STRONGLY

AGREE

1. Money represents one’s achievement.

2. Money is a symbol of success.

3. Money is the most important goal in my life.

4. Money can buy everything.

5. Money makes people respect you in the community.

6. Money will help you express your competence and abilities.

7. Money can bring you many friends.

8. Money is honorable.

9. Money gives you autonomy and freedom.

10. Money can give you the opportunity to be what you want to be.

11. Money in the bank is a sign of security.

12. Money means power.

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION Money as Achievement: Sum up items 1–4. Money as Respect: Sum up items 5–8. Money as Freedom: Sum up items 9–12.

Money as Achievement: High  =  13 or above. Low  =  12 or below. Money as Respect: High  =  15 or above. Low  =  14 or below. Money as Freedom: High  =  20 or above. Low  =  19 or below.

If you scored high on all three dimensions, then you view money as having multiple, non- economic meanings. This result means that money is likely to be a powerful motivator for you.

Source: Adapted from T.L. Tang, “The Meaning of Money Revisited,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 13 (1992), pp. 197–202.

6.3 What two qualities make goals strong predictors of task performance, accord- ing to goal setting theory?

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172 C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

theory argues that assigning employees specific and difficult goals will result in higher levels of performance than assigning no goals, easy goals, or “do-your-best” goals. 49 Why are specific and difficult goals more effective than do-your-best ones? After all, doesn’t “your best” imply the highest possible levels of effort? The reason is that few people know what their “best” is (and even fewer managers can tell whether employees are truly doing their “best”). Assigning specific and difficult goals gives people a number to shoot for—a “measuring stick” that can be used to tell them how hard they need to work and for how long. So if your boss had said, “Have the assignment on my desk by 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with no more than two mistakes,” you would have known exactly how hard to work and for how long.

Of course, a key question then becomes, “What’s a difficult goal?” Figure 6-4 illustrates the predicted relationship between goal difficulty and task performance. When goals are easy, there’s no reason to work your hardest or your longest, so task effort is lower. As goals move from moderate to difficult, the intensity and persistence of effort become maximized. At some point, however, the limits of a person’s ability get reached, and self-efficacy begins to diminish. Also at that point, goals move from difficult to impossible, and employees feel somewhat helpless when attempting to achieve them. In turn, effort and performance inevitably decline. So a difficult goal is one that stretches employees to perform at their maximum level while still staying within the boundaries of their ability.

The effects of specific and difficult goals on task performance have been tested in several hundred studies using many kinds of settings and tasks. A sampling of those settings and tasks is shown in Table 6-3 . 50 Overall, around 90 percent of the goal setting studies support the beneficial effects of specific and difficult goals on task performance. 51 Although some of the settings and tasks shown in the table are unlikely to be major parts of your career (archery, handball, LEGO construction), others should be very relevant to the readers (and authors!) of this book (managing and supervision, studying, faculty research). Then again, who wouldn’t want a career in LEGO construction?

Why exactly do specific and difficult goals have such positive effects? Figure  6-5 presents goal setting theory in more detail to understand that question better. 52 First, the assignment of a specific and difficult goal shapes people’s own self-set goals —the internalized goals that peo- ple use to monitor their own task progress. 53 In the absence of an assigned goal, employees may not even consider what their own goals are, or they may self-set relatively easy goals that

FIGURE 6-4 Goal Difficulty and Task Performance

Source: Adapted from E.A. Locke and G.P. Latham, A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990).

Goal Difficulty

T as

k P

e rf

o rm

an ce

Easy Moderate Difficult Impossible

Intensity and Persistence Maximized

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173C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

TABLE 6-3 Settings and Tasks Used in Goal Setting Research

SETTINGS AND TASKS

Air traffic control Management training

Archery Marine recruit performance

Arithmetic Maze learning

Beverage consumption Mining

Chess Proofreading

Computer games Production and manufacturing

Course work Puzzles

Energy conservation Safety behaviors

Exercise Sales

Faculty research Scientific and R&D work

Juggling Sit-ups

LEGO construction Studying

Logging Weight lifting

Managing and supervision Weight loss

Source: Adapted from E.A. Locke and G.P. Latham, A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990).

FIGURE 6-5 Goal Setting Theory

Sources: Adapted from E.A. Locke and G.P. Latham, A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990); E.A. Locke and G.P. Latham, “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-Year Odyssey,” American Psychologist 57 (2002), pp. 705–17; and G.P. Latham, “Motivate Employee Performance through Goal-Setting,” in Blackwell Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior, ed. E.A. Locke (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000), pp. 107–19.

Specific and Difficult

Assigned Goal

Task Performance

Self-Set Goal

Goal Commitment

Task ComplexityFeedback

Intensity of Effort

Persistence of Effort

Task Strategies

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177C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

Chapter 7 on Trust, Justice, and Ethics for more on such issues). 74 More relevant to this chapter, another means of restoring balance is to shrink your inputs by lowering the intensity and persis- tence of effort. Remember, it’s not the total outcomes or inputs that matter in equity theory—it’s only the ratio.

The third possibility is that your ratio of outcomes to inputs is greater than your comparison other’s ratio. Equity distress again gets experienced, and the tension likely creates negative emo- tions such as guilt or anxiety. Balance could be restored by shrinking your outcomes (taking less money, giving something back to the comparison other), but the theory acknowledges that such actions are unlikely in most cases. 75 Instead, the more likely solution is to increase your inputs in some way. You could increase the intensity and persistence of your task effort or decide to engage in more “extra mile” citizenship behaviors. At some point though, there may not be enough hours in the day to increase your inputs any further. An alternative (and less labor-intensive) means of increasing your inputs is to simply rethink them—to reexamine your mental ledger to see if you may have “undersold” your true contributions. On second thought, maybe your education or seniority is more critical than you realized, or maybe your skills and abilities are more vital to the organization. This cognitive distortion allows you to restore balance mentally, without altering your behavior in any way.

There is one other way of restoring balance, regardless of underreward or overreward circum- stances, that’s not depicted in Figure 6-6 : Change your comparison other. After all, we compare our “lots in life” to a variety of other individuals. Table 6-6 summarizes the different kinds of comparison others that can be used. 76 Some of those comparisons are internal comparisons, meaning that they refer to someone in the same company. 77 Others are external comparisons,

FIGURE 6-6 Three Possible Outcomes of Equity Theory Comparisons

COMPARISON RESULT: WAYS TO RESTORE BALANCE:

Shrink your inputs by lowering the intensity or persistence of effort.

Grow your outcomes by talking to your boss or by stealing from the company.

Grow your inputs through more high quality work or through some "cognitive distortion."

Shrink your outcomes (yeah, right!... let's see what we can do about those inputs...).

No actions needed.

Equity

=

Underreward Inequity

<

Overreward Inequity

>

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Sources: Adapted from J.S. Adams, “Inequity in Social Exchange,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2, ed. L. Berkowitz (New York: Academic Press, 1965), pp. 267–99.

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177C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

Chapter 7 on Trust, Justice, and Ethics for more on such issues). 74 More relevant to this chapter, another means of restoring balance is to shrink your inputs by lowering the intensity and persis- tence of effort. Remember, it’s not the total outcomes or inputs that matter in equity theory—it’s only the ratio.

The third possibility is that your ratio of outcomes to inputs is greater than your comparison other’s ratio. Equity distress again gets experienced, and the tension likely creates negative emo- tions such as guilt or anxiety. Balance could be restored by shrinking your outcomes (taking less money, giving something back to the comparison other), but the theory acknowledges that such actions are unlikely in most cases. 75 Instead, the more likely solution is to increase your inputs in some way. You could increase the intensity and persistence of your task effort or decide to engage in more “extra mile” citizenship behaviors. At some point though, there may not be enough hours in the day to increase your inputs any further. An alternative (and less labor-intensive) means of increasing your inputs is to simply rethink them—to reexamine your mental ledger to see if you may have “undersold” your true contributions. On second thought, maybe your education or seniority is more critical than you realized, or maybe your skills and abilities are more vital to the organization. This cognitive distortion allows you to restore balance mentally, without altering your behavior in any way.

There is one other way of restoring balance, regardless of underreward or overreward circum- stances, that’s not depicted in Figure 6-6 : Change your comparison other. After all, we compare our “lots in life” to a variety of other individuals. Table 6-6 summarizes the different kinds of comparison others that can be used. 76 Some of those comparisons are internal comparisons, meaning that they refer to someone in the same company. 77 Others are external comparisons,

FIGURE 6-6 Three Possible Outcomes of Equity Theory Comparisons

COMPARISON RESULT: WAYS TO RESTORE BALANCE:

Shrink your inputs by lowering the intensity or persistence of effort.

Grow your outcomes by talking to your boss or by stealing from the company.

Grow your inputs through more high quality work or through some "cognitive distortion."

Shrink your outcomes (yeah, right!... let's see what we can do about those inputs...).

No actions needed.

Equity

=

Underreward Inequity

<

Overreward Inequity

>

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Sources: Adapted from J.S. Adams, “Inequity in Social Exchange,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2, ed. L. Berkowitz (New York: Academic Press, 1965), pp. 267–99.

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177C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

Chapter 7 on Trust, Justice, and Ethics for more on such issues). 74 More relevant to this chapter, another means of restoring balance is to shrink your inputs by lowering the intensity and persis- tence of effort. Remember, it’s not the total outcomes or inputs that matter in equity theory—it’s only the ratio.

The third possibility is that your ratio of outcomes to inputs is greater than your comparison other’s ratio. Equity distress again gets experienced, and the tension likely creates negative emo- tions such as guilt or anxiety. Balance could be restored by shrinking your outcomes (taking less money, giving something back to the comparison other), but the theory acknowledges that such actions are unlikely in most cases. 75 Instead, the more likely solution is to increase your inputs in some way. You could increase the intensity and persistence of your task effort or decide to engage in more “extra mile” citizenship behaviors. At some point though, there may not be enough hours in the day to increase your inputs any further. An alternative (and less labor-intensive) means of increasing your inputs is to simply rethink them—to reexamine your mental ledger to see if you may have “undersold” your true contributions. On second thought, maybe your education or seniority is more critical than you realized, or maybe your skills and abilities are more vital to the organization. This cognitive distortion allows you to restore balance mentally, without altering your behavior in any way.

There is one other way of restoring balance, regardless of underreward or overreward circum- stances, that’s not depicted in Figure 6-6 : Change your comparison other. After all, we compare our “lots in life” to a variety of other individuals. Table 6-6 summarizes the different kinds of comparison others that can be used. 76 Some of those comparisons are internal comparisons, meaning that they refer to someone in the same company. 77 Others are external comparisons,

FIGURE 6-6 Three Possible Outcomes of Equity Theory Comparisons

COMPARISON RESULT: WAYS TO RESTORE BALANCE:

Shrink your inputs by lowering the intensity or persistence of effort.

Grow your outcomes by talking to your boss or by stealing from the company.

Grow your inputs through more high quality work or through some "cognitive distortion."

Shrink your outcomes (yeah, right!... let's see what we can do about those inputs...).

No actions needed.

Equity

=

Underreward Inequity

<

Overreward Inequity

>

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Other's Outcomes

Other's Inputs

Your Outcomes

Your Inputs

Sources: Adapted from J.S. Adams, “Inequity in Social Exchange,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 2, ed. L. Berkowitz (New York: Academic Press, 1965), pp. 267–99.

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184 C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

FIGURE 6-7 Why Are Some Employees More Motivated Than Others?

Meaningfulness

Self- Determination

Competence

Impact

Specific and Difficult

Assigned Goal

Direction of Effort

Intensity of Effort

Persistence of Effort

Self-Set Goal

PE O

Psychological Empowerment

Other's Outcomes

Your Outcomes

MOTIVATING FORCES

Expectancy Instrumentality

Valence

Other's Inputs

Your Inputs

EFFORT

=

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185C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

those actions themselves require extra effort. The best evidence in support of that claim comes from research on equity. Specifically, employees who feel a sense of equity on the job are more likely to engage in citizenship behaviors, particularly when those behaviors aid the organiza- tion. 107 The same employees are less likely to engage in counterproductive behaviors, because such behaviors often serve as a retaliation against perceived inequities. 108

As with citizenship behaviors, the relationship between motivation and organizational com- mitment seems straightforward. After all, the psychological and physical forms of withdrawal that characterize less committed employees are themselves evidence of low levels of motivation. Clearly employees who are daydreaming, coming in late, and taking longer breaks are struggling to put forth consistently high levels of work effort. Research on equity and organizational com- mitment offers the clearest insights into the motivation–commitment relationship. Specifically, employees who feel a sense of equity are more emotionally attached to their firms and feel a stronger sense of obligation to remain. 109

FIGURE 6-8 Effects of Motivation on Performance and Commitment

Motivation has a strong positive effect on Job Performance. People who experience higher levels of motivation tend to have higher levels of Task Performance. Those effects are strongest for self-efficacy/competence, followed by goal difficulty, the valence-instrumentality-expectancy combination, and equity. Less is known about the effects of motivation on Citizenship and Counterproductive Behavior, though equity has a moderate positive effect on the former and a moderate negative effect on the latter.

Less is known about the effects of Motivation on Organizational Commitment. However, equity has a moderate positive effect. People who experience higher levels of equity tend to feel higher levels of Affective Commitment and higher levels of Normative Commitment. Effects on Continuance Commitment are weaker.

Motivation JobPerformance

Motivation Organizational Commitment

Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).

Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).

Sources: Y. Cohen-Charash and P.E. Spector, “The Role of Justice in Organizations: A Meta-Analysis,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 86 (2001), pp. 287–321; J.A. Colquitt, D.E. Conlon, M.J. Wesson, C.O.L.H. Porter, and K.Y. Ng, “Justice at the Millennium: A Meta-Analytic Review of 25 Years of Organizational Justice Research,” Journal of Applied Psychology 86 (2001), pp. 425–45; J.P. Meyer, D.J. Stanley, L. Herscovitch, and L. Topolnytsky, “Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-Analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 61 (2002), pp. 20–52; A.D. Stajkovic and F. Luthans, “Self-Efficacy and Work-Related Performance: A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Bulletin 124 (1998), pp. 240–61; W. Van Eerde and H. Thierry, “Vroom’s Expectancy Models and Work-Related Criteria: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Applied Psychology 81 (1996), pp. 575–86; and R.E. Wood, A.J. Mento, and E.A. Locke, “Task Complexity as a Moderator of Goal Effects: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Applied Psychology 72 (1987), pp. 416–25.

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186 C H A P T E R 6 Motivation

A P P L I C AT I O N : C O M P E N S AT I O N S Y S T E M S

The most important area in which motivation concepts are applied in organizations is in the design of compensation systems. Table 6-7 provides an overview of many of the elements used in typical compensation systems. We use the term “element” in the table to acknowledge that most organizations use a combination of multiple elements to compensate their employees. Two points must be noted about Table 6-7 . First, the descriptions of the elements are simplistic; the reality is that each of the elements can be implemented and executed in a variety of ways. 110

Second, the elements are designed to do more than just motivate. For example, plans that put pay “at risk” rather than creating increases in base salary are geared toward control of labor costs. As another example, elements that stress individual achievement are believed to alter the composi- tion of a workforce over time, with high achievers drawn to the organization while less moti- vated employees are selected out. Finally, plans that reward unit or organizational performance are designed to reinforce collaboration, information sharing, and monitoring among employees, regardless of their impact on motivation levels.

One way of judging the motivational impact of compensation plan elements is to consider whether the elements provide difficult and specific goals for channeling work effort. Merit pay and profit sharing offer little in the way of difficult and specific goals, because both essentially challenge employees to make next year as good (or better) than this year. In contrast, lump-sum

TABLE 6-7 Compensation Plan Elements

ELEMENT DESCRIPTION

Individual-Focused

Piece-Rate

Merit Pay

Lump-Sum Bonuses

Recognition Awards

A specified rate is paid for each unit produced, each unit sold, or each service provided.

An increase to base salary is made in accordance with perfor- mance evaluation ratings.

A bonus is received for meeting individual goals but no change is made to base salary. The potential bonus represents “at risk” pay that must be re-earned each year. Base salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large.

Tangible awards (gift cards, merchandise, trips, special events, time off, plaques) or intangible awards (praise) are given on an impromptu basis to recognize achievement.

Unit-Focused

Gainsharing A bonus is received for meeting unit goals (department goals, plant goals, business unit goals) for criteria controllable by employees (labor costs, use of materials, quality). No change is made to base salary. The potential bonus represents “at risk” pay that must be re-earned each year. Base salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large.

Organization-Focused

Profit Sharing A bonus is received when the publicly reported earnings of a company exceed some minimum level, with the magnitude of the bonus contingent on the magnitude of the profits. No change is made to base salary. The potential bonus represents “at risk” pay that must be re-earned each year. Base salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large.

6.7 What steps can organiza- tions take to increase employee motivation?

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Welcome to Chapter 5 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

5-*

Why Are Some Employees
More Stressed than Others?

5-*

Stress

• Definition
• A psychological response to demands where there is something at stake and where coping with the demands taxes or exceeds a person’s capacity or resources
• Do you want a stress-free job?

5-*

Stress

• Which jobs are more and less stressful, in general?

5-*

Stress

• Which jobs are more and less stressful, in general?

5-*

Transactional Theory of Stress

5-*

Work Stressors

• Challenge stressors
• Time pressure
• Work complexity
• Work responsibility

5-*

Work Stressors

• Hindrance stressors
• Role conflict
• Role ambiguity
• Role overload
• Daily hassles

5-*

Work Stressors

• OB on Screen: Devil Wears Prada
• What kinds of stressors does Andy seem to be experiencing?

5-*

Family Stressors

• Challenge stressors
• Family time demands
• Personal development
• Positive life events

5-*

Family Stressors

• Hindrance stressors
• Work-family conflict
• Financial uncertainty
• Negative life events

5-*

Life Events

5-*

Coping with Stressors

5-*

Accounting for Individuals

• People differ in their ability to cope with stressors, as a function of:
• Social support
• Instrumental support
• Emotional support
• Type A Behavior Pattern

5-*

Type A Behavior Pattern

53

5-*

Consequences
of Stress

5-*

Why Are Some Employees
More Stressed than Others?

5-*

Why Are Some Employees
More Stressed than Others?

Family Challenge Stressors

Family Hindrance Stressors

Work Hindrance Stressors

Work Challenge Stressors

Coping Strategies

Type A Behavior Pattern

Social Support

Work Hindrance Stressors

Work Challenge Stressors

Family Challenge Stressors

Family Hindrance Stressors

Coping Strategies

Type A Behavior Pattern

Social Support

5-*

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INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

MECHANISMS INDIVIDUAL

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

GROUP MECHANISMS

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS

Organizational Culture

Organizational Structure

Teams: Processes &

Communication

Motivation

Trust, Justice, & Ethics

Teams: Characteristics &

Diversity Learning & Decision Making

Ability

Personality & Cultural Values

Stress

Leadership: Power &

Negotiation

Job Satisfaction

Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

Organizational Commitment

Job Performance

Stress

chapter Stress 5

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131C H A P T E R 5 Stress

experience stress are called stressors . The negative consequences that occur when demands tax or exceed a person’s capacity or resources are called strains . This definition of stress illustrates that it depends on both the nature of the demand and the person who confronts it. People differ in terms of how they perceive and evaluate stressors and the way they cope with them. As a result, different people may experience different levels of stress even when confronted with the exact same situation.

W H Y A R E S O M E E M P L O Y E E S M O R E “ S T R E S S E D ” T H A N O T H E R S ?

To fully understand what it means to feel “stressed,” it’s helpful to consider the transactional theory of stress . This theory explains how stressors are perceived and appraised, as well as how people respond to those perceptions and appraisals. 14 When people first encounter stressors, the

TABLE 5-1 Jobs Rated from Least Stressful (1) to Most Stressful (250)

LEAST STRESSFUL JOBS STRESS LEVEL

MOST STRESSFUL JOBS STRESS LEVEL

1. Musical instrument repairer 18.77 212. Registered nurse 62.14

2. Florist 18.80 220. Attorney 64.33

4. Actuary 20.18 223. Newspaper reporter 65.26

6. Appliance repairer 21.12 226. Architect 66.92

8. Librarian 21.40 228. Lumberjack 67.60

10. File clerk 21.71 229. Fisherman 69.82

11. Piano tuner 22.29 230. Stockbroker 71.65

12. Janitor 22.44 231. U.S. Congressperson 72.05

16. Vending machine repairer 23.47 233. Real estate agent 73.06

18. Barber 23.62 234. Advertising account exec 74.55

24. Mathematician 24.67 238. Public relations exec 78.52

29. Cashier 25.11 240. Air traffic controller 83.13

30. Dishwasher 25.32 241. Airline pilot 85.35

32. Pharmacist 25.87 243. Police officer 93.89

40. Biologist 26.94 244. Astronaut 99.34

44. Computer programmer 27.00 245. Surgeon 99.46

50. Astronomer 28.06 246. Taxi driver 100.49

56. Historian 28.41 248. Senior corporate exec 108.62

67. Bank teller 30.12 249. Firefighter 110.93

78. Accountant 31.13 250. U.S. President 176.55

Source: Adapted from L. Krantz, Jobs Rated Almanac, 6th ed. (Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, Inc., 2002). The stress level score is calculated by summing points in 21 categories, including deadlines, competitiveness, environmental condi- tions, speed required, precision required, initiative required, physical demands, and hazards encountered.

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132 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

process of primary appraisal is triggered. 15 As shown in Figure 5-1 , primary appraisal occurs as people evaluate the significance and the meaning of the stressor they’re confronting. Here, people first consider whether a demand causes them to feel stressed, and if it does, they consider the implications of the stressor in terms of their personal goals and overall well-being.

As an example of a primary appraisal, consider the job of a cashier at a well-run conve- nience store. In this store, cashiers engage in routine sales transactions with customers. Cus- tomers walk in the store and select merchandise, and the cashiers on duty ring up the sale and collect the money. Under normal day-to-day circumstances at this store, well-trained cashiers would not likely feel that these transactions are overly taxing or exceed their capacity, so those cashiers would not likely appraise these job demands as stressful. Job demands that tend not to be appraised as stressful are called benign job demands .

However, consider how convenience store cashiers would react in a different store in which the cash register and credit card machine break down often and without warning. The cashiers who work at this store would likely view their job as being more stressful. This is because they would have to diagnose and fix problems with equipment while dealing with customers who are growing more and more impatient. Furthermore, the cashiers in this store might appraise the stressful situation as one that unnecessarily prevents them from achieving their goal of being viewed as an effective employee in the eyes of the customers and the store manager.

Finally, consider a third convenience store in which the cashiers’ workload is higher due to additional responsibilities that include receiving merchandise from vendors, taking physical inventory, and training new employees. In this store, the cashiers may appraise their jobs as stressful because of the higher workload and the need to balance different priorities. However, in contrast to the cashiers in the previous example, cashiers in this store might appraise these demands as providing an opportunity to learn and demonstrate the type of competence that often is rewarded with satisfying promotions and pay raises.

T Y P E S O F S T R E S S O R S In the previous two examples, the cashiers were confronted with demands that a primary appraisal would label as “stressful.” However, the specific demands in the two examples have an important difference. Having to deal with equipment breakdowns or unhappy customers is not likely to be perceived by most employees as having implications that are personally beneficial;

FIGURE 5-1 Transactional Theory of Stress

Hindrance Challenge

Work

Nonwork

Stressors

Role conflict Role ambiguity Role overload Daily hassles

• • • •

Work–family conflict Negative life events

•

•

Time pressure Work complexity Work responsibility

• • •

Family time demands Personal development Positive life events

•

•

•

STRESS

Primary Appraisal Is this stressful?

Secondary Appraisal How can I cope?

Financial uncertainty

•

5.2 What are the four main types of stressors?

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136 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

NONWORK HINDRANCE STRESSORS. Although the majority of people in the United States spend more time at the office than anywhere else, 33 there are a number of stressful demands outside of work that have implications for managing behavior in organizations. 34 In essence, stressors experienced outside of work may have effects that “spill over” to affect the employee at work. 35 One example of nonwork hindrance stressors is work–family conflict , a special form of role conflict in which the demands of a work role hinder the fulfillment of the demands of a family role (or vice versa). 36 We most often think of cases in which work demands hinder effec- tiveness in the family context, termed “work to family conflict.” For example, employees who have to deal with lots of hindrances at work may have trouble switching off their frustration after they get home, and as a consequence, they may become irritable and impatient with family and friends. However, work–family conflict can occur in the other direction as well. For example, “family to work conflict” would occur if a salesperson experiencing the stress of marital conflict comes to work harboring emotional pain and negative feelings, which makes it difficult to inter- act with customers effectively.

Nonwork hindrance stressors also come in the form of negative life events . 37 Research has revealed that a number of life events are perceived as quite stressful, particularly when they result in significant changes to a person’s life. 38 Table 5-2 provides a listing of some commonly experienced life events, along with a score that estimates how stressful each event is perceived to be. As the table reveals, many of the most stressful life events do not occur at work. Rather, they include family events such as the death of a spouse or close family member, a divorce or mari- tal separation, a jail term, or a personal illness. These events would be classified as hindrance stressors because they hinder the ability to achieve life goals and are associated with negative emotions.

TABLE 5-2 Stressful Life Events

LIFE EVENT STRESS SCORE

LIFE EVENT STRESS SCORE

Death of a spouse 100 Trouble with in-laws 29

Divorce 73 Outstanding achievement 28

Marital separation 65 Begin or end school 26

Jail term 63 Change in living conditions 25

Death of close family member 63 Trouble with boss 23

Personal illness 53 Change in work hours 20

Marriage 50 Change in residence 20

Fired at work 47 Change in schools 20

Marital reconciliation 45 Change in social activities 18

Retirement 45 Change in sleeping habits 16

Pregnancy 40 Change in family get-togethers 15

Gain of new family member 39 Change in eating habits 15

Death of close friend 37 Vacations 13

Change in occupation 36 The holiday season 12

Child leaving home 29 Minor violations of the law 11

Source: Adapted from T.H. Holmes and R.H. Rahe, “The Social Re-Adjustment Rating Scale,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 11 (1967), pp. 213–18.

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137C H A P T E R 5 Stress

A third type of nonwork hindrance stressor is financial uncertainty . This type of stressor refers to conditions that create uncertainties with regard to the loss of livelihood, savings, or the ability to pay expenses. This type of stressor is highly relevant during recessions or economic downturns. When people have concerns about losing their jobs, homes, and life savings because of economic factors that are beyond their control, it’s understandable why nearly half of the respondents to a recent survey indicated that stress was making it hard for them to do their jobs. 39

NONWORK CHALLENGE STRESSORS. Of course, the nonwork domain can be a source of challenge stressors as well. 40 Family time demands refer to the time that a person commits to participate in an array of family activities and responsibilities. Specific examples of family time demands include time spent involved in family pursuits such as traveling, attending social events and organized activities, hosting parties, and planning and making home improvements. Examples of personal development activities include participation in formal education pro- grams, music lessons, sports-related training, hobby-related self-education, participation in local government, or volunteer work. Finally, Table 5-2 includes some positive life events that are sources of nonwork challenge stressors. For example, marriage, the addition of a new family member, and graduating from school are stressful in their own way. However, each is associated with more positive, rather than negative, emotions.

H O W D O P E O P L E C O P E W I T H S T R E S S O R S ? According to the transactional theory of stress, after people appraise a stressful demand, they ask themselves, “What should I do?” and “What can I do?” to deal with this situation. These ques- tions, which refer to the secondary appraisal shown in Figure 5-1 , center on the issue of how people cope with the various stressors they face. 41 Coping refers to the behaviors and thoughts that people use to manage both the stressful demands they face and the emotions associated with those stressful demands. 42 As Table 5-3 illustrates, coping can involve many different types of activities, and these activities can be grouped into four broad categories based on two dimen- sions. 43 The first dimension refers to the method of coping (behavioral versus cognitive), and the second dimension refers to the focus of coping (problem solving versus regulation of emotions).

The first part of our coping definition highlights the idea that methods of coping can be cat- egorized on the basis of whether they involve behaviors or thoughts. Behavioral coping involves the set of physical activities that are used to deal with a stressful situation. 44 In one example of behavioral coping, a person who is confronted with a lot of time pressure at work might choose to cope by working faster. In another example, an employee who has several daily hassles might cope by avoiding work—coming in late, leaving early, or even staying home. As a final example, employees often cope with the stress of an international assignment by returning home from the assignment prematurely. As our OB Internationally feature illustrates, international assign- ments are becoming increasingly prevalent, and the costs of these early returns to organizations can be significant.

5.3 How do individuals cope with stress?

TABLE 5-3 Examples of Coping Strategies

PROBLEM-FOCUSED EMOTION-FOCUSED

Behavioral Methods • Working harder • Seeking assistance • Acquiring additional

resources

• Engaging in alternative activities • Seeking support • Venting anger

Cognitive Methods • Strategizing • Self-motivation • Changing priorities

• Avoiding, distancing, and ignoring • Looking for the positive in the

negative • Reappraising

Source: Adapted from J.C. Latack and S.J. Havlovic, “Coping with Job Stress: A Conceptual Evaluation Framework for Coping Measures,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 13 (1992), pp. 479–508.

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142 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

slowly, chances are that you’re a Type A person. With that said, one way to tell for sure is to fill out the Type A questionnaire in our OB Assessments feature.

In the context of this chapter, the Type A Behavior Pattern is important because it can influ- ence stressors, stress, and strains. First, the Type A Behavior Pattern may have a direct influence on the level of stressors that a person confronts. To understand why this might be true, consider that Type A persons tend to be hard-driving and have a strong desire to achieve. Because the behaviors that reflect these tendencies are valued by the organization, Type A individuals receive

5.4 How does the Type A Behavior Pattern influence the stress process?

O B A S S E S S M E N T S

TYPE A BEHAVIOR PATTERN Do you think that you’re especially sensitive to stress? This assessment is designed to measure the extent to which you’re a Type A person—someone who typically engages in hard-driving, competitive, and aggressive behavior. Answer each question using the response scale provided. (For more assessments relevant to this chapter, please visit http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com .)

1 STRONGLY DISAGREE

2 DISAGREE

3 SLIGHTLY DISAGREE

4 NEUTRAL

5 SLIGHTLY AGREE

6 AGREE

7 STRONGLY

AGREE

1. Having work to complete “stirs me into action” more than other people.

2. When a person is talking and takes too long to come to the point, I frequently feel like hurrying the person along.

3. Nowadays, I consider myself to be relaxed and easygoing.

4. Typically, I get irritated extremely easily.

5. My best friends would rate my general activity level as very high.

6. I definitely tend to do most things in a hurry.

7. I take my work much more seriously than most.

8. I seldom get angry.

9. I often set deadlines for myself work-wise.

10. I feel very impatient when I have to wait in line.

11. I put much more effort into my work than other people do.

12. Compared with others, I approach life much less seriously.

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION Subtract your answers to the boldfaced questions from 8, with the difference being your new answers for those questions. For example, if your original answer for Question 3 was “2,” your new answer is “6” (8 – 2). Then sum your answers for the twelve questions. If your scores sum up to 53 or above, you would be considered a Type A person, which means that you may perceive higher stress levels in your life and be more sensitive to that stress. If your scores sum up to 52 or below, you would be considered a Type B person. This means that you sense less stress in your life and are less sensitive to the stress that’s experienced.

Source: C.D. Jenkins, S.J. Zyzanski, and R.H. Rosenman, “Progress Toward Validation of a Computer Scored Test for the Type A Coronary Prone Behavior Pattern,” Psychosomatic Medicine Vol. 22, 193, 202 (1971). Reprinted with permission of Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

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140 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

you. Although people react to stress differently, you may have felt unusually exhausted, irritable, and achy. What might be surprising to you is that the mechanism within your body that gives you the ability to function effectively in the face of stressful demands is the same mechanism that ends up causing you these problems. So what is this mechanism?

Essentially, the body has a set of responses that allow it to adapt and function effectively in the face of stressful demands, but if the stressful demands do not ramp down or the demands occur too frequently, the body’s adaptive responses become toxic. 56 More specifically, when people are confronted with a stressor, their bodies secrete chemical compounds that increase their heart rate and blood pressure, as blood is redirected away from vital organs, such as the spleen, to the brain and skeletal muscles. 57 Unfortunately, if the chemicals in the blood remain elevated because of prolonged or repeated exposure to the stressor, the body begins to break down, and several negative consequences are set into motion. As shown in Figure 5-2 , those negative consequences come in three varieties: physiological strains, psychological strains, and behavioral strains. 58

Physiological strains that result from stressors occur in at least four systems of the human body. First, stressors can reduce the effectiveness of the body’s immune system, which makes it more difficult for the body to ward off illness and infection. Have you ever noticed that you’re more likely to catch a cold during or immediately after final exam week? Second, stressors can harm the body’s cardiovascular system, cause the heart to race, increase blood pressure, and

FIGURE 5-2 Examples of Strain

STRESS

Physiological Strains

(illness, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, headaches, back pain,

stomachaches)

Psychological Strains

(depression, anxiety, irritability, forgetfulness, inability to think clearly,

reduced confidence, burnout)

Behavioral Strains

(alcohol and drug use, teeth grinding, compulsive

behaviors, overeating)

Source: From M.E. Burke, 2005 Benefits Survey Report, Society of Human Resource Management.

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144 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

nonwork domains. However, feeling stressed also depends on how those stressors are appraised and coped with, and the degree to which physiological, psychological, and behavioral strains are experienced. Finally, answering the question depends on whether the employee is “Type A” or “Type B” and whether the employee has a high or low amount of social support. Understand- ing all of these factors can help explain why some people can shoulder stressful circumstances for weeks at a time, whereas others seem to be “at the end of their rope” when faced with even relatively minor job demands.

H O W I M P O RTA N T I S S T R E S S ?

In the previous sections, we described how stressors and the stress process influence strains and, ultimately, people’s health and well-being. Although these relationships are important to under- stand, you’re probably more curious about the impact that stressors have on job performance and organizational commitment, the two outcomes in our integrative model of OB. Figure 5-4 summarizes the research evidence linking hindrance stressors to performance and commitment, and Figure 5-5 summarizes the research evidence linking challenge stressors to performance and commitment. We limit our discussion to relationships with work stressors rather than nonwork stressors, because this is where researchers have focused the most attention.

Figure 5-4 reveals that hindrance stressors have a weak negative relationship with job perfor- mance. 76 A general explanation for this negative relationship is that hindrance stressors result in strains and negative emotions that reduce the overall level of physical, cognitive, and emotional

FIGURE 5-3 Why Are Some Employees More “Stressed” Than Others?

Stressors

Type A Behavior Pattern

Social Support

Hindrance Challenge

Work

Nonwork

STRESS Psychological Strains

Physiological Strains

Behavioral Strains

5.5 How does stress affect job performance and organiza- tional commitment?

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145C H A P T E R 5 Stress

energy that people could otherwise bring to their job duties. 77 The detrimental effect that strains have on job performance becomes quite easy to understand when you consider the nature of the individual strains that we mentioned in the previous section. Certainly, you would agree that physiological, psychological, and behavioral strains in the form of illnesses, exhaustion, and drunkenness would detract from employee effectiveness in almost any job context.

Figure 5-4 also reveals that hindrance stressors have a strong negative relationship with orga- nizational commitment. 78 Why might this be? Well, hindrance stressors evoke strains, which are generally dissatisfying to people, and as we discussed in the previous chapter, satisfaction has a strong impact on the degree to which people feel committed to their organization. 79 People who work at jobs that they know are causing them to feel constantly sick and exhausted will likely be dissatisfied with their jobs and feel less desire to stay with the organization and more desire to consider alternatives.

Turning now to challenge stressors, the story becomes somewhat different. As shown in Figure 5-5 , challenge stressors have a weak relationship with job performance and a moderate relation- ship with organizational commitment. However, in contrast to the results for hindrance stressors, the relationships are positive rather than negative. 80 In other words, employees who experience higher levels of challenge stressors also tend to have higher levels of job performance and orga- nizational commitment. These relationships stand in sharp contrast with the lower levels of job performance and organizational commitment that result when employees confront higher levels of hindrance stressors. So what explains this difference? Although challenge stressors result in strains, which detract from performance and commitment, they also tend to trigger the type of positive emotions and problem-focused coping strategies that are characteristic of employees who are highly engaged in their jobs. 81 The net benefits of these positive emotions, problem-focused

FIGURE 5-4 Effects of Hindrance Stressors on Performance and Commitment

Hindrance stressors have a weak negative relationship with job performance. People who experience higher levels of hindrance stressors tend to have lower levels of task performance. Not much is known about the impact of hindrance stressors on Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.

N E G A T I V E

N E G A T I V E

Job Performance

Hindrance Stressors

Organizational Commitment

Hindrance Stressors

Hindrance stressors have a strong negative relationship with Organizational Commitment. People who experience higher levels of hindrance stressors tend to have lower levels of Affective Commitment and Normative Commitment. Relationships with Continuance Commitment are weaker.

Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).

Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).

Sources: J.A. LePine, N.P. Podsakoff, and M.A. LePine, “A Meta-Analytic Test of the Challenge Stressor– Hindrance Stressor Framework: An Explanation for Inconsistent Relationships Among Stressors and Performance,” Academy of Management Journal 48 (2005), pp. 764–75; N.P. Podsakoff, J.A. LePine, and M.A. LePine, “Differential Challenge Stressor–Hindrance Stressor Relationships with Job Attitudes, Turnover Intentions, Turnover, and Withdrawal Behavior: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Applied Psychology 92 (2007), pp. 438–54.

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146 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

coping strategies, and engagement outweigh the costs of the added strain, meaning that challenge stressors tend to be beneficial to employee performance and commitment when both the posi- tives and negatives are considered. 82 These positive effects of challenge stressors have been dem- onstrated for executives, 83 employees in lower-level jobs, 84 and even students. 85 It’s important to point out, however, that high levels of challenge stressors may have negative consequences that only become apparent over the long term. People whose jobs are filled with challenge stressors experience strains that can result in illness, but because they tend to be more satisfied, commit- ted, and engaged with their jobs, they come to work anyway. This phenomenon, which is referred to as presenteeism, can result in prolonged illness, as well as the spread of illness, and ultimately a downward spiral of impaired performance and employee health. 86 In fact, it may surprise you to learn that the reductions in productivity that result from presenteeism are even larger than reductions in productivity that result from employee absenteeism. 87

A P P L I C AT I O N : S T R E S S M A N A G E M E N T

Previously, we described how employee stress results in strains that cost organizations in terms of reduced employee performance and commitment. However, there are other important costs to consider that relate to employee health. Most organizations provide some sort of health care benefits for their employees, 88 and all but the smallest organizations pay worker’s compensation insurance, the rates for which are determined, in part, by the nature of the job and the organiza- tion’s history of work-related injuries and illnesses. So what role does stress play in these costs?

FIGURE 5-5 Effects of Challenge Stressors on Performance and Commitment

Challenge stressors have a weak positive relationship with job performance. People who experience higher levels of challenge stressors tend to have higher levels of task performance. Not much is known about the impact of challenge stressors on Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.

Challenge stressors have a moderate positive relationship with Organizational Commitment. People who experience higher levels of challenge stressors tend to have higher levels of Affective Commitment and Normative Commitment. Relationships with Continuance Commitment are weaker.

Job Performance

Challenge Stressors

Organizational Commitment

Challenge Stressors

Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

Represents a moderate correlation (around .30 in magnitude).

Represents a weak correlation (around .10 in magnitude).

Sources: J.A. LePine, N.P. Podsakoff, and M.A. LePine, “A Meta-Analytic Test of the Challenge Stressor–Hindrance Stressor Framework: An Explanation for Inconsistent Relationships Among Stressors and Performance,” Academy of Management Journal 48 (2005), pp. 764–75; N.P. Podsakoff, J.A. LePine, and M.A. LePine, “Differential Challenge Stressor–Hindrance Stressor Relationships with Job Attitudes, Turnover Intentions, Turnover, and Withdrawal Behavior: A Meta-Analysis,” Journal of Applied Psychology 92 (2007), pp. 438–54.

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153C H A P T E R 5 Stress

Although Google offers some fairly extravagant perks to help employees manage their strains—for example, massage, yoga, and meditation—none compare with the MetroNap Energy Pods the company uses. 121 An Energy Pod consists of a reclining chair with an egg- shaped cap that folds down to cover the occupant’s head and torso. The occupant listens to music in an isolated cocoon-like environment and drifts off to sleep, and then after a short rest, light and vibration provide gentle cues that it’s time to wake up. 122 The idea behind the Energy Pods is that a short rest of 20 minutes or so helps people recover from the demands of working hard so that they’re reenergized for the work that lies ahead. In fact, research has demonstrated that naps can reduce stress, as well as improve cognitive-functioning, memory, and mood. 123 These benefits may be especially important given that people in the United States do not get enough sleep at night, 124 and short naps may help people overcome associated sleepiness. 125

It’s important to note that although naps may be revitalizing, they cannot bring people all the way back to their peak level of health and performance if they continuously overwork and lose sleep at night. 126 Moreover, the idea of a company paying people to sleep while at work is likely to seem quite strange. That said, companies spend significant resources on practices that help employees cope with stress and strains, and there are indications that these programs have a pos- itive return on investment. For example, 40 percent of all large companies in the United States spend more than $200,000 a year on programs that promote employee health and wellness, 127 and there’s a reduction of about $1.65 in health care expenses for every dollar an organization invests in these types of programs. 128 Although the Energy Pods retail for approximately $8,000, it’s unknown how much Google paid for them, how much they cost to maintain, and what type of return they expect from this investment. It is clear, however, that Google is willing to invest in innovations they believe will promote and maintain a healthy and productive workforce.

5.1 Describe how the work that’s done at Google can result in employees feeling both very stressed and also very positive about their work and the company. In what way do these effects depend on Google being able to hire the “right” kind of employees?

5.2 Describe the different ways that the Energy Pods influence the stress process. Might there be any differences in how employees use the Energy Pods to cope with hindrance stressors as opposed to challenge stressors?

5.3 Describe how individuals who exhibit the Type A Behavior Pattern would likely react to the Energy Pods. What role could social support play in promoting the acceptance of Energy Pods and similar strain-reducing practices?

E X E R C I S E : M A N A G I N G S T R E S S

The purpose of this exercise is to explore ways of managing stress to reduce strain. This exer- cise uses groups, so your instructor will either assign you to a group or ask you to create your own group. The exercise has the following steps:

5.1 One method of managing stress is finding a way to reduce the hindrance stressors encoun- tered on the job. In your group, describe the hindrance stressors that you currently are experiencing. Each student should describe the two to three most important stressors fol- lowing the chart below. Other students should then offer strategies for reducing or alleviat- ing the stressors.

HINDRANCE STRESSORS EXPERIENCED STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING STRESSORS

Role Conflict:

Role Ambiguity:

Role Overload:

Daily Hassles:

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154 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

5.2 Another method of managing stress is to improve work–life balance. The circle below rep- resents how “waking hours” are divided among five types of activities: school, work, per- sonal relaxation, time with friends, and time with family. Draw two versions of your own circle: your waking hours as they currently are, and your waking hours as you wish them to be. Other students should then offer strategies for making the necessary life changes.

School

Time w/ Friends

Work Time w/ Family

Personal Relaxation

5.3 A third method of managing stress is improving hardiness —a sort of mental and physical health that can act as a buffer, preventing stress from resulting in strain. The table below lists a number of questions that can help diagnose your hardiness. Discuss your answers for each question, then with the help of other students, brainstorm ways to increase that hardiness factor.

HARDINESS FACTOR STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING FACTOR

Relaxation: Do you spend enough time reading, listening to music, meditating, or pursuing your hobbies?

Exercise: Do you spend enough time doing cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility sorts of exercises?

Diet: Do you manage your diet adequately by eating healthily and avoiding foods high in fat?

5.4 Class discussion (whether in groups or as a class) should center on two issues. First, many of the stress-managing factors, especially in Steps 2 and 3, take up precious time. Does this make them an ineffective strategy for managing stress? Why or why not? Second, consider your Type A score in the OB Assessments for this chapter. If you are high on Type A, does that make these strategies more or less important? 129

E N D N O T E S

5.1 Elgin, B. “Google’s Leap May Slow Rival’s Growth.” Business- Week, July 18, 2005, p. 45; Ferguson, C.H. “What’s Next for Google?” Technology Review, January 2005, pp. 38–46.

5.2 “Press Release: March 2011 U.S. Search Engine Rankings.” comScore, March 20, 2011, http:// www.comscore.com/ Press_Events/Press_ Releases/2011/4/ comScore_Releases_

March_2011_U.S._ Search_Engine_Rank- ings .

5.3 “Google History.” Google Corporate Website, (n.d.), http:// www.google.com/ corporate/history.html .

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154 C H A P T E R 5 Stress

5.2 Another method of managing stress is to improve work–life balance. The circle below rep- resents how “waking hours” are divided among five types of activities: school, work, per- sonal relaxation, time with friends, and time with family. Draw two versions of your own circle: your waking hours as they currently are, and your waking hours as you wish them to be. Other students should then offer strategies for making the necessary life changes.

School

Time w/ Friends

Work Time w/ Family

Personal Relaxation

5.3 A third method of managing stress is improving hardiness —a sort of mental and physical health that can act as a buffer, preventing stress from resulting in strain. The table below lists a number of questions that can help diagnose your hardiness. Discuss your answers for each question, then with the help of other students, brainstorm ways to increase that hardiness factor.

HARDINESS FACTOR STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING FACTOR

Relaxation: Do you spend enough time reading, listening to music, meditating, or pursuing your hobbies?

Exercise: Do you spend enough time doing cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility sorts of exercises?

Diet: Do you manage your diet adequately by eating healthily and avoiding foods high in fat?

5.4 Class discussion (whether in groups or as a class) should center on two issues. First, many of the stress-managing factors, especially in Steps 2 and 3, take up precious time. Does this make them an ineffective strategy for managing stress? Why or why not? Second, consider your Type A score in the OB Assessments for this chapter. If you are high on Type A, does that make these strategies more or less important? 129

E N D N O T E S

5.1 Elgin, B. “Google’s Leap May Slow Rival’s Growth.” Business- Week, July 18, 2005, p. 45; Ferguson, C.H. “What’s Next for Google?” Technology Review, January 2005, pp. 38–46.

5.2 “Press Release: March 2011 U.S. Search Engine Rankings.” comScore, March 20, 2011, http:// www.comscore.com/ Press_Events/Press_ Releases/2011/4/ comScore_Releases_

March_2011_U.S._ Search_Engine_Rank- ings .

5.3 “Google History.” Google Corporate Website, (n.d.), http:// www.google.com/ corporate/history.html .

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Welcome to Chapter 3 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

3-*

Organizational Commitment

• Consider this scenario:
• You’ve worked at your current employer for 5 years, and have recently been approached by a competing organization
• What would cause you to stay?
• Do those reasons fit into different kinds of categories?

3-*

Organizational Commitment

• A desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of an organization
• Comes in three forms

3-*

Affective Commitment

• A desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of an organization because of an emotional attachment to, or involvement in, that organization
• You stay because you want to
• What would you feel if you left anyway?

3-*

Affective Commitment

3-*

Affective Commitment

3-*

Continuance Commitment

• A desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of an organization because of an awareness of the costs associated with leaving
• You stay because you need to
• What would you feel if you left anyway?

3-*

Continuance Commitment

3-*

Continuance Commitment

• OB on Screen: Up in the Air
• Does Ryan Bingham seem to feel much continuance commitment? How embedded is he?

3-*

Normative Commitment

• A desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of an organization because of a feeling of obligation
• You stay because you ought to
• What would you feel if you left anyway?

3-*

Organizational Commitment

3-*

Organizational Commitment

• Exercise: Reacting to Negative Events
• Consider the following three scenarios depicted on the following slide
• Come to consensus on two specific behaviors that capture your likely response (i.e., what you would probably do, as opposed to what you wish you would do)

3-*

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INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES

MECHANISMS INDIVIDUAL

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

GROUP MECHANISMS

ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISMS

Organizational Culture

Organizational Structure

Teams: Processes &

Communication

Motivation

Trust, Justice, & Ethics

Teams: Characteristics &

Diversity Learning & Decision Making

Ability

Personality & Cultural Values

Stress

Leadership: Power &

Negotiation

Job Satisfaction

Leadership: Styles & Behaviors

Organizational Commitment

Job Performance

chapter Organizational Commitment 3

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66 C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

It’s safe to say that if managers could choose which type of commitment they’d like to instill in their employees, they’d choose affective commitment. Moreover, when a manager looks at an employee and says “She’s committed” or “He’s loyal,” that manager usually is referring to a behavioral expression of affective commitment. 19 For example, employees who are affectively committed to their employer tend to engage in more interpersonal and organizational citizenship behaviors, such as helping, sportsmanship, and boosterism. One meta-analysis of 22 studies with more than 6,000 participants revealed a moderately strong correlation between affective com- mitment and citizenship behavior. 20 (Recall that a meta-analysis averages together results from multiple studies investigating the same relationship.) Such results suggest that emotionally com- mitted employees express that commitment by “going the extra mile” whenever they can.

Because affective commitment reflects an emotional bond to the organization, it’s only natu- ral that the emotional bonds among coworkers influence it. 21 We can therefore gain a better understanding of affective commitment if we take a closer look at the bonds that tie employees together. Assume you were given a sheet with the names of all the employees in your department

AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT How emotionally attached are you to your employer? This assessment is designed to measure affective commitment—the feeling that you want to stay with your current organization. Think about your current job or the last job that you held (even if it was a part-time or summer job). Answer each question using the response scale provided. Then subtract your answers to the boldfaced questions from 6, with the difference being your new answers for those questions. For example, if your original answer for Question 3 was “4,” your new answer is “2” (6 – 4). Then sum your answers for the six questions. (For more assessments relevant to this chapter, please visit http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com .)

SCORING AND INTERPRETATION If your scores sum up to 20 or above, you feel a strong sense of affective commitment to your current or past employer, which means that you feel an emotional attachment to the company, or the people within it, making it less likely that you would leave voluntarily. If your scores sum up to less than 20, you have a weaker sense of affective commitment to your current or past employer. This result is especially likely if you responded to the questions in reference to a part- time or summer job, as there might not have been enough time to develop an emotional bond.

Source: From J.P. Meyer and N.J. Allen, 1997, Commitment in the Workplace: Theory, Research, and Application. Reproduced with permission of Sage Publications, Inc. via Copyright Clearance Center.

O B A S S E S S M E N T S

1 STRONGLY DISAGREE

2 DISAGREE

3 NEUTRAL

4 AGREE

5 STRONGLY

AGREE

1. I would be very happy to spend the rest of my career in this organization.

2. I really feel as if this organization’s problems are my own.

3. I do not feel like “part of the family” at my organization.

4. I do not feel “emotionally attached” to this organization.

5. This organization has a great deal of personal meaning for me.

6. I do not feel a strong sense of belonging to my organization.

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67C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

or members of your class. Then assume you were asked to rate the frequency with which you communicated with each of those people, as well as the emotional depth of those communica- tions. Those ratings could be used to create a “social network” diagram that summarizes the bonds among employees. Figure  3-3 provides a sample of such a diagram. The lines connect- ing the 10 members of the work unit represent the communication bonds that tie each of them together, with thicker lines representing more frequent communication with more emotional depth. The diagram illustrates that some employees are “nodes,” with several direct connections to other employees, whereas others remain at the fringe of the network.

The erosion model suggests that employees with fewer bonds will be most likely to quit the organization. 22 If you look at Figure  3-3 , who’s most at risk for turning over? That’s right—the employee who only has one bond with someone else (and a relatively weak bond at that). From an affective commitment perspective, that employee is likely to feel less emotional attachment to work colleagues, which makes it easier to decide to leave the organization. Social network diagrams can also help us understand another explanation for turnover. The social influence model sug- gests that employees who have direct linkages with “leavers” will themselves become more likely to leave. 23 In this way, reduc- tions in affective commitment become contagious, spreading like a disease across the work unit. Think about the damage that would be caused if the cen- tral figure in the network (the one who has linkages to five other people) became unhappy with the organization.

More and more compa- nies are beginning to under- stand the value in helping employees connect. SAS, the Cary, North Carolina–based

FIGURE 3-3 A Social Network Diagram

SAS, the Cary, North Carolina–based software company, offers a number of recreational perks to help employees stay connected to one another.

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69C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

than doubles the most generous rates of other companies, allowing employees to build a comfort- able “nest egg” for retirement more quickly. Clearly, employees would feel a bit anxious about giving up that benefit if a competitor came calling.

NORMATIVE COMMITMENT. Now consider the reasons for staying listed in the right-hand column of Table 3-1 . What would you feel if, even after taking all those reasons into account, you decided to leave your organization to join another one? Answer: You’d feel a sense of guilt. Normative commitment exists when there is a sense that staying is the “right” or “moral” thing to do. 38 The sense that people should stay with their current employers may result from personal work philosophies or more general codes of right and wrong developed over the course of their lives. They may also be dictated by early experiences within the company, if employees are socialized to believe that long-term loyalty is the norm rather than the exception. 39

Aside from personal work philosophies or organizational socialization, there seem to be two ways to build a sense of obligation-based commitment among employees. One way is to create a feeling that employees are in the organization’s debt—that they owe something to the organi- zation. For example, an organization may spend a great deal of money training and developing an employee. In recognition of that investment, the employee may feel obligated to “repay” the organization with several more years of loyal service. 40 Think about how you’d feel if your employer paid your tuition, allowing you to further your education, while also providing you with training and developmental job assignments that increased your skills. Wouldn’t you feel a bit guilty if you took the first job opportunity that came your way?

Another possible way to build an obligation-based sense of commitment is by becoming a particularly charitable organization. Did you ever wonder why organizations spend time and money on charitable things—for example, building playgrounds in the local community? Don’t those kinds of projects take away from research and development, product improvements, or profits for shareholders? Well, charitable efforts have several potential advantages. First, they can provide good public relations for the organization, potentially generating goodwill for its products and services and helping attract new recruits. 41 Second, they can help existing employ- ees feel better about the organization, creating a deeper sense of normative commitment. Those benefits may be particularly relevant with younger employees. Some evidence indicates that members of Generation Y (those born between 1977 and 1994) are somewhat more charitably minded than other generations. In support of that view, a growing number of MBA graduates

TABLE 3-2 Embeddedness and Continuance Commitment

“Embedded” People Feel:

FACET FOR THE ORGANIZATION: FOR THE COMMUNITY:

Links • I’ve worked here for such a long time. • I’m serving on so many teams and

committees.

• Several close friends and family live nearby.

• My family’s roots are in this community.

Fit • My job utilizes my skills and talents well.

• I like the authority and responsibility I have at this company.

• The weather where I live is suitable for me.

• I think of the community where I live as home.

Sacrifice • The retirement benefits provided by the organization are excellent.

• I would sacrifice a lot if I left this job.

• People respect me a lot in my community.

• Leaving this community would be very hard.

Source: Adapted from T.R. Mitchell, B.C. Holtom, T.W. Lee, C.J. Sablynski, and M. Erez, “Why People Stay: Using Job Embeddedness to Predict Voluntary Turnover,” Academy of Management Journal 44 (2001), pp. 1102–21.

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65C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

Figure 3-2 also shows that organizational commitment depends on more than just “the organi- zation.” That is, people aren’t always committed to companies; they’re also committed to the top management that leads the firm at a given time, the department in which they work, the manager who directly supervises them, or the specific team or coworkers with whom they work most closely. 16 We use the term focus of commitment to refer to the various people, places, and things that can inspire a desire to remain a member of an organization. For example, you might choose to stay with your current employer because you’re emotionally attached to your work team, worry about the costs associated with losing your company’s salary and benefits package, and feel a sense of obligation to your current manager. If so, your desire to remain cuts across mul- tiple types of commitment (affective, continuance, and normative) and multiple foci (or focuses) of commitment (work team, company, manager). Now that you’re familiar with the drivers of commitment in a general sense, let’s go into more depth about each type.

AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT. One way to understand the differences among the three types of commitment is to ask yourself what you would feel if you left the organization. Consider the reasons listed in the left-hand column of Table 3-1 . What would you feel if, even after taking all those reasons into account, you decided to leave your organization to join another one? Answer: You’d feel a sense of sadness. Employees who feel a sense of affective commitment identify with the organization, accept that organization’s goals and values, and are more willing to exert extra effort on behalf of the organization. 17 By identifying with the organization, they come to view organizational membership as important to their sense of self. 18 Is affective commitment something that you feel for your current employer or have felt for a past employer? Check the OB Assessments feature to find out.

FIGURE 3-2 Drivers of Overall Organizational Commitment

Normative Commitment

Affective Commitment

Continuance Commitment

OVERALL ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMITMENT

Felt in Reference to One's:

Company

Top Management

Department

Manager

Work Team

Specific Coworkers

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84 C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

3.2 In groups, compare and contrast your likely responses to the three scenarios. Come to a consensus on the two most likely responses for the group as a whole. Elect one group member to write the two likely responses to each of the three scenarios on the board or on a transparency.

3.3 Class discussion (whether in groups or as a class) should center on where the likely responses fit into the exit–voice–loyalty–neglect framework. What personal and situ- ational factors would lead someone to one category of responses over another? Are there any responses that do not fit into the exit–voice–loyalty–neglect framework?

E X E R C I S E : R E A C T I N G T O N E G AT I V E E V E N T S

The purpose of this exercise is to explore how individuals react to three all-too-common sce- narios that represent negative workplace events. This exercise uses groups, so your instructor will either assign you to a group or ask you to create your own group. The exercise has the fol- lowing steps:

3.1 Individually read the following three scenarios: the annoying boss, the boring job, and pay and seniority. For each scenario, write down two specific behaviors in which you would likely engage in response to that scenario. Write down what you would actually do, as opposed to what you wish you would do. For example, you may wish that you would march into your boss’s office and demand a change, but if you would actually do nothing, write down “nothing.”

Annoying Boss You’ve been working at your current company for about a year. Over time, your boss has become more and more annoying to you. It’s not that your boss is a bad person, or even necessarily a bad boss. It’s more a personality conflict—the way your boss talks, the way your boss manages every little thing, even the facial expressions your boss uses. The more time passes, the more you just can’t stand to be around your boss.

Two likely behaviors:

Boring Job You’ve been working at your current company for about a year. You’ve come to realize that your job is pretty boring. It’s the first real job you’ve ever had, and at first it was nice to have some money and something to do every day. But the “new job” excitement has worn off, and things are actually quite monotonous. Same thing every day. It’s to the point that you check your watch every hour, and Wednesdays feel like they should be Fridays.

Two likely behaviors:

Pay and Seniority You’ve been working at your current company for about a year. The consensus is that you’re doing a great job—you’ve gotten excellent performance evaluations and have emerged as a leader on many projects. As you’ve achieved this high status, how- ever, you’ve come to feel that you’re underpaid. Your company’s pay procedures emphasize seniority much more than job performance. As a result, you look at other members of your project teams and see poor performers making much more than you, just because they’ve been with the company longer.

Two likely behaviors:

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72 C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

TABLE 3-3 Four Types of Employees

Task Performance HIGH LOW

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

HIGH Stars Citizens

LOW Lone wolves Apathetics

Source: Adapted from R.W. Griffeth, S. Gaertner, and J.K. Sager, “Taxonomic Model of Withdrawal Behaviors: The Adaptive Response Model,” Human Resource Management Review 9 (1999), pp. 577–90.

Lone wolves possess low levels of organizational commitment but high levels of task per- formance and are motivated to achieve work goals for themselves, not necessarily for their company. 53 They are likely to respond to negative events with exit. Although their performance would give them the credibility needed to inspire change, their lack of attachment prevents them from using that credibility constructively. Instead, they rely on their performance levels to make them marketable to their next employer. To spot lone wolves, look for the talented employees who never seem to want to get involved in important decisions about the future of the company. Finally, apathetics possess low levels of both organizational commitment and task performance and merely exert the minimum level of effort needed to keep their jobs. 54 Apathetics should respond to negative events with neglect, because they lack the performance needed to be market- able and the commitment needed to engage in acts of citizenship.

It’s clear from this discussion that exit and neglect represent the flip side of organizational commitment: withdrawal behavior. How common is withdrawal behavior within organizations? Quite common, it turns out. One study clocked employees’ on-the-job behaviors over a two-year period and found that only about 51 percent of their time was actually spent working! The other 49 percent was lost to late starts, early departures, long coffee breaks, personal matters, and other forms of withdrawal. 55 As a manager, wouldn’t you like to feel like there was more than a coin- flip’s chance that your employees were actually working during the course of a given day?

As shown in Figure 3-4 , withdrawal comes in two forms: psychological (or neglect) and phys- ical (or exit). Psychological withdrawal consists of actions that provide a mental escape from the work environment. 56 Some business articles refer to psychological withdrawal as “warm- chair attrition,” meaning that employees have essentially been lost even though their chairs remain occupied. 57 This withdrawal form comes in a number of shapes and sizes. 58 The least serious is daydreaming , when employees appear to be working but are actually distracted by random thoughts or concerns. Socializing refers to the verbal chatting about nonwork topics that goes on in cubicles and offices or at the mailbox or vending machines. Looking busy indi- cates an intentional desire on the part of employees to look like they’re working, even when not performing work tasks. Sometimes employees decide to reorganize their desks or go for a stroll around the building, even though they have nowhere to go. (Those who are very good at managing impressions do such things very briskly and with a focused look on their faces!) When employees engage in moonlighting , they use work time and resources to complete something other than their job duties, such as assignments for another job.

Perhaps the most widespread form of psychological withdrawal among white-collar employ- ees is cyberloafing —using Internet, e-mail, and instant messaging access for their personal enjoyment rather than work duties. 59 Some estimates suggest that typical cubicle dwellers stop what they’re doing about once every three minutes to send e-mail, check Facebook or Twit- ter, surf over to YouTube, and so forth. 60 Such distractions consume as much as 28 percent of employees’ workdays and cost some $650 billion a year in lost productivity. Sports fans seem particularly vulnerable. Estimates suggest that Fantasy Football league transactions consume as much as $1.5 billion in productivity during a typical season. 61 The spring isn’t much better, as estimates suggest that employers lose $1.2 billion as employees watch NCAA tournament games online. 62 Some employees view cyberloafing as a way of “balancing the scales” when it comes to personal versus work time. For example, one participant in a cyberloafing study noted, “It is

3.4 What are some exam- ples of psychological withdrawal? Of physical withdrawal? How do the different forms of withdrawal relate to each other?

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63C H A P T E R 3 Organizational Commitment

networking and circulating their résumé. 9 Those projections should be scary to any employer because turnover can be quite expensive. Estimates suggest that turnover costs between 90 percent and 200 percent of an employee’s annual salary. 10 Why so expensive? Those estimates include various costs, including the administrative costs involved in the separation, recruitment expenses, screening costs, and training and orientation expenses for the new hire. They also include “hidden costs” due to decreased morale, lost organizational knowledge, and lost productivity.

Organizational commitment is defined as the desire on the part of an employee to remain a member of the organization. 11 Organizational commitment influences whether an employee stays a member of the organization (is retained) or leaves to pursue another job (turns over). Our attention in this chapter is focused primarily on reducing voluntary turnover by keeping the employees that the organization wants to keep, though we will touch on involuntary turnover in a discussion of layoffs and downsizing. Employees who are not committed to their organizations engage in withdrawal behavior , defined as a set of actions that employees perform to avoid the work situation—behaviors that may eventually culminate in quitting the organization. 12 The relationship between commitment and withdrawal is illustrated in Figure 3-1 . Some employees may exhibit much more commitment than withdrawal, finding themselves on the green end of the continuum. Other employees exhibit much more withdrawal than commitment, finding them- selves on the red end of the continuum. The sections that follow review both commitment and withdrawal in more detail.

W H AT D O E S I T M E A N T O B E “ C O M M I T T E D ” ?

One key to understanding organizational commitment is to understand where it comes from. In other words, what creates a desire to remain a member of an organization? To explore this question, consider the following scenario: You’ve been working full-time for your employer for around five years. The company gave you your start in the business, and you’ve enjoyed your time there. Your salary is competitive enough that you were able to purchase a home in a good school system, which is important because you have one young child and another on the way. Now assume that a competing firm contacted you while you were attending a conference and offered you a similar position in its company. What kinds of things might you think about? If you created a list to organize your thoughts, what might that list look like?

T Y P E S O F C O M M I T M E N T One potential list is shown in Table 3-1 . The left-hand column reflects some emotional reasons for staying with the current organization, including feelings about friendships, the atmosphere or culture of the company, and a sense of enjoyment when completing job duties. These sorts of

3.1 What is organizational commitment? What is withdrawal behavior? How are the two connected?

3.2 What are the three types of organizational commitment, and how do they differ?

FIGURE 3-1 Organizational Commitment and Employee Withdrawal

Withdrawal Behavior

Low High

Organizational Commitment

High Low

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which means employees neglect important work functions while away from the office. As a man- ager, you’d like to be sure that employees who leave for lunch are actually going to come back, but sometimes that’s not a safe bet!

Absenteeism occurs when employees miss an entire day of work. 67 Of course, people stay home from work for a variety of reasons, including illness and family emergencies. There’s also a rhythm to absenteeism. For example, employees are more likely to be absent on Mondays or Fridays. Moreover, streaks of good attendance create a sort of pressure to be absent, as personal responsibilities build until a day at home becomes irresistible. 68 That type of absence can some- times be functional, because people may return to work with their “batteries recharged.” 69 Group and departmental norms also affect absenteeism by signaling whether an employee can get away with missing a day here or there without being noticed. 70

One survey suggests that 57 percent of U.S. employees take sick days when they’re not actu- ally sick, a trend that has some companies going to extreme measures. 71 Private investigation

firms charge around $75 per hour to send investi- gators in search of employees who may be playing hooky. Rick Raymond, an investigator in Florida, once followed a supposedly sick employee to Uni- versal Studios. 72 The employee rode three roller coasters that take automatic pictures at the sharpest turns. Raymond bought all three, which conveniently included time and date stamps. When the employee later claimed that the photos weren’t her, Raymond responded by playing back video of her volunteering

FIGURE 3-4 Psychological and Physical Withdrawal

Psychological Withdrawal

(NEGLECT)

WITHDRAWAL BEHAVIOR

Physical Withdrawal

(EXIT)

Daydreaming Quitting

Absenteeism

Missing Meetings

Long Breaks

TardinessCyberloafing

Moonlighting

Looking Busy

Socializing

In an effort to curb absenteeism, some

companies have turned to private inves- tigators to try to catch “sick” employees who

are playing hooky.

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Welcome to Chapter 2 of the slides that accompany the 3rd edition of Colquitt-LePine-Wesson. I’m Jason Colquitt, and I’ll use this Notes field to provide hints and background on each slide. These are variations of the slides I myself use to teach both undergraduates, traditional MBA’s, and executive MBA’s. If you have any questions or comments about these slides, please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Note that these slides will sometimes refer to the Instructor’s Manual, which I also write for the book. In particular, the slides will refer to the Try This! feature in the manual. That feature is designed to supply some helpful hints to spice up your lectures. Note that the Instructor’s Manual includes other helpful features as well, including OB on Screen hints, Asset Gallery tie-ins, Bonus Cases from prior editions of the book, and Businessweek Cases.

2-*

Job Performance

• The value of the set of behaviors that contribute, either positively or negatively, to organizational goal accomplishment
• Not the consequences or results of behavior--the behavior itself
• What’s good about this distinction?
• What’s bad about this distinction?

2-*

Task Performance

• The behaviors directly involved in transforming organizational resources into the goods or services an organization produces (i.e., the behaviors included in one’s job description)
• Typically a mix of:
• Routine task performance
• Adaptive task performance
• Creative task performance

2-*

Task Performance

• How do we identify relevant behaviors?
• Job analysis
• Divide a job into major dimensions
• List 2 key tasks within each of those major dimensions
• Rate the tasks on frequency and importance
• Use most frequent and important tasks to define task performance

2-*

Task Performance

• Exercise: Performance of a Server
• Do a job analysis
• 4 major dimensions
• 2 tasks per dimension

2-*

Task Performance

2-*

Job Performance

• Although task performance behaviors vary across jobs, all jobs contain two other performance dimensions:
• Citizenship behavior
• Counterproductive behavior

2-*

Citizenship Behavior

• Academic origin
• A future professor’s account of an experience in a paper mill
• “…while the man’s assistance was not part of his job and gained him no formal credits, he undeniably contributed in a small way to the functioning of the group and, by extension, to the plant and the organization as a whole. By itself, of course, his aid to me might not have been perceptible in any conventional calculus of efficiency, production, or profits. But repeated many times over, by himself and others, over time, the aggregate of such actions must certainly have made that paper mill a more smoothly functioning organization than would have been the case had such actions been rare.”

2-*

Citizenship Behavior

• Voluntary activities that may or may not be rewarded but that contribute to the organization by improving the quality of the setting where work occurs

2-*

Helping

2-*

Counterproductive Behavior

• Employee behaviors that intentionally hinder organizational goal accomplishment

2-*

Counterproductive Behavior

• OB on Screen: Despicable Me
• What examples of counterproductive behavior do you see in the clip?
• Are their examples of task performance and citizenship behavior as well?

2-*

Counterproductive Behaviors

• Key questions:
• Are these all examples of the same general behavior pattern? If you do one, are you likely to do most of the others as well?
• How does counterproductive behavior relate to task performance and citizenship behavior?

2-*

Counterproductive Behaviors

• Answers:
• Research using both anonymous self-reports and supervisor ratings tends to find strong correlations between the categories
• Counterproductive behavior has a strong negative correlation with citizenship behavior, but is only weakly related to task performance

2-*

Application

• What tools do organizations use to manage job performance among employees?
• Management by Objectives (MBO)
• 360-degree feedback
• Social networking systems
• Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)
• Forced rankings

2-*

Application

2-*

Application

• Forced ranking under Jack Welch at General Electric