Appunti di organizational behaviour

DIRECT COMMUNICATION

People prefer to:

• Be more direct in speaking
• Focus on not just what is said but on how it is said
• Discreetly avoid difficulty or contentious issues
• Openly confront issues or difficulties
• Express concerns tactfully
• Communicate concerns straight forwardly
• Avoid conflict if at all possible
• Engage in conflict when necessary
• Express views or opinions diplomatically
• Express views or opinions in a frank manner
• Count on the listener to interpret meaning
• Say things clearly not leaving much open to interpretation

Case Study Singapore

• Chris is an American engineer that will be partnering with a Singaporean company to make a new model of a digital camera. Shane has come to Singapore to negotiate the timelines and production schedule. During the five day trip business is rarely discussed. Instead the Singaporean managers have

Scheduled dinners, golf outings, and a trip to an Art Museum. Shane leaves Singapore without his production schedule and very frustrated. What is going on?

TASK STYLE

• People prefer to define people based on what they do
• Move straight to business, relationships come later
• Keep most relationships with co-workers impersonal before getting down to business
• Sacrifice work in favor of leisure time with family
• Use largely impersonal selection criteria in hiring
• Allow work to overlap with personal time
• Not allow work to impinge on personal

RELATIONSHIP STYLE

• People prefer to define people based on who they are
• Establish comfortable relationships and a sense of mutual trust
• Get to know co-workers and colleagues quickly, but usually with co-workers superficially
• Get to know co-workers and colleagues slowly and in depth
• Use largely personal selection criteria such as family connections when hiring

Life suggestion for managing cultural diversity:

Help employees build Cultural intelligence: Employees don't have to become experts in only one culture, they should work with different people. Understanding how a person's cultural background influences behavior.

Avoid Ethnocentrism: Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures. Ignoring cultural differences, norms, and local habits may be costly for businesses and may lead to unmotivated and dissatisfied employees.

Listen to Locals: Locals are a key source of information. To get timely and accurate feedback, companies need to open lines of communication and actively seek feedback. Convergys, a Cincinnati-based call center company, was building a cafeteria for its employees in India. During the planning phase, a VP from India pointed out that Indian food is served hot, and building a cafeteria to serve only sandwiches would create

dissatisfied employees in India.

➢ Culture Changes: It is important to recognize that culture changes. Showing sensitivity to the Indian caste system may be outdated advice for anyone doing business in India today.

➢ Do Not Always Assume Culture Is the Problem: When marketing people from the United States interact with engineers in other countries, misunderstanding can occur due to the difference in viewpoint between marketing and engineering employees rather than different cultural backgrounds.

➢ Communicating with people who prefer to be more direct than you

• Try to say what you mean concisely and directly.
• It is usually quite acceptable to say "No" or "I can't"
• Focus more on what is said than how it is said.
• Expect conflict to be dealt with more openly than you are accustomed to
• Indirectness may be seen as apathy or dishonesty

➢ Communicating with people who prefer to be more indirect than you

• Be prepared for more

• Be mindful of how you say things, not just what you say
• Pay attention to what is not said
• Watch for non-verbal clues
• You may need to play a more passive role than you normally do
• Don't be overly direct

Ethical Behavior is affected by the demographic and cultural composition of the workforce. Studies indicate that men and women, as well as younger and older employees, differ in the types of behaviors they view as ethical. Different cultures also hold different ethical standards, which become important when managing a diverse workforce or doing business within different cultures. Around the globe, diversity has a different meaning and different overtones. In addition to different legal frameworks protecting employees classes, the types of stereotypes that exist in different cultures and whether and how the society tackles prejudice against different demographic categories vary from region to region.

Benefits of Diversity:

Higher creativity in

Decision making: higher quality decisions, different opinions and perspectives

Better understanding and service of customers: products may appeal to more customers

More satisfied workforce: if workers are fairly treated

Higher stock prices: if company works well, it may be rewarded in the stock market

Lower litigation expense (EEOC laws)

Higher company performance

Costs of Diversity

Communication problems

Cohesiveness of team

Greater management challenge

Start up investment

The Bottom Line on Diversity

• Research is mixed.
• Hypothesis nonlinear relationship.
• No diversity easy to manage
• Moderate diversity a challenge
• High level of diversity organization becomes skilled and gains benefits
• Most experts believe meaningful diversity leads to positive outcomes such as better firm performance.
• When a firm reaches true diversity, subgroup conflict dynamics disappear as everyone view themselves as members of the org.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES /PERCEPTION

Organizations The Role of Fit person's values,  Person-organization fit: Degree to which Groupspersonality, goals match those of the organization. Degree to which person's skills, abilities  Person-job fit: match Dyadic→1 stthe demands of the job thing recruiters look at, since it is relationshipsrelated to positive work attitudes: satisfaction, identification,performances.  BEHAVIOR is determined by the person & situation Self  Values: stable life goals people have, reflecting what is mostimportant to them  Terminal values: end states people desire in life, such as leading a Terminal values Instrumental valuesprosperous life and a world at peace. A world of beauty Broad minded  Instrumental values: views on acceptable modes of conduct, such as being An exciting life Cleanhonest and ethical, and being ambitious. Family security Forgiving  VALUES ATTAINTMENT is one reason why people stay in a company Inner armony ImaginativeSelf respect ObedientTaking a

Closer Look at Individual Differences

Personality: relatively STABLE feelings, thoughts and behaviors over time. Examples of personality traits-

1. Openness: the degree of being curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas
2. Conscientiousness: the degree of being organized, systematic, punctual, achievement oriented and dependable
3. Extraversion: the degree of being outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoying social situations
4. Agreeableness: the degree of being affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind and warm
5. Neuroticism: the degree of being anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody

MTBI, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: classify people and measures types

Dim.	Explanation
Extraversion	those who derive their energy from other people and objects inside
Introversion	those who derive their energy from their own thoughts and feelings
Sensing	those who rely on their 5 senses to perceive the external environment
Intuition	those who rely on their intuition to perceive the external environment

perceive the outsideThinking: those who use their logic to arrive at Feeling: those who use their values and ideasTF solutions about what is right/wrongJudgment: those who are organized systematic, Perception those who are curious, open mindedJP and would like to have clarity and closure and prefer to have some ambiguity

- Positive Affectivity: people who experience positive moods more frequently and tend to be happier at worknegative moods with greater frequency, focus on the "glass half empty" and

- Negative Affectivity: people who experience experiencemore anxiety and nervousness

- Self-monitoring: the extent to which people are capable of monitoring their actions and appearance in social situationsa person's inclination to fix what is perceived to be wrong, change the status quo, and use initiative to solve

- Proactive personality:problems Start with Talent,

- Self-efficacy: a belief that one can perform a specific task successfully Finish with STRENGTH

- Self-esteem:

The degree to which a person has overall positive feelings about oneself:

• Internal locus of control: the belief that a person controls their own destiny and what happens to them is their own doing
• External locus of control: the belief that things happen because of other people, luck, or a powerful being

How Much of Behavior is a Function of Traits? 10-15%

Hmmm-what else determines behavior? Situation, role, Strong situation v. weak situation

Telltale Signs of Talent How Can I Locate my Talents?“He makes it look so easy.”

• Examples of Guess-estimating Your Talents
• My spontaneous, top-of-mind reaction
• “She’s a natural.”
• My yearnings
• “I’ve always enjoyed doing crossword puzzles/learning a language/teaching kids/winning games/meeting new people . . .”
• Your talents in small groups
• My areas of rapid learning
• My satisfactions

TALENT = Your

e or negative and can lead to biased judgments and behaviors. Stereotypes can also be influenced by media, culture, and personal experiences. Attitudes: evaluations or opinions about people, objects, or events. Attitudes can be positive, negative, or neutral and can influence our behaviors and decision-making. Behaviors: actions or conduct exhibited by individuals. Behaviors can be influenced by attitudes, perceptions, and external factors. Perceptual biases and individual attitudes and behaviors play a significant role in the work world. They can impact how individuals perceive and interact with their colleagues, superiors, and subordinates. They can also affect decision-making processes, team dynamics, and overall work performance. It is important for individuals and organizations to be aware of these biases and attitudes and to actively work towards minimizing their negative effects. This can be done through training, education, and fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity. By understanding and addressing perceptual biases and individual attitudes and behaviors, organizations can create a more positive and productive work environment, where individuals feel valued and respected, and where diversity and different perspectives are embraced.