MGMT 353 Perceptions, Attributions and Diversity Perceptions, Attributions, & Diversity POSTER SESSION Create a poster a poster that summarizes the current

MGMT 353 Perceptions, Attributions and Diversity Perceptions, Attributions, & Diversity POSTER SESSION Create a poster a poster that summarizes the current state of diversity in a familiar organization. Be prepared for a gallery walk that explains (1) the potential biases that exist in that organization, (2) actions that you would take as a manager to overcome internal and external attributions, and (3) how you might create an environment that truly fosters diversity. Be sure to cite at least one article (e.g., Harvard Business Review Article: Dear White Boss) CHAPTER 3
Understanding People at
Work: Individual
Differences and Perception
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Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1. Define personality and describe how it affects work behaviors.
2. Understand the role of values in determining work behaviors.
3. Explain the process of perception and how it affects work behaviors.
4. Understand how individual differences affect ethics.
5. Understand cross-cultural influences on individual differences and perception.
Individuals bring a number of differences to work, such as unique personalities, values, emotions,
and moods. When new employees enter organizations, their stable or transient characteristics
affect how they behave and perform. Moreover, companies hire people with the expectation that
those individuals have certain skills, abilities, personalities, and values. Therefore, it is important to
understand individual characteristics that matter for employee behaviors at work.
3.1 Hiring for Match: The Case of Netflix
FIGURE 3.1
Source: chrisdorney / Shutterstock.com
Hiring is perhaps one of the most important activities that takes place in a company, and it is
common to hear managers talk about hiring the “best” people. Who exactly are the best people,
though? And how do you get them to join your organization? Netflix, the entertainment company
specializing in media streaming, is a thought leader in recruitment and hiring, and is responsible
for many talent management practices adopted by other firms in recent years, including unlimited
vacation time and eliminating annual performance reviews.
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84
Organizational Behavior
In terms of the skills they look for, Netflix considers future as well as current needs. Past experience and keyword matches may not be so helpful if the job itself is new. For example, when the
company first became interested in hiring someone who could analyze big data, this was not a
skill listed on many résumés. So they had to look for the right people in all sorts of industries that
handled large amounts of data, such as insurance or credit card companies. They caution that
job descriptions may be outdated and written for the person who left the job, and the company
needs to consider the skills they will need in the future, or the skills they need right now in order
to solve the business problems they are experiencing.
Netflix has a unique culture. Unlike many Silicon Valley technology companies, they do not have
a lot of perks such as free lunch or on-site gaming. They also pride themselves in treating people like adults, which means a high level of empowerment and trust. Realizing that this culture
is not for everyone, they try to attract the right person in multiple ways. The description of their
culture is available for everyone to read, which they hope will weed out people who may not feel
comfortable in such an environment. They also make sure that their recruitment and hiring experience signals their most important values. They avoid misleading people as part of the process.
They share their biggest attractions, which they see as the ability to work with top-notch people. They also are honest in giving job candidates feedback about their concerns. Nellie Peshkov,
vice president of global talent acquisition, sees this as a test: “Do they get defensive, or do they
accept the feedback and seek to engage in a healthy and productive dialogue? That’s a clue to
see if they will be successful or not.” [1]
Video: Multimedia Extension—Patty McCord: Lessons from a Silicon
Valley Maverick
View the video online at: //www.youtube.com/embed/uvG0aCbuG60?rel=0
Read about the Netflix culture here: https://jobs.netflix.com/culture
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Who is Netflix looking for? Patty McCord, who served as the Chief Talent Officer for Netflix for 14
years until her departure in 2012, suggests that they are looking for a good “match.” She cautions that when people say they hire for fit with company culture, they typically are thinking of
someone they would enjoy sharing a beer with, which is not how match should be defined. Such
an approach leads to restricting diversity as hiring managers and teams end up hiring people who
are similar to them. Instead, they should be looking for someone who can solve their current and
future business problems, and someone who shares the key values and goals of the company.
In a Harvard Business Review article and a follow-up podcast, she shares the example of hiring
a programmer who was working in an Arizona bank. The candidate was not a typical Silicon Valley hire, as he was a quiet guy who enjoyed woodworking in his free time, and was working in a
traditional industry, but he had built an app enhancing Netflix. Ultimately, he fit the company so
well because he was passionate about Netflix and the customer experience, despite his different
background and personality. He was hired, and eventually rose through the ranks to become a
vice president.
Chapter 3
Understanding People at Work: Individual Differences and Perception
85
Case Discussion Questions
1. Patty McCord cautions that in many companies, culture fit is treated as finding someone you
would like to spend time with. Do you agree with this observation? How do you think culture
fit should be defined?
2. How can organizations successfully hire someone who fits with their organization? What are
some methods they can use?
3. Based on the case, what are the values and skills of someone who could be successful at
Netflix?
4. Netflix uses realistic job previews of their culture. Do you believe that all companies should
do this? Why or why not?
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5. Netflix cautions that hiring managers should not rely too much on the job descriptions. What
are the downsides of ignoring job descriptions when hiring someone?
3.2 The Interactionist Perspective: The Role of Fit
Learning Objectives
1. Differentiate between person–organization and person–job fit.
2. Understand the relationship between person–job fit and work behaviors.
3. Understand the relationship between person–organization fit and work behaviors.
Individual differences matter in the workplace. Human beings bring their personality, physical and
mental abilities, and other stable traits to work. Imagine that you are interviewing an employee
who is proactive, creative, and willing to take risks. Would this person be a good job candidate?
What behaviors would you expect this person to demonstrate?
The question posed above is misleading. While human beings bring their traits to work, every
organization is different, and every job within the organization is also different. According to the
interactionist perspective, behavior is a function of the person and the situation interacting with
each other. Think about it. Would a shy person speak up in class? While a shy person may not feel
like speaking, if the individual is very interested in the subject, knows the answers to the questions,
and feels comfortable within the classroom environment, and if the instructor encourages participation and participation is 30% of the course grade, regardless of the level of shyness, the student
may feel inclined to participate. Similarly, the behavior you may expect from someone who is proactive, creative, and willing to take risks will depend on the situation.
When hiring employees, companies are interested in assessing at least two types of fit.
Person–organization fit refers to the degree to which a person’s values, personality, goals, and other
characteristics match those of the organization. Person–job fit is the degree to which a person’s
skill, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics match the job demands. Thus, someone who is
proactive and creative may be a great fit for a company in the high-tech sector that would benefit
from risk-taking employees, but may be a poor fit for a company that rewards routine and predictable behavior, such as an accounting firm. Similarly, this person may be a great fit for a job such
as a scientist, but a poor fit for a routine office job.
The first thing many recruiters look for is the degree of person–job fit. This is not surprising,
because person–job fit is related to a number of positive work attitudes such as satisfaction with
the work environment, identification with the organization, job satisfaction, and work behaviors
such as job performance. Companies are often also interested in hiring candidates who will fit into
the company culture (those with high person–organization fit). When people fit into their organi© 2018 Boston Academic Publishing, Inc., d.b.a. FlatWorld. All rights reserved.
person-organization
fit
The degree to which a
person’s values,
personality, goals, and
other characteristics
match those of the
organization.
person-job fit
The degree to which a
person’s skill, knowledge,
abilities, and other
characteristics match the
job demands.
86
Organizational Behavior
overqualification
The degree to which a
person’s skill, knowledge,
abilities, and other
characteristics exceed the
job requirements.
A special case of not fitting one’s job is being overqualified for the job. Overqualification is a
situation in which the employee has more skills, education, and experience than the job requires.
People take jobs for which they are overqualified for a number of reasons, including a lack of alternatives, to gain entry into a new field, or not realizing that the job is actually below his or her skill
level. Research shows that overqualification is related to negative job attitudes, greater tendency to
look for a job, and higher likelihood of counterproductive behaviors. At the same time, studies have
shown that there are situations where overqualification is positively related to job performance,
particularly when these employees work with other overqualified workers. Further, the negative
effects of overqualification only seem to emerge when employees are not empowered. In other
words, by allowing employees to control their work environment and have a say in how things are
done at work, companies can benefit from these highly qualified workers.[7]
Key Takeaway
While personality traits and other individual differences are important, we need to keep in mind
that behavior is jointly determined by the person and the situation. Certain situations bring out
the best in people, and someone who is a poor performer in one job may turn into a star
employee in a different job.
What do you think?
1. How can a company assess person–job fit before hiring employees? What are the methods
you think would be helpful?
2. How can a company determine person–organization fit before hiring employees? Which
methods do you think would be helpful?
3. What can organizations do to increase person–job and person–organization fit after they hire
employees?
4. How do you think organizations react to overqualified workers? Are these candidates viewed
as highly desirable job candidates? Why or why not?
3.3 Individual Differences: Values and Personality
Learning Objectives
1. Understand what values are.
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zation, they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, more committed to their companies, and less
likely to experience burnout, and they actually remain longer in their company.[2] Further, applicants who believe that they fit with the organization during the stages of recruitment are more
attracted to the firm and are more likely to accept an offer by that company.[3] One area of controversy is whether these people perform better. Some studies have found a positive relationship
between person–organization fit and job performance, but this finding was not present in all studies, so it seems that fitting with a company’s culture will only sometimes predict job performance.[4]
It also seems that fitting in with the company culture is more important to some people than to
others. For example, people who are in more advanced stages of their careers are more strongly
affected by their level of person–organization fit.[5] Also, when they build good relationships with
their supervisors and the company, being a misfit does not seem to lead to dissatisfaction on the
job.[6]
Chapter 3
Understanding People at Work: Individual Differences and Perception
87
2. Describe the link between values and individual behavior.
3. Identify the major personality traits that are relevant to organizational behavior.
4. Explain the link between personality, work behavior, and work attitudes.
5. Explain the potential pitfalls of personality testing.
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Values
Values refer to stable life goals that people have, reflecting what is most important to them. Values
are established throughout one’s life as a result of the accumulating life experiences and tend to be
relatively stable.[8] The values that are important to people tend to affect the types of decisions they
make, how they perceive their environment, and their actual behaviors. Moreover, people are more
likely to accept job offers when the company possesses the values people care about.[9] Value attainment is one reason why people stay in a company, and when an organization does not help them
attain their values, they are more likely to decide to leave if they are dissatisfied with the job itself.[10]
values
Stable life goals people
have, reflecting what is
most important to them.
What are the values people care about? There are many typologies of values. One of the most
established surveys to assess individual values is the Rokeach Value Survey.[11] This survey lists 18
terminal and 18 instrumental values in alphabetical order. Terminal values refer to end states people desire in life, such as leading a prosperous life and a world at peace. Instrumental values deal
with views on acceptable modes of conduct, such as being honest and ethical, and being ambitious.
terminal values
According to Rokeach, values are arranged in hierarchical fashion. In other words, an accurate
way of assessing someone’s values is to ask them to rank the 36 values in order of importance. By
comparing these values, people develop a sense of which value can be sacrificed to achieve the
other, and the individual priority of each value emerges.
instrumental values
TABLE 3.1 Sample Items from Rokeach (1973) Value Survey
Terminal Values
Instrumental Values
A world of beauty
Broad minded
An exciting life
Clean
Family security
Forgiving
Inner harmony
Imaginative
Self-respect
Obedient
Where do values come from? Research indicates that they are shaped early in life and show
stability over the course of a lifetime. Early family experiences are important influences over the
dominant values. People who were raised in families with low socioeconomic status and those
who experienced restrictive parenting often display conformity values when they are adults, while
those who were raised by parents who were cold toward their children would likely value and
desire security.[12]
Values of a generation also change and evolve in response to the historical context that the
generation grows up in. It is important to keep in mind that generational differences, where they
exist, are modest, and are not strong enough to justify treating different age groups differently in
the workplace. At the same time, research identified some differences in the values of different generations. For example, Generation Xers (those born between 1965 and 1979) are thought to be more
individualistic and are interested in working toward organizational goals so long as they coincide
with their personal goals. This group, compared to the Baby Boomers (those born between 1946
and 1964), is also less likely to see work as central to their life and more likely to desire a quick promotion.[13] Millennials (those born between 1980 and 2000) value leisure more, report less work
centrality than boomers, and value work-life balance.[14] At the same time, the cut-offs between generations tend to be fuzzy, and the trends tend to be gradual.[15]
© 2018 Boston Academic Publishing, Inc., d.b.a. FlatWorld. All rights reserved.
End states people desire in
life, such as leading a
prosperous life and a
world at peace.
Views on acceptable
modes of conduct, such
as being honest and
ethical, and being
ambitious.
88
Organizational Behavior
FIGURE 3.2
Source: Shutterstock.com
The values a person holds may affect their employment. For example, someone who has an
orientation toward strong stimulation may pursue extreme sports and select an occupation that
involves fast action and high risk, such as fire fighter, police officer, or emergency medical doctor.
Someone who has a drive for achievement may more readily act as an entrepreneur. Moreover,
whether individuals will be satisfied at a given job may depend on whether the job provides a
way to satisfy their dominant values. Therefore, understanding employees at work requires understanding the value orientations of employees.
Personality
personality
The relatively stable
feelings, thoughts, and
behavioral patterns a
person has.
Personality encompasses the relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns a person
has. Our personality differentiates us from other people, and understanding someone’s personality
gives us clues about how that person is likely to act and feel in a variety of situations. In order to
effectively manage organizational behavior, an understanding of different employees’ personalities
is helpful. Having this knowledge is also useful for placing people in jobs and organizations.
When scholars discuss personality characteristics as being “stable,” this does not mean that
an individual’s personality exhibits no degree of change. You probably remember how you have
changed and evolved as a result of your own life experiences, attention you received in early childhood, the style of parenting you were exposed to, successes and failures you had in high school, and
other life events. In fact, our personality changes over long periods of time. For example, we tend
to become more socially dominant, more conscientious (organized and dependable), and more emotionally stable between ages 20 and 40, whereas openness to new experiences tends to decline as
we age.[16] In other words, even though we treat personality as relatively stable over short periods
of time, changes occur. Moreover, even in childhood, our personality shapes who we are and has
lasting consequences for us. For example, studies show that part of our career success and job satisfaction later in life can be explained by our childhood personality.[17]
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Values will affect the choices people make. For example, someone who has a strong stimulation orientation may
pursue extreme sports and be drawn to risky business ventures with a high potential for payoff.
Chapter 3
Understanding People at Work: Individual Differences and Perception
89
Is our behavior in organizations dependent on our personality? Yes and no. While we will discuss the effects of personality for employee behavior, you must remember that the relationships
we describe are modest correlations. For example, having a sociable and outgoing personality may
encourage people to se…
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