Unit 2 OB 82pgs - Rotated

UNIT – II are influenced by a number of diversified factors, which can be
TOPIC – 1 both genetic and environmental. The influence of these factors

determines the pattern of human behavior.
FOUNDATION OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR
DETERMINANTS OF INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR
Synopsis
Individual behaviour is influenced by various factors and these
· Introduction
factors are grouped into physical or biographical characteristics
· Determinants of Individual Behaviour and psychological or learned characteristics.
I. Biographical or physical characteristics
Biographical characteristics Personal characteristics—such

INTRODUCTION as age, gender, race, and length of tenure—that are objective
All organizations are composed of individuals. No organization and easily obtained from personnel records. These
can exist without individuals. Human behavior, which is; characteristics are representative of surface-level diversity.
considered a complex phenomenon, is very difficult to define 1. Age

in absolute terms. It is primarily a combination of responses to
The age is important biological factor because of three
external and internal stimuli. These responses would reflect
reasons:-
psychological structure of the person and may be results' of the
· First, belief is widespread that job performance declines
combination of biological and psychological processes, which
with increasing age. Regardless of whether this is true,
interpret them, respond to them in an appropriate manner and
a lot of people believe it and act on it.
learn from the result of these responses.
Psychologist Kurt Levin has conducted considerable research

into the human behavior and its causes. He believes that people
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College of Management
SRM Institute of Science & Technology, Ramapuram, Ch - 89
· Second, Many employers recognize that older workers However productivity is related to attitude and behaviour of
represent a huge potential pool of high-quality employees irrespective of age factor. Speed, agility, strength
applicants. and coordination reduce by age. Experience, the older
· The third reason is most workers today no longer have employees enjoy is of a great significance, disadvantages
to retire at particular age. caused due to declining age is offset by experience.
There are number of positive qualities older workers bring to 2. Gender

their jobs, such as experience, judgment, a strong work ethic, Traditionally some jobs were reserved for females like nursing
and commitment to quality. But older workers are also jobs. Over a passage of time, there is no gender differentiation
perceived as lacking flexibility and resisting new technology. between male and female. We observe successful female
Age is one of the important factors to generate productivity. entrepreneurs working around the world. There is no gender
The relationship between job and performance is an issue of difference for skills that are required for problem solving,
increasing concern. Younger employees are expected to be analytical skills, competitive drive, motivation, sociability and
more energetic, adventurous, ambitions and risk takers. On the learning ability. It has been established that women are more
other hand old people are considered to be more conservative, willing to conform to authority.
having slow speed of work and are less adaptable. Job Whereas, Men are more aggressive and have a greater
performance and turnover declines with increasing age and expectation from the organization. There is no difference in
therefore less job opportunities, hence there are less of productivity and job satisfaction. Women absents more as
resignations. Older people generally get higher wages, longer compared to the men, this is because of the social
paid vacation and they stick on to the job because of responsibility and domestic problems. Women have to stay
pensionary benefits. longer at home for child care, illness of dependants and the
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like. As far as turnover is concerned, there is no difference satisfaction. Since marriage increases the family commitment,
between men and women. an individual do not change organizations.
3. Religion 5. Tenure
Religion and culture play an important role in determining Tenure is referred to as experience. The impact of experience
various aspects of individual behaviour. There is a great impact on performance is an issue which is subject to a lot of
on individual who have been brought up in ideal religious misconception and speculation. Work experience is considered
culture concerning moral, ethics and a code of conduct. to be a good indicator of employee productivity. There is a
Religion and culture determine individual attitude towards positive relationship between seniority and job performance
work and compensation. Employees having high religious and negative relationship between seniority and absenteeism.
value are generally found to be hard working, honest, Employee turnover is negatively related to seniority. Research
dependable, sociable, who can fit in the organization well. indicates that experience and satisfaction are positively related.
They are productive, innovative and think well of the Seniority and experience is a better indicator of job satisfaction
organization. than the age of a person.
4. Marital Status 6. Ability
Marriage imposes increased responsibilities on an individual, Ability is individuals’ capacity to perform various tasks in a
therefore an individual desires to have a steady job. Married job. Ability is made up of two sets of skills:
employees have fewer absences, lesser turnover and higher job
(A) Intellectual skills or ability and
satisfaction. Number of dependants is also a factor to be
considered. There is no clear cut information about the impact (B) Physical skills or ability.
of marital status on productivity absenteeism, turnover and job
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We are not created equals. It does not mean we are inherently intelligence is adequate. The above table shows the various
inferiors to others. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses in dimensions of Intellectual ability.
ability. What is important is to identify level of ability or skills (B) Physical Ability: Physical ability refers to the capacity to
and put it to optimum utilization to improve performance. do tasks that demand stamina, dexterity, strength, and similar
characteristics It is the responsibility of the manager to identify
physical skills in the individual and assign them suitable jobs
commensurate with their ability. High importances of physical
skills are given in police, railways, defense, revenue and
agriculture fields where various skills are important. In
industrial setting, it must be ensured that ability is co-related to
the job requirements so that an optimum output is achieved.
There are nine physical abilities as given in the following table.
(A) Intellectual ability: Intellectual ability refers to the

capacity to do mental activities—thinking, reasoning, and
problem solving .It is an ability of a person that is required to
do mental activities. Higher IQ is not necessary to perform the
job successfully. For any high job a general level of II. Psychological or Learned Characteristics
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1. Personality: Personality is sum total of ways in which an freedom, salvation, truth and non-violance. Instrumental
individual reacts and interacts with others. It is a dynamic values relate to means for achieving ends. It is a tool for
organization within an individual of those psychological acquiring terminal values. For example obedient, capable etc.
systems that determine his unique adjustments with his
environment. It is the charm, positive attitude, smiling face,
II. Environmental Factors
growth and the development of a person that adds to
personality. Personality is greatly influence by the environment The external environment has an effective role in influencing
that a person has been brought up and the factors of heredity. the individual behaviour.
2. Perception: The performance of an individual also depends

to a great extent on what he thinks is right, doable, worth a) Employment level- Employment opportunities available
working for, etc within the country act as a major determinant of individual
3. Attitude: Attitude is a tendency to act/think in certain ways behaviour. In case of less employment opportunities, he/she
either favourably or unfavourably concerning objects, people will remain stick to same job level irrespective of how much
or situation. For example, An attitude is the way a person feels satisfaction is attained. However, if there are more employment
about a person, a place, a thing, a situation or an idea. Attitude opportunities available then employees will shift to other jobs.
could be positive or negative. b) Wages Rate- Monetary compensation is a major factor that
4. Values: Values are beliefs that guide actions and judgments every employee considers before joining any organization.
across a variety of situations. Values represent basic Therefore, a decision whether to stay in a particular company
convictions that a specific mode of conduct is personally or or shift anywhere else is taken on the basis of wages he/she is
socially preferable to an opposite mode of conduct. Values are getting.
of two types, terminal value that are ultimate values like
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c) General Economic Environment- Economic cycle in a influenced by where an individual perfectly fits in a hierarchy
country greatly influences the behaviour of individual in an of organization.
organization. They are subject to retrenchment and layoffs. Job Reward System- Fair reward system adopted by company for
security and a stable income are the most relevant factors of compensating its employees enhances the overall performance
motivation for these type of employees. Whereas, employees of and behaviour of individual.
public sector undertakings are not affected by economic
**************************************************
position within the country as they receive their fixed salaries
irrespective of economic conditions. UNIT – II
d) Political Factors- Political factors indirectly influences the TOPIC – 2

behaviour of an individual. In a politically stable environment, PERSONALITY
there will be large opportunities of steady job positions. It will
Synopsis
provide better freedom to individual which will influence their
career choice, performance and jib design. · Introduction to Personality
Organizational Factors : Wide range of organizational factors · Meaning and Definition of Personality
influence behaviour of individual which are listed below: – · Determinants of Personality
Physical Facilities- Physical environment at work place have a · Measurement of Personality Traits
great influence on behaviour of individual. It comprises of
· Theories of personality
factors like lighting, cleanliness, heat, noise level, office
furnishing, strength of workers etc. · Influences of Personality on OB
Structure and Design- It is concerned with set-up design of

departments within an organization. Individual behaviour is
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Personality Enduring characteristics that describe an
individual’s behavior. Personality is a dynamic concept
INTRODUCTION
describing the growth and development of a person’s whole
Personality is a concept that we use in our routine working
psychological system. Personality is sum total of ways in
while dealing with people. We generally talk about people who
which an individual reacts and interacts with others.
are close to us or may or may not related to us. We generally
“A stable set of characteristics and tendencies that determine
say that a person has good, bad, arrogant or aggressive
those commonalities and differences in the psychological
personality. Thus the word good, bad, arrogant and aggressive
behavior and that may not be easily understood as the sole
explains that personality is related with the behavior of an
result of the social and biological pressures of the moment".
individual.
Gorden Allport defines “Personality is the dynamic
The term personality has been derived from the Latin
organisation within an individual of those psychological
word 'per sonare' which means to speak through. This Latin
systems that determine his unique adjustment to his
word denotes the mask, which the actors used to wear in
environment”
ancient Greece and Rome. Long ago when plays were
performed the numbers of actors used to be less than the DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
number of roles. So the same actor used to change the masks to The factors, which shape, change or develop the personality of
make people realize that they are performing a different an individual, are discussed as under. These determinants of
character. Perhaps due to this reason people relate personality personality can be classified into following categories:
to physical and outward appearance.
1. Biological factors
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATIONAL
The ways an individual sense the external event data, interpret
BEHVIOUR
and respond to them are general biological characteristics of
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human biological system. The study of biological contribution c) Physical Features: Another factor that contributes to
to personality can be divided into: personality formation is physical characteristics of an
individual. While defining personality some individuals give
a) Heredity: It is transmission of the qualities from ancestor to
higher weights to physical features of an individual. The
descendant through a mechanism lying primarily in the
external appearance includes height, weight, colour, facial
chromosomes of the germ cells. These qualities are present in a
features etc of the individual while determining his personality.
person by birth. Heredity refers to those factors like physical
The normal belief is that the healthy person is lazy and the thin
stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle
is angry determines the individual personality. In today's
composition, energy level and biological rhythms etc. that were
competitive environment for the job of sales executive the
determined at conception. At conception, each parent
physical appearance is an asset of an individual.
contributes chromosomes containing thousands of genes,
which seems to be transmitter of traits in the child. Saying such 2. Family and Social Factors:
as “like father, like son" proves the above discussion. Thus, Family plays an important role in early personality
heredity is generally more important in determining a person's
development. The infant acquires those behaviour patterns that
temperament than his values and beliefs. depend upon the socio-economic level of the family, family
b) Brain: It plays very important role in shaping personality. size, birth-order, race, religion, parent education level,
The structure of brain determines personality. People normally geographic location etc. Social factors include the person’s
say that a person with more number of lines on his brain is interaction with other people throughout his life. The family
more intelligent. Different people will give value to different and social factors are categorize as below:
things. For some beauty is more valuable than intelligence.
a) Home environment: It is a critical factor in personality
However, no conclusive proof is available so far about the development. A child will have soft personality if he will grow
nature of relationship between brain and personality. in a warm, loving and protective environment. And if
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everybody in the family is busy in their life and have no acquires from the wide range of behavioral potentialities that
concern for each other then the infant will have rigid are open to him at birth, those behavior patterns that are
personality. The key variable is not the parents per se rather the customary and acceptable to family and social groups. It starts
type of environment that is generated for the child. with the initial contact between an infant and mother and
continues with interaction of infant with other family members
b) Family Members: Parents and other family members have
and social groups. Identification process occurs when a person
strong influence on personality development of the child.
tries to identify himself with some person whom he feels ideal
Parents have more impact than other members of the family do
in the family. Generally a child in the family tries to behave
in building the child's personality. We generally see that small
like his father or mother.
children behave like their parents. The relationships between
the parents and children are higher than between the children 3. Cultural Factors:
and teachers in building child's personality c) Social Group: In According to Hoebel, Culture is sum total of learned behaviour
addition to home environment and family members, there are traits which are manifested and shared by the members of the
other influences from the social placement of the family. Social
society. The culture within which a person is brought up is very
groups includes the person’s interaction with other people important determinant of behaviour of a person. Culture is a
which starts with playmates during childhood and continue unique system of perception, beliefs, values, norms, patterns of
with peers at work, associates and other work groups. The behaviour and code of conduct that influence the behaviour of
internal and external work environment continues to influence the individual. It determines what a person is and what a person
the people personalities, perception and behaviour throughout will learn. The way of talking and dressing sense of Hindus and
his life. Muslims are entirely different, as they are prone to different
The home environment, family members and social groups cultures. Each culture trains its members to behave in the ways
influence the socialization and identification process of an that are acceptable to the group. The difference among
individual. Socialization is a process by which an infant individual behaviour is also based upon socio-economic
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classes, ages, education, professions and geographic regions. The “Myers-Briggs Type Indicator” and “the Big Five
As skilled have different behaviour pattern than the unskilled Model,” are two methods that have been used to determine
workers do. personality traits.
4. Situational Factors: I. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
An individual personality is generally stable and consistent; it MBTI was developed in 1943 by a mother–daughter team,
may change in different situations. An individual life is unique Isabel Myers and Katherine Cook Briggs. Its objective at the
in terms of events and experience, but these experiences time was to aid World War II veterans in identifying the
sometimes change the structure of the entire personality of an occupation that would suit their personalities. Since that time,
individual. Suppose there is a worker who is very fond of doing MBTI has become immensely popular, and according to one
work. But sometime due to overload he becomes frustrated estimate, around 2.5 million people take the test annually. The
from the existing job. Due to this changed situation, his survey is criticized because it relies on types as opposed to
personality composition also changes. Thus demand of traits, but organizations who use the survey find it very useful
different situation may call for different aspects of one’s for training and team-building purposes. More than 80 of the
personality. Fortune 100 companies used Myers-Briggs tests in some form.
MEASUREMENT OF PERSONALITY OR
PERSONALITY TRAITS The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely
Personality traits are the characteristics of an individual when used personality assessment instrument in the world. It is a
exhibited in large number of situations. More predominant the 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually
traits in an individual are, more consistence the individual is feel or act in particular situations. Respondents are classified as
and more frequent occurrences in diverse situations. extraverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or intuitive (S or N),
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thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or perceiving (J or P). characterized as skeptical, critical, independent, determined,
These terms are defined as follows: and often stubborn.
(i) Extraverted (E) Vs Introverted (I): Extraverted • ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical,
individuals are outgoing, sociable, and assertive. Introverts are decisive, and have a natural head for business or mechanics.
quiet and shy. They like to organize and run activities.
(ii) Sensing (S) Vs Intuitive (N): Sensing types are practical • ENTPs are conceptualizers. They are innovative,
and prefer routine and order. They focus on details. Intuitives individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas.
rely on unconscious processes and look at the “big picture.” They tend to be resourceful in solving challenging problems
but may neglect routine assignments.
(iii) Thinking (T) Vs Feeling (F): Thinking types use reason
and logic to handle problems. Feeling types rely on their One problem is that it forces a person into one type or another;
personal values and emotions. that is, you’re either introverted or extraverted. There is no in-
between, though in reality people can be both extraverted and
(iv) Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P): Judging types want
introverted to some degree. The best we can say is that the
control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured.
MBTI can be a valuable tool for increasing self-awareness and
Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous.
providing career guidance. But because results tend to be
These classifications together describe 16 personality types,
unrelated to job performance, managers probably shouldn’t use
identifying every person by one trait from each of the four
it as a selection test for job candidates.
pairs.
II. The Big Five Personality Model
Let’s take a look at three examples of MBTI personality types:
The MBTI may lack strong supporting evidence, but an
• INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and
impressive body of research supports the thesis of the Big Five
great drive for their own ideas and purposes. They are
Model —that five basic dimensions underlie all others and
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encompass most of the significant variation in human
personality. Moreover, test scores of these traits do a very
good job of predicting how people behave in a variety of real-
life situations. The following are the Big Five factors:
a) Extraversion: Extraversion dimension captures a person’s

comfort level with relationships. Extraverted individuals are
sociable, talkative, and assertive.
b) Agreeableness: The agreeableness dimension refers to an

individual’s propensity to defer to others. Highly agreeable
people are cooperative, warm, and trusting. People who score
low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.
c) Conscientiousness: The conscientiousness dimension is a

measure of reliability. A highly conscientious person is
responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who
score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized,
and unreliable.
d) Emotional stability: The emotional stability dimension

taps a person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive
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emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Conscientious individuals who are more interested in
Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious, learning than in just performing on the job are also
depressed, and insecure. exceptionally good at maintaining performance in the
e) Openness to experience: The openness to experience face of negative feedback.
dimension addresses range of interests and fascination with · Emotional stability is most strongly related to life
novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels. This
artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the category are is probably true because high scorers are more likely to
conventional and find comfort in the familiar. be positive and optimistic and experience fewer
How Do the Big Five Traits Predict Behavior at Work? negative emotions. They are happier than those who
score low. People low on emotional stability are hyper
· Research has found relationships between these
vigilant (looking for problems or impending signs of
personality dimensions and job performance. The
danger) and are especially vulnerable to the physical
evidence shows that individuals who are dependable,
and psychological effects of stress.
reliable, careful, thorough, able to plan, organized,
hardworking, persistent, and achievement-oriented tend · Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in their
to have higher job performance in most if not all lives as a whole. They experience more positive
occupations.” emotions than do introverts, and they more freely

express these feelings. They also tend to perform better
· In addition, employees who score higher in
in jobs that require significant interpersonal interaction,
conscientiousness develop higher levels of job
perhaps because they have more social skills—they
knowledge, probably because highly conscientious
usually have more friends and spend more time in
people learn more. Higher levels of job knowledge then
social
contribute to higher levels of job performance.
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THEORIES OF PERSONALITY conscious and logical part of human personality, ID is guided
and governed by Ego. It explains the ways of thinking and
1. Psycho-analytical Theory
behaving. ID demands immediate pleasure at whatever cost,
The mile stone in the study of personality is Freud’s
Ego controls it so that the pleasures are granted at appropriate
psychoanalytical theory. Freud is of the belief that the
time and in acceptable manner. Ego delays satisfying ID
personality as a reflection of behaviour has been primarily
motives and channels the behaviour, which is socially
based on the unconscious nature of personality. The human
acceptable. It makes people work to live and adjusting to the
behaviour and motivation is outcome of following
realities of life. The principle of ego to work is ‘Reality
psychoanalytical concepts. Such as:
Principle’. It takes into account what is possible in this world.
a) ID:
As the function of ID and Ego are contrary there is always
It is the unconscious part of the human personality. It is most ongoing tension between ID and Ego i.e. between urges and
primitive part and is the storehouse of biologically based urges. realities of life which keeps Ego to develop more sophisticated
Example- urges to have food, water etc. thinking skills. Thus to keep ID under control, Ego is supported
ID is original source of personality present in a newborn or by Super Ego.
infant. The principal of working for ID is ‘Pleasure’. Id tries to c) Super Ego:

satisfy the urge as soon as possible without considering the
It is higher level restraining force and can be described as the
realities of life.
conscience of the person. The conscience creates standards of
b) Ego: what is right or wrong. It represents the rules and the norms
Ego manages ID through the realities of the external that check the cultural, moral or ethical behavioral values of
environment. Ego is conscious in nature and is a mechanism to the individual in the social environment. However, an
relate our conscious urge to outside real world. As Ego is individual is not aware of presence and working of superego in
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oneself. It is developed slowly in a person when he absorbs summarize behaviour. The trait of an individual or ‘Personal
central values and follows the standards of society. Superego disposition is studied at three levels:
keeps ego to judge what is right or wrong. a) Cardinal Trait Level: ALLPORT defined cardinal traits as
Example: A Boy is feeling hungry because of ID. He passes those pervasive traits which are so powerful / dominant that
through a shop with food displayed in the window and thus the rarely all the individual action can be traced back to them. As
urge of hunger arises more strongly. But the boy has no penny these are highly influential traits, so they are named after key
and the Ego suggest the ways to satisfy hunger that if you don’t historical figures like Mother Teresa, Hitler, Romeo etc. This
have money to buy food, steal and run. Then, Super Ego warns level describes a trait so broad and so deep in its impact that it
boy that there is something wrong as stealing is considered overshadows the influence of other traits for the same
blundered in society and it is punishable. individual.
b) Central Trait Level: ALLPORT describes central traits as

those that might be referred in careful recommendations or at a
2. Trait Theory:
rating scale. These are unique and limited in number. The traits
It visualizes personality as a reflection of certain traits of the
at this level means to convey what can be expected from a
individual. This theory was put forward by ‘ALLPORT”. Trait
person most of the time.
is a distinctive and personal form of behaviour. There are many
c) Secondary Trait level: These are least generalized traits of
traits, which are common to most people, some are unique to a
a person. The range of influence of these traits is very narrow.
person and other individuals share some. On the basis of trait
These peripheral traits are specialized to the situation.
theory, people can be described as aggressive, loyal, pleasant,
flexible, humorous, sentimental, impulsive, cool and so on. Cattell used groups of traits to describe the structure of
Traits are basic elements of personality and can be used to personality. He put these traits in the following categories:
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i) Surface Traits: Wise-foolish, sociable-seclusive, honest- iii. Mesomorph: They are basically strong, athletic and tough.
dishonest etc. They seeks lot of muscular activity, tends to be highly
aggressive and self-assertive. They desire action, power and
ii) Source Traits: Trustful-suspicious, relaxed-tense,
domination and they can run faster and smile brighter.
dominant-submissive, forthright shrewd, cheerfulness-
depressed etc. b) Type on the basis of nature:
3. Type Theory: i. Introvert: The people with following characteristics are

introvert such as- shyness, social withdrawal, emotional,
“Type is simply a class of individuals said to share common
process the idea within themselves. Introvert can be good
collection of characteristics”. Type approach discusses the
scientists and researchers.
personality in the following ways:
ii. Extrovert: People having following characteristics are
a) Type on the basis of body build:
extrovert. These are- socials, talkative, less emotional, easily
i. Endomorph: They are fat, thick in proportion to their height.
makes friends, easily express their ideas and gfrbfeelings.
They seek comfort, eat too much, jovial, affectionate and liked
Extroverts propagate more knowledge and ideas to society.
by all. They are even tempered, show a relaxed posture, easy to
They can be good reporters, actors and marketers.
get along with others and are tolerant of others. They prefer to
iii. Ambiverts/Reserved: These are the people between
be led than to lead.
introverts and extroverts.
ii. Ectomorph: They are thin, long and poorly developed
c) Type A and Type B:
physically. They work well in closed areas and displays
restraint, inhibition and desire for concealment. They prefer not i. Type A: Persons are those who are highly achievement
to attract attention to him and tend to be distrustful of others. oriented, competitive feel, chronic sense of time urgency and
They are anxious, ambitious and dedicated. impatient whenever their work slow down. Type A are on fast
track of life and are more successful in reaching top slot. They
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work against opposing forces. Managers in this category are termed as organismic or field theories, which emphasize on
hard drivers, detailed oriented people with high performance totality and inter relatedness of all behaviour.
standards. These people have difficulty in increasing cordial There are four factors consider in self-concept theory. These
interpersonal relationships and create a lot of stress for area)
themselves and for the people they deal with. If they have to
a) Self-Image: Every person has certain beliefs about who or
complete a task within given deadline, they feel pressurized.
what he is. The beliefs of the individuals are the proof of self-
Researchers have proved that Type A personality profile lead
image or self-identity. Thus self-image is the way one sees
to health problems and specially heart related illness.
himself.
ii. Type B: These kinds of persons are easy going, no
b) Ideal Self: As discussed earlier self image indicates the
competitive drive, feel no emergency. They are relaxed,
realities of a person as perceived by him, but ideal self
sociable and have a balanced outlook on life. They are not over
indicates the ideal position as perceived by him. It denotes the
ambitious, are more patient and take a broader view of things.
way one would like to be.
In order to meet a deadline they do not feel pressurized. They
may be hardworking but feel no pressing conflict with people c) Looking glass-self: This is the way one thinks people
or time and hence are not prone to stress and coronary perceive about him and not the way people actually see him. It
problems. is the perception of a person about how others perceive his
qualities and characteristics. It is a social product, which
emerges from face-to-face interaction with others from the very
4. Self-Concept Theory: beginning of life. This interaction directs how others see him as
This theory is organized around the concept that the individual an individual.
himself largely determines personality and behaviour. It is also d) Real Self: This is what one actually is. An individual self-
image is confirmed when other persons response to him,
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indicate their beliefs about who and what he corresponds with. occur from observation; we watch the behaviour of other
On the basis of feedback from environment, the person people, draw observation about them and express our own
reevaluates himself and re-adjusts himself as per the behaviour.
expectation of others. Thus a balance should be maintained MAJOR PERSONALITY TRAITS INFLUENCING
between real self and self-image. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Thus self-concept plays a very important role in analyzing 1. Self-esteem
individual behaviour. It gives a sense of meaningfulness and
Self-esteem is defined as individuals’ degree of liking or
consistency. On the basis of self-concept a person perceives a
disliking themselves and the degree to which they think they
situation.
are worthy or unworthy as people. People who have a positive
5. Social Learning Theory: view of themselves and their capabilities tend to like
This theory believes that personality development is a result of themselves and see themselves as valuable.
social variables. It emphasizes on conscious needs and wants of People with low self-esteem, however, are more susceptible to
an individual. This theory uses “reinforcement and punishment external influences, suggesting that individuals with low self-
approach” in understanding personality. esteem depend on the receipt of positive evaluations from
It looks at personality as some total of all that a person has others. As a result, people with low self-esteem are more likely
learned from outside stimuli. There is mutual interaction to seek approval from others and are more prone to conform to
between external environment and behaviour. For example- if the beliefs and behaviors of those they respect than are people
an individual receives bad behaviour from society, the who believe in themselves. Studies have shown that people
frustration causes and reinforces aggression as a personality with low self-esteem may benefit more from training programs
trait. And if he receives good behaviour from people in terms because their self-concept is more influenced by such
of praise, this reinforces good behaviour. Learning can also interventions.
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2. Locus of control is the degree to which people believe they Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance,
are masters of their own fate. Locus of control can be Internal and believes that ends can justify means.
or External. Internal locus of control: are individuals who High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less,
believe that they control what happens to them. Externals and persuade others more than do low Machs. Yet these high-
locus of control: are individuals who believe that what Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors. It has
happens to them is controlled by outside forces, such as luck or been found that high Machs flourish
chance.
· when they interact face to face with others rather than
These personality traits are manifested in different behaviour
indirectly;
which are significant to manager. It has been proved that
· when the situation has a minimum number of rules and
externals (those who believe that events are determined by
regulations, thus allowing latitude for improvisation;
external forces) are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher
and
absenteeism rates, more alienated from work setting and are
less involved on their jobs than internals (those who believe · when emotional involvement with details irrelevant to
that events are within one’s control). Internals typically have winning distracts low Machs..
more control over their own behaviour, are more active in 4. Narcissism A person high in narcissism has a grandiose
seeking information to make decisions, and are more active sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a
socially than externals sense of entitlement, and is arrogant. The term narcissist comes
3. Machiavellianism from the Greek myth of Narcissus, the story of a man so vain
and proud that he fell in love with his own image.
The personality characteristic of Machiavellianism (Mach) is
named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth In terms of the workplace, one study found that while
century on how to gain and use power. An individual high in narcissists thought they were better leaders than their
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colleagues, their supervisors actually rated them as worse addition, high self-monitoring managers tend to be more
leaders. mobile in their careers, receive more promotions (both internal
and cross-organizational), and are more likely to occupy
Narcissists also tend to be selfish and exploitive, and they often
central positions in an organization.
carry the attitude that others exist for their benefit. Narcissists
are rated by their bosses as less effective at their jobs, 6. Risk Taking
particularly when it comes to helping other people. People differ in their willingness to take chances. This
5. Self-Monitoring propensity to assume or avoid risk affects how long it takes
managers to make a decision and how much information they
Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable
require before making a choice.
adaptability in adjusting their behavior to external, situational
factors. They are highly sensitive to external cues and can High risk-taking managers made more rapid decisions and used
behave differently in different situations. High self-monitors less information in making their choices than did the low risk-
are capable of presenting striking contradictions between their taking managers. Interestingly, the decision accuracy was the
public persona and their private self. Low self-monitors can’t same for both groups.
disguise themselves in that way. They tend to display their true The work population as a whole also exhibits differences in
dispositions and attitudes in every situation; hence, who they risk propensity. As a result, it makes sense to recognize these
are and what they do display high behavioral consistency. differences and even to consider aligning risk-taking
The evidence indicates that high self-monitors tend to pay propensity with specific job demands. For instance, a high risk-
closer attention to the behavior of others and are more capable taking propensity may lead to more effective performance for a
of conforming than are low self-monitors. They also receive stock trader in a brokerage firm because that type of job
better performance ratings, are more likely to emerge as demands rapid decision making. On the other hand, a
leaders, and show less commitment to their organizations. In willingness to take risks might prove a major obstacle to an
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accountant who performs auditing activities. The latter job In managerial positions, Type A’s demonstrate their
might be better filled by someone with a low risk-taking competitiveness by working long hours and, not infrequently,
propensity. making poor decisions because they make them too fast. Type
A’s are also rarely creative. Because of their concern with
7. Type A Personality
quantity and speed, they rely on past experiences when faced
A person with a Type A personality is “aggressively involved
with problems. They will not allocate the time necessary to
in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in
develop unique solutions to new problems.
less and less time, and, if required to do so, against the
opposing efforts of other things or other persons.” Type B’s are “rarely harried by the desire to obtain a wildly
increasing number of things or participate in an endless
Type A’s:
growing series of events in an ever-decreasing amount of
· are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly; time.”
· feel impatient with the rate at which most events take Type B’s:
place;
· never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its
· strive to think or do two or more things at once; accompanying impatience;
· cannot cope with leisure time; · feel no need to display or discuss either their
· are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in achievements or accomplishments unless such exposure
terms of how many or how much of everything they is demanded by the situation
acquire. · play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their
Type A’s operate under moderate to high levels of stress. They superiority at any cost;
subject themselves to more or less continuous time pressure, · Can relax without guilt.
creating for themselves a life of deadlines.
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8. Proactive Personality UNIT – II
Individuals with a proactive personality identify TOPIC – 3

opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until LEARNING
meaningful change occurs. They create positive change in their
Synopsis
environment, regardless or even in spite of constraints or
obstacles. Evidence indicates that proactives are more likely to · Meaning and Definition of Learning
be seen as leaders and more likely to act as change agents · Nature of Learning
within the organization.
· Factors determining learning
As individuals, proactives are more likely to achieve career
· Learning theories
success. This is because they select, create, and influence work
situations in their favor. Proactives are more likely to seek out MEANING AND DEFINITION OF LEARNING
job and organizational information, develop contacts in high Learning can be defined as the permanent change in behavior
places, engage in career planning, and demonstrate persistence due to direct and indirect experience. It means change in
in the face of career obstacles. behavior, attitude due to education and training, practice and
experience. It is completed by acquisition of knowledge and
skills, which are relatively permanent.
***************************************************
Learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that

occurs as a result of experience. - Stephen P. Robbins
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Learning is the process of having one’s behaviour modified,
more or less permanently, by what he does and the
consequences of his action, or by what he observes. - Munn
N.L.
Learning can be defined as relatively permanent change in

behaviour potentially that results from reinforced practice or
experience. - Steers and Porter
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEARING, DEVELOPMENT,

EDUCATION AND TRAINING
a) Develop – to unfold more fully, to bring out all that is NATURE OF LEARNING
potentially contained within Learning is a relatively permanent change in knowledge or
b) Educate – to bring up so as to form habits, manners, behavior that results from practice or experience. There are
intellectual and physical aptitudes several key points in this definition.
c) Train – to instruct and discipline in or for some particular • Learning comes change
art, profession, occupation or practice. • Change in knowledge or behavior has to be relatively

permanent or long-lasting
d) Learning - All of the above assume some form of learning • Learning takes place as a result of practice or through
takes place within the individual experience
COMPONENTS OF LEARNING
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a) Drive: Learning frequently occurs in the presence of drive defined as the environmental event’s affecting the probability
– any strong stimulus that impels action. Drives are basically of occurrence of responses with which they are associated.
of two types -primary (or physiological); and secondary (or
e) Retention: The stability of learned behavior over time is
psychological). These two categories of drives often interact
defined as retention and its contrary is known as forgetting.
with each other. Individuals operate under many drives at the
Some of the learning is retained over a period of time while
same time. To predict a behavior, it is necessary to establish
others may be forgotten.
which drives are stimulating the most.
FACTORS AFFECTING LEARNING
b) Stimuli: stimuli are those factors that exist in the
environment as perceived by the individual. The idea is to Learning is based upon some key factors that decide what
discover the conditions under which stimulus will increase the changes will be caused by this experience. The key elements
probability of eliciting a specific response. or the major factors that affect learning are motivation,
practice, environment, and mental group.
c) Responses: The stimulus results in responses. Responses
may be in the physical form or may be in terms of attitudes, Coming back to these factors let us have a look on these
familiarity, perception or other complex phenomena. In the factors −
above example, the supervisor discriminates between the a) Motivation − The encouragement, the support one gets to
worker producing low quality products and the worker complete a task, to achieve a goal is known as motivation. It is
producing high quality products, and positively responds only a very important aspect of learning as it acts gives us a positive
to the quality conscious worker. energy to complete a task. Example − The coach motivated
d) Reinforcement: Reinforcement is a fundamental the players to win the match.
condition of learning. Without reinforcement, no measurable b) Practice − We all know that ”Practice makes us perfect”. In
modification of behavior takes place. Reinforcement may be order to be a perfectionist or at least complete the task, it is
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very important to practice what we have learnt. Example − 1. Classical Conditioning Theory
We can be a programmer only when we execute the codes we 2. Operant Conditioning Theory
have written.
3. Social Learning Theory
c) Environment − We learn from our surroundings, we learn
4. Cognitive Learning Theory
from the people around us. They are of two types of
environment – internal and external. Example − A child when 1. Classical Conditioning Theory
at home learns from the family which is an internal
The Classical Conditioning Theory was proposed by a Russian
environment, but when sent to school it is an external
Physiologist Ivan Pavlov. According to this theory, behavior is
environment.
learnt by a repetitive association between the response and the
d) Mental group − It describes our thinking by the group of stimulus.
people we chose to hang out with. In simple words, we make a
group of those people with whom we connect. It can be for a The classical conditioning theory is based on the assumption
social cause where people with the same mentality work in the that learning is developed through the interactions with the
same direction. Example − A group of readers, travelers, etc. environment. Also, the environment shapes the behavior and
internal mental state such as thoughts, feelings, emotions do
These are the main factors that influence what a person learns,
not explain the human behavior.
these are the root level for our behavior and everything we do
is connected to what we learn. Here, an organism learns to transfer response from one
stimulus to a previously neutral stimulus. Classical
LEARNING THEORIES
conditioning is comprised of four elements:
Learning can be understood clearly with the help of some
theories that will explain our behavior. Some of the
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Which invariably causes
remarkable theories are −
to react in a way.
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2. Unconditioned Response (UR): Takes place when the
US is presented.
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The object that does not

bring about the desired response
4. Conditioned Response (CR): a particular behavior that

an organism learns to produce, when the CS is
presented.
Pavlov conducted an experiment on a dog and measured the

amount of saliva secreted by a dog, with a use of a surgical
procedure, when it is exposed to different stimulus or object.
At first, when Pavlov presented a piece of meat (US) to the
dog, he noticed a great amount of salivation (UR) whereas, in
Thus, he found out, that the dog has become classically
the second time, when he just rang the bell, he observed there
conditioned (CR) to the sound of the bell (CS). And every time
was no effect of a bell on the dog’s salivation.
he rings the bell the dog salivates.
After this, Pavlov rang the bell accompanied with meat and
According to Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning theory, learning
noticed the salivation of a dog. He repeated this process several
takes place because of association which is established between
times, and finally, one day he just rang the bell without meat
a previously neutral stimulus and a natural stimulus. It should
and observed that dog still salivated to the bell alone which
be noted, that Classical Conditioning places a neutral stimulus
was originally a neutral stimulus.
before the naturally occurring reflexes. In his experiment, he
tried to pair the natural stimulus that is food with a bell sound.
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The dogs would salivate with the natural occurrence of food, punishment. Thus, an individual tries to establish an
but after repeated associations, the dogs salivated just by association between a particular behavior and consequence.
hearing the sound of the bell alone. The focus of Classical
Conditioning theory is on automatic and naturally occurring
behaviours.
The Operant Conditioning Theory is given by B.F. Skinner,

who believed that behavior is voluntary and is determined,
maintained and controlled by its consequences. According to
him, one must focus on the external or observable causes of
behavior rather than the internal mental events such as
motivation, thoughts, feelings, etc.
B.F. Skinner performed an experiment; wherein the Rat was

placed in a glass box, called as a “skinner box.” In that box,
there were two levers, one attached to the feeding tube, while
the other produced the electric shock. The rat pressed the first
lever attached to the tube and got the food to eat, but as soon as
2. Operant Conditioning Theory
it pressed the other lever, it got the shock. A rat discovered
Definition: The Operant Conditioning theory states that people from its actions, the lever which is rewarding and the one
are likely to emit responses that are rewarded and will not emit which gives a shock (negative response) and pressed only that
any responses that are neither followed by any reward nor lever which resulted in food. Thus, Skinner observed, that the
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rate of response, as well as the change in the response, was Key Components of Operant Conditioning
seen after the behavior was performed, not before. a) Reinforcement: Reinforcements strengthen or increase the
intensity of behaviour. This can be Positive and Negative.
Often, the operant conditioning is also called as an
Instrumental Conditioning, which means learning is Positive Reinforcement: When a favourable event or an
developed through the rewards and punishments given for a outcome is associated with behaviour in the form of a reward
particular behavior. There are three elements that result in the or praise, it is called as positive reinforcement. For example, a
development of a new behavior; these are: boss may associate bonus with outstanding achievements at
· Stimulus Situation (the event or object) work.
· Behavioral Response to the situation Negative Reinforcement: This involves removal of an
· Consequence of a response unfavourable or an unpleasant event after a behavioural

outcome. In this case, the intensity of a response is
Example: A vehicle driver applies the brakes in order to avoid
strengthened by removing the unpleasant experiences.
the accident, thus, the possibility of an accident without the
application of the brakes is stimulus situation. The application b) Punishment: The objective of punishment is to decrease the
of brake is the behavior and escape from the accident is the intensity of a behavioural outcome, which may be negative or
consequence of behavior. positive.
Thus, through this process, an organism learns to distinguish

Positive Punishment: This involves application of punishment
between the behaviors that are rewarding and try to engage
by presenting an unfavourable event or outcome in response to
them in those behaviors.
a behaviour. Spanking for an unacceptable behaviour is an
example of positive punishment.
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Negative Punishment: It is associated with the removal of a 3. Cognitive Learning Theory
favourable event or an outcome in response to a behaviour Cognition defines a person’s ideas, thoughts, knowledge,
which needs to be weakened. Holding the promotion of an
interpretation, understanding about himself and environment.
employee for not being able to perform up to the expectations
Edward Tolman has contributed significantly to
of the management can be an example of a negative
the Cognitive Learning Theory. According to him,
punishment.
individuals not only responds to stimuli but also act on beliefs,
c) Reinforcement Schedules: According to Skinner, the thoughts, attitudes, feelings and strive towards goals.
schedule of reinforcement with focus on timing as well as the
frequency of reinforcement, determined how quickly new In other words, An individual creates a cognitive map in his
behaviour can be learned and old behaviours can be altered. mind, i.e. an image of the external environment, preserves and
organizes information gathered, as a result of the consequences
of events encountered during the learning process. Thus, the
organism learns about the event and objects on the basis of a
meaning assigned to stimuli.
Tolman was the first behaviorist who challenged the

conditional theory on the belief that stimulus-response theory is
unacceptable, as reinforcement was not necessary for the
learning to happen and asserted that behavior was mainly
cognitive. He believed that the environment offers several
experiences or cues which are used to develop the mental
image i.e. cognitive map.
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Thus, cognitive learning theory is based on the cognitive model 4. Social Learning Theory
of human behavior, i.e. it emphasizes on the free will and
positive aspects of human behavior. Cognition refers to the The social learning theory also called observational learning,
individual’s thoughts, feelings, ideas, knowledge and stresses the ability of an” individual to learn by observing what
understanding about himself and the environment. Thus, an happens to other people and just by being told about
organism applies this cognition in learning which results in not something.
merely the response to a stimulus, but the application of

One can learn things by observing models, parents, teachers,
internal image of the external environment, so as to accomplish
peers, motion pictures, TV artists, bosses, and others.
the goal.
Many patterns of behavior are learned by watching the

Tolman has conducted an experiment to elucidate the cognitive behaviors of others and observing its consequences for them. In
learning theory. He trained a rat to turn right in the ‘T’ maze in this theory, it is said that the influence of models is the central
order to obtain food. One day, he started a rat from the opposite issue.
part of the maze, according to the operant conditioning theory,
the rat should have turned right due to the past conditioning, 4 processes have been found to determine the influence that a
but instead, it turned towards where the food was kept. model will have on an individual.
Thus, Tolman concluded that rat formed a cognitive map in its These processes are:
mind to figure out where the food has been placed, and
a) Attention process
reinforcement was not a precondition for learning to take place.
People learn from a model only when they recognize and pay
attention to its critical features.
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If the learner is not attentive they would not able to learn positively reinforced is given more attention, learned better and
anything. We tend to be most influenced by attractive models, performed more often.
repeatedly available, which we think is important, or we see as
similar to us. At last, we can say that social learning theory is a function of
consequences. It also acknowledges the existence of
b) Retention process observational learning and the importance of perception in
learning.
A model’s influence depends on how well the individuals
remember the models’ actions after the model is no longer In this case, a person who wants to learn should identify the
readily available. target behavior and select the appropriate model and modeling
medium. Then he/she should create a favorable learning
c) Motor reproduction process
environment and observe the model.
After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the

Here the learners will try to remember and use practically the
model, the watching must be converted to doing. It involves
observed behavior if there is a positive reinforcement is related
recall the model’s behaviors and performing own actions and
to this behavior.
matching them with those of the model.
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This process then demonstrates that the individual can perform
the modeled activities.
d) Reinforcement process
Individuals are motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if

positive incentives or rewards are provided. Behavior that is
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UNIT – II Moods are less intense feelings than emotions and often
(though not always) arise without a specific event acting as a
TOPIC -4
stimulus.
EMOTIONS AND MOODS
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EMOTIONS AND MOODS
SYNOPSIS
Emotions are more likely to be caused by a specific event, and
· Meaning and Definition of Affect, emotions and
emotions are more fleeting than moods.
moods
For example, unlike moods, emotions like anger and disgust
· Concept and forms of emotions and moods
tend to be more clearly revealed by facial expressions. Also,
· Sources of emotions some researchers speculate that emotions may be more action-
oriented—they may lead us to some immediate action—while
· Important terms related to emotions
moods may be more cognitive, meaning they may cause us to
· Emotional Intelligence
think or brood for a while.
· Emotions at workplace
Emotions and moods are closely connected and can influence
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF AFFECT, each other. Getting your dream job may generate the emotion
EMOTIONS AND MOODS of joy, which can put you in a good mood for several days.
Affect is a generic term that covers a broad range of feelings Similarly, if you’re in a good or bad mood, it might make you
people experience, including both emotions and moods. experience a more intense positive or negative emotion than
otherwise. In a bad mood, you might blow up in response to a
Emotions are intense feelings directed at someone or
co-worker’s comment that would normally have generated only
something.
a mild reaction.
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Affect, emotions, and moods are separable in theory; in There are dozens of emotions, including anger, contempt,
practice the distinction isn’t always crystal-clear. In some enthusiasm, envy, fear, frustration, disappointment,
areas, researchers have studied mostly embarrassment, disgust, happiness, hate, hope, jealousy, joy,
love, pride, surprise, and sadness.
moods, in other areas mainly emotions. So, when we review
the OB topics on emotions and moods, you may see more Numerous researchers have tried to limit them to a
information about emotions in one area and about moods in fundamental set. But some argue that it makes no sense to
another. This is simply the state of the research. think in terms of “basic” emotions because even emotions we
rarely experience, such as shock, can have a powerful effect on
us.
René Descartes, often called the founder of modern

philosophy, identified six “simple and primitive passions”—
wonder, love, hatred, desire, joy, and sadness—and argued that
“all the others are composed of some of these six or are species
of them.”
Still, many researchers agree on six essentially universal

emotions—anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, and
surprise.
THE BASIC MOODS: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

THE BASIC OF EMOTIONS AND TYPES
AFFECT
One way to classify emotions is by whether they are positive or

negative. Positive emotions—such as joy and gratitude—
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express a favorable evaluation or feeling. Negative emotions—
such as anger or guilt—express the opposite.
Keep in mind that emotions can’t be neutral. Being neutral is

being non-emotional.
When we group emotions into positive and negative categories,

they become mood states because we are now looking at them
more generally instead of isolating one particular emotion.
Positive affect as a mood dimension consisting of positive

From the following figure, excited is a pure marker of high
emotions such as excitement, self-assurance, and cheerfulness
positive affect, while boredom is a pure marker of low positive
at the high end and boredom, sluggishness, and tiredness at the
affect. Nervous is a pure marker of high negative affect;
low end.
relaxed is a pure marker of low negative affect. Finally, some
emotions—such as contentment (a mixture of high positive Negative affect is a mood dimension consisting of
affect and low negative affect) and sadness (a mixture of low nervousness, stress, and anxiety at the high end and relaxation,
positive affect and high negative affect)—are in between. tranquility, and poise at the low end. (Note: Positive and
You’ll notice this model does not include all emotions. Some, negative affect are moods. We’re using these labels, rather
such as surprise, don’t fit well because they’re not as clearly than positive mood and negative mood, because that’s how
positive or negative. researchers label them.)
Indeed, research finds a positivity offset , meaning that at zero

input (when nothing in particular is going on), most individuals
experience a mildly positive mood. So, for most people,
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positive moods are somewhat more common than negative and in their best moods (highest positive affect and lowest
moods. The positivity offset also appears to operate at work. negative affect) late in the week.
What about time of the day? We often think we are either

“morning” or “evening” people. However, most of us actually
SOURCES OF EMOTIONS AND MOODS
follow the same pattern. Regardless of what time we go to bed
1. Personality: Personality Moods and emotions have a trait
at night or get up in the morning, levels of positive affect tend
component: most people have built-in tendencies to experience
to peak at around the halfway point between waking and
certain moods and emotions more frequently than others do.
sleeping. Negative affect, however, shows little fluctuation
People also experience the same emotions with different
throughout the day.
intensities.
What does this mean for organizational behavior? Monday
For example: Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight to
morning is probably not the best time to ask someone for a
Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. The first is easily moved to anger,
favor or convey bad news. Our workplace interactions will
while the other is relatively distant and unemotional. Knight
probably be more positive from midmorning onward and also
and Gates probably differ in affect intensity , or how strongly
later in the week.
they experience their emotions.
Affectively intense people experience both positive and

3. Weather: When do you think you would be in a better
negative emotions more deeply: when they’re sad, they’re
mood—when it’s 70 degrees and sunny, or on a gloomy, cold,
really sad, and when they’re happy, they’re really happy.
rainy day? Many people believe their mood is tied to the
2. Day of the Week and Time of the Day: A research study
weather. However, a fairly large and detailed body of evidence
proved that people tend to be in their worst moods (highest
conducted by multiple researchers suggests weather has little
negative affect and lowest positive affect) early in the week,
effect on mood. One expert concluded, “Contrary to the
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prevailing cultural view, these data indicate that people do not positive mood than events that are formal (attending a meeting)
report a better mood on bright and sunny days (or, conversely, or sedentary (watching TV with friends).
a worse mood on dark and rainy days).” Illusory correlation 5.Sleep : Doeslack of sleep make people grumpier? Sleep
explains why people tend to think nice weather improves their quality does affect mood. Undergraduates and adult workers
mood. It occurs when people associate two events that in who are sleep-deprived report greater feelings of fatigue, anger,
reality have no connection. and hostility. One reason is that poor or reduced sleep impairs
4. Stress: Stressful daily events at work (a nasty e-mail, an decision making and makes it difficult to control emotions. A
impending deadline, the loss of a big sale, a reprimand from recent study suggests poor sleep also impairs job satisfaction
the boss) negatively affects moods. The effects of stress also because people feel fatigued, irritable, and less alert.
build over time. Levels of stress can worsen our moods, and we
experience more negative emotions.
6. Exercise People should exercise to improve their mood.
5. Social Activities Do you tend to be happiest when out with
Research consistently shows exercise enhances peoples’
friends? For most people, social activities increase positive
positive mood. While not terribly strong overall, the effects are
mood and have little effect on negative mood. But do people in
strongest for those who are depressed. So exercise may help
positive moods seek out social interactions, or do social
put you in a better mood.
interactions cause people to be in good moods? It seems both
are true.
Does the type of social activity matter? Indeed it does. 7. Age: Do young people experience more extreme positive
Research suggests activities that are physical (skiing or hiking emotions (so-called youthful exuberance) than older people? If
with friends), informal (going to a party), or epicurean (eating you answered “yes,” you were wrong.
with others) are more strongly associated with increases in
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One study of people ages 18 to 94 revealed that negative b) Emotional dissonance: Inconsistencies between the
emotions seem to occur less as people get older. Periods of emotions people feel and the emotions they project.
highly positive moods lasted longer for older individuals, and c) Felt emotions: An individual’s actual emotions.
bad moods faded more quickly. The study implies emotional
d) Displayed emotions: Emotions that are organizationally
experience improves with age; as we get older, we experience
required and considered appropriate in a given job.
fewer negative emotions.
e) Surface acting Hiding one’s inner feelings and forgoing
8. Gender: Many believe women are more emotional than
emotional expressions in response to display rules.
men. Is there any truth to this? Evidence does confirm women
are more emotionally expressive than men; they experience f) Deep acting : Trying to modify one’s true inner feelings
emotions more intensely, they tend to “hold onto” emotions based on display rules.
longer than men, and they display more frequent expressions of g) Emotional intelligence (EI) is a person’s ability to (1)
both positive and negative emotions, except anger. Evidence perceive emotions in the self and others, (2) understand the
from a study of participants from 37 different countries found meaning of these emotions, and (3) regulate one’s emotions
that men consistently report higher levels of powerful emotions accordingly.
like anger, whereas women report more powerless emotions
h) Emotional contagion: The process by which peoples’
like sadness and fear. Thus, there are some gender differences emotions are caused by the emotions of others.
in the experience and expression of emotions.
APPLICATIONS OF EMOTION AT WORK PLACE
IMPORTANT TERMS RELATED TO EMOTIONS
· Selection
a) Emotional labor: A situation in which an employee
· Decision making
expresses organizationally desired emotions during
interpersonal transactions at work. · Creativity
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· Motivation same as values, but the two are interrelated. There are three
components of attitude namely, cognition, affect and behavior.
· Negotiation
Attitudes like values are acquired from parents, teachers, peer
· Leadership
group members. People imitate the attitudes of popular
· Customer service
individuals or those they admire and respect.
· Job attitude
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ATTITUDE
· Safety and injury at work
Attitude is the mixture of beliefs and feelings that people have
************************************************* about situations, specific ideas or other people.
UNIT – II Attitudes are evaluation statements either favourable or

TOPIC – 5 unfavourable or unfavourable concerning objects, people or
events. They reflect how one feels about something. – Robbins
ATTITUDE
CHARACTERISTICS OF ATTITUDE
The salient features / characteristics of attitudes are:

INTRODCUTION
Attitudes are evaluative statements either favourable or

unfavorable concerning objects, people or events. They reflect
how one feels about some thing. When one says I like my job,
one is expressing his attitude about work. Attitudes are not the
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4. Attitude has an emotional component: Attitude is having
an emotional aspect in the form of like or dislike, or positive or
negative.
5. Attitudes influence human behavior: Attitude has all the

power to mould the behavior of a person in a positive or
negative form.
6. Attitude is relatively stable phenomena: Attitude is

basically a stable phenomenon which persists for a period of
time. It does not change so frequently.
COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE
1 Attitudes are learnt: Attitude is learnt through experiences Famous psychologists, Rosenber, Eagley and Holand provided
or social interaction or encounter of an event. It is not an three components of Attitude:
inborn phenomenon.
2. Attitudes are predispositions: It is already formed opinion

or predetermined on the basis of prior experience or
information.
3. Attitude has an object: It has an object (object can be an

idea, a person or situation) which is favored or disfavored or
analyzed as positive or negative.
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1. Cognitive component: A description of or belief in the way
things are. It sets the stage for the more critical part of an
attitude—its affective component .
Example: The statement “My pay is low”
2. Affective component: is the emotional or feeling segment

of an attitude and is reflected in the statement.
Example: “I am angry over how little I’m paid.”
3. Behavioural component: Finally, affect can lead to

behavioral outcomes. The behavioral component of an attitude Exhibit 3-1 illustrates how the three components of an attitude
describes an intention to behave in a certain way toward are related. In this example, an employee didn’t get a
someone or something. promotion he thought he deserved; a co-worker got it instead.

The employee’s attitude toward his supervisor is illustrated as
Example, “I’m going to look for another job that pays better.”
follows: the employee thought he deserved the promotion
(cognition), he strongly dislikes his supervisor (affect), and he
is looking for another job (behavior). As we’ve noted, although
we often think cognition causes affect, which then causes
behavior, in reality these components are often difficult to
separate.
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In organizations, attitudes are important for their behavioral
component. If workers believe, for example, that supervisors,
auditors, bosses, and time-and motion engineers are all in
conspiracy to make employees work harder for the same or
less money, it makes sense to try to understand how these
attitudes formed, how they relate to actual job behavior, and
how they might be changed.
FORMATION OF ATTITUDE
Individuals usually learn attitudes from various sources, it

should be noted that attitudes are formed but not inherited from
them. Among the most significant attitude-gaining sources are:
1. Direct experience with the object
One can form attitude towards an object with the help of his
direct exposure or direct experience of that object. Employees,
for example , generally form their attitude to jobs based on
their previous experiences. Attitudes can develop from an
object experience which is personally rewarding or punishable.
And the attitude created by experience can hardly be modified.
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2. Classical conditioning and attitude One can also learn certain things by observing the behavior of
other people which automatically develop a certain kind of
One can also develop attitude with the help of classical
attitude. And this learning is known as vicarious learning in
condition. If an event occurs again and again, it develops a
which a person learns by observing behavior of others. For
different kind of learning and that will leads towards a
example watching TV, movies etc.
particular kind of attitude. Operant conditioning and
Attitude acquisition 4. Family and Peer groups
One can also develop an attitude with the help of operant A person may also learn the attitudes by imitating his or her
conditioning. According to Skinner (1938), “operant parents or other family members. Even from his party of peers
conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through too. If parents have a positive attitude toward a particular
rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant phenomenon, the child will admire his parents, and it is evident
conditioning, an individual makes an association between a that he will adopt a similar attitude, even without being told.
particular behavior and consequence”. According to this theory Similarly, behaviors in universities, schools, are learned from
learning a behavior is usually followed by a reward or peer groups.
punishment. Operant conditioning depicts that the behavior of 5. Neighborhood
an individual is depend on the kind of different situations.
Sometimes neighbors also play a significant role in developing
Generally people used to act in a certain way when they get
a particular kind of attitude. Each and every neighbor has
rewards and sometimes people used to discourage actions from
something different value system or culture aspects which will
when they're not getting something. Such conduct may create a
automatically provide a kind of impact on our personality.
particular sort of attitude.
3. Vicarious learning
6. Economic condition and occupation
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The economic condition and work-related roles of one often towards the job. When we talk about employee attitudes,
lead a great deal to the creation of a certain kind of behavior, mostly we mean job satisfaction. As a matter of fact, the two
and this will shape an attitude automatically. Our socio- are closely related.
economic history has a very important part to play in our B) Job Involvement
current and future attitudes.
The term “job involvement” is relatively a recent concept in the
7. Mass communication literature. There is no complete agreement over what the term
Mass media like television, radio, newspaper, and magazines means. Generally, it refers to the degree to which a person
can also add a lot to somebody's personality. Media coverage is identifies with his job, actively participates in it, and considers
designed to build a public attitude. his performance important to his self-worth. Individuals who
express high involvement in their jobs are likely to be more
MAJOR TYPES OF JOB ATTITUDES
productive, have higher satisfaction, and are less likely to
A person may have a multitude of attitudes, but for the purpose
resign than employees with low involvement.
of OB study let us know about the job-related attitudes. These
C) Organizational Commitment
job-related attitudes are positive or negative evaluations held
by employees about various aspects of their work environment. Commitment reflects an individual’s orientation toward the
The major attitudes concerned with job are: organization by tapping his or her loyalty to, identification
with, and involvement in the organization. Individuals who are
A) Job Satisfaction
highly committed see their identity as closely attached to that
One of the tasks of a manager is to provide job satisfaction to
of the organization. Like job involvement, highly committed
the employees. Job satisfaction refers to an individual’s general
employees will be better performers and have lower turnover
attitude toward his or her job. A person with a high level of job
than those with low levels of commitment to the organization.
satisfaction holds positive attitudes toward the job, while a
person with low job satisfaction holds negative attitudes
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It may be understood that when people talk about job attitudes behaviors, lower levels of tardiness, and better customer
and their impact on behaviour, obviously they are referring to service. Though little cross-cultural research has been done,
the positive or negative appraisals that people make about their one study found POS predicted only the job performance and
job or organization. Job satisfaction is the most popular attitude citizenship behaviors of untraditional or low power-distance
measured in organizations, but more recently there has been Chinese employees—in short, those more likely to think of
increased attention given to job involvement and organizational work as an exchange rather than a moral obligation.
commitment. All these attitudes are measured with a view to
predict employee behaviours like performance, productivity,
E) Employee Engagement
absenteeism, turnover and unionization.
A new concept is employee engagement , an individual’s
D) Perceived Organizational Support
involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for, the
Perceived organizational support (POS) is the degree to work she does. We might ask employees whether they have
which employees believe the organization values their access to resources and the opportunities to learn new skills,
contribution and cares about their well-being (for example, an whether they feel their work is important and meaningful, and
employee believes his organization would accommodate him if whether their interactions with co-workers and supervisors are
he had a child care problem or would forgive an honest mistake rewarding.
on his part). Research shows that people perceive their
Highly engaged employees have a passion for their work and
organization as supportive when rewards are deemed fair,
feel a deep connection to their company; disengaged
when employees have a voice in decisions, and when they see
employees have essentially checked out—putting time but not
their supervisors as supportive.
energy or attention into their work. A study of nearly 8,000
Employees with strong POS perceptions have been found more business units in 36 companies found that those whose
likely to have higher levels of organizational citizenship employees had high-average levels of engagement had higher
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levels of customer satisfaction, were more productive, brought touch, smell, hearing, vision and taste. Perception is the
in higher profits, and had lower levels of turnover and primary vehicle through which we come to understand our
accidents than at other companies. surroundings and ourselves. Why is perception important in the
study of OB? Simply because people's behaviour is based on
***************************************************
their perception of what reality is, not on reality itself.
UNIT – II
However, what we perceive can be substantially different from
TOPIC – 6
objective reality. For example, all employees in a firm may
PERCEPTION view it as a great place to work—favorable working conditions,
Synopsis interesting job assignments, good pay, excellent benefits,

understanding and responsible management—but, as most of
· Introduction
us know, it’s very unusual to find such agreement.
· Meaning and definition of Perception
MEANING OF PERCEPTION
· Process of perception
Perception is a process by which individuals organize and
· Factors determining perception interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to
· Social perception and Attribution theory their environment.
· Shortcut used to judging others PROCESS OF PERCEPTION
Process of Perception: There are three stages of perception

· Application of Attitude in organisation
process are; 1. Selection. 2. Organization. 3. Interpretation.
INTRODUCTION
Perception involves the way we view the world around us. It

adds meaning to information gathered via the five senses of
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When we have chosen to take care of stimuli in the world, and
the option sets in our brain a sequence of reactions. This neural
process starts when our sensory receptors (touch, taste, smell,
sight, and hearing) are triggered. Organizing is the second part
of the process of perception in which we sort and categorize
information we perceive based on cognitive patterns that are
innate and learnt. Through using proximity, similarity, and
difference (Stanley, mo), we sort items into patterns three
ways.
1. Selection
3. Interpretation
The world around us was packed with endless stimuli that we
Having attended to a stimulus, and having obtained and
should follow, but our brains didn't have the energy to pay
arranged the information from our minds, we perceive it in a
attention to everything. And the first decision stage is to decide
way that makes sense using our current knowledge. The word
what we want. When we pick one object in our universe,
Interpretation means we're taking the information we've sensed
whether it's a smell, a feeling, a sound, or something else, it's
and organized and turning it into something we can classify.
the stimulus that's being attended. Selecting is the first aspect
We can better understand and react to the world around us by
of the perception process, where we concentrate our attention
putting different stimuli into the categories. Other experiences
on the sensory feedback that is coming in. In selection, we
include sensing, arranging, and processing details about people
choose stimuli which attract our attention. We focus on those
and what they are doing and doing. The feeling is a primary
that distinguish our senses (seeing, sound,smell, taste and
function of perception, because it relates to external
touch).
information. First of all the perceiver will pick what will be
2. Organization
experienced in the perceptual phase. Instead, as listeners
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recognize the type of sound and equate it with other sounds 1. Characteristics of the Perceiver:
heard in the past, the organization is retained. Interpretation Several characteristics of the perceiver can affect perception.
and categorization are generally the most subjective areas of When an individual looks at a target and attempts to interpret
perception, since they involve decisions as to whether listeners what he or she stands for, that interpretation is heavily
like what they hear and want to continue listening. We conduct influenced by personal characteristics of the individual
instant assessments that cause unconscious conclusions of perceiver. The major characteristics of the perceiver
positive and negative reactions to others outside of our
influencing perception are:
consciousness. Selection, organization, and interpretation of
a) Attitude: The attitude and aptitude of employees influence
perceptions can differ from one person to another. Based on
perception formation. If they have positive attitudes towards
these, the perceptual performance of the perceiver implies
the management, they directly perceive the stimuli given by
varying beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, etc. Therefore, when
management. In case of negative attitudes, the employees
people react differently in a situation, by examining their
suspect the management's approach. Employees of high
perceptual process, they can explain part of their behavior, and
aptitude have a desire and attitude for growth. They behave
how their perceptions lead to their responses.
positively towards the management of an organisation.
FACTORS INFLUENING PERCEPTION
A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort

perception. These factors can reside:
I. In the perceiver
II. In the object or target being perceived or
III. In the context of the situation in which the perception is

made.
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(iii) Interest: The interest of individuals draws more attention
and recognition to stimuli. Less attention and recognition
lowers the impact of stimuli or objects on behaviour. If
employees lack interest, behaviour pattern will be less
effective, and the perception will be weak. Managers cannot
influence the employees in their work culture. Since individual
interests vary from person to person, the perception is also
different. However, the management tries to create interest
among the employees to have higher perception of the
organisation.
(ii) Motives: The motives and desires of employees cause (iv) Experiences: The experience of employees’ result in
them to view stimuli differently as per their level and angle. different levels of perception. A young employee takes time to
Helpful motives of the employees will always assist the understand the object and situation. Experienced employees
management. If they desire to develop themselves and the generally understand objects quickly and correctly. However,
organisation, they will perceive objects and situations in contradictory situations, it is difficult to correct aged
positively. Employees having low motives will not work persons, whereas the young are easily moulded towards
sincerely. The perception will differ depending on different achieving the objectives of the organisation.
types of motives. An indecisive manager perceives his (v) Expectation: Expectations distort the perceptions. People
supervisors differently. Personal insecurity of a manager results see what they expect to see. If they see the object and the
in doubtful perception about his supervisors, irrespective of situation differently from their expectations, they get frustrated.
their intentions. Motives are reflected in actions based on They are unable to modify their behaviour. The employees may
perception. expect more inclination towards them positively in terms of
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payments and fringe benefits; therefore, they perceive the normal-sized individuals. The engineering department pays
management from that angle. The real stimuli are not properly more attention to big and, attractive machines; Big-sized
perceived if expectations exist there on. The management has objects have a natural attraction and get more attention.
to evolve expectations for proper perception. c) Physical appearance plays a big role in our perception of
2. Charateristics of the targets others. Extremely attractive or unattractive individuals are
more likely to be noticed in a group than ordinary looking
Characteristics in the target that is being observed can affect
individuals. The perceiver will notice the target's physical
what is perceived.
features like height, weight, estimated age, race and gender.
a) Novelty: Novel actions 'get more attention. New ideas and
Perceivers tend to notice physical appearance characteristics
model preaching will draw the attention of the perceiver.
that contrast with the norm, that are intense, or that are new or
Changing jobs reduce monotony. Novel objects and situations
unusual. Physical attractiveness often colours our entire
are recognized clearly by the perceivers.
impression of another person
b) Motion: People pay more attention to the moving objects
d) Motion, sound, size and other attributes of a target shape
than to stationary objects. This is just the impact of eyes on the
the way we see it.
mind. Workers are more attentive towards working machines
e) Verbal communication from targets also affects our
than stationary machines. The video films of some training
perception of them. We listen to the topics they speak about,
programmes create more of an impact on employees than
their voice tone, and their accent and make judgements based
others.
on this input.
Size: The size of the object or stimulus has a greater impact on
f) Non-verbal communication conveys a great deal of
the perception process because the size influences attention and
information about the target. The perceiver deciphers eye
recognition in a more effective manner. Employees are greatly
influenced by tall and well-built managers as compared to the
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contact, facial expressions, body movements, and posture all in person is observed on a private or a personal platform when
an attempt to form an impression of the target. meeting him in the club or at home. What is important to
remember is the perception should be done in a correct manner
g) Background: Targets are not looked at in isolation; the
not to be led due to work setting or social setting and that the
relationship of a target to its background influences perception
situation is not allowed to perceive wrongly.
because of our tendency to group close things and similar
things together. Objects that are close to each other will tend ATTRIBUTION THEORY OR CAUSES OF
to be perceived together rather than separately. PERCEPTION
3. Characteristics of the Situation: When we observe people, we attempt to explain why they
behave in certain ways. Our perception and judgment of a
The situation in which the interaction between the perceiver
person’s actions will be significantly influenced by the
and the target takes place has an influence on the perceiver's
assumptions we make about that person’s internal state.
impression of the target.
Attribution theory is an attempt to determine whether an
a) Time: is one factor, which influences the perception. Time
individual’s behavior is internally or externally caused.
is related to work setting and social setting.
Attribution theory tries to explain the ways in which we judge
b) Work Setting: A person dressed up for party may not be
people differently, depending on the meaning we attribute to a
noticeable but the same dress in office would be noticed
given behavior. It suggests that when we observe an
distinctly, though the person has not changed.
individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine whether it was
c) Social Setting: The manager is different during working internally or externally caused. Internally caused behaviors
hours and opposite while in social setting. are those we believe to be under the personal control of the
In fact person is the same but the perceiver perceives the individual. Externally caused behavior is what we imagine the
manager as per business like setup while on work, while the situation forced the individual to do.
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For Example: If one of your employees is late for work, you
might attribute that to his partying into the wee hours and then
oversleeping. This is an internal attribution. But if you attribute
lateness to an automobile accident that tied up traffic, you are
making an external attribution.
There are three factors determined the internal or external

causes of individual behaviour such as:
(1) distinctiveness,
(2) consensus, and
(3) Consistency.
1. Distinctiveness: refers to whether an individual displays

different behavior in different situations. Is the employee who
arrives late today also one who regularly “blows off”
commitments?
What we want to know is whether this behavior is unusual. If it

is, we are likely to give it an external attribution. If it’s not, we
will probably judge the behavior to be internal.
2. Consensus: If everyone who faces a similar situation

responds in the same way, we can say the behavior shows
consensus. The behavior of our tardy employee meets this
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criterion if all employees who took the same route were also work will likely hold her primarily responsible for her task
late. From an attribution perspective, if consensus is high, you performance (internal attribution).
would probably give an external attribution to the employee’s One of the most interesting findings from attribution theory
tardiness, whereas if other employees who took the same route research is that errors or biases distort attributions. When we
made it to work on time, you would attribute his lateness to an make judgments about the behavior of other people, we tend to
internal cause. underestimate the influence of external factors and
3. Consistency: Finally, an observer looks for consistency in a overestimate the influence of internal or personal factors.This
person’s actions. Does the person respond the same way over can be explain with the help of attribution error.
time? Coming in 10 minutes late for work is not perceived in Fundamental attribution error: The tendency to
the same way for an employee who hasn’t been late for several underestimate the influence of external factors and
months as it is for an employee who is late two or three times a overestimate the influence of internal factors when making
week. judgments about the behavior of others.
The more consistent the behavior, the more we are inclined to COMMON SHORTCUTS IN JUDGING OTHERS
attribute it to internal causes. Following figure summarizes the
The shortcuts we use in judging others are frequently valuable:
key elements in attribution theory. It tells us, for instance, that
they allow us to make accurate perceptions rapidly and provide
if an employee, Kim Randolph, generally performs at about the
valid data for making predictions.
same level on related tasks as she does on her current task (low
distinctiveness), other employees frequently perform
differently—better or worse— than Kim on that task (low a) Selective Perception Any characteristic that makes a
consensus), and Kim’s performance on this current task is person, an object, or an event stand out will increase the
consistent over time (high consistency), anyone judging Kim’s probability we will perceive it. Why? Because it is impossible
for us to assimilate everything we see; we can take in only
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certain stimuli. This explains why you’re more likely to notice c) Contrast Effects: contrast effect Evaluation of a person’s
cars like your own, or why a boss may reprimand some people characteristics that is affected by comparisons with other
and not others doing the same thing. Because we can’t observe people recently encountered who rank higher or lower on the
everything going on about us, we engage in selective same characteristics. We don’t evaluate a person in isolation.
perception . Our reaction is influenced by other persons we have recently
encountered.
For example, In a series of job interviews, for instance,

b) Halo effect
interviewers can make distortions in any given candidate’s
When we draw a general impression about an individual on the
evaluation as a result of his or her place in the interview
basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability,
schedule. A candidate is likely to receive a more favorable
or appearance, a halo effect is operating.
evaluation if preceded by mediocre applicants and a less
The reality of the halo effect was confirmed in a classic study favorable evaluation if preceded by strong applicants.
in which subjects were given a list of traits such as intelligent,
d) Stereotyping When we judge someone on the basis of our
skilful, practical, industrious, determined, and warm and asked
perception of the group to which he or she belongs, we are
to evaluate the person to whom those traits applied. Subjects
using the shortcut called stereotyping. In simple term,
judged the person to be wise, humorous, popular, and
stereotyping Judging someone on the basis of one’s
imaginative. When the same list was modified to include
perception of the group to which that person belongs.
“cold” instead of “warm,” a completely different picture
When we judge someone on the basis of our perception of the
emerged. Clearly, the subjects were allowing a single trait to
group to which he or she belongs, we are using the shortcut
influence their overall impression of the person they were
called stereotyping. Generalization, of course, is not without
judging.
advantages. It’s a means of simplifying a complex world, and it
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permits us to maintain consistency. It’s less difficult to deal 1. Employment Interview
with an unmanageable number of stimuli if we use stereotypes. A major input determining who is hired and who is rejected in
In organizations, we frequently hear comments that represent any organization is
stereotypes based on gender, age. race, ethnicity and even
the employment interview. Its fair to say that few people are
weight. From a perceptual standpoint, if people expect to see
hired without an interview. But the evidence indicates that
these stereotypes, that is what they will perceive, whether they
interviews make perceptual judgements that are often
are accurate or not. One of the problems of stereo types is that
inaccurate. In addition, agreement among interviewers is often
they are widespread, despite the fact that they may not contain
poor, that is, different interviewers see different things in the
a shred of truth or that they may be irrelevant. They being
same candidate and thus arrive at different conclusions about
widespread may mean only that many people are making the
the applicant.
same inaccurate perception on the basis of a false premise
about a group. Interviewers generally draw early impressions that become
very quickly entrenched. If negative information is exposed
early in the interview, it tends to be more heavily weighted
SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS IN ORGANIZATION than if that same information comes out later. Studies indicate
People in organizations are always judging each other. that most interviewers decisions change very little after the first
Managers must appraise their employees performances. We four or five minutes of the interview. As a result, information
evaluate how much effort our co-workers are putting into their elicited later and a “good applicant” is probably characterized
jobs. When a new person joins a work team, he or she is more by the absence of unfavourable characteristics.
immediately “sized up” by the other team members. In many Importantly, who you think is a good candidate and who I think
cases, these judgments have important consequences for the is one may differ markedly. Because interviews usually have
organization. little consistent structure and interviewers vary in terms of
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what they are looking for in a candidate, judgements of the An employee’s performance appraisal is very much dependent
same candidate can vary widely. If the employment interview on the perceptual process. An employee’s future is closely tied
is an important input into the hiring decision and it usually is, to his or her appraisal-promotions, pay raises and increases and
you should recognize that perceptual factors influence who is continuation of employment are among the most obvious
hired and eventually the quality of an organization’s labor outcomes. The performance appraisal represents an assessment
force. of an employee’s work.
2. Performance Expectations Although the appraisal can be objective, many jobs are
evaluated in subjective terms. Subjective measures are easier to
There is an impressive amount of evidence that demonstrates
implement since they provide managers with greater direction
that people will attempt to validate their perceptions of reality
and many jobs do not readily lend themselves to objective
even when those perception are faulty. This characteristic is
measures. But subjective measures are by definition,
particularly relevant when we consider performance
judgmental. The evaluator forms a general impression of an
expectation on the job. The terms Self Perception fulfilling
employee’s work. To the degree that managers use subjective
Prophesy, Pygmalion effect, have evolved to characterize the
measures in appraising employees, what the evaluator
fact that, the people’s expectations determine their behaviour.
perceives to be good or bad employee characteristics or
If a manager expects big things from this people, they are not
behaviour will significantly influence the outcome of the
likely to let him down. Similarly, if a manager expects people
appraisal.
to perform—they will tend to behave so as to meet those low
expectation. The result then is that, the expectation becomes 4. Employee effort
reality.
An individual’s future in an organization is usually not
3. Performance Evaluation dependent on performance alone. In many organizations the
level of an employee’s effort is given high importance.
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An assessment of an individual’s effort is a subjective INTRODUCTION
judgment susceptible to perceptual distortions and bias. If it is Organizations are made of people. Organizations have to be
true, as some claim, that “more workers are fired for poor concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained
attitudes and lack of discipline than for lack of ability”, then levels of performance through people. This necessitates
appraisal of an employee’s effort may be a primary influence assigning close attention to ensure how individual can best be
on his or her future in the organization. motivated through such means as incentives, rewards,
********************************************** leadership and the work they do and
UNIT – II organizational context within which they carry out the work.
The objective of developing an appropriate motivational
TOPIC – 7
atmosphere is to ensure that the people in the organization are
MOTIVATION
adequately motivated to deliver performance in accordance
with the expectations of the management. Various model
Synopsis suggests that motivation is initiated by the conscious or

unconscious recognition of unsatisfied needs. This need will
Introduction
lead to the desire for achieving something that satisfy the
Meaning and definition of motivation needs. Goals are established and behaviour pathway is selected
Motivation concept which will achieve the goal. If the goal is achieved, the need
will be satisfied and the goal directed behaviour is likely to be
Characteristics of Motivation
expected for satisfying the same needs later.
Importance of Motivation
Motivation is a process, which accounts for an individual’s
Motivation Theories
intensity, direction and persistency of efforts towards attaining
Applications of Motivation
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a goal. This is one of the most frequently researched topic in Intensity - how hard an employee tries
Organizational Behaviour. We can call motivation as a fluid Persistence - how long can an employee maintain his/her
subject and therefor there is a necessity to motivate employees effort?
continuously with more innovative ways time an on.
Need: A need is a condition of lack or deficit of something
MEANING AND DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION required by the organism/person.
Motivation comes from the Latin word “movere” which means, Motives - Motive is defined as an inner state that energises,
“to move”. activates (or moves) and directs (or chanalises) the behaviour
towards certain goals.
Motivation is defined as “The processes that account for an Drives − The various camps or events organized to motivate
individual’s direction, intensity and persistence of effort toward the employees and give them new opportunities.
achieving a goal” CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTIVATION
Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort
a) Motivation is a psychological phenomenon
toward organisational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability
It is the inner desire of an individual to achieve something
to satisfy some individual needs. --- Stephen P Robbins
more. More is the individual motivated better performance and
It is the desire within an individual that stimulates him or her to organization relations.
action.- George R. Terry
b) Motivation is a continuous process
CONCEPTS OF MOTIVATION
Since need and desire are endless so the need is a continuous
Three key elements of motivation phenomenon if one need is satisfied the other need emerges.
Direction - should benefit the organization (i.e. quality of
effort counts!)
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c) Motivation is caused due to anticipated perceived value effort into work and have a sense of belonging for the
from an action organization.
Perceived value is the probability or expectancy. motivation= The efficiency of work will be improved, wastage will be
value × expectancy. minimum which will result in increased productivity, and
performance level will be high.
d) Motivation varies from person to person and time to
time b) Low employee turn over and absenteeism
Motivation is different for different persons and it also varied Low level of motivation is a root cause of low turnover and
according to time and place because wants are different for absenteeism. High level of absenteeism causes a low level of
different people, according to time and places. production, poor quality, wastages and disruption in production
schedules.
e) An individual is motivated by positive or negative
motivation Increased turnover is disastrous for any organization as it puts a
Positive motivation is based on incentives or rewards. strain on the financial position of the organization due to
additional recruitment, selection, training and development.
Incentives can be monetary and non-monetary.
Negative motivation is based on penalties, calling for c) Acceptance of organization change
explanation, threats, fear, etc. Fear of losing the job or Social change and technology evolution happens in the external
promotion
environment have greater impact on the motivation of the
IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION employee. Management must ensure that the changes are
introduced in the organization and its benefits explained to the
a) High level of performance
employees so that there is no resistance to change and
Organizations must ensure that the employees have a high
organizational growth is achieved.
degree of motivation. A highly motivated employee put extra
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Re-engineering, empowerment, job enrichment, job rotation, Process theories try to figure “How” the motivation occurs.
the introduction of new technology and processes will go a Following are the motivation theories in process theory
long way to boost employee morale and achieve a high degree perspective.
of motivation.
I. Content theory of Motivation
d) Organizational image 1. Maslow’s need Hierarchy
Employees are the mirrors of any organization. Regular 2. Herzberg’s two factor Theory
training & development programmes should be organized to
3. Theory ‘X’ and Theory ‘Y’
keep employees updated with the latest skills. It will have a
positive impact on the employees and the image of the 4. McClelland’s Needs Theory
organization will be improved. 5. Alderfer’s ERG Theory
The high organizational image will contribute towards the II. Process theory of Motivation
brand image of the product and services the organization is
1. Self determination theory
marketing.
2. Goal setting theory
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
3. Self –Efficacy theory
I. Content theories / Early theories of Motivation
4. Reinforcement theory
Content theories try to figure “what” motivates people.
Following are the motivation theories in content theory 5. Adam’s Equity Theory
perspective. 6. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
2. Process theories / Contemporary theories of motivation
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I. Early theories or content theory of motivation to understand what level of the hierarchy that person is
currently on and focus on
1. Hierarchy of Needs Theory
satisfying needs at or above that level, moving up the steps in
The best-known theory of motivation is Abraham Maslow’s
Exhibit 7-1 .
hierarchy of needs . Maslow hypothesized that within every
human being, there exists a hierarchy of five needs:
1. Physiological. Includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other

bodily needs.
2. Safety. Security and protection from physical and emotional

harm.
3. Social. Affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
4. Esteem. Internal factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and

achievement, and external factors such as status, recognition,
Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower orders.
and attention.
Physiological and safety needs, where the theory says people
5. Self-actualization. Drive to become what we are capable of start, were lower-order needs , and social, esteem, and self-
becoming; includes growth, achieving our potential, and self- actualization were higher-order needs . Higher-order needs
fulfillment. are satisfied internally (within the person), whereas lower-order
Although no need is ever fully gratified, a substantially needs are predominantly satisfied externally (by things such as
satisfied need no longer motivates. Thus as each becomes pay, union contracts, and tenure).
substantially satisfied, the next one becomes dominant. So if The hierarchy, if it applies at all, aligns with U.S. culture. In
you want to motivate someone, according to Maslow, you need Japan, Greece, and Mexico, where uncertainty-avoidance
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characteristics are strong, security needs would be on top of the Frederick Herzberg approached the question of motivation in a
hierarchy. Countries that score high on nurturing different way. By asking individuals what satisfies them on the
characteristics—Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, job and what dissatisfies them, Herzberg came to the
and Finland— would have social needs on top. Group work conclusion that aspects of the work environment that satisfy
will motivate employees more when the country’s culture employees are very different from aspects that dissatisfy them.
scores high on the nurturing criterion.
Maslow’s theory has received wide recognition, particularly According to Herzberg, the factors that lead to job satisfaction
among practicing managers. It is intuitively logical and easy to are separate and distinct from those that lead to job
understand. When introduced, it provided a compelling dissatisfaction. Therefore, managers who seek to eliminate
alternative to behaviorist theories that posited only factors that can create job dissatisfaction may bring about
physiological and safety needs as important. Unfortunately, peace, but not necessarily motivation. They will be placating
however, research does not validate it. Maslow provided no rather than motivating their workers.
empirical substantiation, and several studies that sought to
validate it found no support for it.
As a result, Herzberg characterized conditions such as quality
There is little evidence that need structures are organized as
of supervision, pay, company policies, physical working
Maslow proposed, that unsatisfied needs motivate, or that a
conditions, relationships with others, and job security as
satisfied need activates movement to a new need level. But old
hygiene factors . When they’re adequate, people will not be
theories, especially intuitively logical ones, apparently die
dissatisfied; neither will they be satisfied. If we want to
hard.
motivate people on their jobs, Herzberg suggested emphasizing
2. Herzberg’s two -factor theory factors associated with the work itself or with outcomes
directly derived from it, such as promotional opportunities,
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personal growth opportunities, recognition, responsibility, and
achievement are called as motivational factors.
3. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
The idea that a manager’s attitude has an impact on employee

motivation was originally proposed by Douglas McGregor, a
management professor at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology during the 1950s and 1960s. In his 1960 book, The
Human Side of Enterprise, McGregor proposed two theories by
which managers perceive and address employee motivation.
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He referred to these opposing motivational methods as Theory · Most people resist change.
X and Theory Y management. Each assumes that the · Most people are gullible and unintelligent.
manager’s role is to organize resources, including people, to
best benefit the company. However, beyond this commonality, Essentially, Theory X assumes that the primary source of
the attitudes and assumptions they embody are quite different. employee motivation is monetary, with security as a strong
second. Under Theory X, one can take a hard or soft approach
Theory X
to getting results.
According to McGregor, Theory X management assumes the The hard approach to motivation relies on coercion, implicit
following: threats, micromanagement, and tight controls— essentially an
environment of command and control. The soft approach,
· Work is inherently distasteful to most people, and they
however, is to be permissive and seek harmony in the hopes
will attempt to avoid work whenever possible.
that, in return, employees will cooperate when asked. However,
· Most people are not ambitious, have little desire for
neither of these extremes is optimal. The hard approach results
responsibility, and prefer to be directed.
in hostility, purposely low output, and extreme union demands.
· Most people have little aptitude for creativity in solving The soft approach results in a growing desire for greater reward
organizational problems. in exchange for diminished work output.
· Motivation occurs only at the physiological and

It might seem that the optimal approach to human resource
security levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
management would lie somewhere between these extremes.
· Most people are self-centered. As a result, they must be However, McGregor asserts that neither approach is
closely controlled and often coerced to achieve appropriate, since the basic assumptions of Theory X are
organizational objectives. incorrect.
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Drawing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McGregor argues McGregor, a steady supply of motivation seemed more likely
that a need, once satisfied, no longer motivates. The company to occur under Theory Y management.
uses monetary rewards and benefits to satisfy employees’
lower-level needs. Once those needs have been satisfied, the Theory Y
motivation disappears. Theory X management hinders the

The higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization are
satisfaction of higher-level needs because it doesn’t
ongoing needs that, for most people, are never completely
acknowledge that those needs are relevant in the workplace. As
satisfied. As such, it is these higher-level needs through which
a result, the only way that employees can attempt to
employees can best be motivated.
meet higher-level needs at work is to seek more compensation,
so, predictably, they focus on monetary rewards. While money In strong contrast to Theory X, Theory Y management makes
may not be the most effective way to self-fulfillment, it may be the following assumptions:
the only way available. People will use work to satisfy their
lower needs and seek to satisfy their higher needs during their · Work can be as natural as play if the conditions are
leisure time. However, employees can be most productive favorable.
when their work goals align with their higher-level needs. · People will be self-directed and creative to meet their
work and organizational objectives if they are
McGregor makes the point that a command-and-control
committed to them.
environment is not effective because it relies on lower needs
for motivation, but in modern society those needs are mostly · People will be committed to their quality and
satisfied and thus are no longer motivating. In this situation, productivity objectives if rewards are in place that
one would expect employees to dislike their work, avoid address higher needs such as self-fulfillment.
responsibility, have no interest in organizational goals, resist · The capacity for creativity spreads throughout
change, etc.—creating, in effect, a self-fulfilling prophecy. To organizations.
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· Most people can handle responsibility because and consequently need to delegate some responsibility
creativity and ingenuity are common in the population. and decision making to them.
· Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility. · Job enlargement: Broadening the scope of an
employee’s job adds variety and opportunities to satisfy
Under these assumptions, there is an opportunity to align ego needs.
personal goals with organizational goals by using the
· Participative management: Consulting employees in
employee’s own need for fulfillment as the motivator.
the decision-making process taps their creative capacity
McGregor stressed that Theory Y management does not imply
and provides them with some control over their work
a soft approach.
environment.
McGregor recognized that some people may not have reached · Performance appraisals: Having the employee set
the level of maturity assumed by Theory Y and may initially objectives and participate in the process of self-
need tighter controls that can be relaxed as the employee evaluation increases engagement and dedication.
develops.
Unfortunately, no evidence confirms that either set of
If Theory Y holds true, an organization can apply the assumptions is valid or that acting on Theory Y assumptions
following principles of scientific management to improve will lead to more motivated workers. OB theories need
employee motivation: empirical support before we can accept them. Theory X and
Theory Y lack such support as much as the hierarchy of needs.
· Decentralization and delegation: If firms decentralize
control and reduce the number of levels of 3. McCLELLAND’S THEORY OF NEEDS
management, managers will have more subordinates

McClelland affirms that we all have three motivating drivers,
and it does not depend on our gender or age. One of these
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drives will be dominant in our behaviour. The dominant drive level of influence than about effective work
depends on our life experiences. performance.
The three motivators are: McClelland and subsequent researchers focused most of their
attention on nAch. Relying on an extensive amount of
· Achievement: a need to accomplish and demonstrate research, we can predict some relationships between
own competence People with a high need for achievement need and job performance. First, when job have a
achievement prefer tasks that provide for personal high degree of personal responsibility and feedback and an
responsibility and results based on their own efforts. intermediate degree of risk, high achievers are strongly
They also prefer quick acknowledgement of their motivated. They are successful in entrepreneurial activities
progress. such as running their own businesses, for example, and
· Affiliation: a need for love, belonging and social managing self-contained units within large organizations.
acceptance People with a high need for affiliation are Second, a high need to achieve does not necessarily make
motivated by being liked and accepted by others. They someone a good manager, especially in large organizations.
tend to participate in social gatherings and may be People with a high achievement need are interested in how well
uncomfortable with conflict. they do personally, and not in influencing others to do well.
· Power: a need for control own work or the work of High nAch salespeople do not necessarily make good sales
others People with a high need for power desire managers, and the good general manager in a large
situations in which they exercise power and influence organization does not typically have a high need to achieve.
over others. They aspire for positions with status and

authority and tend to be more concerned about their
Third, needs for affiliation and power tend to be closely related
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to managerial success. The best managers are high in their need and growth (G)—hence the acronym ERG. These groups align
for power and low in their need for affiliation. In fact, a high with Maslow’s levels of physiological needs, social needs, and
power motive may be a requirement for managerial self-actualization needs, respectively.
effectiveness.
Existence needs concern our basic material requirements for
Among the early theories of motivation, McClelland’s has had living. These include what Maslow categorized as
the best research support. Unfortunately, it has less practical
physiological needs (such as air, food, water, and shelter) and
effect than the others. Because McClelland argued that the
safety-related needs (such as health, secure employment, and
three needs are subconscious—we may
property).
rank high on them but not know it—measuring them is not
Relatedness needs have to do with the importance of
easy. In the most common approach, a trained expert presents
maintaining interpersonal relationships. These needs are based
pictures to individuals, asks them to tell a story about each, and
in social interactions with others and align with Maslow’s
then scores their responses in terms of the three needs.
levels of love/belonging-related needs (such as friendship,
However, the process is time consuming and expensive, and
family, and sexual intimacy) and esteem-related needs (gaining
few organizations have been willing to invest in measuring
the respect of others).
McClelland’s concept.
Finally, growth needs to describe our intrinsic desire for

5. ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY
personal development. These needs align with the other portion
of Maslow’s esteem-related needs (self-esteem, self-
Clayton Paul Alderfer is an American psychologist who
confidence, and achievement) and self-actualization needs
developed Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into a theory of his
(such as morality, creativity, problem-solving, and discovery).
own. Alderfer’s ERG theory suggests that there are three
groups of core needs: existence (E), relatedness (R),
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Alderfer proposed that when a certain category of needs isn’t something for the reward it will bring, whether that’s money,
being met, people will redouble their efforts to fulfill needs in a praise, or something else one desires. For example, he asked
lower category. For example, if someone’s self-esteem is two groups of college students to solve mechanical puzzles.
suffering, he or she will invest more effort in the relatedness One of the groups was told they would receive a dollar for
category of needs. every puzzle they completed. The other group was told nothing
about a reward. After a period of time, the two groups were
II. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
given a free period where they could choose what they wanted
1. SELF DETERMINATION THEORY to do from a series of activities. The group that was promised a
monetary reward played with the puzzles during this free
Self-determination theory is a psychological framework for period significantly less than the group that was not promised a
understanding human motivation. It was developed by reward. The paid group also found the puzzles less interesting
psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci and grew out of and enjoyable than the group that wasn’t paid.
research on intrinsic motivation, or the internal desire to do
something for its own sake, not for an external reward. Self- Deci’s studies and similar investigations by other researchers
determination theory states that people are driven by three demonstrated that intrinsic motivation can be diminished by
basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and external rewards. When a reward is introduced, Deci
relatedness. suggested, people no longer see a reason to do an activity for

its own sake and instead see the activity as a means to the
Origins in Intrinsic Motivation external reward. Thus, by shifting the reason the individual
does something from intrinsic to extrinsic, the task becomes
In the 1970s, Edward Deci conducted research on intrinsic
less interesting because the reasons for doing it now come from
motivation. In these experiments he contrasted intrinsic
outside the self.
motivation with extrinsic motivation, or the drive to do
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Of course, this doesn’t extend to all external rewards. If an Basic Needs
activity is boring, a reward may serve as an incentive that
Ryan and Deci define basic psychological needs as
enables people to improve their engagement in the task. Also,
“nutriments” that are essential for psychological growth and
social rewards like praise and encouragement can actually
mental health. In self-determination theory, basic psychological
increase intrinsic motivation.
needs serve as the basis for personality growth and integration,
These examples demonstrate that intrinsic and extrinsic well-being, and positive social development. The theory
motivations are not rigid categories. They are actually the far identifies three specific needs, which are considered universal
ends of a continuum. Motivations may be more internal or and applicable throughout the lifespan. Those three needs are:
more external depending on the circumstances. For instance, an Autonomy
individual might internalize the goal of going to the gym to
work out after encouragement from the social world. In this Autonomy is the ability to feel independent and able to act on
case, the individual might be intrinsically motivated by the the world in a way that matches one’s desires. If the individual
enjoyment of their gym activities but he or she is also lacks autonomy, he or she feels controlled by forces that are
extrinsically motivated by the positive perceptions people have not in line with who they are, whether those forces are internal
of those who work out regularly. or external. Of the three needs of self-determination theory,
autonomy is the least accepted as a basic psychological need.
Deci and his colleague Richard Ryan developed self- Psychologists who object to its classification as a need believe
determination theory as a way to understand the intrinsic end of that if people are controlled and not autonomous they will not
the motivational spectrum. The theory emphasizes the benefits
suffer unhealthy outcomes or pathology. Therefore, from the
of acting out of internal, instead of external, drives. It views the perspective of these scholars, autonomy does not meet the
individual as active and agentic, and therefore able to take criteria for a need outlined by Ryan and Deci.
action based on personal goals and values.
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Competence met, psychological health will suffer. On the other hand, if the
individual is able to meet these three needs, they are considered
Competence is the ability to feel effective in what one does.
self-determined and will be mentally healthy.
When an individual feels competent they feel a sense of
mastery over their environment and feel confident in their Basic Needs in Real-World Settings
capabilities. Competence is increased when one is given
Research on self-determination theory has shown the
opportunities to exercise their skills in challenges that are
importance of the three basic needs in a variety of domains,
optimally matched to their abilities. If tasks are too hard or too
from work and school to sports and politics. For example,
easy, feelings of competence will decrease.
research has shown that students of all ages from elementary
Relatedness
school to college respond best to teachers who support their
autonomy. These students demonstrate greater intrinsic
Relatedness is the ability to feel connected with others and a
sense of belonging. In order to have one’s relatedness needs motivation in the classroom and typically learn better. They
also experience greater well-being. This has also been
met, they must feel important to the other individuals in their
orbit. This may be achieved through one person exhibiting care demonstrated in the context of parenting. Parents who are more
for another. controlling have children who are less interested and persistent
and who don’t perform as well as the children of parents who
According to self-determination theory, all three needs must be support their children’s autonomy.
met for optimal psychological functioning. So if one's
environment meets some needs but not others, well-being will Autonomy is also important in the workplace. Studies have
indicated that managers who support their employees’
still be negatively impacted. Furthermore, these needs affect
autonomy increase the employees' trust in their company and
well-being even if people aren’t aware of them or their culture
satisfaction with their jobs. In addition, supporting employees’
doesn’t value them. One way or another, if these needs aren’t
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autonomy results in employees who feel that their needs are Goal-setting theory refers to that specific and difficult goals,
satisfied in general. These employees also experience less with feedback, lead to higher performance. Research on goal-
anxiety. setting theory in fact reveals impressive effects of goal
specificity, challenge, and feedback on performance.
Enhancing Self-Determination
In the late 1960s, Edwin Locke proposed that intentions to
Self-determination theory is based on one’s ability to meet work toward a goal are a major source of work motivation.
intrinsic needs and be true to their own values and desires. That is, goals tell an employee what needs to be done and how
However, self-determination can be enhanced by focusing on much effort is needed. Evidence strongly suggests that specific
the following: goals increase performance; those difficult goals, when
accepted, result in higher performance than do easy goals; and
· Improve self-awareness through self-examination and that feedback leads to higher performance than does non-
reflection feedback.
· Set goals and create plans to achieve them But why are people motivated by difficult goals?
· Improve problem-solving and decision-making skills a) First, challenging goals get our attention and thus tend to
· Improve self-regulation through mindfulness or other help us focus.
techniques b) Second, difficult goals energize us because we have to
· Find social support and connect with others work harder to attain them. Do you study as hard for an easy
exam as you do for a difficult one? Probably not.
· Gain mastery over areas that have meaning for you
c) Third, when goals are difficult, people persist in trying to
2. GOAL-SETTING THEORY
attain them.
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d) Finally, difficult goals lead us to discover strategies that help Commitment is important. Without participation, the individual
us perform the job or task more effectively. assigning the goal needs to clearly explain its purpose and
importance. In addition to feedback, three other factors
If we have to struggle to solve a difficult problem, we often
influence the goals– performance relationship: goal
think of a better way to go about it.
commitment, task characteristics, and national culture.
People do better when they get feedback on how well they are
progressing toward their goals, because it helps identify
discrepancies between what they have done and what they Goal-setting theory assumes an individual is committed to the
want to do—that is, feedback guides behavior. goal. The individual (1) believes he or she can achieve the goal
and (2) wants to achieve it. Goal commitment is most likely to
But all feedback is not equally potent. Self-generated
occur when goals are made public, when the individual has an
feedback—with which employees are able to monitor their
internal locus of control, and when the goals are self-set rather
own progress—is more powerful than externally generated
than assigned.
feedback.
Goals themselves seem to affect performance more strongly
Goal set by whom?
when tasks are simple rather than complex, well learned rather
If employees can participate in the setting of their own goals,
than novel, and independent rather than interdependent. On
will they try harder? The evidence is mixed. In some cases,
interdependent tasks, group goals are preferable.
participatively set goals yielded superior performance; in
Finally, setting specific, difficult, individual goals may have
others, individuals performed best when assigned goals by their
different effects in different cultures. Most goal-setting
boss. But a major advantage of participation may be that it
research has been done in the
increases acceptance of the goal as a desirable one toward
which to work. United States and Canada, where individual achievement and
performance are most highly valued. To date, research has not
Commitment and goal achievement
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shown that group-based goals are more effective in collectivists And for the individual employee, MBO provides specific
than in individualist cultures. In collectivistic and high-power- personal performance objectives.
distance cultures, achievable moderate goals can be more Four ingredients are common to MBO programs: goal
highly motivating than difficult ones. Finally, assigned goals specificity, participation in decision making (including the
appear to generate greater goal commitment in high than in low setting of goals or objectives), an explicit time period, and
power distance cultures. performance feedback.
Despite differences of opinion, most researchers do agree that Many elements in MBO programs match propositions of goal-
goals are powerful in shaping behavior. Managers should make setting theory. For example, having an explicit time period to
sure they are actually aligned with the company’s objectives. accomplish objectives matches goal-setting theory’s emphasis
Implementing Goal-Setting through MBO on goal specificity. Similarly, we noted earlier that feedback
about goal progress is a critical element of goal-setting theory.
A more systematic way to utilize goal-setting is with
management by objectives (MBO) , which emphasizes The only area of possible disagreement between MBO and
participatively set goals that are tangible, verifiable, and goal-setting theory is participation: MBO strongly advocates it,
measurable. whereas goal-setting theory demonstrates that managers’
assigned goals are usually just as effective.
The organization’s overall objectives are translated into
specific objectives for each level (divisional, departmental, When MBO fails, the culprits tend to be unrealistic
individual). But because lower-unit managers jointly expectations, lack of commitment by top management, and
participate in setting their own goals, MBO works from the inability or unwillingness to allocate rewards based on goal
bottom up as well as from the top down. The result is a accomplishment.
hierarchy that links objectives at one level to those at the next.
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3. REINFORCEMENT THEORY something they want or to avoid something they don’t want.
Goal-setting is a cognitive approach, proposing that an Unlike reflexive or unlearned behavior, operant behavior is
individual’s purposes direct his action. Reinforcement theory, influenced by the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement
in contrast, takes a behavioristic view, arguing that brought about by its consequences.
reinforcement conditions behavior. The two theories are clearly Therefore, reinforcement strengthens a behavior and increases
at odds philosophically. Reinforcement theorists see behavior the likelihood it will be repeated. B. F. Skinner, one of the
as environmentally caused. You need not be concerned, they most prominent advocates of operant conditioning, argued that
would argue, with internal cognitive events; what controls creating pleasing consequences to follow specific forms of
behavior is reinforcers—any consequences that, when behavior would increase the frequency of that behavior.
immediately following responses, increase the probability that
He demonstrated that people will most likely engage in desired
the behavior will be repeated.
behaviors if they are positively reinforced for doing so; that
Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual rewards are most effective if they immediately follow the
and concentrates solely on what happens when he or she takes desired response; and that behavior that is not rewarded, or is
some action. Because it does not concern itself with what punished, is less likely to be repeated.
initiates behavior, it is not, strictly speaking, a theory of
Reinforcement theory of motivation was proposed by BF
motivation. But it does provide a powerful means of analyzing
Skinner and his associates. It states that individual’s behaviour
what controls behavior, and this is why we typically consider it
is a function of its consequences. It is based on “law of effect”,
in discussions of motivation.
i.e, individual’s behaviour with positive consequences tends to
Operant conditioning theory: be repeated, but individual’s behaviour with negative
The most relevant component of reinforcement theory for consequences tends not to be repeated.
management, argues that people learn to behave to get
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Reinforcement theory of motivation overlooks the internal state b) Negative Reinforcement- This implies rewarding an
of individual, i.e., the inner feelings and drives of individuals employee by removing negative / undesirable consequences.
are ignored by Skinner. This theory focuses totally on what Both positive and negative reinforcement can be used for
happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, increasing desirable / required behaviour.
according to Skinner, the external environment of the c) Punishment- It implies removing positive consequences so
organization must be designed effectively and positively so as as to lower the probability of repeating undesirable behaviour
to motivate the employee. This theory is a strong tool for
in future. In other words, punishment means applying
analyzing controlling mechanism for individual’s behaviour. undesirable consequence for showing undesirable behaviour.
However, it does not focus on the causes of individual’s For instance - Suspending an employee for breaking the
behaviour. organizational rules. Punishment can be equalized by positive
The managers use the following methods for controlling the reinforcement from alternative source.
behaviour of the employees:
d) Extinction- It implies absence of reinforcements. In other
a) Positive Reinforcement- This implies giving a positive
words, extinction implies lowering the probability of undesired
response when an individual shows positive and required
behaviour by removing reward for that kind of behaviour. For
behaviour. For example - Immediately praising an employee
instance - if an employee no longer receives praise and
for coming early for job. This will increase probability of admiration for his good work, he may feel that his behaviour is
outstanding behaviour occurring again. Reward is a positive generating no fruitful consequence. Extinction may
reinforce, but not necessarily. If and only if the employees’ unintentionally lower desirable behaviour.
behaviour improves, reward can said to be a positive
Implications of Reinforcement Theory
reinforcer. Positive reinforcement stimulates occurrence of a
behaviour. It must be noted that more spontaneous is the giving Reinforcement theory explains in detail how an individual
of reward, the greater reinforcement value it has. learns behaviour. Managers who are making attempt to
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motivate the employees must ensure that they do not reward all 1. Attentional processes. People learn from a model only
employees simultaneously. They must tell the employees what when they recognize and pay attention to its critical features.
they are not doing correct. They must tell the employees how We tend to be most influenced by models that are attractive,
they can achieve positive reinforcement. repeatedly available, important to us, or similar to us in our
estimation.
2. Retention processes. A model’s influence depends on how

Individuals can learn by being told or by observing what
well the individual remembers the model’s action after the
happens to other people, as well as through direct experiences.
model is no longer readily available.
Much of what we have learned comes from watching models—
parents, teachers, peers, film and television performers, bosses, 3. Motor reproduction processes. After a person has seen a
and so forth. This view that we can learn through both new behavior by observing the model, watching must be
observation and direct experience is called social-learning converted to doing. This process demonstrates that the
theory . individual can perform the modeled activities.
Although social-learning theory is an extension of operant 4. Reinforcement processes. Individuals are motivated to
conditioning— that is, it assumes behavior is a function of exhibit the modelled behavior if positive incentives or rewards
consequences—it also acknowledges the effects of are provided. Positively reinforced behaviors are given more
observational learning and perception. People respond to the attention, learned better, and performed more often.
way they perceive and define consequences, not to the
4. EQUITY THEORY/ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE
objective consequences themselves.
Equity theory A theory that says that individuals compare their
Models are central to the social-learning viewpoint. Four
job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond
processes determine their influence on an individual:
to eliminate any inequities.
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Employees perceive what they get from a job situation (salary 4. Other–outside. Another individual or group of individuals
levels, raises, recognition) in relationship to what they put into outside the employee’s organization.
it (effort, experience, education, competence), and then they
Employees might compare themselves to friends, neighbors,
compare their outcome–input ratio with that of relevant others.
co-workers, or colleagues in other organizations or compare
If we perceive our ratio to be equal to that of the relevant their present job with past jobs. Which referent an employee
others with whom we compare ourselves, a state of equity chooses will be influenced by the information the employee
exists; we perceive that our situation is fair and justice prevails. holds about referents as well as by the attractiveness of the
When we see the ratio as unequal and we feel under rewarded, referent.
we experience equity tension that creates anger.
When we see ourselves as overrewarded, tension creates guilt.

J. Stacy Adams proposed that this negative state of tension
provides the motivation to do something to correct it. The
referent an employee selects adds to the complexity of equity
theory .
There are four referent comparisons:
1. Self–inside. An employee’s experiences in a different

position inside the employee’s current organization.
The above picture demonstrate
2. Self–outside. An employee’s experiences in a situation or
position outside the employee’s current organization. · Inputs: Inputs include all the rich and diverse elements
3. Other–inside. Another individual or group of individuals that employees believe they bring or contribute to the
inside the employee’s organization.

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job – their education, experience, effort, loyalty, Women are typically paid less than men in comparable jobs
commitment. and have lower pay expectations than men for the same work.
· Outcomes: Outcomes are rewards they perceive they So a woman who uses another woman as a referent tends to
get from their jobs and employers’ outcomes include- calculate a lower comparative standard. Of course, employers’
direct pay and bonuses, fringe benefit, job security, stereotypes about women (for example, the belief that women
social rewards and psychological. are less committed to the organization or that “women’s work”
is less valuable) also may contribute to the pay gap. While
· Overrewarded: if employees fell over-rewarded equity
both men and women prefer same-sex comparisons, employees
theory predicts then they will feel an imbalance in their
in jobs that are not sex segregated will likely make more cross-
relationship with their employee and seek to restore that
sex comparisons than those in jobs that are male or female
balance.
dominated.
· Equity: if employees perceive equity then they will be
Employees with short tenure in their current organizations tend
motivated to continue to contribute act about the same
to have little information about others inside the organization,
level.
so they rely on their personal experiences. Employees with
· Unrewarded: unrewarded who feel they have been long tenure rely more heavily on co-workers for comparison.
unrewarded and seek to reduce their feeling inequity Upper-level employees, those in the professional ranks, and
through the same types of strategies but the same of this those with higher amounts of education tend to have better
specific action is now reverse. information about people in other organizations and will make
Variables in comparison for equity more other– outside comparisons.
Four moderating variables are gender, length of tenure, level in Based on equity theory, employees who perceive inequity
the organization, and amount of education or professionalism. will make one of six choices:
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1. Change inputs (exert less effort if underpaid or more if a) distributive justice Perceived fairness of the amount and
overpaid). allocation of rewards among individuals.
2. Change outcomes (individuals paid on a piece-rate basis can b) procedural justice The perceived fairness of the process
increase their pay by producing a higher quantity of units of used to determine the distribution of rewards.
lower quality). c) interactional justice The perceived degree to which an
3. Distort perceptions of self (“I used to think I worked at a individual istreated with dignity, concern, and
moderate pace, but now I realize I work a lot harder than respect.
everyone else.”).
4. Distort perceptions of others (“Mike’s job isn’t as desirable

as I thought.”).
5. Choose a different referent (“I may not make as much as my

brother-in-law, but I’m doing a lot better than my Dad did
when he was my age.”).
6. Leave the field (quit the job).
Finally, recent research has expanded the meaning of equity, or

fairness through organisational justice. organizational justice
An overall perception of what is fair in the workplace,
composed of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice
Organisational justice can explained by
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5. EXPECTANCY THEORY availability of right resources, availability of crucial
information and getting the required support for completing the
The expectancy theory was proposed by Victor Vroom of
job.
Yale School of Management in 1964. Vroom stresses and
focuses on outcomes, and not on needs unlike Maslow and Instrumentality is the faith that if you perform well, then a
Herzberg. The theory states that the intensity of a tendency to valid outcome will be there. Instrumentality is affected by
perform in a particular manner is dependent on the intensity of factors such as believe in the people who decide who receives
an expectation that the performance will be followed by a what outcome, the simplicity of the process deciding who gets
definite outcome and on the appeal of the outcome to the what outcome, and clarity of relationship between performance
individual. and outcomes. Thus, the expectancy theory concentrates on the
following three relationships:
The Expectancy theory states that employee’s motivation is
an outcome of how much an individual wants a reward
· Effort-performance relationship: What is the likelihood
(Valence), the assessment that the likelihood that the effort will
that the individual’s effort be recognized in his
lead to expected performance (Expectancy) and the belief that
performance appraisal?
the performance will lead to reward (Instrumentality).
· Performance-reward relationship: It talks about the
In short, Valence is the significance associated by an
extent to which the employee believes that getting a
individual about the expected outcome. It is an expected and
good performance appraisal leads to organizational
not the actual satisfaction that an employee expects to receive
rewards.
after achieving the goals.
· Rewards-personal goals relationship: It is all about the
Expectancy is the faith that better efforts will result in better
attractiveness or appeal of the potential reward to the
performance. Expectancy is influenced by factors such as
individual.
possession of appropriate skills for performing the job,
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Vroom was of view that employees consciously decide whether · The application of this theory is limited as reward is not
to perform or not at the job. This decision solely depended on directly correlated with performance in many
the employee’s motivation level which in turn depends on three organizations. It is related to other parameters also such
factors of expectancy, valence and instrumentality. as position, effort, responsibility, education, etc.
Advantages of the Expectancy Theory
Implications of the Expectancy Theory

· It is based on self-interest individual who want to
achieve maximum satisfaction and who wants to
minimize dissatisfaction. · The managers can correlate the preferred outcomes to
the aimed performance levels.
· This theory stresses upon the expectations and
perception; what is real and actual is immaterial. · The managers must ensure that the employees can
· It emphasizes on rewards or pay-offs. achieve the aimed performance levels.
· It focuses on psychological extravagance where final · The deserving employees must be rewarded for their
objective of individual is to attain maximum pleasure exceptional performance.
and least pain. · The reward system must be fair and just in an
Limitations of the Expectancy Theory organization.
· Organizations must design interesting, dynamic and

· The expectancy theory seems to be idealistic because
challenging jobs.
quite a few individuals perceive high degree correlation
between performance and rewards.
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The employee’s motivation level should be continually needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the
assessed through various techniques such as questionnaire, individual.
personal interviews, etc.
***************************************************
1. Effort–performance relationship. The probability UNIT – III
perceived by the individual
GROUP BEHAVIOUR
that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance.
TOPIC – 1
2. Performance–reward relationship. The degree to which
GROUP DYNAMICS
the individual believes performing at a particular level will lead
to the attainment of a desired outcome. INTRODUCTION
Humans are social animals and hence, form groups wherever

they are. This is true for organizations as well as familial and
friendship networks wherein people tend to congregate in
groups and be governed by the norms and rules of the group.
For instance, familial groups impose a certain way of behavior
in us as are the friendship groups that we form. Similarly,
organizations are collections of people in groups which require
the members to conform to laid down or explicit and informal
or implicit rules of behavior. Indeed, organizations have laid
3. Rewards–personal goals relationship. The degree to which
down policies and procedures which enjoin the employees to
organizational rewards satisfy an individual’s personal goals or
adhere to such rules as part of their employment. For example,
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UNIT – II are influenced by a number of diversified factors, which can be

TOPIC – 1 both genetic and environmental. The influence of these factors

I. Biographical or physical characteristics

Biographical characteristics Personal characteristics—such

considered a complex phenomenon, is very difficult to define 1. Age

Psychologist Kurt Levin has conducted considerable research

There are number of positive qualities older workers bring to 2. Gender

(A) Intellectual ability: Intellectual ability refers to the

2. Perception: The performance of an individual also depends

d) Political Factors- Political factors indirectly influences the TOPIC – 2

Structure and Design- It is concerned with set-up design of

4. Situational Factors: I. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

a) Extraversion: Extraversion dimension captures a person’s

b) Agreeableness: The agreeableness dimension refers to an

c) Conscientiousness: The conscientiousness dimension is a

d) Emotional stability: The emotional stability dimension

e) Openness to experience: The openness to experience face of negative feedback.

occupations.” emotions than do introverts, and they more freely

ID is original source of personality present in a newborn or by Super Ego.

infant. The principal of working for ID is ‘Pleasure’. Id tries to c) Super Ego:

b) Central Trait Level: ALLPORT describes central traits as

3. Type Theory: i. Introvert: The people with following characteristics are

Individuals with a proactive personality identify TOPIC – 3

Learning is any relatively permanent change in behaviour that

Learning can be defined as relatively permanent change in

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEARING, DEVELOPMENT,

potentially contained within Learning is a relatively permanent change in knowledge or

intellectual and physical aptitudes several key points in this definition.

art, profession, occupation or practice. • Change in knowledge or behavior has to be relatively

takes place within the individual experience

3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The object that does not

4. Conditioned Response (CR): a particular behavior that

Pavlov conducted an experiment on a dog and measured the

The Operant Conditioning Theory is given by B.F. Skinner,

B.F. Skinner performed an experiment; wherein the Rat was

· Behavioral Response to the situation Negative Reinforcement: This involves removal of an

· Consequence of a response unfavourable or an unpleasant event after a behavioural

Thus, through this process, an organism learns to distinguish

Tolman was the first behaviorist who challenged the

organism applies this cognition in learning which results in not something.

merely the response to a stimulus, but the application of

Many patterns of behavior are learned by watching the

After a person has seen a new behavior by observing the

Individuals are motivated to exhibit the modeled behavior if

René Descartes, often called the founder of modern

Still, many researchers agree on six essentially universal

THE BASIC MOODS: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE

One way to classify emotions is by whether they are positive or

Keep in mind that emotions can’t be neutral. Being neutral is

When we group emotions into positive and negative categories,

Positive affect as a mood dimension consisting of positive

positive or negative. researchers label them.)

Indeed, research finds a positivity offset , meaning that at zero

What about time of the day? We often think we are either

Affectively intense people experience both positive and

UNIT – II Attitudes are evaluation statements either favourable or

The salient features / characteristics of attitudes are:

Attitudes are evaluative statements either favourable or