Chapter 13 Working With Chapter 13 Working With OthersOthers

Science 295Dr. Cahill

Getting along with othersGetting along with othersDistances between persons

◦Different cultures have different expectations for social interactions

◦How people maintain personal space around them sends an important psychological and social message

Getting along with othersGetting along with othersPersonal space

◦ Most people have a “personal bubble” in which they feel comfortable interacting with others

Most people interact within the “social distance” 3-4m

Intimate distance involves body contactFriend distance 1-1.5 mUnacquainted persons and business

transactions take place around 2 m“Public distance” is beyond 4 mAll distances do vary with different

customs and cultures

Getting along with othersGetting along with othersDistances in personal relationships

◦When an outsider invades your personal space, it’s natural to feel discomfort

◦However, if friends stay too far away we can feel disappointment and alienation

◦Likewise, in a work setting, teams perform best in close proximity, whereas competition is more intense between individuals who do not have personal relationships

Getting along with othersGetting along with othersOwning an area

◦Territoriality – an inclination to occupy and control a defined physical space Those who invade the space may be met with

defensive behavior or the owner may choose to abandon the space

The “owner” personalizes their space◦Crowding occurs when too many people

are within one given space Perception depends on the individual’s

characteristics, one’s coping capabilities and the physical/social settings

Reactions can include aggression or withdrawl

Getting along with othersGetting along with othersTeamwork

◦Teams – 2 or more individuals who pursue a common goal by performing their tasks in interdependent, complementary manners

◦Behavioral aspects Members must communicate effectively Must be flexible and able to adapt to

different work styles and their role in the team

Not all individuals enjoy teamwork Certain cultures emphasize teamwork while

others encourage individual work

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorHappy employees

◦Organizational behavior – field of study that helps us understand and deal with the interpersonal and managerial challenges in the workplace

◦Companies recognize that happy, satisfied employees are more productive than those who are unhappy and fearing for their jobs

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorWhy “Happy employees?”

◦More productive◦Provide better customer service◦Take fewer sick days (stress)◦Reduces employee turnover costs

Leaving employees create a huge cost to the company for recruiting and training, and new hires are initially far less productive

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorPsychosocial work factors

◦ Job demands – physical work, variations in workload, pressure, mental demands

◦ Job content – challenging, interesting, monotonous

◦ Job control – control over the work pace, environment, tasks and organization

◦Social interaction – colleagues, supervisors, clients and customers

◦ Job future – fear of losing job◦Organizational and management issues

– employee participation and management style

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorDivision of labor

◦Individual motivation as well as shared responsibilities between management and workers is important

Quality of work life◦With a the development of a more

educated workforce, employees became more aware of work conditions and sought improvements

◦personal recognition and improvements in working conditions became a priority

◦Theories on worker productivity, well being and motivation were soon developed

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorMotivation and performance

◦Motivation incites, directs and maintains behavior towards goals

◦Performance is the result of motivation and ability Determined by situational elements at work

which can either enhance or hinder performance (Ex. climate, up to date equipment)

◦Therefore, motivation and performance are related, a motivated person who desires to do well at work is willing to expend the effort to do so

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorMaslow’s needs hierarchy (figure 13.1)

◦Motivation is a function of meeting personal needs

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorMaslow’s needs hierarchy

◦According to Maslow, behavior is motivated by the urge to satisfy needs of increasingly higher orders

◦Underlying this idea are 3 major needs necessary to the human population in general: Existence – food, compensation Relatedness – interactions with friends,

family and colleagues Personal growth – desire for personal

development, advancement and recognition

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorJob satisfaction

◦Greatly influences motivation and performance

◦Large individual differences in perception of what makes a job satisfying

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorHerzberg’s 2 factors theory

◦Based on the idea that positive content factors of a job explain satisfaction whereas negative context factors lead to dissatisfaction

◦5 content factors that act as motivators:1. Achievement2. Recognition3. The work itself4. Responsibility 5. Advancement

Motivation and behaviorMotivation and behaviorHerzberg’s 2 factors theory

◦6 context factors that promote dissatisfaction when negative and satisfaction when positive1. Company policies and administration2. Compensation3. Supervision and management4. Interpersonal relationships5. Physical conditions at work6. Job security

◦Overall, a job should have positive context factors to prevent dissatisfaction and positive content factors to promote motivation

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsWork conditions that motivate

◦It has been shown that over short periods, of time that negative factors (fear, greed, etc.) can increase task performance

◦To achieve long term task performance, employees need to be valued and thrive within a high quality work environment

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsJob enlargement and enrichment

◦Earlier work environments focused on task specialization (Tayloristic principles)

◦Now job design focuses on:1. Job enlargement – assigning an individual

a larger variety of tasks and activities2. job enrichment – expanding work skills

and increasing responsibilities to higher professional levels

◦Overall job design can affect our attitudes and job performance

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsThe Hawthorne effect

◦An experiment was performed at the Hawthorne Works in Chicago to observe how work conditions affected employee productivity Lighting conditions were improved gradually

within a manufacturing plant Each rise in illumination improved employee

performance The illumination was then lowered, but

performance still increased indicating that just listening to employee requests was enough to improve their performance

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsThe Hawthorne effect

◦Term that describes a work situation in which an introduced change triggers an increase in productivity but not because of the change itself, but because the participating workers felt they received appropriate attention which encouraged motivation

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsGoal setting and rewards

◦Rewards must be meaningful to the employee

◦Everyone is unique, there is no universal rewards system

◦The theory of goal setting: Goals motivate us Direct our behavior help us decide how much effort we need to

put into our work The more specific the goal, the more focused

the effort

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsMotivation and work behavior

◦ There is no clear cut answer to what motivates people

◦ Motivation is both intrinsic and extrinsic◦ Most likely, we consider our own needs and

wants and either subconsciously or consciously determine our goals

◦ Other people influence and shape our motivation since we are mostly social creatures

◦ How hard we work depends on what depends on what we get in return

Task demands, job Task demands, job rewardsrewardsMotivation and work behavior

◦What motivates people can change Previously pay and stability were top

priority Currently, employees are rewarded in

many ways besides money On site child care, flexible hours, vacation time

Friendly co-workers and nurturing corporate atmosphere are also important to today’s workers

SummarySummaryOptimal working conditions are

an important part of a person’s total quality of life

Motivation, productivity and well-being are linked; performance is a product of motivation and ability