Influences on employee behavior

CH-2 Copyright 2008, Werner et al 1

INFLUENCES ON EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR

Chapter 2


Learning Objectives

• Identify that influence employee behavior• Describe outcomes resulting from behavior and tell how

they influence future behavior• State how a supervisor’s leadership and expectations for employees can affect their behavior• Recognize the impact that coworkers and the organization itself have on employee behavior• Define motivation and describe the main approaches to understanding motivation at work• Discuss how knowledge, skill, ability, and attitudes

influence employee behavior


Goals of HRD

• Goal of Human Resources Development interventions is to assist employees and organizations in attaining their goals

• Ultimate objective of most, if not all, HRD programs is to improve organizational performance

• Major focus of most HRD interventions is an effort to change employee behavior


Model of Employee Behavior

EconomicConditions

LeadershipPerformanceExpectations

TechnologicalChanges

Labor MarketConditions

Factors in the External Environment

Supervision

Laws andRegulations

LaborUnions

RewardStructuresCultureJob Design

OrganizationMotivationAttitudesKnowledge,Skill, Ability

Employee

NormsGroupDynamicsTeamworkControl OverOutcomes

Coworkers

TaskPerformanceOrganizationalCitizenshipBehaviors

Behavior

PersonalOrganizational

Outcomes

Fig. 2-1


Major Categories Affecting Behavior

• External forces– Outside the organization– Inside the work environment

• Leadership• Coworkers• Outcomes of performance

• Internal Forces– Within employee

• Motivation• KSAs


Major Categories of Employee Behavior

• Individual performance is multidimensional• Most HRD focuses on “Task Performance”

– Behaviors central to doing one’s job

• Organizational citizenship behaviors– Critical to organizational effectiveness

• Not specific to any one task


External Influences

• General state of economy• Government intrusion• Global and technology issues

– In spite of excellent work and production, external influences can result in down-sizing to reduce costs


Workforce Investment

• Organizations invest a lot of time and money in their workforce

• They must maintain their investment, even when restructuring or downsizing

• Re-training “survivors” to do other work rather than laying them off– Coaching and mentoring– Individual development– Multi-rater feedback


Influences on Employee Behavior

• Factor– Outcomes– Supervision

– Organization

– Coworkers

(Table 2-1)

• Issues– Types– Effect on motivation– Leadership– Performance expectations– Reward structure– Organizational structure– Job design– Control of outcomes– Norms– Group Dynamics– Teamwork/Trust/Cohesiveness


Employee Perceptions Drive Behavior

– Expectancy Theory:• Workers will perform behaviors that they perceive

will bring valued outcomes• Better the outcome, better the work

– Equity Theory• Outcomes are evaluated by comparing them to the

outcomes received by others


Supervision and Leadership

• Immediate supervisor:– Delegates tasks and responsibilities– Sets expectations– Evaluates performance– Provides feedback– Rewards desirable behavior– Provides discipline


Supervisory Influences

• Self-fulfilling prophecy– Supervisor's expectations can influence

workers behavior

• Leadership:– Non-coercive influence to direct and

coordinate the activities of a group toward accomplishing a goal


Rewards Structure

• Focuses on:– Types of rewards used– How rewards are distributed– The criteria for rewards distribution

• Rewards are more than money or plaques– They can include recognition and acceptance


The Organizational Culture

• A set of values, beliefs, norms and patterns of behavior that are shared by organization members, and that guide their behavior


Job Design

• The development and alteration of the components of a job to improve productivity and the quality of an a employee’s life

• A job design can affect behavior and attitudes

• Altering the job may improve performance and attitudes


Influence of Coworkers

• They control some of the outcomes and therefore some of the behavior

• They may offer or withhold friendship and recognition

• Norms set the guidelines for behavior in the group

• Group dynamics influence the way an employee behaves when interacting with a group


Group Dynamic Characteristics

• Groupthink -- concerned with unanimity rather than making good decisions

• Social Loafing -- tendency for individuals to reduce level of effort as group becomes larger

• Teamwork: – Trust– Cohesiveness


Motivation

• One of the basic elements of human behavior

• Factors that cause the arousal, direction and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed


Factors to Consider

• Work motivation pertains to voluntary behavior

• Motivation focuses on– Energizing—The generation or mobilization of

effort– Direction—Applying effort to one behavior

over another– Persistence—Continuing (or ceasing) to

perform a behavior


Worker Motivation

• Based on the individual because of unique– Needs– Desires– Attitudes– Goals


The Need-Based Approach

• Underlying needs, such as the needs for safety or power, drive motivation

• Theories include:– Mazlow’s Needs

Hierarchy– Alderfer’s Existence,

Relatedness and Growth Theory

– Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory


Cognitive Process Approach

• Motivation is a process controlled by conscious thoughts, beliefs and judgments

• Theories include:• Expectancy Theory• Goal-Setting Theory• Social Learning

Theory• Equity Theory


Non-Cognitive Approach

• Motivation is explained as an interaction between behavior and external events without appealing to internal thoughts or needs

• Theories include:– Reinforcement Theory


Needs-Based Approach

• Needs: deficiency states or imbalances, whether physiological or psychological, that energize and direct behavior

• Needs drive behavior through need activation and need satisfaction


The Need Activation-Need Satisfaction Process

Process Example

Need is activated

Tension is created

Yes

No

Layoff announced;Need for securityis activated

Tension expressed infear and worry

Improve performance?Politics?Job search?

Search for waysto reduce tension

Performance improvementleads management toremove employee'sname from layoff list

Perform behaviorsto reduce tension

Fear and worrysignificantly reduced

Tension eliminatedor significantlyreduced?

Need for securitysatisfied

Need satisfied;Need no longerdrives behavior

Fig. 2-2


Mazlow’s Need Hierarchy

• In Reverse Order of Importance– Self-actualization– Status and Esteem– Love– Safety and security– Physiological

• The item(s) below must be satisfied before those above can be satisfied


Alderfer’s ERG Theory

• Existence

• Relatedness

• Growth

• Basically reduces Mazlow’s five to three items


Deficiencies of Need-Based

• Difficult to test and apply

• Insufficient for explanation of motivation

• Some programs based on theories have been successful– Job enrichment– Achievement motivation


Cognitive Process Theories

• Expectancy theory– Assumes that motivation is a conscious

choice process– Employees

• believe they can perform successfully (high expectancy), and

• believe are connected (high instrumentality) to outcomes they desire (high valence) or

• believe will prevent (negative instrumentality) outcomes they want to avoid (negative valence)


Expectancy Theory and HRD

• Employees will not attend HRD sessions unless– They will learn something– It will increase their job performance– They will be rewarded for their efforts


Graphical Representation of Expectancy Theory

How likely is it thatI will reach my

performance goal?

Expectancy

Should Iexert effort?

How desirable orundesirable are

these outcomes?

Valence

Will I receive variousoutcomes if I reach

my performance goal?

Instrumentality

Fig. 2-3


Goal Setting Theory

• Goals can – Mobilize employee effort– Direct their attention– Increase their persistence– Affect strategies used to accomplish a task


Goal Setting

• Goals that are specific, difficult, and accepted by employees lead to better performance

• Feedback enhances effectiveness of goal setting

• Goals must be achievable


Social Learning Theory

• Outcome and self-efficacy expectations affect individual performance

• An Outcome Expectation– person’s belief that performing a given

behavior will lead to a given outcome

• Self Efficacy– “people’s judgments of their capabilities to

organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances”


Self-Efficacy and Performance

Performance historyModeling

PersuasionPhysiological/

emotional state

Attribution of performance history

Analysis of task

Assessment of constraints

Self-efficacy Performance

Feedback

Behavioraloutcomes

Fig. 2-4

SOURCE: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW by Gist, M. E., Mitchell, T. R. Copyright 2005 by ACAD OF MGMT. Reproduced with permission of ACAD OF MGMT in the formal Textbook via Copyright Clearance Center.


Major Prediction of Social Learning Theory

• A person’s self-efficacy expectations will determine

• whether a behavior will be performed,• how much effort will be spent, and• how long the person will continue to perform the behavior


Equity Theory

• Motivation is strongly influenced by – People’s desire to be treated fairly– Perceptions about whether they have been

treated fairly


Basis of Equity Theory

• People develop beliefs about what is fair for them to receive in exchange for the contributions that they make to the organization

• People determine fairness by comparing their relevant returns and contributions to those of others

• People who believe they have been treated unfairly (called inequity) will experience tension, and they will be motivated to find ways to reduce it


Reducing Feelings of Inequity

• Cognitively distorting views of contributions or rewards (“She must be smarter than I thought.”)

• Influencing the perceived rival to change his or her contributions or rewards (e.g., convincing the person to be less productive)

• Changing one’s own contributions or rewards (either working harder or contributing less)

• Comparing oneself to a different person leaving the situation (requesting a transfer or quitting)


Equity Theory GraphicallyFig. 2-5

Outcomes/rewardsreceived by self

Perceivedinequity

Perceivedequity

Inputs of self

Outcomes/rewardsreceived by

relevant others

Motivationto correct or

reduce inequity

Motivation tomaintain present

equity relationships

Inputs of relevant others

Social comparisonof outcomes to inputs


Reinforcement Theory

• A non-cognitive theory• Based on “Law of Effect”

– Behavior that is followed by a pleasurable consequence will occur more frequently

• Process known as “reinforcement”

– Behavior that is followed by an adverse consequence will occur less frequently


Behavior Modification

• Positive reinforcement refers to increasing the frequency of a behavior by following the behavior with a pleasurable consequence

• Negative reinforcement increases the frequency of a behavior by removing something aversive after the behavior is performed

• Extinction seeks to decrease the frequency of a behavior by removing the consequence that is reinforcing it

• Punishment seeks to decrease the frequency of a behavior by introducing an aversive consequence immediately after the behavior


Integrating Theories in Practice

Desire to perform

Effort

Valence

Performance

SatisfactionInstrumentality

Accuracyof roleperceptions

Ability

Expectancy

Equityofrewards

• Fig. 2-6

SOURCE: Wagner, J. A., III, and Hollenbeck, J. R. (1995). Management of Organizational Behavior (2nd ed,). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.


Attitudes

• Second major influence on work behavior

• Attitude: a person’s general feeling of favorableness or unfavorableness toward some stimulus object

• A combination of attitudes with perceived social pressure to behave in a certain manner influences an individual’s behavior


The Behavioral Intentions Model

• Fig 2-7

Beliefs aboutbehavior/outcome

relationships

Attitudetoward thebehavior

Beliefs aboutgroup/society

norms

Perceptionof norms

Perceived situationalor internal constraints

Intentions Behavior

SOURCE: From Organizational Behavior 5th edition by Hellriegel/Slocum/Woodman. © 1989. Reprinted with permission of South-Western, a division of Cengage Learning: [email protected]. Fax 800 730-2215.

mailto:[email protected]


Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs)

• If employees lack the KSAs to perform a task or behavior, they will likely fail

• Abilities – general capacities related to the performance of a set of tasks

• Skills – combine abilities with capabilities that are developed as a result of training and experience

• Knowledge – an understanding of factors or principles related to a particular subject

Education

Influences on employee behavior