010407-67

Organizational Behavior Dr. Thomas September 29, 2011 Exam 1 1. a. Cognition- First, a person will develop an opinion or belief. They are cognizant of a particular situation, behavior, circumstance, etc. Affect- Next, they will develop a feeling about this belief. Does it make them angry/happy/sad? Basically, affect is the emotions experienced from the opinion they developed. Behavior- Finally, the feeling they get will lead to their behavior. If it makes them angry, they will behave in a certain way. The entire process can be described as observationinterpretation-action. b. The link is seen in either attitudes formulate from behaviors or, conversely, behaviors

formulate from attitudes. Looking at the former, emotional dissonance is important. People do not like to behave in a way that contradicts their attitude. The example given in class was someone who always bashed American-made cars until he got one, and then his attitude changed. His behavior of owning an American car leads to conflict with his attitude towards American cars. In order to remove this dissonance, his attitude changed to coincide more with his behavior, therefore showing that attitudes can stem from behaviors. On the other hand, behaviors stemming from attitudes are easy to visualize. For example, if a person has an indifferent attitude towards something, their behavior will reflect that, resulting in a lack of effort, interest, and other indifferent behaviors. The underlying attitude someone has created for a person, situation, or thing will lead them to behave in certain ways. Some factors that affect the link between attitudes and behaviors are importance, personal rewards, and the perception we are trying to convey. Regarding the last point, the way you behave and feel

010407-67

about certain things can be used to present a positive or negative image. Therefore, if perception is important in a specific scenario (job interview, church, school), your behaviors and attitudes will change to accommodate a myriad of situations to reach the most desirable outcome. 2. a. It is more of an ideal or goal than a practical, usable method. It helps people use rationality and reason to reach an optimal solution. The steps of the model begin with identifying the problem. This means pinpointing what you are trying to fix. Next, you need to formulate criteria. Step two constructs what factors or variables are present in the problem. Third, you weigh the criteria, since not everything will have the same impact on the dilemma. Then, alternatives should be created and, after that, evaluated. Finally, you choose the appropriate solution. A last step that cannot be forgotten is to continuously monitor your choice to realize mistakes and make changes. Some assumptions include: I. All information needed is known II. Manager making the decision is unbiased III. Manager is seeking out the highest utility IV. Manager will choose the best solution b. In contrast, bounded rationality is more practical, since the real world is fast-paced, and human beings cannot rationalize complex situations quick enough to make an optimal solution. It is also rational and, instead, quickly points out the basic structure of the problem without delving into its complexities. It involves only three steps which are: I. Limited alternatives search- easiest and quickest information and alternatives II. Limited alternatives evaluation- look at what is familiar, worked in the past III. Satisficing- the alternative is good enough

010407-67

The intuitive method is the least rational, but not worthless. It relies on gut feeling and a person s immense experience to draw a conclusion. Heuristics is used by experienced managers to quickly solve problems with entrenched thought processes that were formulated over time. In reality, none of the three methods is better than the other, but should be used together to help reach solutions. Decision-making should be done with a thought-out, rational plan of action, with intuition helping structure the plan. 3. The two alternatives that will be discussed are the cafeteria-style benefits plan and

the on-the-spot customer service bonus. The new benefits plan s advantages include giving the employee control. Looking at self-determination theory and the goal-setting theory, people like having control over aspects of their lives. With a benefit program that lets employees have a say, it takes away an obligation to receive a benefit and replaces it with employees willing to work because they will benefit in ways they see fit. In regards to the equity theory, employees will see their inputs or work as means to achieve favorable outputs (personalized benefits). Since the part-time workers are included in this plan, all employees will be motivated through seeing their effort rewarded. The reward-personal goals or valence part of the expectancy theory comes into play here, since the reward of benefits can be molded by the employees themselves to meet certain personal endeavors. Some disadvantages include not having a very specific goal. The benefits seem broad and general, with no relations to work performance. If the employees will receive the benefits no matter how they perform, it will result in reduced effort and input, since the rewards and outputs are given regardless of performance. Employees do not get a feeling that the amount of effort put in is congruent with their benefits, so it will not increase motivation on this aspect. The second alternative, giving $50 bonus for employees caught given superior customer service, has its advantages. First, employees are more likely to increase the effort they put forth in customer service. This derives from the fact that the more effort you put into pleasing the customer, the more likely you will have successful job performance and, eventually, will be

010407-67

rewarded, taken from the expectancy theory. The goal-setting theory shows that with this program, the company has created a specific, attainable goal that employees can see as achievable. The bonus also works as feedback for the employees that they are doing their jobs properly and with recognition. Finally, an advantage is the universality of the program. Anyone can be rewarded at any time. This takes away the time structure that is needed for positive goals, but specific deadlines lead to not optimal decision-making, so it allows the employee to always strive for great customer service. A huge disadvantage is the bias of rewarding employees. Superior customer service is a relative term that can change from manager to manager. Also, not every person who exhibits great customer service will be rewarded. This can result in lower inputs, since they are not directly correlated with outputs, as the equity theory states. More effort does not always equate with more rewards, so the instrumentality connection of the expectancy theory is broken. Finally, this plan can lead to immense emotional labor and dissonance. Since customer service is very concerned with the emotions of the employees and customers, the program may cause employees to display emotions that are not felt (called emotional dissonance). This can lead to surface acting, or even more disconcerting, deep acting, which makes a person try to change deep emotions they feel. The program, therefore, can cause emotional instability, hampering motivation. The alternative Angelo and Ira should use is the benefits package program; however, some alterations need to be made to address its disadvantages. For instance, the benefits need to coincide with performance. They could set up several tiers of benefits, with each one providing more than the last. This will show that effort and performance will lead to rewards and personal goals. It will also correlate inputs with outputs by showing the more an employee puts into his or her work, the more benefits they will receive. By having the tiers, the company will also have specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals for the employees. In order to measure the outcome of the program, Angelo and Ira must look at the individual, group, and organizational level. First, at the individual level, they should measure

010407-67

job satisfaction. With the three tiers, trends can be readily seen between satisfaction and performance, since higher performers will receive more benefits. They could then measure the satisfaction at the different tiers to truly see if their incentive plan is working, using the tiers as a treatment. At a group level, since the benefits are now extended to all employees, performance within different shifts and teams can be observed. Weekend performance should be closely monitored to see if this group of people is positively responding to the program. Finally, at the organizational level, the most important thing is financial results. If the program is implemented, the company should see how it affects the entire organization via net profits, revenues, customer satisfaction, and other, company-wide metrics. By using controls and treatments at the individual and group level, George Family Lumber can narrow their observations to see if the increased or decreased organizational performance is based on the implementation of the program. Continuous innovation and improvement, as with any program, is vital to maximize the program s capabilities. 4. When reading about Capt. Flanagan, it is obvious he is a person with strong and

favorable values. Values affect people s behaviors, attitudes, and moods. It is obvious that the captain is a happy person, with an attitude that is approachable and endearing. His behavior confirms this, and it all culminates back to values. His approach shows that he is someone who values managing the emotions of others. He addresses negative emotions like fear and anger with condolence and calm. Along with his values, Captain Flanagan has high emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is being aware of your own emotions, knowing the emotions of others, and being able to decipher emotional queues and information. While the article does not offer insight about his handling of personal emotion, it does show that the captain is very keen on knowing the feelings of others. He has an acute sense of when something is wrong and has developed very good methods in squelching negative feelings. Empathy seems to be a concept Mr. Flanagan fully comprehends by being able to put himself in the shoes of travelers and know what irks and pleases them. He is also able to attribute behaviors well, knowing that external and internal factors affect behavior.

010407-67

Looking at the attribution theory, Flanagan knows how to observe a particular behavior, interpret that behavior with its distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency, and attribute that interpretation to either internal or external factors. Air travel can be infuriating, and the captain has comprehended this fact and knows that a lot of peoples behaviors in planes and at airports grow from external forces like delays, missing luggage, and fear of flying. He also does not fall to the fundamental attribution error, which states that people often overestimate internal factors on behavior and underestimate the external factors. Instead, Flanagan relates to the passenger and gets on their level. Behaviors come from different situations and must be treated on individual basis. Finally, Capt. Flanagan fits into the job characteristics model. He has a set of core job dimensions, such as his skill and task specification. This is the basics of being a pilot. With personal growth based on needs, he constructs critical psychological traits. Flanagan has found meaningfulness in the work he does. His responsibilities are more than just getting passengers to their destination, and engulf the entire traveling experience- from the waiting area to inflight entertainment to continued communication via his business cards. These critical traits lead to personal and work goals. Since he has skills and meaning in his work, the captain and those who interact with him have higher motivation, satisfaction, and performance, with lower chance for turnover and absenteeism. Flanagan has taking his core set of skills and developed them in a way that is intrinsically and extrinsically positive for himself and the company. In conclusion, Captain Flanagan behavior towards his job is admirable. He is not solely focused on the simple demands of his job, but instead goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide a pleasurable and memorable experience. This is done by having keen insight to the consumer and their desires. The captain has grasped the notion that emotion is important in the workplace and can be used positively. By having strong internal values, high emotional intelligence, and understanding the attribution of people s behaviors, Captain Flanagan used his given skills to find meaning in his work and provide a unique experience that bodes well for everyone involved.