...2. An auto dealer has hired you to help improve the performance of its sales and service staff. Your first task is to conduct a needs analysis for the organization. Describe what you will do. Then, provide examples of possible training and development activities that could be used to influence the knowledge behavior, and attitudes of the staff. For an auto dealer I would do a short and long-term training and development needs according to the business strategy, company culture, and expected changes in the external environment of the company. The needs analysis will produce a clear statement of the goals to be achieved by training and development activities. We will also set a need analysis that will assess the company’s current climate for training. Knowledge objectives are of three types: declarative, procedural, and strategic. Declarative knowledge is the person's store of factual information. Procedural knowledge is the person's understanding about how and when to apply the facts. Strategic knowledge is used for planning, monitoring, and revising goal-directed activity. Skill reflects one's proficiency at specific tasks such as operating a piece of equipment, giving a presentation, or making a business decision. Attitudes are beliefs and/or opinions about objects and events and the positive or negative affect (feelings) associated with them. Attitudes affect motivation levels, which in turn influence a person's behavior. The various training delivery methods can be divided...
Words: 925 - Pages: 4
...ATTITUDES, VALUES AND ETHICS ATTITUDE Attitude is a person’s overall evaluation of a person, or issue. It could be favorable or unfavorable towards something. It is considered along with other elements- beliefs and behaviors.Beliefs represent what we have learned or come to know through experience. As such, they are either true or represent what we think is true. Example, that working on a challenging project would bring recognition in the organization or that working after office hours would affect health and personal life while behaviors represent the actions we take with regard to a particular object or entity. Example, whether one complete the project successfully or leave the office at 6:00 PM in the evening. In the simplest case, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors should be related but there are instances that the relation between attitudes, beliefs and behaviors is not very strong (Wiegel et al., 1974). For example, we might dislike studying, (a negative attitude) and rarely study at all (negative behavior) yet truly believe it will lead to success, yet rarely study. We could even dislike studying, be unsure whether it leads to better grades, and yet spend a great deal in studying. Hence, we can say that attitude is a complex cognitive process (Neovistas.com, 2004). Attitudes can be examined in terms of its three components: Affect, Behavioral, and Cognition. Affect consists of the emotional feelings stimulated by the object of the attitude for example:...
Words: 6269 - Pages: 26
...TOPIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB PERFORMANCE AND ABILITY JOB FIT TABLE OF CONTENTS • Abstract • Introduction • Problem statement • Literature review • Theoretical framework • Hypothesis • Research design • Research techniques • Data collections methods • Questionnaire • Data Analysis • Conclusions • Recommendation ABSTRACT Purpose of this report was to investigate the relationship between job performance and the ability job fit of the employees of a business organization. Definitively this is an investigation of all correlations between job efficiency with due linkage to the required job ability in any working sphere of the professional status quo. The dependent variable in the study is job performance and the independent variable is the Ability Job Fit i.e. the match between an employee’s ability and the requirement of his job. Our data collection method is unstructured interview and questionnaire. A sample of 10 people was chosen for the study by non-probability convenient sampling method. The sample includes 5 employees of both multinational as well as local companies. The result shows that a high ability job fit is the most important factor behind an employee’s job performance and thus contributes to the field of organization behavior. Thus I found out in my study...
Words: 5818 - Pages: 24
...the person, but the environment they are in! Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology: I-side: human resources functions Ex: training, selection, performance appraisal O-side: understanding and predicting behavior Ex: motivation, work attitudes, stress, leadership, team effectiveness Organizational behavior: the scientific study of individual and group behavior in organizations; focused on different levels of analysis * Use of the scientific method to understand and solve problems relate to people in organizations * Focus on organizational behavior * Individuals: attitudes, behavior, health * Groups/teams: norms, cohesion, conflict * Organizations: firm performance, culture, climate Historical influences: * Fredrick Taylor: first to subject work to scientific study; interested in efficiency * Published Principles of Scientific Management (1911) * Conducted first field experiments like shuffling studies * Time-and-motion studies to identify “one best way” to do a job * Ford example; he found a way to make Ford cars cheaper * Elton Mayo: studied workers at Hawthorne; worked of the Western Electric Co. in late 20’s – early 30’s * Research on effects of lighting, breaks, length of work day, and type of incentive pay on performance * Illumination studies and Hawthorne Effect * Social factors affect behavior in organizations (human relations movement) * Kurt Lewin: ...
Words: 6250 - Pages: 25
...though they are in the midst of downsizing they are still finding ways to expand, when people are new to a job they bring a wealth of excitement to that job. In the case of Home Depot it seems as if benevolence and universalism are being exhibited. The CEO Frank Blake tries to boost moral by lowering the sales and profit targets that hourly employees were to meet to receive bonuses. This was met with an unimaginable response when a higher amount of achievement by the staff than ever before was generated, here we see Security at play since there is a reciprocity (“You take care of me, I take care of you”). Home Depot appeals to the values tradition and security. Even though they downsized the number of employees, they made a huge effort to help the current employees. At Best Buy we see self- direction at work as the employees are part of the solution as they searched for ways together to cut cost. This act by the company shows appreciation for the contributions of the employees. This helps with employee morale, the employees feels apart of the team when the can contribute. The use of affective, cognitive, and behavioral components of his attitude toward managing in a recession by CEO Steve Ellis. As for affective behavior; Ellis seems to feel positive about the prospects in consulting and its growth possibility in emerging markets and corporate turnarounds. When you look at cognitive behavior I would say he believes he can continue to grow his...
Words: 1182 - Pages: 5
...LEARNING OUTCOMES After reading this chapter, students should be able to: 1. Define the focus and goals of organizational behavior. 2. Identify and describe the three components of attitudes. 3. Explain cognitive dissonance. 4. Describe the Myers-Briggs personality type framework and its use in organizations. 5. Define perception and describe the factors that can shape or distort perception. 6. Explain how managers can shape employee behavior. 7. Contrast formal and informal groups. 8. Explain why people join groups. 9. State how roles and norms influence employees' behavior. 10. Describe how group size affects group behavior. Opening Vignette SUMMARY In today's dynamic organization, we continue to hear about management's need to be sensitive to others, for some, this is simply not part of their personality make-up, example Linda Wachner, CEO. One of the first women to become a Fortune 500 CEO. She is characterized as a screaming, combative, ruthless taskmaster known for humiliating employees in front of their peers. Her simple motto: "You can't run a company efficiently with a 'bunch of babies.' If you don't like it, leave. This is not a prison." Advice to other senior managers, be tough. Wachner is known for being smart and a good manager--and one who rewards only performance. Her record at Warnaco has been nothing short of stellar. Since leading a leveraged buyout and becoming head of the company in 1986, profits and company stock prices have skyrocketed...
Words: 7942 - Pages: 32
...really been satisfied with their chosen job, career choice, and an anticipated promotion or being bored with certain levels of achievement? It is difficult dealing with employee’s attitude and wondering if he or she is or is not satisfied on the job and also wondering if his or her level of motivation toward success is being achieved to produce at the level the company needs to succeed. These areas are studied in what is called the three gaps between HR practice and the scientific research in the area of employee attitudes in general and the most focal is employee attitude in particular what promotes job satisfaction. I will attempt to explain the three gaps described in HR practices according to the article by Lise M. Saari titled “Employee Attitudes and Job Satisfaction” are the causes of employee’s attitudes, the results of positive or negative job satisfaction, and how to measure and influence employee attitudes. This paper will also explain how and to which extent research on job satisfaction resolves each of the three gaps, and I will use at least two examples to show where do the gaps still exist and how future research on job satisfaction can help to close these gaps? GAP ONE: ATTITUDES The dispositional influence correlates to Maslow’s theory of an individual needs. Other than the principles needs of a human, food, water, shelter, and spiritual needs, a person needs to fulfill other outside need and advocates of job enrichment have argued that most work tasks...
Words: 1718 - Pages: 7
...Emotions, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction BUS 520 – Leadership and Organizatinal Behavior . Emotion, attitude and job satisfaction can influence decision-making. A poor decision-making is an effect of negative behavior or mood and can interfere with a person’s job or decision-making. Job satisfaction is another way whereby employees can be influence. Emotions determine job satisfaction (and vice-versa) and how employees attitude influence the performance of the organization. Having all these traits can be asset to all the managers and directors in a company whose job is to entail the planning and decision-making. Making sense on how people behave can depend on understanding their attitudes. Some people can have emotional attachments toward the company they work for (and some don’t). Managers can have some strong influence over the satisfaction of employees and how they are treated fairly. Managers have a collection of feelings and beliefs that can be strongly attached to job satisfaction. I have come to notice that ambition can negatively influence job satisfaction more so in making decisions in part of the roles that the employees play. Job satisfaction in other words, can be placed as a positive emotional state resulting from a great culture to another, providing better chances to employee’s participation in decision-making. Job satisfaction can be one-dimensional if it comprises evaluation in the interest of employee’s attitudes. Later in life job satisfaction...
Words: 1491 - Pages: 6
...representative consist of retaining customer business by renewing contracts, present data solutions, offer accessories, demonstrate equipment functions and network capability and answer customer billing questions. The supervisors’ job is to monitor daily team results to ensure performance, retention and objective compliance, complete monthly reporting, provide effective feedback, supervise, educate and motivate their team to exceed all performance measures. I have worked for this same wireless carrier for 4 years and I currently work in their financial service department but I have a few close friends who work in the customer care department who don’t be satisfied with their jobs. I found this quite interesting because we all worked for the same company but there seemed to be a huge difference in job satisfaction from department to department. In order to find out what this difference is from our department to theirs I did an hour of side by sides with some of the customer care representatives and gave my friends from the department a survey to fill out that dealt with job satisfaction. Problem Statement Most of the feedback I received from the employees in this department is that management spends a lot of time micromanaging its employees. The employees do not feel empowered to make decisions because they feel that they will be reprimanded later for their decision. The number of FMLA (Family Medical Leave...
Words: 3445 - Pages: 14
...Emotions & Attitudes / Stress – Role Perceptions These three factors come together during situational factors that lead to behavioral result such as task preference & performance, organizational citizenship (cooperation and helpfulness beyond required job duties), CWBs (Counterproductive Work Behaviors / harm organization), joining/staying with an organization and maintaining attendance. All of these factors reflect individual behavior because each individual is different and will use these in different ways. Four Factors Of Voluntary Individual Behavior And Performance * Motivation – the forces within a person that affect their direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behavior. Think of it as a car; directions refers to where you steer the car, intensity is how much you put your foot down on the pedal, and persistence is how close do you get to your destination. Do you have the persistence to make it all the way or do you fall short? * Ability – Includes both the natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task. Aptitudes are the natural talents that help employees learn specific task more quickly or perform better at them. Learned capabilities are skills and knowledge that you currently posses. They include both physical and mental skills and knowledge that you have come to posses. Competencies – Skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and other personal characteristics that lead to superior performance. Competencies...
Words: 4588 - Pages: 19
...Chapter 2 Organizational behavior Perception and Personality DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Organizational behavior (often abbreviated as OB) is a field of study that investigates how individuals, groups, and structure affect and is affected by behavior within organizations. Behavior refers to what people do in the organization, how they perform, and what their attitudes are. Because the organizations studied are often business organizations, OB is frequently applied to address workplace issues such as absenteeism, turnover, productivity, motivation, working in groups, and job satisfaction. Managers often apply the knowledge gained from OB research to help them manage their organizations more effectively. What is organizational behavior? organizational behavior A field of study that investigates the impact of individuals, groups, and structure on behavior within organizations; the aim is to apply such knowledge toward improving organizational effectiveness .OB is for everyone It may seem natural to think that the study of OB is for leaders and managers of organizations. After all, they often set the agenda for everyone else. However, OB is for everyone. For instance, many employees have informal leadership roles. They are often expected to move beyond simply providing labor to playing a more proactive role in achieving organizational success. As well, managers are increasingly asking employees to share in their decision-making processes...
Words: 13411 - Pages: 54
...OB Chapter 4 Notes What are Values? * Values are a broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others. * The preference aspect of this definition means that values have to do with what we consider good and bad. * Values are motivational, since they signal the attractive aspects of our environment that we seek and the unattractive aspects that we try to avoid or change. * They signal how we believe we should and should not behave. * Broad tendency means that values are very general and they do not predict behaviour in specific situations very well. * People tend to hold values structured around such factors as achievement, power, autonomy, conformity, tradition, and social welfare. * We learn values through the reinforcement process by parents, teachers, and representatives of religions. Generational Differences in Values * Generations are: 1. Traditionalists 2. Baby boomers 3. Generation X 4. Generation Y * Categorized by different ages, but also distinguished by growing up under different socialization experiences; which in result could cause different values. * Such values differences might underlie the differential workplaces assets and preferences of leadership style. * Some indication that Gen X and Y are more inclined to value money, status, and rapid career growth than are boomers. * Also evidence that Gen X and Y, compared to boomers, see work as less central, value leisure more, and are...
Words: 3520 - Pages: 15
...Literature Foreign Literature * Your attitude in the workplace can be one of the most - if not the most - telling aspect of how others in the company look at you and feel about you as a co-worker stated by Mueller (2006). Your attitude therefore will definitely define you. Personality according to psychology is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. Experience and academic research has shown that an individual’s personality has a strong influence on how they work within an organization. One's image in the eyes of other people is important. If one is to represent a company and indeed one's self, an image of orderliness is vital, to win confidence. * According to Koontz (2007) many opportunities for development can be found on-the-job. Trainees can learn as they contribute to the aims of the enterprise. However, because this approach requires competent higher – level managers who can teach and coach trainees, there are limitations to do on-the-job training. Planned progression is a technique that gives managers a clear idea of their path of development. It may be perceived by trainees as a smooth path to the top, but it really is a step-by-step approach which requires that task to be done well at each level. Trainees learn about different enterprise functions by job rotations. They may rotate through:...
Words: 2927 - Pages: 12
...Introduction to the Field of Organizational Behavior People differ from each other in their needs and values. Group effort eases their task of achieving organizational goals effectively. Human relations can be defined as motivating people in organizations to work as a team. Although human relationships have existed from quite some time in the past, the study of human relations has developed only recently. Social sciences like sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics and political science have contributed to the development of OB and human relations. Human relations and OB play a significant role in the development of the skills of employees and the improvement of organizational performance. Various studies and theories in the field of organizational behavior have given new insights into the behavior of people at work. The most important studies are the Hawthorne studies, Theory X and Theory Y, and Theory Z. The Hawthorne Studies, conducted by Elton Mayo at the Western Electric Company, was the first systematic study that recognized the significance of informal groups in the workplace and its impact on productivity. The conclusion drawn from these studies was that it was security and recognition, not just good physical working conditions that bring a drastic improvement in productivity. Moreover, informal groups operating within the work settings exert strong control over work habits of individual workers. Douglas McGregor formulated two theories called Theory X and Theory...
Words: 3476 - Pages: 14
...Attitudes Attitudes, Job Attitudes, Personality and Values Attitudes Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events Cognitive Component The opinion or belief segment of an attitude Affective Component The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude Behavioral Component An intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something 1 2 Nature of Evaluations Underpinning Attitudes • Attitudes not represented on single continuum e.g. totally +ve to totally –ve • Rather, evaluate attitude objects on both positive and negative dimensions (Cacioppo et al 1977) – – – – positive attitude = Hi +ve reaction & Lo -ve reaction negative attitude= Lo +ve reaction & Hi –ve reaction indifference = Lo +ve reaction & Lo –ve reaction ambivalence = Hi +ve reaction & Hi –ve reaction The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive Dissonance Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes Individuals seek to reduce this gap, or “dissonance” Desire to reduce dissonance depends on: • Importance of elements creating dissonance • Degree of individual influence over elements • Rewards involved in dissonance 4 • Since evaluations of attitude objects ‘automatic’ some consider attitude formation to be a reflex e.g. Chaiken et al., 1996 – But range of personal and social factors influence nature of our evaluations Measuring the A-B Relationship Recent research indicates that attitudes (A) significantly predict...
Words: 2881 - Pages: 12
