HRM 401 - Midterm Exam 2

What is self-enhancement bias?

• The tendency to overestimate our performance and capabilities and to see ourselves in a more positive light than others see us

What is self-effacement bias?

• The tendency to underestimate our performance and capabilities, and to see events in a way that puts us in a more negative light

What is false consensus error?

• The overestimation of how similar we are to other people and their behaviors and attitudes

What are the three self-perception biases?

• Self-Enhancement

• Self-Effacement

• False Consensus Error

What are stereotypes?

• Generalizations about individuals based on a perceived group characteristic

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy?

• When an established stereotype or belief causes one to behave in a certain way, which leads the other party to behave in a way that makes the stereotype or belief come true

What is selective perception?

• Paying attention to parts of the environment or situation while ignoring other parts

What are the three social perception biases?

• Stereotypes

• Self-fulfilling prophecy

• Selective perception

What are the benefits of diversity?

• Higher creativity in decision making

• Better understanding and service of customers

• More satisfied workers

• Higher stock prices

• Lower litigation expenses

• Higher company performance

What is the difference between surface and deep level diversity?

• Surface level diversity involves things more easily identifiable and physical for a person, such as gender, race, age, physical disabilities, etc.

• Deep level diversity involves things identifiable after knowing a person, such as values, attitudes, beliefs

What is the difference between collectivistic and individualistic cultures?

• Collectivist cultures define themselves in terms of the groups they are a part of, prefer group awards, and conform with the group

• Individualist cultures define themselves as individuals, prefer individual awards, and value differences

What are individual and organizational actions to take to increase belonging in the workplace?

• Individual

  • Possess self awareness of motives and comfort level with diversity

  • Engage in continuous learning

• Organization

  • Tie belonging to organizational values with measurable goals

  • Focus on core learning goals for employees with personalized trainings that employees volunteer to complete

  • Focus on specific behaviors for inclusion

• Christ-like love and humility

What are the Big Five persionality dimensions?

• Openness to Experience

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism/Emotional Stability

What are the characteristics and tendencies of Openness to Experience?

• The extent to which someone seeks new experiences and is tolerant of change

• High

  • Create new plans and ideas

  • Seeks complexity

  • Readily accepts changes and innovations

  • Prefers a broad view and resists details

• Low

  • Implements plans

  • Prefers simplicity

  • Wants to maintain existing methods

  • Attentive to details

What are the characteristics and tendencies of Conscientiousness?

• How an individual approaches goals (achievement-oriented)

• High

  • Continual need to refine or polish

  • Keeps everything organized

  • Craves even more achievement

  • Prefers completing tasks before shifting

  • Develops plans for everything

• Low

  • Low need to continually refine or polish

  • Comfortable with little formal organization

  • Satisfied with current level of achievement

  • Shifts easily between on-going tasks

  • Operates in a more spontaneous mode

What are the characteristics and tendencies of Extraversion?

• The degree to which a person can tolerate sensory stimulation from people and situations

• High

  • Shows a lot of positive feelings

  • Prefers working with others

  • Prefers to be physically active

  • Enjoys responsibility of leading others

  • Readily trusts others

  • Carefully selects the right words

• Low

  • Holds down positive feelings

  • Prefers working alone

  • Prefers being still in one place

  • Prefers being independent of others

  • Skeptical of others

  • Speaks without regard for consequences

What are the characteristics and tendencies of Agreeableness?

• The degree to which we take other’s opinions into account

• High

  • More interested in others’ needs

  • Seeks harmony

  • Uncomfortable with acknowledgement

  • Keeps opinions to self

  • Prefers the background

• Low

  • More interested in self needs

  • Welcomes engagement

  • Wants acknowledgement

  • Usually expressions opinions

  • Enjoys being out front

What are the characteristics and tendencies of Neuroticism?

• How we respond to stress/negative experiences (anxiousness)

• High

  • Worrying

  • Quick to feel anger

  • Pessimistic explanations

  • Longer rebound time

• Low

  • At ease most of the time

  • Usually calm

  • Optimistic explanations

  • Rapid rebound time

What contributes to core self-evaluation?

• Self-esteem → degree to which a person has overall positive feelings about themselves

• Self-efficacy → a belief that one can perform successfully

• Locus of Control → beliefs about what causes things to self — internal or external

What is job satisfaction?

• The feeling of fulfillment or enjoyment a person derives from their job

What is organizational commitment?

• The psychological bond an employee has with their organization, reflecting their dedication, loyalty, and emotional attachment

What is organizational identification?

• How an individual defines themself based on their knowledge of or membershipin a group

What causes cognitive dissonance?

• Experiencing inconsistency between attitudes and behaviors

How can employees try to reduce cognitive dissonance?

• We can iether change behavior or change attitudes

What are the major predictors of job performance?

• General Mental Abilities (biggest predictor!!!)

• How we are treated at work

• Stress

• Positive work attitudes

• Personality

What are the major predictors of citizenship?

• How we are treated at work

• Personality

• Positive work attitudes

• Age of the employee

What are the major predictors of absenteeism?

• Health problems

• Work/life balance issues

• Positive work attitudes

• Age of the employee

What are the major predictors of turnover?

• Poor performance

• Positive work attitudes

• Stress

• Personality

• Age and tenure of the employee

What are OCBs? How do they differ from in-role job performance?

• Organizational Citizenship Behaviors

• These are the voluntary actions employees take to benefit the organization or their colleagues, going beyond formal job duties

What are the responses to dissatisfaction?

• Hirschman’s Framework

• Counterproductive Workplace Behaviors

What is Hirschman’s Framework?

• Two axis: Active → Passive and Destructive → Constructive

• Active Destructive → Exit (leave)

• Active Constructive → Voice (protest or complain)

• Passive Destructive → Neglect (pull back and not do as much work)

• Passive Constructive → Loyalty (remain and accept the situation)

What are counter-productive work behaviors?

• Abusing others

• Production deviance

• Theft

• Sabotage

• Withdrawal behaviors

What is perspective taking?

• The active cognitive process of imaging the world from anoterh’s vantage point or imagining oneself in another’s shoes to understand their visual viewpoint, thoughts, motivations, intentions, and/or emotions

• Decreases stereotyping and discrimination

• Increases liking, coordination, and cooperation

What are the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?

• Intrinsic → people are motivated by challenges, the desire to learn, task enjoyment, task meaningfulness, fairness, social interaction, etc.

  • Self-motivated → provides feelings of accomplishment and self-worth

• Extrinsic → people are motivated by rewards, recognition, and incentive systems

What is Maslow’s Theory of Motivation?

• A need theory → certain fundamental human eeds must be met in a hierarchical order to facilitate motivation

• People care about more than money

• 5 Hierarchies:

1. Physiological Needs

2. Safety Needs

3. Social Needs

4. Esteem Needs

5. Self-Actualization Needs

What is the ERG Theory?

• Three categories (simlifies Maslow’s theory and eliminates a hierarchy

  • Existence Needs

  • Relatedness Needs

  • Growth Needs

What is the Two-Factor Theory of Motivation?

• There are motivators and hygiene factors

• Motivators lead to increased motivation, but the absense of them does not necessarily de-motivate

  • Achievement, personal growth, challenging work, etc.

• Hygeine factors do not lead to motivation, but their absense of them is demotivating

  • Salary, benefits, safe and clean working environment, etc.

What is expectancy theory?

• Motivation is a function of expectancy, instrumentality, valence

• Effort → Performance → Outcomes/Reward

  • Expectancy: Effort → Performance (if I put in work, I will achieve)

  • Instrumentality: Performance → Outcomes (if I achieve, I will be rewarded)

  • Valence: value of outcome/reward

What is equity theory?

• People evaluate the ratio of inputs they bring to a job to the outputs they receive

• Inequality or imbalance in this ratio can lead to demotivation

• People often refer to past precedents and other people to access equity

• Fairness is an incredibly powerful motivator

What is goal-setting theory?

• Motivation and performance can be maximized by assigning specific levels of performance for workers to attain

• Works because…

  • A goal activates a psychological drive to reach the goal

  • Goals direct attention

  • Goals lead people to develop strategies to achieve them

  • Goals increase persistence

• Goals need to be:

  • Specific

  • Challenging, but realistic

  • Involving employees when setting the goal

What is the job characteristics model of motivation?

• Core Job Dimensions → Critical Psychological States → Personal Work Outcomes

What are the five core job dimensions?

• Skill Variety

• Task Identity

• Task Significance

• Autonomy

• Feedback

What are the three Critical Psychological States?

• Experienced Meaningfulness

• Felt Responsibility

• Knowledge of Results

What are the four Personal Work Outcomes?

• High Intrinsic Motivation

• High Work Performance

• High Satisfaction

• Low Turnover and Absenteeism

What do each of the core job dimensions lead to in the critical psychological states?

• Skill Variety, Task Identity, Task Significance → Experienced Meaningfulness

• Autonomy → Felt Responsibility

• Feedback → Knowledge of Results

What is the motivating potential score equation?

MPS = [(Skill Variety + Task Identity + Task Significance) / 3] x Autonomy x Feedback

How can pay for performance incentive systems work and the benefits and risks of using such a system?

• Can compensate for high performance individuals

• Motivation

  • How important are explicit extrinsic incentives

• Risk

  • A larger variable component shifting provides risk to the employee

  • To bear additional risk, employees require higher expected compensation

• Consider

  • Measuring/rewarding on one dimension of performance when many are relevant to organizational outcomes (you get what you pay for)

  • Measuring/rewarding on multiple dimensions of performance, when one dimension interferes with another (speed versus quality)