leadership

Person-Job Fit Theory

Fit between personality and occupational environment determines job satisfaction and turnover.

Example of person-job fit

Social people thrive in sales but may dislike solitary engineering work.

Aspects influenced by personality differences

Work style, problem solving, conflict, interactions with coworkers.

Traits

Traits summarize regularity in behavior

Traits predict other, more specific behaviors

Traits explain behavior

Big Five Personality Traits (OCEAN)

Openness

Conscientiousness

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Emotional Stability

Openness

Curious, creative; may be indecisive.

Conscientiousness

Organized, dependable; strongest job performance predictor.

May lack spontaneity, flexibility, change orientation

Extraversion

Outgoing, assertive; may create status conflicts.

Agreeableness

Cooperative, empathetic; may avoid tough decisions.

Emotional Stability

Calm, steady; opposite of neuroticism.

May not understand or empathize with others' emotional reactions

Trait Activation Theory

Traits are expressed more in certain contexts: Weak situations (less structured): traits show (e.g., socializing).

Strong situations (high norms): behavior dictated (e.g., teaching).

Locus of Control

Internal: Believe they control outcomes → more motivated.

External: Outcomes due to luck/fate → less motivated.

Dark Triad

Machiavellianism, Narcissism, Psychopathy

Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism - Manipulative, power-driven, political; harmful if excessive.

Narcissism

- Arrogant, entitled, but can inspire vision/creativity.

Psychopathy

- Lacks empathy, thrill-seeking, destructive, but sometimes useful in high-stress roles (police, CEOs).

Cognitive ability

The ability to learn and acquire new knowledge or skills; strong predictor of task performance.

Difference between emotions and moods

Emotions: Short, specific cause (anger at coworker).

Moods: Long-lasting, less intense ("feeling down all day").

Affective Events Theory

Work events trigger emotional reactions, influencing job satisfaction and performance.

Emotional contagion

Spread of emotions among group members.

Factors influencing emotional contagion

Individual: empathy, stress level, awareness.

Intrapersonal: cohesiveness, trust.

Context: status differences, culture.

Implications of emotional contagion

Leaders' moods affect team morale and customer satisfaction.

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Ability to perceive, understand, and regulate emotions.

EI components

Personal competence: Self-awareness, self-management.

Social competence: Social awareness, relationship management.

Benefits of EI

Better relationships, higher well-being, workplace harmony.

Limits of EI

research unclear if EI always predicts job performance.

Perception

A cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings

Important as perceptions affect actions and decisions

Perception is making sense of the (social) environment so we can respond to it

But we all tend to prioritize our own vantage point

Factors shaping person perception

Perceiver

Target

Situation

person perception perceiver

your interpretation of the target is influenced by your personal characteristics, past experiences, and expectations

person perception target

characteristics of target influence what we perceive. We make assumptions about the target

person perception situation

time, location, light, weather, etc

Attribution Theory

Explains whether we attribute behavior to internal traits or external situations.

Stable vs. unstable causes

Stable: Permanent factors.

Unstable: Temporary causes.

Self-Serving Bias

Attribute successes to internal factors, failures to external factors.

Fundamental Attribution Error

Attribute others' failures to internal factors and their successes to external ones.

Determinants of attribution

Distinctiveness - Unique to the situation? Consensus - Do others behave the same? Consistency - Is it repeated over time?

Managerial attribution errors

Can lead to inappropriate decisions like wrong promotions or layoffs.

Social Identity Theory

Group membership shapes self-concept → in-group vs. out-group bias.

Affinity bias

Preferring people similar to ourselves.

Empathy in work

Improves leadership and job performance.

Expectations

unmet expectations lower dopamine → stress → impacts performance.

Why is selection important?

Aligns workforce with strategy, reduces turnover, builds culture.

What does correlation measure?

Strength (0-1) and direction (+/−) of relationship between selection results and job performance.

criteria for good selection methods

Reliability (consistency), Validity(accuracy)

Types of validity

Content: Measures job-related behaviors. Construct: Measures what it claims to measure. Criterion-related: Predicts job success.

Predictive methods of validity

Compare applicant test scores to future performance.

Concurrent methods of validity

Compare current employee scores to current performance.

Reliability types

Test-retest,

Parallel/Alternative form,

Internal consistency,

Inter-rater.

Test-retest

If scores are consistent over time

Parallel/Alternate form

consistency over time, like taking a similar assessment in two different formats

Internal consistency

asked the same question multiple times, with different wording.

Inter-rater

looking at the consistency of scores across raters

Causes of unreliability

Random error, deficiency error (missing info), contamination error (extra influences).

Types of selection tools

Screening (resumes, unstructured interviews), Evaluative (ability tests, structured interviews), Contingent (drug tests, background checks).

Defenses against discrimination claims

Job-relatedness, business necessity, seniority systems.

3 parts of motivation

direction-where our intensity is aimed

intensity- level of effort individuals puts forth

persistence- how long effort is maintained

Intrinsic motivation

Internal satisfaction or purpose.

Extrinsic motivation

External rewards (money, status).

McClelland's three needs

Achievement, Power, Affiliation.

Self-Determination Theory parts

Autonomy - Control over one's life. Competence - Mastery and effectiveness. Relatedness - Belonging and connection.

Five core job characteristics

Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy, Feedback.

Skill Variety

Use of different skills/talents.

Task Identity

Completing a whole, identifiable piece of work.

Task Significance

Impact on lives/work of others.

Autonomy

- Freedom/independence in how work gets done.

Feedback

Work activities generate direct/clear performance info.

Goal-Setting Theory

Specific, challenging goals improve performance.

Self-Efficacy Theory

Belief in ability to perform a task; high expectations improve outcomes (Pygmalion effect).

Organizational Justice

Perceptions of fairness in the workplace

3 parts of organizational justice

distributive

procedural

interactional

Distributive justice

perceived fairness of outcome

ex.) i got the raise i deserved

procedural justice

perceived fairness of the process used to determine outcome

ex.) I had input into the process used to give raises and was given a good explanation of why I received the raise

Interactional justice

sensitivity to the quality of interpersonal treatment

ex.) when telling me about my raise, my supervisor was nice

Importance of money

Motivates employees, improves performance, aligns with company strategy.

Three pay strategies

Lead, Meet, or Lag market pay.

Pay bands increase with hierarchy.

Equity Theory

People compare input-output ratios to others and act to restore fairness.

Responses to inequity

Change inputs, Change outcomes, Distort self-perceptions, Distort others' perceptions, Choose a new referent, Leave the job.

Types of pay-for-performance

Merit pay: Based on appraisal. Lump-sum bonus: One-time. Commission: Based on results. Stock options: Linked to company performance.

Pros/Cons of merit pay

Pros

If performance management system is good, instrumenality is high

Cons

Expensive

Will not improve company performance if employee goals are not aligned with strategy

Increase amounts may have minimal valence

Pros/Cons of Lump sum bonuses

Pros

Less expensive

Can tie to specific elements of performance os instrumentality is enhanced

Cons

Can come to be viewed as an entitlement over time

Pros/Cons of Commission

Pros

Paid only when company makes money

Strong instrumentality

Cons

Can result in competition between workers

Prioritize results over behavior

Pros/Cons of stock options

Pros

Should make all workers concerned about company performance

Should suggest long term view of organiation- and it does, in executives at least

Cons

Stock price often out of workers control

Below executive levels, stock incentives don't promote long-term perspective

Difficult to see the connection between activity and company stock price

Expectancy theory of motivation

Expectancy- Effort->performance

Instrumental- performance-> reward

Valence- rewards-> personal goals

Risks of incentive pay

Wrong behaviors, burnout, diminishing effect.

Types of benefits

Legally required: Social Security, workers' comp. Voluntary: Insurance, PTO, tuition reimbursement, perks.

Performance management

Quality check ensuring people do the right tasks at the right level.

Purposes of performance management

Administrative (raises), Strategic (goal alignment), Developmental (feedback).

Steps of performance management

Define performance, Monitor & evaluate, Review performance, Reward results.

2 types of goals

performance & learning

4 step goal process

1) Set goals

2) Promote goal attainment

3) Provide support, feedback

4) Create action plans

Be sure they are SMART!

Contingency approach to defining performance

Do what the citation requires, rather than a one size fits all approach

How to monitor & evaulate performance

Managers need to monitor and evaluate both progress toward the final goal and the ultimate achievement of the goal

Performance evaluation methods

Absolute

Relative

Results-based

Absolute method

-Rating based on absolute standard of what "ideal" looks like

Absolute approach 1

Graphic rating scale

Absolute approach 2

Behaviorally anchored rating scale

What is BARS?

A behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) is a performance evaluation tool that assesses employees across specific dimensions by matching their behavior to clearly defined examples tied to each level of a rating scale

Relative method

Direct comparison of employees to one another

Relative approach 1- Ranking

All employees ranked top to bottom

Relative approach 2- Forced distribution

Assigns a certain percentage of employees to a fixed number of ranks (welch approach)

Welch approach

Rank 20% top, 70% middle, 10% bottom (fire lowest).

Relative method pros/cons

Pros

Clear succession planning

Easy to develop and use

Excellent administrative data

Cons

No absolute standard

Little developmental feedback

Competition

Results method

Mutual setting of goals and tracking of progress

Results method pros/cons

Pros

Strong strategic congruence

Emphasizes action and results

Cons

Prioritizes results over behavior

An employee may not control the outcome

Can result in resource conflict