In-Depth Notes on Equity Theory and Management Concepts
Equity Theory
Focuses on balancing inputs and outputs in a work context. Employees assess their contributions against the perceived contributions of others, and they compare their outcome-to-input ratio to that of comparable references in the marketplace. This creates a sense of fairness and can significantly impact motivation and productivity.
Measured against comparable references in the marketplace:
Me (Here): Reflection on personal contributions and outcomes within the current organization.
Me (Elsewhere): Consideration of similar roles and outcomes in different organizations, which may influence retention and job satisfaction.
Others (Here): Observing colleagues’ rewards and recognition in the same organization, fostering a culture of fairness or envy.
Others (Elsewhere): Comparing with peers in different organizations to understand industry standards for compensation and benefits.
Distributive Justice
Equity: Rewarding employees based on their contributions to the organization fosters motivation and enables a competitive environment that can drive performance.
Equality: Providing equal compensation to all employees regardless of their contributions can help cultivate a sense of unity but may demotivate high performers.
Need: Benefits tailored to individual requirements prioritize the well-being of employees, which can enhance loyalty and job engagement.
Appropriateness of Processes in Decision-Making:
Consistency: Ensuring uniform treatment for all employees minimizes perceptions of bias and supports fairness.
Lack of Bias: Implementing fair processes eliminates discrimination against individuals or specific groups, thereby promoting inclusivity.
Accuracy: Decisions should be based on verified information to avoid misinformation and ensure all employees trust the decision-making process.
Representation: Involving all relevant stakeholders in decision-making fosters transparency and shared ownership.
Correction: Establishing mechanisms for rectifying mistakes reinforces accountability and commitment to fairness.
Ethics: Adherence to professional conduct norms ensures that decision-making processes align with ethical standards.
Interactional Justice
Evaluates how authority figures treat employees, which greatly influences morale and workplace culture:
Interpersonal Justice: Focuses on dignified treatment characterized by courtesy and respect, promoting a positive environment.
Informational Justice: Sharing relevant insights regarding decisions helps create transparency and fosters trust in leadership, as employees feel prioritized and valued.
Importance of Fairness
Fairness influences numerous organizational outcomes, leading to improved employee experiences:
Distributive Fairness: Employees must perceive outcomes as fair relative to their inputs and contributions to the organization.
Procedural Fairness: The decision-making processes must be ethical, transparent, and correctable to instill confidence among employees.
Informational Fairness: Employees need to be adequately informed about decisions to understand the rationale behind them.
Interpersonal Fairness: Treating employees with respect and dignity is essential for fostering a positive workplace culture.
Fairness links to:
Job Satisfaction: Perceptions of fairness correlate directly with higher levels of employee satisfaction.
Organizational Commitment: Fair environments encourage employees' emotional attachment to their organization.
Performance: Fairness can drive increased engagement, leading to improved individual and team performance.
Trust in the Organization: Employees are more likely to trust their organization when they feel treated fairly.
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (OCBs): Fair treatment encourages employees to go above and beyond their formal job duties, contributing to a positive organizational culture.
Consequences of Injustice
The negative repercussions of perceived injustice can manifest in various ways:
Mental Effects: Employees may experience anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation, anger, and depression when perceiving injustice.
Physical Effects: Common physical symptoms may include headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, fatigue, and sleep issues, affecting productivity.
Behavioral Effects: Employees may engage in maladaptive behaviors such as increased tobacco use, overeating, drug use, social withdrawal, and reduced exercise, further compounding workplace issues.
Types of Workplace Deviance
Production Deviance: Involves behaviors such as late arrivals, taking excessive breaks, and wasting resources.
Political Deviance: Includes gossiping, showing favoritism, and blaming others for issues that arise.
Property Deviance: Engaging in theft, sabotage, or lying about work hours impacts productivity and morale.
Personal Aggression: May include sexual harassment or verbal abuse, severely damaging workplace culture and trust.
Perceptions of Fairness in Contexts
Understanding individual perceptions of fairness can help manage organizational behavior:
Benevolent: Givers who typically prioritize others over themselves and may advocate for equitable conditions.
Equity Sensitives: Employees who focus primarily on fairness and equity, often feeling distressed if they perceive imbalances.
Equity Indifferent: Those ambivalent towards fairness issues, which may impede engagement in advocacy.
Entitled Individuals: Expect rewards without equivalent contributions, potentially leading to discord within team dynamics.
Team Dynamics in Management
Team Logistics: Determine appropriate team size, type of team, and selection criteria to ensure the right blend of skills.
Essentials for Team Effectiveness: Foster a sense of purpose, embrace diversity of perspectives, and establish an appropriate working environment.
Team Structure Factors: Implementing well-composed teams with clear norms of conduct enhances collaboration and productivity.
Coaching and Team Performance:
Equation: Actual Performance = Potential Performance + Process Gains - Process Losses.
Conflict Management
Diversity in teams can lead to conflict, but effective management is crucial:
Functional Teams: Mindful and attentive teams focus on effective communication to navigate challenges.
Dysfunctional Teams: Teams that react negatively and either avoid or cover up conflicts can hinder progress and morale.
Trust in Teams
Trust is crucial for effective teamwork and interactive success:
Dimensions of Trust:
A: Ability: Belief in a team member’s capabilities.
B: Benevolence: Concern for others’ welfare.
C: Character: The ethical and moral qualities of team members.
Enemies of Trust: Inconsistent messages, ignoring serious issues, and low organizational performance undermine trust and can fracture team cohesion.
Influence Tactics in Organizations
Organizations operate within a complex ecosystem of influence tactics:
Legitimate Power: Compliance based on position within the hierarchy.
Reward Power: Control over desirable resources that can incentivize performance.
Coercive Power: Use of fear or punishment to compel adherence.
Expert Power: Influence exercised through expertise and knowledge in a specific domain.
Referent Power: Gaining influence through respect and admiration of one’s peers.
Rational Persuasion: Using logical arguments and evidence to persuade others
Apprising: the use of information and logic to emphasize the benefits of a request or proposal for the target person as an individual.
Inspirational Appeals: Connecting emotionally with the audience to foster influence.
Consultation: Involving others in decision-making processes to enhance ownership and compliance.
Exchange Tactics: Offering rewards for compliance to encourage cooperation.
Coalitions: Building support from others to enhance influence within an organization.
Apprising: the use of information and logic to emphasize the benefits of a request or proposal for the target person as an individual.
Integration - Behavior that makes the target feel appreciated
Session 17
Equity Theory: Trying to balance inputs and outputs
Balance ‘calibrated’ and measured against comparable references in the marketplace:
1. Me (Here)
2. Me (Elsewhere)
3. Others (Here)
4. Others (Elsewhere)
Distributive Justice:
Equity: rewarding employees based on their contributions.
Equality: providing each employee roughly the same compensation
Need: Providing a benefit based on one's personal requirements
Appropriates of the process:
1. Consistency: all employees are treated the same
2. Lack of Bias: no person or group is singled out for discrimination or ill-treatment
3. Accuracy: decisions are based on accurate information
4. Representation of all concerned: appropriate stakeholders have input into the decision
5. Correction: appeals process or other mechanism for fixing mistakes
6. Ethics: norms of professional conduct are not violated
Interactional Justice: Appropriateness of the treatment one receives from the authority figures
1. Interpersonal Justice: Treating an employee with dignity, courtesy, and respect
2. Information a justice: Sharing relevant information with employees
Does Fairness Matter?
Research indicates various types of fairness are linked with important organizational and change outcomes.
The Consequences of Injustice:
1. Benevolent are known as the givers
2. Equity Sensitive are people who count everything and make sure absolutely everything is fair
3. Equity Indifferent people just do not care
4. Entitled believe they should just get everything without doing anything
Self-serving bias can be dangerous if people take it the wrong way
Session 18 – Managing Teams
The OB Challenge
1. Day 1 Team logistics:
Determine Team Size, Team Type, and Team Process, Determine Selection Criteria
2. Day 2 Next Time
The Restaurant Riddler – 40 Miles Radius, 30 minutes, 20 restaurant riddles, ( 1 Essay ‘Do Over’ Opportunity (Good for the entire semester)
3. Day 3 Dealing with Team Drama
Create a clip (Each team will ‘create a clip’ for the class to demonstrate a team concept from Chapter 18
The class will vote to create a Clip Captain of the Class!
2nd place will receive a “Get out of a multiple-choice Question free card
1st place will receive a ‘Get out of an Essay’ free card
Steps to Team Effectiveness
1. To use teams or to not use teams
2. What flavor of team?
(IMPORTANT!) Surgical team, Coacting Team, Face-to-Face Team, Distributed Team
Face-to-face Team and distributed Teams are Teams as a Whole
The surgical team and Coacting Team are Individual Members
Surgical and Face-to-Face is Real-Time Interaction
The Coacting Team and Distributed Team are Asynchronous interaction
Special Sand dune teams adapt to their environment and adapt to what is needed
3. Create the right conditions
Essentials:
· A real Team: A team working together
· Right People: Determine needed skill set; Ensure skills are not lacking
· Internal and/or External Networks
· Diversity or Perspectives
· Clear Purpose & Direction
The Enablers:
Team Structure
· Well-Designed Team Task: Purpose & motivating potential
· Well-Composed Team
· Norms of Conduct: Behavior expectations are clear
Supportive Organizational Context
· Rewards: Incentive for excellent performance
· Informational: Information & tools shared with the team
· Educational: Training provided if needed
4. Coaching the Team
Coaching:
Actual Performance = Potential Performance + Process Gains – Process Losses
Session 19
Conflict avoidance carries a High Cost
Functional team:
For information gathering get Real-time fact-based data
Mindful & Attentive
Shared in an effective manner with frequent interactions
Using Reasoning skills when giving ideas
Trigger Recognition
Fostering Productive Task Conflict
Development of a Routine
Trust/Psychological Safety
Proactive with conflict; Conflict is processed
Legitimating Conflict to build confidence
Team Composition: Variety of Perspectives
Multiple Alternatives: Avoid Bounded Rationality
Devil’s Advocate: Role of challenging others regarding assumptions
Frame-Breaking:
For-Casting: Anticipating future scenarios
Back-Casting: Moving backward from the vision to the present
Functional – Focus and Evaluation: Team self-reflection and external monitoring
Functional – Timeline: Deadlines and Milestones
Functional - Open to the opinions of Others
Dysfunctional Teams:
Dysfunctional Teams are reactive to conflict and cover it up
Dysfunctional waits for conflicts to arise
Dysfunctional – Focus and Evaluation: continuous outward focus
Dysfunctional – Timeline: ASAP Approach
Dysfunctional- Mindset: Closed off to divergent Thinking
Session 20
Mnemonics:
· Memory Aids
· Artificial Strategy for remembering information
Session 21-Managing Team Drama
Task Conflict: Direct Collaboration
Relationship collaboration: Offline Discussions
Cultivate Conditions that Promote Collaboration: ESSAY QUESTION
- Framing: Focus on the ‘we’
- Team Goals: Creating meta-goals
- Develop collective Efficacy: Trusting in the collective (Asking members if they have ever done it before)
- Creating open and constructive conflict communication norms
- Building Affective Integration
- Identifying Individuals with a Cooperative Orientation
- Identifying individuals with an Epistemic motive (you want to know/you want to learn) Nickname: Curious cat
- Exchange Information
- Use Packaging & Tradeoffs
- Breaking the Chain of Conflict Escalation
Session 22
Defining Trust - Trust is a willingness to become vulnerable to someone based on a positive expectation of behavior from that person.
Consumer trust Impacts your Bottom Line
Dimensions of Trust:
A: Ability
B: Benevolence (Do they care about me or not?)
C: Character
The Enemies of Trust: ON EXAM!
1. Inconsistent messages
2. Inconsistency of feedback
3. False Feedback
4. Failure to Trust Others
5. Ignoring Issues
6. Hiding Information
7. Low Org. Performance
Roadblocks:
1. Transparency Limitations
2. Perception Issues
Rebuild Trust: A Proper Apology
1. Care about the result: Recognize how your behavior impacted others
2. Hold Your excuses: Avoid trying to justify your actions
3. Accountability: Take responsibility for your role in the event
4. Remorse: Express your statement of regret
5. Intentions for change: State that you will not do this again
6. Solutions: Describe how this will be avoided in the future
7. Make it right: Try to provide a fair form of restitution
8. Assess the Damage: Ask for forgiveness
Influence Tactics:
Legitimate Power/Legitimizing Tactics: The underlying basis for legitimate power is the agreement by members of an organization to comply with rules and legitimate requests in return for the benefits of membership.
Reward Power: Reward power involves control over desirable resources and rewards. This type of power is greatest when the target is highly dependent on the agent to attain the reward and cannot get it any other way.
Coercive: Reward power involves control over desirable resources and rewards. This type of power is greatest when the target is highly dependent on the agent for attaining the reward and cannot get it any other way.
Expert Power/control over information: perceived expertise in solving problems and performing task activities
Referent Power: The desire of others to please an agent toward who they have strong feelings of affection, admiration, and loyalty
Rational Persuasion: involves the use of logical arguments and factual evidence that a proposal or request is important and feasible
Apprising: the use of information and logic to emphasize the benefits of a request or proposal for the target person as an individual.
Inspirational appeals- An inspirational appeal is an attempt to develop enthusiasm and commitment by arousing strong emotions and linking a request or proposal to the target person’s needs, values, hopes, and ideals. Some possible bases for appeal include the tar-get person’s desire to be important, to feel useful, to accomplish something worthwhile, to make an important contribution, to perform an exceptional feat, to be a member of the best team, or to participate in an exciting effort to make things better.
Consultation- Consultation is an attempt to increase the target person’s commitment to carry a request or support a proposal by involving the person in determining how it will be done.
Exchange Tactics - Exchange tactics involve an offer by the agent to reward the target person for doing what the agent requests.
Collaboration - the action of working with someone to produce or create something.
Personal Appeals - A personal appeal involves asking someone to do a favor based on friend-ship or loyalty to the agent. This tactic is one way to enact referent power, although when referent power is very strong, a personal appeal may not be necessary.
Integration - Behavior that makes the target feel appreciated
Coalitions- The agent gets assistance from other people to influence the target