Individual Differences
http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/pub/1.0/organizational-behavior/34685#web-34687
Why Individual Differences Are Important: * Individual differences have a direct effect on behavior * People who perceive things differently behave differently * People with different attitudes respond differently to directives * People with different personalities interact differently with bosses, coworkers, subordinates, and customers * Individual differences help explain: * Why some people embrace change and others are fearful of it * Why some employees will be productive only if they are closely supervised, while others will be productive if they are not * Why some workers learn new tasks more effectively than others
Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) Cycle * Different people are attracted to different careers and organizations as a function of their own: * abilities * interests * personalities * Organizations select employees on the basis of the needs the organization has * skills and abilities * individual attributes such as values and personality * Attrition occurs when: * individuals discover they do not like being part of the organization and elect to resign, or * the organization determines an individual is not succeeding and elects to terminate * Each phase of the ASA cycle is significantly influenced by the individual differences of each person
The Basis for Understanding Work Behavior: * To understand individual differences a manager must: 1. observe and recognize the differences and 2. study relationships between variables that influence behavior
Individual Differences Influencing Work Behavior: 1. Hereditary and Diversity Factors 2. Personality 3. Ability and Skills 4. Perception 5. Attitudes
Diversity Factors
Primary Dimensions (stable) * Age * Ethnicity * Gender * Physical attributes * Race
Why Individual Differences Are Important: * Individual differences have a direct effect on behavior * People who perceive things differently behave differently * People with different attitudes respond differently to directives * People with different personalities interact differently with bosses, coworkers, subordinates, and customers * Individual differences help explain: * Why some people embrace change and others are fearful of it * Why some employees will be productive only if they are closely supervised, while others will be productive if they are not * Why some workers learn new tasks more effectively than others
Attraction-Selection-Attrition (ASA) Cycle * Different people are attracted to different careers and organizations as a function of their own: * abilities * interests * personalities * Organizations select employees on the basis of the needs the organization has * skills and abilities * individual attributes such as values and personality * Attrition occurs when: * individuals discover they do not like being part of the organization and elect to resign, or * the organization determines an individual is not succeeding and elects to terminate * Each phase of the ASA cycle is significantly influenced by the individual differences of each person
The Basis for Understanding Work Behavior: * To understand individual differences a manager must: 1. observe and recognize the differences and 2. study relationships between variables that influence behavior
Individual Differences Influencing Work Behavior: 1. Hereditary and Diversity Factors 2. Personality 3. Ability and Skills 4. Perception 5. Attitudes
Diversity Factors
Primary Dimensions (stable) * Age * Ethnicity * Gender * Physical attributes * Race