PERCEPTION AND IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Perception is the process whereby people take information from the environment and
make sense of use their word.

Introduction to Sensation and Perception

Although intimately related, sensation and perception play two complimentary but different roles
in how we interpret our world. Sensation refers to the process of sensing our environment
through touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. This information is sent to our brains in raw form
where perception comes into play. Perception is the way we interpret these sensations and
therefore make sense of everything around us.

This chapter will describe various theories related to these two concepts and explain the
important role they play in the field of psychology. Through this chapter, you will gain a better
idea of how our senses work and how this information is organized and interpreted.

Sensation

Sensation is the process by which our senses gather information and send it to the brain. A large
amount of information is being sensed at any one time such as room temperature, brightness of
the lights, someone talking, a distant train, or the smell of perfume. With all this information
coming into our senses, the majority of our world never gets recognized. We don't notice radio
waves, x-rays, or the microscopic parasites crawling on our skin. We don't sense all the odors
around us or taste every individual spice in our gourmet dinner. We only sense those things we
are able too since we don't have the sense of smell like a bloodhound or the sense of sight like a
hawk; our thresholds are different from these animals and often even from each other.

Absolute Threshold

The absolute threshold is the point where something becomes noticeable to our senses. It is the
softest sound we can hear or the slightest touch we can feel. Anything less than this goes
unnoticed. The absolute threshold is therefore the point at which a stimuli goes from
undetectable to detectable to our senses.

Difference Threshold

Once a stimulus becomes detectable to us, how do we recognize if this stimulus changes. When
we notice the sound of the radio in the other room, how do we notice when it becomes louder. It's
conceivable that someone could be turning it up so slightly that the difference is undetectable.
The difference threshold is the amount of change needed for us to recognize that a change has
occurred. This change is referred to as the Just Noticeable Difference.
This difference is not absolute, however. Imagine holding a five pound weight and one pound
was added. Most of us would notice this difference. But what if we were holding a fifty pound
weight? Would we notice if another pound were added? The reason many of us would not is
because the change required to detect a difference has to represent a percentage. In the first
scenario, one pound would increase the weight by 20%, in the second, that same weight would
add only an additional 2%. This theory, named after its original observer, is referred to as
Weber's Law.

Signal Detection Theory

Have you ever been in a crowded room with lots of people talking? Situations like that can make
it difficult to focus on any particular stimulus, like the conversation we are having with a friend.
We are often faced with the daunting task of focusing our attention on certain things while at the
same time attempting to ignore the flood of information entering our senses. When we do this,
we are making a determination as to what is important to sense and what is background noise.
This concept is referred to as signal detection because we attempt detect what we want to focus
on and ignore or minimize everything else.

Sensory Adaptation

The last concept refers to stimuli which has become redundant or remains unchanged for an
extended period of time. Ever wonder why we notice certain smells or sounds right away and
then after a while they fade into the background? Once we adapt to the perfume or the ticking of
the clock, we stop recognizing it. This process of becoming less sensitive to unchanging stimulus
is referred to as sensory adaptation, after all, if it doesn't change, why do we need to constantly
sense it?

Perception

As mentioned in the introduction, perception refers to interpretation of what we take in through

our senses. The way we perceive our environment is what makes us different from other animals
and different from each other. In this section, we will discuss the various theories on how our
sensation are organized and interpreted, and therefore, how we make sense of what we see,
hear, taste, touch, and smell.

Gestalt Principles of Grouping

The German word "Gestalt" roughly translates to "whole" or "form," and the Gestalt
psychologist's sincerely believed that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In order to
interpret what we receive through our senses, they theorized that we attempt to organize this
information into certain groups. This allows us to interpret the information completely without
unneeded repetition. For example, when you see one dot, you perceive it as such, but when you
see five dots together, you group them together by saying a "row of dots." Without this tendency
to group our perceptions, that same row would be seen as "dot, dot, dot, dot, dot," taking both
longer to process and reducing our perceptive ability. The Gestalt principles of grouping include
four types: similarity, proximity, continuity, and closure.

Similarity refers to our tendency to group things together based upon how similar to each other
they are. In the first figure above, we tend to see two rows of red dots and two rows of black
dots. The dots are grouped according to similar color. In the next figure, we tend to perceive
three columns of two lines each rather than six different lines. The lines are grouped together
because of how close they are to each other, or their proximity to one another. Continuity refers
to our tendency to see patterns and therefore perceive things as belonging together if they form
some type of continuous pattern. In the third figure, although merely a series of dots, it begins to
look like an "X" as we perceive the upper left side as continuing all the way to the lower right and
the lower left all the way to the upper right. Finally, in the fourth figure, we demonstrate closure,
or our tendency to complete familiar objects that have gaps in them. Even at first glance, we
perceive a circle and a square.

Maintaining Perceptual Constancy

Imagine if every time an object changed we had to completely reprocess it. The next time you
walk toward a building, you would have to re-evaluate the size of the building with each step,
because we all know as we get closer, everything gets bigger. The building which once stood
only several inches is now somehow more than 50 feet tall.

Luckily, this doesn't happen. Due to our ability to maintain constancy in our perceptions, we see
that building as the same height no matter what distance it is. Perceptual constancy refers to
our ability to see things differently without having to reinterpret the object's properties. There are
typically three constancies discussed, including size, shape, brightness.

Size constancy refers to our ability to see objects as maintaining the same size even when our
distance from them makes things appear larger or smaller. This holds true for all of our senses.
As we walk away from our radio, the song appears to get softer. We understand, and perceive it
as being just as loud as before. The difference being our distance from what we are sensing.

Everybody has seen a plate shaped in the form of a circle. When we see that same plate from an
angle, however, it looks more like an ellipse. Shape constancy allows us to perceive that plate
as still being a circle even though the angle from which we view it appears to distort the shape.

Brightness constancy refers to our ability to recognize that color remains the same regardless
of how it looks under different levels of light. That deep blue shirt you wore to the beach suddenly
looks black when you walk indoors. Without color constancy, we would be constantly re-
interpreting color and would be amazed at the miraculous conversion our clothes undertake.
Perceiving Distance

We determine distance using two different cues: monocular and binocular. Monocular cues are
those cues which can be seen using only one eye. They include size; texture, overlap, shading,
height, and clarity.

Size refers to the fact that larger images are perceived as closer to us, especially if the two
images are of the same object. The texture of objects tend to become smoother as the object
gets farther away, suggesting that more detailed textured objects are closer. Due to overlap,
those objects covering part of another object is perceived as closer. The shading or shadows of
objects can give a clue to their distance, allowing closer objects to cast longer shadows which will
overlap objects which are farther away. Objects which are closer to the bottom of our visual field
are seen as closer to us due to our perception of the horizon, where higher (height) means
farther away. Similar to texture, objects tend to get blurry as they get farther away, therefore,
clearer or more crisp images tend to be perceived as closer (clarity).

Binocular cues refer to those depth cues in which both eyes are needed to perceive. There are
two important binocular cues; convergence and retinal disparity. Convergence refers to the fact
that the closer an object, the more inward our eyes need to turn in order to focus. The farther our
eyes converge, the closer an object appears to be. Since our eyes see two images which are
then sent to our brains for interpretation, the distance between these two images, or their retinal
disparity, provides another cue regarding the distance of the object.
Impression management
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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In sociology and social psychology, impression management is the process through

which people try to control the impressions other people form of them. It is a goal-
directed conscious or unconscious attempt to influence the perceptions of other people
about a person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in social
interaction. [1] It is usually used synonymously with self-presentation, if a person tries to
influence the perception of their image. The notion of impression management also refers
to practices in professional communication and public relations, where the term is used to
describe the process of formation of a company's or organization's public image.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Motives and strategies

• 2 Impression management theory
• 3 Basic factors influencing impression management
• 4 Erving Goffman on impression management
• 5 Impression management and the media
• 6 Significance in empirical research and economy
• 7 Footnotes
• 8 References
• 9 Further reading

• 10 See also

[edit] Motives and strategies

There are two main motives that govern self-presentation. One is instrumental: we want
to influence others and gain rewards. [2] There are three instrumental goals. The first is
Ingratiation, when we try to be happy and display our good qualities so that others will
like us. [3] The second is intimidation, which is aggressively showing anger to get others
to hear and obey us. [4] The third is supplication, when we try to be vulnerable and sad so
people will help us and feel bad for us. [5].

The second motive of self-presentation is expressive. We construct an image of ourselves

to claim personal identity, and present ourselves in a manner that is consistent with that
image. [6] If we feel like this is restricted, we exhibit reactance. We try to assert our
freedom against those who would seek to curtail our self-presentation expressiveness. A
classic example is the idea of the “preacher’s daughter;” the notion that her suppressed
personal identity and emotions cause an eventual backlash at her family and community.
[citation needed]

Concerning the strategies followed to establish a certain impression, the main distinction
is between defensive and assertive strategies. Whereas defensive strategies include
behaviours like avoidance of threatening situations or means of self-handicapping,
assertive strategies refer to more active behaviour like the verbal idealisation of the self,
the use of status symbols or similar practices. [7]

[edit] Impression management theory

Impression management (IM) theory states that any individual or organization must
establish and maintain impressions that are congruent with the perceptions they want to
convey to their publics [8]. From both a communications and public relations viewpoint,
the theory of impression management encompasses the vital ways in which one
establishes and communicates this congruence between personal or organizational goals
and their intended actions which create public perception.

The idea that perception is reality is the basis for this sociological and social psychology
theory[citation needed], which is framed around the presumption that the other’s perceptions of
you or your organization become the reality from which they form ideas and the basis for
intended behaviors.

[edit] Basic factors influencing impression management

A range of factors that govern impression management can be identified. It can be stated
that impression management becomes necessary whenever there exists a kind of social
situation, whether real or imaginary. Logically, the awareness of being a potential subject
of monitoring is also crucial. Furthermore, the characteristics of a given social situation
are important. Specifically, the surrounding cultural norms determine the appropriateness
of particular nonverbal behaviours [9]. The actions have to be appropriate to the targets,
and within that culture, so that the kind of audience as well as the relation to the audience
influences the way impression management is realized. A persons goals are another
factor governing the ways and strategies of impression management. This refers to the
content of an assertion, which also leads to distinct ways of presentation of aspects of the
self. The degree of self-efficacy describes whether a person is convinced that it is
possible to convey the intended impression. [10].

[edit] Erving Goffman on impression management

Strategic interpersonal behavior to shape or influence impressions formed by an audience
is not a new field; it has a rich history. Plato spoke of the "stage of human life" [11] and
Shakespeare crafted the famous sentence "All the world is a stage, and all the men and
women merely players" [12]. In the 20th century, Erving Goffman also followed a
dramaturgical analogy in his seminal book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, in
which he said, "All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it
isn't are not easy to specify."[13]

Goffman presented impression management dramaturgically, explaining the motivations

behind complex human performances within a social setting based on a play metaphor
[14]
. Goffman’s work incorporates aspects of a symbolic interactionist perspective [15],
emphasizing a qualitative analysis of the interactive nature of the communication process.

The actor, shaped by the environment and target audience, sees interaction as a
performance. The objective of the performance is to provide the audience with an
impression consistent with the desired goals of the actor [16]. Thus, impression
management is also highly dependent on the situation [17]. In addition to these goals,
individuals differ in responses from the interactional environment, some may be
irresponsive to audience's reactions while others actively respond to audience reactions in
order to elicit positive results. These differences in response towards the environment and
target audience are called self-monitoring. [18] Another factor in impression management
is self-verification, the act of conforming the audience to the person's self-concept.

The audience can be real or imaginary. IM style norms, part of the mental programming
received through socialization, are so fundamental that we usually do not notice our
expectations of them. While an actor (speaker) tries to project a desired image, an
audience (listener) might attribute a resonant or discordant image. An example is
provided by situations in which embarrassment occurs and threatens the image of a
participant. [19] [edit]

[edit] Impression management and the media

The medium of communication influences the actions taken in impression management.
Self-efficacy can differ according to the fact whether the trial to convince somebody is
made through face-to-face-interaction or by means of an e-mail. [20]. Communication via
devices like telephone, e-mail or chat is governed by technical restrictions, so that the
way people express personal features etc. can be changed.

[edit] Significance in empirical research and economy

Impression management can distort the results of empirical research that relies on
interviews and surveys, a phenomenon commonly referred to as "social desirability bias".
Impression management Theory nevertheless constitutes a field of research on its own. [21]
When it comes to practical questions concerning public relations and the way
organizations should handle their public image, the assumptions provided by impression
management theory can also provide a framework.

Impression Management
Definition
Impression management refers to the activity of controlling information in order to steer
others’ opinions in the service of personal or social goals. Although people can manage
impressions of almost anything (e.g., a clothing brand, a political position, etc.), people
most
commonly manage the impressions others form of themselves, a sub-type of impression
management that is often termed self-presentation.
History and Modern Usage
Many writers and philosophers have observed that people engage in strategic behaviors to
control the impressions that their audiences form—as Shakespeare wrote, "All the
world’s a
stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their
entrances, And
one man in his time plays many parts." The sociologist Erving Goffman popularized this
idea
further, arguing that ordinary people in everyday life work to convey desired impressions
to
others around them, just as actors on a stage work to present their characters to audiences.
Of course, given that actors are pretending to be people they are not, this metaphor
implies that impression management is intentional and duplicitous. While early research
reflected this assumption, more recent research has revealed that people engage in
impression
management even when they are not intentionally trying to do so. For example, even if
you feel
like you can just “be yourself” around close friends and family members, you may find
yourself
acting quite differently—or presenting a somewhat different version of yourself—around
your
best friend than around your mother, without really thinking about it. You might exhibit
such
different behavior not only because of your own desire to be viewed somewhat
differently by
your friend versus your mother, but also because your friend and your mother have
different
expectations or demands regarding what sort of person you should be. Thus, engaging in
impression management can help to ensure that social interactions go smoothly.
Impression management is not risk-free, however. Becoming excessively concerned over
others’ opinions can cause anxiety, thereby increasing health problems. And engaging in
highly
deceptive forms of impression management runs the risk that people will see through the
act
(although “getting caught” seems to be the exception rather than the rule). Conversely,
impression management may sometimes be too effective; for example, if you try to act
like a
rebel in one situation, your impression management may carryover such that you start to
see
yourself as relatively more rebellious and behave in a rebellious manner in subsequent
situations.
Of course, to the extent that people generally try to put their best foot forward, such
carryover
effects of impression management may have positive consequences.
Impression management can also be used pro-socially to benefit friends. People
commonly describe their friends in ways that help to support their friends’ desired
images. Thus,
impression management can be undertaken in the service of self-serving or more other-
oriented
goals and represents a central component of everyday social life.
Elizabeth W. Dunn & Noah Forrin
Further Reading:
Schlenker, B. R. & Pontari, B. A. (2000). The strategic control of information:
Impression
management and self-presentation in daily life. In A. Tesser, R. Felson, & J. Suls (Eds.),
Perspectives on self and identity (pp. 199–232). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.

Chapter 9 : Perception
Meaning and Significance of Perception

Sensation vs Perception

Subprocesses of Perception

Perceptual Selectivity

External Attention Factors

Internal Set Factors

Factors Influencing Perception

The Perceiver
The Target
The Situation

Perceptual Organization

Figure-Ground
Perceptual Grouping
Perceptual Constancy
Perceptual Context
Perceptual Defense

Social Perception

Attribution
Stereotyping
The Halo Effect

Impression Management

The Process of Impression Management

Impression Management Strategies Used by Employees

Chapter Summary

Perception can be defined as a process by which individuals select,

organize and interpret their sensory impressions, so as to give
meaning to their environment. Perception is a complex cognitive
process and differs from person to person. People's behavior is
influenced by their perception of reality, rather than the actual reality.

In comparison to sensation, perception is a much broader concept.

Sensation involves simply receiving stimuli through sensory organs,
whereas the process of perception involves receiving raw data from
the senses and then filtering, modifying or transforming the data
completely through the process of cognition. The processes of
perception consist of various subprocesses such as confrontation,
registration, interpretation and feedback.

Though people are continuously exposed to numerous stimuli, they

tend to select only a few of them. The principle of perceptual
selectivity seeks to explain how, and why people select only a few
stimuli out of the many stimuli they keep encountering at any given
time. Perceptual selectivity is affected by various internal set factors
and external attention factors. Some of the internal set factors are
learning, motivation and personality. External attention factors include
environmental influences like intensity, size, contrast, repetition,
motion, novelty and familiarity.

Sometimes, different individuals may perceive the same thing

differently. Differences may arise due to factors associated with the
perceiver (attitudes, motives, expectations, etc.) or the situation
(time, place, etc.) or the target (novelty, background, sounds, size,
etc.).
Perceptual organization focuses on the subsequent activities in the
perceptual process after the information from the situation is received.

The various principles of perceptual organization consist of figure-

ground, perceptual grouping, perceptual constancy, perceptual context
and perceptual defense. The principle of figure-ground states that
perceived objects stand out from their general background. According
to the principle of perceptual grouping, people tend to group several
stimuli together into a recognizable pattern. People usually tend to
group stimuli together on the basis of closure, continuity, proximity or
similarity. Even if a person is not able to obtain sufficient information
to arrive at a decision, he tries to close the gap by grouping the
available information with the information from his past experience.
This is called the principle of closure. Sometimes people tend to think
only in a particular direction. This is called principle of continuity. It
may also happen that people may group the stimuli based on their
proximity and similarity.

According to principle of perceptual constancy, there are some things

which are perceived alike by all people, irrespective of the factors
influencing perception. It provides a person a sense of stability in this
changing world. Perceptual context provides meaning and value to
stimuli with respect to a particular context. According to the principle
of perceptual defense, people tend to resist information that is
emotionally disturbing or clashes with their personal convictions or
cultural values.

Social perception is concerned with how individuals perceive one

another. The primary factors that lead to social perception are the
psychological processes that lead to attribution, stereotyping and halo
effect. Attribution refers to the way in which people explain the cause
of their own behavior or others' behavior. If a person's behavior can be
attributed to internal factors such as personality traits, motivation or
ability, then it is called dispositional attribution. If a person's behavior
is attributed to external factors, such as a machine or being under the
influence of others, then it is referred to as situational attribution.

Stereotyping and the halo effect are common problems in social

perception. When an individual is judged based on the perception
about the group to which he belongs, it is termed as stereotyping.
When people draw a general impression about an individual based on a
single characteristic, it is known as the halo effect. The process by
which people try to manage or control the perceptions other people
form of them is called impression management. It is used by
employees in organizations to favorably impress their boss and move
up the hierarchy.

Perceptions have a crucial role in individual decision-making in

organizations, by affecting both the decisions as well as the quality of
the decision. The decision taken by an individual is a complex process
involving the intake of data, screening, processing, and interpreting
and evaluating of data, based on the perception of the individual.

Chapter 10 : Learning
Significance of Learning

The Theoretical Process of Learning

Behavioristic Theories
Cognitive Theories
Social Learning Theory

Principles of Learning

Law of Effect
Meaning of Reinforcement

Behavioral Management

Steps in the O.B Mod Process

Application of the O.B. Mod Process

Chapter Summary

It has been observed that practically all the behavior of individuals in

an organization is either directly or indirectly learned. The most widely
accepted learning theories are the behavioristic, cognitive and social
learning theories. Learning was attributed to the association or
connection between stimulus and response (S-R) by classical
behaviorists like Ivan Pavlov and John Watson. Psychologists like B.F.
Skinner and others focused more on the role of consequences in
learning, or what is usually known as the response-stimulus (R-S)
connection.

The S-R connection deals with 'classical' or 'respondent' conditioning

while the R-S connection deals with 'instrumental' or 'operant'
conditioning. Cognitive learning, popularized by Edward Tolman,
explores the relationship between cognitive environmental cues and
expectations. This learning of the association between the cue and the
expectation is known as stimulus-stimulus (S-S) learning. The social
learning theory states that there is more to learning than just the
antecedent stimulus and the dependent consequence. Learning can
also take place through vicarious or modeling processes. A person's
learning abilities also depend upon his concept of self-efficacy.

The most important principles of learning are reinforcement and

punishment. In order to understand these principles, we must first
understand the 'Law of Effect,' proposed by Edward L. Thorndike. The
law states that responses followed by pleasant consequences are more
likely to be repeated, while responses followed by unpleasant
consequences are not likely to be repeated. Reinforcement is defined
as anything that both increases the strength of a response and also
induces repetitions of the behavior that preceded the reinforcement.
By providing a desirable consequence, positive reinforcement
strengthens a specific behavior. In contrast, negative reinforcement
strengthens behavior by the termination or withdrawal of an
undesirable consequence.

Behavioral management refers to the application of behavioral

theories, especially the reinforcement theory, to improve the
performance of employees. Fred Luthans and Robert Kreitner coined
the term 'Organization Behavior Modification' (O.B Mod) for behavioral
management. The O. B. Mod process has five steps. In the first step,
the critical behaviors are identified. Critical behaviors are those
behaviors that may represent only a fraction of many possible
behaviors, but have the greatest impact on total organizational
performance. In the second step, a base-line measure is obtained for
each critical behavior to determine their frequency prior to any
intervention. The third step involves carrying out a functional analysis
of the behavior.

The antecedents and consequences of a particular behavior are

identified, and these are used to formulate an effective intervention
strategy to modify the behavior. In the fourth and most important step
in the O. B. Mod process, an appropriate intervention strategy is
developed. The objective of the intervention strategy is to strengthen
and promote functional behaviors and weaken and discourage
dysfunctional behaviors. The last step in the process involves the
evaluation of the efficacy of the intervention strategy in bringing about
an improvement in performance. This evaluation is carried out at four
levels - reaction, learning, behavioral change, and performance
improvement.
Chapter 11 : Leadership

Definition of Leadership

Traits of Effective Leaders

Leadership Behaviors Vs Traits

Leadership Skills

Leadership Theories

Trait Theories
Behavioral Theories
Contingency Approaches to Leadership
Chapter Summary

There is no agreement among management theorists on the definition

of leadership. Though most of them do agree that leadership involves
influencing others, the disagreement arises on the issue of how this
takes place. Another issue of contention among experts is whether
managing and leading are equivalent. According to some experts,
managers and leaders are different. Managers generally devote their
time to developing plans, organizational structures and controlling
deviations from the plans.

Leaders focus on developing a vision for the future, communicating the

vision to people, integrating the efforts of their followers, helping them
overcome hurdles and developing their abilities to realize the vision.
Managers derive their power from their position in the organization.
Leaders do not need any formal authority but derive power from
people who follow them because of their abilities.

Leadership is the ability to influence people and drive them toward the
achievement of goals. The research on leadership has led to the
development of three types of theories - Trait, behavioral and
contingency theories. According to trait theories, some traits such as
extroversion, aggressiveness, self-confidence, honesty and integrity
and intelligence differentiate leaders form non-leaders. According to
the behavioristic school, successful leadership depends more on
appropriate behavior and skills, and less on personality traits. The
three broad types of skills used by leaders, as identified by Robert
Katz, are technical, human and conceptual skills.

Four different behavioral theories - the Ohio State Studies, the

University of Michigan Studies, the Managerial Grid and the
Scandinavian Studies - sought to identify the different behaviors
adopted by leaders. The Ohio State Studies concluded that leaders
who score high on the dimensions of initiating structure (task
orientation) and consideration (concern for people) achieve superior
subordinate performance and satisfaction, compared to those who
score low on either one of them or both.

The Michigan Studies found that an employee-centered style of

leadership is more effective than a production-centered style of
leadership. The Managerial Grid proposed by Blake and Mouton
suggested that leaders who have equal concern for people and
production are most effective. The Scandinavian studies resulted in the
emergence of a new dimension called 'development-oriented'
behavior. According to these studies, leaders who embrace change and
encourage new ideas and practices are successful.

The contingency theories deal with the situational aspects of

leadership styles. Some of the well known contingency theories are
Fiedler's contingency model, Hersey and Blanchard's situational
theory, Leader-Member exchange theory, Leader Participation model
and the Path-Goal theory. Fiedler's model suggests that the leader
should choose his style of leadership depending on the favorability or
unfavorability of the overall situation.

Hersey and Blanchard's situational theory states that the most critical
factor that influences the selection of a leader's style is the maturity
level of his subordinates. The Leader-Member exchange theory
suggests that leaders try and establish a special relationship with a
small group of subordinates; this small group would constitute an in-
group, with all the rest of subordinates being in an out-group. The in-
group members get more attention from the leader and enjoy special
privileges. The Leader participation approach provides a sequential set
of rules that can be followed for identifying the type of situation and
determining the amount of participation that should be demanded
from subordinates for decision making.

According to the Path-Goal theory, the leader should guide his

followers in achieving the organizational goals, and also establish
individual and group goals that are compatible with the broad
organizational goals.
Chapter 13 : Conflict, Negotiations and Intergroup Behavior

Sources of Conflict

Classification of Conflict

Intrapersonal Conflict
Interpersonal Conflict
Intergroup Conflict

The Conflict Process

Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

Cognition and Personalization
Intentions
Behavior
Outcomes
Negotiation

Distributive Bargaining
Integrative Bargaining

The Negotiation Process

Preparation and Planning

Defining roles
Clarification and Justification
Bargaining and Problem Solving
Closure and Implementation

Issues in the Negotiation Process

Biases in Decision-Making
Personality Traits
Cultural Differences
Third-Party Negotiation

Intergroup Relations

Factors that Affect Intergroup Relations

Managing Intergroup Relations

Chapter Summary

Conflicts are common in all organizations. They may arise as a result

of a disagreement over goals or on the means to be adopted to attain
them. Conflict is also a perceptual issue. Individuals or groups may
have differences of opinion, but if either of the parties is unaware of
these differences, conflict will not arise. Once the parties involved
recognize the differences, conflict surfaces and the parties look for
ways to resolve the differences.

Conflicts may be classified into intrapersonal, interpersonal and

intergroup conflicts. The conflicts that take place within an individual
are referred to as intrapersonal conflict. Incompatability between
needs of the individual and the goals of the organization, and the
absence of role clarity lead to intrapersonal conflict. If two individuals
get into conflict over an issue, such conflict is called interpersonal
conflict. Such conflicts may arise because of incompatibility between
individuals or when an individual perceives that his image is under
threat because of the actions of another individual. The conflicts
between groups are referred to as intergroup conflicts. They may arise
because of differences in viewpoints or competition for scarce
resources.

The process of conflict has five stages - potential opposition

(incompatibility), cognition and personalization, intentions, behavior
and outcomes. In the first stage, the presence of certain conditions
like barriers to communication, the size and structure of work groups,
or differences in personalities stimulate conflict. If the conditions have
a negative impact on the interests of an individual, he will develop
hostility towards the individual or group responsible for the situation
and the conflict reaches the second stage (cognition and
personalization). In the third stage (intentions), the parties to the
conflict decide upon the action to be taken to deal with the conflict.

The conflict may or may not be evident to outsiders at all these

stages. In the fourth stage (behavior), the conflict becomes obvious
because of the behavior of the conflicting individuals. In the fifth stage
(outcomes), the parties interact with each other and the outcome may
have either positive or negative impact on the organization.

The best way to resolve conflicts is through negotiations. The two

negotiating approaches that are generally practiced in organizations
are distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining. Distributive
bargaining leads to win-lose situations whereas integrative bargaining
leads to win-win situations. The negotiation process consists of five
stages: preparation and planning, defining ground rules, classification
and justification, bargaining and problem solving, and closure and
implementation.

In the first stage, the negotiator prepares the strategy to be adopted

at the negotiation table. In the second stage, both parties arrive at the
negotiation table and establish the basic rules and procedures that will
guide the negotiation process. In the third stage, both parties
exchange their demands and justify them. In the fourth stage, the
parties start bargaining with each other, and each party gives some
concessions to the other. In the fifth stage, the bargaining process is
complete and the final agreement is written and signed. Some
common issues that interrupt the negotiation process are: biases in
decision-making, role of personality traits, gender differences, and
cultural differences.

Effective management of intergroup relations is essential to avoid

dysfunctional conflict and improve organizational performance.
Interdependence, task uncertainty and time-goal orientation are the
three important issues that influence intergroup relations. Coordination
methods that are widely used for managing intergroup relations, in
decreasing order or complexity, are: integrating departments; teams;
task forces; liaison roles; planning; hierarchy; and rules and
procedures.

Chapter 19 : Power and Politics

Definition and Meaning of Power

Distinctions between Power, Authority and Influence

Bases of Power

Coercive Power
Reward Power
Legitimate Power
Expert Power
Referent Power

The Dependency Factor

Importance,Scarcity,Non-Substitutability

Contingency Approaches to Power

Interdependence and Influencability
Overall Contingency Model for Power

Power in Groups: Coalitions

Organizational Politics

Definition and Nature of Politics

Factors Relating to Political Behavior

The Ethics of Power and Politics

Chapter Summary

Power and politics are among the most important concepts in the
study of organization behavior. Both power and politics are dynamic
concepts and are a function of the interaction between different
elements in organizations. Power has been defined as "the ability to
influence and control anything that is of value to others." It is the
ability to influence the behavior of other people in the organization and
to get them to do what they otherwise would not have done.

Although the terms power, authority and influence are often used
synonymously, there is a difference between them. Power is the ability
to effect a change in an individual or a group in some way. Power may
or may not be legitimate. That is, power need not correspond with a
person's organizational position. Authority, on the other hand, is
legitimate. It is the power which is sanctioned by the organization and
is often the 'source' of power. Influence is a much broader concept
than both power and authority.

French and Raven, social psychologists, identified five sources of

power - coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent. Coercive
power is based on fear and is the ability to influence another person
through threats or fear of punishment. Reward power is a positive
power which refers to the ability to get things done through others on
the basis of one's power to grant rewards. Legitimate power depends
on organizational position and authority. It refers to the power
conferred by a person's organizational position. Expert power is
derived from a person's expertise or specialized knowledge of a certain
subject that is perceived as important to the organization. And referent
power is based on people's identification with a certain individual and
their attempt to emulate his behavior. The person who acts as a model
for reference has power over the person who emulates his behavior.
Dependency is the most important concept of power. The degree of
dependence of the target determines the power exercised by the
agent. Dependency is a function of importance, scarcity and non
substitutability of the resources controlled by a person.

Contingency approaches to power are also gaining importance. The

contingency approach suggests that power depends on being in the
'right place' at the right time and the influencability of the target. The
overall contingency model combines the theories of French and Raven
with those of Herbert Kelman and identifies the three main processes
of power, namely, compliance, identification and internalization.

When people lose power, they try to regain it individually, or by

forming a coalition with other less powerful people. Organizational
coalitions are different from political coalitions in some basic ways.

Organizational politics is often called 'power in action.' Politics may be

legitimate (within sanctioned organizational limits) or illegitimate
(exceeding sanctioned organizational limits) in nature. The degree of
politicking engaged in depends on individual as well as organizational
factors. Individual politicking is a function of the person's power
motive, personality factors and background, and current work
environment. Organizational politicking is a function of culture, goal
and role clarity and the attitude of top management.
Considerable importance has also been given to the ethical aspects of
power and politics. It is not always easy to develop ethical standards
because of the ambiguous and subjective nature of certain actions.

Chapter 8 : Motivation
Definitions of Motivation

Classification of Motives
Primary Motives
General Motives
Secondary Motives

The Content Theories of Work Motivation

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
Alderfer's ERG Theory

The Process Theories of Work Motivation

Vroom's Expectancy Theory of Motivation

The Porter-Lawler Model

The Contemporary Theories of Work Motivation

Equity Theory
Attribution Theory
Other Emerging Theories

Chapter Summary

Motivation can be defined as a process that is initiated by a

physiological or psychological deficiency or need, which triggers a
specific behavior or drive in order to achieve a goal or incentive. It
consists of three interacting and interdependent elements - needs,
drives and incentives.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory and

Alderfer's ERG theory are classified as content theories of work
motivation. Maslow's needs hierarchy suggests that a person's
motivational needs can be arranged in a hierarchical manner. Once a
given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves as a motivating
factor. A higher level need or one at the next level is triggered and
motivates the individual further.

Herzberg's two-factor theory identifies two aspects which are

necessary for job satisfaction - hygiene factors and motivators. While
the hygiene factors are responsible for preventing dissatisfaction,
motivators are essential to keep the employees satisfied. Hygiene
factors include factors like working conditions, pay, fringe benefits,
etc. Motivators include factors like achievement, recognition,
advancement and growth.
Alderfer in his ERG theory identified three basic groups of core needs:
the existence needs, the relatedness needs, and the growth needs.
The existence needs are associated with survival and physiological
well-being. The relatedness needs stress social and interpersonal
relationships. Growth needs are a person's desire for personal
development.

Process theories provide a better theoretical explanation of work

motivation than the content theories. Vroom's expectancy model and
the extension and refinements made by Porter and Lawler in their
theory, help explain cognitive variables and their relationship with
each other in the complex process of work motivation. Porter and
Lawler pointed out that efforts did not directly result in performance,
and there was a complex relationship between motivation, satisfaction
and performance. They believed that performance leads to satisfaction
and that performance is dependent on the person's motivation levels,
his abilities and skills and on role perceptions.

Of late, the equity theory and attribution theory have received much
attention. The equity theory is based on perceived outcome-input
ratios. The equity theory states that employees compare their
outcome-input ratio with that of others. If they perceive the ratio of
their outcomes and inputs to be equal to that of their peers and
others, a state of equity exists. Otherwise, a state of equity tension or
inequity is created. The attribution theory uses attributions made by
people to explain work motivation. This theory tries to explain internal
and external attributions made by people and contributes to an
increased understanding of the complex cognitive process of work
motivation.

Some emerging theories, namely control and agency theories, have

been receiving attention in the recent years. One version of the control
theory states that control is basically a cognitive phenomenon, and
determines people's ability to control their lives or their jobs.

Another version of this theory focuses on the management function of

control. It states that controlling both the inputs and outputs of the
organization is important for effective management. The agency
theory assumes that an agency relationship exists in most
organizations. It gives a clear idea as to how the principal i.e., owners,
board of directors, or top management can avoid their interests
conflicting with those of the agents i.e., subordinates, middle
management, or shop floor employees.
Chapter 7 : Personality and Attitudes
Meaning of Personality
Personality Determinants

Heredity
Environment
Situation

Other Personality Attributes that Influence Organizational Behavior

Locus of Control
Machiavellianism
Self-Esteem
Self-Monitoring
Risk Taking
Type A Personality

The Development of Personality and Socialization

Levinson's Theory of Adult Life Stages

Hall's Career Stage Model
Argyris' Immaturity to Maturity Theory
The Socialization Process

Matching Personalities with Jobs

Concept of Attitudes

Sources of Attitudes
Types of Attitudes
Functions of Attitudes

Attitudes and
Consistency

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Chapter Summary

The study of personality and attitudes gives insights into the behavior
of people. Personality refers to the way in which a person views and
understands himself, and the way in which he interacts with people
and reacts to situations. Self-concept (in personality theory) refers to
the attempts made by people to understand themselves. Self-esteem
is the self-perceived competence and self-image of people. People with
high self-esteem do well in managerial positions. Self-efficacy refers to
the self-perceptions of a person regarding his ability to cope with
situations as they arise. Individuals with high self-efficacy can quickly
cope with the demands of tough jobs (such as sales jobs).

An individual's personality is influenced by factors like heredity,

external environment, and person-situation interaction. Some of the
personality attributes that have an impact on an individual's behavior
are the locus of control, machiavellianism, self-esteem, self-
monitoring, propensity to risk-taking, and Type A personality. The
locus of control refers to the degree to which people believe that they
can determine their own fate. People high on the locus of control
(called internals) tend to move up the career ladder quickly.

Machiavellianism (Mach) refers the degree to which an individual is

pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that the ends
justify the means. High-Mach people are most productive in jobs which
impose minimum restrictions on the employee, involve persuading
others, and offer high rewards. Self-monitoring refers to the ability of
an individual to adjust his behavior to external situational factors. High
self-monitors are capable of changing their behavior and expressions
according to the situation. They progress faster in their careers than
low self-monitors.

Individuals vary in their willingness to take chances or risks. High risk-

taking people perform well in jobs such as stock brokers and currency
traders. Individuals who have a Type A personality are continuously
involved in the struggle to achieve more in less time in the face of
opposition from other people. But because of their emphasis on
quantity than quality and their poor decision-making skills, they often
do not make good managers. Type B people lay more emphasis on
quality of outcome rather than quantity and have good analytical skills.
They therefore make good managers.

Many personality theorists have tried to explain the development of

human personality. According to Daniel Levinson, an individual's life
can be divided into adult, mid-life and late adult stages. The
personality of an individual, Levinson argues, develops to some extent
at each stage of his lifecycle. Another theorist, Hall, suggested that the
personality development of an employee takes place in four stages:
exploration, establishment, maintenance and decline.

Chris Argyris (Immaturity-Maturity model) proposed that human

personality moves along a continuum from immaturity (infancy) to
maturity (adulthood). John Harrold proposed the personality-job fit
theory in which he established a relationship among personality
characteristics, the requirements of a job, and job performance.

Attitudes are evaluative statements (favorable or unfavorable) about

objects, people or events. Attitudes are acquired from parents,
teachers and members of the peer group, apart from the
predispositions acquired at birth. The three job-related attitudes are
job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment.
According to Edwin A. Locke, job satisfaction is the pleasurable or
positive emotional state that results when an individual evaluates his
job or job experience. Job involvement refers to the degree to which a
person psychologically identifies with his job, actively participates in it,
and considers that his performance in the job contributes to his self-
worth.

Organizational commitment refers to the extent to which an individual

identifies with a particular organization, and its goals and wishes to
remain a member of that organization. Organizations can reduce
turnover by taking steps to enhance the job satisfaction of their
employees and increase their job involvement and organizational
commitment.

Attitudes enable people to adapt to their work environment. They are

also used by people to defend their ego, express their values, and to
interpret events. The cognitive dissonance theory refers to the
incompatibility that an individual may perceive between two or more of
his attitudes, or between his behavior and attitudes. The efforts made
by an individual to reduce dissonance depend on the significance of the
elements that give rise to the dissonance, the extent to which they can
be controlled, and the rewards that the individual is likely to lose by
not overcoming the dissonance.

Chapter 6 : International Organizational Behavior

Conditions Affecting Multinational Operations
How Culture Influences International OB

Differences in Cultures

Managing a Global Workforce: Cultural Adaptation

Differences in Managerial Leadership Across Cultures

Cultural Contingencies and Productivity

Chapter Summary

The international context of organizational behavior is becoming

increasingly significant as organizations expand beyond their national
boundaries. Managers of multinational firms have to manage a variety
of social, political and economic environments as well as unique
individual differences. The differences at the level of the individual
include individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty
avoidance, and masculinity/femininity, which are different in different
countries.

Managers need to be sensitive to cultural differences across different

countries to achieve their goals in the global economy. The various
aspects that differentiate cultures are people's perceptions, their
relationship with their environment, the time dimension, and the
importance attached to public and private space. Differences between
countries in these cultural aspects affect the way business can be
conducted across the globe.

Employees who travel to a foreign country for work find it difficult to

adapt to the new culture because of factors like parochialism,
ethnocentrism and culture shock. Although culture shock acts as a
potential barrier to globalization, it can be overcome through careful
selection, training and assistance for employees on foreign
assignments.

Managerial leadership is the process of influencing others to direct

their efforts towards the achievement of specific goals. There are
many factors that influence the way in which managers lead their
employees. Some of these factors include personal values,
interpersonal skills, background and the decision-making skills of the
manager.

In some countries, the emphasis on production rather than

productivity becomes a barrier to the improvement of the performance
of the organization. It is not possible to transfer business practices
directly from one country to the other. It is also not possible to use
either the home country practices or the traditional practices of the
host country. In such a situation, the best approach for expatriate
managers would be to operate within the scope of home office policies,
after adapting them to fit the culture of the host nation. Theory Z is an
example of an organizational approach that integrates American and
Japanese management styles.

The traditional and conservative approach to leadership cannot be

used for organizations with a global presence. Globally competent
managers have a good understanding of the worldwide business
environment from a global perspective and try to learn about various
cultures in order to carry out business operations in different countries
successfully.

Chapter 2 : Foundations of Human Relations and

Organizational Behavior
Definitions of Human Relations and Organizational Behavior

Historical Development of Human Relations and Organizational Behavior

Scientific Management Movement

Research Studies
Other Developments
Interdisciplinary Studies
The Mature Outlook
The Emergence of Human Relations and Organizational Behavior

Contributions of Other Disciplines to Human Relations and Organizational Behavior

Significance of Human Relations and Organizational Behavior

Development of Skills
Organizational Performance

Research Foundations for Organizational Behavior

Hawthorne Studies
Theory X and Theory Y
Theory Z

Chapter Summary
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 Y. In these theories, he has
made two contrasting sets of assumptions about individuals at work - negative and positive. Theory
X assumes that people are lazy and have an inherent dislike for work, so they have to be forced to
work in order to get the desired results. On the contrary, Theory Y believes that work comes
naturally to people and they would be more dedicated if they understood and believed in the goals
of the organization. William Ouchi proposed Theory Z as an integrative model of organizational
behavior. This theory blends the positive aspects of Japanese and American styles of management
and stresses on building a close and trusting work environment.

Chapter 1 : Understanding Organizational Behavior

Definition of Organizational Behavior

Management Roles

Interpersonal Roles
Informational Roles
Decision Roles

Management Skills

Technical Skills
Human Skills
Conceptual Skills

Consistency Vs Individual Differences

Theoretical Framework

Cognitive Framework
Behavioristic Framework
Social Learning Framework
A Model of Organization Behavior

Challenges and Opportunities for Organizational Behavior

The Creation of a Global Village

Adapting to Different People
Improving Quality and Productivity
Improving People Skills
Management Control to Empowerment
Stability to Flexibility
Improving Ethical Behavior

Environmental Challenges: Globalization Information Technology, Total Quality, and Diversity and
Ethics

Models of Organizational Behavior

The Autocratic Model

The Custodial Model
The Supportive Model
The Collegial Model

Chapter Summary
Organizational behavior is the study and application of knowledge about how
people as individuals and as groups act within organizations. It can be defined
as the understanding, prediction and management of human behavior in
organizations. OB is related to other disciplines like Organizations Theory,
Organization Development and Personnel/Human Resources Management.

Henry Mintzberg classified management roles depending on the extent of

interpersonal relationships, the transfer of information and decision-making
involved in the job. Managers need certain skills and competencies to
successfully achieve their goals. The most significant management skills are
the technical, human and conceptual skills. People develop generalizations by
observing, sensing, asking and listening to various people around them. They
use these generalizations to explain or predict the behavior of others.

A systematic approach to the study of behavior will bring to light important facts and relationships
that provide the basis for more accurate understanding, prediction and control of behavior. It is
important to know how a person perceives a situation to predict his behavior. There are differences
as well as consistencies that can be seen in people's behavior.

An overall model of organizational behavior can be developed on the basis of three theoretical
frameworks. They are the cognitive, behavioristic and social learning frameworks. The cognitive
approach gives more credit to people than the other approaches and is based on the expectancy,
demand and incentive concepts. Edward Tolman has made significant contributions to this
approach.

Behavioristic framework focuses on observable behaviors. Ivan Pavlov and John B.Watson were the
pioneers of the behavioristic theory. They explained human behavior on the basis of the connection
between stimulus and response. The social learning approach incorporates the concepts and
principles of both the cognitive and behavioristic frameworks. In this approach, behavior is
explained as a continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental
determinants. The organization behavior model (S, O, B, C) has incorporated the best aspects from
the three frameworks of human behavior. In this model, the letters S, O, B, C represent situation,
organism, behavior and consequences, respectively.

In modern times, managers confront many challenges and opportunities. The greatest challenges
among all of them are the result of environmental changes occurring due to globalization,
information technology, total quality, and diversity and ethics. OB models help managers to face
these challenges and take appropriate actions. The four models of OB are the autocratic model, the
custodial model, the supportive model and the collegial model. The autocratic model is based on
power. It works well especially in times of an organizational crisis.

The custodial model of OB takes into consideration the security needs of employees. A custodial
environment gives a psychological reassurance of economic rewards and benefits. The supportive
model of OB seeks to create supportive work environment and motivate employees to perform well
on their job. In the collegial model, the management nurtures a feeling of partnership with its
employees, and makes the employees feel themselves as an asset to the organization.