A.

) Employee Motivation and Development:

a. Understanding Individual Behavior

To more fully understand individual behavior in organizations, we need to
realize that people develop, nurture, and act in ways that maintain and enhance
their self-concept. Self-concept refers to an individual’s self-beliefs and self-
evaluations. It is the “Who am I?” and “How do I feel about myself?” that people
ask themselves and that guide their decisions and actions. Self-concept has not
received much attention in organizational behavior research, but scholars in
psychology, social psychology, and other disciplines have discovered that it is a
critically important concept for understanding individual perceptions, attitudes,
decisions, and behavior.
People do not have a single unitary self-concept. Rather, they think of
themselves in several ways in various situations. For example, you might think of
yourself as a creative employee, a health-conscious vegetarian, and an
aggressive biker. A person’s self-concept has higher complexity when it consists
of many categories. Along with varying in complexity, self-concept varies in the
degree of its consistency. People have high consistency when similar personality
traits and values are required across all aspects of self-concept. Low consistency
occurs when some aspects of self require personal characteristics that conflict
with the characteristics required for other aspects of self. A third structural feature
of self-concept is clarity, that is, the degree to which a person’s self-conceptions
are clearly and confidently described, internally consistent, and stable across
time. A clear self-concept necessarily requires a consistent self-concept.
Generally, people develop a clearer self-concept as they get older.
These three structural dimensions of self-concept—complexity,
consistency, and clarity, influence an individual’s adaptability and well-being.
People function better when their self-concept has many elements (high
complexity) that are compatible with each other (high consistency) and are
relatively clear. In contrast, people are more rigid and inflexible, and therefore
less adaptable, when their self-view consists of only a few similar characteristics
(low complexity). People also have poorer psychological adjustment when their
self-concept is less clear and includes conflicting elements. (Mcshane, 2010)

b. Individual differences and their causes

Individual differences are important in studying organizational behavior
and management because they have a direct effect on behavior. Every person is
unique because of their background, individual characteristics, needs, and how
they perceive the world and other individuals. People who perceive thing
differently behave differently. People with different personalities interact
differently with supervisors, team members, co-workers, subordinates, and
customers. Individual differences, for example, help explain why some people
embrace change and others are fearful of it. Or why some employees will be
productive only if they are closely supervised, while others will be productive only
if they are not. Or why some workers learn new tasks more effectively than
others. There is virtually no area of organizational activity that is not affected by
individual differences. In a many different ways individual differences shape
organizational behavior and, consequently, individual and organizational
success.
Each individual is different from every other individual in many respects.
Effective supervisor need to realize how such differences affect the behavior and
performance of employees. Differences among people require varying
adjustments for both the individual and those for the immediate superior.
Supervisor who ignore such differences often become involved in practices that
hinder achieving organizational and personal goals. (Konopaske et.,al, 20087)

c. Attitudes and their Relation to goals

An attitude is a mental state of readiness learned and organized through
experience, exerting a specific influence on a person’s response to people,
objects, and situations with which it is related. Each person has attitudes on
numerous topics, like about, friends, jobs, religion, politics, crime, education, and
many others.
This definition of attitude has certain implications for the supervisors. First,
attitudes are learned. Second, attitudes define one’s predispositions toward given
aspects of the world. Third, attitudes provide the emotional basis of one’s
interpersonal relations and identification with others. And fourth, attitudes are
organized and are close to the core of personality. Some attitudes are persistent
and enduring, however, attitude also has the tendency to change.
Attitudes are intrinsic parts of a person’s personality. A number of theories
attempt to account for the formation and change of attitudes. One such theory
proposes that people “seek a congruence between their beliefs and feelings
toward objects” and suggests that the modification of attitudes depends on
changing either the feelings or the beliefs. The theory proposes that cognition,
affect, and behavior determine attitudes, and that attitude, in turn determine
cognition, affect, and behavior. The cognitive component of an attitude consists
of the person’s perceptions, opinions, and beliefs. It refers to the thought
processes with special emphasis on proper reasoning and wisdom. An important
element of cognition is the evaluative beliefs innate to a person. Evaluative
beliefs are manifested in the form of favorable or unfavorable impressions that a
person may see toward an object or person.
Affect is the emotional component of an attitude and is often learned from
parents, teachers, and peer group members. It is the part of an attitude that is
associated with “feeling” about a person, group, or situation.
The behavioral component of an attitude refers to the tendency of a
person to act in a certain way toward someone or something. A person may act
in a warm, friendly, aggressive, hostile or indifferent way, or in any number of
other ways.
Sometimes there may be discrepancies between attitudes and behaviors.
This kind of discrepancy is called cognitive dissonance. An individual who has
the attitude that smoking is bad for one’s health but who continues to smoke
anyway would probably experience cognitive dissonance. Such an inconsistency
between beliefs and behavior is thought to create discomfort and a desire on the
part of the individual to eliminate or reduce the inconsistency.
The theory of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components as
determinants of attitudes has a significant implication for supervisors. The theory
implies that the supervisors must be able to demonstrate that the positive
aspects of contributing to the organization outweigh any negative aspects of a
situation. It is through attempts to develop generally favorable attitudes toward
the organization and the job among employees that many supervisors achieve
effectiveness. (Konopaske et.,al, 20087)

d. Moral factors

Morale is defined by various terms from different standpoints. In military

situation morale means enthusiasm to accomplish the assigned task or esprit-de-
corps. In sports it may mean self confidence of a team, in education it may be the
eagerness to learn by students, in business it is associated with the desire to
achieve the goals. So it is an overall attitude of an individual or group towards all
aspects of their work, maybe it is the company, the job, the supervisors, fellow
workers, working conditions, etc.

According to Flippo in his book Personnel Management (Flippo, 1984), he

described morale “as a kind or rational response or simply an attitude of a person
and groups deliberately manifesting their readiness to co-operate. Good morale
can be shown by employee’s eagerness, voluntary affirmation with rules and
regulations, and a willingness to co-operate with the group in the achievement of
an organization’s objectives. Poor morale is evidenced by surliness,
insubordination, a feeling of discouragement and dislike of the job, company and
associates. To surmise, morale refers to the over-all ambiance, or atmosphere of
work, that are sometimes not just being minded or sensed by the members.’

In the determination of levels of morale , there are certain important

factors which we need to consider. First, the Organization, this is the first factor
affecting the employee morale is the organization itself. The organization
influences the worker’s attitudes to their jobs. The public reputation of an
organization may build up for better or worse, their attitudes towards it. Second is
the Nature of Work, it is where the worker is expected to perform also affects his
attitude towards the job as well as his morale. If the employee is expected to
perform routine or specialized jobs, he will feel bored and alienated. Repetition of
the same task again and again makes the working situation worse for the
employees. Another factor is the large impersonal organizational structure.
Sometimes, if the employee feels that he is just a component in the machine
instead of a person, his morale will become very low. Lack of understanding of
organizational goals may also affect the morale. Another is the Level of
Satisfaction which a worker derives from his job is another determinant of
morale. If the job factors and the satisfaction is perceived to be favorable by the
employee, morale will tend to be higher than if there factors seem to be
unfavorable. The job factors include the factors such as opportunities for
promotions, job security, steadiness of employment, opportunities to learn the job
and to use his own ideas, pay working conditions, recognition, cooperativeness
of co-workers, group relationship and many others. Forth is the Level of
Supervision received by an employee has a big effect on his/her morale. High
rate of employee turnover indicates that the leadership maybe is ineffective.
Accordingly, if employees are given so much leeway to perform their job, it will
drive them to have high morale. Fifth is Concept of Self on how an employee
perceive on himself/herself. The employees perception of him/herself affect the
attitudes of the employees towards his/her workplace or the organization as a
whole The morale of persons who have lots of self confidence is generally high
as compared to those who lack self confidence. Another is the Worker’s
Perception of Rewards System, which, the worker’s perception of past rewards
and future opportunities for rewards influences their morale to a large extent. If
workers perceive the rewards as fair and satisfactory, their morale will be higher
than if the perception is in the opposite. However, if expected rewards and
opportunities in the future may look to be depressing, morale will tend to be low.
Another factor us the Employee’s Age, in which studies have reported that age
and morale are directly related. If holding other thing as equal, elder employees
seem to have higher morale than the younger ones. It is because , to some
extent younger workers are more dissatisfied with higher expectations than their
older ones. The older employees have more stability which comes with maturity,
a serious attitude towards job. more reliability, less absenteeism, proven steady
work habits, a sense of responsibility and loyalty and less tendency to be
distracted by outside interest as influences. Other factors which may also comes
into play are the Employees’ Educational Level, his/her Occupational level
wherein the higher is the level of an employee may tend to bring higher morale
on him/her than the other way around. Even on the Off the Job Activities of the
Employee, where the relationship of an employee with his family and work group
influences his behavior and attitude while he is on the job. His off the job
activities e.g. whether his family life is happy or not, whether he has excessive
drinking habits etc. The influences and pressures of a primary and secondary
group have a significant effect on the morale of an individual. (Venkatesh, n.d.)

e. What Supervisor can do?

It is quite a challenging job for the supervisor to keep at least a good if not
high morale among the subordinates. It has to embark into working and building
a better and conducive environment for the employees that will promote and
bolster their morale. Essentially it has to work on so many factors affecting
employees’ moral into its positive side or the side that induce high morale on
people.
First, it has to work on projecting a good image for the organization itself,
which if perceive favorably by the outside environment, will be a morale booster
for all of its workers.
Second, a supervisor must be able to relate to its subordinates its
organizational goal, so that employees has its focus on attaining the goal, and is
not swayed by the focus on the monotonous work at all, which may jeep and
employee bored and eventually will have a low morale.
Third, there is a need also to elevate the level of satisfaction on a
employee such that, when one knew that his job will bring him/her stability in the
job or a promotion or an incentive, it will drive his/her morale upwards.
There are so many factors to consider and areas where the supervisor
has to work on, but in the final analysis, all of the supervisors effort must geared
toward elevating the morale of his subordinates.
B.) Understanding Group behavior

a. Structure and development of personality

Personality is an important individual characteristic, which is why many
companies are increasingly testing the personality traits of job applicants and
employees. Personality is a kind of continuing characteristics or pattern of
thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize a person, along with the
psychological processes behind those characteristics. It is, in essence, a
grouping of characteristics that makes an individual similar to or different from
other people. We can gauge an individual’s personality by what he or she says
and does, and we infer the person’s internal states, including thoughts and
emotions, however these are only estimation base on what we observe on his
manifested behavior. A basic premise of personality theory is that people have
inherent characteristics or traits that can be identified by the consistency or
stability of their behavior that will always manifest within or from him/her. To
illustrate, you probably have some friends who are more talkative than others.
You might know some people who like to take risks and others who are risk-
averse. This consistency is an primary requirement for personality theory
because it attributes a person’s behavior to something within him or her, the
individual’s personality, rather than to purely environmental influences.

Of course, people do not act the same way in all situations, in fact, such
consistency would be considered abnormal because it indicates a person’s
insensitivity to social norms, reward systems, and other external conditions.
Individuals vary their behavior to suit the situation, even if the behavior is in
contrast with their personality. For example, talkative people remain relatively
quiet in a library where “no talking” rules are explicit and strictly enforced. People
usually exhibit a wide range of behaviors, yet within that various manifestation,
are noticeable patterns that we refer to as personality traits . Traits are very wide
concepts that allow us to label and understand individual differences. Moreover,
traits to a lot of extent can estimate an individual’s behavior going into the future.
For example, studies report that an individual’s personality in childhood predicts
various behaviors and outcomes in adulthood, including educational attainment,
employment success, marital relationships, illegal activities, and health-risk
behaviors. (Mcshane, 2010)
 b. Influence of group on the Individual
It is usual that in a group situation individual behavior may undergo
different types of changes. Processes such as conformity and compromise,
which necessarily involve changes in individual behavior are maybe among those
changes. In many of research has been specifically dedicated to the study of this
subject, it has been shown that judgement, attitudes, perceptions, and others can
be changed to a great extent by group situations.

Similarly, factors such as the prestige of the group, credibility of the

leader, etc. also contribute to group pressure. But how lasting this change is, is
still an issue to be settled. It has further been shown that there are individual
differences in the susceptibility to group pressure.

Individuals with certain personality characteristics such as a strong

affiliated need, dependency and other similar characteristics are likely to be more
susceptible. The group’s ability to modify behavior has had considerable scope
for application.

If an individual perceives the organization as being good, healthy and

conducive, the climate is supposed to be supportive, and otherwise as non-
supportive. A very major effort of psychologists is in the direction of identifying
characteristics, which would improve organizational climates which, will improve
performance and the satisfaction of employees.

Very often it has been found that organizations perform at a very low level
of efficiency in spite of having competent workers, sound technology and all the
other material resources. The obvious inadequacy lies in the organizational
climate. I can now even for myself very well appreciate the practical significance
and importance of understanding group behavior. (Swagatika, N.D)

c. Primary Groups

A primary group is a group in which one exchanges implicit items, such as

love, caring, concern, support and many other. Examples of these would be
family groups, love relationships, crisis support groups, and church groups.
Relationships formed in primary groups are often long lasting and goals in
themselves. They also are often psychologically comforting to the individuals
involved and provide a source of support and encouragement. Primary groups
are marked by concern for one another, shared activities and culture, and long
periods of time spent together. They are psychologically comforting and quite
influential in developing personal identity. Families and close friends are
examples of primary groups. The goal of primary groups is actually the
relationships themselves rather than achieving some other purpose.

Sociologists distinguish between two types of groups based upon their

characteristics. A primary group is typically a small social group whose members
share close, personal, enduring relationships. These groups are marked by
concern for one another, shared activities and culture , and long periods of time
spent together. The goal of primary groups is actually the relationships
themselves rather than achieving some other purpose. Families and close friends
are examples of primary groups.

The concept of the primary group was introduced by Charles Cooley, a

sociologist from the Chicago School of sociology, in his book Social
Organization: A Study of the Larger Mind (Cooley 1909). Primary groups play an
important role in the development of personal identity. Cooley emphasized that
the impact of the primary group is so great that individuals cling to primary ideals
in more complex associations and even create new primary groupings within
formal organizations. To that extent, he looked at the society as a constant
experiment in enlarging social experience and in coordinating variety. He,
therefore, analyzed the operation of such complex social forms as formal
institutions and social class systems and the subtle controls of public opinion.
(Sociology Boundless, N.D)

d. Secondary Groups

Secondary groups comprise relatively impersonal and temporary

relationships that are goal or task-oriented and are often found in employment or
educational settings. While the relationships within primary groups are intimate,
personal, and enduring, the relationships within secondary groups are organized
around confined settings of practical interests or goals without which these
groups would not exist. Secondary groups are functional groups created to carry
out a task or achieve a goal.

Typically a person becomes a member of a secondary group voluntarily,

out of shared interest with the others involved. Common examples include co-
workers in an employment setting or students, teachers, and administrators in an
school setting. Such groups can be large or small, ranging from all the
employees or students within an organization to the select few who work together
on a project. Small secondary groups such as these often disband after
completion of the task or project.
 A secondary group does not exercise a primary influence over its
members because they do not live in the presence and thoughts of one another.
The average member plays a passive role, and the warmth of the relationships in
primary groups is missing. (Crossman, 2019)

e. Relationship within Group

In building and maintaining relationship within groups, it will be better to
lean towards what it is on the positive side. A way to facilitating relationship is to
contribute to a constructive group environment. When someone does something
good, it may have to share with the group. Extending help in whatever ways to
the members of the group defuse stress, not add to it. When others are less
stressed they get along better with others and become more productive. Showing
respect to other by listening to their perspectives is in a way can maintain a good
relation within. (Afinn302, 2013)
Another is by helping build cohesion within the group. Formal and informal
groups seem to possess a closeness or commonness of attitude, behavior, and
performance. This closeness has been referred to as cohesiveness.
Cohesiveness typically is regarded as a force. It acts on the members to remain
in a group and is greater than the forces pulling the members away from the
group. A cohesive group, comprises individuals who are attracted to one another.
A group that is low in cohesiveness does not possess interpersonal
attractiveness for the members. Since highly cohesive groups are composed of
individuals who are motivated to be together, management tends to expect
effective group performance. In general, as the cohesiveness of a work group
increases, the level of conformity to group norms also increases.
There are, of course, numerous sources of attraction to a group. These
might include:
1. The goals of the group and the members are compatible and clearly
specified.
2. The group has a charismatic leader.
3. The reputation of the group indicates that the group successfully
accomplishes its tasks.
4. The group is small enough to permit members to have their opinions
heard and evaluated by others.
5. The members are attractive in that they support one another and help one
another overcome obstacles and barriers to personal growth and
development.
 The concept of cohesiveness is important for understanding groups in
organizations. The degree of cohesiveness in a group can have either positive or
negative effects, depending on how group goals match those of the formal
organization. In fact, distinct possibilities exist, that if cohesiveness is high and
the group accepts and agrees with formal organizational goals, then group
behavior probably will be positive from the formal organization’s standpoint.
However, if the group is highly cohesive but has goals that are not congruent with
those of the formal organization, then group behavior probably will be negative
from the formal organization’s perspective. Also it is a posibility that if a group is
low in cohesiveness and the members have goals that are not in agreement with
those of management, then the results probably will be negative from the
standpoint of the organization. Behaviors will be more on an individual basis than
on a group basis because of the low cohesiveness. On the other hand, it is
possible to have a group low in cohesiveness, where the members’ goals agree
with those of the formal organization. Here, the results probably will be positive,
although again more on an individual basis than on a group basis. From a
managerial perspective, it may sometimes be desirable to alter the cohesion of a
work group. If the group has high productivity norms, for example, but is not
particularly cohesive, increasing cohesiveness can be very beneficial. Increasing
cohesion may bring about increased performance, as well as contribute to group
members’ satisfaction. Nevertheless, sometimes decreasing cohesion may be in
the best interest of the organization. A group whose goals are counter to those of
the larger organization would be an example. This could occur during periods of
labor unrest or while the organization is experiencing an external threat such as a
hostile takeover. Attempts to alter the cohesiveness of any group may not work;
the opposite of what was intended may be the result. This is particularly true
when reducing cohesion is being attempted. The group may see the effort as a
threat, which may increase cohesiveness as the group unites to defend itself.
Management should exercise caution in deciding whether to influence the
cohesion of work groups. . (Konopaske et.,al, 20087)

f. Group cooperation

For an organization to run smoothly and meet its goals, it is important to

foster a work environment that supports collaboration amongst colleagues.
Unfortunately for most organizations, this does not occur naturally, and thus you
must make an effort and take steps to help build and sustain a cooperative work
environment.
 Cooperation in the workplace can mean many things. It involves the level
at which employees participate in decision-making, how management and
employees work together to resolve problems, and how all levels of the
organization work together to achieve common goals.

There are many activities and steps that the management along with the
employees can take to help improve cooperation in the workplace.

For co-workers to successfully collaborate, the management must work to

make collaboration one of the key values of the enterprise. Employees must see
that the management within the firm works together as a team to accomplish
goals. Also, the company’s hierarchy must award teams or groups publicly when
they are successful at working together to achieve their objectives.

To truly improve collaboration, management must provide an environment

where employees are not afraid to share their ideas. Leaders must create a
culture where the exchange of ideas is encouraged and rewarded. Teamwork
and collaboration must be a central theme of the mission statement to improve
collaboration.

Organizations will find it satisfying when all employees are on the same
page, working collaboratively will quickly become a seamless and natural
process. Making sure each employee understands, not only his or her role, but
the roles of the people around them will help everyone understand the big picture
and how they fit into the larger puzzle.

It is also imperative that the management has to set clear expectations for
the teams so that as employees work together, everyone is clear on which goal
or objective needs to be reached. (Brown, 2019)

g. Principle in understanding group behavior

Understanding the behavior of people in organizations, productivity,

teamwork, work-life balance, job stress, and career progression, are usually the
top concerns of all managers and leaders. People make the difference, based on
the fact that organizational behavior has evolved into multiple disciplinary norms.
Drawing on psychology, sociology, political science, and cultural
anthropology, Organizational Behavior is the study of the impact that individuals,
groups, and organizational structure and processes have on individual behavior
within organizations.
 This multidisciplinary view of organizational behavior illustrates a number
of points. First, Organizational Behavior is a way of thinking. Behavior is viewed
as operating at individual, group, and organizational levels. This approach
suggests that when studying Organizational Behavior, we must identify clearly
the level of analysis being used, individual, group, and/or organizational. Second,
Organizational Behavior is multidisciplinary this means that it utilizes principles,
models, theories, and methods from other disciplines. The study of
Organizational Behavior is not a discipline or a generally accepted science with
an established theoretical foundation. It is a field that only now is beginning to
grow and develop in stature and impact on the organization. Third, there is a
distinctly humanistic orientation within organizational behavior. People and their
attitudes, perceptions, learning capacities, feelings, and goals are of major
importance to the organization. Fourth, the field of Organizational Behavior is
performance-oriented. It talks about increasing performance, enhancing
efficiency and effectiveness and involving trainings and maybe other method to
improve performance as a whole. Practicing managers face these important
issues. Fifth, the scientific method is used to study Organizational Behavior
variables and relationships. As the scientific method has been used in conducting
research on organizational behavior, a set of principles and guidelines on what
constitutes good research are now being developed. Finally, the field is
application oriented. It is concerned with providing useful answers to questions
that arise in the context of managing organizations. (Konopaske et.,al, 20087)

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Afinn302 (2013, July 22) Positive Relationship within Groups

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Brown, Lizzie (2019, October 21) How to improve Cooperation in the Workplace
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com/improve-cooperation-amongst-co-workers/

Crossman, Ashley (2019, February 14) Understanding Primary and Secondary

Group in Sociology
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McShane, Steven L., Glinow, Mary Ann Von (2010) Organizational Behavior: 5 th
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Konopaske, Robert, Invancevich, John M., Matteson, Michael T. (2008)

Organizational Behavior and Management
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