ChapterChapterChapterChapter

WORKING WITH -- AND AGAINST -- OTHERS: PROSOCIAL AND DEVIANT BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS

TenTenTenTen

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

1. Define prosocial behavior and distinguish it from altruism.

2. Describe organizational citizenship behavior and the major forms it often takes.

3. Explain whistle-blowing and the dilemma faced by potential whistle-blowers.

4. Explain the nature of cooperation and identify both individual and organizational factors that influence its occurrence.

5. Define trust and explain its relationship to both organizational citizenship behavior and co-operation.

6. Define conflict and indicate how it can produce positive as well as negative effects.

7. Identify several organizational and interpersonal causes of conflict.

8. Describe various techniques of managing conflict.

9. Distinguish workplace violence from workplace aggression.

10. Describe causes of workplace aggression and techniques for reducing such behavior.

11. Describe the motives behind employee theft and techniques for reducing such behavior..

Figure 10.1Working With or Against Others

Prosocial Behavior(helping organizational

citizenship behavior)

Competition

Deviant OrganizationalBehavior

(workplace aggression,employee theft, lying,

fraud, etc.)

Cooperation Conflict

WorkingWith

Others

WorkingAgainstOthers

Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others At Work (Pp. 371-375)

Altruism - actions by one person that benefit others under conditions in whichthe donor expects nothing in return- research casts doubt on the existence of totally selfless helping

Prosocial behavior - actions that help other individuals or organizations invarious waysOrganizational citizenship behavior (OCB) - actions by organization

members that exceed the formal requirements of their job- go beyond the formal requirements of the job- are discretionary in nature- are not necessarily recognized by the formal reward structure

Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others At Work (cont.)

Prosocial behavior (cont.)

Determinants of OCB Expected fair treatment - employees’ trust in their

immediate supervisorBreadth of job - more OCB associated with more broadly-

defined jobsOrganizational commitment - committed employees more

likely to “go the extra mile”

Importance of OCB - OCB produces beneficial effects for individuals and organizations

Five basic categories of OCBAltruistic - helps another personConscientious - goes beyond minimum requirementsCivic virtue - shows concern about the organizationSportsmanship - tolerant of less-than-ideal circumstancesCourtesy - behaving so as to avoid creating conflict

Prosocial Behavior: Helping Others At Work (cont.)

Whistle-Blowing - disclosure by employees of illegal, immoral, or illegitimatepractices by employers to people or organizations able to dosomething about it- whistle blowers sacrifice a great deal to protect innocent victims- most whistle-blowers try to work inside their organizations before

going public

Effective whistle-blowingDocument your claims scrupulouslySpeak to your immediate supervisor firstTalk to a lawyerPlan for the worst

Cooperation: Mutual Assistance in Work Settings (Pp. 375-381)

Cooperation - pattern of behavior in which assistance is mutual and two ormore individuals, groups, or organizations work together towardshared goals for their mutual benefit- cannot occur when the goals sought by the individuals or groups

cannot be shared

Competition - pattern of behavior in which each person, group, or organi-zation seeks to maximize its own gains, often at the expense of others

Person A Goal Person B

Competition

Person A Goal Person B

CooperationFigure 10.4

Cooperation: Mutual Assistance in Work Settings(cont.)

Social Dilemma - situation in which all parties can increase their gains byacting in one way but stand to lose if all (or most) do soMixed motives - reasons exist for cooperating and to defect

Defect - do what is best for you regardless of its effect onothers

Individual Determinants of CooperationReciprocity - tendency for people to return the kind of treatment

they receive from others

Trust - individual’s confidence in the goodwill of others and thebelief they will make effects consistent with the group’s goalCognition-based - beliefs about reliability of othersAffect-based - emotional bond involving genuine care for

welfare of others

Personal orientation - reliable tendencies toward displaying aparticular degree of cooperationCooperative - maximize joint outcomesIndividualistic - maximize own outcomesCompetitive - focus on defeating others

Cooperation: Mutual Assistance in Work Settings(cont.)

Organizational Determinants of CooperationReward systems - awards administered to individuals or single units

produces a high degree of competitionWinner-take-all

Interdependence among employees - greater cooperation associatedwith greater interdependence

Cooperation Across Organizations - interorganizational coordinationPartnering with suppliers - no longer viewed as adversaries

- partners perceive their outcomes to be intimately linkedPromoting business growth - independent companies join forces

by means of mergers or joint venturesResponding to external threats - mutual protection

Conflict: Its Nature, Causes, and Effects (Pp. 382-387)

Conflict - process in which one party perceives another has (or is about totake) some action that will exert a negative effect on its major interest- characteristics of conflict

- opposing interests between individuals or groups- recognition of such opposition- belief by each side that the other will thwart these interests- actions that produce such thwarting

Integration and distribution - two basic dimensions of conflictDistribution - concern with one’s own outcomesIntegration - concern with the outcomes of others- dimensions are largely independent

- may be used to define five basic styles for resolving conflict

Integration

Distrib

ution

Competition

Compromise

Avoidance Accommodation

Collaboration

(low) (high)

(low)

(high)

Figure 10.8Basic Styles of Resolving Conflict

Major Causes of Conflict - major groups of factors contribute to conflictOrganizational causes

Competition over scarce resourcesAmbiguity over responsibility - uncertainty about tasksAmbiguity over jurisdiction - uncertainty about authority

Conflict: Its Nature, Causes, and Effects (cont.)

Interpersonal causes - social and cognitive causesFaulty attributions - errors concerning the believed causes

behind others’ behaviorFaulty communication - communication that unintentionally

angers or annoys another personDestructive criticism

Naïve realism - tendency to perceive one’s ideas as being more objective than other’s ideas

Figure 10.9Causes of Conflict

Conflict

Competition overscarce resources

Interdependence

Ambiguity overresponsibility, jurisdiction

Organizational cause

Faultyattributions

Poor communications

Naïve realism

Interpersonal cause

Figure 10.10Causes of Conflict

Conflict

•Brings into the open problems that have been ignored previously

•Motivates people to understand each other’s position•Encourages new ideas, facilitating innovation and change•May improve decision quality by forcing people to challenge

their assumptions•Enhances organizational commitment

Positiveeffects

•Negative emotions, stress•Reduces communication required for coordination•Shift from participative to authoritarian styles•Negative stereotyping•Emphasizes loyalty to one groups

Negativeeffects

Conflict Management (Pp. 387-392)

Bargaining - the process in which opposing sides exchange offers, counter-offers, and concessions, either directly or through representatives- if successful, a solution that both parties find acceptable is attained

- conflict is resolved- if unsuccessful, a costly deadlock may result

- conflict may be intensified

Outcomes of bargaining determined by:Special tactics - many intended to reduce the opponent’s

aspirations about what s/he can achieve by means ofnegotiation

Extreme offerBig lieClaiming an “out”Misrepresenting your position on common

issues

Conflict Management (cont.)

Outcomes of bargaining determined by: (cont.)Overall orientation - perspective governing approach to bargaining

Win-lose situation - gains by one side are necessarily linkedwith losses for the other

Win-win situation - interests of both sides are not necessarilyincompatible and both sides may realize gainsIntegrative agreements - offer greater joint benefits

than simple compromise (i.e., splitting thedifferences down the middle)

Perceptual errors - conflict associated with misperceiving the situation faced by the two sidesIncompatibility error - tendency for both sides to assume

that their interests are entirely incompatibleFixed-sum error - tendency to assume one side of a conflict

places the same importance as the other side onevery issue

Transparency overestimation - belief that our goals and motives are more apparent to opponents than actually is the case

Conflict Management (cont.)

Third-Party Intervention - someone not directly involved in a dispute askedto intervene when bargaining is deadlockedMediation - attempts to facilitate voluntary agreements by clarifying

the issues and enhancing communication between the sides- no power to impose a solution

Arbitration - third party has the power to impose (or at least torecommend strongly) the terms of an agreement between thedisputing partiesBinding arbitration - two sides agree in advance to accept

the terms set by the arbitratorVoluntary arbitration - two sides retain the freedom to

reject the recommended agreement- reluctance to ignore the terms because of the stature

of the arbitratorConventional arbitration - arbitrator can offer any package

of terms that s/he wishesFinal-offer arbitration - arbitrator chooses between final

offers made by the disputants themselves

Deviant Organizational Behavior (Pp. 392-399)

Deviant Organizational Behavior - actions by employees that intentionallyviolate the existing norms of their group, organization, or society and that result in negative consequences for coworkers or the organizationWorkplace violence - direct, physical assaults by present or former

employees against others in their organization- most performed by “outsiders”- actually is quite rare event

Workplace aggression - any action through which individualsseek to harm others in the workplace- largely covert rather than overt

Expressions of hostilityObstructionsismOvert aggression

- causes of workplace aggression- perceived unfairness - changes in staffing levels

Deviant Organizational Behavior (cont.)

Effectively Managing Workplace Aggression -several tactics are usefulEmployee screening - identify applicants with a history of aggressive

behavior or traits associated with aggressive behaviorDisciplinary behavior - clearly-defined programs of progressive

punishmentTreating people fairly - assure high levels of organizational justiceEmployee training - teach appropriate response to threats

- teach skills to recognize potentially threatening situations and to defuse situations that may be underway

Deviant Organizational Behavior (cont.)

Employee Theft - unauthorized appropriation of company property byemployees for their personal use

Why do employees steal? - traditional explanations take fatalistic approachOpportunities present themselves - requires elaborate security to

reduce the perceived opportunities to stealPressures experienced by employee - financial and vice-basedCriminal personality - rationalizes all action as being correct

STEAL Motive - approach requires understanding the social motives in theworkplace that encourage employee theftSupport - group norms that condone theftThwart - employees’ desire to resist group norms by doing whatever

they wantEven the score - beliefs about having been treated unfairlyApproval - some supervisors not only pardon theft, but approve of it

as an informal way to reward employeesInvisible wage structure

Deviant Organizational Behavior (cont.)

Managing Employee Theft - a variety of useful methods availableTreat employees with dignity and respectInvolve employees in formally defining theftOpenly communicate the costs of stealingUse corporate hotlinesBe a good role model