Organizational Behavior: Status and Norms

Social Arrangement Norms

• Focus on whom to eat lunch with and whether to form friendships on and off the job

Resource Allocation Norms

• Include the assignment of difficult jobs and the distribution of resources like pay or equipment

Status and Norms

• High-status members of groups are given more freedom to deviate from norms than other group members
• High-status individuals are better able to resist conformity pressures
• Star athletes, famous actors, top-performing salespeople, and outstanding academics often seem oblivious to appearance or social norms due to their high status

Status and Group Interaction

• High-status people tend to be assertive
• Status differences inhibit diversity of ideas and creativity
• Lower-status members tend to be less active
• Perceived status inequity creates disequilibrium that results in corrective behavior

Hierarchical Groups

• Can lead to resentment among those at the lower end of the status continuum
• Large differences in status within groups are associated with poorer individual performance, lower health, and higher intentions to leave the group

Group Status Criteria

• Groups generally agree within themselves on status criteria
• Managers who occupy central positions in their social networks are typically seen as higher in status by their subordinates

Conflict Between Groups

• Individuals can find themselves in conflicts when they move between groups whose status criteria are different or join groups with heterogeneous backgrounds

Business Executives and Status

• May use personal income or the growth rate of their companies as determinants of status

Social Identity

• People are more likely to notice identities that show how they are different from other groups
• Graduates of prestigious universities will often emphasize their links to their alma maters and make donations
• Membership in a group helps some people understand who they are and how they fit into the world

Five Stages of Group Development

Forming Stage

• Characterized by uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and leadership
• Members try to determine what types of behavior are acceptable

Storming Stage

• Period of intragroup conflict
• Members accept the existence of the group but resist constraints on individuality
• Conflict arises over who will control the group

Norming Stage

• Close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesion

Performing Stage

• Structure is fully functional and accepted
• Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing

Group Definition and Types

• A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives
• Formal groups are defined by the organization's structure, with designated work assignments establishing tasks
• Informal groups are alliances that are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined

Values

• Values are people's stable life goals, reflecting what is most important to them.
• Values are established throughout a person's life as a result of accumulating experiences.
• Values tend to be relatively stable.
• Values affect the types of decisions people make, how they perceive their environment, and their actual behavior.
• Values have two attributes: content and intensity.
• The content attribute specifies what mode of conduct is important.
• The intensity attribute specifies how important it is.

Types of Values

• Examples of values people may have:
  • Achievement: desire for personal success
  • Benevolence: desire to protect the well-being of people who are close
  • Power: desire for control over others, attaining power and prestige
  • Security: valuing safety and stability
  • Self-direction: desire to be free and independent
  • Tradition: acceptance of social customs and traditional ideas in a society

Value System

• A value system is a hierarchy-based ranking of individual values in terms of their intensity.
• Values are a judgmental element of what is right, good, or desirable.
• Values generally influence attitudes and emotions.

Personality and Values

• Personality represents patterns of thinking and feeling with no judgment involved.
• Values represent what people believe to be right.
• Values are deeply held principles that guide choices and influence emotions.

Personal Values

• Examples of personal values:
  • LOVE: patience, kindness, forgiveness, trust, and selflessness
  • INTEGRITY: truthfulness, sincerity, reliability, responsibility, consistency, commitment, and dependability

Instrumental and Terminal Values

• Instrumental values: preferable modes of behavior that result in achieving terminal values (shorter-term goals).
• Terminal values: desirable end states of existence.

Values

• Values are people's stable life goals, reflecting what is most important to them.
• Values are established throughout a person's life as a result of accumulating experiences.
• Values tend to be relatively stable.
• Values affect the types of decisions people make, how they perceive their environment, and their actual behavior.
• Values have two attributes: content and intensity.
• The content attribute specifies what mode of conduct is important.
• The intensity attribute specifies how important it is.

Types of Values

• Examples of values people may have:
  • Achievement: desire for personal success
  • Benevolence: desire to protect the well-being of people who are close
  • Power: desire for control over others, attaining power and prestige
  • Security: valuing safety and stability
  • Self-direction: desire to be free and independent
  • Tradition: acceptance of social customs and traditional ideas in a society

Value System

• A value system is a hierarchy-based ranking of individual values in terms of their intensity.
• Values are a judgmental element of what is right, good, or desirable.
• Values generally influence attitudes and emotions.

Personality and Values

• Personality represents patterns of thinking and feeling with no judgment involved.
• Values represent what people believe to be right.
• Values are deeply held principles that guide choices and influence emotions.

Personal Values

• Examples of personal values:
  • LOVE: patience, kindness, forgiveness, trust, and selflessness
  • INTEGRITY: truthfulness, sincerity, reliability, responsibility, consistency, commitment, and dependability

Instrumental and Terminal Values

• Instrumental values: preferable modes of behavior that result in achieving terminal values (shorter-term goals).
• Terminal values: desirable end states of existence.

Values

• Values are people's stable life goals, reflecting what is most important to them.
• Values are established throughout a person's life as a result of accumulating experiences.
• Values tend to be relatively stable.
• Values affect the types of decisions people make, how they perceive their environment, and their actual behavior.
• Values have two attributes: content and intensity.
• The content attribute specifies what mode of conduct is important.
• The intensity attribute specifies how important it is.

Types of Values

• Examples of values people may have:
  • Achievement: desire for personal success
  • Benevolence: desire to protect the well-being of people who are close
  • Power: desire for control over others, attaining power and prestige
  • Security: valuing safety and stability
  • Self-direction: desire to be free and independent
  • Tradition: acceptance of social customs and traditional ideas in a society

Value System

• A value system is a hierarchy-based ranking of individual values in terms of their intensity.
• Values are a judgmental element of what is right, good, or desirable.
• Values generally influence attitudes and emotions.

Personality and Values

• Personality represents patterns of thinking and feeling with no judgment involved.
• Values represent what people believe to be right.
• Values are deeply held principles that guide choices and influence emotions.

Personal Values

• Examples of personal values:
  • LOVE: patience, kindness, forgiveness, trust, and selflessness
  • INTEGRITY: truthfulness, sincerity, reliability, responsibility, consistency, commitment, and dependability

Instrumental and Terminal Values

• Instrumental values: preferable modes of behavior that result in achieving terminal values (shorter-term goals).
• Terminal values: desirable end states of existence.