Managing Individual
Differences & Behavior
Supervising People as People
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First law of human behavior:
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“People are different. What one person
considers a golden opportunity another
considers a threat.”
Perception
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Process of interpreting and understanding
one’s environment
Individuals organize and interpret information
from their environments using perceptual
filters
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personality, psychology, experience, preferences,
beliefs-based differences
Objective vs. perceived realities
Types of Recognition
Frequency with Which
Supervisors Say They
Give Various Types of
Recognition for Good
Performance
Frequency with Which
Subordinates Say
Supervisors Give
Various Types of
Recognition for Good
Performance
Gives Privileges
52%
14%
Gives more
responsibility
48%
10%
Pat on the Back
82%
13%
Sincere and Thorough
Praise
80%
14%
Trains for Better Jobs
64%
9%
Gives more Interesting
Work
51%
3%
Perception
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People perceive the world uniquely
Differences in perceptions can cause
problems
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Communication
Conflict
Motivation
Judgment
Decision Making
Object Perception
Social Perception
How we gather information about the
social world--about peoples’ behavior,
moods, motives, and traits
Similar to object perception, but
 People are more dynamic than objects
 We’re trying to figure out intentions,
motives, and causes of behavior
Causal Attribution
Why did they do that?

internal causes
traits
 skills
 abilities
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external causes
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situational constraints
Errors/Biases
in Social Perception
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Fundamental Attribution Error
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The tendency to attribute others' bad performance
to internal causes &
Attribute their good performance to external
causes
Self-serving bias
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attribute successes to ourselves - internal
attribute failures to the environment – external
Distortions in Perception
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Review PA
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Selective perception
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Halo, contrast, Primacy/recency etc.
filter out information that is discomforting, that
seems irrelevant, or that contradicts one’s beliefs
or expectations
Closure

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tendency to fill in the gaps when information is
missing
Assume what we don’t know is consistent with
what we do know
Distortions in Perception
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Stereotyping

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tendency to attribute to an individual the
characteristics one believes are typical of
the group to which that individual belongs
Sex-role, age, race/ethnicity
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
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Self-Fulfilling prophecy

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the phenomenon in which people’s
expectations of themselves or others lead
them to behave in ways that make those
expectations come true
Also called the Pygmalion effect
Perception Implications

Increase the accuracy of your own perceptions.
 Conscious information processing
 Ask yourself about the bias
 Reality testing—Check your assumptions
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Ask questions (and let them answer)
Look for information that disconfirms your beliefs
360 feedback
Know your people
Perception Implications
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Leaders must be attuned to:
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The perceived realities and attributions of their team
The fact that perceived and objective realities may
not mesh
The idea that people respond to the perceived reality
Managers must eliminate differences between
employees’ perceived and objective reality.
Have high (yet realistic) expectations
Personality

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Relatively stable, unique set of traits
and attributes that that give a person
his/her identity and determine his/her
preferences and behavior.
Why consider personality?
THE “BIG FIVE” (CANOE):
Conscientiousness
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The degree to which a person is
dependable, responsible, thorough,
perseverant
Most consistent personality predictor of
performance
Also predicts lack of problem behavior
THE “BIG FIVE”: Agreeableness
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The extent to which a person is polite,
good natured, flexible, cooperative,
trusting.
May predict job performance in jobs…
THE “BIG FIVE”:
Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)
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The degree to which a person is
anxious, depressed, moody, emotionally
unstable, temperamental.
May predict job performance in what
type of jobs?
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THE “BIG FIVE”: Openness
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The degree to which a person is
imaginative, curious, flexible, open to
change.
May predict job performance where?
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THE “BIG FIVE”: Extraversion
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The degree to which a person is
sociable, talkative, assertive, active,
ambitious.
May predict job performance in what
type of jobs?
SELF-ESTEEM
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How perceive themselves overall:
abilities, competencies, and
effectiveness
High self esteem is related to higher
performance, commitment, loyalty, and
longevity.
What can managers do to foster high self
esteem?
SELF-EFFICACY
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Belief in one’s ability to do a task
Learned helplessness
FOSTERING SELF-ESTEEM & Self
EFFICACY
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LOCUS OF CONTROL
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How much people believe they control their fate
through their own efforts.
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Why is locus of control important?
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Internal
External
Response to supervision and structure?
Satisfaction?
Performance?
Incentive Systems?
How might a manager influence employees’ locus
of control?
LOCUS OF CONTROL
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Emotional Intelligence

Ability to detect, express, and manage emotion in
oneself and others.
Other
Self
(Social Competence)
(Personal Competence)
Recognition
of emotions
Self Awareness
Regulation
of emotions
Self-Management
Social Awareness
(Empathy)
Relationship Management
(Social Skills)
Emotional Intelligence
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Some suggest that EI is the best predictor of
work success
It’s “learnable”
It’s related to communication, motivation (self
and others), effective leadership
(Hendrie Weisinger, “Emotional Intelligence at
Work” (Jossey-Bass, 1998).