Subject: Human Behaviour in Organization

Activity #2

1. You are working for the fire department of your province. When hiring employees, the
department uses a physical ability test in which candidates are asked to do 50 push-ups and
25 sit-ups, as well as climb over a 4-foot wall. When candidates take this test, it seems that
about 75% of the men who take the test actually pass it, while only 10% of the female
candidates pass the test. Do you believe that this is a fair test? Why or why not? If you are
asked to review the employee selection procedures, would you make any changes to this
system? Why or why not?

ANSWER:
In the field of hiring employees in the fire department, it is highly recommended to
use such an assessment like physical ability test and it was fairly favourable and it was
definitely a fair test because this mirrored the actual job task of being a fire fighter.
Alternatively, physical fitness tests do not replicate job tasks, per se, but rather require
candidates to perform more general physical activities to assess their overall fitness,
resilience and measure their skills and strength in performing their jobs appropriately. And
if I were asked to review the employee selection procedures, I wouldn’t make any changes
to the system for the reason that the department already used the right method of choosing
the most suitable candidate who would meet the requirements of the job in an organization.

2. A colleague of yours is being sent to Hong Kong as a manager for a call canter. She just
told you that she feels very strongly about the following issues:

- Democratic leaders are the best leaders because they create a more satisfied
workforce.
- Employees respond best to individual-based pay incentives and bonuses as tools
for motivation.
- Employees should receive peer feedback about their performance level so that
they can get a better sense of how well they are performing.

After doing some research on the business environment and national culture of Hong Kong,
how would you advise your colleague to behave? Should she try to transfer these three
managerial practices to Hong Kong context? Why or why not?

ANSWER:
My colleague should try to adopt the Hong Kong’s culture and he should try to
transfer these three managerial practices to Hong Kong context because part of the
preparation in an international assignment is to be prepared for a culture shock, more on
adjustments and even communications take place. As of developing a strong social network
if it once mastered and being able to go along the process of the adaptations on Hong
Kong’s culture its way much easier to cope up and build a strong relationship with the
organization as well as the customers.

3. Imagine that you are working in the HR department of your company. You come across
the following scenarios in which your input has been sought. Discuss each scenario and
propose an action plan for management.

- Aimee is the mother of a new-born. She is very dedicated to her work but she
used to stay for longer hours at work before she had her baby. Now she tries to
schedule her work so that she leaves around 5:00 p.m. Her immediate manager
feels that Aimee is no longer dedicated or committed to her work and is
considering passing her over for a promotion. Is this decision fair ?

ANSWER:

` Aimee is a persevere person, she used to work overtime for a longer working
hours which amazes the immediate manager and he expects more to Aimee’s
performance. But suddenly his attitude/impression towards Aimee was change
when she became a mother. On contrary, even though Aimee can no longer
work overtime for a longer working hour, the consistency and competency of
completing her job efficiently within the time frame set by the organization was
still there and as well as willingness of performing her responsibilities as an
employee. I could say that the immediate manager’s decision is not fair, to not
consider Aimee’s promotion because of her situation. The immediate manager
must be sensitive enough and understand each employee’s situations before
making decisions, he could observe first and monitor Aimee’s performance not
only based on the managers perception but it’s the positive
actions/performance of Aimee is what really matters and should be properly
evaluated so that the manager could identify if she deserved to be promoted.

- Jack is a married male, while John is single. Your company has an assignment
in a branch in Mexico that would last a couple of years. Management feels that
John would be better for this assignment because he is single and is free to
move. Is this decision fair?

ANSWER:
 The management can’t assign john without weighing the situation just
because he is single and is free to move. The decision is not fair and the
management must consider different factors in assigning people in a branch in
Mexico. First factor is that if jack is married does he have kids? to be
considered. What if his wife is fine if he will do the assignment, maybe she could
just barely visit his husband monthly or she could go with jack and stay with
him. Second is what if john is not eligible enough to be assigned in the branch of
Mexico? The management must determine thoroughly of who is more capable
and much worthy for the assignment- this entails to who has more work
experience, who possess more of the suitable ability and skills needed for the
assignment. The management should implement an objective review of both of
the employees’ work responsibilities, compatibility with the job in Mexico and
their competency should be examined not their marital status. This helps
evaluate the two of who among Jack and John that the company could trust
more in order to keep the reputation and life of the company keep going.

- A manager receives a request from an employee to take off a Wednesday for

ANSWER:

The manager should probably investigate the situation, before believing that
the employee is going to use the day for personal day off. The manager could
make an observations, know more about its employees, it’s not that its studying
for its personal life but for the sake of fairness and trying to seek about the truth
behind this issue.

- A sales employee has a painful migraine intermittently during the work day. She
would like to take short naps during the day as a preventative measure and she
also needs a place where she can nap when a migraine occurs. Her immediate
manager feels that this is unfair to the rest of the employees.

ANSWER:
In terms of the sales employee’s medical condition, the employee
should communicate the manager and talked about its situation. The sales
employee’s health should be prioritized and accommodated if it’s not life
threatening. The manager can bring observations they have about the sales
employee taking a nap and the frequency of migraines and encourage the sales
employee to seek medical attention and consult the doctor in order to address its
employees’ problem and be brightened to make an easier decision making. An
objective assessment of what the current condition of the sales employee should
be obtained first before assuming the worst and considering the situation unfair
for the other employees.
 - A department is looking for an entry-level cashier. One of the job applicants is a
cashier with 30 years of experience as a cashier. The department manager feels
that this candidate is overqualified for the job and is likely to be bored and leave
the job in a short time. Instead, they want to pursue a candidate with 6 months
of work experience who seems like a better fit for the position.

ANSWER:

It is fair on part of the department manager to feel that the person will not
stay since it is an entry-level job. A person with 30 years of experience can get
better opportunities outside the management. In this kind of scenario the over
qualified applicant/ candidate might become quickly bored in jobs that come
very easily and some will not be comfortable being supervised by someone who
has less experienced in the job well it may cause morale issues. The department
have made the right decision of pursuing a candidate with 6 months of work
experience who seems a better fit for the position.

4. How can a company assess person-job fit before hiring employees? What are the methods
you think would be helpful?

ANASWER:
A job-fit is an important factor to assess whether the employees are suitable to their
job. Without the right job fit, a person would not be able to experience happiness and
satisfaction in his job. Job fit is the degree to which a person’s skill, knowledge, abilities,
and other characteristics match the job demands. Before hiring employees which I think a
method that could be helpful in accessing a person job fit is the company must conduct a
prolonged interview approach and assessments in order to make sure that the candidate
being chosen was a great fit in all levels, from a skill set match to alignment with the
company culture. When people fit into their organization, they tend to be more committed
to their jobs, more committed to their companies and remain longer in their company.

5. How can a company determine person-organization fit before hiring employees? Which
methods do you think would be helpful?

ANSWER:
An Organization fit is essentially compatibility between an employee and an
organization- it is about the congruence of candidates own beliefs and values with the
mission, values and ethics of your organization, which in turn should be reflected in the
company’s culture. In attracting the candidates it is proper to create job adverts that are
very appealing, and ensure to capture and instil the organizations values in the job posting.
A culture fit assessment and/ or situational judgement test during the pre-selection process
will be able to see how candidates’ preferences for the organizational culture compare to
reality at the company and this kind of method could be very helpful in determining person-
organization fit for the company/organization.
6. What can organizations do to increase person-job and person-organization fit after they
hire employees?

ANSWER:
In order to increase person-job and person-organization fit after they hire their
employees is to always implement an evaluation of performance, behaviour and etc. and
motivation is also a key tin order to further develop each employees capabilities and
perseverance and in the end could finally earn the success that an organization is eager to
conquer

7. What is culture? Do countries have uniform national cultures?

ANSWER:
Cultures are what make countries unique that’s why they don’t have uniform
national cultures. Culture is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behaviour and
norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, arts, laws, customs, capabilities,
and habits of the individuals in a certain groups. Culture is also a beliefs and values of
people and the ways they think about and understand the world and their own lives. It
influences their views, values, humour, behaviour, hopes, loyalties, worries and fear. So
when you are working with people and building relationship with them, it helps to have
some perspective and understanding of their cultures.

8. How would you describe your own home country’s values on the four dimensions of
culture?

ANSWER:
The power distance dimension it is the degree to which the society views an unequal
distribution of power as acceptable and it deals with the fact that all individuals in societies
are not equal – it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us.
Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions
and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.
At a score of 94, The Philippines is a hierarchical society. This means that people accept a
hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.
Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is
popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent
autocrat.
In Individualism the fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of
interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s
self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed
to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist society’s people have
stronger bonds to their groups and group membership forms a person’s self-identity. The
Philippines, with a score of 32, is considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a
close long- term commitment to the member ‘group’, be that a family, extended family, or
extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over- rides most
other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone
takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies offence leads
to shame and loss of face, employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms
(like a family link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the employee’s in-
group, management is the management of groups.
As of Masculinity, a high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the
society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined
by the winner / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout
organizational life and a low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant
values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where
quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The
fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or
liking what you do (Feminine). The Philippines scores 64 on this dimension and is thus a
Masculine society. In Masculine countries people “live in order to work”, managers are
expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition and
performance and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.
The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance it refers to the degree to which people feel
threatened by ambiguous, risky, or unstructured situations and has to do with the way that
a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the
future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures
have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a
culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and
institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance. The
Philippines scores 44 on this dimension and thus has a low preference for avoiding
uncertainty. Low UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts
more than principles and deviance from the norm is more easily tolerated. In societies
exhibiting low UAI, people believe there should be no more rules than are necessary and if
they are ambiguous or do not work they should be abandoned or changed. Schedules are
flexible, hard work is undertaken when necessary but not for its own sake, precision and
punctuality do not come naturally, innovation is not seen as threatening.

9. How does culture influence the proper leadership style and reward system that would be
suitable for organizations?

ANSWER:
Leaders have powerful influence towards the organization’s culture and culture also
influence leadership and reward system. When leaders are strategic and intentional about
its leadership style, it will help create an environment that produces highly enthusiastic
employees that produce at peak levels. With regards to leadership style the Cultural
intelligence takes place and it can help the organization become more benevolent in how
every employee view those who see the world differently from others and a strong culture
leads to higher agreement among individuals, high levels of consistency in behaviours,
cohesiveness and loyalty. A reward system is a key of understanding culture and culture is
the key of determining the appropriate reward system that would be suitable for the
organization. By articulating desired behaviours and attitudes, the reward system
communicates its culture to new members and affirms its culture for older ones. With
culture reward system thus functions as a primary instrument for acculturation and control
by transmitting values and norms to its members.
10. Imagine that you will be sent to live in a foreign country different from your own in a
month. What are the types of preparations you would benefit from doing? (numbers 7 to 10
kindly refer your answers to the module that I provided).

ANSWER:
If I will be sent to live in a foreign country different from my own in a month, the
types of preparation that I would benefit from doing is first and foremost I would manage
my expectations and prepare for a possible culture challenges both in and outside the
organization. Then I will encourage a positive attitude all the time and be focused on the
communication with my co-workers.

11. What are the implications of contrast error for interpersonal interactions? Does this
error occur only when we observe physical objects? Or have you encountered this error
when perceiving behaviour of others?

ANSWER:
Human beings are prone to errors and biases when perceiving themselves.
Moreover, the type of bias people have depends on their personality and in the state on
momentum as well. With regards to interpersonal interactions, there would be aspects of
expectation from one individual to another and sometimes these expectations may fail. The
reaction of the individual takes place and it is purely based on its mental state as well as the
situation he is in. How we perceive other people in our environment is also shaped by our
values, emotions, feelings and personality. Moreover, how we perceive others will shape our
behaviour, which in turn will shape the behaviour of the person we are interacting with.

12. What are the problems of false consensus error? How can managers deal with this
tendency?

ANSWER:
False consensus error effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the
degree to which their beliefs, values, characteristics, and behaviours are shared by others.
An example situation in which the manager insisted a certain decision because he was sure
it was the choice most people in the board would prefer but upon the process his decision
fails to respond the way he expected. Hence the manager needs to understand that
employees/ employers don’t think and perceive the way the managers do. In conclusion it is
advisable for the manager to ensure that he updates his view of the norm independently.
Whenever you start getting viewpoints opposed to your own, it may indicate that more date
is needed in order to construct a final decision.

13. Is there such a thing as a “good” stereotype? Is a “good” stereotype useful or still
problematic?

ANSWER:
 Stereotype is generalization about how a particular group of people behaves. The
main course is that people often use them to make decisions about an individual without
actually verifying the assumption holds for the person in question. As a result, stereotypes
often lead to unfair and inaccurate decision making. On the other hand there is still a thing
such as good stereotype, somewhat it is useful but sometimes it’s still problematic because it
still depends upon the situation or momentum.

14. How do we manage the fact that human beings develop stereotypes? How would you
prevent stereotypes from creating unfairness in decision making?

ANSWER:
Human beings develop stereotypes and there is always a way in order to reduce this
kind of problem. In order to prevent stereotypes from creating unfairness decision making,
one way is demonstrating institutional commitment to diversity through strategic plans,
mission statements, and other communication to employees. Next is educating
organizational leaders on how stereotypes, especially those that are unconscious, affect
hiring and evaluation decisions. Also providing each and every individual involved with
direct, helpful and personalized feedback avoids stereotyping as well as boosting each
other’s engagement. Finally, accept feedback. The only way to know if you’re making
progress is by asking, so listen to what other people say and understand thoroughly of what
the situation may lead.

15. Is it possible to manage the attributions other people make about our behaviour? Let’s
assume that you have completed a project successfully. How would you maximize the
chances that your manager will make an internal attribution? How would you increase the
chances of an external attribution when you fail in a task?

ANSWER:
Attributions theory is important for organizations because it can help managers
understand some of the causes of employee behaviour and can assist employees in
understanding their perceptions towards their own behaviour. Internal attribution is when
people infer that a person’s behaviour is due to personal factors such as traits, abilities or
feelings. In order to maximize the chances that my manager will make in an internal
attribution is that he must keep on developing his talents and always be persevering in his
efforts. External attributes is when people infer that a person’s behaviour is due to
situation factors. Also in order to increase the chances of an external attribution when you
fail in a task it must take a balancing of thoughts and always depends upon the situation.