Understanding Behavior, Human Relations, & PerformanceMatthew Eisenhard, Psy.D.Week 1: Psychology for Business & Industry

Syllabus/Textbook

Self-Assessment

• Lussier pg. 17-20▫ 43 statements▫ 1 = low skill/ability▫ 7 = high/skill ability

1.Intrapersonal Skills2.Interpersonal Skills3.Leadership Skills

Human Relations – What’s in it for me?

Getting to know yourself betterUnderstanding others betterGaining better human relations skills ◦ (a.k.a. People skills – soft skills)

Learning how to apply the concepts and knowledge to your personal and professional life

The better you know and work with people the more successful you will be

This is all about relationships!What’s “in it” is what you put in it!Dr. Raymond Hamden http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDLczkWbqRk

Common Myths of Human RelationsMYTH = Technical skills are more important than

people skills◦ TRUTH = Job recruiters are looking for people with

communication & interpersonal skills (89%)who are team players (87%)

MYTH = It’s all just common sense◦ TRUTH = “People” issues are prominent concerns in

business – high quality relationships are important to success

MYTH = Leaders are born not made◦ TRUTH = Research tells us leadership skills can be

learned – millions of dollars are spent by corporations on leadership training

Human Relations means “interactions with people”

• What kinds of interactions?▫ One-on-one, groups, telephones,

other technology• What kinds of situations?

▫ Formal/informal, old/new, work-related/personal, emergencies, school

• What kind of people?▫ Family, friends, co-workers, bosses,

strangers, classmates, enemies, community officials

Goal of Human Relations

• To create a win-win situation by satisfying employee needs while achieving organizational objectives.▫ What does this mean?▫ Can this “business”

definition be applied to personal life?

Win-Win Scenarios• 1. You have just been promoted to be the supervisor for about 15 people. The prior supervisor

was known to very aloof and totally unavailable to his staff. This caused the office to very dysfunctional and to operate in a very inefficient manner because the staff did not know what was expected of them. You have been asked to get the office operating efficiently again. This, of course, will require work because people are late to work, do not complete projects on time, spend a lot of time on the phone for personal reasons, etc. Discuss how you would go about changing the office’s environment. In addition you are younger than all of the people in the office and you are the only one with a college degree.

• 2. Your employer used to have a tuition reimbursement plan for employees. The plan was discontinued due to lack of interest. You would like to continue your education and would like your employer to pay for some of it. What steps would you take to persuade the employer to bring back the tuition plan? (Hint: You may use some of the other employees to help you.)

• 3. You have been asked to start a youth program in your neighborhood. You have background in youth counseling, but are not quite sure how to organize such a program. How would you go about setting up the program? There is money available for the program, but a formal document must be submitted to get the money.

Total Person Approach

• Realizes that an organization employs the whole person, not just his/her job skills▫ People play many roles in their lives, indeed

throughout each day. ▫ It is important to acknowledge that people cannot

completely discard personal roles and that they affect their professional lives and vice versa. Examples: if your spouse or child is ill, if you have to

work overtime

Levels of BehaviorINDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR◦ What people say and do◦ Basic psychology & communication principles◦ Individual behavior influences group behaviors

GROUP-LEVEL BEHAVIOR◦ Consists of the things two or more people say and

do as they interactORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR◦ A group of people working to achieve one or more

objectives◦ The collective behavior of the individuals and

groups within the organization

PerformanceIs the extent to which expectations

or objectives have been metTherefore – relationships between individuals and groups affect the

overall performance of any organizationSYSTEMS EFFECT◦ SYSTEM = a set of two or more interactive elements◦ All people in an organization are affected by at least one

other person & each person affects the whole group or organization◦ Challenge to organizations is to develop high-performance

individuals & groups as they are the foundation of any organization◦ If they are not effective then the organization cannot

succeed or survive

Human Relations – Multidisciplinary ScienceRoots in the behavioral sciencesBegan development in late 1940’sPrimarily based on psychology◦ Why people behave the way they do

Sociology◦ How group dynamics apply to organizations

Social psychology – economics – political science, also contributed

Research through 1950’s Recognized as a discipline of it’s own by late 1970’s

History of Human Relations

• As early America moved from agriculture base to industry base individual goal was survival▫ No welfare – sink or swim

• Emphasis was on profits not people• Sweat shops – no concern for working

conditions, health, and/or safety of employees

Pioneers of ChangeFREDERICK TAYLOR – late 1800’s – early 1900’s◦ Father of SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT◦ Led to concept of mass production◦ No concern for social needs of employees◦ Assumed all were motivated by money

ROBERT OWEN – same era as Taylor◦ Known as the “real father” of PERSONNEL

ADMINISTRATION◦ Believed profit would be increased if people

had better pay, working conditions, and adequate food and housing◦ Refused to hire children under age 11

Most children worked full time by age 9◦ Not all followed his example, but it was a beginning

Pioneers of ChangeELTON MAYO – mid 1920’s-30’s◦ “FATHER OF HUMAN RELATIONS”◦ Conducted famous Hawthorne

Studies HAWTHORNE EFFECT An increase in performance caused by the special

attention given to workers, rather than tangible change in the work

All they did was change the lights & ventilation – but workers felt “special” and performance increased

A happy worker is a productive worker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7RHjwmVGhs

History of Human Relations• 1930’s

▫ Great depression▫ Rise of unions – workers gained strength in

organizing▫ Resulted in better working conditions – higher

pay, shorter hours• 1940’s – 1950’s

▫ Major research conducted at universities and organizations

▫ PETER DRUCKER’S – “MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES” became popular in 1950’s

History of Human Relations1960’s◦ Sensitivity training became popular◦ Douglas McGregor published Theory X and

Theory Y - (Chapter 3)◦ Eric Berne introduced Transactional Analysis

(TA) – (Chapter 7)1970’s◦ Interest in H.R. peaked◦ Quality circles were popular◦ Term “Human Relations” replaced by more common

term “ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR”

History of Human Relations

• 1980’S▫ U.S. productivity much lower than Japan’s▫ WILLIAM OUCHI’S research on

differences between U.S. and Japan Developed Theory Z = it integrated

Japan’s methods and U.S. methods to form framework useable in U.S.

History of Human Relations1980’s ◦ PETERSON AND WATERMAN research what

makes a successful organization◦ Their work is criticized because top companies began

to have problems◦ Total quality management most popular

1990’s◦ Trend toward more employee participation◦ Resulting in employee’s having more input into how

they do their jobs◦ Use of groups became popular and continue today

21st Century Challenges◦ Changing the speed and way we do

business◦ Outsourcing – what do you think??

TECHNOLOGY◦ Enables rapid innovation ◦ Speed of transactions◦ No hint of slowing & a must have to compete◦ Created by people – Help or hindrance? Can you imagine

the world before computers?DIVERSITY◦ Because of expanding globalization – diversity becomes

more important than ever◦ We must understand how to work with people from all

around the world

21st Century ChallengesLEARNING & KNOWLEDGE◦ The key to success will be using knowledge effectively to

spur innovations in order to keep up with competitionETHICS◦ Enron, Madoff, Wall Street & banking, auto industry

bailouts – et. al. ◦ What role should Gov. play?

CRISIS◦ Since 9-11 – safety and security issues have become more

prominent◦ How secure are we??

Physically – bombs – germ warfare Technology hackers

Developing Your Human Relations SkillsKnowing yourself and reasons for your behavior

helps you understand others and increases your ability to interact in a positive and productive way

Knowing yourself helps you to prepare for possible problems and gives you tools for avoiding and/or eliminating them

But “knowing” is not enough – we must be able to “apply what we learn”

• CLASS DISCUSSION….▫ Why do you like someone?▫ Why do you dislike someone?

Likeability

• Complete quiz on pg. 11• How important is it?

▫ Many “qualified” people get passed over because they are not “likable”

▫ No one can tell you exactly how to be “likable”▫ And you can’t be “likable” to everyone

But there are some universal guidelines….

Likeability Guidelines• BE OPTIMISTIC

▫ Is your glass half full or half empty?▫ Don’t let failures keep you down

• BE POSITIVE▫ Praise and encourage others – don’t criticize▫ Don’t complain – no one wants to hear it▫ Complaining is contagious & it’s depressing

• BE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN OTHERS▫ No one likes someone who is self-centered▫ And no one likes a phony

• SMILE & DEVELOP A SENSE OF HUMOR▫ It takes more work to frown than to smile▫ Relax and learn to laugh at yourself ▫ True humor is never at the expense of others

Likeability Guidelines• CALL PEOPLE BY NAME

▫ A person’s name is the most important sound to them▫ But remember cultural standards▫ If you use their name it makes them feel significant and validated▫ Make an effort and practice learning names

• LISTEN TO PEOPLE▫ Encourage others to talk about themselves – ask appropriate

questions – listening shows your interest – we generally don’t like people who don’t pay attention or listen to us

▫ Make an effort to learn specific pro-active listening skills

• HELP OTHERS▫ A basic law of success!▫ Don’t use others – be open and honest ▫ Remember what goes around comes around

Likeability GuidelinesTHINK FIRST BEFORE YOU ACT OR TALK◦ Engage your brain before opening your mouth – don’t say things

you’ll regret later◦ Don’t use offensive language◦ Ok to feel your emotions – but control your behavior◦ Remember how you say things is as important as what you say◦ How important is it to be right if you harm others

APOLOGIZE◦ We are all capable of hurting someone’s feelings ◦ We are sometimes reluctant to apologize (men more than

women)◦ A sincere apology (even if you think you were right) can help

repair and create more satisfactory relationshipsCREATE WIN-WIN SITUATIONS◦ The best way to get what you want is to help others get what they

want and vice versa – “quid pro quo”

Handling Problems NOTHING IS PERFECT - there will always be problems arising

How you handle them is the key to your success A PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT is the shared expectations between people – we all

have them When problems arise you must decide whether to avoid or solve them – solving is usually best There are three ways to resolve problems

◦ 1. CHANGE THE OTHER PERSON Remember it takes two to tango – blaming others usually makes matters worse – you

can’t force someone to change◦ 2. CHANGE THE SITUATION

Remove yourself from the environment Work together or with some neutral entity to change the situation

◦ 3. CHANGE YOURSELF Remember – your own behavior is the only thing you really have any control over Examine others behavior to determine why they are behaving the way they are – try

to understand – empathize Remain assertive but not aggressive Amazingly when you change, others usually do also

Chapter Summary

• Define human relations and why human relation skills are so important

• What is the goal of human relations?

• Relationship between individual and group behavior and organizational performance

• Brief history of human relations

• Trends and challenges in human relations

• 10 guidelines for effective human relations

• Your personal low and high human relation skills and abilities▫ Set goals for yourself to make

positive changes as you learn over the course of the semester!

Assignments for Next Class

• Read Chapter 2• Complete the following self-assessments

▫ “Your Locus of Control”, pg. 31▫ Your Big Five Personality Profile”, pg. 32▫ “MBTI Personality Preference,” pg. 36▫ “Your Stress Personality Type,” pg. 37-38.▫ “Your Learning Style,” pg. 42-43.