The document discusses various topics related to interpersonal behavior in the workplace, including psychological contracts, trust, prosocial behavior, organizational citizenship behavior, whistleblowing, cooperation and competition, conflict, and deviant workplace behaviors. Psychological contracts can be transactional, focusing on short-term economic exchanges, or relational, consisting of long-term, broadly defined relationships. Trust is important and can develop over time through consistent, trustworthy actions. Prosocial behaviors and organizational citizenship behaviors benefit an organization if encouraged. Conflicts and deviant behaviors should be managed carefully to minimize negative impacts and maximize benefits.

1. Interpersonal Behavior in the Workplace
Chapter Seven

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Interpersonal Behavior
A variety of behaviors involving the ways in which people work
with and against one another

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Psychological Contracts
People’s beliefs about what is expected of
another in a relationship
Transactional ContractTransactional Contract: A type of
psychological contract that is characterized by
an exclusively economic focus, a brief time
span, an unchanging nature, and is narrow and
well defined in scope
Relational ContractRelational Contract: A type of psychological
contract in which the parties have a long-term
and widely defined relationship with a vast focus

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Psychological Contracts

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Trust
A person’s degree of confidence in the words
and actions of another
Calculus-Based TrustCalculus-Based Trust: A form of trust based
on deterrence, whenever people believe that
another will behave as promised out of fear of
getting punished for doing otherwise
Identification-Based TrustIdentification-Based Trust: A form of trust
based on accepting the wants and desires of
another person

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Developing Trust
How trust developsHow trust develops:
 Some people tend to be more trusting than others
 People develop reputations for being trustworthy
How to promote trustHow to promote trust:
 Always meet deadlines
 Follow through as promised
 Spend time sharing personal values and goals

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Prosocial Behavior
Prosocial behaviorProsocial behavior can be defined as acts
that benefit others in organizations
Organizational Citizenship BehaviorOrganizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
can be defined as acts that exceed the formal
requirements of one’s job
Whistle-blowingWhistle-blowing is the disclosure by
employees of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate
practices by employers to people or
organizations able to effect action

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Organizational Citizenship Behavior

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Organizational Citizenship Behavior
 The more people believe they are treated fairly by the
organization:
 The more they trust its management
 The more willing they are to go the extra mile to help out when
needed
 Although the effects of OCB may be indirect and difficult to
measure, they can be very profound
 To promote OCB:
 Go out of your way to help others
 Be an example of conscientiousness
 Make voluntary functions fun
 Demonstrate courtesy and good sportsmanship

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Whistle Blowing

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Cooperation and Competition
 Cooperation can be defined as those situations in which
two or more individuals, teams or organizations work
together toward some common goal
 Factors that contribute to cooperation:
 Reciprocity principle: the tendency for people to treat others the
way they have been treated in the past
 Personal orientation: some people tend to be more cooperative,
by nature, than others
 Organizational reward systems
 Competition can be defined as a pattern of behavior in
which each person, group, or organization seeks to
maximize its own gains, often at the expense of others

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Levels of Cooperation/Assertiveness
 Collaboration: cooperation and
assertiveness
 Accommodating: cooperation and
unassertive
 Compromising: between cooperative and
assertive
 Forcing: assertive and uncooperative
(conflict/competition)
 Avoiding: unassertive and uncooperative

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Personal Orientations
Competitors
People whose primary
motive is doing
better than others,
besting them in open
competition
Competitors
People whose primary
motive is doing
better than others,
besting them in open
competition
Individualists
People who care almost
exclusively about
maximizing their own gain,
and don’t care whether others
do better or worse than
themselves
Individualists
People who care almost
exclusively about
maximizing their own gain,
and don’t care whether others
do better or worse than
themselves
Cooperators
People who are
concerned with
maximizing joint outcomes,
getting as much as
possible for their team
Cooperators
People who are
concerned with
maximizing joint outcomes,
getting as much as
possible for their team
Equalizers
People who are
primarily interested in
minimizing the
differences between
themselves and others
Equalizers
People who are
primarily interested in
minimizing the
differences between
themselves and others

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Cooperation vs. Competition vs. Conflict
When cooperatingcooperating with one another, people
contribute to attaining the same goal that they
share.
However, when competingcompeting against one another,
people attempt to attain the same goal, which
only one can have.
And, conflict occurs when there are competing
goals.

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Conflict
Conflict may be defined as a process in
which one party perceives that another
party has taken or will take actions that
are incompatible with one’s own interests

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Intraindividual Conflict
 Frustration: in the needs-drive-goal model, a
barrier is placed between the drive and the goal
resulting in: aggression, fixation, withdrawal, or
compromise.
 Goal conflict: Lewin (1935) lists major types:
 Approach/approach
 Approach/avoidance
 Avoidance/avoidance
 Role conflict/ambiguity

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Organizational Conflict
(embodies intraindividual, interpersonal, and intergroup)
 Structural conflict:
 Hierarchical conflict: top vs. lower
management
 Functional conflict: sales vs. production
 Line/Staff conflict: QC vs. production
 Formal/Informal conflict: ’Learn the ropes’
vs. employee handbook

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Types of Conflict
Substantive ConflictSubstantive Conflict occurs when people have different
viewpoints and opinions with respect to a decision they
are making with others (leads to better decisions)
Affective ConflictAffective Conflict occurs when people experience
clashes of personalities or interpersonal tension of some
sort (leads to poorer decisions)
Process ConflictProcess Conflict occurs when controversies arise about
how various duties and resources will be allocated and
with whom various responsibilities will reside
Routine tasks: conflict is detrimental
Non-routine tasks: conflict is beneficial

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Causes of Conflict
ConflictConflict
GrudgesGrudges
Malevolent
Attributions
Malevolent
Attributions
Destructive
Criticism
Destructive
Criticism
DistrustDistrust
Competition
over
Scarce Resources
Competition
over
Scarce Resources

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Consequences of Conflict
Negative
 Conflict yields strong negative
emotions
 Conflict may divert people’s
attention from the task at hand
 Communication between
individuals or teams may be so
adversely affected that any
coordination of effort between
them is compromised
 Lowered coordination tends to
lead to decrements in
organizational functioning
Negative
 Conflict yields strong negative
emotions
 Conflict may divert people’s
attention from the task at hand
 Communication between
individuals or teams may be so
adversely affected that any
coordination of effort between
them is compromised
 Lowered coordination tends to
lead to decrements in
organizational functioning
Positive
 Conflict may improve the
quality of organizational
decisions
 Conflict may bring out into
the open problems that have
been previously ignored
 Conflict may motivate people
to appreciate each other’s
positions more fully
 Conflict may encourage
people to consider new ideas,
thereby facilitating change
Positive
 Conflict may improve the
quality of organizational
decisions
 Conflict may bring out into
the open problems that have
been previously ignored
 Conflict may motivate people
to appreciate each other’s
positions more fully
 Conflict may encourage
people to consider new ideas,
thereby facilitating change

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Managing Conflict

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Managing Conflict
BargainingBargaining: The process by which two or more
parties in dispute with one another work together
to find a solution that is acceptable to all the
parties involved (win/lose)
Distributive bargaining: fixed pie
Positional bargaining: sequencing, take/give
Win-Win SolutionsWin-Win Solutions: Occur when outcomes are
found for all sides that allow them to believe that
they have “won” the negotiation process
Arbitration (lose/lose):Arbitration (lose/lose): Occurs when negotiations
fail

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Tips for Negotiating Win-Win Solutions
1. Avoid making unreasonable offers
2. Seek the common ground
3. Broaden the scope of issues
considered
4. Uncover the “real” issues

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Deviant Organizational Behavior
Actions on the part of employees that intentionally
violate the norms of organizations and/or the
formal rules of society, resulting in negative
consequences
Types of Deviant Behavior:
 Incivility
 Cyberloafing
 Workplace Aggression
 Workplace Bullying
 Employee Theft

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Deviant Behavior
Incivility

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Deviant Organizational Behavior
Incivility: Demonstrating a lack of
regard for others and denying them the
respect they are due
Cyberloafing: I The practice of using a
company’s email and/or Internet
facilities for personal use

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Aggression and Bullying
 Workplace AggressionWorkplace Aggression: Acts of verbal and
physical abuse toward others in organizations,
ranging from mild to severe. Causes:
 High trait anger
 Positive attitude toward revenge
 Past experience with aggression
 Workplace BullyingWorkplace Bullying: The repeated mistreatment
of an individual at work in a manner that
endangers his or her physical or mental health

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Risk for Violence

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Workplace Bullying

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Tips for Avoiding Aggression
 Establish clear disciplinary
procedures
 Treat people with dignity and respect
 Train managers in ways to recognize
and avoid aggression

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Employee Theft
 Definition: The taking of company property for personal use
 Causes:
 Seeing others do it
 Informal work group norms
 Desire to “even the score”
 Tips for reducing theft:
 Involve employees in the creation of a theft policy
 Communicate the costs of stealing
 Treat people fairly
 Be a good role model

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Employee Theft