Page 178 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 8: Foundations of Organisational Behaviour

to luck or chance. An individual's generalized belief about internal (self) versus external Notes
(situation or others) control is called locus of control.
(a) Internals: Those who believe they control their destinies have been labelled internals.
Internals (those with an internal locus of control) have been found to have higher
job satisfaction, to be more likely to assume managerial positions, and to prefer
participative management styles. In addition, internals have been shown to display
higher work motivation, hold stronger beliefs that effort leads to performance,
receive higher salaries and display less anxiety than externals (those with an external
locus of control).

(b) Externals: Externals are those individuals who believe that what happens to them is
controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance. Externals prefer a more structured
work setting and they may be more reluctant to participate in decision-making.
They are more compliant and willing to follow directions.
Research on locus of control has strong implications for organisations. A large amount of
research comparing internals with externals has consistently shown that individuals who
rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rates,
are more alienated from the work setting, and are less involved on their jobs than internals.
Why are externals more dissatisfied? The answer is probably because they perceive
themselves as having little control over those organisational outcomes that are important
to them. Knowing about locus of control can prove valuable insights to managers. Because
internals believe that they control what happens to them, they will want to exercise
control in their work environment. Allowing internals considerable voice in how work is
performed is important. Internals will not react well to being closely supervised. Externals,
in contrast, may prefer a more structured work setting, and they may be more reluctant to
participate in decision-making.
Therefore, internals do well on sophisticated tasks – which includes most managerial and
professional jobs – that require complex information processing and learning. Additionally,
internals are more suited to jobs that require initiative and independence of action. In
contrast, externals should do well on jobs that are well structured and routine and where
success depends heavily on complying with the directions of others.
2. Machiavellianism: Niccolo Machiavelli was a sixteenth century Italian statesman. He
wrote "The Prince", a guide for acquiring and using power. The primary method for
achieving power that he suggested was manipulation of others. Machiavellianism then is
a personality characteristic indicating one's willingness to do whatever it takes to get
one's way. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional
distance and believes that ends can justify means. "If it works, use it", is consistent with a
high-Mach perspective.
High-Machs believe that any means justify the desired ends. They believe that manipulations
of others are fine if it helps achieve a goal. Thus, high-Machs are likely to justify their
manipulative behaviour as ethical. They are emotionally detached from other people and
are oriented towards objective aspects of situations.

R. Christie and F.L. Geis, have found that high-Machs flourish
(a) When they interact fact-to-face with others rather than indirectly.
(b) When the situation has a minimum number of rules and regulations, thus allowing
latitude for improvisation, and
(c) When emotional involvement with details irrelevant to winning distracts low-
Machs.

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