NANYANG POLYTECHNIC

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Tutorial – Behaviour

Question 1

Jamie is a middle manager who is well-liked by her team members. She is sensitive to the needs of others,
kind and respectful. She is a problem solver and tends to see setbacks as opportunities. She is always
engaged and is a source for support to her colleagues.

Jamie’s manager feels lucky to have such an easy direct report to work with and often compliments Jamie
on her high levels of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is definitely one of Jamie’s strengths
and she is grateful for at least one area she does not have to work on as part of her leadership development.

However, even with her positive outlook, Jamie is starting to feel stuck in her career. She has not been able
to demonstrate the level of performance her company is looking for lately. She used to be able to keep close
tabs on her team’s operations with weekly meetings, supervising and managing staff’s performance as it
happens. Lately, she seemed to have lost control over this and is struggling to deliver her key performance
indicators.
Case developed for academic purposes only

Emotional intelligence is one of Jamie’s strengths.

(i) Describe the term “emotional intelligence”.

(ii) Explain, with evidence from the case above, ONE (1) dimension of emotional intelligence Jamie had
demonstrated.

(iii) Explain any THREE (3) other dimensions of emotional intelligence apart from (a)(ii).

Question 2

John Wong is the Supervisor of Express Pizza Restaurant at Yishun branch. He supervises six crew
members. Mary Loh is the best among them: she is honest and hardworking. Mary believes in teamwork
and is a good team player. John noticed that William Tan has been late for work in the past two weeks and
suspects that William is trying to be lazy at work. Sylvia Ong, a crew member, has openly said “I do not
like to work with William”. John is displeased with William and decided to talk to William about his
performance.

a) Define any two (2) the following terms and cite one (1) example each from the scenario above:
(i) Values;
(ii) Attitude;
(iii) Perception.

b) Briefly explain, with an example from the scenario, the three (3) components of attitude, namely
cognitive, evaluative and behavioural components, John has formed towards William.
Question 3: Case Study - Billy the Bully

"I just can't believe it! Making me work on the eve of the new year. And this is not the first time it's
happening, I had to work on Christmas eve too last year!" Nelson sighs with obvious
disappointment. "What's the matter, Nelson?" Henry inquires, as he sees the annoyed look on Nelson's
face.

"Oh, it's that Bully again," Nelson replies, referring to Billy, the department head. "I think he's really got
something against me, always bullying me into working all these overtimes, especially on the eves of some
public holidays."

"Is it because of the upcoming Christmas season? From what I know, it is because of the nature of the fast-
food industry. They get really busy during the holidays and really need our systems support on the eves of
all the holidays. I don't think Billy was trying to be funny with you, guess it's just a job that needs to be
done. Don't take it personally."

"What do you mean? Do you think I was being overly sensitive? Do you know that all my holiday plans
are ruined? And when I asked him for a make-up holiday, he simply said to get overtime pay - as if I
wanted more money! I just want to spend some time with my family!" Nelson reacted.

Well, same thing happened to me just last month. Remember I had worked for a continuous stretch of 48
hours? Well, the boss said for me to claim overtime instead of time off. But I understand the situation our
company is facing - we are so short of staff, and all of us are needed to keep the systems running, so it's
hard to do without any one of us. What I'm really trying to say is that he has got nothing against you
personally," said Henry.

"I don't care what you're saying, this is happening far too often. The company should be hiring more people
if there are not enough people to handle the work. This isn't fair to us! I think that if Bully can't get his act
together in running this company, I don't want to be the one here suffering for his poor management!" With
these angry words, Nelson marched towards Billy's office....

Answer the following questions:

a. Describe the three (3) components of Nelson's attitude.

b. Using Attribution Theory, state and analyse the three (3) questions which Nelson should ask before
concluding that Billy is a real bully.

c. Briefly describe the two (2) attribution errors committed by Nelson.

Angela has been working in a fast paced (quick decision making) management company for six years. She
joined as an entry-level associate. Often, she has been named as someone who is slow and steady and would
gather as much information as possible before addressing an issue.

Lately, Angela was very upset with her new supervisor, Charlie, on work assignment. Also, Angela felt
unjustified on the company’s decision to get an external hire, Charlie, instead of promoting her to fill up
the supervisory position as she felt that she is more capable than Charlie. ‘I’ve had it,” she complained to
her colleague Brian. “I just cannot take any more of this unfair treatment in office!” “Is this about your
new supervisor, who joined the company last month?” asked Brian. “Yes, ever since Charlie joined us, I
have consistently been assigned the most menial and routine work tasks in the team, this is too much! I am
going to complain to the manager that Charlie is biased in the way work is assigned within my team!”
Having said these angry words, Angela stormed into the manager’s room.

(a) Describe the Personality Job Fit Theory.

(b) Determine if there is personality job fit in Angela’s case and support your answer with an example
from the case above.

(c) Based on the case above, Angela perceived Charlie as a biased manager in the way he assigns work.

(i) Explain perception.

(ii) List and describe three (3) factors that could have affected Angela’s perception of her
supervisor, Charlie.

(d) State and describe two (2) perception errors committed by Angela.
Additional Activity: Video Discussion

Watch the TEDxLincolnSquare video on “Unconscious Bias – Stereotypical hiring practices”

(Scan QR Code for quick access to video)

Discussion:
After watching the video, have the class discuss the following: -

1. What is unconscious bias?