Lectures Leadership & Cooperation: Part 2
Lecture 1. Introduction
3 June 2019
Goals of today
- The structure of the course will be crystal-clear for everyone
- You will understand the problem of cooperation
- You will understand the basics of cooperation in organizations
The problem of cooperation
Cooperation is important not only for organized groups, but for any type of group (friends, roommates,
etc.). Cooperation, however, is not always that easy: actions are either of collective interest (= long-
term) or of self-interest (short-term).
What is cooperation:
• The degree to which people act to promote the goals of the group (Van Vugt et al., 2000).
• Two or more people coming together as partners to work interdependently toward a common
goal that will benefit all involved (Penner et al., 2005).
• Cooperation is a process in which individuals, groups, and/or organizations interact and form
relationships for mutual gain or benefit (Smith et al., 1995).
Cooperation: the definition
Cooperation…
1) Involves two or more people
2) Is based on more or less equal relationships
3) Implies a common interdependence
4) Efforts are directed toward a common goal
5) The goal benefits all involved
Cooperation…
• vs. prosocial behavior: prosocial is umbrella term for things such as social work but also
cooperation
• vs. altruism: no interdependence → no expectation to get anything out of it in return
• vs. helping: no interdependence → no expectation to get anything out of it in return, can have
benefit to helping person but not necessarily
• vs. social dilemmas: it’s about collective interest and social interest
o think in more immediate self-interest vs. more long term collective interest
o cooperation is studied as social dilemma
1
,Social dilemmas
Two fundamental components:
1. each individual receives a higher payoff for not
cooperating
2. all individuals are better off if they cooperate than if
they defect
Examples: public transport vs. private transport, tax
invasion, prisoner’s dilemma (figure).
Cooperation in organizations
Possibilities:
• Individual choice
o If I work hard → I may have to help other unit
o If I work slow → I may receive help later on
• Collective outcome
o If everybody works hard → everybody leaves early
o If everybody works slow → everybody leaves late
Felicity
Job performance
Cooperative behavior as part of job performance
- Mandatory: required by norms or rules. Task performance or in-role behavior: activities that
either support or directly contribute to the transformation of the organization’s inputs to
outputs.
2
, - Discretionary: OCB. Contextual performance or extra-role behavior: activities that
supported the social and psychological context in which the organization’s technical core was
embedded.
Mandatory + Discretionary = job performance.
A conceptual problem
- Arriving on time?
- Picking up litter?
- Mandated behaviors that are performed with rigor and energy?
→ Are those things mandatory or discretionary? What is discretionary varies a great deal from person
to person and from situation to situation.
Cooperation in organizations: Importance
Organizations are not successful because people do their jobs; they are successful because workers do
a variety of other activities in addition to their jobs. These helpful activities have been termed
organizational citizenship behaviors or OCB (Cropanzano & Byrne, 2000).
Organizational effectiveness is based on resolving the dilemma of employee citizenship (Cropanzano
& Byrne, 2000).
- If an employee do more than is expected (engage in OCB) → collective benefits from their
employer's success, at individual costs
- One worker might free ride by performing no OCB at all
- How much extra work can a worker do without being exploited?
Summary
- What is cooperation? (e.g. social psych. definition)
➢ 5 key characteristics
- Why is cooperation challenging?
➢ Cooperation as a social dilemma
- How is cooperation studied in organizations?
➢ Study of OCB’s (definition, forms and types)
Lecture 2. Consequences of cooperative behavior in organizations
5 June 2019
Goals of today
- You will be able to identify research techniques and theoretical frameworks for the study of
cooperation in organizations
- You will reflect on some of the limitations of the scientific approach to study psychology
- You will understand the basics of cooperation in organizations
➢ What are OCB’s, their importance and types?
- You will understand what the potential consequences of OCB’s are
➢ For the Individual and for the organization
➢ You will understand its potential advantages
3
Lecture 1. Introduction
3 June 2019
Goals of today
- The structure of the course will be crystal-clear for everyone
- You will understand the problem of cooperation
- You will understand the basics of cooperation in organizations
The problem of cooperation
Cooperation is important not only for organized groups, but for any type of group (friends, roommates,
etc.). Cooperation, however, is not always that easy: actions are either of collective interest (= long-
term) or of self-interest (short-term).
What is cooperation:
• The degree to which people act to promote the goals of the group (Van Vugt et al., 2000).
• Two or more people coming together as partners to work interdependently toward a common
goal that will benefit all involved (Penner et al., 2005).
• Cooperation is a process in which individuals, groups, and/or organizations interact and form
relationships for mutual gain or benefit (Smith et al., 1995).
Cooperation: the definition
Cooperation…
1) Involves two or more people
2) Is based on more or less equal relationships
3) Implies a common interdependence
4) Efforts are directed toward a common goal
5) The goal benefits all involved
Cooperation…
• vs. prosocial behavior: prosocial is umbrella term for things such as social work but also
cooperation
• vs. altruism: no interdependence → no expectation to get anything out of it in return
• vs. helping: no interdependence → no expectation to get anything out of it in return, can have
benefit to helping person but not necessarily
• vs. social dilemmas: it’s about collective interest and social interest
o think in more immediate self-interest vs. more long term collective interest
o cooperation is studied as social dilemma
1
,Social dilemmas
Two fundamental components:
1. each individual receives a higher payoff for not
cooperating
2. all individuals are better off if they cooperate than if
they defect
Examples: public transport vs. private transport, tax
invasion, prisoner’s dilemma (figure).
Cooperation in organizations
Possibilities:
• Individual choice
o If I work hard → I may have to help other unit
o If I work slow → I may receive help later on
• Collective outcome
o If everybody works hard → everybody leaves early
o If everybody works slow → everybody leaves late
Felicity
Job performance
Cooperative behavior as part of job performance
- Mandatory: required by norms or rules. Task performance or in-role behavior: activities that
either support or directly contribute to the transformation of the organization’s inputs to
outputs.
2
, - Discretionary: OCB. Contextual performance or extra-role behavior: activities that
supported the social and psychological context in which the organization’s technical core was
embedded.
Mandatory + Discretionary = job performance.
A conceptual problem
- Arriving on time?
- Picking up litter?
- Mandated behaviors that are performed with rigor and energy?
→ Are those things mandatory or discretionary? What is discretionary varies a great deal from person
to person and from situation to situation.
Cooperation in organizations: Importance
Organizations are not successful because people do their jobs; they are successful because workers do
a variety of other activities in addition to their jobs. These helpful activities have been termed
organizational citizenship behaviors or OCB (Cropanzano & Byrne, 2000).
Organizational effectiveness is based on resolving the dilemma of employee citizenship (Cropanzano
& Byrne, 2000).
- If an employee do more than is expected (engage in OCB) → collective benefits from their
employer's success, at individual costs
- One worker might free ride by performing no OCB at all
- How much extra work can a worker do without being exploited?
Summary
- What is cooperation? (e.g. social psych. definition)
➢ 5 key characteristics
- Why is cooperation challenging?
➢ Cooperation as a social dilemma
- How is cooperation studied in organizations?
➢ Study of OCB’s (definition, forms and types)
Lecture 2. Consequences of cooperative behavior in organizations
5 June 2019
Goals of today
- You will be able to identify research techniques and theoretical frameworks for the study of
cooperation in organizations
- You will reflect on some of the limitations of the scientific approach to study psychology
- You will understand the basics of cooperation in organizations
➢ What are OCB’s, their importance and types?
- You will understand what the potential consequences of OCB’s are
➢ For the Individual and for the organization
➢ You will understand its potential advantages
3
