What is Personality?

According to Gordon Allport personality is

The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique
adjustments to his environment.

Personality is
the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others,
the measurable traits a person shows

Personality refers to individuals' characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together
with the psychological mechanisms -- hidden or not -- behind those patterns.

Measuring Personality

Managers need to know how to measure personality. Personality tests are very useful in hiring decisions.
Scores on personality tests help managers

- To forecast who is best for a job and

- To know how people effectively manage the people who work for them.

Most common method of measuring personality is through self-reporting surveys, with which individuals
evaluate themselves on a series of factors

Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality.

Even though the result of self-report surveys and observer-rating surveys are strongly correlated,
researchers suggests the observer-ratings surveys are a better predictors of success on the job.

Personality Determinants

Heredity

Heredity refers to factors determined at conception. These factors are physical stature,
facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy
level, and bio-rhythms.

This Heredity Approach argues that genes are the source of personality. Parents dont
add much to personality development. The personality of twins are very similar even they
are raised in different households

There is some personalities that change over long time periods.

Personality Traits
When a person shows some characteristics in a large number of situations, we call them personality
traits.
Personality traits refer to enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior.
The more consistent the characteristic and the more frequently a trait occurs in different
situations, the more important that trait in is describing the individual.
Two dominant frameworks used to describe personality are
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Big Five Model
 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely-used personality-assessment instrument in
the world.
It is a personality test that classifies people on four characteristics to determine one of 16 possible
personality types.
Its a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in particular situations.
On the basis of their answer, individuals are classified as

These classifications together describe 16personality types. To illustrate, lets take several examples.
Individuals who are Introverted, Individuals who are Extroverted, Individuals who are Extroverted,
Intuitive, Thinking, Judging Sensing, Thinking, Judging Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving
(INTJ) are called (ESTJ) are called (ENTP) are called

Visionaries Organizers Conceptualizer

They are Original, stubborn, They are realistic, logical, They are Entrepreneurial,
driven, critical, independent, and analytical and businesslike innovative, individualistic and
determined. resourceful.
- MBTI is a good tool for self-awareness and counseling.
- It should not be used as a selection test for job candidates.
The Big Five Model of Personality Dimensions
Big five model is per personality assessment model that classifies five basic dimensions:

Extroversion: The extraversion dimension refers to an individuals comfort level with relationships.
Extravert tend to be sociable, gregarious, and assertive. People who are low in extroversion or
introverts tend to be reserved, timid, and quite.
Agreeableness: The agreeableness dimension refers to an individuals propensity to defer to
others. Highly agreeable people are cooperative, warm and trusting. People who score low in
agreeableness are cold, disagreeable and antagonistic.
 Conscientiousness: The conscientiousness dimension is a measure of reliability. A highly
conscientious person is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized. People who score low
in this dimensions are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.
Emotional Stability: The emotional stability dimension refers to a persons ability to resist stress.
People with positive emotional stability are calm, self-confident, and secure under stress. And
people with negative emotional statements are nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress.
Openness to Experience: The openness to experience is a personality dimension that characterize
someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity and curiosity.
How Do the Big Five Traits Predict Behavior?
Research has shown this to be a better framework. Certain traits have been shown to strongly relate to
higher job performance:
Highly conscientious people develop more job knowledge, use greater effort, and have better
performance.
Other Big Five Traits also have implications for work.
Emotional stability is related to job satisfaction.
Extroverts are happier in their jobs and have good social skills.
Open people are more creative and can be good leaders.
Agreeable people are good in social settings.
some personality change over long time periods (Details in book- exhibit 4-2 page 144)

Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

Core Self-Evaluation: Core Self- Evaluation refers to

- How much people like or dislike themselves
- Whether they see themselves as capable and effective
- Whether they feel in control or powerless over the environment.

Positive self-evaluation leads to higher job performance, because people with positive core self-
evaluations perform better than other.

Machiavellianism refers to how much an individual is pragmatic, maintain emotional distance and
believes that ends justify the means
High Machs are manipulative, win more often, and persuade more than they are persuaded.
High Machs flourish when:
They interact face-to-face with others rather than indirectly.
They work with minimal rules and regulations
Emotions distract others
Narcissism refers to the tendency to be arrogant, self-important person who needs excessive
admiration and have a sense of entitlement.
Narcissists are rated by their boss as less effective at their jobs than others:
Self-Monitoring: Self-monitoring is a measure of and individuals ability to adjust his behavior to
meet external, situational factors. High self-monitors conform more and are more likely to become
leaders.
Risk Taking refers to the willingness to take chance. High risk taking managers make faster
decisions with less information.
Type A Personality

A person with a type A personality is aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve
more and more in less and less time.

They are always moving, walking and eating rapidly

These people are high-achievers. They are constantly working hard to achieve goals.
 They cant cope with leisure time
They feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place. Their stress levels are
generally high.
They find it difficult to accept failure. It is never one of their realities. For them, others fail, they
dont.
They are not interested in numbers. They measure their success in terms of how many or how
much of everything they acquire.
They are multi-tasking. They strive to think or do two or more things at once.
They need to compete. If there is no obvious competition, they create one.
They are driven people, usually self-driven.

Type B Personality

Type B people are the complete opposite.

They never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience
They feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments
They play for fun and relaxation, rather than to show their superiority at any cost
They can relax without guilt.
They know their abilities and work steadily for their goals..
They can be disappointed when they fall short of their goals, but they are not devastated. They
are more accepting of failures.
They are reflective and innovative. They allow themselves to explore and fail, if necessary.
They are even-tempered.
They typically live less stressful lives.
Proactive Personality: People who have proactive personality identify opportunities, show
initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. They create positive change
in the environment

Values
- Values represent basic convictions on how to conduct oneself or how to live ones life that is
personally or socially preferable How to live life properly.
- They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individuals ideas about what is right,
good, or desirable.
- Values are relatively constant and consistent.
- A significant portion of the values we hold is established in our early life-from parents, teachers,
friends, and others.
Attributes of Values:
Values have both content and intensity attributes.
Content Attribute says that a mode of conduct or end-state of existence is important.
Intensity Attribute specifies how important that content is.
Value System
When we rank an individuals values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that persons value system.
This system is identified by freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty, obedience, and equality.
 Importance of values
Values are important to the study of OB because-
1. In a companys organizational culture values are the foundation of employee attitudes,
motivations and expectations. Values define their behavior.
2. Values influence our perception about the world around us.
3. They represent interpretations of right and wrong
4. They suggest that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others
5. Values allow the members of an organization to interact harmoniously.
6. Every individual and every organization is involved in making hundreds of decisions every day.
The decisions we make are a reflection of our values and beliefs.

Classifying Values Rokeach Value Survey

Milton Rokeach created the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). It consists two set of values, each containing
18 individual value items.
Terminal Values refers to desirable end-states of existence. These are the goals that a person
would like to achieve during his or her lifetime.
Instrumental Values refers to preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving the terminal
values.

People in same occupations or categories tend to hold similar values.

But values vary between groups.
Value differences make it difficult for groups to negotiate and may create conflict.
Linking Personality and Values to the Workplace
Managers today are less interested in someones ability to do a specific job than in that persons
flexibility.

Person-Job Fit:
John Hollands Personality-Job Fit Theory is a theory that identifies six personality types and
proposes that- the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines
satisfaction and turnover.
 Holland developed the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI) questionnaire, which contains 160
occupational titles. Respondents indicate which of these occupations they like or dislike, and their
answers form personality profiles.
Key Points of the Model:
1. There appear to be intrinsic differences in personality between people.
2. There are different types of jobs.
3. People in jobs congruent with their personality should be more satisfied and have lower
turnover.
In addition to matching the individuals personality to the job, managers are also concerned with:
Person-Organization Fit:
The person-organization fit argues that-
- People are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values.
- Mismatches will result in turnover: They leave organizations that are not compatible with their
personalities.
- They can use the Big Five personality types to match to the organizational culture.
- The fit of employees values with the culture of their organization predicts job satisfaction,
commitment to the organization, and low turnover.
Hofstedes Framework for assessing cultures
- Hofstedes Framework have become the basic framework for differentiating among national
cultures. Managers and employee vary on five value dimensions:
Power distance:
A national culture attribute that describes how much a society accepts that power in institutions and
organizations is distributed unequally.
- A Low power distance rating means that relatively equal power between those with status/wealth
and those without status/wealth
- A High power distance rating means that extremely unequal power distribution between those
with status/wealth and those without status/wealth
Individualism vs. Collectivism:
 - Individualism is a national culture attribute that describes how much people prefer to act as
individuals rather than as members of groups.
- Collectivism is a national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in which people
expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them.
Masculinity vs. Femininity
- Masculinity is a national culture attribute that describes how much the society favors traditional
masculine work roles of achievement, power, and control, and where assertiveness and
materialism are also valued
- Femininity is a national culture attribute that describes how much there is little differentiation
between roles for men and women and how much women are treated as the equals of men in all
the aspects of the society.
Uncertainty Avoidance
A national culture attribute that describes how much a society feels threatened by uncertain and
ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them.
- High Uncertainty Avoidance means society does not like ambiguous situations and tries to avoid
them.
- Low Uncertainty Avoidance means society does not mind ambiguous situations and embraces
them.
Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation:
- Long-term Orientation: A national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift, and
persistence.
- Short-term Orientation: A national culture attribute that emphasizes the past and present, respect
for tradition, and fulfillment of social obligations.
Limitation of Hofstedes framework:
There are regional differences within countries
The original data is old and based on only one company
Hofstede had to make many judgment calls while doing the research
Some results dont match what is believed to be true about given countries
Despite these problems it remains a very popular framework
The GLOBE framework for assessing cultures
- The GLOBE framework for assessing cultures began in 1993.
- The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program is
an ongoing cross-cultural investigation of leadership and national culture.
- Using the data from 825 organizations in 62 countries, the GLOBE team identified nine
dimensions on which national cultures differ. Some of these such as
Power distance,
Individualism/collectivism,
Uncertainty avoidance,
Gender differentiation (similar to masculinity versus femininity), and
Future orientation (similar to long-term versus short-term orientation).
- It is similar to Hofstedes framework. But the main differences is the globe framework added
dimensions such as
Humane Orientation: how much society rewards people for being altruistic, generous, and
kind to others.
Performance Orientation: how much society encourages and rewards performance
improvement and excellence.