Ch5 Personality and values

Personality
What is personality
The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others

Measuring personality
Self-report surveys problems : fake, accuracy Observer ratings surveys

Personality determinants
Heredity vs. environment
Identical twins researches Genetics accounts for 50% of the personality similarities between twins

Personality changes
Ex. Dependability tend to increase over time More changeable in adolescence and more stable among adults.

Personality determinants
Personality traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior Ex. Lazy, loyal More frequently occurs, more consistent overtime more important in describing the individual

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI)

100-question personality test that ask people how they usually feel or act in particular situations.
Extraverted(E) vs. Introverted(I) Sensing(S) vs. Intuitive(N) Thinking(T) vs. Feeling(F) Judging(J) vs. Perceiving(P) 16 personality types

Validity-most of the evidence suggested not Valuable tool for increasing self-awareness

The Big Five Personality Model

Big Five factors: Extroversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional stability Openness to experience How do the Big Five traits predict behavior at work?
Higher conscientious higher levels of job knowledge higher job performance Conscientious is more important than other traits(to Business success)

Exhibit 5-2

Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

Core self-evaluation
Positive core self-evaluation related to job satisfaction and better job performance

Machiavellianism
The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means High-Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors

 High Machs flourish when:

Interact face to face with others rather than indirectly Situation has a minimal number of rules and regulations, allowing latitude for improvisation Emotional involvement with details irrelevant to winning

High Machs make good employees depends on the type of job

Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

Narcissism
While they thought they were better leaders than their colleagues, their supervisors actually rated them as worse.

Self-monitoring
High in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability in adjusting their behavior to external situational factors

Risk taking
People differ in their willingness to rake chances, a affects how much time and information managers need to take a decision

Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

Type A personality
Aggressive involvement in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time and, if necessary , against the opposing efforts of other things or other people.

Proactive personality
People who identify opportunities, show initiative take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs.

Values
Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse ones. Contain judgment element, have both content and intensity attributes. Value system-based on a ranking of an individuals values in terms of their intensity.

Values
The importance of values
influence attitudes and behavior

Terminal vs. instrumental values

Rokeach Value survey
2 sets, each contain 18 individual value items

Terminal values Instrumental values RVS values vary among groups can create serious conflicts while groups content

Values
Generational values
Contemporary work cohorts
Cohort Veterans Entered the Workforce 1950s or early 1960s Approximate Current Age 65+ Dominant Work Values Hardworking, conservative, conforming; loyalty to the organization Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of authority, loyalty to career Work/life balance, teamoriented, dislike of rules; loyalty to relationships Confident, financial success, self-reliant but team-oriented; loyalty to both self and relationships

Boomers

1965-1985

Mid-40s to mid-60s

Xers

1985-2000

Late 20s to early 40s

Nexers

2000-present

Under 30

Linking an individuals personality and values to the workplace

Person-job fit theory
Vocational Preference Inventory questionnaire

 The theory argues that satisfaction is highest and turnover lowest when personality and occupation are in agreement
There do appear to be intrinsic differences in personality among individuals Different types of jobs People in jobs congruent with their personality more satisfied and less likely to voluntarily resign

Linking an individuals personality and values to the workplace

Person-organization fit
People are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values, and they leave organizations that are compatible with their personalities Fit better with the organizations culture higher employee satisfaction and reduced turnover

Global Implications
Personality
Big Five model appear in almost all crosscultural studies Differences tend to be in the emphasis on dimensions and whether countries are predominantly individualistic or collectivistic

Global Implications
Values
Hofstedes framework for assessing cultures
Power distance Individualism vs. Collectivism Masculinity vs. Femininity Uncertainty avoidance Long-term vs. Short-term orientation

External validity ? data representation and cultural differences

 The GLOBE Framework for Assessing Cultures

An ongoing cross-cultural investigation of leadership and national culture Identified 9 dimensions on which national cultures differ Ex. humane orientation, performance orientation

Summary and Implications for Managers

Personality
Personality and job performance were not meaningfully related across traits or situations

Values
Employees performance and satisfaction are likely to be higher if their values fit well with the organization