Personality

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR INDRANIL MUTSUDDI

What is Personality?

Personality Traits

Personality Determinants • Heredity • Environment • Situation

Nature of Personality 

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Personality refers to the set of traits & behaviors that characterize an individual. It refers to the relatively stable pattern of behavior & consistent internal state & explains an individual’s behavioral tendencies. Personality has both internal (thoughts, values & genetic characteristics that is inferred from observable behaviors) & external (observable behaviors) elements. Personality of an individual is relatively stable in nature. Personality is both inherited as well as it can be shaped by the environment.

Importance of Personality in OB

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Law of Behavior: “People are different” To ensure high performing employees in an organization. To manage workforce diversity. Summarizing person’s behaviors & attitudes in relation to a wide range of events. Personality consists of characteristics or traits that describe how people are likely to behave in a given situation.

Importance of Personality in OB 

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Personality is useful in predicting & understanding the general feelings, thoughts and behaviors of individuals at the workplace. Contribution of various personality theories.

Determinants of Personality

Heredity

Environment

Nature: It advocates that Part of personality finds its Origins in biology (heredity)

Nurture: It advocates argue that personality finds its basis in Life experiences (early life mostly)

Self Esteem It can be described as how we perceive ourselves in terms of our abilities, competencies & effectiveness Organization-based Self Esteem

Theories of Personality Type Theory: • Introverts • Extroverts

Humanistic Theory

Trait Theory

Personality Theories

Social Learning Theory

Psycho-analytic Theory (Sigmund Freud)

Levels of Consciousness depicted by Psychoanalytic Theory Ego

Conscious

Id

Superego

Unconscious

Id: It refers exclusively to the innate component personality which is inherited by birth. Ego: It develops out of the id because of the necessity for dealing with the real world. Super-Ego: It represents the internalized representation of values & morals of the society as taught by our parents & others.

The Shaping of Personality Stages of Personality

Freudian Stages

Erickson’s Stages

John Piaget Stages

• Infancy • Oral Stage • • • •

Anal Stage Phalic Stage Latency Stage Genital Stage

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Childhood Play age School age Puberty Young Adults Middle Adult late Adult Late Adult

• Sensorimotor

• Preoperational • Concrete Operational • Formal Operational

Chris Argyris Stages

• Immature • Maturity

Determinants of Personality

Heredity

Environment

Family

Personality

Social

Situational

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Personality Types • Extroverted or Introverted (E or I) • Sensing or Intuitive (S or N) • Thinking or Feeling (T or F) • Perceiving or Judging (P or J)

Sixteen Primary Traits used for MBTI

The Big Five Model

Personality Structure (The “Big Five” Traits) Dimension

Characteristics of a person Scoring +vely on the dimension

Extroversion

Outgoing, Talkative, Sociable, Assertive

Agreeableness

Trusting, good natured, Cooperative, softhearted

Conscientiousness

Dependable, responsible, Achievement-oriented

Emotional Stability

Relaxed, Secure, Unworried

Openness to Experience

Sensitive, Intellectual, Imaginative, Broadminded

Other Personality types

Achievement Orientation

Authoritative

Locus of Control

Self Esteem Personality Traits Risk taking

Machiavellianism Self-Monitoring Introverts/ Extroverts Type A & B

Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB      

Locus of control Machiavellianism Self-esteem Self-monitoring Propensity for risk taking Type A personality

Locus of Control

Machiavellianism

Conditions Favoring High Machs • Direct interaction • Minimal rules and regulations • Distracting emotions

Self-Esteem and Self-Monitoring

Risk-Taking

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High Risk-taking Managers   

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Low Risk-taking Managers   

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Make quicker decisions. Use less information to make decisions. Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial organizations. Are slower to make decisions. Require more information before making decisions. Exist in larger organizations with stable environments.

Risk Propensity 

Aligning managers’ risk-taking propensity to job requirements should be beneficial to organizations.

Culture Defined… 

Culture may be defined as how a society perceives the world & how should it operate.

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It includes the values, beliefs, attitudes & expectations for the behavior that the society believes to be good, effective, desirable & beneficial.

Importance of Cultural Awareness to Managers     

Catering / managing workforce diversity Managing cross-cultural differences. Ensure cross-cultural assimilation Managing a Global workforce. Meeting the challenges of expatriation & repatriation.

Hofstede’s 5 Dimensions of Cultural Differences     

Individualism-Collectivism Power Distance Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity-femininity Time orientation

Power Distance 

“The power distance between a boss B and a subordinate S in a hierarchy is the difference between the extent to which B can determine the behavior of S and the extent to which S can determine the behavior of B.”

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It is the acceptance of large differences in power b/w the most powerful & the least powerful in a society.

Individualism-Collectivism 

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It is the degree to which individuals in a society prefer to act as individuals, as opposed to a group. In this type of culture people prefer to work alone & to depend on others only to the extent that is necessary.

Uncertainty-Avoidance 

It is the degree to which cultures differ in the extent to which they tolerate uncertainty.

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People who belong to this culture are uncomfortable in situations where alternatives & outcomes are not well defined, and thus develop rules that address nearly every facet of their behavior.

Masculinity-Femininity 

It is the degree to which a society displays mostly traditionally male or traditionally female traits.

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These terms generally depict individuals who are “macho” or who display strong maternal instincts.

Time Orientation 

It is the degree to which cultures possess a short or long perspective on time.

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Long-term cultures place much greater value on their history & their traditions.

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Short-term cultures tend to support behaviors that often have negative connotations-instant gratification, failure to plan for retirement, low savings etc.

Personality Types

Personality Types

Achieving Personality-Job Fit

Personality Types • Realistic • Investigative • Social • Conventional • Enterprising • Artistic

Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations

Relationships among Occupational Personality Types

Emotions- Why Emotions Were Ignored in OB 

The “myth of rationality” 

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Organizations are not emotion-free.

Emotions of any kind are disruptive to organizations. 

Original OB focus was solely on the effects of strong negative emotions that interfered with individual and organizational efficiency.

What Are Emotions? Affect A broad range of emotions that people experience. Emotions

Moods

Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something.

Feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus.

What Are Emotions? (cont’d)

Felt versus Displayed Emotions

Emotion Dimensions 

Variety of emotions  Positive  Negative

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Intensity of emotions  Personality  Job

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Requirements

Frequency and duration of emotions  How

often emotions are exhibited.  How long emotions are displayed.

Facial Expressions Convey Emotions

Emotion Continuum 

The closer any two emotions are to each other on the continuum, the more likely people are to confuse them.

Gender and Emotions 

Women     

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Can show greater emotional expression. Experience emotions more intensely. Display emotions more frequently. Are more comfortable in expressing emotions. Are better at reading others’ emotions.

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Believe that displaying emotions is inconsistent with the male image. Are innately less able to read and to identify with others’ emotions. Have less need to seek social approval by showing positive emotions.

External Constraints on Emotions Organizational Influences

Cultural Influences

Individual Emotions

OB Applications of Understanding Emotions 

Ability and Selection 

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Decision Making 

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Emotions are an important part of the decision-making process in organizations.

Motivation 

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Emotions affect employee effectiveness.

Emotional commitment to work and high motivation are strongly linked.

Leadership 

Emotions are important to acceptance of messages from organizational leaders.

OB Applications of Understanding Emotions 

Interpersonal Conflict 

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Conflict in the workplace and individual emotions are strongly intertwined.

Deviant Workplace Behaviors 

Negative emotions can lead to employee deviance in the form of actions that violate established norms and threaten the organization and its members.  Productivity failures  Property theft and destruction  Political actions  Personal aggression

Ability and Selection 

Emotional Intelligence (EI) Self-awareness  Self-management  Self-motivation  Empathy  Social skills 

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Research Findings 

High EI scores, not high IQ scores, characterize high performers.

Steps Leading To Successful Organizational Socialization New recruits placed in high morale groups Relaxed orientation program Socialization by a good supervisor Timely/ consistent feedback Relevant training Challenging first job