Personality & Individual Differences

“Be yourself” is the worst advice you can give some people.--T. Masson

First, a few administrative things…

Collect Student InformationDigital Photos

Student Information Full name (and preferred name) Year Major/Minor E-mail address Hometown Any special needs? List work experience What are your long term career goals? Anything else you feel is important for me to know

Learning ObjectivesDefine the key biographical characteristics & how

they affect the OB dependent variables Identify two types of ability & the importance of

ability-job fitExplain the factors that determine an individual’s

personality Describe personality traits & discuss the

personality-job fit theoryDefine Emotional Intelligence (EQ) & Why it is

relevant to the workplace

Developmental Key Concepts 5

What makes us unique?PERSONAL QUALITIESPersonalityIntelligenceMoral valuesMental healthGROUP IDENTITIESRaceCultureGender

Factors that influence Individual Behavior:

Biographical Characteristics

Abilities

Personality

Emotional Intelligence

Biographical Characteristics These variables are more manageable when it comes to

finding and analyzing variables that have an impact on turnover, satisfaction, etc.

Age- older workers are less likely to resign

Gender - women have higher rates of absence

Marital Status – Married employees have fewer absences, less turnover, & more satisfied.

Tenure- negatively related to turnover, positively related to satisfaction

Who Cares… what value do biographical characteristics have for managers and organizations?

It can help in making choices among job applicants.

Abilities

Intellectual Abilities That required to do mental activities. *Found to be strong predictors of future job

performance.

Physical Abilities That required to do tasks demanding stamina,

dexterity, strength, and similar characteristics.

Ability-Job Fit

The Ability - Job Fit Employee performance is enhanced when there

is a high ability - job fit. We need to keep this in mind from an HR

perspective as well as an individual trying to make a job decision.

What predictions can we make if the fit is poor? If employees lack the required abilities? If employees abilities far exceed the

requirements of the job?

Personality

What is Personality? The sum total of ways in which an individual

reacts to and interacts with others Measurable traits that a person exhibits. An enduring combination of motives, emotions,

values, interests, attitudes and competencies.

Determinants of PersonalityHeredity/ Physiological Determinants

physical differences, IQ, potential, temperament

Environment culture, norms of family, friends & social groups,

other influences

Situation in class vs. at a party on-the-field/court vs. off-the-field/court

Personality Traits Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (next class)

Extraverted/Introverted Sensing/Intuitive Thinking/Feeling Judging/Perceiving

Big 5 Model Extraversion Agreeableness Conscientiousness Emotional stability Openness to Experience

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The Big Five Model of Personality Extroversion: The tendency to experience positive

emotional states and feel good about oneself and the world around.

Neuroticism(Emotional stability): The tendency to experience negative emotional states and view oneself and the world around negatively.

Agreeableness: The tendency to get along well with others.

Conscientiousness: The extent to which a person is careful, scrupulous, and persevering.

Openness to Experience: The extent to which a person is original, has broad interests, and is willing to take risks.

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Insert Figure 2.3 here

Chapter 2: Understanding Individual Differences

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The “Big Five” Personality Factors

Agreeableness

Adjustment(Stable, confident, effective) (Nervous, self-doubting, moody)

Sociability(Gregarious , energetic, self-dramatizing) (Shy, unassertive, withdrawn)

Conscientiousness(Planful, neat, dependable) (Impulsive, careless, irresponsible)

(Warm, tactful, considerate) (Independent, cold, rude)

Intellectual Openness(Imaginative, curious, original) (Dull, unimaginative, literal-minded)

Source: Developed from Hogan, R. T. Personality and personality measurement. In M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed. Palo Alto, Calif.: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1991, 878-879; McCrae, R. R., and Costa, P. T. A five-factor theory of personality. In L. A. Pervin and O. P. John (eds.), Handbook of Personality, 2nd ed. New York: Guilford, 1999, 139-153.

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Insert Figure 2.7 here

Locus of Control

Internal Locus of Control: Describes people who believe that ability, effort, or their own actions determine what happens to them.

www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/LocusofControl-intro.html

External Locus of Control: Describes people who believe that fate, luck, or outside forces are responsible for what happens to them.

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Self-Monitoring

The extent to which people try to control the way they present themselves to others. Can be high or low

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Self-Esteem

The extent to which people have pride in themselves and their capabilities. Can be high or low Not situation specific

Type A’s & Type B’sType A Personality

Always moving, walking, and eating rapidly. Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place. Strive to think or do two or more things at once. Cannot cope with leisure time. Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how

many or how much of everything they acquire.

Type B Personality Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying

impatience. Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or

accomplishments unless such exposure is demanded by the situation. Play for fun & relaxation, instead of exhibit their superiority at any cost. Can relax without guilt.

stress.about.com/library/Type_A_quiz/bl_Type_A_quiz.htm

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McClelland’s NeedsNeed for Achievement: The desire to perform challenging tasks well and to meet one’s own high standards.

Need for Affiliation: The desire to establish and maintain good relations with others.

Need for Power: The desire to exert emotional and behavioral control or influence over others.

Assess your own personality…with the major personality attributes influencing OB

Locus of control: internal…………………………….external

Machiavellianism low……………………………………high

Self-Esteem: low…………………………………….high

Self-Monitoring low…………………………………….high

Risk Taking low……………………………………..high

Type A Personality “B”………………………………………”A”

The Person-Job Fit

Today, managers are more interested in an applicant’s flexibility to meet changing situations (instead of ability to perform a specific job)

Holland’s personality-job fit theory captures the notion of matching the job requirements with personality characteristics

Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory

Holland, a career development scholar, suggests that career success and satisfaction depends on the degree of fit between the person and his or her work environment

Degree of congruence between personality traits and work environment determines person’s performance, satisfaction, length of time in career

Holland contends there are 6 types or themes that represent characteristics of both the work environment and the traits and interests of people working in those environments.

Few people fall squarely into 1 type

Realistic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventional

The Career Key Test is a mini version of Holland’s assessment. What do you think of your results on this test?

Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory

Person-Organization Fit

What is Personality-Organization Fit?

Examples

Why might managers today pay more attention to the person-organization fit rather than the person-job fit?

Emotional Intelligence

What is Emotional IQ?

Five Dimensions of EQ Self-awareness - impact on others, aware of feelings

Self-management - manage own emotions and impulses

Self-motivation - ability to persist in face of failures

Empathy – ability to sense how others are feeling

Social skills - ability to handle emotions of others

What was your EQ? Do you agree with the results?

How can managers increase their EQ?

Practicing Emotional Intelligence1. Label their feelings, rather than labeling people or situations"

2. Distinguish between thoughts and feelings.

3. Take responsibility for their feelings.

4. Use their feelings to help them make decisions.

5. Show respect for other people's feelings.

6. Feel energized, not angry.

7. Validate other people's feelings.

8. Practice getting a positive value from their negative emotions.

9. Don't advise, command, control, criticize, judge

or lecture others.

10. Avoid people who invalidate them, or don't respect

their feelings.

Who Cares?

So why is it important that we understand personality & individual differences?

What relevance does it have for managers?

What relevance does it have for organizations?

Why is it important that we understand personality & individual differences?

To help you learn more about the dimensions of your own personality.

To understand why individuals think, feel, and act differently.

To help managers create a good fit between people and jobs.

By selecting people with the right attributes By redesigning jobs to fit individuals’ strengths

To help organizations create a good person-organization fit

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Advice to Managers Realize and accept that some workers are more likely than others to

be positive and enthusiastic because of their personalities. Similarly, realize and accept that some workers are more likely than others to complain and experience stress because of their personalities.

Provide an extra measure of direct supervision to workers who don’t take the initiative to solve problems on their own and always seem to blame someone or something else when things go wrong.

Provide additional encouragement and support to workers with low self-esteem who tend to belittle themselves and question their abilities.

Realize and accept that Type A individuals can be difficult to get along with and sometimes have a hard time working in teams.

Let subordinates who seem overly concerned about other people liking them know that sometimes it is necessary to give honest feedback and be constructively critical (such as when supervising others).