Chapter Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Define personality and describe how it is measured Understand determinants of Personality Identify various Personality tests widely used for identifying and classifying traits Identify personality traits relevant to OB Understand Hollands Personality-Job fit Theory

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What is Personality?
The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment. - Gordon Allport. The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others, the measurable traits a person exhibits The term personality has been derived from the Latin term persona which means to speak through. Measuring Personality Helpful in hiring decisions Most common method: self-reporting surveys Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality often better predictors
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Personality Determinants
Heredity
-Factors determined at conception: physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition etc. -This Heredity Approach argues that genes are the source of personality -Twin studies: raised apart but very similar personalities

Environment
-Culture in which one is raised; ones early conditioning; the norms among ones family, friends and social groups and other influences that one experiences.

Situation
-An individuals personality although generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations.

Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior
The more consistent the characteristic and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more important the trait.

Some of the personality tests widely used for identifying and classifying traits are: - The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) - The Big Five Model - 16 PF - The Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

Most widely used instrument in the world. Participants are classified on four axes to determine one of 16 possible personality types, such as ENTJ.
Sociable and Assertive
Extroverted (E) Introverted (I)

Quiet and Shy Unconscious Processes

Feeling (F)

Practical and Orderly

Sensing (S) Thinking (T)

Intuitive (N)

Use Reason and Logic

Uses Values & Emotions Flexible and Spontaneous

Want Order & Structure

Judging (J)

Perceiving (P)

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The Big Five Model of Personality Dimensions

Extroversion
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized

Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative)

Emotional Stability Openness to Experience

Curious, imaginative, artistic, and sensitive

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16 PF
16 Personality Factor measures 16 temperament traits such as : warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, dominance, liveliness, rule consciousness, social boldness, sensitivity, vigilance, abstracted-ness, privacy, apprehension, openness to change, selfreliance, perfectionism and tension.

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FIRO-B
It defines leadership style in relation to interpersonal relationships by measuring:
(a) Inclusion-How much you generally include other people in your life and how much attention, contact and recognition you want from others; (b) Control- How much influence and responsibility you need, and how much you want others to lead and establish procedures and policies; (c) Affection- How close and warm you are with others and to what extent you want others to show warmth and support to you.

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Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

Locus of control
-Degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate. -People with Internal locus of control believe that they control what happens to them. -People with External locus of control believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance.

Machiavellianism
- A pragmatic, emotionally distant power-player who believes that ends justify the means. - High Machs are manipulative, win more often, and persuade more than they are persuaded.

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 Self-Monitoring
The ability to adjust behavior to meet external, situational factors. High monitors conform more and are more likely to become leaders.

Risk Taking
The willingness to take chances. Risk takers make faster decisions with less information

Type A & Type B Personality

Aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more in less time
Impatient: always moving, walking, and eating rapidly Strive to think or do two or more things at once Cannot cope with leisure time Obsessed with achievement numbers
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Type B people are the complete opposite

 Proactive Personality
-Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres to completion -Creates positive change in the environment

Authoritarianism
-It is the degree to which a person believes that status and power differences are appropriate in an organization.

Self-Esteem
-People differ in the degree to which they like or dislike themselves. This trait is called self-esteem.

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Achieving Personality-Job Fit

The Person-job Fit: John Hollands personality-job fit theory is based on the notion of fit between an individuals personality characteristics and his or her occupational environment. He presented six personality types and proposes that satisfaction and the propensity to leave a job depends on the degree to which individuals successfully match their personalities to an occupational environment.

Hollands Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations

Type -Realistic -Investigative Congruent occupations -Mechanic, Assembly-line worker -Biologist, News Reporter

-Social
-Conventional -Enterprising -Artistic

-Social worker, counselor

-Accountant, File clerk -Lawyer, PR specialist -Painter, Interior Decorator

Each one of the six personality types has a congruent occupational environment. The theory argues that satisfaction is highest and turnover lowest when personality and occupation are in agreement. Social individuals should be in social jobs, conventional people in conventional jobs and so forth. A realistic person in a realistic job is in a more congruent situation than is a realistic person in an investigative job. A realistic person in a social job is in the most incongruent situation possible.

 The key points of this model are: (i) There do appear to be intrinsic differences in personality among individuals; (ii) There are different types of jobs, and (iii)People in job environments congruent with their personality types should be more satisfied and less likely to voluntarily resign than should people in incongruent jobs.

Example- Recruiters at Bangalore based health-care company Biocon Ltd use the Person-job fit theory while hiring scientists, They show a marked preference for candidates who show an aptitude for research as well as score strongly on personality traits like perseverance and patience, thereby creating a job-person fit.