Chapter 2: Personality, Attitudes, and Work Behaviors

Learning Objectives  Define what personality is and how

it affects work behaviors

 Understand the role of values in

determining work behaviors

 Explain the process of perception

and how it affects work behaviors

 Identify the major work attitudes

that affect work behaviors

 Define the concept of person-

organization fit and how it affects
work behaviors

 Discuss how behaviors have an

impact on organizational
performance
Successful organizations depend upon getting the right
mix of individuals in the right positions at the right time

Each individual brings the following to

the workplace

Skills
Personality
Ability
Values
What is personality?
 Goldberg’s Big 5 Personality Traits
Trait Description

Openness Curious, original, intellectual,

creative, and open to new ideas.
Conscientiousness Organized, systematic, punctual,
achievement-oriented, and
dependable.
Extraversion Outgoing, talkative, sociable,
and enjoys being in social
situations.
Agreeableness Nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting,
kind, and warm.
Neuroticism Anxious, irritable, aggressive,
temperamental, and moody.
 Studies show that there is a relationship between
being extraverted and effectiveness as a salesperson
 Job
Self-Efficacy
Performance
 Other Personality Dimensions
• Self-Monitoring

• Proactive Personality

• Self-esteem

• Machiavellianism

• Locus of control
Personality Testing in Employee Selection

Companies
such as Kronos
and Hogan
Assessments
conduct pre-
employment
personality tests
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®
Key personality components:
Myers-Briggs Type Extroversion/Introversion (E/I) –
Indicator® Social interaction
assessment is the
best known and Sensing/Intuiting (S/I) –
most trusted Collection of information
personality tool
Thinking/Feeling (T/F) –
available today
Evaluation of information

Judging/Perceiving (J/P) –
Decision making
 Schwartz’ Value Inventory
Values Definition
Achievement The desire for personal success
Benevolence The desire to protect the well being of people who
are close to the person.
Conformity Being motivated by being self disciplined and
obedient. Conforming to others.
Hedonism The desire for pleasure in life
Power The desire for control over others, attaining power
and prestige.
Security Valuing safety and stability.
Self direction The desire to be free and independent
Stimulation The desire for a stimulating and exciting life
Tradition Acceptance of social customs and traditional ideas
in a society.
Universalism The desire to protect the well being of all people.
Caring about social justice.
Perception and Work Behaviors
Perception is affected
by our values, needs,
and emotions
Visual Perception

What do
you see?

A cup or
two faces?
 Self enhancement
bias

Self effacement
bias
Stereotypes Self fulfilling Selective
• Stereotypes prophecy perception
are • Occurs when • We pay
generalizations an established selective
based on a stereotype attention to
group causes one to parts of the
characteristic behave in a environment
certain way while ignoring
other parts
 First Impressions
The first impression
establishes the mental
framework in how
another person is
viewed and later
evidence is either
ignored or
reinterpreted to
coincide with this
framework

© 2010 Jupiterimages Corporation

 Work Attitudes
What does your attitude
communicate?

Is there a relationship
between your attitudes and
your behaviors?
Attitude
refers to
opinions,
beliefs, and
feelings Beware!
about aspects Your
of our attitude
environment is
showing!
Factors contributing to job satisfaction
and organizational commitment
Work Behavior and Job Performance
Factors which have a strong influence over work behaviors

Job Performance Citizenship Absenteeism Turnover

General mental How we are Health problems Having low

abilities treated at work performance
How we are Personality Work/life Negative work
treated at work balance issues attitudes
Stress Positive work Negative work Stress
attitudes attitudes
Positive work Older employee Younger Personality
attitudes employee
Personality Younger
employee and
shorter tenure
The Interactionist Perspective: The Role of Fit

When people fit into their

organization, they tend to be more
satisfied with their jobs, more
committed to their companies, they
are more influential in their
company, and they actually remain
longer in their company
 A good fit is jointly determined by
the individual and the situation
Person organization fit refers to
the degree to which a
person’s values, personality,
goals and other
Person job characteristics match those
fit of the organization.
Best
person
for the
position
Person Person job fit is the degree to
organization which a person’s skill,
fit knowledge, abilities, and
other characteristics match
the job demands.
Organizational Citizenship and
Organizational Performance

Helping a coworker through a

peak work load may be a
voluntary action. While outside
the scope of job duties, these
voluntary behaviors contribute to
the effective functioning of an
organization
 Behavior and Organizational Performance

Absenteeism costs companies an

estimated $74 billion annually
Developing Your Personal Skills

Research shows
that acting
positive at work
can actually help
you become
happier over time
as emotions can
be influenced by
actions