Personality

What is Personality?

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Personality Traits

Personality Determinants
Heredity Environment Situation

Determinants of personality
A. Heredity: This approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individuals personality is the molecular structure of genes B. Environment: It comprises of a. Culture is the sum total of learned behaviour traits which are manifested and shared by the members of the society b. Family- the nature of such influence depends upon socioeconomic level of family; family size; birth order; race; parents educational level; geographic location C. Social: It is the process by which an infant acquires from enormously wide range of behavioural potentialities that are open to him from birth, customs and social groups D. Situation: It exerts an important pressure on an individual, exerts constraints and at times pushes an individual and determines his actions

Over the past 20 years, Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the Big-Five Model are the dominant frameworks for identifying and classifying traits

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)

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (contd)

Extroverted vs. Introverted. Extroverted individuals are outgoing, sociable and assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy Sensing vs. Intuitive. Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order, and focus on details. Intuitives rely on unconscious processes and look at the big picture. Thinking vs. Feeling. Thinking types use reason and logic to handle problems. Feeling types rely on their personal values and emotions Judging vs. Perceiving. Judging types want control, and prefer their world to be ordered and structured. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous.

Contd
The classifications discussed are then combined into sixteen personality types. INTJs are visionaries; have original minds, great drive for their own ideas and purposes, are skeptical, critical, independent, determined and stubborn ESTJs are organisers; are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, like to organise and run activities ENTPs are conceptualisers; are innovative, individualistic, versatile, attracted to entrepreneurial ideas, resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments

Sixteen Primary Traits

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The Big Five Model (John Bearden)

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
High Risk-taking Managers
Make quicker decisions. Use less information to make decisions. Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial organizations.

Low Risk-taking Managers

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.

Personality Types

Personality Types

Achieving Personality-Job Fit

Personality Types Realistic Investigative Social Conventional Enterprising Artistic

Hollands Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations

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The self-concept: Self-esteem and self-efficacy

Self refers to the personality of the individual as viewed by the person himself Self Concept refers to the efforts made by an individual to understand his own self and is closely related with the concepts of self-esteem and self-efficacy Self-esteem refers to the self perceived competence and self image of people Self-efficacy refers to a persons perception of his ability to cope with different situations as they arise Self-esteem is a generalized trait whereas self-efficacy is a situation-specific Self-efficacy of a person can be measured along three dimensions; level, strength and generality Level refers to the number of tasks a person can effectively perform; strength refers to how firmly a person believes he is capable of performing a task; and generality refers to the extent to which the self efficacy expectations of an individual can be generalized rather than varying from situation to situation

Emotions- Why Emotions Were Ignored in OB

The myth of rationality
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
Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something.

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

What Are Emotions? (contd)

Felt versus Displayed Emotions

Emotion Dimensions
Variety of emotions
Positive Negative

Intensity of emotions
Personality Job Requirements

Frequency and duration of emotions

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

Facial Expressions Convey Emotions

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

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Gender and Emotions

Women
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.

Men
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
Emotions affect employee effectiveness.

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

Motivation
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
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

Emotional Intelligence
The ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate emotion in oneself and others EI represents a set of competencies that allow us to perceive, understand and regulate emotions in ourselves and others These emotional competencies are learned capabilities based on EI and lead to superior performance

Golemans Model of Emotional Intelligence

EI can be organised into four dimensions representing the recognition of emotions in ourselves and others, as well as the regulation of emotions in ourselves and others Each dimension consists of a set of emotional competencies that people must possess to fulfill that dimension of EI

Emotional Intelligence Competencies Model

Self (Personal Competence) Self-Awareness Emotional self awareness Accurate self-assessment Self- confidence Other (Social Competence) Social-Awareness Empathy Organisational awareness Service

Recognition of Emotions

Regulation of Emotions

Self-Management Emotional self-control Transparency Adaptability Initiative Achievement Optimism

Relationship Management Inspirational leadership Influence Developing others Change catalyst Conflict management Building bonds Teamwork and collaboration

Ability and Selection

Emotional Intelligence (EI) Self-awareness Self-management Self-motivation Empathy Social skills Research Findings High EI scores, not high IQ scores, characterize high performers.