ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

UNIT 1

In words of K Aswathappa, “OB is the study of human behaviour in organisational setting, of

the interface between human behaviour and organisation and of the organisation itself.”

In words of Stephen P. Robbins, “OB is a field of study that investigates the impact that
individuals, groups and structures have on behaviour within organisations for the purpose of
applying such knowledge towards improving an organisation’s effectiveness.”

According to L. M. Prasad, “Organisational behaviour can be defined as the study and

application of knowledge about human behaviour related to other elements of an organisation
such as structure, technology and social systems.”

According to Davis and Newstram, “Organisational behaviour is the study and application of
knowledge about how people act within organisations.”

According to Fred Luthans, “Behaviour is directly concerned with the understanding,

prediction and control of human behaviour in organisations.”

In words of John Newstram and Keith Devis, “Organisational behaviour is the study and
application of knowledge about how people as individuals and as groups act within
organisations. It strives to identify ways in which people can act more effectively.”

OB is the study of individual behaviour in isolation, when in group and as a part of an

organisation. The study of individual behaviour only, would be incomplete because
behaviour is affected by the people surrounding us as well as by the organisation, in which
we work. Studying only individuals or only organisations would be of no use. It is essential to
study both simultaneously.
Personality, perception, learning, attitude, family background, training, motivation, job
satisfaction, performance appraisal, leadership effectiveness, norms, values and ethics are the
factors which affect the individual behaviour. Group dynamics, communication,
organisational environment, individual and organisational culture affect group behaviour.
Organisational structure, power & politics, status, relation with juniors & seniors, conflicts
and culture affect the individual behaviour in the organisation.

Study of organisational behaviour helps in studying:

i. Why people behave in a particular way?

ii. Why one person is more effective than the other?

iii. Why one group is more effective than the other?

iv. Why one person is more effective in one organisation as compared to the other
organisations?

Organisational Behaviour – Scope

The scope of the organizational behaviour is as under:

 Impact of personality on performance

 Employee motivation

 Leadership

 How to create effective teams and groups

 Study of different organizational structures

 Individual behavior, attitude and learning

 Perception

 Design and development of effective organization

 Job design

 Impact of culture on organizational behavior

 Management of change

 Management of conflict and stress

 Organizational development

 Organizational culture
  Transactional analysis

 Group behavior, power and politics

 Job design

Contributing Fields to Organizational Behaviour

A. Psychology: Psychology is an applied science, which attempts to explain human

behaviour in a particular situation and predicts actions of individuals. Psychologists have
been able to modify individual behaviour largely with the help of various studies. It has
contributed towards various theories on learning, motivation, personality, training and
development, theories on individual decision making, leadership, job satisfaction,
performance appraisal, attitude, ego state, job design, work stress and conflict management.
Studies of these theories can improve personal skills, bring change in attitude and develop
positive approach to organizational systems. Various psychological tests are conducted in the
organizations for selection of employees, measuring personality attributes and aptitude.
Various other dimensions of human personality are also measured. These instruments are
scientific in nature and have been finalized after a great deal of research. Field of psychology
continues to explore new areas applicable to the field of organizational behaviour.
Contribution of psychology has enriched the organizational behaviour field.

B. Sociology: Science of Sociology studies the impact of culture on group behaviour and has
contributed to a large extent to the field of group-dynamics, roles that individual plays in the
organization, communication, norms, status, power, conflict management, formal
organization theory, group processes and group decision-making.

C. Political science: Political science has contributed to the field of Organizational

behaviour. Stability of government at national level is one major factor for promotion of
international business, financial investments, expansion and employment. Various
government rules and regulations play a very decisive role in growth of the organization. All
organizations have to abide by the rules of the government of the day.

D. Social psychology: Working organizations are formal assembly of people who are
assigned specific jobs and play a vital role in formulating human behaviour. It is a subject
where concept of psychology and sociology are blend to achieve better human behaviour in
organization. The field has contributed to manage change, group decision-making,
communication and ability of people in the organization, to maintain social norms.
E. Anthropology: It is a field of study relating to human activities in various cultural and
environmental frameworks. It understands difference in behaviour based on value system of
different cultures of various countries. The study is more relevant to organizational behaviour
today due to globalization, mergers and acquisitions of various industries. The advent of the
21st century has created a situation wherein cross-cultural people will have to work in one
particular industry. Managers will have to deal with individuals and groups belonging to
different ethnic cultures and exercise adequate control or even channelise behaviour in the
desired direction by appropriately manipulating various cultural factors.

Organization behaviour has used the studies on comparative attitudes and cross-cultural
transactions. Environment studies conducted by the field of anthropology aims to understand
organizational human behaviour so that acquisitions and mergers are smooth. Organizations
are bound by its culture that is formed by human beings.

Organisational Behaviour – Nature:

The nature it has acquired is identified as follows:

1. A Separate Field of Study and Not a Discipline Only: By definition, a discipline is an

accepted science that is based on a theoretical foundation. But, O.B. has a multi-
interdisciplinary orientation and is, thus, not based on a specific theoretical background.
Therefore, it is better reasonable to call O.B. a separate field of study rather than a discipline
only.

2. An Interdisciplinary Approach: Organizational behaviour is essentially an interdisciplinary

approach to study human behaviour at work. It tries to integrate the relevant knowledge
drawn from related disciplines like psychology, sociology and anthropology to make them
applicable for studying and analysing organizational behaviour.

3. An Applied Science: The very nature of O.B. is applied. What O.B. basically does is the
application of various researches to solve the organizational problems related to human
behaviour. The basic line of difference between pure science and O.B. is that while the
former concentrates of fundamental researches, the latter concentrates on applied researches.
O.B. involves both applied research and its application in organizational analysis. Hence,
O.B. can be called both science as well as art.

4. A Normative Science: Organizational Behaviour is a normative science also. While the

positive science discusses only cause effect relationship, O.B. prescribes how the findings of
applied researches can be applied to socially accepted organizational goals. Thus, O.B. deals
with what is accepted by individuals and society engaged in an organization. Yes, it is not
that O.B. is not normative at all. In fact, O.B. is normative as well that is well underscored by
the proliferation of management theories.

5. A Humanistic and Optimistic Approach: Organizational Behaviour applies humanistic

approach towards people working in the organization. It, deals with the thinking and feeling
of human beings. O.B. is based on the belief that people have an innate desire to be
independent, creative and productive. It also realizes that people working in the organization
can and will actualise these potentials if they are given proper conditions and environment.
Environment affects performance or workers working in an organization.

6 A Total System Approach: The system approach is one that integrates all the variables,
affecting organizational functioning. The systems approach has been developed by the
behavioural scientists to analyse human behaviour in view of his/her socio-psychological
framework. Man’s socio- psychological framework makes man a complex one and the
systems approach tries to study his/her complexity and find solution to it.

Organisational Behaviour – 3 Levels: Individual, Group and

Organisational Level

OB can be defined as actions and behaviors of individuals and groups towards and their
impact on the organization’s overall functioning and performance. OB can be studied at
various levels within an organization, and each level has a unique set of roles,
responsibilities, and goals.

Following points discuss the three levels briefly:

1. Individual Level – Deals with the concepts at the individual level. Examples of individual-
level concepts are perception, personality, learning, motivation, and attitude.

2. Group Level – Deals with the concepts at the group level. Examples of group-level
concepts are team, conflict, leadership, power, and politics. Group-level concepts may
include how groups are formed, how to make effective teams, how individually and
collectively the group activities can be improved, how to motivate employees, and which
type of group would be suitable for a particular assignment.

3. Organizational Level – Deals with the concepts at the organizational level. Examples of
organizational-level concepts are change management and organizational culture. Other
topics discussed at organizational level include the concept of organization, different
organizational models, and organizational change along with its impact and implementation.
The working conditions and stress management are also discussed at the organizational level.

Organisational Behaviour – Four Major Models

There are four major models or frameworks that organizations operate out
of-

1. Autocratic,

2. Custodial,

3. Supportive, and

4. Collegial.

1. Autocratic: The basis of this model is power with a managerial orientation of authority.
The employees in turn are oriented towards obedience and dependence on the boss. The
employee need that is met is subsistence. The performance result is minimal.

2. Custodial: The basis of this model is economic resources with a managerial orientation of
money. The employees in turn are oriented towards security and benefits and dependence on
the organization. The employee need that is met is security. The performance result is passive
cooperation.

3. Supportive: The basis of this model is leadership with a managerial orientation of support.
The employees in turn are oriented towards job performance and participation. The employee
need that is met is status and recognition. The performance result is awakened drives.

4. Collegial: The basis of this model is partnership with a managerial orientation of

teamwork. The employees in turn are oriented towards responsible behavior and self-
discipline. The employee need that is met is self-actualization. The performance result is
moderate enthusiasm.
Although there are four separate models, almost no organization operates exclusively in one.
There will usually be a predominate one, with one or more areas over-lapping in the other
models.
The first model, autocratic, has its roots in the industrial revolution. The managers of this
type of organization operate mostly out of McGregor’s Theory X. The next three models
begin to build on McGregor’s Theory Y. They have each evolved over a period of time and
there is no one best model. In addition, the collegial model should not be thought as the last
or best model, but the beginning of a new model or paradigm.

Organisational Behaviour – Challenges & Opportunities Faced by

Organizational Behavior:

The significance of studying OB is increasing day-by-day due to dynamic business

environment. Now-a-days, numerous changes are taking place in the global, industrial, and
organizational setups. These changes have brought numerous challenges for OB.

Following points discuss these issues briefly:

1. Globalization: Implies that no organization can work effectively in isolation and has to
comply with the global factors that have an impact on it. Globalization poses numerous
challenges in front of an organization. At the individual level, an employee may require to
work on foreign assignments or collaborate with people from different cultures.

At the group level, problems may arise in decision-making procedures and while working in
teams that include people of different cultural backgrounds. At the organizational level,
problems may arise in case of mergers or acquisitions due to vast cultural differences.

2. Management of Workforce Diversity: Refers to the need of numerous conflict resolution

techniques and problem- solving approaches to deal with diverse workforce. It is difficult to
manage the employees belonging to different cultural backgrounds, due to differences in their
values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. A proper management of workforce diversity can
have numerous positive results, such as the availability of fresh ideas and talents.

3. Improvement in Quality and Productivity: Refers to matching the desired levels of quality
and productivity with the ever-changing demands. Management guru Tom Peter says,
“Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing, layout,
processes, and procedures.” Now-a-days, a number of programs, such as process
reengineering and quality management are being implemented to bring improvement in
productivity.

4. Improvement in People Skills: Implies that it is the necessity of time to improve and
upgrade the skills of employees from time to time. The change in business, political, and
technological environment makes it important to train and develop the employees according
to new trends. The technical and interpersonal skills of employees need constant
improvement.

5. Incorporation of Innovation: Implies that it is necessary to incorporate change in rules,

regulations, processes and procedures of an organization to suit the current standards. It is
easy to formulate the strategies for change in an organization, but difficult to implement it
due to the employee resistance. If the resistance of employees is overcome then the positive
changes can be brought in the organization to enhance the productivity level.

6. Incorporation of Work-Life Balance: Indicates that the demanding work schedules and
challenging jobs tend to upset the personal and social life of employees at times. Work-life
balance can be achieved by implementing the concepts, such as work from home and flexible
work-timings.

7. Total Quality Management (TQM): Total Quality Management (TQM) is a philosophy of

management that is driven by the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through the
continuous improvement of all organizational processes.
The components of TQM are;

(a) An intense focus on the customer,

(b) Concern for continual improvement,

(c) Improvement in the quality of everything the organization does,

(d) Accurate measurement and,

(e) Empowerment of employees.

8. The emergence of E-Organisation & E-Commerce

It refers to the business operations involving the electronic mode of transactions. It

encompasses presenting products on websites and filling the order. The vast majority of
articles and media attention given to using the Internet in business are directed at online
shopping.

In this process, the marketing and selling of goods and services are being carried out over the
Internet. In e-commerce, the following activities are being taken place quite often – the
tremendous numbers of people who are shopping on the Internet, business houses are setting
up websites where they can sell goods, conducting the following transactions such as getting
paid and fulfilling orders.

It is a dramatic change in the way a company relates to its customers. At present e-commerce
is exploding. Globally, e-commerce spending was increasing at a tremendous rate.

9. Improving Ethical Behavior

The complexity in business operations is forcing the workforce to face ethical dilemmas,
where they are required to define right and wrong conduct to complete their assigned
activities.

For example, Should the employees of a chemical company blow the whistle if they uncover
the discharging its untreated effluents into the river are polluting its water resources?

Do managers give an inflated performance evaluation to an employee they like, knowing that
such an evaluation could save that employee’s job? The ground rules governing the
constituents of good ethical behavior has not been clearly defined, Differentiating right things
from wrong behavior has become more blurred.

Following unethical practices have become a common practice such as successful executives
who use insider information for personal financial gain, employees in competitor businesses
participating in massive cover-ups of defective products, etc.

10. Improving Customer Service

OB can contribute to improving organizational performance by showing drat how employees’

attitudes and behavior are associated with customer satisfaction. In that case, service should
be the first production-oriented by using technological opportunities like a computer, the
internet, etc. To improve customer service we need to provide sales service and also the after-
sales service.

Evolution of Organizational Behaviour

Management is as old as civilization. We find traces of this branch of study even thousands
of years ago. It would not have been possible to erect the Pyramids, or construct the Great
Wall of China, or the Taj Mahal, without managing the activities successfully.

We may not have any documentary evidence of the management principles of those days but
management practices were certainly used to accomplish these tasks. The earliest evidence of
management practices is found in the philosophy of the division of labour in the literature of
Adam Smith.

Management was influenced by various disciplines such as sociology, economics, political

science, anthropology, psychology, and even literature. Because of such multi- disciplinary
approaches, we find even authors like Harold Koontz (1961) referring to it as a ‘jungle’.
There exist differences even in the classification of its approaches. However, we find
Hutchinson’s analysis (1971) the best basis to classify the management approaches. He looks
at the process of development of management from five different perspectives.

But without going into the details of such differences in approaches, let us analyze the history
of management from the following three different perspectives:

1. The classical approach

2. The neo-classical approach

3. The modern approach

Conventionally, the classical approach is considered as constituting the traditionally accepted

views, and not those views that have become classical due to time factor (old concepts of the
past). Classical here does not mean that the concepts and ideas are rooted way back in time
and are very old.

The classical approach of management emphasizes on organizational efficiency as a tool to

ensure organizational success. It believes in functional interrelationships, following certain
principles based on experience, bureaucratic structure, and the reward-punishment system.
Classical thoughts on management developed in three different directions—scientific
management, administration theory, and bureaucracy.

The neo-classical approach emphasized on human relations, the importance of the man
behind the machine, the importance of individual as well as group relationships, social
aspects, etc. This approach was pioneered in 1930 by Elton Mayo and his associates.
It further got extended to the behavioural sciences approach, pioneered by Abraham Maslow,
Chris Argyris, Douglas McGregor, and Rensis Likert. The quantitative approach (during
World War II), and the contingency (situational) approach were also developed and they also
form a part of the neo-classical theory. Modern management thought combines the concepts
of the classical approach with the social and natural sciences. It emerged basically from
systems analysis.

8 Objectives of Organizational Behavior

The main objective of Organizational Behavior is to understand the human interactions in an

organization, find what is driving it and influence it for getting better results in attaining
business goals.

The organizations in which people work affect their thoughts, feelings, and actions. These
thoughts, feelings, and actions, in turn, affect the organization itself.
Organizational behavior studies the mechanisms governing these interactions, seeking to
identify and foster behaviors conducive to the survival and effectiveness of the organization.

Organization behavior’s objective is to set up an organizational culture, hiring the best people
and creating meaningful connections among them, resolving the conflicts, developing the
qualities of the employees, and establish a firm and clear leadership chain.

We have identified 8 objectives of organizational behavior;

1. Job Satisfaction
2. Finding the Right People
3. Organizational Culture
4. Leadership and Conflict Resolution
5. Understanding the Employees Better
6. Understand how to Develop Good Leaders
7. Develop a Good Team
8. Higher Productivity

1. Job Satisfaction

Understanding organizational behavior can shed light on the factors that can foster or
hamper job satisfaction, such as physical settings, organizational rewards and punishments
or work-group characteristics.

Job satisfaction, in turn, can foster higher productivity and reduced turnover, while providing
more leverage for the recruitment of top talent.
 2. Finding the Right People

A ship with all sails and no anchors would flounder, one with all anchors and no sails would
not get anywhere.

Organizational behavior can help find the right mix of talents and working styles
required for the achievement of the task at hand.

This can assist in deciding who to include in a team or task force, as well as in deciding who
to promote to a leadership position or even the ideal profile for new hires.

3. Organizational Culture

As organizations grow larger, it may become difficult to keep a sense of common purpose
and unity of direction.

Organizational behavior is useful for understanding and designing the communication

channels and leadership structures that can reinforce organizational culture.

As rapidly evolving business environments force organizations to adapt, entering, for

example, into global markets or utilizing virtual workforce, organizational behavior can assist
in maintaining a clear identity without losing flexibility and adaptability.
 4. Leadership and Conflict Resolution

Playing by the book and not making waves may be fine for some organizations, but the
command-and-control mentality of the manufacturing age may become counterproductive in
the knowledge market.

Organizational behavior can assist in fostering leadership, pro-activity and creative problem-
solving.

When creativity is allowed, the divergence of opinions is unavoidable, but organizational

behavior can provide the leadership and the arbitrage dynamics required for turning conflicts
into constructive idea exchanges.

5. Understanding the Employees Better

Organizational behavior studies help us understand why employees behave the way they do,
and also thereby predict how they are going to behave m the future.
 6. Understand how to Develop Good Leaders

Organizational behavior patterns help in predicting who among the employees have the
potential to become leaders. They also teach us how to mold these employees so that their
leadership potential is utilized to its fullest.

7. Develop a Good Team

An organization is only as good as the weakest member of its team. All members of the
teamwork in coordination and must be motivated to work together to achieve the best results.

The teamwork theories of organizational behavior are an essential tool in the hands of any
manager.
 8. Higher Productivity

All of this leads us to the most important goal of achieving the highest productivity in
realizing the visions and goals of any organization.

If implemented well, the organizational behavior principles help in motivating all the
members to do their best. The levels of motivation can be the difference between a good and
a bad result.

Organizational Behavior has so many objectives by which it serves the organizations,

individuals, groups and in a word all the stakeholders.

The primary objective of Organization behavior is achieving higher productivity and

accomplishing the goals of the organization.

For that OB scientifically tries to understand the employee behavior within the organization
and tries to control, improve, develop it.

Organisational Behaviour – Importance of Organisational Behaviour

OB can touch every spectrum of business competitiveness by explaining, predicting, and

influencing the behaviour of people.

Let us look at some of them:

1. Creates Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Everyone knows that the voice of Lata
Mangeshkar is very melodious. It is valuable, rare and difficult to imitate. Hence, she has
been having little or no competition for long and no one could substitute her. This analogy
explains sustainable competitive advantage. Resource-based view of firms asserts that
competitive advantage is created through valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable
resources.

OB converts people in an organisation into valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable

through various OB practices aligned to achieve goals. For example, OB can create a culture
of innovation, performance, knowledge sharing, and trust through a combination of
individual development, team design, and leadership development.

Google would meet this bill and this is the reason why it is difficult to beat them. Though OB
deals with developing people in the organisation, its reverberations can be felt by the
customers too. If the employees are not happy or do not behave appropriately with the
customers, the result can be disastrous.

2. Individual Component: Rajiv is not able to get results in sales and finds the job very
stressful. His boss suspects his introvert nature. If we had a psychometric test before selecting
him for the job, this situation could have been avoided. If we erred in selection, we can still
confirm his personality trait and shift him to another job profile where he can succeed. A
third alternative is to train him to change his behaviour.

This illustrates that OB is important to accomplish the following:

i. Identify the underlying reasons for poor or non-performance and enable change.

ii. Help a person to modify his/her behaviour to achieve full potential by identifying what
motivates a person, how the person can learn and be more creative, and manage stress. In
other words, OB can facilitate taking a whole gamut of actions required for the person to
contribute to competitiveness.

3. Group/Team Component: A company had created two teams simultaneously to develop a

new product. The Vice-President, product development, had done so to create internal
competition and speed up the product development to beat the competition.

After three months, Team A’ had made no progress, but Team ‘B’ was on the verge of testing
the first prototype. Both teams were full of bright people. Hence, the Vice-President won-
dered what had happened to Team A’. After some deliberation, one Ms Shami Jain was
transferred from Team ‘B’ to Team A’.

She realised that Team A’ had far better ideas, but was unable to take a decision. She
championed one of the ideas, and within a month, Team A’ came out with a prototype, which
was later adopted by the company. What did the Vice-President do? She used her knowledge
of Team Wheel from OB and transferred a person who could get Team A’ to decide. This
illustrates the importance of OB in designing effective teams.

4. Organisational Component: OB helps in designing, structuring, and changing culture to

create a learning and innovative organisation. It suggests ways to implant an organisational
sub-culture within the overall culture.

For instance, although employees and organisations in Kerala respond to frequent ‘hartals’
(enforced stoppage of work as a method of protest adopted by political parties in India),
employees of various organisations working in the Technopark in Trivandrum, the capital of
Kerala, where the IT industries are located, do not participate in such hartals. It shows the
existence of a sub-culture in companies located in the Technopark.

5. Leadership Component: Kasper Rorsted is known for transforming Henkel. Armed with
the knowledge of OB, he reinvented the culture of Henkel into a ‘winning culture’. His
leadership style, knowledge of the leadership style of his team, and understanding of the
methods to change the behaviour of people helped him create the winning culture. Leading
organisations through crisis and creating transformation are strong contributions of OB.

6. External Forces Component: Southwest Airline, the pioneer of the low cost airlines in the
US, is widely known for its innovative and fun loving working environment. In fact, having a
fun loving nature was the first requirement to get a job in the company. The management
actually sponsored its union and encouraged them negotiate even wages. Ludicrous! Don’t
you think so?`

S-O-B-C MODEL
SOBC Model This model is used to identify the major variables in OB and to show how they
relate to one another. The letters S-O-B-C stands for Stimulus Organism-Behaviour-
Consequences respectively Framework of this model is based on social learning. OB model
says that internal cognition (O) lead to behaviour (B) S-B-C model emphasizes the need to
identify observable contingencies (S and C) for the prediction and control of behaviour (B) S-
O-BC is the expanded model which recognizes the interactive nature of the environment (S
and C) the person's cognition (O) and the behaviour itself (B) in the determining behaviour.
According to this model causes for the behaviour, the behaviour itself and the effects of the
behaviour can be observable or non-observable. S-O-B-C model does not abandon the
emphasis on behaviour, it merely expands the group of variables to include cognitive
processes and observable (covert) and non-observable (overt) behaviours. Thus S-O-B-C
model is an electric modei taken from both cognitive and behaviouristic approaches, but it is
based mainly on the new social learning approach. This model can perhaps best meet the
goals of organizational behaviour. The S-0 portion deals with understanding and the BC
portion deals with prediction and control. If the organizational situation is substituted for S,
the organizational participant is substituted for O and the dynamics and applications are put
into C, the model can serve as conceptual framework for the study of OB. The S-O-B-C
model is used to identify the major variables in OB and to show how they relate to one
another.

SOBC model in detail:

https://documen.site/download/sobc-models-of-ob-iiswbm-eve-website_pdf

ALL THE BEST

 Unit-2

ATTITUDE
Formation/Sources of Attitudes:

Attitudes refer to the feelings and beliefs of “individuals or groups of

individuals. But the question is how these feelings and beliefs developed? The
point which has been stressed by many people are that attitudes are acquired,
but not inherited. A person acquires these attitudes from several sources.

The Attitudes are acquired but not important sources of acquiring attitudes are
as discussed below:

1. Direct Personal Experience: A person’s direct experience with the attitude

object determines his attitude towards it. The personal experience of an
individual, whether it is favourable or unfavourable, will affect his attitude
deeply. These attitudes which are based on personal experience are difficult to
change.

For example, an individual joins a new job, which is recommended to him by

his friend. But when he joins the job, he find his work repetitive, supervisors too
tough and co-workers not so co-operative, he would develop a negative attitude
towards his job, because the quality of his direct experience with the job is
negative.

2. Association: Sometimes an individual comes across a new attitude object

which may be associated with an old attitude object. In such a case, the attitude
towards the old attitude object may be transferred towards the new attitude
object. For example, if a new worker remains most of the time in the company
of a worker, who is in the good books of the supervisor, and towards whom the
supervisor has a positive attitude, the supervisor is likely to develop a
favourable attitude towards the new worker also. Hence the positive attitude for
the old worker has been transferred towards the new worker because of the
association between the old and the new worker.

3. Family and Peer Groups: Attitudes like values are acquired from parents,
teachers and peer group members. In our early years, we begin modeling our
attitudes after those we admire, respect or may be even fear. We observe the
way our family and friends behave and we shape our attitudes and behaviour to
align with theirs. We do so even without being told to do so and even without
having direct experience. Similarly, attitudes are acquired from peer groups in
colleges and organisations. For example, if the right thing is to visit “Hot
Millions”, or the “Domino’s”, you are likely to hold that attitude. If your parents
support one political party, without being told to do so, you automatically start
favouring that party.

4. Neighbourhood: The neighbourhood in which we live has certain cultural

facilities, religious groupings and ethnic differences. Further, it has people, who
are neighbours. These people may be Northerners, Southerners etc. The people
belonging to different cultures have different attitudes and behaviours. Some of
these we accept and some of these we deny and possibly rebel. The conformity
or rebellion in some respects is the evidence of the attitudes we hold.

5. Economic Status and Occupations: The economic status and occupational

position of the individual also affect his attitude formation. Our socio-economic
background influences our present and future attitudes. Research findings have
shown that unemployment disturbs former religious and economic values.
Children of professional class tend to be conservatives. Respect for the laws of
the country is associated with increased years of higher education.

6. Mass Communications: Attitudes are generally less stable as compared to

values. Advertising messages for example, attempt to alter the attitude of the
people toward a certain product or service. For example, if the people at
Hyundai Santro can get you to hold a favourable feeling toward their cars, that
attitude may lead to a desirable behaviour (for them)-your purchase of a Santro
car.

All these sources can be illustrated with the help of the following figure:

Ways of Overcoming the Barriers and Changing the Attitudes: A few

important ways in which the barriers can be overcome and the attitudes can be
changed are as explained below:
1. Providing New Information: One of the ways of changing the attitudes is by
providing new information. Sometimes, this information will change a person’s
beliefs and in this process his attitudes. This is specifically true when the reason
for the negative attitude is insufficient or misleading information. For example,
people generally have a negative attitude towards the staff at railway reservation
counters.

They believe that the staff avoids the work. Therefore, whenever there is some
delay in getting the reservation, people express their displeasure towards the
staff. Such a negative attitude can be changed by drawing the attention of public
towards the circumstances in which the staff works. Sometimes, the staff is to
deal with illiterate or ignorant passengers which consume a lot of time.

2. Use of Fear: A second way of changing the attitudes is through the use of
fear. Research has found out that fear can cause some people to change their
attitude. However, the degree of fear is very important for the final outcome.

For example, the department of health and social welfare prepares an

antismoking commercial. If the commercial threatens the people that they will
die of cancer if they don’t quit smoking, people simply shut it out and refuse to
listen because it is too threatening. As a result the commercial will not have the
desired impact. On the other hand, if before giving the advertisement of a
cigarette, we give a statutory warning that “cigarette smoking is injurious to
health”, it is a very low level fear and people often ignore it. Therefore, health
officials should find commercials that use only moderate fear arousal.

3. Resolving Discrepancies: Another way of changing the attitudes is by

resolving discrepancies between attitudes and behaviour. For example, research
shows that when a person has more than one offer of a job and he has to make a
choice, he often feels that his final choice may have been a mistake.

However, the theory of cognitive dissonance says that this mild conflict or
dissonance will not last long because people will try to actively reduce the
dissonance by attitude and behaviour change. When he takes the new job and
starts working, he will start having negative feelings towards the jobs which he
has not chosen and positive ones towards the job which he has chosen. In the
end, he will conclude that he has indeed made the right choice.

4. Influence of Friends or Peers: Change of attitude can come about through

persuasion of friends or peers. Credibility of the others, especially the peers, is
important to effect change. Peers with high credibility shall exercise significant
influence as compared to those peers who have low credibility.

7. Training Sessions: The use of training sessions in which employees share and
personalize their experiences and practice new behaviours can be a powerful
stimulant for changing attitude.

8. Others: Research has proved the following points which will help in changing
the attitudes:

(i) An individual is more likely to change a privately held attitude than the one
he has stated publicly.

(ii) An individual from a culturally deprived environment who holds a number

of hostile attitudes may change when he is given opportunities for education.

(iii) A person from a privileged back ground, who has always held to a
democratic attitude, may become negative towards some group because of some
unfortunate experience.

Through continued interaction with others holding similar attitudes, one can be
influenced in a positive or negative direction.

Values Definition – What is Values?

A value system is viewed as a relatively permanent perceptual frame work

which influences the nature of an individual’s behaviour. The values are the
attributes possessed by an individual and thought desirable. Values are similar
to attitudes but are more permanent and well built in nature.

A value may be defined as a “concept of the desirable, an internalized criterion

or standard of evaluation a person possesses. Such concepts and standards are
relatively few and determine or guide an individual’s evaluations of the many
objects encountered in everyday life.”

According to M. Haralambos, “A value is a belief that something is good and

desirable”.
According to R.K. Mukherjee, “Values are socially approved desires and goals
that are internalized through the process of conditioning, learning or
socialization and that become subjective preferences, standards, and
aspirations”.

According to Zaleznik and David, “Values are the ideas in the mind of men
compared to norms in that they specify how people should behave. Values also
attach degrees of goodness to activities and relationships”

According to I. J. Lehner and N.J. Kube, “Values are an integral part of the
personal philosophy of life by which we generally mean the system of values by
which we live. The philosophy of life includes our aims, ideals, and manner of
thinking and the principles by which we guide our behavior”

According to T. W. Hippie, “Values are conscious or unconscious motivators

and justifiers of the actions and judgment”

Familiar examples of values are wealth, loyalty, independence, equality, justice,

fraternity and friendliness. These are generalized ends consciously pursued by
or held up to individuals as being worthwhile in them.

Importance of Values:

Values are important to the study of organisational behaviour because of the

following points signifying their importance:

(i) Values lay the foundations for the understanding of attitudes and motivation.

(ii) Personal value system influences the perception of individuals.

(iii) Value system influences the manager’s perception of the different

situations.

(iv) Personal value system influences the way in which a manager views the
other individuals and the groups of individuals in the organisation.

(v) Value system also influences a manager’s decisions and his solutions to the
various problems.
(vi) Values influence the attitudes and behaviours. An individual will get more
job satisfaction if his values align with the organisation’s policies. If the
organisation’s policies are different from his views and values, he will be
disappointed; the disappointment will lead to job dissatisfaction and decline in
performance.

(vii) The challenge and reexamination of established work values constitute

important corner stone’s of the current management revolution all over the
world. Hence, an understanding of the values becomes a necessity.

Types of Values:

Milton Rokeach Classification: Extensive research conducted by the noted

psychologist Milton Rokeach, identifies two basic types of values.

1. Terminal Values:A terminal value is an ultimate goal in a desired status or

outcome. These lead to the ends to be achieved.

2. Instrumental Values: Instrumental values relate to means for achieving

desired ends. It is a tool for acquiring a terminal value.

The combination of terminal and instrumental values an individual has, create

an enduring cluster of values which is his value system. Thus, according to this
survey, our values and value system are primarily the determinants of who and
what we are as individuals.
Allport, Vernon and Lindzey Classification:

G.W. Allport, P.E. Vernon and G. Lindzey have categorized values into six
major types as follows:

1. Theoretical: Interest in the discovery of truth through reasoning and

systematic thinking. The ideal theoretical man values the discovery of truth.

2. Economic: Interest in usefulness and practicality, including the accumulation

of wealth. The ideal economic man values what is useful and concerned with
practical affairs.

3. Aesthetic: Interest in beauty, form, music, nature and artistic harmony. The
ideal aesthetic man values artistic and aesthetic experiences in life, though he
himself may not be creative.

4. Social: Interest in people and human relationships. The ideal social man
places great values on affiliation and love. He tends to be kind and sympathetic
to other individuals.
5. Political: Interest in gaining power and influencing other people. The ideal
political man places great value on power.

6. Religious: Interest in unity and understanding the cosmos as a whole. The

highest value for the ideal religious man may be called unit. Different people
give different importance to the above mentioned six values. Every individual
gives ranking to the values from one to six. This is very important for
understanding the behaviour of the people.

Sources of Values:

1. Family Factor: The most important factor which influences the value system
of an individual is his immediate family. Some values are inculcated in A
person learn and develops values from the following sources the individuals
from the childhood and remain in his mind throughout his life. The child rearing
practices the parents adopt shape the personality of the human being. Family is
the most influential factor in the individual’s learning of social behaviour,
values and norms.

2. Social Factors: Out of all the social factors school plays the most important
role in developing the value system of an individual. The child learns the basic
discipline from the school. Moreover, the interactions with the teachers,
classmates and other staff members in the schools and colleges make the child
inculcate values important to the teaching-learning process. Other social factors
which may affect values are religious economic and political institutional in the
society.

3. Personal Factors: Personal traits such as intelligence, ability, appearance and

educational level of the person determine his development of values. For
example, if a person is highly intelligent, he will understand the values faster. If
he is highly educated, high values will be inculcated in him by his school and
college.

4. Cultural Factors: Cultural factors include everything that is learned and

passed on from generation to generation. Culture includes certain beliefs and
other patterns of behaviour. An individual is a participant in social culture,
group culture and organisational culture. Thus, he is known as a composite of
many cultural elements. Culture is based on certain implicit and explicit values.
For example, whether a person is co-operative, friendly or hostile depends upon
to which culture he belongs to Individual relationships are different in different
cultures and within certain groups of society also. Whether, the individual
values money making or doing service to the mankind again depends upon his
cultural background.

5. Religious Factors: Individuals, generally, receive strength and comfort from

their religion. Religion comprises of a formal set of values which are passed on
from generation to generation. Advancement in technology has under viewed
faith in traditional religious beliefs and values.

6. Life Experiences: A man learns the most from his own personal life
experience. Sometimes man can learn from the experience of others also. In the
long run, most of the values which influence our behaviour are validated by the
satisfaction we have experienced in pursuing them. Individuals work out their
values on the basis of what seems most logical to them.

Values carry importance in direct proportion to how much faith the individual
has in them. He should have those values which can stand the test of reality. He
should not have rigid values but flexible system which can change with the
changes in the individual himself, his life situation and the socio-economic
environment.

7. Role Demands: The role demand refers to the behaviour associated with a
particular position in the organisation. All organisations have some formal and
some informal code of behaviour. Role demand can create problems when there
is a role conflict. Thus, the managers will have to quickly learn the value system
prevalent in the organisation.

If they want to move up the ladder of success. For example, if the informal code
of behaviour says that the manager must mix up socially with the subordinates,
he should learn to do so even though, his personal value system conflicts with
his role as a manager.

8. Halo Effect: The halo effect refers to the tendency of judging people on the’
basis of a single trait, which may be good or bad, favourable or un-favourable.
Sometimes, we judge a person by one first impression about him or her. For
example, if a person is kind, he will also be perceived as good, able, helpful,
cheerful, nice, and intelligent and so on.
On the other hand, if a person is abrasive, he shall also be perceived as bad,
awful, unkind, aggressive, harmful and wicked. Thus, what one sees in the
universe depends partly on one’s inner needs. Thus, with the help of halo effect,
we see certain values in others which are actually not there, but we perceive
them to be there.

PERSONALITY

Personality can be defined as those inner psychological characteristics that both

determine and reflect how a person think and act in an environment.

The inner characteristics of personality are specific qualities, attributes, traits,

factors and mannerism that distinguish one individual from other individuals.
Personalities are likely to influence the individual’s product and store choices.
They also affect the way consumer responds to a firm’s communication efforts.
Personality is a pattern of stable states and characteristics of a person that
influences his or her behaviour toward goal achievement. Each person has
unique ways of protecting these states.

Personality is the fundamental and foremost determinant of individual

behaviour. It seeks to integrate the physiological and psychological facets of an
individual to put them into action. Personality consists of an individual’s
characteristics and distinctive ways of behaviour.

Probably the most meaningful approach would be to include both the person
and the role as Floyd L Ruch does in his definition. He states that:

Human personality includes:

 External appearance and behaviour or social stimulus value.

 Inner awareness of self as a permanent organising force.

 The particular pattern or organisation of measurable traits, both “inner

and “outer”.

Personality Meaning: The word personality is derived from a Greek word

“persona” which means “to speak through”. Personality is the combination of
characteristics or qualities that forms a person’s unique identity.
It signifies the role which a person plays in public. Every individual has a
unique, personal and major determinant of his behavior that defines his/her
personality.

Personality Definition: Personality Definition by Authors: No common

definition of personality has so far been arrived at. Every individual defines
personality in a different way which includes trait factors and physical
appearance.

The dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychophysical

systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment (Gordon
Allport)

Personality is a broad, amorphous designation relating to fundamental

approaches of persons to others and themselves. To most psychologists and
students of behaviour, this term refers to the study of the characteristic traits of
an individual, relationships between these traits and the way in which a person
adjusts to other people and situations. (J.B Kolasa)

Personality is a very diverse and complex psychological concept. The word

‘personality’ may mean something like outgoing, invigorating interpersonal
abilities … but we must also recognize and explain the fact that development
results in man acquiring a distinctiveness or uniqueness which gives him
identity which enables him and us to recognize him as apart from others. These
distinguishing characteristics are summarized by the term ‘personality. (James
D Thompson and Donald Van Houten)

Personality is how people affect others and how they understand and view
themselves, as well as their pattern of inner and outer measurable traits and the
person situation interaction. (Fred Luthans)

as the most adequate conceptualisation of an individual’s behaviour in all its

details which the scientist can provide at a moment of time. (McClelland)

Personality in Organisational Behavior (OB): Personality in Organisational

Behavior of an individual plays an extremely important role in assessing the
behaviour of a person at an organization.
In case an individual who is holding a senior position in an organization has a
wrong type of personality, it may lead to a very bad impact on the relationship
and ultimately it may lead to protests and unrest at the workplace.

Sometimes the personality difficulties are the root cause of labour strikes. No
matter how good the superior is in technical knowledge or other behavioural
characteristics, it is the ‘temperament’ of the superior that is crucial in ensuring
a cordial interaction with subordinates. Many businesses have realized the
importance of leadership in an organization in shaping the personality of
employees

Determinants of Personality

The determinants of personality can be grouped in five broad categories:

 Biological Factors

 Cultural Factors

 Family Factors

 Social Factors

 Situational Factors
Biological Factors: The study of the biological contributions to personality
may be studied under three heads:

Heredity: Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception.

Physical stature, facial attractiveness, sex, temperament, muscle composition
and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are
considered to be inherent from one’s parents.

The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s

personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.

Brain: The second biological approach is to concentrate on the role that the
brain plays in personality. The psychologists are unable to prove empirically the
contribution of the human brain in influencing personality.

Preliminary results from the electrical stimulation of the brain (ESB) research
give an indication that a better understanding of human personality and
behaviour might come from the study of the brain.

Biofeedback: Until recently, physiologists and psychologists felt that certain

biological functions such as brainwave patterns, gastric and hormonal
secretions, and fluctuations in blood pressure and skin temperature were beyond
conscious control.

Now some scientists believe that these involuntary functions can be consciously
controlled through biofeedback techniques. In BFT, the individual learns the
internal rhythms of a particular body process through electronic signals that are
feedback from equipment that is wired to the body.

Physical Features: A vital ingredient of the personality, an individual’s

external appearance, is biologically determined. The fact that a person is tall or
short, fat or skinny, black or white will influence the person’s effect on others
and this in turn, will affect the self-concept.

Cultural Factors: Among the factors that influence personality formation is the
culture in which we are raised, early conditioning, norms prevailing within the
family, friends and social groups and other miscellaneous experiences that
impact us.

The culture largely determines attitudes towards independence, aggression,

competition, cooperation and a host of other human responses.

According to Paul H Mussen, “each culture expects, and trains, its members to
behave in ways that are acceptable to the group. To a marked degree, the child’s
cultural group defines the range of experiences and situations he is likely to
encounter and the values and personality characteristics that will be reinforced
and hence learned.”

Family Factors: Whereas the culture generally prescribes and limits what a
person can be taught, it is the family, and later the social group, which selects,
interprets and dispenses the culture. Thus, the family probably has the most
significant impact on early personality development.

A substantial amount of empirical evidence indicates that the overall home

environment created by the parents, in addition to their direct influence, is
critical to personality development.
The parents play an especially important part in the identification process,
which is important to the person’s early development.

According to Mischel, the process can be examined from three different

perspectives.

 Identification can be viewed as the similarity of behaviour including

feelings and attitudes between child and model.

 Identification can be looked at as the child’s motives or desires to be like

the model.

 It can be viewed as the process through which the child actually takes on
the attributes of the model.

From all three perspectives, the identification process is fundamental to the

understanding of personality development. The home environment also
influences the personality of an individual. Siblings (brothers and sisters) also
contribute to personality.

Social Factors: There is increasing recognition given to the role of other

relevant persons, groups and especially organisations, which greatly influence
an individual’s personality.

This is commonly called the socialization process.

Socialization involves the process by which a person acquires, from the

enormously wide range of behavioural potentialities that are open to him or her,
those that are ultimately synthesized and absorbed.

Socialization starts with the initial contact between a mother and her new infant.
After infancy, other members of the immediate family – father, brothers, sisters
and close relatives or friends, then the social group: peers, school friends and
members of the work group – play influential roles.

Socialization process is especially relevant to organisational behaviour because

the process is not confined to early childhood, taking place rather throughout
one’s life. In particular, the evidence is accumulating that socialization may be
one of the best explanations for why employees behave the way they do in
today’s organisations.
Situational Factors: Human personality is also influenced by situational
factors. The effect of the environment is quite strong. Knowledge, skill and
language are obviously acquired and represent important modifications of
behavior.

An individual’s personality, while generally stable and consistent, does change

in different situations. The varying demands of different situations call forth
different aspects of one’s personality.

According to Milgram, “Situation exerts an important press on the individual. It

exercises constraints and may provide a push. In certain circumstances, it is not
so much the kind of person a man is, as the kind of situation in which he is
placed that determines his actions”. We should therefore not look at personality
patterns in isolation.

Nature of Personality

Personality is the psychological growth and development within the ambit of

change. Hubert Bonner underlines six propositions to clarify the nature of
personality. These propositions are relevant to decision making by an
administrator.

 Totality of acts

 Personality and Environment

 Personality Depicts consistency

 Personality is goal-oriented behaviour

 Time Integrating structure

 Personality Structure
Totality of Acts: In an organisation, human behaviour is the point of
culmination which is preceded by a number of acts. It is the totality of these acts
in the form of responded behaviour which is relevant to both individual and the
organisation. The isolated psychological or physiological aspect of individual in
personality is of no use for administrative decision or action.

Personality and Environment: Personality and environment are two

interdependent variables of human behaviour. Personality gets moulded
according to the environment, it is also a fact that it is the environment which
stimulates personality to action.

Personality Depicts consistency: Normal personality is dynamic due to the

environmental setting around him. Personality can be flexible to the point of
consistency in a different environmental setting.

Personality is goal-oriented behavior: Every individual seeks to achieve the

desired goal through his personality. The process of goal selection is in itself a
dynamic quality of personality which also forges unity between personality and
goal-directed behaviour.
Time Integrating structure: Personality provides a synthesis of the retrospect
and the prospect because the future is as much related to past as the past is to
future.

Personality Structure: Personality structure consists of three dimensions –

determinants, stages and traits.

THE BIG FIVE MODEL

The Big Five Model, also known as the Five-Factor Model, is the most widely
accepted personality theory held by psychologists today. The theory states that
personality can be boiled down to five core factors, known by the acronym
CANOE or OCEAN:

The best way to remember the Big Five Personality Model traits is to remember
the acronym OCEAN: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion,
agreeableness and neuroticism.

Openness to Experience: This trait is often referred to as the depth of

someone’s mental experiences, or imagination. It encompasses someone’s
desire to try new things, be open and think creatively. People who score high in
this area are generally artistic and curious, while those who score low tend to be
conventional and stay in their comfort zones.

Conscientiousness: This trait measures a person’s reliability and dependability.

Someone who scores higher in this area is more goal-oriented, tends to control
impulses and is usually very organized. They are likely to see success in school
and excel as a leader. Those who score lower in this area are more likely to be
impulsive and procrastinate on assignments.

Extroversion: The extroversion trait indicates how social and talkative a person
may be. Those scoring high in extroversion are generally more assertive,
socially confident and recharge from interacting with people, while those who
score lower are more likely to seek solitude and introspection.
Agreeableness: Agreeableness shows how well someone can get along with
other people. People scoring high in this trait are usually well-liked,
sympathetic and affectionate, and those who score lower are perceived as blunt,
rude and sarcastic.

Neuroticism: The last OCEAN trait is also known as emotional stability. It

measures how well a person can control emotions like anxiety and sadness.
Scoring high in this area indicates that someone may be prone to those emotions
and may also have low self-esteem. Those receiving a low score are probably
more confident and adventurous.

The Big Five Personality Traits in the Workplace

Many studies have been conducted on the OCEAN model and behavior, and
how these traits can somewhat predict a person’s workplace social behavior and
performance. Having a deeper understanding of these behaviors can help
coworkers and managers create trust, better relate to one another and cultivate a
stronger workplace culture.

Which of the Big Five Personality Traits Has the Biggest Influence on Job
Performance?

According to Essentials of Organizational Behavior: 14th Edition, the big five

personality dimension that has the biggest influence on job performance is
conscientiousness. Those who score higher in this trait are likely to have higher
levels of job-related knowledge as those who are highly conscientious learn
more. They’re likely to have the aspects of a strong leader. However, they’re
also more likely to put work first over anything else and aren’t as likely to adapt
to changing situations. They may face issues over learning a complex skill early
on because they tend to focus on their performance instead of the learning
process, and they are generally not as creative.

How Do the Other Personality Traits Play a Role?

Neuroticism high scores may indicate a higher propensity toward employee
burnout, as those employees have a tougher time managing their emotions. A
high emotional stability is linked to high life and job satisfaction, as well as
lower stress levels. Additionally, those with emotional stability have a better
chance of dealing with workplace demands, especially fast-paced change.

Extroverts are people who take charge of situations. Typically, a high

extroversion score shows that that person may have a strong leadership ability.
They are more likely to behave impulsively than introverts, however.

People who are open also have an easier time with workplace changes and are
more adaptable. They are also usually effective leaders and are “less susceptible
to a decline in performance over a longer time period,” according to Essentials
of Organizational Behavior.

Agreeable people are generally liked more and tend to follow the rules. They
also demonstrate higher job satisfaction and are less likely to be involved in
workplace accidents. Those who score low on agreeableness are more likely to
behave in a way that creates counterproductive work behavior and may have
less career success over the long term.
An Overview of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-report inventory designed

to identify a person's personality type, strengths, and preferences. The
questionnaire was developed by Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs
based on their work with Carl Jung's theory of personality types. Today, the
MBTI inventory is one of the most widely used psychological instruments in the
world.

The Development of the Myers-Briggs Test

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, also known as the MBTI, is a personality

assessment developed in the 1940s by Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers.
Based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung in his written work “Personality
Types“, the mother-daughter team built upon Jung’s work and categorized
human behavior and personality into 16 distinct groups.

Both Myers and Briggs were fascinated by Jung's theory of psychological types
and recognized that the theory could have real-world applications. During
World War II, they began researching and developing an indicator that could be
utilized to help understand individual differences.
By helping people understand themselves, Myers and Briggs believed that they
could help people select occupations that were best suited to their personality
types and lead healthier, happier lives.

Myers created the first pen-and-pencil version of the inventory during the
1940s, and the two women began testing the assessment on friends and family.
They continued to fully develop the instrument over the next two decades.

An Overview of the Test

Based on the answers to the questions on the inventory, people are identified as
having one of 16 personality types. The goal of the MBTI is to allow
respondents to further explore and understand their own personalities including
their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, possible career preferences, and
compatibility with other people.

No one personality type is "best" or "better" than another. It isn't a tool designed
to look for dysfunction or abnormality. Instead, its goal is simply to help you
learn more about yourself. The questionnaire itself is made up of four different
scales.

Extraversion (E) – Introversion (I)

The extraversion-introversion dichotomy was first explored by Jung in his

theory of personality types as a way to describe how people respond and
interact with the world around them. While these terms are familiar to most
people, the way in which they are used in the MBTI differs somewhat from
their popular usage.

Extraverts (also often spelled extroverts) are "outward-turning" and tend to be

action-oriented, enjoy more frequent social interaction, and feel energized after
spending time with other people. Introverts are "inward-turning" and tend to be
thought-oriented, enjoy deep and meaningful social interactions, and feel
recharged after spending time alone. We all exhibit extraversion and
introversion to some degree, but most of us tend to have an overall preference
for one or the other.
Sensing (S) – Intuition (N)

This scale involves looking at how people gather information from the world
around them. Just like with extraversion and introversion, all people spend some
time sensing and intuiting depending on the situation. According to the MBTI,
people tend to be dominant in one area or the other.

People who prefer sensing tend to pay a great deal of attention to reality,
particularly to what they can learn from their own senses. They tend to focus on
facts and details and enjoy getting hands-on experience. Those who prefer
intuition pay more attention to things like patterns and impressions. They enjoy
thinking about possibilities, imagining the future, and abstract theories.

Thinking (T) – Feeling (F)

This scale focuses on how people make decisions based on the information that
they gathered from their sensing or intuition functions. People who prefer
thinking place a greater emphasis on facts and objective data.

They tend to be consistent, logical, and impersonal when weighing a decision.

Those who prefer feeling are more likely to consider people and emotions when
arriving at a conclusion.

Judging (J) – Perceiving (P)

The final scale involves how people tend to deal with the outside world. Those
who lean toward judging prefer structure and firm decisions. People who lean
toward perceiving are more open, flexible, and adaptable. These two tendencies
interact with the other scales.

Remember, all people at least spend some time engaged in extraverted

activities. The judging-perceiving scale helps describe whether you behave like
an extravert when you are taking in new information (sensing and intuiting) or
when you are making decisions (thinking and feeling).

The MBTI Types

Each type is then listed by its four-letter code:

ISTJ - The Inspector

ISTP - The Crafter

ISFJ - The Protector

ISFP - The Artist

INFJ - The Advocate

INFP - The Mediator

INTJ - The Architect

INTP - The Thinker

ESTP - The Persuader

ESTJ - The Director

ESFP - The Performer

ESFJ - The Caregiver

ENFP - The Champion

ENFJ - The Giver

ENTP - The Debater

ENTJ - The Commander

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator-2795583

Taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can provide a lot of insight into your
personality, which is probably why the instrument has become so enormously
popular. Even without taking the formal questionnaire, you can probably
immediately recognize some of these tendencies in yourself.
According to the Myers & Briggs Foundation, it is important to remember that
all types are equal and that every type has value.
When working in group situations in school or at work, for example,
recognizing your own strengths and understanding the strengths of others can be
very helpful. When you are working toward completing a project with other
members of a group, you might realize that certain members of the group are
skilled and talented at performing particular actions. By recognizing these
differences, the group can better assign tasks and work together on achieving
their goals.

Top 12 Personality Traits Influencing Organizational Behavior

This article throws light on the twelve major personality traits influencing
organizational behaviour, i.e, (1) Authoritarianism, (2) Bureaucratic Personality,
(3) Machiavellianism, (4) Introversion and Extroversion, (5) Problem Solving
Style, (6) Achievement Orientation, (7) Locus of Control, (8) Self Esteem, (9)
Self Monitoring, (10) Risk Taking, (11) ‘Type A’ and ‘Type B’ Personality, and
(12) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

1. Authoritarianism: Authoritarianism as a concept was developed by the

psychologist Adorno during World War II to measure susceptibility to
autocratic, fascistic or antidemocratic appeals. After that the concept was
extended to the human personality. According to Adorno, “This concept refers
to a belief that there should be status and power differences among people in
organisations.” Authoritarians tend to place high moral value on their beliefs
and are strongly oriented towards conformity of rules and regulations. They
naturally prefer stable and structured work environments which are governed by
clean rules and procedures.

Further, they believe obedience and respect for authority and blind acceptance
of authority. These people are generally conservatives concerned with
toughness and power, are close minded and generally less educated. But
because of their belief in acceptance of authority they make good followers,
work better under directive supervision and are more productive within
authoritarian organisational structure.
2. Bureaucratic Personality: The personality of a bureaucratic person is based
upon respect for organisational rules and regulations. He is different from an
authoritarian person in respect that his acceptance of authority is not total and
blind. A person who is bureaucratic in nature values subordination, conformity
to rules, impersonal and formal relationships. These people become better
supervisors when the type of work is routine, repetitive and proceduralised
because these people are not innovative, they do not like taking risks and feel
more at ease in following established directions.

3. Machiavellianism: This personality trait of Machiavellianism also known as

Mach is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the 16th century on
how to gain and use power.

The characteristics of high MACH employers are as follows:

(i) A Mach man is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance and believes that
ends can justify means.

(ii) A high Mach man manipulates more, wins more, are persuaded less and
persuade others more than the low machs.

(iii) High Mach people flourish when they interact face to face with others
rather than indirectly.

(iv) These people are successful when the situation has a minimum number of
rules and regulations.

(v) High Mach man has high self confidence and high self esteem. They are
cool and calculating and have no hesitation using others or taking advantage of
others in order to serve their own goals.

(vi) They are not easily swayed by a sense of friendship, trust or loyalty. They
are specially successful in exploiting structured situations and vulnerable
people.
We cannot conclude that whether high machs make good employees or not. The
answer will depend upon the type of the job and whether moral and ethical
values are considered in evaluating the performance of a person.

4. Introversion and Extroversion: These two terms are generally associated with
the interpersonal behaviour of an individual and his sociability. Extroverts are
gregarious and sociable individuals while introverts are shy, quiet and retiring.
It has been observed that introverts and extroverts people have different career
orientations and require different organisational environment to maximize
performance. Extroverts are more suitable for positions that require
considerable interaction with others that is why managerial positions are
dominated by extroverts.

Thus, we can say that to be an extrovert is a managerial trait to be a successful

manager. On the other hand, introvert people are more inclined to excel at tastes
that require thought and analytical skill. An extreme introvert works best alone
in a quiet office without external interruption or influence.

5. Problem Solving Style: Individuals have their own style of solving their
problems and making their decisions and this style of their affects their
personality in certain ways. There are four problem solving styles based upon
Don Hellriegll, John W. Slocum and Richard W. Woodman “organisational
behaviour”.

These styles are:

i) Sensation Feeling Style: The people who have the sensation feeling style are
dependable, friendly, social and they approach facts with human concerns.
These people are pragmatic, methodical and like jobs which involve human
contract and public relations. Some suitable areas of jobs for these people are
teaching, customer relations, social workers and marketing.

(ii) Sensation Thinking Style: People with sensation thinking style are practical,
logical, decisive and sensitive to details. These people prefer bureaucratic type
organisations. They are not highly suitable for jobs requiring interpersonal
relations. But these people are more skilled in technical jobs e.g. production,
accounting, engineering and computers.

(iii) Intuition Feeling style: The persons with intuition feeling style are
enthusiastic, people oriented, charismatic and helpful. The professions which
are suited to this style are public relations, advertising, politics and personnel.

(iv) Intuition Thinking Style: These people are very creative, energetic,
ingenious and like jobs which are challenging in terms of design and analysis
such as system design, law, research and development, top management and so
on.

6. Achievement Orientation: Achievement orientation or a high need to achieve

is a personality trait which varies among different types of people and can be
used to predict certain behaviour. The people with very high achievement
orientation strive to do things in a better way. They want to feel that their
success or failure is due to their own actions. These people do not like to
perform easy tasks where there is no challenge or tasks with very high amount
of risk as the failure rate is more.

These people like to do the acts with moderate difficulties, so that they can have
a sense of achievement also and on the other hand the failure rate is also not
very high. Or in other words, achievers will like to do the jobs where the
outcome is directly attributed to their efforts and chances of success are so-so.
The high achievers will do better in sports, management and sales where there is
moderate difficulty, rapid performance feedback and direct relationship between
effort and reward.

7. Locus of Control: Locus of control refers to an individual’s belief that events

are either within one’s control (Internal Locus of Control) or are determined by
forces beyond one’s control. Some people believe that they are the masters of
their own fate. Other people see themselves as pawns of fate, believing that
whatever happens to them in their lives is due to their luck or fate. The first type
is labeled as internals and the latter has been called externals. A PERSON’S
PERCEPTION OF THE SOURCE OF HIS OR HER FATE IS TERMED
LOCUS OF CONTROL. A large amount of research has consistently shown the
following characteristics of the internals and externals.

Internal Locus of Control:

i) A person with a strong internal locus of control has more control over his own
behavior. He believes that he controls events concerning his own life and his
internal traits determine what happens in a given situation. He believes that he is
the master of his own density.

(ii) These people are more active in seeking more information to make
decisions. They are better at retaining the information and are less satisfied with
the amount of information they possess.

(iii) Internals are more active socially.

(iv) Internals prefer skill achievement outcomes.

(v) Internals are more likely to use personally persuasive rewards and power
bases and less likely to use coercion.

(vi) These people are more independent and less susceptible to influence of
others.

(vii) The internals prefer participative management.

(viii) Research has shown that internally oriented people hold jobs of higher
Status, advance more rapidly in their careers.

(ix) Internals take more responsibility for their health and have better health
habits. As a result their incidents of sickness and of absenteeism are lower.

External Locus of Control:

(i) People who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have
higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work setting and are less
involved on jobs than are internals. They generally prefer directive
management.

(ii) Unlike the internals, these people prefer chance oriented awards.

(iii) A person with a strong ‘external locus of control’ feels that outside forces
are affecting the events in his life and he is at the mercy of destiny, chance or
other people. He believes that everything will happen by the will of God and
nothing or nobody can stop it. External locus of control refer

(iv) Unlike, the internals, the externals are more interested in job security and
not in advancement of careers.

(v) Whereas the internals prefer intrinsic rewards e.g. feeling of and he is at the
mercy of achievement, externals are more interested in extrinsic awards,
destiny, chance or other people. From the above mentioned traits of internals
and controls it can be concluded that internals would be better on sophisticated
tasks, which include most managerial and professional jobs or any other jobs
which require complex information processing and learning. In addition, they
are suited to jobs requiring initiative and independence of action. As against
this, externals would do well on jobs that are well structured and routine and in
which success depends heavily on coupling with the directions given by others.

8. Self Esteem: “Self Esteem refers to the feeling of like or dislike for oneself.”
“Self Esteem is the degree of respect a person has for himself.” This trait varies
from person to person as people differ in the degree to which they like or dislike
each other. The research on self esteem offers some interesting insights into
organisation behaviour.

A few of the research findings about self esteem are:

(i) Self esteem is directly related to the expectations for success. High self
esteem people believe that they possess the ability they need to succeed at work.

(ii) Individuals with high self esteem will take more risks in job selection. They
are more likely to choose unconventional jobs than people with low self esteem.
(iii) People with low self esteem are more susceptible to external influence than
are those with high self esteems. Low esteems are dependent on the receipt of
positive evaluations from others. As a result they are more likely to seek
approval from others and more prone to conform to the beliefs and behaviours
of those they respect than are the high esteem.

(iv) In managerial positions, the low esteems tend to be concerned with pleasing
others and, therefore, less likely to take unpopular stands than are high esteems.

(v) High esteems are more satisfied with their job than the low esteems.

(vi) High self esteem people are very friendly, affectionate, find it easy to form
interpersonal attachments and find good in other people. Low self esteem
people are usually critical of others, are generally depressed and blame others
for their own failures.

(vii) High esteem people are high performers while low esteem people
contribute to poor performance which in turn reinforces low self esteem.

9. Self Monitoring: “Self monitoring is a personality trait that measures an

individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external situational factors”.
Self monitoring is a personality trait which has recently received attention. The
research on self monitoring is in infancy, so predictions must be guarded.

However, prime evidence suggests the following points:

(i) As self monitoring refers to the individual’s ability to adjust his or her
behaviour to external factors, individuals with high self monitoring can show
considerable adaptability in adjusting their behaviour to external, situational
factors.

(ii) High self monitors can behave differently in different situations. They are
capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public, personal and
private selves. Low self monitors cannot deviate their behaviour. They tend to
display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situation; hence, there is
high behavioural consistency between who they are and what they do.
(iii) The high self monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behaviour of
others and are more capable of conforming than are low self monitors.

(iv) We can also hypothesize that high self monitors will be more successful in
managerial positions where individuals are required to play multiple and even
contradictory roles. The high self monitor is capable of putting different faces
for different audiences.

10. Risk Taking:

The propensity of people to assume risks or avoid risks varies from person to
person depending upon the willingness of the people to take chances. This
human trait will affect the decision making capability of a manager. This
individual personality trait will determine how long will it take a person to take
a decision or how much information will be needed before he takes a decision.

Some people are very conscious in nature, while the others are impulsive. An
impulsive person is a high risk taking manager; he will make rapid decisions
and use less information in making their choices than a very conscious and low
risk taking manager. But the research shows that the decision accuracy is
generally the same in both the groups.

Research has concluded that managers in organisations are risk aversive, but
still there are individual differences on this point. Some jobs specifically
demand high risk taking persons e.g. the job of a broker in a brokerage firm.
Because in this job for effective performance rapid decisions are required. On
the other hand, some jobs are such where risk taking may prove a major
obstacle e.g. the job of an accountant who performs auditing activities. This job
should be filled by, someone, with low risk taking trait.

11. ‘Type A’ and ‘Type B’ Personality: People who are impatient, aggressive
and highly competitive are termed as ‘Type A’ personality. But those who are
easy going, laid back and non-competitive are termed as ‘Type B’ personality.
Type ‘A’ people tend to be very productive as they work very hard. Their
negative side is that they are very impatient, good team players, more irritable
and have poor judgment. Type ‘B’ people do better on complex tasks involving
judgment and accuracy rather than speed and hard work.
Despite Type ‘A’s hard work, the Type ‘B’ people are the ones who appear to
make it to the top. Great sales persons are usually Type A’s while senior
executives are generally Type B’s. The reason is that promotions in corporate
and professional organisations usually go to those “who are wise rather than to
those who are merely hasty, to those who are tactful, rather than to those who
are hostile and to those who are creative rather than to those who are merely
agile in competitive stride.”

12. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): The personality theory proposed by

Carl Jung identified the way people preferred to perceive their environment.
Almost Twenty years later, Briggs and Myers developed the Myers – Briggs
type indicator (MBTI) a personality test that measured each of the traits in Carl
Jung’s model. MBTI is in-fact, one of the most widely used personality tests. It
is used by many organisations to select people for a particular position.

It measures how people focus their attention (extrovert or introvert), collect

information (sensing or intuition), process the same (thinking or feeling) and
finally direct themselves to the other world (judging or perceiving) MBTI then
combines the four classifications into 16 personality types.

The alphabet (E) denotes extrovert, (I) stands for introvert, (S) for sensing, (N)
for institution, (T) for thinking, (F) is feeling, (J) judging and (P) perceiving.
For example if we say marketing people tend to be ESTJ, this means that they
are extrovert, sensing, thinking and judging types. MBTI as a test of personality
type is so popular, that many organisations encourage their employees to reveal
their four letter type so that others in the organisation can better understand their
personality.

From the above mentioned personality traits, it becomes very clear that
understanding of personality is of immense help in the selection of right lands
of people for different jobs. Analysis of an individual’s personality wills reveals
his strong and weak points. A person may be unfit for one job but may be fit for
another because job requirements may be different, Understanding the
personality will also help in designing the training programmes for the
personnel in the organisation.
Personality helps the managers in understanding why do workers behave as they
do and what incentive schemes are to be designed to motivate the workers.
Further, personality has a great influence on work performance, particularly, in
a job with high human relations content, where most of the working day is spent
interacting with other people.

Personality is the major determinant of the person holding the key job. Each
man’s personality reveals itself in the way he works with his superior, his
subordinates and other people. As a result, when one person on a job changes,
everyone has to adjust to a whole series of changes in the way the work is
accomplished. All this will affect the individual performance as well as the
organisational performance.

PERCEPTION

Perception is the way we understand or interpret the things that are happening
around us. For instance, we find it easier to communicate with our friends and
family because we trust them and they trust us.

Perception is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory

information in order to represent and understand the environment. All
perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from
physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. It is not the passive receipt
of these signals but is shaped by learning, memory, expectation, and attention.

Perception depends on complex functions of the nervous system but

subjectively seems mostly effortless because this processing happens outside of
conscious awareness.

According to B. V. H. Gilmer, “Perception is the process of becoming aware of

situations, of adding meaningful associations to sensations.”

Uday Pareek said perception can be defined as “the process of receiving,

selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory stimuli or
data.”

According to S. P. Robbins, perception can be defined as “the process by which

individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environments.”
Perception includes the 5 senses; touch, sight, taste smell and sound. It also
includes what is known as perception, a set of senses involving the ability to
detect changes in body positions and movements.

Importance of Perception

Perception is a subjective, active and creative process through which we assign

meaning to sensory information to understand ourselves and others. It can be
defined as our recognition and interpretation of sensory information. It also
includes how we respond to the information.

It is the process by which an organism detects and interprets information from

the external world by means of the sensory receptors. It is our sensory
experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of
environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli.

Through the perceptual process, we gain information about the properties and

elements of the environment that are critical to our survival.

Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us
to act within our environment.

1. Perception is very important in understanding human behavior because

every person perceives the world and approaches life problems
differently. Whatever we see or feel is not necessarily the same as it
really is. When we buy something, it is not because it is the best, but
because we take it to be the best.
2. If people behave on the basis of their perception, we can predict their
behavior in the changed circumstances by understanding their present
perception of the environment. One person may be viewing the facts in
one way which may be different from the facts as seen by another viewer.
3. With the help of perception, the needs of various people can be
determined, because people’s perception is influenced by their needs.
4. Perception is very important for the manager who wants to avoid making
errors when dealing with people and events in the work setting. This
problem is made more complicated by the fact that different people
perceive the same situation differently. In order to deal with the
subordinates effectively, the managers must understand their perceptions
properly.
5. Perception can be important because it offers more than objective output;
it ingests an observation and manufactures an altered reality enriched
with previous experiences.
 6. Perception builds character (not necessarily good or bad character) that
defines different roles individuals fall into the clown, the hypocrite, the
self-righteous, the victim, etc..
7. It is vitally important if we want to get along with others to try to see
things from their perspective or walk in their shoes for a while. If we
walk in their shoes we will gain a new perspective about things and in
that understand the other and also can love and help the other more
appropriately.

Thus, for understanding human behavior, it is very important to understand their

perception, that is, how they perceive the different situations.

People’s behavior is based on their perceptions of what reality is, not on reality
itself. The world as it is perceived is the world that is important for
understanding human behavior.

Perceptual Process

The perceptual process allows us to experience the world around us.

In this overview of perception and the perceptual process, we will learn more
about how we go from detecting stimuli in the environment to actually taking
action based on that information and it can be organized into our existing
structures and patterns, and are then interpreted based on previous experiences.

Although the perception is a largely cognitive and psychological process, how

we perceive the people and objects around us affects our communication.
Actually perception process is a sequence of steps that begins with the
environment and leads to our perception of a stimulus and action in response to
the stimulus.

In order to fully understand how the perception process works, we have to

follow each of the following steps.

3 stages of perception process are;

1. Selection.
2. Organization.
3. Interpretation.
Selection: The world around us is filled with an infinite number of stimuli that
we might attend, but our brains do not have the resources to pay attention to
everything. Thus, the first step of perception is the decision of what to attend to.

When we attend to one specific thing in our environment — whether it is a

smell, a feeling, a sound, or something else entirely — it becomes the attended
stimulus. Selecting is the first part of the perception process, in which we focus
our attention on certain incoming sensory information. In selection, we choose
stimuli that attract our attention.

We focus on the ones that stand out to our senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and
touch). We take information through all five of our senses, but our perceptual
field includes so many stimuli that it is impossible for our brains to process and
make sense of it all. So, as information comes in through our senses, various
factors influence what actually continues on through the perception process.

Organization: Once we have chosen to attend to a stimulus in the environment,

the choice sets off a series of reactions in our brain. This neural process starts
with the activation of our sensory receptors (touch, taste, smell, sight, and
hearing).

Organizing is the second part of the perception process, in which we sort and
categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned cognitive
patterns. Three ways we sort things into patterns are by using proximity,
similarity, and difference.

Interpretation: After we have attended to a stimulus, and our brains have

received and organized the information, we interpret it in a way that makes
sense using our existing information about the world Interpretation simply
means that we take the information that we have sensed and organized and turn
it into something that we can categorize. By putting different stimuli into
categories, we can better understand and react to the world around us.

Perception of others involves sensing, organizing, and interpreting information

about people, and what they say and do. The sensation is a main characteristic
of perception as it relates to outside input. In the perceptual process, firstly the
perceiver should select what will be perceived. Then, the organization takes
place when listeners identify the type of sound and compare it to other sounds
heard in the past.

Interpretation and categorization are generally the most subjective areas of

perception, as they involve decisions about whether listeners like what they hear
and want to keep listening. We make immediate evaluations that cause
automatic judgments of positive and negative reactions toward others, which
occur outside of our awareness.

The selection, organization, and interpretation of perceptions can differ among

different people. On the basis of these, the perceptual output that means, values,
attitudes, behavior, etc. of the perceiver may differ.

Therefore, when people react differently in a situation, part of their behavior can
be explained by examining their perceptual process, and how their perceptions
are leading to their responses.

FACTORS INFLUENCING PERCEPTION

Our ideas, opinions and actions are usually responses to something else. It may
be a person or a situation that makes us think a certain way. Perception may
even be negative, which can have adverse effects in the workplace.

One’s attitudes, motivations, expectations, behavior and interests are some of

the factors affecting perception. Let’s explore these factors with examples to
understand the importance of perception in a professional setting.

1. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Every person is unique and brings different attitudes to a team. You may
work well when collaborating with others while your coworker prefers to
work in isolation. Each of these differences affects your perception of your
team and organization. You’ll behave differently when you’re working
with your colleague as opposed to someone else. Your perception of your
coworker shapes the way you work as well. In the workplace, it’s
necessary to respect these differences and work with others to create
harmony.

2. MOTIVATIONS
Say you want to work for a few years and gain enough experience to get
into business school for an MBA. Your motivations will impact your
perception of your work. You’re more likely to make just enough effort to
work well, get positive feedback and fulfill your requirements. So, our
motivations affect the way we approach a situation. When it comes
to teamwork, each member’s motivations will be different. But to achieve
collective goals, management has to bring everyone on the same page and
communicate their expectations.
 3. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
For Priyanka, her informal organization transformed into a traditional
hierarchical office. Her behavior as a professional had to change to
accommodate her external environment. When you’re working with others
and aiming to accomplish long-term goals, you have to meet them
halfway. An organization’s values, mission and beliefs are
important factors influencing perception.

4. PAST EXPERIENCES
Our past experiences shape us into who we are today. We can’t separate
ourselves from them. Past experiences are also significant factors
influencing perception. They shape our personal biases and opinions as
well as our expectations from others and ourselves. It’s important to be
open to changing our perceptions when situations change. For instance, the
Earth wasn’t always considered to be round.

5. EXTERNAL FACTORS
Perception isn’t only affected by internal or personal factors. External
factors affecting perception can include what people think of us, others’
expectations and cultural norms such as taboos or rules followed by
society.

The importance of perception is that it helps us define who we are, where we’re

headed and what we can do to be better. If you can learn to change your
perception of others by understanding them, you’ll build meaningful
relationships at work.

Errors in Perception

As seen above perception is the process of analyzing and understanding a

stimulus as it is. But it may not be always possible to perceive the stimuli as
they are. Knowingly or unknowingly, we mistake the stimulus and perceive it
wrongly.

Many times the prejudices in the individual, time of perception, unfavorable

background, lack of clarity of stimulus, confusion, conflict in mind and such
other factors are responsible for errors in perception.

There are some errors in perception;

 Illusion.
 Hallucination.
  Halo Effect.
 Stereotyping.
 Similarity.
 Horn Effect.
 Contrast.

Illusion: The illusion is a false perception. Here the person will mistake a
stimulus and perceive it wrongly.

For example, in the dark, a rope is mistaken as a snake or vice versa. The voice
of an unknown person is mistaken as a friend’s voice. A person standing at a
distance who is not known may be perceived as a known person.

Hallucination: Sometimes we come across instances where the individual

perceives some stimulus, even when it is not present.

This phenomenon is known as a hallucination. The person may see an object,

person, etc. or he may listen to some voice though there are no objects and
sounds in reality.

Selective Perception: Selective perception means the situation when people

selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background,
experience, and attitudes.

It means any characteristics that make a person, object, or event stand out will
increase the probability that it will be perceived. Because it is impossible for us
to assimilate everything we see, only certain stimuli can be taken in.

Halo Effect: The individual is evaluated on the basis of perceived positive

quality, feature or trait. When we draw a general impression about an individual
on the basis of a single characteristic, such as intelligence, sociability, or
appearance, a halo effect is operating.

In other words, this is the tendency to rate a man uniformly high or low in other
traits if he is extraordinarily high or low in one particular trait: If a worker has
few absences, his supervisor might give him a high rating in all other areas of
work.
Stereotyping: People usually can fall into at least one general category based on
physical or behavioral traits then they will be evaluated. When we judge
someone on the basis of our perception of the group to which he or she belongs,
we are using the shortcut called stereotyping.

For example, a boss might assume that a worker from a Middle East country is
lazy and cannot meet performance objectives, even if the worker tried his best.

Similarity: Often, people tend to seek out and rate more positively those who
are similar to themselves. This tendency to approve of similarity may cause
evaluators to give better ratings to employees who exhibit the same interests,
work methods, points of view or standards.

Horn Effect: When the individual is completely evaluated on the basis of a

negative quality or feature perceived. This results in an overall lower rating than
an acceptable rate.

He is not formally dressed up in the office, that’s why he may be casual at work
too.

Contrast: The tendency to rate people relative to other people rather than to the
individual performance he or she is doing. Rather will evaluate an employee by
comparing that employee’s performance with other employees.

In the early 20th Century, Wilhelm Wundt identified contrast as a fundamental

principle of perception, and since then the effect has been confirmed in many
different areas.

These effects shape not only visual qualities like color and brightness but other
kinds of perception, including how heavy an object feels. One experiment found
that thinking of the name “Hitler” led to subjects rating a person as more
hostile.

Basically, we use the above shortcuts when we judge others. Perceiving and
interpreting what others do is burdensome. As a result, individuals develop
techniques for making the task more manageable.