Organizational

Chapter 5 Behavior & Theory

15th Global
Edition
Robbins and Judge

Edited by David Lugundu

April 07 – April 14 Personality and Values
I am driven by fear of failure.
It is a strong motivator for me.
—Dennis Manning, CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Co
 Chapter 5 Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter you should be able to:

 Define personality, describe how it is measured, and

explain the factors that determine an individual’s
personality.
 Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality
framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
 Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality model.
 Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.
 Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.
Chapter 5 Learning Objectives

Cont…

 Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,

and contrast terminal and instrumental values.
 Compare generational differences in values and identify
the dominant values in today’s workforce.

 Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national

culture
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

What Is Personality?
Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and
development of a person’s whole psychological system;

Personality are enduring characteristics that describe an

individual’s behavior.

Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual

reacts to and interacts with others.
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

 Managers can use personality tests because they

are useful in hiring decisions and help managers
forecast who is best for a job.

 The most common means of measuring

personality is through self-report surveys, where
individuals evaluate themselves on a series of
factors, such as “I worry a lot about the
future.”
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

one weakness of self-report surveys is that the

respondent might lie or practice impression
management to create a good impression
Another problem is accuracy. A perfectly good
candidate could have been in a bad mood
when taking the survey, and that will make the
scores less accurate.
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent

assessment of personality.

a co-worker or another observer does the rating

observer-ratings surveys are a better predictor of

success on the job (better than self-report
surveys)
…
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

However, …
 each can tell us something unique about an
individual’s behavior in the workplace.

 their combination predicts performance better

than any one type of information.
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

Personality Determinants
An individual’s personality is the result of
heredity and environment.
However, research tends to support the
importance of heredity over the environment.
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

Heredity refers to those factors that were

determined at conception, (Physical stature, facial
attractiveness, gender, temperament, etc.)
The heredity approach argues that the ultimate
explanation of an individual’s personality is the
molecular structure of the genes, located in the
chromosomes.
The environment in which we grow may affects
our personality. Twins brought up in different
countries may have some different personality
traits.
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain
the factors that determine an individual’s personality

Popular characteristics include shy, aggressive,

submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid. These
are personality traits.

Personality traits are enduring characteristics that

describe an individual’s behavior.

Early efforts to identify the primary traits that govern

behavior often resulted in long lists that were
difficult to generalize from and provided little
practical guidance to organizational decision makers.
Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality
framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses

 One of the most widely used personality

frameworks is the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI).
 It is a personality test that taps four
characteristics and classifies people
into 1 of 16 personality types.
 It is a 100-question personality test
that asks people how they usually feel
or act in particular situations.
…
Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality
framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses

 Respondents are classified as:

 Extroverted or introverted (E or I).
 Sensing or intuitive (S or N).
 Thinking or feeling (T or F).
 Perceiving or judging (P or J).
 These classifications together describe
16 personality types:
Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality
framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses

 INTJs are visionaries with original minds

and great drive.
 ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic,
logical, analytical, and decisive and have
a natural head for business or mechanics.
 ENTPs type is a conceptualizer,
innovative, individualistic, versatile, and
attracted to entrepreneurial ideas.
Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality
model
 An impressive body of research supports
the thesis of the Big Five Model:
 Five basic dimensions underlie all
others and encompass most of the
significant variation in human
personality

 Big Five Model A personality

assessment model that taps five basic
dimensions.
Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality
model
 The Big Five factors are:
 Extraversion:
 Extraverts tend to be gregarious,
assertive, and sociable.
 Introverts tend to be reserved, timid,
and quiet.
 Agreeableness:
 Highly agreeable people are
cooperative, warm, and trusting.
 Low agreeable people are cold,
disagreeable, and antagonistic.
Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality
model
 Conscientiousness:

 A highly conscientious person is

responsible, organized, dependable, and
persistent.

 A Low conscientious person is easily

distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.
Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality
model
 Emotional stability:

 People with positive emotional

stability tend to be calm, self-
confident, and secure.

 Those with negative scores tend to be

nervous, anxious, depressed, and
insecure.
 Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality
model
 Openness to experience:

 Extremely open people are creative, curious, and

artistically sensitive.
 Those at the other end of the category are
conventional and find comfort in the familiar.
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.

Research has found relationships between these

personality dimensions and job performance.

individuals who are dependable, reliable, careful,

thorough, able to plan, organized, hardworking,
persistent, and achievement-oriented tend to have
higher job performance in most if not all
occupations.
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.

employees who score higher in conscientiousness

develop higher levels of job knowledge, which then
contribute to higher levels of job performance

Conscientious individuals who are more interested

in learning than in just performing on the job are
also exceptionally good at maintaining
performance in the face of negative feedback
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.

the other Big Five traits are also related to aspects

of performance and have other implications for
work and for life

emotional stability is most strongly related to life

satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels

People low on emotional stability are

hypervigilant and are vulnerable to the physical
and psychological effects of stress.
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.

Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in

their lives as a whole. They tend to perform better
in jobs that require interpersonal interaction

Extraverts are however more impulsive than

introverts; they are more likely to be absent from
work and easily engage in risky behavior
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at
work.

Individuals who score high on openness are more

creative and are more likely to be effective leaders,
and more comfortable with ambiguity and change

Agreeable individuals tend to do better in

interpersonally oriented jobs. They also are more
compliant, rule abiding, more satisfied in their
jobs and contribute to organizational performance
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Other, more specific, attributes that are powerful

predictors of behavior in organizations Include:

Core Self-Evaluation (Self-perspective)

Machiavellianism (Machs)
Narcissism
Self-Monitoring
Risk Taking
Proactive Personality
Other-orientation
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Core Self-Evaluation

People who have positive core self-evaluations like

themselves and see themselves as effective, capable,
and in control of their environment

They perform better than others because they set

more ambitious goals, are more committed to their
goals, and persist longer in attempting to reach these
goals
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Machiavellianism (Mach)

An individual high in Machiavellianism is

pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and
believes ends can justify means.

Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded

less, and persuade others more. They like their jobs
less, are more stressed by their work, and engage in
more deviant work behaviors
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Narcissism

Narcissists are more charismatic and thus more

likely to emerge as leaders. However,

Narcissists treat others as if they were inferior,

tend to be selfish and exploitive and believe others
exist for their benefit. They are less effective at
their job mainly when it comes to helping people
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring refers to an individual’s ability to

adjust his or her behavior to external, situational
factors.

Individuals high in self-monitoring show

considerable adaptability in adjusting their
behavior to external situational factors
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

…
Self-monitoring generally receive better
performance ratings, are more likely to emerge as
leaders, and show less commitment to their
organizations.

Self- monitoring managers tend to be more mobile

in their careers, receive more promotions, and
often occupy central positions in an organization
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Risk Taking

People differ in their willingness to take chances, a

quality that affects how much time and information
they need to make a decision.

High risk-taking managers make more rapid

decisions and use less information than do the low
risk takers
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Proactive Personality

Those with a proactive personality identify

opportunities, show initiative, take action, and
persevere until meaningful change occurs,
compared to others who passively react to situations

They are more likely than others to be seen as

leaders and to act as change agents.
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

…
Proactive individuals get easily satisfied with work
and are willing to help others with their tasks.

Proactive have entrepreneurial initiative. They

select, create, and influence work situations in
their favor, develop contacts in high places and
demonstrate persistence in the face of career
obstacles.
 Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

Other-orientation
personality trait that reflects the extent to which
decisions are affected by social influences and
concerns vs. our own well-being and outcomes

Some people just naturally seem to be concerned about

other people’s well-being and feelings

Others behave like “economic actors,” primarily

rational and self-interested.
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.

…..

Other-oriented people feel more obligated to help

others who have helped them (pay me back),

Self-oriented will help others when they expect to

be helped in the future (pay me forward)
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Values represent basic convictions in a person

that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of
existence is personally or socially preferable to
an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-
state of existence
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Values have both content and intensity attributes:

The content attribute says a mode of conduct or
end-state of existence is important.
The intensity attribute specifies how important
the mode of conduct is
When we rank an individual’s values in terms of
their intensity, we obtain that person’s value
system
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Value system is a hierarchy based on a ranking of

an individual’s values in terms of their intensity.

Values aren't fluid and flexible; they tend to be

stable and enduring.

Some values we hold are established in our early

years—by parents, teachers, friends, etc. other
values are partly determined by our genetic traits
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Importance of Values
Values lay the foundation for the understanding of
attitudes and motivation.

Values generally influence attitudes and behaviors.

We can predict people’s reactions based on
understanding values.
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Terminal vs Instrumental Values

 Milton Rokeach created the Rokeach Value
Survey (RVS). It consists of two sets of values,
each containing 18 individual value items.

One set, called terminal values , refers to

desirable end-states, which are the goals a person
would like to achieve during his or her lifetime.
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Examples of terminal values in the RVS:

• Prosperity and economic success,

• Freedom,
• Health and well-being,
• World peace,
• Social recognition, and;
• Meaning in life
 Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

The other set, called instrumental values, refers

to preferable modes of behavior, or means of
achieving the terminal values.
 Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.

The types of instrumental values illustrated in RVS:

• Self-improvement,
• Autonomy and self-reliance,
• Personal discipline,
• kindness,
• Ambition, and
• Goal-orientation.
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.
Compare generational differences in values and
identify the dominant values in today’s workforce.
Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the
Workplace

 The effort to match job requirements with

personality characteristics is best articulated in
John Holland’s personality–job fit theory

 The Theory identifies six personality types and

proposes that the fit between personality type
and occupational environment determines
satisfaction and turnover.
Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the
Workplace
Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the
Workplace

 Job fit Theory argues that satisfaction is highest

and turnover lowest when personality and
occupation are in agreement

 A realistic person in a realistic job is in a more

congruent situation than a realistic person in an
investigative job

 A realistic person in a social job is in the most

incongruent situation possible.
Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the
Workplace

• People high on extraversion fit well with

aggressive and team-oriented cultures,

• People high on agreeableness match up better

with a supportive organizational climate than
one focused on aggressiveness,

• People high on openness to experience fit better

in organizations that emphasize innovation
rather than standardization.
Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture.
Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture

Power distance
Individualism versus collectivism
Masculinity versus femininity
Uncertainty avoidance
Long-term versus short-term orientation
Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture.
Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture.

The Global Leadership and Organizational

Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) began updating
Hofstede’s research with data from 825
organizations and 62 countries.
Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture.

Variables similar to Hofstede

Assertiveness
Future orientation (similar to Long-term vs
Short-term orientation)
Gender differentiation (similar to Masculinity
vs Femininity)
Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture.

Additional variables included in GLOBE are

Uncertainly avoidance
Power distance
Individualism/collectivism
In-group collectivism
Performance orientation
Humane orientation
 Summary and Implications for Managers

Big Five provides a meaningful way for managers to

examine personality

Screening job candidates for high conscientiousness

Factors such as job demands, the degree of required
interaction with others, and the organization’s culture
are examples of situational variables that moderate
the personality–job performance relationship.
Summary and Implications for Managers

Managers need to evaluate the job, the work

group, and the organization to determine the
optimal personality fit.

Other traits, such as core self-evaluation or

narcissism, may be relevant in certain situations,
too.

Although the MBTI has been widely criticized, it

may have a place in organizations.
Summary and Implications for Managers

 Knowledge of an individual’s value system

can provide insight into what makes the
person “tick.”

 Employees’ performance and satisfaction are

likely to be higher if their values fit well with
the organization.
Summary and Implications for Managers

 The person who places great importance on

imagination, independence, and freedom is
likely to be poorly matched with an
organization that seeks conformity from its
employees.
 Summary and Implications for Managers

 Managers are more likely to appreciate, evaluate

positively, and allocate rewards to employees who
fit in, and employees are more likely to be satisfied
if they perceive they do fit in.

 This argues for management to seek job candidates

who have not only the ability, experience, and
motivation to perform but also a value system
compatible with the organization’s.
 Organizational
Behavior & Theory

Personality and Values

Class 9, 10 11 and 12

Prof. David Lugundu