PERSONALITY & VALUES

(Chapter – 05)

BY:
STEPHEN P. ROBBINS
AND TIMOTHY A. JUDGE
Brainstorming..
1. Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain the
factors that determine an individual’s personality.
2. Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework
and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
3. Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality model.
4. Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at work.
5. Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.
6. Define values, demonstrate the importance of values, and contrast
terminal and instrumental values.
7. Compare generational differences in values and identify the
dominant values in today’s workforce.
8. Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture.
PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY PERSONALITY TRAITS

o The sum total of ways o Enduring characteristics that

in which an individual describe an individual’s behavior.
reacts and interacts
with others.
What Are Some Personality
Determinants?
Heredity Factors
Personality determined at conception;
Determinants one’s biological,
physiological, and inherent
• Heredity
psychological makeup.
• Environment
• Situation
THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR

o A personality test that taps four characteristics and

classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.

Personality Types
• Extroverted vs. Introverted (E or I)
• Sensing vs. Intuitive (S or N)
• Thinking vs. Feeling (T or F)
• Judging vs. Perceiving (P or J)
 THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY MODEL
o A personality assessment model that taps five basic dimensions.
How does the Big Five Traits predicts the
behavior at work?
MAJOR PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES
INFLUENCING ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB are
1. Core Self Evaluation
2. Machiavellianism
3. Narcissism
4. Self-monitoring
5. Risk taking
6. Proactive personality
7. Self-esteem
8. Psychopathy
9. Locus of control
Core Self Evaluation and Machiavellianism
1. Core Self-evaluation
Bottom-line conclusions
individuals have about their
capabilities, competence, and
worth as a person.
2. Machiavellianism (Mach)
• Degree to which an Conditions Favoring High Machs
individual is pragmatic, • Direct interaction
maintains emotional • Minimal rules and regulations
distance, and believes that
ends can justify means. • Emotions distract for others
Machiavellianism (cont.)
o High Mach are focused on their own wellbeing. They
believe that to get ahead, one must be deceptive. They
don’t trust human goodness and think depending on
others is naive. Prioritising power over love and
connection, they don’t believe that humankind is by nature
good.

o A low Mach, on the other hand, tends to show empathy to

others, and is honest and trusting. They believe in human
goodness and that if you abide by good morals you will do
well in life. Too low on the scale, however, can see people
being submissive and too agreeable.
Narcissism & Self-Monitoring
3. Narcissism
The tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of
self-importance, require excessive admiration, & have a
sense of entitlement.
4. Self-Monitoring
A personality trait that measures an individual’s ability
to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational
factors.
5. Risk-Taking
o High Risk-taking Managers
• Make quicker decisions
• Use less information to make decisions
• Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial organizations
o Low Risk-taking Managers
• Are slower to make decisions
• Require more information before making decisions
• Exist in larger organizations with stable environments
o Risk Propensity
• Aligning managers’ risk-taking propensity to job
requirements should be beneficial to organizations.
Proactive Personality, Self-Esteem & Psychopathy
6. Proactive Personality
People who identify opportunities, show initiative, take
action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs.

7. Self-Esteem
Individuals’ degree of liking and disliking themselves.

8. Psychopathy
The tendency for a lack of concern for others & a lack of
guilt or remorse when actions cause harm.
9. Locus of Control
o The degree to which people believe they are masters of their own
fate.

o Internals
Individuals who believe that they control what happens to
them.

o Externals
Individuals who believe that what happens to them is
controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance.
Internal External
Locus of Control Locus of Control
o Associated with… o Most commonly found in
• Managerial success (at managers from Eastern
least in North America) cultures
• Less alienation from o Tend to use coercive
work environment power more than internal
• More satisfaction at work leaders
• Less stress o Perform poorly in
• More position mobility stressful situations
Values
VALUES
o Values are our personally held beliefs. They provide guidance
for personal behaviours and goals. Values influence how we
make choices e.g. compassion, duty etc.
o Principle:
• A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the
foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or for a chain
of reasoning.
o Personal Principles:
• How you would carry out your values in practice would
become your guiding personal principles.
Influences on Our Values
 Values (Cont.)
o Values
 Basic convictions 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.
 Foundation for attitudes and personal preferences
 Basis for important life decisions
 Help to define morality and ethics
o Value System
 A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual's values in terms of
their intensity.
 It has been discovered that values differ systematically across
national cultures, and these differences are a strong influence in
predicting the values each of us hold ourselves.
Rokeach Value Survey
o Milton Rokeach created the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). It
consists of two sets of values, each containing 18
individual value items.

o Terminal values refers to o Instrumental values refers

desirable end-states of to preferable modes of
existence. behavior, or means of
achieving the terminal
o Goals that a person would values.
like to achieve during his
or her lifetime.
Examples of Terminal Values
o A comfortable life (a prosperous life)
o An exciting life (stimulating, active life)
o A sense of accomplishment (lasting contribution)
o A world of peace (free of war and conflict)
o A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)
o Equality (brotherhood, equal opportunity for all)
o Family security (taking care of loved ones)
o Freedom (independence, free choice)
o Happiness (contentedness)
Examples of Instrumental Values
o Ambitious (hard working, aspiring)
o Broad-minded (open-minded)
o Capable (competent, efficient)
o Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful)
o Clean (neat, tidy)
o Courageous (standing up for your beliefs)
o Forgiving (willing to pardon others)
o Helpful (working for the welfare of others)
o Honest (sincere, truthful)
Dominant Work Values in Today’s Workforce
Entered the
Cohort Dominant Work Values
Workforce
Veterans 1950s or early Hard working, conservative, conforming;
1960s loyalty to the organization

Boomers 1965-1985 Success, achievement, ambition, dislike

of authority; loyalty to career

Xers 1985-2000 Work/life balance, team-oriented, dislike

of rules; loyalty to relationships

Nexters 2000 to present Confident, financial success, self-reliant

but team-oriented; loyalty to both self
and relationships
Quick Question:

How can you link an individual’s

personality & values to the workplace..?
 Linking An Individual’s Personality
& Values To The Workplace
o Person – job fit
o Personality–Job Fit Theory A theory that identifies six
personality types & proposes that the fit b/w personality type &
occupational environment determines satisfaction & turnover.
o Person – organization fit
o If an organization faces a dynamic & changing environment and
requires employees able to readily change tasks and move easily
between teams, it’s more important that employees’
personalities fit with the overall organization’s culture than with
the characteristics of any specific job.
o People are attracted to and selected by organizations that match
their values, and they leave organizations that are not
compatible with their personalities.
Linking An Individual’s Personality &
Values To The Workplace (Cont.)
Linking An Individual’s Personality &
Values To The Workplace (Cont.)
 Video Link:
https://youtu.be/VeAf1hoGOHw
INTERNATIONAL VALUES OR
GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS
o The Big Five Model appears across a wide
variety of cultures
• Primary differences based on factor
emphasis and type of country
o Values differ across cultures
• Two frameworks for assessing
culture:
 Hofstede
 GLOBE
Hofstede’s Framework for
Assessing Cultures
o Five factors:

1. Power Distance
2. Individualism vs. Collectivism
3. Masculinity vs. Femininity
4. Uncertainty Avoidance
5. Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation
Hofstede’s Framework for
Assessing Cultures (Cont.)
o Power Distance
A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a
society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is
distributed unequally.

o Individualism
A national culture attribute that describes the degree to which people
prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups.
o Collectivism
A national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in
which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look
after them and protect them.
Hofstede’s Framework for
Assessing Cultures (Cont.)
o Masculinity
A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which the
culture favors traditional masculine work roles of achievement, power,
and control. Societal values are characterized by assertiveness and
materialism.
o Femininity
A national culture attribute that indicates little differentiation
between male and female roles; a high rating indicates that women
are treated as the equals of men in all aspects of the society.
Hofstede’s Framework for
Assessing Cultures (Cont.)
o Uncertainty avoidance
A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a
society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and
tries to avoid them.

o Long-term orientation
A national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift, and
persistence.
o Short-term orientation
A national culture attribute that emphasizes the past and present,
respect for tradition, and fulfillment of social obligations.
GLOBE Framework for Assessing
Cultures
o*Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness
oOngoing study with nine factors:
1. Assertiveness
2. Future orientation
3. Gender differentiation
4. Uncertainty avoidance
5. Power distance
6. Individualism/ collectivism
7. In-group collectivism
8. Performance orientation
9. Humane orientation
Implications for Managers
oPersonality:
• Evaluate the job, group, and organization to determine
the best fit
• Big Five is best to use for selection
• MBTI for development and training

oValues:
• Strongly influence attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions
• Match the individual values to organizational culture
 Keep in Mind…
oPersonality
• The sum total of ways in which individual reacts
to, and interacts with, others
• Easily measured
oBig Five Personality Traits
• Related to many OB criteria
• May be very useful in predicting behavior
oValues
• Vary between and within cultures
Thank You!