Essentials of

Organizational Behavior
12e
Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge

Chapter 5

Personality and Values

Copyright 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

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After studying this chapter,

you should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Define personality, describe how it is measured, and

explain the factors that determine an individuals
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
and demonstrate how the traits predict behavior at
work.
Identify other personality traits that are relevant to OB.
Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.
Identify Hofstedes five value dimensions of national
culture.
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Personality
Personality - the sum total
of ways in which an individual
reacts to and interacts with
others
Most often described in terms
of measurable traits that a
person exhibits such as shy,
aggressive, submissive, lazy,
ambitious, loyal, and timid
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Personality
Enduring
characteristics that
describe an
individuals behavior.
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Measuring Personality
Self-report surveys
Most common
Prone to error
Evaluate on a series of
factors

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Personality Determinants
Personality reflects heredity and environment
Heredity is the most dominant factor
Twin studies: genetics more influential than parents

Environmental factors do have some influence

Aging influences levels of ability
Basic personality is constant

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Heredity
determined at conception;
ones biological,
physiological, and inherent
psychological makeup.

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Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics
that describe an
individuals behavior.

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Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI)
A personality test that taps
four characteristics and
classifies people into 1 of 16
personality types.

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Measuring Personality
Traits:
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Most widely used personality-assessment
instrument in the world
Individuals are classified as:

Extroverted or Introverted (E/I)

Sensing or Intuitive (S/N)
Thinking or Feeling (T/F)
Judging or Perceiving (J/P)

Classifications combined into 16 personality

types (i.e. INTJ or ESTJ)
Unrelated to job performance
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Big Five Model

A personality assessment
model that taps five basic
dimensions.

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Measuring Personality Traits:

The Big-Five Model
Five Traits:

Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience

Strongly supported
relationship to job
performance (especially
Conscientiousness)
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 extraversion A personality dimension

describing someone who is sociable,
gregarious, and assertive.
agreeableness A personality dimension that
describes someone who is good natured,
cooperative, and trusting.
conscientiousness A personality dimension
that describes someone who is responsible,
dependable, persistent, and organized.
emotional stability A personality dimension
that characterizes someone as calm, selfconfident, secure (positive) versus nervous,
depressed, and insecure (negative).
openness to experience A personality
dimension that characterizes someone in
terms
of imagination, sensitivity, and
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curiosity.

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Big Five Traits and OB

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Other Personality Traits

Core Self-Evaluation
Bottom-line conclusions individuals have
about their capabilities, competence,
and worth as a person.

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Other Personality Traits

Machiavellianism
The degree to which an individual is
pragmatic, maintains emotional
distance, and believes that ends can
justify means.
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Other Personality Traits

Narcissism
The tendency to be arrogant, have a
grandiose sense of self-importance,
require excessive admiration, and have
a sense of entitlement.

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Major Personality Attributes

Influencing OB
Self-monitoring
Adjusts behavior to meet
external, situational factors
Risk Taking
Willingness to accept risk

Proactive Personality
Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action
and perseveres
Other Orientation
Pay me back vs. pay me forward
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Values
Values represent basic, enduring 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"

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Value Systems
Represent a prioritizing of individual values by:
Content importance to the individual
Intensity relative importance with other values

The hierarchy tends to be relatively stable

Values are the foundation for attitudes,
motivation, and behavior
Influence perception and cloud objectivity

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Rokeach Value Survey

Terminal values:
desirable end-states
of existence
Goals that a person
would like to achieve
during his or her
lifetime

Instrumental
values: preferable
modes of behavior
or means of
achieving the
terminal values
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Examples of Terminal Values

A comfortable life (a prosperous life)
An exciting life (stimulating, active life)
A sense of accomplishment (lasting contribution)
A world of peace (free of war and conflict)
A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the arts)
Equality (brotherhood, equal opportunity for all)
Family security (taking care of loved ones)
Freedom (independence, free choice)
Happiness (contentedness)
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Examples of Terminal Values

Ambitious (hard working, aspiring)

Broad-minded (open-minded)
Capable (competent, efficient)
Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful)
Clean (neat, tidy)
Courageous (standing up for your beliefs)
Forgiving (willing to pardon others)
Helpful (working for the welfare of others)
Honest (sincere, truthful)
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Personality-Job Fit:
Hollands Hexagon
Job satisfaction and
turnover depend on
congruency between
personality and task
Fields adjacent are similar
Field opposite are dissimilar

Vocational Preference Inventory Questionnaire

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Person-Organization Fit
It is more important that
employees personalities fit
with the organizational
culture than with the
characteristics of any specific
job
The fit predicts job
satisfaction, organizational
commitment and turnover
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International Values
Values differ across cultures
Two frameworks for assessing culture:
Hofstede
GLOBE

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Hofstedes Framework
for Assessing Cultures
Five factors:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Power Distance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Masculinity vs. Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

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Power distance
is the extent to which a society
accepts that power in institutions
and organizations is distributed
unequally. Low-distance occurs
when there is relatively equal
power between those with status
and wealth and those without.
Higher distance occurs when there
is unequal power distribution
between groups.
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individualism vs.
collectivism
Individualism is the degree to
which people prefer to act on their
own rather than in a group.
Collectivism is the idea that
people operate within a social
framework where they help others
out and they expect help when
they need it.
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masculinity and
femininity
Masculinity is the extent to which
the culture prefers achievement,
power and control vs.
characteristics that are more
feminine in nature.

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time orientation
Long-term orientation societies
will emphasize the future and
what it takes to get to the future
they desire, thrift and persistence.
Short-term orientation societies
will emphasize the here and now.

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GLOBE* Framework
for Assessing Cultures
Ongoing study with nine factors:
Assertiveness
Future orientation
Gender
differentiation
Uncertainty
avoidance
Power distance

Individualism/
collectivism
In-group collectivism
Performance
orientation
Humane orientation

*Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness

Copyright 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Implications for Managers

Personality
Evaluate the job, group, and organization to
determine the best fit
Big Five is best to use for selection
MBTI for development and training

Values
Strongly influence attitudes, behaviors, and
perceptions
Match the individual values to organizational culture
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Keep in Mind
Personality
The sum total of ways in which individual
reacts to, and interacts with others
Easily measured
Big Five Personality Traits
Related to many OB criteria
May be very useful in predicting behavior
Values
Vary between and within cultures
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Copyright 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

Summary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Defined personality, described how it is measured and

explained the factors that determine an individuals
personality.
Described the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality
framework and assessed its strengths and weaknesses.
Identified the key traits in the Big Five personality
model and demonstrated how the traits are relevant to
OB.
Identified other traits relevant to OB.
Defined values, demonstrated the importance of
values, and contrasted terminal and instrumental
values.
Identified Hofstedes five value dimensions of national
culture.
Copyright 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may

be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher. Printed in the United States of
America.
Copyright 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

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