Personality and Values

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 Learning Objectives
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.

Define values, demonstrate their importance, 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. 2

 Personality

What is Personality?

The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that
determine his unique adjustments to his environment. “Gordon Allport”

The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others, the
measurable traits a person exhibits

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 Personality

Measuring Personality

Personality Tests Helpful in hiring decisions

Self Report Surveys Most common method

Provide an independent assessment of personality –

Observer Rating Surveys often better predictors

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 Personality

Personality Determinants

Factors determined at conception: physical stature, facial

Heredity attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and
reflexes, energy level, and bio-rhythms
“Heredity Approach” argues that Twin studies: raised apart but
genes are the source of very similar personalities
personality
Parents don’t add much to There is some personality
personality development change over long time periods

Personality Traits Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior

The more consistent the characteristic and the more frequently it

occurs in diverse situations, the more important the trait
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 Personality

The Myers – Briggs Indicator (MBTI)

A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality
types using 100 questions

Most widely-used instrument in the world

Extroverted (E) vs. Introverted (I) Sensing (S) vs. Intuitive (N)

Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F) Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

Each of the sixteen possible combinations has a name

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 Personality

The Big Five Personality Model

A personality assessment model that taps five basic dimensions

+ + + Extraversion Introversion - - -
Extraversion

The quality of being comfortable with relationships (Sociable, gregarious, and assertive)

Higher performance – Enhanced leadership – Higher job & life satisfaction

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 Personality
The Big Five Personality Model

+ + + High Low - - -
Agreeableness

The ability to get along with others (Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting)

Higher performance – Lower levels of deviant behavior

+ + + High Low - - -
Conscientiousness

The number of goals on which a person focuses (Responsible, dependable, persistent, and
organized)

Higher performance – Enhanced leadership – Greater longevity

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 Personality
The Big Five Personality Model

+ + + More Less- - -
Emotional Stability

Less moodiness and insecurity (Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus
nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative)

High job & life satisfaction – Lower stress level

+ + + More Less - - -
Openness

The capacity to entertain new ideas and to change as a result of new information (Curious,
imaginative, artistic, and sensitive)

Training performance – Enhanced leadership – More adaptable to change

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 Personality
Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

The degree to which people like or dislike higher job performance

Core Self Evaluation themselves

A pragmatic, emotionally distant power-player who win more often

Machiavellianism believes that ends justify the means

An arrogant, entitled, self-important person who Less effective in their

Narcissism needs excessive admiration jobs

The ability to adjust behavior to meet external, more likely to become

Self Monitoring situational factors. leaders.

The willingness to take chances. make faster decisions

Risk Taking with less information

Aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant High performance

Types A Personality struggle to achieve more in less time

Proactive Personality Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes Creates positive change
action, and perseveres to completion 10
in the environment
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 Values

What is Values?

Basic convictions on how to conduct yourself or how to live your life that is personally or
socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence

Attributes of Values

Content Attribute That the mode of conduct or end-state is importance

Intensity Attribute Person’s beliefs about his or her capabilities to perform a task

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 Values

What is Value System?

A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual’s value in terms of their intensity

Tends to be relatively constant and consistent

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 Values

What is the Importance of Values?

Provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and behaviors

Influence our perception of the world around us

Represent interpretations of “right” and “wrong”

Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others

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 Values

Terminal Versus Instrumental Values “Rokeach Value Survey”

Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person would like to

Terminal Values achieve during his or her lifetime

Instrumental Values Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values

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 Values

Generational Values

Cohort Entered Workforce Approximate Dominant Work Values

Current Age
Veterans 1950-1964 65+ Hard working, conservative, conforming; loyalty
to the organization

Boomers 1965-1985 40-60s Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of

authority; loyalty to career

Xers 1985-2000 20-40s Work/life balance, team-oriented, dislike of

rules; loyalty to relationships

Nexters 2000-Present Under 30 Confident, financial success, self-reliant but

team-oriented; loyalty to both self and
relationships
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 Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values
to the Workplace
A theory that identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit
Personality - Job Fit between personality type and occupational environment determines
Theory satisfaction and turnover

John Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory

Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI)

Realistic Social

Investigative Enterprising

Artistic Conventional

1. There appear to be intrinsic differences in personality between people.

2. There are different types of jobs.
3. People in jobs congruent with their personality should be more satisfied
and have lower turnover.
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 Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values
to the Workplace

Person – The extent that employee’s personality must fit with the organizational
culture.
Organization Fit

People are attracted to organizations that match their values.

Those who match are most likely to be selected.

Mismatches will result in turnover.

Can use the Big Five personality types to match to the organizational culture.

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 Global Implications

Personality Do frameworks like Big Five transfer across cultures?

Yes, but the frequency of type in the Better in individualistic than

culture may vary collectivist cultures

Values Values differ across cultures

Hofstede’s Framework for assessing culture – five value dimensions: Power

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

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 Global Implications

Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures

The extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and

Power Distance
organizations is distributed unequally

Low Distance High Distance

Relatively equal power between those with Extremely unequal power distribution
status / wealth and those without status / between those with status / wealth and
wealth those without status / wealth

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 Global Implications

Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures

Individualism Collectivism

The degree to which people prefer to act as A tight social framework in which people
individuals rather than as members of expect others in groups of which they are a
groups part to look after them and protect them

Masculinity Femininity

The extent to which the society values work

The extent to which there is little
roles of achievement, power, and control,
differentiation between roles for men and
and where assertiveness and materialism
women
are also valued 20
 Global Implications

Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures

Uncertainty The extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and

Avoidance ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them

High Uncertainty Avoidance Low Uncertainty Avoidance

Society does not like ambiguous situations Society does not mind ambiguous situations
and tries to avoid them and embraces them

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 Global Implications

Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures

Long-term Orientation Short-term Orientation

A national culture attribute that

A national culture attribute that emphasizes
emphasizes the future, thrift, and
the present and the here-and-now
persistence

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 Global Implications

GLOBE Framework for Assessing Cultures

Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program

(Nine dimensions of national culture)

Humane Orientation Performance Orientation

How much society rewards people for being How much society encourages and rewards
altruistic, generous, and kind performance improvement and excellence

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