organizational behavior

Personality
What
What is
is Personality?
Personality?

Personality
The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts
and interacts with others.

Measuring Personality
•Self-report surveys
•Observer-rating surveys
•Projective measures (Rorscharch Inkblok test and
Thematic Apperception test)

4–2
Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics
that describe an
individual’s behavior.
Personality
Personality
Determinants
Determinants
• •Heredity
Heredity
• •Environment
Environment

4–3
The
The Myers-Briggs
Myers-Briggs Type
Type Indicator
Indicator

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A personality test that taps four characteristics and
classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.

Personality
PersonalityTypes
Types
• •Extroverted
Extrovertedvs.
vs.Introverted
Introverted(E(Eor
orI)I)
• •Sensing
Sensingvs.
vs.Intuitive
Intuitive(S
(Sor
orN)
N)
• •Thinking
Thinkingvs.
vs.Feeling
Feeling(T
(Tor
orF)
F)
• •Judging
Judgingvs.
vs.Perceiving
Perceiving(P(Por
orJ)J)

4–4
• Extrovert are outgoing, sociable and assertive
while introverts are quiet and shy
• Sensing are practical and prefer routine and
order. Intuitive rely on unconsious processes and
look at the big picture
• Thinking type use reason and logic to handle
problems.Feeling types rely on their personal
values and emotions
• Judging type want control and prefer their world
to be ordered. Perceiving type are flexible and
spontanious.
Myers-
Myers-
Briggs
Briggs
Sixteen
Sixteen
Primary
Primary
Traits
Traits

4–6
The
The Big
Big Five
Five Model
Model of
of Personality
Personality Dimensions
Dimensions
Extroversion
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive

Agreeableness
Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.

Conscientiousness
Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized.

Emotional Stability
Calm, self-confident, secure (positive) versus nervous, depressed,
and insecure (negative).

Openness to Experience
Imaginativeness, artistic, sensitivity, and intellectualism.

4–7
Major
Major Personality
PersonalityAttributes
Attributes Influencing
Influencing OB
OB
 Core Self-Evaluation
 Machiavellianism
 Self-esteem
 Self-monitoring
 Risk taking
 Type A personality

4–8
Core
Core Self-Evaluation
Self-Evaluation
Locus of Control
The degree to which people believe they
are masters of their own fate.

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

Externals
Individuals who believe that
what happens to them is
controlled by outside forces
such as luck or chance.

4–9
Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism (Mach)
Degree to which an individual is pragmatic,
maintains emotional distance, and believes
that ends can justify means.

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

4–10
Self-Esteem
Self-Esteem and
and Self-Monitoring
Self-Monitoring

Self-Esteem (SE)
Individuals’ degree of liking
or disliking themselves.

Self-Monitoring
A personality trait that measures
an individuals ability to adjust
his or her behavior to external,
situational factors.

4–11
Risk-Taking
Risk-Taking
 High Risk-taking Managers
– Make quicker decisions
– Use less information to make decisions
– Operate in smaller and more entrepreneurial
organizations
 Low Risk-taking Managers
– Are slower to make decisions
– Require more information before making decisions
– Exist in larger organizations with stable environments
 Risk Propensity
– Aligning managers’ risk-taking propensity to job
requirements should be beneficial to organizations.

4–12
 Personality
Personality Types
Types
Type A’s
1. are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly;
2. feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place;
3. strive to think or do two or more things at once;
4. cannot cope with leisure time;
5. are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in
terms of how many or how much of everything they acquire.

Type B’s
1. never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its
accompanying impatience;
2. feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements
or accomplishments;
3. play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their
superiority at any cost;
4. can relax without guilt.
4–13
Personality
Personality Types
Types

Proactive Personality
Identifies opportunities,
shows initiative, takes
action, and perseveres
until meaningful change
occurs.
Creates positive change
in the environment,
regardless or even in
spite of constraints or
obstacles.

4–14
Achieving
Achieving Person-Job
Person-Job Fit
Fit

Personality-Job Fit
Theory (Holland)
Personality
PersonalityTypes
Types
Identifies six personality
types and proposes that ••Realistic
Realistic
the fit between personality ••Investigative
Investigative
type and occupational
••Social
Social
environment determines
satisfaction and turnover. ••Conventional
Conventional
••Enterprising
Enterprising
••Artistic
Artistic

4–15
 Holland’s
Holland’s
Typology
Typologyof
of
Personality
Personality
and
and
Congruent
Congruent
Occupations
Occupations

4–16