What is Personality?

Latin per sonare which means to speak through. The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others. It is often described in terms of some measurable traits. Allport has identified five categories of definitions: Omnibus: P i th sum t t l of properties or qualities. O ib is the total f ti liti Integrative/Configurational: P is organization of attributes. Hierarchical: P is traits at various levels. Adjustment: P is ones adaptation to the environment. Distinctiveness: P is ones identity and uniqueness. According to Ruch personality includes: Ruch, External appearance and behaviour Internal awareness of self Organization of external and i t O i ti f t l d internal t it l traits

Personality Determinants
Biological Factors: Heredity: Physical mental and emotional traits are often Physical, inherited. Genetics may account for 50% of differences. Brain: Structure of brain determines personality. Physical Feature: E t Ph i l F t External appearance & characteristics l h t i ti Environment: Family, school, friends, social groups, and other cultural influences shape our personalitys personality s socialization and identification process. Situation: One persons personality may change in person s different situations. For instance, a child may behave differently in school than when he is at home. So situation also influences what traits we exhibit exhibit.

Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individual s behavior. individuals behavior Popular traits could be shy shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal etc. Traits are bricks that make the personality house. p y The more consistent the characteristics, the more important that trait is in defining personality. Traits can help in employee selection, matching people to jobs, and in guiding career decisions. The Myers-Briggs T Th M Bi Type I di Indicator and Bi Fi d Big Five Model are two dominant frameworks for identifying and classifying traits. y g

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A personality-assessment instrument that uses 100 questions to ask people how they behave in particular situations and taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.

Personality Types y yp Extroverted (outgoing) vs. Introverted (shy): E or I g (p ) ( ) Sensing (practical) vs. Intuitive (sensitive): S or N Thinking (reasoning) vs. Feeling (emotional): T or F Judging (systematic) vs. Perceiving (flexible): J or P

MyersMyers Briggs Sixteen Primary Traits

Implications
Different combinations of the four traits may arise e.g. e g INTJs are visionaries visionaries. A survey of 13 successful businessmen of the world, revealed that all 13 were intuitive thinkers. , MBTI is a popular tool with organizations Valuable tool for assessing personality, increasing personality self-awareness, and providing career guidance. However, there is no link between MBTI results and job performance The Big Five is a more popular instrument. g p p

The Big Five Model of Personality Dimensions

Extroversion
O g g, Soc ab e, gregarious, a d asse e Outgoing, Sociable, g ega ous, and assertive

Agreeableness
Good natured, Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting.

Conscientiousness
Responsible, reliable, dependable, persistent, and organized.

Emotional Stability
Calm, self-confident, secure, positive , , ,p

Openness to Experience
Imaginative, artistic Imaginative artistic, sensitive and intellectual

Implications
Big Five provides a unifying personality framework Research has found link between these five traits and job performance The trait that had maximum impact on performance in i varied occupational groups was conscientiousness. i d ti l i ti These people also exhibited high level of sincerity, job efforts, job knowledge and OCB Other traits were also linked to performance but their impact varied among different occupations. Extroversion was important to sales people, agreeableness was important for HR people. Openness was important for R & D. Emotional stability had least impact on performance performance.

Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB

Locus of control Machiavellianism Self-esteem Self-monitoring Ambiguity tolerance/Risk taking Personality types

Locus of Control
The degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate fate. Internals Individuals who believe that they control their fate and what happens to them. them Externals Individuals who believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance. h l k h

Locus of Control
Externals are less satisfied with their jobs, have high absenteeism rates and are less involved in their jobs. Internals are more motivated and willing to work g Internals attribute organizational outcomes to their own actions Internals are suited for jobs that require initiative, innovation & independence (product development). d l ) Externals are compliant and follow instructions, hence suited for jobs that are systematic well systematic, wellstructured and routine (accounting).

Machiavellianism
Degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance and believes that ends can justify distance, means. Effective in manipulating situations and persuading others. Conditions Favoring High Machs: Direct interaction (face to face) Minimal rules and regulations (improvisation) Emotionally distracting others is easy Successful in sales, marketing and negotiation jobs. Ethical underpinnings of Machiavellian approach ..
411

Self-Esteem (SE)
Individuals degree of liking or disliking themselves. Individual s Individuals regard and respect for oneself oneself. SE is directly related to expectations for success High SEs Hi h SE are confident and b li fid t d believe i th i abilities in their biliti They are ready to take risky and unconventional jobs They are less susceptible to external influences They are more satisfied with their jobs than low SEs Low SEs are dependent on others approval and instructions. Believe in conforming and pleasing others Low SEs are more concerned with pleasing others and taking popular stands.

Self-Monitoring (SM)
An individuals ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, external situational factors They may hide true emotions factors. Individuals high in SM adapt to situations Are A sensitive t external cues and adjust accordingly iti to t l d dj t di l Low SM individuals tend to display true emotions and cannot disguise High SEs show higher performance, get promotions faster and emerge as leaders But have lesser commitment leaders. and are more mobile with careers Successful in managerial positions that require playing g p q p y g multiple roles

Ambiguity Tolerance (Risk-Taking)

High Risk-taking Managers Make quicker decisions q 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 stable environments Risk Propensity (RP) Aligning managers risk-taking propensity to job requirements should be beneficial to organizations. Marketing jobs may require High RP, accountant may do well with low RP. (Remaining portions will be covered in the next sessional)

Personality Types
Type As: workaholics, achievement-driven are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly; y g g g p y feel impatient with the speed of events strive to think or do two or more things at once; cannot afford leisure time; are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how much They suffer from moderate to high stress, are timepressed, set lot of deadlines They are fast workers, are laborious and have predictable behaviours They are sincere and have high motivation Suited for jobs that require long hours and details

Personality Types
Type Bs: Happy-go-lucky never suffer from a sense of time urgency or impatience Do not display their achievements or accomplishments Believe in fun and relaxation, are easily satisfied Can relax without guilt, sometimes are complacent Are less consistent in behaviour But th B t they may be creative and may come up with unique b ti d ith i solutions to unique problems Do not suffer much from stress Given necessary motivation, they may sometimes prove themselves

Personality 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. They Th succeed as l d d leaders and change agents d h t They have drive and entrepreneurial passion Have high rate of career success Develop contacts, seek information and influence others Suited for marketing, PR, strategic decision-making

Achieving Personality Fit

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

Hollands Typology of T l f Personality and Co g ue t Congruent Occupations

Relationships p among Occupational Personality Types

Person-Organization Fit
Attention has recently shifted to person-organization fit. Since todays jobs are fluid and ever changing matching today s ever-changing, people to such dynamic organizations is more important. If the fit is not there, people start leaving the organization. Better fit leads to higher satisfaction and performance. Extroverts fit b tt with aggressive and t E t t better ith i d team-oriented i t d cultures. Agreeable people match better with less aggressive less-aggressive and supportive cultures Open people fit better in cultures that promote innovation

Personality Theories
Psychoanalytic Theory: Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung Man is motivated by an subconscious framework of 3 forces Id: Source of psychic energy and seeks gratification of Id S f hi d k tifi ti f desires & instincts like thirst, hunger and material pleasures. Ego: The id may be unchecked if ego does not control it through intellect & reason. The ego is the conscious part of human personality. The two are always in conflict. Super Ego: Ego is aided by super ego It represents ego. societal or personal norms (conscience) that provides values to ego. The theory gives an i i ht i t b h i Th th i insight into behaviour and personality d lit structure. It may be used to understand which force dominates in a person and what may motivate him.

Personality Theories
Socio-Psychological Theory: Adler, Fromm, Horney Interdependence of individual and society Socio-psychological variables ( S i h l i l i bl (e.g. social context, social i l t t i l relationships, interpersonal orientation) and not biological variables shape personality Behaviour is conscious-man behaves to satisfy his needs Behaviour results from the need of people to interact with others in society This interaction could be of three types: society. Compliant: Move towards others Aggressive: Move against others Detached: Move away f D t h d M from others th The theory offers explanations of personality in terms of how people behave with others in society. It may help managers understand employees personalities.

Personality Theories
Trait Factor Theory: Allport, Cattell An individuals personality is composed of traits. Traits T it predict personality di t lit Traits are common to several people but its quantum varies Traits are fairly stable Traits can be inferred from behavioural indicators Allport has distinguished between common traits (which can be used to compare people) and personal predispositions (unique traits) Cattell has identified surface traits (those that lie at the surface and are easily di f d il discernible-overt) and source t it ibl t) d traits (those that are more hidden and ingrained-covert) Trait theory talks about continuity of personality The theory has contributed personality tests for behavioural sciences. Managers may relate personality with behaviours.

Personality Theories
Self Theory: Carl Rogers, Maslow, Herzberg Treats the organism as a whole and emphasizes the totality eats t e o ga s o e a d e p as es t e tota ty and interrelatedness of behaviour. Four concepts of self: Self-image: How one sees oneself, self-image or identity. Ideal Self: The way one would like to be or want to be be. Looking glass-self: Ones understanding & perception of what others think about him from cues that others give. Real Self: What one really is and not ones perception. A person constantly re-evaluates himself in light of others feedback and changes his self-image. He tries to constantly g g y improve his self-concept. People with different self-concepts need different managerial interventions. interventions People with weak self image may be self-image counseled to boost their confidence.