2-Understand People at Work

8/19/2019 2-Understand People at Work

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By

Asad Ur Rehman

Assistant [email protected]

Hamdard University

Understanding People

at Work:

Individual Differencesand Perception

Lecture

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Advice for Hiring Successful Employees:The Case of Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki

(www.guykawasaki.com) who is a

Silicon Valley(San Jose-California)

venture capitalist and the author of

nine books.

Organizational Behaviour

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Most individuals havepersonalities that can easily get

in the way of their objective.


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Good people hire people that

are better than themselves

He also believes that mediocre

employees hire less-talented employees

in order to feel better about themselves.

He believes that the role of a leader is to

produce more leaders, not to produce followers.


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Some managers fear diversity and the

possible complexities that it brings, and

They make the mistake of hiring similar

individuals without any sort of differences.


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Kawasaki has learned that mathematics and financeare the “easy” part of any job.

He observes that the true challenge comes in trying toeffectively manage people.

Kawasaki regrets the choices he made in college,

saying, “I should have taken organizational behaviorand social psychology ” to be better prepared for theindividual nuances of people.


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The Role of Fit7


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The Role of Fit

While personality traits and other individualdifferences are important, we need to keep inmind that behavior is jointly determined by

the person and the situation.

Certain situations bring out the best in

people, and someone who is a poor performerin one job may turn into a star employee in adifferent job.


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The Role of Fit

Imagine that you are interviewing an employee who is

Proactive, and creative,

Willing to take risks

Outgoing personality Would this person be a good job candidate?

What behaviors would you expect this person todemonstrate?


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Question above is misleading. While human beings

bring their traits to work, every organization is different,

and every job within the organization is also different


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The Role of Fit

Someone who is proactive and creative may be agreat fit for a . .

Company in the high-tech sector that would benefit

from risk-taking individuals May be a poor fit for a company that rewards routine

and predictable behavior, such as accountants.

Similarly, this person may be a great fit

for a job such as a scientist

but a poor fit for a routine office job


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The Role of Fit

Person-organization fit

refers to the degree to

which a person’s Values

Personality

Goals, and

other characteristics

match those of theorganization.

Example: Very social,

good communicator

Person-job fit

is the degree to which aperson’s

Skill (technical)

Knowledge

Abilities, and

other characteristics match

the job demands.

Example: know thetechnology of electronicsEngg.


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The Role of Fit

The first thing many recruiters look at is the person– job fit (technical skills).

Companies are often also interested in hiringcandidates who will fit into the company culture.

When people fit into their organization, they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs

more committed to their companies

more influential in their company

they actually remain longer in their company


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The Role of Fit

Example:

People who have worked in multiple companies

tend to understand the impact of a company’s

culture better, and therefore they pay more

attention to whether they will fit in with the

company when making their decisions.


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Values and Personality14


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Values

Values refer to . . Stable life goals that people have,

Reflecting what is most important to them• Family, job or religion etc

Values are established throughout one’s life as a result of theaccumulating life experiences and tend to be relatively stable.

Example: somebody living is society where individual observe Telling lie is very common (will he be honest ?)

Not following traffic rules is normal

Cheating in exam is NOT a crime

Individual will have different value than somebody living societywhere Telling lie is crime

Breaking traffic rules is major offense


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Values

The values that are important to people tend toaffect Types of decisions they make

How they perceive their environment

and their actual behaviors

Moreover, people are more likely to accept joboffers when the company possesses the valuespeople care about.

Heard about the Book “Built to Last: Successful Habitsof Visionary Companies” written by Jim Collins ?


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What are the values people care about?

Terminal Values

refer to end states people

desire in life, Such as leading a exciting life

Family Security

Self respect

Inner harmony

a world at peace

Instrumental Values

deal with views on

acceptable modes ofconduct ,

such as being honest

Ethical,

Being ambitious

Broad minded

Forgiving


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Where do values come from?

Research indicates that they are shaped early in life andshow stability over the course of a lifetime.

Early family experiences are important influences over the

dominant values.

People who were raised in families with low socioeconomicstatus and those who experienced restrictive parentingoften display conformity values when they are adults.

While those who were raised by parents who were coldtoward their children would likely value and desire security.


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Personality

Personality encompasses the relatively stable feelings,thoughts, and behavioral patterns a person has.

Our personality differentiates us from other people, and

understanding someone’s personality gives us clues abouthow that person is likely to act and feel in a variety ofsituations.

In order to effectively manage organizational behavior, anunderstanding of different employees’ personalities ishelpful.

Having this knowledge is also useful for placing people in jobs and organizations.


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Personality

If personality is stable, does this mean that it does notchange?

You probably remember how you have changed andevolved as a result of your own life experiences, Attention you received in early childhood

The style of parenting you were exposed to

Successes and failures you had in high school

and other life events.

In fact, our personality changes over long periods oftime.


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Personality

Two most popular ways to study personality

Big Five Personality traits

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)


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Big Five Personality Traits


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Trait Description

Openness Person is being curious, original, intellectual,creative, and open to new ideas.

Conscientiousness Person is being organized, systematic, punctual,achievement oriented, and dependable.

Extraversion Person is being outgoing, talkative, and sociable,and enjoys being in social situations.

Agreeableness Person is being nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting,kind, and warm.

Neuroticism

(or emotionality)

Person is being anxious, irritable, aggressive,

temperamental, and moody.


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Openness

Openness is the degree to which a person is curious,original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas.

People high in openness seem to thrive in situationsthat require being flexible and learning new things. They are highly motivated to learn new skills

They do well in training settings

Open people are highly adaptable to change

Teams that experience unforeseen changes in their tasksdo well if they are populated with people high inopenness


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Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness refers to the degree to which a person isorganized, systematic, punctual, achievement oriented, anddependable.

Conscientious people have higher levels of motivation toperform Lower levels of turnover,

Lower levels of absenteeism

Higher levels of safety performance at work

It seems that conscientiousness is a good trait to have forentrepreneurs.

Highly conscientious people are more likely to start theirown business.


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Extraversion


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Extraversion is the degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative,and sociable, and enjoys being in social situations.

One of the established findings is that they tend to be effective in jobs involving sales.

They tend to be effective managers and they demonstrateinspirational leadership behaviors.

Extraverts do well in social situations. Part of their success comesfrom how they prepare for the job interview.

They actively seek information and feedback, and build effectiverelationships, which helps with their adjustment.


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Agreeableness


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Agreeableness is the degree to which a person is nice, tolerant, sensitive,trusting, kind, and warm. Agreeableness are likeable people who get alongwith others.

Agreeable people help others at work consistently, and this helping

behavior is not dependent on being in a good mood.

This may reflect their ability to show empathy and give people the benefitof the doubt.

Agreeable people may be a valuable addition to their teams and may beeffective leaders because they create a fair environment when they are inleadership positions.

Not agreeable are shown to quit their jobs unexpectedly, perhaps inresponse to a conflict they engage with a boss or a peer.


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Neuroticism


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Neuroticism refers to the degree to which a person is anxious, irritable,aggressive, temperamental, and moody.

These people have a tendency to have emotional problems and experiencestress and depression on a habitual basis.

People very high in neuroticism experience a number of problems at work. For example, they are less likely to be someone people go to for advice and

friendship.

They may experience relationship difficulties.

They tend to be habitually unhappy in their jobs and report high intentionsto leave, but they do not necessarily actually leave their jobs.

If they achieve managerial jobs, they tend to create an unfair climate atwork.


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Understand Personalities at Work

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)28

Unlike the Big Five, which assesses traits, MBTI measurestypes. MBTI on the other hand, classifies people as one of16 types.

MBTI was developed in 1943 by a mother –daughter team,Isabel Myers and Katherine Cook Briggs.

Its objective at the time was to aid World War II veterans

in identifying the occupation that would suit theirpersonalities.



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Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your owninner world? Extraversion (E) : Those who drive energy from other people and objects.

Introversion (I): Those who drive energy from inside

Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in

or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? Sensing (S): Those who reply on their 5 sense.

Intuition (N): Those who reply on their intuitions & hunches

Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic andconsistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? Thinking (T): Those who use their logic.

Feeling (F): Those who use their values & ideas

Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get thingsdecided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? Judging (J)

Perceiving (P)


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www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test


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Positive and Negative Affectivity33


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Positive and Negative Affectivity

You may have noticed that behavior is also a functionof moods.

When people are in a good mood , they may be more cooperative

smile more,

and act friendly

When these same people are in a bad mood , they may have a tendency to be picky

Irritable

Less tolerant of different opinions


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Positive and Negative Affectivity

Positive affective people experience positive moods morefrequently, whereas negative affective people experiencenegative moods with greater frequency.

Negative affective people focus on the “glass half empty”

and experience more anxiety and nervousness.

When a team comprises mostly negative affective people,there tend to be fewer instances of helping andcooperation.

When people with a lot of power are also high in positiveaffectivity, the work environment is affected in a positivemanner and can lead to greater levels of cooperation andfinding mutually agreeable solutions to problems.


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OB Toolbox: I work with a negative person


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Understand that you are unlikely to changesomeone else’s personality: Personality is relatively stable and criticizing

someone’s personality will not bring about change.

If the behavior is truly disruptive, focus on behavior,not personality.

Keep an open mind: Just because a person is constantly negative does not

mean that they are not sometimes right.

Listen to the feedback they are giving you.


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OB Toolbox: I work with a negative person


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Set a time limit: If you are dealing with someone whoconstantly complains about things, you may want to limitthese conversations to prevent them from consuming yourtime at work.

You may also empower them to act on the negatives theymention: The next time an overly negative individualcomplains about something, ask that person to think ofways to change the situation and get back to you.

Ask for specifics: If someone has a negative tone ingeneral, you may want to ask for specific examples for whatthe problem is.


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Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring refers to the extent to which a person iscapable of monitoring his or her actions and appearance insocial situations.

People who are social monitors are social chameleons whounderstand what the situation demands and actaccordingly, while low social monitors tend to act the waythey feel.

High social monitors are sensitive to the types of behaviors

the social environment expects from them. Their greater ability to modify their behavior according to

the demands of the situation and to manage theirimpressions effectively is a great advantage for them.


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Self-Monitoring


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In general, they tend to be more successful in their careers.

Second, high social monitors tend to experience higherlevels of stress, probably caused by behaving in ways that

conflict with their true feelings.

In situations that demand positive emotions, they may acthappy although they are not feeling happy, which puts anemotional burden on them.

Finally, high social monitors tend to be less committed totheir companies.


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Proactive Personality

Proactive personality refers to a person’s inclination to fixwhat is perceived as wrong, change the status quo, and useinitiative to solve problems.

Instead of waiting to be told what to do, proactive peopletake action to initiate meaningful change and remove theobstacles they face along the way.

In general, having a proactive personality has a number of

advantages for these people.

For example, they tend to be more successful in their jobsearches.


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Proactive Personality

They are also more successful over the course of their careers,because they use initiative and acquire greater understanding ofthe politics within the organization.

They adjust to their new jobs quickly because they understand thepolitical environment better and often make friends more quickly.

Proactive people are eager to learn and engage in manydevelopmental activities to improve their skills.

Research shows that the success of proactive people depends ontheir understanding of a company’s core values, their ability andskills to perform their jobs, and their ability to assess situationaldemands correctly.


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Self-Esteem


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Self-esteem is the degree to which a person has overall positivefeelings about his or herself.

People with high self-esteem view themselves in a positive light, areconfident, and respect themselves.

On the other hand, people with low self-esteem experience highlevels of self-doubt and question their self-worth.

High self-esteem is related to higher levels of satisfaction with one’s job and higher levels of performance on the job.

People with low self-esteem are attracted to situations in whichthey will be relatively invisible, such as large companies.


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Self-Esteem


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Managing employees with low self-esteem maybe challenging at times, because negativefeedback given with the intention to improve

performance may be viewed as a judgment ontheir worth as an employee.

Therefore, effectively managing employees with

relatively low self-esteem requires tact andproviding lots of positive feedback whendiscussing performance incidents.


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Self-Efficacy


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Self-efficacy is a belief that one can perform a specific tasksuccessfully. Research shows that the belief that we can dosomething is a good predictor of whether we can actually do it.

Self-efficacy is different from other personality traits in that it is jobspecific.

You may have high self-efficacy in being successful academically, butlow self-efficacy in relation to your ability to fix your car.

At the same time, people have a certain level of generalized self-efficacy and they have the belief that whatever task or hobby theytackle, they are likely to be successful in it.


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Self-Efficacy


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Is there a way of increasing employees’ self -efficacy?

Hiring people who are capable of performing their tasks andtraining people to increase their self-efficacy may be effective.

Some people may also respond well to verbal encouragement. Byshowing that you believe they can be successful and effectivelyplaying the role of a cheerleader, you may be able to increase self-efficacy.

Giving people opportunities to test their skills so that they can seewhat they are capable of doing (or empowering them) is also agood way of increasing self-efficacy.


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OB Toolbox: Ways to build your Self-Confidence


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Take a self-inventory: What are the areas in which you lackconfidence? Then consciously tackle these areas. Take partin training programs; seek opportunities to practice theseskills. Confront your fears head-on.

Set manageable goals: Success in challenging goals willbreed self-confidence, but do not make your goalsimpossible to reach. If a task seems daunting, break it apartand set mini goals.

Find a mentor. A mentor can point out areas in need ofimprovement, provide accurate feedback, and point toways of improving yourself.


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OB Toolbox: Ways to build your Self-Confidence


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Don’t judge yourself by your failures: Everyone fails, and the mostsuccessful people have more failures in life. Instead of assessingyour self-worth by your failures, learn from mistakes and move on.

Until you can feel confident, be sure to act confident: Acting

confident will influence how others treat you, which will boost yourconfidence level. Pay attention to how you talk and behave, and actlike someone who has high confidence.

Know when to ignore negative advice. If you receive negative

feedback from someone who is usually negative, try to ignore it.Surrounding yourself with naysayers is not good for your self-esteem.


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Perception48


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Perception

Perception may be defined as the process with whichindividuals detect and interpret environmental stimuli.

What makes human perception so interesting is thatwe do not solely respond to the stimuli in ourenvironment.

We go beyond the information that is present in ourenvironment, pay selective attention to some aspectsof the environment, and ignore other elements thatmay be immediately apparent to other people.


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Perception


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Perception


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Perception


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That is all

2-Understand People at Work

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