PROCESSES individual differences, BEHAVIOUR,AND VALUES

• individual differences, BEHAVIOUR,AND VALUES

• PERSONALITY

• Perception and attribution

• The nature of learning

• The nature of motivation at work

• WORK ATTITUDES

Part (UNIT) Two: individual BEHAVIOUR AND

PROCESSES

• PERSONALITY

Part(UNIT) Two: individuals in organisations

Lecture OBJECTIVES

Discussthe concept ofpersonality

Explain the nature and determinants of personality

Summarisethe dimensions of personality

Explain how the severaldimensions of personalitycan be relevant toorganisationalbehaviour.

Explainhow the several dimensions of personality can be applied to the management of anorganisation’shuman resourcemanagement.

Introduction

Individual behaviour can be looked at from the bundle of characteristics that make ussimilar to or different from other people.

This leads to the following questions?

What makes youyou?

What characteristics do you share with others?

Whichones set you apart?

Thissuggests that individuals have their way of thinking and acting, own unique style orpersonality.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES SURROUNDING personality

Whatis the MEANING OF personality

approaches to the study of

personality

Theory and practice

PERSONALITY DEFINED

The notion ofpersonalitypermeates popular culture and discussion in the workplace.

Themass media also endlessly discuss “nice”personalities.

Weall use the term ‘personality quite often, and most people feel they understand itinstinctively.

But again, whatexactly is personality?

PERSONALITY DEFINED

Personalityis:

“is arelatively enduring patternsof thoughts,emotions, and behaviours that characterise a person, along with the psychological processes behind those characteristics”

(McShane and VonGlinow2016: 28)

“arelatively enduring pattern of thinking, feeling and acting that characterize a person’s response to his or herenvironment”.

(Brattonet al., 2007: 193).

PERSONALITY DEFINED

“thepattern of relatively enduring waysthat a person feels, think, and behaves.

(George and Jones, 2008:42).

“therelatively enduring individual traitsand disposition that

forms a pattern

distinguishing

oneperson

fromallothers.(Vecchio, 2006:26).

THE DEFINITIONS SUGGEST THHAT:

Theconcept of personality refers tonotionofindividuality- peoplediffer significantly in the ways they routinely think, feel andact.

Personalityrefers toan enduring set of characteristicsand tendencies of a person.

Personalityrests on theobservationthat people seem to behave somewhatconsistentlyover time and across different lifesituations.

DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY

• Genetic or hereditary

origins –the genes that

we inherit from our

parents. (biological

heritage, genetic

makeup)

naturenature

• Interaction between

genetic and

experience/environmenta

l influences on

personality are complex.

• Ongoing debate

Nature v. NurtureNature v. Nurture

• Socialisation, Life

experience and other

forms of interaction with

the environment

• e.g. family, society,

community and culture,

experience

nurturenurture


e.g. twin studies –identical twins, especially separated at birth, reveal that heredity has a very large effect onpersonality.

Studies indicate that up to 50% of variations and 30% of temperaments preferences can be attributedto a person’s geneticcharacteristics.

In other words,genetic codenot only determines the eye colour, and skin tone; it also significantly affects our attitudes.


This implies that twinshave similar personality,and itis impossible to identify thesource ofthesimilarity because they havethesame genetic makeup, grew uptogether in thesame family, andhavesameorsimilarlifeexperiences.

Although they sharethe same

genetic material, they may often

have differentlifeexperiences.

Thisreflects theinfluenceof

nurtureorlife experiences.

ISSUES SURROUNDING NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

It is perceived that personality is stable over periods of time (e.g. from 5 to 10 years) because half of the variations is inherited from parents.

Personality develops and changes when people are young

Some experts say it stabilises by about 30years of age.

Other believe personality development continues to occur through age 50 years.

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OFPERSONALITY

There are several maintheories/perspectivesof personalityincluding:

Traditional Perspectives

Psychodynamic,

Other Personality Perspectives

In organisation

the Traditionalperspective

Traitperspective:

People exhibit a wide range of behaviours, yet within that

variety are obvious patterns that is referred to aspersonality

traits.

For example, indescribing the personality of an employee, one

would probably make a number ofdescriptive

statementssuch as:

“she is extrovert. She likes to be the focus of attention, but she

is also brilliant.

the TRAITperspective cont’d

‘She works very hard but she is generous with her time and a

truly caring person”.

Together, these statementsdescribepersonalitytraits–

thatreveal themselves in a particularpattern of human

behaviour.

the TRAITperspective cont’d

“A trait is aspecific componentof personality that describes

the particular tendencies a person has tofeel, think, and actin

certain ways such as shy or outgoing” (George and

Jones,2008:46).

“A trait is arelatively enduring personal characteristic”.

TRAITperspective

Historicalbackground:

Almosttwo thousand years ago, the ancient Greek used humoral

theory to explain individual differences in personality. The body

was thought to containfourhumours or fluids:

blackbile,blood,phlegm,yellowbile.

Thepersonality of individuals was classified according to the

disposition supposedly produced by thepredominance of one of

these humours in the bodies.

TRAITperspectiveCONT’D:fourprimarytemperaments: sanguine

e.g.Sanguinepeople,who

has apredominanceof blood

(sanguis), werecheerfuland passionate.

the sanguineis an extroverted, fun-loving, activity-prone,

impulsive, entertaining, persuasive,easilyamused and optimistic

person.

TRAITperspectiveCONT’D:fourprimarytemperaments: melancholic

Melancholicpeople, who hadexcess of black bile, had a

pessimistic temperament.

The Melancholy is an introverted,

logical, analytical, factual,

private,lets-do-it-rightperson.

TRAITperspective CONT’D:fourprimary temperaments: phlegmatic

Phlegmaticindividuals, whose body systems contained

an excessive proportion ofphlegm,were calm

andunexcitable.

Thephlegmaticis an introverted,calm, unemotional,

easygoing,never-get-upset person.

TRAITperspectiveCONT’D:fourprimary temperaments:choleric

Cholericindividuals, on the other hand, had excess ofyellow

bileand were bad-tempered and irritable.

The Choleric is an extroverted,

hot-tempered, quick thinking, active, practical, strong-willed and

easily annoyed person.

traditional(2) perspective: Eysenck’s theory

Individuals in Eysenck (1916-1997) theory could be one of four main personality types;

choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic andsanguine.

Thesepersonality types can be understood in terms of two basic factors;

(1)introversion – extroversion,

(2)stability – instability.

()These factors arepolar dimensions.

()Introversionis the opposite of extroversion and stability is the opposite of instability.

Eysenck’stheoryCONT’D

Each typewould leadapredisposition of traitswhich, itself would lead to the likelihood of certain behaviours, e.g.

Introversion-Introvertstend to be shy, thoughtful, risk avoiders and shun socialengagements.

Extroversion-Extrovertstend to be sociable, spontaneous, thrive on change and willing to takerisks.

Thestable personis calm, even-tempered, carefree andreliable.

Theunstable/neuroticpersontends to worry, is anxious, moody and unstable.

perspective:Eysenck’stheory CONT’D

The two dimensions led to thefourtemperaments:

Sanguine -refer to people who are carefree, hopeful, in the moment, easily fatigued andbored; change oriented and not known for persistence.

Phlegmatic-peopledisplay a lack of emotions, are steady, reasonable ininteraction…and able to get their way through persistence…

perspective:Eysenck’stheory CONT’D

Melancholicdescribes people who are egoistic, anxious and pessimistic….and suspicious in interactions.

Choleric people who are seen as impulsive, quick-tempered yet easily calm down if opponents give in….frequently annoyed without lasting animosity.

EYSENCK’S MAJOR PERSONALITYDIMENSIONS (figure 2-1)

PERSPECTIVE3:CATTEL AND PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS

Cattell (1965) used a process of factor analysis to identifyclusters of traitsthat he believed represented aperson’s central traits.

He used the idea of statistical tool of ‘factor analysis’ by defining core traits with the’16 Personality Factor Questionnaire’widely known today as“Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire”or“16PF”(‘source traits’)were building blocks upon which personality is built.

CATTEL AND PERSONALITYCHARACTERISTICS (figure 2-2)

PERSPECTIVE4:THE BIG FIVE MODEL OF PERSONALITY

TRAITSTRUCTURE:

Sociable, anxious, dependable, talkative and hundred of other personal have been described over the years, so expects have tried to organise them intosmaller clusters.

The most researched clustering of personality traits is theFive-FactorModel (FFM)of Personality(“The Big Five”).

Five-Factor Model

• Imaginative, creative, unconventional, curious,

nonconforming, autonomous,perceptive.

• Imaginative, creative, unconventional, curious,

nonconforming, autonomous,perceptive.

Openness to

experience

Openness to

experience

• Organised, dependable, goal-focused, thorough,

disciplined, methodical, industrious

• Organised, dependable, goal-focused, thorough,

disciplined, methodical, industriousConscientiousnessConscientiousness

• Outgoing, talkative, energetic, sociable,assertive.• Outgoing, talkative, energetic, sociable,assertive.ExtraversionExtraversion

• Trusting, helpful, good-natured, considerate,

tolerant, selfless, generous,flexible.

• Trusting, helpful, good-natured, considerate,

tolerant, selfless, generous,flexible.AgreeablenessAgreeableness

• Anxious, insecure, self-conscious, depressed,

temperamental.

• Anxious, insecure, self-conscious, depressed,

temperamental.NeuroticismNeuroticism

THE BIG FIVE MODEL OF PERSONALITYcont’d

Thesedimensions(itis similar to Eysenck’s theory) havebeen identified to have special relevance to for theworkplace.

For example, it has been suggested thatconscientiousnessis related to job performance because it assesses personal characteristics such as dependability, careful, thorough, responsible, organised,hardworking, achievement-oriented andpersevering are important attributes for accomplishing work tasks in all jobs.

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY

Sigmund Freud(1856-1939) developed the psychodynamic theory of personality- which claim that thedynamics interplay of inner psychological processesdetermines ways ofthinking, feeling, and acting.

Histheory proposed that proposed that an individual’s personality is determined byconscious, preconsciousandunconsciousbrain activity, with theunconsciouspart of the mind exerting great influence on theconsciousandbehaviour. – this proposes that the personality is:

Freud’s PSYCHODYNAMICTHEORY

A mix of conscious and subconsciousprocess expressedas linkingid, egoandsuperego.

(1) The Id– (Latin word for it) is the unconscious portion of thepersonalityand itisthe only structure at birth and functions in a totally irrationalmanner.

Theid operates on thepleasure principle, seeking the immediate gratification of impulses produced byinnate drives such as aggression.

Freud’s PSYCHODYNAMICTHEORY

The (2) The Ego– (Latin word for ‘I’) is the thinking, organising and protectiveself and itfunctions primarily at a consciouslevel.

Itcontrols and integratesbehaviourandoperatesaccording to thereality principle.

PSYCHODYNAMICTHEORY cont’d

(3) The Superego–issubdivided into the conscience and the ego ideal, and tellsone whatoneshould do and should not.

It is themoral arm of the personality, determines which actions are permissible

andpunishes wrongdoing with guiltfeelings.

Likethe ego, the

superegostrives to control the instincts of the id.

FREUDIAN DEFENCE MECHANISMS

It seesanxietyas being formed by theconflict of id and superego to control the ego.It however serves as a signal, and motivates the ego to deal with the problem.

Someof the defence mechanismsinclude:

(1) Repression:describes a process where the existence of something isdeliberately kept hidden from the conscious thinking levelbecause it might be too painful or an active defence process through whichanxiety.

FREUDIAN DEFENCEMECHANISMS cont’d

(2) Denial:a defence mechanism in which the ego alters the perception of a situation in order to maintain a balance in the mind or a personrefuses to acknowledge anxiety-arousing aspectsof the environment. The denial may involve either the emotions connected with the event or the eventitself.

(3) Displacement:an unacceptable or dangerous impulse isrepressed and then directed at a safer substitute target.

FREUDIAN DEFENCEMECHANISMS cont’d

(3) Rationalisation:a person constructs a false butplausible explanation or an excuse for an anxiety-rousing behaviouror event that has already occurred.

(4) Reactionformation:this produces theopposite feeling and behaviour at the conscious levelto those held at the unconscious level. e.g. unrequited love can become hate.

JUNGianpersonality theory

Jung proposed that personality is primarily represented by the individual’s preference regardingperceiving and judging information.

(a) Perceiving, which involves how people prefer to gather informationor perceivethrough two competing orientation:(Sensing(S)andIntuition (N)]

(b)Judging– how people process information or makedecisions:[Thinking(T)andFeeling(F)]

JUNGpersonalityAPPROACH

Sensing:people who prefer to deal withhard informationin a structured context.

Intuiting:people who dislike routine activities, but whoprefer to deal with possibilitiesrather than certainty.

Thinking:people who prefer theuse of logic and rationalityas the basis of solving problems, without the feelings of others entering into the process.

Feeling:people who prefer to havesocial harmony around them, get along with othersand have sympathy for those around them.

Other personality perspectives

Other personality perspectives viewpersonality as thesum total of the cognitive habitsandbehaviours that develop as people learn through experience.These perspectives include:

(1).Locus of control:people differ in how muchcontrolthey believe they have over situations.

Other personality perspectivescont’d

‘Internals’or individuals with aninternal locus of control, think that theirown actions and behaviourshave on impact on what happens to them. The strong inner locus of control is associated with workplace success.

‘Externals’ or individuals with anexternal locus of controltend to believe that the environment or outside forces are largely responsible for their fate, and they see little connection between their own actions and what happens to them.


(2). Self-efficacy:a person’s belief that he or she has the

ability, motivation and resources to complete a

tasksuccessfully (e.g. based on theargumentthat

bothpersonality and environmentreciprocally determine

the development ofpersonality)


(3) Self-esteem:the extent to which people have pride in themselves and their capabilities. e.g. Individuals withhighself-esteem think they are generally capable and worthy who can deal with mostsituations.

Individualswithlowself-esteem question their self-worth, doubt their capabilities and are apprehensive about their ability tosucceed.

Other personality perspectivescont’d- HUMANNEEDS THEORY

The theory argues that the way people perceive and interpret their social experiencesformtheir personality.

(4) For example, humanmotivation is based onneeds.e.g.

DavidMcClelland suggests that there are three traits that are present in all people to varyingdegrees:

needforachievement;

needforaffiliation;and

needforpower.


(4) TypeA and BPersonalities:

TypeA Personalities”Characteristics include -have intense desire to achieve, are extremely competitive, have a sense ofurgency, restless, alert, constantly under pressure, impatient…...

Theyare thereforepronetohighblood

pressure andmore likelytohavecoronaryheart

disease.


“Type B Personalities” Characteristics include– relaxed andeasy-going individuals, lowneed forachievement, passive, doesn’tlosetemper,laid-back, enjoys leisuretime,easy-going, slowpaced,relaxed,notusually feeling underpressure,patient……

APPLYING OFdiversity and PERSONALITYTHEORIES IN THE WORKPLACE

The concept of personality has been linked to a number of policies

and practices including HRM.

For example, the concepts ofperson-job fitandperson-

organisation fithas been linked toHolland(1985),emphasised the

matching of personality and workcharacteristics (sixpersonality

‘types’:- realistic, investigative, social, conventional, enterprising

and artistic).

APPLYING OF diversity and PERSONALITY THEORIES IN THEWORKPLACE

Meaning that differenttypes of occupationsare better suited to certaintypes ofpersonality.

Employeesin workplaces and occupations congruent with their personality types should be more satisfied and more likely to remain with the organisation than employees in incongruentoccupations.

Another example is selection processes and these include:

APPLYING OF diversity and PERSONALITY THEORIES IN THEWORKPLACE

Employment Test (job knowledge tests, physical ability tests, work

sampletests, personalityandinterestinventories test:myers-

briggstype indicator(MBTI), integrity/honesty test, graphology

etc.)

InterviewMethods (situational interview,behaviouraldescription

interview etc.

summary

Personality is the distinctive and relatively enduring pattern of thinking,

feeling and acting that characterises a person’s response to his or her

environment.

Traits theorists try to identify and measure personality

variables,eg.Eysenck’stwo-factor model and McCrae and Costa suggested the

‘Big Five’ factor model.

In addition, the lesson examined Freud’s three structures (psychoanalytic

theory) Maslow and McClelland’s need theories of personality.

Human resource professional and managers use a variety of instruments

and techniques to asses personality

four primary temperaments: choleric

The Choleric is an extroverted, hot-tempered, quickthinking,

active, practical,

strong-willedand easilyannoyed person.Cholericsare self-

confident, self-sufficient andveryindependent minded. They are

decisive andopinionatedand find it easy to make decisionsfor

themselvesas well as others.Cholericstend to leavelittleroom

for negotiating. The Choleric is a visionary and seems to never

run out of ideas, plans and goals, which are usually very

practical.

four primary temperaments: choleric

Theiractivity almost always has a purpose because they are by nature result-oriented. They usually do not give in to the pressure of what others think unless they see that they cannot get the desired results.Cholericsare both direct and firm when responding to others. They are slow to build relationships because results tend to be more important than people. They do not easily empathize with the feelings of others or show compassion.Cholericsthink big and seek positions of authority.

four primary temperaments: sanguine

The Sanguine is an extroverted, fun-loving, activity-prone, impulsive, entertaining, persuasive,

easilyamused and optimistic person.

Sanguinesare receptive and open to

others andbuild relationships quickly.

Theyareanimated, excitedand accepting of others. They will smile andtalkeasily and often. It is not unusual to feel as if youhaveknown the Sanguine person for years after onlyafew minutes.Sanguinesare so people-oriented that they easily forget about time and are often late arriving at their destination.Sanguinesget bored easily because of their orientation to social involvement, activity and general dislike for solitude.

sanguine

The Sanguine never lacks for friends. Their attention span is based on whether or not they are interested in the person or event. The Sanguine can change their focus or interest in an instant.Sanguinesare competitive and tend to be disorganized. Unless very disciplined, the Sanguine will have difficulty controlling their emotions. They usually like sports of any kind because of the activity and involvement with other people. Their voice will show excitement and friendliness.Sanguinesusually dress according to current fashion. The Sanguine fears rejection or not making a favorable impression. They also fear others viewing them as unsuccessful.Sanguinesare very effective working with people.

four primary temperaments: phlegmatic

The Phlegmatic is an introverted, calm, unemotional, easygoing, never-get-upset, person.Phlegmaticsare both slow and indirect

when responding to others. They are also slow to

warm-up but will be accommodating in the process.

Phlegmaticsare by far the easiest person with which

to get along. They live a quiet, routine, life, free of the

normal anxieties and stresses of the other temperaments.

The Phlegmatic will avoid getting too involved with people and life in general.Phlegmaticsseldom exert themselves with others or push their way along in their career, they just let it happen.

phlegmatic

The Phlegmatic communicates a warm, sincere interest in others preferring to have just a few close friends. They will be very loyal to their friends and find it difficult to break long standing relationships regardless of what the other person does. The Phlegmatic tends to resist change of any kind without reason, other than they just do not want the change to occur.Phlegmaticsshow little emotion and are prone to be a grudge holder.Phlegmaticstend to avoid conflict and making decisions of any kind. They are practical, concrete and traditional thinkers. Their stoic expression often hides their true feelings. The Phlegmatic may be patient to the point of paralysis.Phlegmaticsare persistent and consistent at whatever they undertake.

four primary temperaments: melancholy

The Melancholy is an introverted, logical,

analytical, factual, private, lets-do-it-right person.

Melancholies respond to others in a slow, cautious

and indirect manner. Melancholies are reserved and

suspicious until sure of your intentions. The Melancholy

probe for the "hidden meaning" behind your words.

Theyare timid and may appear unsure and have a serious expression. They are self-sacrificing, gifted and they tend to be a perfectionist. Melancholies are very sensitive to what others think about their work. The Melancholy is well organized; on occasion you may find a Melancholy that keeps things cluttered, however, they know what’s in the piles.

melancholy

The Melancholy is determined to make the right and best decision. Melancholies will ask specific questions and sometimes they will ask the same question again and again. The Melancholy needs reassurance, feedback and reasons why they should do something. They need information, time to think and a plan. The Melancholy fears taking a risk, making a wrong decision and being viewed as incompetent. Melancholies tend to have a negative attitude toward something new until they have had time to think it over. Melancholies are skeptical about most everything but they are creative and capable people. Melancholies tend to get bored with something once they get it figured out.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Schein, E. (1985)Organisational Culture and Leadership - A Dynamic ViewLondon:Jossey-Bass.

Senge, P. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation. London: Century.

Thomas, K. W. (1976) Conflict and Conflict Management. In M. D.Dunnette(ed.),Handbook of Industrial and Organisational Psychology(pp. 889-935) Chicago: Rand-McNally.

Tannenbaum, R. M. andShmidt, W.H. (1973) How to Choose a leadership pattern, Harvard Business Review, May-June

Tuckman, B. and Jensen, N. (1977) Stages of Small Group Developmentrevisited.,Groupand Organisational studies, 2.

Vecchio, R. V. (2006). Organisational Behaviour: Core Concepts, 6thEdition. Australia: Thomson South-Western.

Watson, C. M. (1983) Leadership, Management, and the Seven Keys, Business Horizons, 8-13.

Wheelen, T. L. and Hunger, J. D. (1998) Strategic Management and Business

Policy: Entering the 21stCentury Global Society, Harlow, England: Addison-Wesley.

Zoogah, D.B. andBeugre, C.D. (2013) Managing Organisation Behaviour in the African Context. London, UK:Routledge.

PROCESSES individual differences, BEHAVIOUR,AND VALUES

Documents

Transcript of PROCESSES individual differences, BEHAVIOUR,AND VALUES