Personality

Personality Individual Differences Thanks to a vast array of individual differences, modern organizations have a rich and interesting human texture. - Individual differences make the manager’s job endlessly challenging Self Concept: The I & Me in OB - Self is the core of one’s conscious existence. - Awareness of self is is referred to as one’s self-concept - It is the concept the individual has of him/herself as a physical, social, spiritual or moral being - Because you have a self-concept you recognize yourself as a distinct human - A self-concept will be impossible without the capacity to think Personality – Definition  Individuals have their own way of thinking and acting, their own unique style and personality.  The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.  The sum total of the ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others.  The individual’s personality is made up of heredity, environment and moderated by the environment  Your personality type is determined by preferred way of relating to others and to the world – how you focus your attention, acquire information, make decisions, and orient yourself towards the outside world Personality Attributes affecting OB • Locus of control: Internals and Externals • Machiavellianism: Pragmatism, emotional distance, believes ends justify the means • Self-esteem: degree individual like or dislike themselves • Self-monitoring: Individual’s ability to adjust behaviour to external situations • Risk taking: Willingness to take chances • Type A and B personality: A: Impatient; hectic pace; can’t cope with leisure; obsessed with numbers; measuring B: No sense of urgency; play for fun and relaxation; relax without guilt The Big Five Model  Extraversion: outgoing, talkative, sociable, assertive  Agreeableness: Trusting, good natured, cooperative, soft hearted  Conscientiousness: Dependable, responsible, achievement oriented, persistent  Emotional stability: Relaxed, secure, unworried  Openness to experience: Intellectual, imaginative, curious, broadminded Sixteen Personality Factors Myers – Briggs Typologies (MBTI) • Measures personality types and preferences • Helps identify differences in ways in which individuals perceive and judge the world around them: - Perceive: obtain awareness of a situation and factors involved in it - Judging: deciding what to do about it - The instrument does not measure intelligence and abilities Shaping Personality • We are constantly playing different roles, in different situations and with different people • Sometimes situations shape our role – we step into different costumes to take on different roles • Occasions when there is an uncertain fit between who we are or expect to be and the role required • Changes mean we need to act in a new way, perhaps change your image and bring out a hidden side of you. • You need to make a personality change to alter the way you act or are, to fit better or get along with others • We are quite plastic and can adapt ourselves to behave differently Shaping Personality • Possible to make a 180 degree change in our personality: - Need to determine personality traits that no longer work and figure out what qualities we need to adopt to become successful - Practice the new traits • Another way to create change in your personality: be aware of the trait you are using, control it and use a more appropriate one • 4 steps to changing your personality: Determine how you want to change --- what or who you want to become Create a mental script --- imagine yourself in the new role Practice your mental script to reinforce your new image of yourself Play out your mental script in life. • Check out what aspect of your personality you do not like and imaging the opposite Mental Scripting • In mental scripting you create a detailed scenario in which you mentally play out a desired role again and again until you create a habit or a pattern of action - As you repeatedly experience the action mentally, you reinforce the pattern in your mind - This, in turn, makes you feel more and more certain you can play the role, and the confidence carries over into playing the scene in every day life • Once you have created a mental script, practice applying it in the real world - Practice it a few minutes every day, until you feel really that new trait becomes part of you. Values  They represent basic convictions that “a specific mode of conduct or end state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence.  All of us have a hierarchy of values that forms our value system. This system is identified by the relative importance we assign to such values as freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty, obedience and equality.  Values tend to be relatively stable and enduring.  A significant portion of our values is established in our early years  The process of questioning our values may result in a change.Values are important in OB because they lay the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation and because they influence our perceptions  Values can cloud objectivity and rationality. Values across cultures • • Managers must become capable of working with people across different cultures. Because values differ across cultures, an understanding of these differences should be helpful in explaining and predicting behaviour of employees from different countries. Geert Hofstede surveyed 1,16,000 IBM employees in 40 countries in their work related values – found managers and employees vary on 5 value dimensions of national culture. Power Distance: The degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally/ relatively equal (low power distance) to extremely unequal (high power distance) • 1. Values across cultures 2. Individualism vs Collectivism: Degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of a group. Quantity of life vs Quality of life: Quantity: degree to which values such as assertiveness, the acquisition of money and material goods and competition prevails. Quality: The degree with which we value relationships, show sensitivity and concern for the welfare of others. Uncertainty avoidance: Degree to which people in a country, prefer structured or unstructured situations.; Risk taking. Long term and short term orientation: Long: look to future and value thrift and persistence Short: Values past and present; emphasis respect for traditions and fulfilling social obligations. 3. 4. 5.