Personality & Values

Chaphture-4
What is personality? How do we typically measure it? What factors determine personality?

Personality: The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.
Measuring Personality: a. Personality Tests: Helpful in hiring decisions b. Self-reporting surveys: Most common method. c. Observer-ratings surveys: provide an independent assessment of personality – often better predictors
Other ways to measuring personality * Self-report surveys * Observer-rating surveys * Projective measures * Rorschach Inkblot Test * Thematic Apperception Test
Factors determine personality: a. Heredity b. Personality Traits
Other Factors determine personality c. Environment d. Situation

What is the Myers-Briggs Type indicator (MBTI), and What does it measure?

Myers – Briggs Indicator (MBTI): A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types using 100 questions.
Myers – Briggs Indicator measure: a. Extroverted (E) vs. Introverted (I) b. Sensing (S) vs. Intuitive (N) c. Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F) d. Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)
Participants are classified on four axes to determine one of 16 possible personality types, such as ENTJ.
Most widely-used instrument in the world.

What are the Big Five personality traits?

Big Five Personality Model: A personality assessment model that taps five basic dimensions. 1. Extroversion 2. Agreeableness 3. Conscientiousness 4. Emotional Stability 5. Openness to Experience.

How do the Big Five traits predict work behavior?

1. Extroversion: The quality of being comfortable with relationships (Sociable, gregarious, and assertive).
Higher performance – Enhanced leadership – Higher job & life satisfaction. 2. Agreeableness: The ability to get along with others (Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting).
Higher performance – Lower levels of deviant behavior. 3. Conscientiousness: The number of goals on which a person focuses (Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized).
Higher performance – Enhanced leadership – Greater longevity. 4. Emotional Stability: Less moodiness and insecurity (Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative).
High job & life satisfaction – Lower stress level 5. Openness to Experience: The capacity to entertain new ideas and to change as a result of new information (Curious, imaginative, artistic, and sensitive).
Training performance – Enhanced leadership – More adaptable to change.

Besides the Big Five, what other personality traits are relevant to OB?

1. Core Self-Evaluation: * The degree to which people like or dislike themselves. * Positive self-evaluation leads to higher job performance. 2. Machiavellianism: * A pragmatic, emotionally distant power-player who believes that ends justify the means. * High Machs are manipulative, win more often, and persuade more than they are persuaded. Flourish when: * Have direct interaction. * Work with minimal rules and regulations. * Emotions distract others. 3. Narcissism * An arrogant, entitled, self-important person who needs excessive admiration. * Less effective in their jobs. 4. Self-Monitoring * The ability to adjust behavior to meet external, situational factors. * High monitors conform more and are more likely to become leaders. 5. Risk Taking * The willingness to take chances. * May be best to align propensities with job requirements. * Risk takers make faster decisions with less information. 6. Type A vs. Type B personality * Aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more in less time. * Impatient: always moving, walking, and eating rapidly. * Strive to think or do two or more things at once. * Cannot cope with leisure time. * Obsessed with achievement numbers. * but quality of the work is low. * Type B people are the complete opposite. 7. Proactive Personality * Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres to completion. * Creates positive change in the environment.

What are Values, why are they important, and what is the difference between terminal and instrumental values?

Values: Basic convictions on how to conduct yourself or how to live your life that is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end state of existence.
They are important: 1. Provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and behaviors 2. Influence our perception of the world around us 3. Represent interpretations of “right” and “wrong” 4. Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over other.
The difference between terminal and instrumental values:
Terminal Values: Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime.
Instrumental Values: Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values.

Do values differ across generations? How so?

Yeas, The dominant work values differ from generations.
How: Experience has shown that: 1. Generations in the age of 65+: They are do Hard working, conservative, conforming; loyalty to the organization 2. Generations in the age of 40:60: They are Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of authority; loyalty to career 3. Generations in the age of 20:40: They are Work/life balance, team-oriented, dislike of rules; loyalty to relationships 4. Generations in the age of 30: They are Confident, financial success, self-reliant but team-oriented; loyalty to both self and relationships.

Do values differ across cultures? How so?
Values differ across cultures.

How: Experience Hofstede’s Framework for assessing culture – five value dimensions: * Power distance * Individualism vs. Collectivism * Masculinity vs. Femininity * Uncertainty Avoidance * Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation.