Chapter 05 Personality and Values
Organizational Behaviour and Culture (MPEN-OBC-14)
Hogeschool Utrecht
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Personality and Values 5 I am driven by fear of failure. It is a strong motivator for me. Photo: University students at a job fair in Koto Ward, Tokyo. Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images. —Dennis Manning, CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Co. 131 CHAPTER 5 Personality and Values OB Poll Generational Changes in What Is Valued in a Job 60 Percent Indicating Value Was “Very Important” 132 53 47 50 43 40 30 42 20 10 40 33 31 25 17 0 College Senior 1980 A job where you have more than 2 weeks vacation College Senior 1995 A job that gives you a chance to make friends College Senior 2010 A job that most people respect Source: Based on “What Millennial Workers Want: How to Attract and Retain Gen Y Employees,” Robert Half International web interviews of 1,007 individuals age 21–28, 2008. The choice of young Japanese employees to work more hours is an interesting contrast to workers in the United States and Europe, who express a preference to work fewer hours. As for the hours she works—generally her side job takes 25 hours a week— Hiroko Yokogawa remains undeterred. “I wouldn’t say I want to leave my main job—rather, I’d like to have a couple of different jobs at once.” A s the opening vignette indicates, employees with different values may enact different behaviors to achieve their work goals, and these differences can be a reflection of culture. In the first half of this chapter, we review the research on personality and its relationship to behavior. In the latter half, we look at how values shape many of our work-related behaviors. Although we focus much of our discussion on the Big Five personality traits, they are not the only traits that describe people. One of the others we’ll discuss is narcissism. Check out the Self-Assessment Library to see how you score on narcissism (remember: be honest!). S A L SELF-ASSESSMENT LIBRARY Am I a Narcissist? In the Self-Assessment Library (available on CD or online), take assessment IV.A (Am I a Narcissist?) and answer the following questions. 1. How did you score? Did your scores surprise you? Why or why not? 2. On which facet of narcissism did you score highest? Lowest? 3. Do you think this measure is accurate? Why or why not? 134 CHAPTER 5 Personality and Values Personality traits are enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior. British entrepreneur Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Group, is described as energetic, enthusiastic, charismatic, decisive, ambitious, adaptable, courageous, and industrious. These traits helped Branson build one of the most recognized and respected global brands for products and services in the areas of business travel, entertainment, and lifestyle. In this photo Branson is joined by his daughter Holly during the promotional launch of a new venture—the Marussia Virgin racing partnership with Disney’s Cars 2 film. Identifying personality traits helps organizations select employees and match workers to job. Source: Eric Best/Landmark Media Landmark Media/Newscom. Personality Determinants An early debate in personality research centered on whether an individual’s personality was the result of heredity or of environment. It appears to be a result of both. However, it might surprise you that research tends to support the importance of heredity over the environment. Heredity refers to factors determined at conception. Physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are generally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by who your parents are—that is, by their biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. Researchers in many different countries have studied thousands of sets of identical twins who were separated at birth and raised separately If heredity played little or no part in determining personality, you would expect to find few similarities between the separated twins. But twins raised apart have much in common, and a significant part of the behavioral similarity between them turns out to be associated with genetic factors. One set of twins separated for 39 years and raised 45 miles apart were found to drive the same model and color car. They chain-smoked the same brand of cigarette, owned dogs with the same name, and regularly vacationed within three blocks of each other in a beach community 1,500 miles away. Researchers have found that genetics accounts for about 50 percent of the personality similarities between twins and more than 30 percent of the similarities in occupational and leisure interests. Interestingly, twin studies have suggested parents don’t add much to our personality development. The personalities of identical twins raised in different households are more similar to each other than to the personalities of siblings with whom the twins were raised. Ironically, the most important contribution our parents may make to our personalities is giving us their genes! This is not to suggest that personality never changes. People’s scores on measures of dependability tend to increase over time, as when young adults take on roles like starting a family and establishing a career that require great responsibility. However, strong individual differences in dependability remain; Personality 135 everyone tends to change by about the same amount, so their rank order stays roughly the same An analogy to intelligence may make this clearer. Children become smarter as they age, so nearly everyone is smarter at age 20 than at age 10. Still, if Madison is smarter than Blake at age 10, she is likely to be so at age 20, too. Consistent with the notion that the teenage years are periods of great exploration and change, research has shown that personality is more changeable in adolescence and more stable among adults Early work on the structure of personality tried to identify and label enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior, including shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid. When someone exhibits these characteristics in a large number of situations, we call them personality traits of that person The more consistent the characteristic over time, and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more important that trait is in describing the individual. Early efforts to identify the primary traits that govern behavior9 often resulted in long lists that were difficult to generalize from and provided little practical guidance to organizational decision makers. Two exceptions are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Big Five Model, now the dominant frameworks for identifying and classifying traits. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 2 Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used personalityassessment instrument in the world It is a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in particular situations. Respondents are classified as extraverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or perceiving (J or P). These terms are defined as follows: ● ● ● ● Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I). Extraverted individuals are outgoing, sociable, and assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy. Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N). Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order. They focus on details. Intuitives rely on unconscious processes and look at the “big picture.” Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F). Thinking types use reason and logic to handle problems. Feeling types rely on their personal values and emotions. Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P). Judging types want control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous. These classifications together describe 16 personality types, identifying every person by one trait from each of the four pairs. For example, Introverted/ Intuitive/Thinking/Judging people (INTJs) are visionaries with original minds and great drive. They are skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, and decisive and have a natural head for business or mechanics. The ENTP type is a conceptualizer, innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. This person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments. The MBTI has been widely used by organizations including Apple Computer, AT&T, Citigroup, GE, 3M Co., many hospitals and educational institutions, and heredity Factors determined at conception; one’s biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup. personality traits Enduring Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior. A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types. Personality Exhibit 5-1 Traits That Matter Most to Business Success at Buyout Companies Most Important Persistence Attention to detail Efficiency Analytical skills Setting high standards 4 Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at work. 137 Less Important Strong oral communication Teamwork Flexibility/adaptability Enthusiasm Listening skills Conscientiousness is as important for managers as for front-line employees. As Exhibit 5-1 shows, a study of the personality scores of 313 CEO candidates in private equity companies (of whom 225 were hired, and their company’s performance later correlated with their personality scores) found conscientiousness—in the form of persistence, attention to detail, and setting of high standards—was more important than other traits. These results attest to the importance of conscientiousness to organizational success. Interestingly, conscientious people live longer because they take better care of themselves (they eat better and exercise more) and engage in fewer risky behaviors like smoking, drinking and drugs, and risky sexual or driving behavior Still, probably because they’re so organized and structured, conscientious people don’t adapt as well to changing contexts. They are generally performance oriented and have more trouble learning complex skills early in the training process because their focus is on performing well rather than on learning. Finally, they are often less creative than less conscientious people, especially artistically Although conscientiousness is most consistently related to job performance, the other Big Five traits are also related to aspects of performance and have other implications for work and for life. Let’s look at them one at a time. Exhibit 5-2 summarizes. Of the Big Five traits, emotional stability is most strongly related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels. This is probably true because high scorers are more likely to be positive and optimistic and experience fewer negative emotions. They are happier than those who score low. People low on emotional stability are hypervigilant (looking for problems or impending signs of danger) and are especially vulnerable to the physical and psychological effects of stress. Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in their lives as a whole. They experience more positive emotions than do introverts, and they more freely express these feelings. They also tend to perform better in jobs that require significant interpersonal interaction, perhaps because they have more social skills—they usually have more friends and spend more time in social Big Five Model A personality agreeableness A personality emotional stability A personality assessment model that taps five basic dimensions. extraversion A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive. dimension that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, and trusting. conscientiousness A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized. dimension that characterizes someone as calm, self-confident, secure (positive) versus nervous, depressed, and insecure (negative). openness to experience A personality dimension that characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity, and curiosity. 138 CHAPTER 5 Personality and Values Exhibit 5-2 Model of How Big Five Traits Influence OB Criteria BIG FIVE TRAITS WHY IS IT RELEVANT? Emotional stability • Less negative thinking and fewer negative emotions • Less hyper-vigilant • Higher job & life satisfaction • Lower stress levels Extroversion • Better interpersonal skills • Greater social dominance • More emotionally expressive • Higher performance* • Enhanced leadership • Higher job & life satisfaction Openness • Increased learning • More creative • More flexible & autonomous • Training performance • Enhanced leadership • More adaptable to change • Better liked • More compliant and conforming • Higher performance* • Lower levels of deviant behavior • Greater effort & persistence • More drive and discipline • Better organized & planning • Higher performance • Enhanced leadership • Greater longevity Agreeableness Conscientiousness WHAT DOES IT AFFECT? * In jobs requiring significant teamwork or frequent interpersonal interactions. situations than introverts. Finally, extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence in groups; extraverts are more socially dominant, “take charge” sorts of people, and they are generally more assertive than introverts One downside is that extraverts are more impulsive than introverts; they are more likely to be absent from work and engage in risky behavior such as unprotected sex, drinking, and other impulsive or sensation-seeking acts One study also found extraverts were more likely than introverts to lie during job interviews Individuals who score high on openness to experience are more creative in science and art than those who score low. Because creativity is important to leadership, open people are more likely to be effective leaders, and more comfortable with ambiguity and change. They cope better with organizational change and are more adaptable in changing contexts. Recent evidence also suggests, however, that they are especially susceptible to workplace accidents You might expect agreeable people to be happier than disagreeable people. They are, but only slightly. When people choose romantic partners, friends, or organizational team members, agreeable individuals are usually their first choice. Agreeable individuals are better liked than disagreeable people, which explains why they tend to do better in interpersonally oriented jobs such as customer service. They also are more compliant and rule abiding and less likely to get into accidents as a result. People who are agreeable are more satisfied in their jobs and contribute to organizational performance by engaging in citizen- 140 CHAPTER 5 Personality and Values IMG, said of himself, “I know God gave me an unusual brain. I can’t deny that. I have a God-given talent for seeing potential.”34 We might say people like Forstmann are overconfident, but very often we humans sell ourselves short and are less happy and effective than we could be because of it. If we decide we can’t do something, for example, we won’t try, and not doing it only reinforces our self-doubts. Machiavellianism Kuzi is a young bank manager in Taiwan. He’s had three promotions in the past 4 years and makes no apologies for the aggressive tactics he’s used to propel his career upward. “I’m prepared to do whatever I have to do to get ahead,” he says. Kuzi would properly be called Machiavellian. The personality characteristic of Machiavellianism (often abbreviated Mach) is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use power. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes ends can justify means. “If it works, use it” is consistent with a high-Mach perspective. A considerable amount of research has found high Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more than do low Machs They like their jobs less, are more stressed by their work, and engage in more deviant work behaviors Yet high-Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors. High Machs flourish (1) when they interact face to face with others rather than indirectly; (2) when the situation has minimal rules and regulations, allowing latitude for improvisation; and (3) when emotional involvement with details irrelevant to winning distracts low Machs Thus, in jobs that require bargaining skills (such as labor negotiation) or that offer substantial rewards for winning (such as commissioned sales), high Machs will be productive. But if ends can’t justify the means, there are absolute standards of behavior, or the three situational factors we noted are not in evidence, our ability to predict a high Mach’s performance will be severely curtailed. Narcissism Hans likes to be the center of attention. He looks at himself in the mirror a lot, has extravagant dreams, and considers himself a person of many talents. Hans is a narcissist. The term is from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a man so vain and proud he fell in love with his own image. In psychology, narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense of entitlement, and is arrogant. Evidence suggests that narcissists are more charismatic and thus more likely to emerge as leaders, and they may even display better psychological health (at least as they self-report).38 Despite having some advantages, most evidence suggests that narcissism is undesirable. A study found that while narcissists thought they were better leaders than their colleagues, their supervisors actually rated them as worse. An Oracle executive described that company’s CEO Larry Ellison as follows: “The difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is Larry.”39 Because narcissists often want to gain the admiration of others and receive affirmation of their superiority, they tend to “talk down” to those who threaten them, treating others as if they were inferior. Narcissists also tend to be selfish and exploitive and believe others exist for their benefit Their bosses rate them as less effective at their jobs than others, particularly when it comes to helping people Subsequent research using data compiled over 100 years has shown that narcissistic CEOs of baseball organizations tend to generate higher levels of manager turnover, although curiously, members of external organizations see them as more influential Personality 141 Self-Monitoring Joyce McIntyre is always in trouble at work. Though she’s competent, hardworking, and productive, in performance reviews she is rated no better than average, and she seems to have made a career of irritating bosses. Joyce’s problem is that she’s politically inept. She’s unable to adjust her behavior to fit changing situations. As she puts it, “I’m true to myself. I don’t remake myself to please others.” We would describe Joyce as a low self-monitor. Self-monitoring refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability in adjusting their behavior to external situational factors. They are highly sensitive to external cues and can behave differently in different situations, sometimes presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private self. Low self-monitors, like Joyce, can’t disguise themselves in that way. They tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situation; hence, there is high behavioral consistency between who they are and what they do. Evidence indicates high self-monitors pay closer attention to the behavior of others and are more capable of conforming than are low self-monitors They also receive better performance ratings, are more likely to emerge as leaders, and show less commitment to their organizations In addition, high self-monitoring managers tend to be more mobile in their careers, receive more promotions (both internal and cross-organizational), and are more likely to occupy central positions in an organization Risk Taking Donald Trump stands out for his willingness to take risks. He started with almost nothing in the 1960s. By the mid-1980s, he had made a fortune by betting on a resurgent New York City real estate market. Then, trying to capitalize on his successes, Trump overextended himself. By 1994, he had a negative net worth of $850 million. Never fearful of taking chances, “The Donald” leveraged the few assets he had left on several New York, New Jersey, and Caribbean real estate ventures and hit it big again. In 2011, when Trump was contemplating a presidential run, The Atlantic estimated his net worth at more than $7 billion People differ in their willingness to take chances, a quality that affects how much time and information they need to make a decision. For instance, 79 managers worked on simulated exercises that required them to make hiring decisions High risk-taking managers made more rapid decisions and used less information than did the low risk takers. Interestingly, decision accuracy was the same for both groups. Although previous studies have shown managers in large organizations to be more risk averse than growth-oriented entrepreneurs who actively manage small businesses, recent findings suggest managers in large organizations may actually be more willing to take risks than entrepreneurs The work population as a whole also differs in risk propensity It makes sense to recognize these differences and even consider aligning them with specific job demands. A high risk-taking propensity may lead to more effective performance for a stock trader in a brokerage firm because that type of job demands rapid decision Machiavellianism The degree to narcissism The tendency to be which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. arrogant, have a grandiose sense of self-importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement. self-monitoring A personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors. Personality 143 glOBalization! The Right Personality for a Global Workplace A s work becomes increasingly international in focus, successful managers need to be able to operate across cultures easily. Obviously, expatriate managers working in other countries will need personality traits that make them better able to work overseas, but managers at home who order parts and services from overseas or prepare marketing plans for other countries, for example, will also conduct cross-cultural communications. In the workforce of the future, everyone from mechanics to customer service representatives to advertisers will need to understand the global market. What is the right personality for a global workplace? You might suspect that, of the Big Five traits, openness to experience would be most important to effectiveness in international assignments. Open people are more likely to be culturally flexible—to “go with the flow” when things are different in another country. Research is not fully consistent on the issue, but most does suggest that managers who score high on openness perform better than others in international assignments. Other evidence suggests that employees who are more agreeable and extraverted have an easier time with international assignments. They may be better at establishing new relationships and developing social networks in unfamiliar contexts. What do these results imply for organizations? Given continuing globalization in the future, organizations should select employees with traits related to better performance in international assignments. Managers will need to foster an open-minded perspective about other cultures among their employees. Sources: Based on M. A. Shaffer, D. A. Harrison, and H. Gregersen, “You Can Take It with You: Individual Differences and Expatriate Effectiveness,” Journal of Applied Psychology 91, no. 1 (2006), pp. 109–125; M. van Woerkom and R. S. M. de Reuver, “Predicting Excellent Management Performance in an Intercultural Context: A Study of the Influence of Multicultural Personality on Transformational Leadership and Performance,” International Journal of Human Resource Management 20, no. 10 (2009), pp. 2013–2029; and M. Downes, I. I. Varner, and M. Hemmasi, “Individual Profiles as Predictors of Expatriate Effectiveness,” Competitiveness Review 20, no. 3 (2010), pp. 235–247. reflect varying levels of other-orientation, a personality trait that reflects the extent to which decisions are affected by social influences and concerns vs. our own well-being and outcomes What are the consequences of having a high level of other-orientation? Those who are other-oriented feel more obligated to help others who have helped them (pay me back), whereas those who are more self-oriented will help others when they expect to be helped in the future (pay me forward).59 Employees high in other-orientation also exert especially high levels of effort when engaged in helping work or prosocial behavior In sum, it appears that having a strong orientation toward helping others does affect some behaviors that actually matter for organizations. However, research is still needed to clarify this emerging construct and its relationship with agreeableness. Having discussed personality traits—the enduring characteristics that describe a person’s behavior—we now turn to values. Values are often very specific and describe belief systems rather than behavioral tendencies. Some beliefs or values don’t say much about a person’s personality, and we don’t always act consistently with our values. proactive personality People who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs. 144 CHAPTER 5 Personality and Values Values 6 Define values, demonstrate the importance of values, and contrast terminal and instrumental values. Is capital punishment right or wrong? If a person likes power, is that good or bad? The answers to these questions are value laden. Some might argue capital punishment is right because it is an appropriate retribution for crimes such as murder and treason. Others might argue, just as strongly, that no government has the right to take anyone’s life. Values 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.”61 They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individual’s ideas as to what is right, good, or desirable. Values have both content and intensity attributes. The content attribute says a mode of conduct or end-state of existence is important. The intensity attribute specifies how important it is. When we rank an individual’s values in terms of their intensity, we obtain that person’s value system. All of us have a hierarchy of values that forms our value system. We find it in the relative importance we assign to values such as freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty, obedience, and equality. Are values fluid and flexible? Generally speaking, no. They tend to be relatively stable and enduring A significant portion of the values we hold is established in our early years—by parents, teachers, friends, and others. As children, we are told certain behaviors or outcomes are always desirable or always undesirable, with few gray areas. You were never taught to be just a little bit honest or a little bit responsible, for example. It is this absolute, or “black-or-white,” learning of values that ensures their stability and endurance. If we question our values, of course, they may change, but more often they are reinforced. There is also evidence linking personality to values, implying our values may be partly determined by our genetically transmitted traits The Importance of Values Values lay the foundation for our understanding of people’s attitudes and motivation and influence our perceptions. We enter an organization with preconceived notions of what “ought” and “ought not” to be. These notions are not value-free; on the contrary, they contain our interpretations of right and wrong and our preference for certain behaviors or outcomes over others. As a result, values cloud objectivity and rationality; they influence attitudes and behavior Suppose you enter an organization with the view that allocating pay on the basis of performance is right, while allocating pay on the basis of seniority is wrong. How will you react if you find the organization you’ve just joined rewards seniority and not performance? You’re likely to be disappointed—and this can lead to job dissatisfaction and a decision not to exert a high level of effort because “It’s probably not going to lead to more money anyway.” Would your attitudes and behavior be different if your values aligned with the organization’s pay policies? Most likely. Terminal versus Instrumental Values Can we classify values? Yes. In this section, we review two approaches to developing value typologies. 146 CHAPTER 5 Personality and Values Exhibit 5-4 Dominant Work Values in Today’s Workforce Cohort Entered the Workforce Approximate Current Age Boomers 1965–1985 Mid-40s to mid-60s Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of authority; loyalty to career Xers 1985–2000 Late 20s to early 40s Work/life balance, team-oriented, dislike of rules; loyalty to relationships Nexters 2000 to present Under 30 Confident, financial success, selfreliant but team-oriented; loyalty to both self and relationships Dominant Work Values of different cohorts or generations in the U. workforce Exhibit 5-4 segments employees by the era during which they entered the workforce. Because most people start work between the ages of 18 and 23, the eras also correlate closely with employee age. Let’s start with some limitations of this analysis. First, we make no assumption that the framework applies across all cultures. Second, despite a steady stream of press coverage, there is very little rigorous research on generational values, so we have to rely on an intuitive framework. Finally, these are imprecise categories. There is no law that someone born in 1985 can’t have values similar to those of someone born in 1955. Despite these limitations, values do change over generations,70 and we can gain some useful insights from analyzing values this way. Boomers (Baby Boomers) are a large cohort born after World War II when veterans returned to their families and times were good. Boomers entered the workforce from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. They brought with them a large measure of the “hippie ethic” and distrust of authority. But they place a great deal of emphasis on achievement and material success. Pragmatists who believe ends can justify means, they work hard and want to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Boomers see the organizations that employ them merely as vehicles for their careers. Terminal values such as a sense of accomplishment and social recognition rank high with them. The lives of Xers (Generation Xers) have been shaped by globalization, two-career parents, MTV, AIDS, and computers. Xers value flexibility, life options, and the achievement of job satisfaction. Family and relationships are very important. Xers are skeptical, particularly of authority. They also enjoy team-oriented work. In search of balance in their lives, Xers are less willing to make personal sacrifices for the sake of their employer than previous generations were. On the RVS, they rate high on true friendship, happiness, and pleasure. The most recent entrants to the workforce, the Millennials (also called Netters, Nexters, Generation Yers, and Generation Nexters ) grew up during prosperous times. They have high expectations and seek meaning in their work. Millennials have life goals more oriented toward becoming rich (81 percent) and famous (51 percent) than do Generation Xers (62 percent and 29 percent, respectively), but they also see themselves as socially responsible. At ease with diversity, Millennials are the first generation to take technology for granted. More than other generations, they tend to be questioning, electronically networked, and entrepreneurial. At the same time, some have described Millennials as entitled and needy. They may clash Values 147 An Ethical Choice Should You Try to Change Someone’s Personality? EBay’s young employees rank their employer as one of the best places to work for millennials. The company’s culture of fun, casual dress, and flexible work schedules that provide for a work/life balance appeal to Generation Y employees like those shown here at eBay’s offices in San Jose, California. Young employees say that eBay managers give them job responsibility quickly, generous recognition for their achievements, and learning opportunities to advance their careers. They also admire eBay’s “Social Venture” initiatives such as WorldofGood, eBay Giving Works, and MicroPlace that make a positive difference in the lives of people throughout the world. take up meditation. Moreover, such efforts may send a strong message of disapproval—who would want a manager saying, “We don’t like you the way you are, you need to change!” Employees who are forced into working environments that don’t fit their dispositions will also likely experience high levels of psychological strain. On the other hand, it is possible to change the way personality is expressed. Biological anthropologist Helen Fisher notes that despite the importance of biology, “the environment always molds your biology.” Someone who isn’t particularly open to experience might be comfortable with new work assignments if they’re framed appropriately, and someone who isn’t very conscientious can display organization and dutifulness if the right environmental supports like checklists and formalized goal-setting are in place. And personality does change somewhat over time. As people age, their scores on conscientiousness and agreeableness increase rather dramatically, and neuroticism decreases substantially (the results for openness and extraversion are more complex). So what might employers do to accommodate employee personality differences while still obtaining maximum performance? One strategy is to focus on outcomes and allow employees to determine their own way to achieve them. An extrovert and an introvert might both be able to produce a very high quality report, even if the extrovert will want to collaborate and discuss during the process of writing whereas the introvert will prefer to work out problems alone. Employers can also try to assign employees to activities that best match their personality types. Sources: B. W. Roberts and D. Mroczek, “Personality Trait Change in Adulthood,” Current Directions in Psychological Science, no. 1, Vol. 17 (2008), pp. 31–35; “Five Ways to Change Your Personality,” CBS News (August 21, 2010), cbsnews. Source: Jim Wilson/The New York Times/Redux Picturess. A s we have noted, individuals differ in terms of their personality scores, and these differences contribute to effective performance. It isn’t always possible to identify personality traits successfully during the hiring process, and sometimes there simply aren’t enough people with the “right” personality traits available. So should organizations try to shape their employees to make them more conscientious, agreeable, open, emotionally stable, and extraverted? Is there a potential ethical problem with exercising this type of control over workers? Some evidence suggests that people’s basic temperament is largely fixed by biology, and in this case, attempts to change personality will mostly lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. An employee who tends to see things negatively is unlikely to suddenly become an optimist just because a manager pushes him or her to read self-help books and Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the Workplace Exhibit 5-5 149 Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations Type Personality Characteristics Congruent Occupations Realistic: Prefers physical activities that require skill, strength, and coordination Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, conforming, practical Mechanic, drill press operator, assembly-line worker, farmer Investigative: Prefers activities that involve thinking, organizing, and understanding Analytical, original, curious, independent Biologist, economist, mathematician, news reporter Social: Prefers activities that involve helping and developing others Sociable, friendly, cooperative, understanding Social worker, teacher, counselor, clinical psychologist Conventional: Prefers rule-regulated, orderly, and unambiguous activities Conforming, efficient, practical, unimaginative, inflexible Accountant, corporate manager, bank teller, file clerk Enterprising: Prefers verbal activities in which there are opportunities to influence others and attain power Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, domineering Lawyer, real estate agent, public relations specialist, small business manager Artistic: Prefers ambiguous and unsystematic activities that allow creative expression Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, emotional, impractical Painter, musician, writer, interior decorator be intrinsic differences in personality among individuals, (2) there are different types of jobs, and (3) people in jobs congruent with their personality should be more satisfied and less likely to voluntarily resign than people in incongruent jobs. Evidence supports the value of assessing vocational interests in the selection process, with a match between interests and job requirements predicting job knowledge, performance, and low likelihood of turnover Exhibit 5-6 Relationships Among Occupational Personality Types Inv est (I) iga tive Artistic (A) Conventional (C) stic ali Re (R) En ter pri (E) sing l cia ) (S So Source: Reprinted by special permission of the publisher, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., from Making Vocational Choices, copyright 1973, 1985, 1992 by Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. All rights reserved. personality–job fit theory A theory that identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover.
Chapter 05 Personality and Values
Vak: Organizational Behaviour and Culture (MPEN-OBC-14)
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