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Unit 2

The document discusses the concept of personality, defining it as the sum of ways individuals react and interact with others, influenced by heredity, environment, and situational factors. It highlights various personality frameworks, including the MBTI and the Big Five model, which categorize traits and their impact on job performance. The text emphasizes the importance of understanding personality traits in the context of workplace behavior and performance.

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8 views22 pages

Unit 2

The document discusses the concept of personality, defining it as the sum of ways individuals react and interact with others, influenced by heredity, environment, and situational factors. It highlights various personality frameworks, including the MBTI and the Big Five model, which categorize traits and their impact on job performance. The text emphasizes the importance of understanding personality traits in the context of workplace behavior and performance.

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charookc1
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Personality and Emotions er bee sales went from $200 million, when she took over in 1983, to $1.9 Goad thrived in Mattel’s competitive culture. Unaffaid to speak her she forcefully pushed for greater responsibilities and promotions. “! t for my point of view.” And she never camouflaged her ambi- ays wanted the next job,” she says. “She was never afraid to 4 ask for a raise." adds a former colleague. {the few women heading up a major American company, jill sill “dressing up and putting on shows.” Glamorous and radiant, s more Hollywood than corporate. Barad's personality has cer- AFTER READING THIS CHAPTER, ‘YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO 1. Boplain the factors that determine an individva’s personality 2. Describe the MBTI personality framework | 3. Idemity the key traits in the ig Five personality model 4, Explain the impact of job typology an the personality job performance relationship (Oe ea ill Barad isn’t unique. All our behavior is somewhat shaped by our personalities. In the first half of this chap- ter, we review the research on personality and its rela~ Uonship to behavior. In the latter half, we look at how emotions shape many of our work-related behaviors. 5. Differentiate emotions from moods | 6. Contrast felt versus diplayed emotions 7. Read emotions ! | LEARNING PE in . RSONALITY 8, Explain any gender differences in ; a ate some people quiet and passive, while others are loud emotions erg: BSE? Ate certain personality types better adapted to 4. Describe external constraints on He 4 Job types? Before we cars answer these questions, we need emotions 3s a more : c n i jore basic one; What Js personality’ 1. Apply concepts on emaxion OB isues pe personality The sum torl of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others WHAT IS PERSONALITY? When we talk of personality, we don’t mean that a person has charm, a positiv attitude toward life, a smiling face, or is a finalist for “Happiest and Frieedlies in this year’s Miss America contest. When psychologists talk of personality, they mean a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person whole psychological system. Rather than looking at parts of the person, personal, ity looks at some aggregate whole that is greater than the sum of the parts The most frequently used definition of personality was produced by Gordon Allport more than 60 years ago. He said personality is “the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” For our purposes, you should think of person- ality as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others It is most often described in terms of measurable traits that a person exhibits PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS An early argument in personality research was whether an individual's personal- ity was the result of heredity or of environment. Was the personality predeter. mined at birth, or was it the result of the individual's interaction with his or her environment? Clearly, there is no simple answer. Personality appears to be a re- sult of both influences, In addition, today we recognize a third factor—the situa- tion. Thus, an adult's personality is now generally considered to be made up of both hereditary and environmental factors, moderated by situational conditions. Heredity Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception. Physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are characteristics that are gen- erally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by who your parents were, that is, by their biological, physiological, and inherent psycholog- ical 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. Three different streams of research lend some credibility to the argument that heredity plays an important part in determining an individual's personality The first looks at the genetic underpinnings of human. behavior and tempers ment among young children. The second addresses the study of twins who were separated at birth. The third examines the consistency in job satisfaction over time and across situations. Recent studies of young children lend strong support to the power of hered- ity.’ Evidence demonstrates that traits such as shyness, fear, and distress are most likely caused by inherited genetic characteristics. This finding suggests that some personality traits may be built into the same genetic code that affects factors such as height and hair color. Researchers have studied more than 100 sets of identical twins who were sep arated at birth and raised separately.’ If heredity played little or no part in deter- mining personality, you would expect to find few similarities between the sepa- rated twins. But the researchers found a lot in common, For almost every behavioral trait, a significant part of the variation between the twins turned out to be associated with genetic factors, For instance, one set of twins who had been separated for 39 years and raised 45 miles apart were found to drive the same model and color car, 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 ac- MEIN acto The Indiviguat Diss counts for about 0 percent of the rut $0 p Personality differe cent ofthe variation in occupational and este intrest Further support for the importanc nt Importance of heredity can be found in of dividual job satisfaction, which we discussed in the previows ‘capt, Individual ‘nces and more than 30 per- job satisfaction is found to be remarkably stable over time. ‘Th : able over time, ‘This result is consis- tent with what you would expect if satisfaction Is determined by something. in- herent in the person rather than by external environmental factors i personally characteristics were completely dictated by heredity, they would | be fixed at birth and no amount of experience could alter them. If you were re- axed and easygoing as a child, for example, that would be the result of your genes, and it would not be possible for you to change those characteristics. But personality characteristics are not completely dictated by heredity. Environment Among the factors that exert pressures on our personality for- mation are the culture in which we are raised, our early conditioning, the norms among our family, friends, and social groups, and other influences that wwe experience. The environment to which we are exposed plays a substantial role in shaping our personalities. For example, culture establishes the norms, attitudes, and values that are passed along from one generation to the next and create consistencies over time. An ideology that is intensely fostered in one culture may have only mod- erate influence in another. For instance, North Americans have had the themes of industriousness, success, competition, independence, and the Protestant work ethic constantly instilled in them through books, the school system, fam- ily, and friends. North Americans, as a result, tend to be ambitious and aggres- sive relative to individuals raised in cultures that have emphasized getting along with others, cooperation, and the priority of family over work and career. Careful consideration of the arguments favoring either heredity or envi- ronment as the primary determinant of personality forces the conclusion that both are important. Heredity sets the parameters or outer limits, but an indi vidual’s full potential will be determined by how well he or she adjusts to the demands and requirements of the environment. Situation A third factor, the situation, influences the effects of heredity and en- vironment on personality. An individual's personality, although generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations. The varying demands of different situations call forth different aspects of one's personality. We should not, therefore, look at personality patterns in isolation.* i one it seems only logial to suppose that situations will influence an ind | jen saping the prorat of vidua’s personality, but a neat classification scheme that would tell us the | ick Balluzo, CEO of Steen impact of various types of situations has so far eluded us. “Apparently we | Graphs. He pus in 7-heur wor ate not yet close to developing a system for clarifying situations so that | days and has few pastimes gir they might be systematically studied.”* However, we do know that certain | than running and working ov. Be situations are more relevant than others in influencing personality. luzzo credits his hard rel oi What is of interest taxonomically is that situations seem to differ | hs blue Se adie Substantially in the constraints they Impose on behavior. Some sitwa- | errr er bruh up tions (eg, church, an employment interview) constrain many behaviors; | 0 49 carry your weight” Te other situations (eg., a picnic in a public park) constrain relatively few. Te appre nis fy, Belz Furthermore, although certain generalizations can be made about pet | seyreed working a ag 1! doing jobs differences. As we shall see, the | je picking prunes a orchards and Sonality, there are significant individual " study of individual differences has come to receive greater emphasis in pet- | sweeping floors a doctors’ offices. Sonality esearch, which originally sought out more general, universal patterns. Chapter 4 Personality and Emo cee | THIS 15 A LIST 1 MADE UP 2 ‘ALT ee a oe Te ate CO rmaits! he aoa PEANUTS repented by permis of Unted Features Seat PERSONALITY TRAITS The early work in the structure of personality revolved around attempts to iden- tify and label enduring characteristics that describe an individuals behavior. Popular characteristics include shyness, aggressiveness, submissiveness, laziness, ambition, loyalty, and timidity. These characteristics, when they are exhibited in personality traits a large number Of situations, are called personality traits.* The more consis- rearing characteristics that tent the characteristic and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the describe an individual's ‘more important that trait is in describing the individual. behavior Early Search for Primary Traits Efforts to isolate traits have been hindered beeavse there are so many of them. In one study, 17,953 individual traits were identified. It is virtually impossible to predict behavior when such a large num- ber of traits must be taken into account. As a result, attention has been directed toward reducing these thousands to a more manageable number. ‘One researcher isolated 171 traits but concluded that they were superficial and lacking in descriptive power.” What he sought was a reduced set of traits that would identify underlying patterns. The result was the identification of 16 personality factors, which he called the source, ot primary, traits. They are shown in Exhibit 4-2. These 16 traits have been found to be generally steady and con- stant sources of behavior, allowing prediction of an individual's behavior in spe- ific situations by weighing the characteristics for their situational relevance. |, Reserved ws Outgoing Less inteligent ws More intelligent Affected by feelings ws Emotionally stable Submissive “ Dominant Serious ws Happy-go-lucky 5. Expedient ws Conscientious 7 Timid Venturesome Tough-minded Ws. Sensitive , Trusting vs Suspicious Practical “s Irmaginative Forthright ¥s Shrewd Seltassured “s ‘Apprehensive Conservative “s Experimenting Group dependent ‘s Selesuficient Uncontrolled Coneroled . Relaxed ‘ a Tense Te Two The Individual ee ‘The Myers-Briggs Type Indicat aa ee ee sameemer One ofthe mon! widely wed personaly tally a 100-question personality test tat ete peer ee ss ee Mae OT in particular situations. People how they usually feel or act Indicator (MBTI) ‘On the basis of the answers indivi wers Individuals give to Aapertonai est that PF wr ocame sF he nawes ndedss ete et they ae cid afar See ee peer Wiel CT es ae people inco one of Cree ree ee ee ea V6 personaly ype: sn it 4-2) To illustrat, let's take several examples INTs are wsiomnles. They ed al examples, INTJs are visionacles, They usually rf ds and great drive for thelr own td unl Maparacterized as skeptical erlleal, independent determined, and often " al, , determined, Uibbor. ESTs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, ‘analytical, deasve, and five a natural head for business or mechanics. They like to organize and run ac- tuities, The ENTP type is a conceptualizer. He ot she is innovative, individualistic, teratile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas, This person tend to be resource: ful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments. A re- Cent book that profiled 13 contemporary businesspeople who created supersuc- Sesful firms including Apple Computer, Federal Express, Honda Motors, Mieosoft, Price Club, and Sony found that all 13 are intultve thinkers (T° | wie result is particularly interesting because intuitive thinkers represent only ahout 5 percent of the population. More than 2 million people a year take the MBTT in the United States alone. organizations using the MBTI include Apple Computer, ATE, Citicorp, Exxon, CE INT Co. plus many hospitals, educational institutions, and even the U.S. extraversion Armed Forces. A personality dimension Me orci, there is no hard evidence that the MBTI sa valld measure of per-_desering someone wh ly pei sonality. But Lack of evidence doesn’t seem to dete its use in a wide range of OF fovable,greprious. and ganizations. assertive agreeableness The Big Five Model MBTI may lack valid supporting evidence, but that can’t, personality dimension hat seesidfor the five-factor model of personality—more typically called the Big gecerbes someone who i Five.” In recent years, an impressive body of research supports that five basic di- Vratured) years, Pr ports mensions underlie all others and encompass most of the significant variation in and trusting. ad human personality. The Big Five factors are: , ee © Extraversion. This dimension captures ‘one’s comfort level with relation- ae eee eee Ee ships. Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend eae : pee oe served, timid, and Quich 4 an individual's propensity to defer persistent and nA bleness. This dimension refers to it : to others. Highly agreeable people are ‘cooperative, warm, and trusting. People ‘emotional stability who score low on agreeableness are cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic. A personality dimension naa © Conscientiousness. This dimension is a meast of reliability. A highly consct- characera eee entious person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who oo nen or score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and unten en cee * Emotional stability. This dimension taps a person's ability to i : tress. Pe tability tend to be calm, self-confident, stuess, People with postive emotional sa 9 be nervous, ansious, openness experience and secure. Those with highly negative scores cree oe lepres : cn topes is cocede 1 dimension addresses an individual's A Pereerites someone Opennes: , The fina ree arett tion with novelty. Extremely ope people are cerms of imag itive, Those at the other end of the open= ‘and comfort in the familia Chapter 4 Personatity and Em Tange of interests and fascinal Creative, curious, and artistically se Tess category are conventional and ra an cation 7 Providing a unifying personaltty framework, research on also has found important relationships between these personality dimensions and job performance," A broad spectrum of occupatlons was ex. amined: professionals (Including engineers, architeets, accountants, attorneys), police, managers, salespeople, and. semiskilled and skilled employees, Job per: formance was defined in terms of performance ratings, training proficlency (performance during training programs), and personnel data such as salary level, The results showed that conscientiousness predicted job performance for all occupational groups, “The preponderance of evidence shows that individu: als who are dependable, rellable, careful, thorough, able to plan, organized, harchorking, persistent, and achievement-orlented tend to have higher job performance in most if not all occupations.”"* In addition, employees who score more highly in conscientiousness develop higher levels of Job knowl. edge, probably because highly consclentious people exert greater levels of ef. fort on their job. The higher levels of job knowledge then contribute to higher levels of job performance. Consistent with these findings, evidence also finds a relatively strong and consistent relationship between consclentlousness and organizational citizenship behavior."® This, however, seems to be the only per- sonality dimension that predicts OCB. For the other personality dimensions, predictability depended upon founder and chairman rosott, would score high on eiousness cimension of rodal. His success ‘stems from his personality—an ine | sense drive t0 succeed, persistence, sons intensity, briliane intellect compettiveness, Gater's per- | fy as influenced the cul «| and success—of Microsoft. | de him the most famous | both the perforthance criterion and the occupational group. For in- stance, extraversion predicted performance in managerial and sales posl- tions. This finding makes sense since these occupations involve high so- cial interaction. Similarly, openness to experience was found to be important in predicting training proficiency, which, too, seems logical. What wasn’t so clear was why positive emotional stability wasn’t related to:job performance. Intuitively, it would seem that people who are calm and secure would do better on almost all jobs than people who are anx- ious and insecure. The researchers suggested that the answer might be that only people who have fairly high scores on emotional stability re- s celebrity inthe world. internals Individuals who believe that ‘they control what happens to them. externals Individuals who believe that what happens to them is controlled by outside forces such as luck or chance. locus of control “The degree to which people believe they are masters of their own fate. Part Two T tain their jobs. So the range among those people studied, all of whom were employed, would tend to be quite small, MAJOR PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES INFLUENCING OB In this section, we want to evaluate more carefully specific personality attributes that have been found to be powerful predictors of behavior in organizations. The first is related to where a person perceives the locus of control to be in his or het life. The others are Machiavellianism, self-esteem, self-monitoring, propensity for risk taking, and Type A personality. In this section, we shall briefly introduce these attributes and summarize what we know about their ability to explain and predict employee behavior. Locus of Control Some people believe that they are mastery of their own fate. Other people see themselves as pawns of fate, believing that what happens to them in their lives is due to luck or chance, The first type, those who believe that they control their destinies, have been labeled Internals, whereas the latter, whe see their lives as being controlled by outside forces, have been called externas. A person's perception of the source of his or her fate is termed locus of control. A large amount of research comparing internals with externals has consis: tently shown that individuals who have high scores in externality are less satis fied with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work setting, and are less involved on their jobs than are internals." 1 Individ) Why are externals more dissatisfie perceive themselves as having litt seh ee he answer is probably because they that ate important to them. Internals, facing the sone ee atonal outcomes zational outcomes to their own actions, if the Pte ean seve that they have no one else to blame but themeetwes Ve a ey De teanal is more likely to quit a dssatisiying jobs nn Ar the ssaisied in- The impact of locus of control on absence isan inte jiove that health is substantially under thei own c Erna ae ne fo they take more responsibility for their health cue mlb heli ole Consequently, their incidences of sickness and, henci raccecdan aches machouldn't expect any clear relationship beeen lee of cent’ aed lear relationship between locus of control and tumover because there are opposing forces at work. “On the one hand, internal tend to take action and thus might be expected to quit jobs more readil "On the ener hand, they tend to be more successful on the job and more satisfied, factors ersociated with less individual turnover. neon The overall evidence indicates that intemals generally perform better on their jobs, but that conclusion should be moderated to reflect differences in jobs. Internals search more actively for information before making a decision, are more motivated to achieve, and make a greater attempt to control their environment Externals, however, are more compliant and willing to fol- Jow directions. Therefore, internals do well on sophisti- r fated tasks—which include most managerial and Doe, ol suscessilsoleeposble sional jobs—that require complex information processing internals. I's pretty difficult co succeed and learning. In addition, internals are more sulted to jobs. |” sales if you don’t believe you can |. effectively influence outcomes. that require initiative and independence of action. Almost all successful salespeople, for instance, are internals. Why? Because it’s pretty difficult to succeed in sales if you don't believe you can effec: tively influence outcomes. In contrast, extemals should do well on jobs that are ‘well structured and routine and in which success depends heavily on complying with the direction of others. acteristic of Machiavellianism (Mach) Machiavellianism rote in the sixteenth century on how to Degree to which an pragmatic, main- individual is pragmatic. maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. Machiavellianism The personality cha is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who w1 fain and use power. An individual high in Machiavellaniom is gan and use Doviistance, and believes that ends can justify means. “If it works, use it” is consistent with a high-Mach perspective. ‘A considerable amount of research has been directed toward relating high- and low-Mach personalities to certain behavioral outcomes.” High Machs manip- ulate more, wit; more, are persuaded less, and persuade others mor than do low Machs. Yet these high-Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors. It has been found that high Machs flourish (1) when they interact face-to-face with others rather than indirectly; (2) when the situation has 4 minimum number of rules and regulations, thus allowing latitude for improvisation; and (3) when emo- tional involvements with details irrelevant to winning distract low Machs.* Should we conslude that high Machs make good employees? Tat answer de Pends on the type of job and whether you consider ethical implications in evaluat- ing Performance. In jobs that require bargaining skills (such as labor negotiation) oF that offer substantial rewards for winning (as in ‘commissioned sales), high Machs will be productive. But if ends can't justify the meat if there are absolute Standands of betictoe ay if the three situational factors noted in the preceding Paragraph are not in evidence, our ability to predict a high Mach’s 5 performance Will be se ll be severely curtailed. chapter! Giey and Emotions = Chapter 4 Person Di inl eee self-esteem Individual’ degree of ting OF disliking of themselves, self-monitoring ‘A personality trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors. t Two Seta m People differ in the degree to which they like or dislike them- selves. This trait is called self-esteem.” ‘The research on self-esteem (SE) offers some Interesting insights into organizational behavior. For example, self-esteern is directly related to expectations for success. High Sts belleve that they postess the ability they need in order to succeed at work. Individuals with high self-esteem will take more risks in job selection and. are more likely to choose unconventional jobs than people with low self-esteem. ‘The most generalizable finding on self-esteem is that low SEs are more sus- ceptible to external influence than are high Sts. Low SEs depend on the receipt of positive evaluations from others. As a result, they are more likely to seek approval from others and more prone to conform to the beliefs and behaviors of those they respect than are high SEs. In managerial positions, low SEs will tend to be concerned with pleasing others and, therefore, are less likely to take unpopular stands than are high SEs. Not surprisingly, self-esteem has also been found to be related to job satistac- tion. A number of studies confirm that high SEs are more satisfied with their jobs than are low Sts. Self-Monitoring A personality trait that has recently received increased atten- tion is called self-monitoring.” It 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 ad- justing their behavior to external situational factors. They are highly sensitive to external cues and can behave differently in different situations. High self- monitors are capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private self. Low self-monitors can’t disguise themselves in that way. They tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every sit- uation; hence, there is high behavioral consistency between who they are and what they do. The research on self-monitoring is in its infancy, so predictions must be guarded. However, preliminary evidence suggests that high self-monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behavior of others and are more capable of conforming than are low self-monitors.”* In addition, high self-monitoring managers tend to be more mobile in their careers and receive more promotions (both internal and cross-organizational).” We might also hypothesize that high self-monitors will be more successful in managerial positions in which individuals are required to play multiple, and even contradicting, roles. The high self-monitor is capable of putting on different “faces” for different audiences. 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 for- tune by betting on a resurgent New York City real estate market. Then, trying to capitalize on his previous 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. He hit it big again. By 1999, Forbes estimated his net worth at over $2 billion, People differ in their willingness to take chances, This propensity to assume or avoid risk has been shown to have an impact on how long it takes managers to make a decision and how much information they require before making theit choice. For instance, 79 managers worked on simulated personnel exercises that required them to make hiring decisions.” High risk-taking managers made more The Indi ee decisions and used | i! ed less inform low risk-taking managers. Interesting both groups. : _ While itis generally correct to conclude tha risk aversive,® there are still individual differences om thic nee re Ra sult, it makes Sense to recognize these ferences an even to eon agate risk-taking propensity with specific job demands, For | ing prope ity may teal {0 more effective performence for s sock rader ia account Performs auditing activities. The latter job might b ter filled by someone with a low risk-taking propensity. — lon in mal 7 fn making their cholees than did th the decision accuracy was the same fo Je A Personali cu Type A Persoalcy De you know any people win ae excessively competi N88 mncing a chronic sense of time urgency? you do, i's a good bet that those people have a Type A personality, Ap Re “aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle 10 achieve more and more jn less an etme, and, if requ odo so, against the opposing efforts of other things or other persons.” In the North American culture, such characteristics tend to be highly prized and post- tively associated with ambition and the successful acquisition of material son with a Type A personality goods. Type A's 1. are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly; 2, feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place; 3. strive to think or do two or more things at once; 4, cannot cope with leisure time; 5, are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of or how much of everything they acquire. In contrast to the Type A per: posite. Type B's are “rarely harried by the desire to obta Pumber of things or participate in an endless growing series of events in an ever-decreasing amount of time.”? Type Bs 1. never suffer from a sense of ti patience; 2. feel no need to display or :ments unless such exposure is demand: 3. play for fun and relaxation rather than to ex any cost; 4. can relax without guilt. ime urgency with its accompanying im- discuss either their achievements or accom- ied by the situation; hibit their superiority at ‘Type A’s operate under moderate to high levels of stress. They sub- ject themselves to more or less continuous time pressure, creating for themselves a life of deadlines, These characteristics result in some rather specific behavioral outcomes. For example, Type A’s are fast workers be- cause they emphasize quantity over quality. In managerial positions, Type A’s demonstrate their competitiveness by working long hours and, Not infrequently, making poor decisions because they make them too fast, ‘Type A’s are also rarely creative. Because of their concern with quan- tity and speed, they rely on past experiences when faced with problems. Chapter 4 Per and even to consider aligning f how many sonality is the Type B, who is exactly the op- a wildly increasing SS he type A personality OT Aggressive involvement in 2 chronic, incessant struggle © Ire achieve more and more in f6- Tess and less time and, if necessary, against the Jk. oppating efforts of other things or other people. Richard Branson's propensity © take risks aligns with his job d= mands of being an entrepreneu Branson, founder and chairman of 4 London-based Virgin Grou, farted risky vertures that com> pete agains industry gine His Virgin Atanscairine, for ecnple fra eaken markec share fo" Berish Airways and has eaed the Branson's risk-aking persoraity ucends (0 his sure actites of speedboat racing see, a ballooning. Shown here, Br prepares for an around reward balloon excursion. They will not allocate the time that is necessary to develop unique solutions to new problems. They rarely vary in their responses to specific challenges in their milieu; hence, their behavior is easier to predict than that of Type B’s. ‘Are Type A’s or Type B’s more successful in organizations? Despite the Type A’s hard work, the Type B's are the ones who appear to make it to the top. Great salespersons are ustially Type A’s; senior executives are usually Type B's. Why? The answer lies in the tendency of Type A’s to trade off quality of effort for quan- ity. Promotions in corporate and professional organizations “usually go to those who are wise rather than to those who ate merely hasty, to those who are tactful rather than to those who are hostile, and to those who are creative rather than to those who are merely agile in competitive strife.”"" PERSONALITY AND NATIONAL CULTURE Do personality frameworks, such as the Big Five model, transfer across cultures? Are dimensions such as locus of control and the Type A personality relevant in all cultures? Let's try to answer these questions. “The five personality factors identified in the Big Five model appear in almost al cross-cultural studies." This includes a wide variety of diverse cultures, such as China, Israel, Germany, Japan, Spain, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, and the United States, Differences tend to surface by the emphasis on dimensions. Chinese, for ex: ample, use the category of conscientiousness more often and use the Part Two MARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS PERSONALITY \ review of the personality literature offers general guidelines that can te fective job performan ‘ad to ef. As such, it can improve hiring, transfer, and promolit decisions, Recause personality characteristics create the a param ; behavior, they give Us a framework for predicting haven, For aae toe uals who are shy, introverted, and uncomfortable in social situations would proty ably be iitsnited as salespeople, Individuals who are submissive and confone es might not be effective as advertising “idea” people. 8 Can we predict which people will be high performers in sales, research, op assembly-tine work on the basis of their personality characteristics alone? The an. swer is No, Personality assessment should be used in conjunction with other in: formation such as skills, abilities, and experience."* But a knowledge of an indi, Vidual’s personality can aid in reducing mismatches, which, in turn, can lead to reduced turnover and higher job satisfaction. We can look at certain personality characteristics that tend to be related to job success, test for those traits, and use the data to make selection more effec- tive. A person who accepts rules, conformity, and dependence and rates high on authoritarianism is likely to feel more comfortable in, say, a structured assembly- ine job, as an admittance clerk in a hospital, or as an administrator in a large public agency than as a researcher or an employee whose job requires a high de- gree of creativity. EMOTIONS Can managers control the emotions of their colleagues and employees? No. Emo- tions are a natural part of an individual's makeup. Managers err if they ignore the emotional elements in organizational behavior and assess individual behavior as if it were completely rational. As one consultant aptly put it, “You can’t divorce emotions from the workplace because you can’t divorce emotions from peo- ple.”®° Managers who understand the role of emotions will significantly improve their ability to explain and predict individual behavior. Do emotions affect job performance? Yes. They can hinder performance, es pecially negative emotions, That's probably why organizations, for the most part, try to extract emotions out of the workplace. But emotions can also enhance pet- formance. How? Two ways.” First, emotions can increase arousal levels, thus act- ing as motivators to higher performance. Second, emotional labor recognizes that feelings can be part of a job’s required behavior. So, for instance, the ability to effectively manage emotions in leadership and sales positions may be critical to success in those positions. ‘Whaat differentiates functional from dysfunctional emotions at work? While there is no precise answer to this, it’s been suggested that the critical moderating variable is the complexity of the individual's task.”" The more complex a task, the lower the level of arousal that can be tolerated without interfering with perfor” mance. While a certain minimal level of arousal is probably necessary for 0% Performance, very high levels interfere with the ability to function, especially the job requires calculative and detailed cognitive processes. Given that the trene is toward jobs becoming more complex, you can see why organizations are likely to go to considerable efforts to discourage the overt display of emotion! cially intense ones—in the workplace. The Individual Sears SUM e

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