Personality

Organizational Behaviour (OB)

Text Book: Organisational Behaviour by K. Aswathappa Compiled & Presented By:

(12th Revised Edition) Anuj Sharma
Pre-Class Reading – Chapter 7 Presented to the students of Tolani-Motwane Institute of
Management Studies
2 What is Personality?
 Personality refers to a set of traits and behaviours that
characterize an individual

 Personality refers to the relatively stable pattern of behaviour and

consistent internal state and explains a person’s behavioural
tendencies

 Personality refers to the sum total of internal and external traits

of an individual which are relatively stable and which make the
individual different from others
3 Nature of Personality
 Personality has both internal and external elements
 External traits are the observable behaviours that we notice in an
individual’s personality (Example: Sociability)
 Internal elements represent the thoughts, values and genetic
characteristics that we infer from the observable behaviours
 Individual’s personality is relatively stable
 If it changes, it is only after a very long time or because of traumatic
events
 Personality is both inherited as well as shaped by the environment
 Each individual is unique in behaviour

*Exam Note: Summer

2017 (1 Mark)
4
Stages of Personality Development
The Shaping of Personality
5 Stages of Personality Development
 First theory propounded by Sigmund Freud

 First psychologist to believe that childhood events might have a

bearing on adult behaviour and consciousness

 Theorised four universal stages – Oral, Anal, Phallic & Genital

stage
 6 Freud’s Stages of Personality Development

Stage Age Major Characteristics

Oral 0-1 Year Interest in oral gratification from sucking, eating, mouthing & biting
Anal 1-3 Years Gratification from expelling & withholding feces; coming to terms with society’s controls
relating to toilet training
Phallic 3-4 Years Interest in the Genitals, coming to terms with Oedipal conflict, leading to identification
with same-sex parent
Latency 4-6 Years to Sexual concerns largely unimportant
adolescence
Genital Adolescence to Re-emergence of sexual interests & establishment of mature sexual relationships
Adulthood
7 Stages of Personality Development
 Erik Erikson gave new dimension to development of personality
 More attention should be given to the social rather than the sexual
adaptation of an individual
 Social problems encountered in the course of development were
more important stages
 Psychosocial crisis occurs within each of the stages
 In order for the person to have a normal, fulfilling personality each
crisis should be optimally resolved
 Crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point in an individual’s
development
 Theorised eight stages of personality development
 Erikson’s stages of Personality Development
Erikson’s Age Success in meeting requirements of stage brings Failure to meet requirements of stage brings

8 Stages
1. Infancy Birth to Basic Trust Vs Mistrust
one year Pursuit of affection and Result of consistent abuse, neglect,
gratification of needs, deprivation of love, too early or hard
recognition. weaning, artistic isolation.
2. Early One to three Autonomy Vs Shame & Doubt
childhood years
Child views self as a person Feels inadequate, doubts self, curtails
in his own right apart from learning basic skills like walking, talking,
parents, still dependent. wants to ‘hide’ inadequacies.
3. Play age Four to Initiative Vs Guilt
five years Lively imagination, rigorous reality Lacks spontaneity, infantile jealousy,
testing, imitates, anticipates rallies. suspicions, evasive, role inhibition.
4. School age Six to Industry Vs Inferiority
eleven years Has sense of duty and Poor work habits, avoids strong
accomplishment, develops competition, feels mediocrity, lull
scholastic and social competencies, before the storms of puberty, may
undertakes real tasks, put-fantasy conform as slavish behavior, sense
and play in better perspective, of futility.
learns world of tools, task
identification.
5. Puberty and Twelve to Ego Identity Vs Role Confusion
adolescence twenty years
Temporal perspective. Self certain. Time confusion, self-conscious, role fixation,
Role experimenter. Apprenticeship, work paralysis, bisexual confusion, authority
 [Link] Twenty to Twenty Intimacy Vs Isolation
9 adulthood four years
Capacity to commit self to Avoids intimacy, feelings of social
others. Attitude of care, emptiness and isolation. Seeks
respect and responsibility interpersonal encounters which are
towards another. purely formal (employer-employee). Insulate themselves against any
type of real involvement. Attitudes of futility and alienation regarding their
vocations
7. Middle Twenty-five to Generativity Vs Stagnation
adulthood sixty-five years
Productive and creative for Egocentric, unproductive, early Self
and others, parental invalidism, excessive self-love, personal
pride and pleasure, mature, impoverishment, self-indulgence,
enriches life, establishes feeling of hopelessness and and guides to next
meaninglessness.
generation.
8. Late Old age Integrity VsDespair
adulthood (Sunset years)
Appreciates continuity of Time is too short, finds no meaning in
past, present and future, life, has lost faith in self and others,
fully satisfied. Death not wants second, chance at life-cycle with
feared, ‘wisdom of old age’ more advantages, fears death. Often
comes into being. senile, depressed spiteful and paranoid.
10
Determinants of Personality
11
Determinants of Personality

*Exam Note: Winter

2014 (7 Marks)
12 Determinants of Personality (Contd…)
Heredity
 Factors that were determined at conception
 Characteristics that are generally imported either completely or
substantially from one’s parents
 Following classification of characteristics is inherited by all
humans:
i. Physical Structure (how tall or short one is)
ii. Reflexes (Withdrawing from a pin prick)
iii. Innate drivers (Impulses to act based on physiological tensions)
iv. Intelligence (Capacity to learn)
v. Temperament (Patterned and recurrent responses)
13 Determinants of Personality (Contd…)
Environment
 Includes factors such as culture, norms, attitudes & values
 Passed along from one generation to the next
 Child learns to behave in ways expected by the culture of the family
into which he or she is born
 Example: Cultures expect different behaviours from males and
females
 Gender roles may vary from culture to culture
 Every culture has its own subculture
 All boys are expected to show certain personality traits, but a poor boy raised in an urban slum is expected to behave
differently than a well-to-do raised in middle-class suburb
14 Determinants of Personality (Contd…)
Contribution from the Family
 Considerable influence on Personality Development
 Parents play an important role, particularly in early stages
 Parents of the same gender as the child will serve as the model for
child’s identification
 Overall home environment created by the parents
 Siblings also contribute to personality development
15 Determinants of Personality (Contd…)
Socialisation Process
 Relevant persons, groups and organizations
 Especially relevant to organizational behaviour
 Starts with initial contact between a mother & infant
 Other members of the immediate family
 Social groups (peers, school friends, members of working group
etc.)
16 Determinants of Personality (Contd…)
Situational Considerations
 Immediate situation predominates the personality finally
 Example: Worker whose developmental history has shaped a personality which incorporates high
need for power and achievement. When placed in a highly bureaucratised work situation, this
individual may become frustrated and behave apathetically or aggressively. The worker may appear
to be lazy and a troublemaker, yet developmental history would predict that he is a very hard worker,
striving to get ahead
17
The ‘Big Five’ Personality Traits
18
The ‘Big Five’ Personality Traits

*Exam Note: Summer 2011 (7 Marks)

Winter 2011 (7 Marks)
Summer 2012 (7 Marks)
Winter 2012 (7 Marks)
Winter 2013 (7 Marks)
Summer 2014 (7 Marks)
Summer 2015 (7 Marks)
Winter 2015 (7 Marks)
Summer 2016 (7 Marks)
19
Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
20 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

 Developed by Mother-Daughter team of Katherine Briggs &

Isabel Briggs-Myers
 Mainly used in employee hiring process
 Measures how people prefer to focus their attention (Extroversion
Vs. Introversion)
 Collect Information (Sensing Vs. Intuition)
 Process & Evaluate Information (Thinking Vs. Feeling)
 Orient Themselves to the Others (Judging Vs. Perceiving)

*Exam Note: Summer

2017 (7 Marks)
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
21
[Contd…]
 Extroversion Vs. Introversion
 Extroverts are sociable, talkative, assertive and open to establishing new relationships.
 Introverts are less sociable, less talkative, less assertive and more reluctant to begin relationships
 Sensing Vs. Intuition
 Sensing types use an organized structure to acquire factual & quantitative details
 Intuitive types collect information non-systematically. They rely more on subjective evidence,
intuition & inspiration
 Thinking Vs. Feeling
 Thinking types rely on the rational cause-effect logic & scientific methods to make decisions.
They weigh evidence objectively & unemotionally
 Feeling types consider how their choices affect others. They weigh the options against their
personal values more than on rational logic
 Judging Vs. Perceiving
 Judging types prefer order and structure in their relationships. They enjoy control of decision
making and want to resolve problems quickly
 Perceiving types are more flexible. They like to adapt spontaneously and want*Exam
to keepNote:
their Winter
options open 2016 (1 Mark)
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
22
[Contd…]
 MBTI is also used in Team Building
 Team members learn to understand and even appreciate
differences among them
 Better able to build on complementary strengths
 Intuitive types have the ability to make creative leaps on thinking,
but often need the more sensing types to make sure all the facts are
being considered
 Perceivers will engage in endless exploration of alternatives and
hence need to be balanced by judging types who make decisions
quickly
23
OB Related Traits
OB Related Traits
25 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Authoritarianism
 Individual who has a strong belief in the legitimacy of established mechanisms of
formal authority
 Views obedience to authority as necessary
 Exhibits a negative philosophy of people
 Adheres to conventional & traditional value systems
 Opposes the use of subjective feelings
 Tend to be rigid in their positions
 Place high moral value on their beliefs
 Strongly oriented towards conformity to rules & regulations
 Prefer stable & structured work environments governed by clean rules &
procedures
 Prefer autocratic or directive leadership
 Exhibit high respect for individuals in positions of authority
26 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Locus of Control
 An individual’s belief that events are either within one’s control (internal
locus of control) or are determined by forces beyond one’s control
(external locus of control) Summer 2015 (1
Mark)
 Externals
 Less Job Satisfaction
 Higher absenteeism rates
 Alienated from work settings
 Less involved in the job
 Internals
 More control over own behaviour
 Active in seeking information to make decisions
 Socially active
27 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Machiavellianism
 Propounded by Nicolo Machiavelli
 Refers to individual’s propensity to manipulate people
 Machiavellians tend to participate in organizational politics
 Adept at interpersonal game-playing, power tactics & identifying
influence systems in the organization
 Good for jobs that require bargaining skills or negotiation

*Exam Note: Winter

2011 (1 Mark)
Winter 2014 (1 Mark)
Summer 2014 (1 Mark)
28 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Introversion & Extroversion
 Most common descriptions of personality
 Individual’s sociability & interpersonal orientation
 Extroverts are gregarious & sociable
 Introverts are shy, quiet and retiring
 Extroverts more suitable for positions that require considerable
interaction with others
 Introverts excel at tasks that require thought and analytical skills
29 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Achievement Orientation
 Employees with a high need to achieve, continually strive to do things
better
 They like tasks of moderate difficulty
 An easy task shall not evoke challenges and hence not liked by high
achievers
 High risk task also not liked by them as the failure rates are more
 Tend to do better in sales, sports or in management
30 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Self-Esteem
 Feeling of Like or Dislike of oneself
 Directly related to desire for success
 High Self-esteem
 Believe that they have abilities to undertake challenging jobs
 They tend to choose unconventional jobs
 Low Self-esteem
 Susceptible to external influence
 Like to seek approval from others
 Manager with low esteem will tend to be concerned with pleasing others
and hence less likely to take unpopular stands
 High esteems are more satisfied with their jobs than the low esteems
31 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Risk-Taking
 Propensity to assume or avoid risk
 Has impact on how long it takes managers to make a decision
 And how much information they require before making their choice
 Organizations should align risk-taking propensity with specific job
demands
 High risk-taking good for a stock trader in a brokerage firm
 Accountant performing audit should have lower risk-propensity
32 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Self-Monitoring
 Individual's ability to adjust their own behaviour to external factors
 High Self-Monitors
 Show adaptability in adjusting their behaviour to external & situational factors
 Highly sensitive to external cues
 Can behave differently in different situations
 Capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public, personal &
private selves
 More successful in managerial positions where individuals are required to pay
multiple or even contradicting roles
 Can put different “Faces” for different audiences
 Low Self-Monitors
 Cannot deviate their behaviour
 High behavioural consistency between who they are and what they do
33 OB Related Traits (Contd…)
 Type-A & Type-B Personalities
 Type-A types are always in a hurry, extremely competitive and are
often hostile and irritable
 Type-B types are relaxed & easy going
 Type As make good salespeople
 Type Bs are usually Senior Executives
 Type As trade-off quality of effort for quantity
 Executive positions usually go to those who are wise rather than whose
who are 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
34 Thank You!!!

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