Chapter 4 - Personality & values

Personality

@@Personality@@: sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others.
  * Measuring personality can be used in hiring decisions and forecasting who is better for a job.
  * Personality determinants
    * $Heredity$ : factors determined at conception; one’s biological, physiological and inherent psychological makeup.
    * Individuals personality has to do with heredity and the environment.
    * $Personality traits$ : enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior.
@@Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)@@: personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types.
  * 4 characteristics
    * Extroverted VS introverted
    * Sensing VS intuitive
    * Thinking VS feeling
    * Judging VS perceiving
  * Weakness: it forces people into being one way or the other, there is no in-between you are either introverted or extroverted.
  * Strength: good tool that provides career guidance and increases self-awareness.
@@Big Five personality model@@: personality assessment model that taps 5 basic dimensions
  * $Extroversion$ : personality dimension that describes someone who is sociable, gregarious and assertive.
  * $Agreeableness$ : personality dimension that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative and trusting.
  * $Conscientiousness$ : personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent and organized.
  * $Emotional stability$ : personality dimension that characterizes someone as calm, self confident, secure (positive) VS nervous, depressed and insecure (negative).
  * $Openness to experience$ : personality dimension that characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity and curiosity.
  * How do the Big Five Traits predict behavior at work?

      Model of how Big Five traits influence OB criteria
  * Other personality traits relevant to OB
    * $Core-self evaluation$ : degree to which an individual likes/dislikes himself/herself as capable and effective, and whether the person feels in control of his/her environment or powerless over the environment.
    * $Machiavellianism$ : degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance and believes that ends can justify means.
    * $Narcissism$ : tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of self importance, require excessive admiration and have a sense of entitlement.
    * $Self-monitoring$ : personality trait that measures an individual's ability to adjust his/her behavior to external, situational factors.
    * $Risk-taking$ → managers in large organizations may be more willing to take risks than entrepreneurs.
    * $Type A personality$ : aggressive involvement in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time and if necessary against the opposing efforts of other things other people
      * Are always moving, walking and eating rapidly
      * Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place
      * Strive to think or do two of more things at once
      * Cannot cope with leisure time
      * Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how much of everything they acquire
    * $Proactive personality$ : people who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action and persevere until meaningful change occurs.
  * Personality and situations
    * $Situation-strength theory$ : theory indicating that the way personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation.
    * $Trait Activation Theory (TAT)$ : theory that predicts that some situations, events or interventions “activate” a trait more than others.

Values

@@Values@@: 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.
@@Value system@@: hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual’s values in terms of their intensity.
Classifying values
* @@Terminal values@@: desirable end-states of existence; the goals a person would like to achieve during their lifetime.
* @@Instrumental values@@: preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values.
Contemporary work values
* More importance on challenge and advancement, career progression, job satisfaction, personal growth and autonomy also, loyalty and trust.

Linking an individual’s personality and values to the workplace

@@Personality-job fit@@: theory that identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover.
@@Person-organization fit@@: theory that people are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values and leave when there is not compatibility.

Global implications

Hofstede’s framework for assessing cultures
  * @@Power distance@@: national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.
  * @@Individualism VS collectivism@@
    * $Individualism$ : national culture attribute that describes the degree to which people prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups.
    * $Collectivism$ : national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them.
  * @@Masculinity VS femininity@@
    * $Masculinity$ : national culture attribute that describes the extent to which the culture favors traditional masculine work roles of achievement, power, and control. Societal values are characterized by assertiveness and materialism.
    * $Femininity$ : national culture attribute that indicates little differentiation between male and female roles; a high rating indicates that women are treated as the equals of men in all aspects of the society.
  * @@Uncertainty avoidance@@: national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them.
  * @@Long-term orientation VS short-term orientation@@
    * $Long-term orientation$ : national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift and persistence.
    * $Short-term orientation$ : national culture attribute that emphasizes the present and accepts change.
GLOBE framework for assessing cultures
  * Similar to Hofstede’s, but with 2 added dimensions:
    * @@Humane orientation@@
    * @@Performance orientation@@