BP

Module 9-1: Personality, Cultural Values, and Ability

Personality, Cultural Values, and Ability

Organizational Behavior Framework

  • Individual Characteristics: Personality & Cultural Values, and Ability are key individual characteristics that influence individual mechanisms, group mechanisms, and ultimately, individual outcomes such as Job Performance and Organizational Commitment.

What is Personality?

  • Definition: Personality encompasses the stable structures and inherent propensities within a person that explain their characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior.

  • Distinction from Ability: While personality describes "what people are like," ability reflects "what people can do."

  • Genetics: Research indicates that between 35\% and 49\% of the variation in personality is attributable to genetics.

  • The "Big Five" Dimensions: Despite thousands of adjectives describing individuals, most cluster around five general dimensions, known as the "Big Five."

The "Big Five" Personality Dimensions

  • Conscientiousness:

    • Traits: Dependable, organized, reliable, ambitious, hardworking, persevering.

    • Opposite Traits: Careless, sloppy, inefficient, negligent, irresponsible, lazy.

  • Agreeableness:

    • Traits: Kind, cooperative, sympathetic, helpful, courteous, warm.

    • Opposite Traits: Critical, antagonistic, callous, selfish, rude, cold.

  • Neuroticism:

    • Traits: Nervous, moody, emotional, insecure, jealous, unstable.

    • Opposite Traits: Calm, steady, relaxed, at ease, secure, contented.

  • Openness (to Experience):

    • Traits: Curious, imaginative, creative, complex, refined, sophisticated.

    • Opposite Traits: Uninquisitive, conventional, conforming, simple, unartistic, traditional.

  • Extraversion:

    • Traits: Talkative, sociable, passionate, assertive, bold, dominant.

    • Opposite Traits: Quiet, shy, inhibited, bashful, reserved, submissive.

Changes in Big Five Dimensions Over the Life Span

  • General Trends (by Age Ranges):

    • Conscientiousness: Tends to increase through young adulthood (18-30) and stabilizes or slightly increases later.

    • Agreeableness: Tends to increase across most adult age ranges (18-70).

    • Neuroticism: Generally decreases from adolescence through middle age (10-50), indicating increased emotional stability.

    • Openness: Shows slight changes but generally remains relatively stable or increases slightly in early adulthood, then may slightly decline or stabilize later.

    • Extraversion: Tends to show slight changes, often remaining relatively stable or decreasing slightly over the lifespan.

What are Cultural Values?

  • Definition: Shared beliefs regarding desirable end states or modes of conduct specific to a given culture.

  • Function: Cultural values bestow societies with their own distinct personalities.

  • Global Variation: Employees in different countries prioritize different values, which cluster into several distinct dimensions.

Hofstede's Dimensions of Cultural Values

  • Individualism-Collectivism:

    • Individualism: A loosely knit social framework where individuals primarily care for themselves and their immediate family. (Examples: United States, Netherlands, France).

    • Collectivism: A tight social framework where people are loyal to and care for members of a broader ingroup. (Examples: Indonesia, China, West Africa).

  • Power Distance:

    • Low Power Distance: The culture prefers power to be distributed uniformly and democratically, aiming for egalitarianism. (Examples: United States, Germany, Netherlands).

    • High Power Distance: The culture accepts and expects that power is usually distributed unequally within organizations and society. (Examples: Russia, China, Indonesia).

  • Uncertainty Avoidance:

    • Low Uncertainty Avoidance: The culture tolerates uncertain and ambiguous situations and values unusual ideas and behaviors. (Examples: United States, Indonesia, Netherlands).

    • High Uncertainty Avoidance: The culture feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and relies on formal rules and processes to create stability. (Examples: Japan, Russia, France).

  • Masculinity-Femininity:

    • Masculinity: The culture values stereotypically male traits such as assertiveness, and the acquisition of money and material possessions. (Examples: United States, Japan, Germany).

    • Femininity: The culture values stereotypically female traits such as caring for others and prioritizing quality of life. (Examples: Netherlands, Russia, France).

  • Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation:

    • Short-Term Orientation: The culture emphasizes values that are more past- and present-oriented, such as respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations. (Examples: United States, Russia, West Africa).

    • Long-Term Orientation: The culture stresses values that are more future-oriented, such as persistence, prudence, and thrift. (Examples: China, Japan, Netherlands).

What is Ability?

  • Definition: The relatively stable capabilities people possess to perform a specific range of diverse but related activities.

  • Distinction from Skills: Unlike skills, which are more trainable and subject to improvement, abilities are more fundamental and stable.

  • Genetics: Similar to personality, approximately half of the variation in ability levels is due to genetics.

Types of Cognitive Ability

  • Definition: Capabilities related to the acquisition and application of knowledge in problem-solving.

Specific Facets of Cognitive Ability and Relevant Jobs

  • Verbal Ability:

    • Oral and Written Comprehension: Understanding written and spoken words and sentences.

    • Oral and Written Expression: Effectively communicating ideas through speaking or writing.

    • Relevant Jobs: Business executives, police/fire/ambulance dispatchers, clinical psychologists.

  • Quantitative Ability:

    • Number Facility: Performing basic mathematical operations quickly and accurately.

    • Mathematical Reasoning: Selecting the appropriate method or formula to solve a problem.

    • Relevant Jobs: Treasurers, financial managers, mathematical technicians, statisticians.

  • Reasoning Ability:

    • Problem Sensitivity: Recognizing when a problem exists or when something may go wrong.

    • Deductive Reasoning: Applying general rules to specific problems.

    • Inductive Reasoning: Combining specific information to form general conclusions.

    • Originality: Developing new and unique ideas.

    • Relevant Jobs: Anesthesiologists, surgeons, business executives, fire inspectors, judges, police detectives, forensic scientists, cartoonists, designers.

  • Spatial Ability:

    • Spatial Orientation: Understanding one's position relative to objects in the environment.

    • Visualization: Mentally imagining how something will appear after being rearranged.

    • Relevant Jobs: Pilots, drivers, boat captains, photographers, set designers, sketch artists.

  • Perceptual Ability:

    • Speed and Flexibility of Closure: Making sense of fragmented information and identifying patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed: Rapidly comparing information or objects with remembered information or objects.

    • Relevant Jobs: Musicians, firefighters, police officers, pilots, mail clerks, inspectors.

The Wonderlic Personnel Test

  • A widely utilized measure of cognitive ability.

  • Format: Consists of 50 questions to be completed in 12 minutes.

  • Scoring: A score of 20 is considered equivalent to an IQ of 100, which is the average.

  • IQ Formula: ext{IQ} = 2 imes ext{Wonderlic score} + 60.

  • Literacy Benchmark: A score of 10 indicates basic literacy.

  • Example Application (NFL Players): In the NFL, there's an observed correlation between a player's Wonderlic score and their proximity to the ball during play:

    • Offensive Tackles: 26

    • Centers: 25

    • Quarterbacks: 24

    • Guards: 23

    • Tight Ends: 22

    • Safeties: 19

    • Linebackers: 19

    • Cornerbacks: 18

    • Wide Receivers: 17

    • Running Backs: 16

Emotional Intelligence (EQ or EI)

  • Definition: Capabilities related to effectively managing and utilizing emotions when interacting with others.

  • Significance: Particularly crucial in jobs demanding significant "emotional labor," where employees are required to display certain emotions as part of their job.

  • Four Varieties of Emotional Intelligence:

    • Self-Awareness: A deep understanding of one's own feelings and emotions, including why certain feelings arise.

      • Example items: "I have a good sense of why I have certain feelings most of the time." "I really understand what I feel."

    • Other Awareness: The ability to accurately observe and comprehend the emotions of others.

      • Example items: "I am a good observer of others' emotions." "I am sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others."

    • Emotion Use: The capacity to direct and motivate oneself using emotions, such as setting goals and maintaining a positive self-concept.

      • Example items: "I always set goals for myself and then try my best to achieve them." "I am a self-motivating person."

    • Emotion Regulation: The skill to control one's own emotions, particularly temper, to handle difficult situations rationally and calm down quickly.

      • Example items: "I am able to control my temper so that I can handle difficulties rationally." "I can always calm down quickly when I am very angry."

How Important is Personality?

  • Conscientiousness and Job Performance:

    • Has a moderate positive effect on overall Job Performance.

    • Conscientious employees exhibit higher levels of Task Performance.

    • They are more likely to engage in Citizenship Behavior.

    • They are less likely to engage in Counterproductive Behavior.

  • Conscientiousness and Organizational Commitment:

    • Has a moderate positive effect on Affective Commitment (emotional attachment) and Normative Commitment (feeling of obligation).

    • Has no effect on Continuance Commitment (cost-based desire to stay).

  • Correlation Magnitudes:

    • Strong Correlation: Around .50 in magnitude.

    • Moderate Correlation: Around .30 in magnitude.

    • Weak Correlation: Around .10 in magnitude.

How Important is Ability?

  • General Cognitive Ability and Job Performance:

    • Has a strong positive effect on Task Performance.

    • The correlation is higher for jobs that are more complex than average.

    • The correlation is lower for jobs that are less complex than average.

    • The effects of general cognitive ability are almost zero for Citizenship Behavior and Counterproductive Behavior.

  • General Cognitive Ability and Organizational Commitment:

    • Has no effect on Affective Commitment, Continuance Commitment, or Normative Commitment.

    • Smarter employees are neither more nor less likely to desire to remain members of the organization.

Real-World Relevance and Practical Implications

  • The People Skills Test for Doctors (Virginia Tech Carilion): This medical school moved beyond solely relying on grades and test scores, incorporating a series of brief interviews (similar to speed-dating) to assess candidates' social skills and communication abilities. This highlights the growing recognition of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills as critical for success, especially in professions like medicine where good communication is vital for patient care and interaction within the healthcare system.

  • Analyzing Character Traits (e.g., "OB on Screen"): Examining fictional characters (like Jake from the example) can help understand how cognitive ability, personality (Big Five), emotional intelligence, and cultural values manifest in behavior and influence outcomes.

Reflection Points

  • Considering personal learning, surprising insights, and new information helpful for a career.

  • Reflecting on how the content contradicts or aligns with personal experiences within organizations or interactions with peers and leaders.

  • Always referencing specific topics, terms, concepts, and theories in discussions and reflections.