Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,

Values and Motivation

Individual Behaviour Personality

Values and Motivation
Introduction
"Personality" is a useful concept for helping to understand, interpret, and explain individual
behaviour. The term "personality" is generally accepted to mean the relatively stable collection
of a person's characteristics; an enduring pattern of attributes that define the uniqueness of the
individual.
Because attitudes, values, and perception levels are part of the pattern, personality includes
attitudinal predispositions as well as patterns of actual and observed individual behaviour.
Personality is central to the dynamics of motivation, values, interpersonal conflict, leadership,
and organizational politics.

Motivation theory - both Content and Process theories - help us to understand the reasons why
individuals behave as they do and the processes and drivers that cause individual behaviour.
Motivation has both a psychological meaning and a managerial meaning in the field of
organizational behaviour.

The psychological meaning of motivation is the internal mental state of an individual that relates
to the initiation, direction, persistence and intensity of behaviour. The managerial meaning is the
activity of managers to induce and influence others to produce results desired by the manager
or the organization.

Like personality, people differ in their abilities. Ability is the capacity to carry out a set of
interrelated mental or behavioural sequences to produce a result, a product, a service, or
accomplish a specific task.

An individual's skills and knowledge are factors in overall ability. Individuals differ or vary
significantly in their abilities, such as cognitive ability, emotional intelligence ability, perceptual
ability, and psychomotor ability.

Leaning Outcomes
Describe the 4-factor model of individual behaviour and results
Explain the key influences on personality
Explain various theories of motivation
Apply the principles of motivation to organizational decision-making
Differentiate between Content and Process motivation theories
Explain how individual behaviour impacts organizational interaction.
Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,
Values and Motivation

Explaining Individual Behaviour

Why do we behave the way we do? In particular, how can an organization ensure that
employees behave in such a way that will lead to organizational effectiveness?

Behavioural research targeted at understanding and predicting the factors that influence
individual behaviour has produced one particular model that helps us explain individual
behaviour. It takes into consideration factors that are intrinsic to the individual as well as factors
that are situational. It is called the MARS model.

Motivation
Ability
Role Perceptions
Situtational Factors

MARS was introduced by senior officers in the Singapore Armed Forces and was subsequently
commented on by multiple behavioural science researchers to validate its usefulness. At the
heart of the model is the concept that we should examine an individual's skill, will, and
perceptual filters, while taking into consideration the circumstances and context in which
behaviour happens. This model provides a basis for interpreting individual behaviour and
results.

Motivation: The internal forces that affect the direction, intensity, and persistence of a person's
voluntary choice of behaviour.

Motivation is an interesting topic. It causes us to discuss why people do certain things and not
others. It can be quite frustrating when there are no simple answers to these questions.
However, there are many theories of motivation that are worth looking at. There will be further
discussion on motivational theories later in the module.

Ability: An individual's ability can be defined as competence in an activity or occupation

because of one's skill, training, or other qualifications. It can include both the natural aptitudes
and the learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task.

Role Perceptions: Perception is the process through which people receive, organize, and
interpret information about their environment. Role perceptions are: a person's belief about what
behaviours are appropriate or necessary in a particular situation, including the specific
behaviours that are included in the job, the relative importance of each expected behaviour and
the preferred behaviours to accomplish those tasks.

If a person has inaccurate role perceptions - that is, they are not clear on the role they are to
perform - their decisions on what action to take will potentially miss the targeted behaviour.

Situational Factors: Situational factors include conditions beyond a person's immediate control
that either assist or restrict the person's behaviour and performance. With respect to a person's
working environment and the organizational systems and resources that impact behaviour,
these can include:

physical facilities such as space and equipment where the job is performed
organizational structure and reporting relationships
organizational lines of communication
Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,
Values and Motivation

leadership
reward systems.

Some situational characteristics are external to the organization and are consequently beyond
the control of the employees. However, situational factors such as who is in what role, how
much time is allocated for a task, what supporting resources are offered, etc., are within the
control of people within the organization.

Personality is defined as a relatively stable collection of a person's characteristics that

influences a person's behaviour.

Personality traits are characteristics that are relatively unchangeable and cannot be explained
by social (ex., "The boss said to do it.") or biological (ex., lunch break because you are hungry)
reasons, i.e., how a person is "hardwired".

What is one's personality influenced by? (Pick all that applies.)

- Heredity
- Social (which reinforces and punishes desired behaviours)
- Cultural factors
- Environment (schools)
- Self-esteem: refers to the opinion we have of ourselves, based on factors such as
personal appearance and intelligence
- Locus of control: refers to the extent to which people believe they can control the events
in their lives
- Introversion/extroversion: introverts tend to be shy and inward-looking, and extroverts
tend to be outgoing and concerned with external things
- Self-efficacy: refers to an individuals belief concerning their ability to accomplish a job
task
- Self-monitoring: refers to the extent to which behavior is based on cues from people and
situations

Answer:
All of these factors influence ones personality.

The Big Five Personality Dimensions

A personality trait is some particular relatively stable and enduring individual tendency to react
emotionally and/or behaviourally in a specific way. Over the years, hundreds of studies have
been done which used specific traits to define personality.

These many, specific individual traits have been grouped together into what is generally referred
to as the "Big Five" dimensions of personality.

These five dimensions of personality are:

1. Extroversion
Some of the more specific traits of individuals high in extroversion are that they
tend to be sociable, like to be with others, and are energetic.
Introverts are the reverse. They tend to be less sociable, like to be alone, and do
not interact much with others.
Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,
Values and Motivation

2. Emotional Stability or Neuroticism

Emotional stability, viewed from the negative side, is also called neuroticism.
Among the traits of someone low in emotional stability (or highly neurotic) are
that they tend to be emotional, tense, insecure, have high anxiety levels, are
depressed, easily upset, suspicious, and low in self-confidence and self-esteem.
3. Agreeableness
Agreeableness is a set of traits of individuals who are easy to get along with. They
are likely to be more tolerant, trusting, generous, warm, kind, and good natured.
They are less likely to be aggressive, rude, and thoughtless.
4. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness denotes individuals who are responsible, dependable,
persistent, punctual, hard-working, and oriented toward work.
5. Openness to Experience
Openness to experience refers to individuals who are imaginative, curious,
cultured, broad-minded, have broad interests, and are self-sufficient and self-
directed.

Motivation Theories, Principles

Motivation: The internal forces that affect the direction, intensity, and persistence of a person's
voluntary choice of behaviour.

What influences our motivation?

Attitudes:
The way a person feels about an object
Predisposition to respond in either a positive or negative way
Job satisfaction and commitment to the organization

Beliefs:
People must believe that they are capable
People must believe that acting in a certain way will have positive consequences
May or may not be based on accurate perceptions
Are formed based on perceptions of the actual situation, past experience, self-esteem,
communication from others

Values:
Influenced by appealing activities

Needs:
If a person is experiencing a particular need, that person will be motivated to satisfy that
need

Goals:
Provide a target and a basis of assessment

There are basically two groups of theories on motivation: Content and Process theories of
motivation.
Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,
Values and Motivation

Content Theories of Motivation

The Content theories of motivation were the first to be developed. They stem from the premise
that the motivation for a particular behaviour is based on an attempt to satisfy unmet needs.

The Content theories address the question of which needs trigger motivation.

The Content theories of motivation are:

Maslow's Needs Hierarchy Theory
Alderfer's ERG Theory
McClelland's Theory of Learned Needs
Herzberg's two-factor theory.

Process Theories of Motivation

The Process theories of motivation are concerned with explaining the behavioural and thought
processes through which individuals attempt to satisfy their needs.

The Process theories attempt to answer the question of why a person behaves in a certain way.

The Process motivation theories are:

Expectancy Theory
Equity Theory
Goal Setting
Organizational Justice Theories

Emergent Thinking
Noted author, Daniel Pink, contends that research into the psychology of motivation undertaken
since the middle of the 20th century indicates that our current assumptions about human
potential and our reliance on the use of external motivators to influence individual behaviour in
organizations is often not the most effective way to achieve the results we want.

He summarizes extensive research studies authored by behavioural scientists that enable

greater understanding of the value of intrinsic drivers of motivation. As tasks and work
environments become more complex, we will need to consider new approaches to motivation
within organizations.

Values and their Impact on Organizations

Definition:
Values are relatively stable beliefs that have an important influence on individual behaviour.
They guide preferences and individual behaviour in all of the different situations a person is
faced with. Values are perceptions about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and/or acceptable
or unacceptable.

Development:
Over time, individuals develop a value system - a collection of values - which guides, shapes,
and drives their behaviour. Values are linked to individual ethics: our individual moral principles
Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,
Values and Motivation

about what is right or wrong. As such, individual ethical values also guide, shape, and drive
individual behaviour.

Impact:
Values can have a tremendous influence on individual behaviour and the behaviour of groups.
There is a growing body of research supporting the conclusion that organizations that drive
positive values and positive character traits enjoy more consistent and higher levels of
organizational performance. Values are critically important in shaping organizational culture and
they have a significant impact on the leadership that people exhibit within organizations.

Summary
Managers need to learn all they can about human behaviour. People, with all that they are
made of - their personalities, values, motivations and abilities - are critical to an organization's
overall performance and success.

Skill and ability refer to the competence of an individual. The term "will" can be used to refer to a
person's desire or motivation. When we combine these concepts with the effects of perceptual
filtering and the impact of situational factors, we begin to understand how to explain individual
behaviour and the various differences that exist within people.

Personality is a useful way to help understand and predict behaviour and people's
accommodations to organizational life. There are many theories and related concepts of
personality. Personality is a central concept in better understanding the many behavioural
aspects of work and how and why individuals adjust their behaviour at work and in life in
general.

Motivation theories help to better understand, explain, and predict individual behaviour. These
theories help to better understand what motivates individuals to do what they do, why they do it,
and behave as they do.

Motivation theories provide clues to individuals in general, and to managers more specifically,
about what they can change to enhance employee performance and overall organizational
effectiveness. The many different theories of motivation all have a psychological basis and an
impact on individual behaviour.

An individual's level and strength of motivation powerfully influence personality, values,

perception, attitudes, emotions, levels of learning, stress levels, decision-making approaches,
creativity and innovation insights, communication styles, uses of power and influence,
organizational politics, conflict management approaches, negotiation skills, approaches to
change, and management and leadership styles.

Values are our beliefs about desirable goals and modes of conduct. They are broad belief
systems used in making decisions and judgements about our own and others' behaviour.
Individual values are significant variables in all organizations and even more so in large,
Introduction to Business Management and Organizational Behavior Individual Behaviour personality,
Values and Motivation

multinational and multicultural organizations where differing values and cultural values may
result in a workforce with different and often conflicting "core" values.

You have now completed this module. You can continue to the next module.