Individual Behavior - Personality

It is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish one person from another

Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. The study of personality focuses on two broad areas: One is understanding individual differences in particular personality characteristics, such as sociability or irritability. The other is understanding how the various parts of a person come together as a whole. The difference in personalities is based on the difference between two parts of the personality; namely; Id and the Superego, which is moderated by the Ego.

Structural Model of Mental Life

Ego

Conscious Unconscious

Super Ego

Id

Some Ego Defense Mechanisms

Mechanism Rationalization How its applied in an Organization Attempting to justify ones behavior as being rational and justifiable. ( I had to violate company policies to get the job finished) Increasing feelings of worth by identifying self with person or institution of illustrious standing ( I am working for Sam, who is really the best manager in the world) Covering up weakness be emphasizing desirable traits or making up for frustration in one area by overgratification in another. ( I may be a harsh manager, but I play no favourites)

Identification

Compensation

Denial of Reality

Protecting self from unpleasant reality by refusing to perceive it ( There is no chance that this company will have to let people go because of the economy)

Basis for Understanding Behavior

Individual Behavior Framework

The Environment Work Job Design Organization Structure Policies & Rules Leadership Rewards & Sanctions Resources Relationships Non Work Family Economics Leisure & Hobbies

The Individual Abilities & Skills Family Background Personality Perception Attitudes Values Attributions Learning Capacity Age Race Sex Experience

Behaviors Problem- Solving Thinking Process Observations Movement Communication Talking Listening

Outcomes Performance Long Term Short Term Personal Development Relations with others Satisfaction

Personality major influences

Cultural forces

Hereditary forces

The individuals personality

Social & Group membership forces

Family and environment

The Big Five Personality Traits

Agreeableness High Agreeableness Low Agreeableness

Conscientiousness High Conscientiousness Low Conscientiousness

Emotional Stability Less negative emotionality More negative emotionality

Extraversion More Extraversion More Introversion

Openness
More Openness Less Openness

The Big Five Personality Traits - characteristic features

Personality Type Agreeable Conscientious Emotionally Stable Extrovert Open to Experience

High Dimension Cooperative, warm, trusting Responsible, organized, dependable, persistent Calm, self-confident, secure Gregarious, assertive, sociable Creative, curious, artistically sensitive

Low Dimension Cold, disagreeable, antagonist Distracted, disorganized, unreliable Nervous, anxious, depressed, insecure Reserved, timid, quiet Conventional, comfortable with known persons

Extrovert : Giving importance to relationships Agreeable : Thinking in a different manner Conscientiousness: possessing reliability Emotional stability : ability to withstand stress Open to experience : interested and fascinated by novelty

Myers Briggs Framework

Extraversion (E) versus Introversion (I) extraverts need to be around people to energize themselves whereas introverts need solitude Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N) The sensing types prefer concrete things, whereas intuitives prefer abstract concepts Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F) Thinking individuals base their decisions on logic and facts and reason, whereas feeling individuals use the heart to decide, more on feelings and emotions Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P) Judging types believe in completion or finished outcomes whereas perceiving enjoy the process and open ended situations

Cattells personality factors is a basic model which puts 16 traits on a scale so that a person can say how they fit within the scale of reserved versus outgoing. This is a basis form of finding out what someones personality is.

Other Personality Traits

Locus of Control - the extent to which people believe their behavior has a real effect on what happens to them.
It has been found that internally controlled employees were more content with their jobs, more likely to be in managerial positions and more satisfied with a participative management style than were employees who perceived themselves as externally controlled

Self- Efficacy it is a persons belief about his or her capabilities to perform a task.
People with a high self efficacy may respond to the identification of the problem areas in a more aggressive, corrective but sometimes self-serving way than those employees low in self efficacy

Authoritarianism the extent to which an individual believes that power and status differences are appropriate within hierarchical social systems or organizations. Machiavellianism - is used to describe behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others.
High Mach would be suited to activities such as selling, negotiating. Low Mach scorers would be suited for planning, conceptualizing and working out details

Creativity creativity is the generation of novel ideas that may be converted into opportunities. It is the first step in the innovation process. Organizations can develop creativity by i) Buffering iii) Intuition ii) Organizational Time Outs iv) Innovative Attitudes v) Innovative Organizational Structures

Narcissim describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self importance, requires excessive admiration and is arrogant. He is totally absorbed by his self.

They are rated as worse leaders but they feel they were better leaders. Narcissists cannot be "handled", or "managed", or "contained", or "channeled". They are incapable of team work. They lack empathy, are exploitative, envious, haughty and feel entitled

Self Monitoring people who can adjust his or her behaviour according to the scenario
Risk Takers High risk takers can achieve more

Type A & Type B Personality

Type A : Free Floating Hostility: Individuals with Type A personality are often known to have a short fuse, inability to control their temper and free floating hostility is one of the predominant traits in these individuals. They are impatient & tend to get irritated if things dont go exactly as they had planned. Little issues can upset them. It is often advised to take stress management classes for the sake of their own physical well-being. Aggressiveness: Individuals with this type of personality also tend to be excessively aggressive. Aggressive individuals like to take charge, are comfortable with having authority, power & responsibility, they are highly goal-oriented, tend to do what is takes to get the job done. They like to take action & often like to participate in competitive sports. Time Urgency: A lot of importance is given to time & deadlines. Even minor things like waiting in line or taking longer than little to get their point across can irritate these individuals. They are of the opinion that every second is valuable & wasting their time is the last thing they want to do. They may interrupt the person speaking & finish it for them just to make it faster. The impatience is usually evident in their demeanour & they generally dont try to hide it.

Competitiveness: People with Type A personality are highly competitive. They have clear drive for success, victory, high ambitions and goal oriented personality, which often makes them successful in their careers Competitiveness inflicts a lot of stress, which in turn contributes to health problems. While the Type A personality is often looked at as undesirable, the higher arousal levels & time urgency can lead to better performance. Type A personalities generally have higher need for achievements and their behaviour pattern is often associated with the success of an entrepreneur.

Emotional Intelligence

EQ refers to the extent to which people are self-aware, manage their emotions, motivate themselves, express empathy for others and possess social skills. These various dimensions can be described as : Self- Awareness a persons capacity to be self aware and hence guide their own lives and behaviors Managing Emotions a persons capacity to balance anxiety, fear, anger so that they do not overly interfere with getting things done Motivating Oneself a persons ability to remain positive and to continue striving to achieve even during downturns, barriers or failures Empathy ability to understand how others feel even without being explicitly told Social skill ability to interact with others and forming positive relations