ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR W W W. P R E N H A L L. C O M / R O B B I N S T E N T H E D I T I O N

What is Personality?

Personality Determinants  Where does your personality come from? –Heredity – so we’re born to be “just the way we are”? –Environment – oh, so it’s the environment instead? –Situation – or is it the situation that determines our personality?? So – what determines your personality???

Personality Traits  Early search: –One study found 17,953 individual traits –One study found 171 traits –One researcher determined there are 16 “primary” traits  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) –Widely used in industry (little evidence to support it) –100 question personality test –Results used to define a person via: Extraverted vs. Introverted Sensing vs. Intuitive Thinking vs. Feeling Perceiving or Judging

The Big Five Model  Research supports the idea of “five” basic dimensions: 1) Extroversion 2) Agreeableness 3) Conscientiousness 4) Emotional Stability 5) Openness to Experience Which is a good predictor of job performance? Why?

Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB  Locus of control  Machiavellianism  Self-esteem  Self-monitoring  Propensity for risk taking  Type A personality

Achieving Personality “Fit”  The Person-Job Fit (e.g., Holland’s personality- job fit theory)  The Person-Organization Fit (find an organization which matches w/your personality)

Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations

What Are Emotions? Moods Feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus. Emotions Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something. Affect A broad range of emotions that people experience.

What Are Emotions? (cont’d)

Emotion Dimensions  Variety of emotions –Positive –Negative  Intensity of emotions  Frequency and duration of emotions –How often emotions are exhibited –How long emotions are displayed (Sometimes jobs have emotional labor requirements which are frequent and last long: positive emotions displayed for long periods of time. Can you see how this can be difficult to do?)

Facial Expressions Convey Emotions

External Constraints on Emotions Organizational Influences Cultural Influences Individual Emotions

OB Applications of Understanding Emotions  Ability and Selection –Emotions affect employee effectiveness (emotional intelligence is becoming important)  Decision Making –Emotions are an important (e.g., negative emotions can limit a search towards new alternatives)  Motivation –Emotional commitment to work and high motivation are strongly linked.  Leadership –Emotions are important to acceptance of messages from organizational leaders.

OB Applications of Understanding Emotions  Interpersonal Conflict –Conflict in the workplace and individual emotions are strongly intertwined.  Deviant Workplace Behaviors –Negative emotions can lead to employee deviance in the form of actions that violate established norms and threaten the organization and its members. Productivity failures Property theft and destruction Political actions Personal aggression