1. PART 4 The Individual Management and Organisational Behaviour
7th Edition
PART 4
The Individual

2. Individual Differences
Management and Organisational Behaviour
7th Edition
CHAPTER 9
Individual Differences

3. Learning outcomes
After completing this session learners are expected to be able to analyse factors that influence how individuals behave at the workplace.

4. How do individuals differ?
Ethnic origin
Physique
Gender
Early family experiences
Social & cultural factors
National culture
Motivation
Attitudes
Personality traits & types
Intelligence & abilities
Perception

5. Personality characteristics include:
Stable characteristics which explain why a person behaves in a particular way
Personality characteristics include:
Independence
Conscientiousness
Agreeableness
Self-control

6. Does a person’s personality remain constant?
Figure 9.1
Does a person’s personality remain constant?

7. Personality studies
Nomothetic approach
Ideographic approach

8. Nomothetic approach Concerned with the collection of group data
Identification of personality traits & production of effective measurement of the traits in order to draw comparisons between individuals
Tends to view environmental & social influences as minimal & views, personality as consistent
Approach claims that personality is largely inherited & resistant to change

9. Ideographic approach
Concerned with understanding the uniqueness of an individual & the development of the self concept
Personality development is viewed as a process & is open to change
Individuals are regarded as responding to the environment & people around them & see the dynamics of the interactions as playing a critical part in shaping personality
The measurement of traits is seen as largely inappropriate in that one person’s responses may not be comparable to another person

10. Theoretical approaches
Eysenck’s theory
Cattel’s theory

11. Eysenck’s personality type
Figure 9.2
Eysenck’s personality type

12. Cattell’s theory Three sources for the collection of personality data:
Life record data (L data) – ratings by trained observers
Self rating questionnaires (Q data) – responses to a questionnaire which measures personality traits
Test data (T data) – observation collected in specific situation tests

13. Identifies two personality traits:
Cattell’s theory
Identifies two personality traits:
Surface traits – which seem to cluster together consistently
Source traits – which seem to underlie & determine the traits which are likely to surface into behaviour

14. Theoretical approaches - idiographic
Theories that are typical of the ideographic approach:
Carl Rodgers – personality is embedded within personal relationships
GH Mead – unable to separate the notion of an individual’s personality from the concept of society
C Cooley – emotion & sensation held of ‘self’ is instinctive but is developed by experience

15. Erikson’s eight stages of personality development
Table 9.5
Erikson’s eight stages of personality development
Source: Adapted from Erikson, E.H. Identity and The Life Cycle, Norton (1980) Worksheet Table Appendix. © 1980 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. © 1959 by International Universities Press, Inc. Used by permission of W.W. Norton & Company Inc.

16. Freud – psychoanalytic approach
This approach emphasised the importance of –
Early childhood experiences, particularly parental relationships & dealing with trauma
Different levels of consciousness & the influence of the unconscious mind on behaviour
Understanding the whole person in relation to their past

17. A representation of Freud’s theory
Figure 9.3
A representation of Freud’s theory

18. Freud’s personality stages
Id – consists of the instinctive, hedonistic part of self
Superego – the conscience of the self, the part of our personality which is influenced by significant others in our life
Ego – has to make sense of the internal conflict in our mind between the id & superego & the external world

19. Criticisms against Freud’s theory
It is not replicable & his arguments were circular
Samples used were atypical
It is subjective & unscientific
The heavy emphasis on early childhood makes it highly deterministic
It disregards later development & changes

20. Freud Slips of the tongue
Slips of the tongue illustrate the conflict that can exist between our mental forces & the struggle we have in suppressing our desires
Slips of the tongue represent ‘minor eruptions of unconscious processing’ Reason

21. Freud – applications to organisational behaviour
Understanding stress at work
Defence mechanisms –
Regression – adopting childhood patterns of behaviour
Fixation – inflexible & rigid behaviour or attitudes
Rationalisation – elaborate ‘covering up’ of ideas/motive
Projection – attributing feelings & motives to others

22. Jung’s level of personality
Three levels of personality:
Conscious level (daily, reality)
Unconscious level (contains our own unique complexes)
Collective unconscious level (store of universal & evolutionary experiences)

23. Cognitive theory
Kelly’s theory is based on the consideration of the whole person in terms of their perceptions, attitudes & goals
Personality is the individual’s way of construing & experimenting with their world

24. Personality: its application in the workplace
Organisations regard personality as being of key significance in decision-making
Personality is taken into consideration at the selection interview
Personality is a powerful determinant of a manager’s effectiveness

25. Is intelligence inherited
Nativists – believe intelligence is mostly inherited (nature)
Empiricists – believe that our environment shapes our behaviour & mental abilities (nurture)
Galton suggests that genius runs in families & so intelligence must be inherited

26. Measuring intelligence Stanford Binet test
Mental age X 100 = intelligence quotient
Chronological (actual age)

27. A hierarchy of abilities
Figure 9.5
A hierarchy of abilities
Source: Adapted from P.E. Vernon, ‘The hierarchy of abilities’, in Wiseman, S. (ed.) Intelligence and Ability (first published 1967, reprinted 1968, 2nd edition 1973). This selection copyright © the Estate of Stephen Wiseman 1967, Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

28. G (general) factor
Can be construed as having one dimension which is independent of any direct learning or experience
Fluid intelligence – type of abstract reasoning ability which is free from cultural influences
Crystallised intelligence – dependent on learning, cultural experiences & is part of our general understanding of the world around us Cattell

29. Guilford’s structure of the intellect model
Figure 9.6
Guilford’s structure of the intellect model
Source: J.P. Guilford, ‘Three faces of intellect’, in Wiseman, S. (ed.) Intelligence and Ability (first published 1967, reprinted 1968, 2nd edition 1973). This selection copyright © the Estate of Stephen Wiseman 1967, Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

30. Guilford’s structure of the intellect model Operation
Evaluation
Convergent production
Divergent production
Memory
Cognition
Units
Classes
Relations

31. Guilford’s structure of the intellect model Product
The form in which the information is processed –
Transformation
Implications
Figural

32. Emotional intelligence (EI)
Expands classical view of intelligence to include emotional qualities of individuals
Can predict top performance
18 competencies including items such as empathy, developing others, service orientation, change catalyst, initiative, adaptability, self-confidence Goldman

33. Psychological testing
Tests are broadly divided by the British Psychological Society into –
Tests of typical performance – an individual’s typical responses to given situations
Tests of maximum performance – an individual’s ability to perform effectively under standard conditions

34. Why use psychological testing

35. Features of psychological testing
Tests will comprise of standard tasks, or a set of questions with a standard means of obtaining the score
A technical manual will explain what the test is measuring, how it was constructed, the procedures for administering, scoring and interpreting the test
Details of the test’s validity & reliability

36. Limitations of the tests
Can only sample behaviour at one moment in time
Information provided is dependent on good testing practice & will only add further evidence to the decision-making process. It will not provide all the answers
Due to nerves, the testee may not perform that well

37. Attitudes
Provide a state of readiness or tendency to respond in a particular way
Are learned through life and are embodied within our socialisation process

38. Functions of attitudes
Attitudes can serve four main functions –
Knowledge
Expressive
Instrumental
Ego defensive
Katz

39. Differing perspectives on gender
Figure 9.8
Differing perspectives on gender
Source: Adapted from ‘Approaches to the Understanding of Women and Leadership’ in Understanding Gender and Organisations by Alvesson, M. and Due Billing, Y. Reproduced with permission from Sage Publications Ltd, 1997