0. Personality and Values4
Personality and Values
Collected by:
Abdallah Dweekat

1. Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain the factors that determine an individual’s personality.
Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality model.
Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at work.
Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.
Define values, demonstrate their importance, and contrast terminal and instrumental values.
Compare generational differences in values, and identify the dominant values in today’s workforce.
Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture.

2. What is Personality?
The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment. - Gordon Allport.
The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others, the measurable traits a person exhibits
Measuring Personality
Helpful in hiring decisions
Most common method: self-reporting surveys
Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality – often better predictors

3. Personality Determinants
SITUATION
ENVIRONMENT
HEREDITY
PERSONALITY

4. Personality Determinants
Heredity
Factors determined at conception: physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and bio-rhythms
This “Heredity Approach” argues that genes are the source of personality
Twin studies: raised apart but very similar personalities
Parents don’t add much to personality development
There is some personality change over long time periods

5. Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior
The more consistent the characteristic and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more important the trait.
He has a pleasing personality
He is serious
She is kind
Two dominant frameworks used to describe personality:
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)
Big Five Model

6. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Isabel Myers and Katriene Briggs has developed on Jung’s work (MBTI)
Most widely used instrument in the world.
Participants are classified on four axes to determine one of 16 possible personality types, such as ENTJ.
July 26, 1875 – June 6, 1961

7. DIMENSIONS OF MBTI 2 Mental Processes 2 Mental Orientations
How people "Perceive" or take in information.
How people form "Judgments" or make decisions.
2 Mental Orientations
How people interact with the world and where do they direct their energy
How do people deal with the outer world

8. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Extroverted (E)
Introverted (I)
Sensing (S)
Intuitive (N)
Thinking (T)
Feeling (F)
Judging (J)
Perceiving (P)
4-8

9. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Write a description of what you see?

10. How Do People Perceive SENSING INTUITION
Those who prefer Sensing Perception favor clear, tangible data and information that fits in well with their direct here- and-now experience.
Those who prefer Intuition Perception are drawn to information that is more abstract, conceptual, big-picture, and represents imaginative possibilities for the future.

11. How Do People Perceive SENSING INTUITION Focus on details & specifics
Admire practical solutions
Notice details & remember facts
Are pragmatic - see what is
Live in the here-and-now
Trust actual experience
Like to use established skills
Like step-by-step instructions
Focus on the big picture & possibilities
Admire creative ideas
Notice anything new or different
Are inventive - see what could be
Think about future implications
Trust their gut instinct
Prefer to learn new skills

12. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Suppose you are a manager. You are to make a critical decision. You have to fire one of your employees. Which one would you choose?
A new worker which is real hard working and skillful
A old worker that is out of date

13. How Do People Judge THINKING FEELING
Those who prefer Thinking Judgment have a natural preference for making decisions in an objective, logical, and analytical manner with an emphasis on tasks and results to be accomplished.
Those whose preference is for Feeling Judgment make their decisions in a somewhat global, visceral, harmony and value-oriented way, paying particular attention to the impact of decisions and actions on other people.

14. How Do People Judge THINKING FEELING
Decide based on their values & feelings
Appear warm and friendly
Are most convinced by how they feel
Are diplomatic and tactful
Value harmony and compassion
Are motivated by appreciation
Avoid arguments and conflicts
Make decisions objectively
Appear cool and reserved
Are most convinced by rational arguments
Are honest and direct
Value honesty and fairness
Are motivated by achievement
Argue or debate issues for fun

15. Where do people prefer to focus there attention, get their energy?
INTROVERSION
EXTRAVERSION
Those who prefer Introversion draw their primary energy from the inner world of information, thoughts, ideas, and other reflections. When circumstances require an excessive amount of attention spent in the "outside" world, those preferring Introversion find the need to retreat to a more private setting as if to recharge their drained batteries.
Those who prefer Extraversion are drawn to the outside world as their elemental source of energy. Rarely, if ever, do extraverted preference people feel their energy batteries are "drained" by excessive amounts of interaction with the outside world. They must engage the things, people, places and activities going on in the outside world for their life force.

16. Where do people prefer to focus there attention, get their energy?
INTROVERSION
EXTRAVERSION
Have quiet energy
Listen more than talk
Think quietly inside my head
Think, then act
Feel comfortable being alone
Prefer to work "behind-the-scenes"
Have good powers of concentration
Prefer to focus on one thing at a time
Are self-contained and reserved
Have high energy
Talk more than listen
Think out loud
Act, then think
Like to be around people a lot
Prefer a public role
Can sometimes be easily distracted
Prefer to do lots of things at once
Are outgoing & enthusiastic

17. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Assume you are going on a trip. What would you be doing before the trip?

18. How do people deal with the outer world?
JUDGING
PERCEIVING
Those who prefer Judging rely upon either their T or F preference to manage their outer life. This typically leads to a style oriented towards closure, organization, planning, or in some fashion managing the things and or people found in the external environment.
Those who prefer Perceiving rely upon either their S or N preference to run their outer life. This typically results in an open, adaptable, flexible style of relating to the things and people found in the outside world. The drive is to experience the outside world rather than order it.

19. How do people deal with the outer world?
JUDGING
PERCEIVING
Make most decisions pretty easily
Are serious & conventional
Pay attention to time & are prompt
Prefer to finish projects
Work first, play later
Want things decided
See the need for most rules
Like to make & stick with plans
Find comfort in schedules
May have difficulty making decisions
Are playful & unconventional
Are less aware of time & run late
Prefer to start projects
Play first, work later
Want to keep their options open
Question the need for many rules
Like to keep plans flexible
Want the freedom to be spontaneous

20. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
ISTJ
“Take Your Time and Do It Right”
ISFJ
“On My Honor, to Do My Duty…”
INFJ
“Catalyst for Positive Change”
INTJ
“Competence + Independence = Perfection”
ISTP
“Doing the Best I Can With What I’ve Got”
ISFP
“It’s the Thought That Counts”
INFP
“Still Waters Run Deep”
INTP
“Ingenious Problem Solvers”
ESTP
“Let’s Get Busy!”
ESFP
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
ENFP
“Anything’s Possible”
ENTP
“Life’s Entrepreneurs”
ESTJ
“Taking Care of Business”
ESFJ
“What Can I Do For You?”
ENFJ
“The Public Relations Specialist”
ENTJ
“Everything’s Fine – I’m in Charge”

21. The Types and Their Uses
Each of the sixteen possible combinations has a name, for instance:
Visionaries (INTJ) – original, stubborn, and driven.
Organizers (ESTJ) – realistic, logical, analytical, and businesslike.
Conceptualizer (ENTP) – entrepreneurial, innovative, individualistic, and resourceful.
Research results on validity mixed.
MBTI® is a good tool for self-awareness and counseling.
Should not be used as a selection test for job candidates.

22. The Big Five Model of Personality Dimensions
Extroversion
Sociable, gregarious, and assertive
Agreeableness
Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting
Conscientiousness
Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized
Emotional Stability
Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative)
Openness to Experience
Curious, imaginative, artistic, and sensitive

23. How Do the Big Five Traits Predict Behavior?
Research has shown this to be a better framework.
Certain traits have been shown to strongly relate to higher job performance:
Highly conscientious people develop more job knowledge, exert greater effort, and have better performance.
Other Big Five Traits also have implications for work.
Emotional stability is related to job satisfaction.
Extroverts tend to be happier in their jobs and have good social skills.
Open people are more creative and can be good leaders.
Agreeable people are good in social settings.

24. Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB
Core Self-Evaluation
The degree to which people like or dislike themselves
Positive self-evaluation leads to higher job performance
Machiavellianism
A pragmatic, emotionally distant power-player who believes that ends justify the means.
High Machs are manipulative, win more often, and persuade more than they are persuaded. Flourish when:
Have direct interaction
Work with minimal rules and regulations
Emotions distract others
Narcissism
An arrogant, entitled, self-important person who needs excessive admiration.
Less effective in their jobs.

25. More Relevant Personality Traits
Self-Monitoring
The ability to adjust behavior to meet external, situational factors.
High monitors conform more and are more likely to become leaders.
Risk Taking
The willingness to take chances.
May be best to align propensities with job requirements.
Risk takers make faster decisions with less information.

26. Even More Relevant Personality Traits
Type A Personality
Aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more in less time
Impatient: always moving, walking, and eating rapidly
Strive to think or do two or more things at once
Cannot cope with leisure time
Obsessed with achievement numbers
Prized in North America but quality of the work is low
Type B people are the complete opposite
Proactive Personality
Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres to completion
Creates positive change in the environment

27. Values
Basic convictions on how to conduct yourself or how to live your life that is personally or socially preferable – “How To” live life properly.
Attributes of Values:
Content Attribute – that the mode of conduct or end-state is important
Intensity Attribute – just how important that content is.
Value System
A person’s values rank ordered by intensity
Tends to be relatively constant and consistent

28. Importance of Values
Provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and behaviors
Influence our perception of the world around us
Represent interpretations of “right” and “wrong”
Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others

29. Classifying Values – Rokeach Value Survey
Terminal Values
Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime
Instrumental Values
Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values
People in same occupations or categories tend to hold similar values
But values vary between groups
Value differences make it difficult for groups to negotiate and may create conflict

30. Values in the Rokeach Survey

31. Value Differences Between Groups
Source: Based on W. C. Frederick and J. Weber, “The Values of Corporate Managers and Their Critics: An Empirical Description and Normative Implications,” in W. C. Frederick and L. E. Preston (eds.) Business Ethics: Research Issues and Empirical Studies (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1990), pp. 123–44.

32. Approximate Current Age
Generational Values
Cohort
Entered Workforce
Approximate Current Age
Dominant Work Values
Veterans
65+
Hard working, conservative, conforming; loyalty to the organization
Boomers
40-60s
Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of authority; loyalty to career
Xers
20-40s
Work/life balance, team-oriented, dislike of rules; loyalty to relationships
Nexters
2000-Present
Under 30
Confident, financial success, self-reliant but team-oriented; loyalty to both self and relationships

33. Linking Personality and Values to the Workplace
Managers are less interested in someone’s ability to do a specific job than in that person’s flexibility.
Person-Job Fit:
John Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory
Six personality types
Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI)
Key Points of the Model:
There appear to be intrinsic differences in personality between people
There are different types of jobs
People in jobs congruent with their personality should be more satisfied and have lower turnover

34. Holland’s Personality Typology & Occupations

35. Relationships Among Personality Types
The closer the occupational fields, the more compatible.
The further apart the fields, the more dissimilar.
Need to match personality type with occupation.
Source: Reprinted by special permission of the publisher, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., from Making Vocational Choices, copyright 1973, 1985, 1992 by Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. All rights reserved.

36. Still Linking Personality to the Workplace
In addition to matching the individual’s personality to the job, managers are also concerned with:
Person-Organization Fit:
The employee’s personality must fit with the organizational culture.
People are attracted to organizations that match their values.
Those who match are most likely to be selected.
Mismatches will result in turnover.
Can use the Big Five personality types to match to the organizational culture.

37. Global Implications Personality Values
Do frameworks like Big Five transfer across cultures?
Yes, but the frequency of type in the culture may vary.
Better in individualistic than collectivist cultures.
Values
Values differ across cultures.
Hofstede’s Framework for assessing culture – five value dimensions:
Power Distance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Masculinity vs. Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

38. Hofstede’s Framework: Power Distance
The extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.
Low distance
Relatively equal power between those with status/wealth and those without status/wealth
High distance
Extremely unequal power distribution between those with status/wealth and those without status/wealth

39. Hofstede’s Framework: Individualism
The degree to which people prefer to act as individuals rather than a member of groups
Collectivism
A tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them
Versus

40. Hofstede’s Framework: Masculinity
The extent to which the society values work roles of achievement, power, and control, and where assertiveness and materialism are also valued
Femininity
The extent to which there is little differentiation between roles for men and women
Versus

41. Hofstede’s Framework: Uncertainty Avoidance
The extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them
High Uncertainty Avoidance:
Society does not like ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them.
Low Uncertainty Avoidance:
Society does not mind ambiguous situations and embraces them.

42. Hofstede’s Framework: Time Orientation
Long-term Orientation
A national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift, and persistence
Short-term Orientation
A national culture attribute that emphasizes the present and the here and now

43. Hofstede’s Framework: An Assessment
There are regional differences within countries
The original data is old and based on only one company
Hofstede had to make many judgment calls while doing the research
Some results don’t match what is believed to be true about given countries
Despite these problems it remains a very popular framework

44. GLOBE Framework for Assessing Cultures
Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program.
Nine dimensions of national culture
Similar to Hofstede’s framework with these additional dimensions:
Humane Orientation: how much society rewards people for being altruistic, generous, and kind.
Performance Orientation: how much society encourages and rewards performance improvement and excellence.

45. Summary and Managerial Implications
Personality
Screen for the Big Five trait of conscientiousness
Take into account the situational factors as well
MBTI® can help with training and development
Values
Often explain attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions
Higher performance and satisfaction achieved when the individual’s values match those of the organization.

46. Let’s stop it here