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Chapter 5 Personality and Values Page

CHAPTER 5Personality and Values

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter, students should be able to:

1. Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.2. Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and its strengths and

weaknesses.3. Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality model.4. Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at work5. Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.6. Contrast terminal and instrumental values.7. Compare generational differences in values.8. Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture.

INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES

Instructors may wish to use the following resources when presenting this chapter.

Learning Catalytics Questions: Instructor Directions and Follow-Up

Organizational Behavior Concept

LC Question Instructor Directions and Follow-Up

Terminal and instrumental values

Indicate your top three values by typing a single value in each of the three spaces indicated.

Introduce this question after you discuss the difference between terminal and instrumental values.

Display the word cloud. Point out any trends with reporting more instrumental or more terminal values in the class and any other patterns that the class notices.

MBTI Select whether you think you are more introverted or more extraverted.a. Introvertedb. Extraverted

Introduce this question after discussing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Discuss what the difference between the E versus I dimension of the MBTI is and what types of preferences and behaviors might be attributed to E versus I. Make the connection between participation in class and on student teams with this preference.

Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Text Exercises

Myth or Science?: “We Can Accurately Judge Individual’s Personalities a Few Seconds After Meeting Them”

glOBalization!: Is the Personality Profile of an Entrepreneur the Same Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany?

An Ethical Choice: Do You Have a Cheating Personality? Point/Counterpoint: Millennials Are More Narcissistic Question for Review Experiential Exercise: What Organizational Culture Do You Prefer? Ethical Dilemma: Generational Values and “Staying Put”

Text Cases

Case Incident 1: On the Costs of Being Nice Case Incident 2: The Power of Quiet

Instructor’s Choice

This section presents an exercise that is NOT found in the student's textbook. Instructor's Choice reinforces the text's emphasis through various activities. Some Instructor's Choice activities are centered on debates, group exercises, Internet research, and student experiences. Some can be used in class in their entirety, while others require some additional work on the student's part. The course instructor may choose to use these at any time throughout the class—some may be more effective as icebreakers, while some may be used to pull together various concepts covered in the chapter.

Web Exercises

At the end of each chapter of this Instructor’s Manual, you will find suggested exercises and ideas for researching OB topics on the Internet. The exercises “Exploring OB Topics on the Web” are set up so that you can simply photocopy the pages, distribute them to your class, and make assignments accordingly. You may want to assign the exercises as an out-of-class activity or as lab activities with your class.

Summary and Implications for Managers

Personality matters to organizational behavior. It does not explain all behavior, but it sets the stage. Emerging theory and research reveal how personality matters more in some situations than others. The Big Five has been a particularly important advancement, though the Dark Triad and other traits matter as well. Moreover, every trait has advantages and disadvantages for work behavior. There is no perfect constellation of traits that is ideal in every situation. Personality can help you to understand why people (including yourself!) act, think, and feel the way we do, and the astute manger can put that understanding to use by taking care to place employees in situations that best fit their personality.


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Why is it important to know an individual’s values? Values often underlie and explain attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. So knowledge of an individual’s value system can provide insight into what makes the person “tick.” As a manager, you are more likely to appreciate, evaluate positively, and allocate rewards to

employees who fit in, and your employees are more likely to be satisfied if they perceive they do fit in. Plan to objectively consider your employees’ performance accordingly.

Consider screening job candidates for high conscientiousness—as well as the other Big Five traits, depending on the criteria your organization finds most important. Other traits, such as core self-evaluation or narcissism, may be relevant in certain situations.

You need to evaluate your employees’ jobs, their work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal personality fit.

Take into account employees' situational factors when evaluating their observable personality traits, and lower the situation strength, to better ascertain personality characteristics.

Although the MBTI has been widely criticized, it may have a place in organizations. You may consider the results helpful for training and development; the results can also help employees better understand themselves, help team members better understand each other, open up communication in work groups, and possibly reduce conflicts.

This chapter opens with a discussion about Matthew Corrin, the founder and CEO of restaurant chain Freshii. The success of the Freshii chain has been attributed in part to Corrin’s personality. He is known not only for his ambition, but also for the high standards he expects of himself and his employees. Some have also suggested that Corrin is narcissistic and enjoys being the center of attention.

BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. PersonalityA. What Is Personality?

1. Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system.

2. Defining personalitya. The text defines personality as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts

to and interacts with others. 3. Measuring personality

a. The most important reason managers need to know how to measure personality is that research has shown personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best for a job.

b. The most common means of measuring personality is through self-report surveys, with which individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors.

c. While narcissism seems to have little relationship with job performance, it is fairly strongly related to increased counterproductive work behaviors and is linked to other negative outcomes. i. A study found that while narcissists thought they were better leaders than their

colleagues, their supervisors rated them as worse.


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4. Personality determinants a. Introduction

i. An early argument centered on whether personality was the result of heredity or environment.

ii. Personality appears to be a result of both influences. b. Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception.

i. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.

ii. Researchers have studied thousands of sets of identical twins that were separated at birth to better understand the role of heredity in determining personality.

c. Personality traits i. Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior include shy,

aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid. These are personality traits.

ii. Early efforts to identify the primary traits that govern behavior often resulted in long lists that were difficult to generalize from and provided little practical guidance to organizational decision makers.

B. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 1. One of the most widely used personality frameworks is the Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator (MBTI). 2. Individuals are classified as:

a. Extroverted or Introverted (E or I). b. Sensing or Intuitive (S or N). c. Thinking or Feeling (T or F). d. Perceiving or Judging (P or J).

3. These classifications are then combined into sixteen personality types. For example: a. INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and great drive. They are

characterized as skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn. b. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, and have a

natural head for business or mechanics. c. The ENTP type is a conceptualizer. He or she is innovative, individualistic,

versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. This person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments.

4. MBTI is widely used in practice. Some organizations using it include Apple Computer, AT&T, Citigroup, GE, 3M Company, and others.

C. The Big Five Personality Model 1. An impressive body of research supports that five basic dimensions underlie all other

personality dimensions. The five basic dimensions are: a. Extraversion. Comfort level with relationships. Extroverts tend to be gregarious,

assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid, and quiet. b. Agreeableness. Individual’s propensity to defer to others. High agreeableness

people—cooperative, warm, and trusting. Low agreeableness people—cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.


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c. Conscientiousness. A measure of reliability. A high conscientious person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.

d. Emotional stability. A person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure.

e. Openness to experience. The range of interests and fascination with novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the openness category are conventional and find comfort in the familiar.

2. How do the Big Five traits predict behavior at work? a. Research has shown relationships between these personality dimensions and job

performance.b. Employees who score higher, for example, in conscientiousness develop higher

levels of job knowledge.c. Conscientiousness is as important for managers as for front-line employees.

(Exhibit 5-1)i. The study found conscientiousness—in the form of persistence, attention to

detail, and setting of high standards—was more important than other traits. ii. These results attest to the importance of conscientiousness to organizational

success.d. Although conscientiousness is the Big Five trait most consistently related to job

performance, there are other traits that are related to aspects of performance in some situations.

3. All five traits also have other implications for work and for life. Let’s look at these one at a time. (Exhibit 5-2)a. Of the Big Five traits, emotional stability is most strongly related to life

satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels. b. Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in their lives. c. Individuals who score high on openness to experience are more creative in

science and art than those who score low. d. Agreeable individuals are better liked than disagreeable people, which helps

explain why they tend to do better in interpersonally-oriented jobs such as customer service.

4. The five personality factors identified in the Big Five model appear in almost all cross-cultural studies. a. These studies have included a wide variety of diverse cultures such as China,

Israel, Germany, Japan, Spain, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, and the United States. b. Generally, the findings corroborate what has been found in U. S. research: of the

Big Five traits, conscientiousness is the best predictor of job performance.D. The Dark Triad

1. With the exception of neuroticism, the Big Five traits are what we call socially desirable, meaning we would be glad to score high on them.

2. Researchers have found that three other socially undesirable traits, which we all have in varying degrees, are relevant to organizational behavior.


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a. They are: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. b. Owing to their negative nature, researchers have labeled these three traits the

“Dark Triad.”3. Machiavellianism

a. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means.

b. High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more.

c. Machiavellianism does not significantly predict overall job performance. 4. Narcissism

a. Narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self-importance. b. They “think” they are better leaders. c. Often they are selfish and exploitive.

5. Psychopathya. In the OB context, psychopathy is defined as a lack of concern for others, and a

lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm. i. Measures of psychopathy attempt to assess the person’s motivation to comply

with social norms; willingness to use deceit to obtain desired ends and the effectiveness of those efforts; impulsivity; and disregard, that is, lack of empathic concern, for others.

b. The literature is not consistent about whether psychopathy or other aberrant personality traits are important to work behavior.

c. Organizations wishing to assess psychopathy or other aberrant traits need to exercise caution.i. Given the relative newness of research on the Dark Triad, using

psychopathology in employment decisions may carry more risks for now than rewards.

E. Approach-Avoidance1. The approach-avoidance framework has cast personality traits as motivations. 2. Approach and avoidance motivation represent the degree to which we react to stimuli;

approach motivation is our attraction to positive stimuli and avoidance motivation our aversion to negative stimuli.

F. Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB 1. Core self-evaluation (self-perspective)

a. People who have a positive core self-evaluation see themselves as effective, capable, and in control.

b. People who have a negative core self-evaluation tend to dislike themselves. c. Some can be too positive. In this case, someone can think he or she is capable, but

he or she is actually incompetent.2. Self-monitoring

a. This refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors.

b. Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability. They are highly sensitive to external cues, can behave differently in different situations,


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and are capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private self.

3. Proactive personalitya. Actively taking the initiative to improve their current circumstances while others

sit by passively.b. Proactives identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere.

G. Personality and Situations 1. Increasingly, we are learning that the effect of particular traits on organizational

behavior depends on the situation. Two theoretical frameworks help explain how this works. a. Situation strength

i. Situation strength theory proposes that the way personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation. (a) By situation strength, we mean the degree to which norms, cues, or

standards dictate appropriate behavior. b. Research suggests that personality traits better predict behavior in weak situations

than in strong ones.c. Researchers have analyzed situation strength in organizations in terms of four

elements: i. Clarity, or the degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are

available and clear. ii. Consistency, or the extent to which cues regarding work duties and

responsibilities are compatible with one another. iii. Constraints, or the extent to which individuals’ freedom to decide or act is

limited by forces outside their control. iv. Consequences, or the degree to which decisions or actions have important

implications for the organization or its members, clients, supplies, and so on.d. Some researchers have speculated that organizations are, by definition, strong

situations because they impose rules, norms, and standards that govern behavior. These constraints are usually appropriate.

e. Trait Activation Theory (TAT)i. TAT predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait

more than others.ii. Exhibit 5-3 shows jobs in which certain Big Five traits are more relevant.

II. ValuesA. Introduction

1. Values represent basic convictions. 2. A specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially

preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.3. They have both content and intensity attributes. 4. An individual’s set of values ranked in terms of intensity is considered the person’s

value system.5. Values have the tendency to be stable.

B. The Importance and Organization of Values1. Values lay the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation.


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2. We enter an organization with preconceived notions of what “ought” and “ought not” be. a. These notions are not value-free; on the contrary, they contain our interpretations

of right and wrong and our preference for certain behaviors or outcomes over others.

3. Values cloud objectivity and rationality; they influence attitudes and behavior.C. Terminal Versus Instrumental Values

1. How can we organize values?2. Milton Rokeach separates them into:

a. Terminal Values—refer to desirable end states. b. Instrumental Values—refer to preferable modes of behavior.

D. Generational Values1. Contemporary work cohorts

i. Exhibit 5-4 segments employees by the era during which they entered the workforce.

ii. Because most people start work between the ages of 18 and 23, the eras also correlate closely with employee age.(a) Boomers (Baby Boomers)—entered the workforce during the 1960s

through the mid-1980s. (b) Xers—entered the workforce beginning in the mid-1980s. (c) The most recent entrants to the workforce are the Millennials.

2. Though it is fascinating to think about generational values, remember these classifications lack solid research support.

3. Generational classifications may help us understand our own and other generations better, but we must also appreciate their limits.

III. Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the Workplace A. The Person-Job Fit

1. This concern is best articulated in John Holland’s personality-job fit theory. 2. Holland presents six personality types and proposes that satisfaction and the

propensity to leave a job depends on the degree to which individuals successfully match their personalities to an occupational environment.

3. The six personality types are: realistic, investigative, social, conventional, enterprising, and artistic. (Exhibit 5-5)a. Vocational Preference Inventory questionnaire contains 160 occupational titles.

Respondents indicate which of these occupations they like or dislike; their answers are used to form personality profiles. (Exhibit 5-6)i. The key point of this model is that people in jobs congruent with their

personality should be more satisfied and less likely to voluntarily resign than people in incongruent jobs.

B. The Person-Organization Fit 1. The person–organization fit essentially argues that people are attracted to and selected

by organizations that match their values, and they leave organizations that are not compatible with their personalities.

IV. International ValuesA. Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures


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1. Five value dimensions of national culture: a. Power distance: the degree to which people in a country accept that power in

institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. b. Individualism versus collectivism: individualism is the degree to which people

in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups; collectivism emphasizes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them.

c. Masculinity versus femininity: masculinity is the degree to which the culture favors traditional masculine roles such as achievement, power, and control, as opposed to viewing men and women as equals.

d. Uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations.

e. Long-term versus short-term orientation: long-term orientations look to the future and value thrift and persistence. In a short-term orientation, people value the here and now; they accept change more readily and don’t see commitments as impediments to change.

2. Hofstede’s research findings (Exhibit 5-7)a. Asian countries were more collectivistic than individualistic.b. United States ranked highest on individualism. c. German and Hong Kong rated high on masculinity. d. Russia and The Netherlands were low on masculinity. e. China and Hong Kong had a long-term orientation. f. France and the United States had short-term orientation.

3. Hofstede’s culture dimensions have been enormously influential on OB researchers and managers, but his research has been criticized. a. First, although the data have since been updated, the original work is more than

30 years old and was based on a single company (IBM). b. Second, few researchers have read the details of Hofstede’s methodology closely

and are therefore unaware of the many decisions and judgment calls he had to make (for example, reducing the number of cultural values to just five).

c. Despite these concerns, Hofstede has been one of the most widely cited social scientists ever, and his framework has left a lasting mark on OB.

4. Hofstede’s recent research a. Studies investigated the relationship of cultural values and a variety of

organizational criteria at both the individual and national level of analysis. b. Overall, the five original culture dimensions were equally strong predictors of

relevant outcomes, meaning researchers and practicing managers need to think about culture holistically and not just focus on one or two dimensions.

c. The researchers also found that measuring individual scores resulted in much better predictions of most outcomes than assigning all people in a country the same cultural values.

B. The GLOBE Framework for Assessing Cultures1. The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) began

updating Hofstede’s research with data from 825 organizations and 62 countries.2. Variables similar to Hofstede’s.


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3. Which framework is better?a. We give more emphasis to Hofstede’s dimensions here because they have stood

the test of time and the GLOBE study confirmed them.b. Researchers continue to debate the differences between these frameworks, and

future studies may, in time, favor the more nuanced perspective of the GLOBE study.

V. Summary and Implications for Managers A. Personality matters to organizational behavior.

1. It does not explain all behavior, but it sets the stage. B. Emerging theory and research reveal how personality matters more in some situations

than others. C. The Big Five has been a particularly important advancement, though the Dark Triad and

other traits matter as well. 1. Moreover, every trait has advantages and disadvantages for work behavior. 2. There is no perfect constellation of traits that is ideal in every situation.

D. Personality can help you understand why people (including yourself!) act, think, and feel the way we do, and the astute manger can put that understanding to use by taking care to place employees in situations that best fit their personality.

E. Why is it important to know an individual’s values? 1. Values often underlie and explain attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. 2. So knowledge of an individual’s value system can provide insight into what makes

the person “tick.”a. As a manager, you are more likely to appreciate, evaluate positively, and allocate

rewards to employees who fit in, and your employees are more likely to be satisfied if they perceive they do fit in. Plan to objectively consider your employees’ performance accordingly.

b. Consider screening job candidates for high conscientiousness—as well as the other Big Five traits—depending on the criteria your organization finds most important. Other traits, such as core self-evaluation or narcissism, may be relevant in certain situations.

c. You need to evaluate your employees’ jobs, their work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal personality fit.

d. Take into account employees' situational factors when evaluating their observable personality traits, and lower the situation strength, to better ascertain personality characteristics.

e. Although the MBTI has been widely criticized, it may have a place in organizations. You may consider the results helpful for training and development; the results can also help employees better understand themselves, help team members better understand each other, open up communication in work groups, and possibly reduce conflicts.


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EXPANDED CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. PersonalityA. What Is Personality?

1. Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system.

2. Defining personalitya. Gordon Allport coined the most frequent used definition.b. “The dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems

that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.” c. The text defines personality as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts

to and interacts with others. 3. Measuring personality

a. The most important reason managers need to know how to measure personality is that research has shown personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best for a job.

b. The most common means of measuring personality is through self-report surveys, with which individuals evaluate themselves on a series of factors.

c. Though self-report measures work well when well-constructed, one weakness is that the respondent might lie or practice impression management.

4. Personality determinants a. Introductionb. An early argument centered on whether personality was the result of heredity or

environment. c. Personality appears to be a result of both influences. d. Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception. e. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s

personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes. f. Researchers have studied thousands of sets of identical twins that were separated

at birth.i. Genetics accounts for about 50 percent of the variation in personality

differences and over 30 percent of occupational and leisure interest variation. ii. The personalities of identical twins raised in different households are more

similar to each other than to the personalities of siblings with whom the twins were raised.

iii. People’s scores on measures of dependability tend to increase over time, as when young adults take on roles like starting a family and establishing a career that require great responsibility.

5. Personality traits a. Introduction

i. Early work revolved around attempts to identify and label enduring characteristics.

ii. Popular characteristics include shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid. These are personality traits.


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iii. The more consistent the characteristic, the more frequently it occurs, the more important it is.

iv. Early efforts to identify the primary traits that govern behavior often resulted in long lists that were difficult to generalize from and provided little practical guidance to organizational decision makers.

B. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 1. One of the most widely used personality frameworks is the Myers-Briggs Type

Indicator (MBTI). 2. It is a 100-question personality test that asks people how they usually feel or act in

particular situations. 3. Individuals are classified as:

a. Extroverted or Introverted (E or I). b. Sensing or Intuitive (S or N). c. Thinking or Feeling (T or F). d. Perceiving or Judging (P or J).

4. These classifications are then combined into sixteen personality types. For example: a. INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and great drive. They are

characterized as skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn. b. ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, and have a

natural head for business or mechanics. c. The ENTP type is a conceptualizer. He or she is innovative, individualistic,

versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. This person tends to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments.

5. MBTI is widely used in practice. Some organizations using it include Apple Computer, AT&T, Citigroup, GE, 3M Company, and others.

C. The Big Five Personality Model 1. An impressive body of research supports that five basic dimensions underlie all other

personality dimensions. The five basic dimensions known as the Big Five Model are: a. Extraversion. Comfort level with relationships. Extroverts tend to be gregarious,

assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid, and quiet. b. Agreeableness. Individual’s propensity to defer to others. High agreeableness

people—cooperative, warm, and trusting. Low agreeableness people—cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.

c. Conscientiousness. A measure of reliability. A high conscientious person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.

d. Emotional stability. A person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure.

e. Openness to experience. The range of interests and fascination with novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the openness category are conventional and find comfort in the familiar.


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2. How do the Big Five traits predict behavior at work? a. Research has shown relationships between these personality dimensions and job

performance.b. Employees who score higher, for example, in conscientiousness develop higher

levels of job knowledge.c. Conscientiousness is as important for managers as for front-line employees.

(Exhibit 5-1)i. The study found conscientiousness—in the form of persistence, attention to

detail, and setting of high standards—was more important than other traits. ii. These results attest to the importance of conscientiousness to organizational

success.iii. Conscientious people live longer because they take better care of themselves

(they eat better and exercise more) and engage in fewer risky behaviors like smoking, drinking and drugs, and risky sexual or driving behavior.

iv. Probably because they’re so organized and structured, conscientious people don’t adapt as well to changing contexts.

v. They are generally performance-oriented and have more trouble learning complex skills early in the training process because their focus is on performing well rather than on learning.

vi. Finally, they are often less creative than less conscientious people, especially artistically.

d. Although conscientiousness is the Big Five trait most consistently related to job performance, there are other traits that are related to aspects of performance in some situations.

3. All five traits also have other implications for work and life. Let’s look at these one at a time. (Exhibit 5-2) a. Of the Big Five traits, emotional stability is most strongly related to life

satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels. i. High scorers are more likely to be positive and optimistic and experience

fewer negative emotions. ii. They are happier than those who score low. iii. People low on emotional stability are hyper vigilant (i.e., looking for problems

or impending signs of danger) and are especially vulnerable to the physical and psychological effects of stress.

b. Extraverts tend to be happier in their jobs and in their lives as a whole. i. They experience more positive emotions than do introverts, and they more

freely express these feelings.ii. They also tend to perform better in jobs that require significant interpersonal

interaction, perhaps because they have more social skills—they usually have more friends and spend more time in social situations than introverts.

iii. Finally, extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence in groups; extraverts are more socially dominant, “take charge” sorts of people, and they are generally more assertive than introverts.


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iv. One downside is that extraverts are more impulsive than introverts; they are more likely to be absent from work and engage in risky behavior such as unprotected sex, drinking, and other impulsive or sensation-seeking acts.

v. One study also found extraverts were more likely than introverts to lie during job interviews.

c. Individuals who score high on openness to experience are more creative in science and art than those who score low. i. Because creativity is important to leadership, open people are more likely to

be effective leaders, and more comfortable with ambiguity and change. ii. They cope better with organizational change and are more adaptable in

changing contexts. iii. Recent evidence also suggests, however, that they are especially susceptible to

workplace accidents. iv. You might expect agreeable people to be happier than disagreeable people.

(a) They are, but only slightly. (b) When people choose romantic partners, friends, or organizational team

members, agreeable individuals are usually their first choice. d. Agreeable individuals are better liked than disagreeable people, which explains

why they tend to do better in interpersonally-oriented jobs such as customer service. i. They also are more compliant and rule abiding and less likely to get into

accidents as a result. ii. People who are agreeable are more satisfied in their jobs and contribute to

organizational performance by engaging in citizenship behavior. iii. They are also less likely to engage in organizational deviance. iv. One downside is that agreeableness is associated with lower levels of career

success (especially earnings).4. The five personality factors identified in the Big Five model appear in almost all

cross-cultural studies. a. These studies have included a wide variety of diverse cultures such as China,

Israel, Germany, Japan, Spain, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, and the United States. b. Generally, the findings corroborate what has been found in U.S. research: of the

Big Five traits, conscientiousness is the best predictor of job performance. D. The Dark Triad

1. With the exception of neuroticism, the Big Five traits are what we call socially desirable, meaning we would be glad to score high on them.

2. Researchers have found that three other socially undesirable traits, which we all have in varying degrees, are relevant to organizational behavior. a. They are: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. b. Owing to their negative nature, researchers have labeled these three traits the

“Dark Triad.”3. Machiavellianism

a. Named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use power.


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b. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means.

c. High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more.

d. Machiavellianism does not significantly predict overall job performance. 4. Narcissism

a. Narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self-importance. b. They “think” they are better leaders. c. Often they are selfish and exploitive.

5. Psychopathya. In the OB context, psychopathy is defined as a lack of concern for others, and a

lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm. i. Measures of psychopathy attempt to assess the person’s motivation to comply

with social norms; willingness to use deceit to obtain desired ends and the effectiveness of those efforts; impulsivity; and disregard, that is, lack of empathic concern, for others.

b. The literature is not consistent about whether psychopathy or other aberrant personality traits are important to work behavior.

c. Organizations wishing to assess psychopathy or other aberrant traits need to exercise caution.i. Given the relative newness of research on the Dark Triad, using

psychopathology in employment decisions may carry more risks for now than rewards.

E. Approach-Avoidance1. The approach-avoidance framework has cast personality traits as motivations. 2. Approach and avoidance motivation represent the degree to which we react to stimuli;

approach motivation is our attraction to positive stimuli and avoidance motivation our aversion to negative stimuli.

F. Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB 1. Core self-evaluation (Self-perspective)

a. People who have a positive core self-evaluation see themselves as effective, capable, and in control.

b. People who have a negative core self-evaluation tend to dislike themselves. c. People with positive core self-evaluations perform better than others because they

set more ambitious goals, are more committed to their goals, and persist longer in attempting to reach these goals.

d. Some can be too positive. In this case, someone can think he or she is capable, but he or she is actually incompetent. One study of Fortune 500 CEOs, for example, showed that many are overconfident, and their perceived infallibility often causes them to make bad decisions.

2. Self-monitoring a. This refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external,

situational factors. b. Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability. They are

highly sensitive to external cues, can behave differently in different situations,


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and are capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private self.

c. Low self-monitors cannot disguise themselves in that way. They tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situation, resulting in a high behavioral consistency between who they are and what they do.

d. Evidence suggests: i. High self-monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behavior of others. ii. High self-monitoring managers tend to be more mobile in their careers and

receive more promotions. 3. Proactive personality

a. Actively taking the initiative to improve their current circumstances while others sit by passively.

b. Proactives identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere. c. Create positive change in their environment.d. More likely to be seen as leaders and change agents. e. More likely to achieve career success.

G. Personality and Situations a. Increasingly, we are learning that the effect of particular traits on organizational

behavior depends on the situation. Two theoretical frameworks help explain how this works.

b. Situation strengthi. Situation strength theory proposes that the way personality translates into

behavior depends on the strength of the situation. (a) By situation strength, we mean the degree to which norms, cues, or

standards dictate appropriate behavior. c. Research suggests that personality traits better predict behavior in weak situations

than in strong ones.d. Researchers have analyzed situation strength in organizations in terms of four

elements: i. Clarity, or the degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are

available and clear. ii. Consistency, or the extent to which cues regarding work duties and

responsibilities are compatible with one another. iii. Constraints, or the extent to which individuals’ freedom to decide or act is

limited by forces outside their control. iv. Consequences, or the degree to which decisions or actions have important

implications for the organization or its members, clients, supplies, and so on.e. Some researchers have speculated that organizations are, by definition, strong

situations because they impose rules, norms, and standards that govern behavior. These constraints are usually appropriate.

f. Trait Activation Theory (TAT)i. TAT predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait

more than others.ii. Exhibit 5-3 shows jobs in which certain Big Five traits are more relevant.


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II. ValuesA. Introduction

1. Values represent basic convictions.2. A specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially

preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.3. They have both content and intensity attributes. 4. An individual’s set of values ranked in terms of intensity is considered the person’s

value system.5. Values have the tendency to be stable. 6. Many of our values were established in our early years from parents, teachers,

friends, and others. B. The Importance and Organization of Values

1. Values lay the foundation for the understanding of attitudes and motivation. 2. We enter an organization with preconceived notions of what “ought” and “ought not”

be. a. These notions are not value-free; on the contrary, they contain our interpretations

of right and wrong and our preference for certain behaviors or outcomes over others.

3. Values cloud objectivity and rationality; they influence attitudes and behavior.C. Terminal Versus Instrumental Values

1. How can we organize values?2. Milton Rokeach separates them into:

a. Terminal Values—refer to desirable end states of existence; the goals that a person would like to achieve during his/her lifetime.

b. Instrumental Values—refer to preferable modes of behavior; the means of achieving the terminal values.

D. Generational Values1. Contemporary work cohorts

i. Exhibit 5-4 segments employees by the era during which they entered the workforce.

ii. Because most people start work between the ages of 18 and 23, the eras also correlate closely with employee age.(a) Boomers (Baby Boomers)—entered the workforce during the 1960s

through the mid-1980s. (b) Xers—entered the workforce beginning in the mid-1980s. (c) The most recent entrants to the workforce are the Millennials.

2. Though it is fascinating to think about generational values, remember these classifications lack solid research support.

3. Generational classifications may help us understand our own and other generations better, but we must also appreciate their limits.

III. Linking an Individual’s Personality and Values to the Workplace A. The Person-Job Fit

1. This concern is best articulated in John Holland’s personality-job fit theory.


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2. Holland presents six personality types and proposes that satisfaction and the propensity to leave a job depends on the degree to which individuals successfully match their personalities to an occupational environment.

3. The six personality types are: realistic, investigative, social, conventional, enterprising, and artistic. (Exhibit 5-5)a. Each one of the six personality types has a congruent occupational environment. b. Vocational Preference Inventory questionnaire contains 160 occupational titles.

Respondents indicate which of these occupations they like or dislike; their answers are used to form personality profiles. (Exhibit 5-6)

c. The theory argues that satisfaction is highest and turnover lowest when personality and occupation are in agreement. i. The key point of this model is that people in jobs congruent with their

personality should be more satisfied and less likely to voluntarily resign than people in incongruent jobs.

B. The Person-Organization Fit 1. The person–organization fit essentially argues that people are attracted to and selected

by organizations that match their values, and they leave organizations that are not compatible with their personalities.

2. Using the Big Five terminology, for instance, we could expect that people high on extraversion fit well with aggressive and team-oriented cultures, that people high on agreeableness match up better with a supportive organizational climate than one focused on aggressiveness, and that people high on openness to experience fit better in organizations that emphasize innovation rather than standardization.

3. Research on person-organization fit has also looked at whether people’s values match the organization’s culture. a. This match predicts job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and low

turnover.IV. International Values

A. Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures1. Five value dimensions of national culture:

a. Power distance: the degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.

b. Individualism versus collectivism: individualism is the degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups; collectivism emphasizes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them.

c. Masculinity versus femininity: masculinity is the degree to which the culture favors traditional masculine roles such as achievement, power, and control, as opposed to viewing men and women as equals.

d. Uncertainty avoidance: the degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations.

e. Long-term versus short-term orientation: long-term orientations look to the future and value thrift and persistence. In a short-term orientation, people value the here and now; they accept change more readily and don’t see commitments as impediments to change.


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2. Hofstede’s research findings. (Exhibit 5-7)a. Asian countries were more collectivistic than individualistic.b. United States ranked highest on individualism. c. German and Hong Kong rated high on masculinity. d. Russia and The Netherlands were low on masculinity. e. China and Hong Kong had a long-term orientation. f. France and the United States had short-term orientation.

3. Hofstede’s culture dimensions have been enormously influential on OB researchers and managers, but his research has been criticized. a. First, although the data have since been updated, the original work is more than

30 years old and was based on a single company (IBM). b. Second, few researchers have read the details of Hofstede’s methodology closely

and are therefore unaware of the many decisions and judgment calls he had to make (for example, reducing the number of cultural values to just five).

c. Despite these concerns, Hofstede has been one of the most widely cited social scientists ever, and his framework has left a lasting mark on OB.

4. Hofstede’s recent research a. Studies investigated the relationship of cultural values and a variety of

organizational criteria at both the individual and national level of analysis. b. Overall, the five original culture dimensions were equally strong predictors of

relevant outcomes, meaning researchers and practicing managers need to think about culture holistically and not just focus on one or two dimensions.

c. The researchers also found that individual scores were much better predictors of most outcomes than assigning all people in a country the same cultural values.

d. In sum, this research suggests that Hofstede’s value framework may be a valuable way of thinking about differences among people, but we should be cautious about assuming all people from a country have the same values.

B. The GLOBE Framework for Assessing Cultures1. The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) began

updating Hofstede’s research with data from 825 organizations and 62 countries.2. Variables similar to Hofstede’s.3. Which framework is better?

a. We give more emphasis to Hofstede’s dimensions here because they have stood the test of time and the GLOBE study confirmed them.

b. Researchers continue to debate the differences between these frameworks, and future studies may, in time, favor the more nuanced perspective of the GLOBE study.

V. Summary and Implications For Managers A. Personality matters to organizational behavior.

1. It does not explain all behavior, but it sets the stage. B. Emerging theory and research reveal how personality matters more in some situations

than others. C. The Big Five has been a particularly important advancement, though the Dark Triad and

other traits matter as well. 1. Moreover, every trait has advantages and disadvantages for work behavior.


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2. There is no perfect constellation of traits that is ideal in every situation. D. Personality can help you understand why people (including yourself!) act, think, and feel

the way we do, and the astute manger can put that understanding to use by taking care to place employees in situations that best fit their personality.

E. Why is it important to know an individual’s values? 1. Values often underlie and explain attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions. 2. So knowledge of an individual’s value system can provide insight into what makes

the person “tick.”a. As a manager, you are more likely to appreciate, evaluate positively, and allocate

rewards to employees who fit in, and your employees are more likely to be satisfied if they perceive they do fit in. Plan to objectively consider your employees’ performance accordingly.

b. Consider screening job candidates for high conscientiousness—as well as the other Big Five traits—depending on the criteria your organization finds most important. Other traits, such as core self-evaluation or narcissism, may be relevant in certain situations.

c. You need to evaluate your employees’ jobs, their work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal personality fit.

d. Take into account employees' situational factors when evaluating their observable personality traits, and lower the situation strength, to better ascertain personality characteristics.

e. Although the MBTI has been widely criticized, it may have a place in organizations. You may consider the results helpful for training and development; the results can also help employees better understand themselves, help team members better understand each other, open up communication in work groups, and possibly reduce conflicts.

Myth or Science? “We Can Accurately Judge Individuals’ Personalities a Few

Seconds After Meeting Them”

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objectives: Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at work; Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behaviorLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

Surprisingly, this statement appears to be true.

Research indicates that individuals can accurately appraise others’ personalities only a few seconds after first meeting them. This “zero acquaintance” approach shows that regardless of the


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way in which people first meet someone, whether in person or online, their first judgments about the other’s personality have validity. In one study, for example, individuals were asked to introduce themselves in, on average, 7.4 seconds. Observers’ ratings of those individuals’ extraversion were significantly correlated with the individuals’ self-reported extraversion.

While some factors make these first impressions, or “thin slices,” more accurate, they have only a modest effect. For example, some traits like extraversion are easier to perceive than others upon initial acquaintance, but less obvious traits like self-esteem and emotional stability are also often judged fairly accurately by others. Even being forced to make intuitive, quick judgments rather than deliberate evaluations does not seem to undermine the accuracy of the appraisals.

The moderate accuracy of “thin slices” helps to explain the moderate validity of employment interviews, which we discuss in Chapter 17. Specifically, research shows that interviewers make up their minds about candidates within two minutes of first meeting them. While this is hardly an ideal way to make important employment decisions, the research on personality also shows that these judgments do have some level of validity.

Sources: S. Hirschmüller, B. Egloff, S. Nestler, and D. Mitja, “The Dual Lens Model: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding Self–Other Agreement of Personality Judgments at Zero Acquaintance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 104 (2013), pp. 335–-353.

Class Exercise

1. Place the students in teams of five. 2. Ask students to have a two-minute conversation with each other.3. Then, ask students to write down a description of each team member.4. Next, ask students to record their own assessment of their personalities.5. Ask students to compare their assessments of each other and the self-assessments.6. Finally, ask students to present their results to the class and explain their experience with

the concept of “zero-acquaintance.”

Teaching Notes

This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as BlackBoard 9.1, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife for more information.


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http://www.baclass.panam.edu/imob/SecondLife


glOBalization!Is the Personality Profile of an Entrepreneur the Same Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany?

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objectives: Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior; Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture Learning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and values AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environments, Reflective thinking

What is an entrepreneurial personality? Some recent research has provided some answers and some interesting insights into how well this profile translates across regions and countries. The personality profile of an entrepreneur is well represented in one study by a constellation of the Big Five traits, with high scores on extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness, and low scores on agreeableness and neuroticism.

Another recent study suggests there are more differences within than between countries on the entrepreneurial personality. This study constructed a personality profile of the entrepreneurial personality from the Big Five traits and then analyzed large samples of individuals from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

In Germany, individuals in Berlin and Hamburg scored the highest on the entrepreneurial personality profile. In the United Kingdom, East England and London scored highest. In the United States, there were differences across both cities and states. Of the 15 largest U.S. cities, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Seattle-Tacoma, and Atlanta scored highest on the entrepreneurial personality profile. Among the states, Colorado, Utah, and the District of Columbia scored highest.

Within each country, the study found that the entrepreneurial personality profile correlated with the region or city’s level of entrepreneurial activity, as measured by the percentage of the population trying to start new businesses, the proportion of businesses less than 3.5 years old, and the number of individuals who were self-employed.

These results suggest there is an entrepreneurial personality profile; it correlates with actual entrepreneurial activity across countries; and within each country, regional and metropolitan differences exist in both the personality profile and entrepreneurial activity.

Of course, one limitation of these results is that they consider only three Western locations. It would be interesting to see whether the same pattern holds in other parts of the world.

Source: Based on M. Obschonka, E. Schmitt-Rodermund, R. K. Silbereisen, S. D. Gosling, and J. Potter, “The Regional Distribution and Correlates of an Entrepreneurship-Prone Personality Profile in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom: A Socio-ecological Perspective,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2013), doi: 10.1037/a0032275.


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Class Exercise

1. Divide students into teams of three to five each. 2. Ask teams to brainstorm specific traits essential to being an entrepreneur and the job

tasks typically handled by entrepreneurs. 3. As a class, create one set of five traits and five tasks. 4. Next, using Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture and GLOBE’s cultural analyses,

ask students to consider how the profile of an entrepreneur might differ across countries.

Teaching Notes


An Ethical Choice Do You Have a Cheating Personality?

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objective: Compare generational differences in valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking

Stories of widespread cheating have been on the rise, leading many experts to conclude that the incidence of cheating is increasing. Recently a major cheating scandal was uncovered at Harvard University, where more than 125 students (roughly half of whom were eventually expelled) were found to be involved in an organized cheating scheme. Harvard administrators took the scandal seriously—maybe too seriously. In 2013, the Boston Globe reported that administrators had secretly downloaded university emails in an effort to get to the bottom of the scandal, including the email accounts of 16 deans.

Like most complex behaviors, cheating in school, at work, and in life is a product of the person and the situation. As for the person, research reveals that certain traits are related to the tendency to cheat, including high levels of narcissism, low levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness, and high levels of competitiveness. One study of business students found that narcissism was especially likely to translate into cheating for the very religious.

As for the situation, experts find cheating increases when it is easier to cheat (such as on take-home exams), when there is greater pressure to cheat, and when clear standards are lacking or are not reinforced (such as when an organization’s sexual harassment policy is not communicated to


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employees). Surveys reveal, for example, that most employees have never read their organization’s policies on ethical conduct.

How can this research help inform you as a student and employee?1. Recognize situations that are more likely to provoke pressures to cheat. Being explicit and

open with yourself about your response to these pressures should keep you from succumbing to a moral blind spot, in which you engage in behavior without considering its ethical undertones.

2. If you score high on certain traits that predispose you to cheat, this does not mean you are destined to cheat. However, you should realize that you might be more susceptible and therefore need to be especially wary about placing yourself in situations where there is pressure or opportunity to cheat.

Sources: M. J. Cooper, and C. Pullig, “I’m Number One! Does Narcissism Impair Ethical Judgment Even for the Highly Religious?” Journal of Business Ethics 112 (2013), pp. 167–-176; H. E. Hershfield, T. R. Cohen, and L. Thompson, “Short Horizons and Tempting Situations: Lack of Continuity to our Future Selves Leads to Unethical Decision Making and Behavior,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 117 (2012), pp. 298–310; M. Carmichael, “Secret E-mail Searches on Harvard Cheating Scandal Broader Than Initially Described,” Boston Globe (April 2, 2013), http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/02/secret-mail-searches-harvard-cheating-scandal-broader-than-initially-described/Mgz0mc8hSk3IgWGjxLwsJP/story.html; P. E. Mudrack, J. M. Bloodgood, and W. H. Turnley, “Some Ethical Implications of Individual Competitiveness,” Journal of Business Ethics 108 (2012), pp. 347–-359; and R. Pérez-Peña, “Studies Find More Students Cheating, with High Achievers No Exception,” The New York Times (September 8, 2012), p. A13.

Class Exercise

1. Ask student to reflect on situations in which they were aware that cheating was taking place.

2. Then, ask students what, if anything, they did about it. Students should consider why they made the choices they did. Is not doing anything ethical? Is it more ethical to protect a friend who is cheating?

Point/Counterpoint Millennials Are More Narcissistic

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objective: Compare generational differences in valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

Point

Those in college today have many good qualities: they are more technologically savvy, more socially tolerant, and more balanced in their work and family priorities than previous generations. Thus, those poised to enter the workforce today do so with some important virtues. Humility, however, is not one of them.


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Several large-scale, longitudinal studies found that those graduating from college today are more likely than those from previous generations to have seemingly inflated views of themselves. Compared to previous generations, more U.S. college students now rate themselves as above average on attributes such as academic ability, leadership, public speaking ability, and writing ability. College graduates today are more likely to agree they would be “very good” spouses (56 percent, compared to 37 percent among 1980 graduates), parents (54 percent, compared to 36 percent among 1980 graduates), and workers (65 percent, compared to 49 percent among 1980 graduates).

Studies measuring narcissism suggest that scores are rising, especially among younger generations. For example, by presenting a choice between two statements—“I try not to be a show-off” versus “I will usually show off if I get the chance”—psychologists have found that narcissism has been growing since the early 1980s.

Another recent study found that, compared to Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, students entering college today are more likely to emphasize extrinsic values (e.g., money, image, fame) and less likely to value intrinsic ones (e.g., concern for others, charity, jobs that contribute to society).

It doesn’t paint a pretty picture, but data do not lie: the sooner we admit it, the sooner we can begin to address the problem in families, in education, and at work.

Counterpoint

“THE YOUTH OF TODAY ARE LOST!” This argument is like a broken record that seems to play over and over: every generation tends to think the new generation is without values, and the new generation thinks the older one is hopelessly judgmental and out of touch. Didn’t the supposed “Me generation” occur a generation ago? Let’s send the broken record to the recycling bin and review the evidence.

Another study offered an interesting explanation for why people think Millennials are more narcissistic. Specifically, young people in general are more self-focused, but as people age, they become more “other” focused. So we think young people are different when in fact they’re just the way older folks were when they were younger. As these authors conclude, “Every generation is Generation Me.” Our level of narcissism appears to be one of the many things that changes as we get older.

In fact, this raises an important point: values change over time as we age, but we should not confuse that change with generational effects. One large-scale review of the literature revealed that during college years, we place more weight on intrinsic values, and as we progress in our careers and start families, extrinsic values increase in importance.

Other research has found that people think the generations differ in their values much more than they in fact do. One study found that of 15 work values, in every case, the perceived differences


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between among Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials were greater than the actual ones.

More broadly, narcissistic folks exist in every generation. We need to be careful when generalizing about entire groups (whether one sex, one race, one culture, or one generation). While generalizations have caused no small amount of trouble, we still like to simplify the world, sometimes for good reason. In this case, however, the good reason isn’t there, especially considering the latest evidence.

Sources: J. M. Twenge, W. K. Campbell, and E. C. Freeman, “Generational Differences in Young Adults’ Life Goals, Concern for Others, and Civic Orientation, 1966–2009,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102 (2012), pp. 1045–-1062; J. Jin and J. Rounds, “Stability and Change in Work Values: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 80 (2012), pp. 326–-339; and S. W. Lester, R. L. Standifer, N. J. Schultz, and J. M. Windsor, “"Actual Versus Perceived Generational Differences at Work: An Empirical Examination,”" Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 19 (2012), pp. 341–-354.

Class Exercise

1. Divide the class into paired groups of three to four students each.2. Assign half the paired groups to take the Point position and the other half to take the

Counterpoint position.3. Call upon a pair to come to the front of the classroom.4. Have the sides present their views of their perspective positions.5. After each debate, ask the class to vote on the “winning side.”

Teaching Notes


Questions for Review

5-1. What is personality? How do we typically measure it? What factors determine personality? Answer: Personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others, the measurable traits a person exhibits. It is typically measured using self-reporting surveys. Observer-ratings surveys that provide an independent assessment of personality are often better predictors. Personality seems to be the result of both hereditary and environmental factors. Heredity refers to factors determined at conception: physical stature, facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and bio-rhythms.


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Learning Objective: Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain the factors that determine an individual’s personalityLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

5-2. What is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and what does it measure? Answer: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most widely used instrument in the world to determine personality attributes. Participants are classified on four axes to determine one of 16 possible personality types. It measures – extroverted/introverted; sensing/intuitive; thinking/feeling; and judging/perceiving attributes. Learning Objectives: 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 weaknessesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

5-3. What are the key traits in the Big Five personality model? Answer: Extroversion – sociable, gregarious, and assertive; Agreeableness – good-natured, cooperative and trusting; Conscientiousness – responsible, dependable, and organized; Emotional stability – calm, self-confident versus negative, and depressed; Openness to experience – Curious, imaginative. Learning Objectives: Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain the factors that determine an individual’s personality; Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality modelLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

5-4. How do the Big Five traits predict behavior at work? Answer: Certain traits have been shown to strongly relate to higher job performance. For example, 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. Learning Objectives: 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 weaknessesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

5-5. How does the situation or environment affect the degree to which personality predicts behavior?Answer: Increasingly, we are learning that the effect of particular traits on organizational behavior depends on the situation. Two theoretical frameworks help explain how this works. Situation strength theory proposes that the way personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation. Trait Activation Theory (TAT) predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than others. Learning Objective: Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behaviorLearning Outcomes: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking


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5-6. What is the difference between terminal and instrumental values? Answer: Values are basic convictions on how to conduct yourself or how to live your life that is personally or socially preferable – “How To” live life properly. They are important because they provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and behavior, they influence our perception of the world around us, they represent interpretations of “right” and “wrong,” and they imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others. The difference between terminal and instrumental values is as follows. Terminal values are desirable end-states of existence, the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime. Instrumental values are preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values. Learning Objective: Contrast terminal and instrumental valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking

5-7. Do values differ across generations? How so? Answer: There is very little rigorous research on generational values, so we have to rely on an intuitive framework. These are imprecise categories. There is no law that someone born in 1985 can’t have values similar to those of someone born in 1955. Despite these limitations, values do change over generations, and we can gain some useful insights from analyzing values this way. Different generations hold different work values. Boomers (Baby Boomers)—entered the workforce during the 1960s through the mid-1980s. Xers—entered the workforce beginning in the mid-1980s. The most recent entrants to the workforce are the Millennials. Though it is fascinating to think about generational values, remember these classifications lack solid research support. Generational classifications may help us understand our own and other generations better, but we must also appreciate their limits. Learning Objectives: Define values, demonstrate the importance of values, and contrast terminal and instrumental values; Compare generational differences in valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking

5-8. What are Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture?Answer: Hofstede’s framework for assessing culture includes five value dimensions: Power Distance; Individualism vs. Collectivism; Masculinity vs. Femininity; Uncertainty Avoidance; and Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation. When these variables are measured, countries vary considerably, such as the U.S. ranking first in individualism while Colombia ranks much lower. Learning Objectives: Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national cultureLearning Outcome: Describe Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture AACSB: Diverse and multicultural work environment; Reflective thinking


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Experiential Exercise What Organizational Culture Do You Prefer?

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objective: Contrast terminal and instrumental valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

The Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) can help assess whether an individual’s values match an organization’s. The OCP helps individuals sort their characteristics in terms of importance, which indicates what a person values.

5-9. Working on your own, complete the OCP found at http://www.jstor.org/stable/256404. Your instructor may ask you the following questions individually or as a group of three or four students (with a spokesperson appointed to speak to the class for each group).

5-10. What were your most preferred and least preferred values? Do you think your most preferred and least preferred values are similar to those of other class or group members?

5-11. Do you think there are generational differences in the most preferred and least preferred values?

5-12. Research has shown that individuals tend to be happier, and perform better, when their OCP values match those of their employer. How important do you think a “values match” is when you’re deciding where you want to work?

Ethical Dilemma Generational Values and “Staying Put” This exercise contributes to:Learning Objectives: Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it; Compare generational differences in valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

Those who have been in the workforce for many years often lament the “job hopping” that occurs with those who are more recent entrants into the workforce. Younger individuals tend to see such an attitude as old-fashioned, and may resent the implication that they have an ethical obligation to remain with their employer for life—or even a long time.


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Lifelong commitment to one employer is a thing of the past. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that today, only 28 percent of women and 30 percent of men remain with their employer for 10 or more years, compared to 50 percent for both genders in 1973. The compensation research firm, PayScale, found that the average Millennial changes jobs every two 2 years.

While those of previous generations cite this as evidence of job hopping, some of this movement is employer-driven. Lifetime job security is long gone for most positions. So are benefit packages that keep employees secure, such as rock-solid pensions and perpetual health benefits. But does a generational shift in values also explain the drop?

Some experts say yes. They argue that Millennials emphasize the present over the future and place a great value on lifestyle. Similarly, some argue that, rather than career planning and promises of long-term career prospects, Millennials need more feedback and reassurance. Neil Howe, the individual credited with coining the term “Millennial generation,” says Millennials expect “the perfect employer who will be their ally and take care of them.” For example, 1-800-Flowers.com instituted a program that provides frequent performance feedback because a large share of its workforce is from the Millennial generation.

According to Pew Research, 66 percent of Millennials say they want to switch careers some time in their life, while 62 percent of Generation X members and 84 percent of Baby Boomers say they would prefer to stay at their current job for the rest of their lives.

Andrew Leavitt, a 26-year-old who changed jobs a year after graduating college, said, “I mean, what kind of Millennial would work for the same company for their whole life?”

These values don’t sit well with some employers. “We prefer long-tenured employees who have stuck with us and been loyal,” says Dave Foster, CEO of AvreaFoster, an advertising agency in Dallas. “It appears that a lot of Millennials don’t think that one path is the answer. This is a problem because the commitment isn’t there.”

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Tenure Summary (September 18, 2012), U. S. Department of Labor, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm; T. Hsu, “Millennials Change Jobs Every 2 Years on Average,” Chicago Tribune (September 3, 2012), p. 2-1; L. Kwoh, “Firms Bow to Generation Y’s Demands,” The Wall Street Journal (August 22, 2012), p. B6; E. Frauenheim, “Deal or Not Deal? ‘Employee Value Proposition’ Evolves,” Workforce Management (November 2012), pp. 16–-17; T. S. Collins, “Millennials Take on the Workforce,” SHIFT Magazine (May 3, 2011), downloaded April 29, 2013, from www.smudailymustang.com; and T. Henneman, “Talkin’ About Their Generations: The Workforce of the ‘50s and Today,” Workforce Management (April 2012), pp. 24–-25.

Questions

5-13. In your experience, do younger individuals differ from older individuals in terms of how long they plan to remain with a given firm? Answer: This answer will depend on students’ frames of reference and experience. Most students with work experience will likely not have been in situations that motivate them to long-term investment of career time and effort. As a result, they likely have a greater commitment to their targeted career choices than they do to individual organizations. And, more than likely, the students will suggest that this position on job commitment is the result of economic realities today.


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5-14. Do you think you should feel free to “job surf”—purposely moving from job to job as soon as the desire strikes? Do you think employers have a right to ask about “job surfing” plans when they interview you?Answer: Most students will likely be in favor of “job surfing.” Since they will have little or no opportunity to develop organizational commitment to a single firm, they will see taking such surfing as integral to increases in pay.

5-15. If you had an interview with Foster or someone with his views of Millennials, how might you combat his preconceptions?Answer: Since the student is unlikely to have a work record that supports the concept of organizational commitment, the student might explain to Foster that the student experiences to that point had not been with organizations that see commitment as an important value. The student’s expectation is for a career with a company that values longevity and contribution to organizational success. In other words, with a company that sets the example of commitment to the employee will see a return of commitment for organizational success.

Case Incident 1 On the Costs of Being Nice

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objectives: Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it; Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behaviorLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

Agreeable people tend to be kinder and more accommodating in social situations, which you might think could add to their success in life. However, one downside of agreeableness is potentially lower earnings. Recent research has shown the answer to this and other puzzles; some of them may surprise you.

First, and perhaps most obvious, agreeable individuals are less adept at a type of negotiation called distributive bargaining. As we discuss in Chapter 14, distributive bargaining is less about creating win-win solutions and more about claiming as large of a share of the pie as possible. Because salary negotiations are generally distributive, agreeable individuals often negotiate lower salaries for themselves than they might otherwise get. Perhaps because of this impaired ability to negotiate distributively, agreeable individuals have lower credit scores.

Second, agreeable individuals may choose to work in industries or occupations that earn lower salaries, such as the “caring” industries of education or healthcare. Agreeable individuals are also attracted to jobs both in the public sector and in non-profit organizations.


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Third, the earnings of agreeable individuals also may be reduced by their lower drive to emerge as leaders, and by their tendency to engage in lower degrees of proactive task behaviors, such as coming up with ways to increase organizational effectiveness.

While being agreeable certainly doesn’t appear to help one’s pay, it does provide other benefits. Agreeable individuals are better liked at work, are more likely to help others at work, and generally are happier at work and in life.

Nice guys—and gals—may finish last in terms of earnings, but wages themselves do not define a happy life, and on that front, agreeable individuals have the advantage.

Sources: T. A. Judge, B. A. Livingston, and C. Hurst, “Do Nice Guys—and Gals—Really Finish Last? The Joint Effects of Sex and Agreeableness on Income,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102 (2012), pp. 390–-407; J. B. Bernerth, S. G. Taylor, H. J. Walker, and D. S. Whitman, “An Empirical Investigation of Dispositional Antecedents and Performance-Related Outcomes of Credit Scores,” Journal of Applied Psychology 97 (2012), pp. 469–-478; J. Carpenter, D. Doverspike, and R. F. Miguel, “Public Service Motivation as a Predictor of Attraction to the Public Sector,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 80 (2012), pp. 509–-523; and A. Neal, G. Yeo, A. Koy, and T. Xiao, “Predicting the Form and Direction of Work Role Performance from the Big 5 Model of Personality Traits,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 33 (2012), pp. 175–-192.

Questions

5-16. Do you think employers must choose between agreeable employees and top performers? Why or why not? Answer: Although a contradiction appears in these relationships, there may not be. In the natural state, the agreeable employee may not be as productive as the disagreeable employee, but with the appropriate training and leadership application, the agreeable employee could be motivated to greater success.

5-17. Often, the effects of personality depend on the situation. Can you think of some job situations in which agreeableness is an important virtue? And in which it is harmful?Answer: Students are likely to have different views of this question’s response. They may see relationship positions such as sales or customer service as more appropriate to agreeable people. Disagreeable people might be more appropriate to job needs seeking isolation of the worker, such as assembly work or accounting.

5-18. In some research we’ve conducted, we’ve found that the negative effects of agreeableness on earnings are stronger for men than for women (that is, being agreeable hurt men’s earnings more than women’s). Why do you think this might be the case?Answer: This response might focus on the “glass ceiling.” Because there is a greater difference between maximum and minimum salaries for men as opposed to women, there may be less distance between the ends of the salary continuum. The result is that men can lose more in starting salary negotiation than women.


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Case Incident 2 The Power of Quiet

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objectives: Describe the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator personality framework and its strengths and weaknesses; Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality modelLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

If someone labeled you an “introvert,” how would it make you feel?

Judging from research on social desirability, most of us would prefer to be labeled extroverts. Normal distributions being what they are, however, half the world is more introverted than average. Earlier in the chapter, we discussed the upside of introversion, but in many ways, it’s an extrovert’s world. So says Susan Cain, in her bestselling book, Quiet.

In the book, Cain makes three arguments:1. We see ourselves as extraverts. Introversion is generally seen as undesirable, partly because

extraverts like being in charge and are more apt to shape environments to fit their wishes. “Many of the most important institutions of contemporary life are designed for those who enjoy group projects and high levels of stimulation.”

2. Introversion is driven underground. Thanks to social norms and structures, introverts often are forced to be “closet introverts”—acting according to an extraverted ideal, even if that is not their personality at heart. Think about it. If someone comments, “You’re awfully quiet,” they nearly always assume an underlying problem, as if not being quiet is the norm.

3. Extraversion is not all it’s cracked up to be. Because introversion is suppressed, we cause the introverts of the world distress and fail to capitalize on the many virtues of introversion. We may overlook the quiet, thoughtful introvert when choosing a leader, we may quell creativity by doing most of our work in groups, and we may mistake appearance for reality. (“Don’t mistake assertiveness or eloquence for good ideas,” Cain writes.) Society may unwittingly push people to take risks more than is warranted, to act before they think, and to focus on short-term rewards above all else.

Cain is not anti-extravert. She simply thinks we should encourage people to be who they truly are, and that means valuing extraversion and introversion. She concludes, “The next time you see a person with a composed face and soft voice, remember that inside her mind she might be solving an equation, composing a sonnet, designing a hat. She might, that is, be deploying the powers of quiet.”

Source: Based on S. Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (New York: Random House/Broadway Paperbacks, 2013).


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Questions

5-19. Would you classify yourself as introverted or extraverted? How would people who know you describe you?Answer: Responses to this question will vary by student.

5-20. Would you prefer to be more introverted, or more extraverted, than you are? Why?Answer: Responses to this question will vary by student.

5-21. Do you agree with Cain’s arguments? Why or why not?Answer: Responses to this question will vary by student.

Instructor’s Choice

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objective: Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality modelLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking

Begin by pointing out some behaviors that effective teams practice: establish a common mission, assess strengths and weaknesses, develop individual goals, secure agreement on a way to achieve goals, develop accountability for individual and group actions, build trust, maintain a mix of skills and personalities, provide training, and create opportunities for successes. Ask students to review the Big Five model before beginning the exercise. If you choose not to list the items presented by the teams on the board, appoint a scribe.

Exploring OB Topics on the Web

This exercise contributes to:Learning Objective: Contrast terminal and instrumental valuesLearning Outcome: Describe the factors that influence the formation of individual attitudes and valuesAACSB: Reflective thinking Learn more about yourself! Go to http://www.41q.com/. There you will find a variety of personality tests such as “Are you a Type A?” the “Stress O Meter,” and other IQ and personality tests. Most are free and often fun to take. Take two or three of your choice. Print the results you get on yourself and bring them to class, where we will discuss the validity of your findings.


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http://www.41q.com/


How are personality tests and employment linked? Why would an employer or employee be interested in the results of a personality test? Go to the following sites to learn more: http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/interviewing/20010622-webb.html http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G312.htm

Bring five new facts you learned from the website to class for a group discussion.


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http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G312.htm

http://www.careerjournal.com/jobhunting/interviewing/20010622-webb.html

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