PERSONALITY

1. Hilgard (1975) defines personality as the characteristics patterns of behaviour and ________ of
thinking that determines a person’s adjustment to the environment.
2. Robbins (2007) defines personality as the dynamic organization within the individual of those inner
and outer measurable traits psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his
environment.

From the above definitions it is clear that personality includes both internal and external aspects of
man.
Of more importance are the internal aspects of personality in the study of OB.
Thus personality can be defined as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts
with others and environment.
An individual’s personality is influenced by the personal life and where he/she is working.

Determinants of Personality
These can be classified under the headings:
i) Heredity ii) Environment iii) Situation

i Heredity
 This refers to those factors that were determined at conception, physical stature, facial
attractions, gender, temperament etc.
 The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is
the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.
a) Studies have shown that traits such as shyness, fear and aggression can be traced to
inherited genetic characteristics.
b) Separated twins were shown to have the same characteristics in terms of their way of life
e.g. type and colour of vehicle driven, smoking habit and brand smoked.

ii Environment
 Among the factors that exert pressure on our personality formation are the culture in which we
are raised. The norms among our family friends and social groups and other influences that
we experience as some examples.
 Culture establishes the norms, attitudes and values that are passed along from one generation
to the next and create consistencies over time.
  Home environment has influence on child’s personality e.g. children reared as orphans or in
unstimulating homes are much more likely to be socially and emotionally maladjusted than
their counterparts raised by parents in a warm, loving and stimulating environment.
 The continuous impact of different social groups called socialization process on an individual
also affects his/her personality development. The socialization process starts between a
mother and her new infant. Later come in peers, school friends, work group and organization
itself.

iii Situation
 An individual’s personality does change depending on the situation. This is because the
different demands of the different situations call for different aspects of one’s personality.
Example a person interrogated by police will exhibit different behaviour from one and the
same person if on a picnic with a close friend. Thus, how one will behave is not determined
by what kind of a person one is but by the kind of situation one is placed in.
 However it should be noted that certain situations are more relevant than others in influencing
personality.

How Personality Influences Organizational Behaviour

Various personality attributes and traits help predict one’s behaviour. Some of these are:

1) Locus of Control 2) Machiavellianism 3) Self-esteem 4) Self-monitoring 5) Risk-taking

6) Type A Personality

1) Locus of Control
 This refers to one’s belief that what happens is either within one’s control or beyond one’s
control. The former is called internals and the latter is called externals.
 Those who have internal locus of control believe that they are masters of their own fate.
 On the contrary those who have external locus of control see themselves as pawns of fate and
believe that what happens to them in their lives is due to lack or factors beyond their control.
 Note: Externals are less satisfied with their jobs and have higher absenteeism rates than internals.

2) Machiavellianism
 This is named after Niccolo Machiavelli who wrote about how to gain and manipulate power.
 Machiavellianism refers to an individual’s propensity to manipulate people for their interest.
 These people are cool, logical, pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, tries to control people
events or situations by manipulating the system to his advantage.
 Machiavellianisms are good in jobs that need bargaining skills e.g. labour regulations or jobs
offering substantial rewards for winning e.g. commissioned sale. But do not do better in jobs with
high ethical considerations.

3) Self-esteem
 This refers to an individual’s liking or disliking oneself and this varies from individual to
individual. Self-esteem is related to aspects individuals regard themselves as capable to achieve
success.
 Individuals with high self-esteem tend to take on more challenging assignment and unconditional
nature, are more satisfied with their jobs than those with low self-esteem.
 People with low esteem are characterized by the susceptibility to external influences and approval
seekers from others.
 They depend on the receipt of positive evaluations.

4) Self-monitoring
 This is an individual’ ability to adjust his/her behaviour to external factors/situations.
 Individuals with high self-monitoring trait show greater adaptability to adjust themselves with
external situations. They behave differently in different situations.
 This class of people is likely to make successful managers.

5) Risk-taking
 Individuals differ in taking risks. The propensity to assume or avoid risks affects a manager’s
behaviour in making decisions.
 Managers with high risk taking make more rapid decisions and use less information in making
choices.
 However propensity to assume risks varies depending on upon the nature of job e.g. a high risk
taking propensity may be good for stock trader but not good in auditing activities which require
concentration and low risk taking propensity.

6) Type A Personality
  Type A Personality are impatient and aggressive to achieve more and more in less and less time.
These characteristics result in specific behavioural outcomes e.g. working for long hours, making
quick decisions etc.
 In organizations, great sales personas are usually Type A’s.

PERSONALITY THEORIES
Researchers have developed a number of personality theories. These theories can be
classified into Trait theory, Freud theory, Adler and Jung theories, Social learning theories
and Holistic theories.
1. Traits Theory
The traditional approach of understanding personality was to identify and describe
personality in terms of traits. In other words, it viewed personality as revolving around
attempts to identify and label permanent characteristics that describe an individual's
behaviour. Popular characteristics or traits include shyness, aggressiveness, submissiveness,
laziness, ambition, loyalty, and timidity. This distinctiveness, when they are exhibited in a
large number of situations, are called personality traits. The more consistent the characteristic
and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more important that trait is in
describing the individual.
The trait theory is based on three assumptions;
a. Traits are common to many individuals and vary in absolute amount between
individual.
b. Traits are relatively stable and exert fairly universal effects on behaviour regardless
of environmental situation.
c. Traits can be inferred from the measurement of behavioural indicators
Early efforts to identify the primary traits that govern behaviour often resulted in long lists
that were difficult to generalize from and provided little practical guidance to organizational
decision makers. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Big Five Model, are today the
most dominant frameworks for identifying and classifying traits.

The big five model

Personality traits are the enduring features that define an individual’s behavior. A personality
trait is a unique feature in an individual. Psychologists and human resources professionals
often use the Big Five personality dimensions to help place employees. That is because these
dimensions are considered to be the underlying traits that make up an individual’s overall
personality. The Big Five traits are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion,
Agreeableness, and Neuroticism or OCEAN.
Personality model

Openness is the degree to which a person is curious, original, intellectual, creative, and
open to new ideas. People high in openness seem to thrive in situations that require being
flexible and learning new things. They are highly motivated to learn new skills, and they do
well in training settings. Openness includes traits like being insightful and imaginative and
having a wide variety of interests.
Conscientiousness – refers to the degree to which a person is organized, systematic,
punctual, achievement oriented, dependable careful, thorough, responsible, and self-
disciplined as they work to pursue those goals. Conscientiousness is the one personality trait
that uniformly predicts how high a person’s performance will be, across a variety of
occupations and jobs. People that have a high degree of conscientiousness are reliable and
prompt.
Extraversion - is the degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative, energetic, assertive
and sociable, and enjoys being in social situations. Extraverts get their energy from
interacting with others, while introverts get their energy from within themselves. They tend to
be attracted to jobs based on personal relationships, such as sales and marketing positions.

Agreeableness - is the degree to which a person is nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind,
and warm. In other words, people who are high in agreeableness are likeable people who get
along with others. These individuals are friendly, cooperative, and compassionate. Traits
include being kind, affectionate, and sympathetic. High agreeable people will be better able
to develop good working relationships with co- workers, subordinates, and higher level
managers, whereas less agreeable people will not have particularly good working
relationships.
Neuroticism - Neuroticism is also sometimes called Emotional Stability. It is the degree to
which a person is anxious, irritable, aggressive, temperamental, and moody. These people
have a tendency to have emotional adjustment problems and experience stress and depression
on a habitual basis.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

MBTI was developed in 1943 by a mother–daughter team, Isabel Myers and Katherine Cook
Briggs. Its objective at the time was to aid World War II veterans in identifying the
occupation that would suit their personalities. Since that time, MBTI has become immensely
popular in many organizations. In MBTI, people are grouped using four dimensions. Based
on how a person is classified on these four dimensions, it is possible to talk about 16 unique
personality types, such as ESTJ and ISTP.

● Extraverted (E) versus Introverted (I). Extraverted individuals are outgoing, sociable,
and assertive. Introverts are quiet and shy.
Sensing (S) versus Intuitive (N). Sensing types are practical and prefer routine and order.
They focus on details. Intuitives rely on unconscious processes and look at the “big
picture.”
Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F). Thinking types use reason and logic to handle
problems. Feeling types rely on their personal values and emotions.
Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P). Judging types want control and prefer their
world to be ordered and structured. Perceiving types are flexible and spontaneous.

2. Freud Theory
Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the
result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and
superego. This theory, known as Freud's structural theory of personality, places great
emphasis on the role of unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping behaviour and
personality. Dynamic interactions among these fundamental parts of the mind are thought to
progress through five distinct psychosexual stages of development. Over the last century,
however, Freud's ideas have since been met with criticism, in part because of his singular
focus on sexuality as the main driver of human personality development.
According to Freud, our personality develops from the interactions among what he proposed
as the three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. Conflicts
among these three structures, and our efforts to find balance among what each of them
"desires," determines how we behave and approach the world. What balance we strike in any
given situation determines how we will resolve the conflict between two overarching
behavioural tendencies: our biological aggressive and pleasure-seeking drives vs. our
socialized internal control over those drives.
The Id
The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification of
basic physical needs and urges. It operates entirely unconsciously (outside of conscious
thought). For example, if your id walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would most likely
take the ice cream for itself. It doesn't know, or care, that it is rude to take something
belonging to someone else; it would care only that you wanted the ice cream.
The Ego
In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part
of our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and partly
unconscious.
It's what Freud considered to be the "self," and its job is to balance the demands of the id and
superego in the practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the stranger with ice cream
one more time, your ego would mediate the conflict between your id ("I want that ice cream
right now") and superego ("It's wrong to take someone else's ice cream") and decide to go
buy your own ice cream. While this may mean you have to wait 10 more minutes, which
would frustrate your id, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise–
satisfying your desire for ice cream while also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and
potential feelings of shame.
The Superego
The superego is concerned with social rules and morals—similar to what many people call
their "conscience" or their "moral compass." It develops as a child learns what their culture
considers right and wrong. If your superego walked past the same stranger, it would not take
their ice cream because it would know that that would be rude. However, if both your id and
your superego were involved, and your id was strong enough to override your superego's
concern, you would still take the ice cream, but afterward you would most likely feel guilt
and shame over your actions.
Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult
personality and behaviour are rooted in the results of these internal struggles throughout
childhood. He believed that a person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality and that
imbalances in this system can lead to neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety and
depression) and unhealthy behaviours.

3. Adler and Jung theory

According to Adler the thrust of superiority is the drive which motivates the individual. He
developed the concepts like compensation and inferiority complex based on the drive for
power. He gave stress on social relationship instead of inmate or biological factors. He
stressed on individual uniqueness, style of life, and the creative.
Jung stressed on unconscious aspect of psycho analysis. According to him personality is
based on pre-disposing pattern borrowed by persons from his ancestors. Jung asserted that the
operation of an individual’s personality is as much future oriented as rooted in the past.

4. Holistic theories
Kolasa has grouped several theorists under one group namely holistic theories, they include
holistic, organismic and field theorists. They stress on the totality and interrelatedness of all
kinds of human behaviour. Maslow, Rogers, Herzberg, Lewin and Festinger are the main
contributors of these theories

Other personality attributes influencing organisation behaviour

Although the Big Five traits have proven highly relevant to OB however, they don’t exhaust
the range of traits that can describe someone’s personality. There are other attributes that
influence behaviour in organisations. Among the most important are locus of control, self-
efficacy, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, self-esteem, and risk propensity.
Locus of control
It is the degree to which an individual believes that they are masters of their own fate. A
person’s perception of the source of his/her fate is termed locus of control. There are two
types of people in this category:
Internals: People who believe that they are masters of their own fate.
Externals: People who believe they are pawns of fate.
Individuals who rate high in externality are less satisfied with their jobs, have higher
absenteeism rates, are more alienated from the work setting, and are less involved on their
jobs than are internals.
Internals, facing the same situation, attribute organizational outcomes to their own actions.
Internals believe that health is substantially under their own control through proper habits;
their incidences of sickness and, hence, of absenteeism, are lower.
There is not a clear relationship between locus of control and turnover because there are
opposing forces at work. Internals generally perform better on their jobs, but one should
consider differences in jobs.
Internals search more actively for information before making a decision, are more motivated
to achieve, and make a greater attempt to control their environment, therefore, internals do
well on sophisticated tasks.
Internals are more suited to jobs that require initiative and independence of action. Externals
are more compliant and willing to follow directions, and do well on jobs that are well
structured and routine and in which success depends heavily on complying with the
direction of others
Machiavellianism
Named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use
power. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance,
and believes that ends can justify means.
High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more. High
Mach outcomes are moderated by situational factors and flourish when they interact face to
face with others, rather than indirectly, and when the situation has a minimum number of
rules and regulations, thus allowing latitude for improvisation. High Machs make good
employees in jobs that require bargaining skills or that offer substantial rewards for winning.

Self-esteem and self-concept

Self-esteem is the degree to which people like or dislike themselves. (SE) is directly related
to expectations for success. It denotes the extent to which individuals consistently regard
themselves as capable, successful, important and worthy individuals. Individuals with high
self-esteem will take more risks in job selection and are more likely to choose unconventional
jobs than people with low self-esteem.
The most generalizable finding is that low SEs are more susceptible to external
influence than are high SEs. Low SEs are dependent on the receipt of positive evaluations
from others. In managerial positions, low SEs will tend to be concerned with pleasing
others. High SEs are more satisfied with their jobs than are low SEs.
Self-monitoring
It refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external, situational factors.
Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability. They are highly
sensitive to external cues, can behave differently in different situations, and are capable of
presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private self. 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 behavioural consistency
between who they are and what they do.
The research on self-monitoring is in its infancy, so predictions must be guarded. Preliminary
evidence suggests:
High self-monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behaviour of others.
High self-monitoring managers tend to be more mobile in their careers and receive more
promotions.
High self-monitor is capable of putting on different “faces” for different audiences.
Type A Personality and Type B Personality
A Type A personality is “aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve
more and more in less and less time, and, if required to do so, against the opposing efforts of
other things or other persons.’’
They are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly, are impatient with the rate at which
most events take place, are doing do two or more things at once and cannot cope with leisure
time. They are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how
much of everything they acquire.
Type Bs never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience and
feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments unless such
exposure is demanded by the situation.
Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost and can relax
without guilt.
Type A’s operate under moderate to high levels of stress. They subject themselves to
continuous time pressure, are fast workers, quantity over quality, work long hours, and are
also rarely creative. Their behaviour is easier to predict than that of Type Bs. Type A’s do
better in job interviews; more likely to be judged as having desirable traits such as high drive,
competence, and success motivation.
Risk taking
The propensity to assume or avoid risk has been shown to have an impact on how long it
takes managers to make a decision and how much information they require before making
their choice. High risk-taking managers made more rapid decisions and used less information
in making their choices. Managers in large organizations tend to be risk averse especially
in contrast with growth-oriented entrepreneurs. They make sense to consider aligning risk-
taking propensity with specific job demands.
Work ethnic Orientation
Some individuals are highly work oriented while others try to do the minimum work that is
necessary to get by without being fired on the job. The extremely work oriented person gets
greatly involved in the job. Extreme work ethic values could lead to traits of “work holism”
where work is considered as the only primary motive for living with very little outside
interests. A high level of work ethic orientation of members is good for the organisation to
achieve goals. Too much work holism will destruct both organisation and individual
Introversion and extroversion
Introversion is the tendency of individuals which directs them to be inward and process
feelings, thoughts and ideas within themselves. Extroversion, on the contrary, refers to the
tendency in individuals to look outside themselves, searching for external stimuli with which
they can interact. While there is some element of introversion as well as extroversion in all of
us, people tend to be dominant as either extroverts or introverts. Extroverts are likely to be
most successful while working in the sales department, publicity office, personal relations
unit, and so on, where they can interact face to face with others. Introverts on the other hand,
are quiet, reflective, introspective and intellectual people, preferring to interact with a small
intimate circle of friends. They are likely to be successful when they work on highly abstract
ideas such as R&D work, in a relatively quiet atmosphere.

Narcissism
Peter likes to be the center of attention. He looks at himself in the mirror a lot, has
extravagant dreams, and considers himself a person of many talents. He is a narcissist. The
term is from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a man so vain and proud he fell in love with his
own image. In psychology, narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of
self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense of entitlement, and is arrogant.
Evidence suggests that narcissists are more charismatic and thus more likely to emerge as
leaders, and they may even display better psychological health (at least as they self-report).
Despite having some advantages, most evidence suggests that narcissism is undesirable. A
study found that while narcissists thought they were better leaders than their colleagues, their
supervisors actually rated them as worse.
An Oracle executive described that company’s CEO Larry Ellison as follows: “The
difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is Larry.” Because
narcissists often want to gain the admiration of others and receive
affirmation of their superiority, they tend to “talk down” to those who threaten them, treating
others as if they were inferior. Narcissists also tend to be selfish and exploitive and believe
others exist for their benefit. Their bosses rate them as less effective at their jobs than others,
particularly when it comes to helping people.
ages 18 to 94 revealed that negative emotions seem to occur less as people get older. Periods
of highly positive moods lasted longer for older individuals, and bad moods faded more
quickly. The study implies emotional experience improves with age; as we get older, we
experience fewer negative emotions.
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