Very Short Question and Answer

1. What is a personality trait?

In recent years researchers have identified five fundamental personality traits that are especially relevant to organizations are as follows:

  • Extroversions
  • Agreeableness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Emotional stability
  • Openness to experience
2. State two nature of personality.

The two natures of personality are stated as follows:

  • It is an aggregate whole of an individual’s features. A whole person concept.
  • It can be developed. The development starts from the womb (garvasaya) and does not stop till the person rests in the tomb (grave/Chita).
3.  Differentiate extrovert and introvert.

The persons with the extrovert personality type are the ones who are outgoing, talkative, social, and assertive in nature. On the contrary, an introvert is exactly the opposite of an extrovert. People with introverted personalities are quiet, shy, and cautious in nature.

4. What do you mean by agreeableness personality?

Personality represents the ability of an individual to get along with others. People with agreeableness personalities are caring, empathetic, polite, etc. in nature.

5. What is personality?

Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment. In other words, personality is a stable set of personal characteristics and tendencies that determine the commonalities and differences in people’s thoughts, beings, and actions.

Short Question and Answer

1. What is personality? Explain the determinants of a person.

Personality

Personality is the major factor that influences individual behaviour in an organization. To understand the behaviour of an individual or a person, one must be familiar with personality. By understanding the personality, behaviour can be directed and controlled. Personality does not mean the handsome and ugliness of a human being. Instead, it is the aggregate form of traits, qualities and features of an individual. It is concerned with the reaction and interaction of individuals and situations. Thus, personality represents personal characteristics that lead to consistent patterns of behaviours.

Determinants of Personality

The major determinants of personality are explained briefly:

  • Heredity factors: Personality is the aggregated form of traits, qualities and features of human beings. Individuals have unique genes and chromosomes. Most of the characteristics of our parents are transmitted to us through genes and chromosomes. Thus, the heredity approach says that personality is the muscular structure of genes.
  • Environmental factors: Personality is influenced by environmental factors also. For example, let us suppose, someone is grown in an open society where talking with strangers without a feeling of shyness is a common norm. Such an environment is instrumental in developing a personality that can speak with confidence. On the contrary, rural children may hesitate in talking with anyone as they are brought up in a narrow society.
  • Situational factor: Another key determinant that shapes personality is the situation. The situation affects heredity and the environmental traits of people change as per the situation.
  • Experience in life: Whether one trusts or mistrusts others, is miserly or generous, has high or low self-esteem, and the like is at least partially related to the past experience the individual has had. For example, a person who has been betrayed time and again would take time to trust a new person. His personality will develop in such a way that he will look at people with a suspect eye.
2. Differentiate between personality and behaviour.

Differentiation between Personality and Behaviour are below:

Personality

 

Behaviour

 

Personality is defined as characteristic patterns of behaviour and modes of thinking that determine a person’s adjustment to the environment.

 

Behaviour is the outcome of external stimulus and internal cognitive or mental processes.

 

Personality cannot be easily predicted and measured.

 

Behaviour can be predicted and can also be measured to some extent.

 

Personality is the source of new information received and interpreted by an individual.

 

Behaviour is the result of new information received and interpreted by an individual.

 

Personality mainly is the result of individual characteristics.

 

Behaviour results from motivation and the result of the situation.

 

Long Question and Answer

1. Discuss the Myers-Briggs Type indicator of personality.

The ‘Big Five’ personality traits are discussed as follows:

  • Extroversion (Extrovert vs Introvert): This dimension reflects a person’s comfort level with relationships. People who are outgoing, talkative, sociable and assertive are called extroverts. Just opposite to it is called introverts. They are quiet, shy, and cautious. Introverts prefer loneliness whereas extroverts prefer interaction. Research suggests that extroverts tend to be higher overall job performers than introverts and that they are more likely to be attracted to the jobs based on personal relationships, such as sales and marketing positions.
  • Agreeableness (High Agreeableness vs. Low Agreeableness): This dimension refers to a person’s ability to get along (mix) with others. People with high agreeableness tend to be polite, good-natured, empathetic/sympathetic, and caring. On the opposite of it, those with low agreeableness tend to be uncooperative, short-tempered, and ill-tempered Low agreeableness people are more committed to their own needs than to high agreeableness. Research has not yet fully investigated the effects of agreeableness. But it seems likely that highly agreeable people are better at developing good working relationships with co-workers, subordinates and higher-level managers.
  • Conscientiousness (High vs. Low): This dimension refers to the number of goals (objectives) on which a person focuses. In other words, it expresses the extent that which people are careful, dependable and self. disciplined. High conscientious people tend to focus on a small number of goals at one time. They are likely to be organized, systematic, careful, thorough, responsible and self-disciplined. Those who score low on this dimension (low conscientious) tend to adopt a wider range of goals. As a result, they tend to be more disorganized, careless and irresponsible. Again, they are less thorough and self-disciplined. Research has found that more conscientious people tend to be higher performers than less conscientious people in a variety of different jobs.
  • Emotional Stability (Stable vs. Unstable): This dimension refers (indicates) to a person’s ability to cope with stress. People with high emotional stability are poised, secure and calm. Persons with low emotional instability tend to be depressed, anxious, indecisive, insecure and subject to mood swings. People with less negative emotionality might be expected to better handle job stress, pressure and tension.
  • Openness to Experience (Open vs. Closed): This dimension refers to (indicates) a person’s range of interest. Moreover, this dimension is the most complex and has the least agreement among scholars. Highly open people are sensitive, flexible, creative and curious. On the other side, people who score low on this dimension tend to be resistant to change, closed to new ideas, and fixed in their ways.

People with more openness might be expected to be better performers due to their flexibility. Hence, people with more openness will be better accepted by others in the organization.

2. Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB

The major personality attributes or traits that influence organizational behaviour are explained as follows:

  • Locus of control: This concept denotes whether people believe that they are in control of events or events control them. Those who have an internal locus of control (internals) believe that they control and shape the course of events in their lives, while those who have an external locus of control (externals) believe that events occur purely by chance or because of factors beyond their own control. Internal, as compared to externals, seek more job-related information, try to influence, others at work, seek opportunities for advancement and rely more on their own abilities and judgment at work.
  • Machiavellians: Manipulation of others as a primary way of one’s goals is what Machiavellians is all about. Individuals high on the Mach scale, a scale developed to measure the extent to which an individual tends to be Machiavellian tend to be cool, logical in assessing achieving the system around them. Moreover, they are willing to twist and turn facts to influence others and try to gain control of people, events, and situations by manipulating the system to their advantage. Machiavellian may fool a few people for a short time, but in the long run, they tend to be distrusted and disliked by many in the system and hence may become ineffective.
  • Self-esteem and self-concept: Self-esteem denotes the extent to which individuals consistently regard themselves as capable, successful, important and worthy individuals. This is an important personality factor that determines how managers perceive themselves and their role in the organization. Self-esteem is important to self-concept, that is, the way individuals define themself as to who they are and derive their sense of identity. High self-esteem provides a high sense of self-concept; high self-concept in turn, reinforces high self-esteem. Thus, the two are mutually reinforcing. Individuals high in self-esteem will try to take on more challenging assignments and be successful, thus enhancing their self-concept, that is they would tend to define themselves as highly valuable and valued individuals in the organization system. The higher the self-concept and self-esteem, the greater will be their contributions to the goals of the organization; especially when the system rewards them for their contributions.
  • Tolerance for ambiguity: This personality characteristic indicates the level of uncertainty that people can tolerate without experiencing undue stress and can still function effectively. Managers have to work well under conditions of extreme uncertainty and insufficient information, especially when things are rapidly changing in the organization’s external environment. Managers who have a high tolerance for ambiguity can cope well under these conditions.
  • Risk-taking: People differ in their willingness to take risks. Individuals can be high-risk taking and low-risk taking. High-risk taking managers tend to make a quick decisions with less information. However, the demands of the job determine the degree of risk-taking.
  • Personality type: Individuals can have to type A personality or type B personality. Type A persons who feel a chronic sense of time urgency is high achievement-oriented, exhibit a competitive drive and are impatient when their work is slowed down for any reason. Type B persons are easygoing individuals who do not experience the competitive drive. Type A individuals are significantly more prone to heart attack than type B persons. While type A persons help the organization to move ahead in a relatively short period of time they may also suffer health problems, which might be detrimental to both themselves and the organization in the long run.
3. Approaches for Matching Personality and Jobs

Personality and jobs are matched to ensure personality-job fit. When a job is assigned as per the personality of the individual, high performance can be expected. So, a rational manager should always think of the personality of the employee while assigning him any task. Organizations operate in a dynamic and complex environment. They want employees who can readily change tasks and move between teams. They aim for a personality-organization fit. The organization should select those employees who fit better with the organization’s culture. This leads to high satisfaction and low turnover. Some of the approaches that are followed for matching personality and jobs are explained below:

  • Realistic: It prefers physical activities that require skill, strength and coordination. The personality characteristics of realistic are shy genuine, stable conforming etc. Their matching jobs are drill, press, etc.
  • Investigative: It prefers activities that involve thinking organizing and understanding. The personality characteristics are analytical, original curious, independent etc. Their matching job are news reporter, mathematician, etc.
  • Social: It prefers activities that involve helping and developing others. The personality characteristics are sociable, friendly, cooperative, understanding, etc. Their matching jobs are teaching, counsellor, social worker etc.
  • Conventional: It prefers rule regulated, ordering and unambiguous activities. The personality characteristics are conforming, efficient, practical, unimaginative, inflexible, etc. Their matching jobs are accountant, bank teller, manager etc.
  • Enterprising: It prefers verbal activities where there are opportunities to influence other and attain power. The personality characteristics are self confident, ambitious, energetic dominating, etc. Their matching jobs are lawyer, P/R officer, and small business manager.
  • Artistic: It prefers ambiguous and unsystematic activities that allow. creative expression. The personality traits are imaginative, idealistic, etc. Their matching jobs are painter, musician, writer, etc.

Thus, if jobs are matched to personality attributes, employees will be more motivated toward the job given to them. Therefore a rational manager should be conscious of the type of the job and personality of the employee.

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