CHAPTER 3: 91-104 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 261

GABRIELLE DUREPOS

Personality & Identity

Outline

Towards an understanding of PersonalityPersonality and OB: why we should careTheories of Personality:

Situational Theories of Personality Person [trait] Theories of Personality Interactional Theory of Personality

Examining the concept of ‘fit’: Supplementary Fit Complementary Fit Person-Job Fit Person-Organization Fit Person-Workgroup Fit

Conclusions

Towards an Understanding of:

Personality

Refers to all the mental and behavioral characteristics that make up and define the uniqueness of an individual Characteristics are called personality traits Examples include: shy, kind, anxious, trustworthy, outgoing

Personality is shaped by both genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) influences

Personality traits remain stable over time This is unlike identity which is fluid

Personality can be said to provide general direction for an individual’s choices and behaviors

Towards an Understanding of: Personality

Two Perspectives on Personality:

1) Behavioral Personality can be ‘observed’ by others Personality is public, stable, objective and describable Personality can be used by others to:

Describe your personality traits based on past behavior Predict your future behavior based on your unique set of personality

traits

2) Mental Personality has internal components which others can not see Ex: decisions made by individuals are influenced by their

personality traits but through observation, we can not tell which personality traits affected the decision

Personality and Organizational Behavior:Why we should care

Our unique make up of personality traits affects: Our behavior in an organization How well we fit in a workgroup How well we fit in an organization How well we fit in a job Our choice of career

How well we fit in a job & career can affect: Our performance at work Our job satisfaction Our level of stress Our level of efficiency

Theories of Personality

There are many theories of personality Most are derived from the Psychology literature Contributors include Freud, Maslow, Skinner, Piaget and etc. We cover a basic overview

Personality and the nature – nurture debate Nature

External factors do not shape individual personality individuals are born with unique sets of personality traits These personality traits help explain their behavior in organizations

Nurture External factors contribute to and shape an individuals personality after birth Individuals develop personality traits based on interpersonal situations The organization is one site in which individual personality traits are shaped

Theories of Personality:Situational Theories of Personality

Falls on the NURTURE side of the continuum The environment / situation is a key determinant of personality An individual is not born with an innate set of personality traits

The organization is an example of an environment where personality is shaped

Situational theorists focus on ‘the context’ of the individual to understand: The causes of an individuals job satisfaction Job performance Other work attitudes

Example: Pavlov’s dogs salivating after hearing the bell

Criticisms Everyone in the same situation will have the same personality? We know this not to be the case, how do we account for differences?

Theories of Personality:Person [trait] Theories of Personality

Falls on the NATURE side of the continuum An individual is born with an innate, stable set of personality traits The environment / situation is not a key determinant of personality

Individuals within a same situation / organization will: Interact and respond differently based on their unique make up of

personality traits

Person [trait] theorists focus on identifying an individual’s personality traits: But do not focus to an individual’s situation Fit a person to a job: Try and match personality traits of an individual

with traits that are required to do a job To predict future performance, attitudes, stress levels,

ability to work with others

Theories of Personality:Interactional Theory of Personality

Falls in the middle of the NATURE-NURTURE continuum An individual’s personality is a result of:

The personality traits they are born with The situation / environment in which they interact An ‘interaction’ of specific situations and individual

predispositions

Organizations are a result of the people that are in them [nature] Individuals bring their personalities to work and shape the

organization Individuals do not check their personalities at the door – like their

coat

Individuals are influenced by the organization [nurture] Individuals are shaped by ‘the dominant ways of acting’ that have

been engrained in the organization

Examining the concept of ‘fit’

Our interest is in finding a good ‘match’ or ‘fit’ between an individual and a: Job, Organization, Workgroup, Profession

We ask: Are potential employees ‘compatible’ with their job, organization,

workgroup, profession? Do they have the right knowledge? qualification? skills? attitudes?

The right ‘fit’ is important as: ‘Win-Win’ Employees Win: efficiency, productivity, satisfaction Organization Wins: productivity, profitability

The lack of ‘fit’ can lead to: High turnover, high recruiting costs, low productivity, decreased

employee morale, decreased employee self-esteem, etc.

Examining the concept of ‘fit’: Supplementary Fit

A theory of ‘fit’ from the organizations perspective

Theory states that: The hired employee has the SAME set of

characteristics as those who are currently employed in the organization

Characteristics include: skill sets, work experience, educational background

Supplementary fit forms the basis for vocational choice People prefer to work in organizations or professions

with others who share similar characteristics

Examining the concept of ‘fit’: Complementary Fit

A theory of ‘fit’ from the organization’s perspective

Theory states that: The hired employees has a DIFFERENT set of

characteristics than those currently employed The organization identifies deficiencies in skill

sets, knowledge, skills, etc. in their current workgroups

The hired employee ‘complements’ the organization by filling a void

Examining the concept of ‘fit’: Person-Job Fit

Employee selection is traditionally based on person-fit

Examines the perspective of ‘fit’ between the individual and some aspect of work Is the person suitable for a set of interrelated tasks? Does the person posses the ‘right’ set of personality traits that will enable them to fulfill

the set of interrelated tasks needed for the job?

A ‘good’ fit means that a job applicant’s knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) correspond with the job requirements Job requirements are developed by an organization and listed in a job analysis A job analysis is an explicit identification of all the requirements needed to fulfill a job or

set of interrelated tasks A job analysis may not mention specific needed personality traits

Person-Job fit is important because: Acts as a basis for standardizing employment practices It ensures consistency in recruiting and hiring processes

Criticisms: Assumes that jobs are stable / unchanging over time Assumes that a given job will always be needed or relevant

Examining the concept of ‘fit’:

Person-Organization Fit

Examines the perspective of ‘fit’ between the individual and some aspect of work: Is the person suitable for a specific organization? Is the person’s needs, goals and values compatible with the

organizations values, goals, culture and reward systems?

A ‘good’ fit between an individual and organization may lead to: Greater motivation on the individual’s behalf to perform well

The downside of too much person-organization alignment: discrimination towards those who do not ‘fit’ narrowed vision, low adaptability to change, less competitiveness too much agreement, not enough questioning and thus unethical

choices ex: Challenger Space Shuttle disaster

Examining the concept of ‘fit’:

Person-Workgroup Fit

Examines the perspective of ‘fit’ between the individual and some aspect of work: Do the personality traits of an individual make them good candidates to

work in a given group? Is the person’s needs, goals, attitudes and values compatible with the

workgroup values, goals, work ethic?

Person-Workgroup fit may more important in certain organizations Organizations whose workflows are organized around self managed

work teams

The downside of too much person-workgroup alignment: discrimination towards those who do not ‘fit’ narrowed vision, low adaptability to change, less competitiveness too much agreement, not enough questioning and thus unethical

choices

Conclusions

Is personality shaped nature or nurture? What is the implication for the organization?

Does this subject remind you of organizational culture? What are the similarities? What are the differences? Personality is at the individual level = culture at the organizational

level?

IF personality is based on nurture – can we CHANGE PERSONALITY of employees to match the CULTURE of the organization? What are the ethical concerns?