Introduction : The Individual Performance EquationPart 1 : DEMOGRAPHIC AND COMPETENCY DIFFERENCES AMONG INDIVIDUALSPart 2 : PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES AMONG INDIVIDUALSPart 3 : VALUES, ATTITUDES AND PERFORMANCE Part 4 : PERCEPTIONS AND THE PERCEPTUAL PROCESS

basic performance equation as a theoretical guide in considering management of individual behaviour and performance.individual attributes relate to the “capacity to perform”, work effort relates to “willingness to perform” and organisational support relates to the “opportunity to perform”. Every manager must understand how these three factors can effect performance results and deal with all three factors effectively.All three factors (attributes, work effort and organisational support) must be present and maximised in order to achieve high performance

• Individual performance factors

•Demographic differences• Gender• Age• Cultural background•Competence differences• Aptitude and ability• Cognitive abilities• Physical abilities• Emotional competence

•Aptitude is the ability to learning something, while ability is the capacity to perform the various tasks required for a job. Phrased differently, aptitudes are potential abilities, while abilities are skills and knowledge already possessed by an individual.

•Cognitive abilities are a specific form of ability that refers to our mental capacity to process information and solve problems.

•Physical abilities are a form of ability that refer to a our natural and developed motor capacities for speed, strength, flexibility etc, as well as our use of the five senses.

•Finally, emotional competencies complement our cognitive and physical capabilities.

•Personality differences •Personality is the overall profile or combination of traits that characterise the unique nature of a person.

• Where does personality come from ?

• Dominant Frameworks of Personality?

•The Big Five Model•Other Personality Traits •Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)•Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

• Another way to remember the big five: OCEAN

• Openness

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)

• Other important personality traits• Locus of control (internal vs. external)

• Machiavellianism

• MBTI (Myers Briggs classification)

•Locus of control: the extent to which an individual feels they are able to affect their lives.

• Individuals with an an internal locus of control perceive that they control their own destiny.

• Individuals with an external locus of control believe that what happens to them is beyond their control i.e. due to luck, chance or environmental forces

•Machiavellianism: People who view and manipulate others purely for personal gain.

•believes that ends can justify means

•HIGH - MACHS

•Manipulate more, win more & have greater influence over other people

•“IF IT WORKS, USE IT”

•Values are deep-seated global beliefs that guide actions and judgements across a variety of situations. They develop as a product of an individual’s learning and experience in a particular cultural setting, and are almost impossible to change.

•Value congruence ?occurs when individuals express positive feelings on encountering others who express values similar to their own.

•Eg: Greater follower satisfaction with leader when congruence in terms of achievement, honesty and fairness values

•Attitudes ?•A predisposition to respond in a positive or negative way to some person, thing or event in your environment.

•Attitudes are understood to have three basic components:

• Cognitive - the belief, opinion, knowledge or information a person possesses, and the conclusion/s drawn from them about someone or something

• Affective - the specific feelings regarding the personal impact of someone or something

• Behavioural - the intention to behave in a certain way based on specific feelings or attitudes.

•Important workplace-related attitudes•Job satisfaction

•The degree to which an individual feels positively or negatively about his/her job.

•Organisational commitment•The degree to which an individual identifies with and feels part of the organisation.

•Job involvement•Willingness to work hard and apply effort

•What Is Perception?

A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment

Heavily influenced by characteristics of the perceiver

•Factors in the Perceptual Process ?•Perceiver

–Needs, motives, past experiences, values, attitudes and personality

•Setting–Physical, social or organisational context

•Perceived Target–Perceived characteristics such as contrast, intensity, size, motion, repetition or novelty

• Some Common Perceptual Distortionsat Work

• Stereotyping

• Halo Effect

• Self - Fulfilling Prophecy (or self-serving bias)

•StereotypingJudging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs – a prevalent and often useful, if not always accurate, generalization

•Eg : Scottish are stingy/tight with money

•The Stereotyping Process•Develop categories and assign traits•Assign person to category based on observable info

•Assign category’s traits to the person•Muslims are “Terrorists”•The lecturer is a “Muslim”•The lecturer is a “Terrorist”

•Halo Effect•Drawing a general impression about an individual on the basis of a single characteristic

•X speaks well ----- X is good on everything