Chapter 5

Question 1

Define self-esteem and explain how it can be improved with Branden’s six pillars of self-esteem.

Answer 1

• Self-esteem is how people perceive themselves as physical, social, and spiritual beings
• Branden’s six pillars of self-esteem are:
  1. to live consciously
  2. be self-accepting
  3. take personal responsibility
  4. be self-assertive
  5. live purposefully
  6. have personal integrity

Question 2

Define self-efficacy, and explain its sources

Answer 2

• Self-efficacy is someone’s belief about his or her ability to accomplish specific tasks
• Those extremely low in self-efficacy suffer from learned helplessness
• Four sources of self-efficacy beliefs are: prior experience, behaviour models, persuasion from others, and assessment of one’s physical and emotional states.
• High self-efficacy beliefs foster constructive and goal-oriented action, whereas low self-efficacy fosters passive, failure-prone activities and emotions

Question 3

Contrast high and low self-monitoring individuals, and discuss the ethical implications of organisational identification

Answer 3

• A high self-monitor strives to make a good public impression by closely monitoring his or her behaviour and adapting it to the situation
• Very high self-monitoring can create a “chameleon” who is seen as insincere and dishonest
• Low self-monitors do the opposite by acting out their momentary feelings, regardless their surroundings
• Very low self-monitoring can lead to a one-way communicator who seems to ignore verbal and non-verbal cues from others.

People who supplant their own identity with that of their organisation run the risk of blind obedience and group-think because of a failure to engage in critical thinking and not being objective about what they are asked to do.

Question 4

Identify and describe the Big Five personality dimensions, and specify which one is correlated most strongly with job performance

Answer 4

The Big Five personality dimensions are

1. extraversion (social and talkative)
2. agreeableness (trusting and cooperative)
3. conscientiousness (responsible and persistent)
4. emotional stability (relaxed and unworried)
5. Openness to experience (intellectual and curious)

Conscientiousness is the best predictor of job performance

Question 5

Describe the proactive personality and an internal locus of control

Answer 5

• Someone with a proactive personality shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres to bring about change
• People with an internal locus of control, such as entrepreneurs, believe they are masters of their own fate

Question 6

What are Gardner’s eight multiple intellegences?

Answer 6

• Gardner broadens the traditional cognitive abilities model of intelligence to include social and physical abilities
• His eight multiple intellegences are:
  1. linguistics
  2. logical-methematical
  3. musical
  4. bodily-kinesthetic
  5. spatial
  6. interpersonal
  7. intrapersonal
  8. naturalist

Question 7

Identify the four key-components of emotional intelligence, and discuss the practical significance of emotional contagion and emotional labour

Answer 7

Goleman’s model says the four components are

1. self-awareness
2. self-management
3. social awareness
4. relationship management

• People can catch another person’s good or bad moods and expressed emotions.
• Managers need to avoid the spread of counterproductive emotions

Question 8

What is the difference between an internal and external locus of control?

Answer 8

• Internal locus of control: attributing outcomes to one’s own actions
• External locus of control: Attributing outcomes to circumstances beyond one’s control