Personality and Values

Question 1

5-1 What is personality?

Answer 1

The sum of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others.

Question 2

How do we typically measure personality?

Answer 2

*Personality assessments
*Observer ratings
*Self-report ratings

Question 3

What factors determine personality?

Answer 3

*Heredity
*Environment
Research supports importance of heredity over environment

Question 4

5-2 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Big Five personality model?

Answer 4

MBTI: widely used and recognized
Questions as to validity
Big Five: Supported by more research
Have the most verifiable links to important organizational behavior
Not the only traits a person exhibits or the only ones with OB implications

Question 5

Personality Traits

Answer 5

Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior

Question 6

Big Five Model

Answer 6

A personality assessment model that describes five basic dimensions of personality

Question 7

Conscientiousness

Answer 7

A personality dimension that describes someone who is responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized

Question 8

Emotional Stability

Answer 8

A personality dimension that characterizes someone as calm, self-confident, and secure (positive) versus nervous, depressed, and insecure (negative)

Question 9

Extraversion

Answer 9

A personality dimension describing someone who is sociable, gregarious, and assertive

Question 10

Openness to experience

Answer 10

A personality dimension that characterizes someone in terms of imagination, sensitivity, and curiosity

Question 11

Agreeableness

Answer 11

A personality dimension that describes someone who is good natured, cooperative, and trusting

Question 12

CSE

Answer 12

Core self-evaluation
CSEs are bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competence, and worth as a person
Self-esteem
Self-efficacy

Question 13

Positive CSEs

Answer 13

People with positive CSEs like themselves and see themselves as effective and in control of their environment

Question 14

Negative CSEs

Answer 14

Those with negative CSEs tend to dislike themselves, question their capabilities, and view themselves as powerless over their environment

Question 15

CSEs : Job satisfaction

Answer 15

People who are positive on this trait see more challenge in their jobs and attain more complex jobs

Question 16

Self-monitoring

Answer 16

A personality trait that measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors

Question 17

High self-monitors

Answer 17

Pay closer attention to the behavior of others and are more capable of conforming
Show less commitment to their organizations but receive better performance reviews
More likely to emerge as leaders
More mobile in their careers
Receive more promotions
More likely to occupy central positions in organizations

Question 18

We can accurately judge individuals’ personalities a few seconds after meeting them: True or false?

Answer 18

True
We can appraise others’ personalities only a few seconds after meeting them, sometimes even from a photo

Question 19

Proactive Personality

Answer 19

People who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs
Affected by context

Question 20

5-3 How do the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality help us to understand personality?

Answer 20

These personality traits predict important organizational outcomes
Personality is related to employability

Question 21

Dark Triad

Answer 21

A constellation of negative traits consisting of: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy

Question 22

Machiavellianism

Answer 22

The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means

Question 23

Narcissism

Answer 23

The tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of self-importance, require excessive admiration, and possess a sense of entitlement

Question 24

Psychopathy

Answer 24

The tendency for a lack of concern for others and a lack of guilt or remorse when actions cause harm

Question 25

Describe how personality affects job search and unemployment

Answer 25

Conscientiousness and extraversion are predictive of networking intensity, general job search intensity, interview callbacks, and job offers, even after controlling for demographic characteristics and the time spent unemployed

Question 26

Positive affectivity

Answer 26

Important in getting interviews, job offers, and becoming employed and coping with unemployment

Question 27

Approach and Avoidance traits

Answer 27

Traits that lead to approaching challenges head-on or avoiding them

Question 28

Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior

Answer 28

Personality and the situation both affect work behavior, but when the situation is right, the power of personality to predict behavior is even higher

Question 29

Situational strength theory

Answer 29

A theory indicating that the way personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation

Question 30

The Four Elements of Situation Strength in Organizations

Answer 30

Clarity
Consistency
Constraints
Consequences

Question 31

Clarity

Answer 31

The degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are available and clear
Jobs high in clarity produce strong situations because individuals can readily determine what to do (i.e., the job of janitor provides higher clarity of each task than the job of nanny)

Question 32

Consistency

Answer 32

The extent to which cuess regarding work duties and responsibilities are compatible with one another
Jobs with high consistency represent strong situations because all the cues point toward the same desired behavior (i.e., the job of acute care nurse has higher consistency than the job of manager)

Question 33

Constraints

Answer 33

The extent to which individuals’ freedom to decide or act is limited by forces outside their control
Jobs with many constraints represent strong situations because an individual has limited individual discretion (i.e., the job of bank examiner is one with stronger constraints than forest ranger)

Question 34

Consequences

Answer 34

The degree to which decisions or actions have imortant implications for the organization or its members, clients, suppliers, and so on
Jobs with important consequences represent strong situations because the environment is prbably heavily structured to guard against mistakes (i.e., a surgeon’s job has higher conequences than a foreign-language teacher’s)

Question 35

Why are organizations strong situations?

Answer 35

They impose rules, norms, and standards that govern behavior

Question 36

Trait Activation Theory (TAT)

Answer 36

TAT predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than others
Using TAT, we can foresee which jobs suit certain personalities (i.e., a compensation-based job will appeal more to an extravert as they are more reward-sensitive; in jobs that encourage creativity, differences in openness may better predict desired behavior than differences in extraversion)

Question 37

5-4 What are the strongest predictors of job search behavior?

Answer 37

Networking intensity
Conscientiousness and extraversion (2 strongest predictors)
Time structure
Self esteem
Self-efficacy

Question 38

Contrast terminal and instrumental values

Answer 38

Values one would like to achieve in their lifetime vs. modes of behavior and means of achieving one’s terminal values

Question 39

Values

Answer 39

Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence
Tend to be stable and enduring
Partly determined by genetically transmitted traits

Question 40

Value system

Answer 40

A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual’s values in terms of their intensity

Question 41

Organization of values

Answer 41

The foundation for understanding attitudes and motivation
Influence our perception

Question 42

Terminal values

Answer 42

Desirable end-states of existence; the goals a person would like to achieve during their lifetime

Question 43

Instrumental values

Answer 43

Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s terminal values

Question 44

Generational values

Answer 44

Values of importance to specific generations (boomers, xers, millennials, etc.)

Question 45

5-5 How does the situation or environment affect the degree to which personality predicts behavior?

Answer 45

Conscientiousness is helpful to the performance of most jobs
Extraversion is related to emergence as a leader

Question 46

5-6 What is the difference between terminal and instrumental values?

Answer 46

Terminal values are the goals one hopes to achieve in their lifetime while instrumental values are the means on uses to achieve those goals

Question 47

5-7 What are the differences between person–job fit and person–organization fit?

Answer 47

Person-job fit relates to a fit between personality type and occupational environment
Person-organization fit relates to people attracted to organizations that match their values

Question 48

Person-job fit theory

Answer 48

A theory that identifies six personality types and proposes that the fit between personality type and occupational environment determines satisfaction and turnover

Question 49

Person-organization fit theory

Answer 49

A theory that people are attracted to and selected by organizations that match their values, and leave when there is no compatibility

Question 50

5-8 How do Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the GLOBE framework differ?

Answer 50

Hofstede’s study was done in the ’70s specifically with IBM employees in 40 different countries
GLOBE began in 1993 and is an ongoing investigation of leadership and culture
Hofstede’s dimensions have stood the test of time while the GLOBE study confirmed them

Question 51

Hofstede’s five value dimensions

Answer 51

Power distance
Individualism
Collectivism
Masculinity versus Femininity
Uncertainty avoidance

Question 52

Power distance

Answer 52

A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally

Question 53

Individualism

Answer 53

A national culture attribute that describes the degree to which people prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups

Question 54

Collectivism

Answer 54

A national culture attribute that describes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after and protect them
The success of the team is more important overall than the success of any one individual

Question 55

Masculinity (in job culture)

Answer 55

A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which the culture favors traditional masculine work roles of achievement, power, and control. Societal values are chatacterized by assertiveness and materialism

Question 56

Femininity (in job culture)

Answer 56

A national culture attribute that indicates little differentiation between male and female roles; a high rating indicates that women are treated as equals of men in all aspects of the society

Question 57

Uncertainty avoidance

Answer 57

A national culture attribute that describes the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them

Question 58

Long-term versus short-term orientation

Answer 58

Long-term emphasizes the future, thrift, and persistence
Short-term emphasizes the present and accepts change

Question 59

GLOBE

Answer 59

Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness research program
An ongoing cross-cultural investigation of leadership and national culture

Question 60

Distributive bargaining

Answer 60

Claiming as large a piece of the pie as possible