Personality & Diversity Flashcards
What is personality and how is it determined?
= combination of physical, behavioral, and mental characteristics that are relatively stable and highly visible in weak situations
- determined by genetics and environmental factors
Explain strong vs. weak situations and name an example each
- a strong situation exerts pressure to behave in a certain way, which leads to similar behavior across people -> personality differences have almost no relation to behavior
e. g.: stopping in front of a red light, job interviews, classrooms etc. - weak situations contain little pressure as to an appropriate behavior; there are fewer norms, so people can behave freely and naturally
e.g.: an orange traffic light -> if you are a rather cautious person, you stop, whereas if you are rather daring, you would speed up and cross the intersection
other example: gatherings with friends etc.
What do personality traits underly, influence and predict?
- underly attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors
- influences how we deal with demands, resources etc. at work -> therefore: higher fit between person and job/ organization means higher satisfaction and performance
- traits predict many OB/HR-related outcomes, such as performance, career success and promotion
Name and explain the big 5
- Openness to beliefs and range of interests
- Conscientiousness (=Gewissenhaftigkeit): desire for order and precision
- Extraversion: comfort with friend- and relationships
- Agreeableness: ability to get along w/ others
- Emotional stability
Name the two strongest predictors (out of the big 5) for leadership
conscientiousness and extraversion (= most stable predictor of leadership)
Which two of the big 5 are prone to the dark triad? Also: explain the dark triad and its common characteristics
- openness and extraversion
- the dark triad comprises the personality traits of narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy
- > common characteristics include aggressiveness, low emotional empathy, and self-promotion
Explain the proactive personality and its connection to the big 5
- people with a proactive personality are people who:
- recognize opportunities
- take initiative and action, and
- -persevere until a meaningful change takes place
- related to conscientiousness and extraversion
- related to internal locus of control
- unconstrained by situational forces
- highly valued in today’s work and career
How do the big 5 change over time, respectively?
- Openness and Emotional stability mainly increase during student/ teenage years; while Openness remains relatively stable afterwards, Emotional stability increases again between 50-60 yrs.
- Conscientiousness (=Gewissenhaftigkeit): clear increase between 20-70 yrs.
- Extraversion: social vitality decreases between 22-30 yrs. and 60-70 yrs. but social dominance increases
- Agreeableness: non-significant increases until 40-50 yrs., but significant increases between 50-60 yrs.
Self-knowledge on which elements can improve your performance in work/ career/ life?
- self-efficiacy
- self-esteem
- locus of control: who is responsible - me or external forces?
- emotional stability
What is diversity and in which two levels is it divided?
- surface level diversity:
- differences in easily perceived characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity etc.
- > does not necessarily represent the way people think or feel !
- deep level diversity:
- differences in harder to see characteristics such as values, beliefs, and work preferences etc.
- > becomes progressively more important as people get to know each other
Explain the difference between managing diversity vs. affirmative action
- managing diversity: enacting organizational changes (e.g.: education, enforcement, and exposure) that enable all people to perform to the maximum of their potential
- affirmative action: intervention aimed at giving management a chance to correct past imbalance, injustice, or discrimination
Name benefits of diversity management from a business, moral and legal perspective
- business: improved employee attitudes and recruiting increased… -- sales and profits -- creativity and innovation -- group problem-solving skills
- moral:
- social equality -> equal opportunity for everyone
- democracy principle -> equal representation
- reduction of conflict in society
- legal:
- enforced laws, legislation, and procurements
Name challenges of diversity management
- stereotypes (to serve efficiency and self-affirmation)
- social expectations (e.g.: gender roles)
- ethnocentrism (= cultural or ethnic bias: -> evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one’s own culture)
- lack of formality/ objectivity in employment practices
- exclusive or even hostile climate
- ignorance -> resistance to change
Explain stereotypes and the two functions they serve
= individual’s set of beliefs about the characteristics or attributes of a certain group of people
= cognitive structures that provide knowledge, beliefs and expectations about individuals based on their social group membership
serve two functions - efficiency (as accurate as possible with least amount of effort) - self-affirmation (regulate and boost self-esteem)
Explain gender-related stereotypes and name two consequences
- beliefs that different traits and abilities make men and women particularly well suited for different roles
- > socialization prepares women and men for these different roles and lets women and men prefer positions/tasks that conform their gender role
consequences:
- intimidation
- differences in promotion (men are promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on performance) and wage negotiations
