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Organizational Behavior

Eighteenth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 3

Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

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Welcome to this Organizational Behavior course that uses the 18th edition of the textbook, Organizational Behavior by Robbins and Judge. This is considered among the most widely used OB textbooks in the world. Robbins and Judge are recognized as definitive aggregators of OB concepts, applications, and practices. The course and this book will provide you with a resource that will benefit you throughout your degree program and your professional life.

Chapter 3: Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

Learning Objectives

3.1 Contrast the three components of an attitude.

3.2 Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

3.3 Compare the major job attitudes.

3.4 Define job satisfaction.

3.5 Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

3.6 Identify three outcomes of job satisfaction.

3.7 Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Contrast the three components of an attitude.

Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

Compare the major job attitudes.

Define job satisfaction.

Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

Identify three outcomes of job satisfaction.

Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

Contrast the Three Components of an Attitude (1 of 2)

Attitudes are evaluative statements—either favorable or unfavorable—about objects, people, or events.

They reflect how we feel about something.

Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events. They reflect how we feel about something. In other words, saying “I like my job”, reflects your attitude toward work.

Contrast the Three Components of an Attitude (2 of 2)

Exhibit 3-1 The Components of an Attitude

Attitudes are made up of three components. The cognitive component is the belief in the way things are. The affective component is the more critical part of the attitude, as it is calls upon emotions or feelings. The behavioral component describes the intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.

These three components work together to aid in our understanding of the complexity of an attitude.

Summarize the Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior (1 of 2)

The attitudes that people hold determine what they do.

Festinger: cases of attitude following behavior illustrate the effects of cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is any incompatibility an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.

Research has generally concluded that people seek consistency among their attitudes and between their attitudes and their behavior.

Early research assumed that attitudes were causally related to behavior. One researcher, Leon Festinger, argued that attitudes follow behavior. Sometimes we observe people who will change what they say so it doesn’t contradict their behavior. When attitudes and behaviors don’t line up, individuals will experience cognitive dissonance. This incongruity is uncomfortable and individuals will seek to reduce the dissonance to find consistency.

People are willing to live with some discomfort, but the degree to which this is true depends on the importance of the elements, how much influence the individual has on the situation, and the rewards available.

Summarize the Relationship Between Attitudes and Behavior (2 of 2)

Moderating Variables:

Attitude’s importance

Correspondence to behavior

Accessibility

Presence of social pressures

Whether a person has direct experience with the attitude

The attitude-behavior relationship is likely to be much stronger if an attitude refers to something with which we have direct personal experience.

Some variables moderate the relationship between attitude and behavior. These variables include the importance of the attitude to the person, the correspondence of the attitude to the behavior, the accessibility of the attitude, the presence of social pressures on behavior, and the direct experience a person has with the attitude. These mitigating variables will affect whether or not and to what degree a certain attitude will predict behavior.

Finally, the attitude–behavior relationship is likely to be much stronger if an attitude refers to something with which we have direct personal experience.

Compare the Major Job Attitudes (1 of 5)

Job Satisfaction

A positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.

Job Involvement

Degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth.

Psychological Empowerment

Belief in the degree of influence over one’s job, competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy.

Most of the research in OB has been concerned with three major job attitudes: job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment. In addition, perceived organizational support and employee engagement are important.

Job satisfaction is the positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.

Job involvement looks at the degree of psychological identification with the job. Related to this is psychological empowerment, which is defined as employees’ beliefs in the degree to which they influence their work environment, their competencies, the meaningfulness of their job, and their perceived autonomy.

Compare the Major Job Attitudes (2 of 5)

Organizational Commitment

Identifying with a particular organization and its goals and wishing to maintain membership in the organization.

Employees who are committed will be less likely to engage in work withdrawal even if they are dissatisfied, because they have a sense of organizational loyalty.

Another important job attitude is organizational commitment, which is defined as the act of identifying with a particular organization and its goals, and wishing to remain a member of the organization.

Compare the Major Job Attitudes (3 of 5)

Perceived Organizational Support (POS)

Degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being.

Higher when rewards are fair, employees are involved in decision making, and supervisors are seen as supportive.

POS is important in countries where power distance is lower.

Perceived organizational support (or POS) is the degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being. The perception of fairness is a key factor in determining the willingness of employees to work hard for the organization. In addition, employees have a higher POS when they perceive that they have some input in decision making processes.

POS is important in countries where power distance, the degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally, is lower.

Compare the Major Job Attitudes (4 of 5)

Employee Engagement

The individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work.

Engaged employees are passionate about their work and company.

Employee engagement goes beyond just job satisfaction. It also includes involvement and enthusiasm for the job. Highly engaged employees have a passion for their work and feel a deep connection to their company. Disengaged employees have essentially checked out—putting time but not energy or attention into their work.

Engagement is a real concern for most organizations because surveys indicate that few—between 17 percent and 29 percent—are highly engaged by their work. Engagement is a very general concept, perhaps broad enough to capture the intersection of the other variables we’ve discussed. In other words, it may be what these attitudes have in common.

Compare the Major Job Attitudes (5 of 5)

Are these job attitudes really all that distinct?

No, these attitudes are highly related; and while there is some distinction, there is also a lot of overlap that may cause confusion.

There is a high degree of overlap between the different job attitudes. For example, if a worker has higher job satisfaction, he or she tends to be more engaged and show a stronger commitment to the organization. Researchers are trying to find ways to measure the different attitudes in order to get at their distinctiveness.

Define Job Satisfaction (1 of 5)

Exhibit 3-2 Worst Jobs of 2016 for Job Satisfaction*

*Based on physical demands, work environment, income, stress, and hiring outlook.

Source: Based on CareerCast.com (2016), http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/worst-jobs-2016.

When it comes to job satisfaction, some jobs are less attractive, as shown in Exhibit 3-2.

Define Job Satisfaction (2 of 5)

Job Satisfaction

A positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics.

Two approaches for measuring job satisfaction are popular

The single global rating.

The summation of job facets.

As we have discussed, job satisfaction is defined as a positive feeling about a job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. There are multiple ways to measure job satisfaction, but two approaches are popular.

The single global rating approach is a response to one question, such as, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?” Respondents circle a number between 1 and 5 on a scale from “highly satisfied” to “highly dissatisfied.”

The second approach, the summation of job facets, is more sophisticated. It identifies key elements in a job, such as the nature of the work, supervision, present pay, promotion opportunities, and relations with coworkers.

Define Job Satisfaction (3 of 5)

How satisfied are people in their jobs?

Over the last 30 years, employees in the U.S. and most developed countries have generally been satisfied with their jobs.

With the recent economic downturn, more workers are less satisfied.

Satisfaction levels differ depending on the facet involved.

There are cultural differences in job satisfaction.

Research shows that over the past 30 years, the majority of U.S. workers have been satisfied with their jobs. However, the recent economic downturn has generated a dramatic drop-off in satisfaction levels, with just half of workers reporting feeling satisfied now.

The exhibits on the following two slides illustrate additional details regarding differences among job satisfaction, including the affect of particular facets and cultural context.

Define Job Satisfaction (4 of 5)

Exhibit 3-3 Average Job Satisfaction Levels by Facet

As shown here in Exhibit 3-3, people have typically been more satisfied with their jobs overall, with the work itself, and with their supervisors and coworkers, than they have been with their pay and promotion opportunities.

Define Job Satisfaction (5 of 5)

Exhibit 3-4 Average Levels of Employee Job Satisfaction by Country

Source: Based on J. H. Westover, “The Impact of Comparative State-Directed Development on Working Conditions and Employee Satisfaction,” Journal of Management & Organization 19, no. 4 (2013): 537–54.

Exhibit 3-4 provides results of a global study of job satisfaction levels of workers in 15 countries. Mexico and Switzerland report the highest levels of job satisfaction.

Summarize the Main Causes of Job Satisfaction (1 of 3)

What causes job satisfaction?

Job conditions

The intrinsic nature of the work itself, social interactions, and supervision are important predictors of satisfaction and employee well-being.

Personality

People who have positive core self-evaluations, who believe in their inner worth and basic competence, are more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative core self-evaluations.

Interesting jobs that provide training, variety, independence, and control satisfy most employees. There is also a strong correspondence between how well people enjoy the social context of their workplace and how satisfied they are overall. Interdependence, feedback, social support, and interaction with coworkers outside the workplace are strongly related to job satisfaction even after accounting for characteristics of the work itself.

Personality also plays a role in job satisfaction. Research has shown that people who have positive core self-evaluations, who believe in their inner worth and basic competence, are more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative core self-evaluations.

Pay also has an influence on job satisfaction but not as much as one might think. We’ll look at it in the next slide.

Summarize the Main Causes of Job Satisfaction (2 of 3)

Exhibit 3-5 Relationship between Average Pay in Job and Job Satisfaction of Employees in That Job

Source: Based on T. A. Judge, R. F. Piccolo, N. P. Podsakoff, J. C. Shaw, and B. L. Rich, “The Relationship between Pay and Job Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature,” Journal of Vocational Behavior 77, no. 2 (2010): 157–67.

Exhibit 3-5 shows the relationship between the average pay for a job and the average level of job satisfaction. Once an individual reaches a level of comfortable living (in the United States, that occurs at about $40,000 a year, depending on the region and family size), the relationship between pay and job satisfaction virtually disappears. Money does motivate people, as we will discover in Chapter 6, but what motivates us is not necessarily the same as what makes us happy.

Summarize the Main Causes of Job Satisfaction (3 of 3)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR): self-regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law.

Includes environmental sustainability initiatives, nonprofit work, and charitable giving.

Increasingly affects employee job satisfaction.

CSR is particularly important for Millennials.

But, not everyone finds value in CSR.

An organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), or its self-regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law, increasingly affects employee job satisfaction. Organizations practice CSR in a number of ways, including environmental sustainability initiatives, nonprofit work, and charitable giving.

The relationship between CSR and job satisfaction is particularly strong for Millennials.

Although the link between CSR and job satisfaction is strengthening, not all employees find value in CSR. Therefore, organizations need to address a few issues in order to be most effective:

First, not all projects are equally meaningful for every person’s job satisfaction, yet participation for all employees is sometimes expected.

Second, some organizations require employees to contribute in a prescribed manner.

Third, CSR measures can seem disconnected from the employee’s actual work, providing no increase to job satisfaction.

Outcomes of Job Satisfaction

Job Performance

Happy workers are more likely to be productive workers.

OCB

People who are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to engage in OCB.

Customer Satisfaction

Satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Life Satisfaction

Research shows that job satisfaction is positively correlated with life satisfaction.

Now, let’s look at specific outcomes of job satisfaction related to job performance, OCB, customer satisfaction, and life satisfaction.

Job Performance: Happy workers are more likely to be productive workers—the evidence suggests that productivity is likely to lead to satisfaction.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB): It seems logical to assume job satisfaction should be a major determinant of an employee’s organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Finally, research shows that when people are more satisfied with their jobs, they are more likely to engage in OCBs.

Customer Satisfaction: Evidence indicates that satisfied employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Life Satisfaction: Research in Europe indicated that job satisfaction is positively correlated with life satisfaction, and your attitudes and experiences in life spill over in to your job approaches and experiences. Furthermore, life satisfaction decreases when people become unemployed.

Four Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction (1 of 2)

Exhibit 3-6 Responses to Dissatisfaction from

What happens when employees dislike their jobs? The exit–voice–loyalty–neglect framework shown in Exhibit 3-6 is helpful for understanding the consequences of dissatisfaction.

The exhibit illustrates employees’ four responses to job dissatisfaction, which differ along two dimensions: constructive/destructive and active/passive.

The responses are as follows:

Exit. The exit response directs behavior toward leaving the organization, including looking for a new position or resigning.

Voice. The voice response includes actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements, discussing problems with superiors, and undertaking union activity.

Loyalty. The loyalty response means passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve, including speaking up for the organization in the face of external criticism and trusting the organization and its management to “do the right thing.”

Neglect. The neglect response passively allows conditions to worsen and includes chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate.

Four Employee Responses to Dissatisfaction (2 of 2)

Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB)

Counterproductive work behavior: actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, or being late or absent.

Absenteeism: the more satisfied you are, the less likely you are to miss work.

Turnover: a pattern of lowered job satisfaction is the best predictor of intent to leave.

Managers Often “Don’t Get It”

In addition, we can look at job dissatisfaction by exploring counterproductive work behavior. Substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socializing, gossiping, absenteeism, and tardiness are examples of behaviors that are destructive to organizations.

They are indicators of a broader syndrome called counterproductive work behavior (CWB), also termed deviant behavior in the workplace, or simply employee withdrawal. CWB doesn’t just happen—the behaviors often follow negative and sometimes longstanding attitudes. Generally, job dissatisfaction predicts CWB. People who are not satisfied with their work become frustrated, which lowers their performance and makes them more likely to commit CWB. Other research suggests that, in addition to vocational misfit (being in the wrong line of work), lack of fit with the organization (working in the wrong kind of organizational culture) also predicts CWBs.

As a manager, you can take steps to mitigate CWB. You can poll employee attitudes, for instance, and identify areas for workplace improvement. If there is no vocational fit, the employee will not be fulfilled, so you can screen for that. Tailoring tasks so a person’s abilities and values can be exercised should increase job satisfaction and reduce CWB. Furthermore, creating strong teams, integrating supervisors with them, providing formalized team policies, and introducing team-based incentives may help lower the CWB “contagion” that lowers the standards of the group.

Absenteeism: We find a consistent negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism. The more satisfied you are, the less likely you are to miss work.

Turnover: Satisfaction is also negatively related to turnover, but the correlation is stronger than what we found for absenteeism.

Workplace Deviance: Job dissatisfaction predicts unionization, stealing, undue socializing, and tardiness. If employees don’t like their work environment, they will respond somehow.

Managers Often “Don’t Get It”

It should come as no surprise that job satisfaction can affect the bottom line. Regular surveys can reduce gaps between what managers think employees feel and what they really feel.

Implications for Managers (1 of 2)

Of the major job attitudes – job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support (POS), and employee engagement – remember that an employee’s job satisfaction level is the best single predictor of behavior.

Pay attention to your employees’ job satisfaction levels as determinants of their performance, turnover, absenteeism, and withdrawal behaviors.

Creating a satisfied workforce is not a guarantee of successful performance, but managers should make it a priority as much as possible. In particular, managers should:

Of the major job attitudes—job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support (POS), and employee engagement—remember that an employee’s job satisfaction level is the best single predictor of behavior.

Pay attention to employees’ job satisfaction levels as determinants of their performance, turnover, absenteeism, and withdrawal behaviors.

Implications for Managers (2 of 2)

Measure employee job attitudes objectively and at regular intervals to determine how employees are reacting to their work.

To raise employee satisfaction, evaluate the fit between the employee’s work interests and the intrinsic parts of his/her job to create work that is challenging and interesting to the individual.

Consider the fact that high pay alone is unlikely to create a satisfying work environment.

Measure employee job attitudes objectively and at regular intervals to determine how employees are reacting to their work.

Evaluate the fit between the employee’s work interests and the intrinsic parts of his/her job to create work that is challenging and interesting to the individual.

Consider the fact that high pay alone is unlikely to create a satisfying work environment.

Learning Objectives

3.1 Contrast the three components of an attitude.

3.2 Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

3.3 Compare the major job attitudes.

3.4 Define job satisfaction.

3.5 Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

3.6 Identify three outcomes of job satisfaction.

3.7 Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Contrast the three components of an attitude.

Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior.

Compare the major job attitudes.

Define job satisfaction.

Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.

Identify three outcomes of job satisfaction.

Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.

Questions

Organizational Behavior

Eighteenth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 4

Personality and Values

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Chapter 5: Personality and Values

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

4.1 Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.

4.2 Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality framework and the Big Five model.

4.3 Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.

4.4 Describe how personality affects job search and unemployment.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and the Big Five model.

Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.

Describe how personality affects job search and unemployment.

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

4.5 Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.

4.6 Contrast terminal and instrumental values.

4.7 Describe the differences between person-job fit and person-organization fit.

4.8 Compare Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the GLOBE framework.

Additional objectives for this chapter.

Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.

Contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Describe the differences between person-job fit and person-organization fit.

Compare Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the GLOBE framework.

Describe Personality, the Way It Is Measured, and the Factors that Shape It (1 of 4)

Defining Personality

Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system.

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

We begin by defining personality. Personality is a dynamic concept, meaning it is changing all the time. It describes the total of growth and development of a person’s whole psychological system. The text definition is that personality is the sum of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with others.

Describe Personality, the Way It Is Measured, and the Factors that Shape It (2 of 4)

Measuring Personality

Managers need to know how to measure personality.

Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best for a job.

The most common means of measuring personality is through self-report surveys.

One of the greatest challenges in the study of personality is its measurement. Managers need to know how to measure personality because accurately measuring personality gives managers an advantage in the recruitment and hiring processes. Typically, personality is measured using self-report surveys.

Research indicates our culture influences the way we rate ourselves. People in individualistic countries trend toward self-enhancement, while people in collectivist countries such as Taiwan, China, and South Korea trend toward self-diminishment.

Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of personality. Here, a coworker or another observer does the rating.

Though the results of self-reports and observer-ratings surveys are strongly correlated, research suggests observer-ratings surveys predict job success more than self-ratings alone.

However, each can tell us something unique about an individual’s behavior, so a combination of self-reports and observer reports predicts performance better than any one type of information.

Describe Personality, the Way It Is Measured, and the Factors that Shape It (3 of 4)

Personality Determinants

Is personality the result of heredity or environment?

Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception.

The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.

An early argument centered on whether or not personality was the result of heredity or environment. Personality appears to be a result of both influences. Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception. The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.

Describe Personality, the Way It Is Measured, and the Factors that Shape It (4 of 4)

Early research tried to identify and label enduring personality characteristics.

Shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid.

These are personality traits.

Popular characteristics include shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and timid. These are personality traits. The more consistent the characteristic over time, and the more frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more important the trait is in describing the individual.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (1 of 7)

The most widely used personality framework is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Individuals are classified as:

Extroverted or Introverted (E or I)

Sensing or Intuitive (S or N)

Thinking or Feeling (T or F)

Perceiving or Judging (P or J)

INTJs are visionaries.

ESTJs are organizers.

ENTPs are conceptualizers.

The most widely used personality framework is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Individuals are classified as Extroverted or Introverted (E or I), Sensing or Intuitive (S or N), Thinking or Feeling (T or F), and Perceiving or Judging (P or J). These classifications are then combined into 16 personality types.

INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and great drive. They are characterized as skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn.

ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, and have a natural head for business or mechanics.

ENTPs are conceptualizers. They are innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. They tend to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments.

MBTI is widely used. It is taken by over 2.5 million people each year and 89 of the Fortune 100 companies use it.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (2 of 7)

The Big Five Model

Extraversion

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

Emotional stability

Openness to experience

An impressive body of research supports that five basic dimensions underlie all other personality dimensions. The five basic dimensions are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience. Let’s look at each of these for a minute.

Extraversion is a comfort level with relationships. Extroverts tend to be gregarious, assertive, and sociable. Introverts tend to be reserved, timid, and quiet.

Agreeableness is an Individual’s propensity to defer to others. People who are high on agreeableness are cooperative, warm, and trusting. Low agreeableness is indicated by people who are cold, disagreeable, and antagonistic.

Conscientiousness is a measure of reliability. A highly conscientious person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent. Those who score low on this dimension are easily distracted, disorganized, and unreliable.

Emotional stability describes a person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Those with high negative scores tend to be nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure.

And lastly, openness to experience suggests the range of interests and fascination with novelty. Extremely open people are creative, curious, and artistically sensitive. Those at the other end of the openness category are conventional and find comfort in the familiar.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (3 of 7)

Exhibit 4-1 Traits That Matter Most to Business Success at Buyout Companies

Most Important	Less Important
Persistence	Strong oral communication
Attention to detail	Teamwork
Efficiency	Flexibility/adaptability
Analytical skills	Enthusiasm
Setting high standards	Listening skills

Source: Based on S. N. Kaplan, M. M. Klebanov, and M. Sorensen, “Which CEO Characteristics and Abilities Matter?” The Journal of Finance 67, no. 3 (2012): 973–1007.

Exhibit 5-1 shows the results of research on personality scores of CEO candidates. The study found that conscientiousness—in the form of persistence, attention to detail, and setting of high standards—was more important than other traits. These results attest to the importance of conscientiousness to organizational success. Although conscientiousness is the best predictor of job performance, other traits are also important.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (4 of 7)

Exhibit 4-2 Model of How Big Five Traits Influence OB Criteria

All five traits also have other implications for work and for life. Let’s look at these one at a time. Exhibit 5-2 summarizes the points.

Of the Big Five traits, emotional stability is most strongly related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and reduced intentions to quit and burnout.

People with high emotional stability can adapt to unexpected or changing demands in the workplace.

Extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence and behaviors in groups. Extraverts also tend to have generally high job satisfaction and reduced burnout. Some negatives are that extraverts can appear to be self-aggrandizing, egoistic, or too dominating and that their social behavior can be disadvantageous for jobs that do not require frequent social interaction.

Individuals who score high on openness to experience are more likely to be effective leaders and are more comfortable with ambiguity. They cope better with organizational change and are more adaptable in changing contexts.

Agreeable individuals are better liked than disagreeable people, which explains why they should perform well in interpersonally oriented jobs such as customer service.

They experience less work–family conflict and are less likely to turnover. People who are agreeable are more satisfied in their jobs and contribute to organizational performance by engaging in citizenship behavior. They are also less likely to engage in organizational deviance.

One downside is that agreeableness is associated with lower levels of career success.

The five personality factors identified in the Big Five model appear in almost all cross-cultural studies.

These studies have included a wide variety of diverse cultures such as China, Israel, Germany, Japan, Spain, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, and the United States. Generally, the findings corroborate what has been found in U.S. research: of the Big Five traits, conscientiousness is the best predictor of job performance.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (5 of 7)

The Dark Triad

Machiavellianism: the degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means.

Narcissism: the tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of self-importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement.

Psychopathy: the tendency for a lack of concern for others and a lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm.

The Dark Triad is a group of negative personality traits including Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy – all three of which have relevance for organizational behavior.

Machiavellianism is the degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means. Narcissism refers to the tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense of self-importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense of entitlement. And psychopathy is the tendency for a lack of concern for others and a lack of guilt or remorse when their actions cause harm.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (6 of 7)

An emerging framework to study dark side traits:

First, antisocial people are indifferent and callous toward others.

Second, borderline people have low self-esteem and high uncertainty.

The Dark Triad is a helpful framework for studying the three dominant dark-side traits in current personality research, and researchers are exploring other traits as well.

One emerging framework incorporates five additional aberrant compound traits based on the Big Five.

First, antisocial people are indifferent and callous toward others.

Second, borderline people have low self-esteem and high uncertainty.

Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model (7 of 7)

Third, schizotypal individuals are eccentric and disorganized.

Fourth, obsessive compulsive people are perfectionists and can be stubborn, yet they attend to details, carry a strong work ethic, and may be motivated by achievement.

Fifth, avoidant individuals feel inadequate and hate criticism.

Third, schizotypal individuals are eccentric and disorganized.

Fourth, obsessive-compulsive people are perfectionists and can be stubborn, yet they attend to details, carry a strong work ethic, and may be motivated by achievement.

Fifth, avoidant individuals feel inadequate and hate criticism.

CSE, Self-Monitoring, and Proactive Personality

Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB

Core Self-Evaluation: bottom line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities, competence, and worth as a person.

Self-Monitoring: measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors.

Proactive Personality: people who identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere until meaningful change occurs.

Some other personality traits relevant to OB include core self-evaluation, self-monitoring, and proactive personality.

People who have a positive core self-evaluation see themselves as effective, capable, and in control. People who have a negative core self-evaluation tend to dislike themselves.

Self-monitoring refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behavior to external, situational factors. Individuals high in self-monitoring show considerable adaptability. They are highly sensitive to external cues, can behave differently in different situations, and are capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public persona and their private selves.

An individual with a proactive personality actively takes the initiative to improve his or her current circumstances. These individuals identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and persevere.

The Situation, Job Search, and Unemployment

What personality characteristics predict job search behaviors among the unemployed?

Conscientiousness and extraversion are the two strongest predictors of job search behavior,

Self-esteem and self-efficacy (parts of CSE) are also important.

How does personality influence our job search outcomes and operate during our unemployed periods?

Many studies of unemployed job seekers have found that conscientiousness and extraversion were predictive of networking intensity, general job-search intensity, interviews, and job offers, even after controlling for demographic characteristics and the time spent unemployed.

Overall, one review suggests that conscientiousness and extraversion are the two strongest predictors of job search behavior, although self-esteem and self-efficacy (parts of CSE) are also important.

Additional work on unemployed university students suggests that positive affectivity is also important in getting interviews, job offers, and becoming employed—primarily because the positive affect enables the students to have a clearer and more open perspective toward the job search process, engage in more self-monitoring of their motivation, and through reducing procrastination. Negative affectivity and hostility can have the reverse effect.

It appears that extraversion, conscientiousness, and positive affectivity tend to have a substantial effect on becoming employed and coping with unemployment (with negative affectivity and hostility having equivalent negative effects).

Finally, as we will discuss further in the next section, the situation and context matters as well. The experience of unemployment is not the same for everyone across the board—it can be different for new entrants to the labor market (college grads), those who have just lost their jobs, and those who are employed, seeking jobs.

The Situation, Personality, and Behavior (1 of 3)

Situation strength theory: indicates that the way personality translates into behavior depends on the strength of the situation.

The degree to which norms, cues, or standards dictate appropriate behavior.

Clarity

Consistency

Constraints

Consequences

Research shows that the effect of a particular trait on organizational behavior depends on the situation. Two theoretical frameworks that can help explain this are the situation strength theory and trait activation theory.

Situation strength in an organization can be analyzed in terms of:

Clarity, or the degree to which cues about work duties and responsibilities are available and clear.

Consistency, or the extent to which cues regarding work duties and responsibilities are compatible with one another.

Constraints, or the extent to which individuals’ freedom to decide or act is limited by forces outside their control.

Consequences, or the degree to which decisions or actions have important implications for the organization or its members, clients, suppliers, and so on.

The Situation, Personality, and Behavior (2 of 3)

Exhibit 4-3 Trait Activation Theory: Jobs in Which Certain Big Five Traits Are More Relevant

Detail Orientation Required	Social Skills Required	Competitive Work	Innovation Required	Dealing with Angry People	Time Pressure (Deadlines)
Jobs scoring high (the traits listed here should predict behavior in these jobs)	blank	blank	blank	blank	blank
Air traffic controller	Clergy	Coach/scout	Actor	Correctional officer	Broadcast news analyst
Accountant	Therapist	Financial manager	Systems analyst	Telemarketer	Editor
Legal secretary	Concierge	Sales representative	Advertising writer	Flight attendant	Airline pilot
Jobs scoring low (the traits listed here should not predict behavior in these jobs)	blank	blank	blank	blank	blank
Forester	Software engineer	Postal clerk	Court reporter	Composer	Skincare specialist
Masseuse	Pump operator	Historian	Archivist	Biologist	Mathematician

Trait activation theory predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than others. Exhibit 5-3, shown here, provides specific examples of this theory.

The Situation, Personality, and Behavior (3 of 3)

[Exhibit 4-3 Continued]

Detail Orientation Required	Social Skills Required	Competitive Work	Innovation Required	Dealing with Angry People	Time Pressure (Deadlines)
Model	Broadcast technician	Nuclear reactor operator	Medical technician	Statistician	Fitness trainer
Jobs that score high activate these traits (make them more relevant to predicting behavior)	blank	blank	blank	blank	blank
Conscientiousness (+)	Extraversion (+)	Extraversion (+)	Openness (+)	Extraversion (+)	Conscientiousness (+)
Blank	Agreeableness (+)	Agreeableness (–)	Blank	Agreeableness (+)	Neuroticism (–)
Blank	Blank	Blank	Blank	Neuroticism (–)	Blank

Trait activation theory predicts that some situations, events, or interventions “activate” a trait more than others. Exhibit 5-3, shown here, provides specific examples of this theory.

Contrast Terminal and Instrumental Values (1 of 3)

Values: basic convictions about what is right, good, or desirable.

Value system: ranks values in terms of intensity.

The Importance and Organization of Values

Values:

Lay the foundation for understanding of attitudes and motivation.

Influence attitudes and behaviors.

Values represent basic convictions that a person has about what is right, good, or desirable. Values have both content and intensity attributes, and have the tendency to be stable and enduring. An individual’s set of values ranked in terms of intensity is considered the person’s value system. Values lay the foundation for our understanding of attitudes and motivation and generally influence attitudes and behaviors.

Contrast Terminal and Instrumental Values (2 of 3)

Terminal vs. Instrumental Values

Terminal values: desirable end-states of existence.

Instrumental values: preferred modes of behavior or means of achieving terminal values.

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. Terminal values refer to desirable end-states of existence. These are the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime. Instrumental values refer to preferable modes of behavior, that is, the means of achieving the terminal values.

Contrast Terminal and Instrumental Values (3 of 3)

Exhibit 4-4 Dominant Work Values in Today’s Workforce

Cohort	Entered the Workforce	Approximate Current Age	Dominant Work Values
Boomers	1965–1985	50s to 70s	Success, achievement, ambition, dislike of authority; loyalty to career
Xers	1985–2000	Mid-30s to 50s	Work-life balance, team-oriented, dislike of rules; loyalty to relationships
Millennials	2000 to present	To mid-30s	Confident, financial success, self-reliant but team-oriented; loyalty to both self and relationships

Exhibit 5-4 shows that different generations hold different work values. Boomers (Baby Boomers) entered the workforce during the 1960s through the mid-1980s. Xers (Generation Xers) entered the workforce beginning in the mid-1980s. The most recent entrants to the workforce are the Millennials. Though it is fascinating to think about generational values, remember that these classifications lack solid research support. Generational classifications may help us understand our own and other generations better, but we must also appreciate their limits.

Person-Job Fit vs. Person-Organization Fit (1 of 3)

Exhibit 4-5 Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations

Type	Personality Characteristics	Congruent Occupations
Realistic: Prefers physical activities that require skill, strength, and coordination	Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, conforming, practical	Mechanic, drill press operator, assembly-line worker, farmer
Investigative: Prefers activities that involve thinking, organizing, and understanding	Analytical, original, curious, independent	Biologist, economist, mathematician, news reporter
Social: Prefers activities that involve helping and developing others	Sociable, friendly, cooperative, understanding	Social worker, teacher, counselor, clinical psychologist
Conventional: Prefers rule-regulated, orderly, and unambiguous activities	Conforming, efficient, practical, unimaginative, inflexible	Accountant, corporate manager, bank teller, file clerk
Enterprising: Prefers verbal activities in which there are opportunities to influence others and attain power	Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, domineering	Lawyer, real estate agent, public relations specialist, small business manager
Artistic: Prefers ambiguous and unsystematic activities that allow creative expression	Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, emotional, impractical	Painter, musician, writer, interior decorator

The concept of Person-Job Fit is best articulated in John Holland’s personality-job fit theory as shown in Exhibit 5-5. Holland presents six personality types and proposes that satisfaction and the propensity to leave a job depends on the degree to which individuals successfully match their personalities to an occupational environment. He identifies six personality types: realistic, investigative, social, conventional, enterprising, and artistic.

Person-Job Fit vs. Person-Organization Fit (2 of 3)

Person-Organization Fit

People high on extraversion fit well with aggressive and team-oriented cultures.

People high on agreeableness match up better with a supportive organizational climate than one focused on aggressiveness.

People high on openness to experience fit better in organizations that emphasize innovation rather than standardization.

The Person-Organization Fit is most important for an organization facing a dynamic and changing environment. Such organizations require employees who are able to readily change tasks and move fluidly between teams. It argues that people leave jobs that are not matched with their personalities.

Using the Big Five terminology, for instance, we could expect that people high on extraversion fit well with aggressive and team-oriented cultures, that people high on agreeableness match up better with a supportive organizational climate than one focused on aggressiveness, and that people high on openness to experience fit better in organizations that emphasize innovation rather than standardization. Research on person-organization fit has also looked at whether people’s values match the organization’s culture. This match predicts job satisfaction, commitment to the organization, and low turnover.

Person-Job Fit vs. Person-Organization Fit (3 of 3)

Other Dimensions of Fit

Although person-job fit and person-organization fit are considered the most salient dimensions for workplace outcomes, other avenues of fit are worth examining.

Person-group fit

Person-supervisor fit

Although person-job fit and person-organization fit are considered the most salient dimensions for workplace outcomes, other avenues of fit are worth examining.

These include person-group fit and person-supervisor fit.

Person-group fit is important in team settings, where the dynamics of team interactions significantly affect work outcomes.

Person-supervisor fit has become an important area of research since poor fit in this dimension can lead to lower job satisfaction and reduced performance.

Hofstede’s Five Value Dimensions and GLOBE (1 of 2)

Hofstede’s Framework

Power distance

Individualism versus collectivism

Masculinity versus femininity

Uncertainty avoidance

Long-term versus short-term orientation

Hofstede’s framework for assessing cultures suggests five value dimensions of national culture.

Power distance: is the degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.

Individualism versus collectivism: individualism is the degree to which people in a country prefer to act as individuals rather than as members of groups. Collectivism emphasizes a tight social framework in which people expect others in groups in which they are a part to look after them and protect them.

Masculinity versus femininity: masculinity is the degree to which values such as the acquisition of money and material goods prevail. Femininity is the degree to which people value relationships and show sensitivity and concern for others.

Uncertainty avoidance: is the degree to which people in a country prefer structured over unstructured situations.

Long-term versus short-term orientation: long-term orientations look to the future and value thrift and persistence. Short-term orientation values the here and now; they accept change more readily and don’t see commitments as impediments to change.

Hofstede’s Five Value Dimensions and GLOBE (2 of 2)

The GLOBE Framework for Assessing Culture

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) research program updated Hofstede’s research.

Data from 825 organizations and 62 countries.

Used variables similar to Hofstede’s.

Added some news ones.

The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) program began updating Hofstede’s research using data from 825 organizations and 62 countries. The variables studied are similar to Hofstede’s, with some additional ones as well. For example, performance orientation is the degree to which a society encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence, and humane orientation is the degree to which a society rewards individuals for being altruistic, generous, and kind to others.

Implications for Managers (1 of 2)

Consider screening job candidates for high conscientiousness—and the other Big Five traits—depending on the criteria your organization finds most important. Other aspects, such as core self-evaluation or narcissism, may be relevant in certain situations.

Although the MBTI has faults, you can use it for training and development; to help employees better understand each other, open communication in work groups, and possibly reduce conflicts.

Personality matters to organizational behavior. It doesn’t explain all behavior, but it sets the stage. Emerging theory and research reveal how personality matters more in some situations than others. The Big Five has been a particularly important advancement, though the Dark Triad and other traits matter as well. Every trait has advantages and disadvantages for work behavior, and there is no perfect constellation of traits that is ideal in every situation. Personality can help you to understand why people (including yourself!) act, think, and feel the way we do, and the astute manager can put that understanding to use by taking care to place employees in situations that best fit their personalities. An understanding of personality can also help you understand what strengths you may have (and should strive for) when searching for a job.

Although the MBTI has faults, you can use it for training and development; to help employees better understand each other, open communication in work groups, and possibly reduce conflicts.

Implications for Managers (2 of 2)

Evaluate jobs, work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal personality fit.

Consider situational factors when evaluating observable personality traits, and lower the situation strength to better ascertain personality characteristics more closely.

The more you consider people’s different cultures, the better you will be able to determine their work behavior and create a positive organizational climate that performs well.

Evaluate jobs, work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal personality fit.

Consider situational factors when evaluating observable personality traits, and lower the situation strength to better ascertain personality characteristics more closely.

The more you consider people’s different cultures, the better you will be able to determine their work behavior and create a positive organizational climate that performs well.

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)

4.1 Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.

4.2 Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality framework and the Big Five model.

4.3 Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.

4.4 Describe how personality affects job search and unemployment.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and the Big Five model.

Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.

Describe how personality affects job search and unemployment.

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)

4.5 Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.

4.6 Contrast terminal and instrumental values.

4.7 Describe the differences between person-job fit and person-organization fit.

4.8 Compare Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the GLOBE framework.

Additional objectives for this chapter.

Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.

Contrast terminal and instrumental values.

Describe the differences between person-job fit and person-organization fit.

Compare Hofstede’s five value dimensions and the GLOBE framework.

Questions?