Personality and Org. fairness

Personality and Individual Behavior

Let's now begin to focus more specifically on the role and importance of an individual's personality as it relates to both work outcomes and the various forms of it.  Personality  is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish one person from another. A longstanding debate among psychologists—often expressed as “nature versus nurture”—concerns the extent to which personality attributes are inherited from our parents (the “nature” argument) or shaped by our environment (the “nurture” argument). In reality, both biological and environmental factors play important roles in determining our personalities. Although the details of this debate are beyond the scope of our discussion here, managers should strive to understand basic personality attributes and how they can affect people's behavior and fit in organizational situations, not to mention their perceptions of and attitudes toward the organization.

The “Big Five” Framework

Psychologists have identified literally thousands of personality traits and dimensions that differentiate one person from another. But in recent years, researchers have identified five fundamental personality traits that are especially relevant to organizations. These traits, illustrated in Figure 3.1, are now commonly called the  “Big Five” personality traits . As suggested by the figure, the personality of any given person can fall anywhere along each of these five traits.

Figure 3.1“Big Five” personality traits

The “big five” personality framework is currently very popular among researchers and managers. These five dimensions represent fundamental personality traits presumed to be important in determining the behaviors of individuals in organizations. In general, experts agree that personality traits closer to the left end of each dimension are more positive in organizational settings, whereas traits closer to the right are less positive.

Agreeableness  refers to a person's ability to get along with others. Agreeableness causes some people to be gentle, cooperative, forgiving, understanding, and good-natured in their dealings with others. Lack of it results in others' being irritable, short-tempered, uncooperative, and generally antagonistic toward other people. Researchers have not yet fully investigated the effects of agreeableness, but it seems likely that highly agreeable people are better at developing good working relationships with coworkers, subordinates, and higher-level managers, whereas less agreeable people are not likely to have particularly good working relationships. The same pattern might extend to relationships with customers, suppliers, and other key organizational constituents.

Conscientiousness refers to the extent to which a person can be counted on to get things done. Some people, for example, are organized, detail-oriented, responsible, dependable, and plan carefully to order to meet deadlines. These individuals can be characterized as being strong on conscientiousness. Less conscientious people may be prone to missing deadlines, overlooking various tasks, being unorganized, and being generally less dependable. In general, research suggests that being strong on conscientiousness is often a good predictor of job performance for many jobs.

Conscientiousness refers to the extent that a person can be counted on to get things done. This group is acknowledging the work of one of their colleagues and his efforts to help them complete a project on time. He most likely has a high level of conscientiousness. Further, given how his colleagues seem to genuinely like him he most likely also has a high degree of agreeableness.

DAVID WOOLLEY/DIGITAL VISION/GETTY IMAGES

The third of the Big Five personality dimensions is  neuroticism . People who are relatively more neurotic tend to experience unpleasant emotions such as anger, anxiety, depression, and feelings of vulnerability more often than do people who are relatively less neurotic. People who are less neurotic are relatively poised, calm, resilient, and secure; people who are more neurotic are more excitable, insecure, reactive, and subject to extreme mood swings. People with less neuroticism might be expected to better handle job stress, pressure, and tension. Their stability might also lead them to be seen as being more reliable than their less stable counterparts.

Extraversion  reflects a person's comfort level with relationships. Extroverts are sociable, talkative, assertive, and open to establishing new relationships. Introverts are much less sociable, talkative, and assertive, and more reluctant to begin new relationships. Research suggests that extroverts tend to be higher overall job performers than introverts and that they are more likely to be attracted to jobs based on personal relationships, such as sales and marketing positions. For this particular trait, the opposite version is also given a name— introversion . An introvert tends to be less comfortable in social situations.

Finally,  openness  reflects a person's rigidity of beliefs and range of interests. People with high levels of openness are willing to listen to new ideas and to change their own ideas, beliefs, and attitudes in response to new information. They also tend to have broad interests and to be curious, imaginative, and creative. On the other hand, people with low levels of openness tend to be less receptive to new ideas and less willing to change their minds. Further, they tend to have fewer and narrower interests and to be less curious and creative. People with more openness might be expected to be better performers due to their flexibility and the likelihood that they will be better accepted by others in the organization. Openness may also encompass a person's willingness to accept change; people with high levels of openness may be more receptive to change, whereas people with little openness may resist change.

The Big Five framework continues to attract the attention of both researchers and managers. The potential value of this framework is that it encompasses an integrated set of traits that appear to be valid predictors of certain behaviors in certain situations. Thus, managers who can both understand the framework and assess these traits in their employees are in a good position to understand how and why they behave as they do. On the other hand, managers must be careful to not overestimate their ability to assess the Big Five traits in others. Even assessment using the most rigorous and valid measures is likely to be somewhat imprecise. There are also times when using more specific personality traits to predict outcomes such as turnover or performance are more useful than the more general Big Five traits because the more specific trait more directly influences the intended outcome. For example, if you are trying to hire a strong team player for a diverse creative team, individual differences including a preference for teamwork and other group orientation (a preference for working with diverse others) may outperform any of the Big Five traits in predicting performance. Another limitation of the Big Five framework is that it is primarily based on research conducted in the United States. Thus, generalizing it to other cultures presents unanswered questions. Even within the United States, a variety of other factors and traits are also likely to affect behavior in organizations.

The Myers-Briggs Framework

The Myers-Briggs framework is also a popular framework that some people use to characterize personality. Many people know of this framework through a widely-used questionnaire called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or MBTI. More than 2 million people worldwide take the self-assessment inventory every year. It is based upon Carl Jung's work on psychological types. Psychologist Carl Jung was a contemporary of Sigmund Freud and a leading exponent of Gestalt personality theory. The MBTI was first developed by Isabel Briggs Myers (1897–1979) and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, to help people understand themselves and each other so that they could find work that matches their personality. They put Jung's concepts into everyday language. Isabel Myers's 1980 book Gifts Differing, and her philosophy of celebrating individual differences, encouraged the workplace diversity movement. The MBTI uses four scales with opposite poles to assess four sets of preferences. The four scales are:

1. Extroversion (E)/Introversion (I): Extroverts are energized by things and people. They are interactors and “on the fly” thinkers whose motto is, “ready, fire, aim.” Introverts find energy in ideas, concepts, and abstractions. They can be social, but also need quiet time to recharge their batteries. They are reflective thinkers whose motto is, “ready, aim, aim.” Do you like to focus on the outer world (extroversion) or on your own inner world (introversion)?

2. Sensing (S)/Intuition (N): Sensing people are detail oriented. They want and trust facts. Intuitive people seek out patterns and relationships among the facts they have learned. They trust their intuition and look for the “big picture.” Do you prefer to focus on the information you take in (sensing) or do you like to interpret and add meaning (intuition)?

3. Thinking (T)/Feeling (F): Thinkers value fairness, and decide things impersonally based on objective criteria and logic. Feelers value harmony, and focus on human values and needs as they make decisions or judgments. When you make decisions, do you like to first look at logic and consistency (thinking) or at the people and special circumstances involved (feeling)?

4. Judging (J)/Perceiving (P): Judging people are decisive and tend to plan. They focus on completing tasks, take action quickly, and want to know the essentials. They develop plans and follow them, adhering to deadlines. Perceptive people are adaptable, spontaneous, and curious. They start many tasks, and often find it difficult to complete them. Deadlines are meant to be stretched. In dealing with the world, do you like to get things decided quickly (judging) or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options (perceiving)?

The possible combinations of these preferences result in sixteen personality types, which are identified by the four letters that represent one's tendencies on the four scales. For example, ENTJ reflects extraversion, intuition, thinking, and judging. You can complete a brief Myers-Briggs type self-assessment online at http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp.

Although the framework and Myers-Briggs instrument were not developed or intended to be used to identify personality profiles and label people, too often this is what is done with the results. This is problematic as it can lead to discrimination and poor career counseling. Employers should not hire, fire, or assign employees by personality type, because the MBTI is not even reliable at identifying a person's type. When retested, even after intervals as short as five weeks, as many as 50 percent of people are classified into a different type. There is little support for the claim that the MBTI can justify job discrimination or be a reliable aid to someone seeking career guidance. Jung never intended for his work to be applied to a personality inventory. He noted, “My scheme of typology is only a scheme of orientation. There is such a factor as introversion, there is such a factor as extraversion. The classification of individuals means nothing, nothing at all. It is only the instrumentarium for the practical psychologist to explain, for instance, the husband to a wife or vice versa.” Nonetheless, the MBTI has become so popular that it is likely that you will encounter it during your career. It can be a fun team-building tool for illustrating some of the ways that people differ, but it should not be used in making organizational decisions including hiring and promotions.

Other Important Personality Traits

Besides these complex models of personality, several other specific personality traits are also likely to influence behavior in organizations. Among the most important are locus of control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, tolerance for risk and ambiguity, Type A and Type B traits, and tendencies to bully. The role of the situation is also important.

Locus of Control

Locus of control  is the extent to which people believe that their behavior has a real effect on what happens to them. Some people, for example, believe that if they work hard they will succeed. They may also believe that people who fail do so because they lack ability or motivation. People who believe that individuals are in control of their lives are said to have an internal locus of control. Other people think that fate, chance, luck, or other people's behavior determines what happens to them. For example, an employee who fails to get a promotion may attribute that failure to a politically motivated boss or just bad luck, rather than to her or his own lack of skills or poor performance record. People who think that forces beyond their control dictate what happens to them are said to have an external locus of control. Table 3.2 summarizes the effects of locus of control on important organizational factors. This chapter's Understand Yourself feature gives you the opportunity to evaluate your locus of control when it comes to work.

Table 3.2

Effects of Locus of Control on Organizational Outcomes

Organizational Outcome	Internal versus External Locus of Control
Job satisfaction	Internals are generally more satisfied with their job, pay, supervisor, and coworkers.
Commitment	Internals are more committed and have lower absenteeism.
Job motivation	Internals have greater task motivation, job involvement, and self-confidence than do externals.
Job performance	Internals tend to have higher job performance than externals.
Career success	Internals tend to earn a higher salary than do externals.
Conflict and stress	Internals report lower role conflict, work-family conflict, burnout, and stress than do externals.
Social integration	Internals tend to be more socially integrated at work and report more favorable relationships with their supervisors.

Source: See Ng, T.W.H., Sorensen, K.L., & Eby, L.T. (2006). Locus of Control at Work: A Meta-Analysis, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 1057–1087.

Understand Yourself

Work Locus of Control

Using the scale below, write the number from 1 to 7 that reflects your agreement or disagreement with the statements below. When you are finished, follow the scoring instructions at the bottom to interpret your score.

1. A job is what you make of it. 

2. On most jobs, people can pretty much accomplish whatever they set out to accomplish. 

3. If you know what you want out of a job, you can find a job that gives it to you. 

4. If employees are unhappy with a decision made by their boss, they should do something about it. 

5. Getting the job you want is mostly a matter of luck. 

6. Making money is primarily a matter of good fortune. 

7. Most people are capable of doing their jobs well if they make the effort. 

8. In order to get a really good job, you need to have family members or friends in high places. 

9. Promotions are usually a matter of good fortune. 

10. When it comes to landing a really good job, who you know is more important than what you know. 

11. Promotions are given to employees who perform well on the job. 

12. To make a lot of money you have to know the right people. 

13. It takes a lot of luck to be an outstanding employee on most jobs. 

14. People who perform their jobs well generally get rewarded for it. 

15. Most employees have more influence on their supervisors than they think they do. 

16. The main difference between people who make a lot of money and people who make a little money is luck. 

Scoring: First recalculate your responses to items 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 14, and 15 by subtracting the number you wrote from 7. ; ; ; ; ; . Cross out the number you initially wrote and replace it with the recoded value; only the new values will be used in scoring. Now add up your scores to all sixteen items to get your work locus of control score.

Interpretation: Higher scores reflect a more external locus of control. Managers tend to have a more internal locus of control. If your score is not as low as you would like, review the questions and try to find ways to view yourself as being more in control of what happens to you.

Source: Copyright Paul E. Spector, All rights reserved, 1988.

Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy  is our confidence in our ability to cope, perform, and be successful on a specific task. It is possible to have high self-esteem (I generally like myself and feel that I am a competent person) but low self-efficacy for certain tasks (I am poor at learning foreign languages). Self-efficacy is a key factor influencing motivation and engagement in an activity. It has also been found to reduce the negative effect of low job autonomy on psychological and physical stress.

General self-efficacy  reflects a generalized belief that we will be successful at whatever challenges or tasks we might face. Because self-efficacy and general self-efficacy are related to setting higher goals, persisting in the face of obstacles, and performing better, it is important for you to maintain a positive sense of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is even related to developing your skills, setting more challenging goals, seeking social support, and persisting longer in the face of challenges can help to build self-efficacy.

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem  refers to our feelings of self-worth and our liking or disliking of ourselves. Research suggests that self-esteem is strongly related to motivational processes such as specific self-efficacy, self-set goals, and effort as well as emotional processes, such as anxiety and regulating emotion.Self-esteem is positively related to job performance and learning.

Authoritarianism

Another important personality characteristic is  authoritarianism , the extent to which a person believes that power and status differences are appropriate within hierarchical social systems such as organizations. For example, a person who is highly authoritarian may accept directives or orders from someone with more authority purely because the other person is “the boss.” On the other hand, a person who is not highly authoritarian, although she or he may still carry out reasonable directives from the boss, is more likely to question things, express disagreement with the boss, and even refuse to carry out orders if they are for some reason objectionable. During the aftermath of the Enron and Arthur Anderson scandals that destroyed both firms, charges were brought against some accountants who shredded important documents before they could be seized by the authorities. The defense these individuals used was that they were simply following orders. To the extent a person engages in these kinds of behaviors knowing they are wrong but does so anyway in order to follow orders would suggest that the person is highly authoritarian.

Authoritarianism is the extent to which a person believes that power and status differences within organizations are appropriate. This individual is listening closely to instructions from his boss and seems intent on following those instructions. A person lower on authoritarianism might not be as receptive to direction.

Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism  is another important personality trait. This concept is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, a sixteenth-century author. In his book The Prince, Machiavelli explained how the nobility could more easily gain and use power. The term “Machiavellianism” is now used to describe behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others. Research suggests that the degree of Machiavellianism varies from person to person. More Machiavellian individuals tend to be rational and unemotional, may be willing to lie to attain their personal goals, put little emphasis on loyalty and friendship, and enjoy manipulating others' behavior. Less Machiavellian individuals are more emotional, less willing to lie to succeed, value loyalty and friendship highly, and get little personal pleasure from manipulating others. By all accounts, Dennis Kozlowski, the indicted former CEO of Tyco International, had a high degree of Machiavellianism. He apparently came to believe that his position of power in the company gave him the right to do just about anything he wanted with company resources.

Tolerance for Risk and Ambiguity

Two other closely related traits are tolerance for risk and tolerance for ambiguity.  Tolerance for risk (also called risk propensity) is the degree to which a person is comfortable accepting risk, willing to take chances and to make risky decisions. A manager with a high tolerance for risk, for example, might experiment with new ideas and gamble on new products. Such a manager might also lead the organization in new and different directions. This manager might be a catalyst for innovation or, if the risky decisions prove to be bad ones, might jeopardize the continued well-being of the organization. A manager with low tolerance for risk might lead an organization to stagnation and excessive conservatism, or might help the organization successfully weather turbulent and unpredictable times by maintaining stability and calm. Thus, the potential consequences of a manager's risk propensity depend heavily on the organization's environment.

Tolerance for ambiguity  reflects the tendency to view ambiguous situations as either threatening or desirable. Intolerance for ambiguity reflects a tendency to perceive or interpret vague, incomplete, or fragmented information or information with multiple, inconsistent, or contradictory meanings as an actual or potential source of psychological discomfort or threat. Being tolerant of ambiguity is related to creativity, positive attitudes toward risk, and orientation to diversity. Managers with a low tolerance for ambiguity tend to be more directive with their staff and do not empower them to make their own decisions at work. The best managerial strategy is to place individuals with a low tolerance for ambiguity in well-defined and regulated tasks.

Type A and B traits

Two cardiologists identified a pair of different personality profiles they called Type A and Type B. The  Type A personality  is impatient, competitive, ambitious, and uptight. The  Type B personality  is more relaxed and easygoing and less overtly competitive than Type A. Type Bs are not without stress, but they confront challenges and external threats less frantically. Unlike Type As, Type Bs rarely experience a frustrated sense of wasting time when not actively engaged in productive activity. Although Type As often have higher job performance than Type Bs, Type As are also more prone to stress and coronary heart disease. Although the idea that a cause-and-effect relationship exists between Type A behavior and coronary artery disease is controversial, some effects of Type A stress are definitely known. Stress causes an increase in blood pressure; if the stress is constant, the heart and arteries begin to show signs of damage. It has been estimated that 14 to 18 percent of sudden heart attacks occur immediately after an emotional stress and are more likely to occur when a person is angry. However, as shown in Figure 3.2, Type A and B profiles reflect extremes with most people simply tending toward one or the other.

Figure 3.2

Few people have extreme Type A or Type B personality profiles. Instead, people tend toward one type or the other. This is reflected by the overlap between the profiles shown here.

A Type B personality describes someone who is relaxed easygoing, and less overtly competitive. This manager seems to be calm and relaxed as she completes a project. While we can't be certain, it would appear likely that she has a Type B personality.

MICHAELJUNG/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Understanding the personality type of your coworkers and boss can help you to better understand and manage this potential source of work conflicts. Recognizing your personality type can help you to identify work situations that are good fits for you. High Type As need greater stimulation than Type Bs and are more likely to overschedule themselves. In managers, having a high Type A personality and an external locus of control is associated with greater levels of perceived stress, lower job satisfaction, and poorer physical and mental health compared to those with a Type B personality and an internal locus of control. Some researchers have even suggested that negative health consequences may outweigh the superficial attractiveness of the Type A personality in a managerial position.

The Bullying Personality

Workplace bullying  is a repeated mistreatment of another employee through verbal abuse; conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating; or sabotage that interferes with the other person's work.Popular media such as Time, Management Today, and Psychology Today have all featured stories on the pervasiveness of bullying. Bullying costs employers through higher turnover, greater absenteeism, higher workers' compensation costs, and higher disability insurance rates, not to mention a diminished reputation as a desirable place to work. Fifty percent of the U.S. workforce reports either being bullied at work (35 percent) or witnessing bullying (15 percent). It is four times more common than harassment. Eighty-one percent of bullying behavior is done by supervisors. Forty-five percent of targets report stress-related health problems; targeted individuals suffer debilitating anxiety, panic attacks, clinical depression, and even post-traumatic stress. Once targeted, employees have a 64 percent chance of losing their job for no reason. Despite this, 40 percent of targets never report it. Only 3 percent sue and 4 percent complain to state or federal agencies.

Who tends to become a bully? Bullying is complex and comes in a variety of forms, but common to all types is the abuse of authority and power, stemming from the bully's need to control another person. Machiavellianism may lead to bullying. High Machiavellians exhibit a resistance to social influence, an orientation to cognitions (rational thoughts) rather than emotions, and a tendency toward initiating and controlling structure (components of bossiness). High Machiavellians manipulate and exploit others to advance their personal agendas, which is the foundation of bullying. If personality helps to explain why some people are bullies, can it also help us understand why some people are more likely to be targets of bullying? Although there is no clear personality profile that predicts who will be targeted, people who are more introverted, less agreeable, less conscientious, less open to experience, and more emotionally unstable seem to be more likely to be bullied. This chapter's Improve Your Skills feature describes ways managers can be bullies (or just toxic), and describes various survival tactics (that we hope you'll never have to use!).

Improve Your Skills

Challenging Managerial Behaviors and How to Respond

Types of Narcissistic Managers

Varieties	Primary Traits		Objective	Subordinate Survival Tactics		Superior's Actions
Grandiose: Psychodynamic	Outward grandiose self-image; exploits others; devalues others; enraged if self-esteem threatened; limited conscience and capacity for empathy; desperately protects underlying fragile self-esteem		Be admired	Show admiration; avoid criticizing them; consult with mentor or executive coach		Close oversight of managers is needed to continually assess their treatment of others
Grandiose: Learned	Grandiose self-image; exploits others out of carelessness; is inconsiderate in treatment of others due to not receiving negative feedback for behavior		Be admired	Show admiration; avoid criticizing them; consult with mentor or executive coach		Do not automatically believe superiors over subordinates
Control Freak	Micromanages; seeks absolute control of everything; inflated self-image and devaluation of others' abilities; fears chaos		Control others	Avoid direct suggestions; let them think new ideas are their own; don't criticize them; show admiration and respect; don't outshine them; play down your accomplishments and ambition; document your work; build relationship with a mentor; look for other positions		360-degree feedback; place them where they cannot do serious harm; consider getting rid of them; don't ignore signs of trouble
Antisocial	Takes what he or she wants; lies to get ahead and hurts others if they are in his or her way; lacks both a conscience and capacity for empathy		Excitement of violating rules and abusing others	Avoid provoking them; transfer out before they destroy you; do not get dragged into their unethical or illegal activities; seek allies in coworkers and mentors; seek executive coach to help you cope		Consider possible presence of depression, anxiety, alcohol

Source: From Lubit, R. (2004, March/April). The Tyranny of Toxic Managers: Applying Emotional Intelligence to Deal with Difficult Personalities. Ivey Business Journal, p. 4.

Role of the Situation

The relationship between personality and behavior changes depending on the strength of the situation we are in. We might be extroverted in nature but, in a situation like a lecture or an important meeting, suppress our tendencies and behave in a more quiet and reserved way. When situational pressures are weak, we are better able to be ourselves and let our personalities guide our behaviors. Strong organizational cultures might decrease the influence of personality on employee behaviors by creating clear guidelines for employee behavior. Weaker organizational cultures might allow greater individual employee expression, resulting in a wider variety of employee behaviors.

You now have a good understanding of some of the ways we all differ. It is also interesting to think about how frequently there are differences in how people from other cultures perceive us. Asking foreigners to describe people from your country is a powerful way to understand how others perceive you. This chapter's Global Issues feature is from a Newsweek survey reporting the characteristics foreigners most and least often associate with Americans. It may give you some insight into how an American might be perceived differently in different parts of the world.

Global Issues

How Others See Americans

Characteristics Most Commonly Associated with Americans

France	Japan	Western Germany	Great Britain	Brazil	Mexico
Industrious	Nationalistic	Energetic	Friendly	Intelligent	Industrious
Energetic	Friendly	Inventive	Self-indulgent	Inventive	Intelligent
Inventive	Decisive	Friendly	Energetic	Energetic	Inventive
Decisive	Rude	Sophisticated	Industrious	Industrious	Decisive
Friendly	Self-indulgent	Intelligent	Nationalistic	Nationalistic	Greedy

Characteristics Least Commonly Associated with Americans

France	Japan	Western Germany	Great Britain	Brazil	Mexico
Lazy	Industrious	Lazy	Lazy	Lazy	Lazy
Rude	Lazy	Sexy	Sophisticated	Self-indulgent	Honest
Honest	Honest	Greedy	Sexy	Sexy	Rude
Sophisticated	Sexy	Rude	Decisive	Sophisticated	Sexy

Source: Adler, N. J. (2008). International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior. Mason, OH: Thompson/South-Western, p. 82, Table 3-1.

Intelligence

In addition to personality and personality traits, another important set of individual differences is intelligence. There are many types of intelligence, or mental abilities, including general mental ability, information processing capacity, verbal ability, and emotional intelligence.

General Mental Ability

General mental ability  is the capacity to rapidly and fluidly acquire, process, and apply information. It involves reasoning, remembering, understanding, and problem solving. It is associated with the increased ability to acquire, process, and synthesize information and has been defined simply as the ability to learn. The strong association between measures of general mental ability and performance in a wide variety of task domains is one of the most consistent findings in the field of organizational behavior. Research has supported the idea that mental ability is most important in complex jobs, when individuals are new to the job, and when there are changes in the workplace that require workers to learn new ways of performing their jobs. Some companies, including Google, prefer to hire for general mental ability rather than experience.

Information processing capacity  involves the manner in which individuals process and organize information. Information processing capacity also helps explain differences between experts and novices on task learning and performance, as experts process and organize information more efficiently and accurately than novices. General mental ability influences information processing capacity.Age also explains differences in information processing capacity. Relative to younger adults, older adults tend to have access to a wider amount and variety of information, although they are less able to process novel information quickly.

Mental ability tests typically use computerized or paper-and-pencil test formats to assess general mental abilities, including verbal or mathematical reasoning, logic, and perceptual abilities. Because scores on these tests can predict a person's ability to learn in training or on the job, be adaptable and solve problems, and tolerate routine, their predictive value may increase given the trend toward jobs requiring innovation, continual training, and nonroutine problem solving. There are many different types of mental ability tests, including the Wonderlic Personnel Test, Raven's Progressive Matrices, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. Table 3.3 presents example items similar to those incorporated into the Wonderlic test.

Table 3.3

Mental Ability Test Items

The following questions are similar to those found on the Wonderlic Personnel Test measuring mental ability.

1. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one (1) true (2) false or (3) not certain?

· The girl plays soccer.

· All soccer players wear cleats.

· The girl wears cleats.

Answer

true

2. Paper sells for $0.36 per pad. What will three pads cost?

Answer

$1.08

3. How many of the five pairs of items listed below are exact duplicates?

Pullman, K. M.	Puilman, K. M.
Jeffrey, C. K.	Jeffrey, C. K.
Schoeft, J. P.	Shoeft, J. P.
Lima, L. R.	Lima, L. R.
Woerner, K. E.	Woerner, K. C.

4. Answer

5. 1

6. PRESENT PRESERVE—Do these words

6. Have similar meanings?

6. Have contradictory meanings?

6. Mean neither the same nor the opposite?

Answer

2

Despite being easy to use and one of the most valid selection methods for all jobs, mental ability tests produce racial differences that are three to five times larger than other methods that are also valid predictors of job performance such as structured interviews. Although the reasons for the different results are not fully understood, it is thought that factors including culture, differential access to test coaching and test preparation programs, and different test motivation levels could be important factors. Job applicants also often dislike mental ability tests because they do not necessarily seem to be job related.

Because hiring discrimination can be legally problematic when using mental ability tests, it is best to evaluate the effect of mental ability tests on protected groups before using them on job candidates. Because mental ability tests can be combined with other predictors to reduce adverse impact and increase prediction accuracy, and because alternative predictors with less adverse impact can be used to predict job success comparably to mental ability tests used alone, generally mental ability tests should not be used alone. Many organizations use mental ability tests, including the National Football League.

Multiple Intelligences

Intelligence tests often involve a range of abstract questions designed to assess your language, spatial awareness, and numerical ability. However, to think that your score on a single test reflects your actual intelligence ignores your many other mental abilities. A lower score on a particular intelligence test result simply means you are less skilled at whatever type of intelligence that particular test measures—while reflecting nothing about your level of any other type of intelligence.

Increasingly, researchers and scholars are realizing that there is more than one way to be smart.Gardner's theory of  multiple intelligences  suggests that there are a number of distinct forms of intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees:

1. Linguistic: words and language

2. Logical-mathematical: logic and numbers

3. Musical: music, rhythm, and sound

4. Bodily-kinesthetic: body movement and control

5. Spatial-visual: images and space

6. Interpersonal: other people's feelings

7. Intrapersonal: self-awareness

The different intelligences represent not only different content domains but also learning preferences. The theory suggests that assessment of abilities should measure all forms of intelligence, not just linguistic and logical-mathematical, as is commonly done (e.g., in college admissions tests like the ACT, SAT, GMAT, and GRE). According to this theory, learning and teaching should focus on the particular intelligences of each person. For example, if you have strong spatial or linguistic intelligences, you should be encouraged to develop these abilities. The theory also emphasizes the cultural context of multiple intelligences. For instance, Gardner observed that the needs of different cultures lead them to emphasize different types of intelligence. For example, the high spatial abilities of the Puluwat people of the Caroline Islands enable them to navigate their ocean canoes, and a balance of personal intelligences is required in Japanese society.

Knowing your strongest areas of intelligence can guide you to the most appropriate job and learning environments to enable you to achieve your potential. For example, compare your intelligence strengths to the job types in Table 3.4. As a manager, it is possible to develop the same skills in different ways for different subordinates. For example in diversity training, bodily-kinesthetic learners could engage in role-plays while spatial-visual subordinates could create posters conveying the material being taught. Using a person's preferred learning style helps to make learning easy and enjoyable.

Table 3.4

Matching Intelligence Types with Career Choices

Type of Intelligence		Related Careers		Preferred Learning Style
Bodily-Kinesthetic:physical agility and balance; body control; hand-eye coordination		Athletes, firefighters, chefs, actors, gardeners		Touch and feel, physical experience
Interpersonal: ability to relate to others and perceive their feelings; interprets behaviors of others; relates to emotional intelligence		Psychologists, doctors, educators, salespeople, politicians		Human contact, teamwork
Intrapersonal: self-awareness; understands oneself and one's relationship to others and to the world; relates to emotional intelligence		Related to success in almost all careers		Self-reflection, self-discovery
Linguistic:verbal and written language; explaining and interpreting ideas and information		Authors, speakers, lawyers, TV and radio hosts, translators		Verbal and written words and language
Logical-Mathematical: logic and pattern detection; analytical; problem solving; excels at math		Engineers, directors, scientists, researchers, accountants, statisticians		Logic and numbers
Musical:recognition of rhythm and tonal patterns; musical ability; high awareness and use of sound		Musicians, DJs, music teachers, acoustic engineers, music producers, composers		Music, sounds, rhythm
Spatial-Visual: creation and interpretation of visual images; visual and special perception		Artists, engineers, photographers, inventors, beauty consultants		Pictures, shapes, visually

source: Based on Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books; Gardner, H. (1993a). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. NY: Basic Books; Gardner, H. (1993b). Creating Minds. NY: Basic Books; Marks-Tarlow, T. (1995). Creativity Inside Out: Learning Through Multiple Intelligences. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence  ( EI ) is an interpersonal capability that includes the ability to perceive and express emotions, to understand and use them, and to manage emotions in oneself and other people. Expert Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence as “the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.” He describes five dimensions of EI that include three personal competencies (self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation) and two social competencies (empathy and social skills). Emotional capabilities may operate at multiple levels to influence change in organizations. EI may also influence employee emotional reactions to job insecurity and their coping with associated stresses. Emotional intelligence involves using emotional regulatory processes to control anxiety and other negative emotional reactions and to generate positive emotional reactions. Negative emotions, such as anxiety or frustration, are distracting and result in diminished learning and performance. Emotional regulation and control may also be important in managing distracting positive emotions at work. The five dimensions comprising emotional intelligence are:

1. Self-awareness: being aware of what you are feeling

2. Self-motivation: persisting in the face of obstacles, setbacks, and failures

3. Self-management: managing your own emotions and impulses

4. Empathy: sensing how others are feeling

5. Social skills: effectively handling the emotions of others

People differ in the degree to which they are able to recognize the emotional meaning of others' facial expressions, although seven universal emotions are expressed in the face in exactly the same way regardless of race, culture, ethnicity, age, gender, or religion. These emotions are joy, sadness, fear, surprise, anger, contempt, and disgust. Recognizing and understanding these emotions is important in communicating, establishing relationships, building rapport, negotiating, and many other managerial tasks. More effective communicators better recognize the emotions being conveyed by peoples' facial expressions.

There is some evidence that components of EI are malleable skills that can be developed, including facial expression recognition. The ability to understand what others think and feel, knowing how to appropriately persuade and motivate them, and knowing how to resolve conflicts and forge cooperation are some of the most important skills of successful managers. You can get a rough estimate of your EI by taking the EI self-assessment from About.com at http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_eq_quiz.htm.

There is also controversy associated with the concepts of EI. Some have argued that its theoretical conceptualization is unclear because it is overly inclusive, lacks specificity, and encompasses both static trait components and malleable state components. It is not clear if it is simply a learned skill or an innate capability. Several researchers have also argued that EI is simply a surrogate for general intelligence and well-established personality traits. However, a number of studies have supported the usefulness of EI. EI has been found to be related to, and yet distinct from, personality dimensions; and various measures of EI provided incremental predictive power regarding life satisfaction and job performance, even after controlling for Big Five personality dimensions. It appears that, although controversies still exist, EI is distinct from other ability and personality trait measures. There is some ambiguity about the degree to which EI is considered a malleable and trainable set of competencies versus a stable set of personality traits or emotional abilities; however, EI does relate to job performance, adjustments to stressful situations, and pro-social behaviors. This chapter's Case Study explores how FedEx incorporated emotional intelligence into its new leader training program.

Case Study

Emotional Intelligence at FedEx

Global shipping company FedEx has a “people first” philosophy and believes that for the company to deliver world class customer service its managers must also have an attitude of service in managing their associates. FedEx has received numerous awards for being one of the world's most respected and admired companies for over ten years, and is one of the world's most successful businesses. Although the company is focused on speed and logistics, from the start it recognized that its employees were the key to the company's success, and that leadership would be essential to effective management. Fit with a service-oriented culture is taken so seriously that one of FedEx's core managerial values is to be a servant leader.

FedEx recognizes that leadership has grown more complex, and wants to develop leadership capabilities in its managers to manage its changing workforce. The company wants leaders who make fast and accurate decisions, are able to influence others and motivate them to give their full effort, and who can help build a culture where employees drive for exceptional performance in a sustainable way that creates value for all of its stakeholders. Jimmy Daniel, senior leadership facilitator at the FedEx Global Leadership Institute, said, “Some leaders have an innate ability to provide what's needed to create a satisfying and rewarding work environment for employees, but many others need to develop this skill set.” To measure leadership performance, FedEx administers an annual survey where all employees can provide feedback about their managers. The survey's themes include fairness, respect, listening, and trust. A recognition that all of these characteristics are related to relationships and emotions created an interest in emotional intelligence as a learnable skillset that would enhance managers' ability to lead in the FedEx way.

FedEx decided to increase its focus on emotional intelligence in its leadership development training to give all new managers a strong people-first foundation on which to build their managerial careers. To build teams in which employees give their full effort, FedEx believes that task-based management is insufficient and leaders need to manage their own emotions and behaviors to effectively serve as role models, mentors, and motivators at an emotional level. A five-day course and six-month follow up coaching process was developed to identify new managers' strengths and give them specific emotional intelligence competencies to improve on.

The emotional intelligence training and coaching program focused on showing managers how to manage themselves first and take charge of their own emotions and behaviors so that they can be effective influencers and role models. The majority of leaders showed large improvements in relationships, influence, and decision making as a result of their improved empathy, emotional literacy, and ability to navigate emotions. FedEx has been extremely pleased with the success of the emotional intelligence development program, training over 100 facilitators to run the program and coach new leaders worldwide.

Learning Styles

The final individual difference we will address in this chapter is learning style.  Learning style  refers to individual differences and preferences in how we process information when problem solving, learning, or engaging in similar activities. There are numerous typologies, measures, and models that capture these differences and preferences. Most of these approaches have focused on child learning, but there is evidence that these differences are important for adults as well. Next we'll discuss several of the most popular approaches to learning styles.

Sensory Modalities

One approach addresses our preference for sensory modality. A sensory modality is a system that interacts with the environment through one of the basic senses. The most important sensory modalities are:

· Visual: learning by seeing

· Auditory: learning by hearing

· Tactile: learning by touching

· Kinesthetic: learning by doing

According to researchers, about 20 to 30 percent of American students are auditory; about 40 percent are visual; and the remaining 30 to 40 percent are either tactile/kinesthetic, visual/tactile, or some combinations of the above major senses.

Learning Style Inventory

A second approach to understanding learning styles, the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, is one of the more dominant approaches to categorizing cognitive styles. According to David Kolb, the four basic learning modes are active experimentation, reflective observation, concrete experience, and abstract conceptualization. In addition, the learning process is considered from the two dimensions of active/passive and concrete/abstract. Kolb suggests that there are four basic learning styles:

1. Convergers: depend primarily on active experimentation and abstract conceptualization to learn. People with this style are superior in technical tasks and problems and inferior in interpersonal learning settings.

2. Divergers: depend primarily on concrete experience and reflective observation. People with this style tend to organize concrete situations from different perspectives and structure their relationships into a meaningful whole. They are superior in generating alternative hypotheses and ideas, and tend to be imaginative and people or feeling-oriented.

3. Assimilators: depend on abstract conceptualization and reflective observation. These individuals tend to be more concerned about abstract concepts and ideas than about people. They also tend to focus on the logical soundness and preciseness of ideas, rather than the ideas' practical values; they tend to work in research and planning units.

4. Accommodators: rely mainly on active experimentation and concrete experience, and focus on risk taking, opportunity seeking, and action. Accommodators tend to deal with people easily and specialize in action-oriented jobs, such as marketing and sales.

Although much has been written about cognitive styles, there are wide gaps in our current understanding. There are many differences in how styles are conceptualized, and there have been numerous criticisms of Kolb's measures and the underlying theory. These measures are subject to a variety of statistical and inferential problems, and many show low reliability. Most of the research has also focused on children—less work has focused on how the styles influence adult learning. Despite these limitations, evidence suggests that cognitive and learning styles may be important for understanding human behavior and performance in a variety of contexts.

Learning Style Orientations

Finally, Annette Towler and Robert Dipboye developed a learning style orientation measure to address some of the limitations of the Kolb inventory and identify key styles and preferences for learning. They demonstrated that learning style orientations predict preferences for instructional methods beyond the Big Five personality traits. They identified five key factors:

1. Discovery learning: an inclination for exploration during learning. Discovery learners prefer subjective assessments, interactional activities, informational methods, and active-reflective activities.

2. Experiential learning: a desire for hands-on approaches to instruction. Experiential learning is positively related to a preference for action activities.

3. Observational learning: a preference for external stimuli such as demonstrations and diagrams to help facilitate learning. Observational learning is positively related to preference for informational methods and active-reflective methods.

4. Structured learning: a preference for processing strategies such as taking notes, writing down task steps, and so forth. Structured learning is related to preferences for subjective assessments.

5. Group learning: a preference to work with others while learning. Group learning is related to preferences for action and interactional learning.

Chapter Review

3-6aSummary and Application

Understanding individuals in organizations is important for all managers. A basic framework for facilitating this understanding is the psychological contract—people's expectations regarding what they will contribute to the organization and what they will get in return. Organizations strive to achieve an optimal person-job fit, but this process is complicated by the existence of individual differences.

Personalities are the relatively stable sets of psychological and behavioral attributes that distinguish one person from another. The Big Five personality traits are agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, extraversion, and openness. Myers-Briggs dimensions and emotional intelligence also offer insights into personalities in organizations. Other important traits are locus of control, self-efficacy, self-esteem, authoritarianism, Machiavellianism, tolerance for risk and ambiguity, Type A and Type B traits, and tendencies to bully. The role of the situation is also important. Learning styles, or individual differences and preferences in how we process information when problem solving, learning, or engaging in similar activities, are also important individual differences and preferences, and there are numerous typologies, measures, and models that capture them. (In Chapter 5 we will discuss learning from a different perspective—the role of learning in work motivation.)

Everyone is different. We each have different personalities, demographics, and intelligences. By understanding the characteristics of your coworkers, managers, and subordinates, you will be best able to choose the OB tool or management style that will be most effective. Remember, flexibility is the key to effective management. We next continue our discussion of other important individual differences that affect organizational behavior in Chapter 4. Among the major topics we will cover in that chapter are attitudes, values, emotions, perception, and stress.

Real World Response

Individual Differences That Make a Difference at Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines looks for employees with positive attitudes and leadership skills, who fit well with the company's fun and unique culture. Their investment of time and resources in finding the right talent has paid off in lower turnover, increased internal promotion rates, and higher productivity.

Instead of evaluating flight attendant candidates on a fixed set of skills, Southwest looks for their attitude toward others, work ethic, and their ability to work effectively on a team. Flight attendant candidates do more than interview for a job, they audition—and the audition begins the moment they request an application. Managers jot down anything memorable about the initial conversation, both good and bad. When flying candidates out for interviews, their special tickets alert gate agents, flight attendants, and others to pay special attention to them. Employees observe whether recruits are consistently friendly to the crew and to other passengers or if they are complaining and drinking cocktails at 9 a.m., and they pass these observations on to the People Department.

Flight attendant recruits are evaluated even when they think that they are not being assessed. During the five-minute speeches flight attendant job candidates must give about themselves in front of as many as fifty other recruits, managers watch the audience as closely as the speaker. Unselfish people who enthusiastically support their potential coworkers are the ones who catch Southwest's eye, not the applicants who seem bored or use the time solely to improve their own presentations.

Prospective employees are often asked during an interview how they recently used their sense of humor in a work environment and how they have used humor to defuse a difficult situation. Southwest also looks for humor in the interactions people have with each other during group interviews. To assess leadership, Southwest Airlines uses a group assessment exercise called Fallout Shelter, in which candidates imagine they are a committee charged with rebuilding civilization after a nuclear war. Groups are given a list of fifteen people from different occupations, including nurse, teacher, all-sport athlete, biochemist, and pop singer, and have ten minutes to make a unanimous decision about which seven people can remain in the only available fallout shelter. Each candidate is graded on a scale ranging from “passive” to “active” to “leader” as they propose, discuss, and debate the decision.

Southwest consistently has the highest productivity numbers in the industry. Southwest's hiring methods not only ensure that it hires people whose personalities fit the company's culture, but also help the company execute its customer service strategy.