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Lecture 3 – Personality, perception and attitudes

OVERVIEW OF THIS LECTURE:

PART I 1. Why look at individual behaviour?

§ The focus and the goals of organisational behaviour. § Five behaviours that managers want to explain, predict, and influence.

2. Attitudes § Three components of an attitude. § Three job-related attitudes. § The impact of job satisfaction has on employee behaviour § How individuals reconcile inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviour.

Understanding individual behaviour

Organisational behaviour (OB) –  The actions of people at work

Dual focus of OB –  Individual behaviour –  Group behaviour

§  Norms, roles, team building, and conflict

Goals of OB –  To explain, predict, and influence behaviour.

Organisational behaviour Organisational behaviour is the study of the actions of

people at work

5 important employee behaviours

1.  Employee productivity A performance measure of both efficiency and effectiveness

2.  Job satisfaction The individual’s general attitude toward his or her job

3.  Absenteeism The failure to report to work when expected

4.  Turnover The voluntary and involuntary permanent withdrawal from an

organisation 5.  Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB)

Discretionary behaviour that is not a part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but which promotes the effective functioning of the organisation.

Stop and reflect 1. Why look at individual behaviour?

§  Goals of organisational behaviour §  5 key employee behaviours

2. Attitudes

§  3 components of an attitude. 3 job-related attitudes §  Link between job satisfaction and employe behaviour §  Inconsistencies between attitudes and behaviour

Looking at personality now 1. Personality

§ The MBTI and the Big Five Model of personality. § Five personality traits that explain behaviour in organisations. § How emotions and emotional intelligence impact behaviour

2. Perception § How perception relates to individual behaviour. § Key elements of attribution theory. § How fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias distort attributions. § Three shortcuts used in judging others.

1. PERSONALITY

n  Personality –  The unique combination of psychological characteristics

(measurable traits) that affect how a person reacts and interacts with others.

–  Examples: Quiet, passive, loud, aggressive, ambitious, extroverted, loyal, tense, sociable, positive, negative, daring (dare to be different) etc.

–  There are many ways to identify or classify personality. For examples, The Big 5 Model, Myers-Biggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Pause & Reflect: –  What is my personality? How will this impact my performance at

work?

Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Style of decision making

Preference for decision making

Preference for gathering data

Judgmental (J) Perceptive (P)

Thinking (T) Feeling (F)

Introvert (I) Extrovert (E)

Intuitive (N) Sensing (S)

Social interaction

4 Dimensions* Preferences*

*Combining dimensions/preferences results in 16 personality types.

E

I

NS T

F J

P

MBTI (continued) MBTI - 100/125 Qs that ask people how they usually act or feel in different

situations 4 dimensions: •  Response to q’s puts you at one end or another of 4 dimensions: (1) (E vs I) E: Outgoing, dominant, aggressive, change world. Action orientated •  I: shy, withdrawn, focuses on understanding world. Quiet work environment. (2) (S or N) S (sensing): Like established routine. Good at precise work. Dislike

new problems •  N (intuitive): Like new problems, dislike repetition. Jump to conclusions,

impatient with routine (3) (F vs T) F (Feeling): Aware of others feelings. Sympathetic + relate well to

others •  T (Thinking): Unemotional/interested in employee’s feelings. Like analysis.

Can reprimand others (4) (P vs J) P (Perceptive): Curious, spontaneous, flexible, adaptable. Seek all info

before start task •  J (Judgemental): Decisive, purposeful, exacting. Want only info necessary to

get task done.

The Big Five Model

1.  Extroversion – Sociable, gregarious, assertive, talkative, expressive.

2.  Adjustment – Emotionally stable, non depressed, secure and content.

3.  Agreeableness – Courteous, trusting, good-natured, tolerant, cooperative and forgiving.

4.  Conscientiousness – Dependable, organised, persevering, thorough and achievement orientated.

5.  Inquisitiveness – Curious, imaginative, artistically sensitive, broad-minded and playful.

The big 5 personality test. (2008). The big 5 personality test. http:// www.outofservice.com/bigfive/, accessed August 1, 2011.

5 Personality dimensions (Additional Personality Insights)

1) Locus of control (External/ Internal) –  External locus: persons who believe that what happens to them

is due to luck or chance (the uncontrollable effects of outside forces).

–  Internal locus: persons who believe that they control their own destiny.

2) Machiavellianism (High/ Low) –  The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains

emotional distance, and seeks to gain and manipulate power —”the ends justify the means”.

3) Self-Esteem (High/ Low) –  The degree to which people like or dislike themselves

Five personality dimensions (cont’d)

4) Self-Monitoring (High/ Low) –  An individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external,

situational factors. –  High self-monitors:

§  Are sensitive to external cues and behave differently in different situations.

§  Can present contradictory public personal and private selves. –  Low self-monitors

§  Do not adjust their behaviour to the situation. §  Are behaviourally consistent in public and private.

5) Risk-Taking (High/ Low) –  The propensity (willingness) to take risks.

Pause & Reflect Question: How will these additional personality insights impact on (i)   performance at work? (ii)   Team cohesiveness? Team performance? 1) Locus of control (External/ Internal) 2) Machiavellianism (High/ Low) 3) Self-Esteem (High/ Low) 4) Self-Monitoring (High/ Low) 5) Risk-Taking (High/ Low)

Holland’s theory of personality-job fit

Type Personality Occupations

Realistic

Investigative

Social

Conventional

Enterprising

Artistic

Shy, Stable, Practical

Analytical, Independent

Sociable, Cooperative

Practical, Efficient

Ambitious, Energetic

Imaginative, Idealistic

Mechanic, Farmer, Assembly Worker

Biologist, Economist, Mathematician Social Worker,

Teacher, Counsellor Accountant, Manager,

Bank Teller

Lawyer, Salesperson

Painter, Writer, Musician

2. PERCEPTION

Perception –  A process by which individuals give meaning (reality) to their environment

by organising and interpreting their sensory impressions. Factors influencing perception:

–  Perceiver’s personal characteristics (interests, biases and expectations) –  Target’s characteristics (distinctiveness, contrast, and similarity) –  Situation (context) factors such as place, time, location draw attention or

distract from the target

Factors That Can Influence

Perception

The target

The perceiver

The situation

How we perceive people?

Attribution theory –  How the actions of individuals are perceived by others depends

on what meaning (causation) we attribute to a given behaviour. §  Internally caused behaviour: under the individual’s control §  Externally caused behaviour: due to outside factors

–  Determining the source of behaviours: §  Distinctiveness: different behaviours in different situations §  Consensus: behaviours similar to others in same situation §  Consistency: regularity of the same behaviour

Attribution Theory) Attribution Theory

Attribution theory is concerned with the ways in which people explain (or attribute) the behaviour of others. It explores how individuals "attribute" causes to events and how this cognitive perception affects their motivation.

How might this be useful in thinking about employee’s

contribution to the organisation?

Key Elements of Attribution Theory (AT) AT research finds that there are errors or biases that distort attributions 1) Fundamental attribution error •  Tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors •  And overestimating influence of internal factors when judging others 2) Self-serving bias •  Tendency to attribute own successes to internal factors (Good exam

result–IQ) •  while putting the blame for failures on external factors (Bad result–

Marker)

Judgmental / Perceptual shortcuts

Halo effect

Selectivity Stereotyping

Assumed similarity

Perceiving + interpreting what others do is effortful •  Use shortcuts to make task manageable. •  Not foolproof. Does allow rapid judgments + data for making predictions. 1. Assumed similarity - Belief that others are like ourselves. We make decisions

believing others, who are similar to us, will agree with us. 2. A halo effect - Impressions formed on basis of a single characteristic (e.g., intelligence – infer other attributes Hard worker, dedicated, efficient, and

effective). 3. Selectivity - Individuals cannot take in all they observe so they engage in

selectivity. Info chosen selectively depending on the interests, background + experiences + attitudes of the observer

4.  Stereotyping Judge someone on basis of perception of group membership (i.e. Labeling – stereotypes – attach information around labels)

** note the link to decision making

Judgmental / Perceptual shortcuts

2. ATTITUDES

n  Attitudes –  Evaluative statements - either favourable or unfavourable - concerning

objects, people, or events. –  Pause & Reflect: Who controls your attitudes? Can attitudes be

influenced? n  Components of an attitude

–  Cognitive component: the beliefs, opinions, knowledge, or information held by a person.

–  Affective component: the emotional or feeling part of an attitude. –  Behavioural component: the intention to behave in a certain way.

Subsequent behaviour

Employee attitude

Three job-related attitudes

1. Job satisfaction –  The individual’s general attitude toward his or her job –  Job satisfaction is affected by level of income earned and by

the type of job a worker does. –  Pause and Reflect: “So what” if there is no job satisfaction?

Job satisfaction and productivity –  2 perspectives (from employee’s views & employer’s

views) Behaviour

Productivity

Attitude

Job satisfaction + ? ? ?

Three job-related attitudes (cont’d)

Job satisfaction and absenteeism –  2 perspectives (from employee’s views & employer’s views) –  Satisfied employees tend to have lower levels of absenteeism.

Job satisfaction and turnover –  2 perspectives (from employee’s views & employer’s views) –  Satisfied employees have lower levels of turnover; dissatisfied

employees have higher levels of turnover (and also affect other employees’ attitude).

–  Turnover is affected by the level of employee performance. §  The preferential treatment afforded superior employees makes satisfaction

less important in predicting their turnover decisions. –  Pause & Reflect: If you are a manager, how would you reduce

‘turnover’? Behaviour Job withdrawal/ Absenteeism/

Turnover

Attitude

Low/ Poor Job satisfaction

-

Three job-related attitudes (cont’d) Job satisfaction and customer satisfaction

–  3 perspectives (from employee’s views, employer’s views & customers’ views)

–  The level of job satisfaction for frontline employees is related to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

–  Actions to increase job satisfaction for customer service workers: §  Hire upbeat and friendly employees

§  Reward superior customer service

§  Provide a positive work climate

§  Use attitude surveys to track employee satisfaction –  Interaction with dissatisfied customers can increase an employee’s job

dissatisfaction

Three job-related attitudes (cont’d)

n  2. Job involvement –  The degree to which an employee identifies with his or her job,

actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance to be important to his or her self-worth

n  3. Organisational commitment –  The degree to which an employee identifies with a particular

organisation and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organisation.

–  Affective commitment –  Continuance commitment –  Normative commitment

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Three job-related attitudes (cont’d)

n  3. Organisational commitment –  Is the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular

organisation and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organisation.

–  Leads to lower levels of both absenteeism and turnover

Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Cognitive dissonance –  Any incompatibility or inconsistency between attitudes or between

behaviour and attitudes. §  Any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and individuals will try to

reduce the dissonance. Intensity of the desire to reduce the dissonance is influenced

by: –  The importance of the factors creating the dissonance. –  The degree to which an individual believes that the factors causing

the dissonance are controllable. –  Rewards available to compensate for the dissonance

R E V I E W 1. Personality

§  The MBTI and the Big Five Model of personality §  5 other personality traits that can explaining individual behaviour §  Emotions and emotional intelligence

2. Perception §  Perception and individual behaviour §  Attribution theory, Fundamental attribution error, Self-serving bias §  3 cognitive shortcuts 3. Attitudes