ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR- CASE STUDY

THE CASE UNDER STUDY TITLED- DIFFERENT STROKES, IS ABOUT TWO PEOPLE, CHILDHOOD
FRIENDS HAVING CONTRASTING PERSONALITIES AND TRAITS. THE OBSERVATIONS ABOUT
THE CASE PRESENTED HERE:

The story is about two friends, John and Shekhar who did their schooling and higher
education together and landed up in the same company in the same department. However,
the two had a different personalities described below.

John, who was an extrovert had a large circle of friends and enjoyed socializing. He could
speak on any topic and was a part of all gatherings and parties. He focussed on managing
relationships rather than delivering output and was a highly successful Marketing Executive
in his Organisation.

Shekhar on the other hand, was shy, reserved and a voracious reader. He liked to spend
time by himself and avoided parties. He was a good observant and could narrate any
incident in minutest details. He was goal oriented, success driven and managed to fulfil his
objectives despite difficulties.

Gordon Allport’s Trait Theory Defines traits by studying individuals in depth and focuses on
the distinctive qualities of their personalities. Accordingly there are three different types of
traits as follows:

 Cardinal Traits: A trait that dominates one’s personality.

 Central Traits: Generalized traits that form the building blocks of our personality
 Secondary Traits: The traits that are sometimes related to attitudes or preferences
and often appear only in certain situations or under specific circumstances.

As per Gordon Allport’s theory, the following differentiating personality traits are observed
in the two characters under study:

Type of Trait John Shekhar

Cardinal Trait EXTROVERT ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTED
Central Traits  PRACTICAL  SHY AND RESERVED
 CONSIDERATE AND CARING  DREAMER, DREAMT OF BIG
 PATIENT, RELAXED THINGS
  LEARNT BY DISCUSSING  OBSERVANT
 POPULAR IN HIS TEAM  WORKAHOLIC
 FOCUSSED ON RELATIONSHIP  POSSESSED LEADERSHIP
BUILDING QUALITIES
 STRICT WITH DEADLINES
Secondary Traits  LACKED A SENSE OF  AUTOCRATIC AND EXHIBITED
URGENCY. WAS ACCUSED OF BUSINESS LIKE ATTITUDE.
BEING APATHETIC, AND  WAS PERCEIVED TO BE
DISENGAGED. AGGRESSIVE WITH HIS TEAM
 WAS PERCEIVED BY HIS BOSS MEMBERS
TO BE WASTING TIME AND
DISTRACTING OTHERS.

Taking the above factors into consideration and according to McRae and Costa’s Big 5
Theory, Shekhar possesses a CONSCIENTIOUS PERSONALITY, while John possesses an
EXTROVERT PERSONALITY.

Shekhar could not perform well in Marketing Department as he was a Shy and Reserved
person who liked to be alone. He was not a Team Player and was Authoritative with the
team members. However, he was a Goal Oriented, Success Driven Workaholic and a
Voracious Reader. So, he possessed the qualities necessary to be successful in Research &
Development Department.

CONCLUSION: Two persons with CONTRASTING PERSONALITIES, no matter how well they
know each other or for how long they know each other, will find it difficult to work together
unless they alter their personalities to some extent and keep their differences aside in order
to achieve the ultimate goal of the organization.