Understanding Individual

Attributes
Organizational Behavior, Neubert, Dyck, Waller, and Medcof
Learning Objectives
1. Diversity and Surface Characteristics
 Identify diversity and surface characteristics and their
value to achieving organizational goals.
2. Abilities and Personality
 Discuss abilities and personality and their effect on
achievement and performance in organizational roles.
3. Core Self-Evaluations
 Explain what core self-evaluations are and how they
help to understand organizational behaviours and
attitudes.
4. Beliefs and Values
 Discuss beliefs and values and how they develop and
guide behaviour in relationships and organizations.
In Seminar, we ended with…
Individual Attributes
What is
Organizational
Behaviour?

Organization

Group/Team

Our focus today – Individual Level

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Did you Know?
 Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms Act
 Respect for multicultural diversity is a
fundamental value
 Multicultural mosaic – value and dignity of all
races, cultures & ethnicities, languages,
religions, sexual orientation, age, ability, gender

 Versus the United States

approach:
 Melting Pot and Assimilation (give up your old
culture to become American)
Understanding Individual
Attributes
 If organizations are social structures created by
individuals to support the collaborative pursuit of
specific goal

 Then the study of individuals is important to

understanding and explaining organizations
 Individuals are complex with surface and deeper
attributes that we will look at to understand
individual and organizational behaviour
 Surface characteristics on the outside one part
 We will peel back layers of individual’s inner self
 Attitudes, beliefs and values
Why are Individual Attributes
Important?
 Layers of potential influences on individual
behaviour

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

What is Diversity?
 What is Diversity?
 A state of having or being composed of
differing attributes

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Valuing Diversity
 What is Social Categorization Theory
and what are its implications?
 Approach to how we categorize the
characteristics of others into groups
 Shapes our attitudes and behaviour to them
 Why are stereotypes important?
 General perceptions about a group of people with
similar characteristics

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Valuing Diversity

 Who needs to value diversity?

 In organizations, strategy emanates from
the top
 Leadership
 Teams & groups
 Individuals
 Why?

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Abilities and Personality
 What are Abilities?
 Innate capabilities to perform a specific task

 What is Personality?
 The unique and relatively stable pattern of
behaviours, thoughts, and emotions shown by
individuals.

 There are many personality and behavioural

tests – our focus will be on using the DiSC

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Core Self-Evaluations
 On top of innate abilities and personality traits of
an individual are another set of individual
attributes, which together make up a person’s
sense of self
 Core Self-Evaluations (what do you think of
yourself?)
 What is your self esteem level?
 What is your self-efficacy
(self confidence) level?
 Do you have a level emotional
stability?
 What is your locus of control?

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Core Self-Evaluations
 Self-Esteem is your
self-evaluation of your worth

 Self-Efficacy is your belief that you will be

able to complete a task successfully

 How did you come to those evaluations of

yourself? (childhood experiences? Life
experiences? Other?)

 Why are these important?

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Let’s Look at Ourselves - Locus of
Control

 Locus of Control (internal versus external)

 A person’s consistent belief about
the sources of success and failure

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Let’s Look at Ourselves
- Locus of Control

 You failed a test. Do you think?

 I could have been better prepared OR
 The teacher used all trick questions?

 Internal locus of control – his or her own

behaviour and effort are the primary reasons for
success or failure

 External locus of control – point to

circumstances or sources outside of themselves to
explain life’s outcomes
Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Let’s Look at Ourselves
- Locus of Control

 Complete the Locus of Control Questionnaire

 Pause this lecture
 Use this link to complete your Locus of Control

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/ne
wCDV_90.htm

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

What’s My Locus of Control?
 This instrument taps a person's perception of the source of his or
her fate. Internals are people who believe that they are masters of their
own fate. They believe that they control their destinies. Externals see
themselves as pawns of fate, believing that what happens to them is due to luck
or chance.
 Your score can be interpreted as follows:

 Your locus of control score can provide you with insights into how well you
accept or blame for your actions. It may also help you understand your
feelings of alienation or dissatisfaction with work.
 Research shows that high externals are less satisfied with their jobs, are
more alienated from the work setting, and less involved in their jobs than are
internals.
 On the other hand, high internals seem to be most satisfied in jobs that are
well structured and routine and in which success depends heavily on
complying with the direction of others.
Beliefs and Values
 Beliefs are ideas or
opinions we hold to be
true

 Values are a set of

personal tenets that
guide a person’s
actions in evaluating
and adapting to his or
her world

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Beliefs - McGregor’s Theory X & Y
 Theory X –  Theory Y –
managers assume managers assume
people are: that people are:
 inherently lazy,  inherently motivated
 dislike work, to work
 will avoid working hard  feel unfulfilled if they
unless forced to do so do not have:
 the opportunity to work
 prefer to be directed
 make a contribution
rather than accepting society
responsibility

How does this impact the people one works with?

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Values
 What do you value achieving in life (terminal)?
 How do you want to achieve them (instrumental)?

Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 Four Types of Sustainability
 Human Sustainability
 maintain and develop people through
education, health/wellness, skills,
knowledge, leadership and access to
services.
 by helping people improve in these areas
they can reach the potential included
within each individual
 it helps to sustain ourselves, and in turn
helps sustain a business, the
environment, and society.
 Social (Moral/Ethical)
 maintaining and developing investments
and services that help society effectively
function.
 working together as a community with
shared values, diverse cultural
interactions, corporate social
responsibility, shared rules, laws and
information help facilitate cooperation and
community participation.
 Economic
 maintenance of capital or keeping
capital intact.
 businesses need to look at having a
sustainable flow of raw material
and energy (natural capital) from
environmental production sources
to consumption of the product or
service & not overcapitalizing on
manufacturing.
 Environmental
 improve human welfare by
protecting natural resources (water,
land, air, minerals, and ecosystem
services)
 making sure consumption of these
resources is not exceeded to
prevent harm to humans.
Sustainability
Journey of Sustainability
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSDnAVkd
aAM

 While watching the video, make note of

and bring to seminar:
1. 3 main things you have learned from the
Journey of Sustainability video
2. 2 issues or problems and its impact (Human,
Economic, Social, Environmental)
For Seminar…
1. DiSC Booklet ~ complete as much as you can in
advance
 Refer To D2L in Advance:

➢ DiSC Dictionary
➢ DiSC Instructions

2. Locus of Control ~ bring your results to Seminar

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_90.htm
For Seminar…
1. Bring:
i. Your Locus of Control Results and meaning
ii. Your notes on the Sustainability video including:
a. 3 main things you have learned from the Journey of
Sustainability video
b. 2 issues or problems and their impact (Human, Economic,
Social, Environmental)
2. Complete as much of DiSC Personal Profile scoring (Pg
5 graphs) as you can before seminar
 “When I am on a team I am…”
3. How to Access & Use Microsoft Teams (Watch before
week 3 seminar)
https://fleming.desire2learn.com/d2l/le/content/130
508/viewContent/1489671/View
For Next Week…
Lecture:
 DiSC – Get to Know Yourself and Others
 Personal DiSC Result
 2% DiSC Activity Based on video segments
 You must know your DiSC type before lecture
 Reading: DiSC Handouts
Seminar: 3% DiSC In-class assignment

Challenge Yourself:
How open minded are you to outside advice?
Be open minded, and willing to learn from someone's perspective: Ask two people this
week that you trust what they see as two of your strengths, and two of your areas of
development.

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.