Factors causing individual differences

 Heredity: One of the most significant and chief causes of individual differences is
heredity. ...
 Environment: ...
 Influence of caste, race and nation: ...
 Sex differences: ...
 Age and intelligence: ...
 Temperament and emotional stability: ...
 Other Causes: ...
 Economic condition and education:

Constituents of personality

What is Personality?

An individual’s personality is a unique entity resulting from the interaction between a person and
his environment. It can be understood in terms of a person’s behavior, actions, postures, words,
attitudes and opinions. Personality can also be described as an individual's hidden feelings about
the external world.

"Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical

systems that determine his characteristics behavior and thought" (Allport, 1961, p. 28).

Components of Personality:

 Openness to Experience
 Conscientiousness
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Neuroticism (emotionality)
 Openness to experience- Inventive/Curious vs. Consistent/Cautious
Openness to experience refers to a person's accepted level of imagination and includes
multiple experiences like appreciating art, experiencing various emotions and taking up
adventurous ideas. Someone who is inventive and curious is likely to have a more active
intellectual thought process and multiple/different ways of dealing with a situation or
problem.
 Conscientiousness- Efficient/ Organized vs. Easy-going/ Careless 
It represents a planned and organized approach rather than spontaneity and randomness.
A 'structured' person puts great value on order and control which reflects a way of
approaching tasks. For example, such a person plans a project to the last detail, in a
precise manner. In certain extreme cases, it appears somewhat obsessional or overly
perfectionist. A 'low structured' person has a more relaxed and casual approach to life. As
long as jobs are completed, they do not worry about systems or schedules or organization
and can sometimes appear disorganized. They may miss important details or be late for
appointments. In a managerial sense, they prefer the over-view or strategic approach,
rather than the detail-oriented approach of a project.

 Extraversion- Outgoing/Energetic vs. Solitary/Reserved

Extraversion implies energy, positive emotions, forcefulness, friendliness, and chattiness.
The extrovert person is sociable, outgoing and attracted to others. However, extroverts
can be impulsive and sometimes take risks without weighing the odds. Contrarily, an
introvert is less concerned with others and is more inward-looking. Generally, they have
a moderate outlook and a cautious approach to work, but lack excitement. Introverts do
not want to be 'in charge' nor do they seek limelight. More often, their attitude is one of a
personal challenge (the inner game), rather than competition with others.

 Agreeableness- Friendly/Compassionate vs. Cold/Unkind 

The ability to show compassion and co-operation. It is a personality trait that can help
you be an amicable person in the workplace. Giving a cold shoulder to people you
encounter on a regular basis may not go down well and may hamper your work and
progress in the long and short run.
 Neuroticism- Sensitive/Nervous vs. Secure/Confident
It refers to emotional stability, control over emotions and impulses, a tendency for anger,
nervousness, despair, or susceptibility. Those with self-confidence are relaxed, optimistic,
enjoy responsibility and like to be tested. Under pressure, they react calmly and in an
organized way, and have faith in their coping ability. At work, they can deal with
unexpected events easily, and present their views confidently. Those with low confidence
or emotional instability, have difficulty coping with stress. While they can assume
 responsibility, they may find it to be a strain. They also question their abilities, and show
pessimism. At workplace, they like predictability and avoid complex, open-ended
situations. It suggests that routine jobs in large, supportive organizations are more likely
to suit them.

Personality Development depends on:

 Self-awareness
 Clarity of personal and professional goals.
 Sincere efforts to learn necessary skills and remove weaknesses.
 Character and conduct
 Self-Confidence, will-power and self-discipline
 Positive thinking & good moral values
 Duty, responsibility and accountability
 Acceptance of others' feedback, especially criticism

Emotional Intelligence

An additional facet in personality assessment is that of Emotional Intelligence (EI). It looks at

the traits that are thought to differentiate between average and high performers at a workplace. EI
questionnaires measure things like:

 Self-awareness: Our understanding of our feelings and how we control them

 Emotional resilience: Our ability to work under pressure and to adjust to new situations
 Motivation: The energy and drive to achieve results and work towards goals
 Interpersonal sensitivity: The respect we have for others' needs
 Influence and persuasion: Our ability to bring other people around to our point of view
 Intuitiveness: The process of being able to come to a clear decision when we have only
incomplete or ambiguous information
 Conscientiousness and integrity: Our ability to display commitment and match our words
with action

Five Important Traits of a favorable Personality are:

  Appearance
 Intelligence
 Smartness
 Trustworthiness, High integrity & Responsible
 Being Beneficial/ Advantageous

Negative aspects of a weak personality are:

 Unhygienic
 Hurting attitude
 Useless approach
 Non-beneficial communication
 Untrustworthiness, Irresponsible, Lack of integrity

Attitudes

Relationship between attitude and the following,personality,beliefs and values

personality

The main difference between personality and attitude is that the personality

refers to the combination of one’s qualities, character traits, principles,
cognition, etc. whereas the attitude refers to the standpoint or
the opinion one has towards something.

Beliefs

Attitudes arise out of core values and beliefs we hold internally. Beliefs are assumptions and
convictions we hold to be true based on past experiences. Values are worthy ideas based on
things, concepts and people,

Values

The main difference between values and attitudes is that the values are built upon one's
moral attributes while the attitudes are the standpoints one has regarding various issues.
Values are a part of a person's character while attitudes are a part of a person's personality.

ATTITUDE FORMATION
Dispositional approach which argues that attitudes represent relatively stable predispositions
to respond to people or situations around them. That is, attitudes are viewed almost as
personality traits. Thus, some people would have a tendency—a predisposition—to be happy on
the job, almost regardless of the nature of the work itself. Others may have an internal tendency
to be unhappy, again almost regardless of the actual nature of the work. Evidence in support of
this approach can be found in a series of studies that found that attitudes change very little
among people before and after they make a job change. To the extent that these findings are
correct, managers may have little influence over improving job attitudes short of trying to select
and hire only those with appropriate dispositions.

A second approach to attitude formation is called the situational approach. This approach argues
that attitudes emerge as a result of the uniqueness of a given situation. They are situationally
determined and can vary in response to changing work conditions. Thus, as a result of
experiences at work (a boring or unrewarding job, a bad supervisor, etc.), people react by
developing appropriate attitudes. Several variations on this approach can be identified. Some
researchers suggest that attitudes result largely from the nature of the job experience itself. That
is, an employee might reason: “I don’t get along well with my supervisor; therefore, I become
dissatisfied with my job.” To the extent that this accurately describes how attitudes are formed, it
also implies that attitudes can be changed relatively easily. For example, if employees are
dissatisfied with their job because of conflicts with supervisors, either changing supervisors or
changing the supervisors’ behavior may be viable means of improving employee job attitudes. In
other words, if attitudes are largely a function of the situation, then attitudes can be changed by
altering the situation.

Effects of behavior on attitude

GROUP DEVELOPMENT

Group development refers to the process by which members of newly formed work
teams learn about their teammates, establish their roles and responsibilities, and
acquire the task work and teamwork capabilities required to coordinate their effort to
perform effectively as a team.

A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have
come together to achieve a particular objective. Groups are either formal or informal. A
formal group is a designated work group, one that is defined by an organization based
on its hierarchical structure, with designated tasks related to its function. In the
workplace, that might be the finance group or the human resources group.
Types of group
1. Formal group:
This group is defined by the organizational structure. After planning,
organizations group the activities and put those under a formal
structure, deciding their goals and objectives and strategies to achieve
the same. Formal group members report to their superiors and
interact with each other to achieve the common goals.

Usually a formal group comprises those whose nature of job is more or

less homogeneous. In a shop floor a gang engaged in doing the same
job, represents a formal group. Similarly, in a call- centre, all out-
bound callers handling the same customer account represent a formal
group. Thus, formal group is formed based on job specialization and
similarity of skill-sets to reap the advantages of division of labour.

2. Command group:
This group is also known as task group. A task is defined as cross-
functional activities, carried out by group members to accomplish a
common goal. A team represents the nature of a command group. A
command group can be formed by drawing members from various
formal groups. For example, to achieve success in new product
launches, organizations may form a command group. Once the task is
achieved, group members may be sent back to their specific formal
groups.

3. Committees
To achieve results, organizations often form permanent or temporary
committees, drawing members from various formal groups.
Committees also represent the presence of cross-functional members.
While for a command group, goals may be specific, for committees, it
is varied.

For example, to ensure better transparency and accuracy in purchase

decisions, various members drawn from the user sections such as,
finance, marketing, HR and s, may represent a Tender Purchase
Committee (TPC), in an organization.

Such committees may be permanent in nature. Again, there may be

the presence of temporary committees in organizations, who may be
entrusted to achieve temporary goals such as a committee to probe
into a case of fund embezzlement against a particular member.

4. Informal groups:
Informal groups are formed within a formal organizational structure.
Informal group members primarily meet the social or affiliation needs
sharing their commons interests. Thus informal groups are not
organizationally determined; the members themselves from such
groups to fulfil their needs for social interaction.

Factors influencing group format1. Similarities of Attitudes and Values:

One of the strongest sources of group cohesiveness is the similarity in
attitudes and values among group members. We enjoy the company of
people who hold similar opinions, morals, beliefs and code of conduct,
because the person who shares the same opinions as we do provide us
with a kind of social validation for our beliefs. He provides us with a
feeling that we are right. If someone disagrees with us, this might
make us scared that we are wrong.

2. Size of the Group:

When the group is small, its members have constant face to face
contacts. Thus, there will be high degree of interaction and
communication with each other. In large groups, the possibility of
interaction among members is less.

(ii) As group size increases, it becomes more difficult to get the group
to agree on common goals and activities and expression of
disagreement and dissatisfaction increases.

3. Time:
It is quite natural that the more time people spend with one another,
the more they will get to know each other and more tendency there
will be to get closer to each other, thus, strengthening the degree of
cohesiveness. In a workplace, people who work near each other are
more likely to spend more time together. In routine life, you will spend
more time with only those whom you like personally and want to
continue interacting with them.

4. Location:
Location of the group plays an important role in determining the
cohesiveness. Where members of a group are located close together
separated from other groups, they will develop greater cohesiveness
because of constant face to face interaction. Where there is no dividing
line between one group and another, cohesion is more difficult to
achieve because a chain of interactions develops.
5.STATUS

Status of a group determines the degree of group cohesiveness to a

great extent. A high status group receives greater loyalty from its
members which in turn makes the group more strong. That is why
people are generally more loyal to high status groups.

6. Difficulty in Entry:
The more difficult it is to get in a group, the more cohesive that group
becomes. The reasons is that in exclusive and elite groups the
members are selected on the basis of certain characteristics and these
characteristics being common to all add to the degree of liking and
attraction towards each other. The more exclusive the group the more
is the closeness among members. As the groups are not easy to join,
the selected members feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.

7. Inter Dependency:
When each member of a group has independent activities, the
cohesiveness among the members of such group will be less as
compared to the group whose members are doing the operations
which are dependent upon each other, thus, mutual dependency leads
to greater cohesiveness.

8. Management Behaviour:
The behaviour of management has a direct influence on the degree of
cohesiveness that exists within a group. The manager can make close
relations difficult by creating unhealthy competition among
employees. On the other hand, he can build solidarity by rewarding
cooperative behaviour. The cohesive group can help attain the group
goals more effectively, if the group members are properly inspired by
the manager.

9. Member Turnover:
To make a group more cohesive, there is need for some degree of
stable relationships among members. The higher the degree of
member turnover, the less cohesive a group becomes, because the
more frequently members leave a particular group the more time a
new member takes to get attached to the group and the more time the
old member takes to get attached to the new group.

10. Threat:
Threat is a very powerful force which unifies the group,
particularly when it come from:
(i) Outside the group

(ii) Cooperation can help over-some the threat and

(iii) There is little or no chance for escape.

For example, the management threats frequently bring together an

otherwise disarrayed union. Thus, the threatening party will have a
less chance of success when faced with a unified force.

11. Previous Successes and Shared Goals:

When a group achieves a meaningful goal, the cohesiveness of the
group increases because the success is shared by all the members and
each one feels responsible for the achievement. , If the group agrees on
the purpose and direction of its activities, this serves to bind the group
together. For this reason, successful companies find it easy to hire new
talented employees.