Meaning of personality, attitude Development of personality Attributes of personality Transactional Analysis, Ego states Johari window Nature and

dimensions of attitude Developing the right attitude

The physical characteristics of a person are purely hereditary, but the psychological characteristics of a person are partly hereditary and partly conditioned by the environment. In an organization, the psychological characteristics of a person are of more concern than his physical characteristics. The way a person behaves and influences the behavior of others and the way in which he reacts to a particular situation determine how well he fits into an organization.

According to psychologists, personality is a dynamic concept that describes the growth and development of a persons psyche. They argue that the personality of a person cannot be summed up in simple words such as polite, honest, friendly or intelligent. Personality should describe a person from a holistic point of view and not just look at individual aspects of his character.

Personality can be defined as the sum total of ways in which an individual interacts with people and reacts to situations. Personality can also be defined as the traits exhibited by a person during these interactions. These personality traits are very significant to the study of organizational behavior. Research has indicated that there are five important traits that form the basis of an individuals total personality and affect his performance at work.

Personality theorists agree that the development of personality occurs at various physiological and psychological stages. Despite this, they argue that the exact stages and type of development at each stage cannot be decided upon.

Further, many of the theorists believe that personality development is an ongoing process and as such, it cannot be classified into clear-cut stages. Theories proposed by Levinson, Hall, and Argyris, who believed in the concept of stages in personality development, help in understanding organizational behavior

STAGE Oral Anal

AGE 0-1 year 1-3 years

MAJOR CHARACTERSTICS Interest in oral gratification from sucking, eating, mouthing, and biting Gratification from expelling and withholding faeces; coming to terms with societys controls relating to toilet training. Interest in the genitals, coming to terms with oedipal conflict, leading to identification with same sex parent. Sexual concern large unimportant

Phalic

3-4 years

Latency Genital

4-6 years to adolescence

Adolescence to Re-emergence of sexual interests and adulthood establishment of mature sexual relationships.

Daniel Levinson proposed a theory which held that the development of personality progressed with age. Initially, he believed that the progress took place throughout the adult years. Later, he said that the years of uniform progress were punctuated by four periods of stability during which no development took place.

The four periods of stability occur between the following ages:

` twenty-two

to twenty-eight (during which an individual steps into the adult stage) to forty (during which an individual is in the process of settling down)

` thirty-three

` forty-five

to fifty (during which an individual enters middle adulthood) to sixty (a stage where middle adulthood terminates and an individual approaches old age)

` fifty-five

The four transitional periods of the theory are:

` age-thirty

transition (takes place between twenty-eight and thirtythree years) transition (takes place between forty and forty-five years)

` mid-life

` age-fifty

transition (takes place between fifty and fifty-five years) adult transition (takes place between sixty and sixty-five years)

` late

Levinson also theorized that the maximum development of a persons personality take place during mid-life transition. ` However, his theory failed to explain the differences in personalities of individuals in the same age group. Therefore, he redefined the stages as eras early adult, mid-life, and late adult. Each of these included a transition-in period, a period of stability, and a transition-out period.
`

` Hall

combined Levinsons theory along with other adult stage theories and developed a career stage model. According to him, employees undergo the following four stages in their careers:

` In

this stage, the employees try to discover themselves and identify their personality. They try out a variety of jobs to identify the one that best suits their personality. Their productivity in this stage is very low.

` In

the establishment stage, the individual tries to settle down in a job. He tends to develop good relationships with co-workers. His productivity increases during this stage.

The productivity of the employees reaches the maximum in this stage. While some employees strive to improve their productivity, for others it reaches maturation and remains stagnant. In this stage, an employee develops a desire to contribute something to the organization.

` The

productivity of the employee declines in this stage. analyze their life and career. They tend to conclude that they made the right decisions in their life.

` Individuals

` According

to Argyris, the development of individuals takes place in the same way as human beings develop from an infant to an adult. proposed seven dimensions of personality with the help of a continuum that extended from immaturity to maturity.

` He

` According

to him, development of personality takes place along the continuum extending from immaturity to maturity (Refer Figure 7.1). He also said that it was not necessary that all individuals exhibited the seven dimensions on reaching maturity.

Figure 7.1: The Argyris Immaturity-Maturity Continuum

DIMENSION

Characterstics of a person scoring positively on the dimension Outgoing, talkative , sociable, assertive Trusting, good natured, cooperative, soft hearted

EXTROVERSIO N

AGREABLENES SS

CONSCIENTIO US-NESS

Dependable, responsible, achievement-oriented, persistent

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Relaxed, secure, unworried

OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE

Sensitive, Intellectual, Imaginative, Curious, Broadminded

This refers to the extent to which a person is comfortable with other people. People who have a high degree of extraversion are sociable, talkative and friendly. They are extroverts and tend to develop new relationships easily. People who are low in extraversion are introverts. They prefer to be by themselves instead of talking to others. Introverts are reluctant to interact with other people and avoid developing new relationships.

An individuals degree of extraversion has an influence on his job preference as well as his job performance. Individuals who are high in extraversion tend to perform better than introverts in certain jobs. In addition, they tend to prefer jobs that require them to interact with a number of different people (for example, marketing, public relations, human resources, etc.).

This refers to the extent to which a person subjugates his interests for the sake of the group. People who are very agreeable give importance to maintaining harmony and do not insist that others agree with what they say or follow their suggestions. Agreeable people are good-natured, cooperative and trusting (trust others).

People who are less agreeable give more importance to their own needs, opinions and values than those of others. From an organizations perspective, highly agreeable people are likely to develop good working relationships with all organizational constituents (co-workers, subordinates, superiors, customers, and suppliers) while less agreeable people are unlikely to develop good relationships.

This trait refers to the extent to which a person is responsible and achievement oriented. People who are very conscientious limit the number of goals they set for themselves, devote their time and energy to those goals and often succeed in achieving their goals. They are responsible, dependable, persistent and highly achievement-oriented.

People who are less conscientious set too many goals for themselves and often fail to achieve any of them. People who are very conscientious are more organized, responsible and self-disciplined and perform better in their jobs than those who not so conscientious.

This trait determines an individuals ability to withstand stress. Individuals who have positive emotional stability feel emotionally secure and tend to be calm. They are enthusiastic about their work and are capable of withstanding the tensions and pressures of a job. People who have negative emotional stability are emotionally insecure and experience feelings of anxiety, nervousness and depression. They are unable to withstand job pressures

This personality trait refers to an individuals range of interests and indicates how innovative or how rigid he is in his beliefs. An individual with a high level of openness tends to be creative and has a wide range of interests. Such individuals are open to learning and make good workers.

Individuals who have a low level of openness, in contrast, have a narrow range of interests, rigid mindsets and tend to be less curious and less willing to accept new ideas. Such individuals make poor workers. Apart from personality traits, self-concept and person-situation interaction also play a significant role in determining the performance of an individual.

Studies in personality research have come to the conclusion that personality is influenced by both heredity and environment. There is also a third factor that influences an individuals personality, that is, the situation. Lets discuss each of these factors in more detail.

Environment

Heredity

Family

PERSONALITY

Social

Situational

The biological, physiological or psychological characteristics that an individual is born with constitute heredity.  According to the heredity approach to personality, an individuals personality is determined by the type of genes he inherits from his parents. Some of the characteristics that an individual may wholly or partially inherit from either of his parents are physical stature, facial features, skin and hair color, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy levels and biological rhythms.


According to the environment approach, the environment that an individual is exposed to plays a major role in shaping his personality. Environmental factors include the culture of the society in which an individual is brought up, the norms set by the parents, teachers and other social groups with which the individual interacts, and other situations and experiences he undergoes in his life.

The family has considerable influence on personality development, particularly in the early stages. The parents plays an important role in the identification process which is important to an individual's early development. Culture prescribes and limits what a person can be taught; it is the family, which selects, interprets and dispenses the culture.

Apart from heredity and environment, the situation in which an individual is can also influence his personality. An individuals personality may not change entirely with a particular situation. However, different situations bring out different aspects of an individuals personality. Hence, a persons personality cannot be judged by observing his behavior in any one particular situation

In addition to the personality determinants, described above there are some other personality attributes that help predict the behavior of individuals in organizations. The first attribute is concerned with ones perception of the locus of control in a persons life. The other attributes are Machiavellianism, self-esteem, self-monitoring, propensity for risk taking, and Type A and Type B personality. The various attributes that predict the behavior of individuals in organizations are discussed below

The locus of control refers to an individuals perception of what controls his or her fate. It refers to the degree to which people believe that they can control their fate or any situation.

Some people believe that they are masters of their own fate while some believe that their fate is controlled by luck, chance or external forces. ` The former, known as internals, attribute an internal locus of control to organizational outcomes. The latter, known as externals, attribute an external locus of control to organizational outcomes.
`

Machiavellianism (Mach) refers to the degree to which an individual is practical in his approach, maintains an emotional distance from others, and believes that ends justify the means. Research has revealed that individuals who score high on Mach are good at manipulating others and try to win by any means. They do not need to be persuaded to work but instead are able to successfully persuade others.

People having a high Mach perform well in situations that involve face-to-face meetings. They are especially productive in jobs that require the use of bargaining (persuasion) skills and in jobs that offer substantial rewards for the achievement of goals.

The degree of liking an individual has for himself is referred to as self-esteem. Research has shown that people with high selfesteem are generally confident that they possess the abilities required for succeeding at work. Such people prefer to take up unconventional or challenging jobs.

Individuals with low self-esteem lack confidence, look for approval from others, and are not likely to take a stand which opposes others views. Thus, they seek lower-level jobs. People who have high self-esteem do not care about pleasing others and fail to be influenced by external factors. They are not afraid of taking unpopular stands. People with high self-esteem derive more satisfaction from their jobs than people with low self-esteem

Self-monitoring refers to the ability of an individual to adapt his behavior to the demands of the situation. High self-monitors are capable of changing their behavior according to the situation. They can play multiple and even contradictory roles . The way they behave with their employees, boss, clients and suppliers is entirely different in each case. They make successful managers and tend to get promoted faster than others.

In contrast, low self-monitors find it difficult to disguise their true feelings, emotions and reactions and cannot adapt quickly to situations. Their behavior is consistent with the way they feel. Low self-monitors do not advance as far in their careers as high self-monitors.

` This

refers to the extent to which an individual is prepared to take risks. who are highly risk-taking in their behavior make decisions quickly without searching for much information.

` People

Risk-averse people do not make decisions in a hurry and gather a lot of information before making any decision. research has indicated that the accuracy of decisions made by both risk-taking and risk-averse people is almost the same.

` However,

Individuals who strive continuously to achieve more things in less time, even in the face of opposition, are said to have a Type A personality. Individuals with Type A personality are believed to be ambitious and achievement-oriented. Some of the characteristics of people with Type A personalities are given below:

They try to be fast in everything they do, whether it is eating, talking, walking, etc. The pace at which things generally happen upsets them. They try to be involved in more than one thing at a time.

They are always busy and find themselves unable to cope with leisure time. They emphasize numbers and quantity and measure their success in quantitative terms (e.g. amount of output produced, number of products sold, etc.)

In stark contrast to Type A individuals are Type B individuals. These individuals (Type B) are not obsessed with the desire to achieve too many things within in a short span of time.

The characteristics of Type B personalities are described below:

They do not experience a sense of urgency when carrying out tasks and do not get upset or impatient if the tasks are not accomplished within the specified time.

They do not consider it necessary to reveal or discuss their achievements unless the situation demands it. They try to make the best use of their leisure time and relax without any feeling of guilt.

This model is an analytical tool which gives a fresh perspective on behavior. It is also an excellent model to help us in improving communication and interpersonal relations. TA is simple to learn and easy to understand , today it is extensively used in organizational settings.

Eric Berne identified the basic unit of social interaction to be Transaction. Transactional stimulus and response is said to take place when people come in contact with each other. This process of communication includes exchange of thoughts, feelings, intentions, feedbacks etc.

T.A is a social psychology and a method to improve communication. The theory outlines our development , our relationships and communication with others, and guide us to change and grow. T.A includes the dynamics contained in peoples interactions.

The Johari Window, named after the first names of its inventors, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham, is one of the most useful models describing the process of human interaction. A four paned "window," as illustrated above, divides personal awareness into four different types, as represented by its four quadrants: open, hidden, blind, and unknown. The lines dividing the four panes are like window shades, which can move as an interaction progresses.

` Personality

describes the whole person and attitude determines the personality. ` Attitude is the way people form an opinion, their thoughts or feelings toward a certain object, people, or events.

Attitude has certain characteristics.

` It

generally remains the same for a long period unless influenced by external forces ` It can be negative or positive ` It is the feelings or beliefs held by an individual toward an object, person, or event.

Attitudes are learned Attitudes refer to feelings and beliefs of an individual or groups of people These feelings and beliefs define ones predispositions towards given aspects of the world

Attitudes endure unless something happens. For example if A is transferred to day shift , his attitude may become positive. Attitudes are organized and are core to an individual All people irrespective of their status or intelligence, hold attitudes.

People acquire their attitudes from parents, teachers, co-workers, friends, etc. In general, individuals tend to get influenced by the people whom they admire the most, fear, have respect for, etc. The attitudes of people are not as rigid as the values they hold. Hence, attitudes can be easily influenced or altered. This can be done by providing new information, resolving differences, by coercion or threat, etc.

Very often employees develop a hostile attitude toward changes in the organization. In such cases, the management should make the employees understand the benefits of such a change so as to gain their co-operation. The attitudes of employees can also be changed by providing the right feedback to them.

Attitudes can be changed by various means:

` ` ` `

by providing new information, by coercion or threat, by resolving differences, and by involving people (dissatisfied with a situation in the organization) in problem solving.

It is only natural for employees to have a hostile attitude toward change in the organization. However, if the management helps employees understand the competitive threat the organization is facing and makes them realize the need for change and organization development, the employees will, most likely, overcome their hostile attitude and agree to bring about change in the organization

Give feedback
` `

Attitudes can also be changed by providing the right type of feedback to employees. If a manager always makes only negative remarks in his feedback to employees, the employees may develop a negative attitude towards the job and workplace. The manager should therefore be trained to give objective feedback (which includes both positive and negative points) in a manner that does not demotivate employees. This will help change the attitude of employees towards their job and work environment and will go a long way in preventing job dissatisfaction and turnover.

As an individual , one can follow certain dos and dent's at the work place and develop the right attitude.
`

KNOW YOURSELF:-To develop the right attitude, one needs to understand ones own strengths and weaknesses. SET GOALS:- everyone requires to have both professional and personal goals in life which will help to achieve target in life.

COMMITMENT:-As an individual one should be in the tune with the philosophy of the organization, its strategies and the direction it is taking. RESPONSIBILITY:-It is very important for an individual to take responsibility and to handle the consequences of that responsibility. FLEXIBILITY:-An attitude of flexibility is extremely necessary at the workplace