MB020105-

ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR
ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR / UNIT NO -2

To understand the Personality Characteristics, Factors, Roles, Theories of

Personality in Organizational Behaviour
 Personality: Characteristics
Personality is a patterned body of habits, traits, attitudes, and ideas of an
individual’s, as these are organized externally into roles and statues and as
they relate internally to motivation, goals, and various aspects of selfhood.
The term personality is derived from the Latin word “Persona” which
means to speak through.

This Latin term was used to denote the mask, the actors used to wear in
ancient Rome and Greece, An individual’s personality is the combination of
traits and patterns that influence their behavior, thought, motivation, and
emotion.
It drives individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways;
in essence, it is what makes each individual unique.

Over time, these patterns strongly influence personal expectations,

perceptions, values, and attitudes. In addition to this, personality arises
from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life. It
is a pattern of stable states and characteristics of a person that influence his
or her behavior towards goal achievement. Each person has unique ways of
projecting these states.
The study of personality focuses on two broad areas;

One is understanding individual differences in particular personality

characteristics, such as sociability or irritability.
The other is understanding how the various parts of a person come together
as a whole.
What is Personality?
According to Gordon Allport, “Personality is the dynamic organization
within the individuals of those psychophysical systems that determine his
unique adjustments to his environments”.

Feist and Feist said, “personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits

and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a
person’s behavior.”

By personality Ogburn means “the integration of the socio-psychological

behavior of the human being, represented by habits of action and feeling,
attitudes and opinions.”

According to Lundberg and others, “The term personality refers to the

habits, attitudes and other social traits that are characteristic of a given
individual’s behavior”.
Lawrence A. Pewin said, “Personality represents those structural and
dynamic properties of an individual or individuals as they reflect
themselves in characteristic responses to situations”.

Hence personality is a sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and

interacts with others. It is individual differences in characteristic patterns of
thinking, feeling and behaving. It is the supreme realization of the innate
habit of a living being.

It is an act of courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation of all
that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the
universal conditions of existence, coupled with the greatest possible
freedom of self-determination.

For example- he has a very pleasant personality or he was an influential

personality in genetic engineering.
 Break
For
Question
s
 Polling Questions

1. The term personality is derived from the Latin word “Persona” which
means to speak through.
2. The study of personality focuses on three broad areas;
 Topic 2. : Characteristics of Personality

The term personality is used in various senses.

Generally, it is used to indicate the external outlook of an individual. In philosophy, it

means internal quality.

But in social psychology, the term personality indicates-neither the external or

outward pattern nor does it indicate the internal quality. It means an integrated whole.
In the modem world and psychology, it has come to indicate the sum total of an
individual’s characteristics and qualities.

Various thinkers, social psychologists, and others have defined personality in various
ways. It is a sum of physical, mental and social qualities in an integrated manner.

Thus, personality is the sum of the ideas, attitudes, and values of a person which
determine his role in society and form an integral part of his character. Personality is
acquired by the individual as a result of his participation in group life. It refers to
something much more essential and enduring about a person.
Beyond this basic point of agreement, personality has other characteristics or features
in common.

Personality is something which is unique in each individual.

Personality refers particularly to the persistent qualities of an individual.
Personality represents a dynamic orientation of an organism to the environment.
Personality is greatly influenced by social interactions.
Personality represents a unique organization of persistent dynamic and social
predisposition.
Consistency.
Psychological and physiological.
It impacts behaviors and actions.
Multiple expressions.
 Topic 3 : Factors of Personality
In the field of organizational behavior, personality is the aggregate of a person’s
feelings, thinking, behaviors and responses to different situations and people.

Our personality differentiates us from other people, and understanding someone’s

personality gives us clues about how that person is likely to act and feel in a variety
of situations. In order to effectively manage organizational behavior, an
understanding of different employees’ personalities is helpful.

Having this knowledge is also useful for placing people in jobs and organizations.
Having a strong personality is the key to success. This is also a key determinant of
good leadership.

A person with a positive attitude can direct his thoughts, control his emotions and
regulate his attitude. Every person has a different personality and there are a lot of
factors which contribute to that personality. We call them the ‘determinants of
personality’or the‘factors of personality’.
Environmental Factors.
Physical Factors.
Situational Factors.
Hereditary.
Family and Social Factors.
Identification Process.
Cultural Factors.
Intelligence.
Sex Differences.
Psychological Factors.
 Break
For
Question
s
 Polling Questions
1. Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen in our
thoughts, feelings, close relationships, and other social interactions.

2. A person with a positive attitude can direct his thoughts, control his emotions
and regulate his attitude.
 Topic 4 : Roles of Personality in Organizational Behavior
It is because of the way that people think, feel, and behave effects many aspects
of the workplace. People’s personalities influence their behavior in groups, their
attitudes, and the way they make decisions.

In the workplace, personality affects such things as motivation, leadership,

performance, and conflict. The more that management understands how
personality in organizational behavior works, the better equipped they are to be
effective and accomplish their goals.

One factor which determines the importance of personality in OB is the

environment where the personality of an individual is being studied; after all,
personality’s impact on an organization is relative and depends on how the
organization has been structured.
 Topic 5: Theories of Personality
Personality is a combination of behavior, emotion, motivation, and thought
patterns that define an individual. Personality psychology attempts to study
similarities and differences in these patterns among different people and groups.

Theories of personality are;

Type Theory.
Trait Theory.
Social Learning Theory.
Humanistic Theory.
Psychoanalytic Theory.
 1. Type Theory
Type theory places personalities into clearly identifiable categories.

Classification into type is the beginning of most sciences- types of rocks,

types of clouds, kinds of plants and so on.

Kretschmer and Sheldon are credited with this classification. In type,

theories relationship was sought to be established between features of face
or body and personality.

Thus, a short plumb person was said to be sociable, relaxed, and even-
tempered; a tall, thin person was characterized as reserved, self-conscious,
and fond of isolation, a heavy Set muscular individual was described as
noisy, callous, and fond of physical activity. The second basis to type
personalities is psychological factors.
2. Trait Theory
A trait differentiates one from another in a relatively permanent or consistent way. A
trait of an individual is abstracted from his behavior and serves a useful “unit of
analysis” to understand personality. In many ways, the trait theory is multiple models
of type theory

are concerned with determining the basic traits and provide a meaningful description
of personality and finding some way to measure them. There are two ways of
assessing personality traits:

The person describes himself by answering questions about his attitudes, feelings, and
behaviors.
Someone else evaluates the person’s traits either from what he knows about the
individual or from direct observation of behavior.
A personality inventory is essentially a questionnaire in which the person reports
reactions or feelings in certain situations.

A personality inventory asks the same questions of each person, and the answers are
usually given in the form that can be easily scored. A personality inventory may be
Factor Low Score High Score
Warmth Cold, Selfish Supportive, Comforting
Intellect Instinctive, Unstable Cerebral, Analytical
Emotional Stability Irritable, Moody Level Headed, Calm
Aggressiveness Modest, Docile Controlling, Tough
Liveliness Somber, Restrained Wild, Fun loving
Dutifulness Untraditional, Rebellious Conformity, Traditional
Social Assertiveness Shy, Withdrawn Uninhibited
Sensitivity Coarse, Tough Touchy, Soft
Paranoia Trusting, Easy going Wary, Suspicious
Abstractness Practical, Regular Strange, Imaginative
Introversion Open, Friendly Private, Quite
Anxiety Confident, Self-assured Fearful, Self-doubting
Open-mindedness Close-minded, Set-in-ways .Curious, Self-
exploratory
Independence Outgoing, Social Loner, Crave Solitude
Perfectionism Disorganized, Messy Orderly, Thorough
3. Social Learning Theory
Through learning one can acquire knowledge, language, attitudes, values, manual
skills, fears, personality traits, and self-insight.

Therefore, a study of the process of learning throws more light on understanding

human’s activity. There are two ways of learning, one is reinforcement that is direct
experience, and another is observing others. The social learning theory focuses on
behavior patterns and cognitive activities in relation to the specific conditions that
evoke, maintain, or modify them.
Competencies
Intellectual abilities, social skills, and other abilities.

Cognitive strategies
Habitual ways of selectively attending to information and organizing it into meaningful
units.

Outcome expectations
Expectations about the consequences of different behaviors and the meaning of certain
stimuli.

Subjective value outcome

Even if individuals have similar expectancies, they may choose to behave differently
because of differences in the subjective values of the outcomes they expect.

Self-regulatory systems and plans

Individual differences in self-imposed goals, rules guiding behavior, self-imposed
rewards for success or punishment for failure, and the ability to plan and execute steps
4. Humanistic Theory
Though there were so many psychologists developed so many theories of personality,
some psychologists felt that these theories ignored the qualities that make humans
unique among animals, such as striving for self-determination and self-realization.

In the 1950s, some of these psychologists began a school of psychology called

humanism. They tend to have an optimistic perspective on human nature.

They focus on the ability of human beings to think consciously and rationally, to
control their biological urges, and to achieve their full potential. In the humanistic
view, people are responsible for their lives and actions.

Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and George Kelly became well known for their
humanistic theories.
5. Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud is credited with the psychoanalytic theory. In his 40 years of writing and clinical
practice.

Freud acknowledged one of the intellectual giants in the history of modem thought, developed the first
comprehensive personality theory. It is an extensive body of clinical observations based on his
therapeutic experience and self-analysis. Freud proposed a three-part personality structure consisting
of the id, the ego, and the superego.

It operates on the pleasure principle which is the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied
immediately, regardless of the consequences.

The id, the largest part of the mind, is related to desires and impulses and is the main source of basic
biological needs. The ego is related to reasoning and is the conscious, rational part of the personality;
it monitors behavior in order to satisfy basic desires without suffering negative consequences.

The superego, or conscience, develops through interactions with others to conform to the norms of
society. Freud suggested that the three structures, i.e. id, ego, and superego can be depicted
diagrammatically to show how they are related to the conscious and unconscious.
 Break
For
Question
s
 Polling Questions

1. Cattell analyzed the T-data and Q-data using a mathematical technique

and identified 16 personality traits/factors common to all people.
2. The psychoanalytic elements are largely hypothetical constructs and are
not measurable, observable items susceptible to scientific analysis and
verification.