3. INTRODUCTION
Each person in the world is individually different. From the day of birth, each
person is unique and experiences after birth tend to make him even more
different. The law of individual differences states that management can motivate
employees by treating them individually. There can be no standard technique for
dealing with the individuals because of differences between them. Every
individual may behave differently to the same stimulus under the given
environment. And a person may respond differently to a given stimulus under
different environment. This is because of the differences among individuals.
People differ in age, gender, attitude, background, education, perception,
intelligence, value system, physical features, etc. There may be many possible
combinations of these characteristics. That is why, placed in similar situations, all
people do not act alike. Therefore, it is essential to recognize individual
differences while dealing with human behaviour and relationships.
4. MEANING
Personality is the fundamental and foremost determinant of individual behaviour. It seeks to
integrate the physiological and psychological facets of an individual to put them into action.
Personality consists of an individual’s characteristics and distinctive ways of behaviour. In
simple words, we can say personality is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to
and interacts with others.
Personality is the combination of characteristics or qualities that forms a person’s unique
identity. It signifies the role which a person plays in public. Every individual has a unique,
personal and major determinant of his behavior that defines his/her personality.
Personality of an individual plays an extremely important role in assessing the behaviour of a
person at an organization. In case an individual who is holding a senior position in an
organization has a wrong type of personality, it may lead to a very bad impact on the
relationship between superior and his subordinates and ultimately it may lead to protests and
unrest at the workplace. No matter how good the superior is in technical knowledge or other
behavioural characteristics, it is the ‘temperament’ of the superior that is crucial in ensuring a
cordial interaction with subordinates.
5. NATURE OF PERSONALITY
Generally, personality refers to a set of traits and behaviours that
characterize an individual. A more comprehensive meaning of
personality is that it refers to the relatively stable pattern of behaviour
and consistent internal state and explains a person’s behavioural
tendencies.
oPersonality has both internal and external elements.
oAn individual’s personality is relatively stable.
oAn individual’s personality is both inherited as well as shaped by
the environment.
oEach individual is unique in behaviour.
6. DETERMINANTS OF PERSONALITY
#1 HEREDITY (BIOLOGICAL FACTORS)
Heredity refers to factors determined at conception. Physical stature, facial attractiveness,
gender, temperament, muscle composition and reflexes, energy level, and biological rhythms are
generally considered to be either completely or substantially influenced by who your parents
are—that is, by their biological, physiological, and inherent psychological makeup. The heredity
approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an individual’s personality is the molecular
structure of the genes, located in the chromosomes.
Intelligence
Temperament
Physical features or (appearance)
7. #2 CULTURAL FACTORS
Among the factors that determine personality formation is the culture in
which we are raised. Culture influences norms, attitude and values that are
passed along from one generation to the next and creates consistencies over
time.
While growing, the child learns to behave in ways expected by the culture of the
family into which he or she is born. Every culture has its own subcultures, each
with its own views about such qualities as moral values and standards,
cleanliness, style of dress, and definitions of success. The cultural subgroup
exerts its great influence on personality.
According to Paul H Mussen, “each culture expects, and trains, its members to
behave in ways that are acceptable to the group. To a marked degree, the child’s
cultural group defines the range of experiences and situations he is likely to
encounter and the values and personality characteristics that will be reinforced
and hence learned.”
8. #3 FAMILY FACTORS
Whereas the culture generally prescribes and limits what a person can be taught, it is the
family, and later the social group, which selects, interprets and dispenses the culture. Thus,
the family probably has the most significant impact on early personality development.
A substantial amount of empirical evidence indicates that the overall home environment
created by the parents, in addition to their direct influence, is critical to personality
development.
The parents play an especially important part in the identification process, which is
important to the person’s early development.
According to Mischel, the process can be examined from three different perspectives.
• Identification can be viewed as the similarity of behaviour including feelings and
attitudes between child and model.
• Identification can be looked at as the child’s motives or desires to be like the model.
• It can be viewed as the process through which the child actually takes on the attributes of
the model.
9. #4 SOCIAL FACTORS
Socialization involves the process by which a person acquires, from the
enormously wide range of behavioural potentialities that are open to him or her,
starting at birth, those behaviour patterns that are customary and acceptable to
the standards of, initially, the family and later the social group and the
employing organisation.
There is increasing recognition given to the role of other relevant persons,
groups and especially organisations, which greatly influence an individual’s
personality. Socialization process is especially relevant to organisational
behaviour because the process is not confined to early childhood, taking place
rather throughout one’s life. In particular, the evidence is accumulating
that socialization may be one of the best explanations for why employees
behave the way they do in today’s organisations.
10. #5 SITUATIONAL FACTORS
Human personality is also influenced by situational factors. The effect of
the environment is quite strong. An individual’s personality, while
generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations. The
varying demands of different situations call forth different aspects of one’s
personality.
According to Milgram, “Situation exerts an important press on the
individual. It exercises constraints and may provide a push. In certain
circumstances, it is not so much the kind of person a man is, as the kind of
situation in which he is placed that determines his actions”. We should
therefore not look at personality patterns in isolation.
11. THEORIES OF PERSONALITY
(A) PERSONALITY TRAITS THEORY
#1 Hans Eysenck's Three Trait Theory
Trait theory of Hans Eysenck states that any individual can be classified depending upon three main
aspects which are:
1) Neuroticism: The extent to which an individual can become emotional, moody, anxious, touchy, and
worried is regarded as neuroticism. Thus, the scale of an individual being distressed and upset is
determined by Neuroticism or emotional stability. The feelings of stress, pessimism, fear, and anxiety
along with low self-esteem are quite evident among the individuals who have high level of Neuroticism.
On the other hand, an individual tends to be calm, optimistic, and emotionally stable if the level of
Neuroticism is relatively low.
2) Extraversion-Introversion: The level of being outgoing, talkative, and energetic displayed by
individual is evaluated by Extraversion-Introversion. The spectrum of dominance, liveliness, and
sociability is determined by Extraversion-Introversion. The individuals who are extraverts are more likely
to enjoy the company of other individuals. They are optimistic, energetic, confident, outgoing, and able to
express their emotions and feelings. Opposite to this, the introvert individuals tend to be more reserved,
quite, shy, low on confidence, and are not comfortable in interpersonal relationships.
12. 3) Psychoticism: The aggression, respect, conformity, and feelings towards others of an individual are
included in Psychoticism. The individuals who are high on psychoticism tend to be risk taking, emotionally
cruel, and sensation seeking. These individuals tend to be sociopathic in nature which signifies that they are
not emotionally connected to others and do not have any respect for the social norms. On the other hand, low
Psychoticism (alternatively tender mindedness) individuals show care, responsibility, are socially driven, and
try to follow the various social norms rather than avoiding them.
#2 Big Five Model
The "Big Five“ is the model of personality that elaborates five basic features of personality. This theory has
been adopted by researchers across the globe. It states that there are five main personality traits:
1) Neuroticism: This trait can be defined as the inclination to feel negative emotions like uneasiness,
despair and irritation. A person with a neurotic state of mind tends to feel uneasy. While people having low
neurotic and psychologically stable personalities are relaxed by nature. The basic features of neuroticism are
tension, sadness, shyness, recklessness and helplessness.
2) Extraversion: Extraversion means extreme activeness and positive state of mind. It is characterised by
spontaneity, assertiveness and an inclination towards social relations. On the other hand, low extraversion is
characterised by silent, reserved and unemotional behaviour. The basic features of extraversion are affection,
sociability, boldness, action-seeking, adventurous and optimism.
13. 3) Openness to Experience: Openness to experience refers to an inclination towards rational
actions and observing new feelings and ideas. This factor is also called Creativity, Intellect and
Culture. Basic features of this trait are hope, aesthetics, thoughts, achievements, ideas and
morals. In other terns, openness to experience defines rational interest, aesthetic sensitivity,
vibrant thoughts and behavioural liveliness. Individuals who are highly open to experiences
usually have creative, ingenious, innovative yet inattentive outlook. Poets and artists are
considered to be people with high openness to experiences.
4) Agreeableness: The fourth trait is agreeableness, also called sociability and is defined by
sociable, thoughtful and humble behaviour. Agreeableness is related to feelings of friendliness
and care. Basic features of this trait include faith, frankness, kindness, obedience, humbleness
and flexibility of mind. It can be said that agreeable people are helpful, affectionate, sociable
and open-minded and have an inclination towards pro-social behaviour.
5) Conscientiousness: Conscientiousness is characterised by spontaneity, accountability, self-
control, capability, orderliness, dutifulness, success-striving and thoughtfulness. Due to the
characteristics like perfection, organization, will power und capacity, people with these
personality traits have great performance in all areas.
14.
15. #3 Allport's Trait Theory
In the opinions of Gordon Allport, some of the traits possessed by an individual do not match with
the traits of other individuals. The uniqueness of personality was specially emphasised by him.
Allport named these unique traits as ‘personal dispositions’ which are limited in quantity and are
distinctive in nature. The distinctiveness and complexity of human personality was the main focus
of Allport. Allport found in 1936 that there are approximately 4,000 different words present in an
English dictionary which depict numerous personality traits. There are three different categories
under which different traits were classified by Allport:
1) Central Traits: The basic foundation of a personality is formed by central traits. An individual
can use these central traits as main characteristics to describe any other individual. However, these
traits are not as powerful as cardinal traits. Central traits include the characteristics such as honesty,
shyness, confidence, intelligence, anxiety, etc.
2) Cardinal Traits: The cardinal traits are so powerful that they can influence the entire life of an
individual. The individual becomes famous particularly for possessing these traits. In views of
Allport, these traits are mainly developed in the later stage of the life and are very rare.
3) Secondary Traits: The traits which are often associated with the preferences, choices, or
attitudes are called secondary traits. These traits are exhibited only under certain circumstances or
specific situations. For example, being nervous before the interview, becoming impatient while
waiting for doctor, etc.
16. #4 R. B. Cattell Theory
In 1940s, a personality model was proposed by Raymond B. Cattell. In his factor analysis,
Cattell unearthed 16 different traits which were named as primary or source traits. Cattell's 16
Personality Factor (PF 16) Model is the most well-known and long lived personality
questionnaires which is executed and implemented in workplaces and other situations. A
research of a combination of almost 18,000 different adjectives, which are used to describe
individuals, was the foundation of these 16 traits.
A combination of "surface traits", which are constant behavioral responses and "temperament
and ability source traits", which are various inherent factors which determine the surface traits
was identified by Cattell by implementing a statistical method which is known as Multiple
Abstract Variance Analysis (MAVA). In 1949, 16PF questionnaire was published for the first
time and till now it has been published in 40 different languages. 16 different scales of
personality are analysed by a personality test which is known as 16PF.
17. (B) PERSONALITY TYPE THEORY
Some distinct and non-overlapping categories are used by some personality
theorists to group various individuals which are termed as personality types. These
personality types are not a subject of degree rather these are all-or-none
phenomenon. If a certain category is allotted to a certain individual, he or she
cannot fall in any other group. As this process helps the individuals in having a
better understanding of other individuals, thus most of the individuals use these
classifications to describe others Some distinct categories can be used to classify
the people with the help of personality type theory. The different personality type
theories are explained as below:
#1 Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an important tool for analysing and
describing the personality of individuals. MBTI facilitates people to recognise their
own psychological type and their interpersonal needs. MBTI is a personality
assessment tool which categorizes individuals into 16 broad personality types with
associated behaviors and values.
18. The MBTI test (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Assessment) was founded and created by the
contributions and research of a mother-daughter team by the name of Katharine Cook Briggs and
Isabel Briggs Myers, respectively. Katharine C. Briggs combined her psychological beliefs with
that of the renowned work of Carl G. Jung, resulting in the 16 Psychological Types of which the
MBTI Assessment is based. Katherine Briggs studied Carl Jung’s theories extensively and
believed that his work could be used in a practical manner. She based her research on Carl Jung’s
Theory of Typology, which was explained in his 1921 book entitled Psychological Types.
Individuals can be classified according to MBTI in following categories:
1) Extraversion versus Introversion: Extroverts (E) prefer getting involved in numerous
activities as they power from active participation in several events. They feel energised when they
are surrounded by people and they love passing on their energy to other. They are proactive by
nature. They are very comfortable around everyone, even with strangers. Discussions regarding a
problem and hearing it from others help them to get a better understanding towards it and then
they can resolve it in a better manner.
Introverts (I) prefer living in their own little universe and get energy from the thoughts, visual
images and responses that take place inside their rind. They like to work alone or in the company
of those with whom they feel secure. They are slow in decision-making because they think a lot
before taking any decision. They usually have a very clear-cut idea of what they want, but at times
they are not practical in their approach.
19. 2) Sensing versus Intuition: Sensing (S) type of people focus mainly on the sensory factors, i.e.,
what they can perceive through their sense organs. They observe and memorise information which
they find useful. They are realistic in their approach. Once they visualise the use of thing that is
being taught they learn it very quickly. They give more emphasis to experience rather than relying
upon words and symbols.
Intuition (N) type emphasises on feelings or meaningful information. They do not follow practical
approach for solving problems. They focus on new things and possibilities, i.e., they are more
concerned about looking forward than looking behind. They are interested in using symbols and
vague theories regardless of the fact that they have knowledge about their usage or not. They do
not remember the actual happenings and the facts related to them. They like to have visual images
of memorable events in their mind.
3) Thinking versus Feeling: Thinking (T) type pays more stress on applying the fundamental
truth or principle while making a decision. First, they evaluate the positive and negative aspects
and only then they give a final decision. They are totally impartial and not influenced by their own
or someone else’s intentions.
Feeling (F) type considers that the best decision can be made by discussing the matter with the
person who is directly associated with the problem. They are ethically strong and do what is best
for all those who are involved as it would create an environment of peace and cooperation. They
are always generous, kind and careful in their relationships.
20. 4) Judging versus Perceiving: Judging (J) types are structured and have a strategy for their life.
They prefer settled and relaxed atmosphere, especially after making decisions. They like to take
the command or their lives to the maximum extent.
Perceiving (P) types have adjustable and casual lifestyle. They prefer adjusting themselves as per
their surroundings rather than controlling it. They are considered as experimental and knowledge
seeker.
#2 Sheldon's Type Theory
Main physical types were defined by Sheldon with three unique patterns of personality which are
as below:
1) Endomorphic: These are the individuals with round and soft body, thick neck, relatively
shorter legs and large trunk. They are characterised as sociable, relaxed and easy going
individuals.
2) Mesomorphic: These are the individuals who have an athletic or muscular body type. Being
assertive, energetic and aggressive are the main characteristics of these individuals.
3) Ectomorphic: These types of individuals have delicate body structure. They are over stressed,
socially uncomfortable and more likely to suffer from inferiority complexes.
21. #3 Spranger's Value Theory
Value theory of personality was proposed by Eduard Spranger. This theory classifies individuals
into six personality types as described below:
1) Theoretical: These individuals have an intense feeling to organise their knowledge and try to
find out the truth about different situations and things. The examples of these groups can be seen in
the thinking of philosophers and scientists.
2)Economic: These individuals have a grave consideration towards the usefulness and practicality
of different things. The individuals who belong to business world exhibit this kind of thinking
process.
3) Aesthetic: These individuals have a feeling for artistic beauty, harmony, etc. A typical example
of this personality type is artist.
4) Social: These individuals have a lot of consideration for the betterment of other individuals. This
kind of behaviour is typically shown by social workers, teachers and individuals belonging to such
a profession which devote their services for the public welfare.
5) Political: These individuals have a passion to gain the power which is not limited to only
political context. This kind of thinking can be seen in the dominant spouse or a single minded
career oriented individual.
6) Religious: These individuals have the inclination of getting connected with the higher sense of
reality. This feeling is quite common among those people who regularly visit religious places, attain
religious meetings and up to certain level those individuals, who consume drugs to attain a sense of
self-awareness.
•
22. (C) PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
The wide spectrum of psychological theories which try to analyse the impact of innate drives,
impulses and various developments which are experienced in the personality of an individual are
termed as psychodynamic. Unconscious motives, conscious experiences, unconscious conflicts
and the interaction with the unconscious and the influence of social factors on the psychology of
human being are covered by psychodynamic theories. Similarly, many psychodynamic experts
presented their opinions that by analysing the internal processes, personality development drives
and childhood experiences and motivations, the violence among the youth can be understood.
Psychodynamic theories mainly include:
#1 Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory
Freud gave a theory with the following five stages of psychological development that affect
personality development:
1) Oral Stage: The oral stage begins with the birth of an infant and continues till the age of one
year. During this stage, the infants are dependent on others for their existence. The mouth fulfils
all the biological needs and also remains a dominant part of life. If the mouth is not used
sufficiently and positively in any of the stages, there is likelihood that an oral-passive personality
might develop during adulthood. Other negative probability is that the person might be exploited
or dominated by others.
23. 2) Anal Stage: This starts from one year and continues till three years. The child is given toilet training
during this stage. In cases where the training is strict, the personality of the child cultivates
characteristics like regularity, tidiness, stinginess, sanitation and determination. In cases where the
training is lenient, the child develops into a person with an aggressive personality with characteristics
like aggressive, chaotic, brutal, unfriendly and careless behaviour.
3) Phallic Stage: Duration of phallic stage is from the age of three to four years. Psychosexual
development is the focal point of this stage. The children of this age compare themselves with the parent
of the same gender. They are usually concerned about their genitals. During this stage, the Oedipus
complex or conflict takes place that decides if the children will love or hate their parents. In cases where
this conflict is not resolved, it results in extreme sorrow, uneasiness and hampers normal personality
formation.
4) Latency Stage: Duration of latency period lasts from the age of four to six years. The focus in this
stage deviates from sexual issues to development of social relationships with classmates and friends.
They also look for knowledge and skills that are important for work by taking admission in schools.
5) Genital Stage: This stage begins from adolescence and lasts till adulthood. Sexual interests develop
again during this stage. Along with this, attraction and curiosity towards the opposite sex also develops.
24. #2 Erik Erikson’s Theory
Erik Erikson was a Neo-Freudian who made major contribution in the field of life-span development. Erikson's
theories were related to psychodynamic point of view. Erikson developed his theory on the basis of Freud's
concept of ego. He divided the life-long development of a person into eight stages called as psycho-social stages.
He associated each stage with conflict that needed to be resolved before the person moved to the next stage. As the
eight stages are partially related to one another therefore, the conflict could never be totally settled down. Various
stages are as follows:
1) Infancy/Trust versus Mistrust (Birth to 1 Year): The first year of life teaches a child about trust and mistrust.
The infant is showered with unconditional love and hence he learns to trust others. In cases where there is lack of
love and care, mistrust develops. The experiences of this stage remain with the child throughout his life and affect
his personality.
2) Early Childhood/Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1 to 3 Years): The child starts seeking independence
in the second and the third years of age. There are certain facets of life that the child can proficiently control at this
stage. If he is permitted to do so, he develops a sense of independence. If the ciders continuously stop him from
taking control. a sense of uncertainty and humiliation is expected to develop.
3) Play Age/Initiative versus Guilt (3 to 6 Years): It is the tendency of four and five year old children to try and
discover what they are capable of doing. In households where the child is motivated to do experiments and
achieve targets which are reasonable to his age, a sense of initiativeness will develop. If the child is banned from
experimenting or being creative, he will become regretful and will lose confidence in himself.
25. 4) School Age/Industry versus Inferiority (6 to 12 Years): The child discovers various new skills in between the
age of six to twelve years and becomes socially active. If the child gets an opportunity to experience actual growth
at par with his capacity, he develops a sense of enterprise; otherwise he develops an inferiority complex.
5) Adolescence/Identity versus Role Diffusion (12 to 20 Years): The biggest issue with the teenage is gaining an
identity. People want to know who they are. Along with a number of biological changes happening in this stage, the
teenager is also striving to gain an identity separate from his parents. Development of independence, initiativeness
and enterprise in the previous stages also supports the teenager in overcoming this issue and helps in entering into
adulthood.
6) Early Adulthood/Intimacy versus Isolation (20 to 40 Years): In his twenties, as a young adult, the most vital
issue faced by a person is intimacy versus isolation. He is expected to develop strong bonds of friendship and love.
As a part of the psychological conflict, the person needs to develop intimate ties with others otherwise he will
become isolated.
7) Adulthood/Generativity versus Stagnation (40 to 65 Years): The issue faced by the adult during this stage is
generativity versus self-absorption. People who are self-absorbed are self-centred by nature, always concern about
their career progression and maintenance. They do not care for the next generation or the betterment of their society
or the place where they live.
On the other hand, for generative people the world around them is more important than themselves. They lay more
emphasis on productivity at work and societal progression. They are creative and imaginative and hence, become a
boon for the organisation.
8) Mature Adulthood/Ego Integrity versus Despair (Old Age): At this stage, the individual becomes mature. He
has attained a sense of intelligence and objectivity and can be an excellent leader for the upcoming generations.
26. MAJOR PERSONALITY TRAITS INFLUENCING OB
Locus of Control
It refers to an individual’s belief that events are either within one’s control
(internal locus of control) or are determined by forces beyond one’s control
(external locus of control). These personality traits are manifested in different
behaviour which are significant to manager. It has been proved that externals
(those who believe that events are determined by external forces) are less satisfied
with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rates, more alienated from work setting
and are less involved on their jobs than internals (those who believe that events
are within one’s control). Internals typically have more control over their own
behaviour, are more active in seeking information to make decisions, and are
more active socially than externals.
27. Authoritarianism
It is a concept developed by the psychologist Adorn during World War II to measure
susceptibility to autocratic, fascistic or antidemocratic appeals. Since that time, the
concept has been extended to the authoritarianism personality, a generic term used to
describe an individual who has a strong belief in the legitimacy of established
mechanisms of formal authority, views obedience to authority as necessary, exhibits a
negative philosophy of people, adheres to conventional and traditional value systems,
is intellectually rigid and opposes the use of subjective feelings. Authoritarians also
tend to be rigid in their positions, place high moral value on their beliefs and are
strongly oriented towards conformity to rules and regulations. They naturally prefer
stable and structured work environments which are governed by clean rules and
procedures. Similarly, authoritarians are likely to prefer autocratic or directive
leadership and would exhibit high respect for individuals in positions of authority.
28. Machiavellianism
It refers to an individual’s propensity to manipulate people. Machiavellians would be prone to participate
in organizational politics. They are also adept at interpersonal game playing, power tactics and identifying
influence system in organizations. Do the Machiavellians make good employees? The answer depends on
the type of job and whether one considers ethical considerations in evaluating performance. In jobs that
require bargaining skills (such as labour negotiation) or where there are substantial rewards for winning
(commissioned sales), Machiavellians perform better.
Achievement Orientation
It is yet another personality character which varies among people and which can be used to predict certain
behaviours. Employees with a high need to achieve, continually strive to do things better. They want to
overcome obstacles, but they want to feel that their success or failure is due to their own actions. This
means that they like tasks of moderate difficulty. An easy task shall not evoke challenges and is, therefore,
not liked by high achievers. Similarly, a task with high risk is not liked by these people as the failure rates
are more. Given the high achievers propensity for tasks where the outcome can be directly attributed to his
or her efforts, the high achiever looks for challenges having approximately a 50-50 chance of success on
the job, high achievers will perform better where there is moderate difficulty, rapid performance feedback
and direct relationship between effort and reward. This means that the high achievers tend to do better in
sales, sports or in management.
29. Self-esteem
It refers to feeling of like or dislike of one-self. This trait, naturally, varies from person
to person. Self- esteem is directly related to desire for success. People with high self-
esteem believe that they have abilities to undertake challenging jobs. They tend to
choose unconventional jobs than those with lower self-esteem. People with low self-
esteem are more susceptible to external influence than are those with high esteem. Low
esteems are dependent on the receipt of positive evaluation from others. As a result,
they are more likely to seek approval from others and more prone to conform to the
beliefs and behaviours of those they respect than high esteems. In managerial positions,
low esteems will tend to be concerned with pleasing others, and therefore less likely to
take unpopular stands than high esteems. Self-esteem is also related to job satisfaction.
High esteems are more satisfied with their jobs than the low esteems.
Risk-taking
People differ in their willingness to take chances. Their propensity to assume or avoid
risk has been shown to have an impact on how long it takes managers to make a
decision and how much information they require before making their choice. For
instance, 79 managers worked on simulated personnel exercise that required them to
make decisions. High-risk-taking managers made more rapid decisions and used less
information in making their choices than did low-risk- taking managers. Interestingly,
the decision accuracy was the same for both groups.
30. While it is generally correct to conclude that managers in organizations are risk aversive, there
are still individual differences on this dimension. As a result, it makes sense to recognise these
differences and even to consider aligning risk taking propensity with specific job demands. For
instance, a high-risk-taking propensity may lead to more effective performance for a stock trader
in a brokerage firm. This type of job, demands rapid decision-making. On the other hand, this
personality characteristics might prove a major obstacle to accountants performing auditing
activities. This latter job might be better filled by someone with a low-risk taking propensity.
Self-monitoring
It refers to an individual’s ability to adjust his or her behaviour to external factors. Individuals
high in self-monitoring can show considerable adaptability in adjusting their behaviour to
external, situational factors. They are highly sensitive to external cues and can behave differently
in different situations. High self-monitors are capable of presenting striking contradictions
between their public, personal and their private selves. Low self- monitors cannot deviate their
behaviour. They tend to display their true dispositions and attitude in every situation, hence there
is high behavioural consistency between who they are and what they do.
31. The high self-monitors tend to pay closer attention to the behaviour of others and are
more capable of conforming than are low self-monitors. We might also hypothesize that
high self-monitors will be more successful in managerial positions where individuals are
required to play multiple and even contradicting roles. The high self-monitor is capable
of putting on different “faces” for different audiences.
Type of personality
Finally, there is type ‘A’ personality and type ‘B’ personality. Type A personality typifies
a person who is always in a hurry, is extremely competitive and is often hostile and
irritable. Opposite is Type B personality who is relaxed, incompetent and easy going.
How do the two perform in organizations? Type A’s are no doubt highly competitive and
hardworking. But it is the Type ‘B’ who climbs up to the top of organization. Type A’s
will make most successful sales people and senior executive yes are usually Type B’s.
Why this paradoxes? Answer lies in the tendency of Type A’s to trade off quality of effort
for quantity. Executive positions usually go to those who are patient rather than to those
who are merely hasty, to those who are tactful rather than to those who are hostile and to
those who are creative rather than to whose who are merely agile in competitive strife.
