This document discusses personality and organizational culture. It defines personality as a set of characteristics and traits that make someone unique. Personality is determined by both heredity and environment. The Big Five model identifies five major personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) that can predict behavior. Organizational culture refers to shared values, beliefs, and practices within a group. It functions to define boundaries, promote commitment, and shape employee attitudes. Culture is learned through ceremonies, stories, language, and symbols.

1. Personality and Culture

2. Personality - Definition
A persistent set of characteristics, qualities, and traits that taken
together form a unique person
We should think of personality as the sum total of the ways an
individual reacts to and interacts with others.

3. Personality - Determinants
Heredity versus Environment
Heredity

4. Research – Heredity v/s Environment
Pair of twins separated at birth -
Household 1 Household 2
A
50% personality similarities found in twins separated at birth and raised apart
This is not that
personality does not
change. Research
has shown that
personality is more
changeable in
adolescence and
more stable among
adults

5. Personality traits - Definition
Characteristics that are exhibited in a large number of situations, are called as
personality traits of that person

6. Measuring Personality
Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast who is best for a
job.
Many of our behaviors stem from our personalities, so understanding the components of
personality helps us predict behaviour.
Method: self-report
Weakness:
• The respondent might lie or practice impression management to create a good impression.
• Another problem is accuracy; a candidate who is in a bad mood when taking the survey may
have inaccurate scores.

7. Personality Frameworks
• The Big Five Personality Model

8. The Big Five Personality Model
• Five traits do a very good job of predicting how people behave in a
variety of real-life situation
• Big Five factors

9. The Big Five Personality Questionnaire - sample

10. The Big Five Personality Results - sample

11. Personality Theories
• Trait theory
• Psychodynamic theory
(https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html#:~:text=Freud's%20
personality%20theory%20(1923)%20saw,different%20stages%20in%2
0our%20lives.)
• Humanistic theory

12. Other major personality attributes influencing OB
• Locus of Control
• Machiavellianism
• Endomorph, mesomorph and ectomorph
• Type A and type B behavior

13. Organizational Culture
• Refers to the underlying values, beliefs, and codes of practice that
make a community what it is.
• Seven dimensions of organizational culture
• Innovation and risk-taking
• Attention to detail
• Outcome orientation
• People orientation
• Individual versus team orientation
• Aggressiveness
• Stability

14. Creating and Sustaining a Culture
• How a culture begins
• Keeping a culture alive
• Selection practices
• Top management actions
• Socialization methods

15. Culture’s functions
• A boundary-defining role
• Conveys a sense of identity for organization members
• Facilitates commitment to something larger than individual self-
interest
• Enhances the stability of the social system
• Sensemaking and control mechanism that guides and shapes
employees’ attitudes and behavior - defines the rules of the game.

16. Culture as a liability
• Barrier to Change
• Barrier to Diversity
• Barrier to Mergers and Acquisitions

17. HOW EMPLOYEES LEARN CULTURE
• Ceremonies, Rites and Rituals
• Stories and Myths
• Language
• Symbols