Organizational Behavior

Eighteenth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 4

Personality and Values

Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

 Learning Objectives
4.1 Describe personality, the way it is measured, and the factors that shape it.
4.2 Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
personality framework and the Big Five model.
4.3 Discuss how the concepts of core self-evaluation (CSE), self-monitoring, and
proactive personality contribute to the understanding of personality.
4.4 Describe how personality affects job search and unemployment.
4.5 Describe how the situation affects whether personality predicts behavior.
4.6 Contrast terminal and instrumental values.
4.7 Describe the differences between person-job fit and person-organization fit.
Describe Personality, the Way It Is Measured, and the Factors that Shape It

Measuring Personality

• Managers need to know how to measure personality.

• Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast
who is best for a job.

• The most common means of measuring personality is through self-report

surveys.
 Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 5-4

Chapter 4
Personality and Values

Copyright ©2014 Pearson Education

 After studying this chapter,
you should be able to:
1. Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain the factors that
determine an individual’s personality.
2. Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and assess its
strengths and weaknesses.
3. Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality model and demonstrate how the
traits predict behavior at work.
4. Identify other personality traits that are relevant to OB.
5. Define values, demonstrate the importance of values, and contrast terminal and
instrumental values.
6. Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture.

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 5-5

 Main points
First: Definition.
Second: Measuring Personality

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 6

 Personality

• Personality is a dynamic concept describing the growth and

development of a person’s whole psychological system.

❖ The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts to and interacts with
others.
➢ Most often described in terms of measurable traits that a person
exhibits such as shy, aggressive, submissive, lazy, ambitious, loyal, and
timid Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 5-7
❖ Self-report surveys
➢ Most commonly used

➢ Prone to error

➢ The respondent might lie or practice impression management to create a good

impression.

➢ The respondent might engage in bad mood

➢ Evaluate on a series of factors

Strongly Somewhat No Somewhat Strongly
agree agree opinion disagree disagree
5 4 3 2 1
I am easy going
I dislike confrontation

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 5-8

 Measuring Personality

0bserver-rating surveys

- coworkers can do the rating

- they are better predictor of success because they are more objective

Strongly Somewhat No Somewhat Strongly

agree agree opinion disagree disagree
5 4 3 2 1
My coworker is easy going 5
My coworker dislikes confrontation 3

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 5-9

Describe Personality, the Way It Is Measured, and the Factors that Shape It
Personality Determinants
Is personality the result of heredity or environment?
• Heredity refers to those factors that were determined at conception.
• The heredity approach argues that the ultimate explanation of an
individual’s personality is the genes, located in the chromosomes.
Heredity is the most dominant factor
➢ Twin studies: genetics are more influential than parents’ environment.
Environmental factors do have some influence
❖ As people grow older, their personalities do change even though basic
personality is constant
5) Which of the following is the most common means of measuring personality?
A) in-depth interviews B) self-report surveys C) career portfolio
D) reference interviews E) stress interviews
Answer: B
9) Which of the following terms refers to factors such as one's biological, physiological,
and inherent psychological makeup determined at conception?
A) social identity B) heredity C) behavioral contagion
D) self-concordance E) social loafing
Answer: B
Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model
The most widely used personality framework is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI).

Individuals are classified as:

Extroverted or Introverted (E or I)

Sensing or Intuitive (S or N)

Thinking or Feeling (T or F)

Perceiving or Judging (P or J)

Classifications combined into 16 personality types (i.e., INTJ or ESTJ)

 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (2 of 4)

• Individuals are classified as:

• Extraverted versus Introverted (E or I). People scoring higher on
the extraverted side of the scale are more outgoing, social and
assertive while those on the introvert side are quiet and shy.
• Sensing versus Intuitive (S or N). Sensing individuals are
practical, enjoy order and are detail oriented. Intuitive people are
more “big picture” oriented.
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (2 of 4)

• Individuals are classified as:

• Thinking versus Feeling (T or F). This scale is important in
decision-making: thinkers use reason and logic while feelers use
emotions and their own personal values to make decisions.
• Judging versus Perceiving (J or P). Judgers are control-oriented
and enjoy structure and order. Perceivers are more flexible and
spontaneous.
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (3 of 4)
• Introverted/Intuitive/Thinking/Judging people (INTJ)s are visionaries.
• They usually have original minds and great drive for their own ideas and
purposes.
• They are skeptical, critical, independent, and often stubborn.
• ESTJs are organizers. (extroverted, sensing, thinking, and judging)
• They are realistic, logical, analytical, and decisive and have a natural head for
business or mechanics.
• They like to organize and run activities.
• The ENTP type is a conceptualizer. (Extroverted, intuitive, thinking, perceiving)
• They are innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas.
• This person tends to focus on solving challenging problems, neglecting
routine assignments.
 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (4 of 4)
•
tIn spite of its popularity, evidence is mixed about its validity as a measure of personality.

• One problem is it forces a person into either one type or another (ex. introverted or
extraverted). There is no in-between.
t• The best we can say is that the MBTI can be a valuable tool for increasing self-awareness and providing career guidance.

MBTI measure unrelated to job performance

18) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification, people belonging
to the ________ type are practical and prefer routine and order and focus on details.
A) Sensing B) extraverted C) feeling D) perceiving E) intuitive
Answer: A
26) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification, introverted-
intuitive-thinking-judging type of people are ________.
A) Visionaries B) organizers C) conceptualizers D) executors E) methodists
Answer: A
28) According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification, people with an
ENTP personality type are most likely to be ________.
A) Illogical B) innovative C) intuitive D) skeptical E) stubborn
Answer: B
The Big Five Personality Model (2 of 5)

Sociable, ongoing, and assertive

Extraversion

Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting

Agreeableness

Responsible, dependable,
persistent, and organized
Conscientiousness

Calm, self-confident, secure under stress

Emotional Stability
(positive),
t versus nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative)

Openness to Curious, imaginative, and sensitive

Experience
Strengths and Weakness of the MBTI and Big Five Model
Exhibit : Model of How Big Five Traits Influence OB Criteria
34) Which dimension of the Big Five model is a measure of reliability?
A) Extraversion B) agreeableness C) conscientiousness
D) openness to experience E) emotional stability
Answer: C

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification, people belonging to the
"judging" type ________.
A) are quiet and shy
B) rely on unconscious processes and look at the "big picture"
C) want control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured
D) are outgoing, sociable, and assertive E) rely on their personal values and emotions
Answer: C

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 20

• According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) classification, people belonging
to the "intuitive" type ________.
A) are flexible and spontaneous B) are outgoing, sociable, and assertive
C) rely on unconscious processes and look at the "big picture"
D) want control and prefer their world to be ordered and structured
E) rely on their personal values and emotions
Answer: C
• The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator classifies people in all of the following categories
except ________.
A) extraverted/introverted B) sensing/intuitive C) perceiving/judging
D) independent/dependent E) thinking/feeling
D
• What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator classification of "S or N" stand for?
A) sensing/intuitive B) social/thinking C) stable/informative
D) sensitive/thinking E) stable/innovative
A Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 21
• According to the Big Five Model, a highly conscientious person is most likely to be __.
A) gregarious, assertive, and sociable
B) nervous, anxious, depressed, and insecure
C) creative, curious, and artistically sensitive
D) responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent
D
36) According to the Big Five model, a person who scores ________ is easily distracted,
disorganized, and unreliable.
A) low on emotional stability B) low on openness to experience
C) high on agreeableness D) high on extraversion E) low on conscientiousness
• Answer: E
48) People scoring high on the ________ dimension of the Big Five model are more likely
to be socially dominant, "take charge" people than those who score low.
A) Agreeableness B) conscientiousness C) openness
D) Extraversion E) emotional stability
Answer: D
Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 22
 How Do the Big Five Traits Predict Behavior at work? (4 of 5)
• Conscientiousness at work: Employees who score higher in
conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge, with higher
levels of job performance.

• Emotional Stability at work: It is most strongly related to life

satisfaction, job satisfaction, and low stress levels.

• People with high emotional stability can adapt to unexpected or

changing demands in the workplace.
 How Do the Big Five Traits Predict Behavior at work? (4 of 5)
• Extraversion at work: They perform better in jobs with significant
interpersonal interaction. They are socially dominant.

Extraversion is a relatively strong predictor of leadership emergence in groups.

• Openness at work: They are more comfortable with ambiguity. They cope
better with organizational change, and experience less work-family conflict
and more adaptable. While openness is not related to initial performance on a job, individuals higher in openness are less
susceptible to decline in performance over time, and experience less work-family conflict.
 How Do the Big Five Traits Predict Behavior at work? (4 of 5)

• Agreeableness at work: They are better in interpersonally oriented

jobs. They abide to rules, more satisfied in their jobs, and engage in
(OCB).

less likely to get into accidents, and more satisfied in their jobs. They
contribute to the organizational performance by engaging in
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
CSE, Self-Monitoring, and Proactive Personality
Other Personality Traits Relevant to OB
• Core Self-Evaluation: People with positive core self-evaluation like
themselves and see themselves as capable and effective in the
workplace
• bottom line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities,
competence, and worth as a person.
• Self-Monitoring: measures an individual’s ability to adjust his
behavior to external situational factors.
• Proactive Personality: people who identify opportunities, show
initiative, take action, and persistent.
________ refers to bottom-line conclusions individuals have about their capabilities,
competence, and worth as a person.
A) Core self-evaluation B) Authoritarianism C) Self-monitoring
D) Machiavellianism E) Agreeableness
Answer: A
Individuals scoring ________ have a strong ability to adjust their behavior to external,
situational factors and can behave differently in different situations.
A) low on openness B) high on narcissism C) low on agreeableness
D) high on self-monitoring E) low on conscientiousness
Answer: D
Those with a ________ personality identify opportunities, show initiative, take action, and
persevere until meaningful change occurs, compared to others who passively react to
situations.
A) high self-monitoring B) proactive C) high Mach D) type A E) narcissist
Answer: B
 Values

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 28

 Values

• Values represent basic, enduring convictions, or "a specific mode of

conduct that is personally or socially preferable.

• to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence"

 Value Systems
Represent a prioritizing of individual values by:
• Content – importance to the individual
• Intensity – relative importance with other values

• Value system: ranks values in terms of intensity.

The Importance and Organization of Values

Values:
• Lay the foundation for understanding of attitudes, motivation, and
behaviors.
 Terminal and Instrumental
Values

Terminal vs. Instrumental Values

Terminal values: desirable end-states of existence. These are the goals that a
person would like to achieve during his lifetime.
Ex: A world of peace, Freedom, Health and well-being, Meaning in life.
• Instrumental values: preferred modes of behavior or means of achieving
terminal values.
• Ex: Autonomy and self reliance, Personal discipline, Kindness, and Goal
Orientation.
A balance between terminal and instrumental values is important, as well as
an understanding of how to strike this balance.
 Which of the following statements is not true regarding values?
A) They are partly determined by our genetically transmitted traits.
B) They tend to be relatively stable and enduring.
C) They have both content and intensity attributes.
D) They carry an individual's ideas as to what is right, good, or desirable.
E) There is no substantial variability in values across cultures.
E
Which of the following terms describes basic convictions that "a specific mode of conduct or
end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite mode of conduct?"
A) values B) attitudes C) affects D) customs E) traditions
A
According to the Rokeach Value Survey, ________ values refer to desirable end-states.
A) Essential B) instrumental C) Critical D) flexible e) terminal
E
When we rank an individual's values in order of their ________, we obtain the person's
value system.
A) Intensity B) content C) context D) fluidity E) flexibility
Answer: A 5-32
• According to the Rokeach Value Survey, _______ values refer to preferable modes of
behavior.
A) Terminal B) critical c) instrumental D) essential E) flexible
Answer: C
• Milton Rokeach created the Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). It consists of two sets of
values, ________ values and ________ values.
A) instrumental; terminal B) critical; judgmental C) flexible; essential
D) essential; unconscious E) conscious; unconscious
Answer: A

Dr. Shawky ElGhitany 33

Which of the following is an instrumental value according to Milton Rokeach?
A) economic success B) social recognition C) personal discipline
D) world peace E) meaning in life
Answer: C
98) With reference to John Holland's personality-job fit theory, people belonging to the realistic type will be most suitable
for the job of a(n) ________.
A) Economist B) teacher C) mechanic D) lawyer E) biologist
Answer: C
With reference to John Holland's personality-job fit theory, people belonging to the ________ type prefer verbal
activities in which there are opportunities to influence others and attain powers.
A) Realistic B) conventional C) artistic D) enterprising E) investigative
Answer: D
John Holland's personality-job fit theory presents six personality types. Which of the following is one of these six types?
A) Analytic B) imaginative C) practical D) investigative E) intuitive
Answer: D
 Personality-Job Fit Theory(1 of 2)

• Holland proposes that satisfaction and the propensity to leave a job

depends on the degree to which individuals successfully match their
personalities to an occupational (job) environment .
• He identifies six personality types: realistic, investigative, social,
conventional, enterprising, and artistic.
 Personality-Job Fit: Holland’s Hexagon

4-36 Dr. Shawky ElGhitany

 Person-Job Fit vs. Person-Organization Fit
Exhibit 4-5 Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations
Type Personality Characteristics Congruent Occupations

Realistic: Prefers physical activities that Shy, genuine, persistent, stable, Mechanic, drill press operator,
require skill, strength, and coordination conforming, practical assembly-line worker, farmer
Investigative: Prefers activities that Analytical, original, curious, independent Biologist, economist,
involve thinking, organizing, and mathematician,
understanding
Social: Prefers activities that involve Sociable, friendly, cooperative, Social worker, teacher, counselor,
helping and developing others understanding clinical psychologist
Conventional: Prefers rule-regulated, Conforming, efficient, practical, Accountant, corporate manager,
orderly, and unambiguous activities unimaginative, inflexible bank teller, file clerk
Enterprising: Prefers verbal activities in Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, Lawyer, real estate agent, public
which there are opportunities to domineering relations specialist, small business
influence others and attain power manager
Artistic: Prefers ambiguous and Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, Painter, musician, writer, interior
unsystematic activities that allow emotional, impractical decorator
creative expression
 Person-Job Fit vs. Person-Organization Fit
Exhibit 4-5 Holland’s Typology of Personality and Congruent Occupations
Type Personality Characteristics Congruent Occupations

Realistic: Prefers physical activities that Shy, genuine, persistent, practical Mechanic, drill press operator,
require skill, and coordination
Investigative: Prefers activities that Analytical,, curious, independent Biologist, economist,
involve thinking, organizing. mathematician.
Social: Prefers activities that involve Sociable, friendly, cooperative, Social worker, teacher, counselor.
helping and developing others
Conventional: Prefers rule-regulated, and Conforming, efficient, practical, inflexible. Accountant, corporate manager.
unambiguous activities
Enterprising: Prefers verbal activities that Self-confident, ambitious, energetic, Lawyer, real estate agent, public
make him influence others and attain relations specialist.
power
Artistic: Prefers ambiguous and Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic, Painter, musician, writer
unsystematic activities that allow emotional, impractical
creative expression
 Person-Organization Fit (1 of 2)

• Person-Organization Fit
• People are attracted to and selected by organizations that match
their values,
1- People high on extraversion fit well with aggressive and team-
oriented cultures.
2- People high on agreeableness match up better with a supportive
organizational climate.
• People high on openness to experience fit better in organizations that
emphasize innovation.
 Type of personality Fit with
People are Attracted to Their value
organizations that
People high on extraversion Aggressive and team-oriented cultures.

People high on agreeableness supportive organizational culture

People high on openness to organizations that emphasize innovation
experience
Person-group fit Match Dynamic team settings
Person-supervisor fit poor fit can lead to lower job satisfaction and
reduced performance.
 Person-Organization Fit (2 of 2)
Other Dimensions of Fit
– Although person-job fit and person-organization fit are considered the most
salient dimensions for workplace outcomes, other avenues of fit are worth
examining.
Person-group fit : It is important in team settings, where the dynamics of
team interactions significantly affect work outcomes.
Person-supervisor fit: It has become an important area of research since
poor fit in this dimension can lead to lower job satisfaction and reduced
performance.
Which of the following is an instrumental value according to Milton Rokeach?
A) economic success B) social recognition C) personal
discipline
D) world peace E) meaning in life
Answer: C
98) With reference to John Holland's personality-job fit theory, people belonging to the
realistic type will be most suitable for the job of a(n) ________.
A) Economist B) teacher C) mechanic D) lawyer E) biologist
Answer: C
With reference to John Holland's personality-job fit theory, people belonging to the
________ type prefer verbal activities in which there are opportunities to influence
others and attain powers.
A) Realistic B) conventional C) artistic D) enterprising E) investigative
Answer: D
John Holland's personality-job fit theory presents six personality types. Which of the
following is one of these six types?
A) Analytic B) imaginative C) practical D) investigative E) intuitive
Answer: D
 Implications for Managers

• Consider screening job candidates for high conscientiousness—and the other Big
Five traits—depending on the criteria your organization finds most important. Other
aspects, such as core self-evaluation or narcissism, may be relevant in certain
situations.

• Although the MBTI has faults, you can use it for training and development; to help
employees better understand each other, open communication in work groups, and
possibly reduce conflicts.
 Implications for Managers

• Evaluate jobs, work groups, and your organization to determine the optimal
personality fit.

• Consider situational factors when evaluating observable personality traits, and

lower the situation strength to better ascertain personality characteristics more
closely.

• The more you consider people’s different cultures, the better you will be able to
determine their work behavior and create a positive organizational climate that
performs well.