PHRM

Individual
Behavior,
Personality, and Values

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

MARS Model of Individual Behavior
Situational
factors
Values

Motivation

Personality
Perceptions
Emotions

Ability

Individual behavior and results Attitudes
Stress

Role perceptions 2-2

Employee Motivation


Internal forces that affect a person’s voluntary choice of behavior
• direction
• intensity
• persistence

S

M
A

BAR

R
2-3

Employee Ability


Natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task
 Competencies  personal characteristics that lead to superior performance
 Person  job matching
• selecting
• developing
• redesigning

S
M

A

BAR

R
2-4

Role Perceptions


Beliefs about what behavior is required to achieve the desired results:
• understanding what tasks to perform
• understanding relative importance of tasks
• understanding preferred

behaviors to accomplish tasks
S
M
A

BAR

R
2-5

Situational Factors


Environmental conditions beyond the individual’s short-term control that constrain or facilitate behavior
• time
• people
• budget
• work facilities

S
M
A

BAR

R
2-6

Defining Personality


Relatively enduring pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize a person, along with the psychological processes behind those characteristics
• External traits – observable behaviors
• Internal states – thoughts, values, etc inferred from

behaviors
• Some variability, adjust to suit the situation

2-7

Nature vs. Nurture of Personality


Influenced by Nature
• Heredity explains about 50 percent of behavioral

tendencies and 30 percent of temperament
• Minnesota studies – twins had similar personalities


Influenced by Nurture
• Socialization, life experiences, learning
• Personality stabilizes throughout adolescence
• Executive function steers behavior guided by our

self-concept

2-8

Five-Factor Personality Model (CANOE)
Conscientiousness

Careful, dependable

Agreeableness

Courteous, caring

Neuroticism

Anxious, hostile

Openness to Experience

Sensitive, flexible

Extraversion

Outgoing, talkative

2-9

Five-Factor Personality and
Organizational Behavior


Conscientiousness and emotional stability
• Motivational components of personality
• Strongest personality predictors of performance



Extroversion
• Linked to sales and mgt performance
• Related to social interaction and persuasion



Agreeableness
• Effective in jobs requiring cooperation and helpfulness



Openness to experience
• Linked to higher creativity and adaptability to change
2-10

Jungian Personality Theory


Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung
 Identifies preferences for perceiving the environment and obtaining/processing information  Commonly measured by Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI)

2-11

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)


Extroversion versus introversion
• similar to five-factor dimension



Sensing versus intuition
• collecting information through senses versus

through intuition, inspiration or subjective sources


Thinking versus feeling
• processing and evaluating information
• using rational logic versus personal values



Judging versus perceiving
• orient themselves to the outer world
• order and structure or flexibility and spontaneity
2-12

Self-Concept Definition and Elements


An individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations
• Guides individual decisions and behaviour



Three C’s of self-concept
1. Complexity -- People have multiple self-concepts
2. Consistency -- similar personality and values across

multiple selves
3. Clarity -- Clearly and confidently described, internally consistent, and stable across time.

2-13

Four “Selves” of Self-Concept


Self-enhancement
• Promoting and protecting our positive self-view



Self-verification
• Affirming our existing self-concept



Self-evaluation
• Evaluating ourselves through self-esteem, self-

efficacy and locus of control


Social self
• Defining ourselves in terms of group membership
2-14

Self-Concept: Self-Enhancement


Drive to promote/protect a positive self-view
• competent, attractive, lucky, ethical, valued



Positive self-concept outcomes:
• better personal adjustment and mental/physical

health
• inflates personal causation and probability of success 2-15

Self-Concept: Self-Verification


Motivation to verify/maintain our self-concept
 Stabilizes our self-concept
 People prefer feedback consistent with their self-concept  Self-verification outcomes:
• We ignore or reject info inconsistent with our

current self-concept
• We interact more with those who affirm/reflect our current self-concept

2-16

Self-Concept: Self-Evaluation


Self-esteem
• High self-esteem -- less influenced, more

persistent/logical


Self-efficacy
• Belief in one’s ability, motivation, role perceptions,

and situation to complete a task successfully
• General vs. task-specific self-efficacy


Locus of control
• General belief about personal control over life

events
• Higher self-evaluation with internal locus of control
2-17

Self-Concept: Social Self
•

Social identity -- defining ourselves in terms of groups to which we belong or have an emotional attachment

•

We identify with groups that aid self-enhancement
(e.g. high-status groups)
Contrasting Groups
IBMEmployee

Live in
U.S.A.

An individual’s social identity

University of
DallasGraduate

Employees at other firms
People living in other countries
Graduates of other schools 2-18

Values in the Workplace


Stable, evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences  Define right or wrong, good or bad
 Value system -- hierarchy of values

2-19

Schwartz’s Values Model

2-20

Schwartz’s Values Model


Openness to change – motivation to pursue innovative ways



Conservation -- motivation to preserve the status quo



Self-enhancement -- motivated by self-interest 

Self-transcendence -- motivation to promote welfare of others and nature 2-21

Values and Behavior


Habitual behavior usually consistent with values, but conscious behavior less so because values are abstract constructs



Decisions and behavior are linked to values when: • Mindful of our values
• Have logical reasons to apply values in that

situation
• Situation does not interfere

2-22

Individualism
High Individualism
U.S.
Italy

India
Denmark

The degree to which people value personal freedom, self-sufficiency, control over themselves, being appreciated for unique qualities Taiwan

Low Individualism
2-23

Collectivism
High Collectivism
Italy
Taiwan

The degree to which people value their group membership and harmonious relationships within the group

India
Denmark
U.S.

Low Collectivism
2-24

Power Distance
High Power Distance



Malaysia

• Value obedience to authority

Venezuela

• Comfortable receiving

commands from superiors
• Prefer formal rules and authority to resolve conflicts

Japan


U.S.
Denmark
Israel

Low Power Distance

High power distance

Low power distance
• Expect relatively equal power

sharing
• View relationship with boss as interdependence, not dependence 2-25

Uncertainty Avoidance
High U. A.
Greece
Japan



• feel threatened by ambiguity

and uncertainty
• value structured situations and direct communication

Italy

U.S.

High uncertainty avoidance



Low uncertainty avoidance
• tolerate ambiguity and

uncertainty
Singapore

Low U. A.
2-26

Achievement-Nurturing
Achievement
Japan



High achievement orientation • assertiveness
• competitiveness

China
U.S.
France
Chile

• materialism


High nurturing orientation
• relationships

• others’ well-being
Sweden

Nurturing
2-27

Three Ethical Principles

Utilitarianism

Individual
Rights
Distributive
Justice

Greatest good for the greatest number of people

Fundamental entitlements in society

People who are similar should receive similar benefits

2-28

Influences on Ethical Conduct


Moral intensity
• degree that issue demands ethical principles



Ethical sensitivity
• ability to recognize the presence and determine the

relative importance of an ethical issue


Situational influences
• competitive pressures and other conditions affect

ethical behaviour

2-29

Supporting Ethical Behavior


Ethical code of conduct



Ethics training



Ethics hotlines



Ethical leadership and culture

2-30

Individual
Behavior,
Personality, and Values

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.