5.3 Hollands Classification of Personality According to John Holland's theory, most people are one of six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. a. Likes to work with animals, tools, or machines; generally, avoids social activities like teaching, healing, and informing others. b. Values practical things you can see, touch, and use like plants and animals, tools, equipment, or machines; and 2. Investigative: @. Likes to study and solve math or science problems; generally, avoids leading, selling, or persuading people. b. Sees self as precise, scientific, and intellectual. 3. Artistic: a. Likes to do creative activities like art, drama, crafts, dance, music, or creative writing; generally, avoids highly ordered or repetitive activities ‘Email — [email protected], M - 8146207241 BlPage http://www. edutap.co.inb. Sees self as expressive, original, and independent Social a. likes to do things to help people ~ like, teaching, nursing, or giving first aid, providing information; generally, avoids using machines, tools, or animals to achieve a goal, b. Sees self as helpful, friendly, and trustworthy. Enterprising a. likes to lead and persuade people, and to sell things and ideas; generally, avoids activities that require careful observation and scientific, analytical thinking b. Sees self as energetic, ambitious, and sociable, Conventional a. Likes to work with numbers, records, or machines in a set, orderly way; generally, avoids ambiguous, unstructured activities b. Sees self as orderly, and good at following a set plan. Personality Traits Affecting Behavior Personality has a key influence on work performance. In jobs, particularly with high human. relations content, where most of the working day is spent interacting with other people, personality is a major determinant of what will be done and how it will be done. Each man’s personality reveals itself in a way he works with his superior and subordinates. As a result, when the person on the job changes, everyone must adjust to a whole series of changes in the way work is accomplished. This impacts the individual performance and consequently ‘organizational performance. Much research has been conducted to identify personality types and personality traits. From organizational point of view, the following classification of personality traits is relevant. 1. Big Five Personality Traits 2. Dark Triad 3, Other Personality Traits 6.1 The Big Five Personality Traits In recent times, research has identified five fundamental traits that are especially relevant to organization. These five traits are called Big five personality traits. These five traits are as follows which are also known by acronym (OCEAN) 1, Agreeableness Email ~ [email protected] in, M - 814620728) http://www edutap.co.inConscientiousness Emotional Stability (Neuroticism) . Extroversion . Openness Each of these five Personality traits has two extreme points-High and low Apeeableness retin motion tabty In general experts agree that personality traits closer to the left end of each dimension are more positive in organizational setting, whereas traits closer to right are less positive. A brief description of these traits is prescribed below. 1. Agreeableness: This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors. People who are high in agreeableness tend to be more cooperative while those low in this trait tend to be more competitive and sometimes even manipulative. High Low + Mas. great deat of Takes tte antes in Anverest ln other people cottees ‘Cares about others Doesn't care about tow Fonte senpiig it other propie tel tera Ste bie tbe atone fe sige Lipeageand other people's problems oti tothe Ins a! betes happiness of other others people Manipolates others n> Assist others who are set what they want Inneed at help 2. Conscientiousness: Standard features of this dimension include high levels of thoughtfulness, good impulse control, and goal-directed behaviors. Highly conscientious people tend to be organized and mindful of details. They pian ahead, think about how their Emall — [email protected], M - 8146207241 ar|Page http://werw.edutap.co.inbehavior affects others, and are mindful of deadlines. Research has showed that more conscientious persons tend to be high performers than the less conscientious persons. High ‘pende inie peptng tes portant Low es structs ai sites au ghey Noes messes and hen ae care Pays antention to dealt = joys bang et sche ast rau tings or Pot (ven ack ere they belong roca important alist compete rcosary oF aca ass 3. Emotional Stability (Neuroticism): Neuroticism is a trait characterized by sadness, moodiness, and emotional instability. Individuals who are high in this trait tend to experience mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and sadness. Those low in this trait tend to be more stable and emotionally resilient. The stable people are seen as more reliable for an organization. High Low + experences a tot of 4 emotionally stabe stress Deals wo with stress ‘Worries about many Rarely fools ad ot ‘tere tags shasta seep Doesn't weary mcs Experiences dramatic ecg al silts in mood Feels anxious Struggles to bounce backafter stressful Extroversion: Extraversion (or extroversion) is characterized by excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness, and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. People who are high in extraversion are outgoing and tend to gain energy in social situations, Being around other people helps them feel energized and excited. They are successful working in the sales activities, publicity department, public relations unit. Email — [email protected], M ~8186207241 w|Page httpy//www.edutap.coinPeople who are low in extraversion (ar introverted) tend to be more reserved and have less energy to expend in social settings. Social events feel draining, and introverts often require a period of solitude and quiet to “recharge.” They are more likely to be successful when they work on hig High ys bate center of atentin kes to start sentvrsaton: Lajoyn nating em aople Mapa wide seca cece ‘ot flan ad ssoyuatances Finds it easy tp make ew frets eck energize whee url oni peor ‘Openness: ly abstract ideas such as abstract ideas such as research and development. Low rots sie eek exhausted win aaving to sociale aot is ical 0 start ialikes making small tall ‘cael ni ines hcough before speaking Dislikes being the center of ston his trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight. People who are high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests. They are curious about the world and other people and eager to learn new things and enjoy new experiences. People ‘who are high inthis trait tend to be more adventurous and creative, People low in this trait Email — [email protected], M - 8146207241 are often much more traditional and may struggle with abstract thinking. Generally, people with more openness perform better due to their flex is that they are better accepted in the organization. High © varyereati © Opento trying new things Focused on tackling new challenges Happy to think about abstract concepts Implications of Big 5 Personality Theory Low Dislikes change Does net enjoy new things Resists new ideas Not very imaginative Dislikes abstract of theoretical concepts. age httpi//vewwedutap coin,The big 5 personality traits still continue to attract attention of both researchers and managers. The framework of big 5 traits has its potential value as it encompasses an integrated set of traits that appear to be valid predictors of certain behaviors. Managers who can understand the framework and assess these traits in their employees are in a g00d position to understand how and why they behave as they do, The below table shows how big 5 personality traits affect Job Performance Relevance Behavioural Outcome (Openness Enhanced creativity, better Innovation, more adaptable to learning, flexibility change Conscientiousness | Better planning and execution, Persistent result achievement hard work Extroversion Better interpersonal skills, create Enhanced Leadership social acceptance. ‘Agreeableness ‘More compliance of Lower level of deviant behavior organizational norms, least conflict be Neuroticism Positive thinking, Behavioural Rational decision making, better Maturity people interactions Based on the needs of job, one can use this to identify people who can best perform that Job. . Conscientiousness is the strongest predictor of all five traits for job performance. A high score of conscientiousness has been shown to relate to high work performance across all dimensions. . The other traits have been shown to predict more specific aspects of job performance. For instance, agreeableness and neuroticism predict better performance in jobs where teamwork is involved. However, agreeableness is negatively related to individual proactivity. 4, Openness to experience is positively related to individual proactivity. . Extraversion is a predictor of leadership, as well as success in sales and management positions. ns of sonality TI . Cross Cultural Validity: Most of the research regarding Big 5 is done in US, so indian managers need to have caution about adopting Big 5 personality framework. They should ensure that possession of a higher degree of these traits is really in tune with their organizational requirements. Due to cultural difference between India and US it is not necessary that Big 5 personality framework is applicable in Indian Organizations in totality Email —[email protected], M -8146207241 30|Page http://mww.edutap.co.in2. Is 5 Really the Magic Number: A common criticisin of the Big Five is that each trait is too broad. Although the Big Five is useful in terms of providing a rough overview of personality, more specific traits are required to be of use for predicting outcomes. There is also an argument from psychologists that more than five traits are required to encompass the entirety of personality. 6.2 Dark Triad With the exception of neuroticism, the Big Five traits are what we call socially desirable, meaning we would be glad to score high on them. Researchers have found three other socially undesirable traits, which we all have in varying degrees, are also relevant to organizational behavior: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and Psychopathy. Owing to their negative nature, researchers have labeled these the Dark Triad—though they do not always occur together Machiavellianism: The personality characteristic of Machiavellianism (often abbreviated Mach) is named after Niccolo Machiavelli, who wrote in the sixteenth century on how to gain and use power. An individual high in Machiavellianism is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes ends can justify means. "if it works, use it” is consistent with @ high-Mach perspective. High-Mach employees, by manipulating others to their advantage, win in the short term at a job, but they lose those gains in the long term because they are not well liked. Narcissism: The trait is named for the Greek myth of Narcissus, a youth so vain and proud he fell in love with his own image. In psychology, narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, and is arrogant. Narcissists often have fantasies of grand success, a tendency to exploit situations and people, a sense of entitlement, and a lack of empathy. Narcissists commonly think they are overqualified for their positions.52 When they receive feedback about their performance, they often tune out information that conflicts with their positive self-perception, but they will work harder if rewards are offered. Psychopathy: Psychopathy is part of the Dark Triad, but in organizational behavior, it does not connote clinical mental iliness. in the OB context, psychopathy is defined as a lack of concern for others, and a lack of guilt or remorse when actions cause harm, Measures of psychopathy attempt to assess the motivation to comply with social norms, impulsivity, willingness to use deceit to obtain desired ends, and disregard, that is, lack of empathic concern for others. Email — [email protected] in, M - 8146207241 Pag hittp://mmew.edutap.co.inThe Dark Triad is a helpful framework for studying the three-dominant dark-side traits in current personality research, and researchers are exploring other negative traits as wellOther Personality Traits Besides Big 5 personality traits there are other traits that relevant to organizational behavior. These are Grit, Cor Self-evaluation, Narcissism, Self-Monitoring, Proactivity, Machiavellianism, locus of control, Tolerance for ambiguity, Type A and A, Work-ethic-Orientation and Risk Propensity 1. Grit: in psychology, grit is a positive trait, based on an individual's passion for a particular long-term goal or end state coupled with a powerful motivation to achieve the objectives. Duckworth et al who have introduced grit as a personality trait have defined grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Grit differs from conscientiousness in terms of time orientation for goal achievement: the former focuses on both short-term and long-term goals while the latter focuses only on short-term goals. Duckworth et al. have concluded that those individuals who have been high achievers possessed grit beyond normal ability. Example would be Dhirubai Ambani who is famous for his grit. Core Self-Evaluation: Core Self-Evaluation refers to the degree to which an individual considers himself'as worthy and capable of performing the task. Core self-evaluation reveals two aspects - self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept is the way individuals define themselves as to who they are and derive their sense of identity. Self-esteem denotes the extent to which they consistently regard themselves as capable, successful, Important, and worthy individuals. People with high self-esteem tend to take on more challenging assignment and contribute significantly to the organizational effectiveness if the organization rewards them suitably for their contributions. Nareissism: In psychology, narcissism describes a person who has an imposing sense of self-importance, requires disproportional praise, and has tendency of being arrogant and having extra entitlements. Narcissists tend to treat others as inferior, have selfishness, and let others put down, particularly to those who pose some kind of challenge to them. Very often, such persons have much lower rating on behavioral pattern from those who work with them than what they perceive about themselves. Example would be Saddam Hussain who ruled Iraq for many years. Email —[email protected],in, Mi - 8146207242 P http://www edutap.co.in4. Self-Monitoring: Self-monitoring refers to a person's ability to adjust with new state factors. Persons with high self-monitoring have high adaptability to the new situation while persons with low self-monitoring lack adaptability. Very often, high seif-monitors are ‘capable of presenting striking contradictions between their public selves and private selves. ‘They tend to pay closer attention to the behavior of others and are capable to conform to such behavior. Low self-monitors display their true dispositions in every situation, hence, consistency in their behavior irrespective of the situations. For example, George W. Bush is ‘an example of a leader high on self-monitoring. Even after receiving the news of attack on World Trade Centre, he remained calm with the school students he was attending to at that moment. Proactivity: Proactivity refers to the degree of anticipatory, change-oriented, and self- initiating behaviour that a person displays. Proactive behaviour olves acting in advance of a future situation rather than just reacting to the changed situation. Proactive create positive change in their environment despite constraints. They tend to become affective organizational leaders. Ratan Tata is an ‘example of proactive leader. He took many steps ahead of time which gave Tata Group that edge due to which it is at an established position today. Locus of Control: It means whether people believe that they are in control of events, or events control them. Those who have internal locus of control believe that they control and shape the course of events in their life; those who have external locus of control believe that events occur purely by chance or because of factors beyond their own control. Former category of people seek opportunities for their advancement and rely more on their abilities and judgment at work; while later category of people remain mostly inactive and allow the events occur on their own. Generally good leaders and managers are required to have internal focus of contro! because if they do not believe that they can make things work through their efforts, then they will never be able to achieve organizational objectives Tolerance for Ambiguity: Based on personality characteristics, some people can tolerate high level of ambiguity without experiencing undue stress and still function effectively while people who have a low tolerance for ambiguity may be effective in structured work setting but it is almost impossible to operate effectively when things are rapidly changing Email — [email protected] jin, M - 8146207241 33 [Page hittp//www.edutap.co,inand much information about the future turn of events is not available. Generally, managers have to work in an environment full of uncertainty because of rapid change; therefore, they have to develop high level of tolerance for ambiguity. For example, Jack Welch is famous for being extraordinarily successful in adapting to changing environment and he took GE to new heights during his tenure Work-Ethic Orientation: The extremely work ethic-orlented people get greatly involved in the job and live up to being described as living, eating, and breathing the job. For such people, work becomes the only consideration of satisfaction and they have little outside interests. On the other hand, people with low work-ethic orientation try to do the minimum that is necessary to get without being fired on the job. For effective ‘organizations, people with high work ethic orientation are necessary as compared to extremely high or low work ethic orientation, Almost all great CEO's like Jack Welch of GE, Narayan Murhty of Infosys had great work-ethic orientation. Risk Propensity: Risk propensity is the degree to which a person is willing to take chances and make risky decisions, A person with high-risk propensity experiments with new ideas. In ‘an organizational context, he may introduce new ideas, gamble on new products, and lead the organization in new and different directions, However, such a person may jeopardize the continued well-being of the organization if the excessive risky decisions prove to be bad ones. On the other hand, a person with low-risk propensity believes in excessive conservatism and tries to maintain status quo. In an organization, such a person resists changes and trying new ideas. For example, Warren Buffet, the famous boxer Mohammad Ali were high on risk propensity and they had huge success. Mr. Narendra Modi has also taken many bold steps which were procrastinated by previous leaders and thus putting him in category of leaders with high propensity Implication of Other Personality Tra’ Based on above discussion, we'can say that apart from Big 5 personality traits, there are other traits which managers need to have to be effective. They need to have high grit, core self- evaluation, low narcissism, high self-monitoring, high proactivity, internal locus of control, high tolerance for ambiguity, Orientation to Type A to Type 8 depending on their work profile, high work-ethic orientation and moderate to high-risk propensity. The people who possess these ‘waits can be termed as high-fliers and they have the potential to be effective future leaders. Email ~ [email protected], M - 8146207241 P tte://www.edutap.co.inApart from Big 5 and Other personality Traits, high-fliers need to be good on following dimensions Dimensions of High-Fliers Must be sensitive to cultural Difference Takes Risks Must have business knowledge Uses Feedback from the people ‘Must have courage to take a stand Js culturally adventurous Brings out the best in the people Seeks Opportunities to learn Acts with integrity 's Open to Critcism Is Insightful Committed to success Flexible Visionary and Inspiring 7 Applications of Personality ‘We shall discuss application of personality from the organization perspective and from the perspective of the Individual. 7.1. Organizational Applications of Personality Understanding personality has several implications for managers as it can help them manage organization effectively. The implication can be found areas. 1, Matching Job and Personality: Every organization requires some specific characteristics of the job performer and one of the basic characteristics of personality of the job performer, ‘An organization can do well if it is able to match the jobs and the individuals ie., the personality of the job performer matches with the requirement of the Job. Another area which helps in matching jobs and individuals is training and development. Since people move upward in the organization, the nature of their job changes which requires realignment between the Job and the Job performer. The new personality traits can be developed though to a limited extent through training, Designing Motivation System: All specific people cannot be motivated by offering the same incentives because of their personality differences. Some people may be motivated by offering financial incentives, some people may not react so favorably to such offers, They may attach more importance to non-financial incentives. Thus, motivation system which considers the personality variables of the people in the organizations is likely to be more reliable. For example, people with external locus of control might be happy with financial incentives whereas people with internal locus of control might need achievement and recognition Email [email protected], M- 8146207241 hittp://www.edutap.co.inDesigning Control System: In order to ensure people, contribute to the organization in desired way, a control system is developed. Such a system may be in the form of tight control or may provide flexibility. Based on personality, different people react differently to a particular type of control system. Thus, the designing of control system must consider the personality variables of the people. For example, Type A may like tight control whereas ‘Type B might want flexibility. Providing Right Environment: As Agrysis mentioned that most of the people are not able to achieve maturity because they are not provided the right environment where challenging tasks are given to employees. He Proposes a programme of gradually phasing from the existing pyramidal organization structure to humanistic system; from existing management system to more participative management. Such situations will provide individuals the opportunity to grow and mature and keep them satisfy more than basic needs Examples of Recruitment Policy Reliance industries Limited: Reliance looks for people who have capacities for entrepreneurship, risk taking and will to win — hallmarks of the reliance culture etched indelibly by its founder Dhirubai Ambani — into the psyche of the company Hindustan Unilever Limited: It looks for people from top management institutes who are highly competent and professional, highly competitive, and high ethical standards. It ‘emphasizes professionalism, convent school educated, sharp dressing, good debating skills etc. | Infosys Technologies Limited: Infosys looks for people who find company’s middle-class values satisfying, These are the people brought up in traditional, conservative homes but have superior academic records, technical skills, capacity for hard-work, willingness to work and high degree of learnability. It avoids selecting people who are overly ambitious and competitive who tend to both create and thrive amid internal competition 7.2 Applications of Personality at Individual Level ‘Mapping personality to enhance personal effectiveness is old as mankind. Since personality factors are quite important for personal effectiveness, one should identify his personality and sharpen those personality factors which contribute to enhance personal effectiveness. A person can enhance his personal effectiveness in following ways. 1. Internal locus of Control: For enhancing personal effectiveness, the first basic thing is that the person has internal locus of control, People with internal locus of control believe that they control and shape the course of events in their life. This belief generates confidence in the person to get the desired result. In contrast, people with external locus of control believe the events occur by chance or because of factors beyond their own control. It is important to Email ~ [email protected], M- 8146207241 36 | Page http//worw.edutap.co.indevelop internal locus of control because it gives you that self-belief to achieve challenging milestones Clarity: The person must have clarity on his weakness and strengths. The goals must be set in line with his weakness and strengths Conscientiousness: The person must apply the concept of conscientiousness in achieving goals. The person may have several goals. But all these should not be pursued at the same time because this results in fragmented efforts. Therefore, these goals should be arranged in order of importance: from most important to least important. If there is clarity about the goal to be achieved, the person puts his entire energy to achieve this goal Determination: The person should be determined to achieve the intended goals. if the determination is high, he can achieve anything. When he is determined, his latent (potential) ‘energy comes on the surface to help him achieve the goals Creativity Acting Differently Managing Stress Persistence Personality Measurement We have discussed that matching personality with job is essential for organizational effectiveness. So, lets discuss what are the major methods to measure personality Projective method Personality method Interview method .. Case history method Observation methods 8.1 Projective Method A projective test is a type of personality test in which you offer responses to ambiguous scenes, words, or images. In many projective tests, people are shown an ambiguous image and then asked to give the first response that comes to mind. The goal of such tests is to uncover the hidden conflicts or emotions that you project onto the test. According to the theory behind such tests, when you are asked a straightforward question about a particular topic, you have to spend time consciously creating an answer. Email — [email protected], M - 8195207241 a7 | Pag hntp://www.edutap.co.inThis can introduce biases and even untruths, whether or not you are trying to deceive the test provider. For example, a respondent might give answers that are perceived as more socially acceptable or desirable but are perhaps not the most accurate reflection of their true feelings or behavior. The hope is that because of the ambiguous nature of the questions, people might be less able to rely on possible hints about what they think the tester expects to see. As a result, they are hopefully less tempted to "fake good,” or make themselves look good. There are a number of different types of projective tests. Some of the best-known examples include 1. Rorschach Ink Blot Test: Developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921, the ‘test consists of 10 different cards that depict an ambiguous inkblat. People are shown one card at a time and asked to describe what they see in the image. Every person based on his personality perceives various things ~ man, animal, or any other object in these ink blots. When people answer their interpretation of such images, their repressed feelings, desires, motives are reflected in their answers Thematic Appreciation Test: This was designed by Murray and Morgan. inthe TAT test, people are asked to look at a series of ambiguous scenes and then to tell a story describing the scene, This includes describing what is happening, how the characters are feeling, and how the story will end. On the basis of description of various pictures, the appraiser appraises the personality characteristics of subjects. in the original version there are 31 pictures whereas in Indian adapter version there are 14 pictures. The test aims to reveal the needs, conflicts, and traits that underline the behavior of the individuals Email — [email protected], M - 8146207241 http://www.edutap.co.in’8.2 Personality Inventories When personality inventories are used as measurement techniques, they take both external and internal features of the individuals. While external features are measured by observations, for measuring internal features, various questionnaires and other techniques are used. Some-of the major personality inventories are as follows 1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI): it is developed by Hathway Makinly. MMPI contains 550 items with each item having 3 alternative answers — true, false, and not known. Scoring is done on the basis of answers provided by individuals. Based on scores, personality features are measured Sixteen Personality Questionnaire (16 PFQ); Developed by Cattel, this test measures sixteen personality traits. The scores obtained are analyzed and personality traits are determined. Indian Psychologists have developed their Indian version specially to measure personality traits like adjustment, anxiety, emotional maturity, id power, self-entightenment, self- concept, and other aspects Myers-Brig Type Indicator: Myers-Briggs theory was developed by the mother-daughter partnership of Katharine Briggs and Isabe! Briggs Myers. Myers-Briggs theory is an adaptation of the theory of psychological types produced by Carl Gustav Jung. It is based on 16 personality types. It differentiates people in terms of 4 dimensions. Extraversion Vs. Introversion: The first pair of styles is concerned with the direction of your energy. If you prefer to direct your energy to deal with people, things, situations, or "the outer world”, then your preference is for Extraversion. I you prefer to direct your energy to deat with ideas, information, explanations, or beliefs, or "the inner world", then your preference is for Introversion. Sensing Vs. Intuition: The second pair concerns the type of information/things that you process. If you prefer to deal with facts, what you know, to have clarity, or to describe what you see, then your preference is for Sensing. If you prefer to deal with ideas, look into the unknown, to generate new possibilities or to anticipate what is not obvious, then your preference is for Intuition. The letter N is used for intuition because | has already been allocated to Introversion. Email - [email protected], M - 8146207241 39 hitp://wwww edutap.co.in3, Thinking Vs. Feeling The third pair reflects your style of decision-making. if you prefer to decide on the basis of objective logic, using an analytic and detached approach, then your preference is for Thinking. If you prefer to decide using values - ie., on the basis of what or who you believe is important - then your preference is for Feeling 4 Judgement vs. Perception: The final pair describes the type of lifestyle you adopt. If you prefer your life to be planned and well-structured then your preference is for Judging. This is not to be confused with ‘judgmental’, which is quite different. if you prefer to go with the flow, to maintain flexibility and respond to things as they arise, then your preference is for Perception. You combine the letters associated with your preferences to get your Myers Briggs personality type. For example, having preferences for E (Extraversion), S (Sensing), T(Thinking) and Judgement) gives a personality type of ESTI. Like this there can be 16 personality types Problems with MBT! 1. One problem with the MBTI is that the model forces a person into one type or another; that is, you are either introverted or extraverted. There is no other type in between, 2. Another problem is with the reliability of the measure: When people retake the assessment, they often receive different results 83 Interview Method Interview Is a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the personality characteristics of persons, There are two types of interviews for measuring personality - exhaustive and stress, Exhaustive interview |s semi-structured and involves questions on various dimensions of personality. The basic idea behind this interview is to get maximum possible information about the individual concerned so as to assess his personality completely. Stress interview aims at finding out how the individual behaves in stressful situations. In stress interview, the interviewer creates stressful situation. Interview is a better method of measuring personality as it provides opportunity for face-to- face interaction between personality assessor and the individual whose personality is being assessed. However, it requires highly skilled person to conduct the interview. 84 Case History Method In this method, the personality appraiser appraises the personality characteristics of an individual based on the information collected from different sources. These sources include Email ~ [email protected], M - 8146207241 40) Pace http://www edutap.co,inindividual's personal letters, diaries, other documents, his family members and relatives, friendship and work groups, institutions, etc. The information so collected is analyzed and the personality of the individual is assessed. This method of personality assessment is used generally by psychiatrists for the treatment of abnormal persons. Though this method is not very scientific and lacks control in information collection, this can be highly effective if the psychiatrists concemed are professionally trained 8.5 Observation Method In the observation method of personality assessment, personality characteristics of an individual are assessed by observing his behaviour in different situations. The basic idea behind this method is that the behavioral pattern of any person reflects his personality, and the assessment of this overt behavioral pattern will provide clue about his personality. This method is highly effective when the observers are fully trained to relate behavioral pattern with personality. In fact, many personality traits have been established on the basis of observations alone Perception Many a times different people have different opinion on different issues, It is due to different perceptions that we arrive at different conclusion. For example, manager may perceive the immediate cause of strike as trivial, while workers may see it as profoundly serious. Personality is related to behavior of an individual whereas perception is related to cognitive process 9.1 Concept of Perception Perception is the process through which an individual organizes and interprets his sensory impressions to give meaning to his environment. Perception has following characteristics 1. Perception is an intellectual process through Which an individual selects the data from the environment organizes it and derives meaning from it. The physical process of obtaining data from environment, known as sensation, is distinct from it The manner in which an Individual perceives the environment affects his behaviour. Thus, people’s actions emotions, thoughts, or feelings are triggered by the perception of ‘their surroundings. Email —helle@edutap coin, M- 8146207241 heep://www edutap.co.in3, Perception, being an Intellectual and psychological process, becomes a subjective process. Different people may perceive the environment even differently based on aspects of the situation they choose to observe and the way they interpret it ‘There are two type of perception based on type of stimuli processed -> internal and external 1, Internal Perception: It tells us what is going on in our bodies. We can sense whether we are hungry tired, or similar such phenomena 2. External Perception: It tells us about the environment beyond our bodies. By using our senses of sight, bearing, touching etc, we perceive our environment. In organizational behaviour, external perception is studied and only the term perception is used without prefixing the world external with perception. 9.2 Sensation and Perception Sometimes confusion arises between sensation and perception as both are the cognitive processes. However, both affect people differently. Sensation may be considered as a part of perception because the former is the first stage of the latter. The first experience of the stimulation js sensation, and the process related to the distinct knowledge of stimulus is perception. Sensation is response to physical senses which are in form of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Examples of sensation includes reaction of eye to color, ear to sound and so on. Perception correlates, comprehends diverse sensation and a person identifies things, objects etc. that are related to sensation. Thus, sensation is the action by which physiological organ ‘when it is stimulated, and perception is meaning given to the sensation. 9.3 Importance of Perception Perception affects the outcome of behavior. This is so because people act based on what they see. Hence, in understanding behaviour, the managers must recognize that facts people do not perceive as meaningful usually will not influence their behaviour, whereas the things they believe to be real, even though factually incorrect, or non-existent, will influence It. in organization perception is useful in various activities but there are 3 major areas which require special attention. These are 1, Interpersonal Working Relationship: if the members of the organization do not have similar or at least compatible perceptions, the problems of the organization are greater and will require efforts to make perceptions more compatible. Misperceptions usually lead to strained relations and may even result in open conflict among people. Email [email protected], M - 8246207241 42 [Page hetp://www.edutap.co.inSelection of Employees: In many instances, and managers are subject to many of the perceptual problems when they make the selection decisions. There may be strong tendencies towards logical error and stereotyping specially during initial interviews. Performance Appraisal: The appraisal of a subordinate's performance is highly affected by the accuracy of a manager's perceptions. Managers may have tendencies to positively evaluate some employees because they are better liked, or are on favored tasks, or are particularly noticeable. Impression Management: It is especially important for an individual to manage or to control what others perceive about the individual. Identification of social image and self-concept are some relevant factors that contribute to impression management, Delegation of Authority: Many a times authority is delegated based on perceptions of subordinates. If these perceptions are wrong, then it can lead to wrong delegation of authority 9.4 Perceptual Process Perception is @ process consisting of several sub-processes. We can take an input-throughput- output approach to understand the dynamics of the perceptual process. This approach emphasizes that there isinput which is processed and give output. 1. The stimuli in the environment-subjects, events, or people can be considered as the perceptual inputs. .. The actual transformation of these inputs through the perceptual mechanisms of selection, organization, and interpretation can be treated as the throughputs. 3. The resultant opinions, feelings, attitudes, etc., which ultimately influence or behaviour, can be viewed as the perceptual outputs. The following is a simplified version of perceptual process. it does not present the whole factors which go in input-throughput-output process of perception. Perception as a complex process presents three basic sub processes or elements of perception. These are existence of stimuli, perceptual mechanism, and perceptual outputs. Perceptual outputs along with. other determinants of human behaviour affect and shape behaviour. Let us see how perceptual process works in terms of its three basic elements. Email - [email protected]; M - 8145207241 ° http://www.edutap.co.inPerceptal Outputs Percept ‘Ons “tides teat Perceptual Input Stimuli may be in the form of objects, events, or people. Thus, everything in the setting where events occur, or which contributes to the occurrence of events, can be termed as perceptual input. The characteristics of stimuli are important as these affect the extent to which the perceiver is attracted to these, which further impacts the selection of stimuli in the next step. Perceptual Mechanism Perceptual mechanism involves three elements ~ selection of stimuli, organization of stimuli and interpretation of stimuli. 1. Selection of stimuli: After receiving the stimuli from the environment, some are selected for further processing while others are screened out because it is not possible for a person to select all stimuli which he sees in the environment. There are two types of factors which affect selection of stimuli: external and internal. External factors are related to stimuli and internal factors are related to the perceiver. We shall discuss this later in the chapter. Email [email protected] in, Mi 8146207241 aa|Page http://www edutap coinOrganization of stimuli: After the stimuli are received, these are organized in some form in order to make sense out of that. The various forms of organizing stimuli are figure-ground, grouping, simplification, and closure. We shall discuss the impact of these factors later. Interpretation of stimuli: The perceptual inputs that have been organized will have to be interpreted by the perceiver so that he can sense and extract some meaning of what is going on in the situation. People interprat the meaning of what they have selectively perceived and organized in terms of their awn assumptions of people, things, and situations. They also become judgmental and tent to interpret things as good/bad, beautiful/Ugly and so on. Interpretation of stimuli depends on (i) characteristics of Stimuli (ii) Situation under which perception takes place and (iii) characteristics of perceiver. Perceptual yuts The result is the development of attitudes, opinions, beliefs etc. These outputs along with other factors affecting human behavior may or may not result in overt behavior. For overt behavior to occur, perception is not the sole decider though it is important. For example, when 2 person sees an advertisement for a product (stimulus), he may perceive that product is good. This perception, however, may not be enough for a person to buy the product (over behavior). The actual buying depends on availability of the product, need of product and his capacity to spend money to buy the product. 10 Perceptual Selectivity We discussed that selection of stimuli is impacted by ot of external and internal factors. Therefore, certain stimuli are screened out and others are admitted. The stimuli which are admitted remain in the awareness of the people and those which are screened out fall below the threshold. For example, when we read newspaper, we do not read the ‘entire newspaper but only that news which interest us. This is known as perceptual selectivity. Let us discuss the internal and external factors which impact perceptual selectivity 10.1 External Factors External factors may distinguish a particular stimulus form another stimulus of the same group. Such characteristics may be in form of size, intensity, repetition, novelty and familiarity, contrast, and motion Email ~ [email protected], M - 8146207241 é hetp//www.edutap,co.in1. Size: The size of the object or stimulus has a greater impact on the perception process because the size influences attention and recognition in'a more effective manner. For ‘example, the letters of larger sizes in newspaper or books are selected for reading . Intensity: The intensity of stimulus implies that the more intense the stimulus audio or visual, the more is the likelihood it will be perceived. A loud noise, strong odor or bright light or bright colors will be more readily perceived than soft sound, weak odor, ‘or dim light. it is because of this advantage that advertisers employ intensity to draw the consumers! attention. For example, commercials on televisions are slightly louder than the regular programs so as to get attention from consumer. |. Repetition: Repeated stimuli have more impact on performances than a single statement. Repetition has the advantage of being attention catching. Perhaps, it is because of this that supervisors tend to repeat directions regarding job instructions several times for even simple tasks to hold the attention of their workers. For example, Advertisers while putting TLV. or radio advertisements repeat the brand name they are advertising. Novelty and familiarity: A novel object in the familiar situation or a familiar object in a novel situation tend to attract attention. Thus, a white person or a black person in India catches attention faster. Job rotation is an example of this principle. Recent research indicates that job rotation not only increased attention but also employees’ acquisition of new skills. Similarly, communication in familiar jargons attracts more attention due to familiarity Contrast: Contrasting objects have more impact on behaviour. The contrast principle states that external stimuli, which stand out against the background or which, are not what the people expect will receive attention. Plant safety signs, which have black lettering on a yellow background or white lettering on a red background, are attentions getting. Motion: The factor of motion implies that the individuals attend to changing objects in their field of vision than to static objects. It is because of this advantage that advertisers involve signs, which include moving objects in their campaigns. All these factors affect perceptual selectivity, their uses shall be made properly, otherwise negative consequences may emerge. For example, the principle that the louder sound attracts [email protected]. Mi - 8145207241 46) Pace hittpi//www.edutap.co.in‘more attention and may make a supervisor in a factory to believe that if he speaks loudly to his own workers, they will pay more attention. However, by speaking loudly, the supervisor may be turning the workers off instead of getting their attention. 10.2 Internal Factors While external factors are related to environment, internal factors are related to the individual's complex psychological makeup. People generally select those stimuli and situations from the environment which are compatible with their personality and other factors. A brief discussion of these factors is given below. 1. Self-Concept: The way a person views the world depends on the concept of image he has about himself. This concept plays an | The Self important role in perceptual selectivity. People’s own characteristics affect the characteristics which they are likely to see in others. They select only that aspects which thay find match with their characteristics. For example, in a selection interview, an interviewer places more emphasis on a candidate whose characteristics match with those of the interviewer. Beliefs: A person's beliefs have profound influence on his perception. The individual normally censors stimulus inputs to avoid disturbance of his ig beliefs, This is referred to as maintenance of cognitive consistency. Expectations: Expectations are related with the state of anticipation of a particular behaviour from a person. Thus, a technical manager may expect ignorance about the technical features of a product from non-technical people. Such expectations may affect the perception. . Inner Needs: The need is a feeling of tension or discomfort when one thinks he is missing something or when he feels he has not quite closed a gap in his knowledge. When people are not able to satisfy their needs, they are engaged in wishful thinking which is a way to satisfy the needs not in real world but in imaginary world, the daydreaming. According to Freud, wishful thinking is the means by which the id, a part of personality, attempts to achieve tension reduction. In such cases, people will perceive only those items which are consistent with their wishful thinking. For example, poor people may be motivated by free food programs schemes or free housing schemes rather than infrastructure development schemes. Email —[email protected], M - 2146207241 http://www. edutap.co.inResponse Disposition: It refers to a person's tendency to perceive familiar stimuli rather than unfamiliar ones. For example, persons having a particular value take lesser time in recognizing the words having implications in the area of that value but take longer time in recognizing the words not associated with value. In an experiment, persons having dominant religious value took lesser time in recognizing such related words as ‘priest’, or ‘minister’ whereas they took longer time in recognizing words related with economic value, such as ‘cost! or ‘price 11 Perceptual Organization While discussing the perceptual process, we discussed that stimuli received are organized in some form or other to make sense out of that. There can be various forms of organizing a stimulus such as figure ground, grouping, proximity, similarity, simplification, closure. Let us discuss these one by one. 1. Figure Ground: Figure-ground principle suggests that while organizing stimuli, people tend to treat those stimuli as figure which are more Important and those stimuli as background (simply known as ground) which are less important. Based on this pattern of organizing, they perceive the stimuli by focusing more attention on figure and less attention on ground. For example, while reading the subject matter printed on this page, we treat the letters as figure and the paper on which the letters have been printed as ground. In a similar way, a manager in the organization may consider work performance as a figure in promotion While other managers may treat itas ground. If you see the above figure, some people will just see flower vase, or some will also see two faces. That is how figure ground changes the organization. This happens in an organizational setting also. For example, a new employee who is on probation and is put in a work group Email ~ [email protected], M- 8146207241 48 | http://www.edutap,.co.inhaving interdependent work among group members, may treat his immediate superior as figure and group cooperation as ground. The employee will concentrate on his own good performance to please the boss instead of contributing to the group efforts to achieve the group performance target 2. Proximity: The proximity or nearness principle of grouping states that a group of stimuli that are close together will be perceived as a whole of parts or pattern of parts belonging together. For example, in the below figure the first three lines will be grouped together as a block and other three lines will be grouped separately In organizational context, all employees working in a particular department may be grouped together because of physical proximity and are perceived as such. Thus, if the output of the department is unsatisfactory, all persons may be perceived as inefficient, ‘through some of them may be very efficient 3. Similarity: The principle of similarity states that the greater the similarity of the stimuli, greater is the tendency to perceive them as a common group. While proximity principle is based on the nearness, similarity principle is based on the similar features of various stimuli irrespective of nearness. For example, in the below figure a person will be more inclined to group red dots together and other dots in a separate group. In an organizational context, the workers may be perceived to have the same opinions about the management because they are grouped together based on similarity. Email — [email protected], Mi - 8145207241 ag|Page hitp//www.eduitap coin44. Simplification: Whenever people are overloaded with information, they try to simplify it to make it more meaningful and understandable. In the process of simplification, the perceiver subtracts less salient information and concentrates on important one In an organizational context, a cause of high attrition may be interpreted as lack of good HR policies by HR whereas by manager as lack of challenging work . Clasure: When faced with incomplete information, people fill up the gaps themselves to ‘make the information meaningful. This may be done on the basis of past experience, past data, or hunches. For example, the below figure would be seen as closed complete figure by many In the organizational context, managers may not have all relevant information about a matter on which they have to make decisions. in such a case, they make certain assumptions about the information and decide accordingly. For example, when managers have to make promotion decisions, they may not have complete information about the suitability of an employee for a higher position. In such cases, they rely more on the past records of the employee. If he has done well in the past, he is perceived to do equally well in the higher position though the Email [email protected], M » 8146207241 50/Page hitp://wewedutap.co.inrequirements of the higher position may be totally different, and the incumbent may not do as well 12 Person Perception In the perceptual process, we discussed that when interpretation of stimuli is done, there are factors such as Characteristics of perceiver and situational factors which impact the interpretation, Here we shall be discussing these factors in context of Person Perception. It is interpersonal perception in which the perceiver perceives another person, and the latter becomes a stimulus for perception. Individuals in the organizations constantly perceive one another. Managers perceive workers; workers perceive managers; superiors perceive subordinates, subordinates perceive superiors; line people perceive staff people, staff people perceive line people, and so ‘on. Person perception is a more complex process as compared to abject perception because of involvement of many factors Some of these factors lie in the perceiver himself while some factors lie in the person being perceived and the situation under which the perception takes place. With the result, distortion in person perception, a phenomenon of misperception, occurs. The factors which lead to distortion in perception may be grouped into 3 categories. 1. Factorsin Perceiver 2. Factors in parson perceived, 3. Situational Factors 12.1 Factors in Perceiver 1. Personality: Personality can influence perception too, itis because of 2 reasons. |. The first is that the perceiver tries to project his personality traits in others which is also called as projection. For example, if a person is highly achievement oriented then he tends to treat others as also highly achievement oriented though this might not be true. Second, the perceiver tends to find in a person what he expects to find. This is known ‘as a self-fulling prophecy. For example, a wealthy person is supposed to be well- mannered, and he would always be perceived from that angle. A teacher is supposed to be patient and knowledgeable. ‘Due to this the perception of another person by first person might not be correct. Email —[email protected], M- 8146207241 http://www-edutap.co.in2. Mental Set: A mental set isa tendency to only see solutions that —— have worked in the past. This type of fixed thinking can make it @ s difficult to come up. with solutions and can impede the problem- J / oO solving process. For example, 2 physician might see a new patient | | with symptoms like certain cases she has seen in the past, so she © 4 £0} might diagnose this new patient with the same illness. Because of this e Re mental set, the doctor might overlook symptoms that would actually 1 o7 point to a different iliness altogether. MENTAL SET In an organizational setting people have tendency to perceive others on the basis of mental set which causes misconception. For example, who is in habit of coming late, might come late one day due to genuine reason such as bad health but manager will think that he is late due to his habit and will not believe in him. 12.2 Factors in Person Perceived There can be certain factors in the person being perceived which can cause distortion in perception. Two such factors are. |. Status: Status is the ranking of person vis-a-vis others. The ranking may be based on one or more of these characteristics such as intelligence, wealth, knowledge and so on. The target person may be perceived because of his status than on the actual characteristics. For example, a wealthy person may be seen as intelligent also though he might not be. Visibility of Traits: Visibility of Traits also influence perception of perceiver. There are many traits which are not visible on the surface such as honesty, loyalty etc. In such case evaluation is to be made based on one’s own experience which may not be correct, 12.3 Situational Factors Situational factors also affect perception. For example, a person is likely to be perceived differently if he meets in a five-star hotel as compared to an ordinary place. This may be the main reason for having lavishly furnished offices or showrooms. in many cases, these may not reflect the true value but may only distort people's perception who might be dealing with him. 13 Distortion in Perception There are many factors which can cause distortion in perception: These are Selective Perception: People select only those stimuli which fit their characteristics in terms of beliefs, values and needs. Selective perception works.as a short cut in judging other Email ~ hello@edutap coin, M - 8146207282 52 | Page http://waw.edutap:co.inpeople. This makes the perception process easy but there is a risk of drawing an inaccurate conclusion. For example, if some boy and girl are sitting ion park, a conservative person from rural area might take them as boy friend and girl friend though they may just be friends. First Impression: it is quite common that people evaluate others based on first impression. Manager may rate employee higher each year if he was good during first 3 months, Halo Effect: The “halo effect” is when one trait of a person or thing is used to make an overall judgment of that person or thing. For example, an employee who comes to the office on time and is well-dressed may be taken as a professional one though he may not be working at all in the office. Halo effect differs from first impression in the sense that the latter takes place in the first encounter with another person while the former is based on the evaluation of the limited number of qualities of the person perceived. Halo effect is more reflected in performance appraisal and selection interview where the distortion exists because the rater is influenced by ratee’s one or two outstanding good (or bad) performances, and he evaluates the entire performance accordingly. Contrast Effect: An old adage among entertainers is “Never follow an act that has kids or animals in it.” Why? Audiences love children and animals so much that you will look bad in comparison. This example demonstrates how the contrast effect can distort perceptions. We do not evaluate a person in isolation. Our reaction is influenced by other people we have recently encountered. In a series of job interviews, for instance, a candidate is likely to receive a more favorable evaluation if preceded by mediocre applicants and a less favorable evaluation if preceded by strong applicants. Thus, interviewers can make distortions in any given candidate's evaluation as a result of his place in the interview schedule, Stereotyping: Stereotyping occurs when the perceiver judges or perceives a person based on characteristics of the group to which he belongs. However, all individuals of 3 particular group may not necessarily possess those characteristics for which they are stereotyped. For example, there are certain stereotyping at international level such as that Americans are materialistic, Italians are quick-tempered, and Japanese are hard working. But all people of one country are not like this. Email — hello@edurap coin, Mi - 8146207241 hetpy//www.edutap.co.inProjection: It is the tendency of the perceiver to project his attributes in others. For ‘example, a dishonest person sees others as dishonest. Projection is particularly true regarding undesirable traits which the perceiver possesses but fails to recognize in himself Perceptual Set: It is also known as mental set, means previously held beliefs. For example, a manager may have formed the perception that workers are lazy, and they want to gain whatever is possible from the organization: This mental set will influence his perception when he meets workers. Implicit Personality: Implicit personality is the pattern of associating one trait of an individual with his other traits. For example, if a person is honest, he will be hard working. Thus, all hard-working people are perceived to be honest. This may not be true in many cases and perception is distorted. Expectancy: Expectancy, also known as self-fulfilling prophecy, is a tendency to perceive people on the basis of what the perceiver expects them to be in the first place. For example, ‘a wealthy person is supposed to be well-mannered, and he would always be perceived from that angle. A teacher is supposed to be patient and knowledgeable. 13.1 _ Implications of Distortion in Perception People in organizations are always judging each other. Managers must appraise their employees’ performances, We evaluate how much effort our coworkers are putting into their jobs. Team members immediately “size up” a new person. In many cases, our judgments have important consequences for the organization. Let us look at the most obvious applications. Employment interview: Few people are hired without an interview. But interviewers make perceptual judgments that are often inaccurate and draw early impressions that quickly become entrenched. Research shows we form impressions of others within a tenth of a second, based on our first glance. As a result, information elicited early in the interview carries greater weight than does information elicited later, Performance expectations: People attempt to validate their perceptions of reality even when these perceptions are faulty. The terms self-fulfilling prophecy and Pygmalion effect describe how an individual's behavior is determined by others’ expectations. if a manager expects big things from her people, they are not likely to let her down. Similarly, if she expects only minimal performance, they will likely meet those low expectations. Performance evaluations: An employee’s future is closely tied to his or her appraisal— promotion, pay raises, and continuation of employment are among the outcomes. Although the Email —[email protected], M - 8146207241 age httpy/maw.edutap.ca.inappraisal can be objective (for example, a salesperson is appraised on how many dollars of sales he generates in his territory], many jobs are evaluated subjectively. Subjective evaluations, though often necessary, are problematic because of the errors we have discussed —selective perception, contrast effects, halo effects, and so on. Therefore, there needs to be a well though of plan for the performance evaluation so that subjectivity does not hampers the credibility of the process, 14 Developing Perceptual Skills It is especially important for people to have correct perception. The following things can be done to help people have better projections. . Perceiving Oneself Accurately: One of common causes of distortion in perception is that people do not understand themselves accurately. A person should try to understand himself using Johari Window model . Enhancing Self-Concept: When people accomplish what they want to, they enhance their self-concept. When self-concept is developed, they are apt to respect others more and perceive them more accurately. Generally, self-actualizing individuals have more accurate perception about themselves than those who are not self-actualizing. Having Positive Attitude: People who have a positive attitude see things from positive angle. Their perception is likely to be less distorted. Therefore, managers must be aware of their personal biases and make efforts to be as unbiased as possible. They should also make conscious effort to get rid of negative feeling towards others, . Communicating more openly: Lot of misconception arises in organization because of lack of communication or one-way communication, Therefore, managers should take steps for making communication effective so as to ensure that right message reaches at the right place and at right time. This may help not only the managers to understand the organizational situations in much better perspective, but employees can also look at the situations in much better way and any misinterpretation may be dispelled. Avoiding common perceptual Distortions: Managers in organization shall try to avoid common distortions like halo effect, stereotyping etc. by guarding them against common biases Ermail—hello@edutao co.in, M- 8146207241 httpi//worw.edutap.co.in