Attitude

PERSONALITY AND ATTITUDE

UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY

DEFINITION : Personality is defined as some total

ways in which an individual interacts with people and reacts to situations.

Personality is also defined as the traits exhibited by a person during interactions.

UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY TRAITS

INTROVERSIONS Preferred to be

themselves Reluctant to interact

with others. Avoid developing new

relationships. Can not influence Avoid interactive jobs

EXTRAVERSION Comfortable with other

people Sociable,talkative &

friendly. Develop new

relationships easily. Influence on job

performance. Prefers interactive jobs

AGREEABLENESS

AGREEABLE Give importance in

maintaining harmony. Good natured

cooperative and trusting.

Likely to develop good working relationships

LESS AGREEABLE Give importance to

their own,opinions and values& needs.

Unlikely to develop good relationships.

CONSCIENTIOUSENESS

CONSCIENTIOUS

Perfect goal setting Devotion towards goal Responsible &

achievement oriented Organized,responsible

& self disciplined Perform better in the

job

LESS CONSCIENTIOUS

Set too many goals Fail to achieve any

goal Lack of achievement

orientation Not organized Can not perform well

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

POSITIVE EMOTIONAL STABILITY

Emotionally secure and tend to be calm

Enthusiastic about their work

Capable of withstanding pressures

OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE

HIGH LEVEL OF OPENNESS

Wide range of interests

Tends to be creative Open to learning Make good workers

LOW LEVEL OF OPENNESS

Narrow range of interests

Rigid mind set Reluctant towards

new ideas Make poor workers

THE SELF CONCEPT

SELF EFFICACY Persons perception to

cope with different situations

Have capability &required confidence

Situation specific Measured along-

level,strength ,& generality

SELF ESTEEM Self image of people

Unique,competent secure& empowered

Generalized trait & present in all situations

PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS

HEREDITY : An individuals personality is determined

by the type of genes he inherits from his parents

Heredity plays an important role in influencing an individuals personality.

ENVIRONMENT

Environment plays an important role in shaping ones personality.

Environmental factors such as culture of the society,norms

SITUATION

Different situations bring out different aspects of an individuals personality.

PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES

LOCUS OF CONTROL Degree to which people believe that they

can control their fate or any situation. Some people believed that they are

masters of their own fate.( Internals) Some believed that fate is controlled by

luck,chance or external forces.(Externals)

LOCUS OF CONTROL

INTERNALS Committed to their work Low rate of absenteeism Satisfaction with the job Believed on themselves Tries to learn new things Highly achievement

oriented. Perform better in

managerial jobs

EXTERNALS Little commitment to work Frequently absent from

work Dissatisfaction with their

jobs Lack of achievement

orientation Reluctant to take initiative Perform better in routine &

structured task

PERSONALITY ATTRIBUTES MACHIAVELLIANISM

Refers to the degree to which an individual is practical in his approach,maintains an emotional distance from others.

Individuals who scored high on Mach are good at manipulating others& try to win by any mean.

They successfully persuade others. Performs well in face to face meetings Productive in jobs that requires bargaining skills.

SELF ESTEEM

Refers to degree of liking an individual for himself.

People with high self esteem are confident. Preference towards unconventional or

challenging jobs. Do not care about pleasing others Drives more satisfaction from their jobs. Individuals with low self esteem lack

confidence,look for approval from others.

SELF MONITORING

Refers to the ability of an individual to adapt his behavior to the demands of the situation.

High self monitors are capable of changing their behavior according to the situation.

Can play multiple and contradictory roles.

SELF MONITORING

They make successful managers and tend to get promoted fast.

Low self monitors can not adapt quickly to situations

Low self monitors do not advance in their careers as high monitors

RISK TAKING

Extend to which an individual is preferred to take risk.

High risk takers make decision quickly. Risk-averse people do not make

decisions in a hurry& gather a lot of information.

The suitability of persons risk taking depends on the responsibilities of job.

TYPE A PERSONALITY

Individuals try to be fast in every thing they do. Try to be involved in more than one thing at a

time. The pace at which things generally happen

upsets them. They are always busy and are unable to cope with

leisure time. Measure their success in quantitative terms Suitable for jobs that call for continuous hard

work,

TYPE B PERSONALITY

Do not experience a sense of urgency while carrying out tasks.

Do not get upset if the tasks are not accomplished within the specified span.

Do not consider necessary to discuss their achievements unless asked.

Try to make the best use of leisure time Suitable for the top management position as

they are wise,tactful and creative

LEVINGSON’S THEORY OF LIFE STAGES

According to Levinson’s theory,the four period of stability occur between the following ages:

22 - 28 : Adult stage

33 - 40 : Process of settling down

45 - 50 : Middle adulthood

55 - 60 : Retirement or old age

LEVINGSON’S THEORY OF LIFE STAGES

FOUR TRANSITIONAL DIMENTIONS

Age thirty transition : 28 - 33 Yrs

Mid life transition : 40- 45 yrs

Age fifty transition : 50 - 55 yrs

Late adult transition : 60 - 65 yrs

HALL’S CAREER STAGE MODEL

An individual goes through four stages during his career.

EXPLORATION : Identity

ESTABLISHNENT : Settling down

MAINTENANCE : Reaches peak

DECLINE : Retirement

ARGYRIS’ IMMATURITY TO MATURITY THEORY

The personality of an individual depends factors like perception,self-concept, and his ability to adapt & adjust.

Continual change in the level of development along with different dimesions.

The development of an individuals personality can be measured but it is difficult to predict specific behavior.

ARGYRIS’ IMMATURITY TO MATURITY THEORY

ARGYRIS’ IMMATURITY TO MATURITY THEORY

Personalities of the employees in the organizations are at the mature end.

Formal organizations are failed to consider them as mature & give them passive role.

The basic incongruity between the needs of a mature personality and the nature of the formal organization is the cause of conflict in organizations.

THE SOCIALIZATION PROCESS

The process through which an individual’s Personality is influenced by his interaction with certain persons,groups and society at large is referred as Socialization.

According to Schein the socialization

process in an organization is confined to learning the values, norms, and behavioral patterns.

THE SOCIALIZATION PROCESS

Characteristics of Socialization of Employees in an Organization are :

Brings change in the attitude,values and behavior of an individual.

Process continues for an extended period of time.

Helps new employees to adjust with new job,work groups ,policies & practices.

New employees as well as managers influence each other.

Determines how well an employee fits into the organization

THE SOCIALIZATION PROCESS

Steps taken by Organizations to Socialize new employees :

Offers interesting & challenging job. Provides objectives, relevant training and

timely feedback Designs an informal orientation program. Assigns new employees to work groups

that are highly satisfied & have high morale

MATCHING PERSONALITIES WITH JOBS

JOB FIT THEORY BY JOHN HOLLAND

Established the relationship between personality characteristics, requirement of a job,and job performance.

Job satisfaction of an individual is determined

by the extent to which his personality matches with the requirement of the job.

RealisticPhysical activities

Shy, practical ,stable

Mechanic, farmer

Biologist,mathematician Investigative

ThinkingAnalytical,independent

Socialteacher,counselor

cooperativeHelping others

EnterprisingLawyer

influence othersSelf confident

ArtisticCreative

ImaginativeMusician,painter

Accountant file clerk

ConventionalPractical inflexibleRegulated activities

MATCHING PERSONALITIES WITH JOBS

Significant points made by Holland’s Model are :

There are some intrinsic differences among personalities

There are variety of jobs Individuals whose personality matches

with their jobs are more satisfied.

CONCEPT OF ATTITUDE

Attitude is a tendency to feel and behave in a particular way towards objects, people or events.

CONCEPT OF ATTITUDES

Characteristic of Attitude: Generally remained unchanged for prolonged

period of time unless he is influenced by external forces.

Evaluative statements either favorable or unfavorable

Refers to feelings and beliefs by an individual towards an object.

CONCEPT OF ATTITUDE

IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDE

Cognitive : Opinion,values & beliefs

Affective : Feelings of a person

Behavioral : Intention of a person

SOURCES OF ATTITUDES Acquired from parents,teachers and members

of the peer group. Influenced by the people whom he

admires,respect or fears.

Attitudes can be changed by providing new information threatening resolving differences involving people in problem solving providing right feedback

TYPES OF ATTITUDE

JOB SATISFACTION

JOB INVOLVEMENT

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

JOB SATISFACTION

Refers to an individuals general attitude towards his or her job.

Results when an individual perceives that his job provides him with what is important to him.

JOB SATISFACTION

Dimensions of Job satisfaction are: Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a

job. Depends on the extent to which outcomes

meet his expectations. Reflects other attitudes of employees.

JOB SATISFACTION

Six JOB DIMENSIONS (P.C.Smith,L.M.Kendall,C.L.Hulin)

The work itself Pay Promotion opportunities Supervision Coworkers Working conditions

OUTCOMES OF JOB SATISFACTION

Satisfaction &Productivity

Satisfaction &Turnover

Satisfaction & Absenteeism

Other effects of job Satisfaction

JOB INVOLVEMENT

Refers to the extent to which a person identifies his job, participates in it & understands his self worth.

High level of job involvement leads to lower absenteeism & employee turnover levels.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT Refers to an employees satisfaction with a

particular organization & its goals. Affected by number of variables Personal variables -Age, tenure in the

organization & his attitude toward job. Organizational variables-Job design & the

leadership style of superior Non organizational factors- Influence an

employees commitment such as, State of job market & other career options available to employees

COMPONENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Affective Commitment : Concern with the employees emotional

attachment & involvement with the organization Continuance Commitment : Influenced by the costs that could accrue to the

employee if he leaves the organization Normative Commitment : Refers to the extent to which an employee feels

obligated to continue the organization.

FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE

ADJUSTMENT FUNCTION

THE EGO DEFENSIVE FUNCTION

THE VALUE EXPRESSIVE FUNCTION

THE KNOWLEDGE FUNCTION

FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE

ADJUSTMENT FUNCTION

People modify their attitude to adjust to their work environment.

Treating employees well may result in positive attitude towards the organization.

Such attitudes help employees to adapt to their environment & form the basis for their future behavior.

FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE

THE EGO-DEFENSIVE FUNCTION Attitudes not only enable employees to adapt

to their environment but also help them to defend their self-images.

THE VALUE-EXPRESSIVE FUNCTION People may express their values through their

attitudes. THE KNOWLEDGE FUNCTION Attitude provide a standard of reference which

allows people to understand & explain their environment.

ATTITUDE AND CONSISTENCY

People may change their attitudes so that they do not contradict their actions.

Individuals constantly attempt to align their attitudes with their behavior & tries to eliminate any divergence among their attitudes.

COGNITIVE DISONANCE THEORY

Proposed by Leon Festinger to explain the relationship between attitudes & behavior.

Cognitive dissonance- Refers to the incompatibility that an individual may perceive between his behavior & attitudes.

Emotional dissonance- Refers to the conflict between the emotions an individual experiences & the emotions he needs to express to confirm the norms.

COGNITIVE DISONANCE THEORY

The efforts made by an individual to reduce dissonance depends on-

The significance of the elements that leads to dissonance & the reward associated with it.

The greater the dissonance ,the higher the pressure on the individual to overcome the dissonance.