physical, personality, attitudinal, and emotional attributes that vary from one person to another

·       Whenever you attempt to understand individual differences, you must also analyze the situation in which the behavior occurs

·       A good starting point in developing this understanding is to appreciate the role of personality in organizations

·       Individual differences can be in personality, attitudes and emotions

represents the overall profile or combination of stable psychological attributes that capture the unique nature of a person

o   Combines a set of physical and mental characteristics that reflect how a person looks, thinks, acts, and feels

o   Many variables contribute to the development of each individual’s personality

o   Two primary sources shape personality differences: heredity and environment

·       Deeply ingrained in many individual’s notions of personality is a belief in its genetic basis

·       Genes determine height, eye color, size of hands, and other basic physical characteristics

·       Some believe that personality is inherited; others believe that a person’s experiences determine personality

·       Our thinking is balanced- both heredity (genes) and environment (experiences) are important

·       Heredity sets limits on the range of development of characteristics, and within this range environmental forces influence personality characteristics

·       Others think that the environment plays a large role in shaping personality; in fact, the environment may have a more important role than inherited characteristics

·       That is, beyond what genes are inherited from your parents, the environment a person experiences as a child has an important role in molding one’s personality development.

·       Aspects of the environment that influence personality formation include: culture, family, group membership, and life experiences

the tendency of individuals to look after themselves and their immediate families

o   Culture high on individualism emphasizes individual initiative, decision making, and achievement

o   Countries characterized by an emphasis on individualism include the US, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and Australia

o   Individuals view themselves as independent, unique, and special.

o   Individuals are les likely to conform to the expectations of others

o   Personal achievement, pleasure, and competition are all highly valued

o   When group goals conflict with personal goals, individuals commonly pursue their own goals

is the tendency of individuals to emphasize their belonging to groups and to look after each other in exchange for loyalty

the extent to which individuals in a society accept stats and power inequalities as a normal and functional aspect of life

o   Countries that are “high in power distance” are those whose citizens generally accept status and power inequalities

o   Those “low in power distance” are those whose citizens generally do not accept status and power inequalities (US)

o   Individuals raised in a high power distance culture behave submissively with leaders and avoid disagreements with them

o   High power distance employees are more likely to take orders without question and follow the instructions of their leaders

o   In lower power distance countries, employees are expected to bypass a leader if necessary in order to get their work done

o   Titles, status, and formality are of less importance in low power distance countries

is the extent to which individuals rely on procedures and organizations to avoid ambiguity, unpredictability, and risk

o   With “high” uncertainly avoidance, individuals seek orderliness, consistency, structure, formalized procedures, and laws to cover situations in their daily lives

o   In contrast, in countries such as the US, there is a strong tolerance of ambiguity and uncertainty

o   More secure and long-term employment is common in “high” uncertainty avoidance countries

o   In contrast, job mobility and layoffs are more commonly accepted in “low” uncertainty avoidance countries

is the extent to which the society embraces the virtues oriented toward future rewards

o   A short-term orientation is seen in those societies (US) that expect and reward quick results, view leisure time as important, have little respect for old-time traditions, and reward the risk taking and adaptability required of entrepreneurs.

·       You don’t see a person’s personality, instead you see behaviors that reflect these internal characteristics

·      

For our purposes, personality describes a person’s most dominant characteristics- shy, sensitive, reliable, creative, and the like

Personality trait refers to the basic components of personality. 

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

AGREEABLENESS

EXTRAVERSION

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS

OPENNESS

1.               the degree to which a person is calm, secure, and free from persistent negative feelings

·       Individuals who are emotionally stable are relaxed, posed, slow to show anger, and handle crises well, resilient, and secure in their interpersonal dealings with others

·       Individuals with less emotional stability are more excitable, insecure in their dealings with others, reactive, and subject to extreme swings of moods

1.              person’s ability to get along with others

·       Value getting along with others

·       They are considerate, friendly, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests

·       Have an optimistic view of human nature

·       Individuals who demonstrate low agreeableness are often described as short tempered, uncooperative, and irritable.  Generally unconcerned with others’ well-being and are unlikely to extend themselves for other individuals

·       Highly agreeable individuals are better at developing and maintaining close relationships with others at work, whereas less agreeable individuals are not likely to have particularly close working relationships with others, including customers and suppliers 

1.               is the degree to which a person seeks the company of others

·       Research has shown that sociable individuals tend to be higher performing individuals than those who are les sociable

1.               concerned with self-discipline, acting responsibly, and directing our behavior

·       Individuals who focus on a few key goals are more likely to be organized, reliable, careful, thorough, responsible, and self-disciplined because they concentrate on doing a few things well

·       More conscientious individuals tend to be higher performers than less conscientious individuals

1.                describes imagination and creativity.

·       Individuals with high levels of openness are willing to listen to new ideas, have vivid imaginations, appreciate art and beauty, prefer variety to routine, and change their own ideas, beliefs, and assumptions in response to new information

·       Individuals who demonstrate low openness tend to be less receptive to new ideas and less willing to change their minds.  They prefer the plain and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle

·       Leaders who are high on openness tend to be better performers because of their ability to adapt to new situations and their willingness to listen to others who have different points of view

refers to how important the measure is to other things that are important

·       the extent to which an individual believes that he or she is a worthwhile and deserving individual

the degree to which individuals believe that they can control events affecting them

 On the other hand, individuals who have a high external locus of control (externals) believe that chance, fate, or other individuals primarily determine what happens to them

refers to how well an individual handles oneself and others rather than how smart or how capable the individual is in terms of technical skills

refers to recognizing one’s emotions, strengths and limitations, and capabilities and how these affect others

o   refers to sensing what others need in order for them to develop.

refers to being results oriented and pursuing goals beyond what is required.  

refer to the ability of an individual to influence others

relatively lasting feelings, thoughts, and behaviors aimed at specific individuals, groups, ideas, issues, or objects

influenced by an individuals background and experiences

formed by a variety of forces, including personal values, experiences, and personalities

involves a person's mental willpower (determination) and waypower (road map) to achieve goals

Hope= Mental willpower + Waypower to achieve goals

• enjoy the pursuit of challenging goals and pursues them with a positive attitude
• egage in self-talk
• atentive and focused on the appropriate behaviors for the situation
• commit themselves to desired positive work outcomes and distance themselves from negative outcomes
• they possess an internal locus of control
• eed a high degree of autonomy in order to express themselves and be productive
• can be easily offended if micromanaged

• apprehensive about what is to come
• their attention is quickly diverted from task-relevant ehavior to such thoughts as "I'm not doing very well"
• may feel a lot of negative emotions very quicklly
• susceptible to feeling great amounts of stress in their jobs and becoming easily derailed by issues in their pursuit of goals
• perceive that they are not going to reach their desired goals
• natural tendency is to withdraw from friends and become "loners"

refers to what an individual is trying to accomplish

your purpose or intent

refer to the emotions that individuals believe tey will feel after achivement of or failure to reach their goal

The key motivational device is to have each employee imagine the emotions she will feel when she reaches her goal.  the more desirable the implications are for achieving the goal, the more intense will be the _____  ______ from achieving that goal