Essentials of

Organizational Behavior,
15/e

Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A.

Judge

Chapter 5

Personality and Values

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-1

 After studying this chapter
you should be able to:
1. Define personality, describe how it is measured, and
explain the factors that determine an individual’s
personality.
2. Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality
framework and assess its strengths and weaknesses.
3. Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality
model and demonstrate how the traits are relevant to
OB.
4. Define values, demonstrate the importance of values,
and contrast terminal and instrumental values.
5. Compare the generational differences in values and
identify the dominant values in today’s workforce.
6. Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national
culture.
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-2
 Personality

• The sum total of ways in

which an individual reacts to
and interacts with others
• Most often described in
terms of measurable traits
that a person exhibits, such
as shy, aggressive,
submissive, lazy, ambitious,
loyal and timid

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-3

 Measuring Personality

• Self-reports Surveys
 Most common
 Prone to error

• Observer-ratings
Surveys
 Independent assessment
 May be more accurate
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-4
 Personality Determinants

• Heredity is the most dominant

factor
 Twin studies: genetics more
influential than parents
• Environmental factors do have
some influence
• Aging influences levels of ability
 Basic personality is constant

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-5

 Measuring Personality
Traits:
Myers-Briggs Type
• Most widelyIndicator
used personality-
assessment instrument in the world
• Individuals are classified as:
 Extroverted or Introverted (E/I)
 Sensing or Intuitive (S/N)
 Thinking or Feeling (T/F)
 Judging or Perceiving (J/P)
• Classifications combined into 16
personality types (i.e. INTJ or ESTJ)
• Unrelated to job performance
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-6
 Measuring Personality
Traits:
The Big-Five Model
• Five Traits:
 Extraversion
 Agreeableness
 Conscientiousness
 Emotional Stability
 Openness to Experience
• Strongly supported relationship to job
performance (especially
Conscientiousness)
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-7
 Major Personality Attributes
Influencing OB
• Core self-evaluation
Self like/dislike
• Type A personality
Competitive, urgent, and driven

• Self-monitoring
Adjusts behavior to meet external, situational factors

• Proactive personality
Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action
and perseveres
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-8
 Values
Represent basic, enduring convictions
that "a specific mode of conduct or
end-state of existence is personally or
socially preferable to an opposite or
converse mode of conduct or end-state
of existence."

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-9

 Value Systems
• Represent a prioritizing of individual
values by:
 Content – importance to the individual
 Intensity – relative importance with other values
• The hierarchy tends to be relatively
stable
• Values are the foundation for attitudes,
motivation, and behavior
• Influence perception and cloud
objectivity
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-10
 Rokeach Value Survey

• Terminal values • Instrumental

refers to desirable values
end-states of refers to preferable
existence modes of behavior,
or means of
Goals that a person
achieving the
would like to
terminal values
achieve during his
or her lifetime

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-11

 Examples of Terminal
Values
• A comfortable life (a prosperous life)
• An exciting life (stimulating, active life)
• A sense of accomplishment (lasting
contribution)
• A world of peace (free of war and conflict)
• A world of beauty (beauty of nature and the
arts)
• Equality (brotherhood, equal opportunity for all)
• Family security (taking care of loved ones)
• Freedom (independence, free choice)
• Happiness (contentedness)
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-12
 Examples of Instrumental
Values
• Ambitious (hard working, aspiring)
• Broad-minded (open-minded)
• Capable (competent, efficient)
• Cheerful (lighthearted, joyful)
• Clean (neat, tidy)
• Courageous (standing up for your beliefs)
• Forgiving (willing to pardon others)
• Helpful (working for the welfare of others)
• Honest (sincere, truthful)

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-13

 Person-Organization Fit
• It is more important that
employees’ personalities
fit with the organizational
culture than with the
characteristics of any
specific job.
• The fit predicts job
satisfaction, organizational
commitment and
turnover.
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-14
 Global Implications

• The Big Five Model appears across

a wide variety of cultures
 Primary differences based on factor
emphasis and type of country
• Values differ across cultures
 Two frameworks for assessing culture:
• Hofstede
• GLOBE

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-15

 Hofstede’s Framework for
Assessing Cultures

Five factors:
Power Distance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Masculinity vs. Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-16

 GLOBE* Framework for
Assessing Cultures
Ongoing study with nine factors:
• Assertiveness • Individualism/
• Future orientation collectivism
• Gender differentiation • In-group collectivism
• Uncertainty avoidance • Performance
• Power distance orientation
• Humane orientation

*Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-17
 Implications for Managers

• Personality:
 Evaluate the job, group, and organization to
determine the best fit
 Big Five is best to use for selection
 MBTI for development and training

• Values:
 Strongly influence attitudes, behaviors, and
perceptions
 Match the individual values to organizational
culture
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-18
 Keep in Mind…
• Personality
 The sum total of ways in which
individual reacts to, and interacts with,
others
 Easily measured
• Big Five Personality Traits
 Related to many OB criteria
 May be very useful in predicting
behavior
• Values
 Vary between and within cultures
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-19
 Summary
1. Defined personality, described how it is measured,
and explained the factors that determine an
individual’s personality.
2. Described the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
personality framework and assessed its strengths
and weaknesses.
3. Identified the key traits in the Big Five personality
model and demonstrated how the traits are relevant
to OB.
4. Defined values, demonstrated the importance of
values, and contrasted terminal and instrumental
values.
5. Compared the generational differences in values and
identified the dominant values in today’s workforce.
6. Identified Hofstede’s five value dimensions of
national
Copyright ©2010 culture.
Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-20
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or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Printed in the United
States of America.

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 2-21