CHAPTER 5:

PERSONALITY, LEARNING
AND VALUES

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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
– Define personality, describe how it is measured, and explain the factors that
determine an individual’s personality.
– Describe the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality framework and assess
its strengths and weaknesses.
– Identify the key traits in the Big Five personality model.
– Demonstrate how the Big Five traits predict behavior at work.
– Identify other personality traits relevant to OB.
– Define values, demonstrate their importance, and contrast terminal and
instrumental values.
– Compare generational differences in values, and identify the dominant values
in today’s workforce.
– Identify Hofstede’s five value dimensions of national culture.

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We all come in different SHAPES and SIZES.
We all have STRENGTHS and weaknesses.
What's right for one person may not be right for another.
There are things that are important to me, that you don't care about at all!

And sometimes your behavior doesn't make any sense to me.

But I want for us to understand each other, and communicate well,
because we live together in the same world.

I know I can't expect you to want the same things that I want.
We are not the same person, so we will not always see things the same way.

I have my own Thoughts & my own Ideas,

that may or may not fit into your vision of who I should be.
By learning more about my own Personality, and about other Personality Types,
I can come to a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses.
I can improve my interpersonal relationships, realign my expectations towards
others,
and gain a better self-knowledge that will help me define and achieve goals.

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WHAT IS PERSONALITY?
The term personality refers to
THE SET OF TRAITS AND PATTERNS OF THOUGHT,
BEHAVIOR, AND FEELINGS THAT MAKE YOU -YOU.

–The sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts

with others, the measurable traits a person exhibits
–Unique patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviors that distinguish a
person form another

Measuring Personality
–Helpful in hiring decisions
–Most common method: self-reporting surveys
–Observer-ratings surveys provide an independent assessment of
personality – often better predictors
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PERSONALITY DETERMINANTS
• Heredity
– Factors determined at conception: physical stature,
facial attractiveness, gender, temperament, muscle
composition and reflexes, energy level, and bio-
rhythms
– This “Heredity Approach” argues that genes are
the source of personality
• Personality Traits
Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s
behavior
– The more consistent the characteristic and the more
frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more
important the trait.

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 Personality involves:
– traits, like loyalty, perfectionism, and extroversion
– character, which includes your core beliefs and ethical code
– temperament, which you were born with and involves your
predisposition to act and feel in certain ways

Two dominant frameworks used to describe personality:

– Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)
– Big Five Model

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THE MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE
INDICATOR
• Most widely-used instrument in the world.
• Participants are classified on four axes to determine one of 16 possible
personality types, such as ENTJ.
– Extroverted (E) vs. Introverted (I)
– Sensing (S) vs. Intuitive (N)
– Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)
– Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPtrDt_VybY

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THE TYPES AND THEIR USES
• Each of the sixteen possible combinations has a name,
for instance:
– Visionaries (INTJ) – are original, stubborn and driven.
– Organizers (ESTJ) – realistic, logical, analytical and
businesslike.
– Conceptualizer (ENTP) – entrepreneurial, innovative,
individualistic and resourceful.

• Research results on validity mixed.

– MBTI® is a good tool for self-awareness and counseling.
– Should not be used as a selection test for job candidates.

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THE BIG FIVE MODEL OF
PERSONALITY DIMENSIONS
• Extroversion
– Sociable, gregarious, and assertive
• Agreeableness
– Good-natured, cooperative, and trusting
• Conscientiousness
– Responsible, dependable, persistent, and organized
• Emotional Stability
– Calm, self-confident, secure under stress (positive), versus
nervous, depressed, and insecure under stress (negative)
• Openness to Experience
– Curious, imaginative, artistic, and sensitive
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IB1FVbo8TSs 4-9
HOW DO THE BIG FIVE TRAITS
PREDICT BEHAVIOR?
– Research has shown this to be a better framework.
– Certain traits have been shown to strongly relate to higher
job performance:

– Highly conscientious people develop more job knowledge,

exert greater effort, and have better performance.

– Other Big Five Traits also have implications for work.

• Emotional stability is related to job satisfaction.
• Extroverts tend to be happier in their jobs and have good
social skills.
• Open people are more creative and can be good leaders.
• Agreeable people are good in social settings.

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THE DARK TRIAD
• The term “Dark Triad” refers to a trio of negative personality traits—
narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—which share some common malevolent
features. The construct was coined by researchers Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams
in 2002.

• People with dark triad traits rank high in their readiness to exploit anyone from their closest
family to their work colleagues to get ahead, and they experience very little remorse when
they inflict harm on others.

• The Dark Triad Personality attempts to capture the manipulative, exploitative attributes that
other models of core traits of an individual’s personality are not represented.

• These people are heartless and manipulative, willing to do or say practically anything to get
their way. The main thing to know about these kinds of people is that they entirely disregard
others and have an unhealthy obsession with themselves.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpX6ts5Z2cU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvJDkPKbaLE

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1. Narcissism: derives from the Greek mythology story of Narcissus, a hunter who
fell in love and became obsessed with his reflection in a pond of water and
eventually drowned.
• People with narcissism can be selfish, arrogant, lacking empathy, boastful, and
sensitive to criticism and insults. You might also find them constantly feeling
entitled and superior, but all of this is masking their typical sense of inadequacy.

2. Machiavellianism: originates from the famous Niccolo Machiavelli, a 16th-

century politician and diplomat from Italy. The associated traits of
Machiavellianism include manipulation, self-interest, lack of emotion, absence of
morality, and deceit.

• Essentially, they are highly manipulative and are willing to ruthlessly deceive
others to obtain what they desire while having a genuinely cynical view of the
world.

3. Psychopathy: since the term “Psychopath” is more common in everyday media

and culture. They do not care about other people’s feelings and are cruel to others

• The personality traits associated with psychopathy include antisocial behavior,

being manipulative, expressing volatility, lacking empathy, and being without
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•Machiavellianism
– A pragmatic, emotionally distant power-
player who believes that ends justify the
means
High Machs are manipulative, win more
often, and persuade more than they are
persuaded.
•Narcissism
– An arrogant, entitled, self-important
person who needs excessive admiration.
Having inflated ego, self entitlement
– Less effective in their jobs
•Psychopathy
– The tendency for the lack of concern for
others, lack of guilt/remorse when
actions cause harm
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OTHER TRAITS
• Antisocial
– An utter lack of empathy, disregard others’ rights and feelings
• Borderline
– switch opinion, mood swings, see the world as black and white
– engage in risky behavior, self harm
• Schizotypal
– Magical thinking, imaginative
– perceptual disorder, social detachment
• Obsessive-Compulsive
– Obsessed with order, control and doing this right
– Perfectionist, work with others
• Avoidant
– Sensitive to criticism, fear of rejection, no desire to make friends
– Don’t take risks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYSX88h-qIc
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MORE RELEVANT
PERSONALITY TRAITS
• Self-Monitoring
– The ability to adjust behavior to meet external, situational factors.
– High monitors conform more and are more likely to become
leaders.
• Core Self-Evaluation
– The degree to which people like or dislike themselves
– Positive self-evaluation leads to higher job performance

• Proactive Personality
– Identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and
perseveres to completion
– Creates positive change in the environment

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PERSONALITY, JOB SEARCH &
UNEMPLOYMENT
• Conscientiousness and Extraversion
• Self esteem and Self efficacy
• Approach orientation and Avoidance orientation
• Personality can change after unemployment

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 PERSONALITY & SITUATIONS
• Situation Strength Theory
A theory is about the way personality translates in to behavior depends on the
strength of the situation (norms, cues, standards)
Four elements of situation strength are:
1. Clarity – clear cues of environment
2. Consistency- uniformity of cues
3. Constraints- limitations of actions by forces
4. Consequences- behavioral outcomes

A retail store where the rules and job roles are clearly defined (high clarity), the
regulatory norms are consistent (high consistency), there are limited alternatives to
interact (high constraints), and the outcomes of not following the rules are
grievous (high consequences)

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• Trait Activation Theory
Some situations, events or interventions “activate” a trait more than
others
Traits are dynamic changing in response to situation
Crisis situation--- leadership activates
How to motivate employee suited to their traits

For instance, by understanding that an employee's trait of creativity is activated

by specific cues like brainstorming sessions or problem-solving meetings, a
manager can create these situations to get the best out of the employee. This
not only boosts productivity but also increases job satisfaction. 4-19
LEARNING
• Learning can be defined as “A relatively permanent change in
behavior that occurs as a result of experience
Components of Learning
 Involves change
 Is relatively permanent
 Is acquired through experience

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THEORIES OF LEARNING
• Classical Conditioning
A type of conditioning in which an individual responds to
some stimulus that would not ordinarily produce such a
response.
Key Concepts
Unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned response
Conditioned stimulus
Conditioned response

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CLASSICAL CONDITIONING: KEY
CONCEPTS
Unconditioned stimulus

Unconditionally, naturally, and automatically

triggers a response.
For example, when you smell one of your favorite
foods, you may immediately feel very hungry. In
this example, the smell of the food is the
unconditioned stimulus.

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Unconditioned response

The unlearned response that occurs naturally in

response to the unconditioned stimulus. For
example, if the smell of food is the unconditioned
stimulus, the feeling of hunger in response to the
smell of food is the unconditioned response.

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Conditioned stimulus
Previously neutral stimulus that, after becoming associated with
the unconditioned stimulus, eventually comes to trigger a
conditioned response.

Suppose that the smell of food is an unconditioned stimulus and

a feeling of hunger is the unconditioned response. Now, imagine
that when you smelled your favorite food, you also heard the
sound of a whistle. While the whistle is unrelated to the smell of
the food, if the sound of the whistle was paired multiple times
with the smell, the sound would eventually trigger the
conditioned response. In this case, the sound of the whistle is the
conditioned stimulus.
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Conditioned response

The learned response to the previously neutral stimulus. For

example, let's suppose that the smell of food is an
unconditioned stimulus, a feeling of hunger in response the
smell is a unconditioned response, and a the sound of a
whistle is the conditioned stimulus. The conditioned
response would be feeling hungry when you heard the sound
of the whistle.

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OPERANT CONDITIONING
• A method of learning that occurs through rewards
and punishments for behavior. Through operant
conditioning, an association is made between a
behavior and a consequence for that behavior.
Key Concepts
• Reflexive (unlearned) behavior
• Conditioned (learned) behavior
• Reinforcement

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Operant conditioning was coined by behaviorist B.F. Skinner, which is why, you may
occasionally hear it referred to as Skinnerian Conditioning.

Skinner used the term operant to refer to any "active behavior that operates upon the
environment to generate consequences" (1953).

Children completing homework to earn a reward from a parent or teacher, or

employees finishing projects to receive praise or promotions.

A child may be told he will lose recess privileges if he talk out of turn in class. This
potential for punishment may lead to a decrease in disruptive behaviors.
•

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BANDURA'S SOCIAL-LEARNING
THEORY
The social learning theory proposed by Albert Bandura has
become perhaps the most influential theory of learning and
development.

While rooted in many of the basic concepts of traditional

learning theory, Bandura believed that direct reinforcement
could not account for all types of learning.

His theory added a social element, arguing that people can

learn new information & behaviors by watching other people.
Known as observational learning/modeling, this type of
learning can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviors.4-28
ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL LEARNING
1. Attention - In order to learn, you need to be paying attention.

2. Retention - The ability to store information is an important

part of the learning process.

3. Motor Reproduction - Once you have paid attention to the

model and retained the information, it is time to actually
perform the behavior you observed.

4. Motivation -In order to have successful observational

learning, you have to be motivated to imitate the behavior
that has been modeled .

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SHAPING: A MANAGERIAL
TOOL
Shaping Behavior
Systematically reinforcing each successive step that
moves an individual closer to the desired response.
Key Concepts
• Reinforcement is required to change behavior.
• Some rewards are more effective than others.
• The timing of reinforcement affects learning speed and
permanence.

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METHODS OF SHAPING
BEHAVIOR
• Positive reinforcement
– Providing a reward for a desired behavior.
• Negative reinforcement
– Removing an unpleasant consequence when the desired behavior
occurs.
• Punishment
– Applying an undesirable condition to eliminate an undesirable
behavior.
• Extinction
– Withholding reinforcement of a behavior to cause its cessation.
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A reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the
behavior it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcement

•Positive reinforcement are favorable events or outcomes that are

presented after the behavior. In situations that reflect positive
reinforcement, a response or behavior is strengthened by the
addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward.

•Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an unfavorable

events or outcomes after the display of a behavior. In these
situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something
considered unpleasant.

In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behavior increases.

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• Punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse
event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behavior it follows.
There are two kinds of punishment:

• Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by

application of an adverse stimulus, involves the presentation of an
unfavorable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it
follows.

• Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal of a

pleasant stimulus, occurs when an favorable event or outcome is
removed after a behavior occurs.

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EXAMPLE OF EXTINCTION

If the smell of food (the unconditioned stimulus) had been

paired with the sound of a whistle (the conditioned
stimulus), it would eventually come to evoke the
conditioned response of hunger.
However, if the unconditioned stimulus (the smell of food)
were no longer paired with the conditioned stimulus (the
whistle), eventually the conditioned response (hunger)
would disappear.

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SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT
• In real-world settings, behaviors are probably not going to be
reinforced each and every time they occur.
• For situations where you are purposely trying to train and reinforce
an action, such as in the classroom, in sports or in animal training,
you might opt to follow a specific reinforcement schedule.
• In some cases, training might call for starting out with one schedule
and then switching to another once the desired behavior has been
taught.
• A schedule of reinforcement is basically a rule stating which
instances of a behavior will be reinforced.
• In some case, a behavior might be reinforced every time it occurs.
• Sometimes, a behavior might not be reinforced at all.

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TWO TYPES OF REINFORCEMENT
SCHEDULES

1. Continuous Reinforcement

2. Partial Reinforcement
 Fixed-ratio schedules
 Variable-ratio schedules
 Fixed-interval schedules
 Variable-interval schedules

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SCHEDULES OF
REINFORCEMENT
Continuous Reinforcement
A desired behavior is reinforced
each time it is demonstrated.

Intermittent Reinforcement
A desired behavior is reinforced
often enough to make the behavior
worth repeating but not every time it
is demonstrated.

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SCHEDULES OF
REINFORCEMENT (CONT’D)
Fixed-Interval Schedule
Rewards are spaced at uniform
time intervals.

Variable-Interval Schedule
Rewards are given at variable
time.

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SCHEDULES OF
REINFORCEMENT (CONT’D)

Fixed-ratio

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INTERMITTENT SCHEDULES OF
REINFORCEMENT

E X H I B I T 2–5
E X H I B I T 2–5

2–40
INTERMITTENT SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT (CONT’D)

E X H I B I T 2–5 (cont’d)
E X H I B I T 2–5 (cont’d)

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BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
OB Mod
The application of reinforcement concepts to individuals in work setting.

Five Step Problem-Solving Model

1.Identify critical behaviors
2.Develop baseline performance data
3.Identify behavioral contingencies or consequences of performance
4.Develop & apply intervention strategy to strengthen desirable
performance behaviors and weaken undesirable ones.
5.Evaluate performance improvement

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GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS
Intellectual Ability
The capacity to do mental activities.
Biographical Characteristics
Personal characteristics—such as age, gender, and
marital status—that are objective and easily
obtained from personnel records.

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VALUES
Basic convictions on how to conduct yourself or
how to live your life that is personally or socially
preferable – “How to” live life properly.

•Attributes of Values:
– Content Attribute – that the mode of conduct or end-
state is important
– Intensity Attribute – just how important that content is.

•Value System
– A person’s values rank-ordered by intensity
– Tends to be relatively constant and consistent

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IMPORTANCE OF VALUES

• Provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and

behaviors
• Influence our perception of the world around us
• Represent interpretations of “right” and “wrong”
• Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over
others

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CLASSIFYING VALUES –
ROKEACH VALUE SURVEY
• Terminal Values
– Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person
would like to achieve during his or her lifetime

• Instrumental Values
– Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving one’s
terminal values

• People in same occupations or categories tend to hold

similar values.
– But values vary between groups.
– Value differences make it difficult for groups to negotiate
and may create conflict.
See Exhibits 4-3 and 4-4

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LINKING PERSONALITY AND
VALUES TO THE WORKPLACE
Managers are less interested in someone’s
ability to do a specific job than in that
person’s flexibility.
•Person-Job Fit:
– John Holland’s Personality-Job Fit Theory
• Six personality types
• Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI)
– Key Points of the Model:
• There appear to be intrinsic differences in personality
between people.
• There are different types of jobs.
• People in jobs congruent with their personality should
be more satisfied and have lower turnover.
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HOLLAND’S PERSONALITY
TYPES
• Six types:
– Realistic
– Investigative
– Artistic
– Social
– Enterprising
– Conventional
• Need to match personality type with occupation
See Exhibits 4-7 and 4-8

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STILL LINKING PERSONALITY
TO THE WORKPLACE
In addition to matching the individual’s personality to
the job, managers are also concerned with:
•Person-Organization Fit:
– The employee’s personality must fit with the organizational
culture.
– People are attracted to organizations that match their values.
– Those who match are most likely to be selected.
– Mismatches will result in turnover.
– Can use the Big Five personality types to match to the
organizational culture.

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 GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS
• Personality
– Do frameworks like Big Five transfer across cultures?
• Yes, the but the frequency of type in the culture may vary.
• Better in individualistic than collectivist cultures.
• Values
– Values differ across cultures.
– Hofstede’s Framework for assessing culture – five value
dimensions:
• Power distance
• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Uncertainty Avoidance
• Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

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HOFSTEDE’S FRAMEWORK:
Power Distance
The extent to which a society accepts that power in
institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.
• Low distance
• Relatively equal power between those with
status/wealth and those without status/wealth
• High distance
• Extremely unequal power distribution between
those with status/wealth and those without
status/wealth

See Exhibit 4-6

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HOFSTEDE’S FRAMEWORK:
Individualism
•Individualism
– The degree to which people prefer to act as individuals
rather than as members of groups
•Collectivism
– A tight social framework in which people expect
others in groups of which they are a part to look after
them and protect them

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HOFSTEDE’S FRAMEWORK:
Masculinity
•Masculinity
– The extent to which the society values work roles of
achievement, power, and control, and where
assertiveness and materialism are also valued
•Femininity
– The extent to which there is little differentiation
between roles for men and women

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HOFSTEDE’S FRAMEWORK

Uncertainty Avoidance
The extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain
and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them
– High Uncertainty Avoidance:
• Society does not like ambiguous situations and tries
to avoid them.
– Low Uncertainty Avoidance:
• Society does not mind ambiguous situations and
embraces them.

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HOFSTEDE’S FRAMEWORK:
Time Orientation
•Long-term Orientation
– A national culture attribute that emphasizes the
future, thrift, and persistence

•Short-term Orientation
– A national culture attribute that emphasizes the
present and the here-and-now

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HOFSTEDE’S FRAMEWORK: AN
ASSESSMENT
• There are regional differences within countries
• The original data is old and based on only one company
• Hofstede had to make many judgment calls while doing
the research
• Some results don’t match what is believed to be true about
given countries
• Despite these problems it remains a very popular
framework

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GLOBE FRAMEWORK FOR
ASSESSING CULTURES
• Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness
(GLOBE) research program.
– Nine dimensions of national culture

• Similar to Hofstede’s framework with these additional dimensions:

– Humane Orientation: how much society rewards people for being
altruistic, generous, and kind.
– Performance Orientation: how much society encourages and
rewards performance improvement and excellence.

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SUMMARY AND MANAGERIAL
IMPLICATIONS
• Personality
– Screen for the Big Five trait of conscientiousness
– Take into account the situational factors as well
– MBTI® can help with training and development

• Values
– Often explain attitudes, behaviors and perceptions
– Higher performance and satisfaction achieved
when the individual’s values match those of the
organization
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