Organizational behavior 7e by luthans chap005

Chapter Five

Personality and
Attitudes

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.


Learning Objectives
• Define the overall meaning of personality.
• Identify the “Big Five” personality traits and the
Myers-Briggs types.
• Describe the meaning of attitudes and their
emotional, informational, and behavioral
components.
• Explain the antecedents of work-related attitudes,
the functions they perform, and how they are
changed.
• Examine the major sources and outcomes of job
satisfaction, organizational commitment, and
prosocial, organizational citizenship behaviors.


Introduction
• Analysis of personality and attitudes is
vital to the study of organizational behavior
– A better understanding of cognitive, personal
variables of personality and attitudes

Meaning of Personality
• How people affect others
• How they understand and view
themselves
• Pattern of inner and outer measurable
traits
• Person-situation interaction


Role of Heredity and the Brain
• Major inroads are being made in the role
that genetics and the brain play both in
human behavior and personality
– Self-esteem
• People’s self-perceived competence and selfimage

– Person-situation interaction
• Understanding the human personality


Role of Heredity and the Brain
Continued

– Socialization process
• Continuous impact from the social environment
• Successful organizational socialization:
–
–
–

–

Provide a challenging first job
Provide relevant training
Provide timely and consistent feedback
Select a good first supervisor to be in charge of
socialization
– Design a relaxed orientation program
– Place new recruits in work groups with high morale


Role of Heredity and the Brain
Continued

• The “Big Five” personality traits
– Positive impact of conscientiousness
– Impact of the other traits


Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)


Nature and Dimensions of Attitudes
• Characteristics of attitudes
– Tend to persist unless changed
– Fall along a continuum: favorable to
unfavorable
– Directed toward some object

• Components of attitudes

– Emotional
– Informational
– Behavioral


Nature and Dimensions of Attitudes
• Functions of attitudes
– Adjustment function – people to work
environment
– Ego-defensive function – defend self-image
– Value-expressive function – basic expression
of values
– Knowledge function – supply standards and
frames of reference


Nature and Dimensions of Attitudes
Continued

• Changing attitudes
– Barriers to changing attitudes
• Prior commitments
• Insufficient information

– Providing new information
• Overcome barriers and changes attitudes

– Use of Fear
• Instill fear to overcome barriers

Nature and Dimensions of Attitudes
Continued

• Changing attitudes (continued)
– Resolving discrepancies
• Between attitudes and behaviors

– Influence of friends or peers
• Use of persuasion
• Matter of personal interest

– Co-opting approach
• Involving people to work towards changing
dissatisfaction to satisfaction


Nature and Dimensions of Attitudes
Continued

• Antecedents of work-related attitudes:
– Attention given to affective dispositions
• Positive affectivity
• Negative affectivity

– Attention give to job satisfaction and
organizational commitment


Job Satisfaction

• Meaning of job satisfaction - Locke
– Involving cognitive, affective, and evaluative
reactions or attitudes
– A pleasurable or positive emotional state
resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job
experience


Job Satisfaction
Continued

• Influences on job satisfaction
– The work itself
– Pay
– Promotions
– Supervision
– Work group
– Working conditions


Job Satisfaction
Continued

• Outcomes of job satisfaction
– Satisfaction and performance
• A positive relationship exists

– Satisfaction and turnover
• Unemployment rates do directly affect turnover

– Satisfaction and absenteeism
• A weak negative relationship


Job Satisfaction
Continued

• Outcomes of job satisfaction (continued)
– Other effects and ways to enhance
satisfaction
• Make jobs more fun
• Have fair pay, benefits, and promotion
opportunities
• Match people with jobs that fit their interest and
skills
• Design jobs to make them exciting and satisfying


Organizational Commitment
• Meaning of organizational commitment
– Strong desire to remain a member
– Willingness to exert high levels of effort
– Definite belief in, and acceptance of, the
values and goals
– Three-component model proposed by Meyer
and Allen:
• Affective commitment
• Continuance commitment
• Normative commitment

Organizational Commitment
Continued

• Outcomes of organizational commitment
– Deserve management attention

• Guidelines to enhance organizational
commitment
– Commit to people-first values
– Clarify and communicate your mission
– Guarantee organizational justice
– Create a sense of community
– Support employee development


Organizational Commitment
Continued

• Organizational citizenship behaviors
(OCBs)
– Major OCBs include:
•
•
•
•
•

Altruism
Conscientiousness

Civic virtue
Sportsmanship
Courtesy


Questions