Personality, Perception, and Emotions

1. Personality, Perception, and Emotions Individual Characteristics Class 2

2. Agenda Personality Perception Emotions Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

3. Question An effective manager will always hire the smartest person available. True? False? Why? What do you think?

4. Question II When you become rich and famous, will your best friends and family be surprised about �how much your personality has changed� and make comments about how different you have become?

5. Personality Enduring traits that describe an individual�s behaviour (Robbins & Langton, 2007) Stable over time Genetic component (~30%) Although intelligence is really important, personality is more likely to affect employees� attitudes and behavior

6. Personality �Big Five� personality traits Extroversion Energized by spending time with others Sociable, assertive, comfortable in large groups Tendency to �think out loud� Advantages? Disadvantages? Agreeableness Defers to others Cooperative, trusting, not antagonistic Advantages? Disadvantages?

7. Personality 3. Emotional stability (neuroticism) Ability to withstand stress: backbone Calm, self-confident, resilient 4. Openness to experience Interested in novel things vs. comfortable with the familiar Adventurous, curious, artistic 5. Conscientiousness Reliable, follows through Responsible, organized, dependable, persistent

8. Personality New factor (e.g., Ashton et al., 2004): Honesty / humility Integrity or morality Sincere, Not conceited, truthful, unpretentious Not yet part of the �Big Five� Not much research on it yet (also not in your textbook)

9. Personality Locus of Control Degree to which you believe you are in control of your own fate �Internal� vs. �External� Which type is a better employee? Internals are more satisfied: why?

10. Personality Self-Monitoring How much do you adjust your behavior to the situation? Big difference between public and private selves Risk-Taking Uncertainty Avoidance How much does a person like to take a chance Is this a desirable or an undesirable characteristic in a worker?

11. Personality Machiavellianism �The ends can justify the means� Pragmatic, keeps an emotional distance from others Manipulative, always want to win, difficult to persuade, can persuade others Especially successful when: Face-to-face contact No rules When others are distracted by emotions Are these people good employees? How will you manage them?

12. Personality How does understanding theories of personality help managers to be more effective? How else will it help you in your career?

13. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Classifies people into one of sixteen personality types Four dimensions Extroversion / Introversion Sensing / Intuiting How do you gather information? Thinking / Feeling How do you like to make decisions? Judging / Perceiving Are you more decisive or are you more spontaneous?

14. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator NOT reliable People who re-take the �test� may have different outcomes each time NOT valid Not an accurate representation of how people behave �cut points� are arbitrary

15. Group Activity Even though Myers-Briggs is not valid or reliable, it is still widely used in organizations. Why? Form a group of 4-5 people, and discuss. Come up with at least three reasons Be ready to report back to the class.

16. Perception A process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment (Robbins & Langton, 2007) Depends on Target Attributes of a target, relationship of target to others, etc. Situation Social or work setting, actions of others, etc. Perceiver Attitudes, experiences, personalities, etc.

17. Perception Attribution Theory When individuals observe behaviour, they try to guess if it is �internally� or �externally� caused e.g., if a colleague does not do his share of the work, do you assume It�s because he is lazy, selfish, incompetent (internal attribution) It�s because his boss asked him to do some other work (external attribution)

18. Perception Attribution Theory Distinctiveness IF he acts the same way in other situations THEN we assume the behavior is internally caused Consistency IF he has acted like this for a long period of time THEN we assume the behavior is internally caused Consensus IF other people in the same situation behave the same way� does everyone else do this? THEN we assume the behavior is externally caused

19. Perception Fundamental attribution error When judging other people�s SUCCESS we: Inflate the role of external factors Underestimate the role of internal factors When judging other people�s FAILURES we: Inflate the role of internal factors Underestimate the role of external factors Self-serving bias When judging our own SUCCESS we: Inflate the role of internal factors Underestimate the role of external factors When judging our own FAILURE we: Inflate the role of external factors Underestimate the role of internal factors

20. Perception Selective Perception You interpret what you see according to your own interests, background, experiences, and attitudes When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail Halo Effect When the possession of one excellent characteristic makes others think that other excellent characteristics are also possessed e.g., you know a person is a McMaster alumni, so you think that they must also be friendly and smart, etc. When is this particularly problematic for managers?

21. Perception Contrast Effect When an evaluation is affected by a comparison to the evaluation that preceded it e.g., product testing, auditions, interviews, etc. Stereotyping When a person is judged based on an evaluation of their membership in an identifiable group. What is the typical stereotype of a person with an MBA? How will this affect you once you graduate?

22. Questions?

23. Emotions Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something (also known as �affect� but it�s different from �trait affect or affectivity� or �mood�) Important because they influence workers� Attitudes Behaviors Performance & Productivity OCBs Absenteeism Turnover & Intention to turnover Counterproductive Workplace Behaviors (CWBs) Theft, aggression, sabotage, etc.

24. Six common emotions

25. Emotional Labour When an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal interactions (Robbins & Langton, 2003: 57). e.g., �smiles are free� But NOT just service industry or jobs that deal with the public NOT impression management Surface Acting vs. Deep Acting What are the advantages and disadvantages of having workers pretend to be happy or enthusiastic (when they are not)?

26. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) An assortment of non-cognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influence a person�s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. How well does a person �deal with life� Not correlated with intelligence e.g., Napoleon Dynamite, �Comic Book Guy�, etc.

27. Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1998) 1. Self-Awareness Recognize your moods, emotions, feelings 2. Self-Management / Self-Regulation Ability to control disruptive impulses or moods 3. Self-Motivation Works for reasons other than money or status Pursues goals persistently and tenaciously 4. Empathy Recognizes and understands other people�s emotions 5. Social Skills Finds common ground and builds rapport quickly

28. Form a group of 3-5 people� Your friend in another department has come to you for advice. A new subordinate is having trouble fitting in. He tends to drone on and on about political issues, he makes inappropriate jokes, and he takes up way too much of your friend�s time. No one wants to work with him, although he is smart and knowledgeable. What advice can you give your colleague?

29. Summary Intelligence is very, very important, but it is not the only factor that will affect performance Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is not a scientific test. The best leaders and colleagues are people with high emotional intelligence as well as other positive qualities. Biology is NOT destiny; the role of personality should not be overstated when predicting workers� behaviors

30. One Page Report What were the authors saying? What did you like about the article? What did you dislike about the article? What else could the authors have included? What is your overall assessment?