UNIT 2: INDIVIDUAL Anupama.s@christuniversity.

in

AT WORKPLACE 659857867361
UNIT 2: INDIVIDUAL AT
WORKPLACE
• Personality- Definition, personality traits, relevance at
the workplace,
• Motivation- Definition, Types, Application of theories of
motivation at the workplace (early and contemporary
theories)
• Job satisfaction- Definition, Factors affecting Job
Satisfaction, Consequences
WHAT IS PERSONALITY ?
Personality is the characteristic sets of behaviors, cognitions, and
emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental
factors.
Some of the characteristics that make a person unique
Some total of ways in which individuals reacts and interacts with
others
Personality- Definition

When psychologists talk of personality, they mean a dynamic concept

describing the growth and development of a person’s whole psychological
system.
“the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical
systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment” –Gordon
Allport
For I/O psychology personality can be regarded as the sum total of ways in
which an individual reacts to and interacts with others. Most often it is
described it in terms of the measurable traits a person exhibits
Personality traits
Pioneer in study of personality trait- Gordon Allport
Personality traits reflect people's characteristic patterns of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviours. Personality traits imply consistency and stability—
someone who scores high on a specific trait like Extraversion is expected to
be sociable in different situations and over time.
Personality tests are useful in hiring decisions and help managers forecast
who is best for a job. 2 The most common means of measuring personality is
through self-report surveys
https://www.truity.com/t
est
/big-five-personality-test
 16 - PERSONALITY TRAITS
● Gordon Allport identified 4500
traits of which Cattell took the list
and removed all the synonyms,
reducing the number down to 171.
Cattell applied factor analysis to
the list of words and it led him to
identify the 16 individual source
traits that are central to his
personality theory.
● Cattell theory of personality 16
personality traits that each person
possess to varying degrees they are:
1. Warmth 9. Vigilance
2. Reasoning
10. Abstractness
3. Emotional stability
11. Privateness
4. Dominance
12. Apprehension
5. Liveliness
13. Openness to change
6. Rule consciousness
7. Social boldness 14. Self reliance

8. Sensitivity 15. Perfectionism

16. Tension

In the late 1940s, Cattell and his colleagues developed the sixteen personality questionnaire
( commonly known as 16-PF) which was devised to measure source traits using self report data.
HUMAN RELATIONS MOVEMENT

Application of behavioral sciences to management

theories
Hawthorne studies- the beginning of HR, managers
concern for workers will lead to increased satisfaction and
improved performance- Study lead by George Elton
Mayo
The movement includes theories of motivation- Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs, McGregor’s Theory X –Theory Y.
 MOTIVATION
The willingness to exert high level of effort toward
organisational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to
satisfy some individual need.
The key elements in motivation are :
Effort - intensity
Organisational goal
Needs- internal state that make outcome desirable
 EARLY THEORIES OF
MOTIVATION
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Theory X & theory Y
Two factor theory
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

He hypothesised that within every human

being there exist a hierarchy of following
needs. Once a given need is satisfied it no
longer serves to motivate.
Physiological- hunger, thirst , sex
Safety- security & protection from physical &
emotional harm.
Social – includes affection, belongingness,
acceptance, & friendship
 Esteem – internal factors like self respect ,
autonomy, achievement & external factors
like status, recognition & attention
Self- actualization – drive to become what
one is capable of becoming , includes growth,
one’s potential, & self- fulfillment.
Lower order needs – needs that satisfy
externally ( safety & physiological)
Higher order needs- needs that satisfy
internally
(social, esteem self actualisation)
THEORY X

THEORY X & THEORY Y

Douglas McGregor proposed 2 theory ; theory

x & theory Y.
theory x is a negative and pessimistic view of
human nature. Here manager assumes that :
People do not like to work & try to avoid it.
Managers have to control, direct , coerce and
threaten employees to get them to do work
towards goals
People prefer to be directed, to avoid
responsibility, to want security , they have
little ambition.
Under Y theory, managers assumes that people
:
Do not actually dislike work, work is a natural
part of their lives.
Are internally motivated to reach objectives to
which they are committed.
Are committed to goals to the degree that
they receive personal rewards when they
reach their objective.
Will both seek & accept responsibility under
unfavourable conditions
Have the capacity to be innovative in solving
organizational problems.
Are bright, but under most organizational
conditions their potentials are underutilized.
He believed that theory Y is more valid than
X & proposed that practices such as
participative decision making , good relation
& challenging jobs which allows employees
to take responsibility.
TWO-FACTOR THEORY
Motivation hygiene theory: by Frederick
Herzberg
Identified some factors that result in
satisfaction & other factors that prevent
dissatisfaction.
Intrinsic factors / motivators result in job
satisfaction and extrinsic factors/ hygiene
result in job dissatisfaction.
He suggest that opposite of satisfaction is
not dissatisfaction as traditionally
believed.
Opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction
& opposite of dissatisfaction is no
dissatisfaction.
CONTEMPORARY THEORIES
ERG theory
McClelland’s theory of needs
Goal setting theory
ERG THEORY
Clayton Alderfer
There are 3 groups of core needs-
Existence – safety+ physiological ( basic
material existence requirement)
Relatedness-social needs + external component
of esteem needs
Growth - intrinsic part of esteem & self
actualization
In contrast to hierarchy of needs, ERG
theory demonstrates that
One or more need may be operative at the
same time.
If the gratification of a higher need is
stopped, the desire to satisfy a lower level
need increases.
ERG theory also contain a frustration
regression dimension.
Consistent with individual difference among
people.
Education, family background & culture
can affect needs.
Spain & Japan – social needs before
physiological needs
David McClelland’s theory of needs
Focus on 3 needs
Achievement need ( n ach ) ; the drive to
excel, to achieve in relation to a set of
standards , to strive to succeed.
Strive for personal achievement than reward
of success.
They prefer personal responsibility,
feedback, and take moderate risk .
They avoid what they perceive to be very
easy or very difficult task.
Need for power ( n pow): the desire to make
others behave in a way that they would not
otherwise have behaved in.
Enjoy being in charge, strive for influence
over others, prefer to be placed into
competitive & status- oriented situations, &
concerned with prestige .
Need for affiliation( n aff) :the desire for
friendly & close interpersonal relationships.
Strive for friendship, prefer cooperative
situations rather than competitive one, &
desire relationships involving a high degree
of mutual understanding.
These needs can be found out through
projective techniques.
A high n ach does not necessarily lead to a
good manager.
As they are interested how well they do, not
in influencing others to do well.
The best managers are high in their n pow &
low in their n aff.
High n pow occurs as a function of one’s
level in hierarchical organization.
The higher the level an individual rises , the
greater is the power motive.
 GOAL-SETTING
THEORY
Edwin Locke
Intentions to work towards a goal are major
source of work motivation.
Goal tells an employee what need to be done,
how much effort need to be expended.
Specific & difficult goals lead to higher
performance.
People do better when they get feedback.
Self generated feedback works better than
externally generated feedback.
People tend to accept even a difficult goal
when they are a part of goal setting than
assigned to them by boss.
3 factors have found to affect goal-
performance relationship
Goal commitment ; determined not to lower
or abandon the goal.
This is more likely to occur when goals are
made public, when individual has an internal
locus of control, when goals are self set.
Self- efficacy : belief that one is capable of
performing a task.
The theory is culture bound : well adapted to
countries like US & Canada -
subordinates will be reasonably independent,
( not too high a score on power distance)
managers & subordinates seek challenging
job,( low in uncertainty avoidance)
performance is considered important by
both. ( high in quality of life)
JOB SATISFACTION
Job satisfaction : A positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its
characteristics
DEFINITION
A positive feeling about
one’s job resulting from an
evaluation of its
characteristics.
CONSEQUENCES OF JOB
SATISFACTION
Exit: dissatisfaction expressed through behaviour directed towards leaving the
organization
Voice: active and constructive attempts to improve conditions- suggest
improvements, discuss problems with superiors, union activity
Loyalty: passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve, speaking up
for org in case of external criticism
Neglect: passively allowing conditions to worsen-chronic absenteeism/lateness,
reduced effort, increased error rate.
CASE STUDY
Divya heads the government bond-trading division at Goldman Sachs. For 10
years, she has seen the stock market go from all-time highs to recession
levels. Such fluctuations can mean millions of dollars in either profits or
losses. “There are days when you can make a lot, and other days where you
lose so much you’re just stunned by what you’ve done,” says Divya. She says
she hasn’t slept through the night in years and often wakes up several times to
check the global market status. Her average workweek? Eighty hours. “I’ve
done this for 10 years, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number
of days in my career when I didn’t want to come to work. Every day I wake
up and I can’t wait to get here.”
QUESTIONS
1. Is Divya satisfied with her job. Justify your answer?
2. Which theory of motivation is applicable to an employee like Divya, Elobrate?
3. As an organizational psychologist what changes would you recommend for an
employee like Divya, Why?
4. Reflect on Divya’s personality using a relevant theoretical framework.
JOB ATTITUDES
Job satisfaction : A positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of
its characteristics
Job involvement : The degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively
participate in it, and considers performance important to self worth
Organizational commitment- The degree to which an employee identifies with a
particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the
organization.
Perceived organizational support- the degree to which employees believe the
organization values their contribution and cares about their well being.
Employee engagement: an individuals involvement with, satisfaction with and
enthusiasm for the work they do.
TRAIT AND TYPE
Type theory views characteristics of people as discrete categories whereas trait
theory views these same characteristics as part of a larger continuum.
For example, where a type theorist would claim that introverts and extroverts are two
types of people, a trait theorist would claim there is a gradient leading from
introversion to extroversion and it is possible for individuals to fall somewhere in the
middle.