WEEK 4:

THE MANAGER AS A PERSON - I

BUSN 107 – 17.10.2012

The Basis for Understanding Behavior:

Abilities and skills Personality Mood and emotions Values and attitudes Perceptions Demographics: age, gender and etc. Background and experience

Individual variables that affect behavior:

Personality traits that affect how managers think, feel and behave

Moods and emotions that influence all organizational members

Values and attitudes and their impact on managerial action

Organizational culture that both created and influenced by managers

The Manager as a Person

Ability A biological or learned trait that permits a

person to do something mental or physical

Mental abilities => verbal comprehension, reasoning, associative memory, perceptual speed, spatial orientation and visualization...

Physical abilities => dynamic strength, flexibility, body coordination, stamina...

Abilities & Skills

Skills Task-related competencies

Examples: Skill to negotiate a contract, operate a computer

Abilities & Skills

Personality A stable set of characteristics and

tendencies that determine the ways in which individuals react to and interacts with others

Often described it in terms of some measurable traits a person exhibits

Personality Traits: Enduring tendencies to feel, think, and act in certain ways

Personality

Nature (Biological) Study of identical twins Genes

Nurture (Socio-cultural) Surrounding Experiences

How Does Personality Develop?

What Personality Traits are Best for Managers?

No single trait is right or wrong for being an effective manager

Effectiveness is determined by a complex interaction between the characteristics of managers and the nature of the job and organization in which they are working

Big Five Personality Traits

Emotional stability

Big Five Personality Traits Extraversion

The degree to which a person is sociable and assertive versus reserved, quiet anf timid.

Extraverted people tend to perform well in management jobs, do better in training programs and higher levels of overall job satisfaction

Managers high in extraversion tend to be sociable, affectionate, outgoing and friendly

Big Five Personality Traits Emotional Stability (Neuroticism)

The ability a person displays in handling stress by remaining calm, focused, and self-confident, as opposed to insecure, anxious, unstable and depressed.

People with high levels of emotional stability tend to have higher levels of performance and are more likely to stay with the organization

Big Five Personality Traits Agreeableness

The degree of working well with others by sharing trust, warmth, and cooperativeness

Better team players; get along better with customers, co-workers and other stakeholder

Managers high in agreeableness are likable, affectionate and care about others

Big Five Personality Traits Conscientiousness

The hardworking, diligent, organized, dependable, and persistent behavior of a person

Tendency to be careful, punctual and persevering

Brings high levels of motivation and performance

Managers high in this trait are organized and self-disciplined

Big Five Personality Traits Openness to Experience

Tendency to be original, have broad interests, be open to a wide range of stimuli, be daring and take risks

A person’s range of interests in new things

Open people are creative, curious and artistically sensitive, as opposed to closed-minded

Adjectives Associated with the Big Five Personality Traits:

TRAIT WHAT IS RELEVANT? WHAT DOES IT AFFECT?

Emotional Stability Less negative thinking and fewer negative emotions

Higher job & life satisfactionLower stress levels

Extraversion Better interpersonal skillsGreater social dominanceMore emotionally expressive

Higher performanceEnhanced leadershipHigher job & life satisfaction

Agreeableness Better likedMore compliant and comforming

Higher performance Lower levels of deviant behavior

Conscientiousness Greated effort & persistenceMore drive and disciplineBetter organizing & planning

Higher performanceGreater longetivity

Openness to Experience

Increased learningMore creativeMore flexible & autonomous

Training performance More adoptable to change

In-Class Activity (1):

A Profile of Personality based on Big Five Traits: http://www.mhhe.com/business/

management/buildyourmanagementskills/updatedexercises/quiz_6b1.html

Other Personality Traits

Internal Locus of Control Tendency to locate responsibility for one’s fate

within oneself; to see the control of one’s life as coming from inside

Own actions and behaviors are major and decisive determinants of job outcomes

External locus of control Tendency to locate responsibility for one’s own

fate in outside forces and to believe that one’s own behavior has little impact on outcomes

Believing that one’s life is controlled by external factors

Other Personality Traits

Self-Esteem The degree to which people feel good

about themselves and their capabilities

Self-Efficacy The belief that one can perform

adequately in a particular situation

Other Personality Traits

Need for Achievement The extent to which an individual has a strong

desire to perform challenging tasks well and to meet personal standards for excellence

Need for Affiliation The extent to which an individual is concerned

about establishing and maintaining good interpersonal relations, being liked, and having other people get along

What If One Has a “Wrong Personality”? There is nothing as “wrong

personality”

But we can make effort for improving ourselves in several dimensions: Making an extra effort to be more

conscientious Find an organization that suits you

(personality-organization fit) All traits have upsides and downsides Time is on your side!

Moods & Emotions

Mood => A less intense feeling or state of mind that lack a contextual stimulus

Positive moods: provide excitement, joy and enthusiasm.

Negative moods: lead to fear, distress, and nervousness

Moods & Emotions

Emotion => Intense, relatively short-lived feelings that are directed to someone or something. Difficult to measure Positive and negative emotions

Six universal emotions: Anger, fear, sadness, happiness,

surprise, and disgust

AFFECT: Broad range of feelings that people experience.

Affect can be experienced in the form of emotions or moods.

Caused by specific event Very brief in duration

(seconds or minutes) Specific and numerous in

nature Usually accompanied by

distinct facial expressions Action oriented in nature

Cause is general and unclear Last longer than emotions

(hours or days) More general (two main

dimensions: positive and negative affect)

Generally not indicated by distinct expressions

Cognitive in nature

EMOTIONS MOODS

Sources of Moods & Emotions: Personality Day of the week and time of the day Weather Stress Social activities Sleep Exercise Age and gender

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional Intelligence: The ability to accurately perceive, evaluate,

express and regulate emotional cues and information

Five components of EQ: Self-awareness Self-management Motivation Empathy Social skills

When Should Managers Consider Moods and Emotions? Selection Decision making Creativity Motivation Leadership Negotiation Customer service Deviant workplace behaviors Safety and injury at work

In-Class Activity (2):

Assessing Your Emotional Intelligence: http://www.mhhe.com/business/

management/buildyourmanagementskills/updated_flash/topic5a/quiz.html

In-Class Activity (3):

Keeping your emotions in check: http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/videos/POM_V2/Flashvideo/EmotionsinCheck.html

In-Class Activity (3):

After watching the video, please answer the following questions:

1. What are emotions and why they are critical to personal relationships?

2. Why do managers need to be concerned with their emotions and the emotions of their subordinates?

3. What are some of the strategies a person can use to keep emotions in check?

Next Class (31 Oct 2012):

Read from your textbook:

Chapter 3 Manager as a person

Chapter 5 Managing diverse employees in a

multicultural environment

Next Class (31 Oct 2012):

Examine the following articles:

Personality Change http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

articles/PMC2743415/ A Global Personality?

http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=5669803