Chapter 2 Culture and Values, Personality, and Individual

Chapter 2

Values, Personality, and

Individual Differences

People are Different

Chapter 2 Study Questions

• What are culture and values?

• What is personality?

• How do personalities differ?

• What are individual differences and how are they related to workforce diversity?

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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What are culture and values?

•

Culture

– The learned and shared way of thinking and acting among a group of people or society


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•

Cultural intelligence

– the ability to identify, understand, and act with sensitivity and effectiveness in cross-cultural situations.


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•

Values and national culture

– Cultures vary in underlying patterns of values and attitudes

– Hofstede’s five dimensions of national culture:

• Power distance

• Uncertainty avoidance

• Individualism-collectivism

• Masculinity-femininity

• Long-term/short-term orientation.


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•

Power distance

– The willingness of a culture to accept status and power differences among members.

– Respect for hierarchy and rank in organizations.


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•

Uncertainty avoidance

– The cultural tendency toward discomfort with risk and ambiguity.

– Preference for structured versus unstructured organizational situations.


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•

Individualism-collectivism

– The cultural tendency to emphasize individual self-interests or group relationships

– Preferences for working individually or in groups.


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•

Masculinity-femininity

– The tendency of a culture to value stereotypical masculine or feminine traits.

– Emphasizes competition/assertiveness versus interpersonal sensitivity/relationships.


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•

Long-term/short-term orientation

– The tendency of a culture to emphasize futureoriented values versus present-oriented values.

– Adoption of long-term or short-term performance horizons.


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Figure 2.1


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•

Values

– Broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes.

– Values influence behavior and attitudes.


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•

Terminal values

– reflect a person’s preferences concerning the

“ends” to be achieved

•

Instrumental values

– reflect a person’s beliefs about the means for achieving desired ends


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Figure 2.2


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• Gordon Allport’s values categories

– Theoretical values

– Economic values

– Aesthetic values

– Social values

– Political values

– Religious values


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• Maglino’s categories of workplace values

– Achievement

– Helping and concern for others

– Honesty

– Fairness


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•

Value congruence

– occurs when individuals express positive feelings upon encountering others who exhibit values similar to their own


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What is personality?

•

Personality

– The overall profile or combination of characteristics that capture the unique nature of a person as that person reacts and interacts with others.


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Figure 2.3


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•

Heredity and environment

– Heredity sets the limits on the development of personality characteristics

– Environment determines development within these limits

– About a 50-50 heredity-environment split


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Figure 2.4


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•

Personality and the self-concept

– Personality dynamics

• The ways in which an individual integrates and organizes social traits, values and motives, personal conceptions, and emotional adjustments

– Self-concept

• The view individuals have of themselves as physical, social, and spiritual or moral beings

• Self-esteem

• Self-efficacy


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How do personalities differ?

•

“Big Five” personality dimensions

– Extraversion

• Being outgoing, sociable, assertive

– Agreeableness

• Being good-natured, trusting, cooperative

– Conscientiousness

• Being responsible, dependable, persistent


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•

“Big Five” personality dimensions

– Emotional stability

• Being unworried, secure, relaxed

– Openness to experience

• Being imaginative, curious, broad-minded


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•

Social traits

– Surface-level traits that reflect the way a person appears to others when interacting in various social settings


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•

Information gathering

– Getting and organizing data for use

– Styles range from sensation to intuitive


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•

Evaluation in problem solving

– Making judgments about how to deal with information once it has been collected

– Styles vary from an emphasis on feeling to an emphasis on thinking


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Figure 2.5


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•

Personal conception traits

– The way individuals tend to think about their social and physical settings as well as their major beliefs and personal orientation concerning a range of issues


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•

Locus of control

– The extent to which a person feels able to control his/her own life

– Concerned with a person’s internal-external orientation


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Figure 2.6


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•

Authoritarianism

– Tendency to adhere rigidly to conventional values and to obey recognized authority

•

Dogmatism

– Tendency to view the world as a threatening place


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•

People with a high-Machiavellian personality

:

– Approach situations logically and thoughtfully.

– Are capable of lying to achieve personal goals.

– Are rarely swayed by loyalty, friendships, past promises, or others’ opinions.


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•

People with a low-Machiavellian personality:

– Accept direction imposed by others in loosely structured situations

– Work hard to do well in highly structured situations


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•

Self-monitoring

– A person’s ability to adjust his/her behavior to external, situational (environmental) factors


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•

Emotional adjustment traits

– How much an individual experiences distress or displays unacceptable acts.

– Type A orientation

– Type B orientation


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•

Stress

– A state of tension experienced by individuals facing extraordinary demands, constraints, or opportunities


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•

Source of stress

– Stressors

• The wide variety of things that cause stress for individuals

– Types of stressors

• Work-related stressors

• Life stressors


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•

Work-related stressors

– Task demands

– Role ambiguities

– Role conflicts

– Ethical dilemmas

– Interpersonal problems

– Career developments

– Physical setting


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•

Life stressors

– Family events

– Economic difficulties

– Personal affairs


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•

Stress and performance

– Constructive stress (or eustress)

• Moderate levels of stress act in a positive way for both individuals and organization

– Destructive stress (or distress)

• Low and especially high levels of stress act in a negative way for both individuals and organization

– Job burnout

• A loss of interest in and satisfaction with a job due to stressful working conditions


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•

Stress and health

– Stress can harm a person’s physical and psychological health

– Health problems associated with stress

• Heart attack.

• Stroke.

• Hypertension.

• Migraine headache.


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•

Stress management

– Stress prevention

• Taking action to keep stress from reaching destructive levels in the first place

– Stress management

• Begins with the recognition of stress symptoms and continues with actions to maintain a positive performance edge


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•

Stress management (cont.)

– Personal wellness

• Pursuit of one’s job and career goals with the support of a personal health promotion program

– Employee assistance programs

• Provide help for employees who are experiencing personal problems and related stress


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What are individual differences and how are they related to workforce diversity?

•

Workforce diversity

– The presence of individual human characteristics that make people different from one another


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•

Stereotyping

– occurs when one thinks of an individual belonging to a group and the characteristics commonly associated with the group are assigned to the individual in question


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•

Equal employment opportunity

– Nondiscriminatory employment decisions

• No intent to exclude or disadvantage legally protected groups

– Affirmative action

• Remedial actions for proven discrimination or statistical imbalance in workforce


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•

Demographic characteristics

– The background characteristics that help shape what a person becomes


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•

Gender

– No consistent differences between men and women in:

• Problem-solving abilities

• Analytical skills

• Competitive drive

• Motivation

• Learning ability

• Sociability


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•

Age

– Aging workforce

– Older workers are more susceptible to stereotyping

– Experienced workers, who are usually older, tend to perform well, be absent less, and have low turnover


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•

Able-bodiedness

– Despite evidence of effective job performance, most disabled persons are unemployed

– Most disabled persons want to work

– More firms are likely to hire disabled workers in the future


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•

Racial and ethnic groups

– African Americans, Asian Americans, and

Hispanic Americans make up an everincreasing percentage of the American workforce


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•

Important lessons regarding demographic characteristics

– Respect and deal with the needs and concerns of people with different demographics

– Avoid linking demographics to stereotypes

– Demography is not a good indicator of individual-job fits


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•

Aptitude

– A person’s capability of learning something

•

Ability

– A person’s existing capacity to perform the various tasks needed for a given job

– Includes relevant knowledge and skills


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Chapter 2 Culture and Values, Personality, and Individual

Chapter 2

Values, Personality, and

Individual Differences

People are Different

Culture

Cultural intelligence

Values and national culture

Power distance

Uncertainty avoidance

Individualism-collectivism

What are culture and values?

Masculinity-femininity

What are culture and values?

Long-term/short-term orientation

Values

Terminal values

Instrumental values

Value congruence

Personality

Heredity and environment

Personality and the self-concept

“Big Five” personality dimensions

“Big Five” personality dimensions

Social traits

Information gathering

Evaluation in problem solving

Personal conception traits

Locus of control

Authoritarianism

Dogmatism

People with a high-Machiavellian personality

People with a low-Machiavellian personality:

Self-monitoring

Emotional adjustment traits

Stress

Source of stress

Work-related stressors

Life stressors

Stress and performance

Stress and health

Stress management

Stress management (cont.)

Workforce diversity

Stereotyping

Equal employment opportunity

Demographic characteristics

Gender

Age

Able-bodiedness

Racial and ethnic groups

Important lessons regarding demographic characteristics

Aptitude

Ability

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