and Answers12
How is it determined? - ANSWERSBy different things, such as heredity, genes (nature), and
environment, physical attitudes
How stable is personality? - ANSWERSIt is relatively stable because it takes around 10-15 years
to show personality change in some (50% is shaped by genetics and 50% is shaped by
environment)
Understand the Big Five Personality Traits - ANSWERSExtraversion: the person is gregarious,
assertive and sociable (Low: resevered, timid and quiet)
Agreeableness: the person is cooperative, warm, and agreeable (Low: cold, disagreeable, and
antagonistic)
Conscientiousness: the person is hardworking, organized, and dependable (Low: lazy,
disorganized, and unreliable)
Openness to Experience: the person is crative, curious, and cultured( Low: practical with narrow
interest)
Neuroticism: High: Nervous, self-doubting, moody --> Low: stable, confident
Understand the following differences: Locus of control, Self-monitoring, Self-esteem, Type A and
Type B - ANSWERSLocus of Control: an individual's generalized belief about internal (self-
control) vs. external control (control by the situation of by others) --> External locus of control:
describes people who believe that fate, luck, or outside forces are responsible for what happens
to them--> Internal locus of control: describes people who believe that ability, effort, or their
effort of their actions determines what happens to them
Self-monitoring: the extent to which people base their behavior on cues from other people and
situations -- high self-monitors pay attention to what is appropriate in particular situations and
behave accordingly -- Low self-monitors: pay less attention to situational cues and act more
consistently with their internal beliefs and feelings
, Self-esteem: an individual's general feeling of self-worth --> people with high self-esteen feel
capable, confident, worthy, perform better and are more satisfied with their jobs --> low self-
esteem: view themselves negatively are more strongly affected by what other people think of
them
Type A: have intense desire to achieve, are extremely competitive, have a sense of urgency, are
impatient, and can be hostile
Type B: these individuals are more relaxed and easygoing
What can we do to effectively manage employees with different personalities? Please consult
the two cases we discussed in class when thinking about this question - ANSWERS-
Acknowledge and appreciate
- Adjust your own feelings and actions to work effectively with others
- When feasible, structure an individual's work situation to fit his or her personality
- Remember that attitudes and behaviors are determined by the interaction of an individual's
personality and the situation in which the individual works. Encourage an acceptance and
appreciation of the diverse personalities in your organizations.
The power of personality: When is personality a powerful predictor of individual behaviors? -
ANSWERSA weak situation
What is organizational behavior? - ANSWERSOrganizational Behavior is the study of human
behavior, attitudes, and performance organizations
Why is Organizational Behavior important? (In other words, how can the knowledge of
Organizational Behavior help us?) - ANSWERSOrganizational behavior: provides a set of tools
that allow: (A) People to understand analyze, and describe behavior in organizations and (B)
Managers to improve, enhance, or change work behaviors so that individuals, groups and the
whole organization can achieve their goal
What factors determine individual behaviors? - ANSWERSThe person and the situation