WGU C715 UNDERSTANDING PERSONALITY AND VALUES IN ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOR |LATEST UPDATE WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
C715 Organizational Behavior
Chapter Summaries
Section 2
Competency: Behavior Influences
Chapters 5, 6 and 7
Chapter 5: Personality and Values
• Overview: This chapter explores how personality and values drive
behavior in organizations. Managers benefit from understanding both
to predict employee behavior and foster better person–environment
fit.
• Key Topics:
o Person–Job Fit vs. Person–Organization Fit:
▪ Person–Job Fit refers to matching individuals’
personalities to the requirements of specific roles.
▪ Person–Organization Fit centers on alignment of personal
values with organizational culture.
▪ Example: A highly detail-oriented, methodical person
thrives in an accounting role (strong person–job fit), while
someone who values innovation and autonomy may
flourish in a startup with a flat culture (strong person–
organization fit).
o Personality Measures and Models:
▪ Includes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Big Five
model, and darker traits like the Dark Triad.
▪ Example: A conscientious employee (Big Five trait)
reliably meets deadlines and delivers quality work; a
manager using MBTI might identify someone as an “INTJ”
who excels in strategic planning.
1
, o Core Self-evaluations, Self-monitoring, Proactivity:
▪ These traits influence how individuals perceive themselves
and engage with work environments.
▪ Example: A proactive individual anticipates project needs
and takes initiative, improving team performance.
o Role of Situational Factors:
▪ Personality’s impact varies depending on context.
▪ Example: An extrovert may shine in collaborative tasks
but may also struggle when working alone under tight
deadlines.
o Abilities. Intellectual and Physical:
▪ Recognizes how varying abilities affect job fit and
performance.
▪ Example: A job requiring fine motor skills (e.g., laboratory
work) suits someone with strong physical dexterity.
o Types of Values:
▪ Distinguishes between terminal values (end goals) and
instrumental values (modes of behavior).
▪ Example: Seeking “self-fulfillment” is a terminal value;
being “honest” is an instrumental value guiding behavior.
Chapter 6: Perception and Individual Decision-Making
• Overview: Examines how people perceive reality (which may differ
from objective facts), the biases that shape those perceptions, and
how these influence decision-making processes.
• Key Topics:
o Perception Process & Influencing Factors:
▪ Perception is organizing sensory inputs to construct
meaning.
2
, ▪ Influenced by characteristics of the perceiver (e.g.,
expectations), the situation (e.g., setting), and the target
(e.g., novelty).
▪ Example: In a high-stress meeting, someone may perceive
neutral comments as critical due to their emotional state.
o Attribution Theory & Judgment Shortcuts:
▪ Helps explain whether behavior is attributed to internal
traits or external circumstances.
▪ Common biases include fundamental attribution error,
self-serving bias, halo effect, selective perception, and
stereotyping.
▪ Example: A manager attributes a team member’s missed
deadline to laziness (internal attribution) instead of
considering workload issues (external factor).
o Decision-Making Models:
▪ Includes the rational model, bounded rationality, and
intuition.
▪ Example: A manager uses bounded rationality by choosing
the first acceptable vendor proposal rather than
evaluating all possibilities satisficing for efficiency.
o Common Biases in Decision-Making:
▪ Includes overconfidence, anchoring, confirmation bias,
availability bias, escalation of commitment, randomness
error, risk aversion, and hindsight bias.
▪ Example: An investor holds onto a failing stock due to
escalation of commitment refusing to admit a mistake.
o Influences on Decision Making:
▪ Individual differences (e.g., personality, gender,
intelligence), and organizational constraints (e.g., policies,
time pressure).
▪ Example: A rule-heavy organization limits a manager’s
ability to adaptively solve problems due to rigid
procedures and deadlines.
3
BEHAVIOR |LATEST UPDATE WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
C715 Organizational Behavior
Chapter Summaries
Section 2
Competency: Behavior Influences
Chapters 5, 6 and 7
Chapter 5: Personality and Values
• Overview: This chapter explores how personality and values drive
behavior in organizations. Managers benefit from understanding both
to predict employee behavior and foster better person–environment
fit.
• Key Topics:
o Person–Job Fit vs. Person–Organization Fit:
▪ Person–Job Fit refers to matching individuals’
personalities to the requirements of specific roles.
▪ Person–Organization Fit centers on alignment of personal
values with organizational culture.
▪ Example: A highly detail-oriented, methodical person
thrives in an accounting role (strong person–job fit), while
someone who values innovation and autonomy may
flourish in a startup with a flat culture (strong person–
organization fit).
o Personality Measures and Models:
▪ Includes the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Big Five
model, and darker traits like the Dark Triad.
▪ Example: A conscientious employee (Big Five trait)
reliably meets deadlines and delivers quality work; a
manager using MBTI might identify someone as an “INTJ”
who excels in strategic planning.
1
, o Core Self-evaluations, Self-monitoring, Proactivity:
▪ These traits influence how individuals perceive themselves
and engage with work environments.
▪ Example: A proactive individual anticipates project needs
and takes initiative, improving team performance.
o Role of Situational Factors:
▪ Personality’s impact varies depending on context.
▪ Example: An extrovert may shine in collaborative tasks
but may also struggle when working alone under tight
deadlines.
o Abilities. Intellectual and Physical:
▪ Recognizes how varying abilities affect job fit and
performance.
▪ Example: A job requiring fine motor skills (e.g., laboratory
work) suits someone with strong physical dexterity.
o Types of Values:
▪ Distinguishes between terminal values (end goals) and
instrumental values (modes of behavior).
▪ Example: Seeking “self-fulfillment” is a terminal value;
being “honest” is an instrumental value guiding behavior.
Chapter 6: Perception and Individual Decision-Making
• Overview: Examines how people perceive reality (which may differ
from objective facts), the biases that shape those perceptions, and
how these influence decision-making processes.
• Key Topics:
o Perception Process & Influencing Factors:
▪ Perception is organizing sensory inputs to construct
meaning.
2
, ▪ Influenced by characteristics of the perceiver (e.g.,
expectations), the situation (e.g., setting), and the target
(e.g., novelty).
▪ Example: In a high-stress meeting, someone may perceive
neutral comments as critical due to their emotional state.
o Attribution Theory & Judgment Shortcuts:
▪ Helps explain whether behavior is attributed to internal
traits or external circumstances.
▪ Common biases include fundamental attribution error,
self-serving bias, halo effect, selective perception, and
stereotyping.
▪ Example: A manager attributes a team member’s missed
deadline to laziness (internal attribution) instead of
considering workload issues (external factor).
o Decision-Making Models:
▪ Includes the rational model, bounded rationality, and
intuition.
▪ Example: A manager uses bounded rationality by choosing
the first acceptable vendor proposal rather than
evaluating all possibilities satisficing for efficiency.
o Common Biases in Decision-Making:
▪ Includes overconfidence, anchoring, confirmation bias,
availability bias, escalation of commitment, randomness
error, risk aversion, and hindsight bias.
▪ Example: An investor holds onto a failing stock due to
escalation of commitment refusing to admit a mistake.
o Influences on Decision Making:
▪ Individual differences (e.g., personality, gender,
intelligence), and organizational constraints (e.g., policies,
time pressure).
▪ Example: A rule-heavy organization limits a manager’s
ability to adaptively solve problems due to rigid
procedures and deadlines.
3
