...Personality in the Workplace Personality in the Workplace Personality can be thought of as the sum total of ways in which an individual interacts and reacts to other individuals (Stephen & Robbins, 2013). Research has shown that measuring personality is a useful tool in making hiring decisions and helping organizations forecast who is best for each unique position. The Big Five Model Personality Model does a great job of predicting how individuals will behave in a wide range of real-life situations, including in an individual’s work life (Stephen & Robbins, 2013). After taking the assessment, my results showed that I scored highest in openness to experience/intellect and lowest in agreeableness. Though not surprising, these results will help me reevaluate my personality and behaviors within my workplace so that I can adapt to become more successful and effective in my position. The Big Five Personality Model consists of five basic dimensions that incorporate the most important variations in human personality (Stephen & Robbins, 2013). These five basic dimensions include extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. Research on how the Big Five Personality traits predict work performance has found significant relationships between these five personality dimensions and work performance (Stephens & Robbins, 2013). For instance, individuals who score highest on conscientiousness develop higher levels of job knowledge...
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...Importance of Understanding Different Personality Types in the Workplace It is not surprising that the concept of personality has been a popular topic throughout the history of organizational behavior studies. Personalities make some people stand out from the others and make some people seem very ordinary. It may have different effects on people’s lives, but there is no doubt that it influences individuals’ both social and work lives either way. Therefore, it is very important to recognize and know different personality types in the workplace especially if you are a manager. A manager’s job in a workplace includes many tasks. First of all, they have to keep the highest possible work efficiency. If a manager does not know about different personalities and their traits, he could make wrong decisions that could influence work efficiency negatively. For instance, if you put a shy, yet, perfectionist person in a team work that would require a lot of socializing, then that person may not give his best work. Or if you choose someone, who does not have leadership skills, as the leader of the group you would encounter some problems. Secondly, managers have to inspire workers. It is not easy to influence someone positively. A manager has to know what type of personalities his workers have to be able to affect them. If he tries to deliver a somewhat romantic and idealistic speech to a rather realistic worker, he will not have any kind of influence on that person. Therefore, managers must...
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...Up #1 “Why Personality Matters in the Workplace” http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/03/07/personality-matters/ This article by FoxBusiness states the importance of understanding personalities in the workplace, first by understanding your own personality. Business is based on relationships so it is pertinent that individuals understand how they interact, but also be knowledgeable on how others interact. This knowledge will create successful teams and overall a successful business. This articles uses OCEAN to talk about the Big Five in personalities. I thought this was an easy anagram to remember the personality traits for everyday knowledge. You can simply and daily refer to OCEAN as you interact with co-workers, employees, new business partners, etc. OCEAN stands for openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion/introversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (emotional stability). Openness to experience refers to how an individual responds to new experiences and how flexible their thinking is. Conscientiousness refers to how you approach work and life and view the details. Extroverts like to interact with others, while introverts do well working in small groups or alone. Agreeableness looks at the level of friendliness versus hostility while interacting with others. Neuroticism talks about emotional stability; whether you show constant negative emotions or are generally more pleasant and resistant to stress. “Behavior vs. Personality: Behavior is...
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...Understanding the role of perceptions, personality and emotions in the workplace Perceptions, personality and emotions cannot be ignored when discussing the workplace because quite simply, the workplace is made up of people who come with different personalities, subject to different emotions and ways of looking at things. A successful company will understand this and its managers will work to create a positive atmosphere. Emotions, personalities and perceptions all have an effect on how employees interact with one another, how decisions are made, how managers are able to motivate their employees to increase productivity, and how conflicts and negotiations are handled. It stands to reason that if employees are happy and enjoy coming to work then they will be more productive. According to Barsade and Gibson, “…the evidence is overwhelming that experiencing and expressing positive emotions and moods tends to enhance performance at individual, group, and organizational levels” (Barsade & Gibson, 2007). Frost describes a mechanism of “emotional contagion” where when the leaders express positive emotions, the staff will be influenced by this and the outcomes tend to be positive (Frost, 2004). It would stand to reason then, that in a company with displays of negative emotions, the opposite would result. Affect is an umbrella term used by Barsade and Gibson as a range of discrete emotions (fear, anger, joy), moods (cheerful, sad), dispositional traits (negative, upbeat)...
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...Managing Workplace Conflicts The author of this article, Annemarie Franczyk, believes that the expectation to do more with less these days could be fostering a breeding ground of workplace conflict. Managers need to be increasingly aware of clashes between workers before the problems disrupt workflow and productivity. (Franczyk, A., 2010) Annemarie and her panel made suggestions for how to best mitigate the risks associated with workplace conflict. I chose to review this article about workplace conflicts, because I am currently in management at my job and I believe this article will help me get involved more with fellow co-workers and also help me see the things that are going on within the store that are not verbally communicated to me. This article will also help me address issues and help develop solutions to issues. The main point that is made in this article is that people lose sight of the organization’s goals while fighting for their personal goals. And there are four strategies for mitigating the damaging effects of workplace conflicts which are: (1) Recognize it and step in, (2) Meet without emotion, (3) Real solutions, and (4) Use the EAP (Employee-Assistance Program). (Franczyk, A., 2010) 1. Recognize it and step in: Managers shouldn’t avoid situations and wait for employees to do something drastic, like resigning, they should set in and help to resolve issues for them instead of letting them try to solve them for themselves. They...
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...Review Tesira Slaughter 5/13/12 HCA 250 Nancy Munoz Today’s society is faced with violence in the workplace. One of the main things that happens and continues to happen is “Cyber bullying”. Cyber bullying is defined as any type of negative act that happens on a frequent basis, whether it is face to face, via text message, via email, or on the Internet. Also, bullying can come from the manager and/or supervisor, as to where they constantly are bothering you about the workload. There are many forms of bullying that may lead to violence in the workplace: face-to-face, cyber bullying, e bullying, SMS bullying, mobile bullying, digital bullying, and online. Bullying has been found to occur between children and adolescents. Face to face bullying happens because of an imbalance of power, which is when a person has insecure issues about themselves they try to bring other people down as well. When individuals bully it is more then likely because they have had a rough upbringing or they want people to feel the same pain that they are going through. Cyber bullying is when a human being uses computer technology to send derogatory or life threatening messages to an individual. They might also post personal information and make it publicly noticeable so it will embarrass that individual. E-bullying is another that can lead to violence in the workplace, personal information, hatred messages, or threatening messages are sent through emails. Technology has changed where people...
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...Workplace Bullying This article starts out describing a case where employees were given a new supervisor who turned the workplace into a “living hell”. The new boss did not curse at workers but would regularly scold them, send out harsh emails, and yell at them. This created such a hostile work environment that cases like these were brought to the attention of the state, who took action. On January 1st, a state law will be taking effect requiring employers in California with 50 or more workers to include lessons on anti-workplace bullying. This will apply when they carry out state-mandated sexual harassment training for supervisors. Workplace Bullying Post Many of us have experienced being bullied at one point in our lives and it’s a serious issue that can cause health problems such as anxiety and depression. This problem is not just in schools, it’s even happening in the workplace. Workplace bullying can come from anyone, your peers or your boss. The article states that the boss would often call out workers with phrases like “I told you,” or “I gave you a direct order.” This shows that the boss views his employees from a Theory X perspective, needing to constantly monitor and pressure their performance to get work done. He may also identify them as having a type B personality, relaxed and not caring about their work. The goal of human relations is to create a win-win situation for both the employer and employee by satisfying...
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...A White Paper from the Society for Human Resource Management BULLIES IN THE WORKPLACE: A FOCUS ON THE “ABUSIVE DISRESPECT” OF EMPLOYEES By Teresa A. Daniel “Bullying is the sexual harassment of 20 years ago; everybody knows about it, but nobody wants to admit it”. —Lewis Maltby (Russell, 2001) The purpose of this paper is to review the current research and literature about workplace bullying, to provide information about how organizations can learn to more quickly identify bullies and to suggest ways of dealing with these toxic people so that the corporate culture is not negatively impacted by their behavior. Overview To be successful, organizations must create an atmosphere that inspires both innovation and risk-taking. In an increasingly competitive global economy, such innovation is more important than ever before (Hamel, 2000). However, not only does workplace bullying stifle productivity and innovative practices, but bullies often target the organization’s most talented employees—those individuals who are generally the most threatening to bullies (McCord & Richardson, 2001). As a result, the creativity and productivity of the organization’s most talented human capital is often negatively affected by this type of behavior at work or, worse yet, good employees are driven out of the company altogether. Bullies are often hard to identify because they operate “under cover”—that is, on the surface they appear to be civil and cooperative, while they do ...
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...attention to Cupid’s arrows amid the flow charts and balance sheets, they could be in for unexpected surprises. Disastrous love affairs may damage morale and productivity. Some workplace romances can lead to sexual harassment cases, which can carry serious legal – and financial - consequences. Yet few small companies have formal policies on workplace dating and even fewer ban such romances. In large part, that’s because firms believe it’s none of their business if co-workers pair up. It’s understandable why office love connections flourish: People spend much of their lives at work and end up sharing hobbies, personality quirks and intimacies. Dating co-workers seem safer, especially for many women, because they get time to know each other. Moreover, many employees share similar education, interests, attitudes, values, and income levels. And often work projects offer intellectual stimulation and emotional bonding. Far from being harmful, many romances actually improve work performances. They add a dynamism and energy that translates into enhanced morale, communication, creativity and even productivity. Should these relationships evolve into long-term commitments, as often happens, companies will generally benefit from happier and more fulfilled employees. So it appears the key issue isn’t thwarting workplace romances so much as managing them. That has special relevance for small firms, where love affairs can be especially dicey. Many workers there have overlapping responsibilities...
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...Running head: CONFLICT SCENARIO Conflict Scenario: Resolving the Conflict Test123 University of Phoenix MGT/521 – Management Test123 Conflict Scenario: Resolving the Conflict First, in research to Conflict Scenario Singleton (2011) discusses the nature of conflicts in his article Workplace conflict: A strategic leadership imperative. According to Singleton: Conflict is a natural consequence of daily interactions. Workplace conflicts may rise because of: (1) lack of open or adequate communication between employees; (2) power struggles between departments; (3) the incompatibility of personal goals, social values, or personality characteristics; (4) role behavior required by employees’ jobs that conflict with their personal values; (5) leadership styles. (p.149) Further research into the nature of conflict scenarios finds that Myers (2005) asserts that “conflicts can be relational, process oriented and task oriented” (p. 306). As a manager of the Just Right Tire Company, the best course of action should be to have a face-to-face conservation with Jan, Sally, and Marc. This will help management in understanding their conflicts. The positives and negatives of their positions should also be considered to make an informed decision. Management should then explain to Jan, Sally, and Marc how these situations will cause negative impact on the project and on the organization. They should be reminded about the success...
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...Motivation, Stress & Communication Leadership & Organizational Behavior Browder CoateS August 12, 2012 To find the right job for you, you'll need to figure out what type of person you are, and what your interests are. For many jobs available, you will need the proper training or education. However, a lot of jobs do offer on the job training, which would enable you to apply for that particular field. Try to match your personality, interests, knowledge, and age, with a position suitable for you. Where you work can be just as important as what you’ll do there, in terms of determining whether a job is right for you. The Company that I would choose to work for is Redstone Arsenal, which is a United States Army base. Originally a chemical weapons manufacturing facility for World War II, the Arsenal became the focal point of the Army’s rocket and space projects, including development of the first U.S. ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles in 1950s. Huntsville Arsenal was established in 1941 to create a second chemical weapons plant in addition to the one in Edgewood, Maryland. The military installation was originally composed of three separate entities: The Huntsville Arsenal and the Huntsville Depot, which were operated under the auspices of the Chemical Warfare Service, and the Redstone Ordnance Plant, operated by the Army Ordnance Department. The name Redstone drew on region’s red rocks and soil. The ordnance plant was renamed Redstone Arsenal in 1943...
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...STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND HOW WE COPE Introduction In a world of constant technological and industrial advancement on a daily basis it seems, one would expect that our lives should be easier than say 30, 40, or 50 years ago. Internet access, computer and other advancements have certainly made our lives easier in some ways, but one thing that hasn’t happened is a decrease in stress. It seems the more we have the more we want, and the more we do not achieve what we want, the more stressed we become, in our personal and professional lives. Employers have always been faced with the challenge of finding the perfect employees, just as individuals are searching for the perfect place of employment. Part of this is not only the potential candidate’s personality, and how they will handle a particular job and its responsibilities; but part of the challenge is provide incentives and benefits that will entice the perfect employees. Stress can be a major factor in any job situation and not only is it an issue of how an individual handles stress, but also how an employer combats stress in the workplace through different protocols or benefits provided to the employees. The focus of this paper will be stress in our workplace environments. Causes There are many causes of stresses (or stressors) in the workplace, no matter what trade, industry or profession one considers. The stressors however will be specific to the job. There can...
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...I’m a Food Service Manager with the Department of Corrections and in my twelve plus years tenor; I have supervised, work alongside and been the subordinate of some of the most difficult characters you will ever want to meet. Although, I will only mention a few such as; the manipulator, perfectionist, the defiant one, irresponsible, chronic complainer, procrastinator, substance abuser and thief these are just a few … there still remains too many to name. Conflict in the workplace is a painful reality and a key reason for poor productivity and frustration. Do you have people in your workplace that cause problems for everyone else? Do they create additional work for others? One point is clear--conflict does not magically go away and only gets worse when ignored. Certain types of workplace conflict are readily identified. Other forms of conflict may not be so easily detected. Small, irritating events such as negative attitudes occur repeatedly over time and can cause people to strike out at each other. In many cases, conflict occurs at the senior level of the organization. In these situations some kind of intervention is needed. First there is the manipulative employee this person thinks everything is all about them. At best, they're backbiters, but more often than not they keep score and seek payback years after a perceived slight. Such people are hollow at their core and don't know how to form stable relationships. Don't share personal information with such people...
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...Title Bullying and harassment in Kuwait airways Numbers, factors, effects and solutions Word Count: 6159 CONTENTS Executive summarry iii I- iNTRODUCTION 1 II- lITERATURE REVIEW 3 1- DEFINITION OF WORKPLACE BULLYING 4 2- aNTECEDENTC OF BULLYING 7 3- CONSEQUENCES OF BULLYING 9 4- AVAILABLE SOLUTIONS 11 III- rESEARCH DESIGN 14 1- mEASURING iNSTRUMENTS 17 2- sAMPLING TECHNIQUES 19 IV- lIMITATIONS 21 V-...
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...Quarterly Abstract In organizations and on the home front, the challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers’ and employees’ consciousness. In today’s fast-paced society, human resource professionals seek options to positively impact the bottom line of their companies, improve employee morale, retain employees with valuable company knowledge, and keep pace with workplace trends. This article provides human resource professionals with an historical perspective, data and possible solutions—for organizations and employees alike—to work/life balance. Three factors—global competition, personal lives/family values, and an aging workforce— present challenges that exacerbate work/life balance. This article offers the perspective that human resource professionals can assist their companies to capitalize on these factors by using work/life initiatives to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Work/Life Balance: Challenges and Solutions I n a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work/life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace. Three major factors contribute to the interest in, and the importance of, serious consideration of work/life balance: 1) global competition; 2) renewed interest in personal lives/ family values; and 3) an aging workforce. Research suggests that forward-thinking human resource professionals seeking innovative ways to augment their organization’s competitive advantage in the marketplace...
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