Personality and Behavior in the Workplace - Assignment Example

?Management What is personality? And what relevance has this concept to understanding behaviour in the workplace? Personality refers to a person’sunique feelings and behaviour which persist over time (Cybersisman, n.d). Many individuals use the term personality in order to highlight the persistent qualities of an individual or to specify an individual’s skills. Personality is used to explain why individuals with the similar genes and experiences may react different in similar situations; it is also used to explain why individuals with different experiences and genealogy would react in similar ways to the same situation (Dakota, 2003). Personality is described in different ways by various theorists. Freud described theories according to psychic determinism in the sense that he declares how our early life dictates behaviour and unconscious reactions (Dakota, 2003). Freud also believed that individuals have their drives which direct behaviour; he believes that eros is the life instinct which preserves the species; the libido is the sexual energy; and thanatos is the people’s desire to go back to the womb, one which manifests in the person as aggressive behaviour (Dakota, 2003). Jung, believed that personality was made up of the conscious ego – what we present to the outside world; personal unconscious – which refers to a person’s motives which are unique to an individual; and collective unconscious – which refers to how people understand a person’s past (Dakota, 2003). Jung also believed that personality traits were within a continuum and people usually fell within such a continuum. Based on the psychodynamic theorists like Adler (Dakota, 2003), individuals already have basic qualities which define their personality. Karen Horney, also another psychodynamic theorist, believed that anxiety is a major motivator in people’s actions. Moreover, in interacting with other people, individuals usually end up fitting into different personality types – the compliant type which moves towards others in order to be submissive; the aggressive type which gravitates against other people in order to be powerful; and the detached type which moves away from other individuals in order to gain more power (Dakota, 2003). For Erik Erikson, the personality development for a person is based on his development stage and how the tasks for each stage are being met. For the infant, he usually gains trust in his surroundings based on how his basic needs are met (Dakota, 2003). As the toddler gains control of his bladder and bowel, he also learns to be more independent; as he reaches the pre-school years, he learns to initiate activities, most often during playtime. He later competes with his peers during his school age years. As a teenager, he also establishes a sense of self and comes up with his own goals (Dakota, 2003). During his adult years, he finds a sense of belonging with friends or through a significant other. The theories and explanations above can be used in order to understand behaviour in the workplace. By understanding how personality types and qualities can vary, the appropriate actions can be expected of individuals. The personality match to the organization is an important element of effective management. Without such match, the organization activities would not succeed and blend well with the workers. There are five major personalities which are often considered within an organization. Extroverts manifest as sociable and assertive individuals; those who are agreeable are good-natured and cooperative; the conscientious ones usually reliable and organized; emotional stability manifests in those who are calm and secure; finally, openness is usually seen in terms of their sensitivity and curiosity (Ahmed, et.al., 2010). Extroversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness are usually favourably related to collaboration in conflict management. For managers, managing different personalities is highly based on how he understands each personality for each of the various workers. Behaviour can also be based on the company culture. These two elements are interrelated with each other as behaviour can influence company culture and vice versa (Kulkarni, 2011). Behaviour refers to how individuals act and behave within the organization; it is concerned with the overt and covert behaviour of employees and how they respond to stimuli (Markovic, 2012). The organizational culture refers to the bigger manifestation of the organizational behaviour (Kulkarni, 2011). Some organizations may portray an informal culture in their organization and the behaviour of the employees is often adjusted to fit this culture. In other ways, the culture may be very rigid and formal (Griffin and Moorhead, 2011). Such culture is maintained through the formal and rigid behaviour of the employees. In effect, different cultures within the organization would dictate behaviour and more often than not as certain behaviours are accepted within the organization, a culture is built and supported (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007). Institute for Management Excellence (2011) discusses that the different personalities impact in varying ways to the work environment. They can also impact negatively on the environment. In instances when the positive elements are not there, the workplace is not functioning at its fullest. Strong teams have varying roles and favourable qualities and these qualities can provide the best potential in dealing with all elements of any problem in the organization (IME, 2011). With a wide range of personalities, the potential for conflict based on misunderstandings from varying viewpoints may become apparent. For managers seeking to resolve these conflicts within the work environment, it is important to consider which qualities are manifested. It is crucial to note the favourable qualities present and which are not there (IME, 2011). In order to manage any situation, managers need to add more individuals with positive traits or qualities which they would likely need. Moreover, when workers are in an environment where they feel safe and happy, they usually work around favourable aspects; and when they feel stressed they tend to manifest negative qualities (IME, 2011). 2. “Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to an enduring change in behaviour.” (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2010, p.732) Explain this statement, showing how it relates to a learning theory that you have studied on this module and to your own approach to learning. Experience is considered by most individuals and professionals to be the best source of learning. Learning is considered a process, mostly in terms of its general outcomes. In order to improve learning, focus should be given on engaging learners in processes which improve their overall outcomes. Experience is founded on various assumptions about learning from experience. Boud, Cohen, and Walker (1993) discuss that experience is the foundation of, as well as the stimulus for learning. Learners also actively establish their own experience with each aspect of learning; learning is also a very holistic process and is socially and culturally constructed; and finally, learning is also based on a socio-emotional context (Boud, Cohen, and Walker, 1993). It is a process which involves various strategies which can only be enhanced by experience and by formulas and recipes. Experience considers various factors which operate at various levels, including the full involvement of the person, including his thoughts, feelings, and senses (Andresen, Boud, and Cohen, n.d). In effect, the learning process which is more hands on, such as role playing, would involve acting out possibilities; it would also involve an intellectual, as well as an emotional process. With all these elements in play, experience assists the learner in emotionally, mentally, and sensually incorporating new information into his life, and allowing such information to make major changes in his life. Life experiences from the learner also serve as strong sources of information. When new learning can be related to a person’s former life experiences, the meaning which can be gained would likely be better integrated into the learner’s life and values (Andresen, et.al., n.d). Experience also allows a more retrospective application of learning; it adds and transforms such experience into a deeper learning process. This process would also be retained for a long period of time and for as long as the learner lives (Andresen, et.al., n.d). As a person continues to reflect on his actions, he is also able to deeply understand his actions and to associate learning outcomes with the experience itself. In effect, learning basically involves a process where knowledge is built by transforming such experience (Kolb, 1984). The experiential learning theory can best be applied to the discussion above. It is a theory which is based on the work of various scholars who have given experience a main role in their human learning and development (Kolb, 2005). This theory is based on various concepts. One of these concepts emphasizes that learning can best be reviewed as a process and that in order to improve learning, the main goal must be on engaging students in activities which would maximise their skills and efforts. In effect, education is about reconstructing experience with the goals remaining constant and consistent with each activity (Kolb, 2005). This theory also points out that learning is about relearning and is appropriately assisted by a process which extracts students’ beliefs about a topic (Kolb, 2005). This theory also declares that learning requires the resolution of conflicts among opposed methods in adapting to the world. Conflict and disagreements impact on the learning process. While learning is unfolding, the learner is often required to transition between opposing methods of reflection and action (Kolb, 1999). Learning is also a holistic process of adjusting to the world in general; it does not only represent cognition, but it also includes the coordinated functioning of the whole person – the way he thinks, feels, perceives, and behaves. Experience-based learning also discusses that experience provides a holistic means of learning for an individual. The experiential theory also explains why such experiences are essential to the learning process (Kolb, 2005). The experiential theory accepts that learning comes from the cooperative actions of the person and the environment. Learning therefore comes from the coordinated processes of gaining new experiences through the use of holistic processes. As a person gains more experience, he becomes more adept at dealing with issues and problems (Kolb, 1999). He also becomes more challenged with each problem; moreover, he is able to redirect his efforts in order to be critical about the issue and make the necessary transitions towards strong outcomes. Experience provides an opportunity for providing lasting change on learners. In effect, the process of learning is more hands-on and such learning lingers in the mind of the learner, thereby making the learning process more consistent and stable. Amount of learning and duration of study According to the above figure, as the month and time for learning progressed, my knowledge also increased. As apparent in the figure, on the first month, my knowledge was not yet that high, but as each month progress, I was eventually able to improve my knowledge. By the end of the course and leading up to the final exam, I already had 100% knowledge about the course. This is associated with the experiential learning theory which basically suggests that as the experience of a person is increased or improved, his level of knowledge and expertise also increases. I experienced this with this course. As I attended the lectures, read my books, did my assignments, I also enriched my experience, knowledge, and overall skills.   As was previously mentioned, experience is the means by which most individuals learn and improve their learning. Learning is a process, and it often takes time. This would explain why my own learning process took several months to complete, and even after this course, my learning is still continuing process. Experience is based on assumptions about learning from experience. Boud, Cohen, and Walker (1993) discuss that experience is the basis and the trigger for learning. As a learner, I was actively able to gain experience with each learning step and process. In the end, I was able to establish that indeed, learning is a holistic process. It is a process which involves various strategies which can only be gained with experience and with the application of various methodologies. Experience highlights different elements which function at different levels, in his thoughts, feelings, and his senses (Andresen, Boud, and Cohen, n.d). I was able to gain these various levels as my learning progressed throughout the months. I was able to transition to the theoretical approach of learning and on to a more hands-on approach which often involved applying my learning. These elements in general made my experience a very practical and memorable one. I was able to remember the mistakes I made, what I can do to avoid these mistakes, and including what would actually be most beneficial to any problem I was facing. My life experiences and learning for this lesson are also my sources of current learning and information. As new learning was related to my previous experiences, the meaning of these experiences became bigger. This was mentioned earlier in the previous discussions on the role of experience in learning. Experience also gave me a possible application of my previous and current knowledge and therefore also gave me a deeper knowledge of the learning process. It took a while for me to reach this point of deeper knowledge, however, I was able to appreciate experience and learning even more after months of allowing the learning process to take its course. My current assessment of self-learning supports the ideas of Kolb (1984) when he declared that as people continue to reflect on their actions, they are also able to deeply understand their actions; moreover, they are also able to associate the learning process to experience. As I was able to reflect more on the last few months of learning, I found that I have a deeper understanding of my personal and professional learning. This allowed my level of experience as well as knowledge to increase with each passing month as demonstrated by the curve. 3. One way to understand different motivation theories is to interview your peers on what is important to them when choosing a job. Form a diverse study group, and discuss the following: How important is pay in choosing a job when you graduate? Within the diverse study group, most of the peers I interviewed declared that pay is an important consideration for them. In the current context of the global economic crisis, they believe that pay is something which they should seriously secure for themselves. They feel that they need to consider pay in choosing their work because they also need to support their families and be more practical. Any other considerations in work have to take a secondary priority to their goals of supporting their families. Some of the potential graduates who had work experience and career changes, as well as unemployment difficulties expressed that although they also considered pay in choosing work when they would graduate, they also believed that they would be pleased with any offer given to them. The bottom line was that they just wanted to be employed and to get any fair wage for their services and their labours. Some of my peers also expressed that wages are not important considerations for them. These individuals only wanted to be able to practice what they were good at and if they would receive fair compensation for it, then they would already be happy with such an eventuality. My peers also admitted that they had big goals in terms of their career and what they would be earning in the future. But they also wanted to be happy with their career and not be preoccupied with monetary considerations. Figure 1 How important is pay? n=25 Level of importance Frequency Percentage Very important 19 76 Moderately important 5 20 Not important 1 4 Total 25 100 Figure 2 Current income of respondents n= 25 Income Frequency Percentage High 1 4 Moderate 8 32 Low 16 64 Total 25 100 Is personal autonomy important in your work motivation? My peers expressed that personal autonomy is a huge part of their work motivation. They believed that they could work well with minimal supervision. They felt however that during the first few weeks of their work that they would need supervision and guidance in order to ease them into the work place and into the work environment and culture. As they would be able to gain more confidence and experience in their assigned tasks, they feel that they should be given more autonomy. Greater autonomy would allow them to flourish and blossom in the work place as strong contributors to the goals of the organization. Autonomy would also allow them to be more creative in their activities and work processes, giving them greater license to explore their potential in the workplace. Those who were interviewed also believed that autonomy would reduce work stress. It would ease and open strong and trusting relations between the managers and the employees, allowing these parties to connect with each other on a more fundamental and coordinated level. My peers also believed that personal autonomy is a crucial element of motivation because they feel that if they are limited in their actions and decisions, they would find little affinity for their work. In effect, they would have little ownership for their work because they believe that it is not their personal contribution. They would not feel extra motivated towards seeing the activity succeed because they feel that the activity is one which is dictated on them by their manager, not something which they have actually planned on their own. Figure 3 Importance of autonomy n=25 Motivation Frequency Percentage Very important 18 72 Moderately important 3 12 Not important 4 16 Total 25 100 Explain your findings and discuss them in relation to appropriate motivation theory The findings above exemplify that people are highly motivated by money. They are also motivated by personal autonomy and control over their own work and activity. Based on Maslow’s Motivational Theory which is supported by his hierarchy of needs, people need to satisfy their basic needs first (Pride, Hughes, and Kapoor, 2011). These basic needs are those which relate to food, clothing, and shelter. They cannot move on to fulfil other goals if they cannot satisfy these basic needs first (Koontz and Weihrich, 2006). Fulfilling these basic needs require money and if they do not have the means to provide for these needs then they cannot move on to fulfil other goals. Maslow’s theory explains satisfactorily why most of my peers answered that money is an important consideration for them in their career (Koontz and Weihrich, 2006). They are aware of the fact that before they can fulfil bigger and more personal motivational goals, they would have to fulfil their basic needs first. Job security and support are also important to most employees. It helps build their character at work and helps build their skills as important contributors to the workplace (Milliken and Honeycut, 2004). Maslow also discusses in his hierarchy of needs the requirement of support. People need support in order to be motivated. Support is in the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy. Before such level can be reached, a person has to fulfil his basic needs, and then fulfil his security needs (Milliken and Honeycut, 2004). For my peers, it appears that many of them have not fulfilled their basic and security needs as yet. In effect, without any support from their employee, they are not motivated. Figure 4 Motivation for employees n=25 Specific needs Ranking How is this met in current work/university experience How to achieve these in the future Family 1 Travelling with family Spend time with family Social interaction 2 Open communication with peers Travelling with friends Travel 3 Travelling during holidays Set aside money for future travel Charity 4 Open bank account/save 50 pounds from savings 4. Choose FOUR barriers to communication and suggest, as a manager, how you might overcome such barriers. a. Cultural. Cultural is one of the barriers to effective communication in the workplace. This barrier is based on the diversity of the workplace and the cultural considerations that the manager has to make in managing an effective workplace (Krizan, et.al., 2010). Some workers from certain ethnic groupings may not exist in the same cultural sphere as other workers and the manager himself. In effect, a manager may impose certain restrictions or allow certain liberties in the workplace, and yet these same restriction or liberties may actually be offensive to the culture of some workers (Krizan, et.al., 2010). Due to this cultural barrier, the employees may choose to be uncooperative with the manager in the workplace. This cultural barrier may also include religious and ethnic barriers which often imply differences in work ethics, work processes and procedures, as well as work days. For example, a Seventh Day Adventist may seek days off on Saturdays, and the Muslim may seek his days off on a Friday; other work practices including sexual harassment lectures in the workplace may actually be offensive for other ethnic groupings, but clearly acceptable for others (Krizan, et.al., 2010). In order to resolve these cultural issues, the manager must familiarize himself with all his employees and converse with them about their culture, including the elements of their culture they expect to see and to not see in the workplace (Krizan, et.al., 2010). b. Experiential. The lack of experience may be a major barrier in the workplace, especially among new graduates. Lack of experience would likely slow down the pace of the work and it may also reduce the efficacy and productivity of the workplace (Bell and Smith, 2009). In some instances, the lack of experience can also cause injuries to the employee himself or to his co-workers. It can also cost the company more money to train these employees. In order to resolve this issue, the manager has to allocate training funds for these employees and to ensure that these employees would be efficient workers at the end of their training (Bell and Smith, 2009). Failing to gain the necessary competency after the training would call on the manager having to discharge the employee. The guidance for these workers has to have a deadline because beyond such time, it would not be cost-effective for the company to keep them in the company (Bell and Smith, 2009). Moreover, the more skilled and experienced workers have to be pressured also to assist in teaching the newly hired workers the skills they need in order to transition into the organization. c. Language. Language or linguistic barriers are one of the most common barriers that a manager can encounter in the workplace (Perez and Luquis, 2008). This barrier relates to the cultural barrier because the difference in language may also be founded on the different cultures and ethnic groupings of the workers. It is difficult to establish accurate and efficient communication in these instances because of the language gaps (Perez and Luquis, 2008). The risk for errors in the workplace is therefore inevitable in these instances. In order to resolve this barrier, the manager has to try his best to learn the most common foreign language in his workplace. A working knowledge and conversational learning of the foreign knowledge can help establish strong bonds between workers and managers (Perez and Luquis, 2008). It is also important to have an interpreter within the work premises or at least within easy access of the manager. Requiring the workers to learn English is also an important tool for the manager. To some extent, workers would have to adjust to their environment and asking them to learn English would also assist them generally in their work as well as their social interactions (Perez and Luquiz, 2008). d. Physical (time, environment, physical medium). Physical barriers to communication come in the form of: lack of time, noisy environment, and the non-conducive physical medium). With the various duties which may be required of the manager and the employee, there may simply be no time to communicate (Gaines and Worrall, 2011). In these instances, this lack of communication may cause errors or injuries in the workplace. The physical environment itself may also be a major problem in communication especially if the environment is noisy and not conducive for effective communication (Gaines and Worrall, 2011). This is common in construction sites and similar noisy areas. In order to resolve this issue, time must be set-aside by the manager to communicate with his employees. A regular meeting may be set-up at the end of the day or at the beginning in order to review daily work progress (Gaines and Worrall, 2011). A place conducive for communication must also be set-aside by the manager. This may come in the form of a conference room or an office. References Ahmed, I., Nawaz, M., Shaukat, M., and Usman, A., 2010. Personality does affect conflict handling style: study of future managers, International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 1(3), pp. 268-270. Andresen, L., Boud, D., and Cohen, R., n.d. Experience-based learning [online] Available at http://complexworld.pbworks.com/f/Experience-based%20learning.pdf [Accessed 25 February 2012]. Bell, A. and Smith, D., 2009. Management communication. London: John Wiley and Sons Boud, D., Cohen, R. and Walker, D. eds., 1993. Using experience for learning. Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press Cybersisman., n.d. Unit 8 Notes: Personality [online] Available at http://cybersisman.com/psych1a/unit8/8personality.pdf [Accessed 25 February 2012] Dakota, 2003. Chapter: personality theories [online] Available at http://dakota.fmpdata.net/PsychAI/PrintFiles/PersTheories.pdf [Accessed 25 February 2012]. Gaines, L. and Worrall, J., 2011. Police administration. London: Cengage Learning. Griffin, R. and Moorhead, G., 2011. Organizational behavior: Managing People and Organizations. California: Cengage Learning. Hellreigel, D. and Slocum, J., 2007. Organizational behavior. California: Cengage Learning Issues for Management Excellence., 2002. How Personality Roles affect the Workplace, Institute for Management Excellence [online] Available at http://www.itstime.com/sep2002.htm [Accessed 26 February 2012]. Kolb, D., 1999. Experiential learning theory: previous research and new directions. Case Western Reserve University [online] Available at http://www.d.umn.edu/~kgilbert/educ5165-731/Readings/experiential-learning-theory.pdf [Accessed 26 February 2012]. Kolb, A., 2005. Learning styles and learning spaces: enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), pp. 193–212. Koontz, H., Weihrich, H., 2006. Essentials of management. London: McGraw-Hill Education. Krizan, A., Merrier, P., Logan, J., and Williams, K., 2010. Business communication. London: Cengage Learning. Kulkarni, M., 2011. Organizational culture and behavior. Buzzle.com [online] Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/organizational-culture-and-behavior.html [Accessed 10 April 2012]. Markovic, M., 2012. Impact of globalization on organizational culture, behavior and gender role. London: IAP. Milliken, E. and Honeycutt, A., 2004. Understanding human behavior: a guide for health care providers. London: Routledge Perez, M. and Luquis, R., 2008. Cultural competence in health education and health promotion. London: John Wiley & Sons. Pride, W., Hughes, R., and Kapoor, J., 2011. Business. London: Cengage Learning Appendix A Preparation for motivation assessment Core dimension Importance How is this met in current work/university experience How to achieve these in the future Skill Variety 4 Trying out various tasks Undergo trainings for various tasks Task identity 3 Understanding the task Becoming an expert in the task Task significance 2 Superiors explaining relevance of work Knowing the purpose of the task Autonomy 5 Doing the work with minimal supervision Having minimal supervision Feedback 1 Receiving praise from superiors Regular feedback from superiors. Read More