Individual Behaviour, Personality, and Values

Values, Personality, and Self-Concept at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has excelled as North America’s largest luxury hotel operator by hiring people such as Yasmeen Youssef (shown here) with the right values and personality and then nurturing their self- concept. Yasmeen Youssef Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

MARS Model of Individual Behaviour Situational factors Values Personality Perceptions Emotions Attitudes Stress Motivation Individual behaviour and results Ability Role perceptions

Employee Motivation Internal forces that affect a person’s voluntary choice of behaviour direction intensity persistence R BAR S M A

Employee Ability Natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task Competencies  personal characteristics that lead to superior performance Person  job matching selecting developing redesigning R BAR S M A

Role Perceptions Beliefs about what behaviour is required to achieve the desired results: understanding what tasks to perform understanding relative importance of tasks understanding preferred behaviours to accomplish tasks R BAR S M A

Situational Factors Environmental conditions beyond the individual’s short-term control that constrain or facilitate behaviour time people budget work facilities R BAR S M A

Defining Personality Relatively enduring pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviours that characterize a person, along with the psychological processes behind those characteristics External traits – observable behaviours Internal states – thoughts, values, etc inferred from behaviours Some variability, adjust to suit the situation

Nature vs Nurture of Personality Heredity explains about half of behavioural tendencies and 30% of temperament preferences Minnesota studies of twins, including those separated at birth, very similar behaviour patterns Nurture also counts -- socialization, life experiences, learning Personality stabilizes over time -- executive function

Five-Factor Personality Model (CANOE) Conscientiousness Careful, dependable Agreeableness Courteous, caring Neuroticism Anxious, hostile Openness to Experience Sensitive, flexible Extroversion Outgoing, talkative

Five-Factor Personality and Organizational Behaviour Conscientiousness and emotional stability Motivational components of personality Strongest personality predictors of performance Extroversion Linked to sales and mgt performance Related to social interaction and persuasion Agreeableness Effective in jobs requiring cooperation and helpfulness Openness to experience Linked to higher creativity and adaptability to change

Jungian Personality Theory Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung Identifies preferences for perceiving the environment and obtaining/processing information Commonly measured by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Extroversion versus introversion similar to five-factor dimension Sensing versus intuition collecting information through senses versus through intuition, inspiration or subjective sources Thinking versus feeling processing and evaluating information using rational logic versus personal values Judging versus perceiving orient themselves to the outer world order and structure or flexibility and spontaneity

Feeling Valued at Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson is one of the most respected employers because it recognizes the value of supporting each employee’s self-concept

Self-Concept Defined An individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations “Who am I?” and “How do I feel about myself?” Guides individual decisions and behaviour

Three “C’s” of Self-Concept Complexity People have multiple self-concepts Consistency Improved wellbeing when multiple self-concepts require similar personality traits and values Clarity Clearly and confidently described, internally consistent, and stable across time. Self-concept clarity requires self-concept consistency

Three “Selves” of Self-Concept Self-enhancement Promoting and protecting our positive self-view Self-verification Affirming our existing self-concept (good and bad elements) Self-evaluation Evaluating ourselves through self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus of control

Self-Concept: Self-Enhancement Drive to promote/protect a positive self-view competent, attractive, lucky, ethical, valued Strongest in common/important situations Positive self-concept outcomes: better personal adjustment and mental/physical health inflates personal causation and probability of success

Self-Concept: Self-Verification Motivation to verify and maintain our existing self-concept Stabilizes our self-concept People prefer feedback consistent with their self-concept Self-verification outcomes: We ignore or reject info inconsistent with self-concept We interact more with those who affirm/reflect self-concept

Self-Concept: Self-Evaluation Defined mainly by three dimensions: Self-esteem Global self-evaluation High self-esteem -- less influenced, more persistent/logical Self-efficacy Belief in one’s ability, motivation, role perceptions, and situation to complete a task successfully (i.e. MARS) General vs task-specific self-efficacy Locus of control General belief about personal control over life events Higher self-evaluation with internal locus of control

The Social Self Social identity -- defining ourselves in terms of groups to which we belong or have an emotional attachment We identify with groups that have high status -- aids self-enhancement Contrasting Groups Great West Life Employee Employees at other firms An individual’s social identity Live in Canada People living in other countries Graduates of other schools University of Manitoba Graduate

Values in the Workplace Stable, evaluative beliefs that guide our preferences Define right or wrong, good or bad Value system -- hierarchy of values Espoused vs. enacted values: Espoused -- the values we say and often think we use Enacted -- values we actually rely on to guide our decisions and actions

Schwartz’s Values Model

Schwartz’s Values Model Openness to change – motivation to pursue innovative ways Conservation -- motivation to preserve the status quo Self-enhancement -- motivated by self-interest Self-transcendence -- motivation to promote welfare of others and nature

Values and Behaviour Habitual behaviour usually consistent with values, but conscious behaviour less so because values are abstract constructs Decisions and behaviours linked to values when: Mindful of our values Have logical reasons to apply values in that situation Situation does not interfere

In Search of Congruent Values Chad Hunt chose Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. as an employer because of values congruence. “I need to work for a company that shares my values, and that includes caring about our impact on the environment,” says Hunt.

Values Congruence Where two or more entities have similar value systems Problems with incongruence Incompatible decisions Lower satisfaction/loyalty Higher stress and turnover Benefits of incongruence Better decision making (diverse perspectives) Avoids “corporate cults”

Values Across Cultures: Individualism and Collectivism Degree that people value duty to their group (collectivism) versus independence and person uniqueness (individualism) Previously considered opposites, but unrelated -- i.e. possible to value high individualism and high collectivism

Individualism High Individualism The degree to which people value personal freedom, self-sufficiency, control over themselves, being appreciated for unique qualities Canada. Italy India Denmark Taiwan Low Individualism

Collectivism High Collectivism The degree to which people value their group membership and harmonious relationships within the group Italy Taiwan India Denmark Canada Low Collectivism

Power Distance High Power Distance High power distance Value obedience to authority Comfortable receiving commands from superiors Prefer formal rules and authority to resolve conflicts Low power distance expect relatively equal power sharing view relationship with boss as interdependence, not dependence Malaysia Venezuela Japan Canada Denmark Israel Low Power Distance

Uncertainty Avoidance High U. A. High uncertainty avoidance feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty value structured situations and direct communication Low uncertainty avoidance tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty Greece Japan Italy Canada Singapore Low U. A.

Achievement-Nurturing High achievement orientation assertiveness competitiveness materialism High nurturing orientation relationships others’ well-being Japan China Canada France Chile Sweden Nurturing

Diversity of Canadian Values Francophone vs Anglophone values More liberal and permissive than Anglophones – reverse of a few decades ago First Nations Values high collectivism low power distance low uncertainty avoidance moderately nurturing orientation

Canadian vs American Values Subtle, but important differences: Question authority More deference to authority More liberal More conservative/ideological More multicultural values More melting pot values More egalitarian More patriarchal authority More collective rights More individual rights

Three Ethical Principles Utilitarianism Greatest good for the greatest number of people Individual Rights Fundamental entitlements in society Distributive Justice People who are similar should receive similar benefits

Influences on Ethical Conduct Moral intensity degree that issue demands ethical principles Ethical sensitivity ability to recognize the presence and determine the relative importance of an ethical issue Situational influences competitive pressures and other conditions affect ethical behaviour

Supporting Ethical behaviour Ethical code of conduct Ethics training Ethics officers Ethical leadership and culture

Individual Behaviour, Personality, and Values