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Research involving personality in the workplace
Costa and McCrae's work on the big five-factor model of personality suggest
The five factor theory of personality by robert mccrae and paul costa'a
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1. Introduction
The topic of individual personality in the workplace, in particular regarding the Five-Factor model of personality, has recently been shown to be have a significant impact on employees and the way in which they work. This topic is important because in many cases personality may help employees become better suited for certain positions by providing them with the characteristics which are needed to succeed in these roles (Horowitz, 2010). In this portfolio I will be reflecting upon my learning throughout the course of BSB124 and the experiences which I have had. I will mainly be discussing my learnings in relation to my personality results from the NEO-IPIP questionnaire in conjunction with the five-factor model to support my
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Under this model, personality is comprised of the five main traits of: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness to experience and extraversion, also collectively known by the acronym CANOE (Costa & McCrae, 2003, pp. 185-201). According to Schacter, Gilbert and Wegner (Schacter et al., 2011, pp. 474-475) these personality traits are consistently recognisable across a wide range of people, even those of varying ages and cultures. Additionally, many studies such as Digman (1990, pp. 417-440) have indicated correlations between personality and job performance which also demonstrate that individuals with a certain personality score tend to achieve higher rates of success in the workplace. For example, conscientiousness is widely regarded to increase job performance, due to it resulting in employees with high conscientiousness in having a tendency to be organized and dependable (Digman, 1990, pp. 417-440). Similar traits providing positive attributes are: extraversion, due to the leadership ability it provides, and agreeableness, which usually characterises enhanced teamwork and working in group environments. (Judge, 2002). Therefore, the Big Five personality traits not only have a profound impact on an individual’s workplace tendencies, the …show more content…
My results from the questionnaire (See Appendix 1) show high extraversion and agreeableness, but relatively low conscientiousness. The five-factor theory indicates that having high scores in extraversion and agreeableness. According to LeBarron (LeBarron, 2001, pp. 9), a peer-reviewed “meta-analysis found support for Extraversion as a valid predictor of job performance for managers and sales representatives,” which is ideal in my scenario as a prospective manager. LeBarron (LeBarron, 2001, pp. 10) also states that “Agreeableness significantly correlated … with a measure of interpersonal facilitation.” This is once again favourable in my situation due to the requirement of managers to work well with other people (interpersonally). These results are not surprising for me as due to the nature of a managerial role, it is to be expected that this job is heavily reliant on interpersonal communication which is facilitated by agreeableness and extraversion. This also corroborates with Judge, (2002), who states that these intrapersonal traits aid in enhancing an individual’s interpersonal skills, strengthening the argument. A problematic fact however was my low score in conscientiousness. According to Bukowski (2011), individuals scoring higher on conscientiousness are more effective at managing conflict and tend to provoke fewer disagreements, due to
After Allport, came along two psychologists, Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck, who each formulated their own theories regarding traits. Their theories have been the subjects of considerable research in the world of psychology. Cattell seemed to focus on far too many traits, while Eysenck seemed to focus on too few. As a result, psychologists have combined the two theories to make one satisfactory theory (Cherry), called “The Big Five Factors” (Myers). They are: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion. These five factors merge to create the human personality (Cherry). Where people fall into these factors s...
386). Furthermore, research suggested that people who scored a high level of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience on the Big Five personality test have an advantage with regards to leadership effectiveness (Robbins, Judge, 2009, p. 386). However, according to the week 6 presentation, having certain personality traits does not mean you will be a great leader (Fischer, 2009). Instead, research shows that a high level of emotional intelligence is associated with effective leadership because the leader is able to show their ability to influence by caring about the people around them (Fischer, 2009). In an article by Business Perspectives & Research, a test was completed on the effects of emotional intelligence, in which these managers displayed, “superior performance to their lower EQ peers both in terms of contextual (teamwork and cohesiveness) performance and task performance (quality of job completed)” (Dabke, 2016). In my professional experience, the leaders who can show they truly care about their employees retain a higher level of loyalty and dedication with a positive attitude. This is also similar to a Bible story in John 13, where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples – his humility and servant attitude showed that he genuinely cared for his followers, which inspired a deeper covenantal relationship with him (ESV). ?This is quite
five factor theory is a fairly recent proposal and has its basis in earlier work,
(1997). McRae et al. (1997) attempted to find if the Five-Factor Model was a universal constant in all cultures. They also attempted to see if cultural views would change how the five traits were viewed. The researchers collected data from 6 different translations of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, this inventory looks for universal trait dimensions in a variety of languages. These 6 translations were then compared to the American counterpart. It was found that while some cultures did differ slightly in their view of the five traits found in the Five-Factor Model in comparison to Americans, the traits were still universal. All six translations found the big five traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and opens to experience to be
People on this planet have distinct personalities that differentiate them from everyone else. Personality refers to the “structures and propensities inside people that explain their characteristics patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior” (Colquitt, Lepine, and Wesson 278). Personality has the ability to shape the way people perceive who we are, telling them how we behave in a social environment. Being that there are more than 1,000 adjectives used to describe the types of personalities, the Big Five Taxonomy is used to summarize all those adjectives. In this paper, I intend to discuss the Big Five Taxonomy Dimensions in the workplace.
The bases of this paper will be based on the results that I had obtained when I took the Myers-Briggs personality test. The results that I had obtained was that I was determined to be an ENFJ. I will go into depth about letter and how each represents that a specific aspect of my personality. The results that I had received were not what I had expected, but the more I read about the trait the more I realized how it suited me. I will also talk about the information that I had found useful from the book, Type Talk at Work: How the 16 Personalities Types Determine Your Success on the Job by Otto Kroeger, which gave me insight on how to interact with other personality types especially in the work environment. The information that I absorbed from the personality test and from the book will go into use in my personal and work life so that both environments will be cohesive and peaceful.
A person’s personality has been the subject of psychological scrutiny for many years. Psychologists have drawn up several theories in an attempt to accurately predict and determine one’s personality. Foremost amongst these, is the “Big Five Trait Theory” which stemmed from Raymond B. Cattell’s theory.
Managers seem to inherit a strong trust in the authority of personality traits to forecast behavior at the work area. If managers thought that situations resolute behavior, they would hire individuals almost at random and assemble the situation correctly. But the employee selection procedure in most establishments places a great deal of importance on how applicants achieve in interviews and on examine through which the personality of a person can be achieved and the task distribution can be much easy varying upon the type of personality (Robbins, Odendaal and Roodt, 2001)
Discussed below are different researchers’ arguments and explanations on how personality predicts employee performance. This essay will explore both negative and positive ways in which personality can predict the performance, as well as explaining what personality is. Past research has “demonstrated that personality constructs are associated with work performance, with some traits like conscientiousness predicting success around jobs. Other linked with specific occupations e.g. extraversion correlates with success in sales and management as well as training performance supporting”, (Barrick et al., 2002, 87: p.43).
P.J. (2004). Personality: Theory and Research. USA: Wiley. SMITH. T. W. and WILLIAMS.
An individual’s personality is the basis of who they are and generates how they react to and behave in different situations. Personality testing is used in workplaces to identify whom to hire, promote and even put into teams. Personality testing is efficient in being able to determine which employees will perform best in certain roles, and this can remove some stress from employers. Personal testing has been shown to help improve the quality of employees who are in the workplace. The method of assessing personalities that will be examined in this essay is the Big Five taxonomy method. The two main questionnaires, which are used to determine these traits, are the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire and the NEO personality test. A participant’s results from a personality survey will be analysed to determine what their results mean for current and future workplace behaviour. Finally, this essay will review a case study and it will be explained why personality testing should be used in the workplace and what other work contexts these tests can take place in.
Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2012). Personality: Classic theories and modern research (5th ed). Boston , MA, USA: Pearson
Allport defines personality as ‘the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment’ (Allport, 1937). An individual’s unique personality traits and attributes are a powerful indicator of how he/she will interact with the work environment. The difference between average and outstanding employees can often be solely personality related. As the employee is the most valuable asset to the company, ‘selecting the right employee during the process is critical’ (Carbery and Cross, 2013, pp. 41-53)
Throughout this group project, I had an opportunity to observe and reflect how my personality traits contributed to and hindered the success of the team. According to the Big Five Model, I identify myself as low on extroversion, moderate on neuroticism as well as openness and high on agreeableness and conscientiousness.
One of the most prominent trends in organization today is the use of team to accomplish the work, which have assigned to an individual. Every team is made up of specific individuals and they are specialized in certain area of interest. If one of the specifications is missing It can be reflected on their performance. It indicates that, every individual is important for the organization. An individual’s performance within an organization and its relationship with its subordinates and coworkers is highly influenced by the Big Five personality traits. My Big five test results depicted that I am traditional/conventional individual with significantly high percentile of conscientiousness and agreeableness. I also have lower neuroticism and slightly