Chapter Three
Individual Differences
Chapter Overview …………………………………………………….. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Real-World Challenge: Individual Differences That Make a Difference at
Southwest Airlines ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Chapter Outline ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
I. People in Organizations ………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1 showed how managers strive to enhance performance behaviors, enhance commitment and
engagement, promote citizenship behaviors, and minimize dysfunctional behaviors by their employees.
Chapter 2 identified how various environmental factors—diversity, globalization, technology, ethics, and
new employment relationships—all impact organizational behavior (OB).
The text now turns to part two with a fundamental question underlying OB: Why do individuals do what
they do? Chapter 3 identifies and discusses critical individual characteristics that affect people’s
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the nature of individual differences, the concept of fit, and the role of realistic job previews.
2. Define personality and describe general personality frameworks and attributes that affect behavior
Real-World Challenge: Individual Differences That Make a Difference at
Southwest Airlines
Summary: Fun and friendly customer service is essential to the success of Southwest Airlines’ business
strategy. Southwest believes it can train new hires on whatever they need to do, but it cannot change
employees’ inherent nature. To support its goals of hiring fun, creative, innovative employees, Southwest
Airlines looks for leadership and a sense of humor in the people it hires. The company looks for
empathetic people with other-oriented, outgoing personalities who work hard and have fun at the same
time.
Real-World Challenge: Southwest asks for your advice about how to better hire empathetic employees
Chapter Outline
I. People in Organizations
A. Individual Differences
Individual differences are personal attributes that vary from one person to another. Individual
differences may be physical, psychological, and emotional.
B. The Concept of Fit
1. Person-Job Fit
Person-job fit is the fit between a person’s abilities and the demands of the job and the fit
between a person’s desires and motivations and the attributes and rewards of a job.
2. Person-Group Fit
Good person-group fit (or person-team fit) means that an individual fits with the
3. Person-Organization Fit
Person-organization fit is the fit between an individual’s values, beliefs, and personality
and the values, norms, and culture of the organization.
The strength of this fit influences important organizational outcomes including job
performance, retention, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
Organizational values and norms that are important for person-organization fit include
integrity, fairness, work ethic, competitiveness, cooperativeness, and compassion for fellow
employees and customers.
4. Person-Vocation Fit
Person-vocation fit is the fit between a person’s interests, abilities, values, and personality
and a profession. Our adjustment and satisfaction are greater when our occupation meets
our needs.
C. Realistic Job Previews
Realistic job previews (RJPs) involve the presentation of both positive and potentially negative
information to job candidates.
The goal is not to deter candidates, but rather to provide accurate information about the job and
organization and build trust.
II. Personality and Individual Behavior
Personality is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish one person from
another.
A. The “Big Five” Framework
Researchers have identified five fundamental personality traits that are especially relevant to
organizations. These traits, illustrated in Figure 3.1, are now commonly called the “Big Five”
personality traits.
In general, research suggests that being strong on conscientiousness is often a good predictor of
job performance for many jobs.
Extraversion reflects a person’s comfort level with relationships.
Research suggests that extroverts tend to be higher overall job performers than introverts and
that they are more likely to be attracted to jobs based on personal relationships, such as sales
and marketing positions.
For this particular trait, the opposite version is also given a name—introversion. An introvert
tends to be less comfortable in social situations.
On the other hand, managers must be careful to not overestimate their ability to assess the Big
Five traits in others. There are also times when using more specific personality traits to predict
outcomes such as turnover or performance are more useful than the more general Big Five traits
because the more specific trait more directly influences the intended outcome.
Another limitation of the Big Five framework is that it is primarily based on research conducted
in the United States. Thus, generalizing it to other cultures (or even within the United States)
presents unanswered questions.
B. The Myers-Briggs Framework
The Myers-Briggs framework is also a popular framework that some people use to characterize
1. Extroversion (E)/Introversion (I): Extroverts are energized by things and people. Their
motto is “ready, fire, aim.” Introverts find energy in ideas, concepts, and abstractions. They
are reflective thinkers whose motto is “ready, aim, aim.”
The possible combinations of these preferences result in sixteen personality types, which are
identified by the four letters that represent one’s tendencies on the four scales. For example,
ENTJ reflects extraversion, intuition, thinking, and judging.
Although the framework and Myers-Briggs instrument were not developed or intended to be
used to identify personality profiles and label people, too often this is what is done with the
results. This is problematic as it can lead to discrimination and poor career counseling.
III. Other Important Personality Traits
A. Locus of Control
Locus of control is the extent to which people believe that their behavior has a real effect on
what happens to them.
B. Authoritarianism
Another important personality characteristic is authoritarianism, the extent to which a person
believes that power and status differences are appropriate within hierarchical social systems
such as organizations.
C. Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism is another important personality trait. The term “Machiavellianism” is used
to describe behavior directed at gaining power and controlling the behavior of others.
D. Tolerance for Risk and Ambiguity
Two other closely related traits are tolerance for risk and tolerance for ambiguity.
Tolerance for risk (also called risk propensity) is the degree to which a person is comfortable
accepting risk and is willing to take chances and to make risky decisions.
Tolerance for ambiguity reflects the tendency to view ambiguous situations as either
threatening or desirable.
Intolerance for ambiguity reflects a tendency to perceive or interpret vague, incomplete, or
fragmented information or information with multiple, inconsistent, or contradictory meanings
as an actual or potential source of psychological discomfort or threat.
E. Type A and B Traits
The Type A personality is impatient, competitive, ambitious, and uptight. The Type B
personality is more relaxed and easygoing and less overtly competitive than Type A.
Understanding the personality type of your coworkers and boss can help you to better
understand and manage this potential source of work conflicts. Recognizing your personality
type can help you to identify work situations that are good fits for you.
F. The Bullying Personality
Workplace bullying is a repeated mistreatment of another employee through verbal abuse;
conduct that is threatening, humiliating, or intimidating; or sabotage that interferes with the
other person’s work.
Bullying costs employers through higher turnover, greater absenteeism, higher workers’
compensation costs, and higher disability insurance rates, not to mention a diminished
reputation as a desirable place to work.
G. Role of the Situation
The relationship between personality and behavior changes depending on the strength of the
situation we are in.
Global Issues: How Others See Americans
Summary: This chapter’s Global Issues feature is from a Newsweek survey reporting the characteristics
foreigners most and least often associate with them. It may give you some insight into how you might be
perceived differently in different parts of the world.
IV. Intelligence
There are many types of intelligence, or mental abilities, including general mental ability,
information processing capacity, verbal ability, and emotional intelligence.
A. General Mental Ability
General mental ability is the capacity to rapidly and fluidly acquire, process, and apply
information.
workers to learn new ways of performing their jobs.
Information processing capacity involves the manner in which individuals process and
organize information.
Information processing capacity also helps explain differences between experts and novices on
task learning and performance, as experts process and organize information more efficiently
B. Multiple Intelligences
Increasingly, researchers and scholars are realizing that there is more than one way to be smart.
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests that there are a number of distinct forms of
intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees:
1. Linguistic: words and language
2. Logical–mathematical: logic and numbers
7. Intrapersonal: self-awareness
The different intelligences represent not only different content domains but also learning
preferences. The theory suggests that assessment of abilities should measure all forms of
intelligence, not just linguistic and logical–mathematical, as is commonly done.