The feelings people have toward their job. It is probably the most important job attitude and denotes how satisfied an employee is at his work. A person with high job satisfaction appears to hold generally positive attitude, and one who is dissatisfied holds negative attitude towards their job.
Positive work attitude is extremely important because it fosters productive thinking and leads to productive working. A positive person is more approachable and easily builds constructive relationships, which are essential in building cohesive teams. The two job attitudes that have the greatest potential to influence how an individual behaves at work are – Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment. People consider and evaluate their work environment based on several factors like the nature of the job, the rapport and relationship they share with their superiors and peers, how they are treated in the organization and the level of stress the job involves. Work attitudes that have the greatest potential to influence how an employee behaves are job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
Each one of us has our own belief or attitude towards the food we eat, the place we live, the clothes we wear, etc. Similarly, work attitude refers to how an individual feels about His work and shows his commitment towards it. Attitudes are a way of thinking, and they shape how we relate to the world, both at work and outside of work. An attitude denotes our opinions, beliefs, and feelings about Various aspects of our environment.
In addition to the Big Five, researchers have proposed various other dimensions or traits of personality. They are called self-variables. People's understanding about themselves is called self-concept in personality theory and are important self-variables that have application in organizational behavior. These include self-monitoring, self-esteem, self- efficacy, etc. Self-esteem is the self-perceived competence and self-image. It is related to higher levels of job satisfaction and performance levels on the job. People with low self-esteem experience high levels of self-doubt and question their self-worth. Self-monitoring is the extent to which a person is capable of monitoring his or her actions and appearance in social situations. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s abilities that one can perform a specific task successfully. A person may have high self-efficacy in being successful academically, but low self-efficacy in relation to his/her ability to fix the car. Personality thus impacts a person's performance in various dimensions in the workplace. Not every personality is suited for every job position, so organizations need to carefully consider personality traits and assign duties/roles accordingly. This can lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction.
There are a number of traits on which persons can be ranked or measured. However, five core personality traits called the five factor model have been found to be of value for use in organizational situations. Each of these 5 personality traits describes, relative to other people, the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. Every individual possesses all 5 of these traits, but in varying degree. For example, we can describe two managers as ‘tolerant’. But there could be significant variation in the degree to which they exercise their tolerance levels. The model categorizes people as possessing the following traits in varying degrees of high scope and low scope. Conscientiousness High Score - Productive and disciplined, rigid and “single tasking”. Low Score - Less structured, less productive, more flexible, inventive, and capable of multitasking. Agreeableness High Score – Co-operative, can be submissive, and empathetic to others.…
Organizations have greatly evolved over the years in the way organizations operate and react to situations. Today they are leaner with fewer levels and more transparency. Managers are more participative involving subordinates at all levels. The shift towards more knowledge-oriented and customer-focused jobs have rendered more autonomy even at fairly low levels within organizations. The constant volatility of the environment affecting organizations have made them open to changes and newness. All of these factors have contributed to personality being seen as more important now than it was in the past. Behavior patterns have been a constantly evolving field of study where psychologists attempt to identify and measure individual personality characteristics, often called personality traits which are assumed to be some enduring characteristics that are relatively constant like dependable, trustworthy, friendly, cheerful, etc. Modern personality theorists, Costa & McCrae, have researched and published their study of a ‘5 trait’ model which is now widely accepted among psychologists. These 5 aspects of personality are referred to as the 5-factors or sometimes just ‘the Big 5’.
Personality is a set of distinctive individual characteristics, including motives, emotions, values, interests, attitudes, and competencies. It is a stable set of characteristics representing internal properties of an individual, which are reflected in behavioral tendencies across a variety of situations. It determines an employee’s fitment in terms of personality, attitude and general work style. In managing the day-to-day challenges, it is the personality of the people involved that affects the decisions taken in an organization. For example, a manager who cannot motivate his staff positively risks the integrity of the team which directly impacts the quality of service resulting in low productivity. A manager’s personality greatly impacts motivation, leadership, performance, and conflict. The more understanding a manager has on how personality in organizational behavior works, the better equipped he will be to bring out the best in people and situation.
Managers are the primary force in an organization's growth and expansion. Larger organizations are particularly complex due to their size, process, people and nature of business. However, organizations need to be a cohesive whole encompassing every employee and their talent, directing them towards achieving the set business goals. This is an extremely challenging endeavor, and requires highly effective managers having evolved people management and communication skills. The Top Management The top level executives direct the organization to achieve its objectives and are instrumental in creating the vision and mission of the organization. They are the strategic think-tank of the organization. Senior Management The General Manager is responsible for all aspects of a company. He is accountable for managing the P&L (Profit & Loss) statement of the company. General managers usually report to the company board or top executives and take directions from them to direct the business. The Functional Manager is responsible for a single organizational unit or department within a company or organization. He in turn is assisted by a Supervisor or groups of managers within his unit/department. He is responsible for the department’s profitability and…
Personality contributes in part to workplace behavior because the way that people think, feel, and behave affects many aspects of the workplace. Attitude is another major factor to be considered here. People's personalities influence their behavior in groups, their attitudes, and the way they make decisions. Today, at the hiring stage itself many organizations are attempting to screen applicants who are more likely to fit with their company culture. Organizations want to hire individuals with positive traits and attitudes to create a healthy environment.
Every organization is a mix of individuals with a variety of personalities, values, and attitudes. Personality and characteristics determine an employee’s behavior and ability to perform. Organizations hire people on the premise that they have certain knowledge, skills, abilities, personalities, and values which they bring to the workplace.