Individual Differences

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Individual Differences

• Personality, Demographics, and Emotions

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Goals

• Importance of individual difference in
  Management.
• Important for group dynamics (diversity and
  selection)
• Important for conflict management and stereotypes
• Important for motivation.

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Individual Differences

• PersonalityEnduring characteristics that
  describe an individuals behaviors
• Demographic CharacteristicsGenetically or
  sociologically determined characteristics. Age,
  gender, disabilities, culture.
• Emotionsintense feelings that are directed at
  someone or something. Mad glad sad happy.

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Personality Types

• Many different types.
• Meyers Briggs
• Big five

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Caution

• Behavior is a function of personality and
  Environment. Debate which is most important.
• Most people are adaptable. 2/3 of the population
  is within one standard deviation of the mean.
• The impact of strong situations is quite
  powerful. Honest people will tell lies.
• Class Groups (weak culture) vs organizations
  (strong culture).

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Myers Briggs

• Gave you the assessment earlier
• 4 dimensions but three most relevant
• Information gatheringtypes of information one
  has preferences for.
• Evaluating information
• Decision making
• Introversionextroversion not so relevant.

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Type Theory Preferences and Descriptors
EXTROVERSION INTROVERSION
Outgoing Publicly impressive Interacting Speaks, then thinks Gregarious Quiet Reserved Concentrating Thinks, then speaks Reflective
SENSING INTUITING
Practical Specific Feet on the ground Details Concrete General Abstract Head in the clouds Possibilities Theoretical
THINKING FEELING
Analytical Clarity Head Justice Rules Subjective Harmony Heart Mercy Circumstances
JUDGING PERCEIVING
Structured Time oriented Decisive Makes lists / uses them Organised Flexible Open ended Exploring Makes lists / loses them Spontaneous
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Sensing vs Intuition

• Concrete information vs abstract.

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Excuse Me, Where is the Rest Room?

• Sensor Go through the green double doors and
  turn immediately left. Youll pass a staircase
  and a sign that says Caution Doors Open
  Outward. Three doors past that is the
  directors office. The rest room will be the
  next door on your right.
• Intuitive Go through the doors and turn left.
  Its down the hall. You cant miss it.

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• Business people more sensing Professors more
  Intuitive.
• Cases sensing people tend to take the surface
  problems, intuitive thinkers tend to look for the
  hidden causes.
• Sensing people like routine problems, intuitors
  like novel problemssuch as cases.

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• Sensorslabel intuitors as head in the clouds,
  vague, poor communicators.
• Intuitors labor sensors as dull, weak thinkers.

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Thinking Vs Feeling

• Head vs Heart
• Facts vs impact on people.
• Finance and accounting tend to be thinking.
  Bottom line is money. Marketing and Management
  tend to be feelingbottom line is people and
  their reactions.
• Women tend to be more feelers than men.

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• Huge differences here. People vs Cash. While
  related evaluations are different.
• Spock vs Bones in Star Trek.
• Example SAR is budget problems.

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Judgment vs Perception

• Logical and systematic vs creativity and
  innovation.
• Constraints vs opportunities.
• Jean Luc Picard vs Data or perhaps Worf.

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Js vs. Ps
Judger The problem with you Ps is that you
always answer a question with another
question. Perceiver Is that bad?
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J-P Perceptions of Time

• Judgers
• plan it
• fill it up
• make each moment meaningful
• deadline
• organize it
• use it

• Perceivers
• find out how much we have
• play
• brainstorm
• check out limitations
• have fun
• get coffee

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Think about conflict

• How does each manage conflict
• S or N in terms of viewing conflict
• T or F assess options
• J or P view the options.

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Diversity or Harmony

• Pretty clear that diversity yield better
  decisions as long as everyone understands the
  other members strengths.
• Intuitors are great at analyzing problems. They
  see the larger picture. Sensors great at sorting
  the facts.
• Thinkers and feelers are both good. Need to
  blend both
• Perceivers great at creative solutions judgers
  great at tempering the realism of the solution.

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Take some time

• Share with your members where you are.
• Note differences. When analyzing your case take
  advantages of the differences. Realize that
  others approach problem solving different from
  you. Embrace those differences. Know your
  strengths and weaknesses.
• Utilize group members at different stages of
  decision making.

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• Five-Factor Model of Personality
• Yet another way to describe personalities

Extraversion
The Big Five Personality Model
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Emotional Stability
Openness to Experience
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Extraversion

• Widely debated and misunderstood.
• Extroverts get emotionally and physically
  energized interacting with other people.
  Introverts get emotionally and physically drained
  interacting with other people.
• Extroverts appear to have slight leadership
  advantage.

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Agreeableness vs Dogmatics

• Ability to accommodate the wishes of others vs
  the expectation that people will accommodate to
  your personal wishes.
• Agreeableness is not correlated to leadership.
• However, people like agreeable people to be group
  members.

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Conscientiousness vs Spontaneousness

• Orderliness, persistence, dependability.
• Leaders tend to be conscientious.

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Emotional Stability vs Neuroticism

• Mental health
• Leaders tend to be emotionally stable.

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Openness to experience.

• Novelty vs regularity. Risk taker vs risk
  adverse.

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Overlap with others

• Machiavellianism (low on agreeableness)
• Self esteem (high on emotional stability)
• Risk Taking (high on openness)
• Type As (low on agreeableness)

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Again a tendency to conflict with others who are
different from you.
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• Agreeable and dogmatics
• Extroverts and introverts.
• Conscientiousness vs spontaneous.
• Learn that others are different
• Any Trait has its positive and negative
  attributes.
• Selection is important.

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Demographics

• Age, gender, race, national origins.
• Stereotype others based on these qualities.
• Stereotypes are assigned attributes to others
  based on their identification with that group.
• Examples

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• Why are stereotypes problematic?
• Does age or gender influence leadership?

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• Why do we stereotype?
• Note social differences
• Assign negative qualities to social differences.
• Men are from Mars women from Venus.

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Emotions and work

• People are emotional. Feelings.
• You will be working with people who have
  emotions.
• Gender variations in demonstrating emotions.
• Should one show emotions at work? Mad, sad,
  happy, glad?
• Can one hide emotions?

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Emotional Intelligence

• Self awareness
• Self management
• Self motivation
• Empathy
• Social skills
• Research suggests that EI and IQ are both
  important for general work success.

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Important for motivation

• Need to be aware of what motivates others.
• Not all people are motivated by money equally.

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Summary