Detailed lecture notes covering identity, personality & perception within organisational behaviour.
Topics covered include:
• Explain what is meant by identity and personality;
• Discuss key theoretical perspectives, issues and controversies;
• Evaluate the relevance and implications ...
Identity, Personality and Perception
1. Introduction
The individual is a central feature of organisational behaviour.
During the next two weeks we will consider the meaning, significance and
processes of ‘identity’, ‘personality’ and ‘perception’, the key theoretical
perspectives, issues and controversies surrounding them, and the implications
for the work place.
Outcomes - By the end of these sessions, you should be able to:
• Explain what is meant by identity and personality;
• Discuss key theoretical perspectives, issues and controversies;
• Evaluate the relevance and implications for organisations
Please read Chapters 6 and 8 of the core text book, Buchanan, DA and
Huczynski, A (2019) Organizational Behaviour, 10th ed., Harlow: Pearson.
You can access the e-book here.
Chapter 6 – Personality
Chapter 8 – Perception
1.1. Key Learning Points
Reflection:
To what extent do we go into organisations as individuals with our own
distinct personalities? (King and Lawley, 2019:266)
The organisation is a collection of individuals with their own
perceptions, feelings and attitudes (Mullins & Christy, 2016). Individual
differences are personal attributes which vary from one person to
another and make us unique. Individual differences may be physical,
psychological and emotional (Griffin & Moorhead, 2014). Our unique
different characteristics and attributes shape our values, and what we
give and expect to receive from working. People are not homogeneous,
and individual differences are the basis of diversity.
,Organisations have an interest in managing people at the level of the
individual and look for optimal fit between people and jobs (King &
Lawley, 2019). Effective managers need to match the needs and
expectations of the individual with the requirements of the
organisation (Mullins & Christy, 2016).
As we know from our previous study in this module, much can depend
on the situation – for example who you work with, office culture,
working conditions etc. You may be demotivated, withdrawn and
negative in one job, but highly-motivated, outgoing and positive in
another.
“Thus, whenever a manager attempts to assess or account for
individual differences among her employees, she must also be sure to
consider the situation in which behaviour occurs.” (Griffin &
Moorhead, 2014:66)
Key Learning Points:
Identity:
• More concerned with fundamental issues about ‘who we are’
• May consider issues of gender, ethnicity, sexuality,
physical/mental (dis)ability etc
• Or ‘social’ identities, e.g. millennials, mother, husband, doctor,
solicitor, Christian.
Personality:
• Usually conceived of in terms of our behaviour, and stable,
distinctive behaviour patterns
• Difficult to separate concept of personality from behaviour
Perception:
• We perceive ‘reality’ and make judgements of what we see
through a range of filters
, • Perceptions are influenced by the perceiver, the perceived and
the situation
• Our judgements about people and scenarios, are often shaped
by ‘mental shortcuts’, such as attribution and stereotypes
• Perceptions influence attitudes and behaviour
• We tend to perceive what we wish or expect to perceive
(Merton, 1957)
Individual Difference
• Why do we behave differently from one another?
• How easily can we differentiate one person from another?
• Is it possible to predict future behaviour in the workplace?
• Can we predict who is more likely to behave in particular
ways?
Identity: Aligning Employee Demographics with Reality. HERE
Please read this summary article from the Academy of Management
Insights collection which considers the evolutions of personal identities
in the workplace
- Identity autonomy, meaning an individual feels free and in control of their identity.
- Identity legitimacy, meaning an individual’s identity is perceived as valid.
Personality: Are murderers born or made? HERE.
The influence of internal and/or external factors. The classic nature or
nurture debate.
So it seems that a genetic tendency towards violence, together with an abusive
childhood, are literally a killer combination - murderers are both born and made.
Jim Fallon, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, has a particularly
personal interest in this research. After discovering a surprisingly large number of
murderers in his family tree he had himself genetically tested and discovered he had
an awful lot of genes that have been linked to violent psychopathic behaviour.
As he puts it: "People with far less dangerous genetics become killers and are
psychopaths than what I have. I have almost all of them"
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