Organizational Behavior Theory

Organizational Behavior Theory

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Introduction

This essay seeks to look at organizational behavior theory in light of its role in work motivation and the effect of personality traits on organizational behavior. It is structured in a manner that details the personality dimensions within which a person functions as well as identifies the improvement areas.

Personality Dimensions

It is believed that human beings operate and function within five main personality traits. This, therefore, makes these personality traits identify the operational dimensions for human beings. For each personality factor considered, two extremes are identified so that people lie somewhere between the ends. Openness (openness to experience) is one of the traits. This touches on an individual’s active imagination and their independence of judgment (Cherry, 2018). It is a description of people open to new experiences. High scoring people are more creative and adventurous while the low scoring people are conventional. The high scoring people have better adaptability to workplace changes and have effective leadership (Lotfi, et al., 2016). Conscientiousness is yet another trait. People in this group are goal-oriented, reliable, and have good impulse control. The highly conscientious individuals are detail-oriented and organized while the lowly conscientious are procrastinators and impulsive. This group of individuals is considered to have the greatest influence on job performance with more knowledge, eager learners and great leaders (Florida Tech, 2016). The issue is that they focus more on performance as opposed to the learning process. They also put work first with difficulty in adaptability to change.

Extraversion/Extroversion is the third personality trait. The characteristics include sociability, emotional expressiveness, talkativeness, and excitability. The highly extroverted are socially confident and outgoing while the introverted are reserved and seek solitude. The extroverts have higher chances of taking on leadership coupled with high impulses. Agreeableness describes the ability of individuals to get along with others (Cherry, 2018). People who score high are affectionate, kind, and more cooperative while those who score low are manipulative and competitive. The high scores indicate strictness in rule abidance with fewer accidents and greater job satisfaction, while low scores indicate low career success with counter productivity (Lotfi et al., 2016). Lastly, neuroticism describes people who are emotionally unstable, sad and moody. This trait identifies the ability or inability of a person to control their sadness or anxiety.

High scoring individuals have low self-esteem, while the low scoring individuals show emotional resilience and stability. The high scoring individuals may experience burnout due to poor emotional management, while the low scoring individuals have a higher satisfaction at work and in life with low levels of stress (Cherry, 2018). At the same time, those who rank low in this case, tend to have better emotional stability, especially in today’s workplaces which experience change in a fast-paced manner. However, as people tend towards old age, they become less neurotic, more introverted and less open to experience. At the same time, people become more conscientious and more agreeable (Florida Tech, 2016). This indicates a calmer effect that can be seen in the manner in which they behave in their workplaces through interaction and performance. An organization allows for the interaction of people with various personality traits to achieve effectiveness.

Personality Dimension Theory & Performance Improvement Areas

The personal dimension plays a significant role in the performance at work or academically. It is, therefore, important to consider extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeability, openness to experience and neuroticism; all of which determine motivation at work and academically. As much as the scoring on the personality has been roughly good, there are areas that may need to be improved for better academic and work performance, not forgetting better interactions with people (APS, 2014). One area that requires much needed improvement is neuroticism. High levels of anxiety, worrying and insecurity describes me. Unfortunately, this can only mean that there are esteem issues involved, and specifically, low self esteem. Looking at the personality dimensions, this trait shows that a person easily experiences burnout when putting the mind to work; something that is required for academic and work success. Poor emotional management may be a distraction to achieving set academic and work goals. The trait is not entirely disadvantageous. Such people are said to be intelligent, realistic and driven. In order to deal with the negativity that springs up, identification of the problem areas, such as self-criticism and sensitivity to what others say will help create awareness. With this awareness, I may be able to focus on the benefits that change brings as well as monitoring how people with different traits manage the toxic ones (Simmons, 2009). With the ability to note the positivity that comes out of converting negative traits to positive ones, I will be able to get work done in a timely manner and even meet academic and work demands, therefore, being able to compete with other employees considered to be a good fit. This will also lead to increased success in academic work.

As a high scorer in agreeableness, it is important to recognize the effect of this trait on organizational behavior, in light of academic and work performance. Employees as well as entrepreneurs are expected to have tough skin to be able to withstand the pressure and demands that come with the assignments (APS, 2014). This also includes academic performance. Agreeableness means that one can easily be manipulated due to being sympathetic. Other employees and entrepreneurs in the field tend to care less about the feelings of others, thus climb the ladder while pulling others down in order to get to the top. Such characters are considered to be rude, critical and harsh. These may be considered distasteful but they are able to get the job done. The best way to learn to be tough in order to succeed academically and at work is trying to be around people who are both tough and sympathetic (Wood et al., 2019). Such characters will be able to show me where one draws a line, so that they are neither too sympathetic nor too tough. At the end of the day, they are able to meet the goals and objectives that have been set. On top of this, asking for more difficult tasks to accomplish is another effective way of growing tough, while still being able to see the good that comes out of this. With difficult tasks, I will be able to adjust accordingly so that work is done effectively and I am able to grow tougher skin while at it. Realization of this balance will help with better academic and work accomplishments.

Conclusion

To summarize, personality traits work to both the advantage and disadvantage of an individual. However, when the individual manages to identify their strong suits as well as the problematic ones, the latter can be improved for better academic and work performance, as well as individual improvement. They give one the drive to work smarter and harder for better results. It all requires a good balance.

References

Association for Psychological Science. (2014, September 25). Which Personality Traits Are Most Important to Employers? Association for Psychological Science. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/minds-business/which-personality-traits-are-most-important-to-employers.htmlCherry, K. (2018). The big five personality traits: 5 major factors of personality. Retrieved August, 11, 2018.Florida Tech. (2016). How the big five personality traits influence work behavior. Florida Tech. https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/business/how-the-big-five-personality-traits-influence-work-behavior/Lotfi, M., Muktar, S. N. B., Ologbo, A. C., & Chiemeke, K. C. (2016). The Influence Of The Big-Five Personality Traits Dimensions On Knowledge Sharing Behavior. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 7(1 S1), 241.Simmons, B.L. (2009, July 5). Entrepreneurs and “The Big Five”. Bret L. Simmons. http://www.bretlsimmons.com/2009-07/entrepreneurs-and-%E2%80%9Cthe-big-five%E2%80%9D/Wood, J. M., Zeffane, R. M., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R., Morrison, R., Factor, A., … & Osborn, R. N. (2019). Organisational behaviour: core concepts and applications. John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd..