Why managers study human behaviour
A business is made of people. A manager plans and organises work; a leader inspires people to do it. Both need to know why people act the way they do. This study is called organisational behaviour.
When managers understand people, they hire better, build stronger teams, cut conflict and keep good staff.
Personality: what shapes it
Personality is a person's usual way of thinking, feeling and acting. It stays fairly steady over time.
Three shaping forces
- Heredity: what we get from our parents through genes, such as energy level or temper.
- Environment: family, friends, school, culture and religion.
- Situation: the place and moment. A shy person may speak up in an emergency.
The Big Five traits (OCEAN)
| Trait | High score means | At work |
|---|---|---|
| Openness | curious, creative | good with new ideas |
| Conscientiousness | careful, organised, reliable | best overall predictor of job performance |
| Extraversion | outgoing, talkative | sales, leading groups |
| Agreeableness | kind, cooperative | teamwork, customer care |
| Neuroticism | easily worried or upset | needs stress support |
Other useful traits: locus of control (do I control my life, or does luck?), self-esteem, and Type A / Type B (rushed and competitive vs relaxed).
Attitudes and the ABC model
An attitude is a feeling for or against something: a person, a job, a rule.
- A – Affect: the emotion. "I enjoy this work."
- B – Behaviour: the action. "I come in early."
- C – Cognition: the belief. "My manager is fair."
When what we believe and what we do clash, we feel uneasy. This is cognitive dissonance. People then change either the belief or the action.
Key work attitudes: job satisfaction, job involvement (how much I care about my work) and organisational commitment (how loyal I am to the firm).
Job satisfaction and personality
Job satisfaction is a positive attitude towards one's job.
What raises it
- Interesting, meaningful work
- Fair pay and promotion
- Good boss and co-workers
- Safe, pleasant conditions
- Person–job fit: the job suits the person's traits
People high in conscientiousness and low in neuroticism tend to report more satisfaction. Satisfied staff have lower absenteeism (days missed) and lower turnover (people leaving), and they serve customers better.
Unhappy staff may exit (quit), use voice (suggest change), show loyalty (wait patiently) or neglect work.
Personality tests in the workplace
Firms use personality assessment instruments: Big Five questionnaires, type indicators (that sort people into 16 types), and situational judgement tests.
Uses
- Hiring: check fit with the role
- Team building: mix strengths
- Coaching and leadership growth
Limits and ethics
- People may answer to look good.
- Some type tests have weak scientific support.
- Get consent, keep results private, avoid bias, and never decide on a score alone.
Try it
In the 3D free-play step, set the five sliders to how you see yourself. Note which role it suggests. Then ask a friend to set them for you. Do the results match? Why might they differ?
Key formulas and definitions
- Personality = Heredity + Environment + Situation
- Big Five = OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism
- Attitude = Affect + Behaviour + Cognition (ABC)
- Job satisfaction rises with person–job fit
- Responses to dissatisfaction: Exit, Voice, Loyalty, Neglect
Worked examples
1. Riya is careful, plans ahead and never misses a deadline. Which Big Five trait is high, and which job may suit her?
Conscientiousness is high. Roles that need accuracy suit her: accounts, quality control, project scheduling.
2. Arjun says, "I think the new shift rule is unfair" (C), "I feel angry about it" (A), and he starts coming late (B). Label the parts of his attitude.
Cognition: the belief that the rule is unfair. Affect: anger. Behaviour: arriving late. All three point the same way, so the attitude is negative.
3. A firm wants to hire a team leader and plans to use only a personality test score. Give two reasons this is risky and suggest a better approach.
1) Candidates can fake answers to look good. 2) A score does not show skills or experience and may be unfair to some groups. Better: use the test as one clue, along with an interview, a work task and references, with the candidate's consent and results kept private.
Common mistakes
- Thinking personality is only from genes. Environment and situation also shape it.
- Mixing up attitude and personality. Attitudes are about something and can change quickly; personality is broad and steady.
- Writing that neuroticism means a mental illness. It only means how easily someone feels stress.
- Saying a personality test alone can choose the best worker. It is one clue among many.