Personality

This assignment alms to analyses the careers of three Individuals by exploring the personal and situational factors considered In Supper’s Archway Model as well as the Grumbler’s Theory, and discuss how these factors interact and affect career decision-making. The analysis is then applied to the discussion how to use the various types of intelligences in achieving career success and advancement. Interviewee 1 Name: Jane Chug Highest Educational Qualification: Honors In Accountancy Age: 40 years old Gender: Female Race: Chinese Nationality: Singapore Work experience: 21 years Past occupation: Accountant/ General Accounts Manager

Current occupation: Assistant Finance Manager Brief Background Jane is currently working as an Assistant Finance Manager with Eng Lee & Associates and has been there for almost 2 years. Being the mother of two children, Jane placed a huge emphasis on being able to spend quality time with her family. Thus, the major factors which influenced Cane’s career history is Job satisfaction and work life balance. When asked to classify herself under three of the six personalities and environments that Holland developed which suits her best, she chose Conventional, Social and Realistic. Career History of Individual:

Jane graduated at the age of 22 and started her firstborn as an assistant accountant with Panasonic where she was only in charge of only one of the subsidiary’s account. Due to outstanding performance, she was promoted several times within a p of 3 years. This was parallel to the company’s policy to provide opportunities for career development to retain talents. However, even with good promotion prospects, Jane does not hold much authority In decision-making. With meeting tight deadlines and superiors’ expectation the only challenges, job task were mundane and this resulted in a lack of motivation for her.

Although this job provided her the work-life balance she wanted, she did not enjoyed the nature of her work at all. Furthermore, the most pivotal reason for her exit was due to the clash of personal value. During the period of economic downturn, there was a change of the management. In order to present a positive financial results to the owners, Jane was ordered to manage the earnings accounts. This made Jane faced with an ethical dilemma. Coupled with her lack of job satisfaction, she decided to leave the job. Next, she moved on to her next career to work as an Assistant Finance Manager.

The Meany’s value is in line with her personal value. Moreover, her current nature of made Jane highly motivated by the new challenges available to her every day, and satisfied with her working environment and work life balance offered. Interviewee 2 Name: Sam Nag Highest Educational Qualification: Primary 6 Age: 55 years old Gender: Male Work experience: 38 years Past occupation: Construction Worker, Interior Design Contractor Current occupation: Taxi Driver Sam is currently working as taxi driver of Comfort and has been there for almost 17 years.

He is married with two children and has been the sole breadwinner of the Emily. Thus, the major factors which influenced Cam’s career history is Job stability, health and work life balance. Being part of a big family of 12 children, Sam, who was the 10th child, could only study up to secondary 3 before he was forced to drop out of school to support the family by working for his uncle. When asked to classify himself under three of the six personalities and environments that Holland developed which suits her best, she chose Conventional, Enterprising and Realistic.

Career History of Individual: Sam started working as a full time construction worker at the age of 18. He was working for his uncle and his other younger brothers were also working there, albeit with different tasks. Weighed down with the responsibility of taking care of them, he has no choice but bear with the harsh working conditions. Moreover, he knew that with his lowly education level, he could only take up Jobs of such nature. After several years, the physically-demanding Job finally took a toll on his body.

He then found out that this Job could only last him as long as his body could take it and that he needed a second Job. Furthermore, the low wage demand of foreign workers led to an influx f them, resulting in suppression of his wages. This made Sam to be worried about his Job stability. With the encouragement of family, Sam went into a partnership for interior designing. However, Just when the business was doing well, came the 1997 SEA economic downturn. This resulted in the failure of the business. Having filed for bankruptcy, Sam decided to take up the taxi driver vocational license course.

Subsequently, Sam has been on the road for 17 years as a taxi driver. Although this job still imposes physical strain on his body, the flexibility and stability of the Job was one that he valued. Name: Marvin Tan Highest Educational Qualification: ‘O’ Levels Age: 52 years old Work experience: 35 years Past occupation: Air Force Technician, Insurance Agent Current occupation: Remised Marvin has been working as a remised with DMS & Partners Securities since year 2002 till now. As a father of three, and also the sole breadwinner of the family, Marvin seeks Jobs that had stability and regular working hours.

When asked to classify himself under three of the six personalities and environments that Holland developed which suits him best, he chose Investigative, Conventional and Realistic. Career History of Individual: Marvin started working at the age of 17 due to family circumstances. He was enrolled into the first year of pre-university, only then when his father was forced into retirement at Journo shipyard, He realized that his family would not be able to afford the exorbitant university school fees even if he had made it through to university.

At the age of 17, he had to look for a Job in order to shoulder the responsibilities of supporting for the family. Since young, he had always wanted to be a pilot, but the process was a long and tedious one, so he decided to put his dream aside and be an air force technician instead. The benefit of being a regular is a stable income so that he could ease his father’s expenses burden, by seeing his younger brother and sister through their secondary school education.

Marvin left the air force after 12 years as he felt that the way the organization worked did not really suit him, and thus decided to carve out a career for himself. During the arrears as a technician, he also picked up the habit of reading the newspapers daily, which got him to realize that his interest is in analyzing shares and stocks. Moreover, he also felt that he has a knack of analyzing the stock market. His ultimate objective was to be a remised but he opted to apply as a dealer first because he wanted to learn the ropes of the industry, and to also build a clientele.

Moreover, a dealer would have a basic pay which incentive him back then because he had to raise 3 children. While waiting for a reply to his applications, he was also keen to know more about the insurance industry. He took the relevant papers to gain additional knowledge, and ended up as an insurance agent for half a year. Companies who were hiring dealers back then were looking for university graduates and moreover, Marvin found that the insurance industry was not suitable for him so he was only left with the choice of being a remised.

After so many twists in Margin’s career path, he finally got accepted into summit securities at the age of 30, and has been working as a remised since then. Personality, Mr.. Tan feels that he is relentless, passionate and has a high level of self- efficacy. Supper’s Archway Model Supper’s Archway Model shows that individual’s self concept may change in the synthesizing and compromising process of the interaction between relevant psychological, personal and societal elements, which in turn influences the choice ND development of the individual’s career.

For Jane, the extended 5 life stages by Super (1957) suggests that Jane is in the implementation stage, where career prospect should be high on Cane’s priority list. With the various advancement opportunities available to Jane, this should have encouraged her to continue employment with Panasonic. However, her decision to switch companies proved otherwise. Having an independent and ambitious personality, she is competitive and works well where there are many opportunities to succeed. She craves for more decision making autonomy than what she held at Panasonic.

Even though Jane is able to complete her Job-tasks well, the lack of challenges fails to motivate her to put forth her best efforts. This resulted in her resignation as the extrinsic motivation of promotion was unable to compensate the lack of intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, Cane’s family has instilled a strong notion of honesty and ethics and this personal value has been something she tried to uphold her whole life. The ethical dilemma she faced was undo by her strong sense of personal values.

Moreover, the education she received emphasized on the fact that accounting figures speaks the truth. Staying on will mean that there will be a huge conflict of value between her and the company. This shows that Jane has a high level of career maturity from a young age, due to her strong self-concept of who she is and what she likes. Hence, the change from her previous Job at Panasonic to her current one shows that Jane seeks to live out her vocational self concept through the choice of her Job in order to attain Job satisfaction which she valued.

It is shown work satisfactions are dependent on the degree to which an “individual finds adequate outlets for abilities, needs, values, interests, personality traits and self-concepts” However, the theory fails to recognize which of the constructs involved in this proposition is theoretically most significant to career satisfaction which ultimately affects the choice of Cane’s career. For Sam, he was brought up in a traditional family which value kinship deeply.

Being responsible and favoring Job stability, this should have resulted in Sam continuing his work with the interaction between psychological, personality and societal elements that influences his self-concept revealed the reason behind his Job switch. With only a remarry 6 qualification in hand, his aptitude significantly limited Sam to only a few number of occupation. Together with the societal factor of family, which is to take care of his siblings and carrying on the burden of earning money for the family, made him accept the fact of working in the harsh environment.

However, the physical strain on his body spark the thought of a career change. Moreover, the looser foreign policy passed by the government created an influx of foreign workers, most notably threatening his Job stability and suppressing of his wages, created the motivation of him switching Jobs. Coupled with his risk-taking personality, the need of getting a higher income for his growing family and his interest for interior designing refined Cam’s self concept and prompted him to enter into the partnership.

In Cam’s case, although the refining of his self concept has provided reasons for his subsequent career choice, it is important to note that Sam does not have much control over the formation of his self-concept, with only control over how to translate it into occupational choices. Furthermore, Supper’s Archway model should be complemented by his Life-career Rainbow to better illustrate Cam’s career hoicks. His life and career may be viewed as an attempt to live out a self-concept through the blending of a selected number of life roles, each of which makes different demands on energy and time.

For Marvin, being only an ‘O’ levels’ holder, his aptitude limited his Job choices and he could only settle between what interest him and his educational qualifications, with his family in mind at the same time. Even though Marvin has always wanted to be a pilot since young, he was not able to realize his dream due to his family circumstances and opted to work something close o it instead, as an air force technician, compromising between individual and social factors; his self-concept and reality. As Marvin matured and the burden of supporting his family lightened, it got him pondering on what was best for his career.

Over a p of 12 years, there was a gradual change in Margin’s self-concept and perspective due to several factors such as realizing that repairing airplanes was not what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, and the protocol was not something that suited him. Having been reading the newspapers for several years, he developed a rowing interest in the stock market, and believed that he has a knack for it. Having an inquisitive personality, he decided to applied to be a dealer instead of being blinded by his primary objective to be a remised.

This is because he recognized the importance of learning the ropes of the industry as a dealer in order to be a good remised. Moreover, he wanted to build a clientele and that the incentive of a stable pay would be able to support his family. He also recognized that the insurance industry was growing which encouraged him to gain additional knowledge while waiting for a reply to his applications. Eventually, Marvin took up the opportunity to be a remised as his educational qualification was not enough to land him a Job as a dealer.

This transition has proven the career adaptability Marvin has, whereby he has successfully adapted to a completely different and unfamiliar environment. Moreover, the takeover of his previous company, which took place n 2010, meant that Marvin also had to adapt to the new work protocol and hierarchy. It is also apparent own interests and strengths. Starting from a client base of null, Marvin has been a remised for the past arrears, weathering through all obstacles, simply because he as been doing what he like.

Marvin had no regrets when it came to the crunch, leaving his comfort zone, the stable pay he got as an air force technician, to take up a new challenge and to improve on himself, for his interest had spurred him on. Supper’s model mentioned that the degree of satisfaction people attain from work is proportional to the degree to which they have been able to implement their self- concept, which is relevant in Margin’s case. Essentially, Supper’s theory addresses the entire p of a person’s life. However, the five developmental stages that Super 1957) had developed are not completely applicable in Margin’s case.

Although Marvin had an aspiration during the growth stage that lasted to the age of 14, it was short-lived. His exploration stage, from age 15 to 24, was cut short as he had to find a job after his father was forced to retire. Marvin did not have the chance to plan for his preferred occupation. The establishment stage, took place late at when he was 30 instead of 25 years old, as he had to serve a minimum bond of 10 years before he could leave the army. Grumbler’s Theory Grumbler’s theory also known as the Social Learning Theory of Career Decision

Making, explores the concept of triadic reciprocal interaction, which is the interaction between heredity and environmental attributes, and the importance of instrumental & associative learning and how they in turn influence an individual’s work behavior. The 4 major factors that influence one’s career development include genetic endowment, environmental conditions, learning experiences and task approach skills. For Jane, she was born in a family where both her parents worked as an Accountant. Inherited with their genes, Jane was born a fast learner with a acute sense towards numbers.

Moreover, after observing the success her parents had as an Accountant, provided her an associative learning experience, where she also want to pattern her own behavior after. This resulted to her taking up Accountancy during her university. Having attained good results in her course and the good reviews she had during her internship, this provided her an instrumental learning experience. The interaction between these factors reinforced her self-concept and formed self statements of evaluation of her interest and efficacy expectations in the field of accounting which led to her taking up her first Job as an Assistant Accountant in Panasonic.

Although this theory did not played an important part to show the development of her career, this provided the reason of Cane’s initial decision to work as an Accountant. For Sam, he possessed an innate artistic ability for designing. His knack at designing was affirmed by the various awards he received by taking part in designing competition during his secondary school days. However, faced with environmental conditions such as the lack of Job opportunities available to him and his family encouragement to Join the construction industry, Sam believed that this as the best choice and started work with his uncle as a construction worker.

Physical exertions at the construction ground provided a form of instrumental learning experience that served to educate him about the limitations of his physical and events played a big role in shaping Cam’s eventual occupation. The economic downturn in 1997, which led to his eventual bankruptcy, provided an instrumental learning experience which made him realized the risk he was exposed to by operating a business of this nature and the lack of work life balance as a result of his hectic schedule. To add on, the nature of his business requires him to travel around Singapore in order to meet his customers.

This allowed him to find out his talent in remembering road names. Moreover, the relatively stable “rice-bowl” and flexibility nature off taxi-driver affiliates with his value of stability and work life balance. The interaction between his genetic endowment, environmental conditions and learning experiences lead to his eventual career as a taxi-driver. For Marvin, being able to stay in the industry for arrears and more, and to build a clientele from nothing, can only prove how trustworthy and discerning he is in analyzing the stock market.

Although Marvin was not given the chance to further his studies, he had the determination to pursue his interest and succeed in it. Having borne as the eldest child in the family, environmental circumstances determined his first Job, but he was not entirely satisfied with what he had at that time. The nature of the Job provided Marvin an instrumental learning experience which reminded him that the nature of the Job was not suitable for him and thus, decided to leave after serving his bond in order to pursue the interest and innate ability he had discovered n himself in the field of stock analyzing.

This theory has influenced Margin’s career decisions as we can see that an action plan was established to first become a dealer to support his family and build a clientele, before applying to be a remised. He had also recognized the growing demand of the insurance industry, thus identifying it as an alternative if he had failed to become a dealer, which was what happened eventually. He then worked as an insurance agent for half a year before leaving his post for what he had always wanted to do, to be a remised.

General adaptation syndrome (GAS) and its stages (think of real-world examples) 8. Lazarus’ primary and secondary appraisal (think of real-world examples) 9. Problem-focused and emotion-focused coping (think of real-world examples) 1 1 . Type A and Type B behavior pattern 12. Optimism 13. Sexually transmitted diseases CHAPTER 11 STUDY GUIDE (Define,’describe all terms) 1. Personality 2. Sigmund Freud and his emphasis on unconscious forces 3. Unconscious, preconscious, conscious 4. ‘d, ego, superego – what they are and what “principle” the operate with 5. Defense mechanisms – list and define 6.

Psychosocial stages of development (see chart on page. 358) Know how to apply these! 7. Alfred Idler’s individual psychology . Inferiority complex 9. Conditions of worth 10. Characteristics of self-actualization individuals 11. Unconditional positive regard 12. Trait theories 13. Cardinal and central traits 14. Raymond Chattel’s source traits 15. Five-factor model 16. Extroversion and introversion 17. Reciprocal determinism 18. External and internal locus of control Please reproduce the pyramid and label the levels representing Mascots Hierarchy of Needs.

The five questions that help determine whether behavior is abnormal 2. Definition of psychological disorder . Cognitive perspective 4. The category of disorders that is most prevalent in the U. S. 5. Panic disorder 6. Generalized anxiety disorder 7. Social phobia 8. Obsession 9. Compulsion 10. Major depressive disorder 11. Bipolar disorder 13. Risk factors for suicide 14. Psychosis 15. Schizophrenia 16. Delusion 17. Paranoid schizophrenia 18. Dissociation disorders (remember, this is NOT THE SAME THING as schizophrenia) 19.

Dissociation identity disorder 20. Antisocial personality disorder (Define,’describe all terms) 1. Insight therapy 2. Psychodrama therapy 3. Techniques used in psychoanalysis 4. Carl Rogers, humanism, and person-centered therapy 5. Humanistic therapy 6. Person-centered therapy 7. Types of relationship therapies 8. Behavioral therapy 9. Time out 10. Factors that increase the effectiveness of time out 1 1 . Systematic desensitizing 12. Flooding 13. Exposure and response prevention 14. Aversion therapy 15. Participant modeling and Bandanna’s observational learning theory 16.

This essay discusses the major strengths and weaknesses of nomothetic and idiographic approaches to personality with the help of associated theories. Personality is defined as the psycho-physcial traits and mechanisms within an individual, influencing their interactions and adaptability to the ‘environment’. Nomothetic and idiographic approaches are two different methods used to provide an insight into and determine the personalities of people.

While both approaches are meant to further ones understanding of personality in different situations, there are significant differences as well as advantages and disadvantages for, in addition to, each method as this essay will highlight. Falk (1956) defines the nomothetic approach as a method to illuminate the laws and principles that define behaviors of a populace by interpreting general patterns which emerge, and the idiographic approach as an in-depth exploration of a subject where the understanding achieved is unique and personalized to the individual.

The nomothetic approach takes on the ‘history repeats itself’ attitude as expressed by Skinner’s radical behaviorism theory divulged by his experiments on rats, pigeons etc. (Smith and Woodward, 1996). The nomothetic approach’s greatest strength lies in its ability to distinguish certain trait behaviors of a population or community. This is efficent in determining an effective solution for individuals with identical behavior patterns based on the trait theory of personality.

Cattell’s (1946) 16PF trait theories, large scale studies recorded as a score on a dimension is an example of nomothetic investigation of human personality by which an individual’s personality is able to be described and generalized, as well as group behavior of same scoring individuals predicted. Research such as Milgram’s experiment and the I. Q. test suggest nomothetic notions hold true for certain behavioral principals and can be used to a certain extent to generalize groups of people. The ‘Big 5’ theory in collaboration with nomothetic data is considered satisfactory to illustrate the features of personality.

This method relies heavily on trait theories of personality to predict and establish behavioral personalities for a populace. On the other hand classification of a particular populace may not hold true for a particular individual due to specific individual traits and experiences suggests Gordon Allport (Nicholson, 2000). He stated that standardized testing would not be able to examine a greater part of an individual’s personality traits thus it required focused and customized study and observation.

While the nomothetic approach is relatively accurate to determine personality of general communities, it is shown to only propose surface principle behavior, not an accurate personality detail of a person. Moreover a bulky sample has to be chosen accurately to determine emerging patterns of behavior; classification might not be precise for all the people in that particular generalization. Another evident disadvantage is the classification of a person or people based on their result such as I. Q. which is show in certain situations to create bias among the society they are in.

The idiographic approach is highly focused on an individual under investigation and is mostly qualitative based as opposed to the quantitative nomothetic way. It is largely based on Freud’s theories of consciousness, that each person has an I,D. , ego and super ego and that it is unique to that particular individual. The study is comprehensive and long term, highlighting a complete understanding of the subject such as Freud’s explicit and long term clinical studies of his patients, catering to their specific needs and issues rather than a general assumption of their base persona (Gay, 1988).

It is shown to be a more flexible and detailed study to gain valid knowledge about the subjects being studied; Piaget was also able to unambiguously determine his children’s behavioral patterns and psyches (Auger and Rich, 2007). Idiographic approaches focus on the understanding of the structure of the mental i. e. the conscious, the unconscious and the preconscious such as George Kelly’s repertory grid technique in addition to Carl Rogers’ Q-sort procedure (Mcleod, 2007). Data gathered from idiographic research allows the creation of unique and effective treatments.

The key advantage of this method is the treatment offered after research will be efficient as it has been tailored to suit the particular individuals problem. On the other hand the results derived from idiographic approaches are highly specific and cannot be generalized; they’re based on a limited sample of the population along with unreliable experimentation which makes the data gathered useless to define general characteristics of a group. The information analyzed is unique to the particular individual being studied and does not hold true globally in which case it is considered unscientific by psychologists.

In conclusion, while nomothetic and idiographic approaches to personality each have their advantages and disadvantages, it is evident that the type of method used would be based on what the researcher is trying to record. To distinguish a general law of similar characteristic personalities a large, accurate sample from a populace would need to be nomotheticly studied with correlation factors as well as psychometric testing and other forms of quantitative research to drawn upon a fairly conclusive theory.

While precise study of an individual, would use the informal, idiographic method to derive an acute understanding of their personality. The nomothetic approach to personality is mainly supported by the trait theories of personality and idiographic approaches to personality are backed up by psychodynamic theories of personality. The main advantages these methods have is they are predominant in their own introspective fields of research while their main downfall poses as long as they remain standalone theories.

This study seek to highlight why some people in the case study felt that alcohol controlled behavior. This case study analysis individual unit ( e.g a person, group, or event) stressing developmental factors in relation to the study. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The later type is used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. They maybe prospective, in which criteria are established and cases fitting the criteria are included as they become available, or retrospective, in which criteria are established for selecting cases from historical records for including in the study.

It also highlight how a belief in ancestors related to behavior (e.g overlooking ancestral directives, there by getting cursed and how some one blamed the behavior of some people on the names they were given from birth. The assertion that the person’s behavior after which a child was named determined the behavior of the person who bore the name afterwards. And the extent theory of nature/reflection in the case study.

Furthermore, this case study analyze the validity that behavior is a matter of tradition (e.g up bring of children by parents.

Definition

According to Thomas (2011) “case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more methods. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame- an object- within which the study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates”

Silverman (2005) reveals that, rather than using samples following a rigid protocol (strict set of rules) to examine limited number of valuables, case study methods involve an in- depth, longitudinal (over a long period of time) examination of a single instance or event: a case. They provide a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results. As a result the researcher may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened as it did, and what might become important to look at more extensively in future research. Case studies lend themselves to both generating and testing hypothesis.

According to Lamneck (2005) another suggestion is that case study should be defined as a research strategy, an empirical inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within it’s real- life context. Case study research means single and multiple case studies, can include quantitative evidence, relies on multiple sources of evidence and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions. Case studies should not be confused with qualitative research and they can be based on any mix of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Single- subject research provides the statistical framework for making inferences from qualitative case- study data. This also supported and well formulated in (Lamneck, 2005): “the case study is a research approach, situated between concrete data taking techniques and methodological paradigms”.

The case study is sometimes mistaken for the case method, but the two are not the same.

Generalizing from Case Studies

Kyekye (1996) states that, a critical case can be defined as having strategic importance in relation to the general problem (e.g like in Mwense district research where some people in the case study felt that alcohol controlled behavior)

A critical case allows the following type of generalization, ‘if it is valid for this case, it is valid for all (or many) cases.’ In it’s negative form, the generalization would be, ‘if it is not valid in this case, then it is not valid for any (or only few) cases.'( Lamnek, 2005).

According to Karl popper, the case study is also effective for generalizing using the type of test called falsification, which forms part of critical reflexivity. Falsification is one of the most rigorous tests to which a scientific proposition can be subjected: if just one observation does not fit with the proposition it is considered not valid generally and must therefore be either revised or rejected. Popper him self used the now famous example, “All swans are white, and proposed that just one observation of a single black swan would falsify this proposition and this way have general significance and stimulate further investigations and theory- building. The case study is well suited for identifying “black swans” because of it’s in- depth approach: what appear to be “white” often turns on closer examination to be “black” By selecting cases strategically in this manner one may arrive at case studies that allow generalization (Flyrbjerg, 2006, P. 225-6).

Misunderstandings About Case Study Research

According to Flyrbjerg (2006) identifies and corrects five prevalent misunderstanding about case study research:

• General, theoretical Knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical knowledge.
• One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case and, therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development.
•  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building.
•  The case study contains a bias towards verification, i.e, a tendency to comfirm the researcher’s preconceived notions.
• It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies.(Osei, 1971).

According to a research which was conducted in Mwense district some people in the case study felt that alcohol controlled behavior and to add value to the case study:

In the first stage of alcoholism, drinking was no longer social but became a means of emotional escape from problems, inhibitions, anxiety, and in many instances, from realities of life. Stated in another way, early in the disease problem drinkers starts to depend on the mood altering capabilities of alcohol consumption. Also at this stage of alcoholism, a gradual increase in tolerance develops, meaning that increasing amounts of alcohol are needed in order for the problem drinker to “feel the buzz” or to “get high”.(Flyvbjerg, 2006).

Furthermore, it is common for people with a drinking problem in the first stage of alcoholism to quickly drink a few alcoholic beverage before attending social functions and to increase social drinking to 3 to 5 drinks per day. Obviously, it can be determined that such behavior will eventually result in a host of drinking problems.

In the second stage of alcoholism, the need to drink becomes more intense. During this stage of the disease, the individual with the drinking problem frequently starts to drink earlier in the day.(Lamnek, 2005)

As tolerance increases, moreover, the person drinks because of dependence on alcohol, rather than because of emotional and psychological stress and anxiety relief. During this stage, loss of control does not yet happen on a regular basis; it is however, gradually observed by others such as neighbors, co- workers, relatives, friends, and family members.

In the third stage of alcoholism, the loss of control becomes more pronounced and more problematic. This means that the problem drinker is usually unable to drink according to his or her intentions. for example, once the person takes the first drink, he or she can no longer control what will happen, even though the intention might have been to have one or two drinks. During this stage of the disease, most problem drinkers start to experience serious alcohol- related, financial, employment, legal, and relationship problems.(Robert, 1970).

The fourth and final stage of alcoholism is characterized by a chronic loss of control. In the earlier stages of the disease, the alcoholic may have been successful in maintaining a job. Now, however, drinking starts earlier in the day and usually continues throughout the day. Few, if any, full- time work positions, however, can be maintained once an individual has reached this state of affairs.(Thomas,2011).

Classic Alcoholic Behavior

The term “alcoholism” means the same thing as “alcohol dependence,” “alcohol addiction, “and “alcohol dependence.”

Hence, some people in the case study felt that alcohol controlled behavior in Mwense district because of the information articulated above, it is clear that the four stages of classic alcoholic behavior do not point a pretty picture of the sad realities and the drinking problems that most chronic alcoholics experience in Mwanse district. In fact, it is clear that as the disease progresses, so do the drinking problems that are experienced by the alcoholic. Perhaps the damaging and unhealthy consequences of this disease might not make much of an impact on those who are already alcohol dependant. It is hoped, however, that exposing the facts about this disease to our youth before they start abusing alcohol will prevent many of the teens from suffering the grim fate of most alcoholics.

Belief in Ancestors Relates to Behavior

A belief is a degree of certainty we have that something is true. Our core beliefs are often based on the beliefs of other people we unconsciously accepted as true when we were too young to decide if the person’s belief really served us.(Osei, 1971).

Hence, ancestral belief refers to a generalized belief about the amount of control people have over their own lives. Individuals who feel that they are very much in charge of their won destiny have an internal locus of control; those who think that events in their life are due mainly to fate/luck or powerful others have an external locus of control. Locus of control is a generalized belief, so people with an external locus can feel in control in familiar situations. (Steven L. Mcshane et al. 2005).

Moreover, from the research, we have suggested that perception of people and events is organized into categories. How this is done depends partly on sensation, partly on the principles of perception, and partly on the nature of the individual. Another fact of the individual is the set of attitudes that he/she holds.

Attitudes are, essentially, “feelings” towards people or things. How people feel, what they believe, what they intend to do, and whether and how they do it may all be connected, and may all be related to the process of perception.

However, to try to reduce the confusion in this area over the use of words and concepts such as “feelings” and “beliefs” Fishbein (1967) put forward the following hierarchical model:

• Beliefs: What we think about people, things, relationship e.t.c
• Attitudes: Affective responses to those people, things, relationships e.t.c
• Intentions
• Cognitive states
• Behavior or Action
• Observable events

The Theory of Nature/Reflected In The Case Study

The extent theory of nature/reflection in the case study refers to the personality. Personality defined as the pattern of relatively enduring ways in which a person feels, thinks and behaves.

Fincham R. describes personality as the relatively enduring combination of traits which makes an individual unique and at the same time produces consistencies in his or her thought and behavior. A similar definition Rollision Derk defines personality as, ‘those relatively stable and enduring aspects of an individual that distinguish him/her from other people and at the same time form a basis for our predictors concerning his/her future behavior (Rollison D., 1998).

A complementary definition, Robbins Stephen defines personality as the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts with others. It is a relatively stable pattern of behaviors and consistent internal states that explain a person’s behavioral tendencies.

Hence, we say that personality explains behavioral tendencies because individuals’ actions are not perfectly consistent with their personality profile in every situation. Personality traits are less evident in situations where social norms, reward systems and other conditions contrain behavior.

Traits may be defined as individual characteristics of thought or feeling that result in tendencies to have in specific ways. Also traits may be defined as enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior. The more consistent the characteristic and the more frequently important that trait is in describing an individual. Traits can additionally be grouped to form personality types. Traits may be grouped into groups namely; surface traits and source traits. Surface traits for example assertiveness, can be observed in behavior while, source traits such as self- discipline can be inferred.(Rollinson, D. et ,1998).

Behavior And Tradition

According to Robert (1970) refer human behavior as a range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethies, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics.

Hence, the behavior of people (and other organisms or even mechanisms) falls within a range with some behavior being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some outside acceptable limits. In sociology, behavior in general is considered as having no meaning, being not directed at other people, and thus is the most basic human action. Behavior in this general sense should not be mistaken with social behavior, which is the more advanced action, as social behavior is behavior specifically directed at other people. The acceptability of behavior is evaluated relative to social norms and regulated by various means of social control.

In addition, the behavior of people is studied by the academic disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work, sociology, economics, and anthropology.

Factors affecting human behavior and actions

Mcshane et al (2005) states five factors as below:

• Genetics (see also evolutionary psychology) – affects and governs the individual’s tendencies towards certain directions.
• Attitude – the degree to which the person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the behavior in question.
• Social norms – the influence of social pressure that is perceived by the individual (normative beliefs) to perform or not perform a certain behavior.
• Perceived behavioral control – the individual’s belief concerning how easy or difficult performing the behavior will be.
• Core faith – the person’s set of beliefs, like religion, philosophy, e.t.c provided sometimes subconsciously, by his or her family, peers, social media, and the society where he or she lives.

Social Factors

Factors that influence behavior or personality that arise from interacting with other people; early socialization, which consists in interaction with parents, siblings and peers has an effect on the way we act and think. The behaviorist school of psychology which views all human as environmentally determined refer to personality as just accumulated learning experiences (Skinner, 1974). Much of personality comes through learning and so childhood experiences are paramount to the unfolding of personality.

Cultural Factors

According to Kyekye (1996) a wider social beliefs, values and motives that are absorbed by an individual and guide behavior towards that which is acceptable within a particular social context; when high value is placed on achievement and individualism in a certain society, we will find that this may affect individual personality in instilling a trait of ‘the need to achieve’.(Shutte, 1993).

Situational Factors

According to Osei (1971) this refers to the effect of a specific experience or situation on a person’s feelings and behavior. And individual’s personality, while generally stable and consistent, does change in different situations call forth different aspects of one’s personality. Situations like church, tradition, a picnic in a picnic in a park do affect behavior differently. Examples here may be trauma of losing a parent or loved one. Certain situation can bring out unrecognized aspects of personality we have never been aware of. Personality development is an ongoing process, but to some degree personalities can be deemed as stable.(Senghor, 1963).

According to Gyekye (1998), regard concepts of the individual and self to be almost totally dependant on and subordinate to social entities and cultural process. Kenya theology professor John S. Miti (1969 and 1992), for example, believes that individual has little latitude for self determination outside the context of the traditional African family and community. He writes: “whatever happens to the individual happens to the whole group, and whatever happens to the whole group happens to the individual. The individual can only say: “I am, because we are; and since we are, therefore I am.’ This is a cardinal point in the understanding of the African view of man” (1969: 109).

Furthermore, Ghanaian philosopher Gyekye (1998), the individual, although originating from and inextricably bound to his family and community, nevertheless possesses a clear concept of himself as a distinct person of volition. It is from this combined sense of personhood and communal membership that the family and community except individuals to take personality enhancing and socially responsible decisions. Although he accepts the dominant entity of African social order is the community, Gyekye believes “it would be more correct to describe that order as amphibious, for it manifests features of both community and individuality. African social thought seeks to avoid the excesses of the two exaggerated systems, while allowing for a meaningful albeit uneasy, interaction between the individual and the society (1988:31-32)

According to senegales philosopher Leopold senghor (1966) regards tradition African society to be “based both on the community and on the person in which, because it was founded on dialogue and reciprocity, the group had priority over the individual without crushing him, but allowing to blossom as a person” (1966:5).

According to South African philosophy professor Shutte (1993), citing the Xhosa proverb umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is a person through persons), writes:

This (proverb) is the xhosa expression of a notion that is common all African languages and traditional cultures. It is concerned both with the peculiar interdependence of persons on others for the exercise, development and fulfillment of their powers that is recognized in African traditional thought, and also with the understanding of what it is to be a person that underlies this. In European philosophy of whatever kind, the self is always envisaged as something “inside” a person, or at least as a kind of container of mental properties and powers. In African thought it is seen as “outside” subsisting in relationship to what is other, the natural and social environment.

According to Ghananian historian Osei (1971) believes that Africa should chart it’s future from it’s indigenous cultural traditions and adopt only those aspects of no- Africa cultures that are compatible with Africa’s needs, goals and circumstances namely, a scientific perspective and western educational practices.

Taking a broader perspective, Thairu (1975) argues for a future of greater regional integration through educational and cultural exchanges within and between African nations. This, he says, will bring into the open pan- Africa cultural similarities, promote more widespread understanding and tolerance on the continent, and contribute to greater overall African unit philosopher Gyekye (1998) shares much of Nyasani, Makgoba and Thairu concern over Africans too often for saking Indigenous African values and their wholesale and uncritical adoption.

According to Gyekye (1996) abhors the fact that ancestors continue to be of paramount importance in modern and traditional African life. He also recommends that for Africa to progress scientifically and technologically, “science should be rescued from the morass of (traditional) African religious and mystical beliefs.” Gyekye insists there are main “cultural values and practices of traditional Africa that can be considered positive features of the culture and can be accommodated in the scheme of African modernity, even if they undergo some refinement and pruning to become fully harmonious with the spirit of modern culture and to function…….. satisfactorily within that culture “(ibid). he discusses these traditional African values at length under the humanity, brotherhood, communalism and individualism, morality, the family economic system, chief ship and politics, human rights, knowledge and wisdom, aesthetics.

Conclusion

It is clear from the foregoing study that behavior is affected by numerous factors as discussed in this paper. Among the factors are ancestral directives, alcohol, belief, culture, emotions values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion, genetics, attitudes, situational etc.

Assignment – Personality Personality can be defined as those relatively stable enduring aspects of an individual that distinguish him/her from other people and at the same time form a basis for our predictions concerning his/her future behaviour. (Wright et al cited in Rollinson 2005) This definition represents the view that it is possible to identify an individuals stable and unchanging personality and characteristics, and that if the characteristics are identified they can be used to predict the persons future behaviour.

Organisations differ greatly in their cultures and acceptable behaviours which means that some individuals naturally fit in better than others. (Rollinson 2005:85) Job roles themselves also differ in terms of the suitability of an individual’s personality in being successful in that job role. Therefore in determining the importance of personality at selection interview we need to determine what both the role and the organisation require. (Rollinson 2005:85) In the work environment the “fit” of a person has to be right in terms of skills and experience as well as values and needs. Holbeche: 2002). Person-organisation fit refers to the extent to which individuals and organisations share similar characteristics (personalities) or meet each others needs. The assessment of personality is carried out to determine desirable or un-desirable traits of candidates to assess their suitability for a role and/or organisation (Arthur:2005) Getting this right can lead to job satisfaction and organisational commitment. (Kristoff:2000) When an employer is recruiting the psychological contract has some importance.

The psychological contract implies a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction needs arising from the P-O relationship (Mullins:2010) P-O fit is likely to be more important than P-J fit in satisfying the psychological contract (Morley:2007) in that employees will be required to adapt to changes in tasks and gain new skills. It is argued that greater emphasis should be placed on the P-O fit as opposed to the more traditional method of P-J fit because firstly individuals will hold several roles within an organisation therefore their P-O is more important than the possibly less lexible P-J fit, they will hold the organisations values and culture closer and will have longer service therefore lowering recruitment costs. (Ree and Earles 1992) Secondly the changing nature of work requires individuals to be better at teamwork and more flexible. I believe that when recruiting graduates P-O fit is more important as opposed to P-J fit. Graduates are recruited to provide organisations with a potential pool of future managers and enhance succession possibilities. Morley:2007) Graduates have little experience in the work environment so are less able to translate their skills, qualifications and experience into the working world. If an employer has a clear understanding of their organisations culture, personalities of other employees and can accurately determine the personalities and beliefs of the graduate they can base their decision on the graduates enthusiasm, motivation and eagerness to work rather than skills, qualifications and experience.

In a study by Wheeler et al (cited in Rollinson 2005) it was found that job satisfaction could be increased by increasing P-O fit, that is recruiting employees with similar values to the organisation. However, Wheeler also found that even though an ill-fitting individual resulted in job dissatisfaction, they would not leave the organisation unless suitable alternative work presented itself. This could lead to them being de-motivated, having poor performance and impact on relationships with colleagues.

This shows the importance of getting personality right at selection interview. Person-job (P-J) fit refers to the correlation between the individual’s skills, qualifications and experience with the requirements of a job. (Edwards:1991) and is a traditional method of employee selection (Werbell and Gilliland:1999) P-J fit is most widely determined through proof of an individuals skills, qualifications and experience through certificates and references and questioning around their knowledge on a topic.

I have personally heard colleagues question the importance of personality on some roles such as accountants which would initially strike you as being weighted heavily on their skills, experience and qualifications however how well would an accountant perform if they did not have the personality traits to communicate effectively with colleagues and customers? Differing roles do also require different personalities in order to be successful irrespective of the organisation. Receptionists, sales person or customer service representative require the ability to cope with stress and deal with individuals with differing priorities. Gatewood et al:2005) In considering the importance of personality in selection interview it would be sensible to consider how stable and unchanging a person’s personality is. Are we seeing a current snapshot of the individuals personality or will it change overtime? Rollinson (2005) writes that if personality is an ongoing developing process it would be almost impossible to develop valid ways to measure it and would be pointless in attempting to predict future behaviour.

Idiographic, one of the two major theories on personality, focuses on personality developing and changing as a result of ongoing experiences. However, Costa and McCrae (1992) wrote that personality is relatively stable after the age of 30 therefore using personality in making selection decisions would be possible due to the stability of personality. Looking at Nomotheic theory, the other of the two major theories of personality, which assumes personality is stable and un-changing, it was noted that there are 5 distinct differences between people known as the Big Five and often referred to as OCEAN.

These are: • Openness (perceptive, sophisticated, knowledgeable, cultured, artistic, curious, analytical, liberal traits) • Conscientiousness (practical, cautious, serious, reliable, organised, careful, dependable, hard-working, ambitious traits) • Extraversion (sociable, talkative, active, spontaneous, adventurous, person-orientated, assertive traits) • Agreeableness (warm, trustful, courteous, agreeable, cooperative traits) • Neuroticism (emotional, anxious, depressive, self-conscious, worrying traits) The Big Five can be split into type theory and trait theory.

Mullins cites Hans Eyesneck work in which he identified four main personality types. These are stable extraverts,(talkative, responsive, easygoing, lively carefree) unstable extraverts,(impulsive, changeable, excitable, restless) stable introverts (calm, even-tempered, peaceful, thoughtful) and unstable introverts. (anxious, moody, reserved, pessimistic) Mullins writes that if managers can predict future behaviours through an individual’s personality type then it is not surprising that psychometric tests to measure personality are growing in popularity.

Trait theory is then broken down again into surface traits (those which are observable) and source traits (which can only be inferred) In theory surface traits could be observed through assessment centres. Mullins writes that the Big Five form the basis of standard personality questionnaires and of these five conscientiousness has the highest link with high levels of job knowledge and performance across a range of occupations.

So, according to this, it would be beneficial to an organisation to determine candidate’s personality in order to recruit an individual who has a good score in conscientiousness. However, Maltby et al (2010) writes that if we were to employ the conscientious person with their practical, cautious, serious, reliable, organized, careful, dependable, hard-working and ambitious traits, would they be suitable for a role requiring innovation and creativity and are they flexible and adaptable to cope with the rapidly changing world of work?

He questions the applicability of conscientiousness across all job roles. In considering the impact of personality on our relationship at work with colleagues I believe that emotional intelligence has a strong link with aligning personality with successful performance and relationships at work. Emotional Intelligence is defined as a person’s ability to manage themselves as well as their relationship with others so that they can live their intentions (Adele:2008:7) and can be broken down into five specific areas.

These are Self awareness, empathy, social expertness, personal influence and mastery of purpose and vision. Each of these areas could have an impact on our relationships with colleagues. Self awareness is an understanding of how our behaviours or words affect others. If we have self awareness we are able to apply self control to change our actions should they be having a negative effect on colleagues. A self aware individual would know when their mood is impacting on others and alter it accordingly.

Self awareness is an area looked for in the emotional intelligence of sales people and interview questioning based around the impact of previous experience of their positive and negative impacts on co-workers would be useful in identifying this area. (Adele 2008:17) Empathy is an understanding of others feelings and perspective and the ability to experience what someone else is feeling therefore giving a better understanding of our colleagues. It is the ability to respectfully listen rather than listening to refute or build our own case.

A customer service representative who empathises with an irate customer rather than just demanding their account number will better diffuse a volatile situation. (Adele 2008:54) Marshall Goldsmith (“The world authority in helping successful leaders get even better”) described not listening as the most passive-aggressive form of disrespect shown to colleagues. Social expertness is the building of social bonds which allow us to work with others, share thoughts and ideas, build trust and resolve conflict. The reason that top executives fail is because of their failure to build interpersonal relationships rather than their technical competence.

Personal influence is our ability to influence other towards goals or missions and to influence ourselves in taking initiative and displaying confidence. A recruiting manager would be looking for signs at interview that a candidate can prove they have got people to previously follow them irrespective of their differing levels. Mastery of purpose and vision is our ability to understand what our purpose is and therefore determine what types of emotions help us to live our life purpose. It allows us to manage our emotions and relationships.

This is also the determining factor as to whether the organization and role is “fit” for us. Interview questions based around a candidate’s worst and ideal job as well as what inspires and bores them at work can help identify the “fit” of an individual’s personal purpose to an organization. (Adele:2008:131) Candidates demonstrating emotional intelligence at interview take responsibility for their actions rather than blaming others or playing the victim. (Adele:2008:146) Studies carried out by Grimsley and Jarrett (cited in Adele:2008) concluded that managers displaying higher emotional intelligence were more successful.

Anderson and Shackleton (1993) carried out a study on the comparison of the strength of different variables in predicting eventual job performance at the point of selection. Their findings show that personality assessments have a 0. 38 correlation, intelligence a 0. 54 correlation, and structured interview 0. 62. Previous experience and the CV came in lower than all these at 0. 18 and 0. 37 respectively. (0. 1 being small, 0. 3 being medium and 0. 5 being large correlation) Showing in this study that personality assessment has an important role in predicting job performance, above that of the CV and previous experience. Maltby et al 2010) When putting the theory of personality into practice within the work environment, organisations must be clear on why they are assessing personality and what personality characteristics they are they are looking for. (Torrington et al:2011) A clear job description and person specification which requires skills, qualifications, experience and personality traits relevant to the job role is key, according to the CIPD, in creating a fair selection process.

Should an applicant who is unsuccessful in being selected for interview threaten or indeed commence tribunal proceedings, the organization has a clear framework on how selection for interview and employment was made. Torrington et al also write that a method of defining the person specification is to focus on the characteristics or competences of individuals who have previously performed best in the role. This has positives in that these characteristics are producing individuals who perform well for the business however this method could produce employees who are very similar to one another and address problems with the same mindset.

Personality questionnaires are based on the Nomotheic theory that personality is stable and unchanging. The most recognized personality questionnaire is the Myers Biggs Type Indicator (MBTI) based on the theories of Carl Jung. The questionnaire is developed on the understanding that it is of benefit to people to recognise their individual personality types, and how these differ from those of other individuals. The MBTI is an untimed questionnaire which asks respondents to choose between two opposing courses of action, or two words, depending on what they feel is closest to their natural preference.

The MBTI measures 4 preferences Extraversion or Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling and Judging or Perceiving. People’s four preferences classify them into one of 16 types. Descriptions are given of the characteristics of people of each of the 16 types. Each type is described as having positive qualities and strengths, as well as possible development needs. The questionnaire receives 4 stars from the Psychological testing centre. (The British Psychological Society:2011) An employer using MBTI can use the information given on the individual’s type to further question them at selection interview.

Toplis et al (1997) have concerns that the lack of involvement of psychologists in marketing and selling personality testing packages results in too many tests being released for general use without the required intellectual support. He is also troubled by the increasing use of computer-based tests, particularly to score and interpret results, believing that the accuracy of some systems is not particularly high. Personality assessment is based on the belief that certain roles require particular personality and that tests can identify them.

The use of ability tests and competence based interviewing as opposed to personality tests are more easily defendable in an employment tribunal due to the tangible results being right or wrong whereas with personality tests there are no right or wrong answers and are not as easily defendable should the need arise. There are questions over their validity in so much as practitioners can be trained with a basic knowledge of administering tests and interpreting their results. The British Psychology Society give an overall rating for validity and objectivity of tests.

There is the argument that candidates may be able to manipulate their results to perform in a way they believe the employer requires. (Furnham:1990) therefore invalidating the results and potentially basing a recruitment decision on in-accurate information. In my experience this is where the face to face interview is of vale in verifying and questioning further the results of any personality testing. i. e. Do the results of the personality testing match the behaviours and characteristics of the person sat in front of me? Recruiters may be influenced by striking characteristics or similarities to themselves called the Halo Effect.

The Halo Effect can be defined as a cognitive bias whereby the perception of one trait (i. e. a characteristic of a person or object) is influenced by the perception of another trait (or several traits) of that person or object. (Mullins 2011) An example would be judging a good-looking person as more intelligent. The Halo Effect can have a positive or negative effect. For example, someone who attended the same college or university as the recruiter could be at an advantage but someone who attended a college or university the interviewer perceives to have a poor reputation could put the candidate at a dis-advantage.

Solomon Asch (1945) carried out a study that discovered that the presence of one trait often implies the existence of other additional traits and that certain traits can be characterized as central traits. For example, an individual described as warm is perceived to have positive traits such as happy and generous. An individual described as the cold would have the opposite perceived traits. Another example is when individuals believe that a happy person is also friendly or that quiet people are timid. On the other hand, people who are irritable may be seen as in disarray in their daily life.

Therefore, people assume other individuals’ personalities are in doubt using little information. It is often the case that people judge more favourably those individuals with whom they have something in common. An experiment carried out at the Penn State College of Medicine asked 35 interviewers and 135 interviewees to complete the MBTI. The results were not shared prior to face to face interview. The experiment concluded that there was a significant association between similarities in personality type and the rankings that individual interviewers assigned to each interviewee.

In this circumstance it is important to be mindful of the effect an individuals personality may have on the outcome of the interview. Employing more than one selection tool does not eradicate the possibility of recruiting an unsuitable candidates. The use of personality data in the selection process, when gathered appropriately, can be valid information in making a contribution to the selection decision however it should not be used in isolation. Personality tests results can be used at interview for the basis of further investigation into applicant abilities.

Skills, experience and qualifications are important criterion. Dependent on the role and organisation for which selection is being made will determine the weighting placed on each. If using any form of testing in the selection process employers need to pre-determine the worth of testing and weigh up the benefits, such as increased productivity, with the cost including purchasing a reliable and validated resource and training recruiting managers to correctly interpret reports.

There is, therefore, in my opinion an importance to be placed on personality at selection interview which for me slightly outweighs the importance of skills, qualifications and experience especially when considering the knock on effect that a mismatch of person-job or person-organisation could have on the relationship with colleagues. An organization needs to be clear in what personality traits they are looking for before even advertising a role as the wording of an advertisement could attract and alienate certain personalities.

Once at selection interview, managers should consider how they are fairly going to assess personality if using their own judgment. Do they have a fail safe scoring system to measure personality against that cannot back-fire in the event of an employment tribunal? Thought should also be given to how a candidate has completed any personality test i. e. to what extent have they thought about themselves in the work situation when completing it? Are they naturally nervous when asked to complete any test and therefore put at a dis-advantage? If personality is un-stable and changes over time, would it be wise to re-test individuals?

Organisations are fluid and changing constantly. Teams, managers and individuals change. , What was once a good “fit” may not be in the future. References Adele, B (2008) The EQ Interview. AMACOM Books Anderson, N. D. Shackleton, V. J (1993) Successful selection interviewing. Blackwell Publishing Arthur, D. (2005) Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting and Orienting New Employees. 4th ed. New York AMACOM Page 368 British Psychological Society (2011) found at http://www. psychtesting. org. uk/test-registration-and-test-reviews/test-reviews. cfm? page=summary=82

CIPD (2011) Selection Factsheet (online) available from http://www. cipd. co. uk/hr-resources/factsheets/selection-methods. aspx Costa, P. T, McCrae, R. R (1992) Four ways five factors are basic. Personality and Individual Differences, Vol. 13, No. 6. (June 1992), pp. 653-665 Edenborough, R. (2005) Assessment methods in recruitment, selection and performance a manager’s guide to psychometric testing, interviews and assessment centres. London: Kogan Page. Page 2 Edwards, J. R. (1991). Person-job fit: A conceptual integration, literature review, and methodological critique.

In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds. ), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (vol. 6, pp. 283-357). New York: Wiley. Furnham, A (1990) Can people accurately estimate their own personality test scores? European Journal of Personality, no 4, pp. 319-327 Gatewood, RD. Field, HS. Human Resource Selection 5th ed. Mike Roche. Page 601-603 Holbeche, L. (2002) Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy. 2nd ed. Butterworth Heinemann. IRS Employment Survey July 2010 – accessed through employer login at www. xperthr. co. uk Kelly, G. A. (1955).

The psychology of personal constructs (Vols. 1 and 2). New York: Norton. Kristof-Brown, AL. (2000) Perceived applicant fit: Distinguishing between recruiters’ perceptions of person-job fit and person organization fit. In Personnel Psychology, 53 (4), 643-671 Maltby, J. Day,L . Macaskill, A. (2010) Personality, Individual Differences And Intelligence. 9th ed. Prentice Hall. Michael J. Morley, (2007) “Person-organization fit”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 22 Iss: 2, pp. 109 – 117. Emerald Group Publishing Ltd. Mullins, LJ. (2011) Management and Organisational Behaviour. th ed. Financial Times: Prentice Hall. Page 134 – 162, 240 Rees, MJ. Earles JA (1992) Intelligence is the best predictor of job performance. Psychological Science, 1, 86-89. Rollinson, D. (2005) Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An integrated approach 3rd Ed. Prentice Hall Asch, S. E. Studies in the principles of judgments and attitudes: II. Determination of judgments by group and by ego standards. /. soc. Psychol. , 1940, 12, 433—465. Thorndike, E. L. (1920). A constant error on psychological rating. Journal of Applied Psychology, IV, 25-29 Toplis, J. Dulewicz, V.

Fletcher, C (2004) Psychological testing: a managers guide. 4th Ed. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Torrington, D. Taylor, S. Hall, L. Atkinson, C (2011) Human Resources Management. 8th ed. Financial Times Prentice Hall Werbel, J and Gilliland, S. W (1999). Person-environment fit in the selection process. In G. R. Ferris (Ed. ) Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 17, 209-243 Wheeler, A. Gallagher, V. Brouer, R, Sablynski, C. ”When person-organisation (mis) fit and (dis) satisfaction lead to turnover. In Person Organisation Fit 2nd ed. By Morley, M. London: Emerald, Page 203.

Case Study of Personality Theory Application

According to the text, personality is defined as a distinctive relatively stable pattern of behavior, thoughts, motive, and emotions that characterize an individual. (Nevid, et al. 2006) In the case study of Helen, an understanding of her personality would be instrumental in treating her pathology. (Nevid, et al. 2006)  In order to assess her personality, one must first choose a theory of personality by which to measure and assess Helen. In terms of the definition of personality, Helen’s might be described as reflecting insecurity and fearfulness. Over the long term, Helen’s behavior can be described as marginally functional as she “always managed meet the needs of her family”. However, as a self-described “fearful and insecure person,” her thoughts have been geared toward the notion of harm befalling her indirectly as a result of potentially losing her husband or other members of her family. Her fearfulness led to a pattern of timid, passive, and fearful behavior, which was aggravated by the passing of her mother and husband. Her emotional state can best be described as near-constant uneasiness, which, upon the tragic deaths of family members, was aggravated into a state of low-grade panic.

One of the more prominent personality models in contemporary psychology is what is known as the five-factor model of personality.(Popkins, 1998) This theory incorporates five different variables into a conceptual model for describing personality. These five different factors are often referred to as the “Big 5”.(Popkins, 1998)  The five-factor theory is among the newest models developed for the description of personality, and this model shows promise to be among the most practical and applicable models available in the field of personality psychology. (Popkins, 1998)  The five factors are extroversion-introversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. (Popkins, 1998)  Each of these factors can be applied to Helen’s personality in order to describe her personality under this theory. (Popkins, 1998)

Extroversion is defined as “a trait characterized by a keen interest in other people and external events, and venturing forth with confidence into the unknown”. (Popkins, 1998) Introversion would be the opposite characteristic. Clearly, Helen falls under the category of extreme introversion. (Popkins, 1998) Even prior to the traumas in her life, Helen was reluctant to engage in activity beyond the immediate needs of her family, and expressed little interest in the world beyond that small circle. As a self-described “timid and fearful” person, Helen lies far to the introverted side of this scale.

The bases of neuroticism are levels of anxiety and volatility. (Popkins, 1998)  Within these bounds, neuroticism is “a dimension of personality defined by stability and low anxiety at one end as opposed to instability and high anxiety at the other end”. (Popkins, 1998) Helen is pegged on the high end of the neuroticism scale owing to her overall demeanor of fearfulness. While relatively non-volatile as long as there are no major stimuli affecting her, Helen illustrates high volatility when trauma strikes by altering her behavior in a manner that interferes with her normal functioning, and adversely affects the lives of her adult children.

            In general, openness refers to how willing people are to make adjustments in notions and activities in accordance with new ideas or situations. (Popkins, 1998) In this area, Helen scores very low. She lacks a coherent coping mechanism and reacts strongly to change, adopting a detrimental pattern of behavior. This behavior potentially can become cyclic in nature, in that fear of the unknown is intensified by lack of exposure to the “outside world” while that fear forces Helen to avoid the “outside world.”

            Agreeableness measures how compatible people are with other people, or basically how able they are to get along with others. (Popkins, 1998) While there is no specific information about this trait in Helen’s study, one can reasonably extrapolate from some of the other observations that she would rank very high on the agreeableness scale. As a timid and fearful person, Helen likely avoids confrontation by adopting a passive demeanor. This is evinced by the ability of her daughter to convince Helen to agree to come to therapy.

            Conscientiousness refers to how much a person considers others when making decisions. (Popkins, 1998)  In this aspect of personality, Helen measures abnormally high in that here entire pattern of behavior is predicated on the contingency of something bad happening to her remaining family. Prior to the loss of her mother and husband, Helen, a self-described timid and anxious person, probably exerted herself quite a bit to avoid conflict. This likely led to a heightened sense of the needs of others.

Biological theory of personality focuses on genetic “predisposition” for given personality traits. The primary variable in this theory to explain Helen’s personality would be the personality-related genetic traits she has inherited from her biological parents.

Biological theories of personality would attribute Helen’s personality and associated pathology to physiological constructs in her body inherited from one or both of her parents. (Biological Components…1999) In this theory, Helen’s body exists in a constant abnormally heightened neuron-physiological state related to primordial “fight or flight” state. This state induces in Helen a heightened sensory input status caused by increased blood flow to sensory organs accompanied by increased heart rate, adrenaline production and other physiological circumstances. The origins of this circumstance would be genetic in nature. (Biological Components…1999)  Her verbalization of justification for her anxiety is likely a rationalization of affective states caused by physiological influence. (Biological Components…1999)

            Learning theories posit that one’s personality essentially arose from the learning experiences one receives in one’s environment. (Introduction…2003) Thus, personalities are shaped by experience. (Introduction…2003) Learning theories emphasize environmental influences and events which were tangible and could be identified and scientifically studied. (Introduction…2003) Variables that influence personality in this theory are related to stimuli encountered while developing. Factors such as parental feedback, peer influence, school experience, and adult social interaction experiences are variables that would be taken in consideration in personality development under this theory. (Introduction…2003) In Helen’s case, her timidity and social anxiety would likely be the result of an upbringing wherein expressions of selfishness or independence were punished or negatively enforced. Additionally, her anxiety over could be attributed to a prior life event consisting of a loss of a person upon whom she developed dependence. In Helen’s case, this may have been the death of her father, twenty years earlier. The administration of strict behavioral guidance, given by her father, was abruptly removed, forcing Helen into the position of shifting her dependence entirely onto her mother and husband, and triggering a fear of hopelessness were these individuals to be removed also.

            The emphasis of psychodynamic personality theory is that personality development occurs in a series of stages of psycho-sociological development. (Van Wagner, n.d.)This theory describes the impact of social experience across the whole lifep. Ego development across numerous stages of psychological growth is the underlying variable in personality under this theory. (Van Wagner, n.d.) Eric Erickson described eight stages of psychosocial development, each with their own continuum of results based on experience. (Van Wagner, n.d.) They are: trust-mistrust, autonomy-shame/doubt, initiative-guilt, industry-inferiority, identity-confusion, intimacy-isolation, generativity-stagnation, and integrity-despair. (Van Wagner, n.d.) Each of these components is developed through conflict-resolution on various stages of development. (Van Wagner, n.d.) In Helen’s case, her resolution of the first conflict, in infancy, left her with inherent distrust, which carried over into her adult life. Although her development of autonomy during childhood was relatively robust, the confidence level associated with it was made vulnerable by other failures in her psychosocial development. Clearly, Helen landed on the guilt side of her pre-school initiative-guilt dynamic, as nothing in her personality indicates that she has leadership elements well developed in her persona. Helen likely got little positive feedback from teachers, parents and peers in grade school, leading to a minor inferiority complex, wherein she does not trust her own ability to deal with situations outside of the controlled environment of her home. Helen’s sense of self seems to be fairly intact, indicating that her adolescence was relatively healthy. Within this dynamic, earlier senses of inferiority and mistrust weaken the strength of her self-identity. In the intimacy-isolation stage, Helen endured the trauma of intimate relationships severed by the death of loved ones, both 20 years ago, and more recently. This likely led to her current condition of isolation coupled with a pathological dependence on her remaining relations. In her adult phase of development, Helen again had her sense of generativity assaulted by external factors. With the death of her father, and later her mother and husband, she began to develop stagnation traits as she came to believe that her proactive efforts to nurture and “take care of” her family were futile. Though not yet at the final stage, Helen is currently on course to be steeped in despair at the end of her life. She has discounted her successes in raising two apparently healthy and happy adult children, and focused on her inability to keep “everyone” including her husband safe and happy.

References

Nevid, J.S., Rathus , S.A.& Greene, B. (2006) Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World, by S.A., B., 2006, p.p. 182

Popkins, N. (1998) “The Five-Factor Model: Emergence of a Taxonomic Model for Personality Psychology” Retrieved Oct. 2nd 2008 from Personality research website:  http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/popkins.html

“Biological Components of Personality” (1999) Retrieved Oct. 2nd 2008 from All-Psych website http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/biologicaltrends.html

“Introduction to Learning Perspectives on Personality”, (2003) Retrieved Oct. 2nd 2008 from Wilderdom  website:

http://wilderdom.com/personality/L9-0LearningPerspectivesPersonality.html

Van Wagner, K. (n.d.) Retrieved Oct. 2nd 2008 from About website:http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/psychosocial.htm

Within this report the bold statement “great leaders are born and not made” will be discussed thoroughly. Firstly the explanation of what leadership is and how it differs from managing will be stated. Appropriate theories and examples will be researched and used to critically evaluate the statement. Leadership theories will be discussed and argued throughout the report and the stronger of the theories will be discussed within the conclusion. Also examples of successful leaders within the business world will be used to support each side of the argument being discussed. The conclusion will be a fair and coherent answer as all sides of the argument will be thoroughly researched.

Leadership V Managing

Leadership and managing are often thought to be the same thing; however, this is not the case although both are necessary for success. It is often a confusing concept that managing and leading are two different things, but as quoted on infed.com; “Not all managers, for example are leaders; and not all leaders are managers” Below is a table showing the dramatic differences between what is expected of a leader and what is expected of a manager.

(Blackboard Academic Suite, Leadership Lecture Notes) The definition given for Leadership in ‘Understanding Management’ textbook is; “The ability to influence people toward the attainment of organisational goals” The quote points out that; leaders are there to motivate people, as it is said that you are not a leader unless people are following you. Leaders implement targets for people to achieve that they never thought possible. This is supported by the definition for leadership given in ‘Management An Introduction’ textbook which states;

“Leadership refers to the process of influencing the activities of others towards high levels of goal setting and achievement.” This quote again highlights that the leader’s job is to help others attain goals which are set at high levels. Leaders are there to influence others and are people who have a clear vision of what they want to achieve and are able to communicate what they want the end goal to be. Therefore it seen that Leaders are the influential tool within the working environment and are able to help people achieve goals, whereas with managing it is said within the same textbook that; “Management is the activity of getting things done with aid of people and other resources.”

With these comments it is shown that although both leaders and managers are both focusing on achieving goals they both tackle the process in entirely different ways. Leadership is seen to be at the centre of the survival and success of groups and organisations. During the early 20th century is when the interest in leadership developed and during this time many leadership theories have been developed.

However with the term “great leaders are born and not made” the theories that are going to be discussed within this report are the trait theories and behavioural theory. There are other theories such as contingency and situational, however; with the aim of the report being to determine whether or not leaders are born or made it would seem that the two theories been chosen to discuss help to support each side of the argument. Read about difference between behavioural theory and contingency theory of leadership

Trait Theory The trait theory is a theory which believes the statement; “leaders are born not made.” With the trait theory the idea is to clearly identify traits that are possessed by important leaders with the idea that those who possess certain traits can be more effective as a leader. The definition given for traits within the “Management: An Introduction” textbook is; “Traits are a variety of individual attributes, including aspects of personality, temperament, needs, motives and values” The trait theory believes that both the traits and the skills found within these great leaders are hereditary. Those researching leadership believed that traits and skills that were identified could later be used to help select future leaders. The table below presents the results, of Stodgdill’s (1974) research into 163 trait studies which were published between 1949 and 1970, as shown in the textbook ‘Management