Business
Individual Differences
Individual differences refer to the unique variations in traits, abilities, and characteristics among people. In a business setting, understanding individual differences is crucial for effective management, team dynamics, and decision-making. Recognizing and leveraging these differences can lead to improved performance, innovation, and overall success within the organization.
Written by Perlego with AI-assistance
Related key terms
1 of 5
4 Key excerpts on "Individual Differences"
eBook - PDF- Mary Uhl-Bien, John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Richard N. Osborn(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
They also contribute to what makes the study of organizational behavior so fascinating. The term Individual Differences refers to the ways in which people are similar and dissimilar in personal characteristics. The mix of Individual Differences in organizations creates workforce diversity. Some of these differences are easily observable and often demographic. They represent surface-level diversity based on quite visible physical attributes such as ethnicity, race, sex, age, and abilities. Other Individual Differences—such as personalities, values, and attitudes—are more psychologically innate and less immediately visible. They represent deep-level diversity that may take time and effort to understand. 1 Regardless of the level, diversity issues are of great interest in OB. Women, for exam- ple, now lead global companies such as PepsiCo, Xerox, IBM, and Kraft. But they still hold only 3 percent of top jobs in American firms. 2 Why have so few women so far made it to the top? 3 Society is becoming more diverse in its racial and ethnic makeup. But a research study found that résumés of people with white-sounding first names—such as Brett— received 50 percent more responses from potential employers than those with black- sounding first names—such as Kareem. 4 How can these results be explained given that the résumés were created equal? Self-Concept, Self-Awareness, and Awareness of Others To best understand and deal well with Individual Differences and diversity, it only makes sense that it’s important to have a strong sense of self. The self-concept is the view individ- uals have of themselves as physical, social, and spiritual or moral beings. 5 It is a way of recog- nizing oneself as a distinct human being. Two factors that increase awareness of Individual Differences—our own and others—are self-awareness and awareness of others. Self- awareness means being aware of our own behaviors, preferences, styles, biases, personali- ties, and so on.
No longer available |Learn moreWork, Organizational, and Business Psychology
An Introductory Textbook
- Hannes Zacher, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Hannes Zacher, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Kohlhammer Verlag(Publisher)
Employees are different. Relatively stable Individual Differences in cognitive ability or in personality traits such as extraversion or conscientiousness matter, as they influence what we experience and how we behave – both at home and work. These Individual Differences affect how we approach a work task, interact with others, or react to stress. Research stemming from the last decades has provided convincing support that Individual Differences are associated with a wide variety of work behaviors and outcomes, such as work motivation, leadership, and occupational well-being. Individual Differences affect job performance, in terms of task and contextual performance, as well as counterproductive work behavior. In particular, methodological developments regarding meta-analytical methods and validity generalization (Chap. 3) have had a strong impact on this research field, with important implications for practical applications, such as personnel selection (Chap. 13). In Table 4.1, we provide an overview and examples of individual difference constructs that are relevant for understanding employee attitudes and behaviors. In addition to central theories or models for each domain that help to understand the nature of these variables, we refer in the table to empirical findings that provide support for their relevance for employee behavior. In the following sections, we first focus on central theories that help to understand the role of Individual Differences at work. Second, we present and discuss empirical evidence for the relationships of Individual Differences (i.e., cognitive and physical abilities, personality traits, interests) with work-relevant variables. Tab. 4.1: Overview of Individual Differences from different domains and exemplary empirical findings 4.2 Theories Several theories help to explain the (potential) effect of Individual Differences at work. First, Campbell’s model of job performance (Chap
eBook - ePub- Keith Porter, Paul Smith, Roger Fagg(Authors)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Thus it can be seen in terms of the relative power between the two parties – for example, the employer is often viewed as holding the balance of power. In addition to this perspective, the employee will have his or her own abilities, personality, intelligence level and social background. All these elements will influence behaviour at work. Similarly for the employer, either as an owner manager or as a manager representing the employer (and thus an employee also), and from such considerations we can begin to see the importance of understanding these different influences on behaviour at work (see Figure 2.1). Figure 2.1 Individual Differences and behaviour. Unfortunately for employers, human nature is highly complex and individual; no one person has the same make-up of social perceptions, social origins, personality, intelligence and attitudes. This chapter will examine all these factors and draw conclusions about some of the ways employers can use this understanding to improve their people management. The critical Individual Differences of motivation, job satisfaction and potential to lead will be discussed in Chapter 3. The links between individual learning, training and development, and performance will be examined in Chapter 4. It is all these variable factors, and more, that cause individual behaviours. The difficulty for managers is not only understanding them in isolation, but also seeing how they all interact uniquely for every organizational participant. The sources of human behaviour have been argued over by theorists for centuries. The debate still rages whether human personality and intelligence in particular are determined by a unique genetic structure inherited from parents (the biological source or origins in ‘nature’), or by the situational upbringing of the individual (the sociological source or origins in ‘nurture’)
eBook - PDF- Mitchell J. Neubert, Bruno Dyck, Mary Waller, Thomas Medcof(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
2 Diversity is a state of having or being composed of differing attributes. Diversity among people in an organization can cause problems and it can also present opportunities. 3 On the one hand, differences can contribute to misunderstandings, discom- fort, poor communication, and conflict. The theory that best supports this point of view is social categorization theory. It proposes that we use characteristics to categorize others into groups, and that the more different the group is from ourselves, the less we like, identify with, trust, or feel comfortable with people from that group, and the more likely that diver- sity will contribute to performance problems and absenteeism or turnover within an organi- zation. 4 People generally feel more comfortable with and are drawn to people who are similar to themselves. On the other hand, we find the positive potential of diversity in theories about informa- tion processing and decision making, 5 which propose that diversity offers more and different types of information, perspectives, experiences, and social networks to aid in the decision‐ making process. This diversity of resources contributes to a better understanding of the Diversity is a state of having or being composed of differing attributes. Social categorization theory proposes that we use characteristics to categorize others into groups, and this shapes our attitudes and behaviour toward them. Surface characteristics Beliefs, values Core self-evaluations Abilities, personality FIGURE 3.1 Layers of Potential Influences on Individual Behaviour LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1 Identify diversity and surface characteristics and their value to achieving organizational goals. CHAPTER THREE Understanding Individual Attributes 48 issues related to a problem or challenge, a greater number of ideas generated during brain- storming, and broader support for the decision that is made. Consistent with these oppos- ing effects of diversity, the research on diversity is inconclusive.
Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
