Personality Traits influencing Organisational Behaviour

Machiavellianism This term was given by Niceolo Machiavelli. It means

how to gain and use power.
High Mach people are found to be pragmatic . They maintain emotional
distance , manipulate more, win more. They are persuaded less and persuade
others more as compared to the low Machs. They are successful when the
situation has a minimum number of rules and regulations. High Machs are
self confident and have a high self esteem. They do not hesitate using others
in order to serve their own goals.
It is difficult to say whether high Machs makes good employees or not
because it depends on the type of job that they perform, and also on the
moral and ethical values followed by them.
Locus of Control Locus of Control means whether people believe that
they are in control of events or events control them.
People with Internal Locus of control believe that they can control the
course of events in their lives. These people seek opportunities for
advancement, depend upon their own abilities and judgement. They are
more active socially, have greater control over their behaviour, feel that they
are the master of their own destiny, are more independent than those who
have an External Locus of Control. They do not easily get influenced by
others. These people are very active in gathering information to make
decisions. They prefer intrinsic rewards.
People with External Locus of Control believe that events occur purely by
chance or due to factors beyond their own control. They are less satisfied
with their jobs, have higher absenteeism rate, are less involved on jobs, are
less independent and believe that they are at the mercy of their destiny. They
are more interested in job security and not in advancement of their careers.
They prefer extrinsic rewards.
Introversion & Extroversion These terms refer to an individuals
sociability and interpersonal interactions.

Extroverts are sociable individuals. They are more suitable for positions
which require interaction with others like public relations, event
management etc. Managerial positions are successfully handled by
extroverts.
Introverts are shy, quiet and reserved people. They are more successful in
positions which require more of analytical skills.
Type A & Type B personalities Type A people are impatient, aggressive
and very competitive. They are hard working and highly productive. They
walk fast, talk fast, feel time pressure all the time, do multiple things at a
time, measure success by quantity. Their negative side is that they are
impatient, irritable and have a poor judgement.
Type B people are those who are easy going, laid back, non competitive,
never in a hurry, very patient, have no pressing deadlines and they play for
fun and not to win. They do better on jobs involving judgement and
accuracy rather than speed and hardwork.
Self Concept & Self Esteem Self Concept is the way individuals define
themselves as to who they are and derive their sense of identity and self
image. Self Esteem is the extent to which people regard themselves as
capable, successful and worthy individuals. High self esteem people take up
challenging jobs, they believe that they have the abilities to succeed at work,
they have positive attitudes, feelings and life satisfaction. High self esteem
people have less depressive symptoms and less anxiety.
Low self esteem people always want approval from others. They depend on
receipt of positive evaluations from others always.
Work-ethic orientation High work-ethic orientation people are greatly
involved in their jobs. Work is the only source of satisfaction for them
whereas people with low work-ethic orientation try to do the minimum
which is necessary for them for not getting fired.

 Tolerance for Ambiguity : People with a high tolerance for ambiguity are
able to deal with stress more as compared to people with a low tolerance for
ambiguity. People with a low tolerance for ambiguity prefer structured work
environment & are not able to work effectively if things change rapidly.
Risk Propensity: It is the degree to which a person is willing to take
chances & make risky decisions. A person with high risk propensity
experiments with new ideas, is ready to explore more & lead the
organization in new & different directions. A person with low propensity is
conventional in nature & resists changes.
Authoritarianism: It refers to a belief that there should be status & power
differences among people in organizations. Authoritarians place a high value
on their own beliefs & prefer structured work situation, rules & regulations
are the most important for them. They want obedience to authority. They are
rigid in their beliefs.