Individual Differences and the World of Work - Essay Example

Individual differences and the world of work al Affiliation) INTRODUCTION Personality psychology studies personality andhow it varies among individuals. A person’s character is his/her characteristic pattern of thoughts and behaviors that make him/her unique (Hagan, 2003). Research in individual differences has given rise to the emergence of theories that explain how personality develops, and the individual differences in character. (Ellis, & Abrams, 2009). Individual differences surpass physical characteristics that a person possesses. Diversity of individual differences at workplaces refers to: The mosaic of employees who bring a range of backgrounds, values, work styles, beliefs, and perspectives (Tenenbaum, 2007). Acknowledging these individual differences and their values involves making the most out of them in the workplace. By embracing diversity in the workplace, an organization can establish its strengths and create an environment that support and value the contributions of employees (Kennedy, 2008). Research and theories continue to support individual differences in the workplace. Recognizing these differences, the discussion part of this assignment will focus on the application of research and theory from different theoretical frameworks and how it relates to job performance. Theoretical frameworks include: intelligent quotient-a score used to assess intelligence, socio-cognitive- integrated cognitive and social properties of systems, and trait – a distinguishing characteristic of a person. These theoretical frameworks relate to job performance in a number of areas such as; motivation, leadership, teamwork, and recruitment. These approaches are split into; practical issues, theoretical issues, methodological issues, and ethical issues. DISCUSSION Research on human differences laid out various dimensions to diversity. This is the specific traits that distinguish a person or group from another. Dimensions of diversity are not all about peoples’ genetic background but are more complex than traits driven by DNA (Coon, & Mitterer, 2014). These dimensions include; age, culture, gender, education, communication style, personality preferences, morals et al. Individual differences in the workplace are all about; values, and behavior. Principals (employers) aim at harmonizing agents’ (employees) right to their personal values with the entity’s duty to create a conducive and productive workplace. Valuing individual differences is a personal and business decision for an organization. Regardless of individuals’ personal values, employees are expected to work in the most productive manner. Managing individual differences is a complex process, not a onetime event. Addressing conflicts that may arise in the establishment of work teams is very critical in managing these differences. The ability to manage individual differences means the organization is prepared for the present and future work environment (Wankel, 2008). Experiences in the workplace are affected by self-concept. An individual’s self-concept is defined by both personal characteristics, and group affiliations (McGraw, & McGraw, 2001). The self-concept is an individual’s identity boundary. For example, individuals identify themselves with groups that they have shared the same experiences and which they believe to share fundamental values. The problem comes in when individuals develop an “us versus them” attitude towards people that they have not shared the same experience with. This blocks cooperation and fester distrust in the work group. What this means is that; individuals must realize their perceptions and biases, and do everything possible to ensure that these do not impact their actions at work (Hicks, 2010). Principals must train their agents to prevent them from devaluing the contribution of other agents just because they do not belong to the same work group/ profession. An understanding of personality and learning style theories is critical in pursuing elusive human qualities at the workplace, such as; leadership, empathy, and motivation (Carr, 2012). Personality theory is useful in organizations for training, motivation, recruitment, and selection. Psychometrics assists in improving knowledge of self and other peoples’ motivations, working styles, strengths, weaknesses, and their preferred thinking. Personality theories sensitize the fact that, understanding personality is central to motivation. The more principals understand their agents’ personalities, the better they are to judge what motivates them (Whiteley, 2002). Individual differences are used to evaluate different ways of motivating different groups of people at the workplace. For example, age is one dimension to individual differences that affects motivation. Motivation is the inner force that drives an individual to perform a specific task. At the workplace, age matters on how employees are motivated (Chapman, 2005). Research has indicated that intrinsic motivation is preferable in adult employees to extrinsic motivation. Various theoretical issues back up this research. Intrinsic motivation involves things that an individual finds enjoyable and develops a passion in doing them. Extrinsic motivation involves physical incentives such as, monetary rewards, and gifts (Sansone, & Harackiewicz, 2000). At the workplace, adult employees are intrinsically motivated to perform their duties. They prefer challenging tasks that are more engaging to easy and obvious tasks. With this, they earn job satisfaction regardless of the monetary packages that accompany such tasks (Bloch, 2007). This research was conducted on various public listed companies and it was clear that the older employees are driven by passion and interest and not physical incentives. This is an example of research and theory in individual differences and how it is applied in occupations. Principals tend to motivate their agents according to their individual differences hence, applying personality theories (Sercombe, 2010). This research tends to face criticism on its ethical value. By extrinsically motivating the younger employees, the long-term effects of dependence on rewards affect performance. Some employees are better motivated by a good mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, therefore, principals should not discriminate any agent on the basis of individual differences (Felicia, 2011). Personality theory describes different attitude types as a dimension to individual differences. Different attitudes affect motivation and hence job performance (Haddock, & Maio, 2004). Research indicates that psychic energy is divided into introverted and extraverted attitudes. Both attitudes are present in everyone, and in different degrees. This two greatly influence motivation and job performance in general. An introvert is motivated from the inside, while an extrovert is motivated from the outside, and influenced by external purposes (Albarracin, Johnson, & Zanna, 2005). An extravert’s behavior is directed to influence outside factors, and that is what acts as a motivator. An introvert is motivated to understand and manage self experience. For example, at the workplace, principals are motivated from the outside to influence outside factors and events. On the other hand, shareholders are motivated from the inside and are directed by inner subjective matters. This research was conducted in various workplaces. It was evident that individuals’ attitude greatly affect their motivation towards achievement of particular objectives (Leigh, & Miller, 2006). This is practical in the sense that, leadership is motivated by extraversion while selection is motivated by introversion. This theory faces various ethical issues and contradictions. Strongly motivated extraverts and introverts view things in relatively different ways, which causes misunderstanding and conflicts. These two diversity dimensions are not mutually exclusive, but they are self-balancing through the conscious and unconscious (Oskamp, & Schultz, 2005). Intelligence quotient can skew motivation hence job performance (Barrett, 2009). Research conducted on how IQ affects motivation indicated that; individuals with high IQ, who received material incentives, were highly motivated. At workplaces, individuals have the ability to harmonize IQ and material incentives to perform better (Borghans, & Meijers, 2013). This research faces methodological issues such as; how does IQ and material incentives relate? An individual with a relatively low IQ can be highly motivated by material incentives hence; the findings are not valid, though reliable (Premuzic, 2007). Socio-cognitive variables determine behavior based on experiences, social interactions, and outside media influences (Dijk, 2008). These variables have an effect on motivation. Personality can be shaped through experiences that an individual goes through. With such personality, motivation in the workplace varies greatly. An agent’s job performance is influenced by previous experiences, and social interactions. Principals should encourage teamwork to build on personalities. On interaction with others in the same profession, employees build each other in terms of knowledge and the general perception of various life issues (Wade, & Tavris, 2000). Teamwork experience can act as a socio- cognitive variable to motivation. Research has shown that individuals who shift from one organization to another take with them previous experiences. In a new organization, individuals are seen to conduct their work in relation to how they used to do it in the other organization. If previous experiences were positive, individuals responded positively in the new organization. They were more energized and ready to make an impact in the new organization. On the other hand, individuals who had bad experiences in the previous organization tend to be less motivated in the new organization. Experiences shape personality and have an effect on the mentality of an individual (Myers, 2004). Social interactions should aim at creating positive experiences that enhance the long-term performance of an individual at the workplace. This research can only have positive ethical implications as it serves as a training kit for selecting, recruiting, motivating, and team building of employees. CONCLUSION Personality types that shape up individual differences at workplaces and occupations must be clearly understood, for they are helpful in appreciating the contribution of every member of a work group. Personalities are unique, and everyone has a value accompanied by special strengths and qualities (Kroeger, Thuesen, & Rutledge, 2002). Organizations that possess and appreciate positive diversity skills encourage employees to adhere to federal and local equal employment opportunity laws. These laws ban discrimination on the basis of a large portfolio of individual differences. Such organizations do not incur litigation costs of discrimination, therefore, utilizing a variety of strengths that each employee has in productive ways. Managing individual differences is a gradual process that begins with understanding the work of employees, and determining if everyone in the work group is aware of the multiple diversities present. This process begins during recruitment, whereby; recruitment should be conducted in a way that attracts and retains a diverse work group. This process aims at creating a culture whereby leadership serves as role models and project a positive self-fulfilling prophecy. Therefore, by understanding and appreciating individual differences in occupations, management of a diverse work group is enhanced (Martin, 2000). Before appreciating others, individuals should first understand themselves. After understanding personal behavior and personality, individuals formulate ways on how to approach other individuals’ differences. Individuals should be open to constructive feedback which would in turn challenge present barriers among work groups. Work groups should be governed by respect for all members and any disrespectful act on any member should be highly punishable. This will ensure that opportunities are equally accessible to all and delegation is fair. On acceptance of the differences present among individuals in a work group, every member should make others aware of past experiences that are job relevant and this would lead to team building (Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, & Damon, 2001). Personality theories on individual differences indicate different attitudes displayed at workplaces that influence motivation and overall job performance. Research and theories in this field of psychology have greatly influenced job performance and promoted the recognition and acceptance of diversity in individual differences (Ciulla, Martin, & Solomon, 2007). References Borghans, L., & Meijers, H. (2013). 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