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11
The Manager as a Person

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Personality Traits
Personality Traits: Characteristics that influence how people think, feel and behave on and off the job. Include tendencies to be enthusiastic, demanding, easygoing, nervous, etc. Each trait can be viewed on a continuum, from low to high. There is no wrong trait, but rather managers have a complex mix of traits.

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The Big Five Traits:

Figure 11.1 I
Low

Extroversion Negative Affectivity Agreeableness Conscientiousness

High

II
Low High

III
Low High

IV
Low High

V
Low
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Openness to Experience

High

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The Big Five

Extroversion:

people are positive and feel good about themselves and the world.
Managers high on this trait are sociable, friendly.

Negative

Affectivity: people experience negative moods, are critical, and distressed.

Managers are often critical and feel angry with others and themselves.

Agreeableness:

people like to get along with others.

Managers are likable, and care about others.

Conscientiousness:

people tend to be careful,

persevering. Openness to Experience: people are original, with broad interests.

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Traits and Managers

Successful managers vary widely on the Big Five. It is important to understand these traits since it helps explain a managers approach to planning, leading, organizing, etc.

Managers should also be aware of their own style and try to tone down problem areas.

Internal Locus of Control: People believe they are responsible for their fate.

See their actions are important to achieving goals.

External Locus of Control: People believe outside forces are responsible for their fate.

Their actions make little difference in achieving outcomes.

Managers
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need an Internal Locus of Control!

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Other Traits
Self-Esteem: Captures the degree to which people feel good about themselves and abilities. High self-esteem causes people to feel they are competent, and capable. Low self-esteem people have poor opinions of themselves and abilities. Need for Achievement: extent to which people have a desire to perform challenging tasks and meet personal standards. Need for Affiliation: the extent to which people want to build interpersonal relationships and being liked. Need for Power: indexes the desire to control or influence others.

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Values

Values: describe what managers try to achieve through work and how to behave. These are personal convictions about life-long goals (terminal values) and modes of conduct (instrumental values). A persons value system reflects how important their values are as a guiding principle in life. Terminal values important to managers include:

Sense of Accomplishment, equality, self-respect.

Instrumental

values include:
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hard-working, broadminded, capable.

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Terminal and Instrumental Values

Figure 11.3

TERMINAL VALUES

INSTRUMENTAL VALUES

Prosperous life Exciting life Sense of Accomplishment A world at peace Salvation Self-respect Pleasure Wisdom True friendship Equality
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Ambitious Broadminded Capable Cheerful Clean Helpful Honest Obedient Loving Responsible
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Attitudes

Attitudes: collection of feelings about something. Job Satisfaction: feelings about a workers job.

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Satisfaction tends to rise as manager moves up in the organization. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: actions not required of managers but which help advance the firm. Managers with high satisfaction perform these extra mile tasks. Organizational Commitment: beliefs held by people toward the organization as a whole. Committed managers are loyal and proud of the firm. Commitment can differ around the world.
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Moods

Moods: encompass how a manager feels while managing. Positive moods provide excitement, elation and enthusiasm. Negative moods lead to fear, stress, nervousness.

Moods can depend on a person's basic outlook as well as on current situations.

Managers need to realize how they feel affects how they treat others and how others respond to them. Workers prefer to make suggestions to mangers who are in a good mood.
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Perceptions

Perception is the process through which people select, organize and interpret input. Managers decisions are based on their perception.

Managers need to ensure perceptions are accurate.

Managers

are all different and so are their perceptions of a situation.

Perceptions depend on satisfaction, moods, and so forth.

A managers past experience can influence their outlook on a new project. Good managers try not to prejudge new ideas based on the past.
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Career Development

Career: sum total of the work-related experiences through a persons life. Linear career: person moves through a sequence of jobs of higher levels.

Can build different experience in different positions.

Steady

State career: worker chooses to keep the same kind of job over much of a career.

Become highly skilled in a given area.

Spiral

Career: worker holds fundamentally different jobs that still build on each other.

Worker gains wide experience yet skills continue to build.

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Career Stages
Figure 11.7 Preparation for Work Organization Entry Early Midcareer

Midcareer
Late Career
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Career Stages:
Preparation for Work: decide on kind of career, determine qualifications needed. Organizational entry: find a first job.

Managers usually start in a functional area first.

Early career: establishes person in the firm and begins achievement.

Worker learns firms values and duties. Also begins to achieve noteworthy results in the job. Worker tries to stand out as a good performer.

Mentors

(experienced manager who shows you the ropes) are valuable during this stage.
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Stages, cont.

Mid-career: usually have been in workforce 20-35 years.

Usually provides major accomplishments.

Career

plateaus can occur as chances for further promotion dwindle.

Plateau managers can still enjoy a fruitful career.

Late career: continues as long as the manager works and is active. Many managers choose to stay active well past normal retirement.

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Career Management
Managers need to consider both personal career management as well as the careers of other workers in the firm. Ethical practice: managers need to ensure worker promotions are based on outcomes, not friendships.

This means all workers are treated equally.

Accommodation

of other demands: Workers have many things in their lives besides work. Managers need to consider these issues as well.

The dual career couple is the norm. Workers have family commitments.
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Stress
Results when people face important opportunity or threats they are uncertain can be handled.

Managers almost always face stress.

Physiological

issues: stress can result in sleep problems, headaches, and other issues.

Long-term levels of stress can result in heart attack, and high blood pressure. Different people experience stress differently.

Psychological

issues: stress can result in bad moods, anger, nervousness.

Can result in lower work output and frustration.

Behavioral

issues: stress can actually enhance job performance as well as impair it.
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Stress & Performance

Figure 11.8 High

Level of Performance
Low
Low Positive Stress Negative Stress High
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Level of Stress

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Sources of Stress
Role Conflict: results from conflict between managerial roles. Conflict can result when managers want to present a problem with the firm but still want to present firm in best possible light. Role Overload: managers have too many duties and activities. Most managers have several roles but they can become over-powering.

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Coping with stress

Problem-focused:

actions taken to directly deal with

stress. Emotion-focused: actions taken to deal with stressful feelings. Time Management: allows people to accomplish more with less wasted time. Mentoring: mentor shows how to deal with stress. Exercise: can reduce stressful feelings. Meditation: puts current cares aside. Social support: can come from family or other workers.
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