Critical Evaluation of Personality Theories in the Workplace
...source: Lecture notes week 1) Cattell, on the other hand, in order to avoid the above drawbacks, established his list of trait from a variety of sources and used a descriptive approach rather than a explanatory one. According to Cattell’s research, human personality traits could be summarised by sixteen (16) personality factors (PF) or main traits (see Table 2), which are described as a continuum (everyone has some degree of every trait). Despite his efforts, he was criticised for the undependability of the 16PF, since some of them, i.e. reserved and placid, are difficult to distinguish from one another, as well as for the rigid nature of his system, as certain traits may be important for understanding some people and at the same time totally irrelevant to others. Regardless of the criticism Cattell’s theory of 16PF is the most famous of all personality traits and his empirical findings lead the way for investigation and later discovery of the ‘Big Five’ dimensions of personality [7] reserved outgoing less intelligent more intelligent affected by feelings emotionally stable submissive dominant serious happy - go - lucky expedient conscientious timid venturesome tough - minded sensitive trusting suspicious practical imaginative forthright shrewd self - assured apprehensive conservative experimenting group dependent self- sufficient uncontrolled controlled relaxed tense Table 2 Cattells' 16PF (source :Hayes & Orrell, 1993) As mentioned above, through the investigation into the validity of Catell’s model, researchers discovered the ‘Big Five’ factors, which have been monumental in understanding personality, as we know it today. The Big Five model is comprised of five (5) personality dimensions: 1. Openness to experience, which describes a dimension of cognitive style that distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down to earth, conventional types. 2. Conscientiousness, which concerns the way in which we control, regulate and direct our impulses. 3. Agreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation and social harmony 4. Extraversion which is related to the level of engagement with the external world. A person who enjoys being with people, is full of energy and often experience positive emotions is characterised as an extrovert. On the other hand, introverts tend to be quiet disengaged from the social world. 5. Neurotism which reflects the tendency to experience negative feelings (anxiety). Those how scores low respond emotionally (anger, depression) fact that can diminish ones ability to think clearly, make decisions and cope effectively with stress. While, those that score high are less emotionally reactive. These factors are considered universal, having been recovered in languages as German and Chinese ([8], pp.509-516). According to research conducted by Piedmont and Weinstein, 1994, the ‘Big Five’ theory has proved itself as a robust and reliable measure, stable in time [9]. All in all, Cattell, Eysenck, and McCrae and Costa have all contributed to exploring the key traits that distinguish one person from another and seems to be a consensus that extraversion, agreeableness, neurotism and conscientiousness are major personality traits. A significant amount of personality research is still undertaken around the trait concept, but the debate is still about the number of traits ([10], pp. 284 - 288). 3. Trait theories in job selection Choosing the right person for the job is crucial for organisations as a mistake would affect the company through poor job performance which will result to time, effort and ultimately money loss in rehiring. Currently and most commonly selection is based on academic information, experience and short interviews [9]. Therefore selection procedures are essential as they are the only indication an organisation has about the possible new candidates’ job performance so as to extract the most important personality factors relevant to the particular industry. The execution of these theories (over 60 years) in conjunction with other measures,(references and experience), provide an objective and fair method for business to select the right people for jobs, facilitate individual and team development, and increase organisational effectiveness. But we have to mention at this point that although it is possible to make some broad generalisations about the types of occupations to which people are best suited, quite accurate predictions are rarely possible. Job analysis is the first step of job selection before personality measurement since it allows the personality characteristics, which will be needed for the job, to be decided first. The implementation of personality measurement is reflected to the so-called ‘personality tests/questionnaires’; a process that methodically assigns numbers to a person’s characteristics in order to make predictions about the person’s future performance and act as the second step. According to Hogan et al, (1996) there are two ways in which trait theories are used as far as job selection is considered. In large organisations where there are many applicants, tests are used to screen potential unsuitable candidates without discrimination against certain groups of people. Otherwise, when there are a few applicants the tests are used more to identify those who are excellent. A large amount of personality tests have been used in job selection like the 16PF, the California Personality Inventory, the Mayer - Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The Big Five seems to be the most well-known as there are many combinations of it and allows managers to seek out possibilities and potentials of their employees [6, 7, and 11] Many organisations still use application forms, references and interviews which are now seen as old – fashioned and ineffective to keep up with the modern world. 4. Effectiveness of personality tests as a job selection method Personality testing is an issue which frequently generates a great deal of heated debate, with supporters embracing them as of critical importance whilst opponents discharge them as useless. Clearly, few issues in management arouse more controversy than this managerial tool. Due to that fact a brief examination of personality tests’ pros and cons will follow. The first flaw lies upon the fact that these kinds of tests usually involve self – report, which means that applicants may intentionally ‘fake’ their test scores so as to alter the way they will be perceived. Efforts have been made to overcome this disadvantage introducing lie scores to some tests. Furthermore, some people do not have sufficient self-insight, which makes them unable to report their own behavioural characteristics. These people do not lie, but they are not capable to produce a self – report which has though the similar results as lying Considering the legal aspect of this matter, a crucial question arises: Is Personality Testing Legal? And the answer is YES. Despite that there are some elements that have to be taken into account. According to Furnham, (1992), most tests are unfair and biased to W...