Personality Different people possess different personality traits. In seeking to define individuals' core personalities, researchers have in the past outlined/identified several core personality dimensions. This text concerns itself with the 'Big 5' personality traits.

The 'Big 5' Personality Traits

Personality in the words of Griffin and Moorhead (2011) "is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish one person from another." As the authors point out, there exists a need for managers to familiarize themselves with various primary personality attributes and the impact they have on the behavior of people in organizational situations. Numerous personality traits have been identified in the past. However, in an attempt to ease the description and analysis of personalities, researchers have in recent times identified several generalized personality traits (Hellriegel and Slocum, 2007). The 'Big Five' personality traits according to Nelson and Quick (2007) "include extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience." In the section below, I will discuss each trait while at the same time giving examples of how each trait could contribute...

Further, people who are agreeable are affectionate and kind. It is these qualities that make it easy for them to get along with others. Indeed, lack of agreeableness in the opinion of Griffin and Moorhead (2011) could make an individual antagonistic, uncooperative and irritable. In the organizational setting, an agreeable individual could be better at accomplishing tasks which require collective effort i.e. In a group setting.
Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness in the opinion of Hellriegel and Slocum (2007) "refers to the number of goals on which a person focuses." As the author further points out, individuals with a habit of focusing on a limited number of key goals and objectives tend to be more responsible, thorough and organized than their counterparts who choose to focus on many goals. In the organizational setting, managers who happen to be conscientious are more likely to achieve organizational goals as a result…