Fundamentals of Management, 11/e

How Can an Understanding of Personality Help Managers Be More Effective?

Managers should be interested in their employees’ personalities because those personalities influence their behavior in the following ways:

1. Job–person compatibility. Some 62 percent of companies are using personality tests when recruiting and hiring.57 And that’s where the major value in understanding personality differences probably lies. Managers are likely to have higher-performing and more-satisfied employees if consideration is given to matching personalities with jobs.

2. Understanding different approaches to work. By recognizing that people approach problem solving, decision making, and job interactions differently, a manager can better understand why, for instance, ...