Individual Differences Essay

INTRODUCTION: The individual differences are a cornerstone effective area in modern psychology, it is referred for the psychology of the person that the differences between the individuals and their similarities. 2000 years ago Plato stated that the two persons are born exactly alike but each differs from the other by natural endowments, where one will be exited for occupation purpose and where as other will be for another perspective. According to the western psychology approach to individual differences is assumed as: Persons will be different in range of psychological attributes. It is possible to measure and study the behaviour of an individual. In history we have come across many theories on individual differences that are Psychology, survival of the fittest, by applying the principles of behaviour scientifically and some by the body language principles. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: In this we can classify the people in psychological forms according to their intelligence and personality characteristics. There are many conflicting theories about individual differences psychology. People have been aware of individual differences in history by gender differences, intelligence differences by religion, status and by education etc†¦ and by the personality differences i.e. by their job satisfactions and organisational competence. In modern psychology it has formalised that the individual differs from their values, personality, self-esteem and attitudes. In this contemporary world the individual differences are fully based on the bonds of organisational sequences like birth, education, work and death. Where a French philosopher Jean Jacques Roussean (1712 – 1778) states that â€Å"man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains†. Where the individuals are shaped by the liberty, equality and fraternity. Where individuals is the concept of identity which cannot be defined easily, other than saying that it refers to the person who is in relation with others in this world by the way he constructs, interprets and understand himself and others. In an organization managers understand the individual differences of their employees by their experience, knowledge and technologies. If manager is capable of understanding the differences of individuals then he can achieve the goals of him as well as the organization goals. Even organizations have their distinct identities. Example: There are two  brothers one like pets and other does not like pets, they both being from one family the likes are different. This tells that human tendencies will not be same in form of thinking and admires. IMPORTANT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: Values Personality Attitudes VALUES: It is defined about the individual or group about their ethical beliefs for something for which they are emotionally attached. It can also be defined as a set of beliefs and goals that serve as guiding principle in one’s life. Where for managers value is the achievement i.e. values for personal success in a social standards, it may be power also where the managers think about their prestige, status and dominance’s over people. Example a manager of well-known organization thinks about his status and prestige and his control over the people for him these are the values whereas for manager of other organization may not be the same. Where individuals give there more priorities to their values which may differ from one individual to other but everyone has their own values and beliefs. PERSONALITY: It is defined as the stabilised patterns and psychological states of the mind, which explains about the behaviour of the person. Example if there are two persons one is Joe who is extroverts and other person Sam who is introvert, people have tendencies to judge Joe as open minded person and he his fully interactive and all without knowing him. So depending upon personality and behaviour the individuals differ. Where Sam who is introvert can be more intelligent than Joe but his personality is introvert so the attraction goes towards Joe. ATTITUDE: It is known as the collection of feelings and beliefs of a human. There are components of attitude which are: Affective component: where it tells about the feelings of individuals. Cognitive component: individuals have different ways thinking. Behavioural component: the behaviour of individual is different from others. Example a manager has different attitude towards his employees where as he has different attitude towards his f amily and friends because in front of employees there will be a question of prestige and status. SELF – AWARENESS: In an organisation if manager develops the self – awareness in  his employees by motivating them then the relationship between the employees will be better and they will be fulfilling the needs of their and organisations also. If a person comes to know about his self – awareness then he will be having a good relationship with others and his thinking will be in positive way towards one another which indeed help the organisation to achieve the goals. If a manager is capable of knowing his self –awareness and taking the feedback from his staff about his work and behaviour if it is in negative form also and improving on that negative things then he is a successful manager. If a manager keeps the friendly environment with his staff by motivating them and talking with them personally and telling to overcome their demerits and encouraging them in front of everyone for their work then the manager can easily achieve his and organizational goals. If a manager keeps his prestige and status aside and works with a team as one of the member of the team then the team members also feel comfort and the productivity will be enhanced and that type of managers are successful managers. THEORIES OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: This theories are based on the personality of an individual and they are: Trait theory Big five theory Myers – Briggs type indicator theory (MBTI) Socio – cognitive theory Psychoanalytical theory Humanist theory. In this theories the widely used theory is Myers – Briggs type indicator theory (MBTI) which tells about the differences and the similarities of the individual which in turn helps to improvise the self – awareness. This has 4 preferences which helps to know about the individuals that are: Extroversion or Introversion Sensing or Intuition Thinking or Feeling Judgement or Perception. MANAGING DIVERSITY: It is defined as â€Å"the variety of experiences and perspectives which arise from differences in race, religion, culture, mental or physical abilities, heritage, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender  identity and other characteristics†. There are some dimensions which affect performance, motivation, success and interactions with others which is important to understand. Example If you have good relations with your colleagues and with the supervisors of your organisation then you’re managing your diversity. Do you immediately take actions against the people who behaves in a form of disrespect like unwanted talking’s and using offensive terms, if you’re doing this then you are successful manager and with that you are managing diversity. CONCLUSION: This reports says that the individual differences should be accompanied to individual decision to perform organization behaviour. It suggest that if a person follows his value or norms, they would be more likely to perform organizational behaviour. If the managers have the capability to face the problems and come up with the solutions for that problem by team work and forming a self-awareness in his team then the organizations goals can be easily achieved and the manger is successful manager. It says that every individual has his own ethics, values, personality, self – esteem and attitudes and if a person knows about all this then he makes a good relation with his staff and he will be successful human being. REFERNCES: Clegg S., Kornberger M. and Pitsis T. (2011). Managing and organizations. London: Sage. Hickson D. (1997). Exploring Management Across The World. London: Penguin Group. George J. and Jones G. (2006). Contemporary Management: Creating Values in Organizations. McGraw-Hill (in New York).