MGMT1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Conscientiousness, Machiavellianism, Social Desirability Bias
Week 2 - Personality and Individual Differences at Work
Demographic Diversity
Age and Generation
A generation is all the people that are born at the same time, experience a similar set of
circumstances and are regarded collectively as a group of people who are likely to have similar
characteristics. Ie. Baby Boomers (1946-62), Gen X (1963-78), Gen Y (1979 – 88). Research shows
there is not a lot of differences between people in the workforce due to generational
events/influences rather differences are largely due to their lifecycle stages.
The age profile of Australia has changed dramatically and will continue to do so for the next 50
years. The Australian population is ageing and the number of young people entering the workforce is
plateauing due to a low birth rate. There are mixed findings between age and performance. Some
research shows that productivity increases with age due to commitment to quality, strong work
ethic and experience whilst other studies show that increasing age can decrease initiative, creativity
and risk-taking. Therefore, managers must be aware that depending on the industry they are in they
must manage age diversity appropriately based on job requirements, skills and abilities.
Gender
In the 1960s women received 10% of all Bachelor of Business degrees, however these days research
shows that female tertiary students now outnumber their male counterparts in 2/3 of countries.
‘esearh shos there are o lear, osistet fidigs etee e ad oes differees
regarding leadership styles, leadership skills, motivation, problem-solving ability and learning ability.
Hence, there is no significant difference in job productivity between men and women. However
gender still affects our perceptions. Why do men still hold more managerial positions?
• Gender stereotypes -> altered perceptions of male and female behaviours ie. Women who
are directive are perceived as less likeable, more hostile and dominative supervisors
• Familial commitments and work-life balance limiting their options for career advancement
• History of men in top level jobs -> Managers tend to choose applicants similar to themselves
to succeed their roles when leaving
• Still the prevalence of gender segregated jobs ie. Construction management
Other biographical differences include race and ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender
identity.
Ability (Intellectual and Physical)
Ability is a persos apait to do or lear to do a partiular task. It eopasses oth itelletual
(cognitive) and physical ability.
Intellectual abilities are those needed to perform mental activities – for thinking, reasoning and
problem solving. Dimensions of intellectual ability that can be measured:
• Number aptitude – ability to do speedy and accurate arithmetic eg. Accountant
• Verbal comprehension – ability to understand what is read and heard and the relationship of
words to each other
• Perceptual speed – ability to identify visual similarities and differences eg. Fire investigator
• Inductive reasoning – ability to identify a logical sequence in a problem and solve it eg.
Market researcher
• Deductive reasoning – ability to use logic and assess the implications of an argument
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