Personality & Work Performance. Evidence Based Analysis

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my special admiration and thanks to my Research Supervisor Dr. Y.Subbarayudu, Assistant Professor, Department of Business Management, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, you have been a tremendous mentor for me. I would like to thank you for encouraging my research and for allowing me to grow as a researcher. Your advice on both research as well as on my career have been inestimable. I must thank you for the incessant inspiration, expert guidance, invaluable suggestions, and, above all, your moral support.

I would also like to thank my Research Co-Supervisor, Dr.G.Vijaya Bharathi, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa, for letting my defense be an enjoyable moment, and for your brilliant comments and suggestions, thanks to you. You have been supporting me in every possible way since the beginning of my research with meticulous care, kindness and bounteousness.

I would especially like to thank Prof.B.Syama Sundar, Vice-Chancellor, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa for his valuable support and encouragement.

I would like to express my gratitude to Dr.P.V.Vara Prabhakar, Assistant Professor, Coordinator, Department of Business Management, and Prof.T.Sreenivas, Chairman, BOS, Department of Business Management, Yogi Vemana University for their intellectual and boosting support.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Prof.P.Mohan Reddy, Prof.G.Sita Madhavi, Prof.S.Venkata Ramana, Dr.Srikanth Akondi, R.Seshagiri and A.Mahesh for giving perceptive comments and constructive criticisms at different stages of my research.

I am highly thankful to the Senior Employees of IT field for sharing their opinions and ideas relating to the present research work, particularly I owe a special debt of gratitude to the Sreenath Rupavatharam ( C.E.O, i3 Software, St.Albans, U.K.), G.L. Narasimhulu (Team Lead, Accenture Services India Pvt., Ltd., Hyderabad), Ajay Kumar Murahari (Senior DBA, Wipro India Pvt., Ltd., Pune), for adding mammoth value to this doctoral dissertation in form of experts consultation.

Moreover productive thoughts are the product of pleasant minds; Pleasant minds are the product of congenial and supporting family; I would like to express inner most and humble gratitude to my family. Words cannot express how indebted I am to my Father, G.Murali and Mother, G.Sumitra for all of the sacrifices that you’ve made on my behalf. Your prayer for me was what sustained me thus far.

I would also like to thank all of my friends who supported me in writing, and incented me to strive towards my goal and those whose names are not mentioned here for their full support and encouragement.

G.V.CHANDRA MOULI

1. Introduction

Human resources obviously receive a crucial part in reaching the degree of business progression and sustainability. The Indian Information Technology (IT) Service Sector is renowned with its splendid remarkable attainments and all these are subject to the qualitative efforts of human resources. Many researches are going on pertaining to emphasizing the role of human resources in IT sector. Unquestionably the Individual Performance which can be defined as ‘scalable actions, behavior and outcomes that employees engage in or bring about that are linked with and contribute to organizational goals’ (Viswesvaran & Ones, 2000), works as a critical parameter in a global competitive scenario. Performance assessments of the employees cannot be done only under a single context i.e., task accomplishments; it is a multi-faceted conception where consideration of the psycho-social interactions is urged for comprehensive reporting on employee performances at workplace. The augmented productivity of an individual is obviously associated with many human variables like emotions, learning attitudes, job influencing variables assessment, occupational self-rejection area, deviant intelligence, proactive decisional behaviors, person-job fit and person-organization fit etc. in the milieu of workplace dynamics. Here the role of personality factor and work place dynamics are decisively imperative. Organizational potentiality can be enhanced by addressing all criticalities of psycho-social facets of managing personalities. Deviant behaviors at workplace cause many severe business tribulations at different phases of organizational strategic operations. It is crucial to study the individual performance under two degrees namely direction (Impact) and magnitude (Influence). To knowledge of the researcher the area of measuring individual performances at workplace by considering personality factor implications in India context is still completely uncharted and with the presence of fewer studies, but when it comes to the global scenario abundant researches are available. Hence, this study is intended to explore the interactional effects of personality factor, work place dynamics on individual performance besides demographics.

This study is carried out to address various performance issues of human resources belongs to Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector. India gained the international repute for its services in information technology progress and deployment. India is the second fastest growing economy and gained repute through its liberalization, privatization and globalization policies. The country’s gross domestic product, at an average rate of 8.5% every year, indicates its economic preeminence being a developing country. India has been attracting the global countries with its software services. In fact India is named as IT hub for the world. There are many Indian IT companies placed in the list of top IT companies of the world. The continuous raise in foreign exchange reserves reached US $ 136 billion by the end of 2013 financial year shows the market potentiality of nation. The role of Information Technology can be considered as a catalyst and contributed in multiple ways for such a noticeable place among the world countries. The National Association of Software & Services Companies report of 2015, which is presented in Indo-German Summit ‘Digitizing Tomorrow Together’, clearly stated that the Indian IT sector aggregated revenues are reached to US $ 147 billion in 2015, where export revenue reached US $99 billion and domestic services at US $ 48 billion, growing by over 13%. The present business market of Indian IT sector is worth of US $200 billion and expected to scale up by three folds by 2020. Indian IT enabled services supporting the economy with its gigantic hands in terms of providing valuable foreign exchange, aiding exports and effective utilization of human resources. This sector is creating jobs in millions every year and enormously supporting nation’s employment rate by providing direct employment to about 2.8 million & indirectly 8.9 million people. The Indian IT sector transformed its economy from a rural and agricultural-base to a knowledge based economy. The software allied services relay on human resource capabilities and efficiency fascia. The software sector exists with numerous problems and opportunities. It is up to the company’s effort in balancing those through formulating strategies by considering market driven forces specifically related to human resources. Information Software allied services are referred to activities of intellectuality and learning. Innovativeness is the life blood of these services. In this sector human resources are considered as prime cause to organizational positive moves and as well as to extinctions. This is the sector where human capacities used in an optimum degree to sustain the consistency in performance and ensuring long run survival. The global countries are also giving tuff competition to the Indian IT sector. Global competition element i.e., China & Philippines raised as new force of competition in IT field, presents many critical business tribulations in front of the organizational research and inventions. This is at macro level but internal environment of the Indian IT sector is not so vivid to assess due to ever changing business derivations and deliverables. Under this scene human resource issues occupy gigantic place at organizational sustainability dimension. In short it is about employer, employee and job relationship; which is treated as a psychological agreement. Organizational behavior highlights the quintessence of understanding, assessing and addressing personality concerns of employee during the employment.

Indian Information Technology sector is not only striving to sustain its global brand image but also fighting against pathetic conditions of India such as drastic poverty, poor healthcare, national security and widespread hunger. India’s advantage in IT sector must be utilized to strengthen national wealth and security. Special attention is needed to tackle ‘performance’ issues. Indian IT sector would give best outputs through channelizing its mechanisms. Combination of technical expertise and managerial and entrepreneurial know-how certainly restructures its shape and stabilizes the market conditions in an optimistic comportment.

The competitive environment of business presents many issues and challenges. Organizational sustainability rests with its unique strategies and managing the wealth in an unprecedented way. The organizational wealth is categorized into human and non-human resources. The organizational advancements interlinked with optimum utilization of both resources and well defining the ever changing business equations. Managing human resources still considered as a typical enigma and requires continuous involvement by the personnel departments in innovations and research. Under these circumstances in particular ‘market economics’ tackling human resource issues have become the most prioritized task to the organizations. Business growth is a collective effort of employees and considered as an engine to the organizational survival. The modern business houses are facing two peculiar problems named performance and survival. These two terms are interrelated with each other. Ultimately the term ‘performance’ is ever there under business discussions.

Performance concept can be defined under two heads namely organizational and individual level. Organizational level it speaks about strategic planning and control whereas at individual level it’s about effectual completion of assigned roles and responsibilities through unswerving efforts to add value and reaching expectations under risks and business uncertainties. Hence, it can be treated as a qualitative enzyme of the organizational progressions. Human resources efforts reflect the degree of job and organization match. Task execution by the employees alone doesn’t prop up the organization’s strategic moves at antagonism crossroads. The organizational right integration of mission and vision values with the individual aspirations and achievements generates astonishing positive results in a proactive business environment. Further, the individualized environment stresses to focus on issue called ‘individual performance’. Practically speaking current organizations are moving through their teams i.e. team working. But a team is a combination of different individuals and the team success or failure depends on the degree of individual occupational contribution. So, ‘individual performance’ concept opens gates for research through considering personality factor.

Personality is a unique composition of behavioral attitudes, values, approach, feelings, perceptions and thinking process of an individual with consistent display with the others and environment. Individual is all about his/her personality. Dealing with those personalities is real human resources confront to the human resource practitioners. Individuals are unique through differing in many socio-psychological variables at workplace. The workplace setup designed to create motivated and healthy culture and climate in which human resources are a part of it. The organizational accomplishments connected with this human environment. Thus, it occupies huge value in the ‘performance through optimizing occupational contributions’ arena. The personality assessment and mapping help in understanding individual level concerns. Performance is a broad term and vibrant with its scope and adaptableness. The dynamics of personality reveals the relation between individual internal behavioral processes and external actions. The whole mechanism displays exactly what can do this personality factor on individual performance issues at workplace.

Generally organizations concentrates on the concept called maximum utilization of resources. This panorama is apt for all the resources by taking deterrent measures and except human resources. The predicament with regard to managing human resources is capacities building and utilization. It is like a process, starts with identifying needs and problems and ends with managing the right things (humans) in a right manner.

The internal environment of the Indian IT sector is not so vivid to assess due to ever changing business derivations and deliverables. Under this scene human resource issues occupy gigantic place at organizational sustainability dimension. In short it is about employer, employee and job relationship; which is treated as a psychological agreement. The organizational psychology is a huge area explains cause-effect correlation among human resource job routines and operations. It highlights the quintessence of understanding, assessing and addressing personality concerns of employee during the employment.

Personality factor has been received less attention from the human resource administrators in Indian context. But the changing business scenario alerts the organizations to pay keen attention on one of the critical success factor namely managing personality dynamics. It is a paradigm shift from conventional methods of treating humans and dealing effectively the psycho-social variables at workplace. Behavioral intentions of the employees results in form of their activities. Performance is again coupled with managing those intentions and attitudes toward job and organization. The researcher is intended to portray impact and impressions of personality dynamics on performance of individuals at workplace. Even managing groups should start at individual level only because the individuals form group/groups.

Organizational performance goes extremes due to individual allegiance and efforts. Performance may be positive or negative. Positive performances strengthen the extent of self-analysis and confidence in most cases where as negative performances has multidimensional effect on individual working versus organizational executions. This work is aimed to sensitize the individual performance issues at workplace in the context of personality implications. The individuals integrate themselves with workplace through the personality match. It looks so simple but the real ordeal is managing the personality factor at various echelons of employment. This tendency insists to have new kind of treatment towards human resource administration. Critical analysis of personality factor may show the right pill to this unrelenting human resource syndrome challenge.

1.a. Personality Factor Implications on Individual Performance at Workplace

The term personality has been defined in different ways by the behavioral scientists. There is no any universally accepted definition for the personality due to its dynamic nature. The concept of personality is still under discussions. The situational elements change the scope of the personality. But one aspect is noticeable with regard to personality i.e. it accompanied with the broader perspectives of context and with socio-psychological variables interaction at diverse levels under predominant behavioral considerations. Personality implications at workplace issues are apparently imperative. Human resources are considered as the key area for the organizational advancements. Managing those with apt strategies is always a wide-ranging task. Employees are all about their personalities. Human capacities and capabilities are measured in terms of their occupational contributions i.e. performance. The performance is allied with many personality variables of the individuals.

The researcher focused on the following performance issues by considering personality factor quotient. This interplay discusses many riddles related to individual behaviors at workplace. Personality match and workplace adjustments are closely associated. The study goes with an in-depth analysis on the below listed concerns with respect to Indian IT sector:

- How personality factor influences the individual performance at workplace?
- What are the major workplace impediments affecting on individuals performances?
- Notifying the impressions of the workplace dynamics on individual performance issues;
- Identifying the key psycho-social variables influencing personality factor at workplace;
- Studying the causes for deviant workplace behaviors affecting individual performances at workplace in connection to personality implications;
- Focusing on theh managing personality factor at workplace and
- Suggesting strategic imperatives to enhance performances of individuals by addressing rightly the personality factor concept of individual performance in terms of optimizing qualitative contributions of individuals throug and workplace dynamics;

1.b. Experts Consultation

The researcher met the various senior people from the Indian Information Technology sector during the course of research work. Interactions with the experts’ added value to this work in terms of knowing the clear picture of Indian IT sector, global scenario, working environment and typical employee issues. Researcher consulted 32 senior people, who are working in Indian IT sector; almost all the members expressed the similar opinions and views.

1.c. Statement of the Problem

Studying organizational modus operandi reveals many tribulations and enigmas, which are considered as utmost central to deal with the business acuteness. As a consequence, there may not be a possibility of depending on a single philosophy of tackling business environmental concerns. Redefining and revising of organizational strategies related to effective utilization of resources to attain desirable state is perceptibly unavoidable considerate. Business growth and development rests with firm’s capability of understanding the market needs and anticipating future trends. In fact materializing plans into reality are possible through managing organizational resources in a systemized way. Human resource comes under focal point always. Organizations needed their valuable services and expertise all the times. Generally their commendableness measured by looking at their performances. Their performances are depends on many factors of the firm’s perspective of administering human resources. The behavioral tendencies of the employees affect more on their working patterns and styles.

The implications of personality on individual behaviors at workplace are obviously a noticeable aspect. Every firm wants to gain a human resource sustainable competitive advantage. Performance issues can’t be treated as a routine. It carries huge value in an organizational advancements outlook. Individual occupational contributions are measured to know the value addition with regard to job and organization. Performance is also shows the attitude of the individual towards organization. Under performances need a right treatment. Humans are the sum of their total personality. The employee perceptions on integrating themselves with the workplace are guided by the personality factor. Individual behavioral modifications have a multiple effects on work outcomes. Motivating human resources is not so simple feet to perform. Here it is essential to know what the individuals are. Where the problem exists? Why the performances are not similar and inconsistent? What are the causes for the unmatched results? How the workplace dynamics affects on individual performances besides demographics? Human resource is the subject to behavioral aspects. They are all about their personalities. Managing personalities in an effective manner is really a complicated challenge. Personality analysis and research possess mammoth value in meeting business risks and uncertainties. Human emotions are not so easy to understand and have their own way of reflections on daily work routines. The personality dynamics interactive play redefines the employer-employee relation and the degree of organizational loyalty. The whole integrating process is guided by the personality factor and workplace dynamics.

Indian Information Technology sector gained an international repute for its quality services and innovations. No doubt, all the above said issues are exists in IT sector also. This sector is meant for human capabilities and capacities. Human services are highly prioritized and soul for this sector. India dominated the world market for some period and now facing a cut throat competition. So the researcher is intended to address above all the issues mentioned in relating to Indian IT sector, finding their intensities on workplace and to suggest practical implications to manage individual performances on the lines of personality considerations and hence this study spotlights on the ever critical quandary assessing ‘impact and influence of personality factor on individual performance at workplace’.

1.d. Need for the Study

The whole IT sector environment subsists based on certain workplace mechanics known as dynamics. Those are appraisals, ethics, work life balance, job satisfaction and excellence, learning, leadership, career planning and communication etc., the totality of work place dynamics has a potential impact on individual performances along with specific organizational issues. In general sense the two variables namely personality and work place dynamics influences the individual performances at workplace. But it is noticeable to assess their extent of impact and influence on individual performance concerns. Organizations are recognized the impact of human resource cost if they are not rightly utilized. Business houses suffer due to unmatched results and finding a gap between expectations and reality. Firms are quiet busy in reaching their predestined objectives and never compromises with the complexities of the market dynamics. Efficient human resource group can answer to those ever present business enigmas. But the problem is developing and sustaining such group. Every issue throws certain challenges and opportunities. Converting challenges into opportunities requires an effective game plan. For this the organizations depends on qualitative human resource services. Committed employee contributions enhance the firm value through managing business extremes and assessing future perspectives. Organizations are suffering in most cases due to underutilization of human resource capacities towards its advancements. Under this journey the organizations finds infinite issues related to performances of the employees. Individual performances show what they are? And to what extent they are doing job justification? The deviations at workplace concerned with human resources arise due to mismatch with job and organization. Normally employee worth is measured in terms of their occupational contributions. Nevertheless, it is not as easy as said. Here, individuals are all about their personalities. Attitudes, behaviors, feelings, perceptions, opinions and values of employees play a vital role on workplace mechanisms; this panorama raises a need to have a comprehensive study with respect to individual performance. In this regard, it is perceptibly inevitable to conduct research to explore the critical interplay of personality, workplace dynamics on individual performance.

1.e. Research Objectives and Rationale

The broad objective of this research is to add knowledge to the field of organizational behavior, in specific to the personality factor implications on performance issues in Indian Information Technology sector. This study is conducted to find out archetypal performance issues of individuals at workplace by bearing in mind the ‘personality factor’ and to address various psycho-social dynamics which influences the individual performance enhancement and sustenance. The research objectives go along with the broader aim of the study i.e. knowledge contribution:

1. To examine the relationship between personality factor and individual performance;
2. To analyze the relationship between workplace dynamics and individual performance;
3. To evaluate the effect of personality factor on individual performance;
4. To study the impact of workplace dynamics on individual performance;
5. To analyze the impact of demographics on personality factor;
6. To investigate the impact of demographics on individual performance;
7. To explore the impact of demographics on workplace dynamics;
8. To examine the impact of personality factor, work place dynamics on individual performance;

The above said objectives are set to have a critical understanding and analysis on the concept ‘impact and influence of personality factor on individual performance issues at workplace’. The objectives are determined from personality inklings analysis to optimizing performances through managing personalities. The wider use of literature available to the ‘personality’ assists in smooth moving from one object to another. These research objectives framed with a broad perspective of addressing typical predicaments of personality factor in relation to managing performances. This research is planned to find out various problems and perspectives of managing personalities and optimizing individual performances. From the point of justification, this study is considered to explore the varied problems of performance facing by the individuals at workplace or to develop strategic imperatives for optimizing human resource occupational contributions, assisting and promoting the organizations and individuals advancements belongs to Indian Information Technology sector.

1.f. Scope of the Study

There is abundant scope to conduct studies in this area. But it is essential to define the scope of the study to remain this research as manageable:

First, the research is looked forward to disclose many informative findings to create awareness and to add knowledge in this area.

Second, the geographic location is limited to the Bangalore cluster of Indian IT sector. This may have an impact on the overall attitude of the Indian IT employees.

Third, the research is focused on three categories of IT employees called Level -1 (Software Engineers), Level – 2 (Senior Software Engineers) and Level – 3 (Team Leaders).

Fourth, the recommendations could be made to IT sector on different issues of individual performance would be helped out of their individual and organizational problems.

Fifth, the independent variables such as personality factor and workplace dynamics expected to have a visible impact on individual performance issues. This is considered the most appropriate measure to assess the impact and influence on employee performances and as predictors for future behavior.

Six, the exogenous factors are not considered for the study like family related; finally, the study might undergo as a starting for further investigations on this field.

The researcher hopes this study would be a great use to the employees, organizations, faculty and others who are interested in the individual performance assessment related concerns. Hence, this study will explore various aspects of personality factor contemplations on individual performance issues at workplace.

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