Essay About Communion Striving And Sales Representatives

Personality and Job Performance
Personality and Job Performance: Test of the Mediating Effects ofMotivation Among Sales Representatives (2002)Murray R. BarrickMichigan State UniversityGreg L. StewartBrigham Young UniversityMike PiotrowskiHartford Financial Services GroupBarrick, Mount and Strauss (1993)Autonomous goal setting / commitment – to mediate relationships between conscientiousness and two measures of job proficiency:1. Supervisor rating of job performance2. Sales volumes for sales reps Five Factor model (FFM) in relation to work performance:1. Extraversion2. Agreeableness3. Conscientiousness 4. Emotional Stability5. Openness to ExperienceMotivational model highlights the importance of cognitive processes and identify basic goals that regulate personal behaviour – in determining the arousal, intensity and persistence associated with the grade.Wiggins and Trappell (1996) and R. HoganTwo broad motivational intentions focusing on social interactions:1. Communion Striving – action directed towards obtaining acceptance in personal relationships and getting along with others Excel at cooperation-based jobs: customer service, team production2. Status Striving – actions directed towards obtaining power and dominant within a status hierarchyExcel at competition based jobs and opportunity for advancementHowever, these two might not reflect individual’s motivational intentions. Hence, Accomplishment Striving:Reflects an individual’s will to complete task and is characterised by a high task orientationTask oriented employees have a strong desire to complete task related goals as a mean to express individual attributesInnovates psychological needs for coherenceBales (1995), this is separate from social related behaviours (communion and striving). However, goals related to Accomplishment Striving may correspond with Communion and Status Striving E.g. Employees may accomplish tasks to obtain approval and acceptance (communion). They also completed task to excel above others (status)FFM: Agreeableness (Communion Striving)Agreeable people – altruistic, sympathetic, eager to help others, kindness, selfishness, strive for cooperation, not competitionDuring stress, cope with self-sacrifice rather than creating an image of superiority above othersCommunion Striving does not mediate relationships between sales performance and agreeablenessFFM: Extraversion (Status Striving)Social, assertive, active, bold, energetic, adventurous Desire to excel and obtain rewards (rewards obtained by excelling relative/getting ahead of others)Highly related with high performance in sales (when highly rewarded)Cognitive motivation in line with striving for statusFFM: Conscientiousness (Accomplishment Striving)Organised, reliable, hardworking, determined, self-disciplined and achievement oriented Desire to exercise self-control and then follow conscienceSales reps high in conscientiousness are more likely to set sales goals and be committed – higher sales goals, greater sales volume and higher supervisory ratingsFFM: Emotional Stability and Openness to ExperienceNot expected to correspond with motivational measures for job performanceEmotional stability – anxiety and depressions (do not link to motivational goals)Openness to experience – creativity, sophistication, curiosity (do not link to motivational goals)