Self-Esteem and Self-Concept
Self-esteem denotes the extent to which
individuals consistently regard themselves as capable, successful, important
and worthy individuals. Self-esteem is an important personality factor that
determines how managers perceive themselves and their role in the organization.
Self-esteem is important to self-concept, i.e., the way individuals, define
themselves as to who they are and derive their sense of identity. High
self-esteem provides a high sense of self-concept, which, in turn, reinforces
high self-esteem. Thus, the two are mutually reinforcing. Individuals with a
high self-esteem will try to take on more challenging assignments and be
successful. Thus, they will be enhancing their self-concept i.e., they would tend
to define themselves as highly valued individuals in the organizational system.
The higher the self-concept and self-esteem, the greater will be their
contributions to the goals of the organization, especially when the system
rewards them for their contributions.
Authoritarianism and Dogmatism
Authoritarianism is the extent to which
an individual believes that power and status differences are important within'
hierarchical social systems like organizations. For example, an employee who is
highly authoritarian may accept directives or orders from his superior without
much questioning. A person who is not highly authoritarian might agree to carry
out appropriate and reasonable directives from his boss. But he may also raise
questions, express disagreement and even refuse to carry out requests if they
arc for some reason objectionable.
Dogmatism is the rigidity of a person's
beliefs and his or her openness to other viewpoints. The popular terms
'close-minded' and 'open-minded' describe people who are more and less
.dogmatic in their beliefs respectively. For example, a manager may be
unwilling to listen to a new idea related to doing something more efficiently.
He is said to be a person who is close-minded or highly dogmatic. A manager who
is very receptive to hearing about and trying out new ideas in the same
circumstances might be seen as more open-minded or less dogmatic. Dogmatism can
be either beneficial or detrimental to organizations, but given the degree of
change in the nature of organizations and their environments, individuals who
are, not dogmatic are most likely to be useful and productive organizational
members.