Personality and Occupational Behavior: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Correlates of Managerial Practices in Two Cultures

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether widely-used personality test scores would be significantly related to the actual ratings of managers' performance in two different cultures. Chinese and European middle and senior management of an Asian-based international airline completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which was related to reliable, behavioral ratings of the managers actual managerial practices (innovation, direction, support, decision making, planning, commitment, and participation) and departmental organizational climate (recognition, participation, unit-relations, standard maintenance, clarity, inter-unit communications, and inter-unit relations). The internal reliability of these measures was first checked and then both sets of scales were correlated with the four dimensions arising from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - separately for the European expatriates and local Chinese managers. Because there were major cultural (and to a lesser extent gender) differences on the MBTI but not the management practices or climate survey results, correlations were done separately for each cultural group. Whereas extroversion and introversion seemed important correlates of management practices and climate for the Chinese group it was the thinking/feeling dimension for the European group. Introversion, however, was a strong negative correlate of climate in both cultural groups. Implications for using this personality measure for management selection and training is discussed.