where others fail because they will use this focus to help them overcome obstacles and setbacks that someone who does not feel they are the master of their own fate may not be able to overcome. Someone with an internal locus of control will more than likely not see themselves as responsible for their own fate and will thus, tend to blame outside sources for problems which they consider beyond their control. This may cause some people with an internal locus of control to blame others in the workplace for their own mistakes (i.e., I missed that deadline because the secretary didn’t get me my research on time.), instead of overcoming obstacles by taking self-action.
Personality and self-perception play an important role in the topic of power and influence in the organization. For example, a person with a positive self-esteem and an internal locus of control is able to feel a certain influential importance and self-confidence that translates into increased power within the organization. While locus of control is an important personality attribute, according to Vecchio (1995: 91) there are five key attributes to personality which affect an individual’s organizational behavior and performance, “locus of control; authoritarianism; the work ethic; cognitive style; moral maturity.” Moral maturity is the level of a person’s ethical judgment. This can affect their performance because they may be asked to do something they feel is an ethical conflict and it will surely affect the way in which they manage the particular situation.
Where leadership concerned there are different types of management leaders, authoritarian, laissez-faire and democratic for example. It has been shown in many studies that a democratic leadership style often results in higher level of employee satisfaction and a higher quality product or level of service. However different leadership styles may be more suitable for different company objectives. ...