University of Technology

Introduction to organizational behavior

Biographical Characteristics- Ability

Question 8

In your own words what is intelligence? What do we mean by ability-job-fit? Show relationships

that exist from an OB standpoint in the context of the independent variable. Have research

findings to support you points. Select a member of your family who works or use yourself if you

work, assess if your family member fit their current job. Do a quick job assessment of your

relative’s job and rank the usage of the intellectual dimension of his/her ability in terms of the

ones his/her uses mostly, to the ones he/she uses least to do the said job.
 Table of Content

What is intelligence?

What is Ability?

What is a job?

What is Ability-job-fit?

What is a dependent variable in OB?

Discuss the relationship between ability-job-fit that exist from an OB standpoint in the context of

the dependent variable

Assess a family member to see if they fit their current job.

Assess a family member job.

What is intellectual dimension?

Rank the usage of the intellectual dimension of his/her ability in terms of the ones he/she uses

mostly, to the ones he/she uses least to do the said job.

 Intelligence can mean many different things to different people. My view on intelligence

is that it is the general mental ability to learn and apply knowledge to manipulate the

environment, as well as it could be the ability to reason and have abstract thought or the ability to

acquire and apply knowledge and skill. This is likely when a person collects raw data and the

mind interprets and give meaning to the data and interns turn it into information, and this

information that is acquired when the individual truly understands this information and able to

explain it clearly it becomes knowledge and with knowledge comes intelligence.

A person’s ability is their capacity to perform various task in a job. A person must have

the possession of the means, skills, talents, or proficiency in a particular area to do something. A

job can be seen as a paid position of regular employment where people can make a living and

become financial stable to provide their needs and wants. Ability-job fit can be defined as the “fit

between the abilities of a person and the demands of a job, or the desires of a person and the

attributes of a job” (Sekiguchi, 2004). A person’s ability to do something solely depends on the

requirements of the job. Therefore, a high ability-job fit is necessary for improved job

performance. We identify the requirements of the job for adequate performance and for

measuring the abilities within individuals to find a fit. So ability-job fit is assessing an

individual’s ability to meet the requirements of the job to find someone that I fit for the job

because a lack of fit leads to performance problem. If you are a job seeker, you might not be

considering the importance of “ability job-fit”, but this fit is critical. As research suggests,

without it, you become among the estimated 75 percent of the workforce who are dissatisfied

with their jobs (Coppola, Carini, 2006). The ability job-fit model demonstrates that work

performance, personal satisfaction and outcomes are enhanced when the employee and work
environment are in perfect synch. Synchronization is a process that includes not just education

and experience, but many dimensions of individual’s abilities: ability to learn, mental hard-

wiring, personality archetypes, leadership dynamics and physical abilities (Coppola, Carini,

2006).

The dependent variables in OB are the employee behaviors that managers try to

influence. There are five categories of these behaviors. 1. Productivity: The efficiency and

effectiveness with which individuals, work groups, and organizations achieve their goals.

Efficiency refers to the effort or resources required to achieve a goal, effectiveness to the

completeness with which goals are achieved. 2. Absenteeism: Failure of individuals to report for

work, primarily unscheduled or unanticipated absences. Not all such absences are “bad,” of

course. Life happens: employees or members of their family become ill or unexpected events

occur. 3. Turnover: The departure of workers from the organization, voluntarily or involuntarily.

When employees leave, organizations must spend scarce resources to recruit, select, train, and

develop replacements. Higher turnover rates therefore mean higher costs. 4. Organizational

citizenship: Robbins defines this as “discretionary behavior . . . not part of the employee’s job

requirements, but that nevertheless promotes the effective functioning of the organization” (p.

21), which may be translated as employees’ willingness to do more than meet basic expectations.

Good organizational citizenship includes supportive, positive attitudes; stepping forward to

accept additional responsibilities, taking leadership roles in organization activities, avoiding

conflict, and so on. Some elements of organizational citizenship are difficult to measure

objectively, others are not. 5. Job satisfaction: The extent to which employees believe their

efforts are being fairly rewarded. This will reflect the level at which employees believe they

should be rewarded or expect to be rewarded for their work. Rewards take many forms, varying
across settings and workforces, and are not limited just to economic rewards like salary and

benefits. Non-economic rewards are where employees have strong mission orientations, have

received specialized professional training, and identify themselves with communities of like-

minded professionals.

My brother is a police officer and I think he fits his job. He is a good observer, paying attention

to details, gathering evidence, responding in a timely manner, and obtaining order. He also

possesses skills such as communication, working good with others, having a good memory and

an amazing problem solver. While he is good at his job he also locks some skills. His job

requires him to interview suspected criminals, taking statements, writing crime reports, dealing

with paperwork, gathering prosecution evidence, giving evidence in court, fostering good

relationships with the public, patrolling areas by foot and car, making and processing arrests,

searching suspects, responding to emergencies, offering advice and reassurance to the public,

controlling traffic/crowds, keeping the peace/mediating in tense situations. Some special skills

that he portrays are being open-mindedness, resilience, assertiveness, maturity, able to handle

responsibility, able to remain calm in challenging or dangerous situations, good interpersonal

skills, communication skills, team working skills, problem solving skills, and negotiating skills.

Intellectual ability refers to the skills required to think critically, see connections between

disciplines and problem solve in new or changing situations. Memory, creative problem solving

and vocabulary also contribute to the level of an individual's intellectual ability. While scientists

differ on one standard definition of intellectual ability, most agree that intellectual ability must

include a high level of abstract reasoning and thinking skills, the ability to acquire knowledge

and problem-solving abilities. (Martin 2018).

In conclusion this paper spoke about intelligence, ability and job fit and own they come together

and impact people and the organization. The paper went on to assess ability job fit by define it

and explaining the term from a OB point of view. An assessment was done on a family member

and then his ability job fit was assess and rank in terms of the ability dimensions
Reference
Coppola, N & Carini, G 2006, ‘Ability Job-Fit Self Assessment: Employment Considerations for

Job Seekers, Healthcare Executives, vol. 21 issue 2, pp. 60-63.

Robbins, S. P. (2001). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Sekiguchi, T 2004, ‘Person-Organization Fit and Person Job Fit in employee Selection: A review

of the Literature’, Osaka Keidai Ronshu, vol.54, no. 6, p, 182.

Martin, A. (2018, June 28). What Is Intellectual Ability? Retrieved from

https://classroom.synonym.com/intellectual-ability-8750469.html