PERSONAL STYLE AND PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT - A PATTERN APPROACH

The present study considered the influence of personal style, and the fit between personal style and environmental constraints and opportuni ties, on job performance, job withdrawal, and job satisfaction. Person al style was defined as an individual's pattern across seven job-relev ant personality variables. One of eight characteristic patterns, deriv ed through cluster analysis, described the personal style of each of 3 67 Navy enlisted personnel. Environmental constraints and opportunitie s were defined as a workgroup's pattern across nine measures. One of f ive characteristic patterns, derived through clustering, described the psychological environment within each of 114 workgroups. Multiple dis criminant analyses demonstrated that personal style predicted differen tial job outcomes-job performance, job satisfaction, and job withdrawa l-both across the organization and within particular environments. Dis cussion focused on the role of patterns in enhancing the understanding of person-environment fit. It was concluded that a pattern strategy m ight prove useful in improving the long-term validity of vocational co unseling and in assisting organizations to place individuals in enviro nments that maximize their satisfaction and productivity. (C) 1995 Aca demic Press, Inc.