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My Individual Results and Applications
BUSI 240 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR I
Professor Clinton Eric Melton
Nicole Vannburan
Liberty University
December 6th, 2018
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Abstract
I am currently employed as a technical support representative for Asurion. My focus is based on resolving technical issues customers may have with their devices. In such a fast-paced environment, I must empathize and prioritize every customers needs. During an everyday basis, I also demonstrate my problem-solving skills and resolve challenging issues with my customers. Working in the technical field, I see myself as a socially confident person.
In this activity, I completed several self-assessments based on my self-concept, and my own organizational behavior. I answered the questions based on my current position with Asurion and my future position as a Software developer. The assessments concentrated on Introversion/extroversion, conflict management styles, team performance skills, listening skills, influences, strengths, organizational structure, and tolerance of changing leaders. The assessments helped me become aware of my strengths and most importantly, my capabilities.
The assessments have been useful by helping me become aware of the areas that need more practice and growth in.
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Are You Introverted or Extroverted? (Chapter 2)
1. The purpose is to determine if my personality is introverted or extroverted.
2. My score was a 21, which falls within the range of In-between extroversion and inversion.
3. On the IPIP Introversion-Extroversion scale, I scored one point higher before I landed in the moderate introversion area. I personally consider myself as being more of an introvert. My energy comes from myself.
4. Based on the results of this assessment, being closer to the introvert side, I plan to work on my skills of working with others. I also plan to utilize my current skills. Introverts usually build closer relationships compared to extroverts. They are also great listeners. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 40), Introverts feel more comfortable being alone than extroverts. Introverts do not necessarily lack social skills. Instead, they are more inclined to direct their interests to ideas than to social events. I believe the ability to work with others comfortably and efficiently is very important in any job whether someone is an introverted or extroverted.
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How Do You Cope with Stressful Situations? (Chapter 4)
1. The purpose of this self-assessment was to determine my current preference within: Problem Solving, Social support, Avoidance, and Blaming others.
2. Scores: Problem Solving: 16, Social Support: 12, Avoidance: 2, Blaming Others: 11.
3. My feedback for Problem Solving was the highest, which shows when I deal with stress, I tend to deal with it by removing the stressing in the situation. My score for Social Support was the next highest, which determined that I deal with stress by actively seeking emotional support and information from others. My feedback for Avoidance was low which shows that I tend to deal with stress by acting in ways that prevents the person from coming to terms with and resolving the source of stress. My feedback for Blaming Others was high. It shows that I tend to deal with stress by directing my energy to identify and seek justice against those who may have caused the stressor in the first place.
4. When working, I tend to identify the stressor in situations and solve the problems that hinder my work performance. Depending on the type of problem, I usually reach out and refer the customer to a higher department or manager which solves the issues. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 110), Before identifying ways to manage work-related stress, we must first understand its causes, known as stressors. Considering my results of this assessment, I will continue to manage work-related stress with social support and removing the stressors from problems when needed to.
How strong are your growth needs? (Chapter 5)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to estimate the strength of my growth needs.
2. My Growth-Need score was a 28.
3. My score for the Growth-Need strength determined that I have a low growth need for self-esteem, personal achievement and self-actualization.
4. The results of the growth-need based on this assessment will assist me in the future by continuing the seek growth opportunities within my job, helping me expand my knowledge and skills within the technical field. For me, its exciting to grow within a company. Im a true believer that there is never growth in comfort. You must be uncomfortable in order to grow. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 125), Maslow popularized the concept of self-actualization, suggesting that people are naturally motivated to reach their potential. This positive view of motivation contrasted with previous motivation theories, which focused on need deficiencies such as hunger. By emphasizing motivation through growth and personal development rather than deficiencies, Maslow is considered a pioneer in positive organizational behavior. I believe that its very important to be on the same page within any company. Every company isnt for growth, which is why everyone should discuss their possible options of growth and stick to it.
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What is your Preferred Decision-Making Style? (Chapter 7)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to determine my Rational and Intuitive decision style.
2. Rational Decision style: 20, Intuitive Decision style: 13.
3. The assessment determined that I have a strong preference for Rational Decision making. I like to make decisions based on facts and logical analysis. I try to avoid gut instinct when it contradicts objective information. This test also determined that I have a moderate preference for intuitive decision making. I make my decisions based on my feelings and try to avoid rational choices if they are inconsistent with my intuition.
4. I can use the results of this assessment to make sure I make the right decisions at my future career and the situations that I may have. I plan to continue to use my factual preference in making intuitive decisions and try not to make them from my feelings. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 181-182), Decision making is not only a critical management skill; it is also a core activity for all staff members directly in their jobs and through employee involvement. All businesses, governments, and not-for-profit agencies depend on employees to foresee and correctly identify problems, to survey alternatives, to pick the best alternative based on several relevant factors, and to execute those decisions effectivily. Those two statements show that having great decision-making skills in the business world is a very important and much needed skill to have. Having great decision-making skills will lead you to nothing but success. I do tend to use my intuitive decision style in special circumstances with my customers.
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What Team Roles Do You Prefer? (Chapter 8)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to determine my preferred roles in team settings.
2. Encourager: 14, Gatekeeper:11, Harmonizer: 13, Initiator: 13, Summarizer: 13.
3. The assessment determined that I am more of an Encourager in group settings. A person that scores high in this has a strong tendency to praise and support the ideas of other team members, showing warmth and solidarity to the group. I also received a high score in Harmonizer, which makes me have a strong tendency to reduce conflict and tension within groups. I scored high in Initiator as well which indicates that I have a strong tendency to identify goals for meetings. In the Summarizer category, I also scored high which shows that I have a strong tendency to keep track of what was said in a meeting. I also have a strong tendency to encourage all team members to participate in the discussion, which makes me a great Gatekeeper as well.
4. I can use the results of this assessment to know my strengths and weaknesses within a team. Surprisingly, I did pretty good in all categories! I think my favorite role would be being the Encourager. I love encouraging. I believe it is important that everyone shares their ideas and creativity within groups. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 232), Any relationship; including the relationship among team members, depends on a certain degree of trust. I agree that every team should have trust. Trust leads to positive ideas and successful solutions.
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Are You an Active Listener? (Chapter 9)
1. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine my active listening skills.
2. Avoiding Interruption: 4, Maintaining Interest: 8, Postponing Evaluation: 7, Organizing Information: 3, Showing Interest: 9.
3. My total score determined that I am a Good active listener. I have a strong tendency to actively sense the senders signals, evaluate them accurately and respond appropriately. I received the highest score in Showing Interest, which shows that I have a strong tendency to use nonverbal gestures to demonstrate that I am paying attention to the speaker. My second highest score was achieved in Maintaining Interest, which shows that I have a strong tendency to focus on what the speaker is saying. I also scored high in Postponing Evaluation area, which shows that I usually keep an open mind and avoid evaluating what the speaker is saying until they are done. I scored relatively low in Organizing Information area, which means I should work on organizing the speakers ideas into meaningful categories.
4. I will be able to use the results of this assessment to communicate efficiently with others. I tend to jump to a conclusion as the speaker is speaking without organizing their ideas in my head. I will work on that. This assessment gave me the knowledge and showed me what my weak areas in communication. Most of my scores were high, but there is still room for improvement. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 248), Effective communication is vital to all organizations, so much so that no company could exist without it Its true. Theres no way any company would be up and running without great communication.
Whats Your Approach to Influencing Co-Workers? (Chapter 10)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to evaluate the different forms of influence I have when working with coworkers.
2. Persuasion: 15, Silent Authority: 12, Exchange: 13, Assertiveness: 8, Information control:13, Coalition Information: 11, Upward appeal: 11, Ingratiation: 14.
3. I scored the highest in Persuasion, which is one of the most used influence strategies toward any position. I personally believe that I am a great persuader. I also scored high scores in Exchange, which shows I have great negotiation skills and in Information control, which involves explicitly manipulating others access to information for the purpose of changing their attitudes or behaviors. My lowest score was in Assertiveness, which demonstrates actively applying legitimate and coercive power to influence others within their decisions. My total score was a 97, which determined with the highest score being 120 points.
4. Taking this assessment helped me become more aware of the different techniques I have when influencing others. With my highest score being Persuasion, I agree that Im more of a persuader when it comes to influencing others. This assessment has also showed me the areas where Im weak in, which is Assertiveness. I do plan to work on my Assertiveness and become more assertive when its needed. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 220), The teams leadership also plays an important role, such as supporting teamwork rather than star individuals and by valuing the teams diversity.
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Whats Your Preferred Conflict Handling Style? (Chapter 11)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to test my Conflict Management Style.
2. Yielding: 11, Compromising: 20, Forcing: 15, Problem Solving: 20, Avoiding:4.
3. My scores determined that I am a Problem Solver and Compromiser, which has the highest score possible in those two areas. The next best conflict solving tactic for me was Forcing, which shows that I have hard influence tactics/assertiveness to get my own way. I scored moderate in the Yielding area, which means I usually dont give in to others and their wishes. In Avoiding, I scored low, which meant I usually never try avoiding a conflict situation.
4. I can use this assessment as a guide to analyze which conflict management style others and myself are using in certain situations when there is a conflict. I believe when theres any conflict, its best to compromise the situation and to not try avoiding it. Avoiding it only makes it worse, but there are still benefits to that style that may be helpful in certain situations I may come across. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 313), The conflict avoidance style is often ineffective because it doesnt resolve the conflict and may increase the other partys frustration. However, avoiding may be the best strategy where conflict has become emotionally charger or where conflict resolution would cost more than its benefits. I feel that it is very important to know these styles. Being completely aware of my conflict resolving styles is very important in any leadership position.?
Do Leaders Make a Difference? (Chapter 12)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to help me assess my beliefs about the influence if leaders.
2. Total score: 47.
3. The scale ranges from 38-50. The feedback for my score stated my score was above average. People with a high romance of leadership believe that leaders make a difference in the organizations success. People with a high romance of leadership score believes the causes of organizational events much more to its leaders and much less to the economy, competition and other factors beyond the leaders short-term control.
4. This assessment has shown me that I have a great understanding of the power of leadership. According to (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 336), Leaders are enablers. They allocate resources, alter work relationships, minimize external disruptions, and establish other work environment changes that make it easier for employees to achieve organizational objectives. Without leaders, everything would be unorganized and harder for the employees. Having a strong, confident leader is very important as they hold all the pieces together for everyone. I plan to use the results of this assessment, making sure my future career has a great form of leadership. I will also use the results to continue improving my leadership skills and knowledge.
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What Organizational Structure Do You Prefer? (Chapter 13)
1. The purpose of this assessment was to help estimate the type of organizational structure in which I prefer based on my personal needs and values.
2. My total score was a 40. Tall hierarchy: 14, Formalization: 15, Centralization: 11.
3. My highest score was in Formalization, which determined that I like to work in organizations where jobs are clearly defined with limited discretion. My next best score was in Tall hierarchy, which shows that I prefer to work in organizations with a low employee to supervisor ratio. My last score was in Centralization, which was average, and it determined that I prefer to work in organizations where decision making occurs mainly among top management, rather than spread out to the lower level staff.
4. I plan to use the results of this assessment to make better decisions. While I do believe that top management should make most decisions, I do also believe that the lower level staff should elaborate with the higher-level staff, having brainstorming meetings every now and then and share their input about the decisions being made. Most of the times, making decisions as a team are best. As stated in (McShane & Von Glinow, 2018, page 239), Brainstorming rules are supposed to encourage divergent thinking while minimizing evaluation apprehension and other team dynamics problems. I believe if everyone brainstorms and work together in making the correct decision in not all, but most situations, everything will have a balance. ?
References:
McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2018). Organizational behavior (8th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
