Study Report on Multiple Self-Assessments

Summary:

In self-assessment #1, it is intended to show what our problem-solving potential is. In this assessment, it shows seven steps in being an effective problem solver. These steps include problem identification, goal selection, generation of alternative solutions, analysis of possible consequences, effective decision making, implementation, and evaluation of the solution that was implemented. There are 12 questions that you must agreeing or disagree with, and they are based of the seven steps to be an effective problem solver. Once you answer those questions it, shows you based of the answers you selected what type of problem solver you are.

In self-assessment #2, it is intended to show how we are engaged in our studies. The survey states, “Engagement, whether at work or at school, is a concept that measures the extent to which you have a positive and fulfilling state of mind in relation to your work or educational responsibilities” (Survey #2). After knowing what engagement is, there are 9 questions that we had to agree or disagree with, and they are based on if we are engaged in our studies. After answering these questions, it then calculates a score based on the answers we gave. And based on the score we received it shows us the level of engagement in our studies.

In self-assessment #4, it is intended to show what our attitudes toward working with older employees is. The survey states, “Today’s workforce is quite diverse in many ways. Looking at age diversity, employees include young people just starting their careers to persons who choose to work past the typical retirement age” (Survey #4). After seeing what todays workforce is like, there are two sections of questions, one section having 9 questions based on our relationships with older workers, the other section having 5 questions based on our satisfaction on working with older employees. After answering these questions, it calculates two sets of scores based on the answers we gave. And based on the score we gave it shows our attitude on working with employees and our relationships with older employees.

In self-assessment #10, it is intended to show what our interpersonal conflict tendencies are. The survey states, “Dysfunctional conflict is conflict that threatens the interests of an organization. Dysfunctional conflict is characterized by a lack of respect as well as verbal and written communications that have the tendency to tear down and destroy rather than encourage co-workers. This self-assessment measures dysfunctional conflict” (Survey #10). There are 4 questions that we must answer, by selecting the frequency to experience each situation. After answering the questions, it gives you a score and feedback on what your interpersonal conflict tendencies are.

Insights:

I learned in assessment #1 that I have a moderate problem-solving potential. Which means that I should be working on improving my problem-solving skills. On page 21 in the book it states, “to help you increase your personal performance and well-being at school, work, and home, we created an informal approach you can use to apply OB tools and concepts to solving problems” (Kinicki and Fugate 21). Which is a 3-step approach that includes, defining the problem, identifying potential causes, and making recommendations. When doing a literature search, I found that the author of this article (Chaudhry and Rasool) also found a different approach of improving your problem-solving skills. Which is a 6-step approach that includes, defining the problem, examining the situation, considering the causes, considering the situation, act and test, and reviewing the troubleshooting.

I learned in assessment #2 that my engagement level may be high. In this self-assessment, it shows that engaged students and employees share three characteristics, which are vigor, dedication and absorption. Also, if you score high in these areas it shows that you may be engaged in your schoolwork and are prepared for your career and life. The book shows, “that the US workforce leads several regions in engaged employees but is outpaced by Latin America and Africa-Middle East” (Kinicki and Fugate 59). This shows that people in these regions are more engaged in their work, because of job characteristics, leadership, organizational climate and stressors. Also, the book shows person factors that may go into how engaged someone is, some of those factors are “personality, positive psychological capital and human social capital” (Kinicki and Fugate 59).

I learned in assessment #4 that I may have a positive attitude about my relationship with older employees, also learned that I may have a high satisfaction working with older employees. If you score high on one or the other, the survey states “that you may be able to anticipate having a good working relationship with older employees” (survey #4). The book states, “Thus Millennials are often managed by boomers, who possess very different values and personal traits” (Kinicki and Fugate 145). Which usually leads to people having friction between one another and not being able to work with one another, because the millennials are changing the workforce. In my literature search I found that, “Younger employees have positive teamwork relationships with the older employees”, because “They learned a lot from the older employees as the older employees are helpful in sharing their experiences in decision making” (Wok and Hashim). Which shows that if you are willing to work with the experienced employees then you will be able to gain knowledge and be able to take on that job when the older employee retires.

In self-assessment #10 that I may have a low interpersonal conflict tendency. The book shows two different types of conflict one being functional and the other being dysfunctional conflict. The book states, “Functional conflict, commonly referred to as constructive or cooperative conflict, is characterized by consultative interactions, a focus on the issues, mutual respect, and useful give-and-take' (Kinicki and Fugate 380). The book also states, “dysfunctional conflict, disagreements that threaten or diminish an organization’s interests” (Kinicki and Fugate 381). Having low interpersonal conflict tendency, may mean that I am avoiding conflict, which can make things escalate and put you in more harm. So, being able to attack the conflict and confront it can be more effective than just avoiding the conflict.

Conclusion:

When doing these self-assessments, I have learned a lot about myself, knowing what type of things I do well as an individual and things that I must improve on. I learned in self-assessment #1 that I have a moderate problem-solving potential, which means that I should continue working on this skill, so that I can eventually score high in this area. I also, learned in self-assessment #2 that my engagement level is high, which is something that I will continue to do, because having high engagement always me to be successful in my job and everyday life. In self-assessment #4, I learned that I may have high satisfaction working with older employees, also may have a positive attitude working with older employees. Which is something that I take pride in, because I tend to learn the most from older employees, whether it being good or bad. The last thing I learned in self-assessment #10, is that I have low interpersonal conflict tendencies. Which is something that I would like to improve on, because I need to be able to face my conflicts and not avoid them because that could just make them a lot worse. Overall, doing these self-assessments I have learned a lot about me and the type of person I am, and the things I should keep doing and what I need to improve on.