Jornals

Personal Effectiveness Report
(18th May, 2014)

To: Thomas Gates
From:

1.0 Introduction
The report includes an assessment of the two members that have been assigned to take the task of organizing an event for the launch of a new dental product of D Solutions. Mr Mark and Hailey dando are currently working as event managers at Superior Marketing PVT LTD . The human resource manager Mr. Thomas Gates has requested to prepare this report in order to build an efficient and an effective team to plan for the upcoming launch.
Mark and Hailey were evaluated on their conflict management styles, Interactions styles, how they approach the situation, are they analytical or logical at work and finally where they stand on the personality scale. The following six tests were completed by both to evaluate their behaviours and personality types. The Hemispheric Dominance test, Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Interaction styles test, Big Five Locator, Self- monitoring test and the Conflict Mode Instrument.
People are different, every individual has their unique strengths and their weaknesses, they have different values, beliefs hence it’s important when working as a team both members should identify these traits to some extent and understand how to utilize it to achieve a common goal.
A description of each test and the purpose of doing it has been listed in this report. Based on the results both individuals will get the most appropriate task to complete from the task and the decision list. The advantages and disadvantages they will come across while working together will also be discussed in detail in this report. For any shortcoming between Mark and Hailey will be discussed and identified, Solutions to overcome these in future teams will be discussed under Short Term and long term solutions and recommendation as to how it should be implemented.

2.0 Discussion
2.1 What is personal effectiveness
Personal effectiveness cannot be just achieving goals because we can do so in a very wasteful and time consuming ways. It simply means achieving our goals efficiently like investing and getting the best possible return, making best use of our time and all other personal resources at our disposal.
Personally effective people are thus more than just people who get what they want. They make good use of their skills. They don't squander them. They use them to achieve their goals and do so in a way that is efficient and cost effective. We all want to feel valued, useful, and appreciated, be it workplace or family, or friends. But, when you we are stuck in daily routine that demands a little too much then life seems to be going wrong that may lead to the feeling of uselessness and ineffectiveness on the personal front. Understanding how employees suffer from feeling this and understanding the need, many organizations have organized training for their employees which helps them notice their strengths and passions well so that they can manage their work and increase the productivity, which ultimately leads to success.
(http://www.leadersdirect.com/personal-effectiveness)

3.2 How one can be effective through self-awareness

Take the advantage of the situation by exercising self-determination and choices and not let the environment control you.
Strive for perfection, be perfect any work. You must know your strengths and weaknesses so that you can deal with them in a right manner.
You must use your strengths to face problems in life at the same time try to improve your weaknesses by handling them positively You must have good communication skills in order to give messages as well as receive massages
You must decide on your priorities and work on one task at a time
3.3 Measurements of evaluation

3.3.1 Hemispheric Dominance test
Hemispheric Dominance test describes your dominance type, in other words the test is used to determine which side of your brain is dominant. Each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. It depends on each individual. They utilize it in different ways; some individuals use both sides equally where each individual use both sides up to an extent. Right side brainier are said to be more analytical and creative than a left side brainier. By performing this test an individual will be able to know which side of the brain they use the most
Learning about the dominant side of the brain and understanding how you use your brain hemispheres will help you to understand yourself better also your strengths and weaknesses as well. It will help you to improve yourself better and understand your personality level. (Refer appendix 1 for the hemispheric dominance test)

3.3.2 Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Myers brig test is under 16 type of Myers Briggs personalities and 4 types of preferences. Which are;
1. Extraversion over Introversion (E or I)
2. iNtuition over Sensing (N or S)
3. Feeling over Thinking (F or T)
4. Judging over Perceiving (J or P)
Joining preferences would give you the result of your personality type. For an example joining E, N, F and J would give you the personality type of ENFJ. (Refer appendix 4 for the Myers Briggs Type Indicator)

3.3.3 Interaction styles
Interaction Styles is based on observable behaviour patterns that are quite similar to the popular social styles models. Interaction Styles tells us the "how" of our behaviour. It refers to patterns of interaction that are both highly contextual and yet innate. Knowing our interaction style helps us locate interpersonal conflicts and situational energy drains. It gives us a map for greater flexibility in our interactions with others. http://www.interactionstyles.com/
There are 4 interaction styles patterns
1. Chart-the-course - People of this style focus on knowing what to do and keeping themselves, the group, or the project on track.
2. Behind-the-scenes - People of this style focus on understanding and working with the process to create a positive outcome.
3. In-Charge - People of this style are focused on results, often taking action quickly. They often have a driving energy with an intention to lead a group to the goal.
4. Get
5. -Things-going - They thrive in facilitator or catalyst roles and aim to inspire others to move to action, facilitating the process. Their focus is on interaction, often with an expressive style.
These dynamics are always operating in a situation, and if we become polarized along these dimensions as we interact with others, miscommunication and misunderstanding are probable and likely to result in destructive conflict. However, we need to remember that we always have at least one aspect in common with someone of a different interaction style.

3.3.4Big five locator
Also often referred to as the OCEAN model of personality, because of the acronym from the names of the five dimensions.
1. Openness to Experience/Intellect
2. Conscientiousness/ Disorganized
3. Extraversion/ Introverted
4. Agreeableness/ Disagreeable
5. Neuroticism/Calm / Relaxed

The Big Five Theory is a theory that places five different traits at the core of an individuals’ personality. These qualities help to make up the person and explain how they act and think.

3.3.5 Self monitoring test
Self-monitoring refers to how a person behaves in different contexts (ie, work, visiting friends, or shopping). A high self-monitoring person is someone who monitors and adapts their own behaviour to match their surroundings. A low self-monitor tends to use their internal values and beliefs to figure out how to behave.
In other words, a low self-monitor will exhibit the same behaviour in different contexts, whether it's a meeting at work, softball game with friends, or family reunion. A high self-monitor will act differently in these different contexts, perhaps acting more formally at work or cracking jokes with friends, if that is what others are doing
3.3.6 Conflict mode instrument
The Conflict mode instrument is designed to measure a person's behaviour in conflict situations. "Conflict situations" are those in which the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. In such situations, we can describe an individual's behaviour through (1) assertiveness, the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy his own concerns, and (2) cooperativeness, the extent to which the person attempts to satisfy the other person's concerns.
These two basic dimensions of behaviour define five different modes for responding to conflict situations:
1. Competing is assertive and uncooperative—an individual pursues his own concerns at the other person's expense. This is a power-oriented mode in which you use whatever power seems appropriate to win your own position—your ability to argue, your rank, or economic sanctions. Competing means "standing up for your rights," defending a position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win.
2. Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative—the complete opposite of competing. When accommodating, the individual neglects his own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this mode. Accommodating might take the form of selfless generosity or charity, obeying another person's order when you would prefer not to, or yielding to another's point of view.
3. Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative—the person neither pursues his own concerns nor those of the other individual. Thus he does not deal with the conflict. Avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation.
4. Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative—the complete opposite of avoiding. Collaborating involves an attempt to work with others to find some solution that fully satisfies their concerns. It means digging into an issue to pinpoint the underlying needs and wants of the two individuals. Collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each other's insights or trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.
5. Compromising is moderate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The objective is to find some expedient, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties. It falls intermediate between competing and accommodating. Compromising gives up more than competing but less than accommodating. Likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than avoiding, but does not explore it in as much depth as collaborating. In some situations, compromising might mean splitting the difference between the two positions, exchanging concessions, or seeking a quick middle-ground solution.
Each of us is capable of using all five conflict-handling modes. None of us can be characterized as having a single style of dealing with conflict. But certain people use some modes better than others and, therefore, tend to rely on those modes more heavily than others—whether because of temperament or practice. http://www.kilmanndiagnostics.com/overview-thomas-kilmann-conflict-mode-instrument-tki

3.0 Conclusion
The personality tests is selection procedure measures the personality characteristics of applicants that are related to future job performance. Personality tests typically measure one or more of five personality dimensions: sociability, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. The team identified the following Advantages and Disadvantages in using the above methods.
Advantages
- can identify interpersonal traits that may be needed for certain jobs
- can result in lower turnover due if applicants are selected for traits that are highly correlated with employees who have high longevity within the organization
- can reveal more information about applicant's abilities and interests
Disadvantages
- difficult to measure personality traits that may not be well defined
- applicant's training and experience may have greater impact on job performance than applicant's personality
- responses by applicant may be altered by applicant's desire to respond in a way they feel would result in their selection
- lack of diversity if all selected applicants have same personality traits
- cost may be prohibitive for both the test and interpretation of results
- lack of evidence to support validity of use of personality tests
The companies that produce personality tests and the human resources staff who use them invariably refer to these tests as personality ‘questionnaires’ rather than ‘tests’. This is done to avoid giving the impression that there are right and wrong answers and that the test can be either passed or failed. Obviously, no one type of personality is necessarily better or worse than any other. However, remember that you are being given this test for a reason, the employer is plainly looking for something otherwise they would not be wasting time and money on the testing process.
Results can be processed immediately with no human input. The test administration software can produce very detailed and impressive looking reports. There has been a growing acceptance of personality testing among the general public. Many people quite happily complete online personality profiles in their own time outside of the recruitment process.
There are now more suppliers producing a greater variety of tests. This has driven costs down even further and increased the choice of tests available to recruiting organizations. All employers can see some personal qualities as desirable through the personality test. For example:
- Honesty
- Motivation
- Conscientiousness
- Self-Discipline
- Persistence
- Team Working Ability
Conversely, all employers also can see some personal qualities as undesirable through this test. For example:
- Dishonesty
- Lack of Integrity
- Inability to Control Anger
- Inability to Cope with Stress
As a conclusion, we think it depends to the manager either they should consider the personality test score before hiring new workers or not because through this test manager can identify the qualified and disqualified applicant to fill the vacant post in their company. In contrast, this technique lack faces validity. In other word, it would be difficult how individual questioned on certain personality measure are job related even if the overall personality scale is a valid predictor of job performance.

4.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 Short Term Recommendations

4.2 Long term recommendations

5.0 Reference List
6.0 Appendices