Managing Individual Performance

Managing Individual Performance Paper

Week 3

University of Phoenix - ORG. 502

In today's world of high technology and internet access, the need for human

contact appears to be almost obsolete. In this growing global age the need for

communication needs a razor sharp method of knowing who to hire, coupled with

knowledge of how these individuals will interact with current employees and their higher

ups. Several methods have been introduced to make this decision easier. Some of these

methods will be covered in this paper.

THE MBTI

The MBTI classifies individuals along four independent dimensions according to how

they see the world. Each of these dimensions is a continuum with a letter anchoring the

two end points as indicated in the syllabus the dimensions and their endpoints include:

1. Energy

* Extraversion (E): Gets energy from people, activities, objects. Likes to interact.

* Introversion (I): Gets energy from ideas, emotions, impressions. Likes to concentrate.

2. Attention

* Sensing (S): Focuses on facts. Practical and proceeds step-by-step.

* Intuition (N): Focuses on possibilities. Theoretical and proceeds in leaps.

3. Decision-Making

* Thinking (T): Makes decisions according to a logical system based on consistent principles. Believes in justice.

* Feeling (F): Makes decisions according to a value system based on a desire for harmony. Believes in compassion.

4. Lifestyle

* Judging (J): Proceeds towards goals in an organized way. Likes to make plans and come to decisions.

* Perceiving (P): Adapts to life in a spontaneous way. Likes to gather information and keep options open.

The result of the MBTI assessment process is that the test taker is provided with a

four-letter description of who they are relative to their placement on the continuum

created for each of the above dimensions. Thus, depending on her score on these four

scales, the test taker falls into one of sixteen personality types (e.g. INTJ, ESFJ, ENFP,

etc.). These four letters theoretically describe how the individual deals with the world and

creates assumptions about how she will interact when dealing with others (C. Handler,

2005)

For instance, someone who is an INTJ type may be classified as follows:

INTJ types, being original thinkers, have a vision of how to do something better and persevere in trying to persuade others that they are right. They do have good organizational ability, but they think they can improve everything. Indeed, unless the thinking or judging dimension is strong, there is a risk that the introverted intuitive (IN) person will be absolutely convinced he or she is right, even when wrong. Difficult problems fascinate them; routine jobs are considered a waste of time. INTJs make good scientists. They are not easily directed but will consider new facts and other opinions when carefully presented. They tend to be skeptical and critical, frequently not considering other peoples' feelings as much as they should (C.Handler, 2005)".

What Is The MBTI Good For?

It is obvious from the above example that the MBTI helps provide a great deal of insight

about an individual and the manner in which he or she may react in specific situations

The MBTI is very intuitive and the results are easy for most folks to understand. The

results offer a fun way for people to better understand themselves, and classifying others

offers an explanation for why interactions with certain individuals often turn out as they

do.

MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS.

Another method that is often used by organization is Maslow's Hierarchy of

Need, which remains valid to this day. This method is used to understand human

motivation and for supervisory/management training. This method has been used in the

probation Department with regards to probationers and determination of their needs

based on Maslow's law. The probation department needs to understand where a

probationer is coming from, does he have a place to stay, does he have food etc. All

these questions are necessary in order to make sure the probationer can satisfy the