The Assessment

When doing the test, I was so sure that the results wouldn't be accurate because I couldn’t even decide what characteristics described me and the test results were supposed to be based on my responses.  For a test to describe me so well when I couldn’t even do so myself is amazing.  

I am a C high S.  I definitely like and need to plan and organize before making any serious decisions, and I like examining things thoroughly to ensure quality and accuracy.  I take a methodical approach towards situations, handle conflict in a subtle manner, would like to work in an environment where one gets the opportunity to demonstrate his/her expertise and get acknowledged for it, have others lead the discussion, and definitely need to develop more tolerance for conflict. 

Sometimes I do wish I was another type, perhaps have some of the characteristics of an "I", because I let my opposition get what they want too much, making it seem like I’m too much of a push-over. I don’t like conflict so I do my best to avoid it, but sometimes it’s the worst thing to do because I just know I’m right.  When the outcome comes about and the opposing side turns out to be wrong all along with their decisions, I just can’t help but regret about not being more forceful with my opinions and ideas.  I know I’ll never be domineering because I will always have the tendency to examine things very thoroughly before making any decisions, so I aim to be more influential and persuasive so I can shape the environment around me.  I think this is very possible; I just have to work at it.  As I get more group work experience, like in this class, I see the importance of verbalizing my thoughts and to participate in the teamwork process more.  I don't want to completely part from being a "C," though.  It's good to analyze - just not good to over-analyze.

It is definitely helpful to examine a person’s management “type” so that you can better understand where the individual is coming from and perhaps he/she can better understand him/herself.  Tests like these allow for the manager or leader of a project to know his/her workers a little better so the individual can understand who he/she has to work with, which will allow him/her to control the work environment better.  Also, sometimes it’s hard to realize what type of worker you are until you take a test of this sort and have it all laid out for you so that you can reflect on it and say afterwards, “That’s actually true.”  It then allows for the individual who took the test to see his/her faults and to see what he/she can work at to move a letter up or to just improve their weaknesses as a worker.  

Tests like these could be helpful for other personal interactions.  Like Professor Kurpis said, D's and C's probably wouldn't get along in a relationship because a D would want to make quick decisions while a C would want to spend time analyzing each of the D's decisions; it would definitely get annoying since they are opposites.  But, on the other hand, as the saying goes, "opposites attract each other."  This type of test can allow you to understand your partner better so it will be helpful regardless of anything, but it may not necessarily be accurate.

For the winter survival scenario, we discussed in class (“Stranded!”), it would have been best to have a “I high C” type leader.  It’s good to have a leader who motivates and encourages other team members to getting the task done within the time constraint while still weighing out all the options, which is especially vital for that task because we needed to come up with the exact top 4 items the military chose that were needed for survival.