How would you rate yourself on the Big Five personality dimensions?

 Personality psychologists are interested in what differentiates one person from another and why we behave the way that we do. Personality research relies on quantifiable concrete data which can be used to examine what people are like. These five dimensions were derived by asking thousands of people hundreds of questions and then analyzing the data with a statistical procedure known as factor analysis. Now, the Big Five is widely accepted as the model of personality(The Big Five Project - Personality Test).

How would you rate yourself on the Big Five personality dimensions? 

According to the scores I got on The Big Five Project - Personality Test, I am relatively open to new experiences(percentile:72%), very well-organized and can be relied on(percentile:92%), and tend to be good-natured, sympathetic, forgiving, and courteous(percentile:66%). However, I am a generally anxious person that tends to worry about things and is neither particularly social nor reserved(percentile:50%).

Is your personality profile suitable for a managerial position? If you answer yes, describe why your personality profile makes you suited to a managerial position. 

Overall, I reckon the answer is relatively close to YES, depending on what kind of position, team, or industry I am in. I am open to new experiences means I am able to accept come out with new ideas quickly. When a physical store I am operating, is affected by negative events such as COVID-19, I will make new solutions to solve such an issue quickly, switch sales onto platforms such as DoorDash or Uber. The well-organized character also helps me to implement new strategies with higher efficiency. However, I am a generally anxious person that tends to worry about things. Therefore, I must transfer the power of fear and anxiety to the fuel of execution. I think "What you fear is what you create." To conquer fear, I must understand what I fear and prepare for it. In addition, I am neither particularly social nor reserved. So, I can learn to be a quiet leader or a vibrant leader. Quiet Leadership provides a brain-based approach that will help busy leaders, executives, and managers improve their own and their colleagues' performance. 

Reference

The Big Five Project - Personality Test. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/ 

The Impacts of My Locus of Control Will Have on My Success?

 Introduction

Locus of control is a measure of the degree to which people feel accountable for their own behaviors. Individuals with a high internal locus of control believe that they control their own destiny and what happens to them is their own doing, while those with a high external locus of control feel that things happen to them because of other people, luck, or a powerful being. Generally, the internal Locus of Control means those who are more likely to take responsibility for their actions, tend to be less influenced by the opinions of other people, often do better at tasks when they are allowed to work at their own pace, tend to work hard to achieve the things they want, and likely to feel confident in the face of challenges. In contrast, external Locus of Control are those who are more likely to blame outside forces for their circumstances, credit luck for any successes, and frequently feel hopeless or powerless in the face of difficult situations. However, it is also important to remember that internal locus of control does not always mean "good" and external locus of control does not always equal "bad." Sometimes, having an external locus of control can be a good thing, particularly when a situation poses a threat to self-esteem or is genuinely outside of a person's control. For instance, a person who loses a video game that requires great teamwork may feel depressed if they have a strong internal locus of control. However, it is not totally one player's fault.

What Is Locus of Control?

Locus of control orientation is a belief about whether the outcomes of our actions are contingent on what we do or on events outside our personal control. It was explained by psychologist Philip Zimbardo in his book "Psychology and Life"(Cherry, 2021). The consequences of our actions helped determine our beliefs about the likely results of future behaviors.

Our anticipation of certain results influences our behaviors and attitudes. In other words, an individual is more likely to pursue a goal if they have been rewarded for similar efforts in the past and believe that they can influence their chances of future success. However, it is important to note that locus of control is a continuum which means no one has a hundred percent external or internal locus of control. Instead, most people lie somewhere on the continuum between the two extremes.

What My Locus of Control Score Means?

According to the Locus of control test, I have a mixed attribution style when it comes to success(57%). It says sometimes I interpret my success as a result of my skills, intelligence, and nice personality. Sometimes, I attribute it to external factors, such as luck, ease of tasks, or other people's help. As a consequence, I don't always take the credit I deserve. My self-esteem, motivation, and general well-being would most likely be improved if I realized that I actively influence positive events in my life.

The Impacts of My Locus of Control Will Have on My Success?

When I think about questions such as who controls my happiness? Who is responsible for my income? My answer is there is always something I can control and something I cannot. I have a mixed attribution style when it comes to success. Therefore, I can balance the external and internal control to get a better result. For instance, due to the pandemic of COVID-19, I may consider it is an event that I can not totally control. So, I will focus on anything I can control to fight it back and make new strategy to adopt it during the event. I think life is always a hybrid from choices and destiny. You cannot choose who to be your parents but you can choose how to treat them and how to fight for your future. If you depressd about your destiny, you will miss the opportunity to fight it. If you think you can totally control who to be your parents, it would be ridiculous. 

Reference

Cherry, K. (2021, August 17). Are you in control of your destiny, or are you at the mercy of chance? Verywell Mind. Retrieved February 6, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-locus-of-control-2795434#toc-what-is-locus-of-control 

Melody Wilding, L. M. S. W. (2020, January 21). Successful people have a strong 'locus of control'. do you? Forbes. Retrieved February 8, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2020/03/02/successful-people-have-a-strong-locus-of-control-do-you/?sh=7d87cb317af3 

Individual differences matter in the workplace

 During week two of BUS 4402, I learned that individual differences matter in the workplace. While employees bring in their personality, physical and mental abilities to work, it is a test for all business owners. From interviewing a candidate to what they expect their employees to demonstrate. Unfortunately, most of them only focus on expectation, particularly, how much money they can earn by doing their job well enough. I think it is similar to a chess game. Suppose your pieces are the employees, how you move them and how you place them at the right square on the board, is your strategy. Although a Queen may be more powerful than a Knight, the Queen is still in danger if you put it in the wrong place. That caused me to wonder, how do we know such private information of each employee we hire, to definite them as each piece on a chessboard? Usually, we collect tons of data as much as we can to better understand who we are hiring. However, it seems like predicting the future based on past experiences which are not always effective. Oftentimes, the behavior you may expect from someone proactive, creative, and willing to take risks will depend on the situation. 

In Taiwan, I reckon that most business owners only care about the Person–job fit rather than Person–job fit when hiring employees. If you only care about a person’s skill, knowledge, abilities, and other characteristics match the job demands, they will only do "what the job demands". Personal values, personality, goals may seem unnecessary at first while recruiting. However, it will become significant in the long term. I think it is reasonable that companies are often interested in hiring candidates who will fit into the company culture since they tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, more committed to their companies.

In addition, faking tests during interviews is also what I was trying to understand. Does any of these tests all consider lies and honesty? Candidates who are faking better than others, are more likely to perform their jobs well? Or, they are just loose cannons that will accidentally blow in the future. If we give an aspirational answer to a friend, that probably means we want to build a good relationship with him/her. However, it is still a lie. When it becomes a habit, it will spill over and affect how they will behave. Although business owners all want to completely know who they are hiring, it is still a strenuous task. Therefore, if I choose to use these tests for selection, I must understand the limitations. Relying only on personality tests is a bad idea, I think. 

An example of hiring was Elon Musk's favorite question to ask during job interviews which leave people stumped. Elon Musk asked this question to people that interviewed at SpaceX and Tesla. "You're standing on the surface of the Earth. You take a walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?” Musk doesn't actually care whether you got the correct answer. Instead, he sees it as an opportunity to check whether prospective applicants approach problem solving and process information.

Reference

REUTERS), (I. (2021, June 17). Riddle Elon Musk asks during job interviews for spaceX leaving people stumped. mirror. Retrieved February 9, 2022, from https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/elon-musks-favourite-question-ask-24328522