The purpose of the Myers Briggs for me, in my teaching, is to help students
understand that others aren't crazy, they're just different. We tend to
discount the go with the flow types if we're very structured/organized and
vice versa; we tend to discount the emotional decision-makers if we're very
rational and vice versa. If we can understand viscerally that attending to
the preferences/perspectives of others makes our ability to gather
information and make good decisions better, we are ahead of the game.
I tell my students that preferences are not abilities... that we can all
exert extravert skills for example, but that it's harder, more energy
intensive. And I am sure to let them know that one diagnostic instrument is
not the Whole Picture of who they are, but one view of a point in time.
I do think that these kinds of instruments can be interesting and useful if
properly framed.
Susan
Susan Herman, Professor School of Management
Director, Northern Leadership Center
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 756080
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6080
907-474-1939 (o)
907-474-5219 (f)
www.uaf.edu/nlc
-----Original Message-----
From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv
[mailto:
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Blanco, R Ivan
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 6:56 PM
To:
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: Re: self-assessments
Dear Colleagues,
Our abilities and capabilities change over time. What we are today may not
be what we are tomorrow. Education, experiences, maturity, and other
processes change us over time. What is the true benefit of these
self-assessment tools? I have been put through t-training, marriage
counseling, the Myers Briggs and others during the last 30 plus years, and I
still don't know what those things had done for me. Do they really help the
students? Or, do we want to believe they do? Do we know how many students
we might have driven away from many good things in their lives with these
self-assessment tests? What if we do more harm than good? I am convinced
that most of those assessment tools are even dangerous in the hands of
highly trained professionals. Honestly, what good do they do if we have the
students for only one semester and cannot do any type of follow on what
happens to them in the long-term? (No sales pitch, please!) Is it our
responsibility to expose them to professional or technical know-how or to
engage ourselves directly in their emotional development as individuals?
In my more than 40 years of involvement with organizations (as
employee/manager, student of organizations and as a teacher) I have learned
that not everyone can be "saved" and that in many situations we are not well
equipped to do so.
Sincerely,
Ivan
Dr. R. Ivan Blanco
Department of Management
McCoy College of Business Administration
Texas State University - San Marcos
San Marcos, TX 78666
Phone (512) 245-1842
Fax (512) 245-2850
rb39@txstate.edu
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The trouble with other cultures is that the people don't behave the way
they're supposed to, that is, like us. The solution to this difficulty is
not to expect them to." Craig Storti, The Art of Crossing Cultures (1990).
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Las naciones marchan al termino de su grandeza con el mismo paso que camina
su educacion.
Nations march toward their greatness at the same pace as their educational
systems evolve. Simon Bolivar
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
________________________________
From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv on behalf of eric larsen
Sent: Sat 2/9/2008 3:38 PM
To:
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: Re: self-assessments
Dear Those Interested:
My initial response on this matter was in part because I myself had once
underestimated just how seriously some students can take these assessments.
Upon some reflection, I would have expressed my initial e-mail in this
thread differently. My, somewhat alarmist, response was in part meant to
encourage further thought in the one or two future self-assessment users
whom also might not appreciate the potential impact of these
self-assessments and to encourage "our" caring and highly engaged
involvement with our students through these processes.
Both James G. Clawson and Robert F. Hurley have demonstrated seriously focus
in these matters. For my part, I consider these two individuals to be among
those worth looking to for the lead in this matter.
Cordially,
Eric C., T. E., Larsen
________________________________
> Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 18:59:14 -0500
> From:
ClawsonJ@DARDEN.VIRGINIA.EDU
> Subject: Re: self-assessments
> To:
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
>
> I agree heartily w/ Eric's concern and that's the reason why we counsel
our students (all FY MBA students did this for the last three years) that no
single instrument is accurate enough or comprehensive enough to hang your
hat on. Only when patterns recur in multiple data pools do we begin to
"believe.". We also assert that the strength of each subsequent insight or
life theme can be assesed by the volume of data, the number of instruments,
the volume of disconfirming data (who has none?), and the quality of the
logic relating each datum to the indeced theme label.
> Respectfully,
> Jim
> --------------------------
> James G. Clawson
> Sent using BlackBerry
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Organizational Behavior Division Listserv <
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu>
> To:
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu <
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu>
> Sent: Fri Feb 08 17:16:28 2008
> Subject: Re: self-assessments
>
> Dear Those Interested:
>
> Not that anyone is not being sensitive enough, but because it is not known
how people might take this thread, I offer the following:
>
> As a graduate student I got handed the enviable task of providing feedback
on about 1,800 (yes 1,800) reflection papers based on self-assessments. The
sample doing the reflecting was comprised of MBA students and this process
took place over a four year period. Please beware the casual use of any
self-assessment assignments, be they "off the shelf", "packaged for profit",
or in some other way handled by technology that might not account for 100%
of individual differences in classifying individuals (n.b., does not leave
any tools I am aware of). Serious focus on what individual students are
taking away from these self-assessment experiences is warranted. Academics
are often undercompensated for their time, and while I thus understand the
interest in leverage and scalability, please remember that these students
are real people who have come to us for growth and in some cases help. I am
not saying "do not use these tools." I am asking that you realize the
potential of underestimating the power of these tools and take appropriate
precautions as such.
>
> Cordially,
> Eric C., T. E., Larsen
>
>
> Scholar and Faculty
>
>
>
> Department of Management
>
> School of Business
>
> SUNY: University at Albany
>
>
>
> School of Business and Technology
>
> Endicott College
>
>
>
> Department of Management
>
> Bertolon School of Business
>
> SalemState College
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
>
>
> > Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 11:32:55 -0500
> > From:
aneil.mishra@MBA.WFU.EDU
> > Subject: Re: self-assessments
> > To:
OB@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
> >
> > I haven't read all the postings on this thread, so I apologize if I'm
> > repeating material that others have suggested. I did have the time to
read
> > Jim Clawsen's posting, and I wholeheartedly agree with trying to help
> > students find patterns across different assessments. I'm a big fan of
MBTI,
> > use the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment (Gallup), FIRO-B, and the
Competing
> > Values framework and assessment developed by my mentors Kim Cameron and
Bob
> > Quinn at Michigan along with their colleagues. I've used all quite
> > successfully individually, but the real power (and validity I believe)
comes
> > from finding intersections across these different instruments which are
> > based on theories or empiricism that are quite different from one
another.
> >
> > I look forward to reading the rest of these postings on this thread.
> >
> > Aneil Mishra
> > Wake Forest U.
> > MBTI Type: ESTP
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> Connect and share in new ways with Windows Live. Get it now!
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