INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
My Individual Results and Applications
BUSI 240- Organizational Behavior I
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Abstract
I am currently employed at a non-profit horse farm as a horseback riding instructor. The farm
provides different services including riding lessons for children and adults with physical, mental,
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and emotional disabilities, therapy for at risk youth and recovery facilities, and field trips for
various organizations. I work with all of the different populations listed above. I also do various
farm chores including AM and PM feedings for the horses and farm maintenance. I also help in
fundraising efforts and different projects being completed on the farm. The farm is a mom and
pop organization, so we all pitch in where needed. The farm employs about 15 people. There are
rules in place that need to be followed closely to ensure the safety of our horses and clients. My
boss checks in about once a week to look at lesson plans, progress reports, and update with any
important information. Communication through email is daily.
Chapter 2: Are you introverted or extroverted?
1. The purpose of this assessment is to determine if one is an introvert or an extrovert.
2. 3+3+4+4+3+1+1+3+4=29
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3. I am in the moderate extraversion category. Extroverts have characteristics such as being
sociable, talkative, and assertive.
4. Before taking this assessment, I had assumed that I am an extrovert based off of my
characteristics, so this assessment confirmed it for me. By knowing this, I can not only
identify certain jobs that I would excel at. This assessment also helps me in a way that I
can work with my managers, and use the information I learned to determine
responsibilities that will end up utilizing my extrovert qualities - would end up being
more beneficial for all parties involved. I currently work for a non-profit horse farm
where I have many responsibilities and have many roles. With the multiple job functions
that I take on at the farm, I work closely with the director of the farm, as well as other
instructors/mentors. Knowing that I am an extrovert, I can help the organization by being
a leader for projects, fundraising, and much more. I have taken on additional
responsibilities that are a result of knowing that I am an extrovert. it is also helping the
barn, as well as others, because I have the ability to take on tasks that others are not as
willing to take on. Extroverts are sociable, so not only do I have a knack for connecting
with riders’ parents when needing to discuss specifics to their children, I also see myself
really being the person to lead fundraising efforts. I can be very personable and make
connections with different people and organizations, in order to get the funding needed
for the farm.
Chapter 5: Need Strength Questionnaire
1. The purpose of this assessment is to determine the need for achievement and need for
social approval as well as money attitude dimension.
2. Need for achievement: 3+3+4+4+4+1+3=22
Need for social approval: 1+0+3+0+1+1+1+0=7
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Money attitude dimension-
Money as power/prestige: 1+0+4+1=6
Retention time: 3+3+0+1=7
Money anxiety: 3+4+4+1=12
3. I have an above average need for achievement and a below average need for social
approval. My scores for the money attitude dimension were moderate and high.
4. My results for need for achievement and need for social approval did not surprise me at
all. I have always had very high expectations for myself and when I am working at the
farm, there is no difference. I want to make sure that all of the clients I work with are
giving good feedback about me because this shows my achievements in the job I am
performing. My outlook for social approval is that as long as you are a
person/organization that is respectable and doing good work, opinions should not matter.
All people have opinions, but that does not mean that all of the decisions made within an
organization should or are going to please everyone. I think that my scores for the money
attitude were on the higher side because I know within the non-profit horse farm I work
for, money coming in is very important. There are a lot of costs associated with a farm so
you need to make sure that you have enough money for all care of the animals and
expenses.
Chapter 8: What team roles do you prefer?
1. This assessment gauges what type of role you play when working within a team.
2. Encourager: 2+2+3=7
Gatekeeper: 2+2+3=7
Harmonizer: 3+2+2=7
Initiator: 3+2+2=7
Summarizer: 5+2+1=8
3. My scores for the different roles were all low except for summarizer which I scored
medium.
4. This assessment was very hard to complete because most of the questions did not
really apply to the horse farm where I work. I very rarely work in a team. I am
normally working by myself or just with one other person. The only time I really ever
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function as a team is when we have a staff meeting. During the staff meetings – which
only occur quarterly – we work together to determine activities that we can work on
as a group (the farm as a whole). During such activities, I find myself taking charge
and wanting to take things to completion. This bring me the scoring of summarizer.
Scoring higher as a summarizer did make sense because I am very good at retaining
information and sharing with others. I am able to use the information that is discussed
and not only bring others up to speed, in cases where someone may not have been
involved during a staff meeting, but I am also good at sharing information that would
be help others retain the information as well.
Chapter 9: Active Listening Skills Inventory
1. There are three active listening dimensions in which gauge how we respond to
information being received.
2. Sensing: 4+4+3+3=14
Evaluating: 2+4+2+3=11
Responding: 4+5+3+4=16
3. I scored moderate and high for the three individual Active Listening dimensions which
range from 4 to 20.
4. My results show that I have the highest score in responding. While people are talking, I
make sure to make eye contact. Making eye contact reaffirms to the other person that I
am engaged in the conversation. I also use nodding to my advantage when having
conversation with others. I use the nodding of my head when I understand or agree with
something to let the speaker know that I am engaged. Evaluating is something that I
could and definitely should work on. Even though I consider myself an open-minded
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person, I tend to have a predetermined opinion of the person speaking, and thus allow
that to influence the message that I am trying to evaluate. With some time spent on
correcting my evaluation skills, I will be able to remove my personal opinion from the
message, and this will result in a better ability of evaluating a message. This can help me
within the horse farm because I can make sure that I am more open to peoples’ ideas. If
they are different than mine, I will be able to be more empathetic towards their views,
and it would result in better communication from both ends of the conversation.
Chapter 10: How do you influence coworkers and other peers?
1. This assessment will tell how I influence the people I work with by looking at eight
different categories.
2. Persuasion: 3+3+1=7
Silent Authority: 3+3+1=7
Exchange: 1+1+1=3
Assertiveness: 1+3+1=5
Information Control: 1+2+1=4
Coalition Formation: 2+3+2=7
Upward Appeal: 2+1+3=6
Ingratiation: 2+1+2=5
3. The scores for the coworker influence scale range from 3 to 15. All of my scores were
low and moderate.
4. This assessment was probably the most difficult for me to identify with form a current
employment point of view. Although my assessment score was not much lower than
others, ingratiation is an example of something I would not face hardly ever – if ever.
What I mean by that is, on a horse farm everyone smells. Everyone is dirty, and the
thought of influencing or manipulating someone by becoming more attractive or likeable
just is not really possible in my line of work. One score that was surprising to me was
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assertiveness. I feel as though there is always a belief among my peers at the farm that I
am a very assertive person. I do not shy away from defending my point of view or at the
very least, explain my point of view – with the hopes that others will “come around to my
way of thinking.” I scored on the higher side for coalition formation, silent authority and
persuasion.
Chapter 11: Dutch Test for Conflict Handling
1. This assessment estimates the preferred style of handing conflict.
2. Yielding: 2+3+2+1=8
Compromising: 3+3+2+3=11
Forcing: 3+3+3+4=13
Problem Solving: 2+3+3+3=11
Avoiding: 3+2+1+1=7
3. I scored moderately for all of the five conflict handling dimensions which scores range
from 4 to 20.
4. Dealing with conflict is one the paramount issues that one will face in any line of work. It
is even more important if one aspires to be a great leader of industry, or even a good
middle-management type individual. When reviewing the results of the assessment, I feel
as though the scores accurately reflect the way if which I feel I deal with conflict. There
is importance in compromising in the face of conflict. While you may feel as though your
opinion is 100% correct, the feeling of compromise may result in another individual
“buying in” enough to help bring a task to completion. This is especially the case when
working for a small staffed organization like the horse farm that I currently work.
Problem solving is also a key component. If you encounter situations that require some
form of difficult task, problem solving is always an important step in the process.
Problem solving skills being on the higher end was not surprising for me as I feel that I
am always trying to resolve an issue that might not even pertain to me at a given time.
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Yielding is a key category that I need to work on as there is sometimes a place for it when
resolving an issue. The same can be said for avoiding.
Chapter 12: Do leaders make a difference?
1. This assessment tells if someone is fond of the idea of leadership.
2. 4+4+5+5+5+4+3+2+4+4=40
3. My scores show that I have and above average romance of leadership.
4. I think it is fair to say that most people can find a flaw in their organizations leadership.
Whether it is leadership that depends on people that are not the most dependable, or if it
is maybe someone who does not do a good job at delegating certain tasks to the
appropriate people, these are both issues that can cause a lasting effect on a workforce.
Additionally, never listening to the alternate ideas from one’s own is another issue many
people face with leadership at the workplace. Unfortunately, the organization that I work
for has these leadership problems. The positive is that I am able to identify the issues that
I face with the current leadership structure. Being able to do so provides me with the
ability to desire a better leadership style. It also provides me with things to discuss with
the director of my current employer. While I think the leadership structure does not
always take criticism well, if something is explained in a “different” way, I can
sometimes manage to break down the defense barriers that are put up whenever there is
criticism. Whenever I am in a position of leadership, I always try to lead by example.
This is one of the most important qualities of leadership. The idea of do as I say, not as I
do is archaic, and will not promote workers/employees that will show loyalty when faced
with a difficult situation.
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Chapter 13: What organization structure do you prefer?
1. This assessment determines what type of structure within an organization you prefer.
2. Tall Hierarchy: 3+2+1+2+1=9
Formalization: 2+3+3+1+3=12
Centralization: 3+2+3+1+1=10
Total score (Mechanistic): 31
3. My scores were all high with the exception of tall hierarchy which was medium.
4. In review of my scores for this assessment, it is clear that I prefer the formalization
structure. An issue I am currently faced with is, some people are not clear on what their
job roles and responsibilities consist of on a daily basis. This results in a heavy burden for
both the individuals facing these issues and us others that as a result have to deal with
such issues. Ultimately, it causes individuals to not complete a job properly, or in the
appropriate amount of time. In doing self-reflection, I know there are times when I am
unsure of a certain task that I might need to complete. However, if I am unsure of the
role(s) of a job/task, I never feel as though there should be an issue in me asking
additional questions. This will ensure that I have a clear understanding of what exactly is
expected of me. Additionally, when I am in a more authoritative role, or even a
supervisory type role, I always attempt to be as clear as possible when I am working with
someone. Properly reading body language helps in determining if someone is not fully
comprehending what I might be asking. If that is the case, I attempt to provide clarity and
provide more details if at all possible – to ensure that what I ask to have done is
completed and the other person is assured they are understanding properly.
Chapter 14: Which corporate culture do you prefer?
1. This assessment will gauge what type of environment you would prefer to work in.
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2. Control Culture: 0+0+0+1+0+0=1
Performance Culture: 1+0+1+1+1+0=4
Relationship Culture: 0+1+1+0+1+1=4
Responsive Culture: 1+0+0+1+0+1=3
3. My scores were all low and medium.
4. Following the results from this assessment, I feel like the results I found are spot on given
my past experience and beliefs. Given my current workplace, if programs at the farm are
efficient, we will be successful. Efficiency can be judge on a number of different
characteristics. Most important would have to be time spent on an activity. If the time
spent on an activity is sufficient for achieving the desirable outcome, it is efficient. If a
student or a student’s guardian feels I/we are fulfilling their expectations with respect to
their level of education on a topic, that is also going to show a desirable level of efficacy.
If those characteristics are met, we will be more successful as an organization.
Communication is key in everything, and with regards to an organization is no different.
Good communication will result in everyone being on the same page – so to speak.
Everyone being on the same page will result in everyone having the same goals and also
working to achieve the same goals appropriately. In doing so, an organization will thrive
and grow.
Chapter 15: Are you tolerant of change?
1. This assessment will gauge how comfortable you are with new situations and how well
you adapt to change.
2. 5+1+6+3+1+4+5+6+2+4=37
3. My score shows that I have a moderate level of tolerance for change.
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4. I am the type of person that is very routine driven. On a daily basis I write up a to-do list.
As I complete a task, the task is crossed off the list – in a very specific way mind you. To
just say that I have a routine and stick to it would be an understatement. Along with being
routine driven, I also feel like I am the type of person that thrives off of being prepared
for things that might be thrown my way. Because of that, I was quite surprised by my
results. This is not to say that I cannot handle difficult situations when they randomly
arise. Quite the contrary. I feel like I handle situations well when they arise unexpectedly.
With working at a horse farm, you never know what to truly expect on a daily basis. We
work with many horses that have many different backgrounds. One week everything
might go off without a hitch, and the following week it’s the total opposite scenario. You
might be walking into a situation where one of the horses is lame. If a horse is lame, I
need to devise a plan quickly to ensure that a lesson is not delayed and that a rider has the
best lesson possible given the unfortunate situation. I always need to have some type of
backup plan that will not cause issues with the client I am working with that day. I could
try to switch things up in my daily routines to try and better prepare myself for when
something does happen, and a change needs to be made.
