Behaviour Assessment
Employers are increasingly using behaviour assessment tools in an attempt to understand the behaviour of their employees when other traditional methods fail to produce steady results. Today, there are various types of behavior assessment instruments available in the market. For instance, the 360-degree feedback method, the Carl Jung Myers Briggs type indicator and the SAPA test behavioral assessment among other assessment instruments. The 360-degree feedback is a commonly used instrument of assessing the behavior of employees. The ‘360 degree’ represents the many sources that provides information on an employee’s behavior (Venkateswara and Chawla, 2005). This method is mostly applied on top management behavior assessment and it helps provide a balanced evaluation that is fairer and objective since subordinates, peers and customers in some cases are in a better position to observe for instance leadership behavior of the senior management. The Myers-Briggs type indicator assesses an employee’s preferences in four areas namely; introversion/extraversion, intuitive/sensate, feeling/thinking and perceiving/judging. The results of this assessment reveals a combination of an employee’s behavioral traits. The synthetic aperture personality assessment (SAPA) enables employees to be assessed across several broad personality measures namely stability and social cohesion, which are further divided into other sub-traits (Condon & Revelle, 2013).
Complimentary Assessment
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
- How do you focus your attention (a) Extraversion (b) Introversion
- How do you take in information? (a) Sensing (b) Intuition
- How do you view and deal with life? (a)Judging (b) Perceiving
The Myers-Briggs type indicator reveals the true nature of a person since an individual can never be an extrovert and at the same time an introvert. This instrument does not have a right or a wrong behavior profile but rather reveals the natural behaviors of employees. It helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees and hence assists in team development. The 360 feedback on the other hand reveals the behavior of seniors as seen by subordinates. In the above complimentary assessment, the 360-degree feedback would focus on questions oriented towards the behavior of an employee’s supervisor. The styles of behavior in the Myers-Briggs indicator are internally motivated through an employee identifying their strengths and weaknesses and therefore working towards improving their weak points. Some behavioral traits may lead to underperformance; hence this assessment enables employees to prevent underperformance through realizing their weaknesses. The 360 indicator results enable a supervisor to intrinsically motivate themselves for the sake of maintaining their jobs and being better managers.
Internal and external influences to motivation in the work place are supported by the expectancy theory and the Herzberg’s two factor theory. The expectancy theory states that there is a link between effort applied, performance and the outcome. Employees are rewarded through the outcome and hence employees are motivated by this reward and hence put the effort required to receive that reward (DuBrin, 2008). The Herzberg two-factor theory sates that employees are satisfied through motivation and hygiene in the work place. Motivation factors in the work place are advancement, achievement and growth while hygiene factors are working conditions and supervision. These external rewards motivate employees and therefore they experience job satisfaction.
References
DuBrin, A. J. (2009). Essentials of management. Mason, OH: Thomson Business & Economics
Condon, D., & Revelle, W. (2013). Synthetic Aperture Personality Assessment: Within and
Across the Dimensions of Personality. North Western University.
Venkateswara, R. T., & Chawla, N. (2005). 360 degree feedback and assessment & development
centres. New Delhi: T.V. Rao Learning Systems.