Personality Traits and Conflict Resolution Paper

The aim of this Analysis Paper is for you to investigate how your personality, played a role in a disagreement with another person (conflict situation), thought the lenses of the Organizational Behavior theories and concepts. In addition, by the end of the paper you should reflect what were the take away lessons of this analysis in relation to the OB theory and practice.

This paper will have between 8 to 10 pages, and you will need several days and weeks to complete it. You will need to plan in advance how you are going to complete it. We suggest that you write couple of drafts and revise it several times. You might consider using the Writing Center (grammar/sentence structure revision) and the Library (citations/references tips) as your resources. Also, keep in mind that 

First Part of the Paper

In the first part of this paper you will need to take a series of self-assessments linked in D2L – Assignments (free of charge) for you to be able to understand your personality. Keep in mind that the tests are designed to give you insight about your personality and other personal characteristics, but should not to be considered the “last word” about who you are.  These self-tests are for instructional purposes.  They are not intended to replace rigorously validated and properly administered psychometric tests and should not be used to establish qualifications or make personnel decisions.  In the other side, in general they can provide useful insights about someone.  The purpose of taking the self-assessments is to learn.

You are REQUIRED to take the several self-assessments, and submit the results or prove the some prove of completion (screen shot/email confirming you finished/test results) in D2L- assignments, in different dates (check class calendar as well as D2L for due dates). The self -assessments you need to take are: 

1.Personality; 

2.Keirsey Temperament Sorter; 

3.Self-monitoring; 

4.Decision Making; 

5.Conflict Handling Style;

6.Emotional Intelligence, and 

7.The Big Five.

All self-assessments online “links” are in D2L – assignments. Keep track of the tests taken and results in written form – you will be summarizing each of these in your paper.

Other courses as well as career readiness programs in COM will utilize personal self- assessments so I recommend that you keep all your results in a centralized area (folder in your computer) so that you can access the results in the future. These assessments are an important building block for professional development and personal awareness.

You can also complete and add to your paper other self-assessments that you can find in our book, doing some research, or looking in D2L. A list of additional self- assessments can be found in D2L – Content  – Additional Self-Assessments (not mandatory for the paper but can be included if you decide to do it). Some of the sites might ask for you to pay for the assessments – you should not have to do that.  Between the online assessment links, those on the course site and those for free online, you should be able to complete the assignment. Keep track of the URLs, tests taken, and results in written form. You will need to supply a summary of results with your paper. 

Second Part of the Paper

After compiling results of the self-assessments and submitting it in assignments, you should: 

• Recall a situation in which you had/have a disagreement with another person (a conflict situation) at work or from your college or personal experience.
• In the body of the paper, analyze (critique) the situation by identifying how your personality (is the combination of characteristics or qualities that forms a person’s unique identity), perception (an intellectual process of transforming sensory stimuli to meaningful information), and attribution (the process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior), contributed to the situation.
• Your paper should make use of the material (theories and concepts) from the course and outside research.

Required Paper Sections (headings)

1.Introduction (1 paragraph). The introduction should cover your goals for the overall project and formulate a coherent, cohesive thesis for the entire work.

2.Summary of Assessments (no more than 1 page)

3.Background of the Conflict Situation (no more than 1 page)

4.Analysis of Conflict Situation supported by at least 4 OB theory and concepts (assessments, theory, text concepts). Provide examples.  (2-3 pages)

5.Learning Value.  What did you learn from this analysis in relation to the theory and practice at all 3 levels of OB (Individual, Group, and Organizational Levels) (1-2 pages)

6.Conclusion. Should present 3 recommendations substantiated by references/citations.  The recommendations should address specific issues discussed/highlighted/ brought out by your work.  Think of the conclusion as your opportunity to “CLOSE THE LOOP”, to show how you proved your thesis. (no more than 1 page).

7.References/Bibliography

You may find it necessary to identify characteristics of others involved, but the majority of the paper should reflect your personality, perception, and attribution of the event, NOT those of others.  Make sure you draw conclusions and identify the learning value of this assignment in relation to all levels of organizational behavior.