Although the assessment itself seems to be accurate, there are still certain flaws which I don't agree with. I definitely think of myself as independent; however, I would say that I am more direct with people then the test shows. Also I would say that I am somewhere in between task and relationship and not extremely on the task side. On a more positive note the assessment does point out that I think more on a long term basis then short term, which is absolutely true.
Furthermore, I believe that my grandparents would have come close to having the same results as I have because I had spent most of my childhood with them. Having said that, I also think that there are differences between my grandparents and me, because I have other major influences and mentors in my life with different values and character traits. Since I wasn't able to compare myself to my own country, Bosnia, I picked Germany instead. I had spent quite a bit of time in Germany since I have lots of relatives that now live there. Based on the chart I come very close to matching it exactly except for the direct and indirect portion. It shows me on the indirect side, which I don't agree with, and Germany is on the direct side of the chart.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
CPQ- IMD
After taking the Cultural Perspective Questionnaire, the scores shown seem valid to me because most of all the orientations with the dimensions explain and describe somehow a little bit about my behavior. In regards to the scores of relationships among people I scored average compared to the group in the dimensions of collective and individual, I believe that our main responsibility is to and for ourselves and immediate family. The scores do seem valid to me because in life I do take decisions that will definitely benefit first my family and myself, as well as to a larger extended group people. I also realized that some of my scores were very close to the scores of my country of birth. It is probably a cultural way of thinking about different aspects of life. For example, the orientation of time of the sub dimensions of past, present, and future I scored high in future, and is because I do believe that business and day-to-day decisions should be based on long term future needs and factors, but at the same time focus on the present because it is important to always do the best. I scored low on the past because I believe that decisions should not be based on precedent or past. I think is good to learn from past experiences but not to make decisions based on the past because life changes fast and the present and future are different scenarios. I can say this scores relate and are very similar to values and beliefs that my culture has taught me. It is very interesting to take questionnaires like the CPQ because they can tell us individually our perspective on certain orientations and teach us a little bit about ourselves.
CPQ + GLOBESMART Assessments
CPQ
For the most part, my CPQ scores seem valid. I am actually quite close to the class average, and on some I am close to the national average as well. On only a couple of the categories am I a sort of outlier (but nowhere near the extreme high and low scores in those respective categories). The interest part is, on some of the sections--I am the way I am due to my experiences from this past year. Given the same assessment even a year ago, I am sure I would have tested differently.
This assessment is good in the sense that--since there are no "right" or "wrong" answers, it just lets me know who I am with these constraints in place--and what I can work on should I decide a certain area needs improvement--i.e. I want to be a different person when it comes to those certain behaviors (although this has nothing to do with my actual scores, but for e.g. wanting to be more collectivist than individualistic). When it comes to interacting with people of a different culture, at least I can be more aware of any idiosyncrasies I have or how I can "predict" what the outcome of an interaction may be. So many people use this time in their lives--college--to find themselves and learn about who they are--but many of us don't know how we would behave (we think we do, and for the most part, we think right) until a situation is thrust upon us, and we react in a way that may or may not require reflection.
I'm not saying I don't know myself. A lot of the results didn't surprise me--just reaffirmed the idea I have of myself, but some of the results did surprise me a bit--maybe because I thought I was different when it came to that particular category.
For the most part, I tend to trust people. This can be a good or bad thing, but it's the truth. My father has always tried to get me to be more cautious, and to understand that although I have not necessarily run into anybody who is "evil", per se, that there are people out there that give us cause to be pessimistic. Try as I might, most times in situations I give people the benefit of the doubt. I don't even realize that I think this way or am doing this until after-the-fact when someone (friend, sister, boyfriend) points out that I "lucked out" because the situation could have turned ugly should someone there have decided to act untrustworthy. Maybe I feel that people who act and think this way are paranoid, but time and time again, I just believe in the inherent goodness of people.
GLOBESMART
I think my Globesmart scores are pretty valid. Although I didn't think I'd be so extreme on the spectrum for most of the categories, I can see how they would relate to the kind of person I am. I never realized the influence my parents' culture had on my life, really, until recently. Seeing the assessment makes me understand this more. I am "very American" in how I deal with certain situations, yet very "Asian" (I compared myself to more than one country because I am of more than one ethnicity) in others. I may have expected more moderation in my assessment, but surprisingly only one (maybe 2) was in the middle.
My grandparents would not have the same profile as me. In fact, I am pretty sure they would be as closely aligned with the other, non-U.S. nation's profiles I added to my comparison evaluation as they could. How they were raised and what life experiences they went through are completely different from what I have now. My childhood is significantly different from theirs, and technology and a different cultural background add a lot to how they understand and view certain things and life, as do those things for me. My outlook on life can be quite similar to theirs if we have similar personality types--the differences would start to blur with the similarities, and maybe only a few key core values may differ--or opinions on personal issues, such as politics, religion, etc.
For the most part, my CPQ scores seem valid. I am actually quite close to the class average, and on some I am close to the national average as well. On only a couple of the categories am I a sort of outlier (but nowhere near the extreme high and low scores in those respective categories). The interest part is, on some of the sections--I am the way I am due to my experiences from this past year. Given the same assessment even a year ago, I am sure I would have tested differently.
This assessment is good in the sense that--since there are no "right" or "wrong" answers, it just lets me know who I am with these constraints in place--and what I can work on should I decide a certain area needs improvement--i.e. I want to be a different person when it comes to those certain behaviors (although this has nothing to do with my actual scores, but for e.g. wanting to be more collectivist than individualistic). When it comes to interacting with people of a different culture, at least I can be more aware of any idiosyncrasies I have or how I can "predict" what the outcome of an interaction may be. So many people use this time in their lives--college--to find themselves and learn about who they are--but many of us don't know how we would behave (we think we do, and for the most part, we think right) until a situation is thrust upon us, and we react in a way that may or may not require reflection.
I'm not saying I don't know myself. A lot of the results didn't surprise me--just reaffirmed the idea I have of myself, but some of the results did surprise me a bit--maybe because I thought I was different when it came to that particular category.
For the most part, I tend to trust people. This can be a good or bad thing, but it's the truth. My father has always tried to get me to be more cautious, and to understand that although I have not necessarily run into anybody who is "evil", per se, that there are people out there that give us cause to be pessimistic. Try as I might, most times in situations I give people the benefit of the doubt. I don't even realize that I think this way or am doing this until after-the-fact when someone (friend, sister, boyfriend) points out that I "lucked out" because the situation could have turned ugly should someone there have decided to act untrustworthy. Maybe I feel that people who act and think this way are paranoid, but time and time again, I just believe in the inherent goodness of people.
GLOBESMART
I think my Globesmart scores are pretty valid. Although I didn't think I'd be so extreme on the spectrum for most of the categories, I can see how they would relate to the kind of person I am. I never realized the influence my parents' culture had on my life, really, until recently. Seeing the assessment makes me understand this more. I am "very American" in how I deal with certain situations, yet very "Asian" (I compared myself to more than one country because I am of more than one ethnicity) in others. I may have expected more moderation in my assessment, but surprisingly only one (maybe 2) was in the middle.
My grandparents would not have the same profile as me. In fact, I am pretty sure they would be as closely aligned with the other, non-U.S. nation's profiles I added to my comparison evaluation as they could. How they were raised and what life experiences they went through are completely different from what I have now. My childhood is significantly different from theirs, and technology and a different cultural background add a lot to how they understand and view certain things and life, as do those things for me. My outlook on life can be quite similar to theirs if we have similar personality types--the differences would start to blur with the similarities, and maybe only a few key core values may differ--or opinions on personal issues, such as politics, religion, etc.
Comparing the IMD and the Globesmart tests I can find that they have a valid correlation between them. In the Globesmart test I compared myself to the three different cultures I've been exposed most of my lifetime (as many of our classmates have also done) and I found interesting that I have acquired 1 special trait or characteristic from each culture but still lean towards the german/american side, even though El Salvador is where I've lived most of the time. I suppose that has to do with my early childhood and uprising.
I also found interesting that in the IMD test, I have 5 out of the 13 lowest scores, thus apparently meaning that I strongly disagree with some of the questions and at the same time it looks like I have no intermediate postures but very defined ones.
In general I like this class because as many of our classmates have said, it gives us the opportunity to take a look at us in a very different and new way and this can help us to focus in our strengths and weaknesses and see where is a space for improvement.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
A Recap until now: IMD and GLOBESMART
I have taken a class similar to this one (BUS 187), and some of the material we go over in class (Globalization debate, Understanding Cultural Diversity) I have read over and heard in my previous class, but what makes this class different then my other class is the size. My other class had many students and interacting with everybody was very difficult, whereas this class everyone is more close knit, one example of this could be the flip the tarp simulation (THAT WAS SO FUN!). I am learning more about myself as this class progresses, for example the assessments we have to take make me have to think about myself from a different perspective. Most of these assessments ask you questions that are either yes or no, black or white answers, but then you have other questions they throw in there, questions one has to really think about.
For the IMD assessment results my scores seemed average compared to the class, I'm guessing the whole class averaged itself out since we all come from different backgrounds. What was most interesting to me was my score for Relation to Environment, when I compared my country average to my average I had the (almost)exact numbers on there, that just shows me how my culture still has an impact on how I view thing when it comes to that topic even though I came to to this country when I was very little.
For the Globesmart assessment my results seemed similar to the results I acquired from another assessment I took last year called "LSI assessment". My results vary according to each characteristic, for example I have three results (egalitarianism, risk, and tasks) which are similar to that of U.S. average. The other scores such as interdependent/independent, direct/indirect I am located somewhere in the middle, meaning I'm sometimes this or sometimes that. One thing that always catches me off guard is the independent/interdependent result because I view myself as an independent person, however this assessment says that although I'm in the middle I'm interdependent most times. The biggest difference between the U.S. average score and my score is the short term/long term characteristic, the U.S. is more short term whereas I'm located at the end of the arrow towards long term... I just like to think ahead =D
For the IMD assessment results my scores seemed average compared to the class, I'm guessing the whole class averaged itself out since we all come from different backgrounds. What was most interesting to me was my score for Relation to Environment, when I compared my country average to my average I had the (almost)exact numbers on there, that just shows me how my culture still has an impact on how I view thing when it comes to that topic even though I came to to this country when I was very little.
For the Globesmart assessment my results seemed similar to the results I acquired from another assessment I took last year called "LSI assessment". My results vary according to each characteristic, for example I have three results (egalitarianism, risk, and tasks) which are similar to that of U.S. average. The other scores such as interdependent/independent, direct/indirect I am located somewhere in the middle, meaning I'm sometimes this or sometimes that. One thing that always catches me off guard is the independent/interdependent result because I view myself as an independent person, however this assessment says that although I'm in the middle I'm interdependent most times. The biggest difference between the U.S. average score and my score is the short term/long term characteristic, the U.S. is more short term whereas I'm located at the end of the arrow towards long term... I just like to think ahead =D
Thursday, September 23, 2010
GLOBESMART- 9/24
After taking the self-assessment for GLOBESMART, I can say that the scores seem valid to me because most of the descriptions of the dimensions fit my personality and correlate with the way I act with others. I was surprised to see that I was in between in the scores from people of the United States and Mexico and the reason is because I have lived in both countries for many years. It is very interesting to see how individuals acquire certain values, beliefs, and traditions from other countries. In this case, I have learned and gained experiences from both countries and have somehow made me the person I am. I absolutely think that my grandparents would not have the same profile as mine because they were born and raised in a different environment. I can not say the same about my parents because they have lived in both countries too and I are more likely to act the same way I do. Traveling back and forth to my native country has given me a Mexican-American culture and certain aspects of my culture have been preserved from generation to generation, but at the same time we are becoming Americanize.
GLOBESMART
Globe Smart survey was really interesting and convincing. After completion of survey, I realized how I am changing from one culture to another. I compared himself with the average US person and with the average Indian person. The results surprised me, because I was exactly in the middle of US and Indian personality. I would say I am a perfect example of transformation of one culture to another one. I am following some values and beliefs of both cultures.
The Result seems totally valid to me, I am following both cultures and become a hybrid. My grandparents are totally different from me. They were born and raised in village in India and they didn’t get chance to explore themselves and observe other beautiful cultures. I born and raised in city, and got an opportunity to come in United States for studies. I explored myself a lot in different cultures by making lots of friends, working and studying together.
I am not a typical example of my culture because my beliefs changed a lot after spending almost six years in United States. I am a perfect example of mixed hybrid culture of Indo- American culture. According to my results I am more direct and task orientated, it’s an average US person’s qualities. However, I do think long-term and little interdependent. This shows I am still carrying the average Indian person’s qualities.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
GLOBAL COMPETENCIES INVENTORY (GCI) and GLOBESMART ASSESSMENT
Global Competencies Inventory (GCI)
There were many questions that this survey asked me which I believe relates to personality traits, values, belief, cultures, behavior, emotions, skills, problems, background, shapes, society, figure drawings of unique shapes, and few math problems. What I’ve learned from completing this assessment is that it made me think of my habits of what I find valuable in life. In addition, I think that if other people would take this assessment of answering the questions, their answers would be different that mine because many people have their own beliefs, culture, and value. Even though, I would feel comfortable being friends and having a conversation with anyone of a different culture, the same can’t be said about others. There are many people that may only see themselves with other people of the same culture and we have to respect that if that is how they feel.
In solving difficult problems, I look at myself being in a stressful situation because if finding the solution hard, I must try to seek ways in getting the answer to solving it which wouldn’t come easy. Others may probably have an easier time than me in solving difficult problems as they will be calm, patient, and creative in looking for the solution to the problem. This is what came into my mind as I was doing the survey because I know I am not the same as many people of skills and personality whether they have the same culture as me or not.
Every one has their own abilities and skills of what their good at. In addition, there are people that have strengths and weaknesses. Having a variety in being good at something is great however; I would encourage others to try something new even though they are not good at it because they can learn something they never knew before. Moreover, trying something that we’re not good at can probably help us be good at it in the future given time and training.
I would like to visit a foreign country some day for vacation because I have never been out of the country in my life with the exception of being born out of the United States. Moreover, it would be great to try a new hobby and explore the life style people have in their country as I can experience new things. Although it would be different than the United States, it would be great to learn new cultures and understand the beliefs and values of others.
My learning experience from this assessment has made me realize to have strong communication with others. Although other peoples’ values would not be the same, it is always important to listen and then talk so that we can receive information from the speaker and send information back. Sharing values and beliefs is also a good way of being more diverse and fair. I would encourage people to get along with others even though they’re opinion doesn’t match ours because part of being a global leader is having a good influence into having a common vision.
GlobeSmart Assessment
The questions that I saw while taking the Globesmart assessment test were related to workplace goals, organization and personal interests, work performance, group and individual skills, work life balance, motivation, and more. I realize that some people in the workplace have to sacrifice their own interests in order to commit in accomplishing the goals of the company. The issue that I see about that is that there should be a balance in both for fulfilling the goals and interests of the organization as a whole and for the employees on the individual level. In addition, the boss in the workplace may not always be ethically responsible if he is doing what is best for himself and not for the employees along with the organization. I believe that every one at any organization should work as a team so that by accomplishing the goals for the company, the individual can feel that he or she has made a great contribution himself too. Sharing opinions of what should be done at the workplace should be considered and bosses should look into it even though they may disagree with it. Being creative and innovative could always improve the work place. Moreover, employees should be able to talk to anyone to whom they feel comfortable with about their personal life, not just their boss. Being loyal to the company is important which is why employees should be able to express what they are thinking and feeling. Furthermore, after taking this assessment, I learn that every one at an organization working for a company may have a different mindset of what they think is right or wrong which could be different from what others think and believe.
After taking the Globesmart assessment, I saw the score sheet that shown the following: Independent, Interdependent, Egalitarianism, Status, Risk, Restraint, Direct, Indirect, Task, Relationship, Short-term, and Long-term. The results chart had shown that I am closer to Interdependent, Egalitarianism, Risk, Task, Long-term, and a tie for Direct and Indirect. First, I do think I am interdependent because I believe that working on a team and being more involved with the company is more effective than being independent. If we are independent, it would be difficult to seek help from a co-worker if are we doing a project on our own. In addition, sharing ideas with each other helps to have better chances of accomplishing a goal. Secondly, I do support Egalitarianism because I believe in human equality regardless of a person’s status. For example, I think every one should be treated with respect and have a say of an opinion even though their job status may be lower than a higher ranked employee. Bosses can learn from their employees too because anyone can come up with good ideas and no one is perfect. Thirdly, I am more towards risk than restraint because if we do not take a risk, we cannot see the opportunities that are out there. We never know how far we can go without trying. In addition, if we are restraint from doing something, we are holding ourselves back. Fourth, I’m not sure why my score showed that I am in the exact middle of direct and indirect however, I do believe in being more direct so that every thing can be straight forward instead of being confused which is indirect. Fifth, my score has shown that I am absolutely task oriented than relationship which I find it part true. I do think that completing a specific task at the work place is important than developing relationship because most of the workers are there to do their job and work. However, I do think developing some relationship with the employees in the company is important because every one is communicating and working together which is why I disagree with my score on being absolutely on the task side. Every one in a company should feel good about their job and comfortable where they are at. Lastly, my score has shown that I am more focused on long-term than short-term which I can agree on. Although developing accomplishments in the short-term are important, I believe that the long-term is more critical because every one wants to see a bright future. No one only wants to work hard for a short period of time then give up down the road. Furthermore, working hard now makes a difference in what can happen in the long run.
There were many questions that this survey asked me which I believe relates to personality traits, values, belief, cultures, behavior, emotions, skills, problems, background, shapes, society, figure drawings of unique shapes, and few math problems. What I’ve learned from completing this assessment is that it made me think of my habits of what I find valuable in life. In addition, I think that if other people would take this assessment of answering the questions, their answers would be different that mine because many people have their own beliefs, culture, and value. Even though, I would feel comfortable being friends and having a conversation with anyone of a different culture, the same can’t be said about others. There are many people that may only see themselves with other people of the same culture and we have to respect that if that is how they feel.
In solving difficult problems, I look at myself being in a stressful situation because if finding the solution hard, I must try to seek ways in getting the answer to solving it which wouldn’t come easy. Others may probably have an easier time than me in solving difficult problems as they will be calm, patient, and creative in looking for the solution to the problem. This is what came into my mind as I was doing the survey because I know I am not the same as many people of skills and personality whether they have the same culture as me or not.
Every one has their own abilities and skills of what their good at. In addition, there are people that have strengths and weaknesses. Having a variety in being good at something is great however; I would encourage others to try something new even though they are not good at it because they can learn something they never knew before. Moreover, trying something that we’re not good at can probably help us be good at it in the future given time and training.
I would like to visit a foreign country some day for vacation because I have never been out of the country in my life with the exception of being born out of the United States. Moreover, it would be great to try a new hobby and explore the life style people have in their country as I can experience new things. Although it would be different than the United States, it would be great to learn new cultures and understand the beliefs and values of others.
My learning experience from this assessment has made me realize to have strong communication with others. Although other peoples’ values would not be the same, it is always important to listen and then talk so that we can receive information from the speaker and send information back. Sharing values and beliefs is also a good way of being more diverse and fair. I would encourage people to get along with others even though they’re opinion doesn’t match ours because part of being a global leader is having a good influence into having a common vision.
GlobeSmart Assessment
The questions that I saw while taking the Globesmart assessment test were related to workplace goals, organization and personal interests, work performance, group and individual skills, work life balance, motivation, and more. I realize that some people in the workplace have to sacrifice their own interests in order to commit in accomplishing the goals of the company. The issue that I see about that is that there should be a balance in both for fulfilling the goals and interests of the organization as a whole and for the employees on the individual level. In addition, the boss in the workplace may not always be ethically responsible if he is doing what is best for himself and not for the employees along with the organization. I believe that every one at any organization should work as a team so that by accomplishing the goals for the company, the individual can feel that he or she has made a great contribution himself too. Sharing opinions of what should be done at the workplace should be considered and bosses should look into it even though they may disagree with it. Being creative and innovative could always improve the work place. Moreover, employees should be able to talk to anyone to whom they feel comfortable with about their personal life, not just their boss. Being loyal to the company is important which is why employees should be able to express what they are thinking and feeling. Furthermore, after taking this assessment, I learn that every one at an organization working for a company may have a different mindset of what they think is right or wrong which could be different from what others think and believe.
After taking the Globesmart assessment, I saw the score sheet that shown the following: Independent, Interdependent, Egalitarianism, Status, Risk, Restraint, Direct, Indirect, Task, Relationship, Short-term, and Long-term. The results chart had shown that I am closer to Interdependent, Egalitarianism, Risk, Task, Long-term, and a tie for Direct and Indirect. First, I do think I am interdependent because I believe that working on a team and being more involved with the company is more effective than being independent. If we are independent, it would be difficult to seek help from a co-worker if are we doing a project on our own. In addition, sharing ideas with each other helps to have better chances of accomplishing a goal. Secondly, I do support Egalitarianism because I believe in human equality regardless of a person’s status. For example, I think every one should be treated with respect and have a say of an opinion even though their job status may be lower than a higher ranked employee. Bosses can learn from their employees too because anyone can come up with good ideas and no one is perfect. Thirdly, I am more towards risk than restraint because if we do not take a risk, we cannot see the opportunities that are out there. We never know how far we can go without trying. In addition, if we are restraint from doing something, we are holding ourselves back. Fourth, I’m not sure why my score showed that I am in the exact middle of direct and indirect however, I do believe in being more direct so that every thing can be straight forward instead of being confused which is indirect. Fifth, my score has shown that I am absolutely task oriented than relationship which I find it part true. I do think that completing a specific task at the work place is important than developing relationship because most of the workers are there to do their job and work. However, I do think developing some relationship with the employees in the company is important because every one is communicating and working together which is why I disagree with my score on being absolutely on the task side. Every one in a company should feel good about their job and comfortable where they are at. Lastly, my score has shown that I am more focused on long-term than short-term which I can agree on. Although developing accomplishments in the short-term are important, I believe that the long-term is more critical because every one wants to see a bright future. No one only wants to work hard for a short period of time then give up down the road. Furthermore, working hard now makes a difference in what can happen in the long run.
Global Leadership, 09/10/10
What I’ve learned about global leadership so far is to have a great mindset when working with other people, especially from other countries. In addition, the objective is to work towards a common goal while sharing ideas of what might be best. Moreover, building relationships with organizations and communities is what a leader must do in order to gain that trust. Also, every country is different in terms of how they work. For example, education in Asia, Germany, and Latin America has some differences from the United States the way teachers teach their students. It seems that studying in those countries are more intense than the United States because if the students are not able to meet its expectations and standards in doing a good job in school, various forms of punishment may take place. Teachers and professors of various countries have their own teaching method of what they may find effective for their students. Many people will agree or disagree with the knowledge that children of different cultures are obtaining from their teachers.After playing the rope game in class being blind folded, the students all struggled to make a square together. Communication is very critical in global leadership because there can be barriers. If every one is speaking at the same time instead of trying to obtain information the other person is trying to provide, it will be very difficult to work together in order to accomplish the goal that is desired. Furthermore, anyone can take the role of the leadership if they can do keep everything under control, have good ideas, motivate, inspire, and produce change when trying to come up with a solution.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
GCI
This is my first post. It is regarding the GCI assessment. I liked taking the assessment and discovering the results. During the process I wasn't sure if I answered everything correctly but I gave my current best estimate. Some of the questions I found to be enlightening, and especially the results taken back. I was pleased with how I did and the answers to the assessments. Unfortuantely it took a while to figure out how to blog so I am not writing directly after taking the results. The part about Independent or Interdependent on the results surprised me. I find myself Independent yet in a team setting I can see how I scored so highly for Interdependence. I found my results compared to other countries quite pleasing. Although I had a unique and individual path line, I was still pretty compatible and balanced with some of the leading countries of the world.
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