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.