Is Management For You?

Self Assessment

Be candid as you complete the assessment by circling the appropriate responses.

ML = Most like me
SL = Somewhat like me
NS = Not sure
SU = Somewhat unlike me
MU = Most unlike me
1.

I can get others to do what I want them to do.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

2.

I frequently evaluate my job performance.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

3.

I prefer not to get involved in office politics.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

4.

I like the freedom that open-ended goals provide me.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

5.

I work best when things are orderly and calm.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

6.

I enjoy making oral presentations to groups of people.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

7.

I am confident in my abilities to accomplish difficult tasks.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

8.

I do not like to write.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

9.

I like solving difficult puzzles.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

10.

I am an organized person.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

11.

I have difficulty telling others they made a mistake.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

12.

I like to work set hours each day.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

13.

I view paperwork as a trivial task.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

14.

I like to help others learn new things.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

15.

I prefer to work alone.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

16.

I believe it is who you know, not what you know, that counts.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

17.

I enjoy doing several things at once.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

18.

I am good at managing money.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

19.

I would rather back down from an argument than let it get out of hand .

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

20.

I am computer literate.

ML

SL

NS

SU

MU

Scoring Start by reversing your scores for items 5, 8, 11, 15, and 16. For example, if you circled ML for a
reverse-scored item, change it to MU; if you used SL, change it to SU, etc. Now assign each answer a point
value using the scale below. Score totals can range from 20 to 100. (Note: This process is equivalent to assigning
ML a value of 5, SL a value of 4, etc.; reverse scoring items 5, 8, 11, 15 & 16; and then adding up the scores.)
Number of ML answers ___ times 5 points each =

_______

Number of SL answers ___ times 4 points each =

_______

Number of NS answers ___ times 3 points each =

_______

Number of SU answers ___ times 2 points each =

_______

Number of MU answers ___ times 1 point each =

_______

TOTAL = _______
Source: P. Hunsaker, Management; A Skills Approach 2nd ed., p 2425. 2005. By permission Pearson Education, Inc.

Student Views of their College and Academic Experience

Please rate each question from strongly disagree (1) to strongly
agree (7) by circling the number to its right.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Source: Eigenberger, M.E. & Sealander, K.A.

(2001), Psychological Reports, 89, 387-402.

1 = strongly disagree
neutral = 4 = neutral
strongly agree = 7

I see college as a 'necessary evil' it's the price I have to

pay to find a good job.
Many of my college courses are a waste of time for me.

I would like to deepen my intellectual pursuits after

graduation.
I don't enjoy taking courses that are not directly related to
my goals after college.
I enjoy researching new topics and solving intellectual
problems.
I prefer courses offering practical skills over 'liberal arts'
kinds of courses.
I would rather just pay money for a diploma than have to
take so many useless courses.
It is always worthwhile to study subjects like Philosophy,
History, and Educational Theory.
A big reason I'm in college is that I value learning for its
own sake.
Some college professors are alright, but as a whole I don't
care much for them.
I enjoy courses that require research, writing, and critical
evaluation.
Learning a lot of theories is fine for some people, but I'd
rather just go out and do things.
Some professors are too 'intellectual' and often bore me
with their abstractions.
The main problems in life require clear and direct answers,
not intellectual theorizing.
Requirements to take humanities and liberal arts courses
should be reduced or eliminated.
Generally speaking, professors need to be more interesting.

I prefer classes where thought-provoking issues are

discussed with the professor.
I prefer classes without a lot of critical thinking or analytic
activities.
I become bored with my classes when discussions seem to
get too abstract and hypothetical.
Overall, I find my college courses stimulating and
rewarding.
I pay tuition and fell it is the professor's job to give me
what I need to graduate.
I often feel angry toward many of my professors.
I appreciate a teacher's depth of knowledge more than how
entertaining they are.
I am not interested in hearing students and the professor
discussing philosophical issues.
I'm in a hurry to get my education over with.

Least Preferred Coworker Scale

Instructions
Think of all the different people with whom you have ever worked . . . in jobs, in social clubs, in student
projects, or whatever. Next think of the one person with whom you could work least well, that is, the person
with whom you had the most difficulty getting a job done. This is the one person (a peer, boss, or
subordinate) with whom you would least want to work. Describe this person by circling numbers at the
appropriate points on each of the following pairs of bipolar adjectives. Work rapidly. There are no right or
wrong answers.

Pleasant

Unpleasant

Friendly

Unfriendly

Rejecting

Accepting

Tense

Relaxed

Distant

Close

Cold

Warm

Supportive

Hostile

Boring

Interesting

Quarrelsome

Harmonious

Gloomy

Cheerful

Open

Guarded

Backbiting

Loyal

Untrustworthy

Trustworthy

Considerate

Inconsiderate

Nasty

Nice

Agreeable

Disagreeable

Insincere

Sincere

Kind

Unkind

Compute your LPC score by totaling all the numbers you circled. LPC = _____

Blake & Mouton Leadership Orientation Questionnaire

for more info, see http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/bm_model.html

Read each statement carefully, then, using the following scale, decide the extent to which it actually applies to
you. For best results, answer as truthfully as possible.
never
0

sometimes
3

always
5

1. _______ I encourage my team to participate when it comes decision making time and I try to implement their
ideas and suggestions.
2. _______ Nothing is more important than accomplishing a goal or task.
3. _______ I closely monitor the schedule to ensure a task or project will be completed in time.
4. _______ I enjoy coaching people on new tasks and procedures.
5. _______ The more challenging a task is, the more I enjoy it.
6. _______ I encourage my employees to be creative about their job.
7. _______ When seeing a complex task through to completion, I ensure that every detail is accounted for.
8. _______ I find it easy to carry out several complicated tasks at the same time.
9. _______ I enjoy reading articles, books, and journals about training, leadership, and psychology; and then
putting what I have read into action.
10. _______ When correcting mistakes, I do not worry about jeopardizing relationships.
11. _______ I manage my time very efficiently.
12. _______ I enjoy explaining the intricacies and details of a complex task or project to my employees.
13. _______ Breaking large projects into small manageable tasks is second nature to me.
14. _______ Nothing is more important than building a great team.
15. _______ I enjoy analyzing problems.
16. _______ I honor other people's boundaries.
17. _______ Counseling my employees to improve their performance or behavior is second nature to me.
18. _______ I enjoy reading articles, books, and trade journals about my profession; and then implementing the
new procedures I have learned.
Scoring Section After completing the Questionnaire, transfer your answers to the spaces below:
People Questions

Task Questions

1.______

12.______

2.______

11.______

4.______

14.______

3.______

13.______

6.______

16.______

5.______

15.______

9.______

17.______

7.______

18.______

10.______

8.______

TOTAL ________ X 0.2 = ________

TOTAL ________ X 0.2 ________
(The highest score indicates your orientation. If you are graphing this on the Blake-Mouton
grid, then multiple the totals by 0.2 to get the grid axis scores.)

Is Management For You?

Self Assessment: MANAGEMENT 5 BY WILLIAMS
This assessment does not tell you whether you should or should not be a manager, or whether you have what it
takes to be a manager. It does, however, provide feedback on whether you are interested in the kinds of things
that managers do in their jobs. The research supporting this assessment can be found in P. L. Hunsaker,
Management: A Skills Approach (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005) 2425.
Score Interpretation Scores range from 20 to 100.
Higher scores indicate a better match between your current behaviors and tendencies and those needed for a
career in management. If your score is low, it does not necessarily mean that you will have an unsuccessful
management career. Examine your results more closely. Which items did you mark as most unlike you? In
order to be effective in areas you considered unlike yourself, you will most likely need to develop compensatory
skills or behaviors to overcome those deficiencies. For example, an important function of management is
organizing, so if you marked I am an organized person as most unlike me, you will definitely need to begin
developing your organizational skills.
Student Views of their College and Academic Experience This is the Student (Pro- v) Anti-Intellectualism
Scale. To compute your score, add up the answer circled for every item (possible scores range from 25 to 175).
In recent studies, averages for students under age 25 or 26 ranged from 90 to 97 (older, nontraditional student
averages ranged from about 80 to 91) depending on the university and major. Scales interpretation is complex
and will be discussed in class, or you can look up the studies by Laverghetta & Nash (2010) or Elias (2009).
Interpretation of LPC Scores
The LPC scale is used by Fiedler to identify a persons dominant leadership style (see the textbook material).
Fiedler believes that this style is a relatively fixed part of ones personality, and is therefore difficult to change.
This leads Fiedler to his contingency views, which suggest that the key to leadership success is finding (or
creating) good matches between style and situation.
Score interpretation: If your score is 73 or above, you are considered a relationship-oriented leader. If your
score is 64 or below, you are considered a task-oriented leader. If your score is 65 to 72, you are a mixture of
both, and it is up to you to determine which leadership style is most like yours.
Blake and Mouton Leadership Grid Leader Types (brief descriptions)
Country Club Leadership High People / Low Task
This style of leader is most concerned about the
needs and feelings of members of his/her team. These people assume that as long as team members are
happy and secure then they will work hard. What tends to result is a work environment that is very
relaxed and fun but where production suffers due to lack of direction and control.
Impoverished Leadership Low Task / Low People
This leader is mostly ineffective. He/she has neither
a high regard for creating systems for getting the job done, nor for creating a work environment that is
satisfying and motivating. The result is a place of disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.
Authoritarian Leadership High Task / Low People
Also known as Authoritarian Leaders, these people
believe that employees are simply a means to an end. Employee needs are always secondary to the
need for efficient and productive workplaces.
Middle-of-the-Road Leadership Medium Task / Medium People This style seems to balance competing
concerns and appears to be an ideal compromise. Therein lies the problem: When you compromise, you
necessarily give away a bit of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are fully met.
These leaders settle for average performance believing this is the best one can expect.
Team Leadership High Task / High People
This is Blake and Mouton's pinnacle. These leaders stress
production needs and the needs of the people equally. The idea is that when employees are committed to
and have a stake in the organizations success, then their needs and production needs coincide. This
support a positive team environment, high satisfaction and motivation and, as a result, high production.