It is through personality that we are in the position to define an individual. Personality types on the other hand are the mode in which we study an individual through their psychology and classify them according to the groups in which they fit. Through personality, we are able to identify and know individuals, how they think and their way of acting. Personality types should not at any cost be confused with personality traits given that it is a wider term than the latter.
While personality types are qualitative in nature, personality trait focuses much on the quantitative aspects. We can at times categorize individuals as introverts or extroverts while traits will handle them as either introversion or extroversion and argues they are dynamic in nature (Edelstein, 2006).
There are several personality types of and these are generally arrived at according to the assessments by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which is a psychometric test questionnaire employed in measuring people’s perception and how they view their surroundings (Edelstein, 2006). The assessment mode borrows heavily from the typological theories in their assessments; it is designed to fully understand the theory.
Personality type theory therefore as defined by Jung identifies two major cognitive operations that is rationality which revolves around thinking and feelings vs. irrationality which are perceiving in nature handling senses and intuitions (Kroeger, Thuesen & Rutledge, 2002). These functions were later developed to help identify personalities as either introverts or extroverts.
Since personality, types have been disintegrated further into many other types among which we have; the duty fulfiller, such person is very serious and often quiet with much interest in security and peace. Such a person can surely be depended upon due to their high sense of responsibility and hardworking. We also have the mechanic type of person, such a person often quiet and reserved, their interest is mostly swayed on trying to know how things work in a given way and why such is the case.
We also have the idealist personality, this person is reflective and has the urge to serve humanity to the fullest, within the value systems developed, and they always make efforts to stay within them. The other person is the scientist; a scientist is an individual much independent in thinking and always original in their ideas, which are creative and analytical. They are theory transformers into effective plans of action (Kroeger, Thuesen & Rutledge, 2002).
In the human functions and organizations, it is prudent to understand each individual in their personalities so that effectiveness can be realized in motivation at work places, effective management and communication functions as well as fostered relationships between the subjects and those they intend to serve (Northouse, 2007). The level at which we understand personality will always help in unlocking a variety of human functions like leadership and even motivation.
It is also quite easy to understand the underlying personality tests, the knowledge gained from such is important in developing self awareness of and human feeling to help others. The management of individuals is very important since it will define who the leader becomes and who is lead in any form of organized groupings.
Personality theories, types and tests are quite applicable in the management of institutions, recruitment of workforce and selection (Kroeger, Thuesen & Rutledge, 2002). It also helps to define training needs of any organization. Studies of personality and personality types are therefore vital and must be given a chance for prosperity in our societies.
Managing strategic performance
Virtual teams in organizations consist of a pool of professionals constituted and working remotely in several locations. The locations may be at the comfort of their homes, co-working offices or the branch offices of large organizations. Irrespective of where an individual works or is stationed, they are normally in the same team and they operate towards the same objectives and aims of the organization.
Through modern technology, the members of the virtual teams always collaborate and work as a group/team from wherever they are located, they operate on the same plat form through the application of most modern technology such as web conferencing and instant messaging, Skype and online management software are employed (Gibson & Cohen, 2003). Virtual teams across the world have the following general characteristics, which enhance their functions.
Executive support; this is a situation where the management is given the role of supporting relationships to help build trust. Secondly, virtual teams experience effective HR functions, which entail frequent training of staff. The teams are highly structured; this is because virtual teams are mostly successful when the right people are selected. The best workforce for a virtual team performance is a person who is self-reliant and independent in their work and self motivated.
The other characteristic is that virtual team organizations have very strong team leaders to steer their roles and functions. Strong leaders are necessary because there are no face-to-face meetings and interaction hence it is hard to build the required trust (Gignac, 2005). Through virtual teams, companies have been in the position of deriving many benefits, which range from cheap salaries and less overhead costs (Gibson & Cohen, 2003).
Overhead costs are reduced since the company does not need to pay for office space and packing for some of its employees. The company is also in the position of attracting the best employees since there is no bureaucracy in getting the employees; they as well have a diverse pool to choose. Other benefits include improved communication, facilitated coordination, increased working time hence an improvement in productivity.
Diversity and cultural enrichment is a benefit, alongside this, research is facilitated (Gignac, 2005). Virtual teams also have set backs despite having many pros. Some of the demerits include; the method requires new skills from their employees hence more costs in form of trainings and retraining frequently. Organizations trying to adopt this form of operations in their organization face a challenge of difficulty to integrate this culture.
It is as well extremely difficult to track the efforts made by its employees hence a difficulty in measuring output; this may fuel wastage and inefficiency in terms of labor force performance (Zofi, 2012). Lastly, benefits that are accrued from face to face operations are lacking since individuals are working from several location. To effectively facilitate the performance of virtual teams by management, the organization should invest heavily in modern technology among other strategies.
Moreover, such technology will facilitate the use of instant messaging to enhance a sense of presence; use of Skype must be embraced while increasing the interval of verbal check-ins. Every employee should be posted online and use of virtual telephone system should be embraced. In addition, the leadership and management should develop a program that will bring the employees to meet at a central physical location occasionally (Zofi, 2012).
References
Edelstein, L 2006, Writer’s guide to character traits: includes profiles of human behaviors and personality types (2nd ed.), Writer’s Digest Books: Cincinnati, Ohio.
Gibson, CB & Cohen, SG 2003, Virtual teams that work creating conditions for virtual team effectiveness, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
Gignac, F 2005, Building successful virtual teams, Artech House: Boston.
Kroeger, O, Thuesen, JM & Rutledge, H 2002, Type talk at work: how 16 personality types determine your success on the job (Rev. and updated. ed.), Dell Pub: New York.
Northouse, PG 2007, Leadership: theory and practice (4th ed.), SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks.
Zofi, YS 2012, A manager’s guide to virtual teams, American Management Association: New York.