Personality Types (MBTI) and Job Satisfaction

Universiti TENAGA NASIONALCOOLLEGE OF ENGNEERINGUNIM 513 RESEARCH METHODOLGYPersonality Types (MBTI) and Job Satisfaction

Student name : Khalid Ghazi Alarady2/26/2009

Does engineering college have a certain types in the academy staff as these types have got much significance to have analytical ability depend on their personality type (MBTI) description?

Background The sun rises every day sends its beams over the word. Most people start a new day. Everyone has got something to do, something to give. Some people run away of their fears and others go ahead to their dreams. A farmer got to his farm to look after his plants he is working while investigator is looking into a scene of a crime to catch the murder. An author is writing down his last chapter of his romantic novel while a mathematical scientist involved in a mathematical analysis to come up with a solution. What is the secret beyond the great vary on our area and our ability .We all different work on varies areas; each one has his special ability to do what he want. People are not always good in choosing a good work for their abilities. Not all people shoos the right place to work. Some people works during the day since they count the hours to finish their job, unlike others involve totally on their jobs and being interested. Who has a chance to know his ability and where it can be applied, he is really lucky. Something such as when a student change his major after been studying for years that would proven the abilities of someone must be appropriate with his job area.Job satisfaction is one of the most important things must be thought about. Choosing our job is influenced by many factors, most specifically the individual personality traits and environmental factors.For the second one it depend on our natural abilities where they are born with us. Each person has a spatial abilities and natural preference. That will indicate where he would be interested. It is the mean motivation of our careers and skills development in order to get a satisfying job.The chance to get a satisfying job it is related to understanding ourselves and our abilities especially on early ages. To get this chance we have to understand how people come with different abilities, and is there any way to divide them into certain types to understand their natural abilities.One of the most famous psychologist came across the problem of types is Dr. Carl Gustav Jung. He worked as psychologist for nearly twenty years. During his work he had been writing his notes from his experience of treatment of nervous illnesses, and from intercourse with people of all social levels. He was looking for the possibility to divide people into certain types. He published his book Psychological types in German in 1921 He called it the fruit of nearly twenty years Its one of the most important Jungs longer works, and probably the most famous of his books. [1]After that Katharine Cook Briggs (1875-1968) and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers (1897-1980) came to study Jungs notes. After forty years of working and discovering they came up with interested theory what is known now as Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) [2]

Literature reviewMany studies has been done on this area since its importantly to give a sign where someone would work even he in early age, or for determine which personality type is capable to a certain job. The MBTI divides people into 16 types, each type has spatial name depends on his general profile [3]. The table shown below illustrates all types and their names. ISTJThe Duty FulfillersENTJThe Executives

ESTJThe GuardiansINTJThe Scientists

ISFJThe NurturersENTPThe Visionaries

ESFJThe CaregiversINTPThe Thinkers

ISTPThe MechanicsENFJThe Givers

ESTPThe DoersINFJThe Protectors

ESFPThe PerformersENFPThe Inspirers

ISFPThe ArtistsINFPThe Idealists

For example the ESFJs (Caregivers) are described as Warm-hearted, popular, and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function. And also the INFJs (Protectors) are described as Quietly forceful, original, and sensitive. Tend to stick to things until they are done. Extremely intuitive about people, and concerned for their feelings. Well-developed value systems which they strictly adhere to. Well-respected for their perserverence in doing the right thing. Likely to be individualistic, rather than leading or following. All the sixteen types has been described on many websites.[4][5]

David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates [6] discovered that the sixteen Myers-Briggs personality types could be organized into four temperaments, Guardians, Artisans, Rationales and Idealists. First, the Guardians includes (ESTJ, ISTJ, ESFJ and ISFJ) where they focus on judging zone they are described as the cornerstone of society, because their ability to Being concrete in communicating and cooperative in achieving goals, and they tend to focus on their responsibility for social problems. They can become highly skilled in logistics. Second, the Artisans includes (ESTPs, ISTPs, ESFPs and ISFPs) where they are described as Sensation Seeking personality, they want to be where the action is. They are spontaneous, adaptable and competitive. Third, the Rationales include (ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP and INTP) where they focus on (thinking zone) and they have the ability to analyze problems. Also they based on reasons rather than emotions and Idealists. Fourth the Idealists include (ENFJs, INFJs, ENFPs and INFPs) and they focus on feeling zone and that give him to imagine the results of what they deal with. They tend to live according to high standards or principles. See the figure below. 1The basic information about types comes from researches of Carl Jung, Katharine C. Briggs, and Isabel Briggs Myers. Jung came to believe that there were certain attitudes or ways of seeing, or making decisions in the word that people tend to adopt. First there were two types become especially clear to him, he termed them the introverted and the extraverted types[1]. People who become extraverted they focus on what happen around them. They produce energy from action: they tend to act, then reflect, then act further. If they are inactive, their level of energy and motivation tends to decrease. Unlikely, those who become introverted they focus on their inner self they become less energized as they act. They prefer to reflect, then act, then reflect again. They need time to reflect in order to rebuild energy.Second the two pairs of functions what is called the rational and the irrational functions [7] for the first one rational it includes two opposite pairs (sensing and intuition) two ways of taking information from the word. People who prefer Sensing tend to take in Information through the five senses and focus on the here and now. And unlike People who prefer Intuition tend to take in information from patterns and the big picture and focus on future possibilities. People used these function depend on their natural prefer. It seems like right hand and left hand, who get sensing function as right hand tend to find using the intuition more difficult [8]. For the second one irrational, it includes two opposite pairs (thinking and feeling) two ways of making decisions. People who prefer Thinking tend to make decisions based primarily on logic and on objective analysis of cause and effect. Unlikely People who prefer Feeling tend to make decisions based primarily on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns.

Briggs and Myers recognized that [9] each of the cognitive functions ( sensing (S) / iNtution and Thinking (N) / Feeling (F) operate in conjunction with the attitudes (extraversion (E) and introversion (I) ). Each function is used in either an extraverted or introverted way as shown in the figure below.

A person whose attitude is extroverted and his preference is the rational functions either become extroverted thinking or extroverted feeling he become judging person (J), unlike if his preference is the irrational functions either become extroverted sensing or extroverted intuition he become Perceiving (P).People who prefer Judging tend to like a planned and organized approach to life and prefer to have things settled, and people who prefer Perceiving tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep their options open.Every person has the possibility to get either External or internal attitude E or I and for his perceiving functions irrational he must be either sensing or intuition S or N and for his judging functions he must be either feeling or thinking F or T and these paris functions and his attitude generate the forth letter (P or J) as if he preferred external attitude and one of the perceiving functions to use in out word he would be Perceiving (P) or if he instead prefers one of judging functions to be used in outside word he will be Judging ( J )person. This will give us the sixteen types as shown in the table above. For example if a person preferred to use intuition function as extroverted function and also he preferred to use feeling as internal function he will get ( ENFP) this type called (The Inspirers) from these functions psychologists able to determine many important information for example of ENFPs type see the table shown below. This table has 22 broad occupational categories, or "job families," and a number of specific occupations and show how they rank in popularity among ENFPs. This ranking is based on information from a sample of more than 92,000 people in 282 jobs who said they were satisfied with their jobs. There were 8,305 ENFPs in this sample [10]

4. The statement of the problemThe kinds of tasks and work environment must be appropriate with the kinds of the abilities of a person. Working at a suitable environment of someone will help him feel more comfortable and satisfied in his day-to-day work because he will have opportunities to express his natural preference.The problem is how someone determines his suitable environment to be appropriate with his natural preference, specially at early ages. Understanding the personality types (MBTI) could help to give a really important sign where a person could work effectively. MBTI gives much important information about the personality types. In this research the environment of academic stuff work at engineering college will be examined to see which temperament would has more percentage.5. The ObjectiveThe object is to see the percentage of Rationale group (ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP and INTP) in engineering college, In order to give more understanding for the relation between personality type MBTI and job satisfactions. 6. The possible outcomes.The four types (ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP and INTP) in rational group have a reasonable to have analytical ability. The environment of engineering college would be more suitable for who has analytical abilities. May the number of whose from rational group is more than others types. ENTJs and ENTPs work comfortably with groups in contract INTJs and INTPs preferred to work alone. ENTPs and INTPs may become not comfortable with very stick rules and plans they want to work with freedom unlike INTJs and ENTJs, they like to be more organized and work with plans. 7. The methods of qualitative data collection.Interview (in depth interview ) to get rich information about their natural preference., reasons beyond choosing their work to determine which factors they are more influenced by either individual personality traits or environmental factors .( Group Discussion ) with deferent types to observe their opinions about their job environment to compare it with the MBTI result. Planned observation of types in their natural environment the observer must records what he/she observes or hear to compare it with MBTI profile for each type to be sure about their types. (Content analysis) analyze texts, emissions, pictures to get information about their job satisfaction.

8. Questions: to determine the MBTI types 1I prefer to spend time

interacting with people introspecting

2I would classify myself as a

Social butterfly Lone ranger

3When in a one-on-one situation I usually do more

talking listening

4I have more fun engaging in

group activities individual activities

5I like

timetables and plans to go with the flow

6I am most comfortable being

a planner spontaneous

7I like to finalize decisions

early only when necessary

8Change for me is

difficult easy

9I get energized by

exploring theories learning facts

10I see life

as it could be as it is

11I consider myself to be

an idealist a realist

12I am more interested in

future possibilities current happenings

13I make decisions based on

feeling logic

14Talking about feeling and emotions is

easy difficult

15When in conversation, I

am careful to avoid conflict say things as they are

16I am governed by my

heart head

Questions from 1 to 4 to determine the person either extroverted or introverted (E or I) the lefts answers is a sign of extroverted person Questions from 5 to 8 to determine the person either judging or perceiving (J or P) the left answers are a sign of judging person.Questions from 9 to 12 to determine the person either intutin or senceing ( N or S ) the left answers are a sign of intuitive person.Questions from 13 to 16 to determine the person either feeling or thinking ( T or F ) the left answers are a sign of feeling person.

References:[1] Psychological Types by C. G. Jung (Author), a revision by R.F.C.HULL of the translation by H. G. BAYNES.[2] http://www.myersbriggs.org[3] http://www.personalitypage.com/portraits.html[4] www.socionics.com[5] http://www.knowyourtype.com[6] Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence (Paperback)by David Keirsey (Author)[7] http://www.answers.com/topic/myers-briggs-type-indicator[8] http://www.mivistaconsulting.com[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator[10]Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Career Report Developed by Allen L.Hammer