Self-monitoring theory Essay Example
Self-monitoring theory Essay Example

Self-monitoring theory Essay Example

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  • Pages: 4 (999 words)
  • Published: April 27, 2017
  • Type: Analysis
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Self-monitoring theory is a contribution to the psychology of personality, proposed by Mark Snyder in 1974. The theory refers to the process through which people regulate their own behavior in order to "look good" so that they will be perceived by others in a favorable manner. (Wikipedia, 2009 ) Scenario A: The Low Self-monitor As the scenario depicts, Sue is a low self monitoring individual who believes in being aggressive and creating a behavior that would depict her as a self motivated individual at the workplace.Such an individual would like to be heard by all and have the opinion not only heard but also have the others convinced on the same. Sue, as a low self monitor, would need to be provided some feedback on her behavior an on how she needs to react around people because her behavior has crea

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ted problems for those around her and this may be distracting and creating obstacles in the daily deliverables that should be submitted at the end of the day.

As Sue likes being heard, there is a chance that she may not be able to complete her deliverables in time and this would cause delay in work for her other colleagues. The low self monitoring attitude seems to be of stable nature which means that such a characteristic within an individual can not be completely changed, however with the help of some feedback and communication, slight modifications can be brought about. “Low self monitors are not so concerned with constantly assessing the social climate around them.Their behavior is quite consistent.

” (Newsmine. org ) The first thing that would be communicated to Sue at her daily or

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weekly morning meeting is about her attitude with other employees at the workplace. The meeting should be on an individual basis and not in front f an entire crowd as that would hurt her sentiments and mean more trouble for the management. Sue should be given the opportunity in order to express why she behaves in such a manner and whether she feels some negative vibe from the others.

If so, the employees around her must also be noted of their behavior in order to create a comfortable environment for all. If such a situation is achieved, Sue would be better able to restore her mind and work efficiently. And as Sue is eager to have the last word in decisions, she must be able to participate on a regular basis at meetings and also be provided a weekly project for the meeting so that she would be better able to contribute to the discussion and be well prepared. Her extempore answers would not be present as she may hold some valuable information through her research.

It has been noted by many authors that low self monitoring individuals normally work better in a project based or research work because they are able to express their views better through thorough analysis and this would also allow them to have valuable information to distribute to others. A comfortable or more acceptable environment would be created for all the employees of the department. Scenario B: The High Self-monitor A high self monitoring has two aspects to the behavior that is displayed.One is that of changing opinions with changing individuals as well as the aspect of being flirtatious with top executives.

Both of these are of major concern and a solution must be reached so that the behavior may be improved for the better of the department.

Considering the first aspect, it can be seen that Alice likes to change her opinions as she changes the people she talks to. This is a common problem in many individual as they believe that by doing so, they may be successful in the work life and may reach the top position at an early stage in the career.What they are not aware of is that this could be very damaging to the concerned individual. A one to one session must be held with Alice where the drawbacks of conducting such a behavior must be laid out to her. The policies and rules o the organization must also be held stringent for her as such behavior would not be tolerated by any organization. Alice must be made aware of the same.

Alice must also be made aware of the behavior she is depicting to the subordinates and the manager.Once the manager portrays the fact that he is well aware of her tactics, she would be careful not to do so. She should also be made aware of the feedback that has also been provided by the employees to the manager. Alice should be given the idea that the department believes in strong communication linkages where the employee may complain to the manager about a certain problem that may be distracting. The manager, too, should be able to evaluate the opinions of all the employees and not be biased towards or against one.

If the manager starts believing all that Alice

says to the manager, then this can be of concerning issue because then Alice would be able to manipulate the manager on her side and create an uncomfortable environment for her colleagues that would also cause them to be de-motivated. A high self monitoring individual does not seem to have a strong ability to maintain the personality characteristics because as in Alice’s case, the personality can be changed because Alice, once aware of all the feedback from the employees and the manager, would be careful of the behavior she portrays.As to her attitude towards top managers, there is a need for the top executives to be aware of her attitude before hand and ensure that they do not make hasty decisions in her benefit. This is one trait of Alice that cannot be changed till the managers themselves show Alice that they are aware of the behavior she is portraying and that she must be careful in her attitude as it may create damaging effects to her career.

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