Lease Preferred Coworker Essays

Lease Preferred Coworker Essays Lease Preferred Coworker Essay Lease Preferred Coworker Essay The LPC scale is used in contingency theory to measure a persons leadership style. For example, it measures your style by having you describe a coworker with whom you had difficulty completing a job. This does not need to be a co-worker you disliked a great deal, but rather someone with whom you least like to work. After you have selected this individual, the LPC instrument asks you to describe your coworker on 18 sets of adjectives. Low LPCs are task motivated. They are individuals whose primary needs are to accomplish tasks and whose secondary needs are focused on getting along with people. In a work setting, they are concerned with achieving success on assigned tasks, even if at the cost of having poor interpersonal relation- ships with coworkers. Low LPCs gain self-esteem through achieving their goals. They attend to interpersonal relationships, but only after they first have directed themselves toward the tasks of the group. Middle LPCs are socio-independent leaders. In the context of work, they are self-directed and not overly concerned with the task or with how others view them. They are more removed from the situation and act more independent than low or high LPCS. High LPCs are motivated by relationships. These individuals derive their major satisfaction in an organization from getting along with people-inter- personal relationships. A high LPC sees positive qualities even in the co- worker she or he least prefers, even though the high LPC does not work well with that person. In an organizational setting, the high LPC attends to tasks, but only after she or he is certain that the relationships between people are in good shape. Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) Measure[i][ii] INSTRUCTIONS: Think of the person with whom you can work least well. He or she may be someone you work with now or someone you knew in the past. He or she does not have to be the person you like least well, but should be the person with whom you had the most difficulty in getting a job done. Describe this person as he or she appears to you. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Scoring | |Pleasant |8 | |7 | |6 | |5 | |4 | |3 | |2 | |1 |Unpleasant |   | |Friendly |8 | |7 | |6 | |5 | |4 | |3 | |2 | |1 |Unfriendly |   | |Rejecting |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Accepting |   | |Tense |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Relaxed |   | |Distant |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Close |   | |Cold |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Warm |   | |Supportive |8 | |7 | |6 | | 5 | |4 | |3 | |2 | |1 |Hostile |   | |Boring |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Interesting |   | |Quarrelsome |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Harmonious |   | |Gloomy |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Cheerful |   | |Open |8 | |7 | |6 | |5 | |4 | |3 | |2 | |1 |Closed |   | |Backbiting |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Loyal |   | |Untrustworthy |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Trustworthy |   | |Considerate |8 | |7 | |6 | |5 | |4 | |3 | |2 | |1 |Inconsiderate |   | |Nasty |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Nice |   | |Agreeable |8 | |7 | |6 | |5 | |4 | |3 | |2 | |1 |Disagreeable |   | |Insincere |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Sincere |   | |Kind |1 | |2 | |3 | |4 | |5 | |6 | |7 | |8 |Unkind |   | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Total: |   | | Scoring Interpretation Your final LPC score is determined by adding up the numbers you circled on all of the 18 scales. If your score is 57 or below, you are a low LPC, which su ggests that you are task motivated. If your score is within the range of 58 to 63, you are a middle LPC, which means you are independent. Individuals who score 64 or above are called high LPCs and they are thought to be more relationship motivated. Because the LPC is a personality measure, the score you get on the LPC scale is believed to be quite stable over time and not easily changed. Low LPCs tend to remain low, moderate LPCs tend to remain moderate, and high LPCs tend to remain high. As was pointed out earlier in the chapter, research shows that the test-retest reliability of the LPC is very strong (Fiedler Garcia, 1987). [i] SOURCE: Adapted from F. E. Fiedler and M. M. Chemers, Improving Leadership Effectiveness: The Leader Match Concept (2nd ed. ). Copyright  © 1984. [ii] Northouse, Peter G. Leadership Theory and Practice. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. , 2001. 86-7.