Matthew Brown

ENCE424
Fourth Pearl Diving Assignment
Write an email to your team in which you address the team’s
lackluster performance and the need for improvement.
Dear Engineering Team,

I am writing this email today, not only as your boss, but as some who deeply cares about our
mission and the work we do here. It has been brought to my attention by many of the
shareholders that our progress has been slacking over the past couple of months. With nothing
new to show investors, we will lose funding and eventually our hard work these past few years
will go to waste.

For the past few years, our advancements towards our final goal has already helped thousands of
people across the world. Men, women and children across the globe who are affected by some
form of paralysis have all been benefited by our research and new technology. This company
started from just a small idea and a group of five people. Today, only a couple years later, we
now have almost 200 employees, from engineers like ourselves, to the PR department, to the
business department and many more. At the beginnings of this company, we had a prime
directive, to use our final product to rid the world of the hardships of temporary and permanent
paralysis. Although we have made great strides and have helped thousands, our mission is not
done.

Some of you have joined this team because you believe in the technology, and some of you have
joined the team because you yourselves have a personal connection to someone with paralysis. It
is our duty to complete our goal, not only for the company itself, but for all those it benefits.

I ask you today, to get back on the pace that we once were. Within the next month, I expect our
performance to be back at what it was when we first started this project. To give the group full
transparency, if we do not have something to show the board of shareholders within the next
month, our funding will ultimately be cut, and the company will be forced to downsize. This
unfortunate case would put many employees, who are also parents of young children, out of
work.

It is our time to make our mark on technological and human advancement. As William James
once said, “The greatest use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”

Regards to All,

Matthew Brown
Engineering Team Lead
Write an essay in which you reflect on the Marshmallow
Challenge Activity.
Unlike many people in the class, not only had I never taken part in the marshmallow
challenge activity, I also have never even heard of it before this class. With that, after being
announced we were going to be taking part in the challenge, I was very excited being that I have
a very competitive nature when it comes to certain things. I have always been a hands-on guy
and have always loved the aspect of building even from a young age starting with Legos.
After getting into groups we began to choose positions. After some time talking with the
group, I was assigned to be the project manager. Some of the people in the group knew each
other and it seemed as if they wanted one of their friends to be the project manager but being that
she had already been the lead in another class activity, I was the second-choice project manager.
Because I was the project manager, I was moved mid-activity to another group so I will speak on
behalf of both performances and my experiences on both teams.
My first group was the winner of the whole competition. I personally attribute it to the
strong start that we had while I was there. Me, along with the other person in the group who was
only not the project manager because she had been it previously, really took the lead on the
assignment. We had a great group as a whole and after shooting around ideas for a while we
came to a final decision on what the structure of our tower would be. Although it was entirely a
group effort, me along with my ‘co-informal’ project manager, managed the ideas that were
being thrown at us by the group and ultimately created the best strategy from the mosh of ideas
we were given. I was very pleased with my group’s performance. As mentioned previously, I
believe we had a very good start and developed some ideas that were essential to our tower
winning the competition. One of the main ideas that I believe led us to the victory was
quadrupling up the spaghetti on the bottom levels to increase support. Our first step was to
combine the spaghetti into these quadrupled bunches and tape them together. It was after this that
we would build the foundation. Because the supports were strong, the foundation in turn was
strong and thus we were able to build the highest tower.
I will now move on to discuss my experience in my second group that I was moved to.
My second team was able to still make the podium and finished off the competition in 3rd place. I
believe my addition to the team really propelled this team to the top of the leaderboards. The
addition of me as a project manager also brought the ideas that my entire first team had
developed. I noticed that this first group was having issues with the flexibility of the pasta. I
realized this was because the bottom of their structure was made with only single spaghetti
sticks. With that I offered the advice to start tripling or quadrupling up the bottom structs so that
the structure would not have so much give to it. However, after speaking to their resource
manager who informed me that they were running out of pasta, we had to make an audible. After
taking in some ideas from the new team, along with my ideas from the old team, we decided to
use their current base as a support to hold a long, pole of spaghetti that was built with quadrupled
pieces. This decreased the flexibility and allowed the pole to hold the marshmallow on top. I
believe my addition to the team added valuable intel which allowed this second team to propel
itself to the podium with third place.
Overall, I had a great time with this activity. As mentioned, I love a good competition
and also love building with my hands. One takeaway I had from this activity was really one of
the essential roles of a project manager is to make a final decision. During our planning stage,
the group could have bounced off ideas for hours and still not have come to a conclusion. Being
that we were under a time constraint, it was the project manager’s role to really end the
discussion and come up with a final plan. One last takeaway is the necessity of each individual
role needed to speak up. On my second team, I mentioned the resource manager spoke up about
not having enough pasta left. If she did not do this, we would have gone ahead with bulking up
the foundation to just realize we didn’t have enough spaghetti left to increase the height and thus
we would have not gotten to rank three.

Print and complete the Conflict Management Styles

Assessments
Navigate to end of Pearl Dive assignment in this PDF for the filled-out Conflict Management
Styles Assessments.

Complete the free online Yung personality assessment

After taking the test and viewing my results I very much agree with the results of the
assessment. My results (also attached) are as follows: extravert, intuitive, thinker and judger.
These results are very similar to my DISC assessment which I also had agreed with. My DISC
assessment was as follows 45% Influence, 43% Dominance, 7% Steadiness and 5% Compliance.
I could very show my agreement to this assessment in the same manner as the DISC assessment
(being that my results are so similar) but, in order to just not reiterate my last pearl dive, I will
provide some new supporting evidence.
As mentioned in my last pearl dive, I am not afraid to speak up or communicate with
people to get a job done. Moreover, I also enjoy taking the lead in group projects and other areas
where leadership is needed. I believe this all speaks to me being an extravert. When it comes to
being intuitive, I have always been fascinated with the future from a technology perspective. I
get very excited when the topics of space exploration and things of that nature are brought into
the conversation. Another quality that I believe plays into both being intuitive and a judger is that
I like to get ahead with work. I really don’t enjoy having anything on my plate which leads me to
just finish the work as it comes. In order to be so on top of my work, my days are very planned
and organized in that I am always thinking about work I must do in the future. Lastly, we come
to the result of ‘thinker’. I believe this goes hand in hand with my low score in steadiness. I am a
very logical thinker both when it comes to problem solving and people themselves. As I touched
on in my last paper, I have very little patience in certain aspects of life and I believe that stems
from my thoughts of “why is this taking so long?”, “how does this person not understand this?”.
Some things that take a while or things that people don’t understand, I find to be simple logic, so
my patience lacks in that area. I believe thinking logically and one being wired for math also go
hand in hand and thus, being that I enjoy math, I believe the assessment results are very accurate.
Overall, I believe that test did a very good job of describing my personality and therefore
there were really no surprises. To reiterate, I believe the DISC and Jung assessments were very
similar for the reasons described above. To differentiate the two assessments, I believe that the
Jung results were a lot more descriptive (rather than the percentages of the four categories of the
DISC assessment) which allowed me to understand the results better than that of the results of
the DISC assessment.
 Conflict Management Styles Assessment
Please CIRCLE ONE response that best describes you. Be honest, this survey is designed to help you
learn about your conflict management style. There are no right or wrong answers!

Name ________________________ Date _____________________

Rarely Sometimes Often Always

1. I discuss issues with others to try to find solutions that meet everyone’s
1 2 3 4
needs.

2. I try to negotiate and use a give-and-take approach to problem situations. 1 2 3 4

3. I try to meet the expectations of others. 1 2 3 4

4. I would argue my case and insist on the advantages of my point of view. 1 2 3 4

5. When there is a disagreement, I gather as much information as I can and

1 2 3 4
keep the lines of communication open.
6. When I find myself in an argument, I usually say very little and try to leave
1 2 3 4
as soon as possible.
7. I try to see conflicts from both sides. What do I need? What does the other
1 2 3 4
person need? What are the issues involved?

8. I prefer to compromise when solving problems and just move on. 1 2 3 4

9. I find conflicts exhilarating; I enjoy the battle of wits that usually follows. 1 2 3 4

10. Being in a disagreement with other people makes me feel uncomfortable

1 2 3 4
and anxious.

11. I try to meet the wishes of my friends and family. 1 2 3 4

12. I can figure out what needs to be done and I am usually right. 1 2 3 4

13. To break deadlocks, I would meet people halfway. 1 2 3 4

14. I may not get what I want but it’s a small price to pay for keeping the
1 2 3 4
peace.

15. I avoid hard feelings by keeping my disagreements with others to myself. 1 2 3 4

Source: Reginald (Reg) Adkins, Ph.D., Elemental Truths. http://elementaltruths.blogspot.com/2006/11/conflict-

management-quiz.html
 Scoring the Conflict Management Styles Assessment

As stated, the 15 statements correspond to the five conflict management styles. To find your
most preferred style, total the points for each style. The style with the highest score indicates
your most commonly used strategy. The one with the lowest score indicates your least
preferred strategy. However, all styles have pros and cons, so it’s important that you can use
the most appropriate style for each conflict situation.

Style Corresponding Statements: Total:

Collaborating (questions 1, 5, 7): _______

Competing: (questions 4, 9, 12): _______

Avoiding: (questions 6, 10, 15): _______

Accommodating: (questions 3, 11, 14): _______

Compromising: (questions 2, 8, 13) _______

My preferred conflict management style is: _______________________________

The conflict management style I would like to work on is: ____________________

How can I practice this conflict management style?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
 Brief Descriptions of the Five Conflict Management Styles
Keep in mind that one style of conflict management is not necessarily better than another; each
style has pros and cons, and each can be useful depending on the situation. This assessment is
intended to help you identify your typical response to conflict, with the goal that when you
encounter future conflicts, you will be aware of not only your instinctive reaction, but also the
pros and cons of that reaction for the specific situation. Furthermore, you will also be aware of
the other styles of conflict management that you could draw on to resolve the situation, if one
of the other styles is more appropriate for the current situation.

Owl Collaborating
Owls highly value both their goals and their relationships. They view conflict as a
problem to be solved and seek a solution that achieves both their goals and the goals
of the other person. Owls see conflicts as a means of improving relationships by reducing
tensions between two persons. They try to begin a discussion that identifies the conflict as a
problem, and strive to resolve tensions and maintain the relationship by seeking solutions that
satisfy both themselves and the other person.
Turtle Avoiding
Turtles tend to value avoiding confrontation more than either their goals or
relationships. They often find it easier to withdraw from a conflict than to face it. This might
even include completely giving up relationships or goals that are associated with the conflict.
Shark Competing
Sharks typically value their goals over relationships, meaning that if forced to
choose, they would seek to achieve their goals even at the cost of the relationship
involved. Sharks are typically more concerned with accomplishing their goals than with being
liked by others. They might try to force opponents to accept their solution to the conflict by
overpowering them.
Teddy Bear Accommodating
Teddy Bears typically value relationships over their own goals; if forced to choose,
Teddy Bears will often sacrifice their goals in order to maintain relationships. Teddy
Bears generally want to be liked by others, and prefer to avoid conflict because they believe
addressing it will damage relationships. Teddy Bears try to smooth over conflict to prevent
damage to the relationship.
Fox Compromising
Foxes are moderately concerned with both their goals and their relationships with
others. Foxes typically seek a compromise; they give up part of their goals and
persuade the other person in a conflict to give up part of their goals. They seek a conflict
solution in which both sides gain something; the middle ground between two extreme
positions. They are willing to sacrifice part of their goals in order to find agreement for the
common good.
Adapted from: Conflict Management Styles Descriptions. Docstoc, http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/47081621.png
4/21/2019 Jung personality test result- free Jung personality test taking online at 123test.com

Your Jung personality type

The descriptions you chose about your behavior indicate
that the Personality Type that most accurately describes you is: Extravert-
iNtuitive-Thinker-Judger

Extraverts are outgoing, energetic and action-oriented. They are

enthusiastic and expressive
iNtuitives pay more attention to information that is imaginative and
original. iNtuitives focus on the future.
Thinkers make decisions using logic and impersonal analysis. They think
with their heads rather than their hearts.
Judgers prefer a lifestyle that is decisive, planned and orderly. They like a
life that is organized and controlled.

https://www.123test.com/report/TKVYGGOEDBMHWBEDCK/ 3/9
4/21/2019 Jung personality test result- free Jung personality test taking online at 123test.com

An ENTJ at-a-glance
You are a natural born leader. This motivation is so powerful that you may find it difficult
not to take the lead. Your natural place is at the head of the crowd, marshalling
everyone together and moving the group forward. You are rarely content to stand
quietly in the background. You set high standards for yourself and others. You are
continually creating a mental list of things you want to learn, accomplish and master.

You are keenly analytical. Being logical, dispassionate and objective is as natural to
you as breathing air. Problems invigorate you - you enjoy resolving them using logic and
objective critical thinking - strong points of your personality. Your decisive and positive
action leaves others in the dust. You have little patience with uncertainty, inefficiency or
confusion. You are not afraid to make tough-minded decisions and take hard actions.
Every Jung Personality type has one or two specific nicknames that concisely describe
your Jung personality type, e.g. Inventor, Strategist, Protector and others.

https://www.123test.com/report/TKVYGGOEDBMHWBEDCK/ 4/9
4/21/2019 Jung personality test result- free Jung personality test taking online at 123test.com

Your probable contributions to an organization

Each Personality Type has a different set of skills, talents and attributes that they bring
to an organization, group or relationship. Here is a list of those most commonly
associated with Personality Types like you - ENTJ.

Is a take-charge kind of person.

Readily and joyfully tackles confusion and inefficiencies.
Radiates confidence to all with whom he/she comes into contact.
Is highly strategic in choosing an organization's or project's direction.
Always focuses on the organization's goals.

https://www.123test.com/report/TKVYGGOEDBMHWBEDCK/ 5/9
4/21/2019 Jung personality test result- free Jung personality test taking online at 123test.com

On a team

Some people work well on teams, others work best on their own. Understanding the
personality types of team members provides information about how individuals are
likely to carry out their work and interact with each other. Given your personality
preferences, the following are the strengths (and possible weaknesses!) you will most
likely bring to a team:

Leadership, pure and simple.

Brings total dedication to a project.
Contributes by being goal-oriented, organized and by delivering results.
Uses forthright logic to influence team members.
Is adept at finding flaws in proposed solutions.

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