Psychological Contracts & Learning Styles Assignment

A. After reviewing Chapter 3, in Osland, Kolb, and Rubin’s Organizational Behavior: An

Experiential Approach, What was your Learning Style Type (e.g. active, concrete, reflective,
abstract)? Were you generally balanced or was there a general dominant style? (10 points) Given
that this course focuses on the nature of teams in the contemporary workplace, comment on your
strengths and weaknesses with respect to working effectively in an organizational team
environment (see Exhibit 3.4, etc., in chapter 3). (6 points) Tell a story or two from your life that
illustrates some connections between your learning style type and some of your past or current
behaviors when working with others in an organizational or social context (6 points)

My learning style was Reflective Observation. My dominant style was Reflective

Observation, but the second-highest was Concrete Experience. Then Abstract Conceptualization
and lastly Active Experimentation was the lowest one I scored on. I was generally balanced upon
the learning styles from my scores ranging from 22, 19, 17, and 16. There wasn’t a huge
dramatic difference between my scores. Learning about my learning style (RO) was interesting
because I take a deep interest in understanding and getting to know the whole problem rather
than just coming up with the fast facts. I dislike to be automatically inclined to a situation, and I
like to take my time and figure out all aspects of the problem. I’ve realized from my learning
style that I am a deep thinker and very much an over-thinker. Whenever something happens, I
can think about it for a whole day or even longer (however long it takes until I sort it out).
As a diverger, my strengths are “imaginative ability, understanding people, recognizing
problems, and brainstorming” (Osland et al., 2001, p. 54). In a group setting, from my previous
work experience, at a dog rescue, I remember a time that I made a meeting with the owner and
management. I presented an idea of dog portfolios. I brought in an example of a foster portfolio
showcased their image, name, age, breed, activities, likes, dislikes, behavior, diet, medication,
backstory, etc. It was all put together for an adopter to read through briefly and examine if that is
the type of dog or puppy they are interested in according to their profile. In our rescue, we had
what I called “doggy turnover,” meaning we had too many cases of dogs being adopted out and
brought back, which caused many problems for other potential adopters and our funding system.
Since many of our dogs were being returned, management thought the “dogs” were the suspect
when the adopters were the ones who decided to bring back the dog because of boredom, or it
was not what they were looking for. So, my idea was to create portions of the fosters and
highlight the critical features of their personality and behavior. Many adopters focused on the
dog’s appearance and breed instead of their natural behavior and personality.
It was understandable to see why some adopters aimed for “cuteness” from the fosters.
Still, I always explained it’s best to research the breed before choosing them because adopters
only get a partial refund in addition to extending the waitlist for other severe cases of dogs
waiting to get into our facility. I recognized these problems and spoke about them during my
meeting with my boss and management, so they know where a lot of time, money, and resources
are decreasing. I brainstormed the foster portfolios so that we can match the suitable foster with
the right adopter. Therefore, my purpose was to match-make the adopter with a foster to find
them a forever home.
My weaknesses as a diverger are “Lack of ideas and can’t recognize problems and
opportunities” (Osland et al., 2001, p. 54). I could agree that I can’t detect opportunities as much
as I would like to. Looking back in the same workplace, I have missed opportunities to have had
a higher chance of growing in the organization. For example, I could have been a manager
assistant or volunteer coordinator if I was not intimidated by the other people I worked with.
Since I was the youngest person working there, I struggled with the complication of an age
difference. I thought all those older than me had a better chance of running higher positions even
though I had the same level of experience or knowledge, skills, and abilities. But, shying away
about opportunities made me get used to missing them and letting them go to others who might
“need” it more than me.
From a personal experience, I remember when I was in a position where I lost a friend
due to ongoing conflict regarding our lease and apartment. For almost a whole year, I studied our
situation and why we were no longer friends after six years. As said by Osland et al. (2001),
“People with a reflective orientation enjoy thinking about the meaning of situations and ideas
and are good at seeing their implications” (p. 45). After that, I learned that we struggled to count
on one another because we broke our psychological contract between our friendship and
partnership (in owning an apartment). I expected to get a 50/50 effort to pay bills on time and put
in the same amount of money towards other necessary expenses. But, I wasn’t seeing the same
energy being put forth towards the financial issues. My roommate wasn’t contributing her part.
She struggled financially because it was her first time moving out on her own and exploring her
freedom. She prioritized materialistic things and didn’t understand the importance of being
prepared, building her credit, and being highly responsible.
I broke my part of the psychological contract by moving out too soon and giving up on
my roommate because I was emotionally drained. I stopped going to school to work full-time to
cover all the bills on time. My mental health was taking a toll on me, and I started to believe her
irresponsible behavior was why we aren’t friends anymore. I got up and left even though I still
did my part and paid my rent until our lease expired. I was no longer there to be her best friend. I
left her during a hard time and couldn’t consult or comfort her. Without a doubt, if we had
considered, as claimed by Osland et al. (2001), “psychological contracts are very likely to
change over time; make opportunities to check whether the contact is still viable and renegotiate
if necessary” (p. 16). Thus, I could have been more accommodating with her financial situation.
She would have been more accommodating towards my mental well-being; we could have saved
our friendship with effective communication and realistic expectations of each other.
B. Think about what you just learned from the reading and reflect back on a significant social
learning experience from your past (an experience that involved working with others in some
sort of organizational, group, or team manner). Think about what you can apply to set yourself
up for success in this class as you reply to these items:
1. What are your personal goals for the course? To increase self-awareness? To learn
theories and concepts? To fulfill a requirement? To get a grade? To apply learning in
your job or life? Some or all of these or something else? (6 points)

My personal goal for this course is to be more outspoken and confident about my ideas. I
have always struggled with being the “quiet one” or being too reserved. I no longer want to hold
back information that would be valuable to my team and our decision-making process. I want to
be able to speak in front of my teammates without feeling embarrassed or shy. I have a goal to
become more self-confident and practice my speech because it has been a long time that I have
spoken in front of people. So communicating virtually has helped me so far in this course, but I
know I will have to engage in public speaking one day. A few ways I will increase
self-awareness are not judging myself and accepting feedback, whether positive or negative. I
tend to overlook the positive aspects of input because I know good things are being said. Still,
when it comes to the critique, I become more sensitive because I want to achieve my best, but I
have to experience failure to become better. I usually dream of things (like goals and
achievements) to manifest overnight, but I know it takes hard dedication and patience.
The main reason I switched majors was that I was not fulfilled with my courses and
learning. I felt like I wasn’t getting the satisfaction I wanted from school, and I started to doubt
whether I should stay in school or continue working in a full-time job (which became miserable).
When I first started my job at the dog rescue, everything was excellent. That was the beginning
of a new experience, yet after three years of working there, not once was there a psychological
contract or not one I could count on. Over the three years of working there, it was challenging as
management was always unstable and unorganized. I never felt like management was friendly,
and they would play two sides of a game. I stayed there because I loved taking care of the fosters
and seeing them go to a good home. I always hoped for a change in leadership, but there was
never a change. I expected to get treated like how management wanted to be treated; with
respect. Expectations were not met by management, and that resulted in employee turnover. I had
seen many great workers leave because of the exhausting negative behavior and attitude coming
from management. There was no flexibility which workers wanted to fulfill and maintain several
job roles in a day. The psychological contract was never to be found, so searching for one and
building one (one-sided) did not work. I strive to become a leader one day in my future
organization and not let my fellow team members experience what I went through. I want them
to walk in and love what they do instead of hurry along and “punch in the clock” then go home. I
want my members to feel included and cared for and look forward to meeting with me instead of
hiding or running away from toxic management.
 2. What norms of behavior or ground rules do you set for yourself (and hope to hold your
team members accountable for) to ensure a successful experience in this course? What
level of commitment do you carry as you enter into this experience? What is your
psychological contract going into the team projects for this course? (6 points)

Norms of behavior I will be setting for myself are respectful, curious, active, ambitious,
innovative, and optimistic. I hope to hold my team members accountable for being logical,
organized, and respectful. I don’t like to set high expectations because there is no guarantee that
things will be kept that way or even start that way. I only expect my peers to be present and
reliable in contributing to the work as much as they can. We all come from different cultures and
regions, so I also expect we all to understand one another and make clear of our personal and
professional goals based on timeliness. My level of commitment will always be in the high range
because someone has to do it; even if others are committing highly, I still like to put in mind the
unpredictability. Because you never know when something happens unexpectedly, and a lot of
coursework can fall onto you. My psychological contract going into the team projects for this
course is starting step-by-step. I will look into the task beforehand, explain what is expected of
us, and see if there is anything that can be divided equally to all do an equal amount of work. I
will also frequently communicate with my teammates and ask questions about the assignments
and their thoughts about the project. I will be contributing my thoughts and ideas and writing
them down, sending them via email or text to interpret my message and understanding of my
work. I will also let them know if there are any changes to be made that we should all contact
one another and debate or agree about whether changes need to be made. I expect this to be a
fun, engaging, and challenging process with my teammates. I want this to be an enjoyable
experience for all of us to look back on and learn from our mistakes and intelligent work.

C. You’ve already made a series of life decisions that led you to join this class. Now, based on
your thought processes associated with these prompts (and the nature of this course), craft a
personal contract statement that includes your decision to participate in the course. Just a
sentence or two capturing your intention of committing to full participation (hopefully!) and/or
anything you’d like to state succinctly that serves as your personal intention as you embark on
this new adventure in OGL 343. (6 points)

I expect to get good grades, and I expect to contribute by providing my expertise

(knowledge, skills, and abilities) and including all my team members in the projects. Thus, the
psychological contract will produce my team and I with quality work ethic and leading each
other with our learning styles.
 References

Osland, Kolb, and Robin. (2001). Organizational Behavior (Chapter 1). The Psychological
Contract. PDF.

Osland, Kolb, and Robin. (2001). Organizational Behavior (Chapter 3). Individual and
Organizational Learning. Understanding Yourself and Other People at Work. PDF.