Adjectives of Personality

      Adjectives of personality are, by nature, difficult to define. They are however useful words to be acquainted with in business, much less because many managers and employees display such personality traits and are often unaware of them. 

     Annual job appraisals have to be written on staff members’ performance and so it is necessary to have a command of adjectives that are specific and convey one meaning to ensure that the maintenance of fairness and accuracy is maintained.

     Often more general words are used in annual job appraisals, where more than one meaning is possible. For the purposes of evaluation, staff are appraised and are encouraged to acquire the positive, and deal with the negative. To allow that to happen, they need to know what is expected of them in terms of attitudes and behaviour to meet the targets set.

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     An obvious example in the workplace might be an email or a memo with inappropriate language and tone. What can be read as funny by one person can be rude and patronising to another when accompanied by other manifestations of the same personality traits.

      An attempt is also made to show in the pictures and quotations how it feels being at the receiving end of people displaying these adjectives of personality- both good and bad. Whilst laughing at the wit of the cartoon or quotation, a more serious point is revealed. How might the other person feel if they are treated in a good way or in a bad way? How might that, in turn, affect relationships in the workplace and ultimately productivity?

     Such conversations might not be possible, if attempted in a more direct way. Involved in business, students might not feel comfortable talking about a particular person or situation from their own experience, yet in an off hand comment, or in a quotation or picture on a flashcard, it strikes a cord, and a more productive conversation is possible.

     In adjectives of personality, what makes them positive or negative is a matter of perception and interpretation. Some people perceive great confidence as arrogance. Therefore the lines between positive or negative have become blurred, so caution is needed to avoid value judgements and not stereotype people. Students should see that in business certain lines are blurred, particularly if staff members are good at their jobs, and whilst colleagues might find them unpleasant, if they are making money for the business, certain characteristics are overlooked.

     It is beneficial in knowing those characteristics to aspire to and those to avoid, pertinent in the context of a job appraisal where job targets are set and necessary changes in the individual is promised for the following year, to ensure each individual is more integrated and productive in the workplace.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Albery, D., Cunningham, S., Moor, P. New Cutting Edge Upper Intermediate Teachers’ Resource Book, Longman, 2007

 Bilash, O, Krashan’s 6 Hypotheses, Best of Bilash, 2011

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Filed Under: Adjectives Of Personality Grammar Business