A Diamond Personality - Oscar Rodriguez - Case Study Example

A Diamond Personality Case Study A Diamond Personality Case Study This is an individual assignment that requires reading of the Case Study, A Diamond Personality and answering of the four questions that come with the Case Study. This case study is based on Oscar Rodriguez, an entrepreneur who is 38 years old and owns a business. Oscar sells loose diamonds through the internet to buyers. This essay will give a summary of the case study highlighting the main points. The essay will conclude by answering the various personality questions that come with the case study. When he first to Gainesville, Florida from Puerto Rico he could barely speak English. Oscar then graduated from a community college before he worked for a local jewelry shop. Despite the fact that he didn’t know much about diamonds, Oscar was still able to receive diamonds and a Diamond Grading Certificate thanks to his hard work. Rodriguez later opened a jewelry store of his own. After some of his customers told him there were better deals in the internet, Rodriguez decided to try selling on the internet too. After a while, he found a diamond dealer willing to give him diamonds which he started selling on the internet. After this his business grew enabling him to close the store he had opened and to become an entrepreneur who was savvy. In 2003, his company, Abazias.com went public. While it is true that Rodriguez was at the right place at the right time, there are also other factors that contributed to his success. His success can be attributed to the advice that was given to him by girlfriend to his roommate (Robbins & Judge, 2009). It is this advice given to him that sparked his curiosity leading him to start selling diamonds online. Mr. Rodriguez was worked very hard and this enabled him to open his own jewelry shop. Courtesy of his commitment, Oscar continued his education even receiving Diamonds and Diamonds Grading certification. Mr. Rodriquez had a vision. After he realized that his job as at the local jeweler would not help him achieve the goals he had set out to achieve, he started exploring other options that were available to him (Briggs Myers, McCaulley, Quenk, Hammer, & Mitchell, 2009). He even went ahead and started learning everything that there was to learn about diamonds. The other character that made Mr. Rodriquez successful was the fact that he was an ambitious man. He examined his situation and realized that his job, then, did not give him the opportunities for growth. He told himself that he would never become anything if he continued to work in his present job” (The Gainesville Sun, 2008) He is also a focused man. When he first attempted to sell his diamonds online, there are those who told him that he would not succeed. They told him his chances of success were slim. Mr. Rodriquez stuck to his dream and did not allow their comments to deter him. Some of his friends even told him he would not succeed in trying to sell diamonds. Their comments did not deter him and he did not stop pursuing his dreams. Mr. Rodriquez instead took time off to get his act together before he started pursuing his goals again. Mr. Rodriquez would rank high on each of the big five dimensions of personality. The first dimension is that of extraversion which deals with the extent to which one is comfortable with various relationships. While an extravert is someone who is assertive, assertive, sociable and gregarious, an introvert is timid, quiet and reserved. Mr. Rodriquez would rank high in extraversion as he socializes well with other people and is comfortable relating with them (Myers, 1995). The second dimension is that of agreeableness. Agreeableness has to do with one’s ability to cooperate with other people. As a result of his ability to relate well with other people, his roommate’s girlfriend was able to inform him of an opportunity to sell diamonds at a local jewelry store. He would score high on agreeableness as he is able to trust other people and to be warm to them. The conscientiousness dimension has to do with a person’s reliability. Mr. Rodriguez would score highly on conscientiousness because he is a person who is dependable, persistent, responsible and organized. Even when some of his friends told him that he would not succeed in selling diamonds on the internet, Mr. Rodriguez did not give up. Instead, he reorganized himself and within a year was able to establish his online business (Kaplan, 2009). When it comes to the emotional stability dimension, Mr. Rodriguez would score high as well. This is because he is a person who is confident, secure and calm. The final dimension is that of openness to experience. Mr. Rodriguez would also score high in this dimension as he is an individual who is open, curious, sensitive in an artistic way and creative. Mr. Rodriguez is a person who is high on self-evaluation. He is also a risk taker who is not scared of trying on new things. Mr. Rodriguez is an entrepreneur who sees himself as being in control of his environment. He also views himself as a capable and effective individual. Evidence of the fact that Mr. Rodriguez is high on self-evaluation is the fact that he performed very well while he worked at a local jeweler. He was also very ambitious and when he realized that the job he had at the time would not help him achieve his goals in life, he went ahead to start his own business. He also performed very well earning himself Diamonds as well as Diamond Grading Certificate. He was also committed to his goals and was able to persist even when his internet venture looked like it did not have high chances of breaking even (Pearman & Albritton, 1997). It is evident that Mr. Rodriguez is a person who has a proactive personality as he took the initiative to change his circumstances. While working for a local jeweler, he realized that the salary he got would not help him realize his goals; he decided to venture into his own business. He also heard of an opportunity to sell his diamonds online and did not hesitate to try selling on the internet. Also, even when the business had not broken even, Mr. Rodriguez did not give up and instead persevered until his business took off (McCrae & Costa, 1989). He was able to build a business despite the obstacles and constraints that he faced. Works Cited Briggs Myers, I., McCaulley, M. H., Quenk, N. L., Hammer, A. L., & Mitchell, W. D. (2009). MBTI Step III Manual: Exploring Personality Development Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Instrument . NY: Consulting Psychologists Press . Kaplan, R. &. (2009). Psychological testing: Principle, applications, and issues. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1989). Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator From the Perspective of the Five-Factor Model of Personality. Journal of Personality, 24. Myers, I. B. (1995). Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing. Pearman, R. R., & Albritton, S. C. (1997). Im Not Crazy, Im Just Not You (First ed.). Palo Alto, California: Davies-Black Publishing. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2009). Organizational Behavior (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Read More