Sony has greatly revised its system of human resourcecultivation since 2003 and has developed individual

programs in each business sector in accordance with theenvironment, as well as a system of cultivation for eachemployee level. In the Semiconductor Business Gp,a section that brings in 100 people each year, both newand experienced employees, Sony has promoted programdevelopment focusing on team formation. Sony deter-mined that the improvement of self-awareness is themost important aspect of team formation and has beenfocusing their efforts on this.

APPLY ING THE MBT I ® ASSESSMENT ASA STANDARD TOOL FOR IMPROV INGSELF -AWARENESS

Many programs have been implemented for the improve-ment of self-awareness. Most of these are based ontransactional analysis; however, some programs utilizingother theories and focusing on specific target groups havealso proved effective.

One problem often mentioned by people in charge of culti-vating human resources is that “participants respond verywell right after the workshop, but as time passes, theytend to forget.” This change over time colors the generalimage of the program and results in negative opinions—such as “improvement of self-awareness is not effective”and “it is meaningless to promote self-awareness”—which can become a major obstacle to the program’simplementation.

Like other assessments, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®

(MBTI®) instrument cannot avoid this disadvantage overtime. However, because its basic structure is based onJung’s theory, which is deep and universal, training partici-pants can check the principles at any time as long as theyhave been given and retain the feedback materials, suchas the Introduction to Type® booklet. In addition, of course,Sony’s experience has shown that if feedback is properlyprovided and type concepts—including type dynamics anddevelopment—are thoroughly explained by a type expert,it is possible for employees to retain the knowledge andeven expect to develop new awareness as time passes.As a result of this, the Semiconductor Business Gp wasable to adopt the MBTI assessment as a standard tool forself-awareness improvement.

IMPLEMENT ING FROM THE TOP DOWN

Sony’s Semiconductor Business Gp asked Ms. YukiSonoda, president of IPDS Co., Ltd., and developer of theJapanese version of the MBTI assessment, to plan, de-velop, and carry out a two-day personal development pro-gram for its executives and department heads. The programwould include administration of the MBTI instrument. Thisinitial implementation with higher-level employees wasintended to facilitate dissemination throughout the variouslevels of the division. The program was well received fromthe beginning. Although some participants initially werereluctant to view themselves within the framework of psy-chological type, most attendees attested to the efficacy ofthe program by the end of the course and, after returningto their offices, reported that “It was truly wonderful.”

Encouraged by the success of the initial program, Sonydecided to implement a four-hour feedback course forrank-and-file employees provided by in-house certifiedMBTI facilitators under the supervision of Ms. Sonoda.This course has proven very popular and often fills upwithin 20 minutes after registration opens on the in-houseWeb site. Some department heads who took the personal

Developing a Common Languagefor Self-Awareness

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Using the Myers-Briggs® Assessment at Sony Corporat ion

“Although some participantsinitially were reluctant to viewthemselves within the frameworkof psychological type, most attend-ees attested to the efficacy ofthe program by the end of thecourse and, after returning to theiroffices, reported that it was ‘trulywonderful.‘”—Yuki Sonoda,President, IPDS Co., Ltd.

development course requested a short course for all theworkers in their departments. In the first of these, all 40employees from the department participated in the session.At present, most department head–level employees andhalf of their administrative assistants have completedSonoda’s two-day personal development course. Becauseit was promoted fully rather than gradually, the MBTIassessment became popular among employees by wordof mouth. It is often selected on training department ques-tionnaires as the course employees most want the com-pany to provide.

EXPAND ING THE POOL OF IN -HOUSECERT I F I ED USERS FOR FASTERD ISSEM INAT ION

At the same time, Sony is expanding the number of in-house certified users, concentrating on the personnelsection in order to disseminate the MBTI assessmentthroughout the company within a short period. Fifteenin-house certified users were participating actively as ofAugust 2005, and Sony plans to more than double thatnumber, including individuals in group semiconductor com-panies, within the year. The four-hour courses conductedby the fifteen certified users have received high praisefrom attendees, many of whom have mentioned that theywould like to deepen their understanding of MBTI concepts.

LOOK ING AHEAD TO AN ADVANCEDPROGRAM

Employees at the executive and management levels whotook courses in the early stage requested MBTI assess-ment follow-up courses and expressed a desire for team-building programs applying MBTI type theory. In response,Sony asked Sonoda to plan, develop, and conduct anadvanced personal development program focused onimproving communication using the MBTI assessment.After attending a trial version of the course, members ofthe personnel department, who were already acquainted

with the MBTI tool to varying degrees, commented thatthey found new meanings that showed the depth of theinstrument.

MEET ING THE NEED FOR REGULARMA INTENANCE

In addition to the new advanced course, Sony is planningfor a regular maintenance program for all employees whohave completed the two-day course and short session.Various ideas have been suggested, such as offering aone-day version of the course and implementing theadvanced version including type dynamics. The programwill be reviewed every three years, and Sony will makeadjustments for continued improvement.

About CPP, Inc.Since its founding in 1956, CPP, Inc., has been a leadingpublisher and provider of innovative products and servicesfor individual and organizational development. CPP hasbeen supplying reliable training solutions to businesses ofall sizes, including the Fortune 500, for more than 50years. The company’s hundreds of unique offerings havebeen used by millions of individuals in more than 100countries, in more than 20 languages, to help people andorganizations grow and develop by improving performanceand increasing understanding. Among CPP’s world-renownedbrands are the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®),Strong Interest Inventory®, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict ModeInstrument (TKI), FIRO-B®, CPI 260®, and CaliforniaPsychological Inventory™ (CPI™) assessments.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Myers-Briggs, and MBTI are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of the MBTI Trust, Inc., in the United States and other countries. StrongInterest Inventory, FIRO-B, CPI 260, and the CPP logo are registered trademarks andCalifornia Psychological Inventory and CPI are trademarks of CPP, Inc.

For more information about CPP, Inc., and the Myers-BriggsType Indicator® assessment, please visit www.cpp.com.

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