Some people base decisions on other people's opinions because they believe others know better. Others base their decisions on their own opinions, because they believe that they themselves know everything. Both of them often find themselves in a difficult situation because of this. The ratio when making a decision or self-assessment of one's own and someone else's opinion is called a reference.
Reference determines where people find their norms. Depending on the basis of a person's decision, internal and external references are distinguished. Internal reference means that a person turns to internal foundations and compares various options for action and decision-making with them. Such people are guided by their inner feelings and principles. They draw on their experience when making a decision and are often tough against the opinions of others. People with external reference need to be prompted for direction and decisions. They evaluate their work only with the help of others and rely on externally defined norms when making decisions. They need approval and feedback, and there is mixed reference. This is a combination of someone else's opinion and your own. Knowing the type of reference will help in the recruitment and selection of personnel. People with external reference are suitable for work that requires constant customer expectation. For example, a salesperson-cashier or a telephone operator. Such people have advantages: ease of management and customer focus. And disadvantages: exposure to someone else's influence and an easy change of mind. Such people are not suitable for work with assertion and independent decision-making. People with internal reference are suitable for work in staff structures. For example, a lawyer, director. The advantage of such people is to defend their opinion, despite the reaction of others to it. However, such people often defend their point of view very harshly and do not want to hear other opinions. They are also rarely client-oriented and unable to work at the bottom of the organizational structure. People with a mixed type of reference are the most universal. With this type of gravitation towards this or that reference will depend on the work itself and on the level of the position in the organizational structure.