About the MBA Inventory

The MBA Inventory is an online assessment that identifies the unique ways each person prefers to be shown appreciation at work. Developed through a combination of research conducted for over a decade along with practical use in real-life work settings, the inventory has been taken by hundreds of thousands of employees, supervisors, managers and executives. Utilized by multinational corporations, government agencies, small family-owned businesses, public and private schools, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, the inventory is available in multiple languages.

What is the MBA Inventory?

The Motivating By Appreciation (MBA) Inventory is an assessment tool unlike other work-related personality tests. Developed by psychologist Dr. Paul White and Dr. Gary Chapman, this assessment tool is based on the concepts presented in The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People.

Communication is the Key to Success

The MBA Inventory assists supervisors, managers, and coworkers in communicating appreciation to their colleagues in meaningful ways that “hit the mark” for the person you want to encourage. In many settings (non-profit organizations, educational institutions, churches and ministries, medical/dental practices), managers want to show their appreciation for the work being done by their colleagues, but the monetary reward is either not appropriate or not feasible. The MBA Inventory identifies and suggests ways to communicate appreciation in low (and no) cost ways.”

The Tool to Empower Your Organization

The inventory takes 15-20 minutes to complete online. An individual report is generated immediately, which identifies the respondent’s primary language of appreciation, their secondary language of appreciation, and the least important language to them. A unique action list is also developed for each individual’s profile and personal preferences.

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace

Tangible Gifts

Quality Time

Words of Affirmation

Acts of Service

Physical Touch

The MBA Inventory™ assesses individuals’ preferences for how they are best encouraged and feel appreciated by others with whom they work.
The inventory takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete online.
You will receive an individualized report identifying your primary language of appreciation, secondary language, and least valued language, along with specific actions pertaining to you.
We have created industry-specific versions of the MBA Inventory for work settings with unique characteristics, such as schools, medical facilities, and work relationships over long distances. For more information, click here.
We offer discounts for purchases of multiple codes: 10%; when purchasing 10-25 codes, 20% discount when purchasing 26-99 codes, and 30% when purchasing 100+ codes. The codes can be purchased online, and the appropriate discount will be automatically applied.

Choose Your Option

Click here for more information about the available versions of the MBA Inventory. * NOTE: To take the inventory, you must use an Adobe-compatible device; the assessment cannot be taken on iPads or mobile devices that cannot utilize Adobe Reader.

Tailor Your Appreciation to Fit the Needs of Your Team

Specific Work-Setting Versions of the MBA Inventory

Many work settings have unique characteristics regarding scheduling, availability for interaction during the workday, position titles, and what action items are realistic (or unrealistic) given their work conditions. In response to requests from the organizations we serve, we have partnered with work groups, managers, and employees to create industry-specific versions of the Motivating By Appreciation Inventory.

We understand the challenges of working in different settings and have tailored the inventory to meet those needs.

We aim to make the inventory practical and applicable to as many work settings as possible. While the standard version of the MBA Inventory is well suited for most work environments, we have created specialized versions for remote/long-distance work relationships, school settings, medical settings, the military, ministry/non-profits, government, senior care providers, professional trades, dentists, and veterinarians.

It is important to note: If you want your staff to take an industry-specific version of the MBA Inventory, you must purchase a code for that industry. Codes provided with the book are only for the standard inventory version and cannot be converted or “traded” for industry-specific codes. We have created these specific versions in response to requests by our clientele and have chosen to provide these unique versions at no additional cost to the price of the standard version of the inventory.