Introdyction to psycological theories and issues Essay

Introdyction to psycological theories and issues - Essay Example According to this theory, the individual inherits all his behaviours due to the complex interaction of genes. Most of his characters and behaviours remain constant throughout his life, as outside environments do not affect his individuality in any way. His individuality is predetermined. From this standpoint, types and characteristics measured with personality are constant and even if we sharpen our wits, types and temperaments to some extent successfully, we can never change them. We do as our genes dictate. As Darwin’s theory was applied to this psychological theory, it also implies that our personality connects with the secondary theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. Distinct personality and individual differences differentiate a person from the commonalities. One of the main personality theories, Nurture theory, connects with the Operant Conditioning of Thorndyke who talks about conditioning of man, dog or any other animal through conditioning or nurture. Every situation that is connected with the nurturing of a child till it grows up and even later as an adult produces a positive or negative reinforcement of the behaviour in the individual. Nurture theory says that every behaviour depends upon the atmosphere, circumstances, education, bringing up of a child, teachers, friends, well-wishers, neighbours, community, society, and the results of a person’s behaviour are all responsible for his personality. It argues that nature or genetics, or heredity have nothing to do with the personality of the individual. Here life becomes a saga of actions and reactions. Skinner applied this theory on the experiments like training an animal, through rewarding or punishing and assessing how the animal gets used to a certain behaviour, showing absolutely no signs of his hereditary behaviour, but adapting himself to an entirely new behaviour, a result of the present nurture. There is no doubt that nurture through education, training and

Knowledge of Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Knowledge of Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example This understanding enables them to not only make sense of the behaviour they witness in their workforce, but also to predict it before hand and sometimes even influencing it to reflect the desired level. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that organizational behaviour teaches one how to control human behaviour in an organization. However, it may be unreasonable to label this practice as exploitative, since the control is limited to an organizational setting, and the results are aimed to improving organizational performance, rather than exploitative practice of this knowledge. Organizational behaviour teaches a manager how to analyze and handle several different dimensions of an organization. One of the relatively well-known areas of expertise is the substantial and extensive knowledge of motivation that organizational behaviour has to offer. It offers dozens of theories on motivation, each tailored to specific situations as well as different findings in this area. These range from the classic theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory to the more controversial, contemporary theories such as Theory X and Y (Thompson and McHugh, 2002, pp. 10-48). Each of these motivational theories offers a unique insight into an employee’s mind, helping one understand what drives these employees to put effort into their work and then teaching one how to use these teachings to influence employees to exhibit desired behaviour. On the surface, it may seem like a euphemism for ‘manipulation techniques’ that teach a manager how to exploit a person’s predictability and use it to their organization’s advantage. However, the intentions behind organizational behaviour practices should be kept in sight before drawing such evaluations. Discussion Considering an organization with a de-motivated workforce may help one understand the ethical validation of this discipline. Such an organization would have paid employees who have each been designat ed specific tasks, each of which contribute to the organization’s performance and success. This is common amongst organizations that combine technology, creativity, and innovation in their operations. If the employees of such an organization lack motivation, their performance levels will be low, and predictably below the needed levels (Rashid, 2003, pp. 30-55). This would lead to failure of the organization, which could have several detrimental results, which could lead to employees losing their jobs and putting them at as much loss the organization. Thus, teaching a manager to remedy such a problem in a manner, which is beneficial for both the employee and the organization, is not exploitative. Furthermore, these theories do not try to manipulate an employee psychologically on a subconscious level. They do not aim to take advantage of the employee without realizing it, but rather offer this motivation at a conscious level, the influence of which is visible to the employees t hemselves. Other than Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning theory, most of the motivational theories operate on a conscious level and depend on the employees consciously reacting to the situation they are presented with (Huczynski and Buchanan, pp. 5-25). For example, bonus schemes are one of the most commonly used motivational techniques in a workplace. They offer the employee monetary and other similar forms of extra compensation for efficient and

Week 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week 6 - Essay Example The next is Team / Shared leadership. It is important top put others first and value the input of those around you. You must constantly seek their input and let them know that you value their contributions. As Bandura points out, â€Å"...belief in their capabilities to master activities affects their aspirations, their level of interest in activities, and their accomplishments† (1994. p.130). A leader must also be Ethical and Honest, to be as upfront and straight forward as possible while acting in a professional manner. This is one of the most critical areas where one must lead by example. The next characteristic is Visionary Leadership. This often requires a leap out of the leader and perhaps the team’s comfort zone. In order to progress and grow, I this dynamic ever-changing environment, change is a necessity. But change, good or bad, is always difficult to implement This requires someone with vision that can also share that vision with others as well as the passion to complete it. This leads to the final characteristic of Influencer. Being able not only to share facts and communicate directive, but charging the task with emotional content is perhaps the most important aspect of a leader for the future. Gone are the days of work being its own reward, staff today need to feel empowered and part of the process both intellectually and emotionally. As Goldberg states, "Process your learning continually. Be open to amazement" (2001, p. 58). Keeping an open mind and continually learning and developing are both the secrets to not only good teaching and leaderships, but to a great life as well. In the past, a paradigm shift occurred when the industrial revolution created thousands of jobs and new technologies evolved for mass production. Then another shift occurred when the economy moved from produced goods to services and this is the present day situation. So now the future

Anna in the tropics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Anna in the tropics - Essay Example This was the only form of entertainment for the cigar factory workers of the time. So, I expected this play to portray the dilemma of the time when factory owners were faced by the choice of switching to modernization or carrying on their traditions. Apart from this, I expected it to have a tinge of romance in this which was enhanced by the presence of conflict and then its resolution. The play, Anna in the Tropics, revolves around a Cuban family that settles in Tampa, Florida and sets up a cigar business in the city. The factory owner, Santiago and his wife Ofelia have two daughters named Conchita and Marela who also work in their family cigar warehouse rolling cigars. A new lector comes into the factory named Juan Julian who reads the exciting Russian story of Anna Karenina. Marela, who wants to experience life outside the factory and Conchita who does not seem to be having a happy married life with her husband, Palomo, are very intrigued by the story of Anna Karenina. Santiagoâ₠¬â„¢s brother, Cheche, on the other hand, despises lectors due to a previous event where his wife ran off a previous lector and therefore wants to remove the lector and bring modern machineries to aid the rolling of cigars. My favorite characters include Marela, Cheche, and Juan Julian. In the first Act, Marela characterizes a very comic and humorous character with slightly immature thoughts. She feels restricted within the boundaries of her family cigar warehouse and wants to enjoy life outside of the factory. She is dumbstruck when she sees Juan Julian when she was waiting for him with her mother and sister. Marela is very influenced by the story of Anna Karenina narrated by Juan Julian. I feel that Marela is child-like initially and wants to live life more than just rolling cigars at her father’s factory. I can Marela’s feelings because being in the factory all the time with only a lector’s story to entertain can be boring particularly for a merry girl like M arela, who wants to enjoy her life. Cheche, Santiago’s half brother does not seem to like Juan Julian which results from his past experience where the lector ran with his wife. Even Juan Julian finds out when he first meets Cheche but I believe Cheche’s feelings are natural having his wife run off with a previous lector. Perhaps the most interesting character is that of Juan Julian, the lector who has been hired by Ofelia as a lector to entertain the cigar workers. Julian’s character becomes more compelling when he narrates the story of Anna Karenina which interests both Marela and Conchita equally. The play repeatedly tries to emphasize on the theme of tradition and change, problems and resolution, and love. Although it is apparent that Cheche already despises lectors due to his bitter past experience his dislike is added by the fact that he wants to introduce modern machinery to aid the factory workers in making cigars. As he aims to bring new machines into th e warehouse he threatens the existence of old Cuban traditions of having a lector and workers roll cigars with their hands. And Conchita who is having a troubled marriage with her husband who is having an affair. Conchita feels influenced by Julian’s story of Anna Karenina and to some extent with Juan Julian. Music and lighting has been one of the most important elements of the play enhancing its theme and effect. Every scene in the Act was followed by music inspired by Cuban music. This helped the

Graduate Reflection Paper 3(a) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Graduate Reflection Paper 3(a) - Essay Example Many employees will come from the neighborhood but many managers will be brought into the community from other areas. When so many people come together, they bring with them their attitudes, their insecurities and often their personal problems. Sometimes the manager helps an employee get to a counselor or find other resources in the community that they may need to continue in the organization. Managers must be cognizant of the fact that internally, they are the ones who set the climate and create a positive or negative experience for their employees. The organizations have changed drastically over the last thirty or forty years. As an example, organizations now deal with a wider diversity of employees that can include different ethnicities, religions and disabilities. Gays, lesbians and transgendered employees have specific needs, some of which have become controversial and each all employees bring their skills and abilities to the workplace. Effective leaders must understand how to work with all these team members and help them work with each other. This action creates one of the many functions of management. There are several models that are important to organizational change. The conventional model suggests that an individuals perception is based on the knowledge and information they receive (Rouse, 1998). This can be one of the reasons why employee behavior can be so different and why managers must be sure to understand who their people are and how to make them into a team. Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is another model for leadership. Most people are familiar with the hierarchy and managers must understand that their employees may be at any level of need at any given time. The manager must be aware of resources in the organization and outside the organization that can assist employees. They must also build a relationship with employees that

Expected Frequency even in dessert Research Paper

Expected Frequency even in dessert - Research Paper Example It has also been observed that families with children have higher rates of consumption as compared to those without children. Various flavors of ice cream are found in the market today and these include chocolate, vanilla, cookie dough/ cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, butter pecan/ Swiss almond, strawberry, peanut butter, coffee, cherry vanilla and peach, among many others. According to a Harris Interactive poll conducted in 2013, chocolate and vanilla are the favorite flavors followed by cookie dough/cookies and cream. In terms of gender, a disparity exists in favorite flavor: for women, almost a third prefers chocolate flavor followed by mint chocolate chip and cookie dough/cookies and cream. However, for men, vanilla tops the list of favorite flavors followed by chocolate and cookie dough/cookies and cream. The dynamics of ice cream and frozen desserts consumption does not end with demographics and flavor, how the consumers actually eat their ice cream also varies from one group to another. Methods of consumption include eating it form a cup, cone, sundae, sandwich and others, including eating it as a topping on a cake. Disparities exist here too. It has been hypothesized that a relationship exists between gender and how they eat ice cream. For instance, according the aforementioned Harris Interactive poll, more men than women prefer eating ice cream in cups while more women than men prefer cone. This influence of gender on how a person eats their ice cream has not been well researched and this is the motivation for this research. The paper aims to investigate whether gender and ways of eating ice cream and other frozen foods are related, or whether the choice is independent of gender. For this study, data will be collected from students on how they eat their ice cream. Accordingly, data was collected from a sample of 40 students. To ensure that the data is not biased, efforts were be made so that the

The election of Federico Peña Essay Example for Free

The election of Federico Peà ±a Essay Both the election of Federico Peà ±a as Denver City Mayor in 1983 and the campaign of Victor Morales for US Senate in 1996 were considered as historic firsts: Peà ±a was among the first Hispanics to be elected as mayor of a major US city; while it was also the first time that the senatorial candidate of a major political party in Texas was of Hispanic origin, in the case of Morales. Apparently, these two cases have given renewed interest on the study of participation of minorities in a pluralist democracy, such as in this case, the Hispanics in the US electoral exercises. Not only that Hispanics seldom ran for elected office, it was also the general observation that they were less politically active and were also reluctant to exercise their rights to vote as seen in the pattern of low voter turnouts across the US.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, the case of Peà ±a was historic not only because it was the first time that Denver had a Mexican American mayor, but also because of the record turnout in 1983. Peà ±a, as well as Morales, actively attempted to increase minority, particularly Hispanic voter turnout. To his credit, the high turnout which favored Peà ±a’s campaign did not consist solely of Mexican Americans, because he was able to build a liberal coalition of minorities which did not only include the ethnic and racial minorities but also cut across different socio-economic classes and interest groups. Morales, on the other hand relied heavily on the large Hispanic population in Texas. Even if the Morales campaign was able to encourage Hispanics to register – also at a record-high – only 45.4% of the registered Hispanic voters actually voted. Morales’ failure to lure more Hispanics to vote, compounded by his lack of appeal to the Anglo voters due to his disparaging racial remarks, resulted in his loss, albeit with a slim margin, to the incumbent re-electionist senator. On his part, Peà ±a was able to avoid a campaign divided on racial lines because his being active in Mexican American civic organizations and his stint as a legislator helped him project support to minority concerns without necessarily delving on racial issues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As such, experience had increased the quality of Peà ±a as a candidate, in contrast to Morales. Peà ±a is a lawyer and was a member of the state House of Representatives before he ran for the mayoralty race; while Morales, who is a public school teacher, only had his formal political experience when he became city councilman and a Democratic Party precinct chairman. Political experience had also tremendous impact on their organizational and coalition-building skills. Although they both operated their campaigns on relatively limited funds, Peà ±a in 1983, was able to use his strong ties with the labor sector, neighborhood organizations, environmentalists, young professionals and other sectors, and was able to come-up with a dynamic, well-organized campaign supported by endorsements of important societal groups, his clear positions on issues, and a large number of able volunteers. Wide knowledge on different issues also worked to Peà ±a’s advantage; while the lack of it had been a discredit to Morales, especially as it was also one of the reasons why he was not able to establish sustainable rapport with the free media. Moreover, Morales had not been a member of any local Mexican American organization which could have provided him with the necessary grassroots or volunteer support and fund-raising skills. Morales even shunned the Hispanic political elites when he missed a meeting of state Hispanic elected officials a very influential group who could have given him all-out support only because he is Hispanic. Morales also had poor organizational skills as his campaign was described to be supported by inexperienced and underfinanced staff that could not even return calls or answer simple questions about their candidate’s campaign, mainly due to insistence of Morales to decide on almost every matter. The lack of funds had also wasted a lot of campaign time for Morales who insisted on traveling in his truck instead of by plane to his campaign appearances in different locations in Texas. This and his reliance on volunteers, made him resort to the inexpensive but time- and energy-consuming â€Å"block walking† in his campaigns. The ordeal of walking or traveling on truck around a large US State, however, was not present in Peà ±a’s bid for city mayor; although like Morales, Peà ±a also preferred open and face-to-face interaction, as in the latter’s â€Å"town meetings†, which he often held when he was elected as mayor of Denver City. Morales’ difficulty in funding could also be attributed to his fund-raising principles. For one, he did not accept contributions from business political action committees or entities associated with the tobacco companies. He also believed that his amazing win in the Democratic primaries, wherein he spent only $15,000, would carry him through the state elections. He also probably expected the Democratic Party to fund his campaign, which in turn, did not support him because it did not believe that he stood a chance against the incumbent Senator who had been in the position for 12 years and was supported by a campaign machinery that was at least six times bigger than his. Morales should have accepted the importance of money in a state-wide campaign and realized that he could not run a city campaign headquarters with just $200 (his monthly budget allocation for his Houston office). Lastly, even if the Democratic Party did not support Morales’ campaign financially, his nomination helped him obtain the Democratic votes, which contributed to his close bid in the senatorial race, despite the apparent Republican character of the Texas state at that time. Denver’s mayoralty race in 1983, was however, nonpartisan because Peà ±a’s strong contenders were also democrats, His party membership only mattered in 1987 when he ran for re-election against a Republican candidate, to which he almost lost because many of his constituents were already disappointed for his failure to make Denver a â€Å"great city† after his first term, and because Peà ±a could not focus on specific minority concerns since he was constrained to form effective governing coalitions. Ironically, Morales’ campaign became a legacy not only because of his unquestioned status as an outsider in the political game, but also because he was overcame only by a slight majority even if he had to battle all the odds during his unusual campaign.