The Individual in the Workplace - Article Example

Individuals generally operate in a different manner depending on the nature of work, the kind of colleagues one has, your bosses, your qualifications, your remuneration and many others. All in all, each and every individual will have some degree of dependency in the way he/she solves problems, in how each one is creative and how motivated you are as well as how each one of us is psychologically adapted. Motivation according to Mailu, S (2004) refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior. Further, motivation is a temporal and dynamic state that should not be confused with personality or emotion. Motivation is having the desire and willingness to do something (P. 23). A motivated person can be reaching for a long-term goal such as becoming a professional in his/her career or a more short-term goal like learning how to spell a particular word (Mailu, S 2004). This happens in our day to day life where people want the best out of themselves so as to position themselves in the midst of the best. In the work place, the most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other negative consequences has an immediate effect. If used to the extreme, it is considered to be slavery. Successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely substantially negative, however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes asked to satisfy higher ones (Mailu, S 2004). The other form of motivation is self-controlled of motivation, which is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition, yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Further, self control is often contrasted with automatic processes. In addition, motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staffs are more attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side (Mailu, S 2004). In the work place, money is often considered as a motivator, however it tends to have a motivating effect on staff that lasts only for a short period. This is because, once you give someone money, however much it may be, he/she will use that amount and after it is finished he/she will start looking for more and every time he sees an opportunity, he will utilize that to get more. Thus, money being a motivator does not mean that is all. At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money (Mailu, S 2004). According to Mailu, S (2004), Maslow has money at the lowest level of the hierarchy and shows other needs are better motivators to staff. Further, McGregor places money in his Theory X category and feels it is a poor motivator. Praise and recognition are placed in the Theory Y category and are considered stronger motivators than money. In addition, motivated employees always look for better ways to do a job, motivated employees are more quality oriented, and motivated workers are more productive. The average workplace is about midway between the extremes of high threat and high opportunity. According to Mailu, S (2004), for the workers to be productive to the most, managers need to understand how company employees see them in order to manage the impression they make, not just their intentions. Mailu, S (2004) says that, "If a business wants its people to make a lot of money for them, then it must set high standards and give employees something they can get excited about." (P. 26). Motivation is got from several incidences, for example setting major goals and following a path. The path has other small goals that go in many directions. Learning to succeed at these small goals will motivate you to challenge grand goals. Also, by finishing what you have started since half finished project are of no use to anyone. Since quitting is a habit, it’s good to develop the habit of finishing self-motivated projects. In addition, socializing with others with similar interest like yours serves well. Getting the mutual support from your colleagues at the work place is health for the forward movement of the organization, and also at your place, if self employed. This mutual support is motivating. I have experienced this before during my short stint with a data entry company, we were to work overnight. It happened that the bosses had not given us the correct guideline son how to go about it, thus we as a group had to devise a method on how to make this a success. We came up with a method and a database to use and it proved to be a success. As Mailu, S (2004) puts it, if our colleagues are losers, we will be a loser. If they are winners, we are a winner. Further, to be a cowboy we must associate with cowboys. In addition, learn how to learn. In the work place, dependency on others for knowledge supports the habit of team work. Consequently, man has the ability to learn without instructors and that, we can learn the art of self-education which will make us find success beyond our wildest dreams. This can be done mainly through harmonizing natural talent with interest that motivates, that creates persistence and persistence gets the job done. Also, by increasing knowledge of subjects that inspires and that failure is a learning tool. No one has ever succeeded at anything worthwhile without a string of failures (Mailu, S 2004). Ask any person who is successful in whatever he or she is doing what motivates him/her, and very likely the answer will be goals. Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. Motivation that comes from within really makes the difference (Mailu, S 2004 P. 30). He continues to say that, we need some intelligence, knowledge base, study skills, and time management skills, but if we dont have motivation, we wont get far. Think about this analogy. Interest is an important motivator for all. So is a desire to learn. When you link these two things together, you create success. Often success in an endeavor leads to more interest and a greater desire to learn, creating an upward spiral of motivation toward a goal you have established (Mailu, S 2004). Lastly, be honest with yourself. Problem Solving is the process of tackling problems in a systematic and rational way. A problem is decided by purposes. Problems at work places are there and are facts which should not be wished away if an organization is to see the light of the day in this world full of competitors ready to maximize on your shortcomings. The efficiency with which problems are solved at the various work places mainly depend on the level of team work exercised within that organization. Further, the levels of management influence the way decision are made. For example, if someone wants money and when he or she has little money, he or she has a problem. But if someone does not want money, little money is not a problem (Mailu, S 2004). In the work place, problems do arise since someone is not operating alone. When these do happen, solutions to the same are sought from many quarters. For example, manufacturing managers are usually evaluated with line-operation rate, which is shown as a percentage of operated hours to potential total operation hours (Mailu, S 2004). Therefore manufacturing managers sometimes operate lines without orders from their sales division. This operation may produce more than demand and make excessive inventories. The excessive inventories may be a problem for general managers. But for the manufacturing managers, the excessive inventories may not be a problem (Mailu, S 2004). If a purpose is different between two individuals, they see the identical situation in different ways. One may see a problem but the others may not see the problem. Therefore, in order to identify a problem, one must clarify the differences of purposes. But many a times, we frequently forget to clarify the differences of purposes and incur confusion among our problem solving projects. Therefore, it is good to start problem solving projects from the definition of purposes and problems. Problem Solving is very important aspect in the work place. First of all, it is good to define what is the problem as the first step of Problem Solving (Mailu, S 2004). Further, we should recognize common terminology such as Purpose, Situation, Problem, Cause, Solvable Cause, Issue, and Solution. In the work place, mostly, the purpose is what we want to do or what we want to be, this is the first step of Problem Solving. Without clear purposes, we can not think about problems. The situation is all about the circumstance we are in. this should be recognized s objectively without which problem Solving is likely to be narrow sighted since we may tend to view them with prejudice. Likewise, the cause, what brings about a problem should be distinguished from problems. In other words causes are more specific facts, which bring about problems and that, without distinguishing causes from problems, problem solving can not be specific. Thus, finding specific facts which causes problems is an essential step in problem solving in the work place. In solving a problem, we should focus on solvable causes as this is the another essential step. Trying to solve unsolvable causes as (Mailu, S 2004) puts it, is a waste of time and that, we should extracting solvable causes is a useful step to make problem Solving efficient. Solutions are specific actions to solve problems however big they may be, which is equal to a specific action to realize an issue. Problems solutions should be more specific to the actions to be made. This should first start be choosing the appropriate patterns of responding to the situations. In the work place, we should be creative and we should consider convergence of ideas. With this problem solving becomes efficient. According to Mailu, S (2004), thinking based on a time order is very convenient, when we are confused with Problem Solving. As a result, we can think based on a time order from the past to the future and make a complex situation clear. Further, critical thinking is important wherever the quality of human thinking significantly impacts the quality of life. According to him, success in human life is tied to success in team work. This is mainly manifested in; raising vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely as a group of thinkers and not competitors, gathering and assessing the relevant information and interpreting it effectively. In addition, coming with well-reasoned conclusions and solutions and testing them against relevant problems, and lastly, communicating them effectively with others in figuring out other solutions to complex problems. In an organization, since the individuals employed there are quite different in many senses, the organization should always take the first step towards a better future. So as to make individuals act in an ethical manner while solving problems, they should take each and every one through a series of test and counseling so as to make them aware of what to expect and how well to handle each menace. Individuals are differently made, thus to make people to think and act the same is not easy. But this should be encouraged by setting well structured patterns and plans of action to each and every problem. This should be encouraged so that the organization can reap the expected benefits for the workers being around. Likewise, this should be placed higher in the organizations ladder so as to avoid un-wanted competition which could in the long run lead to losses from situations which should have been avoided in the first place other than putting them aside for future. Adaptations in general enable living organisms to cope with environmental stresses and pressures and also with new people and places. One of the common forms of adaptation is acclimatization, which allows the human being to survive in a new environment, new work place. According to Mailu, S (2004), adaptation can be structural or behavioral. In structural adaptations, all human being have the features to survive. On the other hand, behavioral adaptations are special ways a particular person behaves to survive in its natural habitat. A psychological adaptation is a functional component of the nervous system that solves a particular reproductive problem (Mailu, S 2004). Further, information processing is the highly abstract domain upon which psychological adaptations are thought to operate. That is, the reproductive problems solved by the nervous system are thought to be best characterized as information processing problems (Mailu, S 2004). Physiological adaptations are traits that have been selected for by natural selection. If a human being is not adapted well to the environment he/she is working in, he/she will either have to move out of the habitat or die out. Psychological adaptation describes and attempts to explain consciousness, behavior, and social interaction one is affiliated to in the work place. It is primarily devoted to describing human experience and behavior as it actually occurs in a given setting or environment. Mailu, S (2004) says that, since the 1980s, psychological adaptation has begun to examine the relationship between consciousnesses of the brain or nervous system in relation to the environment. In the work place, individual performance always depends on the way he/she is well adapted to the environment in which he/she is living and working in. If someone is not well satisfied in all that is around, he/she tends to be down cast. This may affect the organizations well being as an unsettled mind cannot deliver any thing, and if it does, it is not up to the required standards. Thus for an organization to do better, the minds of the various individuals working for the them should be catered for in such a way that, the individual feels at home with his/her day to day life. Socially, psychological adaptation tries to explain nature and causes of human social behavior, with an emphasis on how people think towards each other and how they relate to each other (Mailu, S 2004). For one to be psychologically settled so as to perform well, the kind of the working environment should be ideal for such. Nowadays, organizations worry much on how they are going to double their worth with much regard to the individual worker who they very much depend on to get what they want. Team work should be encouraged as this will make the newcomers to feel at home and thus get adapted faster. In a situation where It further aims to understand how we make sense of social situations. For example, this could involve the influence of others on an individuals behavior, the perception and understanding of social cues, or the formation of attitudes or stereotypes about other people. In different environments, the individual person may be affected a great deal by the happenings in his surrounding. The other people perception of how he/she operates against what is expected of him/her brings the difference. This to many may be a defining factor on how they are going to act. In the work place, many people are much sensitive to what is said about them by their colleagues. They tend to be careful in what they do so as not to injure their reputation. In short, this psychological adaptation is well manifested in how a company works and many a times determines their profit margins. An un-settled mind cannot deliver. A settled one does wonders in the work place. Psychologically, every person should be settled so as to be of an importance to the society in general and the nations in particular. Counseling sessions should be encouraged all through in organizations. In conclusion, the individual in the work place needs to be innovative in the sense that, he/she should not wait to be told what to do but should take initiative and be the first to do something in manner which is right. Also, he/she should be creative and able to come up with new ideas to take the organization a notch higher. He should only look for alternative from the top management in situations where what he/she is about to do is in the interest of the top management and which would most likely impact on the organization. In addition, the individual in the work place should be well versed with the environmental conditions of the place he/she will likely work in. This mainly will entail being well adapted into the system and be aware of the expectations. A settled mind delivers. Finally, the individual in the work place should be motivated as the bottom line. Motivation comes in different ways and all should be observed to make sure he/she is well compensated for the amount of work he/she does and is given due recognition for whatever that he/she does so as to feel as part of the organization. With the above, the individuals, as different as East and West, will be of importance to the whole organization and will take them to grater heights. Works cited Mailu, S (2004). Work Ethics: Nairobi: General Printers, P. 20-30. Read More