Human Factors in Technical Management - Assignment Example

Human Factors in Technical Management al Affiliation The Da Vinci Group shifting is a phenomenon that is employed in many fields today. By definition, this phenomenon allows individual members of a specified group in an organization to assume or appear to play exaggerated roles. This implies that the members perform their duties to the extremes not exactly expected by the audience. In The Da Vinci Code, group shifting is seen when Mary Magdalene, who in the Bible is seen as a woman who Jesus helped out of a sinful life, is made to appear as the lover or the wife of Jesus (Brown, 2010).

The results of this, in the context of the book, is that many people actually condemn the book terming it antichrist (McLeod, 2008). Cognitive dissociation refers to the incidences where there are two or more conflicting ideas, attitudes behaviors. In the book, The Da Vinci Code, the person of Christ, which is the foundation of Christian faith and attitudes towards God, is highly conflicted by the fictitious representation of a different side of Jesus life. The effects of this were that more resistance broke out as well as more interest in the book out of curiosity (Festinger, 1957).

In marketing, the basic idea of success lies in the ability of the marketer to create a need among the people for the commodity. This means that the marketer makes the people dependent on the commodity to some extent through the advertisements and promotion, the book, and The Da Vinci Code achieves this through the development of curiosity. Based on the cognitive dissociation theory of marketing, the curiosity arises from the conflicting attitudes developed by the ideas in the book. The book also sold widely due to the fact that it had meaning to quite a large population, the Christians.

This is based on the consumer decision-making process theory. The marketers understood that the initial impression will be affected by the basic concepts of the book but on obtaining o further information, the consumers would develop a desire to purchase out of curiosity. 2. Interview Questions a. How do you feel when you are smarter than your boss, works for longer hours and do the hard work yet he gets paid twice as you do? This question relates to how the participant feels about a conflicting situation.

The process followed would be a brief explanation of the situation, citing clearly the kind of job expected and how hard it is in comparison to the work that the boss is doing. The question provides an opportunity to study the change of attitude on the part of the participant (McLeod, 2008). Any response indicating no offense or that the participant would not feel offended will not be acceptable. This is because a change of attitude is a normal expectation in the workplace, and any indication of lack of it is dishonesty. b. What will you feel if you got this job and are transferred away from your friends and family to work?

The question tests on decision-making issue. A response that indicates a rational decision-making would be acceptable depending on the explanation given by the participant. This is because his or her explanation will demonstrate the power of decision-making that is necessary for the workplace. c. What would you do if your boss started discussing her sex life with you in public? This is what is referred to as evaluation of a negative situation. The participants are expected to evaluate a situation that already appears negative.

A rational evaluation that indicates little effort to make a decision will be acceptable. Little embarrassment is expected, but rational evaluation will be okay. 3. Organization consultation In this organization, my main concerns are on the way the organization handles and deals with the employees issues. The organization requires an overall change of attitude. The toxic nature of the organization makes the employees have a negative attitude towards the organization and the work as a whole. This may imply that all that the employees do is to talk negative about the organization and broadcast this to the community around (Monson, 2013).

The services from the organization are also severely affected by the negative attitudes and beliefs. The stakeholders map theory and the cognitive dissonance theory are important in bringing out this concern. The stakeholders map allows one to detect the nature of the problem and to identify all who are affected. The cognitive dissonance theory provided for effective focus on the changed attitude and how it can be reversed. The next 90 days should be divided into three period. The first 20 days should be used to study the organization and its relationship to the employees and the stakeholders.

This would help to identify the conflicting issues and give a guide on the way forward. The next 40 days should involve data collection on the issues affecting the employees’ relation and attitudes towards the organization and making inquiries on what the employees and other stakeholders would propose changed. The last period should include the implementation of the proposals and overall evaluation. 4. Personnel Selection and Performance Personnel selection and performance are important for any organization.

This is mainly because the personnel is the most important resource that an organization uses to achieve its goals. Their suitability and efficiency in terms of performance determines the success of this endeavor. References Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Brown, D. (2010). The Da Vinci code. London: Corgi. McLeod, S. A. (2008). Cognitive Dissonance. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html Monson, R. J. (2013).

Human Factors Handout. University of St. Thomas St. Paul. Minnesota