Critical Perspective in Business Psychology and Personality - Essay Example

Critical Perspective in Business Psychology – Personality Personalities and psychologies clash when one talks of human beings and so is the case whenthey work, within the realms of organizations and large business empires. To start with, psychology seeks to study the human behavior, which passes through the test of times under different conditions and at changing levels. It is equally observable in animals, plants and the best possible example is undoubtedly present in the form of us – the human beings. Psychology attempts to study the human mind and its dealings in our day to day lives. Humans might not know it by their nature which is in an ever-changing state of psychological needs but their emotions and more so their body changes its shape so as to get itself either psychologically acclimatized with the strenuous tasks one has to go through or through pain indicted on one’s body and mind, for that matter, for a long duration of time. Psychology might invigorate the body’s capacity to exert and thus sustain more pressure while at other times; this can be a totally opposite scenario, leading to some serious ailments attached with the human mind as well as impairments with different body parts. A serious malady related with psychological illness can ultimately lead to death on a patient’s part. The need thus is to address the psychological problem on hand through the measures that are undertaken for the betterment of the sufferer. The psychological endurance can be dealt with an approach that is not taxing on the patient’s body as well as his mind. This could mean that his self could be conditioned to a limit that is both tolerable to him as well as a lead up to his betterment in the near future. Therefore psychology is usually defined by many as being the meditation of thoughts, feelings, as well as different kinds of voluntary and non-voluntary and at times involuntary behaviors. It is the prerogative of an individual to comprehend that psychology which is merely a form of science. It depends a lot on the different and diverse methods through which it comes to illustrating as well as predicting and at times controlling the mental and behavioral procedures. It in addition, examines the very same over a wider context. Changing behaviors forces us into delve into the basis with which these are actually fed into human lives. With this it is very fundamental to find out as to what is the actual basis for the behaviors to change in the wake of a person’s doing good or at times, the opposite of it. Similarly, praising a person or blaming for that matter lies a great deal on his or her actions which are very much dependent on the behavioral basis. Thus for a human being to be praised or otherwise an individual to his strengths and/or weaknesses has to be seen in the context of the genetics with which he has been blessed with since the genes for those very characteristics might just have been transferred from the parents side. Businesses make sure that a product or service is sold before it has actually entered the market. By market we mean those sets of people or target audiences who will be catered this product so that they could satisfy one or more of their respective needs. With these we fathom that business aims not only to sell the product before it is even produced at the manufacturer’s end but also make sure that there are repeated purchases on the part of the customer who is a part of the target audience so to speak. Business in essence is a game plan for the strategic and tactical basis of the products that are sold through the help and facilitation of distribution channels, word of mouth approaches and formation of brand personalities and so on and so forth. A lot of the basis for this business doing comes from strong psychological angles of the people who carry it out in the first place and this by no stretch of imagination is a difficult task, all said and done. The intention behind teaching college students the art of business doing is to make them aware of this form of business which is all about the propagation of knowledge and information related with the product in mind and the company which is making it available for one and all. With that, we understand that their foundation will be strong so that they could step right into the practical world and do not feel at sea when the business plans and the marketing strategies are discussed with regards to different products and brands. Thus the different fields of business are taught in colleges for imparting the much valuable information and the precise details of the insight that would enable one and all towards the issues which a person could encounter in his practical life. Marketing is in fact a battle ground for learning a lot of things which are related with the psychological basis since understanding the psyche of the consumers beforehand can be the starting point for comprehending as to what they actually want and what they should be offered in terms of the product offerings and services mix. The benefits of marketing in our society are manifolds since it looks at a number of different issues like the understanding related with the psychology. The needs, wishes and desires of the target audience in fact the whole society is touched upon and with that there is a general consensus as to what exactly the definitive segment of the society actually needs for fulfilling its desires and utmost requirements. This could be in the form of different marketing strategies brought together by product offerings and service packs delivered to all consumers day in day out through the retail outlet of the marketing ground. It is imperative to understand that in the world much like today, doing business from a psychological and personality standpoint, holds the ground for understanding a lot of issues which are close to life that not only discusses the most simple of facts but also pinpoints the areas where weaknesses lie within the human domain. All said and done, psychological building within the field of business is indeed a science if not an art in the real sense of the word. Students must make sure that they get proper psychological examples from business lessons before they decide to join the bandwagon which is set on the path of understanding brands and different strategies associated with them. Every big business or multinational that is existent in present times credits itself on to the vision of an exemplary personality which started it all when the going was tough and when there was a huge competition in the related market. Thus to withstand pressure and competition is the hallmark of any successful and long lasting business, company or enterprise, whichever term we might quote it as. Speaking from a psychological standpoint, consumers connect with what is there on the electronic and/or print media for them in the form of a message that says a lot about their preferred brand and lists down the details as to how it could benefit the same person if he or she uses it. Advertising is the non-personal communication of information usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature about products, services or ideas by identified sponsors through the various media. This is all the art of selling and it comes under the heading of marketing and for marketing to happen in the first place, advertising is of fundamental importance. Without advertising, marketers can only think of their product lying on the retail outlets waiting for angels to come and satisfy themselves. People need to be told the plus points of their brands (by the company) so that they actually go out and make the eventual purchase which in all fairness, not an easy job for the company, say that is producing a shoe polish which does not stick on to the shoes as much as do the other competitor shoe polishes already available in the market. If the customers do not know or are not given the liberty to comprehend the different features of the brand which is being advertised by the company, they would not make that valued effort on their part and hence the company will be the one to suffer in the end and no one else. For the company to see their brand thriving big time in the market with competitors having little or negligible business, it needs to build upon a base that it can erect its structure so that when the wind blows, it does not hamper the smooth business of this brand at all. Therefore, one pivotal role is played by persuading these very customers and consumers into making that vital purchase and for that they need to be given the space that they want and more importantly so the insight and understanding and not to forget the knowledge about this very brand that would make their brand sell and competitors’ brands to stay on the shelves when the moment of truth hits the retail chains all around the globe. This moment of truth is the eventual moment when the consumer goes out to a retail chain and makes a purchase. Advertising is a part of the social psychology and as we are discussing the persuasive part of it, hence there is a direct linkage here. Hence the branch of human psychology that deals with the behavior of groups and the influence of social factors on the individual is indeed the social psychology and as we are getting the hang of things from the advertising and persuasion perspective of it, the both are seen as being quite imperative here. Thus the world of business is focused on the psychological basis of different individuals and it is imperative to understand each and every person thus involved in the whole equation. This could mean people at different levels and hierarchical positions and all could have varied personalities and issues to start with. The aspect of solving the problems and more so understanding each other forms the key to have business in the best manner possible and at the same time get the best out of these individuals without making them feel bad about the very same. Thus this aspect is an art and it is not up to any individual coming out of the blue to understand what this is all about. Applied psychology makes use of the psychological theories and principles so that practical problems could be encountered with regards to different fields like business management, nutrition, medicine and law to name a few. Applied psychology is indeed a discipline as well as a profession when we see the same within the contexts of the organizational psychology and a number of other disciplines. The field of business is an important vehicle for getting the message across to the right frame of audience at the right time and in the right capacity possible. It would not be wrong here to suggest that the role of media in any field is more than any other social and cultural domain that has come of age in the recent times. Media can literally shake the very basis of the disciplines and professions which are existent in the current times and it would not be long before we find out for our own selves that the media would take over our lives and start ruling us like none other. The question however present here is of understanding the relationship between the applied psychology and the representation of the same in the different media forms like electronic, print, outdoors and others. Applied psychology looks to solving the issues related with the psychological basis when the application for the processes is present. The field of business looks to cater to the needs and wants of the people who attach their psychological self with it. In all essence, this means that applied psychology is a field which goes a little bit too far and it makes an understanding deep down inside when we compare it alongside the business field. Now the question which really raises quite a few eyebrows is the fact that the portrayal of the applied psychology in the business world is something of a speculative type or otherwise? The answer to this could be in the form of different options, one such being the stereotypical representation of psychological tenets and different jobs. Stereotypes in the business world exist amongst every society of the world in present times and same has been the case for so many decades now that all seems so very inevitable. However the manner in which this has been presented time and again needs to be stressed more on the lines of the different programs that are shown across the board and the advertising that is done courtesy the different brands and products in the name of commercialism. The whole thinking mindset thus needs to be changed for the better if we want to abolish the whole concept of the ever remaining stereotypes present within the circles of business and more so within the tenet of applied psychology as we are discussing here. Due to differing psychological bases, we can easily come to terms with conflicts that can arise every now and then at the business fronts and between people who do not come to each other’s understanding levels. This means that at certain instances there could be problems in the waiting and then we have to devise certain ways and mechanisms to counter the very same. Also what this brings to light is the fact that psychology is an art more than science itself and it varies from person to person. It is all about clicking with the right kinds of people in the business circles and one should believe that it indeed must be the right way of going about things. As we speak, we find that there could be conflicts in the waiting and these could include varied implications for each and every individual as we delve further into it. Different conflict handling styles include avoidance of the conflict in the first place which will ensure that the two persons within the organizational set up remain at peace and understand each other’s personalities. The second one is that of accommodating where each of these persons would accommodate the personality traits of each other and thus listen to one another. This can lead to understanding which can be reached between the two of them. The third conflict handling style encompasses collaboration which asks them to shed their differences and work in unison with a common goal, preferably of the company, in mind. The fourth conflict handling mannerism is that of compromising where each of these can just forgive and forget and thus move on for the betterment of each other’s relationship amongst the organizational set up. The last one is forcing which can make matters even worse since it could even be of physical and at times verbal nature. This is the least desired of the five conflict handling measures. Thus these measures suggest a thing or two about the different perspectives that there are in the world of business related with the psychological basis. The personality aspect is also given due emphasis here as we can so very easily see. The new approaches to psychology in the business world revolve around the notion of personality. It is more about understanding the relevant person at the said position and then going about doing things one’s way. Also what this brings to light is the fact that psychology is not such a difficult thing to understand. However the only underlying issue that remains here untouched is that there are so many different people in the world that it becomes a really tricky situation to understand their psyche and the eventual basis with which they would carry out different tasks and activities. They just cannot be taken for granted at any point in time and this can form up as an imperative point of discussion. The new approaches to psychology in the mainstream psychological modes are also an indication of the complexities related with understanding the different business models and the manner in which the different kinds of people are running their respective shows. This means that the task at hand becomes an even more difficult one and there is a dire need to understand the very basis all said and done. BIBLIOGRAPHY CZERNIAWSKA, Fiona. (1997). Corporate-Speak: The Use of Language in Business. Macmillan ENDLER, Norman S. (1977). Personality at the Crossroads: Current Issues in Inter-actional Psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates LAZARUS, Richard S. (1961). Adjustment and Personality. McGraw-Hill LOFTUS, Mary. (1995). Frisky Business. Psychology Today, Vol. 28 STAATS, Arthur W. (1996). Behavior and Personality: Psychological Behaviorism. Springer WEINBERGER, Joel L. (1994). Can Personality Change? American Psychological Association VERCKENS, J Piet. (2001). Intercultural Communication in Business and Organizations: An Introduction. Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 64 Word Count: 2,767 Read More