The Five Components of Wise Judgments - Essay Example

Wise Judgment A man has had a difficult time finding a job that pays enough to support his family. He has finally landed the job and has been workingsix months. He discovers that his manager is engaging in illegal activities on the job. How each of the five components of wise judgments can be applied to the scenario Factual awareness of life’s important matters is one of the most important concepts to be captured in a wise decision making. Understanding the human social nature and the influence that the environment that we live in makes in our lives while maintaining the social values are an imperative balance that needs to be created (Sternberg, 2000a). In the case above, it is important that the employer considers the relationships he makes with his environment such as with the employer and deliberate on the need to keep in touch with moral and social values. Social values and activities engaged in assist in shaping character, which implies that the nature of work dealt in contributes to personal achievement and development. Since the illegality offends set out values, this concept may become important in making the appropriate decision to resolve the problem. Additionally, procedural knowledge in wise decision making incorporates an informed approach for employing different options in different circumstances as a strategic strength to dealing with problems (Sternberg, 2000b). In the case above, the employee must have some goals in his life regarding employment and explore alternatives in achieving them. In case the goals set out are highly prioritized such as in sustaining his family as the sole bread winner, it may have implications in the manner in which he approaches his job. By defining these goals, he will need to interrogate the impacts of making decisions regarding the problem realized with the nature of employment. It is only after making a wise decision that he will understand the importance of deciding adaptation implications at the work and the implications of changing the illegal employment. Alternatively, lifespan contextualism in making decisions is a wise approach that enables an individual to realize the importance of the role that they play in their contributions within a certain context of life. As an illustration, the man family man seeking employment in the case may need to apply contextualism concept in decision making to realize that his role is defined be a specific scope. Under such an understanding, it will be easy for the man to realize the extent of sacrifice he should make in order to sustain his family, while making the right decisions concerning his employment. Some decisions of risking one’s life to support their beloved ones may be uncalled for if the contextaulism does not allow. The other concept involves recognizing and handling uncertainty in life which is a unique attribute that decision making acknowledges since the world cannot be a perfect place. It implies that human beings must approach their decision making duties with an awareness that error and imperfection will always occur at certain times of their encounters with the world. In a world of imperfection, decision appropriate making will be characterized by resilience capable of approaching any problem without emotional episodes of judgment that result in wrong decisions (Sternberg, 2000b). Openness to learning in decision making complement this attribute as contributed by the awareness of the fact that human knowledge is limited. The fact that the employee in the case feels overwhelmed by the nature of the employer’s illegal operations may be cooled by searching for guidance form experts while maintaining calm. By understanding that there is difficulty in achieving an ideally perfect employment condition without illegality may assist the employee to take his time in making the right decision on whether to quit or continue and how to do it. Relativism in solution choice will be used to assist in interpreting the surrounding divergence of values and ideals among individuals. Clarity in decision making that manifests wisdom involves making objective interpretation of issues at hand. In the case above, the family man looking for employment will be better placed in decision making if it occurred to him that he has his own values that ought not to overcrowd his reasoning in the circumstances of the employment illegality. Being independent when making the appropriate decision will assist him to overcome biases in the correct approach to handle the employment. It will enable him to factor in the areas of illegality that the business deals in, the gravity of the illegality, find out what he can do to contribute and change things around and if not possible, contemplate the implications of leaving things as they are. It involves a lot of understanding in order to interrogate personal perceptions and the actual state of affairs without creating a conflict that usually arises from imposing personal ideals in dealing with decision making. This approach will facilitate taking enough time to research and understanding the various implications of the employment and its termination vis-a-viz the causes of illegality. The decision based on the five components Facts Case facts in the above scenario are that the man has been handling a difficult time looking for an appropriate job that can support his needs. Having found a job looks like a relief to the employee but six months into the job are met with the revelation that the manager is dealing in illegal dealings. Making decision under these circumstances will incorporate a number of wise moves in order for the employee to pass the test ahead of him. Decision making must be involved at an informed level that interrogates wise concepts of resolving such a standoff. Proposed Interventions The first important approach will involve consulting with an employment expert on the circumstances to determine the most professional approach to deal with. This step precedes the identification of the problem at hand and the employee seems keen to follow his dealings at the employment after a considerable short period of engagement. It is important to seek counsel on the possibility of remaining in a favorable position by getting insights on the state of employees’ role in remaining professional (Jordan and Sternberg, 2005). Seeking counsel on such an important issue will be based on the premise that human knowledge is limited in nature and guidance from other, preferably experts may save the day. It will be gathered whether the employee will be better positioned to report the manager to the authorities and the implications of being vocal in revealing illegal conduct in the business, which is presumably not the main intention of the business line. It will also be made known the employee of how independent investigation can be conducted to reveal the illegality by higher authorities while the identity of the whistleblower remains withheld. By conducting such a professional role in exposing illegal dealings, the employee may attract rewards for such an important revelation within the company such as in form of a promotion or other special treatment. It is only ethical and wise to report irregular behaviors at the workplace in order to make the workplace a better place than found. However, the process to ensure that negative impact of fighting evil do not catch up with the one carrying them out, perhaps through getting assistance from consultations. If it may prove unwise to follow such a path due to the involved predicaments, it will be wise to change the environment and avoid the consequences. However, before contemplating to make this significant decision, the employee will require to lay out foundational research regarding the illegal conduct of the manager to avoid landing into more trouble. While ensuring that the work remains discretely conducted, it will be important that just enough information is gathered regarding the nature of the illegality and the extent to which the vice has extended to among the workforce. This is because there may be many other illegal players in the network and identifying the manager alone may be only the tip of the iceberg. This information will be important in making the decision on whether to adapt to the challenge or quit from the work. Understanding the problem from different perspectives will enable the decision making process due to the need to have many options in dealing with challenging situation. Explanation of the rationale behind the decision The most important element of the decision captures the concept of lifespan contextualism which defines the high importance with which the employee attaches the employment with. I find it important that before quitting the job, the employee must consider alternatives to solve the problem, first due to the professional duty placed on his shoulders to ensure that illegal dealings are not condoned. However, due to the implications of the sensitivity of the issue, I find it wise to make consultations with an independent party to discern the correct approach of dealing with the vice, while aiming at retaining the most needed job. Seeking advice may enable the employee to avoid probable bias on the extent of the illegality, which would be revealed upon reporting to the proper authorities (Gogorenko, Kaufman and Sternberg, 2009). Maintaining a low profile in the reporting may enable the employee to clear out vices in the workplace while maintaining a good relationship with all the involved parties. References Gogorenko, E., Kaufman, J. & Sternberg, R. (2009) The essential Sternberg: essays on intelligence, psychology and education. Springer Publishing Company Jordan, J. & Sternberg, R. J. (2005) A handbook of wisdom: psychological perspectives. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press Sternberg, R. J. (2000) Handbook of intelligence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press Sternberg, R. J. (2000) Practical intelligence in everyday life. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press Read More