Psychological egoism
Psychological egoism explains that all human behaviors by nature are motivated by self-interest, so conventional morality is virtually impossible. Any act, no motivated by altruistic concern is actually motivated by self-interest. There have been several incidents at my current place of employment that have led me to believe I have been subjected to signs of psychological egoism. Some of the values and beliefs shown at the department have both coincided and contrasted with my own personal values and interests.
Psychological egoists argue that a person can never be truly altruistic and therefore there would be no place for anything resembling ethics. “if “ethics” requires us, at least sometimes, not to pursue our own self-interest. But given that we may not know our own deep-down motivation the action might still be altruistic. Ethics is supposed to override self-interest. It is our moral obligation to do something even when it is in our own interests not to do so.”
The book explains, “Psychological egoism claims that true altruistic behavior is nothing more than wishful thinking because everything we do is by definition self-serving.” The current department that I work at consists of seven people with a director to manage. The director sent out an email informing his department of the upcoming meeting with the new dean in charge of the department. His first sentence made it clear that the meeting was to impress her. He made it clear in a follow up meeting that it was in our best interest because the dean has criticized the efficiency of other departments. The department was instructed by the director to put their order ahead of every other department any orders requested by the dean in charge of our department, or trustees.
These actions show specific characteristics of psychological egoism that the motive of this action is self-interest. “A psychological egoist is to emphasize one does for the sake of promoting best interest.” This type of behaviors would coincide with my ethical beliefs that everyone should be treated equally. Every department that submits orders should go through the same process and have the same amount of wait time. This type of practice has both benefitted and hurt us at different circumstances when a department requested an order and wanted just a few days later. The director has had to explain to the department the average wait time is 2 weeks.
Some may argue that psychological egoism is non-falsifiable because one cannot know for sure if one’s own motivation is of egoistic or altruistic concern. “Baruch Spinoza explains that the ultimate goal of one’s actions is to realize oneself or develop oneself. To make this idea appealing, an egoist must flesh out the idea of self-realization or self-development, which in turn involves specifying what is ideal to pursue.” I can understand the director’s point of view as he is trying to motivate us to do our best. Like the book explains, psychological egoism can go both ways. I just feel that he should propose motivation in a different way.
Power and Influence of a leader
The success of an organization can be guided through strong strategic planning and an effective leader with proper training that uses their power wisely. Leaders help set strategic goals for the organization and motivate their subordinates to carry out their proposed assignments to achieve their goals. Leaders with regulated qualifications will have official duties including distribution of activities and give commands to discharge official duties.
I work as a graphic designer in the Community and Media Relations office at Laredo College. The department is overseen by the Associate Dean of Strategic Recruitment & Community Engagement. Directly under her is the Creative Director who has authority over the Media Relations department and gives us direction. The work environment is based on legitimate power. According to the reading, (Black et al., 2019) “legitimate power exists when person B submits to person A because B feels that A has a right to exert power in a certain domain.” (pg. 419) As a supervisor, he has the right to assign us work. He follows the proper channels and is confident to enforce compliance in his department. (pg. 426)
There have been instances where the director has tried to use referent power over the department. The director is well known for his charismatic personality around campus. He fits well into his role as director because the marketing department itself uses their referent power in marketing and advertising the college. (Black et al., 2019) There have been no unethical decisions made from him. He may have his favorites at times, but he does treat subordinates fairly and defends our interests. Most of the time, he is sensitive to the subordinates needs and feelings. (pg. 425) He has tried to get our admiration and allegiance with the occasional personal praise and recognition. After he consults with the higher-ranking leaders, he uses several common power tactics. (Black et al., 2019) He is given controlling access to information. “Persons controlling access to information play a major role in decisions made.” (pg. 423) Many of the advertising campaigns are kept secret before they are released to the public. He bases his decisions on where to advertise the new marketing campaign.
There have been different challenges that have led him to practice certain political behavior. Our department is quite small, and we have limited resources. The office consists of only five people, and the department handles thousands of work-orders a year. The workflow can be overwhelming. (Black et al., 2019) “Politics surfaces when resources are scarce and allocation decisions must be made.” (pg. 429) This issue can lead to ambiguous goals, because of the massive workflow. The director made the ethical decision to re-distribute the work evenly. The coming of a new president to the college will bring organizational change. (Black et al., 2019) This president is ready to make many changes at Laredo College, which will bring many challenges. “Periods of organizational change also present opportunities for political rather than rational behavior, including efforts to restructure a particular department.” (pg. 429)
References
Black et al., (2019) Organizational Behavior. Rice University
The Seven Habits An Overview My Insights
The reading begins by explaining one’s character is composed of habits. These habits become part of unconscious patterns and build our character. Bad habits can be hard to break. Developing habitual tendencies like procrastination, impatience, criticalness, or selfishness need little willpower and making slight changes will give the person the freedom they need and create the order necessary to create effectiveness in your everyday life. Dependent people need others to get what they want. Independent people get what they want through their own effort.
All 7 habits are habits of effectiveness that are based on principles. These principles will help a person achieve maximum long-term beneficial results. The first habits 1, 2 and 3 help a person develop self-mastery, moving a person from dependence to independence. Becoming independent the person gives the person “private victories” that enable character growth. The person can relate to the current independent world. The person should be able to define the acute problems that can impact and obscure their independent character. Understanding these impacts will help the person’s efforts grow.
As an employee of the workforce, I can relate to these areas. I have learned from this reading maintaining P/PC balance is important. P stands for the desired results I need to become effective. PC stands for production capability, the ability to maintain the level of production. I have overcome many obstacles in my life to get to where I am. I have learned from my past mistakes to break away from old paradigms to become more independent both physically and emotionally and become productive at work. I have yet to claim true independence and master the empowerment to act rather than be acted upon and be free of circumstances that affect me.
Credits:
Created with images by apichon_tee - "Business woman hand writing on a notepad with a pen in the office." • PX Media - "Wooden signpost - code of ethics concept (ethics, accountability, principles, integrity, values)." • jirsak - "Influencer and opinion leader" • adzicnatasa - "OLD HABITS versus CHANGE written on the white arrows, dilemmas c"