Management and Ethics Paper

Humanistic Workplace Paper

William Rodriguez

University Of Phoenix

COMM/215

Dr. Cruz Melendez

September 30, 2006

ABSTRACT

In today's workplace, Humanism would concentrate upon the development of the employee's self-concept. If the employee feels good about him or herself then that is a positive start. Feeling good about oneself would involve an understanding of ones' strengths and weaknesses, and a belief in one's ability to improve. Learning is not an end in itself; it is the means to progress towards the pinnacle of self-development, which Maslow terms 'Self-actualization'. For Example, a child learns because he or she is inwardly driven, and derives his or her reward from the sense of achievement that having learned something affords. This would differ from the behaviorist view that would expect extrinsic rewards to be more effective. Extrinsic rewards are rewards from the outside world, e.g. praise, money, gold stars, etc. Intrinsic rewards are rewards from within oneself, rather like a satisfaction of a need. This accords with the humanistic approach, where education is really about creating a need within the child, or instilling within the child self-motivation. Behaviorism is about rewards from others. Humanism is about rewarding yourself!

HUMANISTIC WORKPLACE

Much of a humanist supervisor's effort would be put into developing an employee's self-esteem. It would be important for employees to feel good about themselves (high self-esteem), and to feel that they can set and achieve appropriate goals (high self-efficacy). This form of supervision is known as employee-centered, and is typified by the employee taking responsibility for their productivity and owning their learning. The behaviorists might advocate positive reinforcement such as praise, and punishment in the form of negative criticism. The humanists reject both praise and blame. Employees can become addicted to praise, and put much effort into receiving praise from their supervisors. Such employee will often work for the praise, and not work if their efforts go unnoticed. This is so unlike an interested person surfing through the Internet, who derives satisfaction from learning something new, even though nobody is around to witness this acquisition of knowledge. In other words, if education were preparing the child for adult life, it would seem the humanist approach is the correct one.

The humanist supervisor is a facilitator, not a disseminator, of knowledge. Participatory and discovery methods would be favored instead of traditional didacticism (i.e. learn parrot-fashion every thing the supervisor says). As well as the employee's basic needs the humanistic supervisor is concerned with his/her affective (or emotional) needs. Feeling and thinking are very much interlinked. Feeling positive about oneself facilitates learning and productiveness. The self or the individual is important. Not the similarities between humans as much as the individuality of humans.

EMPHASIS ON HUMANISTIC APPROACH TO EMPLOYEES

1 Affect - emphasis on feeling and thinking.

2 Self-Concept - positive, Give self-concept importance

3 Communication - positive and honest

4 Personal Values - Importance of personal values, facilitate the development of positive values. Must know themselves, express themselves, self-identity, actualize themselves.

The Humanistic approaches use group processes. Groups of employees can express their feelings more openly, discover and clarify their feelings. Explore interpersonal relationships articulate personal values. Games - including role-playing. Self-Disclosure is the bonding that happens in a relationship as each person reveals intimate information about himself at roughly the same level of intimacy.

According to Maslow, Solitude is the desire to spend time by ones self, which is the reflection of, and a contributor to our personal growth and development. Maslow pointed out that psychologically healthy people tend to express a great deal of interpersonal warmth and have close relationships with their closest friends. People with high desire for solitude are not necessarily trying to escape from relationships. Instead, it is possible that they have come to recognize the benefits of solitude.

Self-esteem refers to your evaluation of your self-concept. In short, do you like this person you believe yourself to be? Although many people dislike it, evaluation has become part of most of our lives. For example, the book states that only a few years after elementary school, most students become accustomed to having their schoolwork evaluated by teachers. Evaluations by a superior is commonplace in today's business world, if not in the form of an annual evaluation, then in the size of one's raise.

MASLOW'S HIERARCHY APPLICATION

Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be applied to any organization. If effectively done, the organization can aim towards each individual achieving at maximum potential. There is one company that I worked for that came the closest to allowing the workers to achieve at this potential. This company was a small residential construction company in my hometown. Before describing just how the company provided these opportunities, I think it is essential to note that while a company can facilitate the items needed for each of the plateaus, the happiness cannot be realized fully without the accompaniment of outside facilitation. You see, in my hometown I had access to all the creature comforts that could make me happy: friends, family, shelter, etc.... So the hierarchy cannot be complete unless it is provided for in all aspects of an individual's life; both work and non-work time