Psychology

Our society has become the society of organizations in this century the society of business organizations in this millennium. The social tasks concerning the provision of goods and services or education and healthcare, which only a century ago were held within the family, at home, in the shop, or on the farm, are all the more often performed in and through large organizations. These business enterprises are designed for continuity. In the end, wealth-producing forces of any economy are its immaterial resources, namely, not oil or gas, copper or iron, but rather the intellectual and organizational skills that are the basis of the services. Old-school theorists understood how the world works better than most of todays doomsayers (Mintz and Schwartz, 1995). This paper tackles the way theories and personal endeavors coincide in order to be productive in the company, to communicate well with others in the business, work as part of a team or teams, become a leader of such groups, and strike a balance in the life of every person so as to succeed in the business world.

As soon as two people start to communicate, a certain climate begins to develop. Verbal messages certainly contribute to the tone of the professional relationship, but many climate-shaping messages are nonverbal. This paper also reflects my vision of my way of communication with others. The most important single factor affecting the outcomes in both family and the organizational setting is communication, specifically, the communication that implies acceptance or rejection, confirmation or disconfirmation (Stinchcombe, 1983).

This paper views social groups as being interdependent, the building blocks of the organization as a system and the way I can personally contribute to my groups productivity. Unless the objectives of each sub-group are mutually supportive and attained effectively, the organization as a whole cannot meet its overall goals. In addition to this, the groups affect the behavior of individuals and vice versa. The way individuals behave in a group is a critical factor affecting the groups performance. For the group to perform effectively, and as an individual part of it, every member needs to behave appropriately with respect to carrying out certain tasks and interacting socially (Robertson, 1993).

Moreover, the power extends into the workplace. Among other things, it determines whether or not work will be available, how work will be organized, and the manner, in which work will be remunerated. This paper also discusses the subjects of power and influence an individual can acquire and execute by him or herself to lay foundation on the asset of working in the business world. A persons relative power determines what he or she is able to do in informal as well as formal relationships. We also learn from this paper that many people perceive power as being a bit dirty albeit power is necessary for organizational success (Robertson, 1993).

Early in my success program, I shall start gathering a winning team, a support group to help me reach my goals. I shall surround myself with positive, optimistic people who help me celebrate my achievements and cheer me when Im discouraged. Thus, in the business world, more than a commanding leader, I shall be a democratic leader (Kohn, et al., 1990).

Preparing to Succeed
An organization is productive, if it achieves its goals and does so by transferring inputs to outputs at the lowest cost. As such, the productivity implies a concern for both effectiveness and efficiency. A business firm is effective when it attains its sales or market share goals, but its productivity also depends on achieving those goals efficiently. Measures of such efficiency may include return on investment, profit per dollar of sales, and output per hour of labor (Pines and Aronson, 1998).

In order to be most productive, a person has to keep him or herself in the best mental, emotional, and physical condition. There is no point in succumbing to stress or the effects of extra work in pursuit of my goal. A person is not likely to be happy about the success if he or she becomes ill in the process of achieving it.

Not all people are blessed with perfect bodies, and there is no point straining to become like famous actors or fashion models, if we are not built that way. Probably, surviving in the corporate jungle also depends on learning my own personal most desirable weight and fitness level, for example through a visit to my doctor, and adopting a reasonable diet and exercise plan. Still, healthiness may also mean getting enough rest and maintaining a cheerful, positive mental condition. Besides, becoming wealthy is one of the most rewarding things that can happen to us in life.

Successful people recognize that they are responsible for every step of their achievements. Therefore, any person must be able to work alone, if necessary, on every task toward the goal in the corporate world. This does not mean that a person must do the full load of his or her work. But it does mean that heshe is responsible for seeing that it is done, and done competently, by someone who is qualified to perform the necessary tasks. A person should be a self-starter, ready and able to get going on whatever needs to be done next. A person must recognize when the work requires hisher attention, and does not need someone to give himher the permission to act or nag himher into performing (Pines and Aronson, 1998).

Communicating with Others
How would I describe my most important relationships Fair and warm Stormy Hot Cold Just as physical locations have characteristic weather patterns, interpersonal relationships or communicating with others in the corporate world have unique climates. The communication climate refers to the socialpsychological tone of a relationship. It is a function of the way people feel about one another, not so much the tasks they perform (Stinchcombe, 1983). What makes some climates positive and others negative The answer is that communication climate is determined by the degree to which people see themselves as valued. Communicators who perceive others in a relationship as being concerned about their welfare feel positive, whereas those who feel unimportant or abused bring negative attitudes to the relationship (Stinchcombe, 1983).

The best time to create a positive communication climate is at the beginning of a relationship, when there is no negative history to overcome. It is at this time that one can most easily create messages that allow people to believe they are valued. It is not enough to care about others (Stinchcombe, 1983). They have to know that I do care. Sometimes communicating this concern can be difficult. Thus, in the business world, in order to communicate effectively as an individual member and as a teammate, I shall endeavor to be a positive contributor to the communication flow in the company. I should therefore acknowledge the other person, demonstrate an open-minded attitude, agree whenever possible, describe and not evaluate, show concern for the other persons interests, and most importantly, communicate honestly.

One of the surest ways to cloud a communication climate is to get caught lying. Paradoxical as it seems, candor too can be a kind of manipulation. One of the biggest barriers to overcoming poor communication climate is the torrent of negative criticism characterizing so many of them (Stinchcombe, 1983). In order to handle criticism constructively, I need to have available honest, non-manipulative ways of dealing with criticism without feeling the need to justify myself or to counterattack.

Working in Groups
One can view an organization of any size as comprised of several groups. The management deliberately creates groups when it divides labor horizontally into subunits and vertically into levels of management. There are such groups as what theorists call work teams who work together on a job (Robertson, 1993). This is where we can find team players. To me, being a team player is as important as being an individual member.

I know why I have joined a formal business organization. Some either want to accomplish its objectives or need the rewards such as income and prestige derived from the affiliation. I say, I have done this for both reasons. People also join groups and informal organizations for distinct reasons. Personally, I join groups to satisfy my need for affiliation, which is one of our strongest needs. Of course, people from various subgroups mingle over coffee, during meetings, at lunch, and after work. Out of this social interaction emerge many friendship groups, informal groups that together comprise the informal part of the organization (Robertson, 1993).

Furthermore, all work groups must work effectively as a team. There are many factors that affect the way individuals behave in a group setting. Unfortunately, groups of people are not necessarily managed to enhance their performance when working with each other.  Some corporate officials say that small working groups are more productive for Americans than attempting to adopt Japanese management styles that depend on the Japanese workers intense company loyalty (Kohn, et al., 1990). I think that this approach appears highly adaptable within the computer industry, where small groups, given great freedom, can react quickly to abrupt technological change. One virtue of working in groups that I am keen on taking on is that responsibility is lodged with the employees doing the actual work. Through this, I can focus my energies on a single gal, foster creativity with others, and be rewarded commensurate with my contributions.

Leadership in the Workplace
A superior member clearly needs to direct the groups efforts, and those of all individuals, toward objectives, even though these relationships may fall outside those prescribed by the management. The basic primary mechanism for accomplishing this direction is leadership and the distinct but closely related concepts of power and personal influence (Mintz and Schwartz, 1995). An important principle of behavior related to the functioning of groups is that leadership consists of doing those things that keep a group together and working to solve a problem. Those things are behaviors that have been grouped into what we call roles. A role is the pattern of behavior that characterizes an individuals contributions to the group. Thus, in abbreviated form, I can talk about the role of a person is taking in a group. Similarly, leadership consists of performing those specific roles that keep a group together and working on the task. In that way, we can conceive of leadership as combinations of roles that are taken by many if not all members of a group. Some consider a list of functional roles of group members that help the group accomplish its task, that promote and maintain group member relationships, and that help meet individual needs, although they may on occasion distract from either or both the task and the maintenance goals. Leadership roles, of course, always contribute to task and maintenance goals (Robertson, 1993).

I may be able to distinguish between being the leader of a group and exercising leadership in a group using the concept of role. A leader is a person who performs more of the leadership roles than other members of group. Organizations and formal groups often designate one person as its spokesperson or head to represent the group or carry out some of the organizing and mechanical chores that need to be done for the group to complete its work. (Mintz and Schwartz, 1995) Groups are sometimes categorized according to the pattern of leadership roles taken in the group. For example, a democratic group is one in which the leadership roles are shared somewhat equally by all members if the group an autocratic group is one in which the leadership roles are performed almost exclusively by one person a laissez-faire group is one in which the leadership roles are not performed or only very minimally (Robertson, 1993). Most groups need someone to serve as designated leader or chairperson who can take the initiative in getting the group organized and functioning. Thus, as part of a group or groups, I may direct others when it is necessary. I may take charge every step of the way. If others dont approve of what Im doing, I shall listen to their objections, of course. I will also listen to the advice of experts and given authorities. But as to how I will succeed individually as a leader, I have to make final decisions for myself.

In defining roles in a group, it is necessary to exert more control over interaction early in the process, hence, granted I am assuming the leadership role of gatekeeper (facilitating participation of everyone in group, bringing in members  who might not speak, preventing dominance by one or two members, and maintaining permissive atmosphere) and procedure developer (handling such tasks as seating arrangements, running the projector, passing out papers) may emerge sooner and more clearly than others (Mintz and Schwartz, 1995). In my opinion, however, it is usually better to provide too much procedural direction than too little.

Keeping Balance in Your Life
When individuals work, they gain a contributing place in the society. The fact that we receive pay for our work indicates that what we do is needed by other people, and that they are a necessary part of not just the business world but the society as a  hole. Much of who individuals are, to ourselves and others, is also interwoven with how we earn pay, respect, and experience in the corporate jungle. Thus, success in the business world tells us to strike a balance between affording identities and affording commercial needs. After all, work in any field is seen as the measure of an individuals worth.

I read from a book, the title of which I cannot recall, before that in order to succeed, I must want to reach my goal more than anything else. Working toward it must become the most important activity in my life more important than watching television, socializing with friends, or keeping up with the latest books and movies. Naturally, since I have family and other important people in my life, I cannot always expect them to take a backseat to my ambitions. Often, though, I can convince them to join me in my interests. Even when I cant, I will want to spend some time with them in mutually enjoyable activities.

That does not mean I cut everyone and everything else out of my life. But I must set priorities and make choices. To keep the balance in my life, I should decide what is the most important in my life, and eliminate unnecessary pastimes that take away energy and time I could use to work toward my goal of finding a good niche in the business world.

Conclusions
It is no accident that resource-poor island nations like Britain and Japan at various times have become ones of the worlds most influential economic and political powers. Or that postwar Germany and Japan were able to rebuild their broken economies in less than a decade (Kohn, et al., 1990). Nations like these needed working people to flourish. In the business world, they need me. A working me to succeed as part of a company and as an ambitious individual.

Additionally, my success will depend on more than having a plan to follow. I will also need the discipline to apply to myself. If I want to reach the ultimate goal of success in the business world, I cant make excuses to put off the day when Ill actually start working on my plan. No one ever excused his way to success.