George Herbert Mead, an American philosopher, affiliated with the University of Chicago founded the theory of symbolic interactionism. A major aspect of this is that people interact by symbols both verbal and non-verbal signals and every interaction makes a contribution to the mental make-up of the mind thus every interaction with someone, changes you and you go away a different person signifying that humans and change go together.
George Henry Mead, of Chicago University, lectured much and wrote very little. His ideas were so powerful that his students felt the need to take detailed notes and produced his material so that we, after his death, can reflect upon it. He gave rise to a sociological and psychological theory, academically known as 'symbolic interactionism'. Symbolic interactionism also referred to as the Chicago sociological tradition.
According to Mead, the mind is not just reducible to the neurophysiology of the organic individual but is emergent in "the dynamic, ongoing social process that constitutes human experience. In every waking moment, we humans are taking new impressions of the world around us and rearranging the old impressions in the light of the new. Mead states that "the self is a social process," meaning that there are series of actions that go on in the mind to help formulate one's complete self, and hence there is no such thing as stability. Several significant schools of philosophic thought have stressed this.
We are all the time taking into our minds new impressions through the senses. We see things, we hear things, we touch things, we taste things, and beyond that, we have feelings about the messages our five senses bring to us.
These impressions make us sad, happy, impatient, excited, worried, angry, uplifted, determined, uncertain, jealous, envious; they make us love, hate, sympathize, empathize, co-operate, oppose, fight; and these emotions, being stirred, provide us with energy and impel us to action. All these impressions and the emotions they stir are recorded in our memories.
All these related emotions are written down in our human audio-video brain machines and this data keeps on evolving all the time. As more ingredients come into the mind, so the earlier ones seem just a little different- they are expanded and perceived in a new light. Human memory is also selective and the entire recordings that we have done over time do not make its presence felt consciously all the time. Most of it is buried in the depths of the unconscious and sometimes get triggered by new events. We have an exciting picture of the human mind as a flow of impressions, and emotions, and ideas that connect them. The thinking we do about impressions is part of the change process.
As we are constantly developing new connections hence we are constantly changing them as well. Hence change is the microsecond by microsecond essence of living. It is important to understand that this way, change actually fits with the very structure of our minds and of our thinking. Hence the principles of change management discussed in this section and the need for a change mindset should not be difficult to absorb.
A major aspect of it is that people interact by symbols - words and non-verbal signals in particular. Every interaction makes a contribution to the mental make-up of the mind. When you have had an interaction with someone, you go away with a different person. You have each added something to the other.
Mead made a distinction between the 'I' and the 'Me'. The 'Me' is the accumulated understanding of "the generalized other" i.e. how one thinks one's group perceives oneself etc. The 'I' is the individual's impulses. The 'I' is self as a subject; the 'Me' is self as an object. Mead described each individual as having of being a central 'I' around which a whole lot of 'me s'-- less stable and derived from the interactions with others were revolving. The 'I' then constantly reacted to all these constantly changing 'me s' and absorbed them into itself.
Take the example of the social act of economic exchange. In any exchange, both buyer and seller must take each other's perspectives towards the object being exchanged. The seller must recognize the value for the buyer, while the buyer must recognize the desirability of money for the seller. People who have influenced us have changed us. Once you have read this article, as a result of this interaction, are will be a slightly different person from the one you were a few moments ago.
So being human and change go together and this should make the quest of this unit easier.
The task of the business or any commercial enterprise is to make better things, using less of the effort and resources. Management is designed to maintain the highest rate of change that the organization and the people within it can stand. Yet even when we acknowledge all this, we are prone to resist change. We fear it; we avoid it and we sign for the status quo.
These perceptions of what is to be human can help us to take a positive approach to change and make it work to our advantage and to that of our enterprise. You are only really alive when you are changing. Change is the essence of personal growth, it is the basis of relationships with other people, and without it, there is no learning and no progress.
Team Development by Building Trust
As your team begins to work together, you need to establish a way each team member can exchange ideas and build mutual trust. Successful groups are built on trust and collaboration. A free exchange of ideas, in an open environment, will allow your team to get to know each other and enable you to check on how they work together. Learn some tips to help build team trust and establish personal bonds.
Technological advancement has brought about radical changes in the methods of work and also in the organizational structure and talent strategies. The future of work is transforming our work, workforce, and workplace. Some important trends observed during recent times are discussed below.
Symbolic Interaction and Social Change
George Herbert Mead, an American philosopher, affiliated with the University of Chicago founded the theory of symbolic interactionism. A major aspect of this is that people interact by symbols both verbal and non-verbal signals and every interaction makes a contribution to the mental make-up of the mind thus every interaction with someone, changes you and you go away a different person signifying that humans and change go together.
This style is characterized by leaders making decisions for others and expecting followers to follow instructions. The directive leader is adept at giving instructions, setting expectations, and establishing timelines and performance standards. However, it is possible for the same leaders to display both directive and supportive behavior as per the demands of the situation.
Teams are part of the modern organizational culture. Whether you are a team leader or a team member, having a better understanding of how teams work, and being able to identify where the team is in the process, is a critical part of ensuring the team is ultimately successful. Start with the basics and understand what a team is and what role they play in an organization.
Collaborative leadership is all about collaborative problem-solving and decision-making or can also be defined as the leadership of a collaborative effort. . The term started to appear in the mid-1990s in response to the formation of long term public-private partnerships to rebuild public infrastructure. Learn how you can use principles of collaborative leadership to enhance your leadership skills for being an effective leader.
Listening is the foundation for good communication. It is also the hardest skill to master. Do you listen to confirm what you already know, or do you listen to explore and learn new things? How can we create receptive communication as a listener? The real art of listening involves awareness and sensitivity to the feelings of the speaker because it is at the feeling level that genuine connection, relationship, and healing occurs.
Thinking & Problem Solving Skills
Today's dynamic business world demands that you make decisions that significantly boost productivity and drive competitive advantage. But how do you know whether a decision will benefit the organization? And how do you know that the decisions are based on rational and statistical reasoning? Explore how to become a dynamic problem solver with the skills to make accurate decisions.
Concept & Definition of Stress
Stress is a popular expression used by people in day to day life. Pressures of day to day living sometimes necessitate coping or dealing with them and stretch the body beyond its natural capacity. They are called stressors. Stress is a natural, ongoing dynamic, and interactive process that takes place as people adjust to their environment.
Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. The best time management techniques improve the ways you work. Time management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity. Learn more about the five steps for effective time management viz. study, identify, analyze, decide, and implement.
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