Processing Data, Information And Knowledge

Perception involves the processing of sensory information. The individual uses sensations to interpret and make sense of the world and act in it according to social and personal schemes. Our sensory systems have limits. We only notice a small number of the stimuli in the environment and we attend to an even smaller number. The stimuli that does enter our consciousness is interpreted based on our perceptual set, biases, needs and experiences. Important stimuli are acted on.

When exposed to stimuli individuals show they have a sensory threshold. They also show perceptual selection of stimuli. Gestalt theory says that individuals look for closure by grouping stimuli and completing it by filling in any gaps themselves, 'the whole is greater than the sum of the parts'. The process begins with figure and ground which can be looked at as content and context. The attention given to stimuli is like a focus or economy. Things like advertising clutter can be cut out. Adaptation to things can take place over time and contrasts can be created. Self referential advertising creates a hyperreal world. Interpretation is the meanings people assign to things according to a schema. There is correspondence between signs and symbols and their role in the assignment of meaning.

We all see things in different ways. In picturing the real world some things are given more significance than others. Any situation can be analysed in terms of its perceptual connotations so we should be aware of the assumptions made below the conscious threshold. Constants are taken for granted and assume they stay the same and inferences are made that may save time but may also lead to errors. Perception can be easily tricked by things like illusions. Stereotyping, the halo/horns effect and the fundamental attribution error are other common perceptual distortions affecting the accuracy of interpersonal perception. These things are reflected in the way we perceive people.

The dynamics of person perception are very important. Objects simply exist, people can react and be affected by the behaviour of others. People are dynamic and changing, perceiving and being perceived by others and part of the process. Feedback is important. First impressions count and they are hard to change. Impression management is about creating and maintaining the right image.

Failings and weaknesses can be overcome. Personal commitment and the willingness to consider the causes of other people's behaviour as well as the nature of it are a start in preventing errors and deepening perception.

The data and information process that perception performs creates knowledge. Knowledge is both a consumer good and a factor of production. It provides utility and increases productivity. We gain knowledge from experience, education and training. We gain new knowledge from research and development. Companies can make knowledge work for them by creating a spiral of knowledge systematically by ensuring tacit and explicit knowledge feed into each other. Nonaka, Kolb and Piaget support each other in these respects. Knowledge is no longer all top down. It is everywhere. Networking means companies as well as universities are creating and improving knowledge all the time helping us to know what is best.

A Word On Social Justice

The absolute primacy of free market forces and the individualism of capitalism should be rejected as should totalitarian and atheistic communism. Central planning perverts the basis of social bonds, the law of the marketplace fails social justice. Profit as the excusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. A disordered desire for money is a cause of conflict in the social order. The reduction of the basic rights of individuals and groups to nothing more than a means of profit is slavery. We are capable of free will, thinking for ourselves and making decisions. We shouldn't think that all business people and economists are tricky, sly political figures. Think of all the rejected prophets of bygone epoches.

Giving Vision And The Ability To Perform

A business that invests in HRD is sending out a powerful signal of its intentions. It is a significant component of change. HRD is no longer seen as a cost but as an investment signalling a long term view of employment relations and competitiveness. It is utilising and developing the potential of employees. HRD is used to help the progress of other HRM policies. It is seen as a key element in employment relationships. It is used in recruiting, retaining and rewarding employees. HRD brings out the potential of employees and engenders loyalty and commitment.

The business may be motivated by the incentives on offer though it is the attitudes of some managers and employees that are the barrier to HRD policy development and implementation. A successful training and development programme can win a company the prestigious Investors in People award. IIP provides a set of standards for training and development and the business has to provide plans for the training and development of all its employees and evaluate the results. Many businesses saw IIP as a way of bringing in performance assessment and continuous improvement. It is seen by some as a way out of the low quality-low skills equilibrium.

Successive governments have set out to improve the country's training infrastructure with some progress. Some companies ask if more training is really necessary and negative attitudes still need to be addressed but workplace learning is necessary in such things as change management programmes and sustainable competitive advantage. HRM is a major influence in business success. It is important to optimise the potential of employees to business aims and objectives.

Synergies From Cultural Values

Values play an important role in our lives. There are personal values and cultural values. Every culture has a set of values. A culture is set apart from others by the relative importance it puts on these universal values. The culture endorses the value system. Core values are passed on to the members of the culture. Cultures and value systems differ from one place to another. They have to be understood in the context of locality.

Parents, friends and teachers are the socialisation agents who are responsible for the enculturation of the core values by which a culture is defined. It involves the process of learning the beliefs and behaviours of one's own culture. When going into a different culture we have to learn their value systems and behaviours. Elements of value systems are shared by different cultures. They share beliefs on certain general principles but differ on important details.

Advocates of a certain set of values may actively seek out others who share the same beliefs so that overlapping networks provide information that supports their beliefs and create synergies that enable them to achieve together what they could not achieve alone.

Natural Law, Rigorism And Laxity

We should uphold the existence of a natural law based on the dignity of the person and inscribed on the human heart. We have a responsibility to obey this law in free assent and according to conscience. There are two extremes of which we should be aware. We should avoid the excesses of the pessimism and rigorism that denies man the ability to do good and the liberalism and laxity that emancipates from the objective norms of moral conduct and leads hedonism. Both are susceptible to hypocrisy and modern forms of idolatry. We must be enlightened enough to preserve the most fundamental human values.

Beyond Perception

We should try to live a life worthy of our vocation. Each trade or profession has one or a few associations and institutions giving unity and solidarity to them. They protect their interests and add to their knowledge. They are a forum for reconciliation and settling differences. Putting ourselves in order is an urgent necessity for the good of all concerned. Arguments, diversity of service and unorthodox teaching can be threats to unity.

People differ in the stimuli they receive and the meanings they assign to them. The differences that people perceive are as a result of the interpretations they put on things. Two people can experience the same event but have totally different interpretations of it. The meaning may be obvious or it may not. We assign meanings to things based on the schemas to which the stimulus is assigned. We have to try to get our interpretation right. We might even somtimes get it completely wrong.

Meanings are always conveyed through signs. We use our interpretation of signs and symbols to make sense of the world. The degree to which the symbolism is consistent with our previous experience affects the meanings we assign to objects. Marketers use signs to transfer cultural meanings into products. During priming certain properties are more likely to evoke a schema than others. The posters, adverts and commercials of some marketers create a world that can be very superficial, materialistic and secular. It creates so many false ideas and impressions. The semiotic world is often a world of hyperreality. We all get criticised for it.

My Generation

The family life cycle model recognises that families change over time around important events that alter relationships and start new life stages. It is becoming outdated in some respects and less appropriate. It represents a life that is becoming less common in the West. Families are less committed to having children. More resources are going on older people and less on children as the number of childless families rises. Cultural transmission from one generation to another is breaking down. Children and youths become isolated from their parents. Social welfare systems have shown themselves lacking in orientation to generational links. Children and young people are in a sense the victims of the older generation.

Governments once treated families in terms of social control with the father as the head. They now tend to recognise that families have 'autopoietic' rights though these rights have often been undermined. The effects of a lack of social support for families on children must be considered as must intergenerational equity. Individual and family rights must be compatible. The relationship of the family to other institutions in society must be considered and an equilibrium sought. A family must be recognised as a family.

As people get older their needs and preferences change often in the same way and time as others of the same age cohort. Everyone understands what the term 'my generation' means to them. There is a nostalgia about it. Age cohorts really start to become obvious with teenagers.

Teens experience many exciting changes that create uncertainty about self and the need to belong and finding their own unique identity. They often use products and brands to express themselves. There is often an element of teen rebellion. They have had to cope with insecurity, parental authority and peer pressure for centuries. This age has added its own new set of concerns about AIDs, the environment, racism and other social problems. 'Generation X' is an age grouping of 18-29ers. They are a very large group and are growing in importance. They are approaching the age where they are influencing fashion, popular culture, marketing and politics.

The 'Baby Boomers' are another big group. These 35-54 agers are the generation that boomed after WWII with a generation explosion of massive proportions. There is power in numbers. It has been described as 'a mouse in a python' being digested and travelling along the length of the body bit by bit. The interesting thing about the Baby Boomers is that now many of them are entering the 'grey market'. The 'Grey Market' are those whose biological clock is still ticking but only just. They are getting older. They are stereotyped as the 'poor recluse'. It is an outdated stereotype. The older generation now has a more active image. They are interested in what life has to offer. They are enthusiastic and have the means and willingness to buy goods and services. The older age groups display autonomy, connectedness, altruism and personal growth. Instead of chronological age a better yardstick might be 'perceived age'. Greys generally respond well to informative advertsting. The old stereotypes are no longer valid.

The old family life cycle model may be outdated in some respects but the family still has an important role to play in educating each other about the world and in building the cultural environment in which we and future generations will have to live. Some people seem to be waiting for the family to disappear and reduce the family life cycle to a life course approach which treats families as a set of contingent careers. The human family is having more impact on the environment than ever before. It is a new stage of history. We should be treating each other as brothers aware of the growing interdependence of humanity.

Future generations will have their demographic problems. They depend on the birthrates of today. The pessimism and selfishness of the neo-Malthusians is not the answer. Population has experienced a crash in recent times. What will happen if man disappears from the earth? Procreation is an act of human and social responsibility and decisions should be made by common council of the parents. The family life cycle model may be inadequate for some things but it may still be better than the life course approach for defending the family.

Readiness, Attitude And Motivation

Be ready for the next customer or client who comes along. Be ready for the next opportunity. Stay awake, remain alert, plan, prevision and use your imagination. Have the right attitude and a favourable disposition to the unexpected. Having the right qualifications and competence gives competitive advantage. It is also necessary to be sagacious and discerning.

Attitudes to work matter. Attitudes to the unexpected also matter. Being alert at all times is stressful. Motivation is important to maintain morale, performance and keep people in the right frame of mind. Motivated staff are more reliable, diligent and trustworthy contrasted with those who are self indulgent, exploit workers and treat them badly. It is dangerous even to be tempted. Management and leadership style can make a difference. It is important to keep a balance between time management and involvement and availability. Management By Walking Around can help ensure the culture and operations are properly oriented.

Staff may be there in body but not in heart. Motivation of knowledge workers is based on the value they place on rewards and expectations. Personal growth, autonomy, creative achievement and financial rewards are the kind of things knowledge workers tend to look for in a job. Job satisfaction improves performance. Good treatment of staff, the recognition of the worker's rights, good pay and conditions and fair trade are the message to take to other countries in a globalised world.

Reconciliation And Peace At Work

There have been physical walls, symbols of division between people and many have been broken down. The Chapel of Reconciliation in Berlin is a good sign. The taking down of the Ledra Street Wall in Nicosia was another, the wall dividing North and South Korea was discussed at the recent summit and the West Bank Wall in Israel and the Belfast wall continue to stand. There is also a symbolic wall in hearts and minds dividing people of different race, tribe, colour, sex, and religion, and politics, even in the workplace. Not everyone likes them. They entrench attitudes and cause alienation.

Social attitudes vary widely on any subject. Attitudes are our readiness the act in a certain way. The British Social Attitudes Survey shows the variety of attitudes and opinions people have about everything from political parties and trust to health care, poverty, the labour market and the workplace, education, to the countryside, transport and the environment, race, religion, civil liberties, immigration and the media. Our attitudes affect our actions and co-operation and conflict patterns. Attitude change is very important.

Social structures are also cause of alienation. Many are based on paradigms of classic theory and result in alienation and a feeling of having no control over the environment. They are originally structures of alienation intended to divide and rule. The radical changes that have taken place over the last couple of hundred years mean that there is more co-operation now. Co-operation means not creating internal problems. There has been a role reversal from 'doulos', the slave/servant to 'oikonomos', the steward/servant in most cases. People work together more. Reconciliation and co-operation should become part of the culture where division or conflict has taken place.

Bigger Barns

There are opportunities to free individuals from the evils of hunger, injustice, illness and death. The world produces more than enough for everyone. It is the view of 'optimists' and 'cornucopians' that the world's goods should be generously shared. The realists, 'pessimists' and 'neo-Malthusians' on the other hand promote population and birth control as a way to defeat the world's economic and social problems. Ever increasing yields do not prompt them to find better ways to distribute the world's surplusses but better ways to conserve them. There is no refuge in what you have. Hoarding stocks, building bigger barns may be a kind of saving but they are missed opportunities. They are not being used and people in some parts of the world desperately need them. Private ownership of property does not justify purely private use.

There are two powers involved with private property. One is the power of caring and distributing things for three reasons. The property of one person is better cared for by one person than by everyone. Individual responsibility is more efficient than common responsibility. A distinction between what belongs to one person and what belongs to another prevents arguments and disputes. The power of using them includes management which while better by one person must be always in the interests of all to provide for the needs of others. When enormous wealth accumulates in the hands of a few, there is massive resentment among the masses. When free and unlimited competiton determined the laws of the market mechanically and the civil power could not intervene the strongest dominated ordinary business relationships and undermined the whole economy. Everyone has a right of access to the means of production.

Radical changes have since taken place both in business and industrial relationships and relations between countries. More people should be living the good life. Unfortunately greed and materialism still exist and continue to make more difficult the problem of unlimited wants and limited resources.

A Story Of Hope

People like stories of hope against hope, of triumph against all odds. The story of God's promise to Abraham is a great story of hope against all hope. A story of the impossible happening. A promise of many descendants to a man getting on in years. We were also chosen from the beginning to put our hope in Christ and receive the seal of the promise. It is a seal of character, belonging and enrolment. It is the promise of an inheritance that gathers a great family into one. It is a story of character and quality and perseverance against criticism and doubt, competition and conflict. It looks into our works and hearts. It is a story of freedom. In the hierarchy of creatures, from the least to the most perfect, best to worst, man is worth more than many sparrows, cattle or sheep.

Planning Development, Renewal And Unity

Careful attention should be given to the problems of changing times and a deeper understanding of the individual educational disciplines for the advancement of scientific research and the convergence of faith and reason. The key of knowledge should not be taken away. People of ability should be chosen and entrusted with the promotion of higher culture and the more responsible duties of society.

A rationalistic business strategy should have a two way communication system, a movement ascending and descending carrying instructions and feedback, horizontally and vertically, constructive, helpful, empathic, giving praise where it is deserved. The strategy may also evolve as actions are taken as and when problems or opportunities arise as a struggle for conversion to the plan takes place. Rigorists and casuists would resist, delay or might even destroy good plans or they may provide preparation for the fulfilment of the plan. They should all be accounted for in the plan.

A Sense Of Direction

In the interests of developing a sense of direction it might be worthwhile gaining an understanding of matters of the spiritual life.

Be directed by the spirit, not self-indulgence. Alas for those who make the burdens of others unendurable and do not lift a finger to help.

The spirit, not self indulgence, is a way of life. The spiritual life is a complex matter involving individual capacities, the diversity of ways and differing spiritual depths. It should not be grounded on consolations.

Pray for determination and forget about weaknesses. Work on the virtues to prevent weaknesses increasing when thoughts turn to what will or will not happen. There should be no selfish intentions.

Freedom Keeps Working

We should not lose or give up on the freedom and rights we have gained in the workplace and the world. Going back to old ways and perspectives and continuing with the same old thing will not do any good, there is no justification for it. We must believe that what has been achieved is good and make its power felt. External forms are one thing, interiority is also important. Helping others materially makes everything clean, but if interiorally you are full of 'extortion and wickedness', cleaning the 'outside' will do no good. Externally, giving alms is better. Righteousness, 'dikaiosune', looks to faith for the hoped for rewards. Older practices and customs may have worked once, progress continues, so ossification should not be allowed to set in. The principle works through fidelity and maintaining good working relationships. A lot of people like the old ways they are used to and resist change. We may therefore meet with controversies along the way, both internal and external, but development will continue. Almsgiving was an alien concept to many people in ancient times. It is an opportunity for a few to show the true value of riches. The rich of the world should be liberal and generous in the interests of justice and charity. They should use their superfluities to relieve the poor. No one is entitled to manage their wealth purely for themselves. They must have the common good at heart. Skillful managers can share wealth with others. Property ultimately belongs to everyone.

From Servants To Friends

Work could be described as physical and mental activities, away from the home and for set periods within a social context and the social relations within which the activites are performed, more than the nature of the activity itself, according to instructions in return for a mixture of rewards and satisfactions including most importantly for most people, money. It is a combination of inputs to produce a variety of outputs. The nature of work and experience is changing, not least in terms of pay and conditions. Work has come from the rural and agricultural work on the farms and the country estates of pre-Industrial Revolution times to the industrial and technological work in the towns and cities of today.

There have been quite a number of movements to improve working life and conditions for people at work. The job redesign movement, the quality of working life movement, the business process re-engineering movement are three well known modern movements that promote greater autonomy and employee involvement (EI) as ways to improve working life for workers and increase efficiency for the company. The involvement-commitment cycle suggests that more involvement increases the commitment of staff to the firm's objectives and so on. By giving workers more freedom over their activities and in completing tasks, autonomous working groups proved successful. It has since been recognised by large and important industry groups and is common practice in many large manufacturing firms. ACAS once called EI the key to improved efficiency. The CBI said firms and workers are more likely to succeed with EI than when unininformed and uncommitted. The British Institute of Management once referred to the community of interest in the long term prospects and it has also been said that it is better when there is a climate that meets social needs of workers. It is important to experience meaningfulness in work, to have responsibility for outcomes and to have knowledge of its results. EI increases these and more. There are many critics of this movement and disagreement as to the degree of autonomy work groups should be given.

In the early days of the study of industrial work and job design, the classical school of Taylorism and Fordism, dehumanised work and made automatons of workers. The Human Relations School began a process of change but even the Hawthorn research produced nothing of great importance until 'ex post facto' developments produced the theories about motivation that gave us the later neo-Human Relations school of thought. The freedom to act spontaneously and creatively also helps generate the new ideas and developments to products and processes that drive progress and maintain continuity. Another sign of progress in working conditions is in the use of names and titles. First name terms are more likely than before when it was 'Sir', 'Madam' or 'Mr' especially on the shop floor. The spirit of 'friendliness' continues up the company hierarchy even where more formality has been retained. Many managers and even directors seem to be more approachable today than before.

Faith Heals A House Divided

Consultants help people put things right by applying properly the things that caused the problem by being practiced incorrectly or not at all. It is the same body of knowledge for all. They are about providing solutions to the problems brought to them by individuals and businesses. They help managers make decisions by providing them with advice, information and practical assistance where necessary. People can learn from mistakes. Good managers will see the learning curve and begin to omit error and adopt a better way. The learning curve is also called the experience curve because people learn from experience. Learnt improved behaviours become natural whereas learning by rote while good at retaining the facts is not necessarily deep but sometimes only superficial and becomes more useful the deeper the understanding. Even rudimentary understanding makes application better. If the devil was in favour of a doctrine that destroyed him he would be divided against himself, but God is working against him and destroying his power over men's hearts. Belief is important. When a strong man armed guards his palace, his goods are in peace. The more businesses apply the teachings correctly the better will be the economy for all.

Something To Believe In

Relationship marketing is about building long-term buyer-seller relationships with the same customers which have the personal and emotional side a simple transaction lacks. It is important to have the right attitude and show good faith towards customers at all times even when difficult or at a bad time. It is important to realise the interests of others as well as our own. It is also important to be aware of and limit moral hazard. Trust and commitment give the confidence to go on to greater things. Exactly where your boundaries are could be described in the mission statement which sets out the vision and mission of the business. It also sets out a map for directing the business. It is a petition for others to be drawn in and to co-operate with it and help make it happen.

Marketing In The Modern World

Marketers sometimes get a really bad press. You read and hear people say things like, 'It's all PR' or 'It's only marketing' as if you can't believe it. Post-modernism has given the word 'marketing' a pejorative sense it was never intended to have. The fact remains marketing is necessary whatever you call it. For example, food is necessary for life and to get it from the farm to the plate is marketing. How its done is another matter. Maybe we should redouble our efforts to remove the 'evil' and let the 'best' in. It is too big a task to leave to marketing alone. It is part of the bigger picture of the proper development of culture and the battles waged daily across a whole gamut of things. Like anything else marketing has it's schools of philosophy. You shouldn't write it off entirely. There are some good signs. So maybe it's not such a lost cause after all.

Continuity Management

Business continuity relies in part on a continuous stream of new ideas and the new product development process from idea to testing and launch. Idea generation is the first step in the process and good ideas can come from anyone from suggestion boxes to an innovation department with a new product development team. Inputs from creatives and diligent workers can help trigger something off. The NPD function can be 'ad hoc' or incorporated into the business strategy at board level. A supportive Government policy and generous funding are a sign that good ideas are welcome. Creatives, academics, inventors and innovators have their meetings and annual conferences. These are good for networking, reading and hearing the latest on new products and processes. It is important to have the faith and confidence to welcome that mysterious stranger who can make all the difference and enter into partnerships with people. Venture capitalists and business angels who have a track record of success know what their criteria are and are constantly looking for enterprises to buy or invest in. Social innovation is an area that tries to alleviate the impact of industrial activities and their effect on communities polluted by harmful environmental externalities, noise and smells, and impoverished by redundancies. New ideas are needed in all areas of industry and business but occasionally social innovation is important for maintaining communities.

Human Relations

A human resources strategy should be fair and equitable, conscientious maybe, but without being exclusive, contemptuous or discriminatory. Complaints about unfair recruitment policies are often heard and reported as they create indignation among discouraged workers. It is not sour grapes. It may be the exception rather than the rule. Labour law has done a lot to improve the situation, but that does not stop people being fastidious. It still happens. It is as if some people do not want to be defiled by others and divide society into sacred and profane. It is not who are God's people, but what actions are incumbent on them as people. It is about the right use of goods. Modern economic and social progress and the struggle for justice and charity cannot be genuine without socially responsible businesses showing they have a proper sense of values and making their contribution to the prosperity of all mankind and world peace. It creates a good image and a reputation as a good employer. Skills and experience are in great abundance. Businesses need them. It makes good sense to use them for economic and social progress.

Perception And Attribution

Irrelevancies and false problems should be avoided. Often they are not the problem at all but the result of distortions and errors of perception. We make mistakes because of small perceptual errors and start a process of attribution error attributing behaviour or other phenomena to the wrong causes. It creates great problems, disputes and injustices in workplace situations. The real problems and what is really relevant become lost in fundamental but avoidable mistakes.

We are all individuals and display selectivity in perception and attention. Perception is important in information processing. Psycholocial factors, individual needs and personal experiences all affect the way we perceive things. The nature and character of the stimuli are also important. The total pattern and the context influence perception. The process can be described as having built-in field effects. We have to be aware of perceptual illusions. Perception goes beyond reality and converts these patterns into the world we understand. It not only affects our perception of the environment we live in but also the people in it.

Perceptual errors and distortions are be the result of a number of factors both internal and external. Inconsistency or a lack of consensus can cause process, interpersonal and communication problems. Anything indistinct will not be picked up properly. The schemas we use to make sense of the world will not serve us well if they are fed with erroneous data and information. We may be forgiven for the frivolous attitudes we display as a result but we must try to respond favourably in any situation. Once errors are discovered or pointed out necessary changes can be made to our attitudes and policies. Any questions we had may remain unanswered as they will no longer be required. Once the realization is made we can go forward with a new perspective.

Lambs Among Wolves

Things can sometimes look pretty bad. Utterly alone and abandoned by everyone all seems futile and hopeless. When people are around though communication is still possible. You can talk to people who are willing to listen. You can take a leap of faith and tell someone your story of joys and sorrows. It can be recorded for posterity by a defender, vindicator, an advocate, or next of kin. There may be an angel around to guide it along. They may be in a position to help turn things round. People who have been slandered and condemned may also need a defender or advocate. Happiness need not be lost forever. Death may not be at hand. It can still be saved. There is a need for justice. We have a mission to rescue each other from poverty.

Good Language Can Impress

Arguments that use language well can impress listeners and rid them of their staid way of ordering their business and moral lives. Rhetoric, grammar and logic can be very convincing as long as they are easily understood. They can lead to endless discussions of matters concerning the business and moral universe without necessarily being in step with anything. It can lead into other areas that people feel comfortable with like philosophy, theology and spirituality. That doesn't mean it has to be chaotic. It can still be well ordered and cultured. Free discussion can lead to a flourishing of ideas, insights and progress. We can see the other side's point of view. When the language is full of the kind of jargon that most people don't understand the chances of starting up meaningful dialogue is limited. Good debate can lead to a new understanding and realization of better ways to view existence.