Research Korner: United Nations

Influence of an Individual’s Perceptions and Interpretation In Decision-Making and Judgments

Every single day, people are faced with decisions whether be it as simple as what to do or what to wear for the day. Every single minute is characterized by choices, choices that people make, rationally or irrationally.  decision making is as essential process in the human nature. Much has been learned about the psychology of human decision making as well as decision making within organizations. This paper will examine and assess the extent by which people’s judgments and decisions are influenced by one’s perception and interpretation of the world.             There are many factors affecting our choices in life. The field of judgment and decision making is concerned on how people combine desires and beliefs to choose a course of action. There are three components in the conceptual design for a decision. It includes courses of action or choice options and alternatives; beliefs about objective states, processes and events in the world including outcome states and means to achieve them; and desires, values or utilities that describe the consequences associated with the outcomes of each action-event combination. Decision making is central to every human activity; thus, everybody is a decision-maker. It must be noted though that good decision making begins with a consecutive, purposeful, strategic-thinking process. In addition, good decisions are those that efficiently choose or select means that are available in a given circumstance or situation to attain the goals of the decision maker.             Defines a decision as “the act or process of deciding; a conclusion or resolution reached especially as to future action, after consideration; the settlement of a question; a formal judgment; tendency to decide firmly; resoluteness”. Many theories of decision making exist in disciplines for both scientific and social science paradigms. In statistics, decisional theory is a strategy of measuring the decision-making process, or making it into mathematical form to make the most efficient and effective choice. In early economic theories, there is also a decision-making model of economic utility wherein people choose the best option that provides the maximum positive utility. The aforementioned early theories are also referred to as classical decision-making which basically shows how decisions are made in ideal situations. In psychology, the highlight of the process of decision-making has been a primary area of focus and study. In Janis and Mann’s Conflict Model of Decision-making, the process of decision=making is viewed as a stressful process which involves an assessment of risk and an assessment of success and time availability to make a decision. This model hypothesize that people make a decision through a decision balance sheet wherein individuals evaluate the gains and losses of a decision on the basis of tangible gains or losses for oneself and for significant others and approval or disapproval from the self and from significant others as well.             Usually though, our decisions and judgments are primarily affected and influenced by how we perceive and interpret the world. In psychology, perception is a “neurological process of observation and interpretation; any neurological process of acquiring and mentally interpreting information from the senses”. It is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to what happens in their environment perceptions are essential because individuals act upon their interpretation of events and at other times fail to act because of perceptions. People are sometimes faces with the same events; however, there are different perceptions and views on such same events. Comments that perception is like beauty. It is in the eye of the beholder.             It must be noted that an individual’s behavior is based upon their perception of what reality, not on reality itself actually. The world as it is perceived or viewed is the world that is behaviorally important. Each one of use the five senses to experience our surroundings. They are the senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. Organizing all these information that we receive from these senses is called perception states that perception is a cognitive process. Perception actually helps individuals select, organize, store and interpret stimuli into a meaningful and rational picture of the world. As each person gives one meaning to stimuli, different individuals “see” the same things in different ways.  Obstacles in Making Accurate Perceptions             Sims has outlined some obstacles that hinder individuals from making accurate perceptions. They are stereotyping, first impression error, halo effect, contrast effect, selective perception and implicit personality theories. Each of these obstacles will be examined and discussed in the proceeding part of this paper. Stereotyping. Stereotypes are considered to be a group concept, actually held by one social group about another. They are often used in a negative or prejudicial sense and are usually used to justify certain discriminatory behavior . The basis for commonly held stereotypes may be associated to one’s sex, race, ethnic group and age. An example of stereotyping may be: the belief or perception that older workers are not capable of being trained for new tasks or younger workers cannot handle responsibility. Even though stereotyping may seem inaccurate and worthless, in some cases, there be “kernel of truth” in the basis of stereotyping; Stereotypes are sometimes based on actual group characteristics. It must be noted though that as stereotypes are some typical beliefs based on the element of truth wherein the beliefs are derived from observations that hold true for the entire group but do not hold much truth and accuracy for given individuals in the group. First Impression Error. As the saying goes, “first impressions last”. First impression errors mean that a person may observe a very brief bit about another person’s behavior in their first encounter and conclude that this behavior mirrors what the person is really like. Such impressions may be dangerous in interviews for work as these first impressions become the lasting impressions in the basis for their long-term employment relationships.    The Halo Effect. The halo effect is described as when a person good at something is assumed to be good at something else. This positive assumption creates a halo.  Gives two instances for this type of obstacle in making accurate perceptions. Example one: Let us say that you are a supervisor in a machine shop. An employee, let us call him John, has been one of the best drill operators in your section for the last ten years. A lathe operator is in need in another section. So, you recommend John, assuming that he will do superb at the lathe as he does in drill pressing. However, John fails; he may be very good in the other task but it doesn’t mean that he will definitely be great with the other task as well. He lacked the necessary skill and the training for the other task. Figuratively speaking, you have somehow placed a halo over John’s head. Another example may be when two people have a violent fistfight on the job. One is rather a personal friend of yours with whom you socialize off the job. There may be a tendency for you to place a halo over your friend’s head by assuming that the other person must have been the cause of the fight and conflict . Projection. Projection happens when an individual credit our own feelings and attributes to others. People engaging in projection have the tendency to perceive others according to what they themselves are like instead of according to what the person observed is really like. It must be noted that the observations may be accurate as they make observations of people who are actually like them; however, accuracy don’t always happen as they might have observations on people who are not like them. So, when engaging in projection, one must respond to individual differences. Contrast Effects.  Contrast effect can distort perceptions. A very common example is when illustrated in an old saying among entertainers that states never to follow an act which has kids or animals in it. There is a common belief that majority of the audience just love and adore kids and animals that the entertainer will look bad in comparison. This specific example portrays how contrast effects can affect and distort perceptions. States that people don’t assess a person in isolation. A person’s reaction to one person is influenced by other people we have just encountered. Selective Perception. Selective perception happens when perceptions arise from influences by one’s own interests. When individuals can longer take in all stimuli received, one has the tendency to select out certain elements. For instance, as one purchase a car, for some unknown reason you just begin to notice the same type of car every now and then on the streets compared to before purchasing the car . Implicit Personality Theories. As people have individual mini-theories on how people look and behave, this will result to inaccurate perceptions. These theories, helps each one of us to organize our perceptions and take shortcuts rather than incorporating new information all the time. Adds that people are cognitive misers. As the world becomes more complex and confusing and as people have only a limited mental capacity, people try to make sense of the world by grouping traits and appearances into clusters that may seem to go together. The discussion on what hinders making accurate perceptions have enlightened us on the issue of how much one’s perceptions and interpretation of the world can affect and influence decision-making as well as making judgments. We have seen how perceptions are distorted by stereotyping, first impression error, halo effect, contrast effect, selective perception and implicit personality theories. Researches on judgment and decision making have recognized important limitations in cognitive and emotional processing. It must be noted that errors in decisions occurring due to biases have widespread effects. Many scientists, economists and psychologists are driven to make behavioral assumptions in the market place as a result of real-world violations of the rational choice theory. In psychology, many examinations are made in the concept of rationality. Psychologists are further examining different and alternative frameworks and theories to explain ways of how people make decisions and what influences them upon making their decisions. The future of judgment and decision-making research within psychology lies in its capability and capacity to develop other theories and frameworks that make associations with research on emotions and cognition, in addition to social and institutional factors. Such associations will definitely influence and affect our views in decision making and adjustability and provide good foundations for research in many years ahead.

Influence of an Individual’s Perceptions and Interpretation In Decision-Making and Judgments

Every single day, people are faced with decisions whether be it as simple as what to do or what to wear for the day. Ev...

My Old Home and New Year Sacrifice

This paper will discuss the two short stories written by Lu Xun entitled “My Old Home” and “New Year Sacrifice”. It will specifically address the fate and perspective of Chinese peasants. It will also analyze the social background and the outlook with regards to a typical Chinese peasants and characters mentioned in the story.             In the short story entitled “My Old Home”, the main characters went back to the place and his childhood house to help his relatives in packing up family belongings that will be carried to the a new house. During the course of the story we can see that the main character has become quite wealthy and in this visit to his old hometown, various characters were met and introduced in the story. The main character is reintroduced to a Mrs. Yang who is a close friend and neighbor of the family and his childhood bestfriend named Jun-tu. In the course of his reminiscence the reader is presented with the situation that the main character had an friendly and strong bond of relationship to his friend Jun-tu but as he met his best friend again, Jun-tu is not the same boy that he used to be. In their meeting Jun-tu had a face that represents sadness, resentment and poverty. He is not only burdened because of earning a living but he was also burdened by agrarian problems mentioned in the story. During these meetings, Hung-erh, the main character’s nephew and Shui-sheng (Jun-tu’s son) became close friend but this friendship was cut short because the family of the main character leaves the village.             In this short but emotional story we can point out certain aspects and topics that concern the peasantry and rural society in China. This story presents a clear-cut division between the rich and the poor, between the landed gentry and the poor and landless farmers. A social and economic hierarchy is evident in this society. The main character and Jun-tu represents the two extremes in a Chinese rural society where Jun-tu represents the poor and landless farmers and laborers.  This apparent division is clearly illustrated symbolically when Jun-tu taught and tutored his friend with when it comes to topics that concerns the land and farming (like the incident with the bird traps and the zha) while Jun-tu is being employed as a part time laborer in the household of the main character. Jun-tu taught the main character many and varied things that were not familiar to him and this started the friendship between them. However, this friendship was cut short when Jun-tu had to go home and they never met again until the time the main character went back to his village. During their childhood, social class and the economic standing in life was unimportant in the eyes of the children. They did not see that both of them came from two vastly different world.             Although they were friends during their childhood, society and tradition still dictates people of lower class to bow down and to affix the word ”master” when talking to people who are of higher class. When Jun-tu did these things when they met again, the main character was shocked and shuddered at the greeting and the practice but he cannot stop and eliminate these practices.             In this story we can infer about the conditions of a simple and poor peasant exemplified by Jun-tu. The description of his hands, face, eyes and built are enough evidence that the life of a simple peasant was hard, arduous and burdensome and he even asked for certain items like incense burner, candlesticks, tables and chairs to augment and to improve his house.             In the story we can also read about the growing friendship between Hung-erh and Shui-sheng that was cut short because the family was to be relocated. The main character then commented on the “barrier” that grew between him and Jun-tu and how this economic and societal barrier ahas also affected the friendship between his nephew and the son of his friend. This barrier would remain in effect and would separate the two portion of society. It will be a hindrance and an obstacle that would prevent each party from reaching out to one another. This deterrent cause by the economic forces that is based in wealth and landownership has a strong impact on the lives of the masses and poor laborers represented by Jun-tu and Shui-sheng. They become distant, and resentful to the people who are rich and well to do. Besides distant and resentful attitudes, the landed gentry and wealth also cultivate a feeling of apathy and indifference focused on the poor. This same barrier provides for the condition why poor peasants are forever tied to being tillers of the land and why landowners and rich families continue to get rich. This barrier and obstacle also perpetuates and continue this vicious cycle of poverty and separation.             The second short story is entitled “The New Year’s Sacrifice” which tells about the story of a woman simply named Hsiang Lun’s wife. Hsiang Lun’s wife was a former maidservant for the narrator’s uncle. The story progresses from the point where the woman was hired, kidnapped by her cruel mother-in-law to be remarried and then rehired  again after her husband and son died and her brother-in-law threw her out of the house. Aside from these the narrator stated that Hsiang Lun’s wife became a beggar when the family decided that she was useless in doing household works.             In this story we can see the economic and emotional exploitation of young women in a rural family where their labor and the economic advantages that they bring are skillfully used by their husband’s family. This is illustrated when Hsiang Lun’s wife were married and remarried to men who are ten years younger than she is, this practice is advantageous for the husband’s family since the new wife can help in household jobs and field works. The husband’s family can be greatly helped by the extra help and manpower that is needed in harvesting and cooking. This is further emphasized when her mother in law came to take her to be remarried and to be able to collect the dowry for the woman.             Women inside old Chinese society were not only exploited but they exist in a condition where they cannot voice out and say their opinion and outlooks regarding certain matters such as their marital life. They are mute when it comes to determining their fate and future course in life. They cannot go against the flow of what is dictated by the society and by the family that they are married to. This is exemplified when the mother-in-law decided to arrange a marriage between Hsiang Lun’s wife and a certain man living in the mountains. Even if she protested, shouted out her objections and injured herself, she was eventually remarried. After her husband and only son were killed, she was thrown out of her house because a brother in law decided to live in her house. There was no objection and protest on the part of Hsiang Lun’s wife because she knew that in the Chinese society, she has no power and influence against the family of the husband, the brother in law meanwhile was downright cruel when he unceremoniously threw the woman from her house. When all benefits and profits from a woman in an old Chinese society are exhausted, the woman serves no purpose and is promptly disposed.             On the short story we can see that there is an atmosphere of apathy and indifference that exist between people when the old Chinese society is viewed. In this society an atmosphere or outlook of indifference is presented when they the people of the village made fun of the story regarding the event about the son of Hsiang Lun’s wife. Although at first they were receptive and sympathetic to the story regarding the son, they soon became bored in it, made fun with it, and imitated it and added sarcasm and criticism to a story that needs sympathy and understanding. The village did not also provided attention and care to the woman when she became beggar and literally forgetting her although she had become a part of the village during her younger years.             The story and the events that were mentioned in it happened during the celebration of the Chinese New Year. The reader is presented with Chinese traditional practices and traditions such as using candlesticks, making sacrificial offerings and offering prayers and other precious objects to the gods. It also presents us with the outlook and the old Chinese perspective with regards to life after death. Hsiang Lun’s wife became worried when she heard that she would be cut into two in Hell because her two husbands would fight over her and because of the advice of a fellow maidservant, she went to the temple to perform a ritual to cleanse her soul and to atone for her sins. It is plausible therefore to conclude that the typical Chinese rural peasants believed in superstitious beliefs and perform superstitious customs and traditions even if learning and knowledge is presented to them

My Old Home and New Year Sacrifice

This paper will discuss the two short stories written by Lu Xun entitled “My Old Home” and “New Year Sacrific...

Mergers

INRODUCTION:             When reviewing the implementation of different business practices popular among firms in the United States, one would see that mergers and acquisitions take a fair share of attention from the US law making body. One would assume that companies might steer clear of such processes mired in legal complexities, but ironically, most companies think that the advantage outweighs the difficulties and other negative implications. In fact, the recent years showed that the “merger wave” in America keeps growing. The increase in merger and acquisition transactions was both in number and financial size. As New York Times has pointed out, the corporate environment of America is being reshaped by merger activities in a way never seen since the wave of industrial takeovers in auto and steel firms occurred at the start of the century. Indeed, this strategy played a major part in the structural changes that US businesses had undergone in the 80s and 90s. The “merger craze” is not only shown by the statistics of recent transactions, it is also evident from the increasing effort of the US government in the enforcement of merger related laws. Throughout the years, the Anti-trust law went through several revisions. How does America really view the merger wave? This is a controversial concept, and as such, there is no uniform opinion, but instead, a diversity of perspectives. In this paper, we will discuss the impact of mergers and acquisition to the workforce, the management, the society, and the government. In addition to that, the way that the mentioned sectors react to the implication would give us an idea, a picture of the stand that the US culture takes with respect to the issue of mergers, acquisition, and takeovers. These three terms are all related to each other.  An introduction to these terms would be a good preparation for the main discussions. Overview of Concepts: MERGERS:             A merger can be defined as a business strategy by which two companies forms an agreement to co-equally integrate their operations. With co-equally, it is implied that after the integration, the individual firms would both be disassociated with the previous identity and become identified with the resulting

Mergers

INRODUCTION: When reviewing the implementation of different business practices popular among firms in the Un...

The Role of International Organizations In Assisting Failed States

The Role of International Organizations in Assisting Failed States    The idea of world peace is very important for every states to move towards economic growth and development, as well as people can live in a better place, so as to have a better world for the children.  This is the main reason that after World War II in 1945, there were 51 states approved the United Nations Charter together with the objective to free the entire world from war, famine, hostility, and epidemic.   The first international organization that was established there after was the United Nations (UN).  It established varied programs that intended to decrease the possible factors that can lead to outbreaks of war and conflicts that associated with it.  In addition to that, an international organization like United Nations has different programs that are intended to intervene on the economic and social development of the people, human rights, and to battle against poverty and hunger in many parts of the globe.  After the creation of United Nations programs, more numbers of international organizations were established for the main goal of preventing conflicts among nations, at the same time, attaining peace in every society worldwide. As the United Nations Preamble states that it was designed both to prevent and resolve international conflicts among nations, at the same time, to help build a culture of peace in the world. And, this mission is always   shown in all programs and projects of the United Nations.   (http://www.unac.org/peacecp/factsheet/role.html) There are several international organizations that help in promoting world peace to every nation.  These international organizations are initiated in order to   promote educational assistance to the children in the failed states all throughout the world.  Secondly, they are there to protect the rights of the children times of war and other adversities, where these young people are mostly vulnerable. Majority of children in the third world countries are given human right protection, health, and educational assistance in order to help them to survive from all economic and catastrophic challenges brought by various circumstances such as poverty, maltreatment of parents, orphanage due to wars. .  For instance, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) plays an important role and that is to protect the rights of the children around the world.  On the other hand, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) helps to protect the rights of the women and promotes a culture of peace by initiating information programs such as family planning and sex education, as well as livelihood programs and economic assistance for women. By doing this, international organizations help women to take part in the development of one nation, as well as teaching them to exercise their rights as individuals, so as lead them to become empowered individuals who can contribute significantly to the betterment of the world’s population.  While World Health Organization (WHO) promotes numerous medical missions and   health programs that are mainly beneficial to those people in the disaster areas because of calamity, war and epidemic.  WHO also attends to the medical needs of those people in the poor countries worldwide by helping governments to reinforce free health systems and emergency aids to the underdeveloped countries and developing countries around the world. (http://www.unac.org/peacecp/factsheet/role.html) Furthermore, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)   created  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),  along with NGOs is mandated to eliminate the dominant problem  of health, over population, poverty, hunger,  environmental pollution,  social  immobilization of women,   and reinforcement of democracy in some countries. Whereas, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is helping all nations that do not have access to  formal education, science and technology, culture and  modern communication.  It also promotes world justice, human rights and essential freedom of speech,  race, religion, and  sex. While United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been doing its effort to go around the world to facilitate people from other parts of the world to take part in the environmental programs  that can improve the condition of the earth’s ecology system and implement various  legal  policies for the protection of the environment.  These initiatives hopefully   head off towards fewer environmental disasters in the near future. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) ensures that human rights of the people in every nation are respected by signing and ratifying international conventions for human rights.  The "Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms"  which was adopted  in December 09, 1998 through General Assembly of the United Nations.  This organization aims to empower every individual in the world to learn how to give value and respect to human rights.  (http://www.unac.org/peacecp/factsheet/role.html) References: http://www.unac.org/peacecp/factsheet/role.html http://www.tcd.ie/Economics/Development_Studies/link.php?id=95 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aid   		  	   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Role of International Organizations In Assisting Failed States

The Role of International Organizations in Assisting Failed States The idea of world peace is very important for every states to m...

Top