The Similarities Between Business Organizations and Psychology
By Michael P. Marshall, PhD
When one looks at a list of common psychology words, terms and phrases along with their definitions; and then attempt to apply these to business organizations; it is amazing how psychology applies to business organizations in a very direct manner.
Let’s review some common psychology words, terms, phrases and their definitions; and apply them to business organizations.
Get ready for amazement and a revelation that will create much personal thought and serious discussions with others.
Business Organization:
Departments, functions, employees and staff not working together affectively as a team and not towards a single positive purpose and goal (a ‘Mission Statement’ alone does not fix this)
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Dysfunctional
Inability to function emotionally or as a social unit
Not performing as expected
Affected by disease or impairment
Malfunctioning as a structure
Business Organization:
Major tasks and needed improvements rarely gets completed and often delayed with comments of ‘let’s schedule for next year’
When next year comes around, it is delayed yet again
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Procrastination
Procrastination is the counterproductive deferment of actions or tasks to a later time
A mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision
Often producing stress, guilt, crisis and severe loss of productivity
Procrastination is often surrounded with issues of anxiety, low sense of self-worth and self-defeating mentality
Business Organization:
Customers, clients and markets not having a good understanding of a business organization or lack of positive feelings toward it, is often referred to as lacking brand and lacking positive brand awareness.
The business organization internally can be confused about themselves regarding purpose, objectives, value to market clients and customers, capabilities and more.
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Identity Crisis
Losing a sense of personal sameness and historical continuity of some shared world image
Critical period in emotional maturity and personality development involving reworking and abandoning earlier ways
The turning point of a disease for better or worse
Time of intense analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself
Balance of identity and confusion, leads to making a total commitment to an identity
Business Organization:
Not seeking out, recruiting, hiring and retaining staff and employees with the highest level of skills, knowledge and expertise that is available that then causes struggles and a lack of business growth in many ways. Not building a team of individuals with the highest level of expertise that can be found
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Peer Group Influence
Peer groups are an important influencer throughout ones’ life
Peer groups influence and encourage attitudes, values and behavior
Peer groups can cause people to do things that they would not normally do, both positive and negative
A negative could be not being productive or exhibiting bad behavior that harms oneself or others
A positive could include being more ambitious, working as a team member, working hard to succeed
Business Organization:
It makes good business sense to hire staff and employees with the highest level of knowledge, skills and expertise. This is what helps grow the business.
Often times, business organizations do not do so and you can hear employees comment about how the organization does not hire the most competent people that they should
This can be company-wide or focused on specific departments depending on leadership and management
Specific individuals in management in positions of authority may directly influence the hiring of staff well below their own level of knowledge and competence. They may not feel good about the potential of hiring those with higher levels of knowledge, skills and expertise than their own. They may feel that such higher skilled individuals are a direct threat to themselves for a variety of reasons. This can happen both consciously and unconsciously but it usually is obvious from their actions and from the observations of others.
Of course, this hinders the business organization from growing and puts it jeopardy to struggle and fail
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Ego Defense Mechanism
The ego is one’s self image and who we believe ourselves to be
This can be positive and productive, it can negative and non productive or it can be misleading and non productive
It is how we look at the world and how we want the world to look at us
It directly interfaces with the world around us so it can be healthy and productive or it can be not so healthy and not productive
It directly influences our perceptions, good decisions and bad decisions
When there is a threat perceived to ones’ self-ego, we can react in a negative non productive way
This can happen to maintain our self-image
This false ego and protecting of one’s ego is often stimulated from an earlier loss or traumatic experiences
Business Organization:
Making some initial attempts to improve and to grow but stopping short
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Approach Avoidance
Conflicts, of something positive and the actual contact with that behavior
The tendency to flee or act defensively is stronger than the tendency to go forward
Conflicts occur when a goal has both positive and negative characteristics causing an individual to fear something that they desire
When the goal is far away, both positive and negative feelings about the goal are less strong
A pattern of approaching a goal or behavior and when getting close, then backing off and avoiding it
Business Organization:
Feeling that the business organization cannot grow, has low worth or value to the market and to customers and clients; and does not deserve staff and employees with high level of skills, knowledge and expertise that can help the organization to grow
Failing to be progressive and positive to grow the business
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Low Self-Esteem and Depression
Low Self-Esteem:
Lack of self -worth and confidence
Feeling overwhelmed by the pace of life and a failure compared to everyone else
Playing it safe and not trying anything new
Behaving timidly and not asserting oneself
Not asserting oneself and putting oneself down
Trying to escape unpleasant realities
Dwelling on the negatives
Taking pleasure in stories about the troubles of others
Being negative; nothing is good and everything is horrible
Do not like one-self and ones’ looks
Putting little effort into things because of doubt to be successful
Depression:
Depression is more than just a feeling of being ‘down in the dumps’ for a few days. It is over a longer period of time
Symptoms include; sadness, loss of interest, loss of interest in activities that once gave pleasure and was enjoyed, difficulty sleeping, change in weight, energy loss, feelings of worthlessness and helplessness, and sometimes even thoughts of death and ending all
The symptoms persist and interfere with everyday life
Business Organization:
Resisting expanding business within current market, into other markets in application and geographically, national and international
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Anti Social
Lack of adherence to social standards and beliefs that allow members of that society to coexist peaceably
Extremely selfish and self-centered
Sometimes arrogant, overly confident and cruel
Most deviants have an early onset and showed clear signs of anti social behavior early in growing up and developing
Business Organization:
Feeling that they are the greatest and ‘the best’ no matter how wrong or lacking
Psychology Term, Word, Phrase + Definition: Delusions of Grandeur
Fixed beliefs that are false
Fantastic beliefs that one is powerful, great, famous and knows everything
Sufferer does not have insight
