Humanistic Workplace Paper

1662 Words4 Pages

Humanistic Workplace Paper

ABSTRACT

In today's workplace, Humanism would concentrate upon the development of the employee's self-concept. If the employee feels good about him or herself then that is a positive start. Feeling good about oneself would involve an understanding of ones' strengths and weaknesses, and a belief in one's ability to improve. Learning is not an end in itself; it is the means to progress towards the pinnacle of self-development, which Maslow terms 'Self-actualization'. For Example, a child learns because he or she is inwardly driven, and derives his or her reward from the sense of achievement that having learned something affords. This would differ from the behaviorist view that would expect extrinsic rewards to be more effective. Extrinsic rewards are rewards from the outside world, e.g. praise, money, gold stars, etc. Intrinsic rewards are rewards from within oneself, rather like a satisfaction of a need. This accords with the humanistic approach, where education is really about creating a need within the child, or instilling within the child self-motivation. Behaviorism is about rewards from others. Humanism is about rewarding yourself!

HUMANISTIC WORKPLACE

Much of a humanist supervisor's effort would be put into developing an employee's self-esteem. It would be important for employees to feel good about themselves (high self-esteem), and to feel that they can set and achieve appropriate goals (high self-efficacy). This form of supervision is known as employee-centered, and is typified by the employee taking responsibility for their productivity and owning their learning. The behaviorists might advocate positive reinforcement such as praise, and punishment in the form of nega...

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... In conclusion, observing Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be a useful way for an organization to help their employees. Providing their personnel with an appropriate atmosphere will lead to the employee's development along the path towards self-actualization. Constructing this paper has given me a number of ideas that will be helpful when I start my own business, as I now plan to adopt a humanistic approach to management. The construction firm I was a part of gave me an opportunity to do become self-actualized. A strong home life is also necessary to reach the final plateau, but the organization can lead the charge.

REFERENCE LIST

Frunizi, George L., and Patrick E. Savini. Supervision: The Art of Managment. Prentice Hall, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1997

Hodgetts, Richard M., and Fred Luthans. International Management. Irwin Mc-Graw Hill, Boston, MA, 2000.

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