Developing Self-Awareness And Skills For More Positive Individual And Workplace Outcomes, Essay.

Tasks and Requirements

Task: The following topics represent areas in which managers and employees can develop their self-awareness and skills for more positive individual and

workplace outcomes. This project is designed to allow you to explore and engage with the topics at a more in-depth level.

You are required you to develop a theoretical and applied understanding of ONE of the topics/issues as set out below:-

1. Happiness
2. Positive Emotions
3. Resilience
4. Emotional Intelligence
5. Growth Mindset
6. Mindfulness
7. Character strengths and virtues

Your report will require you to complete two main tasks:-

You are required to find four to five relevant articles from scholarly journals relating to your specialisation topic. The articles should relate directly to your topic area and must be articles from peer-reviewed, academic journals.

Your review should not merely summarise the key points of your articles. Rather, your review should compare, contrast and critique the ideas adopted in the various articles. For example, compare the strengths and weaknesses of each article’s approach, assess any biases or limitations of the studies.

Compare and contrast the arguments and assumptions embedded in your different source materials (i.e. managerialism vs. Critical Management Studies or stakeholder perspectives). Approach the topic from various points of view: Whose voices are dominant or missing? What are the implications? What are the new emerging questions?

Some examples of scholarly journals to look for your articles include (but are not limited to):

Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Communication, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business and Psychology, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Australian Journal of Communication, Journal of International Business, Australian Journal of Psychology, Journal of Business Psychology, Positive Psychology Journal, Journal of Happiness Studies, etc.

Full-text articles are available via the University library databases. When referencing articles from journals, please make sure that you reference the original article and not the database URL where it is located!

This section of your project allows you to apply your new knowledge to improve your own personal skills and practical understanding in this area. You may develop a program involving only yourself or you may choose to devise a program for a group of employees known to you or a group of employees you work with.

This part of your assignment has three sections:-

B1. Three Week Timeline of Activities

Develop a timeline of activities, which you plan to implement over a three week period. These activities will allow you or your employee team to improve

your applied/practical understanding of your topic area. You should present your timeline graphically or in a table. It should show clearly what activities you

will engage in and at what times over the three weeks. Some examples of activities you might choose which develop your understanding and/or skills on

the topic will be provided on UTS Online. These are only examples, you should be creative in thinking about other options!

B2. Implementation

Implement your plan over a three week period, keeping an online journal (on UTSOnline) of reflections, notes and observations

B3. Summary and Reflection

Write a summary and personal reflection on your three-week implementation. Specifically, consider:

What have you learned about this topic that might be of use to you as a future manager?

Did your experiences resonate or conflict with anything you read in the literature (reviewed in Part A)?

What did you learn about yourself through this exercise?

What lessons about your topic do you think are critical for managers and employees to learn?

Management is a crucial aspect in all spheres of life. Management of the activities helps the individuals to attain success. Emerging successful in regulation of the performance enhances the confidence level of the individuals, helping them to undertake challenging and enduring tasks. However, the individuals need to accept the fact that happiness is like a mirage, hallucinating them towards a utopian world (Popescu 2016). Evaluating the exposed performance helps the individuals to transform this mere hope into reality. On the contrary, lackadaisical approach towards the performance compels the individuals to encounter tragic fate, making them depressed. This assignment, through scholarly research, attempts to shed light on the factors, which adds happiness into the lives of the individuals. There is no limitation in the context.

Critical evaluation

Since the advent of optimal human functioning, positivism in psychology has been a topic for much debates and discussions. This is in terms of the behavioural psychology of the individuals toward adding happiness into their lives. For this, the psychologists possessed mixed reactions towards the role of happiness in terms of excelling in the various spheres of life (Donaldson, Dollwet and Rao 2015). Reference to the previous researches on the topic adds strengthens the positivism within the aspect of happiness. Theoretical approach in the article enhances the empirical knowledge regarding happiness and wellbeing. Theories, principles and principles enhance the understanding about functioning of the human mind towards adding happiness into the lives of the people. The article upholds the results of the experiments, which indicate the rise in the publication of the empirical studies. The article asserts the broadening scope and arena of psychological discourses. The major drives behind this are the scientific methods, which have resulted in the growth of the other subdivisions of the psychological concepts. Donaldson, Dollwet and Rao (2015) opines that complying with the theories and principles provides a deeper understanding into the role of happiness in achieving excellence.

Critical evaluation

The article deals with the managerial decision-making under specific emotions. The aim of this article is to investigate the different emotions and situations, which assists the managers in undertaking efficient and effective decisions. Primary methods help in collection of the necessary data. According to the results published by the article, happiness and ager are the two emotions, which play an important role in shaping the decision making process for the managers (Bachkirov 2015). The article also states that the activities performed under fear are more detailed and time consuming. Consideration of the valence model helps in gaining a detailed insight into cognitive appraisal framework. One of the limitations of the article is the aspect of induced emotions.

Scholarly Research on Specialization Topic

Along with this, the article also highlights the lack of examination of the high level of emotions, which the managers experience while undertaking decisions. Bachkirov (2015) feels that lacuna within the examination of the emotions is a simultaneous limitation in the general findings related to behavioural psychology. The experiments, highlighted by the article, focus on the impact of decision-making process on the single isolated emotions. According to the revelations of the article, the extraction process for the emotions is through manipulation.

The article also relates to the future research, which can be incorporated by the researcher intending to carry out further research on the aspect of happiness and wellbeing for excelling in different fields of life. Within this, attempts can be made towards assessing the impact of the emotions on the decision-making processes. Here, the likeliness of the emotional mixtures is considered to be high (Bachkirov 2015). The practicality of the article is reflected through the lesson for the managers in terms of exposing conscious approach towards biases. Consciousness along with rationality is assistance for the managers in terms of undertaking effective decisions for the betterment of the organizations.

Assessment of the impact of decision-making on differing and wide ranging emotions expands the scope and arena of the article as well as the topic of research. Process tracing methodologies reflect direct assistance for the researcher in terms of gaining an insight into the effects on the employees. Persistence in the display of the emotions, through an enriched managerial content is effective in terms of enhancing the knowledge, skills and expertise related to cognitive engagement. As per the opinions of Bachkirov (2015), engaging the employees in the mainstream business activities makes them feel a valuable asset for the company. This assures them that their satisfaction matters for the profit of the company and organization.

On the contrary, if the managers expose negligent approach towards the wellbeing of the employees, they feel depressed. This adversely affects the mental peace of the employees, contradicting the aspect of happiness. Gilbert, McKee, Spreitzer and Amabile (2017) feels that if the managers organize effective training programs for the employees, it reflects the conscious approach towards cognitive development. Evaluation of the training programs is assistance in terms of examining the impact on the attitudes, beliefs, emotions and feelings of the employees. The act of evaluation can be considered as conscious approach of the managers in terms of ensuring the wellbeing of the employees. This can be done after reviewing the performance of the employees. This would improve the focus of the companies and organizations in terms of executing the activities in an efficient and effective manner (Demir et al. 2015).

Developing a Three-Week Program

On the contrary, organizing training programs and then reviewing the performance of the employees is also effective. This is in terms of assessing the capability of the employees towards performing the tasks according to the instructions. Here, the motive needs to be motivation and encouragement, so that the employees find the works interesting rather than a compulsion. Convincing tone in encouraging the employees is effective in terms of gaining their trust, loyalty and dependence. Greenawalt et al. (2018) suggests that getting adequate support from the managers and the trainers makes the employees feel confident regarding the capability to perform the activities properly. This confidence makes them happy, that they are excelling in the workplace. Along with this, praise and recognition from the managers empowers the employees regarding undertaking challenging and enduring tasks. If the managers maintain consistency in providing motivation and encouragement, the employees feel an urge to expose better performance. This consistency adds happiness and positive vibes in the life of the employees, individuals as a whole. Maintenance of this consistency reflects the perfect work life balance (Kamel, Martins, Pessanha and de Andrade 2017).

Critical evaluation

The article deals with the revolution, which smart phones have created in the lives of the individuals. As a matter of specification, smart phones have narrowed down the world into the reach of the individuals (Howells, Ivtzan and Eiroa-Orosa 2016). As a result of this, their smallest need is just a click away. The article upholds the ease in the downloading process of the apps, through which the individuals can venture into the virtual world. Here, desire theory can be applied, which states that happiness is “fulfilment of the desires”. However, Howells, Ivtzan and Eiroa-Orosa (2016), is conscious about the limitations which exist in the utilization of these apps. With these limitations, hedonism theory can be related, as it makes the apps bring raw, subjective feeling of happiness into the lives of the individuals. The article states that this raw, subjective feeling adds a psychological intervention into the intention of the individuals seeking authentic happiness. With this, authentic happiness theory can be related, which consists of three different kinds of happiness: The pleasant life (pleasures); The Good Life (engagement) and Meaningful Life. Being able to utilize the apps in a proper manner makes the people feel that their life is a meaningful one (Pounders, Kowalczyk and Stowers 2016). Engaging into the components of the virtual world enhances the quality and living standards.

Critical Evaluation

The mobile apps can be considered as the pleasures, which the individuals desire to attain for practicing a meaningful life. Lack of awareness towards using the apps makes the individuals feel that they have having a meaningless existence. Here, consciousness is reflected regarding the worldly materialistic pleasures, which reminds the individuals of the worldly responsibilities.

As per the results of the randomized controlled trial of the article, for some individuals, smart phones are the only means for adding happiness into the lives. One of the striking facts in the results is that surfing the different apps reduced depression rates. Along with this, it also added satisfaction into their lives. These results contradict the limitations regarding the usage of the mobile apps (Howells, Ivtzan and Eiroa-Orosa 2016).

Critical evaluation

The article attempts to shed light on the contribution of management theory on the social welfare of the individuals. The agent for this is considered as financial regulation. The main assertion of the article is the lack of proper justification regarding formation of social identity through social science theories (Marti and Scherer 2016). The aspect of social welfare can be understood through the means of social identity theory. According to this theory, the identities of the individuals are formed through intergroup behaviour. As a matter of specification, the kind of behaviour exposed by the individuals categorizes them into groups. This grouping is crucial for determining the identity or social status.

According to the modern business context, the identity of an individual is formed through financial fame and glory. However, this fame and glory is temporary, as it cannot make the individuals happy and satisfied in a true sense. Marti and Scherer (2016) feel that this is because at one point or the other, the individuals would feel a sense of incompleteness, gripping their lives. On the contrary, it is also a true fact that financial stability helps the individuals to fulfil all of their desires. However, satisfaction through these pleasures is temporary. For example, a begging child longs for a chocolate from a rich man. For fulfilling the desires of the child, the man needs the help of money. If the man is kind and is conscious of social wellbeing of others, he would buy a chocolate to the child. Getting the chocolate adds happiness into the life of the child and the identity of the man is firmly established in the society. This act of the man reflects effective management of his status for ensuring the social welfare of his neighbours (Marti and Scherer 2016).

Critical evaluation

The article considers happiness as a momentary feeling after undertaking enduring tasks. According to the revelations of the article, the workers who are happy are an asset for the company. This is because they are active, approach oriented. Motivation and encouragement from the managers generates within them an urge to expose better performance (Bakker and Oerlemans 2016). Consistency in the provision of motivation, simultaneously results in consistency towards displaying outstanding performance. This performance is bound to receive praise and recognition, which adds happiness into the lives of the employees. Along with this, it also maintains the work life balance for the employees.

Happy workers are the medium for enhancing the productivity. The major drives behind this are the hygienic factors of Herzberg’s motivational theory, which adds satisfaction into the professional life of the employees. Typical components of this are monetary benefits and comfortable working environment among others. As per the opinions of Bakker and Oerlemans (2016), conscious approach of the managers, towards the wellbeing of the employees, reduces the intensity levels of the challenging and the enduring tasks. If the employees get adequate support from the managers, the performance attains a different level, adding happiness into their lives.

Smart phones are the result of the financial flexibility. Here, there can several connotations towards smart phones. One is the necessity, which can be related with increasing the social status. Here, the rationality of the individuals takes a backseat. One of the other connotations is enrichment of knowledge in the virtual world, which can be one of the desires. The desire of possessing a smart phone is temporary, as the attraction is bound to finish at one point or the other. On the other hand, intention of buying a smart phone for downloading the apps and getting the facilities is positive and adds happiness and wonder into the lives of the individuals. Herzberg (2018) argues that sharing the apps with friends gives makes the individuals happy. This act groups the individuals into the class, where the people prefer to gain happiness with materialistic pleasures. But when it comes to monetary aspects, the class division becomes prominent. Along with this, the demarcation between rich and poor is also highlighted, projecting the affordability towards materials and objects like the smart phone. These aspects contradict the true essence of social welfare, as there is biasness within the society regarding fulfilment of the desires.

Biases within the society add to the connotation of temporary pleasure in terms of fulfilment of the desires. Perceiving the aspect from the workplace context, usage of the mobile apps, helps the employees to check for any latest updates (Abdelmoteleb, Kamarudin and Nohuddin 2017). This maintains consistency in their engagement with the workplace activities even when they are not physically present in the office floors.

Timeline of activities

Activities	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Counselling
Therapies
Cultural shows
Sessions
Group discussions
Talent hunt
Prize distribution ceremony for most happiest employee

Table 1: Three weeks timeline for the activities

(Source: Created by the author)

I think counselling would be effective in terms of gaining an insight into the issues, which the employees are facing while executing the activities. Application of happiness therapies would be an innovative step in terms of assessing the behavioural psychology of the employees. However, rationality is crucial in terms of catering to the health of the employees. Therefore, I think conducting health checkups before the application of the therapies would be beneficial. The timeline for these activities can be one week. Here, I feel strategic planning would be effective in completing the tasks within the stipulated time.

After gaining an insight into the mindset of the employees, different cultural shows can be organized for the second week. I think cultural shows would enhance the awareness of the employees regarding different cultures. I personally feel that these shows would add happiness and wonder into the lives of the employees. However, rationality needs to be maintained in the planning for these shows. According to me, incorporation of Data Protection Act (1998) would be effective towards preserving the individual cultural beliefs, attitudes and values of the employees.

In the penultimate week, the managers can organise talent hunt shows for the employees. I think these type of shows would reflect the liberal attitude of the managers. Along with this, I also feel that talent hunts would add to the confidence level of the employees making them happy. In order to motivate and encourage the employees, prize distribution ceremonies are perfect. Maintaining frequency in these shows would assure the employees that their happiness and wellbeing matters for the betterment of the organizations.

Implementation of the planned activities

For implementing the planned programs, the managers need to first indulge in meetings with the higher authorities. The main focus of this meeting can be the current financial condition, which would enhance the awareness towards the affordability. Involving the stakeholders and shareholders would broaden the perspectives related to the pursuits of happiness. Here, mention can be made of Andrew Warnes’ American Tantalus, which upholds the horrifying effects of conspicuous consumption. This issue has engulfed the American culture. As a matter of specification, the issue has erupted from the myth of Tantulus, for whom “water” was like a mirage, temporary happiness. However, to his tragic fate, a powerful fruit makes him incapable of quenching his thirst.

Conscious efforts of the managers can make the impossible activities possible for the employees. Taking feedbacks regarding their specific tastes and preferences would enable the managers to organize quality shows for making the employees happy and satisfied. Researching about the cultures of the contemporary brands would broaden the knowledge and thought horizons regarding enhancement of the workplace diversity. For this, experts from the foreign countries can be beneficial in terms of upgrading the knowledge of the employees. Getting to learn new things would make the employees happy.

Implementing the plans in the form of interactive sessions would seem fruitful. This is in terms of adding to the workplace diversity. Assigning different practical tests would enable the managers to assess the effectiveness of the proposed plans. At the initial stage, the employees would be hesitant to undertake the tests. This is obvious, as the individual fear the consequences of emerging failure. However, adequate support, encouragement and motivation from the managers would increase the confidence level of the employees. This motivation makes happiness, a permanent feeling. Moreover, it adds positive note into the thoughts and perception of the employees towards the execution of challenging and enduring tasks.

What I have learnt out of the implementation plan?

I have learnt that counselling the employees would be beneficial for me in terms of delving deep into their mindset. This counselling involves communication, which I think is an effective means for solving the potential issues within the workplace. I also feel that assessing the responses of the employees would help me in measuring their feasibility in terms of the identified aims and objectives. According to me, involving the board of directors would help me in evaluating the appropriateness of the plans. Along with this, I would also get the necessary assistance in terms of preserving the organizational values and culture. For this, I think adhering to the standards of Data Protection Act (1998) is important. This legislation would help me to expose liberal approach towards the needs, demands and requirements of the employees. According to my opinion, this liberty is important for gaining the satisfaction and happiness of the employees.

Scholarly review of the experience

After reviewing the scholarly articles, I came to the conclusion that money cannot buy happiness for the individuals. Financial flexibility can temporarily add to the materialistic pleasures through objects like smart phones. I have found that in some workplaces, management observe the involvement of the employees through the apps. This observation helps in taking decisions for making the employment comfortable for the employees. Regulating the activities of the employees brings to the forefront specific emotions under the given circumstances and situations. I think these emotions reflect the functioning of the human mind in response to the events occurring in the surrounding environment.

I have learnt that I need to be liberal while dealing with the employees. This would make me more approachable in terms of clarifying the doubts. I have also learnt that using convincing tone would enhance the stability in my relation with the employees. Ensuring the wellbeing of the employees would my personality. Catering to their specific tastes and preferences would help me in gaining their satisfaction. Their satisfaction would be my happiness. Evaluation of my performance would help me to upgrade the standards and quality of my personality. Through this evaluation, I can enrich my behavioural traits.

Happiness is an emotion, which all the individuals can attain upon practicing meaning life. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is upon the managers and employees. If the employees wish to remain happy, they need to maintain the balance between the personal and professional life. For this, they need to incorporate self-organizational skills, which they can get from the managers. On the other hand, the managers need to regulate the performance of the employees for assessing their capability. Rationality is an important component in this assessment. This rationality reflects the behavioural traits of the managers in terms of ensuring the wellbeing of the employees. Herein, I can relate Trait Theory and Transformational Theory.

Conclusion

Happiness of the employees is the priority of the managers. The initiatives of the mangers determine the satisfaction of the employees. The medium for this can be hygienic factors like monetary factors, job security and comfortable working environment. Strategic planning can be effective in terms of systematizing the activities towards adding happiness into the lives of the employees. Conscious approach of the managers, towards this direction, is a slow and gradual progression towards making the existence of the employees, a meaning one.

References

Abdelmoteleb, A.A.S., Kamarudin, S. and Nohuddin, P.N., 2017. Data driven customer experience and the roadmap to deliver happiness. Marketing and Branding Research, 4(3), p.236.

Bachkirov, A.A., 2015. Managerial decision making under specific emotions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(7), pp.861-874

Bakker, A.B. and Oerlemans, W.G., 2016. Momentary work happiness as a function of enduring burnout and work engagement. The Journal of psychology, 150(6), pp.755-778

Demir, M., Orthel-Clark, H., Özdemir, M. and Özdemir, S.B., 2015. Friendship and happiness among young adults. In Friendship and happiness (pp. 117-135). Springer, Dordrecht.

Donaldson, S.I., Dollwet, M. and Rao, M.A., 2015. Happiness, excellence, and optimal human functioning revisited: Examining the peer-reviewed literature linked to positive psychology. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(3), pp.185-195.

Gilbert, D., McKee, A., Spreitzer, G. and Amabile, T., 2017. Happiness (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series). Harvard Business Press.

Greenawalt, K.E., Orsega-Smith, E., Turner, J.L., Goodwin, S. and Rathie, E.J., 2018. The impact of “The Art of Happiness” class on community dwelling older adults: a positive psychology intervention. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, pp.1-15.

Herzberg, F.I., 2018. Happiness and unhappiness: A brief autobiography. In Management Laureates (pp. 1-38). Routledge.

Howells, A., Ivtzan, I. and Eiroa-Orosa, F.J., 2016. Putting the ‘app’in happiness: a randomised controlled trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention to enhance wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(1), pp.163-185

Kamel, J.A.N., Martins, C.V., Pessanha, M.B. and de Andrade, M.W., 2017. Creativity and innovation for corporate happiness management. Brazilian Journal of Science and Technology, 4(1), p.1.

Marti, E. and Scherer, A.G., 2016. Financial regulation and social welfare: The critical contribution of management theory. Academy of Management Review, 41(2), pp.298-323

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Source 1: Donaldson, S.I., Dollwet, M. and Rao, M.A., 2015. Happiness, excellence, and optimal human functioning revisited: Examining the peer-reviewed literature linked to positive psychology. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10(3), pp.185-195.

Source 2: Bachkirov, A.A., 2015. Managerial decision making under specific emotions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(7), pp.861-874

Source 3: Howells, A., Ivtzan, I. and Eiroa-Orosa, F.J., 2016. Putting the ‘app’in happiness: a randomised controlled trial of a smartphone-based mindfulness intervention to enhance wellbeing. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(1), pp.163-185

Source 4: Marti, E. and Scherer, A.G., 2016. Financial regulation and social welfare: The critical contribution of management theory. Academy of Management Review, 41(2), pp.298-323

Source 5: Bakker, A.B. and Oerlemans, W.G., 2016. Momentary work happiness as a function of enduring burnout and work engagement. The Journal of psychology, 150(6), pp.755-778

Source: Sykes, R., 2016. Andrew Warnes, American Tantalus: Horizons, Happiness, and the Impossible Pursuits of US Literature and Culture (London: Bloomsbury, 2014,£ 74.00). Pp. 208. isbn 978 1 6235 6107 9. Journal of American Studies, 50(2).

Clark, A.E., Flèche, S., Layard, R., Powdthavee, N. and Ward, G., 2018. The origins of happiness: the science of well-being over the life course. Princeton University Press.

Davies, W., 2015. The happiness industry: How the government and big business sold us well-being. Verso Books.

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