...Altruism is the will and intention to help another without regard for oneself. The will or instinct to help others is a driving force for altruistic behavior. Animals can engage in altruistic behavior; however they do not realize that they are being altruistic, therefore the behavior that is exhibited is not altruistic. For a behavior to be altruistic one needs to understand that they are benefiting others at their expense. Humans possess the will necessary to perform altruistic deeds, and can put it to great use. Humans are still animals, and may perform altruistic behaviors without realizing it. Altruism in politics is rare, but it is necessary to prevent social groups from being outcast. A proportional representation system will allow for altruism by helping minorities be represented at all times, while not requiring the current majority to relieve their representative power. Frans deWaal shows that alrutism is actually more natural than it seems, despite the apparent inconsistencies they present. Altruism is a choice to help others over one’s self. Only humans can be truly altruistic, as humans have the potential to make choices and realize their consequences almost completely, however seemingly altruistic events due occur naturally in the animal kingdom. “Taking on the midwife role another female spent no less than two and a half hours assisting the in experienced mother”(deWaal 688). The helper bat did know actually know and think about its actions and consequences. The...
Words: 1539 - Pages: 7
...Empathy-altruism hypothesis Empathy-altruism hypothesis is a prosocial behavior that states people are motivated to act in an altruism manner by the empathy they feel for others. Altruism is defined as a true desire to help those in need and expect nothing in return, not even satisfaction. Empathy is defined as a feeling of understanding the experience that another being is facing. Empathy-altruism hypothesis has a very important significance to American culture as well as cultures around the world because we all should strive towards altruism motivation to ensure our own survival in the future. Empathy has different elements and different levels dependent upon the situation and feelings felt by the observer. If the observer has empathy towards the observed, and not only feel what they are experiencing, but understand what they are experiencing then the observer is experiencing the two elements of empathy. A person with a high level of empathy would be an example of the empathy-altruism hypothesis. A person with a low level of empathy would be considered selfish. “Empathy is a vicarious emotional experience in which you feel and understand what another person feels.” (Bell) Empathy is a natural feeling that most people experience, it is if they choose to embrace this feeling and act upon it that determines their individual level and whether it will trigger altruism motivation. Altruism is a desire to help other people without a sense of obligation and to expect nothing...
Words: 593 - Pages: 3
...Luther King Jr. once said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity” (Martin). Luther King believed that in order for us humans to have a meaningful live we must put aside our personal problems and care about the problems of humanity as a whole. The earthquake of Oakland, California in 1989 is a true example of this quote. As the sirens of ambulances roared through the abolished city thousands of civilians gathered together, taking risks, to help those that were in the borderline of life and death. Learned helplessness, survivors’ guilt and altruism were all forever cultivated in the lives of those that lived the tragedy. Learned helplessness is a “giving-up reaction” (Learned Helplessness, 2006) that individuals experience when they are not in control of the outcome of an event. The earthquake in Oakland, California occurred unexpectedly, not even seismologist could detect the upcoming monster that damaged so many cities (Amaldo, 2004). As the people started to feel the shanking and falling of objects to them, they started to experience learned helplessness because there was nothing that they could do to stop or change the outcome of the earthquake (Amaldo, 2004). In the video Surviving the San Francisco Earthquake of 1989 learned helplessness is seen when Pastor Berumen, father of the two young children whose mother was crashed by the top road of the freeway, says...
Words: 2731 - Pages: 11
...University of Minnesota University of New Mexico Bram Van den Bergh Rotterdam School of Management Why do people purchase proenvironmental “green” products? We argue that buying such products can be construed as altruistic, since green products often cost more and are of lower quality than their conventional counterparts, but green goods benefit the environment for everyone. Because biologists have observed that altruism might function as a “costly signal” associated with status, we examined in 3 experiments how status motives influenced desire for green products. Activating status motives led people to choose green products over more luxurious nongreen products. Supporting the notion that altruism signals one’s willingness and ability to incur costs for others’ benefit, status motives increased desire for green products when shopping in public (but not private) and when green products cost more (but not less) than nongreen products. Findings suggest that status competition can be used to promote proenvironmental behavior. Keywords: altruism, environmental conservation, costly signaling, status competition, consumer behavior ported that the number one reason for purchasing the car is because it “makes a statement about me.” What statement does the Prius make? “It shows the world that its owner cares” (Maynard, 2007). At first blush it may seem puzzling why individuals would pay a premium to forgo luxury or comfort for the sake of displaying that they care...
Words: 12982 - Pages: 52
...but one ultimate aim: her own welfare. This essay will explore the meaning of psychological egoism, how arguments can be justifiably presented and why this theory is commonly appealing to philosophers. Often supporters of psychological egoism will present arguments through theories such as Darwinism and Desire Satisfaction. This essay essentially aims to critically assess the substantiality of these arguments. In order to correctly assess the arguments in favour of psychological egoism, firstly it must be stated what is implied by these arguments. Psychological egoism has many differences to other egoist theories such as ethical egoism, which state we should be selfish. Psychological egoism however states that all human actions are uncontrollably selfish, and that this is part of our human nature. It should be noted before continuing that this essay will be assessing this more radical form of psychological egoism , which identifies that ‘selfishness is’ the only way one can possibly performs actions, disregarding any consideration of others unless this aids their selfish action in some way. Psychological egoism can seem plausible to its supporters for a variety of reasons. Some of the most common include the concept that desires are entirely our own and therefore pursuing any desire or action is selfish, which supports the idea that we pursue desires for our own satisfaction. A state of self- deception of our motives is also recognized as a major appeal of egoism. Finally the...
Words: 2289 - Pages: 10
...pennerl@karmanos.org John F. Dovidio Psychology Department, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York 13346; email: John.Dovidio@UConn.edu Jane A. Piliavin Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706; email: jpiliavi@ssc.wisc.edu David A. Schroeder University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701; email: dave@uark.edu Key Words altruism, cooperation, helping ■ Abstract Current research on prosocial behavior covers a broad and diverse range of phenomena. We argue that this large research literature can be best organized and understood from a multilevel perspective. We identify three levels of analysis of prosocial behavior: (a) the “meso” level—the study of helper-recipient dyads in the context of a specific situation; (b) the micro level—the study of the origins of prosocial tendencies and the sources of variation in these tendencies; and (c) the macro level—the study of prosocial actions that occur within the context of groups and large organizations. We present research at each level and discuss similarities and differences across levels. Finally, we consider ways in which theory and research at these three levels of analysis...
Words: 14699 - Pages: 59
...Animal Behaviour Our genes made us. We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their throwaway survival machines. The world of the selfish gene is one of savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit. But what of the acts of apparent altruism found in nature-the bees who commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, or the birds who risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk? Do they contravene the fundamental law of gene selfishness? By no means: Dawkins shows that the selfish gene is also the subtle gene. And he holds out the hope that our species-alone on earth-has the power to rebel against the designs of the selfish gene. This book is a call to arms. It is both manual and manifesto, and it grips like a thriller. The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins's brilliant first book and still his most famous, is an international bestseller in thirteen languages. For this new edition there are two major new chapters. 'learned, witty, and very well written...exhilaratingly good.' Sir Peter Medawar, Spectator Richard Dawkins is a Lecturer in Zoology at Oxford University and a Fellow of Mew College, and the author of The Blind Watchmaker. Preface to 1976 edition This book should be read almost as though it were science fiction. It is designed to appeal to the imagination. But it is not science fiction: it is science. Cliche or not, 'stranger than fiction' expresses exactly how I feel about the truth. We are survival machines-robot vehicles...
Words: 118698 - Pages: 475
...In social psychology there are many aspects of the things that we do in our daily lives that have been scientifically investigated through scientific method for the sake of getting to know human behavior and to put reasoning behind the thought, feeling and behavior of human beings as they are influence by our environment and others, basically why we do what we do. Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics some of which are perception, behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice to name a few. This paper will highlight a few of the terminologies and theories in this discipline also give overview to some of these afore mentioned topics. Starting with the terminology used in social psychology we look at the concept of self, it is stated in the text Introduction to Social Psychology self-concept “is the collection of things you know about yourself—such as your overall cognitive understanding (learned beliefs, attitudes, and opinions) about yourself” (Feenstra, 2011). Looking at this statement, it can be determined that the ideas learned throughout life about one’s self is a product self-concept. Self schema is what is understood and gathered from self-concept. Text defines self-schema as “organizing this information, affecting how we view the world and takes in information” (Feenstra, 2011). What are gathered from a person as far as the sports they may play, going to church and time spent with my family are all things that can attribute to ones self-concept...
Words: 3379 - Pages: 14
...void of income. In many cases, widows cannot get another job and they fail to gather enough money to feed the children; the result is starvation. As I was reading the article, I found that I empathised with the widow to the point where I knew that if I were that soldier, I would not be able to destroy those poppy fields. However, would my empathy-borne actions eventually be beneficial? Would they truly be ethical? In 2005, 70% of the acute drug deaths were thanks to opioids. Meanwhile, opium production is still increasing in Afghanistan, up to a 6,400 ton increase in 20014. Thus from this dilemma, I formed the knowledge question, “To what extent can we rely on empathy to make ethical decisions?”. This knowledge question highlights how one should make morally-correct choices in any situation, whether it be at war or debating whether we should donate $5 to the homeless man or not. I will investigate this knowledge question through two areas of knowledge, Ethics, the study of morals, and Human Sciences. Each AOK will be explored through various experts and their WOK. I will conclude my presentation with my own answer to the knowledge question, personal thoughts and what my answer...
Words: 1902 - Pages: 8
...GHANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AMRAHIA, GHANA CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) OF ZAIN GHANA, A MARKETING STRATEGY FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OR TRULY GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY: A CASE STUDY OF ZAIN’S SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT AT ODUMASI-KROBO. YEBOAH-MANTEY EMMANUEL APRIL 2010 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) OF ZAIN GHANA, A MARKETING STRATEGY FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OR TRULY GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY: A CASE STUDY OF ZAIN’S SCHOOL BUILDING PROJECT AT ODUMASI-KROBO. YEBOAH-MANTEY EMMANUEL A CAPSTONE PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT DEGREE APRIL 2010 STUDENT’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that this project work is the result of my own original research and where I have use others’ materials, I have fully acknowledged them Signature: ……………………… Date: …………………………… (YEBOAH-MANTEY EMMANUEL) SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this project work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of Capstone Project as laid down by Ghana Christian University College Signature: ………………………… Date: …………………… Acknowledgements Table of Contents Declaration I Acknowledgements II Table of Contents III Abstract............................................................................................................
Words: 13052 - Pages: 53
...1177/1476127006064069 Copyright ©2006 Sage Publications (London,Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) http://so.sagepub.com S O ! A P B OX E D I TO R I A L E S S AY S Why managers need an evolutionary theory of organizations Peter J. Richerson University of California–Davis, USA Dwight Collins Presidio School of Management, USA Russell M. Genet Orion Institute, USA Introduction Most observers have agreed that the theory of human behavior derived from the assumption of selfish rationality is inadequate to describe human behavior and human organizations (Rousseau et al., 1998). The issue is what other approach to theory building will provide an adequate theoretical toolkit for human behavior. We argue in this essay that evolutionary theory is the proper foundation for the human sciences, particularly a theory that includes an account of cultural evolution. This theory shows how the limited but real altruistic tendencies of humans arose by tribal-scale group selection on cultural norms followed by coevolutionary responses on the part of our genes. Our tribal social instincts in turn act as a moral hidden hand that makes human organizations possible. We introduce this theory and describe some implications of it for strategy and organization. In effect, managers want to control the cultural evolution of organizations so as to make them perform better. Understanding the tribal roots of our social instincts and the dynamic properties of cultural evolution should lead to a better understanding of...
Words: 5043 - Pages: 21
...Boundaries of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Geoffrey P. Lantos Professor of Business Administration Box D-55 Stonehill College North Easton, MA 02357 June 2001 Phone: 508.565.1205 Fax: 508.565.1444 E-mail: glantos@stonehill.edu 1 The Boundaries of Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Keywords Corporate social responsibility (CSR), Roles of business, Stakeholder theory, Ethical CSR, Responsibilities and duties, Altruistic CSR, Strategic CSR, Abstract Reviews the development of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept and its four components: economic, legal, ethical, and altruistic duties. Discusses different perspectives on the proper role of business in society, from profit making to community service provider. Suggests that much of the confusion and controversy over CSR stem from a failure to distinguish its ethical, altruistic, and strategic forms of CSR. On the basis of a thorough examination of the arguments for and against altruistic CSR, concurs with Milton Friedman that altruistic CSR is not a legitimate role of business. Proposes that ethical CSR, grounded in the concept of ethical duties and responsibilities, is mandatory. Concludes that strategic CSR is good for business and society. Advises that marketing take a lead role in strategic CSR activities. Notes difficulties in CSR practice and offers suggestions for marketers in planning for strategic CSR and academic researchers in further clarifying the boundaries of strategic...
Words: 20025 - Pages: 81
...sociable, unavoidably drawn into a neurological connection whenever we interact with another person. This two-way connection allows us to affect everyone we interact with both physically and mentally. The new science of social intelligence should be thought of in terms of being intelligent not just about our personal and professional relationships, but also in them. Goleman explains that this involves expanding our focus in a way that looks beyond the individual to understand what really occurs when people interact, and to look beyond narrow self-interest to the best interests of others as well. Emotional Economy The realization that one person can trigger an emotion in another person or vice versa represents the powerful mechanism by which feelings are disseminated to others. Goleman classifies this as emotional contagion which is the emphasis of emotional economy. Emotional contagion comes in two forms; low road and high road. The low road is mental circuitry that operates in our subconscious at a very fast rate and tends to involve impulsive decision-making. The high road consists of mental circuitry that operates at the conscious level and is more structured, requires deliberate effort and tends to involve rational decision-making. Rapport Goleman conveys that one of the most basic, but important aspects of relationships involves rapport. He explains that rapport only exists between people and we see it when an interaction with another feels pleasant, engaged...
Words: 3609 - Pages: 15
...Kohlberg’s (1984) cognitive– developmental approach to morality, find it wanting, and introduce a more pragmatic approach. They review research designed to evaluate Kohlberg’s model, describe how they revised the model to accommodate discrepant findings, and explain why they concluded that it is poorly equipped to account for the ways in which people make moral decisions in their everyday lives. The authors outline in 11 propositions a framework for a new approach that is more attentive to the purposes that people use morality to achieve. People make moral judgments and engage in moral behaviors to induce themselves and others to uphold systems of cooperative exchange that help them achieve their goals and advance their interests. Keywords: moral development, cognitive development, cooperation, moral judgment After two decades of research on Kohlberg’s (1984) cognitive– developmental model of morality, we abandoned it in favor of a more pragmatic approach. In this article, we explain why. We identify problems with Kohlberg’s model, describe revisions aimed at solving them, and offer reasons why a new approach is necessary. We end with a new beginning, introducing a more pragmatic approach in a set of propositions that, we argue, is better equipped than Kohlberg’s model to account for the ways in which people make moral decisions in their everyday lives. This approach rests on the assumption that individuals invoke a variety of affectively and cognitively-based strategies to pursue...
Words: 20773 - Pages: 84
...MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE School of Business Kenyatta University – 43844 Nairobi TABLE CONTENT Page 1. Change Management ………………………….……….……….. 1 2. Leadership ………………………………………...……….……. 52 3. Inter Group Behavior and Conflict ……………….………….… 124 4. Power and Organizational Politics...……………….……….…… 161 Table and Figure Contents 1. Acronym Tropics Test …………….……………………………... 7 2. Self-esteem, Performance and Stress …………………………….. 16 3. Self-esteem, Performance and Change ……………………….….. 16 4. Stability Zones …………………..……………………………….. 18 5. The Coping Cycle ……………..…………………………………. 21 6. Quality Management …………………………………………….. 26 7. Forces of Change ………………………………………. ..……... 32 8. Kinds of Organizational Change …………………………....……. 37 9. Dealing with Resistance to Change ……….………….……..…… 41 10. Methods of Overcoming Resistance to Change …………………. 43 11. Comparison Between Leadership and Management …………….. 57 12. Three Leadership Patterns, their Location in the Organization and Their Skill Requirements ……………………………….…… 61 13. Hersy and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model: Defining Maturity and Four Leadership Styles…………….…..… 65 14. Relationships in the LPC Contingency Mode ……………………. 69 15. Casual Relationship for Supportive Leadership on Subordinate Effort ……………………………………………………………... 74 16. Casual Relationship of Effects of Directive Leadership Behaviour on Subordinate Effort ……………………………………………. 76 17. Path-Goal...
Words: 69999 - Pages: 280
