New Year Resolutions of a Manager - National HRD Network

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Empathy is the term used to describe the ability to be able to view a situation or problem from another's point of view. In cross-cultural interactions, this means being able to imagine or experience something from another's frame of reference or worldview. Empathy is not to be confused with sympathy, although the difference between the two may appear to be subtle. In showing sympathy, you attempt to understand another by imagining how you would feel if you were in the other person's position. If this person is from your own culture and hometown and is someone with whom you have a lot in common, then what you feel may infact be a close approximation to what the other actually is feeling. However, when communicating with someone from another culture, sympathy, which is based on an assumption of similarity, is an ethnocentric approach. It is ethnocentric because you have not changed your cultural frame of reference but have simply assumed others will be similar to your own. Another important difference is the purpose that drives the two. The purpose of sympathy is to find common ground, shared experiences, and a form of agreement. The purpose of empathy, on the other hand, is not about agreeing with people; it is about trying to fully understand someone else's perspective, both emotionally and intellectually. Is empathy a skill, a behaviour, an attitude, or a trait? A certain level of empathy can be developed as a skill and requires attaining a high level of sensitivity to nonverbal behaviour. It also requires an attitude of respect for self and others and an open mind. Empathy is also a trait in that it forms a natural part some peoples' behaviour. It is clear that some people are able to empathize well while others are not. Daniel Goleman (1996) suggests that empathy as a trait is developed in young children from An overview of Empathy In international Human Resources Scenario around the age of two and a half years. It is often the result of how a child is raised. Children whose parents pointed out, while disciplining them, the distress their misbehaviour had caused someone else tended to display more empathetic ability than those whose parents did not initiate such training. A child's ability to empathize is also shaped by seeing how others react in response to someone else's distress. Over time children develop their own repertoire of empathic responses. I suspect that people in group-oriented cultures where extended families are the norm are, in general, more empathetic since from their earliest years they are made aware of the effect their actions can have on other members of the group. It would make an interesting study to see if this is the case. To check your own response, listen to yourself advising people. If your suggestion tends to be along the lines of "If I were in your position I'd…" or "What I think you should is this…," then you are giving advice based on the assumption that their world is similar to your own. However, statements such as "I wonder what they really think about…" or "From your point of view it must appear completely different" are approaches that indicate you are adopting an empathetic approach and are trying to understand the reality inside someone else's head instead of merely projecting your own. A key element of empathy is the ability to see things from different perspectives. If you want to develop your own empathetic ability, the key is to direct the focus of your attention away from yourself and toward the other person, and to listen without projecting your understanding of a situation into the other person's description of it. Try this exercise to see yourself from another perspective. Remember back to a time when you had a disagreement or argument with a friend or Sambit Kumar Mishra work colleague. As you recall the situation, what you said, and how you felt when you said it, imagine that you have become the other person listening to you. It usually helps to physically move to where the other person was sitting relative to you and to adopt his posture and body language. Listen to yourself from the other person's perspective and see if it affects your previous perception of the dispute. I tested this technique a few years ago in relation to a long and frustrating telephone sales conversation I had had the previous month and which had left me angry and annoyed at the caller's constant questions. First I played the scenario through from my perspective, which actually started to get me wound up all over again. I then got up and sat in a chair facing where I had just been and imagined listening to myself at the other end of the phone. I then imagined asking one of the questions I remember the other caller had asked. Again, from his perspective, I listened to my response. All of a sudden I realized in a flash of insight that he had no choice but to respond as he did because I, not wanting to be drawn into anything, was defensive, indirect, and evasive in my replies. The more I listened to myself, the more I started to appreciate how confusing my responses must have been; was I interested in the product or not? My indirectness had given him no clues at all, so he had little option but to keep asking me questions. Those people who are confident of their ability to empathize with others tend to be more relaxed and less defensive when meeting people for the first time. As a result, the meeting is easier and less stressful for the other person, too. To make others more comfortable around you should be the general aim of cross-cultural sojourners who are trying to understand and integrate into another culture. u H Sambit Kumar Mishra is Visiting Faculty at Kushabhau Thakre Vishwavidyalaya, RAIPUR. E-MAIL: sambit_kumar_mishra@rediffmail.com SORRY We could not publish the subscription and Advertisement tariff for the NHRD Quarterly Journal on the NHRD Portal by 15th December 2006 as announced in the December issue of HRD Newsletter due to certain reasons beyond our control. The inability is sincerely regretted - Publisher | HRD News Letter | January 2007, Vol.22, Issue:10 22|
Behavioural Finance-the Buzz Word Of Bulls And Bears Abstract This article makes a modest attempt to introduce the emerging field "Behavioral Finance" to the academia and corporate world especially the Investment Professionals. The author outlines its origin, the five Ws and one H of Behavioral Finance, the distinction between standard finance and behavioral finance and behavioral finance as a multidisciplinary approach. The author also appeals to the academia to explore the areas in this upcoming field for doctoral thesis, as there have been few doctoral dissertations across the world. INTRODUCTION Recently,(on 30th November,2006), the author accidentally hit upon this new word/ field when she was browsing on the net to download certain material for her paper presentation on International Finance at one of the leading colleges in Tamil Nadu.The very word made her so inquisitive to delve deep in to the subject as she has been contemplating on choosing a topic for her doctoral thesis that would combine HR and Finance. Eureka! This word/field she thought was God sent. This made her write an "Intro" of this field to other research scholars, academia and financial experts of corporate arena. Thanks to the pioneers of B.F- the Noble prize Award Winners David Kahnman and Vernon Smith for their work in Experimental economics and Psychology in the area of decision-making. What is Behavioral Finance? "Behavioral Finance attempts to explain and increase understanding of the reasoning patterns of investors, including the emotional processes involved and the degree to which they influence the decisionmaking process. Essentially, behavioural finance attempts to explain the what, why, and how of finance and investing from a human perspective." Richard and Simon In other words, behavioral finance is a science that tries to logically reason out and improve the decisions of the investors. It does take in to account the cognitive biases and emotional factors that predominately influence the judgment process of both novices and expert investors. Thaler defines behavioral finance as follows: "Behavioral finance is a scientific enterprise trying to understand how markets work…. Behavioral models… rely on actual behavior found in the lab, tested in the lab, and being true." Origin The following table depicts how behavioral finance has gradually evolved from 1960s onwards and how it has become an interesting and innovative field that has thrown open doors for further research. L. Shankari 5Ws and one H of Behavioral Finance The What: B.F deals with the cognitive process and the emotional aspects that govern the the decisions Of all investors. The Who: Academia, Research scholars, Investment Professionals. The Where: Elaborate research studies have been published in leading academic journals, dissertations, books. The Why: This field has overcome standard Finance shortcomings. The When: In 1960s, The field began to take its roots, started spreading its twigs and leaves, branches in1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. The How: The Behaviour of investors have been analyzed using research methods in Psychology and Finance. B.F -An interdisciplinary approach B.F has drawn its principles and practice from a variety of disciplines such as Psychology, Socialogy, and Social Psychology, Finance, Behavioural Economics and Behavioral Accounting. Standard Finance and Behavioral Finance -different spectrums YEAR AUTHORS TITLE OF THE THESIS/BOOK STANDARD BHAVIOURAL 1960s Scott Bauman, Paul Investment experience with less popular stocks, Value FINANCE FINANCE slovic James as a determiner of subjective probability, Effects of Single disciplinary Multi-disciplinary stoner… general values…. on group decisions,,, perspective perspective 1970s John W Payne, The role of the basic risk dimensions, Application of Acceptability and Acceptability and Lawrence Oster, the Risky shift phenomenon to security selection and validity is very high validity not very high David Dreman.. portfolio management, Psychology and the Stock as it is an emerging market Investment strategy beyond random walk.. field. 1980s Daniel Kahn man and Judgment under uncertainty.., Psychological basis Focus on all aspects Emphasis is on co..,Loren Corotto.. underlying common stock movements.. of business investors' decisionmaking 1990s Robert Haughen, Inefficient Stock Markets…The psychology of process. Richard Geist.. Investing… 2000 Roben Shiller, Andrei Shleifer.. Irrational Exuberance, Inefficient Markets… Conclusion: 2001 Joachim Goldberg, Behavioral Finance, Stock-Market Behavioral Finance, Days are not far off, for. Behavioral finance Earl… Stock Market Psychology… will become the core discipline and academia and financial experts would be 2002 Hersh shefrin… Beyond Greed and Fear: Understanding Behavioral vying with each other to recruit people finance… specialized in this field. u H L. Shankari, Faculty, Sona School Of Management. Salem. E-Mail: saishanpari@yahoo.co.in | HRD News Letter | January 2007, Vol.22, Issue:10 23|
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Page 4 and 5: HRD NEWSLETTER Vol - 22 January 200
Page 6 and 7: It's that time again when we greet
Page 8 and 9: INTRODUCTION HR manager can play a
Page 10 and 11: HR Strategy: Focus and Integration
Page 12 and 13: Talent Management "To put it simply
Page 14 and 15: Competency Mapping - Catch Word In
Page 16 and 17: Spiritual Intelligence Naachimuthu,
Page 18 and 19: ICTs And Family Life The old order
Page 20 and 21: Appraisals Appraised Annual Apprais
Page 24 and 25: Tune Your Track Towards The Path Of
Page 26 and 27: Five occasions when you must commun
Page 28 and 29: Stress Among Call Centre Executives
Page 30 and 31: Case Study - 13 'Saamp Bhi Marjaye,
Page 32 and 33: CRM - Six Steps From Customer Servi
Page 34 and 35: HYDERABAD CHAPTER PROGRAMMES Januar
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