Pymalion Effect

Taken from http://findabundance.blogspot.com/2010/04/pygmalion-and-self-fulfilling.html

Goethe said, “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.”
http://hubpages.com/hub/Motivational-Theory

The Pygmalion Effect occurs when you believe that someone is capable of achieving something, then that person will indeed achieve it (your positive expectation in someone makes that person unconsciously believe in them selves). In other words, believing in the potential someone has simply makes it happen. The Pygmalion Effect not only occurs when someone else expect a person to do something good or bad, but it can also occur when a person think they know their capabilities and flows and act according to them. For example a positive feeling or emotion about your self will create a positive outcome on the other hand a negative feeling will create a bad outcome. In other words you always have to be positive to achieve anything that you put you mind on.

1. If you believe that your boss does not like you. Than you would react by working poorly, not showing enthusiasm in your assignments, and being afraid of saying something to you boss because of his reaction. This can lead to you getting fired.

2. You believe your going to fail my exams because the subject is really hard and you do not understand it or you are to dumb. You react by being late for class, not handing in you homework, not paying attention to your teacher and just quit studying. Guess what just as you thought you do poorly and fail the course.

3. You believe that you can never lose weight and get fit and as a result you do not bother to give it a try. So you quit the gym, don’t change your eating habits and never try to exercise.

4. If your boss believes that you are very smart and that you have great ideas for the company and he always has a positive attitude around you. You react by trying your best at everything you do, and proposing great strategic ideas that lead you to a better salary.

5. If somebody tells you that certain person is a trouble maker. Then your perception about that person is attached to what the other person told you, and you cannot surpass that. For example if the person said to be a trouble maker actually makes a mistake, you see it normal because that’s how they supposedly are. On the other hand if that person does something good, since that is unexpected than you try to justify his actions. Saying for example he is probably having a good day, or maybe he’s trying to change.

6. The media can also play with the Pygmalion Effect, on the news you usually see the story as being positive or negative and that influences how you perceive certain situations. For example if they say that certain product is the best ever seen in the market, that you will react by buying it and probably sharing their thoughts about the product.

Cultural Dimensions

Each person no matter from what part of the world has his or her unique personality, history and interests. Yet all members of a group ( society) share a common culture that tells us how we should behave (moral laws) in the society in other to be accepted, influence the way we live and our daily activities . How we dress, we talk, our work habits, the music we hear, the food we eat are things that make up our culture.

So how compatible are cultures around the world??

During the conference by Nick Mayer about cultural diversity, he talked about the Geert Hofstede model of cultural dimensions. This model includes five independent dimensions of national differences:
• Power Distance
• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Masculinity vs. Femininity
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Confucian Dynamism

I`m going to focus on the first dimension which is power distance and show a clear example of it when dealing with different cultures.

Power distances index (PDI) refer to “the extend to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations accept and suppose that power is distributed unequally.” (Mayer, 2010). In other words how much a culture does or does not value hierarchical relationships and respect for authority. It can also describe the relationship that the persons within an organization have with each other and the acceptance of the powers that they have (for example that employees accept that their superiors has more power that they have). This dimension is divides in two: countries with high or low PD.

Countries with high PD share these characteristics: (Mayer, 2010)
• Those in authority openly demonstrate their rank.
• Subordinates are not given important work and expect clear guidance from above.
• Subordinates are expected to take the blame for things going wrong.
• Hierarchical organizational, vertical distributions of power.

On the other hand countries with low PD are:
• Flat organizations
• Responsibilities between members are delegated.
• Subordinates are entrusted with important assignments.
• Blame is shared between the members.

Now that we have a better concept of this dimension here are some examples:

• In South Korea they have a high power distance which means that they show a lot of respect for the people that have power. For example you always have to do what an elder person tells you to do, even if you don’t want to, just for respect (if they invite you to a drink, you must accept even if you don’t like it). When a child speaks to his parents or grandparents he must do it in a different way that when he talks to his friends. They use different words depending on the age of the person.

• Another example is that Chinese people never disagree with the decisions taken by the authority (their government), even if they live under poor conditions.

• .In American culture children are treated as “little adults.” They express their opinions, are allowed to contradict their parents and say what they want or don’t want.