Contexts of Behavior Essay

Insights are generally aplenty. These are my assessments so far. Work-life initiatives are strategies implemented by firms to reduce turnover and increase productivity and overall firm performance. Studies were made to examine the influence and effects of work-life initiatives on employees and the organization in general. Workplace diversity which incorporates the concepts of work-life initiatives does indicate that it is inevitable that when a company introduces work-life initiatives, there is a resulting increase in diversity. Substantial evidence point to the effectiveness of workplace diversity hence, many institutions encourage and promote this in their particular milieu (http://www. cmdronline. com/workshops. htm). It is inevitable that juggling work and family life will be one of a person’s demanding experiences. The rationale for having a job is not only to have a livelihood, achieve personal satisfaction in the expression of his abilities and trainings, and receive his remuneration and perks on the side. Preparation for family stability to be able to provide and thus create an atmosphere of care, for bachelors/maidens, is also the foremost and logical reason for having a job. However, the thin thread that separates between the two polarities becomes blurred, and there lies the tension that pulls a person in different directions. The Center for Mediation and Dispute Resolution opens its website with the following quote: â€Å"Our life is one giant balancing act (http://www. cmdronline. com/workshops. htm). † Perhaps, no person will ever disagree with that statement. The goal then is to know how to do the balancing act, to gain competencies in achieving a rewarding, flourishing kind of life that holds work in one hand, while maintaining a well-nurtured and healthy family on the other hand. Every home has its set of beliefs or tradition that they hold in high esteem. This is referred to as family values. Anything that the family believes is important comprises a family values system. Among the values an individual possesses, the most important I believe is that a person must regard most his/her values about family as the most significant. Many people don’t usually pause and contemplate what their values are. They may not know whether these values they already have are still practical or useful in a modern day world. Moreover, they do not think how their values fit in with their kind of milieu that they evolve in. There are families that take time out though to impart to their children what had been passed on to them when they too were yet very young. The values may not be as strong as when were yet children because the person may have adapted to his world and adjusted his values that others may be accommodated. Through the years, a family value system may be a combination of what had been passed on to an individual and the values system of one’s friends or colleagues at work (†Values: What are they? † 2007). Why are family values important? The primary reason is that what we hold as important affects how we use time, money and energy or how we interact with people. If a family believes the importance of education then parents try to save for the schooling of their children which includes books among others. Family values influence how we spend our resources and make decisions. Parents then need to communicate what their own family values are, why these are important and the specifics of what are most essential that the children must also adopt or follow. Children also need to respect others who have dissimilar value system as compared to their own. Most likely values will evolve but when parents lead the children and model these beliefs, their children will be able to learn and pass these on to the next generation (†Values: What are they? † 2007). In addition, insights on work efficiency greatly challenged me to perform well alongside preserving my values at home. I raise or contribute to my family livelihood and time comes when I will manage people, I generally know what I want to see in them. We consider one person more efficient than another if he accomplishes more in the same time, or with the same energy expenditure. Other factors that have an important bearing on efficiency are: (1) the adequacy of training for the job; (2) the characteristics of the machine and other devices; (3) the motivation and related conditions of work; and (4) the degree to which performance is free from fatigue. It is common in business to have employees whose performances are not satisfactory and who are sometimes an actual problem to management. But it will be difficult all the more when as a person – I am not able or find myself in incomplete control of things that are happening around me. Reference: Halonen, JS and JW Santrock, 1996. Psychology: Contexts of Behavior, Dubuque, IA: Brown and Benchmark, p. 810. â€Å"Values: what are they? †2007. Family Works : University of Illinois extension. Accessed November 10. 2007. http://www. urbanext. uiuc. edu/familyworks/values-01. html