Theoretical Foundation of Human Relations

Theoretical Foundation of Human Behavior Introduction In the history of the world and that of mankind, there have been continuous efforts by scholars to try and understand the complex ways in which human beings behave, act, and even think. It is a well known fact that people differ in so many ways from each other and these differences are very crucial when it comes to profiling individuals in various aspects. The human resource department has in particular fully explored the area of human behavior and all its related theoretical foundations. These efforts are all geared towards finding the most suitable personnel that can perform roles and duties within organizations in the most efficient manner.

Although a number of the theories that have been postulated exhibit weaknesses and shortcomings that are overly impracticable in real life, theoretical frameworks, in overall, have been very helpful in helping to determine the capabilities and inabilities of workers in performing duties and roles within organizations. This paper will explore on a typical human behavior theory proposed by me as an individual. The structure and constructs of this individual theory, however, will reflect on the practice that is universally agreeable and acceptable.

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The Basic Nature of my Theory All human beings value their own welfare and have little regards for the welfare of others, whether they are their brothers, sisters, parents, or even children. It is only after we have been assured of our individual interests and welfare that we next think of our close relatives, starting with the children, spouse, parents, brothers and sisters, and then other related members of the extended family. We only seem to break out of the family circle after we have been fully convinced, beyond any reasonable doubt, that our welfare will not be jeopardized if we catered for the interest of others. Additionally, human beings will weigh on whatever they will earn in return if they acted kindly towards other people. If others will not appreciate and applaud gestures of kindness, then human beings will withhold such help even if the would-be beneficiary is faced with grave consequences, like death, hunger, and sickness.

Basic assumptions Human beings are constantly seeking for resources in their entire lifetime. The resources, nevertheless, come in very limited supply which only leaves those who are strong and powerful with the ample opportunity to enjoy. Those who find such opportunities will maximally exploit it without realizing that there are others near or around them who might be in need of only a fraction of what they are piling up on themselves. Once the feelings and thought of satisfaction begin to creep inside the individual’s mind, he will develop thoughts of concern about other people, but who are very close to him, often by blood. If the individual is married with a family, the first priority goes to his children and then the wife or spouse.

Thus, he will continue putting extra effort to acquire additional resource or wealth until such a time that it would appear enough to sustain the needs of his immediate family for the long

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term. At this juncture, priority would shift to other kinsmen in a specific order, beginning with the parents, immediate brothers and sisters, and then to other members of the extended family.

However, in instances where the individual seems to have additional resources, he could consider other members of the society who might have not been sharing any blood relations in any way. Unlike in the previous instances, however, any help or assistance that is accorded to these groups of people is purely done on the basis of seeking praise and recognition. As the dependents grow downwards, so does the feeling of being important and wanting recognition also grow. In other words, an individual with the financial ability to help others will always demand for praise in return for his assistance. Where such praise does not seem to come by, such individuals will withhold their assistance. They will act in a manner that feigns kindness whenever they give assistance to the needy but this fake kindness actually comes with a price.

Foundational constructs The reason humans would want to behave like superior beings in front of others is because of the natural struggle and difficulty involved in acquiring what is desirable in life.

Everybody in the world would want to lead a successful life that is full of great achievements and glamour. We all grow up with ambitions which we intend to fulfill at a later stage in life but very few people achieve their dreams in life because of the manner in which nature turns out to be complex. However, comparatively few people, either because of sheer luck or hard work, succeed to lead exemplary lives. This lot looks around at their immediate environs and notices those whom they had grown up together with, or those whom they shared close life experiences with, are not as endowed. This realization creates a feeling of uniqueness in them. It creates an aspect of feeling special in their surrounding.

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As circumstances would often force, those with little or less capability will wish that they associate themselves with achievers. Because of the desire to prosper that is in every human being, individuals with limited means and capabilities would want to associate with those who are successful so that they may also learn a few tricks about how to become successful in life as well. In contrast, those who have already crossed the demarcation to join the ‘haves’ have very little time for underachievers. They consider themselves conquerors of life and view the effort by others as parasitic because they want to seek short cuts to attain. To them, everyone should struggle and use the right channels as they did to get to their goals. Once it dawns on them that they are the center of attraction and power whenever they commune together as a society, they expect that other people should appreciate their remarkable achievements. They even get to an extent where they develop an instinct on how the others should do it when appreciating them. In other words, it is not just appreciation per se that they are interested with but they would rather that they are appreciated in a unique way. Those who seem to understand their demand and wishes in doing exactly as they expect receive a token because they make them elated at the end of the day (Lyles, 1981, p. 61).

This is the general nature of man. The material wealth and resources influence to a great extent his understanding and view of what life is all about. He feels even more empowered when he goes before people and everyone recognizes him or her. If his presence evokes attraction, admiration, commendations, and respect from others, because of his achievements and acquisitions, he feels like a super being and would be inspired to share out his resources. This is done not out of real kindness but rather to emphasize on the fact that that realization needs to be upheld and sustained. The token that is handed out acts like some sort of a conditioning, where

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people will only earn if they also work hard to recognize those who are superior in their midst and remember always to recognize them.

Dynamic or motivational nature The more individuals continue to enrich themselves by acquiring additional wealth and resources, the more their expectations for recognition grows. The level of endowment and wealth that individuals hold is always directly proportional to their expectations of recognition and praise. However, this kind of relationship continues until it gets to a level where the individual would no longer even wish to be recognized or praised for his achievements in life. People who live with wealth for a very long time eventually get to a point of satiation. Their condition gradually grows to become ordinary in their mind. At this state, they no longer feel like their achievements are worth being emulated. Their focus and attention moves to other concerns, like attempting to visit the moon, not because they really want to be recognized but because of adventure.

However, getting to this level does not happen within short life spans. In fact, not every one who is wealthy and owns vast resources would eventually live to attain this status. Only those who have been systematic enough in overseeing their wealth and ensuring it grows would ultimately emerge as conquerors and transform to this level (Enquist et al, 2002, p. 1585).

Critical Analysis of this Theory Strengths of the theory Much of the world struggles are often not sustained by any tangible reasons but rather because people or groups of people want to be revered, feared, and be praised for who they are and what they own. During World War one and two, many small countries that really had nothing to loose or gain from the antagonism got sucked up into the whole warfare issue because

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they supported a particular powerful nation. Germany, which had immense military prowess together with state of the art artillery, easily convinced smaller countries, like Austria, to join forces and fight the enemy. The smaller countries had an option of choosing between accepting to offer support and receive tokens in return, or opting to remain neutral and loosing out on any benefits from the major forces.

As major economies of the world continue with their struggles to enrich and advance themselves, they offer very little support and care to the less developed societies of the world. In fact, major global economies continue enriching themselves at the expense smaller economies through wanton exploitation of resources and other means. A majority of the global endless wars are actually attributable to the instigation of other powerful and economically stable countries.

All these are an indication of the fact that human beings are selfish and only seek to ensure they have a better tomorrow while they have very little care for others. Global countries that are endowed with resources only dangle food and monetary aid to less developed countries not because they are kind enough but because they want support in return for their gesture. Where such support does not exist, the global powers keep their aid and would not even be deterred by images of hunger stricken individuals who lie in wait of death as they lack food aid.

Weaknesses of this theory Although individuals and communities evidently show great extents of selfishness in their dealings, there are other instances where people have been directed by true kindness to act in support of others. Societies, such as the Red Cross, Red Crescent, and the St. John Ambulance participate in genuine acts of providing help to people who are in dire need of such assistance.

These organizations do not seek anything in return for their actions in supporting others but rather do it purely on humanitarian grounds. These societies are initiatives of selfless people who

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did not only consider whatever life offered to them but rather put the interests of others into consideration as well.

There are people who do not see evil in others but somewhat consider others’ welfare before they think of doing anything. They don’t look at life from an individual prism where it is always their interest first before the interest of others is considered. Such people would wish that others also enjoy life they way they do. They would constantly offer to assist others in need and ensure they put a smile on someone’s face that was previously engulfed in agony.

Cultural diversity against this theory All human beings, irrespective of their varied cultures, tend to think, reason, and act in the same way. Even people from very poor backgrounds who end up achieving their goals and dreams in life and scale the social ladder would always tend to treat the rest with contempt. Their changed status draws a barrier between them and their previous or former colleagues and look at them as people who lack something in life that they need to get. Thus, human beings have a particular way of looking at things and acting in a manner that is more less the same across board, their race, cultural background, or nationality notwithstanding.

Countries that have attained super economic status in the world act in a similar manner as they are driven by the need to seek more wealth and control the rest of the world in one way or the other. For instance, as China extends a welcome hand to developing countries in the world through building of better infrastructure and the provision of other financial aid, countries in the West are also scrambling for control of the same developing nations. Both powers promise great things in return of the acceptance by the developing economies to continue with their cooperation and support. This explains the extent at which men from all backgrounds are driven

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by a single objective in life, that of empowering and enriching themselves so that they may outdo the others.

Unique Influences on this Theory Ethnicity People who form groups by virtue of their linguistic commonness often derive some form of power or strengths in such groups that make them look at others as less important. Ethnic societies the world over are in constant competition with each other as individuals from respective communities seek to have their members being considered for better positions at the expense of the others. As individuals would feel they are better than others because of other reasons, so do communities feel and act in the same way. Ethnic wars are common occurrences in the globe as each group seeks to have control over resources in order that they may have better chances and opportunities of leading affluent lives (Lillard, 1999, p. 57) Religion Religion may influence this theory in opposite ways, depending on what the faith proclaims on a day to day basis. Religion may preach unity, uniformity, and having equality in societies, an aspect that may gradually kill that ambition of prosperity among human beings which we all share. Thus, to followers of such a region, there would be no reason fighting to acquire and amass wealth when others are deprived and can hardly acquire anything. On the other hand, religion could preach its own prosperity over and over such that its followers would begin viewing other religions as competitors. The members would therefore work constantly and extra hard to ensure they acquire and achieve more than what their competitors have. Thus, it would only heighten evil, selfishness, and the self seeking attitude that all individuals are born with.

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Gender Gender pits two groups of people in the world, that is, men and women. There is a widespread notion that women are a weaker sex and that they have not been offered equal opportunities like their male counterparts in many societies in the world. This notion has already created some form of competition between members of these two genders. Global efforts have been ongoing to empower the marginalized women in order to have them acquire great status in society like men (Ripley, 1993, p. 403).

Personal background As a former army officer who has studied different military literature and lived as a career army officer, there are several aspects which revolve around this background that influence my theory. As a small child, I grew up in Ohio although most of my summer holidays were spent in Detroit and Michigan. Most families in these urban centers exhibited a lot of selfishness as life revolved around accomplishing and attaining what others failed to acquire.

Conclusion Life is more of a competition that pits different communities and societies against each other. The main driving force behind this evil and selfish way of living is the rush to enrich and empower oneself so that we can appear superior to others. Human beings will work hard at ensuring they have their welfare and interest secured before they consider other members of the society to benefit from their achievement. Priority is often given to close family members before one thinks of others who are not related to him by blood. However, this kindness is not overly real but rather feigned. Anybody who offers some kind of assistance to others often expects that they appreciated and recognized always for their gesture. This human nature can also be seen on the global front where countries in the world are driven by selfishness as they seek to enrich and

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empower themselves at the expense of other smaller and economically weaker states. This selfishness does not seek to cater for the welfare of others but rather only looks at the welfare of individual countries. This self-seeking attitude is the reason why the world has witnessed fierce fights between countries or groups of countries as everyone is in a hurry to enrich and empower themselves.

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References Enquist, M. et al. (2002). Spectacular phenomena and limits to rationality in genetic and cultural evolution. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences, 357(1427), 1585-1594.

Lillard, A. (1999). Developing a cultural theory of mind: The Ciao approach. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(2), 57-61.

Lyles, M. A. (1981). Formulating strategic problems: Empirical analysis and model development. Strategic Management Journal, 2(1), 61-75.

Ripley, B. (1993). Psychology, foreign policy, and international relations theory. Political Psychology, 14(3), 403-416.