Do you want to know why you like what you like?

The need for a message to be consistent cannot be over emphasized considering the confusion that an inconsistent message creates. Once the target audience recognize that something entirely different is communicated each time they expect the next message to be “compatible” with the previous, they get disappointed and change their attitude. In effect, the message loses its credibility.

Respected consistency theorist Leon Festinger, buttresses the consistency theory with his theory of cognitive dissonance. He affirms that dissonance (inconsistency) creates stress and tension in people (Hamilton, 2008). Most of us recognize how stressful it can be when we end up hearing something entirely different when we expect to hear something similar to what we have already heard.

A study by Rajiv Vaidyanathan and Praveen Aggarwal which was published in their article, using commitments to drive consistency: enhancing the effectiveness of cause-related marketing communications, extended the “consistency theory” by linking it to the “commitment theory” (Vaidyanathan & Aggarwal, 2005). The study concluded that when people are persuaded to commit to a cause, they are likely to stay with that cause. That is why marketers try to get you to stick to your favorite product(s), and you get “hooked” on as long as you continue to get the expected benefits.
Have you really thought about why you stick to your favorite brand(s)? If you found out after reading this blog, please share your thoughts by posting a comment.


References:
Hamilton, C. (2008). Communicating for results: a guide for business and the professions. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Vaidyanathan, R., & Aggarwal, P. (2005, December). Using commitments to drive consistency: Enhancing the effectiveness of cause‐related marketing communications. Journal of Marketing Communications, 11(4), 231-246. Retrieved October 18, 2008, doi:10.1080/0144619052000345600

How scared are you?

Does it surprise you that sometimes you feel like your manager is inducing fear to get you to do something? Do you think that is a good strategy? Well, not really. The use of fear has been widely considered ineffective. In fact, there is a correlation between fear and punishment. In their article, Fear as a strategy: effects and impact within the organization, Steven Appelbaum, Michael Bregman, and Peter Moroz confirms that many theories and models have been developed in order to explain the relationship between punishment and fear and it has been found these are correlated (Appelbaum, Bregman, & Monoz, (1998).
The use of fear and punishment portrays he work environment more of one of a master and slave than that of one of collaboration and learning. What kind of fear are you experiencing on the job? Is it fear of change or fear of risk-taking (1998)?
Maybe you have to let your boss know if it is the case, that you are more comfortable with doing the right thing rather than doing things to satisfy him or her. If you can be that bold, we’d like to know and tell us how you will approach this.

Reference: Appelbaum, S., Bregman, M., & Moroz, P. (1998, February). Fear as a strategy: effects and impact within the organization. Journal of European Industrial Training, 22(2/3), 113-127. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from Business Source Complete database.

Want to be motivated?

The need to be motivated is critical to the performance of the individual. That inner drive to do something is motivation. In order to motivate others, one has to be self motivated. Reading Shah and Shah’s article on motivation indeed confirms the ability to motivate others as the most important management task. Motivation is a very powerful tool that is why it can persuade, convince, and propel people to act (Shah & Shah, n.d.).
My employer boasts of excellent benefits which are supposed to motivate the individual to bring out the best in them for the benefit of the company. However, managers do not seem to be motivating enough and therefore as individuals, some of their actions and utterances rather lead to dissatisfaction amongst employees.
Motivation permeates every part of human endeavor and can take different shapes and forms. Generally, people are motivated by the accomplishments of others. So, is it the status symbol that comes with a master’s degree that motivates you, or that deep inner desire to challenge yourself to acquire knowledge to make society better? Many people would like to know what motivates you so please go ahead and share it…
Reference: Shah, K. & Shah, P. (n.d.) Motivation. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.laynetworks.com/Motivation.html

Do you know you may be "hearing" when you think you are "listening?"

Do we recognize that listening is critical for effective communication? After reading the Listening Style Inventory (LSI) as an Instrument for Improving Listening Skill by Jianying Lu, I agree with her position that “listening is both a process and a behavior” (Lu, 2005, p.45). The nature of my job requires me to talk to a lot of people I do not see, however, I recognize their behavior and I believe they recognize mine too. But there seem to be much misunderstanding thus, the discussion can become conflicting because we both feel like we are not listening to each other.

In my view, it is more of disagreement due to the nature of the product I service. The challenge is how you get someone to truly get the needed attention and possibly agree with you when it is obvious from their responses that they are not listening. That is where I find value in the LSI. When you know your style, you are more likely to find ways to use it effectively. I sometimes encounter similar difficulties when communicating with my partner and it can be very frustrating especially when both parties are physically present. Jianying Lu again thinks that people “hear” and not “listen” because “daydreaming and other means of mental escape can, and do, occur” (Lu, 2005, p. 45) during the communication process. The challenge is whether we can completely shut off from all the “noise” we experience during the communication process to enable us listen and not hear. What do you think will make you and effective listener?

Lu, J. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skill. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50. Available October 12, 2007 at http://www.linguist.org.cn/doc/su200505/su20050510.pdf.

Why do we have to write and review our goals consistently?

Do we realize how early in life one recognizes those with or without any goals in life? Reflect back to let's say the days in High School. All that talk and gossip about what the other person seemed to focus on is an attempt to identify individuals who for example, are conforming to the objective of being in school i.e. to learn.

Can we will agree that there are some students whose goals does not seem to match the primary reason for being in school? Even at that age and maturity, we seem to be able to make the distinction between those who recognize that basic reason for being in school which is to learn; and those who for example, who always want to be recognized based on what kind of name brand clothing they wear and not how they fare academaically.But that is how early we start to develop a sense of setting goals in life.It mostly depends on the stage of your "life cycle."

As we grow and mature,we may or may not recognize the need to distinguish our goals which could be based on family and home, financial and career, spiritual and ethical, physical and health, social and cultural,mental and educational (Donohue, 2007).

It seems to get more complicated as we grow and also dependent on what commitments we decide to make in life. That is why I agree with Donohue that we must write down our goals and consistently refer to them.Writing goals down will serve as a constant reminder and help to achieve them. I don't know about you. But do you think writing down your goals will help you achieve them better?

Donohue, G. (n.d.). Goal setting: Powerful written goals in 7 easy steps! Retrieved September 27, 2008, through http://online.franklin.edu/coursesystem/common/coursehome.jsp