Psychology in Business and Management

It is not common to spend resources in finding out how people think and why. Advertising types do worry about responses from their targets, but the use of formal psychology is rare. Some Human Resource Development functions do encourage consultants and advisers from the broad area of neuroscience, but this emerging field is not as sound as the established methods of psychology. Enlightened recruiters do use 'shrinks' of various hues to help find the right candidates for important jobs, but this is not repeated in developing the supply chain, or in strategic decisions related to areas other than personnel.

I was introduced to the field by my employers when I was a salesperson. I must say that the ability to type personalities of customers is the most significant skill I learned after leaving the cloisters of Management school. Later, I was exposed to Transaction Analysis and to the Jo Hari window, both of which I have also found to be extremely useful in professional life. Fortunately, it is possible to get a working knowledge of how to apply these concepts through the Internet. Let me know if you would like links to web sites that you can use to start.

Dr Zwicky was a Management Guru in an international corporation that I was privileged to serve. He taught me, with a gaggle of my colleagues, that an organization is made of humans with feelings, emotions, and thinking powers. I used to be very 'left-brain' about such things before I encountered Dr Zwicky. He also, on a personal level, told me to switch from dark and forbidding spectacle frames to gentler and flesh-colored ones. However, that did not work so well, for people still find me 'avoidable'!

I have found psychology just as useful in understanding parts of myself, as in dealing with others. I have also found that many people who may be generally thought of as mentally normal may in fact suffer from disorders and pathologies of their brain functions. Depression, anxiety, and attention deficits are most common in my personal experience. It is nearly insulting to tell someone in India to see a psychiatrist, but I must say that it could often be the most useful advice to dish out and to receive as well!

Psychology is very relevant for business. Since one does not have to invest colossal amounts in it, it is a path that small enterprises and individual professionals can follow with significant benefits all around.

The Internet does have an array of tests that people can take to assess their levels of mental health. Do write to me if you would like to try them.


Here is a picture from a voluntary service for cancer patients and their families:

The people who use this service most often have no health insurance at all. They have to raise funds to keep their loved ones alive by wandering around philanthropic organizations with the proverbial begging bowl. The service is run by Mr Sanjeev Sharma (facing the camera and in a white shirt). Sanjeev was moved to start voluntary service after he lost a son to cancer. The service breathes new hope in to countless souls, like the two people on the left of the photograph, who come to Sanjeev and his colleagues.

Perhaps you have been in such a situation at some point. How did you respond? Could psychology help in such cases? No money changes hands between a voluntary service and the community it serves, but it is still an extreme manifestation of the contradictions we may face in business life. Participating in voluntary work can be a kind of practical approach to hands-on learning of psychology for business and management.