Personality and Values in Choices (Hypothetical Thought Experiment on Hate and Corruption)

Sometimes we can look at research to help us understand how and why people make choices and how values impact those choices. Whether one is leading a group of people or serving in an official capacity the personality of leaders and social influencers impacts their choices and system outcomes.When we look at the study below we find that those who are more empathetic and display agreeableness make decisions for others while those with more Machiavellism and directive values are focused on self gain.

We are using a hypothetical philosophical thought experiment to explore how a highly manipulative person(s) could influence a closed corrupted network to utilize official position to target out group members (Can be any race, religion and politic). The goal being financial and social gain in a cultic homogenous social network known as "The Clan". Numerous victims came forward to expose an aggressive group that sexually exploited vulnerable women, targeted minorities (race, religion, politic don't matter), indication of financial gain, and retaliating against whistleblowers. 

Investigations into the group were squashed but whistleblowers went on a targeting lists and aspects of local justice became warped through conflicts of interests, social networks, and protection of extreme ideologies. Remember this is for learning purposes so relax because we can write a positive outcome as the system learns to protect itself from such misdeeds and reverse poor decisions made off extreme prejudice and self interest (In this hypothetical long running example they clearly told he targets why they were targeting them and engaged in all types of misbehaviors that were rewarded and encouraged. The inability to correct is rooted in decision maker values. In some ways they should be responsible for every victim after the initial complaints.). It is also a story of the importance of whistleblowers to society and the need for the best and brightest to take leading positions (vs. clan or social networks) to protect and enhance the whole.

The study below highlights the need to understand personality and values and how they can impact systems without appropriate checks and balances. Good majority of people who work in such systems deserve to work with people focused on the same positive and prosocial outcomes (They have an important job and we want them to be effective at it.). Having everyone rowing in the same direction means efficient and effective measured outcomes. Hate, cultic networks and corruption can lead to waste, poor work environments, and destroy trust. I'm an advocate for strengthening institutions as much as humanly possible because it can help society function and thrive. It shows respect for the institution and our shared social contracts.

For now recognize the influence of personality on behaviors and in positions of influence how it can impact social networks and the functioning of closed systems. This is the third phase of the thought experiment where social position is being solidified in a caste like structure with different laws and rules are held for different members. In later phases we will talk about restoring justice and how to create a single indivisible people based on shared purpose and walking the talk on oaths (an indication of values). We may also talk about the risk of wink and nod justice and inabilty to reverse victimization that puts future people at risk.

Do Values Relate to Personality Traits and if so, in What Way?

*This is a hypothetical thought experiment for philosophical exploration. Take with a grain of salt as it is for learning purposes.

Czerniawska M, Szydło J. Do Values Relate to Personality Traits and if so, in What Way? - Analysis of Relationships. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2021 May 3;14:511-527. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S299720. PMID: 33976575; PMCID: PMC8104970.

Fastest Growing Jobs by Industry 2023-2033 (Business and Economy)

This is an interesting chart by Visual Capitalist for the fastest job growth over the next decade. What would be interesting to find out is how these jobs may change in a few years and how to best prepare our human capital. Using the whole student development (long term life and career impact) with industry skills (work ready graduates) so as to maximize allocation of labor sources within the U.S. for immediate use and long term development (There is some research support for those concepts. There are also other ways to look at the same problem.)

You can read the article HERE

Source

Do Management Skills and Cultural Skills Matter in Global Business (Management Science)

Universal management skills may be effective cross culturally thereby indicating that most people seem to respond well to knowledgeable managers no matter what their cultural abilities according to the research below. Cultural skills become increasingly complex in terms of influence on performance within global organizations. One might wonder if you don't have readily available skills that others recognize then you might need some of those cultural relationship abilities to be more effective in managing a group/work team. The study is designed only to look at certain aspects of the relationship and therefore it is part of the additive process of science. The following is taken from the study The impact of managerial skills on employee outcomes: A cross cultural study. (Hoffman & Shipper, 2012),

-Cultural skills were less influential when management skills were high. 

-Cultural skills were more influential when management skills were low.

-Work group effectiveness was high when manager skills were high.

What one might take from this as general knowledge is that you should learn the essentials of being a strong manager that commands a level of respect based on ability. Cultural skills and interpersonal skills are an enhancement to one's effectiveness and influence of work teams but doesn't supplant skill. Thus, one needs to be a good manager and have cultural skills to enhance the influence and effectiveness of those management skills. You may read it a little differently but that would be a reasonable conclusion. 

Hoffman, Richard & Shipper, Frank. (2012). The impact of managerial skills on employee outcomes: A cross cultural study. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 23. 1414-1435. 10.1080/09585192.2011.581635. 

Why are Conflicts of Interest so Important in Justice? (Hypothetical Thought Experiment on Corruption and Hate)

Thinking through this long running thought experiment on building strong systems we find that conflicts of interest can have a profound impact on environments. This is just a philosophical discussion so take with a grain of salt. Simply just notice some of the conflicts of interests and ethical considerations based on social contracts and the essential purpose of law. As we think about this let us consider not the problem but more or less the solutions. This is why we we want the best and brightest coming forward.

The thought example,

A clan member with dark triad traits misused their position and social influence to target an out-group member for financial gain. People were harmed by false rumors, threats, intimidation, manipulation and corruption. It exposed a hidden network/gang with some extreme connections wih a history of misbehaviors. Complaints by multiple people ignored leading to additional victims and whistleblowers retaliated against to reduce potential exposure (The other might be social order). 

Blah, blah, blah you know the really bad stuff. We must sort of use a bad example to differentiate that from "normal" behaviors....

In the example there are no checks and balances and if one were to do a type of risk analysis you would find that there are likely other victims of the past and potential risk to victims in the future. That will depend of course on the ability to adjust/adapt and put in place certain checks-n-balances against conflicts of interest, extremism, and bias. Merit based systems are on merit and not on the lower forms of judgement often derailed by conflicts of interest and personal/group bias. Thus, to build strong systems that create trust one will want to minimize the impact of inappropriate conflicts of interest by independent review, audit, oversight and reversal of prior poor decisions if necessary.

In this example we may need additional disclosures to ensure that cerain friend networks are not impacting outcomes. That fully address in-out dynamics but does require people to disclose these relationships so that false or bias information doesn't taint decision making and warp outcomes.

The Concept of Conflict of Interest as a Decision-Making Problem and Ways of its Resolution

*This is a hypothetical philosophical thought experiment for learning and exploring concepts. Take with a grain of salt. 

Kapdras (2023) The Concept of Conflict of Interest as a Decision-Making Problem and Ways of its Resolution. Charles University in Prague Faculty of Law Research Paper No. I/1, 2023

Serving Veterans and Society through Thoughtfulness and Training (Veteran and Mlitary)

Veterans are an important part of our society and our nation. They have at least one point put themselves on the line for us. The sheer act of volunteering in today's military despite the many other opportunities is an indication and testimony to that willingness to sacrifice. Finding ways to services veterans and doing a better job of protecting them when needed is helpful. Further, it would be nice to see if we could open doors into management and leadership positions by improving access to career oriented education. 

Orienting and listening to veteran needs within an organization is helpful. That same concept applies across all customer service realms but even more so with veterans. They have come from a different background and have seen things that most customer service reps and executives haven't seen or thought of when designing policies. There are differences in mindset unless one was in that world.

Likewise, there are times when we inadvertently don't understand veterans and don't service them well. Gaining a data driven and intuitive feel for your customer is important. Service failures could be improved. Likewise, when people are taking advantage of veterans and mistreating veterans (I have seen this) we should find pathway of improvement (btw...if you call out poor treatment of veterans such people get upset. Call them out anyways! 💁). 

Finally, I believe it is important to groom veterans for development into leadership and management positions. Veterans stood up for our nation's ideals and freedoms such as freedom of speech, religion, the Constitution, etc. Sometimes we push the most connected and wealthy to the top, but they are not always the right mix of leadership we need for long term success (Yes, some wealthy are good but a mix of veterans from other backgrounds can help round out decisions and encourage such decisions to be strategically thought out. Veterans seem like a good fit for development opportunities as they are accustomed to walking the talk through high standards within large organizations.).

This study helps show that one can train people within organizations to better serve veterans. Many of us can simply be more willing to listen and responsive but other times we may need a more formal program.

My 2 cents on veterans. I'm just one 👆voice.

Veteran Cultural Competence Training: Initial Effectiveness and National-Level Implementation

Geraci JC, Edwards ER, May D, Halliday T, Smith-Isabell N, El-Meouchy P, Lowell S, Armstrong N, Cantor G, DeJesus C, Dichiara A, Goodman M. Veteran Cultural Competence Training: Initial Effectiveness and National-Level Implementation. Psychiatr Serv. 2024 Jan 1;75(1):32-39. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202100437. Epub 2023 Aug 9. PMID: 37554004.

The Wrong Kind of Big Hearts in Firefighting Physical Exhertion (Firefighting Research and Community Service)

It is that time and you must do RIT training. RIT training is an acronym for rapid intervention training where firefighters go in and grab someone and pull them out. Typically, they are pulling out downed firefighters, but it can be anyone. If you have engaged in one of these RIT training and need to pull either a dummy or a staged firefighter out, you will soon find how difficult it can be. Add to that oxygen mask, being blind, not allowed to stand up, following the hoseline on your knees, lots of commotion, hazards everywhere, and pulling a 190lb person along with you and you better have a minimum fitness level. It is a relatively slow going heavy exhertion process by yourself inch by inch and foot by foot. (There are a few tricks and I'm not the expert. I would generally try and use my bodyweight with a harness/strap if I was by myself. Here is a video that shows the basics. RIT training). 

Source: Firefighting and the Heart:
 Implications for Prevention

One of the biggest risks for firefighters is their heart. Yes, research supports that they have big hearts because they volunteer and care for their communities (i.e. actually in many cases volunteering huge portions of time and training.) However, in this case we are talking about big hearts that cause heart attacks.

The study Firefighting and the Heart: Implications for Prevention discusses the importance of firefighters taking care of their health and increasing cardiovascular disease awareness. Typically the older we get the more issues we are going to have. 

Prevention is going to be fitness and healthy food. A few quick tips:

 1.) Eat healthy. That is the biggest one for older people. Can't outrun a bad diet. Basic Food for Fitness

 2.) Exercise Regularly. Cross fit train with weights and cardio. I would throw some HIT in there to burn the calories and prepare the heart for bursts of energy that are most likely to be experienced at a fire.

 3.) Hydrate. This is one that I struggle with. Too much pop and coffee. More water is going to help when at the gym or on scene. Start moving around in turnout gear during a hot day and you are going to need to replenish water.

I'm a licensed fitness trainer and have a Seshi Yoga license (more rehabilitative) so if you need a little help let me know and send a message to the right. If your a firefighter I can give you a few tips no charge. Thanks for your service.

In addition, I'm trying to raise funds for a great fire department that includes lifesaving equipment like battery powered Jaws of life, training equipment, battery fans, etc. If you have a few corporate dollars to donate to a non-profit send me a message to the right and I will connect you with a department that would love to use it for a good cause. What is the tax treatment of charitable contributions? and Charitable contribution deductions-IRS

Kales, S. & Smih, D. (2017) Firefighting and the Heart: Implications for Prevention. Circulation. 135 (14)
https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.027018

Escanaba City Council Regular Meeting Thursday (February 6, 2025): The Benefits of Playgrounds to Healthy Kids and Affluent Communities (Civics and Governance)

Today's meeting was all about playgrounds. Who doesn’t' love play? There is some strong research that indicates playgrounds are not only helpful for the development of youth but also have value for the affluent nature of a town. Consider that Escanaba is fiscally in the green, growing, and improving each year this would be a great place for younger families to move, companies to invest, and startups to basically start. I don't know about you, but I would rather live where the cost of living is affordable, lots of beeches, ice fishing, and hosting some of the best people you will find anywhere!

The Value of Play, Playgrounds and Parks During the Pandemic

and 

Research says ‘play value’ gap exists between playgrounds in affluent and nonaffluent communities