National mentality and its influence on employee behavior. Basic Categories of Analysis Influence of Mental Models on Human Behavior

Mental models are the way we perceive the world, a set of tools with which we think. Each model offers its own system of views on life, allowing you to interpret different real-life situations.

The term "mental models" was first used by Scottish psychologist Kenneth Craik in The Nature of Explanation in the mid-20th century. Craik suggested that the brain creates "scaled-down models of reality" and uses them to assess future events.

In total, there are tens of thousands of different mental models related to different disciplines, however, as the famous American lawyer and economist Charlie Munger (Charlie Munger) said, “only 80 or 90 basic models can make you an experienced person who is confidently oriented in 90% of life. situations ".

In this article we will try to highlight a few of the most important ones.

One of the earliest corporations to adopt the 80/20 Principle was the American company IBM. In 1963, IBM employees found that about 80% of computer time was spent processing 20% ​​of instructions. The company immediately rewrote the system software to make it more efficient. This allowed IBM to increase the speed of its computers and outrun its competitors.

Normal Distribution

This law plays exclusively important role in probability theory. A physical quantity obeys a normal distribution when it is influenced by a huge number of random interference. In our realities, this is a fairly common occurrence, because the normal distribution is the most common.

Inaccurate modeling methods are based on the central limit theorem, which states that if you add up many independent quantities with the same distribution and finite variance, then the sum will be normally distributed.

Popular psychological tests often use lists of questions, the answers to which are compared with a certain number of points. Depending on the sum of these points, the subject is assigned to one category or another. It turns out that, according to the central limit theorem, if the questions do not make any sense and do not correspond in any way with the categories to which the subjects are assigned (that is, the test is fake), then the distribution of the sums will be approximately normal.

This means that most of the subjects will be assigned to some middle category... Therefore, if after passing any test you "hit" the middle of the scale, then, quite possibly, the normal distribution worked, and the test is useless. You can read more about the normal distribution.

Sensivity analysis

Sensitivity analysis is to assess the impact of changes in the initial parameters of the project on its final characteristics, which are usually used as the internal rate of return or net present value (NPV).

Sensitivity analysis is based on the question "What happens if ...?" This type of analysis identifies the most critical variables that are most likely to affect the feasibility and effectiveness of the project. Sales volume, unit price, payment delays, inflation rate, etc. can be taken as input variables.

Sensitivity analysis results are presented in tabular or graphical form, although the latter is more illustrative. However, sensitivity analysis has a serious limitation - it is a one-factor method, therefore it is not applicable in situations where a change in one variable entails a change in another.

Conclusion

The action of each of the above mental models goes beyond one particular discipline. For example, Pareto's law finds application in management, economics, trade and other areas.

“Models must be borrowed from different disciplines because the wisdom of the world is not contained in a single academic department,” writes Charles Munger in his autobiographical book Poor Charlie's Almanac.

The secret to success is to have as many models as possible, otherwise you risk ending up in the situation described by Maslow: "For a man with a hammer, any problem looks like a nail."

Mental models will help you see the situation from a different angle and solve the seeming difficult task... The effect of their use is especially noticeable when, as a result of mental training, you get the ability to see several options for solving a problem at once.

There is no universal method, however, having mastered several mental models, you can choose the most effective one for the situation. Try to look at things in a new way - this is the most best approach to overcome difficulties.

One of our most enduring and probably limiting illusions is our belief that the world we see is the real world. We rarely question our own models of the world until we are forced to do so. Once upon a time, the Internet seemed extremely addictive. He couldn't do any harm. Everything was wonderful and splendid. He later swelled up and took on ugly forms. He could no longer give anything worthwhile. Likewise, nothing has changed in the picture, but if we immediately saw a charming young woman, then a minute later we changed our mind. What happened?

This is called a gestalt change. The outlines and details are the same, but the whole image has changed dramatically. What has changed? Not the picture itself, but our vision of it. What is before our eyes remains the same. What lies behind them has changed. The same thing leads to completely different perceptions.

We use the phrase "mental models" to describe the processes occurring in the brain, which we resort to in order to understand the world around us. Over the past several decades, science and technology have risen to the point that we already have the ability to directly observe the work of the brain. This leads to the fact that we begin to rethink philosophy and neuroscience. Instead of just thinking about thinking, today we can follow the processes of brain activity as we think and observe. This study provides a wealth of experimental data. Faced with the incredible complexity of the brain, people have put forward a number of neuro-logical theories to explain what is happening in the human head. In business and elsewhere, these interactions become even more difficult because people, each with their own mental models, have to interact with each other, making group decisions or negotiating. However, they tend to be biased, as in the case of "groupthink", which can limit flexibility and reduce possible alternatives.

As we pioneered change at the Wharton School of Business and Citicorp and helped other leaders transform their organizations, we began to understand how important these mental models are in driving change. We wrote this book to explore the hidden power of mental models for transformation in business, personal and social life. The book is not based on isolated interpretations of neurological data, but it does recognize that the brain is complex. internal structure, which is genetically predetermined and formed through experience.

The ways in which we understand our world are more determined internally (by our mind), and to a lesser extent - externally (by the surrounding world). It is the inner world of neurons, synapses, chemical compounds and electrical activity with its extremely complex structure, about the functioning of which we have only vague ideas, that we call the "mental model". Such a model inside the brain is our idea of ​​the world and of ourselves. (In the Appendix you will find more detailed description the development of neuroscience, influencing the ideas that underlie this book.)

Mental models are broader than technological innovations or business models. Mental models represent our worldview. These patterns, or ways of thinking, can be reflected from time to time in technology or business innovations, but not every small innovation represents a truly new mental model. For example, the switch to non-alcoholic diet drinks was a hugely significant innovation in the market, but relative to mental models, it is only a minor change. Our mental models are much deeper, often so deep that they are simply invisible.

As a key element of our perception and thinking, mental models often arise during discussions in decision making, organizational learning, and creative thinking. In particular, Ian Mitroff has explored the impact of mental models on creative thinking in business in several of his books (including The Unbounded Mind, co-written with Harold Linstone). These authors explore the need to challenge key assumptions, especially in the transition from "old thinking" to new "limitless systems thinking." Peter Senge, in The Fifth Discipline and elsewhere, shows how mental models limit or contribute to organizational learning. And John Seeley Brown explores the human need to "unlearn" in the course of the changes taking place in the world. J. Edward Russo and Paul J. H. Shoemaker in Decision Traps and later book Winning Decisions emphasize the role of attitudes and unshakable self-confidence in decision making. Russell Eckoff, in his Creating the Corporate Future and other writings, emphasizes the importance of a planning approach in which people challenge fundamental models through an idealized planning process, starting with ultimate goals and working towards achieving them. In addition, more rigorous theoretical considerations have been expressed on these issues, such as the book Decision Sciences by Paul Kleindorfer, Howard Kanreuter and Paul Shoemaker, and the study of organizational learning by Chris Argyris. There have been many other books and articles that dealt in a certain sense with the problem of mental models.

Why then write another book if so much has already been done in this area? First, research in neuroscience today confirms what we have intuitively recognized in the past. These studies give mental models more value and make them more persuasive to us.

especially when you consider their inherent invisibility. Second, this book explores the influence of mental models more broadly; not only how they affect decision-making or learning in an organization, but also how they work and the implications for transformations in the life of an individual, organization, society. In conclusion, it should be noted that, despite everything so far written about mental models, the fact that people are not able to see how they shape our thinking and behavior leads to serious blunders and wasted opportunities. This is a lesson we still need to learn. This book presents an original perspective on the topic and explores how it applies to personal and business life.

The mental model. These are deeply rooted in the minds of concepts, generalizations or even pictures and images that affect how we perceive the world and act. Very often people are not aware of how they relate to mental models or the influence they have on behavior. Mental models of what behavior is acceptable in various management structures are equally deeply rooted. Many concepts of new markets or organizational performance cannot be used in practice because they conflict with entrenched mental models.

Working with mental models begins with recreating the inner pictures of the world, carefully and attentively studying them. It also includes the ability to conduct "educational" conversations, which remove many questions when people demonstrate their thinking and make it open to the influence of others.

Institutions are, in fact, a common way of thinking about the particular relationship between society and the individual and the particular functions they perform; and the system of social life, which is composed of the totality of acting in certain time or at any moment in the development of any society, from the psychological point of view, it can be characterized in general terms as a prevailing spiritual position or a widespread idea of ​​the way of life in society

Mental traps are familiar and familiar pathways along which our thought painfully and fruitlessly moves, burning incredible volumes of our time, sucking out energy and not creating any value either for ourselves or for anyone else.

The emergence of institutional traps - main danger when carrying out reforms. Universal mechanisms - the effects of coordination, learning, coupling, as well as cultural inertia and lobbying - are also responsible for the formation of institutional traps.

Due to the effect of coordination, an individual or a small group loses out when deviating from the corresponding stereotype of behavior, while the simultaneous transition of all agents to an alternative norm would increase social welfare. The rest of the effects reinforce the resulting rate (sometimes they can lead to the formation of a trap, regardless of the coordination effect).

If the effective norm prevailed in the system, then after a strong disturbance (which, however, does not change the structure of the set of equilibria), it can fall into an institutional trap, and then it will remain in it even when the disturbance is removed.

This so-called hysteresis effect is a typical phenomenon for the processes of forming norms and, in particular, institutional traps.

The structure of sustainable norms depends significantly on the transformation costs associated with the elimination of old institutions. Their presence leads to the emergence of new stable states - mixed norms of behavior. In a mixed equilibrium, the advantages of one norm over another are offset by the costs of transformation. In this case, the loss of asymptotic stability is typical for disturbances exceeding a certain threshold. In this sense, there is an analogy between transformation costs and static friction in mechanics. Some mixed equilibria may be effective while others may not, creating a range of institutional traps.

The increased costs of transformation under the influence of the conjugation effect can maintain the initially ineffective rate even when the coordination effect ceases to work. Once falling into an institutional trap, the system chooses an ineffective path of development, and over time, the transition to an effective trajectory may no longer be rational.

A striking example of ineffective technological development is given in the work of P. David. He examines the reason for the standard arrangement of the letters of the English alphabet on the keyboard of computers. On the first typewriters, it was chosen for random reasons, in particular, in the top row were placed the letters necessary for the traveling salesman, so that in the presence of potential buyers print "type writer". 65 years later, when an arrangement of letters was proposed, providing a higher - by 20-40% - printing speed, for the transition to new system, it would be necessary to retrain all typists who have already mastered the high-speed method.

The massive nature of this profession helped to reduce the cost of training one typist, as a result, the transition to a technically more advanced system turned out to be irrational. The process described is not difficult to interpret as a result of the effects of learning, coupling and cooperation (David talks about "technical interconnectedness" and "economies of scale").

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This topic belongs to the section:

Systems analysis in economics

Task 1 for the theoretical part. Topic: "Fundamentals of the theory of systems." Topic: "Procedures system analysis". Topic: "System Modeling". Topic: "Models of Human Behavior and Societies."

This material includes sections:

Justify the characteristic features of systems research in the socio-economic sphere

Describe the goal setting procedure

Characterize the decomposition procedure

Describe the measurement procedure

Describe the syntax and purpose of the black box model

Describe the purpose and problems of constructing models of the composition and structure of socio-economic systems

Describe the syntax and purpose of the SADT model (idef0 standard)

Purpose and specification of econometric models

Purpose and procedure for constructing structural dynamics models

Provide definitions and examples of the system archetype and system pattern

Give definitions and examples of personality archetype and personality pattern

Describe the order of construction and purpose of system diagrams

The main indicators of the enterprise

Course project in the discipline of Enterprise Economics on the topic: The main indicators of the enterprise. The purpose of the course project is to assess the current economic condition of the contract construction organization on key aspects of production and financial activities.

The list of questions to prepare for the final interdisciplinary exam (section "Obstetrics and Gynecology")

Methodical instructions for conducting a practical lesson on the "Medical Service of Civil Defense"

The topic is "Organization of sanitary and hygienic and anti-epidemic measures among the population in wartime." Organizational and staff structure of SEA. Classification of foodstuffs according to the degree of contamination with radioactive substances, OM, SDYAV and contamination with BS. The procedure for sampling at the Central State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service and the expert opinion of the research results.

Kogamdyk Densaulyk Sagtau Peninen Test of Saraktar

Aleumettik medicine zhane densaulyk sautaudy basgaraudyk zertteu negizine zhatatyndar? Tuushylyk kursetkishin eseptegende berilgen zhyly. Tuylu zhunindegi malimet kuzi bolyp. Economicsқ damykan elderde khalyқ.

The concept of routine was introduced by Nelson and Winter in relation to the activities of organizations and defined by them as "normal and predictable patterns of behavior." However, routine behavior is characteristic not only of organizations, but also of individuals. With regard to the latter, routines can be divided into two categories

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