Can a Person's Personality Change?

 "Hard work beats talents every time."

No personality and behavior will ever be the same when we are comparing two people. Especially when it comes to a workplace like a stock exchange, the personality you don will play a major role in your working methods. Some people truly believe that working in a stock exchange is just like conning someone of their livelihood. However, is it true? Let's find out.

Every workplace environment is different. While some can be pretty relaxing and stress-free, others can be pressuring, and filled with stress. No matter where you work, your personality and behavior play a major role in shaping you to be the professional you are. If you have been taught about sportsmanship from your early years, the failures that you face in your workplace will not be a problem for you. Even if you do face a failure which might be the cause for a setback, you'll learn that it's just going to motivate you further. These are the people who never give up, no matter what they face in life. 

Then there are people who just want to become rich. By hook or by crook, they just want to lead a luxurious life. And to attain this, they will go to any extent possible. Such people will be cunning, sly, and master manipulators. They will have good knowledge on how to make money by duping other people. For them, friends, family, co-employees, and everyone else that crosses paths with them are just that. They don't care about their well-being or happiness. 

Like mentioned before, people have various personalities. While some people become a certain way because of their upbringing, some behaviors are definitely intrinsic to the individual themself. For eg) We can see how Leonardo Di Caprio's character Jordan Belfort in the Wolf of Wall Street becomes attracted towards prostitution and drugs after he sees his bosses indulging in such activities. He also turns towards all of this after this becomes his first interaction with the real world. However, in the Boiler Room, Giovanni Ribsi's character Seth Davis decided to stop illegal stock brokerage after he realizes the consequences his action had on one of his clients. 

These movies show us that while some behaviors belong to some people no matter the situations they face in life, there are chances for a person's personality to change after a life-altering or life-changing occurrence. While some people do not change their personality even after several reasons to change it, others make a change mostly after they face a make-or-break situation. The perfect example for this is shown in the movie 'Catch Me If You Can'. Even after several close calls with the police and the FBI, our hero Frank Abagnale, played by Leonardo Di Caprio, doesn't change his ways of conning people, saying that he is how he is because of his upbringing. Finally when he is caught, he manages to turn his life around after an officer tells him that he has the potential to live a happy and content life. All of these movies further add on to people's belief that you have the power to change your personality around, if you put your mind to it. 

 

Do Emotions Play with our Moods?

We are often unaware of how our feelings and behaviors interact, and as a result of this interaction, modifying our behaviors can significantly impact our emotions. Changes in key behaviors can also help people overcome depression, and for many young people, this is the most direct way to help them change their moods.

Wishes, dreams, plans, predictions, decisions, and memories are examples of mental processes we refer to when we say "thoughts." Thoughts often include phrases, but they may also include images, speech, or even smells. Much of the time, we aren't aware of our thoughts; they operate in the background, assisting us in making choices and performing a variety of tasks. When we try to solve a puzzle, recall a past incident, or complete a specific task, such as writing a letter to a friend or learning a foreign language, we become aware of our feelings.

We all know that emotions are different from one individual to another. While a particular situation may make you feel scared, it might make me feel angry at the same time. You never know what one might be feeling, until and unless you actually ask them about it. It is very fascinating that a situation can make you feel many things, all at the same time. In "A Beautiful Mind", you can see how Nash suffers from schizophrenia. Although the life of John has not been shown accurately, the depiction of schizophrenia is pretty accurate. In a scene you can see him lovingly talk to his wife, when in the next instant, he attacks her thinking that she is one of his imaginations. 

Two movies in completely different genres- 'Duel' and 'A Beautiful Mind'. One is a psychological thriller, while the other is the autobiography of the famous Nobel Prize winning mathematician John Nash. But do you know what binds these two movies together? Emotions. It is the various emotions and thoughts that the protagonists of the movie go through, that makes it the same.

As mentioned before, 'A Beautiful Mind' tells the story of John Nash, a world-famous mathematician who had to fight a deadly mental disease to come out victorious on the other side. A schrizophrenic person, he thinks that people are out to get him and confides in his friends. The tragic twist however is that the friends that he confides in, are all in his imagination, In this case, feelings and emotions play a nasty role in his life, messing up his personal and professional lives. It is only by the end of the movie he manages to fight his imagination and decides to live with his dastardly figments within him.

In Duel, what starts off as a small fight, ends up being costly for the hero of the movie. On a trip, when he overtakes a truck on the highway, he never realizes that this would be a life-changing situation for him. However, when he goes to other people and tries telling them that a truck is out to get him, nobody believes him, although he is not a shrizophrenic manic.

Well, that is how life is. Unless and until you are in a particular situation just like another person, no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to understand what they are feeling or what are they emoting. But, a major thing we have to understand is that the state of mind you are in right now will always end up altering the way you see your surroundings. It might be difficult to express yourself during certain times in your life. However, it is totally up to you if you want to express what you are feeling or not. After all, you are living your life. Not anyone else's. 

Here's Why F.R.I.E.N.D.S is better than HIMYM!

Both shows, of which one started a decade after its predecessor’s beginning, resulted in a fan fight between the two shows’ fans. While both the shows told similar stories albeit with some slight differences, it was easy for fans to fight for their favorite show. However, which is the best show amongst them and why is it F.R.I.E.N.D.S?

Started in 1994, F.R.I.E.N.D.S told the story of six friends who lived in New York City, juggling life, love, and work. A sitcom at its best and with 10 seasons, the show never fails to amaze its audience, even 27 years after its inception. Boasting of a stellar cast comprising of Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Matt Le Blanc, the show has been around for more than 25 years now and strongly believes that it will still be there for 50 more years.

With its inception in 2005, How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) tells the story of Ted Mosby telling his children about how they met their mother, the titular character. It spans nine seasons, where till the ninth season, Ted only talks about all the adventures he had with his four best friends, up until meeting the love of his life. This show too had a pretty good cast including Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders, Jason Segal, Alyson Hannigan, and Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby. While both the shows seem to have a different plot, it's almost the same thing. A group of friends understanding life and love through their late 20’s and 30’s.

There are several reasons one might cite when they say that they like F.R.I.E.N.D.S more than How I Met Your Mother. Some of them being, the latter is based out of the former, F.R.I.E.N.D.S has a better cast, etc. Being a hardcore F.R.I.E.N.D.S lover, I have my reasons too. But let me tell you F.R.I.E.N.D.S is better than HIMYM with some help from facts and figures.

While F.R.I.E.N.D.S lasted for 10 seasons, HIMYM only ran for nine. The former boasts of one of the highest viewership for a serious finale with 52.5 million viewers, with HIMYM having only 10.5 million people that viewed its finale. Although the difference is not much, F.R.I.E.N.D.S also has a higher IMDB rating of 8.9, when compared to HIMYM’s 8.5. Another point to be noted is that while all the cast members of F.R.I.E.N.D.S got paid an equal amount of $1 million per episode, Neil Patrick Harris was the highest-paid cast member of HIMYM.

Some other reasons I truly believe was the reason for F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ success over HIMYM is that the on/off romance between Ross and Rachel in the former was definitely supreme than the Ted and Robin romance in the latter. While both shows had a womanizer, F.R.I.E.N.D.S pulled it off better with the lovable Joey than HIMYM’s lovable yet disgusting Barney Stinson. Although I can go on and on about why F.R.I.E.N.D.S will be always better than How I Met Your Mother, I think this is enough for now.

Ethics In Competitive Business

Business ethics is a set of moral and ethical principles that govern a company's values, behaviors, and decisions and its employees' values, behaviors, and decisions. While some business ethics comes into play during minimum wage, environmental regulations, etc, other things can be considered business ethics. However, what each corporate or company considers business ethics changes according to the trends and techniques that are being followed today. 

One of the main ethics businesses usually fight with, is the fact that who are they responsible to. All companies are always concerned about profitability. Especially to satisfy their stakeholders, companies thrive to achieve increasing profits every year. However, while doing this, what most companies forget is that they undertake any methods to attain their goal. These methods can be annoying or problematic, but an unethical method is always an unethical method. 

The answer to this question is really simple. If the company CEO and the others realize who their actions will affect and the impact it can have, this, in turn, can easily help them realize the company's values and what they actually have to abide by. This will help them understand the ethics they have vowed to follow and what would be unethical for their company. 

Most of the long-lasting damage that a company incurs is due to lost trust. While you join a new company, you are always wary of your employees and the trust you have in them. However, you start trusting them after you take in the company's values and ideas. But, this trust that you have in them can be misused. For instance, if you are a hardworking person and is passionate about your job, and want to rise in ranks, your superiors can misuse the trust you have in them by asking or rather forcing you to take the fall for an issue or circumstance that might show them in a bad light. With fake promises overbearing you, you will blindly decide to take the fall for them and then be trapped in the maze of so-called 'corporate ethics'. 

The role of business is to meet human needs – not just for ethical reasons, but also for financial reasons. These business interests are intertwined to create a business model that generates income in the end. Focusing solely on revenues rather than the underlying business model can lead to short-sighted decisions that erode a company's ability to fulfill its mission. 

We also have to understand business ethics has been a part of the MBA curriculum for a really long time now. And it is not an optional subject, but a subject that is central to the course that they are learning. This course is taught to inspire students, who, after all, aspire to be tomorrow's business leaders, to think about the ethical aspects of decision-making, whether it's marketing responsibly, sales practises, supply chain management, or anything else.

Do Founders' Values Matter to a Company?

During the initial days of starting a company, the founders go through the usual physical and emotional turmoil. Other than setting up the company, they also have to take a stand on what is going to be the company's culture. Although a founder might think that a company's culture is just being friendly to their employees and holding parties on a Friday, that doesn't necessarily tell you about the company's culture or values. The company's culture is defined by the founder and what it means for them. 

While most founders give more priority to increasing their sales and buying proposition, what they don't realize is that their company's culture begins from the day they hire the first employee. It is the founders' responsibility to ensure that they proactively introduce a positive and unique company culture that gets carried on by the employees of the company. For instance, if the founder of the company is extremely progressive, sooner or later, the company's culture is going to be progressive as well. 

While it is the founder's responsibility to define the culture that will be followed by the company, it is the senior leadership's job to make sure that they help employees demonstrate the company's culture by practicing it. By ensuring that their team members follow the culture, they are also ensuring that the cultural importance and values are followed across the organization. 

Another thing that we have to understand is that values also play an important role in shaping the culture of a company. The values are a guiding force for all the employees of the company. If you lose connection with the values that your organization follows, we'll feel that we are lost and need help. Values definitely help a person know their position in the company. 

If it is to express the kinds of ideals it holds and how it expects its citizens to act, an organization must be transparent about why it exists. Pursuing income alone will never inspire people in the same way that pursuing a goal will. Purpose transforms you from a manager to a mobilizer. And organizations that prioritize mission consistently outperform those that do not.

Traditional organizations are those that were established in the twentieth century. These typical organizations have a hierarchical organizational structure. This ensures that the organization's strength is distributed vertically and upwardly. Employees of this form of the company follow a chain of command, with higher positions conferring greater organizational importance. Each department has its own departmental manager, who is responsible for all of the department's employees. The Manager reports to the department director. All of the responsibilities In these forms of conventional organizations, the hierarchical organization structure is followed in this way.

Organizations that have arisen in this century are known as modern organizations. To achieve great results for their organization, this type of organization believes in in-network partnerships and collaboration. This form of the modern company rapidly upgrades its technology and working patterns to keep up with the modern world's changing trends.

Some of the differences between traditional and modern organizations are:

1. Flexibility

Modern organizations are dynamic whereas traditional organizations are rigid. This actually keeps on changing according to the current scenario as in the yesteryears, organizations were stable in what they did and had rigid methodologies for working. As times changed, so did the organizations. New-age organizations realized that they had to be much more flexible if they wanted to be No.1 in their area of expertise. 

2. Point of Focus

While traditional organizations are job-focused, the organizations of today are skill-focused. Today, while organizations offer jobs to people, they offer it depending on the competency of the employee. After having a good look at the employee's skill-set only will they employ them. Working for a company today is not just about doing the job, but also having extra skills that can make you an all-rounder. 

When comparing traditional and modern organizations, I discovered that traditional organizations have a simpler structure than any modern organization. For every typical organization's employer, their responsibilities and roles are very clear. They usually have set duties, which makes working in a typical company simpler. When comparing traditional and modern organizations, I discovered that the traditional organization's structure is simpler. For every typical organization's employer, it is very easy to grasp their responsibilities and duties. They usually have pre-determined roles, which makes working in a typical company more convenient.

The Challenges of Managing a Multi-Cultural Team

Although leading a team for a global competition sounds exciting, you never know about the challenges that follow until you put on those shoes. Leading and managing a multi-cultural team is really hard as you have to learn how to accommodate each and everyone according to their likes and dislikes. Your culture and your language are some of the major things that make you the individual that you are. However, while working in a multi-cultural group, these two factors can be the same reason why you might face several obstacles while connecting with others. 

As a leader of one of the teams of the Globcom Project, a global communications project to pitch new PR and marketing ideas for a company, I had my own share of problems while managing this extremely multi-cultural team. 

1. Overcoming language barriers

One of the major problems that I faced while leading my team was the various language issues. While some people were only comfortable with speaking English, some others were comfortable with understanding English, but could not speak the language properly. Although we consider English the universal language, there were some people who just couldn't get a hold of the language. We had teammates from Lithuania, Barcelona, Russia, and Germany. While all of them talked English, understanding them was another ball game. To solve this major issue, I decided to help anyone who was having trouble understanding by explaining things to them in a much simpler way. We also made it normal in our team to tell each other to repeat themselves if we had a problem understanding what the other person said. 

2. Planning projects around various time zones

Given the fact I was the leader, I was the one responsible for organizing meetings wherein we would discuss each others' roles and what would be made of the final presentation to our client. However, organizing meetings was definitely not an easy task. Since all of us lived in different time zones, it was hard enough for us to decide on a particular time zone by which we would decide the timings of the meetings. Once we took a final decision on that, it was time to decide on when we will be having the meeting. When the majority voted for a particular time, there were a few people who were either in class or working at that time. While we did want to accommodate everyone during the meeting, we did not have one meeting where all of us attended the meeting as a team. Finally, my deputy and I decided to hold meetings according to the teams which we had divided them into so that at least a representative from each team would attend our discussions. 

3. Allowing time to research whenever they needed it 

Although we would give them ample time to research and submit the final documents as each stage passes by, there arose some situations where we had to give them extra time taking into account the fact that all of them lived in different time zones. While some of them could gather together to finish the task that was given to them, others just couldn't join them due to prior commitments. I had to understand that as all of them lived in various time zones, we had to give them more time than was needed to finish up the task that was required of them. 

Managing a team of members from various cultural backgrounds can be difficult. Make every effort to make your coworkers feel at ease in the workplace. Since acquiring the required collection of skills necessitates a significant amount of effort, use this article as a resource if you're having trouble. We hope that these suggestions will assist you in effectively managing your multicultural squad.