Kalpana Sahoo

The Psychology of Poverty: The Economicsof Happiness

There is a greater readiness to incorporate the contributions of psychology for a new intellectual epitome which can bring forth an alternative development paradigm because both researchers and practitioners now recognize the central importance of psychological issues in economic development. However, we now recognize that material wealth does not necessarily bring equal development. These experiences have led to the realization that national development involves changes in attitudes, values, gender roles, and social relations. A fundamentally important psychological concept central to national development is that of motivation and psychological wellbeing, defined as directed action. In the context of developing societies, a logical next step toward faster national development would seem to be to design programs that get people to think in individualistic terms, in order to increase their personal motivation. Over the years the volume of research relating to poverty has grown. But unfortunately, Indian psychological research in this area has had very little impact on the policies and programmes for the poors happiness. Further, the gap between research and application remains formidable in the absence of any clear conceptual framework and theoretical perspective. This paper tries to highlight the psychological reasons behind poverty which are the main obstacles for national growth and economic development of happiness.

Effectuality of Ess System in Evaluation of Performance Management: An Empirical Study of OMC in India

Employee Self Service (ESS) is an increasingly emerging trend in Human Resource Management that permits an employee to handle various job-related tasks. ESS is part of a larger movement towards automated and increasingly web-enabled services that encompasses; e-support, e-voting, web self-service, e-procurement, and e-outsourcing, among other possibilities. In order to understand the utility of ESS system, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has been selected as a case for the present research. The basic objective of the present research is to understand how the ESS system is helping OMC in undertaking its Performance Appraisal Process. From the present research it is also desired to find out the various processes like customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction in relation to ESS System in OMC. The study follows a comparative research design, wherein OMC employees were randomly sampled from different departments within the organization. Participants were individually provided with ESS System and were assessed to state their perception of the ESS system, its process in general, and the Performance Appraisal Process in specific. The findings indicated that employees had better perception of the organization (OMC) right after the intervention of ESS System. Apart from this, it was indicated that after ESS Intervention, evaluation of performance of the employees became easier, flexible, as well as less time consumingacost effective.

Spirituality in Work Environment and Mental Satisfaction

Spirituality was a topic that was considered inappropriate for social and behavioral research. Many behavioral scientists viewed spirituality as a core concern of philosophers. However, world scenarios and business climate in recent times have stressed the urgent need of discussion and practice of spirituality in every walk of social life.Some people, of course, feel skeptical about whether spirituality can mix with work. Others feel apprehensive that some religious pressure will be put on them at work. Still others feel enthused at the possibility of spirituality revolution at work. The word revolution has two meanings. The first is the fundamental revolution. The other definition is equally important. What does the earth do every 24 hours? It completes one revolution, returning to where it began. The second meaning of revolution is to return to where you began.Humanity went through both types of revolution when the astronauts first went to the moon. Revolutionary technologies were manifest. An equally fundamental shift took place in our consciousness. Edgar Mitchell, an American astronaut on the Apollo 14 fight, said, The powerful experience of seeing the Earth and our whole solar system against the background of the cosmos had a very profound effect on me, an overwhelming sense of being connected with the universe, of feeling connected to all things.... We went to the moon as technicians, we returned as humanitarians.Defining spiritualityAlthough most people describe themselves as spiritual, they define the term in many different ways. Experts also vary in their definitions. An internet search reveals more than 500 definitions of spirituality. Some of the oft quoted definitions are given below:* The best ofthat which is human* A quest for existential meaning* The transcendental human dimensionsHowever, a more concise conceptualization is that of Pargament (1999), who describes spirituality as finding, conserving and transforming the sacred in ones life. There are two key terms in this definition: search and the sacred. The term search indicates that spirituality is a process; it involves efforts to discover the sacred. People can take a virtually limitless number of pathways in their attempts to discover and preserve the sacred. Spiritual pathways may range from traditional religious institutions to nontraditional avenues.While religion and spirituality were used interchangeably in the long past, the clarity of distinction between the two has been attained in recent times. Religion represents an institutional, formal, outward, doctrinal and authoritarian system. In contrast, spirituality denotes an individual, subjective, emotional and inward expression.In recent years psychologists have carried out a large numbers of studies to examine the relationship between religious experience and mental health. Findings are perplexing. Some studies indicate a positive association between them, while other show negative relationship. So psychologists have distinguished two forms of religious experiences: external religiosity and internal religiosity. External religiosity is indicted in the form of attending the places of worships, rituals and other outward behaviors. Internal religiosity refers to attitude and values. Accordingly spiritually has been likened to internal religiosity. Spirituality, defined as a search for sacredness, not only highlights the search process; it also involves efforts to hold onto the sacred once it has been discovered. People can take a number of routes to discover and conserve the sacred.What are the roots of this discovery process? Some point to the role of innate genetic basis. Others have pointed out the role of critical life events. The challenges people face may reveal human limitation and prompt them to seek out the sacred. In addition, the social context including the family, institution and cultural milieu play important roles in stimulating the discovery process. …