Predictably Irrational Customers and Employees
Frank Ovaitt, President & CEO, Institute for Public Relations
Dan Ariely, a behavioral economics professor at Duke University, has spent his career amassing research data to show that the decisions we make are often shaped, or misshaped, in ways that are "Predictably Irrational." Ariely explores how confusion arises when we mix social versus market norms.
Ariely describes experimental research demonstrating that people happily do things for free that they would not do for pay. But when a market norm is introduced, the mental calculus changes. Once market norms get set in our minds, it takes a long time for social norms to re-emerge with the importance they had before.
The notion of social norms in employee relationships is relatively new, as industrial age management concepts finally give way. This makes sense in an economy built on intangibles and creativity. And surely, the electronic devices we carry home with us at night have blurred the lines between workplace and home, paid time and personal time.
It's silly to think that we can or should undo the market norms that govern a company's dealings with employees. It's not at all silly to think that decisions affecting employees should be made with the social relationship top of mind.
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There are nine days left to submit your entry for the Jack Felton Golden Ruler. The award deadline is August 24th. The award identifies superb examples of research used to support public relations practice, and to publish these as case studies on the Institute for Public Relations website.
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