Purchase Solution

People refuse to accept responsibility for their actions

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

We've talked about people's behavior, particularly behavior that is self-destructive in some professional or personal way, and social scientists and psychologists offer myriad explanations (excuses?) for this ranging from environmental causes ( something else is responsible for my bad behavior) or genetic causes (someone else, my parents, are responsible) or physical causes (I have an illness). The common thread here is, it's not my fault. I'm not responsible.

Covey hits on the truth of where responsibility lies when he talks about a stick where one end is the behavior and the other end is the consequence of that behavior. And, when you choose the behavior, you also choose the consequence that is attached to it. The two cannot be separated.

Society has allowed people, at least in their minds, to separate the two.

What do you think about this idea? If you find some merit to it, what can we do collectively and individually to reconnect, in people's minds, behavior and its consequence?

Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary

This job assesses how people refuse to accept responsibility for their actions.

Solution Preview

Having been in private clinical practice for many years I was often beset by the same situation you describe above. So, let's see if I can shed a little light on the issue for you. Now....follow along with me closely now.

Any action (behavior) produces a reaction (consequence)

Any reaction (consequence) produces an action (behavior)

Actions (behaviors) are both neuro-physiological and psychological

Neuro-physiological actions can be both innate and learned.
Breathing, heart beating, blood circulation, swallowing are innate and the reaction is "being alive." :-)
Being alive (reaction) produces, or is conducive to, producing other actions. For example, being alive permits you to
walk, to laugh, to cry, to hit someone, etc. In these examples we all have the action or behavior "capability" and we
select how to use them and the reactions they might produce. Now here is where it gets tricky so keep up with me.

You ...

Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Understanding Management

This quiz will help you understand the dimensions of employee diversity as well as how to manage a culturally diverse workforce.

Income Streams

In our ever changing world, developing secondary income streams is becoming more important. This quiz provides a brief overview of income sources.

Introduction to Finance

This quiz test introductory finance topics.

Situational Leadership

This quiz will help you better understand Situational Leadership and its theories.

Business Ethics Awareness Strategy

This quiz is designed to assess your current ability for determining the characteristics of ethical behavior. It is essential that leaders, managers, and employees are able to distinguish between positive and negative ethical behavior. The quicker you assess a person's ethical tendency, the awareness empowers you to develop a strategy on how to interact with them.

View More Free Quizzes
Related BrainMass Solutions

  • Contracted to Produce a Sculpture

    Lori may refuse to accept the sculpture if she really does not like it. b. Lori may refuse to accept the sculpture if she cannot afford to pay for it c. Lori may refuse to accept the sculpture only if a reasonable person would not like it d.

  • Moral Responsibility

    Practical examples are excellent tools for exploring our intuitions on this issue, so try to introduce at least one concrete case from your own experience for which you would accept full responsibility and one for which you would take no responsibility

  • Legal Actions Against Breaching an Agreement

    Because Quinn Co. offered the original offer, the legal responsibility is placed upon them to accept, decline, or make another counteroffer for the business contract.

  • Ethics, Accept Bribes as Inducement and Responsibility

    These people probably through that they were going to gain business for their actions, but in reality they lost it. Regardless, what they did was unethical because of their choices.

  • General partners and enforcing contract

    Hence, Car Lots will win as Beaver cannot refuse to accept the cars that have been purchased by his partner.

  • Who is responsible for actions of the group?

    When it comes to collecting accolades, everyone would want to outdo others; but when it comes to sharing responsibility for failure, people pass the blame on to others to stay clear of the controversy.

  • Normative and Informational Social Influence

    The majority of society has been taught or trained to obey authority which makes it difficult for some people to refuse someone they consider as an authority figure.

  • Business ethics and maximizing profits

    The right to refuse workplace hazards does not conflict with the ability of the business to operate effectively. The employees have the right to refuse to work if their safety is at stake.

  • Career and Employee Plateaus

    What one must remember is that often these employees allow themselves to be consumed with frustration and refuse to accept help.

View More Related Solutions