Neuroscience psychology applied to the workplace

The article addresses different neurological functions of the brain relating to procrastination and what are called “Mirror Neurons” and tries to apply the knowledge we know about them and use them to a managers advantage.
The article defines procrastination as “a self-defeating behavior that involves putting off actions that should be performed promptly given existing goals and information. This goal-directed behavior, neurologically, is involved and carried out in the prefrontal cortex. Procrastination comes from the “habit-based” structures in the brain and is slower at learning to change. This system is purely based on matching “situations to actions based on previous experience.” In other words these parts of the brain simply satisfy a current need as it has learned to in the past. This is why instead of getting work done for your long-term goals you put it off until the last minute. These two systems, goal-oriented and habit-based, are constantly in tension and the forces of habit-based often push the goal-oriented part out of the way. The article suggests that using neuroscience is a way to overcome these habit-based urges and strengthen the goal-oriented wants. The authors suggest that making the current status of values that an employee may have should be taken away “contingent upon progress toward new goals.” The example given is to freeze pay raises across the entire organization until progress toward a new goal or goals can be assessed. The employees will then have to change something about their goal-oriented behavior in order to keep their habit-based behavior where it normally lies.
The second topic covered in the article was the neurological phenomenon known as “mirror neurons” (MNS). In a study done with monkeys, an observer monkey was hooked up to a measuring device while the monkey was watching another monkey do a certain behavior. The results indicated that the monkey’s brain was exhibiting the same neurological responses from watching an action or behavior that it would normally experience by actually doing the behavior. The neurons “mirrored” the behavior being watched hence the name “mirror neurons.” The article said it best “humans also possess mirror neurons. The brain responds as if the observer were the person being observed. This phenomenon is proof of “learning vicariously.” In applying this to the workplace a manager must ensure that the policies and tasks implemented on employees are being carried out by what the article calls “group leaders.” This is where middle managers are very important to ensure that these group leaders are carrying out everything that the top managers implement. This in turn will lead to good qualities in other members of the employee group of the organization.