Why Accountability is Related to System Health (Clan Based System Example)

 In any system there is an opportunity to do the right thing and an opportunity to do the wrong thing. When bad behaviors are obvious and there is no accountability for those behaviors we should not only scratch our heads but we should also become concerned. Assuming there is such a thing as a clan based system, we would need to have some level of artifacts of behaviors that would indicated normally unacceptable behaviors have become legitimized.  We may have to also highlight the difference between those within a homogenous clan and those outside the clan. The story is designed to help us think about how corruption can impact all of our lives and when mixed with extremist elements run counter to our national values. 

The story of accountability and system health......

When systems are heavily influenced by clan corruption, with a touch of homogeneous extremism, they run the risk of derailing our root values and freedoms as Americans. Chronic free passes would be one such issues where we may be able to find some artifacts of consistent choice making outcomes. I suspect one could say there would be either repeated free passes on smaller issues and/or a gross free pass that wouldn't be acceptable under most circumstances. Multiple measurements by multiple people in different situations and different times would likely indicated a shared experience by a number of people (Different times, locations, meetings, reports, complaints, etc.). That may also indicate intentionality and purpose if consistency of poor decisions. (Keep in mind that coordinated groups leave data trails and many upset people who may have been silent. There are always artifacts of good and bad behavior. You just need to know where to look.)

Let us bring up the hypothetical but likely impossible example (....because we know it would never ever ever happen!). Someone wants something, has close officer friends, was coached by those officers how to harm a minority, spreads dangerous rumors to encourage violence and aggression, environment becomes dangerous, the target is rejected from a part-time job even though they and the taxpayer funded organization stated the candidate was more than qualified (failing to fulfill their mission), the sick are manipulated, kids are targeted, some officials join the cause to cleans their community from "undesirables", and all because someone told them "no" and drew a line to protect their children from hate (The single parent had every right in a situation of disturbing and manipulative behaviors that were harmful. The kids were moved away and encouraged to cut all ties for safety.).  

(One could ask questions, interview, check medical records, social media, etc... but  that would require removing the clan from protection. Indications of immunity provided prior, during, and after rampage. Typically it is just short sigjtedly easier to provide 3/5 justice accustomed to 2nd class citizens unwritten rules. The easiest route is likely mandatory mental health for the perpetrators and reform of the local institutions to protect our fellow Americans. Yet, nothing matters outside the clan. Good thing its all a fictitious story!)

(Pretend for a moment you were one of the families targeted by hate. Imagine if you watch them stand for oaths and you feel a sick feeling in your stomach as to where their commitment actual lays beyond the social show of professing faithfulness to certain values. To them, we are not included in that indivisibility and singular concept. You know people and you have bled tears for those rights. Justice is a abstract and far away concept for politicians and academics to ponder. In some of our local institutions justice is a code word clan based lessons in full view of stakeholders who should have done something but didn't want to appear un"cool" to their fellow clan members.)

( If even a small percentage is true one would call this local dereliction and it is where we should double down on getting us all back on the same page and creating a shared national vision through integrity. These rogue clans in direct competition with the official rule of law should be thwarted. When they stand up to give lip service to their oaths in some ways you want to help them by politely asking them to sit back down in case someone discovers what is in their hearts and they get embarrassed. Empathetic people often look for consistencies in action, word, and paralanguage. They can also tell when your lying most of the time. Then it dawns on you that they don't get embarrassed about things like integrity......so no need to say anything. You move on.... )

There are also official records that could be sought to double check if they left markers of bad behaviors there as well. One way to do this is to cross exam various demographics outputs to see which ones are statistically different then others. For example, one might look at skin color, religion, political affiliation, social networks (i.e. Good Friday targeting) etc. to have a clearer understanding if any of them seem to have preferential treatment in local laws. (Keep in might depending on the amount of cases it could be normal if a few cases skew the result. However, if these consistencies are over a few years then we may need to dig into cases further to see if there are other issues at play.)

We should notice that because prior heuristic and biased decisions were made there is an attempt to circumvent a correction. The stickiness of poor values is inappropriate and harmful and thus moves against the very nature of good governance. Where mistakes are made, the system must always be able to correct or it will run the risk of being seen as less than adequate to modern challenges, issues, and opportunities (i.e. low institutional trust.). As a nation we are struggling with low institutional trust and millions upon millions of people saying something similar and thus it is our next rung in national development. We don't want to see why that is the case and thus we have never corrected it. Someday more mature politicians will come forward to see with a new set of goggles. Its relatively easy to fix...but if you don't know then you don't know. Axis Mundi) We all should be free! (Even hypothetically!)

I looked around and found something on the Effects of Corruption published by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime. I thought it was sort of interesting how may different arenas corruption can take. You may also look at the DOJ's website on the different types of departments that fight against corruption Eastern Michigan (This is why I love police 100% and civil rights 110%). Sometimes behaviors can sort of bridge multiple areas and may need coordination. For example, in this example there might be two areas that it would appeal. Even when we are dealing with wild stories that could never be true, we can use them as learning tools to ensure they stay "never, ever true!" Sometimes the truth is shared on a much deeper level. Just saying.

*This is story is to help us learn about the essentials of freedom in modern times and the need to ensure we positively, politely and with diligence encourage greater moral and economic development of our nation and society.  

The Role of Applied Psychology in Human Resource Management (A Few Questions to Ask)

Human resource management practices can lead to greater utilization of human capital that results in stronger resources allocation and higher levels of worker output. Whether one is seeking to maximize employees on a group level or national performance level, the same general principles apply. People are people and they are often driven by their inner psychological needs. When we as a country, or organization, we can tap into and maximize those motivations (and rewards) to create high performance organizations that produce real value. 

Did you Say That and Do That? (Know what they are actually saying.)

Consider that each person scans their environment to determine their prospects (subconscious environmental scanning matched with one's abilities, histories, and needs). Some may take one route, and some might take another (i.e. higher education, military/public service, skilled trades, the arts) . They come with needs, wants, desires, and all types of inner urges (If you look for dissonance and biometric responses you can find deeper interests. It think you either need to know someone well or be really good at body-para language.). Finding ways to turning individual needs into collective action and outcomes is important. That requires a deeper understanding of the inner human mechanisms.  Human Instincts, Workmanship and Economic Development and The Economic System as an Avenue of Needs Fulfillment

What does Applied Psychology Do?

Take a look at this article that sums up I/O psychology and how that can work in the modern workplace. The Role of Psychology in Human Resource Management Consider how similar we are as a people and how our decisions and choices lead to macro economic outcomes. Our individual motivations, organizations maximize our motivations, and society reaps the benefits through growth and economic reach. 

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. Why is this person engaged in the job? Money, power, resources, meaning, etc. If we know what are their primary motives we can construct pathways to connect. 

2. What is unique about this person's personality and how can they best improve the whole (organization or nation)? People are biologically driven to contribute and if they are not more likely it is an environmental issue. Why inclusion on a societal level is needed. 

3. What are their skill attributes and how do we match that with current operational necessities to improve performance. i.e. emerging or current job fields.

4. What are other interests and skills the person might have which could lead to new avenues of development. Maximizing the whole person over a lifetime.

5. How do we maintain economic/organizational engagement over a long period of time? Finding new interests that appeal to maintain maximum engagement.

Snap shot of the Economy July 19th, 2023

 

The Quite Night Street

Economies are moving organisms of people's behaviors that are in constant flux. Taking a quick look at the snap shot of our economy is helpful to spot check growth and change. 

You can read a summary on Yahoo Finance. The complete story for markets and the economy right now: Morning Brief 

-Consumers feel good. Market up, inflation is down, and jobs are plentiful.

-Labor market strong.

-Energy down and food up. i.e. it costs less to drive to go get more expensive food.

-Wallstreet analysts revise upward initial projections. 

-Spending is resilient.

Lap Swimming in the Great Lakes (A Video on Technique)

Swimming is one of the best fitness and cardio sports. I have swam a lot in my life and used to go back and forth for an hour at a time in the pool. Similarly, I also have swam in the ocean and in fresh water. Despite being a pretty good swimmer there is always room for improvement. 

(I once almost drowned in the ocean from pushing myself and having an issue with getting enough air due to an infection I wasn't aware of. I looked back and made the choice to swim back to shore instead of the buoy. Good thing I did that. If I went the other way I wouldn't be here today.)

For the most part, I'm trying to improve my fitness and one of the philosophies I adhere is natural and varied activities. 

The other day it was warm so I decided to go jump in a lake with my goggles and start swimming. As a diver I don't always have other divers to go with so swimming and surface diving is helpful. 

Excellent video below....

Escanaba City Council Regular Meeting (July 06, 2023). Flowers, Gardens, Hustle & Bustle of an Emerging Northern Destination

Source: Escanaba Post Card Museum

Escanaba is a small northern coastal town with a rich history that includes loggers, Native Americans and fisherman (The Legend of Escanaba). Today it still maintains some of that flavor and culture with tight knit community members who take great care over the cities success and future opportunities. As a Great Lakes get-a-way it holds promise for young entrepreneurs who desire to start their own business as well as those who want to vacation with respite from the immediate effects of Global Warming (it was 68 degrees today. I went lap swimming in the lake.). 

By watching the city council meeting below you can find lots of examples of events and activities that may perk your interests for a visit. Likewise you will also see people making a concerted effort to help their fellow citizens and city thrive for another 100 years. There is genuine caring among people and its rare. 

Yet the city is more then just a budding entrepreneurial and eco-tourism place. It is also a city that holds potential for other small cities that want to learn about turnarounds. While western UP. towns are declining in population and investment, Escanaba has attracted over a $billion in investment and millions in state infrastructure as well as attracting new residents (new housing is being built. I wonder if there is money in investing in local small business development and real estate. Perhaps there are some who are thinking about it. Hedge American Start-Ups Esky). 

That being said, it still must find ways of raising city revenue and while some of that may come from new people and investment, there may be much more to do with the downtown, marina, tourism industry to create longer term sustainability. That will require coordinated marketing and methods of converting entrepreneurial interest into actual opening of doors (i.e. banks, grants, real estate, permits, etc.)

Most of the information will be in the agenda. July 6th, 2023 Escanaba City Council Meeting Agenda

A couple of nice things I noticed.....

New dock signage is going to look great! Someday we should build two obelisk as a welcoming beacon to marina visitors. During events we can run a strong across with flags. Kind of a cool thought of putting some local cultural information on each of them that represent those that live here now and those who lived before. I guess one could consider statues or even mini solar lighthouses so everyone knows where the entrance is. 

Resolution for Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs through Bonifas Art Center. 

The BEA provides information in Arts and culture economic activity (2021) as 1.2 Trillion or 4.4% of GDP. Remember these are more direct contributions and not reflective of indirect contributions which are likely to be bigger. 

"The Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) shows that arts and cultural economic activity, adjusted for inflation, increased 13.7 percent in 2021 after decreasing 4.8 percent in 2020. By comparison, the broader economy, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP), increased 5.9 percent in 2021 after decreasing 2.8 percent in 2020. Arts and cultural economic activity accounted for 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or $1.02 trillion, in 2021."

You can also read about MACC Strategic plan for Michigan HERE

Enhance Escanaba is looking for members. You can learn more about that HERE. 

Honor Flight using Ludington Street. Respecting our Veterans is living each day with meaning and purpose in awe of those who came before. Have you helped your community today (This community or any other)? Small things add up.......

Q2 China GDP Declines: A Few Economic Thoughts

The news says China Q2 GDP missed expectations with a mile 6.3% growth rate. You can read about that in the NY Times article 'China’s Rebound Falters, Tripped Up by Debt and Weak Exports'. The Federal Reserve forecasted that U.S. GDP may be around 2.3% which is revised up from 2.1% earlier (You can read the estimate in GDP Now. By the time you read this there may be a new estimate so look around.). Let us pay special attention to the trajectory where one GDP is heading downward and another is heading upward. 

Furthermore, considering there are some market factors influencing a return to manufacturing interest, investment, and infrastructure to the U.S. By the end of the year, we should have a pretty good idea of whether these are short or long lived trends; or whether they are trends at all! We just have to pay attention to the economic news and stay up-to-date on economic happenings.

(As a side note you may also want to look at the employment rate of youth in China as indicators of social transition and human capital management. Human Capital development through diversity is an unexplored opportunity for the U.S. to augment other economic initiatives.)

How Universalization of National Identity Leads to National Competitiveness (Human Capital and Socialized Sustainability)

The symbolism of sub rosa learning
Using Philosophical Principles

There are ways to universalize our nation in a way that every American is seen as having value and drawn into active and productive work. While our politicians argue about often minute and generally cultural class type issues there is only one path forward to national strength. Success comes from inclusion from top to bottom that creates a single shared national identity through our root values in a way that leads to human capital development and socialized economic sustainability. 

First, we aren't doing poorly compared to many nations but we are not really maximizing our assets either. We are in a transitional stage between social segregation and universal identity based inclusion. There is a social segregation with different expectations, rules and outcomes that have formed to mark different rule based orders in some places that human capital development (You may also want to read about Human Capital and U.S Innovation as well as the Human Capital Project )

(I was working on this sort of theoretical dribble on economic clusters model for the digital/information age but I was rudely interrupted by hate. 💁 I wonder how many others life paths were also rudely interrupted by lack of opportunity and inclusion rooted in hate. What we could do as a nation if we built our human capital paths to match our investments in technology and infrastructure? Nah...probably dumb idea. 🤔 😬😲🙊💨) .

(That is not all or most places but there is a growing trend of extremism in some locations that can move through different institutions that seek to forcibly control the narrative through violations of freedom speech, freedom of religion, and our Bill of Rights) 

For example, if we allow a group to enrich off hate and coordinate with like minded homogeneous social networks to exploit others then we are not fulfilling our social contracts in a way that would be reasonable to most objective people (The Welfare Theorem). When we come to understand these behaviors they begin to mirror third world nations that create social learning toward behaviors that shake the bedrock foundations of democracy and its ability to adapt to future challenges.

I like to watch how we deal with corruption and hate because it is a hint to the direction of leadership decision making and the very commitment of such people to a free and fair society that benefits the widest amount of stakeholders. Failure to uphold these values in some localities as to the basics of root universal moral standards and Constitutional assumptions has led to social upheaval in recent years as people come expect increased protection against obvious devious acts.

In a diverse society like the US, we must make a commitment to high ideals of universal values as written officially and unofficially into our culture and institutional mandates to create as much buy in as possible. Having different unwritten rules based on one's race or religion will be a detriment to future viability of the system as a single entity that has the potential to draw in different races, faces, from different places 

(One could also make an argument that universal application of the laws at home leads to universal cultural influences that will likely improve our global appeal economically, politically, militarily and civically. Human rights is very important to our success and shouldn't be shunned simply because someone is navigating feelings of inadequacy that banks on race/religion as proof to their superiority.) 

Every great team hedges its assets and avoids converting them into detriments. At the end of the day, beyond technology and infrastructure the single universal society based on shared national identity and fair application of laws and opportunities is central to long term success. This is why I encourage broad based human capital development by creating an enriching environment through institutional commitment to our central universal American values.

If you doubt that we have two different perception of society just step out of your homogeneous ethnic and religious groups to gain a better perspective. How does one sell something to others in which you cannot see yourself at this moment even though failure to align our national image may increasingly become highlighted as a major problem for our nation? The truth is that without leadership commitment to words like truth, indivisible people, liberty, justice and faithfulness to our constitutional protections we will continue to experience social upheaval (i.e. civil rights riots, capital riots, etc.). It's sociology and not politics and has been seen in other places/nations.

I have seen local systems default without correction in a way that has encouraged a social segregationist mindset to embed itself in certain social groups (i.e. the clan). Loyalty to our American values seems low where homogenous ethnic-religious based clan influence systems exist. There is no such thing as a free pass as people learn from the proof in pudding outcomes. I as a light R will continue to encourage a single society and wish our leaders would do the same (Bi-partisan efforts based on singular focus is needed. If you can't do that your not really a politician and more of a divisionary self enricher that seeks to exploit our futures.). 

(Some leaders will and some wont. As each of our political, of which that is only one type, begin to via for power they often pit people against each other instead of focusing on what is good and makes sense. Politics should sell good ideas that are discovered through rational and scientific thought. It should not try and create policy as an afterthought to political hype.)

I positively and politely stand for a stronger system. Not all can say the same when other interests take precedence. Our kids should live in a free society and have the same value assumptions and opportunities as those who have an entitled perception of laws and social contracts. I will encourage our nation to continue to grow and develop in every way it can because its important for our shared futures both here as an American people but also as a leader in a wider international network of democracies (and non democracies). We should never encourage lower order values to supersede higher order values.

 (This study hints at universal pro-growth values that relate to societal development. Relations Among Higher Order Values Around the World. You may also be interested in understanding how certain values can relate on an individual level that I suspect could impact collective values as a shared common cultural attribute. The Cross-National Invariance Properties of a New Scale to Measure 19 Basic Human Values: A Test Across Eight Countries. Pay attention to the Figure 1 and ask yourself what goal directed behaviors focus more on say self-transcendence versus self enhancement? The same can be said for words, policies, leadership influence, etc. because each as a deeper root goal.)

(We often call these goal directed behaviors artifacts of behavior. Artifacts of behavior can be understood. It is the seed at the core of a person and one's race, religion, wealth, nation, etc. doesn't influence it because its woven into us as a species carried from generation to generation. These are the things that make us distinctly human and change slowly like evolution because they are designed to tie us together for survival. A poem that relates to a similar concept. A Cottage of a Thousand Years.)

There are other studies, but these were two I found quickly. Look over the horizon type inclusive win-win thinking is different when compared to protectionist dominance type win-lose behaviors. Think about which leads to the highest outcomes in the long run. Forget the short bumps. To me science is a narrative of logic that leads to new perspectives. That new perspective is deeper insight)

We have some self reflection to do about our past elections and behaviors and should truly think about the growth and enhancement of our ideals as a better path forward. Personally, I think this bias allowed an unfettered hand to what should have been seen as immoral and not in alignment with the law or our higher values. If the local system failed to see or correct I will take second class citizenship as a badge of patriotism. There are probably millions of other Americans who feel the same and have experienced similar things.  There is nothing free in the free pass system even though the immediate consequences fall on the heads of the victims of such thinking. I prefer to focus on the loftiness of liberty and not that which the pilgrims fled.

P.S. I see four avenues our youth can use to enhance their skills in no particular order 1. higher education/skills training, 2. Military/Volunteering/Public Service and 3. starting a business and 4. the arts and its contribution to business and transcending our shared values. What you do with it after that is up to their specific developmental life choices Hopefully, our leaders build the right environment for maximum growth for our youth across the nation. Assuming it is about the next generation and our country versus their political benefit Let us see what happens........turn page.........

*These are articles that help us learn and are reflective teaching purposes. If you learned something then that is great. They are a form of online learning and story telling. One can accept or reject as they see fit. There is nothing true or inherently false within the writing but only a perception of possible perspective. You can define yours by comparing them to others. We do so as individuals and as a society known as socialized economic sustainability that is rooted in our implicit and explicit cultural artifacts.