Every action is a selfish one and thus true altruism does not exist. - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2530 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Psychology Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Discuss in relation to theory and research on pro-social behaviour. Introduction Helping behaviour has been a focus of social psychological research since the 1950s (Hogg and Vaughan, 2008) and within this literature; there exists an abundance of studies concerned with the concept of altruism. The main aim of this essay is to consider the assertion that every action is a selfish one and thus true altruism does not exist. In order to do this, relevant theory and research on pro-social behaviour will be explored. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Every action is a selfish one and thus true altruism does not exist." essay for you Create order Broadly speaking, pro-social behaviour involves carrying out an act that benefits another (Hogg and Vaughan, 2008) and the interest in this topic since the 1950s, from a research point of view, has impressive longevity. Altruism, as a concept, has attracted much debate and is a type of helping behavior, essentially involving helping another without any expectation of personal gain (Batson and Coke, 1981; Macaulay and Berkowitz, 1970). Perhaps it is rather difficult to realistically suggest that an act could ever be categorised as truly altruistic or indeed if it is not, then it must be selfish. This essay will help to support the view that altruism exists to some extent but often there can be benefits for the individual in demonstrating this behaviour. Research has unfortunately at times aimed to minimise the assertion that a motive to help others without personal benefit can exist (Krueger, 2012). Theory and Research Wilson (2015, p.5) very recently documented that the question of how altruism evolves is such a controversy that is just entering its resolution phase. Altruism is a fairly complicated concept to explore and some of Wilsons (2015) writings reflect this. For instance, Wilson (2015) alludes to the idea that it can be challenging to truly understand an individuals intention when helping another in that it may be to feel better, win favour with God or ensure the other person is in debt to you. The question therefore might be along the lines of what constitutes truly altruistic behaviour and when does it become selfish. Wilson (2015) also helpfully simplifies how one might view altruism by focusing, temporarily, only on the behaviour. An example is illustrated by Wilson (2015) whereby if one individual helps another at a cost to themselves then that demonstrates altruism regardless of what they thought or felt about the situation. Pro-social behaviour theory provides mixed support for the idea of true altruism. For instance, altruism does not particularly receive support from the well-known bystander-calculus model (Piliavin, Dovidio, Gaertner and Clark, 1981), if one is to accept it. This model would assert that individuals would take action in an emergency essentially to reduce their own unpleasant arousal (Batson and Oleson, 1991). This theory clearly makes reference to the significance of the thoughts and feelings of the individual. It may suggest that in part, the helper is to a degree being selfish, but at the same time, is actually carrying out an act that helps another. From this point of view, altruism is perhaps not the correct term since the individual is driven to act, to an extent, to serve his or her own interest. Egoism and altruism have historically been framed as a versus relationship with Hogg and Vaughan (2004) summarising that a significant number of psychologists side with the theory supporting the egoism argument whereby behaviour is driven by personal gain. The work around egoism tends to feel like the darker side of pro-social behaviour theory and research. Some of the evidence showing apparent support for this theory is rather questionable. For instance, Manucia, Baumann, and Cialdini (1984) conducted an experiment whereby certain participants were given a placebo pill but told that by taking it, their current mood would freeze. This led to people under this condition apparently being not as likely to help an individual in need since it would not improve their mood. Brown and Maner (2012) praised the intelligence of this study although it does have an artificial feel about it and one could question how much it might reflect a real-life scenario. It cannot necessarily be used as evidence that altruism does not exist since for some people, the motivation in the first instance might be to actually help the other person (Brown and Maner, 2012). The above mentioned study is somewhat at odds with a review of theory and research regarding altruism at that time (Piliavin and Charng, 1990). One conclusion by these authors was that evidence from a number of fields such as sociology and social psychology among others suggest that altruism is indeed a feature of human nature (Piliavin and Charng, 1990). Bierhoff (2002) builds on this and suggests that altruism exists and reported that it is arguably perfectly captured in the parable of the Good Samaritan whereby having empathy for the victim led to the unselfish act of helping the victim to safety, even at personal cost. This parable is still taught in the modern day and apparent acts of altruism remain a feature of everyday society. This is not to discount the assumption that there could be side effects whereby the individual may experience private rewards for acts of altruism. It is now necessary to consider relevant research studies in more detail in order to further explore the rather controversial central claim that every action is a selfish one and true altruism does not exist. It has been unfortunate in a way that researchers have, more often than not, chosen to focus on anti-social rather than pro-social behaviour. This perhaps reflects a tendency to be more interested in the worst in people. This also leads to the idea that people may be more likely to dismiss altruism and consider other explanations for this type of helping or selfless behaviour. May (2011, p.25) implies that caution should be taken when interpreting altruism-based research in stating that the consensus among psychologists (and common sense) is that a great number of our mental states, even our motives, are not accessible to consciousness. As mentioned above, Wilsons (2015) more recent writings seem to have certain parallels with this and it may be that one has to accept that knowing the individuals intent to help may not be possible.   This could cast doubt on the reliability of much of the experimental work in the field of altr uism, particularly when self-reporting measures are so commonly used. Cialdini and colleagues certainly invested much effort in demonstrating that true altruism does not exist. In a related piece of research, Maner, Luce, Neuberg, Cialdini, Brown and Sagarin (2002) explored the effect of manipulated perspective taking with a focus on the empathy-helping relationship, which they suggested underpins altruism. Interestingly, the study featured 169 university students who had an incentive to participate in the study in order to help fulfill their academic requirements. There is a certain irony about this in that it does not reflect altruism towards the researchers. Following observing the views of participants who had listened to a particular interview, Maner et al. (2002) suggested that negative emotional states like sadness are more likely to lead to helping others rather than genuine altruism. While it is difficult to prove that true altruism does exist, Batson and colleagues a dopted a very different angle with regards to this concept. For instance, in a similar but earlier study, Batson, Sager, Garst, Kang, Rubchinsky and Dawson (1997) again used only university students to assess empathy and helping behaviour towards a young woman in need. In certain conditions, this woman was depicted as being from a rival university yet the students displayed empathy and a willingness to help. As with much of Batsons research, this paper argued that empathy for others brings about natural altruism in people. These above examples highlight the entirely different ways in which altruism can be framed. Krueger (2012) alludes to the idea that the search for true altruism is one that cannot realistically bring success. Research has unfortunately historically been rather black and white in its mission to explain altruism. It has almost featured a rivalry between benefitting the self against motives to benefit others. Krueger (2012, p.397) argues that it is more important to protect the motive to benefit others from being discounted while essentially avoiding branding people as selfish. It is perhaps possible to learn something valuable about the nature of altruism from a piece of research regarding giving blood (Evans and Ferguson, 2013). It is difficult to generalise findings to the wider population given that it involved only university students. However, this particular paper examined, via surveying an impressive 414 responders, the motivating factors underpinning white blood donation. Evans and Ferguson (2013) reported that giving blood does not appear to be an act that reflects the actual definition of pure altruism. Instead, a blend of factors such as a sense of contributing to society, a feeling of being able to benefit others and personal satisfaction might explain blood donation. There are apparent benefits to the individual giving blood in the experience of positive emotions, described as warm glow by Evans and Ferguson (2013). This may not reflect true altruism. It would however seem unfair to suggest that the generally accepted altruistic act of giving blood is selfish. If one continues to accept the view earlier put forward by May (2012), it would help to have some acceptance that it may not be possible to really know if true altruism exists. In a cross-cultural qualitative paper, Soosai-Nathan, Negri and Delle-Fave (2013) documented evidence from Indian and Italian cultures that illustrated that altruism can be more than a pro-social behaviour. Soosai-Nathan et al. (2013) suggest that altruism can help to improve relationships and boosts happiness and wellbeing. It would also be useful to view this in a positive light if possible while clearly, these types of personal rewards may well reinforce the altruistic behavior. It is fundamentally a good human quality though. This may be a more useful area for further research to improve wellbeing rather than aiming to disprove altruism, which has quite a dehumani sing feel to it. It would however be ignorant to bypass the idea that altruism is influenced by a number of factors. It would be overly simplistic to accept that it is just a natural trait of individuals. The area of giving money to fundraisers adds interesting insights to the understanding of altruism. Andreoni, Rao, and Tratchtman (2011) conducted a natural field experiment involving monitoring the giving of money to fundraisers in a particular area of Boston, USA, and noted that a high volume of people avoided, via a number of means, the fundraisers who were standing at exits of a shopping centre. Robson (2002) warns of the dangers of these types of studies, e.g. loss of ability to control variables and loss of validity. Nonetheless, Andreoni et al. (2011) suggest that people may avoid eye contact with a fundraiser as empathy may be triggered otherwise, leading to the giving of money. On the other hand, people may give as they would like to be seen as being altruistic. There may also be a compromise between giving money to charity and balancing personal finances. Andreoni et al. (2011) conclude that altruism in people is influenced significantly by a combination of social cues and psychological mechanisms. This is perhaps unsurprising but helps to illustrate the complexity of human altruism. Conclusions Firstly, it would seem incorrect to necessarily reject findings from pro or indeed anti altruism research. May (2012) summed things up nicely, reminding that so often, peoples true intentions and thoughts about a situation are not visible even to themselves. If one accepts this then there might not be great confidence in suggesting either that altruism definitely exists or that all acts are selfish. Altruism can certainly be viewed as a fairly controversial concept and one that has featured in social psychology theory and research for some years. It would appear that it is extremely difficult to be involved in a truly altruistic act and Staub (1974) much earlier alluded to this as generally when one acts in a pro-social way, inwardly, it can be rewarding, bringing about positive feelings. When considering all of the available evidence, perhaps it can be concluded that altruism in its truest sense, as its very definition states, does not exist. However, there is likely to be a n altruism continuum upon where most people in society would sit, rather than acts necessarily being classed in a fairly black and white fashion as altruistic or selfish. Krueger (2012) adopts a common sense stance on altruism and is suggestive that it exists and people do engage in acts designed to benefit others, without intended personal gain. References Andreoni, J., Rao, J. M., Trachtman, H. (2011). Avoiding the ask: a field experiment on altruism, empathy, and charitable giving. (No. w17648). National bureau of economic research. Batson, C.D., and Coke, J.S. (1981). Empathy: A source of altruistic motivation for helping? In Rushton, J.P., and Sorrentino, R.M. (eds.), Altruism and helping behaviour: Social, personality, and developmental perspectives (pp. 167-183). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Batson, C.D., and Oleson, K.C. (1991). Current status of the empathy-altruism hypothesis. In Clark, M.S. (ed), Prosocial behaviour (pp. 62-85). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Batson, D.C., Sager, K., Garst, E., Kang, M., Rubchinsky, K., and Dawson, K. (1997). Is empathy-induced helping due to self-other merging? Journal of personality and social psychology, 73 (3), 495-509. Bierhoff, H-W. (2002). Prosocial behaviour. East Sussex: Psychology Press. Brown, S.L., and Maner, J.K. (2012). Egoism or altruism: Hard-nosed experiments and deep p hilosophical questions. In Kenrick, D.T., Goldstein, N.J., and Braver, S.L. (ed), Six degrees of social influence: Science, application and the psychology of Robert Cialdini (pp. 109-118). New York: Oxford University Press. Evans, R. and Ferguson, E. (2013).Defining and measuring blood donor altruism: A theoretical approach from biology, economics and psychology. The International journal of transfusion medicine, 106, 118-126. Available from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/vox.12080/pdf (Accessed 01/10/15). Hogg, M.A., Vaughan, G.M. (2008). Social psychology (5th Edition). England: Pearson Education Limited. Krueger, J.I. (2012). Altruism gone mad. In Oakley, B., Knafo, A., Madhaven, G., and Wilson, D.S. (ed), Pathological altruism (pp. 395-405). New York: Oxford University Press. Macaulay, J.R., and Berkowitz, L.   (eds.) (1970). Altruism and helping behaviour: Social psychological studies of some antecedents and consequences. New York: Academic Press . Maner, J.K., Luce, C.L., Neuberg, S.L., Cialdini, R.B., Brown, S., and Sagarin, B.J. (2002). The effect of perspective taking on motivations for helping: Still no evidence for altruism. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 28, 1601-1610. Manucia, G.K.,Baumann, D.J., and Cialdini , R.B. (1984). Mood influences on helping: Direct effects or side effects? Journal of personality and social psychology, 46 (2), 357-364. May, J. (2011). Egoism, empathy and self-other merging. Southern journal of philosophy, 49, 25-39. Piliavin, J.A., and Charng, H-W. (1990). Altruism: A review of recent theory and research. Annual review of sociology, 16, 27-65. Piliavin, J.A., Dovidio, J.F., Gaertner,S.L., and Clark, R.D. (1981). Emergency intervention. New York: Academic Press. Robson, C. (2002). Real world research (2nd edition). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. Soosai-Nathan, L., Negri, L., and Delle-Fave, A. (2013). Beyond pro-social behaviour: An exploration of altruism in two cultures. Psychological studies, 58 (2), 103-114. Staub, E. (1974). Helping a distressed person: Social, personality and stimulus dterminants. In Berkowitz, L. (ed.), Advances in experimental and social psychology (Vol. 7), pp. 294-341. New York: Academic Press. Wilson, D.S. (2015). Does altruism exist?: Culture, genes and the welfare of others. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Essay What is Psychology and Who Are Psychologists

Psychology is an extensive field of scientific studies from behaviors to mental processing (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.2). Psychology is also not to be confused with â€Å"common sense facts†, nor should it be considered only speculation. Psychology follows an empirical approach based on observations as well as scientific research (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.3). Often in our culture we see â€Å"factual† information being shown as proven scientifically, when in reality is pseudopsychology, or psychological findings that are falsely presented as scientific (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.4). This pseudopsychology can be harmful to people by aiding false beliefs that can lead to over generalized stereotypes and myths of certain people (Zimbardo et. all,†¦show more content†¦(Zimbardo et. all, 2010, pp. 15-19). Psychologists, just like any other scientist, use the scientific method for research and studies (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.28). Psychologists start of with a hyp othesis that they then test through having a controlled test, gathering data, and finally analyzing the data to see if it goes with or against the hypothesis (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p. 29-31). All of the studies are conducted to eliminate any biases (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.36). Ethics are also always measured when doing research and help lay out basic guidelines for the experiments taking place (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.37). After organizing and analyzing all the data collected, researchers can then draw conclusions on the research. Researchers use descriptive characteristics to distinguish measurements of the people as well as inferential characteristics to measure the result of chance (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, pp. 41-43). Before reading these two chapters, did not know how research was put together and how it is considered significant. I learned that research was put together just as any other scientific experiment was, however instead of showing a cause and effect reaction th e data collected from the research showcased how certain occurrences are related (Zimbardo et. all, 2010, p.31). I also learned that data is considered significant when the probability of the data being â€Å"due to chanceShow MoreRelatedAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Forensic Psychology1406 Words   |  6 PagesForensic Psychology At Its Core More than half of the world’s population is filled with criminals, individuals wonder why criminals do what they do. In order to have these questions answered, a Forensic Psychologist’s is needed, the basic definition of a Forensic Psychologist is an individual that treats criminal- related people. Here is some information about everything there is to know of a Forensic Psychologist, their salary, types of jobs, well- known people, famous cases, and their disadvantagesRead MorePsychology : Psychology And Psychology1630 Words   |  7 PagesPsychology is a very broad field of study and requires a lot of research when choosing a career. The education that is required for pursuing a career in the field of psychology depends on the type of psychologist you want to be. Most psychology programs require at least a master s degree to pursue a psychologist career, but some may require a doctoral degree. It is important to know the educational requirements as well as state re quirements when entering the field of psychology. Southwestern hasRead MoreLooking Further Into The Career of Psychology1535 Words   |  7 Pageskeeping feelings to themselves is the answer, it is not always the solution. Most people like to vent about things that bother them and that’s when Psychologist’s come in handy. Psychologist can determine what is going on in the head, as well as mental behaviors. Psychology truly is a helpful career because many people who have problems do not solve them unless they talk problems out and get mental help. I truly believe that I can help people with the ability that I have been given to talk to peopleRead MoreThe Importance Of Becoming A Forensic Psychologist1218 Words   |  5 Pagesthroughout life. Decisions about what courses to take, what college to attend, what major to pick, where to live after graduation, all depend on the career a person is pursuing. For someone who desires to enter the department of forensic psycholo gy, certain steps must be taken. It is essential that one is properly informed and able to meet all of the qualifications, as well as fully understanding the responsibilities a forensic psychologist has. Becoming a forensic psychologist requires years of higher educationRead MoreThe World of Psychology Essay example620 Words   |  3 PagesHowever, psychology first appeared in the 1870s. Psychology isn’t just an academic subject, its all around us. People use the principles of psychology everyday. For example, television commercials rely on psychology to persuade people to purchase the advertised product. Psychologists usually treat patients with a mental or emotional problem, but they also serve as scientists researching human behavior. They study how humans relate to each other, and work to improve these relationships. Psychologist especiallyRead MoreEssay on Choosing Psychology as a Career1558 Words   |  7 Pages Psychology is the study of the mind, its biology, and behavior if the individual. The father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt, used objective measurement and controlled analyzing to find and emphasize separation between psychology and philosophy (McLeod). Wundt opened the Institute for Experimental Psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879, using his background in physiology to study reactions and sensations (McLeod). There is no doubt that he, along with the later help of SigmundRead MoreCareer Research Paper: Clinical Psychology894 Words   |  4 PagesClinical Psychology Clinical psychology is just one of the many subfields that psychology has to offer. Those who choose to enter clinical psychology aim to help people with addiction, emotional stress, mental illness, or any other type of mental problems. Knowing what a clinical psychologist does in their practice is important in understanding their profession. A clinical psychologists education is the most prominent part of their career; without it, they cannot be considered a psychologist. The processRead MoreEssay on Psychologists1017 Words   |  5 Pages Psychology is the study of human behavior, how we think, feel and act. Psychologists study both normal and abnormal behavior to understand it. Psychologists also try to use what we learn from that study to help people change aspects of their behavior that they want to change. Areas of psychology are clinical, industrial, and developmental. Careers in Psychology offer varied opportunities. Employment opportunities for capable psychologists are expected to be slightly better than average over theRead MoreThe Health Of Health Psychology999 Words   |  4 PagesHealth Psychology Introduction Health psychologists range from a wide area of careers and fields. They focus on how health and illnesses are effected by factors such as psychology, biology and social factors. Health psychologists also seek to answer, â€Å"how people cope with chronic illness (both their own and others’)† (Lyons, Chamberlain, 2006, p. 6). Health psychologists research on different ways to â€Å"overcome illnesses more quickly, and how to change people’s attitude† on health problems suchRead MoreA Brief Note On Forensic Psychology And The Criminal Justice System1270 Words   |  6 PagesOne critical job linked to the criminal justice system is that of a forensic psychologist. Forensic psychology requires a background in psychology, but works primarily in the court system. Most of the time, a forensic psychologist applies their expertise in psychology to a case, whether it is by assessing a defendant’s mental competency or determining how a pre-existing condition influenced a crime. Forensic psychology requires certain steps to be taken. It is essential that one is properly informed

Analysis Of `` Killings `` By Andre Dubus - 835 Words

By analyzing the conflicts of stories help readers understand why the specific characters act certain ways. We better comprehend the characters’ personality and why the flaws of other character affect the main character. Are main characters’ problems the result of other characters’ personality flaws? Characters endure arduous situations and it is because of another character’s flaw. Being possessiveness, overly critical, and controlling of others are the reason for main characters problems. When a characters flaw is dominating, it causes much problem to another character. An example of possessiveness is by the antagonist, Richard in â€Å"Killings† by Andre Dubus. Matt’s problem is a result of Richards selfishness. Richard is possessive of Mary Ann is ex wife is filing for divorce. â€Å"Richard Strout shot Frank in front of the boys† (115). Frank is Matt’s son, who Richard has killed because of his selfishness of seeing his ex wife with Frank. Matt’s problem is full of sadness and anger which makes him commit murder on killing Richard. â€Å" He walks the Goddamn streets† (Dubus 111). Since Richards been out of jail. He walks around, living a free and normal life since he has gotten out, like nothing has happened. That angers Matt. Richard does not want to see ex wife Mary Ann with nobody else. Even though Richard has a new wife he is still possessive with his ex wife, not wanting anyone to be with her. When a characters flaw is being judgmental, it causes much problem to anotherShow MoreRelatedEssay on Analysis of Killings by Andre Dubus 881 Words   |  4 PagesThe major theme of Andre Dubus’ Killing,s is how far someone would go for the person they love. It is important to note the title of the story is killings and not killers, for the reasoning that the story does not just focus on two deaths or two murderers but rather the death of marriage, friendship, youth, and overall, trust. Richard Strout was married to Mary Ann, who was most likely fed up with his hot temperedness that always seemed to get him into fist fights. She separated from her husbandRead MoreEssay Theme Analysis of Killings by Andre Dubus 741 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Killings, written by Andre Dubus in 1979, involves several aspects such as revenge, morality, and murder. Elements, such as the story’s title, the order of events, and the development of the characters, are very unique. It successfully evokes emotion and suspense as the plot unfolds in sequence. Though it seems easily overlooked, the title â€Å"Killings† is very important due to the fact that the thrill of suspense is left in the mind of the reader. The title encourages readers to question who andRead MoreThematic Analys in Andre Dubus’ Killings Essay896 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of Killings The major theme of Andre Dubus’ Killings is how far someone would go for the person they love. It is important to note the title of the story is killings and not killers, for the reasoning that the story does not just focus on two deaths or two murderers but rather the death of marriage, friendship, youth, and overall, trust. Richard Strout was married to Mary Ann, who was most likely fed up with his hot temperedness that always seemed to get him into fist fights. She separatedRead MoreCharacterization of Diazs Yunior741 Words   |  3 Pageshe wants them to. He realizes that his father is always going to be the way he is and nothing he does will change him. Works Cited Dubus, Andre. â€Å"Killings.† The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 103-115. Print. http://www.teachingcollegeenglish.com How to write a characterization analysis: Introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion. Web.

Knowledge Management Assignment

Questions: One detailed proposal should be submitted. The proposal should be 3 pages long (single-spaced), excluding appendices (Figures, Tables, etc.). It should focus on improvement in knowledge management in this proposal, you should describe three following points. (a) the problems in the current KM, focusing on specific aspects (e.g., knowledge creation, sharing, and utilization of clearly identified areas of knowledge for disseminating information, improving decision making or generating insight/knowledge). (b) the proposed improvement (which should not be a laundry list of several minor changes, but a substantially different approach think process re-engineering; (c) The costs and benefits of the proposed changes to KM. In developing this proposal, you may borrow ideas from the book chapters or the cases discussed in class, but creativity (as long as not so wild as to be indefensible) will also be considered very important. Answers: 1. Problem statement As Chang et al. (2012) stated that, knowledge management is the system to gather efficiently, share and capture organizational knowledge. It helps an organization to meet corporate objectives by making the best use of existing knowledge. As Andreeva and Kianto (2012) mentioned that, in order to gain sustainable position in the in the market, a company needs to focus on various aspects related to knowledge management. They are such as knowledge creation, sharing. However, most of the companies at the present day are not able to foster a culture that encourages efficient sharing of information. As Amine Chatti (2012) stated that, knowledge is not a recoverable object. Hence, in order to remain updated about the present business situation, a company needs to develop effective knowledge sharing procedure. Management of an organization needs to develop a map for knowledge repositories, so that it can be accessed by every employee of the organization (Clark 2012). Most of the organizations are not able to understand the importance of knowledge management in decision making system. There is various IT-based knowledge management strategy can be implemented in a business organization, which can help to understand customers purchasing pattern. It has been found that clumsy information system can lead to inappropriate inventory decisions and unnecessary labor cost (Whyte and Classen 2012). 2. Proposed improvement plan In order to improve knowledge management system of an organization, process re-engineering can be used. As Whyte and Classen (2012) stated that, business process engineering is the strategy, which helps to design business process and workflows within a company. It helps a company to rethink about its customer services and cut down operational costs. As Quintana et al. (2012) stated that, in order to remain constant in the competitive market most of the companies should adopt process reengineering. A company needs to focus on developing IT infrastructure, as it is an important part of process re-engineering implementation. There are some steps that a company can follow to develop business process re-engineering. They are mentioned below: Effective measurement of IT infrastructure of the company Development of IT infrastructure for effective decision making Development of effective process re-engineering strategy Aligning IT functions with process re-engineering strategy 3. Cost and benefits of the proposed changes As Quintana et al. (2012) mentioned that, in a case of a smaller organization, cost issues have a major impact while implementing process re-engineering. The majority of the organizations think restructuring model as the process of downsizing. Most of the companies think about to get rid of excess workers to cut down the cost. The major benefits of process re-engineering are that it helps a company to align IT infrastructure of a company with strategic business process (Chang et al. 2012). It provides a continuous process of incremental change that indicates the level of knowledge gain in each shift in cycle. As Whyte and Classen (2012) stated that, process re-engineering is a feedback loop that encourages constant evaluation of results and individual effort of improvement. It also provides appropriate risk handling procedure that can improve the decision making process of an organization. Reference List Amine Chatti, M. 2012. Knowledge management: a personal knowledge network perspective.J of Knowledge Management, 16(5), pp.829-844. Andreeva, T. and Kianto, A., 2012. Does knowledge management really matter? Linking knowledge management practices, competitiveness and economic performance.Journal of Knowledge Management,16(4), pp.617-636. Chang, R., Spahlinger, D. and Kim, C. 2012. Re-Engineering the Post-Discharge Appointment Process for General Medicine Patients.The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, 5(1), pp.27-32. Clark, L. 2012. Knowledge Management Impact Challenge case story overview.Knowledge Management for Development Journal, 8(1), pp.13-29. Dahalin, Z. and Yusof, S. 2012. Using Business Process Re-engineering to Increase Process Efficiency of E-Catalogue Distribution System.IBIMABR, pp.1-8. Durst, S. and Runar Edvardsson, I. 2012. Knowledge management in SMEs: a literature review.J of Knowledge Management, 16(6), pp.879-903. Fred, A. 2013.Knowledge discovery, knowledge engineering and knowledge management. Berlin: Springer. Fuller, S., 2012.Knowledge management foundations. Routledge. Groff, T. and Jones, T., 2012.Introduction to knowledge management. Routledge. Groznik, A. and Maslaric, M. 2012. A process approach to distribution channel reà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ engineering.Journal of Ent Info Management, 25(2), pp.123-135. Kamhawi, E. 2012. Knowledge management fishbone: a standard framework of organizational enablers.J of Knowledge Management, 16(5), pp.808-828. Peet, M. 2012. Leadership transitions, tacit knowledge sharing and organizational generativity.J of Knowledge Management, 16(1), pp.45-60. Quintana, V., Rivest, L., Pellerin, R. and Kheddouci, F. 2012. Re-engineering the Engineering Change Management process for a drawing-less environment.Computers in Industry, 63(1), pp.79-90. Rao, M., 2012.Knowledge management tools and techniques. Routledge. Richards, D. and Kang, B. 2012.Knowledge management and acquisition for intelligent systems. Berlin: Springer. Schiuma, G. 2012. Managing knowledge for business performance improvement.J of Knowledge Management, 16(4), pp.515-522. Teije, A. 2012.Knowledge engineering and knowledge management. Berlin: Springer.