Research Paper Intro

Katherine Fafara

Exposition and Argument Section HM

Erin Kelly

Research Proposal FD

8 November 2016

Narcissism from Education to Career

Recently, there has been a major increase in narcissistic personality traits in society. Narcissists are defined as those who have an exaggerated sense of self-worth and entitlement. Narcissistic tendencies include putting oneself before others, taking risks despite possible negative outcomes, and striving to receive affirmation of one’s superiority from others. As these characteristics become more prevalent, they have a direct impact on our workforce, especially concerning business. Business refers to careers that involve finance, marketing, selling, and other commerce centered careers. The rise in narcissism in business may directly impact out office relationships, and may indirectly impact our economy. Because the rise in narcissism is present in our lives, it is important to recognize the causes and effects of it in the business world. The essay “An Army of One: Me” by Jean Twenge helps to identify some causes and effects of narcissism. Using her essay, we can analyze the extent that narcissism is observed in our world due to education. In this case, the higher education system is more relevant than primary or secondary education to the workforce due to the fact that higher education plays a direct role on how people prepare themselves for their future careers. In order to understand the impact that narcissism has on the business environment, we must first understand how young business employees have been conditioned to bring narcissism into their workplace. The essay “Biographies of Hegemony” by Karen Ho depicts some trends that occur in elite institutions that may induce narcissism including heavy recruiting and promoting entitlement. There is extensive research available that explains the negative effects of narcissism on an individual; however, further studies have shown positive outcomes of narcissism within a business career setting. The article “It's All about All of Us: The Rise of Narcissism and Its Implications for Management Control System Research” by S. Mark Young, Fei Du, Kelsey Kay Dworkis, and Kari Joseph Olsen goes into detail about the way that narcissism influences office relationships and success. Also, with the help of the essay “Father and Son,” by Tim Wu, we can observe actual examples of narcissism in businesses to gain a better understanding of results possible. This research document aims to discuss to what degree are narcissistic personality traits encouraged and developed in schools of higher education, and whether these traits are predominantly negative or positive within the business workforce. Given information from previous studies, higher education plays a minor role in encouraging narcissism, depending on the institution and the particular field of study of the student. Also, narcissism will result in poor personal office relationships, yet will be somewhat beneficial to office success. Finally, a system with honest feedback and collaboration will be helpful for business organizations to achieve the best outcomes from employees.