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. 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 will indirectly impact our economy.
Because this rise in narcissism is relevant to 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 and why it can be detrimental. Using her essay, we can analyze the
extent that narcissism is observed in our world due to education. The higher
education system is more relevant than primary or secondary education in referring
to the business workforce due to the fact that higher education plays a direct
role on how people prepare themselves for their future careers. We must analyze
the higher education system to 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, which may induce narcissism, including heavy recruiting and encouraging
entitled attitudes. 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 authentic
examples of narcissism in businesses to gain a better understanding of the
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 may play a major 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 beneficial to
collective office success. Finally, a system with honest feedback and
collaboration will be beneficial to business organizations.
To
begin to understand why narcissism is currently an important topic, we must
first recognize the potential causes of it. Higher education plays a role in
developing narcissism that already exists; however, in is not the primary source
of the observed rise in narcissism. The most apparent cause of narcissism is
that “we fixate on self-esteem, and unthinkingly build narcissism, because we
believe that the needs of the individual are paramount” (Twenge 505). Studies
have shown that narcissism can be established very early in life. Modern parenting
techniques and elementary schools teach children to concentrate on themselves foremost.
Overly indulgent “helicopter” parents and Baby Boomer parents instill a
birthright of individualism and self-importance in their children (Young etc.
41). Also, increasing self-esteem has become predominant in magazines,
television talk shows, books, and advertisement which can lead to a feeling of
excessive self-importance (Twenge 494). The millennial generation, raised in
this environment, believes that they are the most important and elite people to
have existed, explaining the increase in narcissism shown. By the time this
generation reaches college, it has already been taught self-importance.
Although higher education does not initially instill the belief of superiority
among students, it can strengthen and more fully develop narcissism within
these students.
Higher
education plays a direct role in increasing narcissism among students, and the
extent that it does this depends on the prestige of the institution and on the
specific major of the student. The primary reason that higher education plays a
role in promoting narcissism is that college education can consists of grade
inflation and a feeling of dominance over less educated individuals. When it
comes to grade inflation, students are receiving high grades, whether they
deserve them or not, reinforcing pride and the notion that rewards should come
easily. It has been shown that “43 percent of college students receive ‘A’
grades compared to 15 percent of college students in 1960” (Young etc. 41).
Also, the more prestigious an institution is, the more likely narcissism will
be developed. For students at Princeton University, they were constantly told things
like “[investment bankers] need your intelligence,” and “You’re all so smart!”
(Ho 174). Clearly, prestigious universities support entitlement in their
students by reiterating how “special” they are. Grade inflation and prestige
are not the only reasons that higher education is a culprit of narcissism. It
may also promote narcissism in the way that it prepares students for their
future careers.
Business
schools in particular increase narcissism by focusing on materialistic goals
and telling students that they are more significant than others. At some
business schools, the students are constantly surrounded by the lure of
recruiters who promote self-esteem by making the students feel like they are
special and needed. The business alumni connections formed at these schools
also instill a feeling of elitism among students. “Proclamations of
elitism…seemed foundational to the very core of how investment bankers see
themselves, the world, and their place in it” (Ho 175). When teaching students
how to become bankers, or businessmen, narcissistic traits come off as
beneficial. When you compare business students to students of other
concentrations, there is clearly a stark difference between values. For
business students, a greater emphasis is placed on monetary gain, resulting in
students who are more shallow and more self-obsessed. Clearly, the narcissism
developed depends on the major of the student as well as how prestigious the
institution is.
How
can this rise in narcissism impact relationships among co-workers? Several
studies observed that narcissism negatively impacts personal relationships due
to the tendency of narcissists to put themselves first, before all others. In
the essay “Father and Son,” we can observe the effects a narcissistic
personality on business relationships. Steve Jobs, although very intelligent,
may have possessed narcissistic personality traits due to the fact that he,
“back at the helm of the company he founded… would try again to prove that he
had been the true profit” which is a strong example of an exaggerated sense of
self-worth (Wu 541). Jobs’ sense of entitlement led to conflicts with Steve
Wozniak and other co-workers, and ultimately resulted in him being forced out
of apple in a boardroom coup. It has been shown that “unlike those merely high
in self-esteem, narcissists admit that they don’t feel close to other people”
(Twenge 504). Due to this fact, it is logical to conclude that most narcissists
will have poor relationships with their co-workers in an office setting.
Despite
the possible negative relationships, there is a bright side of narcissism in
the office environment. One characteristic of narcissism is a need of
affirmation from others, which can result in narcissists working harder to
impress others. This could subsequently lead to more successful interviews,
allowing them to be hired for more jobs and promotions. The business workforce
may be unknowingly planned to hire narcissistic employees. Ho explained
“smartness and membership in a financial kin network that drives business and
social opportunities are intimately dependent on both elite institutions and
one’s closeness to the … generic norm” (Ho 185). From this, we can see that
business opportunities are only open to the “elite” or “smart” students, which
are more likely to be the narcissistic students who portray themselves as such.
There are also systems designed that use narcissistic personality traits to
improve the dynamics of the company. Although Steve Jobs was relatively
narcissistic, Apple is still extremely successful. Research indicates that “Facebook,
Amazon, Google, Yahoo!, and Apple have cultures in which narcissistic
personalities are more likely to flourish” (Young etc. 49). In order for our
economy to thrive, business companies should adjust their designs to complement
the narcissistic traits that will be prevalent in the upcoming workforce.
We must find balance of
narcissism in order to have the best possible outcomes for our economy. One
solution would be to counteract the causes that promote the harmful effects of
narcissism in society. For example, we can have programs that emphasize
external outreach and service, or we can offer talks about the current state of
the world. This can prevent employees from defaulting to materialism and
self-absorbed thoughts. Businesses may also choose to hold intense interviews to
prevent them from hiring harmful personalities. These are only a few solutions
to the narcissism epidemic we face. All in all, we can see that narcissism,
although caused by many factors is encouraged by institutions of higher
education. This can be either harmful or beneficial for companies, depending on
how it is directed. Clearly, we must address this issue in order to get the
most out of our businesses.
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