Pedantic behaviour - how to handle such individuals

Marriam Webster dictionary describes a pedantic as an insulting word used to describe someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise especially in some narrow or boring subject matter.

Very frequently in our daily interactions with people we come across people who do not contribute to the discourses but are over eager to correct others when they make a small mistake. Out of courtesy the majority of the people or friends take it as a one off behaviour and ignore the person and the posting. But the issue gets aggravated  when it becomes a very conscious affair and the person is not ready to understand its impact on others and the behaviour becomes a nuisance in the group of friends or colleagues.

Pedant painting by Thomas Rowlandson

Of late such behaviour is observed among people in whatsapp groups on the Internet. These people remain quiet most of the time and are not intgerested in contributing to the group discussions (as they think the group discussions are too silly and not important or serious enough to be worthy of their comments, a superiority complex), But these people are also the first to correct a social media post which is not accurate and not meant to be accurate or authentic, as social media posts are meant to entertain the members of the group.

By correcting the sender of the post, these pedantics get the satisfaction of having corrected someone and giving a self massage to their massive superior egos. 

The psychology science of such pedantic behaviour from people can be understood in an article by David Steele in the Guardian of May 2017. Click here , More often than not, it arises out of a feeling of showing off one's knowledge and superiority complex among friends and colleagues. The preference of these individuals to play spoil sport in such social groups arises out of an unmet urge for recognition from others.

These people criticise when it is not that important in the grand scheme of things in the specific context, other than giving the pedant a false feeling of being important or being heard.

The way to handle such people is to avoid interactions with and ignore such people. But if it is not possibe, tell the people that their point is good and will be considered. Giving them a feeling of importance that their objections are being consiedered and their knowledge in the area is being recognised by the group is enough for them to remain silent for the time being, till they come with more objections later on.

Pointing such people of their pedantic behavious may cause a minor embarrassment in the beginning, but in the long run it can be beneficial to the affected person in comunicating with other people from the society effectively,

George.

Being happy - the four brain hormones and their functions.

The brain produces four hormones when it is properly sensitised. 

They are

1. Endorphine - relased when we relaxedly do exercises, walking, play games and do calisthenics etc..

2. Dopamine - is released when we recognise each other, appreciate others, love our fellow beings and cooperate with them

3. Serotonin - is released in the blood when we serve others or live for others, when all our actions have a social benefit motive.

4. Oxytocin - is released into our blood when we socialise / interact / network with others.

Everyday I receive good morning wish from my friends and I reciprocate, it is Dopamine creation. I do regular blood donation and have been experiencing this hormone  a lot in my blood. Of course daily exercises release Endirphine while our daily social interaction and networking release oxytocin to th3e blood.

We dont need to drink alcoholic drinks or take neurotic drugs for that kick. 

"If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody." - Chinese Proverb

George.

 

Retail Service Operations talk by Easaw George

MBA sem 3 Operations students of Alliance school of business Bangalore were in for a surprise on Tuesday 11 April 2023 in the 2.20 pm class as  Amazon executive Easaw George was talking to them on how service Operations were being optimised at Amazon. 

While Amazon is recognised as a platform where sellers and buyers from across the world meet, reading of the superior world class technology which helps Amazon to remain ahead of the competition, offering complete satisfaction to customers and doing this at a fourth the cost at which competitors do, was a real treat to students. Amazon having been at this business almost twenty eight years earlier and established the first mover advantage, the only credible competition it has is only in the physical commerce sphere from Walmart.

As of April '23, Walmart at $620 billion (market cap of $350 billion) and Amazon at $514 billion (market cap at $1800 billion) are the only top two global Fortune 100 companies to have crossed $ 500 billion annual revenue mark. The Walmart low market cap, one sixth of Amazon does not paint a bright future for Walmart. Amazon's comparitively low investments in physical infrastructure compared to Walmart gives it the high market cap and valuation.

On student query whether Amazon will take to Blockchain technology earlier than other competitors remains to be seen. Amazon has resources and the wherewithal to adopt and test any of the latest technology anywhere in the world, be it drone delivery, environmentally sustainable transport fleet, human-less Amazon GO autonomous stores or robotic warehouse package management. Another student query was on why Amazon was destroying good quality customer returned products in UK instead of returning them to the manufacturer or supplier, Easaw said he was unaware of such actions and would not pass a comment till he read the news.

Easaw was also talking of how Amazon understands the customer psyche and moves products nearer to the customer before even the customer decides to go for the purchase. That is the level of extraction Amazon makes about customer perceptions and purchases.

Will Amazon remain the numero uno in the retail market over the next decade or will it bow down to a still nimble and agile mobile / ecom startup, only time will tell. The high throughput rate of packages passing through the facilitation centre and warehouse in Manchester ensures faster and safe delivey of products. 

Easaw was quick to reiterate, whatever be the technology, manpower or infrastructure Amazon would develop and build in the coming years, it would never dilute or go back on the customer obsession and customer retention aspects of its operations, focusing on helping customer drive more value through the Amazon network. 

Easaw made a comment on Amazon's very innovative and intensely customer focused business model,

Amazon.com's success is due in part to its innovative business model, which allows customers to buy anything from books to furniture to electronics online (anywhere in the world with a very efficient forward and backward supply chain working on the best artificial intelligence and other technologies available at the lowest cost and easy customer-friendly return policies). The company has also been successful in its efforts to expand beyond its core retail business into other areas, such as cloud computing and streaming media. - onepatch.com

George