Applicational Realization

Demonstration Example

The sample model described below demonstrates just one of many system's features. The matter is the analysis of the compliance between two psycho-sociological categories:

   on the one hand we have a member of the workgroup with his individual accentuations which are described by his motivational portrait.
   on the other hand we have the environment — certain functional roles and social obligations.

The subject acts under the conditions of the environment:

   as a member of the workgroup (business social role formed by his professional responsibility);
   as a person with unique characteristics (individual role ruled by his motivational portrait).

The model described below reflects the functioning of the workgroup at a small office of a trading company.

Building of the Model

Building the working model takes 7 steps. Each of them defines and describes appropriate objects. First at all the most abstract "atomic" substances must be described and properly configured. They make the basis of the model. So the first step is the most important and the most difficult one. To help in completion of this step the system offers a set of assessment tests that arrange the main structure of the model. After that a manual configuration may be used. After specifying the primary substances most complex objects may be composed — right up to the description of certain subjects and the objects of their environment.

Step 1 — Resources description

The definition of a set of resources: operational substances that can be produced or consumed during performing of actions by the subjects. Each model's template has a complete set of all necessary resources for Homeostasis group. The template contains all most common elements related to basic models of needs hierarchy (for example — Maslow, Murray, etc.). Nevertheless any resource within this set can be substituted with another one or reconfigured (scrupulous resource parametrization is important to determine his role and behavior within a common system).

For facilitation of the resource set composition the model has an implemented testing system for the process automation. This system also provides control and verification of the results. The base of the model is formed by a set of typical resources that are common for every model. For instance — resources of natural needs: "Nutrition", "Social Esteem" and others. Moreover the specificity of the modeling domain defines a set of additional resources — such as "Money", "Profit", "Office Culture" and so on. As a rule any model is founded on dozens of resources. Each of them has a unique configuration which describes the laws of a resource's changes during its evolution as well as its maximum and minimum limits, its typology and correlation with other resources (as actions, see below).

Step 2 — Action definition

The definition of a set of actions operated by the subjects during their adaptive behavior. Each action associates produced resources with consumed ones. The subject's behavior is constituted by numerous regular actions that are arranged into persistent response patterns. As a formal object an action is a block of correspondences between consumed resources and produced resources. Composing of action set uses a testing system similar to resource describing. The questionnaire is built on the base of the developed template and allows to adapt the model to certain conditions that are modeled.

Later on the described action will be linked to the corresponding motivator. The action also takes part in the functional description of the role. Being mastered by the subject the action is characterized with the degree of acquirement (performance skill). Similar to resources common physiologically oriented actions (with unique parametrization for each subject) are expanded by actions that reflect the specificity of a certain model. For instance the action "Do Home Recreation John" makes John to be able to supply the needs of recreation, food, certain level of family comfort ad so on. Moreover within the "Office" context (working environment) the subject operates with the "Find Client" action that produces the "Clientage" resource. This resource is necessary for the subordinated nodes of the office hierarchy which produces the "Profit" resource on its base. This is a small part of the action set used by every subject.

Step 3 — Motivator forming

The definition of a set of motivators which reflects objects from the real world and can be realized through actions. Each motivator is a representative of a real object. Being an objective goal of the actions directed to its performing, a motivator can be specified as an attractor. Only through realization of a certain motivator the subject can fill up the resources. Thus the main importance of a motivator is arranged by the list of actions that leads to its realization. At that the same motivators from the various contexts may have different descriptions. Each motivator has been associated with at least one action. For example the "Contract" motivator can be realized through the "Work out Contract" action. This action is able just for limited circle because its set of consumable resources includes an attribute of belonging to certain profession (in this case — to the manager's role). Hence is achieved the stratification of access rights and jurisdiction spheres of environmental objects within which the modeling subjects realize their needs. It's worth to mention that there is a testing system that helps with reflection of the real world objects to the model's motivators. As a rule during the realization a motivator performs a wide set of produced resources because every object of the real world is multilateral from the standpoint of its usage.

Step 4 — Role definition

The definition of a set of roles representing functional templates of subjects on the basis of actions, dedicated to the function of corresponding role. The role is a preliminary functional description of a subject abstracted from the characteristics of his motivational portrait. The role is defined with a set of actions and a collection of learned motivators. The role definition is not necessary for an individual modeling. Nevertheless this abstraction is very useful for social experiments. It helps build the normative-behavior templates. Models of concrete subjects involved into the execution of a certain social function can be deployed on their base.

In addition to actions and motivators the role's definition contains a list of resources-attributes of the role's membership. For instance, the resource of the profession of manager or clerk. Within the current model such resource can be neither spent nor replenished in any way (besides there are no restrictions for bringing a new action "Advanced Training Courses" that allows reaching a new career level through spending certain time and money). For example the typical manager's role in this model is based on the "Work out Contract" action and following motivators: "Contract" and "Contract Store". And the secretary's role is associated to the action "Collect Information" and to the correspondent motivators.

Step 5 — Context composition

The definition of a set of contexts with motivators accessible to the subjects. The environment is described with a set of contexts each of which contains a list of motivators. These motivators are aggregated by the criteria of similar place, time and action. Each of them is associated with corresponding context. The subject uses varied approaches during the decomposition of his needs to the low-level objected goals of their realization. As a result of his individual experience the subject attributes every context as more or less appropriate to himself. Moreover every context can be expanded with a list of admission resources, and that is necessary for every subject who wants to operate with this context's motivators. The most important context in this model is the "Office" (workplace) context. It contains a set of motivators needed for the complete process of profit production with involving of all branches of office hierarchy — from the chief to a clerk. Furthermore the model has several other contexts. They present the abstraction of family life — one for each subject. The reason of that is a detailed representation of life conditions. They have influence upon the subject's behavior, too (each subject has access to his own set of factors that determine the home comfort).

Step 6 — Subject creation

Definition of subjects described with their motivational portrait and with a set of mastered actions and motivators. In this model a subject presents expansion of the role's functional characteristics with his individual motivational portrait. This portrait is defined by the configuration of the subject's motivational hierarchy and by parametrization of its nodes. A motivational node determines the subject's accentuation, contains the description of the needs of a certain resource's weighted mean and usual satisfaction. Also it defines the endurance of the tension produced by this motivational aim during his personal experience and many other parameters.

All subjects created on the base of typical functional roles differ a lot. The reason lays in the unique motivational structure of each subject as well as configurational details of his nodes. Subject Tom [clerk] differs from Bill [clerk] by their ages and their individual motivational portraits. For instance Bill [clerk] has a strongly expressed role of "Social Esteem" aim in his Ego-conception. At the same time the other worker has most emphasized following aims: "Nutrition" and "Health".

Step 7 — Sequence compilation

At the finishing stage the model is arranged by a composition of a sequence of events. Sequence of events is an aggregation of all above described objects and substances as a whole and complete functional system. This system presents a replenished model that contains at least one context and one active subject of modeling.

Within the template the model exists as a singular instance but in a concretized form it can be serialized (automatically or manually) at any stage of modeling (at any time point). In order to observe and influence the subject's behavioral patterns the experimenter can perform necessary changes on any level of the motivational mechanism. It allows to control the modeling process.

Monitoring

At any stage of the modeling process all of the subject's motivational aims can be monitored and reconfigured.

The Melos system supports numerous ways to influence the inner world of the modeled subject with the purpose of observing and controlling under the modeling process. It makes it possible to manipulate with the mechanism of his motive-formation by reconfiguration of some nodes and properties. The main methods of controlling will be explained below.

Ego-Conception Adjustment

Though the mechanisms of forming and evolution of the Ego-Conception are completely automatic they are open for manual configuration. The operator (modeler) can change the parameters of any node within the tree of motivational hierarchy. For example a simple move of slider one can change the presence of selected aim in the Ego-conception (making it more strengthen or weaken).

Motive Channeling Tree

One of the most interesting issues of the modeling is analysis of the stimulus distribution within the subject's hierarchy of aims — a detailed presentation of his needs realization patterns. Here we can observe a structured presentation of all of the subject's behavioral patterns. Each of the two main groups (Homeostasis and Ego-conception) is represented as a tree of realization with decomposed branches of subordinated nodes.

The Result of Modeling

The model has shown the difference between functional efficiencies of two subjects that are playing identical social roles. In spite of executing of the same professional duties within a common context their productivity values are significantly different — and this difference is caused by the subject's peculiarities that are defined in their motivational portraits. The inner states of the subject's satisfaction are also changed in correlation with his individual characteristics. General analysis of everything mentioned above allows the following issues:

   a) determining focuses of the correctional stimulation for a worker;
   b) revealing evolutional tendency and perspectives of changes in one's behavior;
   c) estimating the degree of compliance of the subject's abilities with his employment position;
   d) getting know the inner emotional status of each worker which affects the entire workgroup's working climate.

Detailed analysis

We will analyze just two of eight subjects having selected them from the representatives of the clerk's role. We will compare their productivity and then try to analyze the reasons. We will be convinced that Fred [clerk] and Dave [clerk] have some difference both in the degree of satisfaction of their needs and in the strengths of their professional productivity (the factor reflected by the "Profit" resource). Since the salary of both workers depends on time that is practically spent on their professional duties within the office (resource "Hours Worked") we can observe the difference in the amount of obtained money (same name resource). The following charts demonstrate the dynamics of perceptional change of both workers as well as their result rates.

Charts

The changes of the inner state of subject Fred [clerk] as well as his productivity — from the aspect of his role's duties and responsibilities.

The changes of the inner state of subject Dave [clerk] as well as his productivity — from the aspect of his role's duties and responsibilities.

The analysis results

A detailed examination of the workers' motivational portraits (Fred [clerk] and Dave [clerk]) brings the evidence that Dave's bigger productivity is determined by the "Profession Clerk" motivational aim in his Ego-conception (in other words he has a tendency to improving of his own expertise, and due to that he gets additional satisfaction during the executing of his professional responsibilities). Fred's execution of his office duties is only motivated by pragmatic reasons, therefore he works without any interest to his working domain.

However there are other factors that make difference of their self-actualization feeling. Looking at the parametrization of Ego-conception of both workers we can notice two basic motivational aims: "Impression" and "Social Esteem". Each of them have individual configuration for Dave and Fred. During his functioning as a clerk Dave is quite satisfied with the amount of social esteem and impression produced by corresponding action. But Fred's needs are higher and can never be satisfied.

It would be a great mistake to guess that this situation can be regulated by money compensation (as additional stimulation of Fred). Unfortunately that is the most common method used by managers and chiefs trying to resolve this problem.

The motivational correction

We demonstrated the functional efficiency dispersion among two representatives of one professional (social) role. The analysis of reasons has also be done. The features of the built model are not limited by these results. The full-blown version of the Melos system has a mechanism for implementation of corrective motivational factors — both to the subject's social environment and to his inner world characteristics. Thanks to this feature any problem situation can be analyzed and decomposed up to details of its genesis as well as changed to any way.

Conclusion

This example has demonstrated only one of the Melos system's abilities. All the functional features and the advanced development prospects of this system can be found in the appropriate documentation that is enclosed to this software product.

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