Presenting a Paradoxical Cognitive Strategy Model on Human Resource Agility

Educational organizations are one of the main pillars in human society and the development and survival of societies depends on the good performance of these organizations. Universities are among the social systems. In which real power arises from recognizing patterns of change, measuring and seizing opportunities. In this type of environment, human resources need many competencies for survival, because they operate in an atmosphere of confusion, uncertainty and instability due to the complexities of the environment. What is defined as situations of multiplicity and contradiction is pressure, anxiety, unhappiness, or responding to difficult situations and ultimately responding appropriately to difficult choices in order for the organization to grow and prosper. In these circumstances, identifying cognitive strategies leads to increased organizational performance. And while reducing the emotions caused by dealing with paradoxical phenomena, tensions and ambiguities arising from thinking and expressing organizational experiences, manpower agility by creating a balance between influential factors such as Cognitive abilities, an emotion that reinforces a positive attitude in employees to confront the organization with a turbulent environment to increase productivity and consequently a competitive advantage. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of paradoxical cognitive strategy on human resource agility.

In this mixed research (qualitative-quantitative), in the qualitative section, the statistical population was selected from among the professors of universities in Mazandaran province in 2020 and the information was obtained through purposeful sampling and interviews. Semi-structured items were collected considering the theoretical saturation law. In a small part of the statistical population consisting of heads of units, faculties, deputy heads of units, faculty members and all administrative, educational, research, financial and student officials, 341 people using stratified random sampling method and based on Cochran's formula 181 people were selected as a statistical sample. Also, the validity of the researcher-made questionnaire in this section was confirmed by the content and structure and the reliability of the questionnaires was estimated and confirmed by Cronbach's alpha 0.91 and 0.94, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS and lisrel 8.8 software.

The results showed that paradoxical cognitive strategies have a positive and significant effect on human resource agility. The results also showed that the elements and components of the paradoxical cognitive strategy are effective in manpower agility of 38% in the free universities of Mazandaran.

In general, it can be acknowledged that the human resources in the university should accept the paradoxes, understand and avoid the potential for anxiety in order to strengthen the defensive responses that prevent the rapid and adaptable agility of the human resources. Slowly Educational organizations are one of the main pillars in human society and the development and survival of societies depends on the good performance of these organizations. Universities are among the social systems. In which real power arises from recognizing patterns of change, measuring and seizing opportunities. In this type of environment, human resources need many competencies for survival, because they operate in an atmosphere of confusion, uncertainty and instability due to the complexities of the environment. Organizational complexity shows the degree of differentiation within the different elements of the organization, and in the current situation, unprecedented, dynamic and nonlinear changes in the environment of organizations have increased. Changes that have led to unexpected, unforeseen and surprising issues. Organizations have to increase their internal complexities to cope with these complexities. Increasing internal complexities create the ground for the emergence of puzzles, multiplicities and contradictions in the organization that can not be eliminated due to external and internal dynamics of organizations. In addition, organizations pursue contradictory results in order to survive and maintain themselves in the competitive arena. What is defined as situations of multiplicity and contradiction is pressure, anxiety, unhappiness, or responding to difficult situations and ultimately responding appropriately to difficult choices in order for the organization to grow and prosper. Paradoxes are paradoxical yet interconnected elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time; These elements are logical when considered individually, but seem irrational, inconsistent, and tolerable when put together. Theorists have turned their attention to how to withstand the stresses hidden in paradoxes, because it is very difficult to constantly balance or create the desired level that relieves stress. Practical perspectives on conflicting stresses show that stresses are created at the micro level where individuals face stresses over identity, conflicting roles, and performance expectations. What is defined as stressful situations is the stress caused by physical, emotional, and psychological conditions resulting from prolonged engagement with difficult emotional conditions that gradually accumulate over time and, as a combination of unstable emotions, the inability to cope. Relaxation, feelings of discomfort, loneliness, sleep problems, excessive smoking, high blood pressure and gastrointestinal disorders are experienced. In these situations, identifying cognitive strategies with the ability to understand and express emotions as much as possible, self-regulation, self-awareness, spontaneity and social ability all lead to increased organizational performance. And while reducing the emotions caused by dealing with paradoxical phenomena, tensions and ambiguities created by thinking and expressing organizational experiences, manpower agility by creating a balance between influential factors such as capabilities Cognitive, the emotion that strengthens the positive attitude of employees to confront the organization with the turbulent environment to increase productivity and consequently provides a competitive advantage. In other words, the role of psychological beliefs allows people with high levels of perception of emotional abilities to be able to deal with paradoxical stress, report less perceived stress, and job satisfaction, feelings. They should be more successful and motivated. So, the cognitive strategy of paradox can be considered from social, psychological and medical dimensions, because in recent years in the country, there are moves to pay attention to the effect of psychological therapies in reducing stress. And a number of occupational counselors, psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists in counseling clinics use coping techniques.