Link to Article Click Here
I selected Cameron’s article to read for the week because of how interesting the topic seemed. The first sentence I read was “Barry sobbed as he begged me not to fire him. I canned him anyway, over and over” which triggered my curiosity to click on the article and read in detail about it. I also explored more into the emotional aspect of VR that brings out to people and how much it can affect people in my previous story (here). Going through the process of firing a person is not an easy job for the person who has to do it and the person who is being fired. Both sides will feel an enormous amount of emotions that are mostly negative and no one is prepared to fire someone unless they’ve done it many times and has practiced over time. This article explains the process of how one is able to practice beforehand with a simulation and I’m not sure if it’s the best way, but it certainly helps with practicing and knowing what to say.
“Talespin and its competitors turn that idea on its head. By letting you experience the pain of others over and over again, they train you to shrug it off.” — SAM DEAN
With this practice, people are able to recognize and manage how to react, what to say, and maybe explore ways of improvement. Although it’s a difficult situation for anyone, and there are not many ways of practicing it, utilizing tools such as VR will provide a realistic environment to aid the process. It’s interesting how VR could be used as a way to empathize with someone and also a way of confrontation and detachment. The emotions that the person that is getting fired will probably be just as disappointing, but being able to handle the actions before and after can be practiced with a tool like this article mentions and I think it will benefit those who cannot avoid the situation and are put in positions to do it.
