Introduction to Communication-Creating I Messages-discussion Personal Statement

Introduction to Communication-Creating I Messages-discussion - Personal Statement Example These situations could be the temperament and personal mood at the time of communication (Bishop 4). Non- assertive communication is in most cases defensive and irrational. I remember one scenario when I was in a meeting with my business partner. We had agreed on the standard terms for our ERP implementation to one of our clients. A disagreement arose on what duration the implementation of the project would take. A series of questions kept on propping up from my partner. There was a heated disagreement and the discussion turned out acrimonious. My partner in deed had some valid concerns. Assertive communication in this case would have solved the acrimony. Assertiveness is a skill that needs to be incorporated in day to day communication. When one is tactical in his or her communication, they listen more than they talk. The basis of careful listening is to gain a clear understanding of the other person’s perspective. The result would be a balanced reaction to whatever the issues under discussion. I now have an understanding of assertiveness in communication. It is more productive and it results to tangible

Answer the questions in Bold Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Answer the questions in Bold - Essay Example Some of the major barriers to maintaining quality care and patient safety in hospitals include the difficulty of coordinating multiple services for a single patient, sociocultural challenges related to accessing services, and limited insurance coverage. Any of these factors can reduce the likelihood of providing the right care at the right time for the right person, and therefore damage the quality and safety of patient experiences. A variety of strategies can be developed to address these, and other, barriers (De Vos, 2009). The integration of services must be streamlined, and specialized information technology systems could provide the flexibility that professionals need to remain connected as a clinical team, rather than individual providers. Sociocultural issues need to be addressed at a higher level of consideration, such as during the development of health care policies and public awareness strategies. Economic barriers like insurance availability are highly contingent on influ ences above the health care system, and may require government reform procedures to be eliminated. In the United States, hospital accreditation is conducted by independent associations like The Joint Commission. The process is based largely on patient safety, with significant attention given to quality care delivery. Other factors including financial and insurance considerations should be addressed as well. However, the relationship between accreditation and patient experience has been challenged (Heuer,

World’s Best Cup of Joe Essay Example for Free

World’s Best Cup of Joe Essay Many Americans start their day off with a morning cup of coffee. Some brew a pot at home but many add a few extra minutes to their morning commute to stop for a cup of their favorite flavor. With dozens of different coffee shops, how is one supposed to choose? The battle has been going on for over a decade between the two main contenders, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. Starbucks sells an upper class lifestyle to their coffee drinkers, while Dunkin Donuts sells a cup of joe for the average Joe. Each goes about advertising in a different manner. Through the use of print advertising, Starbucks shows its superiority to Dunkin Donuts by using powerful text, creating an aesthetic scene, and evoking specific emotions and thoughts. The text in each advertisement says something about the product and company. The Starbucks’ ad reads, â€Å"The best coffee for the best YOU. Taste of Inspiration.† The words are so simple yet have a powerful meaning. Starbucks makes the consumer feel good about buying their product because if you are the best, you deserve the best. After all, they are selling an upper class lifestyle. The best part of the ad is that the emphasis isn’t even on the coffee; it is on â€Å"you† as it is displayed in big, bold green lettering. By making â€Å"you† feel like the best, one is more inclined to spend money on products that make them feel like the best. The statement, â€Å"Taste of Inspiration†, adds another layer of sophistication to this ad. Those words are written in script unlike the other words, to add elegance to it. It’s as if with a single sip of Starbucks you will feel enlightened. Starbucks markets itself as not just a coffee shop bu t also a lifestyle, unlike Dunkin Donuts. Dunkin Donuts’ advertisement is all about the coffee. Dunkin Donuts’ ad reads, â€Å"There’s Coffee. Then There’s America’s Favorite Coffee.† DD gets to the point quickly; their ad comes right out and says they’re â€Å"America’s Favorite†. This statement seems somewhat presumptuous considering the amount of coffee shops all across America but also shows DD’s confidence in their product. They use America as a testimonial for their product. If it’s America’s favorite then they must have a great product. The text in advertisements is a major component but it would be nothing without the scene around it. It is important for advisers to create an advertisement that will make people take time out of their day to look at. The Starbucks’ ad is a blend of about 5 warm colors. It gives a welcoming feeling as if the coffee is from your own home. The main focus in the picture is a normal Starbucks cup in the foreground but everything in the scene is relevant. Although the background is blurred to allow the cup to be the attention getter, the background is still an important part. The background is the inside of a Starbucks, which can be determined by the blurred outlines of chairs and tables. Using a Starbucks as the scene is a great marketing strategy because now the consumer is only thinking Starbucks. The advertisement leaves no room for confusion; it is all Starbucks. With Starbucks on the brain and a beautiful scene, who could look away? The ad has caught the consumer’s eye and with the text as reinforcement, it does a great job advertising Starbucks. On the opposing side, Dunkin Donuts is more concerned with the actual coffee itself. The normal pink and orange lettering is displayed proudly on the standard cup of coffee. The cup is placed directly in front of your face. The text, mentioned above, isn’t the most important part of this advertisement. DD wants people to see the rich, black coffee in the cup. They want potential consumers to see the cup of coffee they could be getting if they choose to get DD. The text above the cup is only to reinforce the quality of it. Dunkin Donuts does a good job with product placement but is lacking character. The DD ad doesn’t add anything fun or relatable to it. Starbucks not only mentioned â€Å"you† the consumer, but rather centered the whole ad around â€Å"you†. The customer is very important to Starbucks. The DD advertisement has a more â€Å"take me or leave me† approach. It’s almost like, â€Å"Hey! We’re America’s favorite, why would you go anywhere else?† The text in the DD ad is almost arrogant. Starbucks textual portion was well thought out and works well to bring the ad together. When creating ads, advertisement companies choose every component specifically to create a precise feeling and thought in the potential consumer’s mind. The combination of colors and the text, in the Starbucks’ ad, make a person want to smile. Starbucks’ advertisement makes one feel warm and welcome. The contrast between the dark and the light colors creates a scene that people want to stop and look at. It’s welcoming to anyone, from teenagers to elderly citizens of any race. This advertisement’s demographic is anyone who drinks coffee, not just business people. Customers are meant to look at the ad and think, â€Å"I am the best, I deserve the best coffee.† The ad actually gives people self-confidence, in that, they promise to provide the best coffee to you because you are, in fact the best. In contrast, Dunkin Donuts’ advertisement makes a statement about their reputation. They are less concerned with the consumer’s self-confidence but rather more concerned with giving the consumer a reason to choose them. They proudly state that they are America’s favorite, what more does a consumer need? No one is going to take a poll of everyone in America to confirm this statement; so instead, customers are left to rely on the information DD has provided. Dunkin Donuts’ advertisement leaves room to be challenged by expert coffee drinkers. The only way customers can prove the statement right or wrong is by going in and tasting a cup for themselves. Once they have purchased a cup, whether they agree or disagree, DD has won. The ad was meant to make a sale and it has done just that. In conclusion, both ads approached their print advertisements in a different way. Starbucks’ text shows that they are focused on the customer and not themselves unlike DD. The scene Starbucks shows is more aesthetically pleasing to consumers. Lastly the thoughts and emotions evoked from the Starbucks’ ad have more impact on potential customers.

Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations | Paper Analysis

Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations | Paper Analysis Task: to evaluate the research design, methods of data collection and analysis, and any other ethical or philosophical issues that arise in the specified research paper. Introduction This assignment will focus on the working paper entitled Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations (Bradbury et al, 2000). It will identify and analyse the research design, methodology, data collection and analysis contained within the paper. There will also be an assessment of philosophical and ethical issues as well as a comparison with other documents of a similar nature. The paper is a comparative study examining how children move in and out of poverty. Research Design The authors of this paper are concerned with child poverty and how children in different countries move in and out of poverty. They maintain that state welfare provision operates more effectively to reduce child poverty when it has prior research knowledge of what causes children to move in and out of poverty The research uses standard relative poverty definitions and examines the mobility rate of the poorest fifth of children from, Britain, the USA, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Hungary and Russia. It is usual at the design stage of a project to decide what approach one is going to take to the research. This is because different epistemological and philosophical assumptions are an inherent part of any approach to research ( Bryman, 2004). At a general level the study is an inter-societal comparison of the dynamics of poverty. Inter-societal comparisons look at the similarities and differences which countries display. Numbers of such studies have been undertaken, a well known recent one o f these is Esping-Anderson’s (1990) research into the welfare regimes of different countries. Comparative studies have a long history in sociology, e.g. Weber’s work on religion (1930, 1965) and Durkheim’s work on suicide (1952). Comparative studies are a big part of research into poverty, whether this is the traditional notion of poverty as a lack of disposable income, or whether it is the more contemporary concept of social exclusion (Berghman, 1995). Bradbury et al (2000) acknowledge that they have taken a rather broad brush approach in their study and that there are some problems with this, nevertheless they maintain that charting the flow in and out of poverty cross nationally is useful for policy making that aims to reduce the number of children who are poor. The researchers believe that studying poverty from the vantage point of children needs little or no justification because children represent a country’s future. It might be argued however, that is a rather Eurocentric view and may not necessarily be held in all the countries in the study. The researchers further defend their choice of method in the following way: Comparisons across countries provide a reference point for assessing the results for any single country, for example whether a particular statistic is large or small. Cross-national analysis also raises provocative questions about whether differences in outcomes are due to, say, differences in policy regimes or differences in population characteristics. Of course the usefulness of crossnational analysis relies on having good data, and making data comparable may require compromises in the depth of analysis which would not be required in a single country study. (The trade-off depends on the number of countries considered.) Our paper illustrates the various strengths – and weaknesses – of taking a cross-national perspective (Bradbury et al, 2000, p.7-8). The authors thus express a generally held view that comparative research does have integral strengths and weaknesses, the following analysis hopes to demonstrate whether or not the strengths of this research project outweigh any weaknesses it may have.. Methods of Data Collection The primary data source for this study is panel data drawn from the seven nations involved. This data is largely household survey data and is therefore the income levels are those given by heads of households. The researchers maintain that there study is complementary to one undertaken by Duncan et al (1993). The studies differ in that Duncan et al’s work concentrates on the family as the unit of analysis whereas Bradbury et al (2000) concentrate on the child. The units of analysis are children under the age of 18. The data sets refer to the early 1990s[1] with the most recent year being 1996. The researchers want to use the data to compare poverty dynamics between one year and the next, so they looked at data from two years across the seven nations. The data sets differ, with four countries, Germany, Hungary, Britain and the US providing data spanning five years and data from Germany and the US spanning ten years. This means that some countries receive a deeper analysis than others because they collect more data. The income figures provided by households are used as the income of the child with relevant adjustments for household needs. Table 1 below gives a summary description of each of the data sets used. Bradbury et al, 2000 pps 10-11 This table gives an overview of the data that the researchers used in their comparative study. The researchers chose the following features from which to compare the data for different countries: †¦the type of longitudinal survey, the period to which incomes refer, the definition(s) of income available, and two statistics summarising sample size (Bradbury et al, 2000, p.11). The chief indicator of whether a child is living in poverty and how a child moves in and out of poverty are the income measures that are available. The researchers point out however that there are differences between countries on how this is assessed i.e. whether income recorded is before or after any deductions for tax etc. They acknowledge that such differences have clear implications for differences in poverty dynamics but they do not elucidate what this is.[2] This lessens any faith that one might have in their methods of data collection because there is no explanation of how this affects poverty dynamics. Income is recorded as net except in the case of Ireland and the US. The researchers say that net income for Britain cannot be recorded in all cases and this causes a reduction in sample size, with possible resulting implications of difference (?). Only two countries, Spain and Russia, provide evidence of household expenditure in addition to household income and arguably this is a weakness in the data set as levels of expenditure may differ widely from country to country and is a greater indication of the distinction between absolute and relative poverty (Giddens, 2001).[3] Again this might evidence greater discrepancies across nations if more of such data were available and this will raise questions as to the reliability of the findings of the study.The study only uses disposable income as a measurement of poverty, In a sense this is a step back in terms of theoretical development as Berghman (1995) has said the focus has shifted from simply financial poverty to whether a person can fully participate in the society to which they belong. This is not referred to in Bradshaw et al’s study and as such might be said to evidence a weakness in their choice of conceptual indicators. While the measure did work for the variables that the researchers were interested in it is nevertheless a narrow way of measuring child poverty. This is especially the case when one considers the researchers’ acknowledgement that they have no single comparable method of measuring income across the seven nations and this raises questions about the internal validity of their methods. Data Analysis Techniques The study uses quantitative data and the study is quite large using household panels from seven nations. The researchers argue that this not only provides them with a cross national comparison of how and why children enter and leave poverty but also allows for any serious discrepancies between nations to be identified. The number of households selected for the analysis is between 1 and 2 thousand per country (see table one above). Statistical comparisons are made between child poverty rates, their relative income levels and income inequality. The statistics are similar to those found in an earlier chapter but no details of this are given. Arguably, one wonders why they mention any similarities here as they then go on to say that: †¦they are not fully comparable because there are differences in the definition of the income measure, the year referred to ,the sample, and in most cases even the survey (this is true in Britain, Ireland ,Spain, and the US) (Bradshaw et al, 2000, p.13).[4] The researchers say that they use the median income of children to measure material well being but because their data set and methodology are rather convoluted they have to explain what this is.[5] Their usage of a median is questionable as they later say (p.15 ibid) that: median income levels provide no guide to how incomes vary among children. Their use of arithmetical averages is also questionable as this can obscure the existence of very high and very low incomes, a fact which they also acknowledge.Their methods include the use of a statistical technique known as the Gini coefficient[6] The technique is named after the person who developed it, an Italian statistician called Corrado Gini.[7] The use of the Gini coefficient does tend to show whether income inequality is increasing or decreasing and so it is often used in comparisons between countries. However, its capacity to measure inequality is also determined by how disposable income is dealt with and this information is not av ailable. It is arguable therefore whether the use of the Gini coefficient gives an accurate representation of the data. The use of the Gini coefficient tends to suggest that income inequality for children is substantially different across the seven nations. Western Europe has lower inequality levels than do Russia and America, and there may be further discrepancies here because the Russian data also provides details of household expenditure and this is missing from the American data. Bradshaw et al’s (2000) findings show that with the Gini coefficient income inequality in Germany stands at 0.3 while in America and Russia it is 0.4 a rise of 10 percentage points which the authors say is larger than the overall income inequality of Britain and the United States throughout the whole of the 1980s. However, further questions are raised as to the reliability of the data from the US because the US Census Bureau shows that the calculation of the index of the US was changed in 1992 this led to an upward shift of 0.02 in the coefficient making comparisons after that period misleading.[8] Bradshaw et al (2000) claim that their major finding is a: †¦ significant (but not total) uniformity in patterns of income mobility and poverty dynamics across the seven countries. The key exception is Russia, where the economic transition has led to a much higher degree of mobility (Bradshaw et al, 2000, p.6). Having said this, the authors later go on to demonstrate that rather than there being significant uniformity, there are considerable differences between the seven countries. Their findings indicate that the US has the highest rate of income inequality which affects the income mobility but as has already been indicated American figures after 1992 may be misleading. Another factor that makes their finding problematic is that the data for all countries is only available for two years, for some five and for two countries it is available over ten years, as the author’s admit longer time spans significantly affect the dynamics of poverty. Income mobility is greater in those countries where the most data is available it is therefore arguably the case the only significant comparison of income mobility is that between America and Germany. The ways in which the data is analysed, is, like the rest of this paper, rather complex. It is not always easy to decide when they are talking about method and when they switch to data analysis techniques as the information tends to be rather mixed together. The complexity of this paper makes it difficult to assess what the author’s may have missed in their analysis, while the authors claim a number of findings from the research there is also evidence to suggest that they could have found the contrary. Conclusion Analysing this research paper has been a problematic task. The authors continually refer back to other papers/chapters in the collection of which this paper is a part but because they do not give sufficient information on what they are referring to it might be argued that it is pointless referring back to work that is not available for comparison. The structure of this paper is confusing it does not give clear indications as to when it goes from research design, to data collection, to analysis. Discussion of the issues is ongoing and at times repetitive. There are significant weaknesses in this paper, there is little discussion of ethics as they use secondary data analysis but by their own admission there are significant differences and discrepancies in the data and this leads to the view that the both the reliability and validity of the methodology and findings are questionable. On the positive side the researchers do recognise that there are weaknesses in the data set and that this may affect the findings. There are points where the researchers (arguably at least) make claims for their data that are difficult to substantiate e.g. that there are significant similarities between patterns of income mobility across the seven countries. This claim does not really hold up in view of their further analysis of the data which lists the differences between countries. In addition to this much of the data relating to the US could, according to the US Census Bureau, be misleading. Finally the constant referring back to other papers without elucidating the issues does not help the researchers to make their case and their use of income as a major conceptual indicator does not really tell the reader how poverty affects the lives and well being of the children who are meant to be the focus of the research. Bibliography Berghman, J. 1995 â€Å"Social Exclusion in Europe: Policy, context and analytical framework† in Room, R. ed Beyond the Threshold: The Measurement and Analysis of Social Exclusion University of Bristol, Policy Press Bradbury, Bruce, Stephen P. Jenkins and John Micklewright (2000), ‘Child Poverty Dynamics in Seven Nations’. Innocenti Working Paper, No. 78 Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. Bryman, A 2nd ed. 2004 Social Research Methods Oxford, Oxford University Press Duncan, G.J., Gustafsson, B., Hauser, R., Schmauss, G., Messinger, H., Muffels, R., Nolan, B., and Ray, J.-C. (1993). ‘Poverty Dynamics in Eight Countries’. Journal of Population Economics, 6: 295–34. Durkheim, E. 1952 Suicide London, Routledge Esping-Anderson 1990 The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism Cambridge, Polity Giddens, A 4th ed 2001 Sociology Cambridge, Polity Weber, M. 1930 The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism London, George Allen and Unwin Weber, M., 1965 The Sociology of Religion London, Methuen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient accessed 28/4/06 http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/ie6.html http://hampshire.edu/~apmNS/design/RESOURCES accessed 28/4/06 1 Footnotes [1] This is the terminology used by the researchers see page 10 of the study [2] This working paper apparently forms part of a collection of such papers on child poverty. The researchers continually refer back to issues mentioned in other papers without elucidating what these issues are. [3] Again the paper refers back to issues covered in other papers without indicating what these issues are. [4] For example, the UK figures in BJM Chapter 3 (the UK is defined as Britain and Northern Ireland) are based on the Family Expenditure Survey while the results for Britain in this paper are based on the British Household Panel Survey. [5] By ‘median income for children’ we mean the median of the distribution of children, ranked by the value of equivalised income of their household (p, 15 ibid). [6] This is a measure of inequality of distribution which is often used in the measurement of income levels. It is a measure between 0 and 1 where 0 corresponds to complete equality and 1 to complete inequality [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient accessed 28/4/06 [8] http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/ie6.html Ten Critical Traits of Group Dynamics | Article Analysis Ten Critical Traits of Group Dynamics | Article Analysis With the industrial revolution and latest globalisation effects, competitive nature of businesses has increased more than ever. In order to survive in this modern competitive world, businesses must find solution to their problems faster and also it is more important to do their work more effectively. With that companies have identified that collaboration or in other words, group or team works will find more creative solutions for the problems that they are facing as modern day businesses. Therefore more and more companies nowadays use teams as a part of their organisational strategies. On the other hand as the Article has mentioned in its introduction, the issue is, putting some people together and expecting them to work effectively as a group would rarely work. Therefore understanding the term Group Dynamics and Group Processes and effectively manage them in groups is becoming more important. The article Ten Critical Traits of Group Dynamics which was written by Helene F. Uhlfelder who is a PhD holder in educational psychology has acknowledged the importance of identifying and improving the Dynamics of groups and teams in organisations in order to improve their effectiveness and performance. Further the author has introduced 10 critical traits that can be used to categorize group dynamics. Finally the article has mentioned the importance of assessing groups regularly in order to find issues that are facing groups and how those traits can be used to improve group dynamics in order to build effective teams. Main objective of this assignment is to summarize the given article giving my opinion on the main argument of the article. For that task various sources will be researched including text books, online journal articles and some other web sites. And the complete article will be summarized in a critical manner giving my views on necessary points using the research findings and my own experiences on the subject matter. The Main Argument of the Article This article mainly discusses the importance of 10 traits that have been identified by the author, which can be used to categorize dynamics of groups. According to the author these traits can be used to identify any areas that groups need to improve and areas that they are good at. The author argues that by doing so groups or teams will be able to work together more effectively and increase their performance levels. When analysing the article it can be seen that the author has successfully explained her argument more clearly with providing examples and covering many supplementary topics which are required to further clarify and make it easy to understand the main argument for the audience. Helene Uhlfelder has covered many technological terms like Group Dynamics, Group Process, and has defined the difference between Group and Team before explaining about the 10 critical traits. Although the article has explained group dynamics and group process before explaining what is group and team, as I believe in order the article to be more logical the author could have explained terms like Group and Team first. If the author has assumed that the readers having the knowledge about those terms then she could not have covered them later. Anyhow to begin with explaining the term group and team would be appropriate. Group and Team The term group is defined in the article as situations where two or more people coming together in order to achieve a common purpose. Further it is mentioned that in a group people should interact each other, depend on each other and they should have a task to realize. According to the article the team also a group, that is in a work environment. The author has mentioned various characteristics that are possessed by teams. It is and intact social system with boundaries. Therefore who is in the team and outside the team can be clearly identifiable. There is interdependency among members. Members are collectively responsible for the tasks to be performed. Operates in an organisational context and therefore members have relationship with other members of the organisation. It is obvious that the author has comprehensively explained the terms group and team using various sources and in different contexts like systems terms. But she has overlooked the theory of group formation, which could have added great value addition to the article. As the author has mentioned various stages during some parts of the article, it would be a necessary part to be explained. Group Formation According to (Luthans, 2008) there are five stages that are generally recognized as stages of group formation. Forming this stage is characterized by uncertainty and confusion. Members are testing the appropriate behaviour for the team. Storming in this stage leadership will be determined. Intragroup conflicts are common. Norming Members settle down into conformity and cooperation. Performing The group will perform the task that they were grouped. Adjourning After the task is completed group will disband. Group Dynamics and Process According to the author either positive or negative, group dynamics exists in every group and hence teams. Although authors definition about group dynamics and processes a bit confusing at the end of that particular section she has given a simple explanation to identify those terms distinctly. According to that group processes are simply referred to as specific processes used by group members and leaders whereas group dynamic is defined as forces and dynamics of the group as a whole. It is found in literature research that the term Group Dynamic has been defined in many different ways. According to (Forsyth, 2010) it was first defined by Kurt Lewin, as the processes of the ways groups and individuals act and react to changing circumstances. According (Luthans, 2008) another view on group dynamic identifies it from the viewpoint of the internal nature of groups like how they are formed, structure and processes, how groups function and affect its members After explaining basic definitions and concepts the author moves her discussion into the main content of this article, the 10 critical traits. Ten Critical Traits According to the author, using 10 critical traits approach it is possible to characterize group dynamics and identify issues that are faced by groups. Those 10 critical traits include, safety, inclusion, free-interaction, appropriate level of interdependence, cohesiveness, trust, conflict resolution, influence, accomplishment, and growth. Helen Uhlfelder has explained them comprehensively using examples to make them easy to understand by the readers. Safety according to this trait team members need to feel safe within their teams and members of the team should be safe from any disruptive behaviour of other team members. Inclusion all members should be allowed to participate with equal opportunities. Everyone should be taken as members of the group and efforts should be taken in order to include new and quiet members. Free interaction there should not be any restrictions on which members interact with which members and every member should be allowed to interact with others. According to the author teams can become less effective when only few members are allowed to interact with the leader. Appropriate level of interdependence there should be an appropriate balance between individual needs and group needs. It is mentioned there the important of sense of belonging and affiliation that comes from being interdependence as well as maintaining individual identity. Cohesiveness members should feel as they are a part of a team. Without the attraction of cohesiveness a group can fall apart. Therefore it is very important that members having a bond or affiliation among them. Trust team members should trust each other and they should trust the leader. There should be consistency between what they say and do. Conflict resolution as any team could face conflicts at any stage there should be a way to resolve those conflicts in order to continue the team work. Influence there should be ability for team members to influence other members. They should be able to motivate each other. If there is no method to influence members through usage of reward and punishment productivity could be minimized. As the author has mentioned it is very important to make sure that influence will not be confused as control because controlling can lead to group problems. Accomplishment team should be able to complete its tasks. They should possess skills, knowledge to do their tasks. If they cannot perform their duties frustration would lead to conflict. Growth As in any situations group members should have opportunities to grow. Also as a team they should be able to learn and growth. Otherwise boredom can result in failure in the group. When looking at those traits it is obvious that those traits in nature would help teams to achieve its goals by eliminating group issues. But one weakness of this finding is that the author has not ranked the order of importance of these traits. Perhaps one could argue that these all could be equally important. But according to my point of view some traits are certainly superior or more important than others. For example cohesiveness, conflict resolution, etc. could be more important than growth or influence, because first, the group must work together and achieve their goals. Other things like growth, etc. comes next to that. However it can be clearly said that these 10 traits would (although few traits could be more important than others) help groups or teams to achieve their goals and improve performances. Benefits of 10 Critical Traits According to the author these 10 traits can help teams or groups in great ways by helping them to identify weaknesses and strength of their group dynamics. Therefore she suggests that organisations can use a form that includes those 10 critical traits in order to evaluate teams. According to the article teams can be assessed in 5 scores continuum. Also it is important to assess teams on regular basis in order to keep and improve their performance levels. As the author explains, this evaluation can be done by any person who is not in the team, given that he has required evaluation skills. Further it is noted there that this tool can be used to evaluate a team in any development stage and find out their dynamics and processes in order to improve them. There are several steps that need to be taken after evaluation is done, The assessor should meet team members and provide reason for the score that they have got for each criterion. Appropriate actions should be taken for traits that are scored below 3. Action plans can be implemented to resolve issues. Team should celebrate scores over 3 and reinforce them in order to retain and improve performance. Last step is to follow this procedure regularly again and again after agreed time period. As I understand this is the most important part of this article, because this can be really used by any team in real world to improve their performances. Instructions are clearly given using examples. Therefore nobody would find any difficulties in implementing this. Ultimately through this procedure teams will be able to improve group dynamics and group processes and will be able to build powerful teams and improve their performance level. But there are some drawbacks in this method itself as it has not addressed all issues that could affect the performance of groups or teams. Shortcomings of the 10 Traits Method When analysing the article in depth it is clear that the author has failed to identify some of the important aspects of group and team management that are identified by other researchers and authors. Those aspects could directly affect the outcome of the group in terms of performance and effectiveness. For an example phenomenon like groupthink and groupshift that could hinder the ability of the group to come into quality decisions by evaluating alternatives objectively. According to (Robbins, Millett, Waters-Marsh, 2004) groupthink is related to the group norms. It describes that with the pressure from group to conformity group may eliminate unusual, minority or unpopular views from evaluating when making decision. Groupshift is a situation where when group arriving at a decision they could go for more risky decision as members initial positions are exaggerated toward more extreme positions. Further (Robbins, Millett, Waters-Marsh, 2004) has identified many factors that could affect group performances than the group dynamics that have been identified by the author of the article through her 10 critical traits. Size of the group, availability of resources for a group to perform, effects of social loafing, etc. could affect the outcome of groups greatly. From the shortcomings mentioned earlier it is clear that the phenomenon of groupthink could clearly contradict with cohesiveness trait that she has mentioned in the article. She has mentioned that cohesiveness as an important dynamic in performance. Without cohesiveness a group can fall apart. But she has failed to mention the limit of cohesiveness because as mentioned earlier, extreme cohesiveness can cause groupthink and ultimately affect the effective decision making in the group. Conclusion Putting some people together and expecting them to work effectively as a group would rarely work. Therefore understanding the term Group Dynamics and effectively manage them in groups is important. The author of the article has mainly discussed the importance of her 10 traits method in categorizing group dynamics in order to identify and manage any areas that a group/team need to improve or they are good at. The author argues that by doing so groups or teams will be able to work together more effectively and increase their performance levels. The article has organized its arguments in a logical manner and has introduced many theories and concepts that need to understand the main argument of the article. Apart from few adjustments that I suggested in the analysis part of this assignment, it can be concluded that the author has succeeded in those aspects. Further the article has written in simple English that is a good point because readers will be able to understand the content of this article easily. In addition to that the author has provided lot of examples to make readers understand complex theories and concepts more clearly. When critically evaluating the article, it is found that those 10 critical traits are actually important and very practical in evaluating and managing group performances except for few drawbacks that were discussed in the body of this assignment. Those drawbacks include the failure to mention some of the important aspects that could affect the performance of groups, like groupthink, the size of the group, effects of social loafing, etc. Finally it can be concluded that if any organisation follows the method that the author has suggested to evaluate group/team dynamics and manage them with taking care of the additional points that I have mentioned earlier, organisations will be able to increase performance and effectiveness of their groups/teams.

Discussion of Bradleys The Principles of Logic :: Bradley Principles Logic Essays

Discussion of Bradley's The Principles of Logic If I make the claim, â€Å"A wolf is a mammal,† I do not assert anything about my idea of a wolf, but rather something general about this real class of beasts. For Bradley, to admit this is to admit that ideas are general terms that refer to an independent reality. But notice that if, faced with one of these actual canines, I then say â€Å"Here is a wolf†, each term of this singular judgment is itself general and cannot possibly hope to capture in its particularity and wealth of detail the animal in question. If ideas are always general, then how can they relate to the real that presents itself as a unique event with determinate sensible content? They could just as easily be describing any wolf and any â€Å"here† without an adequate fit or representation of sensory experience. These are Bradley’s concerns in The Principles of Logic (PL)1, and since his proposed solutions to these problems were intended as a refutation of Hume’s empiricist psycholo gy and Mill’s doctrine of inference, and since they shaped if not antedated many of Russell’s achievements in logical theory, they call for careful attention.2 I must note, however, that Bradley is particularly frustrating insofar as he eschews any sustained metaphysical investigations, claiming that metaphysics is a matter separate from his logical concerns. Just at the point that one would demand a more determinate account, he remarks that to really consider such questions would involve him in metaphysics, which is not his present objective. However, as I hope to show, his entire theory of judgment rests on a clearly metaphysical consideration of the nature of time and space and, in fact, commits him to rather bizarre claims about the nature and function of singular judgments and indexicals. The notion that objects of experience are themselves symbolic will allow Bradley to unite his metaphysic with his theory of intentionality and eventually fund those features of his account that are particularly relevant to our purposes: viz., his anti-psychologism, from which naturally follows his attack on the impoverished apophantic paradigm in logi c, his insistence on a distinction between logical and grammatical form, and his claim that all judgments, properly understood, are hypothetical judgments. I. Reference We must first gain an appreciation for how pervasive the notion of reference is in Bradley’s account. In this section I will first characterize the

Death of a Salesman and Empire Falls Essay

Death of a Salesman and Empire Falls Death of a Salesman s actually a very different story from Empire Falls. Although they are very different they do have some similarities. If it werent for the novel, How to Read Literature Like a Protessor, I probably wouldnt have seen these similarities. The novels, Death of a salesman and Empire Falls have many differences but the few similarities come from literary elements that they have in common. In the novel Death of a salesman, the story Is based on a man named Willy that tarts acting really weird when his son, 3ff, comes home from Texas, He starts acting weird when Biff comes around because he has a horrible memory of him. In this novel, there are a few literary elements that are different. This novel has a lot of symbols. WIIIys car symbolizes worry because every time Willy got In the car he had something go wrong. When he drove, the family was always worried. Lastly, the family had communion when they all came together at the end ot the book and finally hashed out what needed to be hashed out for a long time The family finally iscussed what was really going on between Willy and Biff. In the novel, Empire Falls, the story Is based on a guy named Mlles Roby who Is living In a town called Empire Falls. He has worked at a restaurant called Empire Grill and is now manager. He is dealing with problems such as the restaurant his ex-wife, and his daughter. In this novel Empire Grill symbolized failure because it barely made enough of a profit for the workers to get by, especially Mlles_ when Tick and Wles went away for a little while, they went to the beach. Tick liked to paint and o art while watching the ocean. The geography ot this beach symbolized tranquility and hope for Tick. It symbolized that Tick would be able to overcome this tragedy. The two novels actually have some literary similarities. For example, both novels used weather as symbols. In Death of a salesman It rained when WIIly was going to work to talk to his boss. The rain symbolized Willys mood which was hurt, troubled, and stress. Willys boss noticed how frantic and weird he was acting. The boss thought Willy needed to take a break with his lob and tocus on himself. In Empire Falls there was a big flood at the encl The flood symbolized a new beginning. After the flood, the city had to be rebuilt. It was a new beginning for everyone. Another example that the novels have in common is that they both have characters that are blind to something. In Death of a salesman, Wlllys wife, Linda, was blind to see that Willy was acting up when Biff was around because he was guilty of something. He was guilty of cheating but Linda was blind to see that. In Empire Falls, Tick was blind to see that John was going to do something very crazy. John took a gun to school and hot some of the classmates that were bullying hiru He even tried to shoot Tick but the mayor of Empire Falls stepped in front of her, saving her life. Both novels involve sex indirectly. In Death ot a Salesman, Willy has an affair with another woman while last example would be that both novels both showed examples of violence. In Death of a Salesman, Willy took the car out late one night and crashed. The crash happened to show the family how much Willy was effected by his son’s presence. In Empire Falls, Ticks classmate John took a gun to school and shot three people. This event shows John’s peers how much he was affected by the bullying. The novels really are similar and this would explain why they were paired together. Even though Death of a Salesman and Empire Falls are very different stories, they actually have quite a few similarities that most people wouldn’t have caught on their own. Without learning about literary elements from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I probably would not have seen the similarities between the novels. They are very different stories and have completely different story lines.

Political and Economic System Essay

Spain’s political system is parliamentary monarchy. Spain has many different political and economic issues that can impact the society. Most of these issues can be deal by the government. Sometimes other countries can be compare and contract its political and economic issues to other countries. Political System Spain’s government is parliamentary monarchy. The most important task of the constitution was to devolve power to the regions, which were given their own governments, regional assemblies and supreme legal authorities. The central government retains exclusive responsibility for foreign affairs, external trade, defense, justice, law (criminal, commercial and labour), merchant shipping and civil aviation. Spain has been a member of the United Nations (UN) since 1955, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1982 and the European Union (EU) since 1986, and is also a permanent observer member of the Organization of American States (OAS). Spain has three branches of government which includes the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The Senate has 259 members, directly elected by a first-past-the-post system. Each province provides four members plus additional members in the Balearic and Canary islands, where extra members represent the various islands, making a total of 208 members. The 17 autonomous regions also elect one senator each and an additional member for every million inhabitants, totaling a further 51 members. The Senate has the power to amend or veto legislation initiated by Congress. Under Spanish law, the official result of a general election is made public five days after the vote, in order to allow sufficient time for recounts and disputed results. After the members have been sworn in, the King of Spain meets with the party leaders and asks one of them to form a government, which must then be ratified by parliament. The leader of the party of government becomes the president of Spain and has his official residence in the Moncloa Palace in Madrid. The role of citizens in Spain is that they have to be born of a Spanish mother or father. A person born in Spain of foreign parents if neither of them has Spanish nationality or if neither of the parents’ legislations confer a nationality to their children. Spain has many political issues. One political issue is during the last few years has been corruption among public officials, including illegal financing of political parties, tax avoidance, fraud, bribery, trying to keep a place or someone in the residential institution, nepotism, misappropriation of public funds, illegal patronage, influence-peddling and kickbacks. Spain has been described (in the Spanish press) as the most corrupt society among the original 15 members of the EU and corruption permeates political and public life at every level. This problem is affecting the Marbella council on a massive scale, involving tens of millions of euros pocketed by council officials. Economic System Spain’s economy is a well-based way to equally spread money to all of the people. Some of Spain’s natural resources include coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin; hydroelectric power. Spain’s currency is the European Union euro. Spain’s imports include machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semi-finished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments. In 2011, the amount of money that Spain received for imports was $364. 9 billion. Some of Spain’s exports include machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods. In 2011, the amount of money that Spain received for exports was $309. 6 billion. The gross domestic per capita is thirty three thousand six hundred euros a year. In labor force 2. 4 percent goes to agriculture, 24 percent to industry, and 71. 1 percent to services. Spain came out in the number one position because it is a sunny country, because its citizens enjoy shorter working hours and more days holiday, because energy and lifestyle costs are lower, because the government invests into education and healthcare, because the average age at which people die is higher than in most of Europe and because overall, living in Spain ensures you have a better quality of life. Spain has many economic issues. One economic issue is that the Spanish banks’ high exposure to the collapsed domestic construction and real estate market also poses a continued risk for the sector. The government oversaw a restructuring of the savings bank sector in 2010, and provided some $15 billion in capital to various institutions. Investors remain concerned that Madrid may need to bail out more troubled banks. The Bank of Spain, however, is seeking to boost confidence in the financial sector by pressuring banks to come clean about their losses and consolidate into stronger groups. Puerto Rico doesn’t have political and economic issues similar to Spain. One reason Puerto Rico political issue is not similar to Spain because Puerto Ricans do not have representation in the U. S. Senate and no voting representation in Congress. Instead, the 4 million U. S. Citizens of Puerto Rico only have one â€Å"Resident Commissioner† who cannot even vote on the House floor. Therefore, Puerto Ricans have no say in the making of the laws and statutes that apply to them. Even though the U. S. Supreme Court has absolute jurisdiction over Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans do not have representation in the U. S. Senate to cast an up or down vote on Supreme Court nominees. In the end, Puerto Rico is governed by a Congress in which they are not allowed to participate in, an Executive whom they did not elect, and a Judiciary whose justices they did not confirm. The 4 million U. S. Citizens of Puerto Rico are not allowed to fully participate in the democratic process of their nation. One reason Puerto Rico economic issue is not similar to Spain because recently in Puerto Rico the economy has suffered budget cuts from U. S. The Puerto Rican economy has depended heavily on the tax incentives given to U. S. mainland companies and on federal transfers. Conclusion There were many different things that I learned about Spain’s Political and Economic Systems. One thing that I found interesting was that Spain has the ninth largest economy in the world. Another thing that I found interesting was that Spain was originally a constitutional monarchy but over time became a parliamentary monarchy.