Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Misleading Perfume and Cologne Advertising Essay -- Advertising Market

Deceiving Perfume and Cologne Advertising You plunk down to watch one of your preferred TV gives one night and you see it, one of those aroma plugs. On the screen you see a delightful lady strolling up a stairwell in an exquisite dress with jewels swinging from her ears and neck. Her face is an image of flawlessness, with a slight trace of a wonderful grin. Entering on the left of the screen is a man in a dark tuxedo he; folds his arms over her and kisses her enthusiastically on the lips. The two of them take a gander at the screen and grin. On the base of the screen is a little container set apart with a name of a conspicuous scent organization. Presently returning into reality from the hypnotizing business, consider what influence this aroma needs to the majority of the regular customers of this item. A customer may wear the scent while at a dance club so as to draw in some consideration from individuals from the other gender. Anyway depending on just the aroma to make them appealing to others may not accomplish the ideal impact. Despite the fact that smell can be an extremely incredible sense, it doesn't influence allure as much as we might want to think. Actually promoters normally burn through a huge number of dollars all together for these advertisements to make perfect pictures for the fragrance or cologne’s impact. Most cologne or aroma advertisements are misdirecting on the grounds that they attempt to depict a picture that their fragrance, and their fragrance alone, will make impacts that are regularly ridiculous. Some basic ploys cologne and fragrance company’s use are: that their item will cause one to feel great about themselves, make one look dazzling and make one alluring to individuals from the other gender. Take for instance the promotions for Ax body splash, in whic... .... These plugs regularly depict ridiculous circumstances and responses, which may deceive the buyer into accepting the item will have an effect past the feeling of smell. The most dreadful smelling fragrances could be the top selling cologne or scent whenever promoted in a manner to grab the eye of the crowd. An ongoing cologne promotion did a lot of ads using this announcement, â€Å"scent is perhaps the most grounded bind to memory how would you like to be remembered?† This sentence is proof that the publicists are attempting to make you imagine that on the off chance that you purchase their item you will be recollected whenever that somebody smells anything like that item. Most aroma and cologne advertisements depend on misleading statements As far as looking for aromas I would propose that you go with a fragrance that you yourself appreciate and don’t depend on others to implement your conclusion with bogus promoting.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Review of Timeline by Michael Crichton

Survey of Timeline by Michael Crichton The motivation behind history is to clarify the presentto state why our general surroundings is how it is. History mentions to us what is significant in our reality, and how it became. Michael Crichton, Timeline Sick let it be known front and center: I dont like recorded fiction much. At the point when creators are messy in their examination, I discover the errors sufficiently diverting to demolish what may somehow or another be a decent story. However, in any event, when the portrayal of the past is generally true (and to be reasonable, there are some remarkable creators who truly know their stuff), fictionalization leaves a mark on the world substantially less pleasant for me. Nothing more needs to be said. Im a miserable history buff. Consistently I spend perusing fiction is brief Id rather spend learning recorded truth. Heres another admission: Im not a major fanatic of Michael Crichton. I do discover great sci-fi entrancing (a sort that pushes the edges of imagine a scenario in which is as psyche extending for me as an insightful control that asks what truly occurred. Also, Crichton isnt a terrible essayist, yet none of his works has ever constructed me sit up and state, Wow! While his thoughts can be interesting, they all appear to improve a lot of motion pictures. Regardless of whether this is on the grounds that his style comes up short on the instantaneousness of film or in light of the fact that I need to invest less energy furrowing my way through the story I still can't seem to choose. In this way, as you can well envision, I was inclined to disdain Crichtons semi-verifiable novel Timeline. The Up Side of Timeline Shock! I enjoyed it. The reason was engaging, the activity was holding, and the closure was significantly fulfilling. A portion of the cliffhangers and segues were pleasantly executed. While there wasnt a solitary character I could relate to or even like without a doubt, I was satisfied to see some character improvement because of the adventure. The heroes developed progressively agreeable; the trouble makers were downright terrible. The best part is that the medieval setting was for the most part precise, and very much acknowledged for sure. This by itself makes the book an advantageous read, particularly for the individuals who are new or just fairly acquainted with the Middle Ages. (Sadly, this is a fairly enormous level of the populace.) Crichton successfully face up some basic misinterpretations about medieval life, giving the peruser a distinctive picture that is on occasion considerably more appealing, and at different occasions significantly more startling and repellent, than that by and large introduced to us in well known fiction and film. Obviously there were mistakes; I cannot envision a blunder free verifiable novel. (Fourteenth-century individuals bigger than current society? Not likely, and we know this from the skeletal remains, not enduring protective layer.) But generally, Crichton truly figured out how to bring the Middle Ages alive. The Down Side of Timeline I had a few issues with the book. Crichtons normal method of extending the front line innovation of today into a reasonable sci-fi premise missed the mark. He burned through a lot of energy attempting to persuade the peruser that time travel could be conceivable, at that point utilized a hypothesis that struck me as inside conflicting. Despite the fact that there might be a clarification for this obvious imperfection, it was never tended to unmistakably in the book. I recommend you evade a nearby assessment of the innovation and acknowledge it as a provided so as to appreciate the story more. Besides, the characters who were astounded by the real factors of the past were individuals who ought to have known better. The overall population may think the Middle Ages were consistently smudged and dull; yet experiencing instances of good cleanliness, awesome inside style or quick swordplay shouldnt shock a medievalist. This makes the characters not awesome at their occupations or, more terrible, it presents the mistaken impression that history specialists dont waste time with the subtleties of material culture. As a novice medievalist, I discover this fairly irritating. Im sure expert students of history would be out and out offended. All things considered, these are parts of the book that are not entirely obvious once the activity is really in progress. So prepare for an energizing ride into history. Update Since this audit was written in March of 2000, Timeline was made into a full length, showy discharge film, coordinated by Richard Donner and featuring Paul Walker, Frances OConnor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly and David Thewlis. It is presently accessible on DVD. Ive seen it, and its fun, however it hasnt broken into my rundown of Top 10 Fun Medieval Films. Michael Crichtons now-great novel is accessible inâ paperback, inâ hardcover, onâ audio CD and in a Kindle editionâ from Amazon. These connections areâ provided as a comfort to you; neither Melissa Snell nor About is answerable for any buys you make through these connections.

Monday, August 17, 2020

An Explanation of Admission Decisions

An Explanation of Admission Decisions It’s finally here: the day you have been holding your breath for, decision day. We are thankful for all of the applications we have received, and we are beyond excited to release our decisions. With all of the excitement, we want each of you to understand all of the decisions you could possibly face. We want to help you prepare for decision day and be more confident in your next steps. So let’s get to it! Admitted Congrats, you are an ILLINI! This decision may seem like the most self-explanatory one. Certainly, it is a time to celebrate. But after you scream, jump up and down, and then catch your breath, make sure you continue to read through your admitted status. As you may already know, students can be admitted to their first-choice major, second-choice major, or an alternate major. So you should check to see which major you were admitted to. If you weren’t admitted to your first-choice major, you have been placed on the wait list for that major. Your Admitted Student Checklist, which can be found in myIllini, is a great resource for finding out the next steps on your journey to joining the Illini family. Also, check out our admitted student FAQto receive answers to any questions you may have. Students wanting to change their major should call our office for more information on the process. Denied While this decision may be disappointing, it is important to know that we received thousands of applications, and while we would love to make everyone an Illini, it was a very competitive process. Be sure to check out our denied FAQ for more information. We also encourage you to look into the opportunity of transferring into Illinois after completing 30 transferable credits at another institution. Feel free to contact our office if you have any questions about transferring. Deferred Early action applicants may receive a deferred decision. Being deferred can occur if you have applied to a competitive major or college. This means that we need more time to review your application. We will review the strength of your application with our entire applicant pool. Because we will receive all of our applications by January, you will receive a final decision on March 1. We will not accept any additional documents while you are waiting for your decision. Wait Listed Regular decision applicants may be placed on our wait list. Being wait listed may seem like another self-explanatory decision, but there are two types of wait-list decisions. If your decision says “Offered Wait List,” this means that we have placed you on the wait list for your first-choice major. If your decision says “Offered Campus Wait List,” this means that we have placed you on the wait list for your second-choice major, the Division of General Studies, or any alternate majors that may fit the academic interests demonstrated within your application. You are probably thinking, “How competitive is this wait list?” Well, to answer your question, we do not rank our wait list. Students are selected off the wait list based on various factors. We select students that fit the remaining needs of our incoming class after conducting a holistic review. I know this was a lot to take in, and I hope it brings clarity for what to expect. Now, let’s get excited for decision day! Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns, or you can comment below. Ebony Regional Representative, Undergraduate Admissions I live in Atlanta, Georgia and recruit students from both Georgia and my home state of Florida. I earned my BS from Florida State University and am currently working on my MBA at Nova Southeastern University.

Sunday, May 24, 2020

Essay on Nurses Promoting Mental Health - 1102 Words

Promoting Mental Health Introduction The World Health Organization defines health as â€Å"a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity† and that the â€Å"enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.† (World Health Organization. 2006) As nurses, health and health promotion are fundamental to the job. Nurses have a responsibility to participate in the advancement of health promotion by teaching acutely ill patients how to manage illness and teaching healthy people how to remain healthy. Nurses must have an evidence-based†¦show more content†¦Many of the major health problems today are lifestyle related and many of these ailments can be prevented or minimized by the choice of positive health habits. These lifestyle choices relate to physical activity, nutrition, weight and stress manage ment, smoking cessation and cancer screening, as well as chronic disease management for those living with conditions like arthritis, diabetes, or high blood pressure. Increasingly, a nurse’s role is moving past secondary prevention and towards primary prevention and health promotion. While the importance of prevention of illness cannot be minimized, the initiative to approach wellness holistically is growing. The United States Government is taking steps to help the American public move away from lifestyles solely motivated by health protecting behaviors. Their goal is outlined in the Healthy People 2010 initiative as â€Å"developing and implementing policies and preventive interventions that effectively address [individual behaviors and environmental factors to] reduce the burden of illness, enhance quality of life, and increase longevity† (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). According to Pender, Murdaugh, and Parsons, health protecting behaviors are those behaviors that one engages in to â€Å"actively avoidShow MoreRelatedClinical Nursing1157 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Clinical Theory Introduction Nurses utilize multiple theories daily to care for patients and their families, though these theories range from grand, to situation-specific, to mid-range the nurse tends to focuses on which theory will provide the best care to his/her patient. Perhaps in my opinion mid-range theories with their growing frequency of use are best suited for nursing in the 21st century. Mid-range theories are said to be middle rather than ordinary but they are specificRead More Alcohol Misuse1603 Words   |  7 PagesOne main public health issue that the writer will focus on is alcohol misuse. Alcohol is one of the popular and legally available drugs. Alcohol misuse is using alcohol in such a way that it causes harm to user and to those close to him/her - physically, psychologically and socially. The writer will explore the impact of alcohol on the individual and the community and policy on alcohol, whiles critically evaluating the role of the nurse and the effectiveness of the policy. First, it is importantRead MoreThe Role Of The Nurse As Leading Health Promotion Within A Psychiatric Setting1610 Words   |  7 Pagesto evaluate the role of the nurse in leading health promotion, with reference to The World Health Organisation’s â€Å"Health for All by the Year 2000† movement (WHO 1986a). I will also explore more recent strategies and initiatives such as The Quality Strategy (2010a) and The 2020 Vision (2011a) which underpin the significance of health promotion in present-day nursing practice. I have chosen to look specifically at the role of the nurse in promoting good physical health within a psychiatric settingRead MoreFamily Values1020 Words   |  5 Pagesconsensus is that all definitions have as core concepts the notion of providing nursing care to families and family members (Braun amp; Foster, 2011). Nurses have realized what an important role that families can play in promoting positive health outcomes by getting them involved in patient c are. With that said families are seen in the context as how the nurse sees them and works with them. There are several definitions and concepts of family and they are believed to contribute to education, research andRead MoreAssignment : Personal And Professional Development Essay1498 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 1- Personal and Professional Development Current knowledge My current knowledge includes contemporary health care issues a few of these are- Fluoride in primary school- this is a local issue where fluoride is being put into primary school children’s milk, this is being introduced in the hope that it reduces tooth decay in young children. It is shown that 41% of 5 years in Blackpool have tooth decay; some parents are worried of the long term effects of drinking fluoride. Although this schemeRead MoreProfessional Organizations Were Created To Assist In The1376 Words   |  6 Pages2014). For example, nurses use organizations to improve health and working conditions that result in changing the way health is delivered to a population (Black, 2014). These organizations allow individuals to express their opinions on current issues, enhance their knowledge of the profession, and facilitate relationships with other individuals that share the same interest and concerns. To get a better understanding of these groups, I explored the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) websiteRead MoreMy Personal Philosophy Of Nu rsing1053 Words   |  5 Pagesthe way which professionals carry out their day to day activities for maximum success. Consequently, Nursing and Nurses are not immune to the great influence of values and philosophies, be it at personal or corporate levels. This is because, nursing as a profession deals with the constant interaction with patients; therapeutically providing quality, cost-effective care, promoting health and wellness, they are constantly guided and influenced by their personal and nursing philosophies in the deliveryRead MoreHealth Promotion And Disease Prevention1239 Words   |  5 Pagesbe anything wrong with living that way, the US Department of Health and Human Services (Healthy People 2020, 2010) set out to create a program to promote health across all stages of life. That is where Healthy People 2020 comes in. Healthy People 2020 is an approach with a set purpose, a list of multi sector priorities, and a program which affects nursing practice/patient care (Heal thy People 2020, 2010). The US Department of Health and Human Services developed the â€Å"Healthy People† program overRead MoreLearning Mental Health During Undergraduate Education1657 Words   |  7 PagesLearning mental health during undergraduate education can be challenging as it is a broad and complex sector of health care. Like complicated physical illnesses, there are also various problems, frameworks, and theories associated with a person’s mental aspect which can be hard to learn and explain if without further studies or exposures (Simon, 2014). Therefore, utilising other types of learning such as the continuing professional development (CPD) online or face-to-face activities are importantRead MoreMy Nursing Philosophy1264 Words   |  6 Pageseducation, the values and beliefs that I have associated with a diverse patient population, health, the environment, and the role of the professional nurse will progress with me. The central concepts and themes that define the art of nursing are described and formalized as the nursing metaparadigm. Nursing’s main metaparadigm concepts include: (1) the person (the patient), (2) the environment, (3) health, and (4) nursing, and they are usually mentioned in all nursing theories (Taylor et al., 2015)

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Salinger s The Gifts Of Imperfection - 1142 Words

Brenà © Brown, esteemed author of The Gifts of Imperfection, has previously expressed, â€Å"Authenticity is the choice to let our true selves be seen.† In other words, Brown depicts how the desire of conveying how one feels determines their authenticity, or â€Å"true self†. In J.D. Salinger’s fiction novel Catcher in the Rye, Salinger illustrates the double-edged effects of Holden’s beliefs on authenticity by his usage of the word, â€Å"phony†. The novel is narrated by a young adolescent named Holden Caulfield who becomes guilty of expulsion from school and embarks on a journey through New York City. There, he meets many unique people, a majority to which he assumes as phonies, immediately questioning their authenticity. His character development is depicted by utilizing the effects on Holden from the word â€Å"phony† and the interaction of phony people, or â€Å"phonies†. Throughout Catcher in the Rye, Holden’s perspectiv e on the world and adults being phonies slowly changes from the many forms of life he has been exposed to. In the beginning of the book, Holden introduces us and defines the word, â€Å"phony†. Holden appears to classify someone as a phony by how they act in public toward their peers and superiors. As Holden brings up the topic of Pencey Prep while introducing himself, he significantly mentions a girl named Selma Turner, the headmaster of Pencey Prep’s daughter. Although little is mentioned about her, he brings up what he liked about her by appraising, â€Å"She didn’t give you a lot ofShow MoreRelatedThe Search for Self in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Catcher in the Rye1982 Words   |  8 PagesMississippi river. As Huckleberry travels along it he learns lessons about life, society and most importantly; himself. Surrounded by a world of prejudice and racism, Huck is forced to learn to make decisions on his own. He is able to learn from the imperfect ions in the rest of the world as he views them. While on the river, Huck and Jim are at peace. The river symbolizes freedom for both Jim and Huck. The river is Jims path to freedom from slavery, and it is Hucks freedom from society. When Jim and Huck

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Marriage, a History Free Essays

string(183) " by women advised to have elegant meals and spotless homes and children awaiting his return from work, and the advantages of a charming wife to help him succeed in corporate America\." Coontz (2005) focused on historical changes in marriages from prehistoric to present times, mainly in terms of how institutional and social needs affected restrictions on the liberties of wives.   Although she described historical periods as characterizing marital patterns, she carefully noted that both within and between periods, history has been cyclical. For example, birth and divorce rates have fluctuated based on the changing needs of economies during different times, and conceptions of women as either sexually â€Å"pure† or â€Å"wanton† have varied over the ages. We will write a custom essay sample on Marriage, a History or any similar topic only for you Order Now    She takes issue with three â€Å"myths† she believes people hold:   that the history of women contributing to the support of their families has a fairly short history, and that both love as a reason for marrying and couples aspiring to the marital form of husband as sole â€Å"breadwinner† have long histories. Contrary to what Coontz believes many people think, from the beginning of human evolution, through the days of ancient Greece, until the 1950s, the majority of women were a part of what we now call the work force.   In prehistoric history, she, of course, noted that men were â€Å"hunters† and women were â€Å"gatherers,† since gathering could be done while caring for the young.   However, it was gathering, not hunting, that provided most of the food needed for survival, and hunters and gatherers shared within groups or â€Å"bands† (p. 38), rather than as couples.   Marriages between sons and daughters from different bands served to maintain friendly between-band relationships. The author dated the time that marriage became an institution where wives lacked power in â€Å"ancient agricultural societies† (p. 46), although â€Å"widows† would be a more accurate term than â€Å"wives.†Ã‚   Coontz was referring to the choices a woman had after the death of her husband, e.g., killing herself or marrying a relative of her dead husband.   These practices were a result of the development of economic inequalities, where wealthier families became more interested â€Å"in whom their kin married† (p. 46). Both economic theories and the fact that it is women who are able to reproduce make this interpretation convincing.   In addition, although not noted by Coontz, the fact that on average men are physically larger and stronger might explain why women were not able to resist in becoming dominated. Probably because women were the ones who gave birth, there has been a tradition of holding them accountable for failing to provide male â€Å"heirs† for their husbands.   Coontz recounted the well-known fate of Anne Boleyn in the sixteenth century (p. 133), who refused to become the mistress of Henry VIII, when his current wife Catherine failed to produce a son. Her refusal led Henry to break ties with the pope who refused to grant him a divorce, so he could marry Anne – but he had her executed when she too failed to produce a son.   People still speak of wives â€Å"giving† their husbands sons, when anyone who has taken high-school biology knows that women have nothing to do with a child’s genetic sex – i.e., since only men have a Y chromosome, women always provide one of their two X chromosomes and the genetic sex of a child depends upon whether the father passes on his X or Y chromosome. Prior to the seventeenth century, although married women and men might come to love each other after marriage, love was not considered necessary or even desirable in a marriage.   Indeed, early Christianity discouraged close marital or other family ties because one’s first loyalty was supposed to be to God (pp. 87-88).   In medieval Europe, marriages within family aristocracies were encouraged, and despite the selectively enforced rules of the Catholic Church, incest was not uncommon. The overwhelming majority of people were not among the aristocracy, but marriages among tradespersons also were arranged for economic purposes, and the marriages of peasants generally were arranged by their masters. In the seventeenth century, marriage based on the personal choices of those being married was sanctioned.   But it wasn’t until the eighteenth century â€Å"in Western Europe and North America†¦ [that] marriage for love†¦[became] a cultural ideal† (p. 7), until the nineteenth century that marriage in the form of husband as â€Å"breadwinner† with a wife at home emerged, and it wasn’t until the 1950s that the economy in America permitted the majority of marriages to assume this form. It is easy to assume, as Coontz does, that those who marry for love have been happier than those in arranged marriages or those marrying for other reasons.   Interestingly, there seems to be no evidence that social scientists have ever tested this assumption.   We don’t really know, for example, whether women who marry for love wind up any more or less happy than women in arranged marriages, such as Golde, in Fiddler on the Roof (Stein, 1971), who ends her description of years of caring for her husband’s needs, by asking, â€Å"If that’s not love, what is?† Actually, the difference between a sexual relationship between a couple who love each other and a couple who are â€Å"in love† is not clear, and may, in fact, be a quantitative variable, rather than the qualitative one people assume.   Montagu (1999), considered a major anthropologist of the last century, wrote, â€Å"Marriages between persons of character who can be friends tend to last and grow in reward and happiness† and ultimately result in love, as opposed to marriages resulting from â€Å"that frenzy miscalled ‘love’† (p. 105). In fact, most of us know some very happily married couples who met because they were able to afford the expensive services of businesses that have replaced the â€Å"matchmakers† of days past.   In fact, based on observation, â€Å"love† does not â€Å"conquer all,† in the sense that most marriages still are between those of similar socioeconomic status, who are of the same race, and even the same religion. As for the form of marriage where the husband is â€Å"breadwinner,† as Coontz observed, the form was a goal of both husbands and wives.   Presumably, the rewards husbands expected were status, i.e., being a man who could provide for his wife and children through his own efforts (or the efforts of wealthy ancestors), having his needs met by women advised to have elegant meals and spotless homes and children awaiting his return from work, and the advantages of a charming wife to help him succeed in corporate America. You read "Marriage, a History" in category "Essay examples"   Women too must have expected status, i.e., snaring a successful husband through her own charms (or those perceived in women with wealthy ancestors), fulfillment in being able to devote herself to raising her children, and leisure to pursue her interests. Coontz has noted that the male â€Å"breadwinner† model has worked and continues to work for some couples, but not for most.   Men were less vocal, probably because it’s harder, or perceived as less noble, to express discontent for having sole responsibility than to express discontent about not being able to assume responsibilities.   While Coontz devoted only half a page (p. 251) to male discontent, and does so in the context of rebelling against social expectations and wanting to enjoy the sexual pleasures Hugh Heffner was promoting, men were expressing the realities of the world of work they knew, as opposed to women expressing a desire to join a world they didn’t yet know. When you think of work, as others have done, in terms of what you actually do, as opposed to how much you’re paid to do it, how much work is there that’s inherently interesting or rewarding to those doing it, how much is even a pleasant way to pass the time, and how much is so meaningless and mind-numbing that those doing it are â€Å"leading lives of quiet desperation† (Thoreau, 1854/1995)?     Ã‚  It would be interesting to read about work and marital relationships written in the year 2050. Coontz views the rejection of the 1950s predominant model of marriage in the context of dissatisfaction with this model.   She describes The Feminine Mystique (Friedan, 1063/2001) as a wake-up call to women that was an important force in introducing the changes over the next thirty years that have made diverse forms of relationships acceptable. Friedan’s book was, in fact, a wake-up call to white middle-class women, but the rejection of the 1950s model of marriage probably should be seen as part of the larger historical context, i.e., rejection of a decade of fear of nonconformity after people witnessed lives were destroyed as a result of seeing communists under all of our beds who were out to paint America â€Å"red.†Ã‚   The 1950s dictated not only marital arrangements but all facets of our lives.   While still oversimplified, perhaps the wake-up call that eventually resonated with many Americans was the question finally put to Joe McCarthy:   â€Å"Have you no shame, sir?† (Welch, 1954, cited in Kiely, 2005). Surprises It should surprise no-one that wives have had a long history in the work force.   If nothing else, we do know that â€Å"ladies† had maids and some of the ladies’ maids must have had husbands. We know too that some have considered prostitution the â€Å"oldest profession† and, despite the obstacles, there were at least some women who were able to become poets or scientists.   However, I had never thought about the large number of women, married and single, who would have had needed to work because the overwhelming majority of people were and in some countries still are poor. While we all know that arranged marriages were not unusual in the past, I was surprised to learn that for most of human history virtually all marriages were arranged and love was not even considered a reason for marrying.   I guess my surprise is a result of our culture being saturated by stories of love.   If love is not the theme of a movie, it’s hard to think of any movie that doesn’t have a â€Å"love interest† as part of the plot. By the fifth grade, girls and boys claim they are â€Å"in love,† and, despite the changes in the ways Coontz believes young people think, most of the young people I know think, talk, and are more involved in both love and sex than in thinking about and working on equitable and mutually rewarding relationships.   Knowing now that loving before marrying wasn’t even considered for most of human history, I’d like to know how the concept â€Å"in love† developed and suspect it’s actually a social construction – or perhaps simply means both loving someone and wanting a permanent sexual relationship with that person. As for the history of the â€Å"man as breadwinner† form of marriage, I did assume it had always been around, but was not surprised that it was a form that, except for the fifties, most married couples were unable to adopt.   Even in the fifties, this form of marriage was affordable by only a small majority   Ã‚  As long as women are allowed to work and can find jobs that pay more than the cost of childcare, for most of the world, working is not an â€Å"option† that women or men â€Å"choose,† but what one does in order to put food on the table, pay the rent, etc. Coontz said in reference to the nineteenth century, â€Å"It is hard for us to grasp the slim margin that made the difference between survival and destitution for so many people in the past† (p. 174).   This sentence probably surprised me more than anything else in her book.   It is hard for me to grasp that anyone capable of reading a book, let alone writing one, is unable to grasp that this slim margin is true for â€Å"so many people† in the present, for many in the United States and for the majority of those living in many so-called third-world nations.   Perhaps this sentence explains why I had the sense that after descriptions of her own middle-class reality, she merely felt obliged to pay lip-service to the â€Å"unwashed masses.† Sometimes, what she failed to say was more revealing than what she did say.   For example, she failed to mention that a by-product of Friedan’s (1063/2001) call for middle-class married women to enter the work force resulted in poor, often minority, women being poorly paid (probably in cash) for caring for the children left at home or in children being left with poorly paid and poorly trained workers at understaffed daycare centers.   I also was surprised that she felt comfortable drawing conclusions without providing empirical data to support them.   For example, she says that marriage â€Å"remains the highest expression of commitment in our culture.†Ã‚   She states this as fact, rather than as I would state my belief as an â€Å"opinion that the highest expression of commitment is between mothers and their children.† Finally, her noting that marital history was cyclical made me realize that it was a mistake to consider current social conditions in general as either permanent or becoming more firmly established.   However, Coontz herself believes that we cannot turn back from changes in patterns created by the â€Å"marriage revolution.†Ã‚   Why not?   She does not even consider this question. References Coontz, S. (2005).   Marriage, a History:   From obedience to intimacy or how love  conquered marriage.   New York:   Viking. Friedan, B.   (1963/2001).   The feminine mystique.   New York:   Norton. Kiely, K.   (2005).   Supreme court.   USA Today.   Retrieved April 23, 2007. Montagu, A. (1999).   The natural superiority of women.   Walnut Creek, CA:   AltaMira Press. Stein, J. (1971, based on Aleicham, S.).   Fiddler on the roof.   Minsch-Cartier Production. Thoreau, H. D. (1854/1995).   Walden.   New York:   Houghton Mifflin. How to cite Marriage, a History, Essay examples

Monday, May 4, 2020

Risk Monitoring and Control Process - Free Samples to Students

Question: Dioscuss about the Risk Monitoring and Control Process. Answer: Introduction The approach or technique which are being adopted by the project manager to manage its three constraints of any project from getting overrun of schedule, then extra expenditure and not matching the quality standards with the available number of resources is called the risk management. Silicon Forest State University (SFSU) has many different departments, among all OIT (Office of Information Technology) looks about the Information technology systems. Currently, SFSU was facing the problem in managing the proper track of their ticketing system which is being used to communicate and keep track regarding the issues which are faced on daily basis. So they decided to scrap is old software and configure the new one which is already present in the system but in very few departments only. So for the above discussed job Ron Bashley was selected as the team leader and Harry Bonnett along with Bob Biyon shall support him. Risk Management Plan The procedure developed to handle the situation in case some risks occurs, that what need to be done whether shall accept it, divert it, share it or many more on the basis of pre studied the issue or the opportunities which can be enhanced but using the proper technique is basically the risk management plan. The details and all the steps of the plan shall be discussed with proper examples in below sections[2]. The very first step in the process is to identify the positive and negative risks and then analyze it properly by putting the numbers on the severity and the likelihood of the risk. Accordingly they are categorized and the mitigation plan is developed. Risks of any project can be identified in to two broad categories positive and negative risks[3]. So below table shows the identified risk in the current case with the originators name and date it was first identified. Risk / Opportunity Identification Number Date Logged Raised By Status Type Description and Cause 1 15/08/2017 Bob Biyon Open Opportunity There is the opportunity in the project to finish at the earliest and start using the new ticketing system, this will reduce the risk of down time 2 16/08/2017 Ron Bashley Open Risk There is risk that the communication structure during the project stage fails and no bugs tracker remains stand 3 22/08/2017 Ron Bashley Open Risk There is risk that the installed software 'Request Tracker' could not be configured properly in new areas 4 24/08/2017 Pike Gresham Open Risk There is a risk of few left out information or expectations are missed out and may come up during project execution phase 5 24/08/2017 Harry Bonnett Open Risk there is a risk from the back end of receiving some errored message from user and the action would have taken n thr basis of bug received can harm the system. Table 1: Risk Identification Risk Analysis Now on the basis of the identified risks, the likelihood and the consequence of the risk shall be documented in below format to access the severity and probability of the risks in the project life cycle. Risk / Opportunity Analysis Number Date Logged Raised By Status Type Likelihood Consequence 1 15/08/2017 Bob Biyon Open Opportunity 3 3 2 16/08/2017 Ron Bashley Open Risk 2 5 3 22/08/2017 Ron Bashley Open Risk 3 5 4 24/08/2017 Pike Gresham Open Risk 3 4 5 24/08/2017 Harry Bonnett Open Risk 4 4 Table 2: Risk Analysis The above developed analysis table can be plotted in the likelihood Vs consequence block Risk response plan This step describes the way or procedure to eliminate threat or at least reduce its impact by having the home work done well before the risk occurs[4]. To just categorize, Risk No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 falls in High severity category but the opportunity No. 1 is in Medium category. Following actions can be taken to increase the opportunity and decrease the threat: Category: High Risk No. 2: in such case personally should meet to each other to resolve the issue Risk No. 3: the project must be insured with third party to share the risk Risk No. 4: need to incorporate in the risk register and do similar analysis Risk No. 5: regular basis both the team and members must meet Category: Medium Opportunity No. 1: the opportunity need to be enhanced This stage deals with the properly monitoring of identified risks at every review meeting, search for new risks need to go on and if something identified must be again routed through the same process to add in the register and check the proper implementation of risks[5]. According to the developed risk matrix, the responses planned are the exact solution possible for the case. All the risks need to be properly monitored in every review meeting so that it remains on the head of every stakeholder so that they can act promptly Conclusion To conclude the whole report on developing the risk management plan, we need to first brainstorm and consider as much as risks which can impact the project in terms of schedule, cost or resources. After the identification are done proper analysis and then their mitigation plan and its monitoring need to be done throughout the project life cycle. References Institute of Risk Management. (2016) About Risk Management. [Online]. https://www.theirm.org/the-risk-profession/risk-management.aspx Michael Stanleigh. (2017) Risk Managementthe What, Why, and How. [Online]. https://bia.ca/risk-management-the-what-why-and-how/ The MITRE Corporation. (2017) Risk Identification. [Online]. https://www.mitre.org/publications/systems-engineering-guide/acquisition-systems-engineering/risk-management/risk-identification OneCampus. (2017) Plan Risk Responses. [Online]. https://www.greycampus.com/opencampus/project-management-professional/plan-risk-responses Wes Balakian. (2010, September) Applying the Risk Monitoring and Control Process. [Online]. https://project-management.truesolutions.com/2010/09/21/applying-the-risk-monitoring-and-control-process/

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews free essay sample

The latter, an Italian word used to describe short stories, supplied the present generic English term in the 18th century†. (Wikipedia) So, Henry Fielding was born in a period in which the novel was not fully developed, and he could be considered as a pioneer of this genre. His first major novel was â€Å"The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend, Mr. Abraham Adams†, published in 1742. The novel was a satire of the Samuel Richardson’s novel â€Å"Pamela† as a continuation of â€Å"Shamela†, a pamphlet which was a parody of â€Å"Pamela†. But the difference between â€Å"Shamela† and â€Å"Joseph Andews† lies in the parody, meanwhile â€Å"Shamela† is a parody, â€Å"Joseph Andrews† started as a parody but finally the novel turned into an independent work, the characters and plot have their own history. The following and most famous work of Henry Fielding was â€Å"The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling†, published in 1749. We will write a custom essay sample on Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In this novel, Fielding expresses a lot of things of his own life and things of the situation of England in that moment. But, on the contrary of which is thought, â€Å"Tom Jones† is not an historical novel in the sense of express a lot of things of the context of Great Britain (for example, the Jacobite Revolution in which Fielding was very interested, is only named two times in the book, which makes the reader set the novel in a context and a specific period but do not try to tell all the story of England), but in the sense of creating â€Å"histories† of its characters, Fielding was an innovator with this structure. So the novel is considered an historical novel but not in the sense in which most people understand it. Henry Fielding had a lot of works, novels and plays. But the purpose of this essay is to make a comparison between the two novels named before, â€Å"Tom Jones† and â€Å"Joseph Andrews†, focusing on their structure in which will be analyzed the characters, and the style of the two novels trying to find the similarities and the differences. 2. A COMPARISON OF THE STRUCTURE IN TOM JONES AND JOSEPH ANDREWS 3. 1. CHARACTERS Although, there are a lot of characters in both novels, this essay is going to focus on the most important characters such as Tom Jones, Sophia Western and Allworthy in â€Å"Tom Jones†, and Joseph Andrews, Fanny, and Parson Adams in â€Å"Joseph Andrews†. Tom Jones is the main character of the novel â€Å"The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling†. And Joseph Andrews is the main character of the novel â€Å"The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend, Mrs. Abraham Adams†. As main characters they have many things in common. For example, at first, it was believed that Tom Jones was the son of Jenny Jones, so he was â€Å"adopted† by Mr. Allworthy and he was treated like a boy of the lower class, but finally, he discovered that he was the son of Bridget Allworthy, and his uncle, Mr. Allworthy named him heir of all his fortune. In â€Å"Joseph Andrews† was something similar. At first, it was believed that Joseph was the son of Mr. Gaffer Andrews and Mrs. Gamer Andrews who also belonged to the lower class, but finally, Joseph Andrews discovered that he is the son of a gentleman called Mr. Wilson. But a difference between Tom and Joseph is how they deal with women. Joseph was pursued by Lady Booby and he rejected her and left her house in which he was working as a servant. He travelled to his home again and he met with Fanny, a girl who he was in love with. But Tom had many affairs with women, for instance, with Molly Seagrim, and after confessing his feelings to Sophia Western (who was deeply in love with him), Tom began an affair with Lady Bellaston and Mrs. Waters. Anyway, Tom Jones is gentleman who always tries to treat women with respect. Tom also treats women with the utmost respect, obliging their desire to be courted by pretending to be the seducer even when they are seducing him. Tom refuses to abandon Molly for Sophia and is plagued by his obligations to Lady Bellaston. Nonetheless, Toms refusal of the tempting marriage proposal of Arabella Hunt—whose last name underscores the fact that Tom is hunted more often than he is the hunter—indicates that he has mended his wild ways and is ready to become Sophias husband. Toms gallantry reveals itself in his relationships with men as well as women, however. This spirit is evident in Toms insistence on paying the drinking bill for the army men at Bristol, and in his gallant defense of himself in the duel. Sparknotes) On the contrary, Joseph Andrews tries to be a gentleman but he is not. And Joseph is, as C. J. Rawson has noticed, something of a parody of a gentleman rather than a gentleman. It is really a distinction between nature and nurture, for Joseph is born a real gentleman (without knowing it) but does not quite manage to carry himself like one: he has â€Å"the most perfect Neatness in his Dres s, and an Air, which to those who have not seen many Noblemen, would give an Idea of Nobility† (38-39; 1, 8). But those who have seen many noblemen would, presumably, not be deceived by such an appearance. (Varey) Anyway, although Joseph Andrews is not a real gentleman â€Å"in his manner†, he is â€Å"unaffected†, â€Å"honest†, and â€Å"candid† (Varey). In â€Å"Tom Jones†, we find the character of Sophia Western who is the other main character in the novel. She is the person in who Fielding shows the virtue of the innocence. But, although she is like a delicate girl and innocent, she faces her father and her aunt because she loves Tom and she does not want to marry Bilfil. Sophia is the essence of womanhood in the novel. She is very honest and obedient in the novel but she also has a sense of independence towards her father’s wishes. After she and Tom are lovers and Tom is extradited from the town Sophia is willing to go against her father’s order to stay and marry Blifil and she leaves the town to go and find Jones. Although Sophia is very honest and loving she does not think like Jones. She is not dedicated like Jones. She puts her personal interest before the welfare of others. The History of Tom Jones) In â€Å"Joseph Andrews†, we find the character of Sophia in â€Å"Tom Jones†, Fanny she is the girl who is in love with Joseph and she has a lot of similarities with Sophia, both of them are innocents and sensitive, but they fight for their love. She has sensibility, sweetness, and gentility; in short, she is the perfect object for Josephs love, and the way in which she immediately takes to the road in search of Joseph af ter hearing of his plight testifies that she too has a depth of feeling all too rare in this novel. Yet she also possesses a deep sense of modesty; and, in all honesty, one must admit that Fanny is a little too perfect. But part of her charm is in the way Fielding uses her in his comic contrasts. (Cliffnotes) Finally, the last character of â€Å"Tom Jones† which will be analyzed is Mr. Allworthy. The reader only has to read the last name of this character to realize how he is, and how he is going to act along the novel. Allworthy is the person who takes Tom Jones and â€Å"adopts† him when he knew that Tom Jones’ mother commit a sin being pregnant of a man and not marrying with him. He is the protector of Tom Jones; he is like an ideal man: He is intelligent, virtuous, charitable, compassionate and cautious. Tom is good, generous and honest, but he has a lack of caution and a faith to use it as an obstacle to the temptations of the flesh to be like Mr. Allworthy. But in â€Å"Joseph Andrews† we find Parson Abraham Adams. He is who leads Joseph in the adventures. Although he is a little bit â€Å"dreamer†, he is the character which set the moral basis in the novel. Adams is a very good man and yet a very human man; he has his head in the clouds and although his feet are on the ground, they are usually in puddles. Comic though he is, he is the firm pivot of the novels moral influence. It is his belief in charitable action which distinguishes him as a parson from such hypocritical boors as Trulliber. Like Joseph and Fanny, he acts on his feelings, and it is because of this affinity that he is such a fine guardian and guide to the young pair. (Cliffnotes) 2. 2 STRUCTURE / STYLE Henry Fielding was known for his style of writing. In â€Å"Tom Jones† and â€Å"Joseph Andrews†, he represents the virtues, and he uses the satire. According to the structure, â€Å"Joseph Andrews† has a lot of picaresque: the action takes place on the road and in inns. And the most of the events, in which Joseph or Adams are involved, are independent from each other. Fielding introduces such events, and the stories between the main story, to underline and satirize the selfish and hypocritical behavior which is common in all the classes of the society. Fielding creates a lot of characters of all types, from the lower class and upper class such as aristocrats, landowners, clergies, doctors, lawyers, actors, drivers and innkeepers. In Joseph Andrews characters of inferior rank and manners are numerous. [†¦] The list includes more innkeepers, an hostler or two, a coachman, and various rustics. His portrayal of these â€Å"inferior† characters and their conversation shows Fielding’s familiarity with the lower classes and their speech, which he insists is as important to the novelist as a knowledge of â€Å"upper life†. (Bissel: 69) The structure of â€Å"Tom Jones† is very similar to â€Å"Joseph Andrews†, but it is a novel larger, which includes evocations of the life in the land and scenes of the London life. In the preface of â€Å"Joseph Andrews†, Fielding notes that he sees the novel as an â€Å"epic poem in a mocking tone and prose†. The epic poem represented a narrative way renowned for the tradition in which the author could inspire himself, without fear of the critics, when he wanted to create a new kind of literary work. â€Å"Tom Jones† is a novel extraordinary good planed. It is supported in the structure of the epic-poem: a central action which moves forward with regular steps to a final target and of which events contribute in some way to the whole narration. Tom Jones, as a new Ulysses, he sees him forced to leave his home, and after a lot of adventures which polish his personality and put his qualities down, finally he comes back to his home to meet with his â€Å"Penelope†, the faithful Sophia Western. The period of adventures reminds a lot to the picaresque atmosphere of â€Å"Joseph Andrews† and, as in this one, the war deeds take place in inns. The influence of Cervantes in â€Å"Joseph Andrews† is obvious and the author himself admits it. Parson Adams and Joseph Andrews, as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, go through the paths and share adventures which are told with humor. More obvious than any of these, the influence of Cervantes appears not only in the resemblance between Don Quixote and Parson Adams, but also in a number of similarities in manner and incident. (Battestin) Adams and Don Quixote are characters, who due to their idealism lose contact with the reality; both of them assume the good intentions of th e different characters they meet and that is the reason why all people trick him. As Adams looks like Don Quixote, Joseph Andrews looks like Sancho Panza. There are some similarities between them. Sancho represents the realism and Joseph personifies an extreme idealism almost grotesque. Sancho is a character who develops along the novel. At first, he is the rational character and Don Quixote is crazy, but finally it is to the contrary and Sancho goes crazy. And Joseph also develops. At first, he seems like a ridiculous character and without personality, but along the novel he leaves of being the parody of Pamela and he turns into a character with personality and own identity who matures and starts to realized of the reality that is around them. At the end, he turns into a character which has a more realistic vision of the world. In â€Å"Tom Jones†, the main character with the same name is the version of Don Quixote and he has the services of his own Sancho Panza who is represented in the character of Partridge, the ex-teacher of the school, victim of the destiny, who, as Tom Jones, has been exiled because of a crime which he did not commit. Of course, the humor is present along the novel and it is one of the bases of it. There are characters really hilarious such as Partridge, the servant of Tom Jones, (as it has been already said, the Sancho Panza of Tom Jones). He is always making Tom losing the patience with his plenty of verbosity and his never ending Latin cites. Another example is the Mr. Western, Sophia’s father, a mixed of bad manners, little drunk and fan of the hunting, who is responsible of many of the funniest scenes of the novel. The ability of Fielding for the satire never ends. He satirizes all the social classes, they all come off badly and there is not any character hich is not satirized. â€Å"Tom Jones† is a novel really modern. Fielding knew how to represent the double moral of the human beings, the inevitable tendency to the contradiction and the debility about the temptation; the heroes of this story give in to reprehensible impulses (at least from the point of view of the moral of that period), and their behavior is not always as people could expect. Fielding show s the inconstancy of the soul through the funny adventures, but with a background of clever satire far from negligible. Moreover, the fact that the women of this story are the model of behavior and being judged with a very advance look is very relevant. The tutor of Tom, Mr. Allworthy (whose last name shows how he is), put wisely in balance the behavior of the young’s mother, whom he accuses of have a baby without husband; additionally, he convinces Sophia’s father to allow her daughter of getting married with the person who she believes is the best. The aunt of Sophia faces his brother to defend the social position of the woman as a member of the society, with the same rights and duties as men. It is vital to appreciate the limited role that Fielding gives to burlesque; he is attempting to describe the real nature of comedy, just as Joseph Andrews will attempt to discover the real nature of everyone and everything. In linking himself with Hogarth, the comic history painter whose works are in the exactest copying of nature, Fielding presents an argument later echoed by Henry James: The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life. When it relinquishes this attempt, the same attempt that we see on the canvas of the painter, it will have arrived at a very strange pass (The Art of Fiction, 1884). (Cliffnotes) 3. CONCLUSION In summary, as it has been shown in this essay, â€Å"Tom Jones† and â€Å"Joseph Andrews† have many similarities. Fielding reproduces the same moral and virtuous style in both of them. He makes the main characters with similar personalities such as Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews, or Sophia Western and Fanny. In the style, the reader can see how Fielding tried to recreate in his novels (a part of the influence of the classical literature such as â€Å"The Odyssey†), the influence of Cervantes’ â€Å"Don Quixote†, and the introduction of the picaresque in his novels. At first, it was believed that â€Å"Joseph Andrews† was inspired in â€Å"Don Quixote†, but the fact is that â€Å"Tom Jones† has a lot of that picaresque and the role plays of the main characters as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. And of course, in both of them, the reader can find lots of moral and satire. In addition to the fact that â€Å"Joseph Andrews† started as a parody of Pamela, it became as an independent novel and finally it was a novel with personality and different stories. It became in a critic, a satire of the social classes and the society in general of his time, as â€Å"Tom Jones†, which was considered as an historical novel, but not because of the references to the History, but to the creation of histories between the characters and the similarities between them and the reality. 4. WORKS CITED Bissel, Frederick Olds. Fieldings Theory of the Novel. New York: Cooper Square Publishers Inc. , 1933. Print. Compton, Neil. Henry Fielding Tom Jones. A Casebook. Macmillan, 1970. Print. Inserni, . Primary Characters:.   The History of Tom Jones Analysis of Characters. Blogger, 13 Sep 2011. Web. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. Johnson, Maurice. Fieldings Art of Fiction. Eleven Essays on Shamela, Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones and Amelia. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1969. Print. Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding.   Cliffnotes. John Wiley amp; Sons, Inc.. Web. 21 Mar 2013. The Moral Basis of Fieldings Art. A Study of Joseph Andrews. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1959. Print. Tom Jones (Novela).   Wikipedia. La Enciclopedia Libre. Wikipedia Commons, 12 Mar 2013. Web. 21 Mar 2013. Varey, Simon. Joseph Andrews. A Satire of Modern Times. G. K. Hall amp; Co. , 1990. Print. Withington, Keri. Character analysis: Joseph Andrews, by Henry Fielding.   Helium. Where Knowledge Rules. Helium Inc. , 05 May 2007. Web. 21 Mar 2013.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Free Essays on A Good Man

In Flanney O’Conner’s, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† a great deal of irony is used to express her views on how society and culture in the present day and how it has changed from that of the past. O’Connor used the family’s grandmother as a key component in the story because of her personality and her old age. She was able to show her feeling about the lack of respect for family and elders through the grandmother. The stories idea explores into deeper things than just respect. As the story continues many spiritual observations are made in regard’s to how the â€Å"old South† use to view religion. The beginning of the story is an important part because the reader is first exposed to the idea that the grandmother is little respected or listened to by any of the family members. She begins by challenging the family against taking a trip to Florida, because she had just learned a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit who is on the run into that area. When this argument is brought forth to the family, â€Å"Bailey didn’t look up from his reading, so she wheeled around then and faced the children’s mother† (232) who also showed the same interest and respect as the father did. One important element in this scene was when the grandmother made this remark. She was astounded that her son would be willing to take his family into such a place with possible danger and remarked with, â€Å"I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a lose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did† (232). At first interpretation most readers probably thought was just a way for the grandmother to get out of going on the trip, although it was an example for the author to show how family life had changed from her time. Even with changing family styles, grandparents are a group of people who are usually admired and looked up to by family members, and a favorite of yo ung children. The aspect of this story that made it ... Free Essays on A Good Man Free Essays on A Good Man In Flanney O’Conner’s, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† a great deal of irony is used to express her views on how society and culture in the present day and how it has changed from that of the past. O’Connor used the family’s grandmother as a key component in the story because of her personality and her old age. She was able to show her feeling about the lack of respect for family and elders through the grandmother. The stories idea explores into deeper things than just respect. As the story continues many spiritual observations are made in regard’s to how the â€Å"old South† use to view religion. The beginning of the story is an important part because the reader is first exposed to the idea that the grandmother is little respected or listened to by any of the family members. She begins by challenging the family against taking a trip to Florida, because she had just learned a crazed killer by the name of the Misfit who is on the run into that area. When this argument is brought forth to the family, â€Å"Bailey didn’t look up from his reading, so she wheeled around then and faced the children’s mother† (232) who also showed the same interest and respect as the father did. One important element in this scene was when the grandmother made this remark. She was astounded that her son would be willing to take his family into such a place with possible danger and remarked with, â€Å"I wouldn’t take my children in any direction with a criminal like that a lose in it. I couldn’t answer to my conscience if I did† (232). At first interpretation most readers probably thought was just a way for the grandmother to get out of going on the trip, although it was an example for the author to show how family life had changed from her time. Even with changing family styles, grandparents are a group of people who are usually admired and looked up to by family members, and a favorite of yo ung children. The aspect of this story that made it ...

Thursday, February 20, 2020

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGY - Essay Example Just as was the case in the early 1920s when television and radios were top-of-mind in the field of advertising, face-book, twitter, and other social networks have become popular marketing and promotional sites for a number of companies (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65). Finding a workable and economical marketing solution is the holy grail challenge for top markets today. Advertising lost influence and dominance of the media when internet accorded all the audience the ability and power to manage and run personalized message delivery systems. With facebook, myspace, linkerdIn, instagram, blogs, pinterest, foursquare, yelp, and twitter attracting more than 89% users, it is therefore essential for the executive markets to re-think marketing. However, as evidenced the collapse of top global companies which heavily invested in social-media marketing, the whole idea of intensive social media marketing strategy is more complex and needs to be critically examined (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65) .... ctive Media Strategies to Market Mix The â€Å"willingness and ability† to develop diverse and new relationship with our clients is the key tool in integrating social media to match sustainable traditional market mix. By closely examining the 4P’s Marking Mix Model; product, place, price, and promotion, it is noted that the success of marketing is based on the strength of connection established between the corporation and its target customers (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65). This is the sole objective in marketing as it was more than a decade ago. With the increased competition in every industry, firms takes advantage of current dynamics in social marketing- the biggest step in marketing and advertising evolution as companies source for the most effective and best marketing strategy which connects them with their target audience. This raised the question on how marketing has changed over the last decade. One social media blog posted, â€Å"I believe we are in the Toddle r Phase of Social Media Marketing. Some companies will walk and talk faster than others - but we ‘ALL’ want to walk.† And not intending to â€Å"Coin a Phrase†. Some marketing consultants and managers have also recommended the phrase â€Å"Re-inventing Social Media† as a solution to social marketing and market mix challenges (Wollan et al., 2011, p.56-65). Marketing Integration & Social Media: Toddler Categories The first group of social media marketing toddlers is those companies which integrates their social media programs to match their marketing strategies. Though these companies register gains from such operations, they also make errors in the process. Their strategy is entirely founded on the principle of ‘willingness’, hence, they are naturally described as risk lovers. This does not

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

The Benefits of NAFTA and CAFTA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Benefits of NAFTA and CAFTA - Essay Example Farmers, workers and manufacturers benefit from the reduction of arbitrary and discriminatory trade rules, while consumers enjoy lower prices and more choices. By strengthening the rules and procedures governing trade and investment on this continent, the NAFTA has allowed trade and investment flows in North America to skyrocket. According to figures of the International Monetary Fund, total trade among the three NAFTA countries has more than doubled, passing from US$306 billion in 1993 to almost US$621 billion in 2002. That's US$1.2 million every minute. NAFTA has been a huge success for the U.S. and its NAFTA partners. It has helped Americans work smarter, earn more and increase purchasing power. It has contributed to more trade, higher productivity, better jobs, and higher wages. In ten years of NAFTA, total trade among the three countries has more than doubled, from $306 billion to $621 billion in 2003. That's $1.7 billion in trade every day. U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico gre w from $142 billion to $263 billion in NAFTA's first ten years. And Mexican exports to the U.S. grew 242 percent, improving lives and reducing poverty in Mexico. The DR-CAFTA, the treaty originally encompassed the United States and the Central American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Then in 2005, the Dominican Republic joined the negotiations, and treaty became known as DR-CAFTA. The CAFTA-DR is the second largest U.S. export market in Latin America, behind only Mexico, buying more than $16 billion in U.S. exports. Successful CAFTA-DR implementation is critical to the broader U.S. policy goals for the Americas of strengthening democratic governance, expanding economic opportunity, and investing in people. CAFTA would require market liberalization for the majority of goods and services in Central America. In return, the U.S. has promised increased market access for certain sectors in Central America, including textiles and a limited increase in sugar quotas. To add, CAFTA is important to the DR-CAFTA countries' own businesses, enabling them to increase productivity and increasing the skills of millions of workers as new foreign businesses and new technologies enter their economies. With higher skills, workers will be more valuable and earn more money, increasing their living standards. As living standards rise and people enjoy better lives, their interest in preserving these benefits also increases. Because they have more to lose from a crisis, they strive to preserve peace and stability. As a result, the likelihood of civil conflict decreases. At the same time, the improved domestic situation reduces the incentives to leave home in search of a better life elsewhere.According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1997) more workers in more firms in more countries derive their livelihood from cross-border trade and investment activity. Trade and investment have become major engines of growth in developed and developing countries alike. The volume of world merchandise trade is today about sixteen times what it was in 1950, a period during which the value of w orld output increased by a factor of 5.5. The period since 1950 saw a near doubling, from 8 to 15 per cent, of the ratio of world merchandise exports to global production. Most remarkable has been the

Monday, January 27, 2020

Comparison of different leadership strategies

Comparison of different leadership strategies Anita Roddick is the creator of Body Shop whose controversial leadership style was contrasted with Jack Welch the acknowledged leader in corporate management. The comparison shows that whilst some traits such as passion for success are common to both leaders there is significant difference in other areas such as the leadership style applied. In some instances though the final outcome is the same, the two leaders were motivated by different ideals. Whilst Anita brings her personal ideas of environmental activism into her business, Jack Welch approves the green approach where it makes sense from a profit making angle. However, taking into account the challenges faced and the leaving behind of a legacy, this study concludes that the Jack Welch approach demonstrates a stronger leadership model that is also replicable rather than the activist approach of Anita. INTRODUCTION The following is a comparison of the leadership strategies of two leaders; both successful in their own way, though with markedly different leadership approaches. Both are business leaders and are compared and contrasted by reviewing traits, values, behavior and leadership styles. Anita Roddick Born in 1942, Anita Roddick was the founder of Body Shop cosmetics. Her first shop was opened when she was 34 with the sole object of survival for the family. However, in to the highly competitive world of cosmetics where promises are easily made and difficult if not impossible to be validated in marched Anita with her own definition of what beauty meant and more importantly with a mission to set the record straight. Controversy which soon followed her became an opportunity for publicity for the business as well as a platform to air he views. Some claim that Anita is a model for a responsible leadership style whilst others remain more skeptical (Franklin Researchs Insight 1994). In he autobiography, Anita proclaimed that it is immoral to trade on fear. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is immoral to deceive a customer by making miracle claims for a product. It is immoral to use a photograph of a glowing sixteen-year-old to sell a cream aimed at preventing wrinkles in a forty-year old. (Roddick, 199 1 Pg. 15) Anita sums up her leadership strategy in her own direct, no-nonsense style Being good is good business. (Hospitality Leadership, 2009) In 2006, Body Shop was the subject of a take over by the cosmetic giant LOreal and Anita passed away in 2007. Jack Welch Dr. John Francis Jack Welch was born in 1935. With a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Jack Welch became the General Manager of General Electric (GE) when he was 33. Ambitious from a young age, Jack Welch started with the ambition of making $ 30,000 by the time he was 30 years of age. Unlike Body Shop which was established by Anita Roddick, GE had a successful, long standing heritage. Established in 1892, the history of GE can be traced back to the famous inventor Thomas Edison. As Jeff Immelt, the present CEO who replaced Jack Welch, reminded Fortune magazine in 2004, Theres going to be someone after me, just as there was someone before me (Time Mastery 2005 Pg. 29). Jack Welch took the rains of an already successful organization in 1981 but took it from triumph to triumph as the CEO till 2001. He is still a well sought after speaker as well as consultant. Unlike Anitas green approach, Jack Welch is not convinced with global warming (The Washington Post 3 July, 2008) though one year later he sees going green as presenting an enormous opportunity, whether one believes in global warming or not (Welch, 12 May, 2009). Jack Welchs leadership approach was that Effective Leadership involves the acceptance and management of paradox. For example we must function collectively as one company and individually as many businesses at the same time. (Crainer, 1999, p.49). Leadership Traits A trait is a character that can be observed over and over in ones personality. Leadership traits can identify a good leader and assist in emulating them. Such traits include, integrity, competency, forward looking approach, fair mindedness, broad mindedness, courage and ability to take risks, intelligence, imagination, inspiring personality and directness of approach. Integrity has been defined as the quality of a persons character. (SEP, 2008) Thus integrity may also be seen as the ability to walk the talk. Anitas leadership style has been portrayed as a model for responsible leadership acting with great honesty and integrity, especially in the cosmetic industry and she was in the forefront of environmental activism. This of course may also have made good business sense as acknowledged by Jack Welch too in the 2009 interview. Jack Welch considers integrity to be such a fundamental requirement that he refuses to even list it amongst a list of virtues. If you dont have integrity you should not be allowed on the field at all. (Welch 2007 Pg. 14) Of course both Anita and Jack Welch display clear forward looking planning. Anita created a company that went where no other cosmetic company of that magnitude had gone before. Jack Welchs problems were even more complicated requiring him to acknowledge the illustrious history of GE and then to steer in a direction more suited to the future. In doing so Anita and Jack Welch demonstrated immense courage and conviction taking risks that were perhaps make or break decisions. Of course in taking their respective companies to places where they had not been before, both leaders showed clear well developed imaginativeness and superior intelligence. Anitas primary motivational factor apart from her charismatic personality was to make the Body Shop employees feel that they were a part of a large family. (Roddick, 1991 Pg. 7) Jack Welch on the other hand used different approaches to motivate employees including money, recognition and training. (Welch, 2007 Pg. 106) Dark side traits Dark-side personality traits are those which are counter productive to a leaders success and may lead to their failure. Whilst everyone has some dark side traits, they may be visible only when the leader is under stress. In the case of Anita Roddick, whilst she was at the front in requiring better corporate governance and ethical corporate response, when Body Shop was put under pressure by criticism that it was not following its talk instead of relying on a transparent approach it appears to have used combative response and the threat to use legal action to silence its critics. (Franklin Researchs Insight 1994) Anita in her autobiography however states that As for Jack Welch, his approach to corporate restructuring has been criticized by persons such as O,boyle. Down sizing, lay offs and closure of plants was a key part of this strategy which focused mostly on keeping the shareholders happy (Jakubowicz, 1999). GE which had 440,000 employees world wide when Jack Welch started as CEO in 1981 was by 1997 operating with only 260,000 employees but making much greater profits. (Crainer 1999) This closing of plants and large scale dismissal of employees left many small towns which relied on GE plants for jobs in great difficulty. His pressure on the managers to keep a regular flow of profits may have led to them taking shortcuts to profit making. Requirements for success Anita though not initially a technical person, continued to be in touch with the technical aspects of her business. She was always travelling around, meeting indigenous people and finding new product ideas. John Davies (2007) who was a consultant to Body Shop at one time talks of how Anita walked into a meeting announcing that she had invented a new lip balm. Therefore, Anita seemed to have actually enjoyed being involved in the technical and development aspects of the business too. Jack Welch was an engineer but came to be recognized as a manager and a CEO rather than an inventor. Milestones For Anita the first milestone in her business was to feed her kids whilst her husband was on an extended tour in South America. Perhaps a turning point in the Body Shop image was when Anita partnered with Greenpeace in protecting whales by marketing products made with jojoba oil as a substitute for whale spermaceti. This was a pioneering venture where business partnered with a charity. (Alcraft, 1998) Though Jack Welch encouraged financial goals to be celebrated, he had little use for milestones as such since, once achieved, they represented the past whilst he preferred to focus on the future. (Hartman, 2003) Leadership Values and Ethics If we make an effort to understand our values, it makes it easier to keep our priorities in the right order and our actions in line with our beliefs (Anzary, 2009). The most important qualities and values of a good leader are vision, empathy, consistency, integrity. Anita as well as Jack Welch both had a clear vision as well as displayed passion in their approach. Anitas vision included a larger global vision which went beyond the corporate goals (Roddick, 2000) whilst Jack Welch focused on improving the shareholders value at any cost. Jack Welch on vision states that good business leaders create a vision. They articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. (Crainer 1999 Pg. 77) Anitas manner of expressing empathy with her staff included that of making them feel that they were part of a large family. Although Jack Welch too recognized the need to invest in people and put this into practice by spending time with them, devising methods to motivate people etc., (Crainer 1999 Pg. 23) it is clear that his approach was to come own heavy on people and he had no regrets about dismissing employees when required. However, his understanding of the followers reality is demonstrated by his approach to budgeting for example where he recognized the reason for the divide between the upper management and field staff and suggests strategies for remedying same. (Welch Welch 2005 Pg. 189). From the point of corporate integrity Anitas propaganda spoke of this as a key factor pushing the idea that the customer needs to be told the truth about what can and cannot be achieved with the products. She was also opposed to animal testing and promoted the green approach and a more socially responsible approach with concepts such as Trade not Aid for the developing world. GE under Jack Welch on the other hand appears to have used an approach that focused on maximizing profits. In this regard, is appears that GE had even pleaded guilty to charges on criminal fraud relating to matters linked to defense. (New York Times 23 July, 1992). Leadership Grid Model is taken from stewart associates website [Online], Available: http://www.stewart-associates.co.uk/leadership-models.aspx The Leadership Grid shows the emphasis a leader places on people as opposed to production. Anitas approach appears to be more towards Middle-of-the-Road; balancing the two concerns. In this she may be seen as being closer to the ideal of Team Management. Jack Welchs approach has been criticized for being Authority-Compliance Management oriented. He is known to have fired low producing managers and to pressurize the employees to achieve. This approach did bring him greater profits at a human cost. Conclusion In this study we looked at two leaders with interesting and successful leadership styles. They are both leaders in the corporate sector and have adopted radical approaches to leadership. Anita Roddick is a strong entrepreneur who started her own business brought it to a very important position in the cosmetic industry but finally sold it to LOreal. Therefore, all though she created an ethically conscious brand which not only brought commercial success but also succeeded in associating itself with eco friendly concepts, her final transferring of the business to LOreal means that she did not leave behind a vehicle by which her vision could be carried though. Thus it remains to be seen whether her vision has died with her. On the other hand Jack Welchs approach is one that can be captured within modern management thinking and provides better tools for replication. Also from a leadership point of view, although Jack Welchs approach has been criticized as profit at any cost and the heavy emphasis on the Authority-Compliance-Management style, his task was perhaps more difficult than that of Anita Roddick. The very fact that he became the CEO of a company that was almost 100 years old and had a huge infrastructure meant that he would have had to face greater challenges to bring about change. Therefore, although it may be more difficult to love Jack Welch as a person when compare to Anita as a leader and also he may be further from the ideal of Team-Management style leadership, looking at the challenges that have been over come Jack Welch comes though as a stronger leader. Anita on the other hand may demonstrate greater entrepreneurial skills.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Foundations of Group Behavior Essay

Groups can be as small as two people or as big as the number may reach even in hundreds of thousands. They are formed for different reasons and serve different benefits to their members and also to their organizations. However, there may be some drawbacks too as it will be seen in this paper. Formal and Informal Groups Groups can be divided into two types: Formal groups and Informal groups. Formal groups are those groups which have been recognized and created by the organization. (Robbins 2004, p. 164) They have a longer lifespan and have a more formal structure. They also have specific jobs that are to be handled and the efforts of the group are directed in such a way that they will lead to the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives. (Robbins 2004, p. 164) These groups are formed after extensive planning regarding their volume and constitution of the group. Waiters in a restaurant can be thought of as a formal group. On the other hand, informal groups are groups that are not made formally by the organization and do not have a specific structure that is recognized by the organization. (Robbins 2004, p.164) These can be formed by social interaction between workers in an organization and can be diverse in their nature in any sense. For example, four employees who met in the canteen can develop a sort of relationship with each other although they may not be required to interact with each other to accomplish any organizational objectives. This group has formed without any formal structure that can be identified in the organizational structure and is an example of an informal group. Command, Task, Interest, and Friendship Groups Groups can also be categorized into command groups, task groups, interest groups, or friendship groups. (Robbins 2004, p. 164) Command groups are created formally and they are recognized in the organizational hierarchical structure. These groups comprise of members who are answerable to one manager. Although task groups are also made by the organization and interact to achieve organizational objectives, their members are not always answerable to their immediate managers. Workers who originally report to different managers can be combined by an organization to accomplish a certain task and during this task, these individual members can skip the original organizational hierarchy if required. For example, an organization can ask employees from the software development team to interact with members of the human resources team to decide about vacancies in the organization. Both command groups and task groups are types of formal groups as both of these groups are formed formally to achieve organizational objectives. On the other hand, an interest group is a type of an informal group that can be formed to achieve some particular goal that has a common interest for all of the group members. (Robbins 2004, p. 164) For example, a few workers can join hands to ask for a salary increase. Similarly, friendship groups can also be categorized as a type of informal groups as they are formed by members who share some common characteristics that led them to develop friendship with each other. (Robbins 2004, p. 164) Moreover, friendship groups can also interact outside the dimensions of the workplace. Both interest groups and friendship groups are types of informal groups as they are not made formally by the organization, are not recognized by the organizational structure, and do not necessarily meet to accomplish organizational objectives. The aim of informal groups is more inclined towards fulfilling social requirements of the individuals in the group. (Robbins 2004, p. 164) However, the relationship between members of informal groups has significant impacts on their work performance and their actions. A group in the past was usually associated with some social activity where a number of people from the society would join each other for a specific reason. These social alliances, widely known as informal groups, fulfill the social needs of the members. In interest groups, society members from different fields join each other for vested interests while friendship groups are characterized by the common characteristic(s) of the members. The member of these groups may meet in health clubs, cafe, and public parks and so on. Since these groups lack a formal structure and rules and guidelines, the chances of conflicts are high but once the members get along, the group may be able to fight for their interest even in the worst situations. External and Internal Factors affecting Groups When we hear the word group, we infer it to a collection of people in an organization that work together to achieve a desired specific goal. These are the groups in which the members are confined to work within the boundaries of organizationally set guidelines and rules to achieve a goal or number of goals. They may face the problems of time limitations, resource(s) restriction, or the group may not be empowered with authority to make decisions on its own, or the organizational culture may not be aligned to that of the group. Similarly, the organization’s selection and rewarding policies may affect the performance of the groups as groups are composed of personnel that are hired and rewarded by the organization. These limitations are not under the group’s control and can be called as the external factors affecting the group’s performance. Internal factors affecting the group’s performance may be those factors that form the structure of the group. The reason is that these factors affect the behavior of the members. Group leaders that serve as a mentor, facilitator, conflict manager, and so on may bring about the desired changes in the member’s behavior and thus may increase the group’s performance. Tuckman’s Five-Stage Model It was in 1965 that Bruce Tuckman revealed his four-stage model comprising of Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing. Afterwards, he added a fifth stage, Adjourning, too to his original four-stage model. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) (Clark 2005, n. p. ) Forming Forming is the first stage where individuals in a group get acquainted with each other. In the beginning, the group members are careful not to show any behavior that may be considered as unacceptable for a group behavior. For example, at this stage, a group member may refrain from pointing out mistakes of another member as he might be afraid that it can give rise to some conflict. During this stage, members interact with each other to exchange basic concepts and primary matters. It can be difficult to figure out all of the problems at this stage as individuals within the group can get distracted by the different situations in which they try to adjust themselves. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) Therefore, only minimal progress is attained as far as the accomplishment of organizational objectives is concerned, but this is normal at this stage. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) This phase ends when individuals within the group begin to perceive themselves as constituents of the team. (Robbins 2004, p. 165) Storming During the next stage, storming, group members gradually realize that they have achieved little so far. Each and every member has his own perceptions of how things should be done and a suitable knowledge sharing environment is not formed yet. This can be considered the most troublesome phase as members start to recognize that the jobs to be done are not as easy as they seemed previously. Interactions with other team members are often limited to arguments about what should the group do as a whole. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) Conflicts may arise as team members do not want to have their individual freedom limited. (Robbins 2004, p. 165) At this stage, members do not trust others and do what seems appropriate with respect to their own experience. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) A lot of energy is wasted in these issues and not much is attained during this stage. However, members start to develop a mutual understanding amongst themselves. This stage ends when an obvious and established hierarchy of command forms inside the team. (Robbins 2004, p. 165) Norming The next stage is Norming where the group begins to share information with each other. Good associations build up amongst employees and the team shows cohesiveness. (Robbins 2004, p. 165) Members resolve their conflicts and collaborate with each other. During this phase, members also start to criticize others in a productive way so that the criticism benefits instead of creating conflicts. For example, a senior member can explain the correct way of doing a job to his juniors while supporting arguments from researches published in peer-reviewed journals. At the same time, the senior member can brief the juniors about the consequences of doing things wrong and the benefits of doing things in the right way. Junior members are also more likely to listen as they start realizing the importance of achieving organizational objectives while working in groups. As conflicts are avoided and minimized, most of the energy and time is spent on accomplishing organizational objectives. This phase ends when team members develop an attitude that matches the members’ mutual perception of acceptable group behavior. Performing The fourth stage Performing begins with members having developed good relationships with each others. Now, team members can identify problems, solve them, and implements the alterations successfully. Finally, group members have learned about the strong points and weak points of their fellow members. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) The group begins to perform very well and is now a successful and cohesive group. This is the final phase for enduring work groups although temporary work groups have another phase. Adjourning The last stage, which is for temporary work groups like task groups, is known as Adjourning. (Clark 2005, n. p. ) The work is wrapped up in this final stage. Some team members are happy due to the accomplishment of the task. Others may be sad to leave their fellows with whom they had developed cordial relationships. Some relationships may even continue even though the team may be dissolved. Roles The roles that are played by team members also affects their behavior as different teams are formed for different reasons and thus demands different behaviors in different situations. Several characteristics may always be associated with a role and these make the role identity. Similarly one’s perception of how to behave in a certain situation and other’s expectations of a certain behavior in a situation may also mould one’s behavior. This phenomenon of Role Expectation is visible in the real life where employees and employers form expectations for each others. (Robbins 2004, p. 169) Failure of exposing an expected behavior by any party may cause damage by bringing about an undesired behavioral change that might not be acceptable by the other party. Managing divergent role expectations arising from different employees and employers can result in a role conflict where meeting the role expectations of one group member may hinder with meeting the role expectations of other members, and this situation results in frustration for the group members. (Robbins 2004, p. 169) Norms and Status The norms that a group possesses explain its members how to behave in a different situations and thus should be possessed by all the members to avoid conflicts. For example the performance norms tell members how to work, how much efforts to put, how to increase productivity and so on. The appearance norms include things like appropriate dress code whereas social arrangement norms fulfill the social needs within the work groups by creating social interaction among members. (Robbins 2004, p. 169) Then there are allocation of resources norms that demands members to avoid wastage of time and resources and tells about salary and job. Working in groups also comes with problems called deviant workplace behavior where other members disturb others by a number of ways like harassment, verbal abuse, spreading rumors, stealing their goods and so on. Such behaviors may even make a member not only to leave a group but to leave the job. We see many women who leave their jobs as their boss or colleagues sexually harass them. These behaviors are found to be prevailing in people that have been members of groups whose norms support such behavior. Managers should plan and work to avoid such behaviors so that group members do not have to leave their group/job or reduce their efforts. Status as it affects ones norms also affects ones behavior. But this deviation should not be so much that other group members feel that they are treated unequally as it may affect their productivity and thus may decline the group performance. This decline in productivity is not just because of member’s sense of equity but also depends on the cultures to which they belong which consequently affect how they value status. Size, Composition, and Cohesiveness As far as the size of the group is concerned, it may not be the right predictor of a group’s success or failure as difference in size depends on the goal to be achieved. While small groups are good for short time projects, bigger groups are required when diverse objectives are to be achieved. Moreover, the composition of groups affects their performance directly. Evidence shows that heterogeneous groups outperform homogeneous groups but in return they take more time as members need to adjust and understand each other. (Robbins 2004, p. 174) Same is the case with groups composed of diverse national or cultured members. But as the gap between members having common attribute(s) increases, the group productivity decreases. Cohesiveness is also an important feature of groups. It is the tendency to which members are attracted to each other and thus stimulated to work together. It affects the group performance and thus its productivity for the performance related norms are high, cohesive groups will perform highly. (Robbins 2004, p. 175) Cohesiveness can be increased by providing a broader span of time so that members spend more time; the size of the group should be reduced as smaller groups make interaction easy. Group Decision Making: Groupthink Irving (1972, 1982) came up with the revolutionizing concept of groupthink that is related with the group decision making strategies. (qtd. In Universiteit Twente 2004, n. p.) This theory proposes that a group may develop itself in such a way that preserving the integrity of the group may become important than accepting and implementing real facts and optimal solutions. This situation usually takes place when a team is extremely cohesive in its nature, and is led by an authoritative leader where criticism and conflicting opinions are not welcomed. (Universiteit Twente 2004, n. p. ) There are a few drawbacks of having this approach of group decision making. Firstly, the team will restrict itself to only a handful of alternatives. The solution that is proposed initially and is accepted by the majority is not subject to criticism and arguments that may identify some complicated problems. Moreover, opinions from professionals are not valued very much. Lastly, the team becomes so overconfident of its practices and opinions that contingency plans are not made. (Universiteit Twente 2004, n. p. ) Therefore, groupthink can hinder the overall performance of the team significantly. (Robbins 2004, p. 179) Group Decision-making Techniques Brainstorming In brainstorming, the team leader may mention the problem in a clear-cut way to all members. Afterwards, each member comes up with his own ideas to solve the problem. It is essential during this stage that members do not criticize each other. All the solutions proposed by members are noted down so that they can be thoroughly discussed in future. (Robbins 2004, p. 181) One obvious advantage of this approach is that one opinion from a member gives rise to a number of opinions and members also come up with out-of-the-box ideas as criticism does not prevail. However, according to one research, members may still hold some ideas faring criticism from others although it is clearly mentioned and understood that no one will criticize. (Sample 1984, n. p. ) Nominal Group Technique In the Nominal Group Technique, employees join together as a team to solve the problem, but instead of sharing their opinions with each others, they just do brainstorming on an individual basis and note down their own ideas and solutions to the problem. Afterwards, members discuss their ideas one by one with others and each idea is discussed, clarified, and assessed. Then, on an individual basis again, members rank the ideas and solutions without consulting others. The solutions that are ranked higher by the majority are taken as the final group decision. (Robbins 2004, p. 181) One problem with this approach is opinions of members do not converge and the whole process may seem too mechanical. (Sample 1984, n. p. ) Conclusion When people work in groups, their analytical abilities enhances and they think of one thing in different aspects and since members in group are diverse, many new ways of doing a task can be sought. At the same time, those ways can be analyzed and assessed from different perspectives. Another reason for a group may be efficiency as a group can work faster. The chances of errors also reduce in groups as members look at minute details which might be ignored if the task was to be done by a single person. Time is another reason for working in groups. Time is saved when people work in groups. Also decision made by a group is usually better than that made by a single person as a group considers different aspects and follow the technique of brainstorming. Data gathering becomes easy in groups as diverse people collect the diverse data which makes the work easy. Groups are now vital to an organization’s success. They not only save time and other resources but also result in a better decision, but while forming a group, care should be taken as conflict may take place among member which eventually may decline the group performance and productivity and thus not only may waste money but also time and energy that might have been used effectively. Bibliography Clark, D. (2005, September 29) Matrix Teams [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 15 Sep 2007] Janis, I. L. (1972) Victims of Groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Janis, I. L. (1982) Groupthink, 2nd Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Robbins, Stephen P. , (2004) Chapter Eight: Foundations of Group Behavior, Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition [Internet]. Prentice Hall. Available from: [Accessed 15 Sep 2007] Sample, J. A. (1984) Nominal Group Technique: An Alternative to Brainstorming. Journal of Extension, 22(2) [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 15 Sep 2007] Universiteit Twente (09/06/2004) Groupthink [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 15 Sep 2007]