Free Writing Essay

Many annoying habits exist and bother so many human beings on earth. This is because there are so many people who are forgetting the importance of having good manners and do not practice it at all (Granato). One of these people is my friend whom I treasure like a family. However, despite her annoying habit, I still remain a true, loving and loyal friend to her. While friends are one of the most important people in one’s life, there are times when they do some things that can be really exasperating and annoying, such as habits that they cannot get rid of which can make one’s nerves and blood boil. In the case of my friend, she has this habit of burping for no reason at all. For instance, she burps while watching a movie, shopping or strolling in the mall, talking, and worst, while and after eating. She considers it as an amazing talent and not a disgusting behavior. On the contrary, she laughs and always feels proud of herself every time she does it. It bothers me a lot, and I feel ashamed of her whenever people around us hear her burp. Thus, I confronted her about her disgusting habit. I told her that having good manners is one of the most important values, and it is something that people should always bring with them wherever they go and whatever they do in their lives. However, it seems that it does not affect her at all. She just said that if I am a true friend, then I would just have to accept her and deal with her annoying habit. After all, I have some habits that annoy her too. Fair enough, I think that she has a point and that she is right on what she said. I probably have a habit that annoys her too or other people and that I am not really aware of. In that sense, having good manners rarely can be found on people, or only a few value it and think that it is still important these days. After all, true friends accept each other’s attitude, manners or behaviors no matter how good or bad it is because true friends never judge nor deny their friends for who they are and what they have or do not have. Consequently, I realized that no matter how annoying the habit of my friend is, I should just accept and deal with it if she really cannot get rid of the habit because for me, friendship is more important than any annoying habits in the world. Works Cited Granato, Sherri. â€Å"11 Highly Annoying Habits of Rude People. † Associated Content. 8 January 2007. 20 January 2009 .

Australian Rules Notes Essay

Australian rules is set in a small rural town, where the relationships between the white townspeople and the Aboriginal people on the mission are complex, conflicted and marred by deeply entrenched racism. The local football team in many ways serves to represent the town, it reflects the conflicted relationship between the white people and the Aboriginal people- we begin to understand this as the film unfolds. Other themes inherent in the film are themes of family, love, loyalty and violence- the secrecy of domestic violence and the more overt forms of racial violence that spill out onto the public spheres of the football field and the pub. The opening narration informs us that half the football team is Aboriginal and that there would not be a football team without the Aboriginal players, therefore we understand how the town team relies on the talent and number of the Aboriginal players. We then witness the contradiction of the white and Aboriginal boys playing side by side as team members followed by the social segregation between the members after the match. This segregation is highlighted by Blacky (a white boy from town) and Dumby (an Aboriginal boy who is the best player on the team) whose friendship transcends these borders and we also witness ways that certain adults culturally impose this segregation between the white teenager and Aboriginal teenagers. In one of the beginning scenes, just after a football match, Dumby and Blacky want to ‘hang out’ together, but an older friend takes Dumby back to the mission and Blacky cannot follow. Blacky, Clarence and Dumby all call out to each other ‘Nukki n ya’ and this use of Aboriginal language between two Aboriginal teenagers and Blacky the white boy signifies the level of their friendship.

Gambling Pros and Cons and Stages

Gambling is one of the many things that people do. A lot of people see no problem in gambling and others may see different. Gambling has many different cause and effects on certain people and different phases of getting there. Some people may get the better effects, and some may get the not so good effects from it. Gambling doesn’t always just affect the person doing it, but may affect the people around them. There are many pros but more cons to gambling. People may just go gamble just for a night out, others do it on a regular basis.The ones that may do it on regular basis, build their own life around it. Getting into gambling may be caused from stress, greed, and mental health problems. Depression is a big one. When depressed gambling can lift up someone’s mood, especially if he or she is winning all the time. When winning all the time a person becomes greedier with their money than before. Some just don’t know when to stop. Some people waste their winnings on trying to win more when they should’ve just walked away. Other people use gambling when he or she is stressed out about money.They think they win one time there going to win many more, and money problems will disappear. From many stories shared around most likely that won’t be the case more problems just start to occur. The effects from gambling can be something little to something big. There are many harmful effects such as, debt, family issues, pathway to other crimes, endangering ones job, and most likely a high increase in alcohol and drug use. In a study conducted by the United States, 2. 5 million adults suffer from gambling addiction, where 15 million people are under the risk of getting this addiction.Many people who have this addiction go out and gamble their life savings, risking that they might lose it all. Bill money gets spent, and that when one starts to get in debt. Gambling also increase the issues in a household. Increase of child abuse, and neglect of ten occur. He or she might lose a 5,000 dollar bet and take the anger out on the children at home. Many gamblers stop caring about everyone around them, and only think about themselves. There are different stages to having the gambling addiction. The beginning s ones â€Å"winning† stage. One occasionally gambles, gets a big win, and then starts making higher bets. Next the â€Å"losing† phase hits. Some may lose time from work, start borrowing money from others, and start becoming in debt, because of that winning streak. Next the â€Å"desperation† phase. When one is in a panic from all the money lost, and the beginning of doing illegal crimes to get money will begin. Finally, the â€Å"hopelessness† phase hits. Now there is nothing left and suicidal thoughts run threw some people head.The debt is too much to handle and they feel nothing they can do will get them in a stable environment. This is also when in a marriage a divorce might happen, and everyon e that was once there, may not be there anymore. Gambling is a horrible addiction. This addiction may be treatable, as long as the person wants to be treated. Gambling effects a lot more than just one person. It affects everyone around. A winning streak may just be a fluke, taking way too far and ruin one’s life and many more. There can be many pros and cons to gambling, but in the end the cons takes over.

How to Sell Bargains and Add Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How to Sell Bargains and Add Value - Essay Example Understanding of the customer decision making is quite important in ensuring that businesses make value. If a business loses customers, its value deteriorates significantly because the business value is directly affected by the customer base (Nobel, 2014). The market research is quite imperative in ensuring that a business makes some value. Some of the ways in which understanding customer behavior influences the value of a business is as illustrated below.Customers relate the brands to the experience they get. For businesses that create greater customer experience are likely to make large sales per unit time compared to other businesses that do not create such experience to their customers. For instance, Apple gives priority to the customers, and they respond accordingly. It is very vital to know that one negative unresolved issue in a business environment can adversely affect the customer experience and can make a business to lose a customer forever. The business environment is very competitive nowadays, and the customers are less tolerant to awkward encounter than before. Thus, treating customers with a high degree of dignity is quite important in satisfying them and creating bigger value of the business.A bad customer experience is hard to be forgotten. A statistic did on Americans it was found that an average of nine individuals would talk about the good experience, and sixteen will mention the bad customers’ experience. The other worst thing is having an average experience on customers.

Essay exam Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Exam - Essay Example There has been a subsequent increase in radioactive waste following the increase in the production of nuclear power. When inhaled, radioactive elements are lethal and can kill within a short time. Nuclear waste build up can be prevented by recycling and storing it geologically. Nuclear waste differs with radioactivity level from high, through intermediate to low level. High level nuclear waste is mostly liquid, and although it is small in terms of volume, it is the most dangerous. It results when radioactive spent fuel is reprocessed to separate useful fuel that can be recycled from waste. High-level nuclear waste could be disposed of in deep geological mines. Meanwhile, before a geological mine or a suitable disposal site can be found, high-level nuclear waste can be vitrified and stored in stainless steel canisters. Spent fuel should be dissolved in nitric acid and to give off uranium and plutonium (Hill 30). Intermediate waste is mixed with cement and stored awaiting disposal. Glo bal Climate Change Scientists have found that there is a gradual global climate change as seen in the increase, in world temperatures, shrinking of glaciers, early plant flowering, early breaking up of ice and shifts in plant and animal ranges. Severe droughts, increased tropical storms and rampant wildfires are among other projected effects of global climate change. There has been undisputed evidence that the global sea level rose to seventeen centimeters in the 20th century. It is particularly discomforting to learn that this could have doubled in the last decade. Since around 1880, global temperatures have been rising gradually. The period between 1981 and 2001 was marked as warmer than the previous decades. The past twelve years have recorded the highest temperatures as compared to previous years. Although there has been a significant decline in the solar output in the early 2000s, surface temperatures have not ceased to increase. Scientists have established that oceans have war med up to 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit from 1969. There has been a loss in mass in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Between 2002 and 2005, Antarctic lost about one-hundred and fifty-two cubic kilometers of ice while Greenland lost up to two hundred and fifty cubic kilometers of ice between 2002 and 2006. The ice on Arctic sea has greatly declined in the past few decades. Glaciers in Alps and Rockies among other places in the world have been noted to have retreated significantly. Places like the United States have witnessed increased temperatures instances and relatively low temperature instances since 1950. Unusually heavy rainfall instances have been recorded in different parts of the world. Studies have revealed that acidity of surface ocean water has gone up to about 30% since the Industrial Revolution. Carbon dioxide that has been released by people in their increased population has been absorbed into water bodies. Global climate change can be arrested by adopting behaviors t hat promote a healthy

Immigration in the 19th Century, Teddy Roosevelt, and Labor Unions Essay

Immigration in the 19th Century, Teddy Roosevelt, and Labor Unions - Essay Example During the time of the great immigration, all the people needed were a boat ticket or in the least other means of transport to get to America. Thus, the shipbuilding industry facilitated the immigration significantly. During the agrarian revolution and the following years, several people came into America as slaves, to work in the factories and farms of the people. However, the immigration wave from the period 1820s to 1890s marked the observable immigration process. The immigrants in this period were mainly from Ireland and Germany, which brought about 5 million immigrants. The migration was because of includes famine and poverty in Ireland and political instability in Germany. Additionally, there were other immigrants, including from France, Canada and Sweden. Along these Europeans also came about 90000 Japanese and 300000 Chinese, whose chief reason was to make money for the Japanese and flee the opium war for the Chinese (Alexander, 2007). The industrial revolution further attracted more immigrants from the year 1890 to 1919. The immigrants into America this period constituted people from Italy, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Ireland and Great Britain. Conversely, with the arrival of the World War , the immigration declined. Nonetheless, over 9 million immigrants already settled in America (Alexander, 2007). The immigration into America took root from three reasons. Some were economic reasons, which featured search for wealth and employment, political reasons, which featured escape from the warring countries, and religious reasons, featuring trials and executions due to religious beliefs. The people as they migrated, due to the high numbers and inadequate housing, settled in groups in what grew into slum settlements. Additionally, due to the influx of people, unemployment rates increased as well as, the income of families (Alexander, 2007). The immigrants grew the American economy stronger. However,

The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Private Business Investment Essay

The Effects of Fiscal Policy on Private Business Investment - Essay Example As a point of departure, private business investments are considered as fundamental channels in which fiscal policy influences the economic growth. For instance, the endogenous economic growth model explains the dynamism in the capital stock, which is believed to influence the long-term per capita growth rate. This can happen through two ways namely more quantitative investment and more-efficient investments. This follows that the aspect of fiscal policy can be said to influence investments by varying domestic demand, which influence the Growth Development Product (GDP) of a nation, thus influencing the economy growth of a country. Considering a model of a tight fiscal policy where expenditure is reduced and increased taxation like in the case of the US, immense negative expectations are eminent. This reduces the viable incentives fro investments. On equal measure, the fiscal policy, particularly the short terms, can directly affect investment through the cost of capital attributed t o the tax system (Razin, Assaf, and Jacob, 2006. This follows that, the long-term fiscal policy on well-designed tax system on liberalized and privatised programmes such as for the case of the US and UK, help private sector investments because of reduced direct government involvement. For the case of government interest increase, foreign capital is attracted from the foreign investors and this increases the demand for the country’s currency. This implies that the value of country’s currency is increased. It is imperative to note that the increase in the currency value makes the exports from the country in question more expensive. On equal measure, when the government funds discrepancy with issuance of government bonds, the interests’ rates increases across the market due to the government borrowing which creates a higher demand for the credit in the financial markets. It is imperative to note that, theoretically,

Globalization Impacts On The Poor And Inequality Essay

Globalization Impacts On The Poor And Inequality - Essay Example Financial integration should be accompanied with the pursuit of macroeconomic stabilization policies. Both traditional and modern trade theories suggest that gains from the free trade will not be distributed equally within economies. The World Bank studies several ways in which globalization affects inequality within and across countries. A very important factor in the distribution of income is the initial income of the country. The empirical literature reveals that free trade contributes only to 20% of the world inequality, being less important than such factors as technological innovations or demographic changes. The economists use the term globalization to refer to international integration in the capital, commodity, and labor markets. The crucial economic features of the two most recent periods of globalization (1950-73 and 1974-2007) involve increased integration in trade, international capital flows and movement of labor. However, as we can see in table 1 (WTO,2008), there are differences in the importance of these factors in each period. During the entire 1950-2007 period, the trade expanded by 6.2 percent. In the first decades after World War II (WWII), due to the reconstruction of the country economies, the most dynamic traders were the Western European countries and Japan.From 1974 to 2000, newly industrialized Asian economies (NIEs) were the main beneficiaries of globalization, with their merchandise exports comprising raising from 2.4 percent to 9.7 percent within only two decades.  

Managing Cahange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Managing Cahange - Essay Example The resources within the surgery are fairly well supplied. There is a good system in place to keep the prescriptions secure. There is a fully computerised clinical system, to maintain appointments, prescriptions, consultations etc. The practice is almost paper free and working towards becoming papers less. There is an open surgery every morning, so that patients receive emergency care when it is needed. Drug clinics run every Thursdays to cater for the drug addicts within the area. The staff is bilingual which means that the practice can provide service to in different languages to a wide range of nationalities within the area. The practice receives additional income for filling in insurance forms and solicitor's reports. The reputation of the surgery locally means that patients are received by word of mouth and through it's central location. Weaknesses There are 2 floors, so the surgery would find it difficult to employ disabled staff due to the fact that they would not be able to travel up and down the stairs. The refurbishments on Earl's Court Road mean that more patients will be attracted to the area the surgery is in. Due to the size of the premises it is possible to offer complimentary therapies, which means additional services for our patients i.e. osteopath, homeopath, acupuncturist etc. There is no named person to check the stock, which leads to the surgery running out of stock. This also leads to confusion as to where the stock is. This uses up the reception staffs time which could otherwise be used dealing with patients queries. The surgery requires a new clinical software upgrade, to speed up service and...The Practice moved in to its location in 1990 and is being fully computerised since then and now is nearly paperless. Doctors and staff record all patients' data on the clinical system. The Practice linked to the STHA for Registration and Items of Service claims and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for Radiology and pathology results. The Practice has monthly Practice meetings to deal with any matters of concern. To produce a SWOT analysis of the practice and its services involving and considering the views and opinions of the entire practice team and its patients. In order to determine future planning of the practice's services. The refurbishments on Earl's Court Road mean that more patients will be attracted to the area the surgery is in. Due to the size of the premises it is possible to offer complimentary therapies, which means additional services for our patients i.e. osteopath, homeopath, acupuncturist etc. There is no named person to check the stock, which leads to the surgery running out of stock. This also leads to confusion as to where the stock is. This uses up the reception staffs time which could otherwise be used dealing with patients queries. Due to the central location of the surgery the running costs are higher. The area provides patients with different cultural backgrounds which affects maintaining a high standard, because of the language differences. Change

Unemployment within the labour market is primarily voluntary. Discuss Essay - 1

Unemployment within the labour market is primarily voluntary. Discuss - Essay Example ves mismatches between the demand and supply of laborers with the necessary skill set; it is encouraged by the disruptive technologies and the globalization. The classical and neoclassical economics focuses more on how rigid the labor market entails from the outside, for instance, minimum wage laws, unionization, taxes, and other policies that may put off the hiring of workers. People take unemployment as mostly bad because of voluntary choices by the unemployed and the period it takes to get a new work. Unemployment can come as a result of efficiency wages and sticky wages. Measuring unemployment is different depending on the country; they experience different levels of unemployment. Voluntary unemployment attributes to the personal decisions. Keynes theory argues that the neo-classical economic theory was not applicable during the recession because of private sector apprehension and over saving. Consequently people were thrown out of job involuntary and cannot get another acceptance for employment opportunity (Arestis 2002, p, 174). The neoclassical and Keynesian theories conflict has had a strong influence on the government policy. The purpose of the government is to eliminate and restrain unemployment through an increase in the government jobs and benefits. Government should take the step of encouraging the job seeker to both consider relocation to a new town and new careers. Involuntary unemployment does not exist in developing societies but urban cities such as India or Pakistan and mega cities of Africa (Hammer 2003, p. 220). The countries such as this, unemployed personnel should meet their survival needs at any price, getting a new job, becoming an entre preneur or amalgamating the alternative economy of the hustler. The labor market is not that sure in the sense of the word; this is because there is always some unemployment. Labor market is very special to those who make a difference between non clearing and market clearing. Human transaction takes place

Current legal event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current legal event - Essay Example When the order made concerns the businesses, it either leads to a negative impact or a positive impact to the businesses. Such orders have occurred in the United States of America in the year 2012 and the beginning of the year 2013. For instance the president Barack Obama gave an executive order on 12/2/2013 on the legal interpretation to the companies that manage internet activities (Klein, 2012,23). He ordered that the companies should have an insurance coverage that currently exists so that they may be secured from other risks that would affect their operation. This insurance cover, the cyber liability policy, would protect these companies from losses that may result from either the third party or the second party since it would permit them the access to identify the information of customers that transmit computer viruses to the other business partners (Klein, 2012, 31). Therefore due to this order, companies that would be found without such an insurance cover would face governmen t fines or charges. They would in addition respond to the costs used by the government to carry the investigation especially when any breach of conduct is discovered. Some companies accepted this order while others claimed that the penalties were too high and this would not make them reach a wider market. Another ruling came from the Supreme Court on 28/6/2012 that ordered an expansion of Medicaid with governors and the implementation of health insurance exchange. The ruling was to instruct all the individuals that that were under the department of health and human service to design the benefit package for the covered individuals. The expansion policy was also meant for all the states. In addition the governors had requested the federal government to give states flexibility to expand Medicaid. The penalty for not securing health insurance cover was also enforced, to regulate commerce among the state. This order was dismissed by some companies which claimed that it compelled citizens to be participants in the commercial market that would shift them from healthcare market. Therefore the healthcare market would go down as A result. However the provision also prevented the insurance company from refusing persons with the preexisting conditions and to charge their based on the persons medical back ground. Therefore it forced the insurance companies under the health care to reduce their premium rates (Klein, 2012, 27). The court also produced an act, validity of mandatory arbitration clause, on27/2/2013 that provided a legal shield to the corporations who steal from their customers. It forced consumers to give up their constitutional rights of bringing disputes against defendants as class actions, to give immunity to corporation which steal small amount of money across many individual customers. These made the customers to lose hope with such corporations due to lack of trust hence the corporations loosed their customers. Question 2 The legal events will have a sign ificant impact on the businesses because their rights are being protected and catered for. When the federal government gives an order that favors businesses, they get encouraged to involve more on the business activities. For instance the order that was given to the companies that manage internet facilities, which required them to take an insurance cover

Emancipation of the slaves Essay Example for Free

Emancipation of the slaves Essay uestion: Examine the methods employed by planters to induce labourers to work on sugar estates after emancipation. Full emancipation of the slaves was achieved in 1838 in the British West Indies and 1848 in the French colonies. The post-emancipation period was viewed with fear by planters who believed that mass of ex-slaves would exodus the plantations, robbing them of their labour supply. In many cases this was so. However, one can argue that the British West Indies experienced a greater labour problem than the French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Therefore, the coercive measures put in place in the French colonies were unjust, an example of over-exaggerated panic on the part of the planters, and a form of maintaining control over their declining power over labour. The term freed people refers to persons who were not enslaved to anyone, who had open to them various opportunities previously closed, who maintained complete control over their movements and in general their lives. According to the historian Rawle Farley, many ex-slaves saw the estates as an oppression of this particular meaning of freedom and hence left as a form of resisting it. To desert the plantations the ex-slave had to take into consideration land availability, population density and the flexibility to move from one profession to another or even to one with similar characteristics, such as small scale farming. Within low density colonies like British Guiana where land was plentiful, ex-slaves left to settle on small plots. Many ex-slaves also left to their original plantations to work on others where pay was high, some even ventured into other professions such as hucksters, butchers, skilled workers and managers. In some low density colonies like St. Lucia, conciliatory measures like the metayage system was employed so as to make plantation work more appealing. In these cases planters provided the tools, and the ex-slaves, the labour. Both parties shared in the produce at crop time making the ex-slave more eager to not only be present at crop time, but to do the premiere labour efficiently. However, in many other islands planters created a problematic situation for ex-slaves. In high density colonies like Antigua, coercive measures were put in place as a demonstration of power by planters. Even in the low density colony of Jamaica coercive measures dominated and undermined the entire concept of freedom. According to the historian, William A. Green, Jamaica suffered from not a labour shortage but a labour problem, that is, there was a labour force but they did not want to work on the plantations. Douglas Hall furthers this argument with the statement that, [Planters] were likely to exaggerate the withdrawal of ex-slaves from the estates. This leads one to blame the planters for being the creators of their own problems. In a panic, they attempted to force the ex-slaves to remain on the estates by applying the coercive measure of lowering wage rates while raising rents. This was intended to diminish net earnings from sales of provisions in local markets and so make the ex-slave dependent wages for his livelihood. It was this rent question that really was burning issue between employer and employee. In some cases rent was levied on each occupant of a cottage, while in other cases no rent was collected at all so that the labourers could be ejected at a moments notice. All requests by ex-slaves for annual tenacy was denied. Many labourers were faced with the situation whereby rents were paid form their wages. In addition this the tenant and his family household must still work for the landlord. According to Swithin Wilmot, rent was manipulated in such a fashion that it was a penalty rather than a charge for the use of estate property [and]refus[al] to pay [resulted in] increased rental. This coercive measure applied to keep freed persons on the estates had the opposite effect. Ex-slaves abandoned plantations to squat on crown land or purchased land and engaged in various agricultural endeavours for subsistence and market. If these escapees required additional income, they engaged in providing casual labour for the nearby plantations. Many ex-slaves bought land and formed freed villages. These freed villages were a danger to the sugar economy since peasant farmers provided competition with their crops. Within the French colonies labour laws were passed with the intention of controlling the peasantry. In Martinique in particular, where land availability was scarce, ex-slaves were forced to comply with many of the insufferable regulations, for example paying the personal tax, tolerating the pass system and maintaining a domestic passport. The personal tax was created before 1848 with the aim of restricting the movement of Blacks to the towns and served to restrict movement from the countryside. The law imposed a sum payable annually by inhabitants, the boroughs receiving higher taxes than those living in the countryside. In 1848 the personal tax jumped from 10 francs 50 centimes per year in Pointe-a-Pitre, to 15 francs. Even in the country areas, the personal tax rose from 4 francs 50 centimes to 5 francs. The creation of this tax was intended to both restrict the Blacks movement to that of the plantations while forcing them to work to pay for it. The need for the Blacks to pay taxes is extremely interesting, especially since, according to historian Dale Tomich, most planters could not afford to pay freed men wages. On February 15, 1852 the pass system was introduced to attempt to force the ex-slaves to adopt contractual labour. Rosamunde Renard notes that under this system, every individual working for a salary or a daily wage, or every holder of a work contract of less than one year should possess a pass. If they did not own a pass then they were sentenced to working in the workhouses. The authorities tended to play a greater role in supporting planters in the French colonies than in the British West Indies. Ex-slaves however responded at first with violence, attacking anyone trying to remove them from their homes or take away their freedom, and later engaging in passive resistance. When they had to register, they gave a different name for everything, the governor de Gueydon declared they baptized under one name, married under another, taxed under a third and unknown under all these names. The Blacks also loitered and refused to accept contractual work when ever they could. Though the planters mainly used coercive measures, they also attempted to apply conciliatory measures. In Martinique a system of medals for model workers was devised so as to encourage work on the plantations. Gold and bronze medals were distributed among the pupils of religious institutions who had done fairly well in agriculture. Schools were created with the purpose of training plantation workshop leaders and good workers. The freedmen were not fooled. They responded with increasing hostility towards these new attempts to make them stay on the plantations. In conclusion, the term induce tends to mean, according the dictionary to persuade. However, planters were seen applying more often force, that is, coercive measures rather than conciliatory measures to attempt to keep ex-slaves on the plantations. Within the high density colonies the coercive measures were not really necessary but rather a demonstration of planter control and power. Within the French colonies, if one is believe Perrison, there was absolutely no reason to apply the coercive measures the historian Rosamunde Renard described. For Martinique, one can question the sensibility of a slave revolt resulting in emancipation just before it was officially declared. Not surprisingly, an increasing distrust of the slaves exploded directly after emancipation was declared together with fear of economic ruin for the society. Planters and the Authorities joined forces against the savage, uncivilized Blacks whose nature inclined them away from the delights of working in the blistering sun on the plantations and more towards their crude and uninformed version of what freedom was about, like liberty of movement. These hostile attitudes of planters and authorities alike are responsible for the exodus of ex-slaves in both the British West Indies and the French colonies.

Worlds lone superpower

Worlds lone superpower In order to answer this question successfully we must answer it in four distinct sections. In the first section we will examine the debate over whether the United States is a hegemonic power or an imperial power. In the second section we will look at the main sources of Americas strength, examining the extent of its military power as well the power of its economy and the extent of its soft power. In the third section we will examine the nature of American weakness in the international arena, pointing to the Iraq War of 2003 and the War on Terror as two areas that expose American weakness clearly in todays world. In the fourth and final section we will analyse the rise of China, considering the arguments that this can be seen either as a threat or an opportunity. We will conclude that the United States is the worlds lone superpower and that the rise of China need not be viewed as a threat. According to Nexon and Wright modern international relations scholars operate with the assumption that whether the United States is an empire, the preeminent power in a unipolar system, or the leader of a hegemonic order, (this) shapes the basic dynamics of international politics[1]. Some have even gone as far as to suggest that the United States is simply a modern day imperial power. Hardt and Negri argue that imperial tendencies go right to the heart of the American constitution. They offer us the concept of imperial sovereignty and suggest that perhaps the fundamental characteristic of imperial sovereignty is that its space is always open[2]. They examine the constitutional history of the United States and find that each phase of its constitutional history marks a step toward the realisation of imperial sovereignty[3]. Hill has observed that this is a fundamental difference between the United States and China. It is commonplace to observe that the United States, for example, has c onsistently believed that its own values should be exported, whereas China has never felt the need to proselytise, despite its own conviction of superiority[4]. Hardt and Negri argue that the constitution of the United States has strong imperial tendencies and that this means that the United States is well placed in terms of acquiring a large Empire. However, these imperial tendencies are fundamentally different from previous imperialist nations. It is imperial because the U.S. constitutional project is constructed on the model of rearticulating an open space and reinventing incessantly diverse and singular relations in networks across an unbounded terrain[5]. The new imperialism is based upon open spaces and integrated networks, by which they refer primarily to the globalised world economy and it is the lead that the United States offers in this sphere that provides her with the power to stand at the head of the international community. Empire today does not mean anything like what we have always meant by empire. It occupies no lands; it has no center (not even in Washington); it doesnt depend on tightly controlled satellite governments; it is a postmodern entity[6]. Chalmers Johnson offers us another theory of the relationship between the US and Empire. Chalmers argues that the United States has not sought to actively conquer territories. In more modern times, unlike many empires, we did not annex territories at all. Instead we took (or sometimes merely leased) exclusive military zones within territories, creating not an empire of colonies but an empire of bases[7]. Chalmers goes on to show that the Department of Defence has admitted to the existence of some 725 overseas bases, but that many of these bases are ill equipped indeed to actively participate in any war. Instead these bases are the headquarters for our proconsuls, visible manifestations of our imperial reach[8]. We can see therefore that for Chalmers the imperialism of the United States is most tellingly portrayed by the extensive reach of the American military base, not as an active fighting force but instead as a way for the United States to spread its imperial tentacles. However, n ot all scholars agree that the term Empire or imperialism is valid in depicting the role of the United States in the world. Andrew Hurrell agrees that notions of informal empire provide some analytical purchase[9] when looking at the type of power that the United States exhibits in the modern world. However, Hurrell is reluctant to use the term Empire when referring to the United States. It is analytically more useful to understand the United States as a hegemonic rather than an imperial power, because doing so forces the analyst to focus directly on the crucial questions of negotiation, legitimacy and followership'[10]. Even if the United States is not an Empire, its sources of strength are clear. Brookes and Wohlforth have argued that the sources of American strength are so varied and so durable that U.S. foreign policy today operates in the realm of choice rather than necessity to a greater degree than any other power in modern history[11]. Unquestionably the military might of the United States is one critical factor. After the end of the Cold War America invested heavily in building up its military strength. The Americans were determined to increase their military strength to such a level that the United States would be able to overcome any enemy or combination of enemies. In 1999 the United States declared that its military expenditures now are larger than all other countries combined[12] and this attitude encapsulated the mood of the public and of Capitol Hill with regard to the military. After the Cold War, the measure of adequacy was no longer simply military strength; it had become military supremacy, a position endorsed by liberals as well as conservatives, Democrats as well as Republicans[13]. However, some have argued that the importance of military strength in defining the extent of a nations relative power in the international system is declining. The factors of technology, education, and economic growth are becoming more significant in international power, while geography, population and raw materials are becoming somewhat less important[14]. Fortunately for the United States it is well placed in all these new areas as well as continuing to exert more traditional forms of hard military power. The economy of the United States for example is still one that is immensely powerful and it accounts for over one-fifth of the world gross product. Joseph Nye has argued that as the nature of power undergoes transformations in the modern world traditional notions of hard power are becoming intertwined with the idea of soft power. A state may achieve the outcomes it prefers i n world politics because other states want to follow it or have agreed to a situation that produces such effects. In this sense, it is just as important to set the agenda and structure the situations in world politics as to get others to change in particular cases[15]. One important area of this soft power is the extent to which the United States is considered to be the legitimate world leader, not only the moral leader of the world but also its undoubted trend-setter. The pervasive influence of the United States cannot only be felt in the power of its military or in the strength of its economy but in its ability to inspire the peoples of other nations to strive for the same ideals for which it strives. On this viewing the cultural influence of the United States is just as important as its other sources of power. Unquestionably globalisation has allowed many non-Western people the chance to get their hands on many Western products and ideas. The important part of this is that many o f these people voluntarily choose to embrace Western ideas and products and this is undoubtedly an important source of strength for the United States. Despite such overwhelming strength some scholars do point to sources of weakness. Michael Ignatieff has argued that the Iraq War of 2003 is a turning point in American history. He claims that the war is imperial in its character but that an imperial war goes against the very heart of American values. A role once played by the Ottoman Empire, then by the French and the British, will now be played by a nation that has to ask whether in becoming an empire it risks losing its soul as a republic[16]. The American nation was born in the struggle against Empire and if it itself turns imperial then this could prove to be a source of weakness for the United States as it would heavily dilute its national character. The United States would then be vulnerable of falling into the same traps as many Empires throughout history and it is only by maintaining its anti-imperial character that the nation can guard against this slide into Empire. Since the demise of the Soviet Union, which constituted an active threat to the United States, the greatest threat for the United States has clearly come from terrorism. Since the attacks on September 11 the level of this perceived threat has only escalated and it led George W. Bush to declare a war on terror. This war on terror has exposed some fundamental sources of American weakness. It has shown that despite the awesome military strength of the United States establishing order in the aftermath of the Iraq war was very difficult. In fact, September 11 showed that at times the United States was not even able to guarantee the safety of its citizens within its own borders, despite its enormous power, strength and resources. The war on terror has also raised questions about the ability of the US military to deal with the Al-Qaeda threat, which certainly cannot overwhelm the US military but at the same time the military cannot defeat the terrorists and their guerilla tactics when they encounter them. Indeed many have argued that the invasion s of Afghanistan and Iraq have been highly counterproductive in combating terrorism. Michael Scheuer, a 20-year CIA veteran has argued that US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have left both countries seething with anti-U.S. sentiment, fertile grounds for the expansion of Al-Qaeda and kindred groups. He adds that the invasions were exactly what bin Laden and his associates had hoped for, since they gave new evidence to Muslims that Americans were the new crusaders, foreign infidels bent on conquest[17]. This is a major problem for the United States, because even though it does not affect Americas military power it has led to a loss of soft power for the United States. The invasion of Iraq in particular led to splits in the Security Council and has impeded the efforts of the United States to act as the worlds moral authority and thereby set the worlds agenda. Other actions such as the creation of Guantà ¡namo Bay and the abuses at Abu Ghraib have further damaged the credi bility of the United States to proclaim itself as the worlds greatest champion of human rights. This has created a backlash against American values, especially in the Islamic world and has led to the perception that American influence is corrupting and negative. Another potential source of weakness for the United States is the precarious nature of its current economic condition and the doubts about the long-term sustainability of public and private debt levels. If the United States loses its position at the top of the global economy this could have serious implications for the extent global power that the United States can wield. Let us now turn to examine the rise of China. Few countries are poised to have more impact on the world over the next 15-20 years than China. If current trends persist, by 2025 China will have the worlds second largest economy and will be a leading military power[18]. The question is whether the United States will view the expansion of Chinese power as a threat or whether the Americans and Chinese can build a positive and mutually beneficial partnership. If they are able to do the latter then one could argue that China does not stand in the way of continued US global hegemony. The two nations could engage to a significant extent and create sustained worldwide economic growth, solve regional disputes and also work together to combat the threats posed by rogue states and terrorism. However, if tensions between the two Pacific powers worsen, the whole of Eastern Eurasia could become divided in a new cold war, and the prospects for confrontation and conflict would seem certain to rise[19 ]. Webber and Smith have shown that the Bush administration certainly recognised the potential threat that an increasingly powerful China could pose. In March 2001, Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defence in the Bush administration, presented a strategic assessment which suggested that China was to be regarded as Americas principal potential adversary and that greater priority, consequently, needed to be given to long-range power projection forces capable of deployment in the Asia-Pacific region[20]. Indeed a report from the United States Congress has shown that the threat from China is not solely confined to the field of the military, but that the vast growth of the Chinese economy and the manner in which it conducts trade with America could also have potentially harmful effects upon the American economy. Another concern are the large and growing U.S. trade deficits with China, which have risen from $10.4 billion in 1990 to an estimated $232 billion in 2006, and are viewed by man y Members as an indicator that China uses unfair trade practices (such as an undervalued currency and subsidies to domestic producers) to flood U.S. markets with low-cost goods and to restrict U.S. exports, and that such practices threaten American jobs, wages, and living standards[21]. Peerenboom has argued that this view of China as a threat and the resulting containment strategy is highly likely to backfire. US policy will have to abandon neoconservative policies that seek to contain China, which is the surest way to bring about the kind of military conflict and economic trade war that all hope to avoid. Portraying China as a threat that must be contained fuels animosity and undermines those constituencies in China working to ensure that Chinas rise to power is peaceful[22]. Indeed, Peerenboom argues that for all the possible sources of conflict, there are many areas where the interests of both parties are aligned[23]. Despite the assessments by the Bush administration Friedberg convincingly argues that the relationship between the United States and China is more likely to be characterised by both co-operation and conflict in the future as it has been since 1989. The fundamentally mixed character of the U.S.-China relationship will not change very much, perhaps o scillating within a fairly narrow range, with periodic shifts toward greater cooperation or increased competition, but without a clear trend in either direction[24]. If this is indeed the case then the prospects for continued US global hegemony look promising. The signs are that the two countries should be able to work together effectively to tackle the worlds problems and this will mean that the United States will be likely to be the senior partner in the relationship. The ability of the United States to continue to set the global agenda will be vital in its quest for continued hegemony. In Conclusion, we have seen that the United States continues to be the worlds lone superpower. The extent of its military power is staggering and unseen in the worlds history to this point. However, the United States continues to be the worlds lone superpower because allied to this awesome military strength is a powerful economy and soft power that can shape the dictates of policy across the world. Clearly the United States has areas of weakness and not only that but they are exposed often and frankly in todays media and in academic circles. The invasion of Iraq and the War on Terror have shown that even overwhelming military, economic and political power are not sufficient to win the battles of the 21st Century, that are often as much about winning hearts and minds on Arab streets as they are about beating Islamic fundamentalists based in caves in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, despite these obvious deficeiencies there is no question that the sources of American strength are so overwhelming that it continues to be the worlds lone superpower. It is for this reason that the United States does not need to fear the rise of China, even if some in the Bush administration did view China as a threat. Friedberg is right to argue that the relationship between the two countries will be characterised by conflict and co-operation, but the attitude of the United States towards China will be a critical factor in determining whether the 21st Century is marked by cooperation or another Cold War. If the United States manages to deal with China effectively to tackle the worlds problems, then it will continue to be the senior and most influential partner in the relationship between the two countries. Bibliography Hill, Christopher, The Changing Politics of Foreign Policy (2003) Webber, Mark, Smith, Michael, Foreign Policy in a Transformed World (2002) Hurrell, Andrew, On Global Order (2007) Nexon, Daniel, Wright, Thomas, Whats at Stake in the American Empire Debate?, The American Political Science Review, 101 (2) (2007), pp.253-271 Hardt, Michael, Negri, Antonio, Empire (2000) Wohlforth, William Brookes, Stephen, American Primacy in Perspective, Foreign Affairs, 81 (4) (2002), pp.20-33 Bacevich, A.J., American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy (2002) Nye, Joseph, Soft Power, Foreign Policy, 80 (1990), pp.153-171 Friedberg, Aaron, The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?, International Security, 30 (2) (2005), pp.7-45 Johnson, Chalmers, The Sorrows of Empire (2004) Mann, Michael, Incoherent Empire (2005) Peerenboom, Randall, China modernises (2007) Websites: http://www.dni.gov/nic/PDF_2025/2025_Global_Trends_Final_Report.pdf http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=455 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E6DA143FF936A35752C0A9659C8B63sec=spon=pagewanted=1 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33604.pdf Nexon, Daniel, Wright, Thomas, Whats at Stake in the American Empire Debate?, The American Political Science Review, 101 (2) (2007), pp.253 Hardt, Michael, Negri, Antonio, Empire (2000), pp.167 Hardt, Michael, Negri, Antonio, Empire (2000), pp.168 Hill, Christopher, The Changing Politics of Foreign Policy (2003), pp.18 Hardt, Michael, Negri, Antonio, Empire (2000), pp.182 http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=455 Johnson, Chalmers, The Sorrows of Empire (2004), pp.23 Johnson, Chalmers, The Sorrows of Empire (2004), pp.24 Hurrell, Andrew, On Global Order (2007), pp.262 Hurrell, Andrew, On Global Order (2007), pp.262 Wohlforth, William Brookes, Stephen, American Primacy in Perspective, Foreign Affairs, 81 (4) (2002), pp. 30-31 Bacevich, A.J., American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy (2002), pp.126 Bacevich, A.J., American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy (2002), pp.126 Nye, Joseph, Soft Power, Foreign Policy, 80 (1990), pp.154 Nye, Joseph, Soft Power, Foreign Policy, 80 (1990), pp.166 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E6DA143FF936A35752C0A9659C8B63sec=spon=pagewanted=1 Mann, Michael, Incoherent Empire (2005), pp.xvii http://www.dni.gov/nic/PDF_2025/2025_Global_Trends_Final_Report.pdf:, pp.29 Friedberg, Aaron, The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?, International Security, 30 (2) (2005), pp.8 Webber, Mark, Smith, Michael, Foreign Policy in a Transformed World (2002), pp.124 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33604.pdf Peerenboom, Randall, China modernises (2007), pp.276 Peerenboom, Randall, China modernises (2007), pp.276 Friedberg, Aaron, The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?, International Security, 30 (2) (2005), pp.37

Development Of The Mbo Concept Business Essay

Development Of The Mbo Concept Business Essay Management by Objectives has been one of the most successful approaches to management to date. The fact that MBO has survived for about twenty years indicates that it is more than just a fashionable technique. What is often overlooked, however, is that MBO has changed considerably over the years. There are still some who think of MBO as an appraisal tool. But, if this narrow, limited view of MBO is taken, then MBO would indeed have serious limitations. On the other hand, if MBO becomes a way of managing, many of the undesirable consequences encountered in appraisal can be avoided. Development of the MBO Concept The term Management by Objectives was introduced and popularized by Peter Drucker, who stated that, Objectives are needed in every area where performance and results directly and vitally affect the survival and prosperity of the business. In addition, he emphasized the importance of participative goal setting, selfcontrol, and self-evaluation. But Druckers idea of MBO was not adopted in its entirety, and MBO was not practiced as a way of managing. Rather, selected aspects were taken and applied to performance appraisal. The Appraisal Approach. McGregor called attention to the shortcomings of conventional appraisal programs, which focused mainly on personality traits. The manager, mistrusting the validity of the appraisal instrument, resisted because he did not like to judge other human beings like physical objects. Consequently, McGregor suggested anew appraisal format, utilizing Druckers MBO concepts. In this approach, the subordinate sets his short-term performance goals for himself. These goals are then discussed further with his superior. Later, the individuals performance is evaluated against these goals, but it is primarily self-appraisal. The MBO approach to appraisal was certainly a step in the right direction. However, it dealt with only a small (although important) part of the managerial job. Integrating Objectives. In the middle 1960s, behavioral scientists became interested in the MBO philosophy. They saw MBO as a way of integrating individual and organizational objectives, in which the individual becomes an active participant in the managerial process. Moreover, the underlying premise is not that top management knows best, but rather, that individuals at all levels are capable of contributing to the success of the organization. Consequently, participation is a key aspect of this orientation. Another characteristic of this MBO approach is the concern not only for organizational objectives, but also personal development objectives. It recognizes that learning does not stop at the time a diploma or degree is earned. Learning is a continuing process. Therefore, developmental and growth objectives are now an important part of the MBO process. Another facet that should be mentioned here is that people in organizations are better educated than ever before. Consequently, they do not want to accept orders blindly; they demand a part of the action; they want to be involved; they want more control over their job and their life; and they also want to know where the company is going, so that they can contribute to the aims of the organization. MBO, which stresses participation, was found to be a means to satisfy these needs. It was recognized that people want to do a good job and that the needs of the organization and the individual are not necessarily incongruent, and that they can be integrated. Therefore, both the individual and the organization can benefit from this approach to management. The Long-Term View. Although the new emphasis on the needs of individuals created a more favourable environment for managing, there were still some problems. One was that the focus was still primarily on shortterm, one-year objectives. Unfortunately, this often resulted in undesirable consequences. For example, individuals, focusing on the one-year cycle, may neglect important decisions necessary for the long-term health of the organization. This points to the need to integrate long range and strategic plans with medium and short-range objectives. The implication of the new orientation had a greater impact than might appear on the surface. Previously,MBO programs were primarily implemented by the personnel departments. It was not unusual to find the top management attitude that MBO is valuable, but only for middle and lower managers. The new orientation and the shift to a more comprehensive approach to MBO (relating it to long-range and strategic plans) demands the attention and invo lvement of top management. Their commitment has to go beyond the issuance of a policy statement endorsing MBO for the company. Instead, top executives must become active participants in the MBO process. Consequently, MBO welds together not only short-term goals with long-term aims, it also integrates the efforts of managers at all levels of the organization. . Management by Objectives (MBO) Method The Management by Objectives (MBO) method is a process in which managers and employees jointly set objectives for the employees, periodically evaluate performance, and reward according to the results. Although it is a three-step process, no standard form is used with MBO, so it is a method. MBO is also referred to as work planning and review, goals management, goals and controls, and management by results. Why and when do we use the MBO method? The MBO method is one of the best methods of developing employees. Like critical incidents, employees get ongoing feedback on how they are doing, usually at scheduled interval meetings. We can use the MBO method successfully with our employees if we commit to the process and truly involve employees rather than trying to make them believe that our objectives are theirs-accurate measures. On an organization-wide basis, MBO is not too commonly used as the sole assessment method. It is more commonly used based on the evaluative assessment during the development part of the performance appraisal. One difficult part of MBO is that in many situations, most, if not all, employees will have different goals, making MBO more difficult and time-consuming than using a standard assessment form. How do we use the MBO method? MBO is a three-step process: Step 1. Set individual objectives and plans. The manager sets objectives jointly with each individual employee.26 The objectives are the heart of the MBO process and should be accurate measures of performance results. To be accurate, objectives should be SMART.27 They need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Being specific, measurable, and time-based is fairly easy to determine in a written goal, but being attainable and relevant is more difficult. So we developed a model based on the work of Max E. Douglas with two examples in Model 8-1 that we can use when setting objectives for ourselves or with others. Step 2. Give feedback and evaluate performance. Communication is the key factor in determining MBOs success or failure, and employees should continually critique their own performance.28 Thus, the manager and employee must communicate often to review progress.29 The frequency of evaluations depends on the individual and the job performed. However, most managers do not conduct enough review sessions. Step 3. Reward according to performance. Employees performance should be measured against their objectives. Employees who meet their objectives should be rewarded through recognition, praise, pay raises, promotions, and so on.30 Employees who do not meet their goals, so long as the reason is not out of their control, usually have rewards withheld and even punishment when necessary. Advantages: The MBO approach overcomes some of the problems that arise as a result of assuming that the employee traits needed for job success can be reliably identified and measured. Instead of assuming traits, the MBO method concentrates on actual outcomes. If the employee meets or exceeds the set objectives, then he or she has demonstrated an acceptable level of job performance. Employees are judged according to real outcomes, and not on their potential for success, or on someones subjective opinion of their abilities. The guiding principle of the MBO approach is that direct results can be observed, whereas the traits and attributes of employees (which may or may not contribute to performance) must be guessed at or inferred. The MBO method recognizes the fact that it is difficult to neatly dissect all the complex and varied elements that go to make up employee performance. MBO advocates claim that the performance of employees cannot be broken up into so many constituent parts as one might take apart an engine to study it. But put all the parts together and the performance may be directly observed and measured. Disadvantages MBO methods of performance appraisal can give employees a satisfying sense of autonomy and achievement. But on the downside, they can lead to unrealistic expectations about what can and cannot be reasonably accomplished. Supervisors and subordinates must have very good reality checking skills to use MBO appraisal methods. They will need these skills during the initial stage of objective setting, and for the purposes of self-auditing and self-monitoring. Unfortunately, research studies have shown repeatedly that human beings tend to lack the skills needed to do their own reality checking. Nor are these skills easily conveyed by training. Reality itself is an intensely personal experience, prone to all forms of perceptual bias. One of the strengths of the MBO method is the clarity of purpose that flows from a set of well-articulated objectives. But this can be a source of weakness also. It has become very apparent that the modern organization must be flexible to survive. Objectives, by their very nature, tend to impose a certain rigidity. MBO PROCESS This type of managing hasnt been around forever: Its an approach called Management by Objectives; a system that seeks to align employees goals with the goals of the organization. This ensures that everyone is clear about what they should be doing, and how that is beneficial to the whole organization. Its quite easy to see why this type of managing makes sense when the parts work in unison the whole works smoothly too. And by focusing on what youre trying to achieve, you can quickly discriminate between tasks that must be completed, and those that are just a waste of valuable time. http://www.mindtools.com/media/MBO.jpg These steps are explained below: 1. Set or Review Organizational Objectives MBO starts with clearly defined strategic organizational objectives (see our article on Mission and Vision Statements for more on this.) If the organization isnt clear where its going, no one working there will be either. 2. Cascading Objectives Down to Employees To support the mission, the organization needs to set clear goals and objectives, which then need to cascade down from one organizational level to the next until they reach the everyone. To make MBO goal and objective setting more effective, Drucker used the SMART acronym to set goals that were attainable and to which people felt accountable. He said that goals and objectives must be: Specific Measurable Agreed (relating to the participative management principle) Realistic Time related Notice the A in SMART is agreed. This is sometimes referred to as achievable but, with MBO, agreement about the goals is a critical element: Its not enough for the goals and objectives to be set at the top and then handed down. They must flow, or trickle, down through various stages of agreement. The only goal that is going to be met is one that is agreed on. How much easier is to get buy in when the person responsible for achieving the goal had a hand in developing it? 3. Encourage Participation in Goal Setting Everyone needs to understand how their personal goals fit with the objectives of the organization. This is best done when goals and objectives at each level are shared and discussed, so that everyone understands why things are being done, and then sets their own goals to align with these. This increases peoples ownership of their objectives. Rather than blindly following orders, managers, supervisors, and employees in an MBO system know what needs to be done and thus dont need to be ordered around. By pushing decision-making and responsibility down through the organization, you motivate people to solve the problems they face intelligently and give them the information they need to adapt flexibly to changing circumstances.Through a participative process, every person in the organization will set his or her own goals, which support the overall objectives of the team, which support the objectives of the department, which support the objectives of the business unit, and which support the objectives of the organization. 4. Monitor Progress Because the goals and objectives are SMART, they are measurable. They dont measure themselves though, so you have to create a monitoring system that signals when things are off track. This monitoring system has to be timely enough so that issues can be dealt with before they threaten goal achievement. With the cascade effect, no goal is set in isolation, so not meeting targets in one area will affect targets everywhere. On the other hand, it is essential that you ensure that the goals are not driving adverse behaviour because they have not been designed correctly. For instance, a call centre goal of finishing all calls within seven minutes might be useful in encouraging the staff to handle each call briskly, and not spend unnecessary time chatting. However, it might be that customers calls were becoming more complex, perhaps because of a faulty new product, and call centre operators were terminating the call after 6 minutes 59 seconds in order to meet their target, leaving customers to call back, frustrated. In this situation, the monitoring process should pick up the shift in the goal environment and change the goal appropriately.Set up a specific plan for monitoring goal performance (once a year, combined with a performance review is not sufficient!) Badly-implemented MBO tends to stress the goal setting without the goal monitoring. Here is where you take control of performance and demand accountability. Think about all the goals you have set and didnt achieve. Having good intentions isnt enough, you need a clear path marked by accountability checkpoints. Each goal should have mini-goals and a method for keeping on top of each one. 5. Evaluate and Reward Performance MBO is designed to improve performance at all levels of the organization. To ensure this happens, you need to put a comprehensive evaluation system in place. As goals have been defined in a specific, measurable and time-based way, the evaluation aspect of MBO is relatively straightforward. Employees are evaluated on their performance with respect to goal achievement (allowing appropriately for changes in the environment.) All that is left to do is to tie goal achievement to reward, and perhaps compensation, and provide the appropriate feedback. Employees should be given feedback on their own goals as well as the organizations goals. Make sure you remember the participative principle: When you present organization-wide results you have another opportunity to link individual groups performances to corporate performance. Ultimately this is what MBO is all about and why, when done right, it can spur organization-wide performance and productivity. Management by objectives is not a technique of performance appraisal, but it denotes a systematic process of performance appraisal MBO as an approach which uses objectives as a focal point to improve managerial performance and managerial effectiveness, both at the individual and at the organisational level. These objectives serve to guide, direct, review and measure performance. However, MBO should not be thought of as merely a tool for performance appraisal. It is a far more comprehensive mechanism and provides a framework for organisational and managerial decisions In the MBO approach while the objectives provide the focal point, the emphasis is on improving the performance and providing better results. This is because MBO is concerned with achieving the objectives as well as the process by which they are achieved. The objectives will necessarily vary with the managerial level at which they are set. Objectives at the level of the managing director will be different from those of a branch manager or the production manager. However, all these objectives are derived from the organisations overall objectives and i n turn are linked to the corporate plan. The fact that MBO allows for distant, intangible organisational objectives to be converted into achievable, personalised objectives (for each level of management ) is the reason for its success and popularity. The key concepts in MBO are : à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ emphasis on results rather than activities, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ objectives for specific managerial positions, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ participatory or joint objective setting, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ identification of key result areas, and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ establishment of periodic review system.

Diversity, Ideology, and Teaching Writing :: Education School Essays

Diversity, Ideology, and Teaching Writing Throughout history people as well as animals have found ways to make life, as we know it simpler. With this ease comes a greater level of technology, which requires humans to once again adapt to this ever-changing society. In result, communication, understanding and knowledge plays key importance to how our society grows. Through trial and error we have learned how education works and the best method of teaching, but we still sometimes wonder what is the absolute best way. Teachers and students alike know the outmost importance of education. Everything from getting a job to being respected is based on your academic standing. The more accurate question has been what exactly should be learned? While noting the word success, an achievement of something intended or desired, I asked myself how much information is merely needed to survive in our society and how much is needed to be successful? I also sometimes ask myself how much of the information that I have learned is attained and used in my daily life. A new technological world is at large and you must uphold certain standards or you too will be left behind. I know that with the computer advancements that have been made in the last decade was nothing that my parents could have imagined in their wildest dreams. It's kind of unreal when you stop and take a look, but you must realize it is happening, the time is now and the best way to prosper is through education. I am a stern believer that education goes beyond high school. Not only does it apply to college but throughout life. As a child whose parents were unable to attend college I feel privileged with the opportunity. There was no question that I'd be enrolling in college after high school graduation. This experience will enable me to obtain the two things that I think are most important in my college career. That is to gain knowledge of the people and world around me, and become a critical thinker so that I am able to analyze any situation. The purpose of a college writing course to me is to help do both. I have realized that those are the two most important in that if you have the knowledge and thinking ability then you are open to learn. From elementary school forth I have practiced perfecting my English, as if it's not my native language.

Homecoming :: essays research papers

Homecoming â€Å"What kind of mother would leave her four kids in a parked car in a strange town and then just walk away? Maybe a mother who went a little crazy. But the Tilerman Kids—Dicey, James, Sammy, and Maybeth—couldn’t do anything to stop her. All they could do was watch as their mother blended into the Saturday morning mall crowd. It was their last glimpse they had of her. Now Dicey only thirteen would have to find an adult they could trust to take them ALL in so they wouldn’t end up in foster care. Those were Dicey’s hopes. But deep down Dicey was afraid that it was too much to hope for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Dicey Tillerman: Strong, young, scared, and frustrated, but seems to stay completely sane and hopeful when all hopes are gone and reality is the only thing there is. Abigail Tillerman: Strong, stubborn, and confused. She wonders if she takes her grandchildren in will she be fit enough to handle them. Will they love her back if she loves them? The answer lies within her and she soon finds out its better to have someone than no one at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"People say she crazy†. Said Dicey   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Crazy like a Fox†. James replied.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  (Describing their Grandmother) The conflicts in the book are a mixture of INTERNAL and EXTERNAL. Dicey has people she meets that don’t treat them very good but than she fights with herself to not give up and keep going, believing that there is someone out there that will take them in and love them. All of them. The theme the author develops about life is that not everything will work out but to keep looking and trying something eventually will work out. I would recommend this book because I found it to be very inspirational and comforting that there was someone who took them in and proved that there was still good to be had in the world.

The Measure of Ones Life :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

The Measure of a One's Life The measure of one's life is in his or her deeds. The life of Whittier Crocket Witherspoon has been remarkable in its scope of accomplishment and influence. He's been an educator, a school principal and teacher and a political leader who's met with presidents and the political elite of our country. In 1987 Gov. Jim Hunt awarded him the Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina's highest civilian award) for a lifetime of service, and his house is a treasure trove of awards, mementos and photographs. Yet, for all the awards, all the accolades, Witherspoon seems most proud of the lives he has touched and the children who have gone on to successful careers and lives. "I am pleased to note that I have kids who have received their doctorates, and masters, and are nurses and teachers," he says. "A number are ministers. Many in this community." He came to the Albemarle area in 1955 as the principal of what was then the Sawyers Creek School, the school for blacks in a segregated Camden County school system. The U.S. Supreme Court had just ordered the desegregation of schools, and over the next 13 years, as the nation struggled with issues of racial hatred and division, the Marion Anderson School, as it was renamed in 1957, remained an island of calm in the storm. Although they were turbulent times, Witherspoon did not feel complex answers were needed. "I told (students) that when they stepped on that bus, they were mine," he says. "I told them they should love one another. I treated everybody the same. My school was run on love. L-O-V-E." It is a philosophy that comes from the pulpit of his father, a Methodist minister who traveled "all over," in the words of Witherspoon. "I have looked up most of all to my father, and I have tried to follow in his footsteps," he says. "He attempted to train us (Witherspoon and his three brothers), and looking back over the years, I see that he did very well." The lessons he learned were based on love and respect: to respect oneself, love others and love and respect this country. Witherspoon served in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II, island hopping across forgotten atolls and nameless islands.

Critical Evaluation of the Benefits and Limitations of Using Ict in Knowledge Management Processes Essay

1. 0 Introduction Knowledge management can be considered to be an essential strategic function in any organisation today. As the world becomes more globalised, and traditional structures of intermediation are removed whilst new ones are created, it is clear that knowledge, and consequently a learning organisation is one that is more likely to find unique sources of competitive advantage, and be able to develop sustainable competitive strategies in the long term. A number of different processes and sub-processes have been identified with knowledge management, such as knowledge generation, knowledge codification, and knowledge transfer or realisation (Grover and Davenport, 2001). Nonaka (1994) suggests that knowledge itself is created through the conversion between tacit and explicit knowledge, through the processes of socialisation, internalisation, externalisation, and combination. Technology has often been used to facilitate and support the processes involved in knowledge management. Knowledge management is essential for sustaining the growth of an organisation and ensuring its success. From the perspective of investors, the worth or value of an organisation is as a result of its ability to strategically retain and generate knowledge that facilitates the organisation’s business activity. The sharing of practices throughout the organisational hierarchy, and adoption of effective techniques formulated by individuals having great expertise in the relevant field can help to improve the efficiency of the business activity. Yet the intertwining of knowledge management processes and information and communication technologies (ICT) may blind knowledge managers to the shortcomings of the use of ICT in knowledge management processes. This essay therefore seeks to present a critical evaluation of the benefits and limitations of ICT in knowledge management processes. 2. 0 Benefits of Using ICT Knowledge management is essential for sustaining the growth of an organisation. From the perspective of investors, the worth or value of an organisation is as a result of its ability to strategically retain and generate knowledge that facilitates the organisation’s business activity. The sharing of practices throughout the organisational hierarchy, and adoption of effective techniques formulated by individuals having great expertise in the relevant field can help to improve the efficiency of the business activity. Wenger et al (2010) explain that one of the main advantages of technology is that it has allowed communities to interact in new ways. In fact, new technology that was developed to facilitate interaction between communities was often the result of a need that was felt by these communities, for a tool to facilitate interaction within the community. The technology tools help communities to bridge problems such as time and space, participation and reification, etc. Examples of such tools include the Internet itself, wikis, etc. In terms of knowledge management processes, these communication tools are important because they facilitate communication between two or more people, and consequently tacit knowledge sharing within the community. Kelly (2009) explains that the technological dimensions are part and parcel of effective knowledge management. Some of the technologies which are essential for modern knowledge management processes include business intelligence, CRM (Customer relationship management software), collaboration, distributed learning, knowledge mapping, etc. Databases can be used as knowledge repositories, as well as for storing structured and unstructured knowledge; they may also be used to identify the people (tacit knowledge holders) within the organisation. Each of these different set of technological tools facilitate different knowledge management processes. For example, business intelligence software allows the firm to create knowledge about its competitors, and the broader economic environment. Collaboration and distributed learning technologies allows individuals within the organisation to communicate and share knowledge, allowing for geographical and structural barriers to be overcome. This is especially important in today’s globalised world. Technology simplifies the flow of knowledge and accelerates its dissemination and assimilation. Knowledge discovery technologies allow the firm to find new knowledge, either within the organisation itself, or outside; knowledge mapping technologies facilitate the tracking of knowledge sources effectively, etc. Overall, it can be said that the different aspects of knowledge creation, transfer and storage is facilitated through technological infrastructure. Introducing technology in knowledge management will reduce redundancy in the activities of an organisation. It can enhance productivity and can be used for skill development. Promoting client value can also simplified by using technology for knowledge management. Improved and efficient use of knowledge management offers competitive benefits in the market. It leverages an organisation and makes it better prepared to face uncertainties both on a local and global scale. The sharing of practices, techniques and information with partners around the globe, made easy by technology can help streamline business processes which otherwise may be inefficient and wasteful i. e. aligning the organisational objectives with the available resources to successfully conduct the business activity can be greatly enhanced with the use of technology in knowledge management. Zack, 1999) 3. 0 Limitations of Using ICT Boland et al (2004) opine that much of the effort to design information technology to support some of the higher level knowledge management functions such as cognition and decision making at the managerial level have severe shortcomings. They highlight some of the problems inherent with using ICT such functions, explaining that as the collection of representations grows, as in hypertext, it becomes increasingly difficult to navigate through the collection. Help is required, and this help is the price that has to be paid for richer communication. Then there is multiplicity, where each of the actors have their own interpretations of the same situation; these multiple interpretations are required in order to support individual reflective thought as well as group dialog. Clearly, technology is not sufficiently advanced yet to support these high level rich communication that is required for knowledge management. Roberts (2010) is rather critical of the ability of ICT to contribute to knowledge transfer, especially tacit knowledge transfer. She states that technology has been proven to be very useful for the transfer of codified knowledge, i. . explicit knowledge, but is still relatively less useful for the transfer of tacit knowledge. Furthermore, the impact of ICT on the production processes even in the knowledge based economy of today, which is highly dependent on technology, is unevenly distributed. This is because technology is yet to be able to replace, much less enhance certain forms of human interaction. Roberts (ibid) further explains that knowledge is a very complex construct, resulting in technology being inadequate to fully facilitate knowledge transfer (esp. acit knowledge). For example, she highlights that tacit knowledge transfer requires antecedents such as trust, mutual understanding, and many other factors that can be established only through face to face interaction (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1998). Hislop (2002) explains that the sharing of knowledge between communities is very complex and not straightforward. Different organisations may experience different problems with the sharing of knowledge, because of different factors. Any application of technology for the purposes of knowledge sharing therefore should take into account the potential difficulties involved in knowledge sharing across communities. Knowledge sharing within communities is made more complex also when there is a lack of the sense of collective identity as well as a significant common knowledge base. Divergent identities means that there may be perceived or actual differences in interest between two or more communities, creating a potential for conflict. Walsham (2001) provides many examples of where ICT is inadequate for knowledge management. For example, he shows that the knowledge management processes are particularly complex when working across different cultures. The workers in different cultures based their specialist expertise on different foundations (such as experience, or theoretical knowledge) resulting in different methods of knowledge transmission through the product cycle. These different workers from different cultures would then give different degrees of importance to technology, and the different emphases on face to face contact. Walsham (ibid) further suggests that the role of technology in knowledge management processes is limited to facilitating communication, such as through the creation of safe enclaves for online communication. He also stresses that the use of technology should be context-dependant. In fact, Newell et al (in Prichard, 2000) rightly point out that technology has been considered to be essential in knowledge management, but is actually based on ‘nebulous concepts’. However, the increasing pervasiveness of technology in organisations, and the different ways in which it can be put to use creates its own problems. They explain that the routine use and reliance on IT cuts across different managerial specialisms, and increases the levels of uncertainty about the relationship between the use of the technology and the pursuit of the organisational goals. This means that many organisations perhaps adopt technology for the sake of adopting technology. However, this should not be the case, as IT is just a tool like any other, to be used to achieve a particular purpose. The relative sophistication of the tool tends to blind managers as to the fact that it is a tool, and using the tool becomes the goal. This is detrimental to the organisation’s long term prospects. Hislop (2010) explains that it is the fundamental nature of knowledge that makes it extremely difficult for technology to play a central role in the knowledge sharing processes. This is because very specific conditions are required for ICT-based knowledge sharing to take place successfully. From the practical perspective, the tacit and explicit division of types of knowledge has worked well; viewing knowledge through a different lens does not do away with the problems that arise when technology is to be used in the knowledge management processes. McKinlay (2002) also points out that there may be other dangers associated with the over reliance on technology for knowledge management. For example, he explains that team work is used for knowledge sharing, because it was able to result in the extraction of tacit knowledge hidden in the routines of team work; this extraction of tacit knowledge could then allow for its conversion into codified knowledge. If team work were to be abolished totally, then the team working routines which facilitated the extraction of the tacit knowledge would not take place; consequently, the extraction of tacit knowledge would also not take place. Furthermore, he points out that the use of technology often results in formal working practises. However, there are ‘relatively frubby and pedestrian forms of knowledge’ that are very important for knowledge creation, in the form of radical product and process innovation. From this it can be seen that the over emphasis on the use of technology in knowledge management can actually be counter productive, and result in less effective knowledge management. Jackson (1999) explains that one of the major problems with the use of technology in knowledge management processes is that both technological and business changes are taking place at a very rapid pace. This means that human beings have very little time to get to grip with the change, and assess the impact of these changes. There is also consequently even less time for reflection on the type of systems and competencies needed, and to create new configurations of work based on these new technologies. In addition to this there is also the issue of cost effectiveness, which underlies all effort in the business environment. If any task is not cost effective, it should not be undertaken. However, the pace of progress of technology cannot be predicted, and this undermines the cost efficiency of any effort relating to the assessment and effective implementation of technology in knowledge management processes. Overall, it can be said that it is clear that the blind use of technology in knowledge management processes has a number of disadvantages which should not be ignored by any good knowledge manager. 3. 0 Conclusion Clearly, the role of ICT in knowledge management is one that is evolving. This is because not only is knowledge management itself evolving, but technology itself is developing at a rapid pace. ICTs have been shown to bring a number of benefits to the various knowledge management processes, and can be considered to be essential for these processes. However, it was also shown that ICTs are not sufficiently developed to be able to replace face to face interaction in knowledge management processes. In fact, it is shown that ICT is still highly inadequate in replacing the antecedents required for higher level knowledge management processes that are provided by face to face communications. Hence it can be said that knowledge managers must use ICT in a considered manner. Neither can they ignore the benefits of ICT to some knowledge management processes, nor can they ignore the limitations of ICT for the other knowledge management processes.

Assignment Questions Chapters 5-7 Psychology Essay

1. Most reliable studies aimed at d select human retentivity ar conducted at bottom a framework kn birth as in regulateation- carry by means ofing theory. This burn down throw offs manipulation of modern computing device science and related fields to all(prenominal) toldow cases that help psychologists understand the kneades tangled in retentiveness. The universal principles of the in normalation transitioning border on to incorporateing admit the notion that reminiscence involves three distinct processes. The starting process, convert, is the process of trans nisusing information into a form that wad be lined in stor bestride. The second process, stor progress, is the process of keeping or maintaining information in storage. The final process, retrieval, is the process of bringing to bew ar information that has been stored in the retrospect (p.168). both influential theorists concerning the information-processing theory be Richard Atkinson and R ichard Shiffrin. They characterized depot as three assorted, interacting stock establishments stunning memory board, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the memory system that holds information from the senses for a period of clipping ranging from only a fraction of a second to close 2 seconds. Sensory memory bunghole take in an enormous stock of information, solely it hind end only hold on to it for a very shortened period of season (p.169).Short-term memory is the comp angiotensin-converting enzyment of the memory system that holds virtually s even off (from five to nine) keepsakes for slight than 30 seconds without rehearsal too called the running(a) memory. When short-term memory is filled to capacity, dis shopping centrement git f are. In dis bewilderment, each vernal inflowing item pushes out an existing item, which is and thenly forgotten (p.170). Long-term memory (LTM) is the memory system with a virtually innumer satisfacto ry capacity that contains vast stores of a souls permanent or comparatively permanent memories. at that place atomic number 18 no known limits to the storage capacity of this memory system, and long-term memories give the gate persist for years, much or less of them for a looktime. Information in long-term memory is normally stored in semantic form, although visual images, in effect(p)s, and odors bathroom be stored t advanceher as well (p.174).2. The analogy trial-and-error rule program involves comparing a job to another(prenominal)s you obtain experienced in the historical. The idea is that if a particular strategy worked with similar conundrums in the past, it tryament be efficacious for puzzle out a new sensation. other heuristic that is effective for solving some problems is working backward, some time called the backward search. This approach starts with the upshot, a known condition, and works back through the problem. Once the backward search has re vealed the steps to be taken and their order, the problem can be act upond (p.207). Another hot heuristic strategy is means-end analysis, in which the current position is comp argond with a desired goal, and a series of steps argon explicate and thence taken to close the disruption between the two. When you adopt a heuristic strategy, it whitethorn or may not lead to a correct stem. By contrast, the algorithm is a problem-solving strategy that endlessly lead to a correct solution if it is applied appropriately (p.208).3.Research suggests that in that location atomic number 18 both returnss and disadvantages to translateing two dictions proto(prenominal) in life. genius of the pl enjoyments is that, among preschool and school-age clawren, bilingualism, fluency in at least two languages, is classd with fall in executive control skills on language tasks. Executive control skills enable bilingual children to suppress impulsive retorts to verbal tasks and, as a result, conceive much conservatively about them. Thus, executive control skills atomic number 18 important in tuition to exhibit and write. On the downside, even in adulthood, bilingualism is sometimes associated with decreased efficiency in memory tasks involving nomenclature. However, bilinguals appear to develop compensatory strategies that allow them to make up these inefficiencies. Consequently, they often perform such(prenominal)(prenominal) tasks as accurately as monolinguals, though they may respond more slowly. Researchers find outy found that there is no age at which it is impossible to catch out a new language.While it is true that those who pay back earlier reach higher levels of proficiency, age is not the only determining element (p.214). There is matchless clear advantage to learning two languages earlier in life, however. People who are younger when they learn a new language are far more the likely to be able to speak with an appropriate accent. One actor for this difference between archeozoic and late language learners may go through to do with slight variations in aflutter processing in Brocas electron orbit, the line of business of the head word that controls speech production. Research suggests that bilinguals who acquire a second language too soon rely on the analogous fixture of tissue in Brocas area for both of the languages they speak. In those who learned a second language at an ripened age, two dissimilar sections of Brocas are are active while they are performing language tasks (p.215).4. Charles Spearman ob assistd that good deal who are smart in one area are usually bright in other areas as well. In other talking to, they tend to be principally intelligent. Spearman came to believe that apprehension is composed of a general baron that underlies all smart assists. Spearman cerebrate that give-and-take runs tap this g factor, or general intelligence, and a tot of s factors, or item mindual abilities. Spearmans influence can be seen in those intelligence seeks, such as the Stanford-Binet, that yield one IQ malt whisky to indicate the level of general intelligence. Howard Gardner also denies the existence of a g factor. Instead, he proposes a theory of multiple intelligences that includes cardinal important forms of intelligence, or frames of heading.The eight frames of mind are linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, inter psycheal, intra unmarriedal, and naturalistic. In recent years, he has proposed a ninth type of intelligence, one that he calls existential intelligence, deals with the spiritual acres and enables us to contemplate the meaning of life. He set-back real his theory by studying patients with different types of originator constipation that affect some forms of intelligence notwithstanding leaves other intact. The some controersial facet of Gardners theory is his view that all forms of intelligence are of equal wideness. In fact, different cultures assign varying degrees of importance to the types of intelligence (p.216-217).5. I would perform a fixed-ratio (FR) schedule, in which a reinforcer is disposed(p) after a fixed reduce of correct, non built responses. So, if my dog knew that after ringlet everyplace correctly ten times without irritateting reinforced meant that she would get a reinforced after those ten times, she would then learn that after rolling over ten times correctly, she would be reinforced (p.147). In fixed-rate schedules response rates are very high, and the higher the ratio, the more patient of to extinction (p.148).6. Psycholinguistics is the study of how language is acquired, produced, and use and how the sounds and symbols of language are translated into meaning. Psycholinguists use specific terms for each of the five fundamental components of language. The smaller units of sound in a spoken language-such as b or s in English-are known as phonemes. Three phonemes tog ether form the sound of the articulate cat c (which sounds like k), a, and t. Combinations of letters that form particular sounds are also phonemes, such as the th in the and the ch in child. The aforementioned(prenominal) phoneme may be represented by different letters in different talking to this occurs with the a in stay and the ei in sleigh. And the same letter can serve as different phonemes. This letter a, for subject, is sounded as four different phonemes in day, cap, watch, and law. Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a language. A few single phonemes serve as morphemes, such as the article a and the personal pronoun I.The ending -s gives a plural form meaning to a word and is thus a morpheme in English. M any words in English are single morphemes- aim got, word, learn, reason, and so on. In addition to conciliate words, morphemes may be prefixes (such as re- in relearn) or suffixes (such as -ed to show past tense, as in learned). The single morpheme reason be have sexs a dual morpheme in reasonable. The morpheme book (singular) be go two morphemes in books (plural). sentence structure is the aspect of grammar that specifies the rules for arranging and combining words to form phrases and sentences. The rules of word order, syntax, differ from one language to another. For example, an important rule of syntax in English is that adjectives usually come beforehand nouns. So English speakers interest to the residence of the U.S. president as the blanched House.In Spanish, in contrast, the noun usually comes before the advective, and Spanish speakers record la Casa Blanca, or the House White. Semantics refers to the meaning derived from morphemes, words, and sentences. The same word can have different meanings depending on how it is use in sentences I hold outt mind. Mind your manners. He has mazed his mind. Or consider another example Loving to read, the young girl read three books last week. Here, the word read is pronounced two di fferent ways, and in one case, is the past tense. Pragmatics, is the term psycholinguists use to refer to aspects of language such as intonation, the rising and falling patterns that are used to posit meaning. For example, think about how you would say the single word cookie to express each of the following meanings Do you demand a cookie? or What a delicious looking cookie or Thats a cookie. The subtle differences muse your intimacy of the pragmatic rules of English (P.210-211).7. An intelligence discharge is a measure of general intellectual ability. An individuals pretend is happend by how his responses compare to others of his or her age. Thus, intelligence psychometric evidences are norm-referenced. All mental tests, including all the various types of tests that measure cognitive ability, are judged according to the same criteria.They must provide consistent results. An intelligence test must have reliability the test must consistently yield roughly the same news r eport when the same person is tested and then retested on the same test or an alternative form of the test. The higher the correlation between the two hemorrhoid, the more reliable the test. Tests can be highly reliable but worthless if they are not reasonable. Validity is the ability or power of a test to measure what it is intended to measure. Once a test is proven to be logical or reliable, the next requirement is norm-referenced normalisation. There must be standard procedures for administering and score the test.Exactly the same directions must be given, whether written or oral, and the same numerate of time must be allowed for all(prenominal) test taker. But even more important, standardization means establishing norms, age-establish averages, by which all piles are interpreted. A test is standardized by administering it to a mammoth sample of people who are interpreter of those who will be taking the test in the future. The conclaves score are analyzed, and then the average score, standard deviation, percentile rankings, and other measures are computed. These comparative scores become the norms used as the standard against which all other scores on that test are measured. Reliability, validity, and standardization are oddly important with move to intelligence tests be establish the contours of decisions that are sometimes based on intelligence test scores can have grave consequences.For example, a few years ago the U.S. authoritative Court ruled that is unconstitutional to perform individuals who have mental retardation. Thus, a psychologist who is supercharged with the responsibility of administering an intelligence test to a person who will or will not be subject to the decease penalty at least part on the basis of his or her intelligence test score must take care that the test given is reliable and valid and has been properly standardized. Likewise, childrens scores on these tests are often used to place them in special school progr ams that, in a very real sense, change the course of their lives for years to come. In fact, such a goal was the impetus for the ontogenesis of the first standardized intelligence test (p.219).8. In memory passing there are two broad categories that involves this attractive of memory redness, amnesia and dementedness. Amnesia is a partial or complete loss of memory due to loss of consciousness, brain damage, or some mental cause. foreign the memory rowdinesss that are experienced by some older adults, amnesia can be experienced at any age. In some cases, amnesia takes the form of an inability to store new information. This kind of amnesia is known as anterograde amnesia. Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form long-term memories of events occurring after a brain injury or brain surgery, although memories organise before the trauma are usually intact and short-term memory is unaffected. virtually individuals with amnesia can form new memories, but they cannot ring the pa st, a disorder known as retrograde amnesia. recede amnesia is a loss of memory for experiences that occurred shortly before a loss of consciousness. These people often lack knowledge of themselves and/or the events surrounding the development of their memory loss. It is not unusual for a person to have both retrograde and anterograde amnesia with regard to the events that immediately preceded and followed a serious car crash or other traumatic event (p. 189). Another form of memory loss is dementia. delirium is a state of mental deterioration characterized by impaired memory and intellect and by altered personality and behaviour.dementedness can result from such conditions as cerebral arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries in the brain), inveterate alcoholism, and irreversible damage by a small series of strokes. Dementia is most common among older adults. However, diseases such as HIV/AIDS can cause dementia to develop in a younger person as well. round 50 to 60% of all ca ses of dementia result from Alzheimers disease. This is a progressive tense deterioration of intellect and personality that results from far-flung degeneration of brain cells (p.190).9. People conjecture memories, piecing them together using schemas to organize fragments of information, a process that has both advantages and disadvantages. Information that fits with be schemas can be efficiently remembered, but schemas can also introduce distortions into memory. Sir Frederick bartlett pears research demonstrated how constructive processing changes memory over time (p.178). Most memories do not include kickoff information, so memories for sources must be reconstructed. Source monitoring results in encoding of source memories. Flashbulb memories are different from others in that they always include source information, although the source information is subject to reconstructive memory changes over time (p.179). Autobiographical memories are reconstructed memories that include fac tual, emotional, and interpretive elements. They are subject to positive bias (p.180).10. Bandura hazard that belligerence and violence on television programs, including cartoons, tend to increase rapacious behavior in children. In several spotless experiments, Bandura demonstrated how children are influenced by icon to aggressive models. One study involved three free radicals of preschoolers. Children in one collection individually observe an adult model punching, kicking, and hitting a 5-foot, inflated elastic Bobo Doll with a mallet, while uttering aggressive phrases. Children in the second group observed a nonaggressive model who snub the Bobo Doll and sat quietly assemblage Tinker Toys.The children in the control group were placed in the same fit with no adult present. Later, each child was observed through a unidirectional mirror. Those children exposed to the aggressive model imitated a great deal of the assault and also engaged in significantly more nonimitat ive aggression than did children in either of the other groups. The group that observed the nonaggressive model showed less aggressive behavior than the control group. The researchers concluded that of the three experimental conditions, exposure to worldly concern on film portraying aggression was the most influential in eliciting and fictile aggressive behavior (p. 158-159).11. Experiencing hunger pangs when you peck your favored nutriment is an example of undefiled conditioning.Your stomach rumbles when you smell your favorite solid food because smell and taste are so closely linked that food odors, cognitive process as conditioned stimuli, can genuinely make you think you are peckish(p) even if you have just faultless a large meal. The conditioned remark (CS) would be the presence of the smell of your favorite food which brings about the unconditioned input (US) hunger pangs. Because humans do not request to be taught to be hungry for food, the act of feeling hungry would be the unconditioned response (UR). The conditioned response (CR) would be knowing that you will get hungry when you smell your favorite food (p.143).12. Critics argue that therapists using hypnosis and guided resourcefulness to help their patients recover subjugate memories of childhood sexual abuse are actually implanting false memories in those patients. They are especially critical of claims of recovered memories in the first three years of life, because the hippocampus and areas of the lens cortex are not well developed enough to store long-term memories. Therapists who use these techniques believe that a number of psychological problems can be treated successfully by helping patients recover repressed memories of sexual abuse. These therapists believe that a process called repression, a form of motivated forgetting, can cause traumatic memories to be so deeply buried in an individuals unconscious mind that he or she has lost all awareness of them (p.192-193).13. Wr iting notes, making lists, writing on a calendar, or keeping an participation book is often more reliable and accurate than trusting to memory. But if you need information at some unforeseeable moment when you outweart have aids handy, several mnemonics, or memory devices, and study strategies have developed over the years to aid memory. Mnemonics, or rhymes are a common aid to store cloth that otherwise might be difficult to recall. As a child, learning to recite i over e except after c when you were exhausting to spell a word containing that vowel combination is an example of a mnemonic.The regularity of loci is a mnemonic device that be used to when you want to remember a list of items such as a grocery list. Select a known place your home, for example and simply associate the items to be remembered with locations there. For example, visualize the first item you want to remember in its place on the driveway, the second in the garage, and the third at the front door, a nd so on until you have associated the item you want to remember with a specific location. Overlearning is another method acting of improving memory. Overlearning is practicing or studying material beyond the point where it can be repeated once without error. It makes material more resistant to forgetting (p.173).14. Bandura proposed that four processed determine whether observational learning will occur Attention The reviewer must go through to the model. Retention The commentator must store information about the models behavior in memory. Reproduction The observer must be physically and cognitively capable of performing the behavior to learn it. In other words, no function how much time you devote to reflection Serena Williams play tennis or audition to Beyonce sing, you wont be able to acquire skills like these unless you possess talents that are equal to theirs. Reinforcement Ultimately, to exhibit a behavior learned through observation, an observer must be motivated to g ive and perform the behavior on his own (p.156).15. In some cases, we are hampered in our efforts to cream problems in daily life because of structural fixedness, the failure to use acquainted(predicate) objects in novel ways to solve problems. Objects you use everyday such as, tools, utensils, and other equipment are what help you perform certain functions. Although, you probably do not think to use the normal functions of such objects in new and creative ways. Suppose you precious a cup of coffee, but the methamphetamine pot for you coffeemaker was broken. If you suffered from functional fixedness, you might come to the conclusion that there was nothing you could do to solve the problem at that moment. But, alternatively than thinking about the object you dont have, think about the function that it needs to perform. Another impediment to problem solving is mental set, the tendency to watch to use the same old method even though another approach might be better.Perhaps you hi t on a way to solve a problem once in the past and continue to use the same technique in similar situations, even though it it not highly effective of efficient. The cognitive process that underlies both functional fixedness and mental set is bank check bias, the tendency to selectively pay financial aid to information that concerns preexisting beliefs and ignore entropy that contradict them. For example, when faced with an operating system crash, most computer users know that the first line of defense is to reboot. Every time rebooting solve the problem, confirmation bias in favor of rebooting as a solution for computer problems becomes stronger. As a result, when a problem arises that proves resistant to rebooting, most of us try rebooting a few more times before we confront the macrocosm that rebooting isnt going to solve the problem (p.209).