Strategies for Success in the Online Learning Environment Essay

Strategies for Success in the Online Learning Environment - Essay Example â€Å"In online learning environment, most communications will be done in written format† (Harvard, 2010). Therefore, every student studying in online environment should be able to communicate with teachers through writing. Another way for students to achieve success in online learning environments is to get perfection in web navigation. As most of the communication between teachers and students is done through internet, so students should be proficient in using different internet applications. Perfection in web navigation is essential in order to participate in online discussions and online quizzes and assignments. Time management is also necessary for online learning students. Students studying in online environments need to schedule their time properly in order to avoid mismanagement. Time management plays an important role in the success of students because they have to submit quizzes and assignments within deadline considering all technological issues, such as, network failure or site overload. Before going into the discussion regarding online learning, let us get a better understanding of what online learning environment actually is. Online learning refers to the environment where students and teachers communicate with each other using communication technologies, such as, video tapes, television, and internet. â€Å"Distance learning is a course or program completed remotely from the school or university which offers the educational opportunity† (Rogers, n.d.). Online learning is getting more and more fame these days because it is proving to be very beneficial for students. It not only helps students manage their studies in accordance with other commitments of life but also provides a good way to the students to learn independently. To be successful in an online learning environment, a student needs to have some key skills and abilities. There exist a number of strategies for students to prosper in online learning environments. Some of the main

The culture of caution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The culture of caution - Essay Example What does Patterson mean by the culture of caution Use his analysis of the life of Marcus Garvey and the immigrants' experience to illustrate how that theory plays out. How does he link the life of Garvey, Powell and Farrakhan and immigrants to that culture of caution This insecurity has also brought about a theory that Caribbeans, especially the Anglophone Caribbeans perform much better abroad than they do on their homeland. For example, Marcus Garvey of Jamaica was able to galvanize Black Americas into action, to defend their human rights, decades ago George Padmore of Trinidad was also able to champion postwar African independence movement, has brought about a high degree of paternity for the nation of Ghana, as the first nation to be independent in Black Africa. Arthur Lewis of Saint Lucia was unable to gain employment or opportunities that fit his talents at home, so he migrated to England and then the United states, where he had an outstanding public service career and was also a distinguished academician which led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for his amazing work on Third World economics.The functions of the immigrant organizations in North America include the implementation of the various immigration laws, issuance of travel documents, carrying out Checks for Case Processing Fees, and the checking of immigrants into the US to ensure ensure that they qualify under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.The immigrant organizations also make sure that criminal aliens and immigrants involved in crime, who have been incarcerated within the federal, state or local prison facilities are not just let into the community again, after they might have completed their sentences. Immigrant organizations avail field level law enforcement officers of the training programs required of them, like programs for correctional personnel, and providing certified instructors to conduct such trainings. Immigrant authorities use the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) to determine when a high-risk alien overstays his visa or fails to report his address and activities after 30 days in the United States. It is vital for state and local police officers have access to information, and are able to act upon such information when they meet an NSEERS violator, for example, in a traffic stop. Also, if a criminal alien is purposely avoiding contact with law enforcement agencies, this might be the only possible way to stop him, and maybe defuse a possible terrorist attack. Other functions of immigration authorities include the Arrest of Suspected Terrorists, Observations of Potential Terrorist Activity, Interception of immigrant or Alien Smuggling and Arrest of Absconders The immigrant organizations in the United States also serve to ensure that immigrants into the United States qualify under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The second half of the 19th century was characterized by an increase in westward expansion, and industrialization. Also, there was an influx of millions of immigrants. A lot of native-born Americans began to clamor for implementation if immigration restrictions, but others supported the Americanization of these

Edward Snowden: The Most Famous Whistleblower

Edward Snowden: The Most Famous Whistleblower Whistleblowers are some of the most important people to have in a democracy. They provide information that the government doesnt want to get out, while this could be dangerous in the case of Edward Snowden he released information that was valuable to the citizens of the united states. Snowden is not the first person to do something like this and has previously stated he was inspired by Daniel Ellsberg who leaked pentagon papers in the 1970s. Even though hes wanted by the government to some people Snowden is a hero. Edward Snowden who was born in North Carolina but later mover to Massachusetts had dropped out of of high school but was no degenerate. A bad case of mononucleosis kept him out of school for 9 months so instead of falling behind he decided that he would drop out. After dropping out he began studying computers at Anne Arundel Community College which was located in Maryland. His father was quoted saying We always considered Ed the smartest one in the family. and this was clear when Edward scored a 145 on two different IQ tests. He later enlisted into the special forces because he wanted to learn new languages, but never made it out of basic because he either broke both legs or washed out because of shin splints, it depends on who you ask. After this he was a security guard at a college in maryland that had ties to the NSA. After this he landed a job with the C.I.A.(Central Intelligence Agency) but quit after being suspected of attempting to break into classified files. While still with the C.I.A. he was on a mission in Switzerland where he first discovered corruption in the Government. This is where he first wanted to become a whistleblower but with Obama being soon elected he was optimistic about the changes he was going to make. After working for the C.I.A. for some time he moved to a private IT company where he worked as a contractor and would later work in a few offices for the N.S.A. this is where he notices a breach in security and got his hands on the classified information that he would leak. The definition of a hero is someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. When he was younger, saw sergeant Frank Ford reveal the information about the war in Iraq he thought of him as a hero for being honest, and letting the people know what was really going on in Iraq. Even though Ford was once Snowdens hero Snowden would make a bigger impact than Ford. Sowden and Ford are not the only whistleblowers who have made themselves public. Manning had leaked hundreds of documents that had to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before any of them Ellsberg had leaked a ton of information in the early seventies. Nixons administration alienated Ellsberg much like Obamas administration has done to Snowden but now Ellsberg is considered a hero. Now Snowden is considered the hero to some people but a lot of people within the government or who listen to the government would disagree. He has inspired many other anonymous leaks from within the U.S. Government. Snowden receives credit for most of these but he has said that many leaks come from another source or other sources. The U.S. government has made it clear that they know about the the copycats when a representative, Adam Schiff who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee claiming that it is a big concern of theirs. Schiff also said The degree that people have been lionizing Snowden, it encourages people to make a name for themselves by leaking which is true. Even Some Government officials have publicly claimed that they went too far. Though many people think the Government was in the wrong for so intensely tracking suspected terrorist it makes sense for the Government to do that because some 9/11 hijackers were tracked but then nothing was done about them. Officials say that this could have put the country in more danger by showing potential terrorist how the government tracks them it allows them to b ypass those methods. Schiff also claimed that the Government should be more careful with who gets access to what by saying Snowden should have never had access in the first place. The Pentagon has approved as many as 3.2 million people access to highly classified information from 2006 to 2011 (CNN). After fleeing the country Snowden got ahold of journalists and offered them an unprecedented scoop(PBS). Even though the two journalists had received the documents it was not until they were on a plane and out of the country when they felt safe to open them and look at the things Snowden had shared. Greenwald, one of the journalists was quoted saying I didnt sleep one second for the next 16 hours because the adrenaline made that impossible. He said that he understood that this would be a story like hed never written before and one that people would talk about for decades. The journalists were given thousands of documents that showed what the Obama administration had been doing to regular citizens who had no criminal records and were not suspected terrorists. They were simply eavesdropping on regular citizens who had not done anything wrong. Some of the eavesdropping was justified but a surprising amount was not. Snowdens leaks shed a serious amount of light on this problem and it le d to a two part series on Frontline that dove into the topic from after 9/11 all the way to when things were leaked by Snowden. This series went even further than Snowden when they had revealed the extent that the government went to to keep these secrets hidden. It was during this time where Snowden had revealed that the worst of the wiretapping and eavesdropping had come from when Bush was president. Snowden still cares about America though saying that he would like to return one day and I told the government Id volunteer for prison, as long as it served the right purpose, he says I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we cant allow the law to become a political weapon or agree to scare people away from standing up for their rights, no matter how good the deal. Im not going to be part of that. (Wired). These statements show his true character and that he really does care about America. Snowden claimed that he had tried to leave clues for the N.S.A. to show him what documents were actually copied and which ones were just looked at. Despite these efforts the N.S.A. had missed the clues and reported that he took over a million documents when in reality he on took a few thousand. Snowden sounded disappointed when speaking on the fact that the government had missed his clues because he had thought that they were obvious. Sponsors from both major political parties c an agree that this has shown that the U.S. government needs to stop their mass surveillance for clear reasons. This was such a big deal that President Obama himself as well as congress have both publicly talked about the issue and the Supreme Court has hinted at making a decision about the governments use of unwarranted surveillance. This was never Snowdens intention he had just wanted to share what the government was doing because he felt that it was unjust. Despite the efforts by the government to make Snowden out to be the bad guy more than half the population agrees with what he did. Many government officials have spoken on this but not in the favor of snowden, N.S.A. director Keith Alexander claimed that the russian government had manipulated him while the secretary of state called him a coward and a traitor.

American Teenagers and Plastic Surgery Essay -- Health Medicine Beauty

American Teenagers and Plastic Surgery Plastic surgery is not a new field of medicine. Traditionally, plastic surgery dealt with fixing abnormalities of the body, but recently people are enjoying the luxury of plastic surgery simply because they are not happy with their appearance. People make appointments with plastic surgeons for procedures such as rhinoplasty, liposuction, tummy tucks, face lifts, and most commonly breast augmentation. These people look forward to desired results from such procedures without considering the risks. Many risks accompany plastic surgery, but they are rarely discussed in the media. Death is even a possible conclusion of the surgery. Why would people subject themselves to such conditions as having their face swollen for weeks, barely being able to walk, and the excruciating pain that comes after they awaken from surgery? Even more important is the question, why are teenagers becoming more and more eager to get plastic surgery operations performed on themselves? Sometimes teenagers have certain features that can benefit from plastic surgery, but most of the time society makes teenagers have an altered sense of the perfect body image. In reality, the perfect body image is something that does not exist. Plastic surgeons comment about how common it is to meet a young patient who would like to have features of their favorite celebrities. Young women want Jennifer Lopez’s bottom, Jennifer Aniston’s nose, and Britney Spears’ facial features. Young men would like to have Brad Pitt’s facial features. To me, such expectations seem implausible. God made me the way I am. I would not change a thing. But I am sure that at one time the teenagers who are receiving these procedures believed th... ... life is simply to learn to love yourself just the way you are. So the bottom line is: Teenagers should be educated by society on the dangers of plastic surgery. They should be aware of the bad as well as the good. But, when it comes down to the decision whether or not to have plastic surgery, I hope that teenagers will use their better judgment and not the judgment of other people as a factor. Works Cited Bermant, Michael, â€Å"Cosmetic Plastic Surgery in Teens.† American Board of Plastic Surgery (2004). 31 Aug. 2004 . Davis, Robert, â€Å"Teens' cosmetic dreams don't always come true.† USA Today (2004). 2 Oct. 2004 . Dolan, Deidre, â€Å"The Kindest Cut: Teens and Plastic Surgery.† The New York Observer (2004). 4 Oct. 2004 .

Corporate Culture: Help or Hindrance Essay

â€Å"The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this is happening.† Edgar Schein, professor MIT Sloan School of Management Nowadays, in the end of 2011, we can make a clear overview of the remarkable events that took place not a long time ago. And though some people might argue that the hardest economic crisis since 1929 still hasn`t finished, and is going to be continued, we are able to make certain conclusions and ask a couple of thrilling questions: â€Å"Why, when all other companies experienced dramatic collapse, some of them even managed not to reduce, but to increase their sales and market share?† Or â€Å"Why a company that has been operating for 200 years already is pushed out of its market by some barely known firm?† What makes these events possible? Magic? Well, you definitely will not believe it if you are older than 8 years old. Some highest creatures? Well, it is quite unlikely too. Santa Claus? Who knows, maybe†¦ But science believes that there are more realistic reasons for such events that in general are called invisible strategic assets. One of such assets, supposed b y most of the scientists as the most important one, is called corporate or organization culture [1]. To begin with, let us formulate, what is corporate or organization culture. By Edgar H. Schein organizational culture is defined as â€Å"A pattern of shared basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that have worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems† [2]. As we can see, concept of corporate culture is of great importance for adaptation and general comfort of employees. But in nowadays tough economic conditions, this is definitely not the highest priority for an organization. Much more important is whether corporate culture can be a help for a company, and whether it can save money or make firm more profitable. To answer this complicated question that was a theme for creating of dozens of scientific books and hundreds of pages and years of research we will start with some facts from the history of development of this concept. Due to Naomi Stanford, the concept of organization dates its popular roots from 1980s. Then in 1982 two first books on importance of organization culture were published, and despite the fact, that they were strongly criticised, they attracted attention of business and became setters of new management trends. But at that moment of time these concepts were understood in not quite proper way, managers were trying to implement some cultural principles and waited for some kind of miracle. And though it hasn`t happened, scientists have developed the theory body and researched main aspects [3]. As we see, corporate culture has been existing for 25 years already, but does it actually work? To my personal opinion – yes, it does. It is intangible, you can hardly measure it or state whether it exists or not. You can not definitely say that: â€Å"these sales increased† or â€Å"our company has succeeded in this project because we have such great organization culture†. But all that events actually took place because of it. Because if not, how you can explain what has differentiated extraordinary successful firm that produce relatively same products from the others? For example, quite small studio Pixar that has confronted Disney marketplace has produced 11 hits cartoons out of 11 attempts. Every film of it was nominated for an Academy Award and Pixar has won the awards about three quarters of the time [5]. What these facts tell us about if not a specific, unique organization culture, that is implemented in this organization. Unfortunately, corporate culture is a phenomenon that is very hard to establish and moreover, to control if any aspects of the company`s functioning are to be changed, what creates a wrong impression about its necessity and productivity in general. However, despite all arguments we can confidently assert that corporate culture works and it is of great help for an organization. List of references: 1. Eric Flamholtz, Yvinne Randle – â€Å"Corporate Culture: The Ultimate Strategic Asset†; 2. Edgar H. Schein – â€Å"Organizational Culture and Leadership†; 3. Naomi Stanford – â€Å"Corporate Culture: Getting It Right†. 4. John P. Kotter – â€Å"Corporate Culture and Performance† 5. Kim S. Cameron, Robert E. Quinn – â€Å"Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework†.

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 21

I had no boyfriend. Despite all the uncertainties in my world, that at least was one thing I could feel confident about. Unfortunately, this nephilim apparently had a more optimistic view of my love life. â€Å"I don't know who you're talking about,† I shouted to my empty office. â€Å"Do you hear me, you son of a bitch? I don't know who you're fucking talking about!† No one responded. Paige, passing by a moment later, stuck her head inside. â€Å"Did you call me?† â€Å"No,† I grumbled. She wore a dress that clung distinctly to her swelling belly. It didn't help my mood any. â€Å"Just talking to myself.† I closed the door after she left. My immediate impulse was to run for help. Carter. Jerome. Somebody. Anybody. I couldn't deal with this alone. Fail – or involve any of your immortal contacts – and no amount of â€Å"safekeeping† will do him any good. Damn it. I didn't even know who â€Å"he† was. Frantically, I tried to figure out who among my mortal acquaintances could have been mistaken by the nephilim as something more. As if it wasn't hard enough being my friend already. Surprisingly – or perhaps not – my thoughts promptly strayed to Seth. I thought about our recent rapport. Censored and proper certainly, but still warm. Still right and natural. Still occasionally making me catch my breath when we touched. No, that was stupid. My fascination with him was shallow. His books made me suffer from hero worship, and our friendship had become a sort of rebound from Roman. Whatever crush or minor attraction he'd had for me had to be fading fast. He'd shown no other indications of more-than-friends feelings, and my distancing had to be having an effect. Besides, he still kept disappearing for mysterious meetings, probably for some girl he was too shy to tell me about. It was presumptuous of me to even consider him in a boyfriend category. Yet†¦ would the nephilim know any of that? Who knew what the bastard was thinking? If it had observed Seth and me having our coffee chats, it might assume anything. Fear clenched me, making me want to immediately run upstairs and check on Seth. But no. That would be a waste, for now at least. He was writing, in public, surrounded by people. The nephilim would not attack him in such a setting. Who else then? Warren perhaps? That voyeur nephilim had watched us have sex. If that didn't count as some sort of relationship, I didn't know what did. Of course, the nephilim would have also observed that Warren and I almost never interacted in any other intimate way. Poor Warren. Sex with me had already wiped him out; it would be beyond cruel if he became a target for the nephilim's bizarrely misplaced humor. Fortunately, I had already seen Warren come in today. He was busy in his office, but perhaps that still counted as safe. Alone he might be, but any screams from a nephilim attack would immediately draw attention. Doug? He and I had always had a perky flirtation. Certainly one might consider his sporadic pursuit of me indicative of something more than friendship. Yet, in the last few weeks, he and I hadn't talked very much. I'd been too distracted by the nephilim attacks. Those, and Roman. Ah, Roman. There it was, the possibility that had been hovering in the back of my mind. The reality I'd been avoiding because it meant contacting him, breaking the silence I'd tried so hard to maintain. I didn't know what was between us, other than a scorching attraction and the occasional tug of solidarity. I didn't know if it was love or the start of love or whatever. But I knew I cared about him. A lot. I missed him. Cutting myself off completely had been the safest way to recover, to get over my longing and move on. I feared what reinitiating contact could do. And yet†¦ because I cared about him, I could not let this nephilim prey upon him. I could not risk Roman's life in this because, really, he probably was the most likely candidate. Half the bookstore staff still considered us an item; why not the nephilim ? Especially in light of how touchy-feely we'd been on a number of outings. Any stalking nephilim would be well justified in reading that as romantic attachment I picked up my cell phone and called him with bated breath. No answer. â€Å"Shit,† I swore, listening to his voice mail. â€Å"Hi Roman, it's me. I know I wasn't, uh, going to call you anymore, but something's come up†¦ and I really need to talk to you. As soon as possible. It's really weird, but it's really important too. Please call me.† I left him both my cell and the bookstore numbers. I disconnected, then sat and pondered. Now what did I do? On impulse, I glanced at the staff directory and dialed Doug's home number. He had the day off. No answer, just like Roman. Where was everybody? Shifting my attention back to Roman, I tried to figure out where he would be. Work, most likely. Unfortunately, I didn't know where that was. What a negligent pseudo-girlfriend I was. He'd said he taught at a community college. He referred to it all the time, but it was always â€Å"at school† or â€Å"at the college.† He'd never mentioned the name. I turned to my computer and did a search for local community colleges. When the search returned several hits for Seattle alone, I swore again. More existed outside of the city too, in the suburbs and neighboring sister cities. Any of them could be possibilities. I printed out a list of all of them, with phone numbers, and stuffed the paper in my purse. I needed to get out of here, needed to take this search to the field. I opened my office door to leave and flinched. Another identically written note hung on my door. I peered around in the offices' hallway, half hoping to see something. Nothing. I pulled the note down and opened it. You're losing time and men. You've already lost the writer. You'd best get a move-on with this scavenger hunt. â€Å"Scavenger hunt indeed,† I muttered, crumpling the note. â€Å"You're such an asshole.† But†¦ what did he mean about losing the writer? Seth? My pulse quickened, and I raced up to the cafe, earning a few startled looks along the way. No Seth. His corner was empty. â€Å"Where's Seth?† I demanded of Bruce. â€Å"He was just here.† â€Å"He was,† concurred the barista. â€Å"Then he suddenly packed up and left.† â€Å"Thanks.† I definitely needed to get out of here. I found Paige in New Books. â€Å"I think I need to go home,† I told her. â€Å"I'm getting a migraine. â€Å" She looked startled. I had the best track record for attendance of any employee. I never called in sick. Yet, for that very reason, she could hardly refuse me. I was not a worker who abused the system. After she'd assured me I should go, I added, â€Å"Maybe you can get Doug to come in.† That would kill two birds with one stone. â€Å"Maybe,† she said. â€Å"I'm sure we'll manage, though. Warren and I are here all day.† â€Å"He's here all day?† When she reiterated that he would indeed be there, I felt somewhat relieved. Okay. He was off the list. As I walked home to my apartment, I called Seth's cell phone. â€Å"Where are you?† I asked. â€Å"Home. I forgot some notes I needed.† Home? Alone? â€Å"Do you want to get breakfast with me?† I asked suddenly, needing to get him out. â€Å"It's almost one.† â€Å"Brunch? Lunch?† â€Å"Aren't you at work?† â€Å"I went home sick.† â€Å"Are you sick?† â€Å"No. Just meet me.† I gave him an address and hung up. As I drove to the rendezvous, I tried Roman's cell again. Voice mail. I pulled out the community college phone numbers and started with the first one on the list. What a pain. First, I had to start with campus information and try to get to the right department. Most community colleges didn't even have linguistics departments, though almost all had at least one introductory class taught through some other related area – like anthropology or humanities. I made it through three colleges by the time I reached Capitol Hill. I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Seth waiting outside the place I'd indicated. After I parked and paid the meter, I walked up to him, trying to smile in some semblance of normality. It apparently didn't work. â€Å"What's wrong?† â€Å"Nothing, nothing,† I proclaimed cheerfully. Too cheerfully. His look implied disbelief, but he let the matter drop. â€Å"Are we eating here?† â€Å"Yup. But first we have to go see Doug.† â€Å"Doug?† Seth's confusion deepened. I led him to an apartment building next door and climbed to Doug's floor. Music blared from inside his apartment, which I took as a good sign. I had to beat on the door three times before anyone answered. It wasn't Doug. It was his roommate. He looked stoned. â€Å"Is Doug here?† He blinked at me and scratched his long, unkempt hair. â€Å"Doug?† he asked. â€Å"Yeah, Doug Sato.† â€Å"Oh, Doug. Yeah.† â€Å"Yeah, he's here?† â€Å"No, man. He's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The guy squinted. Lord, who got high this early in the day? I hadn't even done that back in the 1960s. â€Å"He's practicing.† â€Å"Where? Where do they practice?† The guy stared at me. â€Å"Where do they practice?† I repeated. â€Å"Dude, did you know you have, like, the most perfect tits I've ever seen? They're like†¦ poetry. Are they real?† I clenched my teeth. â€Å"Where. Does. Doug. Practice?† He dragged his eyes from my chest. â€Å"West Seattle. Over by Alki.† â€Å"Do you have an address?† â€Å"It's by†¦ California and Alaska.† He blinked again. â€Å"Whoa. California and Alaska. Get it?† â€Å"An address?† â€Å"It's green. You can't miss it.† When no other information came, Seth and I left. We went to the restaurant I had indicated. â€Å"Poetry,† he reflected along the way, amused. â€Å"Like an ee cummings poem, I'd say.† I was too preoccupied to process what he was saying, my mind racing. Even waffles with strawberries couldn't keep me from worrying about this idiotic scavenger hunt. Seth attempted conversation, but my answers were vague and distracted, my mind clearly not with him through the meal. When we finished, I unsuccessfully tried Roman again, then turned to Seth. â€Å"Are you going back to the bookstore?† He shook his head. â€Å"No. I'm going home. I realized I need too much of my research to write this scene. Easier to stay in my own office.† Panic blazed through me. â€Å"Home? But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  What could I say? Tell him that if he stayed at home, he might be in danger of attack by a sociopathic, supernatural creature? â€Å"Stay with me,† I blurted out. â€Å"Run errands with me.† His polite complacency finally broke. â€Å"Georgina, what in the world is going on? You go home sick when you're not. You're clearly agitated about something, desperately so. Tell me what this is about. Is something wrong with Doug?† I closed my eyes for a second, wishing this was all over. Wishing I was somewhere else. Or someone else. Seth must think I was out of my mind. â€Å"I can't tell you what's wrong, only that something is. You have to leave it at that.† Then, hesitantly, I reached out and squeezed his hand, turning my eyes pleadingly toward his. â€Å"Please. Stay with me.† He tightened his grip on my hand and took a step forward, face concerned and compassionate. For a moment, I forgot about the nephilim. What did other men matter when Seth looked at me like that? I had the urge to embrace him and feel his arms enclose me. I almost laughed. Who was I kidding? I didn't need to worry about leading him on. I was the one getting hooked here. I was the one in danger of escalating this relationship. I needed to stop procrastinating on my â€Å"clean break† with him. I hastily broke apart and lowered my eyes. â€Å"Thank you.† He offered to drive to West Seattle, freeing me up to keep calling colleges. I had nearly finished by the time we reached the intersection of Alaska and California. He slowed slightly, and we both peered around, searching for a green house. You can't miss it.It was a stupid piece of advice. What constituted green anyway? I saw a sage house, a forest green house, and a color that could have been green or blue. Some houses had green trim, green doors, or – â€Å"Whoa,† said Seth. A small, run-down house painted a glaring shade of mintish lime stood there, nearly obscured by two much nicer houses. â€Å"You can't miss it,† I muttered. We parked and walked toward it. As we did, the sounds of Doug's band clearly emanated from the garage. When we reached the open door, I saw Nocturnal Admission in full glory, Doug belting out lyrics in that amazing voice of his. He cut off abruptly when he saw me. â€Å"Kincaid?† His fellow band members looked on quizzically as he jumped down and sprinted over to me. Seth discretely took a few steps away, studying some nearby hydrangea bushes. â€Å"What are you doing here?† asked Doug, not offended so much as astounded. â€Å"I called in sick,† I said stupidly. What did I do now? â€Å"Are you sick?† â€Å"No. I – I had something to do. Still do. But I'm†¦ I'm worried about leaving the store. How long will you be here? Can you fill in for me after this?† â€Å"You came here to ask me to cover for you? Why'd you call in sick? Are you finally running away with Mortensen?† â€Å"I – no. I can't explain it. Just promise me, after this, you'll swing by the store and see if they need help.† He was staring at me with a look Seth had been shooting me all afternoon. One that sort of implied I needed a tranquilizer. â€Å"Kincaid†¦ you're freaking me out here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I looked up at him with the same baleful expression I'd used on Seth. Succubus charisma in action. â€Å"Please? You still owe me, remember?† His dark eyes frowned in understandable consternation. At last he said, â€Å"Okay. But it'll be a few hours before I can go.† â€Å"That's all right. Just go there straight afterward. No stops. And don't†¦ don't tell them you saw me. I'm supposed to be sick. Make up some reason to go there.† He shook his head in exasperation, and I thanked him with a quick hug. As Seth and I departed, I saw Doug glance at Seth questioningly. Seth shrugged, answering the other man's silent inquiry with shared confusion. I made more phone calls as we drove away, finishing my college list and leaving yet another desperate message for Roman. â€Å"What now?† asked Seth when I lapsed into silence. Hard to say what he thought of my harassment of both Roman and Doug. â€Å"I†¦I don't know.† I had reached the end of my options. Everyone was accounted for except Roman, and I had no way to reach him. The clock was ticking. I didn't know where he lived. I thought he'd mentioned Madrona once, but that was a big area. I could hardly start knocking on all those doors. The nephilim had said I had until the end of my shift. Despite bailing on work, I assumed that still meant nine o'clock. I had almost three hours left. â€Å"I guess I'll pick up my car and go back home.† Seth dropped me off at the restaurant and followed me back to Queen Anne. A traffic light stopped him, so I made it to my apartment about a minute before he did. On my door was another note. Nice job. You'll probably end up alienating all of these men with your erratic behavior, but I admire your pluck. One left to go. I wonder how fast on his feet your dancer truly is. I was crumpling this note up when Seth reached me. I pulled my key out of my purse and feebly attempted to put it in my lock. My hands shook so badly, I couldn't do it. He took the key from me and opened the door. We entered, and I collapsed on to the couch. Aubrey slithered out from behind it and jumped on my lap. Seth sat nearby, taking in my apartment – including my prominently displayed collection of his books on the new shelf – then returned his worried gaze to me. â€Å"Georgina†¦ what can I do?† I shook my head, feeling helpless and defeated. â€Å"Nothing. I'm just glad you're here.† â€Å"I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He hesitated. â€Å"I hate to tell you this, but I've got to leave in a little while. I'm meeting someone.† I looked up sharply. Another of those mysterious meetings. Curiosity temporarily replaced my fear, but I couldn't question him. Couldn't ask if he was meeting some woman. At least he said he was meeting someone. He wouldn't be alone. â€Å"You'll be with†¦ them†¦ for a while then?† He nodded. â€Å"I could come back late tonight, if you wanted. Or†¦ maybe I could cancel.† â€Å"No, no, don't worry about it.† By then, it would all be over. He stayed awhile longer, again attempting conversation I couldn't participate in. When he finally stood up to leave, I could see anxiety written all over him and felt terrible I'd involved him in this. â€Å"This will all be resolved tomorrow,† I told him. â€Å"So don't worry. I'll be back to normal then. I promise.† â€Å"Okay. If you need anything, let me know. Call me, no matter what. Otherwise†¦ well, I'll see you at work.† â€Å"No. I have tomorrow off.† â€Å"Oh. Well. Do you mind if I stop by?† â€Å"Sure. Go ahead.† I would have agreed to anything. I was too tired to hold to my earlier notion of distancing. I'd worry about that later. Honestly. One thing at a time. He left reluctantly, no doubt baffled when I told him to spend a lot of time with whoever he was meeting. As for me, I paced all over my apartment, not knowing what to do. Maybe I couldn't get ahold of Roman because the nephilim had already found him. That would hardly be fair since I'd never even had a chance to genuinely warn him, but this nephilim didn't really seem like the type to care about right or wrong. Struck by inspiration, I called Information, realizing I'd missed the obvious way to find him. It didn't matter. Unlisted. Two hours before my shift would have ended, I left Roman another message. â€Å"Please, please, please call me,† I begged. â€Å"Even if you're really mad at me for what happened. Just tell me you're out there and okay.† No return call came. Eight o'clock rolled around. With one hour remaining, I left him another message. I could feel hysteria creeping in. God, what was I going to do? All I did do was continue pacing, pondering how soon would be too soon to call Roman one more time. Five minutes before nine, utterly frantic, I grabbed my purse, desperate to leave my apartment and do something. Anything. Time was almost up. What would happen? How would I know if I'd successfully jumped through the nephilim's hoops? When I saw Roman's murder plastered across the paper tomorrow? Would there be another note? Or maybe some gruesome token? What if the nephilim hadn't even meant any of the people I'd considered? What if it was someone completely out of the realm of – I opened my door to leave and gasped. â€Å"Roman!† He stood there, mid-knock, as surprised to see me as I was him. I dropped my purse and ran to him, flinging myself at him in a fierce embrace that nearly toppled him. â€Å"Oh God,† I breathed into his shoulder, â€Å"I'm so glad to see you.† â€Å"I guess,† he replied, pulling slightly away to look down at me, his turquoise eyes concerned. â€Å"Lord, Georgina, what's wrong? I've got like eighty messages from you – â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know,† I told him, still not letting go. Seeing him stirred up all the old, queasy feelings I had thought were buried. He looked so good. He smelled so good. â€Å"I'm sorry – it's just, I thought something had happened to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hugged him again, catching sight of my watch as I did so. Nine o'clock. My shift was over, as was the nephilim's ridiculous game. â€Å"Okay, it's all right.† He patted me awkwardly on the back. â€Å"What's going on?† â€Å"I can't tell you.† My voice shook. His mouth opened to protest, but he reconsidered. â€Å"Okay. Let's take this slow. You're pale. Let's go get something to eat. You can explain all this then.† Yeah, that would be a fun conversation. â€Å"No. We can't do that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Come on. There's no way you can leave me all those desperate messages and then start playing the ‘we need space' game. Seriously, Georgina. You're a wreck. You're shaking. I wouldn't want you to be by yourself anyway if I'd found you like this, let alone after those calls.† â€Å"No. No. No going out.† I sat down on the couch, needing to let him go, reluctant to do so. â€Å"Let's stay here.† Still looking distressed, Roman fetched me a glass of water, then sat down by me, holding my hand. As time passed, I calmed down, listening as Roman talked about inconsequential things in an effort to make me feel better. For his part, he was quite nice about my psycho phone calls. He continued trying to tease out an explanation, but when I remained evasive, only saying I had cause to worry about him, he stopped pushing – for now. He continued cheering me up, telling me funny things as well as his usual political soliloquies, complaining about the irrational rules and hypocrisy of the powers that be. By late in the evening, I was relaxed again, left only with embarrassment for the way I'd behaved. Damn, I hated that nephilim. â€Å"It's getting late. You going to be okay if I go?† he asked, standing with me near my living room window, overlooking Queen Anne Avenue. â€Å"Probably better than if you stay.† â€Å"Well, that's a matter of opinion,† he chuckled, running a hand over my hair. â€Å"Thanks for coming by. I know†¦ I know†¦ it seems crazy, but you've just got to trust me on this one.† He shrugged. â€Å"I don't really have a choice. Besides†¦ it's kind of nice to know you were worried about me.† â€Å"Of course I was. How could I not be?† â€Å"I don't know. You aren't easy to read. I couldn't figure out if you really liked me†¦ or if I was just something to pass the time. A diversion.† Something in his words rang a bell in my head, something I should have paid attention to. Instead I was more caught up in how close he suddenly stood to me, how his hand ran down my cheek to my neck and to my shoulder. He had long, sensuous fingers. Fingers that could do a lot of good in a lot of good places. â€Å"I do like you, Roman. If you don't believe anything else I tell you, believe that.† He smiled then, a smile so full and beautiful, it made my heart melt. God, I had missed that smile and his funny, breezy charm. Moving his hand back up to my neck, he pulled me toward him, and I realized he was going to kiss me again. â€Å"No†¦ no†¦ don't,† I murmured, squirming out of his grasp. He backed off from the kiss, still holding on to me as he exhaled, disappointment all over his face. â€Å"Still worried about that?† â€Å"You can't understand. I'm sorry. I just can't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Georgina, nothing traumatic happened the last time we kissed. Short of your reaction, I mean.† â€Å"I know, but it's not that simple.† â€Å"Nothing happened,† he repeated, an unfamiliar hardness in his voice. â€Å"I know, but – â€Å" My mouth hung there mid-sentence as I replayed his words. Nothing happened. No, something had happened that night at the concert, kissing in the back hallway. I'd seen Roman stagger from the kiss. But me†¦ what had happened to me? What had I felt? Nothing. A kiss that intense, a kiss with someone strong, a kiss with someone I wanted so badly should have triggered something. Even with a low energy yield like Warren, a deep kiss would wake up my succubus instinct, start to connect us, even if no significant transfer took place. Kissing Roman like that – especially when he ostensibly had a reaction – should have resulted in some kind of feeling on my end. Some sensation. Yet, there had been nothing. Nothing at all. I had written it off to too much alcohol at the time. But that was ridiculous. I drank all the time before getting a fix. Alcohol could muddle my senses – as it obviously had that night – but no amount of intoxication could completely negate the sensation of anima transfer. Nothing could. I had been too trashed to realize the truth. Alcohol or no, I would always feel something from sexual or intimate physical contact unless†¦ Unless I was with another immortal. I jerked away from Roman, breaking his hold on me. His expression registered surprise, immediately replaced by sudden understanding. Those beautiful eyes sparkling dangerously, he laughed. â€Å"Took you long enough.†

Unforgiving Weather (Great Gatsby Essay) Essay Example

Unforgiving Weather (Great Gatsby Essay) Essay Example Unforgiving Weather (Great Gatsby Essay) Essay Unforgiving Weather (Great Gatsby Essay) Essay Caleb Figueroa Mr. Bakker Advanced English 11 20 February 2013 Unforgiving Weather In F. Scott Fitzgeralds, The Great Gatsby, life moves fast and theres no time for people to care about each others problems. Now, this is not simply because people have become selfish. Instead, its the fact that pretentiousness has consumed the moral compass of East and West Eggers alike. Fitzgerald shows this ugly truth by using various symbols like cars and colors to represent different things. One motif or symbol that is evident throughout this novel is weatherwhich helps to set the mood f the current situation, foreshadow characters emotions in the coming pages, and emphasize the presence of the theme: The moral corruption of the upper-class, materialistic American. The repetition of different weather patterns is definitely noticeable, and it ends up affecting how the reader views certain situations. And not only does the weather affect the dialogue (they mention how its raining, hot, etc. , but it also affects the overall mood of where the characters are and what theyre doing. The first instance hat one notices this was when Nick, Daisy, and Gatsby were all getting together for tea at Nicks house: The day agreed upon was pouring rain An hour later the front door opened nervously and Gatsby in a white flannel suit, silver shirt and gold colored tie hurried in. (88-89) The fact that it was raining when these characters first interacted gives key insight into the mood of this small get-together and how each of them is feeling. Typically people relate rain to sadness but in this case its used to describe how Gatsby is feeling nervous and ambivalent about seeing Daisy again; hus creating an awkward mood for the beginning of the evening. Weather captures the mood of the current situation, and it can sometimes even offer a small glimpse into the future. These glimpses into the future arent specifically about any event though; instead, theyre usually more like foreshadowing characters emotions in the next pages of the chapter. For example, when Tom, Daisy, Jordan, Nick, and Gatsby are all together on a hot summer day, the situation slowly becomes more and more suspenseful as their time spent together drags on. The next day was roiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer. (120) This all happened on the hottest day of the summer for a reason: to show the climax of the story and to show what happens to these uncivilized creatures when theyre put under a heat lamp. Tom is forced to introduce himself to Gatsby and the heat only adds to his steadily creeping opposition of this man. Mr Gatsby! He put out his broad, flat hand with well-concealed dislike. (122) Tom and Gatsbys situation eventually escalates until Tom asks some incredibly personal questions. Toms increasing disgust with Gatsby ends with him asking, What kind of a row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow? (136) By this time, the weather has exhausted everyone to the point where they no longer want to see one anotherespecia lly Tom people tend to forget their manners and go mad. These manners also often include being honest to those around you; which is strange because five of the characters have been living a lie. The situation between Daisy, Myrtle, George, Tom, and Gatsby truly reveals how corrupt Americans were ecoming during the time of The Great Gatsby. It was now becoming a common thing for a rich man to have a mistress, and for a rich girl to simply choose who she wanted to be with. The weather causes this sort of moral corruption to become magnified and obvious: The relentless beating heat was beginning to confuse me and I had a bad moment there before I realized that so far his suspicions hadnt alighted on Tom. He had discovered that Myrtle had some sort of life apart from him in another world and the shock had made him physically sick. I stared at him and then at Tom, who had made a parallel discovery less than an hour beforeand it occurred to me that there was no difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference between the sick and the well. (130-131) Georges painful realization that Myrtle was living two different lives parallels how Tom learned about Daisy and Gatsbys small affair. However, in both situations, the common theme is that theyre both corrupt in doing this. Not only did they lie to their partner but they also ontinued with their life as though these problems didnt exist in the first place. This, to me, is a clear sign that the upper-class, materialistic American of this particular time was slowly becoming more and more rotten. One motif or symbol that is clearly evident throughout this novel is weatherwhich ultimately sets the mood of the current situation, foreshadows characters emotions in the coming pages, and emphasizes the presence of the theme: The moral corruption of the upper-class, materialistic American. Time and time again, weather is described and used in certain situations which only helps to show the true face of the East and West Eggers. They live their lives as though theyre perfect when in reality theyre crooked and rotten people. Not everything is what it seems, and under pressure, we see what lies beneath the surface of the characters in The Great Gatsby. And now that weve seen different scenarios where the characters are put under a sort of magnifying glass, one may ask oneself, is Jay Gatsbyor any of the characters for that matterall that great?

The Best IB Biology Books Full Expert Reviews

The Best IB Biology Books Full Expert Reviews SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In IB Biology SL/HL, there are so many topics and so little time. Maximize your study time by using the best study materials and best IB Biology textbooks. In this article, I have collected a list of the most recent IB Biology Books and Textbooks (2013 or newer), as I don't recommend you studying with any older books, as they may be out of date. Who Is This Guide For? This guide is for IB Biology students who are serious about success in the classroom and on the IB Biology SL/HL papers.If you only plan on using the material for 5 hours of studying, the choice of book becomes less important. However, if you plan to use the book throughout the year for study help and for the IB Biology exam, you should choose your resource carefully. In this guide, I’ve divided the books into specific categories to help you make a knowledgeable choice. The Best IB Biology SL/HL Books We’re going to divide the best IB Biology books into a few categories: Best Textbook: A must have book as a part of your learning process, no matter your skill level or weaknesses. If you would like more information on otherIB Biology Textbooks, check out our other article. Best Study Resource for Fast Learning Throughout the School Year: The best study material for all students to learn material fast throughout the year and not just to study for the IB exam at the end of the year. Best Study Guide for Average Students:This book provides more in-depth explanations for those who need a little more assistance. Best Study Guide for High Achieving Students:This book has the material to push you over the top, without repeating the details that you have already mastered. Book to Avoid:This book lacks all of the material you need to succeed. Best Textbook IB Biology Course Book: 2014 Edition: Oxford IB Diploma Program Price on Amazon: $58.90 Description:This is the gold standard for IB Biology textbooks. The Oxford University Press is the only company to work directly with the IB to develop their materials, meaning they have a first look at the changing curricula and understand more deeply what the IB wants to test and how. They're also able to write the most realistic practice questions that resemble the real test.Of all books on the list, this is the most standard 'textbook' like book, containing: full instruction on the complete SL/HL syllabus practice questions for each topic instructions on the internal assessment and the extended essay This will be the foundation of your IB Biology prep, containing a thorough overview. Pros: developed directly with the IB high-quality content realistic practice problems organized logically, with practice integrated coherently Cons: like all textbooks, this book is better for thoroughness and less for customized prep. The best way for you to study for IB Biology may not be cover to cover, and this book does not give clear guidance on how best to customize its content for your needs does not contain study strategies or test strategies more expensive than other guides Best Study Resource for Fast Learning Throughout the School Year IB Biology (SL and HL) Examination Flashcard Study System: IB Test Practice Questions Review for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (Cards) Price on Amazon: $59.01 Description: Flashcards are a great way to study for IB Biology because there are so many topics and details to memorize. These flashcards help break the large topics down into small parts so that you can easily commit the details to memory. While this company does not work directly with IB, they use the IB syllabus to ensure they cover all topics on the IB Biology SL and HL exams, making it a great resource. These flashcards are great to use throughout the year for all of your in-class IB Biology tests since you can just study the cards relating to the topic being tested. While there are no practice problems with these flashcards, they are still a great resource for review. Since essentially all of the IB Biology exam questions simply ask you to relay memorized information (such as asking you to describe Cell Theory), these flashcards provide you with all of the reviews you need to ace the test. Pros: developed using the IB Biology syllabus high-quality content review breaks down big topics into small manageable parts organized by topic, making it easy to help you memorize throughout the year, not just for the IB exam. Cons: doesn't give guidance on how best to study the flashcards to improve memory retention. We encourage you to use our 'waterfall method' flashcards only have enough space for light concepts - if you don't know a concept well, you'll have to supplement with a textbook to flesh out your understanding more expensive than other guides Best Study Guide for the Average Student IB Biology Study Guide: 2014 edition: Oxford IB Diploma Program Price on Amazon: $32.40 Description:Also published by The Oxford University Press and written by Andrew Allott, this study guide complementsthe IB Biology Course Book mentioned above. This study guide breaks the large concepts from the course book down into manageable sections, with diagrams and illustrations to cement understanding. Additionally, this study guide integrates more IB Biology exam preparation material than the course book to make sure you excel on the IB Biology exam. Pros: developed directly with the IB high-quality content review using diagrams and illustrations breaks down big topics into small manageable parts realistic practice problems and exam material organized logically, with practice integrated coherently very thorough for those who need a little extra help in addition to their textbook / class lectures. Cons: like the related course book, this book is better for thoroughness and less for customized prep. The best way for you to study for IB Biology may not be cover to cover, and this book does not give clear guidance on how best to customize its content for your needs. more expensive than other guides Best Study Guide for High Achieving Students Barron's IB Biology Price on Amazon: $16.68 Description:Barron's is usually a solid choice for top students, as they're very complete This Barron’s IB Biology review book was developed using the IB Biology syllabus material to ensure that students are fully prepared for the IB Biology exam. Unlike a textbook, this study guide focuses more on exam preparation/review than teaching. The book provides readers with an overview of the IB Biology tests/papers, including an explanation of scoring, command terms, and optional topics based on the brand new 2014 syllabus, study tips and strategies for maximizing scores, and 2 full-length paper 1, 2, and 3 practice exams with fully explained answers. Pros: detailed summary charts. high-quality practice exams with detailed answer explanations. relatively inexpensive compared to other resources. focused study tips and strategies for the IB Biology exam. Cons: The material is reviewed in less detail than in other guides. The focus is on providing you with the practice tests rather than re-teaching you the material from class. This guide is great for the high achieving student, who already understood the class lessons, but is just hoping to lightly review the concepts and take IB Biology practice tests. Book to Avoid Biology for the IB Diploma Coursebook Price on Amazon: $61.95 Description: This edition of the IB Biology Coursebook from Cambridge Press was developed using the newest IB Biology syllabus. It covers all of the core topics of the syllabus including some practice questions. However, it does not cover any of the options (Both IB Biology SL and HL have core topics your teacher must cover as well as 2 additional topics - known as the options - because your teacher gets to choose from 4 options - fora more in-depth explanation of the options, read our other article The Complete IB Biology Syllabus: SL and HL). The core topics are tested on Paper 1 and 2 of the IB Biology SL/HL Exam, and the options are tested on Paper 3. Pros: developed usingthe IB Biology syllabus focused review of IB Biology core topics including some practice questions. Cons: expensive compared to other materials. missing review of the options, which count for ⅓ of the IB Biology exam. This book is too expensive to spend money on when it is missing ⅓ of the material needed to succeed on the IB Biology exam. Other Free Resources Find other free IB Biology study resources in our other articleThe Best IB Biology Study Guide and Notes for SL/HLand Where to Find IB Biology Past Papers - Free and Official. What’s Next? Learn more about IB Biology inthe complete IB Biology syllabus: SL and HLandthe best IB Biology study guide and notes for SL/HL. Trying to figure out what extracurricular you should do? Learn more about participating in Science Olympiad, starting a club, doing volunteer work, andjoining Student Government. Studying for the SAT? Check out our complete guide to the SAT.Taking the SAT in the next month? Check out our guide to cramming. Not sure where you want to go to college? Check out our guide to finding your target school.Also, figure out your target SAT score or target ACT score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

A Report About Niccolo Machiavelli History Essay

A Report About Niccolo Machiavelli History Essay Niccolo Machiavelli was born in 1469 in Florence. Since 1484, Florence had a republican government after ruling Medici family and its supporters were driven from power. Machiavelli suffered from this regime change: first he was sent to an internal exile and later was imprisoned and tortured for several weeks when (wrongly) suspected of conspiring against the Medici family in 1513. Following which, he retired to his farm outside Florence. This drove him to turn to literary pursuits and he wrote his famous study on power, ‘The Prince’ in 1517. The Prince was primarily a guide book for his prince, Lorenzo De Medici, to help him promote himself into the political set up of Italy. Machiavelli analyzed power and the ways for Italy to gain it to become independent and keep control. The explanations in the book were driven by Machiavelli’s own attraction with power and his deep desire for an independent Italy. His ideas on the rules of power caters to the struggles for a ll levels of power, from a common man struggling in the world of business to strategies performed by the political leaders in the sixteenth century to now. ‘The Prince’ is primarily a study of power in which Machiavelli suggests how political power should be acquired, utilized, and maintained by the ruler. (Fischer, 2000), (Source: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/ ) Machiavelli always asserted the importance of acquisition of power, he thinks it comes naturally to all humans and the one who does acquire power should be praised and not blamed. Machiavelli’s Philosophy beyond Acquisition of Power: Machiavelli doesn’t just concentrated on acquisition of power, he said that the real concern of any ruler is the not just acquisition but also maintenance of power. On the basis of his past experiences with the Florentine government, he supports the view that being right and good human being is not sufficient to acquire and maintain political offi ce. He feels power typically defines political activity; therefore any ruler must know how it is used. Since only by proper application of power, can rulers make individuals obey them and will be able to enforce law to maintain peace in the state. â€Å"one can say this in general of men: they are ungrateful, disloyal, insincere and deceitful, timid of danger and avid of profit†¦. Love is a bond of obligation which these miserable creatures break whenever it suits them to do so; but fear holds them fast by a dread of punishment that never passes† (Machiavelli 1965, 62; translation altered) Thus we see that Machiavelli believes that fear is always preferable to love while dealing with subjects, because laws are enforced on the basis of threat of coercive force, because people obey law due to the fear of results of not doing the same, whether the loss of life or other punishments. These are all Machiavelli’s views on how to maintain power not acquire it. His pragmat ic political ideas are based on two elements: The political environment in the world at that point in time was divided and commanded by powers with no possibility of unification. That time no political leader at that time who was using the kind of force Machiavelli thought was required for peace. He thought that a price feared by his subjects would ensure their loyalty. On human nature, Machiavelli thought humans are basically greedy and selfish and their actions are driven more by fear than by love. As a political philosopher, his attempt was to introduce a new way to create a society, which according to him was different from the one existing. Though his philosophy has been regarded as evil by many, but in practice most business leaders and politicians agree and follow it and regard it as the physics of power. The philosophy put forward in The Prince, is popularly known as Machiavellianism and is defined as: â€Å"The political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the rel evance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power.† We can explain this with simple saying that as far as power is concerned, the end justifies the means. The core thought of Machiavelianism is that the purpose of the ruler (power holder) is to maintain peace and security of the state irrespective of the morality of the means.

Corporate and business strategy in an international context Coursework

Corporate and business strategy in an international context - Coursework Example Michael Dell emphasized upon maintaining a flexible resource base so that rivals could not match the business model. The strategic focus of Michael Dell’s business model was managing opportunities. Dynamic capabilities enabled the company to meet this objective. Michael Dell converted other resources and capabilities into a distinctive competency by focusing upon adaptation and change. The industry in which Dell operated was characterized by a constant pace of change. Therefore the management needed to focus upon developing a sustainable future by continuously improving firm competency. To this end the dynamic theory was applied. The company maintained a reconfigurable resource base so that a flexible combination of uncertainty and commitment-intensity could be made feasible. In this manner, Dell was able to maintain its market leadership. Firm performance was characterized by the direct model which was different from the business models implemented by the competitors. Althoug h the competitors tried to implement Dell’s business model, they could not develop the same level of firm competency because Dell had already built an organizational capacity for response, reverse and contingency in this area. This allowed the company to maintain competence-generating strategic processes geared towards continuously renewing the competitive advantage. As a result Dell was well-positioned for changing future conditions. The PC industry was structurally attractive since it had the largest share of the industry. However the profit margin was not so great compared to those from microprocessors, software and services. Therefore Dell had to maximize its unit share in order to maximize profitability. This objective was met through tailoring the production system to customer requirements. The investments in online technology and JIT enabled the company to

Forms of Simple Stimulus Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Forms of Simple Stimulus Learning - Essay Example It is the most fundamental, individual way to reduce the unnecessary excitability of nervous system. Habituation appears after the multiple systematic repetitions of a particular stimulus. If it is not threatening life and body, after many perceptions of a stimulus, reaction decreases steadily. It depends on the frequency of repetitions until complete disappearance of the reaction. In other words, we "learn" do not react to stimuli, which do not cause any harm to us.   For example, a person, living in the vicinity of a railway, stops responding to the noise of passing trains very soon. Though, at first, the noise was annoying enough and interfered with sleeping. The same way, we get used to the sounds of the clock and flowing water, to billboards and road signs. The stimuli are no longer come to our consciousness. Perceiving familiar stimuli as common things, we just ignore them. For us, such adaptation means getting a state, where we can recognize easily new, important stimuli among the multiplicity of familiar, insignificant ones.  Ã‚   The reaction of habituation does not mean getting fatigue or tiredness of receptors. After the development of habituation, the nervous system continues perceiving a stimulus; just it needs a little effort to cause reaction immediately.   In nature, habituation is represented widely: from primitive creatures up to human beings. It provides an adequate reaction of a body to eliminate all superfluous, unnecessary perceptions, maintaining just reactions to the most important key stimuli. Such adaptation of nervous system saves lots of energy for an organism.

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Business - Essay Example This paper aims at analysing, identifying as well as evaluating the strategies that Ryanair pursues in order for it to maintain its market leadership position. The main focus will be on the strategic management practices that the airline’s management has developed and adopted over time to overcome market challenges as well as stiff competition from its closest rivals for example British Airways. Ryanair is an airline that was founded in 1985 and at its start it concentrated it travel from Waterford to London. The airline has come a long way since then and today it ranks one of the biggest carriers in Europe. The company’s growth is heavily attributed to the management’s decision from its onset to plough back its earnings in expansion programs that have reaped a great deal of benefits to date. In this regard it emerged to be the big airline it is today (Carol & Julian 2000). To elaborate further on its growth trend, the airline started operations with only one aircraft which had 15 seats. In 1986 the company added two more aircrafts and by 1987 it already had a jet aircraft that made it possible for the airline to expand on its route. The company grew rapidly from this time but in 1990 it made a massive loss due to heightened competition from British airways and Aer Lingus. This phenomenon caused the management to embark on a major restructuring exercise. This saw the airline branded as a low fares one; a stance that saw its tribulations turn round as the number of passengers increased enormously after the first low fares announcements. By 1992 passenger traffic had grown by 45 percent due to the steady policy of providing good service at low cost; this translated to 945,000 passengers (Charles & Gareth 2009). The 1990s were the years of steady growth where more and more routes in Europe has been conquered and airlines like British Airways were not in

A young woman with advance cancer with a young family who wants to end Essay

A young woman with advance cancer with a young family who wants to end her life on her terms. There is a scenario given and a te - Essay Example Nowadays, caring for cancer patients is becoming more complicated requiring the work of a health professional. This article explains the sickness connected to cancer and the nursing activities done to reduce and prevent the effect of such sicknesses in a 34 year old woman, Frankie, who is suffering from rectal cancer. Issue Identification (Noticing) Typically, oncology related ailments go with persistent health issues. Such illnesses usually have multiple symptoms as were diagnosed in Frankie; she was anxious, and was suffering from further progressive disease in her lung liver and peritoneum. Other ailments found in her were, abdominal distension, leg edema and uncontrolled rectal pain. When such sicknesses are combined, they amplify the care complexity of cancer patients. Nevertheless, early detection of these conditions and their effective management can enable the cancer individuals to become comfortable and responsive to treatment. A formal capacity assessment on admission demon strated that Frankie was competent according to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and she has remained competent. Frankie’s husband is unaware of his wives’ expectations and as much as he may need her to stay in a hospital facility and get the necessary care, his wife has different wishes which she would also want her husband to be kept out of it. Frankie says that her husband is ‘already dealing with enough.’ Chronic condition managers of cancer patients direct that they have to live on more than a single medication that has been regularly prescribed. For example, Frankie's drug therapy includes Capecitabine a chemotherapy drug used to treat the rectal cancer, Oxycodone (subcutaneous) and Fentanyl (patch) used to treat the pain, Midazolam to treat Frankie's insomnia and Escitalopram a selective serotonin uptake inhibitor used to manage Frankie's anxiety. In Frankie’s case, the individuals providing for her health care away from the hospital, i.e. her husband and children, are not health care experts specialized in handling her conditions; as an alternative, they are just alimentary health care providers. It is even probable that these health care providers have no specialized skills in such areas as oncology. Her health care providers are also either older or younger than she is; this is a regular incident in health care for the terminally ill. Nevertheless, Frankie’s elder health care provider, her husband, is given a chance to learn. Formulation Development The formulation of the disease was data based. The information collected together with the assessment of the patient’s health was sufficient for diagnosis. It relies on set up questions as well as processes (Drescher, Jotzo, Goelz, Meyer, Bacher & Poets, 2008); Patient’s Identity – it is a female who is tall and slender. Patient’s name is Frankie. She is now in her mid life years and he appears weak. Diagnosis – Frankie is ailing an d was diagnosed as suffering from advanced rectal cancer with liver, lung and Para aortic metastasis. Since then Frankie has received palliative chemotherapy, a partial lung resection, palliative radiotherapy to her pelvis, a right hepatectomy, radiofrequency ablation of her liver, and further liver resections for metastasis r4(Funnell, Koutoukidis & Lawrence, 2009). Precipitating

TRS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TRS - Essay Example In addition, humanity gets a deeper understanding of God through the saints. Interestingly, these saints are a reflection of colors needed within the church. For example, saint Francis of Assisi speaks of truths concerning God. However, he does not entirely reflect the fullness of God hence the need for other saints. In summary, saints are a part of the church and are a connecting point between God and human beings. It is quite interesting that the saints reflect color to the church. Moreover, they enable the church have a deeper understanding of God. This is interesting because saints are more of a church’s ideology. Arguably, no one but God knows the real state of the hurts of men. Additionally, one could never know the real intentions of the hearts of people. Arguably, saints are considered by the acts. On the other hand, they reflect light, which may not be understandable to humanity unless deeply rooted in the practices of Catholicism. In summary, Catholics hold saints in high

Micromint micropayment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Micromint micropayment - Essay Example The scrip ensures there is a permanent relationship between the customer and the vendor. This according to Rivest (1997, p. 45), is inconvenience for a vendor. To perform each transaction, the consumer goes to the broker for exchange of the vendor scrip. In spite of the security features of Millicent System; it is still exposed to cyber crimes. Future systems ought to be improved using public keys for encryption. This can protect sensitive information from reaching intruders. Additionally, network security techniques ought to be applied to eliminate the risk of man-in-the-middle attack. Glassman, S., Manasse, M., Abadi, M., Gauthier, P & Sobalvarro, P 2013, â€Å"The MilliCent Protocol for Inexpensive Electronic Commerce†, Fourth International World Wide Web Conference, Darmstadt, Germany. Rivest, R 1997, â€Å"Electronic Lottery Tickets as Micropayments†, in R. Hirschfeld (Ed.), Financial Crypography: First International Conference (FC ‘97), Anguilla, British West Indies, Feb. 24-28, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 1318, pp. 307-314). Yacobi, Y 1997, â€Å"On the Continuum Between On-line and Off-line E-cash Systems†, in R. Hirschfeld (Ed.), Financial Cryptography: First International Conference (FC ’97), Anguilla, British West Indies, February 24-28, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (Vol. 1318, pp.

TRS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TRS - Essay Example In addition, humanity gets a deeper understanding of God through the saints. Interestingly, these saints are a reflection of colors needed within the church. For example, saint Francis of Assisi speaks of truths concerning God. However, he does not entirely reflect the fullness of God hence the need for other saints. In summary, saints are a part of the church and are a connecting point between God and human beings. It is quite interesting that the saints reflect color to the church. Moreover, they enable the church have a deeper understanding of God. This is interesting because saints are more of a church’s ideology. Arguably, no one but God knows the real state of the hurts of men. Additionally, one could never know the real intentions of the hearts of people. Arguably, saints are considered by the acts. On the other hand, they reflect light, which may not be understandable to humanity unless deeply rooted in the practices of Catholicism. In summary, Catholics hold saints in high

Influence of Recreation Essay Example for Free

Influence of Recreation Essay ?I. Introduction Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. People have always traveled, whether it is to conquer worlds, discover new places, for business or for pleasure. This need of man has consequently led to the development of different attractions whether man-made or natural. Recreation, it is a term that denotes the refreshment of ones body or mind after work that stimulates amusement or play. People have become too busy to take out time to look within, no time to interact, and have become so dedicated to work. Working can lead to increased stress, illness, disease or more. People werent meant to work themselves to death. There should be a balance of work and recreation. Our bodies need rest, relaxation and enjoyment every once in a while. Recreation is an activity, rather an opportunity to take a break, the much-needed break from work. The more recreation one engages after work, the happier and enjoyable life becomes. Recreational activities are widely popular across the globe. Some enjoy exploring to beautiful places around the world whereas others take interest in pursuing their hobbies as a means of recreation. Whichever way, recreation needs to be made a vital component of the fast life of the present times. Positive and enjoyable recreation experiences can decrease stress and psychological tensions. Leisure activities offer people with the opportunity to boost energy and emotion not being released in other aspects of their lives. Family bonds are enhanced by the sharing of leisure time. Families that do recreational activities together tend to be closer and improve their chances of staying together. There are a lot of activities to choose from with recreation. Some people prefer to do adventurous sporting activities and experience the thrills and excitement, while others prefer to light activities. Adventure and recreation in Philippines has been a part of the Filipino culture. The tropical weather allows Filipinos to spend most of their free time outdoors; children commonly play outside with friends. With this condition, the researcher is highly interested to propose a Recreation Center to cater tourists, families, sporting enthusiasts and host events which will enable to develop the tourism strategy of Batangas City. This center can provide best service that every individual should experience. Near in the future, it will be famous to everyone. II. Pre-Feasibility Nowadays tourists are discovering a lot new things especially to the place where they can visit. They really want to explore unique places for them to meet their expectation and satisfaction. From this, feasibility study regarding to the development of a recreation center will meet its objectives as part of our industry. These are the condition that will justify its objective: (a. ) The Recreation Center as part of Hospitality Industry (b. ) To increase the number of customers by at least 20% per year through superior customer service and word-of mouth referrals. (c. ) To create a service-based company which exceeds customers expectations. (d. ) To provide high quality equipment use in the recreation center (e. ) To provide extraordinary, proficient and suitable architectural design for the proposed â€Å"Recreation Center† that will accommodate tourists and the locals by introducing innovative activities to further promote tourism and exposure to the local market. (f. ) To provide excellent child play care in a eco-friendly atmosphere while ensuring our customers, receive excellent service in a playful, educational, and safe environment. III. Detailed Economic Feasibility Study In this part of our feasibility study, it contains the four analysis that tackles about the potentiality of the place to become a tourist destination, its future outcome and structure, what strategies we used in promoting the plan to the public and the possible expenses of the project. 3. 1 Site Analysis In establishing a business, location is always considered. The transportation that will be use is the primary needs of this business. In this study, this is well analyzed all the details according to the distance from the nearest town center. The next is the site itself. The property of the business and how the transaction of all the papers includes. It will not be successful without the environmental issues, because the recreation center that will be build involves with this condition. This market research show that these are the customer groups that are likely to be served. The business will serve a relaxation area because of the different activities it offers. For the building aesthetics of our project, we choose the ecological architecture. It is also known as environmental design combining aspects of landscape design. This building character will complement the outdoor scenes especially designed for leisure and sporting activities whilst considering appropriate facilities for the users. It deals with building materials and aims at minimizing the use of not replenishable raw materials. This means preferring such building materials as wood, stone, earth and recycled material like used boxes and barrels, and naturally it necessitates a peculiar style of architectural design as well. This design follow the concept of â€Å"GO GREEN† because of its efficiency and sustainability. Many eco-friendly building techniques with aesthetics that match the natural surroundings are now being incorporated in the designs. Ecological architecture is the most suitable character that works best for developments that are bounded by nature and caters leisure facilities and outdoor activities. The character of the structure will complement the nature where recreation and sporting activities occur. 3. 2 Economic Feasibility Study The researcher conduct some research and it’s true that tourism is one of the basic aspects that really affects the economic status of our country. In this feasibility study, the researcher aims to help in contributing to its aspect with the help of this tourist destination. This business will be known by giving and providing the best facilities and activities whoever will visit the center. The income of the business itself will increase and also its production. 3. 3 Market Analysis When it talks about marketing, first thing that comes to the mind of a person is about promotion, advertising and something that has to do in catching the attention of the tourists. The researcher’s marketing strategy is focused on establishing and promoting our project through a variety of marketing channels. An overview of our marketing strategy includes: Identity Development. This plan will be promoted through a broad mix of identity pieces including business cards, stationery, car signage, and other communications. Brochures. A brochure will be designed to communicate our presence, the services we offer, and the clients we serve in the community. Flyers. Flyers will be designed for posting at community locations that attract high traffic volumes of consumers within our target market. Public Relations. As owners, we will promote our company and its benefits to the community through efforts to have articles published in new media and efforts to gain coverage on local radio and television programming. Website. All brochures, flyers and other marketing tools will promote our website, detailing our services that benefit the community. Our website will also provide all information about us, our operational hours, schedules of events, and a registration form for online enrollment. Email. Email will be used to connect with our clients frequently through monthly newsletters and updates on upcoming events and special offers. 3. 4 Cost/Benefit Analysis One of the key of the business is to meet their costs and especially the benefit it have. Without the help of our generous sponsors Lucio Tan and Henry Sy, the researcher will not be able to operate without their financial support. The following lists will show the total cost in establishing the business. Expenses: Property/Land – 4 Million Php Corporate Sponsorship – 10 Million Php Installation of Machine – 1 Million Php Researcher’s Savings – 8,050,000 Php Increased Revenue – 250,000 PhpTotal Budget – 10 Million Php Material Cost – 2. 5 Million PhpTotal Cost – 18,050,000 Php Labor Cost – 3 Million Php. Operator – 600,000 Php Utilities – 1. 5 Million Php Insurance – 750,000 Php Operating Licenses/Permits – 350,000 Php Pest Control – 300,000 Php Minor Repair Maintenance – 800,000 Facilities – 3 Million Php The proposed project entitled â€Å"Batangas City Recreation Center† intends to introduce new innovative facilities to the locals and tourists with advanced, effective and functional design. This study will be beneficial to the following: Province of Batangas This study may serve as a reference to whatsoever future developments and plans that will be conducted by the city or the province in relative to the tourism industry. To the Local and Foreign Tourists This study is significant to the tourists as a reference for their activities to be conducted during vacations or leisure. To the Enthusiasts and Professionals This will serve as a guide in choosing the ideal location for team building activities. It will also aid professionals in selecting the perfect venue for their programs and competition. For everybody (families, couples, single) The Recreation Center was designed with you and your family in mind. We focus on providing an environment to bring the community together. It is a place for children, teens, adults, families, and seniors to socialize and exercise. The Center Focused on family entertainment in a family-oriented community, the Recreation Center is a project primed to take advantage of an expanding and profitable industry. IV. Conclusion The researcher therefore conclude the factors that influence the people to come to the recreation center. These are divided into five characteristics: 1. The Recreation Center can be used in any activities whether in group or individual. 2. The Recreation Center can provide highest quality performance that every individual can experience. 3. The researcher provide strategies on how they can meet the target market and how the profit will increase. 4. The Recreation Center, as describes above, offers numerous advantages for developers and also for the people who lives in Batangas. 5. The implementation of a Recreation Center here in Batangas City is highly successful because it will surely be a famous tourist destination. V. Recommendation After analyzing all the details of this project, the researcher recommended and suggested five criteria on how the business will achieve success in the future. 1. The People in-charge of the center should increase the number of supported services in order to maintain the clients and at the same time, they should continue attracting more tourist. 2. The developers should always give and furnish the best amenities and facilities to the tourist who will stay in the center. 3. The developers should have proper and wide marketing in advertising globally. They could make use of new techniques that will help gain more tourists. 4. Giving opportunities by hiring of employees coming from the people living in Batangas. 5. Continuing to give a hundred percent best service to the visitors.

Team Performance And Strategic Objectives

Team Performance And Strategic Objectives Team performance working involves the development of a number of interrelated processes that together make an impact on the performance of the firm through its people in such areas as productivity, quality, and levels of customer service, growth, profits, and ultimately the delivery of increased shareholder value. This is achieved by enhancing the skills and engaging the enthusiasm of employees. The starting point is leadership, vision and benchmarking to create a sense of momentum and direction. Team Performance Management is focused directly on the achievement of the teams key business objectives. It bridges the gap between the team building enablers and business performance results. It removes the reliance on faith the need to believe that team building works before investing in it and establishes a direct connection between collective behaviors and team performance. Team Performance Management is predicated on the following three principles: Team Behaviors are different to Individual Behaviors. Most competency frameworks include teamwork, but these usually refer to what an individual does within a team, not what a team does collectively together. E.g. whilst all the individuals in a team can behave in trustworthy ways, this does not guarantee that the team will build trust together this is also dependent on other factors such as the environment they work in, or the team processes they use for communicating, deciding, rewarding, etc.. The behaviors that make a team successful vary from team to team and from time to time. E.g. the profile of behaviors that makes a design team successful is different from the profile that makes a financial audit team successful. And if the design team is using a top-down approach, for optimal performance, it needs to change its behaviors once it gets beyond the outline design and starts work on the detailed implementation of the ideas. Team behaviors can be changed using a team performance management process. In essence, performance management involves establishing behavioral goals, measuring current behaviors to identify the gap between the current and desired behavior profile, and then planning, implementing and monitoring changes in order to close that gap. There are both similarities and significant differences between performance management processes for individuals and teams. The key difference between traditional team building and team performance management is that the former engages in activities in the belief that they will indirectly lead to improvements in team performance (sometimes they do, sometimes they dont). Team Performance Management, however, identifies the team behaviors that will lead directly to business success, and then uses a process to change the behaviors accordingly. Evaluate tools and techniques available to set team performance targets Most performance measures can be grouped into one of the following six general categories. However, certain organizations may develop their own categories as appropriate depending on the organizations mission: Effectiveness: A process characteristic indicating the degree to which the process output (work product) conforms to requirements.(Are we doing the right things?) Efficiency: A process characteristic indicating the degree to which the process produces the required output at minimum resource cost. (Are we doing things right?) Quality: The degree to which a product or service meets customer requirements and expectations. Timeliness: Measures whether a unit of work was done correctly and on time. Criteria must be established to define what constitutes timeliness for a given unit of work. The criterion is usually based on customer requirements. Productivity: The value added by the process divided by the value of the labor and capital consumed. Safety: Measures the overall health of the organization and the working environment of its employees. The following reflect the attributes of an ideal unit of measure:  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Reflects the customers needs as well as our own  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Provides an agreed upon basis for decision making  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Is understandable  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Applies broadly  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  May be interpreted uniformly  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Is compatible with existing sensors (a way to measure it exists)  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Is precise in interpreting the results  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Is economical to apply Performance data must support the mission assignment(s) from the highest organizational level downward to the performance level. Therefore, the measurements that are used must reflect the assigned work at that level. Within a system, units of measure should interconnect to form a pyramid. Technological units start at the base. These are measures of individual units of products and of individual elements of service. 1.2.1. Performance Evaluations: Performance evaluation is a very important activity which will be initiated to evaluate and appraise the performance of every employee in the organization. This process can be done twice a year and few companies do the same process for every quarter. Majorly, employee performance can be evaluated based on 5 categories; those are Productivity, quality, communication skills, interpersonal skills, professional behavior initiative. Promotions and performance rewards for an employee is decided based on this criteria only. Productivity is nothing but the quantity of work items or assigned work performed by an employee. On a daily base employee should be given a target or set of work and that should be completed by the end of the day. If employee couldnt achieve the target in a particular day, can compensate the balance work in subsequent working days. Quality means the accuracy levels of work which an employee has performed. This processed data will be randomly reviewed or audited by senior associates in the company. If all the work items which were reviewed are perfect and accurate then, the employee quality of work is 100 %, in case any error found, quality decreases. Hence need to maintain consistency in quality. Communication skills also play an important role in performance appraisals. It includes written and oral communication skills. If employee cannot communicate in a proper way, he or she cannot elevate themselves in work and share their views, suggestions in terms of development and growth of the process. Hence always concentrate on improving communication skills. Interpersonal skills professional behavior are nothing but your way of approach and behavior with fellow team members and superiors. Always need to maintain a cool environment within the team, should not be any ego feelings in learning and always solve any personal issues in a professional way in the presence of supervisor. Growth of project or process, always try to share the ideas with supervisor to implement and if employee has any thought due to which manual working hours may reduce and helpful for the process then such things must share with the supervisor so that in performance evaluation employee can gain a very good rating. 1.2.2 . Feedback: Feedback is such an important communication skill. Openness, honesty, candor, trust all of these are hallmarks of high performance teams and organizations. Good feedback skills are essential to any team relationship. Feedback is important because: It prevents small issues from festering into unmanageable problems. It builds trust in relationships. It promotes personal and professional growth. It acknowledges individual and team accomplishments. It clears up misunderstandings. It is a way to acknowledge and recognize team members skills and contributions. As a result, effective team feedback makes life at work a great deal easier and more rewarding. There are two types of feedback Positive feedback and feedback for improvement (sometimes called negative feedback). Positive Feedback Positive feedback is information about what someone did well. Theres a very simple approach you can use when giving positive feedback. Describe what the team member actually did or said, and Why this statement or action was effective. Feedback for Improvement Feedback for improvement is given about situations which did not go well, or which could have been better. In this case, its important to tell the team member specifically what could have been said or done differently, and why that would have been more effective. 1.2.3. Development Planning: Development Planning is broadly defined as the planning of any organized endeavor that aims at promoting development. It encompasses a wide range of thrusts in economic, social and institutional fields at various societal levels, from the local to the international and usually emphasis the relation between societal spheres and units. It addresses the values, objectives, resources, organizational ability and a range of variables of environment of the development organizational its pursuit. The main concerns of development planning may be expressed by the concept of strategy and derivatives of that concept. The term strategy has wide application and is used with numerous shades of meaning. Assess the value of team performance tools to measure future team performance A team needs to know how its results will help the organization. Individuals on the team need to know what the team requires of them to reach the teams goal. The seven-step processes for measuring team performance are Terminology Seven-Step Process Measurement Points Terminology the terms performance standards, goals, and objectives interchangeably and sees them as descriptions of some future, desirable state that the team is trying to achieve. As depicted below, performance below the standard is considered unacceptable, and performance exceeding the standard is considered exceptional. Seven-Step Process. Review existing organizational measures. Ensure that the measures above and around the team are known and linked to the teams measures. Define whats going to be measured. Selecting the best alternatives and using them to identify the teams key accomplishments provide the basis for all further measurement. Identify individual team member accomplishments that support the team. Identify the results each team member must produce to support the teams results or work processes. Weight the accomplishments. Discuss and agree upon the relative importance of each accomplishment. Develop team and individual performance measures. Identify the measurement (either numeric or descriptive) that will be used to gauge how well the results have been achieved. Develop team and individual performance standards. Define how well the team and individuals have to perform to meet expectations. Decide how to track performance. Identify how the data for each performance standard will be collected and fed back to team members Measurement Points. Elaborating on step two of his seven-step process, Zigong describes four ways to identify what should be measured. These methods can be used singly or in combination: If the team exists to satisfy the requirements of its customers, the measurement point(s) should be the product or service the team provides to the customer. If the team exists to help the organization make an improvement in a specific measurable goal, the measurement points should be determined by asking, What value-added results does the team produce that can help the organization achieve its goal? If the team exists to support the organizations function, the measurement point(s) are determined by identifying the hierarchy of results that the organization must produce and selecting those that link the team to the organizations results. If the team is used to support a work process, the measurement points are found by mapping the process and using the map to identify whats worth measuring. 2.1 Analyse how to determine required performance targets within teams against current performance Performance measurement is primarily managing outcome, and one of its main purposes is to reduce or eliminate overall variation in the work product or process. The goal is to arrive at sound decisions about actions affecting the product or process and its output. Performance measures quantitatively tell us something important about our products, services, and the processes that produce them. They are a tool to help us understand, manage, and improve what our organizations do. Performance measures let us know: how well we are doing â‚ ¬Ã‚  if we are meeting our goals â‚ ¬Ã‚  if our customers are satisfied â‚ ¬Ã‚  if our processes are in statistical control â‚ ¬Ã‚  if and where improvements are necessary. They provide us with the information necessary to make intelligent decisions about what we do. A performance measure is composed of a number and a unit of measure. The number gives us a magnitude (how much) and the unit gives the number a meaning (what). Performance measures are always tied to a goal or an objective (the target). Performance measures can be represented by single dimensional units like hours, meters, nanoseconds, dollars, number of reports, number of errors, number of CPR-certified employees, length of time to design hardware, etc. They can show the variation in a process or deviation from design specifications. Single-dimensional units of measure usually represent very basic and fundamental measures of some process or product. 2.1.1 Know what it looks like It will be impossible to know when youre achieving high performance if you dont know what it looks like. From an organisational perspective, high performance means not only running a financially sound business, adhering to essential policies and ensuring regulatory demands are observed, but also understanding the capability of your workforce to deliver high performance. All too often, concerns about what they might find and the time it may take prompt organisations to adopt the three wise monkeys strategy dont see, dont hear, dont speak with the result that low performance goes unchecked for years until it is too late and competitors have overtaken you. Too often, individual high performance is defined as simply getting the job done in the short term rather than looking to the long term and focusing on behaviors. 2.1.2 Make a commitment Strong and active commitment from leaders and managers, and the pursuit of continuous learning throughout the organisation, are crucial to building a well-defined high-performance culture. Commitment means not leaving it to fate, but truly understanding what high performance looks like, trusting different approaches and working with all stakeholders, including the human resource 2.1.3 Define your starting point Knowing where your organisation currently stands will make it much easier to create a vision for the future and to secure buy-in. One of the most effective strategies is to define explicitly what creates high performance in your organisation. Ensure that these behaviors are distinct, while being comprehensive enough to cover different levels of the organisation. Include areas such as how people collect and make sense of information and how they influence and build confidence in stakeholders. 2.1.4 Put a stake in the ground Once you have agreed what the behavioral high performance indicators look like, it is essential to observe and measure them. The best way to capture current performance is through objective observation, such as work shadowing, behavioural event interviews and subjective feedback via online and facilitated 360-degree analysis. This should clearly distinguish between behavior that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ impedes performance à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ helps to do the task in hand à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ makes a sustainable and long-term positive contribution à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ promotes beneficial and long-term behavioral change in teams and divisions. 2.2 Discuss the need to encourage individual commitment to team performance in achievement of organisational goals The definition of the group dynamics is the social process by which people interact face-to-face in small groups. The group controlled through leadership rather than force, ensured discipline through internal pressure, pooled thinking, respected the individual, and allowed all its members to participate in deciding on things that directly affected them in their work. Teamwork is much more important than the sum of the individual part since a nominal engineering team can succeed under a well-managed project. The success of a software project relies very much on a good management and control system which allows the development to satisfy the project objectives Team process skills are- (a) communication, (b) leadership, (c) goal setting, (d) cross training, (e) problem solving/decision making, (f) conflict resolution are the essential elements for successful teamwork. Team members and leaders must play their roles if they are to be high-performing. The roles of a team leader as follows: Coordinate the activities of the team (tracking progress, scheduling work). Motivate the team. Ensure the team communicates effectively. Interface with supervisor; arrange meetings with client when necessary. Set agendas for meetings Help to set the team goals (project goals, task allocations). Help the team move towards these goals. Accomplish tasks given to them. Meet deadlines. Attend team meetings. Contribute to developing a productive atmosphere within the team 2.3 Relate the application of delegation, mentoring and coaching to the achievement of the organisational objectives A mentoring relationship is usually where one wiser and more experienced person assists another person to grow and learn. It is not a new management technique. Since humans have lived in social groups we have learnt our norms, values and behaviours by the example and coaching of others. The business world has adopted the tradition of an older and wiser person fostering the growth and development of the younger generation. This has sometimes resulted in perpetuation of old ways at the expense of diversity and development. However, new adaptations of mentoring allowing individuals to interact as colleagues in a helping relationship, on a more equal basis, can cultivate growth and learning to mutual benefit. Experience, skills and a genuine desire to help are more valuable assets in a mentoring relationship than age or position. Open and assertive communication and the trust of both parties are essential. Both partners in the mentoring relationship benefit. Learning must be a lifelong process and one of the most effective ways to learn is to assist in the development of others. The best teachers learn much from their students, counselors constantly learn from clients and partners in any successful relationship grow and develop along the way. Coaching is suitable for the successful achievement of many different objectives in working life. What is essential is the importance of the objectives for both the person being coached and the organisation. Motivation from the person to be coached is required for the coaching process to be successful, and without organisational objectives coaching will not result in real success at work. The main focus of coaching is on the development of managerial work and leadership competence, and on the coaching of key persons. Persons on different organisational levels have different objectives, but some challenges are shared by all. 2.4 Evaluate a team performance plan to meet organisational objectives Although there is no guaranteed how-to recipe for building team performance, we observed a number of approaches shared by many successful teams. Establish urgency, demanding performance standards, and direction. All team members need to believe the team has urgent and worthwhile purposes, and they want to know what the expectations are. Indeed, the more urgent and meaningful the rationale, the more likely it is that the team will live up to its performance potential, as was the case for a customer-service team that was told that further growth for the entire company would be impossible without major improvements in that area. Teams work best in a compelling context. That is why companies with strong performance ethics usually form teams readily. Select members for skill and skill potential, not personality. No team succeeds without all the skills needed to meet its purpose and performance goals. Yet most teams figure out the skills they will need after they are formed. The wise manager will choose people for their existing skills and their potential to improve existing skills and learn new ones. Pay particular attention to first meetings and actions. Initial impressions always mean a great deal. When potential teams first gather, everyone monitors the signals given by others to confirm, suspend, or dispel assumptions and concerns. They pay particular attention to those in authority: the team leader and any executives who set up, oversee, or otherwise influence the team. And, as always, what such leaders do is more Important than what they say. If a senior executive leaves the team kickoff to take a phone call ten minutes after the Session has begun and he never returns, people get the message. Set some clear rules of behavior. All effective teams develop rules of conduct at the outset to help them achieve their purpose and performance goals. The most critical initial rules pertain to attendance (for example, no interruptions to take phone calls), discussion (no sacred cows), confidentiality (the only things to leave this room are what we agree on), analytic approach (facts are friendly), end-product orientation (everyone gets assignments and does them), constructive confrontation (no finger pointing), and, often the most important, contributions (everyone does real work). Set and seize upon a few immediate performance oriented tasks and goals. Most effective teams trace their advancement to key performance-oriented events. Such events can be set in motion by immediately establishing a few challenging goals that can be reached early on. There is no such thing as a real team without performance results, so the sooner such results occur, the sooner the team congeals. Challenge the group regularly with fresh facts and information. New information causes a team to redefine and enrich its understanding of the performance challenge, thereby helping the team shape a common purpose, set clearer goals, and improve its common approach. A plant quality improvement team knew the cost of poor quality was high, but it wasnt until they researched the different types of defects and put a price tag on each one that they knew where to go next. Conversely, teams err when they assume that all the information needed exists in the collective experience and knowledge of their members. Spend lots of time together. Common sense tells us that team members must spend a lot of time together, scheduled and unscheduled, especially in the beginning. Indeed, creative insights as well as personal bonding require impromptu and casual interactions just as much as analyzing spreadsheets and interviewing customers. Busy executives and managers too often intentionally minimize the time they spend together. The successful teams weve observed all gave themselves the time to learn to be a team. This time need not always be spent together physically; electronic, fax, and phone time can also count as time spent together. Exploit the power of positive feedback, recognition, and reward. Positive reinforcement works as well in a team context as elsewhere. Citing outgo!d stars helps shape new behaviors critical to team performance. If people in the group, for example, are alert to a shy persons initial efforts to speak up and contribute, they can give the honest positive reinforcement that encourages continued contributions. There are many ways to recognize and reward team performance beyond direct compensation, from having a senior executive speak directly to the team about the urgency of its mission to using awards to recognize contributions. Ultimately, however, the satisfaction shared by a team in its own performance becomes the most cherished reward. Initial performance plan Understanding and subsequently discussing a teams performance is central to managing team performance. To work effectively, teams must regularly and objectively review their teamwork. In addition to concentrating on their short-term outputs, team members must examine work processes to ensure that the team is working creatively, that the team is effectively promoting itself to others, and so on. Too often in managing team performance the team review focuses on subjective individual evaluation, as opposed to an objective team assessment. Performance improvement plan A Team Performance Plan is a detailed plan used to: Identify the desired performance levels of the team Identify how these performance levels will be achieved Provide guidance and direction to the team Measure progress towards the desired performance levels Although there are no strict rules as to the format of a Team Performance Plan they normally contain the following information: Specific goals for team development Performance measures Actions required to achieve goals An indication of how long goals will take to achieve The Team Performance Plan should align with the organisations overall objectives. This can be achieved by: 1. Aligning the Team Performance Plan with the Team Purpose 2. Aligning the Team Purpose with the organisations objectives Team Performance Plans might include the following types of goals: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Goals to improve team competency Team building goals Collate the information regarding poor performance Performance = Ability x Motivation Where: Ability is the persons aptitude, as well as the training and resources supplied by the organization Motivation is the product of desire and commitment Someone with 100% motivation and 75% ability can often achieve above-average performance. But a worker with only 25% ability wont be able to achieve the type of performance you expect, regardless of his or her level of motivation. Incorrect diagnoses can lead to lots of problems later on. If you believe an employee is not making enough of an effort, youll likely put increased pressure on him or her to perform. But if the real issue is ability, then increased pressure may only make the problem worse. Low ability may be associated with the following: Over-difficult tasks. Low individual aptitude, skill, and knowledge. Evidence of strong effort, despite poor performance. Lack of improvement over time. People with low ability may have been poorly matched with jobs in the first place. They may have been promoted to a position thats too demanding for them. Or maybe they no longer have the support that previously helped them to perform well. Meet with the relevant team member(s) and discuss the issues Creating a Performance Improvement Plan So how do you do this in practice? This is where you need to develop a Performance Improvement Plan. Armed with the strategies weve looked at, you first need to evaluate the performance issue that youre facing: Have you discussed with the person what he or she feels the problem is? Have you evaluated your organizations motivation system? Are you doing everything you can to recognize and reward peoples contributions? Are you rewarding the things that you actually want done? Do you have regular goal setting and development meetings with members of your team? Do you help your people keep their skills current? From there, its important that you and the employee discuss and agree upon a plan for improving performance. Write down what youve agreed, along with dates by which goals should be achieved. Then monitor progress with the team member, and use the techniques weve discussed above for increasing motivation and dealing with ability-related issues. Recognize that the actions needed to close ability gaps need high motivation on the employees part to be successful. The two causes of poor performance lack of ability and low motivation are inextricably intertwined, and goal setting, feedback, and a supportive work environment are necessary conditions for improving both. Develop a Performance Improvement Plan Successfully managing team performance starts by identifying where the team is performing well and where it needs further development. The Team Performance Profile Questionnaire and associated analysis gives team members an objective assessment of how the team is doing. It provides opportunities to compare the various viewpoints of team members and outsiders and relate them to the team vision and purpose. The common language ensures that everyone is focusing on the critical team performance factors and the measured gaps can then be translated into action plans for improved performance. It is the diagnosis of the problems that is essential. Once we know what is wrong, it is usually easy to fix it! Tuckman (1965) presented the four stages of teamwork which are now widely used by work teams throughout the world to assess their progress. The model describes the stages as follows: Tuckmans Stages of Teamwork Model Once teams are formed, they go through an unpleasant storming stage before ground rules and norms are established. Eventually the performing stage is reached. In the 1980s it was acceptable to take maybe six months or so to reach the performing stage. However, in the 90s, such is the speed of change and the intensity of competition that some teams have to get to good performance levels in six weeks or even six days! Follow up Ensure that you monitor, follow up and evaluate the performance improvement as set out in the plan. A Performance Improvement Plan should clearly convey: The area of performance that requires improvement or development The action(s) to be taken Any parties required to assist in the achievement of the set actions The timeframe for achieving each action 3.1 Assess the process for monitoring team performance and initiate changes where necessary Sometimes poor performance has its roots in low motivation. When this is the case, you need to work closely with the employee to create a motivating environment in which to work. There are thre